Note: "It is a rule in the UPCI that no licensed Minister may publicly contend for any view that may bring disunity to the organization, the mouths of Prophets within this group are gagged and the pens of scribes are forbidden to write. With this form of ecclesiastical censorship lording over the rank and file of this organization, there will never be a public questioning of Dr. Segraves's beliefs which he publishes to be true when they are false. Since there can be no publicized dissent of his opinions and theories from within the ranks of the UPCI, someone outside of this organization must take up the responsibility to call his prophetic beliefs false." - Pastor Rev. Reckart [sic]
"Over an altar or over another person or by letting it blow in the wind..."
Holy Magic Hair "the Power of Angels"
(Updated 01.05.13)
Note: Christian
churches are filled with passionate men and women of all ages who
love God with all their being, and have a deeply genuine love for
other people. Many "Bible believing Christians"
believe many unbiblical heresies. The wide acceptance of the
beliefs within Christendom does not make it biblical.
Holy Magic Hair "the Power of Angels"
David
K. Bernard, the recently elected General Superintendent of the
United Pentecostal Church International, has seemingly put his stamp
of approval on the increasingly popular practice of laying
hair among Apostolic circles.?
While
condemning the practice under certain conditions, the following quote
is being termed as a “free pass” legitimizing HMH doctrine :
There
have been reports of women letting down their long hair as part of
making a specific, urgent prayer request. If the idea was to obligate
God to answer prayer or to create a new method of praying, then this
action was misguided. If
instead it was a spontaneous act to confirm their consecration, then
it could have been a legitimate means of expressing and focusing
faith.
Holy
Magic Hair
As an
introduction, we encourage you to listen to the following videos of a
June 29, 2008 sermon by an evangelist named, Lee Stoneking, who
teaches a Holy Magic Hair Doctrine.
- Power of angels?
- God compelled to pour out his gift of the Holy Spirit because of uncut hair?
- Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Ghost through the laying of hair?
- A distinct anointing?
- No results in prayer? Losing authority in prayer?
- The devil knows we carry the glory of God in our hair?
- A woman can gain power with God by having her hair grow long?
Cutting hair is a salvational matter?
Bernard’s
symposium paper regarding hair doctrine
The
Bible’s Teaching about Hair Length:
Culture
or Command?
Presented
by David K. Bernard
The
New Testament contains teaching about the respective hair lengths of
men and women. Most denominational churches consider it to be merely
a cultural teaching that does not apply today. Some interpret the
passage in question to mean that women must pray with a type of cloth
on their heads. Most conservative churches at one time taught women
to have long hair, and some continue to do so today.
All
Scripture is given by the inspiration of God** (II
Timothy 3:16). We should not ignore any passage of Scripture, for
each is precious and important. [Note:
The only Scripture Sha'ul (Paul) is referring is the TaNaCH, the Old
Testament. There was no NT written, these letters were
compiled much later.] We should especially
heed instructions to the New Testament church, for we are part of
that church. Let us analyze this passage of Scripture in that light.
Bear
in mind, the Jewish Scriptures were written in Hebrew, not in
seventeenth century King James English. What has made Christian
believers so vulnerable to Bible tampering is that almost none of
them can read or understand the Hebrew Bible in its original
language. Virtually no Christian child in the world is taught the
Hebrew language as part of a formal Christian education. As he and
countless other Christians earnestly study the Authorized Version of
the Bible, there is a blinding yet prevailing assumption that what
you are reading is Heaven-breathed. Tragically, virtually every
Christian in the world reads the translation of men rather than the
Word of God. On the other hand, every Jewish child in the world who
is enrolled in a Jewish school is taught to read and write Hebrew
long before he or she even heard the name of Luther.
Unbeknownst to Mr. Bernard and parishioners worldwide, the King James Version and numerous other Christian Bible translations were meticulously shaped and painstakingly retrofitted in order to produce a message that would sustain and advance Church theology and exegesis. This aggressive rewriting of biblical texts has had a devastating impact on Christians throughout the world who unhesitatingly embrace these corrupt translations. As a result, Christians earnestly wonder why the Jews, who are the bearers and protectors of the divine oracles of God, have not willingly accepted Jesus as their messiah. [1]
Unbeknownst to Mr. Bernard and parishioners worldwide, the King James Version and numerous other Christian Bible translations were meticulously shaped and painstakingly retrofitted in order to produce a message that would sustain and advance Church theology and exegesis. This aggressive rewriting of biblical texts has had a devastating impact on Christians throughout the world who unhesitatingly embrace these corrupt translations. As a result, Christians earnestly wonder why the Jews, who are the bearers and protectors of the divine oracles of God, have not willingly accepted Jesus as their messiah. [1]
 |
| One of many examples of Scripture Tampering. |
*
Please Note: 2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
"2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
2Pe 3:16 Indeed, he [Paul] speaks about these things in all his letters. They contain some things that are hard to understand, things which the uninstructed and unstable distort, to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
Act 17:11 Now the people here were of nobler character than the ones in Thessalonica; they eagerly welcomed the message, checking the Tanakh every day to see if the things Sha'ul was saying were true. CJB
Shaul preached for three Sabbaths in the synagogue in Thessalonica. He preached from Scriptures (Old Testament, including Torah). It’s important to understand synagogue worship a bit. The synagogue read from the Torah, and the Writings, and the Prophets on every Shabbat. Shaul was preaching from JEWISH scrolls kept only at the synagogue, as they were too expensive for most to have personal copies of them.
The synagogue was the place where the scriptures were kept and studied DAILY (Acts 17:11) , and especially on Shabbat. The message of Jacob in chapter 15, therefore, is that MOSES would continue to be declared on the Sabbath, and the new Gentile converts would have plenty of time to learn to live their new life in Messiah.
Verse 11 shows Paul in another synagogue. Verse 17 shows him in yet another in Athens.
Acts 18:1
Next, he’s in Corinth, reasoning with Jews and gentiles in the synagogue on EVERY SHABBAT. Reasoning over what? What scriptures did he expound? What was he teaching them? He was teaching Messiah from the OLD TESTAMENT. At this point, the gospels we know had not even been written! The gospel was preached from the Torah! [the Tanakh ]"
Who were the (true) prophets and prophetesses of Israel?
What distinguished them from the others?
“While the gift of prophecy included an ability to foretell the future, a prophet was far more than a person with that capability. A prophet was a spokesperson for God, a person ostensibly “chosen” by Him to speak to people on His behalf and convey a message or teaching. [True] prophets were role models of holiness, scholarship, and closeness to God, setting the standards for the entire community. Moreover, the primary job of a prophet was not to foretell the future, but to arouse the people and the government to repentance and observance. In the process of executing their primary mission, the prophets often resorted to the description of future events – some in the near future, some in the intermediate future, and some in the distant (messianic era) future.”
One of the central themes of Biblical prophecy is the promise of a future age of perfection characterized by universal peace and recognition of God. (Isaiah 2:1-4; Zephaniah 3:9; Hosea 2:20-22; Amos 9:13-15; Isaiah 32:15-18, 60:15-18; Micah 4:1-4; Zechariah 8:23, 14:9; Jeremiah 31:33-34)
In the New Testament Jsus is presented as a prophet. Crowds identified him as “Jsus the prophet” (Matthew 21:11). He spoke of himself as a prophet: “No prophet is accepted in his own native place” (Luke 4:24). Jsus is called the Prince of Peace.
This is the so called prince of peace? Mat 10:34-35 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
This is the so called prince of peace? Mat 10:34-35 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
How can Elijah who you say is John come to bring fathers back to their sons, but Jsus does the complete opposite?
Mal 4:4-6 Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the land with utter destruction.
“I came not to send peace, but a sword.”? Luk 12:51 Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. Luk 19:27 2000 years of Jewish Persecution and AntiSemitism has it’s roots in the words of Jsus…the prince of peace?
Here’s a few observations by some friends of mine.
We are told that God speaks in types and shadows and we must find those hidden throughout Scripture. However, I found this interesting:“Not in secret did I speak, in a place of a land of darkness; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Seek Me, in vain; I am YHVH, Who speaks righteousness, declares things that are right.”
Isaiah 45:19
We are told that God came as a human in Jesus to change the way things were to something better. However, I found this interesting:God is not man to be capricious, Or mortal to change His mind. Would He speak and not act, Promise and not fulfill?
Numbers 23:19Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not deceive or change His mind, for He is not human that He should change His mind.”
1 Samuel 15:29 ~Wendy Banuelos
“It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, ‘this generation shall not pass till all these things be done.’ And he was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.
“It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible. Yet how teasing, also, that within fourteen words of it should come the statement “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” The one exhibition of error and the one confession of ignorance grow side by side. … The evangelists have the first great characteristic of honest witnesses: they mention facts which are, at first sight, damaging to their main contention.
“… The answer of the theologians is that the God-Man was omniscient as God, and ignorant as Man. This, no doubt, is true, though it cannot be imagined. Nor indeed can the unconsciousness of Christ in sleep be imagined, not the twilight of reason in his infancy; still less his merely organic life in his mother’s womb.” – C. S. Lewis, in The World’s Last Night, pages 98-99
We are told that God came to dwell on the earth as Jesus. Can God dwell on the earth? I found this interesting:“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You; much less this temple that I have erected.” 1 Kings 8:27
The heaven, even the heavens, are HaShem’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
Ps 115:16
Please read this and consider what it says:
Ezekiel 33:11-16
“Say to them: As I live, says YHVH God, I do not wish for the death of the wicked, but for the wicked to repent of his way so that he may live. Repent, repent of your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel!
And you, son of man, say to the members of your people: The righteousness of the righteous will not save him on the day of his transgression, and the wickedness of the wicked-he will not stumble upon it on the day of his repentance of his wickedness, and a righteous man cannot live with it on the day of his sinning.
When I say of the righteous that he will surely live, and he relied on his righteousness and committed injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered, and for the injustices which he committed he shall die.
And when I say of the wicked man, “You shall surely die,” and he repents of his sin and performs justice and righteousness,
The wicked man will return the pledge, he will repay the theft; in the statutes of life he walked, not to commit injustice-he will surely live, he will not die.
All his sins that he sinned will not be remembered for him: he performed justice and righteousness; he will surely live.”
“Say to them: As I live, says YHVH God, I do not wish for the death of the wicked, but for the wicked to repent of his way so that he may live. Repent, repent of your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel!
And you, son of man, say to the members of your people: The righteousness of the righteous will not save him on the day of his transgression, and the wickedness of the wicked-he will not stumble upon it on the day of his repentance of his wickedness, and a righteous man cannot live with it on the day of his sinning.
When I say of the righteous that he will surely live, and he relied on his righteousness and committed injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered, and for the injustices which he committed he shall die.
And when I say of the wicked man, “You shall surely die,” and he repents of his sin and performs justice and righteousness,
The wicked man will return the pledge, he will repay the theft; in the statutes of life he walked, not to commit injustice-he will surely live, he will not die.
All his sins that he sinned will not be remembered for him: he performed justice and righteousness; he will surely live.”
Does this speak of the shedding of blood to be forgiven? Does this speak of another person paying for your sins? ~Wendy Banuelos
Deu 24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers; every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
The prophets never instruct the Jews to worship any crucified messiah or demigod; nor does Scripture suggest that an innocent man could die as an atonement for the sins of the wicked. Such a message is utterly antithetical to the teachings of the Jewish Scriptures. Rather, it is the prayers of the sinner that would become as bulls of the sin offerings.
King Solomon echoes this sentiment as well.
In I Kings 8:46-50, King Solomon delivers a startling prophetic message as he inaugurates the newly constructed first Temple. In his inauguration sermon, King Solomon forewarns that one day the Jewish people would be driven out of the land of Israel, and banished to the land of their enemies, near and far. During their exile, many would fervently desire to repent of their sins. King Solomon then declares that they are to face Jerusalem from their diaspora, confess their sins, “and God will hear their prayers in heaven, and forgive them for all their transgressions.”
If they sin against You, for there is no man who does not sin, and You will be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, and their captors will carry them away captive to the land of the enemy, far or near. And they shall bethink themselves 47in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captors, saying,‘We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness.’ 48And they shall return to You with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land, which You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name. 49And You shall hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven, in Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause. 50And forgive Your people for what they have sinned against You, and all their transgressions that they have transgressed against You…(I Kings 8:46-50)
There was no mention of a cross or a dead messiah in King Solomon’s prophetic message. Only the contrite and repentant prayer of the remorseful sinner can bring about a complete atonement. Although King Solomon’s timeless message stands out as a theological impossibility in Christian terms, it remains the warm, centerpiece of the God’s system of atonement throughout his long and bitter exile. [1]
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, Passover had NOTHING to do with “sin”…
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, the “Lamb that takes away the SINS OF THE WORLD” was referring to the “Passover Lamb”…[the author was mistakenly trying to connect the idea of the skapegoat with Passover]
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, the only time “sin was taken away in the OT was on Yom Kippur…NOT Passover![see skapegoat]
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, there is no information OUTSIDE the new testament about jsus performing miracles.
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, the Prophets never spoke about a “virgin” birth!
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, the Prophets did not teach that the Messiah would die, but rather, he would reign as a physical king!
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, Paul never mentioned the virgin birth.
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, withOUT a “virgin” birth, jsus cannot be “divine”.
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, without a TRACEable bloodline TO King Solomon, jsus can NOT be the Messiah.
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, the Hebrew Scriptures do not mention a SECOND coming of the Messiah.
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, The gospel of Mark has no account of the birth of Jesus…something that is SO IMPORTANT!
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, We have no eyewitness accounts of the virgin birth, no doctor confirmations, no DNA samples .
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, The claims of Jesus’ birth are no different from any of the other virgin birth legends.
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, OTHER VIRGIN BIRTH CLAIMS: Plato, Empedocles, Hercules, Pythagoras, Alexander the Great & Caesar Augustus.
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, IF the virgin birth WAS to be a “sign”[as stated in Isaiah], why was it “hidden”?!
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, there is no information OUTSIDE the new testament about jsus being resurrected.
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, jsus was on the cross for only 3 hours…others have SURVIVED the cross after 2 full “days”!
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, there is no “proof” that jsus actually died to begin with.
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, your “belief” in Jsus as the Messiah, is fabricated from lies and misconceptions.
ReGARDLESS of what you “believe”, It’s Not Important “What YOU Believe”! It’s only important what G-D believes! ~ wil’Liam Hall
A Great Eye-Opening Truth about Jesus/Yeshua
Just because you can fit a square object through a round hole does not mean that the right piece was used, even if you MAKE it fit. It just simply does NOT work that way! Sadly, that’s the ONLY way to fit Jesus/Yeshua into this picture.
Just being honest.
#yeshuajesusisnotthemessiah
By wil’Liam Hall
If you’re have a difficult time wrapping your mind around the fact, Jesus was not the Jewish Messiah, I give you the Last and Final Sacrifice Takes The Ten Count.
A KNOCK-OUT PUNCH:THE “LAST AND FINAL SACRIFICE” TAKES THE TEN-COUNT
I. INTRODUCTION
Christian missionaries claim that those who do not accept Jesus as their lord and
savior, which includes the Jewish people, are doomed to burn in “hell” because
they cannot have their sins forgiven by God. This claim is rationalized with the
allegation that, in Biblical times, the only way to bring about the remission of sins
was via the blood of a certain animal. This animal had to be brought to the priest
to be slaughtered at the altar in the Sanctuary, first while in the portable
Sanctuary and later in the Temple, as a sacrificial offering. According to this
claim, since there has been no Temple standing in Jerusalem since the year 70
C.E., valid sacrificial offerings can no longer be made and, therefore, the only
way for Jews to have their sins forgiven is through the blood shed by Jesus in his
“sacrificial” death on the cross. In other words, the claim is that the blood of
Jesus, who was allegedly sacrificed by God (the “Father”) as a demonstration of
his great love for mankind,
has once and for all removed the stain of “Original
Sin” from those who follow Jesus (the “Son”). This act of love by God allegedly
made Jesus the “last and final sacrifice” forever.
There are two main aspects to the claim that Jesus was “the last and final
sacrifice”. The first concerns the suitability of Jesus and his death as a sacrificial
offering for the remission of sins. The second aspect, which was investigated in
another essay, concerns the need for blood in the atonement process.
This essay examines the suitability of Jesus and the manner in which he died as
a sacrificial offering for the remission of sins.
II. THE CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE VERSUS THE SPECIFICATIONS IN THE HEBREW BIBLE
The process for testing this claim by Christian missionaries consists of
contrasting the requirements concerning sacrificial offerings, as specified in the
Hebrew Bible, against the accounts in the New Testament that describe the
death of Jesus on the cross as a sacrificial offering. As part of this analysis, it is
important to bear in mind the following two conditions that existed during the life
of Jesus, at the time of his death, and for several decades following his death:
1. The Second Temple was still standing in Jerusalem
2. The Hebrew Bible was the Scripture in force
The salient issue to be addressed, and answered, is:
According to the requirements set forth in the Hebrew Bible, was Jesus a valid sacrificial
offering, and was his death by crucifixion an acceptable process, for remission of sins?
The analytical phase of the testing process identifies ten elements for which the
respective accounts in the New Testament are compared with the specifications
provided in the Hebrew Bible, primarily in the Torah.
One
According to the accounts in the New Testament, Jesus was crucified by
Roman soldiers:
John 19:18,23(KJV) – (18) Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either
side one, and Jesus in the midst.
(23) Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made
four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam,
woven from the top throughout. [See also Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:33.]
According to the Levitical Law of Sacrifice in the Torah, the animal brought as
a sin sacrifice had to be slaughtered by the person who offered it:
Leviticus 4:27-29 – (27) And if any one person from among the common people sins
unwittingly, by performing one of the commandments of the Lord which may not be
done, and incurs guilt; (28) Or if his sin, which he has committed, is made known to
him, then he shall bring his sacrifice, an unblemished female goat, for his sin which he
has sinned. (29) And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and he
shall slaughter the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.
Two
According to the Levitical Law of Sacrifice in the Torah, some of the blood of
the (sin) sacrifice had to be rubbed by the priest with his finger on the horns of
the altar in the Temple, and the rest had to be poured out at the base of the
sacrificial altar. The fat of the sacrifice had to be removed and burnt:
Leviticus 4:30-31 – (30) And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and
put [it] upon the horns of the altar [used] for the burnt offering; and [then] he shall
pour out all of [the rest of] its blood at the base of the altar. (31) And he shall remove
all of its fat, as was removed the fat from the sacrificial peace offerings; and the priest
shall burn it upon the altar for a pleasant fragrance to the Lord; and [thus] shall the
priest make an atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.
The New Testament is silent on what was done with the blood of Jesus and
with the fat of his body.
Three
According to the accounts in the New Testament, Jesus was beaten,
whipped, and dragged on the ground before being crucified:
Matthew 26:67(KJV) – Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others
smote him with the palms of their hands, [See also Mark 14:65; Luke 22:63; John 18:22.]
Matthew 27:26,30-31(KJV) – (26)Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he
had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
(30) And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. (31) And
after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own
raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. [See also Mark 15:15-20; John 19:1-3.]
According to the Torah, a sacrificial animal had to be without any physical
defects or blemishes:
Deuteronomy 17:1 – You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that
has in it a blemish or any bad thing, for that is an abomination to the Lord, your God.
Sidebar Note: As a born Jew, Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day following
his birth, a ritual that leaves a scar (Genesis 17:10-13; the “sign of the covenant”).
The circumcision of Jesus is mentioned in the New Testament (Luke 2:21), yet Paul
refers to circumcision as being tantamount to mutilation (Galatians 5:11-12;
Philippians 3:2).
Four
According to the New Testament, Jesus was “the Lamb of God” whose bones
may not be broken [a reference to the Paschal Lamb of Exodus 12:46 and
Numbers 9:12]:
John 1:29(KJV) – The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 19:36(KJV) – For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A
bone of him shall not be broken.
According to the Torah, the Paschal Lamb was not offered for the removal of
sins. Rather, it was a festive, or commemorative, offering. Yom Kippur (the
Day of Atonement) would have been a more appropriate time for a sin
offering:
Numbers 29:11 – One young male goat for a sin offering, beside the sin offering of
atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, and their drink
offerings. [Yom Kippur – Individual sin offering]
Leviticus 16:15 – He shall then slaughter the he goat of the people’s sin offering and
bring its blood inside the dividing curtain, and he shall do with its blood as he did with
the blood of the bull and sprinkle it upon the cover of the ark, and before the cover of
the ark. [Yom Kippur – Communal sin offering]
Five
According to the Torah, the Paschal Lamb had to be slaughtered and its
blood used to place markings on the side-posts and lintels of the entrances to
the dwelling. Moreover, the meat had to be roasted and eaten, and whatever
was not consumed by the time the Israelites were to leave their homes, had
to be burnt and destroyed:
Exodus 12:6-10 – (6) And you shall keep it under watch until the fourteenth day of this
month; and the entire congregation of the community of Israel shall slaughter it at
dusk. (7) And they shall take [some] of its blood, and place it on the two doorposts and
on the lintel, on the houses in which they will eat it. (8) And they shall eat the meat in
that night, roasted over fire, and [with] unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall
eat it. (9) You shall not eat from it raw, nor boiled in water; but roasted over fire, its
head with its legs, and with its inner parts. (10) And you shall not leave any of it until
morning; and that which left over until the morning you shall burn in the fire.
According to the accounts in the New Testament this was not done with
Jesus after his death. In fact, Jesus was buried.
Matthew 27:57-60(KJV) – (57) When the even was come, there came a rich man of
Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: (58) He went to
Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be
delivered. (59) And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen
cloth, (60) And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he
rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. [See also Mark 15:42-46;
Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38-42.]
Six
According to the New Testament, the death of Jesus was a sacrificial offering
that expiated the sins of mankind for all times:
Hebrews 10:10,18(KJV) – (10) By the which will we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
(18) Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. [See also
Romans 6:10; Hebrews 9:12.]
According to the Torah, the Passover (sin) sacrifice, a male-goat, had to be
offered on an individual (per household) basis, not as a communal offering:
Numbers 28:22 – And one young male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for
you.
Seven
According to the New Testament, the death and blood of Jesus took care of
(almost) all sins:
Hebrews 9:22(KJV) – And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and
without shedding of blood is no remission.
According to the Levitical Law of Sacrifice in the Torah, the sacrificial sin
offering brought atonement only for unintentional sins, except as noted in
Leviticus 5:1-6, 20-26[Leviticus 5:1-6, 6:1-7 in Christian Bibles]:
Numbers 15:27-31 – (27) And if a person sins inadvertently, then he shall offer a female
goat in its first year as a sin offering. (28) And the priest shall atone for the erring
person who sinned inadvertently before the Lord in order to make atonement on his
behalf; and it shall be forgiven him. (29) For the native born of the children of Israel
and the stranger who resides among them, one law shall apply to him who sins
inadvertently. (30) And the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is a
native born or a stranger, that person blasphemes the Lord; and that person shall be
cut off from among his people. (31) Because he has scorned the word of the Lord, and
has violated his commandment; that person shall surely be cut off, for his iniquity is
upon him.
Eight
According to the New Testament, the death of Jesus brought about the
remission of sins yet uncommitted, and of sins of those yet to be born:
Hebrews 10:18(KJV) – Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for
sin.
According to the Levitical Law of Sacrifice in the Torah, sacrifices could bring
atonement only for sins committed prior to the offering of the sacrifice. No
sacrifice was provided for the atonement of sins committed after the sacrifice
was offered and, thus, no sacrifice can bring atonement for sins of people
born after it was offered. This includes both טּאתָחַ (haTAT)], a sin offering,
described in Leviticus 4:1-5:13, and שׁםָאָ (aSHAM), a guilt offering,
described in Leviticus 5:14-26. Had there been, among the listed sacrifices,
even one kind of sin or guilt offering that could bring atonement for future
sins, the person who would have offered that particular sacrifice would not
have had to do so again for the rest of his life. Moreover, Yom Kippur (the
Day of Atonement), which is ordained by the Torah as an annual Holy Day
(Leviticus 16:29-34), would have had to be celebrated by the Israelites only
the very first time after the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, had they used one
of those “super” sacrificial offerings that could atone for sins of the future.
The claim by the author of Hebrews, that there are no more sin offerings
required following the death of Jesus, is false for other reasons as well:
The Second Temple stood in Jerusalem for nearly 40 years following the death of
Jesus, during which time literally thousands of animals were offered as sacrifices
of all sorts, including sin and guilt offerings, as prescribed by the Torah.
The Hebrew Bible contains prophecies about the building of the Third Temple in
the messianic era, and of the resumption of the sacrificial system at that time. All
the types of sacrificial offerings described in the Hebrew Bible will be made on the
sacrificial altar [חַ בֵּזְמִ (mizBE’ah)] in the Temple, including both the טּאתָחַ and
שׁםָאָ sacrificial offerings. In other words, the sacrificial system, which has been
in a state of suspension since the year 70 C.E., when the Romans destroyed the
Second Temple, will be completely restored in the messianic era:
Ezekiel 43:21-22 – And you shall take the bull of the sin offering, and he [the priest]
shall burn it at the edge of the Temple, outside the Sanctuary. (22) And on the
second day you shall offer an unblemished he-goat for a sin offering, and they [the
priests] shall purify the altar as they purified it with the bull. [See also: Isaiah 56:7;
Jeremiah 33:17-18; Ezekiel 40:39,46-47, 41:42, 42:13, 43:13,15,18-19,22,25-27,
44:27,29, 45:17,19,22-23,25, 46:20, 47:1; Zechariah 14:21.]
Nine
According to the New Testament, God’s “only begotten son” died on the cross
for the sins of mankind, and all who accept this belief are “saved” (i.e., get
salvation) and will go to heaven:
Romans 5:8-11(KJV) – (8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, being now justified by his
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (10) For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we
shall be saved by his life.(11) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. [See also Acts 10:43;
1Corinthians 15:3; 1Peter 3:18.]
The Hebrew Bible strictly prohibits (human) vicarious atonement, and
mandates that everyone is responsible for his or her own sins:
Deuteronomy 24:16 – Fathers shall not be put to death because of children, nor shall
children be put to death for fathers; each person shall be put to death for his own sin.
[See also Exodus 32:31-33; Numbers 35:33.]
Ten
According to the New Testament, Jesus was “God manifest in the flesh” (this
would make it a human sacrifice):
Romans 8:3(KJV) – For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in
the flesh: [See also 1Timothy 3:16; 1John 4:2.]
The Hebrew Bible strictly prohibits human sacrifices. The concept of human
sacrifices to a deity is foreign to Judaism. Human sacrifice is a pagan rite:
Leviticus 18:21 – And you shall not give any of your offspring to pass through the fire
for Molech, and shall not profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. [See also
Deuteronomy 18:10; Jeremiah 7:31, 19:32; Ezekiel 23:37-39.] [2]
Has it occured to you that:
A) Nowhere in the Tanach does it say to believe in mashiach “or else”
B) Nowhere in the Tanach does it say that mashiach will be a hybrid god-man.
C) Nowhere in the Tanach does it say that mashiach will fulfill the law and replace it with a law of messiah.
D) Nowhere in Tanach does it say the mashiach will sacrifice himself for the sins of the world for all time.
E) Nowhere in Tanach does it say that a human sacrifice is permitted.
F) Nowhere in Tanach does it say that human vicarious atonement is permitted.
G) Nowhere in Tanach does it say that it is permissable to crown king mashiach prior to his fulfillment of ALL the messianic duties.
H) No where in Tanach does it ever say that G-d has three personages or “Triune”
B) Nowhere in the Tanach does it say that mashiach will be a hybrid god-man.
C) Nowhere in the Tanach does it say that mashiach will fulfill the law and replace it with a law of messiah.
D) Nowhere in Tanach does it say the mashiach will sacrifice himself for the sins of the world for all time.
E) Nowhere in Tanach does it say that a human sacrifice is permitted.
F) Nowhere in Tanach does it say that human vicarious atonement is permitted.
G) Nowhere in Tanach does it say that it is permissable to crown king mashiach prior to his fulfillment of ALL the messianic duties.
H) No where in Tanach does it ever say that G-d has three personages or “Triune”
Had G-d chose to teach such things, He would have EXPLICTLY and plainly said so. Just as He explictly gave us details on what is a kosher animal, how to sacrifice an animal, matters of family purity etc…When Hashem gave the law at Sinai, he was silent on all matters that Christians claim, such as G-d’s nature, form and the personage of messiah.
Hashem isnt going to then, 1500 years into the future say, I told you could do the law (Deut 30) but you CANT! I told you I was alone….but I’m NOT! I actually have a son….and he is Me! and even though I told you NOT to sacrifice your sons and daughters, like the baal worhsipers….I am going to sacrifice my human son….who is really me.
I will kill him (myself) on a wooden stick by suffocation. He will not be required to be slaughtered per the Torah, his blood not sprinkled on the altar, his fat and ofal not burned and in fact, he will be placed in a tomb, alone and I will raise him (myself)…even though I never taught you any of this…you must accept it or be thrown into the pits of hell.
These are obviously BIG, HUGE concepts that had they been part of Hashems revelation to mankind, would have been given at Sinai. Otherwise, as Christians have done, they have made G-d a liar (G-d forbid) who decieves His people and who changes the paradigm midstream.
This is not the G-d of the Tanach. The Christian paradigm in the god of Rome….everyone of the new aspects of the Gospel can be found in Grecco-Roman paganism but NOT in Jewish doctrine.
Eating a god-man’s flesh and drinking his blood…pagan.
A hybrid god-man….pagan.
A virgin birth….pagan.
A resurrected savior…pagan.
Miracles by the god-man…pagan.”
A hybrid god-man….pagan.
A virgin birth….pagan.
A resurrected savior…pagan.
Miracles by the god-man…pagan.”
Only through eisegesis (or a hammer) can you shoe-horn this paganism into the Tanach.
I
Corinthians 11:1-16
Verses
1-2. Paul admonished believers to follow him and to keep the
ordinances or teachings that he had delivered to them. Among these
ordinances is his teaching concerning hair in the subsequent verses.
Verses
2-3.
God is the head of Christ. As
a human, Jesus submitted to the eternal Spirit of God that
dwelt in Him, thereby setting an example for us. Christ subjected His
flesh to the plan and purpose of God, even to death (Philippians
2:8).
Similarly,
Christ is the head of the man, and the man is the head of the woman.
God intends for the man to be the leader of the family. He is to be
the spiritual representative of the home. A woman is to respect the
leadership of her own husband (Ephesians 5:22; Colossians 3:18; I
Peter 3:1).
Verse
4. A man should not have his head covered when he prays or
prophesies (which here includes anointed preaching and testimony). If
he does, he dishonors his head or leader, namely, Christ.
Verse
5. A woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered
dishonors her head or leader, which is the man. In other words, the
sexes should not try to change places. The woman’s covering is sign
of her role in God’s plan. According to verse 15, long hair is the
symbolic covering that God has given her.
Verse
6. If a woman is not going to cover her head (by letting her hair
grow long), then this is equivalent to cutting off her hair. But this
is a disgrace or a shame to her. It signifies the taking away of her
glory in God’s sight. Since it is a shame for her hair to be shorn
(cut) or shaved, she should be covered (let her hair grow long).
Verses 5-6 use the Greeks words xuraō, meaning to
“have oneself shaved,” and keirō, meaning
to “cut one’s hair or have one’s hair cut.”1
Verses
7-9. Adam was created in the image of God and subsequently Eve
was also (Genesis 1:26-27). The man is the representative of the
family before God, with the authority and responsibility to provide
for, protect, and lead his family. As a sign of his position, his
head should not be covered (with long hair, verse 14).
The
woman originally came from the man (Genesis 2:22). She is his
partner, a helper comparable to him (Genesis 2:20), who respects his
position and follows his godly leadership. Woman is the crowning
glory of man. To demonstrate this relationship, her head should be
covered (verse 6) with her glory, which is her long hair (verse 15).
In
short, male and female are equally important in God’s plan, but
their roles are distinct. God wants this distinction to be displayed
and preserved outwardly by their hair.
"In some religions, women choose to cover their hair. While this practice is often tied to modesty, in some traditions it relates to the restraint of power. Although not a specifically Wiccan or Pagan custom, there are some individual Pagans who have incorporated this into their belief system. Marisa, a California Pagan who follows an eclectic path rooted in Eastern traditions, says, “I cover my hair when I go out, because for me, it’s a matter of keeping the power of the crown chakra contained. I uncover it when doing ritual, because then the crown chakra is open and uninhibited, and allows me to commune directly with the Divine.”
In a number of traditions of folk magic, hair is strongly associated with the human spirit, and can be used as a way to control an individual. There are countless recipes found in hoodoo and rootwork that involve the use of human hair as part of a spell or “trick,” according to Jim Haskins in his book Voodoo and Hoodoo."
In addition, there are a number of superstitions and customs about hair, particularly when it comes to cutting. It is believed in many areas that if you cut your hair at the time of the full moon, it will grow much faster – but hair cut during the dark of the moon will grow thin and possibly even fall out! SeaChelle, a practicing witch whose family has roots in Appalachia, says, “When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to tell me that after she cut our hair, we had to bury the clippings in the ground. You couldn’t burn it, because it would make the hair you had left grow brittle, and you couldn’t just toss it outside, because birds would steal it to use in their nests, and that would give you a headache.”
Verse
10. The angels are involved with this subject, as they observe
the obedience or disobedience of humans to God’s plan. A woman
should have “power” on her head as an example to the angels. The
Greek word here is exousia, meaning “authority,” and
in this context it indicates a mark or sign of authority. The angels
look to see if women have the sign of consecration, submission, and
power with God, or if they are rebellious like Satan. Women’s hair
shows the angels whether or not the church is submissive to Christ,
the head of the church.
Verses
11-12. Women are not inferior to men, and men are not complete
without women. Both depend on each other. This principle of
complementarity and interdependence is especially true in the church.
The roles are different, however, and God has designated the man to
be the leader of the family.
Verse
13. Paul used a question as a part of his teaching method. Is it
proper for a woman to pray to God uncovered? His answer is no; it is
a shame for her to do so (verse 5).
Verse
14. Nature, not just custom, teaches a man to have short hair but
a woman to have long hair. Since God is the Creator of nature, the
teaching of nature in this situation comes from God. God’s purpose
is to make a distinction of the sexes in this area.
Verse
15. A woman’s hair is given for her glory and for a covering to
satisfy the requirements of the preceding verses.
The
Greek word for “have long hair” here is komaō, which
means to “wear long hair, let one’s hair grow long…. (Greek men
do not do this),”2 or to “wear tresses of
hair.”3 The word for “covered” in verse 6
is katakaluptō, meaning “to cover wholly, i.e.,
to veil.”4 The word for “covering” in verse 15
is peribolaion, which is “something thrown around
one, i.e., a mantle, veil.”5 Thus, verses 5-6 teach
that a woman’s head should be covered wholly or veiled. Verse 15
says her hair is a mantle or veil; it is a symbolic article of
apparel for the head. Clearly, long hair is the covering that meets
the requirements of verses 5, 6, and 13.
Verse
16. The church has no custom of being contentious over the
teachings of God’s Word. It has no custom regarding hair other than
what Paul had just described. Some say this verse means that if
anyone disagrees with these teachings then obedience is not required.
If this were true, however, then Paul’s entire teaching in this
section would be in vain, and he would be condoning contention and
disobedience to God’s Word and the ordinances of the church.
Reading verses 2 and 16 together, the message is that we should obey
these teachings instead of being contentious.
Symbolism
of the Teaching
As
Paul explained in this passage of Scripture, hair symbolizes the
relationship of husband and wife, which in turn represents the Lord’s
relationship with the church. A woman’s
long hair symbolizes that she submits to God’s plan and to the
family leadership of her husband. It is her glory. It
is a sign to the angels of her commitment to God and her power with
God. It is a covering so that she can pray and prophesy publicly
without being ashamed. Similarly, a man’s short hair symbolizes
that he submits to God’s plan and accepts the family leadership
position. For both married and unmarried, this symbol indicates
obedience to God’s will.
Paul
further explained that even the nature of things teaches us on this
matter. How so? First, nature teaches that there should be a visible
distinction between male and female. Second, in almost all cultures,
men have worn short hair in comparison to women. Third, men are ten
times more likely to grow bald than women. It is natural for a man
not to have any hair but unnatural for a woman not to have hair. In
addition, the Old Testament indicates that it is shameful for a woman
to cut or lose her hair (Isaiah 3:17, 24; Jeremiah 7:29).
When
men and women follow the biblical teaching on hair, they follow God’s
plan as established in creation. Hair length makes a distinction
between the sexes, which God considers to be important. (See Genesis
1:27; Deuteronomy 22:5.) Since to a great extent the world has
abandoned this divine symbolism, it is also a mark of separation from
the world (II Corinthians 6:16-17).
In
our day, it has become fashionable to reject God’s creative
purpose, to state that gender identity is socially constructed and
that people can self-identify as male, female, both, in between,
neither, or transgender. Some anthropologists and sociologists claim
there are three, four, or many genders. In this social context, it is
even more important to uphold scriptural teachings concerning male
and female identity in outward appearance (hair and dress).
God
always gives us a choice to do His will or not. He never forces us to
be what He wants us to be. We did not choose to be male or female,
however; that choice was determined for us at conception. By our
choice of dress and hairstyle, we show acceptance or rejection of
God’s plan for us as male or female, husband or wife, father or
mother. The roles are equally important in family, church, and
society, but they are different. God wants us to demonstrate our
willingness to accept the roles He has chosen for us.
The
relationship between husband and wife is like that between Christ and
the church. The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is head of
the church (Ephesians 5:22-23). Therefore, when Christian men and
women demonstrate their acceptance of God’s plan by their hair,
they also demonstrate the church’s submission to Christ.[sic]
Another look at i Corinthians 11:2-16. presented by Daniel l. Seagraves... if over an altar or over another person or by letting it blow in the wind.
Segraves, who wrote what is deemed as the first official response by a UPCI theologian denouncing this dangerous heresy in an November 2009, Pentecostal Herald, is adamant in his disapproval of this liturgical or prayer practice.
In Segrave’s 2009 UGST symposium paper, in response to Bernard and those who have taken license to teach this heresy, he writes :
I Corinthians 11:10 is interpreted by some to mean that if women have long hair it gives them some kind of power or authority in the spiritual realm. It has even been suggested that women should let down their long hair, laying it on the altar, on another person, or shaking it in the wind in order to evoke this power. Support for this view is found in anecdotal evidence and reference works related to witchcraft and occultism. To interpret Scripture by anecdotal evidence is dangerous; our final authority is Scripture, not experience. To interpret Scripture by reference to witchcraft and occultism is even more dangerous. Scripture warns us to avoid the influence of these ideas; we are to be simple concerning evil and wise concerning what is good. (See Romans 16:19.)
Concerning the meaning of I Corinthians 11:10, we can say with certainty that it says nothing about evil spirits, it says nothing about how a woman’s hair is arranged, and the word “hair” does not appear in the verse. I will forego further discussion here in view of the fact that my article “Another Look at I Corinthians 11:10: A Plea for Caution” appeared in the November 2009 issue of the Pentecostal Herald just before this symposium. The article addresses this subject in detail, and I commend it to those who are interested in this text and/or concerned about this novel interpretation.
In response to the idea that there is a “magic formula in prayer that enables us to obtain whatever we want when we want it,” David Bernard writes,
Some women have let down their hair as part of making a specific, urgent prayer request. If the idea is to obligate God to answer prayer, then this action is misguided. If the purpose is to confirm their consecration, then it could be a legitimate means of expressing and focusing faith. We can draw an analogy to the positioning of the sick so that Peter’s shadow would fall on them . . . and the use of handkerchiefs to pray for the sick . . . . Such practices were not mandatory and probably not even typical, but they were legitimate expressions of faith in the apostolic church.
I completely agree that we cannot obligate God to answer prayer and that there is no “magic formula” enabling us to obtain whatever we want when we want it. I can also appreciate the desire to acknowledge the genuineness of any act of faith, no matter how bizarre it may seem or whether or not there is any biblical warrant for it. But my concern is that the teaching that is currently circulating among us does not see the letting down of a woman’s long has as a simple confirmation of consecration. Rather, it is being presented as a technique guaranteeing all kinds of miraculous results from the salvation of lost loved ones to the healing of diseases to the protection of children from any harmful effects of immunization to the ability to win back lost romantic affections. This is in addition to the idea of power over evil spirits. It seems there is no end to this; in one meeting the speaker suggested that God only knows what would happen if all of the Pentecostal women in the world would let down their hair and allow it to blow in the wind.
As my wife and I discussed this teaching, she reminded me of an episode in our life when our daughter was very young and contracted some kind of respiratory ailment. As we rushed to the hospital with our daughter gasping for breath (and with the brakes of our car going out on the way), my wife screamed at God, “You’ve got to heal our daughter! We’ve always paid our tithes!”
We have biblical precedent for the use of prayer cloths, even though we probably don’t use them in the same way that the handkerchiefs and aprons taken from Paul’s body were used. We even have biblical precedent for the possibility that someone could be healed as the shadow of a person of faith passes over them. We have no biblical precedent for a woman letting down her hair as a confirmation of consecration or to express and focus her faith. I do believe that there are such things as “special miracles” (Acts 19:11), and I don’t think the biblical record exhausts the ways miracles may occur. If it were not for the current abuse of I Corinthians 11:10, I might agree to the legitimacy of a woman letting down her hair to confirm her consecration, although God certainly knows of her consecration no matter how her hair is arranged.
But the current climate on this issue is so troubling, so divisive, and so potentially harmful that I do not wish to suggest any degree of legitimacy to a practice that is based on misinterpreting a text, that draws on the claims of the occult, and that promises the ability to control outcomes. Instead, I would rather point people to simple faith in God that requires no props and that avoids any appeal to non-biblical sources for insight. I am concerned that some women, thinking they have found new depth of meaning in Scripture, will be tempted to look further into the realm of the occult for new insights on spirituality. [sic]
http://www.ugst.org/uploaded/Symposium%252F2009%252FPapers/3_Seagraves_-_Response_to_Bernard.dochttp://www.pdf-txt.com/doc/1-corinthians-2.html
Question: Hair
Length and Religion (Pagans View)
A reader
asks, “I recently explored the option of joining a local Wiccan
coven, and was floored when the High Priestess told me that if I
became part of her group, I’d have to let my hair grow long.
Because of my job, I have to keep my hair fairly short – it’s a
safety issue – but she said that it was a tenet of “our religion”
to let our hair grow long. She went on to tell me it was a way that
Wiccans pay tribute to the goddess and embrace the sacred feminine.
Is this true? Will I never be able to join a coven unless I grow my
hair long? Help!”
Answer:..."The notion of hair as tied to religious belief is actually a pretty complex one. In some belief systems, hair is associated with magical power. Why is this? Well, it may be purely psychological. Take, for instance, a woman with long hair who wears it up in a neat bun, pulled back from her face, while she is at work. Her hair is kept tidily out of her way while she does her job, tends to her family, and so forth. And yet once this woman steps into a magical setting, she removes the pins and combs, setting her hair free – it’s a liberating feeling, to literally let your hair down. It brings a primitive sense of wildness and raw sexuality to the moment, and that in itself can be very powerful indeed." From: Does hair length impact our religious practice?
…for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.
Christianity turns the Word of God into a carnival magic act where the phrase, now you see it, now you don’t, perfectly describes the antics that Christian theologians, preachers, apologists, and street operatives use to eviscerate the Law of God.
They do this to promote and sell a new and improved religious product, which they insist is the only “truth”. [sic]
Is it worth losing the Power of Angels?
Her son was trying so hard Sunday after Sunday to get the Holy Ghost. For some reason he could not pray through. Finally one Sunday she took her hair and laid it on her son. She began to remind God of the power that she had because her hair was uncut, and you know what happened almost instantly? Her son received the Holy Ghost!!!
What, does God come on the scene immediately for you?
"I know personally of apostolic women who gave in and cut their hair. As a result, they were miserable, depressed and regreted ever going it. You undergo a major spiritual catastrophe by cutting your hair. You will not receive the same results in prayer. You will not have the same anointing you once possessed. Uncut hair is serious business. OH GOD give us revelation and understanding!"
Sister, DO NOT cut your hair, I repeat PLEASE don’t do it! [sic]
Sister, DO NOT cut your hair, I repeat PLEASE don’t do it! [sic]
"Consider this: why is it that when a woman backslides, the first thing she does is cut her hair?? The devil knows that we carry the glory of God upon our uncut hair. The devil knows that there is POWER in our hair. We have a distinct anointing when we have uncut hair. I remember the first time I walked into a Pentecostal church where the ladies had uncut hair, you could FEEL the difference in anointing on the women! There was something about them that was so beautiful, holy and radiant. They almost looked like angels to me (that is no exaggeration). ”
This has drawn the attention, criticism and ire of those who believe this free pass may threaten Bernard’s vision of a return to “Apostolic Identity”.
Note: "It is a rule in the UPCI that no licensed Minister may publicly contend for any view that may bring disunity to the organization, the mouths of Prophets within this group are gagged and the pens of scribes are forbidden to write. With this form of ecclesiastical censorship lording over the rank and file of this organization, there will never be a public questioning of Dr. Segraves's beliefs which he publishes to be true when they are false. Since there can be no publicized dissent of his opinions and theories from within the ranks of the UPCI, someone outside of this organization must take up the responsibility to call his prophetic beliefs false." - Pastor Rev. Reckart
The post encapsulates what effect the teachings of men, like Lee Stoneking, are having on some within the Oneness Apostolic movement. A woman by name of Harvelia testifies on Kendra’s site that it was Stoneking’s influenced her towards similar views:
“Just recently I attended a conference where Bro. Lee Stoneking was speaking. His message was coming from 1 Cor. 11:5 and he was speaking about how the woman’s uncut hair being their glory – I was not raised in Pentecost/Apostolic; however, about three years ago the Lord led me to leave my former church which was is a prodominately [sic][ black apostolic church which I was a part of for over fifteen years. I had never receive such teaching - and it just left me wondering why the black apostolic churches are not teaching this. I had to call my sister because she's been apostolic/pentecost longer than I have - but she's never receive the teaching. I currently wear my hair naturally and have done so off and on for years. I felt bad when Bro. Stoneking was teaching because I recall cutting my hair - but this was never taught in my former church.Then it also leaving me wondering why it is not being taught in the african/black churches. " (http://kendrathaler-hair.blogspot.com/p/hair-testimonies.html)
Error begets error. The pat answer given by some who tell the Body of Christ that these forms of consecrations and personal convictions are not salvific … may need to reexamine what is really being taught in their ranks. [sic]
Power of angels?
God compelled to pour out his gift of the Holy Spirit because of uncut hair?
Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Ghost through the laying of hair?
A distinct anointing?
No results in prayer? Losing authority in prayer?
The devil knows we carry the glory of God in our hair?
A woman can gain power with God by having her hair grow long?
 |
| This picture was taken at the Alabama’s Ladies retreat. Sis Patty Twyman took down her hair to summon the power of the angels over the prayer requests. Many prayers were answered. |
One of the endearing points of HMH advocates is that the idea that there is power in uncut hair can be verified in the wicca religion where the witches believe there is power in uncut hair.
Such proof can be seen in the message that is pro-HMH that I posted under the HMH post....
Another HMH advocate posted in her blog:
Did you know that witches won't cut their hair because they try to tap into the power promised to us in 1Cor 11? Do you know why Indians used to scalp their enemies? Do you know why Nuns and Buddhist monks shave their hair? What does tar and feathering mean? Do you know who it was that first starting the hair cutting trend? What date was that? What about the hippie movement?
What significance is there when hair is found at the scene of a crime?
Daniel Alicea, the man who operates holymagichair.com, found in his research that...
"Most wiccan witches agree that there is no added or extra power in uncut hair while recognizing it is used in ritual magic...but so is eye newt, toe of frog...wool of bat and tongue of dog."
He even quotes one wiccan saying "Hair does not give you extra power and you don't lose power if it's cut."
Keeping in mind, believers on both sides are united against this magic hair heresy.
Some prevailing doctrines in certain circles that I believe have led to the extreme, present-day HMH doctrine can be traced to the teachings of men like of S.G. Norris and Murray Burr.
As early as the PAJC days in 1945, S.G. Norris, former president of Apostolic Bible Institute, General Presbyter and author, proposed elements now found in modern-day HMH doctrine.
On pages 3 and 12 of The Pentecostal Outlook, Volume 14, Number 9, September 1945, S.G Norris suggests that uncut hair results in a “special blessing” and power with God because of the angels. He also proposes that women have always been the leaders in prayer and power with God.
Here are a couple of the quotes from SG Norris’ Back to Holiness article :
Then Paul tells why a woman can either gain power with God by having her hair grow long or why she loses power with God if she cuts or bobs it (Verse 7 of this same chapter 1 Corinth. 11) (pg.3)But, you women say,why should I leave my hair grow when most all other women are having theirs cut? My answer to you is a wonderful promise of God found in this same chapter we are considering today. First Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 10. Don’t forget that God never asked any of us to pay a price of holiness without offering some grand reward for our obedience, Listen …“For this cause, or because of this allowing your hair to grow and using your hair as your covering when praying or worshipping at the house of God, then for this cause ought the woman to have power because of the angels.” Now maybe you never just considered this verse before, but God has angels on this earth not visible to the naked eye, but present just the same, around and near those who far the Lord … the angels encamp around them that fear Him.So there is a special blessing –a grand reward of power with God and the presence of holy angels around about a godly woman that does NOT cut her hair.Here is a promise that I wish every woman listening in today would remember. First of all Christ needs you! … the womanhood of any generation that knew God have always been the leaders in prayer and power with God … So women, here is a promise to every godly woman, that you will have power with God because of the presence of angels, providing you use your hair for a covering and not cut it or bob it off.
Burr, in a October 1954 Pentecostal Herald article entitled “The Hair Question” asserts the following views:
1. Cutting hair is a salvational matter.
“This a matter of life or of death, eternal salvation or eternal condemnation”.
2. Short hair affects spirituality.
“Mark these words, you will never find a really spiritual woman with short hair”
3. Cutting affects God’s favor over one’s life
” It is a shame for a woman to pray with short hair. You may not need God now; but one day you will need him more than anything else in this world. Perhaps in sickness, your baby, your husband, yourself. In death, in distress, how will you be able to kneel before him in sincerity with your short hair, a very banner of rebellion, mocking Him even as you try to lay hold of him in prayer’
Although
the belief in the unity of God is taught and declared on virtually
every page of the Jewish Scriptures, the doctrine of the Trinity is
never mentioned anywhere throughout the entire corpus of the Hebrew
Bible. Moreover, this doctrine is not to be found anywhere in the New
Testament either because primitive Christianity, in its earliest
stages, was still monotheistic. The authors of the New Testament were
completely unaware that the Church they had fashioned would
eventually embrace a pagan deification of a triune deity. Although
the worship of a three-part godhead was well known and fervently
venerated throughout the Roman Empire and beyond in religious systems
such as Hinduism and Mithraism, it was quite distant from the Judaism
from which Christianity emerged. However, when the Greek and Roman
mind began to dominate the Church, it created a theological disaster
from which Christendom has never recovered. By the end of the fourth
century, the doctrine of the Trinity was firmly in place as a central
tenet of the Church, and strict monotheism was formally rejected by
Vatican councils in Nicea and Constantinople.2
When
Christendom adopted a triune godhead from neighboring triune
religious systems, it spawned a serious conundrum for post-Nicene
Christian apologists. How would they harmonize this new veneration of
Jesus as a being who is of the same substance as the Father with a
New Testament that portrays Jesus as a separate entity, subordinate
to the Father, and created by God? How would they now integrate the
teaching of the Trinity with a New Testament that recognized the
Father alone as God? In essence, how would Christian apologists merge
a first century Christian Bible, which was monotheistic, with a
fourth century Church which was not?
Bear in mind, Jesus never said he is God.
The
answer may come as a shock to many Christians but Jesus never said he
is God. Actually, he said over and over that he is the son of God,
which means that he is not God. Jesus made it clear in many ways that
he is not God; that God is greater. “If you truly loved me you
would rejoice to have me go to the Father, for the Father is greater
than I” (John 14:28). Jesus taught the mankind to pray to the
Father, our Creator, not to himself. In fact, he did not mention
himself in any way, nor did he indicate that we should pray in his
name. His instructions were very specific: we are to pray to God
alone.
Apostolic's use John 8:58 as a proof text of Jesus saying he is God. "I AM" It is one of the most famous verses in Torah. Hayah (I AM) means "existed"
Joh
8:58
Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM
Joh
8:59
Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and
went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so
passed by.
I
Am that I Am (אֶהְיֶה
אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה, ʾehyeh
ʾašer ʾehyeh
is a common English translation (JPS among
others) of the response God used
in the Hebrew
Bible
when Moses asked
for his name (Exodus 3:14).
It is one of the most famous verses in the Torah.
Hayah means "existed" or "was" in Hebrew; "ehyeh"
is the first person singular imperfect form and is usually translated
in English Bibles as "I will be" (or "I shall be"),
for example, at Exodus 3:12. Ehyeh
asher ehyeh literally
translates as "I Will Be What I Will Be", with attendant
theological and mystical implications in Jewish tradition. However,
in most English Bibles, this phrase is rendered as I
am that I am."
“Hayah
means "existed"
-
As
Rebbe Y'shua told us (John 8:58) he existed before Avraham avinu
(father Abraham). He existed from the beginning. This is what John
is telling us as well. Y'shua existed prior to his birth as the son
of Miryam (Mary) and he perfectly manifests or reflects the Torah of
HaShem, our Father (Hebrews 2:11).
The word Torah has a few different meanings depending on the context. The most common reference is to the first five books of the Bible (the Written Torah: Genesis - Deuteronomy). Torah is more than that however. Torah is the Wisdom of HaShem (God): the Mind of God. His Torah is revealed in various ways.
Manifesting
Torah was the first act of creation. Elohiym (the Creator) spoke
existence into being (Genesis 1:3 etc). It is in this context that
Torah is the Word.
As Jesus told us (John 8:58) he existed before Avraham avinu (father
Abraham). He existed from the beginning. This is what John is telling
us as well. Y'shua existed prior to his birth as the son of Miryam
(Mary) and he perfectly manifests or reflects the Torah of HaShem,
our Father (Hebrews 2:11).
"For all the prophets and the law have prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who was to come." (Matthew 11:13-14)
The Old Testament prophesied that Elijah himself (not someone "like" him or
!someone "similar" to him, but Elijah himself) would return
The
Nature of the Only Begotten Son
"For all the prophets and the law have prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who was to come." (Matthew 11:13-14)
The Old Testament prophesied that Elijah himself (not someone "like" him or
!someone "similar" to him, but Elijah himself) would return
The Primal Cause of all manifest life, Elohiym is described in the Written Torah as the One and Only God (Echad Elohiym) consisting of dual gender, both male and female. It was this dual nature that gave birth to the one and only begotten Son of Elohiym. While an inestimable number of beings have since taken birth, only one was directly "begotten" by Elohiym. Of this we read:
KJV: Colossians 1:13: [GOD] Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son...
1:15: ... who [i.e. the Son] is the image [eikon: representation or resemblance -- Strong's G1504] of the invisible God, the firstborn [prōotokos: first born, first begotten -- Strong's G4416] of all creation.
This verse (1:15) is one of the few cases where the Complete Jewish Bible is at odds with the authoritative Textus Receptus source materials. This verse in the Greek andLink: Latin of every source document (i.e. Textus Receptus, Codex Bezae Cantabrigensis, Codex Vaticanus Graecus and so on) is precisely as the King James Version (translated directly and in the vast majority of cases accurately from the superior Textus Receptus source materials) translates it: the Son was "the firstborn of all creatures."
Linguistic attempts to explain away this clear statement -- for instance saying it really means first in importance even though that's not what it says -- are reflected in most modern paraphrases and translations because this verse is the "final nail in the coffin" of those who seek to defame the absolute Oneness of HaShem, the Echad Elohiym and let's face it, money talks. Many of the new versions focus more on sales than on accuracy.
So, according to our Scriptures and understandings, the "Father" (Echad Elohiym) produced a "Son." As GOD is unborn, this is clear proof that the Son is not his own Father even as Bishop Arius (250 or 256 – 336 CE) and other 1-4th century CE Messianic Jews boldly proclaimed in opposition as these Nicolaitan heresies were being canonized.
A
much-used analogy to describe this is that of an ocean. If God is
like an ocean, then our soul is like a drop of water taken from the
ocean. The drop of water can become one with the ocean but can never
be label as the ocean itself. A human soul can become one with God
and attain salvation but can never be label as God Himself. Jesus
could have been one with God but not God Himself.
United Pentecostal Church International, a sister denomination of the Catholic Universal Church, known as UPCI, a oneness (Jesus Only) form of Nicean Christianity. As sincere as many of these followers are in their beliefs about the deity of Jesus being God and their heretical belief that the UPCI has taken the place of the Jews (the Tribe of Judah) as the elect of HaShem, they miss the understanding of the oneness of God, the roll of the Jews in the last days and where their beliefs and doctrines actually come
Links are below for anyone wanting a better understanding how the Oneness denominations DO NOT go back to the original doctrine of the Talmidim (Disciples) of the first century but, are theories of men from the late 1800's and early nineteenth century. (1914) SEARCH the Roots of your faith.
The UPCI emerged out of the Pentecostal Movement, which traces its origins to the teachings of Charles Parham in Topeka, Kansas, and the Azuza Street Revival led by William J. Seymour in 1906. Rejected by the mainline churches, Pentecostals began to form organizations of their own. One of these new groups was the Assemblies of God, which formed in 1914. In 1925, three new Oneness churches were formed: the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ, the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance, and Emmanuel's Church in Jesus Christ. In 1927, steps were taken toward reunifying these organizations. In 1932, the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance changed its name to the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated to reflect its organizational structure. In 1936, Pentecostal Church, Incorporated ministers voted to work toward an amalgamation with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ. Final union, however, proved elusive until 1945 when these two Oneness Pentecostal organizations combined to form the United Pentecostal Church International. [1]
Ask yourself,Holy Magic Hair or Witchcraft?
Witchcraft (also called witchery), in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the use of alleged supernatural or magical powers or spells.
The
problem for Christain religion comes in when looking at the original
writings of the Tanach.
EVERY pillar of the Nicene religions, oneness pentecostal, messianic, nazarene, and infamous Hebrew "Roots," crumbles when proper context is applied.
EVERY pillar of the Nicene religions, oneness pentecostal, messianic, nazarene, and infamous Hebrew "Roots," crumbles when proper context is applied.
Oh,
they love their stories of three-headed gods and virgin births, but
it's simply not in scripture!
Actually,
nearly every aspect of the Christian religion is based upon pure
pagan influence.
The core teachings and doctrines of the Church are incompatible with the cornerstone principles declared by the Prophets of Israel, and are opposed by the most cherished tenets contained in the Jewish Scriptures.
Over the course of many centuries, the Church systematically altered the Jewish Scriptures in its authorized translations of the Bible in order to persuade its adherents that Jesus is the promised Jewish messiah. To accomplish this task, Christian translators manipulated, misquoted, and mistranslated verses in the Hebrew Scriptures so that these texts appear to be speaking about Jesus.
Over
the past two millennia, Christians have been unaware of this
systematic Bible-tampering because few parishioners can read the
Hebrew Bible in its original language. Since time immemorial, earnest
churchgoers utterly depended upon manmade Christian translations of
the "Old Testament" in order to understand the "Word
of God." As a result, Christians have wondered aloud why Jewish
people, who are reared since childhood in the Holy Tongue, and are
the bearers and protectors of the sacred Oracles of God, do not
accept Jesus as their messiah.[1]
Although the belief in the unity of God is taught and declared on virtually every page of the Jewish Scriptures, the doctrine of the Trinity is never mentioned anywhere throughout the entire corpus of the Hebrew Bible. Moreover, this doctrine is not to be found anywhere in the New Testament either because primitive Christianity, in its earliest stages, was still monotheistic. The authors of the New Testament were completely unaware that the Church they had fashioned would eventually embrace a pagan deification of a triune deity. Although the worship of a three-part godhead was well known and fervently venerated throughout the Roman Empire and beyond in religious systems such as Hinduism and Mithraism, it was quite distant from the Judaism from which Christianity emerged. However, when the Greek and Roman mind began to dominate the Church, it created a theological disaster from which Christendom has never recovered. By the end of the fourth century, the doctrine of the Trinity was firmly in place as a central tenet of the Church, and strict monotheism was formally rejected by Vatican councils in Nicea and Constantinople.2
When Christendom adopted a triune godhead from neighboring triune religious systems, it spawned a serious conundrum for post-Nicene Christian apologists. How would they harmonize this new veneration of Jesus as a being who is of the same substance as the Father with a New Testament that portrays Jesus as a separate entity, subordinate to the Father, and created by God? How would they now integrate the teaching of the Trinity with a New Testament that recognized the Father alone as God? In essence, how would Christian apologists merge a first century Christian Bible, which was monotheistic, with a fourth century Church which was not?[2]
Although the belief in the unity of God is taught and declared on virtually every page of the Jewish Scriptures, the doctrine of the Trinity is never mentioned anywhere throughout the entire corpus of the Hebrew Bible. Moreover, this doctrine is not to be found anywhere in the New Testament either because primitive Christianity, in its earliest stages, was still monotheistic. The authors of the New Testament were completely unaware that the Church they had fashioned would eventually embrace a pagan deification of a triune deity. Although the worship of a three-part godhead was well known and fervently venerated throughout the Roman Empire and beyond in religious systems such as Hinduism and Mithraism, it was quite distant from the Judaism from which Christianity emerged. However, when the Greek and Roman mind began to dominate the Church, it created a theological disaster from which Christendom has never recovered. By the end of the fourth century, the doctrine of the Trinity was firmly in place as a central tenet of the Church, and strict monotheism was formally rejected by Vatican councils in Nicea and Constantinople.2
When Christendom adopted a triune godhead from neighboring triune religious systems, it spawned a serious conundrum for post-Nicene Christian apologists. How would they harmonize this new veneration of Jesus as a being who is of the same substance as the Father with a New Testament that portrays Jesus as a separate entity, subordinate to the Father, and created by God? How would they now integrate the teaching of the Trinity with a New Testament that recognized the Father alone as God? In essence, how would Christian apologists merge a first century Christian Bible, which was monotheistic, with a fourth century Church which was not?[2]
Challenge
to Oneness Christians, Messianic Jews and Hebrew-Christians
Ready?
The
Challenge: Simply & honestly answer these questions:WITHOUT
taking anything out of context, mistranslating, or imposing a
pre-conceived notion. (All chapter and verse numbers are according to
Christian bibles.)(It's what they use)
(It's just a sampling of a list, too. There are many more issues than this!)
Why
does the subject of 2 Sam. 7.14 “commit iniquity,” if, according
to Hebrews 1.5, this is Jesus?
Why
does the speaker in Psalms 41.4 say, “I have sinned against Thee,”
if, according to John 13.18, this is Jesus?
Why
does the speaker in Psalms 69.5 mention his “folly” and his
“wrongs” if, according to John 15.25, John 2.17, Romans 15.3, and
John 19.28, this is Jesus?
Why
is the speaker in Psalms 69.31 (who we have already established is
Jesus) declaring that praise and thanksgiving will please God better
than a sacrifice??????? Of all places for Jesus to bring this up
(which would be strange enough in any event), isn’t this the
strangest, right when he’s on the cross??????
Why
does God, in Jer. 31:29-30, make a point of stressing that “everyone
will die for his own iniquity” – immediately before introducing
the new covenant, whereby Jesus will die for everyone else’s
iniquity? Isn’t that a rather strange way for the “tutor to lead
us to Christ?”
When
does the new covenant of Jer. 31:31 come into effect? If it was 2,000
years ago, why hasn’t the first 3/4 of verse 34 happened yet?
Why
will there be sin sacrifices when the messiah comes, when the New
Testament is adamant that there won’t be? (Hebrews 9:28; Heb.
10:10,12,14,18; Ezekiel 3:18,19,21,22,25; Ezek.44: 27, 29; Ezek.
45:17,20,22,23,25)
Why
is Torah law going forth from Zion in the messianic age, in the sight
of all the nations of the world, instead of Jesus, if the law is a
curse and Jesus has fulfilled and replaced it? (Isaiah 2.3, Micah
4.2)
Why
are the Jews keeping (DOING) the Torah law in the messianic age, if
it is a curse and Jesus has fulfilled and replaced it? (Ezek. 37.24)
Why
is no one who is uncircumcised IN THE FLESH allowed to enter the
temple in the messianic age, if “neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision means anything,” according to Paul? (Gal.5.6, Ezek.
44.7) Whose opinion should I trust, Paul’s or God’s?
Why
does “forever” have an expiration date in Christianity? (Romans
10.4; Ps. 119: 44, 111, 152, 160, 172, 142; Deut. 29.29)
How
can Jesus be qualified to be the messiah through Davidic lineage if
he did not have a human father? Can the “Holy Spirit” be of the
seed of David?
How
can Jesus be qualified to be the messiah through Davidic lineage,
even through Joseph, if Joseph came through the cursed line of
Jeconiah? (Jer. 22:28-30, Matt. 1.11,12)
How
can Jesus be qualified to be the messiah through Davidic lineage,
even through Mary, if she came from Nathan, the wrong son of David,
as well as from the cursed line? (Luke 3:31, 1 Chron. 22:9,10, Luke
3:27)
How
could both Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies be correct, and
divinely inspired, even if they are of two different people, if they
diverge (at Nathan and Solomon) and then come back together (at
Shealtiel)? How can two brothers have the same grandchildren???
Why
don’t the genealogies in the New Testament agree with each other,
or with 1 Chronicles 3, which came first and CANNOT be incorrect?
Why
is Paul so anxious for you to not study the genealogies? (1 Tim.1:4,
Titus 3:9-11)
Why
is Hebrews 8.9 wrong about what God said in Jer. 31.32?
Why
is Hebrews 10.5 wrong about what God said in Psalm 40.6?
Why
is 2 Corinthians 3 wrong about what God said in Exodus 34.29-35?
Why
is John 19.37 wrong about what God said in Zech 12.10?
Why
are Romans 9.33 and 2 Pet. 2.8 wrong about what God said in Isaiah
28.16?
Why
is Romans 10.6-8 wrong about what God said in Deut. 30.12-14? Why
does it leave out Deut. 30.11, and the last half of verses 12, 13,
and 14???
Why
is Romans 11:26-27 wrong about what God said in Isaiah 59:20-21?
Why
is Matt. 12.21 wrong about what God said in Isaiah 42.4? Why does he
leave out what it really says – “He will not be disheartened or
crushed until he has established justice in the earth”?
Why
is Matt. 1.12 wrong about what God said in 1 Chron. 3.19?
Why
is Matt. 2.6 wrong about what God said in Micah 5.2?
Why
is Luke 4:18-19 wrong about what God said in Isaiah 61:1-2?
In
Romans 9:24-26, why does Paul leave out the first part of Hosea 1.10,
which tells us that the verses he is quoting (the second half of
Hosea 1.10, and Hosea 2.23), refer to the sons of Israel?
Why
does Matt. 2.15 leave out the first half of Hosea 11.1, which says
that Israel is God’s son?
Where
in the Hebrew scriptures is the verse, “And he shall be called a
Nazarene,” quoted in Matthew 2.23?
How
can it be possible that the holy and inspired men of the New
Testament were so ignorant of the Hebrew scriptures?
Why
doesn’t Jesus himself know his own scripture, if he’s God and he
wrote it? (Math. 23.35; Zech 1.1,2; 2 Chron 24.20,21)
Why
is Jesus wrong in Math. 5.43 about what God said in Lev. 19.18?
Why
does Jesus change God’s law (Math. 5.32, Luke 16.18 – declaring
every legally divorced woman an adulteress, and every man married to
a legally divorced woman an adulterer), if “I did not come to
abolish the law,” and “whoever annuls one of the least of these
commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the
kingdom of heaven?” (Math. 5.17,19)
Why
do most Christian translators lie about what God said in Hosea 14.2,
and change His words, “take away all iniquity… that we may
present our lips as bulls” (demonstrating that prayer substitutes
for sacrifice) to “… the fruit of our lips?”
Why
do Christians never mention verses like Hosea 14.2 or 1 Kings 8:44-52
or 2 Sam 12:13 or Lev. 5:11-13 or Ps. 32.5 or Isaiah 6.6-7 which
demonstrate that one does not need a blood sacrifice to have their
sins forgiven, or verses like Proverbs 21.3 or Psalms 40.6 or Hosea
6.6 or Psalms 69:30-31 or 1 Sam. 15.22 which say clearly that God
actually PREFERS other methods of atonement to blood sacrifice, or
Jeremiah 7:22-23 which goes so far as to say that God NEVER EVEN
COMMANDED US ABOUT SACRIFICES???
Why
are there numerous stories in the torah of people who sinned, and
were forgiven through prayer and repentance – WITHOUT A SACRIFICE,
such as David in 2 Sam 12:13, or the city of Nineveh in Jonah – and
not a single story, ever, of someone who sinned and gave a sacrifice
in order to be forgiven?
How
can Jesus be both the high priest (per Paul in Hebrews), who comes
from the tribe of Levi, and the messiah, who comes from the tribe of
Judah?
How
can Jesus be the Passover lamb for the gentiles, especially the
uncircumcised, if outsiders were forbidden to partake of it? (Ex.
12:43,45,48)
Why
is the New Testament so concerned about the laws of the paschal lamb
when it comes to the 2nd half of Ex. 12.46 (see Jn. 19.36), but not
at all concerned with these laws when it comes to Ex. 12:
3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,44, the first half of 46, or 48?
What
good is Jesus as a sin sacrifice to the intentional sinner, since
(with one exception, Lev. 6.2,3) the sin sacrifices were only for the
unintentional sinner? (Lev. 4: 2,13,22,27; 5:15,18)
How
can Zech. 12.10 be referring to Jesus’ crucifixion, as John 19.37
says it is, when Zechariah is clearly describing an end-time
apocalyptic war that has not yet taken place?
How
can Zechariah be making a “dual” prophecy, when according to the
Christians, this passage refers to God being pierced? Is he going to
be pierced again when he returns in glory?
When
was the last supper – the seder night (the first night of passover)
or the night before? (Matt. 26.17-19, Mark 14.12-16, Luke 14.7-15,
John 13.1-2)
When
did Jesus die – the first day of Passover or the day before? (Matt.
26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 18.28, 19.14)
Why
did God, in Jer. 31.16, tell Rachel that her children would return,
if He was referring to the dead children in Matthew 2.16? Were they
going to come back to life?
Why
are the nations putting their hands on their mouth in Micah 7.16,
much like in Isaiah 52.15? What is it that they’re seeing and being
ashamed of?
Why
did the church put an unnatural chapter break between Isaiah 52.15
and 53.1?
Why
did the Christian translators remove the two plural references to the
servant in Isaiah 53.8 and 9 and replace them with a singular form?
Why
does the servant in Isaiah 53.10 have physical children (“zera”/seed)
if it refers to Jesus?
If
“zera” really means spiritual children in Is. 53, why do all
Christians agree it means physical offspring in every other place in
the bible that it is used to refer to people?
If
“zera”/seed really means spiritual children, which ONE of the
world’s Christians is the true child of Jesus, since according to
Paul in Gal. 3.16, “seed” refers to only one person?
Why
are there many clear prophecies which state that Israel is despised
and afflicted, but none which say this about the messiah?
Why
is the automatic Christian response to the problems of Isaiah 53
ALWAYS to quote the rabbis they otherwise despise and mock and whose
writings they don’t believe in, that Jesus berated and Paul called
“men who turn away from the truth” (Titus 1.14)?
Why
did the disciples not understand what Jesus was talking about in Luke
18:31-34 and Mark 9:32, if it was always common knowledge among the
Jews that the messiah was to suffer, die, and rise from the dead?
Why
did Jesus make predictions that didn’t come true, if that’s a
sure sign of a false prophet? (Math. 16:38, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:27,
Deut. 18:20-22)?
Why
does God the Father know something Jesus doesn’t know (Mark 13.32)
if Jesus IS the Everlasting Father, and the Mighty God, according to
Isaiah 9.6?
Why
do the writers of the New Testament translate the word “moshiach”
correctly as “an anointed one” every time it appears in the
Torah, except for in Daniel 9?
Why
do the writers of the New Testament translate the word “ca’ari”
correctly as “like a lion” every time it appears in the Torah,
except for in Psalm 22.17?
Why
do the writers of the New Testament translate the words “y’mei
olom” correctly as “days of old” every time it appears in the
Torah, except for in Micah 5.2?
Why
do the writers of the New Testament translate the word “bar”
correctly to “cleanliness” or “purity” every time it appears
in the Torah, except for in Psalm 2.12? Why is it that 5 verses
earlier King David knew the correct word for “son,” but not in
verse 12?
Why
don’t the writers of the New Testament translate “ha’almah”
as “virgin” in Proverbs 30.19, if that’s what it means? (What
the four “ways” in vs. 19 have in common is that they leave no
trace, as evidenced by vs. 20 that follows.)
Why
did the Septuagint authors use “parthenos” in Genesis to describe
Dina who had just been raped, if it means virgin according to
messianic authorities?
If
Isaiah 7.14 refers to the virgin birth of Jesus, via “dual
prophecy” (since it obviously can’t refer to him via the
context), then whose was the other virgin birth that occurred at the
time of the prophecy?
*
Why are there numerous prophecies about gentiles bowing and
apologizing to the Jews in the last days, and admitting they (the
gentiles) have been wrong, and not a single prophecy the other way
around – of the Jews apologizing to the gentiles – if it is
indeed the Jews who are wrong?
*
Why are we commanded NOWHERE in the Jewish scriptures to believe in
the messiah when he comes, if our salvation depends on it?
*
Why do all the prophecies that Jesus supposedly fulfilled deal only
with the PERSON of the messiah, which the Torah barely mentions, and
have nothing to with the ACCOMPLISHMENTS of the messiah, which the
Torah is very specific about?
*
Why is it that all of the prophecies that Jesus supposedly fulfilled
are all things that are of no practical advantage to anyone, and do
nothing to improve the quality of anyone’s life, while all of the
prophecies that he did NOT yet fulfill are all things that will be of
tremendous benefit to every individual on the planet, and all of
mankind as a whole? (For example, how does a virgin birth that
happened 2000 years ago, or Jesus’ being thirsty and being offered
vinegar, or being born in Bethlehem, or being killed with a robber,
or riding on a donkey, etc… help me out at all? How do any of these
“fulfillments” solve a single problem in my life, or anyone’s?
Yet, on the other hand, when there is world peace, and all the evil
people are gone, and all the sick are healed, etc… now THERE are
some messianic prophecies we can surely use. )
*
Why is it that all of the prophecies that Jesus supposedly fulfilled
are all things that CANNOT BE PROVEN, while all of the prophecies
that Jesus did NOT yet fulfill, on the other hand, are all things
that COULD NOT BE DENIED IF HE HAD fulfilled them – even just ONE
of them?
*
Why is it that the ONLY way to fit Jesus into the torah’s messianic
prophecies is through the use of extreme force? Why is one or more of
the following methods ALWAYS required? 1) taking verses out of
context, 2) mistranslating, 3) placing a 2,000 year gap (at least) in
the middle of a verse – totally unjustified by the context – i.e.
sweeping any failure of Jesus to fulfill the scriptures under the rug
of the 2nd coming, or 4) making verses up? Why can’t the torah ever
just ONCE mention Jesus clearly, if it’s so important that we
believe in him?
ARE
ALL OF THE ABOVE FACTS JUST TREMENDOUS, AMAZING, UNBELIEVABLE
COINCIDENCES???????
If
God changed his mind about so many crucial things He
said in the Torah, as demonstrated above, and now wants us to believe
in Jesus, why didn't he have the decency to come down to
ALL of us, and endorse Jesus in person to make it clear to us, as he
came down to all 3 million of us on Mt. Sinai to endorse Moses, to
make sure we would believe in the Torah forever? (Ex. 19:9.11,17, Ex.
24.17)
Why
does God break one of His own commandments, “You shall
not place a stumbling block before the blind” (Lev. 19.14), since
according to 2 Cor. 3.14 and 4.4 I am blind, and according to Rom.
9.32, 1 Peter 2.8, and 1 Cor 1.23, the above challenges are all part
of “a stumbling stone?”
Why
does God trick us, and present us with such tremendous
difficulties as the above questions, and then throw us into hell for
rejecting an apparent false god, who’s really not false, if “God
our Savior desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge
of the truth?” (1 Tim. 2.4)
Why
is the Christian God such a sadist? And why do Christians expect Jews
to want to embrace such a God? **
Exodus 20:2-3 - The First of the Ten Commandments
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, and of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” (See also Deuteronomy 5:7)
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man that He should lie, nor a mortal that He should change His mind.”
Deuteronomy 4:11-12 “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no image; there was only a voice.”
Deuteronomy 4:35 “You are the ones who have been shown, so that you will know that God is the Supreme Being, and there is none other besides Him!”
Deuteronomy 4:39 “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other!"
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:14 “You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you!”
Deuteronomy 32:39 “See, now, that I, I am He - and no god is with Me...”
I Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside Thee; neither is there any Rock like our God."
I Samuel 15:29 “The Eternal One of Israel will not lie nor change His mind: for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”
I Kings 8:27 “For will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built?”
I Kings 8:60 “So that all the nations of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other!”
II Kings 19:19 “Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.” (Psalm 113:5)
Isaiah 40:18 “To whom then will you liken God? To what likeness will you compare unto Him?”
Isaiah 40:25 “To whom will then you liken Me, that I should be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Isaiah 42:8 “I am the Lord, that is My name, and My glory will I not give to another. Neither My praise to graven images!”
Isaiah 43:10-11 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.”
Isaiah 44:6-8 This is what the Lord says, Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty, “I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God! Who then is like Me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before Me...Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Isaiah 44:24 So said the Lord, your Redeemer, the One who formed you from the womb, “I am the Lord Who makes everything, Who stretched forth the heavens alone, Who spread out the earth by Myself.”
Isaiah 45:5-6 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God... I will strengthen you...I order that they know from the shining of the sun and from the west that there is no one besides Me; I am the Lord and there is no other!”
Isaiah 45:18-19 For this is what the Lord says – He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited – He says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, ‘Seek Me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.”
Isaiah 45:21-22 “...who announced this before, who declared it from the distant past? Is it not I, the Lord, and there is no God apart from Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other!”
Isaiah 46:5 “To whom shall you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me that we may be alike?”
Isaiah 46:9 “Remember the first things of old, that I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me.”
Isaiah 48:11 “...And My honor I will not give to another.”
Hosea 13:4 “And I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but Me, no Savior except Me!”
Joel 2:27 “And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, there is no other; and My people shall never be ashamed.”
Malachi 2:10 “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why should we betray, each one his brother, to profane the covenant of our forefathers?”
Psalm 73:25 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You.”
Psalm 81:8-9 “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! Let there be no strange god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god."
Psalm 146:3 “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation!”
Nehemiah 9:6 “You alone are the Lord; You made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens and all their host, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them, and You give life to them all, and the heavenly host bow down before You.”
I Chronicles 17:20 “O Lord, there is none like You, neither is there any God beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears!”
The Eternal Consequences of Idol Worship
I have been told that if I don't believe in Jesus as my savior I am going straight to Hell after I die. This seems like a compelling reason for me to believe in Jesus particularly since I have also been told that there is no consequence within Judaism if I believe in Jesus. Therefore, I have nothing to lose by believing in Jesus, so why shouldn't I believe in him as my savior?
Answer: Actually, belief in Jesus is a horrendous sin with grave consequences for any Jew who professes to do so. To understand this let us look at the tragic apostasy of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and its dominant tribe, Ephraim. God, speaking through the prophet Hosea declares, "When Ephraim spoke with trembling, he became exalted in Israel; but when he became guilty through Baal, he died" (Hosea 13:1). When they served God, Ephraim was "exalted," but when they became guilty of idol worship and remained unrepentant despite prophetic warnings to cease their sinful ways they signed their own death warrant. Ephraim died a spiritual death long before it suffered national destruction.
From the prophetic message we learn that apostates, even during their lifetime are reckoned as dead as long as they remain unrepentant. The prophet not only denounces belief in molten images fashioned by craftsmen, but also those who trust in a false savior- god: "And I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt, and gods beside Me you should not know, and there is no savior but Me" (Hosea 13:4).
God desires the apostate's repentance and beckons him/her to renounce iniquity: "From the clutches of the grave I would ransom them, from death I would redeem them, I will be your words of death; I will decree the grave upon you. Remorse shall be hidden from My eyes" (Hosea 13:14).
For the apostate who does not repent, God says, "I will decree the grave upon you." In a more literal sense, "I will be the cause of your being cut off to the grave." Katavcha, from the verb ketev, denotes "cutting" (e.g. Psalms 91:6). Its primary meaning is "to cut," but in Hosea 13:14, ketev takes on the secondary meaning "decree." In Hebrew, the primary word for decree is gezayra, the root of which is gezer, "to cut." There are a number of word roots in Hebrew whose primary meaning is "cutting," yet have a secondary meaning of a final, permanent decision or ruling (e.g., pasak, chakak, gezer, charatz, karat).
As we see, the belief in the false savior-god Jesus is a grave sin. The unrepentant apostate is not only shunned and considered dead by the Jewish community. God Himself considers the unrepentant apostate as spiritually dead in this life and in physical death the apostate is all the more so "cut off."[3]
Exodus 20:2-3 - The First of the Ten Commandments
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, and of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” (See also Deuteronomy 5:7)
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man that He should lie, nor a mortal that He should change His mind.”
Deuteronomy 4:11-12 “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no image; there was only a voice.”
Deuteronomy 4:35 “You are the ones who have been shown, so that you will know that God is the Supreme Being, and there is none other besides Him!”
Deuteronomy 4:39 “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other!"
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:14 “You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you!”
Deuteronomy 32:39 “See, now, that I, I am He - and no god is with Me...”
I Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside Thee; neither is there any Rock like our God."
I Samuel 15:29 “The Eternal One of Israel will not lie nor change His mind: for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”
I Kings 8:27 “For will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built?”
I Kings 8:60 “So that all the nations of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other!”
II Kings 19:19 “Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.” (Psalm 113:5)
Isaiah 40:18 “To whom then will you liken God? To what likeness will you compare unto Him?”
Isaiah 40:25 “To whom will then you liken Me, that I should be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Isaiah 42:8 “I am the Lord, that is My name, and My glory will I not give to another. Neither My praise to graven images!”
Isaiah 43:10-11 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.”
Isaiah 44:6-8 This is what the Lord says, Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty, “I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God! Who then is like Me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before Me...Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Isaiah 44:24 So said the Lord, your Redeemer, the One who formed you from the womb, “I am the Lord Who makes everything, Who stretched forth the heavens alone, Who spread out the earth by Myself.”
Isaiah 45:5-6 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God... I will strengthen you...I order that they know from the shining of the sun and from the west that there is no one besides Me; I am the Lord and there is no other!”
Isaiah 45:18-19 For this is what the Lord says – He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited – He says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, ‘Seek Me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.”
Isaiah 45:21-22 “...who announced this before, who declared it from the distant past? Is it not I, the Lord, and there is no God apart from Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other!”
Isaiah 46:5 “To whom shall you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me that we may be alike?”
Isaiah 46:9 “Remember the first things of old, that I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me.”
Isaiah 48:11 “...And My honor I will not give to another.”
Hosea 13:4 “And I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but Me, no Savior except Me!”
Joel 2:27 “And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, there is no other; and My people shall never be ashamed.”
Malachi 2:10 “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why should we betray, each one his brother, to profane the covenant of our forefathers?”
Psalm 73:25 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You.”
Psalm 81:8-9 “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! Let there be no strange god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god."
Psalm 146:3 “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation!”
Nehemiah 9:6 “You alone are the Lord; You made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens and all their host, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them, and You give life to them all, and the heavenly host bow down before You.”
I Chronicles 17:20 “O Lord, there is none like You, neither is there any God beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears!”
The Eternal Consequences of Idol Worship
I have been told that if I don't believe in Jesus as my savior I am going straight to Hell after I die. This seems like a compelling reason for me to believe in Jesus particularly since I have also been told that there is no consequence within Judaism if I believe in Jesus. Therefore, I have nothing to lose by believing in Jesus, so why shouldn't I believe in him as my savior?
Answer: Actually, belief in Jesus is a horrendous sin with grave consequences for any Jew who professes to do so. To understand this let us look at the tragic apostasy of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and its dominant tribe, Ephraim. God, speaking through the prophet Hosea declares, "When Ephraim spoke with trembling, he became exalted in Israel; but when he became guilty through Baal, he died" (Hosea 13:1). When they served God, Ephraim was "exalted," but when they became guilty of idol worship and remained unrepentant despite prophetic warnings to cease their sinful ways they signed their own death warrant. Ephraim died a spiritual death long before it suffered national destruction.
From the prophetic message we learn that apostates, even during their lifetime are reckoned as dead as long as they remain unrepentant. The prophet not only denounces belief in molten images fashioned by craftsmen, but also those who trust in a false savior- god: "And I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt, and gods beside Me you should not know, and there is no savior but Me" (Hosea 13:4).
God desires the apostate's repentance and beckons him/her to renounce iniquity: "From the clutches of the grave I would ransom them, from death I would redeem them, I will be your words of death; I will decree the grave upon you. Remorse shall be hidden from My eyes" (Hosea 13:14).
For the apostate who does not repent, God says, "I will decree the grave upon you." In a more literal sense, "I will be the cause of your being cut off to the grave." Katavcha, from the verb ketev, denotes "cutting" (e.g. Psalms 91:6). Its primary meaning is "to cut," but in Hosea 13:14, ketev takes on the secondary meaning "decree." In Hebrew, the primary word for decree is gezayra, the root of which is gezer, "to cut." There are a number of word roots in Hebrew whose primary meaning is "cutting," yet have a secondary meaning of a final, permanent decision or ruling (e.g., pasak, chakak, gezer, charatz, karat).
As we see, the belief in the false savior-god Jesus is a grave sin. The unrepentant apostate is not only shunned and considered dead by the Jewish community. God Himself considers the unrepentant apostate as spiritually dead in this life and in physical death the apostate is all the more so "cut off."[3]
**This
list may be copied and passed around, as long as credit is given to
leeannesmailbox@aol.com, who gives at least half of the credit to
Rabbi Tovia Singer.
SEE ALSO: "Why the Church Teaches Jesus is not the Messiah" link
 |
The actress who plays the witch in geico commercial... Jordana Oberman |
The Torah Source For Covering One’s Hair
We recently layned Parshas Naso which contains the Biblical source for the obligation of a married woman to cover her hair. An eesha sotah is a woman whose husband suspects her of having acted immorally. The Torah commands the Kohein to take various steps to demonstrate that the sotah has deviated from the modest and loyal path of most married Jewish women (Rashi 5:15-27). Among the procedures, the pasuk clearly states: “ufora es rosh haisha…” and he shall uncover the hair of the head of the woman (5:18). One can only uncover something that has previously been covered; in this case the Torah is referring to the married woman’s hair! There are those who translateufora as to undo which in this case simply adds a detail. Rashi clearly explains (ibid) that married women would braid their hair under the covering that they wore.
The Kohein needed to uncover and undo this braid. Why? “Soser es klias searah” he (the Kohein) undoes the braiding of her hair, “mekan liBnos Yisrael shegiluy harosh genay hu lahen,” from here we learn that for married Jewish women uncovered hair is a disgrace for them!’ There exists an assumed suspicion that the sotah has sinned grievously. She has, at the very least, secluded herself with another man for a long enough period of time to act inappropriately, after having been warned by her husband not to do so. Whether or not she has actually sinned will be determined by what happens after she drinks the special waters prepared by Kohein.
From the date given at the onset of parshas Bamidbar, we infer that the events in parshas Naso took place in the second year of Bnei Yisrael’s stay in the Midbar. It is safe to assume that all married women covered their hair. It is also possible that they may have been covering their hair for generations. Remember, they dressed differently then we do today.
There is a hint to this in parshas Korach in the way the wife of Ohn benPeles prevents him from joining Korach’s rebellion against Moshe. At the beginning of the parsha, the Torah lists the members of Korach’s group and Ohn ben Peles is mentioned. As many women know, the night before the rebellion, Ohn confided in his wife his regret for having agreed to join the group. How could he get out of this commitment? Ohn’s wife knew that as rebellious as this group was, they were all talmeidei chachomim and kept the mitzvos. The next morning, eishes Ohn sat herself right at the opening of her tent – on the inside, with her hair uncovered. Each member of Korah’s group who would come to pick up her husband would be faced with a moral dilemma. And that is what happened, the moment they saw Ohn’s wife sitting with her hair uncovered, they instinctively turned and walked away. Chazal praise Ohn’s wife whose actions saved his life.
Recently, someone asked me why women are not obligated to wear tefillin. The questioner seemed hurt by this exclusion. She was surprised to learn that in actuality women do wear a form of tefillin and they wear it way longer then men do. I was referring to this mitzvah – the obligation of married women to cover their hair. This idea is found in Rabbi Falk’s sefer Oz Vehadar Levusha. In it he says: “The head covering enables a woman to fulfill the mitzvah of kisuy sa’aros (covering her hair) minute by minute throughout the day thereby enabling her to earn great rewards both in this world and in the World to Come… While a man adorns his head with tefillin for about an hour day, a woman has the merit to adorn her head with an article of mitzvah throughout the length of the day”. Rabbi Falk adds that “Hagaon Rav Shimon Schwabzt”l, once said that women are not obligated in the mitzvah of tefillin because they wear “their tefillin” throughout all hours of the day. They therefore do not require the added sanctification of tefillin as in the case of men” (Oz Vehadar p.243).
Indeed, the Chofetz Chaim in Mishnah Berurah states that kisuy sa’aros of a married woman is a catalyst to give additional yiras Shamayim to her children.
Baruch Hashem, today, stylish and yet refined sheitels abound as well as nicely designed tichels. One can also find beautiful hats that cover the hair properly. There are many talented women who offer excellent service in styling and maintaining sheitels. We worry so much about the negative influences of society on our children. Let us make a recommitment to the Torah obligation to cover our hair properly, with the knowledge that we are doing the will of Hashem. At the same time we are adding to the arsenal another protective layer for our families to keep them safe from the moral depravity around us. With Hashem’s help we will succeed.
The author dedicates this article li’eluy nishmas her paternal grandfather Reb Moshe ben Eliezer Lieber Gelbtuch zt”l whose yahrtzeit is the 24th of Sivan and her paternal grandmother Breindel Yocheved bas Menachem Mendel Gelbtuch (nee Katz) Hy”d.
The Kohein needed to uncover and undo this braid. Why? “Soser es klias searah” he (the Kohein) undoes the braiding of her hair, “mekan liBnos Yisrael shegiluy harosh genay hu lahen,” from here we learn that for married Jewish women uncovered hair is a disgrace for them!’ There exists an assumed suspicion that the sotah has sinned grievously. She has, at the very least, secluded herself with another man for a long enough period of time to act inappropriately, after having been warned by her husband not to do so. Whether or not she has actually sinned will be determined by what happens after she drinks the special waters prepared by Kohein.
From the date given at the onset of parshas Bamidbar, we infer that the events in parshas Naso took place in the second year of Bnei Yisrael’s stay in the Midbar. It is safe to assume that all married women covered their hair. It is also possible that they may have been covering their hair for generations. Remember, they dressed differently then we do today.
There is a hint to this in parshas Korach in the way the wife of Ohn benPeles prevents him from joining Korach’s rebellion against Moshe. At the beginning of the parsha, the Torah lists the members of Korach’s group and Ohn ben Peles is mentioned. As many women know, the night before the rebellion, Ohn confided in his wife his regret for having agreed to join the group. How could he get out of this commitment? Ohn’s wife knew that as rebellious as this group was, they were all talmeidei chachomim and kept the mitzvos. The next morning, eishes Ohn sat herself right at the opening of her tent – on the inside, with her hair uncovered. Each member of Korah’s group who would come to pick up her husband would be faced with a moral dilemma. And that is what happened, the moment they saw Ohn’s wife sitting with her hair uncovered, they instinctively turned and walked away. Chazal praise Ohn’s wife whose actions saved his life.
Recently, someone asked me why women are not obligated to wear tefillin. The questioner seemed hurt by this exclusion. She was surprised to learn that in actuality women do wear a form of tefillin and they wear it way longer then men do. I was referring to this mitzvah – the obligation of married women to cover their hair. This idea is found in Rabbi Falk’s sefer Oz Vehadar Levusha. In it he says: “The head covering enables a woman to fulfill the mitzvah of kisuy sa’aros (covering her hair) minute by minute throughout the day thereby enabling her to earn great rewards both in this world and in the World to Come… While a man adorns his head with tefillin for about an hour day, a woman has the merit to adorn her head with an article of mitzvah throughout the length of the day”. Rabbi Falk adds that “Hagaon Rav Shimon Schwabzt”l, once said that women are not obligated in the mitzvah of tefillin because they wear “their tefillin” throughout all hours of the day. They therefore do not require the added sanctification of tefillin as in the case of men” (Oz Vehadar p.243).
Indeed, the Chofetz Chaim in Mishnah Berurah states that kisuy sa’aros of a married woman is a catalyst to give additional yiras Shamayim to her children.Baruch Hashem, today, stylish and yet refined sheitels abound as well as nicely designed tichels. One can also find beautiful hats that cover the hair properly. There are many talented women who offer excellent service in styling and maintaining sheitels. We worry so much about the negative influences of society on our children. Let us make a recommitment to the Torah obligation to cover our hair properly, with the knowledge that we are doing the will of Hashem. At the same time we are adding to the arsenal another protective layer for our families to keep them safe from the moral depravity around us. With Hashem’s help we will succeed.
The author dedicates this article li’eluy nishmas her paternal grandfather Reb Moshe ben Eliezer Lieber Gelbtuch zt”l whose yahrtzeit is the 24th of Sivan and her paternal grandmother Breindel Yocheved bas Menachem Mendel Gelbtuch (nee Katz) Hy”d.
You can enter into a deep, joyful and fulfilling relationship with the One Creator of heaven and earth without having anyone else involved in that relationship aside from the two of you: God and yourself.
Don’t let anyone tell you that your Creator is “unapproachable”. You don’t need anyone to stand between you and Him.He is close to all who call upon Him in truth (Psalm 145:18). - Rabbi Eli Cohen
Don’t let anyone tell you that your Creator is “unapproachable”. You don’t need anyone to stand between you and Him.He is close to all who call upon Him in truth (Psalm 145:18). - Rabbi Eli Cohen
sources:
"I'm A Pentecostal"
Leaving Jesus Challenges All Christians and Messianics
James Woods author of the book "Leaving Jesus" has a challenge for Christians or Messianics. Bible students studying for bible quiz compititions may want to give this one a shot. # BibleQuizzing
No comments:
Post a Comment