Tuesday, May 16, 2023

RABBI JASON SOBEL INTRODUCING GEMATRIA TO THE CHURCH. BUT IS IT BIBLICALLY BASED?


A JEWISH NUMERICAL SYSTEM KNOWN AS GEMATRIA  /NUMEROLOGY  SIMPLY PUT  IS THE INTERPRETATION OF A HEBREW WORD ACCORDING TO THE NUMERICAL EQUIVALENT OF IT'S LETTERS. IT IS LARGELY USED IN JEWISH TEXTS . THE TERM GEMATRIA AND IT'S PRACTICE FOR INTERPRETING SCRIPTURE DOES NOT APPEAR IN THE HEBREW BIBLE NOR IT'S PRACTICE ENDORSED BY GOD HIMSELF. WHY? BECAUSE IT IS DIVINATION!
 
BEFORE YOU CONTINUE READING, RABBI JASON SOBEL BECAME A MESSIANIC JEW A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO AT JONATHAN CAHN'S CHURCH BETH ISRAEL. IT'S OBVIOUS TO ME THAT HE HAS BEEN EMULATING MR. CAHN'S MINISTRY WHEN IT COMES TO APPLYING MYSTICAL HERMENUETICS TO HIS THEOLOGY. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LISTEN AND ANALYZE CLOSELY HIS YOU TUBE CHANNEL.
 
SEE THE 1 LINK BELOW THE VIDEO  FOR MORE DETAILS:  

 L'CHAIM (TO LIFE!)
file:///C:/Users/rmorrison/Downloads/Mystical_Hermeneutics_Kabbalah.pdf
 
History

The Babylonian king Sargon II, in 8th century BC, is believed to have been the first to use gematria when building the wall of Khorsabad exactly 16,283 cubits long, because that was the numerical value of his name.

It is an extra-Biblical means of trying to uncover occult (hidden) things in Scripture by means of assigning numbers to letters. It is used mainly in the BabylonianTalmud which is a record of rabbinical writings and opinions. It is not in the Bible. There is some symbolism to numbers in the Bible-- 3=God, 5=Grace, 6 = man, 7= perfection, 12=government, etc ... but that is a far cry from what those who practice gematria do. In fact gematria is closely connected to the occult practices of the Jewish Mystics of Kabbalah.

Personally, I do not believe there are "codes" in the bible. God made plain that which He wishes us to know, and reserved under wraps that which He didn't. Yes, there are symbolic passages in Scripture which man cannot decipher properly until the events which they symbolize take place. But that just confirms that God had everything planned from the beginning. It was not ever meant to be some spiritual or intellectual exercise in uncovering the secret things of God.
 
 Most early Christians would have instinctively calculated the total numerical value of letters in the name Jesus (in Greek) and arrived at 888. Some considered this number significant because 8 is higher than 7—the number for perfection. Something similar to gematria seems to be in view in Revelation 13:18, which says, “This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.”

The second-century church father Irenaeus showed how difficult it is to use gematria with any precision, noting that 666 was the sum of several names, including Euanthas, Lateinos, and Teitan. Irenaeus’ conclusion: “It is therefore more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfilment of the prophecy, than to be making surmises, and casting about for any names that may present themselves, inasmuch as many names can be found possessing the number mentioned; and the same question will, after all, remain unsolved” (Against Heresies, 5.30.3). Ignoring the advice of Irenaeus, others throughout history have continued to use gematria to assign the role of Antichrist to various emperors, presidents, popes, and other world figures.

The Bible neither confirms nor denies hidden meanings in numbers. Since gematria depends heavily on human ingenuity, alternate spellings, and subjective word groupings, it should not be relied upon for serious scriptural interpretation.

Over time, most traditional Christian and Jewish groups have distanced themselves from the practice of gematria, primarily due to the long-standing association of numerology with black magic and occult systems. Today, gematria remains in force in kabbalah and various mystical religions.
 
Deuteronomy 18:9-14

"When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead".

"For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. "You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. "For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so".

 God does not call us to search for secret meanings, hidden messages, and codes in the Bible. There is more than enough truth in the words and meanings of Scripture to meet all our needs and make us “complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
 
FOR A MORE IN DEPTH STUDY OF GEMATRIA, SEE THE LINKS BELOW:
 

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