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The study of the Bible in its historical context - with a focus on the archaeology, history, geography, customs , culture, and even the languages of the ancient Middle East. WE ask what did they understand THEN - the original intent of the Lord - so that we can expand and enrich our understanding NOW and thus become true disciples of Adonai Yeshua as in John 8:31-32.
Episodes
31 minutes ago
31 minutes ago
Lesson 11 Part 2
The Bible was clearly meant for those the first ones to hear it. Like the Torah. It was meant for the Hebrews coming out of Egypt. The New Testament was written for the first disciples like John and Mark and Matthew and Paul and Mary. And once we understand what the "first hearers" heard and understood, we then an see how it relates to us. God gave them His word so they understood it and passed it down to us.
The Messianic Jewish believers lived in a Jewish culture 2000 years ago and they perhaps saw things and understood things a lot differently than us. So we will again put the Bible in its historical context. Once again we will study His word taking in account the ancient Jewish culture of those first disciples. When we do and study the GREEK and not the English, we find there is a compelling alternative understanding to verses that supposedly suggest Jesus changed everything. Contemporary theologians say that these verses show that Jesus changed the Sabbath from its Biblical practice to the way the "church" does it today. The three verses we will study are shown below taken from the NASB version. We will study these verses in their historical context. When we do the view that Jesus changed, God changed, is seriously challenged.
VERSE 1 - Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem; (1Co 16:1-3)
VERSE 2 - On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him." When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. (Act 20:7-12)
VERSE 3 - I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." (Rev 1:9-11)
To continue your study on the Sabbath I strongly recommend the following books and resources ... (one's with * are a must)
* Kiesz, John. "A History of the Sabbath and Sunday." The Bible Sabbath Association (January 1, 1983). Free download at this link - http://www.truthontheweb.org/KieszHis...
Nichols, J. T. “The Origin of the Hebrew Sabbath.” The Old and New Testament Student, vol. 12, no. 1, 1891, pp. 36–42. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3157542
* Hay, Malcolm. "THE ROOTS OF CHRISTIAN ANTI SEMITISM." Available at Amazon.
Dr. Shumel Safrai, “The Jewish People in the First Century: Historical Geography, Political History, Social, Cultural and Religious...Vols. 1 and 2.”
* Bacchiocchi, Samule. "From Sabbath to Sunday." (1977) Rome, Italy. Pontifical Gregorial University Press. Free download at this link - http://www.anym.org/pdf/from_Sabbath_...
Encyclopedia Judaica. 1972. Keter Publishing. Jerusalem:Israel.
"Feasts and the Holidays, the Mo’edim." https://hebrew4christians.com/Holiday...
Flusser, David. "Judaism and the Origins of Christianity." 1988. Magness Press. Jerusalem.
Hayyim, Schauss. "The Jewish Festivals." © 1938
"The Jewish Encyclopedia." www.jewishencyclopedia.com
Levine, Lee. 2005. "The Ancient Synagogue: the First Thousand Years." 2nd Edition. New Haven: Yale University Press.
* Stern, David. Jewish New Testament Commentary. 1996. Jewish New Testament Publications. Clarksfield:Maryland.
Stern, David. The Complete Jewish Bible. 1998. Jewish New Testament
* Wilson, Marvin. Our Father Abraham. 1989. W.B. Eerdman’s. Grand Rapids:MI. Contours of Hebrew Thought.
Finally, here's a link to a chapter of one of my books I did for my classes. The content is based upon the sources above. Link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdycam9yad7... A second link is related to Paul meeting in Troas on the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK. Here's the link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/rmkqxbq18k3...
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
2 days ago
2 days ago
Does the Bible, specifically the New Testament, prove that Jesus changed the practices in Second Temple Judaism? Did Jesus do away with the old law, the TORAH, and start a new Sabbath on Sunday? It seems that if you study the New Testament in ENGLISH and separate it from the historical and ancient cultural context, the answer would be yes. However, the Bible was clearly meant for those first disciples like John and Mark and Matthew and Paul and Mary. God gave them His word so they understood it and passed it down to us. So, one might say they are the first audience. But, they are all Jewish, even Luke. There is a strong argument that Luke was Jewish. It isn't conclusive but very strong. Check it out at this link - https://www.levitt.com/essays/luke
Thus, these Jewish believers lived in a Jewish culture 2000 years ago and they perhaps saw things and understood things a lot differently than us. For on thing we have proof that the early church, those first believers, met for the Sabbath on Friday evening to Saturday evening.
(Paul F. Bradshaw and Lawrence A. Hoffman, The Making of Jewish and Christian Worship (Notre Dame, 1991). And,
In Video 3 we will again put the Bible in its historical context. Once again we will study His word taking in account the ancient Jewish culture of those first disciples, the first Messianic believers. When we do and study the GREEK and not the English, we find there is a compelling alternative understanding to verses that supposedly suggest Jesus changed everything. The three verses we will study are shown below take from the NASB version.
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem;
(1Co 16:1-3)
On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him." When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. (Act 20:7-12)
I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." (Rev 1:9-11)
This is only a short introduction. It is a deep and expansive subject that can not be completely addressed in a 40 to 60 minutes video. Thus, to continue your study on the Sabbath I strongly recommend the following books and resources ...
Kiesz, John. "A History of the Sabbath and Sunday." The Bible Sabbath Association (January 1, 1983). Free download at this link -
http://www.truthontheweb.org/KieszHistory.htm
Nichols, J. T. “The Origin of the Hebrew Sabbath.” The Old and New Testament Student, vol. 12, no. 1, 1891, pp. 36–42. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3157542
Hay, Malcolm. "THE ROOTS OF CHRISTIAN ANTI SEMITISM." Available at Amazon.
Dr. Shumel Safrai, “The Jewish People in the First Century: Historical Geography, Political History, Social, Cultural and Religious...Vols. 1 and 2.”
Bacchiocchi, Samule. "From Sabbath to Sunday. (1977)." Rome, Italy. Pontifical Gregorial University Press. Free download at this link - http://www.anym.org/pdf/from_Sabbath_to_Sunday_samuele_bacchiocchi.pdf
Encyclopedia Judaica. 1972. Keter Publishing. Jerusalem:Israel.
"Feasts and the Holidays, the Mo’edim." https://hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/holidays.html
Flusser, David. "Judaism and the Origins of Christianity." 1988. Magness Press. Jerusalem.
Hayyim, Schauss. "The Jewish Festivals." © 1938
"The Jewish Encyclopedia." www.jewishencyclopedia.com
Levine, Lee. 2005. "The Ancient Synagogue: the First Thousand Years." 2nd Edition. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Stern, David. Jewish New Testament Commentary. 1996. Jewish New Testament Publications. Clarksfield:Maryland.
Stern, David. The Complete Jewish Bible. 1998. Jewish New Testament
Wilson, Marvin. Our Father Abraham. 1989. W.B. Eerdman’s. Grand Rapids:MI. Contours of Hebrew Thought.
Finally, here's a link to a chapter of one of my books I did for my classes. The content is based upon the sources above. Link -
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdycam9yad7ekax/e%20Lesson5..signbetweenus..2019..137..188.pdf?dl=0
A second link is related to Paul meeting in Troas on the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK. Here's the link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/rmkqxbq18k3cmeq/SABBATH%20IN%20TROAS%20AND%20REVELATION.pdf?dl=0
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
3 days ago
3 days ago
This is another awesome example of scripture that testifies of Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. We will study the event of the Golden Calf and God will teach us in His TORAH, His instructions, that He had a plan for Israel. He had an awesome purpose for His treasured possession (Exod. 19:5) It all relates to John 3:16 and the love the Lord has for all, the whole world. But, the Hebrews failed and chose another god, a god of gold, a bull calf. They didn’t give up on the one true God, they just disobeyed Him in making an animal to represent the one God, the only God, יהוה Yahvay (I pronounce His name Yahvay and not Yahway since Hebrew has no W sound so it is an error to say Yahway for His name). Yahvay put this in His Ten Statements, His Ten Commandments, that we are not to make an image to represent the Lord. The Hebrews did. And they did not follow His commands and went their own way.
Once again, I brought up the likelihood that the Hebrews had assimilated into the Egyptian culture. The Hebrews cried out in Exod. 2:23. But, it is more than cried out. The Hebrew word is za'aka זעק H2199 which is shriek or scream in deep anguish or terror. On top of that the Hebrews cried out to no one! In Exod. 2:23 they cried out - to who? God heard them but they did not cry out, shriek in deep pain, to the Lord. Later, at the sea before they crossed over, one they were reintroduced to the God of Abraham, we read in Exod. 14:10 that Israel cried out TO THE LORD. We miss that. We think they cried out to the Lord in Exod. 2:23. That is putting words in the Bible that aren't there. They didn't know the God of their fathers anymore. What happened? What's going on?
The answer - they had assimilated into the Egyptian culture. The Bible proves it yet we missed it. All they knew were the gods of Egypt. It is easy to get Israel out of Egypt but it is nigh impossible to get Egypt out of Israel. The Hebrews after hundreds of years were deeply imbedded into the Egyptian culture and ways. Here's the link to study that the Hebrews assimilated into Egypt – https://halakhaoftheday.org/2023/03/29/from-propsperty-to-assimilationn/
Here’ a link to lesson 4 part 2 in this series where we study this idea. It is seemingly proven from the very word of God. Here’s the link - https://youtu.be/9tY5N0mAJ2I?si=BQ2ID2W8eVXZT1xb
I did an “AI” search (artificial intelligence) of the Apis Bull in ancient Egypt. I came up with the following. I know a lot about the Apis Bull from my days traveling and doing research in Egypt plus my own personal study. The “AI” material is right on. So here it is in its entirety. I do this just in case you want to expand your study to learn more about the Apis Bull and ancient Egypt.
AI SEARCH ON THE APIS BULL – MAY 2026
The Apis bull was a sacred animal in ancient Egypt, serving as a living manifestation of the god Ptah and, during its life, a powerful symbol of the pharaoh’s vitality, strength, and divine right to rule. As a direct connection between the gods and the kingdom, the Apis bull reinforced the legitimacy of the monarch and was frequently referred to as the "strong bull" in royal inscriptions. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Connection to the Pharaoh
- Symbol of Power: The Apis bull directly symbolized the fertility, power, and vitality of the pharaoh.
- "Strong Bull" Titles: Pharaohs often used titles such as "Strong Bull of His Mother" to equate themselves with the sacred animal.
- Ritual Union: During the Sed festival (rejuvenation ceremony), the pharaoh participated in rituals with the bull to absorb its divine power, often described as running or walking with the Apis.
- Divine Manifestation: The bull was considered an earthly avatar of Ptah (creator god) and, upon death, united with Osiris to become Osiris-Apis. [1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Worship and Life
- Selection: Priests selected the bull based on strict, specific markings, including a black coat, a white triangle on the forehead, an eagle-shaped mark on the back, and a beetle-shaped mark under the tongue.
- Royal Treatment: Once selected, the Apis lived in a specialized "House of Apis" in Memphis, treating the bull with the same reverence and luxury as a pharaoh.
- Afterlife: When the Apis died, it was mummified and buried with immense fanfare in a dedicated cemetery known as the Serapeum at Saqqara. [2, 8, 9, 10]
[1] https://www.ancientegyptblog.com/?p=3313
[3] https://www.magellantv.com/articles/by-the-horns-of-apis-ancient-egypts-noble-bullgod
[4] https://egyptatours.com/what-is-apis-bull/
[5] https://australian.museum/learn/cultures/international-collection/ancient-egyptian/bull-apis-e39829/
[6] https://templeofathena.blog/2016/08/18/god-of-the-month-club-apis-the-living-bull-god-of-egypt/
[7] https://www.livius.org/articles/religion/apis/
[9] https://egypt-museum.com/cows-bulls-in-ancient-egypt/
[10] https://x.com/archeohistories/status/1939677557500293212
In this lesson the Bible supports the idea that Aaron was complicit in the event of the Golden Bull Calf. Orthodix Jewish Rabbis, however, stick up for Aaron and try to argue he is totally innocent with regards to the Golden Bull Calf incident. Their views are merely opinion not based upon God's word and in fact are dismissive of the word when it says that Aaron is guilty and the Lord will destroy him along with all Israel. Their views are totally unacceptable and in great error.
Aaron may not have participated in the worship of the Golden Bull Calf, but he made the molten image and thus got all Israel to sin grievously against the Lord. That Aaron was found guilty is clear in the very words of God Himself and God wanted to destroy all Israel and AARON!!
"The LORD spoke further to me, saying, 'I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a stubborn people. 'Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.' "(Deu 9:13-14)
"The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time." (Deu 9:20)
Here's some links that will add to your study with regards to Aaron’s guilt in this terrible event of the Golden Bull Calf.
ARTICLE ON AARON’S GUILT FROM CHABAD – AN ORTHODIX JEWISH SITE - https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/860977/jewish/Why-Did-Aaron-Make-the-Golden-Calf.htm
ARTICLE ON AARON’S GUILT FROM www.GotQuestions.org - https://www.gotquestions.org/Aaron-golden-calf.html
In this lesson we hear God say,
"They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them ..." (Exo 32:8)
What is God's WAY that He wanted the Hebrews to follow? The Hebrew word for the word WAY is derekh (דֶּרֶךְ). It is the word used in Genesis 3 when the Lord shows the WAY back to the Garden was closed and guarded by two mighty Khrooveem (not cherubs). The WAY to the Father was blocked. Now in Exodus 32 God talks about His WAY, His derekh (דֶּרֶךְ) He wants the Hebrews to follow. Later, the Lord comes to us and He says in John 14 that, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (Joh 14:6) So, what might he Lord be getting at? What is the lesson?
I suggest it seems to be summed up in the first verses of Psalm 119.
How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the law of the LORD. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart. They also do no unrighteousness; They walk in His ways. You have ordained Your precepts, That we should keep them diligently. Oh that my ways may be established To keep Your statutes!
(Psa 119:1-6)
In TORAH the Lord gives us His intruction to live as His people, His chosen ones. We are to liv in such a way that our lives show we are lovng the Lord God and serving Him by living as per His word, the Written Word. But then He came to us. Yeshua. He is the Living Word. In John 14 we read that Yeshua says if we are His true disciples He is in us and we in Him. We abide together. And as true branches of the "true vine" that is Yeshua we are to be fruitful so that our work in Yeshua keeps until the final harvest of the Vinedresser, the Father, and show ourselves to be His disciples. We live to be His People of THE WAY,
derekh (דֶּרֶךְ).
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?
(Ferret - somewhere on the Jordan River in northern Galilee)
What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
3 days ago
3 days ago
Shavuot - Episode 7
Let’s consider those amazing connections between what happened at Sinai and during Pentecost shortly after Jesus’ ascension. These amazing connections are pictures to us today of God's amazing power to bring us to a deeper and more enhanced understanding that the feasts of the Lord, all eight of them, are shadows of the Messiah. Consider …
- Both events occurred on mountains known as "the mountain of God."
- Exo 24:13 So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. (Ex. 24:13; Isa. 2:3). The mountain of God in the Sinai when the Lord gives the Ten Commandments.
- But, the mountain of God moves. The Lord changes its location.
- Consider what we read in the book of Isaiah, “And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isa 2:3 )
- Or in the book of Joel we read, “Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will pass through it no more.” (Joe 3:17)
- Then again in the book of Micah, “And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, ‘Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths.’ For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Mic 4:1-2)
- Both events happened on day 50.
- They arrived at Sinai in the third month on the very day (Ex. 19:1). “In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.” (Ex. 19:1)
- In Hebrew “on that very day” means they arrived on the third day of the third month exactly 50 days after their first Passover meal in Egypt. The feast of Shavuot is to happen on the 50th day after the weekly sabbath during Passover and Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:15-16).
- Both involved similar sounds and symbols, such as wind, fire, and voices (Ex. 19:16-19; Acts 2:1-3).
- Note that the Hebrew for "thunder" (kolot) means "voices" (Acts 2:4).
- Jewish tradition said that the Israelites heard God speak in 70 languages or, to translate direct from the Hebrew, God spoke in tongues!
- Both events involved the presence of God (Ex. 19:18,20; Acts 2:4).
- About 3,000 people died because of their sin when Moses received the Torah (Ex. 32:28). About 3,000 people believed (were born again into new life) when the Spirit came (Acts 2:41).
- At Mount Sinai, God wrote his revelation on stone tablets (Ex. 31:18). On the fulfillment of Pentecost, God wrote his law on people's hearts as he had promised He would (2 Cor. 3:3; Jer. 31:33).
- Torah means "teaching." The Spirit, given on Shavuot, also became the "Teacher" of the new community of Jesus' followers (John 14:26)
- Many Jews from all over the world heard in their own language from a bunch of kids, young men and women, who only knew Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew. These 120 disciples of Yeshua received "power" and spoke in other language they didn't know or understand.
- All the people, probably hundreds of thousands at the Temple on Shavuot, heard the Gospel!! Peter did a short five minute speech and 3000 wanted to be baptized. It was as if it was SINAI REPEATED!! This is part of what Jesus meant when He said they’d receive “power.”
- Both events were times when God’s people entered a NEW covenant with the Lord.
- Israel became a new nation, a nation of priests, and nation that would be the light of the world (Ex. 19:6, Isa. 49:6).
- And, for us, we have entered a NEW covenant with the Lord as we take the cup of Messiah in His Last Seder meal (Luke 22:20).
- We too become a new people, a new nation, a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9-10). We to are to be the light of the world (Mat.5:14, Acts 1:7-8). But, this time, this covenant is the covenant to restore all people to Himself as our sins our totally cleansed and forgiven.
- This is the final covenant for Jew and Gentile to become one flock with one shepherd, the Good Shepherd, the Messiah Jesus (John 10:14-16). The Shadow of Messiah.
- On Shavuot there is a special sacrifice. Amazingly it uses two loaves of LEAVENED BREAD (Lev. 23:17). Is God giving us a picture that Jew and Gentile are a new people, a new culture, a holy nation, His two flocks coming together as ONE permeated and saturated with His Holy Spirit dwelling in us and through us? Is God helping us see that His Bible is ONE book, about ONE God, about ONE Gospel, ONE Baptism, and ONE Savor of all – Yeshua!
4 days ago
4 days ago
Today is Shavuot (Pentecost) ... by God's own word in Acts 1:8 this feast is the Power Feast of the Lord. Jesus did not say to stay in Jerusalem till you receive tongues ... Jesus did not say to stay in Jerusalem till you receive spiritual gifts ... NO!! He said stay till the Holy Spirit comes to give us POWER to go and bring HIM to the ends of the earth.
5 days ago
5 days ago
SHAVUOT - EPISODE 6
Adonai is connecting Passover to First Fruits (Bikkureem) and First Fruits to Shavuot or Pentecost. It is so clear. When we put these events into their historical context of 1446 B.C. or the time of the first Passover, and in 30 A.D., the probable time of Jesus' death an resurrection, ascension, and the feast of Pentecost in Acts 2, we see how the missing pieces of Pentecost are filled in. Our understanding is again enriched and enhanced and we ask ourselves, how did we miss so much? Why isn't Pentecost Sunday a big deal in my church?
In this lesson I hope you will become as passionate as I in terms of the fact we in the "church" need to bring back Pentecost Sunday and make it a big deal again. It is more, much more, than what some say is the "birthday of the church." Shavuot, its Hebrew name, is integrated into the special season, the season of God's ways of deliverance, salvation, redemption, and renewal.
Hear the words of Jesus, the Good Shepherd,
"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep (us Gentiles), which are not of this fold (Israel); I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they (Jew and Gentile) will become one flock with one shepherd." (Joh 10:14-16)
This is the gathering in of His believers as one flock, one people, or one assembly - in Greek ECCLESIA which is translated as CHURCH. The gathering of His assembly seems to begin in John 1 when two followed Jesus. One was Andrew, Peter's brother. More were added as Jesus came to them and said, "Come. Yes, come. Follow me." Shavuot is when the Lord poured out upon us POWER to be His witnesses to GO and make disciples and take God's Salvation (Yeshua - Jesus' name in Hebrew - means salvation!) and take God's Yeshua to the ends of the earth. Our POWER day is PENTECOST.
Here are the links referenced in this lesson.
Ray Vander Laan's audio lesson on Shavuot - https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/shavuot
Tutorial of the feast of Shavuot presented by the Temple Institute in Jerusalem - http://templeinstitute.org/shavuot/
Rev. Ferret's lesson from his book entitled, "The Spring Feasts: the Shadows of the Messiah" - https://www.dropbox.com/s/2rs9dwl481eb9s1/Chapter%204%20-%20The%20Spring%20Feasts%20-%20the%20End%20of%20the%20Beginning.pdf?dl=0
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?
Ferret teaching in northern Israel at Tel Omrit
What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
6 days ago
6 days ago
SHAVUOT - EPISODE 5
Where did the the events of Acts 2 happen? In the upper room? Some say it had to be since the disciples were all frightened to be jailed and persecuted like Jesus. But, were they frightened by the time Shavuot comes around? Remember, Jesus rises from the dead in the 1st day of the Omer (listen to lesson 1) - He rises from the dead on the feast of First Fruits, Bikkureem. Forty days pass - over 5 weeks - and Jesus ascends to the Father. Were those disciples cowering in the upper room for 40 days and 40 nights? Absolutely not. The Bible is clear and precise on this. Moreover, on Shavuot where would be the only place to find a large crowd of religious Jews? Where is the ONLY place you'd find a large crowd of 3000 who wanted to be baptized after they heard Peter's sermon? Where?
The important point of all this is just as God chose the 40th day for His Son to return (the Ascension) God also picked a precise location for the coming of the Holy Spirit ( רוח הקודש Ruach HaKodesh) upon the 120 disciples. The 40th day was full of meaning if you were a Jew in 30 A.D. a disciple of Jesus witnessing the ascension. Likewise, the location of the events in Acts 2 is chosen by God since it makes the connection of Passover to Pentecost.
Here are the links I mentioned in this podcast.
Link to Rev. Ferret's article on Bikureem and First Fruits and the count of the Omer - https://www.dropbox.com/s/vca81ywpv8nu900/Article%20from%20book%20BIKKUREEM%20final.pdf?dl=0
Link to the Shavuot tutorial at the website for The Temple Institute - https://templeinstitute.org/shavuot/
Link for an article on where is Mt. Zion - https://www.seetheholyland.net/mount-zion/
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?
Ferret someplace in the Jordan Valley south of Beth Shean
What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
6 days ago
6 days ago
Shavuot – Episode 4
In the previous episode we established the real possibility that the Hebrews arrived on the 3rd day of the 3rd month. If this is the case then it seems as if יהוה Yahvay, the Lord, God, lead His people to His mountain to receive a new covenant at His mountain, Mt. Sinai, 50 days after Passover, after the first day of Unleavened Bread. The Hebrews enter a new covenant relationship with the Lord. This is an amazing event in that a new nation is born, a chosen people, and it's like a new beginning, a new start. It reminds me of the Year of Jubilee - every 50 years it is the year of Jubilee.
The Year of the Jubilee involved a year of release from indebtedness (Leviticus 25:23-38) and all types of bondage (vv. 39-55). All prisoners and captives were set free, all slaves were released, all debts were forgiven, and all property was returned to its original owners. (Like a new start) In addition, all labor was to cease for one year, and those bound by labor contracts were released from them. One of the benefits of the Jubilee was that both the land and the people were able to rest. (Accessed at https://www.gotquestions.org/Jubilee.html July 25,2022)
In this session we will see the awesome connection this has to the feast of Shavuot (Weeks) or Pentecost in Jesus' day. Jesus rose from the dead on a Biblical feast, the feast of first fruits, the Sunday after Passover. Then 50 days later the 120 disciples received the Holy Spirit and these 120 as the "light to the nations" spoke in tongues of the Salvation of the Lord, the "Yeshua" of יהוה Yahvay. It was the New Covenant of the Lord at the mountain of the Lord, Jerusalem. Peter became so inspired, he does a short sermon in Acts 2 and as a result 3000 were baptized on the 50th day, Shavuot or Pentecost. Did he received the promised power to be the witness to the nations? You better believe it. So, the number 50 even takes on even more significance. Now it seems to be related to the days of Messiah and the coming of the רוח הקודש Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit.
The Jubilee presents a beautiful picture of the New Testament themes of redemption and forgiveness. Christ is the Redeemer who came to set free those who are slaves and prisoners to sin (Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1; 3:22). The debt of sin we owe to God was paid on the cross as Jesus died on our behalf (Colossians 2:13-14), and we are forgiven the debt forever. We are no longer in bondage, no longer slaves to sin, having been freed by Christ, and we can truly enter the rest God provides as we cease laboring to make ourselves acceptable to God by our own works (Hebrews 4:9-10). (Accessed at https://www.gotquestions.org/Jubilee.html July 25,2022)
God has clearly done something on purpose. He has connected the New Covenant at His mountain, Mt. Sinai, to the New Covenant at His mountain, Jerusalem. The giving of the Ten Commandments is intimately connected to Pentecost or Shavuot.
I taught this as a class. Here's a link to the chapter from my class book. If you need the bibliography email me and I will get it to you.
Link to the article from Light of Menorah on Shavuot - https://www.dropbox.com/s/2rs9dwl481eb9s1/Chapter%204%20-%20The%20Spring%20Feasts%20-%20the%20End%20of%20the%20Beginning.pdf?dl=0
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?
Ferret - someplace just north of Eilat, Israel in the Wilderness
What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
Tuesday May 19, 2026
Tuesday May 19, 2026
Shavuot - Episode 3
They made it. The Hebrews led by Moses by the hand of Yahvay, the Lord, finally arrive at the Mountain of God. Here they will receive the Ten Commandments which the Lord says is His Covenant as we read …
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. (Exo 34:27-28)
Israel comes to the Mountain of God in the Sinai and there they will enter a New Covenant - nothing like this ever happened before – and become a chosen people, a holy nation, and nation of priests. But, wait a minute, that sounds so familiar. It reminds us of Jesus and His lifting up His cup at His Last Supper – the cup of the New Covenant. This happens in Jerusalem.
There’s more. It so happens that the Mountain of God was Mt. Sinai as can be found in Exod. 3:1 and 3:12 and 19:1-3. We got this. No problem. But then we see that God moves His mountain to a new location. Just consider a few proof texts …
Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Isa 2:2-3)
"I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. "Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the LORD, "just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. (Isa 66:19-20)
And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Mic 4:1-2)
He moved His mountain. It is now the Temple Mount in Jerusalem also known as Mt. Zion. (The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David (2 Samuel 5:7, 1 Chronicles 11:5; 1 Kings 8:1, 2 Chronicles 5:2) and later for the Temple Mount, but its meaning has shifted and it is now used as the name of ancient Jerusalem's Western Hill)
And, this is where the New Covenant of God is given through Yeshua HaMashiach, Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. On top of that we read the following …
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1Pe 2:9)
Wow. What an amazing connection between the New Covenant at the Mountain of God Mt. Sinai and the New Covenant at the Mountain of God Mt. Zion - a Biblical name for the Temple Mount. God is connecting these covenants. He is not replacing the latter with the former. They are intimately related and you can not have on New Covenant without the other.
Is there more? You won’t believe it. This is another awesome chapter in Torah that meets the goals of this podcast series. Here are those goals.
So come and join us in this study. This is another awesome example that there is ONE book, ONE Bible, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, ONE God, ONE Lord, with ONE goal, Jesus!
Who is this guy, Rev. Ferret?
Ferret teaching on the Baja Mexico
What's his background? Why should we take time to listen to him? Here's a link to check out his background ... - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
Monday May 18, 2026
Monday May 18, 2026
SHAVUOT - EPISODE 2
The feast of Pentecost is a day many Christians say is the "birthday" of the church. That's right! It is also the time God sends His Holy Spirit upon us. That's right! But there is so much more.
In this first lesson we will put this feast back into its historical and cultural context of the 1st century in Israel. We will again ask how Jesus' 120 disciples, who saw Him ascend on day 40 after His resurrection, understood this time and these events. For them, Jesus ascending on day 40 had a meaning we don't get since we are not Jewish followers of Jesus back then. That Jesus rose on day 40 is explosive to those 1st believers and it will be to us as well. God chose this day on purpose. Forty has major significance to those Jewish disciples of Jesus then.
In this lesson we will clearly establish the connection between all these feasts - Passover to First Fruits to Shavuot or Pentecost. Jesus' ascension is intimately connected to Passover and Pentecost. When we "walk" those paths and streets like the 120 disciples by our study in this class, may we obtain a deeper and more enriching understanding of the feast of Shavuot. Perhaps it will inspire many in the church to return the services on Pentecost Sunday into the joyous and powerful time of remembrance it was intended to be by the Lord but has been mostly neglected by the church.
Here are the some links I mentioned in this lesson. This will add to your study.
1) My article on the Feast of First Fruits, the Omer Count, and Shavuot - https://www.dropbox.com/s/dv38j7tx1qos4ue/d%20Lesson4..COUNTING%20THE%20DAYS...2019..107..136.pdf?dl=0
2) Link to pictures of the Chapel of the Ascension - https://www.biblewalks.com/AscensionChurch
3) Link to pictures of the Russian Church of the Ascension on the Mt. of Olives - https://www.biblewalks.com/russianascensionchurch
4) Link to pictures of Augusta Victoria and the German Lutheran Church of the Ascension - https://www.biblewalks.com/augustavictoria
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?
John & his wife Robin teaching in Mexico
What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0