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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
2 days ago
2 days ago
In John 5:39 we read the words of Yeshua when He said ...
"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me" (John 5:39 NASB).
All they had was the Old Testament in Jesus' day. Therefore, is there a connection with the purposes of the flood and the reason for the Cross? There is. It seems likely the flood testifies of the Messiah.
There are two critical verses to consider. Gen. 6:5 and 8:21. The first describes mankind before the flood. The second verse describes mankind after the flood. After the flood there were only eight people left, Noah and his wife, his three sons, and their wives. The verse are below.
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
(Gen 6:5)
The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
(Gen 8:21)
So Yahvay, the Lord God, is sad and decides to destroy all mankind. He does this and it is all because of the state of man as specified in Gen. 6:5. The flood occurs and now we are left with eight people. And God states that the condition of mankind (these remaining eight) hasn't changed! They are still ones whose heart is intent on evil from their youth. So, the flood did nothing. It did not get rid of sin and evil and man's inclination to sin. Is God saying that the only to get rid of evil, sin, and mankind's inclination to sin is to totally destroy all humans? If He had, if Yahvay also killed Noah and his family, there'd be no more sin. The Creator would've destroyed the Creature He made, man and woman, and we'd have a world with no sin and no evil. But, He left eight live. And they have the same condition as before the flood.
He left eight live. Is this perhaps related to a famous verse we seemingly all know and that is John 3:16 or
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
(Joh 3:16)
Is He saying that the answer to the dilemma of the curse on us, on all mankind, our inclination to sin, is the sacrifice of Messiah, the death of Yeshua?
So join us as we study the answer to the fact that the flood did nothing, it did not rid the world of sin and death and evil. Join us as we again hear THE VERY WORDS OF GOD and see that scripture testifies of Jesus and the redemption plan of the Lord.
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/scl/fi/8qth6w4e56oub9js1w1gu/BackgrndTeacher-mar-25-2020.pdf?rlkey=f14fr2wmde5fezjmnrny8cycl&dl=0
2 days ago
Saturday Nov 02, 2024
Exodus 18 - Exod 6:6-8 THE CUPS OF SALVATION
Saturday Nov 02, 2024
Saturday Nov 02, 2024
We continue with Exod. 6:6-8. These verses are connected by the Sages/Rabbis of Judaism to four cups of the Passover Seder. In the previous lesson, lesson 17, we also explored the debate the sages/rabbis had whether there should be four or five cups. On top of that all this seemed to be related to the end times! And we explored the possibility that what is known as the "rapture" is nothing more than the "ingathering" of the elect of God. In Paul's day the INGATHERING was when the dead will rise first and along with those who are alive will be taken up and brought to Israel at the time of the coming of Messiah. In 1 Thess 4:16-17 ...
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1Th 4:16-17)
So the "rapture" is for all of us "grafted in to the olive tree of Israel" and us who are "joint heirs" with the covenants and promises of God to be taken up and "gathered" to Israel and to then to participate in the MARRIAGE FEAST OF THE LAMB and to be with our "husband" forever in Jerusalem. This fits the rabbinic ideas of the ingathering of the elect. Even Jesus uses the word of gathering us in. See below ...
"But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (Mat 24:29-31)
Jesus is God and God said we would be GATHERED. Any Jew then hearing these words knew it meant the INGATHERING as promised again and again in the Hebrew scriptures. When Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians all He had was the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament. So who do you believe, some pastor teaching the "rapture" with no background in the Hebrew culture or the historical context of the Bible, or GOD? The choice seems clear.
In this session we continue studying the cups of Passover. It is possible that the idea of the 5th cup for the Passover meal, today called the Seder, was known in Jesus' day. What is amazing is that the idea of the 5th cup seems to be related also to the cup of wrath that all nations will drink in the end times ...
For thus the LORD, the God of Israel, says to me, "Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. "They will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them." Then I took the cup from the LORD'S hand and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a ruin, a horror, a hissing and a curse, as it is this day; (Jer 25:15-18)
And it seems to be related to Jesus and the events in the Gat Sheminim - the olive press where He went to pray after His Passover meal. I mentioned in this podcast that Jesus went to an olive press and not the garden of Gethsemane. You can not find any records that there was a place called the garden of Gethsemane and neither is the phrase "garden of Gethsemane," those exact words, found in the Bible. I did a video on this and here's the link so you can study this further - LINK - click here to watch the 11 minute video Also, here is an amazing article from :Biblical Archaeolgy REview" from 1995 of the possible actual "cave" that Jesus visited to pray that was an olive press - LINK - click here for the article
The Passover meal of the Messiah, called the Last Supper traditionally, was even more profound. Those disciples of Jesus knew the meaning of the four cups of wine and the verse in Torah they represented. They knew of the new covenant at Sinai that Israel entered into with the Lord at the Mountain of God (Exod. 3:1) and it was as if God became their "husband" and Israel was His "bride." But, they also knew that the Mountain of God moved to Jerusalem (Isa. 2:1-3) and Jesus takes a cup, one of the cups in the Passover meal, and offers it to His talmideem (disciples), as a sign of a New Covenant they can enter at the Mountain of God. When Jesus lifted up the cup He was giving us an AMAZING PROPOSAL to be His bride and He our Bridegroom - SINAI REPEATED!!
In this podcast I mentioned other links I would provide. See these below.
Link - article on Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread as practiced in Jesus' day and that all these events may have occurred in 30 A.D. and not 33 A.D. - click here for the article
Link - to Hayyim Schauss' book, "The Jewish Festivals" at Amazon - click here to access this resource
Link - Ray Vander Laan's DVD and study book entitled "The Path to the Cross" - click here for the DVD and the book
Link - Dennis Prager's audio Torah study - an extremely valuable resource - even better than his books - click here for this important resource
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - click here for the teacher's background
Friday Nov 01, 2024
Genesis 18 - Gen. 6:5-8:22 - THE FLOOD: DID WE MISS SOMETHING?
Friday Nov 01, 2024
Friday Nov 01, 2024
So many times I hear Christians vehemently argue that the flood in the Bible is global as opposed to local. They say sciences proves it and the Bible itself proves it. But, I contend that this is the wrong argument. It is not if the flood was real or if it was global or not, the argument is, WHY THE FLOOD. What was its purpose?
It seems clear God tells us. The problem is the issue with mankind that saddened the Lord and this issue, the curse of mankind, did not disappear with the 8 survivors. If you study the very word of God carefully we find that that which was inherent in mankind before the flood was not taken care of in Noah, his sons, their wives, and Noah’s wife. The flood did nothing. This in itself is huge.
God is showing us something we missed. God is teaching us about sin and evil. God is teaching us there is only one way to get rid of sin and evil. But, no, we miss it since we are too concerned with if the flood was global or local. We simply can’t “see” the forest through the trees.
There are some great links that show clearly the flood was not global but local. Check them out below. But, again, the issue that the flood did occur, or if it did occur was is global or not, is not the issue! The issue is God is showing us that sin and evil in us can be taken care of by God destroying all of us – ALL. But, Yahvay left 8 alive. There were eight with the same evil inclination the saddened God and thus He decided to destroy all mankind. But, He didn’t. He preserved 8 with the same sinful evil inclination. Now what? What will the Lord do now to get rid of sin and evil in us? Simple. Ever hear of the Gospel?
Check this link out - an article by Dr. Hugh Ross, a brilliant and proven scientific scholar and devoted Christian. His expertise and knowledge will blow you away. Here's the link to his article ... https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/todays-new-reason-to-believe/does-the-bible-say-noah-s-flood-was-global-or-universal
After you read the article check out this detailed lecture presented again by Dr. Hugh Ross to students and teachers at a Christian seminary regarding the flood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTuUCAkpHUQ
Then, check out this article by a prove credible Christian geologist regarding the flood - it can't be global - https://www.csun.edu/~vcgeo005/Carol%201.pdf
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/scl/fi/8qth6w4e56oub9js1w1gu/BackgrndTeacher-mar-25-2020.pdf?rlkey=f14fr2wmde5fezjmnrny8cycl&dl=0
Thursday Oct 31, 2024
Exodus - 17 - Exod. 6:1-8 - Five Cups and the Jewish Rapture
Thursday Oct 31, 2024
Thursday Oct 31, 2024
This lesson and the next will be awesome. Our focus will be on Exod. 6:1-8. It will unbelievable where this takes us. We will be dealing with the reason why there are four cups of wine in the Passover meal called the Seder (Hebrew for order). We will also deal with the 5th cup. Yes! There is a debate among the rabbis in the Talmud about whether there should be four or five cups. Shown below are links to articles from Jewish websites to show that this debate comes from the rabbis and it led to some amazing results. Check them out …
Sefaria (Jewish site to access ancient Jewish literature like the Mishnah, the Midrasheem, the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud, and the rest) - https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/31880?lang=bi
Aish (Jewish website – aish means “fire”) - https://www.aish.com/tp/i/moha/81091867.html
Gemara (Jewish site focusing on the study of the Hebrew scriptures in their historical and contextual context) - https://thegemara.com/five-cups-of-wine-at-the-seder/index.html
The 5th cup is connected to the text in Exod. 6:8 when we read, “I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD." (Exo 6:8) But, when will Israel possess the land with the borders God promised? They don’t now. Today Israel does not come close to holding the territory God promised and about half of all Jews do not live in Israel. We will see that after the battle against Gog of Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39 that the first thing that must happen is that ALL Israel must be INGATHERED; they are to be gathered again in Israel never again to leave and there will be NO Jewish people remaining anywhere in the world except in the borders of Israel that God gave them. You can read this yourself in Ezekiel 39. All this happens after Elijah comes before the great day of the Lord when Messiah comes (Yeshua returns!). Interestingly the 5th cup is called the “Elijah Cup” by the rabbis.
The last concept we will discuss is what is popularly known as the “rapture.” As a Bible historian I was often concerned that most, if not all Christian teachers of the end times and the rapture, are so disconnected from our Jewish roots, the Bible in its historical context, and an understanding that there was NO New Testament in 50 A.D., the date estimated when Paul was in Thessalonica. I actually dismissed the “rapture” and thought it was only a view, an opinion, a unique man made interpretation. I was one who hoped it'd be true. It just didn't stand the test of scholarly examination. There were too many holes and not enough substance. However, I am beginning to look at the “rapture” perhaps the way Paul might have known it. We will take 1 Thess. 4:16-17 and study these verses in their historical context and in the context of that ancient Jewish culture. Perhaps there is a “rapture.” Perhaps the modern Christian end times gurus have it partially right. Perhaps Paul is teaching those Gentile believers in Thessalonica about something very Jewish based upon the Hebrew scriptures. Those Gentiles had no Bible, had no scripture, until they became “God Fearers” and attended the synagogue in Thessalonica. Perhaps there is a connection between the “rapture” and the ingathering of Israel; the ingathering of elect of the Lord that might be called, “The Jewish Rapture.”
Shown below are links to some interesting articles that will show that this is NOT made up by me, not my opinion. It is a concept that might prove to be something to consider. Perhaps we will be part of the INGATHERING of Israel since it says we’ve been grafted into the olive tree, Israel, and are joint heirs in the promises. Perhaps.
The Torah and the Rapture - https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/0da55621/files/uploaded/4ZW5Bbv3Tz2gNtsgeqkL_The%2520Torah%2520and%2520the%2520Rapture.pdf
1 Thess. 4:16-17 from a Rabbinic Perspective - https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:34782/datastreams/CONTENT/content
The Jewish Understanding of the Rapture - https://torahlifeministry.com/teachings/articles/29-the-rapture/109-the-jewish-understanding-of-the-rapture.html
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
Friday Oct 25, 2024
Genesis 17 - Gen. 6:4-8 - WHO ARE THE NEPHILIM?
Friday Oct 25, 2024
Friday Oct 25, 2024
In this lesson we confront some awesome questions? The first is who are the Nephilim? For us in the 21st century many say the nephilim are fallen angels. Where did that come from? We will see it is one opinion coming from both some non-Biblical literature of the late first century and the Zohar, a Jewish book of mysticism written in the Middle Ages. Upon further study, however, we find that other great rabbis disagreed with this opinion and they offered two other views. (For further study from a Jewish scholarly source I recommend this link - click here to read scholarly background on the nephilim from The Jewish Virtual Library - https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/nephilim). Both views of these rabbis of the Middle Ages, Rashi and Ibn Ezra, great rabbis in their own right, disagree. They also disagree with each other and with the view the nephilim are evil fallen angels. So, in Jewish literature we have at least three distinct views and each of them contradict the others. So, we Christians have bought into one view that has no Biblical basis at all.
Once again, let us confront this issue. Let us see if God's word helps us with a more realistic view of the nephilim. It does!
The second question is why did God destroy all mankind with the flood except for one man, Noah? Noah's sons and their wives and Noah's wife were rescued as well. But, Noah is the ONLY righteous man of his time not his sons, their wives, or Noah's wife. Why them? Moreover, Genesis chapters 1-11 is about non-Hebrews. Noah is not a Hebrew! This is related to all of us, all mankind.
I agree that the flood did happen. There is too much evidence from the cultures of the ancient Middle East that strongly suggest that the flood was real. But, so many today focus on trying to prove the flood had to be worldwide, or others who argue the flood was local, and others who say it is a myth. (I think it was local based upon the Hebrew and not English.) I suggest this focus is clouding the real issue, why did God do the flood? What was the result? Is there something we are missing that we can't see?
I will present a view that relates to Jesus' words in John 5:39 ... "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me" (John 5:39 NASB). All they had was the Old Testament in Jesus' day. Therefore, is there a connection with the purposes of the flood and the reason for the Cross? There is. It seems likely the flood testifies of the Messiah.
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/scl/fi/8qth6w4e56oub9js1w1gu/BackgrndTeacher-mar-25-2020.pdf?rlkey=f14fr2wmde5fezjmnrny8cycl&dl=0
Thursday Oct 24, 2024
””The Appointed Time of Sukkot” Lesson 5 - The 8th Day - THE BEGINNING AND THE END
Thursday Oct 24, 2024
Thursday Oct 24, 2024
Lesson 5 – HaMo’ed Sukkot Shel Adonai
The Lord’s Appointed Time of Sukkot
Lev. 23:36 “on the eighth day”
ביום השמיני BayYom HaShmee-nee
Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
””The Appointed Time of Sukkot” Lesson 4 - The Bread from Heaven
Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
We finally come to the end of this podcast series, “The Fall Feasts of Adonai.” In lesson 3 of Sukkot we started seeing the amazing “shadows” of the Messiah over Sukkot. Indeed there really seems to be NO excuse for the “church” to ignore not doing the “feasts” as they testify of Jesus anymore. The early church fathers contributed to the separation of us from our Jewish roots. But, with archaeology and sound historical scholarship, we can reconnect to the days of Yeshua and hear as they heard and see as they saw and understand in ways that ony enhance and expand our understanding of God's truth, of God's Gospel. The Lord told us in John 5:39. He taught us when all they had was the Hebrew Scriptures that all scripture testifies of Him! Yes, Sukkot testifies of Yeshua.
In this session we need to understand how this “appointed time” of the Lord is a time of great joy for all seasons. The Jewish rabbis of Jesus day understood it. But now, with Jesus who has come and will return, we now see an amazing correlation to the events that happened in the Temple in Jerusalem in Jesus’ day to His coming and that this is the Gospel, the Good News, which is for all the people of all the nations. We will also see that there is a case to be made that Jesus was perhaps born in the season of Sukkot. In other words it could be that we Christians are doing our shopping for gifts at the wrong time! It could be the ancient culture gives us sound reasons to celebrate the birth of Christ at Sukkot and not on December 25th which was a pagan holiday in ancient Rome.
Ready? Come and join the study. Come and see the amazing ways the Hebrew Scriptures testify of Yeshua, witness the ONE who will come and be suspended on “the tree” to become the source of LIVING WATER for all who proclaim Yeshua is Adonai, Yeshua is Lord, Yeshua is God.
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - click here for the teacher's background
Sunday Oct 20, 2024
”The Appointed time of Sukkot” - lesson 3 - the Bread from Heaven
Sunday Oct 20, 2024
Sunday Oct 20, 2024
We come to the awesome climax of our study on the feast, the appointed time of the Lord, Sukkot. Our objective now is to heed the teaching of Paul when he taught …
Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. (Col 2:16-17)
How is Jesus the Shadow over us of Sukkot? How does this feast testify of Messiah? What is amazing as we put this feast in its historical context, as we study it in the times of Yeshua, when He walked among, that we see this feast testify of His birth and His death. It is just too awesome. It is truly the season of our joy, (זְמַן שִׂמְחָתֵנוּ) "Z'man Simchateinu." What a time to sing the Jewish folk song so appropriate for this appointed time, “Have Nagilah.” See the lyrics below in Hebrew and English.
Hava nagila, hava nagila
Hava nagila ve-nis'mecha
Repeat
Hava neranena, hava neranena
Hava neranena venis'mecha
Uru, uru achim
Uru achim belev same'ach
Let us rejoice, let us rejoice
Let us rejoice and be glad
Repeat
Let us sing, let us sing
Let us sing and be glad
Awaken, awaken brethren
Awaken brethren with a cheerful heart.
Here's a link to a YouTube video of this song with the lyrics in Hebrew. Here's the link - https://youtu.be/UbjmkrUDb8c
Indeed, it is as if this “last” feast of the agricultural year is no only about the “end” but it is about the “beginning.” It is the end of the agricultural year, the harvest time that started as Passover is over. But, it is the time where all the Jews in the days of Yeshua looked forward to the beginning of the new agricultural year and the start of the early rains. So too for us disciples of our Lord Yeshua Adonai, Sukkot testifies of the day when He came to “camp out” with us, His birth, the beginning. And it testifies of His death, and His cross, which is the way for the lord to pour upon us Living Water.
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
Saturday Oct 19, 2024
”The Appointed Time of Sukkot” - lesson 2 - God Dwells with Us
Saturday Oct 19, 2024
Saturday Oct 19, 2024
Many Messianic groups today will build their sukkahs in their yards and enter the sukkah on after sunset on the eve of Mo'ed Sukkot - the appointed time of Sukkot or Tabernacles. There are very many Jewish rituals and prayers that many Gentile Messianic Christians practice each evening in their sukkahs since the Jewish people do it. You can see our sukkah that we put up to practice observance of this God ordered, commanded appointed time. (See below) We put up a "tent" and not a wooden rabbinic "lean to" as ordered and commanded by the rabbis. The Hebrews dwelt in "tents" not a wooden structure with a roof of branches and leaves (see two examples of "kosher" booths or sukkahs - royalty free from Wikipedia - at the end of this introduction). For Robin and I we focus on His word, the actual Hebrew, and not made up rabbinic rules and regulations.
Robin and I needed to recapture how the feast of Tabernacles testifies of Jesus. How do we see Jesus in this feast? This was not apparent when Robin and I followed our Messianic Gentile teachers who only emphasized what the orthodox rabbis taught. Everything they taught and told us to do was not helping us relate to Yeshua, the Messiah, the Lord, our God.
In lesson 2 we try and "see" what those early believers saw when they did this feast of the Lord. And I'm not talking about the disciples in Jesus' day but the Hebrews coming out of Egypt! They were to remember living in tents when the Lord delivered them from the bondage of slavery from Egypt. Those Hebrews would remember the tents they lived in, but they would also remember, Emmanoo El עִמָּנוּ אֵל - "God with us" - and that Adonai, the Lord, Yahvay יהוה also dwelt in a tent (tabernacle is Latin for "tent"). He was with them 24/7. They saw His glorious presence coming down upon the "Tabernacle" in Exodus 40, His SHH-KEE-NAH glory. He came once to dwell in a Sukkah, a tent. Later, He came again. This time to dwell in His permanent "house" built by Solomon.
God came twice. Interesting! Sounds like something Christians know - Jesus came once and will come again. Is this somehow connected to Yeshua? Is there Biblical truth that I did not learn from so called "expert" Messianic Gentile teachers who only were stuck on Orthodox Judaism? It was wonderful to learn from them and to take part in applying Jewish rituals but looking back Jesus was not a priority. So, the answer is yes.
Once again by reconnecting to the Bible in its historical, and not rabbinic context, by reconnecting to the ancient culture and practices of Israel, we begin to "see" like they did, we begin to "hear" God's word like they did, and we begin to "understand" like they did and our walk with the Lord is enhanced and our views expanded. God goes beyond Christian theological "midrash" and theological "midrash" of Orthodox Judaism. Sukkot testifies of Adonai Yeshua. Come. Come and join us to learn how.
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
Pictures below accessible at Wikipedia and a public domain.