Women In The Ministry #7

IT IS COMMONLY BELIEVED by many that the primary role of the Christian woman is to have children, cook, take care of all domestic chores and provide sex whenever the man desires it. That has got to change. We are determined to educate people and let them see what the Bible really says about the position that women are to hold in the ministry. It has been both challenging and rewarding as God has helped us break through the bondages of ignorance, pride and hatred that plague so many men of God.

     Now let's quickly review some of the points we have learned in this series so far. I can break it up into three categories. Number one: We looked at both male and female before sin. We looked at how God created them and what His original plans were. Number two: We looked at male and female after sin, and everything that happened to them as a result of their rebellion. Number three: We are looking at male and female in the light of being born-again or the salvation experience. We are looking at what role women have in the Body of Christ and how men should act towards them.

     One point we covered was how when God created Adam and Eve, He created both male and female and He called THEM “Adam”. There was no superiority in the original creation of male and female. There was no male hierarchy. There was no male dominance. We know that for sure.

     It was not in God's heart that man would rule over and oppress woman and that woman would become nothing more than a dog or a tag-a-long. It was God's desire that she would become a helpmeet, that she would become a partner, a co-laborer, an equal, so to speak, with the man.

ALL MANKIND UNDER THE CURSE OF SIN

SO, IT IS of utmost importance that we realize all humankind has been under the curse of sin. Not that it was God's intention, yet because of Adam we've all been born into sin, and that is the main reason why women have been oppressed—not because God intended it to be that way, but because Adam's rebellion made it that way. And of course, we know that satan played a part in the whole deal, yet we must remember that God has said if we disobey Him, we are going to pay the penalty, and we all know that the wages of sin is death. And ever since Adam's fall, men have died physically as well as spiritually, until they are born again of the incorruptible seed of Jesus Christ. That's why salvation is so important. That's why we must labor day and night to tell people that they need to be saved, that they need to be born again, and if they're not then they are going to be eternally damned.

     And it doesn't matter if people don't believe the truth. That doesn't make the Bible untrue, that doesn't make God untrue. It's a fact that if you are not born again you will spend eternity damned forever, separated from God, your Creator.

     Jesus Christ is our only mediator. He's the one that will bring us back into communion with God the Father, our Creator. And I don't care what any philosophy of man has to say, the fact is that God created both male and female, and He wanted them to live forever in a blissful, sinless state with Him. And God put a will inside of man, giving him the ability to choose right from wrong. Unfortunately, Adam chose wrong and brought the whole human race down into death. It's true! It happened! It's undeniable that ever since that time, men have been dying. They've been dying and they go back into the dust just like the Bible says.

     Going back to our text in I Corinthians chapter 14:34-35, the questions we are asking are these: Does God accept or allow women in the ministry, and does God accept or allow women into His kingdom who can preach and teach and prophesy and pray? Are women respected as equal with men in the eyes of God, or are men still above and women below? Is man still the head and the woman the tail? Let's read starting in verse 34:

"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law."

     Now this is one of the Scriptures we've been mostly dealing with, and we are going to look into it a little more on some different aspects. I want to deal with the phrase "as also saith the law." I've picked out a couple of things here that I want to show you.

     One German scholar years ago had this statement to say about the particular phrase in question: he said, "The expression, ‘as also saith the law’, refers to the Oral Law of the Jews called the Talmud." Now, before we go any further we need to digress and explain more clearly what the Talmud is.

WHAT IS THE TALMUD?

THE TALMUD IS the authoritative collection of Rabbinic Law containing the Jewish Oral Law, which is supposed by Traditional Jews to have been given by God Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. According to their view, these laws were handed down orally from Moses, and passed from generation to generation all the way down to the times of Jesus, and beyond. Sometime after the establishment of Christianity, the Rabbis decided to write down these laws. The original collection is called the Mishnah. Rabbis made authoritative comments on the Mishnah, and these comments are called the Gemara. The Mishnah and Gemara together are called the Talmud.

     Traditional Judaism maintains that the Talmud is the authoritative and true exposition of Scripture, the Oral Laws having been dictated by God Himself. And Traditional Judaism asserts that the New Testament is false and misleading, while the Talmud is pure and holy. We have selected some passages (cited below and numbered) from the Talmud so that the readers may figure out for themselves whether the Talmud is "the Word of God" and whether it is "morally superior" or not. We do not believe the Talmud to be either. And the truth of what we believe will be apparent to all who read this.

     We have picked some of the useless, stupid, repugnant and blasphemous passages of the Talmud to demonstrate that the Talmud is not the Word of God nor is it even a superior code of morals. By reading the passages, one may come to appreciate the position of Jesus Christ toward the Rabbis—which was almost entirely negative, and rightly so.

     First, read this brief history on the Talmud, adapted for briefness from its original source.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Israel spent 70 years in captivity in Babylon and, amazingly, only one tenth of the Jews in Babylon returned to the promised land to rebuild the Temple. Later, when the Jews fled the area after the AD 70 destruction of the Temple, they joined the majority of Jews still in Babylon; this time, the Jews stayed there 1,000 years until they were expelled.

     The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia says: "...in the second century C.E. Babylonia had become a bulwark of Judaism...The former land of exile had become a land of refuge." [The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Ed. Isaac Landman (New York: Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. 1939) "Babylonia", pp. 13,14]. The encyclopedia goes on to say,"...Palestine had been merely a place of veneration, while Babylonia become the center of Jewish life and learning. Babylonian Jews no longer looked to Palestine for instruction; even the heads of the schools at Tiberius were Babylonian Jews." [Ibid., p.16]. And after AD 658, Babylonia was considered to be "the spiritual center of Judaism, and its influence brought many Babylonian customs into general use...." [Ibid., p. 17]

     Under the Babylonian (worldly) mindset, having rejected their Messiah, these Jews were left without a temple, without God, and with no other choice but to fall even more fully under the authority of the traditions of man.

     During this desperate time — a result of their own rebellion against God — the Jewish elders wrote the Babylonian Talmud and canonized it around AD 500. Its first part, the Mishna, is 6,000 pages of the oral traditions of the Pharisees which fully became scripture and usurped the Old Testament. This oral tradition had become a revelation in itself. It took the seat as the supreme binding law over the Jewish people — and remains so even today.

     For the Jew, the Talmud’s foundational doctrine is: "My son, give heed to the words of the scribes rather than to the words of the law (Torah/Old Testament)." - Erubin f21b. And: "He who transgresses the words of the scribes sins more gravely than the transgressors of the words of the Law (Torah-Old Testament)." - Sanhedrin 10, 3f88b. So traditions rule over the Word of God.

     The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia on "Pharisaism" says: "The Jewish religion as it is today traces its descent without a break through all the centuries from the Pharisees. Their leading ideas and methods found expression in a literature of enormous extent, of which a very great deal is still in existence. The Talmud is the largest and most important single piece of that literature...and the study of it is essential for any real understanding of Pharisaism." [Ibid., p. 474.]

After AD 70

All of the major Jewish encyclopedias are trusted by Jews and are written by, for, and about Jews. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, speaking on "Authority," declares how central the Talmud is to Traditional Judaism: "Thus, the ultimate authority for Orthodoxy is the Babylonian Talmud. The Bible itself ranks second to it in reality, if not in theory." [Ibid., p. 637.]

     Celebrated Rabbi Isaac Wise, who collaborated with Levi Frumkin (nee Michael Rodkinson) in What Is The Talmud?, stated: "The Talmud then, is the written form of that which in the time of Jesus was called the Traditions of the Elders, and to which he [Jesus] makes frequent allusions." [Michael Rodkinson (Levi Frumkin), What Is The Talmud?, (Chicago: New Amsterdam Book Co, 1894) p. 70.]

     The Talmud in Jesus' day was still oral tradition and remained so until 500 years later when it was finally written down.

     Amazingly, this central revelation of Judaism, around in written form for 1500 years, was totally out of reach for non-Jews until about 100 years ago. In ignorance of true Traditional Judaism, many Gentiles have imagined the Jews to be a devout Scripture-based people, pouring over the Old Testament rather than some (blasphemous) collection of traditions compiled by men and adhered to as Scripture.

     The Talmud has been a shrouded volume and almost totally inaccessible. Finally, in 1935, a team of Rabbis headed by Rabbi Dr. Epstein translated the Soncino Edition of the Babylonian Talmud printed in London by the Soncino Press. And even this edition is beyond reach to the average person.

     The Talmud has quietly led the Jews for all these centuries; its pages venerated in dark places behind closed doors — remaining in Hebrew, untouchable to most Gentiles; thought of as some mysterious ethnic right. In seclusion, Traditional Jews have lived unto themselves, learning much more than simple tales of David and Goliath. Understandably, many modern Jews are embarrassed by the Talmud. (Note: A sobering look at what has become of the Jewish ‘ghetto’ of today [i.e., the secluded Jewish community] appears in a probing film by the Jewish Coen brothers entitled, A Serious Man).

Jesus Disfigured by the Talmud

WORLD RENOWNED PROFESSOR Bruce Manning Metzger of Princeton taught a course in 1984 on the life of Christ, commenting on ancient extra-Biblical sources which mentioned Jesus and corroborated that Jesus was a real-world historical figure. Naturally, there was Josephus, Tacitus, and Pliny. Metzger also included the Babylonian Talmud and noted that in the Book of Sanhedrin, Jesus is referred to as “Ben Pandira, ‘the bastard son of the Roman soldier.’” Metzger stated that according to the Talmud, Jesus was able to perform miracles through magic he learned in Egypt, and that he [Jesus] died a humiliating death, after which his body was left on a refuse heap. Dr. Metzger had been able to read the Talmud as adeptly as any rabbinic scholar, having 5 PhDs and being fully conversant in numerous ancient languages including Hebrew, Syriac, and Aramaic.

     In the Babylonian Talmud, Christ is often referred to with indirect code names such as "Balaam" which editorial notes in the Soncino edition as well as several Jewish encyclopedias clearly reveal as referring to Jesus. The Jewish Encyclopedia reveals that "...the pseudonym 'Balaam,' [was] given to Jesus in Sanhedrin 106b and Gittin 57a." - Jewish Encyclopedia, "Balaam", p. 469.] These passages echo the wrath of the Pharisees in Jesus day, and also give light as to why Jews are so hateful against Christ. They’ve been deceived and lied to by the Talmud and their bitter Traditional elders for centuries.

THE AUTHORITY OF THE TALMUD

1.   Studying the Bible after studying the Talmud produces trouble. Hagigah, 10a, p. 49-50.

2.   The Rabbis (wise men) are greater than the prophets. Baba Bathra, 12a, p.59.

3.   The commands of the Rabbis are more important than the commands of the Bible. Whoever disobeys the Rabbis deserves death, and will be punished in Hell with boiling excrement. Erubin, 21b, p. 149-150.

4.   Disobeying the Rabbis is conduct to be punished with death. Berakoth, 4b, p.13.

5.   If one is being overcome by his evil impulse, he should go to a town where he is not known and commit his sin there, so that God will not be profaned. Moed Katan, 17a, p. 107.

6.   God's activities during the day include studying the Law and playing with Leviathin. Abodah Zarah, 3b, p. 9.

TALMUDIC INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE

7.   Adam had sexual intercourse with all the animals in the Garden of Eden. Yebamoth, 63a, p. 420.

8.   Zimri engaged Cozbi in sexual relations 424 times in one day, till she became like a water-filled ditch. Also, her womb was 1.5 feet wide. Sanhedrin, 82b, p. 547-548.

9.   A man is not guilty of murder if he causes a poisonous snake to kill a man, the snake should be executed for murder, while the man goes free. Sanhedrin, 76b, p. 519.

10. If someone ties up his neighbor and he dies of starvation, or if he ties up a man in front of a lion who kills him, the man is not guilty of murder. Sanhedrin, 77a, p. 520.

11. If an Israelite intends to kill a Gentile but kills an Israelite instead, he is not guilty, even if he intended killing a particular Israelite but killed another, he is innocent. Sanhedrin, 79a, p. 530.

12.Circumcision made Abraham perfect, is the greatest of all commandments, and without it, the world would cease to exist. Nedarim, 32a, p. 96-98.

13. Israel was literally a land of milk and honey, with lakes and rivers of milk and honey. Kethuboth, 111b, p. 724.

SALVATION

14. He who recites Psalm 145 three times a day will have eternal life. Pesahim, 113a, p. 582.

15. Living in the land of Israel gives one eternal life. Pesahim, 113a, p. 582.

16. Israel's sins were atoned for by the clothes of the priests. Zebahim, 88b, p. 419.

THE GREATNESS OF ISRAEL

17. All Israelites are righteous, and will inherit eternal life. Sanhedrin, 11.1, p. 601.

18. Israelites do not need to have sacrifices for their sins, they only need to read about the sacrifices to achieve forgiveness. Megilliah, 31b, p. 191.

19. No Rabbi can ever go to Hell. Hagigah, 27a, p. 171.

20.Isaiah the prophet died because he called Israel "a people of unclean lips". Yebamoth, 49b, p. 324.

21. Israelites possess 90% of all wisdom. The other 10% is spread out among the Gentiles. Kiddushin, 49b, p. 248.

22.A gentile who strikes a Jew deserves death. Striking a Jew is in God's eyes an assault on the Divine Presence. Sanhedrin, 58b, p. 398.

23.Just as the world cannot exist without wind, so it cannot exist without Israel. Sanhedrin, 58b, p. 389.

24. All the blessings which Gentiles enjoy come to them only because of God's regard for Israel. Yebamoth, 63 a, p. 420.

THE TALMUD'S VIEW OF GENTILES

25. All Gentile children are legally bastards, since Gentiles are only animals. Yebamoth, 98a, p. 670-671.

26.Gentile girls are in a state of uncleanness (niddah) from birth, and marriage with them is prohibited. Abodah Zarah, 36b, p. 176.

27.Wine touched by a Gentile renders it unfit for use by the Jews. Abodah Zarah, 72b, p. 348.

28. It is forbidden to teach Gentiles the Law. Hagigah, 13a, p. 75.

29. A Gentile who studies the Law deserves death. Sanhedrin, 59a, p. 400.

30.  God is displeased when Jews show hospitality to Gentiles. Sanhedrin, 104a, p. 707.

31. It is forbidden to give a gift to a Gentile, but you can sell it to him. Abodah Zarah, 20a, p. 104.

32. A Gentile who observes a day of rest deserves death. Sanhedrin, 58b, p. 399.

33. If a Gentile robs a Jew, he must pay him back. But if a Jew robs a Gentile, the Jew may keep the loot. Likewise, if a Gentile kills a Jew, the Gentile is to be killed. But if a Jew kills a Gentile, the Jew is to go free. Sanhedrin, 57a, p. 388.

34. It is permissible to cheat a Gentile in court. Baba Kamma, 113a, p. 664.

35. A Gentile must pay wages to a Jew, but a Jew does not have to pay wages to a Gentile. Sanhedrin, 57a, p. 389.

36.Gentiles are outside the legal protection of the Law of Israel. God exposed their money to Israel. Baba Kamma, 38a, p. 213.

37. Adultery is not forbidden when it is committed by a minor, or with a minor's wife, or with the wife of a Gentile, because Moses only forbids adultery with a "neighbor's wife", and Gentiles are not neighbors. [Jesus attacks this rabbinic interpretation of "neighbor" in Luke 10:29-37.] Sanhedrin, 52b, p. 356.

THE TALMUD AND WOMEN

38. The birth of a girl is a sad occurrence. Baba Bathra 16b, p. 83.

39. Women are a "vain treasure" to their fathers. Sanhedrin 110b, p. 681.

40.A Jewish male should thank God for not making him a woman or a Gentile. Menahoth, 43b, p. 264.

41. It is not good to talk to women, not even your own wife. Aboth, 1.5, p.4.

42.Scholars should not talk to women in the streets. [This is apparently the reason the disciples were surprised in John 4:27.] Berakoth, 43b, p. 266-267.

43. Women are lightheaded. Kiddushin, 80b, p. 413.

44. Walking behind a woman on the road is sinful. Erubin, 18b, p. 125.

45. Teaching a woman the Law is evil. Sotah, 20a. p. 101-102.

46.It is permissible to divorce your wife if she burns your dinner, or if you see a prettier girl. [Jesus opposes this in Matthew 19:3.] Gittin, 91a, p. 436-437.

47.A woman may be divorced if she uncovers her head in public, if she exposes her arms in public, or if she speaks aloud on sexual matters. Kethuboth, 72a, p. 448-449.

SEXUAL MATTERS

48. It is permitted to have sexual intercourse with a girl three years and one day old. Sanhedrin, 55b, p. 376. [It is important to note that this evil doctrine, clearly disproved by Ezekiel 16:7-8, is quite popular with the Talmud. So that the reader may readily investigate further, we now list the passages in which sexual relations with 3 year olds is clearly permitted: Yebamoth, 12a, p. 62; Yebamoth, 57b, p.386; Yebamoth, 60b, p. 402-403; Abodah Zarah, 37a, p. 178-179; and Kethuboth, 39a, p.216.]

49.Intercourse with a married woman is not adultery as long as the male membrum is relaxed, intercourse with a dead woman is apparently permissible. Yebamoth, 55b, p. 371.

50. If a priest's wife is raped, the priest is no longer allowed to have sexual relations with her, on penalty of being whipped. Yebamoth, 56b, p. 379.

51.Though a priest may not marry a harlot (Lev. 21:7), he may marry a woman guilty of bestiality. Though the hire of a harlot may not be given to God, yet if the harlot is paid for bestiality, her money may be accepted. Yebamoth, 59b, p. 397.

52. A gentile may have unnatural sexual relations with the wife of another, without sin. Sanhedrin, 58b, p. 398.

53. If a man commits sodomy with a boy less than nine years old, they are not guilty of sodomy. Sanhedrin, 54b, 55a, p. 371.

54. Sexual intercourse with a boy less than eight years old is not fornication. Sanhedrin, 69b, p. 470.

55. Sexual intercourse with a girl less than three is "nothing". Kethuboth, 11b, p. 58.

56. Any unnatural sex act is allowable to a Jew with his wife. Nedarim, 20b, p. 58.

57. The frequency of the sex act depends upon one's occupation. Kethuboth, 61b, p. 369

THE TALMUD ON JESUS

58. Jesus was a bastard born of adultery. Yebamoth, 49b, p. 324.

59. Mary was a whore, Jesus (Balaam) was an evil man. Sanhedrin, 106a & b, p. 725.

60. Jesus was excommunicated by a Rabbi, Jesus worshiped a brick, Jesus was a magician and led Israel astray. Sotah, 47a, p 246-248.

61. Jesus was a magician and a fool. Mary was an adulteress. Shabbath, 104b, p. 504.

62. Jesus was guilty of sorcery and apostasy, he deserved execution. The disciples of Jesus deserved to be killed. Sanhedrin, 43a, p. 281-282.

63. Jesus was sent to Hell, where he is punished by boiling excrement for mocking the Rabbis. [The Rabbis must not have liked Matthew 23!] Gittin, 56b & 57a, p. 260-261.

THE TALMUD AND CHRISTIANS

64. Jews should stay away from Christians. Abodah Zarah, 16b, p.85.

65. Christians are allied with Hell, and Christianity is worse than incest. Abodah Zarah, 17a, p. 86.

66. Going to prostitutes is the same as becoming a Christian. Abodah Zarah, 17a, p. 87.

67. Gentiles should not be cast into a pit, but Christians may be thrown into a pit and left there. Abodah Zarah, 26a, p. 131.

68. It is forbidden to be healed by a Christian. Abodah Zarah, 27b, p. 137.

69. Christians and those who scoff at the Rabbis will be sent to Hell forever. Rosh Hashanah, 17a, p. 64.

70. Those who read the Gospels are doomed to Hell. Sanhedrin, 90a, p. 601-602.

71. When Messiah comes, he will destroy the Christians. Sanhedrin, 99a, p. 668.

72. The Gospels are to be burned, the New Testament is like blank paper. One may under no circumstances go into the house of a Christian. Hatred of Christians is commanded by Psa 139:21. Shabbath, 116a, p. 569-570.

73. The Gospels are the falsehood of blank paper and the sin of blank paper.

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THE ULTIMATE ENEMIES OF JESUS

IF YOU READ the New Testament Words of Jesus, you will notice that the ultimate enemies of Jesus during His sojourn on earth were the Rabbis of Judaism, whose teachings He opposed constantly. These Rabbis (whom Christ called vipers, hypocrites, blind guides and whitewashed tombs) had obscured the true doctrines of the Old Testament, canceling many of the laws which God set up for Israel.

     For example, Moses said that anyone who committed adultery with his neighbor's wife should be executed, but the Rabbis, by defining "your neighbor" as "only your Jewish neighbor", ruled that adultery with a Gentile's wife wasn't adultery at all. They also ruled that sexual relations with three-year-old children was permissible, that Gentiles (that's everyone besides the Jews) aren't human, that followers of Christ could be killed, and that cursing parents is no sin unless the curse included the name of God. They also obscured the precious doctrine of salvation by faith, which is taught by the Old Testament and the New, and replaced it with salvation by works. What is the most important command of God according to the Talmud? Answer: getting circumcised. What would send you to Hell according to the Talmud? Answer: mocking the Rabbis.

     Defenders of Traditional Judaism get very defensive when Gentiles or Christians critically examine the Talmud. The slightest negative comment immediately draws vehement accusations of being "anti-Semitic". This catchword (“anti-Semitic”) has been so overworked lately that we view it as nearly meaningless. Nevertheless, so that no one may misunderstand, we will state our views.

     For the Christian, one's so-called "race" has no bearing on his standing with God. So our attack on the Talmud is NOT based on race. We Christians are followers of Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a Jew according to the flesh. We reject the claims of "racial Jews" to be "the chosen people of God", but this by no means makes us view their race as evil. It is not evil, it is irrelevant. Our criticisms of the Talmud are based upon the Holy Scriptures and reason—these two allies of Christianity are more than sufficient to overthrow the extravagant claims of Rabbinic Judaism.

     We would also like to state that we are in favor of NO persecution of any people who call themselves "Jewish", or any other people for that matter. We know many "Jews" who have no idea of what the Talmud really teaches, and who would surely be horrified at the racism and cruelty of the Rabbis. Some surveys among the Jews indicated that only about 15% of all Jews have even read anything from the Talmud. The fact is that only a small minority of them today profess allegiance to the commands of the Rabbis. We view this as a very good thing. Just because we repudiate the Talmud does not mean we hate the Jews. On the contrary, we hope most sincerely for the conversion of Jews, and think that showing kindness to them is an effective way to demonstrate our love towards them, and our obedience to Jesus.

MORE ABOUT THE TALMUD

AS I EXPLAINED, the Talmud is basically a collection of Oral Laws and commentary made up of traditions and teachings of the Jews which have been handed down from generation to generation. I want to emphasize the point that the Talmud is made up of TRADITIONS of men, not the truth of the Spirit of God. From the time of the Jews' captivity in Babylon unto the common law era of Jesus's day, the traditions of the Jews had gained so much momentum and so much popularity that they became THE LAW according to the Jews. Once again I would say that the Talmud is NOT God's Law, it is the law of the Rabbis and the ultra-conservative Traditional Jews.

     And still to this day many Jews use the Talmud. They teach it in their schools. And if you were to read the Talmud you would see how much the Jews hate Christianity. People often ask me if I am a hater of the Jews. Let me turn that around and ask the question: Are the Jews haters of Christianity? That's the real issue. It's not important whether or not I hate the Jews, but do the Jews hate Christians, and do they hate Christ? The answer is YES on both counts, and proof can be found in the teachings of the Talmud. You can't help but see how much they hate Christ and Christianity as well as hate women. Read the Talmud and you will see that’s true.

     The reason we are spending so much time explaining the Talmud is because it is essential to understand how important these teachings were to the Jews at the time of Christ, and how they were always trying to creep in and infiltrate the young Church with their perverted doctrines of demons. Paul knew the Jewish traditions, he knew Jewish law and he was very diligent about trying to root out and expose the false doctrines that were being pushed on the new Christians by the Judaizers. As we study we will find that the whole concept of women having to remain silent in the Church and having no part of the ministry is rooted in the traditions now contained in the Talmud, not the teachings of Jesus. This is the essence, this is the heart of the message.

     I would like to read a quote from an ancient Jewish scholar. He stated that "Women were excluded from the synagogues, not only from teaching but also from learning.” So, we see that according to the customs of the Rabbis handed down in their traditions, the women were not allowed in the synagogues or in the temples at all. This was not determined by God's law but by Jewish traditions that had been made into laws.

     Now there is also Dr. Leonard Swidler, and he's written a book called Women in Judaism. Dr Swidler explores the status of women in Israel from the formative stages of Judaism through the common era of today. He has dissected this subject and reveals the true status of women in Judaism. And the status of the woman is just as I said—she's regarded as a second-class citizen. She's not permitted to speak in public and she's not permitted to have anything to say about the laws. She's not permitted to study or to be taught. Therefore she has no education, which effectively bars her from participating in the important activities of society. Of course today we see many liberal Jewish women who have rebelled against this type of oppression and are quite active in politics, business and other areas, yet during the New Testament times, which is the period we are studying, the strict Talmudic code (then unwritten) was still the governing law of the Jews.

     What is sad is that so many cultures have been affected by these twisted Jewish traditions, which are actually rooted back into what happened when Adam sinned in the Garden. In fact, there are entire Christian denominations and churches that oppress their women terribly because they have a wrong understanding of what Paul was saying (or rather quoting from the Jewish traditions). They have incorporated Jewish traditions into their beliefs without even realizing it, and this is exactly what we are trying to break through in these messages. [Note that we do advocate a woman’s “right” to fulfill her callings in God, and if so called, to be part of the ministry; but we do NOT advocate feminism, the spirit of rebellion, nor that all women or unrepentant women should be directly part of the ministry, which is a HOLY calling for those called and must NOT be mingled with sin and sinful ways.]

     Have you ever wondered where the heathen tribes even came up with the idea that women are lesser when they don't even know about Judaism? They don't know about the Talmud. They don't even know about God or Jesus Christ. Why do they oppress their women? Even in this modern world in which we live, you can go to many different nations that don't even profess Christ and you'll find that the women are basically the underdogs and second-class citizens, and they are taught to toil in the fields and do all the work while the men sit around and do nothing in most cases. It’s because of SIN. And the point I'm making is that if it happens in this day and age in which we live, how much more terrible was it during the dark ages of centuries past, before we were enlightened at all about the role of women in the ministry? And the whole ugly mess is because of SIN. It's all because of ADAM and his rebellion against God.

JESUS ATTACKS THE TRADITIONS OF MEN

WE ARE GOING to be dealing in this message with traditions. I want you to open your Bible to Matthew 15:3. Now, as I’ve said and I will repeat it, the reason why we've got to go back and study traditions is because we've got to understand where this teaching that women must remain silent in the Church came from. It didn't come from God, it came straight from Jewish traditions.

     Matthew 15 verse 1 says, “Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem saying [notice scribes and Pharisees—Traditional Jews], Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" The elders they are talking about are the Jewish elders. "For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?" We're dealing with TRADITIONS. The scribes and Pharisees wanted to know why the disciples transgressed the tradition of the elders, and Jesus turned around and asked them why they were transgressing the commandments of God by their traditions. Obviously there was a contradiction here. There was friction between Jesus and the religious establishment from the very beginning. There were two sides to the story, and Jesus didn't just take what they had to say: He backed them down with their own argument.

     You can find the same confrontation over in Mark chapter 7 verse 3. And if you'll go through your New Testament, you'll find that Jesus was always rebuking them for their traditions. What traditions was He talking about? It obviously was not the Law of Moses. Jesus had no problem with the Law of Moses as recorded in the Old Testament. By definition, the Mosaic Law was not tradition, it was given by God. The problem was that the Jewish scribes and Pharisees made the claim that Moses, under the guidance and inspiration of God, gave out the collection of laws called the Oral Law along with the true Mosaic Law as recorded in the Old Testament. NO! The Oral Law, now contained in the Talmud, was nothing but a demonic counterfeit created by religious demons and which was passed down through generations in order to confuse and destroy God's people. The Jews misrepresented the Scriptures in their day, adding their own traditions, much like the Catholic Church has done and like many denominations do today. That's why I'm on this study, to clarify the issue and get rid of the traditions of men.

     We are still dealing with these traditions today. Many of them have been passed on down to us in the Body of Christ, and they are nothing but deceitful traditions of men.

     God never said a woman couldn't speak in Church. God never said a woman couldn't pray or prophesy or have a position or teach or preach. God never said those things, man did. Jewish tradition has said these things, and unfortunately they have been misinterpreted as coming from God and passed down as truth.

     Many people, both Christians and non-Christians, are aware that the Jews have been pushing their beliefs off on the whole world for decades. Because of what happened to the Jews in World War II, they have played up their tragedy to the point that if anyone says anything criticizing about the Jews, such a one is immediately labeled as an “anti-Semitic Nazi hate-messenger” who should be executed as a criminal. Nevertheless, it is important that we have a clear idea of what the Jew's sacred writings have to say. Therefore I'm going to cite for you some more things out of their Talmud.

WHO SINNED, ADAM OR EVE?

AS WE HAVE already said, the Talmud contains a collection of discussions, decisions, sayings and interpretations by many early scribes and Rabbis of the original Oral Law, the Mishnah. To the Jews, these laws and teachings had already become Law by the time the early Church was forming under the leadership of the Apostles.

     One tradition we have studied is how the Talmud teaches that Eve caused Adam to sin, therefore man deserves to rule over woman and keep her in submission so she doesn't cause any more trouble. The idea is that all women deserve to be punished because of what happened in the Garden, and that the men are supposed to make sure the women stay in their places. Is that what the Bible really teaches? NO! The Bible doesn't even hint at that. In fact, it says in Romans chapter 5 that Adam was the one that sinned, not Eve. Eve was ignorant. She was deceived, but Adam knew what he was doing and he totally disobeyed God's law and commandment. He is the one who brought the entire human race down into sin and death, not Eve. But the Jews twist it around so it looks like the woman did it. They have created the premise that woman deceived man, therefore man is going to rule over her and get revenge. They teach that women are worth nothing more than to be a mat under man's feet, and so far that's just about the way it's been. In Judaism especially, as well as many other religions, we find a lot of customs which are based on the premise that women are responsible for sin and should be punished forever because of it. Thank God for Jesus who has given us the TRUTH, enabling us to be free of these demonic bondages!

     Generally speaking, we find that women are regarded as lesser on a worldwide basis, and this belief is a direct result of sin.

     Another misconception which we have been taught is that God cursed Adam and Eve. God did not curse Adam and Eve. He cursed the ground and He cursed the serpent, but He did not curse Adam and Eve. He told them outright that if they disobeyed they would die. God didn't curse them, yet because of their disobedience they automatically took on the curse of death. It's like if I told my son, "Don't stick your finger in that electrical socket because if you do, you will be electrocuted." Now, if he was to go and stick his finger in the socket and electrocute himself, it would not be my fault. No, he disobeyed what I told him and he got electrocuted as a result. His death would have been a result of his disobedience to what I had told him.

CONFUSION OVER THE CURSE

MANY CHRISTIANS HAVE been under the assumption that God cursed Eve and since God cursed Eve, that all these evils have befallen her. And one of the curses was that man was going to rule over her, and her desire was going to be towards the man. This whole concept is loaded with sexual overtones, implying that whatever the man wants, that is what he is going to get, and the woman has to submit. How many have heard that? Well, I'm here to tell you there is no truth to that whatsoever. I'm not saying that this kind of situation has not happened, it has because of sin, but God never cursed Adam and Eve in that manner. They were cursed automatically when they disobeyed God. On the other hand, God does have distinctions between the male and female sexes and their roles in life. But God hasn't held a grudge against women for all these centuries because she supposedly deceived Adam. The doctrine that God blames the woman for all the problems of mankind comes from the Jewish Oral Law and traditions, and the stupid Christians have taken it and used it against their women to keep them beat down and in submission.

     Think about how God cursed the ground for Adam's sake, not for Eve's sake, but for Adam's sake. Isn't it strange that when you go into a lot of countries that you see the women toiling and working hard in the fields, while the men sit back and talk, letting the women do most of the work! By rights, it should be the men out working and sweating while the women stay home and raise the children. But it's not so! Many times you'll find the women out in the fields doing all the hard work, and having to raise the children at the same time.

     I want to go now to John chapter 8, and I'm going to show you another point here about Jewish traditions. I want to show you how the scribes and Pharisees were so indoctrinated with the Oral Law and traditions that they took them as absolutely factual and regarded them on the same level as the Law of Moses, not even realizing the difference. Reading in verse 1 of John Chapter 8, it begins,

“Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou?” (vv. 1-5).

 At this point they were going back to Moses as their support for this whole accusation. It goes on saying,

"This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not." (v. 6).

     We've got a funny thing going on here. A woman was brought to Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees in order to trap Him in His words so that they could accuse Him. They thought He was going to change everything around. The Jews were referring back to the Old Law which said that if a man and a woman were caught in adultery, both of them should be stoned. That was the Law of Moses which you can read about in Leviticus 20:10. Isn't it funny that the scribes and Pharisees only brought the woman and not the man?! Have you ever thought about that? Why didn't they bring the man? It says they were caught in adultery, in the very act, and the Law of Moses said that both of them must be stoned to death. Nevertheless, they only brought the woman so that she could be stoned. Notice the hatred towards the woman. If they were caught in the very act then they knew who the man was also, yet because of their hatred for women they discriminated by allowing the man to get off. If the truth was known she was probably caught in adultery with a Rabbi.

     I've got a feeling that when Jesus stooped down, what He wrote in the sand was the text in Leviticus 20:10. That was the text which the Pharisees were referring to. By only bringing the woman to Jesus they were actually saying that only the woman was guilty and deserved to die, not the man. I wanted to mention this point to show you how the Jews had twisted things around and made the Law of God conform to their traditions.

TALMUDIC OPPRESSION OF WOMEN

IF YOU GO back and study the religious traditions of the Jews that are based on what we now see in the Talmud, you'll find, as we have shown, many attitudes and beliefs that are terribly oppressive to women. One notable example is that men were able to divorce their wives but the wives could never divorce their husbands. You will also find that the men could speak in public but the women could never speak in public. Women were never allowed to testify and they could never do business—it was always and only the men.

     If you want to read a cruel book, read the Talmud, and you'll find the most vile things said about Jesus Christ. It says that He was an adulterer, that he was a masturbator and that He was a filthy man. You can find a lot of shocking things said about the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord.

     I hope that these references in the Talmud have helped you to understand where the oppressive attitude towards women came from in I Corinthians chapter 14. It surely didn't come from God. Remember, we are dealing with the teachings and traditions of the Rabbis which were considered the Law of the land in Israel. The great deception that has invaded the minds of so many Christians is that they believe Paul was supporting and endorsing this oppression of women when in reality he was doing just the opposite! Paul was refuting the influence of the Judaizers who were trying to gain entrance into the young Church and bring the Church back into bondage to Jewish Law, particularly the traditions of men. In Paul, God had selected the perfect man for the job, he being a former Pharisee, Paul knew all about their tricks and was able to back them down time and time again.

     Let's get it straight: Paul was not saying that women are bound to remain silent in the congregation in I Corinthians 14. In fact, HE WAS ACTUALLY REFUTING THIS RIDICULOUS TRADITION, which is made obvious by his statement, "as also saith the law." This point deserves an entire study in itself.

FOUR QUALITIES OF A WOMAN

NOW, GOING BACK to the Rabbis, the leaders, and the Talmud, there are four things here that they list as qualities of a woman: 1) They are all greedy at their food. 2) They are eager to gossip. 3) They are lazy. 4) They are jealous. And the Palestinian Talmud continually says that Eve is to blame for bringing death upon Adam. In other words, throughout the entire Talmud, one of the major foundational teachings is that woman is evil and caused man to sin, and therefore she must be ruled over by man. Now, once again, this should help you to understand what Jesus and Paul were up against in dealing with the scribes and Pharisees about their traditions!

     Again, I want to repeat that in I Corinthians 14:34 when Paul referred to "as also saith the law", he was referring to the Jewish Oral Law, and I CHALLENGE YOU TO FIND ONE LAW OR ORDINANCE GIVEN UNDER MOSES, OR ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE BIBLE, THAT SAYS MAN IS TO RULE OVER WOMAN AND THAT WOMEN ARE TO KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT IN THE ASSEMBLY. Don't waste your time. You'll have to go to the traditions of men like the Talmud.

     Let us not forget that in these messages we are dealing with the Body of Jesus Christ, or the Ekklesia. We're not dealing with the Jewish Temple and synagogues of the Old Order. We're dealing with the New Order, because Paul was dealing with the believers at Corinth. As we begin to get a clearer understanding of what was actually happening, we find that a whole New Order had been set in. When Jesus died, the Temple veil was rent from the top to the bottom and the Old Order of the Temple and animal sacrifices was gone forever. Jesus had become the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the entire human race. As the number of new Christians continued to increase, Ekklesias began to spring up and spread all around the Mediterranean, all the way to Rome. Eventually, what began to happen was that certain men, commonly known as Judaizers, would try to influence and deceive the new converts, such as the ones in Corinth, into re-instituting manmade additional parts of the Old Order based on the Jewish Oral Law, into the New Order that Jesus had established. These Judaizers or "Jewish Christians" (i.e., those who were not letting go of the Old Order) were constantly causing trouble and it was Paul's job to see that they didn't succeed in leading new converts away from the simplicity that is in Jesus and take them back into the bondage of the Jewish Law and traditions.

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE!

JESUS NEVER INSTITUTED the rule that women were to remain silent in the congregation, and neither did God the Father. As I keep saying, the Jewish Rabbis were the ones responsible for this cruel and hateful attitude towards women, and they were trying to get the new Christians to swallow it as well. They were trying to convince the Christians to accept the Jewish traditions of men and mix them with the true Gospel. Unfortunately, the way the King James version was translated from the Greek has made it appear to the casual reader that Paul was endorsing the silencing of women, which upon closer examination of the passages in question is shown to be not the case at all. Nevertheless, because of the confusion, you have multitudes of Christians who have never bothered to study this subject in detail and therefore have been deceived into believing that women are to remain silent in the congregation and can have no part in the ministry. If you are one of these Christians, you need to seriously pray and seek God about this subject. Paul tells us that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, MALE NOR FEMALE in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

THE MISHNAH, TALMUD, MIDRASH & TARGUMS

— The following information has been adapted from its original source. —

Mishnah

MISHNAH: Literally “repeated study.” The Mishnah is the oldest post biblical collection and codification of the Jewish Oral Laws, systematically complied by numerous authors over a period of two centuries. The Mishnah was completed around AD 200 by Rabbi Judah and represents various oral traditions that had been preserved since the time of Ezra, 450 B.C. It is made up of six Orders, called Sedarim, and 63 tractates.

Talmud

THE word Talmud means “study or learning” and is a commentary on the Mishnah. The Talmud contains quotes from the Mishnah with commentary called Gemara. When the Mishnah was combined with these commentaries, they were given the name Talmud.

     The Talmud Bavi (Babylonian Talmud) was written from the years AD 200-400 and was taken from oral and written materials from the time of Ezra. It comments on the whole Mishnah while the Talmud Yerushalemi (Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud), on which work ended in AD 500, comments mainly on the first four orders of the Mishnah. Authorities agree that it was never completed.

     In 1631 the Talmud was edited to remove many of the references to Jesus of Nazareth because there were many derogatory references to Jesus, and the Church used these to justify persecution of the Jews.

Midrash

THESE are running commentaries on the Tanakh (the Jewish Old Testament) which date from as early as AD 100-200 and as late as AD 1600. The Midrash is divided as follows:

Halakah Midrashim comments mainly on the books Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Mekhilta

Mekhlita de Rabbi Shim’on ben Yohai

Sifra, Sifre, Sifre zuta.

Haggadah Midrashim expounds on the non-legal parts of Scripture.

Midrash rabba 5^th century

Tanhuma 4^th century

Pesiqta de Rabbi Kahana

Pesiqta rabbati

Avat de Rabbi Natan

Tanna deve Eliyyahu

Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer

Yakult Shimoni 13^th century

Yakult ha-makhiri 14^th century

Yakult ‘En Ya’aqov 16^th century

Targums

These are perhaps the oldest known commentaries on the Tanakh. The Targums are Aramaic translations of the original Hebrew Tanakh with the addition of rabbinical commentary on the text just translated. They were written between about 200 B.C. - AD 200. The oldest extant manuscript of Targum material is the Targum Onkelos from the third century AD.

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