THE TEMPLE JUDAISM OF MOSES: AN HISTORICAL APPRAISAL

By Allan Russell Juriansz

Many people both religious and non-religious misunderstand Judaism. This is partly because of its evolutionary variety. But the Biblical story is quite clear in describing the Primal Temple Judaism of Moses and the great patriarchs who believed and practiced it before him. I bring to my readers an historical appraisal of this core Judaism, faithful to the Old and New Testaments. Both were produced entirely by Hebrew writers in their conversation with God. Abraham’s Covenant with God for the proclamation of Messianic atonement and redemption to provide happiness to all nations was the mission. God bless Israel and establish her firmly in the final completion of this task in her homeland.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 5, 2024
• ISBN: 9781663262066

Allan Russell Juriansz

ALLAN RUSSELL JURIANSZ was born in Sri Lanka. He obtained a Bachelor of Education degree from Avondale University in Australia and then earned a medical degree at Australia’s Sydney University Medical School. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada. He is retired from surgery but continues to see consultations in urology. He was married to the late Ruth Lesley O’Halloran for 49 years, and has four children and eight grandchildren.

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THE

TEMPLE JUDAISM

OF

MOSES

AN HISTORICAL APPRAISAL

Allan Russell Juriansz

THE TEMPLE JUDAISM OF MOSES

AN HISTORICAL APPRAISAL

Copyright © 2024 Allan Russell Juriansz.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, tapaing or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-6207-3 (sc)

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Dedication

To ISRAEL

001_a_img.jpg

THE MESSIANIC SACRIFICE OF ISAAC

BY REMBRANDT

Let them make Me

a sanctuary,

That I may dwell

among them

GLOSSARY

Aggadah – Narratives containing anecdotes, parables, legends, philosophy, etc.

B’rit Hadashah – New Testament

Devekut – Close communion with God

Ed. Warsh – Warsaw edition of Midrashim

Guf – A postulated Rabbinic ‘Reservoir’ or ‘Treasury’ of human souls, positioned beneath God’s throne,

waiting to be born on earth

Hagiographa (or Writings) – The Old Testament Books of Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song

of Solomon, Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles

Legends of the Jews – A chronological compilation of Aggadah in the Talmud and Midrash published in

seven volumes by Louis Ginsberg in German. It was translated into English in 1913 by Henrietta Szoid.

Talmud – Collective non-canonical Hebrew literature which includes the Mishnah, Babylonian and

Jerusalem Gemara, and the writings of the Tannaim and Amoraim. Its closure is not unanimous

among Jewish scholars.

Tanchuma (or Tanhuma) – A form of Midrashim.

Yalkut – Rabbinic anthology

ILLUSTRATIONS

Cover – The Tabernacle Temple of Moses in the desert.

Frontispiece – Rembrandt’s Painting – The Sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham

Adam and Eve sacrificing a lamb

Cain killing Abel

Abraham and Sarah

Jacob wrestling with God at Brook Jabbock

Judah and Tamar

Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle Temple

Star of David in window of Jewish Synagogue in London, England

David lusting after Bathsheba

Nathan confronting David

Rabbis and Talmudists

Santiago de Compostela in Spain

John baptizing in the Jordan River

Mother Mary’s home in Ephesus

Ruins of St. John’s Basilica in Selcuk, Ephesus

Cave on Patmos where John wrote Revelation

Ruins of Ancient Ephesus

Ruins of Smyrna

Ruins of Pergamum

Ruins of Thyatira

Ruins of Sardis

Ruins of Philadelphia

Ruins of Laodicea

The Pieta in the Vatican

St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican

Ruins of Antioch

St. Peter’s Grotto in Antioch

Shrine in Muziris, India, to St. Thomas

St. Thomas’ Syro-Malabar Roman Catholic Church

Ancient Ruins of Thessaloniki

Galatia in modern Turkey

Ancient Corinthian Canal built by Hebrew Slaves

Colosseum in Rome

Ruins of Philippi

Ruins of Ancient Ephesus

Ruins of Colossee

Israeli Soldier at Wailing Wall

The door of the Schlosskirche where Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Auschwitz-Birkenhau Gas Chamber

Majdenek Memorial

Gershom Scholem

Desmond Ford

Synagogue in Jewish Ghetto in Rome

The Youthful Jesus in Awe of His Creation

Church of Nicea

Garden of Gethsemane

The Rock of Agony

FOREWORD

The desire to write this book came from my study of Judaism, a very difficult entity to define because of its modern variety. In this appraisal I adhere to the Biblical narrative contained in the Tanakh or Old Testament, and the B’rit Hadashah or New Testament. Both these sources were entirely the brainchild of the Hebrew race, remarkably congruent. Many questions are asked about the origin and makeup of the Bible, some few of which are quite legitimate (see Lloyd M. Graham’s Deceptions and Myths of the Bible). I have maintained that the Bible is not perfect because it was written by humans who are not perfect. But God was talking to the Hebrews and His main message of salvation did come through marvellously in its pages. The Hebrews had an inside track with God and recognized their calling to be a Chosen People with a special work delegated to them by God – the happiness of all nations. This mission was communicated to them through Abraham, the father of their race. A divine happiness is envisaged in the work of the Messiah for humanity. In my opinion Abraham’s Covenant with God has almost reached completion. This book is the climax of my effort to understand the Hebrew religion, my personal relationship to Judaism, and God’s plan for humanity.

I am thus emotionally involved with Israel as a nation and their preservation in the land willed to them by God. I say, God Bless Israel and I defend Israel’s right to live there. Israel is the only democracy among several Arab nations in the Middle East and has recently made peace with many of them. Currently they are in dialogue with Saudi Arabia for a peaceful relationship. Hamas is a terrorist organization which has had militaristic control of Gaza. Since its inception Hamas has vowed to kill every Jew in Israel. I wish to see the total elimination of Hamas so that all Palestinians living in the area can live gainfully and peacefully with Israel. I congratulate Douglas Murray for his perceptive correct views about the conflict, and for bolstering the security of the nation of Israel.

To understand Jewish history and mission I have made several visits to areas of concern. My wife who was likeminded made four visits to Israel. Her first visit was in collaboration with an Islamic family. The second was with a Jewish family. The latter two visits were with me. These were quite extensive. The first took us to all the Christian holy sites. In the second we engaged a retired IDF army general to be our driver and guide. We covered all the areas of interest where ordinary tourists are not usually taken. These included the very north where the Jordan River begins, the Golan Heights, and along the borders of Lebanon and Syria. We spent much time in Judea and Samaria including Hebron and the Cave of Machpelah. We skirted Gaza and spent valuable time in Jerusalem. Subsequently we visited Jordan and Egypt extensively.

Prior to our marriage my wife had made her first two trips to Israel, as mentioned above. She additionally toured Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal in her travel back to Australia from inter-America, USA, Canada and Europe. Ruth was a remarkable woman, quite attuned to what was going on in the world.

In assessing the horrific Nazi Holocaust, we travelled together to France, Italy, Switzerland, Yugoslavia that was, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Latvia, and Russia. Since her passing I have spent time in Rome to see the Papal land, and the Jewish Ghetto in the north of the City of Rome. Recently I spent three weeks touring the important ancient Biblical sites in Turkey and Greece with the Loma Linda University Scholars. This book will give an account of that intense study time. I have incorporated the Jewish sect of Christianity into the narrative because primitive Christianity is indeed based solidly on the Temple Judaism of Moses. Christianity cannot be torn from its Judaean foundation because Christians worship the historical Jewish Messiah who belongs to the whole world.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I honour my parents Edith Ondatje and Benjamin John Juriansz who introduced me to Judeo-Christianity. It was however entirely my own decision to be involved.

I honour my wife the late Ruth Lesley O’Halloran who constantly inspired me in our life together. She had an intense desire to travel and understand the world. She was a joyful Judeo-Christian and we both were dedicated to its cause. A book she wrote about her travels is titled A Kinder World.

I honour my eldest brother, the late Reginald Frank Juriansz and his wife Joy Christo with whom we enjoyed this journey in Judeo-Christianity.

I thank the several officials and friends in Israel who facilitated our visits there. I am in awe of what Israel has built up in the Holy Land since its modern inception in 1948. I whole-heartedly support Israel’s right to live in their God-given homeland after two thousand years of forced exile. It is obvious to me that a two-state solution there is not viable for two reasons. First, the Palestinian Authority and Gaza’s Hamas want only one state, a Moslem one with no Jew living there. Second, the Jews cannot live in extreme proximity in a two-state status with another state that wishes to kill every one of them. Since the non-Jews living in Israel currently have citizenship and are prosperous, so could the Palestinians of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. This will have long-term consequences in terms of population growth. Aliya will help. But democracy may win in the long-term, establishing a new frontier.

Israel has a commission from God in the Abrahamic Covenant. I expect this to be carried out to completion in the happiness of all nations in the status quo. But I look forward to the time of Isaiah’s New Heavens and New Earth where there will be happiness in eternity.

The country now called Turkey is founded on what was previously the crumbling Ottoman Empire which had conquered the Christian Byzantines. I thank the continuing governments of Turkey which have done much to preserve the ruins of the ancient Biblical Judeo-Christian sites which I visited in the scope of this book.

When quoting the Biblical Scriptures in this book I will cite the particular rendition. If there is no rendition cited the quote will be from the King James Version.

Finally, I wish to thank iUniverse for helping in preparing and publishing this book. All my previous books have also been published by them and I am thankful for the splendid outcome.

CONTENTS

Cover Picture: Tent Tabernacle Temple of Moses

Frontispiece: Abraham’s Messianic Sacrifice of Isaac

Theme: Let them make Me a Sanctuary

Glossary

Illustrations

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

PART I – GOD IN ETERNITY

1.     GOD

A. THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF GOD

B. THE CHARACTER OF GOD

C. THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF GOD

PART II – THE TENT TABERNACLE

2.     THE ISMS BEFORE JUDA-ISM

3.     THE JUDAH-ISM OF JUDAH

4.     THE JUDAH-ISM OF MOSES

5.     THE PRIMAL TEMPLE JUDAISM OF MOSES

6.     GIANTS OF PRIMAL TEMPLE JUDAISM

PART III – SOLOMON’S TEMPLE

7.     THE JUDAISM OF RUTH

8.     THE JUDAH-ISM OF KING DAVID

9.     THE JUDAH-ISM OF BATHSHEBA

10.   WHAT IS TORAH?

11.   DEFINITION OF MESSIAH

12.   MESSIAH IN THE PROPHETS

PART IV – DESTRUCTION OF SOLOMON’S TEMPLE

13.   THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY, THE RETURN, AND EMERGENCE OF THE PENTATEUCH

14.   REBUILDING SOLOMON’S TEMPLE

PART V – THE SECOND TEMPLE

15.   THE JUDAISM OF THE EARLY TALMUDIC RABBIS

16.   REVIVAL OF TEMPLE JUDAISM IN GALILEE

17.   JOHN THE BAPTIST

18.   JAMES AND JOHN – SONS OF ZEBEDEE

19.   SIMON PETER

20.   THOMAS DIDYMUS – THE DOUBTER

19.   PAUL – SAUL OF TARSUS

PART VI – THE DESTRUCTION OF THE – SECOND TEMPLE

22.   NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY

23.   HALAKHAH

24.   THE EVOLUTION OF RABBINIC JUDAISM

25.   MIRA BALBERG

26.   CURRENT DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF JUDAISM

PART VII – UPHEAVALS IN JUDAISM – AND CHRISTIANITY

27.   THE PARTING OF THE WAYS

28.   CHRISTIAN ANTISEMITISM

29.   SUPERSESSIONISM

30.   MARTIN LUTHER

31.   DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

32.   THE HOLOCAUST

PART VIII – MODERN JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN – SCHOLARLY DISCUSSION

33.   ALFRED EDERSHEIM

34.   FRANZ ROSENZWEIG

35.   GERSHOM SCHOLEM

36.   PETER SCHAFER

37.   DANIEL BOYARIN

38.   DESMOND FORD

39.   ONE FOR ISRAEL

PART IX – YESHUA

40.   THE YOUTHFUL JESUS

41.   ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS

42.   CONCLUSION

Chronology

Bibliography of Talmudic and Jewish Paraliterature

General Bibliography

OTHER BOOKS BY ALLAN RUSSELL JURIANSZ

The Fair Dinkum Jew

The Survival of Israel and the Abrahamic Covenant

King David’s Naked Dance

The Dreams, Doctrines, and Dilemmas of the Hebrews

Colonial Mixed Blood

A Story of the Burghers of Sri Lanka

The Hebrew Messiah

The Glory and Triumph of Israel

The Spousal Relationship

To Love and be Loved are the Deepest Human Needs

Jesus of Bethlehem

Davidic King of the Jews

O Taste and See

King David, His Life and Theology

Caring For the Prostate

A Manual for Men and Their Partners

PREFACE

On becoming an adult I was baffled by the wonderment of the world I was in. There were so many options before me to choose my direction of travel. I chose the path that my parents travelled, a religious one. Judeo-Christianity made sense to me because of my dissatisfaction with my frailties and those existent in the world around me. I found release and great satisfaction in the worship of God and His acceptance of me in the marvellous story of the Bible. The Bible has always been to me both Old and New Testaments. It is the conversation between God and Israel. I regard it as the Word of God, written down entirely by Hebrew writers. I hold it to be inspired but not inerrant. I realise that I worship the God of the Hebrews and the God-Man, incarnated a Jew, who has taken away the sins of the world.

God’s redemptive plan included the choice of Abraham, and his descendants as the Chosen People to propagate the plan: In thy Seed all nations of the Earth will be blessed. The Old Testament is a much-overwritten record, which started as the writings of Moses and David. The New Testament was likely subject to some overwriting as well. But through it all Redemptive Messianic Atonement shines brilliantly. This has provided me with a happiness I have not found or observed anywhere else. Redemption is the most important essence pervading the total Biblical writings. This is what will result in a final purification of a world battered by the clash between good and evil. This Redemptive Messianic power will result in an eradication of evil and render a planet brilliant in the triumph of goodness and love. This triumphant perfume is designed as the final future purity of the planet. It can also if espoused in the meantime provide humanity with a great happiness and freedom in the current status quo. Despite all the strife in the world it has provided me with an inner tranquility I have not found elsewhere.

Moses was the first to write the story in the science of his day about the Creation of life on Planet Earth. Prior to life on Earth, Lucifer had brought evil into existence. He had been banished to Earth. Why he was placed on the Earth we do not know. There is life elsewhere in the Multiverse. The Earth may be the sole planet where God is correcting the phenomenon of disobedience and sinfulness. There was foreknowledge that Lucifer would cause humanity to be disobedient. Despite, the Creation of life on Earth went ahead. With the foreknowledge of humanity’s sin God had put into place Messianic expiation and atonement, the redemption. I envisage the Earth to be the battleground where God will vanquish and eradicate evil. This is clearly portrayed in the Bible.

I consider Moses the most important forefather of the Hebrew race after Abraham. He carried out God’s commission to free His Chosen People from Egyptian bondage. And then he was activated by God’s request: Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. God wanted worship. And so Primal Temple Judaism was inaugurated.

Moses began the story with Adam and Eve in Eden and described their fall into sin. Immediately, outside the Gates of Eden, the practical Messianic redemption was put in place. Redemption primarily involved a shedding of blood and the sacrifice of a life. A sacrificial lamb without blemish symbolized Messianic sacrifice and provided expiation and atonement. This plan was implemented by the first family and the patriarchs that came after. Fast-forward to Abraham and we are familiar with the continuing story in the lives of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, and the slavery in Egypt.

At Sinai Moses received the Decalogue and implemented the Temple Service. This was Primal Temple Judaism. A lamb without blemish was sacrificed for the expiation of personal sin. Morning and evening sacrifices were made for the ritual cleansing of Israel. Moses also instituted two more blood festivals: the Passover Festival established in Egypt, and the Day of Atonement. King David magnified Messianic Redemption in his enthrallment with his Messiah.

This Temple Judaism, initially housed in the flimsy tent Tabernacle erected in the desert, was later placed in Solomon’s grand Temple. It was destroyed by the Babylonians and rebuilt presumably by an order from Cyrus, a Medo-Persian. It was further aggrandized by Herod. Is there a Jew who will deny this basic structure and arrangement of what is labelled the Primal Temple Judaism of Moses?

Initially, basic Adam and Eve-ism was followed by the religion of the Patriarchs, among them Abel-ism, Enoch-ism, Noah-ism, Abraham-ism, Jacob-ism, and culminating in Judaism. All made sacrifices for expiation and atonement, and Israel continued to do this until the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. Will any Jew challenge me on this declaration of Hebrew history?

Consider Cain and Abel-ism. God asked for a lamb and Cain brought fruit and vegetables, the choicest he had grown himself. But there was no blood in that offering rejected by God. It did not prefigure Messianic sacrifice. Cain murdered his brother because God accepted the blood of Abel’s lamb without blemish. God had no respect for Cain’s fruits and vegetables. What did that Lamb and the shedding of its blood represent? It was essentially a shedding of blood for remission and atonement representing Messianic sacrifice. The Pesiqta Rabbati explains it well.

Abraham had been called by God to beget a Chosen People who would dwell in a special land and spread this redemption by the blood to envelop the whole world. In thy Seed shall all Nations of the Earth be blessed. This Abrahamic mission developed into the elaborate Temple Service of Moses-ism, which was destined for the whole world. At this point in history this mission, the Abrahamic Covenant, has been almost completely accomplished.

Allan Russell Juriansz

INTRODUCTION

The history of the descendants of Adam and Eve, and more particularly the descendants of Abraham and Sarah, are the main source of our knowledge of God. God bless the Hebrews for the 66 books of the Bible. What a legacy they have given us! But what is Judaism? The authors of A History of Judaism (2 volumes), Daniel Jeremy Silver and Bernard Martin believe it is a way of life, thought, and faith. Then they attempt to define it in history. Surprisingly they say:

What was/is Judaism? If Moses, or David, or

Jeremiah were to come into a modern synagogue,

however traditional, they would shake their

heads in bewilderment… Moses would not even

recognize the Hebrew letters in the Torah and

Prayer Book. What then is Judaism?

(A History of Judaism, vol. 1, pp. ix, x)

It was a great pleasure to read the above cited two volume history, and it is evident the authors see Judaism as an evolving story which in modern times is different to the Judaism of Moses and David, the primal, original Temple Judaism. In my view the Temple Judaism of Moses is the most exciting way of life on the planet. It recognizes the existence and love of God and the realities of good and evil in our daily lives and civilization. God had the first couple in His bosom and wants us all back with Him. Although we must earnestly strive to keep God’s Law, we cannot obtain the perfection required by God and we desperately need the Mercy Seat and Redemption included on that Ark of the Covenant. Temple Judaism invokes the Messiah, God with us, who will atone for our sins and restore us back into God’s presence by His perfect life.

I am therefore orienting this book to the Temples the Hebrews built, patterned after the Heavenly Temple, and the impact of their destruction on the Judeo-Christian world. In the Temple the Lamb without blemish was sacrificed for the cleansing of the sinner and symbolized the Messianic atonement to come. Daily general cleansing was provided in the Temple by the evening and morning sacrificial offerings. And all Israel was cleansed on the Day of Atonement. The blood taken into the Most Holy Place was a cleansing blood. It was never a defiling blood. We are always in need of the cleansing blood. In my view the greatest tragedy that has overtaken modern Israel is the abandonment of the Primal Temple Judaism of Moses, the Judaism of the blood.

All through the history of Israel and the world there have been numerous giants of this Primal Temple Judaism. They have affected my life and I live in awe of their dedication to it.

Jacob laid a foundation for its expression at the Brook Jabbok as he wrestled with God who had taken human form to be in combat with him. God disabled him by putting his hip out of joint. But Jacob clung tenaciously to God. That was his lifeline, clinging to God. That was Jacob-ism. Imagine it – see him crawling up the bank of the Jabbok. And then melting his brother’s heart with forgiveness as he limped towards him in abject weakness. Esau intended to kill him, but he could not do it. He hugged and kissed him instead.

The lame Jacob on his deathbed went on to anoint his son Judah to be the pioneer of Judah-ism. Why otherwise has the Jewish way of life appropriated the name of Judah? When the 10 tribes were taken captive to Assyria and were lost, Judah and stragglers from Levi and Benjamin remained to fulfil the mission Abraham was given: In thy Seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed. The ‘Seed’, the Messiah, was what Eve was promised would help her get back into Eden. She ardently hoped for it. But she died outside the Gates of Eden to await its fulfillment.

The Hebrew Temples were landmarks in practical Judaism. John the Revelator declared that the Heavenly Temple, within the New Jerusalem, will come down to rest in Israel on the Mount of Olives, after the earth is cleansed and made new as declared by Isaiah.

Primal Temple Judah-ism became the Hebrew way of life, but was dealt two big blows. The Babylonians destroyed the first or Solomon’s Temple in 587 BCE. It was rebuilt. In 70 CE the Second Temple was razed by the Romans. It has not been rebuilt because the Jews were driven from their homeland. Now that they are back in control of their homeland, I expect the third Temple to be built, with a rededication to the Primal Temple Judaism of Moses. This is not a call for the resumption of animal sacrifices as will be explained.

After the Second Temple was destroyed the sacrificial system of worship came to an end. The Rabbis then began a rethink away from the Primal Temple Judaism of Moses. A ‘Do It Yourself’ Judaism evolved, making law-keeping and benevolence salvific. Messiah was redefined and became the agent to provide political and national restitution, and not the Redeemer who would provide atonement for sin.

Ben Shapiro, an admired young Jewish commentator, is wrong to define the initial concept of Messiah as restorer of Israel’s political fortunes and independence within the status quo. As Daniel and Isaiah outline, Messiah will surely be a Supreme Eternal King but only in an Earth made new, after sin