The Good News Talmud, Part V. The Judeo-Christian Messianic Age

Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.

- Matthew 13:52

Part V. The Judeo-Christian Messianic Age

Talmudic Scholars Work and Study

If you think you have had already had enough, think again. The Judeo-Christian legacy continues, not for any sudden globally-catastrophic reckoning, but for a centuries-long preparation that lies ahead. A long time ago, both Judaism and Christianity predicted that the Messiah would come sometime around the third millenium, give or take a few hundred years. Specifically, Orthodox Judaism predicts, indeed believes, that this will begin to occur around 200-300 years from now in the Jewish 6th millenium in the year 6000 A.A. (After Adam). Until then, all believers in the God of Abraham, all God-fearing Jews and Christians, should prepare for this by forgetting the politics, the ethnicities, and the economic strife of today and tomorrow and instead concentrate on being the telepathic, lycanthropic 'People of God.' These two 'supernatural' abilities are expected to be the first manifestations of the Messianic Age. The leading sheep of tomorrow's eternal flock of Earthlings (furry or otherwise) are destined to inherit first grazing rights to a very wet planet where the Sahara has gone green with envy over the Messiah's long-promised one thousand year reign.

TALMUD: Man is the last in creation and the first in responsibility. (Leviticus Rabba 14)
GOSPEL: As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.' (Luke 9:57-58)

TALMUD: Do not enter any house without some indication of your coming, such as knocking at the door: even in your own house you should not make your appearance suddenly or unexpectedly; something may be going on there which, however innocent, may cause you annoyance and may lead to a want of peace and harmony in your household. (Leviticus Rabba 21)
GOSPEL: After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them...'Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. (Luke 10:1-7)

TALMUD: If a man is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise knows of a thing, if he does not testify he shall bear his iniquity (Leviticus 5:1). 'You, my people,' says God to Israel, 'have both seen (Deuteronomy 4:35), and know (Deuteronomy 5:39) that I am God, and thus you are my proper witnesses (Isaiah 43:10). If then you will not proclaim Me as God to all nations of the earth, you shall bear your iniquity.' (Leviticus Rabba 6)
GOSPEL: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

TALMUD: Moses had more than one reason for addressing the Heavens and the Earth and calling them as witnesses. In the first place it should not be forgotten that Moses, whilst only a man, was a heavenly as well as an earthly man. He was no stranger to heaven, and if he had addressed himself to the earth only he would have been like one who, being made governor of a dominion, should address one part of the country under his charge and ignore the other. But there is a weightier reason, inasmuch as the heavens and the earth will not be indifferent spectators at Israel's redemption, but will sing and shout and break forth in singing (Isaiah 44:33). Another important point: they were adjuncts at the giving of the Decalogue. Moreover, Israel had been compared to the stars of heaven and to the dust of the earth. (Deuteronomy Rabba 10)
GOSPEL: And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on Earth.' (Matthew 28:18)

TALMUD: Be not spiteful or revengeful, and do not harbour any wrong which you may have suffered at any one's hands. In spite of all the wrongs and sorrows the Egyptians have inflicted on Israel, God does not allow us to abhor an Egyptian. (Deuteronomy Rabba 5)
GOSPEL: Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him. (Luke 17:3-4)

TALMUD: The Israelites are declared to be holy unto the Lord (Jeremiah 2:3). It is forbidden to touch holiness, therefore those who persecute them will not escape retribution. (Numbers Rabba 2)
GOSPEL: You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. (Matthew 5:38-39)

TALMUD: A community rejecting the leadership of the great and selecting as its leaders insignificant individuals can only be compared to the serpent which decided to creep along tail foremost, in consequence of which it was hurt by thorns, burnt by fire, and injured by water; a community should not be led by one man only. Moses himself confessed his inability to lead single-handed. (Deuteronomy Rabba 1)
GOSPEL: When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:1-2)

TALMUD: If a man is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise knows of a thing, if he does not testify he shall bear his iniquity (Leviticus 5:1). 'You, my people,' says God to Israel, 'have both seen (Deuteronomy 4:35), and know (Deuteronomy 5:39) that I am God, and thus you are my proper witnesses (Isaiah 43:10). If then you will not proclaim Me as God to all nations of the earth, you shall bear your iniquity.' (Leviticus Rabba 6)
GOSPEL: Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate. (Luke 23:8-11)

TALMUD: Be not spiteful or revengeful, and do not harbour any wrong which you may have suffered at any one's hands. In spite of all the wrongs and sorrows the Egyptians have inflicted on Israel, God does not allow us to abhor an Egyptian. (Deuteronomy Rabba 5)
GOSPEL: You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Matthew 5:38-40

A Talmud Scholar, by Norm Altman

TALMUD: Slander no one, whether brother or not your brother, a Jew or non-Jew.--Deut. Rabba 6.
GOSPEL: I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment and whosoever shall say to his brother, 'worthless one,' shall be in danger of the council; while whosoever shall say, `Thou fool,' shall be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5:22)

TALMUD: Better for you to have no more than two coins (about a shilling) as the means with which to gain a livelihood, than to be a man of large capital and employ it in usury. (Leviticus Rabba 3)
GOSPEL: When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: 'Take nothing for the journey-no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.' (Luke 9:1-3)

TALMUD: If a man is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise knows of a thing, if he does not testify he shall bear his iniquity (Leviticus 5:1). 'You, my people,' says God to Israel, 'have both seen (Deuteronomy 4:35), and know (Deuteronomy 5:39) that I am God, and thus you are my proper witnesses (Isaiah 43:10). If then you will not proclaim Me as God to all nations of the earth, you shall bear your iniquity.' (Leviticus Rabba 6)
GOSPEL: The one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:13-14)

TALMUD: Slander no one, whether brother or not your brother, a Jew or non-Jew. (Deuteronomy Rabba 6)
GOSPEL: If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the Church, and if he refuses to listen even to the Church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (Matthew 18:15-18)

TALMUD: A certain ruler there was, who when thieves and the recipients of their stolen goods were brought before him, invariably discharged the former and severely punished the latter. (Leviticus Rabba 6)
GOSPEL: He (Jesus Christ) would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS'? But you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN.'' The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. (Mark 11:16-18)

GOSPEL: If speech is silver, then silence is gold. (Leviticus Rabba 16)
TALMUD: Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus, for he had wanted to see Him for a long time...and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length, but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. (Luke 23:8-10)

TALMUD: There was a limit to every prophet's inspiration. Beeri, the father of Hosea, only uttered a few words of prophecy, and as they were insufficient to be embodied in a book by themselves, they were incorporated within the book of Isaiah, namely verses 19 and 20 of the 8th chapter of Isaiah. (Leviticus Rabba 15)
GOSPEL: As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.' (Luke 9:57-58)

May the LORD God bless you in the name of the Judeo-Christian tradition.