Yes Dennis, Yeshua is God

Torah Scroll - Deuteronomy 18:15

This is the first time I’ve written an article like this: with a specific person in mind to address a specific question. But I feel a nudging at my heart that I’m thinking is the prompting of the Holy Spirit to write this. Another first:  Yeshua is the Jewish way to say Jesus, and when I’m not quoting someone, since this is directed to a Jewish audience, I’ll be using Yeshua.

My wife, a loyal listener to Jack Hibbs, wanted me to listen to a particular message: “Ask a Jew, Ask a Gentile with Dennis Prager and Jack Hibbs.”[1] I have great respect for both of these men. And I’m thankful for all the work Dennis has done with PragerU to “influence”, as he says, particularly young people toward a Judeo-Christian worldview.

During the interview Dennis was asked, “Dennis does, to my knowledge, does not believe that Jesus, fits the prophetic word from the Old Testament that Jesus is not who that Old Testament is painting as the messiah. My question to both of you, one is to Dennis – different question, same topic, is: Dennis why do you not believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of those prophecies that were painted?”

Dennis’ response:

“This may come to a surprise to you. The dividing line between Judaism and Christianity theologically is not with regard to whether Jesus was the messiah. It’s whether Jesus was God.”

“The issue is the Trinity and Jesus being regarded as God or the son of God. That was the dividing line.”

In this he has nailed it precisely on the head, for this is what the New Testament records as the essence of the issue for the Jews of Yeshua’s day.  Why did the first century Jews have Yeshua killed? Scripture is clear: Continue Reading

Knowledge of the Holy One Part 1: Jesus – the Holy One Revealed

“Who do you say I am?”

This is one of the most well-known questions Jesus asked his disciples. Perhaps because it is arguably the most significant. Significant not just for his disciples, but for everyone – because at some point everyone must answer that question.

Amid the cacophony of false idols, false religions, false gods, false ideas, hearsay and slander against Jesus everyone must answer the question Jesus puts to them: “Who do you say I am?” (Matt 16.15)  It was no different for the disciples or the people of Jesus’ day. Consider the context in which Jesus asks his disciples the question:  Having just fed more than 4,000 people, Jesus was approached by the unbelieving and treacherous Pharisees and Sadducees who came “and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.” (Matt 16.1) So right off the bat there’s a clear indication that they would not have believed any sign he gave them because he had just performed a miraculous sign. No, they weren’t looking for reasons to believe. They were looking for reasons to justify unbelief, and put him on trial so they could sentence him to death. Continue Reading

Is the Bible full of fantastic creatures? Part 5: Seers

The prophets Isaiah and Moses @ The Creation Museum

Up next in our series on what  I’m calling fantastic creatures – creatures which some people believe don’t exist, and thus they conclude the Bible is full of fairy stories and make believe – is seers.  This is from a list posted to a tweet:

“He follows a holy book with a jealous & genocidal god, ghosts, zombies, seers, devils, demons, witches, satyrs, unicorns, talking animals, a man who lived in a fish and a 7 headed dragon.”[1]
(Not listed but also already covered: The Cockatrice)

For this one, it is not a terminology issue, or a translation issue,  or a misunderstanding of Biblical genres of anything of that sort. This is squarely a worldview issue.  There’s a simple question to answer to demonstrate that fact: Continue Reading