LIGHT OF MENORAH

The Gospel According to Moses - Genesis - Lesson 4 Gen. 1:1, 20-24, 2:7

 

In lesson 4 we will focus on two terms.  The first is "HEAVENS" and the next is "LIVING CREATURES."  We will study these terms in Hebrew and find that our modern ideas are again challenged once we understand what the terms mean in Hebrew and what the Bible says and not what men say.  However, as we do focus on hearing the Torah on its own terms, and not on man's view, our understanding of God, who He is, and ourselves is deepened, clarified and enhanced.  

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

Genesis 3 - Gen. 1:5

This begins the actual Torah study.  This lesson will focus on Gen. 1:1-5.  We will address the question, "What is this light that God created on day one?"  Is it related to Einstein's theory or what some Creation Science scholars call the Big Bang?  Or is it something else?  Might it be related to Yeshua the Messiah?  

It says God created light on DAY one.  Was it 24 hours?  The Hebrew word translated into English as "day" is the word YOM.  How long is a YOM?  24 hours?  What is the picture God is painting?

Finally, we will study an amazing correlation between the 1st book of the Bible and the last, the book of Revelation.  Genesis 1 deals with God creating a new heaven and a new earth.  Then we read in Rev. 21:1 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea."  Both deal with a new heaven and a new earth.  Both books deal with a beginning.  Is there more?  Just wait and see!!

What is most important Bible verse?  What Bible verse should be ranked number one in God's Word?  Can you guess?  A recognized scholar and a man devoted to the God of Abraham, Dennis Prager, has a cool audio lesson where Dennis brings up his view.  He is a devout religious Jew but his Torah teaching is meant for both religious Jews of Judaism and religious Christians. 

Here is the link - Dennis Prager - Prager University - The Most Important Verse in the Bible  

Hey!  Who is this guy, John Ferret?  Why should I listen to this guy?  Check out his "credentials" at this link - click here for the teacher's background

Genesis 2 - Gen. 1:1-31

In lesson 2 we continue to lay the foundation for this in depth study of the first five books of the Bible, commonly referred to as the TORAH (which does NOT mean LAW but TEACHING).  In this lesson we ask if there are no dinosaurs in the Bible (and there is NO mention of them in the Bible in Hebrew) then does that help us grasp what the Torah is and is not?  Here's a link to a Jewish scholar and his teaching on why dinosaurs are not mentioned in the bible - click here to hear Rabbi David Fohrman on dinosaurs and the Bible Moreover some Jewish and Christian scholars say that Gen. 1:21 is talking about large fish.  It can't be large fish - the Hebrew taken to the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) uses the phrase in Greek to describe the great evil dragon in the book of Revelation who is Satan.  Satan is NOT a big fish.  Once again how can translators so misinterpret the text of scripture and not check how the phrase in Gen. 1:21 is used throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament that I like to title, "The Messianic Writings."  And lastly, this session gets into the 5 purposes of this series, "The Gospel According to Moses."  We approach this study with the focus of archaeology, history, geography, customs, culture, and the languages of the ancient Middle East.  So what five things are we aiming at with this in mind?

Below is a link to those five purposes.

Link  - click here for details on the four goals of this study   

Who's John Ferret?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to this guy?  Here's a link to learn a little about Rev. Ferret - click here for background of the teacher

Genesis 1 - Gen. 1

 

The Gospel According to Moses is a Torah study for Christians.  The main goals of this study can be accessed at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/aczx1wpcwk730up/FOUR%20GOALS%20MAY%2016%202021.pdf?dl=0  The 1st session starts with Gen. 1:1-31 and addresses the concept of Torah - what is it?  Is it the Law?  

 

Who's John Ferret?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to this guy?  Here's a link to learn a little about Rev. Ferret - click here for background of the teacher

Genesis 33 - SPECIAL LESSON - "WHY DO THIS?"

SPECIAL LESSON

In lesson 33 we will turn from our focus on the Torah and the book of Genesis to consider the answer to the question, “Why Do This?”  Why should we study the Bible in this manner?  Why should be put the Bible in its historical context and strive to hear the Bible on its own terms; that is, to hear the Bible as to what it says and what it does not say? 

 

Since I returned from my first study tour to the Middle East in Israel years ago and continuing in my learning since those days, I have found that most lessons I hear from Christians are devoid of the historical context of the Bible.  I have found that most teach with no concept of how important it is to understand the word of God as the “first hearers” did.  A classic example is the picture of Jesus with the sharp two edged sword in Pergamum in Revelation 2.  No one ever has ever taught how the sharp two edged sword and Pergamum are related.  No one ever in teachings I heard makes the connection.  Why? 

The Bible was written to them, those who first hear it, and not to us.  As my first teacher said that we must understand the who and the what and the where of the Bible event to understand the why.  This was Ray Vander Laan and I highly recommend you to connect with his ministry, “That the World May Know,” and to start purchasing his DVD’s of Bible lessons in their historical context filmed on site in the Middle East.  Here’s a link to his website.  Link - click here

I urge you to check out his free articles and audio lessons.  Click on LEARN at the homepage of "That the World May Know."

So come and join me.  Let us consider the importance of hearing the Bible on its own terms.  Let us consider bringing our brain to the Bible and use our minds and intelligence that God gave us to come to know Him in a deeper and more passionate way so that the fire in us will begin to burn out of control and we will not be able to keep our mouths shut anymore. 

 

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

Genesis - 29 - Gen. 13:1-8 WHAT’S WRONG WITH LOT?

What is wrong with Lot?  As we read the events in Genesis 13 without the understanding of the background of the ancient Near East, we do not grasp the full understanding of the answer to the question.  Yes.  Most agree Lot chose poorly; Lot decided to live in Sodom and Gomorrah. 

But, is there more to these events that we can’t see?  Once again, if you have been part of our journey through the Torah, the 1^st five books of the Bible, with are focus on Genesis, you know that as we put the Bible in its historical context, we “see” things in a whole different manner.  It then helps us through the Holy Spirit understand His Word in a more expanded way.

I mentioned a website one can go to study the ancient family structure called the בית אב - Beit Av – the house of the father – the extended family structure lead by the patriarch.  Here’s the link to the article - https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/family

By studying the concept of the Beit Av we can perhaps get a better understanding of what we call the family of God.  We as disciples of Yeshua live in His House, the House of the Father, the Temple.  In Hebrew the Temple in Jerusalem was never called the Temple.  It was called the בית המקדש - Beit HaMikdash – the holy dwelling house of Adonai.  So, we are God’s Temple, His בית המקדש - Beit HaMikdash - as Paul teaches in 1 Cor. 3:16.

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

 

Genesis - 27 - Gen. 12:1-9 DATING IN THE BIBLE

AN IMPORTANT LESSON SHOWING THE VERACITY OF GOD'S WORD.  

Abram arrives at Shechem (lesson 26) in 2091 B.C.  Really?  Who says?  Time goes on and then we read in Exod. 12:40 that 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 links to resources to help you study further.  These links and resources are shown below.

Link 1 - slides that may help you put all this together - https://www.dropbox.com/s/jdvuqdvqg6q88fh/Egypt%20W%

Link 2 - 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 3 - video from the Associates for Biblical Research on dating of Exodus Part 1 - https://biblearchaeology.org/mediainfo/digging-for-truth/digging-for-truth-episodes/4538-digging-for-truth-episode-43-archaeological-evidence-for-the-early-date-of-the-exodus-part-one

Link 4 - part 2 of the previous video - https://biblearchaeology.org/mediainfo/digging-for-truth/digging-for-truth-episodes/4544-digging-for-truth-episode-44-archaeological-evidence-for-the-early-date-of-the-exodus-part-2

Link 5 - Dr. Bryant Wood's article on setting the date for the Exodus - https://biblearchaeology.org/research/chronological-categories/exodus-era/3288-recent-research-on-the-date-and-setting-of-the-exodus

Link 6 - Dr. Bryant Wood's video on the Hebrews in Egypt part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT6giGYerx4

Link 7 - part of of previous video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJn09u8cYRA

Link 8 - part three of previous video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EMecjtl-MA

 

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

Genesis - 26 - Gen. 12:4-7 PROMISES OF GOD AT ONE PLACE - SHECHEM

If there is a Torah foundation to the Christmas story this lesson and the previous are it.  If you haven’t listened to lesson 25 yet, I urge you to do so since 25 and this lesson go together.  (Link for lesson 25 - click here for lesson 25 )  If you ever wanted to study scripture that testifies of Jesus’ coming and His mission, these are two Torah lessons that are foundational to our understanding of the coming of the Messiah and the REASON FOR THE SEASON and a direct connection to John 5:39.

In this lesson we will focus on one location.  We must turn to geography to see how God picks one place to help us SEE His redemption plan. 

In this lesson I mentioned Joel Kramer.  He is an OUTSTANDING evangelical Christian archaeologist.  He did a Bible study tour recently to Israel when he was studying for his advanced degree in archaeology.  One spot they studied was Shechem – the location I mentioned above that God picked.  Below is a link to Joel’s video on site in Israel at the ancient ruins of Shechem.  You won’t want to miss this.  Also, I provided a link to Joel Kramer’s website as well.  You MUST go to his website and see the free videos from Israel that will blow you away.

Link to video lesson by Kramer at Shechem - click here for the amazing video

Link to Joel Kramer's website - https://sourceflix.com/

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

Genesis - 25 - Gen. 12:1-3 All Families Will Be Blessed

Get ready for one explosive lesson.  It all focuses on Gen. 12:1-3 ...

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." (NASB Gen 12:1-3)

If there is one place in the TORAH, if there is one instance in the Old Testament where God proclaims "good news" for all of us, it is right here. I normally do not rely on Orthodox Rabbinic commentary to help me understand the Bible. Too many times rabbis interpret the Bible in ways that are not based on the historical or cultural context or make up explanations that they need to deal with a scriptural difficulties or issues too tough to answer rationally.  It is like the miracle of the oil at Chanukah.  It never happened.  I am not stating my opinion.  I am just telling you what scholarly Jewish sources teach.  We Christians fall into the trap of assuming the Orthodox rabbis are THE resource for understanding the Bible from a Jewish point of view.  Far from it.  For example the Orthodox say the 1st temple was destroyed in 423 B.C. based upon their personal interpretation of some verses in Daniel. However, they are wrong.  Archaeology and history prove the temple was destroyed in 586 B.C.  So, we need to be very very careful when accessing Orthodox Rabbinic Bible commentary. Here's a link to one of those sources to help you understand that the miracle of the oil never happened on Hanukkah. 

Link - https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/transforming-hanukkah/

However, Rabbinic commentary is not always so off; that is not always the case.  I do access rabbinic commentary, not as my primary source, but I need to glean from their ideas and thoughts.  In the case of Genesis 12:1-3 their commentary blew me away as I think it will you.  Their contributions to understanding these three verses are truly amazing and show us that the foundation of the New Testament is the TORAH.  Here we will see, thanks to the rabbis, the gospel of the Kingdom, their view that this is a new start for all mankind, and that the Hebrew of these verses gave Paul insights into his picture of us Gentiles being "grafted in."  Here's an article you may find interesting that goes into the Hebrew and of these verses that relate to the Gospel, the Good News, that God inspired Moses to write about.

Link - https://free.messianicbible.com/feature/broken-grafted-restored-gods-kingdom/

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

Genesis - 24 - Gen. 11: 1-32 The Tower

The events of the Tower of Babel story are more applicable to us today than we may have imagined.  It is probably something we have not been taught or even considered.  For one thing, the people did not just build a tower.  They also built a city.  They built a city and a tower.  This is huge and must be taken into account.  What's this all saying?

Also, as the events unfold there is no mention of God.  These people probably are not evil.  The Bible does not say they are evil.  But, these people do not seem to the one's who believe in God.  Verses 1-4 they seem to be godless.

God shows up finally in verse 5 when He came and saw not just the tower, but the tower and the city.  God sees both.  The tower is not the focus but the city and the tower.  

Some Bible teachers will say God was angry with the people and what they did.  Huh?  There is no mention of God being angry.  But God sees that they have one language and they are one people and they will not easily be stopped from doing whatever they wish if this continues.  God is saying this is dangerous.  Huh?  Why?  Why is is dangerous.  Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that humankind never changed after the flood.  In Gen. 6:5 and again after the flood in Gen. 8:21, God tells us through Moses' pen that the imagination of men's hearts is to do evil continually.  This idea is seemingly repeated here.  Is God warning us that mankind as one people with one language and one worldview without God will lead to uncontrolled evil?  Is this perhaps and prediction of the end of days when many will be without God and united as one people and one godless worldview?  Let's go see.

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