LIGHT OF MENORAH

Some people think that the word "fornication" means sex outside of marriage. Some say that this is what it means in the Bible.  NOPE.  Sorry folks.  God never states specifically that pre-marital sex or sex outside of marriage is a sin.  But it is.  How does God teach us this in His Torah, His "instruction?"  How did He get this across to His chosen people the Hebrews coming out of Egypt?  How did God do this to His people in the 1st century A.D. when He, Yeshua HaMaschiach, Jesus the Messiah, God Himself, how did He teach this THEN?  We missed it.  He did teach it.  But, once again we need to put the Bible into its historical perspective.  One needs to understand how God taught them THEN 3400, 3000, 2500,  or 2000 years ago, so we can understand NOW.  Sex outside of marriage is a sin and, on top of that, it looks as if it is something God hates.  Wait till you see.

Here's a number of links I promised in the podcast you many find very enlightening.  

Link 1 - the practice of sex outside of marriage, abortion, and infanticide in ancient Greece and Rome - https://soc.history.ancient.narkive.com/DIO506S4/world-before-christ-infanticide-and-abortion-in-ancient-pagan-world

Link 2 - the 613 laws of Maimonides - https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/756399/jewish/The-613-Commandments-Mitzvot.htm

Link 3 - Jewish scholarly site showing that pre-marital sex is NOT brought up in the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament) - https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-views-on-premarital-sex/

Link 4 - Ray Vander Laan's article on ancient pagan religion and practices - https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/fertility-cults-of-canaan

Link 5 - Josephus' statement that abortion is considered murder - https://lexundria.com/j_ap/2.202/wst

Link 6 - my research article for my master's degree in Biblical history.  The focus is on adoption in ancient Turkey (Asia Minor) but relates to infanticide in ancient Rome.  The bibliography is invaluable - https://www.dropbox.com/s/i0fg3wwbm9xohzq/Ephesus%20Adopt.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

Recently an associate of mine asked me about the Parable of the Talents in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 25.  There are some who say that God is teaching us concepts regarding investing our money.  This is highly doubtful once we consider the textual context (the words before and even after the parable) and the historical context.  A highly credible archaeologist, Dr. Ben Witherington III (an American New Testament scholar. Witherington is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church), said that TEXT with no CONTEXT is a PRETEXT for what we want the words to mean.  Thus, no context means you can make up your own meaning.  This is dangerous and is  frequently done in the church today and in many seminaries who have abandoned the study of the Bible in its historical setting.

The parable of the TALENTS is in context.  It is similar to what has come before and after.  It starts in Matt. 24:36 and the context ends in Matt. 25:46.  Jesus is teaching about His return.  As you study these verses you'll notice there are always two groups or two types of individuals.  There will be two men or women in a field and one will be left behind and the other taken.  There will be a faithful servant and an evil servant or there will be 5 sensible virgins and 5 foolish or sheep and goats.  There will be good and faithful servants who act on faith and an unfaithful servant who did not do anything but lived in fear.  The parable of the TALENTS falls right in the middle of all this.  That's the context.  It has nothing to do with your abilities, your "talents," your God given blessings or the proper way to invest.  It has everything to do with the Kingdom of the Lord and who were are in His Kingdom now and before He returns.

Jesus taught this parable 2000 years ago to His disciples.  That Jesus ONLY taught His disciples is clear as this parable, and the parable of the Wise and Foolish virgins, is in a section that begins in Chapter 24 of Matthew's Gospel when Jesus was on the Mt. of Olives.  His disciples came to Him and started asking Him about the end times.  The Parable of the Talents is taught to His disciples; it was Jesus and His 12 only.  For those disciples raised in Judaism of Jesus' day they heard this parable in ways that differ with how we look at it as Christians in the 21st century.  Let's return to HEAR what they heard THEN so that we can have the Spirit of the Lord expand our understanding NOW.  Once we do we can then understand that from this parable we should ask daily, in every circumstance, in all situations, מה ישוע היה עושה‎, Mah Yeshua Hayah Osay - what would Jesus do.  Thus, we are like our "rabbi" and thus we are true disciples doing the works He gave us after being saved by grace. (Eph. 2:8-10)

One of the great teacher/scholars I had the chance to study under in my masters program was Dr. Brad Young.  His website link is https://www.bradyoung.org/  He wrote a book entitled, "The Parables," which gives us the Jewish 1st century context of many key parables of Jesus.  I highly recommend this book and you can easily obtain it at Dr. Young's website or at Amazon and other book outlets.  Below is a link to an article that Dr. Young wrote that will enhance your study ...

Link - https://www.bridgesforpeace.com/letter/what-did-that-parable-really-mean/

Another awesome view of this parable in its 1st century Jewish context is found at a Messianic scholarly site called TorahClass.com. They show that the parable is related to another famous parable about the characteristics of disciples in the Kingdom, the Parable of the Four Soils.  Here's the link - 

https://www.torahclass.com/lessons/new-testament/matthew/lesson-86-ch25/

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

Did you know that there is no prohibition in the Old Testament or New Testament against abortion or premarital sex?  In the Old Testament there is NO law against abortion.  There is no statement that sex before marriage is a sin.  Yet, as followers of Jesus, as Christians, and His disciples, we all agree that abortion is murder, a terrible sin, and premarital sex is immoral and a sin.  Even Josephus in his work Apion says that abortion is murder.  Huh?  Where does that come from?  Where does God in His written word directly come against abortion and premarital sex?  

When we put the word of Adonai into its historical context, back into the days of Moses, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and then into the days of Jesus and the early church, there seems to be an answer that we miss.  God does seem to state quite clearly to the Hebrews just out of Egypt and later to the Hebrews in the Promised Land, Canaan, and then to the Jewish people in the 2nd Temple period (500 B.C. to 70 A.D.) that abortion and premarital sex is an abomination to the Lord.  This podcast suggests an alternative view based upon the historical context and the Jewish culture.  

However, once we see that this is a real likelihood we also see that God seems to be teaching about something broader and more extensive then just a focus on abortion and sex outside of marriage.  What He teaches relates to the days we live in now.  God seems to emphasize we are to be a special observable peculiar people - distinctly different.  

Video link 1 - Tel Meggido - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvVUKKU6Xi8&t=193s

Video Link 2 - Bible study at the archaeological site of ancient Corinth - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK4C44yuIBU

Video link 3 - "drone" fly over the Corinth reconstructed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEHPfMIyLfc

Link to key articles for further study - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q2tltmkswqbtxg5/AAB1eOA3NDhrNhyM-TURn80Da?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

 

The Hebrews cried out but they did not cry out to the Lord.  The Bible is crystal clear on this. The Hebrew word for "cry out" is H2199 זעק pronounced ZA-A-KA.  According to the Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon it is more a shriek of terror or a loud cry of total despair.  Their ZA-A-KA made it to God's ears and then He remembered what's going on.  Huh?  Did God forget?  Your Bible in English implies that  God forgot!  This is crazy.  The Hebrew word for remember also means "constantly aware" so that we see it is always on the Lord's mind.

It is very interesting that Moses chose H2199 זעק  ZA-A-KA to use.  Is it possible that the Hebrews cried out and it had something to do with the fact that the pharaoh died and a new pharaoh, his son, will now ascend to office?  The Hebrew grammar and the archaeology says yes but there is even more.  It looks as God Himself had a hand in all this.  It could be the Lord needed to do something to His people to give them a good reason to leave Egypt.  I mean, come on gang, why leave Egypt, the world's most powerful and richest kingdom then, and go back to Canaan?  How do you get the Hebrews to want to leave and follow some 80 year old shepherd out of Egypt into the snake and scorpion infested deadly wilderness?  

Moses enters the scene.  He is the chosen redeemer of the Lord to get His people out of Egypt and to the Promised Land.  One of the first things that happens is Moses comes to "The Mountain of God."  It is so cool that this mountain moves - it's like God's RV.  Yup, "The Mountain of God" moves from one place to another.  Did you know that? It is a picture of the ultimate plan of God.  And it's all right there, in the Bible, as plain as day.  How do we miss it?  

(Rev Ferret on the ancient acropolis of Pergamon)

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

 

We will continue with the verse Gen. 2:3.  The Hebrew - not the English - suggests that God stopped creating works that were still yet to be done!  Huh?  Works yet to be done?  Works created but had not even started or were completed? Works for the future? This is too awesome since this implies that we, made in His image, are to go and work just like Him.  Hmmm, does the Bible teach that? It suggests right from the "get go" we were created for a purpose.  But, did God specify it in His Word and not imply or suggest?

It seems clear also that this implies Jesus as well.  He said that He is doing the works given to Him by the Father.  He tells those listening to Him then in John 5 that He will even do greater works than what they just saw (He had just healed a man lame for 39 years).  On top of that Jesus tells us on the night before He died in John 14 that if we are His true talmideem - His true disciples - that the works the Father gave Him Jesus gives to us and we also will even do "greater works."  It is as if Gen. 2:3 is God's first prediction of the good news coming in the future.  Now the verse Eph. 2:8-10 makes sense.  Yes!  We are saved by grace but at the same time we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus (that means we the ones called by His name, we are the ones who state that Jesus is our Lord, our Savior, God, we are His true disciples) for GOOD WORKS created BEFORE HAND!! 

This is an amazing connection of Eph. 2:8-10 to the Torah.  But, why should it surprise us.  When Paul wrote the letter to Ephesus the only Bible they had was the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament.  

This lesson will also address the Documentary Hypothesis - a theory that states that Moses never wrote the Torah.  We will study this anti-Bible theory and show that it is false.  It comes against Jesus' own words when Jesus states clearly many times that the Torah is of Moses or the Torah are the "books of Moses."  Below is a link to a deep scholarly article from the Associates for Biblical Research that shows the Documentary Hypothesis is wrong and should be buried forever.   Here's the link ... https://www.biblearchaeology.org/research/topics/biblical-criticism-and-the-documentary-hypothesis/2328-the-documentary-hypothesis

On top of that, the Sabbath (שַׁבָּת Shabbat in Hebrew) testifies of Messiah Yeshua, Jesus the Christ.  Check it out from one of the chapters in one of the class books from Light of Menorah.  Here’s the link - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/owszf7iszt7wkykkonggs/SHADOW-OF-MESSIAH-OVER-THE-SHABBAT.pdf?rlkey=axyzu36d3x1457cmp5z823xrw&st=m5flxovt&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

THE MISSING SIN OFFERING

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

In lesson 4 parts 1 & 2 we were able to see the foundation of the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Gospel of Messiah Yeshua, Jesus the Christ.   As I mentioned in this video I will give you links to other podcasts that provide additional learning with respect to the fact that the Gospel totally comes out of the Torah and it is totally Jewish.  For the Jews in Jesus’ day with the only Bible available to them, the Hebrew Scriptures or the Old Testament, were more likely to grasp the “Good News” and how it related to them then.  They knew about the two types of sin God told them about in Torah, and they knew the Gospel was all related to Intentional sin and the fact that through Jesus, through the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God, only then are one’s Intentional sins cleansed and forgiven and only then is the Torah complete, finished.  So, here’s the links to study this in more depth.  And remember, please.  For each audio or video make sure you check the “Comments” section for even more resources.

Link to Exodus Lesson 76 – WHO CARRIES OUR SINS? – Many times in the Hebrew it is said that God carries our sins.  Translators said that meant that God forgives sin.  But, there is a word in Hebrew for forgive or forgives.  So God carries away our sin.  It doesn’t say the sin is forgiven.  It is carried someplace.  What might this mean?  You’ve got to check this out (it starts at minute 22 in the podcast) -  https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/e/exodus-76-exod-3312-349-who-carries-our-inquity-transgression-and-sin/

Here’s the link to Truth Nuggets Lesson 28 part 2.  Great review of what is the Gospel and its Jewish roots foundation.  Once again God teaches about two types of sin, UNINTENTIONAL and INTENTIONAL and that He always meant to provide a means so that the WAY back to the Father is again open - https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/e/truth-nugget-28-lesson-1-part-2-the-living-word-and-the-written-word/

What is Atonement? What is Forgiveness?

In parts 1 &2 of lesson 4 I mentioned that atonement and forgiveness are not the same.  Atonement means "covering" or "satisfying" the penalty of sin. It operates in the realm of justice. Leviticus shows that atonement required a sacrifice—an innocent substitute whose blood was offered to pay the debt of the wrongdoer. But forgiveness means wiping away a debt and choosing not to hold an offense against someone anymore. It operates in the realm of mercy. God only grants forgiveness to people, but for us Christians it is legally and morally anchored in the atonement of Christ.

Check out the links below to go deeper.

[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/forgiveness-without-sacrifice.html

[2] https://biblehub.com/topical/a/atonement_and_forgiveness.htm

[3] https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-atonement-and-forgiveness

Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Maimonides on Forgiveness

Rabbi Akiva and the early Sages taught that physical Temple sacrifices were inherently insufficient to atone for deliberate, intentional sins Under Biblical law, standard individual sacrifices were strictly reserved for unintentional mistakes caused by carelessness or ignorance. When the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, it created a massive spiritual crisis because the Jewish people could no longer offer any sacrifices at all. Through this, Rabbi Akiva emphasized that direct repentance (teshuvah), a broken heart, and an unmediated relationship with God are what truly cleanse a person. While a sacrifice could never fix an intentional sin, true teshuvah has the power to transform even intentional malice into an opportunity for divine forgiveness. While several sages expanded on this concept, Rabbi Akiva specifically revolutionized how Judaism views the mechanics of forgiveness, purification, and the human relationship with God.

Rabbi Maimonides (the Rambam) also teaches that sacrifices are explicitly designated for unintentional sins rather than willful, defiant acts of rebellion. In his legal code, he clarifies that the standard biblical sin-offering is strictly reserved for those who violate a commandment by mistake or lack of awareness. Maimonides emphasizes that a physical sacrifice has no magical or automatic cleansing power on its own. In He  outlines that sincere repentance (Teshuvah) - consisting of remorse, ceasing the sin, and verbal confession - is the only mechanism that truly cleanses a person from intentional sin. If a person brought a sacrifice without inner repentance, it was entirely useless—even for an unintentional sin. Conversely, if a person commits a severe, intentional sin, they cannot simply bring an animal to the altar to wipe the slate clean; they must undergo a deep, internal transformation.

Teshuvah is a multi-step process that involves: Feeling sincere remorse.

• Making verbal confession (vidui).
• Correcting the wrong (such as making financial restitution to a victim).

Committing to never repeat the act when faced with the same temptation.

The rabbis were certainly on the path of truth when they said Teshuvah (repentance) is critical to the Lord forgiving us of our Intentional sin.  The problem is there was no blood sacrifice in the Torah for Intentional sin.  But, Jesus is the Blood Sacrifice and now the Sinai Covenant and the Torah are finished in Jesus.  Now through Jesus and His sacrifice we can return to the Father since the WAY (Jesus is the WAY) back to the Father.

Check out the links below to go deeper.

[1] https://jewsforjudaism.org

[2] https://rabbisacks.org

[3] https://outorah.org

[4] https://rabbisacks.org

[5] https://www.thetorah.com

[6] https://www.chabad.org

[7] https://www.derekhlearning.com

[8] https://www.betemunah.org

[9] https://outorah.org

[10] https://www.thetorah.com

[11] https://www.thetorah.com

[12] [https://henryabramson.com](https://henryabramson.com/maimonides-on-teshuvah/)

[13] [https://reformjudaism.org](https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/err-human-forgiveness-bring-sacrifice)

[14] [https://rabbisacks.org](https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/vayikra/the-dimensions-of-sin/)

[15] [https://jewsforjudaism.org](https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/weekly/demystifying-the-paradox-of-animal-sacrifices)

[16] https://www.thetorah.com/article/does-an-intentional-sinner-attain-atonement

[17] https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-jewish-view-of-sin/

 

House of Hillel (Beit Hillel) and the

House of Shammai (Beit Shammai)

GREAT RABBIS WHEN JESUS WAS A TEEN

The disciples of a rabbi are said to be the ones who make up the House of the rabbi. So all the disciples of Rabbi Hillel and said to be the House of Hillel.  The disciples of Rabbi Shammai are the House of Shammai.

In classical Jewish thought, intentional sin and the mechanics of repentance (Teshuva) expose a fundamental philosophical divergence between the House of Hillel (Beit Hillel) and the House of Shammai (Beit Shammai).

While biblical law dictates that sacrificial offerings atone almost exclusively for unintentional sins, forgiveness for intentional sins have different solutions if you are of the House of Hillel or the House of Shammai.

• Beit Shammai (Erasure to the Baseline): Shammai’s school operated on the principle of strict justice and rigorous cosmic truth. For them, the goal of Teshuva is to painstakingly erase the sin, scrub away the spiritual defilement, and return the soul to its original, neutral state before the sin occurred. Shammai ruled that they must descend into Gehenna (purgatory) to be refined through suffering before they can arise cleansed. He said argued it would have been better if humans were never created, because the stakes of intentional sin are too high, and human failure is devastating.
• Beit Hillel (Transformation into Merit): Hillel’s school operated on the attribute of loving-kindness (Chessed). They championed the expansive view later echoed throughout the Talmud: when a person repents out of profound love for God, intentional sins are actually transformed into merits. Hillel viewed the energy and passion used to commit the sin as a powerful raw resource that, when redirected toward good, elevates the person to a higher spiritual standing than they occupied before they fell. Hillel said it was better that man was created, focusing on the potential for good deeds and the beautiful capacity for human growth.

Check out the links below for further study.

[1] https://rabbisacks.org

[2] https://diasporayeshiva.com

[3] https://www.chabad.org

[4] https://www.sefaria.org

[5] https://pasyn.org

[6] https://www.sefaria.org

[7] https://pasyn.org

WHAT IS MIDRASH?

Midrash can indeed be unbiblical from a strict, literal historical standpoint because its goal is imaginative moral storytelling and legal reasoning rather than modern historical-grammatical reporting. It is used to …

* Filling in Gaps: Midrashic sages often invented backstories—like Abraham smashing his father's idols—that do not appear anywhere in the literal text of the Hebrew Bible.  In some cases like in Mark 7:1-13 the Pharisees taught that eating "clean" food while being unclean can make the clean food unclean.  This is make up.  This is not biblical.  God never made up that law.  It was a law of the "tradition of men" and not God's Torah.  We think it has to do with Jesus making all foods clean.  That was added into the text of Mark and was not part of the original  Jesus was not making all foods clean but coming against the Pharisees who made up their own laws that were not commanded by His Father.  

* Recontextualizing Verses: Rabbis linked completely separate verses or twisted context to generate new ethical rulings or theological lessons, which modern biblical critics recognize as departing from the God’s intent.

* Parabolic Purpose: Traditional Judaism views Midrash as homiletical teaching, metaphor, or oral tradition designed to start a conversation and extract deeper moral truths, not as a ledger of literal events.

In the Gospels, Jesus is highly critical of certain Pharisaic interpretive traditions, which would later form the foundation of Rabbinic Judaism and its classical literature (such as the Mishnah, Talmud, and Midrash). However, modern historical-critical scholars note that Jesus did not reject the interpretive method of midrash itself; rather, he rejected specific hermeneutical priorities and the inflation of oral traditions over the written word of God.

Did Jesus Use Midrash?

Ironically, while Jesus was deeply critical of Pharisaic/proto-rabbinic conclusions, he frequently used the midrashic method itself to expose their logical flaws. Midrash involves probing the text creatively, using wordplay, parables, and juxtaposing separate scriptures to draw out deeper dynamic meanings.

* Sabbath Controversies: When criticized for letting his disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath, Jesus responds using a common midrashic technique (comparing texts) by citing David eating the consecrated showbread (1 Samuel 21) and the priests working in the Temple on the Sabbath. He uses these examples to build a thematic argument: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27).

* Jesus used midrash in this verse -

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Mat 5:27-28)

He was "building a fence" around the Torah law not to commit adultery.  He's saying if you can refrain from looking at a woman to lust after her, you will avoid committing adultery.  

* The Heart of Torah: When asked to summarize the law, Jesus links Deuteronomy 6:5 (loving God) with Leviticus 19:18 (loving your neighbor)—a brilliant bit of associative midrash that was actually highly aligned with the lenient, compassionate approach of the famous Pharisaic sage Hillel.

[1] [https://jewinthecity.com](https://jewinthecity.com/2023/07/was-jesus-a-rabbi/)

[2] [https://sharperiron.org](https://sharperiron.org/article/jesus-teaches-old-testament-part-4-midrash-gospels)

[3] [https://www.fbcthomson.org](https://www.fbcthomson.org/post/jesus-calls-the-pharisees-hypocrites-a-study-of-traditions-and-laws-from-matthew-15-1-20)

[4] [https://wholestones.org](https://wholestones.org/2509-2/)

[5] [https://www.gotquestions.org](https://www.gotquestions.org/scribes-and-Pharisees.html)

UNINTENTIONAL AND

INTENTIONAL SIN

An intentional sin is a conscious, deliberate choice to disobey God, whereas an unintentional sin is committed out of ignorance, weakness, or mistake.

The Bible makes a clear distinction between these two types of actions based on the attitude of the heart.

Intentional sin is a planned or willful act against God's commands. The Bible sometimes calls this sin done "with a high hand" or in proud defiance. Examples are: Lying, stealing, or committing murder when you clearly know it is wrong. In the Old Testament law (like in Numbers 15), there was no specific animal sacrifice provided to pardon a defiant, intentional sin. In the New Testament, Christ's sacrifice covers all sin, but intentional sin still requires genuine repentance and a changed heart.

Unintentional Sin is an act that breaks God's law, but is done without full awareness, by accident, or through spiritual weakness.  Examples are: forgetting a religious rule, making an error due to ignorance, or failing to realize an action was harmful.  The Book of Leviticus set up specific rules and offerings—like bringing a female goat or a young bull—for unintentional sins. Ignorance of the law did not mean the person was guilt-free, but God provided mercy and a way to seek forgiveness once the mistake came to light.

 

[1] https://biblehub.com

[2] https://www.gotquestions.org

[3] https://biblehub.com

[4] https://ebible.com

[5] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org

[6] https://biblehub.com

 

YOMA 86.B – Rabbis Views on

Teshuvah and Intentional Sin from the Talmud (2nd to 4th century A.D.)

אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: גְּדוֹלָה תְּשׁוּבָה שֶׁדּוֹחָה אֶת לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לֵאמֹר הֵן יְשַׁלַּח אִישׁ אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ וְהָלְכָה מֵאִתּוֹ

וְהָיְתָה לְאִישׁ אַחֵר הֲיָשׁוּב אֵלֶיהָ עוֹד הֲלֹא חָנוֹף תֶּחֱנַף הָאָרֶץ הַהִיא וְאַתְּ זָנִית רֵעִים רַבִּים וְשׁוֹב אֵלַי נְאֻם ה׳״.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Great is repentance, as it overrides even a prohibition of the Torah. How so? As it is stated that God said: “…Saying: If a man sends away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, may he return to her again? Will not that land be greatly polluted? But you have committed adultery with many lovers; and would you yet return to Me, said the Lord” (Jeremiah 3:1). Indeed, the Torah states: “Her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife after she has been made impure” (Deuteronomy 24:4). The relationship between the Jewish people and the Holy One, Blessed be He, is compared to that between a husband and wife. Just as it is prohibited for an adulterous wife to return to her husband, it should be prohibited for the Jewish people to return to God from their sins, yet repentance overrides this prohibition.

אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן: גְּדוֹלָה תְּשׁוּבָה (שֶׁמְּקָרֶבֶת) אֶת הַגְּאוּלָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּבָא לְצִיּוֹן גּוֹאֵל וּלְשָׁבֵי פֶשַׁע בְּיַעֲקֹב״, מָה טַעַם ״וּבָא לְצִיּוֹן גּוֹאֵל״ — מִשּׁוּם דְּ״שָׁבֵי פֶשַׁע בְּיַעֲקֹב״.

Rabbi Yonatan said: Great is repentance, which hastens the redemption, as it is stated: “And a redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who repent from transgression in Jacob” (Isaiah 59:20). What is the reason that a redeemer will come to Zion? It is because there are those who repent from transgression in Jacob.

אָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: גְּדוֹלָה תְּשׁוּבָה שֶׁזְּדוֹנוֹת נַעֲשׂוֹת לוֹ כִּשְׁגָגוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״שׁוּבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ כִּי כָשַׁלְתָּ בַּעֲוֹנֶךָ״, הָא ״עָוֹן״ — מֵזִיד הוּא, וְקָא קָרֵי לֵיהּ מִכְשׁוֹל. אִינִי?! וְהָאָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: גְּדוֹלָה תְּשׁוּבָה שֶׁזְּדוֹנוֹת נַעֲשׂוֹת לוֹ כִּזְכִיּוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּבְשׁוּב רָשָׁע מֵרִשְׁעָתוֹ וְעָשָׂה מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה עֲלֵיהֶם (חָיֹה) יִחְיֶה״! לָא קַשְׁיָא: כָּאן מֵאַהֲבָה, כָּאן מִיִּרְאָה.

Reish Lakish said: Great is repentance, as the penitent’s intentional sins are counted for him as unwitting transgressions, as it is stated: “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity” (Hosea 14:2). The Gemara analyzes this: Doesn’t “iniquity” mean an intentional sin? Yet the prophet calls it stumbling, implying that one who repents is considered as though he only stumbled accidentally in his transgression. The Gemara asks: Is that so? Didn’t Reish Lakish himself say: Great is repentance, as one’s intentional sins are counted for him as merits, as it is stated: “And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby” (Ezekiel 33:19), and all his deeds, even his transgressions, will become praiseworthy? The Gemara reconciles: This is not difficult: Here, when one repents out of love, his sins become like merits; there, when one repents out of fear, his sins are counted as unwitting transgressions.

אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן: גְּדוֹלָה תְּשׁוּבָה שֶׁמַּאֲרֶכֶת שְׁנוֹתָיו שֶׁל אָדָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּבְשׁוּב רָשָׁע מֵרִשְׁעָתוֹ (חָיוֹ) יִחְיֶה״.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: Great is repentance, which lengthens the years of a person’s life, as it is stated: “When the wicked man turns from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he will preserve his life” (Ezekiel 18:27).

(From the website www.Sefaria.org - https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.86b.6?lang=bi&with=Tosafot%20Rabbi%20Akiva%20Eiger%20on%20Mishnah%20Yoma&lang2=en)

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?

(John - on the Nile at Luxor Egypt)

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

 

What would you say if someone asked you what was the Gospel?  More than likely we'd say something like, "It is the 'good news' that Jesus Christ died for human sins and rose from the dead to offer eternal life to all who repent and believe."  What would say if you're then asked what's the background behind the Gospel?  Like me, before I got my masters in Bible History and delved into the Jewish roots of Christianity, we'd probably have no idea how to respond.

But, Jesus taught the Gospel.  What did those Jews in His day hear when Jesus told them of the Gospel?  What did they understand?  Was it something brand new or was it something they understood? 

In this lesson we will study the Sin Offering.  Every Jew in Jesus' day knew what this offering was and what it did and what it did not do.  Every Jew also knew about Yom Kippur as the day of atonement for their sin.  The Sin Offering was a critical part of that day. 

So, were their sins atoned for?  Were they forgiven? On top of that are atonement and forgiveness the same?  If Jews are forgiven of their sins on Yom Kippur, a feast of the Lord, why did Jesus have to come and offer His life so our sins are forgiven?  He's the Lord.  He gave the Jews the appointed time of Yom Kippur.  So, if the offering on Yom Kippur took care of the sins of the Jews, then become a convert to Judism.  

So much is not taught in the "church" today.  The "church" has abandoned the historical context of the Bible and have separated itself from our Jewish roots.  Few pastors know Greek or the Hebrew or the cultural aspects of Israel in Jesus' day.  All they know is teaching from the New Testament without understanding that it is all Jewish and comes from the Jewish culture of Jesus' day and before and God's foundational books, the Torah.  

So, come and join us to understand the Sin Offering.  Come and join us and understand what God says sin is and isn't.  Come and join us and understand that once the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. the Jewish people felt they were in deep trouble without the Temple and the rituals God and ordered and designed.  It was as if no Temple then no Judaism.  Come and join us and grasp the foundational concepts of the Gospel that only makes sense in the Jewish culture and it comes out of God's Torah, His instruction (not law), the first five books of the Bible.  If you do not study Torah, the Bible in Jesus' day, you'll not have the understanding of the Gospel of the Kingdom.  You'll not get it out of the New Testament.  The New Testament comes out of the Old Testament.  For Jesus the only Bible He had was the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures with the Torah as the foundational books of God's word; the foundational books of the Gospel.

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?

(John - on the Nile at Luxor Egypt)

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

 

Truth Nugget 4 Part 2

The name of God is so special and so holy (kadosh קדוש) - meaning set apart, special, distinct.  The rabbis in Jesus' day and even before even made up a new law - don't say God's name so you won't break the commandment that says do not take HIS name in vain.  Therefore, in Jesus' day the tetragrammaton, yud hay vav hay יהוה, was not said.  Other words were substituted like Adonai meaning ""Lord" or HaShem meaning "the Name."  So one might say God's name, יהוה, I pronounce it "Yah Vay," is a name so above other names, so beyond other names, separate and set apart or kadosh קדוש - God even says this about His name.  

This is the historical context we need to understand when we read the New Testament.  Religious Jews who followed Jesus as Lord, as Savior, as God, knew this.  It was part of their everyday culture.  Thus, the verses Phil 2:5-11 take on a whole new meaning.  We then ask Jesus, "What is your name?  What is your REAL name?"  

Here are links to the articles I referenced in these podcasts.  

Judaism 101 - Jewish law or halakah (one's walk) - http://www.jewfaq.org/halakhah.htm

David Biven's article - "Jesus and the Oral Law: the Unutterable Name of God." - 

https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/2087/

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? 

(Ferret on the Sea of 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

This podcast is broken into two separate parts.  Part 1 sets up the historical context and part 2 applies it to a special verse about Jesus.

The name of God is so special and so holy (kadosh קדוש) - meaning set apart, special, distinct.  The rabbis in Jesus' day and even before even made up a new law - don't say God's name so you won't break the commandment that says do not take HIS name in vain.  Therefore, in Jesus' day the tetragrammaton, yud hay vav hay יהוה, was not said.  Other words were substituted like Adonai meaning ""Lord" or HaShem meaning "the Name."  So one might say God's name, יהוה, I pronounce it "Yah Vay," is a name so above other names, so beyond other names, separate and set apart or kadosh קדוש - God even says this about His name.  

This is the historical context we need to understand when we read the New Testament.  Religious Jews who followed Jesus as Lord, as Savior, as God, knew this.  It was part of their everyday culture.  Thus, the verses Phil 2:5-11 take on a whole new meaning.  We then ask Jesus, "What is your name?  What is your REAL name?"  

Here are links to the articles I referenced in these podcasts.  

Judaism 101 - Jewish law or halakah (one's walk) - http://www.jewfaq.org/halakhah.htm

David Biven's article - "Jesus and the Oral Law: the Unutterable Name of God." - 

https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/2087/

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? 

(Ferret on the Sea of 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

 

Exodus - 1446 B.C.

In part 1 we focused on real archaeology that shows 1) the Israelites were in Egypt prior to the Exodus and 2) that real archaeology supports the date of the Exodus to the 15 century B.C. or 1446 B.C.  In part 2 we will deal with the dates. 

In Exod. 12:40 the sons of Israel (Jacob) lived in Egypt 430 years till they left with Moses.  Where does that number come from?  Why doesn't anyone explain it?  Also it is taught to us that the early date of the Exodus was 1446 B.C. and no one ever justifies this date.  It is just stated.  Why won't anyone help us understand that this date of 1446 B.C. is supported by REAL archaeology and not someone's opinion or speculation.  Well, I will.  This lesson is to show that the early date of the Exodus, 1446 B.C. is very likely considering the archaeology supporting it and the study of the events in their historical context.  

I mentioned I will provide a number of resources and links to help you study further.  These links and resources are shown below.

You'll need these slides below to help you put all this together as you are listening.  

Link 1 - an article on Edwin Thiele that shows how he connects the Assyrian King List (calendar) to 1 Kings 6:1 - https://www.dropbox.com/s/m9au2fpr9suktj8/Dating%20Old%20Testament%20History%20Thiele.pdf?dl=0

Link 2 - an article by Dr. Bryant Wood on setting of the date for the Exodus - https://biblearchaeology.org/research/chronological-categories/exodus-era/3288-recent-research-on-the-date-and-setting-of-the-exodus

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? 

(Ferret ... resting in God's shade in His city, Yerooshalayeem)

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