Download Basic Biblical Study Points Jewish Ideas/Concepts

To those of you who will read this document – It is a rough study guide. It
contains a lot of information on a number of different topics, much of which is
presented in a choppy manner which gives a thumb nail view on the topic. I really
didn’t know how else to break it down, so please forgive me. While the subjects
represent beliefs you may not have previously heard about, or been taught, I think
they are worthwhile ideas to be familiar with, as the roots of our faith are worth
knowing about. The ideas presented here are not necessarily intended to sway you
into moving into a different doctrinal direction, but simply to educate you about
the beliefs, many of which helped formed Christianity as we know it today. We
must remember that there are about 400 different denominations, most of which
were born in the last couple of hundred years. Taking that into consideration, one
sees that people don’t agree on a number of different issues/positions concerning
their faith. Maybe a look further back, at our Hebrew roots, is a worthwhile
endeavor.
Basic Biblical Study Points
Jewish Ideas/Concepts
The Book We Call The Bible and Other Jewish Scriptures
I thought it would be good to discuss a few historical points about the book we call
the Bible.
The Bible: There are no original biblical manuscripts. The earliest known
manuscript fragments date back to the 2nd century of the CE. Additionally, there
are differing manuscripts which don’t always agree with each other. A group
called the Masoretes added punctuation to the text somewhere between 500-1000
CE. In any event, the various fragments which were put together and which now
form our Bible, while not perfect, are very close. Further, biblical scholars agree
that the biblical text is without a doubt, divinely inspired, and I would agree with
them. So while there may be some issues with the biblical text, and there are, most
really aren’t very significant. But I’d tell those who point out textual issues, that
while it’s imperfect, the text reveals Him who is perfect.
An example of this imperfection is found when one looks at the story of Jesus’
final words on the cross. "E’lo-i E’lo-i la’ma sabach-than’i?" which is, "My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" is recorded in Mark 15:34. Yet
Matthew 27:46 reports that Jesus said, “Eli, Eli, la’ma sabach-tha’ni? that is to
say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The latter translation is likely
the correct, as we see some in the crowd saying, it looks like he’s calling on Elijah.
Eli is the shortened version of Elijah, just as Tim is the shortened version of
Timothy, etc.
I’ve also noticed in my English translation passages like that in Exodus 9. Here it
records that during the plagues on Egypt, God killed all the Egyptians cattle. A
little later in chapter 9 God declares he’ll rain down hail and has Moses warn
everyone that they’d better get their cattle and other livestock under cover or
they’d be killed. Weren’t the Egyptians cattle already dead? A little after that God
declares that the first born, (even of cattle) will die during passover. Again, aren’t
the cattle belonging to Egypt already dead?
Then there are other passages that make the Bible, especially in it’s English
translation, even more confusing or murky. For example, in Genesis 32 we have
the story of Jacob wrestling with…somebody. The Bible sometimes calls angels
men. Here, the being Jacob is wrestling with is first called a man, then a bit later,
he’s called Elohim (God). However, in Hosea the being is called a malach (an
angel or messenger).
In Genesis 18, Abraham greets what the Bible initially says are three men. But
when they sit down to eat with him Abraham calls them YHWH (Yahweh). Two
of them leave to go visit Lot, and Lot calls them my lords (addonai), and the one
who stays behind Abraham calls YHWH, and Abraham discusses the issue of
Sodom with him face to face. So the Bible doesn’t always clearly distinguish
between God and one of his messengers.
Hagar, the handmaiden of Sarah, mother of Ishmael encounters an angel (Genesis
16-17) but then later says it was the Lord who spoke to her. I could go on, but you
get the point.
The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah, meaning ‘instruction’. For
many years it was believed that these books were written by Moses. This is no
longer the case. Some scholars, according to a Jewish magazine/newspaper called
“Haaretz”, think that Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers were written by
four different hands somewhere between 1600-1200 BCE. Deuteronomy was
written much later, somewhere between 600-800 BCE.
The Written Torah totals 24 books, including the Five Books of Moses and the
prophetic writings – e.g. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Psalms, Proverbs, etc.
The five, so called Books of Moses – comprised of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers and Deuteronomy – include all 613 commandments (mitzvahs) of the
law.
And the five, so called Books of Moses have many names. It is referred to as the
Bible (meaning "book" in Greek), the Chumash (Hebrew for "fifth"), the
Pentateuch (Greek for "five scrolls"), or generically "Torah" – Hebrew for
"instructions," because its purpose is to instruct. (Jews consider it insulting to call
it the Old Testament, as this implies a New Testament, which Jews reject.)
But whatever the name, it refers to the best-selling, longest-running book in the
history of mankind. It was the first book to be printed on a printing press (1450
CE). About 5 billion copies have since been sold per Wikipedia.
Then there is the Oral Torah. Its name derives from the fact that it was not allowed
to be formally written down but had to be taught orally. It contains the
explanations of the Written Torah. The Jew believes that one cannot be
understood without the other.
In 190 CE, persecution and exile of the Jewish people threatened the proper
transmission of the Oral Torah. Therefore, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi compiled
written notes on the Oral Torah called the "Mishnah" (Hebrew for "teaching").
Rabbi Yehudah arranged the Mishnah into six sections: Laws of Agriculture,
Festivals, Damages, Marriage, Purity, and Offerings. Rabbi Yehudah wrote the
Mishnah in code form, so that students would still require the explanation of a
rabbi – since this information was meant to remain oral.
In 500 CE, the Jewish people suffered an uprooting of their communities, and two
Babylonian rabbis – Rav Ashi and Ravina – compiled a 60-volume record of
rabbinic discussions on the Mishnah, called the "Gemara." Together, the Mishnah
and Gemara comprise what is commonly called the "Talmud."
The Oral Torah also includes the Midrash, an explanation of the Written Torah,
comprising both ethical and legal components. Much of this material is also
contained in the Talmud.
The Oral Torah also includes the works of Kabbalah, a tradition of mystical secrets
of the metaphysical universe received by Moses at Mount Sinai. It was first
published as "The Zohar" by R' Shimon bar Yochai (170 CE), and elucidated by
the Arizal (1572 CE).
Torah is not to be regarded, however, as an academic field of study. It is meant to
be applied to all aspects of our everyday life – speech, food, prayer, etc. Over the
centuries great rabbis have compiled summaries of practical law from the Talmud.
Landmark works include: "Mishneh Torah" by Maimonides (12th century Egypt);
"Shulchan Aruch" by Rabbi Yosef Karo (16th century Israel); "Mishnah Berurah"
by the Chafetz Chaim (20th century Poland).
So the question I think any Christian should ask is how did we get so separated
from our Jewish roots? Romans 11:17-18 says, “But if some of the branches were
broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the
richness of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast
remember, it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.”
So again, what happened? Some say that the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah.
But who were all those people who followed him by the hundreds and thousands
during his ministry? Who were the 3,000 on the day of Pentecost? I’m told that by
90 CE, there were more believing Jews than non-believing.
The ten severe persecutions certainly caused the demise and thinning of the
believing Jew. Rome had 54 emperors between 30-311 CE. About a dozen of
them went out of their way to persecute believers. You can google these
persecutions if you’re interested, but I mention this to say that it is now estimated
that there have been more martyrs killed, or beaten, or jailed or tortured in the last
50 years than during the first 3 centuries of this current era.
Persecutions aside, there’s more to the story than that. Early in the fourth century
Constantine I was involved in a civil war with his brother in law. In 312 he won
the war and gave God the credit for it, declaring the official religion of Rome to be
Christianity. Almost overnight Christianity gained global status. Other religions
were then outlawed.
The First Council of Nicea (in modern Turkey) was called by Constantine in 325.
The purpose of the council was to resolve some doctrinal issues. The primary focus
was on the nature of Christ. There was a group of believers who called themselves
Arians, who believed that since Jesus was created by the Father, he was therefore a
separate being. Another group who called themselves the Orthodoxy, believed that
the Father and the Son were of the same substance or essence. The Orthodox
belief won out.
Although the council came to the correct conclusion, there were a number of
‘Christian’ texts of various kinds floating around, some of which confused
doctrinal issues. To resolve these conflicts, a Council of Rome was convened in
382. Here, a group of scholars decided on which books were going to be
canonized.
Following the canonization of those books we now call the Bible, there remained
hierarchical issues in the leadership of the ‘church’. In 451 the Council of
Chalcedon was convened to establish a defined hierarchy, or a centrally operated
Christian church. Even though Christianity had been stronger in the east, places
like Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem and Constantinople, the council awarded the
‘Bishopric of Rome’ the headquarters position.
As time went on, the power of Rome began to dwindle, and along with it the
education of its people. The church, which was evolving into the Roman Catholic
Church, was relied upon for knowledge of the world. The clergy were typically
among the rare who were literate and educated.
The Roman Catholic Church served as libraries for both religious and secular
books, including non-religious philosophical writings, such as those from the
Greek philosophers. The Catholic priests controlled the flow of information and
had a strong say in secular politics. They helped make kings and were rewarded
with more power, and money and property, leading them into corruption.
In 1054 the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox church based in
Constantinople, officially split, excommunicating each other. There’s more to the
story than this, but I think this gives you a good idea of how we got so separated.
It would be good if everyone picked up a copy of a little book called, “Every
Man’s Talmud.’ It covers a lot of the Jewish beliefs. For instance, did you ever
wonder why, on several occasions Jesus spits in someone’s eye, or in the dirt to
make clay for the eye (John 9:6)? Y’shua (Jesus) is making a claim about his
parentage and his position as sole legitimate heir to his father’s inheritance.
In biblical times a man could have different children to different wives and the
eldest son of a father was usually the heir. The people of the second temple period
(Jesus’ time) were well aware that the saliva of the eldest son of a father had
healing properties against injuries or disease. Hence, Jesus was making a silent
claim that God was his father.
I’ll throw in a quick history lesson here. When I mention the second temple
period, I’m talking about approximately 530 B.C. (BCE) to 70 A.D. (CE). The
first temple period covered about 832 BCE to about 586 BCE. Solomon built the
first temple, but it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II when they invaded Judah
and carried many of the Israelites off into captivity.
The temple was rebuilt around 530 BCE and was again demolished by the Romans
about 70 CE. It was during this second temple period that the sects of the
Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, the Zealots and a few other sects were born.
(In modern Israel you have the Orthodox, the Conservatives and the Reformed
sects).
Did you ever hear that Jesus tried to hide his Messiahship? This was not the case.
Remember that at age 12, after his parents found him in the temple in Jerusalem,
upset at him for staying behind, Jesus told them he had to be about his father’s
business, implying God was his father. (I’m sure this rattled them). Much later,
during his ministry years, every time he healed someone he forgave them their
sins. The Jews knew that only God could forgive sins, hence, they understood he
was declaring himself to be God.
Most of the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, the holy language. The only
parts of the Old Testament written in something other than Hebrew, were a few
chapters of Ezra and Daniel, and one lonely verse in Jeremiah, which were written
in Aramaic. As for the New Testament, the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and
Luke, along with the first 15 chapters of Acts, were written in Hebrew. My
research is inconclusive, because I’ve read differing opinions on different web
sites, but based on what I’ve learned, I believe that the book of Hebrews and much
of the book of Revelation were also originally written in Hebrew. The rest is
Greek to me.
Jesus, his disciples and most of the early church spoke in Hebrew. Now you may
have heard that Jesus spoke Aramaic, and while he may have known Aramaic as
most folks from that era and part of the world were multi-lingual, but he didn’t
teach or typically speak in that language.
An example of a proof for an original Hebrew text, is Matthew 6:19-24:
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole
body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of
darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that
darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love
the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve
God and mammon."
In these verses we have Yeshua speaking about money, and not making it more
important than God. Note that He begins speaking about money, then says
something about "an evil eye," then finishes His statement about money. If this
were penned in Greek originally, you would have to ask, "Why this odd verse
about an "evil eye" in the midst of a money topic?" It makes no sense. However, if
you happen to know that having an "evil eye" is a Hebrew idiom of that time for
"being stingy with your money," then, a) the passage makes sense, and b) you
realize it HAD to have been written in Hebrew first, then whoever translated it into
Greek, (unaware of the idiom), simply took it word-for-word from Hebrew into the
Greek.
The LAW
Let’s talk about law for a few minutes. Notice the Law God gave to Moses at
Sinai. It consisted of 1: The Written Law, consisting of the Moral (10
commandments), the Ceremonial, and the Civil laws and 2: The Oral, consisting of
Haggadah (Legends), and Halachah (Laws).
Jewish law is comprised of 613 commandments, both positive and negative. This
of course is far more than the 10 commandments which most Christians are
somewhat familiar with. Law is a very important subject when it comes to
understanding God, as some believe that God is the sum and total of His law. This
doesn’t take away anything from understanding God as he bestows grace on us, but
I think it should actually help us understand Him better. The law was very
important to the men of Jesus’ time.
I want to mention that it took at least 10 men to be recognized as a community in
Jesus’ time. In any of these very small communities there was appointed 3 men to
be a court of law and decide on (mostly) religious matters. In larger towns and
cities there existed a court called the ‘Lesser Sanhedrin’ which consisted of 23
members. This court decided on crimes and other local matters as they came up.
Then there was the Great Sanhedrin, comprised of 71 members. The Great
Sanhedrin decided on nationalistic matters, things like whether to go to war, or
how to deal with threats against the country.
Jesus’ Method of Teaching/ The Synagogue
Jesus taught in a rabbinic way. In his time, there weren’t any books. If the
community or town was large enough to have a synagogue, the synagogue may
have had one scroll of each of the books of what we call the Old Testament.
Again, I think it’s interesting that in order for a town/community to have a
functioning synagogue (Beit K’nesset – literally ‘house of assembly’) there had to
be at least 10 men of independent means who could devote themselves to prayer
and study. That’s all they did. They were called the ‘batlanim’. They were
considered men of leisure, but I’m not sure how accurate a representation that
name paints.
Formal education for Hebrew children (mostly men) began at age 5 and by the
time you were in your mid-teens you’d have memorized the entire biblical text.
Further, study was considered a life-long task.
The church, or synagogue also had a group of men called the ‘zagen’, (the word
literally translates beard or chin) a word that’s been translated into English as
‘elder’. These men were in charge of ministering to the spiritual affairs of the
body. Feeding the flock, visiting the sick, taking care of the poor, and setting a
proper spiritual example. They were typically the older, more mature and more
spiritually developed of the members of the congregation.
Pastor also comes from the word ‘zagen’, but our ‘minister’ or ‘shepherd’ comes
from the Greek word, ‘Diakoneo’ or ‘diakonos’. In English that’s where we get
‘deacon’. The idea of the deacon was one who serves, or is a servant. That’s
where the apostles got the idea for the original 7 deacons in Acts 6.
The synagogue was overseen by a man called the ‘Nasi’, or president. The only
thing special about this guy was the fact that he was usually a good administrator
of affairs.
There was also a man called the ‘Maggid’. Maggid translates ‘teacher of
righteousness’. He was the silver tongued guy who usually travelled around and
spoke on various subjects. Jesus fit into this role on many occasions.
Another man was called the ‘Hazzan’. Today the Hazzan (or Hazan) is called the
Cantor. He had a number of roles, but primarily he was a prayer and song leader.
But he was also the man who was charged with meting out the stripes should you
be found guilty of some portion of the law which called for lashes. (That would go
over good today, right?)
What was the fundamental reason for attending synagogue? It wasn’t for praise or
worship. You went to synagogue for study and instruction. Worship happened at
home. Probably the first verse a little child learned was the Shema, but another
very important verse was Proverbs 22:6 which says (paraphrased), ‘Bring up your
children in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from
it.’
Understanding Textual Issues / Translation vs Transliteration
As an aside to Proverbs 22:6, I will be mentioning periodically problems which we
have to overcome in understanding the Bible based on translational issues from
Hebrew or Greek into English. You see, one of the big issues we have in
understanding the Bible is due to the fact that in its English translation, many
words have been transliterated, when they should have been translated. There are
many examples of this. Remember Enoch back in the early part of Genesis? Well
his name literally means, ‘to masticate the date’. (Now why would you name
someone Enoch???) It portrays the notion of a mother, who’d masticate the date,
turning it into something sweet and nourishing, which she could rub on the gums
of the newborn babe to induce the nursing action. This same idea was portrayed
spiritually in Proverbs, where parents were urged to teach the sweet things of God
to their children so that they’d want more of the same.
But many names have meanings. Isaac, “Laughter”.
There is a Jewish town called Bethel. Bethel means, ‘house of God.’
If one were to go back to the original text, one would see some Aramaic words.
But that said, Hebrew, like English and many other languages, borrows words from
other languages. We might see Cristos, a Greek word, which we transliterate in
English to Christ. … But the problem with this transliteration is that it doesn’t
give us the meaning of the word. Christ is the Greek transliteration of Cristo,
while Jesus is the English transliteration of the Hebrew Yeshua. But we don’t see
the meaning in English from both languages which is ‘Anointed One.’
It is this language issue which makes it difficult for us to understand some of the
Bible. For example, the word, Adam. When we see the word Adam, we think of
some guy out streaking around in the Garden of Eden. But his name is comprised
of two parts. In all the Semitic languages, ‘dam’ is the word for blood. But the
letter A (Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) is sometimes used as an
abbreviation in Hebrew for ‘Elohim’, one of the names of God. So Adam could be
literally translated as God’s blood. But others have postulated that it could also be
literally translated as ‘mankind’. But I like the translation, the blood of God,
because I think that’s why Jesus is called the second Adam. He initially had that
same incorruptible blood of God.
A little later, in Genesis 6, we see a guy named Methuselah come on the scene.
We don’t really understand who he was. But his name means, ‘his death shall
bring judgment.’ He was the son of Enoch, and the Grandfather of Noah. When
he died, the flood started.
When we see the word gentile, do we understand that it means heathen, or pagan?
The word disciple actually is better translated as student.
The word repentance is actually our English translation of the Greek word,
‘metanoya’ from which we also get, metamorphosis. It also means ‘change’. So to
repent actually means to change from what we’re doing.
The officer (eunuch) from Ethiopia was black and a Jew. Here is another
translation issue exacerbated by a lack of knowledge of Jewish law by the
translators. If one was a true eunuch, he couldn’t go to the temple in Jerusalem or
elsewhere. He was considered unclean. But the Hebrew word for eunuch is also
the same word for officer. Why the translators of some English versions of the
Bible translated the word as eunuch shows us that even these men didn’t always
have a good grasp of the history and/or traditions of the Jews when they did their
translations.
This only scratches the surface of what challenges we have in truly understanding
the biblical text. But we live in a great time in that there are fantastic study aids
available to us. I would strongly encourage all to get a numerically indexed
lexicon like Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, or a Brown
Driver’s Briggs Hebrew lexicon, and another book, ‘Theological Dictionary of the
New Testament’. They can help you search out difficult passages in your studies.
JESUS’ Words and Methods of Teaching
Jesus says very, very little that is original with him. When he taught he usually
used a method called ‘Remez’, or hinting.
(See the handout on The Beatitudes)
Actually, as you read through the gospels, if you see Jesus saying something, you
can ask yourself, where did he get that? If one takes a good cross reference Bible,
or a Concordance, you can find the parallel passages that he’s quoting from in the
Old Testament most of the time and then put what he’s saying into context.
In Genesis 14 we have an interesting story where we’re introduced to Melchizedek.
His name means ‘My king is righteous’. He was the priest king of Salem (ancient
Jerusalem). In this chapter we see a story of a bunch of bad kings and their men,
who’ve been looting Sodom (Sodom comes from the Hebrew word siddim,
meaning demon) and who’ve taken Lot and his family captive. Abram pursues
them and defeats them in battle with 318 of his fighting men, freeing his nephew
Lot. Shortly thereafter, they meet Melchizedek and the evil king of Sodom.
During this meeting Sodom offers Abram a lot of money or booty if Abram would
just give him his ‘soul’. It’s an ante type of the devil tempting Jesus in the
wilderness.
Even the word Satan is a mystery to most Christians. It means, ‘the accuser’. (And
by the way, the name Lucifer is never used in the Bible…ever. It is a poor
translation of a word taken from the Latin Vulgate which wasn’t published until
the 5th century of the current era by Gerome). Historically, during these early
times in biblical history, many kings and kingdoms were associated with various
heavenly bodies which were worshiped by the people. If one takes a look at the
original text the word which is later translated as Lucifer is translated as ‘the bright
shining star of the morning’, or Venus. This star was associated with the reign of
Belshazzar.
So you can see why we get so many things wrong in our understanding of the
Bible. It illustrates one of the issues we have when studying the Bible. Our
understanding of words and how they should be interpreted based on multiple
meanings, historical context, and knowledge of the culture.
There was a story once told about a kindergarten teacher at a private Christian
school who had been teaching the children about the great heroes of the Bible. She
told them about David fighting Goliath, Noah and the flood, Daniel down in the
lion’s den, and Joshua and the battle of Jericho. When she finished she told the
children to get out a piece of paper and draw and color their version of their
favorite story. Going around the room she looked at Judy, who’d colored a picture
of Daniel in the lion’s den, and Billy’s depiction of David with his slingshot
standing over a fallen Goliath, and so on. But when she came to little Timmy she
saw a picture of a red Cadillac convertible with a couple in the back seat of the car,
and an old man with a long white beard sitting behind the steering wheel. The
confused teacher asked little Timmy, “I thought you were going to draw me a
picture of a Bible story?” Little Timmy looked up and said, “I did. This is God
driving Adam and Eve out of the garden.” So we laugh, but the story illustrates
just how in the dark we can be without study of this book we base our faith on.
Another example can be seen when we look at Paul telling the Corinthians that he
wished people would stay single, as he was doing, he didn’t intend this as a biblical
injunction to marriage. Their country was under siege by Rome, and in fact the
city of Jerusalem was laid waste numerous times from the mid first century until
about 125 CE. Paul didn’t want men or women to be burdened by each other, or
their children, should they be attacked and have to flee, which many did during the
years following his letter.
When Paul tells us that women are to be silent in the church, he was addressing a
group of new believers, who lived near the foot of Mount Herman, who had just
given up worship of the fertility goddess, Artemis (Acts 19). Those who
worshiped Artemis maintained temples where over a thousand cult prostitutes,
mostly women, ruled the people. Paul wanted the new believers to separate
themselves from this type of activity.
Understanding Our Roots /Historical Issues/ Types and Ante-types
Why did God choose Abraham as the father of his people? He wasn’t that hot of a
guy. He was a liar, a cheat, an adulterer, faithless… In Genesis 18:19 we read,
“For I have chosen him that he may charge his children and his household after
him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice…” God chose
Abraham because of his ability to teach and pass along his faith in God to his
children.
Bethel, a city in the southern portion of Israel, just north of Jerusalem, and north
of Judah, is a word meaning ‘House of God’. I assume most of you know that
for several centuries, the 10 northern tribes split off from Judah and there were
two independent countries. This occurred because King Solomon, who had
created the wealthiest and most powerful central government the Hebrews would
ever see, did so at an impossibly high cost. Land was given away to pay for his
extravagances and people were sent into forced labor into Tyre in the north.
When Solomon died, between 926 and 922 BCE, the ten northern tribes refused
to submit to his son, Rehoboam, (over high taxes) and revolted.
From this point on, there would be two kingdoms of Hebrews: in the north, Israel,
and in the south, Judah. The Israelites formed their capital in the city of Samaria,
and the Judeans kept their capital in Jerusalem. These kingdoms remained separate
states for over two hundred years.
Assyria, under Sargon II, conquered Israel in 722 B.C. and the Babylonians, under
Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Judah in 586 B.C. In both instances many of the
Hebrews were carried off into captivity.
The Assyrians then took many of the Hebrew women for wives and the dreaded
half-blood Samaritan race began to populate that area between Assyria and Israel.
It was also during this captivity that Zoroaster was born in Assyria. He lived
between about 630 BCE to 550 BCE, and was the founder of Zoroastrianism. It
was probably the first religion to be dualistic in nature. The religion itself taught a
lot of good, noble things, but in it there were two gods, one good and one evil, who
were always fighting over people (and in the end the good god will win). With
exposure to this religion, some scholars believe that the Jews began giving Satan a
more prominent, powerful lot than before. Yet Satan really has no power, he’s the
accuser, and by the way, he’s not in hell…yet.
In Exodus 32 we see the story of the golden calf. When Moses came down off the
mountain and saw what the people were doing, he ordered the Levites to kill the
idol worshipers. They killed 3000. On the day of Pentecost, 3000 were saved.
In Numbers 21:6-7 we see vipers sent among the complaining Hebrews. After
many died, Moses commanded a fiery serpent be set upon a standard, and when the
people looked up at it, they’d live. In the N.T. when the Lord was raised up on the
cross and people looked to Him for saving, they live. John 3:14 says, As Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so shall the son of man be lifted up.
Isn’t it interesting that Jacob had 12 sons and later there became 12 tribes, and
Jesus chose 12 disciples?
O.T. has ceremonial washing for cleansing from sin. N.T. we have Baptism for
cleansing from sin.
Matthew 12:40, “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so
shall the son of man spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
As Abraham offered to offer up his son on an altar, the Father offered up His son
on the cross.
Again I remind you that in Genesis 14, after Abram rescues Lot, he meets
Melchizedek and the king of Sodom, and Abram offers up a tenth of the spoils.
(This is not where the idea for the tithe came from). But the king of Sodom says,
‘give me the persons (but it’s the Hebrew word for soul). We see the devil doing
the same thing to Jesus during his temptation in the wilderness.
Theological Differences between Judaism and
Christianity/Tzedakah
One of the most important words in the Bible is the word ONE. We could go so far
as to say it is one of the principal words in the Bible, reflecting one of the most
important concepts of the God of the Bible. That God concept is monotheism.
Monotheism comes from two Greek words, mono (one) and theos (God), and
means one God. The central theme of biblical faith is that God is one. Monotheism
is such an important biblical God concept, and is so radically different from the
God concepts of the other great nations and peoples of the Bible, that it stands as a
marvelous indication of one of the internal evidences for inspiration shown in the
biblical text. In other words, this concept of monotheism is so radically different
from all other prevailing religious systems that it cannot be accounted for on purely
natural grounds. It demands the supernatural to explain such a lofty God concept.
And it is this concept of God that becomes the foundational tenet upon which
Biblical faith is based. "Hear O Israel, The Lord your God is One." The Shema
(pronounced sssh-ma), as it is known is still recited twice each day by religious
Jews. (The Shema is taken from Deut 6:4, ‘Hear O Israel. The Lord our God is
one Lord, (5) and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul and with all your might).
However, this one God has manifested Himself in history in so many multifaceted
ways. He is known by a myriad of names as recorded in the biblical text, during
many varied circumstances, and for many different reasons or purposes. A clear
picture of Him begins to emerge only when we examine the names by which He is
known, as each will reflect some aspect of His nature.
Insert - The Names of God2.doc
Although God is known by many names it is of the utmost importance to stress that
He is One. Many parallels can be found in this concept of oneness. For example:
Law is one, and it is God’s revelation of Himself and His will for man, to man.
However, there was the Law God gave to Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel before the
flood. There was the Law God gave to Noah after the flood (The Seven Laws of
Noah. I encourage you to do a Google search on this subject). There was the Law
God gave to Abraham and his seed, and there was the Law God gave to Moses at
Sinai. But it was all ONE. The One Law of the One God.
As God Is One, the Law is one, and so also man is One. The Biblical concept of
man is that God created man in His image. Therefore, as God is, so man is. God is
one, so man is one. Although man consists of a body (of earth or earthly) and a
spirit (of the heavens), the two form an inseparable unity. The spirit and the flesh
will never be separated, but both are made for eternity. This idea of man
constituted a basic belief of Jesus, the Pharisees, and the Apostle Paul, who all
taught on the resurrection of the dead. Although flesh and blood will not enter the
eternal realm of the world to come, "we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, and this mortal shall put on immortality and this corruptible
shall put on incorruptibility" (I Corinthians 15). Scientifically, we know that once
matter has been created it can never be destroyed. Only its form can be changed.
This concept of ONE as the coming together of two or more parts to constitute a
whole is first introduced to us in the first chapter of Genesis: "And there was
evening and there was morning, ONE day" (Genesis 1:5). Notice it takes both the
evening and the morning, two parts, to come together or to be joined together, to
form the one day.
Let’s look now at some of the over 30 names I have chosen to share with you.
Each reflects some attribute or characteristic of the ONE God of the Bible.
It’s interesting that Jesus never calls himself the Messiah. Only one time, when he
talked to the Samaritan woman at the well, did he agree with her that he was the
Messiah, but he never calls himself that. He calls himself the ‘Son of Man’, one of
the most supernatural beings mentioned in the bible (Daniel 7:13), or he calls
himself God. Yes, he prays to the Father, but he also says that, ‘if you’ve seen me,
you’ve seen the father,’ and ‘I and the Father are one.’ But when he heals
someone, he almost always starts off forgiving their sins. Every Jew knows that
only God can forgive sins.
So how can we understand passages like Isaiah 9:6 which reads, ‘For unto us a
child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders,
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Might God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace.’ How can the son be the father? It’s hard for us to
understand. But let me say that the Jew can’t accept God in a Trinitarian form,
three persons making up one God. There is one God who manifests Himself in
different ways at different times. In other words, thinking back to the names of
God, God is YHWH, the covenant making God, but that’s not all that he is doing.
God is El Elyon, the highest God, but that’s not all He is doing, God is El Shaddai,
the nourishing God, but that’s not all he’s doing, God is Ruach Elohim, the Holy
Spirit, but that’s not all he is doing, God is El Yeshuat, the saving aspect of diety,
but that’s not all God is doing.
It’s interesting too that the Jew won’t speak the name of God, or even write it,
without corrupting it a little. We all think of that commandment that most of us
remember as, ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.’ That doesn’t
mean that we aren’t supposed to cuss. The commandment is, “Thou shalt not take
the name of the Lord your God lightly, or in a light manner.’ You see, Hebrew
has no cuss words. If you want to cuss you have to go over to Aramaic or some
other Semitic language. (Now in Matthew 12:35-36 it does say we’ll be judged for
every careless word we utter).
The reason we see YHWH as the tetragrammaton is because it wasn’t supposed to
be verbalized. Jews call God, Addonai, meaning Lord, or they corrupt god as g-d.
So is God male or female? Obviously male because we pray, ‘Our Father who art
in heaven…” Well, He’s a spirit, so actually sexless, but the Jew has always seen
God as having both masculine and feminine attributes. The YH is masculine, the
WH feminine. But words like El Shaddai offer up a female attribute of God,
because it means, the God who suckles me, or nourishes me from his breasts.
Shaddaim in Hebrew is breasts.
One of the most fundamental, foundational tenets of biblical faith to the true Jew is
derived from the meaning of the word "Tzedakah"
"Tzedakah" (pronounced ‘say-da-caw’) is the Hebrew word for the acts that we
call "charity" in English: giving aid, assistance and money to the poor and needy or
to other worthy causes. However, the nature of tzedakah is very different from the
idea of charity. The word "charity" suggests benevolence and generosity, a
magnanimous act by the wealthy and powerful for the benefit of the poor and
needy. The word "tzedakah" is derived from the Hebrew root Tzadei-Dalet-Qof,
meaning righteousness, justice or fairness. In Judaism, giving to the poor is not
viewed as a generous, magnanimous act; it is simply an act of justice and
righteousness, the performance of a duty, giving the poor their due.
It is done to make the person more whole.
The Obligation of Tzedakah
Giving to the poor is an obligation in Judaism, a duty that cannot be forsaken even
by those who are themselves in need. Some sages have said that tzedakah is the
highest of all commandments, equal to all of them combined, and that a person
who does not perform tzedakah is equivalent to an idol worshipper. This is
probably hyperbole (exaggerated truth), but it illustrates the importance of
tzedakah in Jewish thought. Tzedakah is one of the three acts that gain us
forgiveness from our sins. The High Holiday liturgy repeatedly states that G-d has
inscribed a judgment against all who have sinned, but teshuvah (repentance),
tefilah (prayer) and tzedakah can alleviate the decree.
A world of difference exists between Judaism and traditional Christian theology
when we come to the subject of sin. Judaism teaches that man is born good. He is
not born a sinner. He becomes responsible for his sins at the age of 13 (12 for girls)
when he becomes a "man of duty" (Bar-Mitzvah). Until this age, a child's sins are
the responsibility of the parents. From the age of 13, he is considered a responsible
adult who can choose not to sin. It is taught that man is born good, but has two
opposing inclinations in him: One leads to the good, and the other to the bad. Paul
dealt with the concept of the good and bad inclinations in Romans 7:17-21. Even
the bad inclination is not evil in and of itself. If properly directed and controlled, it
serves a useful purpose.
In contrast to this biblical concept, Christianity offers the doctrine original sin,
beginning with Augustine (355-430), bishop of Hippo in Africa. He was the
architect of an ideology that taught that the act of sex was the vehicle of original
sin. (See D.J. Bailey, "Sexual Relations in Christian Thought," pg. 53-56; D.
Feldman, Marital Relation, Birth Control and Abortion in Jewish Law, pg. 83-84)
Augustine taught that the consequence of this sin is transmitted through the sexual
act from one generation to the next. Because of this, a child, he said, was literally
conceived in the "sin" of its parents. The connection between this idea and the
doctrine of Immaculate Conception and Virgin Birth should be obvious.
Sin should be understood as defiance and rebellion to divine law. It is not a
hereditary evil. It should be clear that if there did exist such a thing as "original
sin," transferred from one generation to the next, this would undermine man's
divine right to a free will. Man would no- longer be a free moral agent. Man,
contrary to this, has to choose the good and reject the evil; overcome the evil with
good. (For an analysis of this see S. Schechter, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology,
New York: Schocken Books, 1961, pp. 242-263.)
In Judaism the concept of salvation relates more to the here and now than in
Christianity. Some Jews kind of think of Christianity as a religion of death in that
salvation means you get to go to heaven. So Christians must look forward to dying
so they can finally get to heaven and be with God. The Jew relates more to this
picture of salvation as portrayed by the story of the little woman with the issue of
blood in Matthew 9:18-22. In this story, the woman was already a part of the
family of God, but she needed saving in the here and now.
This story also begs the question, ‘why did Jesus come?’ The answer is found in
Ezekiel 34, and I’d urge you all to read the entire chapter. But here is a couple of
verses which give you a taste of what God says. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and
give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign LORD. 16 I will search
for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will
bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat
and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice! (So if we’re supposed to
be imitators of Christ, shouldn’t we be doing more to bandage the injured, helping
to strengthen the weak, trying to lead back those who’ve gone astray?)
In Judaism, the devil is a created being subject to God. He cannot do anything he
wants. He has no power or authority of his own. He almost becomes a non-entity.
He is more identified with the inclination towards evil, the yetzer ha-ra. Judaism
spends very little time (if any at all) even discussing him. "The Satan" is man's
adversary that accuses him before God. He is not given in Judaism the emphasis
that he is given by modern Christianity. In Christianity, Satan has become almost a
god of equal force for evil as God is force for good. Dualism is the foundation for
this kind of thinking. It is a thought contrary to pure monotheism. As far as
monotheism is concerned, God is God and there is none to even compare or
challenge Him. Satan is not omnipresent, omniscient, nor omnipotent. Satan is a
deceiver and a liar. (John 8:44, 11 Corinthians 11:3). Satan is not the god of this
world as is taught in Christianity. II Corinthians 4:4 has been seriously
misunderstood, and erroneously translated.
In Judaism sex is good, appointed by God. The marriage bed is undefiled
(Hebrews13:4). Marriage is considered a great honor. Having children is
considered as the fulfillment of "be fruitful and multiply." The husband is to satisfy
his wife and give her pleasure in sex. Sex is to be engaged in a certain amount of
times per week or month depending upon one's profession. No prescribed
maximum number of times for engaging in sex were given. Sex, within its
prescribed limitations, was considered holy, because it was created by a Holy God.
Sex in marriage was considered so holy that the pious Jew was enjoined to have
sex with his wife, especially on Sabbath, because it is holy unto the Lord. Sex was
so highly valued that a man or woman that denied their marriage partner sexual
relations could sue for divorce and get it. If one withheld sex for two weeks,
according to the school of Shammai, and one week, according to the school of
Hillel, a divorce could be granted. The school of Hillel prevailed. (Ketuboth 5:6)
Now compare this with the "Christian" sex ethic traditionally taught for centuries.
There has always been a certain stigma or taboo about sex in Christianity that is
inherent in its theology, dating from the second century. Many consider sex as
inherently sinful, though in marriage, for the purpose of procreation only, it is not a
"mortal" but a "venial" sin. The idea developed in Christianity that it was
meritorious to abstain from sex in marriage. It's no wonder that, among believers,
there have been so many marital problems in this area. If the Church had retained
the Jewish understanding of the marital relationship, many problems would have
been avoided. In recent times, there has been some progress and correction among
Christians concerning marital sex and the marriage relationship in general. It is too
bad the progress has been so slow. Still, much error is being taught by selfproclaimed "teachers," and some are being carried away by their ignorance.
Judaism considered marriage a mitzvah--a religious duty. Delaying marriage had to
be justified with legitimate reasons; when one is married, "sin comes to an end."
(Yeb. 63b) He that was not married was considered to be without joy, blessing,
good, protection, peace, or life. It was said that it is correct for a man to love his
wife as himself, that he respect her more than himself, that he be compassionate
with her, that he take care of her as he would care for one of the members of his
own body; and she should love him because she came out from him. This is why
the Creator commanded the husband to never subtract from her what is rightfully
hers; food, clothing, shelter, and conjugal rights (marital relations), that should
include joy and intimacy. (See Maurice Lamm, The Jewish Way in Love and
Marriage, New York: Harper and Row Publishers; 1980, p.124. This entire book is
an excellent exposition on the subject.)
As an aside here, this brings up a very good Jewish biblical position that more
Christians should pay attention to. Unequally yoked. What does this mean? The
Jew believes that God doesn’t recognize marriage if it’s with an unbeliever. The
Jew had very little to do with the gentile (pagan). You weren’t even to go into
business with them.
This leads us to this idea that we shouldn’t sue someone. Remember, if one is
dealing with a fellow Jew, yes you should work out your differences without
taking it to a court, but this didn’t apply to how we may or may not react to
someone who was not a believer, just as those teachings of Jesus about turning the
other cheek or giving someone your coat, generally applies to how we treat a
believer, not the world.
Today, Church has become a building or something one does on Sunday, a
religious service rather than a community. (As another important aside, the
believer is the church, not some building. God lives in you. The building is just
that, a building, a meeting place for us to gather). It does not have the same
organizational structure and functionaries as ancient Judaism and the early Church.
It has become ecclesiastical and hierarchical.
The Synagogue and It’s Functionaries
(Insert Handout of The Synagogue and It’s Functionaries)
In every synagogue there was a room adjacent to it called bet hamidrash. It was a
room for study, considered to be even more important than the synagogue. With
this, we come face to face with the great emphasis placed in Judaism on study and
teaching. The Church has almost completely lost the idea of the importance of
study to biblical faith. It has been terribly negligent in this area. According to the
work of Jewish oral law known as the Mishnah, a boy began study of the scripture
at 5 years of age, at ten--Mishnah, at fifteen--Talmud, etc. The point is that study
and teaching were of primary importance. The Church today is woefully ignorant
because she has emphasized preaching and evangelization, and almost completely
ignored teaching and study. Instruction for growth has been sadly lacking. She has
forgotten the commission of the Lord to go and teach and make disciples.
"Disciple" is a word best understood by its Hebrew counterpart, talmid, a talmid is
a student (Matthew 28:19-20). The Church must study to show itself approved unto
God.
In Judaism it is understood that the earth was not created in six literal days. The
Hebrew word for day, yom, can be understood in a number of different ways. The
best definition for "day" in the first chapter of Genesis, could be a creative day,
however long that was. One translation is "period" as in an unspecified period of
time. (Solomon Schonfeld, The Universal Bible, London: Sidgwick and Jackson,
1955, pp. 13-16) It could not have been a literal day of twenty-four hours. If it was,
the biblical text would have to be thrown out as fiction. Science has proven the
process, involved in creation through astronomy, physics, anthropology,
archaeology, etc. The age of the earth is certainly much more than the fictional six
thousand year theory that was introduced by Bishop Usher. He estimated, through
the genealogies in Matthew and Luke, that the earth was created in 4004 B.C. Any
time you begin to try to figure dates by the use of biblical genealogies, you are in
trouble. The genealogies in the Gospels are incomplete, yet they fit perfectly into
the Jewish understanding of them. In Matthew 1:8-.9, of Jesus' genealogy, these
kings are left out: Ahaziah, Athaliah, Joash, Amaziah, Jehoahaz and Johoiakim.
With this we learn an important lesson in Jewish genealogy. To the Hebrew mind it
was as correct to say "A" begat "Z," and leave out all the others, as to say "A"
begat "B."
Remains have been found of Homo sapiens that go back one hundred thousand
years or more at the Border Caves in Africa. At the Carmel Caves in Israel there
have been found very old remains of humans that go back sixty or seventy
thousand years. The human family is much older than 4004 B.C. The Hebrew text
of the Genesis account would admit this understanding of creation. We must
understand that Genesis chapters one and two are not scientific accounts. It is a
simple narrative that did not in any way have "science" in mind. When we look at
it in Hebrew, we see that the best that is known scientifically fits perfectly with the
biblical text and does not contradict it. Creation theology in Christianity simply
does not have a leg to stand on in the Hebrew account of the Genesis narrative.
A translation endorsed by numerous rabbinic authorities is the modern targum by
Isaac Elchanan Mozeson. If space permitted we could quote the entire passage of
Genesis chapter one, but a few verses will suffice for our purposes. "From the
beginning of this creation for revelation the Lord balanced the spiritual and the
material. (1) And the Lord willed energy and it radiated. (3) And the Lord
summoned the energies of day and entropy of night and there was mingling before
examination in millennium one. (5) and the Lord willed vegetable from the
mineral, perennial greening... (11) And the Lord willed that there evolve from
marine plants mobile, organic life; amphibians emerging until fin and wing fly
through the skies... (20) And the Lord created the dinosaurs and all reptilian life
that evolved from aquatic species and all species of feathered birds... (21) And the
Lord willed that the material and spiritual together make up human form and
essence... (26) And Cro-Magnon was created from its Neanderthal mold, body and
soul a divine creature; hermaphroditic were they created. (27) (From the
Beginning, A Modem Targum)
Christianity has become a very exclusive religion. If one is not a member of the
Church, or sometimes even of one particular denomination, then it is taught one is
bound to go to hell, or be separated eternally from God. In Judaism there has
always been the principle that the righteous of all nations will have their place in
olam-haba, the world to come. These are the righteous, being neither Christian nor
Jew, who will have a place in the world to come. They are the ones that have been
obedient to the minimum demands of God upon all the human race. God expects
every human being to at least adhere to the basic commands and prohibitions
incumbent upon all mankind. In Judaism, these are known as the Noachide Laws
or the Laws to the sons of Noah. They were derived exegetically (explanatively)
from the commandments and instructions God gave Adam and those given to Noah
when he came out of the ark. The Noachide Commandments are basically seven in
number. The Hebraic tradition attached to the Hebrew Bible has taught throughout
its history the existence of a biblical code of "Seven Laws" for all the children of
Noah. (See Aaron Lichenstein: The Seven Laws of Noah.) This would include all
humanity because, according to the biblical text, we all descended from Noah and
his three sons. (This concept is not to be confused with the seven deadly sins of
medieval philosophy.) In the Talmud there are many references to these, (e.g.,
Sanhedrin 56-60).
The seven laws are in reality six prohibitions and one command which are as
follows: 1) Idolatry, 2) Blasphemy, 3) Murder, 4) Theft, 5) Sexual Immorality, 6)
Eating maimed animals or portions severed from living animals.
The Seventh law is an injunction to establish a legal system of justice to enforce
the prohibitions and mete out punishment to the violators. We have three clear
witnesses that this was taught in the New Testament. This will prove that the faith
of Jesus was not to exclude the rest of the righteous of the world from a place in
the world to come. The three witnesses are none other than Jesus, Paul, and James.
Jesus' teaching is in Matthew 25:31-46, where he gives the parable of the gathering
of all nations (Gentiles) before God, and he separates the righteous from the
wicked. The righteous of the nations (Gentiles) were not Jews. No Jew would call
himself or another Jew a Gentile. (Even Paul distinguished between Gentiles and
the followers of Christ.) Jesus' reference could not be to Christians because there
were none in his day. It was to those that followed the Noachide Laws, the
righteous of the nations. The clarity of his teaching here is unmistakable when seen
in its Jewish context.
Paul's teaching is found in Romans 2:5-15. He refers to God dealing with those
without the laws, the nations (or the Gentiles). The nations without the law do by
nature those things of the law. They have no law, yet are a law unto themselves.
The law to the nations, being that which God spoke to Noah and his three sons.
This law has been written in their hearts, their conscience witnessing to them, and
the thoughts between one Judge who will give to every man according to his
works. Everlasting life, or a place in the world to come, will be to those persisting
in good works. Those disobeying the truth, because of self-interest and obeying
unrighteousness, will receive God's anger and be eternally separated from Him.
The Jew has more responsibilities before God than these seven laws of Noah. He is
subject to the 613 mitzvot in the Torah. In Christ, the believer is not subject to the
613 mitzvot. He is subject to Christ and to the basic laws incumbent upon all
mankind as they are amply expanded upon by Paul in his epistles. Yet, the believer
in Christ also has the privilege and liberty to practice those mitzvot (beyond the
basics) if he wants to, but he is not under obligation to them.
The leaders of the community of the faithful in Christ at Jerusalem, with James
presiding, came to an important conclusion at a meeting called to settle the
question, "Do the Gentiles that come to God through Jesus need to be circumcised
and keep the law?" (See Acts 15) They concluded that it was completely
unnecessary for a pagan converted to God through Christ to be circumcised or
obligated to the 613 mitzvot. (They were all still in force at this historical period of
time.)
They arrived at the same conclusion many rabbis of the period would have come
to, especially those of the school of Hillel. It was determined to prohibit converts
from their old pagan forms of worship. The possibility that these prohibitions were
taken from the laws of Noah are undeniable. (See D. Flusser, Judaism and the
Origins of Christianity, pp. 630-631; and W.D. Davies, Paul and Rabbinic Judaism,
4th ed. p. 118; Encyclopedia Judalca, see "Noachide Laws".) They prohibited
idolatry, fornication (sexual immorality), eating blood and that that was strangled.
Paul taught this to his gentile converts. The prohibitions of the Jerusalem Council
were evidently only representative. Later Paul greatly expands them in his letters to
the churches that were mainly composed of converts from paganism. The Jewish
follower of Jesus continued to be a Jew in all respects and maintained his religion.
He did not "convert" to another religion. Jewish followers of Jesus were practically
indistinguishable from those Jews who did not believe in him. Even in the days of
Hadrian (second century), the Christians were still generally considered to be Jews.
The Jewish idea of spirituality is very different than the Christian one. Judaism
understands the sanctity of all life and is down-to-earth rather than otherworldly.
Christianity compartmentalizes life into categories of spiritual and secular. So
much importance is laid on that which is supposedly spiritual, that some become of
no earthly good. Probably this is what has contributed to the low ethical quality of
some Christians. The spiritual has been divorced from the physical. Once again,
this is evidence of pagan philosophy--dualistic thought that has permeated the
Church. (An excellent treatment of this subject is found in M. Wilson, Our Father
Abraham, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1989. The entire book should be
required study for every follower of Jesus.)
Judaism sees the world as divided into Jews and Gentiles; those chosen and those
that are not. The idea of chosenness excludes racism and is not to be identified
with it. Judaism is a matter of religion, not race or nationality. Anyone can become
a Jew through conversion. Any person of any nation, or any color, can convert to
Judaism and will be considered to be a Jew just like the one born of a Jewish
mother.
The charge that Judaism is racist is completely without foundation and is a
slanderous fabrication of modern anti-Semitism.
Again, I remind you of the Ethiopian officer who traveled to Jerusalem to worship,
and who was later baptized by Philip.
The Church has rarely ever understood that the faith of Jesus brings the believer
into a union before God with the Jew. We become grafted into the olive tree which
is Israel, the people of God. Therefore we should not boast against the branches,
(the Jews), because we (talmidim of Jesus with a past gentile background), are held
up by the root (Judaism), and it is not we that sustain it. (Romans 11)
The Church has nevertheless indulged not only in boasting, but in the persecution,
repression, forced conversion, and even the murder of the Jew. The Christian
Church, down through history, has done its best to destroy the Jew, culturally,
politically, financially, socially, and in every other way it could dream up.
The twentieth-century Church is far removed from the historical and religious roots
of the Judaism of the first century. Christianity has become a religion that would
have been totally foreign to Jesus and the apostles. Today, the Church universal
sees itself as gentile in composition and not a part of Israel. (But I urge you to read
Galations 3). It believes that the Jews have been rejected by God and that the
Church has replaced them as the chosen people. Replacement theology, as this
ideology is known, is widespread. The belief is that the Church is the "New Israel."
Israel has been spiritualized by the Church. "Spiritual Israel" is what some call
themselves. The references in the Scriptures to Israel have been terribly twisted
and reinterpreted to mean the Church and not physical Israel. All the blessings are
for the "Real Israel," the Church, and all the curses are for the Jews. This is a
grotesque perversion of the Scriptures that is still being taught by certain Christian
groups.
In Christianity, faith in God is elevated to a belief system that is above tangible
action. The word for "faith" in Hebrew does not exclude tangible action, and is not
to be understood as intangible belief alone. Faith without corresponding action is
dead; it has no life and is not pleasing to God. Faith is better understood as
faithfulness to God and His Word, doing that which is right in His sight. It is
faithfulness to God via good deeds. (cf. James 2:14-26) The idea is best summed
up in the words of Jesus when He said; "By their fruits you will know them ...
every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruits.... Not
everyone who says to me; "Lord, Lord" will be those over whom God (or Heaven)
rules, but the ones who DO the will of my Father in Heaven." (Matthew 7:16-21)
"Good fruits" are good works.
The Scriptures emphasized works above creeds or dogma. God considers actions to
be of more importance than beliefs. In Christianity beliefs became the central
demand. Deeds became less important than creeds. Though belief became the
priority and essence of Christianity, this idea was not practiced by Jesus or his
disciples. Jesus' emphasis always lay in doing the will of the Father. The Church
has come to judge people by beliefs plus the sacraments. The Father of
Protestantism, Martin Luther, in disagreement with the Church, (though not
because he placed more importance on good works), emphasized that belief alone,
without the sacraments, was what saved. In his pamphlet "Christian Liberty"
(published 1520); Luther declared, "Above all, understand what I have said, that
faith alone, without works, justifies, delivers, saves." (By faith he meant belief.)
What has been the result of this heresy? Millions of Christians are convinced that
in God's eyes, a person's conduct is less important than his beliefs. This mentality
has led to the development of the doctrine of eternal security prevalent in many
evangelical circles, and the "union" and "communion" theology, which is basically
identical to the former.
God is the Creator of Everything
Everything in the universe was created by God, and only by God. Judaism
completely rejects the dualistic notion that evil was created by a Satan or some
other deity. All comes from God. As Isaiah said, "I am the LORD, and there is
none else. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I am
the LORD that does all these things" (Isaiah 45:6-7).
God is Incorporeal
Although many places in scripture and the Talmud speak of various parts of God's
body (the Hand of God, God's wings, etc.) or speak of God in anthropomorphic
terms (God walking in the garden of Eden, God laying tefillin, etc.), Judaism
firmly maintains that God has no body. Any reference to God's body is simply a
figure of speech, a means of making God's actions more comprehensible to beings
living in a material world. Much of Maimonides’ ‘Guide for the Perplexed’ is
devoted to explaining each of these anthropomorphic references and proving that
they should be understood figuratively.
We are forbidden to represent God in a physical form. That is considered
idolatry. The sin of the Golden Calf incident was not that the people chose another
deity, but that they tried to represent God in a physical form.
God is Neither Male nor Female
This followed directly from the idea that God has no physical form. God has, of
course, no body; therefore, the very idea that God is male or female is patently
absurd. We refer to God using masculine terms simply for convenience's sake,
because Hebrew has no neutral gender; God is no more male than a table is.
Although we usually speak of God in masculine terms, there are times when we
refer to God using feminine terms. The Shechinah, the manifestation of God's
presence that fills the universe, is conceived of in feminine terms, and the word
Shechinah is a feminine word.
God is Omnipresent
God is always near for us to call upon and He sees all that we do, wherever we are.
Closely tied in with this is the idea that God is universal: He is not just the God of
the Jews, but the God of all nations.
On the subject of kingdom, take a look at Luke 17:21. “Neither shall they say, Lo
here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (KJV)
There has been a lot of confusion about the subject of the Kingdom of God. But to
the Jew, God has been mentioned/recognized as king regularly throughout Jewish
prayer books. There is a maxim in Judaism that any benediction that has no
reference to God’s divine kingship, is no benediction.
From the Jews point of view, and many Christians as well, God’s kingdom is
comprised of those who are ruled by Him. It should not be viewed as futuristic,
and furthermore, there is very little in the Bible that deals with the future. The
Bible mostly deals with the here and now.
Where is life? When you think about life, what do you think? To the Jew, life is in
the blood (Lev. 17:11). Further, Ezekiel 18:20 says, ‘the soul that sinneth shall
surely die.’
So when we see in Jewish law that an animal had to be sacrificed, its blood shed, to
pay for the sins of the sinner. We see death of an innocent as payment for the sins
of the sinner.
Yet we see at least two examples in the Bible of men who didn’t die. This implies
that they didn’t sin, although one could argue that point. But let’s suppose, that
those two men didn’t sin. Why couldn’t they have died on the cross for our sins?
The answer is, they had the corrupted blood of Adam.
When we look at the birth of Jesus, we see a human mother, but God is the father.
A fetus (baby) is fed, or nourished, by the mother through the placenta, which is
attached to the umbilical cord. In the placenta, the mother's blood and the fetal
blood both flow through vessels that are very close together, yet independent. The
mother's blood does not mix with the fetal blood. When the mother's blood is close
to the fetal blood, oxygen and nutrients move from the mother's blood into the fetal
blood.
As the blood flows through the fetus, it picks up waste products and returns to the
mother through the umbilical cord. The blood (with waste products from the fetus)
goes through the mother's lungs and liver, where waste products are removed.
In other words, Jesus’ blood was never tainted by the mothers. His blood was
divine.
The bible teaches also that God intended for all of us to be priests of God. In
Exodus 19:6 God told Moses that he wanted his people to be priests. But when the
people came to the foot of the mountain, they became afraid and high tailed it out
of there. Exodus 20:18. They told Moses, we’ll listen to you, but don’t have God
talk to us. But then look at the picture of the temple veil into the holy of holies
tearing in two upon the death of Jesus.