Category Archives: The Saints

“Ye are gods…” (??)

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In these days of uncertainty, geopolitical intrigue, economic uncertainties, mistrust, life-threatening diseases and plagues, faithlessness and hopelessness, and fear on every side, it’s time to look upwards to the Rock of our salvations and to WASH OUT YOUR BRAIN WITH THE FOLLOWING:

John 10:34, You are gods. Yeshua is here quoting Psalm 82:6 where the term elohim in Hebraic thought and as used biblically simply refers to all divine beings whether good (e.g. Elohim, his heavenly council and angels) to evil (e.g. Satan, evil spirits and demons). Elohim can also refer to human (righteous) judges, who are acting on behalf of Elohim on this earth making righteous judgment between humans (e.g. Exod 21:6; 22:8–9). But there’s more.

Yeshua gave this same authority to his apostles (or church leaders) to adjudicate between the saints and to make the same ecclesiastical decisions as did the Jewish Sanhedrin of old, and he promised that as Elohim’s agents on earth, he would honor their decisions (e.g. Matt 16:19; 18:18–20). 

Moreover, in this passage, Yeshua is clearly stating that the Jews in his audience were divine beings. What did he mean by this? The verse here doesn’t indicate that those in his audience were Jewish judges or members of the ruling elite. He was speaking generically to a group of lay people to whom the word of Elohim had been given (v. 35), which is why they were in Jerusalem at that time on the temple mount observing the Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah (John 10:22–23). In making this statement, Yeshua is most likely referring to the fact that spiritually enlightened and regenerated humans have the potential (i.e. at the resurrection) for becoming glorified sons of Elohim if they believe in him (John 1:12). 

Whatever Yeshua means, he is clearly stating that those humans (to whom the Word of Elohim was given, v. 35) possess some divine element, to one degree or another, that qualifies them to be included under the rubric of elohim. Whether he is thinking of the term elohim vis-à-vis humans in present or future prophetic terms is not clear from this passage. He simply states as a fact that “You are elohim” (if you have been given the word of Elohim).

 

NathanTalks #4—Surviving in the Toilet Bowl of This World

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I am considering live-streaming some of my NathanTalks and then taking questions and comments afterwards and live-stream that as well. I would do this at different times to facilitate various timezones of those around the world. I would announce ahead of time on this blog when the live-streaming would occur. Not sure which internet platform I would use yet, since there are several options available. If you’re interested in participating in this, please let me know in the comments section here. Thank you.— Nathan

 

What does it take to be YHVH’s “special, peculiar treasure”?

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Exodus 19:5, If…then. (See also Exod 23:22.) This verse shows the conditional nature of the Mosaic Covenant. The blessings of YHVH upon the people are conditional upon their obedience to his commandments. 

Peculiar treasure. This term or treasured people (Heb. am segulah) is used several times in the Torah. Here (Exod 19:4–6) YHVH betrothed himself to and married the people of Israel and they became his am segulah or treasured possession among all the peoples of the nation, a kingdom of priests and a kadosh or set-apart nation. Later Moses restates this same idea to the younger generation Israelites about to enter the Promised Land (Deut 14:2); and finally in Deuteronomy 26:18 (see also 7:6) he again calls Israel his “treasured people” and admonishes them to keep his Torah-commands that he might “make you high above all the nations which he has made, in praise, and in name, and in honor, and that you may be a set-apart people unto YHVH your Elohim.” In the Testimony of Yeshua, this theme is again picked up by Peter in his first epistle (1 Pet 2:9) when he refers to the saints as “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a set-apart nation, a peculiar people.” 

Am segulah means “possession, treasure, valued property, peculiar treasure.” The basic meaning of the word is “personal property.” Well attested in Hebrew, Ugaritic, and Aramaic, the Akkadian sakalu, ‘to acquire property’ and sikiltum ‘personal property’ are also doubtless related. While the word occurs only eight times, it is filled with theological and spiritual treasures. The preacher in Ecclesiastes reports that the accumulation of the finest of personal possessions is sheer vanity. Those who fear the Lord become his peculiar possessions whom he will never forget, even in that time of great judgment (Mal 3:16–18, see TWOT).

“Israel was God’s personal possession (Ps 135:4). Moses reminded Israel that God chose her and redeemed her from bondage not because of her goodness, but solely because he loved her and was faithful to the promises given to the patriarchs. Israel should reflect God’s holiness and live out his commandments (Deut. 12:2ff), reflecting his standards in a life of wholehearted compliance with the terms of the covenant made at Sinai (Ex. 19:5-6) and renewed at their entrance into Canaan. Then would they have good success (Deut. 26:16-19). So it should be with all believers. These verses are doubtless alluded to in Titus 2:14 and 1 Peter 2:9” (Ibid.).

How do you view yourself spiritually? How does Elohim view you? How are these two views different from each other? How you view yourself should be determined by what the Scriptures say about you. What does Elohim’s Word say, and do you believe it?

  • I am complete in Yehshua who is the head of all principality and power. (Col 2:10)
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Are YOU spiritually empty or dry and don’t know why?

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Are you seeking YHVH’s hand or his face?

Psalm 106:15, Leanness in their soul. What is leanness of soul and how does it affect the hopes, desires and happiness in our physical life was well as our and spiritual walk? This is what we will discuss in this brief essay.

Merely seeking and fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and pride of life doesn’t fill the spiritual void or deficit (or “the God hole”) that exists in every person’s life. Only satisfying the soulish desires of one’s mind, will and emotions leaves one spiritually high and dry with their God-tanks running on empty. This was the case with the children of Israel, who selfishly and narcissistically only sought the hand of Elohim with a what’s-in-it-for me-attitude rather than seeking the face of Elohim, that is, his heart, character and ways (Ps 103:7). 

Those who want a relationship with Elohim leading to eternal life must lay down the driving and relentless desires of the soul and seek him through one’s personal spirit and his Word or truth, which is Yeshua (John 4:23–24). This is because the carnal man (i.e. those who seek Elohim through their mind, will and emotions or soul) cannot understand the things of the Spirit of Elohim, for they are not carnally discerned, but are perceived through the spirit (not the soul) of man, which is the only way one can connect to the Spirit of Elohim (2 Cor 2:6–16); therefore, they remain unfulfilled, since they are taking the wrong path that doesn’t lead to Elohim. This is illustrated by the fact that the older generation of Israelites had to die in the wilderness and were forbidden from entering the Promised Land. This teaches us that the old man with its carnal passions and approach to Elohim must die and cannot enter into a spiritual relationship with Elohim which is his rest or eternal life.

This verse also says that Elohim gave the Israelites their request by sending them leanness or thinness of soul. That is to say that the Israelites resisted seeking the face of Elohim; they merely wanted his hand or what was it in for them, even though Elohim gave them every opportunity to trust in him and to be part of his spiritual river of life and to experience the blessings thereof leading to the Promised Land. Because they refused to seek his face, he sent them leanness of soul as a disciplinary judgment against them to show them that this was NOT the way to experience ultimate fulfillment in life. If they would learn this, perhaps the emptiness they were experiencing would cause them to try to reach Elohim the right way—through seeking his ways or his face and heart.

Moreover, when we seek the face or ways Elohim through our spirit man, he will automatically satisfy the soul (the mind, will and emotions) of a person. Another way to say this, Yeshua’s words, is “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt 6:33).

 

Trials and persecution? Yes. Divine judgement? No.

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Exodus 8:22; 9:4, 26, Set apart the land of Goshen. YHVH separated the children of Israel from the Egyptians in that he spared them from the last seven plagues. What does this teach us about the judgments of Elohim? The Israelites were made to go through the first three plagues only. Do YHVH’s people ever experience trials and tribulations? Yes. (Read Deut 8:2–5; 2 Tim 3:12; Heb 11, the entire chapter; Rev 7:9–14.) Do the saints need spiritual refinement in order to help them become the chaste bride of Yeshua who is without the spot and wrinkle of sin? Yes. (Read Eph 5:27; 1 Cor 3:9–17.) The saints may go through tribulation, but they will not have to experience Elohim’s wrathful judgments unto death upon a wicked world (1 Thess 1:10; 5:9 cp. Rev 6:17; 7:2–3). Other examples of the saints going through tribulation, but then being delivered before Elohim poured out his final wrath upon the wicked include Lot in Sodom, and Noah at the flood.

Exodus 8:23, I will make a difference. As YHVH intensifies his judgments on a nation to get that nation’s attention, he, at the same time, will highlight his true servants by affording them special protection from the judgments. He delivered both Noah and Lot from his severe judgments upon the surrounding heathen rebels. This will occur in the end times when YHVH will allow some of his servants to escape his judgments (Ezek 9:4; Luke 21:36; Rev 7:4; 9:4). He will lead them through the flood and fire (Isa 43:2).

 

On Religious Labels

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Luke 7:36–37, The Pharisees…a woman…who was a sinner. The name Pharisee itself tells much about this sect or denomination within the first-century religious Jewish landscape. It derives from the Hebrew word perushim meaning “separatist,” and was born out of the fact that Pharisees didn’t associate with Am Ha-Eretz or the common people (Yeshua: a Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church, p. 86, by Ron Mosely), who in their view who were impure by the standards of the Levitical law (The Jewish Background of the New Testament, p. 203, by J. Julius Scott Jr.), and their high standards of holiness (Mosely, p 86). 

Acting like an elite religious fraternity (The Sketches of Jewish Life, p. 208, by Alfred Edersheim), the Pharisees were known for their strict observance of the Torah or the law of Moses, as well numerous additional laws or “traditions of the elders” that were added to the Torah along the way (From the Maccabeees to the Mishnah, p. 149, by Shaye J. D. Cohen; Scott, pp, 206–207; Edersheim, p. 217). 

Though this sect probably numbered only 6,000 at the time of Yeshua (Cohen, p. 146), they wielded a great deal of power and influence in Jewish society, since they were they viewed as the most accurate interpreters of the Torah (Scott, p. 203; Mosely, p. 92), and they were the leaders and teachers of the masses in the local synagogues (Cohen, pp. 147, 148). 

For the Pharisee, personal holiness was a badge of honor. To remain a member of this elite sect, one was required to maintain a high standard of holiness relating to tithing, piety, cleanliness and ritual purity, or one would face demotion within the social status of this community, or worse yet, face excommunication and shunning (Mosely, p. 86).

It can be safe to say that the Pharisaic religious system promoted an elitist and holier-than-thou religious demeanor among many of its members who hyper-focused on legalism and religious form and trappings. The result was “a system of pure externalism, which often contravened the spirit of those very ordinances, the letter of which was slavishly worshipped” resulting in hypocrisy (Edersheim, p. 217).

For these reasons, this is maybe why the woman in Luke 7:37 was labeled as a sinner. It wasn’t that she was a sinner any more than anyone else, but that she was not part of any recognized religious sect that labeled her as being righteous as a opposed to being a sinner. Because she was probably outside of the accepted religious system of her day, she was automatically given the label of a sinner. In our day, this would be like a church-going Christian viewing a non-church going person as a heathen. 

The problem is this. Can we know for certain the condition of a person’s heart and their relationship with the Almighty simply because of their external religious involvements? This is what Yeshua is addressing in this passage—the condition of the heart. To Yeshua, the woman who was labeled as a sinner was much more righteous, in a certain sense, than those of the most preeminent religious club of the day. Look at her humble and repentant demeanor at the feet of Yeshua!

Yeshua was known for shining the precise laser-light of truth on a situation and then turning that situation on its head. The end result was that those who thought they were in first place spiritually, were now in last place, and those who were in last place were first. This gives added meaning to Yeshua’s words, “In the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory…many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Matt 19:28–30). 

When confronting the religious leaders of his day, Yeshua was skilled at upending spiritual apple carts, slaughtering sacred cows, demolishing the wisdom of the world and revealing it for the lie that it was. We are now Yeshua’s representatives on earth carrying out his same work and should be doing the same. This is because truth doesn’t change over the ages and YHVH is still on his throne regardless of conventional wisdom, popular opinion to the contrary or the labels or categories to which some humans ascribe others who are not of their stripe or party. 

 

Yeshua on Religious Tradition

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Luke 5:33–39, Fast often…eat and drink? The sayings of Yeshua are often enigmatic. This passage is one of them. Here is one possible interpretation of these difficult words of Yeshua. It was evident by the questions the Jews were asking Yeshua that he and his disciples weren’t following the accepted norms of the day in how they expressed themselves religiously. 

Yeshua explains that our religious expression rather should fit the spiritual times and seasons (as determined by the Spirit of Elohim) in which we find ourselves, and that we shouldn’t just blindly follow men’s religious traditions. This will put us out of synch with the heart and will of Elohim. 

Yeshua then goes on to illustrate his point by saying that some things don’t fit with other things because they’re mismatched such as a new patch on old clothes, or new wine in old wineskins. 

The bottom line is this: If one tries to pound the proverbial round peg into the square hole, both the peg and hole will be ruined. Or put in spiritual terms, what is to be gained from trying to beat the round peg of YHVH’s will into the square hole of men’s traditions or expectations? Sometimes the old traditions are better, and sometimes the new ways are better. Wisdom and being in tune with the will and heart of Elohim will determine which way is preferable.

As we grow stronger in our spiritual maturity, hopefully we will learn to bend more with the wind of the Holy Spirit, and not so much with the winds of men’s doctrines, traditions and opinions.