The Messianic Jewish Expositor

Who knows best?Two angels are having a conversation in heaven:Bobby: You know, I was wondering how everything is going to get done perfectly in the future.Gabriel: What are you talking about, Bobby?Bobby: Well, remember what the Father says:1 Corinthians 2:9 (TLV) But as it is written, “Things no eye has seen and no ear has heard, that have not entered the heart of mankind—these things God has prepared for those who love Him.”Gabe: So what's your question, Bobby?Bobby: Well, I was listening to some humans talking yesterday. And these humans were born again and they read the Bible everyday. And they think that they are going to have a role in preparing the things that God is preparing for those who love Him.Gabe: Did they say why they believe that?Bobby: Yes they did. They quoted this verse:Romans 8:29 (TLV) For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.Gabe: OK. I get it now. They think God looked down the corridors of time to see who would choose Him. He “foreknew” these people - He knew they would choose Him, and so He decided to save these people.Bobby: That's right, Gabe. That's it!Gabe: And the humans you were listening to yesterday, and other humans like them, also believe that humans were never completely separated from God after The Fall in the Garden of Eden. They were never spiritually completely dead. They did not need to be elected by God to salvation from before the foundation of the world. They did not need to be regenerated by God. They don't believe this verse:Ephesians 1:4-5 (TLV) He chose us in the Messiah before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love. [5] He predestined us for adoption as sons through Messiah Yeshua, in keeping with the good pleasure of His will—Instead, they believe that their will had something to do with God's choice rather than the good pleasure of His will.Bobby: So what does the word foreknew mean in Romans 8:29, Gabe?Gabe: Bobby, we have to take the word foreknew in context:Romans 8:28-30 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. [29] For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. [30] Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.Bobby, by looking at this whole passage, we can see that foreknew refers to people called by God and not to the decisions these people make. The people God foreknew are the called according to His purpose. They are the ones predestined by God to be conformed to the image of Yeshua and these are the ones whom He also justified.Bobby: You've made it really clear, Gabe. Thanks. But don't humans have free will in any of this? I know that humans are really concerned about this.Gabe: Bobby, before a person is regenerated by God, he or she is as dead as a doornail spiritually. He or she cannot choose God. This spiritual death is a consequence of Adam and Eve disobeying God all the way back in the Garden.Genesis 2:16-17 (NKJV) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; [17] but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."But when God regenerates a person - when He causes them to be born again - He causes that person to become a new creation. That person now has a new spirit and is no longer dead. That person now freely chooses God and he or she is then saved, he or she is then converted. Isn't that wonderful Bobby?!Bobby: That is absolutely wonderful, Gabe! But there is one other thing. Some of these humans are going to say that by regenerating a person, God is making the choice to accept Him for that person. In other words, there really is no free will after all. What can I say to someone who thinks that way?Gabe: You can quote this verse to him, Bobby:Romans 11:33 (NKJV) Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!Bobby, God's word is clear. God chooses us and then He graciously allows us to choose Him of our own free will. What could be better than that?And, Bobby, God's wisdom, knowledge, and judgements - including the choices He has already made before the foundation of the world - are so perfect and so deep that they will bring to pass the fulfillment of the verse we started with:1 Corinthians 2:9 (TLV) But as it is written, “Things no eye has seen and no ear has heard, that have not entered the heart of mankind—these things God has prepared for those who love Him.”Bobby: Thanks, Gabe! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Hi Folks,A couple of weeks ago my wife and I were having dinner with another couple who are strong believers in Jesus Christ.  The subject of election and predestination came up.  This other couple, both husband and wife, were unwilling to accept that God chooses those He will save from before the foundation of the world.  I asked if they believed that their own salvation was certain; put another way, I asked them if it was possible for a Christian to lose his or her salvation.  Their answer:  definitely not. A Christian cannot lose his or her salvation.Yesterday, after church service, I approached a friend who definitely believes that a Christian CAN lose his or her salvation and I asked him if he believes in the doctrine of election and predestination.  He thought for a moment and then replied: “Yes, I do”.So, my question for you today, my friends is this:  Are the doctrine of election and predestination and the doctrine of eternal security (“once saved, always saved”) linked?  If one doctrine is true, must the other be true?  Or, if one doctrine is false, must the other also be false?I hope to show you in this message that these two doctrines are definitely linked and that they are both true.  Moreover, this is good news, and it redounds to the glory of God.  Let's look at a few Bible verses and passages to make the case.  We'll take the case from both sides, the negative and the positive.Romans 8:29 (NKJV) For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.Those who do not believe in the doctrine of election and predestination zero in on the word foreknew in this verse.  They take it to mean that in eternity past, God looked down the corridors of time and foresaw in advance who would have faith to choose Him.  Equipped with this knowledge, God chose those who first chose Him.  He then predestined them to be conformed to the image of His Son.Let's consider this point of view.  To do so properly, we need to look at this verse and at the word foreknew in context:Romans 8:28-30 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. [29] For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. [30] Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.In Romans 8:28 who are the called according to His purpose? They are those who love God.  These are the same people whom God foreknew and predestined in Romans 8:29. Why did God foreknow and predestine these people?  He did it for a reason:  so that they would be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  And Romans 8:30 says whom He predestined, these He also called.  Whom did God call?  Which individuals would respond with a true quickening of the heart to a gospel invitation?  Which individuals are the ones who would call Jesus Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead (cf. Romans 10:9)?  The ones whom God predestined.Foreknew refers to the people God knew from eternity past.  It does not refer to the choice that people would make about God at some future time.  This is all about God's purpose.  His great and eternal purpose.  A purpose that would glorify God Himself and make those of us who believe God, into new creations: justified, glorified, and fellow-heirs with the Son of God for eternity.Are there other Scripture passages that support the doctrine of election and predestination?  There are.  Here are two:Ephesians 1:3-6 (NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, [4] just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, [5] having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, [6] to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.Ephesians 1:11 (NKJV) In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,Folks, God chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world, according to the good pleasure of His will.  God left nothing to chance.  His eternal purpose is too important.Now if the doctrine of election and predestination is true, and it is, then the salvation of the individual believer has to be eternally secure.Having talked about all this, someone raises an objection:  What about free will?  Let's read Romans 9:21-24, which is very helpful to us here and then a comment on it from the Believer's Bible Commentary:Romans 9:21-24 (NKJV) Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? [22] What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, [23] and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, [24] even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?From William MacDonald's comments on this passage from his Believer's Bible Commentary:Romans 9 BBC - 9:21 Then Paul uses the illustration of the potter and the clay to vindicate the sovereignty of God. The potter comes into his shop one day and sees a pile of formless clay on the floor. He picks up a handful of clay, puts it on his wheel, and fashions a beautiful vessel. Does he have a right to do that?The potter, of course, is God. The clay is sinful, lost humanity. If the potter left it alone, it would all be sent to hell. He would be absolutely just and fair if He left it alone. But instead He sovereignly selects a handful of sinners, saves them by His grace, and conforms them to the image of His Son. Does He have the right to do that? Remember, He is not arbitrarily dooming others to hell. They are already doomed by their own willfulness and unbelief.God has the absolute power and authority to make a vessel for honor with some of the clay and another for dishonor with some. In a situation where everyone is unworthy, He can bestow His blessings where He chooses and withhold them whenever He wishes. “Where all are undeserving,” Barnes writes, “the utmost that can be demanded is that He should not treat any with injustice.”9:22 Paul pictures God, the great Potter, as facing a seeming conflict of interests. On the one hand, He wishes to show His wrath and exhibit His power in punishing sin. But on the other hand, He desires to bear patiently with vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. It is the contrast between the righteous severity of God in the first place, and His merciful longsuffering in the second. And the argument is, “If God would be justified in punishing the wicked immediately but, instead of that, shows great patience with them, who can find fault with Him?”Notice carefully the phrase vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. Vessels of wrath are those whose sins make them subject to God's wrath. They are prepared for destruction by their own sin, disobedience, and rebellion, and not by some arbitrary decree of God.9:23 Who can object if God wishes to make known the riches of His glory to people to whom He desires to show mercy-people whom He had selected beforehand for eternal glory? Here C. R. Erdman's comment seems especially helpful:God's sovereignty is never exercised in condemning men who ought to be saved, but rather it has resulted in the salvation of men who ought to be lost.God does not prepare vessels of wrath for destruction, but He does prepare vessels of mercy for glory.Folks, isn't it just wonderful how God works?  It is truly glorious.  It's perfect. Don't pass up the chance to spend eternity with God in heaven.  Take the opportunity now.  Pray with me please:“Lord of all the earth, Yeshua my Messiah, I know that I'm a sinner deserving to spend eternity in hell.  But you paid the price for my sins.  Thank you for doing that.  Thank you so much for doing that.  Please forgive my sins and make me a new creation that I might spend eternity in heaven with you. Thank you, Lord.”Folks, in closing, let me say that what we talked about today may not strictly speaking be a salvation issue.  You don't have to believe in election and predestination, and you don't have to believe in eternal security to be saved.  But God wants you to believe these doctrines because they are from Him.  Doing so will bring you closer to God and will bring God glory.Thank you for listening, Folks.  Until the next time, may the Lord richly bless all of you.Art Wolinsky This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Timeline of Daniel's 70th Week, The TribulationWell, my friends, I've got to reason together with you one more time, I'm afraid.  You see, I don't want you to die.  I don't want you to suffer eternal death.What am I talking about?  I'm no longer talking about October 7th and I'm not talking about Hitler's holocaust.  Those are in the past.  What I'm going to talk about today is all in the future, the near future.The prophet Daniel tells us that a one world government is coming.  We certainly see signs of that today.  Consider the World Economic Forum as just one example.  There are many others.The one world government will subsequently be divided into ten kingdoms.  And then, an eleventh king will arise.  He will put down three of the ten kings and then he will rule over them all.  That eleventh king is Satan's final Antichrist, his representative on earth and his appalling attempt to have a being on earth who is equivalent to the son of God, the Messiah .  Antiochus Epiphanes, who was defeated by the Maccabees about 170 years before Christ, foreshadowed this ultimate end times Antichrist.  He will commit the Abomination of Desolation, as did Antiochus Epiphanes, and his reign of terror will begin.  His main goal:  to annihilate every last Jew on the planet. But before this, he will come on the scene as a righteous savior of the world, and he will make a covenant with Israel for seven years promising peace and a restoration of Temple services, seemingly as in the days of Moses. This Antichrist, also known as the Prince who is to come, the beast, and the lawless one, will be the greatest deceiver the world has ever known. He will break the covenant with Israel after three and one-half years. Please see the timeline provided for you on my Substack post.But before I reason with you further, my Jewish brothers and sisters, I need to talk first with my brothers and sisters who are already born again because I want to be sure they are well grounded on certain things related to these end times.  I want to address Messianic Jews and Christians, followers of Messiah Yeshua.  And to this group, I want to address some questions:·      Q: Will you see the world in its one world government stage?·      A:  You very well might.  If the Rapture hasn't occurred yet.·      Daniel 7:23 (NKJV) "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces.·      Q: Will you see the world after it has been divided into ten kingdoms, represented by the beast with ten horns in Daniel chapter 7?·      A:  You very well might.  If the Rapture hasn't occurred yet.·      Daniel 7:24 a (NKJV) The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom.·      Q:  Will you see the eleventh horn which puts down three of the ten horns?·      A:   If you are born again, you will not see the eleventh horn.  He is the Antichrist.  You will not see him because the Restrainer (God the Holy Spirit in the Church) will be removed and you will be caught up to meet the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, in the air and He will take you back to heaven with Him.  You will not suffer the wrath of The Tribulation.·      Daniel 7:24 b (NKJV) And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings.·      2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 (NKJV) And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. [7] For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. [8] And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.Now, my Jewish brothers and sisters, why am I giving you all this information and documentation and even a timeline?  Because I want you to see the seriousness of things and I want you to see where we are in time, in history, at present.  We are close to the end.  How close?  I don't know.  But I do know that once the eleventh horn shows up, the time remaining before the return of the Lord, will be seven years.  Those will be the worst seven years mankind has ever experienced, especially the last half of the seven years.  That will be the Time of Jacob's Trouble.  Jeremiah spoke about it and so did Yeshua who called it the Great Tribulation:Jeremiah 30:6-7 (NKJV) Ask now, and see, Whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins Like a woman in labor, And all faces turned pale? [7] Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob's trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.Matthew 24:21-22 (NKJV) For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. [22] And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.One third of the Jewish people will survive this time; two thirds will not.  It will be worse than Hitler's Holocaust.  It will be worse than October 7th.Don't go through this time.  Listen yet again to the Lord speaking through Isaiah the prophet:Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV) "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.Something called the Rapture is coming soon.  If you are saved, you will be caught up to meet the Messiah in the air and go back to heaven with Him.  You will never meet the eleventh horn and you will never see the second holocaust.  Please, call upon his name, Jesus, Yeshua, and ask Him to save you right now.  He will.God bless you my friends. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Come, let us reason together once more.  Our sins will be the death of us.  For eternity.  That's not a figure of speech brothers and sisters.  It's the truth.  God spoke to us through the prophet Isaiah centuries ago and He said this:Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV) "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.Brothers and sisters, we need to answer a question.  Is God good?  Unquestionably!  If God is good then why did He allow the October 7 massacre in Southern Israel to happen?  I've given you some answers to this question already in two recent podcasts, but we need to dig deeper today.  We need to look at the covenants that God made with Israel.  What do God's Covenants in the Hebrew Scriptures have to do with the modern state of Israel and with the events that happened there on October 7, 2023?  I'm addressing this question to you whether you're a rabbi, a religious Jew, a secular Jew, or even a Gentile.  Now if you already know why the October 7 massacre in Southern Israel occurred, then I suggest that you stop listening now and use your time to do something more profitable.  I'm looking for listeners that have ears to hear what the Scriptures have to say about this.  If you've never read the Scriptures, then you probably don't know about these covenants.God made four unconditional covenants with Israel, and they remain in effect today.  They were made thousands of years ago but they have not expired.  God will fulfil these covenants regardless of anything that the Jewish people do or don't do.  That's why they are called unconditional covenants.  There is one other covenant, and it is conditional.  How God fulfills that covenant definitely does depend on what the Jewish people do or don't do.Let me explain.The first unconditional covenant is the Abrahamic Covenant.The Abrahamic CovenantGod made a Covenant with Abraham and his descendants through Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's 12 sons.   What were the terms of this covenant and what were the promises?Genesis 12:1-3 NKJVNow the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. [2] I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."This Abrahamic Covenant was restated and amplified a number of times in the Torah.  Abraham and his descendants were to have a land, the Land of Israel, they were to become a great nation with great and innumerable descendants that were to have God's favor, and through Abraham all the families of the earth would be blessed.  We learn later in the Scriptures that this blessing of all the families of the earth, both Jew and Gentile, would come through Israel's Messiah.Over time, God made three other unconditional covenants with the Jewish people: the Promised Land Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant.The Promised Land CovenantGod promised His people that although He would scatter them to every nation because of their disobedience, when they obeyed Him, He would gather them again back to the Land.Deuteronomy 30:1-3,5-6,10 NKJV"Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you, [2] and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, [3] that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you.[5] Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. [6] And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.[10] if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.The Davidic CovenantThe next unconditional covenant that God made with His people is the Davidic Covenant, made through King David:1 Chronicles 17:11-14 NKJVAnd it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. [12] He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. [13] I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. [14] And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever."'"This Davidic Covenant is a foreshadowing of the Messiah and the Messianic Kingdom.  It came through David's son Nathan and ultimately through David's greater son, the Messiah.The New CovenantThe final unconditional covenant that God made with the Jewish people is the New Covenant.  It is not in the Torah, though it is definitely more than hinted at in Deuteronomy when Moses talks about circumcision of the heart.  It is in the Book of the prophet Jeremiah:Jeremiah 31:31-34 NKJV"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah- [32] not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. [33] But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. [34] No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”If you wondered how the Jewish people, as a Nation, would be able to completely obey God's Law as mentioned in the Promised Land Covenant outlined above, the New Covenant explains how.  The LORD will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.God also entered into one conditional covenant with the Jewish people: the Mosaic Covenant or the Covenant of the Law.The Mosaic CovenantThis is the covenant of the Law - the 613 laws - given by God to the Nation of Israel through Moses.  None of us have ever been able to keep or fully obey these laws.  The blessings and the dreaded curses – a very long list of them – is found in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.  I beg you to read these two chapters.  Here is just a tiny sample:Leviticus 26:14-18 (NKJV) 'But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, [15] and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, [16] I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. [17] I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. [18] 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.All of the 613 Laws which no one could or can keep is why God gave the Nation of Israel the promise of the New Covenant.  That New Covenant was brought in and made active and real by the perfect blood of the Messiah of Israel, Yeshua.  His one sacrifice on the cross with the shedding of His blood was enough to pay for the forgiveness of all sins permanently.  Israel, as a Nation, has never accepted their Messiah.Now, what do all these covenants have to do with the modern state of Israel and October 7?My dear brothers and sisters in order to know the answer to that question, and it is a life and death question, you have to understand these five covenants.  I've given you a head start in understanding these covenants.But back to the question.  What do these Covenants have to do with modern Israel and October 7?The problem is the conditional covenant, written by Moses.  There are 613 commandments.  The Messiah came so that these commandments could be fulfilled.  That's what the New Covenant is all about.  Without accepting the Messiah, Jesus who is also called Yeshua (which means salvation), you can't enter into the New Covenant and you are still under the Laws of the Old Covenant.  And the punishment for sins under those Laws is severe.  One of those punishments was October 7.God has made a way, through the sacrifice of Messiah Yeshua on the cross, for you and me to be guaranteed life in heaven with Him for eternity when we die.  Eternity is a long time.  Accept what Messiah Yeshua did for you and me.  It's a free gift!  Choose life.  And if you do this, you'll even get an extra bonus, another free gift.  You'll be snatched up to heaven by the Messiah before the Time of Jacob's Trouble (the second Holocaust) in something called the Rapture.  Brothers and sisters, please don't pass this up.  Call upon the Name of Yeshua and ask Him to save you today.  If you are sincere, He will not turn you down. God bless you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Rabbi Charles Freshman 1819-1875From Rabbis meet Jesus the Messiah – a collection of 24 biographies and testimonies of Rabbis encounters with Jesus the Messiah© Messianic Good News.Charles Freshman was born in Micklosh, a city pleasantly situated on the river Waag, in Hungary, as the oldest of thirteen children. The parents were strict adherents of Judaism and the father was a business man, not rich, but always honest and well thought of. When but three years old, the boy, who had to be carried to school and back by a servant upon her shoulders, commenced to learn the Hebrew alphabet and the first Scripture lesson (which is found in Deuteronomy 6:4 and is called the “Shema”). The “fringes” or “ tzitzit”, according to Numbers 15:38, were also put upon him. The boy, is spite of his great youth, learned quickly, and when he was about four years of age, his father made a great festival, a Sudah, in his honour. All the friends, relatives, and associates of the child were invited to meet on a certain Sabbath day to partake of a plentiful supply of cakes, plums, nuts and other eatables, together with a. glass of pure grape wine, and to listen to the reading of the Old Testament in the Hebrew language by the child.The whole religious training of the child was strict in the extreme. He was obliged to pray out of the Jewish Prayer Book every morning and evening, and was not allowed to eat or drink anything without first asking a blessing upon it with his head covered.Charles Freshman made rapid progress, and at the age of eight years he could read Hebrew well and translate every word without difficulty, requiring a dictionary but seldom. He could also repeat from memory many choice passages of the Old Testament and whole Psalms in the Hebrew language. Even of the Chaldaic he knew a little, and could read and write the Aramaic language. Being naturally very ambitious and proud, his mind became fully possessed of the one determination of becoming a Rabbi, not an ordinary Rabbi, such as one meets every day, but a great Rabbi, such as those who had immortalized their names and imprinted their thoughts upon the pages of the Talmud. Fired with desire, he studied the Talmud day and night and soon became so proficient in it that he was able to assist his fellow students and thus earn a little money for himself. At the age of eleven he was admired for his astounding knowledge and also for his manifest piety. He used to read and pray a great deal in secret, fast very often, and be very strict and scrupulously exact in the discharge of all religious duties, but alas he was very proud and overbearing, claiming that he knew more than the teacher himself. But “a haughty spirit goeth before a fall”.An unaccountable change came over the boy, now entering upon his twelfth year. He became mischievous and to some extent positively wicked. Prayers were no longer offered; the Sabbath was desecrated; bad books were diligently sought and read; and, grossest of all sins to a strict Jew, an attempt was made to read the New Testament in secret. The words, “I and my father are one,” however exasperated the boy so much that he hurled the book across the room and hated Christianity. He also neglected his books, played truant from school, and finally left school altogether. Then he got into the habits of idleness and distaste for further study and loitered around and got into mischief, no longer desiring to be a Rabbi.But God brought the prodigal to himself. His father met with a misfortune in business which involved the loss of everything. There was hardly bread enough left in the house to satisfy the present demands of the large family. The sudden misfortune and still more the appeal of the father to his boy to help in the work caused Charles to resolve not to be mischievous any more, but to become a pious lad again. He now went to school again and was being prepared for confirmation by a private teacher. But alas, when the time for confirmation came, he could not be confirmed, for the father was again so poor that he could not spare enough money to purchase the necessary phylacteries and nice clothes. The proud boy was extremely humiliated and resolved to leave his father's house and enter some Jewish theological institution in some distant city. With only a few cents in his possession, the boy said goodbye to parents and home and started out into the wide, wide world alone.After many hardships he reached a place called Namensdorf where the Rabbi received him kindly, and after satisfactory examination permitted him to become a student in the Talmudical School. The means of the new student were quite limited, and he often went hungry, but he was comparatively happy and studied diligently. Still, he was no nearer the obtaining of phylacteries and confirmation. Hence he resolved to go to Poland, where famous colleges for the training of young Jews were found. So off he started.In Bialla he found an old friend of his father, who offered to send him to College if he would like to become a Roman Catholic priest. The young Jew refused the offer and turned to go away. Then the man gave him a little money, and Charles Freshman departed in great happiness, for he escaped from being swallowed up by the Christian Church, he thought, and had at last the means of procuring the phylacteries which he had so longed for. He lost no time in procuring them, and then laid out a plan to go to the great Jewish College of Helleshan in Moravia.After five days of weary tramping he arrived at Helleshan and at once became a student in the College. Here he remained over two years, gaining honourable distinction as a student; then he returned to his parents, travelling on foot as usual. He quickly discovered that his parents were not well satisfied that he had left College, but he had no desire now to return to it and for a short time taught at a small school near Micklosh. Then he again left home and resolved to go to the great city of Prague to complete his education as a Rabbi. Again he felt the pressure of hard times as he prosecuted his studies, but he persevered five years, when his education was pronounced complete. He was thoroughly acquainted with the Hebrew language and the Jewish literature, but he had also acquired a good knowledge of other languages, of history, philosophy, and science in general. He received his diploma and other credentials of the highest class, and returned home prouder than ever, because he was now a Rabbi and, in his own estimation, a Rabbi of no mean importance.Instead of looking around for a congregation, the young Rabbi began to look around for a wife, which he found at last. He was married when only 23 years old. Over a year the young couple remained with his wife's wealthy parents, then, instead of looking for a congregation, started in business. Twice he failed, and after officiating occasionally as Rabbi in some of the small synagogues, he was induced to leave his native country for the New World. He came to Canada, accompanied by his wife and five children. Dr. DeSola, the Rabbi of the Portuguese congregation in Montreal, recommended the young Hungarian Rabbi very strongly to the congregation of Quebec, and soon after his arrival in the New World, Charles Freshman was duly installed as Rabbi of a Jewish congregation in Quebec. He at once began to learn the English language, in which he made slow progress however.The congregation in which Mr. Freshman now ministered was composed of mixed nationalities of Jews, but chiefly German and English. He used to officiate in the Hebrew and German languages, and it was not until he had been a long time among the people that he conducted his first service in English. These Jews had little regard for their Sabbath day. Many of them would attend the services of the synagogue and immediately afterward would repair to their places of business or go to the pursuit of pleasures. The Rabbi, strictly orthodox, was horrified at this impiety, and remonstrated with many of them, reproving them severely for their conduct, but he had little or no influence.Slowly the Spirit of God began to work upon the mind of the Jewish Rabbi. Often, as he would pass through the streets and see the large congregations thronging towards the various Christian churches, or returning from the services, his mind would be variously exercised toward them. At one time he would think, “What a pity that such a multitude of people will so easily believe in falsehood, and blasphemously worship a bad man.” But again he would reflect, “Here are men of intelligence, men of education, men of a profound acquaintance with human nature, men who have the Old Testament Scriptures as well as I have, men who are accustomed to exercise their reason and judgment in regard to their worldly affairs, and men who, I am sure, do not place implicit confidence in the Christian religion without some strong foundation upon which to base it. What if, after all, I have only examined one side of the question? What if, after all, they should be right and I should be wrong?”. These kinds of thoughts he usually dismissed without an effort, as a temptation of the devil, but they would frequently recur again, in spite of himself. On one occasion after preaching to his congregation about the restoration of the people of Israel, his mind became more beclouded than ever, and he felt he did not fully believe all he had told his people. In this state of dissatisfaction and perplexity, he went to his desk and carefully unlocked it, and all the while trembling as if he were about to commit a great crime.Hidden in that desk was a neatly bound edition of the Old and New Testaments. Years before that time, during the last years of his sojourn in Hungary, a Jewish missionary of the Scottish Church met the Jewish Rabbi in a hotel in Cashaw and persuaded him to purchase the book. He never looked into it. When he came to Quebec and unpacked his books, he found among them his Bible which he thought he had left in Hungary. He took it and locked it up among his private papers, lest his own wife or children, or some of his congregation should find out that he had such a book in his possession. He felt like a guilty person because he did not destroy it at once, but undoubtedly God directed him to preserve it that He might bring about the final result. For now, in the hour of deepest anxiety and doubt, he unlocked his desk, took out the Bible and went into his library, locking the door securely. Then, secure from all interruption and disturbance, he opened the New Testament, and commenced hastily to read a few pages. After a very short time he threw it away in disgust, exclaiming, “This cannot be”. Soon, however, he took it up again. read a while, and again threw it from him. So he continued for about an hour. At last he became so excited that again taking up the book and reading a while, he threw it on the floor with such violence that several leaves were torn from their places. In a moment he was seized with remorse, and gathering up the loose leaves and placing them in their proper places, he carried the book to its former hiding place and locked it up, firmly resolving never to look into it again.Evening came, but his mind was so greatly disturbed that he could scarcely perform his routine duties in his synagogue. A sleepless night followed, then another day of anxious, perplexing thought, but at last the firm resolution carefully to study the prophets, especially those having reference to the coming of the Messiah.While engaged in this occupation, a Jewish Rabbi from Jerusalem visited Rabbi Freshman, who at once embraced the opportunity to ask the learned man concerning their Messiah. The poor Rabbi from Jerusalem could not answer the questions, and Rabbi Freshman began to think seriously that there was something wrong with the Jewish belief and that the Christians might be right. He even commenced to speak his thoughts aloud to some members of his congregation, and read the New Testament with great care, notwithstanding all his former resolutions. A pious Christian neighbour, Mr. Hinton, spent hours with the inquiring Jew in conversation about religious topics, but the light did not come. Days and nights he searched the Bible, but conviction came not. He remained torn by doubts, neither believing in the Jewish religion fully nor yet being convinced of the truth of Christianity. He wanted to resign his Rabbiship at once, but his good wife was altogether against it, declaring, “I will never become a Christian.”The Jewish Passover was approaching, and the Rabbi had to prepare a special sermon for the occasion. The text he chose was Gen. 49:10 (Genesis 49:10 (TLV) The scepter will not pass from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs will come. To him will be the obedience of the peoples). During the writing of the sermon doubts overcame him so that he determined not to preach it. He called in his wife and told her that he believed in Jesus as the Messiah. She commenced to weep bitterly, and the elder children, learning the state of affairs, joined in with their mother. There was lamentation and mourning, and the Rabbi himself wept. Being unable to endure the sight of misery he had thus brought upon his family, Freshman left his home and repaired to a solitary place beyond the barracks of Quebec. Without human eye to witness his grief and in an agony of soul, he threw himself upon the ground and cried mightily to God. Still, relief did not come, and with a heavy heart he retraced his steps homeward. Without saying a word to his still weeping family, he went into his bedroom where he again prayed and read his Bible.At last after midnight, he became exhausted, and he fell asleep in his chair. Then he beheld in a dream an image of the Saviour on the cross, and over his head were inscribed the words, “I am thy Saviour”. He awoke, firmly resolved to give in his resignation, but again his moral courage failed him and he put it off again.At last, on the day before the Passover, he once more prayerfully pondered over Gen. 49:10, then read Isaiah 53, and suddenly, became fully convinced that Jesus is the expected Messiah. Without the least hesitation he now wrote out his resignation and sent it to the president of the congregation.But now the storm burst upon him in all its new fury. His wife and children wanted to celebrate the Passover as usual, while he had no desire to engage in its celebration. The Jews declared that the Rabbi was insane and dangerous, and tempted his wife and children to leave him. His friends forsook and avoided him, and a story that he had received ten thousand dollars for renouncing his faith was circulated. But, worst of all, Mr. Freshman had not yet full light. He believed in Jesus as the Messiah, but knew nothing of justification or saving faith, and had no clear conception of his condition as a sinner in the sight of God, nor of the necessity of a change of heart. His conversion was of the head, but not of the heart. Many ministers and members of churches in Quebec called on him, but the darkness continued.In this state he continued several weeks; then, while he was listening to a sermon by Rev. Elliott of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Spirit of God commenced to operate on his heart, and he wept, although he could hardly tell for what. He again studied his Bible most diligently, commenced to attend churches of different denominations, and prayerfully sought the Lord with all his heart.One night he was crying to God in deep, earnest prayer and was in greatest agony as he saw himself clearly as a lost sinner, unworthy of anything but condemnation. In very self despair he cried out, “Lord, save me or I perish,” and saw no other hope but Christ. At that moment the shadows fled and the burden rolled from his troubled soul. Prayer now gave place to praise, and a marvellous change was wrought in him. He was born again.Mr. Freshman began at once to show others what God had done for his soul. He commenced with his own family. His wife, though slow of heart to believe, consented to accompany him to church, and the children attended the Sabbath school and read the New Testament, thus imbibing the principles of Christianity. One by one, the members of his family fell in with the doctrines of the cross as revealed by God and taught in the New Testament.Rabbi Charles Freshman, his wife and seven children, were baptized in the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Quebec. Ministers of other denominations were present and took part in the remarkable exercises, which were witnessed by a vast assemblage of Christians and by some of the members of the Jewish congregation in which Rabbi Freshman had officiated the three years preceding his baptism.Having spent some time as a lecturer on Jewish subjects, Mr. Freshman was appointed a missionary of the Wesleyan Methodist Church among the Germans in Canada. He was ordained and served the Master faithfully until his death. The congregations which were organized chiefly through his effort were located at Hamilton, Ontario, and in its neighbourhood. Many souls were led to Christ through his efforts, among them several Jews. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Rabbi Joseph TeischmanOCTOBER 5, 2012 BY ADMINFrom Rabbis meet Jesus the Messiah – a collection of 24 biographies and testimonies of Rabbis encounters with Jesus the Messiah© Messianic Good News.Joseph Teischman was born and raised the son of an Orthodox Rabbi in New York City. He followed in his father's footsteps by also receiving smichah (ordination) as an Orthodox Rabbi. But unlike his father, Joseph also earned a doctorate in the field of psychology. When he found himself unable to continue believing the teachings of Orthodox Judaism, he decided to leave and join the Conservative movement. His wife refused to leave the protective Orthodox community. She and their young children remained in Brooklyn, while Joseph went to California and eventually became the Rabbi of the Conservative synagogue in Fresno.Some time later, Rabbi Teischman moved to Reno to take the pulpit of the Conservative synagogue there. In that neon lit town of gambling and instant weddings, Joseph became friends with a former pastor who began ministering to him.With the help of one or two others, Joseph made a definite decision for Jesus. He began to study the New Testament and grow in his faith. Sometimes he would quietly slip into the back of a church to hear the sermon. But he kept his faith in Jesus a carefully guarded secret … until his urgent meeting with Moishe Rosen at Jews for Jesus Headquarters in San Francisco. He appeared to be in deep distress and confided that he was a Rabbi who believed that Jesus is the Messiah. He went on to state that he served a Conservative synagogue in Reno and had not been able to tell his congregation about his faith and questioned whether he should resign or should he begin preaching about his faith from the pulpit! Joseph was tremendously burdened and admitted that he had for almost two years wrestled with the problem which was wearing him down; but he had to find some relief by confessing to another Jew that he believed in Jesus. He asked for prayer.The rest of the afternoon was spent discussing the Rabbi's pilgrimage to faith and his hopes and aspirations for serving the Lord in the future. He affirmed his belief that Jesus is God come in the flesh and that He died for his sin and rose from the dead and he considered himself to be a born again Christian. His favourite book of the New Testament was Galatians and the Rabbi described how he felt about being freed from the Law through Y'shua. Jesus had driven away the doubts which used to gnaw at him about his standing before God. The problem was no longer where he stood with God, but where he stood with the Jewish community. Joseph felt torn. He desperately wanted to grow in his faith but knew that his walk with Y'shua might take him on a path utterly unacceptable to his family, friends, associates and fellow members of his chosen profession. The very real possibility of losing everything he had worked so hard for depressed and frightened him.After months of visits and lengthy phone calls, Joseph began to consider confessing his faith at his synagogue. He knew this would mean the immediate termination of his career (What an horrific prospect for a man in his mid fifties). His numerous obligations included college tuition for his children, who were so very important to him.“Jews for Jesus” offered to help the Rabbi attend an evangelical seminary as a believer in Jesus. Joseph knew that he needed the education but remarked that it would be difficult to return to school after so many years as a Rabbi.Rabbi Teischman truly loved the Lord but could not seem to overcome his struggle to profess his faith publicly. When he was asked how he managed to maintain his silence when people came to him for spiritual counseling, he gave an anguished stare and said that it caused him great personal grief, knowing that Jesus could help the person, but felt that he was unable to tell them so. Yet he still found ways to encourage some people in their pursuit of Y'shua.An interesting call was received one morning from a Jewish woman who had attended Rabbi Teischman's synagogue on Yom Kippur. She had received Jesus as her atonement the previous morning, and felt compelled to go to synagogue for the high holy day.After the service, she felt that she should tell the Rabbi about her decision. She was amazed when he seemed sympathetic to her new faith and gave her “Jews for Jesus” telephone number.She called to tell them about her decision for Y'shua and to ask if they thought that the Rabbi might be open to the Gospel. All could not be disclosed to her but she was encouraged to keep in touch with the Rabbi and to pray for him.Concerning his future ministry, once he had finished a year at an evangelical seminary, Joseph expressed the desire to being called to the Gentiles like the apostle Paul; but it was pointed out to him that although Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles, he still continued preaching the Gospel to Jewish people first, addressing non Jews once he had fulfilled his obligation to his own people. Joseph became downcast, not that he disliked his people but felt anguish at the thought of how they would reject him. He was an honest and sensitive man. Yet he was ready to endure the pain of the initial exclusion from his beloved Jewish community for the sake of the Saviour, knowing that he could not ignore the need of his own people hearing the Gospel. He continued his struggle with this and began preparing himself to visit the seminary recommended to him, and finally agreed to visit with the dean. Flights had been arranged; but the night he was due to leave he cancelled, admitting that he could not carry through with it. He knew that once he stepped outside, he would be treated like an outsider and he simply could not face the risks in following Y'shua “outside the camp”. He admitted that he could not do what God was asking of him and asked for prayer that one day he would have the strength to do so.One day, the former minister who had helped Joseph find the Lord called the “Jews for Jesus” office. He mentioned that Rabbi Teischman's sermon for the last Friday night Shabbat service had relied heavily on the New Testament. The Rabbi was said to have been in great distress. That night, Rabbi Joseph Teischman went home and died of heart failure. He was only 57 years old.There could have been several medical reasons for Joseph's untimely death. He was not obese, but he was a heavy smoker and perhaps the cigarettes led to heart disease. His regular medical examinations indicated that his blood pressure was a bit high, but the doctors had not warned that a heart attack was imminent: But there was a heart problem that the doctors did not know about. Rabbi Teischman was aching to proclaim that he had become a follower of Jesus. As his faith grew, his need to tell about it also grew. Yet he could not face losing his job, losing the respect of the Jewish community and the possibility that his children might decide to have nothing more to do with him. He was too much of an insider to imagine that his decision for Christ would be tolerated. He was a man with a lot to lose, and he could not bring himself to let go. The pressure was killing him.The man who had prayed with Joseph was one of several who spoke at his funeral, which was attended by many Rabbis and Jewish community leaders. Rabbi Teischman's faith in Y'shua was alluded to at that time. It did not seem to surprise many. His friends had known that he had been repressing something. They just did not know what it was until his death.As far as is known, Rabbi Teischman's faith in Y'shua was chalked up to “personal problems,” and the lips of his corpse could not declare otherwise. But his death was a profound lesson to those who knew that he really loved Y'shua. For whatever might be said about Joseph, it appears that he died of a broken heart, broken because he felt unable to do what he most desired, which was to serve the Lord.Reprinted from Jews for Jesus,60 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 5895 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Folks, what does it mean for God to circumcise the heart?  We just talked about circumcision of the heart in the last podcast.  It comes from Deuteronomy, chapter 30.  Moses wrote that.  As many of you know, Deuteronomy is the last of the five books of Moses, also known as the Torah.  Let's read the verse from Deuteronomy again:Deuteronomy 30:6 NKJVAnd the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.I want to talk about this today because circumcision of the heart, which is something that only God can do, is the same thing as being born again and being born again is a very Jewish thing.  It is something that should be embraced by Jewish people, not rejected by them. A famous Jewish leader, Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, came to see Jesus one night.  Let's listen to part of the conversation they had.  It's recorded in the Gospel of John:John 3:2-3,9-10 NKJVThis man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." [3] Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."….. [9] Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?" [10] Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?Jesus says, that unless a person is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Nicodemus replies, “How can these things be?”  Then Jesus says, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?”So, Nicodemus, a well-known Jewish teacher and Rabbi was supposed to understand what being born again meant.  Jesus had to be indicating that Nicodemus should have known this from the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament.  So where in the Old Testament does it talk about being born again?  If the Hebrew Scriptures clearly stated that “a man must be born again” Nicodemus would have known that immediately.  But he didn't.  So, Jesus must have been referring to Scriptures that metaphorically described something that is the equivalent of being born again.  What could those Scriptures be?  Where in the Tanach could this have been talked about?  I can think of several possibilities.  Let's look at some of them:Ezekiel 36:24-28 NKJVFor I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. [25] Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. [26] I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. [27] I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. [28] Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.Now, verse 24, For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land, has already been partially fulfilled.  Jewish people have been streaming back to Israel for decades now.  But verses 25 to 28 have not been fulfilled yet.  God has not sprinkled clean water on them and cleansed them, not yet.  The Jewish people have not had their hearts of stone replaced by hearts of flesh, not yet, and  they are not walking in God's statutes and keeping His judgements, not yet.  Can you not see, my friends that these metaphors – the water, the new heart, and the new disposition of obedience – are a picture of new birth?  And can you not see that the circumcision of the heart described earlier by Moses - again something that only God can do – is another metaphor for new birth?Deuteronomy verse 6 and the 5 verses in Ezekiel 36, the verses that we just read, are about the new birth of the entire Jewish Nation.  This is also in the New Testament in Romans 11.  Let's read it now.  We talked about it last time:Romans 11:26 NKJVAnd so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;So, folks, All Israel Will Be Saved.  All Israel will be born again, folks.  This is still future to the present time.  But how will all Israel be saved?  The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.  The Deliverer is the Messiah, my friends, and Zion is the heavenly Zion.  The Messiah, Jesus, will come from heaven – His second coming – and He will deliver all of the Jewish people who are still alive at that time. The Nation will be born again; ungodliness will be in it no more.But what about you?  And what about now?  God can circumcise your heart now, today.  You just have to ask Him, in all sincerity and humility.  What's the rush you ask?  What's the urgency?  Let me tell you what the urgency is.  The urgency is twofold.  First, you could die.  You could walk out of here and get hit by a bus.  Once you die, you can't be born again.  It's too late then.  Second, something called the Rapture is going to happen soon.  The Messiah will descend part of the way from heaven, to the level of the clouds, and He will literally snatch up all those who have trusted in Him for salvation to meet Him in the air and to take them back to heaven with Him.  After that, something called The Seventieth Week of Daniel, The Tribulation, begins.  The second half of that seven year period is called The Time of Jacob's Trouble.  It will be a Second Holocaust, worse than Hitler's Holocaust.  Please trust me on this.  It's in the Tanach.  If you don't believe me, tell me so in the comments section of this podcast and I'll give you the Scripture references.  Trust me please.  You don't want to enter the time of Jacob's Trouble!  Jesus talked about it:Matthew 24:21 NKJVFor then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.During The Time of Jacob's Trouble, the Antichrist will be attempting the final annihilation of world Jewry.  Two thirds of the Jewish people will die.My friends, I say to you again, Come, let us reason together.  God has made a way for you, but you have to receive it.  TODAY is the day of salvation.  Ask Jesus to forgive your sins today, now, and to save you, to give you eternal life.  If you're sincere and if your request is from the heart, Yeshua will not turn you down.We have yet more to say about the new birth.  We'll talk about it again next time.Thank you for listening.  This is Art Wolinsky. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

My dear brothers and sisters, we just recently talked about “Where was God on October 7, 2023, and where was God during the Holocaust?”.  I talked with you about the need for salvation which leads to eternal life.  I pleaded with you not to follow those people who say, “I can't believe in Yeshua (Jesus).  Jewish people don't believe in Jesus”.  So, let me ask those of you who still believe that, a question: “Do you believe in Moses?”.  A great many Jewish people believe in Moses.  Listen to what God said through His prophet Moses:““Now when all these things come upon you—the blessing and the curse that I have set before you—and you take them to heart in all the nations where Adonai your God has banished you, and you return to Adonai your God and listen to His voice according to all that I am commanding you today—you and your children—with all your heart and with all your soul, then Adonai your God will bring you back from captivity and have compassion on you, and He will return and gather you from all the peoples where Adonai your God has scattered you. Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the heavens, from there Adonai your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Adonai your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, and you will possess it; and He will do you good and multiply you more than your fathers. Also Adonai your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants—to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live. “Adonai your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. Then you—you will return and listen to the voice of Adonai and do all His mitzvot that I am commanding you today. Adonai your God will make you prosper in all the work of your hand—in the fruit of your womb, and the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil—for good. For Adonai will again rejoice over you for good, as He rejoiced over your fathers— when you listen to the voice of Adonai your God, to keep His mitzvot and His statutes that are written in this scroll of the Torah, when you turn to Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:1-10, TLV)Now what does Moses mean when he says “Now when all these things come upon you?”.  What things?Brothers and sisters, Moses is talking about what he said two chapters earlier, in Deuteronomy 28.  In that long chapter there are 14 verses outlining the blessings that will come from obeying God's Law and 54 verses outlining the curses that will come from not obeying God's Law.  Remember God's Law?  The 613 positive and negative commandments?  Many of the curses in Deuteronomy chapter 28 describe very well what happened in the Holocaust and what happened on October 7.  54 verses of curses, my friends.  That's almost four times as many verses listing curses as there are verses listing blessings.  Disobedience is a serious thing to God.  I urge you to read Deuteronomy chapter 28, my friends.  And remember who wrote it:  Moses.  Deuteronomy 28 has not expired.  There is no statute of limitations on it.  Now, some of you will think that that is not fair.  Please remember.  Deuteronomy is Torah.  It's God's word, spoken through Moses.  Is God unfair?  A liberal judge in America or Israel today might think so.  But, folks, God is not unfair.  Don't ever think that for one second!!  And God is sovereign.  We can't negotiate with Him!So, how can a God who loves His Chosen People curse them so harshly?  After all, how can the Jewish people be expected to obey God's Law?  It's just too difficult.  Just look at the ten commandments.  Do you know anyone who has never lied?  Do you know anyone who has never coveted anything?  How can anyone obey all these rules, 613 of them?  My friends, there is a way that God's chosen people can obey His Law.  God has made the way.  Please be someone who has ears to hear!  Listen to Moses again:Also Adonai your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants—to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live. “Adonai your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. Then you—you will return and listen to the voice of Adonai and do all His mitzvot that I am commanding you today. (Deuteronomy 30:6-8)God will circumcise the hearts of His people so that they can love Him with all their heart and with all their soul and do all His mitzvot, meaning follow all His laws.  Only God can do that and He will.  It is a free gift to us from Him.  We cannot earn it.  We could never pay the price for all the sins we've committed.  Remember:  the wages of sin is death and God's perfect justice requires payment – punishment – for every single sin.  Now if salvation is a free gift to us from God, who pays the price?  Someone has to pay it.  The Torah tells us that our sins must be atoned for - a blood sacrifice is required.  Remember the animal sacrifices that were made during the Old Testament dispensation?  There were literally hundreds of thousands of them, maybe even millions.  Obviously, those sacrifices did not bring permanent salvation or they would not have needed to be repeated again and again.  But 2,000 years ago God's own Son, our Messiah, paid for all sins ever committed – past, present, and future - on the cross.  He paid the price once and forever with blood of infinite value, His own blood.  Did you know that His name, Yeshua, Jesus, means salvation? Well, if all this is true, you ask, why did the Holocaust and the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel, happen?  Why did Satan perpetrate these horrific crimes?  After all, Satan can only go as far as God allows him to, right?  Didn't the book of Job make that clear?“Adonai said to the satan, “Very well, he is in your hand—only spare his life!” So the satan departed from the presence of Adonai, and afflicted Job with painful boils, from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.” (Job 2:6-7, TLV)Brothers and sisters, God allowed these things to happen because the Chosen People, as a nation, have never stopped rejecting God.  God can't let that go!  My friend, you as an individual can't decide that the whole Jewish nation will accept God.  But you can decide for yourself.The LORD said to us through the prophet Isaiah centuries ago:““Come now, let us reason together,” says Adonai. “Though your sins be like scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they will become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18, TLV)God loves you.  God has made a way for you.  He sent His One and Only Son to pay the price that you and I owe so that our sins will be as white as snow.  Don't reject this.  Don't turn this gift down.  The price of doing so is eternal death.So what do you do now, today?  Accept the free gift of salvation paid for by the Jewish Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus.  Call upon His name and ask Him to save you.  Thank Him for paying the price for your sins by shedding His blood and dying on the cross.  You will then have eternal life.  And then you will know that soon all Israel will follow you.  Don't wait.  The hour is late.  Ask Jesus to save you today.May God bless you, my friends. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Michael Solomon AlexanderOCTOBER 5, 2012 BY PAUL MORRISFrom Rabbis meet Jesus the Messiah – a collection of 24 biographies and testimonies of Rabbis encounters with Jesus the Messiah© Messianic Good News.From orthodox Rabbi to Anglican Bishop is a pathway trodden by few, but such was the path of Michael Solomon Alexander. He was born into a strictly orthodox family in 1799 in the Duchy of Posen (now in Poland). His father was a Rabbi and every care was taken to educate him “after the strictest sect of their religion.” By the age of sixteen he was teaching the Talmud, but was already having doubts about the value of the endless minutiae, the hairsplitting regulations it taught. His secret nighttime studies in the Synagogue to resolve his doubts led to a confrontation with his older brother, who was now a rabbi and head of the family. The rabbi was horrified that his own brother, a mere stripling, dared to question the perfection of the Talmud and he ordered him to desist from such impious speculations or to leave his house and the town. The young Alexander was faced with a choice between his principles and his home. He decided to seek work in England, his father's birthplace.On arrival in England, he applied to the Chief Rabbi in London for work. Despite his questioning of the Talmud his faith in Judaism had not been shaken and he rose steadily within the Orthodox Synagogue. He began as a tutor in Colchester, moved to Norwich to take up the post of Rabbi, and in 1825 moved to Plymouth as community Shochet (one certified to perform ritual slaughter of animals to be used for food) and Prayer-Reader. He was highly regarded and seen as a man destined for high office. Few at that time would have guessed that that was to be in the Church. During this period, he became acquainted with a Christian Minister, through whom he encountered the New Testament for the first time. It aroused in him disquieting doubts and misgivings and he resolved to leave them behind when he moved to Plymouth with its strong Jewish community.It was in Plymouth that he met and fell in love with Deborah, the younger sister of the Rabbi's wife. Everyone concerned saw it as a very suitable match, and they became engaged. However, if Alexander had hoped to elude the “Hound of Heaven” by a change of scene it was not to be. When he arrived in Plymouth he was befriended by a local curate, Rev. Golding, who asked him for Hebrew lessons, and those developed into long discussions on passages of the Old and New Testaments. Confronted with Christ on almost every page the conviction that Jesus was the Messiah gradually deepened. He began to secretly attend services at Rev. Golding's church. He experienced an agonizing spiritual and emotional struggle as he began to weigh up the consequences. He felt compelled to share his spiritual concerns with his wife to be although it might entail the loss of her forever.Deborah was horrified and at first considered breaking off the engagement, but her love for Michael was unshakeable and she vowed that she would never marry anyone but him. Her family did everything they could to end the relationship, but eventually they gave their consent and the couple were married in November 1824. Their early days of marriage were not full of intense discussions of Christianity, but when Christian friends and Ministers came to visit, the spiritual discussions, which involved close examination of the Scriptures, ensured that the struggles of Michael Alexander continued. Eventually he confided in a fellow Rabbi, but it only produced an explosion and threw the whole Jewish community of Plymouth into ferment. The Chief Rabbi in London was drawn in and wrote to Alexander begging him to go before the Ark in the Synagogue and curse the God of the Christians. Eventually Alexander was suspended from his position.His conversion was not a dramatic Damascus Road experience. There was nothing sudden, emotional or unbalanced in his conversion, but rather through a slow and painstaking study of the Scriptures, listening to sermons and seeking insight from others he came to the unshakeable conviction that Jesus was the Son of God, Israel's Messiah and Redeemer. From that conviction he never wavered. He was baptised in June 1825 at a service attended by very many in Plymouth, for not only were adult baptisms relatively rare in the Church of England then, but even rarer was the baptism of a Rabbi.His wife suffered greatly through all this, but the demeanour of her husband compared to his opponents, and her own searching of the Scriptures led her to put her trust in Messiah Jesus shortly afterwards and she was baptised five months later.After a time of Christian work and study in Ireland he was ordained and then joined the Church's Ministry to the Jews in 1827, working in Posen, Danzig and Warsaw before returning in 1830 to work in London. During that time he visited his hometown in Poland and was able to visit some of his family under cover of darkness, but the hostility against him in the town was so great that he had to withdraw. In London he regularly preached to large numbers of Jews who came to his After-Meetings and a number came to faith. In 1832 he accepted the post of Professor of Hebrew and Rabbinical Literature at King's College London, during which time he undertook a complete revision of the Hebrew New Testament and also the Hebrew version of the Prayer Book.However, what Michael Alexander considered the high point of his ministry, and the greatest privilege Christ bestowed upon him, was about to unfold. For some years the Anglican Church had wanted to establish a Church in Jerusalem, but there was much opposition to such a plan. By 1839 building work had begun, but the post of Bishop had yet to be decided. Alexander McCaul was offered the post but he refused, feeling that the most suitable man for Bishop of Jerusalem would be a Hebrew Christian. Michael Solomon Alexander was who he had in mind, and there was no hesitation in appointing him. In early 1842 he and his family arrived in Jerusalem.It is difficult for us today to imagine conditions in Jerusalem then. It was a neglected backwater with little security from diplomatic representation, little in the way of home comforts and it was a struggle to maintain a very basic standard of living. To establish a Church and a Mission work in such an environment was a Herculean task, and this was to take its toll on the new Bishop. The building of a hospital, clinic and Church premises was a major ongoing work, the fruitfulness of which only appeared after Michael Solomon Alexander's times.Despite the difficulties and opposition the work bore immediate fruit and by the end of his first year eight Jews had been baptised. A School for training of Hebrew Christian missionaries was established and a Bible Depot was opened. The Jews began to realise that the mission was a menace to their religion and matters came to a head when three rabbis, Abraham, Benjamin and Eliezer placed themselves under instruction for baptism. A report spread through the country that fourteen rabbis of Jerusalem had become Christians and a deputation was sent from the Jews of Tiberias to enquire into the truth of the report. Those Jews who had been friendly towards the mission withdrew in a panic and destroyed or hid the books they had received. But two out of the three rabbis were baptized soon afterwards along with two other Jewish enquirers – Isaac Paul Hirsch and Simon Peter Frankel.By 1845 Michael Solomon Alexander felt able to contemplate a period of rest and a visit to England to report on the work. It was not to be. During the journey to Suez he felt unwell, went to rest early but unexpectedly passed away in the night. It appears that his whole system was worn down and diseased by his labours and the conditions in which he had worked. Michael Solomon Alexander has joined those Israelites who entered the true rest in their Messiah and who will return with Him when He appears in glory, but his testimony still speaks to Jewish people who hear it, and the work that he established continues to bear fruit in Jerusalem to this day, bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Michael Solomon AlexanderOCTOBER 5, 2012 BY PAUL MORRISFrom Rabbis meet Jesus the Messiah – a collection of 24 biographies and testimonies of Rabbis encounters with Jesus the Messiah© Messianic Good News.From orthodox Rabbi to Anglican Bishop is a pathway trodden by few, but such was the path of Michael Solomon Alexander. He was born into a strictly orthodox family in 1799 in the Duchy of Posen (now in Poland). His father was a Rabbi and every care was taken to educate him “after the strictest sect of their religion.” By the age of sixteen he was teaching the Talmud, but was already having doubts about the value of the endless minutiae, the hairsplitting regulations it taught. His secret nighttime studies in the Synagogue to resolve his doubts led to a confrontation with his older brother, who was now a rabbi and head of the family. The rabbi was horrified that his own brother, a mere stripling, dared to question the perfection of the Talmud and he ordered him to desist from such impious speculations or to leave his house and the town. The young Alexander was faced with a choice between his principles and his home. He decided to seek work in England, his father's birthplace.On arrival in England, he applied to the Chief Rabbi in London for work. Despite his questioning of the Talmud his faith in Judaism had not been shaken and he rose steadily within the Orthodox Synagogue. He began as a tutor in Colchester, moved to Norwich to take up the post of Rabbi, and in 1825 moved to Plymouth as community Shochet (a certified ritual slaughterer of animals used for food) and Prayer-Reader. He was highly regarded and seen as a man destined for high office. Few at that time would have guessed that that was to be in the Church. During this period, he became acquainted with a Christian Minister, through whom he encountered the New Testament for the first time. It aroused in him disquieting doubts and misgivings and he resolved to leave them behind when he moved to Plymouth with its strong Jewish community.It was in Plymouth that he met and fell in love with Deborah, the younger sister of the Rabbi's wife. Everyone concerned saw it as a very suitable match, and they became engaged. However, if Alexander had hoped to elude the “Hound of Heaven” by a change of scene it was not to be. When he arrived in Plymouth he was befriended by a local curate, Rev. Golding, who asked him for Hebrew lessons, and those developed into long discussions on passages of the Old and New Testaments. Confronted with Christ on almost every page the conviction that Jesus was the Messiah gradually deepened. He began to secretly attend services at Rev. Golding's church. He experienced an agonizing spiritual and emotional struggle as he began to weigh up the consequences. He felt compelled to share his spiritual concerns with his wife to be although it might entail the loss of her forever.Deborah was horrified and at first considered breaking off the engagement, but her love for Michael was unshakeable and she vowed that she would never marry anyone but him. Her family did everything they could to end the relationship, but eventually they gave their consent and the couple were married in November 1824. Their early days of marriage were not full of intense discussions of Christianity, but when Christian friends and Ministers came to visit the spiritual discussions, which involved close examination of the Scriptures, ensured that the struggles of Michael Alexander continued. Eventually he confided in a fellow Rabbi, but it only produced an explosion and threw the whole Jewish community of Plymouth into ferment. The Chief Rabbi in London was drawn in and wrote to Alexander begging him to go before the Ark in the Synagogue and curse the God of the Christians. Eventually Alexander was suspended from his position.His conversion was not a dramatic Damascus Road experience. There was nothing sudden, emotional or unbalanced in his conversion, but rather through a slow and painstaking study of the Scriptures, listening to sermons and seeking insight from others he came to the unshakeable conviction that Jesus was the Son of God, Israel's Messiah and Redeemer. From that conviction he never wavered. He was baptised in June 1825 at a service attended by very many in Plymouth, for not only were adult baptisms relatively rare in the Church of England then, but even rarer was the baptism of a Rabbi.His wife suffered greatly through all this, but the demeanour of her husband compared to his opponents, and her own searching of the Scriptures led her to put her trust in Messiah Jesus shortly afterwards and she was baptised five months later.After a time of Christian work and study in Ireland he was ordained and then joined the Church's Ministry to the Jews in 1827, working in Posen, Danzig and Warsaw before returning in 1830 to work in London. During that time he visited his hometown in Poland and was able to visit some of his family under cover of darkness, but the hostility against him in the town was so great that he had to withdraw. In London he regularly preached to large numbers of Jews who came to his After-Meetings and a number came to faith. In 1832 he accepted the post of Professor of Hebrew and Rabbinical Literature at King's College London, during which time he undertook a complete revision of the Hebrew New Testament and also the Hebrew version of the Prayer Book.However, what Michael Alexander considered the high point of his ministry, and the greatest privilege Christ bestowed upon him, was about to unfold. For some years the Anglican Church had wanted to establish a Church in Jerusalem, but there was much opposition to such a plan. By 1839 building work had begun, but the post of Bishop had yet to be decided. Alexander McCaul was offered the post but he refused, feeling that the most suitable man for Bishop of Jerusalem would be a Hebrew Christian. Michael Solomon Alexander was who he had in mind, and there was no hesitation in appointing him. In early 1842 he and his family arrived in Jerusalem.It is difficult for us today to imagine conditions in Jerusalem then. It was a neglected backwater with little security from diplomatic representation, little in the way of home comforts and it was a struggle to maintain a very basic standard of living. To establish a Church and a Mission work in such an environment was a Herculean task, and this was to take its toll on the new Bishop. The building of a hospital, clinic and Church premises was a major ongoing work, the fruitfulness of which only appeared after Michael Solomon Alexander's times.Despite the difficulties and opposition the work bore immediate fruit and by the end of his first year eight Jews had been baptised. A School for training of Hebrew Christian missionaries was established and a Bible Depot was opened. The Jews began to realise that the mission was a menace to their religion and matters came to a head when three rabbis, Abraham, Benjamin and Eliezer placed themselves under instruction for baptism. A report spread through the country that fourteen rabbis of Jerusalem had become Christians and a deputation was sent from the Jews of Tiberias to enquire into the truth of the report. Those Jews who had been friendly towards the mission withdrew in a panic and destroyed or hid the books they had received. But two out of the three rabbis were baptized soon afterwards along with two other Jewish enquirers – Isaac Paul Hirsch and Simon Peter Frankel.By 1845 Michael Solomon Alexander felt able to contemplate a period of rest and a visit to England to report on the work. It was not to be. During the journey to Suez he felt unwell, went to rest early but unexpectedly passed away in the night. It appears that his whole system was worn down and diseased by his labours and the conditions in which he had worked. Michael Solomon Alexander has joined those Israelites who entered the true rest in their Messiah and who will return with Him when He appears in glory, but his testimony still speaks to Jewish people who hear it, and the work that he established continues to bear fruit in Jerusalem to this day, bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Where was God on October 7?To my dear Jewish brothers and sisters:A question keeps surfacing since the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre of innocent Israeli's in Southern Israel.  It is the same question that is asked about the Holocaust.  The question is “Where was God?”I want to try to answer that question today and it won't be easy.  Telling the truth is never easy and receiving it can be even more difficult.  But if you love people, you have to tell them the truth and I love my Jewish brothers and sisters.  So here is the truth and I hope you can receive it.  The truth is this: We all sin and we all deserve to die.Listen to what Adonai says through the prophet Ezekiel:“"Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4, NKJV)But surely we don't all sin, do we?  We do, because we are all born with sin in us.  Listen to what King David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, said:“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” (Psalms 51:5, NKJV)We all sin, brothers and sisters.Brothers and sisters, people died in the Hamas attack.  There were deaths, many deaths.  How many of those deaths could have been prevented?  I don't know.  That is an important question.  But I want to talk about something else right now, something much more important.  I want to explain something about death to you but then I want to focus on life.  Did you know that there are two types of death?  One type leads to nothing but death.  That is eternal death.  The person who dies in sin will experience eternal death.  There is a second type of death and this type of death leads to eternal life.  That's a good type of death.  This type of death leads to living with God forever, for eternity.  That is a good death.  If I was in Southern Israel on October 7, I would not have wanted to die.  But if I did die, I'd want my death to be a good one, a death leading to eternal life.Is there a way that you and I can know that when we die, we will go to heaven to be with God, that we will have eternal life?  Yes, there is.  And that is very important, because everyone dies.  In order to go to heaven when we die, we must be free of sin.  How does that work?In the Old Testament dispensation there was a tabernacle and later a temple.  There, God ordained animal sacrifices that provided a covering for sins.  God talked about this through Moses, in Leviticus:“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.'” (Leviticus 17:11, NKJV)But animal blood provided only a temporary covering for sins.  That's why these sacrifices had to be repeated constantly; they had to be repeated after every new sin.  But there is no longer a temple in Jerusalem.  So how can people receive forgiveness of sins today?  God told us how through the prophet Jeremiah:“"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."” (Jeremiah 31:31-34, NKJV)Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD.  Those days have come.  They are here, now.  Jesus, the Messiah, inaugurated this new covenant 2,000 years ago.  Jesus talked about it at the last supper which was a Passover seder:“For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28, NKJV)Then, He went to the cross where He shed His blood and died.  He was the perfect blood sacrifice, because He was and is God.  His blood is perfectly holy, and it provides for permanent and total forgiveness of sins for all who accept it.  His blood was offered once and that was sufficient.  Listen to the apostle John:“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” (John 19:30, NKJV)All who believe in this finished work of the Messiah on the cross, those who believe it through faith, become sons and daughters of God; they are born again.  The apostle John, Yohanan, said this in the New Testament:“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13, NKJV)And God's Old Testament prophet Habakkuk said this in the Tanach:“"Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4, NKJV)Brothers and sisters,God was there on October 7 and during the Holocaust.  He was there, welcoming His children, those destined to die then and who were born of God, into heaven to be with Him.  They are in heaven now.  Their deaths led to eternal life.One day soon, Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah will return.  Then, the unrighteous – like Hamas – will be unable to harm anyone anymore.  They will be confined to Sheol awaiting their final judgement by God and then they will be consigned to the Lake of Fire for eternity.  Then there will be no more October Sevenths, ever.  But now, today, you should accept the work that Jesus did for you and me on the cross because you will have the guarantee of eternal life when you die.  God was there on October 7, and He is here now.  He offers you the gift of eternal life.  Please don't turn Him down.  Please don't ever say “I'm Jewish and Jews don't believe in Jesus”.  That is simply not true.  Please don't be proud, but be just, as Habakkuk said.  Listen to the testimony of Rabbi Daniel Zion who saved 50,000 Bulgarian Jews from Hitler's ovens and the testimony of Rabbi Sam Stern who lived through the Holocaust and found his Messiah.  Both those testimonies are on this very site.  Please, brothers and sisters, choose life.Thank you for listening.  This is Art Wolinsky. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Rabbi Sam SternOCTOBER 15, 2012 BY SAM STERNEarly BackgroundI was born at a time when the whole world lay in turmoil caused by World War I. People suffered hunger and starvation. I came into a strict orthodox Jewish rabbinic and Chasidic home. Although my parents were poor at that time, they sent us boys to an expensive orthodox religious school. I had three brothers and a sister. My father's only desire was to make rabbis of us four boys.At five I was already going to cheder for first grade pupils and when seven I was able to read Hebrew. At nine I was introduced to the Five Books of Moses and the Bible commentator “Rashi,” and also to the ancient now obsolete Jewish books of jurisprudence called “Talmud.” When I was 10 or 11 years old, the Talmud eclipsed all the other books and became the main textbook for the next 10 years of my life. At thirteen I started my independent religious life. I was told that we children are under our father's jurisdiction until thirteen; at that age we become free from our father's supervision; we alone are responsible for our sins. Therefore, after I became thirteen I was taken to a synagogue where my father thanked God that he had got rid of my sins.The Gentiles And IThe home of my parents was very strict Orthodox. My father was a rabbi. He went to the synagogue to pray three times a day. We observed the Jewish laws according to the Talmud, for our parents desired that their children, too, should follow in their father's footsteps and remain strict Orthodox Jews.My family stayed in a little town in Congress Poland near Warsaw. 500 Jewish and 800 Polish families lived there, but the Polish and the Jewish people were separated by these four “Chinese Walls”:1. Clothing: Jews wore long black coats called “Kaftans” and a black hat called “Yiddishe Hutel.” The Polish people wore European clothing. It was considered a great sin for a Jew to wear European clothing.2. Language: Jews spoke Yiddish while the Poles spoke Polish. Yiddish is a Germanic language mixed with Hebrew and Slavic words.3. Religion: Jews worshipped in the synagogues which were also used as places of social gathering and Bible and Talmudic study classes. Polish people were almost 100% Catholic.4. Occupation: Jews were mainly blacksmiths, tailors, shoemakers and small businessmen, owners of small hardware stores and grocery stores, while thePoles were mainly farmers and government employees. The Jews were not granted the privilege of working for the municipal and federal government, nor in factories or agriculture. There were a thousand other differences between the Jews and the Poles, differences in customs, way of life, behaviour, temperament, and outlook. Their interests, hopes and wishes were also different. It is hard to put into words the things that separated us.We were two peoples living in one territory, under the same wonderful Polish sky. We ate the same healthy Polish bread and breathed the same clean air. Yet we were as strange to each other as the east is from the west.My first acquaintance with GentilesWhen I was six years old I tried to go for a walk outside the Jewish “Ghetto.” Suddenly a Gentile boy threw a stone at me while shouting: “Jew, Jew!” I, as a child, did not know that a Jew is hated by non Jews. Therefore I was surprised and scared. I ran back home to mother and told her that a boy threw a stone at me, calling me “Jew, Jew!”“Why is the boy throwing stones at me? Why is he calling me ‘Jew?' I never saw this boy before. Why does he hate me whom he had never seen before?”“He is a Christian and Christians are Jew haters. Even if he does not know you, he is your enemy.”“But why is he my enemy?” I kept on asking.“He believes what he is being taught. His priest, his teacher, his parents tell him to hate the Jews. Therefore he hates you even without a cause. But when our Messiah comes, we shall be the head and not the tail. Then we will go back to Palestine and no one will persecute us any more.”“But when will the Messiah come?” I kept on asking.“We don't know the exact time, but He will come some day. Then our sufferings at the hands of the Christians will come to an end.”The hope of the coming of the Messiah accompanied me all my life. It gave me power to endure suffering and humiliation from my Gentile neighbours.My EducationAfter my “Bar Mitzvah” I was sent to a higher rabbinical school with the sole purpose of becoming a rabbi. I spent the years from 13 to 22 in different schools where the main subject was the Talmud, which consists of 60 books dealing with everyday life. The main problems with which they deal are: damages, Holidays, marriage and divorce, prayer and farming problems. The main style of the books is “the argument.” For example, one rabbi said that if an egg is laid on a Holiday, it is kosher to eat, and the other rabbi said that the egg is not kosher, but “trefa.” The Talmud is a work of arguments and scholastic pilpulistic sayings (Pilpul refers to a method of disputation among rabbinical scholars regarding the interpretation of Talmudic rules and principles or Scripture that involves the development of careful and often excessively subtle distinctions). It deals also with mysticism, metaphysics and folklore.I, as a student of the Talmud, had to know by heart the name of every rabbi who expressed his opinion in the matters of damage, Holidays, etc. The Talmud was written in the time of the Tannaim and Amoraim, 1800 years ago. Since then thousands of books of comments on the Talmud have been written. The most famous ‘books, which are as important and binding to the Talmudists as the Talmud itself, are: The Rambam, the “Rosh,” The Tosafot, and Rashi, who is the greatest Talmudic commentator.I had to know all these different opinions and sayings. Since there were so many to study, we did not have time for even the most elementary secular subjects. I was ignorant in matters of arithmetic, geography, etc., but at the age of twenty two I was considered a “lamdan” which means a man who is learned in the Talmud.World War II broke outOn September l ,1939, World War II broke out. I had just received my rabbinical diploma called “Smicha” that past summer. I planned to marry and to become a religious leader of Israel, and to use my acquired knowledge to lead my fellow Jews in the ways of the Talmudic, rabbinic traditions.An alternate plan was to leave Poland, perhaps to emigrate to a country in Latin America, because there was a great need for rabbis. The war destroyed all my plans. My very life was in danger, as was that of all my fellow Jews in Europe.The Nazis and the Polish peopleOn September 4, 1939, the German soldiers came into our town. Life became unbearable for the Polish Jews. Every Jew was condemned to die. If all the skies were parchment, all men writers, and all trees pens, even then it would not be possible to describe what the Nazis in co-operation with the Polish people did to the Jews in Poland.During six years of such anti Jewish activities, 6 million Jews, among them one million children, lost their lives. One third of the world's Jewish population was annihilated. The fields of Europe are still wet with the innocent blood that was shed. Yes, here and there a conscientious Polish family rescued a Jew, hiding him and feeding him, but the number of these good people was very small.In May, 1945, World War II was over. The result: Nazi murderers were destroyed, Israel rose to become a nation and I had lost my entire family.In search for a friend and for an answer to the question: Why?After the war I came out of the concentration camp with the hope of seeing and being united with my relatives. I put advertisements in newspapers. I went to different institutions to find out about my relatives. To my great sorrow I learned that all my loved ones had perished with the six million Jews who were victims of the greatest demon in the history of mankind, Nazi Ideology. I came to realize the bitter fact that I was alone in the world without a friend, not belonging to anybody, nobody belonging to me. I could hardly believe that I would never see my parents, my sister, my brothers or my uncles again. I was now in a strange world, in a world without a friend and without a relative. I started to look for a human friend, but no one could satisfy my longing for a true mother heart or father love. Nobody could substitute the love of a sister, the faithfulness of a brother.I was disappointed and desperate: I lifted my eyes up to heaven and asked the old Jewish question: Why? Why was one third of the nation of God put to death by the Nazis? Where was God when a little innocent Jewish child cried for help when the Nazi murderers raised their brutal hands to kill it? Why was God silent in these terrible times for His chosen people?From D.P. Camp to the United States of AmericaSince I had no one in Poland. I decided to go to America: I thought that perhaps in a new land I would forget the dreadful past and start a new life. In order to go to America I had to go first to Germany where the American Army occupied the Western German territory. I became a member of a Zionist group whose sole work was to take the Jews out of Poland and bring them to Germany and Italy in order to enable them to emigrate to Israel or America.In April 1946 I came to a Jewish D.P. Camp near the Austrian border of Germany. I registered there as a rabbi and started to work as such in the D.P. Camp. I also edited the D.P. Newspaper. In 1952 I came to Rhode Island., U.S.A., where I worked as an assistant rabbi in a synagogue.Unbelief and DoubtAlthough I worked in the capacity of a Talmudic teacher in the synagogue, there was a great conflict in my heart. The question: “Why did God allow 6 million Jews to die?” bothered me. I taught things that I was not sure were true. I told my congregation and students: “If we Jews want to exist and to overcome our enemies we have to keep the Sabbath day holy.” In my heart I knew that 99% of the Hitler victims had kept the Sabbath day holy, yet it did not protect them from being killed. I did not have any proof or assurance that what I taught was true. I also lost my belief in the Talmudic legends, laws, and arguments pro and con. I was looking for the truth, but could not find it.Confession alone is not enoughEach Holiday we Jews go to the synagogue and pray to God, confessing our sins, and asking for forgiveness.We say, “Because of our sins we were driven from our land.” Confession of sins is a very important part of our prayers. The Jewish prayer book cites different kinds of sins which a Jew must confess in his daily prayers. The most solemn day of prayer is Yom Kippur, and on Yom Kippur Eve, every Jew over 13 years of age must recite 45 confessions called “Al Chets.” After the confession, the “Slach Lanu” (Forgive Us) is chanted by the congregation.When I prayed these prayers I felt unhappy and dissatisfied because I knew that according to the Bible, confession alone does not forgive sin. I knew that in order for sin to be forgiven, a sacrifice called “korban” must be offered. Leviticus deals with the “korban” many times, especially Lev.5:17-19.I was not sure that the Yom Kippur prayers have any significance in the sight of God, because I knew that right after the confessions and prayers we went back to the same old pattern of a life of sin. It seemed to me that as we were confessing our sins in the synagogue, we were mocking God. We spoke with our lips about repentance but did not really mean it. I knew that we are sinners and need a real, more valid approach to God.Longing for the TruthI felt very unhappy with my spiritual state of mind. I lost faith in mankind and in the rabbinical legends and teachings. I felt miserable knowing that I, as a rabbi, was teaching the people things that I did not believe. I knew that the Talmudic teachings, sayings, pilpulistic arguments, scholastic debates, hair splitting comments about obsolete damages, laws, rules and regulations regarding Sabbath, Holidays, clothing and washings, are of very little significance to us. I realized that we need some real solid spiritual truth by which to live, walk and exist as Jews. What is the truth? What is the true way for us and for me individually? I did not know!I looked on my people as on sheep without a shepherd. I saw that 2,000 years of Talmudic, Chasidic, cabbalistic and worldly teachings could not save one Jewish child from destruction. I knew that we Jews suffer for our sin, as we read in our prayers on the Holidays, but I did not know what our sin is.First Contact With Light: One spring evening I walked somewhere in Rhode Island. I looked here and there without a goal, just breathing in some fresh spring air. While I strolled, I noticed some young people standing near a store handing out little printed papers. They caught my attention and handed me a pamphlet too. As I could not read English I decided to go into the store to find out what kind of sale they were having. When I came inside I was surprised to see that there was no merchandise. To my astonishment, I noticed every one sitting with eyes closed and head bowed.“What is going on here?” I thought. I did not know that this is the manner in which Christians pray. It was in contrast to the way Jews pray with eyes open and shaking on all sides. I waited a while till everybody had finished praying and opened their eyes. A boy came and talked to me, but I did not understand him. I had been in the United States only a few weeks and did not know the English language. Finally I said that I speak only German and Yiddish. Through the use of sign language I made a date to come back the next Wednesday, when a German speaking person would come and explain to me what the organization was.LoveThe next Wednesday the German gentleman was waiting for me when I came. He shook my hand in a friendly manner and said to me in German: “This is a mission to the Jews.”“What is a mission?” I asked.“The Lord sent us to the Jews to let them know that God loves them and wants them to be saved.”“What do you mean saved? How can you speak about love after the cataclysm that came over the European Jew?” I asked.He smiled and said, “I know how you feel; but Christians, followers of Christ, love the Jews, and all those who harm them are not Christians. The Alpha and Omega of Christianity is love to mankind, Israel included. The Lord told us to go to the Jews first.”“Weren't all those who carried crosses and had pictures of saints in their homes yet organised pogroms against the Jews of Europe, weren't they Christians? Weren't the churches in Poland and Ukraine the main source of anti-Semitism? Didn't the priests incite their people against the Jews?”He looked at me and said. “The Lord teaches us to love our enemies, to show love to those who hate us. All those who do not obey the teachings of the Lord are not His followers.”Then he gave me a Yiddish New Testament and said, “Read it and you will find the true teaching of Christ.”I took the New Testament, put it into my pocket and said, “Yes, sir, I will read it. I want to see what the New Testament is really like. I don't know anything at all about it.”In the next few nights I had much to read. Every line, each page, was a great revelation to me as I read with great interest. Opening the Book of Matthew, I was surprised to read that Jesus is of the lineage of Abraham and David. I also noticed that on every page it says “As it is written,” which means that it was written in our Jewish Bible. For example, in the first chapter I read that He will be born of a virgin because it is written: “Behold a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Immanuel…” (Isaiah 7:14).In the 2nd chapter I read that He was born in Bethlehem as it is written:“Thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come forth a governor that shall rule my people Israel” (Micah 5:2).Also I saw that He shall come out of Egypt, for it is written: “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” (Hosea 11:1) Thus reading I noticed on each page and in every chapter constant references to the Old Testament. It became clear to me that this book called New Testament is actually the fulfilment of the Old Testament. I realized that we rabbis were too much occupied with the Talmud and paid little or no attention to our Holy Bible. Then and there I became a Bible believing Jew. I thanked God for leading me to that little mission and decided to dedicate my life to Messiah.My acquaintance with a Jewish missionary.It was a few weeks before Passover. The missionary in Rhode Island gave me the address of a Jewish believer in Jesus who lived in New York, and I went there because I had never before seen a Jewish believer in Jesus. As soon as I contacted him, he invited me to his home. He welcomed me with the greeting, “Shalom Aleichem.” We read together from the New Testament in Yiddish.After a while he told me he had written a poem called “The Sufferer,” and started to read it. But this was only a pretense, as it was in reality the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. Then he asked me, “Who is the subject of this poem? Who suffered for our sins? By Whose stripes are we healed?”I answered, “It probably refers to Jesus Christ.” Then he said; “I just copied out and read to you the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. He was the one who wrote about the Messiah.”Imagine my surprise and shock. I did not know the contents of Isaiah 53!The next day I showed the same “poem” to a friend, a rabbi in New York. He did not know either that Isaiah had written the chapter. The only conclusion I could reach was that the main reason so many rabbis and other Jews don't know the Messiah, the Saviour of the Old and New Testament, is that they don't know the Bible. I decided to do everything in my power to bring the Jewish Bible to them.The same evening I came to the New York missionary and told him that I believe in the Bible and in the Lord Jesus. Then and there we knelt and prayed for sin forgiveness and for salvation. I accepted Jesus as my personal Saviour. What a change came over me! I was very happy. I felt a peace, joy and happiness that I had never known before. My whole being turned into a happy life. I was a new creature.God Forgives Sin: When l came home I took the Bible and read the 53rd chapter of Isaiah over and over again. As I read I wondered why I had not heard of Isaiah 53 before. Why didn't the rabbis tell me of this chapter? It was obvious to me that we Jews could not be considered Bible believers if we deny Isaiah 53. As I read more, it became clear to me that Isaiah's prophecy in chapter 53 expresses God's glorious plan of forgiveness, reconciliation with God and salvation.My new education I went to Los Angeles and started my American education in the second grade of elementary school. After finishing 8 grades I graduated from high school. Later I went to Los Angeles City College, and finally to Biola College, where I received a B.A. degree. I was baptized, and ordained a minister of the Gospel. Now my deepest interest is to bring the Gospel to my people, the Jews, that they, too, may accept their Messiah and inherit eternal life. Messiah said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father except by me” (John 14:6).The GoalAfter I was saved I felt that it is not enough that I know the Light, but had the desire that all the Jewish people should believe in the Messiah of Israel. I saw that this would not be easy. The ones who do not believe, bitterly oppose the preaching of the glorious Gospel to my brethren in the flesh. I knew their prejudice against the Gospel and their worldly views of life. Yet, knowing that the struggle would not be easy, I decided to go on with the work of God. I became more and more interested in spreading the truth among the innocent Jews who were being misled by their “shepherds.” They were blind leaders of the blind who were interested in their own welfare, but cared little for the people.God called me to His service and I was sure that He would protect me and help me to spread the light among those who never heard the true story of Christ.A great force from within pushed me to do the work and this great force was the Holy Spirit Himself. This power of the Holy Spirit told me day and night, “Feed my sheep.” And I answered, “Here I am . I am willing to go to the House of Israel whom the Father loves so much, and to tell them the simple but sure plan of His salvation.”I saw tired and unhappy Jews who were groping in darkness, looking for the truth, and there was nobody to help them. Therefore I was the more determined to go and proclaim the Gospel to the weary and heartbroken ones. Jesus said: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”ReasonI appeal to all rabbis, leaders of the Jewish people, and Jewish laymen: Come back to our prophets, to our God and His Anointed One.“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).For further information regarding this testimony write to: Hebrew Witness, Inc., P.O.Box 132, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11229, U.S.A. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Antisemitism and the Destruction of the Jews:  The Evil Supreme Council of RulersThe Supreme Commander, Lord Lucifer, called the meeting to order.“Prince of Persia, give me your report now.”“My Lord, Persia has been very obedient.  Its human leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei hears my commands clearly and he obeys.  Under the direction of my subordinate, the Marquess of Tehran, he has funded and empowered humans to develop Hamas and Hezbollah.  Both are wreaking havoc with the Chosen Nation and the Chosen People, especially Hamas.  The Earl of Gaza and the demons in Rafah are hard at work.  Of course you know, my lord, what Hamas did on October 7.”“Of course, I know Prince.  But I think we'd better review my ultimate purposes, my goals.  I'd better quote from the Word of God again.  I hate the Word of God, but you and I know that it is eternal and, so far, we've not be able to thwart it.  My plan is for that to change but for now we can't ignore it.  So here is the bedrock verse that must guide me:“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."” (Genesis 3:15, NKJV)“Now, you and I both know that where the Word says “the Seed shall bruise your head” that means that on His return the Messiah is going to crush my head.  That would be the end of me and that would mean the end of all of you.  We can't have that!  The Seed will only return when the Jewish people cry out for Him and say this:“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.” (Psalms 118:26, NKJV)“Yeshua told them that He won't return until they say that, all of them.  Damn Him!”“If I can destroy the Jewish people in Israel through Persia, Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemen, and other middle eastern countries, and then everywhere else in the world through my other principalities and powers, then there won't be a single Jew left to say this and the Seed won't return to crush my head.  And then my ultimate purpose can be fulfilled:“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'” (Isaiah 14:14, NKJV)“But, back to preventing the return of the Messiah and the crushing of my head.  I'll never be like the Most High if my head is crushed!  Now, you all know that I nearly succeeded in eradicating European Jewry through Hitler and the Holocaust.  And that was to be just the beginning.  But I failed and the Prince of Europe did not come through for me.  Damn him for failing!”“I'm sorry, Lord Lucifer.  I'll do better next time.  You know that even now, with the help of a great many demons I'm reactivating Jew hatred in the European countries.  And the Prince of America is working with me.  And so are the other princes.  And you know what that will lead to, my lord.  I just need a little more time.”“Time is what we don't have, Europe!  And you, Persia.  What in hell, may we never end up there, were you doing when you failed to stop Gabriel and Michael from bringing understanding from God to Daniel about what will happen to the Jews in the latter days?  Remember what Gabriel said centuries ago:“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come."” (Daniel 10:13-14, NKJV)“But the Jews were given understanding through Daniel.  They can even know now, through Daniel's book, about the coming of the antichrist, whom I will direct to annihilate the whole Jewish race.  Don't you realize that some Jews today have gained understanding from Daniel 9:24-27 and have come to believe that Yeshua is the Messiah and have received eternal life?  Do you have any idea how badly my ultimate plans will be derailed if that knowledge, that understanding, spreads?“And don't you dare forget that we must continually kill Gentile Christians too so that the full number of the Gentiles will never come in and so the blindness of the Jews will continue to prevent them from recognizing their Messiah:“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” (Romans 11:25, NKJV)“Now, it is true that Isis and Al Qaeda killed many Christians.  But more killing must be done!  Have you forgotten that when the blindness is lifted the whole Nation of the Jews will believe and the Messiah will then return?!?  And we are then all done for!  My head will be crushed and so will yours!  We must all work harder!  Much harder!  Kill more Jews, you demons!  Kill them all!!  Now!!  And continue to deceive Jews and Christians so that they will keep failing to understand the root cause of antisemitism.  They think their Messiah is the cause of it.  They don't realize that I am the cause of it and that when their Messiah returns, I'm doomed, and antisemitism comes to an end.  So, kill them all!”“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12, NKJV)My dear Jewish brothers and sisters.  Please understand that I've written this for your benefit.  It's a true picture.  I've written this because I love you and because someone must tell you the truth.  Your Messiah is Jesus, Yeshua, and He already came once.  Many individual Jewish people accepted Him but most of our Jewish leaders rejected Him and so our Nation rejected Him.  Please, accept Him today.  You will then have a personal relationship with your God and your place in the World to Come will be assured.  You will be blessed beyond measure!Art Wolinsky This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Rabbi Philipp PhilipsOCTOBER 4, 2012 BY ADMINPhilipp Philips had the good fortune, like so many Jews have, to descend from a pious family, and at an early age he became acquainted with the literature of his nation. Later he became Rabbi of a Synagogue in New York. One Friday evening he entered the Synagogue just at the moment the cantor was singing the words: O Bridegroom, meet the Bride; let us go forward to bring in the Sabbath . . . Arise from the dust. Put on your beautiful garments. My people, through the son of Jesse from Bethlehem comes salvation to my soul.”And Philips earnestly longed for salvation; his heart was full of fear that he might not be saved. He took refuge in his books, he read all the Jewish writings, the Mishnah and the Gemara, the Midrash Rabbah and the Targum, an Aramaic translation of the Bible, and numerous other writings. Yet nothing could satisfy the longing of his heart; nowhere could he get information on the matter. In whom could he confide? He could not think of any member of his congregation who could help him and there was the possibility that he might be suspected of wanting to forsake the Jewish religion.Now it so happened that just during that time of fear and doubt the converted Rabbi Jacob Freshman was working in New York. He was the director of a mission to the Jews. It was his privilege to lead many Jewish souls to the Saviour through his earnest ministry. Philipp Philips felt himself attracted to this man. But he did not risk going to him during the day, because he knew that it would be a very dangerous thing for him, a Rabbi, to visit such a man openly.Consequently he decided to go there late one night. On his way he met the well known Evangelist D.L. Moody, with whom he had been friendly for a long time. They greeted each other very friendly, and with surprise his friend asked him, “Rabbi, what compels you to go out so late in the night?” Philips told him that he was on his way to the Rev. Freshman. “He is away on a mission tour,” said Moody, “and he will probably be away for a couple of weeks.” Then, as Philips relates, Moody continued, “Rabbi, why do you not stay at home and enjoy the fruit of your table? Friend, you are restless; I can notice that. My spirit tells me you are a Nicodemus.” At once he saw that he had said the right thing, and rejoiced: “Praise the Lord!” Moody told him also that he and Dr. Rosvally, the well known physician, had prayed for his conversion. He requested him to read the New Testament, but Philips refused because he was afraid of persecution should the Jews hear of it. Moody, however, was not easy to get rid of and he offered the Rabbi a New Testament which he had on him, asking Philips to read the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Still he refused, saying it would be impossible for him to believe in the Jesus of Moody. But in the end he accepted the Book.And what a discovery he did make then! He had thought to find therein a fountain of pride, selfishness, hatred and violence, and instead he only found love, humility and peace. Instead of stones he found pearls, where he was afraid of thorns, there roses diffused their scent; where he thought to read of life's burden, there he read of Blessedness, Resurrection and heavenly treasures.Now he could understand the narratives of the Old Testament in the wonderful light of the New Testament. As God had led his fathers in the wilderness in a pillar of a cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night, so he saw in Jesus the Guide who has to lead us, human beings, on the way of Salvation. He realised that the “half had not been told” to him, and he was converted to this Jesus as his Saviour and God, in Whom he saw the Redeemer of Israel and of the whole human race. He humbled himself and came to Jesus as a poor sinner who did not deserve anything but could just ask for grace. He trusted implicitly God's promises, and could at last understand the words of Isaiah 53:4-5, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”Soon he was getting his share of persecution. That his friends did not understand him, that his profession of the Christian faith was put down to blindness, that people asked him how much money he had been paid to become a Christian, caused him a great deal of pain. But he knew that he could not expect anything else from them. The unkindest blow came from his mother who wrote to him as follows: “Philipp! You are no longer my son. We have buried you figuratively. You have deserted your father's religion and the Synagogue for the deceiver, Jesus, and therefore a curse will be upon you.” This letter wounded the son deeply although he knew that a Jew has to give up everything when he decides to follow Jesus.The more his people hated and despised him, the more fervently he loved them and prayed for them. After three weeks he was able to send his mother a kind and loving reply to her letter, and could only long for the day when he would be able to take the message of the Cross to his dear ones.His one desire was then to become a minister of religion and to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a desire that was realised through the help of God. For many years he served his Master faithfully.Folks, my friends, I want you to know that conversion does not mean giving up your Jewishness. A person who is a Jew will always be a Jew. But a converted Jew is a Jew with not only circumcision of the foreskin but circumcision of the heart. Please also understand that a Gentile who is converted remains a Gentile but one with a circumcised heart. And the converted Jew and the converted Gentile are the same spiritually. Both are followers of Yeshua, Jesus. This is a wonderful thing, my friends. May it be the case with every one of you who is listening.Until the next time, may the Lord richly bless each one of you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Rabbi Harold VallinsOCTOBER 4, 2012 BY MARTIN ROTHby Martin Roth – published by permissionWhat happens when a modern-day Jewish Rabbi accepts Jesus into his life? For Rabbi Harold Vallins of Melbourne it caused great suffering–the loss of his wife, his congregation and many of his friends.Yet it has also brought about the deep-seated feeling that through taking Jesus as his Messiah his Judaism has been fulfilled. And he has found his suffering and loneliness more than offset by the love of Jesus. “I now have more friends than ever before,” he notes. “I have more sense of purpose and direction. Whatever pit you fall into, Jesus provides something to hang on to. I've got past the pain.”The story of Rabbi Harold Vallins, 59, is a profoundly moving one, an inspiring example of the hand of God at work in the life of an individual, the life of the community and the life of His church. It is a story that is increasingly being heard, as Harold, now working with Melbourne's Celebrate Messiah messianic Jewish congregation, responds to a growing number of invitations to speak at churches in Australia and abroad. Many more people have been exposed to his testimony on tapes or via the Internet. (Parts of this article are drawn from that testimony.)Born in Britain during World War II into a Jewish family, Harold was to develop something of a love-hate relationship with his religion. He spent much of his teenage years as–in his own words–a “confirmed fanatical atheist”. But a young and dynamic Rabbi who showed him how Judaism could be open, wonderful and loving brought him back into the fold, to the extent that he enrolled for eight years of full-time study at the Leo Baeck Theological College of Judaic Studies in London. This culminated in his ordination as a Rabbi in 1970.Service in several London synagogues followed, and then in 1981 he responded to a call to move to Australia and to lead a congregation in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. Sadly the move was not good for his marriage, and he was divorced in 1983. There were further challenges, as differences with his colleagues led to his being voted out of his position. In 1981 he formed a new synagogue, Bet Hatikvah (House of Hope), and he also remarried.All during this period God was at work in him. Harold formed a strong friendship with a neighbouring Church of Christ minister, Rev Gerald Rose. Through the exchange of ideas and philosophies he often came to feel he had more in common with this man than with his fellow Rabbis. Blessed with an ever-inquiring mind, he also began to explore Eastern religions. Then in late-1997 he noted the “complete change of character” of a member of his congregation, Brian, who became transformed into a kind, understanding and compassionate man. It transpired that this person had joined a morning prayer group made up of followers of Jesus. Harold pestered to be allowed to attend.“What really impressed me about this group was their sincere and impromptu prayers, not read from prayer books,” writes Harold in his testimony. “After a few weeks I was asked to conclude the breakfast with a prayer, and I freaked out. I had no prayer book with me and therefore I had not the faintest idea of what to say. “I desperately tried to remember some of the prayers I had heard and use their words. Thus, at the end, I found myself concluding with the words, ‘Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.'“It took me a week to recover from that. I didn't dare tell anyone what I had done. I had been brought up never to mention the name of Jesus and now I had prayed to Him. I decided the best thing to do was to stay quiet about the whole thing and not say a word to anyone.”But God's plans were to become most clearly evident some weeks later, when Harold travelled to Washington DC with members of the prayer group for a five-day prayer and worship convention. On the evening of the third day something startling occurred.“As the prayer was being recited I felt as though I was being transformed onto another plane of life. I suddenly knew that Jesus was in the room with us. I could actually feel Jesus come and stand behind me and put His hand upon my shoulder. And I could hear myself saying, inside my head, ‘Jesus, you are my Messiah, my Lord, my Saviour.' I felt tears in my eyes and felt my whole body was trembling.”The next day a lady suddenly approached and said the Lord had instructed her to hand Harold a piece of paper. On it was written “Jeremiah 1:4-10”. Harold, who had written his main Rabbinical thesis on “The Life and the Personal Inner Struggles of the Prophet Jeremiah”, felt sure that God was calling him to renew and reform his religious life. Then, on the following day, during a visit to Washington's Holocaust Museum, another woman abruptly drew near, with another slip of paper. She said the Lord had urged her to pass on a message. On the paper was written: “Jeremiah 31:31-33”. Recalls Harold: “It was obvious to me now that God was directing me along a completely new path. I went back to the hotel and prayed and thanked God.”The climax to this extraordinary sequence of events came on the final night. “I felt something stir inside me. I suddenly found myself walking onto the stage and right up to where the speaker was speaking. He finally gave me the chance to address the audience and I told them that I was a Rabbi and that I had just become aware of who Jesus was and that I accepted him into my life as my Saviour and Messiah.“I also remember announcing that I had become a disciple of Jesus but that I needed their prayers as I had to go home and tell my wife and family, Synagogue and community. I was very emotional and all I can remember is that everyone was standing and that this incredible love was being poured over me.”His homecoming was difficult. He was forced to resign his position, leaving many in his congregation feeling betrayed, and he lost many of his dear friends. His wife was devastated by the news, and the marriage appeared to collapse.Yet amidst the pain was some joy. He learned that his brother in Canada had also accepted Jesus into his life. More recently, his son from his first marriage has begun to follow Jesus. At critical times individuals or organisations have come forward with crucial financial support. At present he works three days a week for Celebrate Messiah and their Beit HaMashiach (House of the Messiah) congregation. “So far, Jesus has been a most fantastic employer,” he says. “Working with Lawrence and Louise Hirsch, the directors of Celebrate Messiah, has given me a family that just surrounds me with love, encouragement and support.”He is also learning that God's plans for him may not be what he first expected. “I used to think I had one ambition, which is to bring Jewish people to Jesus, but since going around many churches, I find that many Christian people value what I have to say and thus learn more about their own faith in Jesus and what He has done for them.”“A lot of Christians automatically ask me, ‘When did you become a Christian?' But I'm not a Christian. I'm a Jew and will always remain a Jew. I've become a Jewish follower of a Jewish Messiah. Jesus was Jewish all his life as were most of his early followers. I'm a fulfilled Jew, a completed Jew. My Judaism has become far more complete. Love has been added because Jesus added His unique love to Judaism. I am sure if you had asked Paul he would have said the same. Jesus helped fulfil his Judaism. He made it more complete. I don't think Jesus talked about setting up a new religion.“The things I say are often more meaningful for Christian people than for Jews. When Christians hear me talk about Jesus and see how He really enhanced Judaism they see more value in their own walk with Jesus. So when I go to churches now I don't just talk about my own background. I talk about the Jewish background of Jesus and how He affects all our lives.”His message is varied. For example, he has written a “Passover Haggadah”, a 24-page booklet to help Christians understand–and participate in–the traditional Jewish Passover ceremony, called the seder. He often visits churches to lead congregations in a Passover celebration.“Christians may take communion, but perhaps only a minority realise that communion comes from the Passover meal,” he notes. “When Jesus drank the wine and ate unleavened bread he was taking part in a seder. The words he used were in Hebrew. It must have been so significant for Him that His last supper was a Passover celebration, which is a meal of freedom. When I lead a seder Christians see how Jesus is in the Passover, and therefore in the communion.”Harold notes that through His death on the Cross, Jesus completed Judaism by making it possible for God to forgive us. “A Jew can hope and pray to be forgiven of sins, but is never certain of this. It is only through Jesus' death that we can be sure of God's forgiveness. Many Christians believe Jesus died on the Cross just to prove He could beat death. But it wasn't only that. When Christians learn about the Jewish attitude to forgiveness they understand Jesus much more deeply.”Harold is also able to explain to Christians about the manner in which so many of the prophecies of the Old Testament, especially those of Isaiah, point to Jesus. “It is so plain and stark how Jesus was being prophesied,” he says. “But also so evident is the intransigence of the Jews in not believing this. Which is what I used to do. Thankfully my eyes have been opened.”___________________________________________________________________________Rabbi Harold Vallins died in Melbourne, Australia on June 2nd 2009. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Rabbi Max Wertheimer D.D.OCTOBER 4, 2012 BY RABBI MAX WERTHEIMER D.D.From Rabbis meet Jesus the Messiah – a collection of 24 biographies and testimonies of Rabbis encounters with Jesus the Messiah© Messianic Good News.Born of orthodox Jewish parents, my earliest childhood impression was of my parents rising in the morning very early in order to spend a long time reading the Hebrew prayers. Even in the cold winter, before fires were kindled for their physical comfort, they carried on faithfully these early devotions. In so far as their knowledge of God was concerned, they were a devout and God-fearing couple.From the age of five to fifteen my training was in a Jewish school, in orthodox Judaism. A scholarly Hebrew instructed me in the five books of Moses. I went to the Gymnasium for my classical training and later was apprenticed to a manufacturer, doing office work. My associates at that time led me into the sinful pleasures of the world, and although I attended synagogue and read my Hebrew prayers on the Sabbath, I drifted from the faith of my fathers.A parental decision to send me to America to pursue my classical education brought me to Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. I graduated in seven years, having meanwhile taken my degrees in letters and Hebrew literature, and four years later my Master's degree. We studied the Old Testament, translated it from Hebrew into the vernacular, went through Jewish history from the beginning to the present day, and learned the oral laws.After finishing the rabbinical course we were publicly ordained and inducted into the rabbinical office. My first call was to Dayton, Ohio, where I officiated as Rabbi for ten years, during which I made many friends and received many tokens of love, which I treasure highly. In my Friday evening lectures I spoke on social, industrial and economic questions, monotheism, ethical culture, the moral systems of the Jews, etc. In the Saturday morning addresses I took weekly sections of the Pentateuch, followed by a corresponding section of the prophets. On Sunday I taught Sunday School from eight in the morning until five in the evening, with one hour intermission for dinner.In 1895 a series of meetings was held in the Christian Church of Dayton, with various denominational pastors giving addresses on their religion. I stood proudly before that audience of professing Christians and told them why I was a Jew and would not believe in their Christ as my Messiah and Saviour. I gloried in Reformed Judaism that acknowledged no need of an atoning sacrifice for sin, a religion of ethics which quieted qualms of conscience through a smug self-righteousness. In the audience sat a humble aged woman, a devout Christian, who was deeply stirred as she listened. “O God,” she prayed, “bring Dr. Wertheimer to realize his utter need of that Saviour he so boastingly rejects. Bring him if necessary, to the very depths in order that he may know his need of my Lord Jesus Christ.”What unforeseen forces were brought into action, as a result of that unknown woman's heart cry! How perfectly satisfied with life I was that day: I had a young, attractive, accomplished wife, was Rabbi of the B'nai Yeshorum Synagogue, had a beautiful home, a comfortable income, a place of prominence in the community, had become an honorary member of the Ministerial Association, was a member of the Present Day Club, served as chaplain in the Masonic lodge, and was a popular speaker before women's clubs, schools, civic organizations, etc. Had you visited my library at the time you would have found a wide range of reading. I had every book Bob Ingersoll wrote, read them, and corresponded with the author. I was an oft invited guest speaker in every denominational church in the city. I was satisfied with life! My wife and I enjoyed the musical treats, we had a large home, two servants, and a beautiful baby boy and daughter, Rose.Suddenly there came a change! My wife was taken seriously ill, and in spite of many physicians and specialists, she died, leaving me a distraught widower with two little children. After the funeral, I put Rose in the care of my mother in law, advertised for a housekeeper for myself and the boy, and found myself the most miserable of men. I could not sleep. I walked the streets, striving to forget the void, the vacancy in my heart and life. My dreams of a successful career and serene domestic life were all shattered. Where was comfort to be found? The heavens were brass when I called on the God of my fathers! How could I speak as a Rabbi words of comfort to others when my own sorrow had brought me to despair. I investigated Spiritism, but found it utter fallacy. I attended meetings and read the literature of Theosophy and Christian Science, only to find it futile and hopeless. My experience was comparable to Job's when he cried: “My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope” (Job 7:6).The tenth year of my rabbinical office drew to its close. I decided not to accept re-election, and resigned. I wanted to think over things! I would study. Where is the spirit and soul of one who was such a gifted pianist, who gave charm to life; who made existence so sweet? What had become of all the faculties, the intents and purposes of that active, keen mind? I turned to my Bible!I studied about Judaism but it answered no questions, satisfied no craving of my heart. Then I began reading the New Testament and comparing it with the Old Testament. Many passages were read, pondered, meditated upon. One made a definite impression: the fifty third chapter of Isaiah, eleventh verse, last clause: “By His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.” Here was the only mention of that phrase, “my righteous servant,” I could find. It is found nowhere else in the Word of God in either Testament. We have “David, my servant,” “Isaiah, my servant,” “Daniel, my servant,” but here it is: “My righteous servant.” I said to myself: “Who is that righteous servant? To whom does the prophet refer?” I argued: “Whoever that ‘righteous servant' of Jehovah is, of one thing I am sure: he is not Israel, because the prophet declares Israel to be ‘a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a leprous nation' (Isaiah 1:4). The righteous servant of Jehovah must be One who is holy. If it isn't Israel, who could it be?” I decided it must be Isaiah. But in Isaiah 6, I found it could never be the prophet for he confesses himself to be a guilty sinner and a man of unclean lips in God's sight. “My righteous servant.” Who could it be? Then I began to study the context of the fifty third chapter and in Isaiah 50:6, I found, “I gave My back to the smiters.” I pondered that: ‘Who gave his back to the smiters?' In the beginning of the chapter it says: “Thus saith Jehovah.” Jehovah is the only speaker in the chapter. Jehovah gave His back to the smiters? Had God a back? When and why was it smitten? Who smote it? Further I read: “Who gave His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.” And still further: “I hid not My face from shame and spitting.” What did all this mean? Who had been so abused? When? Why? Did Jehovah have all these human characteristics? I studied more and more various prophetic utterances. In Psalm 110:1, it is written: “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.” Here was David himself, speaking of his own seed and calling Him “Lord.” How did He get up there? Why didn't God specify? Why didn't He speak so plainly to Israel that every Jew could understand?In confusion I decided to begin at the first chapter of Isaiah and read the book through. I was stopped at the ninth: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders; His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God; The Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace.” Here was a most incomprehensible thing!I was faced with the doctrine of the Trinity. We Jews have a popular monotheistic slogan: “Shema Yisroel, Adonai, Elohenu, Adonai, Echad.” The word “echad” means one. Upon that word the doctrine of unity of Jehovah is rooted and grounded, the entire philosophy of Judaism is based. Taught by the Rabbis for ages, that word “echad” means absolute unity. Now I could not believe it; my teaching was wrong! I began to study the word, and I discovered it meant, not absolute unity, but composite unity. Let me illustrate: Adam and Eve became one flesh (Genesis 2:24); the Hebrew for ‘one flesh' is bosor echad, a composite unity. Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan, and they returned bearing a gigantic bunch of grapes. That cluster of grapes is called in Hebrew eschol echad. With hundreds of grapes on the stem it could not have been an absolute unity; they are called in Hebrew “one cluster”. Composite unity. There was wickedness committed in Gibeah of Benjamin which disgraced Jehovah and His name and character. The other tribes were indignant and “all the people arose as one man.” That is what I want you to see: at that time the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were 400,000 men of war, yet they were “knit together as one man.” (In Hebrew: ish echad.) Here again composite unity: thousands acted as one! These and other Scriptures showed conclusively that ‘echad' cannot be an absolute unity.God revealed Himself to Abraham as Almighty (El Shaddai). The first letter of this word is Schin; it has three strokes joined as one. This letter is on the top of the phylacteries and on the casing of the door posts. Jews have always taken this letter as symbolical of the Godhead because it had three strokes (one for each Person in the Trinity), joined together as one, to show unity. But another question troubled me: ‘if He who was on the cross was truly an incarnation of Jehovah, then who was in Heaven?' I turned to the eighteenth chapter of Genesis. Abraham had three visitors; two angels and the third he addressed fourteen times as Jehovah. Later two went away, but the third said to Abraham: “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I shall do? I am going down to Sodom and Gomorrah to see whether or not they have done altogether according to the report which has come to Me. If not I will know whether to destroy the cities.”Abraham interceded for them, the Lord went His way, and Abraham went home. Now here is the point: We find Jehovah inspecting the moral condition of Sodom and Gomorrah and refusing to spare them because not even ten righteous citizens could be found within their borders. But in this same chapter we have this statement: “Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of Heaven.” How and why could there be two Jehovahs, one walking the streets of Sodom and another in heavenly places? It must be one omnipresent Jehovah! Then if that were true, He could be simultaneously both in Heaven and with and in Jesus on the cross.Another problem succeeded it: “Why is the name, Jesus never mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures?”  I studied this question. Imagine my surprise when I found that 275 years before Christ, King Ptolemy Philadelphus summoned men from Palestine, and bade them translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek vernacular. They took the Pentateuch first and when they came to the name “Joshua” they translated it the book of “Yesous”, written with a circumflex over it to show there had been a suppression of Hebrew that could not be expressed in Greek. When Joshua went into Canaan with the other eleven spies, he was called “Yehoshua” (Jehovah is the Saviour). That is exactly what the word “Jesus” means.I could hold out in unbelief no longer; I was convinced of the truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus. I cried: “Lord, I believe that Thou as Jehovah Yesous hast made the atonement for me. I believe that Jehovah Yesous died for me! I believe Thou has the ability and power! From henceforth I will publicly confess Yeshua as my Saviour and Lord!” Thus after months of searching I was convinced that Jesus was the righteous servant of Jehovah (Jehovah tsidkenu), “The Lord our righteousness!”On March 30, 1904, I publicly confessed Christ in the Central Baptist Church and have been licensed to preach, doors readily opened to me. I was persuaded to enter Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, from which I graduated after a year of study. Mr. Icenbarger, at my request, called a council of Dayton Association of ministers, and 35 Baptist pastors assembled in Central Church questioned me relative to my personal faith and doctrine. My ordination took place that evening, and my first call came from Ada, Ohio, where I served as pastor for five years. From there The New Covenant Mission in Pittsburgh, of which Maurice Ruben was founder and superintendent for many years, called me to be their pastor evangelist. After two and a half years of this ministry, I was convinced that God was calling me to a wider sphere in preaching the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile, depending upon the Lord for the support of myself and family. In 1913, we returned to Ada, the little flock over which I had been under shepherd for five years, being very dear to our hearts.I started out in Bible teaching and God was ever faithful. Were I to write of all the manifestations of His goodness and grace, it would fill a book. Critical operations, publication of my books, supplying all our needs, He never failed to care and provide. In Christ I have found my only abiding comfort for every sorrow.As a Rabbi I had yearned to give the bereaved some hope on which to lean, but how could I give that which I did not possess? I gave sympathy, but in times of heart aching grief and tragedy, sympathy is of little comfort. But to the heartbroken how satisfying and glorious are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” And again: “Verily, verily I say unto you: He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath (possesses now) everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.”There is but one eternal life. There is but one source of eternal life; that is God's Son. What a great and glorious message we, His redeemed ones, are commissioned to deliver today.Published with permission. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Rabbi Isaac LichtensteinOCTOBER 4, 2012 BY HENRY EINSPRUCH D.D.From Rabbis meet Jesus the Messiah – a collection of 24 biographies and testimonies of Rabbis encounters with Jesus the Messiah© Messianic Good News.He was not yet twenty when he became a Rabbi, and after officiating for several years in different communities in northern Hungary, Isaac Lichtenstein finally settled as District Rabbi in Tapio Szele, where he remained for nearly forty years, labouring ceaselessly and unselfishly for the good of his people.Early in his ministry a Jewish teacher in the communal school of his district casually showed him a German Bible. Turning the leaves, his eye fell on the name “Jesu Christi.” He became furiously angry and sharply reproved the teacher for having such a thing in his possession. Taking the book, he flung it across the room in a rage; it fell behind others on a shelf where, dusty and forgotten, it lay some thirty odd years.About that time a fierce wave of anti Semitism broke out in Hungary, culminating in the now historic “Tisza Eslar affair”. In that picturesque little Hungarian town, situated on the Theiss, 12 Jews and a Jewess were thrown into prison, accused of having killed a Christian girl in order to use her blood for ritual purposes the most tragic part of the case being that a little Jewish boy, who had been kept some time from his parents by the police commissary, was prevailed on by threats and cruelties to appear as the chief witness against his own father (the synagogue sexton) and recite a concocted circumstantial tale of the supposed murdered girl.As in every other case in which this diabolical charge was ever brought against the Jews, the blood accusation in Tisza Eslar was ultimately demonstrated to be false and baseless. It remains to the glory of true religion that a number of prominent Christian men, notably Dr. Franz Delitzsch, of the Leipzig University, rose to the occasion not only to defend the Jews, but also to tear the mask from all who by their acts scandalized Christ in the eyes of Jewry.The mental state of Rabbi Lichtenstein at this time is best revealed in his Judenspiegel (Jewish Mirror):“Often have they oppressed me from my youth, may Israel say” (Psalm 129:1). No long explanation is needed to show that in these few words the Psalmist sums up the bitter experiences and sorrows which we, at least of the older generation, have suffered from our youth up at the hands of the Christian populations surrounding us.“Mockery, scorn, blows, and all manner of humiliation, have been our portion even at the hands of Christian children. I remember still the stones which were thrown at us as we left the synagogue, and how, when bathing in the river, and powerless, we saw them cast our clothing, with laughter and insult, into the water.“Once with sorrow and weeping,, I saw my father felled to the ground without the least hesitation by a nobleman, so called, because he had not quickly enough made room for him on a narrow path. But these sad experiences are known well enough to need no dwelling on; and would to God that such persecution of the Jews by the Christians were altogether a thing of the forgotten past!“As impressions of early life take a deep hold, and as in my riper years I still had no cause to modify these impressions, it is no wonder that I came to think that Christ Himself was the plague and curse of the Jews the origin and promoter of our sorrows and persecutions.“In this conviction I grew to years of manhood, and still cherishing it I became old. I knew no difference between true and merely nominal Christianity; of the fountainhead of Christianity itself I knew nothing. Strangely enough it was the horrible Tisza Eslar blood accusation which first drew me to read the New Testament. This trial brought from their lurking places all our enemies, and once again, as in olden times, the cry re echoed, ‘Death to the Jew!' The frenzy was excessive, and among the ringleaders were many who used the name of Christ and His doctrine as a cloak to cover their abominable doings.“These wicked practices of men wearing the name of Christ only to further their evil designs aroused the indignation of some true Christians, who, with pen on fire and warning voices, denounced the lying rage of the anti Semites. In articles written by the latter in defense of the Jews, I often met with passages where Christ was spoken of as He Who brings joy to man, the Prince of peace, and the Redeemer; and His Gospel was extolled as a message of love and life to all people. I was surprised and scarcely trusted my eyes when I espied in a hidden corner the New Testament which some thirty years before I had in vexation taken from a Jewish teacher, and I began to turn over its leaves and read. How can I express the impression which I then received?“Not the half had been told me of the greatness, power and glory of this Book, formerly a sealed book to me. All seemed so new, and yet it did me good, like the sight of an old friend who has laid aside his dusty, travel worn garments, and appears in festive attire, like a bridegroom in wedding robes, or a bride adorned with her jewels.”For two or three years Rabbi Lichtenstein kept these convictions locked in his own breast. He began, however, in his synagogue to preach strange and new doctrines which both interested and astonished his hearers. At last he could contain himself no longer. Preaching one Saturday from Christ's parable of the whited sepulchre, he openly avowed that his subject was taken from the New Testament and spoke of Jesus as the true Messiah, the Redeemer of Israel. Ultimately he embodied his ideas in three Publications appearing in rapid succession which created a tremendous sensation among the Jews, not only in Hungary, but throughout the continent of Europe. And no wonder; for here was an old and respected Rabbi, still in office, calling upon his people in burning words to range themselves under the banner of the long despised Jesus of Nazareth, and to hail Him as their true Messiah and King.As was inevitable, no sooner did official Jewry realise the significance of Rabbi Lichtenstein's position and writings than a storm of persecution broke loose upon him. From the Jewish pulpit and in the Press anathemas were hurled at his head, and he who but a few weeks before was classed among the noblest leaders and teachers was now described as a disgrace and reproach to his nation, all because he dared pronounce the hated name of Jesus.The calumny was spread that he had sold himself to the missionaries. Some even asserted that he had never written the pamphlets himself, but had only been bribed to affix his name to them. He was cited to appear before the assembled rabbinate in Budapest. On entering the hall he was greeted with the cry, “Retract! Retract!”“Gentlemen,” said the Rabbi, “I shall most willingly retract if you convince me I am wrong.”Chief Rabbi Kohn proposed a compromise. Rabbi Lichtenstein might believe whatever he liked in his heart, if he would only refrain from preaching Christ. As to those dreadful pamphlets which he had already written, the mischief could be undone by a very simple process. The Synod of Rabbis would draw up a document to the effect that the Rabbi wrote what he did in a fit of temporary insanity and all that would be required of him would be to add his name to this statement. Rabbi Lichtenstein answered calmly but indignantly that this was a strange proposal to make to him seeing that he had only just come into his right mind. Then they demanded that he should resign his position and be formally baptized, but he replied that he had no intention of joining any church. He had found in the New Testament the true Judaism, and would remain as before with his congregation, and preach it in the synagogue.He did so, and this in spite of many persecutions and reproaches which were heaped upon him. From his official place as District Rabbi he continued to teach and to preach from the New Testament. This was a touching testimony to the strong attachment of his own community, which alone had the power to make request for his dismissal, Judaism being a State religion in Hungary. As a matter of fact much pressure was brought to bear upon them, and some members of the congregation and the relatives of his wife were completely ruined by loss of trade, but still they clung to him.By this time Rabbi Lichtenstein and his writings had become widely known, and different church and missionary organizations sought his services. The Papacy, too, soon learned of the existence and significance of the man, and a special emissary from the Pope visited Tapio Szele with tempting offers if he would but enter the service of Rome. To all he had but one reply: “I will remain among my own nation, I love Christ, I believe in the New Testament; but I am not drawn to join Christendom. Just as the prophet Jeremiah, after the destruction of Jerusalem, in spite of the generous offers of Nebuchadnezzar and the captain of his host, chose rather to remain and lament among the ruins of the holy city, and with the despised remnant of his brethren, so will I remain among my own brethren, as a watchman from within and to plead with them to behold in Jesus the true glory of Israel.” At last, however, after losing his all in the endeavour to save some of the members of his congregation from ruin, and with his health much impaired by the many trials and sorrows which fell to his lot in consequence of his bold stand for the truth, he voluntarily resigned his office as District Rabbi.He settled in Budapest, where he found ample scope for his talents, but the opposition to him was relentless. He was shadowed and even physically attacked on the street. His barber was bribed with 50 kronen to disfigure his beautiful beard. His landlord kept a close watch on everyone who visited him and reported to the rabbinical authorities. But as a stream stemmed in its course forces for itself new channels, so he was continually interviewed and drawn into discussion by Jews from every walk of life. “Wisdom cries without and causes her voice to be heard in the street,” he wrote to his friend, David Baron.“Doctors, professors and officials, as also educated ladies, come to my house. Many families of position also visit us who condemn the harsh conduct of the rabbinate here in relation to me. Many foreigners also visit me. I have often very grave, important discussions with Talmudists and Rabbis from a long distance, who wish to bring me to a compromise; and it is worthy to note that many who had formerly no knowledge of the New Testament and stared blankly and incredulously at me when I quoted its sublime doctrines, have afterwards begged to possess one.”For over twenty years it was given to Rabbi Lichtenstein to witness in many parts of the Continent to the truth as he saw it in Christ. At last the storms of controversy, of misunderstanding and antagonism, began to tell on him. His spirit, however, remained undaunted. About this time he wrote: “Dear Jewish brethren, I have been young, and now am old. I have attained the age of eighty years, which the Psalmist speaks of as the utmost period of human life on earth. When others of my age are reaping with joy the fruit of their labours, I am alone, almost forsaken, because I have lifted up my voice in warning, ‘O Israel, turn to the Lord thy God, for thou has fallen by thine iniquity. Take these words and turn thee to the Lord thy God.' ‘Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way.'”“I, an honoured Rabbi for the space of forty years, am now, in my old age, treated by my friends as one possessed by an evil spirit, and by my enemies as an outcast. I am become a butt of mockers who point the finger at me. But while I live I will stand on my watchtower, though I may stand there all alone. I will listen to the words of God, and look for the time when He will return to Zion in mercy, and Israel shall fill the world with his joyous cry, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!'”Quite unexpectedly he was taken ill and lingered only a short while. As he realised that his end was approaching, in the presence of his wife and the nurse, he said:“Give my warmest thanks and greetings to my brethren and friends; goodnight, my children; goodnight, my enemies, you can injure me no more. We have one God and one Father of all who are called children in heaven and on earth, and one Christ who gave up His life on the cursed tree for the salvation of men. Into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”The day was dismal; it was eight o'clock in the morning of Friday, October 16, 1909, that the hoary Rabbi entered into the presence of his Lord.From:When Jews Face Christ. Copyright by Dr. Henry Einspruch.Reprinted by permission.Excerpts from letters by RABBI I. LICHTENSTEIN“By His divine providence I accidentally took in my hand a New Testament which for many long years I had left unnoticed in a corner. From every line, from every word, the Jewish spirit streamed forth: light, life, power, endurance, faith, hope, love, chastity; limitless, indestructible faith in God; kindness to prodigality; moderation to self denial; content to the exclusion of all sense of need; pity, gentleness, consideration for others, with extreme strictness as regards self; all these were to be found pervading the book. Every noble principle, every pure moral teaching, all patriarchal virtues with which Israel was adorned in its prime, and is still to some extent adorned as heir of the community of Jacob, I found in this Book of books refined and simplified, and that in it there is balsam for every pain of soul, comfort for every sorrow, healing for every moral hurt, renewal of faith, and resurrection to a new life well pleasing to God.”“I had thought the New Testament to be impure, a source of pride, of overweening selfishness, of hatred, of the worst kind of violence: but as I opened it, I felt myself peculiarly and wonderfully taken possession of. A sudden glory, a light, flashed through my soul. I looked for thorns, and I gathered roses; I discovered pearls instead of pebbles; instead of hatred, love; instead of vengeance, forgiveness; instead of bondage, freedom; instead of pride, humility; instead of enmity, conciliation; instead of death, life, salvation, resurrection, heavenly treasure.”The Jew has been sick for 2000 years; in vain has he sought healing and help of his physicians; in vain has he spent all his substance. By faith alone, and by contact with Jesus, by the power which goes forth from Jesus, can he find healing. l would point him to Jesus in His heavenly glory, in His divinity, exalted and great as eternity, as the Redeemer, the Messiah, the Prince of Peace.”“I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding” (Job 32:7,8.) When the Council and the high priests at Jerusalem considered means to silence Peter and the Apostles, a Pharisee of the name of Gamaliel, greatly esteemed by all the people, stood up in the Council, and said: “Let these men alone, for if this council, or this work, be of men, it will come to nought, but if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it.” (Acts 5:34-39.) The work was of God, for it has not perished in the course of time; the holy fire has neither been suppressed nor extinguished by the many storms which have raged against it, but it has kindled the more, and during eighteen centuries has shone even brighter and more clearly, filled with the most ennobling thoughts, and ever extending its dominion with the forward movements of the times.The Gospel has outrun Alexander, who stopped at the Indus; it has outrun Crassus, who stopped at the Euphrates; it has outrun Varus, who stopped at the Rhine; it has outrun every world conqueror, and will only come to a stop when it has reached Israel. The sun arises, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arises. The holy breath goeth toward the south and turneth about unto the north, and returneth again to its circuit. (Eccles. 1:5,6.)Rabbi Lichtenstein went from being a well respected Rabbi to a despised and rejected figure among the Jewish community after God opened his eyes to see that Yeshua was indeed the promised Messiah, Redeemer and Holy One of Israel. Anathemas were hurled at him, and he who was but a few weeks before classed among the noblest leaders and teachers, was now described as a disgrace and reproach to his nation – all because he dared pronounce the hated name of Jesus. He left us with these encouraging words:“My troubles are great, but in Messiah I have no fear. ‘I am sitting under His shadow with great delight and I feel His fruit sweet unto my taste.' He is soothing every sorrow and filling the soul with ever increasing joy. The Jewish system is wholly external; its laws, rites and ceremonies do not touch the inner man, and do not reveal the heart of God. I never knew God until I knew Messiah. God to me was only a stern judge. Now in Messiah I know him as an unspeakably mercifully and infinitely loving Father. Through Messiah I throw off all care as a bird after a dip in the river shakes off the drops of water from its wings. My enemies have in mockery called me ‘a missionary,' and I have replied: ‘Yes, I am a missionary in the sense in which Abraham was a missionary; in the sense in which everyone is a missionary who seeks to lead men into and along the right way. If I strive to lead men into the Truth as it is in Yeshua, I am a missionary.' And so a Rabbi wrote to me lately: ‘You have shown us the ladder that leads up to heaven.' That is my mission. Surely we have ten thousand promises in the firmament of Scripture, bright as the stars on the brow of night, to kindle and sustain our hope that the Jews will soon come in great numbers to the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the great and good Physician, and that they will touch the hem of his garment, and receive from Him all the healing, all the strength and all the joy that they need for their magnificent mission on earth and ministry in heaven.”“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” (Isaiah 52:7) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Rabbi Leopold Cohn, D.D. (1862 – 1937)OCTOBER 4, 2012 BY H B CENTZFrom Rabbis meet Jesus the Messiah – a collection of 24 biographies and testimonies of Rabbis encounters with Jesus the Messiah© Messianic Good News.Life began for Leopold Cohn in the little town of Berezna, in the eastern part of Hungary. At the age of seven a great calamity befell the young lad; he lost both of his parents in the same year and was left to shift as well as he could for himself. In later years he often recalled how those days of terrible loneliness and bitter struggle for existence taught him to trust in God with all of his heart. It seems natural, then, to find young Cohn, after his confirmation at the age of thirteen, determined to enter upon a course of study with a view to becoming eventually a Rabbi and leader among his people. That he gave good account of himself as a student we conclude from the fact that at the age of eighteen, he graduated from the Talmudical academies with a record of high scholarship and with commendations as a worthy teacher of the Law.Following the completion of his formal studies and the subsequent receipt of “smikha” or ordination, Rabbi Cohn contracted a very happy marriage and, in keeping with the custom of the time, became installed in his wife's paternal home, there to devote himself to the further study of the sacred writings.Through the years of almost ascetic religious study and devotion, the burning problems of his people, the problems of the exile and of the promised but long delayed redemption through the coming of the Messiah, had become deeply etched upon the Rabbi's spirit, and now that he had obtained leisure and could follow the call of his heart, he gave himself to earnest prayer and research in the hope of finding their solution.A part of his morning devotions was the repetition of the twelfth article of the Jewish creed, which declares, “I believe with a perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and though He tarry, yet will I wait daily for His coming.”The regular use of this affirmation of faith fanned to a flame the desire of his heart for the fulfilment of God's promises and the speedy restoration of scattered Israel, until no longer satisfied with the formal prayers, he began to rise up in the midnight watches and sit on the bare ground to mourn over the destruction of the temple and to implore God to hasten the coming of the Deliverer.“Why does the Messiah tarry? When will He come?” These were questions which continually agitated the young Rabbi's mind. One day, while poring over a volume of the Talmud, he came upon the following citation: “The world will stand six thousand years. There will be two thousand years of confusion, two thousand years under the law, and two thousand years of the time of the Messiah.” With quickened interest he turned for light on the passage to the writings of Rashi, the foremost Jewish commentator, but the explanation he found there seemed to him to be of little help. “After the second two thousand years,” it read, “the Messiah will come and the wicked kingdoms will be destroyed.” When he turned away from the ponderous volumes, the solution of his problem appeared to him to have become more difficult than ever. According to Talmudical reckoning the Messiah should long since have come; yet, there was the exile, still the bitterest fact of Jewish life, to be accounted for. “Can it be possible,” he asked himself, “that the time appointed by God for the coming of the Messiah has passed and the promise has not been fulfilled?” Sorely perplexed, Rabbi Cohn decided to begin a study of the original predictions of the Prophets, but the very contemplation of the act filled him with fear, for, according to the teaching of the Rabbis, “Cursed are the bones of him who calculates the time of the end.” And so it was that with trembling hands, expecting at any moment to be struck by a bolt from heaven, but with an eagerness irresistible, he opened the book of the prophet Daniel and began to read.When he reached the ninth chapter, light began to dawn upon him. He had struck a mine of hitherto concealed truth, covered up by the commentaries of the revered doctors of the law.From the twenty fourth verse of the chapter before him he deduced without difficulty that the coming of the Messiah should have taken place 400 years after Daniel received from the Divine messenger the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks. The scholar, accustomed to the intricate and often veiled polemical treatises of the Talmud, now found himself strangely captivated by the clear and soul satisfying declarations of the Word of God, and it was not long before he began to question in his mind the reliability of the Talmud, seeing that in matters so vital it differed from the Holy Scriptures.It was not an easy nor a pleasant matter for Rabbi Cohn, leader of a Jewish community, daily gaining in popularity among his people, to entertain doubts concerning the authority of the Talmud. Quite apart from the disquietude that it brought to his own soul, he felt that doubt was heretical in a man of his position and in some mystical way injurious to the welfare of Israel. And yet, every moment of sober contemplation brought him face to face with the question, “Shall I believe God's Word, or must I shut my eyes to truth?” In the midst of the conflict thus produced in his heart, there was one prayer that rose to his lips more often than any other: “Open Thou mine eyes, O Lord, that I maybe hold wondrous things in Thy law.”Without being fully conscious of it, Rabbi Cohn was travelling toward a parting of the ways. A crisis was inevitable; and it broke upon him one “Chanukah.” It was the season of the Feast of Dedication and, as was his custom, he planned to preach to his people on the meaning of the feast. He had not intended to refer in his sermon either to his doubts about the Talmud or to his late discoveries in the prophecy of Daniel, but when he arose to speak some of his deepest thoughts welled up within him and would not be denied articulation. The effect of his words upon the congregation became immediately evident.Whispers grew to loud protests, and before the sermon progressed very far the service broke up in an uproar. That day initiated a series of petty persecutions which robbed the life a of the young Rabbi of its joy and made his ministry difficult to the point of impossibility.The New Testament was as yet an unknown book to Rabbi Cohn, and consequently it never entered his mind to look there for the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophetic predictions. In a vortex of soul, casting about for a course of action, he decided to seek advice from a fellow Rabbi in a distant town, a man his senior by many years, for whose learning and piety he entertained a very high regard. “Surely,” he thought, “my problem is not a new one. Others must have puzzled over it and found some satisfactory answer, else how could they continue to study and teach the Talmud.” But here again his hopes were destined to be dashed to the ground. When Cohn had hardly finished the unburdening of his troubled soul, the Rabbi whose help he travelled so far to seek began to lash him with his tongue and to pour upon him a veritable stream of insult and vituperation. “So you have set out to find the Messiah to uncover the inscrutable? You are hardly out of the shell and already you have the temerity to question the authority of the Talmud! The teachings of our masters are no longer good enough for you? You talk for all the world like the renegades across the sea, about whom I have recently read in a Vienna paper, who claim that our Messiah has already come. Better go back to your post, young man, and count yourself happy that you have not yet been deprived of it. And take my warning, if you persist in these unholy ideas, you will one day end your Rabbinate in disgrace and probably wind up among those apostates in America.”Disappointed and crushed, Rabbi Cohn took his leave. But in spite of his utter humiliation, a new thought was beginning to form in his mind, and with it he seemed to see a glimmer of new hope in the far distance. America! The Land of freedom! The haven of the persecuted! There he would continue his investigation.March 1892 found Rabbi Cohn in the city of New York, warmly welcomed by his countrymen, many of whom had known him personally at home. Rabbi Kline of the Hungarian Synagogue, who had preceded him to America, and to whom he had a letter of recommendation, received him with much kindness and even offered him a place of temporary service in his synagogue while awaiting a call to a suitable congregation.On a Saturday, soon after his arrival, Rabbi Cohn went out for the customary Sabbath afternoon stroll. As had become his habit, he was meditating upon the subject of the Messiah. But in the midst of his musings, as he was passing by a church located in one of the Ghetto streets, his attention was arrested by a sign written in Hebrew and announcing “Meetings for Jews.” He hardly knew what to make of the strange combination: A church with a Cross upon it, and meetings for Jews!While he stood in front of the church absorbed in thought, a countryman of his seized him by the arm and said in a voice charged with fear. “Rabbi Cohn, better come away from this place.” The Rabbi was startled, but at the same time his sense of inquiry was aroused. Just what was there about that church with the Hebrew sign upon it? “There are apostate Jews in that church,” he was told with bated breath, “and they teach that the Messiah has already come.” At the sound of these words Rabbi Cohn's pulse quickened. They teach that the Messiah has already come! Could these be the people referred to by that Rabbi whom he had visited before leaving Hungary? This was something worth finding out.As soon as he could take leave of his companion, and after making sure that he was not being observed, he quickly retraced his steps to the church. But he had hardly set foot inside the door when a sight met his eyes that compelled him to turn back. The speaker on the platform was bareheaded, and so was the audience. As it would have been to any orthodox Jew, that was to Rabbi Cohn the height of sacrilege.On the way out, however, he thought that he should explain to the sexton his reason for leaving, and from him he received the suggestion that even if he could not stay for the service, he would nevertheless be welcome if he called for a private interview with the minister at his home.On the following Monday, although still somewhat affected by his Saturday's experience, Rabbi Cohn plucked up enough courage to present himself at the minister's address. He entered the house with many misgivings, but the impression made upon him by the gracious personality of the minister, a Christian Jew, and by the fact that the man was, like himself, a trained Talmudist and in addition the scion of a famous Rabbinical family, very soon put him completely at ease. Before he realised what he was doing, he found himself relating to his new found friend the story of his Messianic quest.Near the close of the interview, noting that his visitor was completely unacquainted with its contents, the minister handed him a copy of the New Testament in Hebrew and asked him to study it at his leisure. Receiving with eager hands the book which was destined to transform his life and ministry, and being anxious to examine it, Rabbi Cohn opened the volume and turned to the first page, and there his eyes fell upon the first lines of the Gospel by Matthew, “This is the book of the generation of Yeshua the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”The feeling which these words awakened in him beggar description. It seemed to him that he had finally reached the goal of his long quest. The sacrifices he had made, the separation from wife and children he had endured, the days he had spent in agonizing prayer all those things were about to bear their fruit and receive their reward. The problem which neither he nor those he consulted with could solve was now answered by a book, and that book was in his hands. Surely such a book must have come to him by the will of Heaven. God had finally answered his many prayers, and now, he was sure, He would help him to find the Messiah.Taking leave of his kindly host, Rabbi Cohn ran as fast as he could to his room and, locking the door, gave himself to a study of the precious volumes his pearl of great price. “I began reading at eleven o'clock in the morning,” he wrote later in reflecting upon the events of that momentous day, “and continued until one o'clock after midnight. I could not understand the entire contents of the book, but I could at least see that the Messiah's name was Yeshua, that He was born in Bethlehem of Judah, that He had lived in Jerusalem and communicated with my people, and that He came just at the time predicted in the prophecy of Daniel. My joy was boundless.”But had he been able to look into the future, Rabbi Cohn would have seen other days of sorrow in store for him. Narrow and toilsome is the path of faith in a world of unbelief. His first rude shock came the very next morning, when he tried to share his discovery with Rabbi Kline, who but recently had offered to assist him in finding a charge. “You are a wild dreamer,” shouted his Rabbinical colleague when he had heard Cohn's story. “The Messiah whom you say you found is none other than the Jesus of the Gentiles. And as for this book,” he said, tearing the New Testament from Cohn's hands, “a learned Rabbi like you should not even handle, much less read this vile production of the apostates. It is the cause of all our sufferings.” And with these words he threw the book to the floor and trampled upon it with his feet.Fleeing from this unexpected outburst of wrath, Rabbi Cohn felt himself once more a raging sea of conflicting thoughts and emotions. “Can it be possible that Yeshua the Messiah, the son of David, is the Jesus whom the Gentiles worship?” To believe upon such an one would indeed be an act of rank idolatry!The days which followed were filled for him with heartache and melancholy thoughts. But gradually he succeeded in freeing himself from the clutches of despair and began to study his problem anew in the light of the Holy Scriptures. When he turned to God's lamp of truth, he found light.The prophetic vision of the suffering Messiah began to penetrate his mind as he read and re-read the fifty third chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah, but yet he was a long way from finding peace of soul. The solemn questions that now stared him in the face were, “What if Yeshua and Jesus are the same persons? How shall I love the hated one? How shall I defile my lips with the name of Jesus, whose followers have tortured and killed my brethren through many generations? How can I join a community of people so hostile to those of my own flesh and blood?” These were indeed questions troublesome enough to rob any man of his peace. And yet, above all the raging storm, there was a still, small voice that kept speaking to his heart and saying, “If He is the Messiah predicted in the Scriptures, then surely you must love Him, and no matter what others have done in His name, you must follow Him.”Still halting between two opinions, Rabbi Cohn decided to fast and to pray until God clearly revealed to him what to do. When he began his supplications, he had in his hands a Hebrew Old Testament. Being wholly absorbed in prayer, he was startled when the volume fell from his hands to the floor, and when he bent down to retrieve the sacred book, he saw that it had opened at the third chapter of the prophecy of Malachi, which begins with the words, “Behold I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant whom ye delight in: behold He has already come, saith the Lord of Hosts.” Now his entire being was electrified to attention and his every sense of perception awakened. For a moment he felt that the Messiah stood by his side, pointing him to the words, “He has already come.” Stricken with a feeling of awe, he fell on his face, and out of his innermost parts came words of prayer and adoration. “My Lord, my Messiah Yeshua. Thou art the One in whom Israel is to be glorified, and Thou art surely the One who hast reconciled Thy people unto God. From this day on I will serve Thee no matter what the cost.”And as if indirect answer to his prayer a flood of light filled his understanding, and to his unspeakable happiness he no longer found it difficult to love his Lord, although he was sure now that it was Jesus whom he was addressing. In that hour he knew that he had become a new creature in the Messiah.Consulting no longer with flesh and blood, Cohn began to proclaim to all his friends and acquaintances that the, rejected Jesus was the true Messiah of Israel, and that not until the Jews as a people accepted Him could they find peace with God. The first reaction of his friends was one of amused indulgence. “Rabbi Cohn is mentally confused,” they said, “due to his long separation from his loved ones.” But when his perseverance and earnestness of appeal challenged their attention, they branded him as a traitor to his people and began to persecute him bitterly. Some even thought that it would be a pious act to remove him from among the living. Such are the ways of zeal void of the knowledge of God!When Cohn's countrymen settled down to the inevitable acceptance of the fact of his conversion, they proceeded to dispatch letters to his wife and friends at home, to inform them about his “apostasy.” As a result, all communications between him and his wife were soon completely stopped.In the meantime the Jews of New York were in an uproar over the act of the once honoured Rabbi. There is no way of estimating what harm fanatical persecution would have inflicted upon him had he remained long in New York. But very fortunately the minister who gave him his first New Testament learned about his plight and came to his aid. A group of friends was rallied, who undertook to give shelter and protection to Cohn; but when it became plainly evident that in New York his life would be daily in dire danger, arrangements were made for his secret departure to Scotland, that he might have opportunity to study and gather strength in a friendly environment.In the city of Edinburgh, in Scotland, Cohn found a cordial welcome among the people of the Barklay Church. It was well that he was now among friends, for he had another battle ahead of him and another enemy to overcome, an enemy more subtle and dangerous than all those he had left behind in New York. Approaching the day of his baptism, he felt that he would have to face the supreme test of his life, and that arrayed against him would be Satan and all the powers of hell. Many things, he knew, were in the balance for him. In a spiritual way he expected to gain much from a resolute and open confession of his faith in the Messiah, but on the human side he was in danger of losing all that he counted dear in life his wife, children, friends, position, dignities, in fact, everything.For some days prior to his baptism, even until the very hour of his solemn public commitment to the Messiah, Cohn lived under a cloud of gloomy forebodings. Prayer, to which he resorted often, brought him only temporary relief. But on the morning of his baptism, when he reached the church, he felt strengthened and cheered, as if the clouds had been dispelled by the very presence of the Messiah whom he was so eager to confess. Later on he came to know how the prayers of many friends had supported him in the hour of battle and of glorious victory. Indicative of these was a letter he received from Dr. Andrew A. Bonar, the venerable pastor of the Finnieston Church in Glasgow, which read, “My people and I were praying for you at our Service this morning.” In this way Cohn cut loose from the life he once lived, in order to give himself anew to the service of his people. He was no longer a Rabbi of the law, but a messenger of the Messiah, and he carried in his heart the secret of Israel's salvation.Thus far we have dealt at length with Rabbi Cohn's spiritual pilgrimage, because therein is to be found the secret of this truly great man's life and work. The Doctor Leopold Cohn of the after years, the erudite scholar, the brilliant preacher, the faithful pastor and tireless missionary, can be understood only in the light of the quest of his youth, when as a rising light in the Rabbinical profession he counted nothing too dear to be sacrificed on the altar of truth and devoted to the cause of his people's redemption.The exigency of space compels us now to draw the curtain upon that period of Cohn's life which embraces his residence and labour in Scotland and his reunion with his wife and children. How his family came to share his faith in the Messiah could well be told, and indeed deserves to be told, in a separate story. That they did so, is but an added testimony to the sincerity and uprightness of the man.We take up the story again at the point of Cohn's return with his family to New York in the fall of 1893. The time elapsed between this and his first arrival in New York had changed the man not at all in his essential character. He was the same passionate pilgrim after truth, except that now he had his bearings and the goal was no longer to him a matter of speculation. He had drunk at the fountain of living water. “I know whom I have believed” was now as truly his slogan as once it had been St. Paul's.For the former Rabbi there was only one calling in life to serve God, and only one thing worth doing to make known the way of God's salvation in Jesus the Messiah. And so, upon landing again in New York, he set about immediately to establish contact with the masses of his Jewish brethren.To secure a platform for the proclamation of the Gospel he opened a little mission in Brownsville. Being a man of practical sense, he devoted himself not alone to preaching, but also to the alleviation of the many needs that he found in the lives of immigrant Jews who were then crowding into New York by the thousands. It strikes one with pungent tragedy that at his first attempt to serve his people in the name of the Messiah, he stood very much alone. While his work as a preacher did not lack popularity, the Jewish community as a whole still looked upon him with hostile eyes, and Christians, who should have upheld his busy hands, rallied to his aid altogether too slowly.Before he went very far with his mission project, his wife's jewellery, a token of former affluence, had to be sacrificed in order to provide the rent for the humble meeting hall. And there came days when the larder of the missionary's little family was quite bare of provisions and when the children had to be sent to school half fed. Those must have been heartbreaking days, sufficient to crush the stoutest of spirits; but Cohn carried on undaunted, trusting himself and his beloved to God, who had called him out of darkness into His marvellous light.Persecution must also have been a sore trial to the sensitive spirit of the young missionary; but if there were scars inflicted by cruel tongues and hands, those were known alone to God. Cohn never complained, but remained always bright and hopeful. There is on record an incident related by Dr. Cohn many years ago to an intimate group, in order to illustrate the text: “The disciple is not greater than his Lord.” “One afternoon,” he said, “I went to deliver a New Testament at a house where it had been requested. But when I arrived there, a powerful man fell upon me, first battering me with his fists and then jumping upon me with his feet. Finally he took hold of my ears, and lifting my head, he began to knock it repeatedly against the hard floor, all the while intoning in Hebrew, ‘These ears which heard from Sinai that we must have no strange gods, and which now listen to the Christian idols, must be pulled out,' and emphasizing each mention of the words ‘pulled out' with a terrible jerk.” From this experience Cohn went home with blood on his face, but that was the blood of one who suffered for the truth's sake and it became the seed of a great work.But perhaps the sorest trials which he had to suffer came from the side of people who were ostensibly of like mind with him. “False brethren” such characters were dubbed by the apostle Paul, and no better description for them has been found yet.When Dr. Cohn was already established in his work, with a large congregation of Jews whom he had won to the faith of the Messiah rising up around him to call his name blessed, there were found men of sufficient temerity to impugn his motives and to question the sincerity of his faith. Fortunately there were others, men of unimpeachable character, who knew the real worth of Dr. Cohn and stood with him and for him to the end of his life. It is noteworthy that in 1930, at a time when the severest attacks were being levelled upon him, Wheaton College in Illinois, a Christian educational institution of first rank, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.Dr. Leopold Cohn passed away on December 19, 1937. His funeral service, held at the Marcy Avenue Baptist Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., and conducted by the ministerial association of which he had been a life long member, drew a large attendance of friends and admirers, both Jews and Christians. Of the many beautiful tributes paid to his memory perhaps the most revealing and intimate will be found in the following brief address delivered by Hugh R. Monro, LL.D., a prominent business executive of New York, who had known Dr. Cohn and associated with him for a period of nearly forty years:“I am glad this evening to bear a simple word of tribute to this valiant soldier of Christ who was my friend for many years. As far as I have been able to draw from the remarks that have been given tonight, I think that my acquaintance extended over a period almost as long as that of any of the speakers, nearly forty years. I treasure this fellowship as one of the inspiring things which have come into my life, one of the real influences. I owe a great debt to this true soldier of the Cross. He was indeed a soldier, for, as several have indicated, he knew what strife was, what warfare was, on behalf of the Lord. There are probably not many in this audience who know how acute the suffering of this servant of Christ was in his early ministry, the anguish that he went through over a period of years.It is one of the phenomena of the spiritual history of this city and it is hard to account for it. I can hardly think of a parallel in the religious history of this country. To find an exact parallel I should have to go abroad to a celebrated case in France, in which one of his own people was concerned a generation ago. The simple fact is that his life was inconstant peril for years in his early ministry. He was the victim of assault more than once. How strange this is when we think of the gentleness of his spirit, and his humility, and his one passion, and that to serve others. Yet for some reason this violent opposition not only on the part of his own people, but on the part of some Gentiles, developed, and for many years he was hounded and haunted night and day by opposition, by obstacles, by vilest slander and misrepresentation. It sounds like a chapter out of the dark ages. Perhaps some day that history will be written. I think there would be a value in the record. We live in days of such indulgence and softness, we know little of what our forefathers had to pass through, the things that put fight into them and iron in their blood. But Leopold Cohn knew all about it. Another impression I have, and that was his singular poise and stamina. Leopold Cohn knew his Bible as few men know theirs. He was steeped in its teaching. He had a full-orbed message. In the first Epistle to the Corinthians there is a list of the endowments that are given to the saints of God, fruits of the Spirit. In the Epistle to the Ephesians there is a catalogue of God's gifts to His Church. And when our Lord ascended on high He gave gifts unto men, and these gifts were prophets, apostles, pastors, evangelists, and teachers. Now I can think of our beloved brother right in the midst of that catalogue. He was in truth a gift of our Lord to the Church. He had the true spirit of the under-shepherd. He had a passion for souls. He had a keen responsiveness to the voice of the Spirit. How unstintingly did he labour during all these years in this very community.Starting amidst discouraging circumstances, and with only a few kindred spirits behind him to share his afflictions and persecutions, the work which he founded is reaching out, as has been observed, to almost all quarters of the globe. Our Lord is a great Vindicator. He has a way of seeing his children through, and he has a way of settling accounts and squaring things. What a satisfaction and joy it is to realise as we meet here tonight that even while still in the flesh he knew his Lord's vindication. He had led him out into this large and wealthy place. So I salute this true soldier of the Cross. I would like to lay some worthy tribute upon this casket. He has fought a good fight. He has finished his course. He has kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up that crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give him, and not to him only, but to all those that love His appearing.”Those who knew Dr. Cohn will remember him best for his humility of spirit. Like Moses, the great emancipator of Israel, Dr. Cohn “knew not that his face was aglow after talking with God.” Therein lay his greatness.Taken from ‘When Jews face Christ', copyright – Dr. Henry Einspruch.Republished by permission. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Rabbi Daniel ZionOCTOBER 4, 2012 BY DR JACOB GARTENHAUSFrom Rabbis meet Jesus the Messiah – a collection of 24 biographies and testimonies of Rabbis encounters with Jesus the Messiah© Messianic Good News.Included by permission of IBJM from “A Former Chief Rabbi Finds Christ” by Dr. Jacob Gartenhaus.One of the most remarkable conversions recorded in Jewish history since the conversion of that zealous Pharisee, Rabbi Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus Road, is that of Rabbi Daniel Zion, the former Chief Rabbi of Bulgaria and later the Chief Rabbi of Jaffa, Israel.Perhaps no other conversion in modern times has rocked the Jewish world as has his. He has perhaps been the subject of more controversy in synagogues, temples and churches than any other personality. Scores of articles in both Jewish and Christian periodicals have been written about him. He has been cursed and blessed, denounced and praised. From as far as Australia, India and Africa have come inquiries concerning Rabbi Daniel Zion.When he first openly declared that he was saved, through putting his total faith and trust only in the blood atonement of the True and Living, Almighty God, the Creator of the heavens and of the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, the One and only True Messiah of Israel, he was immediately discharged from the responsibilities which he fulfilled, being the Chief Rabbi of Jaffa, Israel, and following this, came a siege of persecution.TESTIMONY ON ISRAEL RADIOGod opened the door through “Kol Yisrael,” the official radio broadcasting station of Israel, for Rabbi Daniel Zion to preach the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One and only True Messiah of Israel, from the inspired, preserved, inerrant word of God. This was the first time that any person was given the privilege of preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Messiah, on “Kol Yisrael.”“More than twenty years ago, I had the first opportunity of reading the New Testament. It influenced me greatly. I began to speak about it in a small circle in Bulgaria. I always regretted that Jesus the Messiah has been estranged from the community of Israel. Jesus the Messiah did nothing but good for the Jewish people. He called them to repentance, proclaimed the Kingdom of God and Divine Love, a love towards all men, even one's enemies. To our great regret we have had to pay a heavy price for the sin of rejecting the true Messiah. But I must confess that my position as a Rabbi did not allow me at once to come out openly before the world in order to declare this truth, until God, in His great mercy, set me free from all fear. He brought me into this country of Israel, where at first I discharged my duties as a rabbi of Jaffa.”“After I gave up my position (as Chief Rabbi of Jaffa, Israel,) I went to Jerusalem, where for a whole month I engaged in fasting, prayer and supplication. It was then that I asked God to show me the right way, and the eternal God heard my prayer. On the first of Shevat, 5710 (January / February, 1950), the Holy Spirit revealed to me that Jesus is indeed the true Messiah, who suffered for us and sacrificed Himself for our sin. A burning fire in my heart gave me no rest until I had publicly confessed my faith in the blood atonement of the True and living God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Messiah of Israel.”“In spite of all the difficulties, suffering and persecutions, which I have endured incessantly, nothing could dissuade me from my faith. On the contrary, God to whom I had given my heart and to whom I turn in all my needs, has given me the strength and power to continue my witness. He spoke to me through a verse in (the word of God), Isaiah 41:10 – ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee, yea, I will keep thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.' By this I understood that a great and important task has been given to me by the Eternal God, which I must accomplish at all costs. Do not think that I have left Judaism. On the contrary, I have remained Jewish, and have become more Jewish because Jesus Himself remained Jewish.”MESSAGE TO JEWISH RABBISThe following is taken from a Gospel message preached by Rabbi Daniel Zion. This message, declaring the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only true Messiah of Israel, from the inspired, inerrant, preserved word of God, was preached by Rabbi Daniel Zion to his colleagues, the rabbis of Israel, before whom he was tried:“I know that according to your knowledge and ideas I go a wrong way, when I accept Jesus as the Messiah and Redeemer. Before the witness stand of Heaven I told you that I prayed to the Lord with tears and fasting for many years that He should lead me in the path of righteousness, that I should do His will only, not my own. I spoke to you about the wonderful way in which He revealed Himself to me, not once only, but many times. You replied that all this was imagination and illusion. Forgive me, please, when I say that the imagination is with you, gentlemen, and the true and real things appear as illusion to you.”“I know that the narrow minded education and the high offices of the Rabbis are a veil, hiding the truth from them. You can no longer judge objectively. I, too suffered from it, but God in His grace has shown me, by the Holy Spirit, the straight path, in spite of my sins. By Him I have been guided for years and He leads me on the path of righteousness. Therefore, I tell you, even if I were the only one to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, I would not consider that to be an imagination; but now I see that millions of men acknowledge Him, among them thousands of highly educated Jews. Some Rabbis too, believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Have they fallen a prey to imagination and deception?”“If you Rabbis would pray to God with your whole heart and read the New Testament thoughtfully, approaching this book and the Messiah Jesus with reverence, I am convinced that God would open your eyes.”“Jesus did nothing but good, He called Israel to repentance and to the Kingdom of God. He did many signs and wonders, as no prophet before Him. He wished to unite people; that they should love each other and also their enemies. Thus He wished to build a bridge between Israel and the nations; there should be peace between them and the prophecies of Isaiah and all the prophets be fulfilled, that the Lord would be King over all the earth.”“The truth must be spoken. Our fathers committed a grave sin, when they condemned to death Him who was without sin. Our fathers sinned and perished. We suffered for their crime. Do we wish to continue to suffer?”“We must bring restitution for the wrong. We must receive Jesus as Jew and Messiah of God. He lived among the Jews and sacrificed Himself for the Jews, to make atonement for their sins with His blood. He is risen and will come again to redeem us with a perfect redemption.”“As a messenger of God, I was to give warning. First, there is the warning, and then the chastisement follows. By this will you know that the Lord has sent me; and that the words I speak are not my own. The days of visitation have come, the days of retribution! If you receive Jesus as the true Messiah, He will redeem us a second time with perfect redemption. If not, much suffering will come upon the people of Israel.”“And to you, Rabbis, be it said: ‘Mene, Mene, Tekel Upharsin!'” (Daniel 5:25) (Weighed in the balances and found wanting.)“….when I see the blood, I will pass over you.”  Exodus 12:13“For the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”  Leviticus 17:11“Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him….And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus the Messiah, by whom we have now received the atonement.”  Romans 5:9;11 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Hebrews 1:7Hi Folks.  We're finally up to verse 7 of Hebrews, chapter one.  I'm going to read it in the NIV:Hebrews 1:7 (NIV) In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire."I'd like to ask you a question.  How can we explain this verse to someone?  How can we expound it or dig the meaning out of it?  I don't think that is necessarily an easy thing to do.  But, based on our last session together, I think there is a way to do it.  And it's a way that we can also apply to some other verses and passages that may not be clear.In Hebrews 1:6, we saw that the phrase “Let all God's angels worship Him” came from Psalm 97:7 in the Septuagint and we were able to understand what Hebrews 1:6 was talking about by looking at the message of Psalm 97 as a whole.  And doing that opened our understanding to let us see that Hebrews 1:6 was actually telling us about the second coming of Christ.  I think that the author of Hebrews expected us to see this and to get this additional understanding from Psalm 97:7 in the Septuagint.This method, if we can call it that, was used by Jesus in responding to the Jewish leaders when they said certain things to Him.  Let's look at an example of that:Matthew 21:16 (NIV) "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise'?"Now let's look at that verse in context:Matthew 21:13-16 (NIV) "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'" [14] The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. [15] But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant. [16] "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise'?"The chief priests and the teachers of the law were indignant when they saw the wonderful things that Yeshua did and when the children cried out Hosanna to the Son of David.  These children were praising Jesus and calling Him the Messiah!  They recognized who He was, and they exclaimed it, unlike these Jewish leaders.  I'm going to quote Jesus' response from the King James Version:  Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?Jesus was saying this to these leaders:  You've seen what I've done but you deny that I'm the Messiah.  Even these children know who I am.  And haven't you read what the Tehillim (the Psalms) say about me?  Yeshua was quoting Psalm 8:2. Let's look at that in context:Psalms 8:1-9 (NKJV) O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! [2] Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. [3] When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, [4] What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? [5] For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. [6] You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, [7] All sheep and oxen—Even the beasts of the field, [8] The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. [9] O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!This method of quoting a verse which “hinted” at a passage of Scripture that would provide additional understanding was sometimes used by Rabbis with their students and it was given a name: remez, meaning hint.  Can you imagine how those Jewish leaders who knew about remez might have reacted?  They would know that Jesus is telling them very clearly and loudly through Psalm 8 that He is LORD.Now the author of Hebrews is doing something similar but without the rebuke to his readers that Jesus intended for the Jewish leaders.Look at the Psalm that is referenced.  Is this an example of remez?  Does Hebrews 1:6, which we studied last time, contain an example of remez (Psalm 97:7) regarding the second coming?  I believe that it does.  AND does Hebrews 1:7, our verse for today, contain an example of remez?  I hope to show you shortly that the answer is yes.Now Jesus “used” remez to convict the pharisees of the truth about Him.  Jesus invented remez.  But if the author of Hebrews used it, why did he use it in particular instances?  What was the purpose?  It may have been a way for the ancient Jewish readers and for us today to learn that the Bible is a commentary on itself.  In fact, it's the best commentary on itself.  Why is that?  Because the Bible never contradicts itself and because the Bible is complete; it contains everything that God wants us to know about Him, and His Son and His Holy Spirit.  This knowledge is most useful!  And the NKJV makes it easy to do this.  Let's read Hebrews 1:7 again, this time in the NKJV:Hebrews 1:7 (NKJV) And of the angels He says: "WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS SPIRITS AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE."Because the phrase WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS SPIRITS AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE is in all caps, we know that it's a quote from the Old Testament.  It comes from Psalm 104.  Let's read the first six verses of that Psalm:Psalms 104:1-6 (NKJV) Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, [2] Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. [3] He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, [4] Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire. [5] You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, [6] You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. (Italics added).How do we interpret this?  Now remember that beginning with Hebrews 1:4 all the way through Hebrews 1:8 (which we haven't gotten to yet) we are seeing a comparison between Jesus and angels.  Jesus is different than the angels and He is far superior.  He is the One and only Son of God, the only begotten Son.  What is Psalm 104 adding here?  It is telling us how great the LORD is and the writer is using the word Yahweh, or if you like, Adonai.  This is without question God, Yod Hay Vav Hay, the Tetragrammaton or I AM.  Could it be that the author of Hebrews, by drawing us to this Psalm, is leading us to grasp, that Jesus is equal to Yahweh?  It seems to me that the answer is yes, definitely.  Now you might say that the author has already done that.  True.  But He is perhaps doing it even more powerfully by referring us to God's proper name and by doing that He is equating Jesus, the Son, very strongly with God the Father.Jesus did this very thing Himself.  Let's read an example of that:John 8:58 (NKJV) 58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."And Hebrews 1:7 is also telling us that Angels, as powerful and majestic as they are, are created beings, unlike Yeshua, Who is LORD, and Who has always existed.  But what about the LORD making His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire?  Are angels and ministers the same here, in Hebrews 1:7?  I think that verses 13 and 14 from this very chapter that we are reading from now give us the answer.  Let's read them together right now:Hebrews 1:13-14 NKJVBut to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"? [14] Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?So, yes, the ministers here, in verse 1:7 are angels!  And they are great!  But Yeshua, who is equal to Yahweh, is greater!Folks, thank you for listening.  I hope Hebrews 1:7 has inspired you and caused you to rejoice!  But, I have a question for each and every one of you.  Do you know Jesus personally?  Are you going to spend eternity in heaven with Him?  If you know Him, you will!  If you don't know Him or if you're not sure please cry out to Him, today, now.  You can shout the words or you can say them softly – He will hear.  Ask Him to forgive your sins, to make you a new creation, to be your Lord and Savior, and to give you peace with God, now and forever.God bless you folks. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Hi folks, we're going to take a detailed look at Hebrews 1:6 today but, by way of review let's read the first six verses of Hebrews, chapter one, in the NIV, first. Hebrews 1:1-6 (NIV) In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. [3] The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. [4] So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. [5] For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"? [6] And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."Now verse 6 in the NKJV is a little different.  Let's read that:Hebrews 1:6 (NKJV) But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM."There are two differences in this verse between the NIV and the NKJV.  One difference is the placement of the word again, and we'll discuss that shortly, and the other difference is that in the NKJV the phrase "LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM" is in all capital letters which means the translators are indicating that this phrase comes from the Old Testament.  The NASB does the same thing.  Personally, I find this helpful.But where is this phrase "LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM" in the Old Testament?  Scholars say that it is from Psalm 97:7 in the Septuagint.  Two scholars in particular have helped me here.  I'm referring to a Puritan, John Owen and his seven volume Commentary on Hebrews, and to John MacArthur and his Commentary on Hebrews.  And if you wish to, you can verify this for yourself.  If you search the NKJV of the Bible, you will not find the phrase "LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM" anywhere in the Old Testament.  You won't find it in the NIV either.  And that is because it is a quote from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, made by a group of about 70 rabbis, 270 years or so before Yeshua came into the world. Because the New Testament writers wrote in Greek, they often quoted Old Testament Scriptures from the Septuagint.  And if you search the English translation of the Septuagint electronically, yourself, in the widely available e-Sword program, you will find it in one place only, in Psalm 97:7.  The scholars of old had to really know their Bibles, including the Septuagint, in order to recognize that this phrase was quoted from Psalm 97:7 since these scholars didn't have the benefit of electronic searching which we have today.Modern translations such as the NIV translate Psalm 97:7 this way:Psalms 97:7 (NIV) All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols— worship him, all you gods!But that's not what Hebrews 1:6 says.  It says this, in the NIV:Hebrews 1:6 (NIV) And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."The reason for the difference is that Hebrews 1:6 uses the Septuagint translation of the original Hebrew which reads like this:Psalms 97:7 (Brenton) Let all that worship graven images be ashamed, who boast of their idols; worship him, all ye his angels.Why the change from gods, meaning idols, in Psalm 97:7 in the Hebrew Bible to all God's angels in Hebrews 1:6?  In the Hebrew, in Psalm 97:7, the word we are interested in is Elohim, a plural word that usually refers to God, who has a plural nature, but it can also refer to false gods or idols.  It doesn't usually refer to angels.  The usual Hebrew word for angels is malachim.  In fact, in the Hebrew Bible, Elohim is only translated as angels in the NIV and NKJV one time, in Psalm 8:5, a very familiar verse to most Bible students.  Let's look at that verse in context:Psalms 8:4-5 (NIV) what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? [5] You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.This is a wonderful verse, and we'll look at it in detail when we get to chapter two because it is quoted there.However, here, in Hebrews 1:6, the word for angels, chosen by the authors of the Septuagint definitely seems to be the right translation.  Why is that? In order to answer that question, we need to know the context of the seventh verse of Psalm 97.  So, let's look at Psalm 97, in the Septuagint, to know what the Psalm is about.  When we do this, we see that this Psalm, except for the use of the word angels instead of gods, in the Septuagint version, is quite similar to frequently used English versions such as the NIV and NKJV.What is the message of Psalm 97, then?  It is a message very compatible with the return of the Lord, His second coming, in glory and in judgement.  Is this important to know in trying to interpret Hebrews 1:6?  It definitely is.  Let's read that verse once more:Hebrews 1:6 (NIV) And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."And let's look at it in the NKJV:Hebrews 1:6 (NKJV) But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM."Now, what does again mean in this verse?  We mentioned earlier that the placement of again in this verse was not the same in the NIV as in the NKJV.  Please stick with me folks and you'll see the relevance of this in a moment.The word again can simply indicate repetition.  Is that what it means here?  If the answer is yes that would be as if the Holy Spirit was saying to us something like this, “I told you before and now I'm telling you again, when I brought Jesus into the world, I told all the angels to worship Him”.  That way of understanding this verse would lead us to conclude that the verse is referring to the Messiah's first coming.  That is what the NIV seems to suggest.Or does again in this verse refer to the future, i.e., Christ's second coming?  How can we tell which is correct?  Does again simply mean repetition here or does it refer to a future event?  If Psalm 97:7 comes from a Psalm that talks about the second coming then I think the word again in Hebrews 1:6 refers to the future which is what the NKJV seems to suggest.  Let's look at Psalm 97, the first 9 verses, in the Septuagint and see if it can help us answer this question:Psalms 97:1-9 (Brenton) For David, when his land is established. The Lord reigns, let the earth exult, let many islands rejoice. [2] Cloud, and darkness are round about him; righteousness and judgment are the establishment of his throne. [3] Fire shall go before him, and burn up his enemies round about. [4] His lightnings appeared to the world; the earth saw, and trembled. [5] The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. [6] The heavens have declared his righteousness, and all the people have seen his glory. [7] Let all that worship graven images be ashamed, who boast of their idols; worship him, all ye his angels. [8] Sion heard and rejoiced; and the daughters of Judea exulted, because of thy judgments, O Lord. [9] For thou art Lord most high over all the earth; thou art greatly exalted above all gods.Isn't this an incredible Psalm!  It does not speak of the first advent.  It speaks of a return in glory and the judgement of unbelievers.  This is Jesus returning.  This is the Day of the Lord!  The angels will be with Him when He returns, and surely they will be worshipping Him.I think there's another part of Hebrews 1:6, that we need to comment on before we finish today's study and that is the phrase when God brings His firstborn into the world.  Because we have strong Scriptural evidence that this verse refers to the second coming, we can say that God is bringing His firstborn into the world again.  So firstborn here cannot refer to the virgin birth of Messiah in Bethlehem.  That happened at the first advent.  Firstborn here refers to something very much like only begotten which we talked about when we studied verse 4 of this chapter.  Since we know that Jesus is not a created being - He is God and has always existed – we know that firstborn does not refer to the birth of a created being as some would incorrectly say that this means.  No, firstborn here means of first importance, God's One and Only Son.  The King James version says it well:Hebrews 1:6 (KJV) And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.Remember verses 4 & 5 of this chapter that we studied recently?Let's read them again.  I think the NKJV is more helpful here:Hebrews 1:4-5 (NKJV) having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. [5] For to which of the angels did He ever say: "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"? And again: "I WILL BE TO HIM A FATHER, AND HE SHALL BE TO ME A SON"?The Name that Jesus inherited that was even higher than any name that He had before the cross, was the first begotten Son or as in this verse, Hebrews 1:6, firstborn which means of first importance.  It's a special Name, a title, and a title of the highest rank.  John MacArthur says it well; let me read what he says about this from his commentary on Hebrews:In this passage Christ is called the first-born. Here again, many sects and cults claim a proof-text to show that Jesus is a created being. “Look! He's firstborn! You see? He was born like all the rest of us!” A related supposed proof-text is Colossians 1:15, “And He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” But “first-born” (prōtotokos) has nothing to do with time. It refers to position. It is not a description but a title, meaning “the chief one.” The concept was associated with firstborn because the oldest son usually was heir to the father's entire estate.[1]Thanks for that, Dr. MacArthur.So, let's sum up Hebrews 1:6. I'm going to paraphrase it:When God again brings His Firstborn to earth, this time in glory and power and for judgement, all of God's angels will worship Him.As we close, we need to say, Wasn't the message of this verse just astounding? Folks, this message is good news!  Jesus is coming again.  Have you received Jesus as your Savior, Messiah, and Lord?  Have you accepted the precious gift of salvation?  If you have not, please do it today, with all your heart!  I want to see you in heaven with me!Thank you for listening and God bless you, my friends.This is Art Wolinsky, until the next time.[1] MacArthur, John F., Jr. Hebrews. Chicago: Moody Press, 1983. Print. MacArthur New Testament Commentary. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Theologydoctor - Posts about God and the Bible and HopeDashboardIsrael, a Cup of Trembling3 talks given at Calvary Chapel of Chapel Hill, NC on the evening of December 6, 2023ARTHUR P WOLINSKYDEC 7, 2023What About the Jewish People?Hi Folks. Many of you know that I'm Jewish, the son of two Jewish parents. In view of the October 7 massacre of many Jewish people in Israel, I want to share several things with you this evening.I want to talk with you about the root cause of antisemitism, about the root cause for the Jewish people's resistance to believing in Jesus, about whether the Law of Moses applies to Jewish people today, and about the future for the Jewish people as a Nation and for individual Jews today.I.             What is the Root Cause of Antisemitism?Remember how in the Garden of Eden the Lord gave Adam one commandment?  The Lord said to Adam “You may eat of any plant or tree in the Garden except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  In the day that you eat of it you will surely die”.  Adam communicated this knowledge to Eve and she was tricked by the serpent who was inhabited by Satan and Eve ate of the fruit and shared it with Adam who also ate.  Right then, sin entered the entire human race and with sin came death.  Everything changed and everything was corrupted.  Right then God spoke to the serpent, the Devil:Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall crush your head, And you shall bruise His heel."The Seed of the woman was and is the Deliverer.  He is the Messiah and this prophecy makes it clear that one day the Messiah will crush the head of the enemy of humanity, Satan.  That will be the end of him.As the story unfolds through Scripture we are told that God chose Abraham and his physical descendants including the 12 tribes of Israel to be His special people and we are told that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah and from King David.  As the enemy learned that the Messiah was to come through the Jewish people, the enemy tried to prevent Messiah from coming into the world through the attempted killing of all Jewish babies in ancient Egypt.  He was unsuccessful however.  Moses was born and survived to lead his people out of Egypt as a Nation.  Later the evil Haman in Persia tried to annihilate all the Jewish people and he also failed.  This is celebrated in the festival of Purim which Jewish people still celebrate today.  Later yet, in about 175 BC, a Syrian king named Antiochus tried to destroy all the Jewish people and he committed something called the abomination of desolation in the temple.  He too failed and the victory of the Jewish people over Antiochus is celebrated in the festival of lights, Chanukah.  And there were many more attempts, all of which failed.So the Messiah was born of the virgin Miriam, a direct descendant of King David,  in Bethlehem, and He was crucified in about 33 AD.  The Messiah was born to die, to be the ultimate blood sacrifice for His people and for all people, that whoever would accept Him would never die but would have eternal life.  He fulfilled the Law of Moses – by obeying it completely – and He promised that one day He would return.  Then Satan's head would be crushed.  The Messiah was and is Yeshua of Natzeret, or Jesus of Nazareth.So, Messiah came and He died.  What could the Enemy do to prevent the return of the Messiah?  Jesus said something to the Jewish people, from Jerusalem, several days before He went to the cross:Matthew 23:37-39 (NKJV) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! [38] See! Your house is left to you desolate; [39] for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'BLESSED is HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!' "So before the Jewish people can see Jesus again, before He can return, the Jewish people must say Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord, a Messianic verse from a Messianic Psalm, Psalm 118.  The enemy knows this of course and so, ever since the cross, he has been systematically trying to totally annihilate the Jewish people, so that there would be not even one single Jew who could say this.  This is the root cause of antisemitism.  This has been brought into reality through many literal attempts to kill the Jews.  Hitler's Holocaust is a major example of this and all the wars against Israel since 1948 up to and including the massacre by Hamas on October 7 are examples caused by Satan trying to fulfill his strategy of total annihilation of the Jewish people.  He has not succeeded, and he never will succeed.We hear today of a New Antisemitism.  What is that?  The person or people who practice this new antisemitism say something like this: We hate Israel.  Although I'm not crazy about Jewish people, I wish them no harm, except for the ones in Israel because their country is oppressing the Palestinians and stealing their land.  The Jews have no right to Israel, and they are practicing apartheid.  What Hamas did is understandable!Folks, I believe that Satan has goals, strategies, and tactics.  I believe that his main goals are to be like God or even above God, to seek revenge against God for throwing him out of heaven, and to prevent the Messiah's return so that his, Satan's, head won't be crushed.  One of Satan's major strategies is to destroy Israel and all the Jewish people, for reasons we just discussed, and the October 7 massacre was Satan's latest tactic.  I don't think that Satan's goals and strategies change, but his tactics constantly change.  And he is relentless.  When one tactic is defeated, he comes up with 3 more.  We must fight him with all our strength, but this is a spiritual battle – we wrestle not against flesh and blood, Ephesians 6 - and only the Messiah can bring the final victory and He will.II.           What is the root cause for the Jewish people's resistance to believe in Jesus?The cause is supernatural.  Let me read you two Scripture verses from the Apostle Paul's Letter to the Romans in the New Testament:Romans 11:25-26 (NKJV) For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. [26] And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION, AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB;Folks, that is the reason, spiritual blindness.  A partial spiritual blindness has happened to Israel.  A better translation is temporary blindness.  It is temporary and it has happened to the entire Nation except for a small number of people, the remnant.  Why has God done this?  So that the full number of Gentiles to be saved will be saved.  When this full number of Gentiles is saved, through the Messiah, then and only then will the entire Nation of Israel be saved – all at once.  It will be like life from the dead!  But please be very much aware that Satan is quite interested in killing Gentiles too, although they are not as high a priority for him as killing Jews is.If the Jewish people, as a Nation, had accepted Yeshua when He first came, He would have died then to pay the price for sin, He would have set up His Millennial Kingdom and perhaps the great mass of non-Jewish people would never be saved.  But this was never God's plan.  Let me read you another 2 verses:Romans 11:28-29 (NKJV) Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. [29] For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.These verses explain why Gentiles are spiritually indebted to the Jewish people.Now, how does this work itself out?  Two examples:Rashi (1040-1105) – a very famous French rabbi, revered by many Orthodox Jews today including members of Chabad, proclaimed that the famous Isaiah passage (52:13-53:12) describes a suffering servant, but not the Messiah.  Let me read part of the passage to you:Isaiah 53:3-5,7-10 NKJVHe is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. [4] Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. [5] But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. [7] He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. [8] He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. [9] And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. [10] Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.Rashi taught that this Man, despised and rejected, was the Nation of Israel.  He was not a man, according to Rashi.  He was not the Messiah.  Instead, he was the Nation of Israel.  To this day this faulty exegesis by Rashi leads Jewish people away from seeing that Yeshua is the Messiah.Maimonides (1138-1204), a very famous rabbi, philosopher, and physician, was born in Spain and had to leave, lived in Morocco and later in Egypt.  He was a leader of his people, and he suffered much persecution because he was a Jew.  He came up with The Thirteen Principles of Faith.  According to Maimonides, a Jew who denied any of these principles would be denied a place in The World to Come. Principle 2 says God has absolute and unparalleled unity.  Principle 3 says God is incorporeal – without a body.  Principle 2 rules out a God who is One but is comprised of 3 persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Principle 3 rules out the incarnation; there can be no God in the flesh.  Therefore, Maimonides principles rule out Jesus as Messiah and God. Maimonides is revered by Jews all over the world today.  If Maimonides' principles say there is no Jesus, then for most Jews there is no Jesus, even if the Bible – including the Torah – says otherwise.A great number of rabbis today stand on Rashi and Maimonides as pillars of the Jewish faith and they mislead their people.  I'm not saying they're doing it intentionally, but they are doing it, and it's a reason that Jews reject Yeshua.III.          Are Jewish People, or Any of Us, Under the Law of Moses Today?It was Maimonides, mentioned just a moment ago, who codified the commandments in the Torah, the 5 Books of Moses, and counted 613 commandments.  These are the commandments given by God and therefore found in the Torah.  Failure to keep these commandments was punishable by death.  No one with a sin nature – meaning all of us – could keep all these commandments.  That's why God provided an elaborate system of sacrifices, including blood sacrifices, to provide temporary atonement or forgiveness for sins.  God told the Israelites this through Moses:Leviticus 17:11 (NKJV)11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.'The life of an animal became a substitutionary sacrifice for the life of an Israelite.  These sacrifices had to be repeated over and over.  They provided no permanent forgiveness.  This sacrificial system was administered by priests who came from the tribe of Levi.Through the prophet Jeremiah, long after the time of Moses, God told the children of Israel that He was going to replace the Covenant of the Law, also known as the Mosaic Covenant, with a New Covenant:Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NKJV) "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— [32] not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. [33] But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. [34] No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."This word from Jeremiah was a prophecy of a future covenant to replace the covenant that the people continually broke.  They couldn't keep that covenant.  Nobody could.  This New Covenant would require a blood sacrifice that was perfect, unlike the blood from an animal.  A new priesthood would be required.  There would be one Priest and He would be from the tribe of Judah.  In fact, this Priest would also, Himself, be the Sacrifice.  This Sacrifice was Jesus, Yeshua, God in the flesh, and His sacrifice on the cross was enough to pay the debt for every sin that would ever be committed, past, present, and future.  Yeshua, the Messiah, God Himself in the flesh, and His sacrifice, was and is the basis of the New Covenant.  When Yeshua was crucified the curtain in the temple separating the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place was miraculously torn in two from top to bottom, symbolically opening the way for every believer to enter spiritually into the Holy of Holies.  Several decades later, in 70 AD, the Temple was destroyed.  Never again could a God ordained animal sacrifice ever be made.  God requires that His people worship Him through the New Covenant.  He loves His people, the Jewish people.  God restates the New Covenant in the New Testament in Hebrews exactly as He did in Jeremiah.Now what I'm going to say now is super important and very hard to grasp, especially for a Jewish person.  Please listen to me.  The Law of Moses shows us God's character and that's a very valuable thing.  And the Law is Scripture and all Scripture is profitable.  The Law is good.  But the Law of Moses cannot provide salvation – it never could.  The Law is no longer your master.  The New Covenant does provide salvation.The New Covenant has replaced the Covenant of the Law and with a New Covenant there must be a new priesthood. That priesthood consists of only one Priest,  Yeshua, Jesus.  He is our High Priest now.  How does a person access the benefits of that covenant, permanently?  You confess Yeshua, Jesus, as your Lord and Savior and you follow Him all the days of your life.  He will make you a new creation by filling you with the Holy Spirit, who will help you to keep the New Covenant.  If you are a Jew, you will still be JewishIV.         What is in the Future for the Israel and for Individual Jews Today?Daniel chapter 9 is a very pivotal chapter.  Daniel at this point is an old man, having been taken to Babylon as a teenager.  He is a very respected and very godly man.  He has been reading the scrolls of Jeremiah the prophet through whom the Lord said that the time of exile would be 70 years.  That time of 70 years is only about 2 years away.  Daniel must have thought that at 70 years, the Messiah would return and set up the Messianic Kingdom and bad things would all be over, because God sent the angel Gabriel to give Daniel understanding that this would not be the case.  Gabriel explained that it would not be seventy years until the time of restoration of all things for the Jewish people but seven times seventy years until this would happen.  After 69 sevens of years (483 years), the Messiah would come and would be cut off, killed, but not for Himself.  Then the final 7 years would come but only after a gap of time.  At the present time we are in that gap which is now about 2,000 years.  The final seven years, Daniel's 70th week, is what is known as The Tribulation.  It begins when the Coming Prince – the Antichrist – signs a 7 year peace treaty with Israel.  At the midpoint, 3.5 years, the Antichrist reveals that he is not a man of peace, he commits the abomination of desolation at the rebuilt temple – the Tribulation Temple or Third Temple – in Jerusalem, as did his predecessor Antiochus in 175 BC in the second temple.  That's the Syrian king who was defeated by the Jews led by Judah Maccabee and is celebrated at the festival of Chanukah.  That's past.  The Antichrist is future.  This second half of Daniel's 70th week is referred to by the prophet Jeremiah as The Time of Jacob's Trouble.  It will be a Second Holocaust, worse than Hitler's Holocaust.  Two thirds of the Jewish people will die, killed by the Antichrist.  Jesus spoke about this time:Matthew 24:15-21 (NKJV) "Therefore when you see the 'ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), [16] "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. [17] Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. [18] And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. [19] But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! [20] And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. [21] For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.Folks, God is in control of all things.  Why would God allow this?  Here is why.  There are six purposes that God must accomplish for the Jewish Nation for things to be put right and for the end of the age to come.  Let me read them to you from Daniel 9:24:Daniel 9:24 (NKJV) "Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.What are these 6 purposes?Arnold Fruchtenbaum in his Commentary on Daniel helps us here.  Here is a summary of what he says:1.    The first purpose of the seventy sevens is to finish a specific transgression of the Jewish people, namely, the rejection of the Messiah.2.    The second purpose is to put an end to daily sins.3.    The third purpose is to atone for the sin nature of man by accepting the sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross.4.    The fourth purpose is to bring in the age of righteousness which is the Messianic or Millennial Kingdom.5.    The fifth purpose is the final fulfillment of all revelations and prophecies. With the second coming of the Messiah, the function and purpose of prophecy will be completed.6.    The sixth purpose is to anoint the Millennial Temple.These 6 things are going to require the entire Jewish Nation to accept their Messiah, and plead for forgiveness of their sins, the sins of the Nation in rejecting Him 2,000 years ago.  God will pour out a spirit of repentance on them and they will be humbled more than ever before.  Daniel 12:7 explains this:Daniel 12:7 (NKJV) Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.The Jewish people will do this at the end of the 7 year Tribulation.  They will cry out to Jesus as their Messiah and plead with Him to save them, and He will, right then, as prophesied in Zechariah:Zechariah 12:10 (NKJV) "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.What about Jewish people NOW, individual Jewish people.  What about YOU?  You might be in Israel, you might be here in Chapel Hill, or you might be someplace else.  I am speaking to both Jewish and Gentile people who don't have a relationship with Yeshua, with Jesus.  If you desire forgiveness of sins and you want to have eternal life now, Pastor Vince is going to give an invitation after he speaks.  Please accept it, tonight.  If you do this you will be placed by God into what is known as the Body of Messiah, the true Church, and you will not enter The Tribulation or The Time of Jacob's Trouble.  You will Raptured or resurrected to heaven before that time.There's one more thing I want to say tonight, primarily to those people who lost loved ones on October 7 and to those whose loved ones are still hostages.  What about them, you ask.  What is God doing about them?  Where is God?Do you remember Job in the Bible?  God allowed Satan to kill his children, to take away his material possessions, and to take away his health.  It was a series of terrible blows.  But Job never lost his faith in God.  He complained plenty and he criticized God, but he never lost his faith.  Then, after a period of time God spoke with Job and Job remembered just how great God is and Job said this:Job 42:6 (NKJV) Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes."And the LORD blessed Job:Job 42:12-13 (NKJV) Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. [13] He also had seven sons and three daughters.Job 42:16-17 (NKJV) After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. [17] So Job died, old and full of days.Now, somebody may say this:  Well, that's just great!  God allowed all of Job's children to be killed and He replaced them with other children?  Does God think that's righteous?Folks, God is always righteous.  We don't always get to see that but we have to believe it.  And God loved Job and his children and he loves you.  So whatever happens to you or your loved ones, have faith in God and believe that he will make everything right in the end.Thank you for listening.2 Likes22SharePreviousNext2 CommentsViaVeritasVitaDec 8Liked by Arthur P WolinskyDear Dr. Arthur,A few thoughts thrown together here, from a septuagenarian cradle Christian.I heeded your advice and listened last evening to all 3 Calvary sermons. Yours, on the reason for anti-semitism really struck me. As making sense. Flipping through my Bible to follow you as I listened.From April to August I read the Torah in entirety--not just a verse here, a verse there, as always before. And found these books to be a really good read. Then on beginning Joshua, realized I had to read the first 5 again (a good thing too, as I must have slept through many verses). Much is much clearer now--and currently stuck in Leviticus 17, I'd been wondering what was behind all the required sacrifices? Before this last year or so I had not considered 'evil' to be more than an abstraction. Sed tempora mutantur, et nos in illis mutamur.Many thanks to you for what you are doing--and so very very very happy that you have accepted Yeshua.LIKED (1)REPLYSHARE1 reply by Arthur P Wolinsky1 more comment...TopNewCommunityWhy Lasting Peace In Israel Can Never Occur Until Messiah ReturnsA terrible thing happened on October 7. Why did it happen? The explanation is here.OCT 9 • ARTHUR P WOLINSKY61Is Imminence Present in Matthew 24 and 25 and Does it Matter?The Pretribulation Rapture is real. This matters! An understanding of imminence will help you to understand this better.OCT 3 • ARTHUR P WOLINSKY20:0042The TempleDid you know that there are 4 Jewish temples referenced in the Bible?JUL 31 • ARTHUR P WOLINSKY48Who Is The Messiah?My dear Jewish brothers and sisters, I want you to know who your Messiah is. And to those of you who are not Jewish: He is your Messiah too.JUL 9 • ARTHUR P WOLINSKY43Hebrews 1:3We continue on in Hebrews. This is part 3. You can listen or read or do both.OCT 23 • ARTHUR P WOLINSKY29:3435The Goals, Strategy, and Tactics of the Enemy and How to Fight HimWe are in a war. We have an invisible enemy who is more deadly than any visible army or weapons of war.AUG 25 • ARTHUR P WOLINSKY32Hebrews 1:2Join me as we continue studying this marvelous epistle which gives us a better and better understanding of Jesus' divine nature.OCT 16 • ARTHUR P WOLINSKY22:3932Beyond The Shadow of a Doubt: The Rapture Comes Before The TribulationWhat is the evidence for this statement? Read on.....JUN 12 • ARTHUR P WOLINSKY35What Is the Cause of Death?And is there a cure?JUL 17 • ARTHUR P WOLINSKY36Hebrews 1:4-5How did Jesus, Who was always God, become even better?NOV 20 • ARTHUR P WOLINSKY23:312See all© 2023 Arthur P WolinskyPrivacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection noticeStart WritingGet the appSubstack is the home for great writing This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

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Hi Folks. I'm excited for us to move on to the next two verses of Hebrews together today so let's start by reading them. We're using the NKJV today:Hebrews 1:4-5 (NKJV) having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. [5] For to which of the angels did He ever say: "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"? And again: "I WILL BE TO HIM A FATHER, AND HE SHALL BE TO ME A SON"?Hebrews 1:4-5 tells us that our Messiah, having become so much better than the angels, has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. So we need to ask ourselves if Yeshua, Jesus, became something that He was not previously. How did He obtain a more excellent name? Now this verse is comparing Jesus with angels. He has become better than the angels and He has inherited a more excellent name than they. We might ask if He has become better than the angels by virtue of inheriting a more excellent name and if so what is in that name that makes Him better? Let's read verse four again:‌Hebrews 1:4 (NKJV) 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.Because the word as separates two clauses in this verse, and because as is present in the Greek, we might wonder how the Son of God, who was and is always perfect and who was and is always God, became so much better than the angels by inheriting a better name. What could that mean? I think that in order to understand this question we need to remember the last part of verse 3 and we need to remember that the chapter and verse numbers in the Bible were not in the original Scriptures. Keeping that in mind let's read the last part of verse 3 with all of verse 4 as if that was a single verse:‌Hebrews 1:3-4 (NKJV) .... when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.‌So, Yeshua's becoming better than the angels by obtaining a more excellent name seems to be at least in part be due to His sitting down on the Father's right hand and that could never have happened without Jesus having purged our sins. And He couldn't have done that without being the perfect sacrifice and He couldn't have been that perfect sacrifice without being God. But OK, we know that Jesus is God and He was God before the cross.John 1:1 (NKJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.Jesus being God is not new. So, how did He become so much better than the angels? It seems to me that of course, as God He was better than the angels already but then He became so much better than the angels. What accounts for that? Let's read verse four once more:Hebrews 1:4 (NKJV) having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.What is the meaning of as here? Does it mean He became so much better because He obtained a more excellent name than they? I think we have to understand what rank the angels hold and compare it to the rank that Yeshua holds. And of course, there is no comparison there! There never was. But Yeshua has been elevated even more in some way.‌Again, His becoming better seems to be due to a change in His name and what that name represents.‌So what was the nature of this change? It was a change in status or rank. To understand this, I think we get some help from looking at the next verse, verse 5 :Hebrews 1:5 (NKJV) 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”?‌“You are My Son, Today I have begotten You” - Now folks, this could be a little confusing, so please stick with me. Jesus was God the Son throughout eternity but this clause from Hebrews 1:5 is describing something extra, something new. “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”. This clause is a direct reference toPsalms 2:7 (NKJV) "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.‌Incidentally folks, to digress for just a moment, note the word begotten in John 3:16. Let me read that to you:‌“John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.‌Folks, the word begotten in John 3:16 does not have the meaning to beget or to give birth; the Greek word is better translated as unique or one and only.‌But in Psalms 2:7 and so in Hebrews 1:5, begotten does usually mean to beget or to give birth. And there seems to be a particular point in time, today, when the Father becomes the Father of this very special Son, our Messiah. In the NKJV it says Today I have begotten You. Now we know that God the Son always existed and that He is God. He was never anything else. And He was always the Son, the eternal Son. How do we know that? We know it from:‌Proverbs 30:4 (NKJV) Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, If you know?But again, how could the Son of God become better - how could God ever become better? - and how could He become the Son of God the Father? Wasn't He already the Son? Now, He, Yeshua, is God and so He was never born in the way that you and I were born. Yes, He was literally born of a virgin, Miriam or Mary. That was the incarnation when He became the God-Man and that was indeed a change. At the incarnation His nature changed from perfect God to perfect God and perfect Man. And we know that happened so that He could do something that He couldn't do when He was God only. That something that He could do was to die on the cross. And there were other things that He couldn't do when He was perfect God only; He couldn't suffer the way a man can suffer. When he was perfect God only, He couldn't do that. And we'll see a little later in Hebrews why that is necessary. But the most important thing that he could do as a man that He couldn't do as perfect God only was to die.‌By the way folks, this is absolutely extraordinary, is it not? Without question it is extraordinary!‌So Jesus became the God-Man. He was no less God than He was before but now He was Man too. But He was and is a Man in a way that no other man could ever be. In what way is that you might ask? He was without sin, as we will see when we get to Hebrews, chapter four, where we read about Jesus being a high priest:Hebrews 4:15:“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” So Jesus went from being God only to being the God-Man. Did this change His name and status? I don't think that it did at His birth, at His incarnation. But, as perfect God and perfect Man he was able to die and by so doing He became sin for us, meaning He became a sin offering for us, or I should say He became the sin offering for us, the perfect sacrifice. He paid the price that God's Law demanded for sin, for every sin ever committed. That price was and is still today, death:‌Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”‌After He died He was buried and then He was raised from the dead:Romans 6:4 (NKJV) Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.‌So, by what He did Jesus made it possible for you and me to be not only forgiven of our sins but also raised to newness of life. And because He did this His name and His status changed.I think verse five of this first chapter makes that clear:Hebrews 1:5 (NKJV) For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”?Again, this verse directly quotes Psalm 2:7 and it also quotes 1 Chronicles 17:13. Let's look at the context of these two Old Testament verses. But let's look at the context of the 1 Chronicles verse first:1 Chronicles 17:11-14 (NKJV) And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. [12] He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. [13] I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. [14] And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever." ' "These verses describe the Davidic Covenant. Now most Bible scholars quote from 2 Samuel when referencing the Davidic Covenant:2 Samuel 7:12-16 (NKJV) "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. [13] He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. [14] I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. [15] But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. [16] And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." ' "I prefer to quote the 1 Chronicles passage because verse 14 in the 2 Samuel passage speaks about David's son Solomon rather than the Messiah. Let's read that verse:[14] I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.Because Messiah is God, He is without sin and so verse 14 can't be about Him. But nothing like that is present in the 1 Chronicles passage. But as important as this is, it's a digression. So, getting back to Psalm 2:7: the meaning of begotten in the Hebrew in Today I have begotten You, from Psalm 2:7, normally means to beget, to bear, or to be born in the very same sense that you and I were born. Let's look at the whole verse:‌Psalm 2:7 (NKJV) "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.It is the Messiah, Jesus, saying “I will declare the decree and “The LORD (Yahweh) has said to Me (His Son)” - and that is very emphatic language folks - Today I have begotten you. There is a declaration and a decree. Very emphatic language indeed. Now the context in Psalm 2:7 is that of an exaltation to divine kingship as shown in Psalm 2:8-9 (NKJV) : 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.' ”‌Now this is still future to where we are today (November 13, 2023). But because of this context which is that of exaltation to kingship, normally formalized in a coronation ceremony, many scholars consider begotten in Psalm 2 to mean elevation to kingship. The Father is rewarding the Son by crowning Him as King. The Father is giving the Son His inheritance, meaning the Son's inheritance and the Son's status and rank are thereby increased or made even more excellent. I am inclined to agree with those scholars who interpret Psalm 2 in this way. I believe that the meaning here in Hebrews is the same. The author of Hebrews is using Psalm 2, a psalm of exaltation of the Son, to show just how very much better than the angels the Son, Yeshua is. He is not only better because He is God but He has become so much better than the angels because His status changed after the cross. He has been exalted to become God's Son - that is His new name - God's Son, the King, and this is a prophecy, a prophecy that will be entirely fulfilled after the Son's second coming when this coronation will take place. That is the more excellent name that He has inherited, the name of the begotten Son, King of the universe. It supports the explanation that begotten in both Psalm 2:7 and Hebrews 1:5 is used in a different sense than that of physical birth. Instead it indicates an elevation in status, or in a sense being born into a new status, the status of a King, the Son of the divine Father Who will establish the throne of His kingdom over Israel forever. I should say Folks, that indicates an awesome rank indeed! So begotten as used here is a figure of speech. It does not refer to literal physical birth.‌Psalm 2, verses 8 and 9, even though not quoted in the Hebrews verses we are looking at today, also help to amplify the inheritance aspect of Yeshua's change in status. Let me read those verses to you again:8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.' ”‌These verses describe a Father bestowing upon His Son the divine inheritance of kingship. This has not happened yet but it will. This change in status didn't make Him better in the sense of becoming a better God but to become better than the angels in a new sense. Because He did something that no angel could ever do. He absorbed on the cross the punishment for every sin ever committed by every member of the human race and by so doing became better than the angels and by so doing pleased His Father to an extent that I don't believe we can appreciate.‌Now regarding angels and their status, we need to talk about that and we will next time.‌In the meantime Folks, are you getting a better idea of who Jesus is? Of how God came to the earth in the form of a man? Not only to die for us, to pay the debt for our sins, and to make us new but also to meet us, and to teach us, and to let us get to know Him. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a great pastor and preacher of the 20th century used to say this: If the Gospel of Jesus Christ when presented to us doesn't seem too good to be true, it is not being presented properly. Folks, I could not agree with that statement more! So, if any of you reading or listening today don't know Him please call on Him today, ask him to forgive your sins and to save you and to give you eternal life. Rest assured, He will do it!Thanks for listening folks! This is Art Wolinsky. Until the next time, God bless you my friends! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Hi Folks. We're continuing on in the New Testament letter to the Hebrews today so let's read verse 3 of chapter 1: Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)‌The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.We recently talked about how the Son is of the same substance as His Father. He is the one and only Son and because God is the one and only God, the Son must be just like the Father. That's why the Jewish religious leaders were so angry when Yeshua called Himself the Son of God.Let's look at John 5:18 NIV:‌For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.Yeshua is calling God His own Father or if I can take the liberty, His very own Father.  In the Greek His own is idios. By using this word, idios, Yeshua is saying that God was His own private, personal, unique Father. This contrasts with just plain his for which the Greek word is autos. To make that contrast, the contrast between His own and just his, let's look at a couple of verses in the gospel of Luke:Luke 15:27–28 (NIV)‘Your brother has come,' he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his (autos) father went out and pleaded with him.So the father of the prodigal son goes out to talk with his older son and his father is autos, a different word than His own Father which is idios.  By using the word idios Jesus made it clear that God is His own unique Father.  This fits perfectly with the Son and the Father being of the same substance.  They are both deity, and along with the Holy Spirit these three persons are one perfect God.Let's go on now to talk about Jesus being the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being. How can we understand that better?Let's see if we can we get an idea of the glory of God from the Old Testament because those were the Scriptures that the writers of the New Testament had. Let's look at Psalm 97:1-6 NIV:The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. [2] Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. [3] Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. [4] His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. [5] The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. [6] The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all peoples see his glory.This is God's glory folks!  Now let's look at something else:‌Exodus 24:9–10 (NASB95)Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.Now this was a glorious sight! They saw the God of Israel. But wait a minute! How could that be? Because if you see God you die, right?  Now how do we know that?Leviticus 16:2 (NIV) The LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.AND:Exodus 33:19-23 (NIV) And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. [20] But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." [21] Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. [22] When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. [23] Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."Now let's read the passage again from Exodus 24:Exodus 24:9–10 (NASB95)Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.So, they saw God here. Why didn't they die?  Is it because they didn't see His face?  We're not told that they didn't see His face.  I think the reason that they did not die is because Who they saw was the pre-incarnate Christ, the Messiah, the Word of God, the Memra!  And when you see the Messiah, you don't die.  That's why He came.Now let's take a look at a New Testament passage which can help us to at least get a faint hint of God's glory:Matthew 16:27-28 CSBFor the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. [28] Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."Yeshua is telling us that we're about to get a preview of His glory.Matthew 17:1-4 (NKJV) Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; [2] and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. [3] And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. [4] Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."Jesus was transfigured, His appearance changed. “Jesus' face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light” - This sounds like the Shekinah glory such as the pillar of fire in the desert during the Exodus, or like God in the burning bush.  We're seeing the same thing here. And we're also seeing Jesus here very clearly as God's special Son. Let's continue on:Matthew 17:5–8 NIVWhile he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don't be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.‌‌So here is Jesus, transfigured, as bright as the sun, with God the Father speaking so that the three disciples could even hear Him and they became terrified, and Elijah and Moses were there. I don't think this was a vision because they all saw it. This was real, in real time.  This is glory, folks!By the way, why is Peter is offering to put up three tabernacles here - one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah?  Some students of this passage believe that Peter may have thought that the Messianic or Millennial Kingdom was about to come in, since tabernacles are a symbol of that to observant Jews. I'm talking about the Feast of Tabernacles which in the Hebrew language is called Sukkot and it is associated with the Messianic Kingdom of 1,000 years as exemplified in these verses from Zechariah:Zechariah 14:16–17 NIVThen the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.‌‌This Feast of Tabernacles is very important to the LORD. Peoples of the earth are commanded to go up annually to worship the King, the Lord Almighty. That King is Yeshua, folks, Jesus. Yes, folks, Jesus is indeed the exact representation of the Father. Jesus is God. He is God incarnate, God in the flesh, Perfect God and Perfect man. Not two separate beings inside one person. No, Jesus' nature and character embody perfect God and perfect man in one person. He was and still is today the God-Man. He had to be in order to be our Savior - the Savior of mankind. We'll hear more about that as we go on further in this epistle.Continuing on in Hebrews 1:3:“The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”Jesus sustains all things by His powerful word. What does that mean? Word in Hebrews 1:3 is not the Logos. Word here in the Greek is rhema and it means spoken word. So just as God spoke the universe into existence with incomprehensible power in Genesis, Jesus upholds or sustains all things by His spoken word, or we could phrase it like this: Jesus upholds all things by the power of His word. Let's look at just one example of the power of God's spoken word in the Hebrew Scriptures, in Genesis:Genesis 1:14–15 (NIV)And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.God said. The word for said in Hebrew is amar. You could translate it as declared. God declared that the sun and the moon and the stars and the planets come into existence out of nothing and that's exactly what happened. And we know that all things were made through Yeshua. We read that earlier in John 1:3; let's read it again:John 1:3 NIVThrough him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.That includes the sun and the moon and the stars and the planets!  And in like manner, Yeshua/Jesus sustains or upholds all things by the power of His word.Moving on in Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”‌How did Yeshua provide purification for sins?Before we try to answer that question, let me pose another question: Could God have merely declared all our sins forgiven without the cross? Would that have taken care of everything?  WAS THE CROSS REALLY NECESSARY?  I'm going to ask you to keep that question in mind for a minute or two.  We'll come back to it.Now let's look at something that might seem slightly off the topic, but it isn't. Let's talk about justification. Justification is when God as judge makes a judicial decision, and He states it as a judge in a courtroom would do. He declares it. He declares that our sins are forgiven, and our unrighteous nature is exchanged for the perfectly righteous nature of Christ. God pours out our sins on the Messiah – He takes our sins and His perfect righteousness is imputed or credited to us. An exchange occurs.  God declares us justified. That's exactly what He did for Abraham. By the way, I believe that this is comparable to God's declaring that the sun, moon, and stars come into existence. He declares you and me righteous when we are saved. He gives us the status of righteousness.  The power of God's word is beyond what we can comprehend. It created the universe, and it accomplishes our justification. Let's look at the very first clear cut example of this, i.e., of justification, in the Bible:Genesis 15:6 (NASB95):Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.This verse is about Abram, before he was Abraham.  Abram was justified. Righteousness was reckoned or credited to his account. God declared him righteous. Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote about this in the New Testament:Romans 4:20–24 (NIV):‌Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.Now while we are on the topic of justification - having our sins forgiven - our slate completely cleared - and the righteousness of our Messiah imputed or credited to us - and please remember that justification includes both of those things, was the Cross necessary?So, back to the question I asked you to keep in mind a minute ago. Could God have just declared that all our sins are forgiven and have done nothing more? No.  Why not?  There are several reasons.  For one, the wrath of God must be turned away from us. Something called propitiation is necessary.  There must be a sacrifice made, a blood sacrifice of infinite value, to appease a wrathful God, and Jesus Christ is the only One who can do that. Please know, folks, that if a preacher denies the wrath of God and says that a declaration of forgiveness from God with nothing else behind it is enough, that preacher is going to give his congregation a very watered down gospel. No, folks, an incalculable price was paid for you and me to be justified.  The Son of God gave His life in payment for our justification.  Should this be of particular interest to Jewish people?  I believe so. I have a question for my Jewish listeners:What if the temple and the Jewish priesthood and all the accoutrements of the temple service were recreated tomorrow and the blood sacrifices of animals without defect was resumed?  Would that accomplish what the cross accomplished?  No.  Why?Let's take a look at Romans chapter 6:Romans 6:4-7 (NIV) We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. [5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6] For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— [7] because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.The things described in these verses – being buried with Christ, being united with Christ, our old self, our old man or old woman dying in Him on the cross, and then being resurrected, raised to newness of life, in Him – all these things require Yeshua's substitutionary death on the cross.  Because He did not come only to forgive our sins but to make us new men and women.  We are born again.  No animal sacrifice can ever do that.That is why Christ had to die.  Nothing short of that would do.‌In closing, let's read Hebrews 1:3 once more and make a final comment or two:Hebrews 1:3 :“The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”Jesus sits down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.  He died for us, He was buried, He was raised from the grave by the power of God, proving that He was the Son of God, and 40 days later He ascended to heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, in victory.  He finished it all and took a seat.Thanks for sticking with me through all this Folks. What God has done is beyond my comprehension. Before we close, let's not forget that He did this so that each one of us could spend eternity in heaven with Him. If you don't know Him, if you are not saved, if you are not born again, please call upon Him today and say “Lord, I know that I'm a sinner. I don't want to pay the price of eternal separation from you - eternal death – because of my sins. Please pay the debt that I owe and cleanse me so I can spend eternity with you. Thank you, Lord Yeshua.”Folks, please, if you don't know Him, ask Him to do this for you today.‌This is Art Wolinsky. God bless you, folks. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Hi Folks. Thanks for joining me as we move ahead in our study of Hebrews. We're moving on to verse 2 of chapter 1 today but let's read the first 2 verses of the book together again, first.Hebrews 1:1–2 (NIV)In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Last time we went over verse 1 and we talked about how God spoke to the ancient Hebrews through the prophets at many different times and in various ways. The prophets refers to the Old Testament prophets of course including the 16 writing prophets as well as those prophets who did not write specific books in the Old Testament that have been categorized as books of prophecy. Writing prophets would include those such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Their books would come under the second section of the TaNaKh called Nevi'im. TaNaKh is pronounced Tanach and it's an acronym. The T stands for Torah which is the first section and it comprises the first 5 books of the Bible, written by Moses. The N stands for Nevi'im which I just mentioned and it contains the books of prophecy which include the 16 writing prophets as well as what Jewish tradition calls the Former Prophets and those are the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The 16 writing prophets are divided into major and minor prophets but I need to mention at this point that what I am referring to as the 16 writing prophets would be in the Jewish tradition only 15 in number. The difference is Daniel. Hebrew tradition does not include Daniel in the Nevi'im. Daniel is included in the last or third section of the TaNaKh which is the Ketuvim or the writings which in addition to Daniel include the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Ezra-Nehemiah as one book, and I and II Chronicles as one book, Chronicles.‌But the last prophet of the Old Testament or better, the Old Covenant, is John the Baptist. Jewish tradition doesn't recognize John the Baptist as a prophet of course because he is not written about in the Tanakh; he came after the Tanakh closed. However He came before the New Covenant was inaugurated by Jesus. The New Testament clearly reveals him to be a prophet because Jesus said that John was a prophet. Because he is the last prophet before the cross we can consider him to be the last prophet of the Old Covenant dispensation even though he is not in the Hebrew Scriptures by name.Yes, Jesus talked about John. He called him more than a prophet and said that the Old Covenant predicted John's coming. That Old Covenant passage isMalachi 3:1 (NIV)‌“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.Jesus referenced John, including this Malachi passage, in Matthew:Matthew 11:9–11“Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”We can say from Hebrews 1:2 alone that Jesus' ministry marked the beginning of the last days:Hebrews 1:2 (NIV)but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.God spoke many things to the people of first century Israel through His Son Jesus and much of what He said has been preserved for us to read today. We will cover some of those things in our study of this book. But let's talk now for a minute or so about Jesus as God's Son. Jesus is God's Son in a very different way than we are sons and daughters. We are told this in the Gospel of John:‌John 1:12–13 (NIV)Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.This verse talks about what happens to us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior; we are born again and are transferred from being in Adam to being in Messiah or in Christ. Romans, chapter 6, explains that well. The old man, which is who we were in Adam, dies - is crucified with Messiah, when we accept Yeshua as our Lord and Savior - and we are united with Christ. That's what John 1:12-13 is talking about and as incredible as that is - we becoming sons and daughters of God - we are not sons in the sense that Jesus is the Son of God. Because Jesus is not a created being and because He is the one and only son of God and has always existed, He has to be of the same substance and nature as God the Father. He has to be divine, He has to be deity. We'll get into this much more as we move ahead in Hebrews but for now we must recognize that Jesus is the only unique Son of God and He is a Son - the Son - in a different way than we are. I also just want to remind you that God said He has a Son in the Old Testament in Psalm 2 and in Proverbs 30 and we talked about that last time.‌But getting back to Hebrews 1:2Hebrews 1:2 (NIV)but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.Before we try to grasp the profound meaning of this verse I think we'll receive help by looking at John's Gospel:‌John 1:1–3 (NIV)In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.Now please take a look at Genesis 1:1Genesis 1:1 (NIV)In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.And also at Ephesians 3:9Ephesians 3:9 (NKJV)and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;So, Who is this Son? We've already said that He is a Son like no other Son and that He is divine - He has the attributes of deity. But can we get a better understanding of that? I think we can. In John 1 He is called the Word which in Greek is Logos and we are told that in the beginning He was with God and was God and that without Him nothing was made that was made. So, how is He the Logos, or Word, and also God? I've come to understand that the idea behind the Greek word Logos is better understood by the Aramaic word Memra which was used in the Jewish Targums or paraphrases of the Hebrew Scriptures to describe a visible appearance of God, somewhat similar to, yet different from, the Shekinah glory of God. Sometimes this Memra would appear as the Angel of the LORD or the Angel of Yahweh such as we see in:Exodus 3:2 (NIV)There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.AND:Exodus 3:4 (NIV)When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”Can you see from these 2 verses that there is an equivalence between the Angel of Yahweh and the LORD, meaning Yahweh Himself? The Apostle John was a Jewish man and would have been familiar with the Memra which means word. Logos was the closest Greek equivalent to Memra and so John used Logos as he was inspired to do so by the Holy Spirit. This gives us understanding how Jesus is the Logos and God. He came as God in the flesh, God incarnate, and He was and is the same Divine Being that he was in the Old Testament where He sometimes came as the Angel of Yahweh. These appearances were of the pre-incarnate Christ.Let give you an example of this from the Targum Onkelos:The Targum Onqelos to Genesis8. Then they heard the voice of the Memra of the Lord God walking in the garden towards the decline of the day; so Adam and his wife hid themselves from before the Lord God within a tree of the garden. 9. Whereupon the Lord God called out to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10. And he said, “I heard the voice of Your Memra in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid”So, yes, the Son of God - the Logos, or Memra - is like no other Son. Understanding this will help us greatly in this study of the letter to the Hebrews. And as the Divine Son of the Father, it becomes understandable that Yahweh, the Father, would appoint His one and only Son as the Heir of all things. Likewise it makes sense that YHWH would appoint His Son to make the Universe, that the Universe would be made through Him. Remember Genesis 1:1:Genesis 1:1 (NIV)In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.Yeshua, the Logos or Memra, created the universe. But tells us that God created the heavens and the earth and surely that is something that only God could do. So it certainly seems that the Logos or the Memra has to have the very nature of God. Folks, I don't want to get ahead of myself. We are in deep waters here but what wonderful deep waters they are! The famous Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) tells us God is One but He is a complex or plural One. He has a plural nature. We cannot fully understand this. But God allows us to understand it to a certain extent, to know that it is absolutely true and that is a wonderful gift to us!But, getting back to our verse for today:Hebrews 1:2 (NIV)but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.So, what did the Son speak to us - and I'm including you and me in us - in these last days? There is so much that He said that we can only include a tiny portion of it here today but I would like to do that so let me give you just a few things that He said:John 3:3 (NIV)Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”What an incredible truth that Yeshua our Lord shared with Nicodemus a high ranking Jewish teacher and member of the Sanhedrin who came to be a follower of Jesus.John 3:16 (NIV)For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.Perhaps the most well known verse in the Bible. The essence and the assurance of salvation is encapsulated in this one verse.Matthew 22:36–40 (NIV)“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”This is the essence of The New Covenant. This is the law that we are to follow now and it is a law that we can keep with the help of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers.John 19:30 (NIV)When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.‌Jesus finished the work of salvation. At a cost that we cannot fathom, He has done it all.So in these last days God spoke to us through His Son. And the messages that He gave us were the fulfilment of what the prophets said. His words were clearer and more explicit than what the prophets said and His words were given the authority of Deity.‌My dear friends, we are all born as sinners and we need to be born a second time - we need to be born again. If that has not happened to you, if you do not have a personal relationship with God through His one and only Son, Yeshua the Messiah, please bow your knees and bow your hearts. Call upon Him, tell Him that you know that you are a hopeless sinner and that you need salvation which only He can give. Ask Him to save you and if you are sincere He will never turn you down. Do it today because you could die tonight and it will then be too late.‌Thank you, my friends.‌Until the next time. This is Art Wolinsky. God bless you.‌ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Introduction‌Hebrews is an amazing book. It is a book of contrasts. It contrasts the Old Covenant given through Moses with the New Covenant first prophesied through Jeremiah in the Hebrew Scriptures and later inaugurated by Yeshua at the last supper, a Passover seder, and at the cross. It was written to Jewish people not long before the second Jewish Temple was destroyed by Rome in 70 AD. Some scholars believe that it was addressed to Jewish believers only, to Jews who were born again but weak in their faith. For several reasons, which I hope to cover with you as we go through this book, I do not believe that. I believe the epistle was indeed written to born again Jews who were weak in their faith, but also to Jews who might be interested in Yeshua but had not made a profession of faith in Him. And I also believe that the author certainly hoped that the epistle would be read or explained to Jews who had no apparent interest in following Jesus; this latter group may have included people who practiced traditional Judaism - the Temple was still standing when Hebrews was written - some who were serious about their religious practice and some who may have gone along with the practice of the Jewish religion because of pressure from their peers. And this book has great application for all of us today, both Jew and Gentile.Let's begin today by reading and then discussing the first verse of the epistle. All Scriptures in this series will be from the NIV unless otherwise stated.Hebrews 1:1 “1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,”God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways. What does that mean? There were 16 writing prophets, men sent by God to proclaim His word and to make a written record of what they said. These written records survive today as the prophetic books of the Tanach or Old Testament. One of those prophets was not sent to the Jewish people although they must surely have known of his message. That was the prophet Jonah who was sent to proclaim the need for the people of Nineveh in Assyria to repent of their sins and indeed they did so and God did not bring disaster upon them.So, many prophets were sent over a great many years - hence, “at many times”; the Analytical Lexicon of the New Testament gives a translation for this as bit by bit. That makes sense to me. We have a very patient God. He doesn't give us His truth all at once because He knows that we couldn't handle it. Bit by bit might be a good thing for us to keep in mind as we share God's truth with people. We want to be careful not to feed a person who only has the ability to consume one piece of bread with a 7 course meal. We need to take our Heavenly Father's example and His truth bit by bit, at least in the beginning.And the message was also given in various ways. What does that mean? The great law giver, Moses, considered by many Jewish people to be the greatest prophet of all, and who wrote the Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible, wrote about the first Passover in ancient Egypt and the need for a blood sacrifice to preserve life. The shed blood came from lambs. Those things pointed to the first coming of our Messiah, the Lamb of God, and to the cross.‌But Moses also wrote about something that came even earlier. That was the very first mention in the Bible of a deliverer, our Messiah, who would in the future crush the head of the serpent who at Satan's direction deceived Eve and so led Adam and Eve to disobey God which caused something to happen that we call The Fall. God intended for us to live forever but because of the disobedience of our first parents all of us are born spiritually dead and have limited physical life spans. Let's read about this:Genesis 3:14–15 (NKJV)So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”‌The Seed that the LORD is talking about here, her Seed - the Seed of the woman - is the deliverer, the Messiah, whom we now know is the Lord Jesus. This is the first time in the Bible that a Deliverer is mentioned. This is the first foreshadowing of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.‌The LORD speaking through Moses again said something of a profoundly prophetic nature in Deuteronomy:‌Deuteronomy 18:18–19 “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.”These verses speak of a future deliverer who like you, meaning like Moses would deliver His people from slavery and death but the deliverance by the future deliverer would be permanent. This was a prophecy about Jesus, Yeshua, and of His earthly ministry.Another prophecy of a future deliverer is inPsalm 2 where the LORD talks about His Son:Psalm 2:7–8 “I will proclaim the Lord's decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.”‌And the Lord gives us a further hint of His coming Son in the book of Proverbs:‌Proverbs 30:4 “Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!”Folks, God the Father has a son and He has told us about Him in the Old Testament.And then we have a prophecy given to King David from the prophet Nathan who was not one of the 16 writing prophets, but was a prophet nonetheless. Listen to the Lord speaking through Nathan to David:1 Chronicles 17:11–12 “When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.”The Lord is here speaking of the throne of the Messiah Who will be King of Israel and Whose throne will be established forever. That will begin when this present age is over and Messiah, the Lord Jesus, will reign for a thousand years from Jerusalem. That time will follow the rapture and the 7 year tribulation. That time is drawing nearer every day. Maranatha! Come quickly Lord Jesus!Then there was Isaiah who told of the Messiah who would come by virgin birth and who would be God Himself and God with us:‌Immanuel means God with us and that's exactly who Yeshua was when He walked among us 2,000 years ago. Folks that prophecy was fulfilled about 700 years later when He was born in Bethlehem. And Isaiah also prophesied this:Isaiah 9:6 “6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”‌This prophecy has only been partially fulfilled as of the date of this message - October 2023 - but rest assured that it will be completely fulfilled soon when Messiah Yeshua returns to rescue Israel, to judge the world, and to set up His 1,000 year reign.‌Later in his book, Isaiah prophesies about a person who would come, a Servant, who would suffer and die for our sins. This was indeed a prophecy about the Lord Jesus. He comes first as a suffering servant and only later as King and ruler, at His second coming, which we expectantly wait for now. Those of you who attend a traditional Jewish synagogue might wonder why this Suffering Servant of Isaiah, chapter 53, is not mentioned or taught about. This prophecy is so clearly about Jesus the Messiah that it is abhorrent to many Jewish leaders. That is why it is not taught.‌And then the LORD sent Jeremiah the prophet through whom the LORD promised a new covenant:‌Jeremiah 31:31–34 “31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.””What a wonderful promise from the LORD through Jeremiah! That New Covenant is was inaugurated with Jesus' death and it will be completely fulfilled after all Israel is saved at the end of the 7 year Tribulation.Romans 11:26–27 “and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.””And there are many more examples that I could give you but I don't want to tire you out.We will be talking about the New Covenant in this series because it is restated in the letter to the Hebrews. The prophecy of the New Covenant was made a reality when Jesus the Son of God gave His life and shed his blood for us on the cross.So we begin the New Testament book of Hebrews. It is an exciting book and one that is full of contrasts. It is also a book that cannot be understood without a knowledge of the Old Testament and that is why we've been talking so much about these Old Testament prophecies today. Yes, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,”‌My friends, the content as well as the sequence of these prophecies could never be devised by man. It's not a possibility. Just as the set time for God to send His son to earth, there was a set time - a time set by God - for each of the prophecies that we've discussed in this message to happen. Galatians 4:4 talks about God's set time. I'd like to read it to you:‌Galatians 4:4 “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,”Next time we will see what God has done and is doing in these last days. We'll look further into the book of Hebrews:‌Hebrews 1:1–2 “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”‌We'll look into verse 2 next time.‌Folks, for those of you who do not know Jesus and have not accepted Yeshua as your personal Lord and Savior, especially my Jewish brothers and sisters but also my Gentile brothers and sisters who are likewise special, I beg of you: please call upon His name and ask Him to save you today. Please don't wait! You could die today and be separated from God for eternity. You don't want that.‌Until the next time, my friends. God bless you.‌ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

I need to talk with you today about something called imminence. Perhaps you have heard people who believe in the pretribulation rapture say that the rapture is imminent. Or perhaps you haven't heard that. Either way is OK. But I believe that it's important to know about imminence so we're going to talk about it today. There is a Biblical definition of imminence, at least a definition that can be derived from the Bible. Many Bible teachers, theologians, and Saints of the past - going back many centuries - have considered the Second Coming of Christ to be possible at any moment. Many of these Saints had no detailed understanding of the Second Coming and many did not believe in the pretribulation rapture. Some did not even believe in a rapture at all.  Yet some were quite solid believers. They just didn't have revelation from the Holy Spirit about the rapture. But many believed that Christ's return could occur at any moment and that is very important. Was this a belief in imminence, however?  Or at least let me ask, was this a belief in imminence as we will define it in this message today?  I don't know if we can answer that definitively.  But that's OK.  We'll see those saints in heaven and we can ask them then if we want to.  But for you and me, we'll talk about it now and I hope to show you the value of that.  And we will define imminence shortly, folks.But before we define imminence, I'd like to make sure that you understand that the Second Coming of Christ can be viewed as having two parts - first the rapture which happens when Jesus snatches believers and resurrected saints up to meet Him in the clouds to take them back to heaven with Him, and then, second, after the 7 year Tribulation, the return of Christ to earth (to the Mount of Olives), which is the actual Second Coming of Christ to terra firma, to the earth, at which time He rescues the Jewish Nation, judges the world, and sets up His Messianic or Millennial Kingdom which He will then rule from Jerusalem.  Many great theologians and believers in Christ of the past, those who took the Scriptures literally, didn't understand that there is a pretribulation rapture nevertheless they believed that Messiah's Second Coming could occur at any moment.  The great British preacher Charles Spurgeon was such a man.So, what is the definition of imminence, as we will use the word and concept here? Imminence refers to an event that first, could occur at any time, second, has no preconditions attached to it, and third, is not necessarily going to occur soon. It is as if this event is hanging over our heads and could fall upon us with no advance warning at any time. Is this concept of imminence based on New Testament Scriptures? Yes! I will give you several examples that demonstrate imminence in the context of the Second Coming of our Messiah. The first example is:‌Titus 2:13 (NKJV) looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,‌The Greek word for looking for in this verse is prosdechomai and it means to look for, to wait for, to expect. The tense of this Greek verb is the present tense which means continuous action; the waiting and looking-for is non-stop.  The Apostle Paul is saying in this verse that he is continuously waiting for and expecting the Son, but he mentions no time frame for the Son's return, no preconditions for the coming of the Son, and he never said that the Son was coming soon although He was obviously yearning for that.  By the way, this verse could not be about a post-tribulation rapture because Paul would not be continuously waiting in hope knowing that he would have to go through the seven year Tribulation first.‌The second example is:1 Thessalonians 1:10 (NKJV) and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.‌The Greek word for wait in this verse is anamenō and it means to wait for, to await, to expect. It is also a verb in the present tense.  So, again Paul is saying in this verse that he is continuously waiting for and expecting the Son, but he mentions no time frame for the Son's return, no preconditions for the coming of the Son, and he never said that the Son was coming soon.  And this verse too could not be about a post-tribulation rapture because Paul would not be continuously waiting for that, knowing that he would have to go through the seven year Tribulation first.  Paul is actually stating in this verse that he is waiting for deliverance from the wrath to come.  Paul is not waiting to enter a time of wrath which is what the Tribulation is.The third example is:Hebrews 9:28 “28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”Eagerly wait for is the translation of the Greek verb apekdechomai.  The verb is again in the present tense and again indicates continuous waiting.  The author is continuously waiting for the Messiah's return.  This would not be the case if he had to go through the seven year Tribulation first.Now it's important to realize that the Apostle Paul knew all about the Second Coming including the rapture. He was with the Lord in heaven where he received surpassingly great revelations, he wrote both letters to the Thessalonian Church, and he also taught the Thessalonians, in person, for several weeks.  So, consider this: if anything in the future (future to Paul's time) had to come before the rapture or was a required condition for the rapture to happen, Paul would have known that, and he would have said so. THAT is why he wrote the verses that I've given you above as examples of imminence in the manner that he did. And these verses are not the only examples. The only thing Paul was not told was WHEN the Second Coming was going to occur. But he knew that it was imminent.  Verses like these is where the concept of imminence comes from. This is not necessarily obvious or easy to grasp but I hope that the Biblical concept of imminence is more understandable to you now.As we discussed in the last podcast, the rapture is not present in the synoptic gospels.  But is imminence present in the gospels and if it is what does it mean and what is the implication?Now, I want to give you a few verses from Matthew and Mark that, at least to me, sound like verses that are talking about imminence, at least with only a superficial hearing of them.  But it is most important that we understand the context of each of these verses in order to know if they are describing Biblical imminence.  Before I quote the actual verses, I want to remind you that these verses all follow after this verse:Matthew 24:29 (NKJV) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.So the verses that I will now quote all refer to a time after the Tribulation.  Here are the verses:Matthew 24:36 “36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”This verse is clearly referring to the coming of Jesus after the Tribulation.  He is coming then in judgement.  This coming requires something else to come first: the Tribulation.  Therefore, although at the present time – October 3, 2023 – we cannot know when this event will occur, this event does not qualify for imminence because the Tribulation must come first.Matthew 24:42 “42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”This verse refers to the same event as the above verse refers to (Matthew 24:36).  Therefore, imminence is not described here either.  Again, Yeshua is coming in judgement.  This is not the rapture of the Church, which is a blessing and a deliverance from the wrath to come.Matthew 24:44 “44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”Same thing.  This is after the Tribulation.  No imminence is described in this verse.  He is coming in judgement.Matthew 25:13 “13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”This verse is spoken by Jesus as part of the parable of the ten virgins.  There is no reason to believe that Matthew 25 is not continuing the description of the judgement that is coming at the end of the age, after the Tribulation, described in Matthew 24.  Therefore, this verse also requires something to come before it namely the Tribulation.  Imminence is not in this verse.  Judgement is.And finally:Mark 13:32–33 “32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.”This is like the verses in Matthew (verses 24:36, 42, 44) that we just quoted.  These verses are about judgement.  The Tribulation must come before these two verses in Mark.  Imminence is not here.So, at the present time, today, October 3, 2023, these verses which describe the Second Coming of the Messiah, are not about the rapture even though it is easy to become confused about this because, right now, we cannot know when the Second Coming is going to be.  Once the Tribulation begins, we will know when the Second Coming will be.  It will be seven years from the start of the Tribulation.  But right now, we can't know when that will be.These verses then do not describe imminence and have nothing to do with the rapture.  The rapture which happens before the Tribulation is an imminent event.So, what's the big deal about all of this? For one thing, don't you want the assurance of hope?  Aren't you glad – and more then glad, in fact ecstatic – that you, if you are a believer, will not be going through any part of the Tribulation?  I'm definitely ecstatic about that!  Maybe I'll go to be with the Lord before the rapture occurs – that's OK with me! – but maybe I won't.  I want to pray like the early believers did and I want to greet my fellow believers with “Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus!”  And, yes, that verb Come – erchomai - is in the present tense signifying continuous action.  Yes, Lord Jesus!  Come!And for a second thing, isn't it a great joy to rightly divide the word of God?  It's a great joy for me to be able to understand verses or passages in the Bible that often confuse people and to be able to clear up that confusion!  I hope I've done that today.  If not, please let me know. I think that the Lord is pleased when we understand His word better!So, let's close with a prayer:To my Father in heaven, and to my Savior, Yeshua, and in the power of the Spirit of God, the Ruach HaKodesh – the Holy Spirit – thank you so much for teaching us and encouraging us!  And most of all, thank you for saving us.  And please bless these dear people who are reading or listening.  Please give them the same excitement and joy that you've given me.  And if any of them don't know you, please quicken their hearts so that they can be saved and be blessed by all of this.  In Yeshua's name I pray.  Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Hi Folks.  I hope you are doing well today.A question has come up repeatedly from interested readers and listeners concerning some verses in the famous 24th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew – Jesus' Olivet Discourse - which deals with His return and with the end of the age. Let's read those verses:Matthew 24:40-41 (NKJV) Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.And please note that there is a very helpful passage, a parallel passage, from Luke's gospel and let's read that:Luke 17:34-37 (NKJV) I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. [35] Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. [36] Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." [37] And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."We'll talk about this Luke passage shortly, but getting back to the two verses in Matthew's gospel, the question that has come up repeatedly is this: “Regarding the two men in the field, and the two women grinding at the mill, where are the ones who will be taken, that's one man and one woman, taken to?Before I attempt to answer that question let's take a look at a verse that I believe sets the time frame for this passage in Matthew, these two verses, Matthew 24:40 and 41, that we read a moment ago.  The verse that sets the time frame is also in Matthew 24 and it is verse 29.  We'll read it now”"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.So, verse 29 sets the time frame for what happens next and that includes the two verses which describe the man and woman who are taken away (verses 40-41).  The man and woman who are taken away, are taken away after the Tribulation.Now in my opinion, there are three possible ways to explain verses 40 and 41 of Matthew 24 and only one is correct.  Here are the three possibilities:1.    These verses are talking about the second coming of Christ and the post-tribulation rapture.  The one taken is raptured.  If this interpretation is correct, it could support a post-tribulation rapture.2.    These verses are talking about a time before the tribulation has started.  The one taken is raptured.  The one left behind will enter the Tribulation to be judged.  People who believe this therefore believe Jesus to be talking about the pre-tribulation rapture in these verses.3.    These verses are talking about the second coming of Christ to the earth.  The one taken is taken away to judgement.  The one left is righteous.  No rapture is pictured here.How can we arrive at the correct interpretation, and does it matter? Let's look at the verses that come immediately before the two verses we've been considering:Matthew 24:37-39 (NKJV) But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. [38] For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, [39] and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.This passage is talking about the time of the Genesis flood.  God judged the world then.  Only eight people were saved, Noah and his family.  They entered the ark.  Those who were “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark” cannot be Noah and his family.  This group of people must be those who were taken away by the flood.  Lets read verse [39]  in its entirety again:  [39] and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  And this verse is immediately followed by verses 40 and 41:Matthew 24:40-41 (NKJV) Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.The first word of verse 24:40 is Then.  That is important!  Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left”.  Then is an adverb that has to do with sequence and timing.  Then tells us what happens next.  So, let's read all these verses now in sequence and see if we can get a clear picture:Matthew 24:37-41 (NKJV) But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. [38] For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, [39] and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  [40] Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.Now Folks, in order for these verses to make sense, the man taken and the woman taken must be comparable to those described by the clause in verse 29 that reads “the flood came and took them all away”.  Those taken away by the flood were taken away to judgement.  There is no question about that.  Therefore, those taken in connection with the return of Jesus must also be taken away to judgement.  Otherwise, the grammar and structure of these sentences makes no sense.Does this help us?  Yes.  It means that Possibility 1 is wrong:1.    These verses are talking about the second coming and the post-tribulation rapture.  The one taken is raptured.  The one left remains on earth.  If this interpretation is correct, it could support a post-tribulation rapture.Folks, the one taken is NOT raptured.  I hope that I have been able to make that clear to you.  Therefore verses 40 and 41 in Matthew 24 do not support a post-tribulation rapture.  Possibility 1 is incorrect.Let's move on to Possibility 2 which says:2.    These verses are talking about a time before the tribulation has started.  The one taken is raptured.  The one left behind is to be judged.  People who believe this therefore believe Jesus to be talking about the pre-tribulation rapture in these verses.Now in order to assess this opinion, we need to answer this question: in verse 24:37, what does the coming of the Son of Man refer to?  Let's read the verse again:Matthew 24:37 (NKJV) But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.When does this occur?  Again, Matthew 24:29 tells us.  It is immediately after the Tribulation:Matthew 24:29 (NKJV) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.So, verse 29 tells us that the coming of the Son of Man here is after the Tribulation.  Verses 40-41, about the man and the woman who are taken away, come after this and in this chapter of Matthew there is no reason to see an interrupted chronology; so the chronological location of the men in the field and the women grinding at the mill is after the Tribulation.  Does this help us?  Yes, because this means that Possibility 2 is wrong also.  Let's look at that possibility again; it says:2.     These verses are talking about a time before the tribulation has started.  The one taken is raptured.  The one left is to be judged.  People who believe this believe in the pre-tribulation rapture.I believe that it's now clear that this possibility is also wrong:  The verses, Matthew 24:40-41, are not pre-tribulation, they are post-tribulation.  So, the one taken cannot indicate someone taken in the pre-tribulation rapture.So, what is happening in these two verses?  Where is the man in the field who is taken, taken to? and where is the woman grinding at the mill who is taken, taken to?  We now know that they are not raptured.  Therefore, it seems logical that they are taken to judgment.  Can we get confirmation on this?  I believe that we can.  Let's look again at Luke 17:Luke 17:34-37 (NKJV) I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. [35] Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. [36] Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." [37] And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."Folks, eagles is in my opinion not the correct translation.  The correct translation and one which makes more sense, is vultures.  We've already established from our study of Matthew 24 that those taken are taken to judgement and when we realize that a better translation for eagles in Luke 17:37  is vultures, it seems logical that this verse is speaking of judgement and death: wherever the body is, there the vultures will be gathered together.  You're all familiar, perhaps from a scene in a western movie, of vultures circling in the sky over a dead body lying on the ground below.  In Luke 17:37, "Wherever the body is, there the vultures will be gathered together."  probably figuratively indicates a dead body composed of unbelievers who are shown to be dead or dying by the circling vultures overhead.Now let's go back to Matthew 24 and read verses 27 and 28:Matthew 24:27-28 (NKJV) For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. [28] For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles (better:vultures) will be gathered together.I believe that verse 27 clearly speaks of the return of Jesus to the earth – the second coming – and that is in judgement.  The next verse reinforces that.  The carcass, or dead body, and the vultures speak of death.Let's sum things up now, draw some conclusions, and make application.  We started out looking at Matthew 24:40-41.  I'm going to read those verses once again:Matthew 24:40-41 (NKJV) Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.We can now conclude that the man and the woman who are taken are taken to judgement.  No rapture is pictured here. So of what value is this study that we've just done?  We've learned that rightly dividing the word of God is profitable.  Doing so has enabled us to see that Matthew 24 and Luke 17 are not talking about a rapture.  In fact, the rapture is not in the synoptic gospels.  We've been able to make sense of a difficult passage by using the Bible itself.  We have a great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ and He has given us a Bible that is robust and able to be subjected to critical study which provides correct answers.  That is valuable!  And that increases our faith!  Praise You, Lord, for giving us understanding and blessing us so much! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Buzzsprout has been great!  I highly recommend it as a podcast host.  But Substack allows me to publish podcasts and posts (sort of like a blog).  I'm already there.  To join me please go to:awolinsky.substack.com/Thank you for being subscribers.God bless you all.ArtYou can contact Art at drwolinsky@comcast.net

Art dives into a detailed study of Matthew 24:40-41.You can contact Art at drwolinsky@comcast.net

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