Will "Gabriel's Revelation" shake our view of Christianity?

The slaying of Simon, or any case of the suffering messiah, is seen as a necessary step toward national salvation,

Who is the Simon, Simon Maccabeus? John 11:50. If you date at least the second half of Daniel ("Gabriel") late, as I do, it ties in with that Maccabean period. There are chronology inconsistencies with the Evangelists' Passion narratives and, even as a kid, I struggled to work out "three days" from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning.

I'm missing what the big scandal of this finding is for Christianity. Anyway, we needed look outside the Faith for our undoing, there's sufficient potential from within.

Gilgamesh for instance.

Oh, please, of messiahs? Flood story.

My takeaway is that Jewish people have one less reason to doubt the claims of Jesus.

Hi I think my wife and I will enjoy reading your blog we found today.
We live in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY and we are wondering if you know how we might contact like minded reformed christians on the East Side of Brooklyn to start a new Reformed Presbyterian Church here.

We are aware of the PCA church near New York Methodist Hospital in Park Slope.

Short Answer- No.

"Hi I think my wife and I will enjoy reading your blog we found today.
We live in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY and we are wondering if you know how we might contact like minded reformed christians on the East Side of Brooklyn to start a new Reformed Presbyterian Church here."

I'm not familiar with that area, did you try the church directory on the pca webite?

https://processor.pcanet.org/ac/directory/directory.cfm

The tablet isn't supposed to shake your faith if you don't want it to. That's the uniqueness of faith: you can believe in anything regardless of all evidence to the contrary if you so desire. All this shows is that the religion in question is like any other in its creation- a well-intentioned paradigm that was introduced to the world to spread peace, love, and understanding. These basic concepts of Christianity, and any religion for that matter, are worthwhile even if the historic underpinnings on which the religion were created were fictional. In other words, whether there is a god or not is truly unimportant- it's whether we show compassion for one another that is critical. That you would entertain thoughts on this tablet and its potential, if any, is commendable. In contrast, outright rejection of it would be nothing less than a "faith-based" knee-jerk reaction. After all, "Doubt is the offspring of knowledge: the savage never doubts at all." (William Winwood Reade, 1872)

RT,
Regardless of your belief, I strongly disagree with you about the basic concepts of Christianity. The purpose of Christianity is not at all about a well intentioned paradigm to spread peace, love, and understanding. Fundamentally Christianity is about redemption of mankind through the propitiation of Christ. The true paradigm of Christianity is that of a fallen world, where mankind has turned his back upon God. The consequence of this is complete separation from God with man having inability to reconcile himself. Therefore, God sent His son, Jesus Christ, as a mediator between Himself and man. The sacrifice that Christ made enables us to have redemption. Christianity by no means is fluffy feel good "religion" conceived as a metanarrative to give peace to foolish men when they sleep at night and who lack the appropriate explicit scientific knowledge to fill in the gaps of the great unknown. After all, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34)

Wrong about the harmony point. The lack of harmony in the gospels is a characteristic of authenticity. If one guy made up a story and then told his friends to spread the story, you would expect exact copies of details. Image a gang of thieves who want to get their alibi straight. Indeed, sometimes it is such precision that gives away a lie. However, if the gospels are (rightly) viewed as eye-witness accounts, you would expect the stories to be basically the same because they are based on true events, but some details would differ. Again, imagine what happens in a court room. The defence would try to nitpick minor differences in eye-witness accounts, but that is not enough to invalid their stories.

The apostles were writing letters to churches & people and telling about their experiences with Jesus, their experiences as a believer and how tell discern truth from error, but most of all the full Truth of God.

If a group of people were "purposely" making a book, they would all come together and discuss the events to make them exactly the same, but that isn't what happened here. When they wrote, they were not putting together a book. They wrote God inspired personal letters with little blurbs about their experiences peppered in. They are telling their own story and telling what they personally experienced. No one see any event the exact same way and if they were all exact replicas I believe that would show they were false and premeditated.

When I read the Bible, I see that they all fit together very nicely and harmoniously.

One day we all will be in THE Court Room of all Court Rooms and Jesus will provide all the "evidence" the nay sayers need, but unfortunately the proof He will provide will convict them for their chosen unbelief. God is real, Jesus is THE Messiah and it doesn't take mountains of proof to know that. It takes faith and belief in that which is true.

Nothing to "consider" to Barbara:

The OT states clearly the the Messiah will come from Bethlehem and thru a "maiden" from the lineage of King David...that would Jesus.
There is only 1 God, however within God are 2 other "heads"...God made man: Jesus and the Holy Spirit of God...but they are all from the 1 True God.
The Jesus Story as some would call it, is not a "story", it is the life accounts of Jesus by witnesses to his ministry and death and most of all, His Resurrection as foretold in the prophesies of the OT.
God HAD to reveal himself to man because man, whom God created, were and still are sinful beings. God said that none should perish into darkness! God made himself into a man to reach the people...if God could create all that is around us, is it not possible that He Himself could not create Himself into human form? He did, His Holy Name is Jesus Christ whom He calls "Son of Man. Son of God"! When we have sons and daughters, they are of us...just like Jesus is of His Father God!
Jesus did exactly what was foretold in the ancient prophesies...The temple will fall and be rebuilt in 3 Days. Jesus was and is the Temple of the Lord God, he was crucified and rose from death in 3 Days!
In His death and resurection, Jesus, God made man, paved the way to God thru the shedding of blood...also foretold in the OT.
Our belief is thru Faith as we cannot see or touch Him in these times BUT He was physical in His time and the accounts of Jesus are written clearly.
Pls be mindful that Jesus talked and warned us of "Religous Zealots"...he was not only speaking of the Jewish leaders still today...he was speaking of all "religions" as they are made by man, not made by God! Jesus is not a "religion" and Christians are not "religious" as we do not follow "traditions" for any sake thereof!
Christians are diciples of Jesus, we follow what He says to do and be as God says thru Him...really simple to understand! The biblical teachings have been picked apart and "religions" have been made...BUT they are NOT from God...they are made from man to justify the means of living the way someone "wants" to live...not the way God tells us we should!
Church on Sundays is a meeting of believers and a teaching method to the believers of our Lord...not to be picked apart, disected and only take what is easy to do...it is a matter of the faith that Jesus says to have and to walk that faith daily...he said it would not be easy but to do it in faith and the rewards are waiting for us in Heaven with our Father who made us. Do not pick apart the Word, just live it on faith, that is what a true Christian is commanded to do!

Just a little over 200 years ago, a document was penned that would be the basis and foundation of a new nation. It was written by the greatest minds of the time. Today it is the center of debate and angered disagreement. If we can't decide what a 200 year old document written in "English" means, how can anyone come to a definitive conclusion as to what anything written 2000 years ago means?

A retired professor and university dean, Stan Seidner argues that the Gabriel tablet reflects the Apocalyptic beliefs of the day, many which are found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as antecedent and predictive writings of Christianity. He also suggested the use of infra-red technological applications, similar to what had been utilized on Dead Sea Scroll Material in the recent past. Challenging Knohl's "Two Messiahs" theory, Seidner noted that, "Knohl’s reliance upon what he calls, the 'Glorification Hymn,' in support of a first Messiah’s relationship with King Herod, failed in its Carbon 14 testing. It predates Herod’s ascendency to the throne by at least twelve years and as much as one hundred and fifty six." However, he does agree with Knohl's interpretation of the inscription,"to rise from the dead within three days."
Stanley S. Seidner, "The Knohl Hypothesis and 'Hazon Gabriel,'" June 3, 2009.

For Jewish scholars such as myself, it is a source of frustration that Dr Seidner's critique is unavailable on the WWW. If someone could forward a copy to me -- stephanpickering@redshift.com -- it will be most appreciated.
Reb Knohl has released his analyses: Messiahs & resurrection in 'The
Gabriel Revelation' (Continuum), 122pp
Shalom welitra'ot.