RT: Antisemitism, or The Confessions of a Misguided Pastor
If our doctrine prevented millions of Jews from knowing their Jewish Messiah, would we care? Should we?
I have really tried to figure out some hook to start this post, but nothing comes. All I have is a broken heart and the horribly sick sensation that I have utterly failed my Messiah. When I stop and ponder the subject of antisemitism and my role in promoting such, I am physically ill. Maybe I feel just a little like Rav Shaul (the apostle Paul) felt as he was led by the hand to the house of Judas in Damascus. He could neither eat or drink he was so sick of heart. In fact, I believe that ill feeling would haunt him the rest of his life driving him to the lengths he was willing to go as a bond servant of Yeshua.
Shaul had not recognized the Messiah in the day of His visitation. In fact, he had gone so far as to persecute those who had, even assisting in the putting to death of Stephen. Now, Yeshua haMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) had revealed Himself in truth and glory on the road to Damascus and Shaul was sick. Beyond sick. He was shattered.
How could this have happened? How could he, a Pharisees of Pharisees, one who knew the Tanach (Old Testament) forwards and backwards, one who was a rising star among the leaders of Judaism, be so terribly wrong? He was sick! Utterly broken.
Shaul had been a faithful student who passionately sought Yahweh. He had played by the rules, only to find out the playbook he was using was not that of Yahweh. He had made the critical mistake of trusting the ages old playbook, Doctrine and Tradition.
I grew up by that playbook. Those who taught me meant well. I learned all the lines, had the prooftexts and could recite the lines of respected ‘church fathers.’ I graduated from a good seminary where well meaning men taught me to ‘defend my faith’ and ‘preach the Gospel.’ I pastored a church for ten years and taught zealously the ‘doctrines of grace.’
Yet, here I sit. Broken. Moved to tears when I ponder the gravity of what I have done and how I have hurt the heart of my Messiah. How did it ever come to this?
During my army days, after training exercises, we would have introspective ‘AARs,’ or, After Action Reviews. Like FAA inspectors after an airplane crash, we would look at every detail of the operation/exercise to try to determine what went right and what went wrong… What root causes contributed to the disaster. How could we repair the damage or insure not to make the same mistake again.
I have done much the same in trying to understand the contributing factors to this great ache in my soul. How did I get here? What went wrong? How do I insure this never happens again? I have hurt my King and taught/encouraged others to do the same!
What is this great pain I have inflicted upon Him? I have promoted antisemitism. I spent years of my life teaching against and, by example, denying the very Word of our Lord. Oh, I professed a love for Israel, and prayed often for the peace of Yerushlayim (Jerusalem), but my teaching and actions belied something very different without me even knowing it. I denied my Messiah and all He stood for.
Complete introspection and detailed analysis of the multiple ways would fill several books, so this will be a brief, but I pray, a very challenging overview of the AAR. Please walk with me here as I confess and recount some of the ways I denied my Savior before I explain how/why I committed these abominable acts.
I celebrated Christmas and Easter, holidays rooted in paganism. Just look in any encyclopedia. I may have meant well, yet, Deuteronomy 12: 29-32 among other passages clearly tells us that syncretism is an abomination to Yahweh. Inexcusable.
I ignored the dietary instructions of clean and unclean and taught these to be abrogated (WCF. XIX, iii) contrary to clear Scripture from the mouth of my Messiah.
I worshiped on Sunday according to the doctrines of men (WCF. XXI, vii), but contrary to the everlasting commandment.
I ignored the Feasts of Yahweh, contrary to the everlasting covenant (see RT:Olam!), while teaching that these were done away with (WCF. XIX, iii), despite Scripture to the contrary.
I called Yeshua by a Greek name, ‘Jesus,’ thus denying, with each use, His real heritage and even who He is. Yeshua means ‘salvation, deliverer.’ What does Jesus mean? There isn’t even a letter ‘J’ or ‘j’ sound in the Hebrew alephbet/language or in Greek!
Probably the most egregious was maintaining and promoting the idea that the church IS Israel, though I was careful to avoid the idea that we replaced Israel, either idea being a far cry from the truth of being grafted INTO Israel. In conjunction with this horrid error, I believed that for those of Jewish descent to be saved they had to come to ‘our’ Messiah instead of us going to them and ‘their’ Messiah. ( I never really pondered the fact that Yeshua haMashiach/Jesus the Messiah was a Sabbath keeping, feast observing, kosher eating, tassel wearing Jew!)
There are many other evidences, but these are damning enough to prove beyond any shadow of doubt that I lived and promoted antisemitism.
How so? Multiple ways, actually.
Denying the commandments is denying my Messiah. It denies His very essence, who He is, the Word made flesh, as well as denying how and through whom He chose to reveal Himself. Doing so is antisemitic at its root.
Teaching that my Messiah taught or even endorsed the errors I walked in has the effect of forcing the Jews to NOT believe in Him. Further, they are commanded to stone (or, in modern times they shun) any who might convert to Jesus. Yep, you read that right. Deuteronomy 13 commands that anyone who teaches or presents a Messiah contrary to Torah is to be separated from Israel. Just take the Deuteronomy 13 Test. See? Preaching a seemingly non-Jewish Messiah is antisemitism by removing from the Jews their own Messiah. Further, it is the act of preaching a false gospel and a false Messiah.
Teaching, or even hinting that the church somehow replaced Israel has the effect of denying the very tree into which I am grafted. Replacing Israel IS antisemitism. Overt dispensationalism (Baptist/Arminian) or covert dispensationalism (Presbyterian/Lutheran/Reformed) is still antisemitism.
Changing the name of Yeshua to Jesus denies His Jewishness and is antisemitic to the core. Think about it.
There are more ways to be very ‘religious’ and hide antisemitism, but we’ll move on. How did I get this way? Was I far afield of that which my denomination taught? Had I cast off everything I had been taught in a conservative seminary? Was I some closet radical who sought to undermine Messiah, or was I blindly following traditions?
While I have no excuse and am totally accountable for my actions, I was simply following what I had been taught. The doctrines and traditions of men that I had accepted were deeply influenced by antisemitism.
Consider what I had accepted… The doctrines and traditions I had embraced were either directly from or heavily influenced by:
Martin Luther:
“What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews? … First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn…. Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed… Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them… Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb… Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews…Sixth, I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them… Seventh, I recommend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hands of young, strong Jews and Jewesses and letting them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow, as was imposed on the children of Adam… ” etc. Read On the Jews and Their Lies, 1543, by Martin Luther for yourself.
John Calvin: (Though Calvin was not enamored with Luther’s well known tirade, he was no angel.) A Response To Questions and Objections of a Certain Jew
“Their [the Jews] rotten and unbending stiffneckedness deserves that they be oppressed unendingly and without measure or end and that they die in their misery without the pity of anyone.”
Excerpt from “Ad Quaelstiones et Objecta Juaei Cuiusdam Responsio,” by John Calvin; The Jew in Christian Theology, Gerhard Falk, McFarland and Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC and London, 1931.
Roman Catholic Church: Multiple church fathers quoted here. These are but a very small collection as mere examples of the attitude of the Roman Catholic Church toward Jews. Add to that the pogroms in the name of Jesus.
Remember, Luther, Calvin and the Roman Catholic ‘fathers’ quoted above either wrote or were heavily influential in the very basic tenets of all doctrine taught in the church today. The attitudes presented here are like a poison that permeates every doctrine, therefore everything taught or opined that touches on all things Jewish or Hebrew must be re-evaluated. Yes, they had much right, but clearly, they had much wrong! In light of the foul stench of antisemitism, every doctrine of churchianity, I mean, christianity, must be re-evaluated from the foundation of the Word.
But it wasn’t just the church that got us here… Consider:
Constantine:
“On the Venerable Day of the Sun [“venerabili die Solis”–the sacred day of the Sun] let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost–Given the 7th day of March, [A.D. 321], Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the second time.” The First Sunday Law of Constantine 1, in “Codex Justinianus,” lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Phillip Schaff “History of the Christian Church,” Vol. 3, p. 380. Much more here.
Deeper research reveals that in about the second century the newborn sect of Judaism called simply The Way by some adherents and Notzrim (Hebrew for ‘The Branch,’ likely mistranslated as ‘Nazarenes’) by some detractors had been all but taken over by Greek bishops with a radically different mindset and an arrogant attitude of superiority. Steeped in Western Hellenist thought, they began to erase the Eastern Hebrew mindset and methods of Scriptural understanding and interpretation. Add to this the growing hatred of the Jews in that day due to their unwillingness to bow to Rome and a heady mix was born. The Jewish Pharisees were trying to sever any ties with the upstart exponentially growing Gentile followers of Messiah while Rome was battling for the survival of their empire and they demanded the allegiance of all.
Bottom line, I believe Constantine saw an opportunity to create an empty shell that he could then fill as he saw fit for the future of his kingdom. With a new alliance with the bishop of Rome, he created an environment whereby the beginnings of the Roman Catholic Church could meld paganism and twisted belief in Messiah resulting in a syncretistic mixture of Hebrew-less Scripture and pagan practices.
The resulting mixture of antisemitism effectively obliterated the Hebrew roots of what we call the Christian faith. The church today, through inherited but well hidden antisemitism, has created a different religion instead of the faith of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
[Aside: I do believe there is much grace from our Father for those who believed and worshipped in ignorance, however, I am no longer ignorant and am accountable for what I have learned. If you have read this far, you are also accountable!]
I have no excuse and hold no one other than myself accountable for my teaching and acceptance of false traditions. I blame only myself and confess openly that I was horribly wrong. My heart aches, as I pray yours does too. 2 Chronicles 7:13-16 comes to mind.
I am not alone in coming to this understanding. It is part of a growing awakening that is occurring all over the planet because of the ready availability of truth on the internet. Those who seek truth are researching and finding the very things I have found.
Interestingly, in the last decade there has been a growing movement of recognition of this theft of our heritage and inheritance. It is a fulfillment of Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) 16:19-21.
O Yahweh, my strength and my stronghold,
And my refuge in the day of distress,
To You the nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood,
Futility and things of no profit.”
20 Can man make gods for himself?
Yet they are not gods!
21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—
This time I will make them know
My power and My might;
And they shall know that My name is Yahweh.”
Why now? What makes our generation special in that we suddenly begin to understand something even the Reformation fathers did not see? I can’t answer that other than to quote Scripture and bask in the humbling honor that Abba has bestowed on us with His visitation.
Malachi 4 is future prophecy. Read carefully and ponder what the prophet tells us:
For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says Yahweh Sabbaot, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” 2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. 3 You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says Yahweh Sabbaot.
4 “Remember the law of Moshe My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.
5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of Yahweh.6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
My fathers are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not Luther, Calvin or Knox. My heritage is Hebrew, not Roman Catholic pagan Hellenism. My future is the Messianic Kingdom in Israel for the Millenial reign and then the New Heaven and New earth, not some ethereal non-descript heaven.
I pray you understand my ache, and awakening to truth. Further, I pray that Yahweh open your eyes and break your heart as you see Yeshua haMashiach, the Lion of the tribe of JUDAH who is regathering the Lost Sheep!
It will take you a long time to process all of the info in this thread and as I stated early on, this is a mere overview. I encourage you to read or watch all of the links in this post. Get out your Bible and dig through it. If you are near me, come sit down and let’s reason together. Post questions and mostly, spend time before our Father and ask Him to reveal truth! He forgives and is waiting for you to come to fullness of the knowledge of Him and who He called you to be.
Embrace your heritage and waste not another day in the false doctrines of men!
The Reformation is just beginning! Next time, RT: Riches
Yahweh bless you, and keep you;
Yahweh make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;Yahweh lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace
Shalom,
Pete
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natsab 
Well done Pete! The Martin Luther part is absolutely crushing…it all is. I weep with you for our days we slumbered, and I cry out awaken to the lost sheep He is calling. C
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I have the same heart wrenching feelings about my own journey to my Hebrew roots… At one point I completely turned my back on Scripture altogether and plunged head first into the center of paganism. Sometimes I feel that there is no amount of repentance that would be enough, and that makes me even the more thankful for the grace, mercy, and love that I don’t deserve, but am given anyway. Without that part of the journey, I would have never come to where I am now. I wouldn’t be aware of the differences between light and dark, Truth and lies… Please don’t beat yourself up too badly. Walking in those shoes makes you much more understanding of those people who are stepping out of them.
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Great post Pete, echoes my own emotions as a recovering pastor too! Tweeted a link too…Shalom…B’Shem Yeshua.
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Shalom to you too! Great to have a friend across the pond.
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Reblogged this on The Seed of Abraham UK and commented:
Excellent post from a brother (Pete Rambo)who is walking the same road YHVH is using to lead many out of Babylon. Enjoy!
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A very powerful read and testimony,just coming into these things,but these things do seem to make so much sense,it seems to me to be such a solid concept and not an abstract concept,which traditional Christianity does do sometimes.
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Welcome, Simon.
It is a beautiful walk, but not without some rough waters coming in as we overcome the ingrained misconceptions.
Truly, the blessings are immense, as our Father promised. I hope some of the other RT pieces will be an encouragement as you cruise the blog.
Shalom! Pete
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Pingback: Confessions of a Misguided Pastor | The Seed of Abraham -New Hampshire
Shalom Pete,
Excellent post! I had reblogged this on my congregations blog, but I’m going to move it to my personal blog and remove it from the congregations. foundationsintorah.wordpress.com toda……
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Pingback: Confessions of a Misguided Pastor | Foundations In Torah
Shalom Pete,
You are in good company my friend, Shaul and even Peter who walked with Yeshua denied Him but He knew they would from the foundation of the world. How much does He love you …. He has revealed even more mysteries to you and given the words “grafted in” an entire new meaning. Ze metzsuyan. 🙂 Baruch ba shem.
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Very Good work & Shalom Pete. Posts like this can be an eye-opener and jump-start millions of lives in the right direction towards G-d & his messiah. I know you must have spent a while to dig-up all this vital information for all of us. G-d bless you for that and keep posting more good stuff like this! 🙂
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Pingback: The Hebrew Roots Movement | Green Baggins
Are you even reading the NT? “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Hebrews 8:13)
If you abandon the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is by faith through grace there is no hope for you (Hebrews 6:4-6)
I rebuke you from the Scriptures and implore you to repent of this devilish nonsense.
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Shalom, Darryl. Welcome and thanks for dropping by. I pray you will take the time to read, process and interact with this blog.
Let’s look at the verse you quoted. “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Hebrews 8:13)
In the Greek manuscripts, the word ‘covenant’ does not appear. The author of Hebrews uses an eclision (think that’s what it’s called) assuming the reader has followed his train of thought. The book of Hebrews is about a better High Priest and atonement through His blood, not a new covenant.
Hebrews 8:8 tells us He (Yahweh) found fault with THEM, not IT. The fault was with an imperfect priesthood. Verse 7, “For if that first __(eclision: Priest/priesthood)___ had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.” NASB.
Please notice the terms of the renewed covenant:
It is with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. (Where are the gentiles? What does ‘grafted-in’ really mean?)
Yahweh will write His Torah (see the Hebrew word for ‘law’ in Jeremiah 31:33) on our hearts.
The sign of the fulfillment is that we no longer need to teach our brothers…
Please look up the numerous verses about the Millennium wherein we will a) keep Sabbath and new moon festivals (Is. 66:23); b) we will keep the feasts (Zech. 14:16-19); c) we will eat kosher (Is. 66:17) and d) the Torah will go forth from Zion (Micah 4:1-3).
I have chosen to walk as my Messiah walks (I John 2:3-6) and believe all of Scripture exactly as it was written.
I bless you and pray you come into fulness of joy. Shalom!!
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Marcion 3rd century heretic used this phrase
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Darryl, if he has abandoned the faith and there is no hope for him, why are you rebuking him? Why tell him to repent?
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Antisemitism is not some disease one is born with. Antisemitism is the natural response of gentiles when they actually meet blaspheming, conniving jews.
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Tim,
I do not agree with what you have written in any way shape or form.
Antisemitism is the rejection of Messiah Yeshua. He is, by definition, a Torah observant JEW. Ignoring, denying or teaching around His actual lineage and essence (nevermind the very nature of what He will teach upon His return: Torah) is antisemitic…
In its most vitriolic form is sounds like this, “blaspheming, conniving jews…” That is the very ‘Luther/catholic approved doctrine’ spewed by Hitler in order to destroy six million innocents.
Scripture commands us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and to be a blessing to Abraham and his descendents. To do otherwise is to incur short-term and potentially eternal curses.
I pray you recant and repent while there is time.
Shalom.
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Pete,
“Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
Galatians 3 says a lot about the limited function of the law. It also tells us that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law – don’t go leading people back to the time before Christ’s completed work.
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Jason,
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll take the time to read and wrestle with more than just this article.
I’d like to take your post in reverse order as you have several items that are worthy of comment.
1. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law” In this statement you are exactly correct. Yeshua redeemed us from the curse. NOT from the Law. Big difference.
2. “It also tells us that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”” Seeing as how my wife and I are male and female, and seeing as how there are still slaves and free as well as Jews and Greeks, I’d like to suggest that the ‘one in Messiah’ has more to do with equal access than erasing identities. As such, we can be grafted into Messiah and the commonwealth of Israel. (Notice, they are not grafted into us…)
3. Your statements on Galatians assumes that Paul was arguing that the law was done away with… Let’s look at that.
In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul tells us to be ‘imitators of me, as I also am of Messiah.’ What exactly does that mean? He, being a first century rabbi, raised in Hebrew thought was teaching the principle of ‘halakah.’ Essentially, do as I do. So, what did he do?
Without going into depth as I do on some other Pauline posts on this blog, Acts reveals a Paul/Rav Shaul who never violates Torah. Teaches Torah. And, defends Torah. See those posts and these references: All from Acts: Teaching Moses in the synagogue on the Sabbath (15:21); teaching Gentiles on the Sabbath (18:4 and 13:42-44); celebrating the feasts 20:6 & 16); keeping and teaching Torah/walking orderly (21:21-24); taking Nazarite vows (21:26); observing the whole law (24:14); offering sacrifices (24:17); falsely accused of teaching against Law (25:7-11); and keeping whole Law / i.e. NO grounds for putting him to death (28:17-18).
Now, IF Paul was teaching against the Law, then the Jews, according to Deuteronomy 13, would NOT have had to accuse falsely and they would have had ground to put him to death. Simply, Paul NEVER teaches against the Law.
He rightly teaches that we are not saved by works as some Judaizers were promoting based on Rabbinic
tradition
. Paul understood what the church fails to understand: The Hebrews passed under the blood, through the water and were a saved people who agreed to covenant BEFORE the Law was given at Sinai. The Torah (rightly understood as loving instructions for obedient children) was given as the ‘house rules’ for those who were members of God’s House. They are no less applicable today as grafted in members of the house!
Peter, in his second epistle, 3:14-16 warns that Paul is difficult to understand and that those who twist him do so into LAWLESSNESS. Look it up. The church today is lawless. She teaches a gospel of grace that has no requirements apart from whatever tradition the respective denomination agrees to. Revelation tells us no less than four times that we are to keep the commands AND have the testimony of Yeshua: 12:17; 14:12; 15:3; 20:4.
Ultimately, if you do not have a solid foundation in Torah and understand how Paul walked as well as what he taught in other places:
– By faith we establish the Law (Ro. 3:31)
– the Law is the embodiment of knowledge and truth (Ro. 2:20)
– the Law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good (Ro. 7:12)
– Keeping the commandments is what matters (1 Cor. 7:19)
– being clean physically AND spiritually (he quotes Torah) (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)
– etc., etc.
then you cannot understand Galatians at all.
We are saved by grace, through faith to DO something… What is it?
What is the yoke Yeshua said (Matt. 11:28-30) would lead to ‘rest unto our souls?’ (Jer. 6:16)
Why does James call it the ‘perfect Law of liberty’? (Jas. 1:25)
‘Blessed is the man who…delights in the Torah of Yahweh and in His Torah he meditates day and night.’
‘How blessed are those whose way is blameless and who walk in the Torah of Yahweh…’
‘The Torah of Yahweh is perfect restoring the soul; the testimony of Yahweh is sure making wise the simple; (and everything in between to)… in keeping them is great reward.’
Another thing to look up, while you are at it: What will the New Covenant (technically, renewed covenant) write on your heart? Has that covenant been fulfilled? Who is it with?
I encourage you to put down the doctrinal and traditional lenses and read the pure Word asking the Father for TRUTH. In that is a journey that leads to amazing joy and freedom and peace.
Shalom! Pete
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Pete, think about it. If “antisemitism is the rejection of Messiah Yeshua,” then 99.9% of modern day “jews” are antisemites! I rest my case.
There are many other mistakes packed into your statement, but I’ll mention just one right now: most modern-day jews are Ashkenazi, who are no more descended from Abraham than the Samaritans of Jesus’ day were. They are descended from the Turkish tribe the Khazars, who wickedly converted to Talmudism, thereby rejecting the Son of God. The curse of God rests on them to this day, and they also become a curse to any nation harboring them. See Brother Nathaniel for loads of information on this problem.
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Next, let’s unpack some of these linguistic fallacies.
The Greeks do not have the “sh” sound, nor the guttural stop known as ‘ayin. Each of these came out with the closest approximation for a Greek speaker, namely “s.” So Yesous is how a Greek would have heard and said Yeshua’. Just as you, I’m pretty sure even with your Hebrew fetish, do not pronounce the final guttural stop in Yeshua’, and modern hebes don’t either. But originally they did (i.e. the ones that actually were Hebrews, not the modern-day impostors), and Arabs still know how to do it. So to fully honor “Yeshua’ ‘s origin, shouldn’t you learn to do it, and do it?
Of course not. That is not how language works. In your heart you know this as well.
The phonemes used by a people are contingent: they are a subset of a universal matrix of how the voice, tongue, and throat can combine to create sounds. Hebrew could have developed with a different sound and/or a different grammar. Hebrew is part of a family tree of languages with parent languages and cognate languages just like English is. Moabite, for example, is very similar to Hebrew. There is nothing specially divine about either one. And Hebrew was not spoken in the garden of Eden.
The ge- prefix of German participles morphed by Middle English into y- and then was dropped altogether. There was no “anti-German” conspiracy. Language develops according to rules and patterns studied by linguists. That the “J” sound is “not even in Hebrew or Greek” is thus laughably irrelevant.
Also, I’m surprised you transliterate the tetragram as Yahweh, in the manner of the higher critics, rather than Jehovah or at least Yehowah which would follow the pointing of the rabbins more closely. The claim that they merely substituted the pointing for Adonai out of superstition is just that — a claim without proof.
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Tim,
Thank you for your comments.
I do understand linguistics more than most. I grew up on the missionfield and speak more than one language. In various foreign countries on four other continents most called me by a nickname or cultural equivalent, and I answered to those, however, I appreciated when they tried to use the name my parents gave me. Could they correctly pronounce in American English? Generally, no. But I appreciated the effort. Warmed my heart even. I think Yeshua is exactly the same way!
The church hasn’t even tried to teach the proper names for Yahweh/Yehovah (Nehemia Gordon can support this directly out of ancient manuscripts) and Yeshua. Rather, as this blog reveals over and over, they have ignored or intentionally avoided the Hebraic root of the faith and the covenantal expectation of the Father. They prefer pagan ritual and tradition as well as lawlessness. They love Hellenistic Catholicism.
Me? I choose to walk as Messiah walked to the best of my ability as He reveals Himself in the Scriptures.
“Oh Yahweh, my strength and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of distress, to You the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, ‘Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, futility and things of no profit.’ Can a man make gods for himself? Yet they are not gods! Therefore, behold, I am going to make them know- This time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.”
Shalom.
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Easter isn’t pagan. It is the fulfillment of Passover. That is why, in most parts of the world, it is called “Pascha,” the Greek word for Passover. It is the celebration of our escape from death and our victory over bondage to evil through the sacrifice of the lamb. Remind you of anything? Passover is indeed an everlasting festival: but the true Passover is not the passing from slavery in Egypt to freedom, but from slavery to sin and corruption to new life in God.
Paraphrasing St. Augustine: “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.”
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PJP,
I appreciate you stopping by and understand your opinion. I walked in your shoes, so I can safely say, ‘you have some research to do!’ May your love of truth cause you to seek the answers to questions you may have never asked.
Easter is a pagan holiday. Yeshua was NOT raised on Easter. Easter is NOT the fulfillment of Passover.
The fulfillment of Passover is First Fruits, the feast ordained by Yahweh to be observed ‘perpetually’ for His people. Research will show that Passover/First Fruits are often as much as four weeks out of sync with the fertility godess ishatar’s holiday, easter.
If you go back and study Babylonian pagan gods and goddesses, you will find a thread that connects Semiramis to fertility rites, eggs, rabbits, easter, sun-god ritual, etc… The easter holiday, associated with the Spring equinox predates Yeshua by more than a 1000 years.
In Deuteronomy 12:29-31, Yahweh clearly articulates His abhorrence for being worshiped as the pagan gods are worshiped. You may have no memory of child sacrifice being associated with easter and ishtar/oestre/ashera/etc, but I assure you, HE DOES!
Don’t take my word for it. Do the research. Go to the university library and start with the encyclopedia. Seek truth. Test your traditions.
Shalom.
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Sounds like an exact parallel to the etymological fallacy. For, when you call someone “nice,” you will probably not be impressed if they protest that in Middle English it meant (1) (a) Of persons: foolish, frivolous; ignorant; (b) of actions, words, thoughts, faces, gestures, etc.: foolish, absurd, senseless, mistaken; (c) ?wild, uncultivated; primitive. (2) (a) Sluggish, slothful; (b) faint-hearted, weak; cowardly, timid. (From U. Mich. online Middle English Dictionary). By an exactly similar reasoning, one’s celebration of Easter or Christmas can be wholly detached from its original origins.
But, if you insist on this (non-)practice, you could join the Scottish Presbyterian church. No need to try to become a hebe.
Thanks for the tip to the work by Nehemia Gordon. I will soon write a blog post and link to it. It looks like a slam dunk to me. I had already figured out the shape of the argument at an intuitive level, but Gordon nails it down as I could not have.
So now the question remains Pete: why do you continue to use the Greek/Higher Critical form “Yahweh”?
Also, I can tell from your spelling that you are still dropping the guttural from Yeshua’. That’s an insult to his Hebraic roots! You must make the effort!
Seriously, though, don’t. Just give up the rest of the fetish as well. You felt “appreciated when they tried to use the name your parents gave you” but you should also reflect whether there is not at least a degree of narcissism in that feeling, and in the opposite direction, flattery. I appreciate it very much when Orientals adopt an “American” name. Then it’s a name that can be used, not just listened to like a museum piece. When Margaret Juntwait rattles off the singers’ names in their native form, I simply don’t catch the names at all. How is that honoring them? And I’ve studied most of the operatic languages: how much worse for those that haven’t? Indeed, I studied Italian chiefly to gain access to the operas which are now universally performed in the original tongues. It’s been rewarding, but how many people have time to do that? So in the meantime, opera (until the projections came along) became like ballet for most viewers. It’s ridiculous. I think it is all tied up in the faux-sophistication of our times, in which flattery is more important than truth. (This is also why American audiences start clapping the minute the curtain twitches, even though there is often still some fabulous music before it is over. Making the musicians “feel appreciated” is more important than the aesthetic experience itself.) I place this “Hebrew roots” movement as simply one facet of our superficial, flattering, conceited times, and fully congruent with it.
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Pearls??
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As of late I have made the statement that I believe the Reformation was a good start, but they just didn’t come far enough out of Catholicism. Seeing that Martin Luther quote made me feel sick to my stomach and made me realize just why they didn’t come far enough out of Catholicism.
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Bless you Shannon. I know you’ve been going through it lately! Had you on my mind and in prayers.
Yes, Mr. Luther kinda went off the deep end with that tirade. He was a bit more open to the Jews earlier in his life in trying to introduce them to Jesus, but when they rejected his ‘Torah-less’ messiah, his true colors, or rather, those he inherited from the RCC, to come out.
What is truly chilling is how his false teaching/wrong understanding became ‘gospel’ and was used against countless innocents for centuries, culminating in nazi germany. … and, the church stood by and looked the other way if not helping!
Michael Brown, Ph.D., wrote a book titled, ‘Our Hands are Stained with Blood.’ Heartbreaking read.
Shalom, brother.
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Went back and read most of the older posts. Pete, you have said it well and in love. Why, if we are to love the brethren and pray for each other, is there such venomous responses from some of these who have made comments. If they truly feel you are in error shouldn’t they, according to NT (Renewed), try to restore with love, compassion, and gentleness. Using The Scripture to make correction for Truth??? I believe they meant the OT (Tanach) ones! Now, don’t get me wrong. I do believe the NT (Renewed) verses are right, but must be verifiable thru the OT Tanach). I also believe if we take off the blinders and read from the front of the Book thru to the back of the Book and pause on what Jesus/Y’shua said (example:Matt 5:17-19) they might receive some enlightening along the way. Pause at Ps 119 for a refreshing view of what Yah’s WORD, Commandments, precepts etc are suppose to mean to/for us. Then try to explain how His Son who only did and said what His Father gave Him could have taught His followers to ditch His Law/Torah/Instructions/Teaching. For one thing they will get rid of this concept of ‘law/legalism’ because Torah doesn’t mean that at all in its true sense. And isn’t that what we as True Believers want? Just to know Him. His Ways, His Truth, and Life!
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Very well done! Rabbi Stanley (Torah Observant Messianic)
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Thank you so much, brother.
I hope you will interact on this blog as you have time!
Shalom aleichem!
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I congratulate you for your successful exit from the lies of the past, and for your journey into truth.
Remember always that Yehoshua knows you, and your pathway through life better than you do, and understands as well as forgives your rock strewn path toward Him, even as YHVH saw you taking your first steps toward Him. Your teachers may have been steeped in lies and error, my brother, but they taught you well one thing…to love Yehoshua, and worship YHVH. When you taught in days of less truth, you still taught that YHVH was Elohim, and Yehoshua our salvation.
Rejoice therefore that you were lost once, and are found, and have the remainder of life, and then eternity to grow in love towards Adonai.
Shalom
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Glad there is ongoing response. Hope GB is still watching and reading your blog. Much Truth and insight. Thanks Pete.
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