ONE WAY OR AN OTHER
(Stein Atle Vere ©2012. One way or an other. brakha.blogspot.com)
KEYWORDS
Tora תורה (instruction) (Judaism)
Ha'Tora התורה (“The” Tora) (Five Books of the Tora Scroll)
Talmud Bavli תלמוד בבלי (Book of the Babylonian Talmud)
Sanhedrin סנהדרין (Talmud Section of Sanhedrin)
Brit Khadasha ברית חדשה (Books of New Testament)
Matityahu מתתיהו (New Testament Book of Matthew)
Rabi רבי (Rabbi)
Rabanim רבנים (Rabbis)
Rabani (Rabbinic)
Rabi Yhoshua Ben Khananya רבי יהושע בן חנניה (Rabbi Joshua Son of Hanania)
Yhoshua Ben Yosef יהושע בן יוסף (Joshua Son of Joseph) (Historical Jesus)
Mashiakh (Anointed King) (an official representative of an ideal government of Yisrael according to Tora)
Tshuva תשובה (Return to God) (Repentance) (Returning to the way of Tora)
WITH OR WITHOUT A RETURN
The Book of the Talmud agrees with Rabi Yhoshua Ben Khananya. God will make the Days of Mashiakh happen. This is a future time when an ideal government prevails for a thousand years. One way or an other.
One way, is by Tshuva. Humans returning to God, doing Tora, optimizing compassion and justice, and trusting God to allow this effort to succeed.
An other way, is by humans veering away from God. If humans do not return, God allows their fear and lack of trust to spawn cruel governments. Eventually humans cannot survive such oppression, except by returning to God and trusting in God to press on.
But even if humans continue to veer away from God, God guarantees the Days of Mashiakh will happen. Ultimately, there is a deadline at the beginning of the seventh millennium. No matter what, God ensures the thousand years of this ideal government will happen by this time. God creates the universe in a way that makes the age inevitable.
If this optimal government begins with return, then it can start early - even today. It is possible for humans to get a headstart, to enjoy life now, with even miraculous assistance.
If this optimal government begins without return, by defaulting to the deadline at the start of the seventh millennium, then sadly, humans undergo massive suffering before that deadline. Moreover the “holy one”, the government official that accomplishes this ideal government does so under total humiliation.
Nevertheless. The thousand years of joy will happen. Either way.
Talmud, Sanhedrin 97b
(Stein Atle Vere 2012. Translation to English. brakha.blogspot.com)
(Talmud Bavli. Organization: Mechon Mamre 2002. mechon-mamre.org):
Rabi Yhoshua (Ben Khananya) said to (Rabi Eliezer):
If theres no (Yisrael) doing a return (to God),
(then) theres no being redeemed,
but the Holy (God) - that one is blessed! - makes a king stand (with hostility) to them,
that his decrees are (as) cruel as Haman.
And (thereby) Yisrael do a return (to God).
And (God) makes them revert to doing well.
...
And is it not already being said?:
(Yhoshua 49'):
God the redeemer of Yisrael said thusly:
And (with regard to) his holy one,
lifeforce is to despise (him),
a (foreign) ethnicity is to abhor (him).
(He is) to (be) the servant of (foreign) rulers.
אמר ליה רבי יהושע
אם אין עושין תשובה
אין נגאלין אלא הקב״ה מעמיד להן מלך
שגזרותיו קשות כהמן
וישראל עושין תשובה
ומחזירן למוטב
...
והלא כבר נאמר
כה אמר ה׳ גואל ישראל
וקדושו לבזה נפש למתעב גוי לעבד מושלים
According to the Talmud, God guarantees to redeem humanity.
God will ensure humans enter this thousand years of Mashiakh. Either by the difficult way of humans returning to God and doing their part in Tora. Or by the painful way of humans veering from God and defaulting to a cruel life that is with fear and without trust.
But even if humans choose the painful way, God empowers a holy leader who can withstand the predatory instinct of foreign governments and can succeed in establishing a holy government among the Kinship of Yisrael. When this government succeeds, all of the governments of humanity will ratify treaties to participate in it.
COME IN BY THE NARROW ENTRANCE
The Book of Matityahu, portrays Yhoshua Ben Yosef teaching Tora. Yhoshua evidences an early form of the understanding of the Talmud, about the arrival of the thousand years of Mashiakh.
This is a new age, when all of humanity enters an ideal government of holiness, compassion-and-justice, that persists for a thousand years.
God will accomplish it, one way or an other. If humans do Tora and optimize a difficult life of sharing, wisdom, and trusting, then humans can achieve and enter this miraculous government - even now. Early. Without tragedy.
Alternatively, if humans veer away from Tora and default to a “convenient” life of fear, shortsightedness, and predation, then humans manifest the governments of oppression and death.
Nevertheless, both of these “entrances” inevitably lead into the Kingdom of the Heavens. Ultimately. God guarantees this ideal government will happen one way or an other.
Book of Matityahu 7'13-14
(Stein Atle Vere 2012. Translations from Greek to Hebrew to English. brakha.blogspot.com)
(Novum Testamentum Graece. NA27 1998):
Come (in) by the narrow entrance.
Because broad is the entrance.
And spacious is the way leading to destruction.
And masses are the ones going (in) by it.
And narrow is the entrance.
And pressed is the way leading to lives.
And few are the ones (even) finding it.
בֹּאוּ בַּפֶּתַח הַצָּר
כִּי רָחָב הַפֶּתַח
וּמְרֻוַּחַת הַדֶּרֶךְ הַמּוֹלִיכָה לַאֲבַדּוֹן
וְרַבִּים הַהוֹלְכִים בוֹ ׃
וְצַר הַפֶּתַח
וּלְחוּצָה הַדֶּרֶךְ הַמּוֹלִיכָה לַחַיִּים
וּמְעַטִּים הַמּוֹצְאִים אוֹתוֹ ׃
εἰσέλθατε διὰ τῆς στενῆς πύλης ·
ὅτι πλατεῖα ἡ πύλη
καὶ εὐρύχωρος ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ἀπώλειαν ,
καὶ πολλοί εἰσιν οἱ εἰσερχόμενοι δι αὐτῆς ·
τί στενὴ ἡ πύλη
καὶ τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ζωήν ,
καὶ ὀλίγοι εἰσὶν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν .
There are two ways for humanity to enter paradise. The difficult way or the painful way.
The way of Tora discerns useful limits, to channel the energy of selfish desires toward altruistic goals. Both compassion and justice are important. The optimal way is subtle, involving balance - even hard to recognize.
Alternatively, the painful way results in death and destruction for most of humanity.
Nevertheless, ultimately, both entrances lead into the Kingdom of the Heavens, the government of paradise.
God desires a great destiny for the human species.
One way or an other, humans will learn to avoid future errors.
