What is Kabalah ?

Since the twelfth century, Kabbalah has been the commonly used term for the mystical, charismatic, and theosophical teachings of Judaism. Kabbalah was regarded as the esoteric and unwritten portion of secret knowledge given to Adam and Moses. The word Kabbalah means “that which has been received” or “tradition,” implying that Kabbalistic knowledge was a body of teachings passed down orally from generation to generation.

The term was initially used within mainstream Judaism but later came to refer to those who believed that only a select few were given secret knowledge from God as the “true” meaning of Scripture. Kabbalah employs occult practices and is therefore considered a cult. Kabbalah bears similarities to certain beliefs of the Gnostic movements, in that both groups believed deep understanding or knowledge was granted only to a chosen few. While Kabbalah affirms the inspiration of Scripture, it does not seek the plain meaning of Scripture. Instead, it uses methods such as numerology to uncover “hidden” meanings.

God provided Scripture in order to communicate with humanity and to teach mankind about Himself. It is evident that Scripture is not meant to be interpreted in a mystical or esoteric manner. This is demonstrated by fulfilled prophecy. The clearest example is the fulfillment of prophecies concerning the first coming of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Micah 5:2; Isaiah 53). For this reason, the Bible should be interpreted in a literal or normal sense.

Like all false doctrines and cults, Kabbalah denies the deity of Christ and rejects the necessity of faith in Him as the only means of salvation (John 14:6).