"Tanakh does not speak of Heaven or Hell".

 

Post by Hebrew in Israel.

I disagree. Heaven was a well-established concept in Tanakh. For example, Hanokh was taken by Yehovah after 365 years. Also, David states about his son, "I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." Furthermore, Shlomo writes down, "Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth?" As far as She'ol and per Dani'el 12:2 ("And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence."), would there be tzedek if people like Amalek and Haman weren't eternally condemned to She'ol? Also, what of Korach? "And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground did cleave asunder that was under them. 32 And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33 So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit; and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly."

Yavan may have been influenced by his patriarchs Yafet and Noach, but I don't think that Yavan had any influence on Yisra'el's beliefs.

From a Question on Yahoo! Answers: "How Do You Reconcile Daniel In the Lions' Den With Six Million Daniels in the Gas Chambers?"

Let's look at the following Scripture:

"24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was alarmed, and rose up in haste; he spoke and said unto his ministers: 'Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?' They answered and said unto the king: 'True, O king.' 25 He answered and said: 'Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.' {S} 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace; he spoke and said: 'Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of God Most High, come forth, and come hither.' Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth out of the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, and the king's ministers, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their cloaks changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said: 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god that is able to deliver after this sort.' 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon. {P}"

Who is the Angel of the Lord?

"20 Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 21 Take heed of him, and hearken unto his voice; be not rebellious against him; for he will not pardon your transgression; for My name is in him. 22 But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. 23 For Mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I will cut them off."

We know, then, that the Angel of the Lord IS the Lord (thus, why He is Yehovah-Tzva'ot--Yehovah of Hosts). Thus, Yeshua was with the Holocaust victims as much as He was with Daniel's friends--even if he did not save them from physical death. For what has Yehovah stated? "Behold, they may gather together, but not by Me; whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall because of thee."


Sometimes, evil happens; and even if Yehovah does not rescue us from every consequence of it, He is with us in it--just like He was with the Holocaust victims.

Source(s):
Daniel 3:24-30, JPS; Exodus 3:20-23, ibid.; Isaiah 54:15. Also, I lost relatives in the Shoah--I do not believe that Yeshua was not with them, especially the children, when they were in Auschwitz and the other murder camps.

There's The Paradox of Hope and Reality, Because...

Oftentimes, hope and reality do not match up. Expecting the best is a mistake--"Always suspect the worst of others; you'll rarely be disappointed." Always suspect the worst of others and yourself, and you'll be pleasantly surprised when the best happens--just don't expect the best to last long, let alone forever. Even a fruitful septuagenarian or octogenarian life--let alone a nonagenarian or centenarian life--is a gift. Only where hope is, is where the best and better will last forever--and hope is in the Lord alone.

Otherwise, forget even hope: reality, especially without hope, is a screwy business--and what about death, which ends reality in this lifetime for those who are taken by it? If you're going to Heaven, then you know where you're going. But if you're going to Hell (and you probably are if you're unsure if you are [though I'm not talking about if you're just having doubts], or if you're sure that you're not, going to Heaven), take Dante's admonition seriously--"Abandon all hope, ye who enter [Hell]." 

By the way, Hell is a Jewish concept--Scripture aside, "the Talmud [of all books is] quite descriptive of the place we now call hell...The Talmud is much more detailed concerning the fire and darkness of hell, even supplying descriptions concerning its size, divisions and entrance gates." If you need proof, go look at what the P'rushim think about Jesus and Hell.  The P'rushim particularly hated Jesus because, at the very least and a point on which Messianic Jews and Non-Messianic Jews can agree, Jesus "transgress[ed many] of the enactments of the Scribes"--punishment for which, according to the "Scribes", is death and boiling in semen or fecal matter--and the P'rushi scribes exalted themselves, including Eliezer ben-Hyrcanus HaKohen, to be Yehovah: "My son, be more careful in the words of the Scribes than in the words of the Torah, for in the laws of the Torah there are positive and negative precepts; but, as to the laws of the Scribes, whoever transgresses any of the enactments of the Scribes incurs the penalty of death."

Using the P'rushim as an example, you would best suspect the worst of others--there is no end to how any human being (whether Jewish or gentile, rich or poor, politician or constituent, clergy or layperson, or any other kind of person) can make life Hell enough for even him or her self--much less and/or let alone for others. " Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help....Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God". "[P]ut your trust in the LORD."

Closing Thought For The Night: Non-Messianic Judaism Versus Messianic Judaism

Non-Messianic Judaism says, "I can attain merit on my own righteousness and follow tradition." Messianic Judaism says, "'And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness.'--So if Abraham had to rely on G-d and on faith, what of me?! I can't do it on my own! 'Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.' Since human nature is like skin color, I can't rely on myself--I have to rely on G-d to merit my righteousness!" L'laila tov.

What Is Working On Shabbat? Does Driving Count?

Working on Shabbat is not any of the following, which needs to be addressed in order to understand what working on Shabbat is:

1. Playing on the computer or any other device.
2. Driving or walking to Shabbat services at your local synagogue or church (To the brats--and I address you later as well--, you ought to get some fresh air and realize that there are Jews and Israelophilic gentiles who observe Shabbat services in churches.).
3. Preparing your food (which is specifically in Tanakh).
4. Kindling fire for non-work purposes (which is implied in Tanakh).
5. Bathing (unless you're bathing after you've engaged in certain activities; which, under the Old Covenant, you're arguably not supposed to be doing on Shabbat).
6. Anything else that isn't intended as work (e.g., flushing a toilet).

Firstly, "[I]t is not as man seeth: for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." If it is not intended as work, it is not work. Secondly, "no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you." The first day of Pesach is like Shabbat--you cannot work except for what you need to eat. Some will ask, "Well, what about as gathering the manna was or the Jubilee Year is? Shouldn't you prepare your food the day [or year] before, and double what you would prepare on every other day?" That may not work for everybody. For example, the composition of a food can change even in an hour depending on that which the food is exposed to; and that may not work for someone whose system is intolerant of even the slightest--v.g.--fermentation or temperature change in food, and they may need to eat only fresh foods. So, leaving out that challah for an hour or refrigerating that wine may be breaking piku'ach nefesh--saving a life (e.g., choosing life in the first place)--anyway, and piku'ach nefesh comes first. 

Besides (though this is another discussion), making Shabbat the Queen, the challah, the candle lighting, and the wine were all practices to Sikkut and Kiy'un (like the Star of David was a pagan symbol)--and Messianics can redeem those practices; Non Messianics (arguably) can not. That's part of why at least some Karaites don't follow those practices, and they look for "Rabbi"nical ways to be cleansed from Israel. 

As for the man who was gathering wood on Shabbat--since he needs to be addressed and was going to be brought up, anyway--was intending to work. Again, God looks at intent. As one woman stated (with my emphasis put on her words), "But what constitutes "for real" [Shabbatnikery]? Not using electricity? Not using money? Not watering the crops? Going to synagogue? I think it's clear that one can choose to observe a sabbath in many ways - from spending time with friends and family to not doing job-related work to having people over for a Friday night meal - any statistics will be self-reported and most likely not well-defined here." (Also, to be fair and for example, watering your gluten-free crops for your gluten-intolerant family member or your beloved flowers in your gadren is not work.).

Also, if you can't figure out why I'm linking to certain books in the JPS Tanakh, then you go look up the specific verses on BibleGateway yourself--I don't want to use the New King James Version and get accused of proselytizing by certain brats (and you know who you are; and that's the nicest way that I can describe you, since you are--and I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt by stating that you are--acting like petulant children).