"Judaism"
Is
it the Old Testament Religion?
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For had ye believed Moses, ye would
have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings,
how shall ye believe My words? John 5:46-47
Part One
Over the years, people have taken for
granted that Judaism is the religion God gave to Moses. Shocking though
it may be--Judaism is not the religion of the Old Testament. Judaism
is plain and simply the religion of the Jews--a religion made up of
their own rules and traditions. The Jews of the New Testament, had
appropriated the name of Moses--but they had rejected the teachings
of Moses. Jesus said, "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed
Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall
ye believe My words?" (John 5:46-47). Judaism uses the name of Moses,
but they don't practice what Moses was commanded by God.
Just as today many different denominations
use the name of Christ, but they don't practice what He commands!
Judaism has used the name of Moses to give authority to their traditions
and teachings. History has proven that Judaism is a man-made religion.
Judaism uses the Old Testament as their basis to say they are the
only chosen people, but they have been deceived by Satan. We must
look into the record of history and learn how the Jews departed from
the religion God gave to Moses and Israel. (Remember Israel consisted
of twelve tribes, not just Judah).
Jesus re-emphasized the message God
gave to Moses. Jesus gave the true spiritual intent of the Old Testament.
He did not nullify the teachings of the Old Testament, He magnified
them (teachings), showing the true spiritual purpose intended.
THE TIME HAS COME FOR THE TRUE CHURCH
OF GOD TO REALIZE THAT JUDAISM WILL DECEIVE YOU. "For there shall
arise false Christ's (Messiahs), and false prophets, and shall shew
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they
shall deceive the very elect" (Matt. 24:24). Many today want to go
back to the teachings of Judaism for their information. They are not
looking and studying into the Word of God for their true foundation
of information.
It is obvious to most readers of the
New Testament that there is a fundamental difference between the teaching
of Jesus the Christ and the Judaism of His day. History has proven
and the Jews admit that the religion of Judaism has drifted far away
from the simple teachings of the Old Testament. The Jews have modified
God's laws and instituted laws and commandments of their own, which
in many instances are diametrically opposite to the teachings of God.
"Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men" (Mark 7:7). When Christ told them they were teaching their
own doctrine, they wanted to kill Him. Christ came to a people who
had, through their own human laws and traditions, rejected the religion
of the Old Testament.
If we are to recognize and understand
the plain facts of history, we need to know the events that have led
to the apostasy of the Jews --from their rejection of the laws of
God. Christ came to the Jews to reveal to them the Gospel--in New
Testament times--to complete the promises that God gave to Moses and
all Israel.
JUDAISM DIVIDED INTO MANY SECTS!
Many have assumed that Judaism in the
time of Christ was a religion united in a common bond and every Jew
believed the same thing and were united into a one Jewish Denomination.
History reveals this to be in error!
Judaism was divided into many sects during the time of Jesus. Dr.
Herford, one of the most noted Jewish writers said, "If it were possible
to analyze the Judaism of the New Testament period into all its component
elements, the results of the process would be to show how complex
a variety is summed up under that name and how far from the truth
it is to speak of 'the Jews' collectively as if they were all alike,
in respect to their Judaism" (Judaism in the New Testament Period,
pp. 41,42).
Judaism then and today is not one unified
organization. There were and are many religious sects comprising Judaism.
There are many 'splinter' groups which had their own ideas and beliefs.
In many ways Judaism in Christ's time is like our day today. We have
many different groups making up the Church of God.
Some of the different sects will be
recognized when reading the New Testament. These sects were the Pharisees,
Scribes, Sadducees, Zealots, and Herodians. There were many more divisions
of which there is a good deal of history. Some of these were the Essenes,
the Qumran sects (those who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls of which so
much has been written), and others who are called by contemporary
religious historians, Apocalyptic. There were other different divisions
among the Jews who lived in Egypt, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Greece,
etc.
There was not one single Jewish sect--
Judaism was divided into many different fragments! History has shown
us another mis-understood fact: THE JEWS AS A WHOLE WERE NOT INTERESTED
IN RELIGION AT THIS TIME IN HISTORY!
The records show that less that 5%
of the total Jewish population of Palestine belonged directly to any
of the religious groups mentioned above! Unbelievable as it sounds,
over 95% of the population of Palestine were neither Pharisee, Scribe,
Zealot, Herodian, Essene, Qumran or Apolcalyptic, or Sadducees. The
majority of the people in Palestine had no direct membership in religious
denominations of Judaism. In most cases people were not particularly
religious. These people were referred to by the Pharisees, as the
Am ba-aretz, meaning in Hebrew, the "people of the Land or simply,
"the common people." Dr. Herford says, "It is clear that the Am ba-aretz
(the common people) were not all of one type, either in respect of
their religion or socially and economically. Just as they included
rich and poor, capitalist and labourer, the merchant, the farmer,
the artisan, the tax-gather (publican) and the tradesman, so, on the
religious side, they included those who were not Pharisees, and those
who paid little or no heed to religion at all, with every shade of
piety and indifference in between" (ibid, pg. 72). Several sources
say there were between two and one-half to three million people living
in Palestine at the time of Christ (Encyclopedia Biblica--A Social
and Religious History of the Jews, Vol. I, pg. 370- 372). Jewish historians
have summed up the opinions of the experts in this matter. Dr. J.
Klausner, a contemporary Jewish scholar: has studied in particular,
the records pertaining to the wars between 63 and 37 B.C. and has
reached the conclusion that at the end of the Maccabean reign there
lived in all of Palestine approximately three million Jews, not including
half a million Samaritians, Syro-Phoenicians, Arabs, and Greeks" (ibid,
Vol. i, pg. 372).
The most prominent sect in Judaism
at this time were the Pharisees. Christ had more to say against them
than any other group. One of the reasons for this was that the Pharisees
were the most influential group and had more members. They also had
direct control over the majority of the synagogues and schools and
in this respect had the most popularity among the people. Even though
they were the most influential and prominent religious group among
the Jews in the time of Christ, only about 6000 out of three million
Jews were Pharisees! The Jewish historian, Josephus who was a Pharisee
himself, informs us of this fact in his history Antiquities of the
Jews, xvii, 2,4. What does this mean? The Pharisees, the major religious
sect among the Jews represented .2% of all the Jews in Palestine.
These facts should open the eyes of many who have erroneous ideas
that most of the Jews in Christ's time were Pharisees. Most New Testament
readers have never taken the time to really ascertain the religious
conditions of the Jews during the life of Christ. They have overlooked
Christ's warning not to follow the commandments of men and the traditions
of the Jews! "Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men. And He said unto them, Full well ye reject
the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition" (Mark
7:7,9).
The other Jewish sects within Judaism
were less significant than the Pharisees. The Sadducees, for example
were a sect that Christ came into contact with frequently, but were
less prominent than the Pharisees. The Sadducees had control of the
temple at the time of Jesus Christ. According to Antiquities of the
Jews, xviii, 1,4 and the Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Vol
i, pg. 322, the Sadducees numbered less than 3000 members.
Another sect among the Jews were the
Essenes. Josephus informs us that there were only about 4000 (ibid,
xviii, 1). A group known as the Qumran, were a part of the Essene
sect and represented about 4000 members. The rest of the sects in
Palestine were of minor importance. All these figures represents the
startling truth: the majority of Jews did not belong to a religious
sect!!
History has shown that all people were
not irreligious. Some did hold a form of religion. Some attended synagogues
(assemblies). Because ministers in charge of most synagogues were
Pharisees, it is likely that much of the Pharisaical teaching influenced
the people. But, most of the people had no desire to practice the
strict disciplinary rules of the Pharisees. Nevertheless, some people
went to the synagogue to hear the scriptures expounded on the Sabbath.
The Common people who did attend synagogue services were not required
to hold to the teachings of the Pharisees. The Pharisees exercised
little real authority over the religious life of the people. THERE
WAS LITTLE EXERCISE OF ANY CENTRAL RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY WITHIN JUDAISM
AT THAT TIME. "Pharisaism had no means of compelling those who were
not in their fellowship to conform to their requirements" (Life and
Times of Jesus the Messiah, pg. 137). "It is perfectly clear that
the people at large did not share in the punctilious religious life
of the Pharisees, however much they might admire it. In Palestine,
as in modern lands, the proportion of those actively engaged in religious
service was undoubtedly small" (Mathews, History of New Testament
Times in Palestine, pg. 160). It was over the lives of the 'pious'
that the Pharisees saddled a harsh religion of "do's and don'ts."
Synagogues ruled by the Pharisees were
opened to all the Jews, but not many attended. It appears that very
few Jews relatively speaking attended the synagogues regularly, if
the size and number of synagogues of which records exist are of any
guide! It can be safely said very few Common people attended synagogue!
There is only one recorded synagogue in the city of Capernaum (and
that was built by a Gentile). "Now when He had ended all His sayings
in the audience of the people, He entered into Capernaum. And a certain
centurion's servant, who was dear unto Him, was sick, and ready to
die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto Him the elders of the
Jews, beseeching Him that He would come and heal his servant. And
when they came to Jesus, they besought Him instantly, saying, That
he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation,
and he hath built us a synagogue" (Luke 7:1-5). The synagogue at Capernaum
held approximately 500 people" (Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah,
vol i,pg. 365,432,433).
"Josephus tells us that there was no
city or village (township) in all of Galilee that had less than 15,000
inhabitants (Wars of the Jews, iii, 3,3). Josephus was governor of
the province of Galilee under the Romans and was well aware of the
population, especially since he was responsible for collecting taxes.
Most cities of Galilee had only one synagogue. If there were about
15,000 population in the city and the synagogue was small, holding
500 or less, you can see the majority of the people were not religious!
Eldersheim tells us that Nazareth was a religious center and it's
synagogue was so small that it could hardly seat more than 75 people
(Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah).
The religious condition of 2000 years
ago should not be a surprise to any of us. Popular Judaism is like
popular Churchianity! Just as today most people are not religious.
Most "Christians" only attend church one or two times a year. How
many people really know the true God? How many people are willing
to obey His commands? Most people today aren't interested in real,
heart-felt religion as taught by Jesus Christ and His Word!
Is it so amazing to think that 95%
of the Jews at the time of Christ were no more religious than the
people of today? It is a false idea to think that Judaism is the religion
that God gave to Moses! The Jews as a people (a tribe of Israel) paid
no more attention to religion than the people of Britain and America
today (modern day Israel).
BOTH JUDAISM AND CATHOLICISM CAME
OUT OF BABYLON!
~~~~ (To
be continued in the next issue of the "Prove all Things")
(Information for this article was
taken from the Good News Magazine, December 1960,
published by Ambassador College.
We encourage you to read the original
article titled "Is Judaism the Religion of Moses?).