From a Hebraic view how do we understand 00:00:01.40\00:00:03.86 evil, suffering, death, and the resurrection? 00:00:04.06\00:00:07.19 Stay tuned with us on Back To Our Roots and you'll find out. 00:00:07.32\00:00:10.37 Welcome once again to Back To Our Roots. 00:00:31.72\00:00:34.03 I'm Alex Schlussler, pastor of the Plantation SDA church 00:00:34.23\00:00:37.85 and I'm Rachel Hyman, minister of music. 00:00:37.99\00:00:40.51 And we want to thank you once again for joining us 00:00:40.71\00:00:42.89 on our program. 00:00:42.99\00:00:44.36 Today we are covering a little bit deeper topic 00:00:44.39\00:00:48.35 than we have in the past. Rachel, today we're going to be 00:00:48.55\00:00:50.65 talking about what is the Hebraic view of evil, 00:00:50.75\00:00:54.26 suffering, death... and then ultimately we're going to talk 00:00:54.47\00:00:58.78 about the resurrection. 00:00:58.88\00:01:00.25 Heavy topic. It is. 00:01:00.38\00:01:02.65 You know, even Jesus spoke to the people in the first century 00:01:02.85\00:01:08.48 said: "You know, one of the things... you're going to live 00:01:08.68\00:01:10.46 in the world you're going to have tribulation, 00:01:10.57\00:01:12.42 you're going to have problems. " 00:01:12.52\00:01:13.89 And we know that there is an evil one 00:01:13.92\00:01:17.90 that exists for the sole purpose of taking as many 00:01:18.10\00:01:22.40 of God's children as he can away from God. 00:01:22.60\00:01:24.97 You know, of course we're talking about Satan. Um-hmm. 00:01:25.17\00:01:28.21 Today we want to look at some different views. 00:01:28.51\00:01:32.14 And we want to start in particular at understanding 00:01:32.44\00:01:36.53 who does scripture... how does scripture explain 00:01:37.03\00:01:41.63 who Satan is. All right. And we're going to... 00:01:41.83\00:01:45.00 we're going to jump right into this today. 00:01:45.10\00:01:47.13 And I want to ask our good friend Alexander Bolotnikov - 00:01:47.33\00:01:51.11 we know him as Sasha. He is a regular on our program. 00:01:51.51\00:01:55.86 Sasha, why don't you come join us? 00:01:56.06\00:01:58.15 Good to see you again Alex, Rachel. 00:01:58.55\00:02:02.36 Good to see you Sasha. 00:02:02.56\00:02:04.12 Sasha has just completed his Ph. D. 00:02:04.32\00:02:10.16 his doctoral dissertation, and I know he's very happy 00:02:10.26\00:02:12.81 that's done. Yeah, seven years. 00:02:12.91\00:02:15.13 Sasha is also a pastor in the Ohio Conference. 00:02:15.53\00:02:18.69 Yes. Yep... AND Sasha is a new papa. 00:02:18.90\00:02:21.72 Yes. Yes. So we're very happy for you, Sasha. 00:02:21.92\00:02:25.81 Today, Sasha, we're talking about the Hebraic perspective 00:02:26.21\00:02:31.05 on evil, on suffering, and on death and then 00:02:31.35\00:02:35.20 ultimately we want to get to understanding the resurrection 00:02:35.30\00:02:39.31 and how understanding the resurrection from a proper 00:02:39.51\00:02:42.67 perspective helps to understand these things. 00:02:42.77\00:02:47.01 So Sasha, we started off by talking about Satan 00:02:47.21\00:02:51.96 and who is he. And I know that from a Christian perspective 00:02:52.16\00:02:57.05 who Satan is. Is there a parallel 00:02:57.25\00:03:02.41 perspective within Judaism? 00:03:02.61\00:03:04.28 Or even maybe with a Hebraic understanding 00:03:04.48\00:03:07.67 that you could say: "OK, here is how Satan is described. " 00:03:07.87\00:03:11.64 Or does that even exist? 00:03:11.74\00:03:13.27 Yes it does. There are two perspectives. 00:03:13.30\00:03:16.76 We have to probably talk about the Hebrew scriptures first - 00:03:16.86\00:03:20.88 OK - and then a little bit rabbinic understanding. 00:03:21.08\00:03:24.72 OK. Because in a way... they differ a little bit. 00:03:24.92\00:03:30.46 But Hebrew Bible is very consistent. 00:03:32.27\00:03:36.27 The only time the word Satan actually appears 00:03:36.47\00:03:40.91 it's in the very very first book of the Bible. 00:03:41.12\00:03:44.56 It's the book of Job. 00:03:44.76\00:03:46.68 And it's an ancient book 00:03:46.88\00:03:49.31 and Jewish tradition 00:03:49.51\00:03:52.42 and many Christian scholars agree 00:03:54.28\00:03:56.71 that the book of Job was written 00:03:56.96\00:04:00.22 or at least edited by Moses 00:04:00.52\00:04:03.81 and precedes Genesis. 00:04:04.01\00:04:06.39 And it's interesting from the theological perspective. 00:04:06.59\00:04:10.87 Basically it's like God starts the Bible 00:04:11.07\00:04:14.65 explaining what has happened. 00:04:14.86\00:04:17.32 Why are we in such a dire state? 00:04:17.52\00:04:20.03 And here we have right in the very first chapter 00:04:20.23\00:04:25.27 God literally confronting Satan. 00:04:26.24\00:04:32.17 And then we see what Satan can do. Exactly; exactly. 00:04:32.37\00:04:37.70 So we understand the story in the book of Job 00:04:37.90\00:04:43.80 and I have to tell you: I've preached on this many many times 00:04:44.00\00:04:47.52 because I think from our perspective 00:04:47.72\00:04:50.17 this makes it very clear. And maybe in some ways 00:04:50.37\00:04:53.41 we're getting ahead of ourselves a little bit, but I think 00:04:53.51\00:04:55.89 that it's very clear in the book of Job that Satan can't 00:04:56.09\00:04:59.18 do anything that God doesn't allow him to do. 00:04:59.29\00:05:02.68 Because in fact in the book of Job 00:05:02.88\00:05:04.60 Satan is found wandering here and there. 00:05:04.80\00:05:06.96 And then he comes into the court I guess where God is. 00:05:07.16\00:05:11.74 This is how it's described in the book of Job. Right? Yeah. 00:05:11.88\00:05:15.49 And he comes there and Satan is really 00:05:15.63\00:05:20.59 I don't know I see him almost like he's boasting 00:05:20.79\00:05:22.72 about the things that he's doing. 00:05:22.93\00:05:24.30 And God says: "Have you ever considered My servant Job 00:05:24.33\00:05:27.43 that he's so righteous? " And doesn't Satan then say: 00:05:27.63\00:05:30.39 "Look, I can pull him away... 00:05:30.49\00:05:33.73 I can pull him away from You. " 00:05:33.83\00:05:35.20 See, the big problem... the biggest issue... 00:05:35.23\00:05:38.09 the biggest question, dilemma in the book of Job 00:05:38.29\00:05:43.29 is whether the love of God and the love of man to God 00:05:43.49\00:05:48.67 is sincere. Um-hmm. And this is the dilemma. 00:05:48.77\00:05:53.27 You see, you cannot... The word love 00:05:53.48\00:05:57.27 can't put it in imperative. I can ask... 00:05:57.47\00:06:00.14 Describe what you mean when you say that. 00:06:00.34\00:06:02.15 I can say: "Rachel, please stand up. " 00:06:02.25\00:06:04.80 "Rachel, please sit down. " 00:06:05.00\00:06:06.98 I can't tell Rachel "Please love this individual. " 00:06:07.18\00:06:11.40 Can't do that! Right. 00:06:11.60\00:06:13.19 So love is our internal choice 00:06:13.39\00:06:16.94 and you can't just beat yourself into the chest: 00:06:17.14\00:06:21.12 "I love... " Right. And that's what Satan 00:06:21.32\00:06:26.12 by the way, the Hebrew word ha-Satan is the rebellious one. 00:06:26.32\00:06:31.06 OK. And later on we have two more occasions 00:06:31.16\00:06:36.09 where Satan is presented typologically, 00:06:36.30\00:06:42.01 mythephorically. In the book of Isaiah chapter 14... 00:06:42.21\00:06:45.53 And that's probably the best known. Right? Yeah, yeah. 00:06:45.64\00:06:48.50 The story that he's been cast out. 00:06:48.60\00:06:50.00 Yeah, that is... 00:06:50.40\00:06:53.60 His name in Hebrew is Helel Ben-Shachar: 00:06:54.76\00:06:59.82 the Morning Star, the Son of Dawn. 00:07:00.02\00:07:04.04 OK. That was his name. 00:07:04.24\00:07:06.00 He was... And Ezekiel in chapter 28 00:07:06.20\00:07:09.95 describes him that this creature 00:07:10.15\00:07:15.17 was an anointed cherub. 00:07:15.37\00:07:18.47 And cherub is not just any angel. 00:07:18.67\00:07:21.57 Cherubs are described only 00:07:21.77\00:07:25.00 in connection with the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant. 00:07:25.20\00:07:29.61 Yes. And we have in Ezekiel the cherubs carrying 00:07:29.91\00:07:34.22 God's throne. So we do have cherub 00:07:34.32\00:07:38.38 by the name Son of Dawn - 00:07:38.58\00:07:41.33 OK - literally very, very close to God. 00:07:41.53\00:07:45.17 Now does it talk in the scripture about what... 00:07:45.28\00:07:47.13 what his position was? What he did? 00:07:47.33\00:07:49.70 He's there in heaven. He's created 00:07:49.91\00:07:52.85 as you say a cherub. But is there any description 00:07:53.05\00:07:55.99 about? He's there in heaven... what is he doing? 00:07:56.19\00:07:59.66 What does it say? Well, it is described that God 00:07:59.87\00:08:04.18 has really adorned him with all kinds of precious stones. 00:08:04.28\00:08:10.06 And it is interesting that the similar precious stones 00:08:10.26\00:08:14.64 are found on the garment of a high priest later on. 00:08:14.84\00:08:19.62 So it does indicate by this 00:08:19.82\00:08:24.33 and he is anointed the same way as a mashiach. Right. 00:08:24.53\00:08:28.92 As we've talked about anointed in the past. 00:08:29.02\00:08:31.13 Yeah, the same way. Anointed high priest. 00:08:31.24\00:08:33.37 So he is in... It doesn't say literally the highest position - 00:08:33.57\00:08:38.67 right - but the way how Ezekiel describes the adornment 00:08:38.87\00:08:42.59 and anointing and the way that he is covering cherub. 00:08:42.80\00:08:48.14 The covering cherubs are described in the book of Exodus. 00:08:48.54\00:08:54.46 The two cherubs standing... Sure, over the mercy seat 00:08:54.67\00:08:58.03 with wings bended. So that's what he was doing. 00:08:58.13\00:09:01.00 He was covering. He was one of them 00:09:01.10\00:09:03.95 until the iniquity was found in him. Right. 00:09:04.15\00:09:09.59 Now before we get into it 'cause I know scripture is going 00:09:09.79\00:09:13.00 to go into where he actually starts boasting himself: 00:09:13.10\00:09:15.89 "I will ascend above the Most High. " 00:09:15.99\00:09:18.22 Isaiah actually talks... Let me ask you before you get into that 00:09:18.42\00:09:22.93 one thing that I've heard and I don't know if this is just 00:09:23.13\00:09:26.87 people passing this around or what your opinion on this is 00:09:27.07\00:09:30.07 that I've heard Satan described as not just the anointed one 00:09:30.17\00:09:34.18 but the one who was in charge of music in heaven. 00:09:34.38\00:09:37.89 Is that a scriptural thing or is that just something that 00:09:38.09\00:09:41.14 kind of has been passed around? 00:09:41.34\00:09:42.77 This is more traditional. 00:09:43.17\00:09:44.74 Scripture doesn't say about him being in charge of music. 00:09:44.94\00:09:48.66 OK, OK... that's fine. 00:09:48.76\00:09:50.83 Let's move on and I want to talk a little bit about 00:09:51.03\00:09:53.59 how the actual fall. How he begins to boast himself - 00:09:53.79\00:09:58.19 you know - above God or his desire to elevate himself 00:09:58.79\00:10:02.73 above God. Isaiah describes this because 00:10:02.93\00:10:07.30 Ezekiel just says: "until iniquity was found in you. " 00:10:07.40\00:10:11.71 So what kind of iniquity? 00:10:11.91\00:10:14.16 Well Isaiah describes that he actually wanted 00:10:14.36\00:10:18.98 to sit on the highest throne of heaven 00:10:19.18\00:10:23.29 and be like the Most High. 00:10:23.49\00:10:27.51 Now you know, I find this... Whenever I've read that 00:10:27.71\00:10:31.08 I find that really interesting because I have always 00:10:31.28\00:10:34.24 I guess you know maybe through assumption or how I read 00:10:34.54\00:10:38.20 the scriptures, thinking about the created beings - the angels, 00:10:38.30\00:10:43.50 the cherubs - did God give them free will? 00:10:43.70\00:10:47.08 And that was something that I always debated with myself: 00:10:47.28\00:10:49.58 that they were compelled... That God didn't create them 00:10:49.78\00:10:52.98 to do that. That was something that was different 00:10:53.18\00:10:56.55 about humanity that He gave us this free will. 00:10:56.75\00:10:59.43 But then when you read about what happens with Satan 00:10:59.63\00:11:03.48 he is exhibiting free will because he is putting himself 00:11:04.68\00:11:09.16 up. He is exalting himself above God. 00:11:09.36\00:11:12.44 Oh yeah, he definitely has free will. 00:11:12.64\00:11:15.25 He definitely has somewhat his own ways 00:11:15.45\00:11:19.92 of seeing himself, you know, deprived from something. 00:11:19.95\00:11:25.72 Now do you think that he was unique? 00:11:25.93\00:11:27.84 That who God created him to be was different 00:11:29.09\00:11:32.24 than the other angels? 00:11:32.34\00:11:34.13 Have you ever thought about that? What do you think? 00:11:34.16\00:11:36.17 Apparently he was unique 00:11:36.27\00:11:37.93 because there were only two cherubs. 00:11:38.13\00:11:40.84 And you know, the only other names of particular... We have 00:11:41.04\00:11:46.72 Michael - Mikael - and we've already talked about this - 00:11:46.92\00:11:51.06 right - but this refers to Jesus Himself. Right. 00:11:51.19\00:11:55.11 And then there is Gabriel. You know, the Gabriel - right - 00:11:55.31\00:11:59.60 which is just meaning the man of might, 00:11:59.80\00:12:04.86 the man of strength. 00:12:05.06\00:12:06.43 And so these are basically three beings 00:12:06.54\00:12:12.49 that are described as angelic beings. But Gabriel 00:12:12.69\00:12:17.10 is never referred as a cherub. OK. 00:12:17.30\00:12:21.04 You know, the thing that we want to be real cautious with 00:12:21.17\00:12:24.92 this is 'cause you know there are some that teach that... 00:12:25.02\00:12:28.50 that Satan and that Jesus were more or less created equal 00:12:28.70\00:12:34.12 as brothers. And we want to make sure that... 00:12:34.22\00:12:37.93 And of course Jesus was not created! 00:12:38.03\00:12:39.40 And we want to make sure that people clearly understand this. 00:12:39.43\00:12:43.04 But, but... As we talked before 00:12:43.14\00:12:45.71 through Jesus God appears to be 00:12:46.59\00:12:52.56 as Hebrews puts it "Brother to His creation. " 00:12:52.66\00:12:58.44 So Jesus as Michael... this is the way how... 00:12:58.64\00:13:03.28 The same way as God came and incarnated Himself 00:13:03.41\00:13:08.09 into human flesh - right - and He was among us 00:13:08.29\00:13:12.05 the same way God was among angels. 00:13:12.25\00:13:16.58 So it's very important to understand 00:13:16.78\00:13:18.74 if you do hear this type of dialogue that first of all 00:13:18.94\00:13:22.75 that Jesus in no way... He wasn't a creation of God. 00:13:23.54\00:13:29.08 This is God... Jesus IS God. 00:13:29.28\00:13:32.10 Satan as a cherub is a created being - yeah - 00:13:32.40\00:13:36.15 and very, very different. And that's possibly why 00:13:36.35\00:13:39.97 the Hebrew scripture doesn't give us the answer. 00:13:41.33\00:13:44.21 But there is a verse in Philippians - um-hmm - 00:13:44.41\00:13:49.20 Philippians chapter 2 that talks about 00:13:49.40\00:13:53.33 Jesus being a glory of God 00:13:53.63\00:13:59.41 and He did not consider it to be a theft. Right. 00:13:59.62\00:14:04.90 So it seems to me in a way 00:14:05.10\00:14:08.43 that someone else might have some doubt 00:14:08.63\00:14:11.65 and accuse Him saying: "You appear like an angel. 00:14:11.75\00:14:15.44 Why am I not equal to You? " 00:14:15.64\00:14:18.16 Which then we understand that this becomes 00:14:18.36\00:14:20.56 really the controversy that has stirred - yes - 00:14:20.76\00:14:23.13 this accusation that exists that really isn't true. 00:14:23.23\00:14:27.17 Let's talk just, Sasha, real briefly. 00:14:28.46\00:14:32.38 This Jewish perspective of who Satan is 00:14:32.68\00:14:36.99 is really important for us to move forward and to really be 00:14:37.19\00:14:41.55 able to understand. Because of some things that have happened 00:14:41.65\00:14:45.28 historically why the Jews responded the way that they did. 00:14:45.48\00:14:48.52 So what, you know... We as Christians 00:14:48.72\00:14:51.85 we have this perspective and we clearly see 00:14:52.05\00:14:54.59 that Satan is the enemy of our soul. 00:14:54.80\00:14:56.86 That he is enemy against God. 00:14:57.06\00:14:59.06 The thing that he wants more than anything 00:14:59.26\00:15:00.98 is to take all of God's children. 00:15:01.18\00:15:03.11 Take them away from God; lead us away. 00:15:03.51\00:15:06.84 I mean Satan knows the Bible. He knows what happens in the end. 00:15:08.77\00:15:11.44 Yeah, that's really the only way that he can get back at God 00:15:11.64\00:15:14.36 is by stealing His children. Yeah, that's right. 00:15:14.46\00:15:15.83 That's right. To say: "I know I'm going to lose 00:15:15.89\00:15:18.23 and I'm going to take as many of God's precious ones 00:15:18.44\00:15:20.47 as I possibly can. " 00:15:20.57\00:15:21.94 Now this is a Christian per- spective of understanding that. 00:15:22.05\00:15:26.16 Is there any type of parallel within Judaism 00:15:26.36\00:15:30.50 that would run consistent with that? 00:15:31.40\00:15:34.92 Do they have that view? 00:15:35.12\00:15:36.49 The only... To me it's kind of interesting, 00:15:36.64\00:15:40.04 you know, but the only time - the only "once" - 00:15:40.24\00:15:44.08 the word Satan, the story about Satan 00:15:44.28\00:15:47.71 appears in the entire rabbinic corpus or rabbinic writing 00:15:47.91\00:15:51.01 and it's like a story. It's not in the Bible. 00:15:51.21\00:15:54.52 But the type of story is called agada. Yes. 00:15:54.72\00:15:58.91 And it describes... it comments on 00:16:01.18\00:16:05.89 Genesis 22: the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. 00:16:06.09\00:16:11.36 And how Abraham... it took him 3 days to walk from Beersheba 00:16:11.56\00:16:16.31 where he was to the Mount Moriah. 00:16:16.51\00:16:18.89 And the rabbis ask: "Why is it taking him that long? " 00:16:19.09\00:16:24.18 And they try to answer by saying: 00:16:24.38\00:16:26.41 "Satan was preventing. " Interesting. 00:16:26.61\00:16:30.93 And so it's interesting. I can't go into this in detail. 00:16:31.13\00:16:35.38 But what I find really interesting is everything that 00:16:35.58\00:16:39.26 I've read and how I understand this 00:16:39.36\00:16:41.39 is that the Jewish perspective 00:16:41.59\00:16:44.94 is not so much that we have this created being - 00:16:45.14\00:16:48.88 this cherub, Satan, this one who is the enemy 00:16:48.98\00:16:51.47 of our souls against God - 00:16:51.67\00:16:53.64 as they describe it as the "evil inclination. " 00:16:53.84\00:16:57.18 Well, this is also rabbinic theology. 00:16:57.38\00:17:00.08 And that's why when we talk about rabbinic view 00:17:00.29\00:17:03.34 sometimes there are two positions that exist. 00:17:03.54\00:17:06.04 Sure. And this one is so rare to be found. 00:17:06.24\00:17:09.85 This is not very well known. 00:17:10.05\00:17:12.23 As far as Satan... a view of seeing Satan. Yes. 00:17:12.33\00:17:14.71 That's why I say it's a unique story. It's found in one place 00:17:14.91\00:17:20.25 and one midrash. But the majority of the rabbis 00:17:20.35\00:17:24.37 took a different opinion and they depersonalized Satan. 00:17:24.57\00:17:29.24 As you were saying about this "evil inclination" 00:17:29.44\00:17:33.23 yetzer hara: that exists. Exactly. 00:17:33.43\00:17:35.75 What do they say about temptation then? 00:17:35.86\00:17:37.68 Who is the tempter? Or how does somebody get tempted? 00:17:37.88\00:17:40.78 Well that runs in the line with this "evil inclination" - 00:17:40.98\00:17:44.06 exactly - that is constantly drawing us, is trying to draw us 00:17:44.26\00:17:47.28 away from God. Now putting this in context 00:17:47.48\00:17:51.49 now and understanding that from that perspective 00:17:51.69\00:17:54.20 there is no entity... there is no enemy of God 00:17:54.40\00:17:59.18 as we would understand it. There is this inclination. 00:17:59.39\00:18:01.80 Basically from this perspective also 00:18:02.00\00:18:04.14 is where you get the idea that people are essentially born good 00:18:04.34\00:18:07.35 and as their life goes on it's the "evil inclination" that 00:18:07.55\00:18:10.88 draws them into temptation, draws them away from God. 00:18:10.98\00:18:14.26 There is a whole ramification of thinking this way. 00:18:14.46\00:18:18.90 And when you have this view that you discount Satan - 00:18:19.10\00:18:23.43 that you don't see that there really is an enemy 00:18:23.63\00:18:26.60 in that perspective - then when things go terribly wrong 00:18:26.80\00:18:31.64 who can you look to? 00:18:31.84\00:18:34.55 You know, we would have things go wrong and we would say: 00:18:35.48\00:18:38.46 "Yes, ultimately God has control but you know 00:18:38.56\00:18:42.27 the other side is we live in a fallen world. 00:18:42.37\00:18:44.30 We live in a world that's filled with sin. " 00:18:44.50\00:18:46.35 And we don't... When we under- stand we don't turn our anger 00:18:46.55\00:18:49.56 towards God. Now when you don't have that 00:18:49.66\00:18:52.57 you have nowhere to go but to turn your anger towards God. 00:18:52.77\00:18:56.61 And what I'm leading to and we really haven't touched on this 00:18:56.82\00:19:00.34 at all in any of our shows but there was a horrific event 00:19:00.54\00:19:04.05 that happened to the Jewish people... and I'm talking about 00:19:04.15\00:19:07.02 the Holocaust during World War II. 00:19:07.12\00:19:08.72 Yeah, six million were... Six million lost their lives. 00:19:08.92\00:19:12.42 Now I do... We're all Jewish here 00:19:12.55\00:19:15.11 and I don't want to belittle this but I also want people 00:19:15.15\00:19:17.37 to understand that I've read that there were as many as 00:19:17.47\00:19:20.03 50 million people died as a result of World War II. 00:19:20.23\00:19:24.78 But this was something that was systematic. 00:19:25.18\00:19:29.59 This was to destroy a people. 00:19:29.80\00:19:32.07 This wasn't as a result of war. And I always bring that out 00:19:32.17\00:19:34.58 because I've heard people throw that back. 00:19:34.68\00:19:36.33 "Yeah, look at the total numbers. " 00:19:36.53\00:19:37.90 This was a unique thing that happened. 00:19:38.02\00:19:40.16 But you know, we say it's unique 00:19:40.36\00:19:41.73 but you know what? The reality is 00:19:41.91\00:19:44.02 is that this isn't the first time that I think the enemy 00:19:44.23\00:19:48.30 threw everything he had at the Jewish people. 00:19:48.50\00:19:52.08 We can go back at least two times or three times 00:19:52.28\00:19:55.28 I can think of in scripture. We have in Moses' day 00:19:55.48\00:19:59.69 we have Pharaoh looking to kill all the children 00:19:59.90\00:20:03.04 trying to find Moses. 00:20:03.25\00:20:04.62 We go forward and we have the whole story of Esther. 00:20:04.77\00:20:07.37 And the Medieval times... Well, we're jumping even way later. 00:20:07.57\00:20:11.21 But we have the story of Esther in the Bible where 00:20:11.35\00:20:13.60 Haman wants to kill the Jewish people and God 00:20:13.80\00:20:16.16 uses Esther - this little Jewish woman - 00:20:16.36\00:20:19.34 to save the people. And then we move into the New Testament 00:20:19.54\00:20:22.34 when Jesus was born we have Herod, the king, 00:20:22.54\00:20:25.25 sending out trying to find and kill all the babies 00:20:25.46\00:20:28.59 that were a certain age. 00:20:28.69\00:20:30.06 But all of these things... realize every time this happened 00:20:30.09\00:20:32.60 it was Satan's attempt to foil God's plan - 00:20:32.80\00:20:35.99 thinking that he could - to stop Moses coming. 00:20:36.19\00:20:38.89 Right? Then try to eliminate all of God's people. 00:20:39.09\00:20:42.04 And then to try and stop Messiah from coming 00:20:42.24\00:20:45.42 again... because Satan knew that a Redeemer would come. 00:20:45.62\00:20:48.61 He just didn't understand I don't think 00:20:48.81\00:20:51.11 at that time how exactly He would come. 00:20:51.31\00:20:53.90 Well... As you mentioned we go into the medieval period 00:20:54.10\00:20:56.88 and it gets really worse. 00:20:57.08\00:20:58.63 And we could spend a whole lot of time just talking about that 00:20:58.83\00:21:01.19 but where I wanted to get... my point in saying all of that 00:21:01.39\00:21:04.71 was that because of this view that it's this evil inclination 00:21:04.91\00:21:09.72 and that it's not Satan the way that the Jews 00:21:09.92\00:21:14.02 as a people handled the genocide - 00:21:14.23\00:21:16.29 the way that the Jews as a people handled what happened 00:21:16.49\00:21:19.62 in the Holocaust, unfortunately was many, many, many Jews 00:21:19.82\00:21:24.31 turned away from God. Yeah, they turned to atheism 00:21:24.51\00:21:28.68 and said: "Where was God when our parents, 00:21:28.88\00:21:33.92 our grandparents, suffered in gas chambers of Hitler? " 00:21:34.12\00:21:39.69 And this is really the answer to why one of the main reasons 00:21:39.93\00:21:45.35 why it is so difficult for Jews as a whole 00:21:45.45\00:21:49.23 to look past and to see. Sometimes it's not even so much 00:21:49.43\00:21:53.79 about Jesus. And sometimes it goes even further 00:21:53.89\00:21:56.17 because it's their ability to accept that God 00:21:56.37\00:21:59.87 when He appears to have allowed this to happen 00:22:00.07\00:22:03.83 in their mind: "Why would I turn to Him? Why would I trust Him? " 00:22:04.03\00:22:07.82 And that's why Job's example 00:22:07.96\00:22:10.35 when he didn't know about Satan. 00:22:10.55\00:22:13.37 The interesting thing about the book of Job: 00:22:13.57\00:22:15.79 Job doesn't know what happened in heaven 00:22:15.99\00:22:19.80 as is described in the first chapter. 00:22:20.00\00:22:22.49 But... and he doesn't understand 00:22:22.69\00:22:24.71 why are these sufferings coming. 00:22:24.91\00:22:27.62 What did I do to deserve this? Yeah. 00:22:27.73\00:22:29.53 And he kind of says: "Well God is doing it 00:22:29.74\00:22:34.00 because He's in control of everything. " 00:22:34.20\00:22:36.28 But even though he thinks this way 00:22:36.59\00:22:39.09 he still makes this claim at the very center of the book: 00:22:39.29\00:22:43.66 "I know my Redeemer liveth. " 00:22:43.86\00:22:46.43 I love it. "At the last day He will restore me 00:22:46.63\00:22:51.54 and I will see Him. " 00:22:51.64\00:22:53.22 That's the first text in the first book of the Bible 00:22:53.32\00:22:57.32 talking about the solution of all this problem of evil: 00:22:57.52\00:23:00.13 the resurrection from the dead. 00:23:00.33\00:23:02.34 So... and that segue is great 00:23:02.54\00:23:05.03 because our time is slipping away. 00:23:05.13\00:23:07.50 So fast it goes by. And we do want to take just a little bit 00:23:07.70\00:23:11.28 and talk about this Hebraic view of the resurrection 00:23:11.38\00:23:14.42 because some people think that this is unique 00:23:14.62\00:23:17.14 to being a Christian that we think of the resurrection 00:23:17.34\00:23:19.86 of the dead. But that's very common in Judaism. 00:23:19.96\00:23:23.31 Yes. Oh in the synagogue the major prayer is 00:23:23.41\00:23:25.76 "Blessed are You O Lord who resurrects the dead. " Exactly. 00:23:25.96\00:23:30.10 This is one of the major prayers. 00:23:30.20\00:23:32.15 This is the Blessed Hope of every praying believing Jew. 00:23:32.35\00:23:37.62 Absolutely. Beautiful. Alex, I guess you're going to 00:23:37.86\00:23:40.95 sing us one of your songs again? I do. 00:23:41.05\00:23:43.72 Actually this song is not one that I wrote. 00:23:43.92\00:23:46.46 This is a traditional song and it's taken from liturgy. 00:23:46.66\00:23:51.24 Sasha... MELEKH OZER. Can you tell them just a little - 00:23:51.44\00:23:53.31 yes - while I get ready? This is taken from the 18 Blessings. 00:23:53.41\00:23:58.79 And it's actually talking about God as a King 00:23:58.99\00:24:04.07 who is ready to help 00:24:04.27\00:24:08.18 and who is our shield. 00:24:08.48\00:24:10.66 Blessed are You O Lord, Shield of Abraham. 00:24:10.86\00:24:13.88 Beautiful. Amen; amen. 00:24:14.18\00:24:16.76 O King, Redeemer, Savior, and Shield. 00:24:48.35\00:24:52.50 O King, Redeemer, Savior, and Shield. 00:24:52.80\00:24:57.25 Blessed art Thou, blessed art Thou, 00:24:57.55\00:25:01.77 Shield of Abraham. 00:25:02.07\00:25:06.44 Blessed art Thou, blessed art Thou, 00:25:06.64\00:25:10.81 Shield of Abraham. 00:25:11.11\00:25:15.05 O You are the Mighty One forever, O Lord. 00:25:15.55\00:25:19.53 Yes, You are the Mighty One forever O Lord. 00:25:19.83\00:25:23.99 You raise the dead that are sleeping in their graves. 00:25:24.29\00:25:28.84 You are mighty to save. 00:25:29.14\00:25:32.93 Yes, You raise the dead 00:25:33.13\00:25:35.19 that are sleeping in their graves. 00:25:35.39\00:25:37.76 You are mighty to save. 00:25:38.06\00:25:41.88 You raise the dead that are sleeping in their graves. 00:26:17.74\00:26:22.04 You are mighty to save. 00:26:22.34\00:26:26.44 You raise the dead that are sleeping in their graves. 00:26:26.64\00:26:30.90 You are mighty to save. 00:26:31.10\00:26:34.69 Oh yes, and You are mighty to save. 00:26:34.80\00:26:39.05 O Lord, You are mighty to save. 00:26:39.25\00:26:45.00 Beautiful! That's right. 00:26:45.31\00:26:46.68 No other name underneath heaven. 00:26:46.91\00:26:48.53 That's it! Amen; amen. 00:26:48.73\00:26:50.58 Lord, we are so happy and blessed that You care so much 00:26:50.88\00:26:55.84 for us. That You look down and You raise us up 00:26:56.04\00:27:00.63 when nothing else... Well, we want to thank you once again 00:27:00.83\00:27:03.83 for joining us on Back To Our Roots. 00:27:04.03\00:27:07.04 Today maybe has been a little challenging for some. 00:27:07.24\00:27:10.92 But you know, God is the God of all things. 00:27:11.12\00:27:14.36 His desire is that none should be left behind. 00:27:14.56\00:27:18.09 And He's stronger than Satan. Amen! 00:27:18.19\00:27:19.93 I always take heart - as we said - in the book of Job 00:27:20.23\00:27:23.67 that Satan had to go to God to ask permission. Amen? 00:27:23.87\00:27:27.79 So you know, we should never give him more power 00:27:27.93\00:27:31.33 than he is due. God is in control always. 00:27:31.53\00:27:35.10 So on behalf of myself, Rachel, and Sasha 00:27:35.30\00:27:40.87 we want to say thank you for joining us. 00:27:41.07\00:27:43.04 May the Lord bless you and may He keep you. 00:27:43.24\00:27:45.13 May the Lord make His face to shine upon you 00:27:45.43\00:27:47.56 and be gracious to you. 00:27:47.66\00:27:49.03 May the Lord lift His countenance upon you 00:27:49.06\00:27:51.09 and bring you His peace. 00:27:51.29\00:27:53.24 Shalom and thank you for joining us. 00:27:53.44\00:27:55.56