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References include the Sheepfold Gleanings of Carl and Julie Parker along with Mitch and Zhava Glaser “The Fall Feasts of Israel” by Moody Press

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G-d is one

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

When attempting to discuss or define the concept of G-d we realize that He is a complex being that eludes the natural mind’s ability to fully comprehend His person. G-d knows us intimately whether it be the number of hairs on our head or the discerning of our thoughts. He knows when we lay down and when we rise. There is no place that we can escape or hide from His presence because He is G-d.

We are just clay and He is the potter that has shaped and fashioned us and yet can we make bold assumptions that G-d can be observed by placing Him under the lens of our theological microscope? We don’t even fully understand the complexity of His creation let alone the one who created it. Doesn’t it sound a little arrogant or obstinate to say that a person can know G-d as fully as He knows them?

How can we confine G-d to a full definition when theologians are often left grasping for terms and methods of interpretation in order to help make G-d more knowable? No man has ever seen G-d and what G-d gave Moses was only a sneak preview of His hind parts.

The bible goes on to describe our limited knowledge of the creator in stating that His thoughts are not our thoughts nor are His ways our ways.

Even the bible which contains His revelation does not contain the full revelation of His being, as if we could understand it anyway even if it were described to us. We get a feel for this just from reading apocalyptic literature which leaves us with a sense of awe and bewilderment beyond description.

We would like to confine G-d to the box of an earthly temple. Yet even the heavens can not contain Him. We are finite beings yet He is infinite in His person and character. We are learning to know while He is omniscient or all knowing.

What understanding we can gain from G-d comes from the frailty of human language and expression. Whatever view we can see of G-d is likened to the obscurity of looking through an opaque lens.

Simply what we know of G-d is what He has determined to make known. We can know G-d but only under the inspiration that He chooses to make Himself known or disclosed. He is the moderator and therefore by attempting to take control of the moderation we find ourselves as a speculator which is a dangerous position of belief.

Even with the fuller sense of human capacity which results from the next covenant process of regeneration we are still left with a diminished view within the realm of our human experience. Though we are transformed through the renewing of our minds and hearts in being born anew we are still limited in our knowledge which longs for a future enlightment which only comes when we depart the confines of this world for the next.

We even see a limitation to those who have had the special divine privilege of knowing G-d through the prophetic gift of uttering His very words and yet they desired to know more fully the mystery’s whereby they spoke and even the angels, to whom we are inferior too and made a little lower than, are left without full illumination concerning matters of which they long to look into likewise.

We see that people have constantly wrestled with ideas as related to G-d’s existence and these concepts sometimes are so lofty that schools of theologians have fought in hammering out an image of G-d that gives Him a face. We use such words as anthromorphic, theophany, incarnation, shekinah, and triunity to help explain conceptual images of G-d.

Yet are we trying to bring G-d down to our level by pinning Him down for an existential definition within the confines of our understanding or is there a point that we have to accept the reality of G-d’s existence without looking towards mystical applications concerning the obscurity of His person.

Much of our human experiences are relegated through the channel of human perception whether it be the basic instincts of our five senses extending to more complex behaviors as related to our social and cultural values.

We see these limitations even when trying to understand human agency as comparing contemporary man to a biblical culture. Take for instance someone who may know modern Hebrew but lacks the skill to understand biblical Hebrew with all of its ancient meanings and nuances. Even if a person can achieve a sense of mastery concerning these biblical concepts they are still left with a modern mindset.

I also see a distinction between cultures which I have experienced from dialoging with my Muslim friends about the sonship of the Messiah which to them means the consummation of the physical act of sexual experience. The biblical concept of sonship is not limited to just the procreative act of begetting but rather it extends its application to be analogous with a relational term of endurance based on a intimate personal relationship independent of just a mere physical component.

If we as humans have difficulties in relating to each other based on the limited sphere of time and space then how much more are we removed from understanding the “One” to whom created time and space.

Perhaps it’s enough to know that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Yet I realize that this is an over simplified view and therefore is not enough in approaching this great difficulty and dilemma in understanding the nature of G-d’s existence.

The concept of G-d requires more than just a general revelation otherwise our worship could be misdirected or misapplied. It requires a special revelation but only to the degree that G-d reveals versus the likes of human invention or revelation which can be distorted through the process of imagination and speculation. In other words there is point where G-d sets a boundary stone to our doctrinal beliefs and our problem is that we are trying to move it by extending its limits. I believe we see this through the supplemental writings of rabbinic literature as well as other cults or religions who feel a need to increase their plot of knowledge resulting in a Gnostic view as having a special knowledge.

I don’t believe that are inability to fully grasp and comprehend G-d’s existence limits us in our relationship with him. He is still our G-d whether we lack the intimate details of our “Abba” who is infinite and immortal. Even if I did fully understand G-d’s being would it then change anything? Is it ok to say that some things were meant to remain a mystery without it sounding intellectually suicidal? We as humans have this innate sense of pushing the limits of our existential experiences and once again we find ourselves going back to the garden scene of becoming wise like G-d by partaking of the proverbial forbidden fruit of knowledge which when consumed leaves us dumber than dirt.

G-d is more preoccupied in us properly relating to Him versus making Him into an obtainable image within our minds.

We only have a caricature of G-d through the biblical portrait anything added or taken away from this is presumptuous at best and blasphemous at worst. It should suffice for us to say that G-d’s person is shrouded with a degree of mystery.

I am sorry that I have taken so long in my introduction but I thought it would be helpful in transitioning to our next stage of discussion which is the triune existence of G-d.

To begin with I would like to say that as a Christian I am in agreement that G-d is one and this is supported by the New Testament writings as well as Christian creeds.

I affirm the confession of the Shema as found in Deuteronomy 6:4 which establishes G-d as being one.

When considering the oneness of G-d we often think in terms as related to a numerical value or an absolute unity. The word used in the Shema is “echad” which simply means one and this word can also be used to denote a compound unity unlike the word “yachid” which is used when referring to an absolute unity. No where in the scripture is there reference to G-d being “yachid”.

The word “echad” is used in Genesis 2:24 when referring to the husband and wife being joined together as one(echad) flesh, 2 Samuel 7:23 calls Israel as being one(echad) nation. What is understood is that the use of the word wasn’t meant to have a philosophical view about the essential nature of G-d but rather a declaration that He is G-d alone. This is even supported by the New Jewish Publication Society Version which translates the Shema after this manner and this is also supported by the medieval commentators Abraham Ibn Ezra and Rashbam. In other words we find exclusivity in G-d alone in which Israel was not to worship any other gods Isaiah 45: 5 “I am the Lord and there is no other; apart from me there is no G-d.”

The Hebrew name for G-d “Elohim” is a masculine plural noun which specifies G-d’s power. This is not to be confused in defining the very essence of G-d’s existence but rather it appears to refer to the majestic plurality of G-d’s being which would describe someone of great importance and significance based on the study of ancient Semitic language and culture.

There is also the biblical texts in which G-d speaks saying “let us make man after our own image and likeness,” “let us go down and confuse the languages”, “man has become like one of us knowing good and evil.” The pluralistic usage of these nouns is probably just another expression of Hebraic thought since these nouns are followed with the singular verb form. The only plausibility I see to this whole scenario concerning G-d’s nature as being more than just a majestic plural form is that the rest of the bible, except for a couple of other references, doesn’t support this type of verbiage and yet God’s name is mentioned voluminously throughout the Tanakh.

When referring to the triunity of G-d as being one, it is with a complete sense of unity while maintaining an individual personhood. This term by no means is plainly represented in a clean cut fashion or in a short and definable manner according to the biblical text. Actually it is quite a mystery much like some of the other Jewish references to the view of G-d such as the mystical notion of the ”Ten Seferot”, “ Shekinah”, and the concept of the Aramaic Targums which speak of the divine “Memra” or word. If this isn’t enough to get you to wonder about the magnificence of G-d’s being then just ponder about his omnipresence in that He fills the entire universe at once.

The conceptual word as related to a ”Trinity” or “Triunity” was just a means to help define G-d much like these other terms have tried to do. We have to remember that it was the first century Jews that wrote the majority of the New Testament scriptures and that their position and confession concerning a G-d concept was founded on a monotheistic view of G-d . The term “Trinity” wasn’t coined until about 150 AD when it was used by Tertullian mainly as a reactionary or as an apologetic statement of belief.

I have wrote on a previous blog about the “Divinity of the Messiah” in which the New Testament has no problem building a case for yet this is a vague concept in the Tankah except for the unique and exalted sense of King Messiah who would bring forth a restoration through His glorious reign.

One of the most grandiose pictures of this Messiah figure is given in the prophet Daniel 7:13-14 where one liken unto the son of man is coming with the clouds of heaven and approaches the Ancient of Days. What’s interesting is that this Messianic figure was given worship from all peoples of every language with all nations rallying to the banner of his rule and reign. We see this already in Messiah Yeshua or Jesus who has reconciled to G-d both Jew and Gentile in fulfillment to this prophetic vision.

No other Messianic figure in all of human history has had such an influence and impact as Jesus nor is their any competition from any other formidable candidate for the title of Messiah except Yeshua.

Worship is only to be given to G-d and therefore through the association of worship and his exalted state as coming on the clouds of heaven this isn’t just another angelic being.

Isaiah 9:6-7 which is another messianic scripture relates one that was to be born as a son and is given such elevated names as “everlasting Father” and “mighty G-d”. This description goes beyond merely describing any ordinary man.

You may think that perhaps this is plausible but you are still left with wondering about the divinity of the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of G-d which on many occasions is spoken of as being synonymous with G-d? Why does the bible necessitate a definition of G-d as being Spirit and is this expression just another term of personification for G-d himself?

We see that in Genesis that the Spirit of G-d was hovering over the waters. In Psalms 104:30 it speaks of G-d sending his Spirit in bringing forth a renovation upon the earth in establishing His created order as we see in the Genesis account.

We also see mysteriously how the Spirit of G-d is sent and how His glory was deposited with men in a dynamic fashion of creativity. These men were artisans, prophets, kings, and priests who throughout the course of Israel’s history displayed the power of G-d based on the Spirit’s enablement. The prophet Joel states in 2:28 that the Spirit will no longer be sent or poured out only on a few elect people but rather a deluge would occur on all flesh.

When you think about the mechanics of such a divine impartation or act this goes beyond mere human comprehension. How can G-d impart his divine being on men? This is a mystery in and of itself let alone trying to understand the nature of G-d’s existence.

In closing this doesn’t answer every question related to the being of G-d nor does it explain every facet to His wondrous and mysterious person and yet even though the understanding of Christians and Jews differ in their pragmatic application to the existence of God there still remains a common belief in the one true G-d of the scriptures as described in the Tanakh.

No matter how we try to equate with mathematical precision the calculated concept of His being we are still left with an infinite inability to formulate a conceptual doctrine that adequately confines Him to the realm of our earthly experience.

Finally G-d is mysteriously expressed through his complex realities of being through the persons who bear the titles as “The Ancient of Days”, “The son of man,” and the “Spirit.”

* Of special note regarding the title and term ‘Son of God’ , it is used in its most unique and supreme sense as a reference to the divinity of Jesus as the Christ in Mathew 28:16-20, John 5:16-27, and Hebrews 1. Is Jesus divine?

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Are you a good Jew

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Your first response to this question may be yes as you compare yourself to all of the evil Hitler’s of this world but how would measure up to a Holy G-d?

Perhaps you are a traditional Jew who attends synagogue twice a year on Yom Kippur and Passover and occasionally performs mitzvot as well as abstaining from pork. Does this make you closer to G-d?

Perhaps you are an observant Jew who has done everything within your power to uphold the requirements of Judaism so does this mean that you have obtained righteousness?

Are you righteous enough to secure a heavenly home in the afterlife such as what is written in Daniel 12:2 which says that some will awake to everlasting life and some to everlasting contempt?

Perhaps you are thinking that you are kind of a moral person and even though you have not kept the 613 commandments you are comfortable about your viewpoints on G-d and how you generally treat people.

In light of all these viewpoints let’s take a simple test by looking at just a few of the requirements of the Ten Commandments which form the moral basis of the law alone as found in Exodus 20.

The commandments state that you should have no other gods before me and that you should not make an idol nor misuse His name in any way. A deeper application to this law may be found in Deuteronomy 6:5 in which G-d commands covenant Israel to “Love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and all your strength.”

The next requirement was to keep the Sabbath day holy which was a covenant law that pertained specifically to Israel. This was such a serious matter that those who violated this law were put to death, Exodus 31:15.

The fifth commandment requires you to honor your father and mother. Have you always done this? According to Leviticus 20:9 this too was a serious violation that was punishable by death for those who cursed their parents.

The sixth commandment was a prohibition against murder. You might be thinking I’m off the hook here. Yet murder is a companion to hatred and in Leviticus 19:15-18 the law speaks out about slander, hatred, revenge, and bearing a grudge with the added requirement of loving your neighbor as yourself which brings about the true nature of this law.

The seventh commandment is not to commit adultery. Leviticus 20:10 states that those who commit this act are to be put to death. Yet is it all right to look at pornography or to view someone else as an object of lust? Psalms 51:6 says that “G-d desires truth even in our inward parts.” David understood this and He was also inspired to write in Psalms 139:23 saying “search me O G-d and know my heart and to see if there is any offensive way in me.”

The eighth commandment says do not to steal. This commandment is not quantifiable so to steal anything no matter how small or insignificant it is would make you a thief. What if you thought you could get away with stealing would you still be restrained from this course of action?

How about the ninth commandment which says not to give a false testimony against your neighbor? You may be thinking this would just apply to being a truthful witness in a court of law. Yet outside of the courthouse have you ever told a harmful rumor, joke, lie, or any unfounded and slanderous accusations that would hurt or defame someone which in turn would be an act of injustice then read Leviticus 19:15-18.

Lastly have you ever coveted or desired what someone else had? This scripture shows you that G-d is not just concerned with the outward keeping of His laws but He is also looking at the heart as well.

So by taking all of this in account would G-d find you guilty or innocent on the Day of Judgment?

You may say guilty on all accounts. Then by your own admission you are a godless person who is a dishonorable child who lies, steals, covets, who is an adulterer and murderer at heart and who likewise desecrates the Sabbath. So when God judges you will you be found guilty or innocent before the court of heaven?

Perhaps you are thinking I have overstated my case and that I am being unfair in my presentation. Yet everyone sins and no one is exempt from its influence.

We see the patriarch Jacob who was a father of the Jewish nation who coveted and deceived Esau by gaining his brothers birthright and blessing.

Later we see Moses who was acclaimed to be the humblest in the land coming under the judgment of G-d because of his angry outburst which kept him from stepping foot into the Promised Land even though He was Israel’s law giver.

We see the likes of David who is the standard for Israel’s kings and the forerunner to the Messiah and even though he was given the honorary reputation of having a heart after G-d, he still committed adultery and murder.

We also see his son Solomon who was the model for wisdom yet he disobeyed G-d by marrying foreign women and therefore he was carried away by deception in becoming an idolater through the worship of false gods.

Its no wonder that David said in Psalms 14:3 that “there is no one who does good no not one.” Also Solomon chimes in with Ecclesiastes 7:20 stating that “there is not a righteous man upon the earth who does what is right and never sins.”

Sin is all encompassing and that is why on Yom Kippur that everybody had to have a sacrifice given on behalf of the covenant community from the high priest all the way down to the common Israelite.

Sin is a serious violation between G-d and mankind which has resulted in causing death and separation with his creation. Ezekiel 18: 4 states that “it is the soul who sins that will surely die.” Isaiah 59:2 says “your iniquities have separated you from your G-d: your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.

You might say well what about my righteous acts? Isaiah 64:6 says “all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”

Whether it is the Garden of Eden, the flood, the dispersing of the nations, and finally the exiling of Israel, sin has and continues to leave its indelible mark upon mankind.

The good news is that G-d made a provision for sin that was central to the Mosaic covenant which involved the sacrificial and ceremonial rites of the temple.

In Leviticus 17:11 it says “for the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it upon the alter to make atonement for your souls.”

The innocent life was exchanged on behalf of the worshipper and was therefore substitutionary in nature. Even some religious Jews today on Yom Kippur will perform kaparah by cutting a chicken and swinging it around their head covering themselves with blood because they intrinsically know that something essential and vital is missing from their faith.

You might wonder where this leaves you since the Jewish people haven’t had a temple for 2000 years. You may say that you believe what the Rabbis teach in that through prayer, good deeds, and fasting that these are our sacrifices now. These things might be an essential part of worship but this does not annul the requirements of the Mosaic covenant with its regulations.

The Mosaic covenant cannot be fulfilled because much of the covenant requirements revolve around the temple rituals therefore the 613 commandments can not be fully upheld. Is it possible that G-d could be doing a new thing? In Jeremiah 31:31 G-d says that He will make a new covenant (testament) with the house of Israel and it will not be like the Mosaic covenant.

So if the Mosaic covenant was to be completely sufficient in how people were to relate to G-d then why does Jeremiah speak of a new covenant therefore making the Mosaic covenant obsolete?

Deuteronomy 28:64 shows that upon proclaiming the curses on mount Ebal one of the consequences of sin was that they would be scattered among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other. If this covenant was truly effectual then why did it lead to the exiles and the Diaspora?

The centerpiece to the Mosaic covenant was the temple and if the temple plays an essential part to the fulfillment of G-d’s will then why does a Mosque occupy its very location?

The reality is that G-d provided an eternal atonement that was given once and for all therefore eliminating the need for the temple regulations. The prophet Isaiah gives us a snapshot view concerning a servant to whom G-d would raise up who would be the sacrifice and He was described as being despised, rejected, stricken, smitten, afflicted, pierced, crushed, punished, wounded, oppressed, and finally having suffered all of this He was slaughtered and cut off.

The prophet clues us in by telling us why this act of love and justice was committed. The reason states that He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors in taking upon himself their iniquities therefore his life was given as a guilt offering with the benefactors of this action receiving peace, healing, and justification in their relationship with G-d.

Many Jews have come to see the person of Yeshua or Jesus as this suffering servant who is portrayed in this text as found in Isaiah 52:13 -53:12.

I ask you today that you would prayerfully read this scripture and ask G-d to reveal to you the truth behind this prophetic utterance of Isaiah.

After reading the moral requirements of the law can you still say that you are a good Jew or do you feeling naked and bare attempting to hide your sinful acts from a Holy God who sees through the thin veiled cover-up of your filthy rags which represent your human efforts in achieving righteousness or goodness.

Lastly we can only cloth ourselves with the righteousness that has resulted from the provisional grace of the “Righteous Servant” who will justify many having poured out His life for you and me.

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The divinity of the Messiah

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

This blog is about the divinity of the Messiah. I am attempting to discuss this matter without getting into the subject on the tri-unity of G-d in which I will address at a future time.

When discussing about the nature of G-d I think we have about as much of a grasp on this concept as an ant does with nuclear science.

We can formulate and indoctrinate conceptual ideas as related to G-d and still be found lacking concerning the preeminence of His being.

Many of us don’t even understand some of the complexities of life let alone the one who is the author of creation.

In looking at Isaiah 9:6-7 this scripture is clearly seen as being Messianic in nature even among Jewish sources.

If you look at the simplicity of the text it is interesting to note both a human and a divine element to His mysterious being which supports the concept of the incarnation whereby G-d himself inhabits flesh and blood. Even though G-d is not merely a man His person is not limited or confined to merely a heavenly existence and being. Many times in the scripture we see descriptions of G-d as he revealed himself personally such as when the L-rd appears to Abraham in the form of a man as described in Genesis 18. Many times these short term encounters are referred to as theophanies where G-d appears in an intermediate form or as a physical sign whereby he intercepts mankind in a veiled sense where the fullness of G-d’s glory is inhibited.

In Exodus 33:20 Moses is told that a man can not see G-d and live and Moses was only allowed to peer at His hind parts. G-d’s voice was permitted to be heard yet He would not allow for Himself to be fully viewed. Even in apocalyptic literature G-d is described to a limited point. One of the reasons G-d prohibits His identity to be seen is so that His form cannot be copied as an idol to be viewed and worshipped.

G-d’s presence was resident within the camp of Israel yet He still maintained His exclusivity. The Cherubim in the inner portion of the temple was to hide or conceal G-d’s person. God had limited mankind’s approach towards Him based on proximities due to the holiness of His nature. Mankind because of sin was not able to approach G-d except by blood and even then the worshipper was still not granted free access to His presence whereby his faith was partitioned off by the temple precincts or by the boundaries of a mountain.

You may be asking yourselves at this point which is it then, can G-d be seen or not and my response to this question would be both. It may appear that I am vacillating in my viewpoints on this and what I have proposed may appear to be incomprehensible at best and contradictory at worst by stating that G-d can not be viewed and yet be seen. Again this concept makes a little more sense when we consider the complex nature of G-d as displayed in His triune existence whereby in one person He is hidden while the other He is revealed or disclosed.

Even though G-d would not allow for the intimacy of viewing Him face to face He did provide other means of mediation. One of these ways G-d’s presence was displayed was through the shekinah glory where G-d’s presence is visibly seen while eluding full human view.

Also we see many examples where we see a strong identify with G-d and the angel of the L-rd. Jewish commentators have struggled with this concept and when there is a difficult passage to interpret they either refer to the Shekinah or a powerful angel called Metatron meaning ”Whose name is as his Masters” the likes of whom is not found in the bible.

We see several scriptures that allows for people to view G-d and yet live. Genesis 32:24-30 describes Jacob wrestling with a man who was actually an angel ( Hosea 12:4) yet He claims to seeing G-d face to face. In Judges 13: 19-23 Manoah sees the angel of the L-rd by exclaiming that He has seen G-d. In Exodus 3:1-6 we see an association of the angel of the L-rd with God stating that Moses was afraid to look at G-d. In Judges 6:11-23 Gideon is distressed in seeing the angel of the L-rd face to face and then the text refers to the L-rd Himself speaking to Him.

We must remember too that the word angel means messenger in the Hebrew and this messenger wasn’t just any emissary but rather it appears to be the L-rd Himself. G-d of course is not merely an angelic being or a man yet mysteriously G-d reveals Himself in the form of a man and as a messenger who could be visibly seen.

Also you might find it interesting to study the messianic figure in Daniel 7:13-14 who is portrayed as the “son of man” and yet is given worship.

These scriptures may not answer all of our questions but perhaps it opens you up to see other possibilities that perhaps you have never considered before.

Here are some scriptural references taken from the Jewish New Testament that may shed further light on this problem.

Hebrews 1:1-3 The Son is the radiance of G-d’s glory and the exact representation of his being.

Colossians 1:15-19, 2:9 He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible G-d. For G-d was pleased to have the fullness dwell in him…For in the Messiah all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.

Philippians 2:5-11 Who, being in very nature G-d, did not consider equality with G-d something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man.

Jesus or Yeshua the Messiah was literally a walking Shekinah .

Now having said all this then perhaps we can begin to catch a glimpse of the exalted and divine nature of the one who is described in Isaiah 9:6-7

⁶For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the increase of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

This child was to be born and He is a son who is given bearing the exalted name and title as being a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty G-d, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Another thing that sets apart the Messiah as being more than just a man is his eternality or previous existence. One scripture that describes the eternal aspect of the Messiah is seen in Micah 5:2 which according to Rashi depicts the preexistence of the Messiah or at least his name as describing the Messiah’s origin as being “from of old”

Can you think of anyone else who was born in Bethlehem that was a messianic figure? It would nearly be an impossibility for the the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem today unless he was a Palestinian.

Anyway Jesus speaks of his previous existence stating before Abraham was I am and that He had come down from heaven in making his abode with man.

I said all that to say this that Jesus is divine and yet He was viewed in a real and tangible way. These scriptures help depict the nature of the messianic figure as being more than merely human. We have seen a glimpse of the nature of the Messiah in the Tanakh which strongly correlates divinity with his being whether through “Title” or “Homage”.

Is it possible that you have overlooked the significance of Yeshua as the Messiah because you didn’t have a full understanding or a limited view of the scriptures? Perhaps your vision was blurred by the traditions of your people and the rabbis who through their nearsightedness struggled with some of these same scriptures.

Jesus is L-rd and is fully divine whereby He has tabernacled among us in a real and tangible way. He is both the unique “son of G-d” as in Psalms 2 and yet the “son of man” in Daniel 7 as well as being the “mighty G-d” in Isaiah 9.

This concept may seem bewildering yet we must remember that G-d’s divine person is mysterious. Mankind can not ultimately understand every facet and angle to his nature and being because on one hand G-d has determined not to disclose it fully and also it goes beyond our human capacity and experience in which we fail to fully comprehend. For instance we get a sense of this just from reading apocalyptic materials. If the nature of G-d could so easily be apprehended then why the need for all the extra-biblical sources from Jewish commentators including the mystical writings about G-d.

Lastly G-d can manifest himself in what ever form or being He so desires. If we limit ourselves to making a God that fits our understanding or values then what we have done is committed idolatry in our hearts by making an image that misrepresents His being.

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The Messiah in Daniel

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Jesus is the Messiah who is portrayed in Daniel 7:13-14.

¹³“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

This is a profound description to the glorification of the Messiah as found in the Tanakh which clearly portrays His sense of likeness and identity to humanity while maintaining an exalted state of divinity.

Jesus refers to himself by definition on several occasions as being the “son of man”. One particular scripture in Matthew 24:30-31 has a striking resemblance based on similar verbiage as found here in Daniel.

³⁰“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Jesus as a messianic figure has been exalted and given dominion over all peoples and nations such as the prophecy in Daniel indicates. The in breaking of His kingdom has been vast in it’s worldwide application and influence and though it has not been fully consummated yet it still has not been diminished.

Christianity today is regarded as the largest religion to whom the world looks to regarding Jesus as their Jewish Messiah. This is one of the characteristics about the Messiah that makes Him standout among messianic hopefuls and that is His influence upon the goyim or gentiles to whom would offer their allegiance to Him likewise. Who else fits this description in human history?

Though Christianity from a world wide scope is still largely persecuted yet the kingdom of the Messiah has not been destroyed.

No matter how much the world system has determined to exterminate the rule, reign, and influence of the Messiah by propagating its hatred and violence by means of false religions/cults and through the godless influences and philosophies of humanism and atheism it has not succeeded according to it’s program of genocide. In their vain attempts they have been rendered useless and have not succeeded in extinguishing His glory. Every frontal assault represented from every worldly dominion and power such as kings, rulers, dictators and such have failed to remove Him from His throne even though they themselves have long been removed from their coveted position of rulership.

While Daniel depicts the obedience of the nations Psalms 2 is juxtaposed to His rule and reign as I have just explained. Today this is a living reality to the truthfulness regarding the fulfillment of the scriptures.

¹Why do the nations conspire^a

and the peoples plot in vain?

²The kings of the earth take their stand

and the rulers gather together

against the Lord

and against his Anointed One.^b

³“Let us break their chains,” they say,

“and throw off their fetters.”

⁴The One enthroned in heaven laughs;

the Lord scoffs at them.

⁵Then he rebukes them in his anger

and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

⁶“I have installed my King^c

on Zion, my holy hill.”

⁷I will proclaim the decree of the Lord:

He said to me, “You are my Son^d;

today I have become your Father.^e

⁸Ask of me,

and I will make the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth your possession.

⁹You will rule them with an iron scepter^f;

you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰Therefore, you kings, be wise;

be warned, you rulers of the earth.

¹¹Serve the Lord with fear

and rejoice with trembling.

¹²Kiss the Son, lest he be angry

and you be destroyed in your way,

for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Moving on to another important dimension of Daniel is that His appearance is referred to as the “son of man” yet we see that He was given and allowed worship which was strictly forbidden based on the testimony of G-d’s word. G-d makes no allowances for the worship of any other figure whether beast or angel and He says not to make idols likewise which predominantly ranks number one among the ten words or commandments of the L-rd. This exalted realm was uniquely reserved for G-d himself and this is communicated in Exodus 34:14 and Deuteronomy 4:15-20.

¹⁴Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Deuteronomy 4:15-20

¹⁵You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, ¹⁶so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, ¹⁷or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, ¹⁸or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. ¹⁹And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. ²⁰But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.

Thisemphatically states that no other gods would be worshipped. So how does the “Ancient of Days” allow for this diversion of truth. He doesn’t, and therefore it is a defining moment in which the very nature of the one liken unto the “son of man” would be conjoined with G-d Himself in the mystery of God’s unity.

Lastly my challenge to you is that you do not find yourself like the participants in Psalms 2. If you think that you are loyal to God remember that as you study the Tanakh you will see time and time again how that G-d’s chosen people continually rejected God’s chosen representatives which include the likes of prophets, priests, kings, and even G-d Himself. G-d’s authority had being challenged from Sinai and before even to this present hour of rejecting the one to whom homage and obeisance is due.

The Messiah in Isaiah 53 was rejected and in the Gospel accounts it says that He came unto his own but His own received Him not which ultimately lead to Golgotha and death upon the human implement of torture namely the cross. It is from the cross that Jesus took His piercings as corroborated from in Zechariah 12:10-14.

¹⁰“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit^a of grace and supplication. They will look on^b me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. ¹¹On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹²The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, ¹³the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴and all the rest of the clans and their wives.

This is a wonderful depiction to the finality of redemption for the Jewish people for whom He was pierced. So ultimately while waiting for the indefinite period of his coming and return in pouring out this spirit of grace and supplication let us hearken to the voice of G-d as spoken of by the Psalmist in 95:7-8 that states “Today if you hear the voice of G-d do not harden your hearts” . Today let us embrace G-ds provision and let us kiss the “Son” lest He be angry with you and destroy you. I pray that you will be the beneficiary of his grace while avoiding his wrath and judgment.

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Messiah for the gentiles

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

The thing that separates Jesus and makes Him unique is His universal mission outside the boundaries of covenant Israel.

Upon Jesus’ soon to be departure He tells His followers to go into all the nations and make disciples of men. This may seem ironic based on the life of Christ and though to them perhaps they saw its immediate application to the Diaspora yet later a fuller revelation would occur to its application as Paul would become the chief apostle to the gentiles.

Nevertheless Jesus message was first to the Jew because they had been prepared as a priestly nation interceding and declaring the glory of G-d to the nations Exodus 19:6. Their time on earth was seen as an internship of sorts preparing them for their occupational and intercessory role as being the priests of G-d.

No other messianic figure in all of Jewish history has so impacted the world as Jesus. There has not even been a worthy rival to his title and position as Messiah among the ranks of the Messianic hopefuls seen throughout the course of Israel’s past and present. Yet the inclusion of the gentiles into the kingdom of G-d would be the touchstone in defining the uniqueness of His ministry.

G-d didn’t just create a Messiah for just the Jewish people while leaving out the gentiles in reserving them to kindle the fires of hell. Nor are there two Messiahs one for the Jews and the other for the gentiles. Either Jesus is the Messiah for all or He is the Messiah for no one. Jesus would be the ultimate representative as the seed of Abraham in blessing all the nations. This blessing would incorporate the unification of both Jew and gentile into a godly and a chosen nation.

Again its seems ironic when looking at the scriptures that Jews do not take seriously their role in sharing and communicating their faith to outsiders who are considered beyond the fringes of the covenant community. There has been a degree of shunning as if to protect their coveted rights as a people with respect to the promises of G-d maintaining a sense of exclusivity in having a monopoly on G-d. There were some Jews who took this biblical mandate seriously from the L-rd which resulted in non Jews becoming apart of the religious community. We see this from the Tanakh which speaks of the “Court of the Gentiles” as a place of worship within the temple precincts and how these gentile G-d fearers and converts to Judaism were meeting in the synagogue on the Sabbath. We also see Jesus referencing the Pharisees in their concern for proselytizing in that they would encompass both land and sea to win a convert.

Today conversion is seen as a necessary evil in order to combat complete assimilation and the loss of the Jewish identity which has resulted from mixed marriages or intermarriage between Jews and non Jews.

So not only have the Jews forsaken their calling as a nation of priests but they have neglected to see the purpose of their chief Messianic representative as having a concern for the nations.

As you read through these scriptures you will see the obvious care that G-d has for preserving all nations under his rule and reign and this is happening today on a worldwide or universal scale.

In Isaiah 11:10 we see how that the Messiah will stand as a banner for the peoples and how that the nations will rally to Him. In Isaiah 42:6-7 the Messiah would be a covenant for the people( Israel) and a light to the Gentiles in opening the eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. We also see an illumination taking place among the nations starting from the Galilee of the Gentiles extending to the ends of the earth.

In Isaiah 49:6 it states “It is too small a thing for you too be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and brink back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Just to think that a gentile world would accept or swear allegiance to a foreign representative or Messiah who has been removed from his physical entry on the earth for 2000 years is psychologically mind boggling. Usually people choose leaders from among their own group yet Jesus has gained for himself a world wide gathering from people who have often shared hostility and anti-Semitic behavior towards the Jewish people. Combine this with the brevity of time and the limited geographical influence that He had while walking on this planet and it is astounding in scope.

Jesus is the most influential Jew to have ever touched humanity. Some people may argue this in a negative sense because of so called Christian persecution but these people who identified themselves as Christians were not the disciples of Christ and they were misguided in their evil acts and hate crimes. Nevertheless I believe that G-d has worked uniquely through his Son in fulfilling biblical prophecy which is undeniably verifiable. My challenge to you is that you will not allow G-d’s inclusion of the gentiles to be a a stumbling block for your belief as a Jew . Just consider the glorious union and peace that would result from this new covenant community of believers that would be united in their love for G-d and each other. The new testament defines this relationship of unity as being bound together as one new man by breaking down the walls of hostility, Ephesians 2:14.

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The Jewish New Covenant

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Did you know that there is a Jewish New Testament? You may have been told to avoid this heretical book and those who dare to look into its contents will be in danger of eternal fire.

Yet that statement is a bit problematic because the New Testament comes straight from the Tanakh and it should be more accurately rendered as being the “New Covenant” or the “B’rit Hadasha”. This word is taken from the Hebrew scriptures and was spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 31.

31 “The time is coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.

Verse 32 stresses the point that it will not be like the mosaic covenant and the reason for this was because they broke G-ds covenant.
If you read in Deuteronomy about the conditions of the mosaic covenant it would either leave a person in a state of blessedness or a curse which ultimately resulted in the Israelites being ejected and vomited from the land of Israel being dispersed among the nations.
If you look at biblical and Jewish history the reality of these consequences are plainly seen by means of the exile and the Diaspora.
Even after thousands of years the Jewish people have not been able to uphold the mosaic covenant corporately and therefore they have failed in receiving the blessings of obedience. If you just take a look at Tel Aviv alone you will see the Jewish nation living in the holy land but ironically they are not living a holy life.
A person may ask themselves why do we need something different and in verse 33 it tells us because this new covenant would bring about an internal change of heart contrary to some external form of legalistic righteousness.
This internal working would be accomplished by the Spirit of G-d and this is briefly alluded to in Ezekiel 11: 19 and 20

19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

Notice the continuity in these same verses and this is further corroborated as we read about it also in the prophecy of Joel 2:28 and 29

28 “And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

The Jewish rabbi Yeshua or Jesus talks about the advent of this new covenant during a passover seder as spoken of in Luke 22:20 “this cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you”. During biblical times a covenant was made or “cut” by the shedding of blood. This was done initially in ratifying the mosaic law and it is repeated again here by the shed blood of Jesus who was being offered as a Paschal lamb.
This concept of someone taking upon himself a substitutionary form of death is not just a christian doctrine but it has its scriptural roots and origins in the servant songs of Isaiah 53 in which Yeshua is portrayed as the “Suffering Servant.”
Jesus sacrificial death would set in order this new advent which would be characterized by the giving of the “Spirit” of G-d.
Jesus speaks of this in John 3:3 where he describes this internal change of heart to Nicodemus, who was a Jewish member of the Sanhedrin, expressing to him that you must be “born again” or “born from above” to enter the kingdom of G-d and He furthers expounds on this in verse 8 as related to the “Spirit”. John further explains this concept in John 7: 37-39 in which during Sukkot Jesus declares that those who believe in Him would receive the “Spirit”. This teaching is clearly explained through many of the new testament sources including the initial outpouring of the “Spirit” on Shavuot in Acts 2 where Peter gives his address to the Jewish exiles in Jerusalem. He tells the people that what they see and hear is a result of the prophecy that I referred to in Joel 2.
These were Jewish people speaking about Jewish things to a Jewish audience. This was an inhouse situation among fellow Jews. This wasn’t a factor as related to administering some kind of foreign jurisdiction but rather it was a matter of implementing a biblical mandate which was a radical departure from a contemporary Jewish thought causing even the disciples of Jesus to struggle with the magnitude of these changes at times in adopting and adjusting to this “Spirit” age.
In summary the Mosaic covenant today can not be kept in its entirety due to the destruction of the temple and subsequently the keeping of the ceremonial laws that pertain to this facility. So if much of the mosaic covenant hinged upon the keeping of these sacrificial laws then why after 2,000 years has the temple not been restored. We know G-d is sovereign and if the Jews who mourn its destruction desire to see it restored then why has G-d not allowed for its reconstruction but instead has allowed a mosque to stand in the very place where He had once placed His name. Is it possible that G-d has done this in such a exclamatory fashion in order to get the attention of the Jewish community.
Could it be significant that the temple was destroyed by the Romans just 40 short years after Yeshua or Jesus death.
G-d no longer requires the demands of the temple in bringing about everlasting righteousness and he has not altered the mosaic covenant in fulfilling its requirements through the man made offerings of prayer, good deeds, and fasting but rather He has accomplished His justice by offering a perpetual “Yom Kippur” as a means of atonement through a transitory act of redemption which ushered in the new covenant era. The author of Hebrews ascribes Jesus as the sacrifice given once and for all and though radically different it would take this radical departure in order to rehabilitate the condition of mens hearts.
Lastly, Jesus is the most influential Jew to have ever lived impacting all the world including both the gentile and Jewish sectors of society. Today there are over 300,000 Jews that willfully call Him their Messiah and to whom their lives and hearts have been changed from this new covenant. I would challenge you as well to look into these matters and research the person and work of Jesus in reviewing the validity of His claims. Do not allow yourself to remain haphazardly idle because if He is the Messiah then it would behoove you to follow him rather than treating Him as a common byword or an outcast.

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Jesus the Messiah

Friday, June 19th, 2009

A glimpse of Jesus from the Tanakh is found in the book of the prophet Daniel. Daniel 9:24-27 reads.

²⁴“Seventy ‘sevens’^a are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish^b transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.^c

²⁵“Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree^d to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,^e the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. ²⁶After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing.^f The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. ²⁷He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’^g In the middle of the ‘seven’^h he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.ⁱ”^j

There has been much discussion on how to understand and apply an interpretation to this text and the mathematical formula in the dating of these Seventy “Sevens” of Daniel. Yet in spite of all of this we can still gather some relevant information in applying an understanding of the scripture as it relates to the Messiah or Moshiach the “Anointed One”.

Jesus was a historical figure who occupied a certain geographical location at a specific point in time in history. This is not questioned or denied even among secular historians. He also lived and interacted within the Jewish community in respect to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. We find him at 12 years of age discussing matters with the teachers of the law in the temple precincts and then at the conclusion of His life upon taking his last breath He declared regarding His redemptive work as being “Finished” and then the veil within the temple was torn. The conclusion is that Jesus existed during the time of the temple and He prophesied to the future event of the impending judgment on Jerusalem in which the city and the temple would be destroyed which happened in 70 A.D. when the Romans ransacked the city. This destruction did not occur during the life of Jesus but 40 years after his death. You can read about this in Matthew 23:37 extending into Chapter 24.

Daniel 9:24 uses words that compliment and describe the significance of this “Anointed One’s” reign or the inauguration of His rein.

The dating of the weeks is symbolic of years which is how it has been interpreted by some Christian and Jewish resources. So this prophetic utterance would have taken us directly to the time that Yeshua or Jesus lived on the earth.

Even the famed Jewish commentator Rashi who lived around the 11th century and who is respected as Judaism’s first and foremost commentator on the Talmud applied this interpretation to this same period of time but to the wrong person. He saw Herod Agrippa as the anointed one rather than Jesus.

In conclusion who else in history existed as a Messianic figure who was labeled “King of the Jews” and died or was cut off just prior to the destruction of the city and the temple which till this very same day has not been rebuilt or restored?

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Jesus is Jewish

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Jesus is Jewish and His ancestral lineage can be traced back to the patriarchs and King David. He was a resident of Israel and lived a Jewish lifestyle encompassing the ceremonial, civil, and traditional aspects of Jewish living.

Perhaps He is even more Jewish than you are in many respects given His credentials.

Jesus is the most influential Jew to ever live so shouldn’t you at least consider His claims as well as the testimonies of fellow Jews who knew Him personally and wrote of Him in the gospel accounts.

Remember Jesus is not a foreign figure to the Jewish culture and community. Jesus was never a Gentile nor was He ever a Christian or a Catholic. He is the Jewish Messiah who came first for the nation of Israel and then later to the Gentiles. Today there are approximately over 300,000 Jews who believe in Jesus or Yeshua.

Perhaps you were told some things in regards to what to believe or not to believe concerning His ministry and work. Is it possible that this could just be a case of prejudice and misinformation. Dear friend I would not want a misunderstanding to come between you and the greatest gift G-d has ever given and personally I don’t think you want to miss out on the possibilities just because of some reactionary or emotional and irrational responses to His person .

Please take the time and read the gospels while prayerfully considering who Jesus is. I would encourage you not to approach this situation as merely a skeptic in taking only a critical look at the text. I would ask you to take an open, honest, and sincere evaluation while posturing yourself in an attitude of proving the new testament to be right rather than wrong. I would further ask you to pray to G-d to reveal to you the truth of the matter in a tangible way so as to believe and trust in Him as your L-rd and Saviour.

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Pain, Suffering and Evil

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

This is just an introduction as attempting to answer the question of why there is pain and suffering in the world and more personally within our own individual lives. For starters, I think this is often a complex question which I believe can be answered generally, though limited, as unable to always give an exact explanation on a case by case basis. Actually there have been many books written on this very subject and it is a frequently asked question which on this side of eternity may not always be precisely known, or unanswerable, through the limits of human knowledge as seeing through a glass darkly, 1 Corinthians 13:12.
My concern with this blog is that people often correlate the existence of pain and suffering with the non-existence of God. However, a lack of understanding or disagreement to the presence of evil in life does not necessitate that conclusion.
Also sometimes this objection is just a disingenuous excuse to excuse themselves from God.
For others, it is purely an emotional objection not based on logic or rational choices but on our egotistical feelings which aren’t always stable indicators or reliable sources of truth. A part of this is that we treat happiness as the measure of all things, or the end result, to determine right and wrong. Yet a persons happiness can be selfish, temporal, superficial, and misleading which can even infringe on another persons happiness.

Who am I and why am I here?

The other aspect of this is tied to both the emotional pain and the senseless suffering of sentient beings as victims under this system which becomes more of a valid objection to the condition of this global tragedy. Anyway I won’t be addressing the various scenarios that make up this question but will offer a more plausible explanation to answering the question of “Why”.
To begin with by taking a purely naturalistic approach to solving this crisis through human effort alone; it is often limited in leading to disappointment. This is because it generally becomes a conflict of interest for mankind as a whole to be both the sickness and the remedy to the problem which I have previously written about in these articles below.
If you expect nothing less than heaven on earth then this becomes problematic and self refuting as you would spoil this utopia with your own personal evil.

The Salvation of Secular Humanism

Marxism, Leninism, Maoism and Ho Chi Minh Thought on Communism

Philosophically, if a Godless society were a reality then trying to define evil would be a problem as adding value to a relative term; as there would be no overarching principle or absolute standard in which to judge anything as right or wrong, which out of logical necessity, becomes a moral argument for God.
To just say that it is basically human to be moral does nothing to ground or originate morality in the ultimate sense of the word but only pushes back the question to a greater explanation or cause. To say that there is evil you would have to also know that good exists and how do you justify it through personal preference; as one persons or one societies good can be another persons evil e.g., Hitler, Jihadists, Satanists. So it becomes problematic and unlivable to leave this term open-ended for interpretation as merely an indeterminate token of autonomous expression as delegated to a personal or cultural preference which doesn’t correspond to reality as local regulatory agencies and global councils often intervene on behalf of moral issues which can’t be purely subjective or situational as requiring these legislative systems to enforce laws and provide support with a degree of accountability. This sense of justice is mostly a good system, in as much as it retains a resemblance to the “image of God”, by which a common humanity was formed as earthly stewards to recognize and uphold similar moral categories; even it lacks perfection due to the failure of human agencies, Romans 2:14-16, 13:1-5.
From a non theist position, morality becomes inconsistent as many anthropologists and scientists classify mankind as just a privileged primate while on the other hand demand that we can’t behave as animals as these naturalist theorists bow down to putting their faith in the mysterious, all mighty and mindless force of Natural Selection as a means to sovereignly bring about this end towards the advancement of life.

jesusandjews.com/wordpress/atheist-agnostic-non-theist/

An Atheist has faith

Anthropic principle (Is human life an accident)

The evolution of man

Personally I think it is more reasonable to put ones trust in a sovereign intelligence, namely God, as a to guide this process.
When it comes to religion some may see this as the main source of this problem yet statistically that has not been the case.

Religion is the source of trouble in the world

However, in resolving the issue of evil; secularism, like false religion, has limitations as seen among some of the major world religions as some forms of Hinduism deny that evil exists as illusory or embraces the karmic cycle of retribution. Buddhism, escapes suffering, albeit snuffing out personal desire through the vehicle of self-denial, while Islam fosters it as necessary to bring about world dominance in submission to Allah. The Christian world view faces evil as recognizing mankind as sinfully flawed who is in need of redemption and transformation in order to reverse this curse as eliminating both its cause and its consequential effect through a relationship with God as He graciously and mercifully reached down towards humanity as justly accomplished through the person and work of Christ and lived out accordingly among its followers versus the limitations of human nature through self effort or religious merit as trying to somehow reach upward.

Peace and Harmony with God

Some may see this argument as proof against theism, at least against Judeo-Christian beliefs, concerning the nature of God. Yet ironically, the world’s system mostly uses a biblical definition to elements of good and evil with the need for a justice system. Of course, there are instances in which dissenters would deny any kind of God principle to morality by presenting an anomaly to personal and social conventions but it only goes to show how the devolution of some cultures are more depraved than others in rebellion against God, Romans 1:18-32.
In dealing with the nature of evil there is both a spiritual response and a practical application to this problem. The bible, as a standard, is in agreement to how society ought to behave as defining good and evil based on the obedience or disobedience to God’s will and purpose for mankind as to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind along with the golden rule as “doing unto others what you would have them do to you” or loving others as yourself, Mt 7:12, Mt 22:36-40, which is a general summary of the decalogue or the ten commandments found in Exodus 20. This basic law code has not only been written on tablets of stone but has been engraved upon the heart of mankind as either accusing or excusing our conscious of right and wrong, Romans 1:18-32, 2:14-16, as well as an enhanced visual acuity to noticing a higher power.

Is God unknowable

Where is God

Who is God

Yet what gives real authority to the biblical witness is not just its ability to define good and evil on the basis of human nature along with do’s and don’ts, which can to some degree be done by some of these other systems as well, but rather it is able to effectively and practically cure or heal this sinful heart condition with a heart transplant as exchanging our heart of stone with a heart of flesh by the operative power of the Holy Spirit as to regenerate mankind through the new birth, Ezekiel 36:25-27, 1 Corinthians 3:16. Granted, this does not make us equal to God in moral perfection as we are still dealing with imperfect people who still make choices as living within the complexity of an unregenerate worldly system which continues to express free will. The solution, though powerfully sufficient, is not always effectually actualized even though it is always potential in that it deals with human weakness with a battle of the will, Galatians 5:16-26. Of course, the skeptic may try to require perfection as proof or evidence of this even though it can’t uphold this same sort of standard for themselves or even its preferred system thus somehow downgrading Christianity as not the “only way”, but just any other path view, and yet to do so is mythical in deifying mankind as a demigod apart from the One perfect being of God which is contrary to what some religions might teach but are unable to substantiate.
Some may even see Christianity as the problem in blaming Christian as the perpetrators of evil as persecuting others such as during the Crusades and the Inquisition. Yet Christ never said anything about fighting for His kingdom in this manner during this present dispensation of grace but rather they are to serve as the healing agents of society, Mt.5:38-48, 10:1. Jesus taught in parables about a pseudo church who would make claims to Christ but behave hostilely like the rest of the world in which He denies as not even knowing them as His true followers, Mt. 7:21-23. In response to this some of the greatest institutions in human history have come through the church, such as hospitals and orphanages, as Christ’s love is practically extended to loving our neighbor.

Hypocrites in the Church

Even if Atheists consent to a biblical influence of morality they would still deny that the biblical God exists due to the reality of global catastrophes which is seemingly contrary to any kind of omnibenevolent and omnipotent being. This would completely leave God out of the equation or deemed ineffectual in solving this problem as impotent to stop evil in the world such as with the finite god of process theology and open theism or perhaps indifferent/impersonal such as the god of deism or worst yet a capricious dictator who is gaming with human lives.
A favorable option to this dilemma is that God sovereignly allows for mankind’s free will as temporarily permitting human evil along with its consequential repercussions to either directly or indirectly affect all of creation as corporately linked or connected, which will inevitably result in judgment as finalizing the enemy of evil along with a universal liberation with a new heavens and new earth in exterminating this plague of evil. Likewise this is a similar model to how mankind generally values human freedom as coupled with a judicial system which is a foreshadowing of God’s economy, even though this earthly structure is not perfect or completely adequate as many have gone unpunished by their crimes which becomes another reason for the final judgment of God. So in the end God will preside as having the final ruling in every person’s evil including their rejection of Him as giving all their due process. Thus justice delayed is not justice denied.

Is Hell Real

What the Hell

Because of His goodness, God is not merely vindictive as eager to fill the furnaces of hell which was originally established for the devil and his angels, not for human occupancy, Mt. 25:41. He does not immediately enact justice of which no one would be found completely innocent of as we are all guilty to some degree or another but according to His mercy is slow to anger. After all, would you really want the justice of God to always be swift and immediate then needless to say this would help solve the problem but not in a beneficial way towards any of us. Some may be like the scoffer in 2 Peter 3: 3-15 who said where is the promise of His coming as mocking the slowness to God’s final judgement or like the patient rabbi on Fiddler on the Roof who commented about having to wait for the Messiah elsewhere. Yet to bring about prematurely the finality of evil would consume some of those whom He patiently awaits to receive into His kingdom, as His desire is that none should perish but that all come to repentance, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:1-4 .
Anyway we might question the length and breadth of suffering in this world yet in regards to eternity it is only momentary and fleeting. The Bible likens the duration of a human life as a breath or a passing shadow. It may not be comforting or reassuring in the temporal scheme of suffering but inevitably it should still give us an eternal hope of glory as contrasted with our temporary afflictions, 2 Corinthians 4:8-18, John 16:33.
A reflective and honest appraisal of this whole matter should cause us to ask the question concerning ourselves if we have personally caused any evil? Have we violated others at any time to any degree? Are we innocent? Are we strictly the victim or are we also the perpetrators of sin crimes? Furthermore, what have we done to help eliminate suffering in our world?
In respect to eradicating evil in our world, mankind has been given the responsibility as co-regents to rule and reign as God’s representatives of authority as stewards of the Earth which accounts for 95% of the cases while the smaller percentage of natural disasters aka ‘Act(s) of God’ could still be provided a level of support, Genesis 1:26. Thus our questioning to this whole dilemma has been misdirected at God when it should have led to scrutinizing ourselves as to whether or not we have utilized our God-given resources to help manage evil.
Anyway when trying to understand the nature of evil the bible dates it all the way back to the beginning of humanity and even before with the rebellion of Satan and his demonic cohorts. If you study the creation account you will see that what God originally created was good; imprinting mankind with His likeness as an intelligent being with a free and willful capacity to make choices which as you know can be influenced either way. In the process of time this resulted in mankind’s first deliberate act of rebellion against the Creator followed by God’s judgment as mankind’s action led to a pandemic of evil as infecting all of humanity as this evil gene was passed down through a common ancestry as the progenitor of the human race. This disease or contagion has affected all of creation as contaminating the world due to its consequential effect upon the subjects of their rule, Genesis 3:14-19, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Proverbs 20:9. As a part of this mutating curse its has altered the human nature as hindering mankind’s natural ability to positively respond to God and properly relate to others and like the second law of thermodynamics it went from a state of order to entropy. This combined with the allying powers of Satan as rebellious creatures joined forces to maker a synergism as thickening the plot of evil against God’s goodness. Mind you, this is unlike any sort of dualism which would see this as a battle between the coequal powers or forces of good and evil, and even though they are oppositional according to nature, these inferior Creatures can never be greater than its superior Creator. Thus evil is not Evil as some kind of equal rival that could overcome God but rather it is a perversion or a corruption of God’s good nature according to His will and purpose.
Some may object that it is not fair for our nature to be under sins control as being preprogrammed because of the “fall” or moral failure of our ancient earthly parents, yet this is no excuse as God did not abandon us as orphaned children who used Jesus as our brother and Lord to renew our nature as to overcome sin so as to be adopted by our heavenly Father. What the first Adam failed at; the second Adam, Christ, succeeded in; as restoring us in fellowship with the God of Eden. Thus the eternal effects of one man’s obedience far outweigh the temporal effects of the other’s disobedience, 1 Corinthians 15, Romans 5. Finally the whole crux of the mater is an overconfidence of thinking that we could have done any better than Adam’s original attempt at free choice.
Anyway when examining the philosophical objections of evil in respect to God, a person may reason that if God providentially created everything or if everything is God, like in pantheism, then that must also include evil yet the bible declares that God can not sin nor causes anyone to sin, James 1:12-18. When God tests others He does so as to expose the genuineness or true nature of the person as an actualized reality, not as theory or a random event, but is intentional (a) to bring about His righteous judgment, (b) to justify by proving our love and faithfulness, and (c) discipline to produce repentance so as to be restored to God as a merciful and redemptive act of love.
In regards to the other side of this matter the enemy of our soul, namely Satan the Tempter, deliberately tempts as his only objective is to steal, kill, and destroy others, Genesis 3:1-5;13-15, Matthew 4:1-11, 1 Peter 5:8-9, and John 10:10.
In the course of such actions the grace of God can lead us to overcoming sin while the wickedness of Satan would strive against us so that we would be overcome by sin.
For those who are acquainted with the scriptures this then brings other sorts of questions such as biblical paradoxes in respect to the nature of evil which give the critic the first impression that God either willfully or unwillfully violates His own rules, laws and ordinances of goodness as being no different than the cruelty of the Nazis to conduct human experiments, such as God hardening Pharaoh’s heart, whose heart was already hardened, yet softens the antagonistic heart of Paul in his conversion, God bringing a just disaster while mercifully bringing salvation to all who would believe upon His Son as desiring that none should perish, the annihilation of the Canaanites who God patiently waited for before destroying while giving repentance to the Ninevites, the testing of Job followed by him being restored twofold, the testing of the Israelites over 40 years in their wilderness journeys who often put God to the test yet Jesus was subjected to the duress of being tested as proven faithful after 40 days in the desert, the election of Jacob over Esau according to the eternal purposes of God who then extends that election to those who by nature were considered His enemies as the just Christ died for the unjust world so as to receive the favor of God, John 3:16-18. These examples appear to be contradictions but rather these situations, though not fully explanatory in this article, have been used by the near-sighted skeptic whose reading glasses have been adjusted to looking at God in only one way as a distortion to His glorious being. The bible tells us how to properly view God though the lens of truth according to His absolute goodness Psalm 103:8, 145:8-9, Nehemiah 9:29-35, Exodus 34:6-7.

Is God a Murderer

It follows that if God is to be blamed for all things, as the author of evil, then why is He often not credited for permitting good or perhaps even limiting evil? Why is there any good at all? God is often overlooked during times of prosperity but quick to fault when all hell breaks loose as if He can only be responsible for our bad times but not our good times. If we would think about ourselves as critically as we think about God it might actually lead us to becoming more constructive than merely lashing out in our frustration which often times leads to misusing rather than blessing His name. What about giving God the benefit of the doubt rather than doubting His benefits as considering the good by giving thanks besides just complaining about the bad. Often times we question God for not divinely intervening and demand Him to be subjected to us like some cosmic genie who we only want to let out of the bottle just long enough to make a wish during a moment of crisis which sounds more like relating formally to an insurance agent rather than the intimacy of a personal relationship.

Help God

In resolving this problem you might ask why didn’t God just create a world that didn’t have any evil and He did in it’s original state but to remove the human potential for evil would mean to be a robotic humanoid or animal as unable to freely choose to love the Creator to whom we were created by and for as mankind’s ultimate destiny and purpose as the highest value or quality of life, 1 Corinthians 13:13, 1 John 4:7-21. Thus in order to freely reciprocate this love leaves the possibility to freely chose to hate as rejecting His love.

God is love

God is all loving

Perhaps you may think it would have been best for God not to create at all if this was going to be the state of affairs and that seems reasonable had He not provided redemption for mankind which I will explain a little later. You may reason, why didn’t He just create a world where there would only be those who according to His omniscient foreknowledge would freely chose to love Him in obedience? Even then, God is perfect as having no co-equal and it’s not possible for God to create a being equal to Himself in that we are temporal contingent beings dependent on the eternal and necessary being of God. Though he created mankind as good there are still boundaries or limits within our humanity as inferior due to us having the potentiality for change, as becoming, while the Creator is immutable as pure actuality in every respect. You might even be surprised to know that it was no surprise to God that mankind would rebel, sin and violate His commands, laws and decrees and this is demonstrated as God had already prepared to compensate us as presenting the Lamb of God as crucified before the foundation of the world, and yet astoundingly, He chose to love us anyway during our sinful state, 1 Peter 1:19-20, Rev. 13:8. How amazing is that kind of love and how arrogant to refuse this wondrous provision of grace by thinking that we could really add or contribute anything of eternal significance to the salvific process by human effort, as if God inadequately depends on us.
Also if you tried to imagine a world where God would only create those who he knew would freely chose to reciprocate that love and then you begin to think at what point does this have to happen in life with the potential of sin constantly knocking at the door prior to us being of age for love and then after we say “I do” in keeping that door of opportunity permanently sealed and closed as never allowing sin across the threshold of our marriage. This sounds more like a fictitious romance novel in demanding the love of the imperfect bride to be equally matched with the perfect and faithful love of the eternal bridegroom. God’s love is impeccable, while ours is defective, which leads to a merciful relationship of trusting in Him rather than the efforts of a religious devotion of merit or works.
Some other possibilities to the presence of evil may actually be positive. Often when we think of examples of evil it is mostly in the most extreme cases which is an oversimplification to the process as evil can occur to various degrees, which in the lesser sense of the word, may help to avoid a greater evil or benefit from a greater good, e.g. maturity Romans 5:3-5.
As a companion to this argument, we are limited in knowledge and from our finitude we are at a disadvantage to fully comprehend the impact of evil which again may be allowed for a higher purpose in the bigger scope of things which should cause us to suspend judgment rather than sitting in judgement on God.
The greatest example of all this was the mysterious work of Christ who became flesh and blood; subjecting Himself to the pains of human suffering as our priestly intercessor, Hebrews 2:9-18, 4:14-16. The prophet Isaiah says that Jesus was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and familiar with grief. He was oppressed and afflicted as paying the ultimate price with an untimely and horrific death as taking upon Himself the punishment for all sins, transgressions and iniquities as the sinless Savior who was sacrificed on the human altar of the cross to be tortured by His rebellious creatures as benefiting those who would trust Him as mercifully receiving forgiveness; having been justified and made righteous through His lifeblood as the beneficiaries of eternal life, John 3:16, Romans 3:9-31, 6:23.How awesome and unimaginable is this kind of love who according to the joy set before Him endured the cross as His own expenditure under the cruel treatment of a hostile world to expiate sins, Hebrew 12:2-3, John 1:10-13. Therefore for our good the greatest evil was committed or permitted as the very author of life freely laid down his own life, reconciling us unto God, John 10:11-18, Romans 5:9-10.
The basis of God’s nature as Creator is a sovereign and perfect love, 1 John 4:7-21. Love originated with God for the purpose of reciprocation towards Him and others which is a primal value that defines civilization at its very core e.g., the loving arms of our creaturely mother and yet how much more is the pure love of God outstretched to us through the loving arms of a Savior as embracing a cross so that the perfect love of God could ultimately be received as suffering with us and for us so that His pain might become our gain, Mt 7:7-12, John 15:13, Romans5:6-8.
Jesus life and death ultimately satisfied or propitiates the just and righteous requirements of God by giving His precious life as a ransom on behalf of undeserving creatures as a penal substitution which otherwise would have left us guilty before the holy tribunal of God. (1) For God showed kindness to mankind as transferring our guilt to the divine Son which could only occur upon two separate beings as a case against humanity saving themselves. Because of our sinful default, righteousness could only be settled and obtained by God, as cosigner, to mercifully liberate mankind from their debt of sin with the blood of Christ as paying the penalty or wages of our transgression with His death, not ours, as covering all costs to essentially purchase or redeem men unto God. Again ,this is necessary, as it is irreconcilable for God, in our earthly domain, to work both mercy and justice together in the same kind of person or being but rather He prepared a body in the person of Jesus as the incarnate God-man who willfully and righteously receives our punishment in bringing us peace with God as our mediatorial representative to mercifully release the guilty party of repentant human captives. So in the end, it comes down to the free will of man responding to God as to choose life or death, mercy or justice, blessing or a curse. You choose, and to not choose is to choose already as Jesus said that if you are not with me then you are against me, Josh 24:14-15, Deuteronomy 30:19-20.
Underlying this argument of redemption some may accuse God of a hero complex as just setting us up to fail as coming to rescue mankind with the life saving efforts of Christ. Yet who better to direct our love and adoration to besides ourselves, and others, as including things? If God exists, the greatest evil of all is to reject Him by substituting His glorious person with a superficial counterfeit. To not love the superior God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind is to prostitute yourself to an inferior object or person as including false ideologies and philosophies as putting yourself over God whose name is above all names which is treacherously treasonous and speaking from a human point of view becomes far worse than denying those loving arms of the very mother who birthed you.

God is a crutch

Lastly to keep from contributing to the problem of evil, the Lord restrains mankind from taking personal action with a vendetta of vengeance as this is the Lord’s responsibility, not ours, which will inevitably bring about the wrath of His righteous judgement, Romans 12:14-21.
The bible also speaks out about wrongfully judging others in regards to being unfair, Matthew 7:1-5.
In some respects it is fair to judge as to wisely discern matters or people and administer godly discipline in the Church, Mt 7:15-20, Mt 10:16, Mt 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 5.
This would also include judging others in respect to upholding moral and civil laws as keeping the laws of the land in which the rulers justly bear the sword as ministers or agents of God’s judgment, Romans 13:1-7. So in some ways to passively permit evil is to promote it, as an accomplice to its guilt, especially as it affects the welfare of others as disregarding the value of humanity who are made in the image of God.
Anyway unlike the world the bible commands that our attitude and actions need to correspond to the Kingdom of God as resisting evil by loving others. Jesus says that hatred against mankind is analogous to the spirit of murder, 1 John 3:15, Matthew 5:21-22. Furthermore, we are told to overcome evil with good as even loving our enemies, turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, giving to others who have stolen from us, blessing and praying for our adversaries as children emulating the holy nature of our heavenly Father. Also we are told to be at peace with all men in as much as it is depends upon us and to pursue reconciliation, if possible, as even preceding our worship of God which could otherwise be a hindrance. A loving forgiveness towards others is prevalent in the Lord’s prayer and without it we remain unforgiven as hypocrites who also depend on the very work of Christ who died that we might be forgiven and reconciled unto God, Mt 5:23-24, 38-48, 6:12-15, 1 Peter 3:6-7.
You might be thinking that it is always necessary for the offender to approach the offended before favorably extending the scepter of forgiveness to them but that is overruled by the King of Kings which regards forgiveness and reconciliation as more important to the Kingdom than saving face, Mt 18:15-20. Even though this scripture may apply more specifically to how relatives are supposed to relate according to the rules of the household of faith this also pertains to how believers are to treat strangers outside the church, who may even be regarded as enemies, which God, through a general grace, blesses such evil and unrighteous people as in Matthew 5:43-48 with the intention that His kindness will lead them to repentance; adopting them as His children, Romans 2:4 or according to his right alone, bring about His righteous judgment, 1 Corinthians 5 :12-13, Romans 1:21.
In addition to this sometimes we act as if everyone should forgive us but are often stubbornly unwilling to extend forgiveness to others. When I think about the life of Christ I essentially see the blood of Jesus on all our sinful hands as responsible for His sinless death. Yet remarkably, even though we had been separated from God as His enemies, we are now graciously reconciled unto Him even though we have essentially killed Jesus.
Moreover, we often underestimate or trivialize our own sin by washing our hands in innocence while faulting others as focusing on their sin to the point of being blinded to our own. We often measure our debt of sin as chump change while we look at others as if it were millions and as a reality check, though still an underestimation, our liability to God looks more like the national debt which could never be paid, Mt 7:1-5, 18:21-35.
You may be thinking that this is impossible, and without the help of God, like salvation, I would have to agree. However it is a day-to-day reality in the Spirit filled man whose nature is by grace supernaturally enabled as lived out according to the fruit of the Spirit as opposed to the flesh, Galatians 5:16-26
I see examples of this within Christendom with wonderful stories of forgiveness and reconciliation such as in the film “Beyond the Gates of Splendor” and the recent movie “Unbroken”. I am also reminded of an article in a newsletter that was published by Voice of the Martyrs about some Africans who forgave their Muslim assailants for amputating their bodies, and even though their flesh was mutilated, their spirit was not.
Moreover, I have never heard of a Christian that has truly forgiven like this ever renege as saying that it was a bad decision but rather what they might tell you is that prior to this it was wrong for them to begrudge the situation which was controlling, strangling, and destroying their life and the life of others with a persona of the living dead that reeked with a stench of putrefaction the likes of which others would avoid.
Anyway, the biblical worldview is a radical departure from society and religion, both then and now. It flies in the face of self-preservation by putting God and others before oneself, in as much as the last will be first and the first last, to lose ones life; is to save it, and to consider others before yourself. Your mind might rebel against such ideas as this is so unlike pop culture but if it sounds that foreign to you then perhaps you aren’t really familiar with the God of the Bible, Luke 9:23-26, Mark 10:35-45, Philippians 2:3-11.
In closing I am not making light of sin or evil by merely excusing it through forgiveness in that it is still wrong or evil and may even require certain limitations but what it doesn’t have to do is ultimately define your life as either the perpetrator or victim who are both in need of Savior.
Finally, I hope you have gained a new or different perspective to the nature of evil as personally combatting it, not by attacking God or others, but rather as allying yourself with Him so as to overcome it, John 16:33.

Mt: 11:28-30
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”