Claim 162 on the list of 365 supposed prophecies Jesus fulfilled is taken directly from the Christian bible which claims Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 6:9-10 (which is not a prophecy, but is rather a statement). Matthew 13:13-15 says "This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’" (NIV translation). This appears to place Y'shayahu / Isaiah 6 in the future, but in fact the text is placed IN THE PAST. Isaiah is receiving his first prophecy (direct communication with G-d) 700 years before Jesus' supposed birth. The prophet Isaiah is stating that the people of his time were not heeding the words of G-d, the words he (as a prophet) communicated to them. Another serious problem with Matthew 13:13 - 15 is the claim that the meaning of Jesus' parables were deliberately hidden from the listners! This is not the action of a loving G-d. What value is a lesson (or a prophecy) it no one understands it? Is the Christian god setting up his followers to fail? The Christian bible even says that Jesus did not want everyone to understand his message. Yet Christians are told if they do not have faith in Jesus they can't be saved. How can Jesus save them if they don't even understand his message -- and he doesn't WANT them to understand the message? “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’" (Matthew 13:13 - 15, the very passage given as a "proof" that Jesus fulfilled prophecies! See also Mark 4:11 - 12 "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of G-d; but those who are outside get every thing in parables, in order that while seeing, they may see and not perceive; and while hearing, they may hear and not understand lest they return again and be forgiven”). According to these passages salvation was reserved for only a few -- and most would not be saved or even understand Jesus' meaning. This is not a loving god. This is not biblical (the T'nach). And the irony in Matthew 13 is that Isaiah's message was that the Jews were not observing G-d's mitzvot, adhering to the eternal contract between G-d and the Jews (the very opposite of Matthew's turning it to say that Jews were not listening to words which would have them LEAVE the eternal covenant to follow Jesus). Isaiah tells us that G-d did not want sacrifices (thus there was no need for Jesus to be a "sacrifice" to remove the sins of anyone. "Wash, cleanse yourselves, remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes, cease to do evil. Learn to do good, seek justice, strengthen the robbed, perform justice for the orphan, plead the case of the widow. Come now, let us debate, says the Lord. If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow; if they prove to be as red as crimson dye, they shall become as wool. . . Zion shall be redeemed through justice and her penitent through righteousness." Y'shayahu / Isaiah 1. Not through Jesus. Through justice, penitence and righteousness. This is not a prophecy about the future. It is a chapter describing the fact that the people of Isaiah's time were not listening to him and his warnings. Matthew is trying to switch it into the future tense to try to apply in to Jesus -- and this is a deception. In conclusion, parables are not prophecy. Prophecy is:
A principle of the Talmud that Rashi quotes several times states that אֵין מִקְרָא יוֹצֵא מִידֵי פְשׁוּטוֹ -- in English this would be "A verse cannot depart from its plain meaning." (Treatise Shabbat 63a, Treatise Y'vamot 11b, 24a; quoted by Rashi at B'réshıt / Genesis 15:10, 37:19, Sh'mot / Exodus 12:2). Judaism is known for its rich history of story telling, including parables, to make a moral point. In Judaism these teachings are called "Midrash Aggadah / אַגָּדָה" -- where a word or sentence is lifted from the bible to make a moral point through stories and "tall tales." However, prophecy is NEVER based on these flights of fancy -- in parables or other stories. Prophecy is always based on the plain meaning of the text.
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