Category Archives: Scripture

Scripture Studies

Who is a fool?

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Luke 11:40, You fools. Here Yeshua calls the Pharisees fools (Gr. aphron) or “senseless, stupid, without reason, acting rashly, without reflection or intelligence.”  (Cp. Matt 5:22.)

How does this compare with Yeshua’s forbidding his disciples from calling a brother a fool in Matthew 5:22? Let’s see.

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Matthew 5:22, Brother…raca…fool. Raca is an Aramaic word meaning “empty, i.e., a senseless, an empty headed man, vain, worthless, shallow brains” and was a term of reproach used among the Jews. Fool (Gr. moros) can also be translated as “empty, i.e. a senseless, empty headed man.” In Luke 11:40, Yeshua called the hypocritical Pharisees fools (Gr. aphron) or “without reason, senseless, foolish, stupid, without reflection or intelligence, acting rashly.” In Yeshua’s mind, it seems that calling an unbelieving religious hypocrite a fool is one thing, but calling one’s spiritual brother a fool (without a cause) is quite a different matter. Therefore, it would seem that to Yeshua, there is a time and place even to call a brother a fool as long as one is justified (presumably on solid Torah-based, scriptural ground) for doing so.

The LXX translators replace the Hebrew word nabal and the Greek word moros. According the TDNT, nabal not only means “want of understanding,” but also refers to one who “is missing the true understanding of Elohim, acknowledgement or confession of Elohim. Someone who’s heart is hardened and whose spiritual eyes are blind and ears are deaf. The folly condemned here is apostasy from Elohim. Yeshua uses the moros in describing the five virgins who were unprepared for the bridegroom in his Matthew 25 parable. Apparently, they were in a far worse state spiritually than one might suppose from a casual reading of this parable.

The bottom line is this: We must be careful who we call a fool. The Creator made man was made in his image, and is thus a dignified, honorable and noble being. In Hebraic thought, anything that demotes a person’s honor not only is a serious offense, but is a slap in the face of Elohim, the Creator. One must be very careful and be certain that one has solid scriptural backing before applying such epithets to another person — especially one’s spiritual brother.

 

The First and Final or Second Exoduses Compared

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Understanding the Second Exodus

The concept of the Messianic Age in Hebraic thought involves an understanding of the first and final redemptions, which are two separate events. The first redemption or first exodus occurred when the Israelites obeyed the Word of Elohim and placed the blood of the lamb on the door posts of their homes resulting in YHVH delivering them out of Egypt. It is understood by redeemed believers that Israel’s exodus from Egypt was prototypical of the one’s placing their faith in Yeshua (the Lamb of Elohim) who redeems them from sin’s death grip through his shed blood at the cross, and then leads them out of their spiritual Egypt of sin and worldliness toward the promised land of a new spiritual life in Messiah Yeshua.

By contrast, the final redemption or second exodus is a series of events that will occur at the end of the age prior to the return of Messiah Yeshua at the beginning of the Messianic Age (or Millennium).

For those who have placed saving faith in Yeshua the Messiah, at the final redemption, the redeemed believers will receive their spiritual or glorified bodies at the resurrection of the dead, which occurs at the second coming of Yeshua. After that, they will rule and reign with Yeshua for a thousand years during the Messianic Age.

Now let’s explore some of the biblical prophecies that pertain to the second exodus. This will yield us more clues as to the timing of the return of Ephraim to the land of Israel. Continue reading →

 

New Video: When Does the Biblical Month Begin? Crescent Moon or Conjunction?

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To know when to celebrate the biblical feasts, the Bible believer must know when the month on the biblical calendar begins. Does the biblical calendar begin at the moon’s crescent or conjunction? In this video, we refute 14 pro-conjunction arguments in favor of the first visible cresenct new moon.

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 1-17 Through 1-23-16

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Beshalach — Exodus 13:17 – 17:16
Haftarah — Judges 4:4 – 5:31
Prophets — 1 Kings 4:1 – 10:29
Writings — Psalms 102:1 – 106:48
Testimony — Luke 9:43 – 12:21

Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages. If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link below.

The full “Read Through The Scriptures In A Year” schedule, broken down by each day, can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links.” There are 4 sections of scripture to read each day. One each from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and from the Testimony of Yeshua. Each week, the Torah and haftarah readings will follow the traditional one-year reading cycle.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 1/17 through 1/23/16.

 

Flat Bread, A Flattened Egypt and Flattened Pride

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Exodus 13:3, Went out of Egypt…no leavened bread. What is the spiritual connection between coming out of Egypt and the memorial (v. 9) of eating unleavened flat bread? The keeping of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the command to eat flat bread was to be an object lesson for successive generations Israelites as a sign and a memorial of what YHVH did against Egypt and of Israel’s deliverance (vv. 8–9).

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As the strong right arm of YHVH’s judgments (v. 3) pressed down upon proud and exalted Egypt until it was flattened as a nation, even so, YHVH’s judgment against the sin and idolatry in our lives demands that we become flattened, deleavened and contrite before him. He desires to squeeze or press out of us all the leaven of sin and pride that we have inherited from spiritual Egypt.

In the Scriptures, since leavening puffs up and sours bread, it is a biblical metaphor for sin, which does the same to the human heart and mind. It causes bitterness, pride, insincerity, hypocrisy and giving rise to false teachings and doctrines of men. We must put out the leaven of sin from our lives and from our spiritual assemblies, as Paul admonishes.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures this process. The saints are to keep the feast not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (i.e., the Torah, 1 Cor 5:8, read vv. 1–11 for context).

 

One Law for All People for All Time!

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Exodus 12: 49, One law. (Other “one law” passages include Lev 24:22; Num 9:14; 15:16, 29.) The context of this verse regards the observance of Passover (also Num 9:14). There was to be only one law pertaining to the observance of the Passover for both the native Israelite and for the stranger who sojourns with the Israelite. Leviticus 24:22 says that there is one law for the Israelite and the stranger in the areas of blasphemy, murder, slaying another man’s animal, and harming one’s neighbor in any way. Pertaining to the law about the various offerings for sin (i.e, despising the instructions or Torah of Elohim, verse 31), Numbers 15:15–16 and 29 states there is one law for both the Israelite and the sojourner forever throughout their generations.

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Some will say that these “one Torah-law for everyone” passages pertain only to the specific Torah laws mentioned in these passages. In numerous places, Israel was to take the Torah (the whole Torah) to the nations of the world, not just parts of the Torah (e.g., Deut 4:6–8; Isa 60:1–3; Zech 8:22–23; Matt 28:18–20; Luke 24:47). Moreover, during the Messianic Age (or Millennium), the Torah will go forth to all the nations (Isa 2:3; Mic 4:2). What’s more, there are numerous places in the Testimony of Yeshua that speak of Torah as the standard of righteousness for all believers for all time (e.g., Matt 5:17–19; John 14:15; Rom 3:31; 7:12, 14, 22; 1 John 2:3–6; 3:4; Rev 22:14). Hundreds of more citations could be added to this list from the apostolic writings alone!

So the Torah was not for Israel only, but ultimately was to be for all the peoples of the earth. This includes you and me.