Sunday 17 July 2016

Analysis of Idolatry



“…unfolding the knowledge of the Humanself and the God within” 
[quoted from a New Age website]

When the world's prophets speak, they will say there are gods in “God”.  All gods are embodiments of the “Godhead’s” expression of himself to man.  {Read: “into man”, that is, into the “Humanself”.  The final idolatry anti-Torah doctrine being, then, that not only is “Jesus” the incarnation of “God”, so is everyone and all that is the “Humanself”.}

Idolatry is an art, or a form of art that allows the “artist” or “art lover”, without coming right out and shamefully boasting that they are “God”, to pseudo-modestly “sit in the place of God telling themselves that they are God”.

Not all art pretends to express an absolute.  When art does pretend to express an absolute it presents an artwork that allows the artist and the art lover to engage in the sensation that they have the spark of God within them.  When they gaze on the artwork they are in effect telling themselves that they are an incarnation of God.

It is not as much, then, in the mis-imagination of God that the work of art represents that makes it an instrument of idolatry as it is the art of it itself, the art of pretending to express the absolute.  When this is understood, it becomes easier to understand how idolatry can take place with instruments created in the heart and mind which never even see external expression.

The sculpture, or other three dimensional life form representation, is only the most literal form of god-art, or instrument of idolatry.  It is really the artist’s thought which comprises the instrument of the idolatry, and the idolatry itself is essentially the choice of the innermost spiritual element of the soul to conceive an expression of G-d out of its own sense of self.

So we see that idolatry is the very nature of the sinful, unrepentant heart.  It is the choice within the sinner to subject all truth and reality to its own final judgment, to determine its own existential identity and affirm or disaffirm the word and commandment of God on that basis, as if being one having that divine existential right.

Rather than being the source of idolatry for the Christian world, Yehoshua is the true and only destroyer of idolatry in the Messianic world.  For it will be shown that he alone destroys the true source of idolatry in the nations, indeed in the natural mind!  For the sinner's sense of self is actually the only idol there is, and faith in the salvation that Yehoshua has revealed for covenant Israel is the true foundation of the Messianic world.

Sunday 12 June 2016

Notes On Certain Talmud Statements Concerning Mashiach




The Talmud extensively discusses the coming of the Messiah (Sanhedrin 98a–99a, et al.) and describes a period of freedom and peace, which will be the time of ultimate goodness for the Jews and for all humankind.

Tractate Sanhedrin contains a long discussion of the events leading to the coming of the Messiah, for example:

R. Johanan said: When you see a generation ever dwindling, hope for him [the Messiah], as it is written, "And the afflicted people thou wilt save."[II Samuel 22:28] R. Johanan said: When thou seest a generation overwhelmed by many troubles as by a river, await him, as it is written, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him;" which is followed by, "And the Redeemer shall come to Zion."

R. Johanan also said: The son of David will come only in a generation that is either altogether righteous or altogether wicked. in a generation that is altogether righteous, — as it is written, "Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever." Or altogether wicked, — as it is written, "And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor;" and it is [elsewhere] written, "For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it."[6]

The Talmud tells many stories about the Messiah, some of which represent famous Talmudic rabbis as receiving personal visitations from Elijah the Prophet and the Messiah. For example:

R. Joshua b. Levi met Elijah standing by the entrance of R. Simeon b. Yohai's tomb. He asked him: "Have I a portion in the world to come?" He replied, "if this Master desires it." R. Joshua b. Levi said, "I saw two, but heard the voice of a third." He then asked him, "When will the Messiah come?" — "Go and ask him himself," was his reply. "Where is he sitting?" — "At the entrance." "And by what sign may I recognise him?" — "He is sitting among the poor lepers: all of them untie [them] all at once, and rebandage them together, whereas he unties and rebandages each separately, [before treating the next], thinking, should I be wanted, [it being time for my appearance as the Messiah] I must not be delayed [through having to bandage a number of sores]." So he went to him and greeted him, saying, "Peace upon thee, Master and Teacher." "Peace upon thee, O son of Levi," he replied. "When wilt thou come, Master?" asked he. "Today," was his answer. On his returning to Elijah, the latter enquired, "What did he say to thee?" — "peace Upon thee, O son of Levi," he answered. Thereupon he [Elijah] observed, "He thereby assured thee and thy father of [a portion in] the world to come." "He spoke falsely to me," he rejoined, "stating that he would come today, but has not." He [Elijah] answered him, "This is what he said to thee, To-day, if ye will listen to his voice."  B. Talmud Sanhedrin 98a

Mahx Note:  This Talmudic saying indicates that Mashiach is saying that so long as Israel continues disinclined to hear the voice of Hashem to enter into the Land in faith he will not come, but were they to change their inclination today, he would come today.



This speaks of his grace as the grace of Hashem toward Israel.  It speaks of the coming of Mashiach as being one with the entering in of Israel into the promise of the covenant that God made with Abraham.  It teaches that when the heart of Israel is ready, then Mashiach will take them into the Land, as Moshe would have, but for Israel’s sake could not.

Tuesday 5 April 2016

On Hebrews 10

On Hebrews 10


The Torah is a shadow, a foreshadow, a light shadow, of The World To Come.  The Torah is the light of the New Creation.  The Torah is the light shadow of The Resurrection of Yehoshua, shinning as a reflection off the face of this world.

The shadow of light by itself could not make us perfect due to the depth of corruption in our hearts.  For we were sold under the sin of Adam. Due to our love of sin, sometimes in the past sin deceived us and our minds were fooled, so that we blamed the light shadow, the Torah as we knew it, for not having the power to save us..

On account of this foolishness we will be ashamed in the day of Yehoshua (Jesus/Yeshua), unless we repent and are renewed in our minds.  For when the full radiance of the Torah is revealed it will be manifested openly to our shame that the light of Yehoshua, whom G-d raised from the dead, is the very light of the Torah.  Then all standing before him shall know that before, in this world, it was shining only as a reflection to bring us to Mashiach (the Messiah), but then, in that day, we shall see his light shining in its full Torah glory!  We shall see the full Torah glory of the one who lived and died and rose again for the flesh and blood covenant family of Abraham. All from the nations who are adopted into that family by faith in that atonement that was made for them, for Israel, the covenant nation shall sing and rejoice with Israel and shall call with pure lips on the name of the G-d of Israel and shall be saved.

Thursday 31 March 2016

THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL

From Risto Santala

THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL

 The Apostle Paul always felt himself to be a Jew. When describing what he experienced as an agent of the Gospel, he begins his "curriculum vitae", that is, the account of his "running" by saying, "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I!" (2 Cor. 11:22-31) To the Philippians he tells slightly more briefly about his background and begins by saying: "I was circumcised on the eighth day and I am of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the Law a Pharisee -- but whatever was to my profit, I consider loss for the sake of Christ. So I really count everything as loss compared to that surpassingly precious thing, knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Phil. 3:5-8).

Read more...

Wednesday 30 March 2016

Jesus: "Why do you call me good?"

Mark 10:17 When he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
Commentary
Instead of reading the question and statement by Yehoshua to the rich young man as having something to do with teaching either the rich young man or us about the divine or human nature of Yehoshua, we can read it in the light of the statement by Metzudat David.  From the context we learn that the rich young man was fully observant of the mitzvoth (commandments) of the Torah.  He was confident in himself to be able to recognize a "good" teacher.  

Our very first need and our very last need is to have no confidence in ourselves, but to pray whole-heartedly for the mercy of God to reveal his unique light to us by which alone we can see good.  Had the rich young man left all to follow Yehoshua, through that very act, he would have acquired that humility that can receive the unique light of God to see good, which comes only through the mercy of God.

"RaSHI and Metsudat David explain that "Israel's power" and "the power of the holy people" will be broken. At the same time it refers to Deut. 32:36, where it says that God will have mercy on his servants "when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left." Here are used the words "yir'e ki-azlat yad", that is, "he sees that the hand (that is, power) has ceased." The Hebrew expression "everything is at an end", "efesh, atzur ve-azuv", means literally "nil, stopped and rejected." This means that God has mercy on his servants when they feel that they are quite brought to nil, stopped and rejected. Just then they are acceptable to God."  Risto Santala

Tuesday 29 March 2016

Rabbi Sforno On Gen. 1-9 + Lev. 4 w/ Rabbi S.R. Hirsch Nineteen Letters

Sforno Resource 1


Road To Emmaus Series #1


Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.


Paula Fredriksen 1


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Paul's Letter to the Romans, the Ten Commandments, and Pagan "Justification by Faith" (by Paula Fredriksen)

In Paula Fredriksen by Dr. Eli Lizorkin-EyzenbergSeptember 12, 2014

Paul’s Letter to the Romans, the Ten Commandments, and Pagan “Justification by Faith” E. P. Sanders’s Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977) challenged the utility of the phrase “justification by faith” as a key to anything other than Lutheran scholarship. This note argues that the phrase does offer us insight into the historical …