"Brit-Am Now"-577

"Brit-Am Now"-577
Contents:
1. Questions on Validity of Prophecy
2. Can Prophecy Change? Does it have to happen?
3. Replies to Criticisms of Brit-Am Biblical Understanding?

1. Questions on Validity of Prophecy

Yair,
Thank you for analyzing the writings of prophet, Amos, and bringing them into possible present day relevance. I hope that you do the same with all the prophets.
My questions relate to authenticity. How can a reader of the Scriptures know that what he reads: 1) is a real work of the prophet rather than a composition of a later scribe or other person who is writing (in the case of short-term rather than long-term prophesy) after history has recorded an event; and 2) since as you point out, the theme of most of the prophetic writings is similar (i.e. repent, return of the lost tribes, etc.), how can a reader know that the prophets were in fact conveying the Lord's word rather than just copying from preceding prophets or speaking their own minds ?
I hope you can help.

Andrew

Answers:

(1. When Ezra and Nehemiah returned from Babylon and established the Great Assembly there were prophets amongst them such as Chaggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Zerubabel, etc, and in Babylon they must have been familiar with Ezekiel, Daniel, Esther and Mordecai or they knew people who had known these figures.
Ezra and the Great Assembly determined what books should be included in the Bible. They had Biblically-based criteria of their own to decide who was a Prophet and who was not and what books were inspired and what were not etc.
There was a tradition that was reliable and in most cases did not have to go so far back.
There is also internal evidence.
We do not say one should blindly believe everything but also there is no justification in going out of one's way not to believe.

(2. In those days there were not so many books around and people relied more on their memories. The impression is that many prophecies etc were memorized by students. Apart from Moses, who is in a category of his own, the other prophets expressed their Prophetic experience in their own language which sometimes included near repetitions of what other Prophets had already said. I would not say that the theme of most Prophets is that similar but similarities do exist. In Brit-Am we are consciously LOOKING FOR prophecies on a certain theme. We find similarities, since they exist, concerning the Lost Ten Tribes and we may tend to emphasize them since that is our goal.
We consider the prophecies to have been inspired since they are part of the Hebrew Bible.

2. Can Prophecy Change? Does it have to happen?
When I try to open this page: "In the past we posted a Commentary on the Book of Amos that may be viewed at:
http://britam.org/amos.html>http://britam.org/amos.html
I get a message saying it doesn't exist.

You say if we do good, things can change, but can the Word of God change? How can we change what has been prophesied and written in the Word? We should do good because we love YHWH and want to be obediant to the Torah.

Sincerely,
Christina Kelly

Answer:
a. Concerning the URL for Brit-Am Commentary tot h Book of Amos: Go to:
http://www.britam.org/
Then scroll down to
Biblical Commentary
go to
The Book of Amos
and click

b. Concerning Prophesying Changing etc.
You are right to a degree.
Nevertheless there is a principle that every prophecy for BAD can be changed as noted by us in our Commentary to Jeremiah.

[Jeremiah 28:5] THEN THE PROPHET JEREMIAH SAID UNTO THE PROPHET HANANIAH IN THE PRESENCE OF THE PRIESTS, AND IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL THE PEOPLE THAT STOOD IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD,

[Jeremiah 28:6] EVEN THE PROPHET JEREMIAH SAID, AMEN: THE LORD DO SO: THE LORD PERFORM THY WORDS WHICH THOU HAST PROPHESIED, TO BRING AGAIN THE VESSELS OF THE LORD'S HOUSE, AND ALL THAT IS CARRIED AWAY CAPTIVE, FROM BABYLON INTO THIS PLACE.

[Jeremiah 28:7] NEVERTHELESS HEAR THOU NOW THIS WORD THAT I SPEAK IN THINE EARS, AND IN THE EARS OF ALL THE PEOPLE;

[Jeremiah 28:8] THE PROPHETS THAT HAVE BEEN BEFORE ME AND BEFORE THEE OF OLD PROPHESIED BOTH AGAINST MANY COUNTRIES, AND AGAINST GREAT KINGDOMS, OF WAR, AND OF EVIL, AND OF PESTILENCE.

[Jeremiah 28:9] THE PROPHET WHICH PROPHESIETH OF PEACE, WHEN THE WORD OF THE PROPHET SHALL COME TO PASS, THEN SHALL THE PROPHET BE KNOWN, THAT THE LORD HATH TRULY SENT HIM.

In Rabbinical Law: "A Prophet is never tested through a prediction of evil. It is always possible for such evil to be averted by repentance and prayer." see Aryeh Kaplan, "The Handbook of Jewish Thought", volume 1, 8:16 quotes from this passage of Jeremiah and from Jonah 3:10 and from Classical sources including Maimonides.

Even if a prophecy is not to be changed it can be applied in different ways and through our deeds and intentions we may cause that application to be less harmful.

Jonah prophesied that Nineveh would be "overturned"

[Jonah 3:4] AND JONAH BEGAN TO ENTER INTO THE CITY A DAY'S JOURNEY, AND HE CRIED, AND SAID, YET FORTY DAYS, AND NINEVEH SHALL BE OVERTHROWN.

The people of Nineveh repented and fasted and thus Nineveh was spiritually overthrown and saved from being "overthrown" in the physical sense.
Jonah knew this was liable to happen and this why he did not want to take the prophecy to Nineveh. He did not want to save the Assyrians and so he attempted to flee by ship to Tarshish.

You are correct in saying that we should do good because God has commanded it.
Nevertheless God Himself says that if we do good we will be blessed and if we do bad we will be punished
and if punishment has been decreed we can still change it for the better.
Yair

3. Replies to Criticisms of Brit-Am Biblical Understanding?

From: Carol Hawke
Subject: Re: AMOS REVISITED no.1

Hello again,
I think you really ought to check out this link and what they are saying about your work:
http://www.lightofmashiach.org/losttribes.html
Shalom brother,
songbird

Reply: Carol Shalom
I did not see "Brit-Am" expressly mentioned in the article?
The artilce does indeed attempt to counter Brit-Am beliefs.
The article claims that not all the Ten Tribes were exiled and those that were later re-united with Judah.
An answer to all these arguments (and many many more of the same) has been given in past postings and also in articles still available on our web-sites.

I am in the process of gathering together all of these answers and presenting them in one coherent article.

In the meantime Go to:
http://www.britam.org/

Scroll down to:
BRIT-AM NOW NEWSLETTERS
Open
Go to no. 533 and Open
see
"Brit-Am Now"-533
#item: 5. Reply to Some "Biblical" Objections


then
Go to no.
534
and Open
"Brit-Am Now"-534
#item: 3. The Completeness of the Assyrian Exile

See also the opinion on this subject of the foremost Rabbinical Sage
Nachmanides (Moshe ben Nachman. 1194-1270 (shorter version)
http://britam.org/ShortRETURN.htm
lengthier extract:
http://britam.org/RETURN.htm
If these URLs do not open for you straight away go to
http://www.britam.org/
Scroll down to:

THE TEN TRIBES WILL RETURN !!
Article on the RETURN OF THE TEN TRIBES

or (longer version)
Full Length Article:
RETURN OF THE TEN TRIBES

Also review Biblical Proofs at:
http://www.britam.org/
Scroll down to:
"A must read article -
BIBLICAL PROOF of the LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL "

I notice that the article you are quoting from is sponsored by the "Jews for Jesus".
They also fund "Abraham X" alias Alessandre Revello (?)
and strongly support BC (why??)
and attempt to de-legitimize Orthodox Jews.

Why?
What do they have against the Jews and Brit-Am?

We have noticed this pattern in their behavior and will write a note on it within the next month or so.
We will not write at length but will write something of interest.
We are not in a hurry.
It would be better if they would just go away but I somehow doubt they will be so obliging.


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