Lama Sabachthani: Is God Really Omniscient?

By Emeka Anonyuo

In this second edition of Lama Sabachthani, the author emphasized the perils intrinsic in faulty translation or transliteration of the Original language of the Holy Bible; phenomenon that inevitably leads to erroneous interpretation precipitating colossal implications. He showed this monumental hazard by analyzing what is claimed to be the Words of Jesus Christ on the Cross. What did He say; “lama Sabachthani” meaning “Why have You Sacrificed Me” or “Lama Azavthani” interpreted as “Why have You forsaken Me?Did anyone hear exactly what He said?
The author also cast a casual spotlight on the so-called Temptation of Jesus Christ”, and posed the following questions; (1), Was there really a “Temptation? And (2), Is the said “Temptation not, a Parable?
The full floodlight is on the catastrophic consequences of inaccurate translations that birth grave misinterpretations and decontextualization of intended objectives of the Messiah; as in “Why have You forsaken Me”. He argues robustly, almost violently that God, did not forsake Christ, nor does He abandon anyone, at all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728335452

Emeka Anonyuo

Dr. Olisaemeka Anonyuo, (AKA; Gregory, Ezekiel, Crucifix), a retired university professor, has written several scripts for stage, Radio and television, and won Presidential Citation, Shield of Honor from The Ohio State University (City of Columbus), and a Certificate of Accomplishment, awarded by the Ohio House of Representatives, for the impact of his theater productions on the Community. The first edition of Lama Sabachthani was published in 2013. Dr. Anonyuo, also an ordained Minister, is the founder of NarrowWay Productions LLC; a multi purposed Ministry. Their Tele-Forum, a study and analysis of Holy Scripture holds on the Sabbath Day. Olisaemeka spends most of his time, thinking, researching, and writing.

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© 2020 Emeka Anonyuo. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/14/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-3546-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-3545-2 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1 From Innuendo to Truth;

Chapter 2 Convinced And Convicted; But Are You Converted And Fully Persuaded?

The Book at a Glance

Chapter 3 The Commission

Chapter 4 Our Mission Together

Chapter 5 The Trial

Chapter 6 The Prologue To The Epilogue

Chapter 7 The Epilogue

Betrayed and Forsaken in Marital Relationship

Is Adonai Present in Hell?

Are There Still True Prophets of Adonai?

We Repent, Pray, Fast, Expect Immediate Positive Response, and Soon Complain that God Has Forsaken Us

Knowledge and Wisdom Came to the Apostles from Christ

Media Flood Perpetuates Unbiblical Teachings

Seminary Education, Intellectual Sophistication, and the Making of the Unholy Bible

The Psalm of Olisaemeka; Selah.

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DEDICATION

To Unique Singularity

"He was the Sender of the Message, and its Bearer, and He was the Message, and the Messenger; Unduplicatable Awesomeness and Inscrutable Summation of the Godhead; Jesus the Messiah. His Divinity, Majesty, and unduplicatable Excellency are manifest in the Work of His Hand, in Universes known, and unknown to man and Angels.

This book is also dedicated to Mankind, especially those people, who, like me, have at different times been, or felt betrayed, and forsaken, first by men, then by God. My brethren, without reservation, I testify that our Omnipotent Father is Trustworthy, Faithful, and abounds with incomprehensible and unparalleled Lovingkindness. He Promised that He will never leave us or forsake us. He watches His Word to perform it; the reason why He elevated His Word above His Name. Awesome!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My unbounded gratitude to Adoni; the Lord my God; To my parents; Samuel and Suzanna Anonyuo, who first pointed my feet to salvation. I constantly thank God for Constance Blossom; forty years my wife, who went to be with the Lord, after she helped to make our first publication, a success. I am grateful to God for my four children, and four grandchildren, and for more to come.

I also thank Adonai for all my teachers; spiritual and physical; Pastors, Prophets, Rabbis, and all

I will always remember my first edition editor; Dr. Dick Harrington

Finally, I bless the Lord for Avis-Gigi; Onyinyechukwu, a God-loving young woman who the Lord has established as my Helpmeet; my wife.

Feel the Book; in the following mail exchanges between the editor, and the author; as compiled by Connie Orumbie-Anonyuo

Emeka, I’d like you to know that, although I do wish to be paid for my services, I accept work as a writing coach/editor only if I feel personal compatibility with the author and genuine attraction to the subject and writing project . . .

I feel strong personal compatibility with you and strong personal attraction to your subject and writing project, especially given your gift of language to engage readers, guide them on a profound spiritual journey, and inspire them to achieve true spiritual transformation . . . . I respect and admire your work . . . Your manuscript fascinates me, and I feel honored to read it. I’m deeply moved by your immense faith and by your rich, powerful vocabulary for expressing your faith, knowledge, and understanding. Each page resonates with the presence of the Almighty.

Your understanding of your subject is indeed vast. As well, you embody the rare capacity to embrace and express that which surpasses understanding . . . . , you speak as a man of great experience, knowledge, wisdom, and faith . . . ~Dick

Emeka, Now I’m back—ready to work with you to produce the best possible book.

In retrospect, it was unreasonable of me, as your editor, to consider my own views regarding the suffering of Jesus on the cross. To help myself get clarity, I read about the major heresies in the history of Christianity and also consulted with a dear old friend and colleague, . . . , who left college teaching at the age of 50 to study in a seminary and is now the very fine pastor of a . . . church nearby.

What most electrifies me at this moment, besides finally attaching and sending the document, is my having come to see the rightness of your vision as against the vision I’d held and wished to hold onto. It seems premature to explain what I mean, but in time I’ll gladly do so ~Dick

Greetings, Emeka~ . . . You show remarkable power to engage readers in your journey of doubt, fear, struggle, revelation, triumph, and belief and to present and explain your discoveries. ~Dick . . . Just as Bible stories, such as Job’s, compel and teach us, your own story" as a student and follower of the Almighty and the Word has the potential to compel and teach readers with varying degrees of belief. ~Dick

Good morning Emeka. ". . . Please let me know your thoughts and feelings about my request for you to provide considerably more narrative and description of your pertinent outer life.~Dick

Good evening Dick. ". . . one may end up with a biography which puts me in the spotlight, instead of the message given by Adonai.

See Dick, I want this book to be what I believe very strongly that I was commissioned to do; Tell the world that Adonai does not, has never, and will never forsake anyone who puts his/her trust in Him; and secondly, that He did not abandon Christ, as secular-humanist theologians have erroneously interpreted: Eli, Eli . . ." ~Blessings, Emeka

Dear Emeka~I agree that your book must not become a Romanized autobiography of Emeka Anonyuo. My attempt yesterday to illustrate my point with my own quickly-wrought story failed because it lived too much in the material world. I regret having gotten off track . . . . The text engages me, conveys your message, enlightens me, and moves me.

I’ve changed my thinking about the need for more narrative and description of your external life.

I respect and appreciate your vision of the book, as well as your commitment to it, and will do my best to help you achieve your vision.

Peace, ~Dick

Emeka~ "As usual, I’m much impressed by the profound, transcendent expressiveness of your writing, and I applaud the additions to Chapter One. They contribute much to the revelation of your spiritual journey.

". . . I have enjoyed working on your book, and I feel confident you are saying what must be said in ways that will be compelling, thought provoking, and convincing for readers.

All best wishes,

~Dick Harrington

PREFACE

Though a labor of love, how hard it has been to transcribe and synchronize the multitude of fragments of information initially recorded in my many journals of thoughts, dreams, trances, and visions spanning forty years. It has been that hard because of my belief that each and every fragment is an echo of God’s Voice, a precious painted tile that has deserved to be discerned correctly and placed meaningfully to create a coherent, expressive whole. At the center of the mosaic is Adonai Yeshua, hugged by tiles extending outward in a radial pattern, hopefully, enabling the mosaic to achieve symmetry and meaning. How hard it has been, too, to steel my pulsating nerves, because of my awareness, as the messenger, that the message would target primarily Christian readers, many of whom, as products of human history, hold modernist or secular humanist perspectives on the Holy Bible and especially the Personality of the Almighty Adonai; the Lord our God.

From my experience, I knew that such modernist and undiluted homocentric perspectives humanize God and in the eyes of mankind, ambitious butlimited earthling, elevate mankind. However, despite the prevalence of such thoughts, I unequivocally believe in God’s Pure, though incomprehensible Omniness; the inscrutable and ineffable Divinity. It is therefore from this mindset that I present this book to primarily counter such-blasphemous, heretical, and ‘God diminishing’ perspectives; such that accuse God of abandoning Christ when He was hanging on the Cross, thereby charging Him withreckless prevarication. I am neither a prophet nor a puppet. I am simply an ordinary man who, even in my imperfection, believe in the Divine, especially, the divinity of Jesus Messiah; a topic of intense controversy in religious circles, surprisingly, among the Clergy also. As I am sure that many people do, I hear the Voice of God speaking to, and through me. He is this book’s real author.

I hope readers will appreciate the intended dynamic symmetry: the studied, steady repetitions that form patterns of ideas presented and re-presented. Consider, if you will, the concept of Emphasis and Subordination in, for example, music: when a symphony orchestra spotlights its new violin virtuoso, the other instruments play more quietly than normal so as to feature the rich, expressive tones of the solo violin. Yes, I have intentionally asserted and reasserted the key ideas of the book, so that each and every reader actually hears the alarming truth of our contemporary spiritual condition and comes to realize that what choice we make literally seals our fate for eternity. Hell? Heaven? Which will it be?

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CHAPTER ONE

From Innuendo to Truth;

More Investigation, More Revelation. Republishing Lama Sabachthani; A Snapshot

So much of our understanding and belief depends upon our grasp of intended meanings. Unfortunately, though, the said understanding and belief may often-times offshoot from, or, be anchored on feeble, sometimes, pure presumptions., therefore, false data which inevitably epilogue in wrong, even catastrophic innuendos; light years separated from intended meaning. Because ideas or thoughts go through strata of investigations; search and research, a close look at such would reveal a process of growth, as a mere seed, a thought, germinates and progressively, maturates, and fructifies over the years. This is precisely what has happened to the original version of this book, testimony to a very significant spiritual experience of seismic dimension, resulting in, this new version of Lama Sabachthani. More illumination; more Revelation!

The first publication of Lama Sabachthani; Is God Really Omniscient in 2013 dealt primarily with the predominant, but possibly flawed interpretation of Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani, as My God My God, why hast Thou forsaken me. It principally sought to correct an attitude that labels Adonai; the Lord our God, an equivocator.; someone who reneges on His promise, not to forsake His children. The greater accusation that borders on blasphemy, the one that would have cosmic repercussion if not repented, therefore, the core concern of the book is that, God forsook Jesus Messiah on the cross, hence the cry; Eli Eli, Lama Sabachthani. One will find that in the premier publication, there was no sustained attempt to challenge and possibly propose a correction for the blasphemous accusation implicit in the presumed statement of our Lord Jesus Christ. There was also no visible effort by the author to propagate what he believed to be the truth; the possibility that the translation, or transliteration of what the Messiah said, was flawed. This conclusion is supported by the results of intense, and extensive studies of the ancient languages that formed the vocabularies of the contemporary times and peoples of the Messiah’s days.

In this edition of Lama Sabachthani, the author reveals the substance of his next publication; one that would seek to floodlight what he, and a few other theologians, believe to be the more accurate representation of what happened at Calvary, on the Day that Innocence was found guilty, and subsequently, crucified. The main substance of this edition is the identification of some of the major problems with the peripheral understanding of the Holy Bible. This marginal understanding has unfortunately left in its wake, a version of the Holy Bible whose intrinsic Message is either warped or completely lost. This by-product of the wrong translation or transliteration births misinterpretation and thereby misinformation with sometimes, cataclysmic implications. Some of those fallouts result in what scholars; clergy and laity have erroneously called inconsistencies in the Bible. But brethren, we believe don’t we, that the Holy Bible is inerrant; especially when we let Ruach HaKodesh; the Holy Spirit, teach and give us revelation. Glory to God; Baruch HaShem.

My present effort to republish "Lama Sabachthani; Is God Really Omniscient?, is in response to the requests of close friends, including some readers, who inspired me to inject as a sampler, parts of my next publication, which explores further, what the Messiah really said and meant, on the day Of Crucifixion.

Two Theological Schools of Thought; Plus One.

The interpretations of the Two feuding Schools of Thought credit Hm as saying one of the following, but which; because He most certainly did not say both? Eli Eli, Lama Sabachthani; with two conflicting interpretations; the more popular one, My God My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me or the recent, but likely, the accurate one; My God, My God, Why hast Thou sacrificed Me. A Third School; my school, holds that the first two translations are wrong because both generated interpretations that grossly question the Omniness of Adonai, and provokes a dangerous ambiguity; that there was no agreement between God the Father, and God the Son, who altogether is God, and Son of God.

Very little changes have been made to the premier publication. That decision was favored by wise counsel, to avoid overloading most readers who have never heard any interpretation of Lama Sabachthani, other than the generally accepted Why hast Thou forsaken Me. The strategy calls for a gradual systematic weaning of believers from what seems to be an erroneous interpretation, but, at the same time, utilizing the predominant interpretation to introduce them to higher Truths; without traumatizing them. This is more like, using the familiar to illustrate the unfamiliar.

Lama Sabacthani Versus Lama Azavthani: Yeshua Messiah, and King David; Who said what, and What do the statements really mean, and what lies beyond each of those statements, in terms of virtues demonstrated, and taught?

The Language Problem

From the Mouth of Yeshua Messiah

"if Yeshua HaMaschiach (Jesus Christ) wanted to say that he felt forsaken by His Father, He could just have used the word King David had used; (azavthani) without importing a foreign word (shebacthani). Jesus said what he wanted to say: lama sabacthani (which means, why have you sacrificed me?) By doing that, he focused our attention on the essence of the Cross: an atoning sacrifice. The Chaldean word shebak leads to a marsh of questions about possible disunity in the Trinity" (Apart from being the accurate translation, and interpretation), Shifting the focus from forsaken to sacrificed eliminates theorizing about God the Father abandoning God the Son, an act that is theologically inexplicable.  (MessiahStudy.net / Sabachthani).

Agreed; we do not need to be scholars of the Holy Writ to understand what we should desire, and practice, in order to be beneficiaries of Eternity in the Light. At the same time however, we do not need to hesitate to acquiesce as to the very significant importance of studying and possessing, at least, basic Knowledge of the principal ancient tongues that form the tripod for the documentation of the Holy Writ. Considering the pitfalls; the controversies generated among those for whom the Holy Scripture is Life, even expertise in some ancient languages; Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, etc. is advised, to enhance the wisdom and enlightenment already gained through peripheral study of the Scriptures. It is therefore not surprising that most of the controversies among the ecclesia hover around words written or spoken in an ancient tongue, being transliterated or translated into English or other modern languages. Some Hebrew scholars of Jewish heritage have bitterly complained about what has been called "overly and dangerous westernization of original Jewish thoughts. This protest is not without verifiable evidences rooted in the western scholars favoritism of Hellenistic culture, over the Jewish

Some good illustrations of triggers to such disagreements are exhibited in the following statements; Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani (Matthew 27: 46), and Eli Eli Lama Azavthani (Psalm 22), or other variations of the two, proposed by authorities in the related fields of study. Most of those scholars proffer that the Messiah’s cry; Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani; (means My God My God, why hast Thou sacrificed Me? or why hast Thou offered Me;as recorded by two of the synoptic Gospel authors; Matthew, and Mark. Members of the New School, insist that what the Messiah said is different from what King David said in Psalms 22: 1; Eliy ‘Eliy lamah `azab’taniy?"; meaning My God my God why hast Thou forsaken me?). It seems clear that the point being made is that the Messiah knew exactly what He wanted to say, and said precisely that. If He intended to communicate the feeling of a betrayed and forsaken ally, He would have used the word Azabthani.

It is possible that most of the readers of this book have never heard the word Azab’tani before now. This is simply because, most interpreters of the Holy Bible have glossed over the need to root the study of the Brit Chaadasha (New Testament), in the original tongue, in which it was spoken. It has wrongly been thought, and taught that King David, and the Messiah cried the same words; the reason why the understanding of Redemption, and the Redeemer has been skewed, and has resultantly become an insurmountable colossal jigsaw, to many seekers of the Truth; the Way, and the Light. Now knowing the very significant differences between the utterances of David, and Yeshua Messiah, let us then go on to access the heart of God, and His Christ.

The second bone of contention regarding lack of understanding of key ancient languages that were spoken in the cultures that recorded the Holy Scriptures, is found in the Book of Matthew 4 …the so-called Temptation of the Messiah. Finally, another is in Our Lord’s Prayer, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil… (Matthew 6: 9). Merited attention will be appropriated later in our journey together, to explore the philological problem of the word temptation, and the dangers inherent in its wrong application, as has been in the cited chapters of the Book of Matthew.

Leaning comfortably on the plinth constructed by many scholars who I consider credible, I whole-heartedly concede, and conclude, that, It cannot be over-emphasized, the need to study, and to have an understanding of vital ancient languages relevant to the theological investigations. With this recommended tool in hand, one would easily find that most of the Messiah’s utterances including those mentioned above, were primarily, in Galilean Aramaic; with a faint sprinkle of Hebrew, etc. It therefore puts mandate on every true student of the Scriptures, to at least, grasp a basic understanding of related languages before embarking on any serious theological discourse, or any other excursion into the Words of the Holy One. We need to keep in mind therefore the fact that Yeshua Messiah as already stated, spoke His native tongue, in which He gave us the Lord’s prayer. This position has not gone without challenge by some scholars who believe that the Greek version of Brit Chadasha (New Testament), out dates the Aramaic.

However, a good majority of contributors agree that, The people of Israel spoke Hebrew and Greek, but primarily the Aramaic. There were three main dialects of Aramaic during the time of Jesus, the Northern or Old Galilean dialect which Jesus and his disciples spoke, a Southern dialect which was spoken in Judea and a Western dialect which was spoken in the area of Babylon. Classical Hebrew (which went into comatose for hundreds of years), did remain as the language used for scriptural and scholarly writings …(D. Hamp)

Although this book is not a treatise on the classical, paleo or proto- languages of middle east, I astutely believe that it would be sensible to consider some viable arguments and proposals, explanations, and interpretations that sought to demystify and resolve some issues that have made perilous, the path to better understanding of the Holy Bible, but especially, the application of the virtues that it teaches..

Again, without fearing what might be called repetitious, but considering more, the need for clarity, I remind the reader that King David said lama azavthani (why have you forsaken me?) and Jesus Messiah said lama sabachthani (why have you sacrificed me?). Both Matthew and Mark (in both Byzantine and Alexandrian texts) have Jesus the Blessed One, saying sabachthani, not azavthani or shebakthani. In no way can we get rid of Sbachthani. The suffix thani means: you do this to me. Zabach is a well-known word in Hebrew Scripture. The NASB95 translates the word (zabach) 295 times as sacrifice or offering, and the word (azav) 170 times as forsaken, abandoned or leave.

(Messiah Study. Net / sabachthani). 

Now think with me. What if we have for many centuries been forcing words into the Messiah’s mouth, an offence that is abhorrent among mere men; but, considering the offended in this instance, the offence could be labelled anything from perilous vilification, to blasphemy, even sacrilege. It is certain that Yeshua Messiah did not desire to fool His Apostles, by speaking tongue in cheek. Eli Eli was not anecdotal or a parable. It was a cry, and honest call to us all to a place of consciousness in what lesson that was being taught by the Super Rabbi; the Eternal One.. Again we behold a salient reason why all members of the Body of Christ should immerse themselves in the study of Scripture, with