A SECOND CENTURY PLOT by rabbis to desupernaturalize the Hebrew scriptures has given us the English Old Testament we have today.

Why did the rabbis do it? How do we know what’s been changed? Does this mean we can’t trust the Bible?

It’s an important and touch subject. To discuss it is our panel, Doug Van Dorn (DouglasVanDorn.com), author of this month’s topic, the forthcoming book Battle for the Bible’s Truth: Genesis, Jesus, and the Second Century Plot to Deny the Messiah; Brian Godawa (Godawa.com), best-selling author of the theological thriller Cruel Logic, and two new novels based on the period of the Maccabees in Judea; and Dr. Judd Burton (BurtonBeyond.net), author of Interview With the Giant.

In a nutshell, influential rabbis in the second century tried to keep Jews from finding evidence in their scriptures for the Christian Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. This followed the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 AD) in which Christians, who had previously been part of the Jewish community, refused to fight for Simon Bar Kokhba, who Rabbi Akiba had declared was the Messiah.

Roman punishment for Jewish rebels was harsh. Judaea was depopulated, with Jews being sold into slavery en masse, and the province was renamed Palestine. It was the only time Rome tried to erase a population from history.

The hard feelings between Jews and Christians led to a final split between the faiths with rabbis trying to eliminate evidence for a “second power in heaven”—Yahweh in the flesh, namely Jesus—and Christians blaming Jews for the unrest and rebellion that stirred up so much trouble for the Roman Empire. That animosity continues to this day.

We discuss the implications of the rabbis’ plot, how it affected our modern Old Testament translations, and where we can go to find what’s been changed—beginning with Genesis 6:1–4, the infamous verses about the creation of the Nephilim.

And no, this does not mean we can no longer trust our Bibles. What was changed is subtle, and the prophecies of the coming Messiah, and his return, are still there.

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