In the gospel of Matthew chapter 4 and verse 3 Satan challenges the Messiah and tells him “since you are the son of God, command these stones to be turned into bread”.
Obviously, after 40 days and nights of fasting Yeshua is hungry. Being hungry is a human experience that unifies all of mankind, past, present and future. It’s one of the most basic existential needs we all have. We can all identify with someone who is hungry – even though many of us have never experienced the kind of hunger people experience and live with in places where extreme poverty exists.
I have fasted for 3 days, 7 days, 10 days, 21 days, and all the way up to 40 days. And I am extremely grateful for those experiences because they allowed me to experience myself, the world and God in a completely different way. Periodic fasting is a great spiritual practice for all to make a part of their lifestyle.
Back to our desert story: What is the response of the messiah? Why didn’t Jesus turn stones into bread?
Whether you believe in an actual Satan or not, his response is astonishing.
But first, let me point out that this is not God’s recipe for the world to solve chronic hunger. If you think we can tell all the people in the world who experience chronic hunger, “hey, you don’t need food, you should just live on every word that comes from the mouth of God!”, you must be out of your mind! We solve the problem of hunger by feeding the hungry and teaching how to feed themselves.
Furthermore, Jesus didn’t live as a poor man suffering from existential needs, amongst which hunger. He was a rabbi who had a significant following, among which many rich people who provided for his and for the needs of his 12 apostles. So the situation with the desert was in fact an extraordinary situation of hunger, not some ongoing hunger crisis situation.
His response therefore, has to do with something else, not hunger itself.
3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'”
Matthew 4:3-4 (HNV)
He quotes from the Torah. More specifically he quotes from the book of Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 3.
TRUST AND OBEY THE LORD!
I believe what the Messiah meant here is that he will remain faithful to God’s commandment not to bow to anything or anyone besides God himself. We all experience situations and pressures that force us to consider meeting our needs in some illegitimate way. Even though the Messiah might have been able to turn stones into bread, that was not the issue at hand. He demonstrated he can turn water into wine, why wouldn’t he be able to turn stones into bread? Of course he would be able to. That was not the point, however. The point here is that Satan was taking control, presenting himself as the one who knows what has to be done to solve the problem. He was just giving instructions to the Messiah and therefore creating an alternative authority besides God himself.
Who was the Messiah going to obey and follow? God the Father, or this new “god” who presents himself as knowing better than the Creator Himself?
This is the issue at hand here I believe. And this is what we all face almost on a daily basis.
The big questions at stake here are: Who are you going to yield to? A disciple of who exactly are you?
THE PRESSURE TO OBEY THE GODLESS SYSTEM
Think about the situation in the world today. I just read somewhere that supposedly the majority of people now, over 60%, have been vaccinated with the Covid vaccine here in the United States. The situation around the world is similar. Why are people doing this? Have they lost their minds? When before have you had the governments of this world so concerned about you and your health? Why are they suppressing criticism of these vaccines as if everyone who has questions about it is some kind of an evil person? Why are they forcing chemicals on people and then creating a two-tier society that discriminate based on whether you were vaccinated or not? Why are they going after people like Dr. Malone who is himself one of the inventors of the mRNA vaccine and criticizes the powers that be?
Only a seriously confused person would ignore these and many other legitimate questions we have on this whole issue.
The situation with the vaccinations conundrum is no different from what the Messiah faced in the desert when he was following the guidance of the Spirit. Should we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Creator, or should we trust the guidance of shady organizations who claim they can turn chemicals into life-saving “bread” as if it were?
The metaphor with the bread becomes even more relevant in light of the fact that people are actually losing their jobs and livelihood because their refusal to bow to the vaccine dictators. Had someone written a novel about a dystopian future in America where this would be happening, it would have been thought of as inconceivable only few years ago. And yet this is our new dystopian reality!
BUT WHAT ABOUT FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WHO GOT THE JAB?
Personally I don’t have negative feelings for friends and family who have accepted to go down the path of following the advise of corrupt governments and corporations. I do worry however, about how these vaccines will affect people in the long term. I do worry about someone even losing their life given the fact these vaccines are causing 225 times more injuries than the usual flu vaccines.
But I don’t despise them for their decision. I just don’t understand them. And I have yet to find someone to can explain it to me and present actual arguments for it.
When it comes to mandatory vaccinations, I choose to reject the godless system of this world. Corrupt governments, the media, Big Tech, the China Communist-controlled WHO, the pharmaceutical corporations and the medical cartels – they are all working together to implement Satan’s agenda for global control. After having spent the last 30 years of my life in defiance against this system in one way or another, I’m not about to start unseeing what I have already seen and what I know to be the Truth.
I choose to live by every instruction (Toràh), wisdom, guidance, concept, value and commandment of He who has created me! I know He truly cares about me and I choose to trust Him, not the “god” of this world and his corrupt proxies!
What about you?
https://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/img_2899.jpg7501369adminhttps://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/threefold-2024-80x80.pngadmin2021-11-16 17:36:292021-11-16 18:01:21On mandatory vaccinations: the spiritual act of choosing to reject the godless system!
I don’t mean to disturb anyone so if you find this offensive or disturbing please be upset with whoever manufactured these vaccines, whoever pushes them and whoever should be reporting on this, but isn’t. I’m not pointing a finger, I’m pointing out facts.
For months now I’ve been hearing this chatter about aborted fetuses tissue used to make these vaccines.
Being the sceptic that I am when it comes to “the Internet says this”, it was always on my list to research and check into this for myself.
I finally did.
Here’s the result.
The Charlotte Lozier Institute (https://lozierinstitute.org/) is the go-to source for accurate and timely research and information on life issues. With a current network of over fifty Associate Scholars from a variety of disciplines, CLI provides pro-life groups and policy makers research-based information of the highest quality on issues including abortion, women’s health, prenatal diagnosis and treatment for the unborn, perinatal hospice, abortion reporting, sex-selection abortion, stem cell research and medicine, and health care policy.
Here is what CLI has to say about the vaccines used for Covid:
CLI’s analysis found that a majority of vaccine candidates did not use abortion-derived cell lines in their production. Several used abortion-derived cell lines in laboratory testing, or their use in testing could not be determined.
However, I have reuploaded these documents on the decentralized web. They cannot be deleted by anyone including myself. The new, decentralized web is immutable. Impossible to censor & manipulate. It’s built on the blockchain, the same technology Bitcoin is built on.
You can get these same charts directly from CLI’s website, but just in case they vanish some day, please know we have a copy of them on the immutable web.
Everyone needs to decide what this information means to you. I can’t tell you that. But if I was forced to get vaccinated and I knew these vaccines have been made as a result of testing that used aborted babies, I would never consent to such demand. And I don’t care what the cost might be to me. It’s wrong before God and it’s as simple as that as far as I’m concerned. Anyone wants to twist and turn and explain the moral implications away, have at it but please take your issue with the Lord, not with me. I’m just pointing to some facts, that’s all.
In other news I had signed Emilie’s religious exemption request which she sent to the management of the hospital where she works and they accepted that so she doesn’t have to get vaccinated. Jennifer wrote a letter to the management of the college where she is studying and demanded they exempt her from wearing a mask and they did. Now other students are catching on. I hope you take your stand where you are at and as opportunity presents itself.
George
https://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img_1778.jpg960828Georgehttps://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/threefold-2024-80x80.pngGeorge2021-09-15 14:04:212021-09-15 14:04:21The truth about aborted fetuses and Covid vaccines
It’s interesting to learn about the ancient people who populated Asia Minor thousands of years ago. Asia Minor is where the Apostle really wanted to go and declare the Messiah Yeshua. But the time wasn’t right. The Spirit didn’t allow him:
Acts 16:7 (HNV) When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them.
Later on however, Shaul did end up traveling to Asia Minor. This is a very long journey and I imagine very dangerous. If I remember correctly, the distance from Yerushalaim (Jerusalem) to the cities in Asia Minor where Paul travelled to, is something to the tune of 1,200 miles. The terrain is mountainous and very rugged. Imagine having to venture on a trip like this!
But it was worth it!
These same Jewish communities who had been there for hundreds of years as part of the diaspora, later became known as “the churches” of Asia Minor: in Galatia, Colossae, and Ephesus.
Remember the seven churches to which the apostle John (Yochanan) wrote to when he was given the revelation of the clash between the Kingdoms and the end of history? He was able to do that because Shaul (Paul) had already laid the foundation and now there was a “Body” and a network of followers of the Messiah, the Notsrim, as they were known then (the Nazarenes).
I wonder how much of the ancient Hittite culture was left in the people of these lands and what it was like having to deal with that?
The below article on the Hittites is from Dr. Claude Mariottini, Professor of Old Testament at Northern Baptist Seminary. I have been following his work for some time. He is not a Hebraist, but he’s a good conservative academic in a field that has seen tremendous hostility from the liberal mob.
George
The Hittites were a people who established a vast empire in Anatolia in the second millennium B.C. They are also mentioned as one of the inhabitants …
The Creator Himself chose to relate to mankind within the confines of covenant. With covenant you’re either in or you’re out. Covenants used to be made between rival tribes as a way of ending enmity. The coming together of a man and a woman in order to create a family is also a covenant based on marital fidelity. The Constitution is a covenant between free men and their elected officials.
I wonder how many people today understand the seriousness of making a covenant and the implications of failing to live up to the promises made before God and man?
Now the LORD said to Avram, “Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you, and make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. In you will all of the families of the eretz be blessed.” So Avram went, as the LORD had spoken to him. Gen. 12:1-4
This covenant changed the course of history, it still does, and it will continue to until the last day of planet Earth. It’s a plumb line. All human events are measured against it. Nations rise and fall depending on which side of history they choose to be. Just ask the Hittites, Ebusites, Amorites and Jebusites. They fought Israel and are all gone. Israel and the Jews are still around. Coincidence? I think not.
Covenant means you stick together. Many of today’s post-moderns have no qualms about jumping ship as soon as something doesn’t go their way. Covenant is a contract but it’s much more. Contract can only demand certain things. In covenant we extend loyalty before anything else. Disloyal people can’t demand loyalty.
Is covenant becoming an extinct concept?
George
https://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/torah.jpg480640Georgehttps://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/threefold-2024-80x80.pngGeorge2021-08-03 06:27:082021-08-04 04:41:25The Lost Art of the Covenant
While reading the words of our Lord in Mat. 5:23-24 I was yet once again reminded of one the most neglected and misunderstood elements of God’s Truth Yeshua came to reveal. He didn’t necessarily bring brand new ideas, but rather brought the correct understanding of what’s of greater importance compared to other things. Some might call it ‘bringing order’ to what was already known.
This is seen throughout the entire so called ‘Sermon on the Mount’. Many of things the school of the Prushim (Pharisees) were saying that were of the greatest importance were in fact challenged by the Messiah. However, his confrontation with them should be interpreted within the context of “family quarrel”, not as a blanket denunciation of “the Jews” as replacement theology has been punishing it on us for hundreds of years.
One example is Mat. 5:23-24
It speaks of someone who is about to offer their gift on the altar at the temple. Think about it. Offering a gift in the temple wasn’t a small thing.
To the modern Christian person this is much easier which is why we don’t think much about it.
Our altar is represented by what? To some it’s their local church. To others it’s their prayer room when they kneel before God and pray.
But this is not what Yeshua and his audience had in mind when they talked about “the altar”.
The journey to the temple was long and dangerous. It cost the Israelites a lot of resources, including the missed opportunity to work instead of being gone.
Yeshua teaches that even after someone had gone through all the trouble of making a trip to the temple to offer his sacrifice, if this man remembered at that moment (became aware of it cognitively and on an emotional level) that he had done something against someone, it’s more important for him to leave the lamb, go back to where he came from, meet with the person who had been wronged, own up to them what had done, and only then go back to the temple to offer their sacrifice.
Essentially, Yeshua says what Yeshayahu (Isaiah) declares on behalf of the Lord in his rebuke in Chapter 1: “I take no pleasure in your sacrifices and feasts…” – because they were mistreating each other.
Isaiah 1:11-20 (HNV) 11 “What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?,” says the LORD. “I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, And the fat of fed animals. I don’t delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs, Or of male goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, Who has required this at your hand, to trample my courts? 13 Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me; New moons, Shabbatot, and convocations: I can’t bear with evil assemblies. 14 My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts; They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; Cease to do evil. 17 Learn to do well. Seek justice, Relieve the oppressed, Judge the fatherless, Plead for the widow.” 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; 20 But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.”
Would most Israelites have accepted the teaching of Yeshua literally? Probably not. I believe he was making a point bringing to light what is of greater importance to the Lord: the condition of our hearts, and the way we actually treat those in our lives.
This is a tough one because it demands of us to be cognizant and aware of what we do to others. Self-awareness is something many, many people lack, some of them completely.
Why didn’t this worshipper own up to what he had to own up before going to the temple?
Why didn’t this worshipper own up to what he had to own up before going to the temple? For Yeshua to take time and teach on this it shows this was something widespread. Do we have the tendency to do the same today?
Maybe he was caught up in the motion of the habit? A religious act of offering a lamb without ‘connecting the dots’ and realizing you can’t expect forgiveness from the Lord if you don’t forgive others, and also if you don’t own up to how you’ve violated others?
And then this worshipper of YHWH goes on his trip, goes through all the trouble of traveling through the heat and the rocky roads on foot – no tennis shoes and asphalt roads either!
Sandals from the time of Jesus discovered in one of the caves of the Judean desert.
But during this process he’s thinking about offering this lamb. Will YHWH accept it?
As we know, the Israelites were well aware of the practice of laying on of hands on the sacrificial animal and confessing/speaking their sins over it (Lev. 16:21). Aaron did this on behalf of all of Israel. It was at this point that the transference of guilt took place.
Yeshua was now reminding the children of Avraham they need to do this in their relationships with their “brother”. The text in Greek uses the word “adelphos”, which is a general term for “whoever you have a relationship with”. Someone who is part of your life, maybe family, maybe the community.
The main point here is that the worshipper who is about to offer his sacrifice, is becoming aware of the wrong he has done through a process of honest reassessment of his own life in light of God’s holiness. Yeshua doesn’t even comment on the role of the priest here. It’s a non-factor. Confessing your sins to the priest makes no difference. It has to be to the one who has been violated.
Was it a land dispute? A fight over whose sheep were grazing in whose field?
Who knows. There are as many variables here as there are human beings and the countless situations we encounter where we violate someone for one reason or another.
But what about those who are shameless?
The lack of shame and guilt in some people is real. It can vary from a more general lack of self-awareness and even consciousness, to pathological levels of what modern science calls psychopathy. Some time in the 70s the term sociopath was introduced and injected into the vernacular, apparently in an attempt to remove the stigma of mental illnesses.
However, sociopath isn’t a medical term. People who commit crimes and have no remorse are fundamentally psychopaths from a clinical point of view. There’s no conclusive research that proves what is the origin of this serious deviation in people. But it’s real.
We don’t know entirely how God handles deviants. At the cross there were two common criminals on either side of Yeshua. One was repenting and asking for mercy, owning up to what he had done in life. The other had no remorse. Was he just a hardened soul who had chosen to be evil? Or was he a psychopath who was unable to repent because he didn’t have any remorse? We don’t know. Some things aren’t ours to know.
What we know is that life is full of people who won’t own up to the wrong they do to others, thus creating unimaginable damage to people and relationships which were meant for good.
One such story is the story of famed motivational speaker David Goggins who tells in detail how his father used to beat him and his mother with a belt. Until one day David and his mother fled the family home. The father never owned up to the damage he had done to his wife or his son and to their entire family. Goggins has an amazing story of escaping a life of poverty that resulted from what the father had done to the family. David went on to become a Navy SEAL, a runner, an author and a motivational speaker.
How many church people need to turn around next Sunday upon approaching their church, go back to those they have violated, and own up to them and God what they had done? We don’t know. Probably a lot.
How many of today’s leaders regularly shine a light into the dark corners of the souls of those who go to their churches, reminding them the right spiritual order Yeshua taught us to have?
Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. On these two the entire Torah rests!
““Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?” He told him, “‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’ This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’ All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”” Mattityahu (Mat) 22:36-40 CJB
May God help us and May God have mercy on us all!
George
https://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/img_0884.jpg798828Georgehttps://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/threefold-2024-80x80.pngGeorge2021-07-27 14:47:202021-07-27 19:58:18Owning up to people before owning up to God
This post is part of my IN 300 WORDS series. In exactly 300 words I highlight a key issue relevant to God-fearing people who seek authentic understanding of the teachings of the Messiah from Nazareth.
Let’s face it, the Christianity of the developed world has failed to win the hearts and the minds of the people of the Western civilization. Only three decades ago the dividing line between what used to be the free world and the rest of the world, was clearly visible and tangibly defined.
We have now come to a place where Western “doctors” are chopping off the breasts of perfectly healthy girls, social media companies are offering 70+ genders at signup, and jihadists are leading the FBI by the nose (Exhibit A: CAIR-MN).
How did we get here, friends?
It’s because of the failure of Western Christianity. We have been reinventing the God of the Bible since the days of Constantine. We made him Roman-Catholic, then Greek-Orthodox, then Protestant.
We invented monasteries, mega-churches and missionaries in his name. Even though none of these are in the Bible.
We’ve created hundreds of translations of the Bible into English while there are thousands of languages still lacking even ONE!
But even that’s a joke because most aid money goes to dictators.
What are we to do?
What if I decided to start a movement that honors THE TRUTH more than the lies of the media, politicians, pastors, academics and corporations? How many people would want to be part of such culture of truth?
Can we even know THE TRUTH?
Let’s begin with Jesus himself.
He declared to Pontius Pilate that the very reason He was born into this world was so that he can testify to the TRUTH! (Gospel of John 18:36-38).
And yet we each have our own “truths”?
Something doesn’t add up.
https://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/6bbe7e9d-632b-46ff-963f-b2cf9441c77a.png1423828Georgehttps://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/threefold-2024-80x80.pngGeorge2021-06-17 00:06:152021-06-17 02:06:12In 300 Words: Born To Testify Of The Truth
Thus says the LORD of Hosts: “In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Yehudi, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'” [Zec 8:23 HNV]
This prophecy clearly foretells the coming of a day when the goyim, the people of the world, the non-Jews will experience a spiritual awakening which will compel them to do something very interesting; they will align themselves spiritually with the children of Israel.
This spiritual realignment will inevitably spill over into the political and geopolitical arena as more and more nations will choose life over death. The current developments in the Middle East and the way President Donald Trump’s administration has brokered peace between Israel and some of their formerly staunch enemies, is an astounding miracle of Biblical proportions.
In addition, more and more believers who have grown up in traditional Christian churches, are now experiencing a longing to return to the Hebraic origins of the our faith.
Could the movement to form alliances with Israel and to return to the Hebraic foundation of the faith be part of the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy? 1. Prophesying the big picture
Zechariah prophesied these words shortly after the time of the Babylonian exile as the Jews struggled to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem. The Lord spoke through him to the Jews of the day and he spoke to them about a day when the goyim (traditionally translated “Gentiles”), will come to the Jews and form an alliance with them.
This was obviously a huge promise. A small community of around 50,000 had returned to Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel). It’s estimated that 500,000 stayed behind in Babylon. Why did they stay behind? Because they prospered there and didn’t want to go back to Eretz Israel only to be confronted with hostilities. However, the Jews in Babylon became an important resource for the “Palestinian Jews” as most scholars would refer to those who went back to Eretz Israel. “Palestine” is a derivative of “Philistine” – derogatory name given to Eretz Israel by the enemies of Israel and referring to the Philistines, Israel’s arch-enemies.
Casting a great vision for the remnant of Jews who went back to Eretz Israel was very much in line with how God spoke to Abraham from the very beginning. This was entirely a prophetic act since this was not a time when Jews were held in high esteem by the surrounding nations. Jerusalem had no drawing power for the world. “In the natural”, as we like to say, there wasn’t much to look forward to – except the promises of God! 2. Who or what moved the Gentiles to align themselves with the Jews?
It’s interesting that the promise God gave the children of Israel through the prophet Zechariah was about the restoration of Israel but it also included the Gentiles (the goyim). What was good for the Jews was also going to be good for the goyim.
The first thing that God intends to make happen is to restore the Truth to Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). Next, He promises He will not only bless Israel, but they will also become a blessing. This is also consistent with the promise made to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 that in Abraham the world will be blessed.
Thus says the LORD: “I have returned to Tziyon, and will dwell in the midst of Yerushalayim. Yerushalayim shall be called ‘The City of Truth;’ and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts, ‘The Holy Mountain.'” [Zec 8:3 HNV]
and I will bring them, and they will dwell in the midst of Yerushalayim; and they will be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.” [Zec 8:8 HNV]
“For the seed of shalom and the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will give its increase, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. [Zec 8:12 HNV]
It shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the nations, house of Yehudah and house of Yisra’el, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Don’t be afraid. Let your hands be strong.” [Zec 8:13 HNV]
Yes, many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Yerushalayim, and to entreat the favor of the LORD.” [Zec 8:22 HNV]
Clearly, the goyim are coming to seek the Lord in Yerushalayim and to entreat his favor.
It only makes sense; if you are serious about seeking the Lord you will end up in Yerushalayim. You will end up realizing the great love the Lord has for his covenant people and the blessing you will experience by aligning yourself with them.
“To entreat the favor of the Lord” speaks of humbling oneself and seeking to be blessed by the Creator rather than being arrogant and thinking of ways to make yourself prosperous on your own. Gentiles who align themselves with Israel can be confident about seeking the blessing and favor of God without any reservations. When you sincerely honor the God of Abraham and the children of Abraham, you will have no greater friend! Great alliances are forged when the Jews are rightfully honored for who they are in God’s plan -the people who gave us the Torah, who kept the faith for thousands of years. And for those of us who believe in Yeshua, they also gave us the Messiah (even if most Jews don’t accept Yeshua as the promised HaMashiach).
This is why it’s so important to expose false Jew-hating teachings and theology. This should be obvious but millions of people are still fed demonic teachings making out the Jews to be somehow enemies of God and Christians. This is a lie from the pit of hell. You can’t sow hatred towards the Jews, persecute and murder them, and expect to serve God at the same time. This is insane.
Many Christians have been seriously affected by Jew-hatred and the deception of the replacement theology. Until people come to grips with the fact this theology isn’t based on God’s Truth as revealed in the entire Bible, and turn away from it, they will remain stuck in deception. Such people will have a very hard time on the Day of the Lord.
3. Ten will seek one
Thus says the LORD of Hosts: “In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Yehudi, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'” [Zec 8:23 HNV]
This language is an exaggerated prophetic-poetic form very characteristic of the way the prophets expressed what God showed them. It means that even though the Jews are small in number, they will lead the majority. Notice, no one is forcing the majority of goyim to do anything. Their spiritual eyes have been opened. As a result, a change of heart has taken place in them. They aren’t ashamed to seek the God of the Jews in Yerushalayim. They aren’t ashamed to align themselves with the Jews and to seek the favor of their God. They are reaching out and grabbing the hem of the garment of a Jew. Something happens when we reach by faith and connect with the children of Abraham. For those of us who will never be Jews by blood, the next best thing is to align ourselves correctly with those whom God considers beloved fo the sake of the fathers – Avraham, Itzhak and Yaakov. Thus, the will of God is fulfilled and He is pleased. His people have fulfilled their calling – they have given His Truth, His Light to a dark and lost world. We, the Goyim have humbled ourselves and have received it.
The turning of the hearts of the goyim toward Israel and the Jews will be an astounding sign for the Jews that God is fulfilling his promise. It will move them to return to Him and to experience their own revival.
https://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/d9822c33-78f9-4b33-8b6b-1a7edf0416b7.png400712Georgehttps://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/threefold-2024-80x80.pngGeorge2020-12-01 02:29:562020-12-01 17:09:25Why are the Gentiles aligning with Israel?
The Gospel of Matthew tells us that a messenger from God – an angel, approached Miryam [Anglo-Saxon version: Mary] and Yosef [Anglo-Saxon version: Joseph], the natural parents of the Messiah.
This angel, this Heavenly creature had entered the earthly realm in order to give them a special message.
Part of this message was an instruction about how the baby should be called.
This instruction however didn’t originate from the messenger, it was an instruction from Creator God Himself. The angel was only the carrier of the message.
THE LINGUISTIC ROOT BEHIND THE HELLENIZATION OF MESSIAH
What was the real name of the Messiah that God wanted his parents to give him?
It was the name Yeshua. The name Yeshua is a Hebrew name. The angel explains why the personal name of the Messiah should be Yeshua.
This only makes sense in Hebrew. In Hebrew and only in Hebrew the name Yeshua, the personal name of the Messiah, comes from the same root as the Hebrew word yoshia
“She shall bring forth a son. You shall call his name Yeshua, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.” [Mat 1:21 HNV]
This play of words becomes virtually lost if we try to understand the meaning of this message outside of Hebrew. Again, this instruction makes sense ONLY in Hebrew because ONLY in Hebrew the words for save and Yeshua have the same root.
Here is how this verse looks in Hebrew (from right to left):
PRONOUNCIATION SPELLED USING THE LATIN ALPHABET: hi yoledet ben ve’attah tikra shemo yeshua’, ki hu yoshia et ammo mechattoteihem
TRANSLATION: “She shall bring forth a son. You shall call his name Yeshua, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.” [Mat 1:21 HNV]
Here are the two words we need to pay attention to. They explain very clearly exactly why the personal name of the Messiah should be Yeshua:
יֵשּועַ – Yeshua (Savior)
יֹושִיעַ – yoshia (save)
The root is the word ‘yasha’: יָשַׁע which in Hebrew means to deliver, to save, to rescue.
Now the message of the Angel makes perfect sense.
“You shall call his name Savior (Yeshua) for it is he who shall save (yoshia) his people from their sins.”
Pay attention to the following statement: The Hellenized version of the name Yeshua – Iesus, has no meaning whatsoever! The “sh” sound is gone simply because it doesn’t exist in the Greek language. There is no other reason why in the Greek the sound “sh” becomes substituted with “s”. That’s it. There’s nothing “divine” in the Greek spelling of the name of Yeshua – it only changes because the Greek has no “sh” sound.
The ending ” – us” is yet an additional type of Hellnization of the Jewish personal name of the Messiah. Greek did not allow a male name to end in an “ah” sound. Thus Greeks would add “is”, “us”, or “os” at the end of male names (Example: Lycus, Petrakis, Demetrios, Herodotos, Morpheus). Thus, Yeshua in Hebrew became Iesous in Greek. Again, there’s absolutely nothing “divine” in the way the original Hebrew name Yeshua all of a sudden becomes Iησοῦς (pronounced as “eeaysoos” in Greek) -it’s only due to linguistic limitations. This is not unimportant because Christians have created an entirely new persona around the Helenized name of Messiah. The Helenization however didn’t stop with the name only, it literally scrubbed away any and all Jewishness from the Messiah, the Gospels and the New Testament as a whole. This part of the process of severing the original, organic hebraic root of the faith we call “saving”.
The name of the prophet known as Hosea is rooted also in the word ‘yasha’, to save. The correct pronounciation is Hoshea. Again, the only reason the “sh” sound in Hoshea is replaced with an “s” is the Hellenization of the Hebrew names in the translations from Hebrew to Greek. The name of the prophet known to us as Isaiah is also rooted in the same word. The original name of Isaiah is: Yeshayahu (The Lord Saves). The name of Moses’ servant Joshua who becomes the leader who brought Israel into the Promised Land is: Yehoshu’a (The Lord is Salvation).
There’s nothing “holy” or special about the Greek language. We aren’t in debt to the Greeks or to the Romans (the Romanization of the Bible is another form of distortion). It was the Hebrews who gave the world the first ancient prototype of the modern 26 character alphabet, not the Greeks or the Romans. From this ancient language came the three oldest known languages: Old Hebrew, Phoenician, and Greek. This documentary sheds more light on the truth about the origin of the Torah, which we call today The Bible.
WHAT DOES THE HELLENIZATION OF THE FAITH MEAN TO US TODAY?
The Hellenization of the faith doesn’t end with the personal name of our Messiah. It has permeated the rest of Scripture and it has altered our very perception of the faith as a whole.
The very term we use for Messiah is also a form of a Hellenisized term, originally Mashiach in Hebrew. The reason? You guessed it – nothing but the limitations of the Greek language.
The name of Moses has also been Hellenized. His original name is Moshe and that’s how it should be in our Bibles or at least this is the way it should be in every language that has the “sh” sound. Greek, Icelandic, Latin, Maori, Finnish, and Spanish are the only major languages that don’t have the “sh” sound. The resistance of translators to restore the original Hebrew and Jewish name and term pronounciation in the Bible has nothing to do with linguistic difficulties and everything to do with the history of Christian anti-semitism and the role replacemet theology has played through the ages (the teaching that non-Jews who believe in Yeshua have now replaced the Jews as God’s Chosen people).
The painful truth us that we in our Christian world love our sacred cows and traditions (regardless of how wrong they are) more than God’s Truth (even when it’s not hard at all to respect).
True, there are now a number of translations that seek to right this wrong and to restore to correct Hebraic framework of understaning the Jewish cultur through which the Torah and the Savior were received! One such example is the Hebrew Names Version. This versoin is in fact the World Messianic Bible (WMB) – a 1997 English language update of the American Standard Version which was originally published in 1901. It has also been known as the Hebrew Names Version (HNV) and the World English Bible: Messianic Edition (WEB:ME): https://ebible.org/engwmb/
There are other notable translations such as David Stern’s Complete Jewish Version and few others I will list in a different post. They are all part of a noble effort to move us closer to opening our eyes for the beauty of God’s Truth which can only be revealed fully when studied in its original Hebraic context.
The Greeks gave us the Olympic Games. We can do just fine with or without these Games.
We cannot afford however to go on without restoring the accurate, Hebraic understanding of the faith we call “saving”. It begins by having enough respect for the Messiah and for the will of God which the angel came to deliver to his earthly parents but also to all mankind: His name should be Yeshua (Savior) because he will yoshia (save) His people from their sins.
FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS:
Should we change the way we refer to Jesus in our prayers and worship?
I will respond with a question – how important do you think it is to know, understand, assimilate and live God’s Truth? Many teachings of the truths of the Word of God are initially in conflict with our way of thinking and our traditions. It takes determination and a process of humbling to accept many of God’s truths (teachings). Sadly, the de-Hellenization of the faith was never made important by those who introduced the faith to us. Hence, to most people using one name or another for Jesus or anything else in the Bible is of minor importance. Having said that, I will admit that even for those who are hungry to know and live according to God’s full spectrum of truth, including embracing its Hebraic foundation, it’s not a small thing for the average Christian to go through this process. It can be confusing, intimidating and demoralizing (especially when you start losing friends over it). At the end this remains a matter of personal conviction. No one should feel forced to do anything. We all should strive to get to know the Truth and to allow the Truth to set us free. Everything else is exchnaging one religious bondage for another.
Should we talk to others about Jesus or about Yeshua?
Once someone purges their mind from the Hellenization of God’s truth and comes “home” to the true, Hebraic foundation of the faith, there is a spiritual renewal of sorts that takes place. As we surrender to the Lord in obedience, we fulfill an important prophecy – a day will come when the “gentiles” (non-Jews, goyim), will come come to Zion, which represents the rule (Kingdom) of God and will submit to His truth (Micah 4:2) It specifically says that “out of Zion” and Jerusalem the Torah will come forth so it can be received by the non-Jews. This prophecy literally means that the Spirit is working to draw non-Jews to humble themselves and accept the Torah coming from God who rules from Zion. The apostle Paul’s teaching was also consistent with this approach. In Romans 1:16 he clearly teaches that the Good News of Messiah is meant to be given “first” to the Jews, then to the Gentile. This doesn’t mean we need to embrace Judaism per se and somehow denounce Yeshua as Messiah. More article on this subject to come.
How does this change the way we tell others about the Messiah? It does and it’s fantastic!
– It immediatly disrupts the confused way many people who seek God think of Jesus and the faith. Most people have terrible misconceptions about who God is, who Jesus is and what the Bible is all about. Instead of struggling to parse through the various confusions, we can introduce them to “a God they don’t know” similarly to what the apostle did in Athens (See Acts 17).
– It is entirely Biblical and spiritually accurate to refer to Jesus as Yeshua.
– It allows us to introduce a whole new authenticity to people who seek the faith.
– Bypassing traditional Christian apologetics and agreeing that there are many issues with traditional Christianity could earn us the right to introduce people to the faith as it was for the first 3 centuries – a movement of followers of the Messiah who had no “temples”, weren’t in bed with the authorities, were persecuted for their faith, and grew tremendously. All this changed in the 4th century under the Roman Emperor Constantine. We are not beholden to the newly minted version of anti-semitic Christianity which he and his court-friendly theologians created.
https://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Messiahs-Real-Name.png7201280Georgehttps://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/threefold-2024-80x80.pngGeorge2020-11-28 18:17:432020-11-29 00:30:44What is Messiah’s real name and is it important for us today?
Christian Hebraism transformed Christianity completely during the Middle Ages. However, the impact this movement had on the world remains forgotten by most people who consider themselves believers today: clergy and laity alike.
I realize I’m not the scholar this subject deserves if Christian Hebraism will have to be re-introduced to believers in the 21st century and beyond. But given the fact that most of the scholars who have specialized in this subject have not produced materials in a format more accessible for the mass reader, any effort to resurrect the legacy of Christian Hebraism is better than no effort at all.
I began to investigate this subject matter three years ago when I experienced a “home coming” of sorts in my faith journey. I will explain this in an attempt to illustrate how deeply personal this subject is to me. The discovery of the story of Christian Hebraism helped bring together many of the otherwise scattered pieces of information I had accumulated through the years when it comes to the Reformation of the Middle Ages. But most importantly, it made me feel like I had “come home”. It made me realize that what I have been sensing intuitively and have been looking for through the years, others had been looking for something similar as well, some 500 or more years ago. This is both humbling and comforting from a spiritual standpoint and I will try to share this perspective with you.
One more thing that will probably help you understand why I am so sensitive to the origin of words, languages and translations – I grew up during the 70s and the 80s in Bulgaria – a hard-core Communist country. Communism is based on violence, theft and ruthless, shameless lies, deception, fraud, manipulation, and propaganda. Growing up, my parents didn’t voice their opposition to Communism in front of me and my brother – they wanted to protect us. But when I was thirteen years old one night I walked in on my father listening to The Voice of Europe on short wave radio in the dark and I realized there was something going on that I didn’t know about. I got my hands on a short wave radio and became an avid listener of the Voice of Europe and the Voice of America. I slowly began to realize we were living in a parallel reality and a lot was going on we had no clue about. Under Communism there is no freedom of speech. If there were freedom of speech, the opposition would expose their fraud and crimes and their regime would be over with very quickly. They controlled all the media: TV, radio and print. Thankfully, short wave radio was there to help bring some news to the people living behind the Iron Wall. I was one of them.
The foundation of Communism has to do with the manipulation of words. Words are the tool we use to explain things. When we corrupt words, we bring a corrupt understanding of the essence of the matter they are meant to convey. For example, Communist regimes have always called their terrorist, totalitarian regimes “people’s republics”. They have fake Constitutions, fake Parliaments and fake elections. This is a gross perversion of the very meaning of what a republic, a Constitution, a Parliament and elections are meant to be. There are no “republics” in Communism. They are all in fact dictatorships. But the Communists are shameless psychopaths and they have zero remorse as they impose their regimes forcing untold millions to submit to their “republic” at gun point.
Gradually, as one grows up in a country totally dominated by the Communist regime, you begin to realize all the public slogans, school textbooks, newspapers, TV and radio are there to produce nothing but one gigantic psyopp intended to keep the people brainwashed into believing the lies of Communism as a dogma and the Communist regime as its executive (and executing) embodiment.
I became a believer in God because I kept having questions such as “how did this world come into being?” and “what happens after we die”? No one could give me an adequate answer. I loved to read books and used to spend hours and hours in the local library while growing up. Thankfully some classic literature had made its way into the Communist system. I realized that people have been asking these same questions through the ages but they still didn’t have any good answers. I also read a number of books I purchased from a bookstore selling Eastern Orthodox literature. This was very interesting but still no real answers came from going to the Orthodox Church, lighting candles, getting baptized as Orthodox, and reading their books.
Finally, at the age of 20 I came into contact with some believers who actually read the Bible and discussed things about it. I started going to the meetings of a congregation that didn’t resemble the Orthodox Church – no temple, no priest, candles, icons and so on. I realized that the only way I can become a “believer” is to accept that Jesus had risen from the dead, that he is alive somewhere in a dimension we can’t see (Heaven), that the Bible is true, and that I need to turn away from my sinful way of life (and there was much to turn away from, trust me)! I took the leap of faith and experienced a dramatic conversion at the age of 20, only a few months before the collapse of the Berlin Wall. My world had fundamentally changed and the world itself was about to change as well. Such was the beginning of my faith walk. I didn’t worry too much about who wrote the Bible and in what language, who translated it, how and when. What was important for me at the time and for many years to come was to be “spiritual”; to read the Bible, to try to grasp its teachings, to try to live according to them, and to try to get others to do the same. Sounds simple but it’s a huge challenge in and of its own. I would say most Christians spend the majority of whatever time they have trying to do their best doing exactly this; study the Bible, pray, try to live out its teachings, try to do good works, try to help others become believers.
Sadly, not so many believers go deeper and investigate the origins of the faith, the history of Scripture, the historic background, culture and context of the different events described, the true meaning of its teachings as they were given at the time, and what all this means to us.
However, I have remained as hungry to learn about the origins of the faith, as I am to learn how to live its teachings. I therefore share my discoveries without any specific agenda except my deeply seated desire to get to the bottom of the story, to learn the truth about something as much as it’s possible and only then to draw my conclusions about it. It’s with this mindset that I have been pursuing the re-discovery of Christian Hebraism during the Reformation of the Middle Ages and its relevancy for us today.
TALMIDIM – NOT DISCIPLES; RABBI – NOT “MASTER”; YESHUA – NOT “JESUS”
My first encounter with the Jewish heritage of the faith was in 1993 when I visited a Messianic congregation where I also purchased the Jewish New Testament by David Stern. It impacted deeply my perception of the historic Jesus as a fully Jewish man, as well as the Jewishness of the Gospel, the “church” (a term we will be deconstructing in a future post), and really the faith as a whole.
I remember how refreshing it was to learn that the “disciples” I had been reading about in the Gospel were in reality “talmidim”, that the real name of Jesus was actually Yeshua and that he was a Rabbi, not “Master” as some translations would have us believe.
Does this matter? Do we have to use Hebrew words and then learn what they mean vs. accepting a bunch of substitute and sometimes totally made up Hellenistic terms? I’ll make the case for Christian Hebraism as I post more on this subject and you can investigate this for yourself and make up your own mind.
NO ONE TALKING ABOUT CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM
I was fortunate enough to have graduated from a Bible School that rejected the replacement theology and honored the Jewish people. This Bible School helped many accept a Biblically correct theological, moral and ethical position of support and love for Israel and the Jews. This was also a Bible School that took the position that the Reformation of the Middle Ages was “the” much needed reset and remake Christianity needed in the pursuit of its original, more authentic beginnings. However, I didn’t hear anyone in Bible School talk about Christian Hebraism and its impact on the Reformation of the Middle Ages.
That was almost 30 years ago.
Since then I have been around a good deal of Christians who love Israel and the Jewish people, the Messianic Jewish movement, and have also gotten to know many non-Jews who have walked away from Protestantism and embraced the messianic movement. When I say “Christians” this includes ordinary believers and leaders alike. They love God, they are zealous about bringing Christianity back to its Jewish foundation, they are eager to express their faith in a way closer to its Jewish origins and they emphasize the changes we need to implement on a liturgical level. But again, they know about Christian Hebraism as much as a Southern Baptist.
To learn about Christian Hebraism today one has to dig deep into the vaults of higher academic learning. While the Messianic movement has picked up quite a lot of momentum during the last 30 years and we rejoice over this fact, it remains a mystery to me why hardly anyone has attempted to re-introduce the Christian Hebraists to our generation. As I kept learning about their passion to re-discover the Truth of God through the lens of Hebrew, I couldn’t help but think about the implications of such discoveries for us today.
I wish I didn’t have to do this. This is not my “full time” job at this point in time and I don’t have the professional theological credentials to challenge the status quo when it comes to the Hellenization of the faith vs. its rightful Hebraic origins. But I kept on digging and investigating this story for me and the sense that I have an obligation to re-tell this forgotten story kept growing in my spirit.
WHAT IS CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM?
“Historically Christian Hebraism has been understood as the use of Hebrew, rabbinic, or Cabbalistic sources for Christian religious purposes during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The use of such source material had dramatic results including the re-translation of the Old Testament, the re-interpretation of the New Testament, and the re-examination of historically central doctrines of Christianity” – Prof. Jerome Friedman, Kent State University [https://www.amazon.com/Most-Ancient-Testimony-Sixteenth-Century-Christian-Hebraica/dp/0821407007]
Stephen Burnett, author of “Christian Hebraism in the Reformation Era (1500-1660)”, says the following: “The Reformation turned Christian Hebraism from a pastime of a few hobbyists and theologians into a broad intellectual movement that involved students and professors, printers, and patrons of many kinds living throughout Europe. Christian Hebraist authors were the central actors in this movement.” [https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Hebraism-Reformation-Era-1500-1660/dp/B01181VYU4]
Going forward, I will quote extensively Prof. Jerome Friedman and Stephen Burnett. They have summarized so much of the information that’s missing from the arsenal of Biblical Scholars and ministers today.
Johannes Reuchlin (1455 – 1522) was classics scholar whose defense of Hebrew literature helped awaken liberal intellectual forces in the years immediately preceding the Reformation.
Christian Hebraica became one of the most powerful spiritual and intellectual forces of the Reformation of the Middle Ages. It became known as “Hebraica Veritas” (Hebrew Truth) because for the first time in 1,000 years Christians recognized the Hebrew Bible and classical Hebrew as the legitimate source of spiritual truth, not Jerome’s Latin translation. While it’s true that Jerome did study Hebrew and Greek in order to produce the Vulgate into Latin, the Reformers of the Middle Ages felt they had many good reasons to re-examine Jerome’s translation which was given the status of “inerrant” or inerrant-like by the Roman-Catholic Church.
Christian Hebraists were scholars of Hebrew literature. Hebraists approached Jewish texts with both academic and polemical motivations; some wanted to study Jesus in his time while others sought a way to convert Jews to Christianity. Their focus was on Biblical scholarship, religious philosophy, and the aggadah. Christian Hebraism offers a fascinating perspective into the history of printing, linguistics, and European culture in the Middle Ages as well as comparative religion and Jewish-Christian relations. By impacting theology, literature, science, and philosophy, Hebrew literature played a vital role in the development of Western culture.
IS CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM RELEVANT FOR US TODAY?
Undoubtedly, this is the proverbial “million dollar question”. If the story of Christian Hebraism is only something that was relevant to the people in the Middle Ages, I can understand why very few people today should care about it.
But let’s go back to what Prof. Jerome Friedman had to say about the implications of Christian Hebraism, this intentional return to Hebrew as the primary lens of Biblical learning, and let’s see if there might be something important we need to pay a little more attention to:
“Historically Christian Hebraism has been understood as the use of Hebrew, rabbinic, or Cabbalistic sources for Christian religious purposes during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The use of such source material had dramatic results including the re-translation of the Old Testament, the re-interpretation of the New Testament, and the re-examination of historically central doctrines of Christianity”
Could this be the crux of the matter, the very kernel of what this treasure hunting journey is all about?
Re-translation (of the Old Testament, for better accuracy and understanding)
Re-interpretation (of the New Testament, due to better understanding of Hebrew, the language used by the Jews in the 1st century)
Re-examination (of the historically central doctrines of Christianity! This is huge.)
Christians have been in pursuit of a better, more authentic, and truer to the original version Christianity for the last 500 years. The creation of many translations of Scripture has been a huge part of this pursuit of authenticity.
The return to the Hebraic framework of thought has resulted in actual re-interpretations of the New Testament itself.
But have we done any serious re-examination of the historically central doctrines of Christianity in light of the fact that Hebrew, not Latin or Greek, is “the” most important key to the correct understanding of the Truth of God?
You may think we’ve done enough but my answer would be a “no”!
But hey, I am nobody. I’m just a normal guy who wants to know why I believe what I believe, why do we do what we do and most importantly, what is the Truth of God as intended by Him? If I am ready to live or die for what I believe, I don’t see why I need to spare one’s sacred cows in my pursuit of Truth.
Standby as post more articles on this subject and we look into the genius of the Hebrew language, what it has meant for the world, the true history of its origins, and how Christian Hebraism relates to our faith today.
I would like to also invite you to check out the beta version of a wiki I have been using to organize my research in the area of Hebraica Veritas. It’s only in its beginning stages but I haven’t seen even this much organized in one place when it comes to Christian Hebraism on the Internet – so I hope this can add to your own research: https://threefold.life/wiki
https://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/arundel_ms_155_f007v_detail.jpg4711500Georgehttps://threefold.life/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/threefold-2024-80x80.pngGeorge2020-09-18 05:50:152023-02-17 11:41:34What is Christian Hebraism and Is It Relevant for Today?
On mandatory vaccinations: the spiritual act of choosing to reject the godless system!
/in ExhortationsA HUNGRY MESSIAH?
In the gospel of Matthew chapter 4 and verse 3 Satan challenges the Messiah and tells him “since you are the son of God, command these stones to be turned into bread”.
Obviously, after 40 days and nights of fasting Yeshua is hungry. Being hungry is a human experience that unifies all of mankind, past, present and future. It’s one of the most basic existential needs we all have. We can all identify with someone who is hungry – even though many of us have never experienced the kind of hunger people experience and live with in places where extreme poverty exists.
I have fasted for 3 days, 7 days, 10 days, 21 days, and all the way up to 40 days. And I am extremely grateful for those experiences because they allowed me to experience myself, the world and God in a completely different way. Periodic fasting is a great spiritual practice for all to make a part of their lifestyle.
Back to our desert story: What is the response of the messiah? Why didn’t Jesus turn stones into bread?
Whether you believe in an actual Satan or not, his response is astonishing.
But first, let me point out that this is not God’s recipe for the world to solve chronic hunger. If you think we can tell all the people in the world who experience chronic hunger, “hey, you don’t need food, you should just live on every word that comes from the mouth of God!”, you must be out of your mind! We solve the problem of hunger by feeding the hungry and teaching how to feed themselves.
Furthermore, Jesus didn’t live as a poor man suffering from existential needs, amongst which hunger. He was a rabbi who had a significant following, among which many rich people who provided for his and for the needs of his 12 apostles. So the situation with the desert was in fact an extraordinary situation of hunger, not some ongoing hunger crisis situation.
His response therefore, has to do with something else, not hunger itself.
He quotes from the Torah. More specifically he quotes from the book of Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 3.
TRUST AND OBEY THE LORD!
I believe what the Messiah meant here is that he will remain faithful to God’s commandment not to bow to anything or anyone besides God himself. We all experience situations and pressures that force us to consider meeting our needs in some illegitimate way. Even though the Messiah might have been able to turn stones into bread, that was not the issue at hand. He demonstrated he can turn water into wine, why wouldn’t he be able to turn stones into bread? Of course he would be able to. That was not the point, however. The point here is that Satan was taking control, presenting himself as the one who knows what has to be done to solve the problem. He was just giving instructions to the Messiah and therefore creating an alternative authority besides God himself.
Who was the Messiah going to obey and follow? God the Father, or this new “god” who presents himself as knowing better than the Creator Himself?
This is the issue at hand here I believe. And this is what we all face almost on a daily basis.
The big questions at stake here are: Who are you going to yield to? A disciple of who exactly are you?
THE PRESSURE TO OBEY THE GODLESS SYSTEM
Think about the situation in the world today. I just read somewhere that supposedly the majority of people now, over 60%, have been vaccinated with the Covid vaccine here in the United States. The situation around the world is similar. Why are people doing this? Have they lost their minds? When before have you had the governments of this world so concerned about you and your health? Why are they suppressing criticism of these vaccines as if everyone who has questions about it is some kind of an evil person? Why are they forcing chemicals on people and then creating a two-tier society that discriminate based on whether you were vaccinated or not? Why are they going after people like Dr. Malone who is himself one of the inventors of the mRNA vaccine and criticizes the powers that be?
Only a seriously confused person would ignore these and many other legitimate questions we have on this whole issue.
Aside from the most important (for us as believers) fact that tissue from aborted babies has been used in the testing or the production of all major vaccine manufacturers, you have to be truly under the control of the spirit of fear to disregard common sense and rush to accept their forced vaccinations in order to stay protected from a virus has mortality rate close to what the flu has had for some hundred years now.
The situation with the vaccinations conundrum is no different from what the Messiah faced in the desert when he was following the guidance of the Spirit. Should we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Creator, or should we trust the guidance of shady organizations who claim they can turn chemicals into life-saving “bread” as if it were?
The metaphor with the bread becomes even more relevant in light of the fact that people are actually losing their jobs and livelihood because their refusal to bow to the vaccine dictators. Had someone written a novel about a dystopian future in America where this would be happening, it would have been thought of as inconceivable only few years ago. And yet this is our new dystopian reality!
BUT WHAT ABOUT FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WHO GOT THE JAB?
Personally I don’t have negative feelings for friends and family who have accepted to go down the path of following the advise of corrupt governments and corporations. I do worry however, about how these vaccines will affect people in the long term. I do worry about someone even losing their life given the fact these vaccines are causing 225 times more injuries than the usual flu vaccines.
But I don’t despise them for their decision. I just don’t understand them. And I have yet to find someone to can explain it to me and present actual arguments for it.
When it comes to mandatory vaccinations, I choose to reject the godless system of this world. Corrupt governments, the media, Big Tech, the China Communist-controlled WHO, the pharmaceutical corporations and the medical cartels – they are all working together to implement Satan’s agenda for global control. After having spent the last 30 years of my life in defiance against this system in one way or another, I’m not about to start unseeing what I have already seen and what I know to be the Truth.
I choose to live by every instruction (Toràh), wisdom, guidance, concept, value and commandment of He who has created me! I know He truly cares about me and I choose to trust Him, not the “god” of this world and his corrupt proxies!
What about you?
The truth about aborted fetuses and Covid vaccines
/in NewsI don’t mean to disturb anyone so if you find this offensive or disturbing please be upset with whoever manufactured these vaccines, whoever pushes them and whoever should be reporting on this, but isn’t. I’m not pointing a finger, I’m pointing out facts.
For months now I’ve been hearing this chatter about aborted fetuses tissue used to make these vaccines.
Being the sceptic that I am when it comes to “the Internet says this”, it was always on my list to research and check into this for myself.
I finally did.
Here’s the result.
The Charlotte Lozier Institute (https://lozierinstitute.org/)
is the go-to source for accurate and timely research and information on life issues. With a current network of over fifty Associate Scholars from a variety of disciplines, CLI provides pro-life groups and policy makers research-based information of the highest quality on issues including abortion, women’s health, prenatal diagnosis and treatment for the unborn, perinatal hospice, abortion reporting, sex-selection abortion, stem cell research and medicine, and health care policy.
Here is what CLI has to say about the vaccines used for Covid:
This statement is a bit confusing to me. It almost sounds like they are covering up some pretty disturbing facts.
So let me use my much loved (or hated by some) gift of making things plain and clear:
As per CLI’s own chart https://siasky.net/nAHKku312jqBMH3g0kNg7IHnDE9quTjdCnKCSdxH8-CB2Q
ASTRA ZENECA and JOHNSON & JOHNSON DID USE abortion cell lines for both testing and production!
And here’s the other bad news: ALL of the major Western country-based manufacturers used abortion cell lines for lab testing.
They have yet another document showing a very extensive list of manufacturers, including China-based, from which it becomes clear there are companies who have not used aborted fetal tissue cell lines involved in their production. https://siasky.net/vANiUFg7brqZYDd2KTbxdOcrXSB5TumP9KjzjVstb-zS5A
The links I am providing are of charts taken from CLI’s website.
However, I have reuploaded these documents on the decentralized web. They cannot be deleted by anyone including myself. The new, decentralized web is immutable. Impossible to censor & manipulate. It’s built on the blockchain, the same technology Bitcoin is built on.
You can get these same charts directly from CLI’s website, but just in case they vanish some day, please know we have a copy of them on the immutable web.
Here they are again:
Chart 1: https://siasky.net/nAHKku312jqBMH3g0kNg7IHnDE9quTjdCnKCSdxH8-CB2Q
Chart 2: https://siasky.net/vANiUFg7brqZYDd2KTbxdOcrXSB5TumP9KjzjVstb-zS5A
Everyone needs to decide what this information means to you. I can’t tell you that. But if I was forced to get vaccinated and I knew these vaccines have been made as a result of testing that used aborted babies, I would never consent to such demand. And I don’t care what the cost might be to me. It’s wrong before God and it’s as simple as that as far as I’m concerned. Anyone wants to twist and turn and explain the moral implications away, have at it but please take your issue with the Lord, not with me. I’m just pointing to some facts, that’s all.
In other news I had signed Emilie’s religious exemption request which she sent to the management of the hospital where she works and they accepted that so she doesn’t have to get vaccinated. Jennifer wrote a letter to the management of the college where she is studying and demanded they exempt her from wearing a mask and they did. Now other students are catching on. I hope you take your stand where you are at and as opportunity presents itself.
George
The Hittites: A Historical Perspective
/in History, ResearchIt’s interesting to learn about the ancient people who populated Asia Minor thousands of years ago. Asia Minor is where the Apostle really wanted to go and declare the Messiah Yeshua. But the time wasn’t right. The Spirit didn’t allow him:
Later on however, Shaul did end up traveling to Asia Minor. This is a very long journey and I imagine very dangerous. If I remember correctly, the distance from Yerushalaim (Jerusalem) to the cities in Asia Minor where Paul travelled to, is something to the tune of 1,200 miles. The terrain is mountainous and very rugged. Imagine having to venture on a trip like this!
But it was worth it!
These same Jewish communities who had been there for hundreds of years as part of the diaspora, later became known as “the churches” of Asia Minor: in Galatia, Colossae, and Ephesus.
Remember the seven churches to which the apostle John (Yochanan) wrote to when he was given the revelation of the clash between the Kingdoms and the end of history? He was able to do that because Shaul (Paul) had already laid the foundation and now there was a “Body” and a network of followers of the Messiah, the Notsrim, as they were known then (the Nazarenes).
I wonder how much of the ancient Hittite culture was left in the people of these lands and what it was like having to deal with that?
The below article on the Hittites is from Dr. Claude Mariottini, Professor of Old Testament at Northern Baptist Seminary. I have been following his work for some time. He is not a Hebraist, but he’s a good conservative academic in a field that has seen tremendous hostility from the liberal mob.
George
New Testament manuscripts
/in ResearchRepost from a blogger I just discovered. Some cool links and quick info on New Testament manuscripts people might find useful.
The Lost Art of the Covenant
/in 300 words, ExhortationsThe Creator Himself chose to relate to mankind within the confines of covenant. With covenant you’re either in or you’re out. Covenants used to be made between rival tribes as a way of ending enmity. The coming together of a man and a woman in order to create a family is also a covenant based on marital fidelity. The Constitution is a covenant between free men and their elected officials.
I wonder how many people today understand the seriousness of making a covenant and the implications of failing to live up to the promises made before God and man?
Now the LORD said to Avram, “Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you, and make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. In you will all of the families of the eretz be blessed.” So Avram went, as the LORD had spoken to him. Gen. 12:1-4
This covenant changed the course of history, it still does, and it will continue to until the last day of planet Earth. It’s a plumb line. All human events are measured against it. Nations rise and fall depending on which side of history they choose to be. Just ask the Hittites, Ebusites, Amorites and Jebusites. They fought Israel and are all gone. Israel and the Jews are still around. Coincidence? I think not.
Covenant means you stick together. Many of today’s post-moderns have no qualms about jumping ship as soon as something doesn’t go their way. Covenant is a contract but it’s much more. Contract can only demand certain things. In covenant we extend loyalty before anything else. Disloyal people can’t demand loyalty.
Is covenant becoming an extinct concept?
George
Owning up to people before owning up to God
/in ExhortationsWhile reading the words of our Lord in Mat. 5:23-24 I was yet once again reminded of one the most neglected and misunderstood elements of God’s Truth Yeshua came to reveal. He didn’t necessarily bring brand new ideas, but rather brought the correct understanding of what’s of greater importance compared to other things. Some might call it ‘bringing order’ to what was already known.
This is seen throughout the entire so called ‘Sermon on the Mount’. Many of things the school of the Prushim (Pharisees) were saying that were of the greatest importance were in fact challenged by the Messiah. However, his confrontation with them should be interpreted within the context of “family quarrel”, not as a blanket denunciation of “the Jews” as replacement theology has been punishing it on us for hundreds of years.
One example is Mat. 5:23-24
It speaks of someone who is about to offer their gift on the altar at the temple. Think about it. Offering a gift in the temple wasn’t a small thing.
To the modern Christian person this is much easier which is why we don’t think much about it.
Our altar is represented by what? To some it’s their local church. To others it’s their prayer room when they kneel before God and pray.
But this is not what Yeshua and his audience had in mind when they talked about “the altar”.
The journey to the temple was long and dangerous. It cost the Israelites a lot of resources, including the missed opportunity to work instead of being gone.
Yeshua teaches that even after someone had gone through all the trouble of making a trip to the temple to offer his sacrifice, if this man remembered at that moment (became aware of it cognitively and on an emotional level) that he had done something against someone, it’s more important for him to leave the lamb, go back to where he came from, meet with the person who had been wronged, own up to them what had done, and only then go back to the temple to offer their sacrifice.
Essentially, Yeshua says what Yeshayahu (Isaiah) declares on behalf of the Lord in his rebuke in Chapter 1: “I take no pleasure in your sacrifices and feasts…” – because they were mistreating each other.
Would most Israelites have accepted the teaching of Yeshua literally? Probably not. I believe he was making a point bringing to light what is of greater importance to the Lord: the condition of our hearts, and the way we actually treat those in our lives.
This is a tough one because it demands of us to be cognizant and aware of what we do to others. Self-awareness is something many, many people lack, some of them completely.
Why didn’t this worshipper own up to what he had to own up before going to the temple? For Yeshua to take time and teach on this it shows this was something widespread. Do we have the tendency to do the same today?
Maybe he was caught up in the motion of the habit? A religious act of offering a lamb without ‘connecting the dots’ and realizing you can’t expect forgiveness from the Lord if you don’t forgive others, and also if you don’t own up to how you’ve violated others?
And then this worshipper of YHWH goes on his trip, goes through all the trouble of traveling through the heat and the rocky roads on foot – no tennis shoes and asphalt roads either!
But during this process he’s thinking about offering this lamb. Will YHWH accept it?
As we know, the Israelites were well aware of the practice of laying on of hands on the sacrificial animal and confessing/speaking their sins over it (Lev. 16:21). Aaron did this on behalf of all of Israel. It was at this point that the transference of guilt took place.
Yeshua was now reminding the children of Avraham they need to do this in their relationships with their “brother”. The text in Greek uses the word “adelphos”, which is a general term for “whoever you have a relationship with”. Someone who is part of your life, maybe family, maybe the community.
The main point here is that the worshipper who is about to offer his sacrifice, is becoming aware of the wrong he has done through a process of honest reassessment of his own life in light of God’s holiness. Yeshua doesn’t even comment on the role of the priest here. It’s a non-factor. Confessing your sins to the priest makes no difference. It has to be to the one who has been violated.
Was it a land dispute? A fight over whose sheep were grazing in whose field?
Who knows. There are as many variables here as there are human beings and the countless situations we encounter where we violate someone for one reason or another.
But what about those who are shameless?
The lack of shame and guilt in some people is real. It can vary from a more general lack of self-awareness and even consciousness, to pathological levels of what modern science calls psychopathy. Some time in the 70s the term sociopath was introduced and injected into the vernacular, apparently in an attempt to remove the stigma of mental illnesses.
However, sociopath isn’t a medical term. People who commit crimes and have no remorse are fundamentally psychopaths from a clinical point of view. There’s no conclusive research that proves what is the origin of this serious deviation in people. But it’s real.
We don’t know entirely how God handles deviants. At the cross there were two common criminals on either side of Yeshua. One was repenting and asking for mercy, owning up to what he had done in life. The other had no remorse. Was he just a hardened soul who had chosen to be evil? Or was he a psychopath who was unable to repent because he didn’t have any remorse? We don’t know. Some things aren’t ours to know.
What we know is that life is full of people who won’t own up to the wrong they do to others, thus creating unimaginable damage to people and relationships which were meant for good.
One such story is the story of famed motivational speaker David Goggins who tells in detail how his father used to beat him and his mother with a belt. Until one day David and his mother fled the family home. The father never owned up to the damage he had done to his wife or his son and to their entire family. Goggins has an amazing story of escaping a life of poverty that resulted from what the father had done to the family. David went on to become a Navy SEAL, a runner, an author and a motivational speaker.
How many church people need to turn around next Sunday upon approaching their church, go back to those they have violated, and own up to them and God what they had done? We don’t know. Probably a lot.
How many of today’s leaders regularly shine a light into the dark corners of the souls of those who go to their churches, reminding them the right spiritual order Yeshua taught us to have?
Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. On these two the entire Torah rests!
May God help us and May God have mercy on us all!
George
In 300 Words: Born To Testify Of The Truth
/in 300 words, Exhortations, TeachingThis post is part of my IN 300 WORDS series. In exactly 300 words I highlight a key issue relevant to God-fearing people who seek authentic understanding of the teachings of the Messiah from Nazareth.
Let’s face it, the Christianity of the developed world has failed to win the hearts and the minds of the people of the Western civilization. Only three decades ago the dividing line between what used to be the free world and the rest of the world, was clearly visible and tangibly defined.
We have now come to a place where Western “doctors” are chopping off the breasts of perfectly healthy girls, social media companies are offering 70+ genders at signup, and jihadists are leading the FBI by the nose (Exhibit A: CAIR-MN).
How did we get here, friends?
It’s because of the failure of Western Christianity. We have been reinventing the God of the Bible since the days of Constantine. We made him Roman-Catholic, then Greek-Orthodox, then Protestant.
We invented monasteries, mega-churches and missionaries in his name. Even though none of these are in the Bible.
We’ve created hundreds of translations of the Bible into English while there are thousands of languages still lacking even ONE!
Annually the US spends more money on teen makeup ($120B) and pets ($70B) than the entire western world on humanitarian aid ($152B) in 2019.
But even that’s a joke because most aid money goes to dictators.
What are we to do?
What if I decided to start a movement that honors THE TRUTH more than the lies of the media, politicians, pastors, academics and corporations? How many people would want to be part of such culture of truth?
Can we even know THE TRUTH?
Let’s begin with Jesus himself.
He declared to Pontius Pilate that the very reason He was born into this world was so that he can testify to the TRUTH! (Gospel of John 18:36-38).
And yet we each have our own “truths”?
Something doesn’t add up.
Why are the Gentiles aligning with Israel?
/in TeachingThus says the LORD of Hosts: “In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Yehudi, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'” [Zec 8:23 HNV]
This prophecy clearly foretells the coming of a day when the goyim, the people of the world, the non-Jews will experience a spiritual awakening which will compel them to do something very interesting; they will align themselves spiritually with the children of Israel.
This spiritual realignment will inevitably spill over into the political and geopolitical arena as more and more nations will choose life over death. The current developments in the Middle East and the way President Donald Trump’s administration has brokered peace between Israel and some of their formerly staunch enemies, is an astounding miracle of Biblical proportions.
In addition, more and more believers who have grown up in traditional Christian churches, are now experiencing a longing to return to the Hebraic origins of the our faith.
Could the movement to form alliances with Israel and to return to the Hebraic foundation of the faith be part of the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy?
1. Prophesying the big picture
Zechariah prophesied these words shortly after the time of the Babylonian exile as the Jews struggled to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem. The Lord spoke through him to the Jews of the day and he spoke to them about a day when the goyim (traditionally translated “Gentiles”), will come to the Jews and form an alliance with them.
This was obviously a huge promise. A small community of around 50,000 had returned to Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel). It’s estimated that 500,000 stayed behind in Babylon. Why did they stay behind? Because they prospered there and didn’t want to go back to Eretz Israel only to be confronted with hostilities. However, the Jews in Babylon became an important resource for the “Palestinian Jews” as most scholars would refer to those who went back to Eretz Israel. “Palestine” is a derivative of “Philistine” – derogatory name given to Eretz Israel by the enemies of Israel and referring to the Philistines, Israel’s arch-enemies.
Casting a great vision for the remnant of Jews who went back to Eretz Israel was very much in line with how God spoke to Abraham from the very beginning. This was entirely a prophetic act since this was not a time when Jews were held in high esteem by the surrounding nations. Jerusalem had no drawing power for the world. “In the natural”, as we like to say, there wasn’t much to look forward to – except the promises of God!
2. Who or what moved the Gentiles to align themselves with the Jews?
It’s interesting that the promise God gave the children of Israel through the prophet Zechariah was about the restoration of Israel but it also included the Gentiles (the goyim). What was good for the Jews was also going to be good for the goyim.
The first thing that God intends to make happen is to restore the Truth to Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). Next, He promises He will not only bless Israel, but they will also become a blessing. This is also consistent with the promise made to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 that in Abraham the world will be blessed.
Thus says the LORD: “I have returned to Tziyon, and will dwell in the midst of Yerushalayim. Yerushalayim shall be called ‘The City of Truth;’ and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts, ‘The Holy Mountain.'” [Zec 8:3 HNV]
and I will bring them, and they will dwell in the midst of Yerushalayim; and they will be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.” [Zec 8:8 HNV]
“For the seed of shalom and the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will give its increase, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. [Zec 8:12 HNV]
It shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the nations, house of Yehudah and house of Yisra’el, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Don’t be afraid. Let your hands be strong.” [Zec 8:13 HNV]
Yes, many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Yerushalayim, and to entreat the favor of the LORD.” [Zec 8:22 HNV]
Clearly, the goyim are coming to seek the Lord in Yerushalayim and to entreat his favor.
It only makes sense; if you are serious about seeking the Lord you will end up in Yerushalayim. You will end up realizing the great love the Lord has for his covenant people and the blessing you will experience by aligning yourself with them.
“To entreat the favor of the Lord” speaks of humbling oneself and seeking to be blessed by the Creator rather than being arrogant and thinking of ways to make yourself prosperous on your own. Gentiles who align themselves with Israel can be confident about seeking the blessing and favor of God without any reservations. When you sincerely honor the God of Abraham and the children of Abraham, you will have no greater friend! Great alliances are forged when the Jews are rightfully honored for who they are in God’s plan -the people who gave us the Torah, who kept the faith for thousands of years. And for those of us who believe in Yeshua, they also gave us the Messiah (even if most Jews don’t accept Yeshua as the promised HaMashiach).
This is why it’s so important to expose false Jew-hating teachings and theology. This should be obvious but millions of people are still fed demonic teachings making out the Jews to be somehow enemies of God and Christians. This is a lie from the pit of hell. You can’t sow hatred towards the Jews, persecute and murder them, and expect to serve God at the same time. This is insane.
Many Christians have been seriously affected by Jew-hatred and the deception of the replacement theology. Until people come to grips with the fact this theology isn’t based on God’s Truth as revealed in the entire Bible, and turn away from it, they will remain stuck in deception. Such people will have a very hard time on the Day of the Lord.
3. Ten will seek one
Thus says the LORD of Hosts: “In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Yehudi, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'” [Zec 8:23 HNV]
This language is an exaggerated prophetic-poetic form very characteristic of the way the prophets expressed what God showed them. It means that even though the Jews are small in number, they will lead the majority. Notice, no one is forcing the majority of goyim to do anything. Their spiritual eyes have been opened. As a result, a change of heart has taken place in them. They aren’t ashamed to seek the God of the Jews in Yerushalayim. They aren’t ashamed to align themselves with the Jews and to seek the favor of their God. They are reaching out and grabbing the hem of the garment of a Jew. Something happens when we reach by faith and connect with the children of Abraham. For those of us who will never be Jews by blood, the next best thing is to align ourselves correctly with those whom God considers beloved fo the sake of the fathers – Avraham, Itzhak and Yaakov. Thus, the will of God is fulfilled and He is pleased. His people have fulfilled their calling – they have given His Truth, His Light to a dark and lost world. We, the Goyim have humbled ourselves and have received it.
The turning of the hearts of the goyim toward Israel and the Jews will be an astounding sign for the Jews that God is fulfilling his promise. It will move them to return to Him and to experience their own revival.
Why are the Gentiles aligning with Israel? by George Bakalov is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://threefold.life/why-the-gentiles-are-aligning-with-israel/#.
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What is Messiah’s real name and is it important for us today?
/in GeneralThe Gospel of Matthew tells us that a messenger from God – an angel, approached Miryam [Anglo-Saxon version: Mary] and Yosef [Anglo-Saxon version: Joseph], the natural parents of the Messiah.
This angel, this Heavenly creature had entered the earthly realm in order to give them a special message.
Part of this message was an instruction about how the baby should be called.
This instruction however didn’t originate from the messenger, it was an instruction from Creator God Himself. The angel was only the carrier of the message.
THE LINGUISTIC ROOT BEHIND THE HELLENIZATION OF MESSIAH
What was the real name of the Messiah that God wanted his parents to give him?
It was the name Yeshua. The name Yeshua is a Hebrew name. The angel explains why the personal name of the Messiah should be Yeshua.
This only makes sense in Hebrew. In Hebrew and only in Hebrew the name Yeshua, the personal name of the Messiah, comes from the same root as the Hebrew word yoshia
“She shall bring forth a son. You shall call his name Yeshua, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.” [Mat 1:21 HNV]
This play of words becomes virtually lost if we try to understand the meaning of this message outside of Hebrew. Again, this instruction makes sense ONLY in Hebrew because ONLY in Hebrew the words for save and Yeshua have the same root.
Here is how this verse looks in Hebrew (from right to left):
הִיא יֹולֶדֶת בֵן וְאַתָּה תִקְרָּא שְמֹו יֵשּועַ כִי הּוא יֹושִיעַ אֶת עַמֹו מֵחַטֹאתֵיהֶם
Here are the two words we need to pay attention to. They explain very clearly exactly why the personal name of the Messiah should be Yeshua:
יֵשּועַ – Yeshua (Savior)
יֹושִיעַ – yoshia (save)
The root is the word ‘yasha’: יָשַׁע which in Hebrew means to deliver, to save, to rescue.
Now the message of the Angel makes perfect sense.
“You shall call his name Savior (Yeshua) for it is he who shall save (yoshia) his people from their sins.”
Pay attention to the following statement: The Hellenized version of the name Yeshua – Iesus, has no meaning whatsoever! The “sh” sound is gone simply because it doesn’t exist in the Greek language. There is no other reason why in the Greek the sound “sh” becomes substituted with “s”. That’s it. There’s nothing “divine” in the Greek spelling of the name of Yeshua – it only changes because the Greek has no “sh” sound.
The ending ” – us” is yet an additional type of Hellnization of the Jewish personal name of the Messiah. Greek did not allow a male name to end in an “ah” sound. Thus Greeks would add “is”, “us”, or “os” at the end of male names (Example: Lycus, Petrakis, Demetrios, Herodotos, Morpheus). Thus, Yeshua in Hebrew became Iesous in Greek. Again, there’s absolutely nothing “divine” in the way the original Hebrew name Yeshua all of a sudden becomes Iησοῦς (pronounced as “eeaysoos” in Greek) -it’s only due to linguistic limitations. This is not unimportant because Christians have created an entirely new persona around the Helenized name of Messiah. The Helenization however didn’t stop with the name only, it literally scrubbed away any and all Jewishness from the Messiah, the Gospels and the New Testament as a whole. This part of the process of severing the original, organic hebraic root of the faith we call “saving”.
MORE HELLENIZATION OF BIBLICAL NAMES
Researchers such as the late Dr. Dwight Pryor, a founding member of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research, tell us that the name Yeshua was one of the most common names in Israel in the 1st century. There are other names in the Bible that are related to the the same root.
The name of the prophet known as Hosea is rooted also in the word ‘yasha’, to save. The correct pronounciation is Hoshea. Again, the only reason the “sh” sound in Hoshea is replaced with an “s” is the Hellenization of the Hebrew names in the translations from Hebrew to Greek. The name of the prophet known to us as Isaiah is also rooted in the same word. The original name of Isaiah is: Yeshayahu (The Lord Saves). The name of Moses’ servant Joshua who becomes the leader who brought Israel into the Promised Land is: Yehoshu’a (The Lord is Salvation).
There’s nothing “holy” or special about the Greek language. We aren’t in debt to the Greeks or to the Romans (the Romanization of the Bible is another form of distortion). It was the Hebrews who gave the world the first ancient prototype of the modern 26 character alphabet, not the Greeks or the Romans. From this ancient language came the three oldest known languages: Old Hebrew, Phoenician, and Greek. This documentary sheds more light on the truth about the origin of the Torah, which we call today The Bible.
WHAT DOES THE HELLENIZATION OF THE FAITH MEAN TO US TODAY?
The Hellenization of the faith doesn’t end with the personal name of our Messiah. It has permeated the rest of Scripture and it has altered our very perception of the faith as a whole.
The very term we use for Messiah is also a form of a Hellenisized term, originally Mashiach in Hebrew. The reason? You guessed it – nothing but the limitations of the Greek language.
The name of Moses has also been Hellenized. His original name is Moshe and that’s how it should be in our Bibles or at least this is the way it should be in every language that has the “sh” sound. Greek, Icelandic, Latin, Maori, Finnish, and Spanish are the only major languages that don’t have the “sh” sound. The resistance of translators to restore the original Hebrew and Jewish name and term pronounciation in the Bible has nothing to do with linguistic difficulties and everything to do with the history of Christian anti-semitism and the role replacemet theology has played through the ages (the teaching that non-Jews who believe in Yeshua have now replaced the Jews as God’s Chosen people).
The painful truth us that we in our Christian world love our sacred cows and traditions (regardless of how wrong they are) more than God’s Truth (even when it’s not hard at all to respect).
True, there are now a number of translations that seek to right this wrong and to restore to correct Hebraic framework of understaning the Jewish cultur through which the Torah and the Savior were received! One such example is the Hebrew Names Version. This versoin is in fact the World Messianic Bible (WMB) – a 1997 English language update of the American Standard Version which was originally published in 1901. It has also been known as the Hebrew Names Version (HNV) and the World English Bible: Messianic Edition (WEB:ME): https://ebible.org/engwmb/
There are other notable translations such as David Stern’s Complete Jewish Version and few others I will list in a different post. They are all part of a noble effort to move us closer to opening our eyes for the beauty of God’s Truth which can only be revealed fully when studied in its original Hebraic context.
The Greeks gave us the Olympic Games. We can do just fine with or without these Games.
We cannot afford however to go on without restoring the accurate, Hebraic understanding of the faith we call “saving”. It begins by having enough respect for the Messiah and for the will of God which the angel came to deliver to his earthly parents but also to all mankind: His name should be Yeshua (Savior) because he will yoshia (save) His people from their sins.
FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS:
I will respond with a question – how important do you think it is to know, understand, assimilate and live God’s Truth? Many teachings of the truths of the Word of God are initially in conflict with our way of thinking and our traditions. It takes determination and a process of humbling to accept many of God’s truths (teachings). Sadly, the de-Hellenization of the faith was never made important by those who introduced the faith to us. Hence, to most people using one name or another for Jesus or anything else in the Bible is of minor importance. Having said that, I will admit that even for those who are hungry to know and live according to God’s full spectrum of truth, including embracing its Hebraic foundation, it’s not a small thing for the average Christian to go through this process. It can be confusing, intimidating and demoralizing (especially when you start losing friends over it). At the end this remains a matter of personal conviction. No one should feel forced to do anything. We all should strive to get to know the Truth and to allow the Truth to set us free. Everything else is exchnaging one religious bondage for another.
Once someone purges their mind from the Hellenization of God’s truth and comes “home” to the true, Hebraic foundation of the faith, there is a spiritual renewal of sorts that takes place. As we surrender to the Lord in obedience, we fulfill an important prophecy – a day will come when the “gentiles” (non-Jews, goyim), will come come to Zion, which represents the rule (Kingdom) of God and will submit to His truth (Micah 4:2) It specifically says that “out of Zion” and Jerusalem the Torah will come forth so it can be received by the non-Jews. This prophecy literally means that the Spirit is working to draw non-Jews to humble themselves and accept the Torah coming from God who rules from Zion. The apostle Paul’s teaching was also consistent with this approach. In Romans 1:16 he clearly teaches that the Good News of Messiah is meant to be given “first” to the Jews, then to the Gentile. This doesn’t mean we need to embrace Judaism per se and somehow denounce Yeshua as Messiah. More article on this subject to come.
It does and it’s fantastic!
– It immediatly disrupts the confused way many people who seek God think of Jesus and the faith. Most people have terrible misconceptions about who God is, who Jesus is and what the Bible is all about. Instead of struggling to parse through the various confusions, we can introduce them to “a God they don’t know” similarly to what the apostle did in Athens (See Acts 17).
– It is entirely Biblical and spiritually accurate to refer to Jesus as Yeshua.
– It allows us to introduce a whole new authenticity to people who seek the faith.
– Bypassing traditional Christian apologetics and agreeing that there are many issues with traditional Christianity could earn us the right to introduce people to the faith as it was for the first 3 centuries – a movement of followers of the Messiah who had no “temples”, weren’t in bed with the authorities, were persecuted for their faith, and grew tremendously. All this changed in the 4th century under the Roman Emperor Constantine. We are not beholden to the newly minted version of anti-semitic Christianity which he and his court-friendly theologians created.
Resources for further study:
What is Messiah’s real name and is it important for us today? by George Bakalov is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://threefold.life/what-is-messiahs-real-name-and-is-it-important-for-us-today/.
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What is Christian Hebraism and Is It Relevant for Today?
/in General, TeachingChristian Hebraism transformed Christianity completely during the Middle Ages. However, the impact this movement had on the world remains forgotten by most people who consider themselves believers today: clergy and laity alike.
For the Hebraica Veritas Wiki click here: https://threefold.life/wiki
I realize I’m not the scholar this subject deserves if Christian Hebraism will have to be re-introduced to believers in the 21st century and beyond. But given the fact that most of the scholars who have specialized in this subject have not produced materials in a format more accessible for the mass reader, any effort to resurrect the legacy of Christian Hebraism is better than no effort at all.
I began to investigate this subject matter three years ago when I experienced a “home coming” of sorts in my faith journey. I will explain this in an attempt to illustrate how deeply personal this subject is to me. The discovery of the story of Christian Hebraism helped bring together many of the otherwise scattered pieces of information I had accumulated through the years when it comes to the Reformation of the Middle Ages. But most importantly, it made me feel like I had “come home”. It made me realize that what I have been sensing intuitively and have been looking for through the years, others had been looking for something similar as well, some 500 or more years ago. This is both humbling and comforting from a spiritual standpoint and I will try to share this perspective with you.
A unique compilation of Latin moral, grammatical and historical treatises was collected by Geoffrey of Ufford in the 12th-century. Almost nothing is known of Geoffrey’s life, and this manuscript appears to be the sole surviving copy of his work. Public Domain. Source: https://www.bl.uk/medieval-english-french-manuscripts/articles/hebrew-in-christian-manuscripts-of-the-early-middle-ages
One more thing that will probably help you understand why I am so sensitive to the origin of words, languages and translations – I grew up during the 70s and the 80s in Bulgaria – a hard-core Communist country. Communism is based on violence, theft and ruthless, shameless lies, deception, fraud, manipulation, and propaganda. Growing up, my parents didn’t voice their opposition to Communism in front of me and my brother – they wanted to protect us. But when I was thirteen years old one night I walked in on my father listening to The Voice of Europe on short wave radio in the dark and I realized there was something going on that I didn’t know about. I got my hands on a short wave radio and became an avid listener of the Voice of Europe and the Voice of America. I slowly began to realize we were living in a parallel reality and a lot was going on we had no clue about. Under Communism there is no freedom of speech. If there were freedom of speech, the opposition would expose their fraud and crimes and their regime would be over with very quickly. They controlled all the media: TV, radio and print. Thankfully, short wave radio was there to help bring some news to the people living behind the Iron Wall. I was one of them.
The foundation of Communism has to do with the manipulation of words. Words are the tool we use to explain things. When we corrupt words, we bring a corrupt understanding of the essence of the matter they are meant to convey. For example, Communist regimes have always called their terrorist, totalitarian regimes “people’s republics”. They have fake Constitutions, fake Parliaments and fake elections. This is a gross perversion of the very meaning of what a republic, a Constitution, a Parliament and elections are meant to be. There are no “republics” in Communism. They are all in fact dictatorships. But the Communists are shameless psychopaths and they have zero remorse as they impose their regimes forcing untold millions to submit to their “republic” at gun point.
Gradually, as one grows up in a country totally dominated by the Communist regime, you begin to realize all the public slogans, school textbooks, newspapers, TV and radio are there to produce nothing but one gigantic psyopp intended to keep the people brainwashed into believing the lies of Communism as a dogma and the Communist regime as its executive (and executing) embodiment.
I became a believer in God because I kept having questions such as “how did this world come into being?” and “what happens after we die”? No one could give me an adequate answer. I loved to read books and used to spend hours and hours in the local library while growing up. Thankfully some classic literature had made its way into the Communist system. I realized that people have been asking these same questions through the ages but they still didn’t have any good answers. I also read a number of books I purchased from a bookstore selling Eastern Orthodox literature. This was very interesting but still no real answers came from going to the Orthodox Church, lighting candles, getting baptized as Orthodox, and reading their books.
Finally, at the age of 20 I came into contact with some believers who actually read the Bible and discussed things about it. I started going to the meetings of a congregation that didn’t resemble the Orthodox Church – no temple, no priest, candles, icons and so on. I realized that the only way I can become a “believer” is to accept that Jesus had risen from the dead, that he is alive somewhere in a dimension we can’t see (Heaven), that the Bible is true, and that I need to turn away from my sinful way of life (and there was much to turn away from, trust me)! I took the leap of faith and experienced a dramatic conversion at the age of 20, only a few months before the collapse of the Berlin Wall. My world had fundamentally changed and the world itself was about to change as well. Such was the beginning of my faith walk. I didn’t worry too much about who wrote the Bible and in what language, who translated it, how and when. What was important for me at the time and for many years to come was to be “spiritual”; to read the Bible, to try to grasp its teachings, to try to live according to them, and to try to get others to do the same. Sounds simple but it’s a huge challenge in and of its own. I would say most Christians spend the majority of whatever time they have trying to do their best doing exactly this; study the Bible, pray, try to live out its teachings, try to do good works, try to help others become believers.
Sadly, not so many believers go deeper and investigate the origins of the faith, the history of Scripture, the historic background, culture and context of the different events described, the true meaning of its teachings as they were given at the time, and what all this means to us.
However, I have remained as hungry to learn about the origins of the faith, as I am to learn how to live its teachings. I therefore share my discoveries without any specific agenda except my deeply seated desire to get to the bottom of the story, to learn the truth about something as much as it’s possible and only then to draw my conclusions about it. It’s with this mindset that I have been pursuing the re-discovery of Christian Hebraism during the Reformation of the Middle Ages and its relevancy for us today.
TALMIDIM – NOT DISCIPLES; RABBI – NOT “MASTER”; YESHUA – NOT “JESUS”
My first encounter with the Jewish heritage of the faith was in 1993 when I visited a Messianic congregation where I also purchased the Jewish New Testament by David Stern. It impacted deeply my perception of the historic Jesus as a fully Jewish man, as well as the Jewishness of the Gospel, the “church” (a term we will be deconstructing in a future post), and really the faith as a whole.
I remember how refreshing it was to learn that the “disciples” I had been reading about in the Gospel were in reality “talmidim”, that the real name of Jesus was actually Yeshua and that he was a Rabbi, not “Master” as some translations would have us believe.
Does this matter? Do we have to use Hebrew words and then learn what they mean vs. accepting a bunch of substitute and sometimes totally made up Hellenistic terms? I’ll make the case for Christian Hebraism as I post more on this subject and you can investigate this for yourself and make up your own mind.
NO ONE TALKING ABOUT CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM
I was fortunate enough to have graduated from a Bible School that rejected the replacement theology and honored the Jewish people. This Bible School helped many accept a Biblically correct theological, moral and ethical position of support and love for Israel and the Jews. This was also a Bible School that took the position that the Reformation of the Middle Ages was “the” much needed reset and remake Christianity needed in the pursuit of its original, more authentic beginnings. However, I didn’t hear anyone in Bible School talk about Christian Hebraism and its impact on the Reformation of the Middle Ages.
That was almost 30 years ago.
Since then I have been around a good deal of Christians who love Israel and the Jewish people, the Messianic Jewish movement, and have also gotten to know many non-Jews who have walked away from Protestantism and embraced the messianic movement. When I say “Christians” this includes ordinary believers and leaders alike. They love God, they are zealous about bringing Christianity back to its Jewish foundation, they are eager to express their faith in a way closer to its Jewish origins and they emphasize the changes we need to implement on a liturgical level. But again, they know about Christian Hebraism as much as a Southern Baptist.
To learn about Christian Hebraism today one has to dig deep into the vaults of higher academic learning. While the Messianic movement has picked up quite a lot of momentum during the last 30 years and we rejoice over this fact, it remains a mystery to me why hardly anyone has attempted to re-introduce the Christian Hebraists to our generation. As I kept learning about their passion to re-discover the Truth of God through the lens of Hebrew, I couldn’t help but think about the implications of such discoveries for us today.
I wish I didn’t have to do this. This is not my “full time” job at this point in time and I don’t have the professional theological credentials to challenge the status quo when it comes to the Hellenization of the faith vs. its rightful Hebraic origins. But I kept on digging and investigating this story for me and the sense that I have an obligation to re-tell this forgotten story kept growing in my spirit.
WHAT IS CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM?
“Historically Christian Hebraism has been understood as the use of Hebrew, rabbinic, or Cabbalistic sources for Christian religious purposes during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The use of such source material had dramatic results including the re-translation of the Old Testament, the re-interpretation of the New Testament, and the re-examination of historically central doctrines of Christianity” – Prof. Jerome Friedman, Kent State University [https://www.amazon.com/Most-Ancient-Testimony-Sixteenth-Century-Christian-Hebraica/dp/0821407007]
Stephen Burnett, author of “Christian Hebraism in the Reformation Era (1500-1660)”, says the following: “The Reformation turned Christian Hebraism from a pastime of a few hobbyists and theologians into a broad intellectual movement that involved students and professors, printers, and patrons of many kinds living throughout Europe. Christian Hebraist authors were the central actors in this movement.” [https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Hebraism-Reformation-Era-1500-1660/dp/B01181VYU4]
Going forward, I will quote extensively Prof. Jerome Friedman and Stephen Burnett. They have summarized so much of the information that’s missing from the arsenal of Biblical Scholars and ministers today.
Johannes Reuchlin (1455 – 1522) was classics scholar whose defense of Hebrew literature helped awaken liberal intellectual forces in the years immediately preceding the Reformation.
Christian Hebraica became one of the most powerful spiritual and intellectual forces of the Reformation of the Middle Ages. It became known as “Hebraica Veritas” (Hebrew Truth) because for the first time in 1,000 years Christians recognized the Hebrew Bible and classical Hebrew as the legitimate source of spiritual truth, not Jerome’s Latin translation. While it’s true that Jerome did study Hebrew and Greek in order to produce the Vulgate into Latin, the Reformers of the Middle Ages felt they had many good reasons to re-examine Jerome’s translation which was given the status of “inerrant” or inerrant-like by the Roman-Catholic Church.
Christian Hebraists were scholars of Hebrew literature. Hebraists approached Jewish texts with both academic and polemical motivations; some wanted to study Jesus in his time while others sought a way to convert Jews to Christianity. Their focus was on Biblical scholarship, religious philosophy, and the aggadah. Christian Hebraism offers a fascinating perspective into the history of printing, linguistics, and European culture in the Middle Ages as well as comparative religion and Jewish-Christian relations. By impacting theology, literature, science, and philosophy, Hebrew literature played a vital role in the development of Western culture.
IS CHRISTIAN HEBRAISM RELEVANT FOR US TODAY?
Undoubtedly, this is the proverbial “million dollar question”. If the story of Christian Hebraism is only something that was relevant to the people in the Middle Ages, I can understand why very few people today should care about it.
But let’s go back to what Prof. Jerome Friedman had to say about the implications of Christian Hebraism, this intentional return to Hebrew as the primary lens of Biblical learning, and let’s see if there might be something important we need to pay a little more attention to:
“Historically Christian Hebraism has been understood as the use of Hebrew, rabbinic, or Cabbalistic sources for Christian religious purposes during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The use of such source material had dramatic results including the re-translation of the Old Testament, the re-interpretation of the New Testament, and the re-examination of historically central doctrines of Christianity”
Could this be the crux of the matter, the very kernel of what this treasure hunting journey is all about?
Re-translation (of the Old Testament, for better accuracy and understanding)
Re-interpretation (of the New Testament, due to better understanding of Hebrew, the language used by the Jews in the 1st century)
Re-examination (of the historically central doctrines of Christianity! This is huge.)
Christians have been in pursuit of a better, more authentic, and truer to the original version Christianity for the last 500 years. The creation of many translations of Scripture has been a huge part of this pursuit of authenticity.
The return to the Hebraic framework of thought has resulted in actual re-interpretations of the New Testament itself.
But have we done any serious re-examination of the historically central doctrines of Christianity in light of the fact that Hebrew, not Latin or Greek, is “the” most important key to the correct understanding of the Truth of God?
You may think we’ve done enough but my answer would be a “no”!
But hey, I am nobody. I’m just a normal guy who wants to know why I believe what I believe, why do we do what we do and most importantly, what is the Truth of God as intended by Him? If I am ready to live or die for what I believe, I don’t see why I need to spare one’s sacred cows in my pursuit of Truth.
Standby as post more articles on this subject and we look into the genius of the Hebrew language, what it has meant for the world, the true history of its origins, and how Christian Hebraism relates to our faith today.
I would like to also invite you to check out the beta version of a wiki I have been using to organize my research in the area of Hebraica Veritas. It’s only in its beginning stages but I haven’t seen even this much organized in one place when it comes to Christian Hebraism on the Internet – so I hope this can add to your own research: https://threefold.life/wiki
George Bakalov
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