The Biblical Jewish era
When did it begin? -- When did it end?
-- and the most important --
What did it mean?
The common perception in the Christian Church today is that the Jewish era began with Abram/Abraham, but by researching scripture it is easy to see that it is not true.
Before you read any further you should get a Bible concordance and look, for yourself, to see the first time the name Jew appears in God's Word, the Bible. What you will find is that, after Abraham's death, more than one thousand years had passed before God ever called anyone a Jew.
Note: Once you have done that simple task you will be more informed, on this subject, than the vast majority of Christian pastors and teachers today. However you will probably also find that if you attempt to convey this simple Biblical truth, it will not be well received. Moreover, if you point out the error whenever you hear the name Jew used incorrectly, as in an earlier historical Biblical time period, this truth will not be welcomed in most Christian groups, and you may even experience their verbal wrath. Christian pastors and teachers like to preach that we must stand up for Biblical truth, and will often tell you to "back it up with scripture," but on this subject they usually display a blatant level of hypocrisy. In the Western Christian Church today we now have a self-imposed Jewish "Political Correctness" suppressing God's truth... (Amos 5:10)
If you have now looked up the name Jew in a Bible concordance you found that God first began calling the Israelites Jews at the time of their Babylonian Captivity. You should have also found that the name Jew was not in God's Word, the Bible, anytime prior to that and therefore there were no Jews before that time. (note: The Babylonian captivity began approximately 230 years prior to the end of the recorded Old Testament era, or slightly over 600 years before Christ.)
Therefore, most of the noted people of the Old Testament were not Jews. This includes, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, all of the Judges, Samuel, King Saul, King David, King Solomon, all of the Kings of the Northern kingdom of Israel, and all but the final Kings of the Southern kingdom of Judah. Therefore, except for the final Kings of Judah, God only begins using the name Jew long after they are all dead.
An illustrated timeline of the Biblical Pre-Jewish and Jewish eras:
(all dates are approximate)
Pre-Jewish Era
Adam ---- Noah --- Abraham --- Joseph ----- Moses ---- Judges & Kings
4000 BC? -- 2400 BC --- 2100 BC ---- 1900 BC ---- 1450 BC ---- 1350-600 BC
------- 600 BC The Jewish era begins --------
The Jewish Era
Babylon Exile & some Prophets .. 400 Silent Years .. Jesus Crucifixion .. 2nd Temple destroyed ., 2nd Jewish revolt
600 BC ---------- 430 BC....
Jewish era begins
....... AD 30 …. AD 70 ….
AD 135 ….
Biblical Jewish era ends
The destruction of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem, in AD 70 (which Jesus prophesied in Luke 19:44 - and other verses) eliminated all the remaining Jewish religious rituals and symbols, and therefore, for all practical purposes, ended the Jewish era. However, even though the temple no longer existed, and the temple rituals were gone, there still remained some scattered Jewish zealots. Around AD 135 they attempted to overthrow the Roman occupation of Jerusalem but their revolt was crushed. This finally ended the Biblical Jewish era; it only lasted a little over 700 years; from about 600 BC to 135 AD.
After the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, the Arc of the Covenant, the symbol representing God's covenant with the Israelites, was gone (Note: God actually removed it when the Jewish era began, which was over 600 years earlier, at their Babylonian captivity), the Temple was gone, The Priests were gone, the Holy of Holies was gone, and everything regarding the blood atonement sacrifices were gone. Moreover, and this is very important, the traceable genealogies, tying any Jew to ancient Israel, ended. Therefore there are no traceable descendants of Biblical Jews alive today. NONE!
This is covered in more detail in page 8 of this web site but we will repeat it here: For anyone to trace their Jewish ancestry, back to ancient Israel, they would need to have accurate genealogical records going back at least two thousand years. In the Bible, the recorded genealogies of Jesus, in Matthew 1:1-16 & Luke 3:23-38, (or the first 9 chapters of the book of 1 Chronicles & others) gives us a good example of how these genealogical records would need to be.
From this it is obvious that no one can trace their ancestry back that far today, NO ONE!
This needs to be said again, and again, until every Bible believing, truth seeking Christian understands that no person alive today has that kind of ancient documentation available. Therefore there are no traceable descendants of Biblical Jews alive today. NONE!
The Biblical Jewish era ended in the time period of A.D. 70 to A.D. 135.
What was the meaning of this Jewish era or age?
What you are about to see, for the most part, will be contrary to what is currently taught or conveyed by the vast majority of leaders in the Western Christian Church. However when the scriptural evidence is carefully analyzed this is what God's Word shows us.
As was clearly shown above, the Jewish era was a distinct era in Biblical history, and as was also shown, it did not begin with Abraham.
The Jewish era represents what the Israelites had digressed into, a people who were no longer under a covenant with God and who began to follow what Jesus called the doctrines and precepts of men. What was, and is, called Judaism began when God began to call them Jews. The corruption of God's commandments and laws, by the teachings of men, called the Mishnah, (what is now called the Talmud (see page 10)) also began at the beginning of the Jewish age
When the Jewish era began God had already divorced the northern tribes of Israel (Jer 3:8), and about 80 years later removed the Arc of the Covenant from the remaining two tribes of Judah, who God said were even worse than Israel who He had divorced 80 years earlier (Jer 3:11).
Moreover, when Jesus spoke to Saul, in Acts 26:17-18, he put the Jews in the same category as the gentiles, calling them both of the "dominion of Satan." Therefore, directly from the words of Jesus, the Jewish era was (also) of the dominion of Satan
Most Western Christians have been taught to consider the name Jew as a Biblical endearing term or even a sacred name, but when examined carefully scripture does not support that position. Nowhere in the New Testament does God use the name Jew (in the flesh) as a endearing term. In most cases the name Jew is used for those who are antagonistic to Jesus and/or the advancement of God's Kingdom. There are many times the name Jew is used in a neutral connotation, not endearing or antagonistic, but never anytime for anyone truly positive to God's kingdom (also see answer to question 8 on pg. 4).
Moreover, 1 Thessalonians 2: 14-15, says that Jews were the ones who killed Jesus and the prophets; they are not pleasing to God and are hostile to all men. Even though this was written near the end of the Jewish era (sometime around AD 51) it also references the Jews at the time of the prophets which brings it back to the beginning of the Jewish age. Therefore what this scripture says covers virtually the entire Jewish age.
Another interesting thing to consider is that Jesus never called himself a Jew nor was He actually born a Jew.... Huh?.... In order to be born a Jew His father would have needed to be a Jew; therefore since Jesus' true father was the Holy Spirit, and not a human Jew, Jesus was not officially born a Jew (for more on this, see answer to question 7 on the test on Pg 4).
God's word also states that to reject Jesus is to reject the Father (Luke 10:16 and other verses), therefore the Jews not only rejected Jesus but in so doing also rejected the Father and were, by God's Word, a Godless group.
Much of God's deeper truth is often conveyed in symbolism and the Jewish age fits that concept.
Much of the story in the Garden of Eden is symbolism. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve covered themselves with "fig" leaves (Gen 3:7) when they realized that they were naked. Why fig leaves to cover their sin?
Nothing in God's Word is there accidentally it all ties together somewhere and has some meaning, therefore covering themselves with fig leaves means something.
Figs, fig trees and fig leaves are mentioned throughout scripture, but one significant time was when Jesus entered Jerusalem (Matthew 21:19 and other verses). He associated the nation of Israel, who were now Jews, with a fig tree. He then cursed it and it died from the roots up. He also stated that it would never again bear fruit.
The religion of the nation of Israel at that time was Judaism and Jesus said that it taught the doctrines and precepts of men (Matthew 15: 7-9). What Jesus was referring to was the Mishnah (now called the Talmud (see page 10)). This false teaching began at the beginning of the Jewish age; in their Babylonian captivity.
Another important thing to remember is that when the Jewish era began they were no longer a covenant people of God.
God only begins to call the people Jews after He officially divorces the northern Kingdom of Israel (Jer 3:8) and then later removes the Arc of the Covenant from the Temple in Jerusalem. The Arc of the Covenant disappears when the southern Kingdom of Judah is judged, the Temple is destroyed, and Judah is brought into Babylonian captivity. The removal of the Arc of the Covenant ended the covenant era of the Israelites.
This needs to be repeated, the Arc of the Covenant was removed from the people when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians', which was the same time that God began to call them Jews. Therefore, the Jews of the Bible were never a covenant people of God.
The Biblical Jewish era represents how the doctrines and precepts of man's numerous false religions corrupts and separates us from Truth. ..... Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life; not the multitude of false, or half truth, religions created by man.
In Biblical times Judaism separated the Jews/Israelites from God's truth, however even today when we follow man's false religious teachings, under whatever religious name it is called, it still separates us from God's truth.
Therefore we must always examine everything carefully (Acts 17:11) and never let our human ego get in the way of God's Truth; real Truth is only Gods eternal truth, it is never our own false delusions of truth.
TO SUM IT UP:
THE JEWISH ERA WAS A DARK ERA OF BIBLICAL HISTORY. IT WAS AN ERA WHERE GOD'S TRUTH HAD BECOME SO CORRUPTED THEY KILLED GOD'S MESSIAH, JESUS.
(NOTE: What the Biblical Jewish era represented did not end with the Jews of the Bible, it is still alive today in all of man's religions that corrupt truth and reject, or distort, Jesus as God's salvation for mankind.)
"For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist .......... Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds."
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