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A missionary posted a challenge to the fact that the Trinity is pagan and not Jewish (biblical). S/he referenced Y'shayahu / Isaiah 48:16 quoting a pretty mangled translation: "Come near to Me, hear this; I have not spoken in secret, from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there, And now the Lord God and His Spirit Have sent Me” (Isaiah 48:16) and then stating "There are 3 individuals. It's Messiah (Jesus) who is talking here and he is mentioning about L-rd G-d (FATHER) and His spirit (HOLY SPIRIT)." Given that mangled translation it is possible to be misled -- but the fact is that the prophet Y'shayahu / Isaiah is speaking and he says: “Approach me, hear this: I did not speak in secrecy at first; from the time (the decree) was issued I was there. And now, My L-rd, HaShem (G-d) has sent me with His spirit.” This is not a triune god. The prophet Isaiah is the speaker. To paraphrase Isaiah is saying “Approach me (Isaiah). . .I did not speak in secrecy. . . G-d has sent me (Isaiah) and I come to you as His servant (with His spirit giving me authority).” Often enough Isaiah tells us clearly (not in secrecy!) there is only ONE G-d. Why do missionaries ignore His plain words for crazy searchings for a multi-headed god? The very next line (Yeshayahu / Isaiah 48:17) says clearly that G-d is ONE. “Thus said HaShem, your redeemer, the Holy ONE (ONE!!!!) of Israel: I am (singular) HaShem your G-d”!! To debunk the trinity (holy spirit) go up a few lines to 12: “Hearken to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, who was called by Me (singular0, I am He (singular), I am first, yea I am last.” Isaiah 48:12. SINGULAR. ME I I AM FIRST I AM LAST Context, context, context!! Prophets receive messages from G-d to communicate to others. Isaiah is simply stating that he was moved by being in communication with G-d. Indeed the term “holy spirit” in the T’nach (Jewish bible) does not refer to an entity as it does to Christians. There is no “holy spirit” aka the “holy ghost.” There is only one G-d (D’varim / Deuteronomy 6:4). The term "holy spirit" (in which "holy" is an adjective) never appears in the T'nach even once. Since the “holy spirit” is not biblical (the term does appear in Rabbinical writings) and it doesn’t mean the third part of the trinity, what does it mean? As Judaism holds that G-d is One and Unique, the notion of a dual or triune godhead is totally rejected. G-d is not a spirit. G-d is not a physical entity (He has not physical form, He is not a man). It would seem that this Christian “holy ghost” (“holy spirit” of the trinity) is based on a misuse of the Hebrew term Ruach HaKodesh (mistranslated as holy spirit) But Ruach HaKodesh doesn't mean "the holy spirit.” “Holy Spirit” would be הָרוּחַ הַקָּדוֹשׁ ha-ru'ah ha-kadosh (ha meaning “the”) or perhaps הָרוּחַ הַקְּדוֹשָׁה ha-ru'ah ha-k'doshah (because רוּחַ ruach can be both masculine & feminine – all nouns in Hebrew must be either male or female). קוֹדֶשׁ (kadosh) is a noun ("holiness" or "sanctity") and literally means to be separate. The term רוּחַ literally means “wind” and is the lowest level of the soul – the life force. רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶש / Ruach HaKodesh should be translated as "a spirit of [the] holiness" or "a spirit of [the] sanctity". Meaning it is a state of holiness in a human being, NOT a mythical G-d of spirit. Let me repeat that – it is a state of holiness in a human being, NOT a mythical spirit of G-d. So what does it mean? What is a state of holiness in a human being? Divine inspiration. One inspired by G-d. A state of being of a person. Inspiration being a level below communication with G-d (prophecy). Think of it as a kind of sub-prophecy or divinely-provided intuition. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 48:16 does not say רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶש / Ruach HaKodesh should be translated as "a spirit of [the] holiness" -- it simply says spirit (so the missionary is assuming his third part of the triune god). . . Missionaries claim that they are monotheistic and worship one G-d. Yet the concept of the trinity is that of three entities: the father, the son and the “holy” ghost. They try and get around this by saying the three G-ds are one, but three are three. The concept is NOT Jewish. There is no supporting concept in the Tanach. The concept of “father, son and holy ghost” – three G-ds as one but separate is pagan.
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Seventeen verses in the Christian bible describe Jesus as the “son of David.” References are often given to “And it will come to pass when your days (David) are finished to go with your forefathers, then I (G-d) shall raise up your seed after you, who will be of your sons, and I shall establish his kingdom. He will build Me a house, and I shall establish his throne forever.” Divrei Hayamim Alef / I Chronicles 17:11-12 Pointing to the fact that the messiah will be descended from King David. Missionaries tend to ignore “Behold a son will be born to you; he will be a man of peace, and I shall give him peace from all his enemies around about, for Solomon will be his name, and I shall give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a House in My Name, and he shall be to Me as a son, and I to him as a Father, and I shall prepare the throne of his kingdom forever.'” Divrei Hayamim Alef / I Chronicles 22:9-10. Why do they ignore chapter 22 when it is nearly identical to chapter 17 -- which they insist refers to Jesus? Because it clealry names King Solomon -- even though all the details are the same in both chapters. Missionaries believe that Jesus was the only "son of David" (just as they often say Jesus was the only son of G-d). Both assumptions are in error. G-d refers to Israel as His firstborn son time and again. "This is what God says: Israel is My son, My firstborn." Sh'mot / Exodus 4:22. . . and all humans are the children of G-d. What about "son of David"? Missionaries seem to think this has to mean that Jesus was the messiah. Also wrong -- and on two major points. The first point is that even though the Christian bible calls Jesus the "son of David" 17 times, it also tells us that Jesus was not the son of Joseph, but of the "holy spirit." If Jesus' biological father was not a Davidic human male of the tribe of Judah, descended from Kings David and Solomon then he was not elligible to be the messiah. Tribal lineage only passes to a Jewish child if the mother is Jewish and if the father is also Jewish and of a given tribe. IF Joseph was Jesus' biological father then Jesus would have been a "son of David" (as was Joseph), but both lineages in the Christian bible given for Joseph (which are conflicting) disqualify both Joseph and any of his biological male children from kingship (messiah). The second point is that being a "son of David" is certainly a messianic requirement -- but it is "table stakes." A man must be of the tribe of Judah, through Kings David and Solomon, but he must also fulfill all of the messianic prophecies. Jesus fulfilled not one of them (world peace, returning the Jews to Israel, worldwide knowledge of G-d, etc.). . . On top of that the messiah will build the third Temple (Jesus' Temple had been around about 350 years before his birth and was destroyed a few decades after his death, ergo Jesus did not build the third Temple). . . Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines -- he had many children, and those children had children. . . . being a "son of David" is important -- but it certainly did not make Joseph (or his male children) unique. Two famous heirs include רבי שלמה יצחקי Solomon Yitzach, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105 (aka "Rashi") and שלמה לוריא Solomon Luria, 1510 – November 7, 1573. Some of the family trees (researched by Chaim Freedman) include: 1) Ancestry of King David 2) David Monarchy 3) Principal lines descended from King David 4) Exilarchs, Gaonim and Rabbis – descendants of Zerubavel 5) Descent of Rashi from Hillel and King David 6) Rashi’s Family Circle 7) Rashi Key Chart 8) Treves, Shapira, Luria links 9) Shealtiel.com 10) Treves Family 11) Luria Family 12) Katzenellenbogen Family 13) Ancestry of the Vilna Gaon 14) Shapira 15) Everels Altshuler 16) Shrentzels 17) Isserles 18) Meizels 19) Lipshitz The point being that "son of David" does not = messiah. There have been, and still are, many sons of David alive in this world, but to date none of met the messianic prophecies. Oy, one of those annoying "written bible" only trolls (sola scriptura / karaite, etc.) who insist on misinterpreting the T'nach, disrespectfully at that, has been going on about how Shlomo HaMelech (King Solomon) married non-Jews. This is not true, and easily disproved by reading the T'nach itself. Marriage is only recognized (in Judaism) between two Jews. The T'nach tells us that Solomon had 700 wives, ergo ALL 700 would have to have been Jews, or they would not have been married to Solomon. 1 + 1 = 2. "Foreign wives" in Melachim Alef 11 / 1 Kings 11 simply means that Solomon married women who were not born Jewish, but who converted to Judaism. Since we are told that Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, and he was Torah observant enough that G-d allowed him to build the first holy Temple, why do these annoying people who know very little insist they know everything? Solomon authored many of the books of the T'nach (Jewish bible). He wrote “Shir HaShirim,” the “Song of Songs,” and “Mishlei,” “Proverbs,” replete with wise sayings; for example, “Let kindness and truth never leave you; tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart,” (Mishlei / Proverbs 3:3) and “Consider the behavior of the ant, lazy one, observe its constant busy-ness, and gain wisdom.” (“Mishlei” / Proverbs 6:6). Another work by King Solomn is “Kohelet,” “Ecclesiastes” -- a book examining the philosophies of the world, including those alien to Judaism -- which ends with “The end of the matter, everything having been heard, is ‘Fear the L-rd and perform His Commandments, for this is the purpose of Man.’ “ Mislei / Proverbs 12:13. Yet fools misreading Melachim Alef 11 / 1 Kings 11 in a vacuum think that Solomon turned to idolatry, and he had 700 non-Jewish wives! They say they base this on the bible -- but that is not true. They are simply misinterpreting a passage because they are reading it in a vacuum. The following is stated in the Torah concerning intermarriage with several nations that the Israelites will face upon entering the Promised Land: D'varim / Deuteronomy 7:3-4 "And you shall not intermarry with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, and his daughter you shall not take for your son. (4) For he will cause your son to turn away from following Me, and they will serve other gods; then the wrath of the L-rd will be kindled against you, and He will soon destroy you." A Jew cannot inter-marry with a non-Jew. The only way a Jewish man can take a wife who was not born Jewish is for that woman to convert to Judaism PRIOR to the marriage. This prohibition includes all gentiles (Avodah Zarah 36b; Yad, Issurey Biyah 12:1). Ergo Solomon could not legally marry non-Jewish women. The Hebrew wording and the knowledge of Torah are required for the correct understanding of the message these two verses convey. The Torah teaches two important concepts here. On the one hand, with the understanding that the "he" in D'varim / Deuteronomy 7:4 refers to the Gentile father-in-law, the one referred to as "your son" is the son of the Israelite father, a Jew, who is marrying the daughter of the Gentile father. The verse then states that this Israelite son will "serve other gods ", which means that any children of this marriage will be Gentiles, following the race and faith of their Gentile mother. Read that again. Any children of a marriage between a Jewish man and a Gentile woman will be Gentiles, following the race and faith of their Gentile mother. Ergo there would be no children of Solomon who could inherit the Jewish throne. But G-d PROMISED King David that it was Solomon's descendants who would be the rightful kings of Israel (Judah, too) -- and that eventually the messiah would come from Solomon's line. If Solomon's wives were not Jews then none of his children would be Jews -- meaning NO MESSIAH ever and a broken promise by G-d. My G-d does not lie. If you assume King Solomon followed the halacha (Jewish law) how is it he marries no-Jews wives? That is a clear violation of the Torah [D'varim / Deuteronomy 7:3 and Babylonian Talmud Avoda Zara 36b]. So it is obvious that King Solomon had converted his non-Jewish wives. It is just as obvious that some of the 1000 wives and concubines may not have truly given up their pagan ways. Some of the wives returned to their old religious practices (pagan) in their old age [see Ralbag on Melachim Alef / Kings 1 14:21] . Once halachally they converted they are clearly Jewish and so are their children -- even if they practiced paganism. This is not only a reasonable assumption but that is what our sages explicitly teach us In the Talmud and more. [see Bava Kama 38b, Yevamot 76a, The Rambam's Isurei Biah 13:14]. Rehoboam / רְחַבְעָם, the son of Solomon, became King of Judah (the southern Kingdom). He would not have been made king if he was not (a) Jewish and (b) a Davidic heir of the tribe of Judah. If Solomon's wives were not Jews then Rehoboam would not have been Jewish and he would have had no claim to the throne. "And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, and he assembled all the House of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, to wage war with the House of Israel, to return the kingdom to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon." Melachim Alef 12 / 1 Kings 12:21. I mean HOW basic is all of this folks???? G-d made a promise to David that his heirs THROUGH SOLOMON would be the only rightful heirs to the throne. G-d did not lie and it was not conditional. When your days are finished and you shall lie with your forefathers, then I will raise up your seed that shall proceed from your body after you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to Me a son; so that when he goes astray I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of Adam. But My mercy shall not depart from him as I withdrew it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.And your house and your kingdom shall be confirmed forever before you; your throne shall be established forever.". Shmuel 2 / 2 Samuel 7:12-16 Notice the bit about "when he goes astray I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of Adam." -- G-d punished Solomon for the errors he made letting his foreign-born wives revert to their pagan ways -- but He (G-d_ did not remove the throne (meaning those wives HAD to be Jewish) from Solomon's heirs. G-d made ETERNAL promises that Solomon's Jewish children (whose mothers had to be Jewish -- because Judaism only passes through the mother, or by a legal Jewish conversion). . . Read on: When your days (David) are complete to go to your forefathers, I will raise up after you your offspring who will be from among your sons, and I shall make his kingdom firm. He shall build a Temple for Me, and I shall make his throne firm forever. Divrei Hayamim 1 / 1 Chronicles 17:11-12. The promise of the throne through Solomon isn't a bit conditional. Just the opposite -- Solomon's heirs are in the line of succession FOREVER. Behold, a son will be born to you; he will be a man of rest, and I shall grant him rest from all his enemies all around. His name will be Solomon, and I will be bestow peace and tranquility upon Israel in his days. He will build a Temple for My Name's sake; he will be a son to Me and I will be a Father to him. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever. Divrei Hayamim 1 / 1 Chronicles 22:9-10. Nothing conditional here. King David said to the entire congregation, "Solomon my son is but lone; G-d has chosen him although he is young and tender; and the work is great, for this palace is not for a man, but for HaShem, G-d." Divrei Hayamim 1 / 1 Chronicles 29:1. Solomon sinned. The higher the person, the smallest sins are enlarged as if they were enormous. Because Solomon was wise, learned in Torah and promised so much (the messiah would come from him) his sin of allowing his foreign born wives (who had converted to Judaism) to revert to their pagan ways was very, very serious indeed. Solomon let those wives build altars to their false gods. It was this very great sin that condemed him to be punished (as G-d had forseen when He spoke to David all those years before). . . but Solomon himself was never an idolater, and the wisest man who ever lived (per the bible) was never that great of a fool. |
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