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Continuing our discussion from part two, as most Christians already know, the Jewish religious elders not only formulated a permanent solution to their growing problem, but they also carried it out in due time as well, with the consent of the Romans, whom they used as their proxy executioners. This fact is plainly revealed in the following group of verses:

"Then assembled together the CHIEF PRIESTS, AND THE SCRIBES, and the ELDERS OF THE PEOPLE, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And consulted that they might TAKE JESUS BY SUBTILTY, AND KILL HIM. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people."


"Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the CHIEF PRIESTS AND SCRIBES SOUGHT HOW THEY MIGHT KILL HIM; for they feared the people."


"And therefore did the JEWS PERSECUTE JESUS, AND SOUGHT TO SLAY HIM, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God."


"After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the JEWS SOUGHT TO KILL HIM . . . Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? WHY GO YE ABOUT TO KILL ME? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who GOETH ABOUT TO KILL THEE? . . . Then said some of them of Jerusalem, IS NOT THIS HE, WHOM THEY SEEK TO KILL?"


"I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but YE SEEK TO KILL ME, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now YE SEEK TO KILL ME, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham."


"Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore HE THAT DELIVERED ME UNTO THEE HATH THE GREATER SIN. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar."


". . . My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be DELIVERED TO THE JEWS: but now is my kingdom not from hence."


"And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. 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."


Ironically, while those wicked Jewish religionists were able to temporarily silence Jesus, as I point out in a few other articles, their futile attempt to save their nation from the wrath of Rome was in vain. As some of my readers will know, forty years later, General Titus -- the son of Vespasian and a future emperor himself -- and his Roman legions destroyed Jerusalem and the Jews' temple compound for the second time in their long history. So the Jewish religious hierarchy's efforts to save themselves was all for not.

The fact of the matter is that with their staunch rejection of Jesus Christ as God's appointed Savior, the unbelieving Jews set themselves up for a very long history of rejection and delusion. Please understand that the Lord gives all of us ample opportunity to accept the truth regarding Christ. God will bend over backwards to try to help us to see the Light. At different points in our life, He will send people to deliver the Gospel message to us. Why? Because He loves us so much that does not want anyone to perish. He desires for us to repent of our unbelief. He wants us to change our minds and to embrace Christ. This truth is made so evident by verses such as the following:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him SHOULD NOT PERISH, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."


"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that all should come to repentance."


"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. EVEN SO IT IS NOT THE WILL OF YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN, THAT ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES SHOULD PERISH."


"And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. FOR THE SON OF MAN IS NOT COME TO DESTROY MEN'S LIVES, BUT TO SAVE THEM. And they went to another village."


"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."


"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; WHO WILL HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, AND TO COME UNTO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH."


"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"


"For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men."


So as you can surely see, God goes to great lengths to try to save us from our own rebellious, wicked natures. He wants us to repent and to turn away from our sins, beginning with our sin of unbelief in His Son. But normally, He won't force us to do so. He gives us free will and personal choice. God the Father allows us to choose whether we want to experience His great love, or be subjected to His great wrath. However, if in our foolish pride we continue to knowingly, willingly and stubbornly reject the truth of His Word; if we continue to turn away from His Holy Light; then God has no recourse but to send us strong delusion that we might believe a lie, and thus be judged accordingly. God will indeed allow us to become deceived in such cases, and we will be plunged into spiritual darkness, if that is what we truly want.

I am reminded of the example of King Ahab who is mentioned in the twenty-second chapter of the first Book of the Kings. As the story explains, God purposely allowed a lying spirit to enter into the mouths of Ahab's false prophets, because Ahab did not want to listen to God's true Prophet, Micaiah. I encourage you to read the story in its entirety if you want a good lesson in human nature and strong delusion, and why God allows it. In the meantime, consider the following set of verses:

"And he [Micaiah] said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee."


"I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not."


". . . because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"


And that brings us to our modern day. While a minority of the Jewish people have thankfully come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and embrace Him as God's appointed and one true Savior and Messiah, tragically, both the historical and the Biblical records point to the fact that the majority of Jews have not accepted Jesus Christ as their long-awaited Messiah. In fact, some Jews can be quite outspoken and very graphical when it comes to their strong rejection of Jesus Christ. As I mentioned earlier, trust me when I say that I have visited a few Jewish-run websites where they use very vulgar language in regard to our Lord and Savior. It is disgusting.

In fact, for those of you who may not be aware of it, as I've mentioned on previous occasions, there's a law in Israel that some people refer to as the Anti-Missionary Law. Technically known as Bill 5738-1977, it was intentionally passed by the Israeli Knesset on December 25, 1977. Based on this law, if the Israeli government chooses to enforce it, a Christian can face up to a five-year prison term if he or she endeavors to convert a Jewish person to the Christian faith. Furthermore, if there is evidence that any form of persuasion was used to try to convert a Jew to faith in Christ, the person accused will find it even more difficult to not be found "guilty".

In fact, according to an online friend of mine who has made multiple trips to Israel for the purpose of sharing our faith with the Jews, even attempting to distribute Christian Gospel tracts in Israel will attract the ire of the Orthodox Jewish authorities. As we discussed earlier, some people not only don't want the light of Christ, they in fact hate it, because they are truly the children of darkness, the children of hell and the Devil's spawn. The Apostle Paul also refers to those unbelieving Jews as the children of disobedience. Likewise, the Apostle John outright calls those Jews liars, just as the Lord also did in John chapter eight. Consider the following group of verses for clear proof of this point:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."


"Ye [speaking to the unbelieving Jews] do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."


"In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them [the Jews] which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."


"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:"


"Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience."


"For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:"


"For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."


"I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."


"Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."


"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."


"And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."


"For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."


Sadly, this tragic story does not end in the Christ-hating nation of Israel. As I explain in the series "Holy Qur'an and Islam: A Doctrine of Devils?", Jewish hostility against any Christian who dares to proselytize in the name of Christ is not limited to the state of Israel alone. As you may already realize, the USA is home to several Jewish-controlled groups whose primary goal seems to be to stop Christian evangelism in its tracks, and to make the USA as antichrist as Israel is. These groups include the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Jewish Congress, the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, the People for the American Way, and others.

In case you were not aware of it, these organizations were either founded by Jews, or are run by Jews, or are funded by Jews. Under the disguise of supposedly upholding American law -- such as the grossly misinterpreted separation clause that is found in the US Bill of Rights -- they are endeavoring to slowly turn America into a secular and non-Christian nation. Just look at all of the causes and cases they have supported over the years, and you will begin to understand their true nature and purpose. It is not what you think.

So how do all of the previous paragraphs relate to Moshiach ben David? As I have already pointed out, if we knowingly and willfully reject the truth of the Bible regarding the nature and Divine Mission of Jesus Christ, then God will allow us to become deceived. In this case, because the Jews have for the most part rejected Jesus Christ, their delusion has been to believe that Moshiach ben David has not arrived on the scene yet. Thus, as we've already discussed, to this very day, the Orthodox Jews have been patiently waiting for the arrival of their "moshiach", and his prophet Eliyahu. As I mentioned at the beginning of this series, it is for this very reason that at this current time -- July, 2022 -- there is a heightened expectation amongst them, that their messiah may soon appear in Israel, and thus fulfill all of those things which they expect of him.

This misguided belief is based on a variety of factors. To go into great detail concerning the history of the Jewish belief in, and their concept of, Moshiach ben David, as well as the anticipated construction of a third temple on the summit of Mount Moriah, would require quite a few pages. As such, while I am going to discuss these topics in an abbreviated fashion in the following paragraphs, I likewise encourage you to more deeply examine the following people and topics, being as they will assist you in acquiring a better understanding of the Jewish perspective concerning their long-awaited messiah, and the things which they expect him to accomplish, once he has been revealed to the people of Israel:

1. Maimonides and his 13 Principles of Faith
2. Maimonides' Mishnah Torah
3. The Talmud, Mishnah and Gemara
4. Structure of the Sanhedrin
5. Jewish prayers such as the Amidah
6. Nachmanides And Disputation Of Barcelona
7. Baal Shem Tov and Hasidic Judaism
8. Mishnah Torah: Laws of Kings and Wars

As I said, I will now offer you a brief word of explanation regarding each of the previous topics. Maimonides -- whose real name was Moses ben Maimon -- was a 12th century Jewish philosopher and Rabbinic scholar, who to this day is highly regarded amongst Orthodox Jews. He is also referred to as Rambam. During his lifetime, both Christians and Muslims were actively developing their theologies, while the core beliefs of Judaism were somewhat in a state of flux being as there no longer existed a central Jewish religious authority. While a number of efforts were made to formulate the central tenets of Judaism, it was not until Maimonides presented his list of thirteen principles that core Jewish beliefs were brought into sharper focus. But even then, it took several centuries before his 13 principles were widely accepted by a large number of Jews.

In the context of this series, while all thirteen principles shed light on the primary differences between Judaism and Christianity, the principle which is most relevant to our current discussion is Principle 12 which states as follows:

----- Begin Quote -----

"I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless, I wait every day for his coming."

----- End Quote -----

As you can see, Maimonides -- and by extension, his followers -- did not believe that the Messiah had arrived on the Earth yet. In his view, the arrival of Moshiach ben David was to be a future event. As you will discover shortly, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon was not alone in this assertion, sad to say. If you are interested in reading all thirteen of the principles that he laid out, please refer to the URL below on the Wikipedia website:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_principles_of_faith#Maimonides'_13_principles_of_faith

Maimonides is best known amongst Orthodox Jews for his magnum opus, the Mishneh Torah, meaning "Repetition of the Torah". This 12th century work is a code of Jewish religious law -- or Halakha -- which Maimonides authored while he was living in Egypt. It consists of fourteen books, which are further divided into sections, chapters and paragraphs. While it was at first strongly opposed and received a lot of criticism due to a variety of reasons, today, the Mishneh Torah is highly regarded and occupies an important place in Judaism. It is the fourteenth book entitled "Sefer Shoftim" -- or Judges -- and the last section of that book, which is most relevant to our current discussion. I will be explaining its significance momentarily.

The Talmud is the primary or central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is the body of Jewish civil, ceremonial and religious law -- or Halakha -- and Jewish theology. The Talmud is comprised of two parts: the Mishnah and the Gemara. The most widely used version of the Talmud is the Babylonian Talmud. That is, the Talmud Bavli. There is a lesser-used Jerusalem Talmud as well.

The Mishnah and the Gemara are basically compendiums -- or collections -- of rabbinic thought, opinions and commentary, that both explain and define Jewish Oral Law and expound upon other topics that are important to Orthodox Jews, in written form. The Torah is the law of God as revealed to Moses on the summit of Mount Sinai, and recorded in the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures, or the Christian Old Testament. The Torah is also known by its Greek name, the Pentateuch.

Prior to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. by General Titus, Jewish law was primarily maintained in an oral form. However, after that time, as the years progressed, and with the whole of Jewish society in disarray, Jewish rabbis realized that in order to retain the Oral Law and rabbinical opinions in a cohesive form, they had to be written down. Thus, around 200 A.D., the first compendium -- that is, the Mishnah -- was redacted by Rabbi Judah haNasi.

Some three hundred years later, around 500 A.D., the Gemara -- which was an expansion and a clarification of the Mishnah -- was likewise redacted. As I said, together, the Mishnah and the Gemara form the whole Talmud. The Talmud consists of six orders, or primary subject divisions, which are likewise divided into more than sixty tractates. Tractates are more restricted and focus on the rabbis' legal opinions regarding specific topics.

The Sanhedrin -- consisting of the Greater Sanhedrin and the Lesser Sanhedrin -- was the highest court of justice and the supreme council in ancient Jerusalem. There existed only one Greater Sanhedrin, which consisted of seventy-one judges or elders, who were later known as rabbis. One of them -- the nasi, meaning "prince" -- served as the head or president of the body. A second rabbi -- the Av Beit Din -- served as the chief of the court. There were likewise sixty-nine general members, for a total of seventy-one. In contrast, the Lesser Sanhedrin consisted of twenty-three rabbis. These tribunals -- or Lesser Sanhedrin -- were established throughout the towns of ancient Israel to settle matters on the local level. The Sanhedrin was finally dissolved by the Byzantine emperor, Theodosius I, around 358 A.D.

Over the centuries, several attempts have been made to revive the Sanhedrin. The most recent attempt was made in 2004 by a group of rabbis representing various Orthodox communities in Israel. These Jews held a ceremony in Tiberias -- where the original Sanhedrin was disbanded -- in which they claimed to re-establish the Jewish religious council according to the recommendations offered by Maimonides in the fourteenth book of the Mishneh Torah, and according to the legal rulings of Rabbi Yosef Karo. However, while their effort received the support of The Temple Institute, the re-establishment of the Sanhedrin has remained controversial, and the body does not have much legal teeth as of yet.

Now the reason why this point is important, is because during the time of Jesus, it was in fact the Pharisees who held the most power within the Sanhedrin, and modern Judaism is merely an extension of the religion of the Pharisees. In short, the re-establishment of the Sanhedrin is just another piece in the puzzle which religious Jews believe will eventually lead to the arrival of Moshiach ben David, the reconstruction of their temple, and everything else that that entails.

The Amidah -- or Tefilat HaAmidah, which means "The Standing Prayer" -- is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. It is found in the traditional Jewish prayer book, or siddur. This prayer consists of nineteen blessings. The fifteenth blessing -- which is called the Birkat David, meaning the "Blessing of David" -- asks God to bring the descendant of King David, who Orthodox Jews believe will be their messiah. So again we see that this prayer reflects the fact that the Orthodox Jews do not believe that their messiah has arrived yet. In short, it sets them up for deception.

Another very important religious figure within Judaism is the 13th century Jewish scholar Nachmanides, who was also known as Ramban, or Moses ben Nahman. Ramban was likewise a philosopher, physician and Kabbalist. It was during the well-known 1263 Disputation of Barcelona -- which took place before King James I of Aragon -- that Nachmanides argued that Jesus was not the Messiah, and that the Old Testament Prophets regarded the yet-to-come messiah as a mere human being of flesh and blood, and not as a divine being in any sense of the word. In his debate with Pablo Christiani -- who was a Jew who had become a Dominican friar -- Ramban stated the following before King James I of Aragon:

----- Begin Quote -----

"[. . . it seems most strange that . . .] the Creator of Heaven and Earth resorted to the womb of a certain Jewish lady, grew there for nine months and was born as an infant, and afterwards grew up and was betrayed into the hands of his enemies who sentenced him to death and executed him, and that afterwards . . . he came to life and returned to his original place. The mind of a Jew, or any other person, simply cannot tolerate these assertions. If you have listened all your life to the priests who have filled your brain and the marrow of your bones with this doctrine, and it has settled into you because of that accustomed habit. [I would argue that if you were hearing these ideas for the first time, now, as a grown adult], you would never have accepted them."

----- End Quote -----

In regard to Jesus' sufferings as we find them described in the fifty-third chapter of the Book of Isaiah, Nachmanides soundly rejected the Christian interpretation of the verses, and stated that the passage was referring to the suffering of the Jewish people in general, as we see here:

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Friar Christiani: "Behold the passage in Isaiah, chapter 53, tells of the death of the messiah and how he was to fall into the hands of his enemies and how he was placed alongside the wicked, as happened to Jesus. Do you believe that this section speaks of the messiah?"

Nachmanides: "In terms of the true meaning of the section, it speaks only of the people of Israel, which the prophets regularly call 'Israel My servant' or 'Jacob My servant.'"

----- End Quote -----

Please go to part four for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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