Category Archives: Scripture

Scripture Studies

Sinful America and the West Compared to Ancient Israel

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Isaiah 1:1–27, Israel Is a Sinful Nation Then and Now

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Based on this passage in Isaiah, can we see any spiritual parallels between Judah and America (and most other nations, for that matter)? Some might ask what a prophecy given by a Hebrew prophet to the Jewish nation some 2600 years ago has to do with us today? To answer that question we would pose several questions: Have YHVH’s standards of righteousness and law and order ever changed? Is sin still sin today as it was then? Is there a day coming when YHVH will hold men accountable for their sinful action? Is there a heavenly judgment seat before which all must eventually appear? Is there a day coming at the end of the age when Elohim will pour out his wrath and man will be punished for his sins against his Creator? With these things in mind, let’s see if the sinful activities of men have changed much in 2600 years since Isaiah’s time.

1:2, They have rebelled against me. What is the scriptural definition of rebellion? Rebellion against what? For the concept of rebellion to be relevant and applicable there has to be a standard or rule of law the violation of which constitutes rebellion. What is YHVH’s standard of righteousness by which he will judge nations and individuals? Has that standard ever changed? Make no mistake, it is his immutable Word that will judge us. There is no escaping this fact. (Read John 12:48 and Deuteronomy 18:19.)

1:3, The ox knows its owner. Apostasy and spiritual degradation leads to one place: a complete loss of one’s spiritual identity. One forgets one’s spiritual heritage Continue reading →

 

Sets of Three in the Tabernacle—A Picture of One’s Spiritual Journey Toward Theosis

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tabernacle diagram

The Tabernacle of Moses from its front to back represents one’s progression in one’s spiritual journey starting with initial salvation leading to eternal life in YHVH’s eternal spiritual kingdom. This view is from man’s perspective looking into the tabernacle through the front gate.

From YHVH’s view inside the holy of holies above the ark of the covenant in the glory cloud, looking outward, the perspective is different. We’ll discus this in a moment.

In the outer court of the tabernacle, all the rituals and furnishings pointed to death, judgment, washing or cleansing. These prophetically foreshadowed salvation through Yeshua’s atoning death on the cross, with Yeshua being the door to salvation, acceptance of his death on the cross for one’s sins followed by baptism for the remission of sins. In the set-apart (kadosh or holy) place inside the tabernacle, everything pointed to life, light, food, fragrant incense, the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit—or life in a spiritual relationship with Elohim subsequent to one’s taking the beginning steps in the salvation process. The outer court speaks of basic salvation for the redeemed believer in Yeshua, while the holy place speaks of spiritual growth and maturity, of moving from spiritual babyhood and growing into spiritual adulthood or maturity.

To understand this process of growing in spiritual maturity, it is necessary to comprehend the tripartite composition of man. Paul speaks of man being Continue reading →

 

Does YHVH want us to freeze in the dark on the Sabbath?

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Exodus 35:2, The seventh day … shall be … a set-apart day. In our journey through the Torah, the subject of the seventh day Sabbath keeps popping up. When YHVH said in Exodus 20:8 to “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it set-apart (Heb. kadosh),” he keeps reminding them of it so that they won’t forget it! What does this tell us about the importance YHVH places on the weekly Sabbath? With each reminder, he gives additional instructions about how to keep the Sabbath (see Gen 2:2–3; Exod 16:23–30; 20:8–11).

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Exodus 35:3, Kindle no fire…on the Sabbath day. There are several prevailing viewpoints as to the exact meaning of this passage. Let’s explore them.

The Orthodox Jews take literally the Torah’s prohibition to kindle no fire on the Sabbath. As such, many do not even turn on a light switch or start their cars (i.e., fire in the spark plugs) on the Sabbath for fear of violating this command. To counter balance this viewpoint, the Torah does indicate that the priest lit the menorah in the tabernacle each morning, the Sabbath not excluded (Exod 27:21–21; 30:7). So, for ministry purposes, lighting a fire seems not to be prohibited.

There is also the viewpoint that since the next verse (Exod 34:4) begins YHVH’s instructions to build the tabernacle, the immediate context of the Sabbath-fire passage has to do with not starting fires that pertain only to one’s trade or job—in Israel’s case, their job was the building of the mishkan. Fires would have been needed for tanning hides, working with metal, and possibly bending wood and dying cloth along with other activities.

This we know for certain. On the Sabbath, YHVH’s people are not to bake, cook or prepare food from scratch (Exod 16:23), but reheating food seems not to be Continue reading →

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 2-28 Through 3-5-16

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Vayakhel — Exodus 35:1 – 38:20
Haftarah — Exodus 30:11-16 | 2 Kings 12:1-17**
Prophets — 2 Kings 24:1 – 25:30; Isaiah 1:1 – 5:30
Writings — Psalms 131:1 – 137:9
Testimony — John 5:1 – 7:24

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.

** A different Haftarah is read when it is a special sabbath in Jewish tradition. This week it is Shabbat Shekalim on the traditional calendar.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 2/28 through 3/5/16.

 

New Video: Should You Make Moral Choices Based on Feelings?

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Do your feelings determine your actions? What are feelings and can they be trusted? More and more people are basing what they do on their feelings and those of others, instead of on objective logic and truth. This video discusses how feelings-based choices is causing many people in our society to make wrong, even devestating life decisions.

 

The concept of grace rooted in the Torah, not the NT

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Exodus 33:12–13, Grace. (Heb. chen meaning “favor, grace, charm, acceptance”). The Hebrew word chen (found 69 times in the Tanakh), which is translated as grace, in this verse is equivalent to the Greek word charis, which is found 156 times in the Testimony of Yeshua and is translated as grace 130 times in the KJV.

The equivalency of these two words is confirmed by the translators of the Septuagint (the Greek Tanakh) who used charis in place of chen when translating the Hebrew Tanakh into Greek beginning in the third century B.C. According to the TWOT, in the vast majority of occurrences of chen in the Tanakh, the focus of attention is not on the giver, but on the recipient. The emphasis is on the relationship of the superior to an inferior (e.g., a king to his subjects). What this teaches us is that despite sin and rebellion against him, YHVH (the king) is gracious (to humans, his subjects).

Contrary to what many in the church have been led to believe, the grace of Elohim is a very prominent theme in the Tanakh. Examples of this include Noah who found grace in YHVH’s eyes (Gen 6:8), or the children of Israel although dead in their sins in Egypt and deserving of YHVH’s wrath, they were saved by the blood of the lamb. There are a number of other references to the grace of Elohim in the Tanakh as well (Gen 18:3; Exod 3:21; 33:16,17; 34:9; Ps 84:11; Zech 12:10).

 

How are you saved?

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John 3:16–18,

For Elohim so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For Elohim did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of Elohim.

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So How Then Are We Saved?

The Christian church has come up with various formulas to “get a person saved” such as altar calls and saying the sinners prayer. There are no examples these kinds of things in the Bible. Instead, the Scriptures give us general guidelines and examples to follow. There are no formulas. What follows is a list of examples from the apostolic writers of how people were saved in early church era.

For example, in Acts 2:14–37 we read that Peter preached the gospel and that the hearers were pricked in their hearts (verse 37). This resulted in a spontaneous, Holy Spirit-led response on the part of the hearers of the gospel or good news message of salvation. After this, the people were baptized for the remission of sins in the name of Yeshua and subsequently received the Holy Spirit (verse 38). All this happened on the same day (verse 41). When directed by the Holy Spirit, spiritual transformations can happen quickly!

A little later in Acts chapter three (verses 11 to 26), Peter preached another short sermon and then invited the people to “repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out.” This resulted in about 5000 people coming to faith in Yeshua (Acts 4:4).

Next in Acts 8:4–17, we find that the gospel was preached (in Samaria) and people believed it and were baptized. There were no altar calls; only a spontaneous reaction to the preaching of the good news of the message of salvation through Continue reading →