Israel vs. Fear

Christopher, meet G-d.

Christopher Hitchens, devout atheist (or "antitheist", as it were), journalist, literary critic, editor, and author of numerous titles, including God Is Not Great, was forcibly summoned into the presence of the Great and Eternal One yesterday afternoon. He was 62. Hitchens said that one, "could be an atheist and wish that belief in god were correct," but that "an antitheist, a term I'm trying to get into circulation, is someone who is relieved that there's no evidence for such an assertion." Yes, this man, known for his vast intellect, was "relieved" that there was "no evidence" for the existence of G-d. I imagine he found himself a bit more anxious Thursday evening. Hitchens also said, before he passed, "redemption and supernatural deliverance appears even more hollow and artificial to me than it did before." It has been reported that Hitchens was working on a book on the Ten Commandments - this from the man who, in God Is Not Great, wrote, "Very importantly, the divorce between the sexual life and fear, and the sexual life and disease, and the sexual life and tyranny, can now at last be attempted, on the sole condition that we banish all religions from the discourse. And all this and more is, for the first time in our history, within the reach if not the grasp of everyone." It's too bad we lost this charming fellow.

As if being an ardent "antitheist" weren't enough, Hitchens, who was Jewish (matrilineally), fancied himself a fervid Anti-Zionist, as well - a terrific example of how one mode of ignorance informs the next. He once said, "I am an Anti-Zionist. I'm one of those people of Jewish descent who believes that Zionism would be a mistake even if there were no Palestinians." While he maintained that the Israel-Palestine conflict was nothing more than a "trivial squabble" that has become "so dangerous to all of us" because of  its "faith-based element.", he viewed Zionism "as an injustice against the Palestinians" and once said, "I have never been able to banish the queasy inner suspicion that Israel just did not look, or feel, either permanent or sustainable." How gravely mistaken and misguided this man was - about a great many things.

He sees

It would be an understatement to say that this world, the Creation of the Eternal One, is indescribably, and inconceivably complex. From the trillions of atoms that comprise the billions of cells that form the incalculably elaborate structures of your eyes - the very organs you're using to read these words - to the vast oceans, the unexplored forests, and the inhospitable deserts - paved with more than a decillion microscopic jewels, we can see the incredibly creative hand of Adonai. And we see His creativity, sometimes even His humor, everywhere we look. He has hand-signed every piece He's ever designed. If we seek Him - truly, G-d is not difficult to find.

But what does He see? How does He perceive His own Creation?

On that Day

"Behold, I am about to make Yerushalayim a cup of stumbling to all the surrounding people. The siege of Yerushalayim will also be against Yehudah. On that day, I will make Yerushalayim a heavy stone for all the nations. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves - though, all the nations of the earth will gather against it... On that day, the L-RD will protect the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, so that the feeblest among them, on that day, shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like G-d, like the angel of the L-RD, going before them. And on that day, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Yerushalayim.

No Comparison

I never knew you!

Maran Yeshua said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'L-RD, L-RD,' will enter Ha Olam Haba, but those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that Day, many will say to me,`L-RD, L-RD! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we expel demons in your name? Didn't we perform many miracles in your name?' Then I will tell them to their faces,`I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!' ~ Matityahu 7:21-23

The Greek word that is translated in verse 23 as "lawlessness" is anomia - which is basically, "no law", but not simply. This word, like many Greek words, has an unspoken depth. It is sometimes translated as "iniquity" or "unrighteousness", but is best defined as: the condition of being without law - either because one is ignorant of the law, is guilty of violating the law, or possibly, even holds contempt for the law.

This passage has always astounded me, but not nearly as much as peoples' reaction to it. The tendency of many to overlook what is being said can be likened to attempting to gaze past an enormous mountain while standing at its base. Yeshua speaks an extremely challenging message here. He speaks of someone who is actively pursuing the things of G-d. This person cries out, "L-RD, L-RD!" - the repetition implies emphasis and is used by Yeshua to illustrate sincerity on the part of this person - one who also prophesies, casts out demons, and performs other miraculous works in His name. This is not a casual believer being described, and notice that Yeshua doesn't take issue with their statement. He doesn't deny that this person has accomplished many miraculous works. He simply says, very boldly and to this person's face, that He never knew them and that they must get away from Him. He says that they have worked as if He never gave them any law. Apparently, "lawlessness" is the only blemish on this believer's accomplished record. This is, perhaps, one of the most sobering passages in all of scripture, in my opinion. We would do (more than) well to pour over it, (really) pray about it, and examine our hearts (and actions) concerning it.

Where do we stand? What do we do with the Torah of Yeshua - the commandments of HaShem? Do we make the will of HaShem our highest priority? Does He know you?

PS2

"The wicked try to improve on one another in their acts of wickedness. Cain killed Abel. Esau sought to improve on Cain, who killed his brother whilst Adam was yet alive to beget another son instead of Abel; he would wait till his father died, then he would kill his brother, so that he alone might inherit everything. Pharaoh thought Esau's scheme did not go far enough, because whilst Esau was waiting he allowed Jacob to raise up a family of his own; therefore his design was an improvement on Esau's: better kill the Israelites' males at their very birth; the women would then be intermixed with the Egyptians, and thus Israel would be entirely obliterated. Haman criticized Pharaoh's wisdom, and decided upon the policy of making a clean sweep of all the Jews without distinction of sex. Gog and Magog ridiculed all their predecessors in iniquity, and taking into account that the Jews had a Protector in their Heavenly Father, thought of attacking G-d Himself." ~ Midrash, Psalms 2

Cold Feet

In Matityahu 14:23-33, we read that Yeshua walked on water. Water. The stuff of oceans, lakes and wave pools. A thirty-something carpenter, presumably no light weight, accomplished the absolutely unthinkable. Surely, His body still possessed all the mass it had when He walked on land. Yet, somehow, He was able to suspend the known effects the human body has on water (namely, to displace it) and kept it solid, so to speak, beneath His feet. That is absolutely amazing to me. Admittedly, I've taken the details of that event for granted most of my adult life. Assuming that I would never possess the ability to walk on water myself, and believing there probably wasn't much of a lesson here, I've tended to relegate this event to the category of "stuff Yeshua did just to be amazing".

Perhaps, even more amazing than that, though, is the fact that Kefa did it too. Kefa wanted so intensely to be just like His Master. We can safely assume that Kefa had never before walked on water. Chances are he hadn't discovered the secret to this astonishing feat in his free time. I don't think he could have even imagined being able to suspend the known effects the human body has on water - but his Master was doing it, and He was calling him out to do it, too. In this moment, Kefa realized that Yeshua chose him because He believed that he, as His talmid, could be just like Him. While we don't see any hesitation on Kefa's part to step out of the boat, I'm certain that he, for a split second, thought back to all the things he witnessed his Master doing over the last year or so. With all this in mind, and fueled by faith, Kefa stepped out believing that Yeshua could hold him up. He'd keep him afloat no matter what.