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Battle for the Tibetan Mind
A comparison of Tibetan Buddhist and Biblical meanings of key terms
by Matthew Heber
Introduction
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Each of the following key words appears in the Tibetan Bible (the Bible translated into the Tibetan language)…
en$r-cd- (soong rab) is the word for scripture...
[q(]-fy(e- (Kön Chok) is the word for G-d…
NÒ#e-a- (dig pa) is the word for sin...
pc-d- (thar ba) is the word for salvation...
N«Ådn-fe(]- (Kyab Gön) is the word for Savior...
Within the Tibetan Buddhist world, each of these words holds two or more different meanings. One meaning is
that which is expressed in the Bible.a The other meaning is that which is in the minds of those who maintain
the Tibetan Buddhist world view. When Tibetans hear the word ‘Kön Chok’ or come across the word in the Tibetan Bible, their understanding of the nature and character of Kön Chok is entirely influenced by their world
view. In other words, the Biblical meaning of the word may be overruled by their world-view understanding of
the word.b
To say that all Tibetans think the same would be wrong. The Tibetan Buddhist world view varies somewhat
from person to person. Those who have been part of the community of Buddhist monks and nuns since they
were children may be mostly influenced in their thinking by Mahayana Buddhist traditions. Tibetan of all ages
and backgrounds are to varying degrees influenced by ancient Bön, the pre-Buddhist animist-shamanist religion of Tibet. And the younger Tibetans may as well be influenced by Western cultural values. Therefore, all
may assign slightly different meanings to the above key words. The point is this: if their understanding of a particular word differs in any way from the meaning intended by the writers of the Scriptures, confusion and misunderstanding will result.
“Battle for the Tibetan Mind” has been written in a ‘Question and Answer’ format. Basic and fundamental life
questions are asked. These questions may not be considered fundamental or even relevant for those who hold
a Buddhist world view considering the seventh element of the Eightfold Path (avoid reflection on unprofitable
questions). However, from an eternal perspective, for all people, the questions are fundamental. Two answers
are provided to each question, one Buddhist and the other Biblical. I trust that this document will clearly explain
the Tibetan Buddhist meaning and the Biblical meaning, and thereby make clear the difference between their
Buddhist and Biblical meanings.
a
Words are defined by their context, i.e. a word means what the context says it means. Taken outside the context (in this
case the context of Scripture), a word can be assigned a completely different meaning.
b Even within the context of Scripture, words can be misunderstood because they are interpreted through the world-view
of the reader or hearer, or reinterpreted through the process of ‘deconstruction’ of Scripture. Either way, the intended
meaning as defined by the context is lost.
2
Contents
1. What are the scriptures?
en$r-cd-e-c*-c*[!
5
2. Where did the universe come from?
zjf-d$-EÃ#r-e-]n-c*[!
8
[q(]-fy(e-n$-c*[!
3. Who is G-d?
14
4. Who am I?
r-n$-x#]!
20
5. What is sin?
NÒ#e-a-e-c*-c*[!
28
NÒ#e-az#-zdCn-a$-e-c*-c*[!
       34
6. What is the consequence of sin?
7. What is salvation?
pc-d-e-c*-c*[!
38
8. How does a man attain salvation?
pc-d-e-z[}n-ce-x(r-rn!
41
9. Who is the Savior of the world?
zu#e-¯*]-R#-NÏÅdn-fe(]-n$-
c*[!    
10. Who is Yeshuwa?
 
11. Tsering
49
x*-b^-d-n$-c*[!





52
h¡-c#r-!
59
12. Who died for me?
rn-y*[-[^-n$-b#-d-c*[!  
62
3

x*-b^-dz#-è*n-n$-zeC(äX^-f#-h¡-z[#-v-e-c*-DÃ(n-e[r-[e(n-c*[! 71
13. What is the cost of following Yeshuwa?
14. Tibetans and the Jewish People
73
Bibliography
78
The central principal of Buddhist philosophy…
interconnected arising (Pratitya-samutpada):
All phenomena exist in dependence on something else.
Nothing comes into being without a cause.
“This being, that comes to be; from this arising, that arises; this being absent,
that is not; this ceasing, that ceases” (Samyutta Nikaya).
4
The central truth of the Bible...
atoning sacrifice ():
Man the sinner is reconciled with the Creator God (hwhy)
through faith in the atoning sacrifice, i.e. faith in the shed blood,
of Messiah Yeshuwa (xy$x h (w$y) on the cross...
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3.16).
1. What are the scriptures?
en$r-cd-e-c*-c*[!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the Tibetan Bible, the word for ‘scripture’ is… soong rab
en$r-cd-
en$r- means "voice."
rab cd- means "superior, excellent."
soong rab en$r-cd- means "excellent voice.” a
soong
ß
Buddhist meaning
Tibetan Buddhist scripturesb (Tibetan Buddhist Canon): The Tibetan Buddhist scriptures are in two parts…
dqz-zR^c-
1. Kangyur
: the primary part is called the Kangyur. The Kangyur is a collection of the
a
sutras and tantras of the Buddha. The Kangyur is composed of 108 volumes. These volumes were
originally written in the Sanskritb language.
a
Jäschke, H.. A Tibetan English Dictionary. (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1992), 524, 589.
Tibetan Buddhist scriptures: as early as 173 AD, certain Buddhist scriptures arrived in southern Tibet from India. During the third century the scriptures were spread abroad in northern Tibet, at that time a separate kingdom. In 641 AD,
King Songsten Gampo unified Tibet and married Buddhist Princesses from Nepal and China. He established Buddhist
temples across Tibet, including the Potala Palace in Lhasa. In 774 AD, the tantric mystic Padmasambhava arrived in Tibet at the invitation of King Trisong Detsen. Padmasambhava merged Tantric Buddhism (Indian *Vajrayana Buddhism)
with the local *Bön religion. The merging of the two belief systems resulted in what is now recognized as Tibetan Buddhism. Padmasambhava wrote a number of scriptures, and established the Nyingma school from which all schools of Tibetan Buddhism are derived. Eventually, many Sanskrit texts were translated into Tibetan. The Tibetan scholar, Buston
(1290-1364), edited the Tibetan texts and organized them into the Kangyur and the Tengyur… *Vajrayana Buddhism
(Diamond Vehicle) is part of the Mahayana school. The distinctive teaching of the Mahayana Buddhism (Greater Vehicle) is that of compassion for all sentient beings. The practitioner delays his own nirvana until all other beings have been
liberated from samsara… *Bön: the name means ‘invocation’ and refers to the conjuring of spirits by magic formulas.
Ancient Bön is the Persian influenced pre-Buddhist occultist and pantheist-animist-shamanist religion of Tibet.
b
5
dN¿]-zR^c-
2. Tengyur
: the secondary part is called the Tengyur. The Tengyur is the commentaries on Buddhist doctrine. The Tengyur is composed of about 225 volumes.
The Tibetan Buddhist scriptures are understood to be guides to spiritual insight. Once spiritual insight has
been obtained, the teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist scriptures may be discarded. The Buddhist then sets out
to realize absolute truth by himself. For a Buddhist, absolute truth lies beyond words.c
The Tibetan Buddhist scriptures are worshipped with butter lamps and incense. They have these qualities:




the Tibetan Buddhist scriptures are without grammatical errors.
are given for the sake of eliminating suffering.
describe the methods for attaining liberation.
teach the benefits of overcoming obstacles to enlightenment.d
†
Biblical meaning
Tibetan Bible (the Biblee translated into Tibetanf): the Tibetan word soong rab is used in the Tibetan Bible to
mean Scripture or the Scriptures;g "from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures,h which can give you
the wisdom that leads to deliverance through trusting in Yeshuwa the Messiah [Yeshuwa ha Mashiyach]. All
Scripture is God-breathed,i and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living" (2 Timothy 3.15-16)…
"See, the Word of God is alive! It is at work and is sharper than any double-edged sword – it
cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow, and it is quick to judge
the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart”j (Hebrews 4.12; also Isaiah 40.8; 55.10-11).
G-dk put His thoughts into the minds of specific individuals.a All but one of these individuals were Jewish.b
They lived on the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. They wrote the Bible over a period of about fifteenhundred years. The Bible has two parts…
a
Sutras are the teachings of the Buddha.
Sanskrit: all italicized words in this document are Sanskrit. Sanskrit is an ancient language, the precursor to languages
of the Indian subcontinent. Sanskrit is the official language used in Hinduism and in its original text of the Upanishads
(the concluding portion of the Vedas).
c The real spiritual experience lies beyond and outside the bounds of the text.
d Tsering, Marcu. Key Terms, 174.
e The word ‘Bible’ comes from the Greek ‘Biblia’ meaning “books.” The word ‘Bible’ came to be used as a singular noun
as the books of the Bible were thought of as a unity.
f The Bible was translated into literary Tibetan (fin. 1948; complete process took 90 years). This literary Tibetan translation has been a challenge for the lay-Tibetan to understand. Work on the colloquial Tibetan translation has been underway
for a number of years. The Bible was originally written for the common man, using their everyday spoken language.
Therefore every translation should likewise be colloquial.
g Scripture(s): Heb. ketab (kaph-tav-beyth) (3791), writing… Scripture: Gk. graphe (1124), a writing, thing written. Note:
every Hebrew (Heb.) and Greek (Gk.) word in the footnotes of this document is followed by its Strong’s number and
meaning. The Hebrew word is also followed by the Hebrew spelling (consonants). Hebrew consonants may, in certain
writings, be written with a system of dots and dashes called nikkud (points). Most nikkud are used to indicate vowels.
Modern Hebrew is not pointed. Likewise in this document, the nikkud are not indicated except in special instances where
pronunciation needs to be clarified.
h Synonymous with Scripture(s): the Bible; Holy Scriptures (Romans 1.2); the Hebrew-Christian Scriptures; the Word of
G-d (Hebrews 4.12); the Word (James 1.21-23); the Word of life (Phil. 2.16); the Book (Rev. 22.19).
i G-d-breathed: Gk. theopneustos (2315), divinely breathed in.
j Soul: Gk. psyche (5590), breath (see Rev. 6.9); Spirit: Gk. pneuma (4151); Heart: Gk. kardia (2588).
k Orthodox Jews carry their respect for the sacredness of the divine name into English translation and write G-d (vs. God)
and L-rd (vs. Lord).
b
6
1. The Jewish Tanakhc is the first part. The Tanakh is composed of 24 books. These books were originally written in the Semitic languages of Hebrew and Aramaic,d and were written over a period of
about 1000 years. The first book of the Tanakh is called Bere’sheet (Gk. Genesis).e
2. The New Covenantf is the second part. The New Covenant completes the Tanakh. The New Covenant
is made up of 27 books. These books were originally written in Greek.g These books were written over
a period of about 100 years. The Gospel of Matthew,h possibly the earliest gospel, was written around
A. D. 64.
The central message of the Scriptures is the story of reconciliation with G-d, that is, salvation. Throughout the
Tanakh and the New Covenant, three strands in this unfolding story of salvation can be seen: the bringer of
salvation, the way of salvation, and the heirs of salvation. “The unifying thread [of the Bible] is salvation from
sin and condemnation to a life of complete transformation and unending bliss in the presence of the one, merciful, holy God.”i
The Word of G-d has these qualities:
 Scripture teaches menj about G-d.
 no religious book except the Bible teaches that G-d completely forgives sin (Psalm 51.1, 9; Isaiah 38.17;
Hebrews 10.17).
 Scripture shows the follower of the Messiah how to live... "thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully
equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3.17).
 Scripture is inspired and inerrant.k The Bible is the source of absolute truth, both temporal and eternal, for
all peoples in all cultures, in every generation past, present and future. If the Bible does not communicate
a
There were over forty men, including peasants, poets, shepherds, scholars, musicians, tax collectors, farmers, fishermen,
military leaders and kings.
b Luke, the exception, was a physician and Gentile. Gentile: Gk. ethnos  (1484), race, nation; spec. foreign (nonJewish) nations. Note that Jewish people are also referred to as Hebrews and Israelites.
c Synonymous with Tanakh: Written Torah; Hebrew Scriptures; Hebrew Bible; the Book of the Law (Neh. 8.3); the Law
of the LORD (Psalm 1.2); the Old Testament (note: the 39 books of the OT are in a different order than the 24 books of
the Tanakh). The word Tanakh is an acronym made from the first letter of the three main divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures: Torah (Law), Nevi’im (Prophets), Kethuvim (Writings).
d Hebrew and Aramaic: these two languages are linguistically very similar. They are called Semitic languages because
they were spoken by the descendants of Noah’s son, Shem. Most of the Tanakh is written in Hebrew. Jewish people have
always called Hebrew ‘The Holy Tongue,’ as many believe that it was chosen to convey G-d’s message to humanity.
e The first five books of the Tanakh are Bere’sheet (Gk. Genesis), Shemot (Gk. Exodus), Vayikra (Lat. Leviticus), Bemidbar (Numbers) and Devariym (Deuteronomy). These books were written by Moshe, and contain the history of the
Jewish people from creation until the death of Moshe. Together these five books are known as the Torah. Torah (tav-vavreysh-he) (8451), teaching, (written) law. See Exodus 33.11; Lev. 19.18; Deut. 33.4.
f Covenant: Heb. berit (beyth-reysh-yowd-tav) (1285), arrangement between two parties, contract, covenant, covenant
between G-d and man (specifically the Jewish people)… Covenant: Gk. diatheke (1242), a compact, contract, covenant,
testament. The Greek word diatheke can also mean testament in the sense of a devisory will. Therefore, the second part of
the Bible, commonly referred to as the New Testament, will in this document be referred to as the New Covenant. See
Jeremiah 31.31; also Hebrews 8.8-12.
g Greek: Koine (common) Greek was the international language at the time of Jesus, similar to English today, and all the
manuscript evidence at this time points to Greek originals for all the New Covenant books. While Greek was the international language of the day, Aramaic was the native language of Yeshuwa and the disciples as it was the local language of
Palestine and much of Syria. There are a few Aramaic phrases in the NC (Mark 5.41 (“talitha qum”); Mark 15.34; etc.).
h The first four books of the NT are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Gospel: Gk. euaggelion (2098), a
good message (see Romans 1.16-17).
i McDowell, Josh. The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), 6. The
Bible should be read from Genesis through to Revelation in order to get a full picture of the message of salvation.
j The words ‘men’ or ‘man’ refer to every man, woman, and child of every nation and generation past, present, future.
k The words ‘inspired’ and ‘inerrant’ can be linked together by using the logic “G-d is truth. Therefore His word is truth,
i.e. without error or falsity.” See Psalm 119.160; Proverbs 30.5; John 17.17; Hebrews 6.18 etc..
7
truth about the temporal world, it cannot be trusted when it speaks about the spiritual world (Daniel 10.21;
John 3.12 and 17.17; 2 Cor. 4.18).
 the Bible is a scientific and historic record, verified by archaeology.
 the Bible is a prophetic record. “Yes, we have the prophetic Word made very certain. You will do well to
pay attention to it as to a light shining in a dark, murky place, until the Day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts. First of all, understand this: no prophecy of Scripture is to be interpreted by an individual
on his own; for never has a prophecy come as a result of human willing – on the contrary, people moveda
by the Holy Spirit [Ruwach ha Qadowsh] spoke a message from God” (2 Peter 1.19-21). Two major
themes of prophecy run through the Bible, from Bere’sheet to Revelation: 1. Israel (the Jewish people)b 2.
Messiah (bringer of salvation) who comes to Israel and through Israel to the world.
 the Word of G-d is complete and eternal. “Tanakh cannot be brokenc” (John 10.35; also Psalm 19.7-8;
119.89, 160; Isaiah 30.8; 40.8; Matt. 5.17-18; 24.35; Luke 16.17; 1 Peter 1.24-25; Rev. 22.18-19).
“For out of Zion shall come forth Torah
And the Word of Adonai from Yerushalayim [Jerusalem]” (Isaiah 2.3b).
2. Where did the universe come from?
zjf-d$-EÃ#r-e-]n-c*[!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“The Milky Way’s core emits large amounts of x-rays from a quickly rotating source roughly 2 degrees in size.
Astronomers believe the source may be a supermassive black hole lurking behind the dust of our galaxy’s
core. As material succumbs to the black hole’s enormous gravitational pull, it swirls into the black hole – much
as water spirals down a drain – and releases X-rays along the way.”d
“A new study reveals that the center of our Milky Way Galaxy is loaded with black holes, as astronomers have
expected in recent years. The galactic center is dominated by one supermassive black hole. It packs a mass
equal to about 3 million Suns. Around it, scientists have expected to find a high concentration of stellar black
holes, the sort that result from the collapse of massive stars. Each can be a few to many times the mass of the
Sun. Observations have hinted at the existence of many stellar black holes near the galactic center.”e
“Black holes, the universe's biggest vacuum cleaners, deform space and time surrounding
them, two teams of astrophysicists reported on the sidelines of the American Astronomical
Society's winter meeting. John Miller, of Harvard University's astrophysical center at Boston,
Massachusetts, was able to see gas particles literally "surfing" a spacetimef wave around a
black hole known as GRS 1915+105, some 40,000 light years away in the Aquila constellation. His observations have confirmed a key theory that nothing is able to escape a black
hole's extreme gravitational field, not even light waves… The data shows that "black holes are
such extreme objects that they can actually warp and drag the fabric of spacetime around with
a
Moved: Gk. pheromenoi (5342), to be moved inwardly (in the mind), prompted.
Israel: 78% of the Bible focuses on Israel.
c Break: Gk. luo (3089), to dissolve, annul, subvert; to do away with; to deprive of authority.
d Glover, Linda K.. National Geographic Encyclopedia of Space. (Washington D.C.: National Geographic), 52.
e Britt, Robert Roy. Milky Way’s center packed with black holes. Tues. Jan. 11, 2005.
f Spacetime: we live in three dimensions of space. As we move through the three dimensions of space (i.e. along the x, y,
z axis), we also move through time; hence the four-dimensional continuum called spacetime.
b
8
them as they spin," the scientists reported. "Gas whipping around the black hole has no
choice but to ride that wave of choppy spacetime sea that distorts everything falling into the
black hole," they added… They made their observations with the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration's Rossi-X Timing Explorer satellite, the most powerful orbiting X-ray telescope. A second team of astrophysicists headed by Jane Turner working jointly with NASA's
Goddard space-flight center and the astrophysical center of the University of Maryland was
also able to see three extremely hot sets of particles the size of our Sun turn around a black
hole at 32,000 kilometers (20,000 miles) per second -- more than 10 percent the speed of
light. In their observations, made with the XMM-Newton satellite of the European Space
Agency, scientists were able to see for the first time a particle of matter spinning completely
around a black hole… The small, but very black hole Turner and Miller trained their instrument
on lies in the Makarian galaxy, some 170 million light years away in the constellation Coma
Berenices.”a
ß
According to Buddhist tradition, the universe is not an independently existing place with a beginning and an
end in time. Rather, the universe is a cyclically recurring phenomenon without beginning or end. The universe
is the result of interactions between causes and conditions (interconnected arising). There is no place for a
Divine creation. The universe was not made by any Being. And yet, as the Dalai Lama says, there must have
been an initial cause.b

interconnected arising, pratitya-samutpada, interdependence, dependent origination, conditioned genesis, causal nexus, causality: interconnected arising is the central principle of Buddhist philosophy. The
principle states thisc - all phenomena exist in dependence on something else. Nothing comes into being
a
Black holes deform space and time around them: scientists. Tues. Jan. 11, 2005.
The Dalai Lama. The Good Heart. (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1996), 55… Buddhist tradition does not exactly deny
the existence of a creator. But it is not really interested to know who created the universe. The purpose of Buddhist doctrine [i.e. teaching] is to release beings from suffering. And speculations concerning the creator and the origin of the universe are considered to be immaterial to that task. These speculations are not merely a waste of time. They may also postpone one’s deliverance from suffering (Conze, E.. Buddhism: Its Essence and Development, 2nd ed. (New York: Harper &
Row, 1959), 39).
c The principle states, in other words, that “all physical and mental manifestations which constitute individual appearances are interdependent and condition or affect one another, in a constant process of arising and ceasing to be” (Bowker,
John. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 740).
b
9
without a cause.a The entire Buddhist world-viewb is based on this principle. Within this world-view, "it is
almost impossible to have any room for an atemporal, eternal, absolute truth."c
†
"What is behind the universe is more like a mind than it is like anything else we know. That is to say, it is conscious, and has purposes, and prefers one thing to another…"d
"In the beginninge God createdf the heavensg and the earth.h
a
The Buddhist philosophy of interdependence assumes that the physical universe is a closed system where every event
(effect) has a natural cause that originates within the system. Note that the first and second laws of thermodynamics (laws
of energy conservation and deterioration) express the fact that in any closed system, there must always be a decrease of
order or organization unless energy is continuously introduced from outside the system to counteract the natural trend.
Any closed system left to itself will eventually convert all its available energy into non-recoverable heat energy and will
cease to function. “This law [the second law of thermodynamics] states that, left to itself, any physical system will decay
with time; matter tends to become increasingly disorganized” (Barrett, Eric C.. Scientists Who Believe. (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1984), 5). Furthermore, the universe is expanding in a systematic way, i.e. the galaxies are receding from us at a
velocity proportional to their distance – the more distant the galaxy, the higher the velocity (see Hubble’s Law). “… theorists are still divided on explanations for the ever-increasing speed with which the universe is expanding… scientists observed that the universe had been expanding since the Big Bang, the theoretical instant that the universe began with a giant rush of energy” (Goudarzi, Sara. Nearby evidence for dark energy. Tues. Mar. 22, 2005). The galaxies are moving
away with space, as space itself expands. Given the fact that space is expanding, there must have been a moment in history when this expansion began.
b A ‘world-view’ is a way of looking at reality. It consists of basic assumptions and images that provide a way of thinking
about the world. One’s world-view may or may not be accurate (Michael Kearney - anthropologist).
c The Dalai Lama, The Good Heart. ibid., 82.
d Lewis, C. S.. Mere Christianity. (Glasgow: Fontana, 1952), 30.
e In the beginning: The first book of the Bible is called Genesis. In Hebrew, this book is called Bere’sheet (beyth-reyshaleph-shiyn-yowd-tav), which is the first word of the Hebrew text, meaning “In [the] beginning.” Re’sheet (reysh-alephshiyn-yowd-tav) (7225), first, beginning (use of the word re’sheet leaves no doubt that Gen. 1.1 opens with the initial act
of the creation of the universe). Re’sheet (7225) is derived from the root word ro’sh (reysh-aleph-shiyn) (7218), head (see
Eph. 5.23)… Note: the vast majority of Hebrew words are derived from a three-consonant root word that contains the
essence of the word’s meaning.
f Create: Heb. root word bar’a (beyth-reysh-aleph) (1254), create. Bar’a emphasizes the initiation of the object, initiating
something new, i.e. causing the beginning of; bringing into existence (ex nihilo). Wonders never seen before are described by this word (Exodus 34.10). A derivative of bar’a is bery’a (beyth-reysh-yowd-aleph-he) (1278), thing created;
new thing, extraordinary thing (Numbers 16.30); a creation, i.e. something that is created.
g Heavens: Heb. shamayim (shiyn-mem-yowd-mem) (8064), in this sense, the physical heavens, i.e. all that lies beyond
the earth (Gen. 1.14; 15.5). The heavens and the earth together constitute the universe.
h Initial cause: the universe is expanding in a systematic way, and appears to have been expanding from the moment of
creation. At the moment before creation, possibly the universe was compacted into a single dense region (the prime singu-
10
Now the earth was formless and empty,a darkness was over the surface of the deep,
and the Spirit of God was hoveringb over the waters.c And God said, “Let there be light,” and
there was light.d God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening,
and there was morning – the first day.e And God said, “Let there be an expansef between the
waters to separate waters from waters.” So God made the expanse and separated the waters
under the expanse from the waters above it.g And it was so. God called the expanse “sky”
[heavens]. And there was evening, and there was morning – the second day" (Genesis 1.1-8;
also Exodus 20.11; Psalms 19.1; 33.6-9; Jer. 10.12; Romans 1.19-20; Hebrews 11.3).h
"In the beginningi was the Word,j and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not
even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the
light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it"
(John 1.1-5).
larity). “… if the law of cause and effect means anything, the universe could only have been brought into existence by a
cause adequate to account for every thing, every concept, every character exhibited by the universe. It is axiomatic, at
least so far as anything now going on in the universe is concerned, that the effect cannot be greater than the cause. A
cause must have at least all the characters of the effect it produces. How, then, can it be possible, even by a nearly interminable process of evolution to produce intelligence, to produce feeling, emotion, will – in short, to produce personality
(which is beyond doubt an effect observable in the universe and in our own self-consciousness), if the cause is not itself
possessed of personality” (Morris, ibid., 13-14.).
a Formless: Heb. tohu (tav-he-vav) (8414), waste, formlessness, chaos, confusion, emptiness (= nothingness, empty
space)… Empty: Heb. vohu (beyth-he-vav) (922), emptiness… See also Jeremiah 4.23.
b Hovering: Heb. rachaph (reysh-cheyth-pe) (7363), hover, i.e. move gently; cherish, brood. See also Deut. 32.11.
c Waters: Heb. mayim (mem-yowd-mem) (4325), waters. Note the final three consonants of shamayim, heavens, are
mayim, waters. There was an expanse to separate the waters below from the waters above. See Psalm 104.
d Light: Heb. ’owr (aleph-vav-reysh) (216), illumination (visible light?). The very first creative spoken Word of G-d was
“Let there be light” (Gen. 1.3). Both the earth and light existed by day one of the creation week. Yet the sun, the star
which provides visible light and heat energy for the earth, and keeps the earth in its orbit, was not created until day four.
e Day: Heb. yom (yowd-vav-mem) (3117), day. ‘Day’ is the 24 hour time period defined by evening and morning.
f Expanse: Heb. raqia (reysh-qowph-yowd-mem) (7549), expanse. Raqia identifies G-d’s heavenly expanse.
g The waters above the expanse were originally designed to serve as an effective shield against lethal radiation from
space, and as a thermal blanket for the retention and distribution of light and heat rays from the sun.
h “That God is the world’s Creator is claimed in Genesis 1-2, is affirmed or presupposed throughout the Bible, and is the
conclusion of any successful cosmological argument for the existence of God. The world is a contingent thing; it exists
only because God brought it into existence and sustains it in existence (Davis, Stephen T. “God’s Actions,” In Defense of
Miracles. Ed. by R. Douglas Geivett and Gary R. Habermas. (Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 1997). 164-165).
Over the six days of creation, there was steady progress from chaos to cosmos, from disorder to order, from confusion to
increasingly complex arrangements of the existing matter, ending with the appearance of human life. In the natural, the
opposite occurs (second law of thermodynamics).
i As with Genesis 1.1, John 1.1 also begins with the words “In [the] beginning.” Beginning: Gk.  (746), beginning,
origin. This Greek word is used absolutely, of the beginning of all things. See also 1 John 1.1.
j Who is the ‘Word’ referred to in John 1.1-5?
 the living personal eternal Word who is G-d (Yeshuwa made manifest): “He [the Word] was in the beginning
with G-d. All things were made through Him…” (John 1.1-18; also Psalm 33.6; Col. 1.15-17; Hebrews 11.3; 1
John 1.1; Rev. 19.13). “… upholding all things by the word of His power” (see Hebrews 1.1-3; 2 Peter 3.7).
There is a close connection between the Word of G-d and the power of G-d. The source of the physical power of
the universe is the Word of G-d. At some time in the future, the maintaining power of the Word of G-d will be
withdrawn (2 Peter 3.4-13).
 the spoken eternal Word of G-d: “And G-d said [3yhl) rm)yw], “Let there be light”; and there was light” (Gen.
1.3). “Thus says the LORD [hwhy rm) hK]” (Exodus 4.22)). “This is what the LORD, the G-d of the Hebrews,
says [3yrb(h yhl) hwhy rm) hK]” (Exodus 9.1). “Then the word of the LORD came [ hyhy-rbd] to him” (Gen. 15.1,
4). See also Psalm 119.89.
 the recorded eternal Word of G-d (the Scriptures): Nehemiah 8.3; Psalm 1.2; Isaiah 30.8; Romans 1.2; Phil.
2.16; Hebrews 4.12; James 1.21-23; Rev. 22.19. G-d speaks to a man (the inner man) through the Scriptures.
11
“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things
which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11.3).
“Thus said the LORD, who established the sun for light by day, the laws of moon and stars for
light by night, who stirs up the sea into roaring waves, whose name is LORD of Hosts: If these
laws should ever be annulled by Me – declares the LORD – only then would the offspring of
Israel cease to be a nation before me for all time. Thus said the LORD: If the heavens above
could be measured, and the foundations of the earth below could be fathomed, only then
would I reject all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done – declares the LORD”
(Jeremiah 31.35-37).
The universe had a beginning in time.a The universe will have an end in time. The present physical universe is
not eternal, but will pass away (see atomic structure of matter). The universe will be replaced by "a new
heaven and a new earth"…
"… the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away
with rushing sound, and having burned the elements will be dissolved, and earth and the
works in it will be burned up" (2 Peter 3.10; also 4-13; Ps. 102.25-27; Isaiah 51.6; Jer. 4.23;
Matt. 24.35; 5.18; Romans 8.20-22; Hebrews 1.10-12; Rev. 20.11).
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed
away; and there was no more sea" (Rev. 21.1).


universe
creation, the world, the whole system of existing material things (matter), the cosmos.b If one were able to travel at the speed of light (299,792 km/second), he would circle the
earth 7 times in the first second, and pass the moon within the next 2 seconds. He would pass the sun in 8
minutes. He would travel through roughly nine trillion kilometers of space in the first year. After 4.36 years,
he would reach the next nearest star,c Proxima Centauri.a After 8.7 years he would begin to orbit Alpha
zjf-d$-EÃ#r-
a
That is, before the creation event recorded in Genesis 1.1, there was no universe. There was only G-d.
Cosmos: Gk. kosmos (2889), orderly arrangement. Order in the universe is the result of physical laws. These laws can
be studied through astronomy, biology, physics, and chemistry. G-d established these physical laws. “The physical world
is a wonder-filled phenomenon of unity. The same laws that govern the ten thousand billion billion stars distributed
among the hundred billion galaxies of our universe, stretching over some 15 billion light years of space, also govern
chemical reactions within the 0.001 centimeter of a cell. From the 10-5 meters of an organic cell to the 1026 meters of the
universe, from the mass of an atom, 10-26 kilograms, to the mass of the sun, 1030 kg, it’s one set of laws” (Schroeder, Gerald L.. The Hidden Face of God – How Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth. (New York: The Free Press, 2001), 35).
“The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is so comprehensible” (Einstein). “The scientific laws governing the subatomic world are stunning in their simplicity” (Barrett, ibid., 85). See Jeremiah 33.23-26.
c Star: stars are gaseous balls that generate energy. Stars are fueled by converting hydrogen into helium (nuclear fusion).
“In a survey of 74 known supergiant stars in our Milky Way Galaxy, three have emerged as larger than any others so far
measured. Each of the new chart toppers is about 1,500 times the diameter of our Sun, or roughly 7 times bigger than the
Earth’s solar orbit. If Jupiter tried to exist in its same orbit around any of these newly measured supergiants, it would be
vaporized… The newly crowned largest stars… are all in our Milky Way galaxy and within 10,000 light-years of the
Sun” (Britt, Robert Roy. List of largest stars gets 3 new chart toppers. Jan. 10, 2005). Once a star converts all the hydrogen in its core into helium, the fire goes out, and gravity begins to collapse the star. If the core of this collapsing, dying
star goes beyond three solar masses* (3 times the mass of the sun), gravity prevails. As the star continues to collapse, its
density and gravity increase toward infinity while its size shrinks toward zero (i.e. toward a point called the singularity).
The corpse of this star must become a black hole... A black hole’s gravity dominates its region of space, and any matter
and energy near the black hole will be drawn into it. Nothing, not even light, can get out. “If a black hole left by a dying
star emits no light, how can we see it? The hole’s super-strong gravitational pull sucks gas and dust toward itself, forming
a whirling accretion disk around the hole. The disk heats any matter that crosses it [i.e. crosses the event horizon], emitting X-rays” (Glover, ibid., 67). The emitted X-rays can be seen by space-orbiting X-ray telescopes. A black hole can also
be detected by the effect of its gravitational field on nearby objects, such as an orbiting visible star… * If the core of the
star is more than 1.4 solar masses but less than 3 solar masses, it is a neutron star. A neutron star is the imploded core of a
massive star produced by a supernova explosion, and is made almost entirely of neutrons. A neutron star is about the dib
12
Canis Majorb, the brightest star in the heavens. Alpha Canis Major is located in the constellation of Canis
Major.c After 2.5 million years, he would enter the Andromeda Galaxy. Andromeda is the nearest major
galaxyd to our own Milky Way Galaxy. There are more than 125 billion galaxies arrayed throughout the
universe to the limits of present observation. Many galaxies contain billions of stars. The universe is mostly
space - the density of the universe is roughly one gram per thousand Earth volumes.

 atomic structure of matter: Matter is made up of elements. Elements are made up of atoms. Atoms are
made up of electrons and a nucleus (protons and neutrons). Protons and neutrons are made up of quarks.
An atom emits or absorbs energy (light) when it changes its state. Light is made up of photonse…
Matter: matter has mass and takes up space. Four basic forces govern the physical interactions of all
matter in the universe: strong and weak nuclear forces,f electromagnetic force, gravity force.g All particles experience the gravity force, but only charged particles (protons and electrons) experience the
electromagnetic force.
Elementsh: elements are the simplest substances into which ordinary matter may be divided. Hydrogen (H) and helium (He) are the basic building blocks of matter, and the most common elements in
the universe (H and He together account for 99.99% of all atoms in the universe). Hydrogen, carbon,
nitrogen, and oxygen are the chemical elements that make up most living organisms.
Atoms: An atom is composed of a nucleus (protons and neutrons), surrounded by an electron cloud. If
we could scale the nucleus of an atom up to four inches, the surrounding electron cloud would extend
to four miles away, and essentially all the space between would be empty. The solid world is really
99.9999999999999 percent empty space made solid by force-carrying massless particles called photons. “The world we see as solid is made solid not by matter, but by ethereal [electromagnetic] forces
carried in photons traveling immense distances between the nuclei and surrounding electron
clouds…”i The physical world, which was created out of nothing, is basically non-physical in its ultimate
essence. Matter is really a form of energy. “All physical phenomena – even matter itself – are manifestations of energy in one form or another [light (electromagnetic radiation), heat (thermal), electrical,
mechanical, chemical, nuclear]… the processes employed by God in the Creation period involved
bringing energy (and therefore also matter and order) into existence.”j “The energy of matter is basically light energy.”k The Einstein equation E=mc2 relates matter and energy by the constant of the velocity of light (E: energy in Joules; m: mass in kg; c: speed of light in m/s).
ameter of a city. A sugarcube of neutron-star stuff on Earth would weigh as much as all of humanity (this illustrates how
much of humanity is empty space).
a The unmanned Voyager spacecraft, which left our solar system years ago at 37,000 mph, would take 76,000 years to
reach Proxima Centauri.
b Sirius, the Dog Star, the Sparkling One, the Scorching one.
c “It [Canis Major] may have been a considerable though small galaxy at one time, having of the order of one billion stars,
and may have contributed up to about one percent of the matter of our Milky Way” (Kronberg, C.. Canis Major Dwarf).
d Galaxy: a galaxy is a mass of stars, gas, dust, and empty space. Most large galaxies contain a central black hole, and
rotate around the central point. When gas spirals in toward the black hole, a portion of the gas is consumed while some is
sent back out. Along the way, the gas is superheated and gives off X-rays and gamma rays in a highly turbulent region.
This causes the cores of very active galaxies to glow brilliantly. The Milky Way’s central black hole is called Sagittarius
A star, and is located 26,000 light-years from Earth… There must be some purpose for black holes in the universe, that is,
for the electromagnetic radiation in the form of X-rays that is emitted into space from the black holes…
e The fundamental particles: matter particles (quarks, leptons and their antiparticles); force-carrier particles (photons,
gluons, W and Z bosons). Quarks and leptons are held together by the exchange of the force-carrier particles.
f Strong nuclear force holds together the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom. Weak nuclear force causes certain forms of radioactive decay.
g Gravity supplies an attractive force between any two pieces of matter in the universe. Gravity is everywhere in space.
h Element: Gk. stoicheion  (4747), something orderly in arrangement; any first thing; the elements from which
all things have come.
i Schroeder, ibid., 30, 40.
j Morris, Henry M. Studies in the Bible and Science. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1966), 94, 95, 112.
k Morris, ibid., 124.
13
Lighta: light, also called electromagnetic radiation, behaves as both a particle (photon) and a wave.
However, most of its properties can be described in terms of a propagating wave. A propagating wave
has an electric field and a magnetic field.
Photon (from Gk.  meaning light): a photon is invisible, has no electric charge, has zero mass,
has an indefinitely long life, and travels at 299,792 km/second (speed of light). Photons are the building blocks (force-carrier particles) of electromagnetic radiation.
“New observations portray black holes as Jekyll and Hyde characters. They can be creators
as well as destroyers. The classic view of black holes conjures images of gas and stars and
even light being swallowed. That’s why they’re black. But when black holes feed, they create
powerful high-speed jets that race at nearly light-speed into surrounding space… a black
hole’s jets can ignite star formation. Wil van Breugel and Steve Croft of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory studied one of these jets slicing through a puzzling region of intense
star formation known as Minkowski’s Object. The jet, they say, caused a dense gas cloud to
collapse and trigger the star birth. The finding meshes nicely with a growing body of evidence
suggesting black holes are integral players in galaxy formation… “The formation of massive
black holes is critical to the formation of new galaxies,” Croft said. Most large galaxies have a
central black hole.”b
3. Who is G-d?
[q(]-fy(e-n$-c*[!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the Tibetan Bible, the word for ‘G-d’ is… Kön Chok
Kön pa
[q(]-fy(e-
[q(]-a- means "rare, scarce, dear, precious, valuable."
Chok
Kön Chok
fy(e- means "the best."
[q(]-fy(e- means "the most precious thing."c
ß
“One of the most difficult concepts for a Buddhist to grasp is the concept of a Divine Being, God.” d Yet many
Buddhists believe there is a powerful supernatural being that exists. This being is not a creator. This being is
not personal. This being is neither good nor evil.a
a
Light (electromagnetic radiation) comes in different forms, depending on its wavelength. The different forms, in increasing order of frequency and energy and decreasing order of wavelength, are: radio waves, microwaves (inc. cosmic microwave background radiation), infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays. This complete range of
electromagnetic radiation, from the longest to the shortest wavelength, is called the electromagnetic spectrum. All forms
of electromagnetic radiation travel at the same speed, the speed of light, 299,792 km/second. X-rays and gamma rays appear to be produced by the same violent objects in space, i.e. solar flares, neutron stars, nova and supernova explosions,
black holes, and erupting galaxies - only extremely hot objects or particles moving at very high velocities can create highenergy radiation like X-rays and gamma-rays. Gamma ray photons have 10,000 times more energy than visible light photons. CMB radiation is the echo of the moment of creation, remnant heat from that moment. It fills the universe. If we
could see microwaves, the entire night sky would glow.
b Britt, Robert Roy. Forces of creation: black holes spark star formation. Mon. Feb. 7, 2005.
c Jäschke, ibid., 10, 11, 166.
d The Dalai Lama. The Good Heart, ibid., 55.
14
Folk Buddhists call this being 'Kön Chok.' Prayers are often addressed to Kön Chok when in trouble or need.
In orthodox Buddhism, Kön Chok Sum is the term used for the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. These
are the Three Jewels [triratna].b The Three Jewels have their root in compassion. A Tibetan Buddhist takes
refuge in the Three Jewels until he attains enlightenment. Taking refuge (Trisaranac) is the first step on the
Buddhist path.
nrn-äXn-[q(]-fy(e-

Buddha
: “I go for refuge to the Buddhas, the Fully Enlightened
Ones, who guide beings by explaining to them the pure true teachings of the Dharma.“ Buddha literally
means "awake,” "awakened one," or "enlightened one." Buddha is a generic term applied to ‘one who has
awakened’ to the truth, one who has attained full enlightenment.d The chief quality of a buddha is compassion. Buddha Sakyamuni is an historical figure whose name at birth was Siddhartha Gautama. Gautama
was born a prince in India in around 563 B.C.e By age twenty-nine, he had become very concerned with
the problem of human suffering. So he renounced his princely life, and set out to discover for himself the
cause of suffering and the cure for suffering. Gautama was the first man to become enlightened and gain
the title Buddha. Gautama became the founder of Buddhism (Buddha-Dharma). He discovered the basic
teachings of Buddhism (Buddha-Dharma). He discovered these teachings by his own mental effort, not by
revelation from a supernatural power. Gautama never claimed to be divine. He taught his followers that the
idea of 'God' was irrelevant. Gautama was not a worker of miracles, but moved men with words.

Dharma (Buddha-Dharma)
: “I go for refuge to the Dharma, which provides
the way out of suffering and leads to true happiness.” The root of Buddhist Dharma is compassion.f Dharma literally means "hold, uphold, that which holds [protects].” It is the Dharma that holds all living beings
back from suffering, i.e. protects all living beings from suffering. Dharmag refers to the teachings of the
Buddha. The essential teachings in the Dharma are the ‘Four Noble Truths’: 1. life is suffering 2. suffering
arises from desire 3. suffering is destroyed by eliminating desire 4. desire is eliminated by following the
y(x-[q(]-fy(e-
a
“Heaven was held in high honor by the old Bön-po [Tibetans who practiced the ancient Bön religion], not only as a natural, impersonal reality, but also as the personified God of Heaven, who... hardly seems to have played any role in men’s
lives... the rare sources suggest that ‘the King of Heaven’ lives there surrounded by a host of supernatural spirits. . .”
(Hoffman. Religions of Tibet, 19).
b Tsering, ibid., 79. “… to every Tibetan ‘Kön Chok’ suggests the idea of some supernatural power, the existence of
which he feels in his heart, and the nature and properties of which he attributes more or less to the three agents [the Three
Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha]… we are fully entitled to assign to the word ‘Kön Chok’ also the signification of God… Buddhism has always sought the highest good not in anything material, but in the moral sphere, looking
with indifference, and indeed with contempt, on everything merely relating to matter. It is not, however, moral perfection
or the happiness attained thereby, which is understood by the ‘most precious thing,’ but the mediator or mediators who
procure that happiness for mankind [the Three Jewels] (Jäschke, ibid., 10).
c Trisarana: the basic Buddhist orientation of life. H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche describes taking refuge in terms of “taking
comfort in our own basic goodness.” Taking refuge can be synonomous with encountering, i.e. encountering the Buddha.
d A Buddha is said to know everything, but is not omnipotent (all-powerful). If a Buddha were omnipotent, he/she would
remove suffering from the universe (Buddhism.kalachakranet.org).
e “There is uncertainty about the dates of Gautama’s birth and death. This uncertainty is due to the fact that the earliest
Buddhist scriptures were not put into writing until roughly four hundred years after Gautama’s death. Prior to the writing
down of the Buddhist scriptures, authoritative discourses were passed on orally by monks from one generation to the
next…” (Netland, H. A.. Dissonant Voices - Religious Pluralism and the Question of Truth. (Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991), 57).
f The root of Buddhist Dharma is bodhicitta, which is the attitude of loving-kindness and compassion towards all beings
(the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Ranjung Rigpe Dorje).
g Dharma: “Buddhism has a universal appeal. It recognizes the suffering that all people endure, and provides a way to
overcome it... The Buddha’s Dharma has stood the test of time. It is practical, for it provides specific action and stresses
individual effort. The Buddha said that he himself could only point the way. Each person must follow the Eightfold Path
on his or her own. “Look within yourself,” he told his followers, “thou art the Buddha” (Madhu Wangu. Buddhism, 15).
15
Eightfold Path.a The Buddha stated, "whoever sees pratitya-samutpada [the principle of interdependence]
sees the Dharma and whoever sees the Dharma sees the Buddha." To take refuge in the Dharma is already to take refuge in the Buddha.
[e*-z[^]-

Sangha
: “I go for refuge to the Sangha, the Supreme Community of the lamas,
whose feet are firmly set on the path to enlightenment. Upon them I place my unswerving reliance for that
spiritual assistance of which I stand in need.” The Sangha is the 'Spiritual Community' of ordained Buddhist monks and nuns. The Sangha preserves (i.e. accepts, practices and passes on) the Dharma. The
Sangha provides the companionship of friends on the journey to salvation. “The Sangha, or virtuous community, consists of those who, practicing the doctrine properly, assist others to gain refuge. People in the
Sangha have four special qualities: if someone harms them, they do not respond with harm; if someone
displays anger to them, they do not react with anger; if someone insults them, they do not answer with insult; and if someone accuses them, they do not retaliate. This is the behavior of a monk or nun, the root of
which is compassion; thus, the main qualities of the spiritual community also stem from compassion.” b

compassionc: the attitude of wanting others to be free from suffering. “Nirvana may be the final object of
attainment, but at the moment it is difficult to reach. Thus the practical and realistic aim is compassion, a
warm heart, serving other people, helping others, respecting others, being less selfish.” d By meditating on
compassion, one becomes compassionate.
†
“Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man
boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this,
that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving-kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for in these things I delight,” declares the LORD
(Jeremiah 9.23-24).
According to Scripture, Kön Chok is the only true and living G-d. He is the One Supreme Creator G-d. He is
the uncreated G-d, the uncaused G-d. He is the G-d that exists inherently (i.e. independently)
. He is the self-sustaining G-d. He does not depend on anything else His
character does not change. He does not change. He is the absolute and unchangeable One.
cr-
dX^r-[q(]-fy(e-
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God,
and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure”
(Isaiah 46.9-10; also Deut. 4.35; 39; Isaiah 43.10; 44.6; 45.5, 21; Jer. 10.10).
a
Eightfold Path, astangika-marga: The eight elements of the Eightfold Path are interpreted as means to dispelling ignorance. 1. Right (i.e. complete or perfected) Knowledge (insight into dharmakaya (trikaya)) 2. Right Feeling (cessation of
mental superimpositions) 3. Right Speech (silence in absorption of dharma) 4. Right Action (withdrawal from all actions with karmic consequence) 5. Right Living (living in a way that dharma neither arises nor ceases) 6. Right Effort
(abandoning all intentionality) 7. Right Awareness (giving up reflection on unprofitable questions) 8. Right Concentration (no reliance on ideas or concepts at all). The fourth step of the Eightfold Path (Right Action) involves obeying the
five commandments of Buddha-Dharma - do not kill; do not steal; do not commit adultery, do not lie, take no strong
drink. The last three steps of the Eightfold Path involve meditation, and are directed toward the Sangha.
b Buddhism.kalachakranet.org.
c “Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the rights of the other, irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy. As long as that person wishes for peace and happiness
and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop genuine concern for his or her problem” (Quotes from
the Fourteenth Dalai Lama).
d The Dalai Lama.
16
G-D’S NAME – HIS SELF-REVELATIONa
G-d’s name identifies his nature, so that a request for his “name” is the same as asking about his
character.
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God”
(Psalm 20.7; also Exodus 3.13-15; Jer. 16.21; Hosea 12.5).
DÃ-]-f*[-az#-[q(]-fy(e-
Kön Chok is the Most High G-d
‘El Elyon. He is the infinitely
creative Creator G-d. “In the beginning God [Elohiym] created the heavens and the earth [the universe]” (Gen.
1.1; Jer. 51.15; Col. 1.16-17; Rev. 4.11). Elohiym is the Supreme Power that upholds and preserves the universe (Deut. 10.14; Psalm 19.1; 104 and 147; Isaiah 45.1-13; Daniel 4.17; Jonah 1-4; Romans 1.20). He is Gd Almighty 'El Shaddai.b
“The largest explosion ever seen in space reveals black holes to be more influential than expected, perhaps sometimes stifling star formation in a galaxy while gobbling up trillions upon
trillions of tons of gas… The outburst is orchestrated by a supermassive black hole that anchors a distant galaxy sitting amid a tight cluster of galaxies. The black hole has blown two
huge bubbles into the galaxy, shoving aside a colossal amount of gas equal to the mass of a
trillion Suns, or more than all the stars of our own Milky Way Galaxy… The eruption is 2.6 bil-
a
The names of G-d in the Jewish Tanakh (Old Testament): 1) ’Elohiym 3yhilo)v (aleph-lamed-he-yowd-mem) (430)
is translated gods or God in most English versions of the Bible (gods or God in the NIV Interlinear Hebrew-English OT
(NIVIHEOT); Theos in the Septuagint (LXX: Gk. translation of the Heb. Scriptures); lha/lha-mo or Kön Chok in the Tibetan OT)). ’Elohiym is one of four common generic names for G-d in the Tanakh (with ’El l)iI (aleph-lamed) (410),
’Elahh Hlf)v (aleph-lamed-he) (426) and ’Eloahh Halo)v (aleph-lamed-he) (433)). ’Elohiym (plural form of ’Eloah)
means gods in the ordinary sense (including the heathen gods), but is specifically used of the Supreme G-d, the One G-d
of Israel. “It is probable that ’elohiym “comes from ’eloah as a unique development of the Hebrew Scriptures and represents chiefly the plurality of persons in the Trinity of the godhead” (Harris, R. Laird. Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 41). ’Elohiym refers only to His power, strength and immensity, G-d transcendent in creation… 2) YHWH ’Elohiym is translated LORD God in English versions of the Bible. This name is used
where the scriptural intent is to identify YHWH with ’Elohiym, i.e. the G-d of the moral/ethical world with the G-d of the
physical world, the G-d of Israel with the G-d of the universe; “YHWH, He is ’Elohiym” (1 Kings 18.39)… 3) Tetragrammaton (the four letters of the Hebrew name for G-d) YHWH hwhy (yowd-he-vav-he) (3068), self-Existent, Eternal.
YHWH is translated LORD in most English versions of the Bible (Yahweh in the NIVIHEOT; Kurios in the LXX;
Yahowah in the Tibetan OT). YHWH originates from the Hebrew word hayah hyh (he-yowd-he) (1961), to be, exist; hyh)
r$) hyh) translates literally I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE (Exodus 3.14). YHWH is the Jewish national name of G-d, the
proper name, the personal name, the specific name, the special name of the G-d of Israel. This name expresses His essence, that He is the G-d of the redemptive covenant. He is the covenant-keeping G-d. The Tetragrammaton is the most
important name for G-d in the OT, “this glorious and fearful name” (Deut. 28.58), “the incommunicable name,” “the ineffable name” (see Exodus 20.7), “the name” (Lev. 24.11). Jesus claimed the covenant of YHWH. His use of the I WILL
BE THAT I WILL BE particularly in John 8.58 connects with Exodus 3.14… Yah hy (yowd-he) (3050) is translated JAH
in English versions of the Bible; a contraction for 3068 (see Psalm 68.4; Isaiah 12.2; 26.4 etc.), “The shortened independent form of the divine name, Yah, occurs primarily in poetry and in the exclamation, Hallelu-yah, praise Yahweh” (Harris,
ibid., 211). The name Elijah means ’El is Yahweh… 4) ’Adonai ynd) (aleph-daleth-nuwn-yowd) (136), my Lord; my
great Lord. ’Adonai is translated Lord (small letters) in English versions of the OT. Traditionally in synagogue readings,
the tetragrammaton YHWH is not pronounced, but rather is read as ha-Shem (The Name) or ’Adonai (my Lord). “Adonai
(h[Fhy: Lord) is the unique, personal name of God and the name most frequently used in the Bible. The Torah gives the
meaning of hwhy in Exod. 3.14, but that explanation is not clear. The original pronunciation was most likely Yahveh
(hwEh:yA), but since Jewish tradition permitted the name to be voiced only by the High Priest it became customary, after
the destruction of the Second Temple, to substitute the word Adonai (meaning “my Lord”) when reading hwhy. The Masoretes who vocalized the Hebrew text therefore took the vowels from the word Adonai ( ynFdO)J) and put them with hwhy
to remind the reader not to read Yahveh but Adonai. Hence, all vocalized texts of the Bible now read h[Fhy:. A Christian
writer of the sixteenth century [Galatinus in 1520] who was unaware of this substitution transcribed h[Fhy: as he saw it,
namely, as Jehovah, and this has since entered many Christian Bible translations” (Plaut, W. Gunther, (editor). The Torah
– A Modern Commentary. (New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981), 31).
b ’El shaddai (aleph-lamed-shiyn-daleth-yowd) (410, 7706). See Gen. 17.1; 35.11; 43.14; 48.3. ’El shaddai served as the
patriarchs’ covenant name for G-d until the time of Moshe, when a further revelation took place (Exodus 6.3).
17
lion light-years away, compared to more than 12 billion light-years for the most distant known
galaxies…”a
Kön Chok is Spirit,b i.e. without a physical body (John 4.24). He does not live in temples made with hands
(Isaiah 66.1; Jer. 23.23-24; 2 Chron. 6.18; Acts 17.24-25). He is invisible and omnipresent (present in all places at all times). He is infinite in space, that is, He exists everywhere in the universe. He is separate from everything in the universe. Kön Chok is ‘El Roi, the G-d who sees me (Genesis 16.13-14).
Kön Chok is a Person. He is personal.c His abilities of personality are mind, will and emotions. He can be
known personally by man (Exodus 33.12-23; 40.34-38; Deut. 4.29; 1 Chron. 28.9; Isaiah 19.21, 43.10; 55.1-7;
Jer. 24.7; 29.13). He is the G-d who listens to man. He is the G-d who speaks to man (Genesis 1.3ff; Deut.
5.24; 1 Samuel 3; Acts 9; see also the Nevi’m). He is a jealous G-d (Deut. 4.24). He is the Author of life.
Kön Chok is YHWH (hwhy)d “I am YHWH; that is my name!” (Isaiah 42.8). This name expresses His essence:
He is the G-d of the redemptive covenant. He is ‘El Berith ‘G-d of the Covenant’ (Exodus 6.2-4; Deut. 7.9).
“Therefore I will teach them – this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my
name is YHWH” hwhy ym$ yK w(dyw (Jer. 16.21).
Kön Chok is the G-d of the Jewish people, the Hebrews (Exodus 3.18). He is the G-d of Israel, ’El Elohe Yisrael. “And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: that I YHWH am your God and there is no other” (Joel
2.27).
Kön Chok is the Holy One of Israel. “For I am YHWH your Elohiym, the Holye One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43.3; also 55.5; Lev. 19.2). He is the Moral Authority of the universe. He is the Upright Onef (Isaiah 26.7).
He cannot sin (James 1.13; 1 Peter 1.16). He hates sin. He is righteous and wise (Isaiah 55.8-9).
Kön Chok is the G-d of truth, YHWH ‘El ‘Emet tm) l) hwhy (Psalm 31.5). “I [King David] do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth g
from the great assembly. Do not withhold your mercy from me, YHWH; may your love and your truth always
protect me” (Psalm 40.10-11). In the Tanakh and New Covenant, truth is a fundamental moral and personal
quality of G-d. He does not lie (Numbers 23.19; Deut. 32.4; 1 Kings 17.24; Psalm 51.6; Romans 3.4; Titus 1.2;
Hebrews 6.18).
Kön Chok is the omniscient (all-knowing) G-d. “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has
no limith” (Psalm 147.5). “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares
YHWH. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts
a
Britt, Robert Roy. Biggest space explosion creates giant bubbles. Wed. Jan. 5, 2005.
Spirit: Heb. Ruwach (reysh-vav-cheyth) (7307).
c “The New Age and the occult labor tirelessly to convince mankind that there is no personal God who loves us…”
(Marrs, Texe. Ravaged by the New Age. (Austin: Living Truth Publishers, 1989), 216).
d According to the Jewish Tanakh, YHWH is G-d’s special name. This name has no direct connection with the idea of
lordship. Thus, the name ‘YHWH’ will replace ‘LORD’ in the Old Testament references in this document. As well, ‘Elohiym’ will replace ‘G-d,’ and ‘YHWH Elohiym’ will replace ‘LORD G-d.’ In the LXX, YHWH has been translated Kurios (2962), master, lord, in this sense G-d, the ruler of the universe. And so it appears that the LXX is the origin of the
word LORD that appears in English versions of the Old Testament… When reading, YHWH should be pronounced “Adonai.”
e Holy: Heb. qadowsh (qowph-daleth-vav-shiyn) (6918), sacred, holy, i.e. free from moral imperfections.
f Upright: Heb. yashar (yowd-shiyn-reysh) (3477), straight, level, right.
g Truth: Heb. ’emet (aleph-mem-tav) (571), firmness, truth (being in agreement with fact or reality).
h No limit: Heb. ’ayin mispar… ’ayin (aleph-yowd-nuwn) (369), a particle of negation, used to negate a noun… mispar
(mem-samek-pe-reysh) (4557), number… Usually these two Hebrew words are together translated ‘infinite.’
b
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than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55.8-9; also Eccl. 11.5; Jer. 1.5). There is no limit to His understanding, awareness, and insight.
Kön Chok is the eternala and immortalb YHWH ‘El ‘Olam 3lw) l) hwhy (Genesis 21.33; Deut. 33.27; Psalm
90.2; 1 Tim. 1.17; 6.16). He is infinite in time. He is the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7.13). He is the Alpha and the
Omega, the Beginning and the End (Genesis 21.33; Rev. 1.8, 11a; 4.9, 10; 10.6; 22.13). YHWH inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57.15a). I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE (Exodus 3.14).
Kön Chok is One. "Hear, O Israel: YHWH our Elohiym, YHWH is one c!" dx) hwhy wnyhl) hwhy l)r#y (m$ (Deut.
6.4; also Zechariah 14.9; Mark 12.29). G-d is One. Yet He exists in three distinct Persons, the same in substance, equal in power and glory (see Exodus 3.14; Proverbs 9.10; 1 Cor. 8.5-6; James 2.19)…
G-d the Father wnyb) hwhy (Exodus 4.22; Deut. 32.18; Psalm 89.26; Isaiah 63.16; 64.8; Jer. 31.9, 20;
Romans 8.15; Gal. 4.6 etc.)
G-d the Son (Son of G-d; the Word) (Psalm 2.7; 89.26-27; John 1.1-18; Hebrews 1.5 etc.)
G-d the Holy Spiritd $wdq h xwr
This is the doctrine of the Trinity.e Each Being of the Trinity has particular functions and responsibilities. The
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in perfect unity of purpose and activity because of their infinite love and infinite
common understanding. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct yet equal Persons and indivisibly
One G-d (see Genesis 1.26; 3.22; 11.7; Isaiah 48.12-16; 1 John 5.7).
Kön Chok is the highest Authority in the universe (Hebrews 6.13). His authority is absolute and unconditional
(Isaiah 40). He has authority over nature (Genesis 41.47-54; Job 38), governments (Psalm 33.10; Daniel
4.17), and history (Gen. 41, Acts 1.7). He determines and controls the destinies of men. “YHWH, I know the
way of man is not in himself: It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer. 10.23; also Prov 20.24).
Kön Chok is love (Psalm 103.11; John 3.16; 1 John 4.8, 16 etc.). f Kön Chok is the G-d of the Hebrews, yet He
desires that all men come to know Him.g "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His stead-
a
Eternal: Heb. qedem (qowph-daleth-mem) (6924), antiquity (ancient time)… Heb. olam (ayin-vav-lamed-mem) (5769),
forever, everlasting, perpetual, old, ancient, world. Olam (5769) is derived from alam (ayin-lamed-mem) (5956), be hidden (in the distant future or the distant past), concealed, secret… Eternal: Gk. aionios (166), without beginning or end,
that which always has been and always will be.
b Immortal: Gk. aphthartos (862), undecaying (in essence or continuance). To be immortal is to be exempt from death, to
have unending existence. Immortality is the quality or state of being immortal.
c One: Heb. adjective numeral ’echad (aleph-cheyth-daleth) (259), one. ’Echad is derived from ’achad (aleph-cheythdaleth) (258), be united. “It [’achad] stresses unity while recognizing diversity within that oneness” (Harris, ibid., 30).
d The Holy Spirit (Heb. Ruach ha Qadowsh): the Spirit, the Spirit of G-d, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter (John 14.16, 17,
26; 15.26; 16.7-11; Acts 9.31 etc.). Comforter: Gk. parakletos (3875), an intercessor, consoler.
e The word ‘Trinity’ does not appear in the Bible. But the fact that there is more than one separate and distinct person in
the Godhead is declared in many passages (see Gen. 3.22 and 11.7; 1 John 5.7 etc.). The concept of ‘trinity’ mirrored in
various cultures in history: the Babylonian creation God Anu, Ea and El; Viracocha, the ancient creation God of the Incas; ‘Io the ancient creation God of Polynesia; the Chinese trinity Shang Ti, Shen and T’ien; the Babylonian trinity Nimrod, Tammuz and Sammur-amat; the Tibetan Buddhist trinity Kön Chok Sum (the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha); the trinity,
i.e. Triune divine principles according to Christian Science and Unity: Life, Truth and Love; the unholy trinity of Revelation: the great dragon [Satan], the beast [the Antichrist], and the false prophet (Rev. 12 and 13; 16.13).
f G-d is love: Some will ask, ‘Why, in the OT, did a loving G-d command Joshua to kill the former inhabitants of the
promised land? It was because of the wickedness of those nations (practice of child sacrifice* etc.), and for the fulfillment
of the promise that G-d made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that the Israelites would possess the land. See Exodus 13.5
and the book of Deuteronomy. G-d has no tolerance toward sin, i.e. punishment is inevitable if there is no repentance…
*Child sacrifice originated in Canaanite culture, and made its way into Israel from Phoenicia during periods of religious
syncretism.
g Has G-d left His witness, His NAME, in every heart and every culture? The name of the one creator god of the Canaanites (the highest god in the Canaanite pantheon) was ’El. G-d Himself confirmed that He was ’El (Isaiah 43.11-13) and ’El
Shaddai (Exodus 6.2-3)… The Polynesian greeting Aloha means to give the breath of life (see Gen. 2.7). What is the his-
19
fast love toward those who fear Him" (Psalm 103.11). “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the
glory of YHWH,a as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2.14).
The chief end of G-d is to glorify G-d and enjoy His excellence forever.b
“Elohiym is our refugec and strength, a very present help in trouble”
(Psalm 46.1; also 40.4).
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory
forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1.17).
4. Who am I?
r-n$-x#]!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ß
There is no-self (anatman) because there is impermanence (anitya),
and because there is impermanence there is suffering (dukha)
(Three marks of existence).
All human appearances are interdependent, that is, are connected to and depend on one another,d and affect one another in a constant process of arising and ceasing to be.
Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha denied that a man had a personal and immortal soul (self, atman). The Dalai Lama states, "Apart from psychophysical aggregates or the skandhas that constitute the being, there is no
tory of the Polynesian word Aloha?… Allah is the Arabic word for G-d. What is the history of the Arabic word Allah?
Before Islam existed (Islam began in the 7th century A.D.), the name Allah was used by Arab followers of the One True
G-d. The name Allah is derived from, and pronounced exactly as ’Eloh or ’Aloh, the Aramaic word for G-d. See Mark
15.34, both Gk. and the Heb. translation (G-d: Gk. ’Eloi E , a transliteration of the Aramiac word ’Eloh; Heb.
Hlf)v (426)). The definite form of the Aramaic word ’Eloh or ’Aloh is ’Eloha or ’Alaha. Note that when Arabic borrows
Aramaic/Syriac words, the final ‘a’ is stripped off… Kön Chok is the Tibetan word for G-d. What is the history of the
Tibetan word Kön Chok? Is it possible that, before Bön and Buddha-Dharma came to Tibet, Tibetans were followers of
the One True G-d? Is it possible that the name Kön Chok, or a modified form, originally referred to the One True and
Supreme Creator G-d?
a The glory of YHWH… Glory: Heb. kabowd (kaph-beyth-vav-daleth) (3519), abundance, honor, glory. Kabowd (3519)
is derived from kabad (kaph-beyth-daleth) (3513), be heavy, weighty, burdensome, honored. See 1 Samuel 4.21 (the glory
has departed); 2 Chronicles 7.1-3; Psalm 26.8; Jer. 2.11; Habakkuk 2.14 etc… Glory: Gk. doxa  (1391), splendor,
brightness. See Luke 9.28-32… The glory of the Lord:   (LXX); dwbK hwhy (Jewish Tanakh); hnyk$
(*Targum and Talmud)… In the Bible the glory is primarily a quality ascribed to G-d and places of his presence (Ryken,
Leland, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman III (general editors). Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1998), 330)… “Every Jewish person is a living Tabernacle and every Jewish heart is a Holy of Holies,
a potential resting place of the Divine Presence”, the Shekina (Rabbi Chaim)… *Targum: Aramaic translation of the Torah by Onkelos (A.D. 90). Talmud: the body of teaching, commentary and discussion of the Jewish scholars on the Mishnah (the Jewish oral law).
b Piper, John. Let the Nations be Glad. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993), 49.
c Refuge: Heb. machseh (mem-cheyth-samek-he) (4268), refuge, shelter. Machseh (4268) is derived from chasah (cheythsamek-he) (2620), seek refuge, flee for protection.
d Since everything is empty of self and of separate individuation, all things must share the same nature.
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separate, autonomous, eternally abiding soul-principle."a Gautama said that all beings are caught up in samsara. When a man dies, the skandhas are reborn into other beings.
According to Buddha-Dharma, man has two natures:
1. Man has a human nature. Human nature is more disposed toward compassion and affection than aggression and violence.b Man is essentially good. Man can learn to be good by mastering the mind.
2. Man has a Buddha-nature, Buddhata. The Buddha-nature is sleeping until a man is enlightened,
awakened. Within every man is a seed of liberation (spiritual awakening, perfection). It is possible for a
man to attain perfection.c It is possible for a man to achieve the full potential of his mind. It is possible
for a man to awaken the Buddha-nature, the Buddha within.
Buddhism can produce good human beings that are spiritually mature and ethically sound. Yet, according to
Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha, life is suffering, misery and decay.

self, soul, atman: for Hindus and Sikhs, atman is the real inner self which is present in human appearance
(i.e. in the human body). Atman inhabits a given body, and at death casts that body off and goes on to assume another body. The Hindu classic, the Bhagavad-Gita,d compares this to a man who might take off
one suit of clothing and put on another. [At rebirth] the man remains the same but the suit of clothing is different. In the same way the self remains the same but the psycho-physical organism it takes up differs
from life to life. Buddha-Dharma denies the existence of self, of atman…

no-self, not-self, anatman: anatman is a key concept of Buddha-Dharma. There is no self which is independent of pratitya-samutpada (interdependence). “Since there is no subsistent reality to be found in or
underlying appearances, there cannot be a subsistent self or soul in the human appearance.”e The teaching of no-self relates to the Buddha's conviction that the state of unenlightened existence is rooted in the
notion of a personal enduring self (atman). Atman is the root of all suffering. Anatman is that teaching of
the Buddha that contradicts atman. Anatman serves to eliminate attachment to one's own independent
and personal existence. This is wisdom and its ultimate type, namely, the realization of emptiness
(sunyata).
a
The Dalai Lama. The Good Heart, ibid., 65.
“We all know that anger and aggression give rise to anger and aggression. One could say that there are three ways to get
rid of anger; kill the opponent, kill yourself or kill the anger – which one makes most sense to you? What is the main goal
of Buddhist practice concerning behavior? It is to tame one’s mental continuum – to become nonviolent” (Buddhism.kalachakranet.org).
c According to Buddha-Dharma, man is himself the highest achievement of creation. “The distinctive feature of Buddhism lies in the fact that it is essentially humanistic rather than formally religious [for the humanist, all of history is a
natural development, in the absence of the Creator G-d, from simple to complex, from mindless to mind, from amoral to
moral]... It sets about defining the problems that arise in life, and proposing a series of solutions… it does not base itself
upon the concept of God. It talks of man, and how he may attain perfection. Many religions begin with the idea of God
and then use it to settle all the problems of existence… Even if it is an easy answer, it is not logically provable. That is
why Buddha avoided it and strove to present a doctrine [teaching] that might be based through and through upon reason”
(The Dalai Lama)… “The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger, and so on, are
human created problems which can be resolved through human effort, understanding, and development of a sense of
brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share. Although I have found my own Buddhist religion helpful in generating love and compassion, even for those we consider our
enemies, I am convinced that everyone can develop a good heart and sense of universal responsibility with or without
religion” (exert from Nobel Prize for Peace: Acceptance Speech, Oslo, Norway 1989, The Dalai Lama).
d Bhagavad-Gita: The Hindu scriptures are known as the Vedas (“wisdom, knowledge”). Possibly the most well-known
section of the Vedas is the Hindu epic called the Bhagavad-Gita. This classic tells the story of the warrior-prince, Arjuna,
and his charioteer, Krishna who is actually the incarnation of Vishnu, the Hindu god.
e Bowker, ibid., 63.
b
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
emptiness,a sunyata: everything is empty of inherent (independent) existence. The skandhas (that which
is reborn) are empty of an independent personal self.

impermanence, anitya: the quality or state of being impermanent, i.e. not enduring; transient. The teaching of impermanence of all things is central to Buddhist philosophy and practice. This teaching affirms that
all phenomena, both physical and mental, are not permanent. Emptiness is the only phenomenon that
never changes. All who believe otherwise are in a state of ignorance.

suffering, duhkhab: suffering is essentially transience, which is the quality or state of being transient, i.e.
passing quickly into and out of existence. Suffering includes all human experiences that arise from being
transient - birth, sickness, physical and mental pain, uncertainty, aging, death, rebirth (re-becoming). Even
worldly pleasure is considered to be suffering because it soon passes away. Suffering is universal.

three marks of existence (the ‘marks,’ tri-laksana): the collective term for impermanence (anitya), suffering (duhkha), and no-self (anatman).

skandha, five aggregates, life-force: a man is made up of five aggregates (skandhac). These aggregates
flow together and give rise to the impression of identity (illusion of a self, a person). When a man dies, his
physical body returns to the dust. But the skandhas are reborn into other beings. The skandhas are not
personal, but rather are empty of a permanent self, identity.

samsara, wandering on, continuing on: all things are transient, coming into being, changing, and passing
away. Samsara literally means "to wander through a series of states or conditions." Samsara is the cycle
of continuing appearances; the continuous cycle of birth, aging, death and rebirth into suffering (but with
no self (personal identity), being reborn). Samsara is a state of mind, i.e. the state of unenlightened existence. Samsara is the state of bondage. The driving force behind samsara is karma.
a
Emptiness, sunyata: “Here again the Sanskrit root helps. It shows how easily the word ‘empty’ could become a synonym
for ‘Not-Self.’ What we call ‘emptiness’ in English is sunyata in Sanskrit. The Sanskrit word sunya is derived from the
root SVI, to swell. Sunya means literally: relating to the swollen. In the remote past, our ancestors, with a fine instinct for
the dialectical nature of reality, frequently used the same verbal root to denote the two opposite aspects of a situation.
They were as distinctly aware of the unity of opposites, as of the opposition. Thus the root SVI, Greek KY, seems to have
expressed the idea that something which looks ‘swollen’ from the outside is ‘hollow’ inside... Thus our personality is
‘swollen’ in so far as constituted by the five skandhas, but it is also ‘hollow’ inside, because devoid of a central self... It is
a great pity that these connotations of the word sunyata are lost when we speak of ‘emptiness.’ The door is opened to
innumerable misunderstandings. Particularly to the uninitiated, this emptiness will appear as a mere nothingness, just as
Nirvana did. Although in Buddhist art ‘emptiness’ is usually symbolized by an empty circle, one must not regard the
Buddhist emptiness as a mere nought, or a blank. It is a term for the absence of self, or for self-effacement” (Conze. Buddhism, ibid., 130, 131). “All feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness come from the emptiness,
sunyata” (Rosie Rosenzeig).
b Suffering, duhkha: “Duhkha is often translated as ‘suffering’ but, in fact, it covers a whole spectrum of psychoemotional states, from a mild sense that things are not quite right to intense physical and mental pain. It may also be taken
to mean that there is no lasting peace or rest in life. . .” (Snelling. Buddhism, ibid., 35).
c Skandha, the five aggregates: “What we think of as “a person” or “a soul” - an enduring identity - is really no more than
an ever-changing combination of psychophysical forces which, according to Buddhism, can be divided into the “Five
Aggregates,” the so-called skandhas or ‘groups’: 1. Matter - the category of the physical, which includes the body and its
five senses 2. Sensations - that of feeling 3. Perceptions 4. Mental Formations (impulses and emotions) 5. Consciousness or Mind (Netland. Dissonant Voices, ibid., 62)... When these groups of components come together in proper
working order, the right conditions exist for the illusion of a self and a person to arise. But once they break down and go
their separate ways - as at physical death, for instance - then that self or person cannot be found” (Snelling, John. Buddhism. (U.K.: Wayland, Hove, 1986), 36)… “Thus even if there is ‘no soul,’ there is at least that which has the nature of
having that nature” (Bowker, ibid., 63). “The Buddha said, “In short these five aggregates of attachment are duhkha [suffering]”” (Rahula. What the Buddha Taught, 20).
22

rebirth, to be reborn, punabhava (again-becoming, again-existence)a: re-becoming is the event that occurs over and over again, following physical death and time in Hell.b Re-becoming is not the transmigration
of a conscious entity (self, personal identity), but rather the repeated impersonal occurrence in the process
of existence. There is a continuity, a transmission of influence, a casual connection between one life and
another. “Re-becoming simply affirms that there are continuities of consequence, in which a consciousness of what is happening is a part of the process.”c
†
"What is behind the universe is more like a mind than it is like anything else we know. That is to say, it is conscious, and has purposes, and prefers one thing to another. And on this view it made the universe, partly for
purposes we do not know, but partly, at any rate, in order to produce creatures like itself - I mean, like itself to
the extent of having minds…"d
“This is what YHWH says – your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am YHWH who
has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself… For this is what YHWH says – he who created the heavens, he is Elohiym; he who
fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to
be inhabited – he says: “I am YHWH, and there is no other”” (Isaiah 44.24; 45.18).
a
Rebirth, punabhava: according to the Dalai Lama, there are possibly four types of rebirth: 1. that of a being incapable of
deciding on its own rebirth. It is incarnated solely in accordance with its past actions. 2. that of a being who, given his
previous spiritual achievements, is in a position to choose, or at least to influence, the place and conditions of rebirth. 3.
that called the ‘blessed manifestation.’ In this case the person receives an influence that gives him the power to accomplish beneficial actions such as the teaching of religion. This person must have wanted to help other people in his previous lives. 4. that of a fully illuminated Buddha, who simply manifests a physical form with the purpose of helping others.
b Hell, Bardo: the intermediate state that intervenes between one life and another, i.e. after death and before rebirth.
c Bowker, ibid., 775.
d Lewis, C. S.. Mere Christianity, ibid., 30.
23
"Then Elohiym said, "Let Us make mana in Our image, after Our likeness… And Elohiym createdb man in His
own image; in the image of Elohiym He created him; male and female He created them... YHWH Elohiym
formedc man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living
being. YHWH Elohiym planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He put the man whom He had
formed... And YHWH Elohiym caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh in its place. And YHWH Elohiym fashionedd the rib that He had taken from the man
into a woman; and He brought her to the man…" (Genesis 1.26a, 27; 2.7, 8, 21, 22)… "Then Elohiym blessed
them, and Elohiym said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the
fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1.28)...
The Psalmist wrote, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which
You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You
have made him a little lower than Elohiym, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made
him to have dominion over the works of Your hands" (Psalm 8.3-6).
He has made everything beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternitye in the heartsf of men…” (Ecclesiastes 3.11).
Man is a physical and spiritual reality.g Scripture teaches that every man began his personal and independent
physical and spiritual existence in time at the moment of conception as a creature separate from the world
around him, and separate from G-d (Job 31.15; Psalm 139.13-16; Is. 49.1; Jer. 1.5; Gal. 1.15; Eph. 1.3-4).h
Every man has a physical body. His physical body had a beginning in time, i.e. at the moment of conception.
His physical body will have an end in time. A man lives once and then he dies: "… it is appointed for men to die
once" (Hebrews 9.27a). Every man has a non-physical inner self. His inner self had a beginning in time, i.e. at
the moment of conception. His inner self will have no end. When a man experiences physical death, his inner
being departs from his physical body and goes into eternity. In eternity, a man retains his personal identity and
consciousness. He will remain in eternity forever. “Nature is mortal; we shall outlive her. When all the suns and
nebulae have passed away, each one of you will still be alive.”i
a
Man: Heb. adam (aleph-daleth-mem) (120), man, mankind, Adam (proper noun). The Hebrew word ‘adam’ first appears
in Gen. 1.26, is translated ‘man,’ and refers to mankind. Note that ‘adam’ has the same three-consonant root as adamah
(aleph-daleth-mem-he) (127), ground, land, earth. The same chemical elements are found in soil, man and animal life.
b Create: Heb. root word bar’a (beyth-reysh-aleph) (1254), create. Bar’a emphasizes the initiation of the object, initiating
something new, i.e. causing the beginning of; bringing into existence (ex nihilo).
c Form (Gen. 2.7): Heb. yatsar (yowd-tsadey-reysh) (3335), fashion, form, frame. Its primary emphasis is on the shaping
or forming of the object involved. As with many Hebrew words of theological significance, the root yatsar may be used of
human as well as divine agency… When used of divine agency, the root refers most frequently to G-d’s creative activity.
It describes the function of the divine Potter forming man and beasts from the dust of the earth (Harris, ibid., 396) (see
Isaiah 64.8). A derivative of yatsar (3335) is the noun yetser (yowd-tsadey-reysh) (3336), form. In one sense, ‘yatsar’
means “that which is formed in the mind, e.g. plans and purposes.” See Genesis 6.5, 8.21; Deut. 31.21; Isaiah 26.3.
d Fashion (Gen. 2.22): Heb. banah (beyth-nuwn-he) (1129), build. Banah (1129) is very similar to the Aramaic word
biynah (beyth-yowd-nuwn-he) (999), meaning understanding (insight, intuition). See Daniel 2.21. Biynah (999) corresponds to biynah (beyth-yowd-nuwn-he) (998), understanding. Biynah (998) is derived from the primitive root biyn
(beyth-yowd-nuwn) (995), to separate mentally, to distinguish, to understand, consider, perceive… The rabbis concluded
that God created women with greater intuition and understanding than men, because man was “formed” while woman was
“built” (Judaism 101: Hebrew Language: Root Words).
e Eternity: Heb. olam (ayin-lamed-mem) (5769), forever, everlasting, perpetual. What does Eccl. 3.11 mean?
f Heart: leb (lamed-beyth) (3820), understanding. Leb (3820) is derived from labab (lamed-beyth-beyth) (3823), become
intelligent, get a mind.
g Reality: the quality or state of being real, i.e. having objective independent existence.
h Before conception, both ovum (female human egg) and spermatozoa (male human sperm) are alive and contain human
DNA. At conception, the fertilized ovum acquires a unique DNA code formed from the DNA of ovum and spermatozoa.
The fertilized ovum is an individual person.
i Lewis, C.S.. The weight of Glory, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1949), 13.
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Within every man is a seed of spiritual truth: Every man knows there is a G-d (Romans 1.18-20; Psalm 19.1).
A man's moral consciousness declares the reality of G-d's moral law.a The essence of G-d’s moral law is engraved upon the minds of men (Romans 2.14-15). Every man knows right from wrong.b Every man has the
ability to choose right or wrong. Every man has the ability to choose to seek G-d… "And He [G-d] made from
one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times
and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find
Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17.26-28a; also
Genesis 10 (the Table of Nationsc); Deut. 32.8-9).
"Thus says YHWH of hosts [tw)bc hwhy], Elohiym of Israel... "And you will seek Me and find
Me, when you search for Me with all your heart"" (Jeremiah 29.8a, 13).
The chief end and purpose of man is to glorify G-d and enjoy Him forever.d Man was created to be a lover of
G-d (Deut. 6.5; 10.12; Matt. 22.37). Man was created to know G-d as his Father (Matt. 6.9; Gal. 4.6). Man was
created to be known by G-d, to walk with G-d, to have fellowship with G-d, to minister to G-d.
a G-d’s
moral law: G-d’s moral law is summarized by Biblical law. Biblical law was originally given by G-d through
Moshe to the Jewish people. Biblical law is the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20; Deut. 5-6). G-d's commandments
were instituted to protect, defend and preserve humanity. Because G-d values man, he does not want men to destroy each
other. G-d's commandments are absolute, i.e. universal and unchanging: 1. because they apply equally to everyone, everywhere, at any time, under all circumstances, and with no exceptions 2. because they were written and verified as true
by an all-knowing G-d 3. because G-d is unchanging. The fourth step of the Buddhist Eightfold Path (Right Action) parallels with six to nine of the Ten Commandments… “It was Judaism that brought the concept of a G-d-given universal
moral law into the world… The Jew carries the burden of G-d in history [and] for this has never been forgiven” (Reverend Edward H. Flannery).
b G-d’s moral absolute – the universal standard to distinguish right from wrong: G-d’s moral absolute is the universal and
unchanging standard of behavior which applies equally to everyone, everywhere, at any time, under all circumstances, and
with no exceptions. Moral absolutes are essential if one is to know true moral direction. Why? Because only when a man
has an absolute (the Word of G-d) can he evaluate and verify all his thoughts and actions to know beyond a shadow of a
doubt that they are right or wrong.
c The Table of Nations: all descendents of Adam died in the global flood, with the exception of Noah and his family.
“These are the groupings of Noah’s descendants, according to their origins, by their nations; and from these the nations
branched out over the earth after the flood” (Gen. 10.32; see Gen. 10.1-31:
 Shem (father of the Semitic races): “The descendants of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram…
Arpachshad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber” (Gen. 10.22, 24). Eber/Heber > (begot) Peleg > Reu > Serug
> Nahor > Terah > Abram > Isaac (with Sarah) > Jacob/Israel > Judah: Heb. Yehuwdah (3063) > Judahites:
Heb. Yehuwdiym (3064), the Jews, Israelites (Judahite: Heb. Yehuwdiy (3064), Jew; Judean: Gk. Ioudaios
(2453), Jew)… Abram > Isaac > Esau/Edom > the Arabs, Edomites (possibly the Edomites became Muslims
when their region fell to an Ishmaelite army)… Abram > Ishmael (with Hagar) > the Sunnite Arabs, Arabian
Muslims, Ishmaelites… Summary of descendants: Elam (Persians/Iraneans); Asshur (Assyrians/Northern Iraqis);
Arpachshad (Hebrews/Israelites/Jews, Chaldeans/Southern Iraqis, Arabians/Bedouins, Moabites/Jordanians/Palestinians); Lud; Aram (Aramaeans/Syrians, Lebanese).
 Ham (father of the Mongoloid and Negroid races): “The descendants of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan… Canaan begot Sidon, his first-born, and Heth” (Gen. 10.6, 15). Heth > Tibetans?… Summary of descendants: Canaan (Mongols, Chinese, Tibetans, Japanese, Malayasians, American Indians, Eskimos, Polynesians, Pacific Islanders, the Onge of India’s Andaman Islands); Cush (Bushmen, Pygmies, Australian Aboriginies, New Guineans; Ethiopians, Sudanese, Ghanaians, other Africans); Mizraim (Egyptians); Put (Libyans, Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians, Berbers, Somalians).
 Japheth (father of the Caucasoid, Indo-European, and Indo-Aryan races): “The descendants of Japheth: Gomer,
Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras” (Gen. 10.2)… Summary of descendants: Gomer (Germans,
Armenians, Belgians, Dutch, Luxembourgers, Liechensteiners, Austrians, Swiss, Britons, English, Cornish, Irish,
Welsh/Celts, French); Magog (Scots, Irish, Russians, Ukrainians, Hungarians, Finns, Lapps, Estonians, Siberians, Yugoslavians, Croatians, Bosnians, Serbians, Slovenians, Slovakians, Bulgarians, Poles, Czechs); Madai
(Aryans, Persians/Iranians, Kurds, Turks, East Indians, and the peoples of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan,
Khazachstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan); Javan (Greeks, Macedonians, Cyprians, Cretans, Venetians, Sicilians, Italians, Spaniards, Portugese); Tubal (Georgians, Albanians); Meshech (Muscovites,
Latvians, Lithuanians, Romanians); Tiras (Vikings, Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, Icelandics).
d Unless you assume a G-d, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless (Bertrand Russell, atheist). The man without a
purpose is like a ship without a rudder – a waif, a nothing, a no man (Thomas Carlyle).
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Man (Adam) was created perfect and without sin. But now sin is universal. The Bible states that man has a
sinful nature. This sinful nature separates him from G-d, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
(Romans 3.23; also Eccl. 9.3; Isaiah 64.6; Rom. 5.12; James 2.10). Man has choked the seed of spiritual truth.
"The fool has said in his heart, "There is no Elohiym." They are corrupt. They have done abominable works.
There is none who does good. YHWH looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are
any who understand, who seek Elohiym. They have all turned aside. They have together become corrupt.
There is none who does good. No, not one" (Psalm 14.1-3). "For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their
inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue" (Psalm 5.9). Every man
has broken G-d's moral law. Does man have a good heart? No. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked…" (Jer. 17.9; also Gen. 6.5; 8.21; Deut. 30.15-20; Jer. 7.24; Mark 10.18).
THE GLORY OF MAN IS EMPTINESS
"All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of mana as the flower of the grass. The grass withers,
and its flower falls away, but the word of Adonai endures forever" (1 Peter 1.24-25a; also
Psalm 62.9; Eccl.; Isaiah 40.6-8; Matt. 6.19; James 1.9-11).
All that one has pursued and attained in life outside of relationship with G-d (power, prestige, popularity, possessions, pleasure, position, purpose) is emptiness, vanity, and loss. In the Biblical sense, ‘emptiness’ is the
end result of chasing after the things of this world. There is no real satisfaction or meaning in them…
“I [King Solomon, king over Israel] denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart
no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet
when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was
meaningless [emptiness],b a chasing after the wind” (Eccl. 2.10-11; also 5.12-16).
"Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world,
love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the worldc – the lust of the flesh [craving for
sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life
[assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things] – these do not come
from the Father but are from the world itself” (1 John 2.15-16; also 2 Cor. 6.14; Phil. 3.7-14;
Hebrews 12.27; James 5.3).

eternity: G-d inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57.15). Eternity lies beyond the grave. Every man stands on the
edge of eternity because every man faces the possibility of physical death at any moment. "Life [on Earth]
a
The glory of man… Glory (the following Hebrew words have both a positive and negative sense): Heb. tiph’arah (tavpe-aleph-reysh-he) (8597), ornament; beauty, glory, finery. Tiph’arah (8597) is derived from pa’ar (pe-aleph-reysh)
(6286), beautify, glorify; gleam, boast; glorify oneself… Glory: Heb. halal (he-lamed-lamed) (1984), shine, be boastful
(make a show, and thus to be foolish).” A derivative of halal (1984) is heylel (he-yowd-lamed-lamed) (1966), a proper
name, translated ‘Shining One’ in Isaiah 14.12, referring to the King of Babylon (a type of the beast (Antichrist))?… “The
Bible speaks most devastatingly of the transience of all glory except G-d’s. Any impressiveness or noteworthiness which
man has created for himself in his own pride and arrogance is doomed to destruction” (Harris, ibid., 427). See Isaiah
16.14; 17.4; 21.16; Jeremiah 9.23.
b Emptiness: Heb. hebel (he-beyth-lamed) (1892), vanity; something worthless, transitory and unsatisfactory. The word
vanity occurs most frequently in Ecclesiastes, and does not mean conceit or a “superiority complex” like the modern
meaning of the term. When applied to persons, it means emptiness or futility of natural human life (see Job 7.3; Eccl. 1.2;
2.1; 4.4; 1.10; Jer. 2.5)” (Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary).
c World: Gk. kosmos (2889), in this sense, worldly affairs; the aggregate of things earthly; the whole circle of earthly
goods, riches, advantages, pleasures, etc., which, although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from G-d
(Thayer, J.H.. The New Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon. (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1981), 357).
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is of short and uncertain continuance. Today the man is vigorous, and tomorrow he is cut down, withered
and gone."a See Job 8.9; Psalm 39.4 and 119.19.

inner self (inner being, inner person, inner man, self): “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our
outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4.16). Hebrew words relating to the inner man are leb (lebab),b nephesh,c neshamah,d and ruwach.e The Jewish Tanakh makes a
distinction between these words (entities): “Then Elohiym said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according
to Our likeness… And YHWH Elohiym formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath [neshamah] of life; and man became a living being [nephesh]” (Gen. 2.7). “All in whose nostrils
was the breath [neshamah] of the spirit [ruwach] of life, all that was on the dry land, died” (Gen. 7.22).
“Love YHWH your Elohiym with all your heart [lebab] and with all your soul [nephesh] and with all your
strength” (Deut. 6.5; also 4.29; 10.12; 11.13; 13.3; 30.6; Joshua 22.5; 1 Kings 2.4; Jer. 32.41 etc.). “For
thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit [ruwach], to revive the spirit [ruwach] of the humble,
and to revive the heart [leb] of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57.15; also Deut. 2.30; Psalm 51.10; Ezekiel
11.19). There may be a parallel here with the Trinity: G-d is One, yet He is three distinct, equal, and inseparable Persons. So possibly with man who is made in the image and likeness of G-df - one ‘inner man’ yet
distinct entities within that ‘inner man.’
Leb and lebab: the majority of usages of leb and lebab refer either to the inner man as a whole or to one
of the three abilities of personality: mind, will and emotion.
inner man as a whole: the governing center for the whole man, the seat of the personality disposition,
the source of all sin and the seat of pride. See Gen. 18.5; 31.20; Exodus 9.14; 1 Kings 8.23; 14.8;
a
Kempis, Thomas. The Imitation of Christ. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers).
Leb (lamed-beyth) (3820) and Lebab (lamed-beyth-beyth) (3824), heart, understanding; core. Leb and Lebab (3820,
3824) are derived from labab (lamed-beyth-beyth) (3823), become intelligent, get a mind (see Proverbs 19.8 in Hebrew).
c Nephesh (nuwn-pe-shiyn) (5315), that which breathes (Gen. 1.20, 21, 24, 30 (these first four verses refer to nephesh in
beasts); 2.7; Psalms 63.1, 5; Eccl. 6.7 etc.). Nephesh (5315) is derived from naphash (5314), take breath (to breath). "For
the life [nephesh] of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves [nephesh] on
the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life [nephesh]" (Lev. 17.11). “Nephesh refers to the essence of
life, the act of breathing, taking breath. In this primary sense, nephesh appears in its first occurrence in Genesis 1.20.
However, in over 400 later occurrences, nephesh is translated “soul.” While this serves to make sense in most passages, it
is a mistranslation of the term. The problem with the English term “soul” is that no actual equivalent of the term or the
idea behind it is represented in the Hebrew language. The Hebrew system of thought does not include the combination or
opposition of the terms “body” and “soul,” which are really Greek and Latin in origin. The Hebrew contrasts two other
concepts which are not found in the Greek and Latin tradition: “the inner self” and “the outer appearance” or, as viewed
in a different context, “what one is to oneself” as opposed to “what one appears to be to one's observers.” The inner person is ‘nephesh,’ while the outer person, or reputation, is ‘shem,’ (shiyn-mem) (8034) most commonly translated “name””
(Vine, W.E.. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary, 237). The nephesh becomes a living being by G-d’s breathing
(neshamah) into the nostrils of its flesh (Heb. basar (beyth-siyn-reysh) (1320)).
d Neshamah (nuwn-shiyn-mem-he) (5397), breath (Gen. 2.7; 7.22 (in men and beasts); Deut. 20.16; Joshua 10.40 etc.).
Neshamah (5397) is derived from nasham (nuwn-shiyn-mem) (5395), pant. The breath of man: as it is breathed in by G-d
it is G-d’s breath in man. With the breath of G-d man becomes a living being.
e Ruwach (reysh-vav-cheyth) (7307), breath, mind, spirit (Gen. 1.2; 6.3, 17; 7.15 (in beasts), 22; 8.1; 41.8; Job 34.14;
Eccl. 7.9 etc.).
f Man is made in the image and likeness of G-d, with the same abilities of personality (mind, will, emotions). It is man’s
inner being that reflects the image of G-d. Image: Heb. tselem (tsadey-lamed-mem) (6754), image, likeness, of resemblance... Likeness: Heb. demuwt (daleth-mem-vav-tav) (1823). See Genesis 1.26-27; 5.1; 9.6. “Roman Catholic theology
has maintained that “image” refers to man’s structural likeness to G-d, a natural image, which survived the Fall, and
“likeness” refers to man’s moral image with which he is supernaturally endowed; and it is this likeness that was destroyed
in the Fall… G-d’s image obviously does not consist in man’s body which was formed from earthly matter, but in his spiritual, intellectual, moral likeness to G-d from whom his animating breath came” (Harris, ibid., 192, 768)… The Biblical
concept of immortality is rooted in man’s creation in G-d’s image and likeness. G-d is spirit. So the reference in Genesis
is not to bodily form but to spiritual nature. Like all other creatures, man has animal life. But only of man is it said that he
“became a living being.” G-d made man to live forever, physically and spiritually (see Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary). Human life is sacred because man is made in the image of G-d. See Gen. 9.6.
b
27
21.7; 2 Chron. 6.14; 26.16; 32.26; Job 36.13; Psalm 9.1; 73.26; Proverbs 4.23; 11.20; 21.1-2; 26.23;
27.19; Eccl. 3.11; 8.5; 9.3; Jer. 3.10; 4.14 and 19; 48.29; (NT: Matt. 15.19; Mark 7.20-23; Luke 6.45)
etc.. Compare Leb with Nephesh (see Genesis 42.21; Psalm 63; Isaiah 26.8-9; 55.2 etc.).
minda: a man's mind is the seat of his consciousness, b his identity.c His mind gives him the ability to
think,d that is, to think independently, morally, analytically, critically, creatively, intentionally. His mind
enables him to reason, to consider, to imagine and wonder, to remember, to perceive, know, understand and realize, to experience revelation, to make judgments and decisions, to form plans and purposes. His mind enables him to see, hear, and smell. His moral conscience lies within his mind (Gen.
20.5; 1 Sam. 24.5-6). It is the mind that is blinded (2 Cor. 4.4, John 12.40, Matt. 6.22). It is the mind
(conscience) that is defiled (Titus 1.15). G-d sees the intentions of the heart (Gen. 6.5; 1 Samuel 16.7;
1 Chronicles 28.9; Psalm 139.23; Jer. 12.3; 17.10; 20.12). The mind and heart can be transformed,
can be renewed or made new (Psalm 51.10;e 73.13; Ezekiel 11.19; Romans 12.2 etc.). See also
Numbers 16.28; 1 Kings 3.12; 12.33; Prov. 6.18, 32; 12.11; 15.32; 23.15; Isaiah 41.22; 42.25; 44.19.
will: a man’s will gives him the ability to have inclinations, to have motives, to make resolutions, to
make moral choices (to choose right or wrong). See Genesis 20.5; Exodus 10.1; Numbers 24.13;
Judges 5.15; 1 Chron. 29.9; 2 Chron. 12.14; Nehemiah 2.12; Job 11.13; Isaiah 38.3 etc..
emotions: a man’s emotions give him the ability to have feelings, affections, aversions, appetites, desires, passions. See Genesis 6.6 (Mark 3.5); 18.5; Judges 16.25; 19.5; 1 Samuel 2.1; 2 Samuel 15.6;
Psalm 42.2; 62.1; 63.5-8; 73.25-28; Isaiah 61.1 etc..
5. What is sin?
NÒ#e-a-e-c*-c*[!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the Tibetan Bible, the word for ‘sin’ is… dig-pa
NÒ#e-a-.f
ß
“The only “definitive truth” for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.”a The Absolute Truth is this: there is nothing absolute in the world; everything is
a
“Neurosurgery has revealed that the brain is composed of a network of electrically interconnected cells, or “neurons,”
embedded in a jelly-like substance. This visible and tangible structure is the location of that part of ourselves which is
intangible – our conscious being: our thoughts, feelings, and will – all that we call mind… The physical life is material
and tangible – recognizable by the five senses. The spiritual life is not directly detectable by those five senses, yet it is just
as real – in the same way that the mind is as real as the brain” (Barrett, ibid., 76, 80)… “What allows life to conceive a
thought, to imagine a rainbow, a symphony? Is the mind totally the neurological workings of the brain or is there a
brain/mind interface where the physical mingles with the nonphysical?... there is the puzzle of consciousness and the
brain/mind interface. Is mind more than the sum of the physical parts of the brain?… there is what appears to be a qualitative transition between the awesome biochemistry by which the brain physically records the incoming data and the consciousness by which we become aware of that stored information. In that passage from brain to mind we may be looking
for a physical link that does not exist” (Schroeder, ibid., 2, 3, 6).
b Consciousness: one’s awareness of self and the world around him.
c Identity: “… since the physical substance of the brain is constantly changing, no unity of identity could exist if consciousness were a condition wholly dependent on the physical brain. Something more than the physical brain, something
supernatural, must exist” (Noebel, David A.. The Battle for Truth. Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2001), 174).
d “I think. Therefore I am” (Rene Descartes, French philosopher).
e “Create in me a pure heart, O G-d…” Create: Heb. bar’a (beyth-reysh-aleph) (1254), create. This is the same word used
in the creation of the universe and the creation of man, i.e. something is brought into existence that previously did not
exist (see Genesis 1.1, 27). It is as though David is asking G-d to replace his sinful heart with a pure heart as opposed to
change his heart from being sinful to being pure.
f Jäschke, ibid., 293.
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relative, conditioned and impermanent; there is no unchanging, everlasting, absolute substance like Self, Soul or Atman within or without.b “Where there is no absolute truth or absolute reality, there can be no absolute moral values because all things are changing, evolving.
A particular moral value represents only a particular perspective offered by a particular time at
a particular level of evolution.”c
According to the Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, a man's basic problem is this: he is trapped in the delusion that
he is a distinct and personal individual separate from the world around him. This delusion, the belief in a personal and eternal 'self,' is termed ignorance. Ignorance is one of the 'three poisons.’ The other poisons are
hatred and desire. These three poisons,d particularly desire, lead a person to commit sin. Sin is a bad deed.
Among the worst sins are the killing of any living being,e and the taking of one's own life.f

ignorance, avidya: the Tibetan word ‘Rigpa’ means "to know, understand, be aware.” Ma-rigpa, the opposite of rigpa, is ignorance, avidya, i.e. mental darkness, the belief in a personal, eternal Self (atman).

hatred: hostility, ill-will; a wish to harm others.g

desire (noun), lit. craving, tanha: means primarily the longing for one’s own personal individual existence,
for an enduring Self. This leads to attachment to people,h things, and pleasure. Desire is a fundamental
Buddhist fault. Desire takes first place in the three poisons. Desire is the root cause of all suffering: “Life is
suffering. Suffering arises from desire…”
†
According to the Bible, man's basic problem is sin.i Sin is not merely a bad deed. Sin is choosing to do wrong.
Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3.4).j Ultimately, sin is rebellion against a holy and righteous G-d and His perfect
a
The Dalai Lama.
Rahula. ibid., 40.
c Bhagavad-Gita.
d In the hub of the Wheel of Existence, a pig, a serpent, and a dove symbolize ignorance, hatred, and greed.
e Even animals, birds, fish and insects are living spiritual beings with the potential of attaining human rebirth.
f Tibetan Buddhism teaches that suicide is the greatest sin. If one takes his own life, he cannot be reborn as a human being
for five hundred lifetimes. However, this is not so if one deliberately gives up his life for others.
g “The antidote to hatred in the heart, the source of violence, is tolerance” (the Dalai Lama). The Dalai Lama on attitude
towards one’s enemy: “It is from a man’s enemy that he learns true tolerance and patience, while with a religious master
or close kin, your tolerance cannot be put to the test. From this point of view, even the enemy teaches inner strength,
courage and determination. With an enemy, that brings you closer to reality and strips away pretensions.”
h Desire (sexual): “[for a monk] sexual desire is one of the more serious sorts of attachment. And since our goal is to
overcome these attachments, the practice of celibacy becomes important. This is the Buddhist understanding of the practice of celibacy” (The Dalai Lama. Spiritual Advice for Buddhists and Christians. (New York: The Continuum Publishing
Company, 1998), 78)… “The search for a partner and sex tend to take up much of our energy. Our inborn urge for sex
and a lasting relationship is very strong and can in that way be regarded as one of the major obstructions to a focus on
spiritual progress” (Buddhism.kalachakranet.org).
i Sin: Heb. chata’ah (cheyth-teyth-aleph-he) (2403), alternates in meaning between sin (the reality of disobedience to Gd), and sin offering (the means of removing the guilt and penalty of sin before YHWH through the sacrificial system).
Chata’ah (2403) is derived from chat’a (cheyth-teyth-aleph) (2398), miss, miss a mark, miss the way, fall short of the
standard, fall short of spiritual wholeness; sin, incur guilt, forfeit, and alternatively to purify from uncleanness… Sin: Gk.
hamartia (266). Hamartia (266) is derived from hamartano (264), miss the mark (and so not share in the prize).
j Lawlessness; also translated transgression. Transgression: Heb. pesh’a (pe-shiyn-’ayin) (6588), a revolt. Pesh’a (6588) is
derived from pash’a (pe-shiyn-’ayin) (6586), to rebel, revolt… “All transgression of the Word of G-d is sin against G-d (1
Jn. 3.4). Sin affects both G-d and man. It robs G-d of His creative purposes in blessing man eternally, and robs man of
such blessing” (Dake, ibid., 605).
b
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moral law.a The root of sin is not ignorance, hatred and desire. The root of sin is failure to love G-d more
than life...
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness;
full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding,
covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same,
but have pleasure in them that do them. (Romans 1.28-32; also Jer. 4.22).
The root of sin is failure to love G-d. The corollary of failure to love G-d is inordinate self-love. What are the
manifestations of inordinate self-love? Self-will, self-indulgence, self-gratification, self-pleasing, self-interest,
self-pity, self-defense, self-centeredness (meditation on self), self-consciousness (intense awareness of self),
self-exaltation, self-fulfillment, self-approval, self-admiration,b aspiring to self-realization, self-reliance, selfsufficiency (pride) - independence from G-d.c
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without selfcontrol, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3.1-4).
"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness,
revelries, and the like" (Galatians 5.19-21a; also James 4.17).
“All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologersd come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is
coming upon you” (Isaiah 47.13).
THE ORIGIN OF SIN
Where did sin come from? The Scriptures do not deal directly with the origin of evil in the universe. But it may
be said that sin began at the beginning with the pride and rebellion of Satan (1 John 3.8a). And sin entered the
minds of men through the first man Adam. This happened when Adam and Eve yielded to the temptation of
Satan in the Garden of Eden (see Gen. 3; also Hebrews 3.13)…
a
Rebellion: Heb. meri (mem-reysh-yowd) (4805), rebellion. “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like
the evil of idolatry” (1 Samuel 15.23a).
b “I am not forgetting how horribly this most innocent desire [for man’s approval] is parodied in our human ambitions, or
how very quickly, in my own experience, the lawful pleasure of praise from those whom it was my duty to please turns
into the deadly poison of self-admiration” (Lewis, C.S.. The weight of Glory, ibid., 9).
c “We usually think of murder, adultery, or theft as among the worst. But the root of all sin is self-sufficiency [pride] –
independence from G-d. When we fail to wait prayerfully for G-d’s guidance and strength we are saying, with our actions
if not our lips, that we do not need Him…” (Hummel, Charles E. Tyranny of the Urgent. (Downers Grove: InterVaristy
Press, 1967), 10). See Luke 18.9-14.
d Astrologers: the Jewish Tanakh refer to astrologers as “ones dividing the heavens [ 3ym$ wrbh]” (Isaiah 47.13).
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"Now the serpenta was more crafty than any beast of the field which YHWH Elohiym had
made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has Elohiym said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree
of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we
may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, Elohiym has said,
‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You
surely will not die! “For Elohiym knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like Elohiym, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make
one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he
ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked…"
(Gen. 3.1-7a).
Adam and Eve yielded to the temptation to sin. And through history since Adam, every man has likewise, by
personal choice, yielded to the temptation to sin. G-d loves people. G-d loves the sinner. But G-d hates sin.
Every man knows right from wrong. Therefore every man can be held responsible for the sinful choices that he
has made.b Every man deserves to be punished for his sin. Every man deserves to experience the eternal
consequence of sin.

ignorance: ignorance is used absolutely to refer to the condition of the Gentile world which had not received the revelation of G-d (Acts 17.23, 30; 1 Timothy 1.13). Although ignorance may partly excuse the
sins which result from it, ignorance may be linked with hardness of heart (Eph. 4.18; James 4.17).

hatred: it is good and right to hate sin (Psalm 97.10; Amos 5.15a etc.). But it is not good to hate people.
"Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him"
(1 John 3.15; also Matt. 5.21, 22; 1 John 2.9-11).c

desire (noun): "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then
when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (James
1.14 (read 12-15); also Mark 4.18, 19; 1 Peter 1.14; 2.11; 1 John 2.15-17). There are many things that are
not sinful; nevertheless one's attachment to them may hinder his relationship with G-d.

prided: the opposite of humility. Pride is at the bottom of much sin and gives rise to it. Pride has been the
chief cause of suffering in every nation and family since the beginning. Pride is the essential vice, the utmost evil. Pride is essentially competitive. G-d sees the pride in the heart and hates it there. But when
pride prevails to the degree that the show of a man’s countenance witnesses against him that he overvalues himself and undervalues all about him, this is in a special manner hateful to G-d.e “Pride goes before
a
Serpent: Heb. nachash (nuwn-cheyth-shiyn) (5175), serpent, viper, a snake. Nachash (5175) is derived from nachash
(nuwn-cheyth-shiyn) (5172), practice divination, divine, observe signs. Note that in the Tibetan mind, the serpent symbolizes hatred. Hatred is one of the three poisons which lead a person to commit sin.
b Sin is not a transmitted thing. Sin is personally created by each person who has the ability to chose right or wrong. Every man has this ability. Note: animals are not morally responsible creatures. Animals do not know right from wrong. Animals do not have the ability to chose right or wrong. Therefore, animals cannot sin. And therefore, animals cannot be held
responsible for their actions.
c “… because all human beings bear the image of God, they are all equally important in God’s sight. Every human being
has dignity. Even the most frail and broken human life has dignity and significance. Human life is sacred, therefore, each
individual life is to be honored, celebrated, and protected. The greatness of any society is measured by how well that society cares for the smallest, weakest, and most broken human life” (Miller, Darrow L.. The Worldview of the Kingdom of
God. (A Publication of Food for the Hungry International, 2000), 42).
d “The word ‘pride’ (or its synonyms) can be used either positively or negatively in the Old Testament” (Harris, ibid.,
143). Pride: Heb. root verb ga’ah (giymel-aleph-he) (1342), rise up, grow up, be lifted up, exalted. A derivative of ga’ah
(1342) is ga’own (giymel-aleph-vav-nuwn) (1347), exaltation (see Prov. 16.18).
e Matthew Henry's Commentary on Proverbs 6.12-19; also 21.4.
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destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16.18; also Jer. 13.15-17a; 48.29; Matthew 23.1112; James 4.6; 1 Peter 5.5-6). Pride says, in essence, “We (man) can solve the world’s problems. We can
meet our own needs. We can, by our own effort, attain eternal life.”

Idolatry and paganisma (evolutionary pantheism)b: “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not
surely die. For Elohiym knows that in the day you eat of it [the forbidden fruit] your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like Elohiym [3yhl)K 3tyyhw], knowing good and evil”” (Gen. 3.4-5; read 3.1-5). The unrighteous “exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1.25a). Idolatry is the worship of inanimate objects as well as animate. An idol is anything or
anyone that is worshipped as a god, i.e. exalted above G-d (see Nimrod,c Tammuz,d Sammur-amate).
a
Pagan: from the Latin “Paganus” meaning country dweller. The word was adopted by early Christians in Rome to refer
to non-Christians.
b The origin of idolatry and paganism (evolutionary pantheism): Pantheism - God is everywhere and everything… Evolution - the process of continuous change from a lower, simpler to a higher, more complex state… Evolutionary pantheism where everything is, perhaps through a process of rebirth and/or time, becoming ‘God.’ … The global flood brought
about the destruction of all living things on the earth except Noah, his wife and family, Ham, Shem and Japheth and their
wives (Gen. 7; the global flood occurred around 3400 B.C.). Ham was the father of Cush. Cush was the father of Nimrod,
“who was the first man of might on earth. He was a mighty hunter by the grace of YHWH [“Nimrod knew his Master but
decided to rebel against Him” (Talmud)]… The mainstays of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Accad and Calneh in the
land of Shinar [lower Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers]” (Gen. 10.8, 9a, 10). “Everyone on earth
had the same language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a valley in the land of
Shinar and settled there… And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower [zikurat] with its top in the sky…””
(Gen. 11.1-2, 4a). Under the leadership of Nimrod, men began to build the Tower of Babel in the city of Babylon. The
tower was essentially a temple dedicated to Satan worship and evolutionary pantheism. During construction, G-d confused the language so the builders could not understand each other. They stopped building, and were scattered over the
face of the earth (see Gen. 11.1-9; 1.28; the dispersal occurred around 3200 B.C.). Nimrod married Semiramis (Sammuramat). Together they set up the occult religion called Baal worship. Nimrod was later killed (any descendents?). Sammuramat became pregnant, claiming she was still a virgin. She gave birth to a son, Tammuz. And she falsely proclaimed that
her dead husband had been reborn, that Nimrod had become a god, that Tammuz was the fulfillment of the prophecy of
the coming “Seed of the woman” (i.e. the Messiah - see Gen. 3.15). In this way she made herself to be the first goddess.
The Baal religion was based primarily upon a corruption of the astronomy formulated by Noah’s righteous ancestors before the flood (Jer. 8.1-3). The underlying goal of the Baal religion was the worship of Satan and the fallen angels. Thus,
the events surrounding the life of Nimrod laid the groundwork for all pagan religious systems, namely evolutionary pantheism (the foundation), the divinity of man, rebirth, astrology, and occult meditation. From the city of Babylon, pantheistic thought spread in all directions to cover the face of the earth. Gnosticism and Hinduism are two offshoots of the original Babylonian pantheism. Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism. Tibetan Buddhism is the outcome of the merging of
ancient Bön and Tantric Buddhism (Indian Vajrayana Buddhism). The New Age Movement (Cosmic Humanism) is an
offshoot of Buddhism.
c Nimrod (Ninus): Heb. Nimrowd (nuwn-mem-reysh-vav-daleth) (5248). Nimrod was/is worshipped in many nations
under many different names. Some of these names are: Sol, the sun god; Kronos, the Horned One; the golden calf of
Egypt (Exodus 32); Cupid (Eros); the Centaur, ninth sign of the Zodiac - Sagittarius; Orion; the Mason of Freemasonry;
Pan; Bacchus, youth god - the god of drunken revelry; Jupiter of Rome; Chemosh of the Moabites and Ammonites (Judges 11.24; 1 Kings 11.33; Jer. 48.7 etc.). Chemosh had as his symbol a black stone which was/is worshipped by the Arabs;
Krishna of India; Zoroaster, the god of fire, later worshipped by the Parsi of India; Molek, also called Milcom or Bel, the
most dreaded of all gods who demanded that children “pass through the fire” (Lev. 18.21; 20.1-5; 1 Kings 11.5, 33; 2
Kings 23; Jeremiah 50.2; 51.44 etc.). Molek was worshiped as king (‘molek’ and ‘melek’ (“king”) have the same consonants); Baal, the male sun god, the rain, lightning and storm god, the dying and rising fertility god, the chief god of the
occult (Judges 2.13; 1 Kings 16.31). Baal was one of the principal deities of the Canaanites; Orisis/Horus, the sun god/allseeing eye of Egypt. The resurrected Horus is Amsu, and the 6-pointed star (Star of David) was the first hieroglyphic of
Amsu. Isis was the mother of Horus. Isis and Horus were the forerunners of the Madonna and Child.
d Tammuz (Gk. Adonis): Tammuz is the god of fertility. According to Babylonian mythology, Tammuz died annually
and was reborn year after year. Tammuz represented the yearly cycle of the seasons and crops (Ezekiel 8.14). Tammuz/Dumuzi, “deities associated with death and the return of life” (Bowker, ibid., 947).
e Sammur-amat (Sammur: Heb. Shinar, the Biblical name for lower Mesopotamia): Sammur-amat was wife of Nimrod
and Queen of Babylon. Sammur-amat was/is worshiped throughout the world as the Queen of Heaven. The respective
Greek and Roman names applied to the worship of Sammur-amat include: Aphrodite and Venus, the goddess of love;
Artemis and Diana of Ephesus, goddess of hunting and childbirth “whom all Asia and the world worship” (Acts 19.2435); Athena and Minerva, the goddess of crafts, war and wisdom; Demeter and Ceres, the goddess of growing things;
Gaea and Terra, symbol of the fertile earth; Hera and Juno, the protector of marriage and women, who was the sister and
wife of Zeus in Greek mythology, and the wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology; Rhea or Ops, who was wife and sister of
32
Idolatry exists today in the undue attachment to things and people, to one's philosophies, and to the work
of one's mind and hands. "You shall have no other gods before Me... you shall not bow down to them nor
serve them. For I, YHWH your Elohiym, am a jealous El…" (Exodus 20.3, 5a (see Exodus 20.3-5); also
Isaiah 44.9-20; 20.23; 23.13; 34.14-17; Lev. 26.1; Deut. 4.15-28; 5.7-9; Isaiah 41.7; Jer. 1.16; 10.1-5;
51.17-19 (there is no breath in idols); Ezekiel 20; 1 Cor. 10.14-21; 1 Timothy 6.10a etc.). “For great is
YHWH and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are
idols,a but YHWH made the heavens” (1 Chronicles 16.25-26).

astrology: in Scripture, astrology is associated with sorcery, divination, witchcraft, casting spells, interpreting omens, worshiping the stars, consulting the dead, and child sacrifice. These are detestable practices,
and are condemned by G-d (Lev. 19.26; Deut. 18.10-12; Isaiah 47.13-14; Jer. 8.1-3; 10.2; 29.8-9).

evilb
: evil has a broader meaning than 'sin.’ Much physical evil in the world (i.e. natural calamities) is due to moral evil (see Deut. 31.17; Jer. 26.19; Amos 3.6). Yet, the existence of physical evil is apparently one of the reasons that the Buddha rejected the concept of 'G-d.' The author of evil is Satan.

Satan: "the great dragon... that ancient serpent, called the Devilc and Satan,d who deceives the whole
world" (Rev. 12.9 and 20.3, 10); the devil (Matt. 4.1); the author of sin and evil; the author of confusion; the
father of lies (John 8.44; 2 Cor. 2.11); the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12.10); the tempter (Matt. 4.3, 1
Thess. 3.5); the wicked one (Matt. 13.19, 38); the evil one; like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5.8); the prince of
demons (Luke 11.15); the ruler of the darkness of this world (John 12.31; Eph. 6.12e); the god of this age
(2 Cor. 4.4); the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2.2); the Prince of Tyre (Ezekiel 28); the being behind
the idolatry of nations.
r]-a-
Satan (the Devil) is an angel, a created being, with no creative power. Satan was at one time a highly exalted angel. He was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty (Ezekiel 28.12). He became proud and rebellious.
He determined to take over the throne of G-d for himself. Satan wanted to be like G-d. Satan wanted to be
worshipped as G-d. G-d removed Satan from his position of great dignity and honor. G-d cast him out of
heaven. Satan has limited power and time in the world (1 John 5.19; Rev. 12.12). Eternal judgment awaits
him in the future (Rev. 20.10; Isaiah 27.1). Satan is prince of the fallen angels (devils).
The chief end and purpose of Satan is to break human relationships, to enslave people to sin, to alienate
mankind from G-d temporally and eternally. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy" (John 10.10a; 1 Peter 5.8-9). Satan is the grand adversary of G-d and man. Satan hates G-d. Satan hates mankind because all men are made in the image of G-d. Satan hates the Bible. Satan continues
to cast doubt on the Word of G-d: "Did Elohiym really say…?” (Gen. 3.1b). Satan‘s primary work is deception.f Satan‘s work of deception among men began in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3.1-5). The thread of Satan's deceptive work may be traced from Genesis through Revelation. That work of deception will reach its
the Greek horned-god Kronos… Ashtaroth: the Egyptians, Canaanites, and periodically the Israelites, worshipped Ashtaroth (plural of Ashtoreth; Gk. Astarte). Ashtoreth was probably the ‘Queen of Heaven’ (Judges 2.13; 10.6; 1 Samuel 7.34; 12.10; 1 Kings 11.5-7, 33; 2 Kings 23.13; Jeremiah 7.18; 44.17-19, 25). Ashtoreth was the principal female deity of
the Canaanites; Asherah (Athirat, Ilat), goddess of the god ’El, mother of the gods.
a Idols: Heb. ’elil (aleph-lamed-yowd-lamed) (457), something worthless (particularly as an object of worship).
b Evil (noun): Heb. ra (reysh-ayin) (7451), misery, distress, evil. Ra (7451) is derived from raa (reysh-ayin-ayin) (7489),
break, spoil (literally by breaking into pieces); smash, crush.
c Devil: Gk. diabolos (1228), a traducer [slanderer, false accuser].
d Satan: Gk. Satanas (4567), the accuser. Satanas (4567) corresponds to Satan (4566) which is of Hebrew origin, i.e. satan
(siyn-teyth-nuwn) (7854), an opponent, adversary. Satan (7854) is derived from satan (siyn-teyth-nuwn) (7853), attack; be
or act as adversary… In writings outside the Bible, the letters of the word ‘Satan’ have been scrambled to hide the true
meaning of the word, e.g. Sanatan and Sanatsiyata (Hindu), Sanat, Sanat Kumara, Sat, Sanyata, Santa etc..
e World-ruler: kosmokrator (2888), an epithet of Satan. Kosmokrator (2888) is derived from kosmos (2889) and krateo
(2902), to use strength, i.e. seize or retain, to hold. This Greek word occurs only in Ephesians 6.12.
f For example, deception through false religions and the deceitful promises of these false religions. See Revelation 22.19.
33
climax in the beast, that is, the Antichrist.a Satan wants to be worshipped as G-d, and will receive that
worship through the Antichrist.

z[}*-
fallen (wicked) angels
: Angels are immortal spirit beings who were created to worship and
serve G-d, and minister to those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1.14). Fallen angels are angels who
rebelled against G-d and followed Satan. They were cast out of heaven (Rev. 12.7-9). Fallen angels oppose G-d and serve Satan. Their power is limited. Eternal judgment awaits them (2 Peter 2.4; Jude 6).
There is probably no real difference between fallen angels, demons (i.e. devils), evil spirits, demi-gods and
gods, and Ascended Masters.b Evil spirits can influence and oppress a man. Evil spirits can indwell a
man.c They can thereby govern the man, and control his inner being (mind, will, emotions) and behavior.
Evil spirits seek to establish authority through individuals or circumstances that are not reconciled to G-d
(e.g. Alice A. Bailey,d Helena P. Blavatskye). There seems to be no doubt that the current state of the
world is the result of demonic forces being able to exploit ungodly characteristics in men. pride, jealousy,
hatred, lust. There is a battle going on for the minds of men. The intense inner battle of the mind raging
around the sinful nature of man becomes one with the unseen battle raging outside a man...
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places"
(Ephesians 6.12).
6. What is the consequence of sin?
NÒ#e-az#-zdCn-a$-e-c*-c*[!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ß
“Misery only doth exist, none miserable. No doer is there; naught save the deed is found. Nirvana is, but not the man who seeks it. The Path exists, but not the traveler on it.”f
a
Antichrist: see final chapter of document.
“Ascended masters” are high-ranking members of the so-called ‘hierarchy’ (a spiritual hierarchy in the demonic realm).
Ascended masters claim to work from the Himalayas... What have the Ascended masters taught the world through Theosophy? They have “depersonalized God and created various planes of spiritual progression culminating in universal salvation and reconciliation through reincarnation and the wheel concept of progression borrowed unblushingly from Buddhism” (Martin, Walter. The Kingdom of the Cults. (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1985), 247).
c Evil spirits can indwell a man only by invitation. Furthermore, evil spirits cannot possess (own) a man. Satan and his
devils own nothing. G-d owns them, controls them, and determines their limitations and destiny.
d Alice Ann Bailey (1880-1949): Djwahl Khul, who refers to himself as “the Tibetan,” is an “Ascended Master.” Djwahl
Khul chose to contact Alice Bailey, and use her as a channel. Djwahl Khul dictated a number of books and messages to
Alice Bailey, including a message entitled “The Tibetan’s Views on Jews and Christians.” Alice Bailey was a well known
leader in the women’s Masonic movement (Freemasonry). Of the major (Hindu) Theosophists, Alice Bailey was probably
the most instrumental in developing the infrastructure of today’s New Age movement. “There are four pillars upon which
the New Age movement is built; the writings of the Tibetan [Djwahl Khul] through Alice Bailey reinforce all four. These
pillars are evolution, reincarnation [rebirth], astrology, and occult meditation” (Kah, Gary H.. The New World Religion The Spiritual Roots of Global Government. (Noblesville: Hope International Publishing, Inc., 1998), 42).
e Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891): like Bailey, Blavatsky had material dictated to her through her Ascended masters (e.g. Tibetan Mahatma Master Morya). Blavatsky was founder of the Theosophical Society. She is referred to as the “godmother of the New Age movement” and the “midwife of the New Age.” Both Nazism and the New
Age Movement depend heavily upon the teachings of Helena P. Blavatsky.
f Buddhaghosa, a celebrated Buddhist writer, born around 390 A.D..
b
34
Desire is the root of all misery and suffering.a A man's mind is the root of his desire. His desire leads him to
commit bad deeds, sin. And sin results in the accumulation of demerit. And demerit results in negative karma.
And negative karma results in rebirth into great human suffering or into the lower realms of animals and hellbeings... Desire prevents a tranquil human rebirth. Desire ultimately prevents liberation from the suffering of
samsara.
But is there an eternal consequence of sin? Tibetan Buddhists believe that physical death is the transition to
the next rebirth. Tibetans believe that death "merely alters the form, but does not break the continuity of the
life, which proceeds from death to rebirth, and fresh deaths to fresh rebirths in constant succession of changing states, dissolving and evolving until the breaking up of the universe."b After each death, all men (i.e.
skandha) spend time in Hell before they experience rebirth. Even Buddha had to spend time in Hell. There is
great fear of death and time in Hell. However, according to Buddhist tradition, one does not remain in Hell forever. There is believed to be no personal and eternal inner Self. There is believed to be no personal Supreme
Being who is Judge. There is believed to be no ultimate and eternal judgment. There is believed to be no eternal consequence of sin.

karma: karma literally means "deed" or "action." Karma is the concept relating action and its consequences.c Every action has a consequence which will come to fruition in either this life or a future life. Good
deeds (anti-sin) earn religious merit. Bad deeds (sin) earn religious demerit. When a person dies, the balance of merit and demerit determines how ‘he‘ will be reborn. But if there is no individual and personal inner man, there is no ‘he‘ to pass on from one life to another. Therefore, what exactly is reborn? What is
passed on to the next life, according to the Buddha, is simply the cumulative effects of one‘s actions. "Although there is no substantial self or soul who engages in the actions but merely the peculiar combination
of forces known as the Five Aggregates [skandha], the effects of volitional action can continue to manifest
themselves in a life after death. For death is merely the total non-functioning of a physical body. The forces
and effects of the Five Aggregates continue even after the physical body dies.”d Most suffering that a man
experiences is punishment for sin in past lives.
“The fundamental precept of Buddhism is Interdependence or the Law of Cause and Effect.
This simply states that everything which an individual being experiences is derived through
action from motivation. Motivation is thus the root of both action and experience. From this
understanding are derived the Buddhist theories of consciousness and rebirth. The first holds
that, because cause gives rise to effect which in turn becomes the cause of further effect,
consciousness must be continual. It flows on and on, gathering experiences and impressions
from one moment to the next. At the point of physical death, it follows that a being’s consciousness contains an imprint of all these past experiences and impressions, and the actions
which preceded them. This is known as karma, which means ‘action.’ It is thus consciousness, with its attendant karma, which then becomes ‘reborn’ in a new body – animal, human
or divine”e
a
What are other causes of suffering? Pride causes suffering” (quote from the movie ‘Kundun’)… “I believe that suffering
is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction” (exert from
Nobel Prize for Peace: Acceptance Speech, Oslo, Norway 1989).
b Waddell, Austine. Buddhism and Lamaism of Tibet. (New Delhi: Gauray Publishing House, 1978).
c The concept of karma “embraces both the acts themselves and the psychological imprints and tendencies created within
the mind by such actions” (The Dalai Lama, The Good Heart, ibid., 182).
d Netland. Dissonant Voices, ibid., 62-63… Is ‘he’ possibly the non-physical skandha, i.e. perceptions, mental formations
and emotions, consciousness or mind, something similar in nature to what the Hebrew refers to as ‘nephesh’?
e The Dalai Lama. Freedom in Exile – The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. (New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 1990), 11.
35

fear: there is fear of religious authority, fear of losing one's religious merit, fear of demons that surround
them, fear of suffering and uncertainty, fear of Hell, demons and death. Tibetans are bound by the fear of
death, "... who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2.15b).a And Tibetans are fearful of losing their identity. To be Tibetan is to be Buddhist. The one who walks away from
Buddha-Dharma is stripped of the right to be called Tibetan. He is seen as one who angers the evil spirits.
†
"Sin is the ruin and misery of the soul; it is destructive by nature.
If God were to leave it unrestrained, nothing else would be needed
to make the soul perfectly miserable."b
Sin causes temporal suffering. If sin were good, a man would feel good when he sinned. But when a man
sins, he suffers. He suffers with remorse, guilt and shame. His whole body reacts adversely when he sins. And
beyond a certain point of willfully persisting in sin, a man's conscience is corrupted and ‘seared with a hot iron’
(see 1 Timothy 4.1-2). And G-d lets him go: "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
a
The Tibetan tradition incorporates meditation on death into everyday life. Mindfulness of death is a central part of Buddhist meditation, “The purpose is not so much avoidance of sin as detachment from all entanglement in, and reliance on,
this world and body” (Bowker, ibid., 353). “We should meditate on death constantly and realize the impermanent nature
of everything. This will give us the inspiration to make every effort to cultivate goodness and avoid evil. . .” (Mullin,
Glenn H. Living in the Face of Death. (New York: Snow Lion Publications, 1998))... “I am not afraid of death... I sincerely believe that my very thorough religious training gave me strength enough to confront the idea of leaving my present
body without any apprehension. I felt then, as I still do today, that I am only a mortal being and the instrument of my
Master’s immortal spirit, and that the end of one mortal envelope is of no great consequence” (The Dalai Lama. My Land
and My People (New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1997)).
b Edwards, Jonathan. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1996), 12.
36
God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (Romans 1.28; Titus 1.15;
Isaiah 57.20).
Sin causes physical death. When Adam sinned in the garden, he was told that he would die (Genesis 2.17,
3.19; Romans 5.12). This curse of physical death was not immediate, but would unfold over time.
Sin causes eternal suffering. Sin breaks a man's relationship with G-d both in the present life and eternally.
There is a place called 'Hell.'a Hell is the place of eternal judgment (Isaiah 66.22-24). Hell is the place of eternal damnation. Hell is the place of conscious eternal punishment (Matt. 25.46a). Hell is the place of everlasting
physical and mental torment (Luke 16.19-31). Hell is the place of eternal separation from G-d (2 Thess. 1.9).
Hell is the place of everlasting fire, “lake of fire” (Matt. 18.8; 25.41; Rev. 20.13-15; 21.8). Hell is the eternal
consequence of sin. Hell is the eternal consequence for the one who refuses to turn away from his sin and
acknowledge G-d. After this man's physical death, his ‘inner self’ will live on forever in hell, the lake of fire, the
second death where ‘Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched' (Mark 9.44; also Deut. 32.16-22;
Isaiah 14.9-11; 66.24; Rev. 2.11; 14.9-10 etc.)... "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6.23a; also Romans
1.18-20)...
"The fathers shall not die for the children,
neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin"
(2 Chronicles 25.4b; also Deut. 24.16; Ezekiel 18.20).
"YHWH, YHWH, the compassionate and gracious El, slow to anger, abounding in love [mercy]b and faithfulness [truth], maintaining love [mercy] to thousands, and forgiving wickedness,
rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and
their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation" (Exodus 34.6b, 7;
Lam. 3.22-23).
a
Hell (background of the name): “The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares YHWH. They have set up
their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. They have built the high places of Topheth in
the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire – something I did not command, nor did it enter my
mind. So beware, the days are coming, declares YHWH, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben
Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room” (Jeremiah 7.3032; read to 8.3). “Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep
and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of YHWH, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze” (Isaiah 30.33 (both verses contain prophecies of judgment on the Antichrist and armies of the Antichrist); see also Joshua
15.8; 18.16, 2 Kings 16.3; 23.10, 2 Chronicles 28.3, Nehemiah 11.30, Jeremiah 2.23; 19.4-15; 31.40). Within the ‘Valley
of Ben Hinnom’ was a high place, an open-air pagan shrine of idolatry, called Topheth (“fire-stove”), where children
were thrown into the fiery arms of Molek. The shrine was most probably located at a point outside the southern end of
Jerusalem where the Hinnom Valley meets the Kidron Valley in the vicinity of Akeldama, the “Field of Blood” (Acts
1.19). The Jewish people so loathed the place after these sacrifices had been abolished that they cast into it not only refuse, but dead bodies of animals and unburied criminals who had been executed. And since fires were always burning to
consume the dead, the place came to be known as Gehenna… Topheth (tav-pe-tav) (8612) is the same as topet (tav-petav) (8611), act of spitting. Topheth (8612) is derived from tapap (tav-pe-pe) (8608), sound the timbrel, beat. Drums were
beaten to drown the cries of the children during sacrifices… Valley of Ben Hinnom: Heb. ge-hinnom (giymel-he-nuwnmem) is translated into the Greek word Gehenna. Gehenna (1067), the name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment for all who die without having exercised faith in the Savior. Gehenna is one of the words translated ‘Hell’ in English versions of the Bible. Gehenna was the word used by the Jewish people. Other words translated ‘Hell’ in the Bible:
Gk. Haides (86), Gk. Tartaroo (5020), Heb. She’ol (shiyn-aleph-vav-lamed) (7585).
b Mercy: Heb. chesed (cheyth-samek-daleth) (2617), kindness, loving-kindness in condescending to the needs of His creatures. Chesed is most often translated “mercy, grace, kindness, loving-kindness, favor, steadfast love, love, loyalty, faithfulness” (see Nehemiah 9.17; Psalms 103.8-10 etc.). Chesed is one of the most important terms in the vocabulary of
Tanakh (Old Testament) theology and ethics. “In the Old Testament, mercy/loving-kindness is associated with the covenant obligation between G-d and humans. Humans must be faithful to the covenant and God binds himself to fidelity to
the covenant by mercy and by grace (another Hebrew word used to mean mercy)” (Achtemeier, Paul J. general editor.
Bible Dictionary. (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1996), 674).
37
"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened,
which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death
and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev.
20.12-15; also Matt. 8.12; 13.41-42; 2 Thess. 1.9; 2.12).
G-d is the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18.25). "Elohiym is a just judge, and El expresses his wrath every
day" (Psalm 7.11; also Romans 1.18). "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…" (Hebrews 9.27).

temporal suffering: temporal suffering is physical and mental pain experienced in this life on earth. Temporal suffering is universal. Every day, all men experience one form of suffering or another. Ultimately, all
suffering on earth is the consequence of sin. But not all suffering that a person experiences is the consequence of his own sinful actions. “Suffering and sin are not necessarily connected in individual cases, but
human selfishness and sin explain much of the world's ills.”a Temporal suffering ends at the moment of
physical death.
Regardless of the origin of a man's suffering, temporal suffering is intended to drive him to God. b Pain
"plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul."c "'As surely as I live,' declares the Sovereign
YHWH, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live'"
(Ezekiel 33.11a; also Job; Jer. 3.22; Lam. 3.33).

eternal suffering: eternal suffering is suffering that will never end. Suffering will never end for those who
are in hell. But for those who have received salvation, suffering will end at death: "And G-d will wipe away
every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more
pain, for the former things have passed away" (Rev. 21.4).
7. What is salvation?
pc-d-e-c*-c*[!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the Tibetan Bible, the word for ‘salvation’ is… thar pa
thar pa
pc-d-
pc-d- means "to become free, to be saved, released."d
ß
a
Marshall, I. H.. New Bible Dictionary. (Leicester: Inter-varsity Press, 1996).
“His purpose in using the cloud [suffering] is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that
of a child – a relationship simply between God and our own souls… There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the
light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our
view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him” (Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest. (Oswald Chambers
Publications Associations, Ltd., 1992), July 29).
c Lewis, C. S.. The Problem of Pain. (New York: MacMillan, 1971).
d Jäschke, ibid, 230.
b
38
The hope of a Tibetan is to store up enough merit to gain a tranquil human rebirth. a As a human being, one
may combine reason and faith and earn the release from samsara. A Tibetan's greatest hope is to be liberated
from the sorrow and suffering of samsara. The state of spiritual liberation is salvation, nirvana,b true peace,
ultimate reality, the end of the path. Nirvana is the state of mind where all desire for a personal independent
existence has been extinguished...
"As a flame blown out by the wind goes to rest and cannot be defined,
So the wise man freed from individuality goes to rest and cannot be defined.
Gone beyond all images - gone beyond the power of words…"c
Nirvana may also be referred to as lower-nirvana to distinguish it from the higher level of perfect Buddhahood.
Perfect Buddhahood is the state of complete spiritual awakening in which all physical and mental faults and
stains have been purified and eliminated. Perfect Buddhahood is the state of full enlightenment (bodhi). The
mind of enlightenment (bodhicitta) has full understanding of the truth. The mind of enlightenment is said to be
fully purified and perfected.

bodhi means ‘awakened’ or ‘enlightenment.’ Bodhi is the state of impersonal moral and spiritual perfection.d Bodhi is the state of perfect clarity of mind in which things are seen as they really are. Bodhi is the
state of complete spiritual insight into the nature of reality. Enlightenment is compared to waking up. A fully
enlightened person is called a Buddha. His Buddha-nature has been awakened. The darkness of ignorance is dispelled by full enlightenment.

bodhicitta (mind of enlightenment; thought of enlightenment; enlightened mind; the awakening mind, wisdom-heart, i.e. a state of mental development): The root of Buddhist Dharma is bodhicitta. Bodhi is Sanskrit for ‘enlightenment.’ Citta is Sanskrit for Mind. Bodhicitta is the attitude of loving-kindness and compassion towards all beings. Bodhicitta is a mind (including thought, action, feeling and speech) totally dedicated to others and to achieving full enlightenment in order to benefit all sentient beings. The mind is
‘awakening’ in the sense that it begins to wake up to the great suffering that is all around, and aspire to win
enlightenment for the benefit of all others. The source of this aspiration is an all-embracing compassion.
The complete attainment of Buddhahood is impossible without this profound and vast aspiration and accompanying activity.e “The basis of engendering relative bodhicitta: we realize that all sentient beings have
been our parent at some time, we see the suffering all beings endure, and we have the overwhelming desire to free them from this suffering.”f
a
Tibetans believe that it is rare to be reborn as a human.
Nirvana (moksha: release): According to the Dalai Lama, what is Nirvana? “Something like a quality of mind... It is the
state of having separated from defilements through the application of the antidotes to those defilements. And then, when
you look to see what that is, you find the final nature of the mind itself. The final nature of the mind exists as long as there
is the mind, namely, from beginningless time. So, this final nature of the mind is with us from the very start. But only
when it becomes endowed with the quality of having separated from defilements through the power of their antidotes is
that final nature of the mind called Nirvana. The very basis, the foundation of Nirvana is always with us. It is not something that is sought from the outside. Therefore, some Zen practitioners say that Buddhahood is not to be found outside; it
is already inside” (The Dalai Lama. Spiritual Advice, 94-96)... “The Buddha held that there is nothing permanent in the
world - only nirvana is permanent. Everything else is in constant flux, an unending process of coming into being and
passing out of existence... Are samsara and nirvana merely “states of mind” or are they extra-mental ontological states of
existence? If the former, then the transition from samsara to nirvana is really no more than a profound change in attitude,
perspective, and motivation. If the latter, then the transition is more than simply a change in attitude. It is a transition from
one ontological state - a highly undesirable one - to another... (Netland. Dissonant Voices, ibid., 62-63).
c Majhima Nikaya, 245.
d Tsering, ibid., 51.
e www.kagyu.org.
f Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche.
b
39

n*fn-
a): Buddha-Dharma denies the existence of the immortal inner man, but acknowlcitta (mind
edges the reality of the mind (chitta, bodhicitta), will and emotions. A man’s mind is the root of his desire.
The mind must be brought under control during meditation as one seeks to realize absolute truth. The
mind is the seat of the divine nature, the Buddha-nature. The mind is where enlightenment occurs.
†
“You people don’t know what you are worshipping; we worship what we do know, because salvation comes
from the Jews” (John 4.22).
Salvation (Yeshuwah)b is offered to every man. When a man receives Yeshuwah, his sins are forgiven. He is
reconciled with G-d. He is delivered from G-d’s eternal judgment on sinners. He is permanentlya occupied (in-
n*fn-
a
In the Tibetan Bible, the words ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ of man (and in places ‘Spirit of God’) are translated
.
Salvation: Heb. yeshuwah h(w$y (yowd-shiyn-vav-ayin-he) (3444), salvation, deliverance. See Psalm 9.14; Isaiah 12.2
and 52.10; Jonah 2.9 etc… Salvation: Gk. soteria  (4991); in the technical biblical sense, the Messianic “salvation”… The Hebrew word yeshuwah is also used in the sense of physical deliverance, rescue, as when G-d divided the sea
to deliver the Israelites from the Egyptian army, “YHWH caused a shift to a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and hurled them into the Sea of Reeds [Heb. Yam Suph 5Ws 3y (3220, 5488), see Jonah 2.5 re: 5488] (Exodus
10.19a)…The Israelites set out from Rameses and encamped at Succoth (Numbers 33.5)… So Elohiym led the people
roundabout, by way of the wilderness at the Sea of Reeds… They set out from Succoth and encamped at Etham, at the
edge of the wilderness… YHWH said to Moses: Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between
Migdol and the sea [3Yh], before Baal-zephon [Baal of the north]; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea… Moses said to
b
40
dwelt) by the Spirit of G-d (John 14.16; 1 Cor. 3.16-17; Hebrews 13.5b).b He is a "new creation" (2 Cor. 5.17).
He will have eternal life in heaven after he experiences physical death.

heavenc: “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with
the Lord” (2 Cor. 5.8). Heaven is the dwelling place of G-d and His angels (Deut. 26.15; 1 Kings 8.30;
Psalm 11.4; Eccl. 5.2; Rev. 4). Heaven is the ultimate destination of G-d's saints on earth, the heirs of salvation. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior…" (Phil. 3.20a; also John 14.1-4; Matt. 25.34). In heaven, every man will live on as a unique individual. He will have a recognizable personality and physical uniqueness. He will no longer be subject to physical death, disease or
decay, nor will he ever suffer pain. He will have a perfect body. In heaven, a man will experience far greater joy, knowledge and relationship in the presence of G-d than he had ever known (Rev. 7.13-17).
8. How does a man attain salvation?
pc-a-e-z[}n-ce-x(r-rn!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ß
"Worshippers come to the shrine, carrying their small butter lamps
to burn in propitiation for their sins in this lifed and the hope of a more comfortable
existence in their next…"
the people, “Have no fear! Stand by, and witness the deliverance [yeshuwah] which YHWH will work for you today”…
Then Moses held out his arm over the sea and YHWH drove back the sea with a strong east wind all that night, and
turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split, and the Israelites went into the sea on dry ground… Then Moses
caused Israel to set out from the Sea of Reeds. They went on into the wilderness of Shur; they traveled three days in the
wilderness and found no water” (Exodus 13.18, 20; 14.1-2, 13a, 21-22a; 15.22; see also Numbers 33). Which sea or seas
are referred to in these Biblical references, and which sea was crossed during the exodus? The two issues to deal with in
answering these questions: 1. The exact location of places named in these scripture references are yet to be confirmed by
archaeology 2. it is possible that the configuration of the seas has changed over 3500 years since the exodus… Biblical
references to Migdol: Numbers 33.7; Jer. 44.1; 46.14; Ezekiel 29.10.
a Is salvation permanent, or can one ‘fall away’? Fall away: Gk. parapipto (3895), fall beside; hence to deviate from the
right path, turn aside, wander… In the Scriptures, to fall away from the true faith is to fall away from the worship of
YHWH. See Hebrews 3.12 and 6.1-8.
b The salvation experience precedes the ongoing experience referred to as ‘being filled with the spirit.’ Be filled: Gk.
pletho (4130) and pleroo (4137). Pleroo (4137), make full, fill, fill up. Pleroo (4137), derived from pleres (4134), thoroughly permeated with. See Luke 4.1; Acts 1.8; 2.4; 6.3; 7.55; 11.24; Eph. 4.30; 5.18 Phil. 4.19.
c Heaven: Heb. shamayim (shiyn-mem-yowd-mem) (8064), in this sense, the abode of G-d. Note the last three consonants
of shamayim mean waters. Waters: Heb. mayim (mem-yowd-mem) (4325).
d To burn in propitiation for their sins in this life, i.e. to make an atoning sacrifice for their sins; to pay the penalty for
their sins; to pay the debt that was accumulated by their sinful thoughts and actions - by doing ‘good works.’
41
In the Buddhist tradition, there is no concept of salvation by faith. Tibetans believe that one cannot be forgiven
for past sins without earning that forgiveness. Siddartha Gautama the Buddha told his followers that their good
works earned merit that could be stored up like treasure in a vault. When this store of merit was large enough,
it could guarantee a better rebirth. Yet, while good deeds are believed to guarantee a better rebirth, they will
not liberate a man from the suffering of samsara. To reduce suffering, a Tibetan may go to the local astrologer. To avoid rebirth, that is, to be liberated from the suffering of samsara, a man must single-pointedly entrust
his spiritual well-being to Kön Chok Sum, the Three Jewels of refuge. One can only approach Kön Chok
through the lama.
But how does a man attaina salvation? Siddartha Gautama the Buddha told his followers that they must work
out their own salvation with diligence. According to Buddhist tradition, salvation can only be attained through
the practice of Dharma. The Dalai Lama says that the appropriate means for attaining spiritual liberation and
perfection is the practice of Dharmab...
"Harken, harken, huntsman! Though the thunder crashes, it is but empty sound; though the
rainbow is richly colored, it will soon fade away. The pleasures of this world are like dream visions; though one enjoys them, they are sources of sin. Though all we see may seem to be
eternal it will soon fall to pieces and disappear. Yesterday perhaps one had enough or more:
All today is gone and nothing left. Last year one was alive, this year one dies: Good food turns
into poison. Your sins hurt no one but yourself: Among the hundred heads you value, yourself
is valued most - the time has come for you to help yourself. Life flees fast; soon death will
knock upon your door. It is foolish therefore one's devotion to postpone. What else can loving
kinsmen do but throw one into sorrow? To strive for happiness hereafter is more important
than to seek it now. The time has come for you to rely upon a guru,c the time has come to
practice dharma.”d
The practice of Dharma refers to meditation. Through meditation, a man can come to the realization of emptiness. By realizing emptiness, he sees all phenomena including 'self' as illusion. He thereby removes ignorance
from his mind, purging his mind of the desire for an enduring ‘self,’ purging his mind of the desire for everything and everyone except the Dalai Lama. The skandhas break free from the endless cycle of samsara. The
Buddha-nature, the Buddha within, is awakened.e The mind of enlightenment is attained.f
Monks are by meditation seeking a personal self-achieved enlightenment. They are seeking to realize absolute
truth. But most lay-Tibetans confine themselves to making merit and offerings. In this way, they may attain a
better rebirth and appease the evil spirits. Lay-Buddhists believe that salvation is unattainable, beyond their
reach…
a
Attain: to reach as an end: gain, achieve; to come into possession of: obtain; to come or arrive by effort (Webster’s).
The Dalai Lama. The Good Heart, ibid., 100.
c Guru (spiritual master) is Saskrit for ‘lama.’
d Song of spiritual experience, by Tibetan yogi Milarepa. Milarepa was a famed eleventh-century yogi-meditator who
recorded his free-spirited teachings in song and verse.
e “Buddhists further believe that because the basic nature of consciousness is neutral, it is possible to escape from the
unending cycle of birth, suffering, death and rebirth that life inevitably entails, but only when all negative karma has been
eliminated along with all worldly attachments. When this point is reached, the consciousness in question is believed to
attain first liberation and then ultimately Buddhahood” (The Dalai Lama. Freedom in Exile – The Autobiography of the
Dalai Lama. ibid., 11).
f Gnosticism as it relates to enlightenment: “The Gnostics taught that man is composed of body, soul, and spirit. Since the
body and the soul are part of man's earthly existence, they are evil. Enclosed in the soul, however, is the spirit, the only
divine substance of man. This “spirit” is asleep and ignorant; it needs to be awakened and liberated by knowledge. According to the Gnostics, the aim of salvation is for the spirit to be awakened by knowledge so the inner man can be released from his earthly dungeon and return to the realm of light where the soul becomes reunited with God” (Nelson's
Illustrated Bible Dictionary). Gnosticism was the most effective and widely accepted form of pantheism. Gnosticism was
the main occult attack against the New Covenant teaching. See Colossians 2.8 and 1 Timothy 6.20.
b
42
"by one's self alone is evil done, is one defiled, is evil avoided, is one purified…
and no one can purify another.”

faith: Siddartha Gautama did not encourage his followers to have untested faith in his teachings. Rather,
he encouraged them to put his teachings to the test and prove them by experience. In the Buddhist tradition, faith is not in the supernatural, but rather in Buddhist teachings and in one's lama. Faith is the root of
all spiritual achievement. Without faith in Kön Chok Sum, one cannot avoid rebirth. But by faith alone, a
man does not attain salvation.

good works, anti-sin: good works, works of the law, are motivated by the desire to cancel bad deeds (sin)
and earn religious merit. These are some ways of earning religious merit: a ritual praying and chanting and
reciting mantras, lighting butter lamps and making daily Yak-butter offerings, burning incense on the altar,
prostrating, using prayer wheels and prayer beads and putting up prayer flags, teaching Dharma, repairing
the monastery, giving to monks and to the poor, going on a pilgrimage, seeing the Dalai Lama, even suffering. But by doing these things, a man does not attain salvation. By doing these things, he can only hope
for a better rebirth.

astrologer: an astrologer is one who practices astrology. Tibetan Astrology is regarded as a practical
method to reduce suffering and uncertainty. Tibetan Astrology originated from several different traditions –
ancient Bön, Indian and Chinese traditions, and the Buddhist Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) tantra. At the
core of the Kalachakra tantric system is the concept of ‘as above, so below,’ i.e. the correspondence of the
outer universe with the inner physical and mental processes in humans. Traditionally, astrology was one of
the five secondary sciences in Tibet. Tibetan astrology concerns divination (the practice that seeks to foresee future events or discover hidden knowledge). Astrology is also used in the study of time cycles, Tibetan chronology and the compilation of the Tibetan calendar. The calendar, similar to an almanac, is quite
important in the daily lives of Tibetans. Tibetans are concerned that their daily activities are in tune with the
cosmos. The correct motivation of an astrologer is compassion, i.e. wanting others to be free from suffering.

lama, gurub: Before Buddha-Dharma came to Central Asia, Tibetans did their business with the spirit world
through powerful shamans. Under the influence of Buddha-Dharma, the shaman was replaced by the
monk. The lama is a senior monk, a spiritual teacher, astrologer, master and mentor, spiritual guide in the
Tibetan's quest for salvation. Lay-Tibetans seek the teachings and blessings (for a fruitful reincarnation
and a long life) of the lama. The lama is present to perform ceremonies at births, sicknesses, and deaths,
to dedicate new houses, and to help solve problems. "The life of every Tibetan is dominated by religious
preoccupations. He is conscious of being surrounded by demons who can be appeased by certain rites
and ceremonies. Only the lamas have the knowledge and the authority to perform these." c When Tibetans
a
Similarly in Jerusalem, “ritual is enhanced by repetition. Day in, day out, the same liturgies, the same formulations, the
same tunes, the same invocations are endlessly repeated. The same gestures are executed in the same vestments, in the
same sacred spaces as hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Nothing changes. Again and again, morning, noon, evening,
night, the endless repetition confers a kind of reality to the unreal”(Elon, Amos. Jerusalem – City of Mirrors. (United
States of America: Little, Brown and Company, 1989), 53). Orthodox (correct belief) Jews are committed to the study
and observance of the Halakha. Halakha (lit. “the way to go”) constitutes the practical application of the commandments
in the Torah. Orthodox Jews believe that they can improve themselves (can be holy) by strict adherence to the Halakha as
they attempt to comprehend what is implied by the repeated command in the Torah to “be holy to Me, for I YHWH am
holy…” (Lev. 20.26). Orthodox Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah. They believe that they must enhance the
good in their human nature, atone for their own sins, and thereby earn eternal salvation. Read Romans 9.30 – 10.3. “Judaism holds that one is “put right” with God through performing the good deeds of the law” (Prager, Dennis. Why the Jews?
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003), 19)).
b Lama is a Tibetan term corresponding to the Indian word guru which means “teacher.”
c Migot A.. Tibetan Marches. (London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1960), 104. Amulette boxes are given by lamas for protection
and blessing.
43
see a lama, they give money. Then they may be recognized by a lama who can lift them out of a future
Hell. Tibetan Buddhism is also referred to as 'Lamaism' because of the importance of the lamas. A Tibetan
proverb declares: "Without the lama in front, there is no approach to Kön Chok." And yet, liberation from
samsara can only be attained through the practice of Dharma, that is, through meditation...
“Whether we are in samsara or nirvana
depends upon our state of mind. When we fail to recognize the proper nature of mind,
that is samsara. When we experience the pure nature of mind, free from confusion,
that is nirvana. Samsara and nirvana are states of mind, not two separate places.
The practice of quiet sitting meditation, called shinay, brings about the stability of mind
necessary to experience insight into the pure nature of the mind.”a

meditation (the practice of Dharma) samadhi: Meditation is a kind of mind control that is believed to bring
about transformation of the mind. Meditation is believed to help one realize absolute truth. Tibetan Buddhist meditation is the way of salvation. Meditation is of two basic types: 1. Analytical meditation: an object
is analyzed so that one can become familiar with it. 2. Stabilizing meditation: the mind is focused on the
object. The object may be external or internal, and is something with spiritual significance or symbolism.
“The mind is definitely something that can be transformed, and meditation is a means to transform it.”b
"This practice of meditation becomes important for the transformation of our mind." c Through constant
meditation one can experience an inner transformation from an undisciplined, untamed, unfocused state of
mind toward one that is disciplined, tamed, and balanced. "At present our mind is dispersed; its energies
have to be canalised, like water in a hydroelectric plant, in order to create a strong force. In the mind, this
result is achieved by meditation, by channeling it so as to make it very powerful, to the point where it can
be used to master wisdom. To the extent that all the seeds of illumination exist inside ourselves, Buddhahood is not to be sought elsewhere."d
†
True enlightenment will always bring a man to the place of
repentance and worship before the living G-d.
According to the Bible, salvation cannot be attained. Salvation cannot be achieved by continued effort. No
amount of merit accumulated by good deeds will in any way cancel a man's sin. No amount of good works will
erase the pride and rebellion that exists in the heart of every man…"we are like an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64.6a; also Psalm 14.2, 3; Mark 10.18b; Romans 3.12).
Every man is a helpless destitute sinner. Man cannot deal with sin. Man cannot cancel his sin. Man cannot
save himself from his sin. Man cannot perfect his sinful human nature. Man is powerless to renew his own
mind. No amount of meditation will dispel ignorance. No amount of meditation will purify and enlighten the
a
H.E. Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche.
Buddhism.kalachakranet.org.
c The Dalai Lama. Spiritual Advice, ibid., 33.
d Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Kindness, Clarity and Insight. (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1984).
b
44
mind of a man. "... the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving" (2 Cor. 4.4a (read 4.3-6);
also Eccl. 1.18; Eph. 4.18). Man cannot save himself…
THE GOSPEL
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel”
(Mark 1.15; also Romans 1.16).
"Yes! I tell you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it!”"
(Mark 10.15).
"... unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God... unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God… You must be born again"
(John 3.3b, 5b, 7; read 3.1-8).
“For God so loved the world,a that He gave His only begottenb Son [the Savior], that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3.16).
“He [the Savior] was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed”
(Isaiah 53.5).
"But to as many as did receive him [the Savior], to those who put their trust in his person and
power, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1.12; read John 1.1-13).
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast"
(Eph. 2.8-9; also Jer. 9.23-24; Rom. 5.15-18; Gal. 6.14).
“And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive”
(Matt. 21.22).
When a man receives the Savior, he receives Salvation (Yeshuwah). c When a man receives Yeshuwah, is his
mind suddenly purified? No. He is still a sinner (1 John 1.7-10). But he is no longer a slave of sin and Satan.
He is a sinner saved by grace. He has been purchased by G-d. "Therefore if the Son [the Savior] makes you
free,d you shall be freee indeed" (John 8.36). The man has been set free from sin. f He has been set free from
the fear of death (1 Cor. 15.26). He has been set free from the fear of man. His desire is to glorify G-d rather
than to serve self and glorify man. His desire is to seek the approval and glory of G-dg rather than the approval
a
World: Gk. kosmos (2889), in this sense, the inhabitants of the earth, the human race.
Only begotten: Gk. monogenes (3439), only-born, i.e. sole.
c Savior: Yasha = Salvation: Yeshuwah… Savior (lit. One saving): Heb. Yasha ($y (yowd-shiyn-ayin) (3467), save, deliver, give victory… Salvation: Heb. Yesha ($y (yowd-shiyn-ayin) (3468), salvation, deliverance; Salvation: Heb. Yeshuwah h(w$y (yowd-shiyn-vav-ayin-he) (3444), salvation. Yesha (3468) and Yeshuwah (3444) are derived from yasha
(3467)… The root meaning of ‘yasha’ in Arabic is “make wide” or “make sufficient”; this root is in contrast to ‘sarar’
“narrow,” which means “be restricted” or “cause distress.” That which is wide connotes freedom from distress. To move
from distress to safety requires deliverance. The one who brings deliverance is known as the “savior” (Harris, ibid., 414).
d To make free: Gk. eleutheroo (1659), deliver, liberate, set at liberty from the dominion of sin.
e Free: Gk. eleutheros (1658), unrestrained, i.e. as a citizen, not a slave.
f Even a demon-possessed man can be set free (Mark 5.1-20). ‘Demon-possessed’ actually means “demonized,” as opposed to “owned by demons.” Demon-possessed: Gk. daimonizomai (1139), to be exercised by a demon; to be under the
power of a demon; to be in the state in which demons have access to, and control of, a certain area of one’s life.
g See Matthew 25.21.
b
45
and glory of man. His desire is to be dependent on G-d rather than independent from G-d (Psalm 118.8; 121).
His desire is to know G-d and to be known by G-d.a He has become a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter
1.1-4).b He is being transformed by the renewing of his mind (Deut. 30.6; Romans 12.2; 1 Cor. 2.16; Eph.
4.23).c Yet the battle of his mind still rages (Ro. 7.14-20; Gal. 5.17-18; 1 Peter 2.11). But the battle will lessen
in intensity as he trusts G-d in the midst of suffering and uncertainty, and as he denies himself…

"Whoever desires to come after Me [the Savior], let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow Me.d For whoever desires to save his life [psyche] will lose it, but whoever loses his
life [psyche] for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains
the whole world, and loses his own soul [psyche]? For what will a man give in exchange for
his soul [psyche]?"" (Mark 8.34-37; also 10.17-21; Matt. 10.38; 16.24-26; 19.27-29; John
12.24; 1 Cor. 15.36).
To receive Yeshuwah is to receive the Savior.
To receive the Savior is to follow the Savior.
To follow the Savior is to deny one’s self.
To deny one’s self is to seek intimacy with G-d.e
a
Knowing G-d: Phil. 3.7-10; Jer. 31.34. “… the people who know their God will firmly resist him [the antichrist]” (Daniel 11.32b)… Be known by G-d: Exodus 33.13, 1 Cor. 8.3. “Perhaps it seems rather crude to describe glory as the fact of
being “noticed” by God. But this is almost the language of the New Testament. St. Paul promises to those who love God
not, as we should expect, that they will know Him, but that they will be known by Him (1 Cor. 8.3). It is a strange promise. Does not God know all things at all times? But it is dreadfully re-echoed in another passage of the New Testament.
There we are warned that it may happen to any one of us to appear at last before the face of God and hear only the appalling words: “I never knew you. Depart from Me.” In some sense, as dark to the intellect as it is unendurable to the feelings, we can be both banished from the presence of Him who is present everywhere and erased from the knowledge of
Him who knows all” (Lewis, C.S.. The weight of Glory, ibid., 12).
b Partaker of/participate in the divine nature: this does not mean that a man becomes divine in any sense, but only that he
is indwelt by G-d through the Holy Spirit. “Our humanity and his deity, as well as the human personality and the divine,
remain distinct and separate” (The NIV Study Bible, p.1899).
c Mind: Gk. nous (3563), reason - to be so changed that the spirit which governs the mind is renewed.
d Deny: Gk. aparneomai (533), deny utterly, i.e. disown, abstain… Take up the cross: ‘cross’ is translated from the
Greek word stauros (4716) meaning figuratively exposure to death, i.e. self-denial; literally the execution-stake, “the wellknown instrument of most cruel and ignominious punishment, borrowed by the Greeks and Romans from the Phoenicians” (Thayer, ibid., 586)… Follow: Gk. akoloutheo (190), join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple; side with his
party.
Commentary on Mark 8.34: “They must not be indulgent of the ease of the body; for “Whosoever will come after me
for spiritual cures, as these people do for bodily cures, let him deny himself, and live a life of self-denial, mortification,
and contempt of the world; let him not pretend to be his own physician, but renounce all confidence in himself and his
own righteousness and strength, and let him take up his cross, conforming himself to the pattern of a crucified Jesus, and
accommodating himself to the will of God in all the afflictions he lies under; and thus let him continue to follow me””
(Matthew Henry's Commentary).
e To deny one’s self: to decrease (John 3.30), to seek obscurity, to die to (i.e. to lay aside) one’s personal plans and ambitions, natural abilities and accomplishments, rights, preferences, one’s eloquence (1 Cor. 1.17-19); one’s works, one’s
reputation, one’s theology, one’s religion; one’s loves and hates, one’s cultural background; one’s opinions and the need
to be heard (James 1.26), one’s need for recognition, one’s need for possessions (Matt. 6.19-21; Mark 10.17-21; also
Malachi 3.10-12 re tithe), one’s need for physical comfort, one’s need for excessive food (see ‘Fast’ below). To deny
‘self’ demands total surrender of our will to G-d (Prov. 3.5-6; Jer. 10.23; John 5.30). Once this is done, surrender is complete… Why should we deny ourselves? In order to seek intimacy with G-d.
Fast: Heb. tsuwm (tsadey-vav-mem) (6684), abstain from food; cover over (the mouth)… Fast: Gk. nesteia (3521), abstinence from food. “… fasting has a long and impressive history as a discipline adopted by believers for a variety of reasons, but all of them are connected by the principle of self-denial… Actually, we should live in the attitude of fasting [and
prayer] because we should live with an attitude of dependence upon God” (Towns, Elmer L. Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough. (Ventura, California: Regal Books, 1996)) 28… “The observation of some kind of fast is important because it
shows a desperation and determination to “touch the Lord,” who alone is the source of all healing” (Chavda, Mahesh. The
Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting. (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, Inc., 1998) 33… See Isaiah 58.6-8;
Matt. 6.16-18.
46

to be enlightened, enlightenment: enlightenment is Divine Revelation, i.e. revelation of G-d, revelation
knowledge of the truth revealed to one's mind by the Holy Spirit (John 1.9; 14.6; Hebrews 4.12).a The enlightened man sees the thoughts and intents of his own heart (Psalm 39; Romans 7.24). He sees the
darkness of his own heart. And yet he sees the loveliness of who he is before the living G-d. He experiences the unconditional love of G-d... “To be enlightened is to be taken through the veil of ignorance and
into the permanent reality of G-d.”b See Job 33.30 and 42.5-6; Hebrews 6.4-6.

truthc
: “Man is born to enquire after truth.”d What is 'truth'? (John 18.38a). Truth is conformity to fact or actuality. Truth is conformity of our thoughts or statements to objective reality. Truth is
faithfulness to a standard. G-d sets the standard for absolute objective truth, for absolute right and wrong.
G-d’s word is truth. There are two camps of people in the world: one camp accepts the idea of an absolute
objective truth and true values; the other believes truth and values are relative and subjective (situation
ethics), or nonexistent, "every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes" (Deut. 12.8b; also Judges
21.25b).

meditation:e "The biblical concept of meditation means to think about or to dwell upon; it involves an active thought process.”f Meditation is not a mystical exercise and experience. In the Scriptures, King David
"did not seek a mystical form of god-realization or awareness of his spiritual nature through meditation. He
sought to know G-d, to understand His ways, and to see himself as G-d saw him. Moreover, he was deeply concerned that the meditation of his heart would be pleasing in the sight of YHWH (Psalm 27.4). Meditation that is truly Biblical will always direct attention to these same goals."g A man who continually meditates
on G-d [and the Scriptures] will become G-d-centered rather than self-centered (see Joshua 1.8, Psalm
1.2 and Psalm 63, also Phil. 4.8, Col. 3.2). One's mental faculties are sharpened as he meditates on the
magnitude of G-d; His works, His ways, His promises, and His wonders... Through meditation, one does
not become compassionate. It is through suffering that one becomes compassionate.

Kingdom of G-d (kingdom of heaven): “The reign of G-d, or the realm over which G-d rules or will rule.”h
See Obadiah 21; Haggai 2.21-23; Zechariah 14.9; Matt. 25.

to repent of sin: to change one's mind about sin. To repent of sin is to change from loving sin to hating sin.
To repent of sin is to turn away from sin and “return i to the God of Might” (Isaiah 10.21). “’I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9.13b; also Acts 3.19; 2
Peter 3.9).

to be born again, to be born of water and the Spirit, regeneration, the new birth: the new birth is the
spiritual event that occurs only once in a man’s life, that is, when he receives Yeshuwah. The new birth
means to be born again into the kingdom of G-d, to become a child of G-d, to enter into a covenantrelationship with G-d. It is the ‘inner man’ that is born again when a man receives Yeshuwah.
d[*]-a-
a
See Romans 10.13-14. All men need to hear the name of the Savior.
E.R.
c Truth: Gk. aletheia (225), the reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested, veritable essence of a matter.
d Montaigne, the French philosopher.
e Meditation: Heb. hagah (he-giymel-he) (1897), moan, growl, utter, speak, muse.
f Kah, ibid., 45.
g Bulle, Florence. The Many Faces of Deception. (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1996), 188.
h Achtemeier, ibid., 567.
i Return: Heb. shuwb (shiyn-vav-beyth) (7725), (re)turn, turn back. This word is better than any other Hebrew verb expressing repentance: “it combines in itself the two requisites of repentance: to turn from evil and to turn to the good”
(Harris, ibid., 909).
b
47
p%en-è*-

gracea
: the grace of G-d is the undeserved favor of G-d (Hebrews 4.16). Grace and
works of the law are not to be combined - the grace of G-d is not dependent upon the works of man. The
pride of man has always resisted the grace of G-d... Grace brings responsibility and obligation – G-d’s forgiveness of a man demands that the man forgive others (Matt. 6.14-15 and 18.22-35; Mark 11.25-26).

faith, trust: faith is trust in, dependency upon, obedience to, and commitment to, the object of one's faith.
Biblical faith starts with a belief in G-d, and in time matures to a complete reliance on G-d, and full obedience to G-d. Biblical faith is a commitment to G-d's will for one's life: trusting an unknown future to a
known G-d. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews
11.1; also Psalm 37). "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to G-d must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11.6). "Whatever is
not from faith is sin" (Romans 14.23b)... "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"
(Romans 10.17)... Biblical faith must be centered on the Scriptures. Where there is no real understanding,
i.e. understanding of the nature of G-d as expressed in the Scriptures, there can be no true faith. Biblical
faith is a subjective experience based on objective truth. And faith will develop ‘fruit’: “For just as the body
without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2.26).

prayer: humble and earnest communion with G-d.b “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14.13). “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask,
and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16.24). The dual purpose of prayer is the glory of G-d
and the joy of G-d’s people. A man is to pray to G-d the Father, in the Son’s name, through the Holy Spirit.
“… prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that He will provide the help we
need. Prayer humbles us as needy and exalts God as all-sufficient.”c See also Matt. 6.5-15; 18.19-20;
Luke 11.1-13; John 14.13-14; 15.7; Romans 8.26-27; Hebrews 4.16; James 4.2; 5.13-18; 1 John 3.21-22;
5.14-15; 2 Chron. 7.14 etc..

forgiveness: refers to G-d’s pardon of the sins of a man (Mark 1.4; 1 John 1.9). Sin deserves divine punishment because it is a violation of G-d’s holy character (Romans 1.18-32). But G-d’s pardon is gracious
(Psalm 130.4; Isaiah 43.25). In order for G-d to forgive sin, two conditions are necessary. A life must be
taken as a substitute for that of the sinner (Lev. 17.11; Hebrews 9.22). And the sinner must come to G-d’s
sacrifice in a spirit of repentance and faith.d

works (good deeds, religious practice, good works, works of righteousness) are works done with the
wrong motivation, that is, with the motivation to gain man’s approval; to cancel sin and earn merit, to pay
for one’s own sin (Jer. 48.6-7; Matt. 7.21-23; Romans 11.6); to attain G-d’s favor, to attain salvation…
"… not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved
us…" (Titus 3.5a; read Titus 3.1-8).

works: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2.26):
These ‘works’ are the application of the Bible to one's life once one has received Yeshuwah. These works
are motivated by a man's love for G-d and his desire to glorify G-d (Matt. 5.16; 26.6-13; Ephesians 2.10).
These works are done, not in self-reliance,e but rather with the attitude of complete surrender to G-da and
a
Grace: Heb. chen (cheyth-nuwn) (2580), favor; grace. Chen (2580) is derived from chanan (cheyth-nuwn-nuwn) (2603),
bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; favor, bestow… Grace: Gk. charis (5485), graciousness, of manner or act; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.
b “God’s Son is born into me through the direct act of God; then I as His child must exercise the right of a child – the
right of always being face to face with my Father through prayer” (Chambers, ibid., August 8).
c Piper, ibid., 56.
d Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary.
e “God has had to deal repeatedly with His people’s tendency to rely on their own strength and independent means to accomplish His work. Many of us are happy to see 20 th century technology used for the advancement of God’s kingdom, but
48
dependence upon G-d (Zechariah 4.6; Psalm 127.1).b In this way, G-d receives the glory rather than man.
These works are the 'fruit' of faith in G-d and relationship with G-d (John 15.4-7; also John 5.29; Romans
2.6-7; 7.18a; Galatians 5.22, 23; Phil. 2.12, 13; James 2.14-26). “’Not by might nor by power, but by My
Spirit,’ says YHWH of hosts” (Zechariah 4.6).
9. Who is the Savior of the world?
zu#e-¯*]-R#-NÏÅdn-fe(]-n$-c*[!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the Tibetan Bible, the word for ‘Savior’ is… Kyab Gön
Kyab
Gön-po
NÏÅdn-fe(]-
NÏÅdn- means "protection, defense, help, assistance."
fe(]-a(- means "protector, patron; principal, master, lord, tutelar god."
Kyab Gön
NÏÅdn-fe(]- means "helper, protector, deliverer.”c
we also must recognize that throughout history God’s power has been demonstrated through the crucified Lamb. Oswald
Chambers reminds us that Jesus founded His kingdom on the weakest link of all – a Baby” (Raymo, Jim. Marching to a
Different Drummer - Rediscovering Missions in an Age of Affluence and Self-Interest. (Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade, 1996), 123).
a Surrender: “Jesus’ presence always brought astonishing peace to me no matter how bad the situation I was in. Whenever
I was in a prison, He was always there for me. He transformed the jail into a heaven and the burdens became blessings.
There are many Christians who do not feel His glorious presence as something real, because for them Jesus only occurs in
their minds and not in their hearts. Only when someone surrenders his heart to Jesus can he find Him” (Sundar Singh).
b “The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in you life, not just good human characteristics. God’s life in us
expresses itself as God’s life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural
becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, not in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our own amazement that we have the power to stay wonderfully poised even in
the center of it all” (Chambers, ibid., September 20). Chambers also wrote, “If you give God the right to yourself, he will
make a holy experiment out of you. God’s experiments always succeed.”
c Jäschke, ibid, 26, 92.
49
ß
According to the Dalai Lama, Buddha-Dharma does not recognize a personal Savior of mankind. The Buddha
never claimed to be able to save anyone. The Buddha said, "I show you the way to liberation, but know that
liberation itself depends on you. Do not look for refuge to anyone besides yourselves." Man has no savior but
himself. "I can only liberate myself."a
But to whom does a Tibetan look for assistance in his quest to attain nirvana? His lama is his guide in the
quest for nirvana. His tantric masterb may give him a deity to visualize. This deity may help him attain salvation. And the bodhisattva can lead a man to full enlightenment.

bodhisattva: lit. "one with an heroic aspiration toward enlightenment." A bodhisattvac is a saint who is
about to attain full enlightenment. But because of his unbiased compassion for all sentient beings, he has
renounced nirvana. He has returned to earth. On earth he helps others to be liberated from suffering. He
has postponed his own salvation to show others the way of salvation.d Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara) is one
of the most important bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism.

Chenrezig (Avalokita, Avalokiteshvara): Avalokiteshvara is a Sanskrit term meaning “the lord who looks in
every direction.” Chenrezig is the patron deity of Tibet, protector of Tibetan people, the Lord of Infinite
Compassion, Bodhisattva of Compassion. Chenrezig is the special tutelar god of Tibet. All successive Dalai Lamas are believed to be tulkus of Chenrezig.

tulku
: lit. "Emanation Body." Generally, a tulku is a person who is believed to be an
incarnation (manifestation, human emanation) of a famous teacher, lama or deity. All successive Dalai
Lamas are regarded as incarnations of Chenrizig. Chenrezig uses the Dalai Lama's body. Chenrezig has
indwelt all Dalai Lamas through history. Each Dalai Lama fulfills the work that has been undertaken by the
previous life. Information about the Dalai Lama who dies is given by Chenrezig to the Dalai Lama’s successor.

Dalai Lama: ‘Dalai’ is a Mongolian word meaning “ocean.” ‘Dalai Lama’ is loosely translated “Ocean of
Wisdom.” Each Dalai Lama is considered to be the living embodiment of the eternal principles of BuddhaDharma. He is Defender of the Faith. He represents in his person the return to earth of Chenrezig. He is
the incarnation of Chenrezig.
NŒ•&v-N«^-
a
Quote by the person acting as the Dalai Lama in the movie ‘Kundun.’
‘Tantra’ is a method of spiritual discipline. The aim of tantric practice is to transform one’s body, speech and mind into
those of a fully enlightened buddha by special yogic means: Tibetan Tantric Buddhist Deity Yoga. Diety Yoga is a special conscious act of creating, visualizing the illusion that one is already a perfect being, already God-like... The tantric
path is claimed to accomplish in one lifetime what might otherwise take countless lifetimes.
c In a Boddhisattva’s practice, there are the six perfections: 1. giving of charity (e.g. giving material things; giving the
Dharma; giving “non-fright”, i.e. relieving beings of fear). 2. the practice of ethics. 3. the practice of forbearance or patience. 4. effort (an enthusiasm for the practice of virtue). 5. concentration. 6. the perfection of wisdom - the realization
of emptiness (The Dalai Lama. Spiritual Advice, 59-64).
d “According to Buddhism in the Tibetan tradition, a being that achieves Buddhahood, although freed from Samsara, the
‘wheel of suffering,’ as the phenomenon of existence is known, will continue to return to work for the benefit of all other
sentient beings until such time as each one is similarly liberated” (The Dalai Lama. Freedom in Exile – The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. ibid., 11).
b
50
“Dalai Lama means different things to different people. To some it means that I am a living
Buddha,a the earthly manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion. To others
it means that I am a ‘god-king’… But none of these are my ideas. To me ‘Dalai Lama’ is a title
that signifies the office I hold. I myself am just a human being, and incidentally a Tibetan, who
chooses to be a Buddhist monk… I am held to be the reincarnation of each of the previous
thirteen Dalai Lamas of Tibet who are in turn considered to be manifestations of Avolokiteshvara, or Chenrezig, Bodhisattva of Compassion, holder of the White Lotus. Thus I am
believed also to be a manifestion of Chenrezig, in fact the seventy-fourth in a lineage that can
be traced back to a Brahmin boy who lived in the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. I am often
asked whether I truly believe this. The answer is not simple to give. But as a fifty-six year old,
when I consider my experiences during this present life, and given my Buddhist beliefs, I have
no difficulty accepting that I am spiritually connected both to the thirteen previous Dalai Lamas, to Chenrezig and to the Buddha himself.”b

The present Dalai Lamac (Tenzin Gyatso, b. 1935) is the Supreme monk. He considers himself to be a
simple Buddhist monk. Tibetans refer to the him as Gyalwa Rinpoched and Kyab Gön. He is the fourteenth god-king of the Tibetan people, the fourteenth tulku of the deity Chenrezig.

Kyab Gön
[tulkus].e

tul (root word)
ghosts.
NÏÅdn-fe(]-
: Kyab Gön is the title given to certain highly respected persons
NΥ&v- : the root word 'tul' is used in Buddhist writings of apparitions, phantoms and
†

 Kyab Gön
: "Savior,f Redeemer,a Christb [Messiahc]." In the Tibetan Bible, Kyab
Gön is the title given to Elohiym (2 Samuel 22.3; Isaiah 43.3 and 45.15; Luke 1.47; Jude 25 etc.); to Yeshuwa ha Mashiyach (John 4.42; Titus 1.4; 2 Peter 1.1 and 3.18; 1 John 4.14 etc.).
NÏÅdn-fe(]-
a
“A further, unfortunate misunderstanding is due to the Chinese rendering of the word lama as huo-fou, which has the
connotation of a ‘living Buddha.’ This is wrong. Tibetan Buddhism recognizes no such thing. It only accepts that certain
beings, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, can choose the manner of their rebirth. Such people are called tulkus (incarnations)” (The Dalai Lama. Freedom in Exile – The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. ibid., 1-2).
b The Dalai Lama. Freedom in Exile – The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. ibid., Forward, 1-2, 11-12).
c The present Dalai Lama is highly regarded as a “spiritual leader” working for peace in the world today. He believes that
all religious traditions have great potential. He speaks of religious harmony, preaching that all major religions have basically the same message, the same foundation of love, and the same goal of improving mankind by making their followers
into better people... “I believe all religions pursue the same goals, that of cultivating human goodness and bringing happiness to all human beings” (Nobel Prize for Peace: Acceptance Speech, Oslo, Norway 1989). “Religions are like medicine
in that the important thing is to cure human suffering... The aim or purpose of each religion is to cure the pains and unhappiness of the human mind... the purpose of religion is not to build beautiful churches or temples; it is to cultivate positive human qualities such as tolerance, generosity, and love. Fundamental to Buddhism and Christianity, indeed to every
major world religion, is the belief that we must reduce our selfishness and serve others. Every religion and culture has its
distinguishing characteristics. For Tibetans, the emphasis for many centuries has been on developing and upholding inner
values such as compassion and wisdom... All faiths, despite their contradictory philosophies, possess the ability to produce fine warmhearted human beings. Therefore, there is every reason to appreciate and respect all forms of spiritual
practice that make better human beings and help create a happier, more peaceful world” (The Dalai Lama. Spiritual Advice, ibid., 16, 19, 98). The Dalai Lama’s form of Buddhism is a mix of Bön, Tantric Hinduism rituals, and Mahayana
Buddhism.
d Rinpoche means “Precious One” and is a title of respect given to all lamas. The Dalai Lama may be called ‘Gyalwa
Rinpoche’ meaning “Precious Eminence.”
e Jäschke, ibid, 26.
f Savior (lit. One saving): Heb. yasha (yowd-shiyn-ayin) (3467), save, deliver, give victory… Savior: Gk. soter 
(4990), savior, deliverer, preserver. Soter (4990) is derived from sozo  (4982), “to save” in the technical biblical
sense; negatively, to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgement; positively, “to make one a partaker of the
salvation by Christ.”
51

NΥ&v-
tul
: the root word 'tul' is used in the Scriptures of Yeshuwa’s appearance on earth. This
word causes confusion for Tibetan Buddhists. They often assert that Yeshuwa was a tulku. However, the
Biblical doctrine of the incarnation means this: G-d’s only begotten Son Yeshuwa came into the world as a
human being…
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Messiah Yeshuwa:
who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men…" (Phil. 2.5-7; also 2 Samuel 22.3; Romans 8.3).
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even
one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light
of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it"… “And the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1.1-5; 14).
“Few objects in the sky have more magnetic personalities than planetary nebulas. Astronomers have been drawn to the strange objects since early telescopes in the 1700s revealed
them as fuzzy patches of light that resembled the giant planets of our outer solar system.
More recently, the Hubble Space Telescope and others have produced stunning images of
the zoo of bizarre shapes and intense colors these objects display. A new study seems to
confirm one crucial aspect of what's behind the mysterious shapes, that they are sculpted in
large part by the magnetic field of the dying star that spawns them…Planetary nebulas have
nothing to do with planets, astronomers eventually learned. Instead, they are distant clouds of
gas and dust which, upon close inspection, come in a variety of shapes that even today blow
astronomers away. The nebulas are themselves blown away. Each is the dying remains of a
Sun-like star that has expanded to many times its original size and then ejected its outer layers into space…d
10. Who is Yeshuwa?
x*-b^-d-n$-c*[!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Many of the most fundamental characteristics of our cosmos – the relative strengths of
gravity, electromagnetism and the forces that operate inside atomic nuclei as well as the
a
Redeemer (lit. One redeeming): Heb. ga’al (giymel-aleph-lamed) (1350), to redeem, act as kinsman (according to the
Oriental law of kinship)… Redeem: Heb. padah (pe-daleth-he) (6299), to sever, i.e. ransom.
b Christ: Gk. Christos  (5547), anointed. Christos in the LXX translates mashiyach in the Tanakh.
c Messiah: Heb. mashiyach (mem-shiyn-yowd-cheyth) (4899), anointed, anointed one. The term Mashiyach (a synonym
for melek (king)) refers to the ancient practice of anointing kings with oil when they took the throne (Judaism 101). Heb.
Shiloh (shiyn-yowd-lamed-he) (7886), tranquil, an epithet of the Messiah. See Gen. 49.10; Daniel 9.25-26.
d Britt, Robert Roy. Cause of strange cosmic shapes pinned down. Wed. Jan. 10, 2005.
52
masses and relative abundances of different particles – are so finely tuned that if just one of
them were even slightly different, life as we know it couldn’t exist.”a
“Astronomers have spotted three dozen bright, young galaxies that defy the general aging
trends of the universe.”b “… a NASA space craft has detected dozens of newborn galaxies in
Earth’s part of the universe. These unexpected cosmic infants were discovered with the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, which manages to spy them because of the massive amounts of ultraviolet light they emit as they furiously form stars out of gas, astronomers said on Tuesday.
The closest of them may be a mere billion light-years from Earth, about 9 billion light-years
closer than the baby galaxies scientists had observed previously… Before the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, “We didn’t know whether these newborn galaxies were present at all in the universe today or whether this phase of cosmic creation might be over…” If these galaxies are
indeed newly formed, then this implies parts of the universe are still hotbeds of galaxy birth.c
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through
Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist"
(Colossians 1.15-17).
YESHUWA: THE LIVING ETERNAL WORD WHO IS GOD
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even
one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light
of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it"
(John 1.1-5).
“Yeshuwa replied, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I AM”
(John 8.58; also Hebrews 13.8).
“’Elohiym said to Moshe, “I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3.14).
3kyl) ynxl$ hyh) l)r#y ynbl rm)t hK rm)yw hyh) r$) hyh) h$m l) 3yhl) rm)yw (Exodus 3.14, Tanakh)

 (Exodus 3.14, LXX)
YESHUWA (JESUS) IN THE JEWISH TANAKH – FIVE KEY WORDS
“… all [the Israelites] were immersed into Moshe in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same
spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that
followed them, and that Rock was Messiah” (1 Cor. 10.2-4; also Deut 32.3-4).
a
TIME, November 29, 2004, 58.
Britt, Robert Roy. Youthful galaxies surprise astronomers. Wed. Dec. 23, 2004.
c Zabarenko, Deborah. Spacecraft sees infant galaxies in aging universe. Tues. Dec. 21, 2004.
b
53
If Yeshuwa (Jesus) is the Messiah, the Savior of the world, then the entire Tanakh is about Him. If this is the
truth, should not His name appear somewhere between Genesis and Malachi?
Five key words must be looked at in the Tanakh. The word for Savior: Yasha ($y… Salvation: Yesha ($y and
Yeshuwah h(w$y … Jesus: Yeshuwa (w$ya… LORD: YHWH hwhy. In Hebrew, these key words are linguistically connected,b and lead the reader of the Jewish Tanakh to recognize that they are referring to One and the
same Person:
“I [Jacob] look for your Yeshuwah, YHWH” (Gen. 49.18).
“… that I [King David] may declare your praises in the gates of the Daughter of Zion [Jerusalem] and there rejoice in your Yeshuwah” (Psalm 9.14).
“”Because he loves me,” says YHWH, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my Yeshuwah”” (Psalm
91.14-16).
“”Surely El is my Yeshuwah; I will trust and not be afraid. Yah, YHWH, is my strength and my
song; he has become my Yeshuwah.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of Yeshuwah” (Isaiah 12.2-3).
“For I am YHWH, your Elohiym, the Holy One of Israel, your Yasha… I, even I, am YHWH,
and apart from me there is no Yasha” (Isaiah 43.3, 11).
“YHWH has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See,
your Yesha comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him’”
(Isaiah 62.11).
“You came out to the Yesha of your people, to the Yesha of your anointed one. You crushed
the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot” (Habakkuk 3.13).
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshuwa [which means Adonai saves],
because He will save His people from their sins”
a
“Every time the Old Testament uses the word SALVATION (especially with the Hebrew suffix meaning “my,” “your,”
or “his”), with very few exceptions (when the word is impersonal), it is the very same word, YESHUA (Jesus), used in
Matthew 1.21. Let us remember that the angel who spoke to Mary and the angel who spoke to Joseph in his dream did not
speak in English, Latin, or Greek, but in Hebrew [or Aramaic]; and neither were Mary or Joseph slow to grasp the meaning and significance of the NAME of this divine Son and its relation to His character and His work of salvation” (Glass,
Arthur E.. Yeshua in the Tenach).
b Five key words in Hebrew: Savior (lit. One saving): Yasha = Salvation: Yesha = Salvation: Yeshuwah = Jesus: Yeshuwa = LORD: YHWH… Savior (lit. One saving): Heb. Yasha ($y (yowd-shiyn-ayin) (3467), save, deliver, give victory… Salvation: Heb. Yesha ($y (yowd-shiyn-ayin) (3468); Salvation: Heb. Yeshuwah h(w$y (yowd-shiyn-vav-ayin-he)
(3444). Yesha (3468) and Yeshuwah (3444) are derived from yasha (3467)… Eng. Jesus < (is derived from) Ger. Jesus <
Lat. Iesus < Gk. Iesous. Iesous  (2424) is a transliteration of the Heb. Yehowshua ($why (yowd-he-vav-shiynayin) (3091), which is translated *Joshua in English versions of the OT. Yehowshua shortens to Yeshuwa (w$y (yowdshiyn-vav-ayin) (3442). Yehowshua (3091) is derived from YHWH hwhy (yowd-he-vav-he) (3068) and yasha (3467),
and therefore means YHWH (Adonai) saves… The Talmud regarded the shortening of the spelling of a name to be a sign
of divine disapproval, and vise versa. Yehowshua was probably Jesus’ full name at birth. “The Talmudic evidence indicates that historically the Jews regarded the name of Jesus as Yeshu [yowd-shiyn-vav], perhaps omitting the ‘he’ h as their
sign of divine disapproval, and then subsequently omitting the ‘ayin’ ( as further disapproval” (Price, Dr. James. The
Names Yeshuwa and Yehowshua)… *Joshua’s original name was Hoshea ($wh (he-vav-shiyn-ayin),  in the LXX;
see Numbers 13.8. Moshe changed Joshua’s name to Yehowshua ($why (yowd-he-vav-shiyn-ayin),  in the LXX;
see Numbers 13.16; also Gk. NT Acts 7.45; Hebrews 4.8.
54
(Matt. 1.21; also Luke 1.31; 2.21; John 1.29).
In the Jewish Tanakh, there is a clear linguistic connection between the five key words. This linguistic connection appears to weaken in the LXX,a and weaken even more in the Tibetan translation.b This lack of connection in the Tibetan Bible hinders the reader from recognizing the name of Yeshuwa in the Old Testament.
YESHUWA IN TANAKH PROPHECIES
“Therefore Adonai himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to
a son, and will call him Immanu’elc” (Isaiah 7.14)… “”She will give birth to a son, and you are
to name him YESHUWA [which means Adonai saves], because He will save His people from
their sins.” All this happened in order to fulfill what Adonai had said through the prophet, “The
virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Immanu’el” (the name means, “God
is with us”” (Matt. 1.21-23).
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of YHWH; Make straight in the
desert a highway for our Elohiym”” (Isaiah 40.3)… In those days Yochanan the Immerser
came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one
crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of Adonai. Make His paths straight’”
(Matt. 3.1-3).d
“Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish
but to complete” (Matt. 5.17).e
“Then He [Yeshuwa] said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have
spoken!”” (Luke 24.25).The Bible is a prophetic record. The Tanakh contains many prophecies concerning
Yeshuwa. These prophecies were fulfilled in the New Covenant.f
a
Key words in the LXX and Gk. NT: Savior: Gk. soter  (4990), savior, deliverer, preserver; see Luke 1.47; John
4.42. Soter (4990) is derived from sozo  (4982), “to save” in the technical biblical sense; negatively, to deliver from
the penalties of the Messianic judgement; positively, “to make one a partaker of the salvation by Christ”… Salvation: Gk.
soteria  (4991); soterion  (4992). See Isaiah 52.10; Luke 3.6… Jesus: Gk. Iesous … LORD:
Gk. Kurios  (2962) or Theos  (2316).
b Key words in the Tibetan Bible: Savior: Tib. Kyab Gön… Salvation: Tib. thar pa… Jesus: Tib. Yeshu… LORD: Tib.
Yahowah. Yahowah should be spelt ‘Yahweh’ and pronounced ‘Adonai’ (see explanation in the footnote entitled The
names of G-d in the Jewish Tanakh).
c Immanu’el: Heb. Immanuw El l)wnm( (ayin-mem-nuwn-vav-aleph-lamed) (6005), with us is G-d. See also Isaiah 8.8.
d Compare also Deut. 10.17 with Rev. 17.14; Isaiah 44.6, 48.12 with Rev. 1.17, 2.8, 22.13; Isaiah 45.21 with Acts 4.1112, 1 John 4.14.
e Most English versions of the Bible translate the Romans 10.4 Greek as “Christ is the end of the law.” End: Gk. telos
(5056) can be translated in two ways, “end, termination, cessation” or “goal, culmination, fulfillment.” The latter sense is
the more accurate as Yeshuwa is not the end of the law, but rather the goal of the Torah: “For the goal at which the Torah
aims is the Messiah” (Romans 10.4, Jewish New Testament).
f Selected prophecies concerning Yeshuwa in the Tanakh – New Covenant fulfillment: seed of Abraham: Gen. 12.3 –
Matt. 1.1, Acts 3.25 and Gal. 3.16; Son of G-d: Psalm 2.7 and Prov. 30.4 – Matt. 3.17 and Luke 1.32; Come at a specific
time: Daniel 9.24-26 – Matt. 2.1, 16 and Luke 3.1; Be born in Beit-Lechem: Micah 5.2 – Matt. 2.1 and Luke 2.4-7; Be
born of a virgin: Isaiah 7.14 – Matt. 1.18-24 and Luke 1.26-35; Be anointed with the Spirit of G-d: Isaiah 11.2 and 61.1 –
Matt. 3.16, John 3.34 and Acts 10.38; Have a healing ministry: Isaiah 35.5-6 – Matt. 11.5; Be sinless: Isaiah 53.9 – 1
Peter 2.22; Be betrayed by a friend: Psalm 41.9 and 55.12-14 – Matt. 26.21-25 and Acts 1.16-18; Be executed by crucifixion: Psalm 22.16-18 – Matt. 27.35, John 19.17-27 and Rev. 1.7; Atone for the sins of mankind: Isaiah 53.5-12 – Mark
10.45 and John 1.29; Be raised from the dead: Psalm 16.10 – Matt. 28.1-20, Acts 2.23-36 and 13.32-37, and 1 Cor. 15.38.
55
YESHUWA IN THE NEW COVENANT (NEW TESTAMENT)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son... ” (John 3.16a).
"But when the fullness of the time had come,
God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…" (Galatians 4.4).
"The book of the generation of Yeshuwa ha Mashiyach the son of David, the son of Abraham… Now the birth
of Yeshuwa ha Mashiyach was as follows: After His mother Miriam was betrothed to Yosef, before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Yosef her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these
things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Yosef, son of David, do not be afraid
to take to you Miriam your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a
Son, and you shall call His name YESHUWA:a [which means Adonai saves] for He will save His people from
their sins." So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet,
saying, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child,b and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanu’el," which
is translated, "God with us" (Matt. 1.18-24; also Luke 1.1-31). “And it came to pass in those days that a decree
went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while
Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Yosef also went up from
Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Beit-Lechem (Bethlehem),
because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Miriam, his betrothed wife, who was
with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she
brought forth her firstborn Son…” (Luke 2.1-7a; also John 7.42).
a
Names of YESHUWA in the Scriptures: Yeshuwa is… the Head, who was in the beginning (Head: Heb. ro’sh, Gen.
1.1, see also Eph. 5.23, Col. 1.18); the Beginning (Col. 1.18); the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the
First and the Last (Rev. 1.8, 11; 21.6; 22.13); the Word (John 1.1, Rev. 19.13); the Amen (Rev. 3.14); I Am (Exodus
3.14; John 8.58); Before All Things (Col. 1.17); the Chief Cornerstone (Ps. 118.22, Eph. 2.20); the Firstborn from the
dead (Col. 1.18); the Holy One of Israel (2 Kings 19.22); the Brightness of His Glory (Hebrews 1.3); the Almighty (Rev.
1.8); the Fountain of Living Waters (Jer. 2.13; John 4.14); A Cleft of the Rock (Exodus 33.22); Equal with G-d (Phil.
2.6); the Eternal G-d (Deut. 33.27); Emmanu’el, i.e. with us is G-d (Matt. 1.23); Yeshuwa of Nazareth; the Son of G-d;
the only begotten Son of G-d; Yeshuwa the Son of the Living G-d; the Image of the Invisible G-d (Col. 1.15); Son of
Man; Son of David; Man of Sorrows; Lion of the tribe of Judah; the Balm of Gilead (Jer. 8.22); that Just One (Acts
22.14); the Dwelling Place (Psalms 90.1); the Bread of Life (John 6.35); the Good Shepherd (John 10.11); the True Vine
(John 15.1); the Bridegroom (John 3.29); the Comforter (John 14.16-18); Prince of Peace; Holy (Isaiah 57.15); the Lamb
(Rev. 22.3-4); the Lamb of G-d; taking the sin of the world (John 1.29); Lamb of G-d; our Passover (John 19.14; 1 Cor.
5.7b); the Passover Lamb; our Scapegoat; the Bearer of Sin (Hebrews 9.28); the Friend of Publicans and Sinners (Luke
7.34); a Jew (John 4.9); My Glory (Psalms 3.3); Yeshuwa Crucified (1 Cor. 1.23); the Author of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5.9); Savior of the world; Redeemer; that Eternal Life (1 John 1.2); the Author of Eternal Salvation (Hebrews 5.9);
the Hope of Glory (Col. 1.27); an Everlasting Light (Isaiah 60.19-20); the Author (originator) and Finisher (perfecter) of
our Faith (Hebrews 12.2); the Door of the Sheep (John 10.7); the goal of the Torah (Ro. 10.4); the Judge of all the Earth
(Gen. 18.25); the Desired of all Nations (Haggai 2.7); My Lord and my G-d (John 20.28); the Altogether Lovely (Song of
Solomon 5.15); the true Light; the Light of the world; the Messiah; Shiloh (Gen. 49.10); the man (John 19.5); King of the
Jews (Matt. 2.2; 27.37); the Coming King; King of Kings; YHWH; YHWH Elohiym; G-d; the Branch, i.e, Mashiyach the
“Branch” of David (Isaiah 11.1; Zechariah 6.12); the Root of Jesse/David (Isaiah 11.10; Rev. 5.5). “I am the root and the
offspring of David, and the bright and morning star” (Rev. 22.16; also Numbers 24.17)… “Therefore God raised him to
the highest place and gave him the name above every name; that in honor of the name given Yeshua, every knee will bow
– in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua the Messiah is Adonai – to the
glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2.9-11; also Matt. 10.22; 2 Thess. 1.12; 1 Peter 4.14).
b Virgin birth: “Mohammed, Confucius, Buddha, and all other human beings were conceived by natural means: a male
human sperm fertilizing a female human egg. Not so with Jesus Christ. His mother conceived Him while she was yet a
virgin. He had no paternal father. The virgin conception and birth of Christ is utterly unique in human history” (McDowell, ibid, 287). The virgin birth of Christ was predicted hundreds of years before Matthew and Luke wrote their Gospels.
See Isaiah 7.14. “The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the Son from eternity, fully God and fully man, born in human
flesh by a miracle of the Holy Spirit, not by physical procreation” (Saal, William J.. Reaching Muslims for Christ. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991), 69).
56
WHO IS YESHUWA?
How does the Dalai Lama view Yeshuwa? The Dalai Lama wrote this: "My attitude toward Jesus Christ is that
he was either a fully enlightened being or a bodhisattva of a very high spiritual realization."a
According to the Bible, Yeshuwa was not an enlightened being or a bodhisattva. He was not a tulku. He was
not a mystical emanation from G-d. Yeshuwa was a real person who appeared on earth in history.b He was an
Asian. He was a Jew.c He was born in the village of Bethlehem in the country of Israel.d He was born toward
the end of the reign of Herod the Great. Early in His life Yeshuwa was taken to Nazareth, another village in
Israel. There in Nazareth, He was brought up by Miriam and Yosef. Yosef was a carpenter by trade. Yeshuwa
was known as "Yeshuwa of Nazareth, the son of Yosef" (John 1.45). Yeshuwa was Miriam’s firstborn child; he
had four brothers and several sisters (Mark 6.3; also Matt. 12.48-50). He began His public ministry at the age
of thirty, when He was immersed by Yochanan the Immerser (Matt. 11.7-11; Mark 1.1-11; Luke 3). As He
came up out of the water of immersion, the Spirit of G-d descended upon Him like a dove. This was a sign that
a
The Dalai Lama. The Good Heart, ibid., 83.
Yeshuwa in history: “At the heart of New Testament faith is the assertion that God was in Christ reconciling the world
to Himself” (2 Cor. 5.19). The incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a real event in time and space, i.e.,
as historical realities, are the indispensable foundations of Christian faith (Hagner, Donald A.. “The New Testament, History, and the Historical-Critical Method,” New Testament Criticism and Interpretation. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 73). References to Jesus by ancient secular writers are plentiful, e.g. Cornelius Tacitus, Lucian of
Samosata, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, Thallus, Phlegon, Mara Bar-Serapion etc.. As well, there are numerous Jewish
references to Jesus’ historicity e.g. Josephus (Yosef ben Mattiyahu). Generally, these references are unfriendly toward
Christ, His followers and Christian beliefs.
c The Hebrews (Israelites, Jews): Who are the Jewish people? The Jews are called by the name of the LORD (Deut.
28.10). Jew: Heb. yehuda (yowd-he-vav-daleth-yowd) (3064). LORD: Heb. YHWH (yowd-he-vav-he) (3068). The term
“Jew” began to appear after the tribe of Judah became the dominant tribe, i.e. after the Syro-Ephraimite wars of 735-721
B.C.. G-d revealed Himself to humanity through the Jewish people. G-d will ultimately speak to the whole world through
the Jewish people. The Jewish people are G-d’s chosen people, G-d’s covenant people (Gen. 17.7; Exodus 19.3-6; Deut.
7.6-8; 28.9-10; Isaiah 43.10). The Jewish people started with the covenant on Mt. Sinai, where the words of the covenant
(the Ten Commandments) were written on stone tablets, Exodus 20.1-17; 20.24 – 23.33. The Jewish people were chosen
by G-d to keep G-d’s truth and way of righteousness alive in the midst of a spiritually darkened world. “The Jewish role is
to bring humankind not to Judaism but to universal, G-d-based morality” (Prager, ibid., 190; see Romans 3.2). “People at
large had refused God’s way… God would now make a special people through whom to work in effecting His plan of
redemption” (Wood, Leon J.. A Survey of Israel’s History. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), 19)).
Torah records the history of the Jewish people from creation until the death of Moshe, and contains G-d’s universal moral law. “Torah is the embodiment of the Jewish faith. It contains the terms of his Covenant with God. It is what makes a
Jew a Jew” (Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin) See Romans 2.29; 3.19-20; 13.10. Israel belongs to the Jewish people (Gen.
13; Deut. 31; Lev. 26.40-42; Joshua 9.24; 11.23 etc.). “Of how many nations of the world today can it be said that they
speak the same language, profess the same faith, and inhabit the same area that they did 3000 years ago? It may therefore
be understood why the Jewish people are so emotionally attached to the land of Israel. It is a land possessed not only by
right of conquest and settlement, but also as a fulfillment of history, faith, and law” (Donin). “God, Torah and Israel are
one” (ancient Jewish text)… Abraham, who was a Mesopotamian, was the first Hebrew (Gen. 14.13; Gen. 17.5; Abraham
was not an Israelite or a Jew). Abraham is the father of the Hebrew nation (see Gen. 12.1-3; Gen. 15; 17.5-6; 18.18; Exodus 32.13 etc.). “He [G-d] chose one man alone. He separated him from others and gave him individual instruction. The
intention was to rear a new, select nation, with Abraham as the father” (Leon, ibid., 19). Abraham is the father of Judaism.
Judaism has four pillars: one G-d, chosenness, Torah, Israel. “Throughout Jewish history, the Jews’ affirmation of one
or more of these components has challenged, even threatened, the gods, laws, and cultures of non-Jews among whom the
Jews have lived” (Prager, ibid., 13).
d Israel (the Holy Land, the Promised Land): Israel lies in southwestern Asia, in the Middle East, on the eastern shore of
the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of Israel is Jerusalem (Jeru-shalom), the world’s most significant city (Psalm 48.1-2;
Ezekiel 5.5). For about 1900 years, there was no nation of Israel. In 1948, Israel once again became a nation, a Jewish
state, a sovereign state. The current political borders with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt will not remain where they
are. The borders of Israel will in time move out to include territory outlined in the Tanakh, “Your territory will extend
from the desert [of Arabia Petraea] and from Lebanon [on the north] to the great river, the Euphrates [on the east] – all
the Hittite country – to the Great Sea [Mediterranean] on the west” (Joshua 1.4; also Gen. 15.1-21). G-d declared through
His prophets that in the “last days” just before the Messiah’s return, He would bring the Jewish people back into their
own land Israel from wherever they had been scattered throughout the world. See also Ezekiel 5.5 and 38.12.
b
57
He was the Servant-Messiah of His people (Isaiah 11.2; 42.1). A voice from heaven declared, "You are My
beloved Son; in You I am well pleased" (Luke 3.22; also John 5.39; Acts 18.28).
“And Yeshuwa entered into the temple of G-d and threw out all those selling and buying in the temple. And He
overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those selling the doves. And He said to them, It
has been written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” but you have made it a den of robbers…”
(Matt. 21.12-13; also Isaiah 56.7; Jer. 7.11; John 2.19).
“And blind and lame ones came to Him in the temple, and He healed them” (Matt. 21.14). "And when Yeshuwa
went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick"
(Matt. 14.14) Yeshuwa’s proclamation of the kingdom of G-d was accompanied by works of mercy and power
[miraclesa] (see John 3.2, 6.2; 9.16; Acts 2.22). These works included healing of the sick and demonpossessed (Matt. 4.23-24; 9.35-36; 11.4-5; 12.22; 14.14; 20.32-34; Mark 1.23-26, 30-34, 39; 5.1-43; 7.24-37;
8.1-9; Luke 4.18-19 (Isaiah 61.1-2a); 11.20; John 11.1-45 etc.).
“Love does not do harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fullness of the Torah”
(Romans 13.10).

loveb: love is the highest esteem which G-d has for His human children (John 3.16; Matt. 18.11-13; Romans 5.6-8). Love is the highest esteem which His children should have for G-d and for other people (Gal.
5.22-23; 1 John 3.16-18; 4.8-12). The fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom. But the highest wisdom
is to love G-d. The central teaching of the Buddha is, "Help others if you can; but if you cannot, at least refrain from harming others." Yeshuwa summed up all the law and prophets when He stated, "… “’You are to
love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’ This is the greatest and most important mitzvah [commandment]. And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’ All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot" (Matt. 22.37-40;
also Lev. 19.18; 1 Cor. 13). "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to
those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Matt. 5.44; also 43-48;
Luke 6.27-35). “This utter disregard of self in the service of G-d and man is what the Bible calls love.
There is no self-interest in love. The essence of love is self-sacrifice. The worst of men is adorned by an
occasional flash of such nobility, but the life of Jesus irradiated it with a never-fading incandescent glow.
Jesus was sinless because He was selfless. Such selflessness is love. And G-d is love”c Suffering is an
a
Miracle: a supernatural act of G-d; a Divine intervention; a Divine act in the world (external or internal, i.e. personal
transformation). “I use the word Miracle to mean an interference with Nature by supernatural power… But if we admit
God, must we admit Miracle? Indeed, indeed, you have no security against it. That is the bargain. Theology says to you in
effect, ‘Admit God and with Him the risk of a few miracles, and I in return will ratify your faith in uniformity as regards
the overwhelming majority of events’… All the essentials of Hinduism would, I think, remain unimpaired if you subtracted the miraculous, and the same is almost true of Muhammadinism, but you cannot do that with Christianity. It is precisely the story of a great Miracle” (Lewis, C.S.. Miracles. (New York: Macmillan, 1960), 5, 109, 315). “… all the essential
and distinctive elements of Christianity are miracles: creation, revelation (first to the Jews), the giving of the law, prophesies, the Incarnation, the Resurrection, the Ascension and the Second Coming and Last Judgement. Subtract miracles from
Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, or Taoism, and you have essentially the same religion left. Subtract miracles from Christianity, and you have nothing but the cliches and platitudes most American Christians get weekly (and weakly) from their
pulpits. Nothing distinctive, no reason to be a Christian rather than something else” (Kreeft, Peter. Christianity for Modern Pagans. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993), 273). Islam recognizes the miracles performed by Jesus.
b Love: Gk. agape (26), love. Agape love is the love which characterizes G-d Himself - aggressive, benevolent, sacrificial
outgoing goodwill… “Though some will argue that God does not exist and that man is the highest form in the universe,
they will still strive for a moral code. Challenge them to find a better moral code than that which is outlined in the New
Testament. Ask them to compare it to the other systems of morals in the world… have them compare the law of love to all
other philosophical systems and challenge them to show you a better one…” (dc Talk. Jesus Freaks. (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 2002), 192).
c Stott, John R.W.. Basic Christianity 2nd ed.. (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1971), 44-45.
58
essential ingredient of agape love. Agape love is learned only by being utterly broken, by suffering without
resentment."a
NI#r-è*-

compassionb
: “Yeshuwa had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him” (Matt. 20.34; also 9.27-36; 20.29-34; Luke 17.1119; Psalm 111.4 and 145.8 etc.). These acts of healing were motivated by Yeshuwa’s intense desire that
those who were healed would follow Him, that is, receive Him as their Savior and Lord: Compassion for
salvation’s sake... Because G-d is compassionate, He expects His children to be compassionate in His
way. Human compassion will not lead one who is suffering to the cross. c And it is the cross alone that can
relieve their real suffering. One must not just do things out of compassion, but in obedience to the Holy
Spirit. Only then will compassion have the power of redemption.

fear: fear has two basic meanings: 1. a feeling of distress, apprehension or alarm caused by impending
danger, pain etc.; fear of death 2. awe; reverence: fear of man; fear of G-d... "The fear [awe, reverence] of
YHWH is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9.10a).d The fear of YHWH will eclipse the fear of man.
11. Tsering
h¡-c#r-!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
But for flickering light of butter lamps dancing on the walls, cold and darkness surround me. I can hear women
crying off in the distance. My ama's getting dressed but the others are asleep... "Ama. What's happening?" ...
"Tsering my son. Dorje is dead." ... I lie still until ama's gone. I look out and see lights making their way along
the narrow path below...... My friend is dead...... I get dressed and climb down the long dimly-lit stair and enter
a
Billheimer, Paul E.. Don’t Waste Your Sorrows - A study in sainthood and suffering. (Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade, 1977), 35-36, 70.
b Compassion: Heb. racham (reysh-cheyth-mem) (7355), love deeply; have mercy, be compassionate. This root is frequently used of God. It incorporates two concepts: first, the strong tie God has with those whom he has called his children; second, that of God’s unconditioned grace (Exodus 33.19; Ps. 103.13) (Harris, ibid., 841-2)… Compassion: Gk.
splagchnizomai (4697), to have the bowels yearn.
c The cross, as a symbol, was never Christian. When the Bible speaks of the cross, it always refers to Yeshuwa's sacrifice
for sins, not to the cross itself. The Bible also refers to ‘following Christ’ as “taking up the cross” (see Mark 8.34). It was
on the cross where Yeshuwa bruised the head of Satan. It was on the cross where Satan bruised the heel of Yeshuwa (see
Genesis 3.14a-15; also Colossians 2.13-14)... The physical cross was made of an upright beam and a cross-beam (patibulum). After a criminal's condemnation, he was scourged. He was then made to carry the patibulum to the scene of his torture and death. There, the patibulum was fixed to the upright. He was then nailed to the cross.
d The beginning of wisdom is the fear of G-d: Job 28.28; Proverbs 2.9-10; 15.33; 16.6; 30.3… “This kind of fear is not
the dread of a vengeful Being standing over man to punish for the least infraction of His law; it has more to do with respect and reverence of God as Father and Benefactor. Men must learn to respect God as the Lawgiver and Judge, keeping
in mind the justice of God as well as His mercy and longsuffering. No man can walk with Him conscientiously or safely
who has lost the fear of God” (Dake, ibid., 206). See also 1 Cor. 2.6-7; Gen. 22.1-14; Exodus 20.20; Deut. 5.29; 6.2;
10.20; 1 Samuel 12.24; Jeremiah 5.22-25; Luke 12.4-5.
59
into the cold labyrinth and feel my way along old stone walls. My heart is pounding. As the crying gets louder a
smell of incense fills the night air... I stand for a moment in the doorway. Through an eerie blue mist I can see
Pema cooking food for the lamas who are seated before the altar. My ama and others are tending butter
lamps, and someone I do not know is prostrating before the body. Yangchen is sitting with Dorje's wife on the
bed. I step inside, unroll a khata from my bag and drape it around her neck. I tell her that my friend is gone. He
was like a big brother to me... The crying dies away as I find my way back through the dark. I know this place
well. I've lived here all my life...
The dawn sky is glowing softly. A cock crows. I look out of the broken window. I can see people milling about
the shops and the temple. I force myself out of bed and head to Sungbo's house at the far edge of the rock
outcrop. The settlement is getting crowded. When I was a kid we lived in a stone house not far away from
here. We had a garden. Now houses are smaller and higher and pressed close together forming a network of
narrow pathways between the stone walls. As Sungbo and I sit quietly, a pack of stone-loaded donkeys pass
by on the road. A huge vulture settles in the tree above us. Just across the road and beyond the stone fences
of the settlement the land continues to fall all the way down to the river valley hundreds of feet below, and then
rises steeply up the final bank of high and forested foothills that lie between us and the Himalayas... and Tibet.
And looking up I can see brilliant rays of the morning sun shining between snow-covered rocky peaks… Sungbo leaves for the carpet factory to pray with the others. The factory is closed today as it always is when death
comes. By now many will have been praying several hours for Dorje. I can't go and pray. But I'll give money to
a beggar and gain merit for my friend. Dorje’s body will remain in his home for several days. So will the lamas...... As I lie still on my back, I can almost see the sun moving across the sky...... Lately Dorje's legs were
blue and black and fat. He drank too much chang for too long, like so many others around here. Carpet orders
are down. He didn’t have much work. I lie alone in the twilight thinking. Khampas do not cry... . His death as all
others will be followed by forty-nine days of prayer while the skandhas wait that time, maybe longer, in hell,
before rebirth into other beings. All beings spend time in hell before they are reborn.
The sun is long gone. Looking behind me, the land climbs way up to the monastery. But for a thousand yellow
lights the monastery and the temple at the pinnacle of the mountain are hidden in darkness, and beyond the
lights I can see through space and into eternity. There could not be a Divine Being who made the world. I've
always been told that the world had no beginning and will have no end... like us... one life and death after another after another, like the sun going across the sky and behind the hills and around the world and back
again, over and over and over, so is our life... that is until we've been freed from samsara and have attained
salvation, nirvana, the unattainable hope... As I walk slowly up the road two fingerless hands come out of the
darkness. I pull a rupee note from my bag.
It's three-thirty in the morning. I can hear soft chanting in the temple only a body's length away from my bed.
Through the window I see the soft yellow light of hundreds of butter flames dancing over the face of the gold
Buddha and over faces of the devout as they stand in front of the altar to keep the lamps burning... I head out
into the night and down into the river valley... . They say there's little that brings fear to a Khampa. I've heard
the stories many times. Papa was born and raised in the wilds of Kham, a land of endless mountains and tremendous gorges and high passes, a land from which some of the world's mightiest rivers flow. My people once
claimed that the entire world drank from our rivers. We are members of a tribe unknown to the world, but in
Tibet our very name has for centuries been married with fear, men whose bullets echo the rhythm of their
horse's hooves as their war cries ring out over the barren hills. We are the Cavaliers of Kham, gentlemen robbers jolted on horseback since the day we were born, jovial but fierce and brutal, thick tassels of red yarn
braided into our long black hair and wrapped about our heads, and long-life strings and amulette boxes around
our necks making us invincible to bullets, a gun at our side and a sword flashing as we ride in to kill, the most
rugged race alive, a race of giants. Fighting has always been as natural to us as eating... eating buffalo meat
by the river. The sun is hot…
It's near dark as I make my way back up the narrow forest trail, at times walking level but more often climbing
up crude steps of stone or steps carved out of hard-packed earth. The sun has set but the western sky still
60
blazes beyond hills that stand tall and strong above the river valley. Behind me the high Himalayas have fallen
into total darkness. Another climb up and around another bend in the trail, and finally, through the trees I can
see lights of the settlement. And far below in the forest a jackal cries.
Pale early-morning sunlight is straining through clouds, and the sound of carpet hammers is all around me. I'm
sitting on a bench under the woven bamboo roof of a small tea shop just up a steep road from the main bazaar, trying to keep a fly away without killing it. The corner posts of the shop are heavy sticks and the sides are
black plastic. I can hear water running along a waste-water canal beneath the rough stone-slab floor, and
through a hole can see garbage floating by. A sweeper with her long bamboo broom is cleaning the street, piling up garbage and whipping clouds of dust into the shop. And across the street, the bells of a small temple
are ringing and the prayer wheels in the stone walls are being turned by an old man... I've been taught from the
time I was a kid that "revenge is a sacred duty, and time is immaterial in its accomplishment." But now we
Khampas are armed only with our religion, our faith. Now we have fear: fear of losing our identity, fear of losing
our religious merit, fear of a lower rebirth, fear of death, fear of hell. Tibetans are through fear of death subject
to lifelong bondage, something like a life-sentence in a dark and cold stone cell that gets colder as you get
older... And we fear the lamas, their authority. Tibetans will hardly take a step in life without calling on their lama. He is our spiritual guide in the quest for nirvana. He is with us to perform ceremonies at births, at sicknesses, at deaths. We seek his blessing for a fruitful reincarnation and a long life. And only the lama has the
knowledge and authority to appease the evil spirits that surround us... and the more lamas we see, and the
more money we give, the more likely we will be recognized by one who can lift us out of hell... But what do we
really care about? We try to earn merit and hope for a peaceful human rebirth. And we try to earn money so
we can buy a house and a color television... and we try to avoid sin. We try not to hate. We don't kill insects
and animals - after the third generation, a dog is reborn as a man... and we avoid trouble with the evil spirits. If
we are rich, we did many good deeds in the past life. But rich or poor, even though Buddha-Dharma teaches
that man has a good heart, we all know we're sinners. The very fact that we experience human life confirms
this... the old Tibetans know that death and hell are waiting for them. They never rest except when they sleep.
And now they are resting. Darkness has come again.
I've been walking around for hours and the sun is burning in the sky. Home again... A few worshippers still
come to the temple every day, carrying small butter lamps in their hands to burn in propitiation for their sins in
this life and the hope of a more comfortable existence in the next. Buddhists believe absolutely that the human
life is the most desirable because in it one may combine reason and faith and earn the privilege of leaving
samsara and attaining eternal salvation. Buddha-Dharma teaches that suicide is the greatest sin - if one takes
his own life, he cannot be reborn as a human being for five hundred lifetimes. Of course it is not so if one deliberately gives up his precious life for others...... I step out of the hot sun and into the shadow of the temple the big wooden doors are swung open. Not much going on in there right now - on special days a truckload of
monks comes down from the big monastery, and on those days the horns blow and the cymbals clang and the
drums pound and a chorus of prayer goes on for hours. The colored prayer flags will always hang overhead on
ropes tied to the temple and across to walls and rails and over to poles and to whatever won't move on the
shops around the open space. And on long steps in front of the meat shop my friends are still sitting: Sungbo,
Tashi, Karma, Sönam, and Kunga my brother, sipping coke and watching life go by - their hair is very long.
Only some of us wear it like a Khampa should... we talk... inside the sakhang, a couple of women are eating
momos and chopped-up buffalo stomach. We eat tsampa every day, with salt tea. And if a man is dying, a
swallow of the smoke from burning tsampa will strengthen the invisible winds of energy inside the body......
The siren blows. Seconds later carpet weavers stream out of the factory across the street... salvation - a
dream... like waiting for a cloud in a dry and weary land where there is no water... Now the hot sun is gone.
Dark clouds are rolling in and prayer flags are snapping at the wind as dusk approaches.
Mountains block the very earliest rays of the morning sun... A fog has settled into the valley below… Mountains
are magic....... I'm having breakfast at the sakhang. Rinchin is almost as black as the walls around her wood
stove. She continuously serves wood to the fire and tea to us. My ama is sitting on a stool just outside, rolling
blue sheep-wool tightly into a ball. Like the others, ama works hard to try and sell carpets that have been made
61
across the street or nearby in one of the tin-roof factories. I watch her work. I can almost read her mind. I know
what she’s thinking… she is thinking about the god-king of the Tibetan people. We call him the Supreme
monk, but he says that he is just a simple Buddhist monk. We call him Kyab Gön. Just to see him is to earn
merit... yet even though people may refer to him as “His Holiness” he cannot bestow salvation on any man. He
cannot save us from our sins. No lama can. We must save ourselves. We must attain salvation for ourselves.
But we cannot. Yet many of the old Tibetans never lose hope. They have never set eyes on Gyalwa Rinpoche
and they never will. So they keep accumulating merit as they are able, by lighting altar lamps and giving to the
monks and beggars, and spinning prayer wheels and beads. Prayers are sent to the spirit world and harm is
turned away. One or two from here have even gone on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in western Tibet.
Wangmo Tashi, an old pilgrim guide who comes through here, told me that Mount Kailash is the most sacred
peak, holiest of all mountains, throne of the sky-goddess. Mount Kailash is rooted in the seventh hell and
pierces through to the highest heaven. It is the central pivot around which the whole of creation revolves. For a
thousand years pilgrims from many religions have journeyed there... A single circuit of the mountain is said to
erase the sins of a lifetime; ten the sins of an age, one hundred and eight ensures salvation…
As Sungbo and I make our way up through the monastery, dark clouds are swallowing the temple. Monks and
nuns in maroon robes and others are climbing with us. The entire pale-yellow colored complex seems to grow
from a massive tree-covered rocky outcrop: kitchen rooms and eating halls and toilets and sleeping quarters
for hundreds of monks are built separately but cheek-by-jowel into the sides of the rock at so many levels and
all the buildings are connected by a maze of tree-shaded stairs and pathways and bridges and terraces that
lead one way or another to the top of the rock which is crowned by the temple... We're in the clouds now.
Monks and nuns are coming from every direction. The outer walls of the temple have been pulled away. A light
mist is filling the space. They are now sitting quietly in the lotus position on cushions in the inner temple. And
hundreds more laymen are sitting on the stone floor of the outer temple, lips moving silently in prayer and fingers flying over the prayer beads. Every last one is facing the altar. The gold and jeweled Buddhas sit, serene
and undisturbed in shadows cast by the soft light of hundreds of butter flames flickering from enormous bronze
and silver vessels... every man and woman is sitting eyes closed and in total silence...... minutes pass slowly...
low monotone chanting begins and continues for a few seconds and stops... a broken uneven chanting begins,
getting louder and faster and faster and one voice stands out above the others and after minutes the voices
stop at once... cymbals and drums begin and play for seconds, and together stop... silence... and the voice
begins again and the hundreds of others follow with chanting. This goes on for minutes and stops... seconds of
dead silence..... Suddenly an eruption of chanting fills the temple space and the monks and nuns are swaying
as one to the rhythm of this awesome place, and finally after many long minutes it's over..... silence... The
monks and nuns together take to their feet like a maroon surf on the rise and the laymen do likewise. And all
together they form a heavy line that begins to move slowly and clockwise through the mist and around the
temple building and along the wall of prayer wheels and down the long flight of stairs. Sungbo has joined the
line. I stand alone. The big open walls of the inner temple are closed and curtains drawn... I, Tsering, know
that the monks and nuns are seeking enlightenment. They are all seeking the truth that they believe lies within
themselves. But we who are not monks confine ourselves to making merit and offerings for a better rebirth and
to appeasing the evil spirits. We believe that salvation is unattainable and hopelessly beyond our reach. And
yet something inside of me is seeking, yearning... seeking truth, but not from within... seeking forgiveness for
my sin. Now Dorje knows the truth...... I heard that someone gave up his life for me... that I might be free... I
heard that someone died for me... But who? ... "Who died for me?"
12. Who died for me?
rn-y*[-[^-n$-b#-d-c*[!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past
to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness
of His glory [hnyk$] and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word
62
of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they" (Hebrews 1.1-4).
“He [Yeshuwa] was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by
Elohiym, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was
crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his
wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53.3-5; also Psalm 22; John 10.11-15).
"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Messiah was offered once to bear the sins of many…" (Hebrews 9.27-28a; also 10.10-12).
THE PHYSICAL DEATH OF YESHUWA
The Crucified Messiah
äXrn-b#r-wc-dÎXrn-dz#-f-b#-q-
At thirty-three years of age, Yeshuwa was condemned to death.a He was crucified on (nailed to) a wooden
crossb near the city of Jerusalem in Israel. He was separated from G-d on man's behalf as He hung on the
cross. "And about the ninth hour Yeshuwa cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, L’mahsh’vaktani?" that
is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"" (Matt. 27.46).c “And Yeshuwa cried again with a loud
voice and gave up His spirit” (Matt. 27.50).d
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Messiah Yeshuwa: who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"
(Philippians 2.5-8; Romans 5.7-8).
A Tibetan may ask these questions: "Why did Yeshuwa have to suffer? Why did his blood have to be shed?
The Word of G-d states that there is no forgiveness of sins without shedding of blood…"
"In fact, according to the Torah, almost everything is purified with blood; indeed, without the
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9.22).
a
Why was Yeshuwa condemned to death? 1. Blasphemy: He blasphemed by claiming to be G-d, and forgiving a man’s
sins (see Matt. 9.1-3; 26.63-66; John 8.58; 10.33 etc.). 2. Association with sinners: many religious leaders thought
righteous people should not associate with unrighteous sinners, publicans, prostitutes etc. Yeshuwa befriended social outcasts (see Mark 2.17). 3. Breaking the Sabbath: He broke the law (tradition) by working on the Sabbath. He healed sick
people and picked grain on that day. He believed that healing people did not profane the Sabbath but rather honored it,
because it was established by G-d for the rest and relief of human beings (see Matt. 12.5-15; Mark 2.23-28; Luke 6.611etc.; and Isaiah 58 for a description of true religion). 4. Greater than the Temple: He taught that He was greater than
the Temple (Matt. 12.6). He taught that if the temple of His body was destroyed in three days He would raise it up (John
2.19). This teaching affirms His superiority to the Temple building (see also Matt. 26.60-61; 27.40; Mark 14.57-58;
15.29).
b Execution-stake.
c Psalm 22.1 ynTbz( hml yl) yl)
d God is not the author of sin. But His plan for world redemption does include His dealing with the reality of sin. This
truth is dramatically witnessed in the death of Jesus Christ. The crucifixion happened according to God’s will. But at the
same time, the crucifixion was the worst crime of human history [Acts 2.23] (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary).
63
"For the life [nephesh] of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves [nephesh] on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life
[nephesh]" (Leviticus 17.11).
THE ANIMAL - THE IMPERFECT SACRIFICE
Elohiym is holy. He can have nothing to do with sin. He hates sin. He cannot overlook the sin of man. Sin is
very serious. Sin must be judged by the shedding of the blood of a perfect sacrifice.
During Old Testament times (before Yeshuwa came to earth in a human body) the nation of Israel celebrated
the Day of Atonementa once a year. On the Day of Atonement, the Jewish people fasted, b confessed their sin,
and asked G-d's forgiveness. They asked for a new start. The high priest was the mediator c between the Jewish people and G-d. On this day, the high priest offered a perfect animal sacrifice to G-d.d He offered an animal (bull, sheep, goat, or bird) that had no blemish. The blood of the animal substituted for the sins of the people. He offered this blood (of atonement) sacrifice first for his own sin and then for the people's. The animal's
blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat in the holiest place of the Temple. Then the high priest took a goat,
known as the 'scapegoat.’e He put his hand on its head. He symbolically placed the sins of the people onto the
goat's head. And he sent the goat away into the desert. This was a sign that G-d had taken their sins away.f
See Leviticus 1.1-17; 16.1-34; 23.27-29.
In those sacrifices there was a reminder of sins every year. Why? “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls
and goats could take away sins” (Hebrews 10.4). See Hebrews 10.1-4; 9.13-15.g
a
Day of Atonement: Heb. Yom Kippur. Kippur (kaph-pe-reysh) (3725), atonement. Kippur (3725) is plural of the verb
kapar (kaph-pe-reysh) (3722), cover over (Gen. 6.14); make an atonement, make reconciliation, purge… Orthodox Jews
believe that if they confess their sins on the Day of Atonement (the Day of Atonement follows a ten day period of soulsearching), they have forgiveness of all sins that were committed in the past year. Tibetans have the same belief, but on a
different day.
b The only time a regular fast was required in Scripture was on the Day of Atonement.
c Mediator (in the Tanakh): a mediator is one who brings reconciliation between two parties. In the Tanakh, the high
priest was the mediator between G-d and the nation of Israel.
d Offerings (in the Tanakh): the altars of the Old Testament were not restricted to offerings of animals as sacrifices. As
well as the altar of burnt offering, there was the altar of incense (Exodus 30). Priests burned incense on this altar every
day so its fragrance would fill the tabernacle when the sacrificial blood was sprinkled on the altar of burnt offering. The
incense altar was symbolic of prayer (see Psalm 141.2). Incense is also mentioned in connection with certain pagan worship practices of the Israelites. The worship of Baal, the queen of heaven, and other foreign gods by means of incense was
condemned in the Tanakh (1 Kings 11.8).
e Scapegoat (in the Tanakh): see Leviticus 16.8-10, 26. Scapegoat: Heb. az’azel (ayin-zayin-aleph-zayin-lamed) (5799),
entire removal (of sin and guilt from sacred places into desert on back of goat, symbolic of entire forgiveness).
f Scapegoat in the Tibetan world today: in the life of Tibetan peoples, there is a similar form of redemptive offering. The
sins of an individual or community are placed upon an image of dough, which is then thrown into some wild and uninhabited area. Occasionally in the Tibetan world, a domestic animal, often a goat, is selected. This ‘scapegoat’ is symbolically
loaded with sin. It is then sent out to be killed by whoever finds it. Furthermore, a characteristic of the ancient Bön religion is the offering up of animal sacrifices. Such animal sacrifices played an important part in the official State ceremonies, State treaties between Tibet and China, and as well were offered up to appease the demons (i.e. when a prince was
sick). Such rites were detestable to Buddhism which held all forms of life inviolate (not to be taken). Bön-po are still using the blood of cocks to conjure peace.
g “Although Old Testament believers were truly forgiven and received genuine atonement through animal sacrifice, the
New Testament clearly states that during the Old Testament period G-d’s justice was not served: “For it is not possible
that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Hebrews 10.4). Atonement was possible because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed (Romans 3.25). However, God’s justice was served in
the death of Jesus Christ as a substitute who “not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered
the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9.12). And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant” (Hebrews 9.15) (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary).
64
YESHUWA - THE PERFECT SACRIFICE
The fullness of time came for G-d to fulfill His promise made to mankind in the book of Genesis: "So YHWH
Elohiym said to the serpent [Satan]... "I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your
seed [those who follow Satan] and her Seed [Messiah]; He [Messiah] shall bruise your head [i.e. a deadly
wound destroying Satan], and you shall bruise His heel"" (Genesis 3.14a, 15).a
"For this is my [Yeshuwa's] blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf
of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven" (Matt. 26.28).
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the
precious blood of Messiah, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1.18-20).
G-d became the Savior of His people (Isaiah 43.3, 11; 45.21, 22; 49.26). G-d became that perfect sacrifice
(Hebrews 10.3-18). Yeshuwa was the only Person in
the universe who could be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of man. Why? Because He was the only sinless
person in human history (1 Peter 1.19 and 2.22; 1 John 3.5). Yeshuwa took upon Himself the punishment of
every man (Isaiah 53), "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5.21; also 5.18-20; 8.9; Galatians 3.13; Hebrews 2.14-15; 1 Peter 3.18; 1
John 3.8).
s$]-n$f-háen-az#-[fc-fy([-
f-b#-qz#-NÏ^-
Yeshuwa ended all sacrifice.b "… how much more shall the blood of Messiah
, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9.14; also Ephesians 2.13).
ãe-
Yeshuwa, the Son of G-d; the Seed of the woman; the spotless Lamb of G-d (1 John 1.29); the Savior of mankind; our Scapegoat; our Passover (1 Cor. 5.7b); that perfect sacrifice for man's sin, the atoning sacrifice,
...
r-
ház#-NÒ#e-az#-NÒ#e-dben-
THE ATONEMENT – THE CENTRAL TRUTH OF THE BIBLE
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Messiah Yeshuwa. God presented him as the Kaporet
[atoning sacrifice, expiatory sacrifice; propitiation – hilasterion], through faith in his blood. He
did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed
beforehand unpunished” (Romans 3.23-25).
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled [katallasso] to God [restored to the favor of
God] through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled [moved from the position of enmity to friendship], we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult
in God through Yeshuwa ha Mashiyach, through whom we have now received the reconciliation [restoration to favor - katallage]” (Romans 5.10-11).
a
This was the first prophecy in the Bible. This prophecy was fulfilled at the cross. See Matthew 1.20 and Galatians 4.4.
Offerings (in the New Covenant): the incense altar is the only altar that appears in the heavenly temple (Isaiah 6.6; Revelation 8.3). In the heavenly temple there is no need for an altar of burnt offering since atonement for our sins is now
complete through the death of Jesus Christ.
b
65
“For if their [the Jewish peoples’] casting Yeshuwa aside means reconciliation [restoration to
favor - katallage] for the world, what will their accepting him mean? It will be life from the
dead!” (Romans 11.15).
“And it is all from God, who through the Messiah has reconciled [katallasso] us to himself [received us into His favor] and has given us the work of that reconciliation [katallage], which is
that God in the Messiah was reconciling [katallasso] mankind to Himself, not counting their
sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation [katallage]. Therefore
we are ambassadors of the Messiah; in effect, God is making his appeal through us. What we
do is appeal on behalf of the Messiah, “Be reconciled [katallasso] to God!””
(2 Cor. 5.18-20).
“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a
merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for [to atone
for; to pay the penalty for - hilaskomai] the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2.17).
“For I will be merciful [propitious - hileos] to their iniquities [I will pardon their iniquities], and I
will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8.12; read Hebrews 8.8-12; Jer. 31.31-34).
“… and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat
[the lid of expiation - hilasterion]a” (Hebrews 9.5a; also Hebrews 4.14-16).
"And He is the Kaporet [propitiation; atoning sacrifice; the means of appeasing – hilasmos] for
our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world... In this is love, not that
we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [atoning sacrifice]
for our sins" (1 John 2.2 and 4.10).
NÒ#e-dben-
“The atonementb
is G-d's righteous provision for the forgiveness of sin through the suffering and death of Yeshuwa on the cross. Yeshuwa's suffering substitutes the eternal punishment of those
sinners who are willing to turn from their sin and live in relationship with G-d. A man is saved from eternal pun-
a
Mercy Seat (in the Tanakh and New Covenant) l: Hebrew: Kaporet (kaph-pe-reysh-tav) (3727), place or object of propitiation; place of atonement; mercy seat; lid of expiation; throne of mercy; throne of grace (Exodus 25.20, 22; Lev.
16.14-15 etc.). Kaporet (3727) is derived from kapar (kaph-pe-reysh) (3722), cover over (see Exodus 30.15 etc.)…
Greek: Hilasterion (2435), the slab of gold (lid of expiation) on the ARK OF THE COVENANT in the Holy of holies,
which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the Day of Atonement (this rite signifying that the life of
the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to G-d in the blood as the life of the victim, and
that G-d by this ceremony was appeased and their sins were expiated). The Mercy Seat was regarded as the resting place
of G-d. It was from above the mercy seat that G-d promised to meet with men (Exodus 25.17-22; Num. 7.89; 1 Chr.
28.11; Hebrews 9.5). Regarding Romans 3.25, “that Christ, besprinkled with his own blood, was truly that which the cover or ‘mercy-seat’ had been typically, i.e. the sign and pledge of expiation,” an expiatory [i.e. atoning] sacrifice (Thayer,
ibid., 301). “The throne from which all grace proceeds. In Israel it was the mercy-seat or covering for the ark between the
two cherubim. The high priest could approach this only once a year and that with the blood of atonement. If he transgressed in anything he would be struck dead. His approach was with fear and trembling. The new covenant believers can
come boldly to God’s throne without fear and trembling, and that daily and at any time of the day. This is the freedom,
confidence, and liberty of approach they are commanded to keep until the end” (Dake, ibid., 247).
b Atonement; Atoning sacrifice (in the Tanakh and New Covenant): Hebrew: kapar (kaph-pe-reysh) (3722), cover over
(see Exodus 30.15 etc.)… Greek: hilaskomai (2433), to *expiate, make propitiation for, atone for, pay the penalty for
(Hebrews 2.17). Hilasmos (2434), a propitiation (something that propitiates, i.e. gains or regains the favor of, specifically:
an atoning sacrifice), the means of appeasing (1 John 2.2 and 4.10). Hilasterion (2435), an expiatory sacrifice, the lid of
expiation, mercy-seat (Romans 3.25; Hebrews 9.5). Hileos (2436), propitious, merciful (Hebrews 8.12). Katallage (2643),
adjustment of a difference, reconciliation, restoration to favor (Romans 5.11 and 11.15; 2 Cor. 5.18-19). Katallasso
(2644), to change, exchange; hence to reconcile; move from the position of enmity to friendship, restore to the favor of
(Romans 5.10; 2 Cor. 5.18-20). * Expiate: to remove an offence by means of some act or offering by, or on behalf of, the
offender" (Bowker, ibid., 331).
66
ishment by accepting Yeshuwa, that is, by accepting Yeshuwa’s sacrificial death for him on the cross, a by believing in the saving power of His shed blood. The need for atonement is brought about by three things: the
universality of sin, the seriousness of sin and man's inability to deal with sin.”b The objective of the atonement
is reconciliation (“at-one-ment”). "The blood of Yeshuwa is the central truth of the Bible. All other scripture
rests on this one foundational cornerstone [Ephesians 2.11-16; Colossians 1.13-22]."c “The only basis on
which G-d can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any
other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which G-d can forgive our sin and reinstate us to
His favor is through the Cross of Christ.”d
THE PHYSICAL RESURRECTION OF YESHUWA
“From that time forth Yeshuwa began to show His disciplese that He must go to Jerusalem
and suffer many things at the hands of the elders and the high priests and scribes, and be
killed, and on the third day be raised from death” (Matt. 16.21).f
Matt. 28 (also Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20, 21; Acts 1.3 and 4.10).g
a
“How God thinks of us is not only more important, but infinitely more important [than how we think of G-d]... It is written that we shall “stand before” Him, shall appear, shall be inspected. The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that
examination, shall find approval, shall please God…” (Lewis, C.S.. The Weight of Glory, ibid., 10).
b Marshall, ibid.
c Murray, Andrew. The Blood of the Cross. (United States of America: Whitaker House, 1981).
d Chambers, ibid., November 20.
e Disciple: Gk. mathaytes (3101), a learner, pupil… Heb. talmid, a male student.
f Yeshuwa predicted His death and resurrection. See also Matthew 12.38-40; 17.9; 17.22, 23; 20.18, 19; 26.32; 27.63;
Mark 8.31-9.1; 9.10; 9.31; 10.32-34; 14.28, 58; Luke 9.22-27; John 2.18-22; 12.34; chapters 14-16.
g Resurrection of Yeshuwa: Resurrection: Gk. anastasis (386), a rising from the dead. Anastasis (386) is derived from
anastaso (450), to rise, stand up, i.e. (literally) a resurrection from death. “Jesus has three basic credentials: (1) The impact of His life, through His miracles and teachings, upon history; (2) Fulfilled prophecy in His life; and (3) His resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christianity stand or fall together. The truth of Christianity is based on the bodily [literal, physical body] resurrection of Christ… The resurrection of Christ has categorically always been the central
tenet of the church” (McDowell, ibid., 203-04, 206). Without the resurrection of Christ, Christianity is a false religion.
“… for the significance of the cross – it was his resurrection that enabled Jesus’ shameful death to be interpreted in
salvific terms. Without it, Jesus’ death would have meant only humiliation and accursedness by God; but in view of the
resurrection it could be seen to be the event by which forgiveness of sins was obtained” (Craig, William Lane. “Did Jesus
Rise from the Dead?” Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1995), 159). “Faith in the resurrection is the very keystone of the arch of Christian faith, and, when it is
removed, all must inevitably crumble into ruin… You cannot take that [the resurrection] away from Christianity without
radically altering its character and destroying its very identity” (Smith, Wilbur. Therefore Stand: Christian Apologetics.
(Grand Rapids: Baker Books House, 1965), 370, 577.). “The Resurrection of Christ is the foundation of Apostolic Christianity” (Anderson, J. N. D. Christianity: The Witness of History. (London: Tyndale Press, 1969), 32). “If this [the resurrection] goes, all that is vital and essential in Christianity goes; if this remains, all else remains. And so through the centuries, from the Celsus onwards, the Resurrection has been the storm centre of the attack upon the Christian faith” (Hastings, James. Dictionary of the Apostolic Church. Vol. II. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1918), 330). “Christianity stands or
falls with the truth of the resurrection. Once disprove it, and you have disposed of Christianity (Green, Michael. Man
Alive. (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1968), 61). “The resurrection of Christ is therefore emphatically a test
question upon which depends the truth or falsehood of the Christian religion. It is either the greatest miracle or the greatest delusion which history records” (Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans,
1962), 173). “The resurrection of Christ is the very citadel of the Christian faith. This is the doctrine that turned the world
upside down in the first century, that lifted Christianity preeminently above Judaism and the pagan religions of the Mediterranean world. If this goes, so must almost everything else that is vital and unique in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ: ‘If Christ be not risen, then is your faith vain’” (1 Cor. 15.17)” (Smith, Wilbur M. “Scientists and the Resurrection”, Christianity Today. April 15, 1957, 22). “Without the belief in the resurrection the Christian faith could not have
come into being. The disciples would have remained crushed and defeated men. Even had they continued to remember
Jesus as their beloved teacher, his crucifixion would have forever silenced any hopes of his being the Messiah. The cross
would have remained the sad and shameful end of his career. The origin of Christianity therefore hinges on the belief of
67
"A week later his talmidim [disciples] were once more in the room, and this time T’oma was
with them. Although the doors were locked, Yeshuwa came, stood among them and said,
“Shalom aleikhem!” Then he said to T’oma, “Put your finger here, look at my hands, take your
hand and put it into my side. Don’t be lacking in trust, but have trust!” T’oma answered him,
“My Lord and my God!”” (John 20.26-28).a
“He [Yeshuwa] said to them, “Foolish people! So unwilling to put your trust in everything the
prophets spoke! Didn’t the Messiah have to die like this before entering his glory?” Then,
starting with Moshe and all the prophets, he explained to them the things that can be found
throughout the Tanakh concerning himself” (Luke 24.25-27).
"So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on
the right hand of God" (Mark 16.19; also 1 Timothy 3.16 etc.).
“God promised this Good News in advance through his prophets in the Tanakh. It concerns
his Son – he is descended from [King] David physically; his was powerfully demonstrated to
be Son of God spiritually, set apart by his having been resurrected from the dead; he is
Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord.
"For I [Paul the Apostle] delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that the
Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He
was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas,
then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time,
most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James,
then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also"
(1 Cor. 15.3-9; also Matt. 20.19; 28.1-10; Mark 10.33, 34; Luke 24.46, 47;
2 Cor. 5.15; Rev. 1.18).
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ATONEMENT AND THE RESURRECTION...
RECONCILED BY HIS DEATH, SAVED BY HIS LIFEb
"Now if the Messiah is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some
among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the
dead, not even the Messiah has been raised; and if the Messiah has not been raised, then our
the early disciples that God had raised Jesus from the dead” (Craig, William Lane. Knowing the Truth about the Resurrection. (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Servant Books, 1988), 116-17)
a Yeshuwa’s appearances after the resurrection: “Christ made many appearances after His resurrection. These appearances occurred at specific times in the lives of specific individuals and were further restricted to specific places” (McDowell,
ibid., 214). “The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the Resurrection. If
they had died without making anyone else believe this ‘gospel’ no gospels would ever had been written” (Lewis, C.S..
Miracles, ibid., 149). “Note that when the disciples of Jesus proclaimed the resurrection, they did so as eyewitnesses and
they did so while people were still alive who had had contact with the events they spoke of. In 56 A.D. Paul wrote that
over 500 people had seen the risen Jesus and that most of them were still alive (1 Cor. 15.6 ff.). It passes the bounds of
credibility that the early Christians could have manufactured such a tale and then preached it among those who might
easily have refuted it simply by producing the body of Jesus” (Montgomery, John W.. History and Christianity. (Downers
Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1964), 78). The preaching of Christ’s resurrection: Acts 1.21, 22; 2.23, 24, 31, 32; Acts
3.14, 15, 26; Acts 4.10; 5.30; 10.39-41; 13.29-39; 17.30, 31; 26.22, 23.
b Yeshuwa’s resurrection was more than proof of His deity or innocence. His resurrection was related in a special way to
His forgiveness. His resurrection was an act by which God wiped out the false charges against Him. His resurrection was
God’s declaration of the perfect righteousness of His Son, and of God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice. Because Christ
has been declared righteous, this is also true for those whom He represents. Thus, His resurrection was a necessary condition for the forgiveness of man’s sins (1 Corinthians 15;12-28).
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preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of
God, because we testified against God that He raised the Messiah, whom He did not raise, if
in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even the Messiah has been
raised; and if the Messiah has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your
sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in the Messiah have perished. If we have hoped
in the Messiah in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now the Messiah has
been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came
death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in the
Messiah all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15.12-22).
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much
more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life [in heaven as Mediatora]. And not
only this, but we also exult in God through Yeshuwa ha Mashiyach, through whom we have
now received the reconciliation” (Romans 5.10-11).
“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and
faithful High Priest [Mediator] in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of
the people” (Hebrews 2.17).
"For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high
priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did
once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have
weakness, but the word of the oath which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been
perfected forever" (Hebrews 7.26-28; also 9.27-28; 10.11-14).
“For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more”
(Hebrews 8.12; also Hebrews 8.8-12; Jer. 31.31-34).
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH IN YESHUWA – THE ONLY REMEDY FOR SIN
“For I [Paul the Apostle] am not ashamed of the gospel of the Messiah, for it is the power of
God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it
the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, the just shall live by
faith” (Romans 1.16-17; also Habakkuk 2.4; Galatians 3.10-11; Hebrews 10.38).
"Therefore, having been justified by faith,
we have shalom with God through our Lord Yeshuwa ha Mashiyach" (Romans 5.1).
a
Mediator, High Priest (in the New Covenant): In the New Covenant, Yeshuwa ha Mashiyach is the High Priest, the Mediator between G-d and men. "For God is one, and there is but one Mediator between God and humanity, Yeshua the
Messiah" (1 Timothy 2.5; also Romans 8.34; Hebrews 3.1-6; and 4.16; 7.25; 9.15,24). Reconciled by his death, saved by
his life. His life here spoken of is not to be understood of his life in the flesh, but his life in heaven, that life which ensued
after his death. Compare Romans 14.9. He was dead, and is alive (Rev. 1.18). We are reconciled by Christ humbled, we
are saved by Christ exalted. The dying Jesus laid the foundation, in satisfying for sin, and slaying the enmity, and so making us salvable; thus is the partition-wall broken down, atonement made, and the attainder reversed; but it is the living
Jesus that perfects the work: he lives to make intercession (Hebrews 7.25). It is Christ, in his exaltation, that by his word
and Spirit effectually calls, and changes, and reconciles us to God, is our Advocate with the Father, and so completes and
consummates our salvation. Compare Romans 4.25 and 8.34. Christ dying was the testator, who bequeathed us the legacy;
but Christ living is the executor, who pays it. Now the arguing is very strong. He that puts himself to the charge of purchasing our salvation will not decline the trouble of applying it (Matthew Henry's Commentary)… ‘High Priest’ is used of
Yeshuwa 15 times in Hebrews: 2.17; 3.1; 4.14-15; 5.1-10; 6.20; 7.1, 26-27; 8.1, 3; 9.11, 25; 10.21; 13.11.
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What does 'justify'a mean? Justify is a legal term. Justify is the opposite of condemn. To justify a man is to declare him to be righteous, as if the man had never sinned. To be justified by faith means to be declared righteous simply by trusting in Yeshuwa, "... even so, we have come to realize that a person is not declared righteous by God on the ground of his legalistic observance of Torah commands, but through the Messiah Yeshua’s trusting faithfulness. Therefore, we too have put our trust in Messiah Yeshua and become faithful to
him, in order that we might be declared righteous on the ground of the Messiah’s trusting faithfulness and not
on the ground of our legalistic observance of Torah commands. For on the ground of legalistic observance of
Torah commands, no one will be declared righteous" (Galatians 2.16; also 2 Timothy 3.14-17; Romans 3.2124 and 5.9, 18).
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3.16; also 1 John 5.5; 1 Peter 1.18-21).
“For the passage quoted says that everyone who rests his trust on him will not be humiliated.
That means that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – Adonai is the same for
everyone, rich toward everyone who calls on him, since everyone who calls on the name of
Adonai will be delivered” (Romans 10.11-13; also Joel 2.32).
"... And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free...
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”
(John 1.14; 1.17; 8.32; 36; also Romans 1.16).
Yeshuwa said to him, "I am the way, the truth,b and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me"" (John 14.6).
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Messiah Yeshuwa our Lord”
(Romans 6.23).
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his bellyc will flow rivers of living water” (John 7.38; read 7.37-39; also Isaiah 55.1; Rev. 22.17).
"This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone
who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the
last day... "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise
him up at the last day... Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting
life. I am the bread of life"" (John 6.39, 40, 44, 47, 48; also 4.13, 14; Galatians 3.26).
"Then Yeshuwa said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am
the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture"
(John 10.7-9).
"Yeshuwa said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.
a
Justify: Gk. dikaioo (1344), render (i.e. show or regard as) just or innocent.
“Why is Truth so elusive? Because Truth is not a list of beliefs or statements or mathematical formulas that can simply
be memorized. It is not a philosophical system or the end of a journey where you can arrive and then be done. Truth is a
Person – Jesus Christ – and knowing the Truth is a relationship. Just as getting to know a person takes time, getting to
know Jesus can happen no faster. It happens day by day, meeting with Him, walking with Him, talking with Him, listening
to Him, being with Him, and obeying Him. Even if it takes all of eternity to get to know Him, there can never be a better
use of our time…” (dc Talk, ibid., 14-15).
c Belly: Gk. koilia (2836), the innermost part of a man, as the seat of thought, feeling, choice.
b
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He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in
Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"" (John 11.25, 26; also Matt. 18.11; Daniel 12.2-3).
"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God
does not have life" (1 John 5.12; also 5.10-13).
"But these have been written so that you may believe that Yeshuwa is the Messiah, the Son of
God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20.31; also Matt. 16.16, 17).
"and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures,
which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Messiah Yeshuwa”
(2 Timothy 3.15).
"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life;
and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him"
(John 3.36; also 3.15-18; 5.24; Mark 16.16; 10.43; 1 John 5.11-13).
“And everyone who calls on the name of YHWH will be saved” (Joel 2.32). “… that if you
acknowledge publicly with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and trust in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be delivered... for "everyone who calls on the name of Adonai will be delivered”” (Romans 10.9, 13).
"And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" So they said, "Believe
on Yeshuwa ha Mashiyach, and you will be saved, you and your household"" (Acts 16.30-31;
also 1 Cor. 1.2). "Whoever believes that Yeshuwa is the Messiah is born of God" (1 John
5.1a). "... your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake" (1 John 2.12b; see also Psalm
103.12)... “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Messiah Yeshuwa came
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1.15).
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among
men by which we must be saved [There is only one Being through whom salvation may be obtained]" (Acts 4.12; also 5.31; Colossians 1.27).
13. What is the cost of following Yeshuwa?
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______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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“We are absolutely nothing. We have nothing to be proud about.
We have no abilities and nothing to offer God.
The fact that he chooses to use us is only due to his grace.
It has nothing to do with us…”a
“Because of his father’s example, Origen (second century A.D., Egypt) lived his life as a living
sacrifice to God – a life that had already been crucified with The Messiah and therefore was
no longer concerned for its own welfare or worldly desires. As a result of this, he lived a life
without fear of what others could do to him, a life completely free of what others thought about
or demanded of him, a life that was concerned with nothing else but spreading the Kingdom of
God.”b
“Live today as if you were going to die a martyr this evening.”c
“I have been crucified with the Messiah;d and it is no longer I who live, but the Messiah lives
in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved my and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2.20; also 5.24; 6.14; Phil. 3.7-10).
“… that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings…” (Phil. 3.10a; read Phil. 3.7-10).e
What does it mean to believe in and follow Yeshuwa? See Deut. 6.5; 10.12; 30.6; Proverbs 3.5-6; Jer. 10.23;
Malachi 3.10-12; Mark 8.34-37 and 10.17-21; John 3.16, 30 and 5.30. Tibetans and Jewish people need to
count the cost of their decision to follow Yeshuwa. They need to count the cost of identifying with Him. Water
immersion serves as a public identification (see Matt. 28.18-20; Acts 8.36-38; Romans 6). ‘Holy Spirit immersionf is the key to spiritual progress in one’s life.
Yeshuwa promised His followers the abundant life (John 10.10), but He did not say that the abundant life
would exclude suffering and persecution, "Indeed, all who desire to live Godly in Messiah Yeshuwa will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3.12; also Psalm 23; Eccl. 7.14; Habakkuk 3.17-18; Matt. 5.11-12; Luke 6. 22-23, 27-35;
a
Hattaway, Paul. The Heavenly Man. (Grand Rapids, MI: Monarch Books, 2002), 13… The focus is on God. He can
accomplish what he wills, using the person He chooses. This is where we find the moral of every story ever told about a
“successful” man or woman of G-d: G-d is a G-d of grace. “Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world
measures it, but only by what God pours through us” (Chambers, ibid., September 2). See John 7.38.
b dc Talk. ibid., 288. See Romans 12.1-2.
c Charles de Foucauld.
d “Christ says, “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come
to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and there, I
want to have the whole tree down. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which your think innocent as well as
the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own
will shall become yours” (Lewis, C.S.. Mere Christianity, ibid., 12).
e “Whoever has not yet encountered God as a paradoxical God [i.e. having a nature which is seemingly contradictory and
opposed to common sense, and yet is true, right, and perfect] in his life does not know God. Whoever has not stood the
test when he could not understand the paradoxical God has not yet proved his faith in God. Do you know times in your
life when God seems paradoxical? Do you know times when you can no longer understand His actions, when He appears
to be leading you in the wrong direction, when your hopes are shattered, and when you think your venture in faith has
ended in utter disappointment? Believe me, if a person wants to enter the glory of heaven one day, he must endure acute
disappointment, passing through phases of utter darkness…” (Schlink, Basilea. I Found the Key to the Heart of God.
(Minneapolis, MN: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., 1975). 248).
f Being filled with, i.e. immersed in, totally surrendered to, the Holy Spirit (Ruach ha Qadowsh): “Israel’s leaders – from
Moshe to Joshua, to the judges, to David and Solomon, to the enigmatic “Servant of God” of Isaiah 42 – all receive their
wisdom, courage, and power as gifts resulting from the possession of God’s Spirit” (Achtemeier, ibid., 432). See Isaiah
55.1; Matt. 3.11; Luke 11.13; John 1.33-34; 3.5; 7.37-39; 14.16-17; Acts 1.8; Ephesians 5.18 Rev. 22.17.
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John 10.27-29 and 15.18,19; 17.14; Acts 14.22b; Romans 8.17-39; 1 Cor. 4.11-14; 2 Cor. 1.8-9, 4.8-18 and
11.23-27; 2 Timothy 2.12; Hebrews 11.35-40; James 1.2-3; 1 Peter 2.20-25 and 4.1-2, 12-19 etc.).a
“When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers
and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what
you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say”
(Luke 12.11-12; also Deut. 31.6; Hebrews 11.13-16).
“For not only does sound reason direct us to refuse the guidance of those who do or teach
anything wrong, but it is by all means vital for the lover of truth (John 14.6), regardless of the
threat of death, to choose to do and say what is right even before saving his own life”
(Justin Martyr).
"For the lightness of our present afflictionb works out for us an eternal weight of glory surpassing moment by
surpassing moment; we not considering the things seen, but the things not being seen; for the things seen are
not lasting, but the things not seen are everlasting" (2 Cor. 4.17-18; also Psalm 119.67, 71; Malachi 3.2-3;
Romans 5.3-5 and 8.18, 28; Hebrews 12.6; James 1.2-4; 1 Peter 1.6-7; 2.18-21; 3.18; 4.1,12-14,19; 5.8-10).
According to the Scriptures, "suffering is not an accident but a gift to be cherished, for when properly received
it works to enhance one's eternal rank, fame, and honor... No one ever becomes a saint without suffering. Suffering, triumphantly accepted, slays the self-life, delivers one from self-centeredness, and frees one to love."c
"And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb [the blood of Yeshuwa] and by the
word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death"
(Rev. 12.11, also Matt. 5.10; John 16.2, 33; Phil. 1.21, 29 and 3.20; 1 Thess. 3.3-4; Hebrews
2.10 and 5.8; Rev. 7.9 and 20.4; Psalm 116.15 etc.).
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside
every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Yeshuwa, the author and perfecter of faith,
who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12.1-3).
“… the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away
with rushing sound, and having burned the elements will be dissolved, and earth and the
works in it will be burned up. Then all these being about to be dissolved, what sort ought you
to be in holy behavior and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the Day of God,
through which the heavens being set afire will be dissolved, and the elements will melt?
(2 Peter 3.10-12).
14. Tibetans and the Jewish People
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the
a
Persecution within Tibetan and Jewish families is similar, “A Jew who, on the basis of what the Hebrew prophets said
and the testimony of those who knew Jesus the best, decides that Jesus was indeed the Messiah is almost always cast out
by family and cut off by friends” (Hunt, Dave. A Cup of Trembling - Jerusalem and Bible Prophecy. (Eugene: Harvest
House Publishers, 1995), 433).
b Affliction: Gk. thlipsis (2347), pressure.
c Billheimer, ibid., 26,51.
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days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until
the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all
away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matt. 24.36-39; read Matt. 24.23-51).
Noah’s family was not delivered from the evil generation until the day that they entered the ark. In the same
way, according to Scripture, the Messiah will not return until certain events have taken place…
UNTIL THE TIMES OF RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS
“But what things God before announced through the mouth of all His prophets, that the Messiah should suffer, He fulfilled in this manner. Therefore, repent, and convert, for the blotting
out of your sins, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that
He may send forth the [One] before proclaimed to you, Yeshuwa ha Mashiyach, whom Heaven truly needs to receive until the times of restorationa of all things, of which God spoke
through the mouth of all His holy prophets from the age past” (Acts 3.18-21).
Land divided becomes land united:b “I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgement against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land” (Joel 3.2). In an attempt to secure peace in the
Middle East, the land of Israel has been divided. All attempts to secure peace will fail, and the nations involved
in the division of Israel will be judged by G-d. When the full measure of land has been restored to the nation of
Israel, this will signal the return of the Messiah. There will be no peace in the Middle East until the Messiah
returns.c
People scattered become people united:d the Jewish people are facing unparalleled persecution (confirm) See
Deut. 28.36-37; 64-67; 31.16-17; Isaiah 51; Zechariah 8.13). The time will come when the land of Israel will be
the only refuge for the Jewish people.
Temple, third and final, (Ezekiel’s Temple, Millennial Temple) completed:e Biblical references to the literal third
and final temple - Isaiah 2.2-3; 56.5-6; 60.10, 14; Daniel 9.20-27; Ezekiel 40-48; Haggai 2.7; Zechariah 6.12a
Restoration: Gk. apokatastasis  (605).
For about 1900 years, there was no nation of Israel. On May 14, 1948, Israel once again became a nation, a Jewish state,
a sovereign state (see Isaiah 66.8). The current political borders with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt will not remain
where they are. The borders of Israel will in time move out to include territory outlined in the Tanakh, “Your territory will
extend from the desert [of Arabia Petraea] and from Lebanon [on the north] to the great river, the Euphrates [on the east]
– all the Hittite country – to the Great Sea [Mediterranean] on the west” (Joshua 1.4; also Gen. 15.1-21; 17.7-8; Numbers
34.1-12; Joshua 15.1-12; Ezekiel 47.15-20).
c “Here is what the great majority of the member states of the United Nations say: They regard Israel as having been responsible, directly or indirectly, for provocative acts that undermine goodwill and spark hostilities… They see that you
have expanded settlements, and started new ones… land for peace is the only principle that has a chance of bringing
peace to this land” (UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 1998). The entire peace process, from its beginnings in Oslo several years ago, has been premised on separating Israelis and Palestinians by creating a Palestinian state on territory currently controlled by Israel.
d G-d declared through His prophets that in the “last days” just before the Messiah’s return, He would bring the Jewish
people back into their own land Israel from wherever they had been scattered throughout the world (Gen. 28.13-15; Isaiah
11.10-14; 14.1; 43.6; 54.7; 58.12; 60.8; 61.2b-4; Jeremiah 3.14-18; 16.14-16; 23.7-8; 24.6-7; 29.12-14; 30.2-3; Ezekiel
20.33-34; 22.17-22; 28.24-26; 36.8-10, 22-28; 37.12-14; 21-28; 39.27-28; Zephaniah 2.1-3; Zechariah 2.4-5; 8.3-8; 10.612; 14.1-21; Acts 1.8).
e In 1967, the Jewish people recaptured the site of the Temple for the first time since 70 A.D., “Since the destruction of
Jerusalem [and the Temple] by the Romans in AD 70, Conservative and Orthodox Jews have beseeched God four times a
week to ‘renew our days as they once were’ - a plea for the restoration of the Temple. Although Zionism [the belief in the
reestablishment of an independent Jewish state] was largely a secular movement, one of its sources was the prayers of the
Jews for a return to Palestine so that they could rebuild a new Temple” (TIME, June 30, 1967, 56). The Jewish people
will rebuild the Temple. This temple will be the Third and final Temple.
b
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15; Matt. 24.15; 2 Thess. 2.4; Rev. 11.1-2. The Third Temple holds great significance for the future. In the final
years leading to the return of the Messiah, the Jewish people will resume daily animal sacrifice within the Third
Temple. In the course of time, the daily sacrifices and offerings will be put to an end, and the ‘abomination that
causes desolation’ will be set up in the holy place by the Antichrist (remaining for 42 months or 1,290 days).
See Daniel 7.25; 9.26-27; 11.31; 12.7, 11; Matt. 24.15; Mark 13.14; Luke 21.20; 2 Thess. 2.3-4; Rev. 11.1-2; 6,
14; 13.5. The Antichrist will be part of the unholy trinity: the great dragon (Satan), the beast (Antichrist), and the
false prophet. See Rev. 12; 13.1-8; 16.10-14; 19.19-21; 20.7-10.a
UNTIL THE FULNESS OF THE NATIONS COMES IN
“for if their [the Jewish peoples’] rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?…I [the Apostle Paul] do not want you to be ignorant of
this mystery, brothers – so that you may not be wise within yourselves – that hardness in part
has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the nationsb comes in“
(Romans 11.15, 25; read Romans 9-11).
“YHWH had said to Abram,c “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household
and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will
make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoplesd on earth will be blessed through you”
(Gen. 12.1-3; also Gen. 22.18).
“You people don’t know what you are worshipping; we worship what we do know, because
salvation comes from the Jews” (John 4.22).
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24.14; read Matt 24e).
"And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in
the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and
a
The Antichrist: the Man of Sin; the lawless one (“sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3.4)), the Son of Perdition, the King of
Babylon, Little Horn (Daniel 7.7-12; 2 Thess. 2; 1 John 2.18-22; 4.3 etc.), the beast. The Antichrist will receive his authority and power from the dragon, i.e. Satan (see Rev. 13.1-4). The false prophet will make the entire earth worship the
Antichrist (Rev. 13.3-12) and receive his mark (Rev. 13.16-17). The number of the beast is 666. This external mark (Gk.
charagma (5480)) may be the 6-pointed star. Those who worship the Antichrist and take the mark will experience the
wrath of G-d and eternal damnation (Rev. 14.9-11). Those who do not worship the Antichrist will be killed (Rev. 13.15).
The Antichrist will be the false Yeshuwa (he will in blasphemy be called ‘Christ’). The Antichrist will oppose Yeshuwa
and the followers of Yeshuwa (Rev. 17.14). The Antichrist will exalt himself above all gods and will seek to be worshipped as G-d (Daniel 11.36-37; 2 Thess. 2.4; Rev. 13.5-8, 15). The Antichrist will attack Jerusalem (Zechariah 12.3;
14.2). The Antichrist will be the ultimate humanist, believing in mankind’s ability to solve its own problems. The Antichrist will exercise his authority for 42 months (Rev. 11.1-2; 13.5).
b Nations: Gk. ethnos  (1484), a race, i.e. a tribe; in this sense Gentile nations.
c Abram (see Gen. 14.13). G-d changed his name to Abraham (Gen. 17.5). Abraham: Heb. Abraham (aleph-beyth-reythhe-mem) (85), father of a multitude.
d Peoples: Heb. mishpacha (mem-shiyn-pe-cheyth-he) (4940), a family, i.e. circle of relatives.
e The gospel has not gone to all the world (all peoples), and so humanity is not yet at the end (i.e. when Yeshuwa will
return). But fulfilled prophecy and world events appear to signal that humanity is in the period referred to as the end times
(see Matt. 16.28 to 17.2; one day is as a thousand years): “The world’s most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered
massive tidal waves that slammed into villages and seaside resorts across Asia on Sunday…” (Djuhari, Lely T.. Tsunami
waves kill over 5,600 in Asia. Sun. Dec. 26, 2004, 1 hour 18 minutes ago (the number of deaths was upgraded to nearly
300,000, Feb. 7, 2005)). “An earthquake that unleashed deadly tidal waves on Asia was so powerful it made the Earth
wobble on its axis and permanently altered the regional map, US geophysicists said” (Earth orbit changed map of Asia:
US Geophysicist, Mon. Dec. 27, 2004). Read Job 9.5-8; Isaiah 2.19; 13.13; 24.18; Ezekiel 38.20; Joel 3.16; Haggai 2.67, 21; Hebrews 12.26.
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seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and
took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Now when He had taken the
scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each
having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they
sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You
were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and
people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the
earth"" (Revelation 5.6-10)
"the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and
shadow of death light has dawned" (Matt. 4.16; Isaiah 9.2).
Gentiles: What role to the Jewish people play in salvation for the Tibetans? What is the connection, if any, between the Jewish people and Tibetans? What does G-d think about the Tibetan people, about Tibetan Buddhism? What do Tibetans think about the Jewish people? Will Tibetans enter the Kingdom of G-d ‘en masse’
just before the spiritual awakening of the Jewish peoples?a See Romans 11.15, 26 (read Romans 9-11); Isaiah 60.1-11; 66.19-21… There will be a remnant “from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” coming
into the Kingdom of G-d.
UNTIL YOU SAY, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”
“Behold, your house is left to you desolate; For I say to you. In no way shall you see Me from
now on until you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”
(Matt. 23.38-39).
“But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring… hardness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the nations comes in; and so all Israel will be saved, even as it has
been written, “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins”
(Romans 11.25b-27; read Romans 11).
“On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. And I will pour out
on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.
They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns
for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son”
(Zechariah 12.9-10).
“A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the God of Might. Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return.b Destruction has been
decreed, overwhelming and righteous. Adonai, YHWH of hosts [tw)bc hwhy], will carry out the
destruction decreed upon the whole land” (Isaiah 10.21-23).
“Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by
the sea, only the remnant will be saved”” (Romans 9.27).
a
“Ekvall quotes a Tibetan clan leader as saying, “I don’t know yet how that will turn out but if, as our priests say, it is
written in the holy books that some time in the future all of Tibet must turn to your religion, maybe even now the time has
about come and you are an advance guard”” (Alliance Life, Jan. 1999).
b Return: Heb. shuwb (shiyn-vav-beyth) (7725), (re)turn, turn back. This word is better than any other Hebrew verb expressing repentance: “it combines in itself the two requisites of repentance: to turn from evil and to turn to the good”
(Harris, ibid., 909).
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“Thus said the LORD, who established the sun for light by day, the laws of moon and stars for
light by night, who stirs up the sea into roaring waves, whose name is LORD of Hosts [tw)bc
hwhy]: If these laws should ever be annulled by Me – declares the LORD – only then would
the offspring of Israel cease to be a nation before me for all time. Thus said the LORD: If the
heavens above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth below could be fathomed, only then would I reject all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done – declares
the LORD” (Jer. 31.35-37).
Spiritual awakening of the Jewish Peoples: Will all Israel be saved? According to Scripture, “All Israel” refers
to the Israel that responds to G-d’s call, the remnant. When Paul wrote Romans 11.26, he was connecting
with Isaiah 59.20 (salvation will come only when rebellion is removed and repentance becomes a personal
experience). Will ALL ISRAEL be saved? What is “their fullness” referring to in Romans 11.12? Does this relate to “fullness of the nations” (Romans 11.25)? “In the Scriptures, being chosen does not mean being saved
or in right standing with God or even imply that one is pleasing to God. Being chosen means being selected to
do a task… There is a more important term than chosen. The concept of a remnant, a small portion within the
larger whole, is central in the Tenakh. There is an Israel within the larger Israel; an inner concentric circle that
represents both the chosen and the faithful of God.” a See Isaiah 10.21-22; Jer. 9.25-26; John 3.1-10 (Yeshuwa speaking through Nicodemus to the whole nation of Israel); Acts 2.38; 3.26; 5.31; Romans 3.23; 11.26-27.
As Isaiah wrote, “… a remnant of Jacob will return to the God of Might.” A remnant of Israel will be spiritually
awakened through repentance, turning from evil and turning to the good, receiving Yeshuwa, receiving Yeshuwah.
"Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so the Messiah was
sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to
bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him”b (Hebrews 9.27-28).
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with
the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He
was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and
his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7.13-14).
“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth
will mourn” (Matt. 24.30).
"Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.
And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen"
(Rev. 1.7).
"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren,
concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
For if we believe that Yeshuwa died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those
who sleep in Yeshuwa. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive
and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For
a
Sumner, Paul. All Israel will be saved.
There will be a generation of believers (followers of Yeshuwa) who will not have to pass through death to reach eternal
life (see 1 Cor. 15.51-54; 1 Thess. 4.13-17; Titus 2.13). They will be the only generation in history to escape the curse of
death.
b
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the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and
with the trumpet of God. And the dead in The Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be with the Lord"
(1 Thess. 4.13-17; also Luke 17.34-36; 1 Cor. 15.51, 52; Rev. 22.20).
Selected Bibliography
Books
Barrett, Eric C. (co-editor). Scientists Who Believe. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984).
Billheimer, Paul E.. Don’t Waste Your Sorrows - A study in sainthood and suffering. (Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade, 1977).
Bulle, Florence. The Many Faces of Deception. (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1996).
Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest. (Oswald Chambers Publications Associations, Ltd., 1992).
78
Chavda, Mahesh. The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting. (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers,
Inc., 1998).
Conze, E.. Buddhism: Its Essence and Development, 2nd ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1959).
Dake, Finis Jennings. Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible. (Lawrenceville, Georgia: Dake Bible Sales, Inc.,
1991).
Dalai Lama. Freedom in Exile – The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. (New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 1990).
Dalai Lama. My Land and My People (New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1997).
Dalai Lama. Spiritual Advice for Buddhists and Christians. (New York: The Continuum Publishing Company,
1998).
Dalai Lama. The Good Heart. (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1996).
dc Talk, Jesus Freaks Vol II – Stories of Revolutionaries who changed their world: fearing God, not man. (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 2002).
Edwards, Jonathan. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1996).
Elon, Amos. Jerusalem – City of Mirrors. (United States of America: Little, Brown and Company, 1989).
Finto, Don. Your People shall Be My People. (Ventura CA: Regal Books, 2001).
Hattaway, Paul. The Heavenly Man – the remarkable true story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun. (Grand Rapids, MI: Monarch Books, 2002).
Hunt, Dave. A Cup of Trembling - Jerusalem and Bible Prophecy. (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 1995).
Kah, Gary H.. The New World Religion - The Spiritual Roots of Global Government. (Noblesville: Hope International Publishing, Inc., 1998).
Kohlenberger, John R. III (editor). The NIV Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament. (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1987).
Lewis, C. S.. Mere Christianity. (Glasgow: Fontana, 1952).
Lewis, C.S.. Miracles. (New York: Macmillan, 1960).
Lewis, C. S.. The Problem of Pain. (New York: MacMillan, 1971).
Lewis, C.S.. The weight of Glory. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1949).
Marrs, Texe. Ravaged by the New Age. (Austin: Living Truth Publishers, 1989).
Martin, Walter. The Kingdom of the Cults. (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1985).
McDowell, Josh. The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999).
Morris, Henry M.. Studies in the Bible and Science. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1966).
Mullin, Glenn H. Living in the Face of Death (New York: Snow Lion Publications, 1998).
Murray, Andrew. The Blood of the Cross. (United States of America: Whitaker House, 1981).
Nee, Watchman. The Release of the Spirit. (Indianapolis: Sure Foundation Publishers, 1965).
Netland, H. A.. Dissonant Voices - Religious Pluralism and the Question of Truth. (Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Prager, Dennis. Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003).
Raymo, Jim. Marching to a Different Drummer - Rediscovering Missions in an Age of Affluence and SelfInterest. (Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade, 1996).
Saal, William J.. Reaching Muslims for Christ. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991).
Schlink, Basilea. I Found the Key to the Heart of God. (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., 1975).
Snelling, John. Buddhism. (U.K.: Wayland, Hove, 1986).
Stern, David H. (translator). Jewish New Testament. (Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc.
1989).
Stott, John R.W.. Basic Christianity 2nd ed.. (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1971).
79
Towns, Elmer L. Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough. (Ventura, California: Regal Books, 1996).
Waddell, Austine. Buddhism and Lamaism of Tibet. (New Delhi: Gauray Publishing House, 1978).
Concordances, Commentaries, Lexicons and Dictionaries
Achtemeier, Paul J. (general editor). Bible Dictionary. (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1996).
Bowker, John (editor). The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997).
Brown, Francis. Hebrew and English Lexicon. (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1979).
Harris, R. Laird. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980).
Hastings, James. Dictionary of the Apostolic Church. Vol. II. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1918).
Jäschke, H.. A Tibetan English Dictionary. (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1992).
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990
Marshall, I. H.. New Bible Dictionary. (Leicester: Inter-varsity Press, 1996).
Matthew Henry's Commentary. (PC Study Bible Version 2 for Windows).
Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary. (PC Study Bible Version 2 for Windows).
Plaut, W. Gunther (editor). The Torah – A Modern Commentary. (New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981).
Ryken, Leland, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman III (general editors). Dictionary of Biblical Imagery.
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998).
Thayer, J.H.. The New Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon. (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers,
1981).
Tsering, Marcu. Key Terms – English-Tibetan Dictionary of Key Spiritual Terms.
Vine, W.E., Merrill F. Unger, William White, Jr.. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. (New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985).
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary.
Other…
Dalai Lama, Nobel Prize for Peace: Acceptance Speech, Oslo, Norway 1989.
Smith, Wilbur M. “Scientists and the Resurrection”, Christianity Today. April 15, 1957.
Appendix

“When any mass becomes more compact than a certain limit, its own gravity is so strong that
the object collapses in on itself to a singular point, a black hole. The event horizon is a sort of
one-way membrane which surrounds the singularity. Matter and energy can fall into the black
hole through the event horizon, but nothing, not even light, can get out… Narayan, McClintock
and Garcia have found that some of these recently discovered black holes are not only ultra-
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dense, but that they actually “vacuum up” energy from their surroundings through their event
horizons… The new work involves a class of X-ray emitting binary stars called “X-ray novae.”… An X-ray novva consists of two stars orbiting each other, with gas from one being
transferred steadily to the other. The gas flows onto the second star by a process called “accretion,” and, in the process, the gas heats up and radiates X-rays. This highly energetic radiation shows that the accreting (or mass receiving) star must be very compact and therefore a
potential black hole candidate. However, one cannot be sure that it really is a black hole. For
instance, it might be a “neutron star,” which is almost as compact as a black hole, or it might
be something even more bizarre. To prove that an object is a black hole, one would like to
show that it has an event horizon, which is one of the fundamental, defining features of a
black hole.a”
What is a neutron star? “The imploded core [the crushed remnant] of a massive star produced by a supernova explosion. (typical mass of 1.4 times the mass of the sun, radius of
about 5 miles, density of a neutron.). A sugarcube of neutron-star stuff on Earth would weigh
as much as all of humanity! This illustrates again how much of humanity is empty space.”…
Some neutron stars are known to spin very rapidly, at least at the beginning, and can be detected as “pulsars”: rapidly flashing sources of radio radiation or visible light. The pulses are
produced by the spinning fo the neutron star, much like a spinning lighthouse beacon appears
to flash on and off.
“Shining brightly in the constellation Leo is a fast-spinning star that shoots through the cosmos
like an extra-wide bullet, perplexing astronomers as it moves through space in the same direction as its polar axis. Researchers have long known that Regulus, the brightest star in Leo,
spins much faster than the Sun, but new observations with an array of telescopes pinned
down the star’s odd motion and a host of other characteristics. “We don’t have any idea why
it’s really doing that,” said Georgia State University astronomer Hal McAlister… Using the
CHARA array of telescopes atop California’s Mount Wilson, McAlister and his team were able
to make the first observations of how Regulus is shaped by its high-speed rotation: 700,000
miles (1.1 million kilometers) an hour spin at its equator. With such a high rate of rotation –
the Sun, for comparison, has an equatorial spin of about 4,500 miles (7,242 kilometers) an
hour – Regulus bulges out at the center to a diameter about 4.2 times that of Earth’s home
star… “There’s nothing that we know of that can speed this star up,” McAlister told
SPACE.com.”b
“Stunned astronomers described the greatest cosmic explosion ever monitored – a star burst
from the other side of the galaxy that was briefly brighter than the full moon and swamped
satellites and telescopes. The high radiation flash [gamma rays = 10.000 trillion trillion watts]
detected last December 27, caused no harm to Earth but would have literally fried the planet
had it occurred within a few light years of home… “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said
Rob Fender of Britain’s Southampton University. “We have observed an object only 20 kilometers (12 miles) across, on the other side of our galaxy, releasing more energy in a 10th of a
second than the sun emits in 100.000 years.” The blast was caused by an eruption on the surface of a known, exotic kind of neutron star called SGR 1806-20, located about 50,000 light
years from Earth in the constellation of Sagittarius and about three billion times farther from
us than the Sun. A neutron star is the remnant of a very large star near the end of its life – a
tiny, extraordinarily dense core with a powerful magnetic field, spinning swiftly on its axis.” c
a
Astronomers closing in on black holes, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Malik, Tariq. Leo’s bright star Regulus flies like bullet. Mon. Jan 31, 2005.
c Ingham, Richard. Monster starburst was brighter than full moon. Fri. Feb 18, 2005
b
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“The best look ever inside a womb of star birth reveals a force at work astronomers were not
aware of. Like a baby’s first ultrasound, scientists peered into a stellar envelope to capture the
earliest and most detailed view of a collapsing cloud of gas and dust, NASA announced
Tuesday. The images were made mostly with the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton Xray observatory. Some previously unrealized energetic process, likely related to magnetic
fields, is superheating parts of the cloud, nudging it to become a star, scientists said. The detection of X-rays from the cold stellar precursor surprised astronomers. The observations reveal that matter is falling toward the core 10 times faster than gravity could account for… “The
detection of X-rays this early indicates that gravity alone is not the only force shaping young
stars.”… The whole setup is spinning, and scientists speculate that magnetic fields accelerate
gas to high speeds as it approaches the core. In other high-energy environments, such as
around black holes, high-speed gas is known to produce X-rays… “The X-ray emission shows
that forces appear to be accelerating matter to high speeds, heating regions of this cold gas
cloud to 100 million degrees Fahrenheit,” Corcoran said. “The X-ray emission from the core
gives us a window to probe the hidden processes by which cold gas clouds collapse to
stars.”a
a
Space.com staff. Unknown force triggers star formation. Tues. March 01, 2005.
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