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Theologian Religion Research Paper

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Theologians worldwide believe that Judaism begins with God's promise to Abraham in about 2000 BC - "I will make you a great nation" (Genesis 12:2). The descendants of Abraham are often referred to as the "Children of Israel."

The history of Israel recorded in The Torah covers approximately 1800 years, and presents a powerful record of God's promises, miracles, blessings and judgments. Through the greatest series of miracles presented in the Jewish Scriptures, God brings the people of Israel out of 400 years of slavery in Egypt. It is this event that Jewish believers view as the miraculous origin of the nation of Israel, the act of redemption that Israelites look back upon throughout biblical history as the ultimate sign of God's love and care for His people. Once God redeems His people out of Egyptian bondage, He establishes a bilateral covenant with them at Mount Sinai. It is here that God delivers His Law, referred to in The Torah as Aseret ha-D'varim, in two separate books; once in Exodus and twice in Deuteronomy (Ex. 34:28, Deut. 4:13 and Deut. 10:4). It is also where God promises blessings for obedience and judgment for disobedience.

The remainder of Israel's biblical history reflects a cycle of blessing and …show more content…

There is mention in The Torah about the spiritual afterlife, although it doesn’t specifically call it out as an “afterlife”. The Torah refers to the afterlife as Olam Ha-Ba (oh-LAHM hah-BAH) or the “World to Come.” The Olam Ha-Ba is suggested to be another, higher state of being. “Strictly speaking the period referred to by the phrase olam ha-ba or its equivalent atid lavo, between which and the present order of things comes the age of the Messiah (cf. Zev. 118b; Tosef. Ar. 2:7), is the final order of things beginning with the general resurrection and the last judgment.” (Olam Ha-Ba.,

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