Essay Seven

Islam is rarely critiqued by journalists because it can be dangerous to do so. This has been less true since September 11, 2001, because people are interested in Islam and are searching for answers.

However, it is still risky to write anything that may impugn Islam and especially the founder, Muhammad. This is one reason why I call Islam a cult. Muslims often treat opponents with something less than kindness as they seek to defend the honor of “Allah.”

What Is a Cult?

My working definition of a cult is non-theological. Traditionally, Christians apply the term to Bible-based groups that have departed significantly from the mainstream and historical creeds. Such cults frequently deny the full deity and humanity of Jesus; His atoning work on the cross; His bodily resurrection; and His return at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead.

However, here I employ a secular definition of a cult: “any group that uses psychological or sociological techniques to recruit, motivate, and retain adherents.”

Cults are not necessarily religious; they may be political, commercial, educational/therapeutic, or economic in nature. They may be large or small, named or unnamed, known or unknown.

Cults may have a leader or be without a leader. The common feature is the use of control mechanisms that violate the individuality of participants in the three areas stated above: recruitment, motivation, and retention.

Is Islam Cultic?

Many would deny that Islam has the characteristics of a cult. But why is Islam not a cult when in many Muslim-dominated countries it is a capital offense to hand Muslims a Bible or explain Christianity (or any other religion) to them?

Saudi Arabia, the guardian of Islam’s most holy shrines at Mecca and Medina, is a highly restricted society where Christians are not allowed any public expression of their faith.

Why is Islam not a cult when it is virtually impossible for a Muslim to leave the religion, even if he merely wishes to become an atheist or agnostic?

Why is Islam not a cult when Muslim warriors force their religion on people? The history of Islam is full of that kind of “proselytization.”

It is true that the Roman Catholic Church has in the past forced “pagans” to adopt Catholicism. However, that church has acknowledged that it was both wrong-headed and anti-Christian to do so and has terminated the practice.

As a Baptist, I can say that in 500 years of our history we have not engaged in such tactics and neither have any of the traditionally Evangelical, Protestant denominations.

Satanic Verses

A vivid illustration of the cultic nature of Islam is the case involving the novelist Salman Rushdie. Rushdie had a death contract issued against him for writing his book, The Satanic Verses and supposedly impugning the character of Muhammad. Yet novelists, journalists, commentators, filmmakers, and television producers routinely blaspheme Jesus of Christianity and the Creator God without reprisals made against them by Christians.

Of course, the fatwa against Salman Rushdie is blamed on “fundamentalists” and “extremists,” exonerating most Muslims who live in Western countries as peace-loving citizens. But the loyalty inculcated by Islam runs deeper than allegiance to any nation. Muslims will change political affiliations if needed, but their commitment to the defense of Islam easily becomes fanatical.

A Contrast

How insecure and weak must Islam be when Muslims threaten those who oppose it with violence rather than use reasoned defense. Such paranoid behavior renders Islam resistant to self-evaluation and exposes its internal deficiencies.

Biblical Christianity thrives in a free, pluralistic, and democratic society. It neither needs nor benefits from the support of a nation state. By contrast, Islamic control in many countries is totalitarian, dictatorial, and oppressive.

In countries ruled by Sharia Law, minor infractions may be punished by the loss of a hand, a foot, or life itself. Muslim women have been stoned to death for inadvertently exposing an ankle or forearm in public. The much-touted “mercy” of Islam is hard to detect.

Disillusionment with the religion simmers under the surface in Islamic societies. Many Muslim immigrants to Western countries, if not pressured by the local Muslim community to tow the line, either moderate or abandon Islam altogether. Others go through the religious motions, but their hearts are not in it.

The Cost of Defection

Today there is a “rallying to the cause,” as many Muslims believe the war against terrorism is between “Christian America” and Islam. But many Muslims would prefer to be free of such influences if they could. Of course, Muslim clerics in the West realize this and do not hesitate to isolate their constituents from non-Muslim influence. Isolation is a typical cultic mechanism—defections are treated most seriously.

In lands dominated by Islam, the rule is “once a Muslim, always a Muslim.” Like the Mafia, Islam is difficult to leave, and any who defect do so at a great price. Most cults ostracize defecting people, cutting them off from family, friends, and even employment. Muslims sometimes assassinate people who leave their religion. How very cultic!

World Rule

Cults are dangerous—they control and manipulate those under their sway. Islamic leaders may issue a declaration (fatwa) or call for a holy war (jihad). Muslims are expected to obey these calls despite their individual feelings. As with the fatwa against Rushdie, Muslims remained under a theoretical obligation to kill him even though restrained from doing so by the law of the land.

If Islam were not so fractured into sects and splinter movements, the non-Muslim world would face a more serious enemy than it does today. Islam sanctions the murder of infidels and, of course, I am one, and so is anyone who is not a Muslim. It is no secret that Islam’s goal is world rule. This is not some right-wing conspiracy theory; it is the stated aim of Islam.

On the other hand, while Christians seek to share the Good News of Christ worldwide, they are not intent on forcing people to accept Christianity, much less eliminating those who reject the message.

Spiritual Process

Conversion to Christ is a spiritual process, not the recitation of a formula such as, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.” Biblical Christianity is about grace, which is God’s gift of faith and forgiveness.

Christianity is grounded both in the sacrifice Jesus offered for sin on the cross, and upon His resurrection that declares that those for whom He died are “justified.” No one becomes a Christian on the basis of his or her works or actions. Rather, conversion is something God brings about. This is why the New Testament uses the term “new birth” to describe it (see John 3: 1-15). Humans do not control their physical birth, and with the new (spiritual) birth it is the same. Salvation is accomplished through God’s power, not man’s. No public or private declaration will ever make a Christian out of anyone.

Revised Religion

Islam is classed with those religious groups that have “revised” Christianity. Some of these are The Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In these groups, including Islam, Jesus is acknowledged and honored as a prophet. He may even be worshipped to some degree. Yet Jesus’ teachings are declared to be incomplete and outdated. They must therefore be replaced or superseded by the teachings of ________ (insert name of group or prophet).

The Christianity Muhammad knew in the sixth and seventh centuries in the Arabian Peninsula was far different from New Testament Christianity—which had radically deteriorated. Observing the deficiencies in Judaism and a degenerate Christianity, Muhammad replaced them with his own concepts. This is understandable. The result, however, is not an improvement; it is simply another failed revisionist effort.

Downgrade

It is patronizing, too, for Islam to say it respects Jesus as a prophet while denying or altering what He said about himself and what the New Testament writers said concerning Him. I am thinking of such Scriptures as John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15-20 among many others. Of course, the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses do the same. Revisionist cults must downgrade Jesus so that the “new, improved prophet” (or “truth”) can be presented as a replacement.

If Jesus is God in the flesh—Emmanuel, as the Christian Scripture proclaims; and if Jesus is the Messiah prophesied by the great Hebrew prophets; and if Jesus is the only Lord and Savior who will return to judge the living and the dead, then it is impossible to replace him.

Revelation and Misunderstanding

The Qur’an declares that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is a revelation from God. But it then proceeds to reject the clear message of the Bible! If the Bible is accurate about Jesus, there is no need for the Qur’an or Muhammad.

So, was Muhammad using flattery or attempting to patronize Christians when he seemed to honor Jesus? Or did he simply not understand? Essentially, Muhammad rejected a Christianity vastly different from the teaching of the New Testament.

Another sign of a cult is the way it keeps its adherents in the dark about other faiths. I doubt whether Muslims today know much about the message of Jesus and His Gospel. They know only what they have been told by their religious teachers. How accurate would we expect this information to be considering that the Qur’an is their authority?

To make it even worse, there is a general misunderstanding of what Christianity is. One misconception, for example, is that the West is Christian and that America is a Christian nation. Obviously, all that goes by the name of Christian is not Christian. To grasp what is the true essence of Jesus’ teachings, we must examine the primary source, the Bible.

Christians reject the belief that Muhammad is the prophet of God. Christians reject the Qur’an as a revelation from God. At least this is an honest position, innocent of any effort to mislead, flatter, confuse, or patronize.

What about the Crusades?

Muslims often ask, “What about the Crusades?” The intention of this question is often to deflect attention from the violence and oppression displayed by Muslims worldwide in the name of Allah.

Yes, there were the Crusades, and historians debate the complex tangle of religion and politics that gave rise to them. The Church of that era did not always pursue a true Christian and Biblical agenda. And this same authoritarian organization persecuted Jews and Protestants also. This same medieval church persecuted to the death those who believed the truths that I, as a Christian today, hold precious.

Is it therefore accurate for Muslims to blame all that goes by the name Christian for the Crusades? Would it not be fairer and wiser to discriminate amongst Christians? After all, most people do not blame all Muslims for the actions of some extremists.

Women in Islam

Another cultic aspect of Islam is the oppression of women in countries under Islamic rule. It is shocking, deviant, and evil.

Why is this frightful treatment tolerated? Why is there such an exaggerated fear and mistrust of women? Islamic spokesmen say the women are merely being protected. The women themselves generally resent their treatment and lowly status, but are seemingly powerless to bring about change.

The plight of young men and women in Islamic countries is sad indeed. Their isolation from one another distorts normal social relationships between the sexes. Wealthy (and usually older) men can have four wives and as many concubines as they can afford, while younger, poorer men, are deprived. This deplorable situation stems directly from the nature and traditions of Islam itself as well as the tribal culture from which it sprang.

Women are denied education in countries ruled by strict Sharia law. Why? Is it to keep women in their place? Why must women cover themselves so that not even an ankle can be seen in public? These are twisted gender mores.

Moderate Muslims claim that these practices are only enforced by extremists. The “extremists” claim they are only interpreting Islam in the purest manner possible! Who is right?

Fruit of Islam

Islamic political control has prevented social progress and economic development. For example, does anyone own a car made in an Islamic country? How about a television set, a computer, an alarm clock, an airplane, or a boat? Why are many Islamic countries among the poorest in the world even while their oil reserves are vast?

Where do wealthy Muslims send their young people to be educated? To Western countries, for the most part, since those countries freely entertain examination of all points of view for the widest number of topics using the latest discoveries and thinking.

The cultic nature of Islam prevents Muslim-dominated countries from developing middle class wealth, which would require an ever-increasing importation of Western ways, and this is feared and condemned by Muslim clerics. The shot callers in Islam fear the rise of a middle class.

Muslims have undoubtedly contributed to the world’s storehouse of achievements. But if we look at the Islamic nations today, we see they are something less than wonderful. Except for Afghan refugees trying to enter Pakistan, I haven’t read about people lining up at their borders waiting to get in. Islam is sometimes described as the “beautiful religion,” but where can this beauty be seen? What Islamic country practices Islam in such a way that someone might be motivated to move there?

It is one thing for Muslim leaders to disown the September 11 terrorists as extremists. It is another to demonstrate peaceful moderation and tolerance.

Please understand I am not saying that Muslim people are not as capable, intelligent, and worthy as any other people. Rather, it is the toxic and repressive nature of recruitment, retention, and motivation that is cultic.

Muslims are born into a religious heritage they did not choose and cannot walk away from. They are molded by their environment into dedicated Muslims; there is essentially no choice available for them—they are stuck.

The Major Difference

Islam is a religion based on performance, whereas Biblical Christianity is grounded on God’s grace. The Islamic deity rewards obedience. Muslim heaven, or paradise, must be earned, either by martyrdom or by carefully keeping rules and regulations.

And since Allah is depicted as remote and detached from the individual Muslim, there is no assurance of salvation nor any confidence that even the faithful Muslim will achieve paradise.

Works-based religion can and does inspire fear and extremism in those who take it seriously. It is not surprising that some go to extremes to curry the favor of the deity and their religious leaders, especially when a favorable eternity is at stake.

The Qur’an assures martyrs that they will attain paradise, and it is this very promise that attracts and motivates suicide bombers, including those who turned commercial airliners into missiles on September 11. Since that day, the Qur’anic command to “strike terror into the heart” of the infidel has been obeyed more and more often by young men and women recruited by watching on the Internet horrific violence against innocent civilians in dozens of filmed executions and other gruesome attacks.

Biblical Christianity, on the other hand, emphasizes grace, which signifies “God’s giving”. Through Jesus Christ, God imparts forgiveness and salvation as a free gift, apart from any good work. Salvation is by grace, not by works (Ephesians 2:4-10). Even extreme devotion, sacrifice, and obedience will never secure God’s favor.

Furthermore, Christians have assurance of salvation by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, so they are not left in doubt and insecurity (Romans 8:15-17). Everlasting life with God in heaven is given to the Christian through the work of God the Son. It cannot be lost, since God the Father keeps the believer by His great power (John 10:27-30).

An Absurdity

Cults employ mind-bending techniques to induce their followers to be obedient—this has long been understood.

What about the mind-boggling promise of seventy-two virgins available for the pleasures of every martyred Islamic warrior? This is as extreme an example as can be found even in the strangest cult sects!

Certainly, for poor, young, love-starved men, whose future is clouded at best, the promise of unlimited fleshly pleasure in the hereafter might be an inducement to die for the sake of Allah. But is this obscene and sexist doctrine true? Moderate Islamic interpreters say no; the sexually oriented promises are unfounded. Yet, this perverse promise is constantly embraced. Many a mind-bent warrior has killed and died to acquire his virgins.

A Challenge

Harassment of Muslims is unacceptable, and this essay is not an attempt to bring grief to Muslim people.

However, I would challenge Muslims to examine their religion—indeed, their hearts and minds, and ask themselves these questions:

Why am I a Muslim? Is my commitment to Islam based on a free decision apart from family influences?

What is my attitude towards those of other religions, particularly Jews and Christians?

Are my attitudes cultic in any way?

Do I honestly think that killing Jews and Christians serves Allah?

Do I believe it is a Muslim’s duty to defend Islam by martyrdom or suicide?

Should I support religious tolerance for people of other faiths in Muslim-dominated countries like Saudi Arabia?

Many Muslims are seekers after God, and this is good. The Hebrew prophet Jeremiah wrote: “You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Whether Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, nominal Christian, or nothing at all—the challenge is to seek God because He can be found. Jesus said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Matthew 6:33).

Knowing God

Regardless of our religious background, we are created in the image of God. We have been made by and for Him, and we will never be satisfied until we know Him personally. The Creator God sent His Son, Jesus, to break down the walls of separation between men and reconcile all kinds of people to Himself (Ephesians 2:14-18).

The challenge is to make up your own mind about Jesus Christ. Learn about Him yourself and do not merely accept the opinions of others.

Find a New Testament, read the story of His life, and see if you find anything amiss with Him. Is there any sin, or anything false, in the one who came from God? Find an Old Testament and read the prophecies of the Messiah (which is Hebrew for “Christ”), passages like Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. Are these passages not about Jesus?

If you seek Him, He will be found.

Six. The Day of Atonement

The authors’ thesis is that Jesus will complete or fulfill the fast known as the Day of Atonement at the time of His return, which will include the saving of all of Israel. Is this warranted on the basis of the biblical material itself?

The second of the fall holidays is the Day of Atonement. The literal transliteration from the Hebrew is yom hakippurim—day of the atonements, in the plural.

Leviticus 23:26-32

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Now on the tenth day of this

seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy

convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to

the LORD. And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day

of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. For

whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people.

And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy

from among his people. You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever

throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It shall be to you

a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth

day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you

keep your Sabbath.”

Notes on the passage:

One. A dominant theme of the fast is affliction, which would include fasting from food and drink, confession of sin, and repentance.

Two. Another theme is refraining from work; again the emphasis is on rest.

Three. If one failed to afflict oneself and avoid work, an individual would be cut off from among the chosen people of God—a most serious and solemn warning. Four. To “cut off” and “destroy” are probably synonymous terms.

Five. The nation of Israel can only receive atonement; it cannot achieve it or earn it. It must be made on their behalf.

Purpose of the fast

The Day of Atonement–a day of humiliation and removal of the sins of the nation so that Israel could be restored to God through the ministry of the high priest. The Day of Atonement was observed by fasting from food and drink, avoiding daily labor, and by a holy convocation or gathering of the people for worship at the Temple. On that day and that day only, the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies wherein God dwelt.[1] So Israel was vicariously[2] brought into God’s presence. Having been excluded from the Genesis Garden of Eden, God’s chosen people are given the hope of one day being fully included in God’s rest or Sabbath.

Leviticus 16

The entirety of Leviticus 16 is devoted to a detailed explanation of the sacrifices and

rituals to be performed, mainly by Israel’s high priest, on the Day of Atonement. There

are three distinct rites required to atone for the high priest and the other priests, the sanctuary itself, and the people.

            One. The high priest sacrificed a young bull to atone for his personal sin and for the sins of all the priests. The high priest bathed first and wore simple white linen clothing rather than the usual ceremonial attire. The first time the high priest entered the Holy of Holies he brought in a censer, which was a device to hold live, hot coals taken from the main altar. The smoke would fill the chamber, especially the area around the mercy seat that rested on top of the ark containing the Ten Commandments. Then, the high priest brought in the blood from the bull that had been sacrificed and sprinkled it on the mercy seat and on the floor of the Holy of holies.

            Two. The second sacrificial rite performed by the high priest was to ceremonially cleanse the sanctuary from the sins of the priests and worshipers. Then the people would have free access to the sanctuary.

Days earlier, specially designated people, representing the nation, selected two goats, which were presented to the high priest. He cast lots to determine which goat would be designated “For the LORD” and which would be designated “Azazel.” (The meaning of “Azazel” is uncertain but it may contain the idea of being sent away, out of the camp and away from Israel.) The Azazel would be the “scapegoat.”

            The goat designated “For the LORD” was sacrificed by the high priest who then  took some of the blood and entered the Holy of Holies a third time and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat and on the floor as he had done earlier.

Three. The high priest then placed his hands upon the head of the

goat designated Azazel and confessed over it the sins of the people thus ceremonially transferring all national sin to the goat. The goat became the sin and guilt bearer—not his own sin and guilt, of course, but that of God’s chosen people. A man previously selected would lead the goat out into the wilderness and let it go free. The sin of the people was removed.

            Later generations enlarged on the sending away of the Azazel or scapegoat. Among the additions included the goat being taken out some ten or more miles to a cliff and then pushed over to its death.            

The high priest of Israel

The high priest acted alone throughout the Day of Atonement. He was not without sin and thus the first sacrificial act was intended to atone for his own sins. The high priest alone worked—no one else did. This is an essential point embedded into the ceremonies on the Day of Atonement. All the nation received cleansing of sin through the work of one man—but for one year only.

            Jesus’ atoning work on the cross, this high priestly and completed work, cleanses God’s chosen people forever. The writer of Hebrews, a Jew writing for Jewish people, put it this way:

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

Hebrews 7:23-27     

The Day of Atonement after A.D. 70

The ceremonies of the Fast centered upon the high priest and the Holy place in the Temple in Jerusalem. In A.D. 70 that grand Temple was destroyed by a Roman army under the Roman general Titus, who would soon be emperor of Rome, The Day of Atonement is kept to this day by observant Jews in ways not found in Leviticus 16 or 23, although confession of sin, repentance, and contrition are still practiced. 

            The ceremonial Law could not procure forgiveness and salvation. The sacrifices had a limited effectiveness. The Temple with its altar would be lost along with the priesthood and all else that belonged to the sacrificial ministry. However, these were all meant to be temporary and designed to point to a greater reality.

The Azazel or Scapegoat

Jesus was crucified “outside the camp” on Golgotha Hill outside the walls of Jerusalem, with all the sins of God’s chosen people placed upon Him. He was sent away like the scapegoat; He died and was buried, exactly fulfilling the heart of Passover and Unleavened Bread. Then on Firstfruits He was raised from the dead. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit whom Jesus sent to us to glorify this Son of God, reaped a harvest and fulfilled that fourth spring feast.

            The work of the high priest, Jesus the Messiah, has made possible the fulfilling of the Day of Atonement, which is partially fulfilled already—but there is more to come. The work of redemption has already been accomplished, as the writer of Hebrews pointed out nearly two thousand years ago:

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:11-12

            Jesus, as high priest, did not sacrifice an animal and use that blood to cleanse the sanctuary as a way for God’s people to enter into His presence. No, the cleansing blood was His own, and upon His resurrection He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. God dwells in heaven, no longer in the Holy of Holies, and we can enter into His presence right now because of the high priestly work of Jesus. God’s people have access to His presence by prayer, and upon their death are raised to God’s presence to enjoy Him forever. Paradise, walking and talking with God, will be regained through the work of the Anointed One alone. 

Zechariah foretells a great day of redemption for Israel

Zechariah the prophet declared that the LORD would give salvation to Israel. The words of prophecy are found in chapter 12 verse 10:

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

God will pour out upon Jewish people a spirit of grace, and their pleas for mercy will yield forgiveness. Indeed, Israel will once again, as a people, afflict themselves; they will mourn and weep bitterly as for the firstborn and only child.

            This dramatic and miraculous change of heart will come upon them after they “look on me.” This is the crux of it.

Who is the “me?” The only help in identification is “on him whom they have pierced.” But notice the “me” and the “him” are one and the same. The “me” is the LORD. And He will be “pierced,” a word usually meaning thrust through, with death as the result.   

How is it that the LORD could be pierced? This LORD is the LORD who, in Jesus, became flesh. This is Jesus the Messiah who was crucified, nailed to a tree, and having become a curse for His people, was punctured by a Roman spear. The eye witness to the crucifixion, John the Apostle, said: “But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (John 19:34). Between the nails in the hands and feet and the spear in the side, Jesus was indeed “pierced.”

How the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled

How will they look upon the one pierced? It is not evident in the text.

Jesus the Messiah is at the right hand of the Father in heaven and has been for the long interval between the spring and the fall holidays. But the Messiah will return, and those who are Israel will see Him, mourn for Him, and turn to Him as Messiah and Savior. These authors think that the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled when Paul’s end of the age prophecy comes to pass:

Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

Romans 11:25-27

            A “partial hardening” did come upon Israel, not a complete hardening, since we do know that many Jewish people have trusted in Jesus as Messiah and Savior down through the centuries. Indeed, two of the authors of this book are Jewish.

            The partial hardening will end and yield to the salvation of all who are Israel, after those Gentiles chosen by God have also been saved. And so, the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled.

            Paul quotes two passages from Isaiah, first Isaiah 59:20-21 and then Isaiah 27:9, in support of his claim that all Israel will be saved. The Deliverer will come—this is none other than the return of Jesus, the conquering Messiah, the great King, coming to establish His kingdom. Jesus, having already borne our sin, like the sin of the Israelite was placed upon the Azazel, will save all those who look upon the One they pierced and mourn. These will recognize the pierced One as one of their own, even their firstborn as in Zechariah’s prophecy. This will be a saving lookand not a work on the part of the one who looks. It will be a resting in the completed work of the Messiah, His death, burial, and resurrection.

            Thinking again about Zechariah’s prophecy, chapter 12 verse 10, we find that Israel will “look on me,” and it is possible that the prophet had Numbers 21:4-9 in mind. The story is that a bronze snake was lifted up and those who were dying as a result of the poisonous bites of snakes were safe when they looked. “So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live” (Numbers 21:9).

            At the return of Messiah Israel will look and be saved.

The Day of Atonement, Feast of Trumpets, and the Jubilee

Leviticus 25:8-12

You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.

On a Day of Atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month, every fifty years, there was to be a Jubilee, transliterated yobhel from the Hebrew and meaning “ram,” or “ram’s horn.” The word Shofar appears in our passage as well, verse 9, and also was a ram’s horn. After seven sabbaths of years there would be the grand sabbatical year.

On the Day of Atonement every fifty years the Shofar was to be sounded and the year of Jubilee commenced. It meant that slaves went free, land returned to the original owners, and the fields were to lay fallow. It was a reminder that land, people, and produce of the fields belonged to God.

The Jubilee is of interest, because Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61:1-2 and this passage is filled with words and phrases very reminiscent of the Levitical Jubilee passage. At the outset of His ministry, at a synagogue in His home town of Nazareth, Jesus was given the scroll of Isaiah and read, as a part of the worship service:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to

the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the lord’s favor.”           

            Luke 4:18-19

This is likely Jubilee language from the prophet Isaiah, and Isaiah may have been referring to Leviticus 25:8-17. But that is not all. Jesus, after finishing the passage from Isaiah said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).

            Jesus identified with the Isaiah passage as being the One whom the Spirit of the Lord had anointed to proclaim the good news of freedom to the slaves. And the New Testament has running through it the message of the good news that Messiah Jesus sets people free from their bondage to sin. He does so by bearing sin, then taking it away in His death and being buried. Then in His resurrection and ascension glorified once again, being directly in the presence of the Father.  

            Jesus has fulfilled not only the Day of Atonement but also the grand Sabbath of them all, the Jubilee. Jesus is the One who brings the Sabbath rest of God. The associations and meaning are obvious and utterly captivating.

Warrant for an eschatological interpretation of the Day of Atonement

Although there are no explicit messianic interpretations of the Day of Atonement in the Hebrew Bible, there is evidence that the Day of Atonement attached itself to the eschatological expectations of the Old Testament saints. Daniel’s vision of the seventy weeks of years (Dan. 9:24-27) envisions a time at which sins would be finally and fully atoned for and when the Holy of Holies would be anointed. In context, this period of “seventy sevens” is not only Gabriel’s interpretation of Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years (9:2), but the language used here is reminiscent of the description of the Year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:8-12). The Jubilee year was to occur every seven times seven years (forty-nine years). At that time, the ram’s horn was to be sounded in the seventh month on the Day of Atonement. At such a time (as previously stated) all debts were pardoned and every person would return to his ancestral possession in the Promised Land. Thus, this heavenly explanation of Jeremiah’s prophecy likely incorporates a messianic interpretation of the Year of Jubilee with its associated Day of Atonement. In the fullness of time for the people of Israel (seventy times seven years), God would bring about the ultimate pardon from all spiritual debts, a cleansing of the heavenly Holy of Holies (clearly an allusion to Leviticus 16), and the sealing up of all vision and prophecy through the coming of the Messiah.

Is there a biblical warrant?

Is it possible to state that Jesus completed, satisfied, and fulfilled, in His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost something for which  God had laid the foundation in the Jewish holidays and which mark the roadmap of world history?

            In the case of the Day of Atonement we know that Jesus, through His sacrifice on the cross, atoned for all the sin of God’s chosen people for all time. That had already happened on that Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits. The question is: Will He fulfill, at His return, the Day of Atonement for Israel according to the promise of Romans 11:25-26? And again, as with the Feast of Trumpets, there is a large clue in Colossians 2:16-17:

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

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[1] Some Jewish people think that by fasting they are making atonement for their sins. In fact, only the high priest could make that atonement: the Jewish people could only receive the finished work of the high priest.

[2] Vicarious means through the agency of another. The people of Israel entered into God’s presence by the agency of the high priest. The Israelites were considered present in the person of the high priest.

 Chapter 2 1 

In 1968, when we were living on Greenfield Avenue in San Rafael, I wrote Gospel flyers and began to hand out dozens of them at San Rafael High School. Often, I positioned myself on the sidewalk and passed out leaflets to the students as they left for home. If I attempted this now, I would see a police car pull up within a few minutes. 

One of the marks of the Jesus Movement was an acceptance on the part of the secular world of spiritual things. Transcendental Meditation, Satanism, Zen Buddhism, and more were common topics of conversation, particularly among young people. So was Jesus. There was a hunger, perhaps a curiosity, maybe a fad, and the sight of someone holding a Bible was sure to start up some interaction. One of the characteristics of awakenings is that people other than Christians talk about spiritual ideas. This was certainly the case in the JPM, and consequently even school officials, students, and their parents were receptive to a Christian presence. This was not so before the JPM, and it was again not so when the JPM ended. I did not grasp the implications of this phenomenon for several decades. 

Very often I carried a big black Bible under my arm as I strolled down Haight Street in San Francisco. There were certainly some derisive comments, yet the sight of that Bible triggered openings for conversations about Jesus. Such a conversation on the street tended to grow as passersby heard what was being discussed and wanted to join in. The same happened at San Rafael High. 

It started with a couple of kids who regularly looked for my arrival. Mary Jensen was one, and she brought along Hugo Countandin, Eileen Hotchner, Tommy Gaulden, Byrne Power, Keith Fink, Eric Sorenson, and Bob Burns. The group grew larger, and they proposed we start a lunchtime Bible study in a classroom at the school. The students 71 

approached the vice principal, got an initial approval, and I received a telephone call to come to the school and discuss it. The result was a weekly lunchtime Bible study. Most of the kids came and went, but some stayed and became part of the group. In the beginning, I arrived early to pass out flyers, but eventually the kids themselves began to write their own one-page flyers and distribute them. 

We also started Bible studies at Redwood, Drake, Tamalpais, Terra Linda, Novato, and San Marin high schools, Dominican College, and College of Marin. At first I conducted them, but when the number reached six I needed help. In time the students led the studies, but for a fairly long period I continued at San Rafael, Drake, and Redwood. 

In 1968, in order to better serve the kids and others, I began a Tuesday night Bible study at our Zion’s Inn on Greenfield Avenue in San Rafael (Tuesday instead of Wednesday, so we didn’t compete with the traditional church times for such activities). 

We started at 7:30 p.m. and ended when the last person left. I began with chapter one and verse one of a Bible book and went through it verse by verse. We studied the Word for about two hours. The mood was serious, and the goal was to educate not entertain. I sat in a chair with my back to the bay window at the front of the house and talked through the material, welcoming all questions and comments. When someone made some nutty comment or wanted to pontificate on some crazy doctrinal point, I listened then went on. 

The Gospels were my favorite books to teach, followed closely by Acts. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell the story of Jesus, and studying them was our way of being with Him. A study of a Gospel might take four to five months. We learned about Jesus then went out to witness the rest of the week. It seemed to be the Biblical agenda. 

In my mind’s eye I can still picture Martin Rosen filling the biggest chair we had in the ample front room at the Greenfield house. Martin was later known as Moishe when Jews for Jesus began to take shape, and I can also see Mark Buckley, the first person to come alongside me besides David Hoyt to do the work of ministry. 

Moishe knew a lot more than I did about the Bible. In many ways he became a mentor for me. I loved to sit and talk with him by the hour. He was likely the very first person to understand that something unusual, something from the Spirit of God, was going on even in obscure San Rafael of Marin County.  

There we were, Tuesday after Tuesday; many were coming to faith in Jesus, and we were running out of room. Down the street right at the city limits is the First Methodist Church of San Rafael. I had never attended there, but I talked with the pastor and asked if we could rent the church’s fellowship hall, Wesley Hall, for the Tuesday night Bible study. He was agreeable and the rental price was set. 

Next we made up a flyer with the details about the Bible study and gave them to the high school kids who were attending regularly, so they could hand them out at their schools. Within a month the hall was filled, about five or six times the number that had been coming to the study at Zion’s Inn. 

I still taught sitting down but moved to the center of a circle of chairs. At that point I knew a few chords on the guitar, and we began singing simple little songs that began to emerge amongst us, some of which I wrote myself. The music was nothing like what is called “contemporary music” today. We sang short, meaty songs in terns of theology, easily sung by anyone, and only for a short time, because we did not want anything to infringe on the Bible study time. 

Oddly, or maybe not oddly, I still sing the same songs and play the same guitar as then. Yes, the same guitar. I started off with a cheap big body steel six stringer, which sounded awful. At some point in the early weeks of that study at Wesley Hall the kids got together and bought me a real instrument, a Japanese version of the Gibson Hummingbird called a Conqueror, and I still have it. It cost them $225 and that was 1968. The neck has had to be repaired a time or two, but I play it every Sunday morning still, using all of about eight chords now. 

I’m not sure what motivated me, but some months into the study at Wesley Hall I began praying for healings. As far as I recall, I had never done this before. Though I had spoken in tongues, I did not feel good about praying for someone to be healed, because after all, I was a Baptist, not a Pentecostal. I think my reasoning was that I was teaching about what Jesus did, and He healed a lot of people. But that was Jesus; I was merely Kent Philpott. 

It must have been that someone requested prayer for healing. With little or no faith that such would be effectual, I did, and the person was healed! Or so they said, and I was the type who doubted any miracle claim, even if my own eyes saw it. But I kept on, and week-by-week people were healed, seemingly for real. 

After some months, more and more people showed up, and now adults, parents of the kids, came as well. At times, at the conclusion of the study, a line would form. I sat in a chair at the far end of the room and prayed for each person, one by one. This went on until no one was left, often quite late into the night. When all were gone, I would pack up my guitar, make sure all the chairs were stacked neatly and the bathrooms clean, and walk down the street to home. 

I had trouble with the healing work only one time: One Tuesday night, we prayed for a teenage girl, whom I did not know and did not recall ever seeing before. The next afternoon I received a phone call from her father, who was a high-ranking city employee. He yelled at me over the phone, threatening to have me thrown out of Wesley Hall. I waited until he was exhausted and asked him why he was so mad at me. 

He related that when his daughter was about to undergo surgery for a very serious eye aliment that Wednesday morning, and while she was under anesthesia, the surgeon discovered her eye was healthy and required no treatment. When she came out of the effects of the drug, she loudly proclaimed that Jesus had healed her. Then I heard the father shout, “And we’re Jewish.” 

This young lady subsequently went on to work with Jews for Jesus, and the father called me years later to ask if there was any room in one of our little Christian houses for another of his daughters. 

The Bible studies were the primary engine for the growth of the JPM in Marin County. Some of the kids who were converted in those studies became church leaders and still serve Jesus to this day. Parents began showing up to simply check things out, and some of them stayed as well. 

What characterized that time was an extraordinary desire to talk about God; it seemed perfectly normal to me, and I was not surprised to see people being converted right and left. Out of necessity, we started baptizing people. Sometimes in swimming pools, or at Stinson Beach, or in San Pablo Bay at Paradise Park in the area alongside Tiburon and Corte Madera. Things were moving quickly, and none of us understood that we were in the midst of a national outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Essay Six

In nearly every edition of major American newspapers are stories of Muslims somewhere, east or west, engaged in acts of violence—in the name of Allah. Suicide bombing, kidnapping, killing Christians, Jews, and Hindus, burning churches and temples, destroying ancient religious relics, protesting free expressions of religion and the press—such terrorist reports are routine. What does this indicate about the very fabric of Islam?

I say it demonstrates a core weakness.

By weakness, I mean Islam is not able to compete in the spiritual marketplace of ideas. It must instead resort to repression, intimidation, and violence. Perhaps there is a sense of inferiority in that Muslims are gripped by the fear that Islam is not able to stand alongside Christianity, which does not seek to gain influence and converts by dependence on questionable, cultic methods.

I am reminded of Paul who, prior to his conversion, vigorously persecuted the Church. Many Bible scholars think he was motivated by a fear that his religious beliefs were inadequate or even erroneous. Paul was a terrorist while he was still known as Saul, according to the Biblical account in Acts. Yet after Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, Paul no longer threw men, women, and children in prison merely because they believed in Jesus. Rather, he himself became a simple preacher of the gospel armed only with the message of a crucified and risen Savior.

Paul learned from Jesus, who taught His disciples to turn the other cheek, to pray for their enemies, and to do good to those who treated them shamefully. Jesus taught that His followers were to love their neighbors as themselves and to do to others as they would have done to them. Jesus said nothing of killing infidels or repressing religious teachings. He did warn of false prophets whose aim would be to deceive and corrupt. Clearly, however, He did not advocate imprisoning or killing them. In one instance, Jesus taught His disciples to simply go on to the next town when opposition arose. Jesus Himself practiced this, as did Paul throughout his missionary journeys.

Consider a society like Saudi Arabia where even the simple recounting of the Christian message to a Muslim is a capital offense. That is weakness in the extreme.

Islamic evangelistic strategy, known as da’wa, is so very often fueled by intimidation and violence. “Convert or die” has too often been the Muslim message. Am I exaggerating here? I don’t think so, since sufficient historical data supports my claim, both ancient and modern. In fact, I think that the Islamic means of spreading the faith are held in check only by fear of retaliation from target peoples.

Biblical Christianity has entirely different weapons of warfare. Paul wrote, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4). Such is the power of the message of Jesus.

Evangelical Christians proclaim the message of the Cross of Jesus and His resurrection. The Holy Spirit of God then convicts individuals of their rebellion against God and draws them to the Savior, Jesus Christ, who has completely provided for their salvation. No one can be forced to become a Christian; no one can even “join” Christianity or apply for membership. It is a work of God and not of man. One of the great weaknesses of Islam is that it arose and continues to exist as the work of man. Few voluntarily choose to join Islam, especially in recent years now that the religion was been partially unmasked. It is usually by birth and community attachments that one becomes a Muslim. And especially in Muslim-dominated countries it is nearly impossible to leave it. This again is a great weakness. There is no religious freedom for Muslims to come and go, to be faithful or not; there is only fear of the community, of hellfire, and peer pressure. To be an apostate Muslim, that is one who has declared faith in Jesus rather than Muhammad, is to be classified worse than an infidel. The result is often death.

Paul trusted in the work of the Holy Spirit and did not revert to his old ways of violence and imprisonment—fleshly warfare. In Ephesians, Chapter 6, he describes the “armor of God”— which is the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, for the feet the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (see Ephesians 6: 10-20).

This is strength. This is confidence. This is peace. This is actual dependence on and submission to God.