Close

Religion in the Bible (Endnotes)

1. The mediators of Oriental Christianity who stand between God and man that Mackie is referring to include all the “saints” who are prayed to and petitioned—a form of idolatry. Close

2. The practice of trying to communicate with the dead (which results in communication with evil demons who impersonate the dead) goes back into the earliest historic memories of mankind. Any attempt to communicate with the dead is strictly forbidden by God (Deut. 18:11). It is a trick of the Devil to believe that you can hear from God via a dead person. Since God forbids trying to contact the dead, He would never break His own Word by communicating that way. The woman at Endor used “a familiar spirit” (1 Sam. 28:7), and the “Samuel” that she brought up for Saul was a demon impersonating Samuel. For more information see, Mark Graeser, John Lynn, and John Schoenheit, Is There Death After Life? (Christian Educational Services, Indianapolis, IN, 2004), pp. 9-12, 84 and 85. Close

3. This fact confuses students of the Bible who look up ?ob (KJV = “familiar spirit”) in the Hebrew language, only to find that the first definition in The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew And English Lexicon (Strong’s number 178) is “skin-bottle.” It is clear that the Bible uses the Hebrew word ?ob for an ordinary bottle as well as for mediums, necromancers, etc. Genies and spirits are often associated with bottles and oil-lamps in the Moslem stories. Close

4. What Mackie says here about what Easterners believe is true. However, it is not correct that God does everything, or is in control of everything. The earth is a war zone between the forces of good and the forces of evil, and just because something happens does not mean it is the will of God. For a much more complete explanation of the battle between good and evil and for what God does and does not do and control, see Graeser, Lynn, Schoenheit, op. cit., Don’t Blame God. Close

5. This is the literal meaning of “Bar Mitzvah” the ceremony recognizing a boy’s transition into manhood. The Hebrew word mitsvah means “law” or “commandment.” Although most Christians have heard that “Torah” means “law,” it actually means “instruction.” The Torah does contain laws, but it is not an extensive law book with thousands of statues, which would be required to run any nation. Instead, it is “instruction.” Its laws and commandments are to be obeyed, yes, but they are also to serve as examples that lawmakers can use when putting together the many statues and regulations necessary for any government to function. Thus, the claim that, “the Mosaic Law is outdated” is false. Although it does not have a specific command about how to handle computer crime or nuclear waste, the “instruction” of the Torah, if studied, would give essential guidelines about what to do about those situations and all others as well. Close

6. Much more could be written on the feasts. Entire books have been written on the subject. In order to understand the Jewish Sabbath and festivals, we must remember that the Israelites observed a lunar year, which is 11 days shorter than the solar year used by Westerners (modern Jews and many Moslem countries still observe a lunar year). Thus, biblically, every three years the Israelites would lose a little more than a full month compared to the solar year. Since there are 12 Jewish months, it can easily be seen that in a matter of only 18 years, the month of Nisan, which normally occurs in late March or April, would have moved back to October or November. However, the Law of Moses stated that at Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the first feasts of the Jewish year, newly harvested grain had to be presented to God, and there also had to be newly harvested grain presented to God at the feast of Pentecost, 50 days later. In order to keep the lunar months from drifting back so far that the Law could no longer be kept (no one is harvesting wheat in November), the priests would carefully watch the grain to see when it would ripen. If the month of Nisan was going to come too early for there to be newly harvested grain to offer at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, then the priests would declare a thirteenth month for that year. This thirteenth month was called Adar II because Adar was the twelfth month.

It must also be kept in mind that the Jewish day starts at sundown, not, as in our Western world, at midnight. This is in keeping with Genesis 1, “…And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day” (Gen. 1:5-NIV). Close

7. The number “1” occurs twice, due to the fact that at the time Mackie was writing the two feasts, Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, were considered one feast. Nevertheless, they were separate and distinct, and should have been numbered “1” and “2,” but I have left his numbering system intact. Many of the customs he describes in association with the feasts are post biblical. Close

8. It was in the second century, A.D. that Pentecost was associated by the rabbis with the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. Close

9. At the time Mackie was writing the Jews did not yet have a homeland. Close