The Zionist and Jewish subtexts of Shimon-Peter's sermon on Shavuot: The Holy Spirit poured out on all flesh?

The apostle Peter's speech in the temple courtyard on Shavuot / Pentecost, as recorded in the book of Acts, chapter 2. Including the Zionist and Jewish subtexts which were omitted from the sermon, as recorded, possibly redacted by later church censors. Response to christian efforts to convert Jews, and to anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist polemics that ensue. (Substantially revised and expanded on 16 Tammuz 5784)

רוח הקודש ונבוא ביהדות

Study the prerequisite sources on Prophecy and the Holy Spirit in Judaism, and consult your local talmidei hachamim for analysis and application to this drash, which refutes supercessionist replacement theology and Christian anti-Zionism on the basis of its own foundational text.

Once, when he was eating with them he announced, "Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, whereof you've heard from me. For John baptized you with water, but in a few days you all will be baptized with the holy spirit". Acts 1:4-5. That this "baptism" would occur on Chag Shavuot/Pentecost demonstrates that the Qabbalat Torah is the "promise of the Father", and the re-enactment of Matan Torah every year on Shavuot, is the essential element of the "baptism of the holy spirit" described here, together with belief in the resurrection and earnest hope for messianic redemption. All of these are fundamentals of the faith of orthodox Judaism.

His disciples asked him: "Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6) This questions demonstrates that messianic zionism as final redemption was a fundamental element of their faith, and their rebbe's response does not reject that element in the slightest, it only refutes "at this time", and lays out the order of operations in that program:
"It is not for you to know the hours or appointed times (χρονους η καιρους) that the Father has put under his own authority", Joshua responded, "but when the holy spirit comes upon you, you will be endued with power and will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth."
(Acts 1:7-8) He ascended into heaven immediately afterward, in verse 9, and is apparently still waiting for someone to be his witness in the Hague and explain to the bureaucrats of the ICJ that the place names used throughout the new testament are Judea, Samaria, and Israel, and that the name Palestine does not occur anywhere in that text, and that he's not a Palestinian.

The following are source texts of the Shavuot/Pentecost sermon given in the temple courtyards by the apostle Shimon-Peter, Cephas, according to the Book of Acts chapter 2. Afterward, I list the Zionist and Jewish subtexts which were omitted from the sermon as recorded, possibly in order to shield the original authors from prosecution and persecution for the revolutionary and anti-imperial potential of this movement. The general tenor of his words in the book of Acts, and in the two epistles of Peter, make clear that he remained an adherent of Judaism and a messianic Zionist throughout his life. If Peter were alive today, he would probably be cast out of the church as a heretic.

Like Acts and Peter's epistles, the evangelists, the Pauline and the other "catholic" epistles, and the apocalypse should be considered non-dogmatically within their own context, which was Jewish, and later among the communities that Paul addressed, Noahide and Jewish. An open-minded, non-dogmatic reading of the texts is generally not possible in the Christian context where they are most often read, being obviated by charismatic authoritarianism, social pressure, nationalistic pride, universal ambitions, and magical thinking that informs the doctrines that have come down from Nicaea and the ecumenical councils and are maintained even in the so-called protestant and evangelical churches today. Instead, consult your local orthodox rabbanim and hasidic rebbes on how to interpret and apply the mussar given by this sermon, and encourage wandering Jews and and your christian friends to exit the harlot of Babylon and give up the great apostasy of lawlessness.

יואל ג׳:א׳-ה׳

(א) וְהָיָ֣ה אַחֲרֵי־כֵ֗ן אֶשְׁפּ֤וֹךְ אֶת־רוּחִי֙ עַל־כׇּל־בָּשָׂ֔ר וְנִבְּא֖וּ בְּנֵיכֶ֣ם וּבְנוֹתֵיכֶ֑ם זִקְנֵיכֶם֙ חֲלֹמ֣וֹת יַחֲלֹמ֔וּן בַּח֣וּרֵיכֶ֔ם חֶזְיֹנ֖וֹת יִרְאֽוּ׃(ב) וְגַ֥ם עַל־הָעֲבָדִ֖ים וְעַל־הַשְּׁפָח֑וֹת בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔מָּה אֶשְׁפּ֖וֹךְ אֶת־רוּחִֽי׃(ג) וְנָֽתַתִּי֙ מֽוֹפְתִ֔ים בַּשָּׁמַ֖יִם וּבָאָ֑רֶץ דָּ֣ם וָאֵ֔שׁ וְתִֽימְר֖וֹת עָשָֽׁן׃(ד) הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ יֵהָפֵ֣ךְ לְחֹ֔שֶׁךְ וְהַיָּרֵ֖חַ לְדָ֑ם לִפְנֵ֗י בּ֚וֹא י֣וֹם יי הַגָּד֖וֹל וְהַנּוֹרָֽא׃(ה) וְהָיָ֗ה כֹּ֧ל אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָ֛א בְּשֵׁ֥ם יי יִמָּלֵ֑ט כִּ֠י בְּהַר־צִיּ֨וֹן וּבִירוּשָׁלַ֜͏ִם תִּֽהְיֶ֣ה פְלֵיטָ֗ה כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙ אָמַ֣ר יי וּבַ֨שְּׂרִידִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר יי קֹרֵֽא׃

Joel 3:1-5

(1) After that,
I will pour out My spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and daughters shall prophesy;
Your old men shall dream dreams,
And your young men shall see visions.(2) I will even pour out My spirit
Upon male and female slaves in those days.
(3) Before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes,^-a
I will set portents in the sky and on earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke;(4) The sun shall turn into darkness
And the moon into blood.(5) But everyone who invokes the name of the LORD shall escape; for there shall be a remnant on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the LORD promised. Anyone who invokes the LORD will be among the survivors.^-b

תהילים ט״ז:ח׳-י״א

(ח) שִׁוִּ֬יתִי יי לְנֶגְדִּ֣י תָמִ֑יד כִּ֥י מִֽ֝ימִינִ֗י בַּל־אֶמּֽוֹט׃(ט) לָכֵ֤ן ׀ שָׂמַ֣ח לִ֭בִּי וַיָּ֣גֶל כְּבוֹדִ֑י אַף־בְּ֝שָׂרִ֗י יִשְׁכֹּ֥ן לָבֶֽטַח׃(י) כִּ֤י ׀ לֹא־תַעֲזֹ֣ב נַפְשִׁ֣י לִשְׁא֑וֹל לֹֽא־תִתֵּ֥ן חֲ֝סִידְךָ֗ לִרְא֥וֹת שָֽׁחַת׃(יא) תּֽוֹדִיעֵנִי֮ אֹ֤רַח חַ֫יִּ֥ים שֹׂ֣בַע שְׂ֭מָחוֹת אֶת־פָּנֶ֑יךָ נְעִמ֖וֹת בִּימִינְךָ֣ נֶֽצַח׃ {פ}

Psalms 16:8-11

(8) I am ever mindful of the LORD’s presence;
He is at my right hand; I shall never be shaken.(9) So my heart rejoices,
my whole being exults,
and my body rests secure.(10) For You will not abandon me to Sheol,
or let Your faithful one see the Pit.(11) You will teach me the path of life.
In Your presence is perfect joy;
delights are ever in Your right hand.

תהילים קל״ב:י״א

(יא) נִשְׁבַּֽע־יי ׀ לְדָוִ֡ד אֱמֶת֮ לֹא־יָשׁ֢וּב מִ֫מֶּ֥נָּה מִפְּרִ֥י בִטְנְךָ֑ אָ֝שִׁ֗ית לְכִסֵּא־לָֽךְ׃

Psalms 132:11

(11) The LORD swore to David
a firm oath that He will not renounce,
“One of your own issue I will set upon your throne.

תהילים ט״ז:י׳

(י) כִּ֤י ׀ לֹא־תַעֲזֹ֣ב נַפְשִׁ֣י לִשְׁא֑וֹל לֹֽא־תִתֵּ֥ן חֲ֝סִידְךָ֗ לִרְא֥וֹת שָֽׁחַת׃

Psalms 16:10

(10) For You will not abandon me to Sheol,
or let Your faithful one see the Pit.

תהילים ק״י:א׳

(א) לְדָוִ֗ד מִ֫זְמ֥וֹר נְאֻ֤ם יי ׀ לַֽאדֹנִ֗י שֵׁ֥ב לִֽימִינִ֑י עַד־אָשִׁ֥ית אֹ֝יְבֶ֗יךָ הֲדֹ֣ם לְרַגְלֶֽיךָ׃

Psalms 110:1

(1) Of David. A psalm.

The LORD said to my lord,
“Sit at My right hand
while I make your enemies your footstool.”

ZIONIST AND JEWISH SUBTEXTS

Psalm 110:1 is also quoted by Hebrews 1:13, whose author holds this prophecy to refer to the Son of Miriam. Hebrews 7 contains a long discourse on the "priest forever in the order of Melchizedek" described in Psalm 110:4. Both of these citations of Psalm 110 omit the zionist and militant elements of that psalm, which may have been redacted by later church censors, so that the texts would better comply with the anti-zionist and anti-jewish doctrines of ecclesiology, soteriology, and trinitarian theology which became later mandatory in the ecumenical councils in the 4th century.

תהילים ק״י:ב׳-ג׳

(ב) מַטֵּֽה־עֻזְּךָ֗ יִשְׁלַ֣ח יי מִצִּיּ֑וֹן רְ֝דֵ֗ה בְּקֶ֣רֶב אֹיְבֶֽיךָ׃(ג) עַמְּךָ֣ נְדָבֹת֮ בְּי֢וֹם חֵ֫ילֶ֥ךָ בְּֽהַדְרֵי־קֹ֭דֶשׁ מֵרֶ֣חֶם מִשְׁחָ֑ר לְ֝ךָ֗ טַ֣ל יַלְדֻתֶֽיךָ׃

Psalms 110:2-3

(2) The LORD will stretch forth from Zion your mighty scepter;
hold sway over your enemies!(3) aMeaning of Heb. uncertain.Your people come forward willingly on your day of battle.
In majestic holiness, from the womb,
from the dawn, yours was the dew of youth.-a

Quoting the messianic prophecy of Psalm 132, Peter mentioned verse 11, but not 12-13 listed here, or at least the author of Acts (Luke) who was writing much later, did not record it. Either way, it would have been known, understood, and accepted by his (Jewish) audience though context, and through other Torah teaching about what the Messiah would do (teach the law).

תהילים קל״ב:י״ב-י״ג

(יב) אִֽם־יִשְׁמְר֬וּ בָנֶ֨יךָ ׀ בְּרִיתִי֮ וְעֵדֹתִ֥י ז֗וֹ אֲלַ֫מְּדֵ֥ם גַּם־בְּנֵיהֶ֥ם עֲדֵי־עַ֑ד יֵ֝שְׁב֗וּ לְכִסֵּא־לָֽךְ׃(יג) כִּי־בָחַ֣ר יי בְּצִיּ֑וֹן אִ֝וָּ֗הּ לְמוֹשָׁ֥ב לֽוֹ׃

Psalms 132:12-13

(12) If your sons keep My covenant
and My decrees that I teach them,
then their sons also,
to the end of time,
shall sit upon your throne.”(13) For the LORD has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His seat.

Later gentile christians deliberately ignored and forgot this obvious context, after they excommunicated the Notzrim, the Ebionities, and other Jewish-christians from the church. Perversely, they were excommunicated precisely for the act of keeping the covenant and the decrees.

The very salient first few verses of Psalm 16 are omitted from the sermon as recorded. They seem to renounce not only the blood-drinking cults of local canaanites, but all foreign religions other than the "saints and the nobles" of Torah Judaism as understood by David:

תהילים ט״ז:א׳-ד׳

(א) מִכְתָּ֥ם לְדָוִ֑ד שׇֽׁמְרֵ֥נִי אֵ֝֗ל כִּֽי־חָסִ֥יתִי בָֽךְ׃(ב) אָמַ֣רְתְּ לַֽ֭יי אדושם אָ֑תָּה ט֝וֹבָתִ֗י בַּל־עָלֶֽיךָ׃(ג) לִ֭קְדוֹשִׁים אֲשֶׁר־בָּאָ֣רֶץ הֵ֑מָּה וְ֝אַדִּירֵ֗י כׇּל־חֶפְצִי־בָֽם׃(ד) יִרְבּ֥וּ עַצְּבוֹתָם֮ אַחֵ֢ר מָ֫הָ֥רוּ בַּל־אַסִּ֣יךְ נִסְכֵּיהֶ֣ם מִדָּ֑ם וּֽבַל־אֶשָּׂ֥א אֶת־שְׁ֝מוֹתָ֗ם עַל־שְׂפָתָֽי׃

Psalms 16:1-4

(1) A michtamaMeaning of Heb. uncertain. of David.

Protect me, O God, for I seek refuge in You.(2) I say to the LORD,
“You are my Lord, bOthers “I have no good but in You.”my benefactor;
there is none above You.”-b(3) cMeaning of Heb. uncertain; “holy and mighty ones” taken as epithets for divine beings; cf. qedoshim in Ps. 89.6, 8, and ’addirim in 1 Sam. 4.8.As to the holy and mighty ones that are in the land,
my whole desire concerning them is that(4) those who espouse another [god]
may have many sorrows!-c
I will have no part of their bloody libations;
their names will not pass my lips.

תהילים ט״ז:ה׳-ז׳

(ה) יי מְנָת־חֶלְקִ֥י וְכוֹסִ֑י אַ֝תָּ֗ה תּוֹמִ֥יךְ גּוֹרָלִֽי׃(ו) חֲבָלִ֣ים נָֽפְלוּ־לִ֭י בַּנְּעִמִ֑ים אַף־נַ֝חֲלָ֗ת שָֽׁפְרָ֥ה עָלָֽי׃(ז) אֲבָרֵ֗ךְ אֶת־יי אֲשֶׁ֣ר יְעָצָ֑נִי אַף־לֵ֝יל֗וֹת יִסְּר֥וּנִי כִלְיוֹתָֽי׃

Psalms 16:5-7

(5) The LORD is my allotted share and portion;dLit. “cup.”
You control my fate.(6) Delightful country has fallen to my lot;
lovely indeed is my estate.(7) I bless the LORD who has guided me;
my conscienceeLit. “kidneys.” admonishes me at night.

Marcionite rescensions of the new testament removing its "Jewish" aspects are known to have been in wide circulation in the early church, along with the gnostic and neo-platonic writings, and it is possible that the new testament we have, although much more complete than Marcion's version of it, is a compromise with his wildly popular anti-Jewish version. The book of Acts may have been censored or redacted to remove its inherent elements of Zionism and Torah Judaism. Since the Nicean christian churches all claim to "Bride of the Lamb" (Apocalypse 21:9-10), and since the "New Jerusalem, descending from heaven" is explicitly described as "prepared like Bride, beautifully adorned for her man" (Apocalypse 21:2), therefore the interpretive error of the church required it also to claim, improbably, to be the "New Jerusalem" as well. This is how anti-zionism became foundational to christian identity, and a fundamental part of its anti-judaism, supercessionism, and replacement theology. These are all based on a profound interpretive and moral error, which is still realized from the time of Senora Helena in the 3rd century and up to our own day as the "church of the holy sepulchre", which is thought to be "the new Jerusalem" and is now the christian quarter of that city.

Whereas Holy Spirit in Judaism is manifested through the law, the "Holy Spirit" in christianity is thought to be anti-Law, having replaced it with grace and mercy, and manifested through the church, constituting a separate person of the godhead. The religion is more accurately described as "churchianity", a form of christian communism, regarding themselves as "Christ's hands and feet". Whereas Joshua Christ himself is someone they never knew, having accepted an idolatrous mis-representation of him instead, or in the case of protestants, a reconstructed misconception of his teaching and personal identity based on fundamental misreadings of the new testament. This leads to magical thinking, superstition, charismatic authoritarianism, and moral perversions characteristic of avodah zarah, therefore the anti-zionism and Jew-hatred, must be renounced by Noahides and converts to Judaism, as well as by anyone who sincerely wishes to be a disciple of the Notzri himself. Hegelian idealism and Marxist historic materialism both borrow Christian anti-Jewish eschatology and translate it into their dialectics, as Islam had earlier done. The anti-zionism of the progressive left is mish-mosh of all these otherwise incompatible ideologies, and that's why the Palestinian cause is so energizing and unifying for them: they can project onto it whichever utopian ideal is currently fashionable, all of which share the same common denominator of emancipating the world from Judaism, and "liberating" themselves from the law and the kingdom of God.

To that conspiracy or confluence of rebellion, Psalm 2 would give a relevant reproof. Simon-Peter himself preaches from that very psalm to the community of believers, immediately after he was released from questioning by the Sadducees and high priestly family of Annas and Caiaphas who arraigned him before the Sanhedrin, for having healed the cripple at the shaar tiferet of the mikdash and for preaching at Solomon's porch. That story begins at 3:1, with this quote given in 4:25 and explained immediately thereafter:

תהילים ב׳:א׳-ב׳

(א) לָ֭מָּה רָגְשׁ֣וּ גוֹיִ֑ם וּ֝לְאֻמִּ֗ים יֶהְגּוּ־רִֽיק׃(ב) יִ֥תְיַצְּב֨וּ ׀ מַלְכֵי־אֶ֗רֶץ וְרוֹזְנִ֥ים נֽוֹסְדוּ־יָ֑חַד עַל־יי וְעַל־מְשִׁיחֽוֹ׃

Psalms 2:1-2

(1) Why do nations assemble,
and peoples plotaLit. “utter.” vain things;(2) kings of the earth take their stand,
and regents intrigue together
against the LORD and against His anointed?

ראו גם:

The sermon contains allusions to these verses, though not direct quotes:

שמואל ב ז׳:י״ב-י״ד

(יב) כִּ֣י ׀ יִמְלְא֣וּ יָמֶ֗יךָ וְשָֽׁכַבְתָּ֙ אֶת־אֲבֹתֶ֔יךָ וַהֲקִימֹתִ֤י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֵצֵ֖א מִמֵּעֶ֑יךָ וַהֲכִינֹתִ֖י אֶת־מַמְלַכְתּֽוֹ׃(יג) ה֥וּא יִבְנֶה־בַּ֖יִת לִשְׁמִ֑י וְכֹנַנְתִּ֛י אֶת־כִּסֵּ֥א מַמְלַכְתּ֖וֹ עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃(יד) אֲנִי֙ אֶֽהְיֶה־לּ֣וֹ לְאָ֔ב וְה֖וּא יִֽהְיֶה־לִּ֣י לְבֵ֑ן אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּהַ֣עֲוֺת֔וֹ וְהֹֽכַחְתִּיו֙ בְּשֵׁ֣בֶט אֲנָשִׁ֔ים וּבְנִגְעֵ֖י בְּנֵ֥י אָדָֽם׃

II Samuel 7:12-14

(12) When your days are done and you lie with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own issue, and I will establish his kingship.(13) He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish his royal throne forever.(14) I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to Me. When he does wrong, I will chastise him with the rod of men and the affliction of mortals;^-d

Acts 2:39 "In effect, the promise is for you and for your children, for the gerim, that is to say, for everyone whom the Lord our God will call"

ישעיהו נ״ז:י״ט

(יט) בּוֹרֵ֖א (נוב)[נִ֣יב] שְׂפָתָ֑יִם שָׁל֨וֹם ׀ שָׁל֜וֹם לָרָח֧וֹק וְלַקָּר֛וֹב אָמַ֥ר יי וּרְפָאתִֽיו׃

Isaiah 57:19

(19) heartening, comforting words:
It shall be well,
Well with the far and the near
—said the LORD—
And I will heal them.

Acts 2:40: "Save yourself from this perverse generation", echos the warning in Deuteronomy 32:5, Psalm 78:8, and Psalm 95, which is treated midrashically in Hebrews 3 and 4, and is the opening call to prayer on the afternoon of the 6th day, immediately before the liturgy of qabbalat shabbat: "Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah"

גרעד Jared בן נח Essig

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