The Catholic Church is under withering attack everywhere today. Why would anyone want to join such a Church? I would. And I did. My reasons have accumulated as the years have passed, but first and foremost was a fulfillment of Rabbi Yeshua‘s prophecy in our own time!
Rabbi Yeshua told the Jews in the Temple, “Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” Lk 21:24. Rabbi Paul explained, “A hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in” Rom 11:25.
This is the story:
Soon after Pentecost Acts 2:1–12, the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem raised a great persecution against the young Christian Church Acts 8:1-3. It continued until the First Jewish Revolt of AD 66-70 when Rome began persecuting both Jews and Christians and destroyed the Second Temple and with it all Jerusalem. Especially after the Bar Kokhba Revolt of AD 132-135 Jerusalem remained either partly or entirely under Gentile control for two thousand years, the “times of the Gentiles.”
But as a result of Israel’s Six Day War, June 5-10 1967, all Jerusalem was for the first time in thousands of years firmly under Jewish authority, no longer trodden down by the Gentiles! On June 10, 1967 the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled! Lk 21:24.
Rabbi Paul‘s prophecy was also fulfilled Rom 11:25. During all of those two thousand years virtually no Jews had come into the Church. Certainly there have been a few, most prominently St. Edith Stein and Rabbi Israel Zolli, but a very small number among a population of millions. However, after June 10, 1967 when Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled, Jews began streaming into the Catholic Church. The Association of Hebrew Catholics was formed to welcome the new Hebrew Catholics.
During the late 1960s Satan began a ferocious assault against the whole world, but especially against Jews and Catholics, the two faith communities with national revelations. Rabbi Yeshua is using the opportunity to prepare the Church for this extraordinary phase of his war against Satan. He is allowing Satan‘s assaults to shake lukewarm Catholics off the Catholic tree as he promised Rev 3:16.
My Marty page describes God‘s call, but this section explains Why I Believe. My beautiful Irene, a lifelong Catholic, reflected Rabbi Yeshua‘s glory into my eyes, but I had to believe that the Catholic faith was absolutely true. I had always been interested in philosophy and physics, but after the call I became aware of the Big Bang. I’d had a strong lifelong belief in God since early childhood, but it had been entirely faith-based.
Now I saw that it was consistent with science and, in my thinking, irrefutable. I began to integrate my Jewish understanding of Genesis and the other Scriptures with other observations I had been making. Since a college philosophy class I had been interested in epistemology, which answers the question, “How do we know that we know?”, and began reading further about this science before science.
After Rabbi Yeshua‘s call came as a vivid vision of him walking beside me, I knew that in the eternal election I had to answer as Abram had, and immediately asked Irene‘s pastor for baptism. Within weeks after my baptism Rabbi Yeshua gave me my life’s mission: “Communicate my Word as far and wide as you can.” I knew I would have to provide secure answers to many questions. Rabbi Yeshua himself would be watching! I asked for a lot of help, and began study the wider Catholic perspective. Dr. Anthony Rizzi and Father Robert Spitzer were the two great pillars of my understanding. There were a few other areas, and I added them to share with you.
Rabbi Yeshua has always emphasized total commitment.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets Mt 22:37–40.
It’s an exciting time to be a Catholic. The war is on. This lifelong war is won as Rabbi Yeshua taught, through heroic love for God and neighbor. As the Catholic Church assures us, § 1022 “At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love.”
Our particular judgment, while extremely important, is not the same as God‘s final victory over Satan.
§ 677 The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God’s triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgement after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.
Rabbi Yeshua even gave us preparation and comfort in his Sermon on the Mount:
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you. Mt 5:11–12.
§ 1-3 This is the life of man, to know and love God. Everyone is welcome.
It’s real.
