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“Is
Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah?” If He is the
Messiah, this has the most profound implications
for each individual, and also for the entire human
race. To answer that question, first we need to
answer some preliminary questions: Is there a
God who sent the Messiah? How can we know anything
authoritative about God and the Messiah?
IS
THERE A GOD WHO SENT THE MESSIAH?
The
Argument From Intelligent Design
Creation
declares that there is compelling evidence that
God exists: The heavens are telling of the
glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the
work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge (Psalm
19:1-2). That which is known about God is
evident within them; for God made it evident to
them. For since the creation of the world His
invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine
nature, have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made, so that they are without
excuse (Romans 1:19-20).
There
is no excuse for ignorance about God because there
is sufficient evidence all around us. Just as
we infer an intelligent designer for any product
in which we discern evidence of purposeful adaption
to some end, so too the universe is full of purposeful
design, order and regularity in the "laws
of nature" that operate by precise mathematical
formulas, which tells us that there is an intelligent
Designer.
If you
were walking on a path through a forest and saw
a beautiful watch on the path that was in working
order and keeping accurate time, would you assume
that it came together over millions of years by
chance processes? Since the watch gives evidence
of intelligent design, you would correctly assume
that a watchmaker purposely made it. If a visitor
from outside the universe visited Earth, he would
likewise correctly assume that there was a Creator.
Since the universe is more complex than anything
made by man, it must have a Designer who is greater
than man.
Kerby
Anderson, the President of Probe Ministries, writes
in a recent letter: There are “new advances
in the area of intelligent design. Astronomers
are discovering that we have a ‘just right’
universe. The discoveries remind me of the story
of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. One chair was
too big, one was too small, and one was ‘just
right.’ Scientists have begun to uncover
evidence that the universe is ‘just right.’
They have found 29 fine-tuned parameters to the
universe which are ‘just right.’ These
would include such things as the constants in
equations for gravity, electromagnetism, strong
and weak nuclear forces, and even the ratio of
proton to electron mass. If any of these parameters
were just a little off, the universe as we know
it wouldn’t exist!
They have
also discovered another 51 fine-tuned parameters
for our galaxy, solar system, and planet. These
would include: the distance from the sun, the
size, temperature, and type of the sun, the Earth’s
size, axial tilt, rotation speed and moon. They
have even discovered the importance of planets
like Jupiter and Saturn in our solar system. Of
course, the probability of all these parameters
coming together by chance is astronomical. Scientists
calculating these probabilities are coming to
the stark conclusion that the presence of any
life in the universe is a highly improbable event.
Scientists
are also making similar discoveries in the area
of biology. Much of this has been documented in
a book by Michael Behe entitled Darwin’s
Black Box. Michael Behe (who is a biochemistry
professor at Lehigh University) introduced the
concept of ‘irreducible complexity.’
He says that something is irreducibly complex
if it is composed of two or more necessary parts.
If you remove one part, function is not just impaired
but destroyed. The example Behe uses is the mousetrap.
A mousetrap is irreducibly complex. It consists
of a hammer, catch, spring, platform and holding
bar. Remove one part of the mousetrap and it no
longer functions. Thus, a mousetrap cannot be
formed through natural selection.
In The
Origin of Species, Charles Darwin said, ‘If
it could be demonstrated that any complex organ
existed, which could not possibly have been formed
by numerous, successive, slight modifications,
my theory would absolutely break down. But I can
find no such case.’ Michael Behe believes
he has found many such cases. He has identified
approximately 1000 molecular motors within a cell
which are like his mousetrap illustration. They
are irreducibly complex and present a significant
challenge to the theory of evolution. Behe argues
that in Darwin’s day, the cell was a mysterious
black box. But the last forty years of research
in molecular and cell biology have opened that
box. Example after example of complex molecular
machines have been discovered that invalidate
the theory of natural selection as a mechanism
for the evolution of life.”
For a
donation of any size, Probe Ministries is willing
to send a CD of a presentation by Dr. Ray Bohlin
on the Intelligent Design movement. The CD contains
an audio presentation and his PowerPoint slides.
Contact Probe Ministries, 1900 Firman Drive, Suite
100, Richardson TX 75081; phone number 972-480-0204;
www.probe.org.
The
Argument From Morality, Conscience, And Belief
In God
Human
beings are inherently moral. I don’t mean
that human beings are inherently good, but rather
that human beings intuitively have an idea of
what is good or right that seems to be independent
of us. We live in a moral universe. If we violate
these laws or morality we suffer. Where did this
sense of right and wrong come from? Only from
the values learned from the societies in which
we live? Also, there is a universal belief in
God or gods in every society among mankind. Even
after seventy years of atheistic communism belief
in God in the former Soviet Union couldn't be
stamped out.
Where
does this intuitive knowledge of God come from?
Where does man's conscience come from? Isn't it
logical to think that there is a Supreme Being
who is moral, who created this moral order, and
gave us conscience and an intuitive awareness
of Himself? Rabbi Paul asserts: When the Gentiles
who do not have the Torah, do instinctively the
things of the Torah, these, not having the Torah,
are a Torah to themselves, in that they show the
work of the Torah written in their hearts, their
conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts
alternatively accusing them or else defending
them (Romans 2:14-15).
The
Argument From Existence And Personality
The universe
exists. It is not personal: it has no mind, will,
nor emotion. Either the universe always existed,
or it had a beginning. The discoveries of modern
science are indicating that the universe isn't
eternal, but in fact had a point of beginning.
Either we believe that an impersonal, non-intelligent
universe always existed, or it created itself
out of nothing (which is logically inconsistent,
since by definition it’s impossible for
anything to create itself out of nothing, since
nothing can’t produce something), or a personal
God created the universe. Since there is mind,
will, emotion and personality in the universe,
in the form of human beings, doesn’t it
make more sense that “in the beginning
God created the Heavens and the Earth?”
Pascal's
Wager
Being
an atheist is logically inconsistent. How could
a human being ever know with 100 percent certainty
that there was no God? What if God was beyond
the universe and chose not to reveal Himself?
One would have to be knowledgeable about the entire
universe and beyond it to have any credibility
when making such a claim. It is “the fool
who has said in his heart, ‘There is no
God.’” The fool may have a Ph.D.,
but if he denies the existence of God, when there
is so much evidence for His existence, knowing
that human beings have such limited knowledge
of the universe, and with so much to lose if he
is wrong, he is displaying ultimate stupidity.
Pascal reasoned that we should treat the issue
of the existence of God like we would betting
on a game. When the odds that God exists or does
not exist are even, then the smart man will gamble
that God exists. This is a bet that all men must
make - the game is in progress and a bet must
be laid. Since the odds are even, reason is not
violated by either choice. Since there are reasons
for both choices, reason cannot determine which
bet to make. Therefore the choice should be made
pragmatically, based in terms of maximizing one's
happiness. If one wagers that God exists and He
does, then one has gained eternal life and infinite
happiness. If He does not exist, you have lost
nothing. On the other hand, if one wagers that
God does not exist and He does in fact exist,
then you have suffered infinite loss. If He does
not exist, then you have gained nothing. Therefore
the only prudent choice is to believe that God
exists, and start searching for Him. Therefore
the intelligent, wise, rational individual is
open to the possibility that God exists, and begin
to seek for Him. God promised the Jewish people,
“you will seek Me and find Me, when
you search for Me with all your heart”
(Jeremiah 29:13).
THE
BIBLE IS THE AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE OF INFORMATION
ABOUT THE MESSIAH
The Tenach
[composed of the Torah, N’vee-eem (Prophets)
and the K’tuveem (Writings)] tells us who
the Messiah is. In ancient Israel, prophets, priests
and kings were anointed with oil as a symbol of
being qualified to assume their office. The Messiah
is the Anointed One, the ultimate prophet, priest
and king that God promised to send, who would
rule over us with justice and righteousness, bringing
peace and restoration to Israel, the nations,
and even nature itself. The Brit Chadasha (the
New Testament Scriptures) reveal that Yeshua is
in fact the Messiah.
HOW
DO WE KNOW THAT THE BIBLE IS TRUE?
 |
It’s
one of the few books that makes the claim
to be the Word of God. The phrases, “Thus
says the Lord,” or “the Word
of the Lord” are used hundreds of
times. It claims to be the uniquely inspired
communication from our Creator to us: All
Scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy
3:16). |
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The amazing unity of the Bible: it is
unique. It was written by forty authors
from different backgrounds over 1500 years
and yet reads like it was written by one
author.
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People have heard that the text of the
Bible has been corrupted over the centuries,
but the Hebrew Scriptures have been meticulously
transmitted, as the Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrate.
Thousands of New Testament documents,
some of them written very early, in the
First and Second Centuries, show that
the text of the Bible has not been corrupted,
but have been faithfully transmitted.
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Recent discoveries demonstrate that the
Scriptures are accurate historically.
Great archeologists believe that the Bible
is historically accurate. “William
Albright, who was the world’s foremost
biblical archeologist, writes: “We
can already say emphatically that there
is no longer any solid basis for dating
any book of the New Testament after about
80 A.D.” (From More Than A Carpenter,
pages 42-43). “William Ramsay is
regarded as one of the greatest archeologists
ever to have lived. Although initially
skeptical about the accuracy of the Book
of Acts, after some research he became
aware of the meticulous accuracy of its
historical details, and his attitude changed.
He concluded that ‘Luke is a historian
of the first rank... this author should
be placed along with the very greatest
of historians’” (From More
Than A Carpenter, pages 43-44).
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The Bible reflects accurate scientific
knowledge of the universe. “Some
examples: the Earth is round (Isaiah 40:22);
the Earth is suspended in space without
support (Job 26:7); the stars are countless
(Genesis 15:15); the water cycle, sea
currents (Psalm 8:8); living things reproduce
after their kind; many insights into health,
hygiene, diet, physiology (such as the
importance of blood, e.g., Leviticus 17:11,
the eighth day after birth being high
in blood coagulant); the first and second
laws of thermodynamics (Isaiah 51:6).”
From page 18 of The Revised and Expanded
Answers Book, edited by Don Batten,
Master Books, 1990.
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The
Bible describes reality better than any
other philosophy or religion or worldview:
It tells us why the universe
has laws, design, order, complexity, simplicity,
elegance, and beauty: because there is a
Great Designer. It tells us why there is
beauty, love, wisdom, justice, truth and
personality: these are not the results of
chance processes, and random activity, but
they come from God who has these attributes.
It tells us why there is evil, suffering,
death, injustice in the world: it’s
due to mankind’s sin and resultant
alienation from God.
It tells us that life is
ultimately meaningful, full of purpose and
eternal significance. Our lives are not
the result of the chance coalition of impersonal
atoms that ultimately mean nothing. But,
someone observed that if a person believes
that the universe comes from a Big Bang,
which took place some 20 billion years ago,
and that we are the result of billions of
years of time and chance; that we evolved
from an amino acid primordial soup, then
we amazingly grew into a simple cell which
learned how to reproduce itself; then we
developed into a bacteria, or a one-celled
animal, then a slug or a fish, then an amphibian,
then a lizard, then a small mammal-like
rodent, then we further evolved into monkeys
and ape-like men, and then finally into
Homo-sapiens (which means "wise man"
- which is an ironic name for anyone who
believes you can go “from goo to you
by means of the zoo!”);
if a person believes that
this universe will continue for billions
of years, and then experience either a gradual
heat death, ultimate entropy, so that there
is no activity, or that the universe will
start contracting, and all the galaxies
will begin to reverse themselves, and everything
will return to its beginning point - one
singularity, where perhaps it will form
another Big-Bang; if a person believes he
is ultimately nothing more than glorified
slime mold, an advanced sea slug, a meaningless
bit of temporary matter, and that when we
die we die, because there is no after-life,
no God, and therefore no moral or spiritual
absolutes, no “thou shalt nots,”
no Day of Judgment when each human being
will give an account of his actions to His
Creator, a person will do and justify almost
anything, and his life will ultimately be
meaningless. With a worldview like this,
no wonder there are so much unhappiness,
despair, so many suicides, so much mental
illness, and growing drug abuse and alcoholism. |
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The
Bible has affected the world more than any
other book ever written. It's the most widely
published book ever written. It speaks authoritatively
on morals, law, politics, literature, art
and science. |
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The
Bible is unique in its ability to tell the
future. The Koran doesn't predict the future,
and as far as I know, the Hindu or the Buddhist
books don't. The Bible is the only religious
book that accurately predicts the future,
years, centuries and even millennia, in
advance. In fact God claims, I am Adonai
(the Lord), that is my Name; I will not
give My glory to another nor my praise to
graven images. Behold the former things
have come to pass, now I declare new things;
before they spring forth I proclaim them
to you (Isaiah 42:8-9, see also Isaiah
44:6-8). The Lord claims to tell us the
future ahead of time for the express purpose
of demonstrating that He is the true God,
so that we will believe in Him. The Bible’s
ability to predict future events lets us
know that God, who is not limited by time,
was in communication with Israel’s
prophets, with Yeshua and His Emissaries. |
FULFILLED
PROPHECY ABOUT ISRAEL
|
God
created the Jewish people for a special
reason. For you are a holy people to
the Lord your God; the Lord your God has
chosen you to be a people for His own possession
out of all the people who are on the face
of the Earth (Deuteronomy 7:6). The
Jewish people were chosen to know the one
true and living God, so that we would be
His witnesses to a world that had fallen
away from the living God, so that the nations
might be restored to a right relationship
with God. You are My witnesses, declares
Adonai (the Lord) and My servant whom I
have chosen, in order that you may know
and believe Me, and understand that I am
He. Before Me there was no God formed, and
there will be none after Me. I, even I am
the Lord; and there is no savior beside
Me (Isaiah 43:10-11). From Israel came
the Torah and the Prophets, Moses and the
Ten Commandments, the Emissaries (Apostles)
and the New Testament, and the greatest
blessing and revelation of all - Messiah
Yeshua, the Son of God and the Savior of
the world. |
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Along with our chosen peoplehood came
a chosen Land, the Land of Israel, which
happens to be centrally and strategically
located in the middle of Africa, Asia
and Europe. But due to our lack of faithfulness,
the Jewish people would be exiled from
the Land of Israel. Life in the Diaspora
among the nations would be very difficult
and precarious, but we would survive (Deuteronomy
28:15-68, Leviticus 26:31-45). Moses predicted
that both a time of obedience and blessing
would come upon the Jewish people, and
then a period of disobedience and exile
- the last 2000 years. Then, spiritual
restoration to God and physical restoration
to the Land of Israel would follow (see
Deuteronomy 30:1-5).
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Just before the Messiah's return, the
Jewish people would be regathered from
all the nations and established in our
ancient land (Psalm 69:35-36, Isaiah 11:11-12,
Isaiah 43:1-8, Isaiah 49:8-13, Jeremiah
31:10-11, Zechariah 10:6-12, Ezekiel 36:24-32,
Ezekiel 37:21-22).
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The prophetic
Word of God foretold that our return to
our ancient homeland would provoke a reaction
from Israel's surrounding neighbors. They
would claim that the Land of Israel belong
to them, and seek to drive the Jews into
the Sea (see Ezekiel 36:1-12). This would
cause Israel to be a difficult situation
for the surrounding nations, a “cup
that causes reeling” and a “heavy
stone.” The conflict will be internationalized
and an army made up of a coalition of
united nations will invade Israel, but
the invading army will be destroyed (see
Zechariah 12:1-10).
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Israel's
cities would be rebuilt and the land would
experience an agricultural miracle (Isaiah
27:6, 41:18-20; Amos 9:13-15; Ezekiel 36:8-15,
24-28, 33-38) The desert would rejoice and
blossom as a rose (Isaiah 35:1-2). The Earth
will be transformed into a new Garden of
Eden (Isaiah 11:6-10). |
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All
nations will worship the God of Israel in
the renewed city of Jerusalem, where Messiah
Yeshua will be ruling with peace and justice
(Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 11:1-9) Zechariah
8:2-3, 14:16). |
WHY
PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE
|
They’ve
been told that the theory of evolution is
fact, and that the Earth is billions of
years old, while the Bible tells us that
God created the universe and the Earth relatively
recently, only some 6,000 to 10,000 years
ago. |
Evidences
For A Young Universe
|
The
Influx of minerals and elements into the
oceans. We have a good idea of how much
minerals and elements flow into the world’s
oceans each year. If the oceans were 2 billion
years old, they should have been saturated
with salt and other minerals long ago. Of
course, they are not!
Chemical
Element |
Years to
Accumulate in the Oceans from River
Inflow |
| Silicon |
8,000 |
| Copper |
50,000 |
| Gold |
560,000 |
| Mercury |
42,000 |
| Nickel |
18,000 |
| Lead |
2,000 |
|
|
Accumulation
of bottom sediments on the oceans yields
a maximum of 30 million years. |
|
The
Decay of the Earth’s Magnetic Field:
the strength of the magnetic field has been
carefully measured for 135 years, and its
strength has been decaying exponentially
with a most probable half-life of 1400 years.
Only 7000 years ago, it would have been
32 times as strong, which is about the maximum
possible for life as we know it to exist
on Earth. See Scientific Creationism,
pages 131 to 170, for the above. |
|
The
Shrinking Sun: Recent measurements indicate
that the size of the Sun is shrinking. At
the present rate of shrinkage, one million
years ago the Sun’s size would have
been so large the radiation coming from
it would have made life on Earth impossible.
See The Evidence for Creation,
pages 24-45. |
|
Erosion of the
Continents: given the present rate of
erosion, the continents could be completely
eroded to sea level within 14 million
years, less than one-half of one percent
proposed by the theory of evolution. See
The Evidence for Creation, pages
24-45.
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Oil
and Gas Deposits: there is extremely high
pressure associated with oil and gas deposits
beneath the Earth’s surface. Many
of these deposits are surrounded by porous
material that would allow the dissipation
of the pressures over millions of years.
See The Evidence for Creation,
pages 24-45. |
|
The
Mississippi River Delta: Approximately 300
million cubic yards of sediment are deposited
into the Gulf of Mexico each year. By carefully
studying the volume and rate of accumulation
of the Mississippi River Delta, the age
of the Delta is no more than 4,000 years
old. From The Collapse of Evolution,
by Scott Huse, Baker Books, 1983, page 40. |
|
The
Rotation of the Earth: the rotation of the
Earth is gradually slowing due to the gravitational
drag of the sun, moon and other factors.
If the Earth is billions of years old, and
it has been slowing down uniformly, then
its present rotation should be zero. From
The Collapse of Evolution, by Scott
Huse, Baker Books, 1983, page 41. |
Evidences
For A Worldwide Flood
The Bible
tells us that there was a worldwide flood some
5000 years ago that dramatically changed the Earth’s
climate and geography. There are flood stories
in dozens of cultures, from all over the world.
Of course, the Bible’s version is the accurate
one. Sedimentary rock covers most of the Earth,
with billions of fossils in that sedimentary rock
all over the Earth, indicating a sudden death
by drowning and rapid burial on a world-wide basis.
Coal and oil deposits, sometimes several miles
under sedimentary rock, indicate that huge amounts
of animal life, marine life and vegetable matter
were rapidly buried.
Arguments
Against Evolution
|
There
should be millions of intermediate changes
in animals, but they are never found. Specimens
are found fully developed, not in transitional
form. |
|
Dating
methods use circular reasoning or may start
with assumptions that may not be true (like
Carbon 14 dating, Potassium-Argon and Uranium-Lead
methods - see Scientific Creationism,
pages 131-149). For example, how old is
a particular rock layer? Supposedly, we
can tell by certain key fossils. And how
do we tell how old certain fossils are?
By where they appear in certain rock layers!
It’s circular reasoning. |
|
Evolution
goes against the First and Second Laws of
Thermodynamics: “The First Law of
Thermodynamics is also known as the Law
of Energy Conservation. It states that energy
can be changed from one form to another,
but it can neither be created nor destroyed.
There
is absolutely nothing in the present economy
of natural law that could possibly account
for its own origin. The scientific fact
is in direct conflict with the basic concept
of naturalistic, innovative evolution. The
present structure of the universe is one
of conservation, no innovation as required
by the theory of evolution.”
“The
Second Law of Thermodynamics is known as
the Law of Energy Decay. Every system if
left to its own devices tends to move from
order to disorder. In other words, the universe
is proceeding in a downward, degenerating
direction of decreasing organization...
Given enough time, all of the energy of
the universe will have died what is commonly
referred to as a heat-death... Evolution
required billions of years of constant violations
of the Second Law of Thermodynamics if it
is to be considered even remotely feasible!
Those who believe in the Bible understand
the Second Law of Thermodynamics to be a
result of the curse placed on creation due
to the Fall of man (see Genesis 3:17-19).
We also believe that creation will ultimately
be released from this bondage to decay and
corruption (see Romans 8:18-23).”
From The Collapse of Evolution,
by Scott Huse, Baker Books, 1983, pages
75-78. |
|
Neither
“Natural Selection” nor “Mutations”
add any genetic information to an organism.
Mutations merely mix up or diminish the
usefulness of the information that already
exists in the DNA. |
|
We
don’t see any species evolving. We
see the extinction of many species, which
is what we would expect from a world that
is fallen, and operating by the law of entropy.
We don’t see evolution taking place,
merely adaptation. Darwin’s finches
probably came from one original pair. Over
time they adapted to different environments,
and a number of sub-species developed, each
subspecies ending up with less generic information
than the originators. The same holds true
with dogs. Starting with one pair rich in
genetic material, small breeds, like the
Jack Russell Terrier that I have, or large
breeds, like Great Danes, can come. Each
is still a dog, but it has less genetic
information that its originators. |
|
There
are thousands of reputable scientists who
believe in it, including the founders of
most of the branches of science! (see Men
of Science, Men of God), Henry Morris,
Master Books, 1982. |
|
The Bible records
that miracles are real but rare: they
happened only a few times in history:
at the time of Creation, the Fall when
the Earth was cursed, at the Flood, during
the Exodus, during the times of Elijah
and Elisha, and during the time of Yeshua.
Miracles are treated circumspectly. Miracles
are consistent with a God who can make
the universe out of nothing.
If a miracle took
place, how would you know if you weren’t
there to witness it? And say were an eyewitness
to a miracle? How would you prove it?
What would happen if you were taking a
philosophy course with 25 other students,
and suddenly, a giant, seven-foot chicken
appeared out of thin air, and flapped
its giant wings, and the professor rose
from the ground, and floated in the air
for a minute? Then the giant chicken flapped
its wings again, and the professor descended
back to the floor, and the giant seven
foot chicken disappeared. What evidence
would remain? How would anyone know 20
years from now? The only way to transmit
this kind of information would be by means
of eyewitness testimony. The Bible gives
us reliable, eyewitness testimony about
miracles.
|
|
They
have been told that “you can’t
prove it scientifically.” But we prove
historical events differently from repeatable,
controlled and verifiable experiments in
a laboratory. We must use legal-historical
proofs to show that events in history took
place. How do we know Napoleon was defeated
at Waterloo? That Julius Caesar invaded
Britain? That Columbus discovered America?
A verdict is reached on the basis of the
weight of the evidence, based on testimony
and exhibits, so that the conclusions drawn
are beyond a reasonable doubt. |
|
Indications
that the universe is not purely mechanistic
and material: It is subtle and complex,
almost miraculous! For example, this podium
looks solid, dull, inactive, but the reality
is that it is an absolutely amazing thing!
It is composed of trillions upon trillions
of atoms, and each atom is composed of protons,
neutrons and electrons, themselves composed
of many sub-atomic particles. Electrons
are particles with a negative electric charge
that are whizzing around the positively
charged core at a fantastic speed. If we
could slow down these electrons, and take
out all the space between the electrons
and the core of neutrons and protons, the
atom would be much so much smaller, probably
less than the size of a pin head! What is
the matter that makes up the universe? It
is basically energy moving close to the
speed of light. Matter seems to me to be
more like “thought with power.”
Isn’t that more in keeping with a
dynamic, supernatural worldview, a worldview
that acknowledges “and God said...
and there was,” rather than a mechanistic,
materialistic, anti-supernatural one? |
|
One
reason why most people don’t believe
the Bible is because everyone who does
evil hates the Light, and does not come
to the Light for fear that his deeds will
be exposed. Most human beings prefer
to continue doing what is wrong, because
changing can be painful. It’s like
the man who has been held in complete darkness
for a long time, and suddenly comes out
into a bright, sunny day, and his eyes hurt.
Coming
to the Light means exposure, and most people
dislike being exposed. Coming to the Light
means admitting that you have been involved
in darkness. It means exposing your bad
attitudes, wrong practices, false beliefs,
that many of the things you have been doing,
and the attitudes that you have maintained,
and the beliefs you have held, and the practices
you have been engaged in doing, are wrong.
That’s painful, and most humans beings
won’t do it. Most human beings hate
the Light. The truth is too good, too demanding
to live up to. It’s more comfortable,
more soothing to self, more convenient,
and easier on their pride, to avoid the
Light.
Not
only do most hate the Light, but sadly,
they love the darkness. They want to continue
doing what they are doing, when they are
doing, how they are doing it, with whom
and to whom they are doing it. They dislike
the Bible’s restrictions. Its morality
limits what they can do. They dislike its
message, that God is in control, that He
sets our moral and ethical standards, and
one day He will call them to account, and
judge if they have measured up to His standards.
But fallen human nature likes to call the
shots, to be in control, bow to no one,
to be master of their destiny, to do it
their way, to be as God.
We
reject the Bible because we have an anti-God
bias deep within us. After Adam and Eve
sinned, and God appeared in the Garden of
Eden, they ran away from God, and hid in
the trees. Our natural orientation is to
avoid God. We are uncomfortable approaching
God. He makes us aware of our failings.
He confronts us with our unwillingness or
inability to live by His standards. |
WHY
DO WE NEED THE MESSIAH?
We are
fallen, sinful, alienated from God, who is Ha
Makor, the Source of life, joy, peace, being,
existence and meaning. Since we are alienated
from God, who is the Source, we are also alienated
from life (we will die), from ourselves (unhappiness,
mental, emotional illnesses, despair, suicide,
depression, drug and alcohol abuse), from each
other (crimes, injustice, inhumanity, wars, genocide)
from nature (destruction of the environment).
We may
sense this alienation but not know the reason
for it. The Holy Scriptures give us the reason.
Very early in human history, our first parents
rebelled against God, and sin and death took control
of humanity. Instead of drawing nearer to God,
Adam and Eve ran away from HaMakor - the Source
of blessing, happiness and life. The entire world
was cursed, along with all mankind; Adam and Eve
were exiled from the Garden of Eden, and forbidden
to eat from the Tree of Life. The whole world
remains dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians
2:1). The whole world is perishing, decaying and
headed for destruction like a rotten piece of
fruit (John 3:16). Only by having faith in Yeshua
are we reconciled to God, and restored to true
life.
HOW
DO WE KNOW THAT YESHUA IS THE MESSIAH?
There
are six main lines of evidence: Messianic Prophecies,
Yeshua’s Miracles, Yeshua’s Prophecies,
Other Evidences, Yeshua’s Resurrection From
Death, and Yeshua’s Impact On The World.
Messianic
Prophecies
The amazing
Messianic prophecies that are found in the Tenach
and fulfilled in the New Testament Scriptures
demonstrate that the Bible is a supernatural book
inspired by God, and that Yeshua is the Messiah.
|
Messiah
was to be born in Bethlehem and yet originate
from the days of eternity (Micah 5:1-2).
Yeshua was born in Bethlehem. See Matthew
2:1-6, Luke 2:1-20. |
|
Messiah
had to be a Jewish man, from the tribe of
Judah, and from the family of King David
(Isaiah 9:7, 11:1-9, Jeremiah 23:5-6). Yeshua
was! See Matthew 1:1-17. |
|
Messiah
was to come before 70 AD (Daniel 9:24-27).
Yeshua did. See Luke 1:5, 2:1-7. |
|
Messiah
was to enter Jerusalem triumphantly, yet
humbly on a donkey, (Zechariah 9:9). Yeshua
did. See Matthew 21:1-9, John 12:12-16. |
|
Messiah
was to be initially rejected by the majority
of Israel, especially the leaders (Isaiah
53:1-3, Psalm 118:22). Yeshua was. See John
1:11, 12:37-43, Acts 4:1-12. The fact that
the majority of Jewish people don't believe
in Him is a strong point for the fact that
He is the Messiah! |
|
Messiah
was to be tried and condemned even though
He was innocent (Isaiah 53:8). Yeshua was.
See Matthew 27:1-2, Luke 23:1-25. |
|
Messiah
was to be silent before His accusers (Isaiah
53:7). Yeshua was. See Matthew 27:12-14,
Mark 15:3-4, Luke 23:8-10. |
|
Messiah
was to be beaten and spit upon (Micah 5:1-2,
Isaiah 50:6). Yeshua was. See Matthew 26:67,
Mark 27:30, Mark 14:65. |
|
Messiah
was to be mocked and taunted (Psalm 22:7-8).
Yeshua was. See Matthew 27:39-43, Luke 23:11,
35-36. |
|
Lots
would be cast for Messiah's garments (Psalm
22:18). They were. See Matthew 27:35, Mark
15:24. |
|
Messiah
was to be pierced (Zechariah 12:10). Yeshua
was. See John 19:18, 34-37. |
|
Messiah
was to die by crucifixion (Psalm 22:14-17).
Yeshua was. See Matthew 27:31, Mark 15:20,
25. |
|
Messiah
was to wrongly suffer with transgressors
yet pray for His enemies (Isaiah 53:12).
Yeshua did. See Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27. |
|
Messiah
was to die as an offering for sin (Isaiah
53:5-6, 8, 10-12, Daniel 9:24-27, Zechariah
9:9, 12:10, Psalm 16:10, 22). See John 1:29,
11:49-52, 1 Corinthians 15:53. |
|
Messiah
was to be raised from the dead (Isaiah 53:12,
Zechariah 12:10, Daniel 9:24-27, Psalm 16:10,
Psalm 22, Psalm 118:22-23). Yeshua was!
See Matthew 28:1-10, Acts 2:22-32. |
|
Messiah
was to be God born into humanity (Isaiah
9:6-7, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Psalm 110:1, Proverbs
30:4). Yeshua was and is! See John 1:1,
20:28, Hebrews 1:8. |
|
The
Messiah was going to have a world-wide impact
on the Gentile nations (Isaiah 49:6). Yeshua
has! "Jesus has become the most popular,
the most studied, the most influential figure
in the religious history of mankind... No
sensible Jew can be indifferent to the fact
that a Jew should have had such a tremendous
part in the religious education and direction
of the human race.... Who can compute all
that Jesus has meant to humanity? The love
he has inspired, the solace he has given,
the good he has engendered, the hope and
joy he has kindled - all that is unequaled
in human history... Rabbi Hyman Enelow,
past president of the Central Conference
of American Rabbis |
The probabilities
that any one human being could fulfill all these
are infinitesimally small. Yeshua fulfilled these,
and many others, so He must be the Messiah that
God promised to send into this world!
YESHUA’S
MIRACLES
Few prophets
in Israel's long history ever performed miracles
- Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, and a few
others, but Yeshua's miracles exceeded them all.
He turned water into wine, walked on water, healed
the sick, cleansed lepers, brought sight to the
blind, hearing to the deaf, fed five thousand
men from a few loaves of bread and some fish,
stilled the winds and waves with just a word,
and raised the dead. This lets us know that Yeshua
is the Messiah sent by God.
YESHUA’S
PROPHECIES
|
Yeshua
predicted His own death, along with many
of its details and amazingly, His own resurrection
(John 2:19, 3:14, Matthew 20: 17-19). |
|
Yeshua
predicted that the Second Temple would be
destroyed to such an extent that not one
stone would be left on top of another (Matthew
24:1-2). When the troops of Roman General
Titus broke through the walls and destroyed
Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Temple was sacked,
and subsequently disassembled stone by stone.
The inside of the Temple had been with overlaid
with gold, and a fire in the Temple caused
the gold to melt. The Romans took every
stone apart to retrieve as much gold as
possible. Thus Yeshua's prophecy was fulfilled
concerning the destruction of the Temple,
even to the detail of every stone being
taken down. |
|
Yeshua
predicted due to our lack of belief that
He was the Messiah, and our rejection of
Him, Jerusalem would be destroyed, we would
be exiled among the nations, but eventually,
we would return to Israel (Luke 21:23-24).
This prophecy began in 70 AD when Jerusalem
was destroyed, and then again in 135 AD,
when the Jewish people revolted a second
time against the Roman empire. We were scattered
to the nations, and lost control of Jerusalem.
There were always some Jewish people who
remained in the land of Israel over the
past 2000 years, but starting in the 1880's,
this prophesied regathering of Jewish people
to Israel picked up speed. Now there is
a reborn nation of Israel, with Jerusalem
as its capital, with more than 4.5 million
Jewish people regathered from more than
70 countries, just as Yeshua predicted. |
|
Yeshua
predicted that His words would endure forever,
and that His movement would succeed despite
all opposition (Matthew 16:18, 24:35). |
OTHER
EVIDENCES
|
An
evidence that Yeshua is the Messiah comes
from the Talmud, in Yoma 39 A and B: “The
Talmud records that four ominous events
occurred approximately forty years before
the destruction of the Temple. Those four
events were to warn the rabbis of the Temple’s
impending doom. According to Jewish tradition,
all four of these signs came to pass.
The four signs were:
-
The lot for the Lord’s
goat did not come up in the right hand
of the High Priest.
-
The scarlet cord
tied to the door of the Temple on the
Day of Atonement stopped turning white
after the scapegoat had been cast over
the precipice.
-
The westernmost light
on the Temple candelabra would not burn.
-
The Temple doors
would open by themselves. The rabbis
saw this as an ominous fulfillment of
Zechariah 11:1, ‘Open your doors,
O Lebanon, that fire may devour your
cedars.’ The opening of the doors
to let in the consuming fire foretold
the destruction of the Temple itself
by fire.” (From pages 104-105
of The Fall Feasts of Israel, by Mitch
and Zhava Glaser, Moody Press, 1987.
|
|
The
New Testament records that at the moment
of Yeshua’s death, the huge, thick
veil in the Temple was torn from top to
bottom. There was also an eclipse, and an
earthquake (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke
23:44-45). |
EVIDENCES
FOR YESHUA’S RESURRECTION
Taken from
The Resurrection Factor by Josh McDowell
Preliminary
Observations
-
Yeshua’s Resurrection
forms the basis for the Messianic Faith: The
Resurrection of Yeshua is the central fact
which validates the rest of the New Testament.
There is no way to overemphasize its importance.
Messianic Judaism and Christianity stand or
fall with the Resurrection of Yeshua.
-
The Reliability of the
New Testament: Scholarly evidence exists in
abundance to document that the New Testament
can survive the most severe scrutiny by modern
archeology. There is better manuscript evidence
for the accuracy of the New Testament than
for any other ancient text. There are 24,000
New Testament manuscripts versus 700 manuscripts
for the Iliad.
-
The Possibility of the
Supernatural: Many have ruled out the Resurrection
on the basis of presuppositions. They presume
that miracles can't happen, which is not good
methodology.
-
The followers of Yeshua
were neither ignorant nor naive: They were
practical men raised in a tough environment
and knew the difference between fact and fable.
Israelis were schooled to believe in historical
events like the Exodus. Greeks believed in
myths.
-
The Scientific Method isn't
Applicable: It can't be used in investigating
the Resurrection because this method can only
be used to validate phenomena which can be
repeated in observable, testable fashion.
The same criteria must be applied when investigating
the Resurrection as are applied to any other
event in history. By those standards the case
for the Resurrection is extremely strong.
We investigate the Resurrection by the criteria
of history, not science.
-
The Testimony of History:
Dr. Simon Greenleaf, Professor of Law at Harvard,
wrote a book on called A Treatise on the Laws
of Evidence around 1842. He was one of the
greatest authorities on evidences in law.
That book is still considered to be an authoritative
book on evidences in law. Dr. Greenleaf was
a religious skeptic. He was challenged by
a student to use his knowledge of evidences
and apply it to the Resurrection of Yeshua.
Dr. Greenleaf did so, and He concluded that
the Resurrection of Yeshua is one of the best
established facts of ancient history, and
that there is more evidence for the historical
fact of Yeshua's resurrection than for almost
any other event in human history. Dr. Greenleaf
became a committed Christian.
The
Evidence That Yeshua Was Dead And That His Body
Was Secured From Theft And Tampering
- Yeshua's Trials: Yeshua underwent not one,
not two, but six trials between His Last Supper
and the Cross.
Trial # 1 Before Annas John 18:12-23
Trial # 2 Before Caiphas John 18:24-27, Matt
26:57
Trial # 3 Before Sanhedrin Matthew 27:1-2, 26:59
Trial # 4 Before Pilate Matthew 27:1-2, 11-14
Trial # 5 Before Herod Luke 23:4-12
Trial # 6 Before Pilate again Luke 23:11-25
Those involved in prosecuting Him at those trials
had heavily vested interests in making sure
that the execution was carried out successfully.
- The Manner of Yeshua's Death: He was so terribly
beaten that He couldn't carry His cross. It
involved blows, whipping, crucifixion. His legs
were not broken; it wasn't necessary. He was
pierced by a spear. Water and blood came out.
Death certified by centurion, a man who knew
about death (Mark 15:44-46).
- He was entombed in a solid rock tomb: There
were no panels, no way out.
- First century Jewish Burial Ritual: The body
was probably inspected to make sure the individual
was dead. In Yeshua's case it was then wrapped
in linen and 100 pounds of spices, probably
forming a cocoon-like encasement.
- The Stone at the Mouth of the Tomb: Burial
stones weigh commonly around two tons. That
will keep anyone in or out.
- The Roman Security Guard: 4 to 16 trained
soldiers. Four shifts, one on, three off (Matthew
28:11, "Some of guard"). The Tomb
was guarded continuously.
- The Roman Seal: Tomb sealed under official
authority of Rome to open it or allow it to
be opened was to defy Rome and resulted in automatic
death penalty. Seal was a type of authentication
that guaranteed the body inside was Yeshua.
The
Evidence That Something Unprecedented Happened
To The Body Of Yeshua
- The broken Roman seal: The feared power of
Rome was ignored by whoever broke open the seal
to the tomb.
- The large stone was moved: A two ton stone
was somehow moved away from the mouth of the
tomb under Roman guard.
- The Roman guard went AWOL: A disciplined
Roman guard fled their watch and had to be bribed
by the authorities to lie about what happened
- a lie so flimsy that they wouldn't have concocted
it themselves. They would have been killed for
sleeping on duty and allowing the disciples
to steal the body.
- The graveclothes: They were undisturbed,
but no longer contained a body.
- The empty tomb: Both Jews and Romans admitted
that the tomb was empty (Matthew 27:11-15).
Any theory must deal with this fact.
- The nature of His post-resurrection appearances:
Yeshua appeared to a wide variety of witnesses,
under widely varying conditions, in widely varying
numbers, under circumstances which belie the
accusation of mass hallucination. Miriam (John
20:11-18), to the other women (Matthew 28:8-10),
to Simon Peter (Luke 24:34), to the two on the
road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), to the Ten (Luke
24:36-43), to all Eleven 8 days later (John
20:24-29), to Seven by the Lake of the Galilee
(John 21:1-23), to five hundred at once (1 Corinthians
15:6), to Ya’akov (1 Corinthians 15:7),
and finally to Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-16).
- The fact that women saw Him first: due to
the low view of women's credibility (they weren't
allowed to be witnesses in Jewish courts of
law) it makes no sense to believe that the account
of women being the first to discover the empty
tomb was a contrivance.
Five
Theories Used Historically To Suggest The Tomb
Wasn't Empty
Any theory
which seeks to explain the empty tomb must take
into account all the known facts. The evidence
must not be forced into conforming to some preconceived
conclusion.
-
The Unknown Tomb: Yeshua’s
body was cast into some unknown pit by executioners.
The fact that the body's whereabouts were
unknown made room for the possibility of a
resurrection cult. Objections: this disregards
New Testament statements about Joseph's tomb,
the seal, and the guards. They knew where
the right tomb was.
-
The Wrong Tomb: The disciples
went to wrong tomb. Objections: the authorities
would have later found the right tomb. Disciples
found the right tomb with the grave clothes.
Roman guards knew which tomb was the right
one.
-
The Legend Theory: Stories
of Yeshua’s resurrection didn't crop
up until years later. Objections: Unbiased
scholars say that almost all of the New Testament
was written by 64 AD, just a short time after
the events took place, which was not enough
time for myths or legends to develop. Luke
mentions that he based his book on eyewitness
testimony. 1 Corinthians was written by Paul
around 56 AD, and mentions the Resurrection
and the fact that most of the 500 eyewitnesses
were still living.
-
Spiritual Resurrection:
Yeshua's resurrection was only spiritual -
His body decayed in grave. Objections: He
ate with them. There was nothing revolutionary
about a spiritual resurrection. Still left
with the fact of an empty tomb.
-
Hallucination theory: All
of Messiah's post resurrection appearances
were hallucinatory hoaxes. Objections: Only
certain kinds of people have hallucinations,
usually a paranoid or a schizophrenic. Hallucinations
very individualistic. But these were in public,
not private, different numbers, circumstances,
times, settings, personalities, to those not
expecting a resurrection. Still doesn't explain
the empty tomb.
Five
Theories Used To Explain An Empty Tomb Not Due
To Resurrection
-
Yeshua’s Body was
stolen by disciples: Objections: The tomb
was guarded by Roman soldiers: The disciples
would have to overcome these fighting forces.
It’s not likely that the Roman soldiers
would have been sleeping, since the death
penalty was the punishment. The disciples
were discouraged and in hiding. They were
in no mood to start fighting Romans soldiers,
defying Rome and Jerusalem. Why would grave
robbers unwrap the burial clothes and neatly
place them to the side? These men were not
known as men of deception, lies and hoaxes.
They were known instead for their sterling
character, not as body snatchers and liars.
What possible reward motivated this hoax?
What did the disciples have to gain by stealing
the body and preaching Yeshua's resurrection?
This wasn't some elaborate swindle that made
them all rich. All they got out of it was
persecution, prison, and death. They had no
earthly gain, and if they lied about Yeshua's
resurrection, they would have been advocating
a false Messiah, and could look forward to
God's punishment on the Day of Judgment.
-
Yeshua’s Body was
stolen by Roman or Jewish authorities: Objections:
It doesn't make sense to deny that Yeshua's
body was gone. If His body was still around,
when the disciples started claiming that Yeshua
was alive, the government officials and religious
authorities, who were hostile to Yeshua and
His disciples, would have produced the body
to show that Yeshua was still dead. But Yeshua's
body had completely disappeared, and they
were unable to produce His body.
-
The Swoon theory: After
His beatings, whipping, crucifixion, being
pierced by a spear, covered with grave clothes
and spices. Yeshua was 'revived" in a
cool tomb, pushed away a two ton stone, slipped
through a Roman guard, walked miles on bleeding,
mangled feet to convince His disciples he
had overcome death. That takes more faith
than believing in the Resurrection!
-
The Passover Plot: Yeshua
planned His fulfillment of a number of messianic
prophecies, and was drugged by an accomplice
on the cross. His plot went awry when stabbed
by the Roman soldier. Somehow some of the
women from His group and His disciples mistook
another man for Him and no one ever set them
straight.
-
The Koran suggests that
someone else was crucified, and that Yeshua
was taken up to Heaven without experiencing
death or resurrection.
Note: All of these theories ignore the New
Testament data that doesn't support their
thesis. They are theories built upon hypotheses
rather than on the evidence. When all is said
and done we are left with the fact of the
empty tomb.
Circumstantial
Evidence For The Factuality Of The Resurrection
-
The existence of the Messianic
Movement: If Yeshua wasn't resurrected, the
Messianic Movement never could have started
in Jerusalem. All the hostile authorities
would have had to do to crush the Messianic
Movement would have been to produce Yeshua's
body. The movement would have died an early
death in Jerusalem.
-
Transformed lives: Yeshua's
disciples were in no frame of mind to fabricate
his resurrection. Why would they? An immediate
resurrection wasn't part of the thinking of
first century Judaism. In fact they refused
to believe it when they first heard about
it! Only Yeshua's resurrection could have
transformed cowardly disciples and hostile
family members from a dispirited group into
a fearless band that were willing to give
up their lives and transformed the world.
Ya’akov (James), his brother who didn't
believe in Him, became the leader of the Jerusalem
congregation. Peter who denied Him three times,
shortly thereafter, became a fearless advocate.
Saul of Tarsus, the worst opponent of the
Messianic Jews, was transformed into the greatest
missionary that the world has ever seen. There
have been millions of people since that time
that have claimed to encounter the risen Yeshua
and have been transformed by Him.
The
Implications Of Yeshua’s Resurrection
Yeshua's
resurrection validates Yeshua, His actions, His
deeds, His words and His message. It is God's
seal of approval on everything that Yeshua did
and taught. It declares that He is Lord and Messiah.
It declares that He is God in the flesh, as He
claimed. This makes Yeshua absolutely unique in
the history of the world and puts him on a level
far higher than any of the prophets of Israel
or any other religion. It sets Messianic Judaism
and Christianity apart from all the other major
world religions. Buddha is still in his tomb.
Mohammed is still in his grave. Confucius is still
buried. Only Messiah Yeshua of all human being
has been raised from death and over come it. We
ought to listen very carefully to every word He
ever uttered, and trust what He said.
Messiah's
resurrection guarantees our resurrection, if we
join ourselves to Him by having faith, confidence
and trust in Him. Yeshua said to Martha, I
am the resurrection and the life; he who believes
in me shall live even if he dies, and everyone
who lives and believes in Me shall never die.
Do you believe this? (John 11:25-26) Do you?
When the resurrected Yeshua appeared to doubting
Thomas, Yeshua said to Thomas, reach here
your finger, and see My hands; and reach here
your hand, and put it into My side; and be not
unbelieving but believing. Thomas answered and
said to Yeshua, My Lord and my God. Yeshua said
to him, because you have seen me you have believed?
Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed.
(John 20:27-29). Do you believe?
IT’S
ALL OR NOTHING
By
David Feddes
Perhaps
the strongest evidence that Yeshua is the Messiah
is His resurrection from the dead. If Yeshua is
alive, you'd be a fool not to believe in Him.
And if He is dead, you'd be a fool to believe
in Him, no matter who you are. There's no in-between.
It's all or nothing.
The reality
of the situation is this: if the Resurrection
didn't happen, if Yeshua is dead and His body
has decayed and He is not alive now, then the
New Testament is a lie - its claims are not true
for you or me or for anyone else. If Yeshua never
came back to life, you can have all the feelings
and opinions you want, but they won't change the
fact that Yeshua is dead and that your faith is
worthless.
Christians
and Messianic Jews believe that God became a Man
in the person of a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth.
We believe that after this carpenter was tortured
and executed and buried, His dead body was raised
to life again by God's power. We believe that
certain women spoke with Him and even touched
Him after His resurrection, and that the risen
Messiah spoke with His disciples, and that He
broke bread with them and even ate broiled fish
with them. We believe that today, at this very
moment, Yeshua is physically present in Heaven
in His resurrection body, and that He will return
some day soon to Earth physically and visibly
to raise and transform the bodies of all who have
believed in Him, and loved His appearing. These
are all definite and physical claims, and they
all depend on whether or not His resurrection
actually happened.
As Paul
writes in 1 Corinthians 15, written around 56
AD: If Messiah has not been raised, then our
preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover
we are even found to be false witnesses of God,
because we testified against God that He raised
Messiah ... If Messiah has not been raised, your
faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
Then those also who have fallen asleep in Messiah
have perished. If we have hoped in Messiah in
this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
But now Messiah has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who are asleep (1
Corinthians 15:14-20).
We have
to consider several important points here. The
first is that if Messiah has not been raised,
then the foundation of Messianic Judaism and Christianity
is destroyed. If Messiah has not been raised,
then our preaching is vain, your faith also is
vain. If Messiah has not been raised, the
Emissaries are liars, and the New Testament is
worthless. The Emissaries would be false witnesses
about God, for they "testified about God
that He raised Messiah from the dead." And
if the Emissaries are liars, then the New Testament
is a web of lies, since it is the record of the
Emissaries' testimony.
If Yeshua
has not been raised, then the founder of Christianity
and Messianic Judaism, Messiah Himself, was either
a liar or somewhat of a lunatic. After all, Yeshua
claimed to be equal with God. He predicted that
He would die for the sins of His people and then
be raised again by the power of God. Obviously,
if Yeshua didn't overcome death, He was wrong
and wasn't Emmanuel (God with us), at all. In
that case, this man who claimed to be God was
either a deceiver or someone who wasn't in his
right mind. Either way, His message is not worth
listening to.
However,
if Yeshua has been raised, if He's alive right
now, then the situation is completely reversed:
the foundations of Christianity and Messianic
Judaism are firm and immovable. If Yeshua has
been raised, then He was and is exactly who He
claimed to be - the almighty Son of God, the Messiah
of Israel and the Savior of the world.
What's
more, His handpicked Emissaries who testified
as eyewitnesses to His resurrection are accurate
and inspired, and we should believe every word
they wrote under God's inspiration. If Yeshua
is alive, then the New Testament is rock solid
and reliable.
If the
Resurrection is real, it proves that Yeshua is
God, confirms that the Bible is true, and thus
firmly establishes the foundations of Messianic
Jewish and Christian belief. If Messiah has not
been raised, our faith is vain, empty and ultimately
worthless; but if He has been raised, our faith
rests on a foundation that cannot be destroyed.
It's all or nothing, and it all depends on the
Resurrection.
Rabbi
Paul then makes another point: if Messiah
has not been raised, your faith is worthless and
you are still in your sins. The New Testament
teaches that only by means of Yeshua’s death
and resurrection is true forgiveness and final
atonement possible. If Yeshua was not raised from
the dead, then God did not accept Yeshua's death
as a sufficient sacrifice to pay for the sins
of the world. If God didn't raise Yeshua, then
the death of that carpenter-turned-rabbi was just
another case of a man getting himself killed.
But if God did raise Yeshua, then He accepted
Yeshua's death as the perfect sacrifice and final
payment for sin. God's full and final atonement
then is applied to everyone who belongs to Yeshua.
But if Yeshua has not been raised, His death was
useless and we are still in our sins. It's all
or nothing and it all depends on the Resurrection.
Rabbi
Paul makes a related point: if Messiah has not
been raised, then Messianic Jews and Christians
have no future. Then those also who have fallen
asleep in Messiah have perished. If we have hoped
in Messiah in this life only, we are of all men
most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:18-19).
We believe that our bodies will be raised and
that we will live forever only because Messiah
arose again, overcame death, and makes it possible
for us to live forever. But if Messiah didn't
rise, then we won't rise. Once we die, we will
remain dead. If that's so, argues Paul, Messianic
Jews and Christians are the most self-deceived,
pathetic fools around.
On the
other hand, if Yeshua has been raised up and has
a glorified resurrection body, then those who
have gone to their graves trusting in Him will
also be raised to everlasting life. Death is not
the end of the story. Life has conquered death,
and the followers of Yeshua can look forward to
a glorious future. They will enjoy eternal life
and unending joy and pleasures and blessings that
last forever! So, we have either a bleak future
or a blessed one. Either we are the most pitiful
people on Earth, or we are rich beyond measure.
It's all or nothing, and it all depends on the
Resurrection.
Paul makes
another point about the significance of the Resurrection
in verse 32, where he says that without the Resurrection,
life has no final meaning or purpose except to
maximize our own pleasure and minimize our own
pain: If from human motives I fought with
wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me?
If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and
drink, for tomorrow we die." Why would
anyone stand up for his beliefs, even to the point
of being thrown to the lions, if death is the
end? If there's nothing beyond death, then it's
stupid to be a hero. Be a hedonist instead. Grab
all the gusto while you can. Have as much fun
as you can before you die. "Eat, drink, and
be merry, for tomorrow you die."
If death
is the end, then there's no ultimate meaning to
life. If death is the end, then there is no day
of Judgment; God will never punish you for your
sins, or reward you for your righteousness. If
death is all there is, you might as well live
by seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. If the
dead are not raised, then the saints are stupid
and the those who devote their lives to having
fun are smart. But if Messiah has been raised,
then death is not the end, and each of us must
stand before the judgment seat of Messiah. Selfishness
will be punished, and self-sacrifice will be rewarded.
Hedonism will turn out to be stupid, and heroism
will turn out to be smart. Rejecting Messiah will
prove to be Hell, and accepting Messiah will turn
out to be Heaven. So when you think about the
final meaning and purpose of your own life, you
have two basic choices: you should either live
it up and do whatever you like, or you should
devote your life to following Yeshua, loving God
and loving others as He commands, even if it means
making great sacrifices.
I think
you can see why we can't afford to be fuzzy in
our thinking when it comes to Yeshua's resurrection,
because so much depends on it. The foundations
of Messianic Judaism and true Christian teaching,
finding genuine atonement and peace with God,
our future destiny and the ultimate meaning of
life all depend on whether Yeshua was raised from
death. If He's dead, the only choice is to forget
Him. If He's alive, the only sensible choice is
to follow Him.
Once we
clearly understand what's at stake in this issue
of the Resurrection, the next thing to do is find
out whether it actually happened. What evidence
do we have? Are there any solid reasons for thinking
that Yeshua is alive? Is there any more reason
to believe that Yeshua lives than to believe that
Elvis lives? In answer to these questions, the
inspired Word of God encourages us to look at
the data, to consider the evidence, to weigh the
arguments.
One line
of argument is that the Resurrection fulfills
Scripture from the Tenach, the Hebrew Scriptures.
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Paul writes, I delivered
to you as of first importance what I also received,
that Messiah died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He
was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
When you read the Tenach, you will find prophecies
about the Messiah that came true in the life of
Yeshua. Is that just a coincidence? If all the
predictions about the Messiah seem to fit one
particular Person, then He almost has to be the
Messiah. And if He is, doesn't it make sense that
He would also fulfill the Scriptural predictions
about His resurrection?
Take just
one example, from Isaiah 53:8-9, written 700 years
before Yeshua came. He was cut off out of
the land of the living for the transgression of
my people. His grave was assigned with wicked
men, and He was with a rich man in His death...
Then in 53:11-12 it says, If He would render
Himself as an offering for sin, He will see His
seed, He will lengthen His days, and the good
pleasure of Adonai will succeed in His hand. As
a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see
it and be satisfied... Therefore, I will allot
Him a portion with the great, and He will divide
the booty with the strong; because He poured out
Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded
for the transgressors.
Other
prophecies about the Messiah’s death and
resurrection are found in Zechariah 12:10, Daniel
9:24-27, Psalm 16:10, Psalm 22 and Psalm 118:22-23.
Still, if prophecy had been the only proof, it's
unlikely that any of the early Messianic Jews
would have come to believe in the Resurrection.
As Yochanan - John puts it, “For as
yet they did not understand the Scripture that
Yeshua must rise again from the dead”
(John 20:9). Yochanan (John) tells us that what
first convinced him of the Resurrection was Yeshua's
empty tomb. This emissary who was loved by Yeshua
went into Yeshua’s tomb, and saw with his
own eyes that Yeshua’s body was gone. He
saw the linen wrappings and the face-cloth that
had been wrapped around Yeshua's head, but Yeshua
Himself was nowhere to be found. John saw that,
and he believed (John 20:3-8). But even the empty
tomb didn't really convince most of the disciples.
It was enough to convince John, but most of the
others were convinced only by an actual encounter
with the risen Messiah.
In 1 Corinthians
15:5-8 Paul mentions these encounters as a primary
reason for believing the Resurrection: Yeshua
appeared to Peter, then to the Twelve. After that
He appeared to more than five hundred brothers
at one time, most of whom remain until now, but
some have fallen asleep (died); then He appeared
to Ya'akov - James, then to all the Emissaries,
and last of all, as it were to one untimely born,
He appeared to me also.
According
to the biblical record, the risen Yeshua appeared
on quite a number of occasions. And these weren't
just mysterious visions or apparitions. No, Yeshua
actually spoke with His followers, and He broke
bread with them, and He ate fish with them. He
even allowed Thomas, the most skeptical of the
disciples, to touch His scars. When Yeshua appeared
to some women, they fell before Him and actually
held on to His feet and worshiped Him. On some
occasions, He even appeared to large groups of
people, some 500 at one time, who all saw and
heard Him at the same time. There was no way they
could all be dreaming or hallucinating together.
Now, if
you were part of a jury and you had the testimony
of hundreds of reliable, level-headed people who
all said they saw a certain person - and those
people were even willing to die rather than change
their story - wouldn't you believe them? Sir Edward
Clark, a British lawyer, wrote, "As a lawyer,
I have made a prolonged study of the evidences
for the events of the Messiah's resurrection.
To me the evidence is conclusive, and over and
over again in the High Court I have secured the
verdict on evidence not nearly so compelling."
Paul mentions
a final kind of evidence that is also very important:
the change that Yeshua makes in people's lives.
In 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 Paul points to himself
as a prime example: I am the least of the
Emissaries, who am not fit to be called an Emissary,
because I persecuted God's Messianic Community.
But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His
grace to me did not prove vain. Yeshua didn't
just appear to Paul; He transformed him. Paul
was once a self-righteous Jewish leader who helped
to imprison and kill the truly righteous Jews,
the Messianic Jews, but the living Messiah transformed
Paul into one of the greatest spiritual forces
who ever lived.
And Paul
wasn't the only one Yeshua changed. Simon Peter
had denied Yeshua, but after the Resurrection,
he became a courageous leader and teacher. Yeshua's
half-brother Ya’akov, James, along with
the rest of His relatives, had once thought that
Yeshua was out of His mind. But when Yeshua appeared
to His brothers after His resurrection, they believed
in Him, and they became completely different people.
Yeshua makes a difference whenever people put
their faith in Him.
That's
true throughout the history of the Messianic Jewish
movement and the Christian church, and it's still
true today. Physically Messiah has remained in
Heaven since His ascension, but by the written
testimony of His Emissaries and by the power of
His Spirit, Yeshua continues to convince people
that He is real, and He turns them around and
changes their lives. Millions of people from every
nation and racial background, young and old, rich
and poor, illiterates and geniuses have been transformed
by the Messiah. They have a dynamic, living, vital
relationship with Him that transforms them into
happier, better people.
When you
put the evidence together - the predictions from
the Tenach, the empty tomb, the hundreds of calm,
rational people who insisted they saw the risen
Messiah and even talked with Him and touched Him,
and the millions throughout history whose lives
have been changed by Him - it only makes sense
to believe in Yeshua’s resurrection. It
only makes sense to say with rabbi Paul, Messiah
has been raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20).
It also makes good sense to become a Messianic
Jew, or a Christian - to put your faith in Yeshua,
the risen Lord and the eternal Son of God.
This article
is slightly modified from the original article,
"All or Nothing" by David Feddes, and
is used by permission of The Back To God Hour
of the Christian Reformed Church in North America,
6555 West College Drive Palos Heights IL 60463.
All copyrights are retained by the Back to God
Hour.
YESHUA’S
IMPACT ON THE WORLD
Where
Yeshua’s true disciples have been numerous,
Yeshua’s influence has impacted their societies,
especially in the areas of human rights and political
freedom. Some examples are the anti-slavery and
abolitionist movements in the United States, and
social welfare movements, especially in England
in the 18th century.
The young
rabbi from Nazareth never wrote a book, and yet
the libraries in the world are full of books that
have been written about Him. As far as we know,
He never wrote a song, and yet more songs have
been written about Him than anyone else. He never
founded a college, yet all the schools put together
can't compare to the number of all His students.
He never led an army, and yet no leader ever had
more volunteers. He never studied psychology,
and yet He has healed more broken hearts than
all the psychiatrists and psychologists the world
has ever produced. He was born in an obscure village,
the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another
obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter
shop until He was thirty.
Then for
three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never
had a family or owned a home. He never traveled
more than two hundred miles from His birthplace.
He never wrote a book, or held an office. He did
none of the things that usually accompany greatness.
While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion
turned against Him. His friends deserted Him.
He was betrayed to His enemies, and went through
a mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross
between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners
gambled for the only piece of property He had
His coat. When He was dead, His body was taken
down and place in a borrowed grave. Twenty centuries
have come and gone, and today Yeshua is the central
figure for much of the human race. All the armies
that have ever marched, all the navies that have
ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever
sat and all the kings that have ever reigned have
not affected the lives of men as powerfully as
this "One Solitary Life."
We are
now in the year 2006, which means that 2,000 years
have passed since Yeshua came to Earth and clothed
Himself with humanity. Much of the world marks
time because of Yeshua’s impact on the world!
CONCLUSION
Human
beings are born into spiritual darkness. They
are confused and unaware of ultimate truth. It’s
like we are living in a cave, with just a little
light. Since that’s all we know, we think
that is all that there is to reality. We need
to be able to break through to the outside to
get a different perspective. Life will never be
fully successful, meaningful or understandable,
unless you start with God and His revelation.
If you begin with man and what you think is objective
reality, you will remain in the cave, in darkness.
While
it is impossible to prove that God exists, or
that Yeshua is the Messiah, or that the Bible
is true, there are plenty of data points on the
graph of reality that we can interpolate that
lead us to those conclusions. Please have an open
mind, and seek after truth. Don’t be one
of those who are “always learning but unable
to come to the truth.”
If you
are not a true Christian or a Messianic Jew, my
advice to you is seek, and you will find. Knock
on the doors of Heaven, and they will be opened.
Ask the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to reveal
the truth to you. You might want to pray the following
prayer: God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, please
reveal Yourself to me in a deeper way than I have
ever known You before. Please show me whether
or not the New Testament is true, and if Yeshua
really is the Messiah. Give me the courage to
follow Him if He is the Messiah, no matter what
the cost.
I strongly
recommend that you do what I did more than 30
ago - get a copy of the Bible and simply begin
reading it. It is the most powerful and truest
book ever written. The simple act of reading this
book often authenticates to the reader the incredible
truth of what it says. Just reading it can be
a powerful spiritual experience. You might want
to start reading the Book of John in the New Testament
part of the Scriptures.
You can
also contact us for a free copy of More Than
A Carpenter by Josh McDowell. Josh McDowell
was a skeptic who was convinced that anyone who
believed in the Bible was out of their mind. After
intensive research he realized that the Bible
is 100% reliable and faith in it is intellectually
feasible. More Than A Carpenter is the
result of his research. It examines the Bible's
claims about itself, God, the Messiah, and the
resurrection. Chapters include: Are the Biblical
Records Reliable? What about Science? Will the
real Messiah please stand up? What makes Yeshua
so different? Isn't there some other way? We will
send you this fascinating 128 page book without
charge.
I'd like
to invite you to visit our synagogue, Congregation
Shema Yisrael. Services are held Saturday mornings
at 10:30 a.m. at the facilities of Bloomfield
Hills Baptist Church, 3600 Telegraph Road in Bloomfield
Hills.
Finally,
I would be willing to communicate further with
you about Messianic Judaism, how Yeshua can be
the Messiah, and how we can be Jewish and believe
in Him. Feel free to respond if you are interested.
I hope to hear from you!
Sincerely,
Rabbi Loren Jacobs
SUGGESTED
RESOURCES
Probe Ministries at www.probe.org
Institute for Creation Research at www.icr.org
Answers In Genesis at www.AnswersInGenesis.org
The New Testament Documents: Are They
Reliable? by F. F. Bruce
The Stones Cry Out: How Archeology Confirms
the Truth of the Bible by Randall Price
Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh
McDowell
More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell
The Case For Christ by Lee Stroubel
The Case For Faith by Lee Stroubel
Why I Believe by D. James Kennedy
Many Infallible Proofs by Henry Morris
Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics
by Norman Geisler
Scientific Creationism by Henry Morris
The Genesis Flood by John Whitcomb and
Henry Morris
Darwin’s Black Box by Michael Behe
The Privileged Planet DVD by
Illustra Media
Unlocking The Mystery Of Life
DVD by Illustra Media
The Case For A Creator DVD by
Illustra Media
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