JUDAISM OF TODAY

Dear Jewish Person, do you realize that the Judaism you might observe today is NOT the religion of your ancestors, as found in the Bible? This might shock you, but it is true!

We cannot see any resemblance of the religion of ancient Israel to the Judaism which some Jewish people practice in these present times. Oh, that my Jewish brothers would only take the time to read and study the five books of Moses, and compare it with the religion that is observed today by the orthodox, conservative and reformed branches of Judaism! They would find the Judaism that is observed now does not resemble in the least, the religion of ancient Israel!

The religion of our forefathers was characterized by several things:
There was a national Center of Worship, first the Tabernacle, and later, the Temple in Jerusalem. At the time of the Old Covenant it was a commandment of God that all males were to go to this central place of worship three times a year. Judaism today has no National or Central Sanctuary, and therefore the requirement for all Jewish men to come there to worship is impossible!

In the ancient religion of Israel, the only way of approach to God was by the sacrifice of animals at the National Sanctuary. This ended in 70 A.D. when the Temple was destroyed by the Romans. We know that present-day Judaism does not have this approach to God. Under the Law of Moses, it was a commandment of God that there be the shedding of blood of an appropriate sacrificial animal, in order that sins would be forgiven. There is no such requirement in Judaism today.

Under the Old Covenant, the religion of the Hebrews needed a priesthood taken from the descendants of Aaron to minister at the Altar, and in the Sanctuary. In fact, almost every phase of the religious life of Israel centered around these three requirements: The Temple, the Sacrifices and the Priesthood.

Today, these are absent from Judaism. This absence was predicted by God through the prophet Hosea:

"For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a King, and without a Prince, and without a Sacrifice, and without an Image, and without an Ephod, and without Teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their King; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the LATTER DAYS." (Hosea 3:4-5)

The portion we have just read about the LATTER DAYS, brings in the hope of a coming Messiah. He would fulfill all things after Israel had been without a King, a Sacrifice and a Priesthood for some time. The religion of the Hebrews, under the Old Covenant, expected the coming of the Messiah Who would be called "The Son of David". But in the ranks of Judaism today, we seldom find this hope.

Ancient Israel lived by the Covenant or Agreement made by God with the Hebrew people at Mt. Sinai. Today, it is impossible for Israel to live by the Covenant because of the destruction of Jerusalem's Temple in 70 A.D. There is also the pronouncement in Jeremiah (31:31) which states that a New Covenant will be in place!

Another characteristic of the religion of our Jewish forefathers was their belief in the tri-unity of God as recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. But current Judaism insists upon the absolute oneness of God, quoting the "Sh'ma" in Deuteronomy 6:4 as their great confession of faith. They do not realize that the word for "one" used there is "echad" and does not mean absolute one-ness but it means a "composite unity." 

We find in the New Testament the interpretation of what our Jewish forefathers believed of God, namely, that there is ONE GOD, the Heavenly Father Whom no man has seen; that there is a Person (The Messiah) Who is the visible manifestation and expression of God; and that there is the Spirit of God, Who is God's invisible presence. These three are "Echad", a unity. Judaism today does not accept this.

How can one say that the Judaism of these present days is composed of the faith of our Jewish forefathers when none of the basic elements of the Hebrew Scriptures are found in it? As has been said: Judaism does not currently have a Priesthood, a Sacrifice, an Altar, a Central Sanctuary, a Messiah or a belief in the composite unity of God, all of which composed the faith of our Jewish forefathers.

Are you trusting in the Judaism of the Talmud, or are you trusting in the faith of our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Are you believing in the commandments of men or are you believing in the commandments of God?

Are you involved in ritual, custom, ceremony, and in the holidays of Judaism as found in books written by men or are you involved in the fulfillment of all this as found in the second half of the Bible?

Do you believe in a Messiah yet to come the first time or have you accepted Yeshua as your Messiah Who has already come and will come again very soon? Praise God that there are many Jewish people who are discovering the truth of the faith of our forefathers and are coming to the fullness of that faith by believing in Yeshua-Jesus as Messiah and King.

Copyright 2002 - Rock of Israel Ministries