Podcasts about jewish talmud

In this special Podcast, I take a look at Passover. Are we instructed to keep Yahweh's Holy Days, such as Passover or do we follow the church tradition of Easter? Listen to this explosive study on what Yahweh has to say about this.What day was the Passover on?  What was the significance of Passover? What does the number of the days have to do with Yahweh? Did Yahweh have a plan for all of this?Now I realize that the conditions set forth by Yahweh differs from what He set forth in the beginning. What caught my interest into these 7 Holy Feasts was the Prophetic Message contained within them.We find that within these 7, 4 are in the season of the spring, while the remaining 3 are in the fall or “harvest. In studying the Prophecy aspect of Yahweh's Words, we realize and conclude that these 7 Holy Feasts play an important role in the Prophecy of Yahshua Messiah concerning the past and the present. Today we will focus on Passover.The Feast of Passover pointed to Yahshua's death on Calvary as “the Lamb of Yahweh, who taketh away the sin of the world”, John 1:29The Feast of Unleavened Bread attested to the fact that Yahshua's body, unlike all others would not decay in the grave. The Son of Yahweh, in speaking with His Heavenly Father said, “for Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell, neither wilt Thou permit Thine Holy One to see corruption” Psalms 16:10The Feast of Firstfruits proclaimed the certainty of His bodily resurrection. The acceptance by Yahweh of the Firstfruits [sheaf] of the spring barley harvest guaranteed a full harvest to follow. By virtue of the resurrection of Yahshua Messiah, He is the Firstfruits and guarantees that all the Saints within Him will one day rise from the grave.The Feast of Pentecost, which occurs exactly 50 days after Firstfruits [the resurrection of the Messiah] anticipated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the origin of the “Ek-kelsia”. We read in the Jewish Talmud, in the tractate of Sotah, foli #48 it reads in part “when Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel; nevertheless they made use of the Bath Kol.” [a divine voice from Heaven]These 4 events in the life of Yahshua Messiah, which the 4 spring feasts depicted, are history. We can look back at these events and they can be examined as historical facts. We can say that the first 4 set the foundation for the remaining 3. [As I think on this foundation, I think of the Tabernacle, which is to come, and when this Tabernacle comes, then all of His Elect come to dwell in the eternal]In this study I will take a look at the 5 major differences between Passover and Easter.This year Passover started at sundown on Saturday April 12 and will end on Sunday April 20, whereas Easter is on April 20, 2025.Most consider Passover a Jewish holiday and Easter a Christian one. But when we compare the biblical Passover with Easter, we find big differences.If you asked most people what they would associate the words Passover and Easter with, you would probably get something like “Passover is Jewish and Easter is Christian.” But would this basic answer be correct?There is a big difference between Passover and Easter, but you may be surprised to learn that it isn't that one is Jewish and one is Christian.So, what is the difference between Easter and Passover? What do we discover when we compare them to each other: Easter vs. Passover?Here are five major differences between the biblical Passover and Easter.This is a MUST LISTEN show!!Join with me as we “Unravel the Words of Yahweh” on keeping Passover or Easter!Have any questions? Feel free to email me keitner2024@outlook.com 

For some reason, the highly Christianized west seems to neglect, maybe even punish, Christians elsewhere in the world. From Nagasaki to Syria, not to mention Lebanon, Christians are slaughtered en masse with the backing of conservative Christian Zionists and Israel. Israel has been bombing Christian villages in Lebanon for months, and despite a recent cease-fire, has continued to drop bombs. Now with the fall of the Syrian government, this past weekend, admittedly at the hands of Israel and the United States, Christians are going to be the target of an ongoing genocide throughout the Middle East. Syria, furthermore, has what is probably the highest Christian population of any Muslim country, about 12%. Yet Christians, especially of the conservative variety, continue to blindly back, or zealously support, Israel's attempts to expand into an even greater state by overthrowing governments and installing puppets, and slaughtering Christians in the process. As of today, Israeli forces continue to advance in Syria, taking up military positions around the country despite the fact that the regime was supposed to be overthrown by independently, organized terrorist groups, which are called rebels.All of this is par for the course with an incoming neocon administration which paints itself as America first and independent of the Bush era military industrial complex Zionist leadership. It's no coincidence that Paul Wolfowitz, at the pentagon, and the two authors of the Project for the New American Century, Robert Kagan and Bill Kristol, are Jewish. Paul was not only deputy Secretary of defense for Bush, but was investigated by the FBI for providing intelligence to an Israeli government official. He was accused of handing over a classified document, via an AIPAC intermediary, which detailed the proposed sale of U.S. weapons to an Arab government. The incoming fake America first administration, is packed, maybe more than any other, with Zionists and Christians, who are demanding the continued expansion of Israel. Even anti-war appointees have suddenly become pro war. The new defense secretary openly calls for Islam to be stripped of its religious status in America, and for the US government to wage war on all of Israel's enemies. He is literally a crusader, tattooed with such insignia. This is the kind of thing that inflames the Arab and Islamic world, justifiably. Although there are without doubt radical Muslims, the real question is how many of those groups are actually financed, controlled, and directed by the west? Considering that the Saud family themselves are descended from Jews, those that converted to Islam during the Ottoman Empire, and not Muslims, it would make sense that further considering all of the fake Jewish hate crimes, much of the perception of Islam is merely a projection of the crimes committed by those who hide under the cloak of Mohammed. The sexual abuse of children, the pushing of gender, dysphoria, and the belittling of Christianity, can all be found in the Jewish Talmud, not the Koran. Furthermore, both of the corporate and private porn industry, porn, hub, and only fans, are run by rabbis and Jews. Yet Muslims are accused of doing all of these things.At the front of the Syrian overthrow, are the Golan Heights, which feature a village named after former president Donald. Why? Because he, after a five minute history lesson, gave away what was supposed to be non-settled to Israel, as if the United States has the authority to do that in the first place. He was then paid $100 million by Miriam Addison, who believes he is the Messiah of the Jewish people. But don't worry, everything is kosher. As the book of Isaiah reads: “See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins.”-FREE ARCHIVE (w. ads)SUBSCRIPTION ARCHIVEX / TWITTER FACEBOOKWEBSITEPAYPALCashApp: $rdgable EMAIL: rdgable@yahoo.com / TSTRadio@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tst-radio--5328407/support.

By causing Christians to believe that the star on the Israel flag is the Star of David, they don't realize that it is the evilest Satanic symbol that is used to invoke the power of demons.    NEWS:  A critical undersea Internet cable connecting Finland and Germany was severed on the morning of November 18. […] The post  Is Trump the ANTI-CHRIST?  Shabbatai Tzvi, Messiah of 1666 called his religion “The holy religion of Edom”.  Edom, the Physical Manifestation of Satan on the Earth.  Vatican Canon Law and the Jewish Talmud, The same old master-slave relationship.    appeared first on Psychopath In Your Life.

In this special broadcast I go into the Feast of Tabernacles.Now I realize that the conditions set forth by Yahweh differs from what He set forth in the beginning. What caught my interest into these 7 Holy Feasts was the Prophetic Message contained within them.We find that within these 7, 4 are in the season of the spring, while the remaining 3 are in the fall or “harvest. In studying the Prophecy aspect of Yahweh's Words, we realize and conclude that these 7 Holy Feasts play an important role in the Prophecy of Yahshua Messiah concerning the past and the present. Let's take a brief view of the first 4 Feasts:The Feast of Passover pointed to Yahshua's death on Calvary as “the Lamb of Yahweh, who taketh away the sin of the world”, John 1:29The Feast of Unleavened Bread attested to the fact that Yahshua's body, unlike all others would not decay in the grave. The Son of Yahweh, in speaking with His Heavenly Father said, “for Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell, neither wilt Thou permit Thine Holy One to see corruption” Psalms 16:10The Feast of Firstfruits proclaimed the certainty of His bodily resurrection. The acceptance by Yahweh of the Firstfruits [sheaf] of the spring barley harvest guaranteed a full harvest to follow. By virtue of the resurrection of Yahshua Messiah, He is the Firstfruits and guarantees that all the Saints within Him will one day rise from the grave.The Feast of Pentecost, which occurs exactly 50 days after Firstfruits [the resurrection of the Messiah] anticipated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the origin of the “Ek-kelsia”. We read in the Jewish Talmud, in the tractate of Sotah, foli #48 it reads in part “when Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel; nevertheless they made use of the Bath Kol.” [a divine voice from Heaven]These 4 events in the life of Yahshua Messiah, which the 4 spring feasts depicted, are history. We can look back at these events and they can be examined as historical facts. We can say that the first 4 set the foundation for the remaining 3. [As I think on this foundation, I think of the Tabernacle, which is to come, and when this Tabernacle comes, then all of His Elect come to dwell in the eternal]The fall Feasts have not yet occurred! They are yet future and predict with absolute certainty, events that will most assuredly unfold. As the 4 spring Feasts were fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with the Messiah's first coming, the 3 Fall Feasts will likewise be fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with His second coming.Beginning at Sunset on Wednesday October 16, 2024 starts the Feast of Tabernacles which ends at nightfall on Wednesday October 23, 2024. Then on the evening of October 23, 2024, begins the 8th Day, which is called Shemini Atzeret. (Numbers 29:35), simply as ‘the 8th day of assembly'. [the sages interpreted this to mean Yahweh asks all who made pilgrimage for Sukkoth to tarry (atzeret, which come from the Hebrew root word meaning ‘to hold back' with Him one additional day.The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) points to the final phase of Yahweh's plan of redemption for mankind—the Second Coming of Yahshua Messiah and the Millennium.Something very special happened on this Feast of Tabernacle. Some miracle from Yahweh was about to change the views of the future world!Is it possible that Yahshua Messiah was BORN on the Feast of Tabernacles?Join with me as we “Unravel the Words of Yahweh” on keeping The Feast of Tabernacles!Have any questions? Feel free to email me keitner2024@outlook.com 

Friday October 11 2024, sundown Ending nightfall of Saturday October 12, 2024Last Wednesday October 2 to Friday October 4 2024 was the Jewish Holiday of Rosh Hashanah or the Blowing of the Trumpets!This morning we shall discuss the “Day of Atonement” or known as “Yom Kippur” [ Yom = the day, Kippur = ask for forgiveness].  Other words this is a special Feast in which you and I ask our Heavenly Father for all those sins which we may have over looked throughout the past year.In recognition of Yahweh's Words, we are instructed to honor and respect His 7 Holy Feast periods. Now I realize that the conditions set forth by Yahweh differs from what He sets forth in the beginning. What caught my interest into these 7 Holy Feasts was the Prophetic Message contained within them.We find that within these, 4 are in the season of the spring, while the remaining 3 are in the fall or “harvest. In studying the Prophecy aspect of Yahweh's Words, we realize and conclude that these Holy Feasts play an important role in the Prophecy of Yahshua Messiah concerning the past and the present. Let's take a brief view of the first 4 FeastsThe Feast of Passover pointed to Yahshua's death on Calvary as “the Lamb of Yahweh, who taketh away the sin of the world”, John 1:29The Feast of Unleavened Bread attested to the fact that Yahshua's body, unlike all others would not decay in the grave. The Feast of Firstfruits proclaimed the certainty of His bodily resurrection. The acceptance by Yahweh of the Firstfruits [sheaf] of the spring barley harvest guaranteed a full harvest to follow. By virtue of the resurrection of Yahshua Messiah, He is the Firstfruit and guarantees that all the Saints within Him will one day rise from the grave.The Feast of Pentecost, which occurs exactly 50 days after Firstfruits [the resurrection of the Messiah] anticipated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the origin of the “Ek-kelsia”. We read in the Jewish Talmud, in the tractate of Sotah, foli #48 it reads in part “when Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel” These 4 events in the life of Yahshua Messiah, which the 4 spring feasts depicted, are history. We can look back at these events and they can be examined as historical facts. We can say that the first 4 set the foundation for the remaining 3. As I think on this foundation, I think of the Tabernacle, which is to come, and when this Tabernacle comes, then all of His Elect come to dwell in the eternalThe fall Feasts have not yet occurred! They are yet future and predict with absolute certainty, events that will most assuredly unfold. As the 4 spring Feasts were fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with the Messiah's first coming, the 3 Fall Feasts will likewise be fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with His second coming.What about the future of the Day of Atonement?Let's keep in mind, that the Levitical Sacrifices were a shadow of the good things that are coming.Read Hebrews 10:11   Those laws of the Old Covenant could never remove sin! Even the scapegoats figuratively removed sin from the house of Israel only for a year.Hebrews 9:6-146  this would be the services of the High Priest under that first Covenant going into the front part of the Temple.7  second = that's to say, into the “Holy of Holies”8   signifying = “deloo” to make clearway = literally “the way of the Holy” made manifest = “phaneroo” to render apparent. This word is taken from the Greek word “fan-er-os”, meaning shinning. The Greek word “fan-er-os” is taken from another Greek word, “fah-ee-no” which means “to lighten” or “shine”. This Greek word, “fah-ee-no” is taken from the Greek base word, “foce”, which mean to shine or make manifest.Have any questions? Feel free to email me keitner2024@outlook.com 

Dr. Michael Gleghorn, a professor at Grand Canyon University, returns to the Bible and Theology Matters podcast to continue our discussion on ancient evidence for the historical Jesus from non-biblical sources. In this episode we will discuss what the Jewish Talmud, the writings of Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, and Lucian, the Roman satyrist, has to say about the historical Jesus of Nazareth.

Our program today looks at the conceptual idea that the Jewish Messiah would be like a leper, something Messiah is described as in the Jewish Talmud.Your support sends the gospel to every corner of Australia through broadcast, online and print media: https://www.vision.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Content warning for discussions of antisemitism and genocide. Also, note that from 19:10 until 20:05 you can hear an electric saw in the background. Nothing I can do about that. Episode music can be found here: https://uppbeat.io/track/paulo-kalazzi/heros-time Day 2 will dive deeply into the historic context of the Israel-Palestine Conflict and the Gazan Genocide. Starting 3700 years ago this episode will hit the major beats of the story and attempt to make everything a little bit clearer, if not really easier to understand. Episode transcript follows: Hey, Hi, Hello, this is the History Wizard and welcome to Day 2 of Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard. Thank you for everyone who tuned in for Day 1 last week, and especially thank you to everyone who rated and/or reviewed the podcast. I hope you all learned something last week and I hope the same for this week. Today we're going to be discussing the Gazan Genocide, what is often called, in mainstream, Western, media the Israel-Palestine Conflict. However, we're not going to be starting in 2023, we're not even going to be starting in 1948. To the best of my abilities we are going to drill into the historic context of this genocide and the ongoing historic and ethnic tensions that exist in the region. Before we start with that context I would like to state for the record that what is being done to the people of Gaza is, unequivocally, a genocide. Now, to find the beginning of this we are going to have to go back about 3700 years to the Levantine region. The regions known as the Levant is comprised of the modern nations of Cyprus, parts of Turkey southwest of the Euphrates, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and of course Israel and Palestine. Both historical record and genetic testing of modern Jewish and Palestinian people show them both being descended from ancient Canaanite cultures. While Biblical narratives show the Israelites entering the region from Egypt and conquering the region under the command of Moses' successor Joshua. Modern archeology and the historical view has, however, discounted this. The Bible is not and should not ever be used as a valid historical source. Indeed, modern archeology and historical research shows that the Jewish ethnicity emerged naturally as an offshoot of the Canaanites in much the same way that the Palestinian ethnicity did. It is also interesting to note that historically, Palestine appears to have been a name for a region and not a distinct nation or kingdom. Indeed, during the seventh century BC, no fewer than eight nations were settled in Palestine. These included the Arameans of the kingdom of Geshur; the Samaritans who replaced the Israelite kingdom in Samaria; the Phoenicians in the northern cities and parts of Galilee; the Philistines in the Philistine pentapolis; the three kingdoms of the Transjordan– Ammon, Moab and Edom; and the Judaeans of Kingdom of Judah. The first written record of the region being called Palestine, by the way, comes from 12th century BCE Egypt, which used the term Peleset for the area. Around 720 BCE, Kingdom of Israel was destroyed when it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which came to dominate the ancient Near East. Under the Assyrian resettlement policy, a significant portion of the northern Israelite population was exiled to Mesopotamia and replaced by immigrants from the same region. During the same period, and throughout the 7th century BCE, the Kingdom of Judah, experienced a period of economic, as well as population growth. Later in the same century, the Assyrians were defeated by the rising Neo-Babylonian Empire, and Judah became its vassal. In 587 BCE, following a revolt in Judah, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple, putting an end to the kingdom. The majority of Jerusalem's residents, including the kingdom's elite, were exiled to Babylon. This marks the first historic diaspora of Jewish people from their indigenous homeland. Jewish people in the region enjoyed a brief period of political independence and national sovereignty following the Maccabean Revolt. This would only last for a few brief decades before the area would be conquered by the Romans. During the first Roman-Jewish War Jerusalem and the Second Temple, which has been built back in about 516 BCE were both destroyed. From that point on Roman rule would crack down even harder on Jewish people living in the empire. Many of these tensions were caused by the cultural and religions differences between the Romans and Jewish people. Their refusal to worship Roman gods and their refusal to venerate the emperor made them perpetual pariahs.  Jewish communities would continue to resist Roman rule and oppression and this resistance would come to a violent head in events like the Kitos War and the Bar Kokhba Revolt. The Bar Kokhba revolt, led by Simon Bar Kokhba was certainly influenced by the Romans building a temple to Jupiter on the Temple Mount after the destruction of the Second Temple. The revolt, as with the First and Second Roman-Jewish Wars was a complete military defeat for the Jewish people. The Jewish Talmud relates that, when the fortress of Betar was besieged in 135 CE that the Romans went on killing until their horses were submerged in blood up to their nostrils. This revolt would result in Judea being literally wiped off the map. And I mean that quite literally, while the Jewish population was greatly reduced from the area, both by slaughter at the hands of the Romans and because many people were forced from the region, there was still and there has always been a Jewish population in the Levant. But any Roman map from after the Bar Kokhba Revolt would now show the region labeled as Syria Palestina. The Diaspora of Jewish people from Israel and Judea would result in Jewish populations congregating all around Eurasia. Jewish communities would settle near the Rhine, eventually collating into the Ashkenazi Jewish ethnicity. Jewish communities would settle on the Iberian Peninsula and in Northern Africa collating into the Sephardi Jewish ethnicity. Jewish communities would also remain in the Middle East, in Syria Palestina (though they were forbidden by the Romans to live in Jerusalem) and collate into the Mizrahim Jewish ethnicity. There are also smaller Jewish ethnicities like the Bene Israel from India and the Beta Israel from Ethiopia. One of the conclusions that is important to take away at this point is that both Palestinians and Jewish people, Judaism being both a religion and an ethnicity, are indigenous to the lands of Israel and Palestine. I don't really care if you favor a one state or two state solution, but the fact of their mutual indigineousness is undeniable. Now, at this point we're going to take a huge jump forward in time to 1516 when Syria Palestina falls under Ottoman rule. As many ethnically Palestinian people had converted to Islam following the Islamic Conquests of the Middle East in the 7th century CE they were largely seen as good Ottoman citizens and interfered with very little. Jewish people, on the other hand, because they were not followers of Islam found themselves living under the dhimmi system. This was a common system under Muslim empires that allowed people to practice other religions, but with limited rights and at the cost of increased taxes. Some of the restrictions placed on Dhimmi were: In addition to other legal limitations, dhimmis were not considered equals to Muslims, despite being considered “people of the book” Their testimony against Muslims was inadmissible in courts of law wherein a Muslim could be punished; this meant that their testimony could only be considered in commercial cases. They were forbidden to carry weapons or ride atop horses and camels, and their houses could not overlook those of Muslims.  All that being said, the lives of Jewish people in the Ottoman Empire were still demonstrably better than those of Jewish communities living in Europe and they were much more freely able to practice their religion. We're going to jump ahead again to the First Aliyah which took place between 1881 and 1903. Aliyah is a Hebrew word meaning “ascent”. There have been five “official” Aliyah throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. These Aliyah are periods of increased Jewish immigration to their ancestral homeland. This First Aliyah saw Jewish people, mostly from Eastern Europe and Yeman move to Ottoman Palestine because of an increased number of pogroms. Most of the Jewish people from Eastern Europe came from the Pale of Settlement and by 1903, saw about 25,000 Jewish people immigrate. This period also saw many thousands of Jewish people immigrate to the US in order to escape the ever increasing amounts of antisemitic violence around Europe. This First Aliyah also marks, more or less, the beginning of the Zionist movement. Political Zionism as a movement was founded by Theodor Herzl in the late 19th century. He saw antisemitism and antisemitic violence as an indelible part of any society in which Jewish people lived as minorities. He also believed that the only way a Jewish State could be established would be with the help of European powers. He also described the Jewish State as an outpost of civilization against Barbarism and compared himself to Cecil Rhodes. So, safe to say that Herzl was not a man with good intentions for the people that would become his neighbors. Throughout the first decade of the Zionist movement, there were several instances where some Zionist figures, including Herzl, supported a Jewish state in places outside Palestine, such as "Uganda" (actually parts of British East Africa today in Kenya), Argentina, Cyprus, Mesopotamia, Mozambique, and the Sinai Peninsula.]  Herzl, was initially content with any Jewish self-governed state. Jewish settlement of Argentina was the project of Maurice de Hirsch. It is unclear if Herzl seriously considered this alternative plan, and he later reaffirmed that Palestine would have greater attraction because of the historic ties of Jewish people to that area. This, as it was always going to, brings us to the Balfour Declaration. As soon as World War I began the Great Powers of Europe began deciding how they were going to carve up the Ottoman Empire, the Sick Man of Europe, like a Thanksgiving turkey. The Balfour Declaration was part of this planning. The declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 stating their support for a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. The entire Declaration reads as follows: His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country. They clearly failed in all regards of their declaration after the first statement. The end of World War I saw the League of Nations place Palestine under British colonial control, leading to the creation of Mandatory Palestine in 1920, with the League officially giving Britain a Class A mandate in 1922. Britain was originally supposed to guarantee Arab independence following the defeat of the Ottomans in exchange for the Great Arab Revolt that took place against Ottoman rule. The creation of Mandatory Palestine and the existence of the Balfour declaration was partially responsible for Jewish immigration over the next 30 years. As Jewish immigration increased, Palestinian peasants, known as fellahin (fellahin were often tenant farmers or other such peoples who didn't own the land they worked) were forced off the land they worked to survive. These tensions would result in small-scale conflicts between Jewish and Arab people living in Mandatory Palestine, though the first conflict of real historic note would be the Great Palestinian Revolt of 1936. The revolt lasted until 1939. It was a popular uprising of Palestinian Arabs that demanded Arab independence and and end to open-ended Jewish immigration to Palestine. The revolt eventually ended with the issuance of the White Paper in 1939. The White Paper was going to attempt to create a national home for the Jewish people within an independent Palestine within 10 years. However this proposal was rejected by both the Arab and Zionist sides of the negotiation. Before the White Paper, and before the massive violence of the Great Revolt was an Arab General strike that lasted for 6 months in order to try and get their voices heard. This led to the creation of the Peel Commission, which recommended partitioning Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. This plan was, like the White Paper that would come after it, rejected by both sides. Of force everything would change after World War 2. After the war the British Mandate for Palestine was dissolved and the Israeli Declaration of Independence was issued later that same day. This declaration came as part of the UN partition plan which was outlined in UN Resolution 181 (II). The Resolution set forth to create an Independent Jewish State, an Independent Arab State and a Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem. This UN Resolution came during the context of the 1947 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine which began after the UN initially voted on the partition plan resolution. This war would have far reaching consequences for everyone in the region and would lead to events like the Nakba and the Israeli government initiating Plan Dalet. Nakba, an Arabic word meaning Catastrophe, refers to the initial ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homes following the 1947 Civil War and the broader 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Some 750,000 Palestinian people were forced to flee their homes and their country after the First Arab Israeli War saw Israel in control of all of the land the UN had granted them in the partition plan as well as roughly 60% of the land that was to be Palestine. Causes of Arab flight from Palestine include: Jewish military advances, destruction of Arab villages, psychological warfare and fears of another massacre by Zionist militias after the Deir Yassin massacre, which caused many to leave out of panic; direct expulsion orders by Israeli authorities; the voluntary self-removal of the wealthier classes; collapse in Palestinian leadership and Arab evacuation orders. This period of time would also see many thousands of Jewish people expelled from the surrounding Muslim countries. As you might expect the majority of those people would move to Israel. While we can see that tensions in the region and Zionist abuses of Palestinian people existed before this point, if we HAD to point to a single moment that defined the entire conflict, ethnic cleansing, and genocide it would be this moment. Following the flight of the majority of the Palestinians from Palestine, Israel passed a number of laws, known as Israel land and property laws, disallowing the Palestinians their right to return to their homes in Palestine. Wars would continue over the decades, but the point at which things start to get particularly heinous comes at the end of the Six Day War, also known as the Arab Israeli War. Following this war, which Israel fought against Syria, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq, Israel now had control of the Golan Heights, The West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula leaving very little land still under Palestinian sovereign control. Israel would eventually cede the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt in 1978 as part of the Camp David Accords in exchange for peace and Egyptian recognition of the State of Israel. They retained control over the rest of the territories they had seized. The actions of Israel during this time put increasing strain on Palestinians as more and more of them were forced into refugee camps, and while Gaza is technically under the control of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Hamas and the West Bank is under the partial control of the Palestinian National Authority both still find themselves heavily under the control of the Israeli government and military. Especially since October of 2023. Human Rights Watch, a non-government organization, considers Israel to still be an invading and occupying force in these two Palestinian regions.  The two of which are separated from each other by the nation of Israel. “Even though Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops and settlements from Gaza in 2005, it continues to have obligations as an occupying power in Gaza under the Fourth Geneva Convention because of its almost complete control over Gaza's borders, sea and air space, tax revenue, utilities, population registry, and the internal economy of Gaza. At a minimum, Israel continues to be responsible for the basic welfare of the Palestinian population in Gaza.” We actually have to backtrack a little bit here before we can finally catch up to the modern day. We need to pop back to 1987, the First Intifada, and the creation of Hamas. The First Intifada lasted from December 1987 until, basically the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, although some date the end in 1991 with the Madrid Conference. The Intifafa, or Uprising, was a sustained series of protests, strikes, and riots that began after an IDF truck hit another car carrying Palestinian workers, all four of whom died in the crash. Now, where does Hamas come into this, well in the long history of the Western world, they were created by the people they now fight against. Hamas, in the beginning of its existence, received funding from the Israeli government to act as a counterweight against the more moderate elements of the PLO. Israel would then turn around and try and destroy Hamas when they started to get too powerful. It was Hamas who was behind the October 7th Attacks on Israel. Hamas, by the way, has been the defacto ruling party of Gaza since 2007. Hamas said its attack was in response to the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, rising Israeli settler violence, and recent escalations. The attack on October 7th began with some 300 missiles being fired into Israeli territory along with coordinated attacks at locations and events like the Re'im Music Festival and various kibbutz's such as Kfar Aza and Be'eri. The attack lasted into the 8th of October and saw 1,143 people killed, 767 of whom were civilians and 36 of whom were children. Also roughly 250 civilians and soldiers were taken hostage with the intent of using them to try and secure the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. It does bear mentioning that Israel has knowledge of such an attack a year in advance, according to the New York Times, but dismissed it as impossible. Since this attack by Hamas Israel has been increasing the violence and slaughter that it is committing against the Palestinian people. In the name of their alleged war with Hamas Israel has forced the people of Gaza to move farther and farther to the south as they bombed the northern part of the Strip to glass. Today most of the surviving population of Gaza, some 1.5 million people are forced to live in the city of Rafah, a city that they were told they'd be safe in. They is no longer the case as Israel is now bombing Rafah as well.  Israel has also been blockading Gaza since 2007 and, effectively, has complete control over the food, water, electricity, and medicine that gets into Gaza. Part of this control comes from the fact that Israel keeps bombing hospitals, like they did with Al Shifa in November of 2023. Israel claims that Hamas was using the hospital as a staging ground, despite this being proven false by independent investigations. We know from our previous video that genocide isn't just the mass slaughter of a particular group of people. It is also inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the group in whole or in part. By this definition, concentrating 1.5 million people into a small area without adequate food, water, or medicine, and then bombing that area demonstrates clear intent to destroy.  An even more clear example of this intent was the Flour Massacre that occurred on February 29, 2024. On that day Israel let food aid into Gaza after over a month of not letting anything through their blockade. When people lined up to receive this aid, the Israeli military shot them. The Israeli military set a deliberate trap to lure in starving civilians and then shot and killed over 100 people. We also have massive amounts of intent demonstrated in the words of members of the Israeli government. Such as with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called the people of Gaza Human Animals and said that they would allow no food or water to get in. Or when Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister said they'd turn Gaza into a deserted island.  There can be no denying the genocide in Gaza. None whatsoever. The actions of the Israeli government are inexcusable and must be condemned with all possible haste. We are in the midst of a genocide, and so if you've ever wondered what you would have done during something like the Holocaust, now you know. Whatever you're doing now, is what you would have done then. Hopefully what we covered today will provide some needed context for everything that is going on right now. I don't know if it will make anything clearer, and I doubt it will provide you with any solutions, but just because you learn information doesn't mean you can necessarily apply it. Thank you for joining me for Day 2. This was a very heavy topic and next week will not get any lighter. Next week we will be diving into the history and context of the ongoing trans genocide that is currently ongoing in the United States.  Last thing we're gonna do today before we do is the outro is read some reviews that came in on Apple Podcasts over the week. I say over the week, all three of these came in on the 21st. 2 of them came from Canada! And now my notes say “read the reviews* Oh… wait, that was something i was supposed to DO. Not an actual sentence i was supposed to read. I hope i remember to edit this out… Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard is brought to you by me, The History Wizard. PLease remember to rate, review, and subscribe to Have a Day! On your pod catcher of choice. The more you do, the more people will be able to listen and learn along with you. Thank you for sticking around until the end and, as always, Have a Day and Free Palestine.    

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

In WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY, Dr. George Koch (coke) explains what Christians believe and why we believe it. A clear telling of the Christian faith for EVERYONE - salvation, prayer, loving God and neighbor, baptism, communion, covenants, Jewish roots, worship and more! The purpose is not to know more about God, it is to KNOW GOD MORE.

In WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY, Dr. George Koch (coke) explains what Christians believe and why we believe it. A clear telling of the Christian faith for EVERYONE - salvation, prayer, loving God and neighbor, baptism, communion, covenants, Jewish roots, worship and more! The purpose is not to know more about God, it is to KNOW GOD MORE.

Questions Covered: 02:30 – Would there be a licit way to do something like the Bachelor to find a spouse? 06:03 – How do Catholics avoid picking between the beliefs of the Church Fathers? 16:58 – What causes someone to lose their salvation? 18:10 – Is there a relationship between modern Israel and 1st century Israel? 21:47 – I've heard Skinwalker ranch is based on a curse in folklore. Could this be a case of diabolic infestation? 28:30 – Why does the Catholic church claim to have changed the sabbath day because it had the ecclesiastical power to do so? 31:20 – Can you clarify any of the lies related to the Jewish Talmud? 37:01 – Did the early Church Fathers believe in the doctrine of atonement? 46:38 – Why isn't the Ascension mentioned much in the Bible? 52:18 – Is there a good book to give to someone who is interested in faith but has no religious background. …

In this special broadcast I go into the Feast of Tabernacles.Now I realize that the conditions set forth by Yahweh differs from what He set forth in the beginning. What caught my interest into these 7 Holy Feasts was the Prophetic Message contained within them.We find that within these 7, 4 are in the season of the spring, while the remaining 3 are in the fall or “harvest. In studying the Prophecy aspect of Yahweh's Words, we realize and conclude that these 7 Holy Feasts play an important role in the Prophecy of Yahshua Messiah concerning the past and the present. Let's take a brief view of the first 4 Feasts:The Feast of Passover pointed to Yahshua's death on Calvary as “the Lamb of Yahweh, who taketh away the sin of the world”, John 1:29The Feast of Unleavened Bread attested to the fact that Yahshua's body, unlike all others would not decay in the grave. The Son of Yahweh, in speaking with His Heavenly Father said, “for Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell, neither wilt Thou permit Thine Holy One to see corruption” Psalms 16:10The Feast of Firstfruits proclaimed the certainty of His bodily resurrection. The acceptance by Yahweh of the Firstfruits [sheaf] of the spring barley harvest guaranteed a full harvest to follow. By virtue of the resurrection of Yahshua Messiah, He is the Firstfruits and guarantees that all the Saints within Him will one day rise from the grave.The Feast of Pentecost, which occurs exactly 50 days after Firstfruits [the resurrection of the Messiah] anticipated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the origin of the “Ek-kelsia”. We read in the Jewish Talmud, in the tractate of Sotah, foli #48 it reads in part “when Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel; nevertheless they made use of the Bath Kol.” [a divine voice from Heaven]These 4 events in the life of Yahshua Messiah, which the 4 spring feasts depicted, are history. We can look back at these events and they can be examined as historical facts. We can say that the first 4 set the foundation for the remaining 3. [As I think on this foundation, I think of the Tabernacle, which is to come, and when this Tabernacle comes, then all of His Elect come to dwell in the eternal]The fall Feasts have not yet occurred! They are yet future and predict with absolute certainty, events that will most assuredly unfold. As the 4 spring Feasts were fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with the Messiah's first coming, the 3 Fall Feasts will likewise be fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with His second coming.Beginning at Sunset on Friday, September 29, 2023 starts the Feast of Tabernacles which ends at nightfall on Friday October 6 2023. Then on the evening of October 6, 2023, begins the 8th Day, which is called Shemini Atzeret. (Numbers 29:35), simply as ‘the 8th day of assembly'. [the sages interpreted this to mean Yahweh asks all who made pilgrimage for Sukkoth to tarry (atzeret, which come from the Hebrew root word meaning ‘to hold back' with Him one additional day.The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) points to the final phase of Yahweh's plan of redemption for mankind—the Second Coming of Yahshua Messiah and the Millennium.Something very special happened on this Feast of Tabernacle. Some miracle from Yahweh was about to change the views of the future world!Join with me as we “Unravel the Words of Yahweh” on keeping The Feast of Tabernacles!Have any questions? Feel free to email me at keitner@netzero.net

Last week to register!!! Mother/Daughter Retreat to Prince Edward IslandWhy does the Jewish Talmud call childhood "a garland of roses", the Quran teach that children are a gift from Allah; deserving of honour and a good name and Christ teach that we have to become like little children to inherit the kingdom of heaven? After working with kids for over two decades I can tell you that the secret of transformation is uncovering the child like within us.  Are you feeling like you are in a rut, or that your days have become mundane? 1. Be an open vessel.2. Have a pure heart.3. Be full of wonder.You will be able to step into the role of silent observer as you seek answers to your problems and do it with creativity, hope, love and a freedom that children innately show every day.Isha Warriors Anniversary Sale-Every Program is 50% OFF!Subscribe to Monday Mindset With Isha WarriorsPlease consider clicking below to make a one time donation to help "Monday Mindset With Isha Warriors" reach more people across the world!Donate Here

Our faith hinges on one main thing. Did Jesus rise from the dead? We know the story of Jesus is miraculous and beautiful, but is it true? There are virtually no historians, Christians or otherwise, who deny Jesus lived and was crucified. Much of what we know of ancient history is told through one or two sources. Not only is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus backed up extensively in the 27 books of the New Testament, but they are backed up by 5 ancient sources outside of the Bible. There were non-Christian historical accounts, Josephus, Tacitus, Lucian, Mara Bar-Serapion, and even the Jewish Talmud, which is critical of Jesus.Paul wrote to the Corinthians confirming Jesus' resurrection around 22 years after Jesus' crucifixion. In this passage he references an early Christian creed (1 Corinthians 15:3-6). This creed can be dated to nearly 6 years after the death of Jesus, which is incredibly close historically. Other historical documents that are widely credited, are written several hundred years after their event, while the Bible was written within a few decades of Christ's crucifixion. We can be sure by many proofs, that our faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is true. Study more here: https://livingstreams.subspla.sh/h7sp4pd

In WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY, Dr. George Koch (coke) explains what Christians believe and why we believe it. A clear telling of the Christian faith for EVERYONE - salvation, prayer, loving God and neighbor, baptism, communion, covenants, Jewish roots, worship and more! The purpose is not to know more about God, it is to KNOW GOD MORE.

PASSOVER Sunset April 5 2023In this special Podcast, I take a look at Passover. Are we instructed to keep Yahweh's Holy Days, such as Passover or do we follow the church tradition of Easter? Listen to this explosive study on what Yahweh has to say about this.What day was the Passover on?  What was the significance of Passover? What does the number of the days have to do with Yahweh? Did Yahweh have a plan for all of this?Now I realize that the conditions set forth by Yahweh differs from what He set forth in the beginning. What caught my interest into these 7 Holy Feasts was the Prophetic Message contained within them.We find that within these 7, 4 are in the season of the spring, while the remaining 3 are in the fall or “harvest. In studying the Prophecy aspect of Yahweh's Words, we realize and conclude that these 7 Holy Feasts play an important role in the Prophecy of Yahshua Messiah concerning the past and the present. Today we will focus on Passover.Let's take a brief view of the first 4 Feasts:The Feast of Passover pointed to Yahshua's death on Calvary as “the Lamb of Yahweh, who taketh away the sin of the world”, John 1:29The Feast of Unleavened Bread attested to the fact that Yahshua's body, unlike all others would not decay in the grave. The Son of Yahweh, in speaking with His Heavenly Father said, “for Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell, neither wilt Thou permit Thine Holy One to see corruption” Psalms 16:10The Feast of Firstfruits proclaimed the certainty of His bodily resurrection. The acceptance by Yahweh of the Firstfruits [sheaf] of the spring barley harvest guaranteed a full harvest to follow. By virtue of the resurrection of Yahshua Messiah, He is the Firstfruits and guarantees that all the Saints within Him will one day rise from the grave.The Feast of Pentecost, which occurs exactly 50 days after Firstfruits [the resurrection of the Messiah] anticipated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the origin of the “Ek-kelsia”. We read in the Jewish Talmud, in the tractate of Sotah, foli #48 it reads in part “when Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel; nevertheless they made use of the Bath Kol.” [a divine voice from Heaven]These 4 events in the life of Yahshua Messiah, which the 4 spring feasts depicted, are history. We can look back at these events and they can be examined as historical facts. We can say that the first 4 set the foundation for the remaining 3. [As I think on this foundation, I think of the Tabernacle, which is to come, and when this Tabernacle comes, then all of His Elect come to dwell in the eternal]The fall Feasts have not yet occurred! They are yet future and predict with absolute certainty, events that will most assuredly unfold. As the 4 spring Feasts were fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with the Messiah's first coming, the 3 Fall Feasts will likewise be fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with His second coming.The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:1170 At the Council of Nicea in 325, all the Churches agreed that Easter, the Christian Passover, should be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon (14 Nisan) after the vernal equinox This is a MUST LISTEN show!!Some of the verses/writings that I use: Lev. 23; Deut. 16; John 1:29; Psalms 16:10; Jewish Talmud “Sotah Foli #48”; John 8:39, 12:31, 1:19; Galatians 3:, 29; 1 John 3:8; 2 Corin. 4:3; 1 Peter 5:8, 1:19; Exodus 12; Dr. Bullinger's Appendix 156; Matthew 15:1-6; Colossians 2:8, 20-23; Acts 12:4; Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-25; Ezekiel 8:13-16; 2 Chronicles 8:13, 30:15, 21; Ezra 6:19, 22; Jeremiah 10:2Join with me as we “Unravel the Words of Yahweh” on keeping Passover or Easter!Have any questions? Feel free to email me at keitner@netzero.net

In WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY, Dr. George Koch (coke) explains what Christians believe and why we believe it. A clear telling of the Christian faith for EVERYONE - salvation, prayer, loving God and neighbor, baptism, communion, covenants, Jewish roots, worship and more! The purpose is not to know more about God, it is to KNOW GOD MORE.

Our program today looks at the conceptual idea that the Jewish Messiah would be like a leper, something Messiah is described as in the Jewish Talmud. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY, Dr. George Koch (coke) explains what Christians believe and why we believe it. A clear telling of the Christian faith for EVERYONE - salvation, prayer, loving God and neighbor, baptism, communion, covenants, Jewish roots, worship and more! The purpose is not to know more about God, it is to KNOW GOD MORE.

In WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY, Dr. George Koch (coke) explains what Christians believe and why we believe it. A clear telling of the Christian faith for EVERYONE - salvation, prayer, loving God and neighbor, baptism, communion, covenants, Jewish roots, worship and more! The purpose is not to know more about God, it is to KNOW GOD MORE.

In this special Podcast, I take a look at Passover. Are we instructed to keep Yahweh's Holy Days, such as Passover or do we follow the church tradition of Easter? Listen to this explosive study on what Yahweh has to say about this.What day was the Passover on?  What was the significance of Passover? What does the number of the days have to do with Yahweh? Did Yahweh have a plan for all of this?Now I realize that the conditions set forth by Yahweh differs from what He set forth in the beginning. What caught my interest into these 7 Holy Feasts was the Prophetic Message contained within them.We find that within these 7, 4 are in the season of the spring, while the remaining 3 are in the fall or “harvest. In studying the Prophecy aspect of Yahweh's Words, we realize and conclude that these 7 Holy Feasts play an important role in the Prophecy of Yahshua Messiah concerning the past and the present. Today we will focus on Passover.Let's take a brief view of the first 4 Feasts:The Feast of Passover pointed to Yahshua's death on Calvary as “the Lamb of Yahweh, who taketh away the sin of the world”, John 1:29The Feast of Unleavened Bread attested to the fact that Yahshua's body, unlike all others would not decay in the grave. The Son of Yahweh, in speaking with His Heavenly Father said, “for Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell, neither wilt Thou permit Thine Holy One to see corruption” Psalms 16:10The Feast of Firstfruits proclaimed the certainty of His bodily resurrection. The acceptance by Yahweh of the Firstfruits [sheaf] of the spring barley harvest guaranteed a full harvest to follow. By virtue of the resurrection of Yahshua Messiah, He is the Firstfruits and guarantees that all the Saints within Him will one day rise from the grave.The Feast of Pentecost, which occurs exactly 50 days after Firstfruits [the resurrection of the Messiah] anticipated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the origin of the “Ek-kelsia”. We read in the Jewish Talmud, in the tractate of Sotah, foli #48 it reads in part “when Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel; nevertheless they made use of the Bath Kol.” [a divine voice from Heaven]These 4 events in the life of Yahshua Messiah, which the 4 spring feasts depicted, are history. We can look back at these events and they can be examined as historical facts. We can say that the first 4 set the foundation for the remaining 3. [As I think on this foundation, I think of the Tabernacle, which is to come, and when this Tabernacle comes, then all of His Elect come to dwell in the eternal]The fall Feasts have not yet occurred! They are yet future and predict with absolute certainty, events that will most assuredly unfold. As the 4 spring Feasts were fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with the Messiah's first coming, the 3 Fall Feasts will likewise be fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with His second coming.This is a MUST LISTEN show!!Some of the verses/writings that I use: Lev. 23; Deut. 16; John 1:29; Psalms 16:10; Jewish Talmud “Sotah Foli #48”; John 8:39, 12:31, 1:19; Galatians 3:, 29; 1 John 3:8; 2 Corin. 4:3; 1 Peter 5:8, 1:19; Exodus 12; Dr. Bullinger's Appendix 156; Matthew 15:1-6; Colossians 2:8, 20-23; Acts 12:4; Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-25; Ezekiel 8:13-16; 2 Chronicles 8:13, 30:15, 21; Ezra 6:19, 22; Jeremiah 10:2Join with me as we “Unravel the Words of Yahweh” on keeping Passover or Easter!Have any questions? Feel free to email me at utwoy@netzero.net 

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

The Jewish Talmud states that God was doing seven things before He created the world. While Gary's list does not correspond exactly to the Talmudic list, we think you'll find that these seven divine activities prior to the Creation are all biblical! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29

What does the Jewish Talmud say about Jesus? Why does it matter? If you knew what it says do you think it would help you to share Jesus with a Jewish friend? We discuss the intro the book "Jesus in the Talmud" and uncover what the Talmud really says about Jesus and his followers.  

I am sure many believers think that the Jewish people, for the most part, are the people of God following Moses, living according to the Old Testament.  This is hardly the case. In Jesus' time, he accused them of following the traditions of men (Talmud and religious rituals) and not really following modes.   Shortly after Jesus's death, around 67 AD their Temple was destroyed by the Romans, and subsequently, around 96 AD their leaders moved the faith into the Rabbinic system they have been practicing since, largely based on the Oral Torah, or Talmud. Thanks for Checking this out! SUBSCRIBE! LIKE! SHARE!    AND CONNECT WITH US AT www.Acts2and42.com     Join our private community @ acts2and42.locals.com   Youtube Alternatives Rumble & Odysee   AND ON FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/acts2and42   And INSTAGRAM @Acts_2and42       Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA6G1T3QL3k2fKpaOUnUMDQ

Mike Isaacson: I'm sorry, but there's really no comparison between Irish indentured servitude and African chattel slavery. [Theme song] Nazi SS UFOsLizards wearing human clothesHinduism's secret codesThese are nazi lies Race and IQ are in genesWarfare keeps the nation cleanWhiteness is an AIDS vaccineThese are nazi lies Hollow earth, white genocideMuslim's rampant femicideShooting suspects named Sam HydeHiter lived and no Jews died Army, navy, and the copsSecret service, special opsThey protect us, not sweatshopsThese are nazi lies Mike: Thanks for joining us for episode six of The Nazi Lies Podcast. We've talked about Hitler survival rumors, neo-Nazis denialism, the Jewish Talmud, critical race theory and even lizard people. Today we are going to tackle the myth of Irish slavery. We are joined by Miki Garcia, author of The Caribbean Irish: How the Slave Myth Was Made. Garcia is a 20-year veteran in the media and consulting industry. She has a master's in journalism from the City University of London and is currently working on her PhD at the University of Westminster. Thanks for joining us, Miki. Miki: Thank you for having me. Mike: Before we get into the Irish slavery myth, I want to talk to you about how you came to this research. What sparked your interest in the transatlantic trade of Irish indentured servants? Miki: When I was a student in the 1990s, I did some volunteer work for street workers in the Kings Cross area. It was a rundown area of London in those days and all the people sleeping rough in the 1990s in this specific area were Irish. It was the time when the IRA were bombing across England and the British media was very biased and had a hostile attitude towards Irish people. We didn't have a St. Patrick's Day festival in London. It's hard to believe, but Irish history is not in the school curriculum in England or continental European countries either. So, I asked around, but no one knew what was going on. To clear so many why, I immersed myself in Irish history and language and I play the Irish music instruments as well, and turned out those homeless people were the 1950s immigrant workers. So the decade was the height of Irish immigration. During the post war years, Britain used a substantial number of immigrant workers and many of them were youngsters, teenagers, and I got to know them personally. It was heartbreaking. When Irish people left home, they took a boat and they arrived at Holyhead which is in Wales and they took the train to come to London and the last stop in London was called Euston. And Kings Cross and Euston are basically side by side so there were so many Irish people there newly arrived and settled and so many Irish businesses like Irish pubs, restaurants, hostels, Catholic funeral parlors, barbers and so on. It was a very, very Irish area. I'm basically interested in the Irish diaspora, how the Irish people were influenced by the British policies. There are quite a few people who are interested in their status within the British system. For example, Marx and Engels, German immigrants in England, they were very interested in the Irish people as workers, and they wrote a lot about them. Irish history is most part a history of struggle against England and British imperialism since 1169, the Anglo-Norman invasion. So it's been going on for such a long time, more than 800 years. 852 years. The Irish in the Caribbean have been at the back of my mind for a while and this topic contains so many issues and it's also contentious. I wanted to write about them, but I didn't know where to start. It was the Black Lives Matter movement a few years ago. I saw many discussions on the internet, and there are so many innocent questions like, were Irish people slaves or Black? Or to more aggressive ones like “get over it” and so on. I've written some books on the Irish diaspora before so I wanted to write something very easy, simple, and informative. I think a myth is created because quite often people don't know the facts or the truth, so this is how it started. Mike: Let's start by discussing what Irish indentured servitude was not namely chattel slavery. What were the major differences in how Irish indentured servants and enslaved Africans were treated and dealt with? Miki: By definition, slaves are for life, so they were basically property, and they were owned, no human rights or civil rights. But indentured servants, they work for a time for a few years and they will be free, so they had human rights and civil rights in theory. But the Irish people were not homogenous. The majority of them who went to the Caribbean were forced, but many were born into service. Some of them were colonizers. They were colonial officers, administrators, traders, merchants, skilled workers, soldiers, sailors, and so on. But during the 17th century, forced people didn't exchange a legal contract. There are many types of indentured servants as well, and many wanted to go there. At the end of the servitude, they received land or sugar or whatever raw materials. They bought property, land and they settled just like mainland America, Virginia, Georgia, and so on. So that was their purpose. In the Caribbean, quite a few Irish people went there to have a better life. But it was after Cromwell's invasion, England captured too many people so they didn't know what to do with them, the local prisons were packed so that's why a large-scale systematic transportation policy was set. This produced many forced indentured servants. They were basically so-called political prisoners and criminals, wandering women, spirited children, and orphans, and so on. But within the context of the Caribbean, they were independent Irish settlers. For example, St. Christopher (St. Kitts) became the first English colony in the Caribbean in 1623 and then Barbados, Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, and Jamaica and so on. So, African people and Irish people are very, very different, legally different as well. Mike: I want to get into the Cromwell stuff. Cromwell, basically, effectively made it illegal to be Irish in the UK. Am I correct in saying that? That's what I got from reading the book. Miki: Yeah. Because basically what England wanted to do is to wipe out the whole population. They wanted to control the whole island. So yeah, that's what's been happening all those years, centuries. Mike: Yeah, because thinking about reading the book, one of the things that you mentioned was that there were technically people that went voluntarily into indentured servitude, but it seemed like their choices were basically either go into indentured servitude to avoid being arrested for vagrancy or get arrested for vagrancy and go into indentured servitude anyway. Miki: Right after Cromwell's invasion, there were a lot of people who were shipped basically, transported. They had no choice. But at the same time, they are always volunteer settlers as well because they had no choice, you know? England sent a lot of soldiers, so they didn't have a life. They wanted to have a better life in general. But majority of them right after Cromwell's invasion, they were basically transported. They didn't have a choice. Mike: Okay. So, now getting back to the neo-Nazis, particularly those of Irish descent, they've drawn parallels between Irish indentured servitude and African slavery usually to downplay the latter while bemoaning the former. You'd think it would be to motivate them, to show solidarity with people of African descent, but they're Nazis, so.. Every myth starts off as a misinterpreted fact as you kind of said, and there were parallels between these two instances of forced labor mainly because they were both industrial processes of the British Empire. What were the similarities between Irish indentured servitude and African slavery? Miki: Irish people were basically the major workforce before Africans were transported. So at the beginning, they were growing tobacco, indigo, cotton and provisions and these can be grown in a relatively small space and sugarcane. The sugarcane production was extremely labor and capital intensive, so it needed unskilled workers. This speeded up with the arrival of Africans. But it's not very simple to pinpoint servants working and living conditions as each locality or planter was different. Some planters were very nice, sympathetic, but some were not so. But generally speaking, Irish servants received better foods and clothing and better living and working conditions than African workers. But in some plantations, because they worked only for a few years, they were treated like temporary slaves, in some cases worse than the slave workers. One of the unique aspects is that some forced indentured servants in the Caribbean, they did very well later in life. Irish workers finished their indenture and left the region or stayed as wage workers, became overseers, foremen, plantation slave owners, traders and so on. Basically, they moved up the social ladder. I saw many documents at the local archives. It is hard to find the information when they arrived, but their wills and inventory of death are easier to find. So this indicates that they have become wealthy plantation owners and more British by the time they died. But this was the purpose of the English. They wanted to make them English. And servants and slaves, they didn't mingle too much when they worked together in the same plantation because they had different tasks and responsibilities, but they cooperated on many occasions. For example, servants joined with slaves in plots of revolts and sea escapes. And these are very well documented in Barbados. When they were caught, slaves got heavier punishment and often tortured and executed. But servants, they were typically sent to other places, for example, from Barbados to Jamaica. Jamaica is huge, so it needed to be settled. And another example is in Jamaica, runaway slaves and servants went to the mountains and they formed independent communities on the mountains and they were called the Maroons. In the early 19th century, the movement for Catholic emancipation in Ireland and Britain and African slave emancipation developed at the same time. In the 1960s, it was the decade of the civil rights movement. There is the similarity of the civil rights struggle in Northern Ireland and with the struggle of the African-American civil rights movement. In the modern-day context, the status of Irish and African people as a major labor force at the bottom of the hierarchy is so visible because they belong to the most powerful nations, Britain and the US. So there are some similarities because they're both a part of American and British imperialism. Mike: Right. And one thing that you didn't mention just now was also the mortality rate, it seemed like there was a pretty high mortality rate not only in the trip over to the Caribbean but also during one's time as an indentured servant. Miki: Yes, because Irish people were not used to the climate, hot and humid climate, so it took time for them to get used to that climate. And also, they were not immune to tropical diseases. There were so many insects because of the climate. But African people were quicker to adjust with the local climate. That's why the Irish people the scorching sun burned their legs so they were called redlegs, and so they really struggled with the climate and tropical diseases as well. And also some early planters were very brutal as well, and they really couldn't survive. Mike: Okay. Now in the book, you talk a bit about the various attitudes and actions that the Caribbean Irish and Irish people in general took towards enslavement of the Africans and those of African descent. Can you talk a bit about that? Miki: The relationship between the colonizer and the colonized can be viewed a bit as like between the superior and inferior group. Thel colonizers, all colonizers, British or European colonizers, they typically felt superior to the colonized. So within the context of the British Empire in the Caribbean, I think Irish and African because they both belong to the working class at the bottom of the hierarchy. So basically, they were treated as second class citizens. And so, Ireland is basically England's oldest colony, the last colony, the southern part is independent, but the north eastern part is not. This means Britain have not been trading Irish people with respect for such a long time. And I think discrimination, prejudice, or stereotypes don't go away immediately because it's in their culture, language, and society, everyday life accumulated over the years, centuries in fact, and I think Irish and British children they know these facts long before they start reading history books. There was a survey in early 1980s in Nottingham, England, primary school children were asked which group was least favorable, Irish, Germans, West Indians, and Asians. Asians means Commonwealth immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. They answered Irish. I don't know which area of Nottingham the survey was conducted, but they probably have never really interacted or talked to new immigrants. But the issue is quite deep rooted because they didn't probably know what to think of new immigrants. And Irish children also they know what England did to their country and to them long before they start going to school. So the issue is quite deep rooted. For example, in England, our grandfathers' and fathers' generation fought against the Germans, so they still have bitter feelings so you've got to be careful when you mention the G-word. But the children and grandchildren, they are not angry at the Germans because this was a one-time event in history. So Irish and Africans, they have been within the British or American system for such a long time, so the issue is so deep rooted. What I think is that the things we do, say or feel every day are habitual, so our habitual thinking patterns are passed down through generations. I think you've got to be aware of your stereotypical views or negative thinking patterns too and reframe them with historical facts or healthier views on a conscious level, otherwise it's hard to break the cycle. But I think younger generations, especially the generation Y and Z, because of the internet they are more global and borderless, and they're more relaxed and less competitive. Yeah, I think they are more educated. I think. I don't know, but that's the impression I've got. Mike: One of the things that I was thinking about was towards the end of the book you talk about the Irish that got involved in the abolition movement. Could you talk a bit about that? Miki: There are a lot of people who are against the slavery, but before Atlantic slavery trade started, Irish people have been really oppressed by England. Daniel O'Connell and all the rest, there are quite a few people who are against the oppressive regime, England or wherever. These two, Catholic emancipation and African slave emancipation, they went hand in hand. The argument they were making were basically the same. It started at the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of 19th century. They acquired Catholic emancipation first and then African slave emancipation, but England couldn't really give up the Atlantic slave trade because it was just too lucrative. And so they created this new system called apprentice system. It didn't end immediately but gradually, it wasn't very lucrative anymore because it was highly dangerous and morally wrong as well. So yeah, gradually, things developed and ended. Mike: Could you talk a bit about the apprentice system real quick? Miki: Apprentice system, it was basically English people trying to justify themselves. African slave workers, they are not used to being independent because when they were working, religion was banned, religion was highly dangerous. That's what they thought. Education, religion, and none of those empowering activities were possible, so they believed that African people need to go through stages to be independent. So basically, it's more like indentured servitude. They sort of changed the title apprentice, but what they did exactly was exactly the same. They just changed the title. But it was a gradual development. Mike: And there were Irish people at the time that came out against the apprentice system too, right? Miki: Some people, yeah, but not all of them. As I said earlier, Irish people are not homogenous. And a lot of people who are still in the Caribbean in the late 17th and early 18th century,and became quite wealthy as well. Yeah, a lot of people were against. But in reality, it was very difficult to have an opposing opinion because it was also very dangerous because a lot of people are very, very directly, indirectly involved with the business. It was all over, not just the Caribbean. They were in America as well that they are established trades, you know? There were so many people benefiting from the trade in not just the Caribbean but in mainland America and British Isles as well. So a lot of people were pretty much part of the British Empire in those days. Mike: Okay. So next, I want to talk about sources, which is my favorite thing to talk about with historians and journalists. What sources were you using to tell the story of the Caribbean Irish and how did you navigate the bias of these authors? Miki: I think there are quite a few history books out there and probably more academic than general books. This is another reason why I wanted to write something broad and sort of an overview of the Irish people who went there. I've read a lot, but I've visited local archives throughout the Caribbean and London of course and the Netherlands and Portugal as well. I used primary sources, witness accounts and diaries when I could to navigate the biases, especially when you are writing something Irish history, Irish affairs, I think you need to read widely from different sources, writers. Catholic and Protestant writers, for example, have their own perspective to explain the same historical events. The books written by revisionists, historians and third-party writers are also very important to us. So just read as much as I can and that's what I do so that you can form your own opinion writing voice, I think. Mike: Yeah, your use of sources really comes through in the book. Just the amount of names that you have in the book to start with. It's incredible how many people's stories you're able to tell. Miki: Yeah, it's interesting, you know? The local archives were absolutely brilliant because imagine it's so humid and hot, and you get to see century old documents, papers. It's just amazing. A lot of them are so unreadable, and paper changes color but still, it's just so amazing they still survive those heat and humidity. Yeah, I was amazed. Mike: It's my firm conviction that the purpose of studying history is to provide instructive lessons for the present. What historical lessons does the story of the Caribbean Irish have to teach us? Miki: Some people think this event occurred in a faraway land many, many years ago, but I think we are all connected. I'm not going into an esoteric spiritual argument here, but we can learn a lot from the Irish diaspora because the Irish diaspora is so unique because it was not a one-time event in history, but it occurred across centuries and continents involving diverse individuals, so that's why it's used as a screening device or a massive database. You can integrate a wide range of subjects such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, and social inequality and all the rest of it. For example, I visited Bucharest, the capital of Romania, and Sofia, Bulgaria a few years ago. These countries are the weakest economies within the EU, and what I noticed first was that these countries have few youngsters as many of them are gone to Germany or France, the UK where they can make more money, so it's kind of normal. But at the same time, I spotted cracks on the streets, derelict buildings in the city centers and graffiti on the wall, but no workers are left in the countries to fix those infrastructure and buildings, and the crime rate is getting higher. My initial thought was that this was a bit like Dublin in the 1950s when the Irish government wants to build their country and infrastructure. All their capable workers were in England. In the late 1950s, the Irish government had to ask the workers to come home, officially ask them to come home. They said that the economy is better. It was getting better, but not significantly. It was more like a gradual improvement. But anyway, the EU definitely needs to reform. They were talking about it because of Brexit but the COVID pandemic disrupted. So anyway, as long as these European countries belong to bigger and powerful economies, there'll be not only economic but also cultural and social consequences as well. There is a case study. We can learn a lot from the Irish experience. Mike: So, you're currently enrolled in a PhD program. What research are you working on now? Miki: I'm looking at the Irish diaspora newspaper, Irish immigrant newspaper in London that functioned as the voice of the working-class movement in England during the mid-20th century. The purpose of this newspaper was to unite two Irelands and protect Irish people's rights in Britain. What they did was they tried to bring the Irish question and working-class people together. The working-class movement means they operated with the general left wing and anti-fascist movement, Rhodes' base. They worked with left wing organs, trade unions, communist parties, labor parties, mainly with the London headquarters but in the three jurisdictions, London, Belfast, and Dublin. So this newspaper was basically a political campaign tool. This newspaper's office was also in the Kings Cross area. Right after the war, first war years, this was the only support system for Irish people in England so they helped a lot of Irish immigrants as well. Yeah, so it's a very exciting project. Mike: Miki Garcia, thank you so much for coming on The Nazi Lies Podcast to talk about the Irish slavery myth. The book again is The Caribbean Irish: How the Slavery Myth Was Made out from Chronos Books, which provides a great introductory account of Irish indentured servitude. She also has two other books on the Irish diaspora, Rebuilding London Irish migrants in Post-War Britain and The Irish Diaspora in a Nutshell both out from The History Press. You can follow Miki Garcia on twitter @mikigarcia. Thanks once again for coming on the podcast. Miki: Thank you! Mike: If you enjoyed what you heard and want to support The Nazi Lies Podcast, consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a one-time donation via Cash App or PayPal, both username Nazi Lies. [Theme song]

In WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY, Dr. George Koch (coke) explains what Christians believe and why we believe it. A clear telling of the Christian faith for EVERYONE - salvation, prayer, loving God and neighbor, baptism, communion, covenants, Jewish roots, worship and more! The purpose is not to know more about God, it is to KNOW GOD MORE

In WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY, Dr. George Koch (coke) explains what Christians believe and why we believe it. A clear telling of the Christian faith for EVERYONE - salvation, prayer, loving God and neighbor, baptism, communion, covenants, Jewish roots, worship and more! The purpose is not to know more about God, it is to KNOW GOD MORE

It's PRIDE MONTH, y'all! And this year, we're not just talking about Biblical gays... we're passing the mic to the Jewish Talmud to learn about gender in classical Jewish texts. Sounds surprising, right? The Bible doesn't directly mention anyone other than "men" and "women" but we all know that trans and intersex folks didn't just *appear* in the last 50 years. So join us for a lens on the O.G. Jewish understanding of gender that dates back thousands of years, and celebrate Pride with the Bibleish crew!SUPPORT THE SHOW ONPatreonInstagramFacebookSupport the show (http://www.patreon.com/bibleishpodcast)

Mike Isaacson: Da j00z! [Theme song] Nazi SS UFOsLizards wearing human clothesHinduism's secret codesThese are nazi lies Race and IQ are in genesWarfare keeps the nation cleanWhiteness is an AIDS vaccineThese are nazi lies Hollow earth, white genocideMuslim's rampant femicideShooting suspects named Sam HydeHiter lived and no Jews died Army, navy, and the copsSecret service, special opsThey protect us, not sweatshopsThese are nazi lies Mike: At the core of nazi lies is antisemitism. Since the Second World War it has disguised itself in many guises–Rothschilds, Soros, Bildebergs, lizard people. At its core is an all-powerful entity controlling the masses and aiming to destroy the nation through the corruption of culture and politics, which remains at the heart of fascist conspiracy theory. One of the ur-texts of Jew hatred in the 21st century is David Duke's book “Jewish Supremacism,” which makes the claim that not only do Jews control the world, but that our religion teaches us to do so. Today, we're joined by Ben Siegel who has his master's in Religion, the Hebrew Bible, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies from the Claremont School of Theology. (Wow, that's a mouthful.) Welcome to The Nazi Lies Podcast, Ben. Ben Siegel: Thanks for having me Mike. I'm grateful for the opportunity to trash a Jew hater's biblical scholarship. Mike: [laughs] Very good. Okay, so before we get into Duke's book, let's talk a bit about how Judaism works, because it's very unlike Christianity. Can you give us a rundown of how Jewish law and Jewish morality works? Ben: Sure. I'll do my best. Now the Jewish legal system, known in Hebrew as halakha, is a comprehensive framework that informs the behaviors of religious, and also frequently secular, Jews. It takes as its starting point the written text, the Torah, the biblical books of Genesis through Deuteronomy, from which it derives 613 mitzvot, meaning laws or commandments, as authoritative God-given instruction on how to live an observant Jewish life. So from those texts, considered the written Torah, what's called the oral Torah is derived. This comprises successive centuries worth of interpretation of the written Torah by rabbis. The earliest of these is the Mishnah, which was compiled early in the second century of the common era, and the Gemara, rabbinical commentary on the Mishnah that was put together between the second and fifth centuries CE. These commentaries were collected to produce the Talmud. Now one in the Galilee region of Israel between 300 and 350 CE, known as the Jerusalem Talmud, and the second far more extensive Talmud compiled in Babylon in about 450 to 500 CE. This is the Babylonian Talmud. This is the one that people tend to cite most. It's really these long, extensive discourses weighing legal arguments on virtually every topic that was relevant to Jews during these periods, from personal and communal religious devotion to economic regulations to laws concerning marriage, dietary restrictions, relations with non-Jews; you name it. Now the Talmud is upheld to this day by most Jewish communities across the world as the basis for living an appropriate Jewish life in accordance with halakha and in accordance with God's will and vision for the world. Halakha informs Jewish ethics to a great deal as much as it undergirds legal and political concerns–a concern for ethical treatment of one's community and one's neighbors, stemming from the collective memory of slavery in Egypt, an ethics of solidarity, really, righteousness, compassion, and justice, in effect. Mike: Okay, so Duke takes aim at our self-description as the chosen people. This is commonly misinterpreted. What does it mean when the Jews say we are the chosen people? Ben: As the old saying goes, “How odd of God to choose the Jews.” So there's this notion that God selected the Israelites for a particular theological mission, to live according to His laws, and to be a light unto nations, inspiring other people through their example. But there's also this idea that the Jews chose God. That Abraham and his descendents embraced monotheism through a special and unique relationship with the deity. Chosenness in this sense isn't indicative of inherent ethnic or racial superiority, as Duke argues. I'd feel safe saying he's projecting his own white supremacist views onto the Jews here. Mike: You don't say. Ben: [laughs] Yeah, I do.  Mike: Okay, so another thing that David Duke derides is our holidays. Specifically, he describes Purim and Pesach as a celebration of the slaughter of gentiles, which I find absolutely laughable. Do you want to clear that one up? Ben: This would absolutely be hilarious if it weren't so malicious. Pesach celebrates the liberation of the Israelite people from slavery and oppression in Egypt. Recalling the ten plagues during the seder does recognize the suffering inflicted upon the Egyptians to make this happen. But this isn't a joyful moment. It's typically somber. The recitation of each plague is followed by dripping a drop of wine from our cups onto our plates to signify how we ourselves are diminished by the Egyptians' suffering. There's also a similarly warped misinterpretation of Purim going on here, where we celebrate the prevention of genocide against us. So in the Purim story, Haman had ordered the Jews put to death. The Megillah Esther makes it clear that the 70,000+ Persians killed at the end of the book are those sent by Haman to slaughter the Jews. And the Jews were only able to defend themselves because king Ahasuerus gives them permission to pick up swords. And to be frank, Mike, defense against genocide seems to a pretty legitimate cause for merrymaking.  Mike: Yeah, no, for sure. It's a really fun holiday if you've ever celebrated it, you know. It's a lot of dress up… I've heard it described as basically a combination of Halloween and New Years all wrapped into one. It's really fun.  Ben: Sure, if you like to drink and scream, Purim is the holiday for you. Mike: There you go. [laughs] Okay, so now let's get into the nitty gritty. So, David Duke cites a whole bunch of scriptures to make the Jews out to be haters of all things goyishe, or non-Jewish, with scriptural references that appear to justify unscrupulous behavior towards them. First of all, before we get into that, what does the word “goy” mean? Ben: Well it would be prudent to acknowledge that the term “goy” changes meaning slightly over time. In the biblical text, it means nation or people, not nation in the modern sense of Westphalian nation-states, but more as a homogenous ethnic identity. The Israelites were recognized as a goy here. Most notably, Exodus 19 where God promises Abraham that he will make his people “goy gadol,” a great people, Exodus 19:6. As we enter into the rabbinic period, where the Jews in the diaspora are negotiating Jewish identity as a minority population, goy predominantly takes on the meaning of non-Jew as a distinguishing marker. This interpretation of “goy” has persisted to this day, and is perhaps the most commonly recognized usage of the term. I have seen discussions among antisemites who misinterpret it as meaning “cattle,” based on connotations in Talmudic texts. But these texts offer a strict binary worldview where “Jew” is seen as akin to human, whereas non-Jews are aligned with animals. I think it's important to make the distinction that this framework is a legal one not necessarily a political one. Post exilic diaspora Jews did not have the kind of social power needed to foster political programs that affected the disenfranchisement of other groups typically associated with rhetorics of dehumanization.  Mike: Okay, so kind of on that point, Duke points to a number of decontextualized passages from Jewish scripture which describe gentiles in various negative ways: barbarians, animals, animal-fuckers. And I've got a few passages here which I've provided to you in advance. So there's Gemara Kiddushin 68a, Yebamoth (and correct me on any of these pronunciations) Yebamoth 98a, Baba Mezia 114a-b, Abodah Zarah 22a-b, and Baba Mezia 108b. Can you give us a little exegesis? Ben: I'd be happy to, but first I want to talk about how Duke sourced these texts. There's been some commentary on him plagiarizing Kevin McDonald who is an evolutionary psychologist working out of Cal State University-Long Beach. He uses the same arguments and the citations. But it also appears that Duke took many of the translations of these texts from a book by Elizabeth Dilling, who was a far-right political activist in the 1930s, noted antisemite, who went to Nazi Germany and spoke very highly of what she saw there. So with these translations that he's using, I think it's important that we take it with an enormous grain of salt, first of all. Mike: Right. Ben: But also the thing I've noticed most about non-Jews who rage against the Talmud is that they haven't read the damn thing. And frankly, I haven't read all of it either. It's an enormous body of text. And in that body of text there are, you know, rabbis disagreeing with each other. So one view may be held, and the exact opposite view is going to be upheld a line down. Just worth noting for when we're looking at these texts that are obviously cherry-picked. Mike: Right. Ben: The first one you mentioned, Kiddushin 68a, it's from a tractate that deals with rules pertaining to marriage and engagement laws. Now what Duke says about this is the Talmud denotes gentiles as animals. So here it's forbidding the betrothal of an Israelite to a Canaanite maidservant. One thing, there's no Canaanites in third century Persia at this time, so this is purely a hypothetical situation. But it's really this legal justification for not marrying non-Jews because of the potential for them to influence a Jew's worship in a negative way, so that they won't follow halakha. And there's definitely a discussion here of identifying them as like an animal, but it's not a similar dehumanization that we see in typical nazi rhetoric of like “Jews are cockroaches” or “Jews are vermin.” It's like, here is this category of thing that is not us, and we cannot mix with that. Does that make sense? Mike Yeah, I guess. Does the issue of her being a maidservant matter in a subordinate position to the person?  Ben: Some rabbis argue yes; some rabbis argue no. But really it's more that who she is, based on this identity, is making the betrothal ineffective. It's not considered valid. Mike: Okay, so like– Ben: Yeah. Mike: Go ahead. Ben: No, go right ahead. Mike: Okay, yeah continuing right along, let's go to Yebamoth 98a? Ben: Yeah, Yebamoth deals with rules of yibbum. This is what's commonly known as levarite marriage, where the brother of a man who died without children is permitted and encouraged to marry the widow. What Duke has this translated as is that all gentile children are animals. It doesn't say anything of the sort here. It's saying that the children of gentiles don't have a father. They don't have a patrilege. Like the offspring of a male gentile is considered no more related to him than the offspring of donkeys or horses. It's just a way of saying that the rabbis don't care who the kid's dad is. It's like, they couldn't be bothered. Mike: I see. Ben: They're not interested in the patrilege of non-Jews. They're really more concerned with Jewish family ties. Mike: Okay, so moving along, there's two passages from Baba Metzia, one is 114a-b and one is 108b. Ben: Mmhmm. Baba Metzia discusses civil matters. That is property, law of usury, other issues such as lost property and damages done to it. So the issue here is again, categorizing– Duke takes issue with the categorizing of goyim as non-human. And again, it comes down to the same thing. It's less that they are not recognized as human, and more that it is an issue of ritual purity because they don't adhere to the same religious standards. Therefore, they necessarily can't contaminate certain Jewish sacred spaces. Mike: That's probably– Ben: And– Mike: Go ahead. Ben: Yeah, sorry go ahead. Mike: I was gonna say, it's probably also worth noting that like many Jews, I would venture even to say most Jews, probably don't follow a lot of these laws. [laughs] Ben: Yeah, many of them aren't even aware of them. You know, you can spend your entire life studying these texts and maybe come across it once. You know, there are thousands of these tractates. Mike: And last in this category was Abodah Zarah 22a-b. Ben: Mmhmm. [laughs] This one's funny. Duke says gentiles prefer sex with cows. What the text is actually saying is that the animal of a Jew is more appealing to gentiles than their own wives. [laughs] So, I don't know if this intentionally, you know, throwing some shade gentiles and their own marriage relations, but it seems more in keeping with a concern that's held by the Talmudic sages of how do you ensure that an animal that you are sacrificing is ritually pure. That means it has no blemishes; it is handicapped in any way; but very importantly, that it has not had any sexual relations with anybody. So Abodah Zarah, literally meaning “foreign worship” or “strange service,” it deals with how to live with people who don't adhere to the same religious convictions. And the concern of beastiality is kind of a big, overarching theme in this text to the point that there are many discussions of concern about whether or not you can purchase a sacrificial animal from a goy. Some rabbis say no; some say yes. Interestingly enough, there is one narrative in the text, where a goy named Dama– The rabbis go to him, and purchase a red heifer which is like a really big omen in the bible. It's like huge. That's like primo sacrifice. And he is upheld as a righteous goy and as someone who would never shtup his cow. So what's really interesting here is that you've got these two different voices in the text that are both preserved as authoritative. One, there is the concern that the goy will engage in beastiality. The other is this one goy Dama who is upheld as an example of righteousness in regards to being able to buy, you know, a sacrificial animal for him. Of course, Duke isn't going to look at this text because it doesn't serve his overall purpose as vilifying the Jewish people as anti-goy. Mike: And before we continue, I want to inform our listeners that shtup is a Yiddish word for “having sex with.” Ben: Yeah, literally it means “push,” but yeah, it means sex. Mike: Alright so, Duke also makes the claim that there are different laws that Jews follow when it comes to dealing with the goyim. So he specifically points to Gittin 57a, Abadoh Zarah 67b, Sanhendrin 52b, Sanhedrin 105a-b and 106a-b. Can you explain what's going on in those passages? Ben: Sure, so my understanding of his gripe with Gittin 57a is what is the punishment for Jesus in the next world, saying that he will be boiled in excrement. He's going to be punished in boiling poop, and that anyone who mocks the word of the sages will be sentenced to boiling excrement. This was his sin, as he mocked the words of the sages. And the Gemara comments come and see the difference between these sinners of Israel and the prophets of the nations of the world as Balaam, who was a prophet, wished Israel harm whereas Jesus the Nazarene, who was a Jewish sinner, sought their wellbeing. So there is this, kind of– There's some antagonism towards Jesus in the text because of its function as– Jesus's function and Christianity's function as a counter-claim to the inheritance of Abraham and of Isaac and Jacob. So there's some theological competition going on here. Mike: And what about Abodah Zarah 67b? Ben: Mmhmm. “The halakha from the case of gentiles that require purging. Vessels that gentiles used for cooking that the Torah requires that one purge through fire and ritually purify before they may be used by Jews.” You know, he seems to be indicating that– Duke seems to be indicating that the text is saying that goyim are dirty. But this isn't an argument for, like, hygienic cleaning. The ancient Israelites and Talmudic sages didn't have a germ theory of disease. What they're talking about is purifying these vessels for religious purposes, specifically. They have to be rededicated for their sacred use because they may have come in contact with forbidden food, with non-kosher food. Mike: Right, so this is about the laws of kashrut, right? Ben: Yeah, precisely. And again this is Abodah Zarah which is all about how do we do our religion properly with all of these other influences around us. Mike: Right, okay so Sanhendrin 52b. Ben: Yeah, this is another Jesus one. So Duke says that the person being punished in this text is Jesus, and he sees this as an anti-Jesus text. But the text doesn't mention Jesus whatsoever. It's a general rule for capital punishment by strangulation which is outlined in Leviticus. So this is one of your big nazi lies. He doesn't mention– They don't mention Jesus here. Mike: Is this one of the ones where he mentions Balaam or something? Ben: I believe so. Mike: Okay, can you talk about who Balaam is, because Duke misidentifies him as Jesus. Ben: Yeah he does that a lot. So in the book of Numbers, Balaam is a prophetic figure, identified in the text as a false prophet, who goes to send a curse against the Israelite people, and he is himself cursed for it and put to death. So he's kind of like this figure of those who would seek the destruction the Jewish people. He's a big bad. Mike: Right, and since he's in the book of Numbers which is the Torah, right? Ben: Yeah. Mike: Yeah, I mean, that would mean that this is, like, well before Jesus's time, right? Ben: Absolutely. Mike: Like there's no way this would have been Jesus. Ben: For sure. Granted, there are certain Christian interpreters of the text who see Hebrew bible references to Jesus throughout. Mike: Right. Ben: So they kind of see Jesus as foreshadowed in so much. Mike: Alright so, moving on, Sanhendrin 105a-b? Ben: So this one's interesting because it says that Balaam was a diviner by using his penis. [both laugh] And he's one who engaged in beastiality with his donkey. So what Duke takes to be a condemnation of Jesus, because he's misidentified Jesus with Balaam, is really kind of like textbook Talmudic condemnation of a big bad goy. Now here's a guy who sought the destruction of the Jewish people. In the book of Numbers he's got this talking donkey who prevents him– who tries to stop him from going forward with his mission. And we know that he was bad because, according to the Talmud, he had sex with his donkey. There's this major preoccupation with bestiality in the Talmud, and it is weird as hell. But it's there, and we've got to deal with it. [laughs] Mike: Okay, and Sanhendrin 106a-b. Ben: Again, this one's not about Jesus, but rather about Balaam who has been misidentified with Jesus. I think this is– this kind of misidentification is just indicative of Duke not doing his homework. My understanding is that he took these from Dilling, and he never fact-checked to see if, you know, this is what the text says or this is what the text identifies. You know, this is bad scholarship on his part which is probably to be expected from this guy who defrauded his own his own white supremacist organization and has a fake degree. Mike: Right, and he even says in the book that he's not doing anything original, that it's just collected from other sources. Ben: Right. Mike: Well, since we're on the subject of Jesus, we may as well go with the rest of the passages that I have here. So Sanhendrin 90a. I'm kind of skipping around here. Ben: Yeah this one's all about prohibition against idol worship. And you said this one is Jesus-related? Mike: That's what he said, yeah. About Christianity and Jesus, yeah. Ben: I don't find much to do with Jesus in this text. Jesus isn't mentioned in this one. It's primarily about idol worship and people who prophesize with regards to it. Maybe he's trying to say that, like, the preoccupation with idol worship is a condemnation of Christianity, but I'm just not seeing where he's getting Jesus out of this. Mike: Okay then, on that same subject Shabbat 116a. Ben: Yeah, holy books in Babylonian temples. Now is this the one where he says a goy can't read the text? Mike: It might be, yeah. Or a Christian can't read the text. Ben: Yeah, oh no, this is a really particular one. Again this one is just– There's a lot of rhetorical violence against those who do the religion improperly or don't treat the sacred texts as they should. You know, these are practices and artifacts that are very important to the Jewish people, so they hold them in very high regard. Mike: So I guess moving along, Duke refers to a number of passages in the Bible that he takes to mean that Jews are preoccupied with racial integrity. (Projection much?) He points specifically to Sanhendrin 59a, Deuteronomy 7:2-6, Ezra 9:1-2 and 9:12, Leviticus 20:24, and Nehemiah 13:3. So what do these passages say and what do they actually mean? Ben: With Sanhedrin 59a, which Sanhedrin primarily deals with criminal law, it says that “A gentile who engages in Torah study is liable to receive the death penalty. As it is stated: ‘Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.'” This is from Deuteronomy 33:4. “Indicating that it is an inheritance for us, and not for them.” So there is one sage, a rabbi Yokhanon who is arguing that goyim who study Torah, you know, they're liable to be put to death. You know, they expose themselves to capital punishment. He's arguing this because they view the Torah with such high esteem; it is their most sacred text. They want to preserve it. Now this text is followed a line or two down by a counterargument. It says, “You have therefore learned that even a gentile who engages Torah study is considered like a high priest.” So you've got one argument saying that a goy who studies Torah is liable to be put to death, and another that says that they have an incredible status, that studying Torah gives them very high regard. But this again is one of those instances where Duke does not consider that might undermine his central thesis that Jews are bad, are always bad, and will always be bad. Mike: Okay, so what about the Deuteronomy passages? Ben: Deuteronomy is fascinating. We could do a whole discussion of that book in and of itself because it is–Deuteronomy in Greek means “second law”–but it is kind of a later law code that is arguably the result of a very kind of reactionary sect of Israelite theology that does not see coexistence with people who don't worship YHWH as possible. And rhetorically, what they are saying is when the Israelites get to the promised land, they are to commit genocide against the peoples of the land. Don't intermarry with them because that could lead to apostasy, that could lead to illicit worship. You know, their daughters will lead you to serve other gods. The sense here is that Israel is a holy people, God has chosen them to be special unto him, and if they allow this foreign influence to affect them, that will be undermined. Mike: Okay, and what about the Ezra text? Ezra 9:1-2 and 9:12. Ben: Yeah, there's some scholarship to indicate that Ezra and Nehemiah represent one scholarly tradition. So after the Babylonian empire was defeated by the Persian empire, the Persians allowed the community of Israelites that had been taken into exile, the golah community, to return to the land, to rebuild the temple, and to reestablish rule. So one of the concerns of the returning community is this very specific idea that the reason they were exiled in the first place is because God is punishing them for worshipping other gods. And that sense also undergirds the theology of the book of Deuteronomy. So their solution is that, to prevent that from ever happening again, they have to divorce from the non-Israelite wives that they had married that might lead them into temptation. Now this is the view of the returning community, not the community that had stayed in the land of Israel during that time. So these would have been the intelligentsia, the priestly class, the aristocracy, skilled laborers, so it's not a normative view, but it kind of becomes normative because it becomes the dominant voice of the text, if that makes any sense. But they are saying that for the sake not just of religious purity but also to establish power for themselves, you know, the returning community has a claim to power in the land, not just because they have, you know, they have a connection to it where they are before the exile, but they are supported by the Persian imperial power. They're making this new claim of identity and religiosity to assert that power. Mike: Okay and what about Leviticus 20:24? Ben: “You shall inherit their land” (“Them” being the Canaanites.) “that I will give unto you to possess it, a land that flows with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God that separated you from other people.” So this is God telling the Israelites that they will be given the promised land because God has chosen them, has separated them. The word “kodesh,” to be holy, also means separate. So it's really a theological category, not an ethnic one. You know, the Israelites are separate from these people and are given the land because of their adherence to the covenant at Sinai, not because they are of a particular ethnic or racial background. Mike: Okay, so we talked a little bit about kind of the somewhat genocidal tendencies I guess. And so David Duke talks about massacres perpetrated by Jews in the bible. He points to Deuteronomy 20:10-18, Isaiah 34:2-3. and Joshua 6:21 and 10:28-41. And when I mentioned Joshua to you, you kind of rolled your eyes at it. Ben: Yeah. Mike: So I guess let's start with Joshua then. Ben: Yeah, I do. Good. Joshua's a fascinating text. Scholars pretty much agree that it has no, or little to no, basis in historical fact. You know, one of these is that, these texts Joshua 6:21, is the destruction of the city of Jericho which according to archeological records happened several hundred years prior to when this narrative is supposed to have taken place. But what's being discussed here in 21 is the devotion of the city to the Lord, the destruction of every living thing in it. So, you know, this is absolutely a genocidal text. It's a purification of the land by the sword and by flame. So typically in war in the ancient near east, you could take slaves, you could take cattle as war booty. But what is being done here is the destruction of all of that, saying that everything belongs to God, and as such it must be destroyed and sacrificed unto him. But it's also seen as a kind of justice because here are these, for lack of a better word, pagans who stand in the way of the Israelite mission, and who may also tempt the Israelites to turn away from the path of God. So it's absolutely this violent, theologically motivated holy war, genocidal slaughter, maintained in the text. And I do think it's important to wrestle with these notions. You know, whether or not it actually happened, it's still– It's there, and it informs a great deal of thinking. It informed the colonization of the New World, whereby settlers from Europe saw themselves as Israelites and the indigenous people here as Canaanites. Robert Allen Warrior is an indigenous scholar who's done a lot of work on this. But then, the Joshua narrative also informed many of the early Zionists, and they saw themselves as, as Rachel Haverlock called the Joshua generation. Like, Ben Gurion assembled a number of different people to do bible studies on the book of Joshua. It is a text of settler colonialism and can be used to justify that kind of political programme. Mike: Okay so back to Deutero– Ben: If that's what you're trying to do, Joshua is a good place to pull from. Mike: Okay so back to Deuteronomy, 20:10-18. What's being said in there? Ben: “When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open its gates, all the people shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage in battle, lay siege to the city.” And the ban, or kherem, is in effect there. So destroy, destroy, destroy, and leave nothing because everything is for God. It's the same scenario– In this instance, the people in the land are given the opportunity to surrender, otherwise they are subject to the sword. It's very similar to the kind of warfare described in other texts from the ancient near east, whether they're Assyrian or Babylonian. So it's not uncommon to see this kind of siege warfare described, and it's not necessarily unique to the Israelite people. Mike: Right, I mean, yeah, I mean that was one of the things that happened to the Israelite people, at least in engaging the Romans, right? Ben: Yeah, precisely. Mike: Okay, what about Isaiah 34:2-3? Ben: This one's interesting because it's not actually a narrative of slaughter. It's a prophetic oracle delivered against the people of Edom, the Edomites, for betraying the Israelites to the Babylonians and assisting in their imperial endeavors. It's saying that, you know, you will be destroyed. You know, the corpses of your people will lay in the street. So it's not an actual thing that happened. It's part of a type of prophetic literature called oracles against the nations where the prophet of a particular book will condemn a specific people on God's behalf. Keep in mind that the prophets aren't really seen as their own agents. They're the agents of God; they speak God's word. So God through Isaiah is saying, here's what's going to happen to you because of your betrayal. Mike:  Okay, so this next part is probably going to need a trigger warning or something. So there's some really strange passages that he cites about rape and virginity that I honestly haven't looked at because by the time I got to these passages I was just tired of him being wrong every time I checked the passages he cited. So he cites Kethuboth 11b, Sanhedrin 55b and 69a-b, Yebamoth 57b, 58a, and 60b. So let's start with Kethuboth. Ben: Right, yeah, so here he's– The issue is Bath Sheeba, when she gave birth to Solomon, whether or not she was six years old, or whether or not she was an earlier age. It's not saying that six-year-olds are appropriate– or that six is an appropriate age for sexual relations with a girl. It's arguing at what age a child can conceive. Like when is conception possible? And it's saying that because Bath Sheeba gave birth to Solomon when she was six, it's somewhere around that time. Yeah, this whole discourse is really gnarly.  Mike: Okay, so what about Sanhendrin 55b? Ben: So here it's about a girl who is three years and one day whose father has arranged for her to be married, and betrothal is through intercourse. It's concerning the legal status of the intercourse with her, if it's like full-fledged sex. Really here the text is examining forbidden sexual acts that cause ritual impurity and calamity. And prior to this specific quotation is a broader context of unwitting beastiality, like beastiality that you didn't know you did. It's not justifying sex with minors; it says that the act renders the man ritually impure and liable to be put to death. Lucky for the child, I guess lucky, is that they're exempt from execution because they're a minor. Small condolence I guess. Mike: Okay so it's basically saying the opposite of what David Duke said. Ben: Yeah. Mike: Okay, what about 69a-b? Ben: I mean, this is probably a discussion of the legal ramifications of this act. Mike: Yeah this is actually, this says exactly what you were talking about earlier. So “A maiden aged three years and a day may be acquired in marriage by coition, and if her deceased husband's brother cohabitated with her, she becomes his.” Blah blah blah. Ben: Yeah, because it's Yebamoth– It's Yebamoth, right? Mike: No this is Sanhendrin. Ben: Oh Sanhendrin. So this is, yeah, criminal law. So this is the liability of criminal punishment, but also these rabbis debated everything. What is the likelihood that a three-year-old is going to be married to someone who then dies and then has to be– Again they have the option to be married to their brother so that the dead brother's lineage doesn't end. They're really negotiating, like, every possible eventuality that might happen just in case. You know, all of these are hypothetical situations. And, you know, they're gross. Some of them are just really fucked up. Mike: [laughs] Yeah Jews like to talk about a lot of weird hypotheticals. Alright so now onto the Yebamoth one. So 57b. Ben: Yeah, Yebamoth 57b. This one I've got, “A maiden aged three years and a day may be acquired by marriage in coition.” So yeah, the sex act is technically allowed. It's not condoning it. But because three-year-old girls cannot become pregnant, it's still technically forbidden because it's a waste of seed in non-procreative sex. So it's saying that she can't conceive via sexual intercourse, so it's really forbidden because sex in this worldview is not for pleasure; it's purely for procreation. So if you are wasting sperm engaging in this sex act, it's a bad thing. Not going to lie, this one's fucked up. Mike: Yeah, what about 58a? Ben: Um, doesn't say anything about minors. Mike: Really? Ben: Just, yeah, I didn't see anything about minors in this one. Mike: What about rape? Ben: Most likely. Let me just take a closer look. Mike: Or virginity or something? Ben: Yeah, do you have a quote on this one? Mike: Not sure. I mean, I don't have quotes on any of these because again I stopped looking at them. Ben: Yeah, and a lot of it is just like– It's kind of he said, she said. I don't know. I don't take David Duke's reading of these in good faith, and I don't think we can. Mike: This is a weird passage. There's something about “Through betrothal alone a woman is not entitled to eat.” This is so strange. Ben: I mean I would lie if I said that I understood the majority of Talmudic literature. Mike: Right. Ben: You know, people can spend seven years reading this entire work all the way through. The law of tamurah. Mike: Yeah, and, I mean, even– David Duke doesn't even necessarily quote these passages. He just references them. And I guess, like you said, he probably pulls them from other sources without reading them. Ben: Yeah, I– With this, I can't even tell, like, what he's arguing. Like, what is the– What issue is he taking here? Mike: Yeah, I would suggest that our listeners read this passage and try to figure out what the fuck David Duke has a problem with. Ben: Yeah exactly. Yeah [sarcastically] read David Duke's book. You'll have fun. Mike: Yeah, no don't read David Duke's book, but you can read the Talmud, that's pretty good. Ben: Spend seven years reading the whole thing. You can do it, a daf a day. Mike: Alright, do you have any notes on Yebamoth 60b? Ben: So this is where the Gemara cites another ruling related to who is considered a virgin. And it's not condoning sex with a three-year-old. It says that in the event of that happening, she remains a virgin because her hymen grows back. Like if it's through a sex act with an adult man or if her hymen is ruptured by wood. You know, she's still considered a virgin because it grows back. I don't know if that's medically true. Mike: Yeah, I was– Ben: Sounds like bullshit, but the issue here is virginity as it relates to being able to determine paternity in the long run. Mike: Okay, alright, so Judaism has changed a lot since these texts were written. So what can we say about the ethos of Judaism now as it relates to these texts? Ben: Right, obviously most Jews aren't concerned with the majority of the issues we've addressed here today. You know, they don't spend a lot of time thinking about beastiality, thank goodness. But I think if there is a single Jewish ethos, it's an affirmation of being the people of Israel, literally meaning “to wrestle with God,” Yis-ra-el. Engagement in argument over Torah are so central to our people's identity that even secular atheist Jews still contend with these issues. So as many different types of Jews as there are and how many different ways they approach the text, there still profoundly, proudly participating in a longstanding tradition that's engaging with and arguing with the tradition. I think that's the modern Jewish ethos, and it's much the same as the ancient but adapted to the current context: How do we live a good life?  Mike: Word, well Ben Siegel, thank you so much for coming on The Nazi Lies Podcast and taking the time to do the tedious work of debunking David fucking Duke. [both laugh] You can catch Ben on Twitter and Facebook at Anarcho-Judaism. Ben: Mike it has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me. [Theme song]

On this episode Ingrid’s guest Tammy Franklin is a psychic medium and healer guides ingrid thru her past lives - Change your life with a conversation about Spiritual Power through intuition, past lives and transforming negative energies in your life into positive. The power of numbers, how to no longer consent to negative energy around us. Ingrid also discusses her study of the Jewish Talmud and the Zohar (Kabbalah). Talking points about Past Lives: - We bring into our current lifetime our Knowledge and Wisdom from our Past Lives. - We re-create similar experiences from previous lifetimes for our spiritual growth. - Your past lives influence who you are today. - How you find out about Past Lives. Ingrid and Tammy expand on spirituality, past lives and clearings. Show Notes: Follow Ingrid on Instagram at instagram.com/Ingriddelamarekenny Follow THE METHOD® Instagram.com/themethod.mc Follow our product line SIMPLY GANGSTER CHIC Instagram.com/simplygangsterchic Shop the GANGSTER CHIC LINE http://tiny.cc/ShopGangsterChic http://tiny.cc/SimplyFlatTummy Where to find Tammy http://www.tammyfranklin.net https://www.facebook.com/transcendingbelief/ https://www.instagram.com/transcendingbelief

It's Easter! This is the Sunday we celebrate the most amazing thing in human history - Jesus bringing Himself back from the dead. Tune in today to learn some surprising reasons you can trust that this is a historical reality and what it means for your life. Help us advance the Kingdom, support our online ministry (harmonychurch.cc/give). Got kids? Check out Harmony Kids online (updated weekly) https://www.harmonychurch.cc/harmony-kids-online/! ------------------- Sermon Notes Slide Key: Sermons always start with “OPENING ILLUSTRATION:” and end with “CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:"All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise notedBold = Slide textBold Red = Scriptures (please reflect formatting of scripture on slides, i.e.  - underlines, italics, etc.)“b" or “B” on a line by itself = Slide break/New slideBold ALL CAPS WORDS = heading to be ignored[some text] = programming notes to be paid attention to OPENING ILLUSTRATION: Anyone in here love April fools jokes?  I LOVE them! I was telling our kids when they were all young enough to pick them up and move them, we took them out of their beds and switched them to different rooms.  They all woke up like, “where am I?” Last year we made miniature peanut butter balls for our kids out of cheese balls.   Growing up in our house is either awesome or terrible, I'm not sure which…  I love a good joke… But I don't care for them when they are something serious… You know, I think a lot of people don't want to admit it but deep down, they wonder if this God and Jesus stuff isn't just a big joke…b I mean, it sounds fanciful, right? I get up every week and talk about God becoming a person. I tell stories about him walking on water, or healing people, etc. I talk about how he died - that's not so spectacular but then, I talk about how He brought himself back from the dead… Christianity sounds crazy b Unless it's true… Paul understood this, he wrote to the Corinthian church about this because there were people saying that there was no resurrection of the dead…  That once you die, you are dead… Paul says this…1 Corinthians 15:19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. If it's all a joke, then Christians are dumbest people on the planet…But I have to tell you something. I don't think I'm dumb…So, how do you know if this is all just a big joke? B What if Jesus really did rise from the dead?  What would the implications of that be for your life? What if I could give you some evidence that is worth considering? One of the first things we would have to consider is whether Jesus was even a real person who really died like the Gospels said He did… MUNICH TALMUD. In the 1500's the Pope told the publishers of Jewish works to destroy any mention of Jesus - because they were always negative -so, in the 1500's the family that had the rights to print Jewish Talmud's removed any mentions of Jesus in ancient Jewish lit.-later on they burned all the other manuscripts. Except for the manuscript known as the Munich Talmud-Munich Talmud, existed outside of reach of Pope remained in tact-so, what does it say about Jesus that was worth getting rid of? what's a Talmud?  the Torah = Old Testament. Mishna = oral traditions handed down from Moses. Jesus will talk about traditions of fathers - = traditions are the Mishna. Talmud = rabbinic commentary on the Mishna - make sense?- the Wikipedia of Jewish religious life. Here is what the Munich Talmud says about Jesus…“It was taught: On the Eve of Passover they hung Yeshu the Notzri. And the herald went out before him for forty days [saying]: ‘Yeshu the Notzri will go out to be stoned for sorcery and misleading and enticing Israel [to idolatry].  Any who knows [anything] in his defense must come and declare concerning him.' But no one came to his defense so they hung him on the Eve of Passover.' read 26 page paper on this one paragraph - what basically came down to was because of the nature of the Talmud that most of this paragraph is later additions (like 1300's kind of later) but there is a portion of it that they believe comes from before 70AD - that would mean that there is a portion of this statement that comes directly from Jewish leaders who were familiar with the trial and death of Jesus.  Here is the part they believe comes from Jesus' time…On the Eve of Passover they hung Yeshu the Notzri for sorcery and enticing Israel [to idolatry].We literally just read the charge notes of Jesus that the Sanhedrin wrote down…Pope didn't want people thinking Jesus was a sorcerer and idolater    -but instead of being negative about Jesus    -tells us there really was a Jesus of Nazareth performing acts they considered sorcerer so popular that believed Him to be leading all of Israel to worship God in a different way-this is huge - that they hung him - only way would have hung him would have been Roman crucifixion. Non-Christian source, from time of Jesus telling you  Jesus existed, on the night before Passover -was crucified because He was performing miracles and claiming to be God…This is huge…Jesus existed, but that doesn't mean He rose from the dead. cut to the chase -most convincing reasons I believe in the resurrection  ILLUSTRATION: James brother of Jesus - camel knees because he would go to the temple to pray for the forgiveness of the sins of Israel.  The leaders of the day told him they would take him up on the top of the temple and that He could from the pinnacle confess for all that Jesus did not die and rise again.  James instead got up on top of the temple and began preaching a sermon.  They immediately realized their mistake and they threw him off the temple.   James didn't die - so they started stoning him as he prayed that God would forgive them.  Finally, someone grabbed a club and beat James over the head.   I want you to be clear.  James died because he believed he had seen Jesus raised from the dead.  Period. b Lot's of people will die for a lie they don't know is a lie b A crazy person might die for a lie they know is a lie. But normal people, will not die for a lie they know is a lie.  listen to this…All the apostles (except the apostle John) died because they claimed to have seen Jesus alive after He had died. This is why I'm a Christian ILLUSTRATION: In 2017 around Christmas time in New York city a fire broke out in an apartment building.  The fire started on the first floor and quickly engulfed the 5 story building with flames.  A 28 year old soldier, Emmanuel Mensah was on leave for Christmas and was staying in the apartment with his friends a couple and their 4 children.  Mensah immediately snapped into action and helped get the family of 6 out of the apartment building.  But then he did something heroic.  He went back into the blaze to rescue four more people.  He ran in to try and save a 5th and never returned.  He died in the blaze, a hero, giving his own life so that others could live, dying trying to rescue. As I thought about how the apostles died, clinging to the truth that they witnessed Jesus alive after his own death. b It hit me that they Stood in the Gap, giving their life so I could trust the life Jesus offers me.  Offers you… I told you, I believe in the resurrection because they were willing to die for it.  If they hadn't have died and suffered as well, I don't know that you could convince me that Jesus rose from the dead. But they went into the burning building of death in order to rescue me.  To rescue you. Can you imagine someone who was saved by Mensah talking to his dad and saying “eh, it's not that big of a deal that he died to save me… My guess is for the rest of those peoples lives they will remember the man who went in after them to save their lives. I'm telling you, not only did God come down after you to rescue your life and give you new life b But those who witnessed His life gave their life as well, so you could trust the testimony. why turn back to life as you've known it? Listen, my hope is that today you've been challenged in a way you didn't know you needed to be challenged.-challenged to find true life I want to ask you to consider making a commitment this morning. over the next several weeks, I'm going to be doing a sermon Series called Standing in the Gap, and we are going to be talking about how you can stand in the Gap for future generations as well - and you don't even have to die for it. So, my challenge is this.  Would you try a new experiment and choose to come to church for the next 4 weeks in a row and see what God can do? see if you connecting with the resurrected Jesus isn't as life changing for you as it was for me?

In this special Podcast, I take a look at Passover. Are we instructed to keep Yahweh's Holy Days, such as Passover or do we follow the church tradition of Easter? Listen to this explosive study on what Yahweh has to say about this.What day was the Passover on?  What was the significance of Passover? What does the number of the days have to do with Yahweh? Did Yahweh have a plan for all of this?Is Easter found in the Bible? Just what does Easter mean? Is Easter the correct English word? Who is Ishtar and how is she related to Easter? Now I realize that the conditions set forth by Yahweh differs from what He set forth in the beginning. What caught my interest into these 7 Holy Feasts was the Prophetic Message contained within them.We find that within these 7, 4 are in the season of the spring, while the remaining 3 are in the fall or “harvest. In studying the Prophecy aspect of Yahweh's Words, we realize and conclude that these 7 Holy Feasts play an important role in the Prophecy of Yahshua Messiah concerning the past and the present. Today we will focus on Passover.Let's take a brief view of the first 4 Feasts:The Feast of Passover pointed to Yahshua's death on Calvary as “the Lamb of Yahweh, who taketh away the sin of the world”, John 1:29The Feast of Unleavened Bread attested to the fact that Yahshua's body, unlike all others would not decay in the grave. The Son of Yahweh, in speaking with His Heavenly Father said, “for Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell, neither wilt Thou permit Thine Holy One to see corruption” Psalms 16:10The Feast of Firstfruits proclaimed the certainty of His bodily resurrection. The acceptance by Yahweh of the Firstfruits [sheaf] of the spring barley harvest guaranteed a full harvest to follow. By virtue of the resurrection of Yahshua Messiah, He is the Firstfruits and guarantees that all the Saints within Him will one day rise from the grave.The Feast of Pentecost, which occurs exactly 50 days after Firstfruits [the resurrection of the Messiah] anticipated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the origin of the “Ek-kelsia”. We read in the Jewish Talmud, in the tractate of Sotah, foli #48 it reads in part “when Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel; nevertheless they made use of the Bath Kol.” [a divine voice from Heaven]These 4 events in the life of Yahshua Messiah, which the 4 spring feasts depicted, are history. We can look back at these events and they can be examined as historical facts. We can say that the first 4 set the foundation for the remaining 3. [As I think on this foundation, I think of the Tabernacle, which is to come, and when this Tabernacle comes, then all of His Elect come to dwell in the eternal]The fall Feasts have not yet occurred! They are yet future and predict with absolute certainty, events that will most assuredly unfold. As the 4 spring Feasts were fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with the Messiah's first coming, the 3 Fall Feasts will likewise be fulfilled literally and right on schedule in connection with His second coming.This is a MUST LISTEN show!!Some of the verses/writings that I use: Lev. 23; Deut. 16; John 1:29; Psalms 16:10; Jewish Talmud “Sotah Foli #48”; John 8:39, 12:31, 1:19; Galatians 3:, 29; 1 John 3:8; 2 Corin. 4:3; 1 Peter 5:8, 1:19; Exodus 12; Dr. Bullinger's Appendix 156; Matthew 15:1-6; Colossians 2:8, 20-23; Acts 12:4; Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-25; Ezekiel 8:13-16; 2 Chronicles 8:13, 30:15, 21; Ezra 6:19, 22; Jeremiah 10:2Join with me as we “Unravel the Words of Yahweh” on keeping Passover or Easter!Have any questions? Feel free to email me at utwoy@netzero.net 

A poem on the archangel Sandalphon from the Jewish Talmud. At its conclusion, Longfellow presets his own surprising midrash on the story of Adam and Eve.

Speaking the Truth in Love• Love has a way of changing our minds about what is true.• It doesn’t change the facts but changes what the facts mean and leads us to wisdom. • It changes how people see the world. • It can be a good and beautiful thing to change our minds about what is true considering how we experience the world through the lens of love. • Truth is a tool that build up or tear down, to heal or to bring harm. • If our idea of truth does not include prioritizing love, if it is just about facts; it isn’t true in the broader sense. Misuse of Truth• When the phrase “speaking the truth in love” is used, rarely does the person hearing it feel loved.• Most of the time the phrase is used to convince someone they are being loved even if it does not feel that way. • It is not often used of someone heavily invested in co-laboring with someone in their struggle, but as a way to lob hurtful feelings, walk away and feel guilt-free. • One of the often-used passages to justify such an approach is Galatians 6:1 & 7. • Often the phrase “speaking the truth in love” reveals the assumption that God’s Word and my opinion are the same thing.Redeeming the Phrase• To redeem the phrase, “speaking the truth in love” is to recognize we could be wrong in our interpretation.• There is space between “I know” and “I don’t know”.• It is the place of proper humility. • It is the place we find relationship and growth.• The Jewish Talmud tells the story about the schools of Hillel and Shammai about “God’s true words”.• Each assumed the law was aligned with their views.• The story says that a divine voice came forth and said that the truth are the views of Hillel because they were humble in teachings their own rulings as well as the school of Shammai.• Speaking the truth in love is the acknowledgment that sometimes truth can be taken either way and it is the humble that is nearer to the heart of God.The Flawed Tactic• We often use the phrase “speaking the truth in love” because we believe that people change when we tell them they are sinning and living their life wrong.• If we are interested in transforming someone else’s life, it won’t happen by sharing our unwarranted opinion.• Usually there is something deeper going on.• Many people hide their disgust, discomfort, and anger behind the veil of “speaking the truth in love”.Civil Conversations Projecthttps://onbeing.org/civil-conversations-project/the-six-grounding-virtues-of-the-on-being-project/#300 More Inclusive, Not Less• Speaking the truth in love wants to bring more voices to the table, not less. • Ephesians 4:1-6, 15-16Giving Our Opinion in Love• The key move here is that we don’t call our opinions the truth. • The mistake most of us make is believing we have to choose between “telling the truth” and keeping a friend. • Giving our opinions is not nearly as threatening as “telling the truth” that the other person must agree with.• Most people don’t respond negatively to what we share but to how we share it. Know Your Heart• Being self-aware is essential if you want people to feel loved when you share your opinions. Safety in Conversations (Right time, right place, right way)

‘There is a story in the Jewish Talmud about a king who sent two jesters on an errand. He instructed them, “Foolish Simon, go and bring me back the best thing in the world. And you, Silly John, go and find for me the worst thing in the world.” Both clowns were back in short order, each carrying a pack-age. Simon bowed low and grinned. “Behold, Sire, the best thing in the world.” His package contained a tongue. John snickered and quickly unwrapped his bundle. “The worst thing in the world, Sire.” Another tongue! (Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopaedia of 7,700 Illustrations [Assurance Publishers], # 6387, p. 1422.)’ This story makes the point well, that the tongue has an incredible potential for good and evil. Life and death, corruption or edification, reconcile or divide; Proverbs 18:21 rightly says, ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue.’ Today as we continue in our look at Ephesians we come to this issue of the double edged nature of the tongue, 4:29, ‘Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.’ Lets remember the context. Paul is talking about being new creatures in Christ. He has told us about how the gospel causes us to be a new person and now in light of that newness we must put off the old man’s ways and walk in the ways of the Spirit. We must no longer walk like the Gentiles who do not know God and have not experienced the resurrection power of Christ in regeneration; we must walk in the power of the Spirit and in the likeness of the new man we will one day be in the... Read More Source

In WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY, Dr. George Koch (coke) explains what Christians believe and why we believe it. A clear telling of the Christian faith for EVERYONE - salvation, prayer, loving God and neighbor, baptism, communion, covenants, Jewish roots, worship and more! The purpose is not to know more about God, it is to KNOW GOD MORE.

In WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY, Dr. George Koch (coke) explains what Christians believe and why we believe it. A clear telling of the Christian faith for EVERYONE - salvation, prayer, loving God and neighbor, baptism, communion, covenants, Jewish roots, worship and more! The purpose is not to know more about God, it is to KNOW GOD MORE.

This week we’re back with Dan Duval revealing the seventh part of Exposing Kabbalah to believers. Daniel will be focusing on Tetragrammaton, by exposing how the “sacred name of god” has been used to confuse the body of Christ. Keep in mind, that there are many transliterations of the name of Jesus from several languages all around the world. We must believe in the Son! Expect to hear Daniel talk about: Revision of the second Adam to be Adam KabmanInfiltration of the church to initiate Christians into KabbalahWhat the Jewish (Babylonian) Talmud is actually teachingWhat it actually means to take the Lord’s Name in vaneMacroprosopus being the twist on the image of GodTetragrammaton being a hack on the spirit realmRituals from The Key of Solomon to deploy witchcraftThe wicked fruit of Kabbalah teachingsCompletely replacing the name of Jesus(Yeshua) for magical properties And an exposing many other truths… More on Kabbalah: Be sure to stay tuned in for part eight of the series Exposing Kabbalah! If you have missed the previous Kabbalah series start by listening to the first podcast: https://bridemovement.com/exposing-kabbalah-part-1-what-is-kabbalah/

  This week we’re back with Dan Duval revealing the seventh part of Exposing Kabbalah to believers. Daniel will be focusing on Tetragrammaton, by exposing how the “sacred name of god” has been used to confuse the body of Christ. Keep in mind, that there are many transliterations of the name of Jesus from several languages all around the world. We must believe in the Son! Expect to hear Daniel talk about: Revision of the second Adam to be Adam KabmanInfiltration of the church to initiate Christians into KabbalahWhat the Jewish (Babylonian) Talmud is actually teachingWhat it actually means to take the Lord’s Name in vaneMacroprosopus being the twist on the image of GodTetragrammaton being a hack on the spirit realmRituals from The Key of Solomon to deploy witchcraftThe wicked fruit of Kabbalah teachingsCompletely replacing the name of Jesus(Yeshua) for magical properties And an exposing many other truths… More on Kabbalah: Be sure to stay tuned in for part eight of the series Exposing Kabbalah! If you have missed the previous Kabbalah series start by listening to the first podcast: What is Kabbalah?: https://bridemovement.com/exposing-kabbalah-part-1-what-is-kabbalah/  

Can a lawyer who is trained to rely on evidence still believe in the God of the Bible? Is faith more about feelings than facts? That’s what we’re exploring today on Bleeding Daylight.Reverend Doctor Ross Clifford AM is a former lawyer, a theologian, political commentator, pastor, radio personality, and so much more. He has authored or co-authored over a dozen books. In June, 2010, he was made a member of the Order of Australia.  Leading Lawyers' Case for the Resurrection: https://www.amazon.com.au/Leading-Lawyers-Case-Resurrection-Clifford/dp/1945500638Ross Clifford on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Clifford  (Transcript is a guide only and may not be 100% correct.)Emily Olsen: Wherever there shadows there are people ready to kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight. This is bleeding daylight with your host Rodney Olsen.Rodney Olsen: Can a lawyer who is trained to rely on evidence still believe in the God of the Bible? Is faith more about feelings than facts? That’s what we’re exploring today on Bleeding Daylight.Rodney Olsen: My guest today seems to have had enough careers for several lifetimes. He's a former lawyer, a theologian, political commentator, pastor radio personality, and so much more. He has authored or co-authored over a dozen books. In June, 2010 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and it's a real honour to welcome Reverend Doctor Ross Clifford AM to Bleeding Daylight. Ross. Thanks for your time.Ross Clifford:  Good to be with you, Rodney.Rodney Olsen: Do you get worn out just thinking of all the roads that your life has actually traveled down?Ross Clifford: I don't actually I mean, I find it fascinating, but I think that's going to be the new normal. If I could use that term again that seems to be out there today.I mean, so many people are exploring, you know, different aspects of life and changing vacation and God taking them into other directions. So for me, Rodney has just really been open to where you think you meant to be and where God's taking youRodney Olsen: And a lot of those different careers, so to speak have been simultaneously haven't they?Ross Clifford: Oh, they were and still are, I'm still doing radio and I'm still principal of a theological college and, and writing. And, uh, you know, I just think that's, you know, who I am, that that's what God's called me to do. And I'm pretty comfortable with it.Rodney Olsen: Let's go back to those very early days and your training and work as a lawyer. What drew you to that vocation?Ross Clifford:  It was by chance, in some sense, I was looking for something to do and I left school and school had been pretty rocky and I found myself, uh, in the public service, the Attorney General's Department and discovered if I was going to move forward anywhere as a young, 19 year old, I had to study law. So that's basically how it happened, Rodney. And, uh, through that, I fell in love with law and had a real sense that this was somewhere where I could make a difference. Uh, and so I decided to do community law, really work with people and, and, and, and, you know, not the top end kind of law, which I found so distanced.So I worked at King's cross in Sydney for a while. And then in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek.Rodney Olsen: It must've been some interesting cases that you're working on with the sort of places you were working.Ross Clifford: Oh, absolutely. And a Tennant Creek, for example, in, in the Northern Territory, it was an honor to stand with, uh, indigenous people and a stand for them before the courts.But I must say though, you know, the sense of angst that we hear today was not there. You know, you could work with police and work with magistrates and courts, and I don't know, it just seemed to be a more decent society, if I can say that.Rodney Olsen: So does it concern you that the issues that existed back then don't just still exist, but are being amplified at the moment ?Ross Clifford: They are being amplified and I just don't know why, uh, you know, one would have thought that we would have moved on.We were confronting them. 30, 40 years ago and you would've thought we've moved on, but rather it seems even more hostile, more hatred, more underlying ideologies playing out. And I think we're at a real stage in human history where we have to decide what are our values? Where are we heading? Uh, you know, we won't be taken over by people who have, uh, whatever agendas I have, but we'll work together on this in order to ensure that Australia is the place we wanted to be operating on Christian values, all people are equal. All people have human worth and we can do that together. Rodney.Rodney Olsen: So that wishing that people would move on. That's not a case of, Hey, let's just forget the past. As some people would suggest, of working together to, to overcome that and move on.Ross Clifford: Oh, absolutely. And having sat with indigenous people and represented before courts and done Aboriginal lists in places like Tennant Creek and being a regular lawyer under settlements, like , Warrabri, you know, it's about sitting and listening and hearing and understanding.And, and finding structures that work with that. And we certainly had those structures days, years ago, nothing was perfect, but I'm sure we can do it again. And it's, it's honoring who we are, the past, we've all been through and finding solutions together on that basic Christian principle of human worth and human dignity for all people.But let's be sure, Rodney, we don't let the agenda written take over this. We do it together as decent human beings.Rodney Olsen:  It's interesting that in everything you're talking about, you're bringing this Christian aspect into it and where God is leading you. And that is as a trained lawyer who. Is dealing with the facts who is dealing with the evidence in front of you and yet, so often we hear this dilemma between people of faith and people who are looking at the science and the real evidence. Is there a conflict there at all?Ross Clifford: Ah look, I'm one who knows what it is to doubt, Rodney. And my story is as a lawyer and exploring my Christian faith and being happy and having a real sense that God wanted me in ministry.I came back from Alice Springs and Tennant Creek, and I came back to train for Christian ministry and within six months, I really had such a strong sense of doubt that I was leaving. The, uh, the, uh, the early studies for being a Christian minister and heading back to the Northern territory to practice law and to be involved in, in politics.And it was over the resurrection of Jesus. I still had a God out there, but I wasn't sure that this guy was God. And I wasn't sure what this guy did rise from the dead. And so I was in the, in the middle of that personal angst. So, for me, the resurrection of Jesus and belief in the Christian faith is not just, Oh, that's something that I'd like it to be.I mean, that's hard earned. I mean, God took me through a real cycle of seeing that I could have confidence to place my faith in the person of Jesus Christ.Rodney Olsen: We're talking about an event that happened over 2000 years ago. How do you look at evidence? How do you deal with that conflict that in your own mind and come to a place where you can say, I can believe this?Ross Clifford:  Well, that's a really good question. Uh, and I guess why my training as a a lawyer really helped me there. Uh, but you know, it's not rocket science and the stuff I've written, hopefully, you know, the average Australian can see, it's just common sense. I had to go back Rodney and ask, well, how good are these documents that tell the story of Jesus?And that's just a miracle. Let me tell you. They're better than anything else we have from antiquity. And that's not just me speaking. That's scholars speaking. Yeah. We have 5,000 early Greek copies of the gospels and there's absolutely no doubt, Rodney, that as you read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John you're reading, as it was written.And it goes to one of the most, uh, established and important techs for the resurrection of Jesus is one Corinthians 15 chapter 15. And I don't know how a scholar alive, who does not believe that was written by the apostle Paul. It's a very early writing. And it tells us clearly what he believed, what he believed he saw and what the early church practiced and what they're prepared to lose their lives for.Mate, its just gold mine kind of evidence, if you know what I mean. These documents are good stuff.Rodney Olsen: In one sense, we've got to say, we can look for the evidence that we want to see. Like for instance, I drive a blue Ford Escape. I really didn't know much about Ford Escapes until I bought one. Then every second car on the road seem to be that, cause that's what I was looking for. How do you overcome the bias of just going to seek for what you're after anyway?Ross Clifford: Ah, good question again. And I think skepticism is not inappropriate.  God's asking us to believe in something that is life changing, and calls you and me to put our life into this movement and this cause, you know, being skeptical is not inappropriate, but Rodney, because of skeptical old Roscoe here, imagine what God gave us. You know, if you read one Corinthians 15, you read the gospels, you find, Rodney, the ones who give the best evidence, the ones who saw Jesus die, the ones who saw him buried and the ones who him rise again, are the women. I mean, it's not that the men are not in there somewhere, but the women give you that unbroken chain, uh, in that day, women weren't allowed to give evidence in a court of law.The Jewish historian Lapide says the fact that it's women at the forefront is a sign that this is not an invention. This is not made up in order to get you convicted to these guy's bias. You you'd have Peter and Paul or whatever, being the primary witnesses. It's the women, it's a ring of truth. And then you've got people who were skeptical, who didn't believe in him at all.People like the apostle Paul people, like his half brother James, they were skeptics. They were total skeptics. What turned them around? The resurrection of Jesus. You've got 500 witnesses, Paul says who were out there most are still alive. In our terms, Rodney, it's basically saying, look, here's the app. It's got the list of everybody.You need to know who's around Jerusalem at the time. Uh, you know, check them out. They even throw in stuff like Joseph of Arimathea. They give you the name of the guy who was involved in the burial of Jesus. And they say he's from the Jewish council, the sanhedrin. It's giving you data. You don't do that if you're creating lies,.You can check it out. No, one's come back and say, Oh, Joseph didn't exist. No one came back and said he didn't bury him. I mean, it's just extraordinary. You just sit there and go, Oh my gosh, God wrote this for me.Rodney Olsen: There's a reliance there on the Christian scriptures, but how do we know that they're for real?How do we know that they haven't been reinvented over the years? Is there any evidence coming from outside that, that Christian scripture, that Bible that we know today?Ross Clifford: Oh yeah. I can tell you the whole Jesus story without going to the Bible. I can tell you that he's locked death crucifixion and believed resurrection believed resurrection without going to the scriptures.I mean, from the Jewish Talmud, from historians, like Josephus, uh, from, uh, stories like Tacitus, the Roman historian, you know, that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilot. That's, that's how they understood as historians. And it was believed, says, Josephus. By his disciples that he rose from the dead. So mate, you can get that all out there.Look, Christian philosophers by the name of Moreland had Habermas and they dedate this at Oxford University and whatever, and you and I don't need to do this, but they say there's a number of agreed facts by even the skeptical historians that we could all put out, you know, we could all say, yeah, this happened, the agreed facts are simply things like Jesus existed.Jesus died upon the cross. The disciples believed the disciples believe he rose again. The disciples gave their lives for that belief. And you've got the incredible transformation historically of people like James, his half brother, who was a skeptic, who became a leader of the church and the apostle Paul, who was the major antagonist against the church.He believed Jesus died, but didn't believe in any of this resurrection stuff. He encountered the resurrected Christ and he became a believer. So they say you take those five facts together. You don't need to open your Bible to get those five facts from history. That enough is to say there's a case to answer here.Rodney Olsen: And yet there are still people who are writing books, looking back at history and saying the facts don't stack up. So are they not looking at the evidence? Are we looking at different evidence? How do we account for that?Ross Clifford: Oh, well, you're looking at times, uh, at people who have not looked at the evidence. I remember a debate that took place, uh, in Sydney with a mentor of mine called John Mark Montgomery.Who's a well known lawyer historian. He's got three doctorates. He communicates well with the public and he was the biding, a guy called Plummer from Melbourne who was a lawyer, and it was over these particular matters and someone from the audience asked Montgomery how he could be so sure Jesus existed, died and rose from the grave and the gospels are reliable.And Montgomery took him through the whole thing, 5,000 copies. That means that whether you're Christian or not. 5,000 copies from early dates, different places. You can check the gospels, check the reliability, and you can come as a scholar with a conviction that as you read, these gospels is as they were written.There's no debate about that. With respect to what Paul writes in one Corinthians 15, then you've got to ask, okay, as I read it is, as it was written, but are these truthful witnesses, are they seeking to tell the truth and this basic tests look how they're honest. Look how they share everything. Look at how they believe this.Look, how they died for it. You guys, for all of this. And then Plumber. Who's a lovely guy. a leading lawyer, uh, represent the Skeptics Association. Then someone said to him, well, Mr. Plummer, why don't you believe the gospels are reliable and they told the truth about Jesus and his answer, I kid you not Rodney, his answer was, well anything that Robert Schuller follows must be doubtful.Rodney Olsen: And right there, we have a biasRoss Clifford: Right there. He lost the debate.Rodney Olsen: Does this come back to that thing I was mentioning earlier in that sometimes we're looking for what we want to find?Ross Clifford: Oh, absolutely. I couldn't agree more. And look, I did say healthy skepticism. I'm not saying I can prove that Jesus died and rose again historically a hundred percent.I mean, I can't tell you a hundred percent that Robert Menzies lived and died. I mean, history is always probable. We need to remember that history is always probable, but there's more evidence for Jesus' death and resurrection than there is for Julius Caeser. So, you know, come on. Um, so we know we need to remember that we do have bias.Uh, not dismissing any of that. Uh, I remember Barbara Thieirng, who's a leading Australian skeptic and a really nice woman. I did some study with her, but Barbara said to me, Ross, you just believe this stuff because you have this great need to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. And I said, well, thanks Barbara for pointing that out.And you obviously don't believe this stuff because you have a great need, not to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. And she said, Oh, Ross, come on. Absolute rubbish. This is not just emotion. I don't believe because the facts. Oh, well guess what Barbara? The same thing happens for me. Why do you assume I want the Jesus story to be true?I was very happy being a lawyer, Barbara. I would really love to be in politics. I liked money. I had a happy life. I wasn't running around, saying I need a Jesus story, Barbara, and she got it. We were friends. I'm standing here, not because I don't think any of that other part is relevant. I'm standing here. because mate, I actually believe it happened.Rodney Olsen: And going back to your court days, we hear about this idea of beyond a reasonable doubt. So is that how you convinced yourself? You thought the evidence stacks up and it stacks up beyond a reasonable doubt?Ross Clifford: Yeah, basically. Uh, and of course, you know, that's kind of working, you know, at sort of a God factor.And there are people here that are listening, who may not be Christians and that's fine. Take an honest, look at the evidence for the resurrection, you know, pray. The doubters prayer. Lord, help me, show me if I'm meant to be leaving here or not, but let's look at it. Make and take that sort of strong look at, and I'll be very confident, you'll come to a conclusion that there is a case to answer. But Rodney it gets deeper than that. In my life, when that's happening, you've got the work of the Holy spirit that then brings the conviction that what is mounting up here is more than probable. It is actually true. That's the work of God in your life, but it's not just the truth of the resurrection historical fact.That's nice. That's out there. When you start thinking about it, you all of a sudden discover, that this resurrection thing is mind boggling, Rodney, absolutely mind boggling. Cause we all are looking for worldviews to follow. You have foundations for our life. And the resurrection says if Jesus has resurrected, as Paul says, you and I will be resurrected.It says that God is concerned for you and I, as whole people will be changed and transform yes but our life in the future, Rodney, is as resurrected people before God. And if God's going to raise you and I up to be with him forever, that means he's concerned for you and I now. And that's why it's transformed me.That's why there's Christian hospitals, that's why we're in the forefront of edge of education. That's why Christians have been the forefront of compassion. Resurrection says God's concerned for the whole of me. It's one of the most profound understandings of the world that you can have. And there's atheists out there now all over the place saying, Oh, we mustn't have the fact of the resurrection, but we want the theology, the worldview of the resurrection.I've got news for you. You can't split the package. You can't take, Oh, I want a resurrection but without actually believing in one. Um, and the resurrection has this incredible foundation, Rodney, that, uh, it is true, but more than that, it is life changing. It changes the whole way you see the world. There's a common argument.Rodney Olsen: I hear where people talk about this idea of a moral code or of having morals and they can be quite indignant to say, how dare you say that it is only through religion, only through a faith in a God that, I don't believe in, that I can have a moral stance. I have morals beyond that. What is your answer to that?Ross Clifford: Look, I believe there's truth in most understandings of the world, but it doesn't mean they're necessarily true and I'm sure there's decent people have fair dinkum morals that might be based on Christianity and the like, but in the end, Rodney, what's the test? What's the ultimate test? What puts your moral code against somebody else's moral code?What puts your understanding against another person's understanding? Both of you might be decent, but have very different moral codes. Well, what puts the difference here is if there's a person who died and rose again, and he says, that's the moral code. You have a test, you have a foundation, you have a certainty to the moral code that you are following is just not coming from the pack, it's just not coming from a bunch of good people creating something. As the philosopher. Rousseau said years ago, to have a moral code that you can actually base your life on must come from the gods. Guess what? There is one that does come from God. The resurrection affirms it. .Rodney Olsen: I spoke earlier about the fact that you have authored or co-authored over a dozen books. Let's go back to that first one. You put together something by the title of Leading Lawyers look at the Resurrection. Tell me about that early book.Ross Clifford: Yeah, look, it was actually written for Russia. That's interesting thing. Uh, I was over there with a mission group in Russia after the Gorbachev stuff was all unfolding.And, uh, they said, look, Russians, like to think about things. Can we have a book? We haven't had one that actually points the case for the resurrection. And someone said, Oh, you've done a thesis on stuff like that. And I said, Oh, yeah I could make it very popular, and I did, but the way God works an Australian publisher, John Waterhouse, found out about it, uh, from Strand and then Albatross originally Albatross.And he said, Ross, could you put that into English for us? You know, it was in English, but can we have an English edition and it was, and Rodney  it was my privilege really to launch that book in a real way at the Gorbachev Foundation, with the director of the Gorbachev Foundation, uh, who indicated she'd handed it out to a thousand judges and lawyers at a recent conference.She said the reason why is we are a people of kind of faith, religious faith. We've lost it through communism. We're trying to come back to that. Your book has the faith component, but more than that, she said, you  know, the KGB told us how to decide cases. Whether we were the judge, the prosecutor, defence lawyer.We'd all get a phone call the night before telling us you better, you know, do whatever. We're not used to arguing or presenting a case and not does only your book open us up to the question of faith again, but it shows us how to logically and legally and in a popular way, get our case together. And so that's, that's how it happened, but, uh, you got to remember it's life transforming a number of those lawyers actually brought me out of the darkness.I read this stuff and I looked at the gospels again and I was born again. So, uh, this was very precious to me.Rodney Olsen: So these lawyers have looked at the evidence they've said, yeah, it does stack up how many lawyers were there and are they all believers?Ross Clifford: Yeah, they're all believers. Many of them weren't believers until they started doing, uh, you know, exploring as I've indicated.Oh, there's just a pile of them, uh, including senior lawyers in Australia. Like, Sir Leslie Herron, I mean, The world's most famous lawyer, the world's. most successful lawyer was a guy called Sir Lionel Luckhoo, who was knighted twice by the queen, Rodney. Now I see that Perry Mason's making a comeback, can't wait, all of you who remember the old Perry Mason legal series.Well, Perry Mason got to about 70 murder acquittals, which he won. Then they thought he had to lose one that so no one would believe it. Sir Lionel Luckhoo got 240 murder aquittals, 240 in a row. Um, and he was 63 he had everything, the world's best advocate, you know, knighted twice by the queen, and then he says I had absolutely nothing. And he took a look at Jesus. And Sir Lionel Luckhoo stood up after looking at the evidence and reading the gospels, et cetera, totally convinced that this Jesus had died, buried and rose again. And he committed the rest of his life to sharing the message of Jesus.And it was my privilege. And he came out from the West Indies and launched this book with Clarrie Briese. And so Clarrie Briese was the Chief Magistrate of New South Wales, who's also in the book.Rodney Olsen: There seems to be two sides of this. There is the evidence that as you say, does seem to stack up, it does seem to take us beyond a reasonable doubt, but at the same time, you're speaking about something different. You're speaking about something that goes beyond just reading a set of beliefs and saying, yep. It seems to stack up. I will follow that belief. Tell me more about that.Ross Clifford: Yeah. Look, Rodney. Most Aussies approach things like this two ways.Is it true? Does it work? And many of us start with, does it work? And if we think that it works, then we'll ask , is it true? Others of us ask, is it true? And then we'll say, well, so what.  Well, we've been talking about is it true? Yeah. Does it work? Does it change my life if we hinted at this? Yes. Because the resurrection of Jesus points to resurrection as a state of eternity, you know, transform change.Let's not get literal, but the whole sense is, the whole of Rodney goes  to be with God forever. When you get that kind of context, Rodney, the resurrection brings you incredible message of hope. Hope. I mean, in one of my books, I talk about George Gittoes, who's the war photographer, you know, one of the world's best.And he's in Rwanda at the, you know, at the end of all that incredible civil violence and, uh, ethnic cleansing and he's with a particular tribe with the United Nations and Australian medical team taking photos and whatever. They've been told to leave, because another tribe is coming in to clean out that tribe that they're with.So they get in their cars and whatever you already to leave, can't do anything. And I've got the picture. He took a picture and this guy stands up in the crowd, that's just about to be massacred with machetes, a guy stands up, opens his New Testament and starts reading out the, the hope they have in the Lord, Jesus Christ and Gittoes, and I paraphrase basically said, now I know what religion, Christianity is all about. I mean with all our technology, with all our care, we had to leave and hopefully come back and be able to patch some people up. He stood up in the crowd and offered them, hope, offered them hope. I mean, how powerful is that?I mean, we go through coronavirus. We go through all sorts of situations in our world, and we're reminded today that for many people around our globe, crisis is normal. This is their every day existence. You know, the Corona virus is just one more step in a crisis as normal. And we can say to them, we care for you, we love you. We're going to support you. We're going to support compassion. We're going to support you because simply we understand God cares for everyone, the whole person. Resurrection tells us that cares for all people. And as we care for you and minister to you and seek to share our assets and resources at the same time, we want to hear you, we want you to hear the message. That even in this God, in death, there's only resurrection. There's no other worldview that offers this. Mate, whatever trial, whatever situation. The resurrection of Jesus says God cares. God loves God's understanding. God's been there. He's been on a cross, whatever we faced legally or morally or spiritually or sense of abandonment, he's been through all of that. He's been through false trials. Uh, you know, he's been disowned by friends. Uh, he's physically suffered, been through all of that, and he's the one who's risen. And says, I'm there with you. I'm there with you, Rodney. I mean, it's just profound. It's just, it's just incredibly profound.Rodney Olsen: You're talking about that sense of hope, even in very difficult circumstances. And you touched on that story there from Rwanda of someone standing up with hope for the future because of their faith in Jesus., and yet there's still a massacre. I've been to Rwanda. I've been through the Memorial and, and read the, the heart wrenching stories.And many people would turn around and say, Well, if this God does care for us, if this God does care for the whole person, as you say, why does he not step in at moments like this and hold back the hand of the person who brings the massacre?Ross Clifford: Every understanding of the world, whether you're Christian or Buddhist or atheist really struggles with this issue.It's not just the Christian faith that struggles with it. And I heard a former Prime Minister of Australia, who's an atheist. His the answer to that was, and this guy, achieved so much, he became Prime Minister of Australia. He said, well, I'm just half a grain of sand on the beach. In other words, who cares?Who gives a stuff? It doesn't matter. There's no, God, there's no purpose, and I'm just a half a grain of sand on the beach. And who cares about half a grain of sand on the beach? I mean, I can give a more philosophical answer about, you know, God created a world, which is, which is fair to create where we, as a people had a choice of loving him or not loving him.And we decided to go our own way and there's consequences for all of that. And in those consequences, you know, sin and darkness fill-in, and I can do that mate with time and do that very reasonably, I believe better explanation than any other worldview. But for our purposes today, let me just remind people that in that darkness and that situation, why does God not?Well, you know, they're very difficult questions, but I can say this in answer the God who goes the God who goes through this with us fully understands because he's been there every kind of predicament we could imagine, his son, Jesus went through all of that. So he clearly identifies with us as Hebrews four says, we can cry out to him in honesty, but more than that in the resurrection of Jesus, he says, well, whatever they throw at you in me, there's only resurrection, whatever life throws at you, there's only hope whatever happens is only the empowerment of the Holy Spirit upon you and in your life and grab hold of that truth.Nothing gets close to it. I'm not a half a grain of sand on the beach. The story of the resurrection says I'm valuable. The most significant person in the universe loves me so much, he would die upon a cross for me. Mate when I know that nothing can touch me. Absolutely nothing.Rodney Olsen: I find it interesting that there's not a complete or a, uh, an immediately satisfying answer for that question of why does God allow suffering?There are many attempts that we've heard over the years to come to that. And yet you're saying that, the evidence still stacks up to say that this is for real. So does that mean we don't have to have absolutely everything straight in our mind before we can believe and put our trust in this hope?Ross Clifford: I agree fully. Let me just repeat though. I can give a philosophical answer to the question and if you're interested in people like plan together. Done that. And most secular philosophers have agreed that, that, that it's, it's possible to be an all powerful, all loving God and still create a world where there's freedom and freedom of choice, because you believe that your created beings, your highest created beings, human beings.If you really love them, you're going to give them the choice of whether they love you back. And in that world, there will be evil, and suffering because people choose to go their own way, and Plantinga's philosophically done that question to the satisfaction of the Academy, but I'm trying to work here with myself and everybody else out there, Rodney, and I'm simply saying, you know, we don't have answers to everything. It doesn't mean we shouldn't ask the questions, but when you get an answer that brings you an understanding of the world that is so powerful. So embracive. So empowering and based on a central fact in history, that is just overwhelming, then, you know, I'm moving on.I'm moving on. Some things I'm just going to leave to eternity. You know, Rodney, a few years ago on that program, Q and A, they had a guy on Peter Hitchins. Peter Hitchins is the brother of Christopher Hitchens, who was one of the best known atheists of our time. Now Peter himself had been an atheist, but then he was converted to Christianity.And this Q and A was during the festival of dangerous ideas, and Peter was the only Christian on the panel,  and some of you would not be surprised to hear that, and Tony Jones said, well, okay, let's finish. Let's talk about what we think is the world's most dangerous idea. And he turned to Peter and said, what's the world's most dangerous idea and I paraphrase, but basically said the world's most dangerous idea is that 2000 years, a guy called Jesus lived. died buried, and rose again, because if that's true, it changes and transforms everything. It's the  world's most, dangerous idea, mate. Nothing is the same. If this is true, nothing is the same again.Rodney Olsen:  I find it interesting that that is so transformative, as you're saying. But what does it mean for the here and now for those people who say, yep, I believe in the resurrection, does it stay as a belief or does it dramatically alter the way we live our lives?Ross Clifford: Oh it dramatically alters. Mate if this is true. You've got the risen, God walking with you. Um, if this is true, uh, you celebrate no matter what, that's, why Paul could celebrate in shipwreck and, in hardship, and even facing death because he knew the one who had defeated death was there with him and poured out his Spirit upon him.If it's true, it means that we care for those who are disadvantaged and poor and vulnerable because there's human, dignity and human worth. The basic. Oh, you know, the basic human rights documents like the 1948 declaration of human rights. It's the foundation for the United Nations. That's based on the 10 Commandments. Numerous human rights documents are based on this premise of love God and love your neighbor as yourself.It transforms you  mate,  you've got to care. You've got to be involved. You know, God loves and cares for you. You know, there's a moral code, like a sermon on the Mount that you can live by and put your life to. So it's discipleship changing, right? It's it's, it's the, world's most dangerous idea.Rodney Olsen: I hear ofpeople who say, I've looked at the evidence. I don't believe it and I don't want to believe it and they'll just walk away. But there are other people I hear these voices who say, I can't believe that, but I really wish I could. What would you say to those people?Ross Clifford: Look to the first, I support you've got to live by your own conscience, and if you really believe that's the case.Then, you know, that's what, that's the step that you take, but there are eternal ramifications for that. Many people just turn their back on this thing because they don't want to be controlled by anybody else, but themselves. I mean, they don't want a God out there who tells them how to live life and tells them what the values are and not might actually tell them that they've got to go overseas and make a difference, you know?Um, that's that first group, the second group I understand. And I'd simply say suck it and see. Taste it. Actually ask, what would the resurrection, what would it make a difference in my life? How would it transform my values? How would it transform how I see other people. And uh, if I can see that really making a difference to how I live my world, then step out and say, God, I'm really not so sure about this, but, you know, give me the strength, give me the conviction.Uh, give me people that I can speak to that allow me to cement this. So take a step, take a step towards Jesus. And you'll find that after one step two steps, three steps, four steps, five steps. You'll wake up one morning and think, Oh my gosh. I'm in.Rodney Olsen: It's interesting that there are those camps that you're talking about, but there are also those in the camp that say, I've seen what Christians are like.They're a group of people that are against this against that, and they seem to be very hateful.Ross Clifford: Oh, and I understand that. I mean, the McCrindle research shows that the number one objection, that people who are open to faith have to the Christian faith is Christians themselves. The basic problem that the community or they seeking a faith have is not God.The number one problem they have is us and  I understand that. And that's a real call for us to get our lives together, but just remember Rodney, that we have charities, Tim Costello, you know, who was the CEO of World Vision a again, I quote, but I think he said something like 90% of charities and NGOs in Australia began from a Christian involvement and movement.So we need to bear that in mind. Mother Teresa. I mean, you can just go global, all sorts of people. Catherine Hamlin who's just passed away in Ethiopia. Who must be the Australian of the last 10 years who spent 50 years there, uh, creating fistula hospitals, so women could give birth, have, uh, awkward results and not be outcasts in tribes, but actually come back and live with their kids and their husband in the major community.She's committed her life to that, man. We can repeat that, time and time again. And just remember how we started this. Plummer said why don't I believe in the gospels, he said anyone who believes, anything Robert Schuller believes in, I can't believe. And that's no answer. You know, it's a concern that you find people that you don't think you're authentic, but you know, I'm offering you Jesus.I'm not offering you me. I'm not offering you Rodney Olsen. I'm offering you Jesus. Look at him. Transform and change world's most dangerous. I didn't, no one is perfect, but my gosh, mate, it is it's mind boggling stuff.Rodney Olsen: So if anyone has heard something today and they think. I need to investigate this further. Where would you send them?Ross Clifford: Oh, well, you know,without being rude, Leading Lawyers Look at the Resurrection, is a book that I've written that people might find helpful. There's some books out there that guys like John Dickson have written. Some of you might've heard, uh, that, uh, that name, I mean, you find some of those helpful, um, it's really not hard to find a book like that, that gives you that kind of background and impetus, but also don't forget to just read your gospels.Maybe you've never read one before. Read John's gospel look up in your index in a Bible and you get Bibles anywhere. Look up in your index, or you can even Google it. You can Google John's gospel for nothing. Uh, look for the NIV translation. Just read it through, ask God to go with you on the journey and then read one Corinthians 15, uh, chapter 15 of the book of one Corinthians written by Paul.No doubt about that. Early read what he says about what happened and transformed and who saw that and just go to those texts with an open heart.Rodney Olsen: There's plenty for people to think about and to investigate further. I love your passion for what you're doing. I love your passion for that resurrection message that you carry. Ross. I want to say thank you for spending some time with us today.Ross Clifford: Good to be with you, mate. God bless you, Rodney. God bless everyone.Emily Olsen: Thank you for listening to bleeding daylight. Please help us to shine more light into the darkness by sharing this episode with others. For further details and more episodes, please visit BleedingDaylight.net

In this lesson, the Lord gave the second recorded sermon of His earthly ministry.  Interestingly, most people do not know this sermon by its name; nor do they realize how powerful it is, for it is Christ's defense of His claim to equality with God!  It is called "The Sermon on the Judgment and Resurrection Power of the Son" (John 5:19-30, 40-47).   In the sermon, Jesus gave Israel five significant truths about Himself, about His relationship with God, Who He "dared" to call His "Father" (because it is true), and about His real power.  Did you know that the Father has given all judgment over to His Son (5:21-23)?  Who will sit on "The Bema Seat" to judge the works of believers?  Who will be the Judge of "The Sheep and the Goats" at the end of the Tribulation?  Who will sit on the Great White Throne at the judgment of all unbelievers following the Millennial Kingdom?  Answer: God the Son, Jesus Christ.   Also included in this lesson are five witnesses the Lord Jesus presented to prove that His own witness of His Identity is true (5:31-39).  THEN, we get into a discussion of some of the ludicrous traditions the Pharisees had devised over the years regarding the Sabbath.  They had added 1,512 man-made restrictions to God's original commandment about the Sabbath!  In the Jewish Talmud, there are 24 chapters containing Sabbath regulations!  Talk about a heavy yoke!

The Jewish Talmud lists 10 Birth Pangs of Messiah. Christians understand these refer to events leading up to the time when Israel will be birthed into the Messianic age, signs that occur before the Second Coming of Jesus.

In this episode, Jonathan and Jordon lament the recent rise of anti-semitism, as well as praise the uniting of Jewish Talmud scholars. Plus, this week's Torah portion sees the end of the saga of Joseph and his penchant for interpreting dreams and his reunion with family.  Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/AmericanJewPod Follow us on Instagram: Instagram.com/AmericanJewPodcast Check out our FB page: Facebook.com/AmericanJewPodcast Email us: AmericanJewPodcast@gmail.com

Daniel 4As an overarching theme for this sermon series we will consider Peter's conclusion regarding eschatology and daily life: 2 Peter 3:11-18. Eschatology is not intended to be informational, but transformational as it gives the believer incredible hope and trust in God.Nebuchadnezzar has a second dream. This time, however, the text is recorded by the king himself and included in Daniel's prophetic book.The Jewish Talmud says: “Of every proud person God says: He and I cannot live together in the world.”Pride is a major theme in this chapter and yet I would contend that this is not the central lesson. God's sovereign rule over all things - even the king's heart - is the central theme. As we consider these things this morning we will move through the following outline:The proclamation of the King 4:1-4The king's dream 4:5-18The explanation for the King 4:19-27The king's pride 4:28-33The conversion of the King 4:34-37Along the way I explain the reference to “seven times” (4:16, 23 and 32) as a possible “bridge term” to account for the different calendars of the day.The Assyrian empire used a lunisolar calendar that started in the Spring, counted 12 months of 30 days, and a ten-day week.The Babylonean lunisolar calendar consisted of 12 months of 30 days, a 7-day week, and three seasons (beginning, middle, and end of the year). The Jewish calendar followed the Babyloneans with the exception that they recognized four seasons. These calendars employed a thirteenth "intercalation" month to readjust according to the seasons.The Egyptian calendar was a solar calendar with 365 days and the year consisted of three seasons of 120 days each, divided into weeks that had 7 or 8 days.The Babylonean empire was the first empire to span so much territory and swallow up so many conquered people groups. Perhaps this use of "times" was a universal way of referring to a full cycle of the seasons (regardless of how many seasons or days you count in a year). Therefore seven times refers to seven cycles of the seasons, meaning seven years.It is noteworthy that Nebuchadnezzar is given a (very specific) twelve month grace period before he boasts on his rooftop and is stricken with madness (4:29). Here the text is specific, which is why I lean toward this (also specific) understanding of "times".My conclusion is to point out God's work in the characters in Daniel.Daniel and his friends learn: God is God and I am not. Even in the most difficult of circumstances.Daniel teaches us: Be faithful where God places you, give Him all the glory, love people and leave the rest up to Him.Nebuchadnezzar learns: who the most high God is, that the most high God saves spectacularly, and the most high God demands humble repentance.Do you acknowledge that the most High God reigns?

Paul’s appeals to Timothy: • Be bold in the faith (1:6,7) • Be strong in Christ’s grace (2:1) • Join in suffering for the gospel (1:8; 2:2) • Avoid meaningless arguments (2:14,16) • Separate from false teachers (2:21) • Flee evil / Purse righteousness (2:22) • Be kind those who oppose you and teach them (2:24-25) Chapter 3 provides a contrast between an unbelieving world and a believer. The contrast is stark. The world is overcome by evil. They walk in it and are ruined by it. The believer escapes evil’s corruption. He/she walks in goodness and is rescued by the Lord Jesus Christ from ruin. 1. The times of evil (1a) 2. The severity of evil (1b) 3. The specifics of evil (2-5) 4. The creep of evil (6-7) 5. The limit of evil (8-9) 6. The alternative to evil (10-13) – John Piper 2 Timothy 3:1-5 1. The times of evil – the last days We are in the last days. They began with Jesus’ first coming. “In these last days God has spoken to us by his Son.” (Heb 1:2) Wickedness will intensify before Jesus’ second coming. 2. The severity of evil – fierce Fierceness of evil will come. We cannot grow disillusioned with growing evil. We are pilgrims and strangers here. God’s people have always been the minority, the remnant. 3. The specifics of evil – ravaging Sin ravages the human soul. It twists, corrupts, ruins, and condemns us under God’s right judgment. We must care about our own holiness. And about unbelievers caught in sin. 2 Timothy 3:6-7 4. The creep of evil – deceptive Paul is referring to specific circumstances of false teachers who have led women astray. Evil creeps in and attempts to capture the weak and burdened by sin. It leads astray people who are not grounded in truth. An important ministry of the church is to ground men, women and children in the truth of the Scriptures, that they may not be carried away by a lie. 2 Timothy 3:8-9 5. The limit of evil – finite Jannes and Jambres are names given in the tradition of the Jewish Talmud of the two magicians in Egypt that opposed Moses in Exodus 7. When God worked through Moses to bring about the plagues, they reproduced the first three. They reproduced 3 but could not reproduce all 10. They were false. The power of their wickedness could not match the power of God. Evil will have its time, but everyone will stand before the judgment of God. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” – 2 Corinthians 5:10 2 Timothy 3:10-13 6. The alternative to evil – the Christian path Life of wickedness: Narcissistic, materialistic, proud, arrogant, abusive, rebellious, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, unrestrained, brutal, opposed to goodness, treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure not God Life of the Christian: Following Christian teaching, conduct, purpose and faith; patience, persecution, and suffering; and, ultimately, rescued by the Lord. (10-11) Paul is NOT saying that the Lord rescued him from suffering, but something else. Could be that the Lord saved his physical life, but he may have something bigger in mind: The Lord rescued Paul from turning from faith in Christ, from Christ’s goodness, from his destiny with Christ, and his future reward of glory w/ Christ.

Why do Catholics have a longer version of Esther than the one found in Jewish and Protestant Bibles? Who has the correct version? Is Esther fiction or a fulfilment of Bible prophecy? What does the Jewish Talmud say the shorter version of Esther (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Baba Bathra 15a)?

Investigating Jesus Part 3   Welcome back to this series “Investigating Jesus Christ”. Together we are exploring the life of the most amazing person who ever lived - Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We will investigate together who this man was and why he matters.Today we continue looking at some of the evidences outside of the Bible for the existence of the man we know as Jesus Christ. Josephus (37-101AD) Jewish Antiquities, 18.3.3 “Now around this time lived Jesus, a wise man. For he was a worker of amazing deeds and was a teacher of people who gladly accept the truth. He won over both many Jews and many Greeks. Pilate, when he heard him accused by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, (but) those who had first loved him did not cease (doing so). To this day the tribe of Christians named after him has not disappeared.” Jewish Talmud (400-700AD) (b. Sanhedrin 43a) “Jesus practiced magic and led Israel astray” “It was taught: On the day before the Passover they hanged Jesus. A herald went before him for forty days (proclaiming), “He will be stoned, because he practiced magic and enticed Israel to go astray. Let anyone who knows anything in his favour come forward and plead for him.” But nothing was found in his favour, and they hanged him on the day before the Passover."   As we have hopefully seen clearly, there is much evidence for the man we know as Jesus Christ from writings outside of the Bible. These are only a handful of sources which give good evidence for His existence. You may like to do your own investigation into the evidences: whether you are not a Christian, been a Christian for a long time or just begun being a Christian. Go for it! Discover extra WOW factors about this Jesus for yourself! We continue next week, looking at the evidence in the Bible.  Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file ~ You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site! Click or tap on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!

National Spaghetti Day - How it Came to Be: January 4th, Ep4Welcome to episode 4 of the Weird, Wacky, and Traditional Holiday Show: How They Came to Be”. I’m your host, Stephen Carter. With each daily episode, we identify at least one of the official or unofficial holidays celebrated that day and explore how that day came to be. Today’s featured holiday is, well, I gave it away already, National Spaghetti Day!Here are a few fun facts about pasta in general and my favorite food in particular.•There’s evidence that food similar to pasta noodles was eaten in China starting about 5,000 B.C.•The first written record of what we now call pasta appeared in the Jewish Talmud in the 5th Century A.D.•There is evidence a form of pasta similar to today’s spaghetti appeared in Sicily in the 12 Century A.D.•Contrary to popular history, Marco Pollo did not introduce pasta to Europeans. •Thomas Jefferson brought pasta back to the United States when he returned from Naples, Italy in 1789. •Spaghetti became popular in the United States when Italians began immigrating in large numbers in the late 19th Century.•According to the International Pasta Organization, the annual per capita consumption of pasta in the U.S. is close to 20 lbs. Annual per capita consumption in Italy, is a whopping 57 lbs. I can tell you, I’m doing my best to raise that number in the United States! When Was National Spaghetti Day Born?When was National Spaghetti day born? Alas, despite diligent research by many people, we don’t know. We do know there is no Presidential or Congressional declaration. There is also another day pasta lovers should know about. October 17, is National Pasta Day. Unfortunately, the origins of that holiday are also lost in the historical mist. Again, there’s no Presidential or Congressional proclamation about National Pasta Day.Proclamations or not, I for one am happy to celebrate both days by enjoying a heaping helping of spaghetti on January 4th, on October 17th, and on as many other days as possible.If you decide to cook up a spaghetti meal or you simply want to share your love of this delicious pasta on Twitter, use the hash tag  #NationalSpaghettiDay.Speaking of gustatory delights, join us tomorrow, January 5th to learn about National Whipped Cream Day! To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to this, “Weird and Wacky Holidays Show” on Apple Podcasts or through your podcast listening service of choice. You can also listen to each episode and subscribe by visiting our website, www.WeirdWackyandTraditionalHolidays.com.

National Spaghetti Day - How it Came to Be: January 4th, Ep4Welcome to episode 4 of the Weird, Wacky, and Traditional Holiday Show: How They Came to Be”. I’m your host, Stephen Carter. With each daily episode, we identify at least one of the official or unofficial holidays celebrated that day and explore how that day came to be. Today’s featured holiday is, well, I gave it away already, National Spaghetti Day!Here are a few fun facts about pasta in general and my favorite food in particular.•There’s evidence that food similar to pasta noodles was eaten in China starting about 5,000 B.C.•The first written record of what we now call pasta appeared in the Jewish Talmud in the 5th Century A.D.•There is evidence a form of pasta similar to today’s spaghetti appeared in Sicily in the 12 Century A.D.•Contrary to popular history, Marco Pollo did not introduce pasta to Europeans. •Thomas Jefferson brought pasta back to the United States when he returned from Naples, Italy in 1789. •Spaghetti became popular in the United States when Italians began immigrating in large numbers in the late 19th Century.•According to the International Pasta Organization, the annual per capita consumption of pasta in the U.S. is close to 20 lbs. Annual per capita consumption in Italy, is a whopping 57 lbs. I can tell you, I’m doing my best to raise that number in the United States! When Was National Spaghetti Day Born?When was National Spaghetti day born? Alas, despite diligent research by many people, we don’t know. We do know there is no Presidential or Congressional declaration. There is also another day pasta lovers should know about. October 17, is National Pasta Day. Unfortunately, the origins of that holiday are also lost in the historical mist. Again, there’s no Presidential or Congressional proclamation about National Pasta Day.Proclamations or not, I for one am happy to celebrate both days by enjoying a heaping helping of spaghetti on January 4th, on October 17th, and on as many other days as possible.If you decide to cook up a spaghetti meal or you simply want to share your love of this delicious pasta on Twitter, use the hash tag  #NationalSpaghettiDay.Speaking of gustatory delights, join us tomorrow, January 5th to learn about National Whipped Cream Day! To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to this, “Weird and Wacky Holidays Show” on Apple Podcasts or through your podcast listening service of choice. You can also listen to each episode and subscribe by visiting our website, www.WeirdWackyandTraditionalHolidays.com.

Relentless Philippians 3:1-6  Beware . . .   Be careful of those who seek to sabotage the truth regarding salvation.   ·         Look out for the “dogs.”—those who are the scavengers; who roam; not tame ·         Look out for the “evildoers.”—those who are religious, but deny salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. ·         Look out for the “flesh mutilators.”—also known as the false circumcision; outwardly they follow the Law, but inwardly their hearts are uncircumcised. (Genesis 17:9-14; Romans 2:25-29; Galatians 1:6-10; 6:11-16)   o   Judaizers—tried to convince people that unless a male was circumcised physically, according to the Law, they could not be ina right relationship with God. §  The Jewish Talmud says, "The commandment of circumcision is more important than all the other injunctions of Scripture.”   Good works are never a substitute or supplement for Christ’s righteous saving work on the cross.    ·         My achievements do not take care of my sin problem; Christ’s righteousness does.  o   It’s not about how relentlessly we pursue religion and keep religious rules that make us right with God.  It is God’s relentless pursuit of us through His Son Jesus Christ that we have been made His own, and now, as a result, we relentlessly pursue the One who rescued us by His great salvation.    Be Certain . . .   True salvation is found by putting your full confidence in Christ for the forgiveness of sin. ·         The true “circumcision.” “ . . . and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.  His praise is not from man but from God.”  Romans 2:29b ·         Those who worship by the Spirit of God. ·         Those who glory in Christ Jesus. ·         Those who do not put confidence in the flesh.     Paul’s Checklist . . .    If personal achievement and ancestry could qualify someone for salvation, Paul would have been the model candidate. ·         Circumcised the 8th day. ·         Of the people of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin. ·         A Hebrew of Hebrews. ·         A Pharisee who excelled. ·         A zealot against those who broke the Law. ·         A strict follower of the Law; blameless.   Paul’s conclusion . . .   The trappings of religion never satisfy your soul; only a relationship with Christ quenches that for which your soul truly needs and longs.    What’s Your Conclusion . . .?  

More than 45% of Israel's population has completed post secondary education Stories of Israeli doctors saving lives around the world and training third-world health care professionals, not to mention saving the lives of her enemies' children... Israeli drug companies are taking down killer diseases one by one...Cancer, diabetes...no disease shall remain un-cured or non-vaccinated against... Listen to the stories... Plus...Oliver Stone's son converts to Islam...in Iran!! All this and more on The Marty Roberts Show

This episode of Communio Santorum is titled, “And In the East – Part 2.”In our last episode, we took a brief look at the Apostle Thomas' mission to India. Then we considered the spread of the faith into Persia. Further study of the Church in the East has to return to the Council of Chalcedon in the 5th C where Bishop Nestorius was condemned as a heretic.As we've seen, the debate about the deity of Christ central to the Council of Nicea in 325, declared Jesus was of the same substance as the Father. It took another hundred years before the deity-denying error of Arianism was finally quashed. But even among orthodox & catholic, Nicean-holding believers, the question was over how to understand the nature of Christ. He's God – got it! But he's also human. How are we to understand His dual-nature. It was at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 that issue was finally decided. And the Church of the East was deemed to hold a position that was unorthodox.The debate was sophisticated & complex, and not a small part decided more by politics than by concern for theological purity. The loser in the debate was Bishops Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople. To make a complex issue simple, those who emphasized the unity of the 2 natures came to be called the Monophysites = meaning a single nature. They regarded Nestorius as a heretic because he emphasized the 2 natures as distinct; even to the point of saying Nestorius claimed Jesus was 2 PERSONS. That's NOT what Nestorius said, but it's what his opponents managed to get all but his closest supporters to believe he said. In fact, when the Council finally issued their creedal statement, Nestorius claimed they only articulated what he'd always taught. Even though the Council of Chalcedon declared Nestorianism heretical, the Church of the East continued to hold on to their view in the dual nature of Christ, in opposition to what they considered the aberrant view of monophysitism.By the dawn of the 6th C, there were 3 main branches of the Christian church:The Church of the West, which looked to Rome & Constantinople for leadership.The Church of Africa, with its great center at Alexandria & an emerging center in Ethiopia;And the Church of the East, with its center in Persia.As we saw last episode, the Church of the East was launched from Edessa at the border between Northern Syria & Eastern Turkey. The theological school there transferred to Nisibis in Eastern Turkey in 471. It was led by the brilliant theologian Narsai. This school had a thousand students who went out from there to lead the churches of the East. Several missionary endeavors were also launched from Nisibis – just as Iona was a sending base for Celtic Christianity in the far northwest. The Eastern Church mounted successful missions among the nomadic people of the Middle East & Central Asia between the mid-5th thru 7th Cs. These included church-planting efforts among the Huns. Abraham of Kaskar who lived during the 6th C did much to plant monastic communities throughout the East.During the first 1200 years, the Church of the East grew both geographically & numerically far more than in the West. The primary reason for this is because in the East, missionary work was largely a movement of the laity. As Europe moved into the Middle Ages with its strict feudal system, travel ground to a standstill, while in the East, trade & commerce grew. This resulted in the movement of increasing numbers of people who carried the Faith with them.Another reason the Church in the East grew was persecution. As we saw last time, before Constantine, the persecutions of the Roman Empire pushed large numbers of believers East. Then, when the Sassanids began the Great Persecution of Christians in Persia, that pushed large numbers of the Faithful south & further East. Following the persecution that came under Shapur II, another far more severe round of persecution broke out in the mid-5th C that saw 10 bishops and 153,000 Christians massacred within a few days.When we think of Arabia, many immediately think of Islam. But Christianity had taken root in the peninsula long before Muhammad came on the scene. In fact, a bishop from Qatar was present at the Council of Nicea in 325!  The Arabian Queen Mawwiyya, whose forces defeated the Romans in 373, insisted on receiving an orthodox bishop before she would make peace. There was mission-outreach to the south-eastern region of Arabia, in what is today Yemen before the birth of Muhammad by both Nestorian & Monophysite missionaries. By the opening of the 6th C, there were dozens of churches all along the Arabian shore of the Persian Gulf.The rise of Islam in the 7th C was to have far-reaching consequences for the Church in the East. The Persian capital at Ctesiphon fell to the Arabs in 637. Since the Church there had become a kind of Rome to the Church of the East, the impact was massive. Muslims were sometimes tolerant of religious minorities but only as communities of the disenfranchised known as dhimmi. They became ghettoes stripped of their vitality. At the same time, the Church of the East was being shredded by Muslim conquests, it was taking one of its biggest steps forward by reaching into China in the mid 7th C.While the Church of the West grew mostly by the work of trained clergy & the missionary monks of Celtic Christianity, in the East, as often as not, it was Christian merchants & craftsmen who advanced the Faith. The Church of the East placed great emphasis on education and literacy. It was generally understood being a follower of Jesus meant an education that included reading, writing & theology. An educated laity meant an abundance of workers capable of spreading the faith – & spread it they did!  Christians often found employment among less advanced people, serving in government offices, & as teachers & secretaries. They helped solve the problem of illiteracy by inventing simplified alphabets based on the Syriac language which framed their own literature & theology.While that was at first a boon, in the end, it proved a hindrance. Those early missionaries failed to understand the principle of contextualization; that the Gospel is super-cultural; it transcends things like language & traditions. Those early missionaries who pressed rapidly into the East assumed that their Syrian-version of the Faith was the ONLY version & tried to convert those they met to that. As a consequence, while a few did accept the faith & learned Syrian-Aramaic, a few generations later, the old religions & languages reasserted themselves and Christianity was either swept away or so assimilated into the culture that it wasn't really Biblical Christianity any longer.The golden age of early missions in Central Asia was from the end of the 4th C to the latter part of the 9th. Then both Islam & Buddhism came onto the scene.Northeast of Persia, the Church had an early & extensive spread around the Oxus River. By the early 4th C the cities of Merv, Herat & Samarkand had bishops.Once the Faith was established in this region, it spread quickly further east into the basin of the Tarim River, then into the area north of the Tien Shan Mountains & Tibet. It spread along this path because that was the premier caravan route. With so many Christians engaged in trade, it was natural the Gospel was soon planted in the caravan centers.In the 11th C the Faith began to spread among the nomadic peoples of the central Asian regions. These Christians were mostly from the Tartars & Mongol tribes of Keraits, Onguts, Uyghurs, Naimans, and Merkits.It's not clear exactly when Christianity reached Tibet, but it most likely arrived there by the 6th C. The territory of the ancient Tibetans stretched farther west & north than the present-day nation, & they had extensive contact with the nomadic tribes of Central Asia. A vibrant church existed in Tibet by the 8th C. The patriarch of the Assyrian Church in Mesopotamia, Timothy I, wrote from Baghdad in 782 that the Christian community in Tibet was one of the largest groups under his oversight. He appointed a Tibetan patriarch to oversee the many churches there. The center of the Tibetan church was located at Lhasa and the Church thrived there until the late 13th C when Buddhism swept through the region.An inscription carved into a large boulder at the entrance to the pass at Tangtse, once part of Tibet but now in India, has 3 crosses with some writing indicating the presence of the Christian Faith. The pass was one of the main ancient trade routes between Lhasa and Bactria. The crosses are stylistically from the Church of the East, and one of the words appears to be “Jesus.” Another inscription reads, “In the year 210 came Nosfarn from Samarkand as an emissary to the Khan of Tibet.” That might not seem like a reference to Christianity until you take a closer look at the date. 210! That only makes sense in reference to measuring time since the birth of Christ, which was already a practice in the Church.The aforementioned Timothy I became Patriarch of the Assyrian church about 780. His church was located in the ancient Mesopotamian city of Seleucia, the larger twin to the Persian capital of Ctesiphon. He was 52 & well past the average life expectancy for people of the time. Timothy lived into his 90's, dying in 823. During his long life, he devoted himself to spiritual conquest as energetically as Alexander the Great had to the military kind.  While Alexander built an earthly empire, Timothy sought to expand the Kingdom of God.At every point, Timothy's career smashes everything we think we know about the history of Christianity at that time. He alters ideas about the geographical spread of the Faith, its relationship with political power, its cultural influence, & its interaction with other religions. In terms of his prestige & the geographical extent of his authority, Timothy was the most significant Christian leader of his day; far more influential than the pope in Rome or the patriarch in Constantinople. A quarter of the world's Christians looked to him as both a spiritual & political head.No responsible historian of Christianity would leave out Europe. Omitting Asia from the record is just as unthinkable. We can't understand Christian history without Asia or Asian history without Christianity. The Church of the East cared little for European developments. Timothy I knew about his European contemporary Charlemagne. The Frankish ruler exchanged diplomatic missions with the Muslim Caliphate, a development of which the leader of the Church in the East would have been apprised.  Timothy also knew Rome had its own leader called the Pope. He was certainly aware of the tension between the Pope & the Patriarch of Constantinople over who was the de-facto leader of the Christian world. Timothy probably thought their squabble silly. Wasn't it obvious that the Church of the East was heir to the primitive church? If Rome drew its authority from Peter, Mesopotamia looked to Christ himself. After all, Jesus was a descendant of that ancient Mesopotamian Abraham. And wasn't Mesopotamia the original source of culture & civilization, not to mention the location of the Garden of Eden? It was the East, rather than the West, that first embraced the Gospel. The natural home of Christianity was in Mesopotamia & Points East. According to the geographical wisdom of the time, Seleucia stood at the center of the world's routes of trade & communication, equally placed between the civilizations that looked respectively to the West & the East.All over the lands of modern-day Iraq & Iran believers built huge & enduring churches. Because of its setting close to the Roman frontier, but far enough beyond to avoid interference—Mesopotamia retained a powerful Christian culture that lasted through the 13th C. Throughout the European Middle Ages the Mesopotamian church was as much a cultural & spiritual Christian headquarters as France or Germany or even that outstanding missionary base of Ireland.Several Mesopotamian cities like Basra, Mosul, Kirkuk, & Tikrit were thriving centers of Christianity for centuries after the arrival of Islam. In 800 AD, these churches & the schools attached to them were repositories of the classical scholarship of the Greeks, Romans & Persians that Western Europe would not access for another 400 years!Simply put, there was no “Dark Age” in the Church of the East. From Timothy I's perspective, the culture & scholarship of the ancient world was never lost. More importantly, the Church of the East countenanced no break between the primitive church that rose in Jerusalem in the Book of Acts and themselves.Consider this: We can easily contrast the Latin-speaking, feudal world of the European Middle Ages with the ancient Middle-Eastern church rooted in a Greek & Aramaic speaking culture. The Medieval Church of Europe saw itself as pretty far removed from the Early Church. Both in language & thought forms, they were culturally distinct & distant.  But in Timothy I's time, that is, the early 9th C, the Church of the East still spoke Greek & Aramaic. Its members shared the same basic Middle Eastern culture & would continue to do so for centuries. As late as the 13th, they still called themselves “Nazarenes,” a title the first Christians used. They called Jesus “Yeshua.” Clergy were given the title “rabban” meaning teacher or master, related to the Hebrew – “rabbi.”Eastern theologians used the same literary style as the authors of the Jewish Talmud rather than the theological works of Western Europe. As Philip Jenkins says, if we ever wanted to speculate on what the early church might have looked like if it had developed while avoiding its alliance with Roman state power, we have but to look East.Repeatedly, we find Patriarch Timothy I referring to the fact that the Churches of the East used texts that were lost to & forgotten in the West. Because of their close proximity to the setting of so much Jewish and early Christian history, Eastern scholars had abundant access to ancient scriptures & texts. One hint of what was available comes from one of Timothy's letters.Written in 800, Timothy answered the questions of a Jew in the process of converting to Christianity. This Jew told the Patriarch of the recent finding of a large hoard of ancient manuscripts, both biblical & apocryphal, in a cave near Jericho. The documents had been acquired by Jerusalem's Jewish community. Without much doubt, this was an early find of what later came to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Thank God, this early find didn't move treasure hunters to ransack the other caves of the area! In any case, as now, scholars were thrilled at the discovery. Timothy responded with all the appropriate questions. He wanted to know what light the find might shed on some passages of Scripture he was curious about. He was eager to discover how the newfound texts compared with the known Hebrew versions of the OT. How did they compare with the Greek Septuagint? Timothy was delighted to hear back that the passages he was concerned about did indeed exist in the ancient manuscripts.Timothy's questions are impressive when we compare them to what Western Latin scholars would have made of such a find. They had no idea of the issues Timothy raised. They could not even have read the language of the ancient manuscripts. Only a handful of Western scholars would even have known how to hold the manuscripts: for instance—which way was up and how do you read them, from left to right or vice-versa?The Church of the East Timothy I led was devoted to both scholarship & missionary activity. While the Latin Church saw the Atlantic Ocean as a wall blocking expansion to the West, the Church of the East saw Asia as a vast region waiting to be evangelized.The Eastern Church was divided into regions known as Metropolitans. A Metropolitan was like an archbishop, under whom were several bishops, to whom a number of priests & their churches reported. To give you an idea of how vast the church of the East was – Timothy had nineteen metropolitans & eighty-five bishops reporting to him. In the West, England had two archbishops. During Timothy's tenure as Patriarch, five new metropolitan sees were created near Tehran, in Syria, Turkestan, Armenia, & one on the Caspian Sea. Arabia had at least four bishops & Timothy ordained a new one in Yemen.Timothy I was to the Church of the East what Gregory I had been to the Western Church in terms of missionary zeal. He commissioned monks to carry the faith from the Caspian Sea all the way to China. He reported the conversion of the great Turkish king, called the khagan, who ruled most of central Asia.In our next episode, we'll take a look at the Gospel's reach into the Far East.I want to invite you once again to visit us on Facebook – just do a search for The History of the Christian Church, give the page a “like” and leave a comment about where you live.I also want to thank those subscribers who've left a review on iTunes for the podcast. Your comments have been so generous & kind. Thanks much to all. More than anything, it's those reviews on iTunes that help get the word out about the podcast.And last, as I engage this revision of Season 1 of CS, new subscribers will hear the revision, but then may get to episodes from the prior version that haven't been done yet. So, you may hear an occasional remark that CS doesn't take donations. We didn't originally and didn't need to because I was able to absorb the costs personally. As the podcast has grown, I can't do that anymore and am now taking donations. Seriously, anything helps. So, if you want to donate, go to the sanctorum.us site and use the secure donate feature. Thanks.