The Foremost Tragedy Facing Japan

     Though most Japanese consider themselves Buddhist, Shintoist, or a combination of the two,  religion really does not play a big role in the everyday life of most Japanese people today. The average person typically follows the religious rituals at ceremonies like weddings and  funerals and may visit a shrine once or twice a year, ( much like lukewarm Christmas-and-Easter Christians).  The Shinto belief is that  Japan is the country of the gods and her people are the descendants of gods.   The "Shinto gods"  are sacred spirits which take the form of things such as wind, rain, and mountains. Humans become ancestral gods after they die and  are then revered by their families.   Many Japanese say, "We live as Shintoists, but die as Buddhists."

     Nowadays about 90 million people consider themselves Buddhists in Japan. However, they admit that religion does not directly affect their everyday life. Many households keep a small house altar in order to pay respect to their ancestors.  Only about 1% of Japan's population is Christian, mostly living in western Japan. In a recent survey, over half of all Japanese people indicated that they do not feel they belong to any religion and that religion is not important to them.

      The reverence of ancestors is paramount to both Shintoism and Buddhism.  However, ancestor worship is wrong because it places other gods ahead of Yahweh (God) , and  it seeks to replace Yeshua (Jesus)  as the Divine Mediator between God and mankind. This is direct disobedience to the First Commandment -"you shall have no other gods before me".

     The teachings of Shintoism and Buddhism are completely incompatible with Biblical Christianity.  The Bible is clear that there are not many gods, but one God.” I am the Lord (Yahweh), and there is none else, there is no  Elohim (God) beside me: “(Isaiah 45:5). He is not an impersonal force, but a loving and caring Father God to those who obey Him “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters”, (2 Corinthians 6:18). He alone created the universe and He alone reigns sovereignly over it. The idea of gods that inhabit rocks, trees and animals combines two different  Satanic lies: polytheism (many gods) and animism (the presence of gods in objects).

     The idea of ritual purification of Shintoism and Buddhism serves no purpose for salvation.  Only faith in the shed blood of  the crucified Messiah (Yeshua - Jesus)  can accomplish cleansing from sin and make us acceptable to a holy God. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

      Jesus’ teaching on heaven was quite specific. He taught us that our physical bodies die but our souls ascend to be with Him in heaven “When the dead rise… they will be like the angels in heaven “(Mark 12:25). The Buddha taught that people do not have individual souls, for that is an illusion. For Buddhists there is no merciful Father in heaven who sent His Son to die for our salvation, or to provide the way for us to reach His glory.

     The Shinto/Buddhism belief that spirits continue to reside on earth after death and influence the lives of others is not Scriptural. The Bible tells us that the spirits of the dead go to either heaven or hell and do not remain in the natural world  ^27” Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ( Hebrews 9:27).   God assures us there is no reincarnation, no past lives.  The Scripture above shows us that we are here one  time, then go on to our reward or punishment, a fact that everyone should take very seriously, especially when we consider how quickly things have become tragic in Japan. 

      The terrible earthquake, deadly Tsunami, and horrific events surrounding Fukushima are not the worst tragedies Japan has had to endure.  The most devastating tragedy is that, for the most part, as a society,  the Japanese people do not know the One True God.  What comfort do they derive from their dead ancestors and their  lifeless spiritual rocks at this point?  These are false gods and substitute saviors, offering no solace to the suffering,  no affection to the afflicted, and  no answers to the anxious.   I pity the loss of life, and the troubles that continue, but mostly I weep for those acquainted with  Shinto and Buddha, but have no relationship with  the God of all Comfort,  the loving  Good Shepherd, who longs to gather up  in His compassionate arms those who turn to Him.  Hollow religion, un-feeling  gods, hopeless ritual ---- I submit that  is the greatest tragedy of  Japan and all who follow hopeless philosophies.

BOO, HISS and STOMP those feet !!!

Coming Sunday, March 20, 2011  is Purim - a joyous celebration for Jews, and non-Jews alike.   We learn about Purim by reading the Old Testament Book of Esther.  The King of Persia (modern day Iran) wanted a new Queen.  Hadassah  won the title and took the name Esther (YAY !) so the King did not know she was a Jew.   Later on the wicked Haman (BOOOOO) influenced the King to issue an irrevocable decree calling for the extermination of all the Jews.  Esther’s cousin Mordecai (YAY !) urged Queen Esther  to stop this terrible genocide and told her  that she had become Queen “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).   In other words “this is your purpose as queen, Esther – to save your people”.  Esther (YAY!) saved her people, at great risk to her own life.  The wicked Haman (BOOOO) had plotted to have cousin Mordecai (YAY !) hanged on a towering gallows almost 80 feet high, however this plan backfired on him and he, Haman, was hanged on the gallows instead.  (what goes around comes around ?) So, the Jews were saved, Haman (BOOOO) received the execution he had planned for cousin Mordecai (YAY !), and the story ends there.  Right?   Here are some lesser-known facts ---

1.    Purim is a minor festival, meaning that it is not one that was commanded at Mt. Sinai  but it is a festival, like Hanukkah, that came to be an honored tradition.  Purim is one of the many times Yahweh (God) has saved His people from extinction.

·     2.  The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that  includes virtually no reference to God. Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning God.

·     3.  The modern movie “One Night With The King” thankfully does not show the details of wicked Haman’s punishment.   The Jews killed the ten sons of Haman and hung their bodies with Haman. Haman’s punishment, that he had intended for cousin Mordecai, was not noose-hanging as we think of it.( ALERT - Next 3 sentences may be too graphic for sensitive or young readers.)  In Persia, the method of execution was impalement –  an act of torture whereby the victim was pierced by a long stake  through the side,rectum, or mouth. The stake would usually be planted in the ground, leaving the victim hanging to die a hideous death.  In some forms of impalement, the stake would be inserted so as to avoid immediate death, thereby deliberately extending the victim's agony for many hours.  Esther 7:10 very clearly says  in the original Hebrew  that “Haman was impaled on the wood he had prepared for Mordecai”.

·     4.  Ancient Rabbis wrote that Haman  probably had an idolatrous image embroidered on his garments, so that those who bowed to him  bowed also to the image, therefore, cousin Mordecai infuriated Haman when Mordecai  would not bow to him.

·     5.  Haman, believed by Hebrew sages to be an astrologer,  “cast lots” (like a lottery) to determine the proper date for the extermination of the Jews.  The word pur ( pronounced - poor)  means “lots”.

·     6.  Wicked Haman was an Agagite –  a people notorious for their hatred of the Jews. 

·     7.   In the Book of Esther, the bodies of Haman's ten sons were hanged. In 1946, ten of Hitler's top henchmen were put to death by hanging for their war crimes. One of the condemned “ten sons of Hitler” recognized the irony.  Julius Streicher, on the way to the gallows shouted "FEAST OF PURIM 1946!"  The execution of the ten Nazis did not take place, however, during Purim as some believe. They were actually executed on  Hoshana Rabbah, the  solemn Jewish day on which we pass before God for review and He seals our judgment. 

·     8.   In early 1953, Stalin was planning to deport most of the Jews in the Soviet Union to Siberia, but just before his plans were carried out, he suffered a fatal stroke. The stroke occurred the night after Purim, on  March 1, 1953, and he was dead only a few days later.  His wicked plan to deport Jews was not carried out.

·     9.  The primary custom related to Purim is  the reading of the book of Esther.  It is customary to boo, hiss, stamp feet and rattle  noisemakers whenever the name of Haman (BOOOO)  is mentioned  to "blot out the name of Haman” and the custom is  to cheer when the names of Esther (YAY !) and Mordecai (YAY!) are heard.H

10.  Just as in the days of Esther, a ruler of Persia issued a decree to annihilate the Jews.  Today, in Iran, which is modern-day Persia, President Mahmud Ahmadinejab, truly a modern-day Haman, constantly calls for the extermination of the Jews. He would do well to remember that, as Churchill said,  “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Is Our Savior Zeus The Thunder God?

There is no “J” in Hebrew and there  is no text before the year 1530 that uses the spelling “Jesus”.   We must  remember that the Messiah was a Torah Observant  Yehudim  (Jew).   His  correct  Name is spelled with the Hebrew letters yod-hay-waw-shin-ayin, which would be pronounced Yahushua (yah-who-SHOO-ah,  ), which literally means ‘Yah is our salvation’.  God’s true Name is Yahweh, so we can see that the root is Yah in both sacred Names -  YAHweh the Father, and YAHushua the Son.   Jesus’ Hebrew Name, Yahushua, is frequently shortened to Y’shua, or Yeshua, which are not improper, but not quite as complete as Yahushua.    It is not wrong to call Him Yeshua (yeh-SHOO-ah), but it may be ‘technically more right’ to call Him Yahushua, which is what I prefer to do.    Below is “Yahweh” in modern Hebrew:

Below is Yahushua in modern Hebrew.  Note, when reading right to left, the first three letters are the same – Yod-Hay-waw – and spell the word “Yah”.

What’s the big deal about getting the Name right?   Since there is no letter “J” in the Hebrew language, and though it is ‘christianized tradition’ many devout scholars think it does not make sense to call the Messiah “Jesus”.   There is no authoritative source which claims that the name Jesus or Iesous was the original name of the Hebrew Messiah.   The word “Jesus” bears striking similarities to the names of pagan deities.  “Jesus” is really a Latinization based on the Greek.   Some scholars believe the name is directly related to the name Ieso who was the Greek goddess of healing, and is intimately related to sun god worship. Ieso was related to  Apollo the sun god. 

     The Geneva Bible (which pre-dated the King James translation, was the Bible used by Shakespeare, and was actually taken on the Mayflower to America) spelled the Messiah’s Name IESUS.   The Greek abbreviation for Iesous is IHS, which is found on many inscriptions made by the church during the Middle Ages.  IHS was the mystery name for Bacchus, another sun-deity.   IHS is related to pagan sun worship, thereby identifying the Saviour with mythical sun deities.   

      Names were Hellenized (Greek-afied) in the Scriptures, and this has been corrected by many modern scholarly Bible translations, though the Name of the Messiah has remained Hellenized.   The ending “sus” definitely refers to Zeus, as it does in many other Greek names such as Tarsus, Pegasus, and Dionysus.  Zeus was the Greek god of sky and thunder and was considered to be the king of the gods.  Therefore, in Greek, the Name “Jesus” can mean “hail Zeus” or “son of Zeus” but it means nothing in Hebrew. 

     The Saviour would have never heard anyone call Him "Jesus”.  When His mother beckoned him, she would have said “Yahushua, come to dinner” or perhaps “Y’shua”.    The closest the word “Jesus” comes to any Hebrew Word is “hey-horse” because “soos” is Hebrew for “horse”.   Only the Torah puts forth the correct Names of “God” and “Jesus”.   

      Unconverted Jews are still waiting for their Messiah, who – from the Torah – they know will be named “YHWH their Salvation” (Yahushua).  Yet, the Christian Church for centuries has been presenting Jews with a Greek Messiah named “Jesus”.  There is absolutely no connection between these names.   Yahweh, our Creator, established the Hebrew language as a special language and He revealed His Name in Hebrew.   Ancient Hebrew is the language He wrote with His own finger when He inscribed the Ten Commandments on stone.  It is the only language on earth handed down to us by the Creator Himself.  It is in Hebrew that He revealed His true Name. 

Why do I think this is a big deal?

1.  Because  referring to Messiah, the Apostle Peter said: “ there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved”  Acts 4:12.(Salvation and the Name are linked.)

2.  Because  Messiah Himself said “Whatever you ask in My Name, that will I do… If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:13,13. (answers to prayer and the Name are linked.)

3.  Because  Messiah Himself said “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My Name they will cast out demons…”  (Mark 16:17)  (Divine power and the Name are linked)

4.  Because "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow."  Philippians 2:10. (worship and the name are linked)

5.  Because the 3rd Commandment says Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. (how often is the Name of the Creator taken lightly and spoken in an unholy manner!)

     It is evident  that the sacred Names are very powerful.  It  makes sense to get Them right, to revere Them, and to make no substitutions for Them.   Do I think people will go to Hell if  they call the Creator “God” or His Son “Jesus”?  Of course not!  I believe Yahweh appreciates our efforts and knows Who we are referring to when we use these names.  Many  prayer requests have been granted in the Names of God and Jesus.  However, it has become extremely important to me personally to know the accurate sacred Names and  to respectfully apply Them in prayer and worship.   I believe Yahweh will honor those efforts.   

     I submit that names are truly important to Yahweh the Creator.  Even those on earth who remain obedient  will one day receive a special name.  “To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.' ( Rev. 2:17)  I think we should look forward to receiving our new names, don’t you?

The Bad News and the Good News

     These are scary times we’re living in right now.  Many intuitive people have a palpable feeling of impending doom, a dread that “something big is coming”.   Even people of faith are perturbed and unsure of current happenings. Both faith and fear are spiritual beliefs that look to an unknown future.  The difference between the two is that Faith believes God will come through for us -  and Fear believes that He might not.  Anxieties are not from God -  “⁷For God did not give us a spirit of  fear, but of a calm and well-balanced mind.”  (II Timothy 1:7) From this Scripture we see that when anxiety grips our throat, God will calm us down ( if we let Him.)  

     But how do we combat this fear, doubt, and anxiety?  I heard a brilliant speaker many years ago say that “it’s all between our ears, that’s where the battle takes place".  Fearful thoughts take root in our minds, so if we can't transform our world, it is our thinking that must be transformed:  “ be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2)  Renewal not by self-hypnosis, but every day in the Word of God.  Meditating on God’s Word is not difficult, since meditating simply means that we roll a thought over and over again in our mind. We read a Scripture and literally dwell on it.  We have to make a choice – do we meditate on the fearful things that worry us, or on Scripture?  Whatever meditation choice we make determines our level of peace.  ^3”You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on You”. ( Is. 26:3)  So,if we keep our mind fixed on God and His Word,  His peace will follow. 

     Put in military terms:” ⁶Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in everything, by prayer and (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. ⁷And God's peace shall be yours, that peace which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds. “ (Philippians 4)  The Apostle Paul uses a military term to explain this peace.  We go to God in prayer, thankful for His many blessings, and we throw our fears before Him and ask for His help. What follows is God’s peace, which Paul compares to a garrison of soldiers that stand guard over our hearts and minds to prevent fear from establishing a stronghold in our life.  It’s a great picture to envision as we pray – Taking our fear to a military outpost, and placing our worries amid a well-equipped company of soldiers whose only assignment is  to guard our hearts and keep us peaceful. 

      God says “Trust Me”  between the lines on every page of Scripture.   He has firmly embedded the words “Trust Me” in every tear I have ever shed while crying out to Him in prayer. Through every crisis I have ever personally laid at His merciful throne, He has insisted in my ear “Trust Me.”  And, highlighted over all the news events of these troublesome days, are stamped those words “Trust Me”.