Weekly E-mail Reminder

	HIDDEN LDS/JEWISH INSIGHTS #10 Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Supplement by Daniel Rona Weekly E-mail Reminder << He Inviteth All to Come Unto Him >> 2 Nephi 26–30 --------------------------------------------------------------------- (1.) DIFFERENT LAWS FOR JEWS AND GENTILES? --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Jews count 613 laws for themselves and only seven Gentile Laws from Noah. "Seven laws which were supposed by the rabbis to have been binding on all mankind even before the revelation at Sinai . . . exegetically derived from statements made by God to Adam and to Noah. Not To: 1) worship idols; 2) blaspheme the name of God; 3) kill; 4) commit adultery; 5) rob; 6) eat flesh that had been cut from a living animal. Must Do: 1) to establish courts of justice. These seven laws are binding on all non-Jews even today. Whoever observes them is considered to be among the ‘Righteous Gentiles’." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (2.) IS THE MESSIAH JUST FOR THE JEWS? --------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Hebrew word for Messiah, mashi'ah, means ‘anointed’ and indicates . . . chosen by God. The coming of the Messiah therefore has come to mean the redemption of the Jewish people and an end to its suffering and tribulations." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) The Book of Mormon teaches that the Messiah is for ALL people. "And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus is the very Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God . . ." (2 Nephi 26:12) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (3.) THE MESSIAH, AN ERA, A MAN OR A GOD? --------------------------------------------------------------------- "In traditional Judaism, the Messiah will be a human being --- albeit it a perfect one --- who will come and bring harmony to the world. He will not have a divine aspect other than having been chosen by God for his task." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (4.) THE BIBLE – JUST OLD TESTAMENT? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Jews only identify the "Old Testament" as the Bible. "The . . . Hebrew name for the Bible . . . is Tanakh . . . formed from the initial letters of the Hebrew names of the three parts of the Bible: Torah (the first five Books), Nevi'im (The Prophets) and Ketuvim (The Writings, or Hagiographa). The English name, ‘Bible,’ is from the Greek meaning ‘book,’ . . . ‘Scriptures’ (or Holy Scriptures), is from the Latin and means ‘writings.’" (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (5.) PEOPLE OF THE BOOK: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Both "Judah" and "Joseph" are culturally and scripturally the "People of the Book." "Books and learning are so much a part of Jewish tradition . . . many of the violent acts of anti-Semitism throughout history were accompanied by the defacement and burning of books . . . knowing how much anguish this would cause, identified the book with the Jew. Israel ranks second in the world in the number of books of all kinds bought per person." --------------------------------------------------------------------- (6.) DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING: --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Western civilization (the establishment of written language, codified law, cities and trade) began in [Mesopotamia . . . today covered by Iraq, Iran and parts of Syria and Turkey] toward the end of the fourth millennium (i,e., four thousand years) B.C.E. when the Sumerians emerged as the dominant element in an intermingling of several migrant peoples. To the Sumerians we owe the full development of writing, possibly the invention of bronze metallurgy . . ." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (7.) COVENANT TRANSFORMED INTO TEXT: --------------------------------------------------------------------- "The covenant between God and the Chosen People was transformed into a written text; the central religious object became the Ten Commandments, inscribed on stone; and later the Torah scroll was to be revered. The biblical society as a whole became ‘book centered.’ In contrast to many other societies, the Israelites did not limit the acquisition of the arts of reading and writing to the nobility --- any tribesman, even a non-priest, could become a literate leader. Certainly by King Hezekiah's time (eighth century B.C.E.), a great deal of literary activity was taking place." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (8.) THE TRUE MESSIAH: --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Book of Mormon is the tool of the convincing of the Jews and the Gentiles that Jesus is the Messiah. It corrects the mistaken perceptions of Jesus as God the Father AND the Son AND the Holy Ghost. It came forth through the prophet Joseph Smith, a latter-day descendant of ancient Joseph who saved his brothers. It is revealed to all mankind in preparation of the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God and a descendant of ancient David. "According to the Talmud, the Messiah will be a descendant of the House of David and will be preceded by a secondary Messiah, from the House of Joseph." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
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