Tag Archives: Hebraic Roots

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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November 22, 2015 · 10:24 am

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 13)

A big dilemma for the early church was – did new Gentile believers have to be circumcised and then become Jews in order to complete their salvations?

This issue came to a head when the Apostle Peter visited Paul and Barnabas in Antioch. Peter ate with Gentile believers until a group of Jewish believers arrived from Jerusalem. Then, Peter separated himself from the Gentiles and only ate with the Jews because he feared what the Jews would think and say. Paul confronted Peter to his face about his hypocrisy —

“If you, who are a Jew live like a Goy [Non-Jew or Gentile] and not like a Jew, why are you forcing the Goyim to live like Jews? We are Jews by birth, not so-called ‘Goyishe sinners’; even so we have come to realize that a person is not declared righteous by God on the ground of his legalistic observance of Torah commands, but through the Messiah Yeshua’s trusting faithfulness. Therefore, we too have put our faith in Messiah Yeshua’s trusting faithfulness… (Galatians 2:14-16a Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern)

This confrontation resulted in Paul, Barnabas, and others going to Jerusalem to consult with the apostles and elders there. A decision was made that the Gentile believers just needed to abstain from:

(1) Things polluted by idols, especially meat sacrificed to false gods.

(2) Fornication, or any form of sexual immorality, including homosexuality and other improper sexual practices.

(3) What is strangled…that is meat from animals not slaughtered in a way that allows the blood to flow out.

(4) Blood, such as blood sausage.

(Taken from Jewish New Testament Commentary by David H. Stern)

These minimum conditions were placed on the Gentile believers so that the Jewish believers would not be offended to fellowship with Gentile believers. It was a good compromise.

Sadly, two centuries later, when the Gentile influence in the Body of Christ far exceeded the Jewish influence, a new dilemma developed – did new Jewish believers have to reject their Jewish roots and become Gentile Christians?

(Continued in Part 14…if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)

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November 15, 2015 · 8:41 am

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 12)

With the exception of Luke who wrote Luke and Acts, the New Testament’s books were written in Greek by Jews who framed their religious thinking in Hebrew. Why? Because the foundation for the New Testament was the Tanakh (our Old Testament), which was written in Hebrew.

Sometimes, we miss deeper meanings because the authors used the Greek language.

For instance, my eyes were recently opened to one word in Paul’s greetings for his letters —

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:3)

The above greeting was used in one form or another in most of Paul’s letters. The Greek word eirēnē is translated into the English word peace. So, when we read the word peace, we think of tranquility, calm, and quiet.

Yet, the Apostle Paul who wrote the word would have been thinking about the Hebrew word shalom, much like Joseph spoke to his brothers —

And Joseph said, Peace [shalom] be to you… (Genesis 43:23)

The Hebrew word shalom means peace and tranquility, but it also means safety, welfare, health, contentment, success, comfort, wholeness, and integrity.

So, when Paul used the word peace in his greeting, his deeper meaning was the whole complex of peace/wholeness/well-being that is in our Lord Jesus.

If you want to hear how to say, “Peace be to you,” in Hebrew, click here.

(Continued in Part 13…if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)

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November 11, 2015 · 12:49 pm

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 11)

Was Jesus a Christian? 

Jesus’ mother’s name was Miryam (Greek name: Mary) and his earthly father’s name was Yosef (Greek name: Joseph).

The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Miryam, for you have found favor with God. Look! You will become pregnant, you will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua (Jesus).” (Luke 1:30-31 Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern)

Jesus (Yeshua) was born to Jewish parents and was sent by God to be the mediator for the New Covenant.

Okay, who was the New Covenant made with and promised to?

“Here, the days are coming,” says ADONAI (Lord), “when I will make my new covenant with the house of Isra’el and with the house of Y’hudah (Judah). It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them,” says ADONAI. “For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra’el after those days,” says ADNONAI: “I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Jeremiah 31:31-33 Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern)

The New Covenant was made with and promised to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. We Gentile believers were grafted into the olive tree (Israel) and now share in its nourishing root: Jesus (Yeshua).

So, was Jesus a Christian?

Heavens no! He was a Jew and still is one.

Our Lord is a Jew.

(Continued in Part 12…if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)

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November 6, 2015 · 11:20 am

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 10)

I’m a grace to the nth believer, by which I can’t think of a single way that a truly born again, new creation believer can lose his or her salvation.

Okay, with that in mind, our Hebraic Roots teacher, Pastor Bruce Dowell of Shiloh Messianic Congregation, said something last night that shocked me. “Do you believe every Christian will be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb? Now, I don’t mean that some believers will lose their salvation, but rather, I mean some may not make the cut to be a part of the Bride.”

I sat there thinking, “Wow! This goes against most evangelical teachings that I’ve heard.”

Pastor Dowell quoted the verses about the ten virgins who took their lamps out to meet the bridegroom –

Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. (Matthew 25:2-4)

The Greek word mōros is translated into our English word foolish in this verse, but it also may mean: “godless or showing lack of reverence or respect for God.”

The same Greek word mōros also appears in Matthew 7:26 –

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand”

Pastor Dowell then quoted Revelation 12:17 –

The dragon [Satan] was enraged with the woman [Israel] and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

What are the commandments of God? The Torah or the first five books of the Old Testament.

This morning as I studied and meditated on the marriage supper of the Lamb. I came across the following verses –

“Let us rejoice and be glad! Let us give Him glory! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself — fine linen, bright and clean has been given to her to wear. (Fine linen means the righteous deeds of God’s people.) The angel said to me, “Write: ‘How blessed are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb!”‘ Then he added, “These are God’s very words.” (Revelation 19:7-9 Complete Jewish Bible)

We believers have the responsibility of preparing ourselves. You see, we determine the level of godliness we choose to walk in.

And also:

Then, he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy…For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:8, 14)

The Bible states there are Kingdom levels that believers choose to walk in by our obedience to God’s commandments or Torah. These levels range from the least to great and the greatest. Will the least be allowed to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb?

I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to take the chance of missing the marriage supper, but rather, I’m going to learn more about God’s Torah and our Hebrew roots.

(Continued in Part 11…if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)

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October 31, 2015 · 9:57 am

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 9)

 The Two-Covenant Theology was pioneered in this century by the non-Messianic Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929), and since elaborated by such liberal Christian theologians as Reinhold Niebuhr and James Parkes. This theory holds that the Jewish people were brought close to God by means of the covenant with Avraham (Abraham) and the Torah of Moshe (Moses), so that they have no need to “come” to the Father through Yeshua (Jesus) or anyone else, because they are already with Him. Accordingly, Yeshua’s word is not for the Jews, but for the Gentiles and is to be understood thusly: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; and no Gentile comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Two-Covenant theory enables the Jewish Community to live in apparent peace (from its point of view) with its Christian neighbors by alleviating the pressure on Judaism to downgrade Jesus, the New Testament, and Christianity; for a non-Messianic Jew can say, “We Jews have our way, Judaism; and you Gentiles have your way, Christianity. We will each serve God best by following the way provided for us. It is a manifestation of God’s grace that He has provided Jesus for you Gentiles and Torah for us Jews.” Thus Jesus can be held in high regard because His claims are not taken as posing any threat to the structure of non-Messianic Judaism. (Excerpt from Jewish New Testament Commentary by David H. Stern, 1992, Jewish New Testament Publications, p. 196-197)

However, this whole theory falls to pieces when you consider that Jesus (Yeshua) was a Jew and mainly preached His Gospel of the Kingdom of God to Jews. All of the early evangelism was done by Jews and focused on Jews with the message being, “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus.” (John 14:6)

Paul the Apostle stated:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

Jews and Gentiles alike need a Savior named Jesus (Yeshua).

(Continued in Part 10…if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)

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