In this article I express a negative opinion of Kabbalah, but it must be understood that my negative opinion is primarily limited to the the way Kabbalah is misused by certain individuals and groups. There are some very useful aspects of Judaic traditions that some consider Kabbalistic. One example is the Zohar, which constitutes the fundamentals from which other Kabbalistic materials are based. The Zohar should not be viewed as "Scripture," since it is actually only commentary on the Scripture from various individuals. But the Zohar can be a useful source of information and actually supports teachings found in the New Testament.
So, please do not view this article as a comprehensive condemnation of Judaic Kabbalah, since I firmly believe the Zohar and other Judaic material can be and is greatly beneficial to a person who wishes to deepen their understanding of spiritual things.
Why do I call Kabbalah an "ejection button?" Well, as you probably know, whenever a pilot in a military aircraft feels the need to eject from battle, he "punches out" using an ejection device. He does this only as a last resort when his ability to carry on the battle is gone. Traditional Christianity has employed its own "ejection button" throughout the ages to eject from Scriptural debate regarding the Trinity or deity of Yeshua. That ejection button is "mystery." Ultimately, all Trinity proofs are based upon the unprovable "mysteries" of the Trinity. Now, the exact same method of leaving the battle is being honed to perfection among counterfeit, Christianized Messianic leaders. This new ejection button is Kabbalah mysticism. They employ this religious device for the same reason Christian leaders have for centuries. They know the Scriptures do NOT support their arguments; therefore, the ONLY way for them to "win" is to eject from battle using their distorted mystical teachings and hope that naive believers will swallow their twisted, Scripturally unsubstantiated dribble. Just as the pilot ejects as a last resort when he sees the battle lost, so too Kabbalistic Messianics "eject" from Scriptural debate when they realize they can NOT prove their case for the deity of Yeshua using the Holy Scriptures.
What is REALLY strange is how by ejecting from the discussion, traditional Christians, counterfeit Messianics, and counterfeit Nazarenes (the latest adopted new name for counterfeit Messianics) actually claim victory! Uh ... Excuse me, but doesn't the standard understanding of "ejection" imply an admission of defeat? By definition, ejection is an acknowledgment of defeat; yet, those using "mystery" or "Kabbalah mysticism" as their ejection device actually utilize it to claim their victory! What's wrong with this picture? Seems a bit odd - does it not - for those ejecting from battle to claim victory in the battle. ??
Friend, the definition of ejecting should prove to you how the ejection buttons used by Christians and counterfeit Messianics/Nazarenes proves them to be deceitful and shows them to actually be DEFEATED in the debate over Messiah's divinity. So, though they claim victory by utilizing the mystery and mysticism ejection buttons, they are actually proving those like us, that reject the Trinity and/or deity of Messiah, to be victorious and themselves to be simply unwilling to admit their OBVIOUS defeat! So, they once again show their insincerity and denial of the obvious - in this case the obvious they are in denial of is the proof that they are promoting both a false God and a false Messiah - the anti-Messiah or replacement Messiah.
I feel the use of mysticism, "traditions of men", and additional "Scripture" besides the Holy Scripture should be VERY cautiously practiced! I fear some that flock to Kabbalah feel the pure Word of YHWH has nothing more to teach them. I do not say that sarcastically. I truly feel many of those promoting Kabbalah within counterfeit Messianic Judaism and their newest revised title - counterfeit Nazarenes - have become "bored" with study of ONLY the Written SCRIPTURES (though they very much need to study more) and have, therefore, taken to more "exciting" studies that will "entice" more people - those being Mysticism. So, I truly feel they now believe there is nothing more for them to learn from study of only the Bible. I hope I am wrong about this; however, the growing dominance of Kabbalistic mysticism within Messianic circles leads me to this conclusion.
I also want to emphasize that my rebuke of certain sites mentioned in this article, as well as the majority of "Messianic" teachers, is specific to ONLY their misuse of Kabbalah in their promoting of Yeshua as "God". I heartily agree with and support their views on many of the other doctrines they promote, especially their partial (they still promote idolatry) embrace of Torah, and even use much of the information they present to further my own spiritual growth. However, unfortunately, the deity issue is unparalleled in importance, a "show stopper"; therefore, by promoting their Kabbalistic Trinity many Messianic sites frustrate - or even negate - the efforts of others like myself that are attempting to break down the barrier of false teachings that have prevented physical Israel (the Jews) from embracing their Messiah. The largest boulder of that barrier is the false teaching that Yeshua is God (or Ein Sof or among the Ten Sefirot). Frankly, I endorse the rejection by the Jews of the false man-God promoted through the Traditional Christian Trinity or the Christianized Messianic deformations of the Kabbalistic Ein Sof and am constantly struggling to prove to open minded Jews that such is NOT the Messiah presented in Scripture. I openly reject the false Messiah (antichrist) of Christianity and counterfeit Messianic Judaism as I struggle to explain the True Yeshua to Jews, all the while seeing my efforts destroyed by hordes of false Messianics, following the lead of their Traditional Christian mother, that attempt to get the Jews to accept the same old lie dressed in new "Messianic Kabbalah" trappings.
There is absolutely no doubt Kabbalah is pure mysticism. If you doubt this, may I suggest you check just one of many Kabbalah (Qabalah) Webrings and note the easily discerned occult nature of many of the sites. Such proof is what the new wave of Kabbalistic counterfeit Messianics hoped you would not see. They prefer that you consider Kabbalah totally legitimate so that they can get you to swallow their deformed understanding of Scripture.
I do believe there is some insight to be found in Kabbalah. HOWEVER, I feel Kabbalah is NOT "God breathed". I AM PERSUADED THAT ONLY THE TANAKH IS PURE INSPIRATION FROM YHWH! Kabbalah - much like the Talmud - is a mountain of stones, in which you can find precious gems as well as worthless rocks. Within Kabbalah - as with the Talmud - there are contrasting opinions. Like the Talmud, sincere opinion is welcome and reflects the openness of its adherents. Nevertheless, I DO consider much of the Kabbalah being promoted today to be mystic vanities, but that has more to do with the vain bias of the promoters of their various "Messianic discoveries" than it does with Kabbalah itself. The Trinity of Christianized Messianics, which is based upon completely unsubstantiated deductions that there is some sort of "proof" of Yeshua's deity to be found within Kabbalah, is the primary reason for my passionate opposition to these counterfeit Messianics. Actually, when properly applied, Kabbalah proves Yeshua is NOT God! May I suggest you visit the Hebraic Center website and request their Kabbalistic teachings if you want a TRUE discussion of Messiah in Kabbalah. Please remember when you read the many negative statements I make about Kabbalah that I am referring to its MISUSE and to its being equated to the TRUE Scriptures.
Here is a brief quote from the Judaism 101 website, an excellent site I have among those I list on the "Links" page. In this brief quote, misuse of Kabbalah by "Christians" (counterfeit, Christianized Messianics) is mentioned as are a few words which hint at how Kabbalah, if improperly used, can be twisted into PURE MYSTICISM and even occultism. The desperate, mystic grasp for "proof" of Yeshua's deity is now undergoing an ominous revival among the Traditional Christianity based, "Messianics."
For example, one such source (the Kabbalah Denudata, commonly available in new age bookstores) states that the Ten Sefirot have something to do with the Christian Trinity because they are sometimes divided up into groups of three, despite the fact that the Sefirot are divided up into many groups of varying numbers, that these groupings overlap, that the grouping he refers to is not comprised of a father, son and spirit, but of a male, a female and neutral, and so forth. Others (besides Messianics) have wrenched kabbalistic symbolism out of context for use in tarot card readings and other forms of divination and magic that were never a part of the original Jewish teachings.
It is UNDENIABLE that much contained within Kabbalah IS mysticism! I ask why anyone would dare base the foundations of their eternal destiny on mysticism? Whereas the teachings of Kabbalah may be useful for further insight, they should NOT be used as a basis for foundational doctrines. One can easily prove Yeshua is NOT God without Kabbalah; however, in order for counterfeit Messianics to "prove" Yeshua's deity they MUST twist Kabbalah to fit their Traditional Christian, Constantinian, anti-Messiah understanding of Yeshua. The LAST person that should be listened to regarding truth of Scriptural basics is a promoter of mysticism.
Let me be clear. If you scan the "evidence" presented by Kabbalah addicted Messianics, you will discover virtually ALL their "proof" of Yeshua's deity is based upon mystical "evidence" found OUTSIDE of Scripture! They may present a Bible verse here or there, but the bulk of their evidence is from UNBiblical, Kabbalistic sources. Why should anyone accept, as legitimate evidence of such an important topic, ANYTHING other than pure Scripture?
An example of the Christianized use of Kabbalah by a growing number of Messianics is seen in these brief quotes from the Teshuvah Gate Website prior to the owner of the site converting to Judaism (more on that later):
"We believe Moshiakh ben Yoseph has come in the person of Yeshua the Nazarene. Yeshua is the visible image and full spiritual embodiment of the Attributes (Sefirot) of the invisible Eternal (Ein Sof). Yeshua is the 'Living Torah' and thus is divine, as the Torah is divine. Moshiakh was with YHVH "in the beginning;" he is the blueprint of creation, all things being created through him. We believe Yeshua came fully in the flesh."
"The Moshiakh is a "part" of Elohim. There are many ways of looking at this, but we believe (at least here he implicitly admits it's THEIR OWN FLAVOR of Kabbalah) that "the Godhead" -- Ein Sof - is made up of many parts (sefirot). Among these are the three pillars, Father, Mother/Spirit and in the middle the Son/Messiah. This is the understanding using Kabbalah, where the middle pillar, Son/Moshiakh is the combination of the attributes of the Father and Mother/Spirit, and is the one which reaches down and deals directly with the earth and humanity."
The quote just shown was on Teshuvah Gate during a time when the owner of the site accepted the mystical gibberish of Kabbalah. He eventually realized his error; however, sadly he converted to Judaism and seems to have convinced himself Yeshua is not the Messiah. I greatly differ with him on that issue. After discovering his conversion to Judaism I decided to leave the quote in this article because of the standard Kabbalistic misunderstanding that it represents. Therefore, even though Teshuvah Gate is no longer a "Messianic" site, the owner's previous Kabbalistic distortions are still representative of the false doctrines promoted by those addicted to mysticism. So, I will continue this article with the inclusion of Teshuvah Gate's previous belief, since it is typical of most counterfeit Messianic groups.
For those that may not realize what was previously quoted from Teshuvah Gate, basically it is the counterfeit Messianic "updated" definition of the Trinity, especially when their "3 pillars" of the "Sefirot" are defined in their UNSCRIPTURAL teachings. However, since there are TEN "Sefirot" (emanations) defined in Kabbalah, I suppose we are now on our way, through the teachings of many Messianic "rabbis", to having a "deca-god" or a "decaty". Well, I reject the Trinity (Traditional or twisted by Messianics stretching Kabbalistic mysticism), and I reject the new Decaty of the Messianic Kabbalists even more! What makes it even worse is that the Teshuvah website implies their beliefs mirror those of the original Netzarims (Nazarenes), which is HIGHLY unlikely and falsely represents that early body of TRUE Messianics. A better example of what the original Netzarims believed can be found at The Netzarim Gate website; however, I do not necessarily agree with Netzarim Gate on all issues.
The fact that Kabbalistic promoters of Yeshua's deity are forced to go OUTSIDE Scripture and utilize MYSTICISM to support their positions should be all the evidence one needs to realize it is a false teaching!
Frankly, I hesitate to waste even a small amount of time on such an outrageous and blatantly desperate attempt by certain "enlightened" individuals to use a distorted, Christianized version of Jewish Mysticism (Kabbalah) to "prove" Yeshua's deity. Don't let Traditional Christian pastors disguised as Messianic "rabbis" that conceal their traditional views with Jewish liturgy fool you with deceptive jargon into thinking their distorted take on Kabbalah is Biblical. It is totally unsubstantiated from Scripture except when the Holy Word is grossly twisted into mystic knots by those promoting this "new and improved" Trinity mystery. Christianized Messianics eject from common sense and reason using their totally unsubstantiated mystical, pseudo-occult theology to make the ridiculous seem like an acceptable "fact". I do not doubt the sincerity of most of its adherents, but I very much doubt their wisdom and oppose their efforts to interject UNSCRIPTURAL mysticism into ANY Scriptural discussion. Kabbalistic Messianics are THE prime example of how desperate some can become in their efforts to "prove" Yeshua's diety. Their absolute refusal to bend to the truth of Scripture has driven them near to spiritual disaster as they lustfully embrace darkness and, at the very least, venture into a mystic realm that is fraught with danger.
Even within Judaism Kabbalah is traditionally considered a topic reserved only for the most learned Torah scholars. Traditionally one must have already attained the status of a LEGITIMATE Rabbi and reached a minimum age before it would be transmitted. Unfortunately, thanks to Trinity crazed counterfeit Messianic wolves in Judaic sheep's clothing, it has now "hit the streets" and is being consumed by the truck loads like many other mind altering drugs.
Unfortunately, the implied "elitism" of those Messianic "pastor/rabbis" that study Kabbalah is one of its greatest forms of seduction since it gives those that study or promote it a feeling of being "special". However, I exempt true, learned Judaic Rabbis from this class of arrogant individuals since they generally are very reluctant to teach or even discuss Kabbalah. They also recognize its potential danger, unlike the new wave of self anointed Messianic "rabbis" that seem to be having a "blue light special" sale on Kabbalah. Frankly, even though there is some legitimacy to Kabbalah, those "Messianics" that attempt to use it are playing with fire. They are like first graders learning the basics of addition and subtraction claiming they can teach Calculus or Partial Differential Equations!
The Vanguard of those now using this method have taken allegory, spiritualization, and word games to new heights of incredulousness that often eclipses even the most "mysterious" Trinity arguments that have historically been put forth by traditional Christian theologians. There are web sites you can find that lure you with the appearance of "wisdom" into a maze of spiritual insanity. Also, these Messianic spiritualists DEFINITELY DO make the TRUE Holy Scriptures subordinate to their distorted, unhebraically applied Kabbalistic beliefs by interpreting Scripture using the concepts they "discover" in Kabbalah! True Scripture is no longer their ultimate source of truth on the most important issue of the faith - the Deity. Their bringing of a biased application of mysticism into ANY Biblical discussion - ESPECIALLY REGARDING THE ALMIGHTY - is profane.
If I appear to have little patience for Kabbalistic anti-Messiah Messianics it is because I don't. The elitist and hallucinogenic attitude of the new "Christian" or "Messianic" Kabbalists is repulsive. Some seem to be legends in their own minds, having lost all common sense and having elevated themselves literally to "New Age guru" status. I praise the Hebrew Roots site for its outstanding witness and source of important truths; however, I very much disagree with its webmaster on this very issue. He (unless he has changed) is among those that, along with other Messianics, is actively promoting this new-fangled twist on Kabbalah as truth. Another site promoting Kabbalah is Yashanet. In fact, the lengthy set of articles on the book of Revelation presented on Yashanet has the Unhebraic, Christianized Kabbalistic teachings as a primary foundation, and their reading list is actually dominated by Kabbalistic books (that should show how dependent they are on mysticism for "proof" of their beliefs)! Each of these sites present a lot of outstanding information; however, all their views are overshadowed by their idolatrous firm belief that Yeshua is God, which they "prove" using Kabbalah. Considering their obvious knowledge, I am perplexed HOW they can possibly still follow the Beast's lie?! My assumption is that there are traditional Christian dogmas, perhaps those dealing with original sin, that shackle them to the Trinity. In short, I feel they have never really been able to lay aside ALL bias in their approach to Scripture. If you actually look at the commentary and articles on our site with a truly open mind, I cannot see how it is possible to come away still believing Yeshua is God. The truth is so obvious. It continually amazes me how so many that claim to study the Bible can still accept the many false teachings of the Beast.
Unfortunately, as previously suggested, most "Messianic" groups are little more than traditional evangelical organizations dressed in Judaic garb and promoting a little Torah. Most people do not realize that the majority of Messianics are simply traditional Christians that decided to add Jewish liturgy to their services and that embrace - to varying degrees - Torah. Besides that, they are generally no different than Traditional Christians; therefore, the Trinity and many other false doctrines are carried-over into their Messianic organizations. Unfortunately, many of these groups are composed of people that have a cult-like attraction to "Jewishness" more than to Truth. Every time I read in Revelation the verse that mentions "those that say they are Jews but are not", I think of the standard counterfeit Messianic group. More often than not, their beliefs do not originate from Judaic roots, but, instead, actually originate from the Traditional Christian organizations from which they came. The Pope can parade around with a Torah scroll and wear a tallit, but he is still the Pope! These "Messianic" believers have never left Babylon. They've simply changed neighborhoods; one a bit more liturgically "Jewish" but still well within the city!
Sadly, most Messianics stubbornly hold to many of the standard teachings of their mother, Constantinian Christianity, including the deity of Yeshua (THE primary teaching of the Beast) which continues, as it has for 1700 years, to prevent Jews from ever taking Yeshua seriously. Knowledgeable Jews (unlike these "enlightened" Messianics) are well aware Messiah is NOT shown in the Tanakh or legitimate Kabbalah as being YHWH. Since most Messianic groups refuse to release their grip on the alleged diety of Yeshua, they are flocking to Kabbalah for "proof" of their beliefs in these false doctrines. The entire "Messianic" world seems to be getting intoxicated on Kabbalah as their theological "drug of choice" in their attempt to prove the unprovable. It has become a theological brush fire out of control with the flames being fueled by various self-exalted Messianic teachers. Christianized Messianics are strengthening the barrier between the Jews and their Messiah!
The primary mode of attack by Messianic Trinitarians against those of us that wish to cleave ONLY to Scripture is to declare us unlearned; so, basically they imply anyone that wishes to derive truth solely from the Holy Scriptures is an idiot! They can't adequately defend the deity of Yeshua from only Scripture; therefore, trying to have a Scriptures based discussion with them is like talking to a fence post or some drug addict on an LSD trip. They often will not openly admit their strange statements or responses are based on their unique flavor of Kabbalah because they realize many are not drunk on the wine of the mystic Harlot they willingly embrace. When I sense someone I am speaking with believes the "new" Christianized Kabbalistic mysteries, I realize it is time for me to wipe the dust from my feet and spend my time with others that actually allow reason and common sense approaches to Scripture determine their beliefs - something Messianic Kabbalists do NOT do.
Most of those promoting this mystic argument have sincere knowledge of Hebraic or Judaic things and have recognized that the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures or "Old" Testament) and the New Testament do not provide them with enough "proof" of Yeshua's deity. Since, as mentioned previously, they are generally orthodox Christians masquerading as "Judaic" believers, they can't accept that the Trinity is a false doctrine. Therefore, instead of accepting the Scriptures at face value and modifying their faith to align with it, they (as usual) attempt to force Scripture to align with their faith. Basically, they must "prove" Yeshua is God anyway they can. They "find" these "proofs" in Kabbalah mysticism - or so they claim.
Kabbalah, when properly applied, proves Yeshua is NOT God. However, there is no need to even delve into Kabbalah for that proof. I challenge these "enlightened" Messianic opponents of the True Kingdom Message, the True Kingdom Messiah, and the True and Only Yahweh God to prove what they believe from Scripture! Instead of censoring open discussion, hiding behind twisted Mysticism, and intimidating your opponents with fears of "damnation" for even questioning Yeshua's deity, I CHALLENGE YOU to PROVE it from the Holy Word. I present MANY passages which show, beyond any REASONABLE doubt, that Messiah Yeshua is NOT God. Since Kabbalistic, counterfeit Messianics cannot do the same, they are forced to use a new mystic "ejection button" to eject from a Scriptural debate and, instead, rely on Mystic shifting sands of falsehood!