Who is a Jew or the nation Israel. This is what God has spoken through His prophets. Genesis 17:3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4. "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. Genesis 35:11 And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. Exodus 12:37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38. Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. Leviticus 19:34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 24:22 You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born. I am the LORD your God. Numbers 15:15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD : Joshua 8:33 All Israel, aliens and citizens alike, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing those who carried it—the priests, who were Levites. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel. Esther 8:17 In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them. The word "Jew" was a nickname assigned by the Babylonians to anyone who either lived in or came from the area of Judea. Psalm 2:4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6. "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." 7. I will proclaim the decree of the LORD : He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. 8. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. Psalm 82:8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance. Psalm 111:6 He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. Isaiah 9:3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. Isaiah 14:1 The LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Aliens will join them and unite with the house of Jacob. Isaiah 26:15 You have enlarged the nation, O LORD; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land. Isaiah 44:5 One will say, 'I belong to the LORD '; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ['The LORD's / Yahwah],' and will take the name Israel. Isaiah 56:3 Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people."- 6. And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant- 7. these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." 8. The Sovereign LORD declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel: "I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered." Ezekiel 47 21. "You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22. You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who have settled among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23. In whatever tribe the alien settles, there you are to give him his inheritance," declares the Sovereign LORD. Zechariah 2:10 "Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you," declares the LORD. 11. "Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. 12. The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. 13. Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling." Matthew 12:21 In his name the nations will put their hope." The Parable of the Tenants Luke 20 9. He went on to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. 13. "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.' 14. "But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 15. So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16. He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they said, "May this never be!" 17. Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone? 18. Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and he on whom it falls will be crushed." 19. The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.
Acts 3:25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.' Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Romans 3:29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, Romans 4:13 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15. because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. 16. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17. As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Romans 4:18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 9:6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 8. In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. Romans 9:24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,... Romans 10:19 Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, "I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;... 1 Corinthians 14:21 In the Law it is written: "Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord. Ephesians 2:12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household,... Ephesians 3:6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Colossians 3:11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Titus 3:7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Revelation 2:9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Revelation 3:9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Isaiah 65:15 You will leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse; the Sovereign LORD will put you to death, but to his servants he will give another name. Acts 11:26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called [Christians / Messianics] first at Antioch.
A Jew is one who seeks the Kingdom of Heaven. A pagan is one who seeks earthly things: what to eat, what to drink, and what to wear. The Jews are entrusted with the word of God. The Jews must fulfill the law, and this is what God expects from them now: the construction of the Third Temple, described in Ezekiel, chapters 40-48.
Where is the "Kingdom of Heaven", or is it just an imaginative fantasy? And where is God, given that Abraham had a face to face conversation with a god when they shared a non-kosher meal together as described in Genesis 18? Or is that just an imaginative fantasy too?
Isaiah 55:6 Seek Yahwah while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Isaiah 45:15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself, the God and Savior of Israel. Next visit: The Two Witnesses. If God was a matter of fact, then there would be no need for faith.
Abraham's meal was kosher. "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk" means something completely different. "You shall not turn the good verbal milk of the Torah into evil for yourself: do not delay in fulfilling the commandments of God." The prohibition of eating milk and meat together is an example of boiling a kid in its mother's milk: a good law was turned into an absurdity that is burdensome for everyone. The Kingdom of Heaven is among those who fulfill God's commandments. Among those who fulfill God's commandments, and not the human traditions of the Jews and Christians.
Abraham's meal was kosher. "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk" means something completely different. "You shall not turn the good verbal milk of the Torah into evil for yourself: do not delay in fulfilling the commandments of God." The prohibition of eating milk and meat together is an example of boiling a kid in its mother's milk: a good law was turned into an absurdity that is burdensome for everyone. The Kingdom of Heaven is among those who fulfill God's commandments. Among those who fulfill God's commandments, and not the human traditions of the Jews and Christians.
FAITH Faith is important so God can judge us. Example: An Atheist would rather be dead than to serve any God. Obviously the love of God does not abide in that person. Deuteronomy 30:19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.
Have you ever seen a god? If so, have you been asked to butcher and cook your son as a sacrificial meal like Abraham, even though the god preferred to eat an old ram instead of Abraham's son?
What would you do if a god asked you to butcher and cook your son so that the god could eat him, or would you cook him an old ram or a pig instead too? Or was that just an imaginative fantasy story in a book about a horrible blood thirsty god?
I think I should have behaved as Abraham did. I trust God in everything. The story of Abraham's sacrifice was not made up. In the Judean desert, the ruins of this altar, Jehovah-jireh, are preserved. Now the altar of the Third Temple will be erected there.
But did the god (which Abraham created in his image and likeness) eat the old ram which Abraham cooked for him, and if so was it a kosher meal or a non-kosher meal as described in Genesis 18?
I think that "god" was Yahweh, and the demiurge. I believe it was an aspect of god, as nothing exists but god. So it could be "god" in a sense, but no more so that the face you see in the mirror every day. Every rock, every person, every good deed, every atrocity, is god. The purpose of life is to experience, so that "God", "creation", "the universe", or whatever you want to call it can experience itself and understand what it is. Darkness and evil provides the contrast that allows us to experience and appreciate love and light. So, everyone from the worst serial killer and child molester to the most saintly saint is god, all playing their part, so that every infinite possibility can be experienced. Really, nothing exists, not in the way we think of it. Time and space does not exist. It is all a singular thought, maybe among an infinite number of thoughts, that put in place the "artificial"structures of time and space to create the framework to be able to experience everything. All of the separate consciousnesses are veiled from the knowledge that they are just a figment of god, as that knowledge would negate the experience. It would be like somebody telling you how a movie ends before you get to see it. It is all a beautiful thing. We are all one, one consciousness, one love, exploring itself. God is love. Anything that is not love is not god, but an illusion that helps provide the contrast, a tool to bring understanding to the all.
And the word "kings" that will come from Abraham has a stronger meaning. Very ordinary people who seek the Kingdom of Heaven can be considered a "king" or "queen" even if they are an ordinary blue collar worker.
Wow!!!! Thank you for that fascinating detail about the Ezekiel chapter forty to forty eight temple complex!
No. You quote the Bible and passages written by humans thousands of years ago. You assume they spoke to "God". You do not know that. You assume that. You have no real idea who the writers are let alone where they got their ideas from because you read their works edited many times over. So you do not even know what they originally wrote. Next who is a Jew in Israel is determined by Israeli state laws for the purposes of citizenship. Being a Jew not born in Israel might depending on a specific law allow an expedited process to obtain Israeli citizenship. Other then that who is a Jew clearly is something you obsess about. There is no one definition of who is a Jew and the irony is most of us define being a Jew not by anything more complicated than the insults and attacks that spit hatred about Jews or try kill us. Now me as a Jew by identity base it on a wide range of factors including birth inheritance through my mother, belief in being part of a collective culture that includes art, food, spiritual values, humane values and ethics, references to principles to practice in life from the Kabala and Talmud. In fact the most important element of being a Jew is the tie in to all we Jews targeted for anti semitism from the past and present and headed into the future. Next I do not define what is a Jew to any other Jew the same way I do not define who is any other religion. They advise me. As a Reform Jew I do not necessarily agree with other Reform Jews on how to practice Judaism. We have many schools of practice ranging from humanist (atheists, agnostics) to Reconstructionist, Reform (called Liberal in the US), Conservative, Orthodox, Ultra Orthodox who recognize Israel as a Jewish state, Ultra Orthodox who do not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. In my version of Jewish spirituality it has a lot in common with Unitarianism, Taoism, Buddhism. I would concur with many lessons from the stories of Jesus where he put into practice Talmudic principles. In my case I do not as classic Judaism wait until the messiah returns. I believe the Messiah was not meant to be one person but is a symbol for the fact that all of us were born from or came from what you call God to save or harm the world depending on how we chose to act out or gift of individual choice. I believe we are born to understand what it is to create and to create we must continually learn lessons on how to balance bad with good deeds. We were born in a world that is neither good or evil but both and that clash that we have to reconcile is the fuel that enables us to create through new lessons of reconciliation and that in turn creates new forms of creation from us in a never ending continuous connected movement of all life forms. Every act we take harms and destroys or helps and creates and when we act negatively we harm others in a ripple effect and when we do good we cause a positive ripple effect or what some call miracles as opposed to the opposite we call sins or evil. Sorry you can quote all kinds of Bible passages to me but I could quote back all kinds of passages from the Talmud, Bible and Kabala that warn who is a Jew is a never ending question with no answer-it constantly evolves in new meaning, shape and structure. It was never meant to be a fixed definition-nothing in Jewishness is. We are a fluid movement of never ending concepts that continue to change into new meanings and applications.
Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea is just a book for entertainment. The Bible is a series of laws and commands which have meaning and are meant to guide, train, and transform. We have faith in God similarly to our faith in the rightness of laws by which we live as a society. We don't need to see the source of their rightness to know they are true. And like unto God, more than to obey, we embrace the rightness of law. So it isn't man that we fear, but the displeasure of a just God.
But have you ever had a face to face discussion with a god and shared a meal together as described in Genesis 18? If not, then what actual evidence do you have that god(s) exist? Or is the bible just a book written by men, for men, about men and their patriarchal society, and their laws and history, and their myths and legends including the gods they created in their images and likenesses?
Now that you mention it, God sent his spirit to me, and he filled my heart, body, mind and soul with the milk and honey of his peace. His spirit gave me a vision in answer to a question I had prayed, and then he answered another question which I had yet to form or formalize. So he knows everything, that which I know, that which I don't know, and that which I hide. All things are revealed to him. His spirit awakened me to a remembrance of him. I recognized and remembered his spirit, like awakening from amnesia. And I realized that my true life is in his spirit, rather than in myself or my life alone. For a short time, I was in his presence. Now there is a new light in my sky. God is real, he lives, and is far gentler than what has been written.
I have had a number of impressive encounters myself since 1990. I do feel that I am being guided by the Holy Spirit more and more directly as the grand finale gets closer.