Messianic Torah Portion Shemot is the beginning of the book of Exodus. This study is prefaced with the origin of the word Exodus and how there will only every be the one Exodus. We spoke about the remarkable parallels between Shemot and the end times. And, as always, why the Torah is so important to the New Testament.
Author: FCC Admin
Messianic Torah Portion Vayechi
Messianic Torah Portion Vayechi (and he lived)
This Torah portion wraps up the book of Genesis with the death of Israel/Jacob (the person) and the end of Joseph’s life. This Torah portion contains big clues that salvation has always been available to both those of the nation of Israel and those of the nations. Specifically, Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh were mixed race, with their mother being Potifera, the daughter of an Egyptian priest. Jacob was embalmed as a Pharaoh while buried in the promised land, which also gives a hint to the future and how we live in Babylon today, but will ultimately be joined to Messiah in the true Israel.
Our study was long and included much discussion. Please enjoy this discussion and feel free to join us each Shabbat!
Mainstream versus First Century Christianity
Mainstream versus First Century Christianity
| Mainstream Christianity | First Century Christianity |
| Go to church on Sunday | Keep the Sabbath |
| Sunday, Christmas, Easter | The Holy Days of the Bible |
| Dead people are now spirits | Dead people are dead awaiting resurrection |
| Trinity is mandatory | Accepting Yeshua as the Messiah and Son of God is the key to life |
| Works optional/not required | Repentance and change mandatory |
| Goal of life is going to heaven | Being in a better resurrection/the kingdom of God/ the Olam Haba |
| Old Testament for reference only | The Old Testament was the only bible they had for decades |
| Christianity is a different/new religion | Christianity is the continuation of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob |
Messianic Torah Portion Vayigash
Messianic Torah Portion Vayigash (and he approached)
The Torah portion is about Joseph’s revealing of himself to his brothers and bringing Israel into Egypt. The parallels between these scriptures and the New Testament are plentiful. Our discussion covers the despair of Jacob and parallels this to the grief of Yeshua’s disciples and the despair of the world as it awaits Yeshua’s return. We also discuss the joy Jacob experiences when he learns Joseph is alive and compare this to the resurrection of the Messiah. The theme established that Joseph’s brothers meant it for evil when they sold him into slavery but God meant it for good compares remarkably with the resurrection of the Messiah and the sermon given by Peter in Acts 2. We also touched on topics of end times studies and how the concept of the Noahide laws are folly.
Heirs According to the Promise
Heirs according to the promise.
Prelude – rebuilding the wall of separation. Attractive for both sides. One wants the commandments to be exclusive. The other wants nothing to do with the commandments. In effect, both sides want the law to be exclusive, I suppose. Out of pure practicality, this answer can’t be true. For people to accept anyone as Messiah, they must understand what a Messiah is. That is established solely though the Law and the Prophets. It’s not a concept for the nations. A Messiah is one who has been anointed by God for a mission. The Messiah, the Son of God, is the very image of God and our Mediator between us and God. It’s impossible for those who accept the Messiah to then not accept the law because there would be nothing to mediate. Let’s get into the details.
Ephesians 1: 3-7 Paul refers to “us”. He does not make a distinction. He includes himself in the adoption. This is strange as he was surely native born. Ephesus is where Paul started a riot preaching against idolatry so at a minimum it’s a mixed congregation of both native and grafted in.
The promise – Galatians 3: 26-29 Abraham was promised to be the father of countless people. This promise is fulfilled in this adoption. That through His seed, Yeshua, we have the opportunity to join the family of God. We do not replace that family, but we join in. We have the choice to accept adoption. The native born have the choice to also accept Yeshua.
The wall is broken down – Eph 2: 11-13 Commonwealth of Israel. You understand Paul is including gentile converts as Israel here. Not as a replacement for Israel, but a joining, a grafting in. Both groups into one. The gentiles who accept Yeshua as Messiah become part of Israel. Grafted in, not a replacement. Not a separate class of people, either. The goal here is unity.
Acts 15: 19-21. The gentiles are showing up at synagogue on Shabbat all over the world. They are accepting Yeshua as the Messiah and following the commandments. The question is whether conversion to Judaism is requires through circumcision prior to allowing them to commune and study. The answer is no. Many take this to mean that’s the end of the story, that these directives issued by the council of Jerusalem are the permanent ordinance and all people have to do to be consider Christians forever. That all who accepted Yeshua from the nations forever were to just stop right here and be done. Believe in the Messiah, learn, and basically continue to live as you did prior expect with these few requirements. This cannot be true because it would legalize sin for most of mankind. It would make the rest of the New Testament gibberish as there would be nothing for converts to learn or do. What would they be persevering in? If their behavior barely changed from prior, how would anybody even know they changed? It’s bizarre this concept keeps coming up on both sides. Mainstream Christians believe the law doesn’t apply to them and Jews concur. This is the divide between us and mainstream Christianity.
1 Cor 5: 4-8 become a new lump. Written to a gentile area in the Name of Yeshua. Assuming a mixed group of prior Jew and Gentile. And they are expected not only to know Torah but to be keeping ULB. Does this sound like this group stopped at the few things commanded in Acts 15? Of course not. Because Acts 15 is just a starting point. The believers were expected to keep attending Shabbat, hearing Moses, learning, and doing as they learned.
Rev 14:12 – the remnant are those who keep Torah and believe in Yeshua. You want to be the remnant.
Messianic Torah Portion Miketz
Messianic Torah Portion Miketz The parallels between Joseph and Yeshua (Jesus) aren’t just remarkable, they are prophetic and establish our understanding of the relationship between Yahweh and His Son.
The Christian Truth of Hanukkah
The Christian Truth of Hanukkah This study shows how Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, was referring to something that had already happened in Matthew 24 when He spoke of the Abomination of Desolation. In fact, His words about praying that their flight not be in winter or the Sabbath, that the would have to leave for the hills in haste, and women with children would have a difficult time were all a call-back to something that had already happened once. If you wish to understand what He was really telling them, we must study the Maccabees and the truth of Hanukkah, which contains much needed truth for Christians. An introductionof this message is located https://firstcenturychristianity.net/christmas-and-hanukkah-collide/
Messianic Torah Portion Vayeshev
Messianic Torah Portion Vayeshev (and he lived) is about Joseph being sold into slavery by his own brothers. There are many parallels between Joseph and Yeshua, the Messiah, which we discuss in this study. The focus of our congregational discussion is on prophecy and its ultimate purpose, which is to further the kingdom of God.
Christmas and Hanukkah Collide!
Christmas and Hanukkah Collide – some real history of Hanukkah and why blending religions is still a very bad thing to do. A longer and more detailed study of this topic is at https://firstcenturychristianity.net/the-christian-truth-of-hanukkah/.
Messianic Torah Portion Vayetzei
Messianic Torah Portion Vayetzei means “and he left”. This portion chronicles Jacob’s departure from the land of Canaan into the land of Haran to find a wife. Jacob made a deal with God when he left and had many lessons to learn in his 21 year away. When he returns, he is a changed man who properly credits Yahweh for his deliverance and wealth. Along the way, we have a lesson on idolatry. Jacob was not raised to be an idolator but he had to live in the land of false gods for 21 years. At the end of the journey, he rightly credits the God of Abraham for his blessings and rejects idolatry. The sages associate this passage to the rejection of idolatry and we connect this to Paul’s work in Ephesus, teaching that gods made with hands are no gods at all. The lesson for us with Messianic Torah Portion Vayetzei is that we also must reject idolatry despite being immersed in a culture of false worship.