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.
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.
"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:
Sometime in the 1970s, in a cave in Egypt, a copy of the “Gospel of
Judas” was discovered. The circumstances of the discovery have been
described as shady, with those who possessed the copy asking for
exorbitant amounts of money for the codex. For decades, no institution
was willing to pay for the purchase due to its dubious origins.
Eventually the codex of the Gospel of Judas was purchased by a
foundation in Switzerland. The existence of the Gospel of Judas codex
was made public in 2004, but the actual release of the content of the
codex was repeatedly delayed, finally being released in April 2006. The
dating of the original writing of the Gospel of Judas is thought to be
about AD 150, with the Egyptian codex dating from the late 3rd century.
According to various accounts, up to one third of the codex is missing
or illegible.
Prior to this discovery, the only reference to the Gospel of Judas was
in the writings of a 2nd-century Christian named Irenaeus. Irenaeus
essentially wrote that the Gospel of Judas was the “invented history” of
a long line of heretics and rebels against God. The essential message
of the Gospel of Judas is that Jesus wanted Judas to betray Him because
it was necessary to fulfill Jesus’ plan. If it was Jesus’ plan for Judas
to betray Him, why would Jesus label Judas the “son of perdition” (John 17:12) and state that it would have been better if Judas had never been born (Matthew 26:24)? If Judas were simply following Jesus’ instructions, why would he commit suicide once he saw that Jesus was condemned (Matthew 27:5)?
The Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel, espousing a Gnostic viewpoint of Christianity.
The Gospel of Judas is simply a heretical forgery, much the same as the
Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and the Gospel of Philip. Just as
Judas Iscariot rejected Jesus and betrayed Him with a kiss, the Gospel
of Judas rejects the true gospel and truth of God with a fraudulent
appearance of validity.
What is Marcionism?
Marcionism was a religious movement based on the teachings of the
2nd-century heretic Marcion of Sinope. While none of Marcion’s writings
have survived to the present, we know of his teachings through several
early Christian writers including Justin Martyr (AD 100—165), Irenaeus
of Lyons (AD 130—200) and Hippolytus (AD 170—235). These men combatted
Marcion in defense of the truth.
Marcion held to many errant views, but he is primarily known for his
belief that the Old Testament Scriptures were not authoritative for a
Christian. He denied that the God of the Old Testament was the same God
presented in the New Testament. For Marcion, Jesus was the Son of the
God of the New Testament but not the Son of the deity described in the
Hebrew Scriptures. The deities of the Old and New Testaments were, from Marcion’s perspective, literally two different gods. Marcion did not deny the existence of the god of the Old Testament (what he referred to as a Demiurge). He simply classified this god as a secondary deity, one that was inferior to the supreme God revealed in Jesus.
Marcion held that Jesus was the only revelation of the Supreme God but
that Jesus should not be seen as having fulfilled Old Testament
messianic prophecies. Rather, Marcion saw the prophecies as predicting a
yet-to-come earthly savior of the Jewish nation. What Marcion was
endorsing was a radical discontinuity between Old Testament Judaism and
the message of Jesus and the apostle Paul. Marcion also affirmed a form
of Docetism, a view that Jesus was not truly a man but only appeared to be human. This in spite of the clarity of verses such as John 1:14 and 1 John 4:1–3, which speak plainly of Jesus’ true humanity.
After being expelled from the church in Rome in AD 144 for his
unorthodox teachings, Marcion formed several of his own churches, many
of which retained a church government similar to the orthodox Christian
churches of the time. From there, Marcion’s views began to spread. Given
Marcion’s complete separation of the God of the Hebrew Bible from the
God revealed in Jesus, it should be no surprise that he also rejected
the authenticity of many New Testament documents. Any apostolic writing
that did not comport with his theories was eliminated until all that
remained of his collection of authoritative books were ten of Paul’s
letters (minus 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) and a highly edited version of
the Gospel of Luke. Marcion saw Paul as the only legitimate apostle,
but even Paul’s writings suffered under Marcion’s scalpel. Any passage
that identified the God of the Old Testament with the Father of Jesus
was removed. While it is true that most New Testament books were
recognized as Scripture
from a very early date, it is likely that Marcion’s truncated canon
forced the church to more precisely list which books carried apostolic
authority.
Marcionism was one of the earliest rivals to the Christian church. The
lesson to be learned from Marcionism is that we have no right to act as
editor of God’s Word, but we must accept and believe the “whole counsel
of God” (Acts 20:27) and “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 1:3).
Is God a moral monster?
When a person rejects the God of the Bible, he often chooses to label
Him as immoral. Non-believers have been known to accuse God of being
hypocritical, selfish, arrogant, judgmental, hateful, and even
homicidal—a moral monster. Part of the problem with responding to these
kinds of claims is that they require extensive answers. It takes only
seconds to ask certain questions but quite some time to give a
reasonable answer. This single question, “Is God a moral monster?” is,
in fact, the subject of a book by Christian theologian Paul Copan: Is God a Moral Monster: Making Sense of the Old Testament God. And that work is focused on only part of the Bible.
It’s important to realize how deep this topic can be, since a single
article could never really do the subject justice. It’s simpler to look
at common accusations against God and see how they fail. More specific
details are available for those interested in doing further research,
and we’ve included links to relevant articles.
Is God Evil?
The first problem with any “moral monster” accusation against God is
that it requires a standard of morality separate from God. In other
words, in order to say, “God is morally wrong,” one has to define
morality in a way that justifies that claim. But what meaningful
standard can exist, other than God, for moral principles?
Apart from God, it’s not possible to have truly objective morality.
Opinion is not enough—for the claim “God is a moral monster” to be
meaningful, it has to be based on some unchanging standard. Ideas such
as “suffering” or “human flourishing” are not objective. There is no
rational reason for opinions or subjective ideas to be the source of
moral reasoning.
So, the first problem with claiming that God is immoral is that
meaningful moral claims require God to exist in the first place.
Labelling anything “good” or “evil” requires assumptions that lead
inevitably to God. This fact is related to the next common objection
about divine morality.
Non-believers often accuse God of being evil. Just as often, however,
they indirectly attack God’s morality by questioning the existence of
evil. A truly good God, they claim, would not allow evil. More on this
later; for now, consider that this approach creates a much larger
problem for the non-believer than for the believer. In short, Christians
can appeal to concepts such as free will when explaining why a good God
might allow for evil. However, the non-believer finds a much more
difficult issue when faced with the inverse of the question: why is
there such a thing as “good” if there is no God? Why would human beings
believe in concepts like “ought,” if everything that exists is the
product of blind, purposeless physics? If things either “are” or “are
not,” and there is no actual “ought,” then speaking of good and evil is
gibberish.
This follows into a stickier problem: why “ought” a person be good, if
there is no God or if God is truly a “moral monster”? Remember, if the
ultimate measure of morality is some human opinion, then there can
always be different ways to interpret that opinion. “Human flourishing”
sounds like a great basis for morality until someone conveniently
defines certain people as less than human.
This leads to a major instance of hypocrisy. In claiming that God is
morally wrong, people are claiming more than a knowledge of a better
moral system; they are claiming to be the standard of morality. That
claim not only makes their criticism of God’s morals less impactful, but
it makes it meaningless.
Another common accusation is that God is arrogant, selfish, or egomaniacal.
God demands worship, He punishes those who disagree, and He even
condemns those who insult Him. According to the common line of
complaint, a truly “good” God would let people do as they please,
without necessarily obeying His rules, and He certainly would not care
how they think or speak of Him.
The quickest response to this particular objection is based on the
concept of parenting. Good parents don’t let their children insult or
disobey them. This is not because the parents are egomaniacs; it’s
because they love their children. Even if the kids don’t grasp why, the
parents’ rules are for the kids’ good. There are going to be
circumstances when a child cannot understand all of the details; he
simply needs to know that “Mom and Dad said no.” There’s nothing
unreasonable about God’s expectation of obedience, given that He is a
loving Father who wants the best for His children and who knows far more
than they do. God cannot be fairly labeled a “moral monster” simply
because He has established rules that some particular person does not
like, does not understand, or refuses to obey.
The accusations of divine arrogance and selfishness also have to be put
into perspective. The reason people have a problem with human arrogance
and egotism is simple: we know the egotist isn’t perfect. A person’s
arrogance grates on our nerves because of our basic knowledge that the
egomaniac isn’t actually perfect—he doesn’t have that much to be
arrogant about. God, however, is perfect. If He speaks, acts,
and rules as though He is perfect, it’s simply because He is. There’s no
arrogance or selfishness involved, as there would be in a lesser being.
God’s claims of glory match reality.
Further, according to the Bible, God has demonstrated great patience, love, and sacrifice on behalf of humanity (Romans 5:8).
The core concept of the gospel is that God was willing to become a
human being, suffer and struggle, then be killed by His own creations.
He did all of this in order to provide the means to allow mankind to
live forever with Him. That’s hardly selfish, arrogant, or egotistic.
Many who accuse God of being a moral monster mention the wars described
in the Old Testament. Or they point to the use of capital punishment for
certain acts under the Mosaic Law.
The simplest response to these arguments has the advantage of logical
strength, although it means little to the average unbeliever. Simply
put, if God exists and created life, then He has the authority to decide
what happens to that life. He can set the rules, and He can determine
the punishments for breaking those rules. If the entire universe is His
creation, then “morality,” including life and death, is by definition
under His control.
Another response to the charge that events in the Old Testament are
morally reprehensible is to place all of those events in their
historical and scriptural context. When God commanded war against the
Canaanites, for instance, it was not some random act of genocide. This
was a culture that had been warned about their pervasive evil for
centuries, and the time for God to punish that evil had finally come
(see Genesis 15:16).
When God commanded the death penalty in Israel for certain offenses, it
was not in the context of a stable, free, modern environment. It was
during a time of great danger, instability, and uncertainty. This same
principle applies even in modern societies: we punish crimes in
proportion to their damage to the culture. In that day and time, what
today would be considered “minor crimes,” if crimes at all, were
profoundly damaging to the survival of the culture.
Again, the context of God’s commands is important. If God’s plan was to
bring the Messiah, the one and only hope of mankind, through Israel,
then it’s reasonable that He would take serious measures to protect the
survival of that nation.
Easily the most common attack on God’s morality is the reality of evil.
According to this accusation, God is a “moral monster” since He
“created” evil—or because He neglects to do anything about evil. Both
claims are contrary to reason and evidence, as well as the biblical
understanding of God’s nature.
In the simplest terms, evil is anything that contradicts the will of
God. There is a tremendous difference, then, between something that God does not will (but that He allows)
and that which He directly and purposefully causes to occur. If it’s
logically possible for a fallible human being to allow certain
things—which he could theoretically prevent—in order to obtain some
greater goal, then God can obviously do the same. This is where the
concept of free will enters the equation.
The overwhelming majority of human suffering is the result of human
activity. More to the point, it’s the result of human sin—either our own
or someone else’s. But without the ability to choose selfishness,
cowardice, and revenge, there would be no such thing as generosity,
bravery, or forgiveness. Love, expressed by a being given no choice but
to love, is hollow. Worship from such a being is meaningless.
It’s also untrue to suggest that God has done nothing about evil.
Scripturally, there are many reasons to think that God has limited the
level of evil we are capable of experiencing on earth (see Job 1:12; 2:6; and 2 Thessalonians 2:7).
No matter what boundary God sets for evil, there will always be a
“worst possible thing.” The error is in assuming that God hasn’t set the
bar for suffering lower than He could have.
Likewise, according to the Bible, God has gone to great lengths to enact
a plan to end all evil and suffering. The fact that God’s plan has not
been completed—yet—is not logically a sign that God has done nothing.
The end result has not yet occurred, but everything is in motion toward
that end.
Though the subject of human free will is complex, even a brief
examination shows that there are reasons—at least in theory—why God
would allow us freedom and choice in this life. That’s especially true
when one considers that, according to Christianity, this life is not all
there is. What we struggle with and suffer under in this life is not
all we are or all we are meant for.
While this is hardly an in-depth look at the claim that God is a “moral
monster,” it should be enough to demonstrate that the claim is much
harder to prove than some might think. There are severe factual,
philosophical, and logical flaws in making such an accusation against
God.
An emotional affair occurs when a married person shares emotional
intimacy and support with an individual other than his/her spouse.
Becoming emotionally intimate with someone other than one’s spouse can
have a chilling effect on the marriage relationship; plus, emotional
intimacy often progresses to physical intimacy, bringing devastation.
Many people deny the seriousness of emotional affairs, but such affairs
are not harmless and can destroy marriages and families.
Marital partners should share problems, feelings, and needs with one
another and determine the boundaries of what can be shared outside the
marriage and to whom. Having friendships outside of the marriage is a
healthy thing, but a reliance on outsiders to meet emotional needs can
become a temptation, especially when spouses spend much time apart.
Co-workers and others with whom we spend large blocks of time can become
a substitute for the emotional support of a spouse. Work relations and
friendships need to have proper boundaries to ensure they do not become
inappropriate.
There are warning signs that an innocent friendship could be leading to
an emotional affair. When we start to feel a need to hide aspects of a
relationship, we are crossing a line into inappropriate territory.
Emotional distance between spouses or an increase in the number of
arguments may indicate one spouse is turning to another person for
closeness. Intimacy requires closeness, and that cannot happen if a
spouse gives his/her closeness to someone outside the marriage.
Christians should guard against the temptation to lean on someone other
than the spouse God has given to them. Here are some wise choices:
1. Do not spend time alone with anyone of the opposite gender, especially someone you are attracted to.
2. Do not spend more time with another person than you do with your spouse.
3. Do not share intimate details of your life with anyone before sharing it with your spouse.
4. Live transparently. Do everything as if your spouse were present.
5. Devote personal time to prayer and Bible study. Ask God to put a hedge around your marriage (Job 1:10).
6. Maintain a pure thought life. Do not entertain fantasies about other people.
7. Plan time with your spouse on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis and use those times to build emotional closeness.
All of these choices will help Christians to identify weak areas and avoid the temptation of emotional affairs.
Christian priorities
put marriage and family second only to the Lord. God is the only one
who can fully meet our needs, and He is the first priority. God designed
marriage to unite two people into one (Genesis 2:24). He wants them to grow together and let nothing separate them (Matthew 19:6).
Married partners must value their relationship the way the Lord does
and work on ways to strengthen it and build closeness. The Lord also
forbids adultery or lusting for a person outside of marriage (Proverbs 6:25; Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5:28). People who go outside the Lord’s design to meet their needs sin against God and potentially ruin their relationships (Proverbs 6:32; 1 Corinthians 6:9–20).
Many in the world believe that married partners need “space” to the
point of leading separate lives to have a healthy relationship. In no
way does the Bible advocate codependency.
However, a marriage is by definition a life lived and planned together;
it is interdependency. Those who do not understand God’s plan for
marriage may think it is unhealthy to share everything with one person,
but that is what makes marriage different from any other relationship.
It is a blessed union between two people and mirrors that of Christ and
His church.
Sharing intimacy with someone other than a spouse, whether the intimacy
is physical or emotional, is sin and a violation of trust.
Mysticism is a rather broad and vague term, but it generally
has to do with a spiritual communion with some type of ultimate reality
or higher power. Christian mysticism brings the principles of mysticism
into a pursuit of God in Christ. A Christian mystic believes that a
relationship with God is intuitive and seeks closeness to God through
subjective experiences and direct communion with Him. In Christian
mysticism, the knowledge of God may be informed by the Bible, but there
are other means of knowing Him, too. Christian mystics often emphasize
the spiritual disciplines of prayer, meditation, fasting, solitude, and
silence. Christian mystics seek an actual experience with God Himself,
not mere knowledge about Him. In reality, all Christians are interested
in knowing God Himself, not just facts about Him, yet not all Christians
would be considered mystics.
Countering Christian mysticism is what we might call Christian
intellectualism, which seeks to approach God objectively and rationally,
avoiding sentimentality and any notion that feelings can lead to truth.
Christians who are more intellectually oriented may emphasize communion
with God through personal Bible study, listening to biblical preaching,
and fellowship with other believers. Many Christians would say that
they experience God as He really is through these mediated experiences.
They would say that the Bible does more than communicate facts about God
but that it actually allows one to get to know Him directly. God does
speak to us directly—through His written Word. It seems that most
Christians and most Christian traditions will tend to be either more
mystically based or more intellectually based.
Statements such as “I follow Christ, not creeds” smack of Christian
mysticism. Anyone who downplays the role of theology in the church or
who speaks of going “beyond doctrine” is following the path of the
mystic. Such a person will usually gravitate toward practices such as contemplative prayer or walking through labyrinths. He or she may also begin to fixate on the work of the Holy Spirit to the exclusion of other areas of biblical instruction.
Some of the more well-known mystics within Christian history include Gregory of Nyssa, St. John of the Cross, Thomas à Kempis, Teresa of Avila,
Madame Guyon, and George Fox. Twentieth-century mystics (“Christian” in
the broadest sense of the term) might include Thomas Merton, Henri
Nouwen, and Brennan Manning. Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, has been a significant influence in introducing mysticism to evangelicals. At its root, the Charismatic movement
is Christian mysticism, as it teaches people to seek overwhelming
spiritual experiences, manifestations of glory, and extrabiblical
revelations in their pursuit of a deeper relationship with God.
Are there mystical elements in Christianity? Absolutely. Is it right to desire to live and experience
the Christian life, rather than just study it? Absolutely. Every
Christian should want to know God personally and have direct communion
with Him. No believer is content with just knowing facts about God. The
problem is that some mystics would eschew biblical facts about God in
favor of their own experience. We must be careful because, if we
jettison the facts that God has revealed about Himself in Scripture, we
will have no way of knowing if our “direct experience” of God is
accurate. The unguided mystic, untethered from Scripture, may have a
direct experience of something or someone other than the One True God.
A. W. Tozer,
who has been called a Christian mystic because of his emphasis on true
knowledge and personal experience of God, brings balance to the
discussion:
“Some of my friends good-humoredly—and some a little bit severely—have
called me a ‘mystic.’ Well I’d like to say this about any mysticism I
may suppose to have. If an archangel from heaven were to come, and were
to start giving me, telling me, teaching me, and giving me instruction,
I’d ask him for the text. I’d say, ‘Where’s it say that in the Bible? I
want to know.’ And I would insist that it was according to the
scriptures, because I do not believe in any extra-scriptural teachings,
nor any anti-scriptural teachings, or any sub-scriptural teachings”
(transcribed from “What Difference Does the Holy Spirit Make?” delivered
January 1, 1960, and accessed on sermonaudio.com, 8/23/19).
Perhaps Christians who emphasize the intellectual side of their faith
would do well to include some of the more mystical spiritual disciplines
as they seek to understand God. And perhaps those who emphasize the
mystical approach would do well to include some of the more intellectual
disciplines (exegetical Bible study, systematic theology, apologetics)
as they seek to experience God.
IF YOU GIVE JONATHAN CAHN A TOP HAT WITH A MAGIG WAND, HE WILL TO YOUR AMAZEMENT CREATE AN
ANCIENT MYSTERY OUT OF THIN AIR. HE IS AN ILLUSIONIST
WHO HAS PERFECTED HIS CRAFT THROUGH THE
APPLICATION OF MYSTICAL HERMENUETICS OVER A
PERIOD OF MANY YEARS.
In contemporary Reform Judasim congregations, the observances of Kabbalat Shabbat, havdalah, and the Tu BiShvat seder derive from Kabbalistic traditions.
Mr.
Cahn's HERMENUETICS is based on a MYSTICAL METHOD of interpreting
scripture. What is Mystical Hermenuetics? This interpretative method is
one that views the scriptures as having shades of meaning in addition
to a strict grammatical literal interpretation. Jewish Mystics
frequently see the inspired text of the Hebrew Scriptures as having
deeper meanings intended by God that may not have been known or realized
by the BIBLICAL AUTHORS themselves! It is nothing more than seeing
additional interpretations of a passage of scripture besides it's
obvious biblical meanings.
A
mystical hermenuetic method is often identified as EISEGESIS. It is a
fundamental Jewsish method that has made it's way into all kinds of
Rabbinical writings including the ZOHAR/KABBALAH.
Another
variant of Mystical hermenuetics is Midrashic interpretation, since it
is also characterized by finding deeper biblical meanings in the Bible
unknown to the original biblical authors. New Age Rabbinical Sages
manufactured fantasy tales embroidered around biblical narratives,
patriarchs, and events and used them in their attempt to discern the
hidden meaning of scripture.
A BRIEF HISTORY CONCERNING THE EVOLUTION OF RABBINICAL MYSTICAL HERMENUETICS
The School of Akiva taught that since Elohim is all knowing, when He
speaks, every word and every letter is divinely inspired and has some
implication. Akiva’s school therefore sought and found hidden meanings
in the text. The school of Ishmael countered this approach and claimed
that when Elohim speaks to man He speaks as a man would to another man,
without buried hidden meanings. These two schools were ultimately
reconciled when it was determined that Ishmael’s approach was true on
the literal and implied levels of understanding while Akiva’s approach
held true on the allegorical and mystical levels of understanding. The
literal and implied meanings of the text could be derived from accepting
the text as if a man were speaking to another man while the allegorical
and mystical meanings could be derived by recognizing that the text
expressed the infinite mind of Elohim with meaning buried in every word
and letter. One of Rabbi Akiva's most famous students is Rabbi Shimon Ben Yohai author of the Zohar....Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai - Jewish History.
In the second video above Jodi Lamb & Jonathan Cahn discuss a so called ANCIENT MYSTERY regarding the rebirth of the Nation of Israel. What exactly is an ANCIENT MYSTERY? What is the origin of this mystical term? Was it ever employed by Jesus Christ & any of the biblical authors of the Bible? Continue reading below. You are in for a shocking surprise!
DEAR VIEWER: I AM A FORMER
MEMBER OF
PASTOR JONATHAN CAHN'S CHURCH BETH ISRAEL. I UNFORTUNATELY DEFECTED
FROM HIS
CHURCH BECAUSE AFTER MANY YEARS WHILE SITTING UNDER HIS
TEACHINGS/SERMONS I
REALIZED THERE EXIST SERIOUS ERRONEOUS DOCTRINES REVOLVING AROUND HIS
APOLOGETICS. THE BEST WAY I CAN DEFINE HIS APOLOGETICS STYLE IS AS
FOLLOWS; MR. CAHN TAKES HISTORICAL OR PROPHETIC EVENTS WHETHER BIBLICAL
OR CURRENT, AND BLENDS IT WITH JEWISH MYSTICISM WHILE INTERPRETING IT
WITH AN EISEGETICAL APPROACH THAT CORRESPONDS TO HIS OWN VERSION OF
HERMENUETICS. THROUGH THIS METHOD, MR. CAHN INTERPRETS HIS ANCIENT
MYSTERIES ACCORDING TO HIS OWN IDEAS, BIASES OR THE LIKE RATHER THAN
WHAT THE ORIGINAL BIBLICAL AUTHORS INTENDED TO CONVEY TO THEIR
AUDIENCE. HIS BOGUS MYSTERIES ARE BASED ON A FALSE BIBLICAL NARRATIVE.
THE END RESULT IS A RADICAL DEPARTURE FROM WHAT THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
DEFINES AS BIBLICAL MYSTERIES.
MR. CAHN HAS SEEDED THE CHURCH
WITH KABBALISTIC INFLUENCES THROUGH THE ZOHAR AND THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD
BY HIS SERMONS AND BOOKS, DESIGNED TO PEAK THE INNATE CURIOSITY OF THE
MIND OF HIS HEARERS/FOLLOWERS WITH SUCH TERMS AS ANCIENT MYSTERIES.
THESE TERMS ARE CLASSIC NEW AGE EXPRESSIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN USED FOR
CENTURIES BY ALL OCCULT GROUPS OF FREEMASONRY, THEOSOPHY AND NEW AGE
RABBINICAL SAGES FROM THE JUDAIC BRANCH OF KABBALAH. CHRISTIAN MEDIA IS
BEING INUNDATED WITH TEACHINGS AND BOOKS THAT CONTAIN CODE WORDS IN
THEIR TITLES,CHAPTER HEADINGS AND TEXTS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO ATTRACT
GULLIBLE CHRISTIANS TO SEEK SECRET KNOWLEDGE THAT IS LATENT IN THE HUMAN
RACE. WORDS SUCH AS MYSTICAL THINGS, PARADIGM, BLUEPRINT, ANCIENT
WISDOM, BOOK OF MYSTERIES, DECODING SECRET CODES, UNLOCKING MYSTERIES,
HIDDEN KEYS THAT UNLOCK DOORS, YOUR DESTINY, AND HARBINGER; THESE ARE
THE BOOKS THAT ARE BECOMING NY TIMES BESTSELLERS IN TODAY'S CHRISTIAN
MARKET.
NEW AGE TEACHINGS OF FALSE
SCIENCE HAVE BEEN MAKING STEADY INROADS INTO THE CHURCH FOR YEARS
THROUGH BOOKS LIKE QUANTUM FAITH, QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY, THE PHYSICS OF
HEAVEN AND MORE RECENTLY JONATHAN CAHN'S BOOK THE PARADIGM WHICH MR.
CAHN CLAIMS TO BE A BLUEPRINT OF MYSTERIES CONNECTING PAST AND PRESENT
EVENTS. EVEN THE SO CALLED SCIENCE OF KABBALAH IS SAID TO CONTAIN THE
ANCIENT BLUEPRINT THAT REVEALS THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE. WHAT IS NOT
WIDELY UNDERSTOOD BY THE BODY OF CHRIST, IS THAT THE ROOT OF EVERY NEW
CONCEPT AND TERMS/EXPRESSIONS CAN BE TRACED BACK TO ANCIENT BABYLONIAN
MYSTICISM AND KABBALISTIC WRITINGS, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA OF OCCULT
SCIENCE. MORE IMPORTANTLY THESE SEED-WORDS ARE THE LANGUAGE AND
BUILDING BLOCKS OF SATAN'S COUNTERFEIT KINGDOM ON EARTH THROUGH THE
ANTI-CHRIST AND THE BLUEPRINT FOR THE UNIVERSAL END TIME RELIGION KNOWN
AS MYSTERY BABYLON AS DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION.
Definition of Ancient Mysteries
Secret
rituals of pagan religions, known only to select initiates who had
qualified for higher spiritual development. Such mysteries
were kept apart from popular worship, and initiates had to take a
binding oath of secrecy, so that even today our knowledge of the
mysteries is partly conjectural. Typical mystery cults were those of
Eleusis in Greece from about 1500
B.C.E., in turn deriving from the mystery religions of ancient Egypt and the mysteries of Mithras, a Persian deity. Traces of Mithraism existed in Britain. Many secret societies in modern times have claimed that their rituals are a descent of an ancient tradition.
Dear
viewer: I did an exhaustive search to see if this term ANCIENT MYSTERY
is found in the bible. Nowhere is this term found either in the Old or
New Testaments. But the Word of God uses the term Pagan/Paganism to put it another way. It's a synonymous word for what is known today as Ancient Mystery. However I did find a list of Ancient Mystery Religions
in the book "ESSENTIALS OF BIBLE HISTORY" pages 564-567 as follows:
1)
THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES 2) THE CULT OF DIONYSUS 3) ORPHISM 4) THE CULT
OF CYBELE ATTIS 5) SYRIAN MYSTERY CULTS 6) MITHRAISM 7) THE CULT OF
ISIS AND SERAPIS 8) EPICUREANISM & STOICISM.
As you can see this term Ancient Mystery is not biblically based but has a direct correlation to Ancient pagan religions. It is obvious to me that these claims/terms of Ancient Mysteries and their origins has influenced Cshn's theological & critial thinking.
Go to the links below to learn more about the origins of
Ancient Mysteries and how it was applied by Mystery Religions
Dear viewer: As you can see Joni Lamb has put her stamp of approval on Mr. Cahn's so called Ancient Mystery. I have attempted to share this information and bring it to the attention of her viewers on her You Tube channel 3 times. And each time I have been censored by her channel. So much for our Freedom of Speech. Even Christian Networks are engaging in CANCEL CULTURE!
ALL OF
THESE RELIGIOUS CHRISTIAN NETWORKS HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON. AND THAT'S TO PUSH
JONATHAN CAHN'S PRODUCTS TO THE HILT! TO THE MOST GULLIBLE HIGHEST
BIDDER.
WHEN IT COMES TO DAYSTAR AND JONATHAN CAHN IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEAAY BEGINNING WITH 5 THOUSAND DOLLARS. ALSO THE VULCAN/SHIN SIGN WHICH MR. CAHN USES IN THIS VIDEO ARE USED BY NEW AGE RABBINICAL SAGES AS AN INVOCATION TO THE DEVIL. AND ALL OF THIS WAS DONE FOR 5 THOUSAND DOLLARS! WATCH VIDEO BELOW AND REFER TO LINK WHICH FOLLOWS FOR THE EVIDENCE. IT'S ALL A GIMMICK!
Mr. Spock, a Star Trek character
played by actor Leonard Nimoy, became famous for giving the Vulcan
greeting with his right hand. Nimoy, a Jew, says that the sign is the
same gesture given in Jewish synagogues when the rabbi and elders bring
out the Holy of Holies. It is based on the Hebrew letter "shin." In
essence, on the popular TV show, every time Spock gave the "shin" Vulcan
greeting hand sign, he was invoking cabalistic magic.