What Would Jesus Say To MADONNA

A. God Is Not Hidden  Madonna says she is a follower of KABBALAH.  She is affiliated with a group called the Kabbalah Center.  Rabbi Phillip Berg.

A. God Is Not Hidden  Berg and his centers have been universally condemned by orthodox rabbis and contemporary schools of Jewish mysticism.  They consider it to be cultic.

A. God Is Not Hidden  Kabbalah is a form of Jewish mysticism.  Mystics are found in many religious traditions. Sufis in Islam Sufis in Islam Monastic movements in Christianity Monastic movements in Christianity

A. God Is Not Hidden  They usually deviate from the central belief systems.  Kabbalah means “what has been handed down” or “received teachings”.  Movement may have roots in earlier centuries.

A. God Is Not Hidden  Bahir—Book of Brilliant Light.  Penned in 12 th century.  Zohar—Book of Splendor.  Penned in 13 th century.

A. God Is Not Hidden  Zohar is the central text.  Books purported to have been copied from ancient manuscripts.  These “ancient” documents were written to “interpret” biblical texts.

Central Tenets  THROUGH KABBALAH WE DISCOVER SECRETS OR MYSTERIES OF GOD.  Kabbalah is about pursuing secret knowledge of God.  This knowledge is hidden in the words, letters, numbers and accent marks of the text.

Central Tenets  God IS FAR AWAY AND SO HOLY AND EXALTED THAT HE CAN HAVE NO DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE CREATED UNIVERSE.  He interacts with the universe through ten emanations called SEFIROT.

Sefirot  Characteristics and qualities on one hand.  Potencies through which Ein Sof unfolded the spiritual and physical worlds.  The sefirot provide the hidden structure of all things. Human beings have a sefirotic structure.

What Does the Bible Say?  God is holy and pure.  He creates by His Word and interacts with His creation both before and after the fall.  With Adam and Eve before the fall.

What Does the Bible Say?  He comes looking for them and calling them after they sinned.  He comes down to those who are foolishly trying to build a tower to Him.  He speaks to Noah; He enters a covenant with Abraham.

What Does the Bible Say?  He points to a time when He will come walking into His world.  He fulfilled that promise to come in Jesus.  Jesus said: “WHEN YOU HAVE SEEN ME YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER”.

B. God Is Not Depending On You  Three levels of existence above the one in which we live.  The ten sefirot permeate all four of these levels of existence.  This world is a reflection of what is going on in the worlds beyond us.

B. God Is Not Depending On You  Our world is broken by sin and Ein Sof has withdrawn from it.  We need to bring Him close again; we need to repair the damage caused by sin.  Tikkun Olam—the repair of the world.

B. God Is Not Depending On You  The means to accomplish it are found in Kabbalah.  Doing MITZVOTH.  We follow these to pick up the broken strands of light and to reconcile the realms of God.

B. God Is Not Depending On You  Mystical meditation and prayer are also used.  Those who reach communion help others along the way by passing on their secret knowledge.  It is another system of works.

C. God Says You Need On More Red  Madonna began to promote Kabbalah in her 1998 album Ray of Light.  She wears a Red String bracelet with seven knots in it to show her ties to the movement.  The bracelet is to ward off evil eyes or looks of ill will.

C. God Says You Need On More Red  Comes from winding a red string around the tomb of Rachel in the land of Israel.  Some call her the mother of the world.  It is worn on the left wrist considered to be the receiving side of the body and soul.

C. God Says You Need On More Red  Madonna also utilizes “soul cleansing water” and “empowered stones”.  What would Jesus say?

C. God Says You Need On More Red Jesus would say you need to be covered fully in the blood of my cross to be reconciled to God; to be cleansed, and to walk in the light.