Issue #125-JESUS & MESSIANIC AGE (Pt. 1), JM's Tra

Biblical Errancy Issue #125-JESUS & MESSIANIC AGE (Pt. 1), JM's Tract Continues: Points 16 & 18, Reader Defends BE Against Rev. Veader, Reader Confronts JW's

Nov 10, '08 5:43 AM
by Loren for everyone






Issue No. 125

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May 1993


JESUS & THE MESSIANIC AGE (PART 1)

According to Christian teachings and apologetic writings, Jesus is the savior of the world; he was the long-awaited messiah who fulfilled all the OT messianic predictions and prophecies. Prior issues of BE clearly showed that Jesus could in no way be viewed as the fulfillment of the OT messianic prophecies. Far too many specifications and qualifications were beyond his pale of operations and endowments. Simply put, he didn't fill the bill. Another major consideration that rules out any possibility of Jesus being the messiah is that his arrival failed to usher in the Messianic Age. Not only is the messiah required to fulfill all the OT messianic prophecies, but he must also generate the arrival of heaven on earth. With the world as it is today, one can safely say that this aspect of his credentials has failed miserably. If there is anything the world is not, it is a heavenly paradise.

Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. Of that there can be no doubt. John 4:25-26 says, "The woman saith to him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith to her, I that speak to thee am he." And Mark 14:61-62 says, "But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said to him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am...." That is about as definitive as one can be. Matt. 16:15-20 says,

He (Jesus--Ed.) saith to them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father which is in heaven.... Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Although done indirectly, Jesus also claims to be the Messiah in Matt. 26:63-65 and Luke 22:67-71.
So, in essence, there is no denying the fact that Jesus, himself, not just his followers, claimed he was the Messiah. The problem with this, however, and the reason he is so soundly rejected by all branches of Judaism and objective outside observers of the biblical requirements for the Messiahship, is that Jesus failed to usher in the kind of era that was to be the culmination of all mankind's hopes. He did not bring in the following which must accompany the Messiah's arrival.
•THE FINAL END OF SIN--Jer. 3:17 ("At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all nations shall be gathered to it...neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart"), Zeph. 3:15 ("...thou shalt not see evil any more"), Ezek. 36:25-27 ("Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them"), Ezek. 36:33, 37:23-24, Zeph. 3:13, Isaiah 60:21, and Jer. 50:20;
•THE END OF SUFFERING--Isa. 65:19 ("I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying");
•PEACE AND TRANQUILITY WILL REIGN--Isa. 2:4, 65:19, Micah 4:3 ("And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more"), Hosea 2:18 ("in that day will I make a covenant with the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven...and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely"), Ezek. 39:9-10 ("They that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years...and they shall burn the weapons with fire...."), Isa. 9:6, and Zech. 9:10;
•ONE CREED AND ONE RELIGION--Isa, 66:23 ("And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord"), Zech. 14:16 ("And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles"), Zech. 8:23 ("Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you"), Zech. 14:9 ("And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one"), Psalm 86:9 ("All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name"), Isa. 11:9 ("...for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea"), Mal. 1:11, Isa. 2:2, 14:1, 45:14, 24, 22-23, 52:1, 54:5, 60:2-6, 14-16, John 10:16, Joel 3:17, and Jer. 31:34;
•ONLY ONE KINGDOM AND ONE KING--Isa. 60:11-12 ("Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring to thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted"), Zech. 14:9 ("And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one"), Dan. 2:44 ("And the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever"), Isa. 43:5-6 ("Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth"), Isa. 11:12 ("And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth"), Dan. 7:27, Ezek. 37:21-22, 39:28, and Deut. 30:3-5;
•PEACE BETWEEN THE FEROCIOUS AND THE DOCILE--Isa. 11:6-9 ("The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea"), Isa. 65:25, Ezek. 34:25, 28, and Hosea 2:18;
•THE DEAD WILL BE RESURRECTED--Isa. 26:19 ("The dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead"), Dan. 12:2 ("And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt"), and Deut. 32:39; IDOLATROUS IMAGES, FALSE PROPHETS, AND THE SPIRIT OF PROFANITY WILL VANISH



--Isa. 2:18 ("And the idols he shall utterly abolish"), Zech. 13:2 ("And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land"), Isa. 42:17 ("They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods"), Psalm 97:7, and Zeph. 2:11; •THE MOUNT OF OLIVES WILL SPLIT IN TWO--Zech. 14:4 ("...the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south");
•LIVING WATER WAS TO ISSUE FROM THE SITE OF THE TEMPLE--Ezek. 47:1-2;
•THE WARS OF GOD AND MAGOG--Ezek. chapters 38 and 39, and
•THE COVENANT SHALL BE RENEWED AS SANCTIFICATION FOR THE ISRAELITES-- Ezek. 37:26-29 ("Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yet, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore"), Ezek. 39:29 ("Neither will I hide my face anymore from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God"), Joel 3:20-21 ("But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion"), Jer. 31:34 ("And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more"), Ezek. 2:10, 43:7, 48:35, and Joel 2:27-28.
(To Be Concluded Next Month)
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DIALOGUE AND DEBATE
Letter #508 from JM Continues from Last Month (Part aa)
[Point #16 in our pamphlet was: Believers are told in Mark 16:17-18 that they can drink any deadly thing and it shall not hurt them. But I don't think you would be naive enough to drink any arsenic offered. Perhaps I'm wrong and you would be willing to test the Book's veracity?--lay it on the line so to speak!--ED.]
JM's Defense is: Mr. McKinsey's problem, here, is that he did not allow for the totality of Biblical teaching on the matter. Mark 16:15-20 deals with two conditions. [1] It deals with a condition which was obligatory and permanent. "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned" (verses 15, 16). [2] It also deals with a condition which was optional and temporary. It was not commanded that they exercise spiritual gifts, but they did have them so they could confirm the word. It was temporary in that some day these spiritual gifts would be done away with. The Bible spoke of a time when these things would cease: "But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away." (1 Cor. 13:10). The "in part" thing was the spiritual gifts, thus the perfect (complete) thing was the completed written revelation.

Understanding this, we can see that we cannot drink deadly poisons, or handle snakes, which if they bite us, we will not be hurt. Mr. McKinsey's lack of understanding of this subject and Bible knowledge in general does not make the Bible wrong.

Editor's Response to Letter #508 (Part aa)
Well, here you are again on the horns of a dilemma, JM! Your problem is obvious. The Bible says any believer can drink any deadly thing without being hurt and we both know that's utterly ridiculous. You wouldn't drink a large quantity of arsenic any more than I would. You aren't suicidal. So, to escape the situation you propose a theoretical concoction of your own, which is flawed throughout. First, upon what grounds do you allege that part of Mark 16:15-20 is temporary and the remainder is permanent? There is nothing whatever in the text itself that justifies this distinction. Where does Mark 16 say that "some day these spiritual gifts would be done away with"? Second, since Mark 16 doesn't even imply, much less state, these powers would cease, you race off to another part of Scripture for confirmation and cite 1 Cor. 13:10 which says, "But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away." According to you, the "in part" thing is the spiritual gifts, when nothing scriptural justifies such a connection, and according to you, the "perfect" thing is completed written scripture, which is not substantiated by scripture either. Third, if Scripture is "perfect", as you allege, and it has not come, then how could the "in part" have existed? The "in part" is part of Scripture, according to your interpretation. How could it have existed prior to Scripture and be abolished with the arrival of Scripture, when it is part of Scripture? Fourth, most apologists contend that Jesus, not Scripture, is the "perfect" that is to come. Apparently you decided that if Jesus were deemed to be the "perfect,", then Mark 16 could easily be refuted by merely noting the large number of miracles that continued to happen after Jesus left the scene. So, you chose the more dishonest strategy of referring to Scripture as the "perfect." But many of your own compatriots contend that all the autographs were completed at a very early date, even though afterwards men, such as Peter and Paul, continued to heal miraculously, speak in tongues, etc. And lastly, 1 Cor. 13:8 says, "...as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away." It says that prophesying, speaking in tongues, and knowledge will pass away. It does not specifically state that believers can no longer safely drink any deadly thing or play with deadly serpents. Even if the "perfect" did mean Scripture, which you failed to prove, how do you know the phrase "in part" included deadly potions and serpents? The only credible definition of the nebulous phrase "in part" is found in 1 Cor. 13:8-9 and would seem to exclude the very acts you want to include. It mentions prophecies, tongues, and knowledge, but nothing is said about deadly potions, other miracles, or serpents.

Anyone who is reasonably well acquainted with Scripture can understand your strong reluctance to apply the word "perfect" in 1 Cor. 13:10 to Jesus, as most apologists do. After all, even after he departed the scene via the Ascension, all of the following continued to occur.
•(a) People continued to speak in tongues in Acts 2:4, 10:45-46, 19:6, 1 Cor. 14:5, 14:18, 12:10, and 12:28;
•(b) People continued to prophesy in Acts 19:6, 1 Cor. 14:1-5, 12:10, 12:28, and Rom. 12:6;
•(c) People continued to cure by the laying on of hands in Acts 5:12, 9:17-18, 14:3, 19:11, and 28:8, and
•(d) gifts continued in 1 Cor. 12:4, 9, 28, 31, and Rom. 12:6.
He couldn't be the "perfect" because the "in part" had not ceased to occur.
Letter #508 from JM Continues (Part bb)
[Point #18 in our pamphlet was: According to the text there are 29 cities listed in Joshua 15:21-32 (RSV). One need only count them to see that biblical math is not to be trusted. The total is 36.

JM's Defense is: Mr. McKinsey did not read very carefully what the Bible said. It did not say that there were only 29 names. It said: "...all the cities are twenty and nine, with their villages" (Joshua 15:32) (Underline added by jdm). This simply states that there are 29 cities. Now if one counts he will count 36 names. The resolution is that there are 29 cities and 7 villages. Really, Mr. McKinsey, you ought to read the Bible more carefully. Most of your difficulties with the Bible would disappear if you would.

Editor's Response to Letter #508 (Part bb)
Again, JM, your stream of "logic" eludes me. If anyone needs to read Scripture more closely, it's you. Let's quote the text verbatim. Joshua 15:21-32 says, "The cities belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah in the extreme South, toward the boundary of Edom, were...(36 names are mentioned in the RSV followed by) in all, twenty-nine cities, with their villages." The text says "the cities" and lists 36 names. That means 36 cities, not 29. You would have us believe that only 29 of the names were of cities and 7 were of villages. Do you have any evidence for this arbitrary division? Where does the text even imply, much less state, that some of the names applied to villages? The 21st verse says "the uttermost cities," the word "villages" isn't even mentioned, and then lists the names, the clear intention being that all the names that were to follow were of cities. In essence, your explanation is without substance, because you are alleging the 21st verse is lying when it says, "The cities belonging to the tribe...were (and 36 names follow). According to you 7 of the names are not of cities at all but of villages.

In addition, Joshua 15:33-41 lists 16 cities and closes by saying, "Sixteen cities with their villages" which is correct. There are 16. So where are the villages in this list? Your rationalization collapses. The same problem arises with respect to Joshua 15:42-44. Nine names are followed by "Nine cities with their villages." Again, none of them could be a village. Both clearly show that villages are not being listed separately (To Be Continued)

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR








Letter #526 from NS of Richmond, Indiana
Dear Dennis.
After several letters expounding the glories of religion in our local paper, I became angry at the religious clap-trap being published and thought you might like to see the results of a letter I had published (which was copied straight from BE, hope you don't mind).
...Anyhow, this is to let you know that there are those of us who are committed to publicly exposing the Bible and all is not lost here in Richmond. I have the help of a delightful old fellow named BF, who also takes BE, and is quite a biblical scholar. But without BE I could never carry on these debates. I am learning, slowly, on my own, but as you know, it takes time! Thanks again for BE and for your never-ending expertise.

Letter #527 from BB of Cambridge, Mass. (Part a)
Dear Dennis
.... Enclosed...you will find a letter I wrote in defense of your conviction, which was demonized by a Pastor Veader. The Pastor asserted that you were trying to justify your perversion through a campaign against God. No evidence of said perversion was presented or of an anti-God campaign. It was all supposed, because you are skeptical of the inerrancy of the Bible. He went on to claim that the entire western modern world was built on protestantism, which is just more uncritical emotionalism, all of which I felt I had to refute with logic, scripture, and the most Reverend Martin Luther. Now he probably believes I'm demonic. Tough cookies! (What follows is a copy of the letter I sent to Pastor Veader--Ed.)

Dear Pastor Veader:
Your response to my letter to Mr. McKinsey's BIBLE ERRANCY flyer was so hateful I was reluctant to reply to it. But, I have conviction too, and it is my hope that we can engage in a reasonable argument. It is unreasonable to say that all non-Christians are demonic, corrupt, perverse, vile, and destined for Hell. It is readily evident that non-Christians are hard working, decent people, who are raised and live in loving, nurturing families. The apostle Paul was aware of this: "For when the Gentiles who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law; these having not the law are a law to themselves" (Rom. 2:14). I know Mr. McKinsey is not vile or corrupt, that he is a good husband and makes his living at a 9 to 5 job. His flyer is a supplementary income. Your attack on Mr. McKinsey's character was unfounded and typical of the clergy, who promote doctrine not for debate and logical thinking, but for blind belief and conformity. Skepticism is the essence of virtue, unwilling to be fooled or misled, and willing to stand firmly on the basis of ideas that have been thought through, but which are still open to growth.

The western modern world was built on the Renaissance: the rebirth of Greek and Roman philosophy and the beginning of humanism. The substitution of emotionalism for truth was the great error of the 16th century revolt. As Martin Luther said in (Grisar, Rev. Martin Luther, iv., 386-407), "There are as many sects and beliefs as there are heads. This fellow will have nothing to do with baptism; another denies the Sacraments, a third believes that there is another world between this and the Last Day. Some teach that Christ is not God; some say this; some say that. There is no rustic so rude but that, if he dreams or fancies anything, it must be the whisper of the Holy Ghost, and he himself a prophet."

It is argued by theists that if miracles have happened, they are the direct result of God's mind acting on matter. But, if a Divine mind can act directly on matter to produce miraculous effects, there is no reason to assume the human mind cannot do so. In both cases minds would be involved. One may claim that God's mind is different from the human mind. But, this claim assumes what needs to be proven. We do not see a person perform a miracle. But, then, we do not see God performing miracles either. In fact, we don't see God at all. In this argument his very existence is inferred merely from the presence of miracles. Human minds are known to exist, but the existence of God's mind is in dispute. It is more reasonable to assume that when someone desires a miracle and a miraculous-seeming event occurs, it does so not because of God, but because that person did it....

Editor's Response to Letter #527 (Part a)
Dear BB.
We appreciate your defense and are somewhat surprised since our prior phone conversations led me to believe that you were religiously oriented. Apparently logic, reason, and common sense could no longer be avoided and you decided to move toward the world of prudence and good mental health.

I would only offer a couple of minor corrections to your analysis of our status. My hours are 8 to 4 and BE provides no supplementary income of any consequence. On the whole we just about break even. Incidentally, without having ever met Mr. Veader, I am confident my morality is comparable to or superior to his.

Letter #527 Continues (Part b)
There were some Jehovah's Witnesses here on Saturday, January 23rd: a mother and daughter duo. The daughter was ten years old and looked at the floor, while her mother handed me a pamphlet about how the end of the world was near and I was going to become worm meat if I didn't become a Jehovah's Witness. So, I asked the mother why we are being punished for Adam's sin and if we aren't, then why did Yahweh promise a Redeemer, who would redeem us from Adam's sin (Gen. 3:15)? Then, I added, doesn't Original Sin contradict Deut. 24:16 and Ezek. 18:20? The daughter perked up and smiled broadly at me, while her mother wrote down the scripture I had cited. The mother promised to return the next Saturday. They never showed....

Editor's Response to Letter #527 (Part b)
You have inadvertently touched on a very important aspect relevant to what BE is all about, BB. That little girl you referred to has probably been brainwashed all her life to believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, and her life should be subservient to its maxims. She is probably tired, if not sick, of hearing about religion in general and the Bible in particular. If she has any critical skills at all, she probably has serious doubts and reservations about many things she has been taught. She would probably like to tell people what she really thinks, but doesn't dare for several reasons. She loves and/or respects her parents, and doesn't wish to hurt their feelings. She probably has an honest-to-god justified fear of what will happen to her if she tries to deviate from the proscribed path. She knows she doesn't have sufficient knowledge about the Bible or its inadequacies to expose the book, so she goes along with whatever is said. And she has probably been so intimidated and browbeaten that she doesn't dare challenge the validity of what she has been told out of fear of being demeaned, degraded, and put down. A child of that age is very concerned about his or her self-image and self-concept. And what could be more damaging and hurtful than being told you are raising stupid, ignorant, or devil-inspired questions? And finally, because of so much indoctrination, she is probably gripped by the lingering fear that perhaps her mother is correct and hell does await the Bible's critics.

When you asked that little girl's mother some poignant questions for which the little girl could see her mother had no answer, you did what any thoughtful, questioning child would like to do: you doubted the truthfulness of even the mother's most prized possession. No doubt there are many aspects of scripture the child just doesn't "buy," but she has always been discouraged from questioning the Bible's validity and never encouraged to critique its fundamental concepts. You did it for her, and for that you got a smile. I don't think most freethinkers realize how important the kind of service BE provides is to many individuals.

Letter #528 from BF of Tallahassee, Florida
Dear Dennis.
I don't want to embarrass you, but if we had any sense in this country we would declare you a "national treasure" and be done with it. I am absolutely convinced that (perhaps not in our lifetime) you will be recognized world-wide for the work you are doing. And not only that, your name will be written above that of Paine, Ingersoll, Russell, et. al. I am privileged to be able to obtain your works firsthand, and yes, honored to be able to correspond with the living genius behind it all.... You have my everlasting thanks and gratitude.....

Editor's Response to Letter #528
Dear BF.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate comments as complimentary as this. It does my heart good to know that my efforts are improving the lives of others, and hopefully I am worthy of the accolades you so generously bestow.