Should the believer's faith depend upon the coming of a literal Messiah son of David?
Should the believer's faith depend upon the coming of a literal Messiah son of David?
A literal Messiah son of David? Grass will grow upon our cheeks, and still a Messiah son of David will not have come. Why? Because all the “ends” [foretold by Moses Torah] have passed, and a Messiah son of David has not come. Thus, our ultimate redemption depends only upon repentance and good deeds. Thus, if Israel repented a single day, immediately would the paradigm of Messiah son of David be fulfilled.
Yet, should national Israel insist upon having a physical Messiah, let him come, but may we not see it. Why? Because of the birth pangs preceding the coming of such human Messiah... In the generation in which that Messiah appears, disciples of the wise will grow fewer and fewer.
And as for those who remain, their eyes will be consumed with sorrow and sighing. And many agonies will afflict the entire people-- harsh decrees added one to another, so that while one is still in force, another is quickly promulgated.
In the footsteps of a human Messiah, insolence will increase and honour dwindle; the vine will yield its fruit [abundantly] but wine will be dear; the government will turn to heresy and there will be none [to offer them] reproof;
the meeting-place [of scholars] will be used for immorality; Galilee will be destroyed, Gablan desolated, and the dwellers on the frontier will go about [begging] from place to place without anyone to take pity on them; the wisdom of the learned will degenerate, fearers of sin will be despised, and the truth will be lacking;
youths will put old men to shame, the old will stand up in the presence of the young, a son will revile his father, a daughter will rise against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be the members of his household; the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog (brazen), a son will not feel ashamed before his father.
So, upon whom is it for us to rely? Upon our Father who is in heaven, upon sincere repentance, good deeds, and Torah study (“This book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success”- Joshua 1: 8).
“A lie will remain false, even if the whole world chooses to believe it. But truth will still be true, even if the whole worlds chooses to deny it. Thus, trust God's eternal Law ('Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy Law is the Truth'- Psalm 119: 142), and do not lean upon your own understanding ('Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding'- Proverbs 3: 5)”
Is Christian theology false? And, if so, does it mean the Holy One [blessed be He] has no use for it?
When it comes to the religion each of us will eventually follow, there seems to be at play some sort of “natural selection process”; one where we do not seek absolute truth (as too much truth seem to be intimidating! ) but rather the truth that will suit our personal needs and/or limitations.
In the case of the noble Christian faith, the Jesus described in the gospels is portrayed as been extremely demanding: he demands that we repent; he demands that we obey the ten sayings (or commandments); he demands that we obey the scribes and the pharisees; he demands that we abandon everything, in order to follow him; he demands that we give our treasures to the poor; he demands that we become servants of our fellow human beings; he demands that we love him so strongly that [in comparison] the love owed to our parents look like hatred; he demands that we pray without stopping; he demands that we dine only with the poor and the lame; he demands that we carry our own cross [in order to follow him], etc.
Of course, in the eyes of the healthy, passionate, rich, and powerful Romans, such demands were simply intolerable. But, after Jesus death, it was the apostle Paul who took upon himself the task of spreading Christianity. So, instead of preaching the stern demands made by Jesus, Paul craftily chose to “photo-shop” Jesus original message, telling to his Greek [and Roman] audience the exact opposite: that acquiring the treasure of everlasting life required no effort from their part, as it was a free gift from God.
And since no one refuses a deal were he gets huge benefits with absolutely no responsibilities, Christianity suddenly started to sell like crazy. Please bear in mind that Jesus had promised his disciples that they would become “fishers of men”; so, Paul just took Jesus words “at face value”, and simply started to use his own convenient “bait” (salvation by faith! ).
Of course, we know the former is plain deception, as Scripture (Deuteronomy chapter 28) clearly states that blessings are reserved only for those who obey the commandments, while curses and suffering await those who turn away from them [and this might be the reason why, unlike the many instances were God delivered Israel from it’s national enemies, Christianity was never miraculously delivered from it’s national enemies].
Yet, in spite of it’s deceptive nature, Christian theology does seem to have a special place in God’s plan for non Hebrew nations. And such plan is portrayed in the Gibeonites- the Canaanite gentiles who used deception, in order to trick Israel into making peace with them. In the end, although their deceptive ways were publicly exposed, the Gibeonites were granted the supreme honor of becoming part of the daily Temple service (bringing the required water and wood).
Why was the Gibeonite deception rewarded? Because Joshua recognized that, going thru with such an elaborate ruse, meant that the Gibeonites placed a high value on the life of their brothers and sisters- an idea that is at the heart of God’s service (the Hebrew sages acknowledged that the Law could be broken, if it meant saving a human life! ).
Curiously, Hebrew tradition (Sanhedrin 97a) acknowledges the paramount role to be played by the Christian religion: «Rabbi Isaac said: “The son of David will not come until the whole world is converted to the belief of the [Judeo-Christian] heretics”. Raba said: “What verse [proves this]? - ‘it is all turned white: he is clean’ (Lev. XIII, 13. This refers to leprosy: a white swelling is a symptom of uncleanliness; nevertheless, if the whole skin is so affected, it is declared clean. So here too; when all are heretics, it is a sign that the world is about to be purified by the advent of Messiah)”».
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