Two Christian Shopping Sites

Here are links to two Christian shopping sites.

www.christianhomegifts.com/ www.christianhomegifts.com/
www.christiantable.com/ www.christiantable.com/

The Connection of the Bible Codes to Kabbalistic Thought, Part 2

It is important to us as Christians to understand the Jewish origins of our faith since Jesus and his followers were observant Jews and were, at first, recognized as such by other Jews.

One stream of Judaism is the ultra-orthodox, many of whom believe that God dictated the Torah letter by letter. This is one basis of the thought which has fostered the study of the Bible Codes phenomenon.

One Jewish school of thought, considered heretical by some Jews, developed from a mixture of mysticism and ultra-orthodoxy to become what is known as Kabbalism.  “Kaballah” in Hebrew means “receiving,” and is concerned with secret doctrines, hidden meanings, and commentaries about the relationship between an unchanging God and the ever-changing world.  The early Jewish mystics developed in the first and second centuries at the same time that the Gnostic sects were developing among the Christian community.

Kabbalism remains strong among modern Hasidic Jews.

The emphasis of the Bible Code researchers on the Torah reflects, at least in part, kabbalistic thought about the true nature of the Torah.  The Rambam (Rabbi Mosheh ben Maimon, b. 1135, Spain – d. 1204, Egypt) declared that “… the entire Torah is the names of the Holy One.”

The Zohar Yitro 87a declares, “We have already taught; The Torah in its entirety is the Holy Name, for there is no word in the Torah which is not included in the Holy Name.”  So, according to the Kabbalists, the Torah is God’s Name.

Kabbalism teaches that God created the universe by the manipulation of the letters of the Torah. In other words, He created the universe by the use of His Name.

The most that a Christian can say on this is what the Bible says. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1: 1-3.

As to the name of God, He has answered the question:

“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”  Exodus 3:13-14.

Hello, Ghana!

Hello, Ghana!  Welcome to the group of readers from one hundred and eleven other countries who also visit this blog.  I hope you find some of the posts useful or meaningful.

The “Translate This Page” gadget directly above the “Total Pageviews” Counter has the capability of translating the English text of this blog directly into numerous other languages.

One hundred and twelve countries: Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France,  Georgia, Germany, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kampuchea, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg,  Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Malta,  Mexico,  Moldova,  Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan,  Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam,  Yemen, Zimbabwe.

The Connection of the Bible Codes to Kabbalistic Thought

I have said before that I am not a believer in the Bible Codes as the more extreme proponents present the idea. I, of course believe that the human composers of the texts wrote as they were inspired by God. I think that some simple code sequences can clearly be shown to exist (see the sample below), but the more advanced codes which Israeli computer researchers are finding depend on very artificial manipulations of the text like skipping uneven numbers of letters between consecutive letters, etc. It might be a case of finding codes because you are searching for them. The patterns might even have occurred by mere chance, which is doubtful, or, obviously, the codes may exist because the Lord put them there. I do not know. You do not know.

In Genesis 1:22-26; the name of Abraham is spelled out (from the top line down, enclosed in the added boxes) by the letters in the passage with each letter of the name separated from the preceding letter by forty-nine (seven times seven; seven was a sacred number, Genesis 2:2, 4:24, 21:28) intercalary letters. In each of the forty-nine letter sequences, אֱלֹהִים (elohim/God, backlit in gray) appears. The most straight-forward interpretation of this passage is that the human composer of the text intentionally created this format. The ancient Hebrew literature is known to include acrostics and forms of poetry. 

Also, the researchers insist that the codes cannot be used to predict the future. My question is, if the codes are real, why not? God is not bounded by time. Tomorrow is the same to Him as The Creation. It is all Now.

The Israeli researchers also insist that the codes cannot prove that Jesus is the Messiah. Are they afraid that the codes, if real, might do this? Rabbi Jacob Rambsel, a Messianic Jew, insists that he has found a code, "Jesus is my name," in the Suffering Servant passage in Isaiah 53.

The most strict theory of the codes is that they apply only to the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. This is because one Jewish tradition insists that God dictated the Torah letter by letter. 


Because it is important for us to understand the Jewish background of our faith, I will talk tomorrow about the direction in which one stream of Judaism, the Kabbalists, has taken these concepts.

Listen For Your Assignment

For 1143 consecutive posts to this blog, I have never “drawn a blank,” Never had writer’s block, never been at a loss for words.  This is not because I am somehow holier than anyone else, or because I am a more talented writer than others.  It is not because I am a bubbling, spewing volcano of ideas.  And it is not because I am some sort of brilliant intellectual. 

We all have talents and skills, even those of us who feel as if we know how to do nothing.   Paul reminded us of this.  We are all important to the functioning of the Church (the ἐκκλησία) which is the Body of Christ.  Ephesians 1:22-23, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Romans 12:6-8.

Some of us are hands, some of us are feet.  As silly as it may sound, some of us may be hair, or eyes, or toenails, or … tonsils.  Every part of the body,  many of which are rarely if ever noticed,  is needed for the body to function at peak efficiency,

The Apostle Paul used his brilliant intellectual powers and his extensive knowledge of Jewish and gentile law and culture to work as an evangelist and theologian.

Tim Tebow, a professional athlete whose talent level and athletic fundamentals are often questioned, often wins because he tries harder than anyone else.  When he does win, he uses the occasion to glorify Jesus.

Brother Lawrence served God by performing kitchen duties and repairing shoes.  The very few pages of text which he wrote have inspired  millions.  During his lifetime, pilgrims came from around the world to meet the simple cook.

 

The gentle people at the Christian Animal Rescue Foundation  protect and comfort God’s creatures, expressing God’s love through kindness to animals.

 

Mother Angelica turned a small convent of nuns in Irondale, Alabama (USA) into an international satellite broadcasting giant .

 

Michael Jr. tells jokes and humorous stories.

 

There are multitudes of people serving the Lord in ways not always recognized as ministry.  These people are not always the most talented or the most capable.   What all of these people have done is to listen.  The Holy Spirit can use whatever you have, whatever you are, whatever you can do.  All you have to do is make yourself available and listen.  Some people say “everything is politics,” or that “everything reduces down to money.”  For the Christian, everything is Jesus.

The purposes of the Lord will be accomplished.  What a sad thing it is if you do not listen and cooperate with Him for He will then call upon someone else and you will miss out on the honor and privilege which was intended for you. Mordechai told Esther that God had put her into position to perform a needed task but that if she failed to perform her assignment another would be chosen.  Esther 4:14.

In this verse, the hypothetical particle im (אִם, Strong's 518)is usually translated as "and who knows." It can also be read as surely, maybe, certainly, or perhaps.  Mordechai very strongly implied what he was meaning to tell Esther.

Ignorance of Scripture

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ."  St. Jerome (b. ca 340 - d. 420; aka: Eusebius Hieronymus) Doctor of the Church, papal secretary, historian, exegete. compiler and translator of the Vulgate.

Book Comment: Makers of Christian Theology in America

Makers of Christian Theology in America (1997) is a massive collection of biographical information from the earliest days leading up to the founding of the United States and continues up to the present.  Hundreds of theologians are included from every religious persuasion, though it seems that there is a heavy emphasis on theological liberalism.

This would be expected since it is the more liberal religious traditions which are classified as “mainstream” by American academia and the majority of the American press.

The multitude of listings include: Cotton Mather, John Wesley, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards,  Thomas Hooker, Roger Williams, Lemuel Haynes, Lyman Beecher, Horace Bushnell,  Orestes Augustus Brownson, William James, Francis Elizabeth Willard, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Edgar Young Mullins, Walter Ruaschenbusch, Herschel H. Hobbs, Dwight L. Moody, J. Gresham Machen, Helmut Richard Niebuhr, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, J. Deotis Roberts, Dorothy M. Day, Thomas Merton, Carter Heyward, and Martin Luther King, Jr.