All posts by Richard Booker

WHO KILLED JESUS? By Dr. Richard Booker

 

Jesus Questioned

Yeshua/Jesus and “The Establishment”

You may have read about a recent incident at a high school basketball game in Newton, Mass. There is always a lot of emotion at sporting events as each side taunts the opposing team and fans. Most of the time it is all in fun. But the taunting at the game in Newton got out of hand.

Catholic Memorial high school was playing Newton North which is in a largely Jewish community. I have Jewish friends who live in Newton. If they read this blog I hope they know how much I love them.

When the Newton North fans taunted the all-male Catholic Memorial about the absence of girls at the school, some Catholic Memorial fans chanted back, “You Killed Jesus!” Whoa! This is not basketball, this is theology—bad theology that is preached every Easter and every Passover from Christian pulpits. The administration and students at Catholic Memorial quickly apologized for the anti-Semitic accusation that has been at the heart of Christian theology since the time of Constantine and the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.

I know during Easter and at Passover, good, well-meaning Christian ministers will continue to preach the error that the “Jews Killed Christ.” Whenever this was preached in the Dark Ages of Europe, the uneducated hearing the sermon would leave their church service and go kill as many local Jews they could find because “they killed Jesus.” Since these people did not have a Bible and couldn’t read anyway, they had no idea that Jesus was a Jew.

So what is the truth? Who really killed Jesus? Christians understand the theological answer that Jesus died for our sins. I am not writing about the theological answer but the human answer. Were the Jews as a people responsible for killing Jesus? Were the Romans as a people responsible for killing Jesus? Who was responsible?

The short answer for who killed Jesus is two words—“The Establishment.” Now think about it. Prophets, revolutionaries and outsiders are always a threat to the establishment. Jesus was all three. He was a prophet, a spiritual revolutionary and certainly an outsider. His popularity with the masses, all Jews I might add, had grown so large that He was a threat to the establishment.

We only have to look at our current political election campaigns to see how much the political establishment hates those threatening their power and position. Furthermore, according to the political poles, the outsiders in both parties are very popular with a large number of the masses of Americans who are fed up with the greed and corruption of the political establishment. Our political establishment is in a panic. No doubt they are having secret meetings plotting and scheming to find a way to marginalize candidates they see as a threat. This is what was happening at Passover 2,000 years ago when the establishment plotted to kill Jesus when He came to Jerusalem.

The New Testament is clear that it was the Roman establishment represented by Pilate and the Sadducees Jewish establishment represented by Caiaphas whose power and control of the people was threatened by Jesus and His huge popularity among the people. (See for example Luke 23:24; Mark 15:9-10; John 11:53.)

Caiaphas was the Chief Priest who led the small Sadducee party that controlled the Temple and the sacrificial worship at the Temple. Their power and position and enormous wealth came from the Temple. They were the “upper-class” aristocratic group who were comfortable living in a Greco-Roman world. Like many with power, they bought their position from the Romans, were very corrupt, enriched themselves at the expense of the people and strong-armed anyone who threatened them. These were not godly leaders “defending the faith” but an evil ruling class protecting their position, their power and their purse.

It was a small group of religious and political leaders who desired to crucify Jesus because they were jealous of His fame and afraid He would upset the status quo. Like our modern politicians, the establishment met in secret and arrested Jesus and had a mock trial at night because they feared the people would revolt if they knew what they had done (Luke 20:19). The everyday people living in Jerusalem were in their homes preparing for Passover and had no idea what had happened. By the time they awoke the next morning, the establishment had already crucified Jesus. The people didn’t kill Jesus they loved Him.

We must understand the context and culture of the Bible or we will surely misunderstand it. For example, when the New Testament seems to speak negatively of the Jews, the writers are not talking about the Jews as a people group. They too were Jews. Jews who lived in northern Israel were called Galileans. They were hard-working country folk that the “big-city” arrogant establishment Jews in Jerusalem considered uncultured and unsophisticated. They even talked with a country twang. (See Matthew 26:73.) The Jews in the south were called Judeans. They were the cosmopolitan, high-bred, cultural sophisticates who looked down their nose at the “hicks from Galilee.”

When the New Testament writers speak about the “Jews doing this and the Jews doing that,” they are referring to a specific group. They mean the Judeans—the Jewish establishment running the affairs of state in league with the Romans. Specifically they mean the small Sadducee party that was in control of everything that took place in Jerusalem. When Jesus entered Jerusalem with 1,000’s of followers, the establishment realized they were losing control and had to put Jesus to death.

Christian ministers preach that this crowd turned against Jesus five days later and shouted “Crucify Him!” This is just not true. Caiaphas called together the Sadducee Temple priest who owed their living to him and instructed them to recruit some local thugs, a rent-a-crowd, and probably paid them and instructed them at the right time to join with them and shout, “Give us Barabbas.”  (See Luke 23:13.) There may have been no more than fifty or so of these people. They spoke for the establishment not for the common people. Please don’t be naive. This happens all the time in our own country. Most of the groups who are rioting in the big cities of America are paid thugs who are brought from the outside to stir up violence locally.

When the nations of the world say, “The Americans did this and the Americans did that” they don’t mean the American people. They don’t mean me and you. They mean the American government—they mean “The Establishment” in Washington. While the establishment in Washington does not speak for everyday Americans, we all suffer the consequences of their decisions. Surely we understand this.

So it was when the Sadducee priests and “rent-a-crowd” shouted, “Let His blood be on us and our children” (Matthew 27:25), they were cursing themselves not the Jews as a people group. Their curse was fulfilled forty years later in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and burned down the Temple resulting in the death of the Jerusalem elite and the end of the Sadducees.

From a Christian standpoint, God allowed Jesus to pay the price for our sins so we would not have to pay it ourselves, As Isaiah wrote, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the LORD laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Instead of blaming the Jews for “killing Christ” Christians should thank God for His redemptive love and stand with the Jewish people as God’s still chosen people and for the suffering they have endured throughout history mostly at the hands of Christendom. While we all know that Christians and Jews have theological differences, we don’t have to agree on theology in order to love one another. And if we can’t love one another, what good is our theology.

For further information on this subject, please order Dr. Booker’s book, How the Cross Became a Sword at www.rbooker.com or click on link.

Front Cover How the Cross 200x130

ON SALE – $5 plus S&H till Passover reg $7.95

THE UNITED STATES OF ISLAM ONE NATION UNDER A-L-L-A-H

Dear friends – please don’t be deceived or naïve. It is the goal of Islam to destroy our Judeo-Christian heritage and Constitution and replace it with Islam and Islamic law with an American Muslim as President of the United States. Some believe we already have a Muslim in the White House. Two thousand years ago a rabbi from Galilee said, “A tree is known by its fruit.”

The following are comments made by Islamic religious leaders stating their goals for the Islamization of America. There are many more. They say what they mean and they mean what they say. Only our politicians are too politically correct and blinded by their reprobate minds to understand what they clearly state and intend. Except for the mercy of God, our leaders would allow Islam to destroy us all and still defend this “peaceful religion.”

These quotations are taken from Dr. Booker’s book, Radical Islam’s War Against Israel, Christianity and the West. You can purchase this book online at www.rbooker.com. Think about your children and grandchildren. We urge you to get this book and educate yourself about this threat to our way of life. Sources for the comments are documented in the book. Please do not be distracted by America’s bread and circus of sports, entertainment, holiday sales, internet play, etc. Get informed and get involved.

Radical Islams War

“Thanks to your democratic laws we will invade you; thanks to our religious laws we will dominate you.”

“Nothing could be greater that this youthful, vigorous, and rich continent (North America) turning away from its past evil and marching forward under the banner of A-l-l-a-h Akbar (A-l-l-a-h is greater).”

“In the next 50 years, we will capture the Western world for Islam. We have the men to do it, we have the money to do it, and above all, we are already doing it (from a speech in 1983).”

“My dream is that the USA will become an Islamic nation by the year 2,000 (from a speech in 1984).”

“Take my word, if 6-8 million Muslims unite in America, the country will come to us. In time, this so-called democracy will crumble and there will be nothing. And the only thing that will remain will be Islam.”

“Muslims cannot accept the legitimacy of the existing American system.”

“By the year 2020 we should have an American Muslim President of the United States (from a speech in 2001).”

“The goal of Muslims in America is to turn the United States into an Islamic state; even it takes “a hundred years. If we are outside the country (America) we can say, ‘O A-l-l-a-h, destroy America. But once we are here our mission in this country is to change it.”

“Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to dominate. The Koran should be the highest authority in America.”

Please share this blog with your friends, your ministers and Bible study leaders so they will understand the accelerating clear and present danger of the Islamic invasion of America. We do have hope but we must do something.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Remembering a Great Victory of Ancient Times:

Today is the day we remember the great victory of Mordecai (Yey) and the Jewish people over Haman (Boo) who was the prime minister of ancient Persia – modern day Iran. Due to the courage of Esther (Oooooo), the Jewish people lived another day.

Once again, we have a wicked Haman (Boo) ruling in Persia who wants to destroy the Jewish people.

While the God of Israel will surely destroy the evil designs of Iran, He does use people.

May we all have the courage of Esther (Ooooooo) to intercede for Israel and the Jewish people world-wide through our prayers and works of covenantal love.

Hag Purim Sameach

Dr. Richard and Peggy Booker

How to Make America Great Again

Donald Trump’s simplistic slogan of “Make America Great Again” appeals to everyone who loves our once great country. Playing off Trump’s slogan, Hillary Clinton says that America needs to be “Whole Again.” Of course both are correct. America needs to be great again and whole again.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS YOU DISCUSS POLITICS

Why does America need to be great again and whole again?
Why have we fallen so far from being the greatest nation on the face of the earth?

Why are we on the verge of chaos and the abyss?

Why are so many of our politicians corrupted?

Why is there so much greed and hatred?

Why are college students ignorant of the most basics of American history, values and lessons in civics and civility?

Why do we spend billions of dollars on our education system yet children struggle in school to learn the simple basics of reading, writing and arithmetic?

Why is there no shame in our immorality?

Why is our national debt so large that it is destroying our economy?

Why is there such hatred between the political leaders who have different views?

Why are our churches and synagogues losing the cultural war in America?

What are we calling good evil and evil good?

THE WAY TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

These are the most critical questions facing the American people. In this election year, voters are so divided arguing over which candidate can lead America back to greatness and wholeness.

None of these politicians can lead America to be great and whole again. They are addressing the symptoms and not the problem. Furthermore, if they actually did address the problem, they would not be elected. If you are looking for a savior in Washington, you are going to be disappointed no matter who you vote for. Unless ….?

The founders of America believed that America’s greatness was based on its Judeo-Christian values which they enshrined in all of our founding documents. They all said that American would only survive if the American people lived by these values.

HERE ARE ONLY TWO QUOTATIONS

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passion unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Adams, Second President of the United States

“Democracy presupposes a moral basis and background. Democracy is moral before it is political. That people may rule, there must prevail among the people justice and righteousness and a passion for liberty for oneself and one’s brothers. Without these virtues, a people, even when living under a democracy in form, will find itself living under tyrannous masters in fact.”
Louis Witt, Judaism and Democracy

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AND WHOLE AGAIN

The only thing that will save America from further self-destruction is a return to the Judeo-Christian God and values which made America great and whole.

It is important to vote but keep this in mind, America is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible but the Kingdom of God is everywhere in the Bible. May His Kingdom come and may His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

A WALL OF PRAYER

A WALL OF PRAYER
The Nation that prays together stays together

Perhaps you have heard—the Israeli government has finally addressed the contentious issue of prayer at the Western Wall. Who would think that prayer would be contentious? But leave it to humans to turn a wall of prayer into a wall of division and separation. If you have been to Israel you certainly went to the Western Wall to pray and probably put a little piece of paper in the Wall with a prayer request someone gave you.

If you are not familiar with the history, the Western Wall is the remnant of the ancient retaining wall built around the grounds of the Temple compound King Herod built 2,000 years ago. It was not part of the Temple itself which the Romans destroyed in AD 70.
The Romans banished the Jews from Jerusalem and scattered them throughout the Roman Empire. The area of the Wall was in ruins and reduced to a small exposed section that was filled with debris. As world powers changed, Jews, from time to time, were allowed to pray at the Wall but only for High Holy Days.

During the War of Independence in 1948, Jordan captured the Old City of Jerusalem and forbade Jews from praying at the Wall for the next 19 years. This all changed in 1967 when the Israeli forces liberated Jerusalem. For the first time in 2,000 years the Jewish people had access to their most sacred site—the Western Wall.

The Israeli government gave the religious ultra-Orthodox control over prayer activities and practices at the Wall. While all Jews, as well as non-Jews had access to pray at the Wall, they had to respect and conform to the ultra-Orthodox rules such as men and women being forbidden to pray together.

To keep men and women apart, the area for prayer was divided by a fence with a section for men to pray and a separate, much smaller section for women to pray. However even this solution to separate the men from the women did not end the ultra-Orthodox concerns. In the ultra-Orthodox tradition women are forbidden to wear a prayer shawl, read aloud from the Torah, and other practices the ultra-Orthodox consider inappropriate for women.

In their desire for freedom of worship, a group of women who called themselves Women of the Wall began to express themselves in prayer and worship in ways that infuriated the ultra-Orthodox men and women. They wore prayer shawls and carried Torah scrolls to the Wall and read the Scriptures aloud. It is difficult for  non-Orthodox Christians and Jews living in the West to understand why this should be a concern. Shouldn’t we all be able to pray and read God’s Word together? To get a sense of how big of an issue this is, watch the movie Yentel in which Barbara Streisand poses as a man in order to study the Torah and the Talmud.

The quarrelling between the Women of the Wall, the Conservative and the Reform with the ultra-Orthodox has been escalating for years. Finally, after decades of turning the Wall of Prayer into a Wall of Contention, the Israeli government has approved the creation of a new prayer space at the Wall for those who are not ultra-Orthodox. This will allow the Conservative, the Reform and men and women to pray together without having to follow ultra-orthodox practices.

The present prayer area at the Wall will remain the same. The new prayer area will be built alongside the Wall just south of the present prayer area near Robinson’s Arch. Since this is an archeological site, the new section for prayer will be elevated so excavations can continue undisturbed.

Why is this so important? The new prayer section will inclusive for all Jews to pray. Most religious Jews living in America and Europe are Conservative and Reform. Furthermore, most Jews in America have never had an interest in going to Israel. The ultra-Orthodox control of the Western Wall and all religious decisions in Israel has been a great hindrance to Jews who are not ultra-Orthodox. That is about to change.

Even for Jews who are only moderately observant, the new prayer section will be an irresistible draw to “go and pray at the Wall.” This means that thousands of Jews who have never been interested in going to Israel will, “all of a sudden” get the urge to pray.

I can tell you for a certainty, when they pray at the Wall they will want to return and pray there again. One day while praying at the Wall they will have the thought, shall I say revelation, that if they lived in Israel they could pray at the Wall whenever they wanted. Opening this new prayer section for all Jews will make all Jews want to make aliya in fulfillment of God’s holy word. We will see this with our own eyes.

The Islamic invasion of America: the 20 Point Plan

For a number of years I have written and spoken on the dangers of Islam to America and Europe. If you have not read my book, Radical Islam’s War Against Israel, Christianity and the West please order it from my web site at www.rbooker.com. I am available to speak on this subject to your congregation or study group. Contact my office if you are interested.

Anis Shorrosh is a Christian Arab and author of the book Islam Revealed (Thomas Nelson, Tennessee, 1988). He shares the following insights on the Muslim Brotherhood plan for Cultural Jihad of America by the year 2020. If you think this important please share this with your contacts.

1. Terminate America`s freedom of speech by replacing it with statewide and nationwide hate-crime bills.

2. Wage a war of words using black leaders like Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Jesse Jackson and other visible religious personalities who promote Islam as the religion of African-Americans while insisting Christianity is for whites only. What they fail to tell African-Americans is that it was Arab Muslims who captured them and
sold them as slaves. In fact, the Arabic word for black and slave is the same, “Abed.“

3. Engage the American public in dialogues, discussions, and debates in colleges, universities, public libraries, radio, TV, churches and mosques on the virtues of Islam. Proclaim how it is historically another religion like Judaism and Christianity with the same monotheistic faith.

4. Nominate Muslim sympathizers to political office to bring about favorable legislation toward Islam and support potential sympathizers by block voting.

5. Take control of as much of Hollywood, the press, TV, radio and the Internet as possible by buying the related corporations or a controlling stock.

6. Yield to the fear of the imminent shut-off of the lifeblood of America – black gold. America’s economy depends on oil and 41 percent of it comes from the Middle East.

7. Yell “foul, out-of-context, personal interpretation, hate crime, Zionist, un-American, inaccurate interpretation of the Quran“ anytime Islam is criticized or the Quran is analyzed in the public arena.

8. Encourage Muslims to penetrate the White House, specifically with Islamists who can articulate a marvelous and peaceful picture of Islam. Acquire government positions and get membership in local school boards. Train Muslims as medical doctors to dominate the medical field, research and pharmaceutical l companies (Ever notice how numerous Muslim doctors in America are, when their countries need them more desperately than America?) Take over the computer industry. Establish Middle Eastern restaurants throughout the U.S. to connect planners of Islamization in a discreet way.

9. Accelerate Islamic demographic growth via:

· Massive immigration (100,000 annually since 1961).
· Use no birth control whatsoever – every baby of Muslim parents is
automatically a Muslim and cannot choose another religion later.
· Muslim men must marry American women and Islamize them (10,000 annually). Then divorce them and remarry every five years – since one can`t legally marry four at one time. This is a legal solution in America.
· Convert angry, alienated black inmates and turn them into militants (so far 2,000 released inmates have joined al-Qaida worldwide). Only a few “sleeper cells“ have been captured in Afghanistan and on American soil.

10. Reading, writing, arithmetic and research through the American educational system, mosques and student centers (now 1,500) should be sprinkled with dislike of Jews, evangelical Christians and democracy. There are currently 300 exclusively Muslim schools in the U.S. which teach loyalty to the Quran, not the U.S. Constitution. In January of 2002, Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Washington mailed 4,500 packets of the Quran and videos promoting Islam to America`s high schools – free of charge. Saudi Arabia would not allow the U.S. to reciprocate.

11. Provide very sizable monetary Muslim grants to colleges and universities in America to establish “Centers for Islamic studies“ with Muslim directors to promote Islam in higher-education institutions.

12. Let the entire world know through propaganda, speeches, seminars, local and national media that terrorists have hijacked Islam, when in truth, Islam hijacked the terrorists.

13. Appeal to the historically compassionate and sensitive Americans for sympathy and tolerance towards Muslims in America who are portrayed as mainly immigrants from oppressed countries.

14. Nullify America`s sense of security by manipulating the intelligence community with misinformation. Periodically terrorize Americans with reports of impending attacks on bridges, tunnels, water supplies, airports, apartment buildings and malls.

15. Form riots and demonstrations in the prison system demanding Islamic Sharia as the way of life, not America`s justice system.

16. Open numerous charities throughout the U.S., but use the funds to support Islamic terrorism with American dollars.

17. Raise interest in Islam on America`s campuses by insisting freshman take at least one course on Islam.

18. Unify the numerous Muslim lobbies in Washington, mosques, Islamic student centers, educational organizations, magazines and papers by Internet and an annual convention to coordinate plans, propagate the faith and engender news in the media.

19. Send intimidating messages and messengers to the outspoken individuals who are critical of Islam and seek to eliminate them by hook or crook.

20. Applaud Muslims as loyal citizens of the U.S. by spotlighting their voting record as the highest percentage of all minority and ethic groups in America.” (Islamic invasion of America: The 20 Point Plan, Muslim Brotherhood – Jul 01, 2009, Atlas shrugs,

http://www.israelunitycoalition.org/news/article.php?id=4270)

WHY DO ISLAMISTS (MUSLIM FUNDAMENTALISTS) CELEBRATE DEATH?

A dear Jewish friend asked me this question. He asked me to answer the question as a theologian. This is my brief response to a complex issue.

Before we can understand why these people celebrate death, we must first realize that all “gods” are not the same. I know this is not politically correct, but we must have the moral clarity to see things for what they are and the moral courage to “speak the truth in love.” We do not all worship the same deity. While the world uses the word “God” in the generic sense, to Jews and Christians, there is only One True God – the God of the Bible.

The God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel, has clearly revealed Himself by His name. He has done this, not only to reveal His nature and character, but also to distinguish Himself from other spirit beings that the world also calls “god.” The reality is that the God of the Bible (HASHEM) is different from the “god” of Islam.

The Koran confirms this with these words, “Say: Unbelievers (Jews and Christians), I do not worship what you worship, nor do you worship what I worship. I shall never worship what you worship, nor will you ever worship what I worship. You have your own religion, and I have mine” (Surah 109:1-6).

While the God of the Bible celebrates life (L’ Chayim), the god of Islam is a spirit being that celebrates death. In the Bible, this spirit being is called the Prince of Persia, modern Iran (Daniel 10:13). It was the Moon God in ancient Babylon, modern Iraq, which is why the crescent moon is the symbol of Islam atop every mosque.

This being, now called A-ah, symbolized by the crescent moon, celebrates death because of its hatred of the God of the Bible. Since this being cannot kill the One True God, it manifests its hatred of God primarily towards Jews and Christians as well as professing cultural Muslims who are less observant and do not share the same hatred nor fully understand the nature of their religion.

We are constantly told that most Muslims are peaceful. That may be true, but let’s look at the numbers. There are about one billion Muslims in the world. Surveys indicate that a large number of Muslims believe in forcing Islamic sharia law on Christians and Jews and killing the infidel if they do not convert. While the number is really much larger, let’s say that only twenty per cent of Muslims are radicalized Islamists. This means that only 200 million people want to kill those (you and me) who don’t agree with them. Does this make you feel safer?

When Jews and Christians devote themselves to the God of the Bible, they take on His nature and character which is love and life. When Muslim Fundamentalists devote themselves to the spirit god of Islam, they take on its nature of hate and death. Furthermore, they believe their Mahdi (Messiah) can only be revealed when the world is in great turmoil. So they create the turmoil to prepare the way for the Mahdi and a world-wide Islamic kingdom called the Caliphate. This is the goal of ISIS. They are the “Koran Keeping” Muslims and true spiritual descendants of Mohammed following in his footsteps.

Since this conflict is spiritual in nature, it is impossible to understand the depths of this evil and hatred with our natural, reasoning mind. The politicians, news media and secularists will never understand this. Islamists hatred comes from the spirit being they worship. The more they are devoted to this spirit, the more its hate penetrates their soul to the point that they kill themselves and everyone else in the name of their god.

This celebration of death is an act of worship to A-ah, which is why these people give glory to A-ah (A-ah Akbar) when they kill people. This is not just my opinion. It is the proven reality stated in the Koran and acted out by their deeds. While they constantly deny this, they prove it with their very acts of violence. They deny they are violent by acting violent. Because of the violent spiritual nature of this enemy, you cannot compromise with it, make “nice with it,” or make political concessions to it. The only language it understands is force and strength.

I wish I could say these folk who celebrate death in the name of their god do not represent Islam. Unfortunately this is not true. One only has to read the Koran to discover the source of their hatred. As one example of many, “I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers (Jews and Christians), smite them above their necks (cut off their heads) and smite all their fingertips off them. It was not you who slew them; it was A-ah” (Surah 8: 12,17).

Mohammed set the example early on in the year 627 of our era when he and his followers brutally beheaded nine hundred Jews from Medina because they refused to acknowledge him. At that time, Medina was primarily a Jewish city. Mohammed fled to Medina from Mecca and was accepted as a “refugee” fleeing persecution. When he got strong enough, he took over the city and killed everyone who disagreed with him. This is what Europe and America can expect today from Mohammed’s spiritual descendants.

In the Hadith, Mohammed says, “The last hour will not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: ‘Muslim, or the servant of A-ah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him’” (Hadith Sahih Muslim Book 041, Number 6985). This hatred of the infidels is also seen in the jihad cry, “Today we fight the Saturday people, tomorrow the Sunday people.”

Of course this hatred of Jews, and later Christians, is not new. It is not caused by a few pioneering “settlers” in Israel. It has been around since the Almighty first called Abraham and separated his natural seed through Isaac and Jacob to be His covenant people. The prophet Ezekiel calls it an ancient hatred (Ezekiel 35:5).

But there is hope. The One True God will soon destroy the source of this hatred, at which time He will be acknowledged by the nations (Zechariah 2:8). There will be shalom on the earth and in the hearts of people everywhere. Nations will beat their swords into ploughshares and study war no more.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a covenant-keeping God. He will redeem the world as promised by the prophets of old. Until then, Jews and Christians must stop fighting each other over their differences that only the Almighty can reconcile. We must awaken to this threat and learn, pray and act (do something). We must stand together against our common enemy or we may find ourselves standing alone.

Was Jesus Born at Christmas?

While the New Testament records the birth of Jesus, it does not record the specific date of His birth. Unlike modern times, people in Bible times, and for the first three centuries, did not celebrate birthdays because that was a pagan custom. So how did we decide on the birth date of Jesus?

When Antiochus desecrated the Temple by offering a swine on the holy altar of God in 167BC, he chose December 25 as the date because this was the birthday of Zeus. Zeus was the high god of Greece and considered the incarnation of the sun. Together with his goddess-mother, Rhea (the Queen of Heaven), they represented the Greek version of the mother/child cult of Babylon.

December 25th was the winter solstice, when days began to lengthen. In view of this, the ancient world of pagan sun-worshippers celebrated December 25 as the birthday of the sun. For example, to the Romans, Zeus was known as Jupiter. He was the Roman high god of the sun. The Romans celebrated December 25th (the birthday of Zeus/Jupiter) as Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, “the Day of the Nativity of the Unconquered Sun.”

In the fourth century of our era, after Constantine “Christianized” Rome, he chose December 25 as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus so that the pagan Romans would accept the new Christian religion of Rome. Constantine, himself a sun-worshipper, may have believed Jesus to be an incarnation of Jupiter, the sun god. Because of the obvious pagan origins, many segments of Christianity condemned the observance of December 25 due to its connection to sun worship. In fact, our Pilgrim Fathers did not celebrate Christmas knowing that is was a pagan holiday that Rome had Christianized.

So when was Jesus born? It is possible that Jesus was conceived during Hanukkah. According to Luke 1:5, Zecharias was a priest of the division of Abijah. Luke 1:8 says that Gabriel appeared to Zecharias when he was serving as a priest in the temple. Based on Rabbinic writings and 1 Chronicles 24:10, the division of Abijah served as priests during the second half of the fourth month on the Jewish religious calendar. This was late June when Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist. This would mean that John the Baptist was born the next year around Passover.

According to Luke 1:24-26, Mary conceived Jesus in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. This means that Jesus was conceived during the latter part of the Jewish month of Kislev, or late December on the Gentile calendar. Jesus was born nine months later, most likely at the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Teruah.

By-the-way, John the Baptist was not a Baptist, Mary was not a Catholic and Jesus was not a Christian. THEY WERE ALL JEWS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hanukkah and General Edmund Allenby

This year, the eight days of Hanukkah are celebrated the evening of December 6 through December 14.  While Hanukkah has always been considered a Jewish holiday, Christians should also celebrate Hanukkah to commemorate the great victory of the Jews over Antiochus Epiphanes in 164 as recorded in First Maccabaeus. Without that victory the Jews would have perished and Jesus would not have been born. This is definitely a holiday Jews and Christians can and should celebrate together.

Three years earlier (167), Antiochus desecrated the holy altar of God at the Temple in Jerusalem by offering a pig as a sacrifice to Zeus. This was on December 25, the birthday of Zeus, who was the Greek high god and thought to be the incarnation of the sun. This was also the supposed birthday of many ancient pagan gods which is why Rome decreed it to be the birthday of Jesus. For this reason, our Pilgrim Fathers did not celebrate Christmas.

Antiochus forbade the Jewish people to practice their religion. They could not practice circumcision, observe the Sabbath, celebrate the feasts, keep the dietary laws, study the Torah, or in any way, worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those who disobeyed were either tortured or killed or both. Their bodies were mutilated, and while still alive and breathing, they were crucified. The wives and sons whom they had circumcised were strangled. They were then crucified with the dead bodies of their children made to hang around their parent’s necks.

Although greatly outnumbered, and fighting the superpower of their time, God gave the Maccabaeus a great victory. They liberated Jerusalem, tore down the pagan altar, cleansed the Temple and reestablished their religious practices. Traditional writings tell us that when the Jews rededicated the altar to God they only had enough oil to burn the menorah for one day. But after the menorah was kindled, it miraculously burned for eight days, thus, the eight days of Hanukkah.

Hanukkah is called the Feast of Dedication and the Feast of Lights. Jesus celebrated this feast (John 10:22), which certainly makes it “kosher” for Christians. In fact, Jesus was probably conceived by the Holy Spirit at Hanukkah and born during the Feast of Tabernacles.

The central focus in celebrating Hanukkah is lighting the eight-branched menorah called a hanukkiah. The hanukkiah has a ninth candle called a Shamash. This word means servant. The servant candle is used to light the other eight. May we all be filled with the light of God’s love and be His living hanukkiah servants to a very dark world. And may we have the faith and courage to fight against the darkness that would distinguish our light.

General Edmund Allenby

Now let’s fast forward from the time of the Maccabaeus to 1917. Turkey has ruled over Jerusalem for 400 years from 1517. But just as in the time of Antiochus, God had a plan to overthrow Turkey and liberate Jerusalem so that one day the Jews would be able to return to their ancient capital. The man he chose was General Edmund Allenby.

General Allenby was a God fearing Christian general in the British army. He led the liberation of Jerusalem from the Turks that would bring an end to four hundred years of Muslim control of Jerusalem. The Turks surrendered to Allenby on December 9 and he entered in triumphant on December 11. Before entering Jerusalem, Allenby dismounted from his horse and walked in because he said that only the Messiah should ride in triumphant in the final liberation and redemption of Jerusalem.

Now get this! As a Christian boy in England, his mother taught young Edmund to end his bedtime prayers with these words, “And, O Lord, we would not forget your ancient people, Israel. Hasten the day when Israel shall again be your people and shall be restored to your favor and to their land.” Allenby said, “I never knew God would give me the privilege of answering my own childhood prayer.”

Was it just a coincidence that Allenby was the man who liberated Jerusalem or was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob orchestrating these events?

Was it just a coincidence that Allenby, the Christian General Maccabean of WWI, liberated Jerusalem DURING THE FEAST OF HANUKKAH or was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob orchestrating these events?

HAPPY HANUKKAH!

 

The Attacks in Paris

Now We Know Why

A day that will live in infamy – November 13, 2015 is France’s equivalent to America’s 9/11. In a series of attacks, ISIS terrorists murdered over one hundred innocent civilians and wounded over two hundred. It was a well-planned attack in several different venues including a soccer stadium, a restaurant, and Bataclan, a theater and concert hall. Bataclan was the primary target. But why Bataclan?

For forty years, Bataclan was owned by two Jews – Pascal and Joel Laloux. How about that? They sold the theater to new owners on September 2015. The Jewish owners of Bataclan often held pro-Israel events at the theater including fundraising for the Israeli army. Now we know why it was targeted.

As far back as 2008, radical Islamists threatened to attack the theater. This was years before the current military action against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

A video (www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk) has recently surfaced showing about ten young masked pro-Palestinian Paris radicals warning the owners to stop their pro-Israel events or they would be attacked.

In the video, the group of men is speaking to the doorman at the theater. They demand to speak to the owners and inform him that they are youth from several districts in the suburbs of Paris and that they support the Palestinian people. They tell the doorman that they are unhappy with the Bataclan’s owners for allowing the venue to be used every year for fundraising for the Israeli army, which they accuse of being racist.

The spokesman continues, “Many people in the neighborhoods are unhappy of this provocation. To raise funds for the Magav, a branch of the Israeli army which committed crimes in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank, these people who eliminate Palestinian women. It is clearly shameful and an outrage to many people who are angered by the injustice in Palestine.”

Their message to the owners is that they will be held responsible for their actions as will the organization having the fundraising event, which it calls “Islamophobic, insulting all the time Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims.”

They further threaten the owners with these words, “You will pay for your actions. That’s very serious what you are doing. And this is a message for all those who are preoccupied by the implications of the provocations. You must know that things are moving in our neighborhoods. Today, it’s nice but firm. But you must know that, with all the people we have behind us, we won’t be able to contain them for a long time. We came here to pass along a small message. Be warned. The next time, we won’t be coming here to talk.”

In 2011, another group called the Army of Islam threatened the theater because its owners were Jews.

Of course we can expect more of these terrorist incidents in Europe, Britain and America. We are in a battle of civilizations – the West that has a Judeo-Christian worldview, or Islam which opposes everything Judeo-Christian.

Tragically, the West, including America, has turned away from its Judeo-Christian values. We are in a post-Judeo-Christian secular world. Perhaps Islam is God’s judgment on us for forsaking Him. While it certainly matters who leads our nations, unless we return to the God who made us great, a spiritual and moral awakening, the policies of our future national leaders will not save us from further decline and heartache.