"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14;
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| "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14;
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Note: Scriptures are blue.
adapted from a sermon by Tim Williams
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Throughout their history, the Jewish people have suffered at the hands of many different oppressors. Their primary crime as a people is that they recognize the One True CREATOR, the Mighty One of Israel.
In the article "Extermination of a People, Part One" the violent history and persecution of the Jewish people was covered quite thoroughly from a secular historical perspective. With these facts having been documented extensively in history, an examination of the scriptures will show that the prophet Isaiah foretold this hatred and persecution of the Tribe of Judah long ago. A detailed account of the fate of the Jewish people is given in the two chapters of Isaiah 52 and 53. Sadly, Catholic-Protestant theology has embraced these two chapters and applied them to the death of a man from Galilee. Here, they say, is a description of the life and crucifixion of a man from Galilee. Here, they also say, is a prophecy of his sacrifice and of the shedding of his blood for all people. These chapters are, in fact, the backbone of the argument for the Galilean as the Messiah. Are these chapters really a prophecy about a man, any man? Are they even messianic prophecies at all? On the other hand, do they perhaps describe the long and bloody persecution of the Jewish people, including one event in recent history that is so horrific that words cannot fully describe it?
To begin, a careful reading of the text in question is necessary. The following are excerpts from the 52nd and 53rd chapters of the book of the Prophet Isaiah:
Isa. 53:1-12 "Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of ETERNAL revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of CREATOR, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes, we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and ETERNAL hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of My people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased ETERNAL to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of ETERNAL shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore, will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
Biblical scholars and commentaries call these chapters the prophecy of the "Suffering Servant." For 'Christians' this is a prophecy of their savior, the man from Galilee. They say he is the servant that is referred to. The key to understanding this prophecy is to understand whom the servant truly is. Is the servant really a person as the perpetuators of his mythology say? Although these scriptures seem to correlate to the NT accounts of the crucifixion, how can one be certain? Remember that in the original Hebrew Text, there were no chapter breaks. The book was and is a single writing with a central theme so that the subject of chapter 52 carries on into chapter 53. The Light of Israel 2 states:
To get the identity of the servant, one must read the chapters beginning with 41 of Isaiah. Who do the Hebrew Scriptures of Israel reveal as the servant of the ETERNAL CREATOR? Beginning in chapter 41, the CREATOR's servant is Israel or Jacob, which is comprised of both Houses of Israel, Ephraim, and Judah.
Here is the identity of the famous suffering servant. There is no need to speculate or hypothesize. The identity is clearly revealed as the nation of Israel. The servant is not a man at all, but an entire nation of people. Next, this servant is to be led by the Spirit of the CREATOR to bring judgment to the gentiles. How very plain that is.
It is very interesting to see the views of some bible commentaries on this issue. To define the issue in 'Christian' terms we will first quote a 'Christian.' Clark's Commentary says:
Dr. Clark as a Christian and attempts to defend the doctrines and traditions of his church. It has been noted that "the best men and scholars" he refers to are also Christian. His comments are clearly biased toward his personal beliefs, as his opening remarks illustrate. From a different point of view note what the Collegeville Bible Commentary says:
Not to be deterred by the facts note that the Interpreters Bible states that 'Christians' are unconcerned:
In other words, 'Christians' do not seem to mind that their claims of the servant being a man from Galilee are in clear contradiction to the context in Hebrew Scriptures for preceding chapters. This study will first show how these prophecies in Isaiah cannot possibly refer to the Galilean. Next, it will show how they do apply to the nation of Israel, which remember was made up of twelve tribes originally. Lastly, it will show that the tribe of Judah (the Jews of today) are specifically being refereed to in parts of Chapters 52 and 53 of Isaiah. Lets begin by examining a few key verses and see how they cannot possibly refer to the man from Galilee. Isaiah 52:14Isa. 52:14 "As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men." This verse is supposed to show the Galilean's ordeal and crucifixion. 'Christian' ministers have stated that he was so badly beaten by the Romans that even Mary Magdalene did not recognize him in the garden. The book of Luke, however, dispels this notion at once: Luke 24:13-17,13 "And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, 'Jesus' himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him." If the Galilean had been beaten unrecognizable to even his closest friends, why did he have to supernaturally conceal himself from these men? Yet, according to Luke, he clearly could be recognized, so the 'Christian' argument of Isa. 52:14 being a prophecy of the disfigurement of a Galilean fades away. Isaiah 52:15The next example will show the dishonesty of the translators of the Septuagint and of the King James Version of the bible as they try to force prophecies of a Galilean into Isaiah by mistranslating words in light of the New Testament:
At first glance, this verse seems to uphold the saving blood of the Galilean spilled during his alleged crucifixion. An example of this false usage is found in the New Testament book of first Peter: 1 Peter 1:1-2 "Peter, an apostle of 'Jesus Christ,' to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of 'God the Father,' through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of 'Jesus Christ;' Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
However, the Tanakh renders Isa. 52:15 as "...So shall he startle many nations..."
Exactly what this is referring to will be discussed later, but it most assuredly does not mean that the blood of a man was splattered on many nations. This is simply an attempt to force a prophecy of a Galilean into Isaiah to make it appear to agree with the New Testament (NT) book of Peter. Isaiah 53:3Isa. 53:3 "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." If this is a prophecy of the man from Galilee, it says that he would be despised and rejected by men. Again, one needs only to search the NT to find that there is disagreement with the so-called "Old Testament". Luke 4:14-15 "And 'Jesus' returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues..." Notice that the book of Luke reveals that everyone had heard of the Galilean and flocked to hear him speak. They allowed him to teach on many occasions in their synagogues. At one point, according to the NT accounts, he was given an audience with King Herod. One needs only to read of his triumphant entry into Jerusalem shortly before the alleged crucifixion to see that he was not despised and rejected. Here is a situation where hundreds, possibly thousands, threw palm branches in his path and shouted "Hosanna". They hailed him as their deliverer from Roman occupation. Does this sound like he was despised and rejected? Isaiah 53:4-5Isa. 53:4-5 "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of CREATOR, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." A thorough examination of this word "stripes" will reveal that this is another mistranslation. The word translated "stripes" in the original Hebrew actually means "bruised" or "wounded", but "stripes" better fits the NT account of the alleged scourging by the Romans. 1 Peter 2:24 "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." One translation even reads like this: "He was "pierced" through for our transgressions, and by his "scourging" we are healed." This is a blatant and open dishonest mistranslation and an attempt to force Jesus into the prophecies of ancient Israel. Isaiah 53:10Notice in one part of this prophecy, that the servant of ETERNAL was to be "crushed by disease" and that after he had made his life an offering for the guilt of others, he would "see his offspring," which is a clear reference to having children:
Isa. 53:10 (Tanakh) "But the ETERNAL chose to crush him by disease, that if he made himself an offering for guilt, He might see offspring and have long life..."
When was the Galilean crushed by disease? Did he have a long life and see his physical descendants, or children? No. Again, when this prophecy is examined in the light of the servant being the nation of Judah, as the Scriptures clearly show, it makes much more sense. Isaiah 53:12The prophecy goes on to state that because the servant of ETERNAL has laid down his life because of the sins of others, and because he "bore the sin of many," he would be given the physical wealth and treasures of the nations that oppressed him:
If this is a prophecy about the NT Galilean, why would he be concerned with dividing earthly spoils since he is supposed to be a 'god'? First, to get an idea of what is being discussed here, notice a scripture in Zechariah:
The fact that this verse in Zechariah is referring to the tribe of Judah being rewarded with material wealth is not questioned. Here is the explanation of Isa. 53:12. The Jews will be given the spoils of war, which is "gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance". It is their reward for being persecuted throughout history by all nations. Again, what possible interest could being who is supposed to be a god have in gold, silver, and apparel? Isaiah 53:1-2The servant of the ETERNAL CREATOR has already been identified in Isaiah 41 and 42 as the nation of Israel and Judah. With this in mind, notice some more verses in Isaiah 53:
Here is a prophecy of Israel and Judah growing up before the CREATOR in the deserts after being freed from Egyptian slavery. Other scriptures will describe this in a similar manner.
Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt."
Psalms 80:8-9 "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land."
Deut. 8:15 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget ETERNAL thy CREATOR, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint. Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;"
Here are three different Scriptures, which clearly identify the "tender plant that would grow up before the CREATOR is the nation of Israel. Israel coming out of Egyptian slavery was in a pitiful state. Compared to the glory and splendor, the incredible stature and wealth of other nations such as Egypt and Babylon, Israel was as nothing. There was no beauty in him that we should desire him. Their visage, what they looked like as a nation was marred. Isaiah 53:7Next we come to Isaiah 53:7. This verse is supposed to identify 'jesus' as the lamb led to slaughter:
The model of the suffering servant led as a lamb to slaughter comes from the prophet Jeremiah.
This verse clearly refers to the prophet Jeremiah, and gives us the model for understanding Isaiah. Here is a vital key to understanding Isaiah's great prophecy. As Jeremiah was a prophet to Israel, so Israel is to the rest of the world. As Jeremiah served as an example to Israel, so Israel would serve as an example to the rest of the world. The Collegeville commentary sums up Isa. 53:
Isaiah 52:1-6Now comes the most interesting part of this prophecy of Isaiah. This is the focus of Isaiah 52 and 53 with the tribe of Judah specifically. Remember that in the original Hebrew Text there were no chapter breaks. Chapter 52, therefore, is an introduction to chapter 53. A few verses in Chapter 52 unlock the keys to the understanding of chapter 53:
Here the CREATOR speaks to Zion. The reference to Zion connotes the tribe of Judah, or the Jews of Today. Verse 4 reveals another vital key:
The New International Version gives a rendering of those few verses that are easier to understand than the archaic King James:
Side Note: To those who proclaim one way or another, to pronounce the name YHWH, ETERNAL states that "in that day" (the Time of Jacob's Trouble) that His people would know His name. That indicates that, before that time, Israel will NOT know His name regardless of what they proclaim is the correct pronunciation. Back to the subject, remember that Assyria is said to be the Germanic peoples of today. Notice that Assyria (the Germans) oppresses the tribe of Judah (the Jews) without cause. Most will say that this prophesy was fulfilled in ancient times, and while that is certainly true, verse 10 reveals that it will occur again in the future: Isaiah 52:10Isa. 52:10 "...all the nations of the earth SHALL SEE the salvation of our CREATOR." The reference to the salvation of our CREATOR places the time setting as in the time of the end. It can only be in the end time when all nations will see salvation. These verses hold the key to these two chapters. This prophecy, then, is an introduction to the next chapter, which is about the Jewish people being oppressed or persecuted by the Germanic peoples without cause in the end time. Collegeville Commentary states: In an article by C. F. Dickey from Destiny Magazine entitled "A Christian Examines Judaism," Mr. Dickey criticizes the above explanation about the servant being the tribe of Judah. He says: "This is a shocking misapplication of Isaiah's great prophecy. When were the Jews wounded for our transgressions? Or when did YHWH lay on them the iniquity of us all? When and how were they made an offering for sin? To answer Mr. Dickey's question, one need only to refer back to Part One of this series to see where secular history amply documents the persecution of the Jewish people. The ancient Roman church held them responsible for the crucifixion of their 'christ" based on erroneous statements from the New Testament. The Inquisition during the middle ages in Spain, because the Jewish people refused to worship other gods, and maintained their strict adherence to the holy Sabbaths of our CREATOR. The European countries where they were forced to live in Ghettos and wear identifying badges. The 'Christian Identity' movement of today perpetuates anti-Semitism. There are many other instances, but one need only focus on one event in our recent history to answer Mr. Dickey's question. Consider, for a moment, the Holocaust of World War II, with one fell swoop an estimated six million people from the tribe of Judah were cut off from the land of the living. In the Nazi death camps, little Israelite children marched like lambs to the slaughter into the snow banks of Treblinka where the infamous Nazi storm troopers with their machine guns and guard dogs forced them to disrobe. They were hosed down with water, and left to freeze to death in the snow, their tiny bodies huddled together to try to stave off the cold. Whole families were lined up like so many ducks in a row in front of trenches and machine-gunned to death. Their starved and afflicted bodies were thrown into the mass graves and left for the birds and worms to devour. Millions of Jews marched like lambs to the slaughter to their deaths in the gas chambers, not opening their mouths. The accounts of torture chambers, terrible medical experiments, rapes, and beatings were an everyday occurrence. Isaiah 53:8-11The suffering servant of Isaiah was/is the Israelite tribe of Judah, and they were tortured and killed for all the sins of their Israelite brothers.
With this in mind, notice the prophecies in Isaiah:
Examine this verse carefully and apply the newly acquired information to the following four statements:
Notice Isaiah 53:11 with this in mind:
The Jews have preserved the very words of the ETERNAL CREATOR. Their knowledge of who is the ONE TRUE CREATOR of Israel, The ELOHIM of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob shall one day justify many--especially the lost ten tribes of Israel. Isaiah 53:3What nation has been despised and rejected?
Are not the Jews despised and rejected? Are not the Jews acquainted with grief? Did not the nations of the world hide their faces at the events that led up to the Holocaust? Did we not hide our faces even after the news of the death camps became common knowledge? Perhaps the saddest commentary on the whole situation is that the only people who could have possibly prevented the slaughter of six million innocent people, and did not, were their own Israelite brothers, America and Britain. Other PropheciesHaving stated that the Jews preserved the words of the CREATOR of Israel in the Hebrew Scriptures, notice some interesting prophecies:
Here is a prophecy that tells us to seek out the "book of the ETERNAL". This is the so-called "Old Testament" as preserved by the Jewish people in the Torah, Nevi'im, and Kethu'vim. Today it is known as the Tanakh. To further illustrate this, notice:
Notice that the word of ETERNAL is with the people which belong in Jerusalem, i.e. the Jews. This brings us to the book of Zechariah for an interesting end time scripture:
First, realize what this verse does not say. This is not endorsing modern day Judaism as a religion, per se, but emphasizes that the Jewish people do have a knowledge of the nature of the ONE TRUE CREATOR even if they have other books that they hold to be holy. That is, the Jews understand the vital truth that the CREATOR of Israel, the CREATOR of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is ONE Being. He is not a father/son duality and certainly not a Babylonian Mystery trinity. Isaiah 53:10-11The next two verses describe the role of the Jewish people in history:
As a side note notice that, whomever this is referring to will suffer sickness and have offspring, certainly this cannot refer to the man from Galilee. Now back to the subject.
The English word "devotion" comes from the Hebrew word "da'ath" (Strong's #H1847 dah'-ath) and means knowledge. This tells us a lot about the Jewish people and what knowledge the Jews possess? It is the same knowledge the Mashiach King David (see our article "New Proof of the Messiah) will have and that will be prevalent in the Davidic Kingdom of the future.
What knowledge do the Jews posses that is hated by the world? They have the knowledge of the truth that the CREATOR of the universe is ONE:
It is knowledge, which the Jewish people have fought for and died by the millions to preserve. It is knowledge that almost no one else, it would seem, is interested in even though it is contained in every copy of the OT (Hebrew Scriptures) in the world. The reoccurring theme in Hebrew Scripture is what the Jewish people have the knowledge of, it is that of the ETERNAL CREATOR's nature and of His day--the Sabbath The Jewish people have been persecuted, hated, despised, slaughtered and butchered as a nation because they were chosen by the ETERNAL CREATOR to preserve the truth of His Hebrew Scriptures. The truth of Who it was that our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob talked to knew, worshipped, loved, and the day that He set apart. This brings us to an interesting question. What made Hitler hate the Jews so much? What makes anyone hate the Jews so much? Why have they been persecuted, despised and rejected throughout their history? Herein lies the key to understanding anti-Semitism. The driving force behind anti-Semitism is our adversary "satan, the devil, the adversary." It would like nothing better than to see the total annihilation and destruction of the only people on earth who know the answer to man's oldest questions, "Is there a CREATOR? If so, who and what is CREATOR?" Imagine, if you will, having a target drawn on your back as the second most powerful spirit being in the universe, after our CREATOR, makes its mission to destroy you. This is the fate of the Jewish people. This is how they have been forced to live and die. The holocaust of W.W.II was but one more attempt by satan to destroy the knowledge of the truth of the CREATOR. Simply put, the Jewish people (not the religion of Judaism which is just another Babylonian breakaway) hold the map to the Tree of Life, and satan does not like it! Conclusion
After the Lost Ten Tribes of ancient Israel, have been identified and regathered to the Promised Land by their CREATOR, their brothers from the tribe of Judah will have a question for these millions:
Again quoting from The Light of Israel which states:
In other words, dear brother Israelites, the Tribe of Judah will ask, "where were you for the last two thousand years while we stood alone and were slaughtered by the millions to protect the words of ETERNAL, the Hebrew Scriptures? Where were you when we were hunted like animals because we refused to bow to b-al and worship his false crucified savior son? Where were you when we were not ashamed of the words "Hear O Israel, ETERNAL your CREATOR is One." Where were you when we were driven and scattered, hated and despised wherever we went? What crime had we committed? What iniquity was found in us that we should deserve to bear the guilt and sins of other nations? Only this: We are Hebrews! Moreover, we served the ETERNAL CREATOR, the maker of Heaven and Earth!
Footnotes
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