Category Archives: General

Q & A From the Mail Box: Is Yeshua on the Father’s Throne?

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Question:
From Susan: Is there a Scripture that shows Jesus is on the throne as God?
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Answer:
First, John 1:1 says that Yeshua is God (in Hebrew: Elohim). He is called God in other places in the NT (or Testimony of Yeshua) as well (e.g., Tit 2:13; 3:4).
Second, in the Book of Revelation, there is only one throne mentioned (e.g. Rev 3:21; 4:5; 5:6,13; 7:10, 11, 17; 22:1), not two or three, as is often supposed; that is, one for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Please note Rev 22:1 where it mentions the throne (singular) of God and the Lamb. The Scriptures reveal that Yeshua is both the Lamb of God (John 1:29; 36) and God (Elohim).
What else can we deduct from this except that Yeshua is on the same throne with his Father, that they are one (Hebrew: echad meaning “a compound unity”). Also note Rev 3:21 where Yeshua says that he will sit down on his Father’s throne (singular). The word throne can be taken literally or metaphorically, but even so, it’s still singular, and it’s his Father’s throne and he’s on it (note also Rev 7:17). It must be a rather large throne!
 

New Videos: Managing Crisis, Ecclesiastes, Tobacco & Pot

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What Does the Bible Say About Tobacco and Marijuana?

What to Do When a Crisis Hits Your LIfe
This a short and powerful video about what to do when an unexpected disaster (e.g., death, divorce, sickness, injury, natural disaster, fire, financial reversal, arrest, persecution, political or economic upheaval) suddenly hits your life.

The Book of Ecclesiastes: Find the Right Balance in an Unbalanced World

 

“Go Ye Therefore Into All the World”—A Guide to Sharing Your Faith

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With the summer months upon us and the weather improving, people begin to interact more with each other. Here’s a practical guide to sharing your faith with others—on how to let your light shine in the darkness around you. After reading this, please share with this blog audience any ideas you have about sharing the gospel with others.

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Motivation to Evangelize the Spiritually Lost

What should be our motivation to evangelize the lost?

Yeshua commanded his disciples (that’s us) to share our faith with those around us. This is called evangelism. Yeshua’s imperative command in Mark 16:15 to “go into all the world and preach the gospel…!” is not “the great suggestion,” but “the great commission!” To many, it has become “the great omission.” We’re often afraid to share our faith with others because we’re afraid they might think negatively of us if we do.

Human need demands that we reach out to the lost and hurting people around us. Like Yeshua, we must seek to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Like Yeshua, we must meet people at their point of need by finding the need and meeting it with the gospel message, the Word of YHVH and the love of Yeshua.

Compassion and love for the lost and hurting will compel us to share the good news with others. This is something Yeshua demonstrated (Matt 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34).

We must have a love for the lost. Pray to the Father that he gives you a supernatural love for the lost as Yeshua had. Love sensitizes us to the needs of others. Love makes you want to reach out to others. Love makes you forget about yourself and casts out the fear of witnessing or the fear of what others may think (1 John 4–18).

We will have an easy time sharing the gospel of Yeshua with others if we still have the joy of our salvation. If we have lost that joy, pray for it to come back as David prayed in Psalm 51:12–13. Perhaps sin, the cares of this life, fear or other things are blocking that joy.

The New Testament Model for Evangelism

A study of the Testimony of Yeshua (or New Testament) reveals that the dominant model Continue reading →

 

Four New Videos

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I’ve just uploaded four new (short) videos to our YouTube channel. They’re on the following subjects:

    • What is biblical meditation?

  • Is divorce and remarriage permissible for believers?

    • The feast tithe and the biblical command to imbibe alcohol.

  • The meaning of “turning the other cheek.”

 

What the Koran Really Says

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Startling Insights from the Koran—The True Face of Islam Unmasked

It is important to educate yourself with the facts!

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The Koran (or Qur’an) is the sacred book of the religion of Islam. It contains the sayings of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. In the Koran, Muhammad (ca. 570 to 632) claims that the sayings of the Koran came to him from God (or Allah) via the angel Gabriel. Based on a passage in the Koran (Sura 7:157), many believe that Muhammad was illiterate and was incapable of writing these sayings down himself. At the very least, he was unlettered and unlearned. Shortly after his death, some of his followers who had memorized his sayings met together and recorded in written form what they remembered Muhammad to have said. This is how the Koran came to be.

The Koran forms the bedrock of the Islamic faith, although there are other sacred books belonging to the religion of Islam that have sprung up since the Koran was compiled.

Since some of the practitioners of Islam are presently on a crusade to forcefully convert many countries to Islam, and since many Muslims terrorists have demonstrated a particular hatred for Jews and Christians, and since there is much misinformation being broadcast in the western media, by western politicians and western educators as to what Moslems believe and what the Koran actually teaches, I took it upon myself to read the Koran from cover to cover to see for myself what it says. Below are some of the amazing facts about Islam that I learned from reading the Koran.

The following references are taken directly from the Koran. Chapter (Sura) and verse references may vary from Koran to Koran. Those listed below are from The Koran by Ivy Books (published by Ballantine books in 1993, a division of Random House, New York, ISBN 0-8041-1125-1). I will occasionally provide some alternate versions of the Koran as well for the purpose of confirming some of the more controversial passages by several translations.

Alternate versions of the Koran that I use for comparative purposes are:

  •  AKa (The Qur’an, by Abdullah Yusuf Ali; Elmhurst, N.Y. : Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Publishers and Distributors of Holy Qur’an, 2005, ISBN 1-879402-29-7)
  • AKb Koran: Quran—The Final Testament; Authorized English Version; translated from the Original by Dr. Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D. by Islamic Productions, 2003, http://www.quran-islam.org/93.html).

According to the Koran—

The Purpose of the Koran

  • The main purpose of the Koran is to warn all creatures (p. 294, Sura 38:79).
  • The Koran is a warning to the God/Allah-fearing (p. 375, Sura 69:48).

Muslim Theology

  • Moslems are to believe the Koran and the Bible (p. 58, Sura 4:136).
  • The koranic law of abrogation states that if something was written later in the Koran that contradicts something that was written earlier, the later cancels out the former (p. 10, Sura 2:100; p. 153, Sura 13:39).
  • One earns (immortality and) a spot in paradise or heaven by doing things that are right, and on the basis of one’s good works (p. 57, Sura 4:23; page 92, Sura 7:42; p. 198, Sura 20:111; pp. 251 and 255, Sura 29:6 and 57; p. 318, Sura 43:72). A sinner can be forgiven of his sins by paying alms, by being prayed over, through repentance and by his good works (p. 121; Sura 9:5–7). Paradise or heaven is guaranteed for those who fight and slay for the cause of Islam (pp. 121–122, Sura 9:11).
  • Those who oppose Allah and Muhammad will receive eternal hell fire (p. 117, Sura 9:64; p. 113, Sura 9:17; p. 164, Sura 16:31). The Koran portrays the torments of hell in the stereotypical manner reminiscent of Dante’s inferno (p. 208, Sura 22:20).
  • Allah misleads some people and guides others (p. 152, Sura 13:27; AKb 13:27; p. 154, Sura 14:4).
  • At the creation of man, Allah commanded angels to bow down to worship man (p. 159, Sura 15:30–33).
  • Allah gave the Torah to guide the children of Israel (p. 171, Sura 17:2; AKb 17:2; p. 264, Sura 32:23).
  • There are seven heavens (p. 214, Sura 23:17).  This is a concept that the Koran borrows from the pagan Greek philosophers.
  • Ishmael was a prophet and an apostle (p. 190, Sura 19:55).
  • Camels are used for sacrifices (p. 209, Sura 22:37) and for eating (p. 210, Sura 22:36).
  • The Koran teaches that Allah and the God of the Bible (YHVH Elohim) are one in the same, and the same God sent down the Book of the Law (the Torah) and the Koran (p. 254, Sura 29:45–46; AKb 29:46–47).
  • The soul of man is immortal soul (p. 255, Sura 29:58). This also is a concept that the Koran borrows from the pagan Greek philosophers who taught the concept of dualism.
  • There is no variableness in the way of Allah; that is, the word of Allah does not vary; i.e., the Bible and Koran do not  contradict (p. 279, Sura 32:45), since the Koran teaches that both books came from the same God (p. 254, Sura 29:45–46). At the same time, the Koran claims to clear up (or correct the errors of?) the Bible and replaces it (p. 64, Sura 5:18; p. 127; Sura 10:38).
  • Allah created the earth in two days (p. 307, Sura 41:8; AKb 41:9).  If this is true, how can the Bible and Koran both be truth and the word of God, since the Bible states the earth and everything else in six days? Elsewhere, the Koran claims that the earth was created in six days (p. 338; Sura 50:37).
  • Paradise or heaven is guaranteed for those who fight and slay for the cause of Islam (pp. 121–122, Sura 9:11).

The Koran on Muhammad

  • Muhammad was an “unlettered prophet,” which is interpreted to mean that either he was illiterate or was unlearned (p. 101, Sura 7:157; AKb 7:157 says Muhammed was a “gentile prophet” in place of “unlettered prophet”).
  • Muhammad had many slaves and wives and lots of sex (p. 269; Sura 33:49–51; AKb 33:50–51).

The Koran on the Fate of Infidels (Non-Muslims)

  • The Koran teaches Muslims to seize the infidels (non-Muslims), to slay them wherever Continue reading →
 

Ministry Update: May 2013

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Shalom Friends in Yeshua’s Love,

Please allow me to thank those of you who have contributed financially to Hoshana Rabbah Biblical Discipleship Resources. Also, thanks to those who have supported us through prayer, by your viewership, readership and by referring this ministry to your friends. We are deeply grateful for all of your love and support!

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When I say “we,” I’m not referring to the hired staff that we don’t have, although from appearances (our website, teachings, videos, and so on) it may seem otherwise. Hoshana Rabbah is made up of my wife, Sandi, and me. That’s it. What’s more, I work a full-time job (40 to 60 hours per week), which is how I support my family (I receive no remuneration from this ministry—my work is all volunteer). Additionally, I pastor a local congregation (from which I also receive no remuneration). For her part, Sandi, who manages the website (a huge, time consuming responsibility) receives a small financial allowance each month (she could easily make three or four times as much in the corporate world). Beyond this, all financial contributions go directly into the ministry to pay for expenses to serve the needs of the body of Yeshua. So again, thank you for your support. We do this because we love Yeshua, because he has called us with an irresistible and irrevocable ministry calling, and because we love the brethren. It’s not about us, it’s about Him, so give our Lord all the glory!

Now having shared this, please let me share with you some ministry update information. Continue reading →