Sunday, December 23, 2012

What Do You Think About The Messiah?

Jesus once asked, "...What do you think about the Christ/Messiah?..." - Matthew 22:42

During this Christmas season it is important to remember that Christians believe Jesus is the long awaited Jewish Messiah who fulfilled many of the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament and will fulfill the remaining prophecies when he returns.

It's common for non-Messianic Jews to argue that no respected and learned rabbis ever accepted Jesus' Messiahship. However that's false. As the following two articles proves.

Rabbis Who Thought For Themselves Part ONE
Rabbis Who Thought For Themselves Part TWO

Rabbis who believed in Jesus the Messiah (LINK)

The above articles don't even mention learned Jews who weren't rabbis but who nevertheless were believers in Jesus/Yeshua. For example, Charles Lee Feinberg who was on his way to becoming a rabbi when he became convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. He went on to become a biblical scholar and professor of Semitics and Old Testament. He was an authority on the Jewish history, languages and customs of the Old Testament and biblical prophecies. His two sons John and Paul also became Christian scholars. Another example would be Alfred Edersheim who wrote classic books including The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Another example would be Louis Goldberg, Th.D. - faculty; author and former professor of Theology and Jewish Studies; former president of the Evangelical Theological Society, in 1983; former Scholar-in-Residence for Jews for Jesus. Below I have links to the works of Jewish believers in Jesus like Michael L. Brown, Arnold Fruchtenbaum and David H. Stern (writer of the Jewish New Testament Commentary). More people could be listed, but I'll stop there.

The following are links and recommendations to useful resources in defense of Jesus' true messiahship.

Michael L. Brown is considered by many to be the leading defender of Jesus' messiahship living today. He himself is of Jewish background. He holds a doctorate in Semitic languages. His five volume book "Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus" is an indispensable resource for those who want to defend (or who are doubting) Jesus being Mashiach. His websites include Ask Dr. BrownReal MessiahIn the Line of FireIn the Line of Fire BlogFire School of Ministry.

One can subscribe to the podcasts of his radio show In the Line of Fire at this link HERE

One can access his YouTube video channel at this link HERE

Here are some of his videos on the web.

Is Jesus the Jewish Messiah? This lecture is TWO AND A HALF HOURS LONG! I recommend starting with part 2 if you want to skip Dr. Brown's conversion testimony which begins part 1.
I believe that these two videos are just a portion of the 10 DVD video series "Countering the Counter-Missionaries" which can be purchased at one of Dr. Brown's websites.

Part 1 of 2
http://youtu.be/scw9iB4cIZc

Part 2 of 2
http://youtu.be/fMtLbEpv48o

The following two videos seem to be shortened versions of the above lecture:

Proving through scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah vimeo.com/2368487

Countering the Counter-Missionaries Messianic Prophecy vimeo.com/2367509




Countering the Counter-Missionaries
(Over 24 hours of teaching)

Day 1 part 1 & 2 http://youtu.be/vV9rMFOFkgY
Day 1 part 3 & 4 http://youtu.be/OLT7BYpdU1o

Day 2 part 1 & 2 http://youtu.be/tcsK1VfAA0Y
Day 2 part 3 & 4 http://youtu.be/wbKAFnr0O6Q

Day 3 part 1 & 2 http://youtu.be/roHll6Gf3EY
Day 3 part 3 & 4 http://youtu.be/nt3X4SbijEo

Day 4 part 1 & 2 http://youtu.be/JLg4XnkitKE
Day 4 part 3 & 4 http://youtu.be/O_LyQI9dpI4

Day 5 part 1 & 2 http://youtu.be/Q-nMtATgETE
Day 5 part 3 & 4 http://youtu.be/7KUc9kQlb1Y




Messianic Prophecy in the Jewish Scriptures: A Conversation with Dr. Michael Brown 
https://youtu.be/SKAnY1ULEWc

Dr. Brown Lectures on Jesus/Yeshua as the Messiah
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dejZdUCNZsg&feature=youtu.be&t=0m2s

Dr. Brown during what seems to be the Questions and Answers Session of the above lecture
Part 1Part 2Part 3&4Part 5Part 6Part 7Part 8Part 9Part 10,  Part 11 (missing),  Part 12Part 13 (Webpage for ALL Parts HERE)

Was Jesus A False Prophet? vimeo.com/28646155

In Search of Atonement vimeo.com/39428569

A Bloody Religion? vimeo.com/39423935

Hidden Secrets of Kabbalah vimeo.com/28618219

In Search of the Messiah vimeo.com/39428637 

Objection: Jesus Can't Be The Messiah vimeo.com/28625919

Can Anyone See God? vimeo.com/16321308 

Is Christianity Jewish? vimeo.com/16189102

Move Videos Here:  http://vimeo.com/realmessiah/videos  


How to Witness to Jews by Michael Brown
Part 1
http://youtu.be/x-47kyIFjNI

Part 2
http://youtu.be/_PIyGI7yxZc

Answering Your Toughest Questions with Dr. Michael Brown YouTube Episodes:
 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,
 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32,

PLAYLIST for ALL 32 EPISODES


Debates:

Debate between Michael L. Brown and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
http://realmessiah.askdrbrown.org/watch/can-jews-believe-jesus-dr-brown-and-rabbi-boteach-debate

Debate between Michael L. Brown and Rabbi Immanuel Schochet
http://realmessiah.askdrbrown.org/video/is-jesus-the-jewish-messiah

Debate between Michael L. Brown and Rabbi Tovia Singer
http://realmessiah.askdrbrown.org/listen/debate-dr-brown-and-rabbi-singer

Debate between Dr. Michael L. Brown and Rabbi David Blumofe
http://vimeo.com/2492529 OR
http://www.realmessiah.com/video/who-jesus-debate-rabbi-blumofe-and-dr-brown OR
http://youtu.be/3Qg9J6_ijFI or http://youtu.be/rGtbdnOkgps

 
Deity of the Messiah Debate between Unitarians Buzzard/Goode vs. Trinitarians White/Brown
PART 1 http://youtu.be/Yn-grOfPDi0
PART 2 http://youtu.be/M38rQXLq29g

A collected list of videos where Dr. Brown gives his testimony can be found HERE


Dr. James White vs. Sir Anthony Buzzard on the topic of the Trinity on Justin Brierley's radio show Unbelievable http://youtu.be/SY7_EtcIeOQ


Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum is another well known leader in the Messianic Movement. (especially in the previous generation). He has written many excellent books on the topic.

Here is a link to his 21 part lecture series on The Life of the Messiah (now titled "The Jewish Life of Christ")




Lecture 1 Lecture 2 Lecture 3 Lecture 4 Lecture 5 Lecture 6 Lecture 7
Lecture 8 Lecture 9 Lecture 10 Lecture 11 Lecture 12 Lecture 13 Lecture 14
Lecture 15 Lecture 16 Lecture 17 Lecture 18 Lecture 19 Lecture 20 Lecture 21



Isa. 7:14, Matt. 1:23 and the Virgin Birth
http://bibledifficultiesanswered.blogspot.com/2015/06/isa-714-matt-123-and-virgin-birth.html


How the New Testament Employs the Jewish "PaRDeS" hermeneutic.
http://misclane.blogspot.com/2014/06/does-new-testament-quote-old-testament.html


The Jewish Trinity: How the Old Testament Reveals the Christian Godhead by Dr. Michael Heiser
http://misclane.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-jewish-trinity-how-old-testament.html


The Trinity in the Old Testament Video
http://misclane.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-trinity-in-old-testament.html

The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity
http://bib.irr.org/biblical-basis-of-doctrine-of-trinity


Resources in Defense of Trinitarianism
http://misclane.blogspot.com/2013/06/resources-in-defense-of-trinitarianism.html
Recommended books:

Day of Discovery videos dealing with Isaiah chapter 53
(aprox. 10 videos already cued up to play one after another)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIkz_yDqDvQ&feature=share&list=PLAB46EA762365C8E5


Monergism website's section on Christ in the Old Testament
http://www.monergism.com/topics/jesus-christ/christ-old-testament


TheMessianicDrew YouTube channel (by Drew Mazenec)
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMessianicDrew/videos

The Messianic Drew BLOG
http://messianicdrew.blogspot.com/





Articles

How the New Testament Quotes the Old Testament  by Arnold Fruchtenbaum

A Look at Messianic Prophecy: Four Ways the New Testament Authors Use the Hebrew Bible


Reject Jesus for Judaism?

Does the New Testament Quote the Old Testament Out of Context? 

Does Psalm 22:16 really predict Jesus' crucifixion?

The Case for Jesus the Messiah – Incredible Prophecies that Prove God Exists
[ A series of 25 articles at the John Ankerberg website]

In Psalm 2:12, is Kiss the Son a mistranslation by the Christians?





Useful Books in Defense of Jesus' Genuine Messiahship:

Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament by G. K. Beale (Editor), D. A. Carson

Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus
(5 volumes) by Michael L. Brown

The Real Kosher Jesus by Michael L. Brown

Jewish New Testament Commentary by David H. Stern

Messianic Judaism: A Modern Movement with an Ancient Past by David H. Stern

Jesus the Messiah: Tracing the Promises, Expectations, and Coming of Israel's King by Herbert Bateman IV, Gordon Johnston and Darrell Bock

The Messiah in the Old Testament by Walter C. Kaiser

Messianic Christology by Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum

Footsteps of the Messiah by Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum

Are You the One Who Is to Come?: The Historical Jesus and the Messianic Question by Michael F. Bird

The Messianic Hope: Is the Hebrew Bible Really Messianic? by Michael Rydelnik

Behold Your King: Prophetic Proofs that Jesus is the Messiah by William Webster


Return of the Kosher Pig by Itzhak Shapira

The Gospel According to Isaiah 53: Encountering the Suffering Servant in Jewish and Christian Theology by Darrell Bock (editor) and Mitch Glaser (editor)

All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer

The Prophecies of the Old Testament Respecting the Messiah by John Gill (written in the 18th century, this work can be read at the very bottom of this link; Here's another link to another website)

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim (this link is not to the updated version, but to the original written in the 19th century and which is now in the public domain)

Messiah in Both Testaments by Fred John Meldau (introductory material on the subject)

Christology of the Old Testament by E.W. Hengstenberg (written in the 18th century)

Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology)

Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament Christopher J. H. Wright

A Zeal For God Not According to Knowledge: A Refutation of Judaism's Arguments Against Christianity, 2nd Edition by Eric V. Snow

Christ in All the Scriptures by A.M. Hodgkin (or here, here)

[Recommended by Steve Hays]
The Servant King: The Bible's portrait of the Messiah by T. D. Alexander and Alec Motyer

Look to the Rock: An Old Testament Background to Our Understanding of Christ by Alec Motyer
The Christ of the Prophets by O. Palmer Robertson

The Messianic Hope: Is the Hebrew Bible Really Messianic? (NAC Studies in Bible & Theology) by Michael Rydelnik

The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy: Studies and Expositions of the Messiah in the Old Testament by Michael Rydelnik (Editor), Edwin Blum (Editor)

The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation by John H. Sailhamer




Relevant Bible Translations:

Complete Jewish Bible
http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/Complete-Jewish-Bible-CJB/
(Includes both the Original and New Testament)
Or Here: http://www.biblestudytools.com/cjb/

Orthodox Jewish Bible
http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/Orthodox-Jewish-Bible-OJB/

World English Bible: Messianic Edition [ also known as the World Messianic Bible]
https://ebible.org/engwmb/




Learned Jewish Rabbis who accepted Jesus' Messiahship
Part ONE, Part TWO

They Thought For Themselves by Sid Roth is a collection of modern testimonies of Jews who accepted Jesus as their Jewish Messiah. Technically it's not an apologetical work. Nevertheless, it's an interesting collection of testimonies that's freely available online HERE

Jewish Messianic Interpretations of Isaiah 53


More testimonies of Jews believing in Jesus/Yeshua can be found in the following link:
http://www.the-new-way.org/testimonies/index_conv.html


The Return of the Kosher Pig
http://www.kosherpig.org/




Websites

Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus



The Most-Referenced List of Messianic Jewish Web Sites
(I would assume not all are Evangelical and/or Trinitarian)
http://users.eastlink.ca/~nertamid/ctomc_100best.htm 







My blogs which have some relevance:

Resources in Defense of Trinitarianism
http://misclane.blogspot.com/2013/06/resources-in-defense-of-trinitarianism.html 

Trinity Notes
http://www.trinitynotes.blogspot.com


Miscellaneous Additional Links in Favor of Jesus' Messiahship


Sunday, December 2, 2012

Blaise Pascal Quotes

I just found a quotation of Pascal that's similar to other quotes I've cited in the past. So, I'm gathering them them all here on this blog post. Here's the new quote:

Willing to appear openly to those who seek him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from him with all their heart, God so regulates the knowledge of himself that he has given indications of himself which are visible to those who seek him and not to those who do not seek him. There is enough light for those to see who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition.

I found this quotation from an article by William Lane Craig HERE

It seems to be a quotation from Pascal's Pensées. Here's an alternative translation from www.ccel.org:

"...willing to appear openly to those who seek Him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from Him with all their heart, He so regulates the knowledge of Himself that He has given signs of Himself, visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who seek Him not. There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition."

Here are the other quotations from Pascal's Pensées that I've posted in the past.

563 The prophecies, the very miracles and proofs of our religion, are not of such a nature that they can be said to be absolutely convincing. But they are also of such a kind that it cannot be said that it is unreasonable to believe them. Thus there is both evidence and obscurity to enlighten some and confuse others. But the evidence is such that it surpasses, or at least equals, the evidence to the contrary; so that it is not reason which can determine men not to follow it, and thus it can only be lust or malice of heart. And by this means there is sufficient evidence to condemn, and insufficient to convince; so that it appears in those who follow it, that it is grace, and not reason, which makes them follow it; and in those who shun it, that it is lust, not reason, which makes them shun it. 

577 There is sufficient clearness to enlighten the elect, and sufficient obscurity to humble them. There is sufficient obscurity to blind the reprobate, and sufficient clearness to condemn them, and make them inexcusable.—Saint Augustine, Montaigne, Sébond.

574 All things work together for good to the elect, even the obscurities of Scripture; for they honour them because of what is divinely clear. And all things work together for evil to the rest of the world, even what is clear; for they revile such, because of the obscurities which they do not understand.


562 It will be one of the confusions of the damned to see that they are condemned by their own reason, by which they claimed to condemn the Christian religion.

576 God has made the blindness of this people subservient to the good of the elect.

Pascal was a Catholic who opposed what was considered by Catholicism as the heresy of Jansenism. This was a Catholic movement that has been considered by some a "Catholic Calvinism" because they took the teachings of St. Augustine so seriously and worked it out to its logical conclusions that it mirrored the Calvinism of Protestantism. Despite his opposition, Pascal seems to have been influenced by it (or by Augustine's teaching) enough that he seems to have had a high view of providence and predestination.

Being a Calvinist myself, I appreciate Pascal's desire to affirm both the Sovereignty of God in the salvation of human beings as well as as the moral responsibility that each person has before God to respond to him. The above quotes are compatible with many versions of Calvinism (though not all).

See also my blogposts:
 

"Unveiling" The Hiddenness of God

Detecting and Finding God


The following are links to where I've alluded to or posted these quotations in the comments of other blogs.



The irrelevance of evidence to atheism
[I highly recommend reading my comments at this link]