January 2021 - NazareneSpace Blog

Was Yeshua Crucified for Using the Name of YHWH?

Was Yeshua Crucified for Using the Name of YHWH?
By
James Scott Trimm

Psalm 22 is known as the “Crucifixion Psalm” because of its detailed description of the crucifixion of Yeshua. In Matt. 27:46 = Mk. 15:34 Yeshua recites Ps. 22:2(1) from the gallows. Matt. 27:39 alludes to Ps. 22:8(7) about on lookers shaking their heads at him. In Matt. 27:43 the people use the same phase as those in Ps. 22:9(8) (see also Luke 23:35) Luke 23:34 and John 19:24 (as well as the Hebrew text of Matt. 27:35) allude to Ps. 22:19(18) about the casting of lots to divide his clothes, and Hebrews 2:12 also quotes Ps. 22:23(22) as a reference to Yeshua as the Messiah.

Perhaps the most amazingly prophetic verse of Psalm 22 is:

For dogs have encompassed me;
a company of evildoers have enclosed me:
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
(Ps. 22:17 (16))

Another interesting verse in this Psalm is 23(22)

“I will declare Your Name unto my brothers; in the midst of the assembly will
I praise You.”
(Ps. 22:23(22))

This was also fulfilled by Yeshua as we read in Yochanan:

I have made known Your Name, to the men whom You gave Me from the world: they
were yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
(Jn. 17:6 HRV)

And I have made known to them Your Name, and will make known: so that the love
with which You loved Me, might be in them and I might be in them.
(Jn. 17:26 HRV)

Some very interesting information appears in Matthew’s account of Yeshua’s trial:

59 Now the Chief Cohenim and the whole council, sought false witness against Yeshua, to deliver Him up to death.
60 But they found none, though there came forward many false witnesses. But at the last there came two false witnesses, and said,
61 He said, I can pull down the Temple of El, and before three days I can build it.
62 Then the Chief Cohen arose, and said to Him, Answer you nothing at all, concerning these things which they witness against You?
63 But Yeshua answered nothing, but was silent. Then the Chief Cohen said to Him, I
adjure you, by the Living Elohim, that you tell us whether You are Messiah, the Son of Elohim.
64 And Yeshua answered and said to him: You have said. Therefore I say to you,
hereafter you will see, the Son of Man, that sits here on the right hand of the Power of Elohim (Ps. 110:1), coming in the clouds of heaven (Dan. 7:13).
65 Then the Chief Cohen tore his garments, saying, He has blasphemed. What further
need have we of witnesses? Behold, you have heard now that He has blasphemed.
(Matthew 26:59-65 HRV)

Note the phrase “Temple of El” in verse 61. This phrase never appears in the Tanak which generally has “Temple of YHWH”. Also in verse 64 “The Power” is a common euphemism for YHWH which should appear based on the fact that this verse combines Ps. 110:1 with Dan. 7:13 where YHWH does appear in Ps. 110:1. Could Yeshua have been being accused of blasphemy for having used the phrase “Temple of YHWH” could he have aggravated and confirmed the charge by citing the Ps. 110:1/Dan. 7:13 phrase with the name YHWH pronounced? The Mishnah sheds a great deal of light on the events of this trial. The Mishnah states:

He who blasphemes is liable only when he will have fully pronounced the Divine Name. Said R. Joshua ben Qorha, “on every day of the trial they examine the witnesses with a substitute name… once the trial is over, they would not put him to death with the euphemism, but they put everyone out and ask the most important of the witnesses, saying to him, “Say, what exactly did you hear?” And he says what he heard. And the judges stand on their feet and tear their clothing…
(m.Sanhedrin 7:5)

Now from this passage of the Mishnah we learn many things about Yeshua’s trial. It was normal for the witness to use a euphemism in his testimony of what Yeshua said. We also know that a charge of blasphemy required that the “offender” had “fully pronounced the Divine Name.” It is therefore clear that Yeshua had been pronouncing the name of YWHH. Normally at the end of the trial the room would have been emptied and the witness asked to repeat the “blasphemy” without the euphemism. However in this case Yeshua surprised eveyone. He wanted his statement heard by all so he repeated one of his “blasphemous” statements right there in the Sanhedrin. We know that he used the actual name and not “the Power” here because it was called “blasphemy” and would not have been unless Yeshua had “fully pronounced the Divine Name.” That Yeshua also spoke the name of YHWH as part of his “blasphemy” was clear from the phrase ” the Chief Cohen tore his garments ” which agrees exactly with the halachah of the Mishnah “And the judges stand on their feet and tear their clothing…”

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Come out of Her My People

Come out of Her My People
By
James Scott Trimm

We read in the Book of Revelation of a last days call to come out of Babylon:

[2] And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
[3] For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
[4] And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
[5] For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
(Rev. 18:2-5 KJV)

This passage is repeating a call to come out of Babylon which appears several times in the Tanak:

Go you forth of Babylon, flee you from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare you, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say you, YHWH has redeemed his servant Jacob.
(Is. 48:20)

Depart you, depart you, go you out from there, touch no unclean thing; go you out of the midst of her; be you clean, that bear the vessels of YHWH.
(Is. 52:11)

Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
(Jer. 50:8)

Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of YHWH’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
(Jer. 51:6)

My people, go you out of the midst of her, and deliver you every man his soul from the fierce anger of YHWH.
(Jer. 51:45)

[6] Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, says YHWH: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, says YHWH.
[7] Deliver yourself, O Zion, that dwells with the daughter of Babylon.
(Zech. 2:6-7)

We can see from these verses that this call to come out from Babylon has some meaning beyond the return from the Babylonian Captivity under Ezra and Nehemiah, which had already occurred by the time of Zechariah.

In Revelation, Babylon is pictured as a great whore, riding a scarlet beast:

[1] And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
[2] With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
[3] So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
[4] And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
[5] And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
(Rev. 17:1-5 KJV)

It is actually Paul who reveals to us, just who this great whore is. He writes:

[14] Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
[15] And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
[16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
[17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
[18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
(2Cor. 6:14-18 KJV)

In the Greek text of 2Corinthians 6:14 the word which the KJV renders “unrighteousness” is actually ἀνομίᾳ (anomia) (Strong’s Greek number 458) which combines the Greek prefix “a” meaning “there is not” or “without” with the Greek word for Torah: νόμος (nomos). So that this word literally means “without Torah” or “Torahlessness”.

So if being in Babylon is being in Torahlessness, then being out of Babylon is being in the Torah.

Much has been written to demonstrate that the customs and practices of Torahless Christendom, are the same as the customs and practices of the ancient Babylonian religion. Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter have their roots in Babylon, as do such Christian symbols as steeples, crosses, doves and fish.

Lets look again at Rev. 18:4:

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
(Rev. 18:4 KJV)

This term “my people” is also very important. This refers back to a prophecy in Hosea:

[2] The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
[3] So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.
[4] And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
[5] And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
[6] And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
[7] But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
[8] Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
[9] Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
[10] Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
[11] Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel. (Hosea 1:1-11 KJV)

[23] And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God. (Hosea 2:23 KJV)

In these verses the “children of Israel” (1:10) and the “children of Judah” (1:11) are treated as separate entities. The House of Israel (Ephraim) is told that Elohim will call them “not my people” (1:9-10) until a future day when He shall call them “my people” again (2:23). This day of which Hosea was speaking, was the time of the call to Ephraim to come out of Babylon (Torahlessness), in which he calls “my people” to come out of Babylon.

This brings us to a prophecy in the Book of Baruch:

[30] For I knew that they would not hear me, because it is a stiffnecked people: but in the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves.
[31] And shall know that I am the Lord their God: for I will give them an heart, and ears to hear:
[32] And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and think upon my name,
[33] And return from their stiff neck, and from their wicked deeds: for they shall remember the way of their fathers, which sinned before the Lord.
[34] And I will bring them again into the land which I promised with an oath unto their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they shall be lords of it: and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished.
[35] And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God, 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.
(Baruch 2:30-35 KJV)

Finally let us look again at the passages of Jeremiah about the call to come out of Babylon (Jer. 50:8; 51:6, 45) which encompasses Jeremiah 50-51. Here we read:

[6] Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
[7] Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
[8] Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so she may be healed.
[9] We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
(Jer. 51:6-9 KJV)

Here we read of a prophetic warning of those who hear the call to come out of Babylon but instead choose to stay in Babylon and heal (reform) Babylon. Elohim’s response is to effectively say, “I didn’t tell you to try to heal Babylon, I told you to GET OUT OF HER!”

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Pre-Resurrection Afterlife in the Book of Enoch

Pre-Resurrection Afterlife in the Book of Enoch
By
James Scott Trimm

The Book of Enoch describes a compartmentalized place of the pre-resurrection afterlife as follows:

1 And thence I went to another place, and he showed me toward the west a large and high mountain of hard rock.
2 And there was in it four hollow places, deep and wide and very smooth. How smooth are the hollow places and deep and dark to look at.
3 Then Rafa’el answered, one of the set-apart angels who was with me, and said unto me: ‘These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here.
4 And lo these are the pits for their imprisonment; they have been fashioned in this way till the day of their judgment and till the time of the end of the great judgment and till the time of the end of the great judgment, which is to be made against them.
5 ‘ There I saw the spirit of a dead man making suit, and his voice went forth to heaven crying unceasingly and making suit.
6 And I asked Rafa’el the watcher and set-apart one who was with me, and I said unto him: ‘This spirit which makes suit, whose is it, whose voice goes forth and makes suit to heaven?’
7 And he answered me saying: ‘This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from among the seed of men.’
8 Then I asked regarding it, and regarding all the hollow places: ‘Why is one separated from the other?’
9 And he answered me and said unto me: ‘These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And such a division has been make (for) the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water.
10 And such has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgment has not been executed on them in their lifetime.
11 Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain till the great day of judgment and punishment and torment of those who curse for ever and retribution for their spirits. There He shall bind them for ever.
12 And such a division has been made for the spirits of those who make their suit, who make disclosures concerning their destruction, when they were slain in the days of the sinners.
13 Such has been made for the spirits of men who were not righteous but sinners, who were complete in transgression, and of the transgressors they shall be companions: but their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgment nor shall they be afflicted from thence.’
14 Then I blessed YHWH of glory and said: ‘Blessed be my Master, YHWH of righteousness, who rules for ever.’
(1Enoch 22:1-14)

What the Hell?

There are three words translated “Hell” in most English Bibles, however “Hell” may not be the best translation for all or any of these words. Let us examine these three words one at a time, and in the process, see what we may learn about the afterlife:

What is She’ol?

The first Hebrew word we will discuss is She’ol which the Greek texts render as “Hades.” Some have taught that the Hebrew word “She’ol” (commonly translated “Hell”) should be simply understood as a Hebrew word for “grave” or “pit”. However the Hebrew word She’ol always appears in the feminine form and NEVER has a definite artical in any of its many appearances in the Tanak. Therefore it is almost certain that SHE’OL is a proper noun, the name of a place. As the Encyclopedia Judaica states:

“Several names are given to the abode of the dead, the most common being She’ol—always feminine and without the definite article—a sign of proper nouns. The term does not occur in other Semitic languages, except as a loan word from Hebrew She’ol, and its etymology is obscure.”
(Encyclopedia Judaica; Article “Netherworld” p. 996)

In the Tanak the word SHE’OL is often contrasted with “Heaven” (Job 11:8; Ps. 139:8; Amos 9:2). According to the Tanak the wicked and godless nations go to SHE’OL (Ps. 9:17) According to Psalm 86:13 the soul goes to SHE’OL. According to Proverbs 15:24 SHE’OL can be avoided. In Prov. 23:14 a soul is delivered from SHE’OL. In Is. 57:9 a soul is lowered to SHE’OL.

So SHE’OL would seem to be the proper name of a place which may be contrasted with Heaven to which souls go and from which they may be delivered.

The First Century Jewish Historian Josephus describes the Pharisees as having a belief in this place of pre-resurrection afterlife. He writes of the Pharisees:

“They hold the belief that an immortal strength belongs to souls, and that there are beneath the earth punishments and rewards for those who in life devoted themselves to virtue or vileness, and that eternal imprisonment is appointed for the latter, but the possibility of returning to life for the former”
(Josephus Ant. 18.1.3)

According to Ezek. 31:16-18 Gan Eden (The Garden of Eden) was cast into SHE’OL (Ezek. 31:16-18). Thus Gan Eden has become a compartment within She’ol, where the righteous await the resurrection.

Yeshua himself gives us a peek into the pre-resurrection afterlife in his account of El’azar and the rich man:

19 Now there was one rich man and he wore linen and purple, and everyday, he was luxuriously merry.
20 And there was one poor man, whose name was El’azar: and he lay at the gate of that rich man, stricken with sores.
21 And he desired that his belly be filled, from the crumbs that fell from the table of that rich man: but even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 Now time passed, and that poor man died, and the angels carried him to the bosom of Avraham: and also that rich man, died and was buried.
23 And while tormented in she’ol, he lifted up his eyes from afar, and saw Avraham, and El’azar in his bosom.
24 And he cried with a great voice and said, My father Avraham, have mercy on me. And send El’azar to dip the tip of his finger in water, and to moisten my tongue for me, for behold, I am tormented in this flame.
25 Avraham said to him, My son, remember that you received your good during your life, and El’azar his bad: and now, behold, he is resting here, and you are tormented.
26 And with all these things, a great gulf is placed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you, are not able, nor from there, to pass over to us.
27 Then he said to him, I beg of you, my father, that you send him to the house of my father,
28 For I have five brothers. Let him go and testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment!
29 Avraham said to him, They have Moshe and the prophets: let them hear them.
30 And he said to him, No, my father Avraham, but if a man from the dead would go to them, they would repent.
31 Avraham said to him, If they will not hear Moshe and the prophets, even if a man would rise from the dead, they would not believe him.
(Luke 16:19-31 HRV)

Some have tried to dismiss this account as a mere parable. However Yeshua does not introduce this account as a parable. Instead he tells us “there was one rich man” and “there was one poor man” so as to tell us that these men actually existed and these events actually occurred. However even if we were to accept that this account is a mere parable, the elements of the parable must be rooted in truth or the parable would be meaningless. For example in the parable of the seed, seed sown in the various types of ground does in fact react in the same manner described in the parable. A net cast into the sea does in fact bring forth fish. The basic aspects of this account therefore, even if they are a parable, must be true. Even if the events were meant as a parable, to be a valid parable with valid meaning, the events have to be events that at least COULD have happened.

In this account Yeshua describes Sheol as having at least two compartments, one is a place of rest, which he calls “The Bosom of Avraham” the other is not named, but is a place where one is “tormented in flame”. We are told that the two are separated by “a great gulf” so that souls cannot cross from one to the other.

Souls are Conscious and Aware in She’ol

Of course the above passages have already demonstrated that souls are conscious and aware while in Sheol (thus the conversation between Avraham and El’azar in Luke 16:19-31 and Abel making suit in 1Enoch 22). There are, however, several more:

9 And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar, the nefeshot [souls] of those who were killed because of the Word of Eloah, and because of the testimony of Yeshua that they had.
10 And they cried with a great voice and said, How long, YHWH, Set-Apart and True, do You not judge and require our blood of the inhabitants of the earth?
11 And there was given to each and every one of them a white robe. And it was said that they should rest for the period of a short time until it should be ended–even their fellows and their brothers who were about to be killed, as also they [had been].
(Rev. 6:9-11 HRV)

What is Gey Hinnim?

The next Hebrew word we will look at is Gey Hinnom sometimes abbreviated as Gehenna which the Greek transliterates into the Greek texts as “Gehenna”.

GEY HINNOM was a vally just outside of Jerusalem (Joh. 15:8; 18:16; Neh. 11:30; Jer. 19:2, 6) where pagans had offered up their own children to Ba’al and Molech (2Kn. 23:10; 2Ch. 28:3; 33:6; Jer. 7:31-32; 19:2, 6; 32:35). In the first century all of the refuse of the city was cast into GEY HINNOM and burned there.

In the Mishna GEY HINNOM is contrasted with Gan Eden and with the World to Come as the place where the wicked go (m.Avot 5:19-20; m.Eduy. 2:10) . The Talmud also contrasts GEY HINNOM with Heaven as a place where the wicked go (b.Ber. 28a). According to the Talmud GEY HINNOM is huge (b.Pes. 94a) and has seven compartments (b.Sotah 19b).

Josephus describes this place when he writes:

“They say that every soul is imperishable, but that only those of the righteous pass into another body, while those of the wicked are, on the contrary, punished with eternal torment”
(Josephus Wars 2.8.14)

“They hold the belief that an immortal strength belongs to souls, and that there are beneath the earth punishments and rewards for those who in life devoted themselves to virtue or vileness, and that eternal imprisonment is appointed for the latter, but the possibility of returning to life for the former”
(Josephus Ant. 18.1.3)

Yeshua alludes to Gey Hinnom as follows:

43 Now, if your hand offends you, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed, than while you have two hands, to go to Gey-Hinnom,
44 <Where their worm does not die and their fire does not go out.>
45 And if your foot offends you, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, than while you have two feet, to fall into Gey-Hinnom,
46 <Where their worm does not die and their fire does not go out. >
47 And if your eye offends you, pluck it out. It is better for you that you enter the Kingdom of Eloah with one of your eyes, than while you have two eyes, to fall into Gey-Hinnom of fire,
48 Where their worm does not die, and their fire does not go out.
(Mark 9:43-48 HRV)

The phrase “their worm does not die” is taken from the last verse of Isaiah:

And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have rebelled
against Me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they
shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
(Isaiah 66:24 HRV)

According to Yeshua this verse of Isaiah speaks of Gey Hinnom. No doubt Yeshua draws this connection from the Targum to this verse which reads:

And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men, the sinners, who have rebelled against my Word: for their souls shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and the wicked shall be judged in Gehinnom, till the righteous shall say concerning them, we have seen enough.
(Isaiah 66:24 Targum Jonathan)

Notice that the Targum which Yeshua clearly alludes to here, paraphrases “their worm shall not die” with “their SOULS shall not die” indicating the immortality of the souls in Gey Hinnom, and by implication eternal torment in “Hell”.

There is actually some debate in the ancient Jewish sources as to whether Gey Hinnom is a place of eternal torment, or whether souls sent there would eventually be released.

Some sources seem to point to Gey Hinnom as a place of eternal torment. As shown above the Targum Jonathan to Isaiah 66:24 speaks of Gey Hinnom as a place where the soul does not die. One passage in the Talmus tells us:

When Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai fell ill, his disciples went in to visit him. When he saw them he began to weep. His disciples said to him: Lamp of Israel, pillar of the right hand, mighty hammer! Wherefore weepest thou? He replied: If I were being taken today before a human king who is here today and tomorrow in the grave, whose anger if he is angry with me does not last for ever, who if he imprisons me does not imprison me forever and who if he puts me to death does not put me to everlasting death, and whom I can persuade with words and bribe with money, even so I would weep.
(b.Ber. 28b)

But while Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai speaks of eternal punishment, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri held the view that the judgment of Gey Hinnom was only a temporary judgment:

Rabbi Akiva declared… The Judgment of the ungodly in Gehena is twelve months, for it is said, And it will be from one month until its [same] month (Is. 66:23-24). Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri says: From Passover to Shavuot, for it is said from one sabbath until its next Sabbath.
(m.Eduyot 2:10)

It is for this reason that many Rabbinical books (Such as the common English edition of the Tanya) render Gey Hinnom into English with the word “Purgatory” rather than “Hell”.

Yet another passage of Talmud teaches that punishment in Gey Hinnom is temporary in some cases, yet eternal in others:

Wrongdoers of Israel who sin with their body and wrongdoers of the Gentiles who sin with their body go down to Gehinnom and are punished there for twelve months. After twelve months their body is consumed and their soul is burnt and the wind scatters them under the soles of the feet of the righteous as it says, And ye shall tread down the wicked, and they shall be as ashes under the soles of your feet. But as for the minim and the informers and the scoffers, who rejected the Torah and denied the resurrection of the dead, and those who abandoned the ways of the community, and those who ‘spread their terror in the land of the living’, and who sinned and made the masses sin, like Jeroboam the son of Nebat and his fellows — these will go down to Gehinnom and be punished there for all generations, as it says, And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have rebelled against me etc.
(b.Rosh HaShanna 17a)

If some souls are ultimately freed from Gey Hinnom after they are purged and purified in Gey Hinnom, it might explain certain passages.

We read in 2nd Maccabees:

43 And when he had made a gathering throughout the company to the sum of two thousand drachms of silver, he sent it to Jerusalem to offer a sin offering, doing therein very well and honestly, in that he was mindful of the resurrection:
44 For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should have risen again, it had been superfluous and vain to pray for the dead.
45 And also in that he perceived that there was great favour laid up for those that died godly, it was an holy and good thought. Whereupon he made a reconciliation for the dead, that they might be delivered from sin.
(2Maccabees 12:43-45 KJV)

This certainly implies that the eternal future of the dead, prior to the resurrection, may as yet be undetermined, that souls in Sheol, might yet be redeemed.

This might also shed some light on a statement Yeshua makes concerning Gey Hinnom:

22 But I tell you, that whoever shall be enraged against his brother, he will be condemned to the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, You are nothing: he will be condemned to the council of the synagogue. And whoever says to him, You impious one: he will be condemned to the fire of Gey Hinnom.
23 And if you present your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you:
24 Leave your offering there before the altar, and go you first, to atone to your brother, and then come and give your offering.
25 Come to terms with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way: lest HaSatan deliver you up to the judge, and the judge deliver you up to the officer, and you be cast into the jail.
26 Amen, I tell you, you will not go out from there, until you have paid the last penny.
(Matt. 5:22-26 HRV see also Luke 12:58-59)

Here the “jail” (verse 25) is certainly Gey Hinnom (verse 22), but why does Yeshua add the statement “you will not go out from there, until you have paid the last penny.” (verse 26)? In keeping with the Jewish traditions presented herein, is Yeshua not implying that, at least in some cases, Gey Hinnom is a temporary state?

If so “blasphemy of the Ruach HaKodesh” would be one of the sins for which Gey Hinnom would be inescapable, as Yeshua says:

31 And therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven the sons of men:
but the blasphemy which is against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
32 And every man that says a word against a son of man, it will be forgiven him. But he
that says a word against the Ruach HaKodesh, it will not be forgiven him: neither in this
world, or in the world to come.
(Matt. 12:31-32 HRV)

It must be understood that this “temporary” Gey Hinnom, is not the temporary Gey Hinnom taught by the Soul Sleep doctrine, as these souls do not end their time in Gey Hinnom by being annihilated out of existence, (this is impossible, as we have already shown, the soul is inherently eternal) and as the Targum says “their soul does not die.” Instead these souls are released, not annihilated.

Of course the concept of a temporary stay in Gey Hinnom vs. a permanent stay there creates many questions. Who is the temporary stay for? Do the unredeemed have an opportunity to become redeemed in Gey Hinnom? Is this the meaning of “for this reason was the goodnews proclaimed to them which are dead” (1Kefa 4:6)? Or are saved persons who have been unrighteous (not Torah Observant) purged in Gey Hinnom before they enter Gan Eden?

What is Tachti?

One final word translated as “hell” in the KJV is Greek Torturous (Heb: Tachti) which appears in only one verse:

For if Eloah did not spare the angels who sinned,
but cast them down to takh’ti,
and delivered them into chains of darkness
to be reserved for judgment,
(2Kefa 2:4 HRV)

Takhti refers to the lowest parts of a pit, and in this case the lowest compartment of She’ol. This compartment is reserved only for fallen angels and not for human souls.

The Afterlife

What happens when we die? Many Christians believe we find ourselves as angelic beings in heaven, strumming on harps and hanging around on clouds. This is, of course, totally unscriptural, and totally ignores the biblical doctrine of the resurrection. On the other hand some Millerites (Millerites are Christian and para-Christian groups which descend from the teachings of William Millar, including SDA, The old Worldwide Church of God, the Jehovah’s Witnesses etc.) teach the doctrine of Soul Sleep. But this doctrine is also not Scriptural.

The Immortality of the Soul

Belief in the immortality of the Soul has always been a foundational belief of Judaism.

Josephus writes of the Pharisees of the first century: “They say that every soul is imperishable” (Josephus Wars 2.8.14) and “They hold the belief that an immortal strength belongs to souls” (Josephus Ant. 18.1.3).

And as Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan has written: “One of the foundations of our faith is the belief in the immortality of the soul, and in life after death.” (The Soul; Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan)

Rabbi Kaplan explains that the immortality of the soul is an inescapable conclusion of the premise that Elohim is omniscient (all knowing). He writes:

But what happens to the real you — the human personality? What happens to all this information — the memories, thought patterns and personality traits? When a book is burned, its contents are no longer available. When a computer is smashed, the information within it is also destroyed.

What happens to all this information — the memories, thought patterns and personality traits?

Does the same thing happen when a person dies? Is the mind and personality irretrievably lost?

We know that God is omniscient. He knows all and does not forget. God knows every thought and memory that exists within our brains. There is no bit of information that escapes His knowledge.

What, then, happens when a person dies?

God does not forget, and therefore all of this information continues to exist, at least in God’s memory.

(An allusion to this is also found in the Kaballah. Gan Eden or Paradise is said to exist in the sefirah of Binah — the divine understanding. This may well be related to the concept of memory. Souls, on the other hand, are conceived in the sefirah of Daas — knowledge. One may say that while we live, we exist in God’s knowledge; after death we exist in His memory.)

We may think of something existing only in memory as being static and effectively dead. But God’s memory is not a static thing. The sum total of a human personality may indeed exist in God’s memory, but it can still maintain its self-identity and volition, and remain in an active state.

This sum total of the human personality existing in God’s memory is what lives on even after man dies…
(Immortality and the Soul; Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan)

The Soul Sleep Error

Having given a theology concerning the afterlife, I must now respond to some of the “proof texts” used by those who advocate a theology known as “Soul Sleep”. This is a theology that teaches that a man’s soul ceases to exist at death, until his resurrection, at which time the righteous have immortality, while the souls of the wicked are destroyed in Gey Hinnom, and again cease to exist.

One passage cited to support the Soul Sleep doctrine is Genesis 3:19 “dust you are, dust you shall become”. Of course if “dust you shall become” means we are unconscious or cease to exist in the afterlife then “dust you are” would means that we are unconscious or do not exist now. And obviously an argument that proves to much, proves nothing at all.

Proponents of this theology often cite various verses from Ecclesiastes to support their position. However the purpose of Ecclesiates is not to give Elohim’s revelation on the subjects it treats, but to explain how things appear without the light of Elohim. Thus we read in the early verses of the book:

I Kohelet have been king over Yisra’el in Yerushalayim. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven; it is a sore
task that Elohim has given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I spoke with my own heart, saying: ‘Behold, I have gotten great wisdom, more also than all that were before me over Yerushalayim’; yes, my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly–I perceived that this also was a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation; and he that increases knowledge increases sorrow.
(Eccl. 1:12-18 HRV)

For example “all is vanity” (Ecc. 1:14) is not Elohim’s revelation on the subject of life, but a pessimistic statement about what life seems like without Elohim’s revelation. Throughout the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon uses the phrases “under heaven” and “under the sun” to emphasize the context of his statements. In this context the book stresses how that, apart from Elohim’s revelation, a man’s life seems no more significant than an animals, that his death seems no different, and that we can see no afterlife. For example:

I said in my heart: ‘It is because of the sons of men,
that Elohim may sift them, and that they may see that
they themselves are but as beasts.’
For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts;
even one thing befalls them; as the one dies, so dies
the other; yes, they have all one breath; so that man
has no pre-eminence above a beast; for all is vanity.
All go unto one place; all are of the dust,
and all return to dust.
(Eccl. 3:18-20 HRV)

For the living know that they shall die; but the dead
know not any thing, neither have they any more
a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
(Eccl. 9:5 HRV)

Note that if we understand Ecc. 3:20 “all return to dust” means that there is no afterlife, then “all are dust” in the same verse, would have to mean we are not alive now! And if the same interpretation is applies to all of Ecc. 9:5 then “neither have they any more a reward” would mean that there is no reward in the afterlife for any man.

Another book used to “prove” the doctrine of soul sleep is the book of Job. The book of Job is similar to the book of Ecclesiastes, as much of the books contains the words of Job and his friends, but in the book YHWH rebukes Job’s unenlightened words saying:

1 Then YHWH answered Iyov, out of the whirlwind, and said:
2 Who is this that darkens counsel, by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up now your loins like a man: for I will demand of you, and declare you unto Me.
(Job 38:1-3 HRV)

Citing Job’s word’s in the Book of Job to support Soul Sleep is to make an uninformed use of the text of the book of Job.

Another passage often cited to support “Soul Sleep” is Psalm 146:4 “his thoughts are lost”. The Hebrew word for “thoughts” in Ps. 146:4 can also be translated “counsels”. It means that what thoughts that person might have shared with the world are lost.

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Dealing with Demons

Dealing with Demons
By
James Scott Trimm

There are many reasons that many the Hebraic-Roots movement have turned a blind eye to the issue of “demonic possession”. Some may have come from backgrounds in dispensationalist theology which taught that “casting out demons” was only for the time of the emissaries, but is not for today. Though dispensationalist theology is not compatible with Nazarene Judaism, some may not have finished “unlearning” the presuppositions of their past theology. Many are also rightly concerned about sensationalism and exaggerated emphasis. Some who have functioned in so-called deliverance ministry have often engaged in activity that borders on the bizarre. I myself some years ago observed a Messianic “Rabbi” in a Messianic service attempting to cast demons out of a piano which (he complained) was playing out of tune. The actions of the misguided should not rob unfortunate victims of real deliverance.

There are in fact several examples of “demonic” possession in the scriptures. A good example of such possession can be found in the Tanak. King Saul was plagued with possession as we read:

Now the spirit of YHWH had departed from Sha’ul, and an evil spirit from YHWH terrified him. And Sha’ul’s servants said unto him: ‘Behold now, an evil spirit from Elohim terrifies you.
Let our master now command your servants, that are before you, to seek out a man who is a skilful player on the harp; and it shall be, when the evil spirit from Elohim comes upon you, that he shall play with his hand, and you shall be well.’
And Sha’ul said unto his servants: ‘Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.’
Then answered one of the young men, and said: ‘Behold, I have seen a son of Yishai the Beit-Lechemite, that is skilful in playing, and a mighty man of valour, and a man of war, and prudent in affairs, and a comely person, and YHWH is with him.’
Wherefore Sha’ul sent messengers unto Yishai, and said: ‘Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.’
And Yishai took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Sha’ul.
And David came to Sha’ul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer.
And Sha’ul sent to Yishai, saying: ‘Let David, I pray you, stand before me; for he has found favour in my sight.’
And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from Elohim was upon Sha’ul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand; so Sha’ul found relief, and it was well with him, and the evil spirit departed from him.
(1Sam. 16:14-23 HRV)

And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from Elohim came mightily upon Sha’ul, and he raved in the midst of the house; and David played with his hand, as he did day by day; and Sha’ul had his spear in his hand.
And Sha’ul cast the spear; for he said: ‘I will smite David even to the wall.’ And David stepped aside out of his presence twice.
(1Sam. 18:10-11 HRV)

And an evil spirit from YHWH was upon Sha’ul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing with his hand.
And Sha’ul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Sha’ul’s presence, and he smote the spear into the wall; and David fled, and escaped that night.
(1Sam. 19:9-10 HRV)

In this case the demon was driven out by David by playing and singing the Psalms. The Jerusalem Talmud indicates that Psalm 91 was traditionally used to give relief to those stricken by demons:

In Jerusalem they used to recite “The Song of the Evil Spirits”
on the Sabbath for the relief of a stricken person. Which is it?
Psalm 91.
(b.Shab. 8b)

The Sefer Shimmush Tehillim (Book of the Use of the Psalms) says of Psalm 91:

After speaking this Psalm and the preceding one (Psalm 90),
over a person tormented by an evil spirit, or one afflicted by
an incurable disease, in the name of El Shadai, then pray
humbly, “Let it be your set-apart will, Oh my Elohim, to
take from <name> son of <name> the evil spirit by which
he is tormented, for the sake of your great, mighty and set-apart
name El Shaddai. May you presently send him health and let
him be perfectly restored. Hear his prayer as you once did
that of your servant Moshe when he prayed this Psalm . Let
this prayer penetrate to You as once did the set-apart incense
arose to you on high. Amen! Seleh!”

Some of the symptoms of possible possession by a demon are: super strength (Mk. 5:3-4); fever (Lk. 4:39 ); self inflicted wounds (Mk. 5:5); muteness (Mt. 9:32-33); blindness (Mt. 12:12; Lk. 11:14); illness (Mt. 15:22-29; Mk. 7:25-30); seizures (Mt. 4:24; 17:14-18; Mk. 9:17-27; Lk. 9:37-42); paralysis (Mt. 4:24); powers of divination (Acts 16:16-18) false prophecy (1Sam. 18:10;1Kn. 22:21-23) irrational anger (1Sam. 18:10-11; 19:9-10) and anxiety of sacred names (1Jn. 4:3). However it is important to realize that these symptoms in themselves do not prove that a person is possessed by a demon. For example, just because a person has seizures does not mean they are possessed.

Do not go looking for cases of possession. You should conclude a person is possessed only after all other possibilities are eliminated. Unless absolutely necessary, never attempt to deal with a case of possession alone. While you should avoid dealing with these situations publicly (and thus creating a spectacle) impartial witnesses should be there if possible to offer support and validate your conduct. And never attempt to expel a demon without wearing the full armor of Elohim. You must maintain strict confidentiality concerning the event, discussing the matter in actual connection with the victim violates the rules of Lashon HaRa (evil speech).

In expelling a demon from a host, it is best to follow the scriptural example and stick with the formulation given in the Aramaic of Acts. The Book of Acts supplies us with a word for word Scriptural formula to use. The actual Aramaic from Acts 16:18 is as follows:

Pakid ana liki bashmeh d’Yeshu M’shikha d’tippkin minah
I command you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah that you come out from her.

For a man the formula would be:

Pakid ana liki bashmeh d’Yeshu M’shikha d’tippkin mineh
I command you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah that you come out from him.

When a victim is delivered, beware, a demon may not go quietly. Scriptural instances record demon crying out loudly (Mk. 1:23-26; Lk. 4:33-35; Acts 8:7) throwing their hosts down (Mk. 1:23; Lk. 4:33-35) and even injuring them (Mk. 1:26; 9:26).

Some have argued that it is unbiblical to “prolong” the casting out of a demon by engaging in any conversation. They argue that it is just a show if it takes more than using the sacred name and casting the demon out. However on at least one occasion Yeshua allowed demons to state their names and even their desired destination (Lk. 8:30-32) in another case Paul allowed a demon to speak for several days before casting it out (Acts 16:16-18) additionally (as we shall discuss in a later section) the use of sacred names alone, may not be enough to cast out a demon.

Prayer and Fasting

Certain demons cannot be removed simply by evoking names of power. These demons can only be removed though prayer and fasting, as Yeshua says:

Then came near to him the talmidim privately, and asked him, “Why could not we cast him out?”
And he answered them and said, “On account of your lack of trust. Truly I say to you, “If you have trust as a grain of mustard seed, and shall tell this mountain, ‘Pass away from here,’ it will immediately pass away, and the thing will not be withheld from you. <But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting.”> (Mt. 17:19-21 HRV see also Mk. 9:18, 28-29)

Various commentaries have interpreted the “faith” that can “move… a mountain” in various ways. However in the context here the “mountain” represents as demon. Why does Yeshua use a “mountain” to represent a demon?

In the scriptures “mountains” often represent “kingdoms” (for example in Daniel 2:35, 44) and “Kingdoms” often correspond to demons. For example “the prince of the Kingdom of Persia” (Dan. 10:13, 20) and “the prince of Greece” (Dan. 10:20). The “mountains” here are “powers and principalities”, sacred names alone may not be enough to cast out or otherwise take authority over these demons.

Daniel prayed and fasted for 21 (7 x 3) days in order to receive a prophecy (Dan. 10). The Prince of Persia resisted the angel who was sent to bring this prophecy to Daniel (Dan. 10:13) but it appears that Daniel’s 21 days of prayer and fasting invoked and strengthened the angel Michael into the heavenly battle and overcame this demon. Prayer and fasting has an impact in the ongoing war in the heavens (Dan. 10; Eph. 6:11-13, 18).

The Danger of Repossession

Yeshua warns us that casting a demon out of a host may do more harm than good, if their house is left empty:

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, it goes through dry places, seeking rest, but finds none.
Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came out,’ and it comes, and finds it empty, and cleaned out with shovels, and adorned.
Then it goes, and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter in and dwell there, so that the latter end of that man is worse than the beginning. Even so will it be to this wicked generation.
(Mt. 12:43-45 HRV see also Lk. 11:24-28)

This is just what happened with King Saul. David drove the demon from him on more than one occasion, but the demon found Saul’s house vacant and only returned with more demons, making his condition even worse. In the case of King Saul, we read in the Tanak that the demon was able to trouble Saul because the Spirit of YHWH had departed from him (1Sam. 16:14). In order to prevent the host from being re-inhabited by seven times as many demons, their “house” must be filled with the Ruach HaKodesh. It is not enough for this person to simply be “saved”, they must be immersed into the Body of Messiah . This means staring on the path to a Torah Observant lifestyle.

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The Error of Baalam and the Book of Enoch

The Error of Baalam and the Book of Enoch
By
James Scott Trimm

Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
(Jude 1:11)

What is the “error of Balaam”?

To begin with let us look at the reference to “the error of Balaam” (Jude 1:11) in context.

6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
(Jude 1:14-15)

The phrase “the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation” (1:6) recalls events from the Book of Enoch:

1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters.
2 And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’
3 And Shemikhazah, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear you will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’
4 And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’
5 Then they all swore together and bound themselves by imprecations upon it.
6 And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Yared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by imprecations upon it.
(1Enoch 6:1-6)

And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives from all, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them sorcery and spellbinding, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants.
(1Enoch 7:1)

The phrase “he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (1:6) also refers to the events recorded in the Book of Enoch:

4 And again YHWH said to Rafa’el: ‘Bind Azaz’el hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein.
5 And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light.
6 And on the day of the great judgment he shall be cast into the fire.
7 And heal the earth, which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons.
8 And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sins.’
(1Enoch 10:4-8)

11 And YHWH said unto Mikha’el: ‘Go, make known to Shemikhazah and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness.
12 And when their sons shall die, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the great day of their judgment and of their consummation, till the judgment that is for ever and ever is consummated.
13 In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever.
(1Enoch 10:11-13)

4 And I asked the angel of shalom who went with me, saying: ‘ For whom are these chains being prepared? ‘
5 And he said unto me: ‘ These are being prepared for the hosts of Azazel, so that they may take them and cast them into the abyss of complete condemnation, and they shall cover their jaws with rough stones as YHWH Tzva’ot commanded.
6 And Mikha’el, and Gavri’el, and Rafa’el, and P’nuel shall take hold of them on that great day, and cast them on that day into the burning furnace, that YHWH Tzva’ot may take vengeance on them for their unrighteousness in becoming subject to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth.’
(1Enoch 54:3-6)

The phrase “wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” (1:13) is also a reference to the fallen angels of the Book of Enoch:

14 The angel said: ‘This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the host of heaven.
15 And the stars which roll over the fire are they which have transgressed the commandment of YHWH in the beginning of their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times.
16 And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt should be consummated (even) for ten thousand years.’
(1En. 18:14-16)

And then Jude 1:14-15 is actually quoting from the Book of Enoch:

And behold! He comes with myriads of His set-apart ones
To execute judgment upon all,
And to destroy all the ungodly:
And to convict all flesh concerning all the works of their ungodliness, which they have, ungodly committed,
And of all the proud and hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
(1Enoch 1:9)

So the phrase “error of Balaam” (1:11) in context is tied to these “fallen angels” spoken of in the Book of Enoch.

There is a parallel to this passage (Jude 1:11) in 2Kefa which reads:

Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
(2Kefa 2:15)

This portion of 2Kefa is expanding upon this corresponding portion of Jude.

But Balaam lived in the days of Moses. How could he possibly be tied to the fallen angels from before the flood? What in the world does Jude (and Kefa) mean here?

In fact according to a Jewish tradition recorded in the Zohar, Balam knew where Uzza (Shemikhazah) and Azael were kept in chains, and went to them to learn sorcery, just as those before the flood had learned sorcery from them:

…after God cast Uzza and Azael down from their holy place, they went astray after the women folk and seduced the world also. It may seem strange that being angels they were able to abide upon the earth. The truth is, however, that when they were cast down the celestial light which used to sustain them left them and they were changed to
another grade through the influence of the air of this world. Similarly the manna which came down for the Israelites in the wilderness originated in the celestial dew from the most recondite spot, and at first its light would radiate to all worlds and the “field of apples”, and the heavenly angels drew sustenance from it, but when it approached the earth it became materialized through the influence of the air of this world and lost its brightness, becoming only like “coriander seed”. Now when God saw that these fallen angels were seducing the world, He bound them in chains of iron to a mountain of darkness. Uzza He bound at the bottom of the mountain and covered his face with darkness because he struggled and resisted, but Azael, who did not resist, He set by the side of a mountain where a little light penetrated. Men who know where they are located seek them out, and they teach them enchantments and sorceries and divinations. These mountains of darkness are called the “mountains of the East”, and therefore Balaam said:
“From Aram has Balak brought me, from the mountains of the East”. Because they both learnt their sorceries there. Now Uzza and Azael used to tell those men who came to them some of the notable things which they knew in former times when they were on high, and to speak about the holy world in which they used to be.
(Zohar 3:208a)

In which place and from whom did Balaam derive all his Magical practices and knowledge? Rabbi Isaac replied: “He learned it first from his father, but it was in the “mountains of the East”, which are in an eastern country, that he obtained a mastery of all the arts of magic and divination. For those mountains are the abode of the [fallen] angels Uzza and Azael whom the Holy One cast down from heaven, and who were chained there in fetters. It is they who impart to the sons of men a knowledge of magic.
(Zohar 1:126a)

In fact the early Second Century “Church Father,” apologist and Bishop of Lyons, Irenaeus accused a Second Century Gnostic apostate of deriving magical knowledge and powers form Azazel, saying:

…wonders of power that is utterly severed from God and apostate, which Satan, your true father, enables you still to accomplish by means of Azazel, that fallen and yet mighty angel.
(Adv. Haereses; Ante-Nicean Fathers 1:340)

However the error of Balaam is more than just witchcraft. If return to Jude. In Jude 1:14-15 Jude quotes 1Enoch 1:9 regarding those that follow the “error of Balaam” saying:

And behold! He comes with myriads of His set-apart ones
To execute judgment upon all,
And to destroy all the ungodly:
And to convict all flesh concerning all the works of their ungodliness, which they have, ungodly committed,
And of all the proud and hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
(1Enoch 1:9)

The Book of Enoch goes on to say of these “ungodly sinners”:

But you have changed your works and have not done the commandments of YHWH, but you sin against him with great and hard words with your impure mouths against His greatness, Oh, you hard-hearted, you shall find no shalom.
(1Enoch 5:4)

Thus the error of Balaam entails following the doctrine of the fallen angels by rejecting “the commandments of YHWH” just as did the fallen angels.

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The Nazarene Seal

The Nazarene Seal
By
James Scott Trimm

The Nazarene Seal is a seal that was found on several artifacts found in the ancient Essene Quarter of Jerusalem in a grotto adjacent to the upper room, which is directly astride the ancient location of the ancient Nazarene Synagogue on Mt. Zion. This is a synagogue which was built after 70 CE with stones from the recently destroyed Temple carried over from the adjacent ridge of the Temple Mount. The artifacts are widely regarded as being of Nazarene origin and dating to the early second century.

The artifacts in question are some shards of pottery, an oil lamp and a “stand” labeled in a first century Aramaic script “for the anointing oil” which appears to be a stand for a flask of anointing oil. Remains of a matching flask, also containing the seal were found nearby.

The seal is made up of three parts. The center of the seal is the Mogen David (Star of David, or literally “Shield of David”). The top “point” of the Mogen David serves as the triangular shaped base for a seven branched menorah. The bottom “point” of the Mogen David is part of the lower, more controversial symbol.

This lower symbol has been mistaken by some as a “Christian Fish” and redrawn by many so as to more closely resemble a Christian fish. In fact an image of a fish would have violated the Torah commandment against religious images of “…anything… that is in the water under the earth…” (Ex. 20:4).

Many re-drawings of the seal have altered the “snout” of the supposed fish, making it pointed, as it is in the Christian fish. I have examined photographs of all eight of the “seal” artifacts, and in only one is the “snout” pointed, and that is one in which the entire seal is drawn with straight lines, so that the bottom symbol is diamond shaped. In the seven remaining artifacts the “snout” is missing from five, and rounded in the remaining two.

The next question is the “eye” of the “fish”. The eye portion is missing from four artifacts. In three others the “eye” appears to be a dot, in two of these the dot is off centered and could an “eye”, while in one of them it is nearly centered. In the remaining artifact the “eye” is a “+”.

This symbol is not a “fish” but the Hebrew letter ALEF as drawn in the Essene “Cryptic Script” used in 4Q298. The “eye” was originally a TAV as written in the ancient Paleo Hebrew Script (which also closely resembles the TAV used in the Essene “Cryptic Script” of 4Q298. This TAV is written dead center. It appears to have later been replaced in time by a “dot” which eventually evolved into the “eye” of a “Christian Fish”. The original bottom portion of the seal was a representation of “The Alef and the Tav”.

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“Her Seed” (Gen. 3:15): Does the Messiah Have a Human Father?

“Her Seed” (Gen. 3:15): Does the Messiah Have a Human Father?
By
James Scott Trimm

Counter-missionaries often claim that Messiah must have a human father, and that Yeshua’s alleged lack of a human father, supposedly disqualifies him from being the Messiah. Not only is this not true, bur the Torah implies that Messiah would not have a human father at all. We read in the Torah:

14 And YHWH Elohim said unto the serpent: Because you have done this, cursed are
you from among all cattle, and from among all beasts of the field. Upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. They shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise their heel.
(Gen. 3:14-15 HRV)

This passage makes a very surprising reference to the seed not of a man, but of a woman. Targum Psuedo-Jonathan reads:

And it shall be that when the sons of the woman study the Torah diligently and obey its injunctions, they will direct themselves to smite you on the head and slay you; but when the sons of the woman forsake the commandments of the Torah and do not obey its injunctions, you will direct yourself to bite them on the heel and afflict them. However, there will be a remedy for the sons of the woman, but for you, serpent, there will be no remedy. They shall make peace with one another in the end, in the very end of days, in the days of the King Messiah.”

The Targum Yerushalami interprets as follows:

“And it shall be that when the sons of the woman study the Torah diligently and obey its injunctions, they will direct themselves to smite you on the head and slay you; but when the sons of the woman forsake the commandments of the Torah and do not obey its injunctions, you will direct yourself to bite them on the heel and afflict them. However, there will be a remedy for the sons of the woman, but for you, serpent, there will be no remedy. They shall make peace with one another in the end, in the very end of days, in the days of the King Messiah.”

Both of these targums interpret the “seed” of the woman as those who study the Torah and obey it, however in doing so they “make peace with one another” and these are described as “the days of King Messiah.” Thus the Targums identify Torah Observant Israel with the Messiah in this passage as the “seed” of the woman.

The Midrash Rabbah makes this identification of the “seed” of the woman as the Messiah clear in its comment to Gen. 23:5 referring to the naming of Seth it says:

“And she called his name Seth: For God has appointed me another seed, etc. R. Tanhuma said in the name of Samuel Kozith: [She hinted at] that seed which would arise from another source, viz. the king Messiah.”
(Genesis Rabbah 23:5)

There can be little doubt that the “seed which would arise from another source” here is Eve’s “seed” mentioned in Genesis 3:15, the seed of a woman, the Messiah.

Thus we may see from the Torah itself that Messiah would not have a human father, but would instead be the “seed” of a woman.

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Understanding the Logos and Memra

Understanding the Logos and Memra
by
James Scott Trimm

Yochanan (John) writes:

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him,
And without him was not any thing made that was made…
And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.
(John 1:1-3, 14 KJV)

And in Revelation he writes:

And he was clothed with a vesture,
dipped in blood: and his name is called
The Word of God.
(Rev. 19:13 KJV)

These statements MEANT something in context of Second Temple Judaism. And they meant something very significant. The concept of the “Word” (Greek: LOGOS; Aramaic: MEMRA; Hebrew: DAVAR) already had a very special and unique meaning in the Second Temple Era. The LOGOS/MEMRA was a very important concept in the Second Temple Era, and if we are to understand what Yochanan (John) is saying, we must understand this concept.

Abraham’s Faith was in the MEMRA

In Genesis 15:6 we read concerning Avraham:

“And he believed in YHWH, and He counted it to him for righteousness.”
(Gen. 15:6)

The official Targum to this verse paraphrases:

“And he believed in the Word (Memra) of YHWH. And He counted it to him for righteousness.”
(Gen. 15:6 Targum Onkelos)

And Targum Psedo-Jonathan has:

“And he believed in YHWH, and had faith in the Word (Memra) of YHWH, and He reckoned it to him for righteousness.”
(Gen. 15:6 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan)

Philo of Alexandria made a very interesting comment about this verse (Gen. 15:6):

“It is best, therefore, to trust in God, and not in uncertain reasoning, or unsure conjectures. “Abraham trusted in the Lord, and it was counted to him for Righteousness” (Gen. 15:6) And Moses governed the people, being testified to that he was faithful with his whole house. But if we distrust our own reason (LOGOS, Word), we shall prepare and build ourselves a city of the mind which will destroy the truth.”
(Philo of Alexandria; Allegorical Interpretation, III, 228)

So Abraham’s faith was a rational faith, but what does this really mean?

The Word is Logic

The Greek word LOGOS is the word from which we get our English word “Logic”.

The Hebrew word for “WORD” is DAVAR which means “word, thing, matter” and comes from the same root as DIVRA (reason, cause) and implies logic. There are several examples in the Tanak:

But as for me, I would seek unto El, and unto Elohim would I commit my cause (“reason” DIVRA):
(Job 5:8)

I said in my heart, It is because (“for this reason” AL-DIVRAT) of the sons of men that Elohim may sift them: and that they may see, that they themselves are but as beasts.
(Ecc. 3:18)

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: Elohim has made even the one, as well as the other, to the end that ( “to the logical conclusion that”) AL-DIVRAT) man should find nothing after him.
(Eccl. 7:14)

I counsel you, Keep the king’s command: and that, in regard ( “for this reason” AL-DIVRAT) of the oath of Elohim.
(Ecc. 8:2)

The Memra is the Mind of YHWH

It is important to understand the MEMRA is the very expression of the Mind of YHWH. Philo of Alexandria makes this case as follows:

IV. We must mention as much as we can of the matters contained in his account, since to enumerate them all is impossible; for he embraces that beautiful world which is perceptible only by the intellect, as the account of the first day will show: (16) for God, as apprehending beforehand, as a God must do, that there could not exist a good imitation without a good model, and that of the things perceptible to the external senses nothing could be faultless which wax not fashioned with reference to some archetypal idea conceived by the intellect, when he had determined to create this visible world, previously formed that one which is perceptible only by the intellect, in order that so using an incorporeal model formed as far as possible on the image of God, he might then make this corporeal world, a younger likeness of the elder creation, which should embrace as many different genera perceptible to the external senses, as the other world contains of those which are visible only to the intellect. (17) But that world which consists of ideas, it were impious in any degree to attempt to describe or even to imagine: but how it was created, we shall know if we take for our guide a certain image of the things which exist among us. When any city is founded through the exceeding ambition of some king or leader who lays claim to absolute authority, and is at the same time a man of brilliant imagination, eager to display his good fortune, then it happens at times that some man coming up who, from his education, is skilful in architecture, and he, seeing the advantageous character and beauty of the situation, first of all sketches out in his own mind nearly all the parts of the city which is about to be completed–the temples, the gymnasia, the prytanea, and markets, the harbour, the docks, the streets, the arrangement of the walls, the situations of the dwelling houses, and of the public and other buildings. (18) Then, having received in his own mind, as on a waxen tablet, the form of each building, he carries in his heart the image of a city, perceptible as yet only by the intellect, the images of which he stirs up in memory which is innate in him, and, still further, engraving them in his mind like a good workman, keeping his eyes fixed on his model, he begins to raise the city of stones and wood, making the corporeal substances to resemble each of the incorporeal ideas. (19) Now we must form a somewhat similar opinion of God, who, having determined to found a mighty state, first of all conceived its form in his mind, according to which form he made a world perceptible only by the intellect, and then completed one visible to the external senses, using the first one as a model.

V. (20) As therefore the city, when previously shadowed out in the mind of the man of architectural skill had no external place, but was stamped solely in the mind of the workman, so in the same manner neither can the world which existed in ideas have had any other local position except the divine reason (Logos) which made them; for what other place could there be for his powers which should be able to receive and contain, I do not say all, but even any single one of them whatever, in its simple form? (21) And the power and faculty which could be capable of creating the world, has for its origin that good which is founded on truth; for if any one were desirous to investigate the cause on account of which this universe was created, I think that he would come to no erroneous conclusion if he were to say as one of the ancients did say: “That the Father and Creator was good; on which account he did not grudge the substance a share of his own excellent nature, since it had nothing good of itself, but was able to become everything.” (22) For the substance was of itself destitute of arrangement, of quality, of animation, of distinctive character, and full of all disorder and confusion; and it received a change and transformation to what is opposite to this condition, and most excellent, being invested with order, quality, animation, resemblance, identity, arrangement, harmony, and everything which belongs to the more excellent idea.
(Philo; On Creation IV, 15b-V, 22)

The Memra Permeates the Universe Biding it Together

Solomon identifies the Word with Wisdom speaking

1 “O God of my fathers and Lord of mercy,
who hast made all things by thy word,
2 and by thy wisdom hast formed man,
to have dominion over the creatures thou hast made,
(Wisdom of Solomon 9:1-2 RSV)
And earlier he writes concerning Wisdom:
6 For wisdom is a kindly spirit and
will not free a blasphemer from the guilt of his words;
because God is witness of his inmost feelings,
and a true observer of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue.
7 Because the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world,
and that which holds all things together knows what is said;
(Wisdom of Solomon 1:6-7 RSV)

Philo of Alexandria says of the Word (Greek: Logos):

for all other things are intrinsically and by their own nature loose; and if there is any where any thing consolidated, that has been bound by the word of God, for this word is glue and a chain, filling all things with its essence. And the word, which connects together and fastens every thing, is peculiarly full itself of itself, having no need whatever of any thing beyond.
(Philo; Who is Heir of all Things? 188)

And he says of the Law, which he elsewhere identifies with the Word:

(8) If therefore any one wishes to escape from the difficulties of this question which present themselves in the different doubts thus raised, let him speak freely and say that there is nothing in any material of such power as to be able to support this weight of the world. But it is the eternal law of the everlasting God which is the most supporting and firm foundation of the universe. (9) This it is which, being extended from the centre of the borders, and again from the extremities to the centre, runs through the whole unsubdued course of nature, collecting all the parts and binding them firmly together; for the father who created them has made it the indissoluble bond of the universe. (10) Very naturally and appropriately therefore, all earth will not be dissolved by all water, which the bosom of the earth contains, nor will fire be extinguished by air, nor again will air be burnt up by fire, since the divine law establishes itself as a boundary to all these elements, like a vowel among consonants, so that the universe may, as it were, be harmonious in concert with the music expressed by letters; persuasion, by its own authority, putting an end to the threatening conflicts of contrary natures.
(Philo; Concerning Noah’s Work as a Planter 8-10)

Gershom Scholem writes of the Word:

…the memra– the paraphrase used in the Targumim, the Aramaic Bible translations, to refer to God’s word. The memra is not merely a linguistic device for overcoming the problem of biblical anthropomorphisms; it has theological significance in its own right. The memra….is, as Abelson correctly puts it. “a world-permeating force, a reality in the world of matter or mind, the immanent aspect of Elohim, holding all things under its omnipresent sway.”
(On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead: Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah, by Gershom Scholem pg 181-182)

He here refers to the monumental work by J. Abelcon in which he writes:

“…the Memra has, to the minds of the Targumic authors, some real theological connotation…. it connotes the manifestation on earth and among men of several aspects of -Divine power, goodness, wisdom and justice. The “Word” is a world-permeating force, a reality in the world of matter or mind, the immanent aspect of God holding all things under its omnipresent sway.”
(The Immanence of God in Rabbinic Literature by J. Abelson; p. 159; 1912)

The Memra is the Torah and the Rational Order of the Universe

Philo taught that the universe is an effect that must have a cause, i.e. a Creator, and that this Creator has a preference for order as opposed to chaos, as expressed by the order of the universe itself. Philo speaks of Moses account of the Creation saying:

(3) And his exordium, as I have already said, is most admirable; embracing the creation of the world, under the idea that the law corresponds to the world and the world to the law, and that a man who is obedient to the law, being, by so doing, a citizen of the world, arranges his actions with reference to the intention of nature, in harmony with which the whole universal world is regulated. (4) Accordingly no one, whether poet or historian, could ever give expression in an adequate manner to the beauty of his ideas respecting the creation of the world; for they surpass all the power of language, and amaze our hearing, being too great and venerable to be adapted to the sense of any created being.
(On Creation 1-4)

Elsewhere Philo writes:

…for he [Moses] was not like any ordinary compiler of history, studying to leave behind him records of ancient transactions as memorials to future ages for the mere sake of affording pleasure without any advantage; but he traced back the most ancient events from the beginning of the world, commencing with the creation of the universe, in order to make known two most necessary principles. First, that the same being was the father and creator of the world, and likewise the lawgiver of truth; secondly, that the man who adhered to these laws, and clung closely to a connection with and obedience to nature, would live in a manner corresponding to the arrangement of the universe with a perfect harmony and union, between his words and his actions and between his actions and his words.
(On the Life of Moses 2, 48)

To Philo Natural Law is revealed in the very order of the universe, which is the Creator’s work, and thus reveals the will of the Creator.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul also addresses this concept that Natural Law is revealed in the very order of the universe, which is the Creator’s work, and thus reveals the will of the Creator.

[17] For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
[18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
[19] Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
[20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
[21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
[22] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
[23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
[24] Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
[25] Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
[26] For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
[27] And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
[28] And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
[29] Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
[30] Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
[31] Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
[32] Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
(Romans 1:17-32 KJV)

And after a few other words he says:

[13] (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
[14] For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
[15] Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
[16] In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
(Romans 2:13-16 KJV)

The Memra was the Creator

This “Word of YHWH” was, according to Targum Jonathan, the Creator:

And the Word [Memra] of YHWH created man in his likeness,
in the likeness of YHWH, YHWH created,
male and female created He them.
(Targ. Jonathan Gen. 1:27)

This idea is also put forward in the Jerusalem Targum:

And the Word [Memra] of YHWH said to Moses:
“I am He who said unto the world ‘Be!’ and it was:
and who in the future shall say to it ‘Be!’
and it shall be.” And He said: “Thus you shall say
to the children of Israel: ‘I Am’ has sent me to you.”
(Jerusalem Targum Ex. 3:14)

The Fragmentary Targum of the Torah also expresses that the Word of YHWH was the Creator:

The first night, when the “Word of YHWH”
was revealed to the world in order to create it,
the world was desolate and void,
and darkness spread over the face of the abyss
and the “Word of the Lord” was bright and illuminating
and He called it the first night.
(Fragmentary Targum Ex. 12:42)

That the Word of YHWH was the Creator can also be seen in the Tanak itself:
By the Word (DAVAR) of YHWH were the heavens made,
and all the hosts of them by the Spirit of His mouth.
(Ps. 33:6)

The Memra is the Image of Elohim

Philo’s concept of the “Word” (Logos) is the “image of Elohim” which served as the pattern for the creation of man in Gen. 1:26-27. Philo writes:

…For God does not seem to have availed himself
of any other animal existing in creation as his model
in the formation of man; but to have been guided,
as I have said before, by his own Word (Logos) alone…
(Philo; On Creation XLVIII (139))

But the divine Word (Logos) which is above these
does not come into any visible appearance,
inasmuch as it is not like to any of the things
that come under the external senses,
but is itself an image of God,
the most ancient of all the objects of intellect
in the whole world, and that which is placed
in the closest proximity to the only truly existing God,
without any partition or distance being interposed
between them:
(On Flight and Finding XVIII (101))

Now, Bezaleel, being interpreted, means God in his shadow.
But the shadow of God is his Word (Logos), which he used
like an instrument when he was making the world.
And this shadow, and, as it were, model, is the archetype of other things. For, as God is himself the model of that image which he has now called a shadow, so also that image is the model of other things,
as he showed when he commenced giving the law to the Israelites,
and said, “And God made man according to the image of God.”[Gen. 1:26] as the image was modeled according to God, and as man was modeled according to the image, which thus received the power and character of the model.
(Allegorical Interpretations III 96)

For if it was necessary to examine the mortal body
of the priest that it ought not be imperfect through
any misfortune, much more was it necessary to look
into his immortal soul, which they say is fashioned
in the form of the living God. Now the image of God
is the Word (Logos), by which all the world was made.
(The Special Laws I, 81)

What is the man who was created? And how is that man
distinguished who was made after the image of God? (Gen. 2:7).
This man was created as perceptible to the senses,
and in the similitude of a Being appreciable only by the intellect;
but he who in respect of his form is intellectual and incorporeal,
is the similitude of the archetypal model as to appearance,
and he is the form of the principal character;
but this is the Word (Logos) of God, the first beginning of all things,
the original species or the archetypal idea,
the first measure of the universe.
(Q & A on Gen. I, 4)

Why is it that he speaks as if of some other god,
saying that he made man after the image of God,
and not that he made him after his own image? (Gen. 9:6).
Very appropriately and without any falsehood
was this oracular sentence uttered by God,
for no mortal thing could have been formed
on the similitude of the supreme Father of the universe,
but only after the pattern of the second deity,
who is the Word (Logos) of the supreme Being;
since it is fitting that the rational soul of man should bear it
the type of the divine Word (Logos); since in his first Word (Logos)
God is superior to the most rational possible nature.
But he who is superior to the Word (Logos) holds his rank
in a better and most singular pre-eminence, and how could
the creature possibly exhibit a likeness of him in himself?
Nevertheless he also wished to intimate this fact,
that God does rightly and correctly require vengeance,
in order to the defense of virtuous and consistent men,
because such bear in themselves a familiar acquaintance
with his Word (Logos), of which the human mind is
the similitude and form.
(Q & A on Gen. II 62)

This parallels what we read in the Targum:

And the Word (Memra) of YHWH
created man in his likeness,
in the likeness of YHWH, YHWH created,
male and female created He them.
(Targ. Jonathan Gen. 1:27)

The Memra is the Covenant Maker

The Word was also the covenant maker. For example the Noachdic covenant was between the Word and all mankind:

And YHWH said to Noah,
“This is the token of the covenant
which I have established between My Word [Memra]
and between all flesh that is upon the earth.
(Targum Onkelos Gen. 9:17)

The Word also made the Abrahamic covenant as Targum Onkelos also paraphrases:
And I will establish my covenant
between My Word [Memra] and between you…
(Targum Onkelos Gen. 17:7)

The Word of YHWH was also the giver of the Mosaic Covenant and the Torah as the Jerusalem Targum (as quoted above) makes the Torah giver “the Word of YHWH” in Ex. 20:1. It was to th e Word that Jacob turned to for salvation:

Our father Jacob said: “My soul does not wait for salvation
such as that wrought by Gideon, the son of Joash,
for that was but temporal; neither for a salvation
like that of Samson, which was only transitory;
but for that salvation which You have promised to come,
through Your Word unto Your people, the children of Israel;
for your salvation my soul hopes.”
(Targum Jonathan Gen. 49:18)

The Memra is Messiah

The Targums also identify this Memra as the Messiah:

Behold, my servant, the Messiah, whom I bring,
my chosen in whom one delights:
as for my Word [MEMRA], I will put my Holy Spirit upon Him;
He shall reveal my judgment unto the nations.
2 He shall not cry aloud, nor raise a clamor,
and He shall not lift up His voice in the street.
3 The meek who are like a bruised reed He shall not break,
and the poor who are as a glimmering wick with Him, He will not quench:
He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not faint nor be weary,
till He have established judgment in the earth;
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Targum Jonathan to Isaiah 42:1-4)

Likewise Philo of Alexandria identified the Logos as the Messiah:

“The head of all things is the eternal Word (Logos) of the eternal God, under which, as if it were his feet or other limbs, is placed the whole world, over which He passes and firmly stands. Now it is not because Messiah is Lord that He passes and sits over the whole world, for His seat with His Father and God but because for its perfect fullness the world is in need of the care and superintendence of the best ordered dispensation, and for its own complete piety, of the Divine Word (Logos), just as living creatures (need) a head, without which it is impossible to live.”
(Q&A on Exodus, II, 117)

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The Zohar: Messiah Begins Ministry in Galilee!

The Zohar: Messiah Begins Ministry in Galilee!
By
James Scott Trimm

We read in the Book of Isaiah:

8:23 (9:1) For is there no gloom to her that was steadfast? Now the former has lightly afflicted the land of Z’vulun, and the land of Naftali, but the latter has dealt a more grievous blow by the way of the sea, beyond the Yarden, in the district of the nations.
9:1 (9:2) The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined.
9:2 (9:3) You have multiplied the nation, You have increased their joy; they joy before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
9:3 (9:4) For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder; the rod of his oppressor, You have broken as in the day of Midian.
(Isaiah 8:23-9:2 (9:1-3))

These word of Isaiah are no doubt the basis for a teaching repeated several times in the Zohar to that Messiah will begin his ministry in Galil (Galilee):

“The Messiah will appear in the land of Galilee.”
(Zohar 1:119a)

“[The] Messiah … shall reveal himself in the land of Galilee; for in this part of the Holy Land the desolation first began, and therefore he will manifest himself there first.”
(Zohar 2:7b)

“The Messiah… will arise in the land of Galilee… the Messiah shall reveal himself in the land of Galilee because in this part of the Holy Land the desolation (Babylonian exile) first began, therefore he will manifest himself there first.”
(Zohar 3:7b, 8b, 220a)

This prophecy was fulfilled by Yeshua when he began his ministry in Galil:

12 And after Yeshua had heard that Yochanan was imprisoned,365 He went to Galil.
13 And leaving Natzaret, He left and dwelt in K’far Nachum (which is a city by the sea, on the border of Z’vulun and Naftali),
14 To establish what was spoken by the mouth of Yesha’yahu the prophet, who said,
15 Land of Z’vulun, and land of Naftali, the way of the sea beyond Yarden, Galil of the Goyim.
16 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; the inhabitants of the land of the shadow of death, a light has shined upon them. (Is. 8:23-9:1 (9:1-2))
(Matthew 4:12-16 HRV)

14 And Yeshua returned in the power of the Spirit to Galil: and the report about Him went out into every region around them.
15 And He was teaching in their synagogues and was glorified by everyone.
(Luke 4:14-15 HRV)

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The Four Compartments of Sheol according to the Book of Enoch

The Four Compartments of Sheol according to the Book of Enoch
By
James Scott Trimm

The Book of Enoch describes a compartmentalized place of the pre-resurrection afterlife as follows:

1 And thence I went to another place, and he showed me toward the west a large and high mountain of hard rock.
2 And there was in it four hollow places, deep and wide and very smooth. How smooth are the hollow places and deep and dark to look at.
3 Then Rafa’el answered, one of the set-apart angels who was with me, and said unto me: ‘These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here.
4 And lo these are the pits for their imprisonment; they have been fashioned in this way till the day of their judgment and till the time of the end of the great judgment and till the time of the end of the great judgment, which is to be made against them.
5 ‘ There I saw the spirit of a dead man making suit, and his voice went forth to heaven crying unceasingly and making suit.
6 And I asked Rafa’el the watcher and set-apart one who was with me, and I said unto him: ‘This spirit which makes suit, whose is it, whose voice goes forth and makes suit to heaven?’
7 And he answered me saying: ‘This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from among the seed of men.’
8 Then I asked regarding it, and regarding all the hollow places: ‘Why is one separated from the other?’
9 And he answered me and said unto me: ‘These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And such a division has been made (for) the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water.
10 And such has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgment has not been executed on them in their lifetime.
11 Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain till the great day of judgment and punishment and torment of those who curse forever and retribution for their spirits. There He shall bind them forever.
12 And [the third] was divided for the spirits who petition with information concerning their destruction when they were killed in the day of the sinners.
13 Such has been made for the spirits of men who were not righteous but sinners, who were complete in transgression, and of the transgressors they shall be companions: but their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgment nor shall they be afflicted from thence.’
(1Enoch 22:1-13)

There are four compartments (22:2) but three “separations” (22:9) between them. These four compartments correspond to the four types of men according to the Talmud:

The righteous man who prospers, a righteous man who suffers, a wicked man who prospers, and a wicked man who suffers.
(b.Ber. 7a).

The righteous man who prospers is destined to the compartment “in which there is the bright spring of water”

And he answered me and said unto me: ‘These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And such a division has been made (for) the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water.
(1Enoch 22:9)

The wicked men who prosper are those for whom “judgment has not been executed on them in their lifetime” , they suffer “great pain till the great day of judgment”

10 And such has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgment has not been executed on them in their lifetime.
11 Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain till the great day of judgment and punishment and torment of those who curse forever and retribution for their spirits. There He shall bind them forever.
(1Enoch 22:10-11)

The righteous men who suffers make petition concerning their destruction
And [the third] was divided for the spirits petitioned with information concerning their destruction when they were killed in the day of the sinners.
(1Enoch 22:12)

And the wicked men who suffered, “their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgment nor shall they be afflicted from thence” because they suffered for their transgression while still living.

Such has been made for the spirits of men who were not righteous but sinners, who were complete in transgression, and of the transgressors they shall be companions: but their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgment nor shall they be afflicted from thence.’
(1Enoch 22:13)

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We have just lost a major source of income, and our rent is due in less than two weeks! Now more than ever, we need your help today!

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We need your help today! Today (8/15/24) our account is pending in the negative $358.60 which we must cover tonight or our account will plummet into a chain reaction of returned items and fees!

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Donations have been low in recent weeks, while expenses have increased. We must raise at least $250 by the end of the day to cover bills hitting our account tonight (8/20/24). Now more than ever, we need your help today!

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.orgOr click HERE to donate

Donations have been low, while expenses are up. I cannot recall a time when our situation has been this dire. We are literally short on groceries. Now more than ever, we need your help today!

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

Click HERE to donate

We must raise $250 by the end of the day today Tuesday 8/20/24) or our account will go into the negative!

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

Click HERE to donate

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

Or click HERE to donate

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

Or click HERE to donate