���������������������� The Doctrine Of Christ
Whenever anyone mentions "Doctrine" today, it brings up a negative image to the mind, because of the manipulation of the media and its never ending drive to destroy Christianity. But Christians MUST ask themselves the question: "Is Doctrine Important?" "How important is doctrine?" If you ask that question of most Christians, they will emphatically say, "It is very important!" However, they will, then, go on to say, "Well, it depends." And then they justify their answer to some extent by saying, �"We shouldn't be so dogmatic in our doctrines that we break or intrude on Christian fellowship among other Christians and people."
We have what we call an "ecumenical" movement in the United States, which has been going on for some time, where a number of professing Christians are attempting to unite all of the different churches and faiths into some sort of a fellowship. They are trying to convince the people that the only important thing is that they use the Bible and profess Jesus Christ. That any other differences should be subdued or forgotten because we must get together for fellowship! This carries down all the way to individual Christian families saying, "I don't agree with the doctrines preached in this church, but it's the only one in my neighborhood, so I'm going to go there anyway."
This is strictly unscriptural and is, in fact, a direct violation of the Lord's instructions; where He said: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14)
Then we are told: "Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines..." (Hebrews 13:9)
So to attempt to unite with Buddhism, Muslims, Judaism and etc., is strictly unscriptural. Otherwise the "Doctrine of Christ" will be compromised at all levels. Some of the argument is, "Doctrine is not important if you have disagreement with others, because after all we are all Christians! We are all brothers and sisters, etc."
And we, as "Identity Christians," do get criticism from people who say, "You emphasize doctrinal differences too much and antagonize people by insisting that certain doctrines are true and that certain other doctrines are false. Doctrines should not be made that important. The important thing is to keep from antagonizing others. Be nice to them and get them to listen, and we especially need cooperation among the members."
Well, all of that sounds very good, but let us read what Webster's Dictionary and the Bible have to say about "Doctrine." In Webster's Dictionary there is about four inches of very fine print about doctrine, so we will just briefly summarize what it says. Webster says that doctrine is "that which is taught. The body of principle in any branch of knowledge." Then Webster gives some other words: "Tenet, dogma in relation to religion, principle of faith, learning, knowledge." Mr. Webster also uses the following phrase: "a dogma is a doctrine laid down with authority."
Remember that, because we will repeat it later on.
Doctrine is used 45 times in the New Testament: 28 times as #1322; 15 times as #1819 and 1 time as #1319.
Doctrine:
Greek #1322: didache, did-akh-as'-ko; from 1321 {to teach}; instruction (the act or the matter):-doctrine, hath been taught.
Greek #1819: exapina, ex-ap'-ee-nah; from 1537 {origin} and� a der. of the same as 160; of a sudden, i.e. unexpectedly:-suddenly. Comp. 1810.
Greek #1319: didaskalia, did-as-kal-ee'-ah; from 1320 {teacher}; instruction (the function or the information):-doctrine, learning, teaching.
Matthew five is the first place that the word "doctrine" is used in the New Testament. So let's begin reading in the first two verses which is the introduction of this long teaching by Jesus Christ: "And seeing the multitudes, he went up unto a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:1-3)
Then follows the teaching of Christ, sometimes, called the sermon on the Mount in Chapters five, six and seven. And at the very end it closes: "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His Doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." (Matthew 7:28-29)
This was foretold in the Old Testament: "My Doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass." (Deuteronomy 32:2); "For thou hast said, My Doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes." (Job 11:4); "For I give you Good Doctrine, forsake ye not my law." (Proverbs 4:2); "Whom shall he (Christ) teach knowledge? and whom shall he (Christ) make to understand Doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts." (Isaiah 28:9); "They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine." (Isaiah 29:24)
Not only do we have the word "doctrine" here, but we have other verses which, in effect, says He taught with "authority." According to Webster and Strong's, Matthew 5, 6 and 7 would be Dogma - Doctrine Taught with Authority.
Verse 28 of Matthew seven says, "the people were astonished at his doctrine." This indicates that it apparently was new and/or different than they had heard before; yet they did recognize that He spoke with authority.
Now let's turn to John 7: "Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" (John 7:14-15)
In other words, how can Christ know all these things if He had never gone to the Jews schools? The Jews were surprised at His wisdom. Some thinking Christians have problems when they try to point out an unpopular truth from a particular Scripture passage to some Judeo-Christian minister or Judeo-Christian lay person; the minister will not specifically address the issue brought up, but instead, comes back and attacks with, �"Well, I graduated from the seminary after studying 4 or 7 years and I've been studying the Scriptures for 25 or 30 years and therefore I have more authority to interpret this than you do."
If you ever encounter such a minister, you might point out that these verses in John seven, where the scribes and the Pharisees admitted that Jesus taught with "Doctrine" and truth; but they could not figure out why; because He had never gone to their schools. He had not gone to the accepted schools which they had set up for teaching the teachers in their religion, which today is known as Judaism.
Jesus answered in the next verse as to where He got His "Doctrine": "Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." (John 7:16)
Thus, we have it from Jesus Christ, Himself, that what He taught that astonished the scribes and Pharisees was "God's Doctrine." This is the same word translated "doctrine" in other places, as we have shown. It is the Doctrine of God: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:17)
Christ is, in effect, saying that if a man will obey God, he will know whether the "Doctrine" is true or not. Now think about that for awhile. We are sure you know of many people who read the same verses and the same chapters out of the same translations that you do and yet you have a disagreement with them over what it actually means. They do not understand it the way you do; and here, Jesus is saying that if a man will do God's will, he shall know whether the "Doctrine" is of God or not. In some way, he will have a verification from God that this is Bible Truth; but it is predicated upon him doing God's will first. It is not predicated upon his reading the Bible ten hours a day, or going to certain schools, or attending a certain church or churches. It is predicated on obedience: "If you will obey God, He will reveal His truth to you!"
Here is a warning on how to listen to the MAN who is preaching the "Doctrine" to see whether his "Doctrine" is true: "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him." (John 7:18) In other words, if one seeks God's Glory, he is true and righteous. To put it another way, a man who preaches the true "Doctrines" of God will not preach anything that glorifies himself. When he gets all through preaching, if you, having listened to him, glorify and praise God, then he is preaching the truth.
But if, after listening to him, you glorify and praise the speaker, then be careful; be careful if he builds up some sort of an emotional feeling in you that makes you think, "Boy, isn't he a great preacher! Boy, he is something!" Be careful if you go out praising the man, because then he is NOT preaching the truth!
Most of the television evangelists create a tremendous loyalty among their listeners, and the people really believe that their favorite evangelist is some great man; they will continually shower him with money and praise him something like: "Oh, I heard Oral Roberts (or Rex Humbard, Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Falwell, Mike Evans, Jack van Impte, V.C. Grant, James Haggard, Richard Copeland, Pat Robertson and etc.), and he was terrific and he was wonderful!" Never giving God and the Lord Jesus Christ any praise and glory.
If you want to give them an interesting thought, ask them just an hour or a day after they have heard his latest sermon, what their favorite preacher said; and do you know, nine times out of ten they do not know what he said! One person did this using Robert Schuller as the television evangelist, and they wrote a letter about what happened. A friend of his who worked with him was a tremendous fan of Robert Schuller, and had often made the remark that Schuller was probably the greatest preacher that he had ever heard.
The man's friend said: "Well, I'd be interested in knowing more about Bob Schuller, when you listen to him the next time, would you write down the verses out of the Bible that he uses in his sermon and then show them to me?" The friend said he would and the next Monday at work the fellow said, "He never read the Bible!"
His friend had discovered for the first time, after listening to this man, he thought was such a great preacher, that Schuller did not use any Bible passages! That he said exactly what the audience was wanting him to say; by praising them and raising them up and not Almighty God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And if you have ever listened to him, you know he very seldom uses the Bible at all. Many television evangelists are the same way; they preach in such a way that when they are through, the glory goes to the speaker, not to God Almighty. Remember Christ told us: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." (Matthew 7:15); "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." (Matthew 24:11); "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24)
There was a book, published some years ago, titled "How To Be A Bishop Without Being Religious." If you were to read this book, you would realize that the title really meant "How to be a Minister without being a Christian." And one of the things in the instructions was what kind of sermons to preach to build a large ministry. This book was an instruction to men either going into the ministry or who had already been in the ministry. The author of that book, in one chapter, stated at least three times in three different ways: Do not exalt God; Exalt the people! Praise the people; make them feel good; but do not exalt God Almighty, of the Lord Jesus Christ!
And he made it very plain in the book that if you exalted God Almighty, or the Lord Jesus Christ, you would not have this thousand or two thousand or five thousand people in your church, because people like to come and hear themselves praised. They like to be make to feel emotional about themselves and about the church. That is why they keep coming back in great numbers.
But Christ teaches the very opposite! If, after you hear the minister preach, you praise the minister, then there is something wrong about the man's preaching. There is something wrong because what he should preach is that which praises and exalts God Almighty and the Lord Jesus Christ. And if some vehemently attack him, and not his teaching that is clear evidence he is probably preaching true "Doctrine."
Many television evangelists claim to be healers, but we are told in the Scriptures: "For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect." (Mark 13:22) Therefore, we would advise to be very careful when dealing with these so-called Judeo-Christian ministers who appear to heal.
For most have been found to be fakes, yet the media will not say much about them, because they are out to destroy Christianity not to build it up. Peter told us: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." (2 Peter 2:1)
Try the spirits and see if the minister, television evangelist and etc., is telling the truth. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1) And you can bet that so-called Judeo-Christian ministers who preach to you, then you are being preached to by a deceiver. Among these are those like Mike Evans, Billy Graham and many others.
Now, let's look at the passages in the Old Testament where the word "Doctrine" is used. One passage is found in the Song of Moses and it is introduced in the last verse of Deuteronomy 31: "And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended." (Deuteronomy 31:30)
And then it goes on into the Song of Moses: "Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My Doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass." (Deuteronomy 32:1-2)
This "Doctrine" that he was going to preach was going to do something good for the people. By the way, the word "Doctrine" in the Hebrew, according to Strong's Concordance, means the same as it does in the Greek; and means "Instruction received." Doctrine is instruction received or learning.
In the very next verse, he says: "Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." (Deuteronomy 32:3-4)
Why would doctrines or the instructions that Moses taught the people be as the rain? Why would his speech distill as the dew - as the small rain on the tender herb? In other words, why would Moses' doctrine make the people grow and bless them and instruct them and teach them? Because he praised God immediately!
He said, "He is the Rock," "ascribe ye greatness unto our God," "I will publish the name of the Lord."
Whatever it was that he was going to teach the people would be a benefit to them because it came to them with the praise and glorification of God - not of Moses. You should read all of the Song of Moses, which is 43 verses long. Many Christians do not even know there is such a thing in the Bible in spite of the fact that in Revelation 16 it tells of the saints who have "over come the beast and his mark" who sing the Song of Moses.
There has been a world full of preaching about the mark of the beast, but there is never heard a minister talk about the mark of the beast and The Song of Moses in the same breath. Yet they are tied together in the book of Revelation.
There are five places in Proverbs where Solomon used this same word, as we have already shown, but let's review them. The Hebrew word is "legach" (Strong's #3948) and is translated "doctrine" or "learning," meaning instruction received. In Proverbs, it is translated "doctrine" once, and "learning" four times. "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion." (Proverbs 1:1-4)
After giving the reason why he is writing this book of Proverbs, he says in verse five: "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning (legach); and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels." (Proverbs 1:5)
The Hebrew word for "learning" is also translated "doctrine" in other places. In effect, he is saying that a wise man will hear these instructions or proverbs, which were from God through Solomon, of course, and he will Increase in doctrine. The emphasis is on a wise man wanting more doctrine and increasing in wisdom.
Proverbs four beginning in verse one: "Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law." (Proverbs 4:1-2) This is Solomon speaking, of course, through the Spirit of God, so Solomon is not referring to his own law; he is referring to God's Law. Therefore, good doctrine has something to do with hearing God's Law. Remember, Jesus said if you attempt to do His will, then He will reveal to you whether the doctrine is the truth or not. "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." (Proverbs 9:9)
The word "just" also means "righteous." The last phrase could just as well have read "teach a Righteous man and he will increase in Doctrine." Notice again, he is righteous; THEN he increases in Doctrine (learning). This is the same pattern that Jesus taught. Remember, Jesus said: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:17)
If a man does God's will, that makes him a righteous man. In Proverbs, Solomon correctly put the horse before the cart, instead of the other way around. The implication is that obedience is rewarded with learning, whereas we may have incorrectly thought that learning was rewarded with obedience. To illustrate this, many Christians have run across a person who knows the Bible probably a lot better than he; and yet, he is a very vicious, wicked person and may even use the Bible to his own personal advantage while he teaches it wrongly. Jack van Impe, by the way, is one of those who can quote the entire Bible from memory! But, if you will investigate Jack van Impe's doctrine, it does not fit what the Bible teaches.
Another example was a man who was on the radio some years ago, whose nickname was "The Walking Bible." He would preach at various churches around California, Arizona and other places in the country demonstrating his memory of the Bible by having members of the audience give the chapter and the verse and then he would quote it for them. Or they would quote the verse and he would give the chapter and the verse. You see, he had memorized the entire Bible - all 66 books!
And yet he taught that the Jews were Israel; that we (the White Race) were Gentiles; that the rapture was going to come soon; that there were seven years of tribulation coming before Jesus Christ would return. He taught all the false doctrines of the Pentecostals, Evangelists, and Fundamentalists, and yet he knew every work in the Bible by heart and could tell you chapter and verse where it was! Thus, it is not a case of simply knowing, and then the obedience coming later. Solomon said (Proverbs 9:9) obey God and THEN He will open up His treasures to you. He will open up His wisdom and His learning to you. "The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning (Doctrine)." ( Proverbs 16:21)
Those who are wise against related doctrine. "The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning (Doctrine) to his lips." (Proverbs 16:23) The only time you would say false doctrine is when you put the word "false" in front of the word. When it says "Doctrines" it means God's True Doctrines.
Let us look at one more passage in the Old Testament. Isaiah 29 and 30 are end-of-the-age prophecies - some of which have not yet come to pass, and some of which are just now coming to pass. But anyway, he is summing up an end-of-this-age prophecy. "Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale." (Isaiah 29:22)
This is after Jacob/Israel's deliverance in the end of the age. He is not going to be frightened or ashamed of his God. "But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine." (Isaiah 29:23-24)
Now think about that; he sums up the correcting, the turning, the redeeming and the saving of Israel in the end of the age by saying that even those who are in error will get understanding and Learn Doctrine. They will come to the correct understanding of God's Word as He saves them in the end of the age. Evidently, it means, very simply, that teaching correct doctrine will be done to those who are in error. They will have to be taught by God, or by someone, to correct their error. Now, here are three questions; think upon them very carefully and we will find the answers to our study:
1). If a man or a nation is in error (that means in sin and in disobedience to the true doctrines of God), which ����������������� of the following will tend to correct the man or nation?
��� A). An agreement among ministers not to contend about differences so they can have fellowship.
��� B). A knock-down drag-out fight as to which doctrine is true, forcing the people to listen to both sides of the ������������������� question.
As Elijah the prophet spoke: "And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken." (1 Kings 18:24) In other words, should we speak out and preach what we know to be the truth, or should we simply be quiet and attempt to have fellowship? Which will teach them true doctrine? Which will convert them from error? You think about that when you hear the false Judeo-Christian ministers say, "Well, let's just keep things quiet here. We know we have a lot of disagreements, but we shouldn't fight because, after all, we're all brothers."
2). Would the people even hear the true doctrine of God if the ministers who knew it backed off from ����������������� preaching it for fear of offending the other ministers or Christians?
3). How many of you have ever heard of a minister who preaches false doctrine backing off from the True �������� ����� Doctrine for fellowship?
You see, The Compromise is Always Expected to Come from the Side that has Truth! And make no mistake about that. We have had some specific, definite criticism by people who say; "Oh, you keep preaching against the Rapture and all you're doing is antagonizing all of these wonderful pro-rapture ministers, preachers and Christians out there who don't know any better. And who made you an expert anyway?"
The implication is that we should not show people it is a false doctrine because we might hurt their feelings and then they will not cooperate with, or listen to us. No one ever suggests that they quit preaching the rapture doctrine and the false Judeo-Christian doctrine so they do not antagonize us! Now you think about that.
We think it is done in ignorance by Christian people who know it is the truth, but they have been trained to think by the false Judeo-Christian ministers to think that fellowship is more important than Christ's Doctrine. There are many isolated families, and we feel for them, and understand their situation who will say, "Well, we know the church is teaching false doctrine, but our children need fellowship."
And so they will go to some false Judeo-Christian church where the ministers preaches false doctrine, because they want their children to have fellowship with other Christians. And what happens as a result? Their children grow up believing false doctrine because they compromised with falsehood, attempting to get fellowship instead of true doctrine and disobeying God's instructions in the process. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14)
You can begin to see the possibility that True Doctrine is much more important than fellowship; and you will see this more as we go back to the New Testament again.
Acts two; this is the chapter perhaps best known, especially among the Pentecostal people and among most fundamentalists, or people who have been in churches for some time. It is generally taught that this was the beginning of "the church age" or "the Christian era" when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost. And the people were converted, becoming, eventually, Christians, beginning what we call the Christian era or the era of the Christian church.
We who understand that we are the Israel people recognize it as the beginning of the calling out of Israel from paganism. Israel was being turned away from the false religions into the true doctrines of Jesus Christ. Peter finished preaching the sermon about Jesus to these men: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)
The summing up of the very first sermon preached by this disciple to those people at Pentecost at what we call the beginning of the Christian era was that God had made Jesus both Lord and Christ. Therefore, we must accept that a basic doctrine of our Christian faith is that Jesus is the Lord, or the Redeemer, or the Savior or the Messiah.
You cannot turn away from that or you will throw out Peter's whole sermon in Acts two! Now read Acts 2:37-41; the pouring out of the Spirit on this day of Pentecost was a marvelous thing in the history of Christendom. Along with it came the preaching of the doctrine establishing the basis that Jesus Christ was Lord and Christ over The House of Israel, and it began this new era of the turning of the hearts of the people back to the fathers. The people received the doctrine gladly and many of them were added to the group. "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:42)
Did they abandon doctrine for fellowship or did they fellowship under the doctrine? Do you see the difference here? It says "they continued steadfastly In the Apostles' Doctrine and fellowship." The Doctrine "was" the basis of the Fellowship; Not the other way around.
We do not think that the people who try to convince us that we should nullify or cancel our doctrinal teachings so we can have "fellowship" are all evil or wicked people. It is simply that they have heard this theme of "fellowship" and it sounds good to them. After all, we are not a loner type of people to any great extent. We love other people; we enjoy other families and children, and we are a gregarious and generous people. It would seem that fellowship is a great goal. Therefore, many people think, that we should compromise on our Christian Doctrines a little bit. And ask, "What does that hurt?"
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The Ministers avoid preaching some of the Doctrines because those Doctrines offend members of the fellowship! |
The answer to that question is that it hurts doctrine! As we have so often seen, if we insist on having fellowship with other churches that do not agree with all of our doctrines, pretty soon the same thing happens there that we see in the denominations.
And those members are most often Jews. So it is clearly obvious, that fellowship can destroy doctrine, whereas doctrine will build true fellowship. Here, in Acts two, is the beginning of our Christian faith. This is the day when it all began. It follows up by saying that they then had both doctrine and fellowship. What happened when they continued steadfast in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship? "And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles." (Acts 2:43)
You see, they stayed true to the doctrine of Christ and THEN God blessed what they did. We would say that very few churches or ministers who compromise with their doctrines, on the basis of needing fellowship, ever have any great work other than gathering a lot of people around them, and a big bank account. And they probably consider that a great work. But, you see, that does not get the doctrine of God and Christ preached to Israel!
In Acts five, the apostles have been out preaching for a while and some miracles have happened. Then we read: "Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straightly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine (Christs' doctrine), and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." (Acts 5:24-28)
What happened in a matter of a very short time with these people who remained steadfast in the doctrine? They filled the city with Christs' Doctrine! And they brought upon themselves the anger and the ire of the Pharisaic religious and political leaders of their day; just as the True Preachers of Christs' Doctrine do today. These leaders said, "We told you not to preach in Jesus Christ's name, and here you have filled the whole city with your doctrine."
Then Peter and the other apostles answered;"...and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him." (Acts 5:29-32)
Many Christians watched three preachers, during the fall of 1982, interview Menahem Begin (then Israeli Prime Minister) in Israel during the height of the slaughter in Lebanon. Those preachers fawned over him, telling him what a wonderful man he was and how wonderful his people were and so on. This has been repeated many times with different Israelis since that time, until it is sickening, watching Christian, followers of Christ fawn over those that hate Him with everything in their being. This went on for about an hour with talk back and forth between he and these three Judeo-Christian preachers. At the very end of the interview one of the ministers asked Begin, very apologetically, if he could close in prayer and pray for Begin and for his people; and of course Begin nodded his head affirmatively and the three Judeo-Christian ministers bowed their heads in prayer. While the minister prayed, Begin sat on the couch and just looked at him.
He never bowed his head or closed his eyes or anything. He just watched them during the prayer; and the minister prayed a very long prayer, asking for God's blessing upon his people, the Jews, and for Begin, and so on. When he ended the prayer, he ended it without the name of Jesus Christ being mentioned!; He simply said, "Amen."
Now what did that man do? He obeyed men instead of God. In Acts five the Pharisees told Peter and the rest of the apostles in verse 28, �"Did not we straightly command you that ye should not teach in this name?"
In other words, "You're not to use the name of Jesus Christ. We told you that and here you've been using it right here in Jerusalem among this people." And Peter did not just answer, "We ought to obey God rather than men."
Do you realize what he did? He did much more; he preached a sermon about Jesus Christ to those Jewish Pharisees! He did not tell his other fellow ministers and disciples that they should obey men instead of God. He preached a sermon TO the Jewish Pharisees. It is only three or four verses long, but he preached to them about Jesus Christ.
Now if these three ministers in that interview with Menahem Begin had wanted to do what God intended them to do, when they finished their conversation about the situation over in Lebanon and Israel, regardless what they thought about Begin and the people, they should have given a witness and a sermon about Jesus Christ to those people. But, when they showed complicity to the anti-Christs they demonstrated that they fear men more than they exalt and fear God, that is evidence that there must be something wrong with their preaching.
Do you wonder what one of the reasons these men acted in this way? And why evangelists never conduct a crusade in Israel? It is because of a law used frequently in the Zionist country known as Israel, which became common with the passage on December 25, 1977, of Israel's infamous "Anti-Missionary Law," which the Knesset passed on Christmas Day so it would be perfectly clear against whom it was directed. It is a statute which decrees a prison term of up to five years for "Anyone" attempting to proselytize a Jew away from his faith.
Anti-Missionary Law 5738‑1977: Strictly speaking, "proselytizing" under this law involves a gift, no matter how small (such as a tract) given to a Jew by a Christian. Under Israeli law it is a crime to "give or promise to give money, the equivalent of money or any other material benefit in order to entice a person to change his religion."
Yet realistically, the word "proselytize" is much more loosely interpreted. As a case in point, evangelical Christians showed a film about the second coming of Christ in Jerusalem's largest hotel, the Shalom. This outraged Israel's chief rabbi, Yitzhak Kolitz, who forbade them to further "proselytize." However, the manager reassured the Christians that "they are welcome if they do not violate the law." ("Jesus Film Stirs Hotel Row," Jerusalem Post, International ed., Oct. 16‑22, 1983, p. 5.) Such ambiguity keeps Christians in Israel on edge, vulnerable to accusations that they violate the law.
Speaking in defense of evangelicals, Charles Kopp, Chairman of the United Christian Council in Israel, said such Christians "do not engage in proselytizing...we do not give out leaflets in the streets or witness at our job [in Israel]." ("Friendly 'Strangers' in Our Midst," Jerusalem Post, International Ed., May 25, 1991, p. 2) The government remains suspicious, and Anti‑Christian! Daniel Rossing, head of the Department of Christian Churches for the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs, summarized his government's position: "The government, by all available means, discourages missionary activity." ("Christians: Missionary Activity in Israel Under Fire," Los Angeles Times, Part I, Mar. 8, 1984, p. 8) Proponents say this law is vital to the survival of Israel because so many young Jews are being seduced away from the fold, largely by Christianity.
Those preachers are cowards and traitors to Almighty God and the Lord Jesus Christ; and as such they will not be allowed to enter into the Kingdom of God: "But the fearful {cowards, those who are afraid to speak the truth}, and unbelieving {those who preach for money and power}, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars {those who teach that the Jews are God's people}, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)
Peter and the apostles, of course, preached about Jesus. They said "the God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom ye (Jews) slew and hanged on a tree." In other words, they preached the resurrection. "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a savior."
They preached that Jesus was the Savior and the Redeemer through His death and resurrection. They also told the reason for it: "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them." (Acts 5:31-33)
The apostles knew these doctrines to be true and they would risk their lives to preach them right tot he people who had threatened them with death for preaching such doctrines. This is a very short sermon, but everything is in there. It is a composite of the whole story of Jesus Christ and Israel in just three or four verses. Acts 17 beginning in verse 16: "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean." (Acts 17:16-20)
There is quite a lot in that passage. First of all, Paul saw the city given over to paganism; to the worship of false gods. Did Paul compromise with this in any way? He did not just acquiesce to them and say, "Oh, it sure is wonderful to have fellowship with you people!" NO! A thousand times No! It says that he "Disputed" in the synagogues with them. He actually got into arguments with them to show them they were wrong according to the true doctrine.
Secondly, the philosophers of the Epicureans and Stoics recognized that the doctrine Paul taught was new. It certainly was not like what they had been hearing from the Jews. Why was it new? Because Paul preached to them Jesus and the resurrection! That is a new doctrine to any religion; no other religion except the Christian faith teaches Jesus and the resurrection.
Paul did not try to fellowship with these people. If you try to fellowship with the Jews and the pagans and get along with them, one of the things you would have to leave out would be the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You might even have to do that with some of the modernist so-called Judeo-Christian churches. We understand that some percentage of even the United Methodist, Unitarians and etc., church ministers have that they not only DO NOT believe that Jesus was born of a virgin; they DO NOT believe in His resurrection either.
Can you think of the ultimate compromise between those who preach Jesus and the resurrection and those that they might fellowship with, if it is not fellow shipping with the people who follow the religion of Judaism? Most Jews absolutely, totally deny that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. In fact, they even write books to claim that there was deceit and trickery surrounding Jesus' resurrection. They contend that the disciples stole the body of Jesus and hid it in order to trick the people into believing that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. And yet we have, in America, a tremendous number of ministers who say they believe in Jesus Christ and the resurrection, but they turn right around and tell their flock that if they did not applaud, obey and help those people who deny Christ and the resurrection, then one way or another God is going to curse them.
How insane can one get in relation to doctrine? These Judeo-Christians go to the ultimate to have fellowship in absolute, total opposition to the true doctrines that are in the Bible! The question is, of course, should we have fellowship at all in any way, with those who deny Christ and His Resurrection?
Turn to Romans 15, Paul is beginning to close his letter to Roman Christians: "And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints." (Romans 15:29-31) Paul is really saying, "You pray not that I will fellowship with these people who do not believe, but that I be delivered from them." (Romans 15:31); "That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen." (Romans 15:32-33)
Think of this; How important was this fellowship with the unbelievers to Paul? He actually asked to be delivered "from them that do not believe in Judea."
Now, we have a lot of people over the ancient land of "Judea" who do not believe! Should we not, as Paul did, pray that we be "delivered from them that do not believe in the land of Judea?" Instead we have Judeo-Christian ministers who say, "Oh, those people who do not believe in the land of Judea are the most important people on the face of the earth. They're special. They are the apple of God's eye. And if you don't do everything you can to help them, God will curse you."
That is the Exact Opposite of What Paul Prayed For, and what we just read in the New Testament. Whom did Paul want to fellowship and be refreshed with? He said "with you," referring to the people he was writing to. And who were they? Well, let us read Paul's own definition at the beginning of the letter to the Romans, as he addressed them and described what kind of people he believed they were that he was writing to: "Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ"
And then he addresses the letter: "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world." (Romans 1:6-8) Paul wanted to be delivered from those who did not believe and he wanted to come to Rome to be refreshed in fellowship with those whose faith was spoken of throughout the whole world.
Should it not be true that we, as Christians, would also want to fellowship with those who believe in Jesus Christ, His resurrection, and the truths of the Holy Scripture instead of trying to fellowship with those who compromise and justify all sorts of evil that is in opposition to the Word of God? It is for you to decide. Not anyone else, but give Almighty God and the Lord Jesus Christ all the glory and blessings.
��������������������� The Lion Out Of Judah
From listening to the Judeo-Christian preachers, ministers, evangelists, and etc., which I will refer to from here on to save space and time, as Judeo-Christian teachers; preach and teach lies about the Lord Jesus Christ that I am presenting the following for your review and study. Key Questions which we will try to answer are as follows:
1). Was Jesus a Jew?
2). From where does salvation come?
3). Does this study relate to world events today?
First let's take a look at the word Jew. If you will take any good encyclopedia you will find that there was no such thing as a Jew at the time Christ was on the earth. Second that the letter "J" did not become part of the English Alphabet until some time around 1500. Then Strong's Exhaustive Concordance in the Greek Dictionary of the New Testament relates the following:
Jew...
Greek #2453. 'Ioudaios, ee-oo-dah'-yos; from 2448 (in the sense of 2455 AS A COUNTRY); Judean, i.e. belonging to Jehudah:-Jew (-ess), OF JUDEA.
Greek 2448. Iouda, ee-oo-dah'; of Heb. or [3063 or perh. 3194]; Judah (i.e. Jehudah or Juttah), A PART OF (or place in) Pal.:-JUDEAN.
In the 4th chapter of the Gospel according to the Apostle John we find the record of some astounding teachings of Jesus. In His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well near the town of Syhchar, He made it plain that salvation was very different in character from that which the Jews (Pharisees) had been teaching the people.
But He also said that salvation is of the Jews. This makes the passage puzzling in the English language, and it has led too many people astray: Causing them to believe a lie; and it needs careful study if it is to be correctly understood, as we shall see. Why is it so important to understand this particular portion of the Bible? It is important for Christians to understand ALL of the Bible.
This passage is of special significance because of the current, but erroneous, opinion among many that Christianity arose out of Judaism, that there exists a Judeo-Christian value system, that Jews have their own covenant with God which circumvents Jesus Christ and His atonement, and that the United States has a special obligation to the religious political Zionist state of Israel. In short, a correct understanding of this Scripture helps to place the above issues in their proper perspectives.
We are faced with the impossible task of making this clear to those who have little desire to study details, and those who demand a more scholarly explanation. We hope this presentation will meet the needs of everyone. For those who dislike details, please make an effort to "hang in there;" for we believe the results will be worth while.
First: A Synopsis of John 4:5-26:
Verses 5-6: Jesus and His disciples traveled from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north, and stopped on the way at a water well outside of Sychar, a town in Samaria.
Verses 7-8: A Samaritan woman came to the well for water. Jesus asked for a drink.
Verse 9: The woman wondered why Jesus talked to her because she perceived He was a Jew, and Jews shunned Samaritans.
Verse 10: Jesus told her that if she knew the gift of God and Who was speaking to her, she would ask Him for living water.
Verses 11-12: The woman didn't comprehend what He meant. She noted that He had no container with which to draw water, and besides, did He think He was greater than her forefather Jacob who dug the well and drank from it?
Verses 13-14: Jesus told her that the water from the well would not satisfy thirst indefinitely, but the living water He gave would produce eternal life.
Verse 15: The woman still didn't comprehend, but was eager for such water that would prevent her having to come back to the well repeatedly. She wanted to reduce her work load.
Verses 16-18: Jesus told her to� fetch her husband, but she confessed she had no husband, whereupon Jesus acknowledged she told the truth, for she had lived with five men and the present one was not her husband.
Verses 19-20: The woman immediately perceived that Jesus was a prophet because He knew the intimate details of her life. Defensively, she then appealed to her religion and her forefathers, contrasting her beliefs with those of the Jews who worshiped at Jerusalem, and ascribing to Jesus the religious beliefs of the Jews.
Verses 21-24: Jesus disavowed His connection with either Jewish worship at Jerusalem or Samaritan worship at Gerizim, and said the hour was near when no one would worship at either place. He said she didn't comprehend what she worshiped, and that "we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews." He said the hour had come when true worshipers would worship God in spirit and in truth, for such the Father seeks to worship Him. He said God is spirit, therefore whoever worships Him must worship in spirit and in truth.
Verse 25: The woman said she knew Messiah was coming and He would show them all things.
Verse 26: Jesus then told her that He was the Messiah.
Mandatory Considerations for a Correct Understanding: A superficial reading of this passage of John's Gospel will not suffice to render a correct interpretation. We must study it very carefully.
In Verse 9 the Bible doesn't state that Jesus was a Jew. The woman assumed He was a Jew. We're not told why she assumed this; perhaps it was because she knew He was traveling from Judea to Galilee.
The Bible often records the statements and opinions of the people in it, but their statements are not necessarily true unless the text is clear that God agrees with them, or that the statement is given to them by God. An obvious example of this is when Calaphas the High Priest accused Jesus of blasphemy.
�Note also in verse 9 that the Bible doesn't say that the Samaritans hated the Jews, but that the woman said the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans.
The Old Testament and history tell us that the Samaritans were a mixture of the tribes of Israel with outsiders and that is why the Jews shunned them. It was primarily the Jews who were the snobs, although the Samaritans were not guiltless. It is obvious that Jesus was not snobbish.
He was not only passing through their land which the Jews would not do (and He would not walk in Jewry because the Jews sought to kill Him John 7:1) - but was conversing with one of them, another act forbidden by the Jews. This tells us that Jesus did not practice the Religion of the Jews in this matter.
Verse 10: Jesus initiated a "witnessing" situation in which He offered universal salvation to the woman. He was doing His Father's business by giving an open invitation to a non-Jew to become a child of God. He was contradicting everything the Jews believed about Messiah.
Verses 11-12: The Samaritan woman considered herself a descendant of Jacob who was the patriarch of all the 12 Tribes of Israel. She thought of Jacob as a great man. She considered herself to be as true to the laws of Moses as the Jews, maybe more so.
She was partly correct, for the Samaritans did not practice Rabbinism as the Jews did. Also the Scriptures attest that the Jews only gave lip service to the Laws of God as given to the Israelites by Almighty God: "For had ye (Jews) believed Moses..." (John 5:46) Thus we have it that the Jews did not believe Moses, nor did they teach the people to obey God Laws, they taught them to observe the Tradition of the Elders (which later became codified as The Talmud) which is totally opposite. The Scriptures further attest to the fact that Jesus did not recognize the leadership of the Jews, and that they were not the legitimate rulers of Israel by: "Therefore say I (Christ) unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you (because you do not deserve to possess it, as you have no right to it), and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof (to the rightful heirs of it)." (Matthew 21:43)
Verses 13-14: Jesus was teaching with metaphors - figures of speech. Living water obviously meant eternal life. He was giving her the gospel of salvation message. Like the Roman Centurion whose servant needed healing (Matthew 8:5-13) and the Canaanite woman whose daughter needed healing, (Matthew 15:21-28) Jesus demonstrated throughout His ministry that salvation was available to anyone, not just to Jews. He found great faith among some non-Jews.
Verse 15: The Samaritan woman dwelt on worldly things, not understanding that Jesus talked to her of spiritual things. God's primary concern is with our spiritual condition, but the Samaritan woman repeatedly focused on her worldly desires. You and I often do the same thing.
Verse 16-18: The woman was a sinner but Jesus did not condemn her to hell for that. He was truthful and firm, but kind. This again tells us that He was not a Jew because the Jews, according to the Bible, were exclusivists. They would not have talked to the Samaritan woman, much less have offered her kindness and salvation. Remember the account of the good Samaritan, recorded in Luke 10:30-36.
Verses 19-20: Because Jesus obviously knew the woman's sins, she at once acknowledged Him as a prophet, but human nature being what it is, she retreated defensively into her own mind-set, i.e., that her religion was just as good as the Jewish religion. She inferred that Jesus was like all other Jews, demanding that she worship at Jerusalem.
Verses 21-24: Did Jesus demand that she confirm to Judaism by worshiping at Jerusalem? No, He did not. Instead, He told her that all true worshipers of God would soon worship Him in spirit and truth and that no true believer would worship at either Jerusalem or at Gerizim (the Samaritan place of worship).
Why Did Jesus Use "We?": Why did Jesus use the plural we in v. 22? It is important that we turn to John 3:11 and 14:23 for similar situations. In John 3:11, for example, He was talking to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. Nicodemus had asked how he could be born again, whereupon Jesus said, "...I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness."
He used the plural four times, and the situation is closely parallel to the one with the Samaritan woman. His use of We was much like our editorial We. Therefore the conclusion that He meant His Father God and Himself.
In Spirit and in Truth: What does it mean to worship God in spirit and in truth? For this answer we go to the two great commandments given by Jesus: Love God genuinely and thoroughly (and strive to bring our characters into line with His); and Love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40) treat others as we would like to be treated, commensurate with the principles of the New Testament.
This is the worship that God is seeking. Jesus gave this message to the Samaritan woman and the people of Sychar. He didn't tell her to go to Jerusalem and worship with the Jews; there is no record that He told her to seek out some synagogue or church to attend. The Jews wouldn't have received her anyway, and He knew that the temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed a few years hence. The change from old covenant to new covenant was now being implemented. The Samaritan woman and many residents of the town became Christians. Jesus stayed with them two days and taught them.
Is Salvation from the Jews?: Now we back up a bit and deal with that troublesome clause in verse 22: "...for salvation is of the Jews." (KJV)
Considering the whole context thus far, did Jesus promote Judaism? It is clear that He didn't. If He didn't promote Judaism, how could salvation be of the Jews? We just learned that He told the woman of Samaria that He was the Messiah, the Living Water. Wouldn't it be a contradiction for Him to tell her that in Him was salvation and then turn right around and tell her that salvation was of the Jews? We know in John 14:6, He said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me."
What, then, is our answer? The answer will be found by understanding the entire New Testament, history, and the language of this passage. The preposition Of in the KJV (salvation is Of the Jews), or From in several other translations, does not accurately reflect the Greek. The Greek language was far more specific than English when using prepositions.
For example, From in English could mean that a person walked from the house, but we wouldn't know whether the person was in the� house and walked out of it, or standing against the outside wall and walked away from it. Not so with the Greek. We would know exactly what happened if the Greek preposition "ek" were used; the person would have been inside the house and walked out of it, for "ek" means out of. And that's the preposition used by the Apostle John when he recorded Jesus' saying that salvation is out of the Jews. We will return to this later.
However, knowledge about this preposition is insufficient for a complete answer to the problem. The next language barrier is the word Jews. This may come as a surprise to many, but it is impossible for Jesus to have used the word Jews, for the simple reason that the word did not exist in His time. It didn't arrive on the scene of history until the Greek or Latin Bible was translated into English hundreds of years later, and then it had to evolve into its present form. Here's how it happened.
Who Were The Judeans?: Judeans were inhabitants of southern Palestine, the area called Judea (Judaea). This was where Jerusalem and the temple were located. Judea is the same as Judah, and Judah was the tribe of Israel that was allocated that geographical area when all twelve tribes conquered the inhabitants of Palestine in about 1400 B.C.
The patriarch of the tribe was the fourth son of Jacob, who was the son of Isaac, and Isaac was the son of Abraham. Jacob, who had been renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28) by God had twelve sons, each of whom was the patriarch of a tribe of Israel, each of which received a portion of the land of Palestine. God had already planned that the "legal" lineage of Messiah would be through Judah, for in Genesis 49:10 Moses wrote: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."����
The Tribe of Judah was the most influential. It had the place of leadership. God simply said that it would continue in this position until Shiloh, Who was Messiah, came Messiah would then take the leadership and receive the allegiance of the people. We now know that Jesus Christ's legal linage was traced through Judah back to David and to Abraham, and those who believed on Him gave Him their allegiance in fulfillment of the prophecy quoted above. He took the scepter from Judah.
At the time of Christ's ministry, mixed blood existed in Judea. Not all of its inhabitants were descended from Judah. Many were Edomites, descendants of Esau. However, the Edomites had submitted to circumcision in about 130 B.C. and therefore became co-religionists with the Judahites, who by then were practicing Rabbinism which had been developed during the exile in Babylon. Some Judeans (were Jews), therefore, were those who practiced the religion which Jesus clashed. Rabbinism was a conglomeration of the context of the Old Testament, Babylonian mysticism, and human rationalizations, it is referred to in the New Testament as the "Tradition of the Elders," (Matthew 15:1-3) and is known today as Talmudism, or Judaism. Its rulers were entrenched at Jerusalem at Judea.
Jesus would not walk in "Jewry": We see in the King James Version that Jesus would not walk in "Jewry" (among the Jews or Pharisees) any longer because the Jews sought to kill Him.(John 7:1) The English word "Jewry" is "Ioudaias" (Judean) in Greek, but modern translations no longer use "Jewry." For example the New American Standard Bible (NASB) sates: "And after these things Jesus was walking in Galilee; for He was unwilling to walk in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill Him."
It is unfortunate that we have not been taught the exact truth about these expressions. What this verse simply means is that those who practiced the religion head-quartered at Jerusalem wanted to kill Him. Actually, the King James Translators had the right idea - they recognized that "Jewry" was the religion of the Pharisees, and not that of the Israelites.
In our time most people think of the Jews as the people of Israel but that's not correct. An Israelite was one who had descended from Jacob/Israel and who practiced the moral, civil, and ritual laws given by God to Moses. In Jesus' time the Jews may or may not have descended from Jacob/Israel, but they practiced Rabbinism. Jesus fulfilled all things given by God to Moses, whereas the Jews held on to the shell only, and have been trying to take back the birthright their father Esau sold to Jacob/Israel.
In a yet more faithful version (paraphrase) of the New Testament, we could render that portion of John 7:1 this way: "...He was unwilling to walk in Judea, because the Rabbinate was seeking to kill him."
Antithesis of Christianity: Today, the term "Jews" should denote those who adhere to the "Talmud," the bible of Rabbinism, although many Jews are secularists. In any case, the beliefs of Jewish leadership are the antithesis of true Christianity. We can see this antithesis operating from ancient times right up to the present. For example, Gershon Mamiak, in the June/July 1989 issue of "Midstream," a Jewish publication, praised Caiaphas the High Priest and his colleagues for condemning Jesus. He said: "Their rejection of Jesus' teaching is one of the glorious episodes of Jewish history." (The Two Trials of Jesus, pp. 29-32) This statement by Mamiak might be construed as genocidal Christian-bashing, the reverse of what Jewish leaders think is anti-Semitism.
If someone were to say that Hitler's rejection of the Jews was one of the glorious episodes of Gentile history, all hades would break loose in the mass media and that person might even be sued. An apology would be demanded and probably received, just as in the case of the Rev. Bailey Smith of Oklahoma, who several years ago said that God does not hear the prayers of Jews. He became, overnight, unbearably controversial; the media just wouldn't let it rest. He finally recanted and "joined" them.
Probably most Jews depend upon their rabbis for knowledge of the "Talmud" and its interpretation, just as most Christians, unfortunately, depend upon their Judeo-Christian teachers and other teachers for explanations of the Bible. And it is certainly true that practically all Christians are ignorant of Rabbinism-Talmudism, better known as Judaism. This is why they still think of Jews as the people of Israel and vice versa.
Was Jesus a Jew?: We are now prepared to ask the vital question: was Jesus a Jew? Given the above historical and Biblical evidences and current Jewish opinions, it is impossible for Jesus to have been a Jew. Add to that the fact that He was born without a human father and was conceived by the Holy Spirit in a virgin, we can see the absurdity and blasphemy of calling Jesus a Jew, or in believing that Christianity rose out of Judaism. It is also a mistake to believe that Jews are a race, even though many of them believe that one must be born of a Jewish mother in order to be a Jew. In reality, the Jewish community is composed of religious factions and secularists within a more or less pluralistic culture.
The Lion out of Judah: Let us return now to our original question: did salvation come from the Jews? What did Jesus mean when He made that statement?
First let's look at Matthew 2:6: "And thou Bethlehem, in the land Juda [Judah], art not the least among the princes of Juda [Judah]: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel."
Matthew quoted from Micah 5:2 in the Old Testament which was a Messianic prophecy: "And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephratha, art few in number to be reckoned among the thousands of Juda [Judah]; yet out of thee shall one come forth to me, to be a ruler of Israel; and his goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity."
As you can see, it predicted that Christ (Messiah) would come out of Bethlehem of Judah. The Greek preposition "ek" is used, just as John used it to record Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman. Messiah, our salvation, was to come "out of" the land of Judah. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem and the magi came searching for Him, King Herod inquired of the chief priests and scribes about the birth place of Messiah. They told him that the prophet Micah had predicted that it would be Bethlehem. That's why Herod then had all the male infants in Bethlehem two years old and under killed.
Now look at Hebrews 7:14: "For it is manifest that out of Judah [Judeah] has sprung our Lord..."
Finally, the book of Revelation refers to Jesus Christ as the Lion out of the Tribe of Judah. (Revelation 5:5) He is the One who triumphed over Satan and death, the One who will return to judge the world.
With all these facts in mind, the only reasonable conclusion I can reach regarding Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman is that in reality He was saying to her: "You don't understand what you worship, but we (Father & Son) understand, because salvation comes out of Judah. I am the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Messiah Who was foretold by the prophets. I will give you eternal life if you believe on me."
We believe that anyone who studies these Greek Scriptures in the Gospels of John and Matthew, knowing that they link with Old Testament predictions, and also links them to the book of Revelation, will see that this makes sense and avoids contradiction and confusion. It is faithful to the Old and New Testament contexts, to the Greek and English languages, and to history. it shows that salvation came out of Judah in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, and not from the Jews. And if one will reflect carefully on it, it explains many religious, political, and social errors of our time.
Some Current Considerations: There has been an enormous onslaught of disinformation fed to the public about the "special status" of the Jews. The nation's foreign policy in the Middle East has been dominated by special consideration for the Jews. Billions of dollars of our taxes have been wasted in support of "Israel," in spite of the unconstitutionally of doing so. Such support is unconstitutional because our government is not supposed to favor one religion over another.
It is maddeningly ironic that Christians have been forced to support the Rabbinic religion and the atheists of "Israel," while our own children were for many years barred from religious meetings on the campuses of our public schools. This condition has come about largely due to the efforts of Jewish organizations in America.
The anti-Christ system has been quite successful in molding public opinion via the mass media. Although Hollywood has been the worst offender over the years, currently we see many TV productions such as "scientific" documentaries, "historical" docudrama and others which also miseducate the public and form mistake opinions. Much propaganda is placed right in the scripts of entertainment programs where people least expect it, and cultural patterns and mannerisms exert strong influence on the viewers. Thus they are brainwashed. Sadly, Christians are not immune to this deception.
Matthew 24:24 tells us that Satan will, if he can, deceive even the elect. We see telltale evidence of this deception not only in the Christian community's overt acts, but also in its unconscious habits, even sometimes in the casual remarks of ministers and television preachers.
Many of them have "bought" error from the world via its mass media, and have rejected truth from unpopular sources. We've known of evangelical churches to enthusiastically permit an anti-Christ personally to speak from their pulpits, while rejecting a genuine Christian who wanted to correct the errors being taught by the former. This mass mind-set created by the media is indicative of the condition of the world just prior to the second advent of Jesus Christ as depicted in numerous Bible passages, such as Daniel 7:25, 2 Peter 3:3-10; Jude 1:6-18; and Revelation 17:3-18, 21.
Jesus commanded us to: "...Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18:4) Many Christians have succumbed to some of those sins, one of which is regurgitating anti-Christian disinformation, or being silent about some truth that might hurt their reputations. They shun some of their brethren who are telling them the truth because those brethren are thought to have spiritual halitosis.