From: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 1997 20:30:31 +0000
Subject: The Theology of the Newsgroup
From: Andrew Watt
To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Hebraic Roots "Newsgroup"
Dear Eddie Chumney,
I have been receiving the Hebraic Heritage material for a short time
and would like to raise some questions to help my understanding about
the "newsgroup" and about the underlying beliefs which are being
expressed.
In several posts you have stressed your desire to identify and root
out "pagan" influence or teaching. As a general principle I have no
problem with that. However, I wonder whether what you are championing
is any less "pagan" - if one can use the term "pagan" about views or
practices which are "Jewish" in origin. Let me give two examples.
In the last few days there have been several posts to the list which
set Chanukkah in a very positive light and which stress the
contemporary relevance of that celebration. Chanukkah is not a
Biblically prescribed feast - it is not mentioned in the Tanakh at
all. The only New Testament reference of which I am aware is John
10:22-23 which simply mentions that Jesus/Yeshua was present in the
Temple at the time of the feast. It gives no indication of His
approving the feast or participating in it, as far as I can find in
the text. On the contrary Jesus stated that He was the light of the
world not some innovative eight/nine branched menorah (itself a
departure from the seven branched Torah-prescribed pattern). Jesus
fulfilled the Passover/Pesach feast and the sacrifices ceased. How
much more then should He, as light of the world, replace an
extra-biblical (pagan?) addition to the Torah festivals?
>From Eddie:
**************
It is true that Hanukkah is a extra-biblical festival.
However it can not be stated that it is pagan in origin. If this was
stated, then one doesn't understand the meaning of the term 'pagan'.
Pagan is something that originates from the Babylonian, Egyptian,
Canaanite, Greek or Roman culture. These cultures are pictured to us
in the Bible as types of the world, the world's system, the world's
ways which is a picture of Satan and his kingdom. On the contrary,
Hanukkah is a story and struggle and fight AGAINST paganism and
fighting for the ways of the God of Israel. This is a good example
why Hanukkah needs to be taught to God's people. They don't understand
the origin, setting and issues regarding what became to be celebrated
as Hanukkah and by not being taught that are committing the same sins
and being a part of the same culture that those religious Jews rose up
against in the days of the Maccabean revolt.
Hanukkah also teaches us about the future Anti-Christ and
what the world will be like during his reign. It teaches us how believers
will be complacent toward living in the Babylonian culture around them
(the Western world is completely saturated with the
Greco/Roman/Babylonian culture and God's people have become so
accustomed to living within it that they see it as "normal life"). Eventually,
this culture DEMANDS that you make a choice and live their way and
will persucute any opposition to their Greco/Roman ways. This is
currently being done in the world today but the world and believers in
Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah are for the most part blinded to it and have
no comprehension that it is even happening.
In the Hanukkah story, Antiochus Ephiphanes IV is a type of
the future Anti-Christ. The sacreligious act that he did was called,
"The Abomination of Desolation". Yeshua/Jesus referred to a future
"abomination of desolation" spoken of by the prophet Daniel who wrote
about the "abomination of desolation" of Antiochus IV of which Jesus
told us was going to be a type and shadow for the future.
Antiochus IV went into the Temple and proclaimed himself
to be God. We are told in the NT that the Anti-Christ will do the same
thing. During these days, the Temple was desecrated and needed to be
rededicated back to God. When Yeshua/Jesus returns, He will not be
able to use what was desecrated by the Anti-Christ to rule and reign
during the Messianic Age. It will have to be rededicated back to God.
Hanukkah should be a powerful story and type and shadow of what God
gave to us (if we would only understand the message, embrace it and
teach it to our children) to prepare us for what things will be like
during the darkest hours of earth history which is soon going to be
upon us called the Tribulation period.
We also need to understand that our Lord and Savior, Jesus
is a Jew. Not only was He a Jew, He lived an Orthodox Jewish
lifestyle. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the SAME yesterday, today
and forever (Hebrews 13:8). When He returns to the earth at His second
coming, He will rule and reign as a Torah observant Orthodox Jew. In
Isaiah 2:2-4, it tells us that the Messiah will teach the TORAH to the
nations and REBUKE many nations (those who refuse to live according
to the Torah).
Next, the reason why the sacrifices ceased were because the
TEMPLE was destroyed. Not because Jesus fulfilled Passover. Animal
sacrifices were done in the generation after the death of
Yeshua/Jesus. Many Christians are ignorant that the Apostle Paul made
a sacrifice in the Temple AFTER he accepted Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah in
Acts 21:17-26. In these passages, the Apostle Paul took a Nazarite
vow. A Nazarite vow according to the Torah requires that animal
sacrifices be made in the Temple (Numbers 6).
Let us look at this more closely. In Acts 21:17-26, it is
written:
"And when we (Paul) were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us
gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James and all
the elders were present. And when he (Paul) had saluted them, he
declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles
by his ministry. And when they had heard it, they glorified the Lord,
and said unto him, Thou seest brethren, how many THOUSANDS of JEWS
there are which BELIEVE and they are all ZEALOUS of the law (TORAH).
And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which
are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to
circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is
it therefore? ... We have four men which have a vow upon them"
Translation:
Paul returns to Jerusalem and gives a report to the other
Jewish believers about what great things God is doing through his
ministry among the Gentiles. Paul is then ACCUSED of telling the
JEWISH BELIEVERS among the Gentiles to forsake Moses (quit keeping the
Torah) and quit following the customs. The word "customs" is the
Strong's Word (1485) in the Greek dictionary. It is the Greek word
"Ethos". This is referring to the "Oral Law". Therefore, Paul is being
ACCUSED of teaching Jewish believers to quit keeping the Torah both
written and Oral. There are four witnesses who have taken a vow that
Paul was doing this.
What was Paul's reply? Did he defend that he was
teaching Jewish believers to NOT keep the Torah? Or did he say
that the accusation was false and he WAS teaching the Jewish
believers to continue to keep the Torah?
Paul then takes a Nazarite vow AGAINST them saying that the
accusation was FALSE and that he WAS teaching the Jewish believers to
continue to keep the Torah. In Acts 21:24-26 it is written:
"Them take, and purify thyself WITH THEM, and be at charge, that they
may SHAVE THEIR HEADS (take a Nazarite vow): and all may KNOW that
those things: whereof they were informed concerning thee are nothing
(FALSE): but that thyself ALSO walkest orderly and keepest the TORAH"
Translation:
Paul is challenged to take a Nazarite vow with his accused to
prove that their charges were false and that HE ALSO KEEPS THE TORAH.
In Acts 21:25 it is written:
"As touching the GENTILES which BELIEVE we have written and concluded
that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves
from things offered to idols, and from blood and from strangled and
from fornication"
Translation:
Also prove to us that you are teaching the Gentiles believers
according to Acts 15 and that they are not required to keep the entire
Torah in the same way are Jewish believers.
In Acts 21:26, Paul accepts the challenge and takes a Nazarite
vow. In doing so, he is required according to the Torah to offer
animal sacrifices in the Temple. In Acts 21:26 it is written:
"Then Paul took the men and the next day PURIFYING himself with
them entered the TEMPLE to signify the ACCOMPLISHMENT of the
DAYS OF PURIFICATION until that an OFFERING (animal sacrifice
according the the specifications in the Torah regarding the Nazarite
vow) should be OFFERED for EVERY ONE OF THEM"
Translation:
Paul took the Nazarite vow and did according to the Nazarite
vow as specified in Numbers 6 which included offering an animal
sacrifice in the Temple.
This is told to us in Numbers 6:1-13. It is written:
"And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto the children of
Israel, and say unto them, when either man or woman shall separate
themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the
Lord ... all the days of his separation there shall be no razor come
upon his head ... and on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or
two young pigeons, to the priest to the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation (Temple in Paul's day) and the priest shall offer the one
for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering and make an
atonement for him ... and he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days
of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a
trespass offering ... and this is fhe law of the Nazarite when the
days of his separation are fulfilled ..."
Notice that the law of the Nazarite included the shaving of the head
and animal sacrifices offered in the Tabernacle/Temple and be given to
the priest. Paul shaved his head in (Acts 21:24) and made animal
sacrifices in the Temple in (Acts 21:26).
PLEASE notice that animal sacrifices were offered in the Temple
AFTER the death of Yeshua/Jesus and AFTER Paul had become a believer
and started his public ministry to the Gentiles that Yeshua/Jesus
called him to in the heavenly vision in Acts 9. The Nazarite vow was
made by Paul himself to CONFIRM that he WAS teaching Jewish believers
in Yeshua/Jesus to be TORAH OBSERVANT.
PLEASE also notice that the animal sacrifices had NOTHING to do
with Paul's salvation. They weren't done to obtain salvation. They
were done to fulfill the Torah requirements of the Nazarite vow. This
in itself shows that Paul and the other believers with him at this
time were living a TORAH OBSERVANT lifestyle AFTER they were
believers in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah.
Yeshua/Jesus didn't fulfill Passover or the law and then do
away with the law. In Matthew 5:17, 19, He says the exact opposite. It
reads:
"THINK NOT that I have come to DESTROY the LAW or the prophets:
I am not come to destroy but to FULFILL ... whosoever therefore shall
BREAK one of the LEAST commandments, and shall TEACH others to do so
shall be called LEAST in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall DO
and TEACH them, the same shal lbe called GREAT in the kingdom of
heaven"
During the Messianic Age, Yeshua/Jesus is going to teach
the TORAH to ALL NATIONS from Jerusalem. If Yeshua/Jesus did away with
the law, they WHY will he TEACH the TORAH to ALL NATIONS during the
Messianic Age? Isaiah 2:2-4 speaks about the Messianic Age. It reads:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the
Lord's house (The Temple is called the HOUSE of God) shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above
the hills and ALL NATIONS shall flow unto it ... for out of Zion shall
go forth the TORAH and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he
shall JUDGE among the nation (according to the Torah) and shall
REBUKE many nations (for not keeping the Torah) ..."
Finally, the Bible tells us that animal sacrifices WILL
be made during the Messianic Age. Ezekiel 40-48 speaks about the
Messianic Age, the Temple during the Messianic age and the worship
of God during these days.
In Ezekiel 41:1, 43:10 it is written:
"Afterward he brought me to the TEMPLE ... thou son of man, show the
house (the Temple) to the house of Israel (God's people) that they may
be ashamed of their iniquities and let them measure the pattern"
In Ezekiel 45:19 we have the sin offering being offered as it is
written:
"And the priest shall take of the blood of the SIN OFFERING ..."
In Ezekiel 45:25 we see the burnt offering and meat offering as it is
written:
"In the seventh month in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do
the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin
offering, according to the BURNT OFFERING, and according to the MEAT
OFFERING ..."
In Ezekiel 46:1, we see the sabbath and new moon being observed:
"Thus saith the Lord God, the gate of the inner court that looketh
toward the east shall be shut the six working day; but on the SABBATH
it shall be opened, and in the day of the NEW MOON it shall be opened.
In Ezekiel 46:2, we see the peace offering being offered:
"And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate
without and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall
prepare his burnt offering and his PEACE OFFERING ..."
In Ezekiel 46:20 it talks about the TRESPASS OFFERING as it
is written:
"Then said he unto me, this is the place where the priests shall boil
the TRESPASS OFFERING ..."
So, you see, Yeshua/Jesus HAS NOT "fulfilled the law" or any aspect of
the Torah like Passover and done away with it. Yeshua/Jesus Himself
will teach the Torah to the nations during the Messianic Age. That is
because the Torah is the TREE OF LIFE (Proverbs 3:1, 18) and those
who KEEP the commandments of God shall eat of the tree of life and
right to enter the heavenly city of Jerusalem (Revelation 22:14).
Therefore, Hanukkah should be important to believers in
Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah. We need to see Hanukkah as OUR identity and
as OUR HERITAGE not as something "Jewish". We need to see that the
TORAH was given to the God of Israel to HIS people (both Jewish and
non-Jewish believer) and we need to embrace our ROLE as Jewish and
non-Jewish believers toward the Torah. We need to see an ETERNAL Torah
observant Yeshua/Jesus. We need to see a Torah observant Yeshua/Jesus
living among His people during the Messianic Age. We need to see
Yeshua/Jesus teaching the TORAH to the nations during the Messianic
Age. We need to see that the TORAH is eternal.
We need to see that animal sacrifices have NOTHING to do
with salvation. It never has and never will. No OT believer in the God
of Israel and who believed in the coming Messiah ever was saved by
keeping the Torah. One is ALWAYS saved by grace through faith
(Ephesians 2:8).
This is what this newsgroup is all about. It is about
teaching the roots of our faith to the people of God both Jewish and
non-Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah.
>
>My second point refers to the use by you and others of the style
>"G_d" to refer to YHWH. To the best of my knowledge this is a
>post-Biblical rabbinic imposition. The Hebrew text demonstrates the
>use of the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, by Moses and the prophets. Why do
>you adhere to a post-Biblical rabbinic superstition with regard to
>"G_d"? On what basis do you consider the rabbinic superstition
>supercedes the practice of the prophets?
>
>
Some people in the newsgroup use G-d or L-rd according to
the Orthodox Jewish tradition. We need to know and understand that
this is a common practice among Orthodox Jews if we as believers ever
associate with them or ever are given an opportunity to witness to
them. However, I don't require that people on this newsgroup use this
method or practice. I do encourage our members to understand it and
be sensitive when around Orthodox Jews in this manner.
>
>If there is more consistency in your approach than I have meantime
>appreciated it would be helpful to me to have the matter clarified.
>
>
>Andrew Watt
>
Andrew,
I hope that I have answered your questions.
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