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Judaism
Founder: Unknown

 

Overview:
There are many people who will read this and say to themselves that Judaism cannot be a cult since Christianity came out of it. If you will take the time to read this and not react with hostility to information that contradicts what you know to be true, it is our hope will re-examine your assumptions and find the truth.

The term "G-d" is how the Jews spell the name of their deity in full. They believe that they are not worthy to write the full name of God. Around 2000 B.C., the God of the ancient Israelites established a divine covenant with Abraham, making him the patriarch of many nations. The term Abramic Religions is derived from his name. The book of Genesis describes the events surrounding the lives of the  three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses was the next leader of the ancient Israelites. He led his people out of captivity in Egypt, and received the Law or Torah from God. After 40 years of wandering through wilderness, Joshua led the tribes into the promised land, driving out the Canaanites through a series of military battles.

The theocracy was converted into a kingdom by Samuel when the people demanded to ruled by an earthly king; its first king was Saul. The second king, David, established Jerusalem as the religious and political center. The third king, Solomon built the first temple there.

Division into the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah occurred shortly after the death of Solomon in 922 B.C. Israel fell to Assyria in 722 B.C.; Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 B.C. The temple was destroyed. Some Jews returned from captivity under the Babylonians and started to restore the temple in 536 B.C. Alexander the Great invaded the area in 332 B.C., and from about 300 to 63 B.C., Greek became the language of commerce, and Greek culture had a major influence on Israelites. In 63 B.C., the Roman Empire took control of Judea and Israel.

The ancient Israelites received their name from one of their patriarchs, Jacob whose name was changed to Israel (which means "rules with God"). Israel had twelve sons and out of these sons came the twelve tribes of Israel. All the descendants of Israel were known as the children of Israel. One of the twelve sons was Judah, and his descendants were known as Jews, eventually this name was adopted to encompass all twelve tribes and this is their modern day name by which they are all called.

Four major (and some minor) religious sects had formed by the 1st century A.D.: the Basusim, Essenes, Pharisees and Sadducees. Many anticipated the arrival of the Messiah, who would drive the Roman invaders out and restore independence. Christianity was established and centered in Jerusalem. Many mini-revolts led to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 A.D. The Jewish Christians were already scattered and gone because Jesus had warned them that this would happen. Jews were scattered throughout the known world and were no longer centered in Jerusalem; Jews were prohibited from setting foot there. Judaism became decentralized and stopped seeking converts. The local synagogue became the new center of Jewish life, and authority shifted from the centralized priesthood to local scholars and teachers, giving rise to Rabbinic Judaism.

Now, given what has been put forth already, the Old Testament foretold of a Messiah that would come and this is what Israelites were waiting for. When Jesus of Nazareth was born, He was the Messiah foretold of in the Old Testament, but many Israelites failed to see that He was the Messiah, rejected him and became a cult. Remember, a cult according to the Bible and God – since it is his written Word – is any group of people that worship anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ, and believe anything contrary to His word as recorded in the Bible. The Old and New Testament clearly show that God is author of the Bible, and Jesus Christ is God. With that in mind, anyone who claims to know or preach that there is any other way to reach, or know God other than the Lord Jesus Christ is "The Antichrist." Because this is what God (Jesus) has told us in the Bible (1 John 4:2-3). If we choose to believe anything else, we have been deceived. That is why God has given us the Bible so that we may know the Truth, and that the Truth will make us free from the deception of Satan (John 8:32).

There is deceptive teaching going around that God has a special plan of salvation for the Jews. The truth is there is no "special plan of salvation" for the Jews. There are not two messiah's, one for the Jews and another for the Gentiles. Everybody, Jew or Gentile, will be held to one plan of salvation, and that is thru Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Galatians 3:1-29). The "messiah" that the Jews have been waiting for all these years, when he does come to power, will come as the Antichrist. Jesus came the first time as a suffering servant, but when He comes back the second and last time, it will be as the King of kings.

The Jews of today have used the slaughter of European Jews during WWII to their advantage. When they find something they disagree with, they pull the race card into play and scream, “anti-Semitism, you are an anti-Semite!” Being labeled as an anti-Semite can be compared to being blacklisted or receiving the kiss of death in society. Consequently, everyone is afraid to criticize the Jews for fear of being blacklisted as anti-Semitic! It is important that people know that it is not anti-Semitic to criticize Jews or the policies of the state of Israel. After all, why shouldn’t Gentiles be able to converse about the Jews or any other people for that matter without being labeled as a racist?

ZIONISM
The ungodly Zionist movement was started with the goal was recreate the Jewish homeland that was lost in Palestine. The state of Israel was formed on May 18, 1948.
It is noteworthy to point out that God had told the Israelites in Old Testament many times that if they continued in their idolatry, they would lose the land which had been given to them (Deuteronomy 8:18-20).  Zionism was from the very beginning and still is a man-made attempt to regain what has been lost through disobedience to God. The current state of Israel did not come into being with God's help or blessing since modern day Israelites still have not repented and turned from their wicked ways (2 Chronicles 7:14). This is not to say there are no God fearing Jews in existence today, but those that call themselves Zionists have rejected the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and are serving another god.

Jews have been victims in the past of racial hatred but it is important to note that they have brought this upon themselves in most cases because of the hateful Talmud and its ways of dealing with Gentiles. The Talmud is their extra biblical teaching that contains "additional inspired writings" about stories, laws, medical knowledge, debates about moral choices, etc. It is composed of material which comes mainly from two sources:

  • the Mishnah, 6 "orders" containing hundreds of chapters, including series of laws from the Hebrew Scriptures. It was compiled about 200 A.D..

  • the Gemara (one Babylonian and one Palestinian) is encyclopedic in scope. It includes comments from hundreds of Rabbis from 200 - 500 A.D., explaining the Mishnah with additional historical, religious, legal, sociological, etc. material. It often records many different opinions on a topic without giving a definitive answer.

There are five main forms of Judaism in the world today:

  • Conservative Judaism: This began in the mid-nineteenth century as a reaction against the Reform movement. It is a main-line movement midway between Reform and Orthodox.

  • Humanistic Judaism: This is a very small group, mainly composed of atheists and agnostics, who regard mankind as the measure of all things.

  • Orthodox Judaism: This the oldest, most conservative, and most diverse form of Judaism. Modern Orthodox, Chasidim and Ultra Orthodox share a basic belief in the derivation of Jewish law, even as they hold very different outlooks on life. They attempt to follow the original form of Judaism as they view it to be. They look upon every word in their sacred texts as being divinely inspired.

  • Reconstructionist Judaism: This is a new, small, liberal movement started by Mordecai Kaplan as an attempt to unify and revitalize the religion. They reject the concept that Jews are a uniquely favored and chosen people. They have no connection at all with Christian Reconstructionism, which is an ultra-conservative form of Christianity.

  • Reform Judaism: They are a liberal group, followed by many North American Jews. The movement started in the 1790's in Germany. They follow the ethical laws of Judaism, but leave up to the individual the decision whether to follow or ignore the dietary and other traditional laws. They use modern forms of worship. There are many female rabbis in reform congregations.

Cult Beliefs:

  • They believe God is one, incorporeal (without a body), and he alone is to be worshipped as absolute ruler of the universe. They reject the Godhead presented in the Old and New Testaments. (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)

  • They believe works and behavior to be of primary importance; faith comes out of works.

  • They do not believe in original sin (the belief that all people have inherited Adam and Eve's sin when they disobeyed God's instructions in the Garden of Eden).

  • They believe no savior is needed or is available as an intermediary.

  • Beliefs about Jesus vary considerably. Some view Him as a great moral teacher. Others see Him as a false prophet or as an idol of Christianity. Some sects of Judaism will not even say His name due to the prohibition against saying an idol's name. 

  • They believe they are God's chosen people and view themselves to be superior to everyone else. 

  • They use the Talmud as a supplement to the Torah; The "wisdom" of Talmud often overrules common sense:

    • It is considered work to turn off a light on the Sabbath but they will twist a shade on a special shabbot light and block the light. Supposedly this is not considered work.

  • They believe that their Messiah will arrive in the future and gather Jews once more into the land of Israel. There will be a general resurrection of the dead at that time. The Jerusalem Temple, destroyed in 70 A.D., will be rebuilt.

  • They believe that a baby receives full rights as a person when it is half-emerged from its mother's body.


Further information can be found in the following books:

Israel: Our Duty... Our Dilemma by Theodore Pike
The 13th Tribe by Arthur Koestler
The Six-Pointed Star  by O.J. Graham

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