“Maybe its just this: for 2,000 years, Christians have savagely persecuted us in the name of Christian love and in the name of Christ. Literally millions of my people have been brutally murdered, raped, robbed, vilified, exiled and humiliated by Christians. In many cases, my people were burned alive rather than accept Christianity. It’s very hard for me to respect your “arguments” after we have suffered so much by all your past evangelism.”
Maybe a little less than 2,000 years. The Jews prior to the Roman decimation had fallen into intense apostasy, and their persecution of Christians was quite intense. Though I do not blame you or even “Judaism” for it, as Christians were persecuted by most everyone. I’m not sure if you’re even aware, but even the High Priest at the time of the Temple’s destruction had simply attained the position through bribary. Josephus tells of signs and wonders being apparent prior to the siege, such as a comet that hung over the city in the form o a sword, or sights and sounds of armies fighting, or the temple doors being opened of their own accord, a quaking followed by “Let us depart hence.” Titus also reports the same, though he does not mention all of them. Certainly, every time Israel has been so decimated it has been a result of divine judgment, though, of course, the enemies of Israel are also punished when the Jews are released from that bondage. What’s interesting is that you blame Christianity for your problems, and maybe you even blame the Romans for the dispersion. However, it was predicted that it would happen in the prophet Daniel, as well as by Jesus prior to the destruction.
Luk 21:20-24 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. (21) Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. (22) For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. (23) But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. (24) And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
These scriptures have been fulfilled to the letter, which you so aptly pointed out yourself.
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Whatever the state of Judaism at the time of the Romans’ destruction of the second Bais Hamikdash (Temple), has nothing to do with what I am talking about. I was addressing the fact that evangelism is hateful to Torah-true Jews, especially coming from our tormentors through the ages.
Still, I’ll take the trouble to tell you that the Jews prior to the Roman decimation had NOT fallen into “intense apostasy”. There were corrupt elements among the Jewish people and G-d found the conduct of the general population with regard to the way they treated each other was lacking. The prophets always spoke in harsh terms as a form of exhortation and because for the Jewish people, minor transgressions were deemed serious faults in their devotion because Hashem expected the very best behavior from them.
The nature of G-d’s judgment of Israel and of the Nations is beyond human comprehension and to the degree that it can be understood, it is far beyond the ken of non-Jews or Torah illiterate Jews. The suffering of the Jewish people is all part of G-d’s plan, but, consistent with that, not one agent of that suffering among the nations, nor a single deed will go unpunished in Hashem’s good time, which is forever. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with our rejection of the false prophet of Christianity. If anything, our steadfast refusal to bow before the church, the crusaders, the Spanish Inquisition and the countless attempts to force us to convert, is one of the most heroic stories of all time.
“What’s interesting is that you blame Christianity for your problems”. I don’t see where you got this from anything I said. I just said, the Christian track record of persecuting Jews makes them very poor messengers for telling us what our Torah means, just as their rejection of the Torah disqualifies Christians from telling Jews what to believe.
Luke, of course, wrote whatever he wrote after the events and simply repeated what had already been said by Jeremiah, Isaiah and other legitimate prophets. So citing his words means nothing to me.
True Torah prophecies have been fulfilled and will continue to be fulfilled, including the prophecy that the Third Temple will be rebuilt, that the true Moshiach will soon arrive and that the Nations of the world will experience both a reckoning and a revelation that Hashem is the one true G-d and there never was and never will be any other.