Some Difficult Things That Need to Be Said (Part 1)

Today was the first opportunity I've had to listen to the last Joel Gallis and Dr. Robert Wolf interview on Tamar Yonah's program at Arutz Sheva. As a result of that, I have to warn the readers here that their teachings are highly suspect and unreliable.

Even Tamar Yonah was having problems with some of the things they were saying. Either they have been in the Diaspora so long that they have assimilated Xian thought without realizing it or their popularity has gone to their heads.

When they were first publicized, I was as eager as anyone else to listen to what they had to say, but when their solution for one of the Prophet Daniel's "secret codes" failed to materialize, I became more circumspect. After what I have heard today, I would not put any more stock in anything they have to say. I will no longer recommend that anyone listen to them and I am taking this a step further by warning people away altogether.

It was not any one thing that they said, but the whole of it which was much greater than the individual parts alone. I will list the issues I have with Mr. Gallis and Dr. Wolf below.

1. Nine minutes into the program, they say: "He (Obama) is the anti-Mashiach, also known as "Gog."

The concept of an "anti-Mashiach" is not mainstream, if it exists at all, within Judaism, but it is certainly a central tenet of Xianity. Furthermore, I have never seen any equivalence drawn between an "anti-Mashiach" and "Gog." In fact, it is the xian god who perfected the role of anti-messiah, accomplishing the exact opposite of all that the Messiah is destined to do. Even the xians never claimed that an anti-messiah would be the same person as Gog.

2. He immediately proceeds to "verify" Obama's name as "Gog" by revealing it in "code" in the chapter of Yechezkel (38) which describes Gog and Magog.

Jewish Torah codes are just that---codes in the Torah, the first five books of the Tanakh. To my knowledge, the codes experts do not acknowledge that such a phenomenon exists in the prophets or writings, but the xians do. Moreover, to be considered a true code by the experts, there must be a preponderance of details associated with it. In this case, they reference only one word---a name---and the Hebrew spelling even has one letter more than it should have.

When Tamar Yonah points this out, the response is that it is "an acceptable alternate spelling." They spell "Obama"...Aleph-Vav-Bet-Aleph-Mem-Heh...---Oba'ama.

3. At 21:30 into the program, he begins to teach, not from any recognized source, but from clues that he has strung haphazardly together:

"...In every country, city, province or village around the world, when G-d decides that the time has come, He is going to separate us from the evil that surrounds us and He's going to give us a path to safety and freedom. We all must utilise that opportunity and flee without looking back."
He admits that many Jews won't do this and as a consequence, they will not survive. About the Jews of Jerusalem, he explains that "...even in Jerusalem, not all the Jews will likely be safe." He says that contrary to the common understanding of Zekharyah 14:2, the Jews who are exiled from the city will not be in danger, but those who "shall not be cut off from the city" will be "trapped and surrounded and will not have the chance to flee."

Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but be reminded of a similar understanding in the Greek Testament:
"(Luke) ...when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 'Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.' "

4. At 26:30 into the program, he promises Jews in chutz la'aretz that there will be a last minute reprieve for all the Jews who will be ready to "flee":

"...one of the reasons why we've been focusing...on fleeing is because we believe...there will be a time in the not-so-distant future when American Jews will need to flee and we need to have a plan to flee so that they know what to do at that moment...the time is coming under this leadership that they will need to make a decision to separate from this country and to flee, presumably, to the land of Israel."
The time to make the decision to "separate" should have come as soon as Israel's destruction became a matter of US foreign policy.

"...we're recommending to American Jews and indeed Jews in countries that may be affected by what happens in America...go on with your life, don't make any major changes right now, but you ..must do the following...make sure everyone in your family has a passport, there needs to be a plan...an exit strategy...a plan to get to Eretz Yisrael, directly or indirectly....flights..."

Tamar asks why wait? What if flights are grounded?

He said he "believes" there will be a period of time when Jews can leave, when no one will try to stop them, but this is all very irresponsible. They are not basing these "beliefs" on anything substantive. I can at least bring a pasuk from Tanakh to argue the opposite: "For not with haste shall you go forth and not in a flurry of flight shall you go, ...." (Yeshayahu 52:12)

We've been in charge of our own country for sixty years now. It has been seven full years since 9/11, the biggest wake-up call of all time. Anyone who wanted to come could come in his own time and at his own pace with no one chasing him here. To tell people that they can ignore this long period of grace and that they should wait even longer and plan to duck out at the last possible minute, without any solid proof that this is so, to tell people that they can rely on it, is very irresponsible to say the very least.

5. He goes further and says: "...we're asking international Jewish organizations like NBN and the Jewish Agency to make a commitment that they will leave no Jew behind, that is our slogan... we're asking them in a public way ...to make that commitment that they... will guarantee that they will get any Jew out of America that wants to leave.

And if their "anti-Mashiach/Gog/Hitleresque" Obama will tell them no deal and bans Jewish American citizens from traveling outside US borders, what then? What is their recourse? Would you really stake your life and the lives of your family on this "slogan?" I'm sorry, but this is the lamest thing yet.

6.At 36 minutes, a caller "compares" them to the "prophets" and declares that he's "seen G-d speaking through" them. They don't deny it.

"...we try our best, ...I'm glad you mentioned it the way you did because whatever we do is only because we've been given this material, ...we've been recipients of this material, ...we're conduits and as such we are trying to get to as many people as possible so that they have the knowledge and the education and the opportunity to make clear and healthy decisions for themselves and their families.

Despite Tamar's request for proof of their contentions from any other sources besides the questionable "gematria," they couldn't give any. (40:30 minutes in)

7. They end the program with a declaration that they could be the ones to lead the Jews to safety at the appropriate time:

"Tamar we hope that there will be people of courage and commitment including our rabbis and others who love the Jewish people who are walking in the footsteps of the great sages and lead our lost people to our home in Israel, but if no one arises, we, the two of us, Joel and myself, we reluctant, simple Jews, we will try our best to step up and serve as substitutes for the true leaders who are obviously occupied elsewhere. We hope that when we say to American Jewry to "kum," to arise and take our hands, that we must go to the Land of G-d, the Land of Israel, now, that as many Jews as possible will follow and join us."

So Obama is the "anti-Mashiach" and Joel Gallis and Dr. Robert Wolf are Mashiachs-in-waiting.
Olam Hasheker is fighting for its life, everything and everyone must be suspect. Don't gamble your life on the unproven words of internet celebrities whom no one really knows and for whom no rav has provided haskama.