The new book “Behold!” turns
some of the beliefs of Christianity upside down
Millions of Christians revere the cross. It is the symbol of the world’s largest
religion. The cross and the holy holiday
of Easter represent the foundational belief that Jesus is the Son of God who
came to die so all who believe in Him may have their sins forgiven and obtain
eternal life. Right? But what if that is
all wrong?
Jesus did not die at Easter
Easter is considered the holiest day of the year in
Christianity. However, the crucifixion
and resurrection of Jesus did not take place at Easter. The Bible says it occurred during the Jewish
holiday of Passover. While Jesus is
recognized as the Lamb of God, the fact that Passover lambs were not sacrificed
for sin atonement is generally not known or acknowledged
in Christianity.
What we have missed
Christ? Messiah? What these titles tell us:
The word “Messiah” and “Christ” both mean “anointed” as in symbolic of
being empowered and consecrated to serve God and carry out specific tasks.
Kings, Priests and Prophets were anointed to serve in the young nation of
Israel. One
may ask when did Jesus serve as a Prophet, King or Priest and when was He
“anointed” for these roles?
Sin
Atonement required for forgiveness:
One of the
foundational beliefs in Christianity is sin cannot be forgiven without
substitutionary death atonement. Is this
true? Hidden in plain sight are Bible
verses where God forgave sin without the mention of sacrificial animal
atonement (Exodus 34:6-7, II Chronicles
7:14 Psalm 103 and Isaiah 43:22-25), and said certain sins could never be
covered by animal sacrifices (Numbers
15:30-31, I Samuel 3:14, Exodus 23:21, and Joshua 24:19). In Jeremiah 7:22 God says He never commanded the people to
sacrifice animals. It is in Isaiah
1:11-18, and Amos 5:21-23 that God strongly expresses His distaste for the
sacrifices. Oddly enough, we seem to miss there is no situation in the gospels
where Jesus called for the sacrifice of an animal for sin atonement. However, Jesus did speak of forgiving others
as God forgives us. These verses and others from the Old Testament and the gospels
make an astounding case that Christianity has long misunderstood the concept
that the death of Jesus was required for forgiveness of mankind’s sin.
Did Jesus come to replace Judaism or the Law?
Jesus was born into and practiced Judaism, the religion
established by God beginning with Abraham.
In John 4:22 Jesus said salvation is of the Jews. Jesus observed the commands and teachings of
the Old Testament Torah saying in Matthew 5:17 He had not come to “destroy”
(take away or lessen its meaning as in misinterpret) the Law or the Prophets,
but rather to “fulfill” (in Rabbinic Hebrew meaning to correctly interpret or
fill with meaning) the instructions.
No prophecy of the Old Testament nor teaching of Jesus indicated God’s
relationship with the Jews or God’s instructions (laws, Torah) for right living
would become obsolete or need to be replaced.
Questioning what we believe about Jesus & Christianity
While many Christians believe certain doctrines within the
Christian faith have always been a part of the church and are Bible based, in
reality Christianity has been an evolving system of theories that have become
doctrines. Surprisingly, when
researched, we discover some of these beliefs were developed as late as 200
years after the resurrection or as recently as the last couple of hundred
years.
As the early
Church gradually shifted away from Judaism and the Old Testament, the
Greco/Roman influence of bishops, philosophers and theologians weighed in. Superseding scripture, their theories on
the identity and nature of Jesus, why He came and what God requires of His
followers formed the foundational doctrines of what is still believed and
practiced today. Through new archeological discoveries and the internet, this
information is now readily available for better translations of Hebrew and
Greek words, and idioms. Therefore, it
is easier than ever before to determine if some of these beliefs have
scriptural support in the Bible.
The new book “Behold! The Jesus We NEVER KNEW: God from
the Beginning” provides explanations for these important topics and
tells a very different story about who Jesus is and why He came. “Behold!” is written by first
time author Anna A. Goodman with her husband, Dr. Jeffrey Goodman,[1]
an archeologist, author and M
[1]
Dr. Jeffrey Goodman’s last book is THE COMETS
of GOD: New Scientific Evidence For God--Recent archeological, geological and
astronomical discoveries that shine new light on the Bible and its prophecies.
