Category Archives: Weekly Scripture Readings

Yeshua’s Boot Camp Experience—Precursor to His Launch into Ministry

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Mark Chapters 1–3: Yeshua is launched into the ministry—an example for us to follow.

As believers in and disciples and imitators of Yeshua, we endeavor to follow the example of how he lived. This isn’t easy to do, for Yeshua experienced much that we as normal humans who prefer the comfort zones of our existence would rather not go through.

Yet, we must all face the stark reality: There is no gain where there is no pain. Every body-builder and athlete knows this. That means to be like Yeshua we will have to endure and overcome trials, suffering, resistance, hardships, persecution and growth pains. This is part of growing up spiritually.

The great thing is that Yeshua is there to help us along the journey with the help of his word and example. He also didn’t leave us comfortless—without the Helper of his Set-Apart Spirit to guide, strengthen and succor us along the way.

It is interesting to note the order of events as Yeshua was launching his ministry. He was about to enter a war zone! After John baptized Yeshua and he received his heavenly empowerment (Mark 1:9–11), he first went through a spiritual boot camp before stepping onto the battlefield of public ministry. Once in the “war,” it’s worth noting where the battle
lines fell.  Continue reading →

 

Are you part of the (righteous) RESIST movement?

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Genesis 34:9, Make marriages with us. After the Dinah and Shechem incident, the local Canaanites wanted to intermarry with Jacob’s children and steal their inheritance

Resist, YES; assimilate, NO!

(Gen 34:23). It is the desire of worldly people to pollute and desecrate YHVH’s set-apart people. The world isn’t content to live and let live—to leave the saints alone. It pollutes and destroys everything it touches wants by pulling those of a higher spiritual level down to its low spiritual level. Jacob and his sons, however, remained firm and refused to assimilate with the Canaanites. 

Had Jacob succumbed to the alluring offers of the devil, he would have lost his spiritual standing with Elohim as well as his future, promised and covenantal inheritance. 

The devil offered Jacob the small reward of temporary peace and prosperity by making assimilating alliances with the heathens in exchange for Jacob’s birthright. Esau made this mistake years earlier, and Jacob knew better than to fall for the enemy’s lies. 

The devil tempted Yeshua in the same way after his forty day fast in Matthew chapter four. Satan promised Yeshua temporal and immediate fame, glory and prosperity if he would submit to him. To do so, Yeshua would have forfeited his future higher glory. Instead Yeshua chose the better reward of the delayed gratification that his Father offered him as opposed to the instant carnal gratification the devil offered. 

We too must follow the example of Jacob and Yeshua and resist the enemy’s overtures that appeal to our base carnal nature. Instead, we must aggressively fight off the enemy who wants to steal and destroy our inheritance and kill us in the process. 

No good can come from intermarrying literally or spiritually with the heathen! 

Be not deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits. (1 Cor 15:33)

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with Elohim? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of Elohim. (Jas 4:4)

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Messiah with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of Elohim with idols? for ye are the temple of the living Elohim; as Elohim hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (1 Cor 6:15–18)

 

Esau the Fraud—Like Many “Religious” People

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Genesis 33:9, I have enough. Esau’s positive response to Jacob is proof that he cared nothing for his birthright nor for the covenant Elohim had made with his father or grandfather. Esau was a worldly man and materialism was the chief aim of his life, not seeking higher spiritual pursuits. 

In the twenty years that the two brothers hadn’t seen each other, Elohim had prospered Esau who was now wealthy; he didn’t need Jacob’s gifts, which were substantial, for he already had enough wealth such that these gifts seemed a small thing to him. This is why he declared that he had enough already and encouraged Jacob to keep the gifts. 

Had Esau grieved over loosing his birthright, he’d still have had a grudge against Jacob. But the fact is that Esau had never cared about his spiritual inheritance in the first place, which is why he sold his birthright for a bowl of food; he cared only about inheriting the substantial wealth of Isaac, his father. In the course of time when substantial wealth accrued to Esau, the birthright was no longer an issue. His dramatic act over losing his birthright was merely pretense that revealed the true motives of his heart, which were purely physical and not spiritual, as evidenced twenty years later by his statement in this verse, “I have enough.” 

In reality, though physically wealthy, Esau was spiritually a destitute man, for he lacked and even spurned the true riches of heaven. As a secular and carnally-oriented man, he preferred the immediate gratification of the material blessings of this life, rather than the delayed gratification of the higher and true riches from heaven—something both his father, grandfather and brother had chosen (Heb 11:10, 16). The beautiful thing is that because the patriarchs had all sought first the kingdom of Elohim and his righteousness, they also received physical blessings here and now (Matt 6:33). Esau, on the other hand, received only physical blessings, but lost out on the greater wealth of spiritual and eternal rewards and blessings.

There is much to learn from this story. One thing is this. Many people put on religious fronts, airs and pretenses for show to impress those around them, but it’s only for selfish, personal gain. With their mouths they may say one thing, while their actions, reveal the true intent of their hearts. That’s why Scripture instructs the saints to be like their Father in heaven and to not judge people and things by their appearance, but by the fruits (Matt 7:15–20). This is called judging righteously (John 7:24; 2 Cor 2:15).

 

When Did Easter Replace Passover?

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Matthew 28:1, When did the early Christians first celebrate a day commemorating the resurrection of Yeshua?

Although the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah is a biblical and historical fact, it’s celebration (known as Easter), is neither commanded in the Scriptures, nor was it celebrated by the original disciples of Yeshua. It is purely an invention of the church, which eventually replaced Passover! Here are the facts:

In A History of Christianity (vol. 1), Kenneth Scott Latourette states that notice of Easter as a festival occurs in the middle of the second century, but that festivals commemorating the resurrection of Messiah were presumably observed by at least some Christians from much earlier times (p. 137). Church historian, Philip Schaff, also attributes the beginning of the Easter festival to the middle of the second century (History of the Christian Church, vol. 2, p. 207). He states that the Christian Passover naturally grew out of the Jewish Passover, as the Lord’s Day (Sunday) grew out of the Sabbath. “It is based on the view that Christ crucified and risen is the centre of faith. The Jewish Christians would very naturally from the beginning continue to celebrate the legal Passover, but in the light of its fulfillment by the sacrifice of Christ, and would dwell chiefly on the aspect of the crucifixion. The Gentile Christians, for whom the Jewish Passover had no meaning except through reflection on the cross, would chiefly celebrate the Lord’s resurrection as they did on every Sunday of the week.” He notes that the early Christians commemorated the entire period between the death and resurrection of Yeshua with vigils, fasting, special devotions, meetings culminating in a resurrection feast celebrating the whole work of redemption. The feast of the resurrection gradually became the most prominent aspect of the Christian Passover (Easter celebration), but the crucifixion continued to be celebrated on Good Friday” (ibid., pp. 207–208).

Christians universally kept the Passover on the biblical date of Abib (also known as Nisan) 14/15, irrespective of the day of the week until A.D. 135 according to leading Sabbath scholar Prof. Samuele Bacchiocchi quoting the fourth century Christian historian Ephiphanius (From Sabbath to Sunday, p. 81). “This conclusion,” continues Bacchiocchi, “is supported indirectly by the two earliest documents mentioning the Passover celebration, since both emphasize the commemoration of the death rather than the resurrection of Christ. The Ethiopic version of the apocryphal Epistle of the Apostles [or Didache] says, ‘and you therefore celebrate the remembrance of my death, i.e., the Passover’ (ch. 15). In the Coptic version the passage is basically the same, ‘And you remember my death. If now the Passover takes place …’ (chap. 15)’ (ibid., p. 82). 

The second document that attests to the early church’s emphasis on the death rather than the resurrection of Yeshua is the Sermon on the Passover, by Melito, Bishop of Sardis (died ca. A.D. 190). According to Bacchiocchi, Melito provides a most extensive theological interpretations of the meaning of the Passover for early Christians. “Though Melito makes a few passing references to the resurrection, it is clear from the context that these function as the epilogue of the passion drama of the Passover. The emphasis is indeed on the suffering and death of Jesus which constitute the recurring theme of the sermon and of the celebration” (ibid., p. 83).

“The resurrection,” Bacchiocchi admits, “however, did emerge in time as the dominant reason for the celebration not only of the annual Easter-Sunday, but also of the weekly Sunday. The two festivities, in fact,… came to be regarded as one basic feast commemorating at different times the same event of the resurrection.” Bacchiocchi concludes,

It would seem therefore that though the resurrection is frequently mentioned both in the New Testament and in the early patristic literature, no suggestion is given that primitive Christians commemorated the event by a weekly or yearly Sunday service. The very fact that Passover, which later become the annual commemoration of the resurrection held on Easter-Sunday, initially celebrated primarily Christ’s passion [death] and was observed on the fixed date of Nisan [Abib] 15 rather than on Sunday, makes it untenable to claim that Christ’s resurrection determined the origin of Sunday worship during the lifetime of the Apostles. (ibid. p. 84)

 

Jacob’s Wrestling and the Jewish Sages Twistings

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With whom did Jacob wrestle—a man or Elohim? If with Elohim, the Father or the Son? The Jewish sages say one thing, while Christian biblical experts say something else. What does Scripture actually say? This will be a faith-confirming, gospel supporting read!

Genesis 32:24–32, Jacob Wrestling With the Messenger of YHVH. In verse 24 we read,

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled with a man [Heb. iysh] or heavenly messenger [i.e. Heb malak]. (KJV, see Hosea 12:4)

In the following passages, we see that this man was Elohim. 

You have power with Elohim and with men, and have prevailed. (verse 28, based on the KJV)

… for you have striven with the Divine [Elohim] and with man and have overcome. (verse  28, The ArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach and Chumash)

Then Jacob says that he has “seen [Elohim] face to face” (KJV, CJB and The Soncino Edition Pentateuch, Second Edition). The two standard Orthodox Jewish versions of the Torah, The ArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach and The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash, and Samson Raphael Hirsch’s Torah commentary The Pentateuch (by Judaica Press) all read, “For I have seen the Divine face to face.” Here they have translated the Hebrew word Elohim as the Divine (Heb. Elohim panim).

Which translation of the word Elohim is the correct one? Before resorting to human sources to solve this dilemma, does the Word of Elohim itself interpret this passage for us giving it clear light? Most assuredly so. In Hosea 12:2-5 we read,

[YHVH] hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he reward him. He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had strove with [Elohim]. He strove with an angel [Heb malak or heavenly messenger in many instances referring to YHVH himself, as noted elsewhere in this work] and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication to him; he found him in Beth-El, and there he spoke with us; and [YHVH Elohim] of hosts; [YHVH] is his name. (based on the KJV)

The Stone Edition Tanach renders this passage as follows (starting in verse four):

In the womb he seized his brother’s heal, and with his strength he struggled with [an angel of] God; he struggled with an angel and prevailed; [the angel] wept and beseeched him: ‘In Beth-el He will find us and there He will speak with us.’ HASHEM is the God of Legions; HASHEM is His remembrance. (bracketed supplied word are in the original)

So which translation is correct? The first one indicates Jacob was wrestling with a Heavenly Messenger who was none other than YHVH Elohim, while the second translation is cast in such a light as to imply that Jacob was wrestling with merely an angel. 

Does the word Elohim mean the Divine? It is interesting to note that in the Authorised Version the word Elohim appears 2606 times in the Tanakh. It is translated as God 2346 times, god 244 times and several other words less than five times each (e.g. judge, goddess, great, mighty, angels). As in all cases with a word which can have several meanings, the context of the Scripture passage will determine its meaning and its subsequent translation from the original language into English. The word divine was not Continue reading →

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 11-18 Through 11-24-18

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Vayishlach — Genesis 32:4 (3)* – 36:43
Haftarah — Obadiah 1:1–21
Prophets — 1 Samuel 4:1 – 10:27
Writings — Psalms 48:1 – 54:7
Testimony — Matthew 27:32 – 28:20; Mark 1:1 – 3:19

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.

* Verse numbers in parenthesis refer to the verse number in Christian English Bibles when they differ from Hebrew Bibles or the Tanakh.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 11/18/18 through 11/24/18.

 

A t-Shaped Cross Vs. an I-Shaped Cross Discussed

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Matthew 27:40, The cross. Stauros, the Koine Greek word for cross, like most words in all languages, has several meanings. To arrive at the true meaning of a word, we can’t just look at the first meaning in a list of dictionary definitions or choose the meaning that best suits our personal biases or theologies.

Too determine which dictionary definition of a word best applies to a particular word in a literary situation, we must consider all the meanings of a word and then look at the context of the literature in which the word is found, and then choose the meaning that best fits.

Even then, well meaning people will have differences of opinions on this (e.g. The Companion Bible, by E.W. Bullinger, appendix 162). This is the dilemma that scholars who translate literary documents from one language to another face. This is the case with the Koine Greek word, cross, which is found in the NT some 32 times.

Stauros literally refers to “an upright, pointed stake used for fencing or in the construction of a stockade.” It can also refer to a torture instrument, or a cross on which the Roman’s executed criminals. A stauros came in several basic forms: a vertical upright, pointed stake, or an upright stake with a crossbeam resembling our capital letter “T” or our small Continue reading →