I Came Not to Send Peace, But a Sword: The Footsteps of Messiah By James Scott Trimm
When I present Messiah to my Rabbinic friends, they often respond by saying that Messiah is supposed to bring peace on earth, but that Yeshua himself said he came bot to bring peace, but a sword.
The passage to which they refer is Mattew 10:34-36 (though most do not actually know to which verses they refer) where Yeshua quotes Micah 7:6 saying:
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.(Micah 7:6) 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. (Matt. 10:34-36 KJV)
The truth is that the Talmud also applies this very same verse (Micah 7:6) to the Messiah. In tractate Sanhedrin we read:
It has been taught: R. Nehorai said: in the generation when Messiah comes, young men will insult the old, and old men will stand before the young [to give them honour]; daughters will rise up against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. (Micah 7:6) The people shall be dog-faced, and a son will not be abashed in his father’s presence. (b.San 97a)
This Gemara (San. 97a) actually draws from an earlier tradition recorded in the Mishnah:
UPON WHOM IS IT FOR US TO RELY? UPON OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN. IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE MESSIAH INSOLENCE WILL INCREASE AND HONOUR DWINDLE; THE VINE WILL YIELD ITS FRUIT [ABUNDANTLY] BUT WINE WILL BE DEAR; THE GOVERNMENT WILL TURN TO HERESY AND THERE WILL BE NONE [TO OFFER THEM] REPROOF; THE MEETING-PLACE [OF SCHOLARS] WILL BE USED FOR IMMORALITY; GALILEE WILL BE DESTROYED, GABLAN DESOLATED, AND THE DWELLERS ON THE FRONTIER WILL GO ABOUT [BEGGING] FROM PLACE TO PLACE WITHOUT ANYONE TO TAKE PITY ON THEM; THE WISDOM OF THE LEARNED WILL DEGENERATE, FEARERS OF SIN WILL BE DESPISED, AND THE TRUTH WILL BE LACKING; YOUTHS WILL PUT OLD MEN TO SHAME, THE OLD WILL STAND UP IN THE PRESENCE OF THE YOUNG, A SON WILL REVILE HIS FATHER, A DAUGHTER WILL RISE AGAINST HER MOTHER, A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW, AND A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD;(MICAH 7:6) THE FACE OF THE GENERATION WILL BE LIKE THE FACE OF A DOG, A SON WILL NOT FEEL ASHAMED BEFORE HIS FATHER. SO UPON WHOM IS IT FOR US TO RELY? UPON OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN. (m.Sotah 9:15; b.Sotah 49b)
Yes, the Messiah will ultimately bring peace on earth, but first, the footsteps of the Messiah bring not peace, but a sword. This is not only the teaching of Yeshua as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, it is also the teaching of the Talmud!
WMy wife goes into surgery in one week (9/10/24), our cost is $350 after insurance, and we are broke. We need your help today!
I know we are living in uncertain times, but now more than ever, we need your help. Elohim has taken away sports, shut down movie theaters, shut down concerts, shut down the economy, and even the gatherings of organized religion. Does He have your attention yet? One thing the news media has not reported is that not only is toilet paper, hand sanitizer and food flying off store shelves… so are Bibles! All the distractions are gone. Take this time to study the Scriptures and focus on the Creator and your family.
As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
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The Odds Yeshua is Not Messiah are Statistically Zero! By James Scott Trimm
I have always said that my faith is a “Rational Faith” based upon logic. To prove my point, today I have “calculated” the basis of my faith to the last decimal point. Whereas I have said that Rabbinic Judaism is based on the logic error known as circular thinking. They claim they are the only true Jews because only they can decide who is a true Jew, because only they are true Jews. And so the dog chases it’s own tail.
By contrast, Nazarene Judaism is based upon logic and the logical conclusion that Yeshua of Nazareth fulfilled over 365 Tanak prophecies. This number includes only prophecies in the Tanak itself, and not several additional prophecies in the apocrypha that Yeshua also fulfilled.
This is simply a matter of logic and math. I have done the math and even if we say that there was a 50/50 chance of any given individual fulfilling any one of these prophecies by chance alone (and that is an overly conservative figure), then the odds of Yeshua fulfilling all 365 of these prophecies by chance alone would be
75,153,362,648,762,663,292,463,379,097,258,784,876,021,841,565,066,235,862,633,311,089,030,688,803,667,470,190,838,367,948,312,598,497,021,919,232 to 1 against.
That big number is 75 trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion. Or in scientific notation 7.515336264 E+109. This number is even larger than the number of atoms in the observable universe!
Since only about 107 billion people have ever walked the earth, this figure far, far exceeds the “statistical proof” of a DNA test.
So the odds that Yeshua was not the Messiah are not statistically different from zero, because nowhere near enough people have ever lived for it to be possible for any one of them to have fulfilled all of these prophecies by chance alone.
My wife is having surgery in eight days, our cost after insurance is $350 and we are broke. We need your help today!
I know we are living in uncertain times, but now more than ever, we need your help. As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.
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The Five Satans in the Book of Enoch By James Scott Trimm
We read in the Torah:
1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men, that they were fair. And they tookthem wives, whomsoever they chose. 3 And YHWH said: My Spirit shall not abide in man forever. For that he also is flesh; therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years. 4 The N’filim were on the earth in those days and also after that, when the sons of Elohim came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. The samewere the mighty men that were of old–the men of renown. 5 And YHWH saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil; continually. 6 And it repented YHWH that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at Hisheart. 7 And YHWH said: I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth: both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air, for it repents Me that I havemade them. (Gen. 6:1-7 HRV)
Who were these “sons of Elohim”? The Book of Enoch tells us that these “sons of Elohim” were “angels” who had “left their first estate”
and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed; they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, (2Peter 2:2-10 HRV)
And the angels who did not keep their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as S’dom and ‘Amora and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of rulers. (Jude 1:6-8 HRV)
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)
The Book of Enoch tells us that these fallen angels became subjects of “Satan”:
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 54:6)
It is important to understand that “Satan” is not a name. “Satan” is a title, it is a Hebrew word meaning “adversary”. In the Tanak it often appears in the Hebrew with a definite article as “HaSatan” (“THE Satan”) although in Hebrew (as in English), names never appear with a definite article. It is never “The James”.
Ironically in most places where you see the word “Lord” in your Bibles, the Hebrew word is actually YHWH, which is the Name of the Creator. Theologians have replaced the Name of the Creator with a title, and turned the title “HaSatan” (“The Adversary”) into a name!
The Book of Enoch also makes a very interesting statement:
And I heard the fourth voice fending off the Satans and forbidding them to come before YHWH of Spirits to accuse them who dwell on the earth. (1Enoch 40:7)
Now to people today who have been conditioned to think of “Satan” as a name rather than a title, seeing the name Satan in the plural seems very odd indeed. But to the ancient Hebrew reader we are simply looking at the title “the adversary” describing more than one “adversary”. Yes the Book of Enoch is telling us that the Fallen Angels are subject to more than one “satan” (adversary). (Since the Tanak often uses the term “THE Adversary” (Ha-Satan) it is clear that there is nonetheless a unique figure who is a leader over all of the fallen angels who is called in the Hebrew “Ha-Satan” “The Satan”.
After giving the names of the twenty leaders of tens of the fallen angels (found in 1Enoch 6:7-8 and repeated in 1Enoch 69:2-3) the Book of Enoch gives us a list of five leaders over forties in 69:4-12 who are five “satans” or five adversaries to whom the fallen angels are subject. These appear to be the “satans” referred to in 1Enoch 40:7.
This portion of the Book of Enoch (1Enoch 69) has only survived in Ethiopic, however I will endeavor in this article to reach behind the Ethiopic, to the original Hebrew of these verses:
4 The name of the first Yekon: that is, the one who led astray [all] the sons of Elohim, and brought them down to the earth, and led them astray through the daughters of men.
The original Hebrew behind “Yekon” may have been יקום (Yekom) “rebel; one who rises up” however in Biblical Hebrew this word (from a root meaning “to rise up”) simply means “a living thing” (Strong’s 3351). Another possibility is יקמעם (Y’kam’am) (Strong’s 3360) which is a name used twice in the Tanak (1Chr. 23:19; 24:23) meaning “he who gathers the people together”. (Or simply “Y’kam” יקם “he who gathers”) Yekon appears to be a title for Shemikhazah who in the Book of Enoch chapter 6 led the 200 fallen angels astray through the daughters of men.
5 And the second was named Asbeel: he imparted to the set-apart sons of Elohim evil counsel, and led them astray so that they defiled their bodies with the daughters of men.
“Asbeel” is probably a scribal error for Kasbeel, who while they still dwelt in heaven obtained the secret of the sacred name and the secret of its numbers so that they could be used in the oath that bound them together:
13 And this is the number of Kasbeel, the chief of the oath, which he showed to the set-apart ones when he dwelt high above in glory, and its name is Biqa. 14 This (angel) requested Mikha’el to show him the hidden name, that he might enunciate it in the oath, so that those might quake before that name and oath 15 who revealed all that was in secret to the children of men? And this is the power of this oath, for it is powerful and strong, and he placed this oath Akae in the hand of Mikha’el. (1Enoch 69:13-15)
This was covered in great detail in a recent article: Secrets of the Oath That Binds the Fallen Angels. The underlying Hebrew for Kasbeel may have been חשביל (Khashevel) “thought of El.”
6 And the third was named Gadreel: he it is who showed the children of men all the blows of death, and he led astray Eve, and showed [the weapons of death to the sons of men] the shield and the coat of mail, and the sword for battle, and all the weapons of death to the children of men. 7 And from his hand they have proceeded against those who dwell on the earth from that day and for evermore.
Gadreel appears to be a title for Asa’el/Azazel of whom he Book of Enoch says:
1 And Asa’el taught men to make swords of iron, and knives, and shields, and breastplates of brass, and made known to them the metals that are excavated from the earth and the art of working gold and concerning silver, and bracelets, and ornaments, and concerning antimony, and eye shadow, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2 And there arose much godlessness, and being wicked, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. (1Enoch 8:1-2)
And here Enoch tells us that Azazel was one and the same with the Serpent in the garden of Eden. The Hebrew may have been גדראל (Gederel) “mason of El” or “wall of El”
8 And the fourth was named Penemue: he taught the children of men the bitter and the sweet, and he taught them all the secrets of their wisdom. 9 And he instructed mankind in writing with ink and paper, and thereby many sinned from eternity to eternity and until this day.
The title in Hebrew may have been פנה אמונה (Pana Emunah) “He has turned from trust/faith” or פנמו “inside” Since the Book of Enoch itself refers to Enoch as “Enoch the Scribe” (1Enoch 12:4), Enoch felt a parenthetical explanation was needed:
10 For men were not created for such a purpose, to give confirmation to their good faith with pen and ink. 11 For men were created exactly like the angels, to the intent that they should continue pure and righteous, and death, which destroys everything, could not have taken hold of them, but through this their knowledge they are perishing, and through this power it is consuming me.
So writing was not originally intended for man at the time he was created (because man was created immortal), but after the fall, writing serves the purpose of allowing man to pass information from generation to generation, so that ideas are not lost when men die.
12 And the fifth was named Kasdeya: this is he who showed the children of men all the wicked smitings of spirits and demons, and the smitings of the embryo in the womb, that it may pass away, and [the smitings of the soul] the bites of the serpent, and the smitings which befall through the noontide heat, the son of the serpent named Taba’et. (1Enoch 69:4-12)
The Book of Enoch tells us that the fallen angels introduced an ancient abortion procedure, showing “the children of men … the smitings of the embryo in the womb, that it may pass away,…” (1Enoch 69:12)
Similarly the Book of Jasher (see Joshua 10:23 and 2Sam. 1:18) tells us that during these days before the flood a “draught” was also introduced that was a permanent method of birth control for women:
17 And Lamech, the son of M’tushael, became related to Kayinan by marriage, and he took his two daughters for his wives, and Adah conceived and bare a son to Lamech, and she called his name Yaval. 18 And she again conceived and bare a son, and called his name Yuval; and Zillah, her sister, was barren in those days and had no offspring. 19 For in those days the sons of men began to trespass against Elohim, and to transgress the commandments which he had commanded to the man, to be fruitful and multiply in the earth. 20 And some of the sons of men caused their wives to drink a draught that would render them barren, in order that they might retain their figures and whereby their beautiful appearance might not fade. 21 And when the sons of men caused some of their wives to drink, Zillah drank with them. 22 And the child-bearing women appeared abominable in the eyes of their husbands as widows, while their husbands lived, for to the barren ones only they were attached. (Jasher 2:17-22)
This sterilization “draught” was likely also introduced by the fallen angels.
Later in the Book of Enoch, Enoch speaks of abortion in the last days saying:
And in those days the women shall become pregnant and abort their babies And cast them out from their midst Yea, they shall abandon their children (that are still) sucklings, and not return to them, And shall have no pity on their beloved ones. (1Enoch 99:5)
The original Hebrew of the Book of Enoch has not survived, and this passage has survived only in the Ancient Ethiopic version. In the Ethiopic the word for “abort” here is MASIT a verb meaning “to pluck or tear out”; “to violently remove”; “to carry off” or “to rob”. Clearly this passage speaks of women aborting their babies in the last days.
The original Hebrew behind “Kasdeya” may have been חסדיה (Khesedyah)“Yah has favored” (see 1Chron. 3:20) but Aramaic כשדיא (Kash’diya) “Chaldeans” may be more likely.
There is not just one Adversary (Satan) there are five adversaries (satans) who are leaders over the fallen angels. Spiritual Warfare is much more complicated that you may have realized, there is not just one Satan, there are FIVE!
Our rent is due today and we do not have it !!!
I know we are living in uncertain times, but now more than ever, we need your help.
As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org or by Zelle or Go Fund Me.
Over the last twenty years I have seen many troll the internet, absolutely sure that they have the one and only solution to the Passion week chronology and the times and days of Yeshua’s “Last Supper”, crucifixion, burial and resurrection. I have studied this issue myself for at least 35 years. What I have found, is that those who insist that their solution is the only possible solution, generally have not taken into account at least some of the variables. In many cases, they were ignorant that some of the variables even existed. So here are some of the variables and facts that they have not all taken into account:
The claim that the use of the Greek word Arturo in the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper, does not indicate the use of leavened bread. Click here to see why.
The Last Supper in the Gospel of John, is the Same event as the Last Supper in the Synoptic Gospels. Click here to see why.
The original Jewish version of Matthew did not include the phrase “three days and three nights” in Matthew 12:40. Click here to see why.
The word for “dawning” in the Aramaic reading of Luke 23:54 can indicate any time from evening until dawn. Click here to see why.
The Hebrew (Dutillet and Munster) text of Matthew 27:62 says “Now on the next day, which was following the search for leaven.”
The resurrection took place “when the sabbath had past” (Mark 16:1) and not “late on the Sabbath”. “Late on the Sabbath is a common transliteration of of Matthew 28:1 which itself is based on a demonstrable scribal error. Click here to see why.
Was the annual Sabbath on the 14th of Nisan or the 15th of Nisan? – In the Torah we are told (in the KJV) that the “first day” and the “seventh day” of Unleavened Bread” are annual sabbaths (Ex. 12:16). The Hebrew phrase for “first day” is YOM ROSHON which can also mean “foremost day” or “day before” (as in KJV Num. 6:12; Josh 8:33b and 1Kings 13:6). So there is a halachic issue as to whether this refers to the 15th of Nissan (the common interpretation) or the 14th of Nisan.
Was Passover just an offering and meal, or was it a day? There seems to have been an ancient ambiguity as to whether the 14th of Nisan was Passover Day, or whether it was just an offering eaten at the “erev” of the 14th of Nisan. This gave rise to the question over whether Passover/Unleavened Bread was a Seven day or an Eight day system. That issue was further complicated by the fact that by the first century, it was common to refer to the whole seven or eight day period as “Passover” as it is today.
Can the “erev” of the 14th be the erev between the 13th and 14th or must it be between the 14th and 15th. Erev is a zero dimensional point between days, so the 14th has arguably two erevs.
What does the phrase “between the evenings” really mean?
Were Yeshua and his Talmudim keeping the same halacha on the matters above as the Temple Priesthood?
When Yeshua sat down for the last supper on the “first day” according to the KJV synoptic gospels, but on the “before the feast of Passover” in John 13:1 KJV, the DuTillet Hebrew of Matthew has YOM ROSHON which Schonfield translates “first day” and the Aramaic Gospels have Aramaic words which share that ambiguity between “first” and “before” or “foremost”.
Were Yeshua and his Talmidim using the same calendar as the Temple priesthood? For example the invisible dark new moon is typically the day before the first crescent, which would have created a one day variance between groups keeping the dark moon and groups keeping the crescent. And there are other possible calendar issues.
All of these facts and questions/variables have to be taken into account in any passion week chronology.
We need your help today! Rent is due soon and we do not have it!
I know we are living in uncertain times, but now more than ever, we need your help.
As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
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We are now in New Mexico, on the road to return home from an out of state Passover event. My wife Kitty (who is disabled and chronically ill) is having a hard time on the road, so we are having to stop over and take extra nights on the way home. We are running out of funds to get home and meanwhile the rent is due and we do not have it! We need your support. Any donation is better than no donation, and any donation will help.
I know we are living in uncertain times, but now more than ever, we need your help. Elohim has taken away sports, shut down movie theaters, shut down concerts, shut down the economy, and even the gatherings of organized religion. Does He have your attention yet? One thing the news media has not reported is that not only is toilet paper, hand sanitizer and food flying off store shelves… so are Bibles! All the distractions are gone. Take this time to study the Scriptures and focus on the Creator and your family.
As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
Donations can be sent by paypal to donations@wnae.org.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
Donations can be sent by paypal to donations@wnae.org.
1 These things I have spoken to you, that you not be offended, 2 For they will put you out of their synagogues, And the hour will come, when anyone who kills you, will think that he offers an offering to Eloah. 3 And these things they will do, because they do not know either My Father or Me. 4 These things I have spoken to you, that when their time has come, you might remember (Yochanan (John) 16:1-4 HRV)
These words of Yeshua were fulfilled around 90 CE when Samuel the Lesser was commissioned to add what came to be called the Birkat haMinim to the Eighteen Benedictions of the Amidah. The Talmud records the event this way:
Our Rabbis taught: Simeon ha-Pakuli arranged the eighteen benedictions in order before Rabban Gamaliel in Jabneh. Said Rabban Gamaliel to the Sages: “Can any one among you frame a benediction relating to the Minim?” Samuel the Lesser arose and composed it. (b.Berakot 29a)
The fourth century “Church Father” Epiphanius speaks of this addition to the Amidah in his description of the ancient sect of the Nazarenes, saying:
Not only do Jewish people have a hatred of them; they even stand up at dawn, at midday, and toward evening, three times a day when they recite their prayers in the synagogues, and curse and anathemize them. Three times a day they say, “God curse the Nazarenes.” For they harbor an extra grudge against them, if you please, because despite their Jewishness, they proclaim that Yeshua is the Messiah… (Epiphanius Panarion 29)
The Birkat haMinim as it appears today reads:
And for slanderers let there be no hope, and let all wickedness perish as in a moment; let all thine enemies be speedily cut off, and the dominion of arrogance do you uproot and crush, cast down and humble speedily in our days. Blessed are you, O L-rd, who breakest the enemies and humbles the arrogant.
However an old copy of the Birkat haMinim found at the Cairo Genizah reads:
For the renegades let there be no hope, and may the arrogant kingdom soon be rooted out in our days, and the Nazarenes and the Minim perish as in a moment and be blotted out from the book of life and with the righteous may they not be inscribed. Blessed are you, O L-rd, who humbles the arrogant.
This benediction was in the form of a curse on the Nazarenes, a curse which would have the designed effect of casting Nazarenes out of the Pharisaic/Rabbinic synagogues (Jn. 16:2) since Nazarenes who attended their synagogues would have been expected to recite a curse upon themselves.
From this time forward, whatever overlap their may have been between the Pharisaic/Rabbinic and Nazarene communities was totally severed, thus fulfilling Yeshua’s prophecy that they (Rabbinic Jews) would put the Nazarenes out of their synagogues.
Today we are seeking to put Yeshua back into the context of first century Judaism. Nazarene Judaism is a spiritual renascence, a revival, a return to the pure faith of first century Nazarenes. A return to the Tanak and to the root of the olive tree (Rom. 11).
As the prophet Jeremiah tells us:
Thus says YHWH, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it: And you shall find rest for your souls….” (Jer. 6:16)
Our rent is due tomorrow and we do not have it! Now more than ever, we need your help today!
In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. As you might imagine, donations are low. If you can, please donate. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!
As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org or by Zelle or Go Fund Me!
“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)
Of course we know that the Torah is the Word of YHWH (Is. 1:10; 2:3) and of course we know that Messiah is the incarnation of the Word (Jn. 1:1-3, 14; Rev. 19:13), a point which the first century Alexandrian Jew Philo of Alexandria also makes when he writes:
“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)
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)
Although Philo’s native language was Greek and the Septuagint was his Bible, he was clearly aware, directly or indirectly, of the reading of the Targums to this verse, or at least a general tradition that in this verse Avraham’s faith is in the “Word” (Aramaic: Memra; Greek Logos).
Philo is telling us that the “Word” is also “reason” or “logic” (our English word “Logic” is actually derived from the Greek word LOGOS).
Our faith in Torah is rooted in Logic, and one important aspect of the Word is rational thought, logic. Philo is telling is that Avrham’s faith was also rooted in logic, it was faith in the Word… faith in rational thought.
Philo warns us that if we cast rational thought aside, we will find ourselves not having faith in YHWH but instead creating subjective constructs of our own imagination.
Remember, Avrham’s faith was a rational, logical faith. Avraham’s faith was faith in the Word. Now let us look at Exodus 12:43-49:
And YHWH said unto Moshe and Aharon: ‘This is the ordinance of the Pesach: there shall no alien eat thereof; but every man’s servant that is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof. In one house shall it be eaten; you shall not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall you break a bone thereof. All the assembly of Yisra’el shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn with you, and will keep the Pesach to YHWH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One Torah shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourns among you.’ (Ex. 12:43-49 HRV)
Now there are a number of things we can learn from this passage:
1. All the “Assembly” of Israel must eat the Passover. 2. No uncircumcised male can eat the Passover.
From these two facts we may conclude that:
If all the Assembly eat the Passover, and if no uncircumcised males eat the Passover, then no uncircumcised males are part of the Assembly.
This is an inescapable categorical proposition drawn from the plain statements in Exodus 12:43-49.
Now from Acts 15 we also know that one does not have to be circumcised to be saved. Thus we can add another fact to our reasoning:
3. Some uncircumcised males are saved.
Now if no uncircumcised males are part of the Assembly, and if some uncircumcised males are saved, Then some saved persons are not part of the Assembly.
Again this is an inescapable categorical proposition draws from the facts plainly laid out in Ex. 12:43-49 and Acts 15.
There are in fact some saved persons who are not part of the Assembly of Israel.
Therefore being “saved” and being part of the “Assembly of Israel” are not the same thing.
Our rent is due in just two days, and right now we do not have it! We need your help today!
In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. As you might imagine, donations are low. If you can, please donate. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!
As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org or by Zelle or Go Fund Me.
Many are not aware that there are two versions of our Book of Daniel, a long version and a short version. The short version, is the one that appears in most Bibles today.
The long version contains the following additional material:
An additional chapter 13 (this appears in the Apocrypha as the “Book of Susanna”). It appears just prior to chapter 1 in the Greek version of Theodotion.
An additional chapter 14 (this appears in the Apocrypha as the book of “Bel and the Dragon”.
The Long version appears in Catholic and Orthodox Bible Versions.
The question is, which version is most original? Was material taken out of Daniel, thus creating a shorter version? Or was material added to Daniel, creating a longer version?
The Masoretic Text lacks these “additional” sections, but it is not certain that they did not exist in the original Hebrew and Aramaic of Daniel. On the other hand, the long version appears in the Greek Septuagint, Greek Theodotion, Aramaic Peshitta and many other ancient versions.
Among the Dead Sea Scrolls eight fragmentary copies of Daniel were found. None of these contained any of the additional sections, though only one actually excludes the text for certain. 1QDan(b) (1Q72) (one of the later Daniel mss. Found at Qumran 50–68 CE) spans Daniel 3:22-30 and does not contain the additional section. This is the only ms. that bears witness to the text running directly from 3:23 to 3:24. While none of the copies found at Qumran contain the additional chapters 13 or 14, none of them contain them bear witness to chapter 12 either. Yet another fragment (4Q551) is widely believed to bear witness to “Susanna” (Daniel chapter 13). Certainly the Qumran texts prove that the short version of Daniel existed as early as the First Century.
Of great interest is the fact that the long version appears in the Greek version of Theodotion (c. 200 CE). Theodotion sought to create a new translation, which updated the Greek text of the Septuagint to that of a pre-Masoretic Hebrew text. Theodotion not only included the “additional” sections, but with a Greek text which did not agree with the Septuagint. For example in the account of Bel and the Dragon (Dan. 14) in verse 10 the Greek word for “besides” in the Septuagint is choris while Theodotion renders the word ektos pointing to a single underlying Hebrew word. In Bel and the Dragon 1:14 (Daniel 14:14) the king is said in the Greek LXX to “seal (Greek: sphragisamenos) the door and seal it with the king’s signet.” The word “seal” probably points to an underlying Hebrew of chatham which was probably a scribal error for Hebrew catham (“shut”) which makes much more sense here.
The Book of 3rd Maccabees refers to Daniel citing material found only in the long version:
When the three friends in the land of Babylon of their own will exposed their lives to the fire rather than serve vain things, thou didst send a dewy coolness through the fiery furnace, and bring the fire upon all their adversaries. (3Maccabees 6:6)
And made the midst of the furnace as it had been a moist whistling wind, so that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them. (Song of the Three 1:27 (Dan. 3:50 long version))
If authentic, 3Maccabees was written around 217 BCE. Skeptics date it to the First Century. Thus we know that the long version of Daniel existed by the first century as well. (and by 217 BCE as well).
Some form of the original Hebrew and/or Aramaic may have survived in Jewish circles apart from the Masoretic Text. Forms of the stories of Bel and the Dragon in Aramaic appear in a midrash on Genesis called Midrash Rabba De Rabba, which also contains an entire Aramaic text for the Book of Tobit. Aramaic versions of all the “additions” are preserved in the Chronicles of Yerahmeel a 10th century chronicle by Jerahmeel ben Solomon, thought to have flourished in Italy around 1150 CE. Hebrew versions appear as well in the 10th century history of Yosippon.
We need your help today!Donations have been low. We are $435 short in the bank for bills clearing tonight, and our rent is due in just four days!
As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org or by Zelle or Go Fund Me.
Torah Parsha Ki Tisa Ex. 30:11-34:35 Haftorah: 1Kings 18:1-18:39
This weeks parsha covers many subjects, including that of the half-shekel Temple Tax:
11 And YHWH spoke unto Moshe, saying: 12 When you take the sum of the children of Yisra’el, according to their number, then shall they give every man, a ransom for his soul unto YHWH, when you number them:that there be no plague among them when you number them. 13 This they shall give, every one that passes among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: the shekel is twenty gerahs; half a shekel for anoffering to YHWH. 14 Every one that passes among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering of YHWH. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than the half shekel, when they give the offering of YHWH–to make atonement for your souls. 16 And you shall take the atonement money from the children of Yisra’el, and shall appoint it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the childrenof Yisra’el before YHWH, to make atonement for your souls. (Ex. 30:11-16 HRV)
The half shekel is symbolic of Messiah who makes atonement for our souls. Just as Messiah only redeems the souls of believers, the half-shekel can only be accepted from Jews, as the Mishnah instructs:
A gentile and a Samaritan who paid the shekel– they do not accept it from them…. but vows and freewill offerings they accept from them. This is the governing principle: Anything which is vowed or given as a freewill offering do they accept from them. Anything which is not vowed or given as a freewill offering they do not accept from them. And so is the matter explained by Ezra, since it is said, “You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our Elohim.” (Ezra 4:3) (m.Shekalim 1:5)
Just as the half-shekel could only redeem the soul of a Jew (including proselytes), so also the Messiah only redeems the souls of believers.
Once again the redemption of souls by the half-shekel gives us a picture of our Messiah in the Torah.
We took a big financial hit and are still recovering. We had to (ironically) replace a lot of groceries, our power bill is past due and with rent due today!
As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
Donations can be sent by paypal to donations@wnae.org.
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