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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Olam Haba-End of Days Doctrine: Changing the Present World by Divine Plan -ESCHATOLOGY

Nadene Goldfoot                     
                                                                         
The World to Come is not necessarily one that has never previously existed.  The view is sometimes advanced that on the last day the world, which was entirely good at creation and only corrupted by human deviations, will be restored to its pristine condition.  

Such views were common in the ancient Orient and are found in Greek literature.  These eschatological opinions cannot be classified in an orderly system according to logical laws of development.  Varied and sometimes contradictory outlooks were held successively or even simultaneously.  

A general line is nevertheless discernible in Jewish eschatology from its very beginnings in the early sections of the Bible.  Originally, such theory was an expression of popular faith in the glorious future anticipated for the nation after a period suffering.  

The great Hebrew prophets; Moses, Joshua, the Judges, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,  Haggai Zechariah and Malachi, introduced these ideas with special help from Ha-Shem into their own religious and moralistic teaching with their own moral coloring which transformed the naive folk beliefs.  

The popular conception of the eschatological era was of a period when the renewed people of Israel would wreak vengeance on their foes and set up a great powerful kingdom.  This victorious period was called "THE DAY OF THE LORD.  The prophets, however, added moral content and threatened catastrophe in the absence of genuine repentance.  The Day of the Lord became the  DAY OF DOOM or DOOMSDAY.  
                                                

This was so clear to Amos, one of 12 prophets. He was a herder of Tekoa, a town south of Bethlehem, who saw visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah (780-740 BCE) and in the days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, who said 2 years before the earthquake, "Hashem will roar from Zion and emit His voice from Jerusalem and the pastures of the shepherds will wither and the best of the fertile fields will dry up."  But disaster was not the only element in prophetic eschatology. 
Magnitude 8- Earthquake debris at six sites (Hazor, Deir 'Alla, Gezer, Lachish, Tell Judeideh, and 'En Haseva) is tightly confined stratigraphically to the middle of the eighth century B.C., with dating errors of ~30 years.4 So, the evidence points to a single large regional earthquake that occurred about 750 B.C. The accompanying map displays the site intensity (Modified Mercalli Intensity from archaeology or literature) and lines of equal intensity of shaking (isoseismals).
                                                     

 The final day was also envisioned as the great day when G-d would reform the world and reign over all peoples in justice.  A new heaven and earth will be created, while G-d will renew His covenant with Israel and establish His throne in Zion.  This was found in the least writings of of Isaiah.  No distinction between the present world and the world to come is known to prophetic eschatology which recognizes only this world.  

The resuscitation of the Jewish people and the land of Israel and the appearance of the king-messiah are described as events which will happen in the real world.  
                                                 

Accounts became more glowing, exaggerated, and imaginative.  Eschatology was transformed into apocalyptic beliefs like the Book of Ezekiel and the visions of Zechariah.  In the Book of Daniel (of Maccabean Period), the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes (175-163 BCE) who was turned back by Rome on his 2nd expedition against Egypt in 168 BCE, so occupied Jerusalem, plundered the Temple treasure, and endeavored to hellenize Judea by force in order to convert it into a reliable frontier province; which depressed the nation's religious groups, and the messiaic kingdom, receding from this world, took on the aspect of the kingdom beyond human reality.  

The APOCRYPHA (non-canonical Jewish literature written during the 2nd Temple period and after its destruction until 132-135 of Bar Kokhba revolt)  and the AGGADAH (Oral Law distinct from Halakhah that which does not deal with the laws on Jews in their daily activities-a sequel of Bible including stories and chronicles, sayings of the wise and moral  instructions, admonitions and consolation of the prophets.)   provide an unfailing source of information on eschatological outlooks during and after 2nd Temple times, reflecting all shades of religious opinions.  
                                               
Daniel in the Lion's Den

In his book of Daniel, a Judean exile in Babylon(597-538 BCE) , the end is seen as a sign of the advent of the Messiah.  It speaks of the agonies of the Messiah, a terrible last war, the war of Gog and Magog, ranging over Jerusalem.  A  Messiah, son of Joseph, the forerunner of the Messiah, son of David, will fall in this war.  But the forces of evil will be defeated, whereupon Elijah (800s BCE) (prophet during kings Ahab and Ahaziah) will appear and announce the advent of the Messiah and this will be the signal for the ingathering of the Diaspora.  (This has been happening already, except for those of us still in the Diaspora.)  Daniel had a miraculous experience with his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah at the courts of Nebuchadnezzar, Darius the Mede, and Belshazzar.  

This biblical book is included in the Hagiographa a Greek word for holy writings; 3rd and last section of Bible (Tanakh)  Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah, Chronicles.  Daniel saw visions and prophetic scenes of the 4 Beasts representing the 4 monarchies that will dominate Israel during its long series of exiles.  He was shown the End of Days when Israel will be redeemed and the world will finally achieve the Divine goal for which it was created.  
                                                     
Singing Hallelujah in the Eurovision Contest of 1979
is the group, Milk and Honey


                                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C33kO3fvjkI

   Israel 1979 Eurovision - Hallelujah + lyrics - Winning song


                             "Hallelujah" (Hebrewהללויה‎)
A new Jerusalem will arise, and Israel's glory will be manifest to the world.  If Daniel only saw today as it is, he would think this has already happened, for Jerusalem of today is certainly a new Jerusalem.  The Diaspora, at least much of it, has returned.  Have we already reached the END OF THE WORLD?  Is more yet to come?  We just made peace with an Arab nation, and word is that all Arab nations may follow suit.  Are we in an era of PEACE, now?  Hallelujah! 

Haleluya la'olam,
haleluya yashiru kulam
bemila achat bodeda
halev male behamon toda
veholem gam hu-eze olam nifla.

Haleluya im hashir,
haleluya al yom sheme'ir,
Haleluya al a sheheyah, 
umah she'od lo hayah-haleluya

Haleluya la'olam
haleluya yashiru kulam
Vehainbalim hagdolim
yehadhedu bahamon tslilim
Veitanu hem yomru=haleluya.

Haleluya al hakol
halelu al machar ve'etmol
Haleluya utnu yad beyad
veshiru milev echad-haleluya.  

Alelulla, sing a song
Alelulla, we'll follow along
With a simple word, a.single word
We bless the sky, the tree, the bird
And we fill our heart with joy alelulla


Resource;  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallelujah_(Milk_and_Honey_song)
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallelujah_(Milk_and_Honey_song)
https://www.icr.org/article/scientific-scriptural-impact-amos-earthquake












2 comments:

  1. i look forward to the time when all things will be back in there right order again...as the Lord has promised is coming. israel has a glorious future!!!!!!!!!!!

    love our chats nadene :)

    ReplyDelete