Friday, May 30, 2008

Israel: G-d's Suffering Servant


The Jews are responsible for first introducing G-d to the world. Since the covenant at Sinai, the Jewish people have tried to fulfill their divine task of spreading monotheism and ethics to the world. Along with this mission of perfecting the world comes deadly hatred and anti-semitism. Jewish history, through the Crusades and Inquisitions, pogroms and massacres, Holocausts and Intifadas, is a long trail of blood and death. That is the price of being HaShem's Servant.

13 Behold, My servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. The Torah refers to Israel often as G-d's servant. See Isa. 41:8-9; 44:1-2; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3, for example. "Yet now hear, O Jacob My servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen." Israel was charged to serve G-d and reveal Him to the world. (According to the Christian understanding, Jesus, the subject of this passage, is G-d. How can G-d be His own servant?)

14 According as many were appalled at thee--so marred was his visage unlike that of a man, and his form unlike that of the sons of men-- 15 So shall he startle many nations, kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they perceive. 1 'Who would have believed our report? Imagine the amazements of the nations when the very nation which was persectued and tormented is lifted to the highest of heights in the Messianic era? The nation that was long associated with death and weakness, with gas chambers and ovens, will return to its former glory and splendour, as those who oppressed it are downtrodden. Micah 7:12-17 records the astonishment of the nations at Israel's reversal of fortunes. "'As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvellous things.' The nations shall see and be put to shame for all their might; they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places; they shall come with fear unto the LORD our God, and shall be afraid because of Thee."

And to whom hath the arm of the LORD been revealed? HaShem's "arm" refers to physical salvation from our foes. Israel was redeemed from Egypt with a mighty hand and an outsretched arm. G-d will redeem us again in the same manner.

2 For he shot up right forth as a sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground; he had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, nor beauty that we should delight in him. 3 He was despised, and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and acquainted with disease, and as one from whom men hide their face: he was despised, and we esteemed him not. When one considers how the world stood silently while tens of thousands of Jews were butchered every single day during the Holocaust, it is easy to realize that the nation of Israel "was despised and we [the nations] esteemed him not." The world has always been apathetic at best to Jewish suffering, and actively seeking our destruction at worst. This verse cannot be reconciled with the New Testament account of Jesus, a man who was supposedly "praised by all" (Lk. 4:14-15) and followed by multitudes (Matt. 4:25), who would later acclaim him as a prophet upon his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:9-11). Even as he was taken to be crucified, a multitude bemoaned his fate (Lk. 23:27). Jesus had to be taken by stealth, as the rulers feared "a riot of the people" (Mk. 14:1-2).

4 Surely our diseases he did bear, and our pains he carried; whereas we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Israel's adversities are frequently likened to sickness - see, e.g., Isa. 1:5-6; Jer. 10:19; Jer 30:12. Jer. 30:17 - of God's servant Israel (30:10), it is said by the nations, "It is Zion; no one cares for her." The nations have always been quick to write off the Jews as done, finished, destroyed.

5 But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed.
The Chosen People has suffered because of the wickedness and cruelty ie. transgressions and iniquities, of the nations of the world, because they sought to crush them. If only they knew how much spiritual good Israel has done for the world! Note that it is "because of transgressions", not FOR our transgressions. This certianly does not refer to the Messiah who "shall not fail nor be crushed till he has set the right in the earth" (Isa. 42:4).

6 All we like sheep did go astray, we turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath made to light on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, though he humbled himself and opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened not his mouth. Israel is a sheep among 70 wolves. King David describes Israel as "sheep to be slaughtered" in the midst of the unfaithful gentile nations (44:22,11).

Jesus certainly did "open his mouth" to his accusers and protested. Any claims tothe contrary are absolutely false. See Matt. 27:46, Jn. 18:23, 36-37.

8 From dominion and judgement he was taken away,and with his generation who did reason? Which position of judgement and dominion did Jesus ever hold? Did he ever sit on the Sanhedrin or rule as king of Israel? Jesus never had any rights to rulership or judgement, at least not on the "first coming." See, e.g., Jn. 3:17; Jn. 8:15; Jn. 12:47; Jn. 18:36.

for he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due. 9 And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich his tomb; See Ez. 37:11-14, wherein Israelis described as "cut off" and God promises to open its "graves" and bring Israel back into its own land. Other examples of figurative deaths include Ex. 10:17; 2 Sam. 9:8; 2 Sam. 16:9. "For the transgressions of my people" makes it clear that the Prophet is speaking of a collective entity rather than an individual.

although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.' See Matt. 21:12; Mk. 11:15-16; Lk. 19:45; Lk. 19:27; Matt. 10:34 and Lk. 12:51; then judge for yourself whether this passage is truly consistent with the New Testament account of Jesus.

10 Yet it pleased the LORD to crush him by disease; to see if his soul would offer itself in restitution, that he might see his seed, prolong his days, and that the purpose of the LORD might prosper by his hand: The Hebrew word "seed" (zerah) always means physical descendants. Did Jesus have any? Moreover, Jesus died young and did not "prolong his days". And if Jesus is G-d and therefore eternal, then how can G-d's days be prolonged?

11 Of the travail of his soul he shall see to the full, with his knowledge the righteous one, my Servant, will cause many to be just and their iniquities he did bear. The Jewish people will lead the nations in the observance of the 7 Universal Noahide Laws and perfect the world in the kingdom of the Almighty. They will fulfill their task to be a light unto the nations ((Deut. 4:5-8; Zech. 8:23)

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the mighty; because he bared his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. If Jesus is G-d, then how can he be rewarded? Does it not make sense that the nation that was persecuted and tormented for G-d sake- and despite all that, remained faithfu and brought righteousness to its many enemiesl (Ps. 44)- to be rewarded as Isaiah 52 and 54 explain in greater detail?

30 comments:

Papa Frank said...

10 points for creativity and 3 points for truth.

Ralph said...

Are you saying that the other tribes of Israel had nothing to do with it?

Especially when we read this:-
"Deu 4:1 And now, Israel, hear the ordinances and judgments, all that I teach you this day to do: that ye may live, and be multiplied, and that ye may go in and inherit the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives you.
Deu 4:2 Ye shall not add to the word which I command you, and ye shall not take from it: keep the commandments of the Lord our God, all that I command you this day.
Deu 4:3 Your eyes have seen all that the Lord our God did in the case of Beel-phegor; for every man that went after Beel-phegor, the Lord your God has utterly destroyed him from among you.
Deu 4:4 But ye that kept close to the Lord your God are all alive to-day.
Deu 4:5 Behold, I have shewn you ordinances and judgments as the Lord commanded me, that ye should do so in the land into which ye go to inherit it.
Deu 4:6 And ye shall keep and do them: for this is your wisdom and understanding before all nations, as many as shall hear all these ordinances; and they shall say, Behold, this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
Deu 4:7 For what manner of nation is so great, which has God so near to them as the Lord our God is in all things in whatsoever we may call upon him?
Deu 4:8 And what manner of nation is so great, which has righteous ordinances and judgments according to all this law, which I set before you this day?
"
(source-Septuagint-Brenton)

With no mention of any "oral law".

Avi said...

Jason, if you disagree with Judaism's interpretation of its own holy texts then please point out where we have erred. I have shown the incompatibility of the verses being identified with Jesus while trying to prove the traditional Jewish interpretation. Show me one argument to the contrary.

Ralph: The Oral Torah is irrevelant to this topic. I will post on it eventually.

גילוי said...

Ralph,

Why do you write as if you are part of these tribes?

The Jewish people today contains representatives of most, if not all tribes. Tradition states that Jeremiah the prophet gathered some portion of each tribe back to the Land of Israel before the destruction of the 1st Temple.

Our holy teacher, the Vilna Gaon, taught that those verses that you highlight have to do with Kabbalah:

The Written Torah, well all the nations can already learn that, so why would they appreciate our knowledge?

The Oral Torah is the tradition of how to carry out the knowledge in the written Torah. Since the nations don't believe the authenticity of the tradition, and the Oral Torah doesn't have "super-human" powers, that doesn't help either.

Kabbalah, on the other hand, is the secrets of Torah, which are forbidden to teach to the nations of the world. However, since Kabbalah is such a high level of truth, it filters down to other aspects of existence. Therefore the idea is that Kabbalah will have an affect on scientific advancement in the future, that all nations will recognize the truth of the Torah.

That is to say that Kabbalah provides new light on scienctific realms. This, unfortunately, has not occurred on a widespread scale. We can trace back certain matters of modern physics to Kabbalah, but such retrospect has its limits. The real sanctification of G-d's name will come through new scientific advances in our days, may it come soon.

Ralph said...

גילוי

I'm sorry, I should have prefaced my comment with the introduction of BK's post, ie."The Jews are responsible for first introducing G-d to the world."

To answer your question:-"Why do you write as if you are part of these tribes?"..
while I have no proof that I am physically descended from any of the tribes I sense an affiliation because of my acceptance of "(LITV) And if you are of Christ, then you are a seed of Abraham, even heirs according to promise."

I cannot understand the aspect of Jewish thought that today's remnant of the descendnts of Judah together with those of Benjamin and Levi constitute the nation of Israel. Admittedly the Jewish people have named their State Israel, but I see that as a misnomer. The 'Nation of Israel', as such, and in the main, does not yet live in the land of Israel. It is the descedants of Judah who presently, rightfully and as prophesied, occupy the land, and in consequence, IMHO, the State should be named as such, ie. Judah.

It is obvious from scripture that, prophetically, Israel and Judah are two separate entities and have been since the days of Jeroboam and Rehoboam following the death of King Solomon. Scripture verifies this, eg:-
"1Ki 12:15 And the king hearkened not to the people, because the change was from the Lord, that he might establish his word which he spoke by Achia the Selonite concerning Jeroboam the son of Nabat.
1Ki 12:16 And all Israel saw that the king did not hearken to them: and the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we any inheritance in the son of Jessae. Depart, O Israel, to thy tents: now feed thine own house, David. So Israel departed to his tents."

and
"2Ki 16:5 Then went up Raasson king of Syria and Phakee son of Romelias king of Israel against Jerusalem to war, and besieged Achaz, but could not prevail against him.
2Ki 16:6 At that time Raasson king of Syria recovered Aelath to Syria, and drove out the Jews from Aelath, and the Idumeans came to Aelath, and dwelt there until this day."
(first appearance of the term Jew in scripture, quotes from Septuagint-Brenton)

You wrote:-"Tradition states that Jeremiah the prophet gathered some portion of each tribe back to the Land of Israel before the destruction of the 1st Temple."

Yes, some portion. However, descendants of all the tribes can be found around the world, some of them in considerable numbers, especially Israel (headed by Ephraim and Manasseh)
"Gen 48:16 the angel who delivers me from all evils, bless these boys, and my name shall be called upon them, and the name of my fathers, Abraam and Isaac; and let them be increased to a great multitude on the earth."
(Septuagint-Brenton)

Even the renowned Jewish historian Josephus, makes note of their vast numbers in his work 'Antiquities of the Jews. Book 11 ch 5.2 viz. "....but then the entire body of the people of Israel remained in that country; wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Iomans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers."

Could the present inhabitants of the State of Israel be so described:-"an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers"?

Also:- "Our holy teacher, the Vilna Gaon, taught that those verses that you highlight have to do with Kabbalah:"

I don't see any mysticism with the verses I highlighted but just accept them as read for their simplicity and straightforwardness.

גילוי said...

Ralph,

Regarding the immense numbers, see the Torah: The nation of Israel, with just 600,000 men, was called an immense nation, like the stars of heaven. See Pharoah in Exodus chapter 1, Bilam and Balak in Numbers, and then in Deuteronomy, Moses's description of Israel.

Our tradition takes this as a hint: just as there were 600,000 Israelites that left Egypt and entered the Land of Israel, thus it would be in the future. And behold, the first time in centuries that we reached that point was 1948.

The 10 tribes don't really pose much of an issue at this point: as long as they are still not living by the Torah, the punishment which caused their exile is still in play. This exile means exclusion from the divine promises. This would also exclude literal descendants of the 10 tribes who have converted to Christianity at some later point.

I didn't expect you to see the mystical level of what is there, or in any other part of the Torah. However, it is there, and I have explained one drop in the ocean.

So too: Today is Yom Yerushalayim, celebrating the reunification of the city of Jerusalem in 1967. This day is part of the secret of the commandment of the Jubilee year.

Ralph said...

BK said...
"The Jews are responsible for first introducing G-d to the world."

and I responded by asking:-"Are you saying that the other tribes of Israel had nothing to do with it?"

In 2006 the scattered northern ten tribes of Israel, led by Ephraim and Manasseh, through the instruments of world wide Bible Societies, distributed 25.7 Million Bibles, each of which would have contained a copy of the Tanakh.
(source-http://www.biblesociety.org/index2.htm)
For comparison, how many copies of the Tanakh did Judaism distribute "to the world" in that year?

Ralph said...

גילוי said...

"The 10 tribes don't really pose much of an issue at this point: as long as they are still not living by the Torah, the punishment which caused their exile is still in play."

Would you dare to say that the State of Israel, ie.Judah, is living by the Torah today?
Exile is not the only form of punishment used by our Creator.

Ralph said...

גילוי said...

"So too: Today is Yom Yerushalayim, celebrating the reunification of the city of Jerusalem in 1967. This day is part of the secret of the commandment of the Jubilee year."

and, seriously, that is certainly a cause for celebration. Two things:-
1. Was 1967 a Jubilee year or are you talking about this year 2008 and
2. When do you expect to celebrate the retaking of the Temple Mount?
or is that also a 'secret'?

Yehudi said...

Ralph, you said, "In 2006 the scattered northern ten tribes of Israel, led by Ephraim and Manasseh, through the instruments of world wide Bible Societies, distributed 25.7 Million Bibles, each of which would have contained a copy of the Tanakh.
(source-http://www.biblesociety.org/index2.htm)
For comparison, how many copies of the Tanakh did Judaism distribute "to the world" in that year?"


I need to jump in at this point and ask you to clarify yourself. are you implying that my fellow Jews from the other 10 tribes are now Christian missionaries??? I take exception to that statement and find it highly offensive, if that is what you truly intended. Also, to question our missionary efforts in 2006...is simply stupid. Judaism doesn't feel as though we need to evangelize the world and convert you for you to be "saved." You are welcome to convert to Judaism if you so wish, but you will have to give up your idolatry and silly anti-semitic ideas that you've presented here.

Papa Frank said...

Yehudi01 -- I believe that he was more trying to say that while it was the Jews who introduced God to the world that it is more than just Jews who now pass on the words of the Tanakh. Many people, were they able to, would trace their roots back to a Jewish ancestry although they only presently know themselves as Americans or Europeans or Russians or whatever. Many would have actual roots within the tribes of Israel.

גילוי said...

Ralph:

Israel is the center of Torah today. The way the country is run will be fixed in the coming years. That is another secret of the redemption.

1967 was a Jubilee.

2008 is not.

The retaking of the Temple Mount will be shortly after the fall of the West.

Avi said...

Ralph,

The Ten Tribes have assimilated and unless they actively return to Judaism as in the case of the Ethiopian and Bnei Menaseh Indian Jews, they have the status of goyyim. In Spain, Poland and the United States, really any country that had a large Jewish presence, many people have Jewish blood. That means little if they are not the descendant of a halachically Jewish mother.

As the Rambam explains, Christianity and Islam certainly do have redemtpive value in the coming of the Moshiach. They have served to bring the concepts of redemption, good and evil, monotheism and Biblical stories to a largely pagan world. Nonetheless, they have Judaism as their base and all their good originates in the Torah. As explained, Judaism is G-d's Suffering Servant as Israel has introduced G-dliness to the world and suffered exceedingly.

Yehudi said...

I apologize for getting my dander up...I mis-read what he was saying...

Papa Frank said...

yehudi01 -- I'm not positive that was what he was trying to say I am only speculating.

Yehudi said...

Ralph, could you please clarify what you meant?

Yehudi said...

"The retaking of the Temple Mount will be shortly after the fall of the West."

Could you explain how we know this? I am very interested in the timing here. It seems more logical to me that we should retake the Temple Mount now, while the West is still our ally and very powerful. If we wait until the west falls, (presumably to islamo-facism), and we then make a move to take the Temple Mount...it just doesn't make alot of sense.

Ralph said...

I am in another time zone in the Southern Hemisphere and ran out of time this morning, as I am again running out of time due to other appointments. I hope to return later to clarify my position.

גילוי said...

Yehudi01,

You're right: It doesn't fall directly in the line of sight given the current political situation.

The "physical" background (not getting in to the spiritual aspect too much) is that the leadership will change among Am Yisrael to one that no longer panders to the needs of the West. This new leadership will do what is best for Am Yisrael. As such, the obvious spiritual conflict between Yaakov and Esav will eventually turn to a physical conflict. Our holy books say Esav will fall at the hands of Yosef. That is Moshiach ben Yosef. The fall of Esav brings about the political situation which allows for the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash.

Ralph said...

Yehudi01, you asked...

"are you implying that my fellow Jews from the other 10 tribes are now Christian missionaries???"

and I would zero in on your term "my fellow Jews". You see, I take my 'interpretation' of the word Jew primarily from scripture. The first time the word "Jews" appears is in:-"2Ki 16:6 At that time Raasson king of Syria recovered Aelath to Syria, and drove out the Jews from Aelath, and the Idumeans came to Aelath, and dwelt there until this day."
(Septuagint-Brenton)

The Jews were the subjects of, and included, King Achaz, King of Judah and found to be at war with "Raasson king of Syria and Phakee son of Romelias king of Israel" (vs5) The only conclusion I can draw is that the word 'Jew' is a contraction of the word 'Judah'. To suggest that all Israelites are Jews is to suggest that all Americans are Texans (some of whom are also delightful people) but it just ain't so.
Those of the tribe of Dan are not Jews, they are Danites and many can still be found where Dan left his mark as the northern tribes continued to migrate to the west, of Israel that is. Likewise those of the tribe of Ruben are not Jews, they are Rubenites.

With regard to your "fellow Jews" in the USA, a Google search, relative to the year 2006 at(http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/usjewpop.html) indicates a total of 6,452,030, ranging from 1,618,320 in New York to 295 in South Dakota, I would need to be persuaded that the majority have all become Christian missionaries, although a number of them may have become Messianic believers. Perhaps some have.
However, I would suggest that a majority of the rest of the 2006 USA population ie.289,958,374, excluding aliens, legal or illegal, would be Ephraimites, and not of Judah-the Jews.
Gen 48:16 the angel who delivers me from all evils, bless these boys, and my name shall be called upon them (Israel, not Judah), and the name of my fathers, Abraam and Isaac; and let them be increased to a great multitude on the earth.
(Septuagint-Brenton)
Although one of your own people, Yair Davidy, may not agree with the Ephraim bit.

You also said.."I take exception to that statement and find it highly offensive,.." and I am so glad you qualified that with.."if that is what you truly intended."
I can assure you it was not my intent to offend and hopefully, never will be. That's one of the problems with the printed word, a total lack of body language and voice inflections.

You also said.."Judaism doesn't feel as though we need to evangelize the world and convert you for you to be "saved."... and that is obvious. My comment was simply in response to BK's note that "The Jews are responsible for first introducing G-d to the world." with the silent thought, 'why did they stop'?

Finally (at last did you say?) you used the expression.."silly anti-semitic ideas".
If I have expressed any 'anti-semitic' ideas I would ask that you point them out and I would be most glad to retract them, silly or otherwise. I am convinced that the 'world' does not know who the Jewish people are. Perhaps many of them (the Jewish people) don't know either.

Ralph said...

גילוי said...

"The retaking of the Temple Mount will be shortly after the fall of the West."

A really good earthquake that caused the destruction of the Dome of the Rock would contribute to a solution of the problem, wouldn't it? Of course the Jews would have to bear the blame of causing such a 'catastrophe'(?)

גילוי said...

Ralph,

Our saintly teacher, the Vilna Gaon, taught that we do not build the Temple through force. We are not to blow up the mosques. There is an appointed time for everything.

Yehudi said...

Ralph, thank you for clarifying your point. I agree with your definition of a Jew, technically-speaking...the term 'Jew' has become a general term to describe those of us who have decended from Yaakov, regardless of our tribal lineage.

I disagree to your statement regarding Ephraimites and the majority of the US coming from that lineage. It seems extremely unlikely and it would be nearly impossible to prove one way or another. I will finish my thoughts on this later.

Yehudi said...

Ralph, as I went back and re-read what you wrote, "With regard to your "fellow Jews" in the USA, a Google search, relative to the year 2006 at(http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/usjewpop.html) indicates a total of 6,452,030, ranging from 1,618,320 in New York to 295 in South Dakota, I would need to be persuaded that the majority have all become Christian missionaries, although a number of them may have become Messianic believers. Perhaps some have.
However, I would suggest that a majority of the rest of the 2006 USA population ie.289,958,374, excluding aliens, legal or illegal, would be Ephraimites, and not of Judah-the Jews.
Gen 48:16 the angel who delivers me from all evils, bless these boys, and my name shall be called upon them (Israel, not Judah), and the name of my fathers, Abraam and Isaac; and let them be increased to a great multitude on the earth.
(Septuagint-Brenton


This statement is ridiculous! First, it is my opinion that maybe 1% of these numbers have converted to Christianity, however, the vast majority are Jews...not messianics or christians as you claim. Much of the information cited by those numbers were gathered by Lubavitcher shlichim as they move into towns to establish a Jewish presence.

How could you think for a moment that the majority of the population of the US, including aliens, would descend from one of the tribes of Israel? Your ideas sound like Mormon ideology. They have a 'priest' prophecy over members of the congregation, and through 'divine inspiration' is able to tell you which tribe of Israel you descend from. Are you a Mormon? Your statements are strange for even the Christian perspective. (No offense, Jason.)

Avi said...

This is pretty off-topic. So what do you think about the Suffering Servant?

Papa Frank said...

I love the Suffering Servant and am thankful that his death made it possible for me to be reconciled. :) Oh..........that wasn't what you meant.

Papa Frank said...

No offense taken yehudi01 -- I realize that I am a stranger in a strange land here. But wasn't Abraham at one point too? It turned out pretty good for him.

Ralph said...

Yehudi01 said...
"This statement is ridiculous!"
and I suppose you mean where I said "I would need to be persuaded that the majority have all become Christian missionaries,"
which confirms my previous comment about the printed word lacking body language and voice inflections. Local idiom probably comes into it as well.
I said "I would need to be persuaded" because I AM NOT. Neither can I imagine that anybody could persuade me that the majority of Jews in the USA have become Christian missionaries. Gimme a break! I did not claim that the vast majority of Jews in the USA were messianics or Christians but suggested that "a majority of the rest of the 2006 USA population, EXCLUDING aliens, legal or illegal, would be Ephraimites, and not of Judah -the Jews."
I am not a Mormon (see end note) and I see no reason why, given a scriptural record of the blessings bestowed by the patriarchs, coupled with other research, that a considerable proportion of the USA population could not be the modern day descendants of Ephraim. You might care to have a look at Yair Davidy's website at:-http://www.britam.org/
I'm quite sure he's not a Mormon, but an orthodox Jew.

You also said "Your statements are strange for even the Christian perspective." and guess they would appear 'strange' because I suppose you are, in the main, familiar with the Roman style of "Christianity" and I use that term advisedly.

To my end note...
I see myself as a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, Yeshua, and follow his example of Torah observance by 'keeping the weekly Sabbath' (Saturday) as a day of rest and joy; by keeping the true Passover at the 'appointed time' at the end of Nisan 14,(not the so called "Lord's Supper", nor Easter), by happily munching on Matstsah for the following seven days and by keeping the other annual days as commanded, including Sukkoth.

Is he, Yeahua, G-d? Consider these words from the LITV:-
Joh 14:28 You heard that I said to you, I am going away, and I am coming again to you. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I said, I am going to the Father; for My Father is greater than I.

Then:-
"Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
and
"Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."
seems to be "good news" to me.

By the way, what is your take on:-
"Psa 82:6 (81:6) I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you children of the Most High."
(Septuagint-Brenton)

I'm sorry BK. I have been treating your Blog like a forum. I just put it down to excitement and the joy of life!

Ralph said...

Bar Kochba said...
This is pretty off-topic. So what do you think about the Suffering Servant?

Getting back to basics, are you looking for a 'critique' of your post? I have a couple of scriptural (Torah) comments in mind.

Yehudi said...

BK, sorry for getting off the subject.

Ralph, you asked me about Tehillim 82:6. "Ani amarti elohim atem u'vnei elyon kulchem," which, if you read it in context simply talks about how the rich and corrupt will fall from their 'lofty' positions and come under G-d's judgement because they rejected Torah. Don't read more into it just because Asaph used the phrase "elohim atem u'vnei elyon."