Month: April 2020

Recently I told you that YHWH is getting ready to do great things with the House of Judah and the House of Israel. The ground has been softened and broken and made ready for planting.

I told you that the time has come for us to get even more serious about the restoration of the House of Judah. By the “House of Judah” I mean “Nazarene Judaism” and the restoration of the original Jewish sect of followers of Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah of Judaism.

Let us consider what the Scriptures tell us about the House of Judah and Ephraim. We read in Hosea:

24 (2:22) And the earth shall respond to the grain, and the wine, and the oil–and they shall respond to Yizre’el.
25 (2:23) And I will sow her unto Me in the land, and I will have compassion upon her that had not obtained compassion. And I will say to them that were not My people: You are My people, and they shall say, You are my Elohim.
(Hosea 2:24-35 (2:22-23) HRV)

This passage from Hosea brings us to a most overlooked thread of prophecy, that of the ultimate restoration of Ephraim.

The name Yizre’el (Jezreel in the KJV) is the key to this overlooked thread.  In Hosea 1:4 Hosea’s wife bears a son and YHWH names the son “Yizre’el”.  Throughout Hosea the names of Hosea’s sons had special prophetic meaning.  The name “Yizre’el” is a word play on “Yisra’el” (Israel) but has the maning “El sows” or “El scatters”:

4 And YHWH said unto him: Call his name Yizre’el, for yet a little while and I will visit the blood of Yizre’el upon the house of Yahu, and will cause to cease–the kingdom of the House of Yisra’el.
(Hosea 1:4 HRV)

The prophetic meaning of this name is revealed in Hosea chapter 2 where Elohim scatters Yisra’el.

At this point it is absolutely essential to distinguish the two houses of Israel in this book.  In these first two chapters of Hosea it is clear that it is not the House of Judah who are facing this chastisement.  In fact Hosea specifies that while he is punishing the House of Israel, He will have compassion on the House of Judah:

7 But I will have compassion upon the House of Y’hudah, and will save them by YHWH their Elohim: and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.
(Hosea 1:7 HRV)

By contrast the House of Israel (Ephraim) will lose their identity as the people of YHWH.  His second and third sons are named “Lo-Ruchmah” (“not compassioned”) and “Lo-Ammi” (“Not My People”).

Finally YHWH tells us that at a time when the number of the descendants of Israel is as the “as the sand of the sea,  which cannot be measured nor numbered.” (Hosea 2:1 (1:10)) that this group known as Lo-Ammi “Not My People”  will come to be known as “Sons of the Living El.”

In other words these people would realize that they are not Gentiles after all, but part of the House of Israel.

We read of this realization in the Apocrypha in the book of Baruch:

… but in the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves. And shall know that I am YHWH their Elohim: for I will give them a
heart, and ears to hear: And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and think upon my name, And return from their stiff neck,
and from their wicked deeds: for they shall remember the way of their fathers, which sinned before YHWH. And I will bring them again into the land which I promised with an oath unto their fathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov, and they shall be masters of it: and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their Elohim, and they shall be my people: and I will no more drive my people of Israel out of the land that I have given them.
(Barukh (Baruch) 2:30-35)

Romans 9 begins the contrast of the “Jews” and “Gentiles” by quoting Hosea 2:25(23); 2:1 (1:10) in Rom. 9:25-26.

23 And poured forth His mercy upon the vessels of mercy, that were prepared to Eloah to glory,
24 Which we are … the called; not only from the Jews, but also from the Goyim.
25 Thus also He said in Hoshea: I will call those who were not My people, My people: and to whom I have not shown mercy, I will show mercy.
26 For it will be, [that] in the place where they were called, Not my people: there they will be called, sons of the Living Eloah. (Hosea 2:1 (1:10); 2:25 (23))
27 And Yesha’yahu proclaimed concerning the B’nai Yisra’el, that even though the number of the B’nai Yisra’el should be like the sand that is in the sea, a remnant of them would be saved.
(Romans 9:23-27 HRV)

If we look up the context of the people “which were not my people” which he calls “my people” in Hosea we find that they are the “children of Israel”:

1 (1:10) Yet, the number of the children of Yisra’el shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. And it shall come to pass that, instead of that which was said unto them, You are not My people: it shall be said unto them, You are the children of the living El.
(Hosea 2:1 (1:10))

as opposed to “the children of Judah”:

2 (1:11) And the children of Y’hudah and the children of Yisra’el shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall go up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Yizre’el.
(Hosea 2:2 (1:11))

So if Paul is quoting Hosea in context and contrasting Jews and Gentiles (Rom. 9:24) using Hosea 2:1-2 (1:10-11) then the “Jews” of Rom. 9:24 are the “Children of Judah” of Hosea 2:2 (1:11) and the “Gentiles” of Rom. 9:24 are the  “children of Israel” of Hosea 2:1 (1:10).

If this is true then as this contrasting pair advances into Rom. Chapter 11 the two trees are the two Houses.  This prophecy parallels the two “sticks” prophecy of Ezekiel 37 (note that the word STICK in Ezek. 37 is ETZ which also means “tree”). There is much more I could say about this amazing prophecy when I am permitted to do so.

16 And if the first is Set-Apart, the lump of dough is also: and if the root is Set-Apart, the branches [are] also.
17 And if some branches were broken off, and you who are a wild olive [tree], were grafted into their place and became partakers of the root and of the oil of the olive [tree],
18 Do not boast against the [natural] branches. But if you boast, you are not bearing the root, but the root bears you!
19 And perhaps you should say of the branches that were broken off, I will be grafted in their place.
20 These [matters] are beautiful. They were broken off because they did not have trust, but you stand, by trust. Do not be exalted in your mind, but fear:
21 For if Eloah did not spare the natural branches, perhaps He will also not spare you.
22 See then the gentleness and the harshness of Eloah: upon those who fell, harshness, but upon you, gentleness, if, you remain in the gentleness. And if not, you will also be broken off.
23 And those, if they do not remain in their lack of trust, also will be grafted in: for Eloah is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you, who are from the olive [tree] that was wild by your nature, were cut off and were grafted–contrary to your nature–into the good olive [tree], how much more then, those, if they be grafted in their natural olive [tree]?
25 For I want you to know this mystery, my brothers, so that you will not be wise in the thought of your nefesh: that blindness of the heart, in part, has happened to Yisra’el until the fullness of the Goyim should come,
26 And then all Yisra’el will have Life. Thus it is written, From Tziyon a Deliverer will come, and turn iniquity from Ya’akov.
27 And then they will have the covenant that is from Me, when I forgive them their sins. (Isaiah 59:20-21; 27:9)
(Romans 11:16-27)

The Aramaic for the phrase “fullness of the Goyim” (Rom. 11:25) could also be translated “multitude of nations” as we  read the blessing of Yoseph in Genesis:

18 And Yosef said unto his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn: put your right hand upon his head.
19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Howbeit, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
20 And he blessed them that day, saying, By you shall Yisra’el bless, saying, Elohim make you as Efrayim and as M’nasheh, and he set Efrayim before M’nasheh.
(Gen. 48:18-20 HRV)

The uncultivated olive tree in Romans 11 is clearly therefore Ephraim and the cultivated olive tree is clearly that of Judah. This prophecy tells us that branches from the tree/stick of Ephraim will be broken off and grafted into the tree/stick of Judah, are to be fed by the root of the tree/stick of Judah and are not to boast against the natural branches (Jews).”

Romans 11 speaks to the branches from the House of Israel being grafted into the House of Judah.  The branches from Ephraim are directed to be fed by the root of the tree which represents the House of Judah.  It important to note that there are two trees, one representing the House of Israel and one representing the House of Judah… two different trees have two different roots… the branches from Ephraim are to be fed by the root of the House of Judah as opposed to the root of the House of Israel.

Romans 11 does discuss this stage of the restoration, but it also tells us that an even more powerful stage will involve Judah being grafted back into its own olive tree:

And if their stumbling became riches for the world, and their loss, riches to the Goyim:how much more therefore,their fullness?
(Rom. 11:12 HRV)

For if their reprobation was reconciliation to the world, how much more therefore,their return, but life that is from among the dead?
(Rom. 11:15 HRV)

23 And those, if they do not remain in their lack of trust, also will be grafted in: for Eloahis able to graft them in again.
24 For if you, who are from the olive [tree] that was wild by your nature, were cut off and were grafted–contrary to your nature–into the good olive [tree], how much more then,those, if they be grafted in their natural olive [tree]?
(Rom. 11:23-24 HRV)

Paul says here: You think the restoration of Ephraim is great, wait until you see the restoration of Judah!

In Romans 11 we learn that this restoration of Judah:

8 Thus it is written: Elohim gave them a blinding spirit, and eyes that they might not examine, and ears that they might not hear, until this very day. (Deut. 29:4; Isa. 29:10)
9 And David again said, Let their table be a snare before them, and their reward a stumbling stone.
10 Let their eyes be darkened that they not see, and their back always be bowed. (Ps. 69:23-24 (22-23) Is. 29:9-10)
11 Now I say, Have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! But in their stumbling, Life, has come to the Goyim, for their jealousy. (Deut.32:21)
12 And if their stumbling became riches, for the world, and their loss, riches to the Goyim, how much more therefore, their fulness?
(Rom. 11:8-12 HRV)

Paul is here recalling the apostasy and restoration of the House of Judah as prophesied in Isaiah 29:9-10:

9 Stupify yourselves and be stupid! Blind yourselves, and be blind! you are drunken, but not with wine, that stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For YHWH has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes; thhe prophets, and your heads, the seers, has He covered.
(Isaiah 29:9-10 HRV)

This apostasy of Judah is resolved in this prophecy of Isaiah where we read of a restoration of the House of Judah:

18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of a book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
(Isaiah 29:18 HRV)

This is why I say that we have neglected the Word. We have neglected the Tanak. We have been given a last days gift of a restoration of much of the original Hebrew and Aramaic of the so-called “New Testament” but we have neglected this gift as well. We have also had many books restored to us in the “Apocrypha” and especially the Book of Enoch, and we have neglected those also.

We have neglected the words of Enoch the prophet wrote millennia ago:

But when they write down truthfully all my words in their languages, and do not change or diminish ought from my words but write them all down truthfully –all that I first testified concerning them. Then, I know another mystery, that books will be given to the righteous and the wise to become a cause of joy and uprightness and much wisdom. And to them shall the books be given, and they shall believe in them and rejoice over them, and then shall all the righteous who have learnt therefore all the paths of uprightness be recompensed.’
(1Enoch 104:10-13)

And this is why I set up new Scripture Nexus site, because I have been directed to begin putting many of these texts which I have spent my adult life collecting, online in Hebrew (or Aramaic) and English interlinear keyed to Strong’s word numbers. (We have already posted Hebrew Matthew Chapter 1 (DuTillet, Munster and Shem Tob, a fragment of Hebrew Mark, Hebrew John 1:1-13, the Judaikon (Jewish version of Matthew) marginal notes and 1Enoch Chapter 6)

Emergency Alert! Donations are generally low this time of year, and this year is no exception! In these trying times, we need your support now more than ever. Bills are due!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org

Or click HERE to donate

And don’t forget to join the conversations at the NazareneSpace Social Network

The Book of Tobit Unveiled
by
James Scott Trimm

One of the most delightful narratives in the collection known as “The Apocrypha” is the Book of Toviyah (Tobit). The Book of Toviyah is the account of Toviyah a righteous Ephraimite of the Tribe of Naphtali, and his father Toviel, both living in the Assyrian exile which followed the deportation by Sargon II in 721 B.C.E. (2Kn. 17:1-6). Toviel refused to participate in the rank idolatry of his brothers, and continued to send tithes to Jerusalem. He was especially charitable, diligent in tithing and almsgiving. He hosted a feast in honor of Shavuot, and sent his son Toviyah into the streets to bring a poor Israelite to feast with them (perhaps inspiring Yeshua’s parable). He risked his life, position and fortune to bury poor Israelites murdered and left unburied in the streets. Despite his righteousness, Toviel was blinded when bird droppings landed in his eyes.

At this same time, far away in Media, there is a certain woman named Sarah who has married seven husbands, all seven of whom died, having been killed by the demon Ashmodai before the marriage could be consummated (perhaps inspiring the question about a woman who had lost seven husbands which a certain Sadducee asked Yeshua in Mk. 12:20-22). The angel Raphael, disguised as a man, is sent by Elohim to heal Toviel and free Sarah from Ashmodai’s oppression.

Toviel sends his son Toviyah to Media to collect some money that is owed to him there. A certain Azaryah joins Toviyah, claiming to be from one of his kinsmen, but in reality he is Raphael in disguise. When they arrive in Media, Raphael introduces Toviyah to Sarah, and the two of them are married. With Raphael’s help the demon is eradicated, and the marriage is consummated.

Toviyah returns with his bride and Raphael helps him to heal his father’s blindness. Raphael then identifies himself as an angel and returns to the heavens.

This book appears in the Greek Septuagint, the Aramaic Peshitta and the Latin Vulgate.

Five fragmentary copies of Tobit have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, one in Hebrew and four in Aramaic.

The Book of Tobit has come down to us in many versions and revisions, which widely diverge from each other as to their details.

Tobit comes to us in a long version (Codex Siniaticus; Old Latin) and a short version (Codecies A, B and V, Latin Vulgate). There is also a variation between a 3rd person version (Latin Vulgate) and a 1st person version (Codex Siniaticus, Old Latin).

There is also another late Greek version which combines elements of the long and short versions and is in the 1st person (Codecies 44, 106 & 107 and the Aramaic Peshitta).

Scripture Nexus has had great success in tracking down Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts for Tobit.

To begin with there are the fragmentary copies found at Qumran mentioned above in Hebrew and Aramaic.

The fragmentary Hebrew copy found at Qumran (4Q200) preserves the following fragments: 3:6, 10-11; 4:3-9; 5:2; 10:7-9; 11:10-14; 12:20-13:4; 13:13-14, 18; 14:1-3.

Other, more complete Hebrew texts of Tovi have come to us from the middle ages:

Munster Tobit – First published in Constantinople in 1516 and re-published by Sebastian Munster in Basel in 1516. (This is the same Munster who published the original Hebrew texts of Matthew and Hebrews as well). This version appears in the following manuscript sources:

Biblioteque Nationale Paris; Hebrew Ms. No. 1251

Cairo Geniza Tobit (T-S A 45.26) (c. 1200 C.E.)
Two fragments covering 5:17-6:13 & 9:6-11:15

Fagius Tobit – First published in Constaninople in 1517 and re-published by Paul Fagius in 1542.

British Museum Add. 11,539 – 13th Century Hebrew ms. of Tobit.

There is also a Hebrew text of Tobit which was extracted from a midrash.

A number of Aramaic copies of Tobit are also available.

The four fragmentary copies found at Qumran (4Q196, 4Q197, 4Q198 & 4Q199) preserve the following passages: 1:17, 19-22; 2:3, 10-11; 3:5, 9-15, 17; 4:2, 5, 7, 21-5:1, 9; 6:6-7, 13-7:5, 13; 12:1, 18-14:3, 7.

Another, more complete Aramaic copy has come to us from the middle ages:

Oxford, Hebrew Ms. Bodeleian 2339 (which is actually Aramaic rather than Hebrew)

There is also the Peshitta Aramaic version, but for reasons discussed below, we know it was translated from the Greek.

Bodeleian 2339 is a short version in the 3rd person. Jerome had his Jewish assistant translate an Aramaic copy of Tobit into Hebrew so that Jerome could then translate it into Latin. This Aramaic version may be a representative of the same Aramaic version which Jerome used for the Latin Vulgate.

Munster is in the first person. The copies found at Qumran (both Hebrew and Aramaic are in the first person and follow the long version.

In just the first two verses I quickly found evidence that the Munster Hebrew text of Tobit is a representative of the original Hebrew and that the Greek is a translation from it.

In Tobit, 1:1 the name “Aduel” appears in the Greek text while in Munster’s Hebrew the name is “Ariel”. The Hebrew letters corresponding to “d” and “r” look very much alike in Hebrew and the Greek translator must have mistaken the “r” (r) for a “d” (d) (“Ariel” is a common Hebrew name, while “Aduel” is not).

In Tobit 1:2 The Greek reads “from Thisbe”. A Note in the Oxford annotated version says “Thisbe is unidentified” which is a nice way of saying “there is no such place”. However the Hebrew does not have “from Thisbe, a city of Naftali” but MITUSHBI IR NAFTALI “an inhabitant of Naftali”. The Greek translator must have been unfamiliar with the Hebrew word MITUSHBI (מתושבי) (Strong’s 8453) (“an inhabitant”) instead he took the “M” as the Hebrew prepositional-prefix meaning “from” and the T-SH-B-I to refer to “Thisbe”” (a Greek name). The Peshitta version of Tobit gives itself away as a translation from the Greek because it has “Aduel” in 1:1 and “Thisbe” in 1:2.

There are many passages in the Ketuvim Netzarim which seem to refer back to statements in the Book of Tobit.

For example when Ya’akov says:

“Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.”
(James 5:4 KJV)

He may well be alluding to Toviel’s advice to his son Toviyah:

“Let not the wages of any man, which hath wrought for thee, tarry with thee, but give him it out of hand: for if thou serve God, he will also repay thee: be circumspect my son, in all things thou doest, and bewise in all thy conversation.” (Tobit 4:14 KJV)

When Yochanan states in Revelation:

“And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.” (Rev. 8:2 KJV)

We may gain some insight into who these angels were from Toviyah:

“I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.”
(Tobit 12:15 KJV)

Yochanan’s description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation:

“And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God:…
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;:
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.: And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.”
(Rev. 19:1; 21:19-21 KJV)

Certainly recalls Toviyah’s similar description:

“And the streets of Jerusalem shall be paved with beryl and carbuncle and stones of Ophir. And all her streets shall say, Alleluia; and they shall praise him, saying, Blessed be God, which hath extolled it for ever.”
(Tobit 13:17-18 KJV)

Of course Yeshua’s “Golden Rule” “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Mt. 7:12 HRV) has long been recognized as a positive restatement of Hillel’s statement “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor” (b.Shabbat 31a) but many are unaware that even earlier this wise saying had been passed from Toviel to his son Toviyah “that which you hate to be done to you, do not you to others” (Tobit 4:15 HRV).

The Book of Toviyah can give us a great deal of insight into our understanding of the Ketuvim Netzarim (Writings of the Nazarenes – The so-called “New Testament”). Work is currently underway at Scripture Nexus on an Interlinear Hebrew/English Tobit keyed to Strong’s Word numbers.

But when they write down truthfully all my words in their languages, and do not change or diminish ought from my words but write them all down truthfully –all that I first testified concerning them. Then, I know another mystery, that books will be given to the righteous and the wise to become a cause of joy and uprightness and much wisdom. And to them shall the books be given, and they shall believe in them and rejoice over them, and then shall all the righteous who have learnt therefore all the paths of uprightness be recompensed.’
(1Enoch 104:10-13)

Enoch was speaking of this generation. I have been given several projects that will put more of the Word of YHWH into the hands of the people, with online interlinear texts etc. There is much work to be done, and less time than ever in which to get it done.

The time is near at hand in which “the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.” (Isaiah 29:18)

We need your help today! In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. We must raise at least $1,000 by the emd of this week. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org or by Zelle or Go Fund Me.

Click HERE to donate

And don’t forget to join the conversations at the NazareneSpace Social Network

I have asked you recently if you would like to see texts like Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts of “New Testament” books, and books like the Aramaic Book of Enoch online in interlinear form keyed to Strong’s word numbers. We have been given a last days gift of a restoration of much of the original Hebrew and Aramaic of the so-called “New Testament” but we have neglected this gift. I have been given several projects that will put more of the Word of YHWH into the hands of the people, with online interlinear texts etc. One of these is to put the recovered Hebrew manuscripts of “New Testament” books online with interlinear English and Strong’s word numbers. The time is near at hand in which “the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.” (Isaiah 29:18) There is much work to be done, and less time than ever in which to get it done.

Today I am unveiling Scripture Nexus, the website where all of this will happen! Right now it is very utilitarian and little material is up. But as time passes it will be filled with more and more useful resources. so keep watching at https://scripturenexus.com

Emergency Alert! In these trying times, we need your support now more than ever. Bills are due and rent is due soon!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

Donations can be sent by paypal to donations@wnae.org.

And don’t forget to join the conversations at the NazareneSpace Social Network

When Was Yeshua Risen?
Proof of Hebrew/Aramaic Origins
By
James Scott Trimm

We read in the four Gospels:

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
(Matthew 28:1 KJV)

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
(Mark 16:1 KJV)

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
(Luke 24:1 KJV)

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
(John 20:1 KJV)

There is a problem here in the Greek, but the problem has been smoothed out in the KJV English. While Mark says the sabbath had “passed” and Luke and John state it was the first day of the week, the Greek text of Matthew actually says “Late (ΟΨε) on the Sabbath” or “In the evening (ΟΨε) of the Sabbath” while Mark 16:1 says the Sabbath had passed (διαγενομενου).  The conflict has been made invisible by the KJV mistranslating ΟΨε as “after” rather than its correct meaning of “late” or “evening”.

Of course anyone who knows the Hebrew calendar knows that days start in the evening, so that the evening of the Sabbath (Erev Shabbat), is Friday night!

The solution to this conflict is obvious when we look at the Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts of these books.

In the DuTillet Hebrew manuscript of Matthew, Matthew 28:1 says “And in the evening (ערב) of Shabbat…”

While the Old Syriac Aramaic version of Mark has in Mark 16:1 “And when the Sabbath had passed (עברא)…” which in Hebrew would be עבר
Clearly there is a scribal error here.  An early scribe of Matthew transposed the letters so that עבר (passed) was mis-copied as ערב (evening)

These two words look nothing alike in Greek, but they look very much alike in Hebrew and Aramaic, providing yet another evidence that these books originated in Hebrew and Aramaic rather than Greek.

We need your help today!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org

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We often talk about the return of the Messiah during the fall feasts, but did you know that many ancient Nazarenes believed the Day of Judgement would be at Passover? The following is an ancient reference to the “Gospel according to the Hebrews”. What is the Gospel according to the Hebrews? The Gospel according to the Hebrews was an ancient, lost, apocryphal gospel which was used by the ancient Nazarenes, the original followers of Yeshua as Messiah.

The Third Century “Church Father” Eusebius wrote of this document:

“And among them [doubted books] some have placed the Gospel according to the Hebrews which is the especial delight of those of the Hebrews who have accepted Messiah.”
(Eusebius; Eccl. Hist. 3:25:5)

When speaking of the Ebionites, Epiphanius calls GH “their Gospel” (Pan. 30:16:4-5) and Jerome refers to GH as “the Gospel which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use” (On Mat. 12:13). The actual document has been lost to history, but about 50 quotations and citations of this document are preserved in quotations and citations from the so-called “Church Fathers” and other commentators even into the middle ages.

The twentieth Century Scholar Hugh Schonfield wrote of this lost gospel:

“The Gospel according to the Hebrews is a literary outlaw with a price on its head; but in spite of the scholarly hue and cry it still evades capture. Neither monastic libraries nor Egyptian rubbish heaps have so far yielded up a single leaf of this important document….
For behind Hebrews lies the unknown potentialities of the Nazarene tradition, which may confirm or contradict some of the most cherished beliefs of Orthodox Christianity. It is useless for certain theologians to designate Hebrews as “secondary” on the evidence of the present fragmentary remains preserved in quotation. …
Judged by ancient testimony alone it is indisputable that Hebrews has the best right of any Gospel to be considered a genuine apostolic production;…
Here is obviously a most valuable witness, perhaps the most valuable witness to the truth about [Yeshua]… whom even a jury composed entirely of orthodox Christians could not despise, and who ought to be brought into court. But the witness is missing, and all that we have is a few reported statements of his taken long ago…
…it may be argued that there has been dependence not of ‘Hebrews’ on the Synoptics but vice versa– that ‘Hebrews’ was one of the sources on which one or more of them drew.”
(Hugh Schonfield; According to the Hebrews; 13-18)

In an obscure reference to the Gospel of the Hebrews in the Cateches celtique of the Breton Vaticanus Reginus we read:

These eight days of Passover, at which Messiah the son of God rose again, signify eight days after the recurrence of the Passover, at which the seed of Adam will be judged, as is proclaimed in the Gospel of the Hebrews; and for this reason the learned believe that the day of judgment will be at Passover, because on that day Messiah rose again, that on that day also the saints should rise again.
(cited in Cateches celtique of the Breton Vaticanus Reginus, lat. 49; Studi e Testi 59, 1933, p.58)

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As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

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Over the last twenty years I have seen many troll the interne, absolutely sure that they have the one and only solution to the Passion week chronology and the times and days of Yeshua’s “Last Supper”, crucifixion, burial and resurrection. I have studied this issue myself for at least 35 years. What I have found, is that those who insist that their solution is the only possible solution, generally have not taken into account at least some of the variables. In many cases, they were ignorant that some of the variables even existed. So here are some of the variables that they have not all taken into account:

Was the annual Sabbath on the 14th of Nisan or the 15th of Nisan? – In the Torah we are told (in the KJV) that the “first day” and the “seventh day” of Unleavened Bread” are annual sabbaths (Ex. 12:16). The Hebrew phrase for “first day” is YOM ROSHON which can also mean “foremost day” or “day before” (as in KJV Num. 6:12; Josh 8:33b and 1Kings 13:6). So there is a halachic issue as to whether this refers to the 15th of Nissan (the common interpretation) or the 14th of Nisan.

Was Passover just an offering and meal, or was it a day? There seems to have been an ancient ambiguity as to whether the 14th of Nisan was Passover Day, or whether it was just an offering eaten at the “erev” of the 14th of Nisan. This gave rise to the question over whether Passover/Unleavened Bread was a Seven day or an Eight day system. That issue was further complicated by the fact that by the first century, it was common to refer to the whole seven or eight day period as “Passover” as it is today.

Can the “erev” of the 14th be the erev between the 13th and 14th or must it be between the 14th and 15th. Erev is a zero dimensional point between days, so the 14th has arguably two erevs.

What does the phrase “between the evenings” really mean?

Were Yeshua and his Talmudim keeping the same halacha on the matters above as the Temple Priesthood?

When Yeshua sat down for the last supper on the “first day” according to the KJV synoptic gospels, but on the “before the feast of Passover” in John 13:1 KJV, the DuTillet Hebrew of Matthew has YOM ROSHON which Schonfield translates “first day” and the Aramaic Gospels have Aramaic words which share that ambiguity between “first” and “before” or “foremost”.

Were Yeshua and his Talmidim using the same calendar as the Temple priesthood? For example the invisible dark new moon is typically the day before the first crescent, which would have created a one day variance between groups keeping the dark moon and groups keeping the crescent. And there are other possible calendar issues.

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As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

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Why Yeshua was Crucified on a Thursday
By
James Scott Trimm

Many Christians recognize “good” Friday as the day of Yeshua’s crucifixion. Many counter this with a theory of a Wednesday crucifixion. But the Scriptures clearly teach a Thursday crucifixion. Here is how we know Yeshua was crucified on a Thursday:

We read in the Gospels:

[29] And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
[30] For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
[31] The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
[32] The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
(Luke 11:14-36 KJV)

And:

[38] Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
[39] But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
[40] For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
[41] The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
[42] The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
[43] When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
[44] Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
[45] Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
(Matthew 12:31-45 KJV)

However, some Greek manuscripts of Matthew have a marginal note to this passage which says the “Jewish version” of Matthew read differently here:
το ιουδαικον ουκ εχει τρεις η [μερας και τρεις νυκτας] >>

The Judaikon (Jewish version) has not “three [days and three nights]” there [in the heart of the earth].

So the reference to “three days and three nights” does not appear in Luke, nor did it appear in the ancient “Jewish version” of Matthew.  So it is unclear whether this passage actually belongs to the original.

However we do read elsewhere in Luke:

[13] And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
[14] And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
[15] And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
[16] But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
[17] And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
[18] And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass therein these days?
[19] And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
[20] And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
[21] But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
[22] Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
[23] And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
[24] And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
[25] Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
[26] Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
[27] And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
[28] And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
[29] But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
[30] And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
[31] And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
[32] And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
[33] And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
[34] Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
[35] And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
(Luke 24:13-15 KJV)

Notice in Luke 24:21 we read “to day is the third day since these things were done.”

The phrase “three days and three nights” leaves us with questions of inclusive or exclusive counting. For example, the apparent contradiction between Matthew and Mark on the one hand:

And after six days, Yeshua took Kefa and Ya’akov, and Yochanan his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain, apart.
(Matt. 17:1)

And after six days, Yeshua took Kefa, and Ya’akov, and Yochanan, and took them up into a great mountain privately: and was changed before their eyes.
(Mark 9:2)

And Luke on the other hand:

And it happened that about eight days after these words, Yeshua took Kefa, and Ya’akov, and Yochanan, and ascended a mountain to pray.
(Luke 9:28)

In fact this supposed contradiction is easily resolved.  This is merely the difference between exclusive and inclusive counting.  Matthew and Mark use exclusive counting and only counts the days which fell between the starting and ending days, while Luke uses inclusive counting and includes the starting and ending days in his count.

But Luke 24:21 avoids any question of inclusive or exclusive counting of the three days in the tomb . As a matter of math, this verse points to a Thursday crucifixion, despite popular theories of either a Friday or a Wednesday crucifixion.. This statement is clearly made during the day on Sunday (the First Day of the Week). Thus if we count backwards using this verse as a basis we find:

Sunday (1st Day of week) is the third day
“since all these things happened”

Saturday (7th Day of week) is the second day
“since all these things happened”

Friday (6th Day of week) is the first day
“since all these things happened” (This day was the 15th of Nissan- An annual Sabbath)

Thursday (5th Day of week) is the day
“all these things happened”

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As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

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For those of you in Stay at Home land, what better time to study thru the Book of Romans:

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As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

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Have you Heard about the Passover SOLAR Eclipse?
By
James Scott Trimm

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about lunar eclipses at Passover.  However Passover always occurs on or near a full moons, and is therefore a time predisposed to the likelihood of a lunar eclipse.  A lunar eclipse at Passover, therefore, is hardly a “sign”. 

However I want to talk to you about something that was a very real sign, an apparent SOLAR eclipse which history records once took place at Passover!

Anti-Missionaries often claim that there is no historical evidence to support the Gospel accounts of Yeshua’s death, burial and resurrection.  In fact one anti-missionary said:

There were no records of earthquakes or darkness on the day
purported as the day of his crucifixion.
There was no tearing of the temple veil recorded
anywhere in history.

This is simply not true.  In fact around 52 CE a secular writer named Thallus tried to explain away the darkness at Yeshua’s crucifixion saying “this darkness was an eclipse of the sun”. This is of course an impossible explanation, because astronomically a Solar eclipse can never take place at or around Passover.

OK lets do some Astronomy 101. A solar eclipse occurs when the Earth, Sun and Moon line up with the Moon directly between the Sun and Earth.

OK lets now do Hebrew Calendar 101.  The Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar, with the first day of every month being the new moon.  This means that the full moon will always occur about 14-15 days into each month.  Now the Passover is on the evening of the 14th of the Hebrew month of Nissan, and the days of Unleavened Bread (often called “Passover”) begin on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan.  In other words Passover typically begins at around the time of a full moon. 

OK back to Astronomy 101.  A new moon always occurs when the Earth, Sun and Moon line up with the Moon directly between the Sun and Earth.  This is because the Moon is tidally locked with the earth, so the same side of the moon constantly faces the earth as the Moon orbits the earth (that is to say that the moon rotates at the same speed is orbits the earth, the effect of which is like a mesh gear).  The result is that from the earth, we never see the “dark side of the moon.”  And the term “dark side of the moon” is actually a misnomer, as the dark side of the moon gets just as much light as the “near side of the moon”, and a more correct term is “far side of the moon”.  A new moon then always occurs when the moon is between the sun and the earth.

Thanks to Thallus, who wrote only twenty years after the events themselves, we know that as a matter of secular history, just twenty years after the crucifixion, the “darkness” that occurred at Yeshua’s crucifixion was a historical fact that secular writers felt a need to try to explain away in some way. Ironically, Thallus was, at the time, attempting to explain away the darkness as as some kind of natural phenomena.

Ancient skeptics had to admit that an apparent solar eclipse had occurred on Passover, at or near the full moon, something which we today know is astronomically impossible, and could only have been a supernatural sign.

A solar eclipse at Passover is a real sign.

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As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

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The Tearing of the Temple Veil
By
James Scott Trimm

We read in the Goodnews according to Matthew that at the death of Yeshua:

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
(Matthew 27:51)

The fourth century “Church Father” Jerome writes concerning The Gospel According to the Hebrews (a Gospel use by the ancient sect of the Nazarenes along side our familar four):

“But in the Gospel which is written in Hebrew characters we read not [only] that the veil of the Temple was rent, but that the lintel of the Temple of wondrous size was broken and even forced asunder.”
(Jerome; Letter 120 to Hedibia; Jerome on Mat. 27:51)

Also in the Historia passionis Domini we read likewise:

“Also in the Gospel of the Nazarenes we read that at the time of Messiah’s death the lintel of the Temple, of immense size, had split (Josephus says the same and adds that overhead awful voices were heard which said: ‘Let us depart from this abode’.”
(Historia passionis Domini; MS: Theolog. Sammelhandschrift 14th-15th Century, foll. 65r)

The lintel was a crossbeam over the doorway to the Holy of Holies in the Temple. The lintel stood atop pillars eight stories high which formed this doorway. The lintel was some thirty feet across and made of solid stone. It would have weighed about 30 tons! At the death of Yeshua there was an earthquake. This earthquake caused the lintel to split, breaking in the middle. It would have been no small event when the two pieces of this thirty ton lintel came crashing down eight stories! The veil hung from the lintel and the hekel doors were attached to the pillars. When the lintel broke it caused the veil to be rent in two from top to bottom.  (In the Jewish culture it is common for a father to morn the death of his son by renting his garment in just such a fashion.)  This collapse of the lintel seems to have damaged the hekel doors as well. The Talmud states:

[For] forty years before the Temple was destroyed…
the gates of the Hekel opened by themselves.
until Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai rebuked them
saying “Hekel, Hekel, why alarm you us? We know
that you are destined to be destroyed. For of you
has prophesied Zechariah Ben Iddo (Zech. 11:1):
“Open your doors, O Lebanon and the fire shall
eat your cedars.”
(b.Yoma 39b)

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As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

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