|
Messiahpage.com's Assertion:
Christians/Hebrew-Christians claim that the Jews "rejected" Jesus!
Sorry, you can believe whatever you want to believe. However, don't use our book and rewrite the story, then tell us that we are stiff necked and blinded to see the truth.
The group that we Jews would like to expose is the "Messianic/Hebrew-Christian" movement. This group does fall under the Christian Umbrella. In many cases it is supported, staffed and funded by Christian Missionaries!
|
Messianic Judaism's Response:
Put as delicately and respectfully as possible in response to the overwhelming sarcasm on your site, NOBODY has "re-written your book" - we merely recognized the fact that the God-promised New Covenant arrived via Yeshua HaMoschiach - God Incarnate!
Why sugar-coat and pussyfoot around? Just tell it like it is: you did REJECT your Messiah! The fact that He was foreshadowed throughout the Tanach and you REFUSE to see that, means that you ARE blinded to the truth. You are blinded to the fact that Yeshua was foreshadowed throughout the Tanach. You are blinded to the fact that He met EVERY ONE of the qualifications to be the Jewish Messiah. And, you are blinded to the fact that Yeshua was the final SIN sacrifice who died in your place so that you could have eternal life.
You rejected Him and all He stood for! Instead, you and those who you manage to pull back into the "fold" have made laughingstocks out of yourselves in the eyes of the world by waiting for the very mortal Rabbi Schneerson to raise from the dead. Just for the record: How many times did Schneerson walk on water, drive out demons, raise people from the dead (Isaiah 53:11), or turn water into wine? Was Schneerson, as the Tanach says, REJECTED, unappreciated, a man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3-5)? Was he a Covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6, 49:8)? Was his life a guilt offering (Isaiah 53:10)?
- Micah 5:2 says the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem.
- Isaiah 7:14 speaks of an extraordinary birth for the Messiah that will be a sign to the people.
- Daniel 9:24-25 indicates the Messiah will be killed before the destruction of the Second Temple and Jerusalem in 70 CE.
- Isaiah 49:6 declares that the Messiah will come for both Jews and non-Jews.
Please read the following article on The Refiner's Fire: How can Yeshua be the Messiah? He is not what Jewish tradition is looking for.
|
My wife, who is Christian, never encouraged me to seek G-d outside of my Jewish faith. This was my decision alone.
|
Messianic Judaism's Response:
That's really a shame because, people who have the Holy Spirit residing in them will not only WANT to share Yeshua, but they are commanded to do so. By not bothering to "sow the seeds" of salvation that only Yeshua can bring, your wife has possibly helped seal your fate of an eternity separated from God:
Romans 10:14: But how can they call on someone is they haven't trusted in him? And how can they trust in someone if they haven't heard about him? And how can they hear about someone if no one is proclaiming him?
Those who are "tolerant" of any other belief besides the salvation of Yeshua, are "lukewarm" and will be spit out of Yeshua's mouth when He returns (Revelation 3:16).
Messianic Jews and Gentiles MUST evangelize! We evangelize because we are being obedient! God is not thundering from the mountain or from a burning bush anymore; He uses Messianic believers and Christians to accomplish His task of getting the Word to the "Elect". People hear our teaching because the Spirit of truth reveals its glory, and opens the understanding of the Word to them.
Many hear - but like the owner and web master of Messiahpage.com who heard and rejected - only some receive what they hear....
|
Reasons "Why Jesus Didn't Qualify." In the Jewish bible the concept of Messiah - and it is a Jewish concept - is a construct. We put the pieces of this puzzle together. In the Jewish bible the G-d tells us that the following will take place in order for us to recognize Messiah.
- There will be world-wide peace.
- There will be a world-wide recognition of G-d.
- The Temple will be restored in Jerusalem.
- We have a descendant of King David who will be ruling at this time.
- The Jewish people will be re-gathered in Israel.
So when these items that G-d tells us about in the Jewish bible take place, the person who is ruling in Jerusalem at that time, as the anointed King, that is the individual that we have come to call the Messiah.
There is NO verse in the Jewish bible that says "the Messiah will be," or that "this person will be the Messiah." It doesn't exist anywhere! In fact the only verse that refers to "the Messiah" is one that refers to Aaron, the brother of Moses. So if anybody was to say, "well here is the verse that says 'the Messiah will be,'" It DOESN'T exist!
So, when the person comes along, and Jesus wasn't the first person who came along and claimed to be Messiah, because there were many people before him not to mention many people since. How do we know whether or not one of them was the Messiah? Do we just take their word for it? Or do we go back to the Jewish bible and look at the "job description" that G-d gave us, and say "O.K., fantastic" if you fit; and if you do not, thank you for applying for the job, but you know, we will wait for the real thing!
|
Messianic Judaism's Response:
You've already passed up "the real thing" - the One who met ALL the "qualifications"! The above comments are thoroughly answered at The Refiner's Fire's challenge to Rabbi Shraga Simmons' Anti-Yeshua Assertions.
|
The Genealogy Problem of Jesus: According to the Jewish bible Jesus doesn't qualify as being Messiah. This is explained in detail on this web site in "Why Jesus Didn't Qualify." Even if Jesus qualified in every other aspect and fulfilled all other conditions, the bottom line is: Through the genealogy alone, forget that he did not bring peace, forget the fact that there is no world-wide recognition of G-d, forget the fact that the Jews are still dispersed and forget the fact that there is no restored Temple in Jerusalem. Based on the Genealogy ALONE, Jesus doesn't qualify!
|
Messianic Judaism's Response:
Oh yes, He does! Check out the following links:
|
The translation of the word Alma - Virgin vs. Young woman....the word Alma is properly translated as young woman NOT Virgin! There is a word in Hebrew for Virgin, and it is Betula.
Christians claim that Isaiah 53 paints the clearest picture that there is of the life, suffering and death of Jesus.
Concerning Messianic Jews, Hebrew-Christians, and Jews for Jesus, Messiahpage.com makes some of the following assertions:
This takes the cake! Finding anything Jewish about this group is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. With trying to sell the Jewish/Christian that they can be both Jewish and believe in Jesus, in actuality their goal is to - Bring Jews to the Church!
Their trained missionaries are made up of former Jews who converted and non-Jews who at times may dress the part as Jews staff their organization. The wearing of Yalmukas by both (converted Jews and Christians) when standing on the street corners of New York handing out literature and wearing Jews for Jesus T-shirts, may keep approximately 4" of their heads warm but it does not make them Jewish!
The practice of DECEPTION is used here! When a Christian or a converted Jew uses Jewish symbols to appear Jewish for the purpose of attracting and ultimately bringing Jews to Jesus/Yeshua what else can we call it?
|
Messianic Judaism's Response:
WHO is using DECEPTION"? WHO is ignoring the "other half" of the Bible - the part that contains God's promised "New Covenant"? WHO is keeping the Jews from having eternal life??? The answer is: Messiahpage.com; Jews for Judaism; Outreach Judaism, and all those anti-missionary "wannabe's" on the 'net whose hateful, cruel, and malicious comments exude the very sin natures that Yeshua came to save us from!
Our response is at Challenging: A Guide to Missionary Tactics
|
...Did Moses receive both the Written and Oral laws from G-d at Mt. Sinai? Beyond that did he receive the Oral law from G-d or was it from the Rabbis?
Most people if asked, "what did Moses and the Jewish people get at Mount Sinai?" would answer that they received the two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments. This answer, however, is simply based on the movie the Ten Commandments, and the Torah itself has a completely different account!
In the book of Exodus, directly preceding the events at Mount Sinai, the Torah recounts, "The Almighty said to Moses, 'Come up to Me, on the mountain, and I shall give you the STONE TABLETS, the TORAH, and the COMMANDMENT, which I have written, IN ORDER TO TEACH THEM." (Exodus 24:12) This is certainly much more than just stone tablets! But what exactly is everything here?
|
Messianic Judaism's Response:
You're reading something into that passage that isn't there! Did you notice the words "which I have WRITTEN"? If it was written, then WHERE did that leave room for the "oral law"?
According to Stern's Complete Jewish Bible Exodus 24:12 says: ADONAI said to Moshe, "Come up to me on the mountain, and stay there. I will give you the stone tablets with the Torah and the Mitzvot I have written on them, so that you can teach them."
The NIV says: 12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."
The NASB says: 12 Now the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction."
The King James says: 12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
For argument's sake - because Carl at Messiahpage.com seems insist that the written Torah could not be interpreted without an oral Torah, let's check out a sampling of what the Talmud says (commentary on Mishna/Oral Law) - and then ask yourselves if these ideas could possibly have come from God!
- Sanhedrin 54b says "If a man commits sodomy with a boy less than nine years old, he is not guilty of sodomy."
- Schabouth Hag. 6d says "Jews may swear falsely by use of subterfuge wording."
- Choschen Hamm 388, 15 says "If it can be proven that someone has given the money of Israelites to the Goyim, a way must be found after prudent consideration to wipe him off the face of the earth."
- Abodah Zarah 27b: "It is forbidden to be healed by a Christian."
Comments such as these came not from God, but from a FEW ancient rabbis who, with their limited, human mindsets, tried to understand and interpret the WRITTEN Word of God - but yet traditional Jews have jumped on the Talmud bandwagon and accept it as pure Gospel. As one rabbi said: "Tradition has it that the Torah was given in two parts: oral and written." (Note the word "tradition"....)
So, what happened with human traditions and interpretations? God's Word was twisted, the Sabbath was turned into a burden, and Kabbalah (the study of Jewish mysticism) was born - despite the fact that God, throughout the Tanach, voices His displeasure of magic, witchcraft, divination, and astrology. Even some Satanists are into Kabbalah!
Many Gentiles (especially those who don't like Jews) have tried to use the Talmud as a weapon against them. What they fail to realize is, the Talmud is nothing more than an interpretation by ancient rabbis who tried to figure out (with the limited knowledge of those ancient times) God's instruction to man. Talmud is NOT God's Word! The BIBLE is the ONLY Word of God!
The Bible tells us that Moses wrote down EVERYTHING - which does NOT leave room for an "oral law":
Exodus 24:3-7: 3 "Moshe came and told the people everything Adonai had said, including all the rulings. The people answered with one voice: 'We will obey every word Adonai has spoken.' 4 Moshe wrote down all the words of Adonai... 7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it aloud, so that the people could hear; and they responded, 'Everything that Adonai has spoken, we will do and obey.'"
FINAL COMMENT FROM THE REFINER'S FIRE:
2 Timothy 4:3-5: 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Hosea 4:6 - My people are destroyed for want of knowledge. Because you rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as cohen for me. Because you forgot the Torah of your God, I will also forget your children.
Luke 11:52 - "Woe to you Torah experts! For you have taken away the key of knowledge! Not only did you yourselves not go in, you also have stopped those who were trying to enter!"
YESHUA is the ONLY ONE who has met, or ever will meet all the qualifications of Messiah - and neither Messiahpage.com nor any other "anti-missionary" entity will ever be able to prove otherwise!
It is our most fervent prayer that God's Chosen will wake up and realize that their Messiah has come before and is about to return for the second time. And this time EVERYBODY will realize it, because the Bible tells us that EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10)....
Halleluyah!
|
|
