Daniel 7:13

Posted on November 23, 2010 by yourphariseefriend

Daniel 7:13

In the 7th chapter of the book of Daniel, we learn of a prophetic vision granted to Daniel. He tells us of four great beasts rising out of the sea, one after another. After describing each of the four beasts Daniel sees “one like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13). Christian missionaries consider this verse to be of critical importance because it establishes the exalted nature of the Messiah. Christian missionaries believe that this verse provides the necessary support for the Christian belief that the Messiah is to be “divine”.

This is incredible! This is one of the few passages in scripture that come along with a commentary. Scripture itself explains this passage and the “son of man” of Daniel 7:13 is not the Messiah – it is the people of Israel!

The scripture informs us that after Daniel had seen the vision he approaches an angel and asks for a clarification of all that he had seen (7:16). The angel replies that the four beasts represented four kingdoms, and the final dominion will be given to the “holy ones of the most high” (7:18) – a reference to the nation of Israel. The angel elaborates further by telling us that the dominion under all of the heavens is given to “the nation of holy ones of the most high” (7:27) – again a clear reference to the nation of Israel. According to the angel, each of the beasts represents a different kingdom, while the son of man in Daniel’s vision represents Israel. The Christian assertion that this passage refers to the Messiah is plainly refuted by scripture itself.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in The Ultimate Truth | 29 Comments

A Brief History of Charlie and the Charolites

Posted on November 23, 2010 by yourphariseefriend

A Brief History of Charlie and the Charolites

“All these things spake he unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

 

Charlie H. Smith was a traveling Christian preacher. He began his public ministry in the summer of 2012, about July or August. It did not take long for Charlie to gather a loyal following. His followers were few in number and even smaller in the aggregate of their intellectual and spiritual credentials, but their loyalty to Charlie was absolute.

Charlie’s preached a mixed message. On the one hand he spoke of love, peace, tolerance and self-negation. On the other hand, Charlie railed against the respected figures of Christendom. He called them all types of names and rained upon their heads all manners of curses. Until today, it is not clear which part of his message was more appealing to his followers. Some historians argue that his simplistic teachings on love and peace spoke to the hearts of those who found themselves so hurt by the injustices of society. Other historians contend that it was his message of hate towards the established figures of Christian society that attracted those who felt intimidated by the high society of Christendom to begin with.

Towards the end of his rather brief ministry, Charlie began dropping hints as to what he believed was his role in the cosmic plan of Christian eschatology. By the winter of 2015, Charlie’s followers were convinced that their leader was no less than a second incarnation of Jesus. Charlie’s devoted followers firmly believed that they were witnessing and participating in the second coming of the Christian Savior.

When Charlie was killed in a car accident in April of 2015, his followers were shell-shocked. But their shock did not last more than a few days. Due to the confusion that arose at the time of Charlie’s hasty burial, some of Charlie’s followers became convinced that a certain empty mausoleum was the place were Charlie had been laid to rest. The fact that the mausoleum was subsequently found empty convinced these followers that Charlie had risen from the dead. This report was followed by the rumor that some of his followers had actually seen Charlie since he had died.

Those followers of Charlie who believed in Charlie’s resurrection expected Charlie to return and take his rightful place as the incarnation of Jesus. These believers maintained their own Churches for some time after Charlie’s death or disappearance. Although they attempted to recruit followers from amongst the Christians, their efforts did not meet with much success. The fact that the establishment Churches spent time and effort criticizing Charlie’s followers energized Charlie’s devoted believers, but made it difficult for them to grow their Church.

In 2033, all of this changed. That was the year of Harry S Percy’s conversion to the Charolite faith (as Charlie’s followers came to be called). Harry was a man of vision and energy. Harry quickly developed his own understanding of Charlie’s cosmic role and of his own mission to the world. According to Harry, Charlie was the fourth person in the Christian god-head. He was one and the same with Jesus, but he was a different person in the god-head. Charlie’s death had been an atonement for the sins of the world. According to Harry, the death of Jesus could only have been a foreshadowing of Charlie’s supreme sacrifice. Harry and his theologians (and it did not take long for Harry to raise schools of theologians), argued that since Jesus had never sinned, his death could not rightfully atone for sin. As someone who never sinned, Jesus could never be able to atone for sin. Harry argued that it was only Charlie, as a man who was intimately familiar with the concept of sin, who could provide atonement with his death. It was Harry who attributed to Charlie the statement; “No one comes to Jesus but through me”. And it was Harry, of-course, who invented the concept of a “third coming”.

Harry also believed that he was appointed by Charlie (who appeared to Harry several times) to minister to non-Christians. Harry’s message was strongly opposed by the original following of Charlie, and it was certainly challenged by the establishment Churches of Christendom, but Harry did not care. Harry traveled to the far-east and to Africa where he made millions of converts to the Charolite faith. It did not take long for the converts of Harry to outnumber and overpower the original Charolite Church.

Once these followers of Harry gained the reigns of power in the Charolite movement they set about to eradicate every last vestige of opposition to the doctrines of Harry. The followers of Harry did not stop at killing the original followers of Charlie and burning their Churches. They tried to eradicate every last bit of documentation that could serve as a refutation to the doctrines of Harry. The followers of Harry rewrote and edited the Newer Testament touted by the original Charolites. They did not stop there but they appended Harry’s epistles to the Newer Testament, making Harry’s teachings equal with those of Charlie.

It is fortunate that Harry’s followers were not entirely successful. The authors of this article have come into possession of some historical documentation that has escaped the clutches of the Charolite inquisitors. With time we hope to make these documents available to the public.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in The Charolite Faith | 11 Comments

Hell and Idolatry

Posted on November 21, 2010 by yourphariseefriend

Hell And Idolatry
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that if one doesn’t accept Jesus as savior that he or she is bound to spend eternity in a place of endless torment in either a fiery pit (or in utter darkness believed by the more caring Christians). I grudgingly believed this for many years after all didn’t the New Testament speak of this punishment for the unbeliever.  Later I awoke to some startling facts. The Hebrew bible didn’t speak of such a place.  Hell in the Hebrew bible is either  the stomach of a big fish (Jonah 2:2)  or a place where even the unbelieving Pharaoh was being comforted (Ezekiel 32:30-32)  Comforted in Hell!  Certainly not the hell of the New Testament, but the Hell of the Jewish Scriptures.
Now as to Idolatry I found out that the God of Israel states clearly that to worship any other god is idolatry.  This brings up an important question.  How is one to know how to tell the true God from a false god?  We are not left in the dark concerning that question.  The Torah simply states:
“They sacrificed  unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not to NEW gods that CAME NEWLY UP(hmm) whom YOUR FATHERS FEARED NOT. (another hmmm)  (Deut 32:17)
Ask yourselves; Just who did our forefathers worship prior to the birth of Jesus??
Deuteronomy chapter 4 states that when God spoke to the entire Jewish nation we saw no form we only heard a voice.  The prophet Hosea 11:9 states  “For I am God not man” which is written in the Torah Numbers 23:19. Does one want to specifically know about God?  To whom should one turn?  To the Christian Missionary?  No!   Deuteronomy 32:7 states who we should turn to for that information:
“Ask your father and he will show you, your elders and they will tell you”
Yes, possibly our earthly father may not walk in a relationship with God, and that is why God states  “Ask Your Elders”  It is they who carry the torch of the God of Israel, not someone who worships a three person god.
I ask any who read this paper to consider that the New Testament speaks of people who are possessed with demons (try to find one case of this in the Jewish Bible, you will not)  for such exists only in the imagination of the Christian bible. Notice that Satan is only mentioned a few times in the Hebrew bible.  Not one time does he do anything except tempt individuals.  The NewTestament makes a god out of him with powers in opposition to God.  Yet he only operates under control of God in the True bible. (see Job chapters 1 and 2)
I am not afraid or concerned with hell,  I am concerned about the idolatry that the New Testament teaches as fact, and so should you.
Tsvi Jacobson
p.s.  WARNING!!   Read Deuteronomy 13

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Tzvi Jacobson | 8 Comments

Talk is Cheap

Posted on November 16, 2010 by yourphariseefriend

As a former leader in the Messianic movement, Tzvi is still on the mailing list of several followers of Jesus. Here is an article sent to Tzvi by a Christian and it is followed by Tzvi’s short but powerful reply.

The Christian’s Article

We typically fill our parties with people similar to ourselves.  We invite into our homes those we work with, play with, or otherwise have something in common with.  We celebrate with fellow graduates, entertain people from our neighborhoods, and open our doors to four year-olds when our own is turning four.  Psychologists concur: we socialize with those in our circles because we have some ring of similarity that connects us.
The man in the parable of the great banquet is no different.  The story is told in Luke chapter 14 of an affluent master of ceremonies who had invited a great number of people like himself to a meal.  The list was likely distinguished; the guests were no doubt as prosperous socially as they were financially.  Jesus sets the story at a critical time for all involved.  The invitations had long been sent out and accepted.  Places were now set; the table was now prepared.  All was ready.  Accordingly, the owner of the house sent his servant to bring in the guests.  But none would come.
Anthropologists characterize the culture of Jesus’s day as an “honor/shame” society, where one’s quality of life was directly affected by the amount of honor or shame socially attributed to him or her.  The public eye was paramount; every interaction either furthered or diminished one’s standing, honor, and regard in the eyes of the world.
Thus, in this parable, the master of the banquet had just been deliberately and publicly shamed.  He was pushed to the margins of society and treated with the force of contempt.  Hearers of this parable would have been waiting with baited breath to hear how this man would attempt to reclaim his honor.  But in fact, the master of the feast did not attempt to reverse his public shame.  Altogether curiously, he embraced it.
Turning to the slave, the owner of the house appointed the servant with a new task.  “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and the poor and maimed and lame and blind bring in here” (Luke 14:21).  Returning, the servant reported, “Lord it has all occurred as you ordered, and still there is room” (v. 22).  So the owner of the house responded again, “Go out into the waves and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (23).
The slave is told to do what he must to compel the masses to come, liberating the blind, the lame, and the excluded of their social status and stigma with an invitation to dine with none other than the master.  It is a staggering portrayal of a God who is shamed by the rejection of his people, and yet continues to respond with unfathomable grace and profound invitation into his presence.  The owner of the house has opened wide the doors.  The feast is ready—and there is yet room.
The longing to belong in the right circles is a desire that touches us all.  Even so, one only has to watch a group of kids on playground to see how easily our desire to belong is corrupted by our need to exclude.  The inner circle is not inner if there are no outsiders.  Lines of honor and shame are futile if the majority is not on the wrong side.  But in this story, God has broken these lines of demarcation.  The Father forever challenges the notion that his house will be filled only with the rich or the righteous or those without shame.
The banquet is ready and there is a call to fill the house with the lost and unworthy, the homeless, the blind, and the out-of-place.  The invitation of Christ is wide enough to scour the darkest of hedges and the depths of the city streets.  Whether we find ourselves outside of the circle because we have rejected him or at the table communing with his guests, it is a good word to digest:  the kingdom of God is like a great banquet.  God’s compulsion is our nourishment.  The feast is ready and there is still room.

Tzvi’s Reply

My reply to this paper is that having spent many years in Christianity,  I rarely if ever saw the poor maimed and blind invited to anyones home  except the soup kitchens where the alcoholics and drug addicts had to listen to a sermon before being served something to eat.   Yet in most Orthodox synagogues you will hear the announcement every Sabbath. ” If you do not have a place for Sabbath dinner let me know as we have many families that would be glad to have you.”   The truth of the matter is that in many respects JEWS ALREADY DO  many things that Jesus himself taught, but Christians just believe on him
Tsvi Jacobson

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Posted in Tzvi Jacobson | 2 Comments

Introducing Tzvi Jacobson

Posted on November 16, 2010 by yourphariseefriend

Tzvi Jacobson is a dear friend of mine. As a former leader in the Messianic movement, Tzvi has a unique perspective on the issues discussed on this blog. I welcome Tzvi as a co-author on this blog, and I am sure that our many readers will benefit from Tzvi’s wisdom. Enjoy and be inspired.

Your Pharisee Friend

Posted in Tzvi Jacobson | Leave a comment

Cut Off

Posted on November 14, 2010 by yourphariseefriend

Cut Off

Replacement theology is on its way out amongst many Christians. Many Christians are coming to believe that the Jewish people are still chosen by God. I see this as a positive development in Christianity. With the stranglehold of the establishment Church broken, Christians are reading the Bible on their own and coming to their own conclusions. It is not easy for people to begin thinking in a direction that they are not accustomed to, but as the decades and centuries move on, progress is being made. More and more Christians are discovering that the Bible teaches doctrine that is different than what is taught by the establishment Church. This process influences the Churches as well, who realign their doctrines to the Biblical truths discovered by their supporters. It is my belief that the truth of God will eventually triumph completely and Christians will learn that Jesus was not who he claimed to be and that the Christians Scriptures have no place next to the Jewish Bible. In the meantime, I applaud any step taken towards God’s truth.

Despite the fact that so many Christians have come to the recognition that the Jewish people are still God’s elect, still, the full ramifications of this truth have yet to set in. If you were to ask a Christian the following question: Where are most Jews who ever lived? Consider all of the Jews who ever lived and tell me – do you think that the majority of them are in heaven or do you believe that they are in hell? I find that Christians do not appreciate the question, but when they do respond, they tell me that the vast majority of Jews who ever lived are presently in hell. Christians who have accepted the teaching that there is no forgiveness for sin without the blood of Jesus, will have to believe that those who did not believe in Jesus, be they Jewish or gentile, did not receive forgiveness for their sins and consequently must be burning in the fires of hell.

So here is the problem. Why is it then, that when God threatens a Jew with punishment, He declares: “That soul shall be cut off from her nation”? If the nation is in hell, then what’s the big deal? Why wouldn’t you want to be cut off from such a nation? It is obvious that the vast majority of Jews are in a good place, and that being cut off from the Jewish people is not a positive spiritual proposition. God does not believe that the majority of the Jewish people are burning in hell, and He expects the readers of His book to be frightened by the threat of being cut off from the Jewish nation.

Here are some of the Biblical references. Genesis 17:14, Exodus 12:15,19, 31:14, Leviticus 7:20,21,25,27, 19:8, 22:3, 23;29, Numbers 9:13, 15:30, 19:13,20, Ezekiel 13:9. Please read them and think about them.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in General | 117 Comments

The Blood of the Lamb

Posted on November 10, 2010 by yourphariseefriend

The Blood of the Lamb

Christians are impressed that it was the blood (!) Of the lamb which saved the Jews in Egypt. Well it was. But it means something quite different than the meaning that Christians have read into it. In fact the blood of the lamb represents the precise opposite of the Christian claims for Jesus. It is the Jewish rejection of Jesus together with their rejection of all idolatry that saves the Jewish people.

We must ask ourselves. What did the blood mean to the Jews in Egypt? Why was the blood meaningful to God? And how did it save the Jewish people?

Answer: The Egyptians venerated the lamb. They couldn’t associate with anyone who herded sheep for the purpose of eating them (Genesis 43:32, 46:34, Exodus 8:22). For the Jew to slaughter the lamb it was an act of faith. Not in the lamb; but of faith in God. It takes courage to be different. First the Jew had to disengage from the Egyptian influence in his own mind, and then the Jew had to overcome his fear of the local population which would not take lightly to his slaughtering of their object of veneration. But if God commands, the Jew obeys. And God in His infinite mercy rewards our obedience even though it belongs to Him before we gave it to Him.

The blood of the lamb on the doorpost was a statement. The blood was a declaration that when you pass this doorpost you will no longer be in Egypt. Perhaps the geographical address is still Egypt, but the ideological location is far removed from Egypt. The blood on the doorpost proclaims that the people in this house have faith in God and in God alone. The destroying angel went through Egypt, but the homes with the blood were not “Egypt”.

So that’s the Passover lamb.

Today it is the Jew’s Mezuza that is the symbolic equivalent of the blood of the lamb. Wherever you see the Mezuza on the doorpost you can be sure they don’t worship the lamb in there. The Jewish home remains a bastion to faith in God and loyalty to His Law despite all of the extreme pressures that the worshipers of the lamb brought to bear in an effort to get the Jew to abandon his faith in God.

Ultimately, our rejection of the idolatrous influences of the nations around us will pay off. Those who hope to God, trust in Him, and in Him alone, will not be shamed (Isaiah 49:23).

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Holidays | 614 Comments

Knock Knock

Posted on November 10, 2010 by yourphariseefriend

Knock Knock

“Knock knock” “who’s there?”

“It is I, God”.

Door opens revealing a friendly looking man.

“Come inside”

The visitor and the host each take a seat.

“So you say you are God”

“Indeed I am, and you should please bow down to express your reverence to me”

“I think I would feel quite uncomfortable fulfilling your request”

“Is that how you speak to God? If you don’t worship me you will burn in hell forever and ever”

“Hmm, interesting, I’ll tell you what, I’ll step into the other room now, and I will pray to the One God who created heaven and earth, and who continuously sustains all existence, if that will not satisfy you, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave”

If “A” is not equal to “B”, then “B” cannot be equal to “A”. To word it differently; if “G” is not equal to “J”, then “J” cannot be equal to “G”.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in The Ultimate Truth | 24 Comments

Deuteronomy 13

Posted on November 4, 2010 by yourphariseefriend

Deuteronomy 13

In the 13th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy God guides the Jewish people in the process of identifying and dealing with a false prophet. God tells us that if the prophet encourages worship of gods other than the One that we know, we could be confident that the prophet is false (verses 2 – 6) . In this Biblical passage we learn how it is that the Jewish people came to accept the prophets of Scripture. Before the Jewish people could accept that any prophet is indeed an authentic prophet, they must first be reassured that the God of this prophet is the same as the God that they already know. We only have the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Samuel and Daniel today because the Jewish people acknowledged and accepted that these men and women worshiped the same God as their fathers before them. This is the Jewish nation’s responsibility before God. They are charged by God to reject any claimant to prophecy who encourages worship of another deity. God handed this responsibility to the Jewish people. Anyone who accepts the validity of the Jewish Scriptures must accept that the Jewish people discharged their responsibility with accuracy. If one were to hypothesize that the Jewish people cannot accurately identify their own God, it would then follow that the Jewish Scriptures are an invalid document. If the Jewish people are not capable of making a reliable determination concerning the credibility of a prophet, then the Jewish Scripture has no leg to stand on. There is no way of knowing if Isaiah, Esther, Obadiah, and Nehemiah were truly inspired by God or not. If we do not accept the decision of those who accepted them as true prophets we cannot accept the validity of their books. How absurd then is the Christian position. Christianity is based upon the premise that the Jewish people are incapable of identifying their own God. Christianity believes that the Jewish perception of God is warped and inaccurate. The Jewish perception of God precludes the deification of a human, while Christianity claims that a true understanding of God includes the deification of a human. My challenge to the Christian is then: if you believe that the Jewish people are incapable of identifying their God, then why do you accept their Scriptural canon? If you believe that the Jewish people were mistaken when they rejected Jesus, then how can you stake your spiritual life on the assumption that they could not have been mistaken in their

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acceptance of Isaiah?

Posted in Faith Structure | Leave a comment

Isaiah 44

Posted on October 24, 2010 by yourphariseefriend

Isaiah 44

Throughout the Jewish Scriptures we find mocking remarks directed against idols and idolatry. The prophets describe the idols as: “… those who do not see or hear…” (Deuteronomy 4:28, Psalm 115:5, see also Habakuk 2:18). The prophets ridicule idols of wood and stone (Deuteronomy 28:36, 29:16, 2Kings 19:18, Ezekiel 20:32). The Scriptures describe idolatry as worshiping the handiwork of men (Deuteronomy 27:15, 31:29, 1Kings 16:7, Isaiah 2:8, 37:19, Jeremiah 10:3, Hosea 14:4, Micah 5:12, Psalm 135:15).

In this same spirit, Isaiah presents us with a vivid teaching on the subject of idolatry (Isaiah 44:6-20). The prophet describes how the craftsman exerts himself to create an idol. The prophet then speaks of the wood that is used to make the statue. Isaiah points out how one part of the wood is used to provide heat and cooking fuel for the same person who worships the image that had been fashioned from the other half of the same piece of wood.

What is the point of all this? Most idolaters would argue that it is not the statue that they are worshiping, but rather they worship the spirit that the statue represents. Furthermore, throughout history, many idolaters worshiped natural objects such as the sun, the moon, cats, cows and various people. How do the Scriptural lessons on idolatry pertain to these idolaters? Why is there so much emphasis on mocking the physical statue when in many cases the actual statue is not the focus of the idolater’s devotion?

When we understand the underlying principle of worship and devotion we will be able to appreciate the Scriptural lesson.

Worship of the Divine demands that one submit totally and unconditionally to God. Such absolute submission is only appropriate from created towards Creator, from one who is intrinsically a subject to One who is intrinsically the Master. The One who created everything and continuously sustains everything already owns every facet of our existence. It all belongs to Him and to Him alone. In submitting ourselves to Him we are merely acknowledging the truth of our complete dependence upon His mercy.

The key principles of worship and devotion are: Creator, the One to whom we belong, and the Master who is inherently the Master of all.

With this understanding we can now look at the Scriptural mockery of idolatry with clarity. Every statue is but a symbol, a representative of some concept or some entity. The statue will have to share some commonality, real or imagined, with the concept or entity that it is meant to represent. A statue can be used to symbolize almost any concept or entity. One can create a statue to represent the concepts of prosperity, of good fortune, of fertility, of strength, of forgiveness from sin and of human excellence.

There is one concept that can never be represented by a statue. There is one entity that can share no commonality with any physical body. That concept is the concept of “intrinsic Master” and “Creator of all”. When we think in the terms of “Creator versus created” and “the true Owner of all versus His subjects” – every entity that can be encompassed by our finite minds – will fall on the side of created and subject. There is nothing that can be used to represent the true Master and Creator because everything that we might use is equally subject and created by the Master and Creator.

The mockery of the prophets focuses on the concepts of “Creator” and “Master”. When one creates a statue and submits himself or herself to it – then the concept of worship has been completely subverted. The human is the creator of the statue, and the wood from which the statue is formed is actually the servant of man in the heat and light with which humanity is served. Whoever bows to a statue cannot be thinking in the terms of “Creator” and “Master”, because the statue is both “created” and “servant”.

Any worship aside from the worship of the One infinite Creator of all can be represented by a statue. Let us take the Christian devotion to Jesus as an example. Jesus was contained in a physical body that walked this earth. There is no intrinsic reason why he cannot be represented by a replica of his physical body. Since Jesus was limited to a physical body there is no reason why a finite physical body cannot be used to represent him.

In fact those who worship Jesus do not think in the terms of “Creator” or “the One to whom all belong”. The Christian devotees of Jesus think in the terms of obtaining forgiveness from sin, escaping the fires of hell, and acquiring a place in eternal life. If these followers of Jesus were to ask themselves: “does this man already own every facet of my existence?” – “is this man the Creator of all existence?” – they would not be directing their worship and devotion to a finite inhabitant of God’s earth. It is only when these crucial questions are ignored that the path is open for idolatry.

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Posted in The Ultimate Truth | 25 Comments