Preamble
Great or small; every action we perform leaves a footprint. No matter how much we might wish to ignore, hide or change it, every passing moment becomes fixed in time. The same applies to peoples and nations, what was once in the present, slips into the past.
It is well known that the Ashkenazi Jews are a proselyte people, having adopted the Talmudic religion of the Pharisees in the eight century. They are certainly aware of this fact, as their own encyclopaedia plainly lays out this ancestry. The Eastern European Jews are the descendants of a Turco-Fin people known as the Chazars, and even though they assumed many ancient Israelite names, there is not a single drop of Jacob’s blood in the Chazarian vein. My fervent hope is that Christian Zionists will open their eyes to the origin of European Jewry, and reflect upon the founders of the modern State of Israel; their ancestry now irrevocably locked in time.
Chazars (or Khazars)
Here’s a little of what the Jewish Encyclopaedia says about the ancestors of Eastern European Jewry.
A people of Turkish origin whose life and history are interwoven with the very beginnings of the history of the Jews of Russia… driven on by the nomadic tribes of the Steppes and by their own desire for plunder and revenge… In the second half of the sixth century the Chazars moved westward… The kingdom of the Chazars was firmly established in most of South Russia long before the foundations of the Russian Monarchy by the Varangian in 855…
At this time the kingdom of the Chazars stood at the height of its power and was constantly at war… At the end of the eighth century … the chagan (king) of the Chazars and his grandees, together with a large number of his heathen people, embraced the Jewish religion… The Jewish population in the entire domain of the Chazars, in the period between the seventh and tenth centuries, must have been considerable… about the ninth century; it appears as if all the Chazars were Jews and that they had been converted to Judaism only a short time before.
It was one of the successors of Bulan named Obadiah, who regenerated the kingdom and strengthened the Jewish religion. He invited Jewish scholars to settle in his dominions, and founded Synagogues and schools. The people were instructed in the bible, (books of Moses) Mishnah and the Talmud and in the `divine service of the hazzanim’… In their writings the Chazars used the Hebrew letters… the Chazar languages predominated…
Obadiah was succeeded by his son Isaac; Isaac by his son Moses (or Manasseh II); the latter by his son Nisi; and Nisi by his son Aaron II. King Joseph himself was a son of Aaron, and ascended the throne in accordance with the Law of the Chazars relating to succession… The king had twenty-five wives, all of royal blood, and sixty concubines, all famous beauties. Each one slept in a separate tent and was watched by a eunuch… This seems to have been the beginning of the downfall of the Chazar kingdom… The Russian Varangians established themselves at Kiev… until the final conquest of the Chazars by the Russians … After a hard fight the Russians conquered the Chazars. Four years later the Russians conquered all the Chazarian territory east of the Azov … many members of the Chazarian royal family went to Spain… Some went to Hungary, but the great mass of the people remained in their native country. (Volume IV: The Jewish Encyclopaedia)
The notable Jewish historian, Prof. Graetz wrote of them: The Chazars professed a coarse religion, which was combined with sensuality and lewdness… After Obadiah, came a long series of Jewish Chagans, for according to a fundamental law of the state only Jewish rulers were permitted to ascend the throne… For some time the Jews of other countries had no knowledge of the conversion of this powerful kingdom to Judaism. (Graetz: Origin and History of the Jews in Eastern Europe)
One of the books to bring this to the fore was Arthur Koestler’s seminal 1976 work: The 13th Tribe: The Khazar Empire and its Heritage. The numerical ratio of the Khazar to the Semitic and other contributions is impossible to establish. But the cumulative evidence makes one inclined to agree with the consensus of Polish historians that ‘in earlier times the main bulk originated from the Khazar country’; and that, accordingly, the Khazar contribution to the genetic make-up of the Jews must be substantial, and in all likelihood dominant. Khazaria, a conglomerate of Aryan Turkic tribes, was finally wiped out by the forces of Genghis Khan, but evidence indicates that the Khazars themselves migrated to Poland and formed the cradle of Western Jewry.
Note: Koestler mentions the Jews originally moving west via the Caucasus and Poland to then settle in Central Europe. This is suggestive of the earlier migrations of Israel-Ephraim as they headed West into Europe, its Western Seaboard, and then to Britain beginning around 500 BC. It seems he inadvertently gave the time of these supposed Jewish migrations as matching the westward journey of the tribes of Israel. The Jews (incl. Pharisees, Essenes and Sadducees) did not leave Judea in any number until after the uprisings of the first century when they were crushed by Rome.
Few in Number
The number of Jews in First Century Palestine was not large, estimates range between, 70,000 and 100,000 at most. The lowest appraisal puts the Jewish population around 30,000. Josephus records scholars at 6,000 Pharisees, 4000 Essenes and a ‘handful’ of Sadducees at the time. Prior to the First Jewish War, (66-73 AD) Tacitus projected the entire population of Judea at 600,000; Josephus higher at just over a million. Either way this makes the number of Jews small by comparison. This is wholly consistent with the Bible account of ‘a remnant’ of Judah returning from Babylon.
The population of Ancient Israel and Judah living in Judea and Samaria began to decline beginning in the sixth century BC. In their nineteen year campaign, the Assyrians took all of Israel and the bulk of Judah into exile, placing them in the north of what is now Arabia, Iraq and Iran ending in 521BC. Around 120 years later what was left of Judah was taken to Babylon for seventy years as recorded by Jeremiah and Daniel.
The small number of people we know as ‘Jews’ in the New Testament were all that remained after the ancient Kingdom of Israel was dismantled by God. Of those that survived the 1st century uprising, many were taken into slavery; Titus took 700 to be paraded in Rome. The balance (Sephardic Jews) went to Spain. Of those that stayed behind in Babylon, some later returned to Jerusalem and others migrated into various parts of Asia Minor and Europe. It is of note that the siege of Masada took place forty years (a generation) after the Christ was crucified. Jesus warned of it in part, in (Luke 21)
Preface 1
In November 1968, the Jerusalem Post published the results to their survey: Who or what is a Jew? 12% answered on parenthood or marriage; 19% parenthood or conversion to Judaism; 23% said belief: If I believe I’m a Jew then I am; 13% said the observance of Jewish practices; 13% identified with the State of Israel; 11% answered being raised a Jew; and 9% of surveyed families, did not know who or what a Jew is. Not one of the 1500 respondents answered to an ancient ancestry. (Neither did they mention the Holocaust.) Being a small survey, it’s not ideal as a definitive analysis; but it does point to a way of thinking seen in many Jews today. As the founders of the modern Israeli State were labour-socialists, atheists and agnostics; and as not all Jews ascribe to a religion, it seems not to speak to the universal belief in God they once held.
Jews at The Time of Christ
The common belief the Jews of the 1st century were the descendants of Judah only is deeply flawed. Herod Antipater, the Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea was, Idumaean, descended from Edom; as were many living there at the time. He followed the Jews religion therefore, according to Paul’s definition (Galatians 1:14) Herod was a Jew. From this we take to be a Jew in the time of Christ, was to be a religionist following a prescribed code of belief irrespective of race, as it is today. But, we know from Paul’s encounter with them, there was more to ‘the Jews’ than mere religion.
As instructed by God, everything of importance was to be written down. The idea of God leaving His Word to the fragile memory of humans is plainly naïve. He instructed Moses and the Prophets to write everything down, which is why we have it today. There was no oral tradition in Ancient Israel. Yet, the Jews of the New Testament had an established oral tradition, which like their law came from Babylon, seen in their later collected writings known as the Talmud. So, we see a division between the Spirit of God through Moses and the Prophets, and the writings of the Scribes and Pharisees. The essential difference comes down to tradition and doctrine, verses, Christ and His inspired Word.
And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, this people honoureth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. (Matt 15:6-9)
Leading Jews were the administrators and legislators of the Sanhedrin, which covered all aspects of religion, politics, trade, and society. They were part of a diverse population with some degree of influence, except when it came to the Christ. Jesus did not mince words with them; on one occasion telling them; “they were of their father the devil…” (John 8:44)
He also said of them “…for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves…” (Matt 23:15) Jesus was very aware of the makeup of the Pharisees; their heritage, traditions, and warned of their duplicity: “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1)
Jesus even spoke of their Babylonian writings: “Is it not written in your law…” (John 10:34) John the Baptist had no time for them either, addressing them as ‘offspring of vipers.’ (Matt 3:7) And, the Apostle Paul warned; “that we should be; not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.” (Titus 1:14)
They were openly hostile when challenged on matters of their ancestry and doctrine, and it is clear from the following exchange, they begin to consider the matter of putting Jesus to death, even though, when Jesus told them who He actually was, it was completely missed by them all. It is also apparent, that the words Jew and Pharisee are transposable in the context of their religion, and their opinion of Jesus and His Gospel of salvation.
“They answered and said unto him, our father is Abraham. Jesus saith unto them, if ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I heard from God: this did not Abraham? Ye do the works of your father. They said unto him, we were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, if God were your Father, ye would love me: for I came forth and am come from God; for neither have I come of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech, because ye cannot hear my word! Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. But because I say the truth, ye believe me not. (John 8:39-45)
Such was their blindness; they honoured the Christ upon His entry to Jerusalem, and seven days later bayed for His death. Their fervor was so great, the multitude called out to Pontius Pilot; “His blood be (remain) on us, and on our children.” (Matt 27:25) They called a curse upon themselves.
Jesus came for Israel (Matt 10:6; 15:24) and was foretold by the Prophets of Israel. He did not come for the Jews, and if you read your Bible you will know He despised what they stood for, and told them so. Those who openly argued with the Christ, who endeavoured to trap Him on matters of their Law, were the descendants of the remnant of Judah, returned from captivity. But, the Jewish tradition and Judaism we see today; its ethics, law and doctrine, came by way of the Eastern European Chazars as taught by the Rabbis of Babylon in the 8th century.
Preface 2
In the New Testament, the word, Jew was used to denote a person who lived in Judea and followed the Jews religion. Now a Jew is, (a) someone who practices Judaism; (b) an Israeli, even though 20% living in Israel are not Jewish or (c) anyone who wants to be a Jew regardless of race.
Apart from the Talmud, the people we know as Jews today have nothing to do with the Jews of New Testament times. The only ones with any rightful connection to 1st century Palestine are the small number of Sephardic Jews who went to Spain. The bulk of Jews we know today are a new people entirely.
Jews Today: America
In the Jerusalem Post survey, 43% alluded to parentage as a contributing factor to their Jewishness. Parentage points to descent, yet none of them gave as their origin, Ancient Israel or extraction from Abraham. The Pew Survey of 2013 had this to say on how American Jews view themselves today.
Secularism has a long tradition in Jewish life in America, and most U.S. Jews seem to recognize this: 62% say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, while only 15% say it is mainly a matter of religion. Even among Jews by religion, more than half (55%) say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, and two-thirds say it is not necessary to believe in God to be Jewish. Jews tend to be less religious than the U.S. public as a whole, with fewer saying they attend religious services weekly, believe in God with absolute certainty, or that religion is very important in their lives.
When we asked Jews about what is and is not essential to their own sense of Jewishness, 73% say remembering the Holocaust is essential (including 76% of Jews by religion and 60% of Jews of no religion). Almost as many Jews, 69%, say leading an ethical and moral life is essential, and 56% cite working for social justice and equality; only 19% say observing Jewish law is essential.The secularization of Jewry is inherently tied to Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677).
Intellectuals of the period greatly admired Spinoza for freeing Judaism from the restraints of religion. Once a victim of rabbinic persecution, he is the acknowledged founder of Jewish secularism, and considered the well of inspiration for all Jews taking a stand against tradition; for paving the way and thinking of a new approach to Jewishness.
It was this renaissance, which saw a worldlier approach to Judaism and the diminishing of G-d as the over-arching aspect in their lives. It became the spark separating the old from the new, a path for independent thinking in terms of identity. Its outcome was a new political awareness, the founding of Zionism and the later campaign for a Jewish homeland. While there has been a small increase of Jews migrating to Palestine in recent times, the majority live in America where their influence is greatly disproportionate to their numbers across every sphere of American Life.
It will be no surprise that Jews dominate the financial sector (federal, national, and community banking; insurance and re-insurance); the stock market (Wall Street, trading firms); Film, Television and Music: (major studio owners; dominant across the entire entertainment industry). The Judiciary: the majority of Supreme Court judges, including Brandeis, Fortas, Cardozo and Ginsberg, (who ruled it illegal to refuse homosexual marriage) Breyer and Kagan etc; leading law firms.
Government: Over represented across all aspects of government; federal, state and local, including foreign policy; Mayors in New York, LA. and Chicago; major lobbyists; AIPAC; Advertising and PR: (dominant across the entire industry) Social Media: (the major owners of social media and internet companies; on-line gambling, adult, pornography); Jews are also major players across consumables companies (food, medicines, clothing) and technology. In other words, American Jews are the major influencers of what you watch, read, hear and think; how you vote, and what you eat, wear, and do… every day!
It makes no sense at all to try to deny the reality of Jewish power and prominence in popular culture. Any list of the most influential production executives at each of the major movie studios will produce a heavy majority of recognizably Jewish names. (M. Medved: Is Hollywood Too Jewish? Moment, Vol. 21, No. 4 (1996), p. 37)
As a proud Jew, I want America to know about our accomplishment. Yes, we control Hollywood; I don’t care if Americans think we’re running the news media, Hollywood, Wall Street or the government. I just care that we get to keep running them. (Joel Stein: How Jewish Is Hollywood? Los Angeles Times, Dec. 19, 2008.)
Former American Vice President, Joe Biden thinks so as well… Jewish heritage has shaped who we are, all of us, as much or more than any other factor in the last 223 years. And that’s a fact; Biden told a gathering of Jewish leaders on May 21, 2013, in Washington, DC. The truth is that Jewish heritage, Jewish culture, Jewish values are such an essential part of who we are that it’s fair to say that Jewish heritage is American heritage. He added. Think – behind of all that, I bet you 85 percent of those (social-political) changes, whether it’s in Hollywood or social media are a consequence of Jewish leaders in the industry. (Jennifer Epstein: Biden: Jewish heritage is American heritage. Politico, May 21, 2013; Daniel Halper: Biden Talks of Outsized Influence of Jews: The Influence Is Immense… The Weekly Standard, May 22, 2013.)
Though for some, Biden’s statements were actually worrying. One leading Jewish journalist wrote: however gratifying Biden’s very philo-Semitic remarks might be such an open acknowledgment of Jewish influence is wandering into highly uncomfortable terrain. The Vice President went too far, cautioned Jonathan Chait, especially given that lots of people are not at all happy about how Jews have used their influence over popular culture to change societal attitudes toward homosexuality. (J. Chait: Biden raises Jews, goes too far, accidentally thrills Anti-Semites: New York magazine, May 22, 2013.)
Like many immigrants, Jews took full advantage of the New World and the opportunities it presented. Jewish influence has not only shaped American culture, it is shaped the west so profoundly that today American conventions are common in most western countries. American film, television, music, fast-food and shopping norms have set the benchmarks we live by on a daily basis; it has spilled over into our morals, standards, and laws. America leads the women’s movement, the right to life, the right to choose, children’s rights, the right to bear arms, the growth of LGBT rights and the Atheist movement. Jewish controlled film and television, sets and constantly promotes these Jewish values worldwide. And there is absolutely nothing stated in this section; Jews Today: America that has not been (within the constraints of so-called anti-Semitism) recorded, stated, or debated in the media. It’s all a matter of public record.
Jews Today: Israel
The State of Israel is an enigma. It is not as most imagine, a Middle Eastern country, it is a European country in the Middle East. The term Hafrada (segregation) is their governing policy in the West Bank and Gaza. The Ashkenazi and Likud are the ruling authority; most others seen as second-class citizens, showing Israel as a conscious apartheid state. They have recently been cited by UNESCO (21/05/17) as an occupying power. Their erroneous belief of having a form of god-given authority has them set against the people of the land, and the region as a whole. One way or another, all of Israel’s neighbours have felt their presence.
In 1948, National-Socialists took Jerusalem and the land of Judea. Resident Jews, who had lived in this land throughout their generations, did not expel their Christian and Muslim neighbours; it was the result of militarist Zionism founded in Eastern Europe. In much the same way as the Jewish Bolsheviks of 1917, atheist-socialists tore friends and neighborhoods apart. Some Jewish residents actually left in protest at the sight of this terror wrought against their friends and families. Others were offered money to stay. Some were killed, and some expelled.
The current predisposition of Israel towards the indigenous Palestinians does not have the backing of all its citizens. This has resulted in much internal dissent with frequent arrests and imprisonments. Many human rights activists supporting the Palestinians, are imprisoned and denied due legal and medical help for extended periods, as confirmed by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Several present-day Jewish writers have witnessed and described what is really going on in Palestine, and have left for their personal safety. Ilan Pappe’s: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine is essential reading for anyone seeking a balanced view of this controversial state. For a dispassionate overview of Israel today, Occupation 101 is a multi-award winning documentary you ought to see. You can find it at: occupation101.org.
The Sum
With all that’s going on inside Israel one could be forgiven for asking; who are these people? By their ill-treatment of the Palestinians, they don’t seem to be the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There’s little kindness as preached by Moses, plainly set down in Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Exodus; especially in observing the Commandments given us by the Ever-Living God. We find also in America and the West, Jews acting with little concern or consideration for their fellow man. In their media, commercial dealings, and the promotion of impious living, they are clearly not of the ancestry they claim. So, why do we believe they are one and the same?
Molding and Management: 1.
In 1968, Walter Kerr, the renowned author, director and Pulitzer prize-winner, made this statement in The New York Times:
What has happened since World War II is that the American sensibility has become part Jewish, perhaps as much Jewish as anything else. The literate American mind has come in some measure to think ‘Jewishly.’ It has been taught to, and it was ready to. After the entertainers and novelists came the Jewish critics, politicians and theologians. Critics and politicians and theologians are by profession molders; they form ways of seeing. (Walter Kerr: Skin deep is not good enough: The New York Times, April 14, 1968)
If anyone knows this to be true it is Frank Luntz, the man behind the Israel Project Global Language Dictionary, a media resource kit for Israelis having to deal with matters relating to Palestine. It is a about effective language and how to use it. It is no accident Jewish names dominate film, television, advertising and public relations. They not only understand the art of communication, they built it. As Dr. Luntz penned in the 2009 edition; it’s not what you say that counts. It’s what people hear.
In the preface, Jennifer Mizrahi (founder and president) tailored her welcome message using highly emotive language: visionary leaders, front-lines, fighting, the media war, winning hearts and minds, your mission, peace and security, and global Jewish family. And she got her point across in less than 90 words. As Marshall McLuhan’s work so rightly says, the medium is the message. And, if there is one thing Jewish writers know how to do, it is to shape opinion. Their over-weighted influence has set new paradigms in every Western society. It is a fact of our lives.
In 2014, The Times of Israel published an article, complete with maps and illustrations, and with the headline which read: Israel acknowledges Jews in fact Khazars; Secret plan for reverse migration to Ukraine. Written by Jim Wald, it was a ‘leaked’ report, which was completely bogus from top to tail.
Under the sub-heading: A Warlike Turkic People and a Mystery, the text read: It is well known that, sometime in the eighth to ninth centuries, the Khazars, a warlike Turkic people, converted to Judaism and ruled over a vast domain in what became southern Russia and Ukraine. What happened to them after the Russians destroyed that empire around the eleventh century has been a mystery. Many have speculated that the Khazars became the ancestors of Ashkenazi Jews.
It is no mystery that the Chazars are the foundation of Eastern European Jewry as Koestler and many competent Jewish scholars have ably pointed out. It is also obvious Chazars are not Hebrews, so why would the Times of Israel publish such an article? It was clearly a distraction to deal with their tricky origin, on-going illegal settlements and confiscation of Palestinian land, and relentless discrimination. (http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/leaked-report-israel-acknowledges-jews-in-fact-khazars-secret-plan-for-reverse-migration-to-ukraine/#ixzz34AyFzTQ7)
As American Jews proudly assert, they run the media, movies, the banks, and the government. They have similar influence in many western countries. This allows them to effectively do as they please when it comes to telling the world what they want us to believe, and what they don’t want us to know. What they want off the table is their descent from a war-like Turkic people – what they want us to believe is they are the progeny of Abraham. But, the question of their problematic ancestry has again been raised, this time from within Israel.
Shlomo Sand’s 2009 book: The Invention of the Jewish People has become a prickly issue for Israel’s power bloc. The Tel Aviv University professor argued, because the Jews were a religious community descended from converts, they do not constitute a nation or need a state of their own. Not only does Sand state Jews are religious converts, but they are not a nation with a legal right to nationhood in the traditional sense; dangerous stuff, but it is nothing new.
Concerned Jews have been voicing this and similar sentiment since the founding of Political Zionism over a century ago. In his article: Spiritually and Physically Responsible: Rabbi, Gedalya Liebermann wrote: Judaism is a religion. Judaism is not a race nor is it a nationality. That was and still remains the consensus amongst the rabbis. This on-going debate is about religion on the one hand, verses secular nationalism on the other. It is not about racial legitimacy and never was. As far as the majority of today’s Jewish politicians are concerned, it’s neither here nor there. But, the fact there is a debate among Jews concerning their authenticity, should be ringing alarm bells in every Zionist Christian. (For more background, see Restorationism on this site)
Things got further heated in 2012, when Israeli molecular geneticist, Eran Elhaik published his findings showing Chazar ancestry was the single largest element in the Ashkenazi gene pool. Elhaik presented hard evidence to disprove the Hebrew connection of AshkenazI Jews, and if anything could have prompted Wald’s tragic attempt at derision and wit, this would have been a likely contender. Shlomo Sand commented at the time, Elhaik’s findings completely vindicated his work.
As expected, Elhaik has ignited vociferous debate among Jewish geneticists and the community at large; his paper directly challenging the traditional view, especially the work of Feldman and Ostrer. So, it is not surprising that yet again the question is asked, where did the Ashkenazi Jews come from? As Rita Rubin posited in her article in Forward Magazine: The debate touches upon such sensitive issues as whether the Jewish people is a race or a religion, and whether Jews or Palestinians are descended from the original inhabitants of what is now the State of Israel.
That was a smart question, as it brings a new element to the conversation; Palestinian Arabs. It is not a question of Arab right to the land, but of Zionists and Ashkenazi Jews. The original inhabitants were Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites; Hivites, and Jebusites. (Exo; Num; Deu; Jos; Jdg; Ezra) 1Kings 9:20 states they were not of the Children of Israel, and in Joshua 15:63; that the Jebusites dwelt with Judah in Jerusalem; their city.
Ezra and Nehemiah confirm the above peoples were still in Jerusalem, and the region, after Judah returned from Babylon. Hence, Arabic peoples, not Jews, were the original residents of the land of Philistia. It seems the only ones that refuse to acknowledge this, are plainly set against the facts of history.
The answer is obvious to any reasonable mind that has read a history of Zionism, the Holy Bible or knows something of the region’s history. So, what is this all about? It concerns modern Jewish legitimacy; but more importantly for Christians, the pulling down of belief in the inspired word of God. Even so, the truth is out and with it, the realization that some people have been strangers to it for a very long time. And while most Jews and I expect many Christians will remain in denial, it doesn’t alter the fact that Zionists blindsided the world and stole another people’s land. How they did it, and why the West let them get away with it, is another matter entirely.
What is important now, is how to recognize the rhetoric and the continual shaping of western opinion towards Jewry. In terms of Wald’s article in the Times of Israel, the device was self-parody; write something apparently humorous and hope the world will be amused for a while, and then get on with their lives as if nothing has changed. Nothing will change if we continue to let them get away with it. While their occupation of Palestine may be a fait accompli, their behaviour is not.
Molding and Management: 2.
Starting in the 17th Century, a series of events began to unfold: Restorationism and Christian Zionism; the Jewish Enlightenment and Secularism; Dispensationalism, the revisions of the King James Bible, and the invention of a reliable printing method with permanent inks, and moveable type. Each has impacted greatly on the world we now inhabit.
In concert with the Jewish Enlightenment; Jews began to see themselves not so much as religionists, but as a people. With this new insight, together with the possibility of a homeland of their own, a new aspiration became fixed within a growing secular Jewry. Until the idea was first planted by influential Christian leaders that the Jews must return to Palestine, the subject had rarely if ever come up.
By instilling in Jews the need to ‘return’ to their ‘homeland,’ prior to the return of Jesus; (in fact to set the stage for it) Restorationist Christians set the world on a path from which there was no return. To make matters worse, the Restorationist Movement had no idea the Jews they set out to repatriate, were not come down from Ancient Israel, or tied to the Jews of Jesus’ time; but a proselyte people. It was an epic disaster, which led to the comprehensive molding of the West towards Jewish ambition.
Gaining Control of Christianity
Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to call an ancient Israelite a Jew or to call a contemporary Jew an Israelite or a Hebrew; the first Hebrews may not have been Jews at all… The Jewish Almanac (1980)
The quote from the Jews’ Almanac is a trap for the unaware; it gives with one hand and takes with the other. Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to call an ancient Israelite a Jew or to call a contemporary Jew an Israelite or a Hebrew: is a true statement based on the history of Israel, ancient and modern. But …the first Hebrews may not have been Jews at all… is a loaded gun. This tells us plainly that the Jews are as old as the Hebrews. The winning words; may not have been, infer …they might have been… implying they were. The use of the term, ‘the first Hebrews’ is also an illusion.
The term Jew did not exist at the time of the Hebrews. Abraham and Isaac were not Jews; in fact they weren’t even Israelites, as the name Israel did not exist then. So, why would the Jewish Almanac allude to this, if not to knowingly confuse Christians and mask their questionable ancestry?
While, Orthodox Jewry regards Christians as misguided, their great sleight of hand was to convince Christianity, Jesus was a Jew. And while they give the impression of open-mindedness; privately, the idea of a resurrected Christ is looked upon with disdain. Still, Christians are important when we consider the significance of the Christian lobby and its support for the Zionist State. If Christianity is important, the reason for their faith must be also, even if Rabbis contend Jesus was a pretender and fake, and His Messiahship a lie.
There are numerous books, like Thomas Cahill’s, “The Gifts of the Jews,” which continue to enable the Jewish Jesus myth. In the mind of the Christian majority, the connection of Jesus to his Jewish roots has become so firmly entrenched as to corrupt the truth of Scripture in many who claim a Christian faith. The implications are profound and disturbing, as the widespread belief that Jesus is of Jewish heritage has cemented the pro-Israel leanings of many Christians. The bonus for Israel is the Zionist-Christian faction is now the largest group supporter of the Jewish State.
But, the plain fact of history is Jesus was not Jewish; neither was Israel or the House of Judah. So, to put this matter straight we will go to the Bible to briefly look at the genealogy of Jesus on Earth, beginning with Adam.
Edenites: Edenites are those who existed prior to the formation of Israel. They are the direct descendants of Adam, formed by God, from whom Eve came. Along with Adam and Eve, are Abel, and Cain who was expelled from Eden for killing his brother. Soon after, Eve gave birth to Seth who had a son named, Enos; it was Enos who first began to call upon the Name of the LORD after the events in Eden. The last of the Edenites were Noah, his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, and their families. (No Jews here)
Hebrews: The first Hebrew was Abram (Abraham). The name; Hebrew comes from Eber in Mesopotamia, the land of his birth. His ancestor was Shem. It also signifies (literally and figuratively) he crossed over into Canaan. Abraham’s descendants remain Hebrews until, Jacob. Hebrews is also a broad term to describe the lineage of Abraham as seen in the New Testament letter from Paul. (Still no Jews)
Israelites: The first Israelite was Jacob. His name was changed to Is-ra-el by God after he wrestled with a man: the Angel of the LORD. The first Israelite by birth was Reuben, whose mother was Leah. All of Jacob’s sons are Israelites (sons of Israel) and it is these and their families that journeyed to Egypt, and then settled in Goshen at the time of the great famine. They were later taken into slavery by the Egyptians. Over the next four hundred years, the Israelites grew in number, becoming a substantial people and a great nation. Upon leaving Egypt under the leadership of Moses, Aaron and Joshua, they crossed the Sea held back by the LORD; arrived and rested in Midian, and were later given the Law on God’s Holy Mountain. (Exo 3:1; 3:12) (No Jews here either)
After leaving the region (Deut 1:6; 19) they wandered forty years in the wilderness as the LORD purged the evil generation (for worshiping the golden calf) before entering Canaan. Now established in their new homeland, they confidently established their borders and became known as the Kingdom of Israel. Around 800 BC, the Kingdom of Israel was divided into two Houses, and both Houses were afterward sent into exile by the LORD. And even though the ten-tribed House of Israel was no longer in the region (or Scripture) after their removal by the Assyrians; the names Israelite and Israel remain up to, and throughout, the ministry of Jesus on Earth. (Now we have some Jews in sight)
New Testament Jews: At the time of the return of Judah and Benjamin from Babylon in 521 BC, the Ptolemaic Kingdom; a fusion of Egyptian and Greek cultures, was in control of Judea. The population was ethnically diverse, owing to wars, trade, assimilations, and the re-populating of the North by the Assyrians, who brought in a variety of peoples from throughout Mesopotamia to replace the House of Israel. (2Kings) The small number of Judah that returned from seventy years in Babylon (Jer 29:10; Dan 9:2) became part of this mix. They lived separately, alienated by their new Pharisaic (Jewish) religion. Everyone who lived in the Province of Judea was Judean by residency and location. Other peoples in the province; Chaldeans, Parthians, Edomites, Egyptians, Greeks etc., were later joined by the Romans.
The Christ: The lineage of Jesus from Adam; down through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David, is recorded in both the Old and New Testaments. The reason why all those begats and son of were written down is to show continuity; to establish legitimacy, connection and belonging. The ancestry of Christ from David, (Son of David) Judah (the Kingship) and Jacob (the Promise) clearly demonstrates the Israelite line of Jesus through men. Luke (3:23-38) takes us back through Isaac, Abraham, Shem, and Enoch, where we arrive at Adam, the origin of Jesus on Earth. When we look past Adam we find…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
So, in terms of being shaped to think ‘Jewishly,’ the judgment of most people has been skewed when looking at the history of both Jesus and Israel. It has been conceived to convince Christians and the world; the Jews of today derive from the same stock as Jesus. It has succeeded so well, that most people are now inclined to believe the Israelis are the genuine descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a view forged and sustained by rabbinical, and wayward Christian teaching.
By not paying attention to Paul’s astute guidance to rightly divide the word of truth (2Tim 2:15) Christian congregations have all fallen victim to this ruse. This false teaching has led to the ultimate insult that Jesus: the same, Peter declared God has made both Lord and Christ… (Acts 2:36) of whom Paul wrote, thy throne O God is forever and ever (Heb 1:8) is now a descendant of supposed Jewish Israelites. This is plain foolishness, when the true parentage of Jesus is declared in both Old and New Testaments, and His Messiahship is affirmed by the Prophets, Evangelists; Peter, Paul and John.
Even though we know in our heart the idea of a Jewish Jesus is unadulterated fiction we prefer to believe men ahead of God, ignoring the record of Matthew and Luke, which contains not only His lineage, but also the manner of His conception. While He was born into the Tribe of Judah as foretold by the prophets, the life-blood of Jesus was sparked by the intervention of the Holy Spirit. Paul placed it perfectly: “the first man was of the earth, the second man is the Lord from Heaven.” (1Cor 15:47) And, while He came for His friends (Zechariah 13:6) they rejected Him, and in the end murdered Him at the insistence of law-bound Pharisees to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.
When Jesus said, many would come using His Name, it was a solemn warning about the deceitful acts of men throughout the ages. By sanctioning the Jewishness of Jesus, the Pharisees of the New Age are stealing salvation from God fearing folk without them even knowing. They have substituted the truth of Scripture with a lie. Anyone who claims to be the chosen of God, does not steal, maim and murder in His name citing scripture as authority for their offense. It is time to wipe the sleep from your eyes and wake up to the stark reality facing us all.
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. (Revelation 3:9)
Note: The use of the word ‘Jews’ in Revelation and seen throughout the Bible, is, in the majority of cases, a mistaken translation of the Aramaic Jehudhai, and the Greek Ioudaious. It should have been rendered, Judeans as the Aramaic and Greek words mean, ‘the people of Judea.’ The exception is the use of ‘Jews’ in the context of their doctrine and law, for example, Paul; the Jews spake against it. The scripture from Revelations clearly means Judeans, but in the case of the combative nature of the New Testament Jews, Pharisee is a more accurate substitute. Some writers have suggested that the words, Jew and Jews were originally Chaldean slang used to differentiate the Pharisees and other sects, from the greater population of Judea, people of various cultures, who were all by location; Judeans.
The Sum
The Christian Church has become so far removed from the teachings of Christ Jesus; the Apostles, Peter and Paul, that it now resembles a Secular Christianity. This has come about in no small way by the overpowering influence of Jewish thinking and its effect on a new Christian theology. That we see women priests is a sign of the rejection of His Prophets and Apostles. That we accept it is a symptom of our failing. The idea of Jesus being a Jew is a deception to hide the truth of who the Christ really is. For, when we see the behaviour of Jews in today’s world and then associate Jesus as one of them, it removes His power and glory. It reduces Him to mere humanity, which is of course their aim.
Without exception, every reference source (dictionary, encyclopedia, bible handbook, on-line, and the majority of church websites) and all modern bibles, state Jesus was a Jew; when Peter, Paul, James and John affirm He is the LORD. It is a hard thing to contend with when such effort has been made over the years, by those who would wish to cause us harm, and by those who have laboured in their ignorance. So, which do we believe God’s Word, or men’s word? For my part there is no choice, it is simply a matter of observation. For a tree is known by its fruit…
Afterword
Of all countries and states, the one that evokes the most reaction is Israel. Globally it stirs a love/hate relationship dependant on ones’ view. The State’s founding was inspired of aberrant Restorationist teaching calling for the return of the Jews to Palestine, which has resulted in nothing but division and bloodshed. Both Israel and Judah were expelled from the land at the express intention of God, and Israel was to be no more in remembrance by men. (Deut 32:26; 2Kings 17:23; Hos 8:8; Jer 31:36) But now, against the resolute instruction of God, we see a state and a people bearing this name.
Apart from the minority Sephardic Jews, and a handful that returned from Babylon and eastern parts during the Christian era, the Jews of today are a people by adoption. The Ashkenazi Jews are the descendants of a Turco-Fin people pushed into Eastern Europe by the tribes of the Steppes. They took on the Talmud and Torah in the 8th century, and then clothed themselves in Israelite names. The true descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were taken captive by the Assyrians 600 years before Jesus walked this earth, and then later scattered throughout the world with no idea of their past or heritage. (2Kings 18:13; Jas 1:1; 2Es 13:39-44)
As Jesus said to the Jews and Pharisees “… if ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. And, that abiding work is to believe in Him whom He has sent…” (John 6:29)
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you, and open His truth in your heart.