The Bible Explained, part 25A/40: Monotheism, Jews, and Christians: One or Two Messiahs

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THE BIBLE EXPLAINED

A Guide to the Holy Bible
for Parents and Teenagers

-----<back cover text>

Where did you come from?
What is your purpose?
What happens when you die?

These questions--and more--are answered in 'The
Bible Explained', which is based on the teachings
of the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is a collection
of ancient books which claim to be the word of the
one and only God. This one and only God claims to
be the sole creator, owner, and sustainer of all
things; he further claims to hold the one and only
key to eternal life. Are these claims true? Get
the facts and then decide for yourself.

This document is meant to be understood by everyone,
and is therefore written in plain, simple language,
avoiding complex religious jargon.

Understand the Bible like never before.

-----<table of contents>

Introduction
Quest for Truth
The Holy Bible
Origin and Destiny
The Big Picture: Good and Evil
The Story of Man
The Purpose of the Earth
The Standard and the Test
Work: The Key to Success and Life
Pyramid Society
Failure of Man
Male and Female
Family Relationships
Marriage and Family
Sexual Immorality
The Value of Life
Multiplication and Overpopulation
Racism
Creation and Evolution
Government
Politics
Justice
Words, Speech, and Censorship
Church Matters
Monotheism, Jews, and Christians
Temptation
The Nature of Evil
Life and Death of Satan
Reincarnation
The Rapture
The End Times
The Near Future
Preparing for the Future
Groups and Labels
Understanding Judgement
Preparing for Death
Conclusion
Appendix A: Questions and Answers
Appendix B: The Ten Commandments
Appendix C: Marriage

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Monotheism, Jews, and Christians

"Monotheism is the doctrine that there is only one
God." [Oxford Dictionary] Both Jews and Christians
claim to be monotheists. However, Christians
believe that Jesus was God in human flesh, whereas
Jews do not hold this belief. Jews believe in one
God who created all things (Deuteronomy 6:4,
Genesis 1:1), whose name is 'I AM' (Exodus 3:14);
Christians believe in one God who created all
things (John 1:1-3), whose name is 'I AM' (John
8:48). If there is only one God, then Jews and
Christians believe in the same God. If this is the
case, why is there division between Jews and
Christians?

Israelites or Jews: Before going further, it should
be noted that the term 'Jews' is used generically
to refer to the faithful keepers of the Torah/Law
(the first five books of the Bible). The Torah was
given to the twelve tribes of Jacob/Israel;
however, over time, only the tribe of Judah (the
Jews) kept their identity and remained loyal to the
LORD God. The tribe of Benjamin and some Levites
were also assimilated into the Jewish tribe. The
remaining tribes are sometimes referred to as 'the
lost tribes of Israel'.

History of Modern Monotheism: About 1500 B.C., God
gave the Torah (Law of God) to the Israelites -- via Moses -- as the one and only path to life: "Man
shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by
every word that proceeds from the mouth of the
LORD." [Deuteronomy 8:3] About A.D. 30, Jesus -- the founder of Christianity -- reiterated this
fact: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
[Matthew 4:4] Notice that a man does not gain life
simply by being born; he gains life by living by
every word of God.

Jesus and Christianity: Jesus and his initial
disciples were all Jews. Jesus was a rabbi (a
teacher of the Law/Torah as the one and only path
to life eternal). Christianity was started by Jews
as a Jewish sect and later expanded to include non-
Jews (see the book of Acts for details). Jesus did
not come to start a new religion; Jesus came to pay
the price for Adam's sin, thereby gaining authority
over death -- to raise the dead from their graves.
While on the earth, Jesus also chastised the
religious leaders of his day for keeping the
traditions of men over the laws of God, thereby
voiding the law -- the only path to life: "Thus you
have made the commandment of God of no effect by
your tradition." [Matthew 15:6]

The Objective: The objective of every believer -- whether Jew or Christian -- is to gain life eternal
in the presence of their creator. What is the path
to life?

Key to Life: God gave the Torah to the Jews as the
key to life, as it is written: "You shall therefore
keep My statutes and My judgements, which if a man
does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD your
God." [Leviticus 18:5] God also gave the key to
life to the Christians: "Jesus said to them, 'I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me.'" [John 14:6] Did God
give man two separate keys to life eternal? Does
God have a double standard whereby different
persons may obtain life eternal through different
means? Of course not, for God is not a respecter of
persons, since he judges spirits only. There is
only one standard through which men may obtain life
eternal -- the Ten Commandments. God first gave the
Ten Commandments to the Jews in stone -- on
tablets; God later gave the Ten Commandments to the
Christians in flesh -- in the person of Jesus, who
served as a living example to men and also
destroyed the work of Satan the Adversary. The
above Christian scripture can be rendered thusly:
'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through the Ten
Commandments.' Thus, we see that God has only one
standard whereby men may obtain life eternal.
Whether in stone or in flesh, the word of God
delivers from death: "He sent His word and healed
them, and delivered them from their destructions."
[Psalm 107:20]

Torah and Jesus: The Bible tells us that Jesus was
the Word of God (Torah) in flesh: "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of
the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth." [John 1:1,14] Jews have Jesus, but they
don't call him 'Jesus'; they call him 'Torah'.
Christians have Torah, but they don't call him
'Torah'; they call him 'Jesus'. Generally speaking,
Jews are closer to God than Christians are. Why?
Because Jews tend to keep God's law, whereas
Christians tend to debate the validity of his law.
Some Christians even dismiss the Torah as being
invalidated by Jesus, but what did Jesus say?

Jesus and the Law: What did Jesus say about the
law? "'Do not think that I came to destroy the Law
or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to
fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven
and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by
no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these
commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called
least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does
and teaches them, he shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.'" [Matthew 5:17-19] If heaven
and earth have not passed away, then the law is
still valid -- and will always be valid: "Jesus
Christ (the Word of God) is the same yesterday,
today, and forever." [Hebrews 13:8]

The Law Made Heavier: There are some who believe
that Jesus nullified the Law. Is this true? No. Not
only did Jesus not nullify the law, but he made it
heavier on his followers. Before Jesus, men were
free to entertain thoughts of committing adultery,
but Jesus prohibited that liberty: "You have heard
that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not
commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever
looks at a woman to lust for her has already
committed adultery with her in his heart." [Matthew
5:27-28] Before Jesus, men had the freedom to hurl
insults at each other, but Jesus equated insults
with murder: "You have heard that it was said to
those of old, 'You shall not murder,' and whoever
murders will be in danger of the judgement. But I
say to you that whoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in danger of the
judgement. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!'
shall be in danger of the council. But whoever
says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire."
[Matthew 5:21-22] As you can see, Jesus did not
loosen the law, but rather made it stricter. When
you consider the words of Jesus, it is actually
easier to be a Jew than a Christian.

Christians and Demons: There are so-called
Christians who believe that they can obtain life
eternal, not through the keeping of the Ten
Commandments, but by simply believing that Jesus is
the Christ/Saviour. Is this true? Satan and his
demons believe in Jesus, yet Satan has been
sentenced to death eternal. Why? Because Satan
refused to keep the commandments of God, chiefly:
"You shall have no other gods besides Me." [Exodus
20:3] Demons believe in God: "You believe that
there is one God. You do well. Even the demons
believe -- and tremble!" [James 2:19] Demons
believe in God, but they don't obey him. If you
believe in God but don't obey him, how are you
different from the demons?

The Deceived Christian: If you are a Christian,
then you acknowledge Jesus as your saviour -- the
one who saves you from death eternal by granting
you life eternal in his presence. With this in
mind, what does Jesus say about obtaining life
eternal? "But if you want to enter into life, keep
the commandments." [Matthew 19:17] Note that Jesus
did not give a new path to life eternal, but merely
reiterated the one and only path -- the Ten
Commandments. Do not permit anyone to convince you
that the Ten Commandments are no longer relevant.
If the Ten Commandments were no longer relevant,
Satan and his children would not seek to remove
them from all semblances of human society. Remember
that the task of Satan is to destroy you by
removing from your sight the one and only path
which leads to life eternal -- the Ten
Commandments.

The True Christian: The true Christian does not
only acknowledge Jesus as being the Christ/Saviour,
but also expresses that belief through the keeping
of the Ten Commandments, as Jesus said: "But why do
you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things
which I say?" [Luke 6:46] What did Jesus say about
obtaining life eternal? "But if you want to enter
into life, keep the commandments." [Matthew 19:17]
I labour this point because so many so-called
Christians have departed from the simplicity of
Jesus the Christ and have been led astray by the
complex theology expounded by the Apostle Paul,
whose teachings are intended, not for the newcomer,
but for the spiritually mature. To summarize, the
true Christian keeps the Ten Commandments from the
moment of his "conversion" to the point of his
death -- not grudgingly, but willingly, realizing
that they are designed for his own good, both in
the temporal world and in eternity/heaven. If you
do not like the Ten Commandments now, you will by
no means like the laws of heaven, since, in
eternity, one must forever abide by every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Converting the Jews: Even though the earth will be
ruled in accordance with the Torah during the
Millennium, there are so-called Christians who
believe that the law has been nullified through the
crucifixion of Jesus -- even though Jesus said: "Do
not think that I came to destroy the Law or the
Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to
fulfill." [Matthew 5:17] In addition, there are
some so-called Christians who believe that Jews
cannot obtain salvation, even though the Christian
scriptures clearly teach: "Salvation is of the
Jews." [John 4:22] Furthermore, there are so-called
Christians who observe the weekly Sabbath on the
first day of the week, when God commands that the
Sabbath be observed on the seventh day: "Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you
shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh
day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you
shall do no work." [Exodus 20:8-10] If a person
cannot distinguish between the first and seventh
days of the week, should such a person give
instruction to another? Therefore, before you seek
to remove the speck from your brother's eye, first
remove the plank from your own eye. "Thus says the
LORD of hosts: 'In those days ten men from every
language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a
Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we
have heard that God is with you."'" [Zechariah
8:23]

Calling and Conversion: Those who seek to coerce
others into their faith merely betray their own
insecurity and lack of confidence in same. Consider
the following scriptures: "The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some count slackness,
but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that
any should perish but that all should come to
repentance." [2 Peter 3:9] "No one can come to Me
(Jesus) unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
and I will raise him up at the last day." [John
6:44] If God is not willing that any should perish,
and no one can come to God except through his
calling, then it is incumbent upon God to call each
person to life; nevertheless, a man may use his
freewill to ignore the call of God (see Matthew
22:1-14). Using force or fear to convert someone to
your faith is a sure way to drive him away from
that faith. The best you can do is plant a seed and
let God do the rest, for God alone must play the
key role in the "conversion" of each person, that
he alone may receive the glory -- and that no man
may glory in the presence of God, lest he be guilty
of pride. "I (Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but
God gave the increase. So then neither he who
plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who
gives the increase." [1 Corinthians 3:6-7] The most
effective way to interest someone in your faith is
through your behaviour: "Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father in heaven." [Matthew 5:16]

Jesus and the Sabbath: Many Christians would claim
that Jesus is their example and role model. When
Jesus walked the earth some 2000 years ago, which
day did he keep as the Sabbath? If Jesus were here
today, which day would he keep as the Sabbath? If
God changed the Sabbath day, where in scripture is
it written that it was changed? If Christians
expect Jesus to return to the earth, should they
not prepare themselves for his return by, among
other things, keeping the true Sabbath day? Would
the professed followers of Jesus not be embarrassed
if he were to return to the earth and chastise them
for not observing the true Sabbath day? If God
commands his followers to keep the seventh day as
the Sabbath but man says otherwise, who will you
follow -- God or man? "These people draw near to Me
with their mouth, and honour Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they
worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments
of men." [Matthew 15:8-9] Do you worship God in
vain?

Breaking the Law: If you could discard one of the
Ten Commandments, which one would it be? The one
dealing with the Sabbath? "For whoever shall keep
the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is
guilty of all." [James 2:10] True followers of God
are identified by their willingness to work on the
first six days of the week and their unwillingness
to work on the seventh day of the week: "Surely My
Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between
Me and you throughout your generations, that you
may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you."
[Exodus 31:13] Historically, Sabbath-keepers have
been persecuted by Satan; if you wish to avoid such
persecution, refuse to keep God's Sabbath days.

The Messiah: Both Jews and Christians believe in
the prophesied Messiah who will come to the earth
and restore it as the Garden of Eden. Jews believe
that the Messiah is yet to come; however,
Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah -- who
came some 2000 years ago to pay the price for
Adam's sin, left the earth to prepare a place for
his followers, and will come again to establish his
kingdom on the earth. The first time Jesus came, he
paid the price for Adam's sin in order to gain
authority over death, so that he may raise the dead
saints to rule with him at his promised second
coming -- when he will establish his kingdom on the
earth and restore it as the Garden of Eden, which
will endure for 1000 years: the Millennium.

One or Two Advents: Is the Messiah to come to the
earth once or twice? Consider the following
scriptures: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though
you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet
out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be
ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from
of old, from everlasting." [Micah 5:2] "Then the
LORD will go forth and fight against those nations,
as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day
His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which
faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of
Olives shall be split in two, from east to west,
making a very large valley; half of the mountain
shall move toward the north and half of it toward
the south." [Zechariah 14:3-4] According to the
quoted scriptures, the Messiah comes out of
Bethlehem, yet stands on the Mount of Olives. How
can this be? Are there two messiahs? Or can a
single messiah appear at two different locations
simultaneously? Or does a single messiah visit the
earth at two separate times? Jesus gave us the
answer when he quoted the messianic prophecy from
Isaiah 61 and attributed it to himself, saying:
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has
anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He
has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to
the blind, to set at liberty those who are
oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the
LORD." [Luke 4:18-19] If you look at Isaiah 61, you
will notice that Jesus stopped short of quoting the
entire prophecy -- he did not quote the part about
'the day of vengeance of our God'. Why? Because the
day of vengeance comes later -- immediately before
the Millennium, when God destroys the governments
of man in order to establish his government on the
earth (see Daniel 2). Thus, according to Jesus, the
Messiah comes twice: first to preach the gospel;
then to establish his kingdom on the earth.

One or Two Saviours: The Saviour is the one who
saves his followers from death eternal by granting
them life eternal in his presence. But who is this
Saviour? According to Jewish scripture: "I, even I,
am the LORD, and besides Me there is no saviour."
[Isaiah 43:11] According to Christian scripture:
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through
Me.'" [John 14:6] There are only three ways to
reconcile these two verses of scripture: either the
LORD has spoken falsely, Jesus has spoken falsely,
or the LORD and Jesus are one. "I (Jesus) and My
Father are one. And he who sees Me sees Him who
sent Me. If you had known Me, you would have known
My Father also; and from now on you know Him and
have seen Him. He who has seen Me has seen the
Father." [John 10:30, 12:45, 14:7,9] As you can
see, Jesus claimed to be God; yet some say Jesus
was just a man -- a good man. Would a good man lie
in the name of God? Would a sane man claim to be
God? "Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to
you, before Abraham was, I AM.'" [John 8:58] Jesus
is either God or a charlatan, but he was not simply
a good man.

Jewish Messiah Dilemma: Isaiah 9:6 tells us the
Messiah will be born as a child, yet Zechariah 14:4
tells us he will descend from heaven to the Mount
of Olives. How can this be? Are there two messiahs?
Or does one messiah come twice? Christians believe
in one Messiah who comes twice: first, as the
Passover lamb to pay the price for Adam's sin in
order to acquire the authority to raise the dead;
second, as the King of kings and Lord of lords to
rule the earth with his resurrected saints. While
Christian theology accounts for a Messiah who has
the authority to raise the dead, the Jews are left
with some difficult questions: With what body will
the Messiah come? How did he get his body? How did
he gain the authority to resurrect the dead who
will rule with him when he comes to the earth? One
may claim that God is sovereign and all-powerful
and can, therefore, do whatever he pleases;
however, God always acts within the confines of his
laws and prophecies: "For unto us a Child is born,
unto us a Son is given; and the government will be
upon His shoulder. And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace." [Isaiah 9:6]

God or Man: Is the Messiah God or man? The Messiah
is prophesied to be a descendant of King David, yet
he is referred to as 'Everlasting Father', which is
God's title. An ordinary man cannot be described as
'everlasting', since every man has a beginning.
Furthermore, the Messiah is to rule the earth for
1000 years, yet no man has ever lived that long.
Therefore, the Messiah must be God in human flesh,
as prophesied: "Therefore the Lord Himself will
give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel
(God with us)." [Isaiah 7:14] This prophecy was
later fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth: "Now the
birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His
mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph (a descendant
of King David), before they came together, she was
found with child of the Holy Spirit." [Matthew
1:18] Thus, if Jews accept Jesus as the Messiah,
all the 'child' and 'lamb' messianic prophecies are
resolved; the 'king' and 'lord' prophecies will be
fulfilled at his prophesied second coming -- when
he descends from heaven to the Mount of Olives.

The Path to Life Reiterated: In Matthew 19:16-22, a
young man asks Jesus, "What should I do that I may
have eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Keep the
commandments." In John 8:11, Jesus said to the
adulteress, "Go and sin no more." Since sin is the
transgression of the commandments, 'go and sin no
more' can be rendered 'go and do not transgress the
commandments anymore'. In John 14:6, Jesus said: "I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through Me." When Jesus said
to the adulteress, 'Go and sin no more', was he
showing her the path to life? Yes. Since Jesus was
the Ten Commandments in flesh, John 14:16 can be
rendered thusly: 'I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through the
Ten Commandments.' If this is the case, why do some
so-called Christians believe that the Ten
Commandments are no longer relevant? Because the
Apostle Paul, while admonishing others not to
depart from the simplicity of Jesus the Christ,
abandons the simplicity of the Ten Commandments to
indulge in complex theological dissertations -- which are beneficial to the spiritually mature but
detrimental to the spiritually immature, leading
some to believe that the Ten Commandments were
nailed to the cross and are therefore no longer
relevant. While the Ten Commandments were indeed
nailed to the cross in the person of Jesus, they
remain the one and only path to life: "If you want
to enter into life, keep the commandments."
[Matthew 19:17]

The Free Gift: Life eternal is a free gift from
God; no man can earn life eternal, lest he should
boast of his goodness. God does not permit
boasting, since boasting is pride -- and pride is
not allowed in eternity. If life is a free gift,
why bother keeping the Ten Commandments? Because it
is impossible to please God without possessing
faith; and the keeping of the Ten Commandments is
the evidence of your faith in God: "For as the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead also." [James 2:26] If you believe in
something, you must exhibit some outward expression
of that belief, lest you be a hypocrite. The
keeping of the Ten Commandments is the
manifestation of your belief in God.

-----<availability>

The above book is available for purchase at:

http://www.amazon.com

Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"

Or try this direct link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bible-Explained-Parents-Teenagers/dp/1468197061

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The above excerpt from 'The Bible Explained' is copyright
2010 by Arrant Knave. All rights reserved. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version (R). Copyright (C)
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.

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