This is odd. . . in the previous 270 claims of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus the list maker has given a reference in the Christian bible. This time the claim is the Christian bible in its entirety??? Very odd. In fact this exact phrase is found in Revelation 22:17: "And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge." NETBible. It also appears in John 7:37: "On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, Jesus stood up and shouted out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me" Perhaps the list maker got tired of looking up passages? Neither verse ties in any way to Y'shayahu / Isaiah 55:1. The NETBible commentary says "John 7:37-38 has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate. Certainly Jesus picks up on the literal water used in the ceremony and uses it figuratively. But what does the figure mean? According to popular understanding, it refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer. There is some difficulty in locating an OT text which speaks of rivers of water flowing from within such a person, but Isa 58:11 is often suggested." There is some difficulty locating a T'nach (bible) text to support John 37-38 says NETBible. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 55:1 is not mentioned. NETBible has no commentary at all tied to Revelation 22:17. What does Y'shayahu / Isaiah 55:1 say? "Ho! All who thirst, go to water, and whoever has no money, go, buy and eat, and go, buy without money and without a price, wine and milk." Where is the claim in Isaiah that the messiah will tell thirsty people to come to him? It simply is nonexistent. This is not a messianic prophecy. Even Christian commentators do not list this as a messianic prophecy. Anyone can say "if you are thirsty, drink." It is vague, generic even. Yet again the list maker claims something as unique to Jesus that is not unique at all! Y'shayahu / Isaiah chapters 40 - 66 speak to the Jewish nation who G-d exiles as a punishment for the nation's lack of observance and their eventual return from exile in the messianic era (this never happened with Jesus). G-d comforts the Jews who will go into exile -- giving them hope of eventual return and forgiveness. Isaiah 40 through 66 speaks time and time again about Israel as G-d's servant who suffers, but who is later exalted. Chapters were a Christian invention -- so to understand that G-d is speaking of the Jewish people and not Jesus read the line preceding the one referenced: "this is the heritage of the servants of the L-rd and their due reward from Me, says the L-rd." Y'shayahu / Isaiah 54:17. The servants of the L-rd. The Jewish nation. "And He said to me, "You are My servant, Israel, about whom I will boast."" Y'shayahu / Isaiah 49:3. The Jewish nation as a whole (singular) is also identified often as G-d's servant.
Time and again the prophet Y'shayahu / Isaiah declares that Israel (the Jewish people) are G-d's servant. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 41:8 - 9. "But you, Israel My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, who loved Me, Whom I grasped from the ends of the earth, and from its nobles I called you, and I said to you, "You are My servant"; I chose you and I did not despise you." and Y'shayahu / Isaiah 44:1. "And now, hearken, Jacob (Jacob's name was changed to Israel and Jews are often called "Jacob" and "Israel") My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. 2. So said HaShem your Maker, and He Who formed you from the womb shall aid you. Fear not, My servant Jacob, and Jeshurun (the Jews) whom I have chosen." and Y'shayahu / Isaiah 44:21 "Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you." and Y'shayahu / Isaiah 45:4. "For the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen one, and I called to you by your name; I surnamed you, yet you have not known Me." and Y'shayahu / Isaiah 49:3 - 7. "And He said to me (Isaiah), "You are My servant, Israel, about whom I will boast. . . This is what HaShem says- the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel- to him who was despised and abhorred by the nations, to the servant of rulers: "Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of HaShem , who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you." Torah to Jews is as vital as water to humans. They are both indispensable sources of life -- thus the analogy of water as a source of life as an analogy to the Torah is found often in the T'nach. "And the reference to water refers only to the study of Torah, as it is stated with regard to Torah study: “Ho, all who are thirsty, go to water” (Y'shayahu / Isaiah 55:1). Bava Kama 17a. Revelation speaks of the water of life, John 7 doesn't speak of water at all. . . and Y'shayahu / Isaiah 55:1 speaks of those who are thirsty drinking water, wine and milk. Food and drink are often used in the T'nach as an allegory for the Torah -- which is a tree of life. The truth is free for the taking -- why struggle (working and paying for food) when the message from G-d is free for the taking in the Torah. Listen to G-d and eat your fill of goodness. Turn towards Him and live, enjoying an eternal covenant. It isn't Jesus who is the water, it is the Torah. The Talmud, Bava Kama 82a, speaks of Sh'mot / Exodus 15:22 where the Israelites are wandering in the desert seeking water. For three days they wander in the wilderness without water. Bava Kama says "they traveled three days in the wilderness and found no water. Those who interpret verses metaphorically said that water here is referring to nothing other than Torah, as it is stated metaphorically, concerning those who desire wisdom: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come for water. The baraita continues: The verse means that since the Jews traveled for three days without hearing any Torah they became weary, and therefore the prophets among them arose and instituted for them that they should read from the Torah each Shabbat, and pause on Sunday, and read again on Monday, and pause on Tuesday and Wednesday, and read again on Thursday, and pause on Shabbat eve, so they would not tarry three days without hearing the Torah. " (Y'shayahu / Isaiah 55:1). Pirkei Avot / פרקי אבות, the Chapters of the Fathers, chapter 1, verse 5 says "Yossei the son of Yoezer of Tzreidah, and Yossei the son of Yochanan of Jerusalem, received the tradition from them. Yossei the son of Yoezer of Tzreidah would say: Let your home be a meeting place for the wise; dust yourself in the soil of their feet, and drink thirstily of their words." C.E.R' Yossei, the son of Yoezer and R Yossei, the son of Yochanan were זּוּגוֹת / Zugot -- Jewish leaders who lived 200 BCE to 0 -- therefore this saying predates Jesus. Who were the זּוּגוֹת / Zugot? From the time of Moses there were Assemblies -- called the Elders of Israel starting in Sh'mot / Exodus chapter 3. The 70 elders (Sh'mot / Exodus 24:1,9; Bamidbar / Numbers 11:16,24) were already leading the people, even in Egypt. These men were from all the tribes and comprised both court judges and government -- later they would constitute the Great Sanhedrin. Sh'mot / Exodus 3 tells us that even Moses had to go before this governmental body and present his credentials to be accepted. "'Go, gather the Elders of Israel, and say to them, 'HaShem, the G-d of your fathers, appeared to me - the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Sh'mot / Exodus 3:16. After the return from Babylonian Exile the prophets (including Ezra the Scribe) created a "Great Assembly" which comprised of 120 men rather than 71 (the 71st was initially Moses). When Shimon HaTzaddik, the last member of the Great Assembly died in 273 BCE, a period began known as the period of the Zugot, meaning "pairs." The last of the "pairs" were R' Shammai and R' Hillel. For almost 300 years, there were always two rabbis in charge of the Jewish courts and governmental bodies. The two were the נָשִׂיא / Nasi (the president or "prince") and the אב בית דין / Av Beit Din (the head of the Sanhedrin). The two R' Yossei were Zugot, listed in פרקי אבות / Pirei Avot / "Chapters of the Fathers." Yet again the missionary hijacks a saying out of context to claim t hat somehow it is Jesus fulfilling a prophecy. One might say "I am thirsty" and claim it is a fulfillment of Y'shayahu / Isaiah 55:1 which says: "Ho! All who thirst, go to water, and whoever has no money, go, buy and eat, and go, buy without money and without a price, wine and milk." Just being thirsty, or saying "come to me if you are thirsty" is meaningless -- anyone can say it (and you probably say you are thirst "I think I'll get a glass of water, milk or wine" once a day at least) -- this is neither a prophecy or a prophetic fulfillment of the messiah. Again, to understand it read it in context. 'shayahu / Isaiah chapters 40 - 55 are about the Jewish people who have been in exile, but will be reconciled with G-d and returned to the land of Israel in the messianic era. Whereas a righteous remnant has been Torah observant, all will thirst for the Torah -- rich and poor -- and Torah is available to all who seek it's truth. In discussing the Mishna of Pirkei Avot / פרקי אבות, the Chapters of the Fathers, chapter 1, verse 5 which says: "Yossei the son of Yoezer of Tzreidah, and Yossei the son of Yochanan of Jerusalem, received the tradition from them. Yossei the son of Yoezer of Tzreidah would say: Let your home be a meeting place for the wise; dust yourself in the soil of their feet, and drink thirstily of their words." R' Moshe Bogomilsky of the Chabad remarks: "To someone who is thirsty, every drop of water is precious. Likewise, every drop of Torah study should be precious and cherished. When one is thirsty, he will turn over every stone to find some water and even walk for miles to reach a well. Similarly, one should make every effort to study Torah and not hesitate even to travel a long distance in order to participate in a Torah study group.. . "Alternatively, since water is available in such abundant measure, the cost of a glass of water is very little. However, when one is dying of thirst and is given a glass of water, the value of that glass of water is priceless, and he does not just owe his benefactor the price of the water, but the value of his life since without the water his life might have come to an end, G‑d forbid. "The message is the following: Appreciate the words of Torah and the rabbis who share it with you in the same way as the very thirsty man values the glass of water and is indebted to the one who gave him water to quench his thirst. In both cases the recipient receives an extension of life, one physical and the other spiritual."
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