Category Archives: Weekly Scripture Readings

Warning Against an Apostate Nation

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I will continue to sound an alarm like a watchman on the wall concerning the judgments I see coming upon the people of Elohim because of their spiritual apostasy.

Because I read the Bible and not only see history repeating itself, but see end time Bible prophecy about to be fulfilled, does this make me an alarmist? Perhaps. And what’s wrong with sounding the alarm? Alarms exist for a reason: to warn and to protect people from impending danger! The biblical prophets were alarmists. This puts the modern day watchmen in good company. The problem is that people seldom listen to the watchman on the wall. Life is nice and comfortable in the city. Most people don’t want to be believe it could be any other way. Complacency is perhaps our worst enemy!

This is a tough message to give, and it’s even tougher to know how to respond to it. What do we do? I can do no better than to quote Yeshua who after having given his disciples some dire warnings about things that would come to pass, he admonished them to watch and pray (Luke 21:36). To this I would add: repent of sin (Torahlessness) and stop living a sloppy, lukewarm, lax, carnally-oriented spiritual life. Seek to love and obey Yeshua with all your heart like never before. Only the fear and love of Elohim will get you through the hard times that are about to come!

Natan

And now for today’s lesson:

Jeremiah 2:4–28 and 3:4, In this scripture passage, Jeremiah, the weeping prophet (lamenting for the apostate condition of the nation of Israel), speaking on behalf of YHVH, pleads with Israel to return to YHVH, the Elohim (God) of Israel, who had graciously blessed that nation. Under YHVH’s watchful care, Israel had prospered, yet eventually, like the first century believers in Laodicea (Rev 3:14–22), material prosperity had led to their forsaking YHVH for secularism.

Jeremiah addresses all levels of Israelite society: kings, princes, priests, prophets, pastors and the people. No one escaped his stinging rebuke. In our day, kings and princes would correspond to our political leaders, while prophets, priests and pastors to our spiritual leaders. The people would be everyone else.

In verse 13, Jeremiah states that Israel was guilty of two sins: they had forsaken YHVH, the Fountain of Living Waters, and had exchanged his divine and life-giving truth for the stagnant waters of man-made cisterns, which in Hebraic poetic symbolism is a metaphor for false, humanistic religious and philosophical systems of men. In verse 27, Jeremiah accuses Israel of turning its back on YHVH and exchanging worship of the Creator for worship of the creation and material objects (idols). This is reminiscent of what the Apostle Paul declares in his Epistle to the Romans (chapter one) of a society that rejects the divinely revealed truth of YHVH as found in the Scriptures, and then begins worshipping that which the Creator created including the earth, animals and their own bodies (resulting in hedonism and sexual perversion). In verse 21, Jeremiah declares that Israel had become like a degenerate plant and a strange or foreign grape vine, which can be related to the wild olive tree Paul speaks of in Romans 11. (See also Jer 11:16.)

With all this in mind, can we identify any spiritual parallels between ancient Israel and modern America? If Jeremiah were alive today what might he say to America?

A Wake Up Call — The Battle For the Soul of America

For several generations now, a righteous remnant of end-time warriors has been fighting an uphill battle against immorality, abortion, rebellion against the biblical laws of YHVH, humanism, Marxism/socialism, Eastern “spirituality”/New Age and the global takeover by the corporate-governmental fascist elite called the New World Order. The latest addition to this list is the Antichrist religion of Islam and anti-Semitism. Both are raising their demonic heads at home and abroad in the traditional Judeo-Christian nations of Europe. Islam began knocking on the spiritual door of America a few decades ago, and now because of the large numbers of Moslems in this country, Islam has become a threat worth noting. The goal of Islam is definite, for the Koran states it clearly: to take over the world and to dispossess both Christians and Jews of their lands, property and lives, if they fail to convert to Islam.

We find ourselves in this situation because we as a nation have failed to repent of the sins listed above and now the judgment of Islam and Continue reading →

 

Blood on the Mercy Seat…Facing Mount of Olives

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Leviticus 16:14, Mercy seat eastward. What possibly could be the significance of YHVH’s command to specifically sprinkle the blood of the sacrificed animal on the east side of the mercy seat? Simply this. If one has ever had the privilege of standing on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, it all makes sense. The east side of the mercy seat faces directly toward the Mount of Olives, where the altar of the red heifer was located. It was likely near this exact spot that Yeshua was crucified just outside of the Jerusalem city gates (Heb 13:12), and where he sprinkled his blood as an atonement for men’s sins (Heb 11:24).

View of the Mount of Olives taken from the Dome of the Spirits on the Temple Mount. Some scholars believe this was the location of the holy of holies in the original Temple of Solomon.

View of the Mount of Olives taken from the Dome of the Spirits on the Temple Mount. Some scholars believe this was the location of the holy of holies in the original Temple of Solomon.

At this same spot, one had a full frontal view of the temple, which is why those attending Yeshua’s crucifixion were able to see the rent veil in the temple from the spot where he was crucified (Matt 27:51 cp. 54).

Therefore, the high priest sprinkling the blood of the bull and goat sin offering on the east side of the mercy seat on Yom Kippur was a prophetic act pointing to what would take place some fifteen hundred years later on the Mount of Olives.

Yeshua’s shedding of his blood there as an atonement for men’s sins was a fulfillment of the high priest sprinkling blood on the mercy seat on Yom Kippur. When Yeshua was crucified, although his cross faced the mercy seat in the temple, the holy of holies no longer contained that item. To this day, no one knows what became of it.

The sprinkling of blood on the east side of the mercy seat is a small detail that’s easily overlooked in the Scriptures, but it has profound spiritual and prophetic significance. This detail meshes with other seemingly insignificant details found elsewhere in the Scriptures. When these puzzle pieces are placed together, they form another picture of Messiah’s work. This is another proof that only the hand of YHVH Elohim could have inspired the writing of the Bible. May your faith in the divine origination of the Scriptures be strengthened to the glory of Elohim!

 

The Office of Bishop

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Acts 20:28, Overseers [or bishops].

The word bishop 1985 is the Greek word  episkopos and means “an overseer, patron, one who watches or protects, one who cares for others, a man charged with the duty of seeing that things to be done by others are done rightly, any curator, guardian or superintendent;  the superintendent, elder, or overseer of a Christian church” (TDNT, vol. 2, p. 608). This word or related cognates occur only several times in the NT (Luke 19:44; Acts 1:20; 1 Tim 3:1, 2; 2 Tim 4:22; Tit 1:7; 3:15; 1 Pet 2:12, 25).

Once again, Yeshua is the Chief Shepherd and Bishop over his people (1 Pet 2:25), with those holding those earthly offices under his authority.

The TDNT notes that the role of the episkopos is to strengthen that of the pastor in watching over the flock (e.g., Acts 20:28; 1 Pet 5:2). The NT with regard to the congregation in Ephesus seems to equates the episkopos with the presbuteros (or elders-leaders of a congregation, see Acts 20:28) indicating that there is more than one leader or overseer over a congregation—literally, a group of leader-elders. Elders (presbuteros), pastors (poimen) and bishops (episkopos) are again viewed as equivalent in regards to local leadership in 1 Peter 5:1 and 2. In this passage, the leadership terms are in the plural, thus not indicating a central lead figure per se although it is the scriptural norm from the time of the patriarchs, through the priesthood, judges and kings of Israel to have a human who exercises ultimate authority. Such leaders can be elected (Acts 1:21ff; 6:3ff) or be appointed by an apostle (Acts 14:23; Ibid., p. 615f)

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 4-26 Through 5-2-15

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Achrei Mot – Kedoshim — Leviticus 16:1 – 20:27 
Haftarah — Amos 9:7-15
Prophets — Isaiah 60:1 – 66:24; Jeremiah 1:1 – 2:37
Writings — Job 26:1 – 32:22
Testimony — Acts 20:1 – 24:27

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 4/26 through 5/2/15.

 

Was Paul inconsistent regarding physical circumcision?

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Acts 16:3, Circumcised him. Evidently circumcision or uncircumcision wasn’t an issue for Paul. He had Timothy who was Jewish circumcised, but not Titus who was non-Jewish (Gal 2:3). Both men were elders and teachers in the assembly of believers. Both men as Torah-obedient individuals would have kept the biblical feasts including the Passover, which in the law of Moses required men to be circumcised.

Circumcision 20195387

Let’s discuss the Torah requirement that all males keeping Passover must be circumcised (Exod 12:48). Is physical circumcision now irrelevant, or was Paul rejecting the Torah on this issue?

First, in Ezekiel’s descriptions of the assumed millennial temple, all those entering in that temple will be circumcised both in flesh and heart (Ezek 44:9).In YHVH’s eyes, those entering it who are uncircumcised are defiling it (v. 7). Obviously, to YHVH, physical circumcision is a holiness issue, though not a salvational issue (as the Jerusalem counsel ruled in Acts 15). So there is still a place in YHVH’s spiritual economy for physical circumcision. Physical circumcision (in addition to heart circumcision) shows a higher level of obedience and holiness, not a lower level.

Second, the law of Moses stipulates that all men be circumcised in order to be part of the Passover (Exod 12:48).

What I’m about to say is beyond the scope of this brief discussion, but the law of Moses (as opposed to the greater or Torah or the eternal principles thereof), it seems to me, was the administrative arm of the greater Torah that pre-existed the law of Moses. The latter contained rules and guidelines needed for a nation to function properly as such. It contained a complete legal code with penalties, a judicial system, an educational system, a taxation system, and government comprised of priests and tribal elders. For the nation of Israel to protect its spiritual integrity, Moses had to protect it from foreign or pagan defilement (spiritual pathogens), which could potentially lead to Israel’s apostasy. The circumcision requirement, to my thinking, was part of the law of Moses’ legal code for Israel regarding Passover observance, but wasn’t necessarily a requirement of the greater Torah, which applies generally to all men. My sense is that Paul in not making a big issue out of physical circumcision was appealing to the greater or higher requirements of the Torah (involving more spiritual and heart issues. At this point, please recall Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount teaching where he brings the letter and spirit of the Torah together. Paul’s seeming inconsistency with regard to whether men should be circumcised or not may be due to the fact that he was focusing less on the legal requirements of the law of Moses,which was the administrative subdivision of the Torah, which was enacted for the proper legal functioning of the nation of Israel. He was focusing more on the greater Torah or the eternal principles of the Torah that pre-existed Moses. Moreover, when Paul came along, Israel was no longer a sovereign nation that ruled itself. Timothy was half Jewish and Titus was non-Jewish, and both were from Greek nations within the Roman Empire, and so some of the strict legal aspects of the law of Moses (e.g., circumcision for Passover) couldn’t or didn’t have to be applied as long as the greater principles of Torah (i.e., circumcision of the heart) were being kept.

 

What Is leprosy and what were its causes?

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Leviticus 14:3, Plague of leprosy. Some of the English translations of this scripture verse use the word leprosy for the skin disease described in these passages. This is a mistranslation. A better translation would be infectious skin disease.

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The Jewish sages teach that the skin disease described here is a supernaturally caused ailment that falls only on Israelites who are actually living in the land of Israel. They also teach that this is YHVH’s way of identifying the evil sins of gossip and slander (along with haughtiness, selfishness and jealousy) before this sin spreads throughout the land engulfing it like a forest fire from hell. (Read James 3:5–6!) This may explain why Miriam while wandering in the wilderness outside of Israel contracted this skin disease.

The disease would cause the sinner’s face to resemble a red flag for all to see. An afflicted person would be forced to live outside the camp until repentance along with atonement and purification rituals had occurred, and all this occurred under the watchful eye of a priest.

As you read this, you may be wiping your brow with a sigh of relief thankful that Continue reading →

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 4-19 Through 4-25-2015

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Tazria-Metzora — Leviticus 12:1 – 15:33 
Haftarah — 2 Kings 7:3-20
Prophets — Isaiah 51:1 – 59:21
Writings — Job 19:1 – 25:6
Testimony — Acts 15:22 – 19:41

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 4/19 through 4/25/15.