Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel ~ David H Stern, Ph.D.

"The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."  "The whole truth requires restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel.  This book brings one simple message, namely, that unless the Church does everything in her power to restore that Jewishness, she lacks a key component of the Gospel".  

This was taken from the 1st two paragraphs of the introduction to this book.  

Looking in the introduction it states: "In speaking of restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel I assume that my readers will agree to the following three points, which are not themselves part of this restored Jewishness but are presupposed by it: (1) Christianity is Jewish, (2) antisemitism is un-Christian, and (3) refusing or neglecting to evangelize Jews is antisemitic."

Now, here's the problem.  Look at the cover of this book.  Who would buy this book? Your everyday normal, follower of Christianity?  No probably not.  A normal every day Jew?  Come on, it's a message for Christians, says so on the book.  What kind of Christian would buy this book.  A Christian that as Dr. Stern says, that can admit the Jewish Roots of Christianity, and those that do, are on a HUNT for more information.  What I THOUGHT I was buying in this book was some insight into some of the steps I should take to understanding the Bible (Gospel) from the Jewish point of view.  This IS what I was looking for and this really is not what I got.  This book spent it's entire time trying to explain the reasons behind and convince the reader of the three very things that in the introduction is said to be presupposed.  

BUT, if you want information, you can buy, Dr. Stern's bigger book, that cost a lot more money.  Had I known of that book, I might have ordered it first.  But after having read this one I think I will have to pass.  I am past the need for convincing, what I need is more details on the how and what.  (Not the why).  

So with all that being said.  IF you are not one that has been convinced of the need to reconnect with your Jewish Roots, and the Jewish Roots of the bible, PLEASE get this book and read it.  It's got some great information in it.  I will share some of it shortly.  IF you are already convinced, this book is simply not for you.  But again, I'm going to share some of the information that I found in it for all to see.  It is a good book, but simply didn't live up to the title.  

Excerpts from Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel by David H. Stern, Ph.D.

~  P. 15 ~ "However, by the time Paul wrote the letter to the Romans (about 57 A.D.), it was clear that most Jews were rejecting Yeshua as the Messiah.  Paul called them branches of the cultivated olive tree which had been cut off.  Yet he warned the Gentile believers that they must not take undue pride in being grafted into the olive tree or think themselves better than the cut-off branches, since they hold their position only by faith and without it will themselves be cut off.  Conversely, the cut-off branches (non-Messianic Jews) can be grafted in again by faith."

~ P.21 ~ "Thus unsaved Jews (cut-off natural branches), saved Jews (natural branches attached to the tree), and Gentile believers (grafted-in wild branches) each have their own kind of ongoing participation in the one Israel."

~P.22 ~ "I believe that the reappearance of the Messianic Jewish community in our day is a significant phase in God's process of saving all of Israel."

~P. 28 ~ "Israel is called God's son as far back as Exodus 4:22.  The Messiah is presented as God's son a few verses earlier in Matthew 1:18-25, reflecting Tanakh passages such as Isaiah 9:6-7, Psalm 2:7 and Proverbs 30:4.  Thus the Son equals the son; the Messiah is equated with the nation of Israel.  This is what Matthew is hinting at by calling Yeshua's flight to Egypt a "fulfillment" of Hosea 11:1"

~ P.73 ~ "The foundational test is Ephesians 2:11-13, which says: 

           Therefore, remember your former state:  you Gentiles by birth - called the Uncircumcised by those who, merely because of an operation on their flesh, are called the Circumcised - at that time had no Messiah.  You were estranged from the national life of Israel.  You were foreigners to the covenants embodying God's promise.  You were in this world without hope and without God.  But now, you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah's blood."

~P. 78 ~ "The Orthodox Jewish philosopher Michael Wyschogrod has written something about Yeshua which I have not found in any other Jewish writer.  After noting that Israel (i.e., the Jewish people) are the People of God, and that traditionally there are two ways a person becomes a Jew -- namely, by being born to a Jewish mother or by converting to Judaism -- he credits Jesus with providing a third way of joining the "People of God." He actually says that Jesus enables a Gentile to join the "People of God" without becoming a Jew!  But this assertion, remarkable and amazing as it is for a Jewish writer, takes on flesh and bones only if Christians understand that that is what they are doing, that they are joining up with the Jews, becoming family members, not replacing them, and not even merely "respecting" or "loving" them.  The Christian attitude toward the Jewish People should be, "The Jews are my home, my family.""

So this a short review, for a very short book.  Not going to say it's a bad book, just not the book that I thought it was.  Hope you find what your looking for.  

  

Replacement Theology, Crap with a capital C.

The Fulfillment of the Law

1 "In that case, I say, isn't it that God has repudiated his people?" Heaven forbid! For I myself am a son of Isra'el, from the seed of Avraham, of the tribe of Binyamin. 2 God has not repudiated his people, whom he chose in advance. Or don't you know what the Tanakh says about Eliyahu? He pleads with God against Isra'el, 3 "ADONAI, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I'm the only one left, and now they want to kill me too!"w 4 But what is God's answer to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not knelt down to Ba'al." 5 It's the same way in the present age: there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 (Now if it is by grace, it is accordingly not based on legalistic works; if it were otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.) 7 What follows is that Isra'el has not attained the goal for which she is striving. The ones chosen have obtained it, but the rest have been made stonelike, 8 just as the Tanakh says, "God has given them a spirit of dullness eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, right down to the present day." 9 And David says, "Let their dining table become for them a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a punishment. 10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can't see, with their backs bent continually." 11 "In that case, I say, isn't it that they have stumbled with the result that they have permanently fallen away?" Heaven forbid! Quite the contrary, it is by means of their stumbling that the deliverance has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy. a 12 Moreover, if their stumbling is bringing riches to the world - that is, if Isra'el's being placed temporarily in a condition less favored than that of the Gentiles is bringing riches to the latter - how much greater riches will Isra'el in its fullness bring them!13 However, to those of you who are Gentiles I say this: since I myself am an emissary sent to the Gentiles, I make known the importance of my work 14 in the hope that somehow I may provoke some of my own people to jealousy and save some of them! 15 For if their casting Yeshua aside means reconciliation for the world, what will their accepting him mean? It will be life from the dead!16 Now if the hallah offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole loaf. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you - a wild olive - were grafted in among them and have become equal sharers in the rich root of the olive tree, 18 then don't boast as if you were better than the branches! However, if you do boast, remember that you are not supporting the root, the root is supporting you. 19 So you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." 20 True, but so what? They were broken off because of their lack of trust. However, you keep your place only because of your trust. So don't be arrogant; on the contrary, be terrified! 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he certainly won't spare you! 22 So take a good look at God's kindness and his severity: on the one hand, severity toward those who fell off; but, on the other hand, God's kindness toward you - provided you maintain yourself in that kindness! Otherwise, you too will be cut off! 23 Moreover, the others, if they do not persist in their lack of trust, will be grafted in; because God is able to graft them back in. 24 For if you were cut out of what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree! 25 For, brothers, I want you to understand this truth which God formerly concealed but has now revealed, so that you won't imagine you know more than you actually do. It is that stoniness, to a degree, has come upon Isra'el, until the Gentile world enters in its fullness; 26 and that it is in this way that all Isra'el will be saved. As the Tanakh says, "Out of Tziyon will come the Redeemer; he will turn away ungodliness from Ya'akov 27 and this will be my covenant with them, . . . when I take away their sins." 28 With respect to the Good News they are hated for your sake. But with respect to being chosen they are loved for the Patriarchs' sake, 29 for God's free gifts and his calling are irrevocable. 30 Just as you yourselves were disobedient to God before but have received mercy now because of Isra'el's disobedience; 31 so also Isra'el has been disobedient now, so that by your showing them the same mercy that God has shown you, they too may now receive God's mercy. 32 For God has shut up all mankind together in disobedience, in order that he might show mercy to all. 33 O the depth of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments! How unsearchable are his ways! 34 For, 'Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been his counselor?'c 35 Or, 'Who has given him anything and made him pay it back?' 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Jewish New Year

Jewish New Year

Tonight at sunset begins one of the holiest days of the Jewish year:  Rosh haShanah (Head of the Year).  It is the beginning of the Jewish year 5775 - a Shemmitah Year - or Sabbath Year.  

For Jewish people, since this day is a Sabbath, no work is allowed, and all over Israel and around the world, the Jewish People will be attending services in local synagogues.  This celebration is also known as Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets).  

As the holiday begins tonight, selichot prayers for forgiveness will intensify and tomorrow morning the shofar (ram's horn or trumpet) will be sounded around 100 times.  It will continue to be sounded throughout this holiday season.  

Shalom.  

Jewish Wedding ~ Glen Wigginton

Jewish Wedding

by Glen Wigginton

Introduction:

The Ancient Jewish Wedding and the Return of our Bridegroom King!

Of all the customs appointed by God, there is probably none more joyous than that of the Jewish wedding. It is one simcha (joyous occasion) that you do not want to miss! Of course, it is joyful enough to just witness the covenant vows between a man and woman who love each other. When you add family and friends, food, music and dance, it is difficult to find a more exuberant celebration. The ancient Jewish wedding is a custom that every Believer should study and understand.

Why?

Because Yeshua (Jesus) Himself followed the steps of a Jewish bridegroom when taking His own bride, the Church. There are many truths and treasures that have been hidden and long forgotten simply because Believers do not see Yeshua (Jesus) in His original Jewish context.

I truly believe God is calling the Bride of Christ back to the Jewish Roots of Christianity.

Proverbs 25:2
2. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

There is 12 steps to the Ancient Jewish Wedding. I will be posting the first step tomorrow evening.

Step One: The Selection of the Bride

John 15:16
16. You did not choose Me, I chose you; and I have commissioned you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that whatsoever ask from the Father in My name He may give you.

In Ancient Israel, brides were usually chosen by the father of the bridegroom. He would send his most trusted servant to search for a bride for his son.

I Peter 1:8
8. Without seeing Him, you love Him. Without seeing Him now, but trusting in Him, you continue to be full of joy that is glorious beyond words.

(Genesis 24) Abraham sends Eliezer to find a bride for Isaac his son.

Step Two: The Price of the Bride

Brides in Biblical times were purchased. The price was paid to the father of the bride, both to compensate him for the loss of a worker and to show him how much the bridegroom loved and valued the bride.

We, as the Bride of Messiah, have also been purchased with a price. A very high price -- the Blood of Yeshua (Jesus). His very own Blood that was shed upon Calvary's Hill was the price He paid for His Bride.

I Peter 1:18-19
18. Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers.
19. But with the precious Blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and 
without spot.

Ephesians 1:13-14
13. In Him also you trusted, after you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
14. Who is the guarantee of your inheritance until the redemption of the 
purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

I Corinthians 7:23
23. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves to men.
We belong to Christ. He is our Bridegroom. We are His Bride. We are in this world but we are not of this world.

I Corinthians 6:19-20
19. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own.
20. For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in Your spirit, which are God's.

Step Three: The Betrothal / Ketubah

The ancient Jewish marriage ceremony consists of two main parts, beginning with the betrothal or engagement.

The betrothal is much like an engagement is today, but with a much greater sense of commitment. During the betrothal the couple is actually entering into a covenant. Covenant in Bible times was serious, final, sealed in blood and legally binding. Once a couple entered into the covenant of betrothal, they were legally married in all aspects except for the physical consummation of the marriage.

At the betrothal ceremony, a marriage contract, or Ketubah, was presented to the father of the bride. The Ketubah consists of all the bridegroom's promises to his bride. The Bride cherished her Ketubah.

We, too, have a Ketubah from our Bridegroom. Our marriage contract is God's Word! Our Ketubah (God's Word) shows us all we are entitled to as the Bride of Christ. All, not just some, but all the promises in God's Word, are for us. As the Bride of Christ, we are entitled to them--they are part of our Ketubah.

Jeremiah 31:33
33. But this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people.

Step Four: The Bride's Consent

Although a bride was selected for the bridegroom, she still had a choice.

Genesis 24:57-58
57. So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.”
58. And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”

(Israel was selected first but rejected the bridegroom's offer) God is a gentlemen and He never forces anyone to say "I do" to His Son. When we say "I do" to Yeshua, we must believe with our heart and confess with our lips.

“I do’s to Yeshua (Jesus)
Yes – I do confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Yes – I do believe that Jesus died for my sins
Yes – I do believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that you, 
God, raise Him from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand. 
Yes – I do repent of my sins.
Yes – I give You my heart.
Yes – I do receive Your great love and the gift of eternal life.

Step Five: The Cup of Covenant

After the terms of the Ketubah was accepted, a cup of wine was shared to seal the marriage covenant. The second cup of wine will be shared many months later during the marriage ceremony. The cup that Yeshua took at His last Passover on earth was the cup of the new marriage covenant with His Bride.

Luke 22:20
20. Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

Matthew 26:29
29 “But I say unto you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

Yeshua was speaking of the second cup that the Bride of Christ will share with Him one glorious day at the second part of our marriage ceremony.

Step Six: The Gifts for the Bride

Every bride enjoys gifts! And our God is a giver of every good and perfect gift.

The Betrothal included the giving of gifts by the bridegroom to his bride.

Many times a bridegroom gave a coin or other objects of value to his betrothed bride. It would always be something special that would help to remind her of him while they were apart. This was because the real focus of the gift giving was to be on the giver and not on the gift.

Today we have engagement rings. This is a symbol of love and commitment. When the bride-to-be looks at her ring, she is reminded of the one who gave her the gift.

God's Holy Spirit is our spiritual engagement ring. He doesn't call attention to Himself but to the One who purchased us -- Yeshua.
Through Yeshua, we, the bride, receive many gifts:

1. Salvation
2. Forgiveness
3. Eternal life
4. Fruit of the Spirit
5. Gifts of the Spirit 
and many more.

What bride would say to her bridegroom who comes bearing gifts, "No, I can't accept them." Yet many do that to our Bridegroom Yeshua.

Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, 
goodness, faithfulness,
23. gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Gifts of the Spirit
I Corinthians 12:7-11
7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
8. For one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit.
9. To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gift of healing by the same Spirit.
10. To another the working of miracle, to another prophecy, to another the discerning of spirits to another different kinds of tongues, to another the
interpretation of tongues. 
11. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Step Seven: The Mikvah

Brides in ancient Israel, as well as brides in Israel today, experience a mikvah prior to her wedding. The word 'mikvah' means a pool of living water which was used for ritual purification. This immersion in water is part of their physical and spiritual preparation for the wedding ceremony. The mikvah represents a separation from the old life to a new life.

Mark 16:16
16. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

The Bride of Christ also goes to the living waters of the mikvah. When we, as believers in Yeshua, are immersed in water, it is a separation from an old life to a new life.

II Corinthians 5:17 
17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, all things have become new.

Step Eight: Departure of the Groom

John 14:2 I go to prepare a place for you.

Once the marriage covenant was sealed, the bridegroom leaves his bride to go to his father's house to prepare a wedding chamber. He could be gone for up to twelve months.

John 14:2-3
2. “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
3. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Our Bridegroom has gone to prepare a wedding chamber for His bride.

Matthew 9:15 
15. Jesus said, "Can the friends of the Bridegroom mourn as long as the Bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast."

While we wait for the return of our Bridegroom / King, we need to stay faithful, watchful and spiritually alert. This is now the hour to pray and fast!

I Peter 4:7
7. But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

Step Nine: The Consecrated Bride

The Jewish bride was set apart, consecrated, separated unto her bridegroom--the one who purchased her. So, while waiting for his return, she was to stay faithful. It was probably easy at first. But when his return was delayed, the temptation would be great. After a while, the bride may even start to question his return.

II Peter 3:3-4
3. Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lust,
4. And saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

We are His consecrated bride, awaiting His return. We cannot fall into temptation. We must be ready at all times for the return of our Bridegroom /

Step Ten: The Return of the Bridegroom

Mark 13:32
32. "But the day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Jewish bridegrooms usually come for their bride late at night, near the midnight hour. The sound of the Shofar would break the silence of the night and there would be great shouting and dancing in the street. We can see this in the parable of the ten virgins:

Matthew 25:6 .. "And at midnight a cry was heard: Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him.

As a thief in the night, our Bridegroom will call us to arise and meet Him in the air. We will hear the shout and the sound of the Shofar. It will happen quickly. We must be ready.

Matthew 24:27
27. For as the lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

I Thessalonians 5:2
2. .. For you yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 
Also II Peter 3:10

I Thessalonians 4:16-18
16. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17. The we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Step Eleven: The Huppah

The second half of the ancient Jewish wedding ceremony, or huppah, is called the "hometaking." The original meaning of the huppah was "room" or "covering." The huppah of ancient times was a special room built in the bridegroom's father's home. The room was eventually replaced with a bridal canopy. The huppah symbolized the new home to which the bridegroom would take his bride. The bride and bridegroom were escorted to the bridal chamber where they would be alone for seven days. The spiritual parallel to the huppah for the Bride of Christ begins as we are lifted off the earth to be taken to our heavenly wedding chamber where we will spend "one week" (seven years), with our Bridegroom /King. While the Bride of Christ is in the Bridal Chamber with Yeshua, the rest of the world will be in a time of great tribulation.

Isaiah 26:20-21
20. Come, my people, enter your chambers. And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past.
21. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain.

While the wrath of God is poured out on the earth, the Bride of Christ will be hidden away with the Bridegroom.

Step Twelve: The Final Step--The Marriage Supper

Following the seven days in the huppah or bridal chamber, the bride and bridegroom joined their guest for a joyous marriage feast. Playing of music and dancing was a regular part of the celebration.

Revelation 19:6-9
6. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of
many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!”
7. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the
Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
8. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9. Then He said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are called to the
marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And He said to me, “These are the true 
saying of God.”

Just like the ancient Jewish wedding, there will be shouts of joy and dancing (yes, dancing) and how exciting it will be. The Bride will dance for joy with her Bridegroom / King, Yeshua.

We will rule and reign with Him for 1,000 years during the millennium! For those of us who look forward to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, we must go out to the highways and byways and extend an invitation to others to come.

Revelation 22:17
17. And the Spirit and the bride say come, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come, Whoever desires, let him take of the Water of Life freely.

Revelation 22:20 
22. He who testifies of these things says, “Surely I Am coming quickly.” Amen.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Gates of Hell ~ History Channel

Gates of Hell on History Channel (and a couple of other sites)

Many religions and denominations believe in a physical place called Hell, that can be reached from here on Earth.  In this post, I will not get into the question of "Is there a hell?", "Is hell real?", "Is hell mentioned in the Bible?".  These questions are in and of themselves a WHOLE other topic.  This post is strictly a summation of the History Channel's show titled Gates of Hell and another site or two.  

This particular show listed 6 possible Gates to Hell, and recounted information that went along with the local legends of these areas.  I'd like to recap them here for you.


     
  1.  Mt. Masaya, in Nicaragua

"Taken from research from the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research of Elsevier;
Nicaragua’s conquest started only 30years after Christopher Columbus arrived to America in 1492. At that moment the Masaya and Momotombo volcanoes were erupting simultaneously. Some people believed that it was the Mouth of Hell, whereas others could greedily see in the lava a source of gold or silver. This fact led to many attempts trying to prove it.

During the 1772 eruption, the bishop of Granada, followed by numerous fellows, carried the image of the Christ of Nindiri in a procession and faced the coming lava flow in order to stop it. Oddly enough, the eruption did cease after that For this reason, since 1772, every 16th of March a big religious procession takes place in this region.

From the beginning of Nicaragua’s conquest, the Spaniards referred to the Masaya Volcano as “The Mouth of Hell” or simply “Masaya’s Hell” (Infierno de Masaya in Spanish).

This name was also following the tradition of the Aboriginal people who believed that the Masaya volcano was a god. They made offerings and human sacrifices throwing into the incandescent crater children and maidens, sending them to “fetch water” during the drought seasons. Also, the aboriginal chiefs of the region, when solving important matters, asked for “secret advice” (Monexico in Nahualt language) to a sorceress who appeared inside the volcano. She was described as “an old woman with long and spiky hair, sharp fangs and breasts reaching her waist” 

It is thought that this sorceress of the volcano was Chalchiutlicue, the water deity in Mexican mythology which was inherited by the Nicaraos. This image was similar to that which the Spaniards had of the Devil which, added to the idea that all the aboriginal gods were product of the Devil and contributed to the belief that the volcano was the mouth or gates of Hell. This led to Mercedarian Fray Francisco de Bobadilla climbing the volcano in 1529, where he erected a cross in order to exorcise what he called “The Mouth of Hell”.

The Dialogues of Saint Gregory (Book IV Chap.36) in which he states that volcanoes are the Mouths of Hell. This is evidence of the strong influence of the Classics and the Catholic Church over the thinking of this time.
The Carmelite Fray Antonio Vazquez, who visited Nicaragua at the beginning of the XVII century, speculates on the possible causes of the volcanic eruptions, thinking that they were the Earth’s vents from which the “fire of Hell” escaped. According to the theologians of the time, Hell was located at the centre of the Earth and according to the cosmographers it was exactly at 1030 and three quarters and a half leagues from where the humans lived!!! Furthermore, many of them pointed out that all known volcanoes, sometimes spat out fire smoke or ash and other times they didn’t. The big difference was that the Masaya volcano never ceased doing it and was in permanent activity. This led Friar Toribio Benavente (1541) to say “that the fire of the volcano of Nicaragua [Masaya] without fuel (…), must be the mouth of Hell and its fire must be supernatural and hellish, and the place from which the condemned are thrown by the demons” and further on, he makes a comparison with the Vulcano volcano (which in The Dialogues of Saint Gregory is named as the Mouth Of Hell into which King Theodoric was thrown) and adds “thus, if that one [Vulcano] is the Mouth of Hell, this one [Mayasa] not only seems to be the Mouth, but is Hell itself”. Lastly, in that time there were very popular versions told by sailors, who had visions of demons when they were near “those mountains that spit fire”. They also heard cries of the condemned or voices that mocked them and untied the ropes, lines and riggings if they didn’t make the sign of the Cross.

What I noticed from the name of this site was that its spelling sounds like messiah."

from Gates of Hell - Mystery of the Iniquity  http://mysteryoftheiniquity.com/dreams-visions/gates-of-hell/


2.  Xibalba - Central America

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Xibalba (Mayan pronunciation: [/ʃiɓälˈɓä/]), roughly translated as "place of fear", is the name of the underworld in K'iche' Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya death gods and their helpers. In 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the vicinity of Cobán, Guatemala. According to some of the K'iche' Maya presently living in the vicinity, the area is still associated with death. Cave systems in nearby Belize have also been referred to as the entrance to Xibalba. Another physical incarnation of the road to Xibalba as viewed by the K'iche' is the dark rift which is visible in the Milky Way.

Structure

Xibalba was a large place and a number of individual structures or locations within Xibalba are described or mentioned in the Popol Vuh. Chief among these was the council place of the Lords, the five or six houses that served as the first tests of Xibalba, and the Xibalban ballcourt. Also mentioned are the homes of the Lords, gardens, and other structures indicating that Xibalba was at least a great city.

Xibalba seemed to be rife with tests, trials, and traps for anyone who came into the city. Even the road to Xibalba was filled with obstacles: first a river filled with scorpions, a river filled with blood, and then a river filled with pus. Beyond these was a crossroads where travellers had to choose from among four roads that spoke in an attempt to confuse and beguile. Upon passing these obstacles, one would come upon the Xibalba council place, where it was expected visitors would greet the seated Lords. Realistic mannequins were seated near the Lords to confuse and humiliate people who greeted them, and the confused would then be invited to sit upon a bench, which was actually a hot cooking surface. The Lords of Xibalba would entertain themselves by humiliating people in this fashion before sending them into one of Xibalba's deadly tests.

The city was home to at least six deadly houses filled with trials for visitors. The first was Dark House, a house that was completely dark inside. The second was Rattling House or Cold House, full of bone-chilling cold and rattling hail. The third was Jaguar House, filled with hungry jaguars. The fourth was Bat House, filled with dangerous shrieking bats, and the fifth was Razor House, filled with blades and razors that moved about of their own accord. In another part of the Popol Vuh, a sixth test, Hot House, filled with fires and heat, is identified. The purpose of these tests was to either kill or humiliate people placed into them if they could not outwit the test.

3.  Peloponnesse - (tip of Greece) - it was said that Hercules found entrance into the underworld through the caves of Peloponnesse.  His 12th and final Labour is detailed below.  I found during my research that some of the caves are explorable currently on tours of Greece.  And there are quite a few very lengthy Youtube videos of some of them.  

Hercules' Twelfth Labour: Cerberus

Hercules capturing Cerberus (1545), by Sebald Beham

from Wikipedia

Capturing Cerberus alive, without using weapons, was the final labour assigned to Hercules by Eurystheus, in recompense for the killing of his own children by Megara after he was driven insane by Hera, and therefore was the most dangerous and difficult.

After having been given the task, Hercules went to Eleusis to be initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries so that he could learn how to enter and exit the underworld alive, and in passing absolve himself for killing centaurs. He found the entrance to the underworld at Tanaerum, and Athena and Hermes helped him to traverse the entrance in each direction. He passed Charon with Hestia's assistance and his own heavy and fierce frowning.

Whilst in the underworld, Hercules met Theseus and Pirithous. The two companions had been imprisoned by Hades for attempting to obtain Persephone. One tradition tells of snakes coiling around their legs then turning into stone; another that Hades feigned hospitality and prepared a feast inviting them to sit. They unknowingly sat in chairs of forgetfulness and were permanently ensnared. When Hercules had pulled Theseus first from his chair, some of his thigh stuck to it (this explains the supposedly lean thighs of Athenians), but the earth shook at the attempt to liberate Pirithous, whose desire to have the wife of a god for himself was so insulting he was doomed to stay behind.

Hercules found Hades and asked permission to bring Cerberus to the surface, which Hades agreed to if Hercules could overpower the beast without using weapons. Hercules was able to overpower Cerberus and proceeded to sling the beast over his back, dragging it out of the underworld through a cavern entrance in the Peloponnese and bringing it to Eurystheus. The king again fled into his pithos, and asked Hercules to return it to the underworld in return for releasing him from his labors. After completing the labours Hercules joined the Argonauts in the search for the Golden Fleece.

4.  Mt. Hekla - Iceland

     

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Detail of map of Iceland by Abraham Ortelius, via Wikimedia Commons.

Mount Hekla: Iceland's particularly active volcano developed a reputation as a gateway to Hell in the 12th century, after its 1104 eruption. Benedeit's 1120 Anglo-Norman poem Voyage of St. Brendan mentions the volcano as the prison of Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus. That reputation continued with further eruptions; after the 1341 eruption, there was a report that people saw birds flying amidst the fire—birds, some thought, that must really be swarming souls. Even in more recent times, Hekla has maintained its diabolic status, as some superstitious folk have claimed that it's a spot where witches meet with the devil. (http://io9.com/13-places-on-earth-thought-to-be-entrances-to-hell-1441628317)

5.  The Necromanteion - Greece

The Necromanteion or Nekromanteion was an ancient Greek temple of necromancy devoted to Hades and Persephone. According to tradition, it was located on the banks of the Acheron river in Epirus, near the ancient city of Ephyra. This site was believed by devotees to be the door to Hades, the realm of the dead. The site is at the meeting point of the Acheron, Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus rivers, believed to flow through and water the kingdom of Hades. The meaning of the names of the rivers has been interpreted to be “joyless,” “burning coals” and “lament.”

The word Nekromanteion means “Oracle of Death”, and the faithful came here to talk with their late ancestors. Although other ancient temples such as the Temple of Poseidon in Taenaron as well as those in Argolis, Cumae, and Herakleia in Pontos are known to have housed oracles of the dead, the Necromanteion of Ephyra was the most important. It belonged to the Thesprotians, the local Epirot Greek tribe. According to Herodotus’ account, it was to the Nekromanteion that Periander, the 6th century BC tyrant of Corinth, had sent legates to ask questions of his dead wife, Melissa. In Homer’s Odyssey, the Nekromanteion was also described as the entrance by which Odysseus made his nekyia.

Ritual use of the Nekromanteion involved elaborate ceremonies wherein celebrants seeking to speak to the dead would start by gathering in the ziggurat-like temple and consuming a meal of broad beans, pork, barley bread, oysters, and a narcotic compound. Following a cleansing ceremony and the sacrifice of sheep, the faithful would descend through a chthonic series of meandric corridors leaving offerings as they passed through a number of iron gates. The nekyomanteia would pose a series of questions and chant prayers and the celebrants would then witness the priest arise from the floor and begin to fly about the temple through the use of Aeorema-like theatrical cranes.

The pilgrims were going to the necromancy to communicate with the underworld souls but the ritual was not that simple as, they as living beings, had to be submitted to a diet including raw food like oysters, causing the effect of illusions and trances which was resulting in speaking with the souls and getting the prophecy desired.
The architectural structure of the Necromanteion was helping the psychosomatic process. The building had two levels, the upper one for the world of the living and the lower one for the world of the dead, where the dark Temple of Hades (Αδης) was built, the room where the pilgrims could “meet” the souls of the dead. The corridor that lead there was whirling because the purpose was to make the vertigo more intense for the believer, with the result of him believing that he was walking the “road” to Hades. Then he had to cross the three Iron Gates to enter the Kingdom of the dead. 

We are forbidden in the Bible to communicate with familiar spirits and/or spirits of the dead. This is once again becoming quiet popular with the new spree of ‘ghost hunting’ programs. These programs enforce communication, and in fact, this is not only very dangerous, they warn but yet they persuade by enticement.

6.  Lough Derg - Ireland

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Photo of Station Island by Egardiner0, Wikimedia Commons.

St. Patrick's Purgatory: One legend about the Irish Saint Patrick involves Station Island, a speck in Ireland's Lough Derg. According to the legend, after Patrick had become frustrated with his doubting followers, the Christ appeared to him and guided him to a cave on Station Island. Inside the cave was a pit, which was the gateway to Purgatory, where the souls of the dead must endure punishments for their sins before entering Heaven. While there, Patrick also received visions of the torments of Hell. From the 12th century on, Station Island has attracted Catholic pilgrims looking to sit close to Purgatory. In 1632, the lords justices of Ireland ordered the cave closed and most of the records of pilgrimages prior to that year were destroyed, but we do know that the pilgrims would fast and pray for days before spending a full day shut inside the cave. Despite the cave being shut, the pilgrimages continued unbroken; modern pilgrims can still visit Station Island for three-day pilgrimages, during which they must keep a 24-hour vigil while fasting on the island.

Salem, Massachussetts  - In 1692 initial residents of Salem, Massachusetts believed that the devil inhabited the woods near them, and there was a gate to Hell there.  150 people accused of colluding with Satan, 19 executed. 

13 Places on Earth People Believed Were Entrances to Hell 

(I also found this site that lists a couple of the ones already talked about, but a few more as well)

While in some belief systems, the afterlife can only be accessed by spiritual means, in others, the underworld could be accessed directly from the Earth. Here are 13 real spots that people have thought (and in a few cases, still do) lead straight to the lands of the dead.

Some of these involve the Christian concept of Hell, while others were supposed to lead to other (sometimes not unpleasant) afterlives. And there are plenty of other spots that have hellish names, including Hells Gate in British Columbia, the flaming Door to Hell in Derweze, Turkmenistan, and the southern pit of Erta Ale in Ethiopia, which is called the "gateway to Hell."

Just a quick note: This piece was inspired by an Atlas Obscura piece about the beautiful Cenote Xkeken. In the course of researching this piece, I realized that Atlas Obscura had recently posted their own piece, "Go to Hell: 11 Ways to Enter the Underworld." I avoided reading the piece so as to avoid overlap, and while there is some, Atlas Obscura has a few underworld hot spots that aren't mentioned here—plus, they . I highly recommend checking out their list (with some gorgeous photos) and also following Atlas Obscura in general, because it's an incredible site.

The Ploutonion at Hierapolis: The ancient city of Hierapolis, near modern-day Pamukkale in Turkey was once home to a site considered sacred to Pluto, the god of the dead. Although the site was rediscovered in 1965, it was just this year that archaeologists announced the otherworldly significance of this holy spot. The same gases that heat the famous hot springs of Pamukkale originate from a cave beneath the Ploutonion, and because the vapors are toxic, the people of Hierapolis believed that they had been sent from Pluto himself and the site was treated as a ritual entrance to the underworld. Pilgrims would travel from all over the classical world to make sacrifices to Pluto; animals led into the cave would drop dead from the toxic fumes, while acolytes of Pluto would prove their devotion to the god by entering the cave and emerging alive (perhaps thanks to their knowledge of pockets of breathable air within the cave).

Fengdu, China: The 2,000-year-old City of Ghosts, located in Chongqing municipality, has long been thought to be the place the dead stopped on their way to the afterlife, though it seems to have gotten this reputation in a roundabout way. A legend from the Han Dynasty tells of two imperial officials, Wang Fangping and Yin Changsheng, who forsook the court life to practice Taoism in Fengdu and became immortal. Their names combined sounded like "King of Hell," and so Ming Shan, the hill that overlooks Fengdu, became known as the abode of Tianzi, the King of Hell. The city is filled with Buddhist and Taoist temples, said to be filled with immortal spirits that judge and torment the dead. A freshly dead soul, it was said, must first cross the Bridges of Helplessness to have their virtue judged, then face the Mirror of Retribution at the Ghost Torturing Pass and either become immediately reincarnated or face a series of torments before reaching the Wheel of Rebirth. Living visitors can reach the city by boat (the lower portion was flooded after the construction of the Three Gorges dam along the Yangtze River) and walk the bridges, face the demons who guard the spirit world, view sometimes gruesome dioramas of the afterlife, and gaze upon the 138-meter-high statue of the Ghost King, the largest sculptured carved onto a rock. While Fengdu is centuries old, some its symbolic structures were created rather recently. For example, the Last Glance at Home Tower, the final sight ghosts will see of the living world, was constructed in 1985.

Masaya Volcano: The Aboriginal people of Masaya in modern-day Nicaragua did not believe that the mouth of their caldera was a gateway to the afterlife, but there was a local tradition that the volcano was a god and that a sorceress lived inside its fiery pit. But it was the Spanish explorers who arrived in the 16th century—and had little familiarity with volcanos—who associated with volcano with diabolic activity. In 1529, Mercedarian Fray Francisco de Bobadilla hauled a cross up the volcano, hoping to exorcise what he believed was the Mouth of Hell. And he wasn't alone; Friar Toribio Benavente wrote in 1541 that the volcano's persistent activity must have a supernatural cause and that it must be, "the place from which the condemned are thrown by the demons.” Various religious figures pointed to the volcano as evidence of the horrors that would await sinners in Hell. Not all Spanish friars felt the same way, however. Friar Blas del Castillo led the first Spanish expedition inside the volcanic crater in 1538 to search for gold and silver. And, while debates as to the nature of the volcano raged through the 16th and 17th centuries, Friar Juan de Torquemada published a theological analysis of Masaya and other volcanos in 1615, asserting that it was ridiculous to view any volcano as an entrance to Hell. Among his arguments was that since souls are incorporeal, Hell has no need of physical mouths.

The Seven Gates of Hell: A local legend claims that in the woods off Trout Run Road in Hellam Township, Pennsylvania, sit the Seven Gates of Hell. According to popular fiction, the gates appear near the site of a tragic asylum fire, and if you step through all seven gates, you land straight in Hell. (Of course, that same fiction claims that no one has ever made it past the fifth gate, so how would anyone know?) There are a couple of problems with this story, even aside from the whole going-to-Hell thing. One is that, according to the Hellam Township website, there never was such an asylum on that spot. Also, there's only one gate, a rather ordinary-looking thing a local doctor installed to keep people off his property. (Weird USexplains that the other six gates are supposed to be invisible during the day.) That hasn't kept curious trespassers from sneaking onto the property, however, in search of a direct route to Hell. Hellam Township isn't the only place in the US rumored to host a gateway to Hell; urban legends claim that the devil can be found in the Gates of Hell, a collection of drains in Clifton, New Jersey, and in the Stull Cemetery in Stull, Kansas. And some voodoo practitioners claim that the Seven Gates of Guinee, which lead to the afterlife of the voodoo traditions, can be found in various parts of New Orleans. (Read about the Gates of Guinee on Atlas Obscura.)

Lacus Curtius: Today, this pit in the Roman Forum doesn't look like much, but in a legend told by the Roman historian Livy, it was once a wide chasm. Livy tells the story of Marcus Curtius, who may have given the pit its name. According to Livy's account, the chasm appeared in the middle of Rome, and nothing could fill it. An oracle prophesied that the chasm would not close and the Roman Republic would be destroyed unless the city sacrificed that which had made it strong. Marcus Curtius realized that Rome's strength lied in the weapons and bravery of its citizens and so, fully armed and armored, he rode his horse into the chasm and straight into the underworld. The chasm closed and the city was saved. It may well be this legend that classed Lacus Curtius as a mundus, a place where one could easily commune with the underworld. It was also a conduit for buying off the gods of death; during the reign of Augustus, Roman citizens would toss coins into the lacus to pray for the Emperor's safety.

St. Patrick's Purgatory: One legend about the Irish Saint Patrick involves Station Island, a speck in Ireland's Lough Derg. According to the legend, after Patrick had become frustrated with his doubting followers, the Christ appeared to him and guided him to a cave on Station Island. Inside the cave was a pit, which was the gateway to Purgatory, where the souls of the dead must endure punishments for their sins before entering Heaven. While there, Patrick also received visions of the torments of Hell. From the 12th century on, Station Island has attracted Catholic pilgrims looking to sit close to Purgatory. In 1632, the lords justices of Ireland ordered the cave closed and most of the records of pilgrimages prior to that year were destroyed, but we do know that the pilgrims would fast and pray for days before spending a full day shut inside the cave. Despite the cave being shut, the pilgrimages continued unbroken; modern pilgrims can still visit Station Island for three-day pilgrimages, during which they must keep a 24-hour vigil while fasting on the island.

Mount Hekla: Iceland's particularly active volcano developed a reputation as a gateway to Hell in the 12th century, after its 1104 eruption. Benedeit's 1120 Anglo-Norman poem Voyage of St. Brendan mentions the volcano as the prison of Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus. That reputation continued with further eruptions; after the 1341 eruption, there was a report that people saw birds flying amidst the fire—birds, some thought, that must really be swarming souls. Even in more recent times, Hekla has maintained its diabolic status, as some superstitious folk have claimed that it's a spot where witches meet with the devil.

Acheron: The Acheron is a real river that flows through northwest Greece, but it also figures prominently in classical mythology. In Homer's Odyssey, Circe directs Odysseus to the underworld, telling him that he must find the point where the Acheron meets the Pyriphlegethon and of a branch of Styx. The poet Vergil mentions also Acheron in the Aeneid, identifying it as the river from which the Styx and Cocytus rivers flow. The ferryman Charon was supposed to transport newly dead souls across the river into the afterlife, something he even does in the pages of Dante's Inferno. In Dante's poem, the souls of the Uncommitted, who chose neither good nor evil, find their eternal home on the banks of the Acheron, not condemned in Hell, but still forever punished for their indecision.

Lake Avernus: While the Acheron is in Greece, in the Aeneid Aeneas enters the underworld through the Avernus crater near Cumae in Italy. The crater lake was sacred to the Cumaean Sibyl, and according to myth, she could lead a living traveler into the underworld. It name offers some hints as to why it might have been deemed such a deadly portal. Avernus comes from the Greek word αϝορνος, meaning "birdless," which links to the belief that birds flying over the lake would die due to the toxic fumes the lake emitted. It's unclear how much truth there is to this belief; in modern times, birds are quite happy to fly about the lake.

Cape Matapan: If you don't want to deal with Charon the ferryman, you could enter the classical underworld of Tartarus through the back door. In Book Ten of Ovid's Metamorphoses, Orpheus enters the underworld not via Acheron, but reached the Styx through the gate of Taenarus, located in Cape Tainaron (also known as Cape Tenaro or Cape Matapan) on the southernmost tip of Greece on the Peloponnese.

The Mayan Cenotes: The Maya certainly had some of the most picturesque entrances to the underworld. These natural underground waterways, located in Mexico and Central America, were thought to be the home of the rain god Chaak and portals to Xibalba, the afterlife. Caves were often seen as gateways to the afterlife in the Mayan worldview, literal passageways between the living world above and the realm below. Archaeologists have found Mayan temples and human remains in the cenotes of the Yucatan peninsula, a possible legendary site of Xibalba, while other traditions put entrances in Cobán, Guatemala, or Actun Tunichil Muknal in Belize. These days, the cenotes are seen more as tourist destinations than the entrances to the mythical "place of fear."

Mount Osore: The Europeans were hardly the only folks to believe that volcanos marked the entrance to the underworld. Mount Osore, region filled with volcanic cauldrons located on the remote Shimokita Peninsula of Japan's Honshu island, is literally named "Fear Mountain." And with its barren, gray landscape, bubbling waters, and persistent smell of sulfur, it's easy to see how it got its macabre reputation. Like Acheron and the River Styx, the Sanzu River, which runs through the region is said to be a spot souls must cross to pass into the afterlife.

Houska Castle: According to folklore, Houska Castle, located in Blatce, north of Prague in the Czech Republic, is built over a "bottomless" hole that leads to Hell. One legend claims that in the 13th century, King Ottokar II of Bohemia (or else a nobleman of the Dubá clan) offered a pardon to any condemned prisoner who consented to be lowered into the pit and report what he saw. The first prisoner lasted only a few seconds before he began screaming. When he was pulled back up, the story goes, his hair had turned white and it seemed he'd aged 30 years—and he babbled incoherently about half-human creatures who flapped through the darkness of grotesque wings. The castle was built, likely on Ottokar II's orders, over this supposed hell-hole, without proper fortifications, a water source, or kitchens. The myth asserts that this was because the castle was meant not for human habitation, but to capture demons. (The chapel was supposed to be actual portion of the fortress erected directly over the Gate of Hell.) The fortress was, however, used as an administrative building, has been used as an aristocratic residence at various points in its history, and was renovated and expanded during the.

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