Category Archives: Hebraic roots

May 6, 2016 · 10:55 am

The Search for One New Man (Part 5)

 

In Ephesians 2:19, Paul continues speaking to the Gentile believers:

 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” 

The word fellow citizen means to be in union with or together with by resemblance, companionship, or association. When someone becomes a citizen of a nation, they are required to learn the laws, customs, history, and language of that nation. A person becoming a citizen must also pledge loyalty, faithfulness, and commitment to that nation.

We need to remember that it says in Romans 11:17, that the Gentiles were grafted in among the nation of Israel, and the Jewish people. When you graft something, you join or fasten it in such a way as to bring about a close union.

This is what Ruth did as she attached herself to Naomi, a type and shadow of the Gentile becoming a fellow citizen with Israel and the Jewish people. The Gentile believers (Christians) should be involved with the Jewish people, both Messianic and non-Messianic; thereby fulfilling scripture.

Unfortunately, this union that Paul spoke about never really developed into the one new man relationship. In Ephesians 2:20, Paul states that these Gentile believers are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus The Messiah being the chief cornerstone.

It is okay to apply this verse for today, that apostles and prophets are the backbone of the Church, but we also must remember that when Paul was writing, the apostles and prophets he was referring to were all Jewish.

The rich biblical inheritance that believers in Messiah have worldwide has been passed down to them by Jewish spiritual parents. In verse 21 it states:

in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

So, the question is – what does this one new man church look like? We have no blueprint, but we have the Holy Spirit, and he can help us to develop it. Since the joining of one new man consists of Jew and Gentile in Messiah, then we must not be afraid to incorporate both, and bring them together to complete the plan of God. Only when we accept this joining will we fulfill God’s purpose.

As Paul states in Eph.1:10:

“as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

(The above is an excerpt from Nikirk Ministries and the full article can be seen here.

 

(Continued in Part 5……if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)

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March 16, 2016 · 1:13 pm

The Search for One New Man (Part 2)

As a Gentile, my eyes have been opened over the last six months by Hebraic Roots teachings. For instance:

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” (John 3:1-10)

If you’re a Gentile like me who has been around Evangelicals for a while – in my case thirty years – then you probably skimmed over the above verses without really paying much attention to the words. After all, you already know the punch line: “You must be born again.” Right?

This is one level of understanding scripture, which is from our Gentile or Greek mindset.

Now, the Hebrew mindset looks at Nicodemus and realizes that he is a ruler of the Jews, which means he was a big-time rabbi, Torah teacher, and a member of the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus would have memorized all of Leviticus, much of the Torah (first five books of Old Testament), and understood most of the oral traditions (Talmud) given by the top rabbis for the Old Testament (Tanakh).

But even though we Christians have only understood the expression “born-again Christians” since the 1970’s, Jesus expected Nicodemus to understand the expression two thousand years ago. How was that possible?

The term “born-again” was not first coined by Jesus in His nighttime meeting with Nicodemus. It was already in use and referred to a Gentile’s conversion to Judaism. The Gentile man would have been circumcised and then immersed in a mikvah or water bath. The mikvah was regarded as both a grave and a womb, from which the Gentile was reborn or born again.

So in light of this revelation, we can better understand the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. The Torah teacher was not baffled by the term “born-again,” but instead was really saying, “Hey, Jesus, I’m already a Jew. How can I convert again to Judaism?”

Jesus answered Nicodemus by saying in so many words, “Nicodemus, being Jewish is not enough. You can’t rely on your ethnicity. You must have a change of heart and believe in Me as the Messiah.”

This is a second level of understanding scripture, which is from a Hebrew mindset.

Yet, the one new man that I’m searching for takes the place of both mindsets.

(Continued in Part 3……if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)

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February 21, 2016 · 10:46 am

The Search for One New Man (Part 1)

I hurried down West Broad Street in my Ford pickup truck, carrying Toyota parts to a mechanic who needed them right away. As I drove along, I had a graphic vision.

Do you remember iron lungs, which polio sufferers used during the 1950’s? They looked like large cylindrical metal tubes and encased polio victims, helping them to breathe via a pressurized airflow system. The bulky machines filled entire hospital wards during the height of the polio epidemics.

In my vision, the American church system was terminally ill. As a last ditch effort to save its life, the whole church system laid in a white iron lung, gasping for its every breath. The long power cord, attached to the rear of the unit, meandered itself through other electrical cords to a unique power source: money. The life support system was plugged into bags and bags of money.

I stared at the strange sight and then a thundering voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Pull the plug!” proclaimed the voice.

Carol and I prayed about my vision that night and felt we needed to leave the traditional church system right away.

Our decision to not attend churches sounds easy now, but at the time, it seemed like we were the only people in the whole nation walking away from churches. A little research on the Internet revealed hundreds of thousands of Americans had done the same thing over the last few years.

Still it was not easy to break our church attending habits. We were used to sitting in pews on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, Wednesday evenings, and whenever the church doors opened.

A well-meaning pastor once took me aside and gave one of those lectures no one likes to hear.

“Larry, you need stability in your life and for your marriage,” he said, shaking his head at our nomadic life. “No one will ever take your prophetic ministry seriously if you don’t settle down. You need to settle in a city and find a good church to park yourself so others will take you more seriously. Please, seek the Lord on this advice.”

This vision blew any thoughts about obeying his words out of the water.

(Excerpt from The Hunt for Larry Who by Larry Nevenhoven, ©2014, Amazon eBook)

Here I am, almost sixteen years later, and like the U2 song, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, but at least, I have a scriptural direction —

By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace (Ephesians 2:15)

(Continued in Part 2)

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February 19, 2016 · 10:31 am

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 18)

Have I ordered a kippa, shofar, tallit (prayer shawl), and other Jewish items for the upcoming feasts? No, I’m still a Gentile, learning about the Hebraic roots in Christianity.

Yet one interesting thing did happen this week:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3)

I have read this verse countless times without really seeing it, but three or four days ago, I read it and could not move pass it to the rest of the chapter. After meditating on the verse, I realized that I had no clue how to access our “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”

Shouldn’t we be able to do so if we are in Christ?

I eventually read to the end of the chapter and hit another snag:

And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church,which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23)

The fullness of Him — isn’t this what we should be seeking?

You can see I’m faced with a few unanswered questions.

So, this will be the conclusion of my early journey into our Hebraic Roots because I will soon begin a new series about the one new man: combining the Jews and the Gentiles into one body.

(Conclusion…if you’re interested in this Hebraic Roots series, all of it to date can be seen here.)

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February 3, 2016 · 10:03 am

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 17)

The number one theory for the end-times over the last thirty years has revolved around the “budding of the fig tree.” It is based on:

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. (Matthew 24:32-33)

The theory goes something like this:

The fig tree is Israel, based on Jeremiah 24 and other scriptures. The time of budding and putting out new leaves happened in 1948 when Israel became a nation once again, after almost two thousand years of nonexistence. Thus, when you see this happen, the second coming of Jesus is so near that the generation of Jews who were born and alive in 1948 will not die until Jesus returns.

A biblical generation is forty years.

So, since Jesus did not return in 1988 or 1998 or 2008, we have to assume this end-time theory is incorrect, right?

What is the most likely the problem?

If you read Matthew 24:1-31, you will see that Jesus was talking about the days leading up to the end-times, about the abomination of desolation, about the great tribulation, and also —

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30)

The above verse refers to Jesus returning to earth, but the important words to understand are – “then all the tribes of the earth will mourn” – which refers to Zechariah 12:10. This is the exact moment when Israel realizes that Jesus Christ is their Messiah and all of them regret having had hardened hearts against Him.

It is this generation that will not pass away until all things take place.

The mistake is that the parable of the fig tree was taken out of context.

(Continued in Part 18…if you’re interested in this Hebraic Roots series, all of it to date can be seen here.)

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January 28, 2016 · 2:26 pm

Thursday’s Prayers for America (1/28/2016)

Since the Reformation, every restoration move of the Spirit has been persecuted by the Church. This has been true up until today. For example, the Pentecostals in the early 1900s were lambasted by the Church. Then, when the Charismatic Movement came along in the 1960s and 70s, the Church and Pentecostals lambasted the new movement.

This has always resulted in the new move of the Spirit forming its own denominations, which ends up isolating them from the rest of the Body of Christ. Then thirty to forty years later, when the fires have ebbed in their churches, they melt back into the Body.

Okay, this has been the Church’s history up till now, but we need it to change!

The Hebraic Roots Movement has teachings on “end times prophecy” the Church absolutely needs to hear now because it confronts the incorrect Laodicean “pre-tribulation” teachings held by 90% of Christianity. The Church needs to prepare their hearts for the seal and trumpet judgments awaiting us in the near future, as laid out in Revelations 6-11.

This time — we may not have thirty to forty years so the Hebraic Roots Movement can melt back into the Body.

By the same token, the Hebraic Roots Movement needs the prophetic character of the Church to balance its message. Otherwise, this new movement will end up being another clanging symbol, shouting, “We’re right! And you’re wrong!”

My prayer today:

Lord, I come boldly to Your throne of grace, asking You to pour out Your mercy and grace on the American Church and the Hebraic Roots Movement to help us in this desperate time of need. So that, by Your Spirit, we American believers become like the Bereans, receiving the words with all readiness and searching the Scriptures for truth. (Based on Hebrews 4:16 and Acts 17:11.)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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January 27, 2016 · 7:06 pm

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 16)

“My best guess is that the Tribulation will begin in October 2017, during Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles),” said Chancey last night at our Hebraic Roots meeting. “This means the first seal will be opened, Israel will be deceived, and then sign a seven-year peace pact with the Antichrist. Sacrifices will begin at once in Jerusalem.”

Chauncey was just a teenager in 1978 when the Holy Spirit revealed to him the Church’s Pre-tribulation teachings were wrong. He has spent the last thirty-eight years studying end-time events and teaching his revelations to whomever would listen.

Let’s say Chauncey’s guess is correct and that he is also correct about the Church’s Pre-tribulation teachings being wrong, what does this mean for us?

It means that in 22 months the time clock for the Great Tribulation will begin for us believers. We will struggle and agonize through seven long years of tough times until eventually we are caught up in the air with Christ in the first Resurrection, which should happen on Yom Kippur, October 12, 2024.

Doesn’t the possibility of this happening just blow your mind?

It does mine.

Okay, do I believe Chauncey’s guess is correct about October 2017?

To be honest, it doesn’t matter to me because I will get up tomorrow morning and seek the Lord. He holds every second of my life in His hands. If he isn’t worried about the Tribulation, why should I?

But I do plan on emphasizing the Feasts in 2016 and studying the book of Revelation until I understand it better than I do now.

What about you?

(Continued in Part 17…if you’re interested in this Hebraic Roots series, all of it to date can be seen here.)

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January 23, 2016 · 2:17 pm

“Prayer…Oh no! Has it Come Down to That?” (Part 2)

"Stöwer Titanic" by Willy Stöwer.

“Stöwer Titanic” by Willy Stöwer.

After watching the Lord heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons for two and half years, one of the disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

We usually skip over the disciple’s words and go straight to the Lord’s answer, but what the disciple asked was a normal question for a noted Jewish rabbi or teacher. These leaders taught their disciples special prayers to pray. The one who asked was probably familiar with John’s style of prayers, even though none of them have survived for us today.

Jesus’ answer is now known as the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.] (Matthew 6:9-13 KJ)

Jewish theologians look at the Lord’s Prayer and nod their heads in agreement. What Jesus prayed was basic Judaism 101 of His day. Its first words –”Our Father in heaven” (Avinu sh’baShammayim) – open many Hebrew prayers. The next two lines recall the first portion of the synagogue prayer known as the Kaddish, which says, “Magnified and sanctified (Yitgadal v’yitkaaadash) be His great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will, and may He establish His kingdom in your lifetime…” (Taken from Jewish New Testament Commentary by David H.Stern, p. 32)

In our study of prayer, it is important to keep in mind our Hebraic roots.

(Continued in Part 3)

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January 22, 2016 · 4:26 pm

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 15)

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! (2 Peter 3:10-12)

Most of us probably hope to see the Messiah return in our own lifetimes, but how can we hasten His return?

Peter goes on to mention that we should walk in godliness, keep our conduct holy, look forward to new heavens and new earth, making sure if the Lord returns today He will find us abiding in His peace, without spot or blemish. But yet, this still does not answer how we can hasten His return.

The Jewish New Testament Commentary by David H. Stern quoted an interesting answer for this question:

“Many of His true children are earnestly looking for the early return of our Lord, and they are putting forth every effort to hasten His coming. To all such we would say that there is no surer way of hastening this blessed fulfillment of His promise than by evangelizing the Jews. The reasons for this are many, but…of special interest here…[is that] it was only to the Jews that our Lord said in Matthew 23:39, ‘For I say unto you, ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Which, if we interpret Scripture aright, means to us that whenever the Jews as a nation accept Him as Lord and Savior, then He will come. And who does not long for His appearing? And who does not realize that unless He does soon appear, this world is doomed to a horrible cataclysm the like of which has not been duplicated in history.” (Joseph Hoffman Cohn, son of the founder of the American Board of Missions to Jews, written in 1921, quoted on p. 765 of Jewish New Testament Commentary)

We always have to remember Jesus is Jewish and the End-times revolve around the Jews and Israel.

(Continued in Part 16…if you’re interested in this Hebraic Roots series, all of it to date can be seen here.)

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January 6, 2016 · 6:04 pm

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 14)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8 ESV)

Most of us know the above verse, but have we considered the following?

Moreover, Yeshua’s (Jesus Christ) being the same yesterday, today, and forever means that He is still Jewish and will return a Jew. The Messiah has not been transformed into a Christian (rather the word “Christian” refers to people who are being transformed by Him.) Yeshua was born a Jew, died a Jew, and was resurrected a Jew. He is a Jew now, serving in heaven as a Jewish cohen gadol (High Priest) [Hebrews 2:17]. He will return as a Jewish King to occupy the throne of His Jewish ancestor David. His humanity makes Him the Savior of all, both Jews and non-Jews. But He has not Himself been made over into a Gentile. (Jewish New Testament Commentary by David H. Stern, ©1992 by David H. Stern, pp. 721)

Our Lord is a Jew.

(Continued in Part 14…if you’re interested in this Hebraic Roots series, all of it to date can be seen here.)

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