How Jewish is the communion of saints and roots of Indulgences

[Athanasias]

I found these article from Jewish sources fascinating hopefully you will too. Here are 3 articles from a Jewish sources showing that they believed in a type of "treasury of merit"(like Catholics view in indulgences) and communion of saints when they seek intercession from their righteous dead or saints (tzaddkim). Sound familiar? This Catholic view of asking the saints for prayers and applying their merits to us is really Jewish.

http://www.chabadofnh.com/templates/viewemail_cdo/aid/1886137

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14709-virtue-original

https://www.chabad.org/library/arti...k-a-deceased-tzaddik-to-pray-on-my-behalf.htm

 

[Erik Nelson]

Orthodox Study Bible

Hebrews 12:1-29 This entire passage (beginning with 10:19) is a progressive discourse imploring us to seek God's Kingdom first. Under the new covenant, we can ascend to this heavenly place in worship and in prayer. Christians experience this heavenly dimension fundamentally in the Divine Liturgy. We ascend to that place where we are surrounded by a great . . . cloud of witnesses (v. 1) This is not a physical place (v. 18) but a spiritual place, Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (v. 22), inhabited by God, the angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect (v. 23). Here, communion of the saints is established in the NT.

In 9:11, 12 we saw Christ come to the greater and more perfect tabernacle, obtaining eternal redemption for us. In 12:22 this tabernacle is that same spiritual place, showing that we enter the holy place with Christ by virtue of our union with Him (10:19, 20). This is done fundamentally in corporate worship (10:25), by faith (11:1–3), and in order to show gratitude to God (12:28, 29). The content of this worship includes remembering the departed righteous (11:4–40; see also Ps 111:1–6; Pr 10:8).