Post by Mark on Feb 21, 2009 6:59:26 GMT -8
While it is argued that Christians are followers of the Messiah, Christian teaching suggests (to varying degrees) that the Old Testament writings have been annulled (or abrogated) by the Messiah’s sacrifice: that we are no longer under the Law, but under grace (Romans 6:14). This sentiment evolved quickly because of Roman persecution of Jews mixed with Jewish intolerance Messianic believers (those stating that Yeshua, as Messiah had come).
Jewish intolerance began early in Yeshua’s ministry: first evidenced when the blind man was cast out of the synagogue (John 9:26-35). The disciples were condemned from the highest levels of Jewish authority for preaching in the name of Yeshua (Acts 4:15-18), and the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:1). This rejection continued on in the Jewish writings in such hostility that Talmudic references suggest that Christians do not merit protection or valuation as human life.
"It is permitted to kill a Jewish denunciator everywhere. It is permitted to kill him even before he denounces." -Schuichan Qruch, Choszen Hajpiszpat jog
Rejection from the Jewish authority on one side was met with persecution from the Roman state on the other. The early followers of Yeshua were recognized as being Jewish in practice which resulted in Roman intolerance.
And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
(Acts 16:19-21)
In 135 AD, Emperor Hadrian issued a decree commanding that any Jew (any person born of Jewish lineage) living in Jerusalem must leave or die and Sabbath observance was illegal. What was soon to become known as the Christian Church was forced to decide whether it would retain its Jewish identity and heritage or live and practice peaceably under Roman rule.
If the community of believers were to survive Hadrian, many felt it necessary to distance and distinguish themselves from Jews. This would not necessarily have to be an overt decision. Initially, those who were brought up in the Jewish order of faith and practice were forced underground. This left a vacancy in leadership which would be filled with those willing to compromise the Jewish perspective in order to retain a visible presence in society.
The metamorphosis of “the Church” from a sect of Judaism to anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic philosophy came over a period of centuries of redefining the relevance of Scriptures, sanitizing away any reference to the significance of the Jewish perspective as being biblical. The result is that the “Jesus” that is learned about in the Church is not a Jew, descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah, through Obed and Jesse. He is singularly taught to be the Son of God, born of a virgin. The family to whom He was attached, the culture in which He lived, the customs of which He observed are all inconsequential to the Christian faith.
‘The Jews are the most worthless of all men. They are lecherous, greedy and rapacious. They are perfidious murderers of Christ. The Jews are the odious assassins of Christ and for killing God there is no expiation possible, no indulgence or pardon. Christians may never cease vengeance and the Jews must live in servitude forever. God always hated the Jews. It is incumbent upon Christians to hate Jews.’ (Homilae Adversus Iudaeos- 4th Century).
From an Old Testament perspective (or rather, on an Old Testament foundation) this sentiment disqualifies Jesus as the Messiah. (Isaiah 66:19-23)
The Jesus taught in the Church does not lead men to
, rather this Jesus abandoned . Christian teaching is predominated by the doctrine that the Law is irrelevant to the life of the believer because Jesus paid the complete sacrifice for our sins. Justified by His Grace.
Free from the law, O happy condition,
Jesus hath bled and there is re-mission,
Cursed by the Law, and bruised by the fall,
Grace hath redeemed us, once for all.
Philip Bliss
If this is true, then Jesus cannot be the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament who will draw all men into an understanding and submission to
(Isaiah 2:2-3).. If Jesus led men way from , he is disqualified as a valid representative of God (Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 13:1-5).The Jesus taught in the Church rejects Israel as the chosen people of God and replaces them with the gentile Church. This is known as “Replacement Theology” and varies widely from the idea that the gentiles have a temporary window of covenant relationship to absolute rejection of the Covenant with Israel. The Levitical system is redefined to distinguish Christian activity from Jewish practice making Christianity a distinct and separate religion. Since the promises given to Israel have not been satisfied (Isaiah 2:2-3 and many others) then the God that is promoted by Christianity failed and abandoned His covenant promises (Malachi 3:1-6).
Justin Martyr charged that the Jews crucified Christ in the highest pitch of their wickedness. It was during this time (150 A.D.) that the first encounter with Replacement Theology was embraced where the church replaced the Jews as God's chosen people.
Tertullian argued that divine judgment is upon Israel, and Jews are destined to suffer for the crucifixion.
New ideas opposing "law" sprang up as early as 160-320 A.D. Marcion, 2nd century, adopted Matthew 5:17 as key theme to ending God's law and taught that the grace of God superseded it, rejecting the Old Testament.
Several Church Councils from 341 A.D. to 626 A.D. prohibited Christians from celebrating the Sabbath, festivals, and even eating with the Jews. It seemed that the greatest concern with Judaism on the part of Christians leaders was the attraction that it held for Christians.
John Chrysostom, 344-407 A.D., preached: "The Jews ... are worse than wild beasts ... lower than the vilest animals. Debauchery and drunkenness had brought them to the level of the lusty goat and the pig. They know only ... to satisfy their stomachs, to get drunk, to kill and beat each other up ... I hate the Jews ... I hate the Synagogue ... it is the duty of all Christians to hate the Jews.
Origen, 185-254 A.D., was most responsible for changing the way the Church interpreted prophecy, creating the atmosphere in which Christian anti-semitism took root and spread. He developed a new teaching on "legalism" setting the stage throughout history for the term "legalism" becoming synonymous with Judaism and both being condemned. (Legalism is not the following of the Old Testament
as is currently defined by some present-day teachings. Webster's Dictionary defines legalism as "the doctrine of salvation by good works."Using his method the Church began to develop the idea that the Israelites had permanently forfeited all their covenants by rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, that these covenants now belong to the church, and that the church is the only true Israel now and forever. In order to alleviate himself of his sin nature, he castrated himself. Considered to be a heretic, he was excommunicated by two church councils. His later disciples consisted of Gregory, Dionysus, Hieracas, Pamphilus, Eusebius of the Nicene Age).
The Crusaders (11th and 12th century) theological tenets supported the mass murder of Jews.
The Spanish Inquisition produced accusations such as the blood of children was used for the wine of the annual Passover Seder. These campaigns were both done "in the name of Jesus and for the glory of God."
Martin Luther, 1483-1546 A.D., was by far the worst proponent of anti-semitism. During his early years, he stated that the Jews were special. When they did not convert to Christianity after the corruption of the Roman Church was exposed, he turned on them, writing:
"Set Jewish synagogues on fire for the honor of God. God will see we are Christians when we get rid of the Jews. Likewise homes should be destroyed; they should be put in a stable; they are not heirs of promises of God and deserve to die. Deprive them of all prayer shawls, prayer books and communication, revoke all passports, stop them from doing all business, everything they possess we believe they stole and robbed from us. They do not have God's blessings, drive them out of the country ... get rid of them."
The terms Jesus, Iesus, Ieshou, Yeshua, Yehoshua, all have the same meaning and derive from the same Hebrew origin. When speaking the term in reference to a person (without further description) it is commonly assumed that the subject in reference is the individual who lived and taught in the Judean region now known as Israel between 0 and 33 AD, the originator of what is known as the Christian Church. Many Messianic believers are comfortable saying “Jesus” and “Yeshua” interchangeably, depending upon their audience and depending upon the historical emphasis that is being made. Yet, the term “Jesus” specifically carries with it the perspective of the anti-Jewish Church. So much is this the case that for many Christian theologians, the use of the term “Yeshua” is offensive, asserting that Jesus must not be identified in any Jewish or Hebraic context.
“Be quick to demand from anyone seeking Messianic or Christian fellowship, that they DO confess that ‘Jesus Christ IS come in the flesh.’ And for that classic test of the spirit, today, it MUST be Jesus Christ, and not Yeshua, Yeshua, Yeshua or even
Yeshousheouryyysah. ANY reluctance to say Jesus Christ IS come in the flesh, FAILS the test of the spirit.” (Source withheld to protect the stupid)
The name “Jesus” is an immediate barrier to the Jewish mind because of the well-documented antisemitism throughout the history of Christianity. Jewish children are taught their entire lives that Christians kill Jews in the name of Jesus. Jews who have read the brit Hadeshah (the New Testament) have often stated how shocked they were to learn that it is a Jewish collection of writings. They had assumed that it was a collection of texts based out of Rome and authored (or inspired) by the first Roman Pope. They are taught (as many Christians also believe) that the New Testament invalidates the Tanakh (the Old Testament) and that Jesus preached sedition, heresy and hatred against the commandments of Moses and against the people of Israel. These misconceptions are only strengthened by the Church’s rejection of
and the active efforts within the gentile Church to draw Jews away from . To the Jew, Jesus is about as acceptable as the swastika.The Church (specifically the Southern Baptist Convention) has done tremendous harm to the Jewishness of the Messiah and even the Messianic Jew by promoting “Yeshua” and supporting Messianic synagogues with the agenda of slipping in anti-
sentiments under the radar. www.lcje.net/papers/2003/sedaca.doc The organization known as “Jews for Jesus” has been identified in the Jewish community as “Baptists in disguise”who teach Yeshua as the Messiah first (without challenging ), then gradually pressure Jewish converts into rejection of and assimilation to the gentile Church. The name “Jesus” has only become more bitter to the Jew because of what they consider less than scrupulous evangelical tactics.The Messianic community chooses to publicly refer to the Messiah by His Hebrew pronunciations: Yehoshua, or shortened to Yeshua (both are proper, though Yeshua distinguishes the Messiah from the Old Testament figure “Joshua” who bears the same name). This is because the Messianic community embraces the Jewishness of the Bible and celebrates the Messiah as the fulfillment of the
, not the annulment of the . The name “Yeshua” contrasts the anti-Jewishness of our common understanding of “Jesus”.
, it is not only the exact word we use today, but it has nearly the same meaning. This is not just a Strong's Reference word, but it is the actual word in the actual phrasing.
