End of Days Pt 2

While researching about the Jewish view of end of days, and using the always useful, Wikepdia, I discovered all about other faiths beliefs of end of days. So, using Wikepdia, URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschatology , I decided to give the “Cliff notes” Version of this entry and a give my opinion on each one. Again, the opinions are mine and mine alone. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone. 

Buddhism 

Buddha himself believed that his teaching would only last 500 years. But sometime during the Middle Ages, this was expanded to 5,000 years by believers. Buddha believed people would fall into an amoral world of sin, crime, poverty, and so forth. For the most part, he right. A large number of people have followed an amoral life. But as with all other beliefs, Buddhist believe in cycles and this is just another step in the cycle of life.  

Christianity 

The only way I can tell you about this view is just show you what is written in Wikepdia. NOTE: This in no way is my belief or opinion. It is just what Wikepida has to say on the matter: 

1. Current biblical scholarship, particularly form criticism, tends to view the apocalyptic language in the Bible as being addressed to events at the time of the authors of its various books. Revelation, for example, is interpreted as a polemic against Rome, and a deep theological expression about the futility of temporal power in the face of faith in God. Similar non-canonical works previously accepted as valid by the Christian Church, such as the Apocalypse of Peter present a variety of apocalyptic scenarios and may have originally been intended as spiritual allegories.Such readings of scripture typically dismiss attempts to find apocalyptic prophecy or codes in the Book of Daniel, the so-called mini-apocalypse in Isaiah, and in Revelation. Scripture, in their estimation, does indeed have significance today but its historical and cultural basis cannot be ignored. If the texts were addressed to a disaster many millennia away, it makes little sense that the prophet speaking would have any audience at all. It is a great deal more likely that the prophet was addressing the situation of his people in that moment. Over time, essential truths continued to be spoken by the Scriptures, but their underlying purpose is seen, in this mode of exegesis, to have little to do with the end of creation and more to do with the failings of secular institutions and the emptiness of a life without faith.Still other Christians anticipate that biblical prophecy will be fulfilled literally, as it has in the past. They see current world and regional wars, earthquakes, hurricanes and famines as the beginning of the birth pains which Jesus described in Matthew 24:7-8 and Mark 13:8

I do agree with this last paragraph.

Look at all the major natural disasters of the last fifty years: The San Francisco Earthquake in 1989, various earthquakes in the Middle East and Asia Minor, massive wildfires in the United States, and the Tsunami of 2004. 

Hinduism 

Hindus do not believe in end of days or damnation of the humans. They, like Buddhists, believe in cycles. Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya Glanirva Bhavathi Bharatha, Abhyuthanam Adharmaysya Tadatmanam Srijami Aham’.Bhagavad Gita (Chapter IV-7)“Whenever there is decay of righteousness O! Bharatha And a rise of unrighteousness then I manifest Myself!”Hindus believe that humans will fall into an amoral world lead by an evil leader. Once this leader has passed; humans will come back to a moral lifestyle. 

Islam 

Again, like Christianity, I can’t put into words what Islam believes as the end of days, so here is the text from Wikepdia: In Islam, it is believed that on the Day of Reckoning, God will judge the dead, sending the righteous to Heaven and unrepentant evildoers to Hell.Some Ahadith include a Muhammad-like holy warrior, the Mahdi (whom Shi’a equate with the long-lived Twelfth Imam), who will be accompanied by the Prophet Jesus to fight the Antichrist, various Beasts, the Gog and Magog tradition, angelic heralds with trumpets, civil war, natural disasters and signs in the heavens, and a clash between Jesus and the Antichrist.Mahdi will fight Antichrist; but it will be Jesus who kills him at the gate of Ludd. Then Gog and Magog will appear from all directions, drink all water. Jesus and the believers will go to the mountains; Jesus will pray to God Almighty and He will send worm like creatures that will attack Gog and Magog on their necks. Then huge birds with camel like necks will carry their corpses away. The earth will be washed with rains. There will be peace on earth for 40 years. Jesus will marry and pass away at the end of the 40 year period. He will be buried in Medina right by Prophet Muhammed and his companions. And then corruption and disbelief will become common again; the beast of earth will appear; and the sun will rise from the west which would be signaling the final hour. Then there will come a wind that will take all believers and leave earth full of disbelievers and the trumpet will sound for the final destruction. Judaism 

I have spoken in specific about the Mashiach coming back as a mortal, but here is the exact five things that will happen according to Jewish Tradition: Those living during the end times will see:

1.      Ingathering of the scattered Jewish exiles to geographic Israel,

2.      Defeat of all of Israel’s enemies,

3.      Building of the third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and the resumption of the sacrificial offerings and Temple service,

4.      Revival of the Dead (techiat hameitim), or the Resurrection,

5.      At some point the Jewish Messiah, will become the anointed King of Israel. He will divide the Jews in Israel into their original tribal portions in the land. During this time Gog, king of Magog, will attack Israel. Who Gog and the Magog nation are is unknown. Magog will fight a great battle, in which many will die on both sides, but God will intervene and save the Jews. This is the battle referred to as Armageddon. God, having vanquished this final enemy once and for all, will accordingly banish all evil from human existence. After the year 6000 (in the Jewish calendar), the seventh millennium will be an era of holiness, tranquility, spiritual life, and worldwide peace, called the Olam Haba (“Future World”), where all people will know God directly. The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah has many identical aspects to the Islamic belief in Qiyamah, such as the title of, “Day of the sounding of the Shofar“

Mormon 

The Mormons’ believe that the end of days will be at the start of the Millennial Era and G-d and Jesus will appear in the Second coming. Which of all places is to be modern day Jackson County, Missouri.

The Mormons’ believe the following will happen: 

• While the exact time of Christ’s return is not known, certain signs are accepted as pointing to his return:·         The mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, Isa. 2: 2-3.

·         The Lord shall lift an ensign and gather Israel, Isa. 5: 26 (2 Ne. 15: 26-30).

·         The sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not cause her light to shine, Isa. 13: 10 (Joel 3: 15; D&C 29: 14).

·         Men shall transgress the law and break the everlasting covenant, Isa. 24: 5.

·         The Nephites (ancient fallen people of the Americas, descended from Joseph of Egypt) shall speak as a voice from the dust, Isa. 29: 4 (2 Ne. 27).

·         Israel shall be gathered with power, Isa. 49: 22-23 (1 Ne. 21: 22-23; 3 Ne. 20-21).

·         God shall set up a kingdom which shall not be destroyed, Dan. 2: 44 (D&C 65: 2).

·         War, dreams, and visions shall precede the Second Coming, Joel 2.

·         All nations will gather against Jerusalem to battle, Zech. 14: 2 (Ezek. 38-39).

·         The day cometh that shall burn as an oven, Mal. 4: 1 (3 Ne. 25: 1; D&C 133: 64; JS-H 1: 37).

·         Great calamities shall precede the Second Coming, Matt. 24 (JS-M 1).

·         Paul described apostasy and perilous times of the last days, 2 Tim. 3-4.

·         Two prophets will be slain and resurrected in Jerusalem, Rev. 11 (D&C 77: 15).

·         The gospel shall be restored in the last days by angelic ministry, Rev. 14: 6-7 (D&C 13; 27; 110: 11-16; 128: 8-24).

·         Babylon will be established and fall, Rev. 17-18.

·         Israel shall be gathered with power, 1 Ne. 21: 13-26 (Isa. 49: 13-26; 3 Ne. 20-21).

·         The Book of Mormon shall come forth by the power of God, Morm. 8.

·         Lamanites (Native Americans) to blossom, D&C 49: 24-25.

·         The wicked to slay the wicked, D&C 63: 32-35 (Rev. 9).

·         War will be poured out upon all nations, D&C 87: 2.

·         Signs, upheavals of the elements, and angels prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, D&C 88: 86-94.

·         Darkness to cover the earth, D&C 112: 23-24.  

Now, of course these are the major religions today. But many other groups, such as Native Americans, have their own beliefs on the end of days. Again, this was just a paper to show the basics of what is believed. In no way are these personal opinions.

Understanding Islam

Do we really understand the Muslims or the Koran for that matter? All I know is that is the “Bible” of Islam written by Muhammed as told by Allah. I understand that it is a book of hate. But is this the truth?   For research on the Koran and its history, structure, etc. I used the following website: http://lexicorient.com/e.o/koran.htm Here is what I discovered: 

• There are 115 chapters or suras.

• No one really knows what the word “Koran” means. Theories range from “collect” or “tie together” or “recite”

• The Koran is a compilation of five things:

            1)    Alleged revelations to Muhammed from 610-632

            2)    Others writing this revelations down, NOT Mohammed

            3)    Compilations continuing to 650

            4)    Stories relating to Muhammed about matters of the time

            5)    The later addition of vowels and dots to indicate different words. Original Arabic did not use these techniques. 

There are seven ways to read the Koran, with 2 variations on each of those for a total of 14. 

·         There is no chronological order to the Koran as there is with either the Old or New Testament. And the majority of the suras are warnings or commandments, very little is given to stories  ·         Most moral and legal questions CANNOT be answered by the Koran 

·         Most lay Muslims just know how to read the Koran, not interpret it. Interpretation is kept to Koran scholars. But what does this have to do with today’s Islamic Fundamentalist and terrorism? Many Muslim, especially the fundamentalist, believe that the Koran is the exact word of G-d given to Mohammed through the archangel Gabriel. They believe that the only way to make the world right is for everyone to convert to Islam. Thus bringing salvation onto themselves.   But following these fundamentalist would set the world back to the stone age. Women would be for nothing. There would be no separation of church and state. ALL modern items we enjoy today would vanish. Your life would be given to Allah. No personal freedoms or expression. Did you even realize that these people want to push Sharia (Islamic Law) onto everyone in direct contradiction to United Nations Resolution 217 of December 10, 1948 which is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is so hard to put into words how to feel about these people. Anger, hate, pity. It is so hard.  For the rest of this paper I have decided to just use various writing I found during my research and let you decide how to interpret them.  First, the signs of fundamentalism.¹  Characteristics of Individualistic Passive Fundamentalism

1.   Regular mosque attendance (five times a day)

2.   Strict Observance of the Five Pillars of Islam:                             

       a    Profession of faith (shahadah)                             

       b.   Prayers (salat)                             

       c.   Fasting (sawm)                             

       d.   Almsgiving (sakat)                             

       e.   Pilgrimage (hajj)

3.   Strict adherence to Quranic prohibitions (such as abstaining from   alcohol and sexual immorality)

4.   Regular religious meditation, reading of the Quran, and reading of other Islamic literature.

5.   Participation in religious group activities within and without the mosque.

6.   Participation in neighborhood self-help and mutual assistance societies

7.   Growing full beards (lihya) and thin moustaches as a sign of devotion and piety.

8.   Wearing distinctive clothing (including a facial and head veil for women)
 

Characteristics of Individualistic Activist Fundamentalist

1.   Pursuit of passive characteristics listed above with great rigor

2.   Tendency to live together in specific neighborhoods, sometimes in physical and social isolation from passive fundamentalists.           

3.   Frequenting of specific mosques that cater to activist agendas. 

4.   Engagement in acts of “purifying” violence directed against sinful institutions, including nightclubs, movie theatres, and governments.

Manifestations of Collective Islamic Fundamentalism                       

1.   Mosque building (both private and government sponsored).                       

2.   Radio-television programming (provides religious instruction).                       

3.   Observance of holidays (observed with great religious fervor).                       

4.   Mosque attendance (faithful devotion).                       

5.   The press (increase in religious instruction in newspapers).                       

6.   Illumination of mosques (elaborate lighting at nighttime).             

7.   Religious literature (an unprecedented increase in printing copies of the Quran and books on Islamic history and religion.                       

8.   Displays of copies of the Quran (in public places).                       

9.   Religious slogans (increasingly displayed in public places).¹  Various quotes from the Koran² 17.104 And We said to the Israelites after him: Dwell in the land: and when the promise of the next life shall come to pass, we will bring you both together in judgment. 2.113 And the Jews say: The Christians do not follow anything (good) and the Christians say: The Jews do not follow anything (good) while they recite the (same) Book. Even thus say those who have no knowledge, like to what they say; so Allah shall judge between them on the day of resurrection in what they differ.5.51 O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.5.82 Certainly you will find the most violent of people in enmity for those who believe (to be) the Jews and those who are polytheists, and you will certainly find the nearest in friendship to those who believe (to be) those who say: We are Christians; this is because there are priests and monks among them and because they do not behave proudly. 9.30 And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away! 62.6 Say: O you who are Jews, if you think that you are the favorites of Allah to the exclusion of other people, then invoke death If you are truthful.66.5 Maybe, his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him in your place wives better than you, submissive, faithful, obedient, penitent, adorers, fasters, widows and virgins 9.72 Allah has promised to the believing men and the believing women gardens, beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and goodly dwellings in gardens of perpetual abode; and best of all is Allah’s goodly pleasure; that is the grand achievement 

Read enough? I have. From the small amount of reading and research I have done I believe the Koran to be the instruction book for death of all that are not Muslim. I understand better now why these people are willing to kill. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live life under Islamic law, regardless of being Jewish or not.  

1 R. Harir Dekmejian, Islamic Revolution: Fundamentalism in the Arab World (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1995), 130-151.

2 http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran/ October 9, 2006

Being a Jew in America

What does it mean to be a Jew in
America today? Is it just going to shul every Shabbat or at least 3 days a year? Is it keeping Kosher? Is being Bar or Bat Mitzvahed? The answer is yes. And no. To be a Jew today in
America, it is also important to never forget how Jews helped build this country, and for that matter the world. You hear people say how the Jews are involved in everything. And guess what, they are right. The Jewish people have historically been go getters and, to use a Disney term, Imagneiers.  

Jews figured out how to build the Great Pyrimads. Jews figured out how to make the desert bloom.  But did you know a Jew helped figure out the Physiology of  Neurotransmitters? Or that Jew brought television to the masses? Does it surprise you that two Jews invented the technology for you to use your cell phone?  

It is not important for life to know these facts. BUT it is important to being Jewish, Jewish in
America. If the stories and success (and failures) of our heritage are lost and forgotten, we won’t have anything to build on for the future.  This class is not about filling your head with empty facts, but nourshing your mind with knowledge and respect for your heritage as an American Jew. 

Religious Tolerence

Living in Texas is a very interesting dynamic in religion and society. Having lived here now for two years, I have learned to be very willing to accept Christianity. Yes, Dallas has a large Jewish population, but like many other parts of the United States, we are still the minority. And in Texas, and Dallas in particular, the Bible Belt is alive and well. Grand monuments to Jesus Christ can be found around every corner just like 7-11’s. Their presence is noticeable everywhere. Gas stations, voice mail messages, billboards and even at the local fairs.  Most of the Christians keep to themselves and don’t bother others. But on occasion, you get the “Jesus can save you” saying. I am a smoker, and I was outside my office building the other day, when a young lady approached me: “Would you like to quite smoking?” the young lady asked me.“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind”, I replied.“Then Jesus is your savior.” She says with a smile, “follow him and he can save you”“Thank, but not interested” 

Little things like this show how people think that their religious ways are the only ways and all others should follow them. I am ok with what others what to believe and follow. But I am Jewish. Being Jewish is who I am.  The other time is from someone I work with. He has been trying to get me read books by Jews have converted and come to Church with him. He believes in the New Testament and doesn’t believe the Jews are the chosen people. He feels that I am lost with out following Jesus Christ.   It is interesting living in Baptist country. I have had many encounters. These have included Baptist, Christians, Lutherans, you name it. In fact I had a conversation with a Baptist I know and he brought up how the Southern Baptist Convention, back in 1996, declared their role to convert Jews and how it is their mission. So I decided to research this. And low and behold, he was right. During their annual convention of June 11-13, 1996, the Southern Baptist Convention developed the following resolution: 

            WHEREAS, Jesus commanded that “repentance and remission of sine should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47); and            

WHEREAS, Our evangelistic efforts have largely neglected the Jewish people, both at home and abroad; and              WHEREAS, We are indebted to the Jewish people, through who we have received the Scriptures and our Savior, the Messiah of Israel, and “they are beloved for the sake of the fathers” (Romans 11:28, B); and            

WHEREAS, There has been an organized effort on the part of some either to deny the that Jewish people need to come to their Messiah, Jesus, to be saved; or to claim, for whatever reason, that Christians have neither right nor obligation to proclaim the gospel to the Jewish people; and             WHEREAS, There is evidence of a growing responsiveness among the Jewish people in some areas of our nation and our world; now, therefore,            

BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in New Orleans, LA, June 11-13, 1996, reaffirm that we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of G-d unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16); and              BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we recommit ourselves to prayer, especially for the salvation of the Jewish People as well as for the salvation of “every kindred and tongue and people and nation” (Revelations 5:9); and             BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, That we direct our energies and resources toward the proclamation of the gospel to the Jewish people. 

WOW! I never knew that the Baptist felt this way. I have only had one run in with a Baptist who tried to covert me. Here is the story: I sell health insurance for a living. And I meet people at their homes. Most people are fine and only want to talk business. So, I go to see, we will call him John, to see what I can do to cover him and his daughter with insurance.  As the presentation completed, John raised his hand and asked me to silent for a moment. Ok. No problem. Then he looked me squarely in the face. “Are you Christian” he asked me“No, I am Jewish” I replied, being a little surprised at the question.“Well, that is ok” he responded hesitantly, then continued “G-d and Jesus just spoke to me.”“Ok”, now starting to feel a little uncomfortable.“Do you like selling health insurance, Brian?” he asked me“Yeah, I enjoy helping people”“Then G-d and Jesus will make sure that you are successful at it. Though they would help even more if you would follow Jesus Christ as your lord and savior” 

 I asked John if it made a difference that I was Jewish. He told me no, but it would be easier if I found Jesus. At this point, I thanked him for his time and apologized that I was unable to come up with a plan to fit his budget and left. As I drove away, I thought about the whole meeting. John lived in near squalor conditions, not dirty, but not spotless. He told me how he was in to drugs and alcohol and how he found Jesus. And how Jesus will provide and protect him.  Like I said earlier, I am ok with what people want to believe. But after leaving John’s apartment, I thought how long you can go on believing that Jesus will provide. This man had barely any food in the house, very old clothes, a very old tv. Belief in religion is a wonderful and strong mindset. But it does not put food on the table or pay the bills. How could John expect me want to follow him? After seeing his living conditions, that alone scared me off.  John isn’t wrong in his beliefs. He chose as the best road for him. I respect that. But is G-d and Jesus worried about a single person’s issue or they concerned with the world as a whole?  Isn’t this religious bigotry at its most basic level? Religious tolerance is built into the Constitution of the United States. I respect all religions. Why can’t some find it in there heart to respect mine? 

Jews and Jesus

NOTE: The following discussion is based upon research I have done from several sources. I have done this research to not only educate myself but to educate my friends and family on the importance of modern day religion. These writings are designed to open discussion. There is no right or wrong answer. I have not altered or skewed any facts. As Kinky Friedman would say, “May you be  blessed by the G-d of your choosing” Recently I have been having some very interesting conversations with non-Jewish friends of mine about religion, politics, state of the world today and many other complex issues. But the one question I have been asked and sticks with me is why do Jews not believe in Jesus? Being raised Jewish, I was never taught that Jesus was evil or bad. I was just taught that we don’t believe in him. That Jews just believe in going straight to the source, G-d himself. But why was this? What was the reasoning? I never really thought about it until recently. Where does one begin in this journey? Do you start was Jesus Jewish? Was Jesus the Mashiach (Messiah)? Did he die for our sins? So, I went where we all go today for information. Google. There I typed in “Jewish Beliefs on Jesus”. And Google came back with 9,370,000 links! So, I started at the top.  Jews do believe that Jesus was a Jew. Born in Bethlehem and raised in the Galilee and finally killed in Jerusalem. Jesus spoke Aramaic, as this was the language of the time, and his Aramaic name is Yeshua. Jesus was well learned in the ways of Jewish law and scriptures. In fact, many people called him “Rabbi”. In fact, in the Jewish Talmud (The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history.¹) there is a story about Yeshua. But of course this comes with debate if this is the same person as Jesus Christ.  According to the Talmud, Yeshu was the son of a Jewish woman named Miriam who was betrothed to a carpenter. “Betrothed” means she was legally married to him, but she was not yet living with him or having sexual relations with him. The story says that Miriam was either raped by or voluntarily slept with Pandeira, a Greek or Roman soldier. Miriam than gave birth to Yeshu, who was considered a “mamzer” (bastard), a product of an adulterous relationship. The Talmud describes Yeshu as a heretic who dabbled in sorcery and lead the people astray. Later, the Sanhedrin (the Jewish “Supreme Court”) ordered Yeshu stoned to death and his dead body was hung from a tree until nightfall after his death, in accordance with the ancient Jewish punishment for heretics.²  Interesting interpretation. I had a hard time finding more information on this to make a logical observation, so for the time being I will just leave it up to your own interpretation. The bigger question is: Was (is) Jesus the Mashiach? In Judaism, the answer is no. But first let’s revisit what the Old Testament and the Talmud say the Mashiach is to accomplish:                       

A. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).

B. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).

C. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)

D. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: “God will be King over all the world — on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One” (Zechariah 14:9). According to Christianity these will happen in the Second Coming.³But these can not happen during the Second Coming according to Jews. The Mashiach will be human. The Mashiach will be of direct bloodline back to King David and be born of human parents. And the bloodline will be on the father’s side. So, according to Christianity, Jesus was born of a virgin birth, no father, no bloodline.The Mashiach will also need to be a Prophet. But this can only happen when all of the world’s Jews have returned to Israel. According to Talmud, in 300 BCE is when the last prophets died since the Jews of the time didn’t want to leave Babylon and return to Israel. ⁴

To summarize, the coming Mashiach (Messiah):           

Will be born of human parents with a direct bloodline back to King David           

Will bring all of the Jewish people home to Israel

Will usher in an ear of world peace and end all oppression, hatred and the such           

Will spread the knowledge of one G-d to everyoneThus, the next Mashiach will complete these tasks outright.Another important fact is that Jews don’t believe in the Holy Trinity. Jews believe G-d is one and can’t not be divided into parts. This idea allows for God’s unity and uniqueness as a creative force. Thus, for Jews, God is the creator of all that we like and all that we don’t. There is no evil force with an ability to create equal to God’sJews don’t have a set group of beliefs about the nature of God; therefore, there is considerable, and approved, debate within Judaism about God.⁵

Now at this point, I am not sure where to go. So let’s head to another question. Did the Jews kill Jesus?While doing my research on this question, I became quite astonished at what I have learned. Jesus was tried on the charge of being “King of the Jews” (Mark 15:26; John 19:19). Pontius Pilate was judge, jury and executioner. But he was indeed prodded by the Jewish Priestess of the time.But in the Roman Era of Jerusalem, only Pilate had full authority to convict someone on a capital crime. Another strong point that the Romans killed Jesus is this: only the Romans used Crucifixion. The Jews used stoning for the death penalty.⁶ 

As in previous writings, there are some subjects that I am just not worldly enough to put into the correct context, so the following from the website: www.americancatholic.org:According to Mark 14:53-65, there were two charges made against Jesus: He threatened to destroy the Temple (14:58) and claimed to be “the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One” (14:61). Although the first charge is denied and the second charge is given an interpretation (see 14:57, 59, 62), there was surely something to these charges.⁷ And the research goes on; I discover that it was only a select few Jews, the high priests and those with the responsibility to protect the Temple and Jerusalem, who pushed Rome for the death of Jesus.  So would we have Christianity today as we know it if Jesus wasn’t killed? Probably not. Jesus was not the “founder” of modern Christianity. It was the Apostle Paul and his followers from Nazarene. They were the original group to spread the word of Christ and baptize the Romans to believe in Christ. This then leads back to who killed Christ. In the New Testament, Christ is killed by the Jews.But as I have shown, the Romans actually killed Christ. The New Testament was changed to show the Jews doing the work, since Paul and his followers where trying to get Rome to convert to Christianity. You can’t get a nation to follow you if you bad mouth them or portray them as killers.I would like to go back to the Holy Trinity and why Jews do not believe in it. Jews see the Holy Trinity as idolatry, one of the three cardinal sins. Every day, Jews are required to say one prayer in particular, the Shema, which can be found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.The Shema is very blunt and to the point. To the Jews, there is only one G-d.As I sit here and read my research and try to figure out which way I want to go with it, I become even more confused. What is important? What isn’t important? Will somebody be offended by this? Am I sounding prejudicial without trying to be?I guess the bottom line is this. We have all been given freewill. We all have the right to choose what is best for ourselves. In all aspects of our lives. In the end, we are all going to the same place. G-d loves each and every one of his children today just as he did 2000 years ago. G-d bless. 

Sources:1 Wikepdia contributors, “Talmud,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,       http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talmud&oldid=77080186 (accessed September 25, 2006). 2 Katz, Lisa, “Who Was Jesus?”, http://judaism.about.com/od/beliefs/a/jesus.htm (accessed September 25, 2006).3,4 Simmons, Rabbi Shagra, “Why Don’t Jews Believe in Jesus?”, http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/jewsandjesus.htm, (accessed September 25, 2006)5 “The Difference Between Judaism and Christianity”, http://www.convert.org/differ.htm, (accessed September 25, 2006)6,7 Harrington, Daniel J. “Who Killed Jesus?”, http://www.americancatholic.org/newsletters/sfs/an0399.asp, (accessed September 25, 2006)

End of Days Pt 1

Are the End of Days upon us? Radical religious zealots of all faiths would like you to think so. Are the great conflicts of Isaac and Ishmael coming back? Are the Prophecies of Ezekiel, Daniel and others coming true? Have we crossed the Rubicon into a new era of humanity?  Before I get too much further, there are some sections that are copied word for word and proper credit is listed as needed. Some of this due to the fact, that I am not a religious scholar and the people who did this research have put it in terms that I could never do. As Jews, we believe the Mashiach will be mortal. According Maimonides, the twelfth foundation of Judaism is:           

         And this is to believe that in truth that he will come and that you should be waiting for him even though he delays in coming. And you should not calculate times for him to come, or to look in the verses of Tanacha to see when he should come. The sages say: The wisdom of those who calculate times [of his coming] is small and that you should believe that he will be greater and more honored than all of the kings of Israel since the beginning of time as it is prophesied by all the prophets from Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, until Malachi, peace be upon him. And he who doubts or diminishes the greatness of the Messiah is a denier in all the Torah for it testifies to the Messiah explicitly in the portion of Bilam and the portion of “You are gathered (towards the end of Deut)”. And part of this principle that there is no king of Israel except from the house of David and from the seed of Solomon alone. And anyone who disputes this regarding this family is a denier of the name of God and in all the words of the prophets.   Why is so hard for people to realize that the Mashiach will be mortal? If G-d intended to help humans with every issue that arises, the Mashiach would have come many times over. The majority of humans’ problems today, we created. NOT G-d! The Mashiach will rise to power when it is time. When it is time for all Jews to gather in Jerusalem at the Third Temple. 

In Talmud, the end of days will be signified with tumultuous events the will end the “old world order” and a “new world order” will be created. In this new world order, G-d, as the Jews see him, will be recognized as the only G-d. The only ruler of everyone and everything. According to Talmud, this will happen in the year 6,000 AD. As we enter 5767, we have 233 years to go before this happens. BUT Talmud also states, the Mashiach can come earlier if G-d feels it is right to do so. But are the events we are seeing happen today around the world the signal that Mashiach is planning his return soon? 

Some major events have happened with in the last 100 years that lead to me believe that end of days and the return of the Mashiach is upon us: 1)    The Holocaust2)    Major strife in the Middle East since 1948 and the founding of the Modern State of Israel:a.    War of Independenceb.    War of Atonementc.    Six Day ward.    Yom Kippur Ware.    Lebanonf.     Islamic Infadas’ I and II3)    Attacks on Western entities:a.    1993 World Trade Center Attachb.    Various embassy bombings around the globec.    September 11^th4)    Rise of dictators and radical Islamists5)    The rise and fall of Sadam Hussein6)    The impending destruction of Iran7)    Call by Al-Qaeda for all Muslims to leave the United States in advance of a nuclear attack 

Is some of this speculation? Is some of this freight? Probably. But it doesn’t discount pass events and the knowledge that something, somewhere, especially in the US or Israel is about happen soon. Recently, I read a series of books by Joel Rosenbaum. Mr. Rosenbaum was born an Orthodox Jew and converted to Evangelical Christianity. What his reasons for converting, I don’t know. But his books, The Last Jihad, End of Days, The Ezekiel Option and The Copper Scroll are all based upon the writing of Ezekiel and other prophets.  

In the books, Israel’s enemies rise together, Magog and Gog, (assumed to be Russia and Iran) will form a multi-national force of terror that attacks Israel and the US. But through research and connections with a retired Mossad agent, the main character learns about the End of days prophesied by Ezekiel. And, as you would expect, he doesn’t believe it. Until he sees it with his own eyes. And the forces of evil and the Antichrist are destroyed by supernatural powers.  But what does Ezekiel say exactly¹:²Son of man, set your face toward ^(HC)Gog of the land of ^(HD)Magog, the prince of ^(HE)Rosh, ^(HF)Meshech and ^(HG)Tubal, and prophesy against him ³and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. ⁴“I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will ^(HH)bring you out, and all your army, ^(HI)horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; ^5(HJ)Persia, ^(HK)Ethiopia and ^(HL)Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; ^6(HM)Gomer with all its troops; ^(HN)Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops–many peoples with you. ⁷“^(HO)Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. These seven versus specifically spell out which countries will rise together against  Israel and will bring on the end of days. These countries are²: 

Libya, Persia, Ethiopia              Libya (Put) remains today, bearing the same name, lying just west of Egypt. Persia, also remaining to the present, is now known as Iran. Biblical Ethiopia (Cush, KŠ) is not the Ethiopia of today but rather the land just to the south of Egypt, Northern Sudan.Togarmah        Togarmah (TGRM) presents only a little more difficulty. Togarmah was a descendant of Noah through Japheth then Gomer (Gen.10:1-3). He is known to Assyrian records as Tilgarimmu (TLGRM). The inserted “L” is not uncommon and, more than likely, was silent. Tilgarimmu was a city state in Eastern Anatolia (Asia Minor, modern Turkey), more specifically, as Ryrie states, “the southeastern part of Turkey near the Syrian border.” This identification is generally acknowledged by all.

Gomer        Gomer (GMR) has often been mistaken to refer to Germany because of a supposed similarity of linguistic construction. This position has two serious errors. One is that the “R” and “M” are reversed. Ezekiel wrote of GMR not GRM. The reversal is unwarranted linguistically. Furthermore, this similarity and inversion is based upon a comparison of Ezekiel’s GMR with a modern English (from Latin) designation for Deutschland. Clearly, the similarity is only superficial. These two errors rule out, absolutely, any possible identification of Gomer with Germany. 

Rosh        The identification of Rosh (RŠ) presents some difficulty. Some understand it to be a proper noun referring to Russia rather than as a simple noun or adjective, “head” or “chief” (KJV), which is its normal meaning.        Although this interpretation may be allowable on grammatical grounds, it suffers from several problems. The first is that there is absolutely no place on earth known by this name, Rosh. Of all the occurrences of Meshech and Tubal (MŠK and TBL) in Biblical and non-Biblical writings, they are never associated with a place called Rosh, as the translation “prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal” would suggest.

 Russian Cities:            Meshech           

Meshech (MŠK) is often mistaken for the Modern Russian city of Moscow, capitol and largest city of the Soviet Union. Again, this identification, as even Ryrie admits, is unfounded also. The problems are similar to those associated with the identification of Gomer with Germany. First of all, the Š is changed to S. This again is unwarranted linguistically. Furthermore, the similarity is based upon a comparison of MŠK with the English designation Moscow; the Russian word is Moskva (MSKV) and is less similar still.        However, Mushki (MŠK) of central and western Asia Minor, known in the classics (Homer, etc.) as Phrygia, fits very well. These people were well known to Ezekiel, and this seems clearly the easier interpretation.

Tubal        Tubal (TBL) is commonly identified with the Russian city of Tobol’sk. Although this is allowable linguistically, it is not the best hermeneutically. Ezekiel knew nothing of Tobol’sk (or Moscow or Germany, for that matter); it did not exist. He was, however, well acquainted with Tabal (TBL) of Eastern Asia Minor (and Gimarrai and Mushki) of central and western Asia Minor). Granted, God could have revealed Tobol’sk (and Moscow and Germany) to the ancient prophet, but to assume so when Tabal was well known to him is unjustified apart from Biblical warrant. If a man in New York, for example, speaks of Manhattan, he would not want anyone to assume that he is speaking of a Manhattan, Kansas; much less would he want anyone to interpret his words as referring to a Manhattan somewhere else in the world of which he is unaware! Similarly, to assume a place unknown to the prophet (Tobol’sk) when clear options are available is both hermeneutically and exegetically untenable. Tabal is clearly to be preferred. 

Gog            Gog is extremely difficult to identify. Some have identified him with Gyges (seventh century B.C.), king of Lydia (extreme western Asia Minor), who is called Gugu in the Ashurbanipal texts. Some have suggested the place name Gagai, referred to in the Tell el Amarna letters as a land of Barbarians. A god named Gaga found in the Ras Shamra writings; Gagu, a ruler of the land of Sakhi, North of Assyria; and Gaga, a mountainous region north of Meletene, have all been offered as alternatives. Some have understood Gog to be a historical figure such as Alexander the Great. One plausible explanation is that Gog is merely an official title or general designation for any enemy of God’s people. This interpretation is based on the Septuagint rendering of several Kingly names in the Old Testament. Perhaps Gog is only a derivative of the related word Magog. None of the above suggestions has sufficient evidence for certain identification. It is most probable that Gog is a person, but geographical identification is not given.Magog           

Magog, a descendant of Noah through Japheth (Gen. 10:1-2), presents the most difficulty. Those who see it as Russia appeal to Josephus who said “Magog founded those that from him were named Magogites, but who are by the Greeks called Scythians,” who lived north and northeast of the Black Sea. The fact of the matter, however, is that nothing is known about Magog–nothing. Josephus’ guess may be as good as any, but the place is as yet unidentified. The appeal to Gesenius is impressive, but it must be remembered that Gesenius was a great lexicographer and grammarian, not an authority on ancient history. His statement was but a guess also; in fact, it is highly probable that Josephus was Gesenius’ source for this information. Furthermore, though the Scythians are of the Japhetic line, they are believed by historians to be descendants of Gomer through Ashkenas; this is not true of Magog. To identify Magog as the Scythians is without support from historical anthropology.        Although Magog cannot be identified specifically, it seems that Scripture does give a clue at least to its general vicinity. First, “Gog” is known to be an Anatolian name. Further, if Meshech and Tubal have been identified correctly and are in Asia Minor, Magog must be a part of Asia minor as well since “they [Meshech and Tubal] lived in the neighborhood of Magog.” Ezekiel 38:2 states that Gog, who is the “chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,” is “of the land of Magog.” If Gog is prince of Meshech and Tubal and lives in the land of Magog, it seems reasonable that Magog is in close proximity.

        In summary, the Scythians were a people other than Magogites, and Magog is not able to be specifically identified, unless it is a general reference to the land of Asia Minor.WOW! I realize that is a lot of information to take in. But is very important to understanding end of days. The majority of these countries, if not all, have had a conflict or issue with Israel as well as the United States. Russia and the US have never directly been in war against each other, but look at the number of conflicts that both have been in that they have indirectly gone against each other. Korea, Vietnam, Mid East Conflicts. And then the diplomatic side. Russia doesn’t want to end Iran’s nuclear program. In fact, Iran is just another slave to Mother Russia. The Iranians owe the Russians Billions of dollars for military hardware from past conflicts. Plus many of these other countries are against the sanctions to be put against Iran. Though the may be afraid of Iran, they want equal footing in the Mid East. If Iran has to give up its nuclear program, they want Israel to do the same. Logical argument. To an extent. 

But Israel, which has never officially said they have nuclear weapons, will use them only in a defensive scenario. Iran has too many radicals and too many ties to radicals that would use the nukes for a first strike scenario. Amazing, just twenty years ago, the US and Russia stood head to head with nuclear weapons, but both also went on the premise of MAD or Mutually Assured Destruction. Could or would the philosophy work in the Middle East? 

1 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2033-39;&version=49

2 http://www.biblicalstudies.com/bstudy/eschatology/ezekiel.htm

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