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BEYOND
JESUS
A
look into the post-Christian world.
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. As the time for the
coming of the Messiah approaches, false understandings of G-d will
pass.
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O
Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of
affliction, nations shall come to you from the ends of the earth,
and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthless
idols, and things in which there is no profit.
Jeremiah 16:19 |
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In fact, one of
the key signs that the Messianic era has arrived is a universal
knowledge of G-d. |
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man
his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from
the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord; for I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will no longer remember their sin.
Jeremiah 31:33 |
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...For
the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, who
shall stand for a banner of the people; to it shall the nations
seek; and his resting place shall be glorious.
Isaiah
11:9-10
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Though
Jesus came 2000 years ago, a universal knowledge and clarity of G-d
has yet to come about. The true Messianic era will see the end
of the belief in Jesus as the son of G-d, and the Messiah.
Also Christian beliefs about sin and atonement, Satan and Hell will
pass as well.
What this work will explore is what the Messianic era
will entail, and how the Gentile world will reframe itself and its
relationship with the Creator. Though Jesus may have been a
fulcrum by which the nations forsook their pagan beliefs for a
belief in the G-d of Israel, the Messianic era will require them to
further outgrow the misunderstandings of the Torah that accompany a belief in Jesus.
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After those days, says
the Lord, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and write it in
their hearts; and will be their G-d, and they shall be my people.
Jeremiah 31:33. |
As Torah becomes the
universal religion of the Messianic era, clarity of understanding
will be achieved; and the Torah will emerge as the most empowering
guide to living in terms of elevating one's body & soul through
elevated thoughts, speech and actions to connect to the Almighty.
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The
Messianic Era involves the final redemption of the Jewish People,
who have been languishing in Exile for 2000 years. The
ingathering of the Jews, and renewed sovereignty over Jerusalem
which has occurred in our days is not only a miracle, but is the
fulfillment of prophesy.
The hallmark
of the Messiah is that he will bring all this to fruition with the
rebuilding of the Temple, G-d's Sanctuary.
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And say to them, Thus says the Lord G-d: Behold, I will take the
people of Israel from among the nations, where they have gone, and
will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land;
And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of
Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no
more two nations, nor shall they be divided into two kingdoms any
more at all; Nor shall they defile themselves any more with their
idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their
transgressions; but I will save them in all their dwelling places,
where they have sinned, and will cleanse them; so shall they be my
people, and I will be their G-d.
And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall
have one shepherd; they shall also follow my judgments, and observe
my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land
that I have given to Jacob my servant, where your fathers have
dwelt; and they shall dwell in it, they and their children, and
their grandchildren for ever; and my servant David shall be their
prince for ever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it
shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them,
and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of
them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with
them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And the nations shall know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when
my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
Ezekiel:
37:21-28
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Contrast
this view, where G-d speaks about building His sanctuary (Temple) in
the midst of the Jews in the Messianic era, with the Christian view
found in the New Testament:
And
I saw no temple therein: for the Lord G-d Almighty and the Lamb are
the temple of it.
Revelation
21:22.
Ezekiel spoke about the Messiah (David) & the Temple as separate
entities, not one and the same. Christianity portrays Jesus
as: G-d, the Son of G-d, the Messiah, the King, the High Priest, the
Offering and the Temple.
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Coming of Messiah:
-Ingathering of the Jews
-Rebuilding the Temple
-Universal Knowledge of G-d
via Torah
-End to War
-Nations will forsake their
religions
So fundamental are these
events to the purpose of Creation, that one can see all of human
history occurring only to enable these events to take place. |
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the
Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and
shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.
And many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will
teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for from Zion
shall go forth Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall decide for many
people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their
spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, nor shall they learn war any more.
Isaiah
2:2-4
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And
the nations shall know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel...
Israel's steadfastness to their beliefs will be vindicated. As
the Jews are redeemed, it is the nations that will come to admit the
error of their ways. Yet, the nations will embrace the Jews,
as they learn Torah from the Jews.
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Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass,
that ten men from the nations of every language, shall take hold of
the robe of a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard
that God is with you.
Zechariah
8:23
Thus says the Lord G-d, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the
Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring
your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried upon
their shoulders. And kings shall be your nursing fathers, and their
queens your nursing mothers: they shall bow down to you with their
face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet; and you
shall know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that
wait for me.
Isaiah
49:22-23
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What
is a Gentile to believe?
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Is
believing in Jesus a sin?
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How
do I achieve salvation from sin?
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Where
do we go from here?
These
are all valid questions, and ones that need a proper background
before addressing them.
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"The Lord
is near to all those who call upon him, to all who call upon him in
truth."
Psalm 145:18
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Jesus
answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one
comes to the Father except through me.
John
14:6 |
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To
understand the Torah as G-d's universal guidebook, we need to
appreciate the accessibility to G-d that the Torah way promotes.
A starting point is to examine the contrast between the words of
King David in the Psalm above versus the words of Jesus in the New
Testament. Which way expresses a more embracing G-d?
The Torah
teaches us that accessibility to G-d is available to both Jew and
Non-Jew. We hold that one does not need to convert to Judaism
to be considered righteous, have a relationship with G-d, and have
access to Heaven. See the words of King Solomon below in his dedication
speech at the completion of the building of the Temple. He calls
upon G-d to hear the prayers of Non-Jews.
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And also concerning a
stranger, who is not of your people Israel, but comes from a far
country for your name’s sake; For they shall hear of your great
name, and of your strong hand, and of your stretched out arm; when
he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear you in heaven your
dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calls to
you for; that all people of the earth may know your name, to fear
you, as do your people Israel; and that they may know that this
house, which I have built, is called by your name.
1Kings 8:41-43
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Further required
reading:
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