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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
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
3 days ago
3 days ago
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
4 days ago
4 days ago
SHAVUOT - EPISODE 1
So few Christians really understand that there is a God ordained connection between Passover and Pentecost, between פֶּסַח Paysak and שָׁבוּעוֹת Shavuot. So few churches today even celebrate Pentecost. We have lost so much, we have become so disconnected from our roots, שׁוֹרָשִׁים SHORASHEEM. The emphasis has not been in the best but the least.
One connection between Passover and Pentecost is "geographical." Passover is the time of the barley harvest. Pentecost is the time of the wheat harvest. Two harvests and both times the Torah calls them times of the First Fruits. Interesting. Paul calls Jesus the FIRST FRUITS. Is there something Paul understands that we don't. You bet. And there is so much more.
God commands a COUNTDOWN starting, in Jesus' day, on the Sunday after Passover (Resurrection Sunday!). That was day 1 and the count is to continue for 7 Sabbath weeks - 49 days. The 50th day God commands in His Torah is the feast of Pentecost (which means 50) or שָׁבוּעוֹת Shavuot meaning weeks. God is telling us there is some awesome connection between Passover and Pentecost so much so that we are to count each day till Pentecost.
In the past religious Jews started using Psalm 67 as they did the countdown. Many still do it today. Why? In Hebrew Psalm 67 has 49 words. ON top of that Psalm 67 has only 7 verses like the 7 weeks between the start of the Omer count and Pentecost or Shavuot. You can see this in the picture below. (Note - you'll see perhaps a hyphen used in the text. That does not mean one word but actually two in the original Hebrew which never used hyphens). So each day the Jewish people say a blessing to the Lord, state what day of the count it is, and recite out loud Psalm 67.
In this lesson I make the case that this is something we Christians should be doing. Why? Wait till you hear the lesson. Psalm 67 seems to have been inspired by the Lord to His ELECT, Israel, and now to us. The psalm used between Passover and Pentecost is connected to Jesus in amazing and surprising ways. It's all about Jesus and it always has been. We should do the countdown and look to the awesome feast of Pentecost. All churches should now, during the countdown, teach about Pentecost and Passover, the 1st harvest and the 2nd harvest, the 1st blessing and the 2nd blessing, the giving of the Laws of the Lord and the giving of that which completes the Law, and the coming of the Teaching of the Lord (Torah) and the coming of the Teacher, רוח הקודש, RUACH HAKODESH, the Holy Spirit. Let us return and learn we are to focus on the best and not the least. For more on all this check out these links that can be found after the picture of Psalm 67 below.
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
Link to pictures of the Chapel of the Ascension - https://www.biblewalks.com/AscensionChurch
Link to pictures of the Russian Church of the Ascension on the Mt. of Olives - https://www.biblewalks.com/russianascensionchurch
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?
(Rev. Ferret - teaching on a mountain)
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
5 days ago
5 days ago
We continue with part 3 on the lesson on how is Jesus connected to Shabbat (Hebrew for the Sabbath). Jesus said all scripture testifies of Him. He said that between 24-30 A.D. and they did not have the New Testament. That means the Old Testament is all about Jesus by His own word, the very words of God. So that means the Shabbat is a feast that testifies of Yeshua. Come and join us as we study part 3 and see that Jesus is like a Shadow over the Sabbath. Maybe Sabbath will become a "bigger deal" once we see what God thinks about this.
6 days ago
6 days ago
7 days ago
7 days ago
Over the last 5 to 10 years I have noticed Christians becoming interested in the Jewish Passover Meal – the Seder. Many say they see how it connects to Jesus. Christians also see how Jesus is also related to Passover. The lambs were sacrificed on the same day the Lamb of God was sacrificed or Jesus was crucified. Matter of fact I teach a course on the feasts of the Lord found in Leviticus 23 and how they testify of Jesus. Paul teaches us this. Consider the text …
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)
The feasts are shadows of something. Something is casting a “shadow”over the feasts. What? Who? Jesus of course. He is the substance of the shadow or that which makes up the shadow. But, as we have seen in previous lessons, the greatest of all the Lord’s feasts, actually, appointed times set by Him, is the Sabbath, or in Hebrew, שַׁבָּת Shabbat.
God has created an appointed time called the Sabbath on the 7th day of each week. It is a holy TIME; it is 24 hours long and not about just going to church. During this set aside time, or holy time, the Lord commands us to have a special separate meeting during this 24 hour holy time as in Leviticus 23:3. The Jews do a synagogue service and from this the “church” followed suit and did a church service. But Jesus said …
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.” (Joh 5:39)
Jesus said this between 24-30 A.D. and all they had was the Hebrew Scriptures – a.k.a. the Old Testament. So, the Sabbath must be a SHADOW of things to come. And the Sabbath MUST testify of Jesus. But how? It is easy to “see” Jesus in Passover. It is easy to see how the Jewish Seder relates to Jesus. But שַׁבָּת Shabbat? How? How is Jesus connected to this special, set aside, or holy 24 hour period? Let’s go study this in the next three lessons. So, ready? Come let’s go.
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
Wednesday May 13, 2026
Wednesday May 13, 2026
Lesson 9 Part 2
No one teaches the awesomeness of this feast, this "appointed time" of יהוה Yahvay, the Lord. Few Christians in Sunday congregations or Messianic congregations know that Shabbat is a BIG DEAL. Yes, it is a feast of the Lord by the very words of God. Don't believe me, you can read it for your self in Lev. 23:1-3 and you'll notice that the Sabbath is 1st in the list. There are 8 festivals of the Lord - they are not Jewish feasts. They belong to the Lord.
So, come. Join us. Study what you've been missing. Come and let the Lord help us understand the awesome of His שָׁבַת Shabbat so that He can enhance our walk of faith with המשיח ישוע, HaMaschiach Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Christ.
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
Tuesday May 12, 2026
Tuesday May 12, 2026
Lesson 9 Part 1
Do you do the Sabbath? It is one of the Ten Commandments, so you'd better. But, do you do it on Sunday? Or, do you do it on Saturday where some might say it is the "Jewish" Sabbath? Who is right? In this video we will not debate whether the Sabbath is Sunday or Saturday. This debate has been going on for 1000's of years and I don't think I can end the debate with a short 30 minute or 60 minute video.
However, what is the Sabbath? What do you think the Sabbath is? Is it simply when you go to church? Oh no, you say, it is about church and resting, right? God said we are to rest. So why do it on Saturday or even Sunday? "Why can't I have a day of rest when I want?," some might say. But, what if He never said to rest? What if He meant something else? What's the 7th day have to do about it? Is that all it's about - going to church and, perhaps, taking a nap? Or is there something bigger that God is having us understand and practice? I suggest to you that the Sabbath - שָׁבַת Shabbat in Hebrew - is much much bigger.
Both groups, ones who practice שָׁבַת Shabbat on Saturday and those who practice שָׁבַת Shabbat on Sunday, are not being taught what this feast of the Lord actually is. This is my experience after growing up in Sunday churches and later attending Messianic congregations. No one is teaching the awesomeness of this feast, this "appointed time" of יהוה Yahvay, the Lord. Yes, it is a feast of the Lord by the very words of God. Don't believe me, you can read it for your self in Lev. 23:1-3 and you'll notice that the Sabbath is 1st in the list. There are 8 festivals of the Lord - they are not Jewish feasts. They belong to the Lord.
So, come. Join us. Study what you've been missing. Come and let the Lord help us understand the awesome of His שָׁבַת Shabbat so that He can enhance our walk of faith with המשיח ישוע, HaMaschiach Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. Let's us return to our first love. Sing along with us, "Ahshuv Ahlecka - Coming Back to You." Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoMT2fqnQyM
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
Monday May 11, 2026
Monday May 11, 2026
For a comprehensive study of God's Sabbath check out the video Bible study series entitled, "The Lord's Shabbat: a Big Deal." Jewish people do the Shabbat on Saturday (the 7th day) and Christians on Sunday. But what is the Lord's Sabbath? It's not about going to church or the synagogue. It is not exclusively about taking it easy and resting. It is the Lord's Shabbat and not ours. We do not get to do what we want since God made the Shabbat HOLY or in Hebrew קָדוֹשׁ KADOSH. It means separate, set aside, distinctly special. God did this and He specified its purpose. Both Jews and Christians need to return to the Very Words of God and His Torah, His instuction, to relearn what His Shabbat is all about. Here's the link to the podcast playlist of all eight videos.
LINK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05bc07ssllo&list=PLvcIXun2BQDLshZetXi0avkG665YNcI5I
In lessons 8-11 of podcast 47 on the Ten Commandments we focus on Exod. 20:8-11 or commandment #4 in the Jewish and Protestant list of the Ten Commandments and #3 of the Catholic list. The commandment is to keep the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week, holy. In Hebrew to be holy is to be separate or set aside as special. The commandment is NOT to rest but to make it HOLY. Matter of fact the Hebrew word for Sabbath is שַׁבָּת Shabbat and it has a conceptual meaning of ceasing, to desist, to stop work for a period of time. It does not mean taking a nap, laying around in your backyard drinking iced tea, or picking up a book and reading and relaxing. Many Christians have no idea of the Hebrew and think they can pick their own day to rest and have a break from work. I agree. If you want a day off from work and your boss approves, go ahead. But the 7th day is defined by God and HIS Shabbat (Gen. 2:2-3 and Lev. 23:3), His day where WE cease and desist and do other things to make HIS Shabbat holy. The better idea is to stop one’s normal weekly activity and to lay it aside and to do “work” that makes the Sabbath holy. Thus, if one rests all day, if one sleeps for most of the Sabbath, one probably is not doing what needs to be done to make this day HOLY, special, set aside as unique.
In lesson 8 we will study the Shabbat and consider some basic ideas. One idea is that where did this 7 day week come from? Must’ve come from somewhere right? Some say the Jews stole the 7 day week from the Babylonians. Consider this.
BABYLON AND THE 7 DAY WEEK
Counting from the new moon, the Babylonians celebrated every seventh day as a "holy-day", also called an "evil-day" (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). The lunation of 29 or 30 days basically contained three seven-day weeks, and a final week of eight or nine days inclusive, breaking the continuous seven-day cycle. But, the Sabbath week has nothing to do with the moon. If the Jews stole it from the Babylonians every full moon of every month would be a Sabbath; for us it’d be a Saturday. Sorry, it just doesn’t work. (Pinches, T.G. (1919). "Sabbath (Babylonian)". In Hastings, James (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Selbie, John A., contrib. Charles Scribner's Sons)
Among other theories of Shabbat origin, the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia of Isaac Landman advanced a theory of Assyriologists like Friedrich Delitzsch that Shabbat originally arose from the lunar cycle, containing four weeks ending in Sabbath, plus one or two additional unreckoned days per month. The difficulties of this theory include reconciling the differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week, and explaining the absence of texts naming the lunar week as Shabbat in any language. In other words there is no primary sources that in anyway support such a view. (Sampey, John Richard (1915). "Sabbath: Critical Theories". In Orr, James (ed.). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.)
Also, what might be some reasons to keep the Sabbath? Oh I know. It means going to church. Nope. The Sabbath is HOLY time: a 24 hour period that God set aside as His. How do we participate in HOLY time?
So, get ready. You are in for an amazing “ride” to hear God, to hear The Very Words Of God, and join with HIM to make this 24 hours special and awesome.
Who is this guy, Rev. Ferret? 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
Sunday May 10, 2026
Sunday May 10, 2026
Exodus Lesson 71 Part 2
In Exod. 31:13 it says …
“But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” (Exo 31:13)
The word BUT is the Hebrew word ACH (אַךְ H389) meaning “never the less, or none the less, or but, or surely and more. It is as if God is saying
“What came before is very important but what comes now is even more important that all that has come before, so, Moses, speak to the sons of Israel … “
The Sabbath, the Lord’s Sabbath, His Shabbat in Hebrew is more important than all that has come before. More important than all the instruction and all the detail about God’s Tabernacle and the dress of the High Priest and the Priests starting in chapter 25. More important that the induction ceremony of the Aaron and his sons. It seems God is saying it is more important than when Moses first went up Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. He's been there since and in v. 18 he gets the two tablets from the Lord and this ends his stay of 40 days and nights on Sinai. It seems that the Shabbat is more important than everything back to chapter 20! That was when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Covenant. Shabbat is bigger than all this.
On our YouTube channel I have a “playlist” series I did on the Lord’s Shabbat, or the Sabbath. It is incumbent on us, true disciples of Messiah, to know about Jesus’ Shabbat, God’s Shabbat. We’ll find that it is the most important of the Lord’s feasts.
LINK to the Shabbat playlist - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05bc07ssllo&list=PLvcIXun2BQDLshZetXi0avkG665YNcI5I
And now here in Exod. 31:12-18 we see the Shabbat is called a SIGN (אוֹת – “oat”) and it is called the covenant of Shabbat. It is given to man and not man given to shabbat. But the Hebrews are the Bride. Just like in a contemporary religious Jewish wedding, only the bride gets a ring. So, only the bride gets the Shabbat, God’s ring, the sign or אוֹת – “oat” of the covenant. But Jesus is our Bridegroom, our future “husband” and He asked us to keep His commandments and the greatest feast of the Lord is the Sabbath of THE SHABBAT. And Jesus said do it to show me our love! (Joh 14:15) "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
The shabbat is like our ring as we are betrothed to our Bridegroom, our Yeshua, our Jesus. We do His Sabbath to tell Him we love Him and to use it as a testimony to the world of God and His Salvation. How dare us say we can Shabbat on any day we want. It is NOT about onl rest. It is about the Lord's Shabbat to testify He is and He is the creator of the universe and He brings His salvation to all of us both Jew and Gentile. We do Shabbat on God's designated day to testify of Him.
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?
(Ferret - visiting ancient Gath in Israel. Didn't see Goliath though!)
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