news Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 Text “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the LORD, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the LORD. Isa 66:22-23, NIV. Statement of […] The post Isa 66:22-23: Will There Be New Moons, Sabbaths and Voyeurism in the New Earth? appeared first on Jon Paulien's Blog. View the full article phkrause 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B/W Photodude Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 This is another article that is strange to me. Never mind the salacious title, several things stick out as a strange understanding of the new earth to be. Quote Statement of the Problem (from the Paulien's blog: This text in Isaiah has been popular with Sabbath-keepers, since it seems to suggest that Sabbath-keeping will continue in the New Earth. If that is so, it strengthens the argument that Sabbath-keeping is valid for Christians today. There are a couple of serious problems with that interpretation, however. First, not only is the Sabbath practiced in this “new earth,” but also “New Moons,” a concept unfamiliar to most Sabbath-keepers. Can this text be understood to affirm the one without affirming the other? This author seems to have a poor undestanding of the new moon in Judaism. I have had experience with Judaism in the way of attending synagogue for many years and heard the Rosh Chodesh (new moon) prayers many times. While it is listed as a minor celebration, it nevertheless is a monthly event in the temples on the sabbath before the new moon. (The quotes to follow indicate usually following Rosh Chodesh, but I seem to remember them always before Rosh Chodesh which give notice of the impending astronomical event.) While some quotes to follow note that the moon prayers are post Talmudic, these likely would never have occurred had not the new moon had some importance in Judaism prior to then. And Isaiah verifies that in his statements regarding new moons. While Rosh Chodesh prayers are not part of Christianity, for the most part today, it does not mean they would not be part of life in the world to come. The people of the new world to be will be a holy people and another sabbath will be cause for more joy and celebration. Today, another holiday every month could be a financial burden for many along with all the other duties that life requires. This does not mean that a new moon prayer should not be offered up on a sabbath day. However, what part of life in the new earth to come would be inconvenienced by another sabbath?! What comes across to me in this article is that perhaps the author is not happy to keep either the sabbath or the new moon celebrations. What is the Jewish Moon prayer? Usually said following the first Shabbat after Rosh Chodesh, the Kiddush Levanah, or Sanctification of the Moon prayer is one of the most beautiful in Jewish liturgy. The prayer compares the Jewish people to the new moon, which is renewed anew each month. https://www.aish.com/sp/ph/The-Moon-7-Jewish-Facts.html Blessing the New Moon This ritual is a post-Talmud ic custom with little halakhic [Jewish law] significance. The Shulhan Arukh (Orah Hayyim 426) and other post-Talmudic authorities refer to this ritual as birkat halevanah, “the blessing of the moon,” but today it is often designated by the misnomer kiddush levanah, “the sanctification of the moon,” a term that sounds almost pagan. In fact, it is not the moon that is blessed or sanctified in birkat hachodesh or birkat halevanah, but God who is praised for renewing the moon, with the following blessing (Sanhedrin 42a): “Praised are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who created (bara’) the skies with his word, and all heaven’s host with the breath of his mouth. He gave them appointed times and roles, and they never miss their cues, doing their Creator’s (konam) bidding with gladness and joy. He is the true creator (po’el) who acts faithfully, and he has told the moon to renew itself. It is a beautiful crown for the people carried by God from birth (Israel), who will likewise be renewed in the future in order to proclaim the beauty of their creator (yotsram) for his glorious majesty. Praised are you, O Lord, who renews new moons.” Praising God While Experiencing Creation What is religion in general about, if not feeling God’s presence while experiencing his creation? And what additional components are more crucial in Jewish religion than symbolic identification with the vicissitudes of Jewish history, and our individual and collective hopes for renewal? The requirement to bless the moon upon sighting it early in the month combines all of these ideas and emotions, and one would think that it would be one of the most widely observed Jewish rituals. How then did it fall into disuse? https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/blessing-the-new-moon/ Quote >>>Texts in blue type are quotes<<< ***************************************************************************** And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. --Shakespeare from Hamlet ***************************************************************************** Bill Liversidge Seminars The Emergent Church and the Invasion of Spiritualism Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B/W Photodude Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 The second statement from Paulien's blog that I took issues with was this one: Quote Second, according to the very next verse (Isa 66:24), the redeemed will take Sabbath-afternoon walks to gaze upon the dead bodies of the wicked, which will remain nearby in a loathsome, smoldering condition. “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” This makes some rather morbid charges regarding the behavior of the saved in the holy city of New Jerusalem. He also makes some assumptions that have no basis in fact (prophetic writings). The bodies of the wicked are not going to be lying around smoldering in such a manner as to allow the saved to walk among them to gaze at them (in a voyeuristic fashion). It is nothing I wish to see, for sure. Every writing I have read on the topic suggest that they will be consumed along with everything else on the surface of the earth as part of the cleansing of the earth. I suspect that this cleansing will continue long after Satan himself is consumed as it has been suggested he will be the last to perish completely. Will the holy city inhabitants actually go out and walk among the dead, if that were possible? I suspect not. This does not mean that some inhabitants will not watch from the walls of the city this cleansing process, but I do not see them walking out of the gates into the inferno. Like God Himself, they would take no joy from seeing the wicked perish. Quote >>>Texts in blue type are quotes<<< ***************************************************************************** And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. --Shakespeare from Hamlet ***************************************************************************** Bill Liversidge Seminars The Emergent Church and the Invasion of Spiritualism Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kevin H Posted May 6, 2021 Moderators Share Posted May 6, 2021 (edited) Comment moved: Wrong post Edited May 6, 2021 by Kevin H Wrong post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.