|
The
Redemption of Israel
In
November of 2001 the Vatican issued a 210 page report entitled The
Jewish People and the Holy Scriptures in the Christian Bible.
In this document the top theologians of the Roman Catholic Church have
made some significant paradigm shifts. Among other things the document "stresses the
continuing importance of the Torah for Christians," according to
an article in The Jewish Week.
According
to Eugene Fisher of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops:
|
"If you put off for the moment
that Jews will come to recognize Jesus as the Messiah until the end of
time, then we don't need to work or pray for the conversion of Jews to
Christianity. God
already has the salvation of the Jews figured out, and they accepted it
on Sinai, so they are OK. Jews are already with
the Father. We
do not have a mission to the Jews, but only a mission with the Jews to
the world. The Catholic Church will never again sanction an
organization devoted to the conversion of Jews. That is over, on
doctrinal, biblical and pastoral grounds. Finito!"
|
In
view of the Roman Catholic Church's theological biases, long history of
abuse and forced conversions, this new teaching is nothing short of
miraculous. The Catholic Church is actually citing "biblical"
grounds for this new teaching which has become official church
doctrine. It would appear that the spirit of God is even moving
within the Catholic Church.
I
have not yet read this book, because it has not yet been released in
English; so I have no idea how the Vatican came to such a startling
revelation. Nonetheless, let's just examine this issue and see
for ourselves what the Scriptures say about the Jews and salvation.
One
topic dominates the prophesies of the Bible; the redemption of
Israel. Few Christians really understand what redemption is. What exactly is
the redemption of Israel?
When salvation came to
Israel
Israel
received salvation from Egypt. This was both physical salvation
from slavery and spiritual salvation.
|
2The Lord
is my strength and might, and he has become my salvation: he is
my God, and I will glorify him; the God of my father, and I will exalt
him.
[Exodus 15:2]
|
At
Mount Sinai, the Lord sanctified Israel as His chosen people
and gave them the special blessing of His Torah.
|
4Hear,
O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your might. 6These words, which I
command you this day, shall be in your heart: 7And you
shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them
when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you
lie down, and when thou rise up. 8And you shall bind them
as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as a headband on your
forehead. 9You shall write them on the doorposts of your
house, and on your gates.
[Deuteronomy 6:4-9]
|
|
6You
are a holy people to the Lord your God: the Lord your
God has chosen you to be a special people to himself, above all people
that are on the face of the earth.
[Deuteronomy 7:6]
|
The lost sheep of the
House of Israel
After
the death of Solomon the Kingdom of Israel was split into two
kingdoms. The northern kingdom (consisting of ten tribes with a
small remnant from the other three tribes) was known as the House of
Israel. The southern kingdom (consisting of three tribes with a
small remnant from the other ten tribes) was known as the House of
Judah. [See the related article: Judaism, Christianity
and the Mystery of the Lost Ten Tribes]
The
nation of Israel had obtained salvation from Egypt, but when the House
of Israel separated from the House of Judah they threw their salvation
away. To reclaim their inheritance as the Lord's chosen
people, the House of Israel would have to be redeemed. Because
the House of Israel rejected the God of their fathers, they were taken
into captivity and scattered among the nations of the earth. They
lost all knowledge of their true identity; thus becoming the "lost
sheep of the House of Israel." The House of Judah, on the other
hand, remained (more or less) faithful to God and received a
special blessing from God. They were preserved for a
special purpose.
|
....for I
will have no mercy on the House of Israel; but I will cast them
completely away. 7But I will have mercy on the
House of Judah, and I
will save them. I will not save them by bow, or
sword, or by battle, or horses, or cavalry, but by the
Lord their God.
[Hosea 1:6b-7]
|
Because
Judah would retain the knowledge of the Lord, they would be
preserved, but Israel would be lost. Look at what else Hosea says:
|
4The Lord said to him, "Name him
Yezreel [Yah will sow or scatter], because in a short
time I will avenge the blood of Yezreel upon the house of Yehu, and
will cause the kingdom of the House of Israel to cease. 5The
time will come that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of
Yezreel."
6And she conceived again, and gave birth
to a daughter. And the Lord said to him, "Name her Loruhamah [no
mercy]: for I will have no mercy on the House of
Israel; but I will cast them completely away. 7But I
will have mercy on the House of Judah, and I will save them. I will
not save them by bow, or sword, or by battle, or horses, or cavalry,
but by the Lord their God."
8When she had weaned Loruhamah, she
conceived, and gave birth to a son. 9Then the Lord
said, "Name him Loammi [not my people]: for you are not
my people, and I will not be your God. 10Yet the number
of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot
be measured nor numbered; and the time will come that in the place
where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there it will be
said to them, 'You are the children of the living God. 11Then
the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together,
and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the
land: for great shall be the day of Yezreel.
[Hosea 1:4-11]
|
The
Jews retained the knowledge of God but Israel lost it and thus the
House of Israel was destroyed just as it is written:
|
6My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected
knowledge, I will also reject you from serving in my priesthood.
Because you have forgotten the Torah of your God, I will also forget
your children.
[Hosea 4:6]
|
But
even though he exiled Israel, and even though Israel lost its identity,
the Lord promised to gather them again.
|
You will
find me, says the Lord, and I will reverse your exile. I will
gather you from all the nations, and from all the places to which I
have banished you, says the Lord. I will bring you back
to the place from which I exiled you.
[Jeremiah 29:14]
|
You
see, it was the House of Israel that was cut off while the House of
Judah was saved. The House of Israel was lost and thus needs to
be redeemed. This is why Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph (a.k.a. Jesus)
said:
|
22You don't know what you worship, but we do know
what we worship; for salvation is from the Jews.
[John 4:22]
|
You
see, salvation is FROM the Jews, not TO
the Jews because they do know what they worship. Yes,
yes, I know the argument that this is referring to Rabbi Joshua ben
Joseph coming from the Jews; but why then didn't he say "salvation
comes from me"? When you look at the Tanakh (Old Testament) you find
that the prophets paint a much different picture. The redemption
of Israel (not Judah) plays a pivotal role in most of the prophecies of
the Tanakh.
Look
at what Paul says about the Jews:
|
1What
advantage does the Jew have? or of what benefit is circumcision?
2Very much indeed! Because it was to the Jews
that the Oral Law was committed. 3So what if some did not
believe? Does their lack of belief cancel out the faith of God? 4Absolutely
not! Let God be true, and every man a liar -- as it it written,
"....that you [God] may be justified when you speak, and clear when you
judge."
[Romans 3:1-4 Paul quotes from Psalm 51:4]
|
Who did Rabbi Joshua
ben Joseph (Jesus) come to save anyway?
Let's
see what Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph said:
|
21Joshua [Jesus] left that place and
went off to the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A
Canaanite woman from that same region pleaded with him, saying, "Have
mercy on me, my lord. Son of David! My daughter is being troubled by
evil spirits." 23But he did not say a word to her. Then his
disciples came and begged him, "Send her away because she keeps
pestering us." 24He said, "I have been sent only to
the lost sheep of the House of Israel." 25Then
she came and bowed herself to the ground and said, "My lord, help me." 26But
he answered her, "It is not appropriate to take the children's bread
and give it to the dogs." 27Then she answered back, "True, my lord, but the
dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table. 28Then
Joshua [Jesus] answered her, "Woman, your faith is great. Let your
desire be granted." And her daughter was heal at that very moment.
[Matthew 15:21-28]
|
Notice,
it is to the LOST SHEEP of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL that Messiah Joshua ben
Joseph was sent.
Though
Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph came only for the "lost sheep of the House of
Israel," it is clear that he taught only Jews. What is the connection
here? The answer to this question becomes obvious when you look at who
it was that Rabbi Joshua taught. First, he taught a core group of very
devout Jews who would carry his teachings to the House of Israel.
Secondly, he taught sinners.
|
16And
when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with tax collectors and
sinners, they said to his disciples, "How is it that he eats and drinks
with tax collectors and sinners?" 17When Joshua
[Jesus] heard this, he said to them, "It is not they who are healthy
who need the physician, but they who are sick. I came not to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
[Mark 2:16-17]
|
|
10While
Joshua [Jesus] was in the house eating, many tax collectors and sinners
came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11When the
Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your rabbi
eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12But Joshua heard
what they asked and answered them, "They who are healthy do not need a
physician, only they who are sick. 13As for you, go and
learn what this means, 'I will have mercy and not sacrifice.' I did not
come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
[Matthew 9:10-13]
|
As
you see, Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph did not come to save those who were
living by Torah -- he came to save the sinners. Who were these
sinners? The term "sinner" was used by the Pharisees to refer to the "Hellenikos"
(Hellenized Jews who had rejected Torah observance and turned to Greek
teachings). By rejecting the Torah of God these Hellenikos
had actually gone the way of the House of Israel, thus becoming a part
of the "lost sheep of the House of Israel" and needing to be redeemed.
By Paul's definition, these Hellenikos could not legitimately
call themselves "Jews" unless they first repented. (Romans 2:29)
They needed to return to Torah observance just as Rabbi Joshua taught:
|
19Whoever,
therefore, breaks even the least of the commandments, and teaches
others to break them will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:
but whoever does them and teaches them, will be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.
[Matthew 5:19]
|
[See the teaching on the Least of the
Commandments]
To whom did Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph send his
disciples?
|
5Joshua
[Jesus] instructed these twelve as he sent them out: "Do not go into
the territory of the gentiles; and do not go into any city of the
Samaritans. 6Go, rather, to the lost sheep of the
House of Israel. 7As you go, proclaim: The
kingdom of Heaven is near.
[Matthew 10:5-7]
|
The
apostle Peter indicates that the believers - the followers of Messiah
Joshua ben Joseph - are the lost sheep of the House of Israel by
alluding to Hosea 1:6-10:
|
10Which
in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which
had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
[1 Peter 2:10]
|
Who
did Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph die for? The lost sheep, of course!
|
6We
have all gone astray like sheep. Every one of us
has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid the iniquity
of all of us on him.
[Isaiah 53:6]
|
After
the resurrection what was the most pressing question in the minds of
Rabbi Joshua's disciples?
|
6When
they were all gathered together, they asked of him, Lord,
will you at this time restore the Kingdom of Israel? 7And
he answered them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons,
which the Father has put in his own power.
[Acts 1:6-7]
|
Do
Jews need to accept Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph as their Messiah? No!
Those Jews who live a Torah observant lifestyle do not have to accept
Messiah Joshua ben Joseph because they have not been lost.
Messiah ben David will come and save all of Israel (both houses) from
its enemies. This is a "physical salvation" -- not a "spiritual
salvation." It is Israel that must be spiritually saved, not
Judah! Many Jews, however, were forced to convert to Christianity
during the Spanish Inquisition and at other times and too have become
lost. They do need to accept the real teachings of
Messiah ben Joseph (by embracing a strict Torah lifestyle as he taught)
and reject the mythological "Jesus."
Those
who do not live a Torah observant lifestyle (who have not
internalized the Torah), have not been saved, even as it is written:
|
31Look!
The days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel, and with the
House of Judah: 32Not according to the covenant that I made
with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring
them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant even though I was
a husband to them, says the Lord.
33But this is the covenant that I will make with the House of Israel at
that time, says the Lord, I will put my Torah
into their very being, and write it in their hearts; and
will be their God, and they will be my people. 34No longer
will every man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, Know the
Lord because they will all know me, from the least of them to the
greatest of them, says the Lord and I will forgive their
transgressing of my Torah, and I will not remember their sin anymore.
[Jeremiah 31:31-34 & Hebrews 8:8-12]
|
Notice
that it is not the House of Judah that needs the Torah written in their
hearts. The House of Judah (Orthodox Judaism) already has the Torah
written in their hearts. It is the House of Israel which will
have the Torah written in their hearts. It is the Lost Sheep of
the House of Israel that Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph came to bring to
redemption, not the House of Judah. In the last days the Lost Ten
Tribes (Christians mostly) that have been scattered throughout the
earth will come to the Jews to learn about Torah just as it is written:
|
23This
is what the Lord of
hosts says, In those days, ten men, speaking all the languages of the
nations, will take hold of the kanaf [the corner where the tzit-tzit
is tied] of a Jew and say, We will go with you,
because we have heard that God is with you.
[Zechariah 8:23]
|
Most
Rabbis are mistaken in their understanding of this verse. Because the
ten men are speaking gentile languages, they assume that these are
gentiles. If this was a prophesy about gentiles it would have been
seventy men not ten. Ten men is a very clear reference to the ten lost
tribes who were scattered among the nations and who lost their
language, their identity, and their God.
Teshuva
and Redemption for the House of Israel
Teshuva
is the Hebrew word for repentance. It means to "return" to God.
|
6I
am the Lord I do not
change. This is why you descendants of Jacob have not become extinct. 7Since
the days of your fathers you have turned from my laws, and have not
kept them. Return to me, and
I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts....
[Malachi 3:6-7a]
|
Redemption
was promised to a wayward Israel from the very beginning.
|
1One
day when all these things befall you -- the blessing and curse that I
have set before you -- and you take them to heart amidst the various
nations to which the Lord your God has banished you, 2and you
return to the Lord your God, and you and your children heed
his command with all your heart and soul, according to all that I
command you this day, 3then the Lord your God will bring an end to your banishment
and have compassion on you. He will gather you together again from all
the nations to which the Lord your God has scattered you. 4Even
if you have been driven beyond the horizon. The Lord your God will gather you from there,
and from there he will fetch you. 5 The Lord
your God will bring you into
the land which your ancestors possessed, and you shall possess it. He
will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your ancestors. 6
The Lord your God will open your heart, and the hearts of
your children, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul, in order that you may live.
[Deuteronomy 30:1-6]
|
Look
at all the haggadot (parables) of Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph. These are
teachings about the redemption of the House of Israel and the
restoration of the Kingdom of Israel. Look at what Rabbi Joshua says in
the parable of the prodigal son:
|
11He said, A certain man had two sons. 12The
younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of the
inheritance that will come to me. So he divided his wealth between
them. 13Shortly after that the younger son gathered
everything together, and traveled to a distant country, and began to
waste his substance with riotous living. 14When he had
spent all of it a great famine came upon that land and he had not means
of support.
15He hired himself out to a citizen of
that country, and his employer sent him into his fields to feed the
pigs. 16No one gave him anything to eat and he would have
gladly filled his belly with the husks that the pig ate.
17When he came to
his senses, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have more
than enough bread to eat while I perish with hunger? 18I
will return to my father and say to him, Father, I have sinned against
heaven and before you. 19I am not even worthy to be called
your son. Let me be one of your hired servants. 20So he
returned to his father; but when he was still a long way off, his
father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and embraced him and
kissed him. 21The son said, Father, I have sinned against
heaven and before you. I am not even worthy to be called your son. 22But
the father said to his servants, Go get the best clothes and put them
on him; and put a ring on his finger, and shoes on his feet. 23Go
get the fattened calf and butcher it; and let us eat and celebrate; 24because
this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he
is found. And they began to celebrate.
25Now the older son was
out working in the field and when he came near to the house he heard
music and dancing. 26He called to one of the servants and
asked what was going on. 27The servant said to him, Your
brother has returned and your father has butchered the fattened calf
because he has received him back safe and sound. 28He was
angry and would not go in, so his father came out and talked to him.
Answering his father, he said, 29Look Father, haven't I
been faithful all these years, and haven't I obeyed your every word?
And yet you never even butchered so much as a goat for me, that I might
celebrate with my friends. 30But as soon as this
son of yours, who has wasted your wealth on prostitutes, comes home,
you butcher a fattened calf for him! The father replied, 31Son,
you are always with me and everything that I have is
yours. 32It was right that we should celebrate and be glad,
because this brother of yours was dead, and is alive again. He was lost,
but now he is found.
[Luke 15:11-32]
|
In
this haggadah (this story), the older son, who always obeys his fathers
instructions (Torah), is the House of Judah (Judaism). And the
Father says, "Son, you are always with me and everything that I have is
yours." So Judah is singled out by God as special in
the Messianic Kingdom:
|
10Sing
and rejoice, daughter of Zion! Look, I will come and I will live among
you, says the Lord.
11Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people:
and I will live among you, and you shall know that the Lord
of hosts has sent me to you.
12And the Lord shall inherit Judah as his portion
in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
[Zechariah 2:10-12]
|
The
younger son, who wastes his money on prostitutes (idolatry: Hosea 1:2)
is the House of Israel (Christianity). I am speaking in general terms
here because not all of lost Israel are Christians and not all
Christians are lost Israel, but lost Israel tends to be predominantly
Christian. See the "parable of the tares" in the Gospel of Matthew:
[Also see the related article: The Sign of the Cross]
|
24He
put before them another haggadah: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man
who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everyone
slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, then went away. 26When
the wheat sprouted and formed heads of grain, the weeds also appeared. 27The
owner's servants came to him and asked, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed
in your field? Where did these weeds come from?' 28He
answered, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants asked, 'Do you want us
to go and pull them up?' 29But he said, 'No, because while
you are pulling weeds you might also pull the wheat up. 30Let
them grow together until the harvest. Then at harvest time I will tell
the reapers gather the weeds up first and tie them in bundles and burn
them, but gather the wheat into my barn.
[Matthew 13:24-30]
|
He
also taught this:
|
21"Not
every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven requires. 22On
that Day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your
name? Didn't we cast out demons in your name? Didn't we do many
miracles in you name?' 23Then I will tell them to their
faces, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness
[you who violate the Torah].
[Matthew 7:21-23]
|
The
point is this, Israel must return to the Father (God) and He can
be found where the Jews are (Judaism) because they dwell in his house.
|
My people
have been lost sheep. Their shepherds [pastors?]
have caused them to go astray. They have turned them loose in the
mountains. As they have wandered from mountain to hill, they have
forgotten where their home is.
[Jeremiah 50:6]
|
Restoration of the
Kingdom of Israel
Finally
the House of Israel will be redeemed and reunited with the House of
Judah just as the prophet said:
|
15The word of the Lord came to me: 16And you, son of man,
take a stick, and write on it, "For Judah, and for the children of
Israel associated with him." Then take another stick, and write on it,
"For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel
associated with him." 17Join them together as one stick;
and they shall become one in your hand. 18When any of your
people ask you, Won't you explain to us what you mean by this? 19Say
to them, This is what the Lord
God says: See, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the
hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and put
it with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be
one in my hand. 20Hold the sticks that you write on so that
they can see them; 21then say to them, "This is what the Lord God says: See, I
will take the children of Israel out of the nations that they have gone
to, and I will gather them from every quarter and bring them into their
own land. 22I will make them a single nation in the land,
on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king over them all.
They shall never again be two nations, nor shall they ever again be
divided into two kingdoms."
[Ezekiel 37:15-22]
|
ADDENDUM
A friend of mine just discovered a link to the English
version of the Pontifical Biblical Commission's 210 page report:
The Jewish People and the Holy Scriptures in the Christian Bible.
I had mentioned this report in the first paragraph of this page (which
was written long before the English version of the Vatican report was
released). There is still a lot of ignorance being displayed on the
part of the Vatican's top theologians in this report, which paints all
Pharisees with one brush. I am surprised since the Catholic
Encyclopedia gives some very good insight into the two dominant schools
of the Pharisees in its article on Shammai.
This article also cites other Catholic theologians who believe that
Jesus' condemnation of the Pharisees was limited to those of the School
of Shammai. Apparently the Vatican's own researchers did not
look at what the Catholic Encyclopedia had to say. On the
positive side, however, there is also a lot of rethinking that is going
on in the Vatican and this report has some surprising statements in
it.
This report has also caused a firestorm among the
rabidly anti-Semitic factions within the Catholic Church as well as the
rabidly anti-Semitic factions in Protestant Christianity.
I
see this move by the Vatican as a significant step which may cause many
within the Catholic Church to begin to look at the scriptures with new
insight. Two years ago my brother met a (high ranking) Catholic
nun in Israel who considered herself to be a Messianic Jew.
She attended a Messianic congregation every Shabbat. Yes
folks, the redemption is beginning.
[Home Page]
Comments:
B"H
Dear Shomeir,
I read this article, among others on your site, with great interest.
I converted to Orthodox Judaism fourteen years ago. I don't regret it,
for it was my path to Torah. The conflict was what to do with Yeshua.
So that became an issue I quietly put on the shelf.
Your article speaks to me about what occurred within myself, how I was
drawn to Torah. As I read I realized Mashiach Ben YOSEF came for the
lost sheep of Israel, and I was one of them! I'm telling you this
almost in tears. How many years in the church I learned those passages
without understanding!
My father, a Baptist minister, always said that the Prophets could not
be seen only in the future. And I see what he means in this, as I see
G-d's hand moving throughout history, bringing us all to the climax of
the Redemption for all mankind.
The idea of the Tribes has come to me many times over the years. Each
time I've learned a bit and set it aside. The last two summers I went
to India and Asia. One day in prayer I got Rachel crying for her
children so strongly... I had an idea: Kashmir, Afghanistan, Pakistan,
etc. This thing is so BIG. But I returned to Israel and again set it
aside.
Then one day I happened to meet an Australian woman in Jerusalem at an
e-mail cafe. She started talking to me, and we instantly connected. She
told me she was an Ephraimite. Over the next days she took me to meet
Yair Davidy...... I was amazed. These things had been whirling inside
me for years, but without definition. I was accused many times of
chasing legends. But yet... I knew there was something.
.....We've come to realize the prophecy about the rejoining of the
tribes reaches from one end of the Bible to the other. They're leaping
off the pages at us. And we've come to see that Mashiach comes
AFTERWARDS. That was quite a revelation!
Shalom,
M.....
Shalom,
I was raised non-Jewish but I recognize (and have been told) that I
have a Jewish soul. I am in the process of returning to the G-d of
Yisrael and the Torah.
I walked away from Christianity about 5 years ago, made my way thru
Messianic Judaism and Messianic Israel for a while but came to realize
that I needed to be learning Torah from Judah..... ....and now am
finding my roots watered and my soul nourished with a warm loving group
of Orthodox here in the city where I live. I knew I had come to the end
of what Ephraim was able to teach me. I was hungry and thirsty for much
more. I am sitting under an amazing Rabbi's teaching and tutoring
presently.
I am now in intense Hebrew study, as well as, a personal quest to find
out exactly who and what Y'shua really truly is. Your articles and
thoughts have only served to confirm what H" is trying to make clear to
me. I am still very much in the process of trying to grasp this
understanding. I have no agenda and I want no man's agenda. I only want
truth. I want to know who H" says Y'shua is...what his true appearance
here on earth was for.
I am not sure where this is going to ultimately lead me. I know I
cannot ever go back to Christianity. The Messianic movement presently
just frustrates and stresses me out with all their discord and ever
changing faces.....perhaps it will evolve and gain focus and clarity in
time. I find a depth, quietness, timelessness and steadiness in the
Orthodox Judaism I see here that is also very spiritually minded and
hungry for truth and to see H"s spirit move--maybe this is an unusual
group here....
...I am looking to hear more insights and teachings coming forth in the
days ahead from you.
Shalom,
Rivka
Thank you so much
for this article. I just love it and will have to chew on it a bit but
it hits a chord of Scripture I have learned thus far.
I am enjoying your
insights.
Shalom,
Lynn
i have been coming
to this conclusion on my own, actually (praise God!), but i have some
questions even for myself as i have inquired about this very issue.
when i have more time, i would like to present them to you, also some
further observations that i am throwing around in my mind that seem in
line with what you are saying here.... thanks for your courage to speak
truth... blessings, Cherie K
Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 6:17 PM
To: Shomeir@AlphaMall.com
Subject: MJAA page from Debra L
I thought you might be interested in this page
http://mjaa.org/position/eph_brf.html
Reply:
Debra,
Thanks! This was very enlightening. MJAA seems to be pretty much at
odds, on the history of Israel, with the Talmud and other rabbinic
sources that state in no uncertain terms that Israel did become
gentile. There was even the belief that the ten tribes of Israel were
lost permanently and would not be redeemed.
From Everyman's Talmud by Rabbi Abraham Cohen,
page 354:
Another
confirmed belief was that the Messiah would effect the reunion of the
tribes of Israel. While we find the teaching, 'The ten tribes will have
no share in the World to Come' (Tosifta Sanh. XIII. 12), the Talmud
usually takes the opposite view. By appealing to such texts as Is.
xxviii. 13 and Jer. iii. 12, the Ribbis enunciated the doctrine of the
return of the lost ten tribes (Sanh. 110b).
See the current revision of my article "Must the
Jews be Saved?" at:
http://www.bnai-el-chai.com/redemption.htm
Yair Davidy cites where rabbinic sources list
England and France as places that some of the lost ten tribes ended up.
Much of this information may also be found online at: http://www.britam.org
Shomeir
Todah rabah but you are "preaching at the choir",
so to speak. I am a ger Tsedek. A little backslidden, but I'm working
on it (teshuvah). And HK"BH is not through with me yet. Thanks alot
and, good to 'meet you' so to speak.
Zechariah 8:23
Thus saith the L-RD of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that
ten
men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, shall
even take
hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying: We will go with you,
for we
have heard that G-d is with you.'
David B
|
Help this ministry with a tax deductible donation.
Click on the button below
|
|