"Brit-Am Now"-535
"Brit-Am Now"-535
Contents:
1. Thank You
2. Questions on Abraham, the World, and the Holy Temple
3. History: Halstatt and the Early Celts part one
1. Thank You
(a) THANK YOU FOR ALL THE RESEARCH AND PRAYER YOU DO, WE APPRECIATE IT OVER HERE!
Baxter Miller
(b) Subject: RE: "Brit-Am Now"-531
Thank you so much for this...It gives some interesting topics for discussion and research...Also something that may help a couple of other people with questions they have so will pass it on to them...Shalom, Mona.
2. Questions on Abraham, the World, and the Holy Temple
From: "James"
Subject: Abrahamic and Temple Traditions: My Research Paper
As someone who is well versed in Abrahamic tradition including the history of the tribes of Israel, I was wondering if I could ask a few questions about these topics. I would appreciate your sacrifice in a little time for me very very much. I enjoy your work. I myself follow a faith that firmly believes in the dispersion of the Lost Tribes of Israel to the lands of the Americas and Europe, and their subsequent future restoration. In fact, its part of my church's core doctrine, so I appreciate what you do and the scholarly research you put into that end. Here are the questions.
What is the role of Abraham as patriarch and father of Israel? What core ideas did he introduce that are still with Judaism today and were important to the ancient Jews? In Jewish tradition, is he associated with the ancient temple in any way? Please explain.
Do you believe that the tribes of Israel remain and will remain God's covenant people, and that a gathering and restoration of Israel will take place or is taking place? What is the future fate of the descendants of father Abraham?
What is the role of the ancient temple? What role does it play in modern Judaism? Do you believe that in accordance with the restoration of the house of Israel, the temple will be rebuilt and the ancient glory of Israel and her God will be restored and revered? Please explain your answer.
James
Answers:
Q. What is the role of Abraham as patriarch and father of Israel? What core ideas did he introduce that are still with Judaism today and were important to the ancient Jews? In Jewish tradition, is he associated with the ancient temple in any way? Please explain.
A. The answers I give are based on my own understanding of the Bible in light of the Hebrew text and
Jewish tradition. Nevertheless these answers should not be taken as necessarily representative
of Judaism without referring to other authorities.
Abraham was the first Hebrew in Biblical terms. From Abraham descends the Chosen People of Israel.
Through Abraham we are introduced in a more complete sense than previously to the concept of:
a. One Almighty God who interacts directly with mankind.
[Genesis 14:19] AND HE BLESSED HIM, AND SAID, BLESSED BE ABRAM OF THE MOST HIGH GOD, POSSESSOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH:
b. Direct contact between Man and God (Genesis 12:1).
c. The Promise of a Chosen People.
d. The Promise that the Chosen People would be a blessing for all mankind.
[Genesis 12:1] NOW THE LORD HAD SAID UNTO ABRAM, GET THEE OUT OF THY COUNTRY, AND FROM THY KINDRED, AND FROM THY FATHER'S HOUSE, UNTO A LAND THAT I WILL SHEW THEE:
[Genesis 12:2] AND I WILL MAKE OF THEE A GREAT NATION, AND I WILL BLESS THEE, AND MAKE THY NAME GREAT; AND THOU SHALT BE A BLESSING:
[Genesis 12:3] AND I WILL BLESS THEM THAT BLESS THEE, AND CURSE HIM THAT CURSETH THEE: AND IN THEE SHALL ALL FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED.
[Genesis 17:5] NEITHER SHALL THY NAME ANY MORE BE CALLED ABRAM, BUT THY NAME SHALL BE ABRAHAM; FOR A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE THEE.
[Genesis 17:6] AND I WILL MAKE THEE EXCEEDING FRUITFUL, AND I WILL MAKE NATIONS OF THEE, AND KINGS SHALL COME OUT OF THEE.
[Genesis 17:7] AND I WILL ESTABLISH MY COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND THEE AND THY SEED AFTER THEE IN THEIR GENERATIONS FOR AN EVERLASTING COVENANT, TO BE A GOD UNTO THEE, AND TO THY SEED AFTER THEE.
[Genesis 17:8] AND I WILL GIVE UNTO THEE, AND TO THY SEED AFTER THEE, THE LAND WHEREIN THOU ART A STRANGER, ALL THE LAND OF CANAAN, FOR AN EVERLASTING POSSESSION; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD.
[Genesis 17:9] AND GOD SAID UNTO ABRAHAM, THOU SHALT KEEP MY COVENANT THEREFORE, THOU, AND THY SEED AFTER THEE IN THEIR GENERATIONS.
e. The Duty of this Chosen People to enforce justice and judgement
[Genesis 18:18] SEEING THAT ABRAHAM SHALL SURELY BECOME A GREAT AND MIGHTY NATION, AND ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED IN HIM?
[Genesis 18:19] FOR I KNOW HIM, THAT HE WILL COMMAND HIS CHILDREN AND HIS HOUSEHOLD AFTER HIM, AND THEY SHALL KEEP THE WAY OF THE LORD, TO DO JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT; THAT THE LORD MAY BRING UPON ABRAHAM THAT WHICH HE HATH SPOKEN OF HIM.
f. Indications of future Laws peculiar to the Chosen People (Genesis 17:10-14 26:5).
g. The Promise that the Land stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates would belong to the Chosen People.
[Genesis 15:18] IN THE SAME DAY THE LORD MADE A COVENANT WITH ABRAM, SAYING, UNTO THY SEED HAVE I GIVEN THIS LAND, FROM THE RIVER OF EGYPT UNTO THE GREAT RIVER, THE RIVER EUPHRATES:
[Genesis 13:15] FOR ALL THE LAND WHICH THOU SEEST, TO THEE WILL I GIVE IT, AND TO THY SEED FOR EVER.
Q. In Jewish tradition, is he associated with the ancient temple in any way? Please explain.
A. Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son, Isaac. He proceeded to do so but was prevented at the very last minute.
As a result of his willingness to obey the ALMIGHTY the promises to Abraham were reconfirmed
and henceforth were to be unconditional (Genesis 22:16) apart from Possession of the Land which remained on condition,
to a degree, of obedience. The place of the test of Abraham that made the Promises unconditional was
on Mount Moriah on the site of the future Temple [Genesis 22:14].
[Genesis 22:16] AND SAID, BY MYSELF HAVE I SWORN, SAITH THE LORD, FOR BECAUSE THOU HAST DONE THIS THING, AND HAST NOT WITHHELD THY SON, THINE ONLY SON:
[Genesis 22:17] THAT IN BLESSING I WILL BLESS THEE, AND IN MULTIPLYING I WILL MULTIPLY THY SEED AS THE STARS OF THE HEAVEN, AND AS THE SAND WHICH IS UPON THE SEA SHORE; AND THY SEED SHALL POSSESS THE GATE OF HIS ENEMIES;
[Genesis 22:18] AND IN THY SEED SHALL ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED; BECAUSE THOU HAST OBEYED MY VOICE.
The Temple was the means through which communication between the Almighty and His People
(and the world) could be effected most directly (see 1-Kings chapter 8 throughout). This is still the case and as long as the Temple
remains unbuilt something will always be lacking in the ability of mankind to fulfill its duty and potential.
[1-Kings 8:27] BUT WILL GOD INDEED DWELL ON THE EARTH? BEHOLD, THE HEAVEN AND HEAVEN OF HEAVENS CANNOT CONTAIN THEE; HOW MUCH LESS THIS HOUSE THAT I HAVE BUILDED?
[1-Kings 8:28] YET HAVE THOU RESPECT UNTO THE PRAYER OF THY SERVANT, AND TO HIS SUPPLICATION, O LORD MY GOD, TO HEARKEN UNTO THE CRY AND TO THE PRAYER, WHICH THY SERVANT PRAYETH BEFORE THEE TO DAY:
[1-Kings 8:29] THAT THINE EYES MAY BE OPEN TOWARD THIS HOUSE NIGHT AND DAY, EVEN TOWARD THE PLACE OF WHICH THOU HAST SAID, MY NAME SHALL BE THERE: THAT THOU MAYEST HEARKEN UNTO THE PRAYER WHICH THY SERVANT SHALL MAKE TOWARD THIS PLACE.
[1-Kings 8:30] AND HEARKEN THOU TO THE SUPPLICATION OF THY SERVANT, AND OF THY PEOPLE ISRAEL, WHEN THEY SHALL PRAY TOWARD THIS PLACE: AND HEAR THOU IN HEAVEN THY DWELLING PLACE: AND WHEN THOU HEAREST, FORGIVE.
Q. Do you believe that the tribes of Israel remain and will remain God's covenant people, and that a gathering and restoration of Israel will take place or is taking place? What is the future fate of the descendants of father Abraham?
A. The Tribes of Israel still exist and are the Chosen People of Israel (Jeremiah 3:18 31:9 Ezekiel 11:16).
Part of them (designated as Judah) are still conscious of their ancestry.
whereas the greater part (Joseph) are on the whole not aware of who they are.
Joseph (the Lost Ten tribes) are Separate from Judah ( Isaiah 11:12-13 49:21_
and not known to Judah (Isaiah 49:13-14, 21. Hosea 1:7).
In the future this will
change. Judah and Joseph will re-unite, become one entity, and the Land of Israel from the Nile to the
Euphrates will be divided between them (see Ezekiel 16:62 chapter 37).
Eventually there will come about a Messianic Era in which the whole of mankind will be blessed
through the agency of Israel (Isaiah 2:2-5).
In addition to Israel Abraham gave birth to other children. The other children of Abraham are his physical descendants
but Israel (through Isaac) in the Biblical sense is considered the ONLY son of Abraham regarding the Covenantal Blessings (Genesis 17:20-21
21:12 22:2 Genesis 27:37).
Amongst the non-Israelite descendants of Abraham are to be found Ishmael and Esau
and some Peoples of the East.
Ishmael and Esau are the most prominent.
Ishmael represents the Arab nations.
Esau represents entities in Europe.
Ishmael and Esau will oppose Israel almost until the end.
Eventually Ishmael and Esau will be defeated. Those of them who remain will repent
of their ways and live at peace with Israel.
Q.
What is the role of the ancient temple? What role does it play in modern Judaism? Do you believe that in accordance with the restoration of the house of Israel, the temple will be rebuilt and the ancient glory of Israel and her God will be restored and revered? Please explain your answer.
A. Concerning the Temple your question is best directed to others.
I can however repeated that the Temple allowed a person to reconcile himself
with the Almighty in a much more direct manner than is possible at present.
Modern Judaism in many ways is built around the Temple Service.
The effects of prayer and good deeds (or the lack of them) parallel
those that were effected through the Temple Service.
The Temple Service in itself brought a blessing on the Nation and the world
and enabled people to do good more naturally.
The Temple will be rebuilt (Ezekiel chapter 43).
We have an obligation to seek to rebuild the Temple though this must be done
correctly. Exactly how it is to be done and when is a subject for debate.
Some opinions believe that the rebuilding of the Temple is dependent on the
involvement of the Lost Tribes.
3. History: Halstatt and the Early Celts part one
HALSTATT
The Cimmerians and Scythians were originally one people who first appeared
on the fringes of the Assyrian Empire. At the least, Israelite exiles who
had been transplanted to fringe areas of the Assyrian Empire and to the
"Cities of the Medes" (2-Kings 17:6) became a dominant element amongst the
peoples in question. These peoples later moved westward.
The dominating element in Central and Western Europe from
ca.1200 BCE had been bearers of the Urnfield Culture, out of which
developed Halstatt Civilisation. The given dates of transition from
Urnfield to Halstatt cultures vary from one authority to another, but the
usually accepted date is around 700 and was caused by groups of conquerors
from the east identified as Cimmerian. Sometime in the 700s BCE (or later,
the dates are uncertain) "there appear in Hungary, and westwards to the
southern parts of the North Alpine province, bronze horse bits, and bridle
mounts, which are closely related in form to types found across the Pontic
steppes in Caucasia and even farther afield, in Iran....It seems on the
whole that horsemen with far flung connections over the steppes were in
fact involved .....Their contribution was a stimulus in things martial and
in improved horse management, and they may even have been veteran
mercenaries from the armies of Assyria and Urartu"7. (Powell-2
p.41)
Well after 700 BCE eastern Gaul and Switzerland had also received a large
influx of related newcomers who too came from the east. They exhibited
strong oriental influences and brought an increased emphasis on the use of
iron. They came to dominate the previous inhabitants and in some areas at
least must have replaced them. These people likewise are connected with the
emergence of Hallstatt Civilization. On the whole it may be said that
changes are especially noticeable after 700 BCE with Halstatt proper and
its associated iron use becoming firmly established after 600 BCE. The
initiators of Hallstatt brought a superior knowledge of metallurgy, of iron
production, and mining. The new methods at first penetrated the Alps and
Central Europe. These innovative techniques, "can be most satisfactorily
attributed...to the arrival of expert miners and prospectors in the several
metalliferous regions; the new method of mining as illustrated in the Alps,
is so sophisticated and so novel, that one feels that it must have been
initiated at least by experts trained in more civilised regions"11. (Gordon
Childe, "Prehistory. The European Inheritance", 1954, i, 146 quoted by
N.J.G.Pounds p.47).
Anatolia (i.e. Asiatic Turkey where the Assyrians and
Urartians had mining facilities) has been suggested12 (Pounds p.47) as the
source of the new mining knowledge but it could have been almost anywhere
within the metal working areas of the Middle East including Israel.
"The Assyrians used iron ore on a lavish scale, and weapons, tools, and
150 tons of unworked iron were found in the palace of Sargon-ii.
Sennacherib carried off the smiths of Babylon and Nebuchadnessarr those of
Jerusalem"13 (Rapoport p.105).
Jewish smiths are said to have dominated the metal craft in
Assyria, Babylon, and Ethiopia14. (Rapoport p.105) In the case of Assyria
it was actually exiled "Israelites" from the Ten Tribes (rather than
"Jewish") metallurgists who were responsible for technological innovations
and every place in Western Europe where the Israelites later migrated to
they brought their metallurgical expertise with them.
Hallstatt civilisation in Europe was initiated by newcomers
from the east. After their arrival the centres of control of the newcomers
were to move from the east to the west though the details of this process
and the exact dates are very unclear and various estimations have been made.
The horse gear of the early Halstatt Celts, says Powell, "is
an elaboration of that of their predecessors from the east, but it is more
divergent in form from the oriental
examples".
The newcomers introduced an increased social hierarchy, more war-like
characteristics of the richer graves, greater use of the horse by the upper
classes, burial by inhumation rather than cremation which the previous
Urnfield culture had practised15. (Wightman 2 p.6).
In this period some signs of Assyrian domination or presence
were evident in Britain, Spain, and Scandinavia. If the bearers of this
influence were not Assyrians then at least they were peoples who had been
strongly influenced by Assyrians in the recent past.
European military helmets following the Hallstatt era were of
Assyrian (which was also "Scythian"?) type. The earliest examples of these
helmets may be those found in Denmark from ca.700 BCE or earlier16
(Pallottino p.34-36). Handle attachments (for which Assyrian prototypes
exist17 (Pallottino p.42) for moveable rings characterize cauldron founds
in Copenhagen, Denmark and in Italian Cumae. Cumae was a town founded by
Greek Aeolians near Naples in Italy. There was a people named CIMMERII who
lived close to Cumae18 (J.B.Bury quotes the poet Ephoris ca.352 BCE Klio
vi.1906; Lempriere "Cimmerii" quotes from Servius on Virgil, Aen.6 v.107)
Halstatt civilisation of central and western Europe was
brought after conquest by a group using wagon burials19 (Powell-2 p.41ff),
long Assyrian type swords, and a peculiar type of helmet. The said helmet
appears to previously have been employed by horsemen in the land of Israel,
it was later found in use by horsemen in Assyrian service, and was
afterwards to be considered typically "Scythian". The horse gear of the
newcomers to Halstatt was Oriental and is recognisable as that employed by
Assyrian cavalrymen or (depending on which dates are relied on) was then
being used contemporaneously by horsemen in Assyrian employ. At the same
time (or shortly before as mentioned above) as the centre of Halstatt
Civilisation was being conquered, a different group gained control of
Hungary to the east. This second entity had emerged from Anatolia after 660
and smashed the Illyrian power in the Balkans. They are identifiable as
another group of Cimmerians20 (Hammond vol.1 p.427) or Scythians. Their
horse gear connects them to the Caucasus22 (Powell in B.B.& P p.185
Sulimerski) and "Iranian"23 (Powell ibid) areas, and reveals them to have
been close culturally to the Scyths proper24 (Powell).
This second element practiced burial of their chieftains in wagons, the
remains of which have been excavated. They settled more to the west; at
first in Bohemia, Upper Austria, and Bavaria, afterwards moving still
further westward. Their centre moved at first to Switzerland, and the Upper
Rhine, then to the Middle Rhine and Moselle, then to Champagne in Gaul.
Britain in the 200s BCE received some warriors burying in this tradition.
Wagon burial had precedents in the east. Chariot burials from the 600s BCE
have been discovered on Cyprus8 (Piggott p.238). There was a tradition that
Cyprus had once been conquered by the Cimmerians9 (Gemol p.124).
Another opinion claims that The two separate bodies intermerged almost at
once and that after ca.500 BCE25 (Powell 2 p.41) they are indistinguishable.
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