One Core Religion, Progressively Elaborated

Responding to questions in a thread:

One Core Religion, Progressively Elaborated

Background

Me: The “religion” of Noah and Moses was the same “religion,” handed down from Adam to Noah and from Noah to Jacob’s (“Israel’s”) twelve sons. In Egypt, most of Israel forgot those beliefs and adopted Egyptian practices. Moses merely wrote it down as God restored it and elaborated on it.

Response: Does that mean Jesus modified and changed the eternal religion by deeming everything allowed to be eaten?

Secondly, do you have a proof of your claim that it was the same religion, or is it just a conjecture?

Response

First, the trend of the “religion” of Elohim/YHWH/Jesus as defined in the Bible has a constant thread of depending on God instead of on self-righteousness, and being rewarded with enjoying a personal relationship with God. The doctrines of the “religion” developed through punctuated elaboration. That is, at various times, more details were added so that it forms a continuum, just like the education of any student. The Jewish authorities of Jesus’s time dropped out by rejecting the next layer of elaboration and the corrections that laid its groundwork.

To me, calling that process “modifying and changing” is like saying that conducting a student from sixth grade into seventh grade is “changing” his education. There is a change in the student’s stage, but the stages of the plan have been there all along. So, from the religionist’s perspective, perhaps; from the Planner’s perspective, no.

Just as some schools will put part of their students on a path toward manual vocations and others on a path toward college, God separated the descendants of Abraham from the rest of the world. The purpose of the Abrahamic path became clear when God singled out Jacob’s descendants to become Israel, a nation of priests to the world (they failed miserably) and the path through which the Redeemer would come. A special role required special policies.

The Mosaic Law had a number of purposes, among which was conveying a message about holiness. The need for holiness was symbolized, for example, by dietary regulations. However:

• The dietary regulations were part of the Mosaic Covenant (or “Law” or “contract”) between God and Israel. The Law never had jurisdiction outside of Israel (“gentiles”).
  
  
• Israel abrogated the Law through breach of contract, violating it repeatedly, ultimately by rejecting the promised Messiah.
  
  
• God abrogated the Law by fulfilling it through the Messiah (“Christ”).
  
  
• God supplanted the Law with a new covenant (“New Testament”) with simplified requirements: Trust the sacrifice of Christ for redemption instead of trusting self-righteousness; Love God; love your neighbor; and love fellow believers. The simplification was new, but it continued “the spirit of the Law” that had always existed.

The butterfly is still the same creature that it was when it was a caterpillar. When a child discards the toys of a toddler in favor of the toys of a pre-pubescent, the process of maturation is not “modified or changed.” You aren’t changing the “religion” by moving it into a more mature phase.

Second, the genealogies do not say, “X begat Y and taught him his religion, and Y begat Z and taught him his religion,” etc. However, the whole of the scriptures emphasize that beliefs are passed from generation to generation; that the beliefs God defines should be passed down; and there were generations such as Abel, Seth, and Enoch between Adam and Noah that were specifically said to walk with God. And isn’t it the hope of every parent that their child will follow their religious (or non-religions) belief?

I’m accustomed to people (specifically, atheists) who ask for “proof,” demanding unreasonable, tangible, irrefutable, complete, and constantly available evidence. Since time machines are fantasy, I’m prejudiced to say that, according to their standards, “No, there’s no proof.” But if you’re a reasonable person, I’m sure a time machine won’t be necessary. 

Copyright 2021, Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for non-remunerated reuse. Please give credit where credit is due.

Jesus Proclaims the Jewish Jubilee

From a Question on Quora

What is the implication for Luke 4:18-19?

In Luke 4:18–19, Jesus read Isaiah 61:1–2. The passage in Isaiah refers to the typology (symbolism) in Leviticus 25’s command to hold a year of Jubilee. (The wordings in Luke and Isaiah do not line up word-for-word because our English translation of Isaiah usually comes from the Hebrew manuscripts whereas our English translation of Luke’s quotation comes from the Greek, which probably translates from a Hebrew or Aramaic manuscript that Jesus read.)

One of the answers inserts an interpretation of verse 19 by a self-proclaimed prophet from 1800’s America. According to that prophet, verse 19 refers to his prophetic work; however, the context and language trace the language back to Isaiah, Moses, and something that was fully understood 3500 years ago and was never “lost.” The Bible we already have can interpret itself.

Colossians 2:16–17 explains that Old Testament ceremonial rules symbolized truths about Jesus Christ. For example, Hebrews 4:8–11 clarifies that the rest from work on the Sabbath symbolized entering into a rest from working to establish one’s own righteousness before God. Good that one does after entering that rest becomes a gift of love and thanksgiving rather than an attempt to earn grace.

Similarly, the Year of Jubilee had more than practical applications. God commanded Israel to hold a Year of Jubilee. The Hebrew calendar had seven sets of seven years (7x7=49), with each seventh year being a “Sabbath year” (Leviticus 25:1–7) The fiftieth year after the conquest of Canaan, and every fiftieth year after that, was to be a Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:8–17).

During the Year of Jubilee, on the feast day called the Day of Atonement, a number of things should have happened. For example:

In Bronze Age Mediterranean culture, people often sold themselves or family members in order to pay off debts or to avoid starvation. Many Bible translations use the word slaves, but they were more like indentured servants in early American history. During the Year of Jubilee, all such Hebrew slaves were to be freed.

As Israel conquered Canaan, the land was divided among the twelve tribes, and the tribes divided their lands among their families. Over the course of 49 years, some prospered and others did not, so lands were sold. During the Year of Jubilee, all lands were to be returned to the original owners to preserve their inheritance.

Now that we have a path from the ceremonial symbols in Leviticus, through the prophetic preaching of Isaiah, to Jesus’s proclamation in Luke, we can consider the passage phrase by phrase.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me

Anointing was a ceremonial act analogous to, today, ordaining a minister. It meant that a person was authorized and empowered to perform a service such as priesthood, prophecy, or leadership. God anointing Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit was like, not just giving a policeman a badge, but giving him the whole utility belt. God the Holy Spirit verified Christ’s identity by empowering His miracles as well as working on the hearts of those whom Jesus served.

to proclaim good news to the poor

Jesus preached good news not just to the favored religious people, but also to despised poor. Metaphorically, the poor represented humble people who lacked a “treasury of grace,” but who, rather, confessed their moral poverty and cast themselves upon God’s mercy in total dependence.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

The Old Testament “slaves” represented people who were in bondage to sins and its consequences. There is a twisted idea that the sinner is in bondage to the devil, and the devil will torment sinners in hell. That is not a Christian idea. We are born with an inclination to sin; which sin is optional, but sinning is inevitable. For this reason, we are all subject to the penalty for sin. Hell can torment us all by itself without any devils’ help. In fact, Hell will be the place of the devils’ torment, too.

As long as we rely on our own righteousness, ceremonies, sacrifices, or self restraint, we remain in bondage to the consequences of sin. Jesus came to proclaim liberty to that captivity. He did what we could not and offers that act to us as a gift. We can ignore or reject it and remain in our prisons, or we can walk out and enjoy the liberty God offers. It’s our choice.

recovering of sight to the blind

Israel had apostatized so severely (even practicing child sacrifice) that God allowed other nations to conquer and scatter them. Only a remnant of a few tribes survived, primarily Judea — or, the “Jews.” When Assyrians allowed Jews to return home, they had learned their lesson. But they took it too far. They became legalistic, shifting their focus from God to the Mosaic Law. It became part of their religion to try to establish their own righteousness. Metaphorically, they blinded themselves to the larger point concerning humility and dependence on God for redemption. You see Jesus contending with the Pharisees about this throughout the gospels. And you still see it in major “Christian” churches, too.

Through His teaching, Jesus repeatedly drove home the point that only those who performed the inhuman feat of achieving sinless perfection could enter heaven. The logical conclusion was that we are all condemned and must, in humble repentance, entrust ourselves to God’s promises. This lesson does not come naturally to us. Our pride blinds us to it. Recovering sight of it is a work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus’s message. He restores sight to the blind.

to set at liberty those who are oppressed

All these phrases interrelate. When we see ourselves through God’s eyes, or compare our lives to the spirit of the Mosaic Law or Ten Commandments, we see our condition. Guilt weighs us down. The Roman Catholic Church does a good job of this; I’ve encountered many who have completely shut themselves off to any discussion of spiritual topics because that load of guilt is so crushing.

That weight of guilt is a good thing when it drives us to rely on God’s mercy by trusting in the redemption that God offers through Jesus’s sacrifice. The first-century Jewish establishment had so weighed down its people with rules and regulations that the weight became unbearable. Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Covenant. His self-sacrifice lifts guilt’s oppression off of those who entrust themselves to Him and sets them at liberty.

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

Because of the connection through Isaiah, we know that “year of the Lord’s favor” refers to the Year of Jubilee. The Bible does not record that Israel, or later, Judea, ever celebrated the Year of Jubilee. If it had been proclaimed in accordance with Leviticus 25:9, it would no doubt have been recorded because it would have been a very big deal. For the first time, Jesus proclaimed it. “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). He did not merely proclaim the legal, religious holiday, but its symbolic fulfillment.

Those elements of the passage have another layer of implications. Jesus could proclaim Jubilee only as a High Priest or Prophet. He could set people free from guilt’s weight only as a Redeemer. He could serve as sufficient sacrifice for our sins only as perfect man and as infinite God. That identity could only be verified by the power and works of God Himself. And liberty from guilt, sight, freedom from legalism’s oppression, and favor of God are offered to all who will practice a “sabbath” rest from self-justification and receive the Gift as a free gift from the great Giver of gifts.

Copyright 2020, Richard Wheeler. Use freely for non-profit use, but please give credit where credit is due.

Unfulfilled Messianic Prophecies

Those of the Jewish faith often challenge Christians about the unfulfilled Messianic prophecies. They think Messiah's mission will be all about them.

When the prophecies were given, Adam, Israel, or just Judea looked forward through time, dimly seeing a mountain peak in history. As the world arrived at that peak, the followers of Messiah began to realize that scriptures described not one mountain peak, but two. The two peaks are aligned so that ancient Israel could not distinguish them. But now, being between those peaks, we can clearly distinguish them.

Just as granite and sandstone seldom occur together, so the characteristics of the suffering Messiah and the conquering Messiah (being the same Person) lack compatibility. In that light, the separation of events makes sense.

Moses said God would send another prophet like himself. A few parallels are especially relevant.

• When Moses first came to Israel, Israel rejected him. When Messiah first came to Israel, Israel rejected Him.
• After being rejected by Israel, Moses went away for a very long time, shepherding among the gentiles. After being rejected by Israel, Messiah went away for a very long time, shepherding gentiles.
• Moses returned to deliver Israel from bondage in a foreign land. Messiah will return and deliver Israel from bondage to unbelief.
• Moses gave the Law of Death (rather God gave it through Moses) which commissioned Israel as a priestly nation and a peculiar people. Messiah gave the Law of Liberty which commissioned believers in every nation to be a borderless, priestly nation and a peculiar people.

When you stand between two points in a process, you do not say, "The second point has not arrived, so the first point was not part of the process." Yet that is what Jewish apologists do. When God says, "Our path is going to make a right turn," those who follow the change are the ones with God. If you continue straight, you are the one who leaves the path.

Copyright 2020, Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for personal, non-prophet... er, non-profit... uses, provided credit is given where credit is due.

Messiah's Unfulfilled and Fulfilled Prophecies

Question from Quora:

Since even the Christians agree that Jesus did not fulfill most of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, then why should anyone accept Jesus as the Messiah?

A Broken Question

The question is contains two non sequiturs. The correct answer to the question is, “The question is not a valid question.”

First, I’d like to know the count of fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecies and how it was arrived at. Bear in mind that many prophecies were in the form of typology.

For example, Moses prophesied that the Messiah would be like him. Both Jesus and Moses were rejected by their people. Both, after presenting themselves to their people, when away for a very long time before a second appearance. Both delivered Law: the first, a Law that condemns, and the second, a Law that liberates. Both presented sacrifices: the first, covering sacrifices, and the second, a redeeming sacrifice. I haven’t even scratched the surface here; Moses’ life was rich with prophetic symbolism. And that’s just one of many prophets.

Second, saying the prophecies concerning Messiah were not fulfilled is like writing a review for a play before the second act has even started or calling a baseball game after only the second inning. During Messiah Jesus’s first appearing, He accomplished a redemptive sacrifice that is there, plain as day, throughout the Old Testament, yet none of the Old Testament Jews anticipated. They focused entirely on nationalistic, political events yet to unfold, to the exclusion of predecessor, spiritual events. As Jesus said to Peter, “you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23, NKJV).

Why Believe?

Why anyone should accept Jesus as the Messiah remains a valid question, even if a gross misunderstanding of the prophecies motivates it. There are other answers, perhaps better answers, but this answer fits the context of the question. To understand it, some context is needed.

In the Bible, redemption, adoption, and sanctification all have two phases. These differences are gleaned from how the words are used in their contexts and from customs of ancient Jewish, Hellenist (Greek culture), and Roman societies.

• Redemption first involves the payment that transfers ownership and then involves taking delivery of the thing purchased.
• Adoption involves a legal declaration that makes someone a legal heir and then involves the execution of the will; which means for Christians the resurrection or transformation of the body leading into Judgment Day.
• Sanctification involves a legal declaration that makes someone holy and righteous, based on Messiah’s already having paid sin’s debt, followed by a gradual process of transforming that person’s behaviors into righteousness.
• Redemption, adoption, and sanctification converge when Messiah returns, wherein Messiah takes to Himself the believers remaining on earth, and transforming them into holy perfection, no longer in a form that is subject to temptation, and worthy to enter God’s presence.

As you can see, the phased processes (along with too many other processes and goals to mention here) dovetail with the concept of two appearance. That brings us to the answer to the question. First, one should believe because Jesus did fulfill so many prophecies. Second, one should believe, and believe now, because the delay in fulfillment of the remaining prophecies means there’s still time to find redemption. When Messiah fulfills the rest of the prophecies, it will be too late.

Tank

I remember a troubled young man Tank. After believing, he thought about questions he’d never considered before. One question above all bothered him: Why hasn’t God stopped sin and punished the wicked? How can God allow it to go on?

I asked when he had become a believer. Tank answered, two weeks ago.

Then I asked him, “Two weeks. Suppose Jesus had come three weeks weeks ago, stopped sin, and judged all the wicked for their sins. Where would Tank be now?”

Tank thought about it. “I guess, instead of asking why God allows sin to go on, I should thank Him for giving me more time, shouldn’t I?”

The delay between the first and second appearances of Messiah Jesus allows time for more people to repent and their place faith in Messiah. It allows them time to grow in holiness, worship God, and demonstrate His power. It also allows others to add to the accountability that will enable God to demonstrate His justice and holiness. You don’t want to be in the group that thinks the yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecies comprise a valid rationalization for rejecting the redemption the Messiah offers.

Copyright 2020, Richard Wheeler. Most of this question was originally posted on Quora. Permission granted for personal and non-profit use, and please give credit where credit is due.