Book of the Gospel Sources: July 2012

Thursday, July 26, 2012

The Source of the Story of the Killing of the Children in Bethlehem

Chapter III

Section IV

The Texts that were attributed directly to the Old Testament in the Gospels

In this section we will examine the texts of the Old Testament that were attributed directly to it, and the Gospels authors said that they have not been fulfilled, and achieved only in Jesus and his time and his generation, to find out what is the truth and the reality of them, and if the Gospels authors have told the truth or not.

4 - The Source of the Story of the Killing of the Children in Bethlehem

Matthew 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

Matthew 2:17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

Matthew 2:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more."

In this text Matthew writes the story of killing the children in Bethlehem by Herod, and says; then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, then he wrote "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more". And here I will not talk about the reality of this story, especially it was not mentioned by any one of the historians of the first century, such as Flavius Josephus and Philo of Alexandria, but I will talk on the text of Jeremiah subjectively and objectively, to find out if it had been fulfilled at Herod's time as Matthew said or not.

This text is written in chapter thirty-one according to the Old Testament in the King James Version and the Hebrew Version, etc., and in chapter thirty-eight according to the Septuagint Version and this chapter is an extension to the chapter thirty, which begins as follows:

Jeremiah 30:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Jeremiah 30:2 "Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you.

Jeremiah 30:3 ‘For behold, the days are coming’, says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah’, says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it’."

In these paragraphs the Lord asked Jeremiah to write all the words that we will read in the next two chapters, and begins saying that the Lord will bring the children of Israel back from captivity and restore them to the Holy Land, and this indicates that the text talks about a particular time after returning from captivity, and then we read the following text:

Jeremiah 30:8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day’, Says the LORD of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, And will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them.

Jeremiah 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, And David their king, Whom I will raise up for them.

These paragraphs talk about what will the situation be after the return of the Jews from captivity, and this certainly does not indicate to the Jews in the time of Herod and Jesus, because they were at that time under the Roman Rule, then we read the following text:

Jeremiah 30:10 ‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob’, says the LORD, ‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, And your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, And no one shall make him afraid.

This paragraph confirms that the chapter talks about the return of Jews from captivity, and then we read the following text:

Jeremiah 30:18 "Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, And have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.

This text also talks about the return of the Jews from captivity, and rebuild Jerusalem, and then we read the following text:

Jeremiah 30:21 Their nobles shall be from among them, And their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, And he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me’? says the LORD.

This text says that at that time the governor will be from the Jews, and this does not apply to the Jews in the time of the birth of Jesus, because Herod was not a Jew! From these paragraphs, we find that this chapter speaks about the Jews after their return from captivity, then starts the chapter thirty-one, which begins by saying "At the same time", which indicates that this chapter talks about the same period that was talking about it in the chapter thirty, the following is the whole chapter, and then I will discuss the paragraphs one by one to find out if it was talking about the time of Jesus and Herod who killed the children of Bethlehem as Matthew claimed, or was talking about things occurred before hundreds of years of the birth of Jesus.

Jeremiah 31:1 "At the same time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people."

Jeremiah 31:2 Thus says the LORD: "The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness — Israel, when I went to give him rest."

Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Jeremiah 31:4 Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.

Jeremiah 31:5 You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria; The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food.

Jeremiah 31:6 For there shall be a day When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the LORD our God’."

Jeremiah 31:7 For thus says the LORD: "Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, The remnant of Israel’!

Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with child, together; A great throng shall return there.

Jeremiah 31:9 They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In a straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.

Jeremiah 31:10 "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock’.

Jeremiah 31:11 For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.

Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, Streaming to the goodness of the LORD — For wheat and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the herd; Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more at all.

Jeremiah 31:13 "Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together; For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.

Jeremiah 31:14 I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD."

Jeremiah 31:15 Thus says the LORD: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more."

Jeremiah 31:16 Thus says the LORD: "Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.

Jeremiah 31:17 There is hope in your future, says the LORD, That your children shall come back to their own border.

Jeremiah 31:18 "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For You are the LORD my God.

Jeremiah 31:19 Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth’.

Jeremiah 31:20 Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:21 "Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities.

Jeremiah 31:22 How long will you gad about, O you backsliding daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth — A woman shall encompass a man."

Jeremiah 31:23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The LORD bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness’!

Jeremiah 31:24 "And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks.

Jeremiah 31:25 "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul."

Jer 31:26 After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.

Jeremiah 31:27 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.

Jeremiah 31:28 "And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:29 "In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’.

Jeremiah 31:30 "But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah —

Jeremiah 31:32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD’, for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Jeremiah 31:35 Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name):

Jeremiah 31:36 "If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever."

Jeremiah 31:37 Thus says the LORD: "If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:38 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that the city shall be built for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

Jeremiah 31:39 "The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath.

Jeremiah 31:40 "And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever."

This chapter begins, as we read, with the following paragraph:

Jeremiah 31:1 "At the same time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people."

And this was not the case of the Jews in the time of Herod, as well as later, from the point of view of the churches, for they did not believe in Jesus, and crucified him, as is written in the Gospels.

Jeremiah 31:4 Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.

This verse says that the LORD will build Jerusalem and it shall be rebuilt, and this did not happen in Jesus' time, but has happened opposite of this, because the city was destroyed in 70 A.D, which indicates that the chapter was not talking about Jesus' time.

Jeremiah 31:7 For thus says the LORD: "Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, The remnant of Israel’!

This verse talks about saving the remnant of Israel, which did not happen in the time of Jesus, whether from Romans because he refused to be king to save them from the Romans, (John 6:15), and he asked them to give to Caesar what he wants, (Matthew 22:15-22), or from their sins, because when they crucified him have got sins more than before, and as a result of the crucifixion Jerusalem and the Temple have been destroyed as the churches say, and this refers that the chapter was not talking about Jesus.

This paragraph has not been achieved in the time of Jesus, because the Gospels did not tell us that the Jews came from the North Country, including the blind and the lame, the woman with child and the one who labors with child!

And this indicates that the chapter was not talking about the time of Jesus.

This paragraph talks on the return of the children of Israel to the Holy Land, which was not achieved in the time of Jesus! And also says that the LORD is a father to Israel, and Ephraim is his firstborn, and this saying will cause problems in the faith of the churches, because it says that Ephraim is firstborn of the LORD, which shows that the saying of the churches about Jesus that he is the firstborn of the LORD is wrong, because Ephraim was before Jesus, whether meant a man or a tribe, and the churches could not say that it refers to Jesus, because Jesus belong to Judah's tribe, which confirms that this chapter was not talking about the time of Jesus.

Jeremiah 31:11 For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.

Jeremiah 31:14 I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD."

These paragraphs say that the LORD will gather Israel and keep them, which have not been achieved in the time of Jesus, and this indicates that the chapter was not talking about Jesus or Herod.

Then we read the paragraphs that cited by Matthew to confirm the truth and the reality of his story, which are as follows:

Jeremiah 31:17 There is hope in your future, says the LORD, That your children shall come back to their own border.

In fact, if we read this text carefully, we find it includes to two things. The first is the weeping of Rachel for her children. The second is the return of her children to their own border, and this is true if we say that the text talks about the captivity of the children of Rachel by Assyrians and then return from captivity, which appears clearly in the second paragraph by saying "says the LORD that your children shall come back to their own border", which happened with the children of Rachel, because they have been deported to Assyria and return to the Holy Land (2 Kings 18:9-12). Yet if we say that it talks about Jesus and the killing of the children of Bethlehem by Herod, will face two problems. The first is that those children did not return from the land of the enemy to their border, because the Gospels did not tell us that those children have been resurrected from the dead in the time of Jesus or later. The second is that the text talks about the children of Rachel and the tribe of Ephraim, and this tribe was not living in Bethlehem, because it was inheritance of the tribe of Judah, as Luke mentioned why Joseph the carpenter went to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus, (Luke 2:1-6), so Rachel has no children at that time to weep them, and what confirms that the talk was on the tribe of Ephraim, not on the tribe of Judah is the next paragraphs, which are as follows:

Jeremiah 31:19 Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth’.

These paragraphs talk about Ephraim, and he is dear son, and he returned to the LORD, and repented, and the Lord will surely has mercy on him, and this is a clear evidence that the text talks about the tribe of Ephraim, not as Matthew tried to say that it was talking about the killing of the children of Bethlehem by Herod, which is not mentioned in any historical source in the first century A.D.

Then we read the following paragraphs:

Jeremiah 31:21 "Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities.

Jeremiah 31:22 How long will you gad about, O you backsliding daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth — A woman shall encompass a man."

Jeremiah 31:24 "And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks.

Jeremiah 31:25 "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul."

Jeremiah 31:26 After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.

Jeremiah 31:27 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.

In these paragraphs the Lord says that the children of Israel will return to their cities after the captivity, and they shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when He brings back their captivity: "the LORD bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness", and this was not the case of the Jews at Jesus' time, whether in the time of his birth or during his life, but they were under the Roman Rule, thus these paragraphs certainly do not talk about the time of Jesus.

Then we read the following paragraphs:

Jeremiah 31:29 "In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’.

Jeremiah 31:30 "But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

These paragraphs show clearly that the text does not talk about the time of Jesus, because it says that man does not bear the iniquity of his father, and since the time of Jesus; began talking that man is born with the sin of his father, i.e., Adam, and here I will not talk about the original sin doctrine in the faith of the churches, but certainly that this doctrine violates this text, which indicates that Matthew's quote was wrong about his story.

Then we read the following paragraphs:

Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah —

Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:35 Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name):

Jeremiah 31:36 "If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever."

In these paragraphs we read about a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, and this covenant includes putting the Law in their minds, and writing it on their hearts; and the LORD will be their God, and they shall be His people, and He will forgive their iniquity, and their sin He will remember no more, and all these things have been violated by the churches, both in terms of the covenant, or the fact that the children of Israel is people of God, or the forgiveness of their sins, or to abide the Law, as shown previously in the chapter I, which confirms that the text was not talking about the time of the birth of Jesus and the story of killing the children of Bethlehem, which has not mentioned by anyone of the historians of that time.

And in the end of the chapter we read the following paragraphs:

Jeremiah 31:38 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that the city shall be built for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

Jeremiah 31:39 "The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath.

These paragraphs talk about rebuilding the holy city, and this saying was after its destruction by the Babylonians, and this, i.e., rebuilding the holy city, happened after the return from the captivity, while it was at Jesus' time under Roman Rule, and after a while, the Temple and the city in general were destroyed, and this contrasts with the last paragraph, which says that the city shall not be plucked up or thrown down any more forever, which confirms that the text does not talk about the time of Jesus and the story of children whom were killed in Bethlehem!

Finally there is a note on this story which is the similarity between it and what happened to the children at the time of birth of Moses whom were killed by Pharaoh, and this similarity between Jesus and the Prophets of the children of Israel can be observed in all stories of the Gospels, with the only difference which is that the stories of the prophets have already occurred, while the stories of Jesus as are written in the Gospels contain a lot of contradictions and errors that call into question the truth and the reality of them, as is the case in this story and other stories that will be discussed and studied later.

From this careful reading of the two chapters, appears to us that Matthew was keen to link the story of Jesus' life with the Old Testament, or more precisely, was keen to compose his Gospel according to the Old Testament narratives; even if he was forced to take a paragraph out of its context to say that it has been fulfilled at that time, because his way of writing relied upon the Old Testament texts, regardless the true meaning of those texts and even away from the real historical events to bestow a state of holiness and credibility and reliability on his Gospel, which means that the law "do not accept the lying and false" applies to the story of Matthew.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Source of the Story of the Escape of Jesus to Egypt

Chapter III

Section IV

The Texts that were attributed directly to the Old Testament in the Gospels

3 - The Source of the Story of the Escape of Jesus to Egypt

Matthew 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."

Matthew 2:14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

Matthew 2:15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."

The Gospels readers will be surprised concerning the large number of Old Testament texts that have been quoted to prove that Jesus is a god and the son of God, and one of the three Hypostases who are one and have the same essence and nature, as say the churches, but the readers will be exceedingly surprised when they read the full texts in the Old Testament, and see that what was taken from them to prove the attributes and the life of Jesus is inconsistent with all facts and reality and the history of the children of Israel, as shown in the former texts, as well as in this text. So, when Matthew read the saying of Hosea "out of Egypt I called My son"; he forgot all things that the text of Hosea was talking about, and took that sentence and put it in the context of his story in the Gospel, and how Jesus escaped to Egypt; to prove that Jesus was mentioned in the Old Testament, although this story contrasts with the Gospel of Luke, who did not mention that Jesus escaped to Egypt, but he stayed in the Holy Land, and goes to Jerusalem every year for the Feast of the Passover, (Luke 2:41-56)!

Before reading the full text of Hosea I would like to read the text from other versions:

King James Version

Hosea 11:1 When Israel [was] a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

Hebrew Version

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.

Septuagint Version

Hosea 11:1 Early in the morning were they cast off, the king of Israel has been cast off: for Israel is a child, and I loved him, and out of Egypt have I called his children.

As we note that Matthew quoted the text from the Hebrew Version, not from the Septuagint, which he was usually relying upon it, and the rest of the Gospels authors as well. So what is the mystery beyond this issue? Matthew quoted the text from the Hebrew Version because the text of the Septuagint here does not help him to deliver his idea! So is it true that the text of Hosea in Hebrew version speaks about the story of escape of Jesus to Egypt, which goes against Luke who said that Jesus went to Galilee and did not go to Egypt, (Luke 2:39-40)?

Let's first read the text of Hosea, and then we will continue the discussion:

Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.

Hosea 11:2 As they called them, So they went from them; They sacrificed to the Baals, And burned incense to carved images.

Hosea 11:3 "I taught Ephraim to walk, Taking them by their arms; But they did not know that I healed them.

Hosea 11:4 I drew them with gentle cords, With bands of love, And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them.

Hosea 11:5 "He shall not return to the land of Egypt; But the Assyrian shall be his king, Because they refused to repent.

Hosea 11:6 And the sword shall slash in his cities, Devour his districts, And consume them, Because of their own counsels.

Hosea 11:7 My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, None at all exalt Him.

Hosea 11:8 "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred.

Hosea 11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, The Holy One in your midst; And I will not come with terror.

Hosea 11:10 "They shall walk after the LORD. He will roar like a lion. When He roars, Then His sons shall come trembling from the west;

Hosea 11:11 They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt, Like a dove from the land of Assyria. And I will let them dwell in their houses," Says the LORD.

Hosea 11:12 "Ephraim has encircled Me with lies, And the house of Israel with deceit; But Judah still walks with God, Even with the Holy One who is faithful.

In this text the Lord says "when Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son", and this term (my son) was used by the author s of the Old Testament to refer to the children of Israel and the love of the Lord to them, and sometimes was used to indicate to a particular person, the following are some of the texts that talk about some people as they are the sons of the Lord, despite the Jews and the churches did not say that those people have become true sons of the LORD!

Exodus 4:22 "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: "Israel is My son, My firstborn.

Exodus 4:23 "So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn."‘"

Jeremiah 31:9 They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In a straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.

Psalm 68:5 A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

Psalm 89:6 For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?

Psalm 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.

Psalm 89:19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, And said: "I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.

Psalm 89:20 I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him,

Psalm 89:21 With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him.

Psalm 89:22 The enemy shall not outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

Psalm 89:23 I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him.

Psalm 89:24 "But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted.

Psalm 89:25 Also I will set his hand over the sea, And his right hand over the rivers.

Psalm 89:26 He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation’.

Psalm 89:27 Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.

Deuteronomy 14:1 "You are the children of the LORD your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead.

Deuteronomy 32:20 And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, For they are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faith.

Hosea 1:10 "Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people’, There it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God’.

Jeremiah 3:4 Will you not from this time cry to Me, ‘My father, You are the guide of my youth?

Jeremiah 3:14 "Return, O backsliding children," says the LORD; "for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

Jeremiah 3:19 "But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations’? "And I said: ‘You shall call Me, "My Father," And not turn away from Me’.

These are some texts that say that the Lord has become a father to the children of Israel, and Ephraim, or his firstborn, and a father of the fatherless, and David call Him my father, and this does not make them true sons to the LORD, who have the same nature and essence, as the Gospels and the Church said on Jesus, because He has described them; "They are silly children", "And they have no understanding", "they are foolish", "they have no knowledge", "backsliding children", "Children in whom is no faith" and "they have rebelled against Me", as in the following texts:

Jeremiah 3:22 "Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings." "Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God.

Jeremiah 4:22 "For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge."

Isaiah 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: "I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me;

And these are not of the characteristics of the true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, therefore the writing about some people that they are sons of the Lord does not mean that they are true sons, because this contradicted with the Old Testament which based on the Oneness of the Creator, and there is no creature is like the LORD or equal to Him. As we also notice that the text of Hosea says that the Jews worshiped the idols beside the Lord by saying that they have sacrificed to the Baals, and burned incense to carved images, Baalim is one of the idols which was worshiped by the Jews before the Babylonian Captivity, and the Gospels did not tell us that the Jews were sacrificing to Baals in the time of Jesus, or even that Baals itself was exist at that time.

Then Hosea talks on the disobedience of the commandments of the Lord by Ephraim, although he has said in former text that Ephraim is "My firstborn", which means that the term "son of God", and "My firstborn" does not mean what has been understood by the authors of the New Testament and the churches, or more precisely, as they try to make us to understand! And then says "He shall not return to the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to repent. And the sword shall slash in his cities, Devour his districts, and consume them, because of their own counsels", and this is what already happened to them as says the Old Testament, and these paragraphs certainly do not talk about Jesus or about his time, because Assyria has ceased to exist before hundreds of years of his nativity, for he was born in the time when the Holy Land was under Roman Rule.

Then the text says that the children of Israel are bent on backsliding from the LORD, and they have surrounded Him with deceit, which raises anger of the Lord. However, eventually the LORD says that He will not destroy Israel, and He will not come with terror, or in wrath, according to the other versions, and the children of Israel will walk after the LORD, and they will come trembling from the west, and will come trembling like a bird from Egypt, like a dove from the land of Assyria. and He will let them dwell in their houses. Yet the Gospels authors did not mention that the Jews had walked after Jesus and they came from the west to follow him or came trembling like a bird from Egypt, or like a dove from the land of Assyria to follow Jesus, because Assyria has ceased to exist before hundreds of years of Jesus, as well as they did not write that Jesus has dwelt the children of Israel in their homes, if the text of Hosea "out of Egypt I called my son" refers to Jesus!

So what is the link between the text of Hosea which talks about the children of Israel before the Babylonian Captivity and Jesus who was born hundreds of years later and the Jews were under Roman Rule? Unless if it was the way or the approach of writing the Gospels through quoting the texts from the Old Testament and reformulating in the framework of narrative; to say that Jesus is mentioned in the Old Testament to bestow a state of holiness and credibility and reliability on the Gospels as shown previously, regardless if they distorted the true meaning of the texts of the Old Testament or contrasts with the other authors as is the case in this text, because Luke did not write that Jesus escaped to Egypt, but he wrote that he was born in Bethlehem, and after forty days went with his parents to Jerusalem, then he went to Galilee and dwelt in Nazareth, etc., as it is written in the Gospel of Luke, chapter II.

After this reading of the text of Hosea, which Matthew quoted one paragraph of it; and contradicted with Luke in the story of Jesus' childhood, I find that the law "do not accept the lying and false" applies to the story of Matthew.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

The Source of the Story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem

Chapter III

Section IV

The Texts that were attributed directly to the Old Testament in the Gospels

2 - The Source of the Story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem

Matthew 2:3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Matthew 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

Matthew 2:5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

Matthew 2:6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel’."

In this text Matthew says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, for it is written by the prophet: "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel". So, is it true that this text apply to Jesus or Bethlehem as Matthew said, or not?

Let's read the quotation from the Old Testament to find out the truth of this issue, which is mentioned in the Book of Micah, Chapter V, which is as follows:

Micah 5:1 Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

Micah 5:2 "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 are from of old, From everlasting."

Micah 5:3 Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel.

Micah 5:4 And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth;

Micah 5:5 And this One shall be peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men.

Micah 5:6 They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, And the land of Nimrod at its entrances; Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, When he comes into our land And when he treads within our borders.

Micah 5:7 Then the remnant of Jacob Shall be in the midst of many peoples, Like dew from the LORD, Like showers on the grass, That tarry for no man Nor wait for the sons of men.

Micah 5:8 And the remnant of Jacob Shall be among the Gentiles, In the midst of many peoples, Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, Who, if he passes through, Both treads down and tears in pieces, And none can deliver.

Micah 5:9 Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, And all your enemies shall be cut off.

Micah 5:10 "And it shall be in that day," says the LORD, "That I will cut off your horses from your midst And destroy your chariots.

Micah 5:11 I will cut off the cities of your land And throw down all your strongholds.

Micah 5:12 I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you shall have no soothsayers.

Micah 5:13 Your carved images I will also cut off, And your sacred pillars from your midst; You shall no more worship the work of your hands;

Micah 5:14 I will pluck your wooden images from your midst; Thus I will destroy your cities.

Micah 5:15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury On the nations that have not heard."

The second paragraph in this text says that there will be a ruler in Israel from Bethlehem, and Matthew says that this text has been achieved and fulfilled in the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, i.e., that Jesus was a ruler in (or over) Israel. So, was Jesus a ruler over the people of Israel?

Anyone who reads the Gospels knows that Jesus was not in one day of his life a ruler over the people of Israel, even that the Gospels authors have written that he was subject to Caesar, and pays taxes to the governor, and asked the Jews to give Caesar what he wants by saying "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's", as in the following texts:

Matthew 17:24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?"

Matthew 17:25 He said, "Yes." And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?"

Matthew 17:26 Peter said to Him, "From strangers." Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.

Matthew 17:27 "Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."

Matthew 22:20 And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"

Matthew 22:21 They said to Him, "Caesar’s." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s."

Moreover, Caesar's governor, eventually, has sentenced Jesus to death, and crucified him, as say the four Gospels!

As for his ruling over the Jews, it did not happen in one day during his life, because Jesus throughout his life was afraid of the Jews, and feels that they are trying to kill him, as in the following text:

John 7:1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.

So how he was ruling over them and this is his status, even that Jesus escaped when they tried to make him king to achieve (or to fulfill) this text or other! As in the following text:

John 6:15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

Besides, he was keen to show himself that he is subject to the priests and not to show himself as a prophet to them who has a task to rule them, as in the following text:

Matthew 8:4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

In addition, he was refusing to announce that he is Christ who has a task to rule the Jews, as in the following text:

Mark 8:27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"

Mark 8:28 So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."

Mark 8:29 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."

Mark 8:30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

Even, increasing to hide himself, whether because of fear of the Romans or the Jews, he has declined to condemn the woman who was caught in adultery, and said "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first", as in the following text:

John 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

John 8:2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.

John 8:3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,

John 8:4 they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.

John 8:5 "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?"

John 8:6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

John 8:7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."

John 8:8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

The churches say that Jesus was without sin, so why he did not implement the judgment of the Lord; if his task was to rule Israel?!

Finally, he has declared very clearly that his kingdom is not of this world as in the following text:

John 18:33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"

John 18:34 Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"

John 18:35 Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?"

John 18:36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."

So, if his kingdom is not of this world, it means that Jesus was not intended in the text of Micah, because the text speaks of a man who will rule the people of Israel in the Holy Land, and not of a man who his kingdom is not of this world.

From this explanation we know that Jesus was not in one day during his life a ruler over the people of Israel.

Now let's continue reading the text of Mica:

Micah 5:3 Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel.

In this paragraph we read that Israel will be abandoned, until the time when she who is in labor gives birth; then the remnant of his brethren will return to the children of Israel, and these words refer to the captivity to Assyria and Babylon and then return from there to the Holy Land, as it appears in the following paragraphs, and this confirms that the text does not speak about Jesus, because the Jews at the time of Jesus were subject to the Roman Rule, and Jesus did not make them free from the Roman Rule. Moreover that the Gospels and other sources did not tell us that anyone of the children of Israel returned to the Holy Land as a result of the birth of Jesus, or during his preaching, or even after his ascension into heaven, thus, this text was talking about periods definitely is not at the time of Jesus.

This paragraph talks about the care of the ruler of the children of Israel to them, and as shown previously that Jesus was not a ruler over Israel in one day during his life, and he didn't take care of them, thus no need to repeat the talking.

Micah 5:5 And this One shall be peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men.

These paragraphs talk about the Assyrian and their invasion of the Holy Land and that the Lord will punish them with the sword, and destroys them, and the LORD will deliver Israel from Assyrian, and all these events had occurred before hundreds of years of Jesus' birth. So why Matthew did not notice these facts when he cut from the text that paragraph that says ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel’ to say to us that this paragraph was talking about the place of the birth of Jesus?! Unless, it was an approach and method and way to write his Gospel by quoting the texts of the Old Testament and reformulating them in a kind of narratives to record the story of the life of Jesus away from the historical events and the true meaning of the Old Testament texts.

Micah 5:7 Then the remnant of Jacob Shall be in the midst of many peoples, Like dew from the LORD, Like showers on the grass, That tarry for no man Nor wait for the sons of men.

Micah 5:8 And the remnant of Jacob Shall be among the Gentiles, In the midst of many peoples, Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, Who, if he passes through, Both treads down and tears in pieces, And none can deliver.

Micah 5:9 Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, And all your enemies shall be cut off.

These paragraphs talk about the characteristics of Israel at that time, and I do not think that anyone disagrees with me that they were not the characteristics of the Jews in Jesus' time, for they were under the Roman Rule and subject to their power, and even that Jesus himself was paying taxes to Caesar!

Micah 5:10 "And it shall be in that day," says the LORD, "That I will cut off your horses from your midst And destroy your chariots.

Micah 5:11 I will cut off the cities of your land And throw down all your strongholds.

These paragraphs like its predecessors talk about things took place before

hundreds of years of Jesus' birth.

Micah 5:12 I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you shall have no soothsayers.

Micah 5:13 Your carved images I will also cut off, And your sacred pillars from your midst; You shall no more worship the work of your hands;

In these paragraphs the LORD says that He will cut off the carved images, and the people should not worship the work of their hands, so if this text has been fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, why the churches worship the work of their hands, and made millions of carved images to Jesus and the others?!

From all of the above, we conclude that Matthew was not successful by saying that this text was talking about the birth of Jesus, which was an attempt to make what is written in the Gospel compatible with the texts of the Old Testament, nevertheless, a big difference between what was the text of Micah talking about, and what is written in the Gospels about Jesus and his time and his generation, and this indicates to the way of writing the Gospels, which is quoting the texts from the Old Testament and reformulating them in their stories about the life of Jesus, regardless of what the texts are actually talking about, to bestow a state of holiness and credibility and reliability on the Gospels, which means that our law in this book "do not accept the lying and false" applies to the Story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.

Friday, July 13, 2012

The Source of the Story of Emmanuel

Chapter III

Section IV

The Texts that were attributed directly to the Old Testament in the Gospels

1 - The Source of the Story of Immanuel

Matthew 1:20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 1:21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."

Matthew 1:22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:

Matthew 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

The church considers this text one of the clearest texts in the Old Testament that talked about Jesus or prophesied about him, and all books which were written since the fourth century, where the churches settled as they are now, have mentioned this text or the prophecy, but if we look at the text carefully, we find that it shows the approach of the Gospels authors in writing, which we had already talked about it earlier. So, he begins talking about the angel of the Lord, and how he appeared to Joseph the son of David in an attempt to convince the readers that the baby, or Jesus, is the son of David who was mentioned in the Old Testament, although Joseph is not his father! Therefore what is the importance of Joseph to this story if he is son of David or not, if he has nothing to do with the process of the birth of Jesus? Yet he (Matthew) should write the genealogy of Mary and makes David one of her fathers, because she is the mother of Jesus in terms of flesh, instead of the genealogy of Joseph, which has not been done by Matthew and the others!

And then talks about Mary who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and will bring forth a son, who shall be called Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins, and indicates to the texts of the Old Testament which have spoken about a man who will appear in the future among the children of Israel, and save them from their sins and the persecution that they are exposed to, then he says all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us".

So what is the relationship between Immanuel and Jesus the savior of the Jews from their sins?!

The angel of the Lord says, as Matthew wrote, that Mary will give birth to a son who shall be called Jesus, so why he quoted the text that talks about a child his name is Immanuel?!

What is the relationship between the name of Jesus the savior and Immanuel?

Here, we read the answer from Matthew by saying that the meaning of the name Immanuel is God with us, as well as that the text speaks about a virgin shall conceive, and this is what happened with Mary.

In this answer we read how Matthew and other authors have used the Old Testament texts to formulate the stories of the Gospels, because the word (or term or name) Emmanuel or God with us, in the text does not indicate to special attributes for Jesus or other people to say that the text talks about him or prophesy about him, because there are dozens of texts in the Old Testament say that the Lord is with so and so, and no one said that this name has certain attributes that makes them gods, and should be worshiped with the Lord or beside Him, including the following texts:

Jeremiah 30:10 ‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob’, says the LORD, ‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, And your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, And no one shall make him afraid.

Jeremiah 30:11 For I am with you’, says the LORD, ‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished’.

Isaiah 41:8 "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.

Isaiah 41:9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand’.

Isaiah 41:11 "Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish.

Isaiah 41:12 You shall seek them and not find them — Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing.

Isaiah 41:13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’.

Ezekiel 34:30 "Thus they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people," says the Lord GOD’."

Ezekiel 34:31 "You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God," says the Lord GOD.

Jeremiah 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

Jeremiah 1:6 Then said I: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth."

Jeremiah 1:7 But the LORD said to me: "Do not say, ‘I am a youth’, For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Jeremiah 1:8 Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you," says the LORD.

Jeremiah 1:19 They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you," says the LORD, "to deliver you."

Zechariah 10:5 They shall be like mighty men, Who tread down their enemies In the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because the LORD is with them, And the riders on horses shall be put to shame.

Genesis 26:28 But they said, "We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you,

Genesis 31:5 and said to them, "I see your father’s countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me.

Genesis 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

Genesis 39:23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.

Genesis 48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

Exodus 3:12 So He said, "I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."

Deuteronomy 20:1 "When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 31:8 "And the LORD, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."

Deuteronomy 31:23 Then He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, "Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you."

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:17 "Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses.

Joshua 1:18 "Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage."

2 Samuel 5:10 So David went on and became great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.

2 Samuel 7:3 Then Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you."

1 Chronicles 28:20 And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God — my God — will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

2 Chronicles 1:1 Now Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and exalted him exceedingly.

In these texts the Lord says that He is with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Jeremiah and other prophets of the Children of Israel, and with the house of Judah and the children of Israel generally, so why did Matthew chose this text which talks about a child named Emanuel to talk about the birth of Jesus, who was called Jesus by the angel of the Lord as Matthew and Luke wrote in their Gospels?!

Here some of the good people of the followers of the churches may begin to say that this text talks of a virgin who shall conceive and give birth, and this viewpoint deserves attention, for this we should examine the quoted text and reread it again to be sure if it has been fulfilled according to the words of the angel of the Lord to Joseph, as Matthew wrote, or it has been achieved before hundreds of years of the writing of the Gospels, which is mentioned in the Book of Isaiah as in the following text:

Isaiah 7:1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it.

Isaiah 7:2 And it was told to the house of David, saying, "Syria’s forces are deployed in Ephraim." So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.

Isaiah 7:3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field,

Isaiah 7:4 "and say to him: ‘Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah.

Isaiah 7:5 ‘Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying,

Isaiah 7:6 "Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel" —

Isaiah 7:7 ‘thus says the Lord GOD: "It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass.

Isaiah 7:8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, So that it will not be a people.

Isaiah 7:9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If you will not believe, Surely you shall not be established."‘"

Isaiah 7:10 Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,

Isaiah 7:11 "Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above."

Isaiah 7:12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!"

Isaiah 7:13 Then he said, "Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?

Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:15 "Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.

Isaiah 7:16 "For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.

Isaiah 7:17 "The LORD will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house — days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah."

Isaiah 7:18 And it shall come to pass in that day That the LORD will whistle for the fly That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt, And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

Isaiah 7:19 They will come, and all of them will rest In the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks, And on all thorns and in all pastures.

Isaiah 7:20 In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor, With those from beyond the River, with the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the legs, And will also remove the beard.

Isaiah 7:21 It shall be in that day That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;

Isaiah 7:22 So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give, That he will eat curds; For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land.

Isaiah 7:23 It shall happen in that day, That wherever there could be a thousand vines Worth a thousand shekels of silver, It will be for briers and thorns.

Isaiah 7:24 With arrows and bows men will come there, Because all the land will become briers and thorns.

Isaiah 7:25 And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe, You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns; But it will become a range for oxen And a place for sheep to roam.

This is the text that contains the paragraph cited by Matthew about the birth of Jesus, and if we read the text carefully, we find that it speaks about the time of alliance between Rezin king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel against Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah to invade his kingdom and divided it among themselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over them, which made Ahaz and his people afraid of this alliance because they cannot confront it, so the prophecy came to him through Isaiah from the LORD saying, that he should not afraid of this alliance, because within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, so that it will not be a people, but it seems that Ahaz did not take this prophecy seriously!

Therefore the LORD spoke with Ahaz again and asked him to ask a sign, but Ahaz said that he will not ask, and will not put the Lord to the test, and here says Isaiah that the Lord Himself will give them a sign as a proof of the truth and the reality of the words of the Lord that He will break Ephraim within sixty-five years, so that it will not be a people, and the sign is that the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and call his name Immanuel. So the sign of virgin in this text was a proof to fulfill the promise of the Lord to break Ephraim within sixty-five years, and this has nothing to do with Jesus by no means, and if we continue reading the text will find that it talks about the land of Ephraim and Aram which shall be forsaken before Immanuel grows up and eats Curds and honey and knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, and then talks about the invasion of the king of Assyria to Ephraim and taking them captives to his country; and the status of the land's natural at that time, and all these things happened before Jesus a few centuries, and there is no way to achieve them or to fulfill them in Jesus' time, because the Holy Land at that time was under the Roman Rule, and Assyria ended before Jesus' time!

Moreover, the next chapter of this text shows that these things talk about the time of the Children of Israel during the reign of Ahaz, which is as follows:

Isaiah 8:1 Moreover the LORD said to me, "Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.

Isaiah 8:2 "And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah."

Isaiah 8:3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz;

Isaiah 8:4 "for before the child shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother’, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria."

Isaiah 8:5 The LORD also spoke to me again, saying:

Isaiah 8:6 "Inasmuch as these people refused The waters of Shiloah that flow softly, And rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son;

Isaiah 8:7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them The waters of the River, strong and mighty — The king of Assyria and all his glory; He will go up over all his channels And go over all his banks.

Isaiah 8:8 He will pass through Judah, He will overflow and pass over, He will reach up to the neck; And the stretching out of his wings Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.

Isaiah 8:9 "Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Give ear, all you from far countries. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces; Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.

Isaiah 8:10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; Speak the word, but it will not stand, For God is with us."

Isaiah 8:11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

Isaiah 8:12 "Do not say, ‘A conspiracy’, Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.

Isaiah 8:13 The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.

Isaiah 8:14 He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 8:15 And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken."

Isaiah 8:16 Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples.

Isaiah 8:17 And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him.

Isaiah 8:18 Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion.

Isaiah 8:19 And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?

Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Isaiah 8:21 They will pass through it hard pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward.

Isaiah 8:22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.

In this text Isaiah completes his words to the children of Israel and what will happen to them when the king of Assyria invades their land, and we read the paragraph that he was speaking with Immanuel directly by saying "He will pass through Judah, He will overflow and pass over, He will reach up to the neck; And the stretching out of his wings Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel", and this shows that Immanuel was born at that time, otherwise he will not speak to him directly.

Hence, the bottom line is that the quotation "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us" by Matthew is not real and unreliable, both in terms of the name Immanuel, because they did not call him Immanuel but Jesus!

Or of historical perspective, because this text is a sign that the Lord will break Ephraim within sixty-five years, so that it will not be a people.

Furthermore, that Jesus did not save the children of Israel, whether from Roman Rule, or from their sins, because they bore more sins, for they crucified him, and this of course, according to the Gospels, therefore our law in this book "do not accept the lying and false" applies to this story!

Pages

Thursday, July 26, 2012

The Source of the Story of the Killing of the Children in Bethlehem

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Source of the Story of the Escape of Jesus to Egypt

Sunday, July 15, 2012

The Source of the Story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem

Friday, July 13, 2012

The Source of the Story of Emmanuel