“A righteous person brings success to the house of the evildoer, which corrupts the wicked toward evil.” Proverbs 21:12
The recent Israeli – Hamas war in Gaza has accomplished more than just another round of fighting, but it has released an explosion of anti-Semitism around the world and here in the United States unlike we have seen in recent decades. The level of anti-Semitism, especially here in America is truly astounding and very concerning. We have the majority of the entire Democrat party and even some Republicans in Washington DC now unabashedly proclaiming they are against Israel and are pro Hamas/Palestinians…that should send shivers down people’s spines! When we see the pro-Palestinian rally’s along with the violent attacks against Jews and synagogues taking place across the country, we should be very, very worried.
Unfortunately the truth of the matter is this is a spiritual matter that is rising like the era of the 1930’s in Germany and what is one of the main reasons people are so quick to embrace this debauchery? Replacement Theology is the answer! A few twisted up verses referenced from the Apostolic Writings is what has and continues to fuel this depravity. This is precisely why I am speak out so loudly in my Op’s against Replacement Theology in all of its vicious, vile and wicked forms in which it raises up its putrid, ugly head. How many people over the centuries have been slaughtered, butchered, locked up, brutally tortured and destroyed all in the name of Replacement Theology? Remember, HaShem tells us in Ecclesiastes 1:9 there is nothing new under the sun and that which has been is what will be again! Point is, history repeats itself over and over and here we go today once again, with the world turning against Israel and the Jews in favor of the enemies of Israel.
With this said, thus far, in this Op I plan on addressing the basis for this anti-Semitic Replacement Theology doctrine and show once again the vast chasm of differences between the Jesus of Replacement Theology Christendom and the Yeshua as revealed in the Scripture of HaShem…I am fully aware I will by no means win over any friends with this Op, but oh well…it’s gotta be said.
But, before we dive into this Op, always remember the following UNCHANGING AND ETERNAL characteristics of HaShem:
- HaShem never changes per Num 23:19/Mal 3:6/Hebrews 13:8/James 1:17
- His Word is firmly established per Psalm 119:89
- He reveals the end out of the beginning per Is 46:10
- He does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets per Amos 3:7
- He says there is nothing new under the sun per Ecclesiastes 1:9
- He says His Torah is the ONLY truth there is per Psalms 119:142
- He says His Torah is a tree of life and eternal per Proverbs 3:18-19 and Psalm 119:160
- He says His Torah is perfect and restores the soul per Psalm 19:7
- He says His Torah makes the simple one wise per Psalm 19:7
- He says His Torah Is freedom and liberty per Psalm 119:45 and James 1:25
- He says His Torah is the only good doctrine there is Proverbs 4:2
- He says His Torah will add length of days and years of life and peace per Proverbs 3:2
- He says all of the ways of His Torah are ways of pleasantness and peace per Proverbs 3:17
- He says His Torah is for our good and well-being per Deuteronomy 6:24
- He says His Torah is health for our lives per Proverbs 3:8
- He says His Torah is life to our soul and a graceful ornament for our neck per Prov 3:22
- He says His Torah is better than pearls and all desires cannot compare to it per Prov 8:11
- He says those who walk with His Torah are praiseworthy per Psalms 119:1
- He says observing His Torah is how we purify our path per Psalms 119:9
- He says His Torah is better than thousands in gold and silver per Psalms 119:72
- He says His Torah brings abundant peace to those who love Him and His Torah per Psalms 119:165
- He says there is one Torah for all per Exodus 12:49/Leviticus 24:22
- He says those who hate His Torah love death per Proverbs 8:36
- He says His Torah is the way of faith per Psalms 119:29-30
- He says His Torah makes us wiser than our enemies per Psalms 119:98
- He says His Torah is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path per Psalms 119:105
- He says one who finds His Torah has found life per Proverbs 8:35
- He says one who finds His Torah has found favor from HaShem per Proverbs 8:35
Where do we find the term ‘Synagogue of Satan’? There are two instances in the Apostolic Writings in which both are found in the Book of Revelation:
- Revelation 2:8-9 which says “And to the messenger of the assembly in Smurna write, ‘This says the First and the Last, Who became dead, and came to life: I know your works, and pressure, and poverty and yet you are rich and the blasphemy of those who say they are Yehudim and are not, but are a congregation of Satan.'”
- Revelation 3:7-9 which says “And to the messenger of the assembly in Philadelphia write, ‘He Who is set apart, He Who is true, He Who has the key of David, He Who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens, I know your works, see, I have set before you an open door, and no one is able to shut it, that you have little power, yet have guarded My Word, and have not denied My Name. See, I am giving up those of the congregation of Satan, who say they are Yehudim and are not, but lie. See, I am making them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.'”
Unfortunately, Replacement Theology has over the centuries taken these references from the Apostolic Writings and applied them to ALL Israel and ALL the Jews as if HaShem was condemning EVERY single one and thus it has grown and spread into this abominable doctrine justifying violence against Jews and Israel today.
How many times have I read in just the last few weeks from Christian forums where people are telling Israel, ‘G-d hates you because you killed Christ!’ Or there have been others from various US Christian organizations telling Israel today , ‘You are getting what you deserve with the wars because you all are Christ deniers and Christ killers!’‘ How about all the conspiracy theories running amok for centuries that the Jews control the world and manipulate the nations to perform their bidding, setting up nations against nations to fight their wars while raking in the piles of cash. It all stems from this Replacement Theology crap doctrine!
There is a lesser known insidious version that is raising up its ugly head recently in which it is being taught that the Jews forgot where the Temple once stood in Jerusalem and the Christians are going to come and inform the Jews where the Temple really stood which was down in the City of David, because the Christians are smarter and better informed on issues concerning biblical and historical facts than the Jews are…no joke! Thankfully this stupidity can be easily refuted just by the archeological evidence alone, but that is a whole other Op in itself.
So, the question must be asked, is there any truth to what Yeshua said in accusing the Jews of being the Synagogue of Satan? In order to answer this question, we have to delve into the history at the time of Yeshua and common expressions and idioms used.
First and foremost, Yeshua was Torah observant and He adhered to the Halakha i.e. the Oral Torah as I will prove shortly. He taught nothing new but the Torah and He pointed to HaShem as the focus of worship, not to Himself. Further, we need to understand the relationship between HaShem and Yeshua in that Yeshua is NOT HaShem in the flesh, but is the AGENT of HaShem. This again is where we need to understand the ‘Law of Agency’, which I have posted many times in my Op’s which is summed up in that a ‘Man’s agent is as himself…’ In other words, when a principle appoints someone to act as their agent, that agent is seen as being the principle. Therefore when we read where Yeshua says ‘When you see Me, you have seen the Father…’ per John 14:9, He is saying, ‘I am the Agent of HaShem and I only do what HaShem has directed Me to say, teach, act, do, etc.’ This right here is one of the main points that differentiates Jesus from Yeshua, which we will discuss later.
Next, we need to understand the religious and political climate of Yeshua’s time in that historically there were two main sects of Pharisees in power which opposed one another i.e. the Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. Their differences stemmed over how to deal with all the non-Jews who were beginning to flock to HaShem and join themselves with Israel and adopt the Torah into their lives. Beit Shammai was vehemently anti-non-Jew and sought to keep them out. Beit Hillel was very favorable and wanted to bring as many as possible in seeing that was the mandate HaShem had given to Israel i.e. be a light to the nations (Non-Jews)/bring the Torah to them so they too can walk and serve HaShem.
Consider what HaShem says about Israel in Isaiah 49:6: “It was insufficient that you be a servant for Me only to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ruins of Israel; I will make you A LIGHT FOR THE NATIONS, SO THAT MY SALVATION MAY EXTEND TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.“ THIS is the mandate of Israel…to bring the Torah of HaShem to the world so ALL will know Him and enter into His covenant and accept His offer of salvation! Notice He says nothing about Israel blowing it and now being replaced by a new entity called ‘The Church?’ He does say He will restore Israel and it will be Israel who is to be the light to the nations! I digress.
Back on topic with regards to Shammai and Hillel. Shammai had risen in stature and power to assume the position of the Nasi i.e. the Head of the Sanhedrin i.e. the Court which issues rulings on how to walk in the Commandments of the Torah. These rulings are contained the Mishnah which is the foundation for the Oral Torah and expounded upon in both versions of the Talmud i.e. Babylonian (Bavli) Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud as well as the Tosefta. Yes, I am very well aware of all the angst and disgust there is out there for the Talmud. Honestly I don’t get it, I have been studying the Talmud for years now and find it to be absolutely vital in learning the Torah of HaShem. Mostly what I see in it are the written conversations between various rabbis discussing rulings of the Sanhedrin and how to apply it to ones life. Do I completely understand it, absolutely not, but I know enough to know it is vital and has been so very, very helpful, especially when understanding the Apostolic Writings and I am so grateful to HaShem for leading me to it.
When Shammai gained his power, Hillel became the deputy Nasi, meaning he had to submit to Shammai. Shammai then passed what are known in the Talmud as ‘The 18 Edicts of Shammai’. These edicts were designed to separate Jews from Non-Jews as Shammai was vehemently anti-Non-Jew. It is these 18 edicts which forms the basis for what we read about in the Apostolic Writings concerning Peter and his vision of the sheet or the middle wall of separation Paul talks about. It was HaShem telling Peter and Paul these 18 edicts of Shammai are NOT of Him and He is telling them both to disregard them. Even the Talmud Bavli in tractate Shabbat 17a says when these 18 edicts were issued “And that day was as difficult for Israel as the day the Golden Calf was made.” These 18 edicts were a disaster for Israel and is the main cause for the disputes between Yeshua and the Pharisees. Point is, Yeshua was railing against the SHAMMAI PHARISEES and not all the Pharisees as Christendom teaches, for He Himself was a Pharisee of Beit Hillel just as Paul was a Pharisee of Beit Hillel. This doesn’t mean Hillel was perfect…by no means, and it doesn’t mean Yeshua didn’t take issue with some of his rulings either, but for the most part Yeshua sided with Hillel. It is said that ‘The School of Shammai binds and the School of Hillel loosens’.
What is interesting is the Jerusalem Talmud tractate Berekhot 1:4 says a ‘Voice from Heaven’ called down to the Sanhedrin and annulled the rulings of Beit Shammai, thus today for the most part Rabbinic Judaism follows Beit Hillel. Why is this interesting? Because again Yeshua aligned Himself with Beit Hillel. Paul was trained by Gamaliel, the grandson of Hillel as well as being not only a Pharisee in Beit Hillel but also at one point a member of the Sanhedrin. Point is, if we want to better understand the Apostolic Writings, then I would recommend reading the Oral Torah and the rulings of Hillel…trust me it will cause the Apostolic Writings to erupt into life like someone turned the light switch on. I digress.
So, do we see anywhere where Yeshua’s teachings line up with what is recorded in the Mishnah and the Talmud proving He walked according to the Halakah i.e. the Oral Torah? Yes we do! We will quickly explore the following few examples as there are many more that could be added:
- Yeshua partook of the four cups of wine at Pesach (Passover) as we read in Luke 22:17/20 and Mark 14:25. These four cups are not expressly mentioned in the Torah but are recorded in detail in Tractate Pesachim 10:7 from the Mishnah which says when discussing the Pesach Seder meal “They mixed for him the third cup, he recites the blessing over his food. The fourth (Cup), he completes over it the Hallel (Psalms 113-118) and he says over it the blessing of the song. Between these cups, if one wishes to drink (Wine), he may drink, between the third and fourth cups he may not drink.”
- When Yeshua tackled the subject of circumcision overriding the Shabbat as recorded in John 7:22-23, this topic is not discussed in the Torah but is mentioned in the Mishnah Tractate Shabbat 18:3 which says “All the needs of circumcision may be performed on Shabbat”.
- This one is very interesting in that when Yeshua used His spit to cure the blind man in Mark 8:23, this act of healing is not discussed in the Torah but when we read Tractate Bava Batra 126b from the Talmud Bavli we see that spit was commonly used to cure eye trouble, which says “There was a certain man who came before Rabbi Hanina and said to him, ‘I know that this man is a firstborn. Rabbi Hanina said to him: ‘From where do you know? He said to Rabbi Hanina: Because when people would come before his father to obtain a cure for their ailing eyes, he would say to them: Go to my son, as he is a firstborn and his saliva heals this ailment.'”
- When Yeshua said ‘Where two or three are gathered in My Name there am I in the midst of them’ per Matt 18:20, Tractate Avot 3:3 from the Mishnah says “If two sit together and exchange words of Torah, the Divine Presence rests in their midst” per Malachi 3:16 which says “Then those who fear HaShem spoke to one another, and HaShem listened and heard, and a Book of Remembrance was written before Him for those who fear HaShem and those who give thought to His Name.”
- When Yeshua taught on visiting the sick per Matt 25:44, this is not discussed in the Torah but is found in Tractate Shabbat 127a in the Talmud Bavli which says “There are six matters a person enjoys the profits of in this world, and nevertheless the principal exists in the World to Come, and they are: Hospitality toward guests, and VISITING THE SICK, and consideration during prayer, and rising early to the study hall, and one who raises his sons to engage in Torah study, and one who judges another favorably, giving him the benefit of the doubt”.
- When the incident of picking grain occurred and Yeshua said that the Shabbat was made for man and not man for the Shabbat per Mark 2:27, we read in Tractate Shabbat 128a in the Talmud Bavli “Bundles which can be taken up with one hand may be handled on the Shabbat and he may break it with his hand and eat thereof.”
- Yeshua taught that life overrules Shabbat and this is found in Tractate Yoma 85b in the Talmud Bavli which says “Saving a life overrides Shabbat.” “Saving one’s whole body, which is entirely involved in mitzvot, overrides Shabbat.”
- When Yeshua taught in Matt 6:33 ‘To seek first the Kingdom of Elohim, and His righteousness, then all these things will be added unto you’ He was referring to a ruling from Beit Hillel in Avot 2:4 which says “Make His will your own will, so that He may fulfill your will as thought it were His will. Set aside your will because of His will, so that He may set aside the will of others before your will.”
- When Yeshua said in Luke 16:16 that ‘The Torah and the Prophets were until John; since then the Good News of the Kingdom of HaShem has been proclaimed’, He may have been paraphrasing Tractate Sanhedrin 97a from the Talmud Bavli which says “Six thousand years is the duration of the world, and it is in ruins for one thousand years. Two thousand of the six thousand years are characterized by chaos; two thousand years are characterized by Torah, from there era of the Patriarchs until the end of the mishnaic period; and two thousand years are the period of the coming of the Messiah.”
So what is the point for highlighting all of this thus far? It is pointing out that Yeshua was VERY obedient to the Torah, both Written and the Oral Torah and His teachings in the Apostolic Writings line up with both, further separating this Jesus figure of Replacement Theology and the True Messiah of HaShem Who cannot come teaching anything else but the Torah!
Therefore, the question must be asked, ‘Just who exactly is Yeshua railing against when He refers to the Synagogue of Satan?’ Tractate Yevamot 16a from the Talmud Bavli tells us which says “According to whose statement (Shammai or Hillel) is the halakha? The halakha is in accordance with Beit Hillel. They said to him: ‘But didn’t they say in your name that the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Beit Shammai?’ He said to them: ‘Did you hear that Dosa ben Harkinas issued this ruling or did you hear that it was stated by ben Harkinas? They said to him: ‘On your life, Rabbi, we heard simply ben Harkinas. He said to them: If so, it is no wonder, as I have a younger brother WHO IS THE FIRSTBORN OF THE SATAN, i.e. he is extremely sharp and brazen as a demon. And his name is Yonatan, and HE IS AMONG THE DISCIPLES OF SHAMMAI...” Point is, it was very common in the time of Yeshua and after to refer to the Pharisees of Beit Shammai as the firstborn of Satan or the Synagogue of Satan because of their vehement hatred of the non-Jews! THIS IS WHO YESHUA IS RAILING AGAINST IN THE APOSTOLIC WRITINGS i.e. the Pharisees of Beit Shammai!!
So, in summary, it is the doctrine of Replacement Theology and its vile anti-Semitic leanings that has twisted up the words of the Apostolic Writings to turn their Jesus against Israel, rejecting the Torah and replacing everything HaShem gave in the beginning while claiming Christendom has now replaced Israel as HaShem’s chosen! And then Christendom wonders why Torah observant Jews want nothing to do with Christendom or its Jew hating Jesus?
If Christendom would just allow itself to actually study biblical history, they would very quickly find the doctrine of Christendom is wholly wrong and has embraced the doctrine of the False Messiah HaShem warns us about time and again in His Word i.e. the Man of Lawlessness (Without the Torah). Sadly, most of Replacement Theology Christendom has no interest in the truth of biblical history, however, HaShem IS most assuredly calling individual people out of Replacement Theology Christendom and leading them to the His Truth more and more! Baruch HaShem!
This is what is fueling all the rising anti-Semitism we see today and unfortunately it is only going to get worse until HaShem says enough is enough and He deals with it once and for all. May it be so very soon in our days!!
Hopefully this quick Op will cause some to consider and research for themselves. I could go on and on in this Op but for the sake of time will end it here. Stay close to HaShem in these very difficult times and hold tightly to His Torah, which is a tree of life to those who take hold of it and the only truth there is in these very wicked and deceitful days where truth is almost non-existent.
Shabbat Shalom!
SOURCE MATERIALS:
- The Scriptures by the Institute for Scripture Research
- Jesus the Pharisee by Harvey Falk
- Tractates Yoma, Sanhedrin, Shabbat, Yevamot, Bava Batra from the Talmud Bavli Steinsaltz edition
- Tractate Shabbat, Pesachim from the Mishnah Kehati edition
- Perkei Avos, Ethics of Our Fathers