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To: the_conscience
Hebrews 11 shows how the many men and women of the Old Testament believed in a promise that may have not been completely understood in all its details yet they knew a better “country” awaited them through the Messiah

Part of that is a myth that God promised, and led Jews to the promised land. All historical data suggest that the Hebrews never left Palestine and lived right next to the Canaanites, and were subjected to Rhamses II's son a few decades after the alleged Exodus, without suffering any consequences for humiliating his father. In biblical days, that would have constituted a sure genocide. Never happened.

But people always had hopes, for an opportunity or for a "miracle." Sometimes these hopes are unrealistic but chances are that over a few thousand years they may come close to being fulfilled by random chance alone.

Thus revelation was progessive through time and what began as a kernel of knowledge grew to the full revelation in Christ.

Whether it was progressive or not is a question. Judaism underwent a radical change after the Babylonian and Persian domination. It became messianic, apocalyptic, and dualistic, and its demonology begins to resemble something we are familiar with.

The Jews superstitiously blamed their lack of loyalty to God for their misfortune and convinced themselves that if they embrace the God of Abraham, one more time, they will be "saved" (in an earthly way) form being dominated by others.

So, the messianic myth developed, projecitng a man of superior qualities, a superman indeed, who would be king and savior of Israel (in an earthly way), by conquering all Israel's enemies and establishing peace and showing the gentiles the power of their God.

Up to the time of Babylonian captivity, authors who wrote the book of "Isaiah" (more than one author), looked for mighty kings who would be worshiped by pagans they concquers.

The Hebrew expression for the Kingdom of God simply means the state of Israel, not some heavenly kingdom located in heaven; heavenly in so far as it is supported and established (on earth) by the power of God, through his adopted favorite (son of God, not God the Son), a m mortal human, and a descendant of Judah and King David, a title given to angels and kings and meaning anointed (meshiyah in Hebrew).

3,393 posted on 03/01/2008 12:27:14 PM PST by kosta50 (Eastern Orthodoxy is pure Christianity)
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To: kosta50
Part of that is a myth that God promised, and led Jews to the promised land. All historical data suggest that the Hebrews never left Palestine and lived right next to the Canaanites, and were subjected to Rhamses II's son a few decades after the alleged Exodus, without suffering any consequences for humiliating his father. In biblical days, that would have constituted a sure genocide. Never happened.

Read: I believe the presuppositions of atheistic scholars over the testimony of Scripture.

But people always had hopes, for an opportunity or for a "miracle." Sometimes these hopes are unrealistic but chances are that over a few thousand years they may come close to being fulfilled by random chance alone.

I've already demonstrated the irrationality of this thinking earlier and you had no reply and yet you continue with these nonsense assertions.

So, the messianic myth developed...

The messianic "myth" developed directly after the Fall when God promised that Eve's descendant would crush Satan.

3,400 posted on 03/01/2008 8:02:19 PM PST by the_conscience ('The human mind is a perpetual forge of idols'.)
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