religion

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It is NOT too hard for you – the practicality of Torah:

Here is a very short summary of the last Torah Portion before Yom Teruah – from Chabad:

“The Parshah of Nitzavim includes some of the most fundamental principles of the Jewish faith:
The unity of Israel: “You stand today, all of you, before the L‑rd your G‑d: your heads, your tribes, your elders, your officers, and every Israelite man; your young ones, your wives, the stranger in your gate; from your wood-hewer to your water-drawer.”
The future redemption: Moses warns of the exile and desolation of the Land that will result if Israel abandons G‑d’s laws, but then he prophesies that in the end, “You will return to the L‑rd your G‑d . . . If your outcasts shall be at the ends of the heavens, from there will the L‑rd your G‑d gather you . . . and bring you into the Land which your fathers have possessed.”
The practicality of Torah: “For the mitzvah which I command you this day, it is not beyond you, nor is it remote from you. It is not in heaven . . . It is not across the sea . . . Rather, it is very close to you, in your mouth, in your heart, that you may do it.”
Freedom of choice: “I have set before you life and goodness, and death and evil: in that I command you this day to love G‑d, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments . . . Life and death I have set before you, blessing and curse. And you shall choose life.” – http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3078/jewish/Nitzavim-in-a-Nutshell.htm

For more on the practicality of Torah read my short article:

The last Torah portion before Yom Teruah

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Who is the Messiah from a Hebraic Perspective – Part 2

In this Podcast (part 2 of 2) we ask the question of who/what the first believers expected the Messiah to be; why many Jewish people reject the belief that Yeshua is this end-times Messiah; how Christians have misunderstood his ministry and how we should view the Messiah.

In this second podcast on this question, Pastor Aubrey and I look back through time to Yeshua’s day and ask the question of who the Messiah was to be; who was expected; what sort of man was he to be; what was he to do? What was the understanding that the first disciples would have had and how did they see Yeshua as fitting their criteria. We touch on Isaiah 53; Psalm 110 and Psalm 2, etc.

How does the answer to this question help us some 2000 years later, both in a better appreciation of who Yeshua is; but also a better appreciation of typical Jewish perspectives on Yeshua as the Messiah. Also how does such an understanding help us now as we look forward to the Coming Age?

We also touch on the issue of the New Covenant and it’s still future fulfilment – see Pastor Aubrey Burt’s series of 5 Podcasts on this topic – go to pfherring.podomatic.com

Podcast – click here – Part 2

Articles & links:

Background article: http://www.charismacomputers.com.au/The%20Messiah%20from%20an%20Hebraic%20perspective.pdf

Yeshua Preached God – see blog post on this site;

Righteousness Before Messiah; Yeshua THE High Priest; The Times of Yeshua; Psalm 2 v6 and Siblings of the King – all at http://www.circumcisedheart.info
http://aubreyandpaul.podomatic.com/entry/2012-09-13T06_00_00-07_00

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The Apostle Paul and the Festivals of God

Some biblical scholars have tried to argue that the Apostle Paul (Sha’ul) only attended Pentecost (Shavuot) because that was where the crowd was so he could preach the Good News, and that this was the ONLY festival he attended! (This would also imply a degree of duplicity in his actions as well).

In other words some Christian theologians try to argue that after his Damascus Road experience, the Apostle Paul no longer observed the Jewish festivals and the ‘trio’ listed in Colossians 2:16-17.

I have listed many of the ways in which the Apostle Paul demonstrated that he remained a practicing orthodox Jew after his Damascus road experience in my articles ‘Siblings of the King: Living in the Will of the Father’ and ‘Living the Way: The Path of the Circumcised Heart’. For the details read these articles at www.circumcisedheart.info

However, as I have just stated, some scholars continue to read Col 2:16-17 back to front and believe that Paul was exhorting the Gentile followers of Yeshua NOT to keep the ‘trio’!

So here is a short, non-exhaustive list of Paul’s keeping the ‘trio’ (as recorded in the NT):

Paul observed and/or supported many of the Feasts, New Moons such as Yom Teruah (- only a few days away! – writing on the 13th Sept 2012) and the Sabbath(s), either by a direct reference to it; or by attending the festival or making some supportive implication or reference to it:

For some examples see:
Shabbat: Acts 13:14-16; Acts 18:4; 4:16 – Paul imitated Yeshua (1 Cor 11:1)
Pesach (Passover) – 1 Cor 5:7; Acts 27:9
Festival of Unleavened Bread – Acts 20:6
Shavuot (Pentecost) – 1 Cor 16:8; Acts 20:16
Yom Teruah – 1 Cor 15:52; 1 Thess 4:16 (New Moon Day, Rosh HaShannah)
Yom Kippur – Acts 27:9 (the Fast Day)
Sukkot – Acts 18:21

While this list does not include all 7 ‘Feast’ days, as they are grouped into 3 (Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot), with the first and last being week long and including the others, attendance at Sukkot would by inference assume attendance at Simchat Torah (the Joy of Torah celebration) for example.

As Shaul/Paul said we should be imitators of him, as he was of Yeshua – 1 Cor 11:1; Phil 3:17; 1 Thess 1:6; 1 Thess 2:4; I would suggest we should consider the blessings of these Festivals of YHVH.

If the Apostle Paul only attended these festivals to to evangelize, should we do the same, should we also engage in such duplicitous and dishonest expediency? No! I don’t believe Paul/Shaul was a hypocrite. Rather he was a Torah observant Jew!

Thus, I think the evidence most strongly indicates that, as he himself declared, he observed the ‘trio’ and hoped Gentile followers would do likewise and imitate him, and not allow the ‘judgment’ and ridicule of their pagan neighbours to stop them embracing these great indicators of even greater feasts in the Coming Age!

For details see my ‘Colossians 2 and the Sabbath’ article at www.circumcisedheart.info

Our next Podcast will touch on this topic – click follow to receive it automatically.

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The Messiah: A King, a Prophet, a Priest?

The Hebraic perspective – Who the Messiah? 

Since the days of Moses, what were the people expecting from the Prophet that Moses foretold would appear (Deut 18). Were they expecting a King, a Prophet, or a Priest. Were they expecting 1, 2 or even 3 Messiahs?

Today there is a common Jewish understanding that there will be two ‘end-times’ Messiah’s:

“A Kabbalistic tradition within Judaism is that the commonly-discussed messiah who will usher in a period of freedom and peace (Messiah ben David) will be preceded by Messiah ben Joseph, who will die sacrificing himself while uniting all of Israel in preparing the world for the arrival of Messiah ben David.” – see http://www.aish.com/tp/i/moha/48909612.html

The Qumran scrolls, the Book of Jubilees and the Testaments of the Tribes—all of which are close to the Essene[1] worldview and written prior to the first century of the Common Era, reflected the belief in three messiahs: an eschatological messiah, along with the messiahs of Aaron and Israel.

So what were the characteristics of this eschatological (end-times) Messiah?

Messiah is the English transliteration from the Hebrew ‘Mashiach’ meaning ‘anointed one’ i.e. someone chosen specially by God for some purpose. This term is translated into ‘Christos’ in Greek and then to ‘Christ’ in English. The term occurs some 37 times in the Hebrew Scriptures (KJV OT version – Strong’s #H4886) and is not always a prophetic reference to the eschatological Messiah. It is used to refer to the kings of Israel, the high priest, the patriarchs, as well as the Assyrian Cyrus (see Isaiah 45).

Look at Isaiah 11 where we read of his characteristics. His seven main attributes are described in Isaiah 11:1-10 and they are:

(1)… and the spirit of Adonai will rest upon him,

(2) the spirit of wisdom,

(3) and understanding,

(4) the spirit of counsel,

(5) and might,

(6) the spirit of knowledge,

(7) and the fear(awesome respect) of Adonai. …

He was also to redeem the Land of Israel; remove the oppressors and return all of Israel from the four corners of the Earth. He was to introduce a time of great peace, a time when all would know the Almighty, as per the New/Renewed Covenant prophecy of Jeremiah 31. This would also involve the cessation of war; the universal conversion of the world to Judaism or ethical monotheism; the rebuilding of the Temple; the recognition that it is the Jewish people who know God as prophesied in Zec 8:23, and the ‘swallowing up of death’ (Isaiah 25:8; Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 37:12)!

To read more – check out the rest of this article at www.circumcisedheart.info 

Part 2 of our Podcast on this topic will be available to listen to very soon – click follow to be notified.

[1] The Essenes were a fringe sect of the ‘proto’ – Judaism of Yeshua’s time.

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Who is the Messiah from a Hebraic Perspective?

In this Podcast (part 1 of 2) we ask the question of who/what the first believers expected the Messiah to be; why many Jewish people reject the belief that Yeshua is this end-times Messiah; how Christians have misunderstood his ministry and how we should view the Messiah.

In this our second podcast, Pastor Aubrey and I look back through time to Yeshua’s day and ask the question of who the Messiah was to be; who was expected; what sort of man was he to be; what was he to do? What was the understanding that the first disciples would have had and how did they see Yeshua as fitting their criteria.

How does the answer to this question help us some 2000 years later, both in a better appreciation of who Yeshua is; but also a better appreciation of typical Jewish perspectives on Yeshua as the Messiah. Also how does such an understanding help us now as we look forward to the Coming Age?

Podcast – click here – part 2 out in a few days.

Articles & links:

Background article: http://www.charismacomputers.com.au/The%20Messiah%20from%20an%20Hebraic%20perspective.pdf

JewFAQ.org – 11 attributes of the Messiah – http://www.jewfaq.org/mashiach.htm

Site on Isaiah 7:14 issues – see Doctrine of the Virgin Birth at http://www.wallsofjericho.info/

For more on issues with Ps 22; Zex 12:10; Dan 9:24-27 see ‘The Teacher and the Preacher’ by Moshe Avraham Kempinksi

Podcast #2: Who is the Messiah from a Hebraic Perspective? Part 1 of 2
http://aubreyandpaul.podomatic.com/entry/2012-09-10T05_46_56-07_00

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The Times of Yeshua

Understanding the times in which Yeshua (Jesus) lived in vital to properly interpreting what he said and did and who he was.

I have shared some of my extensive research on this issue on a number of occasions. The Podcast at the link below was from the first time I spoke on this. The linked powerpoint is from another session I gave on this topic at a Sukkot Celebration.

Podcast: The Times of Yeshua
Related Powerpoint: Talk 2 The Times of Yeshua latest version

I would recommend listening to this talk as preparation for our next Podcast.

In Session 2 we will touch on some of the following:

  • Who is he Messiah from a Jewish perspective?
  • Who he is-what he is to do– in what ways have Christians misunderstood his ministry?
  • Why some Jewish people may reject the christian messianic perspective;
  • How we should view the Messiah?
  • Who the New Covenant is with—when the New Covenant-Testament will be instated—who are the parties involved?
  • How does Yeshua mediate the covenant—why believers are, or are not experiencing the NC-NT as of yet?
  • What happens when Yeshua is returned to earth?
  • Why the Torah as not been abolished–Will the Torah ever be abolished?
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Yom Teruah Approaches

Some thoughts as Yom Teruah approaches:

The Apostle Paul believed that God’s adoption of the Gentiles was to precede the restoration of Israel (including the full return from exile and re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty over the Land of Israel).

Therefore the Apostle Paul believed that God had temporarily hardened the hearts of many Israelites to the truth regarding Yeshua as the eschatological Messiah so that Paul’s mission to the Gentiles could first be accomplished.

So, as Prof Paula Fredriksen points out in ‘Judaism, the Circumcision, and Apocalyptic Hope: Another Look at Galatians 1 and 2,’ “a generation after his experience of the Risen Messiah, and despite the great Day having not yet dawned, Paul could still ‘coherently and reasonably affirm to the Church at Rome  that ‘salvation is nearer to us that when we first believed’ (Romans 13:11)” – p564.

It is also instructive to recognize that this statement of the Apostle Paul’s in Romans 13 is part of his exhortation to the Gentile believers in Yeshua (worshiping God within the Jewish synagogues/homes in Rome), that they are to show proper respect and obedience to the Jewish leaders (‘ministers of God’) of these synagogues (see Mark Nanos, ‘The Mystery of Romans’ for the full explanation of this historical setting – here is an introduction).

It is also vital that we see that Paul (Rav Sha’ul), in true Hebraic fashion is generally speaking corporately, rather than individually, when he speaks of salvation.

Thus he sees the Coming Age as imminent as Gentiles are turning from their idolatrous practices to the One True God of Israel and fulfilling the promise to Abraham that he would become the father of many nations.

It would appear (to me at least) that Paul did not fully appreciate that the Tanakh’s prophecy of a dispersion to ‘the uttermost parts of heaven (earth)’ (Deut 30:4) had not yet been fully enacted and so the end times return from exile could not yet occur. (This return, a miracle greater than the parting of the Red Sea, is now occurring before our very eyes! – see my ‘Israel: Return in Belief or Unbelief’ at www.circumcisedheart.info for some more detail on this.)

And yet, for the Apostle Paul’s message to fully reach to all Gentiles throughout the entire earth, perhaps it really did need the historical events of the last, almost 2000 years for this to occur.

The Apostle Paul believed he lived in the ‘end times’ and that in those times God would graciously redeem the nations (gentiles) from their idolatry without the ‘works of the Law’ (Jewish proselytization) and so Jew and Gentile would go up to the mountain of the LORD, to worship together at the House of Jacob (Zec 14:16-21).

Before the resurrection of Yeshua, Gentiles who were learning about the One True God, the Creator of the Universe through attending synagogues on Shabbat (Sabbath), could only enter the family of God by undertaking the ‘works of the Law’ and becoming Jews (Israelites). With only Jews gaining entry into the Kingdom of God, this meant that prophecies such as Zec 14:16-21 could not be fulfilled.

I believe that somehow Yeshua revealed to the Apostle Paul that God had initiated a new way; a new path through which Gentiles could become fully ‘children of Abraham’,  and equal members of the Kingdom, while still remaining Gentiles.

This revelation of the Messiahship of Yeshua and the imminent arrival of the Coming Age (the Olam HaBah) brought great joy to the Apostle Paul and drove him forward in his mission with great energy and passion.  I have written at some length on this in both ‘The Mystery of Romans: A Torah and Shema Centric View’ and in ‘The Tripartite Salvation Paradigm’.

Note as well verse 9 of this prophecy of Zechariah: “And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be One and his name One.”

Perhaps the increasing recognition and rejection of such idolatrous doctrines as the Trinity and ‘Dual Nature of Christ’, etc., coupled with an increasing embrace of Torah by Gentiles in particular, is indicative of the lateness of the hour in this 2000 year ‘end times’ scenario?

Perhaps also the increasing recognition of Jewish scholarship; of brilliant Jewish theologians like the late David Flusser; Prof Mark Nanos; and Rabbi’s like Abraham Joshua Heschel, Ken Spiro and Moshe Reiss, to name just a few shows that Zec 8:23 is also being fulfilled before our eyes!

Zec 8:23:

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” 

As it appears to me that this great prophecy has not yet come to full realisation, this is just one of a number of reasons why I don’t believe that this Yom Teruah is THE Yom Teruah.

However, there is great tension in the air; many sense the Spirit of Adonai moving; something momentous may yet occur.

I believe Yeshua will return on a Yom Teruah in the near future (see my article for details) – may it be soon!