Reflecting on the Jewish Religion.

[Sojourner]

I would like to share with you a few thoughts on Judaism in the time of Christ as opposed to the Judaism practiced in the Old Testament and then perhaps related to today for critiquing.

Please feel welcome to add your thoughts or commentary accordingly!

My understanding is that the Judaism practiced in the time of Christ was largely broken and removed from the Judaism practiced in the Old Testament. I base that on these observations. The Temple and Jerusalem had been overtaken by the Greeks and for a time was used with temple prostitutes and offerings of pigs and unclean animals. The book of Maccabees details the retaking of the temple by Joseph Maccabees and the group that he led which is celebrated in the Hunnakah festival. Yet my understanding that that after this, the control of the temple fell into the hands of the Sadducees and the link to the Levitical Priesthood was broken as not unlike many Prosperity Gospel based churches of today, the Temple began to be used for wealth creation for its rulers. In same time “the Jews” had broken up into sectarian groups – Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Hellenistic and others. There were issues with Jews who supported Rome and enabled Rome to rule over them.

I feel that one of the key points in the New Testament is the Parable of the Lost Son, where I feel Jesus spoke it to the Pharisees and used it to tell them that they were in fact the Older Brother in the story who had openly neglected both the younger brother (Gentiles) and their Father (G-d). I feel this is the point where it became clear that He was raising up a new people who would reach others and have a relationship with God accordingly.

Fast forward to the death of Christ on the cross and the curtain in the temple is ripped into halves, the holy of holies is split open and temple worship is ended by God. At the same time we see the resurrection of a number of people who walk into Jerusalem appearing to people and the promises made to them of resurrection in the Old Testament are fulfilled.

70AD, Jerusalem is taken under siege as prophesied by Jesus and the Christians leave and are saved accordingly. Jerusalem is ransacked and destroyed, the disapora of Jews begins across the world. Yet there is evidence to suggest that a community remains in the area that comes to be known as Palestine. Russia, and areas of Europe host Jewish communities. Over time Jerusalem is rebuilt and repopulated.

Without temple worship and a Levitical Priesthood the Jewish religion has to change from the instructions given to it in Scripture. Animal Sacrifice is ended and the worship is centralized around the Synagogue. It is suggested that G-d has taken those things away because of the disobedience of their ancestors to Him and that this will be restored in the form of a third Temple that God will enable to be built for a future generation. Conflict over whether it will be built by the hands of men or brought down from heaven.

The Christian church becomes corrupt and overtaken by the Roman Catholic Priesthood and brings evil and darkness into the world. Muhummad rails against the RCC with similar tactics and war and bloodshed ensues of which Jews are caught up in and slaughtered by both sides during the expansion of Islam into the middle east and the Crusades.

Hitler begins a genocide policy and attempts to slaughter all the remaining Jews in the world because of his left wing facism and the fact that he and the nazi party openly worship satan. They also go after SDA’s during this time believing them to be a sect of Judaism.

Post WW2 Jews are still hated throughout Europe and many go as refugees to the existing Jewish community in Palestine having nothing to go back to in Germany, Poland and other places.

Judaism continues to fracture as Israel is declared a nation – Orthodox, Reformed, Liberal, Modern, a number of rival groups are created each teaching their own version. Messianic Jews are rejected as being Jews. Yet the Hebrew Language makes history as being the only dead language to ever be revived and spoken by millions of people. Their nation grows in prosperity whilst other nations decline. Nations make war on the Jews and are resoundingly beaten in the process. Worship is conducted at the wall of the original temple and as we see in recent days, Israel is declared to be “a Jewish State”.

Thoughts?

[Gregory Matthews]

They also go after SDA’s during this time believing them to be a sect of Judaism.

 

The above is wrong on two counts:

 

1) There is a documented hilstory of certain SDA leaders cooperating with Hitler and urging SDAs to enlist in the Army in order to hasten the 2nd Advent.

 

2) Hitler did persecute an independent group that had split off from the main-line SDA denomination.  That persecution had nothing to do with any belief that this group was a Jewish sect.

 

NOTE: The historical background of the above two is complex and little known by most SDAs.

[Gregory Matthews]

The book of Maccabees details. . .

 

There are four (4) books of Maccabees, two (2) of which are published today in some  Bibles.  To which do you reference?

 

NOTE:  1st Maccabes is the best (most accurate) history that we have available today on that period of time, but it is not 100% accurate.  2nd Maccabees is much less accurate in its history.  As to 3rd and 4th Maccabees they fall beneath the other two.

[Gregory Matthews]

My understanding is that the Judaism practiced in the time of Christ was largely broken and removed from the Judaism practiced in the Old Testament. I base that on these observations. The Temple and Jerusalem had been overtaken by the Greeks and for a time was used with temple prostitutes and offerings of pigs and unclean animals.

 

 

the Greek Seleucid ruler Antiochus Epiphanes slaughtered a pig on the Jewish altar to defile the temple in 168 B.C. This was long before the time of Christ.  Such was not being done during the time of Christ.  Even AE did not do it on a regular basis.  But, in 168 BCE, he did it to show that he had the power to do so.

[Sojourner]

The above is wrong on two counts:

 

1) There is a documented hilstory of certain SDA leaders cooperating with Hitler and urging SDAs to enlist in the Army in order to hasten the 2nd Advent.

 

2) Hitler did persecute an independent group that had split off from the main-line SDA denomination.  That persecution had nothing to do with any belief that this group was a Jewish sect.

 

NOTE: The historical background of the above two is complex and little known by most SDAs.

 

Hi Gregory, there is no shortage of information online about this, Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovahs Witnesses were both given Purple patches to wear in the Auschwitz death camp to identify them as Adventists or Witnesses. Here is one such account - http://www.nizkor.org/features/dentist/chapter-12.html

[Gregory Matthews]

I rest with what I have said.  The history of Seventh-day Adventists is much more complex that you suggest.  It is  documented but little known by most SDAs today.  Certain denominational leaders   urged SDAs to enlist in the German army and cooperate with Hitler in order to bring about the 2nd Advent.  At that point in time SDAs were considered friends of Hitler and treated as such.

 

A split-off group of SDAs refused to go along with that that they were treated badly.

 

As an actual fact, there was sin on both sides.  Both groups engaged in wrong.

 

Following the end of WW II the General Conference attempted to heal the breach between the two groups.  That attempt failed.  Ongoing attempts to heal that breach have continued to this day.  Within the past year, or so, there has been some success to heal that breach among the people who remain in German.  But, that has not been, at this point in time, a total success.  In addition, the limited success that has occurred had not, as I understand it, reached the United States and areas outside of Germany.

 

It is of interest that the somewhat limited success came about when leaders in both groups were willing to agree that there was sin and wrong doing on both sides.

[Gregory Matthews]

Seventh-day Adventists and Hitler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVBptfAxGOs

 

http://archives.adventistreview.org/article/92/archives/issue-2005-1540/adventist-news

 

http://www.history.ucsb.edu/projects/holocaust/Research/Proseminar/corrieschroder.htm

 

http://www.adventistpeace.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/1495/Blaich-Divided-Loyalties-2002.pdf

 

http://www.formeradventist.com/discus/messages/5291/896.html?1034289667

 

http://www.oakwood.edu/historyportal/Ejah/2011/Anti-Semitism%20in%20Germany.htm

 

http://community.beliefnet.com/go/thread/view/43851/13242139/Seventh-day_Adventist_support_of_and_participation_in_Hitlers_Nazi_regime_...

 

 

While not listed in the above,  SDA Ronald Lawson has written quite a bit if importance on this issue:

Ronald Lawson:  Professor Emeritus at Queens College, CUNY Demographic info Greater New York City Area    Higher Education  Current Professor Emeritus at Queens College, CUNY  Past Assistant Professor at Hunter College, CUNY  Education City University of New York-Queens College, The University of Queensland, University of Queensland, Australia  Summary research and publish about American-born religious groups, especially Seventh-day Adventists, but also Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.am com...

 

NOTE:  Lawson's work is critical to this issue.  I wish that I could locate it on the Internet.

 

The bottom line:  This is a very complex issue.  For many years the documentation of the SDA Church's cooperation with Hitler has been burried.  It is only in recent times that SDA and other historians have begun to uncover and evaulate the documentation for thils.  What I have reviewed here is only the beginning and not very specific.  Lawson reveals much more.    I personally believe that there is much more than is known now.

 

In any case, the above links are only a start.

 

NOTE: Dr. Lawson has written about SDAs in other areas that may be of interest to you.  These works are more easily available on the Internet.

[Gregory Matthews]

Malcolm Bull & Keith Lockhart, SEEKING A SANCTUARY: SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM & THE AMERICAN DREAM, 2nd Edition.  Indiana University Press, 498 pages, 2007.

 

The 2nd Edition begins its comment about Hitler on page 193 and extends into page 194.  This is especially interesting in that it mentions Adventists who led military rebellions against governments in Burma, Fiji (2000), the Solomon Islands (2000) and other countries to include the  trial and conviction of Georges Rutaganda for genocide in 1999.  It then goes on to mention SDA who led peaceful rebellions against their governments and SDAs who have served in elected political positions.

 

NOTES: At the time of the 1989 publication of the above work, it consisted of 319 pages.  This work has a short comment about Hitler on page 148.

 

The 2nd edition of the above book gives a few specifics about the SDA cooperation with Hitler, as did some of the URLs that I listed in post # 7 above.  But, it is Lawson who has given the most specifics in his documentation of SDA cooperation with Hitler.

 

NOTE:  At the time of the publication of the 2nd edition, Malcolm Bull was a professor at Oxford University and Keith Lockhart was a London-based journalist.  One of the authors was raised an Adventist and remains such today.  The other author has had a close relationship with the Adventist Church.

[Gregory Matthews]

http://www.sdanet.org/steve/articles/R.Lawson:Onward_Christian_Soldiers

 

The above website is an article by Dr. Ronald Lawson that briefly touches on the issue raised here.  However, it does not have the extensive detail and specifics that other works by Dr. Lawson have. 

[Gregory Matthews]

The following section in Club Adventist contain more material on this issue and Dr. Lawson:

 

 

The above section gives a direct contact for Dr. Lawson.