|
Dear Thomas,
I've been purposely taking my time responding to this particular email because I was rather offended by it, and I even consulted someone from my network to see what he thought. And the bottom line was, he felt exactly the same way as I: Your email sounds extremely anti-Semitic and so, no matter what I might say, it will be a waste of time, because your mind is completely made up. Anyone who says Romans 11 is not talking about Israel when Rav Shaul himself elsewhere identified himself with Israel as a tribe of Benjamin, doesn't "get it" and isn't going to "get it" and therefore I will not be corresponding with you after this because I don't have time to argue. The Scriptures are perfectly clear. How others interpret them is not my problem....
You said: God NEVER was primarily concerned about genetics. He wanted, and wants, a heart relationship. The Pharisees thought that merely being born a Jew meant a superior status, and that never was, and never will be the truth. Just ask those of the first generation who could not enter the promised land.
If He was never "concerned about genetics" then WHY did He CHOOSE Abraham and why is the entire Bible about Israel and the Jews? Why didn't He choose Joe-Blow paganistic Gentile and make the promises to him? In case you missed it, YHWH NEVER made His "New Covenant" with the Christians or the Gentiles; He made it with the Houses of Israel and Judah:
Jeremiah 31: 30 “Here, the days are coming,” says ADONAI, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Isra’el and with the house of Y’hudah.
YHWH did not make a "new covenant" with the Gentiles because He did not have an "old covenant" with the Gentiles! He did, however, extend His grace and mercy to the Gentiles who, once they become believers in Yeshua, automatically become part of Isra’el. Being "grafted in" does not in any way suggest you've "replaced" Israel or that Israel and the Jews are a bunch of undeserving dirtbags.
You said:God already gave Israel a second chance to repent and to faithfully exercise their calling. They did not, but instead participated in the crucifixion of Christ. Apart from repentance, there is no hope for them or anyone else, as well.
Since when are Gentiles and Christians so "righteous"? That's what you are implying here! Throughout the Bible there isn't much good said about the Gentiles except that they're godless heathens and pagans....As a sinner, Thomas, YOU participated in the crucifixion!! YOUR SINS nailed YESHUA to the cross! Please tell me exactly where in the Bible says that the "crowd" on crucifixion day consisted only of Jews who wanted Yeshua dead?" A "crowd" is a crowd. We don't know who was there and to pin the whole shmear on the Jews alone is just assinine! If Yeshua HADN'T died that day, YOU would certainly be in a world of hurt, wouldn't you? You sure wouldn't be sitting there all high and mighty pointing your fingers at the Jews. How arrogant!
Matthew 27: 15 Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.
WHO NAILED Him to the cross? WHO CRUCIFIED Him and gave Him bitter gall to drink while He was hanging on the cross? It wasn't "the Jews" - it was the GENTILE PAGAN ROMANS who tortured, spit on, flogged, and mocked our Savior - not "the Jews"! Read further down in Matthew:
Matthew 27: 27 Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
The fact is, our SIN nailed Yeshua to the cross! He WILLINGLY died. If He hadn't we would ALL be heading to hell. Thank God the people in that crowd wanted Him dead, because He HAD to die so that we could live and He could fulfill His reason for coming in the first place: to be our FINAL SIN SACRIFICE! If it wasn't for the Jews YOU and the rest of the pagan world would never even have heard of YHWH or Yeshua! So rather than to talk against the Jews, I suggest you re-read your Bible and get yourself right with God because anyone who goes up against His Chosen will incur His wrath (Gen. 12:3). Try expending some energy on leading them to Yeshua instead of bashing them. As much as it pains me to say this, you're the "typical Christian"....
Romans 11:11-12: "But I say: Have they so stumbled as to fall entirely? May it never be! Rather, by their stumbling, life has come to the Gentiles for (awakening) their jealousy. And if their stumbling was riches to the world, and their condemnation riches to the Gentiles; how much more their completeness?"
As to your other e-mail, you said:
Personally, I have no problem with using the Hebrew name, although I don’t see what is wrong with translating it into English, but I wouldn’t have a problem with that.
Well, since your name is Thomas, would it be all right if I called you George? Yeshua has a MEANING, as did all the Biblical Hebrew names. "Jesus" means absolutely NOTHING! People even use it as a cussword. YESHUA was a Torah observant, Seventh Day Sabbath and Feast keeping, kosher JEW. "Jesus" is a watered-down version who has been put in a box to conform to MAN's wishes, and who is honored in pagan feasts. Go ahead and call Him whatever you want; you'll get a chance explain yourself to Him on Judgment Day.
My church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, believes that both the OT and NT are valid.
Just "believing" that "both the OT and NT are valid" doesn't make you Torah observant, which is what ALL believers in Christ are supposed to be. YHWH handed down certain "forever" commands that aren't necessarily embodied with just the Ten Commandments. Furthermore, true Believers in Christ would NEVER suggest that His Chosen were replaced by paganistic Gentiles, much less Torah-less Christians, no matter what denomination or church they belong to. YHWH promises He would provoke the Jews the jealousy with a "non-nation," not with "Christians"!
Romans 10: 19 “But, I say, isn’t it rather that Isra’el didn’t understand?” “I will provoke you to jealousy over a non-nation, over a nation void of understanding I will make you angry.”
Those who are a "non-nation void of understanding" are Gentiles, not Christians! Christians aren’t a "nation" so, pray tell, HOW are they supposed to make the Jews jealous?
Romans 11: 11 "In that case, I say, isn’t it that they have stumbled with the result that they have permanently fallen away?" Heaven forbid! Quite the contrary, it is by means of their stumbling that the deliverance has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy.
Please note Paul, a Jew, does not say "Christians" or "the Church" will be grafted in or provoke Jews to jealousy; he said "Gentiles." In other words, it won’t be the Christians through one of their myriad denominations who end up making the Jews jealous; it will be the Torah observant, believing GENTILES....
Gentiles are "grafted in" to the Olive Tree. It’s the JEWS – the ones with whom YHWH made His original covenant – who are doing the sharing of the "rich root of the olive tree," not the Gentiles – but the Torah observant Gentile believers in Messiah will certainly get to play a major part:
Romans 11: 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you – a wild olive – were grafted in among them and have become equal sharers in the rich root of the olive tree then don’t boast as if you were better than the branches! However, if you do boast, remember that you are not supporting the root, the root is supporting you.
It’s the Jews who are doing the sharing, because the nations (Gentiles) had nothing to share with the Jews except paganism. Christianity, which insists Torah was "nailed to the cross" is perpetuating paganism by rejecting Torah and attempting to insert man-made "holy days" into YHWH’s equation. Christianity has borrowed the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and attempted to turn Him into some wimpy, blue-eyed adonis who in no way resembles the TRUE Mashiyach who walked this Earth.
Genesis 12:3 - "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Deuteronomy 7:6-8: For you are a people set apart as holy for ADONAI your God. ADONAI your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his own unique treasure. 7 ADONAI didn't set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people - on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 Rather, it was because ADONAI loved you, and because he wanted to keep the oath which he had sworn to your ancestors, that ADONAI brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from a life of slavery under the hand of Pharoah king of Egypt.
Shalom Shali,
ADDENDUM: Baruch ben Daniel from Mashiyach adds the following:
This person's perspective of Israel is in their Christian identity of religion, whereas Israel is also bound to the Covenant of Avraham by promise, by lineage and by a piece of real estate that is part of an eternal Covenant.
It's only semantics to say that Ya'akov wasn't a Jew because everyone knows that YHWH chose Yehuda to carry the Scepter. The line of Yehuda who brought Mashiyach goes up through Ya'akov to Yitzchak to Avraham to Noah to Enoch to Adam - all these men were spiritual Praisers of YHWH...a Kingdom nation named through a people called Yehudah.
Israel literally means Prince with El, it is the same Hebrew root as Sarah but it is then given the context of being an overcomer which is okay; but in reality Israel is linked directly to the promises given to Avraham and Sarah. Israel becomes a prince of the chosen line.
YHWH is very much employing genetics to secure His Promises for Jews and others, which is why He promises to raise up His people so the rest of the world will fear Him.
There are too many promises, prophecies and examples to show how foolish this statement is that: God doesn’t fulfill covenant promises to a people who have totally rejected Him. YHWH's people are His Covenant. He created His people, chose His people and uses His people for His great Name's sake. Paul even says that YHWH blinded His people so that salvation could come to the Gentiles, but that He will open their eyes; this indicates YHWH's Sovereign authority over everything in heaven and on earth, including His people. Yes, Jews have free choice and can rebel, but this is why the New Covenant was made. Paul says the Goy should get so haughty, the unnatural branch seems to think that it's pretty knowledgeable about something they have very little experience with. Also, this thing about Jews rejecting a Torahless Jesus is really to the credit of Jews who understand that Mashiyach is not anti-Torah.
This person writes about justification by Faith modeled after Avraham, but I would venture a guess that they say that but practice justification by Faith modeled after their own invention of Paul, because I really doubt if they are preaching circumcision. So, the thing is that they throw Christian ideas around to legitimize their own religion, but Mashiyach said, if you love me, keep my Commandments...and it's a big IF, so if a person has Faith they will observe Torah. Torah observance increases a person's capacity for Faith and that's what Avraham taught us.
| 