On this page we endeavor to expose long held traditions in the body of Messiah that are only teachings and traditions of men; We desire to show the truth , and it will then be up to you to decide. Yeshua was Jewish, and He lived in a Jewish culture; therefore all the Words of G-D contained in the Scriptures must necessitate a study from a Hebraic perspective and not a western "church" mentality.

                                                                                                                   It is our goal that we show Jews that Yeshua is Messiah, and that we show our Gentile brothers and sisters in Messiah that their faith is of Jewish origin. In his hands we commit this work.   Amein

 

                      Rapture.... Is it a real occurance?

         The rapture is a word that many in western society, if they are believers of Messiah , are familiar .  Where did this belief originate?  Is it biblical?  Is it a solid foundational truth that comes from the Word of G-D?
            Let us reason together, as G-D says in His word , and show the answer to this question.
          

Why should there be any controversy?   If  I am  incorrect , then so what?  I will see you on the way to heaven in the clouds; that is unless you make  believing in the  pre-trib rapture as a prerequisite to entering heaven.  I believe the only way anyone will  get to heaven is that they are  COMPLETELY relying on the shed blood of Yeshua our Messiah to make atonement for us. 
          If , on the other hand  I am right.  Then a horrible calamity awaits the "Believers of this  world".  

Continue to page II for more on Rapture, or continue below for more articles.

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Messiah: Nailed to a Stake or a Cross?
 

 Pagan origins
of cross.


                                 

      Was Yeshua nailed to a stake, or a cross? Firstly, the Bible shows us evidence of the nail holes in Yeshua's hands and feet in John 20:27. This means that He was not IMPALED on a stake. Secondly, medical evidence suggests that, in order to die in the short time it took Him to die (in part), He had to be nailed to a cross-like structure in which His arms were at right angles to His body, as opposed to straight above His head, which made for laborious breathing and eventual asphixiation.

      Please consider the following facts.  The cross was used by Pagans long before the Messiah was put to death on Calvary. The cross is a symbol of the Babylonian Sun god and was also seen on the coins of Julius Caesar 100-40 BC. The cross was the emblem of Tammuz known as the mistletoe or Branch. It is doubtful if Messiah even died on the kind of cross commonly known. It is more likely that he was crucified on a stake - an upright pole or tree with its branches lopped off. However, there had to be a crossbar, as death by crucifixion occurred through exhaustion asphyxia - the victim eventually suffocated. The position of the body on the cross left the chest muscles used for breathing in a permanent inhalation position. In order to exhale, the victim would have to actively push his body up against the nails holding his feet to the cross. If Jesus had passed out on the cross, He would have died within 10 minutes by suffocation....
        Richard M. Rives' book, Too Long in the Sun, states: The cross was used in the worship of the ancient mystery religions. It has been identified as being the Letter T - the initials of the sun god Tammuz. Remember: in Ezekiel 8, the women were weeping for Tammuz? This symbol is similar to the celestial cross and sword of Mithra and also the "Double Axe" of Zeus Labrayndos, both pagan symbols that pre-date Constantine's Labarum.
      The Roman army carried standards in the shape of the crosses. Originally this was known as "the vexillium" which was a cross with a banner across the top. The vexillium, was the forerunner of the "Labarum" of Constantine ("by this sign conquer"). The Labarum was a cross with an X at the top and a P through the middle of the X. Supposedly, this X and P were the first two letters in the Greek word for Christ. Many historians have suggested that this was not necessarily the initials for Christ, but could have actually been the celestial cross and Mithraic sword - both of which were used in Mithraism, the religion of the Roman soldier. We must not forget that Constantine's coins were inscribed with the words "committed to the invincible sun"....

                                              Egyptian  ankh             

             In Hoc Signo Vinces
  (In this sign conquer)

      The History of Crucifixion The Bible clearly tells us He was NAILED to a stake/cross, as far back as Isaiah 53, which tells us that Messiah would be "pierced" for our transgressions. He was to be crucified, not impaled (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, etc.) The Old Covenant (Psalm 34:21, Ex 12:46, Num 9:12) tells us that "Not one of his bones will be broken." Impaling would surely have broken ribs and possibly the backbone, among others.

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Below is a detailed explanation, borrowed from The JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association (March 21, 1986, Volume 255; Copyright 1986, American Medical Association): --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 ...Crucifixion probably first began among the Persians. Alexander the Great introduced the practice to Egypt and Carthage, and the Romans appear to have learned of it from the Carthaginans. Although the Romans did not invent crucifixion, they perfected it as a form of torture and capital punishment that was designed to produce a slow death with maximum pain and suffering. It was one of the most disgraceful and cruel methods of execution and usually was reserved only for slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and the vilest of criminals. Roman law usually protected Roman citizens from crucifixion, except perhaps in the case of desertion by soldiers.
        In its earliest form in Persia, the victim was either tied to a tree or was tied to or impaled on an upright post, usually to keep the guilty victim's feet from touching holy ground. Only later was a true cross used; it was characterized by an upright post (stipes) and a horizontal crossbar (patibulum), and it had several variations. Although archaeological and historical evidence strongly indicates that the low Tau cross was preferred by the Romans in Palestine at the time of Messiah, crucifixion practices often varied in a given geographic region and in accordance with the imagination of the executioners, and the Latin cross and other forms also may have been used.
        It was customary for the condemned man to carry his own cross from the flogging post to the site of crucifixion outside the city walls. He was usually naked, unless this was prohibited by local customs. Since the weight of the entire cross was probably well over 300 lb. (136 kg), only the crossbar was carried. (The patibulum, weighing 75 to 125 lb. (34 to 57 kg), was placed across the nape of the victim's neck and balanced along both shoulders. Usually, the outstretched arms then were tied to the crossbar. The processional to the site of crucifixion was led by a complete Roman military guard, headed by a centurion. One of the soldiers carried a sign (titulus) on which the condemned man's name and crime were displayed. Later, the titulus would be attached to the top of the cross. The Roman guard would not leave the victim until they were sure of his death.
        Outside the city walls was permanently located the heavy upright wooden stipes, on which the patibulum would be secured. In the case of the Tau cross, this was accomplished by means of a mortise and tenon joint, with or without reinforcement by ropes. To prolong the crucifixion process, a horizontal wooden block or plank, serving as a crude seat (sedile or sedulum), often was attached midway down the stipes. Only very rarely, and probably later than the time of Messiah, was an additional block (suppedaneum) employed for transfixion of the feet.
        At the site of execution, by law, the victim was given a bitter drink of wine mixed with myrrh (gall) as a mild analgesic. The criminal was then thrown to the ground on his back, with his arms outstretched along the patibulum. The hands could be nailed or tied to the crossbar, but nailing apparently was preferred by the Romans. The archaeological remains of a crucified body, found in an ossuary near Jerusalem and dating from the time of Messiah, indicate that the nails were tapered iron spikes approximately 5 to 7 in (13 to 18 cm) long with a square shaft 3/8 in (1 cm) across. Furthermore, ossuary findings and the *Shroud of Turin* have documented that the nails commonly were driven through the wrists rather than the palms.
          After both arms were fixed to the crossbar, the patibulum and the victim, together, were lifted onto the stipes. On the low cross, four soldiers could accomplish this relatively easily. However, on the tall cross, the soldiers used either wooden forks or ladders.
         Next, the feet were fixed to the cross, either by nails or ropes. Ossuary findings and the *Shroud of Turin* suggest that nailing was the preferred Roman practice. Although the feet could be fixed to the sides of the stipes or to a wooden footrest (suppedaneum), they usually were nailed directly to the front of the stipes. To accomplish this, flexion of the knees may have been quite prominent, and the bent legs may have been rotated laterally.
         When the nailing was completed, the titulus was attached to the cross, by nails or cords, just above the victim's head. The soldiers and the civilian crowd often taunted and jeered the condemned man, and the soldiers customarily divided up his clothes among themselves. The length of survival generally ranged from three or four hours to three or four days and appears to have been inversely related to the severity of the scourging. However, even if the scourging had been relatively mild, the Roman soldiers could hasten death by breaking the legs below the knees (crurifragium or skelokopia).
         Not uncommonly, insects would light upon or burrow into the open wounds or the eyes, ears, and nose of the dying and helpless victim, and birds of prey would tear at these sites. Moreover, it was customary to leave the corpse on the cross to be devoured by predatory animals. However, by Roman law, the family of the condemned could take the body for burial, after obtaining permission from the Roman judge.
        Since no one was intended to survive crucifixion, the body was not released to the family until the soldiers were sure that the victim was dead. By custom, one of the Roman guards would pierce the body with a sword or lance. Traditionally, this had been considered a spear wound to the heart through the right side of the chest - a fatal wound probably taught to most Roman soldiers. The* Shroud of Turin *documents this form of injury. Moreover, the standard infantry spear, which was 5 to 6 ft (1.5 to 1.8 m) long could easily have reached the chest of a man crucified on the customary low cross.

Medical Aspects of Crucifixion

         With a knowledge of both anatomy and ancient crucifixion practices, one may reconstruct the probably medical aspects of this form of slow execution. Each wound apparently was intended to produce intense agony, and the contributing causes of death were numerous.
        The scourging prior to crucifixion served to weaken the condemned man and, if blood loss was considerable, to produce orthostatic hypotension and even hypovolemic shock. When the victim was thrown to the ground on his back, in preparation for transfixion of his hands, his scourging wounds most likely would become torn open again and contaminated with dirt. Furthermore, with each respiration, the painful scourging wounds would be scraped against the rough wood of the stipes. As a result, blood loss from the back probably would continue throughout the crucifixion ordeal.
        With arms outstretched but not taut, the wrists were nailed to the patibulum. It has been shown that the ligaments and bones of the wrist can support the weight of a body hanging from them , but the palms cannot. Accordingly, the iron spikes probably were driven between the radius and the carpals or between the two rows of carpal bones, either proximal to or through the strong bandlike flexor retinaculum and the various intercarpal ligaments. Although a nail in either location in the wrist might pass between the bony elements and thereby produce no fractures, the likelihood of painful periosteal injury would seem great. Furthermore, the driven nail would crush or sever the rather large sensorimotor median nerve. The stimulated nerve would produce excruciating bolts of fiery pain in both arms. Although the severed median nerve would result in paralysis of a portion of the hand, ischemic contractures and impalement of various ligaments by the iron spike might produce a clawlike grasp.
           Most commonly, the feet were fixed to the front of the stipes by means of an iron spike driven through the first or second intermetatarsal space, just distal to the tarsometatarssal joint. It is likely that the deep peroneal nerve and branches of the medial and lateral plantar nerves would have been injured by the nails. Although scourging may have resulted in considerable blood loss, crucifixion per se was a relatively bloodless procedure, since no major arteries, other than perhaps the deep plantar arch, pass through the favored anatomic sites of transfixion.             The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion, beyond the excruciating pain, was a marked interference with normal respiration, particularly exhalation. The weight of the body, pulling down on the outstretched arms and shoulders, would tend to fix the intercostal muscles in an inhalation state and thereby hinder passive exhalation. Accordingly, exhalation was primarily diaphragmatic, and breathing was shallow. It is likely that this form of respiration would not suffice and that hypercarbia would soon result. The onset of muscle cramps or tetanic contractions, due to fatigue and hypercarbia, would hinder respiration even further.
            Adequate exhalation required lifting the body by pushing up on the feet and by flexing the elbows and adducting the shoulders. However, this maneuver would place the entire weight of the body on the tarsals and would produce searing pain. Furthermore, flexion of the elbows would cause rotation of the wrists about the iron nails and cause fiery pain along the damaged median nerves. Lifting of the body would also painfully scrape the scourged back against the rough wooden stipes. Muscle cramps and paresthesias of the outstretched and uplifted arms would add to the discomfort. As a result, each respiratory effort would become agonizing and tiring and lead eventually to asphyxia.
           The actual cause of death by crucifixion was multifactorial and varied somewhat with each case, but the two most prominent causes probably were hypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia. Other possible contributing factors included dehydration, stress-induced arrhythmias, and congestive heart failure with the rapid accumulation of pericardial and perhaps pleural effusions. Crucifracture (breaking the legs below the knees), if performed, led to an asphyxic death within minutes. Death by crucifixion was, in every sense of the word, excruciating (Latin, excruciatus, or "out of the cross").

    *{It is our belief that the shroud of Turin is not a proof of Yeshua's death , for Adonai does not need to give a "proof" of His existence to the world.} We have His Word and nature which speaks volumes.  The notoriety of the shroud and the continued "awe-worship" of this item proves that it is not from G-D , but a historical piece of cloth showing an imprint of a normal man's death imprints from possible crucifixion.




   
       If we stay within the framework of G-D's character, we see that He gives no "relic" to prove His existence.} 
 

             (The following is from BibleStudy.org, all teaching material contained herein are not attributed to Beit Yeshua. )                    

     If I wear or have a cross am I going against the teachings of Yeshua? If we wear or have a cross in our home are we  going against the teachings of Yeshua in the Bible?
    It is an idol or false image and we should not have them in the house. The Greek word stauroz or stauros, Strong's Concordance #4716, is often translated as "cross". This is an error in translation. Stauros should be translated as "stake" or "post". The instrument of torture on which Yeshua died was not in the shape of a "t". It was simply a post or stake on which the victim was hung by nailing both hands over his head. The feet were also impaled so the victim not only suffered more pain, but also was unable to move enough to dislodge the hands. This caused suffocation if the victim did not die from other afflictions. The "cross" had its origin long before the time of Yeshua. In some other cultures it was called a Tau and was the symbol for "female". As such, it was a symbol used in many pagan religions representing "goddesses" such as Ishtar, Astarte or Venus, as she was called in the Greek language. It was first introduced to "Christianity" by Constantine, Emperor of Rome, in 313 AD. Alexander Hislop in his book The Two Babylons, chapter 5, section 6 states about the cross: The cross is adored (in reference to the Papal system of the Catholic Church) with all the homage due only to the Most High; and for any one to call it, in the hearing of a genuine Romanist, by the Scriptural term, "the accursed tree," (see Gal. 3:13) is a mortal offence. To say that such superstitious feeling for the sign of the cross, such worship as Rome pays to a wooden or a metal cross, ever grew out of the saying of Paul, "G-D forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our L-RD Yeshua " ( Gal. 6:14) -- that is, in the doctrine of Messiah crucified--is a mere absurdity, a shallow subterfuge and pretence. The magic virtues attributed to the so-called sign of the cross, the worship bestowed on it, never came from such a source. The same sign of the cross that Rome now worships was used in the Babylonian Mysteries, was applied by Paganism to the same magic purposes, was honoured with the same honours. That which is now called the Christian cross was originally no Christian emblem at all, but was the mystic Tau of the Chaldeans and Egyptians--the true original form of the letter T -- the initial of the name of Tammuz -- which, in Hebrew, radically the same as ancient Chaldee, as found on coins, was formed as in No. 1 of the accompanying woodcut ( see figure below); and in Etrurian and Coptic, as in Nos. 2 and 3.

 


     That mystic Tau was marked in baptism on the foreheads of those initiated in the Mysteries, and was used in every variety of way as a most sacred symbol. Versions of Crosses used by Pagan Religions In reality, in terms of what the Bible teaches, the Tau or "cross" has nothing to do with Yeshua. The word stauros is also used figuratively in the Bible, for instance Matthew 10:38, where Yeshua told His followers to take up their "cross"(stake) and follow Him. In this instance, it represents the sacrifice one makes when leaving the ways of the world and following Yeshua. We are cautioned in the 10 commandments: "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ( Exodus 20:4, NIV) One who uses the Tau, or "cross" to represent Yeshua or G-D, the Father would be coming dangerously close to idolatry. Although it may remind you of Yeshua taking away our sins, it was not the instrument of His death and you can probably find some other way of remembering His great sacrifice rather than using a pagan symbol to do so. I heard someone say that it was a good thing they didn't have electrocution for capitol punishment in the time of Yeshua because people would have little electric chairs on chains around their necks and on top of steeples on their church buildings. (Steeples are also a pagan symbol, used to represent the "male" and worshipped by pagans throughout the Bible. It was these stakes in the "high places" that made G-D so angry at the Israelites who were worshipping idols.) Although somewhat irreverent and facetious, he did make a good point. It would be more appropriate to hate the instrument of torture on which our G-D and Savior died rather than venerating it. I thank G-D daily that Yeshua was willing to die for my sins but His death is not something I relish thinking about.

         Adonai never meant for the atoning grace of Yeshua's death to be symbolized by a cross.  This is an invention of the enemy Satan, to put emphasis on an object rather than on our L-RD , who was, and is, and is to come!  Our Messiah Yeshua! King of Kings and L-RD of  lords.