Tag: First Century Christianity

The first century Christians viewed scripture and worshiped quite differently that modern Christians. These messages will address key parts of first century Christianity from the original point of view.

Everybody is Wrong… Except Me

The third stage of coming out of Babylon results in a period where you think you’re the only one in the world who can see the truth. That’s not the case, and this message is intended to let you know you’re not alone. I also include some tips for avoiding some doctrinal pitfalls on your walk.

Everybody is wrong… except me. 

There are stages to coming out of Babylon. Well, we can call them stages, but it is different for everyone. The first is simply hearing the call. Whether you’ve been in a Christian denomination your whole life and realize some grievous error or you decide to pick up a bible the first time and start seeing that mainstream Christianity doesn’t line up to the WORD, just getting on the path is the first step. 

The second step is normally pretty long. Years long. For those on this path, it’s generally about four years of independent study. It’s not like step one ends, and step two begins, mind you. This step is indistinguishable from step 1. You started, and now you’re going to finish. But you don’t even know what finished looks like. We start with reading the bible from cover to cover, any translation will do (NASB is preferred), and then you realize you’ve been at it for a long time. You seek out other translations and start to use Strong’s numbers or other translations. For me, I spent a lot of time trying to prove the false doctrines to be true. I did not want my family to be so wrong. I did not want the majority of mankind to have steered so wrong. So I studied and studied, trying desperately to find some magic verse or philosophy to effectively all of what I had just learned about the bible and the faith once delivered. Toward the end of stage two, folks often become like the title of today’s message. Everybody is wrong but me. And we think we’ve lost our minds. There are enormous denominations that have taught millions, if not billions, of people things completely contrary to the bible and only we seem to see it. And we see it so clearly that we start trying to convince others, which very seldom works. 

Then we enter a period where we look for fellowship. Surely there have to be others out there like me. Surely others have figured this all out, too. And with the fellowship comes new teachings. When I came to this, the internet was a pretty new thing, and finding fellowship or other resources was difficult. I started my path somewhere around 1999 or 2000. The internet was a lot more pure back then. Having a website or an online presence was much more difficult; almost all of it was in print, not podcasts and videos. The benefit of that was that there weren’t so many crazy doctrines out there. We had to spend time learning, and that time often meant reading actual books, not listening to videos from who knows who. Today, it’s a complete deluge of information. And there are a lot of strange teachings out there that have taken on a life of their own. It’s surreal because we all got into this looking for the truth, and it’s quite possible to end up in a worse state than when we started by adopting strange teachings because the speaker used Hebrew words once in a while. So here’s a little guide to navigating stage three – looking for fellowship and using online resources: 

The first thing is that to get here, you have to have read the bible cover to cover at least once. You’ve probably done it a couple of times and know a lot more than most ministers by this stage. The Ruach ha Kodesh, the Holy Spirit, brought you through, so keep trusting the Spirit and you know knowledge. If you hear something odd, or something that seems contrary to the Bible, then it probably warrants investigation.  

There are a number of buckets that doctrine belongs in. The amount of things in these buckets changes over time. Let’s name the buckets: 

Truth or Fact – these are the things that are 100% established by the Bible and aren’t going to change. The commandments go here. The state of the dead and resurrections go here. That Yeshua is the Messiah and Yahweh is the Father go here. These are concrete, proven, indisputable things. 

The “I think” bucket. You’re going to have some ideas you believe but can’t prove. Everybody does. Even Paul wrote that he gave his opinion a time or two. Just be sure when you talk about these things that you label them as “I think” not “thus saith Yahweh”. A red flag warning is if you hear someone teaching something you know can’t be proven as fact. Be willing to challenge folks and ask how they got to those points. 

The “people say” bucket. These are points where there are settled opinions but they could go either way. You probably have a strong opinion on them and have settled into your belief system, but you still acknowledge the other side’s stance. Being able to do this is the sign of a mature believer, by the way. When to start the count for Shavuot falls into this bucket. 

The “I don’t know” bucket. You have to have one of these. If your minister never says, “I don’t know,” that’s a red flag warning. Frankly, there are things in scripture that may never make sense. It could be a translation issue, or we lack some piece of information that the original authors had. You’re “I don’t know” bucket will probably change over time. Mine has gotten smaller and bigger. 

When I was combing through things in online forums back in the day, I was flooded by doctrines. These were the doctrines of traditional Christianity.  Things like pacifism, apostolic succession, once saved, always saved, pan millennialism, and the like. I came up with an ad hoc system to sift through these things that I called “extreme fundamentalism.” Remember how I said you had to have gotten through the Bible at least once to get this far? Well, I had been through at least twice when I decided to venture out into the world, so I had a pretty good handle on what was biblical and what wasn’t. What I didn’t have was a ton of time to study each doctrine out so I implemented my homemade system to see if something was worth my time. For something to pass the test, it had to not contradict the main themes of the Bible. That’s the fundamental part. It had to jive with what the bible said or I moved on to step two. Step two was to take the concept to its logical conclusion, the extreme position, and see if it still made sense and didn’t contradict the Bible. So when people told me that the Sabbath was done away with, well, it wasn’t. The Bible never says this, and the commandments can’t change. So that was out. Then, if someone told me that apostolic succession was required, meaning each preacher in the NT had to be able to trace their authority back to Peter, well, that made no sense in the extreme because it would nullify the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Today, though, people coming to the truth have a far harder path navigating doctrines than 20 years ago. Frankly, it’s the wild west out there. The internet is a double-edged sword and that puts good teaching on the same footing as bad. In fact, the bad tends to be intriguing and different, so the bad gets more attention than the boring truth. So here are a couple of things that I will offer up so you don’t waste your time, but they are big in our movement: 

Paleo-Hebrew is a waste of time. I’ve spent more time on this than I care to admit. This is the pictographic Hebrew that is the precursor to the Ivri script. A brief lesson, the Hebrew script used today is called the Ashuri script. It’s very, very old, dating to the fall of the first temple. If you look at Strong’s, this is the script you will see today. The one before that, which was in use in the first century as well, is the Ivri script. There is no Torah written in this but fragments from Qumran. The one before that was hieroglyphics or pictograms. These pictograms represented sounds. Some will take the pictograms and make entire stories up about what words mean based on 21st-century characteristics of the images pictured. These stories will have nothing to do with the actual context of the word. While Hebrew characters definitely do trace back to pictograms, there is no value at all in trying to glean some biblical meaning by taking words apart. You are best to leave the words in context and also to understand real Hebrew and the meanings of the words.   

Gematria is neat when it works but also not much benefit. Hebrew letters each have a numeric value. So one adds up the value of each letter of a word and tries to find an association. Perhaps another word has the same sum, or you come up with a biblical number like 40, 7, or 8, and you can make some association. There isn’t a rule for what goes where here, so it’s just interesting and nifty when you see something, but it’s not something one should spend time on. You’re better off reading the words in context and trying to understand the real Hebrew meanings of words.  

Chiastic structures are really fun when you see them, but also not a lot of value unless you’re in your second or third decade of study. Chiastic structures are when a verse is kind of a hinge point, and the next verse up matches the verse below, then the second one up matches or associates with the second one below. These are real things, and the pattern is all over the Tanakh (old testament), but again they are just nifty. It’s best to just read the words in context trying to understand the real Hebrew meanings.  

White fire and black fire is just silly. This is the idea that the spaces on a Torah scroll have meaning. It goes further than that, but there are actual people out there trying to glean information from the part of the paper that has no ink in it. I kid you not. 

The canon of scripture, the Apocrypha, and the pseudepigrapha works. You may be wondering what I just said, which is actually good. The canon of scripture is the 66 book bible. That’s your absolute foundation. And that’s plenty of information for a lifetime of study. But some want to add to those 66 books, which is what the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha books are. Apocrypha means  

These are some examples of doctrines or concepts that would be easy to get caught in and taken down bad paths. Trust me, been there, done that. These things can be more than a nuisance and time waster. They can be used to put bad doctrine into play, so you need to be careful where you spend your time and what you mentally consume. 

The last thing I want to touch on is using extra-biblical resources. And by this, I mean scholars. One of the things in the “I don’t know” bucket is why there appear to be thousands of people out there who know more about the bible than most people ever will, who know the truth and the true meanings of words, and who write that truth down for us, but will never actually follow what the Bible says. Alas, these folks exist, and they have made commentaries for us. And dictionaries. And concordances. So we use them. Both from the Jewish side and the Christian side. Because it’s impossible to start from scratch and if you’ve read the Bible, it’s pretty easy to see when these folks are out to lunch. So feel free to use the resources and build on other folks’ knowledge. Just understand that they are human beings, not inspired scripture.   

People who know the truth and don’t do it but are scholars… have to use them.  

The New World Order

The demise of society (as seen on TV).

Audio only below.

A Refreshed First Century Christianity Website

Shalom friends! 

We are pleased to announce that some much-needed updates to the First Century Christianity website have been completed. While the site itself feels the same, many of the pages have been updated to help site visitors better navigate and find information. 

The very busy “menu” has been streamlined and made much more user-friendly as well. 

As you can see in the image below, showing the new “Home” page (Image 1), we had copywriting/editing performed, again, site-wide. Some pops of color and images were added and pages were cleaned up to make them flow easier. We even added a tagline so people know the purpose behind FirstCenturyChristianity.net.

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We added an “About” section and in the menu, some pages now live underneath it such as “Get Involved”, “Donate” and “Subscribe.” (Image 2)

The page formerly known as “Blog” is now called “Messages” but the post visuals have not changed. Underneath the menu (not in the image) is a place to find older Messages (“Message Archive”). (Image 3)

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We now have a great new way to navigate learning materials within the website via the “Biblical Topics Index” (Image 4). This landing page links out to information on the website, findable by topic on the index. Click on the topic and it leads to an internal page with the information sought (Image 5).

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Our “Beliefs” page also got a facelift with the topics now embedded into the landing page, instead of tabs in the menu. (Image 6) 

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Last but not least, there is now a dedicated page for “Friends and Social” outlining the places where we can be found, and some of our great partners in this walk. (Image 7)

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First Century Christianity would like to thank Stacey at The Potter’s Clay Co. for understanding our goals and desired outcomes regarding the updates and renovations performed on the website. As a fellow Disciple of Yeshua, she understood well what was needed, made great suggestions, and looped us in throughout the process. Thank you, Stacey! (Learn more about The Potter’s Clay Co. by clicking on the link above.)

If you haven’t visited the website in a while, now’s the perfect time to do so. Please let us know if you have questions or feedback. Enjoy! 

Why You Need the Torah to Understand Christianity

Explaining how the first century Christians were expected to follow the Torah portions each Sabbath, the origin of this practice, and then using the portion called Jethro to explain important foundations of Christianity established in the book of Exodus.

Audio only below.

Holy Days for Christians

The first century Christians did not observe Sunday, Christmas, or Easter. Whether gentile convert or a Jew who accepted Messiah, they continued to worship as commanded by the Torah. This message shows that Christians should never have stopped that practice and the blessings for those of us who have returned to the observances of the first Christians.

Video with slides above via Rumble. Audio only below via First Century Christianity | Podcast on Spotify.

Tisha B’Av happened August 6 this year. The 9th day of the 5th month. This is not a commanded observance but is a very important date in Judaism and Christianity. There is a list of bad things said to have happened on the 9th of Av on the Hebrew calendar. Some are a stretch. But two things appear to be quite literal, the destruction of both Temples happening, or starting to happen, on or about this date. This is significant for a lot of reasons but having both temples come down on the same calendar date is a big sign that YHVH meant those things happen. The second temple coming down was prophesied by Yeshua. That’s also super significant because it’s another proof of His Messiahship. The down side to this, of course, is the suffering and the time it took for the destruction to be complete.

I bring this up because cultures are formed around events and observances. The Torah establishes what a day is, what a week is, what a month is, what a year is, sabbatical years, and jubilees. The Torah is very much intertwined with times and observances. The culture of this world has observances, too. They are sometimes secular in nature, like sporting events or the signing of key documents, and they are religious in nature. The religious ones are pretty much imposters of the real Holy Days of the Bible. It’s August 27 and can you believe there was a Christmas tree display in Costco yesterday? None of us keep Christmas, but this is absurd to start thinking about it this far out. What’s not absurd to think about are Yahweh’s fall observances, which start a little less than a month from now. Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets, begins sundown on Sunday, September 25th this year. September 26 is the day to take off work, the High Sabbath. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins the night of October 4 and runs through sundown on October 5. We do no work and eat or drink nothing for those 24 hours. Then Sukkot comes on October 10 – October 17, with the 10th and 17th being High Days.

One of the core beliefs we share is to observe the holy days of Leviticus 23. The early church continued to obey Torah and those who were grafted in from the nations in the first century adopted God’s ways. There are a couple of key points to prove this in the New Testament:

Slide 2 When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul began to admonish them, (Act 27:9)

This is when Paul was being taken to Rome as a prisoner. This is perhaps 20 years after Yeshua ascended. The fast is Yom Kippur and the author of Acts is using this day to say “it’s fall and the seas are now rough.” The day of Atonement mentioned so casually this late in scripture is solid evidence for its continued observance for the early Messianics.

Slide 3 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. (Act 20:16)

Same theme as above but the day is mentioned by name this time. Well, it’s Greek name.  Pentecost means “count 50” and this is the day that is 50 days from the brining in of the first fruits around Passover time. It’s also the day that Yeshua sent the Ruach to the apostles in Acts 2. Paul is trying to be in Jerusalem for Shavuot, a pilgrimage festival. The context again shows solid evidence the day was known and observed by the early believers. Keep in mind the book of Acts was written about 20 years after Yeshua ascended so if they decided to stop keeping the law, it’s weird behavior for the day of Pentecost to be mentioned at all, let alone showing Paul trying to observe it in the holy land.

Slide 4 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1Co 5:7-8)

Just to make sure we cover all the bases, Paul is instructing the church at Corinth to keep the festivals. These would be gentiles and Jews alike and he is writing as if they are fluent in the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So let there be no doubt that they continued to observe the festivals, and the commandments, long after Yeshua ascended. It was expected the faith would be observed like this forevermore. In fact, we have evidence the faith did continue like this until the early 400s as the councils had to mandate believers to stop observing the Sabbath and even reading the Torah Portions. So this wraps up the apologetic on the early church keeping the holy days.

Slide 5 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Messiah, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Gal 3:24-29)

But I bring it up because of Tish B’Av and how we need to keep the right mindset. Our Messiah was Jewish. He lived as a Jew, attending synagogue, and kept the commandments. That doesn’t mean we have to become Jews or follow the Rabbis, particularly the stuff that came after, but it means we should be mindful, respectful, and somewhat knowledgeable about Judaism, particularly how it was followed in the first century.

Slide 6 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. (Rom 11:1)

But Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” (Act 21:39)

But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!” (Act 23:6)

These verses are up so we can see that not only were the first believers grafted in to the family of God but those who were already of the family did not have to change. By change, I mean cast aside the Torah and their ancestry, which is what mainstream Christianity teaches. They teach that a new religion was born 2000 years ago, while we know the faith is a continuance of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I watched the movie Risen on a couple plane rides. It was very good until the end when the movie makers showed the Apostles cease being Jews and become something else. That’s just not true. The New Testament doesn’t show God turning His back on the Jews and switching to random gentiles, it shows Jews accepting Messiah and continuing to keep the commandments and gentiles accepting the Messiah and starting to keep the commandments. So while we aren’t to convert to Judaism, we still learn from them and their writings because, for at least 150 years, the Messianic movement was actually a sect of Judaism until it was forced out for a couple reasons.

So with all this said, let’s take a quick look at the Fall Holy Days of Leviticus 23 because they are coming up.

Slide 7 Again YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. ‘You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to YHVH.'” (Lev 23:23-25)

In English, this is called the Day of Trumpets. That doesn’t do it justice. In Hebrew it’s called Yom Teruah, which does include Trumpets but also shouting, noise, etc. We have a conflict here with Judaism because they call this “new year’s” when it is the first day of the SEVENTH month. But we also learn something from Judaism about this day that Yeshua cited:

Slide 8 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Mat 24:36)

Judaism has referred to the first day of the 7th month as “the day no man knows” since before Yeshua. Yeshua was hinting His audience that the end, or His Return, or some hugely significant event coming in the future will occur on the Yom Teruah.

Slide 9 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1Th 4:16-18)

And Paul tells us also that Yeshua will return on Yom Teruah, revealing the hint from Yeshua, and that this day is also when the first resurrection will occur. So, you see, keeping the Holy Days isn’t just a commandment, it isn’t just an expectation of the original believers, many of which were already keeping the commandments because they were Jews, but it’s also looking forward to the return of the Messiah!

Slide 10 YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to YHVH. “You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before YHVH your God. “If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. “As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. “You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. “It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.” (Lev 23:26-32)

Now comes the Fast. This day has enormous Messianic meaning. But the crux is to do nothing – no eating, no drinking, no work, nada for 24 hours from sunset to sunset. That’s what we do today. Back in Temple and tabernacle days, the people did nothing except for a couple of the Kohen. The High Priest made atonement for the people. This was the day that the sins of the people were transferred, ceremonially and perhaps literally, to the goats or the curtain. And the High Priest did it for all.

Slide 11 Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. (Heb 9:6-7)

Again, today is just an overview, but the crux of the matter is that Yeshua bore our transgressions. The Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, was a type, Yeshua is the fulfillment. When He died, the curtain was torn in two. And the book of Hebrews goes on in great detail what this day means.

So for us to fast on this day, to observe it the best we can, is to honor our Messiah’s death which paid the price for sins. And those were sins committed in ignorance, which gives us a marvelous hope for all mankind who have committed sins in ignorance, which is everyone.

Slide 12 Again YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to YHVH. ‘On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. ‘For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to YHVH. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to YHVH; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work. (Lev 23:33-36)

Now we get to Sukkot! The Feast of Tabernacles. Or the season of our joy! So after we have the day that foreshadows Yeshua’s return, then we have the day of somber fasting that is for the sins committed in ignorance (among other things), we have an 8 day festival. We analogize this one to representing the 1000 years, but the Sabbath does that to. We also equate the 8th day as the sign of completion and a gateway between the impure and the holy. The 8th day of sukkot is thought to be representative of the bridge between the end of this era and the beginning of eternity, where we enter the olam ha ba. It’s also thought to be judgment day or the second resurrection. For today, Sukkot is a time for us all to fellowship together in peace and harmony, most often at a resort or camping, with just our fellow believers. Scripturally it represents the time the Hebrews were in the wilderness, living in sukkahs, and is a remembrance of that. Which can also relate to how our lives here are temporal, where we live for just a short time, and then at the resurrection are given permanent immortal bodies. But whatever the meanings turn out to be, the feast is just fine as it is!

Slide 13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecc 12:13-14)

The conclusion, though, is to fear God and keep His commandments. For in so doing, we will show ourselves approved and faithful when Messiah returns. Keeping the commandments are not burdensome, as I hope the message today shows. They are a privilege for us to know and do. They are healthy for us. They enhance our lives today. And they show our faith in Yahweh and His Son, Yeshua, while we await Yeshua’s return.

How to Read the Bible

How to read the bible

The Bible, especially the New Testament, was written in a culture and for a culture that we in the west don’t understand. Being familiar with the manner in which the first century believers communicated opens up the scriptures to a richer understanding.

People who believe like we do put an enormous amount of emphasis on a literal interpretation of the bible. In fact, lots of ancient Jews read the bible like this as well. This is why the Sadducees and Samaritans rejected the books of the bible after Moses. They read the Torah literally and didn’t see any need or justification for further works. For us, though, we have Yeshua so we know the rest of the Tanakh, the OT, is inspired. We know this because He quotes it. And we know this because of the prophecies about Him in it. And, frankly, there is no prohibition against having more inspired writings after the Pentateuch.

Back on the literal interpretation, though. When I was first inspired to read the Bible and really get into what it said, I was focused on the literal only. I read the book like it was a technical manual. I read it like it had no nuance and no literary devices. And you know what, that is where we are supposed to start. This is “coming like a child”. But it’s not where we are supposed to stay and there are plenty of verses that aren’t meant to be literal.

Hebrew, just like any other language, has literary devices. These literary devices transcend Hebrew when we talk about the Bible. Hebrews, later called Jews, have a culture, and that culture includes a manner of speech. Think about how we communicate today. When we say “it was time for the Super Bowl and it was very cold outside”, Americans know we’re talking about early February. And we are going to eat junk food and watch very well-produced commercials. The same is true when we talk about Thanksgiving. Not only do we know that Thanksgiving is a time in late November when the weather is turning and the leaves have or are falling, we know this to also refer to a meal that celebrates the discovery of this continent. But if we were from another country and spoke a different language, we would be confused about both the terms Superbowl and Thanksgiving. In the literal, those terms don’t even hint at what they really mean. A big bowl means football and nachos? Giving thanks has something to do with the founding of the nation? It doesn’t make sense without our culture and linguistic nuance.

Our modern literature and how we communicate has nuances as well. Things like metaphors and analogies make our language rich while things like idioms, or sayings, give us color. #communication. Well, guess what? The Bible has these things as well. And because the Bible is written by people in a different culture and for people from a different culture, we miss a lot of this richness. But if we understand even just a little about the culture of how the Bible was written, and how first century Jews and believers communicated to each other, we can get a lot more out of the scriptures than just the literal. In fact, when things aren’t meant to be literal, it helps a lot to understand that. My first example:

Slide 2 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Mat 6:19-23)

What does a clear eye have to do with storing up treasures? Well, to this day in Hebrew, giving with a clear eye means to be generous. Yeshua is telling people here not to be greedy and store up treasures and people who do that are likened to being in darkness. Which we know is true. Some of the most miserable people are the ones obsessed with protecting their wealth. Being generous is likened to having a clear eye. But this is not meant to be taken literally at all. In fact, it’s impossible to take literally. Dark eyed people can be very generous. Light eyed people can be very stingy. The eye itself is not even a consideration, much like how the Super Bowl is really about a bowl at all. This is an example of a Hebrew idiom – a saying that is not meant to be literal at all. But how many of us have heard sermons taking this clear-eye thing to be literal? If you haven’t, consider yourselves fortunate.

Slide 3 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign; and so no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS IN THE STOMACH OF THE SEA MONSTER FOR THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. (Mat 12:38-40)

Consider the sign of Jonah. Where do we see any hint of the story of Jonah being a sign of anything? We understand Him to be saying that He would be dead for 3 days and 3 nights from these verses. But He calls this time “the sign of Jonah the prophet” and there is no record of them saying, “there’s no sign of Jonah!” He clearly used the story of Jonah to communicate something other than the story of Jonah and everybody is just fine with that. So we need to humble ourselves and realize that a purely literal and purely western cultural reading of the scripture would bring us to a state of confusion.

To quote one of my mentors, scripture is meant to be read normally. By normally, he means that the texts must be read, appreciated, understood, and applied in a rational manner. A purely literal manner would be abnormal. Sometimes scripture is literal, sometimes it is allegorical, sometimes it is idiomatic, and sometimes it just doesn’t make sense because we lack some of the original context or nuance. This is the same for communicating across any two cultures. Another big reason verses may not make sense is because Yahweh and Yeshua want to reveal something to the world later in time, you know, through prophecy.

Another thing that’s important to know is that the chapters and verses are simply not supposed to be there. The chapters and numbers were put into the bible over 1000 years after the close of scripture. They are not inspired but are tools inserted so things can be looked up and referenced. Those who wrote the New Testament had no clue their works would be broken up 1000 years later. Let’s look at a big error in numbering to illustrate the point:

Slide 4 They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man incessantly speaks against this holy place and the Law; for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Yeshua, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.” And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel. (Act 6:13-15)

Still slide 4 The high priest said, “Are these things so?” And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.’ (Act 7:1-3)

Most of us came to the faith once delivered by reading printed bibles. Our printed bibles use the chapter breaks like, well, chapter breaks. But you can see as clear as daylight that there is no break between Acts 6: 15 and Acts 7:1. However, if you’re reading this in a printed Bible, you think there is some interlude or some kind of break. There may even be a page that needs to be turned to see chapter 7 in a printed bible. With the break, it reads like Acts 6 closes with Stephen’s face shining, the curtain falls, we get some popcorn, then the curtain goes back up and Acts 7 starts a different scene. But let’s look at it without the verses.

Slide 5 They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man incessantly speaks against this holy place and the Law; for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Yeshua, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.” And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel. The high priest said, “Are these things so?” And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.’ (Acts 6: 13 – Acts 7: 3)

You can see now that the artificial chapter break here can really alter our perception of what happened at Stephen’s trial. This is just one example, but there are quite a few where the verse system breaks up thoughts and even interrupts speeches, which hinders our ability to glean what was really presented.

Without the chapters and verses, scripture was cited by quoting one or two verses from a passage and they expected was that their Jewish or Messianic audience would understand because of their culture. This is similar to how we quote a line from a movie and expect others to recall the whole movie. The Messianic and Jewish audience, completely immersed in the Torah and God’s culture, would know that the single citation meant to recall something larger, and likely something they had memorized. Let’s look at an example:

Slide 6 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” (Mat 27:45-46)

This is the most dramatic proof of how the scriptures were cited in the first century. Yeshua’s dying words are a reference to the Old Testament. You see, the translation I prefer puts most of the OT quotes in the NT in all caps so you can see it. He is dying and He says, in Hebrew, Eli Eli, llama sabachteni. My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? The first couple times I read that, I read it as being literal. It is kind of literal because He did die right after. But it’s not meant to just be a stand alone set of words. It’s much more than literal. Yeshua was citing scripture the way Jews cite scripture, by reciting one line of a passage and expecting His audience to know the rest.

Slide 7 For the choir director; upon Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. (Psa 22:1)

He died saying “Psalm 22 is playing out before your eyes”, except He didn’t say it the way we would say it. He said it the way scripture would be cited in the 1st century. After this message, please read all of Psalm 22 to fully appreciate what I’m explaining. This Psalm is a graphic prophecy of the crucifixion and these events did not happen to King David, who wrote the psalm. The events in this Psalm describe something that made very little sense to the people who read it for hundreds of years. I hope that sinks in. The scribes who copied the texts, the Rabbis who studied it, the priests who read it, and the people who heard it didn’t understand these verses until Yeshua was crucified. Psalm 22 speaks of people casting lots for David’s garments. Nobody ever casted lots for David’s garments, that’s ridiculous. Don’t we have a lot of verses today that we don’t understand? The beasts of Revelation, Ezekiel’s wheel, and many more things we simply do not understand, but we still believe the stuff we can understand, just like those who came before us.

So first we need to understand that Yeshua citing the lead verse of a Psalm while dying is directing all of those who were present, those who wrote it down, and us reading it, to recall the entire Psalm being referenced. This is the clearest example I can use to show how scripture was cited in the first century and how the New Testament is meant to be read and understood. Paul does things like this ALL THE TIME. Yeshua did as well during His ministry. This is one reason why some sentences in Pau’s writings don’t make any sense at all – because he is citing OT scripture in a fashion that we are not accustomed to.

Another reason I bring this up because it shows another point I’m making today about the levels of scripture. The Rabbis discovered, over many years, the different levels of scripture. This is a discovery, not a hermeneutical system. They realized that verses can have up to four levels, literal, allegorical, deeper/hinted, or mystery. This is represented in an acronym of Hebrew letters PRDS, or peshat, remez, derash, or sod. If you search for this on the internet today, you’re more likely to find people who believe like us teaching about this than Jewish folks because this really does help us see the NT in a better light.  I’m bringing this up because our New Testament was written by people who understood this and communicated with these literary devices. Peshat means literal or plain. Remez means allegorical. Derash is hinted at or comparative, Sod is mystery or yet to be revealed. Paul uses these things all the time, like when he says not muzzling the ox while threshing means a minister can get paid for preaching the gospel. Psalm 22 is what is called a “sod” level scripture when it was written. Sod means mystery, but not a mystery like a Columbo episode, a mystery like something that is yet to be revealed. King David did not suffer and die on a cross, yet he wrote a Psalm like he did. This Psalm was a prophecy, something yet to be revealed, by one of David’s descendants, the Messiah. When the Messiah uttered those words on the cross, Eli Eli, llama sabachtani, He was being literal while also revealing a mystery.

A key to reading scripture with these levels is that if something can be literal, it has to be literal and can’t be contradicted by another level. For instance, Yahweh uses adultery as an analogy for going after other gods. Adultery continues to be a sin even though that commandment is applied in another fashion.

I know I went long today but I wanted to tell a story. For many who have studied the bible for years, we’ve discovered these things on our own. It’s a nice reinforcement to hear that you’re not alone with that knowledge. For those who haven’t studied so much or are just starting out, please keep these things in mind to help you get a fuller understanding on your walk. Shalom.  

Rabbinic or Not?

The shocking Rabbinic origins of many Christian beliefs and practices!

In this walk of ours, where we literally question everything, is littered with some land mines. Many of these things come from misconceptions and our tendency toward purity. Let’s face it, we are all working toward a goal we know we can’t obtain. This purity goal is one that drives us to study anything ancient, whether it’s really ancient or otherwise, trying to get to “the truth”. This is the root of those wanting to study the pictograms, thinking that if we can just get to that pure, exact, first language that the scriptures started from, then we can attain to a pure faith. The same is true with the Names and calendars. When you step back and look at this behavior without bias, you will see that it literally is a works based philosophy combined with Gnosticism. Folks start to believe, whether consciously or sub-consciously, that if they can just get the proper doctrines then they will have attained salvation. Well, let’s take a look at that concept:

Slide 2 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Eph 2:8-10)

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Rom 4:1-3)

You see, our faith contains people who would have been saved by works if that was an option. Abraham is one of the first that comes to my mind. But Paul goes to great lengths to explain what was already known: Abraham was saved by his blind faith not by his works. Abraham believed THEN acted. This is salvation, brothers and sisters. It’s why we are here today and why we are on this walk. We started, with less knowledge than a child, and were saved at that moment in time. We are not working toward salvation, we are working from a place of salvation. This is not some Calvinistic idea but a reflection of what Paul writes here. We can lose our salvation. We can turn our backs on Yahweh and His Son. But we don’t because our faith drives us on this path. Our quest for knowledge is not salvational, but driven from our desire to know God and His Messiah. We long to be with them so much, that we study to show ourselves approved, and to learn about their character and draw near to them.

Slide 3 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah —this Jesus whom you crucified.”  (Act 2:36)

Who made Yeshua Lord? Who made Yeshua the Messiah? Who saved Yeshua? It was God, Yahweh. This philosophy extends even to the very Son of God. I think it is safe to say that Yeshua had His doctrine perfected. He knew the original languages and everything. He had perfect works of mercy, faith, justice, you name it! He performed miracles galore and was the best preacher of eternity! He is the very image of God! But He was saved by faith, not by works.

Now with this preface, let’s take a look at the meat of today’s message. We draw lines in the sand in our walk, which I have done many times. Fortunately, sand lines erase easily. I have had the bug to refuse any Rabbinic teaching. It’s an easy thing to do. Find some outlandish Talmudic reference, paint the whole lot of them with that brush, and then confidently dismiss the entire history of Jewish doctrine and teaching. All while using Protestant commentaries and singing the songs of the pork-eating Sunday keepers, right? We will toss out the Rabbis while embracing those who teach much easier to spot errors. Then, we embrace people who we don’t even know because they have some teaching that tickles our ears! It’s a glaring hypocricy! So, let’s take some easy looks at what is Rabbinic by starting with what is not:

What is not – Calendar, the Shema, the Aaronic Blessing, the Holy Days

Slide 4 “Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your Elohim. I am the YHVH your Elohim.” (Num 10:10)

The calendar was decreed by the last Sanhedrin, it is not simply a Rabbinic decree. That Sanhedrin revealed the calculation for the calendar that had been in use since after the temple came down. Without a functioning temple and priesthood, there is no means for us to have a sighted moon calendar. I’m sorry if this offends you, but if you do not have the authority to call the blowing of the silver trumpets in Numbers 10, which you don’t if you’re not the high priest, you don’t have the authority to call the new moon. There were two silver/metallic trumpets used to call assemblies, call to war, call to anything, and they could only be commanded to be blown by the high priest. Saying you have the authority to call the calendar is saying you have the authority to send Israel to war. OK? They made the decision to reveal the calendar, which is very complex, so the people could continue to observe in unison throughout the diaspora. They did this because others were calling the calendar themselves due to lack of communication, and there was confusion. The calendar is not perfect, and the jury is out whether the calendar was ever perfect, but the same condition exists today as when the last Sanhedrin made this decision in 358 AD.

Slide 5 “Hear, O Israel! The YHVH is our Elohim, the YHVH is echad! “You shall love the YHVH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deu 6:4-5)

Then YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: YHVH bless you, and keep you; YHVH make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; YHVH lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”  (Num 6:22-27)

The Shema is a prayer based on scripture. Reciting this as a prayer is a tradition, and it may even be a Rabbinic command, but it’s not Rabbinic. Yeshua told us this is the greatest commandment and we observe it by living it, but we also remind ourselves to observe it by reciting it together each week. I just have the abbreviated version on the screen and I hope you say this daily, as it is commanded. The Aaronic blessing is also a scripture that was commanded to the kohen to recite. We do this as a congregation. Even though I may lead it, understand I am a commoner and not a priest. We recite this scripture as a prayer as well.

Slide 6 YHVH also spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. “It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of YHVH, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your Elohim. “I am YHVH your Elohim who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your Elohim; I am YHVH your Elohim.” (Num 15:37-41)

Blue tassels are not rabbinic. They are a commandment to all Israel. We are Israel through the adoption by the blood of our brother Yeshua. He wore them even though He kept the commandments perfectly. He was there when the commandments were given for goodness sakes, if He wasn’t the One who actually gave them! Wearing blue tassels is the best thing we can do to shun the Rabbis, incidentally, because they wear white. Which is a strange practice!

What is Rabbinic

Slide 7 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luk 4:16-21)

The synagogue, which is a Greek word for assembly that means “church” in this context, is a Rabbinic tradition. Yes, brothers and sisters, having an assembly led by commoners, meaning non-Levites, is not in the Torah. The practice was started after the return from Babylon. The synagogue system was invented to educate Jews, which at that point meant “Israel”, so the faith would increase and they wouldn’t get busted again. It was more than just a building with a Rabbi that they met in weekly, but the way to teach children during the week. Our church systems trace their origins to this tradition. And Yeshua sanctioned it.

Also in these verses is Yeshua reading from the prophet Isaiah. The bible canon was created by the Rabbis, too. Remember how “synagogue” is a Greek word? Well, so is the word Septuagint, which is the slang for the Hebrew bible canon when the scriptures were translated into Greek about 150 years before Yeshua. It’s that document that is the basis for having a bible canon at all and it is the foundation for our modern bibles.

The book of Isaiah is Rabbinic. This is very hard for us to believe, but it’s a Pharisee thing to even have books of the bible after the Pentateuch be considered scripture. The Pharisees are the Rabbis of the first century. So where I am going with this is if you don’t want to be Rabbinic, then you have to take a hard look at having a lay-person led weekly service and you don’t really have a foundation for accepting the books of the bible apart from the Torah.

Slide 8 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. (Act 5:34)

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today. (Act 22:3)

The apostle Paul was a Rabbi, taught by the highest respected Rabbi in all Judea. Yahweh used the Rabbinic system to give the world the ultimate evangelist. Paul was so respected he could walk into any synagogue in the world and be allowed to speak. The Gospel was spread throughout the world using the synagogue system, including the Greek canon of scripture, and being led by a Messianic Jew named Saul of Tarsus, who was beaten in the synagogues per the prophecy of Yeshua.

Moral of the story today? We need to be careful drawing lines in the sand. We should also educate ourselves on the easier to obtain knowledge before reaching for the esoteric. Understanding what practices we do that are 100% from the Torah versus what we do that are from tradition is something of great value. We have much more latitude whether to partake or not when something comes from tradition, but when those traditions are enshrined in scripture and sanctioned by the Messiah and the Apostles, then they become very important. We also have to be very careful when we break from Torah. The Sanhedrin is not perfect and did not accept Yeshua as the Messiah. And when there is another one, we will have to evaluate their commands in that light. But please understand that our faith and its practices, in its pure form, is not nearly as pure as we often want. Also remember that we were saved at the start of this path. Our learning and practices have changed much, and will continue to change, along the journey. This is fine and quite a blessing to have this freedom in Messiah!