Drinking The Blood of the New Covenant

Drinking The Blood

Of the New Covenant

Introduction

A number of faiths under the title of Christian hold to views of transubstantiation, the belief that Jesus’ literal blood and flesh is ingested in order to partake in the body of Christ. Because of my literalist views, I wanted to see if Biblical texts would support this. The following is what I found.

The Four Texts: Matthew

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Yeshua took bread. And He blessed and brake and gave to the disciples. And He said, “Take! Eat! This is my Body.” ²⁷And He took the cup. And He gave thanks. And He gave to them, saying, “Drink ye all of it. ²⁸For this is my blood of the New Covenant that is shed for many for the remission of sins. ²⁹But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom!”

In case you were unaware, questions regarding the Body (verse 26) have led some of us to conclude that this is not Messiah’s physical body, but the Body of Christ, the Church. Passover Matzah (unleavened bread eaten at Passover) pictures the Church without sin, leaven and vinegar being types of sin and bitterness. Manna pictures the Bread of Life, Messiah.

Messiah stated that this is His blood of the New Covenant, shed for many for sin remission. What portrays His blood?

The Four Texts: Mark

Mark 14:22 And as they did eat, Yeshua took bread. And He blessed and brake. And He gave to them. And He said, “Take! Eat! This is my body.” ²³And He took the cup. And when He had given thanks, He gave to them. And they all drank of it. ²⁴And He said unto them, “This is my blood of the New Covenant that is shed for many. ²⁵Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

The expression, my blood of the New Covenant, had me puzzled. Was Messiah claiming that the cup contained His blood?

The Four Texts: Luke

Luke 22:15 And He said unto them, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶For I say unto you, I will not any more eat of him until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷And He took the cup. And He gave thanks. And He said, “Take this and divide among yourselves. ¹⁸For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come.” ¹⁹And He took bread. And He gave thanks. And He brake. And He gave unto them, saying, “This is my body that is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood that is shed for you.”

A different wording can portray a different meaning. The last line (verse 20) reads, This cup is the New Covenant in my blood that is shed for you, indicating that the cup is the New Covenant, whereas in the texts above the cup seemed to be Messiah’s blood of the New Covenant, making the cup the blood.

The drink sacrifices (‘drink offerings’) and texts where grape juice is called the blood of the grapes come to mind. I found no text where anyone drank of the drink sacrifices; they were always entirely poured out. The following are the blood of grapes texts:

Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes. And unto him is the gathering of the people, ¹¹binding His foal unto the vine and His ass’s colt unto the choice vine. He washed His garments in wine and His clothes in the blood of grapes. ¹²His eyes are red with wine and His teeth white with milk. Deuteronomy 32:9 For Yehovah’s portion is His people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. ¹⁰He found him in a desert land and in the waste howling wilderness. He led him about. He instructed him. He kept him as the pupil of His eye. ¹¹As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings, ¹²Yehovah alone did lead him, and no strange god is with him. ¹³He made him ride on the high places of the earth that he might eat the increase of the fields. And He made him to suck honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock, ¹⁴butter of kine and milk of sheep with fat of lambs and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats with the fat of kidneys of wheat. And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

Since the Bible uses blood for grape juice or wine, I knew I could use this evidence in our Passover texts.

The Four Texts: 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you that the Lord Yeshua, the night in which He was betrayed, took bread. ²⁴And when He had given thanks, He brake. And He said, “Take! Eat! This is my Body that is broken for you! Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵After the same manner also the cup, when He had supped, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood. Do ye this in remembrance of me as often as ye drink.” ²⁶For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He comes. ²⁷Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink the cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord! ²⁸But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹For he who eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body!

I therefore put the Matthew, Mark, Luke and 1 Corinthians texts together to see what Messiah said in its entirety. I first constructed a four-column table, and carefully separated the texts into sections to set them in a parallel order:

Matthew	Mark	Luke	1 Corinthians
		Luke 22:15 And He said unto them, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶For I say unto you, I will not any more eat of him until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷And He took the cup. And He gave thanks. And He said, “Take this and divide among yourselves. ¹⁸For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come.”
Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Yeshua took bread. And He blessed and brake and gave to the disciples. And He said, “Take! Eat! This is my Body.”	Mark 14:22 And as they did eat, Yeshua took bread. And He blessed and brake. And He gave to them. And He said, “Take! Eat! This is my body.”	¹⁹And He took bread. And He gave thanks. And He brake. And He gave unto them, saying, “This is my body that is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”	1 Corinthians 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you that the Lord Yeshua, the night in which He was betrayed, took bread. ²⁴And when He had given thanks, He brake. And He said, “Take! Eat! This is my Body that is broken for you! Do this in remembrance of me.”
²⁷And He took the cup. And He gave thanks. And He gave to them,	²³And He took the cup. And when He had given thanks, He gave to them.	²⁰Likewise also the cup after supper,	²⁵After the same manner also the cup, when He had supped,
saying, “Drink ye all of it.
		saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood that is shed for you.”	saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood.
	And they all drank of it.
²⁸For this is my blood of the New Covenant that is shed for many for the remission of sins.	²⁴And He said unto them, “This is my blood of the New Covenant that is shed for many.
			Do ye this in remembrance of me as often as ye drink.”
²⁹But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom!”	²⁵Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
			²⁶For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He comes. ²⁷Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink the cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord! ²⁸But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹For he who eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body!

I then reconciled the texts in order, avoiding excluding information, preserving the colors to identify from which books each part derived. All four Texts put together were as follows:

And as they were eating, Yeshua took bread. And He blessed. And He brake. And He gave to the disciples. And He said, “Take! Eat! This is my Body that is given/broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

20Likewise also He took the cup after supper. And He gave thanks. And He gave to them, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood that is shed for you.” And they all drank of it. ²⁸ “For this is my blood of the New Covenant that is shed for many for the remission of sins. Do ye this in remembrance of me as often as ye drink. ²⁹But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom, the Kingdom of God!” ²⁶For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He comes. ²⁷Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink the cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord! ²⁸But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹For he who eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body!

I then examined the reconciled paragraphs above:

Messiah knew He would be suffering, and greatly desired to eat this Passover with the Israelis. It would be His last participation in a Passover meal until its fulfillment in the Kingdom of God. (The event is prophetic, speaking of things to come rather than of things in the past.)

Messiah took the cup. He gave thanks (in Hebrew, confessions). He told the Israelis to take the cup and to divide this one cup among themselves. Messiah did not drink, but will do so when the Kingdom of God shall come (teaching that the Kingdom of God has not yet come).

Messiah took Matzah during the meal. He blessed Yehovah. He broke the bread, dispensing it to the Disciples. He then told them to take the Matzah. They did, and He told them to eat it, declaring that the Matzah is His Body that is given and is dispensed for them (for the Israelis). The word broken, referring to bread, indicates piecing it for eating, not shattering as in a broken heart. Messiah told them to do break and piece Matzah to each other in remembrance of Him.

He took the cup after they had eaten the Passover like He had during the meal. He again gave thanks to Yehovah. He gave it to them, telling them that the cup is the New Covenant in His blood that is shed for the Israelis. He did not relate the cup’s contents with blood at this point, but the whole cup and its contents with the New Covenant. This New Covenant is made in His blood, and His blood is shed for the Israelis. His Disciples all drank from this cup, confirming the New Covenant in His blood.

Messiah continued His explanation, stating that the blood He mentioned above is His blood of the New Covenant that is shed for many—not just the Israelis—for sin remission. They are to do this same thing in remembrance of Messiah as often as they drink!

Messiah reminded them that He will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day (the Day of Yehovah) when He drinks it new with them in His Father’s Kingdom, the Kingdom of God.

Paul later explained what the Passover Matzah and the Passover wine cup portrayed—Messiah’s death—until Messiah comes. Anyone who eats the Passover Matzah and drinks the Passover wine in an unworthy manner is guilty of the Body and the Blood of Messiah! A participant must make sure he isn’t partying, but is participating in a solemnity, and must show consideration for others. Failure to do so shows that a person is not discerning the Body of Christ, and eats and drinks condemnation to himself!

Ezekiel 44:4 Then he brought me the way of the north gate before the house. And I looked, and behold, the glory of Yehovah filled the House of Yehovah. And I fell upon my face. ⁵And Yehovah said unto me, “Son of man, mark well and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the House of Yehovah and all the laws thereof. And mark well the entering in of the house with every going forth of the sanctuary. ⁶And thou shalt say to the rebellious—to the House of Israel, Thus saith Yehovah Yehovah, House of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations ⁷in that ye have brought strangers uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh to be in my sanctuary to pollute it—my House, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood! And they have broken my Covenant because of all your abominations. ⁸And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things, but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. ⁹Thus saith Yehovah Yehovah, no stranger uncircumcised in heart nor uncircumcised in flesh shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

This indictment is very serious.

The Three Covenants

A careful reader, using a proper translation, will discern three covenants in the following text:

Hebrews 8:1Now the sum of the things that we have spoken is: We have such a High Priest Who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ²a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle that Yehovah pitched, and not man. ³For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices. Therefore [it is] of necessity that this Man have somewhat also to offer. ⁴For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the Torah ⁵who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, “See,” saith He, “thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.” ⁶But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry by how much also He is the mediator of a better Covenant that was established upon better promises. 7For if that first had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. ⁸For finding fault with them, He saith, “Behold, the days come, saith Yehovah, when I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah—9not according to the Covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For they continued not in my covenant, and I was an husband to them, saith Yehovah. ¹⁰For this is the Covenant that I will make with the House of Israel after those days, saith Yehovah; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts. And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. ¹¹And they shall not teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord!’ For all shall know me from the least to the greatest. ¹²For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. ¹³In that He saith, A new, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. ¹Then verily the first had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. 2For there was a tabernacle made—the first in which is the candlestick and the table and the showbread—which is called the sanctuary.

The following texts consider one of the three Covenants:

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto thee! He is righteous and saved, lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt the foal of an ass. ¹⁰And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. And the battle bow shall be cut off. And He shall speak peace unto the races. And His dominion is from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. ¹¹As for thee also, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit in which is no water by the blood of thy Covenant. ¹²Turn you to the strong hold, prisoners of hope! Even to day do I declare I will render double unto thee ¹³when I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim and raised up thy sons, Zion, against thy sons, Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man. ¹⁴And Yehovah shall be seen over them. And His arrow shall go forth as the lightning. And the Lord Yehovah shall blow the trumpet and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. ¹⁵Yehovah of hosts shall defend them! And they shall devour and subdue with sling stones! And they shall drink. They shall make a noise as through wine. And they shall be filled like bowls, as the corners of the altar. ¹⁶And Yehovah their God shall save them in that day as the flock of His people, for they are the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land. ¹⁷For how great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty! Grain shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.

The pit in which is no water (verse 11) sounds like Sheol, like the side in which unbelievers are kept until judgment. This text sounds like another reference to Ezekiel 37’s resurrection of the whole House of Israel. The prisoners will be sent forth by the blood of thy (Daughter of Zion’s) Covenant. This Covenant preserves life!

Hebrews 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the Torah, he took the blood of calves and of goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people, ²⁰saying, “This is the blood of the Covenant which God hath enjoined unto you.”

This text refers to the following:

Exodus 24:1 And He said unto Moses, “Come up unto Yehovah—thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel—and worship ye afar off. ²And Moses alone shall come near Yehovah, but they shall not come nigh. And the people shall not go up with him.” ³And Moses came and told the people all the words of Yehovah, and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice, and said, “We will do all the words that Yehovah hath said.” ⁴And Moses wrote all the words of Yehovah. And he rose up early in the morning and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵And he sent young men of the children of Israel who offered ascendings and sacrificed peaces-sacrifices of oxen unto Yehovah. ⁶And Moses took half of the blood, and put into basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷And he took the Scroll of the Covenant, and read in the audience of the people. And they said, “We will do all that Yehovah hath said, and will be obedient.” ⁸And Moses took the blood. And he sprinkled it on the people. And he said, “Behold the blood of the Covenant that Yehovah hath made with you concerning all these words!”

In verse 1, Moshe, the higher priests and seventy elders came to worship Yehovah at a distance. Moshe then approached alone. He then went back to the Israelis and told them all the words of Yehovah, and all His justices. The Israelis agreed to fully do all Yehovah had said.

Moshe then wrote all the words of Yehovah. He arose early, built an altar under the hill, and erected twelve pillars, one for each tribe. Men were sent to offer oxen, the peaces-sacrifices and ascendings unto Yehovah.

Moshe next divided the caught blood from the oxen, placing half into basins and sprinkling half on the altar. He then read the Scroll of the Covenant so that the Israelis could hear it in its entirety. The Israelis again agreed to do and be obedient to all Yehovah said.

He then took the basins of blood, and sprinkled it on the people of Israel. He told them to behold that blood of the Covenant Yehovah made with them concerning all these words.

They were sprinkled with literal blood. They did not drink it.

Hebrews 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the Covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Contempt for the blood of the Covenant or for the Covenant itself is very serious.

Hebrews 12:24 And to Yeshua the mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Yeshua, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting Covenant…

Having viewed these texts and having sorted out the four texts describing Messiah’s final Passover until He returns, I found no evidence for drinking blood, whether in literal form or in pictorial form. One more text had to be considered, however.

John 6: 41 The Jews then murmured at Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴²And they said, “Is not this Yeshua son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He saith, ‘I came down from heaven?’” ⁴³Yeshua therefore answered and said unto them, “Murmur not among yourselves. ⁴⁴No man can come to me except the Father Who hath sent me draw him. And I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall be all taught of God.’ Every man therefore who hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me—⁴⁶not that any man hath seen the Father save he who is of God—he hath seen the Father. ⁴⁷Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. ⁴⁸I am that bread of life. ⁴⁹Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰This is the bread that cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” ⁵²The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us flesh to eat?” ⁵³Then Yeshua said unto them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶He who eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father—so he who eateth me, even he shall live by me. ⁵⁸This is that bread that came down from heaven—not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead—he who eateth of this bread shall live for ever.” ⁵⁹He said these things in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. ⁶⁰Therefore many of his disciples, when they had heard, said, “This is an hard saying! Who can hear it?” ⁶¹When Yeshua knew in Himself that His disciples murmured at it, He said unto them, “Doth this offend you? ⁶²And if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before? ⁶³It is the Spirit Who quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life. ⁶⁴But there are some of you that believe not.” For Yeshua knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him. ⁶⁵And He said, “Therefore I said unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father.” ⁶⁶From that, many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him. ⁶⁷Then Yeshua said unto the Twelve, “Will ye also go away?” ⁶⁸Then Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of everlasting life. ⁶⁹And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Messiah the Son of the living God.

Was Yeshua commanding folks to bite His arm and suck His blood? A careful examination will answer this.

Messiah claims to be the bread that came down from heaven, referring to Manna sent to the Israelis in the desert. He might as well claim also to be the Rock that followed them:

1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, ²and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³and did all eat the same spiritual food, ⁴and did all drink the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them. And that Rock was Christ.

If no one has a difficulty with the Rock being Messiah Himself, from which living waters flowed, what is hard about Messiah being the Manna? Such matters distinguish faith from unbelief.

Folks present knew Yeshua and His parents, and wondered how His claim of being the Manna could be true. He determined to settle the matter by stating that no one could come to Him unless Yehovah the Father draws him to Yeshua. Messiah will resurrect all such folks in the Day of Yehovah.

Messiah quoted the prophets, and I am supposing it to be the following text:

Isaiah 54:11 Thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. ¹²And I will make thy windows of agates and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. ¹³And all thy children are taught of Yehovah. And great is the peace of thy children!

Jerusalem is being addressed, and the children of Jerusalem are the Israelis. The timing is the End Times, starting in the Tribulation and continuing throughout the Millennium. The text speaks of folks who are taught directly by Yehovah. Folks who have heard and have learned from Yehovah will come to Messiah! They won’t see Yehovah the Father directly, because at that time Messiah alone will see the Father. Anyone who believes on Messiah Yeshua has everlasting life (present tense).

Messiah then spoke about the bread of life: I am that bread of life. The Manna pictured this, but Messiah is the bread of life. The Israelis’ fathers ate Manna, and it didn’t save them; they died. Messiah is describing the Bread of Life—it is what comes down from the heavens so that a man may eat from it and not die (for ever). Messiah Yeshua is the living bread that came down from the heavens. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever, just like folks who eat of the Tree of Life.

The bread Messiah will give is His flesh; He will give it for the life of the world. I thought about how the Scriptures use flesh:

Romans 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles. I magnify mine office ¹⁴if by any means I may provoke to emulation my flesh, and might save some of them.

If Messiah gave His own bodily flesh for the life of the world, why did He take it back again when He rose from the dead? He gave Himself into the hands of violent folks, but salvation came through His blood. During the Tribulation, however, the Jewish folks will be given into the hands of sinful men, and many will die. Through their deaths will come the life of the world:

Romans 11:15 For if the casting away of them is the reconciling of the world, what is the receiving but life from the dead?

Verse 52 shows that some of the folks hearing Messiah weren’t getting it. Yeshua’s response was even more cryptic: Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.

Look at the following verses:

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory—the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” ⁵²The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us flesh to eat?” ⁵³Then Yeshua said unto them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him.

Could He be referring the Word of God made flesh, the Lamb of God? If so, what would His blood be? If it refers back to the cup (discussed above in the four reconciled texts), the Covenant of Messiah in His blood, an eater and drinker of Messiah’s flesh and blood has participated in His Covenant; and only one circumcised may do so:

Exodus 12:43 And Yehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover. No stranger shall eat of him. ⁴⁴But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat of him. ⁴⁵A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat of him. ⁴⁶In one house he shall be eaten. Thou shalt not carry forth the flesh abroad out of the house, neither shall ye break a bone of him. ⁴⁷All the congregation of Israel shall guard him. ⁴⁸And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will guard the Passover to Yehovah, all his males shall be circumcised. And then he shall come near and guard him. And he shall be as one that is born in the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat of him. ⁴⁹One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.”

John 6:54 shows Yeshua’s seriousness regarding these things, because He repeats, Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day. If He flesh refers to the Manna and His blood refers to the waters of life in the Rock when He appeared as the Rock, this also makes sense. Verse 57 uses the expression, Shall live by me. This reminds me of other texts:

Habakkuk 2:4-b The righteous-one by his faith shall live. Deuteronomy 8:3 And He humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna—which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know—that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of Yehovah doth man live. Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Romans 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

Eating of Messiah the Manna is associated with faith, and differs from merely tasting:

Psalms 34:8 Taste and see that Yehovah is good. Blessed is the man trusting in Him.

Yeshua refers to the bread in the third person in verse 58: He who eateth of this bread shall live for ever. This is similar to what He said to the woman He met at the well and what He said in the verses above in John 6:

John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, “I am the bread of life. He who cometh to me shall never hunger. And he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

Messiah Yeshua said these things in a synagogue. His own Disciples (He had many besides the twelve) found this a very hard saying that could not be heard (verse 60). Yeshua asked the Disciples directly whether this offended them. Would it still offend them if they saw the Son of man ascend back into the heavens?

Yeshua then clarified the point (verse 63) by explaining that the Spirit of Yehovah makes alive. The flesh (physical body made of skin, muscles, bones, etc.) doesn’t profit; eating Messiah’s arm would not do any good. The words He spoke unto them are Spirit (breath) and are life. The words must be eaten. Some of His Disciples didn’t believe Him, like Judas Iscariot. No one can come to the Word of Yehovah unless Yehovah the Father gives ‘it’ to him. (Does ‘it’ represent the Word, faith, life, hearing, Manna, the Spirit of Yehovah, or something else?) Yeshua lost many Disciples by this communication. His Twelve didn’t go away. Peter knew Yeshua had the words of everlasting life, and he spoke for the other eleven (though he was mistaken about Judas Iscariot) affirming their faith and certainty that Yeshua is the Messiah the Son of the living God.

1 Chronicles 11:17 And David longed, and said, “Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is at the gate! ¹⁸And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate. And they took and brought to David. But David would not drink of it, but poured it out to Yehovah. ¹⁹And he said, “My God forbid it me that I should do this thing. Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy? For with their lives they brought it!” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest. 2 Samuel 23:14 And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then Bethlehem. ¹⁵And David longed. And he said, “Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! ¹⁶And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines. And they drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate. And they took and brought to David. And he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto Yehovah. ¹⁷And he said, “Be it far from me, Yehovah, that I should do this—the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives!” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.

King David recognized that by drinking the water these men obtained at the risk of their lives, he would be drinking their blood. Messiah obtained the waters of life by shedding His own blood, and all who participate in what Messiah obtained are drinking His blood in the very same way.

February 15, 2009August 24, 2016

Email between a Teenage Girl and a Youth Pastor

Or,

Is Modern Christianity Teaching the Doctrine of Balaam–that Sins such as Fornication are a Normal Part of the Godly Life?

Please carefully read the following communication. See if you can see what I saw. At the end, I will repeat the communication with a proposed answer to this youth pastor.

***

I went to church one wednesday night with a friend who had been begging me to go, and i was completely horrified. (I had forgotten how ridiculous I thought church was, so I guess a refreshment was necessary.) So, the youth pastor said loads of things that I question, so I wrote him this one day.

Hi P,

I had a few questions about the wednesday night service a couple weeks ago.

First, I don’t understand why jews aren’t ever mentioned. I mean, you kept saying “christians this and christians that” but what happened to the jews? Even Jeshua was a jew.
And second, why don’t you think that we are supposed to try to be perfect? Don’t you remember Jehovah telling Abraham, “go forth and be ye perfect.” didn’t that mean anything? Don’t you think that we’re supposed to be true saints? Without sin? Wht is it taught that that’s impossible? Every day, every single day we make the decision to sin. We make the decision to lie, to cheat, to talk about people. We make the choices to commit fornication, to be homosexual, things that are abominations. We choose to do those things, yet we consider ouraelves christians? What does that show the rest of the world?

He wrote back:

It’s awesome to hear from you. I am glad that you felt comfortable enough to come to [our church] and ask a question. I admire your faith, and your boldness.

People who were followers of Jesus in the New Testament were called Christians. We are called Christians because we follow the Jesus of the New Testament. We don’t have anything against Jewish people, or Judaism itself, but it’s just the name of people who believe like we do.

Jesus was a Jew, but more importantly, He was the Christ — the One who came to seek and save the lost.

The New Testament book of Galatians, chapter 3 and verses 26-29 says, 26″You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Regardless of whether we’re Jewish, Gentile, slave, free, we’re all one if we belong to Christ.

The second question about perfection…Jesus echoes the Torah when he said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your father is perfect.” But it’s like saying, “I will love my neighbor today,” only to have the neighbor do something very irritating to me, and I momentarily lose my resolve to love them. It’s when we fail to turn the other cheek or give up our cloaks or go the second mile that we understand our own sinful natures and our need for God’s grace. Our aim is to become sinless beings, but I find that awfully hard even on my best and most charitable days.

Even more than the willful act of committing fornication, what about the days when we fail to stand up for the poor or the oppressed, or become prideful, or don’t give alms in secret, or lose our tempers, or any other number of small sins — small, but equally sinful as committing fornication. When we realize the impossibility of the command to live a sinless life, then we understand our need for a Savior.

Through Christ, we see what Paul means when he said that he forgets what is behind, and constantly looks forward to the finish line. He did not mean that he was sinless. But those sins, in light of Christ and our ultimate destination as sinless beings, are only part of an imperfect history.

What are your thoughts?

I look forward to seeing you again, Y, at [our church].

Your biggest fan,

______________________

The following is a proposed answer to this youth pastor. I will repeat her email, then give his answer with the proposed response to him.

***

Hi P,

I had a few questions about the wednesday night service a couple weeks ago.

He wrote back:

It’s awesome to hear from you. I am glad that you felt comfortable enough to come to [our church] and ask a question. I admire your faith, and your boldness.

I am glad to hear that you don’t have anything against Jewish people. That doesn’t mean that you see them as being special or important in the view of the God of the Bible. Jesus didn’t come except to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. You knew that, didn’t you? Salvation is only of the Jews. Doesn’t that make them rather special? There won’t even be a resurrection of the dead until Jews in Jerusalem call for Yeshua. You knew that, didn’t you? They are very special, and are mentioned in most of the books of the Bible. Shouldn’t that be spoken openly in church?

Jesus was a Jew, but more importantly, He was the Christ — the One who came to seek and save the lost.

Yes, Yeshua was a Jew. I agree that more importantly, He was and is the Messiah. But even more importantly, He is the Jewish Messiah–the anointed One of Israel. He came to seek and save the lost, specifically the lost sheep of the House of Israel. (He said so, and said it that bluntly.) I know that His blood was shed for the sin of the world, and that all may freely take advantage of His Salvation. But I get the impression that your church believes in a Gentile Jesus who can be disconnected from Israel without there being any problem, and that His Jewishness is, like, gone. I see that the Bible teaches that He will return to Israel, not to France; to Israel, not to Belgium; to Israel, not to Rome; to Israel, not to New York City.

Yes, it says something like that. (I don’t like translations that are sloppy. That shows me that the translators didn’t fear God.)

Regardless of whether we’re Jewish, Gentile, slave, free, we’re all one if we belong to Christ.

I agree with this, but the Bible always keeps the distinctions between Jews and Gentiles even in the Book of Revelation. There is a difference between all who are born of God being sons of God, and everyone being the same. Even churches still have a men’s room and a ladies’ room. If the churches really believed that there was no difference, the churches would have unisex bathrooms.

I know that Israel is important from Romans 11! That isn’t a “we are all one” chapter; it is telling Gentiles not to be arrogant over the Jews, because the entire Hope of real Christianity is in the restoration of Israel, entirely.

Let me understand what you are saying. You are saying that Jesus did say, “Be perfect as your Father is perfect.” But you are also saying that this command is of no use while we are still alive, because we won’t be able to do it. You are saying that the grace of God is there for us when we disobey God’s commands. So, what shall we say? Shall we continue to sin so that the grace of God will be all the more? You are saying, amen to that?

What good is understanding our own sinful natures if the power of God is so weak that it can’t even give us the power to walk normally without sinning? I don’t want a powerless God who commands what He knows we can’t do. If that is the God your church is offering, I have better ways to waste my time. I want a God who commands, and who also makes sure that those He commands are able to do what He says (even when He has to supply the power). Your church’s God doesn’t even have the power to give a person normal self-control! Is this what you are saying? That is what I am hearing.

Our aim is to become sinless beings, but I find that awfully hard even on my best and most charitable days.

I know that sinners have a hard time refusing to sin when they get itches and urges, but I don’t find in the Bible that all Saints are accused of sinning. Several were declared perfect. Now, your translation is weak, so it might not say that. But I know that the Hebrew language says that about Noah, Job, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Daniel.

Well, now, if losing our tempers is equally as sinful as fornicating, you have just given me the best excuse to bed with any guys I think are cute! Since both are equal sins, I want one that gives me a real zing! I just know that this doesn’t make sense. I also know that it shouldn’t make sense to you. I don’t see where the Bible commands me to stand up for the poor or oppressed unless I am there and seeing it, and I know that this command was given to the Israelis among themselves. I agree that pride is wrong. As for giving alms in secret, I say that this is pretty easy to do right. I think you don’t really know what sin is. I think you think that thoughts are sins, right? There is a difference between plotting to sin and thinking about it, then refusing to do wrong.

When we realize the impossibility of the command to live a sinless life, then we understand our need for a Savior.

From what does the Savior save us? If sin kills, and I get saved from sin, and I continue to sin, but just less, doesn’t some text, like in Hebrews, warn against this, something about re-crucifying Jesus all over again? It sounds like AA has a better program, because they at least tell folks that they have to never drink again. Your faith already recognizes that even folks who have been saved from sin will still sin. That ruins Romans 6. But then, Christianity doesn’t have power. That is why many my age turn to Islam. At least it has guts (even if it blows them all over the street).

If it is impossible to live a sinless life, Jesus was a failure, since He is an example. If it is impossible, God is weaker than an earthworm.

Through Christ, we see what Paul means when he said that he forgets what is behind, and constantly looks forward to the finish line. He did not mean that he was sinless. But those sins, in light of Christ and our ultimate destination as sinless beings, are only part of an imperfect history.

That doesn’t make sense to me, and I think that it also doesn’t make sense to you. I think you know that this is terribly flawed. That is the easiest believism I have heard, a faith with no heroes, no backbone. Is that why there is no difference in the amounts of sin of church goers and non-churchgoers? Is it because they believed you? Your faith is as weak as Reform Judaism, which is about as liberal as it can be. Is that how you want me to see your faith? Because I don’t see how I can see it in any other way.

What are your thoughts?

I hope that you didn’t mind my giving you my thoughts. I just see your faith as useless. I would do better to go to the unisex restroom and sit it out during the service. At least I could think, and plot to refuse to sin. Do you see what I mean?

I look forward to seeing you again, Y, at [our church].

Thank you. But if I come, I am coming for the social part, though I do fear those of my age who believe this way. I think a motorcycle gang has a far higher ethic of right and wrong even if they are selling illegal drugs. They can show self-control regarding the leader’s girlfriend.

Your biggest fan,

You are very kind.

February 15, 2009August 22, 2016

Tomb Texts – What Happened around the Resurrection?

Tomb Texts – What Happened around the Resurrection?

Garden Tomb in Israel

Preface

Events at Yeshua’s tomb are described in Matthew’s, Mark’s, Luke’s and John’s prophetic texts. Several seemed to conflict. I had found other such sets of texts (for example, the three sets of texts describing Saul’s meeting with Yeshua when Saul was blinded) that seemed to conflict, and I had found that reconciling them not only solved the mystery, but gave information that one cannot find in the separate texts. I determined to do the same thing with these ‘Tomb’ texts. I used all the texts. When I even cut a single word, it was like a conjunction (and, therefore, then, etc.); I didn’t desire to exclude any information. You certainly can be the judge.

Making such a combination requires thought, and I could not infallibly do it. Your responsibility is to be skeptical. I had to sew pieces of texts into other texts, since some texts jumped over so many details. This will at least give you an idea and format for your own construction of the texts to discern what happened according to all the testimony of the Bible. I do modernize some of the grammar, and I change the order of sentences to correspond to the way we presently word sentences. I also employ the more Hebrew names. I remove many commas and add a few.

______________________

The Great Earthquake

And, behold, there was a great earthquake. For the angel of Yehovah descended from the heavens, and came and rolled the stone from the door. And he sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And the keepers did shake for fear of him. And they became as dead.

Now when the centurion and they who were watching Yeshua with him saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they greatly feared, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Women at a Distance at the Cross

And many women who followed Yeshua from Galilee ministering unto Him were there beholding these things afar off, among whom was Miriam of the Tower and Miriam the mother of Jacob the less and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children, and Salome (who also followed Him and ministered unto him when He was in Galilee), and many other women who came up with Him unto Jerusalem, and all his acquaintance.

Joseph of Arimathaea to Pilate

When the evening was come, because it was the preparation—that is, the day before the Sabbath, there came a rich man of Arimathaea—a city of the Jews—an honourable counselor named Joseph. He was a good and a righteous man who also waited for the kingdom of God, who also himself was Yeshua’s disciple,but secretly for fear of the Yehudeem. The same had not consented to their counsel and deed. He came and went in boldly unto Pilate, and begged to take away the body of Yeshua. And Pilate marveled if He were already dead. And calling the centurion, he asked him whether He had been any while dead. And when he knew by the centurion, Pilate then commanded the body to be delivered; he gave the body to Joseph.

And he bought fine linen. And he took Him down. And Nicodemus who came to Yeshua by night at the first also came there, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes—about a hundred pounds. And when they had taken the body, Joseph wrapped it in a clean linen cloth with the spices as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

Now there was a garden in the place where He was crucified, and a new sepulchre in the garden in which never man was yet laid. And he laid Him in his own new tomb that he had hewn out in the rock. They therefore laid Yeshua there because of the Jews’ Preparation, for the sepulchre was nigh at hand. And that day was the Preparation. And the Sabbath drew on.

And the women also who came with him from Galilee followed after and beheld the sepulchre. And he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And there was Miriam of the Tower and the other Miriam sitting over against the sepulchre. And Miriam of the Tower and Miriam of Joses beheld where He was laid and how His body was laid. And they returned and prepared spices and ointments. And they rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.

Chief Priests and Pharisees Sealing the Tomb

Now the next day that followed the day of the Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate saying, “Sir, we remember that that deceiver while he was yet alive said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say unto the people, ‘He is risen from the dead!’ So the last error shall be worse than the first.” Pilate said unto them, “Ye have a watch. Go your way. Make as sure as ye can.” So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch.

Rolling Away the Stone

In the end of the Sabbath very early in the morning as it began to dawn toward the first of the week, Miriam of the Tower and the other Miriam of Jacob and Salome came to see the sepulchre. They had bought sweet spices so that they might come and anoint Him. They came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices that they and certain [others] with them had prepared.

And they said among themselves, “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?” And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away from the sepulchre! For it was very great.

Running to Peter (and John)

But Miriam stood outside, weeping at the sepulchre. Then she runs and comes to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Yeshua loved. And she says unto them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we don’t know where they laid Him.”

Miriam and the Angels in the Sepulchre

(Now when He was risen early the first of the week, He appeared first to Miriam of the Tower out of whom He had cast seven devils.) And as she wept, she stooped down into the sepulchre. And she sees two angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Yeshua had lain. And they say unto her, “Woman, why weepest thou?” She says unto them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid Him.” And when she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Yeshua standing. And she didn’t know that he was Yeshua. Yeshua says unto her, “Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she says unto Him, “Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Yeshua says unto her, “Miriam!” She turned herself and says unto Him, “Rabboni!”—which is to say, “My Multiplied-[one]!”

Yeshua says unto her, “Don’t grasp me. For I am not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God!”

Yeshua is Risen

And entering into the sepulchre, they didn’t find the body of the Lord Yeshua. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. And they saw a young man sitting on the right side clothed in a long white garment. And they were affrighted. And as they were afraid and bowed down faces to the earth, they said unto them, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” And the angel answered and said unto the women, “Fear ye not. For I know that ye seek Yeshua of Nazareth Who was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen as He said. Remember how He spoke unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again’?” And they remembered His words. “Come! See the place where the Lord lay, where they laid Him! And go quickly your way! And tell His disciples and Peter that He is risen from the dead! And behold, He goes before you into Galilee! Ye shall see Him there as He said unto you! Behold, I have told you!” And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, for they trembled and were amazed. Neither did they say anything to anyone, for they were afraid. And they ran to bring His disciples word.

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Yeshua met them saying, “Shalom!” And they came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him. Then Yeshua said unto them, “Be not afraid. Go tell my brethren so that they go into Galilee. And they shall see me there.”

Telling the Eleven

And they returned from the sepulchre and told all these things unto the eleven and to all the rest. It was Miriam of the Tower and Joanna and Miriam of Jacob and others with them who told these things unto the apostles. Miriam of the Tower told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and He had spoken these things unto her. She went and told them that had been with Him as they mourned and wept. And they didn’t believe when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her. And their words seemed to them as idle tales. And they didn’t believe them.

Peter’s Sepulchre Run with John

Then Peter arose (and that other disciple), went forth, and ran unto the sepulchre. So they ran both together. And the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And stooping down, he saw the linen clothes lying; yet he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter comes following him. And stooping down, he went into the sepulchre and sees the linen clothes lie, laid by themselves, and the bandana that was about His head not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then that other disciple who came first to the sepulchre also went in. And he saw and believed. For they didn’t as yet know the Scripture that He must rise again from the dead. And he departed, wondering in himself what was come to pass. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

Emmaus Appearance

He appeared after that in another form unto two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told unto the residue. Neither did they believe them.

Emmaus Walk with Yeshua

And behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus that is sixty furlongs from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things that had happened. And it came to pass that Yeshua Himself drew near and went with them while they communed and reasoned. But their eyes were held so that they would not know Him.

And He said unto them, “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another as ye walk, and are sad?” And one of them whose name was Cleopas said unto Him answering, “Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem? And thou hast not known the things that are come to pass there in these days?” And He said unto them, “What things?” And they said unto Him, “Concerning Yeshua of Nazareth Who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death. And they have crucified Him. But we trusted that it had been He Who should have redeemed Israel! And besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Indeed, and also certain women of our company who were early at the sepulchre made us astonished! And when they didn’t find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive! And certain of them who were with us went to the sepulchre. And they found even so as the women had said. But they didn’t see Him.”

Then He said unto them, “Fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Messiah to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?”

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. And they drew nigh unto the village to where they went. And He made as though He would have gone further. But they constrained Him saying, “Abide with us. For it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to tarry with them. And they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven gathered together, and them who were with them, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” And they told what things in the way, and how He was known by them in breaking of bread. And it came to pass as He sat at food with them, He took bread. And He blessed. And He broke and gave to them. And their eyes were opened. And they knew Him. And He vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, “Didn’t our heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Money Paid for Lying about Stealing Yeshua’s Body

Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers saying, “Say ye, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and secure you.” So they took the money and did as they were taught. And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Eleven Disciples See Yeshua

Then the same day at evening, being the first of the week when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Yehudeem, and as they thus spoke, Yeshua Himself appeared unto the eleven as they sat at food. And He stood in the midst of them.

And He says unto them, “Shalom to you!” But they were terrified and affrighted. And they supposed that they had seen a ghost. And He said unto them, “Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet—that it is I myself! Handle me and see! For a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones as ye see me have.” And when He had thus spoken, He showed them His side, hands and feet. And while they yet didn’t believe for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, “Have ye any food here?” And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb. And He took and ate before them. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

Then Yeshua said again to them, “Shalom to you!” And He said unto them, “These are the words that I spoke unto you while I was yet with you—that all things that were written in the Torah of Moshe and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled concerning me!”

And He upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart because they didn’t believe them who had seen Him after He was risen.

Thomas

But Thomas called Didymus, one of the twelve, was not with them when Yeshua came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said unto them, “Except I shall see the print of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe!”

And after eight days His disciples were again within, and Thomas is with them. Yeshua came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst. And He said, “Shalom to you!” Then He says to Thomas, “Reach thy finger hither and behold my hands! And reach thy hand hither and thrust into my side. And don’t be faithless, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said unto Him, “My Lord and my God!” Yeshua says unto him, “Thomas, thou hast believed because thou hast seen me. Blessed are they that have not seen and have believed.”

Going into Galilee

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee into a mountain where Yeshua had appointed them. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him.

But some doubted.

Many Appearances

Yeshua showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias after these things. And He showed on this wise.

Yeshua’s Third Visit

Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus and Nathanael of Cana and them of Zebedee and two other disciples of His were there together in Galilee.

Simon Peter says unto them, “I am going fishing.” They say unto him, “We are also going with thee.” They went forth and immediately entered into a ship. And that night they caught nothing.

But when the morning was now come, Yeshua stood on the shore. But the disciples didn’t know that He was Yeshua. Then Yeshua says unto them, “Children, have ye any food?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said unto them, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.” They therefore cast. And now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes! Therefore that disciple whom Yeshua loved says unto Peter, “It is the Lord!”

Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt a fisher’s coat, for he was naked, and cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship dragging the net with fishes. For they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits.

As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.

Yeshua says unto them, “Bring of the fish that ye have now caught.” Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three. And there were so many for all, yet the net was not broken. Yeshua says unto them, “Come! Dine!” And none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who art thou?” knowing that it was the Lord. Yeshua then comes and takes bread, and gives them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Yeshua showed Himself to His disciples after He was risen from the dead.

So when they had dined, Yeshua says to Simon Peter, “Simon of Jonah, lovest thou me more than these?” He says unto Him, “Indeed, sir. Thou knowest that I love thee.” He says unto him, “Feed my lambs.”

He says to him again the second time, “Simon of Jonah, lovest thou me?” He says unto him, “Indeed, sir, Thou knowest that I love thee.” He says unto him, “Feed my sheep.”

He says unto him the third time, “Simon of Jonah, lovest thou me?” Peter was grieved because He said unto him the third time, “Lovest thou me?” And he said unto Him, “Sir, Thou knowest all things! Thou knowest that I love thee!” Yeshua says unto him, “Feed my sheep! Faith! Faith! I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girded thyself and walked whither thou would. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry whither thou wouldest not.” He spoke this, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He says unto him, “Follow me.”

Then Peter, turning around, sees the disciple whom Yeshua loved following, who also leaned on His breast at supper and said, “Sir, who is he that betrays Thee?” Peter seeing him says to Yeshua, “Sir, and what is this man?” Yeshua says unto him, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is to thee? Follow thou me!” This saying then went abroad among the brethren—that that disciple should not die. Yet Yeshua didn’t say unto him, “He shall not die,” but, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is to thee?” This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things. And we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things that Yeshua did that I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written if they, every one, should be written. Faith!

Yeshua Opens Their Understanding

And Yeshua came. Then He opened their understanding so that they would understand the Scriptures. And He said unto them saying, “Thus it is written and thus it behooved the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all races beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. All power is given unto me in the heavens and in earth. Go ye into all the world, therefore, and preach the gospel to every creature, teach all races, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who doesn’t believe shall be damned. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on and says unto them, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit. Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them. Whosesoever ye retain, they are retained. And these signs shall follow them who believe: they shall cast out devils in my Name. They shall speak with new languages. They shall take up serpents. And if they drink anything deadly, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. And behold, I am with you always unto the end of the age! Faith! And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.” And He led them out as far as to Bethany. And He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

Other Signs

And Yeshua truly did many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that ye might believe that Yeshua is the Messiah the Son of God, and that believing, ye might have life through His Name.

Ascension

And so then, it came to pass after the Lord had spoken unto them while He blessed them, He was parted from them and was carried up. And He was received up into the heavens. And they worshipped Him. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And He sat on the right hand of God.

Aftermath

And they were continually in the Temple, praising and blessing God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with and confirming the Word with signs following. Faith!

February 13, 2009August 22, 2016

Biblical Definition of Sin/Can a Saint Go a Day without Sinning?

Can a Saint Go a Day without Sinning?

Introduction

Ask folks claiming to be Christians, “Can anyone go a day without sinning?” Some may take a stand that they can. Others will claim that going any length of time without sinning is not possible, since mortals are fallen creatures. Some practically fight for the right to sin.

One common response is, “You sin all the time, just by your thoughts!” and another is, “We commit the sin of omission all the time!” “Nobody’s perfect!” comes in somewhere. How do Scriptures describe the Saints who pleased God?

Pastor Arthur Glass wrote the following summary (which I have updated later in this document):

The Biblical Definition of Sin

As taken form the pastoral outline notes of Arthur Glass

A. The Depraving Folly: “The thought of foolishness is sin” —Proverbs 24:9-a

The Hebrew word being translated thought is not the usual word. This word means “to connive, design, devise or plan (evil); also to scheme, think (immorally or evil).” Only when used of God can it be used in a good sense (as in Zechariah 8:14 & 15). Whenever it is used of man, it is mainly evil (as in Deuteronomy 19:19).

The Hebrew word being translated foolishness has nothing to do with intelligence or intellectual capacity, or lack of it: but rather with moral or spiritual status: “a state of impious wickedness.”

1. Its Source: The heart

Matthew 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. ¹⁹For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: ²⁰These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

2. Its Substance: Evil thoughts (as defined above), murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies

3. Its Sequence: “These are the things which defile a man.”

Examples: Matthew 9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. ⁴And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

Acts 8:22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

B. The Deciding Faithlessness: “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” —Romans 14:23-b

An Example: Titus 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

1. Is it for the glory of God? 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

2. Is it for my good or the good of others?

Examples: Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

3. Is it for the furtherance of the Gospel? Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.

C. The Deliberate Failure: “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” —James 4:17

1. In Example: 1 Peter 5:3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

1 Timothy 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: 7So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

1 Thessalonians 2:6 Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor [yet] of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. ⁷But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:

2. In Exercise: Psalm 131:1 A Song of degrees of David. Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.

Acts 24:16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men.

1 Timothy 4:7 But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

3. In Expression: Colossians 4:6 Let your speech [be] alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

D. The Demonstrated Flagrancy: “Sin is the transgression of the Law” —1 John 3:4-b

Deuteronomy 5:32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

1. The Spiritual Law: Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

2. The Social Law: Titus 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, 2To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, [but] gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; ¹⁴Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. ¹⁵For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

3. The Standard Law: The Bible warns against dissipation, drunkenness, excess, gluttony, intemperance, laziness.

E. The Declared Finality: “All unrighteousness is sin” —1 John 5:17-a

1. In Thought: Psalm 50:21 These [things] hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether [such an one] as thyself: [but] I will reprove thee, and set [them] in order before thine eyes. + Acts 8:20,22

2. In Tongue: Proverbs 6:16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: ¹⁷A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, ¹⁹A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

James 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. ³Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. ⁴Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. ⁵Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! ⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. ³⁷For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

3. In Transaction: Romans 12:17-b Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

2 Corinthians 8:21 Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

1 Thessalonians 4:11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; ¹²That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and [that] ye may have lack of nothing.

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(The following is added and not original)

F. The Deleterious Frivolity: “The plowing of the wicked is sin.” —Proverbs 21:4-b

The Hebrew word translated plowing is also the word for lamp or light.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Psalm 50:16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? ¹⁷Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. ¹⁸When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. ¹⁹Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. ²⁰Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son. ²¹These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

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Discussion

A. The Plot of Evil

“The plot of evil is sin.” The Hebrew literally reads, “The plot of evil is a sin-sacrifice.” This is an End Times warning text, one of several thousand in the Bible. It gives a particular detail that will save the lives of Jewish folks who know and hearken to it. During the Tribulation, Jews (and some non-Jews) will approach the priests at the Temple to do sin sacrifices. They will not know that they are identifying themselves as enemies of those in power by this means, and will be tracked for arrest or death. The Proverbs text explains that the sin sacrifice will be a plot against them. Readers who hearken to this warning will refrain from approaching to do sin sacrifices during this time.

This does not eliminate plots of evil from being sin, but this Proverbs text is not giving this general rule.

I will discuss “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” “all unrighteousness is sin,” and “who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it–to him it is sin” later in this document.

“Sin is the transgression of the Law.” Anyone ignorant of the Torah (Law) might find this confusing. Read the Torah (the first six books of the Bible) to determine what constitutes transgressions.

“The lamp of the wicked is sin.” What is this lamp? The Hebrew text literally reads, “The lamp of culpable-ones is a sin-sacrifice.” This again is a warning for End Times events (as are all Proverbs texts). The sin sacrifice will be a signal to culpable ones. They will know whom to arrest and/or kill. Readers of these texts with knowledge who are alive during the Tribulation will know to stay away from the Temple and its sacrifices until Salvation has come.

B. “We are not to judge!”

1. No normal person would argue against trained and certified, uncorrupted judges judging without violating any law of God, just as Biblically appointed judges (Gideon, Samson, Samuel) of old were appointed by God to judge. The blanket statement, “we are not to judge,” is a legal, moral and ethical error. If a non-certified person sets himself as a judge, injustice will be done.

2. A customer in the grocery store or on a car lot judges objects. Distinguishing between different objects and different persons is called discernment, determining differences between objects, persons, works, etc. when they otherwise look very similar. Discernment is a form of judgment. Another form of judgment is condemnation. Anyone who condemns another without being authorized is doing wrong.

3. Folks who date judge the qualities of each other (if they have sense). Those who date and marry without judging usually get the quality of the product they deserve. Judgment is crucial in such important decisions.

4. Condemning anyone before the time (of Yehovah’s judgment) is wrong. Discernment is right.

Matthew 7:1-5 Judge not that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged. And with what measure ye mete [assign by measure], it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote [a small particle] that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, ‘Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye;’ and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite! First cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye!

Messiah addressed many who had not come to faith (Matthew 5-7). In Matthew 7:1-5, an unbelieving Israeli (and therefore under condemnation) is judging another Israeli for a lesser offense! Anyone with a beam in his eye is totally blind, a description of the unsaved. This text does not pertain to Saints.

Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given unto you–men shall give into your bosom good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over. For it shall be measured to you with the same measure that ye mete withal … (43) …For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit, neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man bringeth forth that which is good out of the good treasure of his heart. And an evil man bringeth forth that which is evil out of the evil treasure of his heart. For his mouth speaketh from the abundance of the heart.

In the same manner, the Luke text addressed unsaved Israelis. One Israeli judged another instead of carefully considering his own status before God. The Israelis are commanded to love each other, not sit in judgment upon one other. Israel had courts where judgments beyond this could take place. Messiah guarantees that Israelis who treat other Israelis in a particular way will be treated in the same way. (What is the timing?)

John 7:24 …Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Romans 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother [concerning foods and holy days]? or why doest thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Messiah… (13) …Let us not therefore judge one another any more. But judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in the brother’s way.

5. The next level of judgment is in a dispute over keeping a holiday or eating certain foods. Jewish individuals could not eat some things according to the Torah, while non-Jewish Saints could. Yehovah prohibited all Saints from eating certain foods, like meat sacrificed to idols (if the host discloses that it was involved in this) and anything with blood. Yehovah commanded the Jewish People to keep certain Holy Days. The Gentiles are not given Biblical Holy Days, and they may observe the days of their choosing, or no days. Contention results if a non-Jewish person tries to put restrictions on a Jew, or vice versa. If a Gentile tells another Gentile to keep the Sabbath (which was given to Israel and not the Gentiles), the Torah has been twisted. If one judges another according to his own views, the judge is violating the territory of Yehovah. This judgment belongs to Yehovah only.

I Corinthians 14:29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

Luke 7:42b “Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose that to whom he forgave most.” And He said unto him, “Thou has rightly judged.”

I Corinthians 5:3 For I verily–as absent in body but present in spirit–have judged already, as though I were present, him that hath so done this deed, in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Messiah Jesus, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus!

1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner–with such an one no notto eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person!

1 Corinthians 6:2 Do ye not know that the Saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one who shall be able to judge between his brethren?

6. The next level of judgment is when a Believer judges a sinning non-believer. Religious judgment of sinners (for abortions, addictions, etc.) is presumptuous and not a Saint’s responsibility. The non-believer always has sin. Yehovah judges such for sin.

7. 1 Corinthians addresses legitimately judging a sinning Saint (if there is proof). This is vital to maintain the standards of Godliness among Brethren. Some religious folks will judge others for certain types of clothing, hair lengths, drinking wine, etc., but these are not sin issues unless they cross over into immodesty or addictions. Some maintain that a woman’s wearing pants is immodest. If she does not wear pants, that would truly be immodest!

8. The next level of judgment is discernment (of spirits, of spirituality, of things hard to distinguish without wisdom or the Spirit of God). Even unbelievers can sometimes accurately exercise this important level of judgment.

9. 1 Corinthians 6 teaches that Saints will judge unbelievers and angels. They need to show proper judgment now in preparation for this event.

10. Anyone who criticizes is judging. Criticism is not automatically wrong. It can be constructive, destructive or impertinent. Constructive criticism helps a person do right and become better at something good. Destructive criticism tears down and attacks. The critic may be arrogant, bitter or prideful, or may be untaught in proper communications and sensitivity. No one has the right to condemn criticism, but its form is important. It is a vital part of growth.

11. Anyone exercising no judgment is a fool. Anyone utilizing wise judgment demonstrates virtue. Anyone condemning sound judgment defies the Scriptures and lacks understanding.

C. “You sin all the time, just by your thoughts!”

What constitutes a thought-sin? The Torah teaches the following:

Leviticus 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am Yehovah.

Exodus 23:5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

Luke states,

Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, Rebuke Him! And if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, ‘I repent,’ thou shalt forgive him.

1. Hatred of a brother is sin. The following Psalm describes Biblically proper hatred:

Psalm 139:19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked one, O God; depart from me therefore, ye bloody men! For they speak against thee wickedly; thine enemies take [thy Name] in vain! Do not I hate them, Yehovah, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against Thee? I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: test me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be a wicked way in me: and lead me in the way everlasting.

2. A Saint does right by hating those who hate Yehovah and His Name. His views of justice must line up with Yehovah’s. Yet Yehovah shows grace to His enemies, and the Saint must do the same with Wisdom. One of Yehovah’s characteristics is hatred:

Psalm 5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak lies: Yehovah will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

Psalm 11:5 Yehovah tries the righteous [person]: but the wicked [person] and him that loveth violence His Soul Hateth!

Proverbs 6:16 These… doth Yehovah hate: … A false witness speaking lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Galatians 5:11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the cross ceased. I would they were even cut off who trouble you!

Hatred is not sin as long as it—

is not toward a brother (a believer, or, among the Israelis, a fellow Israeli);

is part of Biblical grace (Yehovah’s hatred of the above-mentioned sinners has always been an integral part of His grace; He still calls them to repent); and

does not have destructive bitterness. If an enemy desires to make peace on God’s terms, Biblical grace will eliminate bitterness towards the worst enemy.

Any plot of evil is sin (though the text that mentions a plot of evil is referring to a particular event). The following are examples of the plotting of evil:

holding hatred toward a brother

evil bitterness (there is a righteous form)

presumption (assumption with arrogance)

plotting murder, harm, destruction, theft (outside of a war action)

plotting revenge (outside of a war action)

plotting the ruination of character (outside of a war action)

covetousness

Covetousness is fervently desiring the exact item or person possessed by another, and is not the same as desiring something or someone similar. Covetousness can be a plot of evil if, given the chance and possibility, someone will violate ethics to obtain the desired object.

The Torah defines sin. There is no case where incorrect thoughts are considered sin. Anyone acting on evil thoughts or plotting evil has sinned.

If I were to see someone doing what might be evil, but I am unsure, if I draw a conclusion before I know the truth and the facts, I have not sinned. If I act upon those thoughts, my act may be sin. Every thought that is truly a sin is a plot. We can correct thoughts before we act upon them. If the Israelis must bring thoughts into subjection, preventing sin (2 Corinthians 10:5b: bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Messiah, and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience…), all Saints must also. This is not a command to control thoughts. Some have erred by trying to keep evil thoughts out of their minds, feeling guilty before God for even having them. Evil thoughts do not pollute the person in any way. Anyone who has evil thoughts and refuses to yield to them is showing strength, not weakness.

I have often heard the following verse cited regarding thought-sins:

Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

The initial action, looketh on a woman, is followed by another action, to lust after her. This is no passive, fleeting thought, but is the beginning of an evil plot. Lusting after anyone in the Biblical sense is an action. The Israelis lusted after meat. Yehovah gave them quails. They ate them raw. It is no sin for a man to lustily desire a woman for a wife if he refuses to sin in the process of properly acquiring her (if she will have him). Raping, stalking or involving her in adultery are great evils. Lusting for a woman (not lusting after) is not Biblically wrong. God built desires into men and women. The races would have ceased long ago had it not been for this.

If one believes fleeting evil thoughts are sin, he will never able to overcome:

James 1:6b …For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Since he is sinning all of the time (in his view), he is less likely to attempt to refuse to sin. Were fleeting thoughts sin, the Word of God would have said so. When one speaks a lie to us, have we sinned? When our mind thinks lies, have we sinned? If we lie and do evil, we sin.

D. “Well, we commit the sin of omission all the time!”

Some use this false doctrine to convict people to go out and witness in every spare moment. “If you don’t witness to every person you can in a given day, you have committed the sin of omission, since we are told to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” they say. This is also used to get drivers for the bus ministry or tithers to give to ‘the storehouse’. It is a handy tool to get people to come to every service in order to “not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as the practice of some is.”

Study the Law of God. Try to find a sin that is not a sin of commission. A sin of omission is a sin done by omitting some necessary act. A sin of commission is a sin done by performing (committing) some act. Every sin in the Bible is a committed sin.

The Torah says to give a coat to a poor brother who is naked. Suppose an Israeli with an extra coat refuses to give his coat. That is an act of disobedience, not of omission.

Suppose someone doesn’t know a particular Law of God, and inadvertently violates it, thereby sinning. It may have been done in ignorance, but it was done, and the command was violated. Examples of this are found in Leviticus and Numbers. Every sin is an act. No sin is an accident. Sin may be done in ignorance, but it is still an act. No Israeli is permitted to be ignorant of the commandment! The Hebrew texts refer to sins of imprudence rather than sins of ignorance. A sin of omission, were it to exist, would be a non-act.

Did Messiah Yeshua witness to every person? He could have witnessed to Herod at His trial, but He refrained (“He opened not His mouth”). Paul was forbidden to preach the word by the command of the Holy Spirit:

Acts 16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia, and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit allowed them not.

Weren’t they commanded to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature? Abraham did not witness to everyone, nor did any of the Saints. They pleased God by working with their hands and by being obedient in all things. Refuse to commit sins (obviously of commission). That will please Yehovah.

E. “Nobody’s perfect!”

This is a statement of disbelief. Unbelief indicates blindness regarding Spiritual things. Disbelief indicates sight, the refusal to acknowledge what is openly seen, and even obstinacy rooted in pride.

1. What does perfect mean? It is always in the superlative degree. There is nothing above perfect. There is no such thing in the Hebrew language as ‘more perfect’. The expressions more perfectly and more perfect are used in the ‘New Testament’ in the following texts:

Acts 18:26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto [them], and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

Acts 23:15 Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.

Acts 23:20 And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly.

Acts 24:22 And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of [that] way, he deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter.

Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building…

These verses express the addition of perfect information or clarity to what was already known. The Hebrew use of perfect is always expressing a superlative.

Perfect is used as an adjective to describe the Law of God, which is part of the Word of God. It is elevated above the Name Yehovah:

Psalm 138:2b …for Thou hast magnified Thy Word above ALL thy Name…

The statement, “the Law of Yehovah is perfect” declares a perfection that cannot be surpassed.

2. Israel’s sacrifices had to be perfect (not without blemish as in most renderings). They typify Messiah. Therefore perfect will not mean anything less. A car may be without blemish. That doesn’t mean that it will start. A perfect car will start. Perfect means being and doing all that God created the person, item or animal to be and to do by His power and according to His command. Is it difficult to do the will of God when He has given the power and the command to do it? Is obedience difficult? The way of transgressors is hard (Proverbs 13:15).

3. Are there any perfect people besides Messiah? Righteous is to be in right standing before God based on doing right, not under accusation before Him. All unrighteousness is sin, and therefore all righteousness is not sin. A righteous person refuses to sin, and an unrighteous person sins. Yehovah holds the standard and judges according to it. Anything short of righteousness in His view isn’t righteous. Yet someone may do right in the sight of Yehovah and not be righteous, as in the following case:

2 Kings 14:1 In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. ²He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name [was] Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ³And he did right in the sight of Yehovah, yet not like David his father. He did according to all things as Joash his father did. ⁴Howbeit the high places were not taken away. As yet, the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.

To be righteous in the Spiritual sense is both to do right and to be right in all things. Positional righteousness is no replacement for experiential righteousness. Some righteous individuals are not born of God. King Abimelech was such a person:

Genesis 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Behold, thou art a dead man, for the woman that thou hast taken. For she is a man’s wife.” ⁴But Abimelech had not come near her. And he said, “Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? ⁵Said he not unto me, ‘She is my sister?’ And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.” ⁶And God said unto him in a dream, “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart. For I also withheld thee from sinning against me. Therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. ⁷Now therefore restore the man the wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.”

4. The theological stand known as Sinless perfection is unscriptural. One of the two words in sinless perfection is redundant, since to be perfect is to be without sin. This false doctrine claims that a person born in sin may lose his ability to sin by entire sanctification (another false doctrine). No mortal hast lost the ability to sin. The Bible gives warnings to Saints to beware lest they fall. But can a Saint be perfect?

Genesis 6:9b Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God.

Genesis 7:1 And Yehovah said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and refused evil… 1:8 …And Yehovah said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and refuses evil?… 1:22 …In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly… 2:3b …a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and refuseth evil? and still he holds fast his perfection [Hebrew], although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause… 2:10b …In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zachariah, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisheva. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

If “Nobody’s perfect,” the Scriptures aren’t true.

5. Some folks attempt to diminish the definitions of words like perfect into meanings like mature (The Law of Yehovah is mature, restoring the soul?) or sincere (The Law of Yehovah is sincere, restoring the soul?). “Be ye therefore mature, even as your Father who is in heaven is mature”? “Be ye therefore sincere, even as your Father who is in heaven is sincere”?

How were some Saints perfect/righteous? Noah walked with God. Job feared God and refused evil. He didn’t accuse God. He held fast to his perfection. He didn’t sin with his lips. Zechariah and Elisheva walked in all the commandments and ordinances of Yehovah, and were blameless before God (Luke 1:5,6). Were they born that way? No. They made up their minds using the power God gave them to consistently do right. Daniel is twice commended for his righteousness:

Ezekiel 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver [but] their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Yehovah.

Ezekiel 14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, [were] in it, I live, saith the Lord Yehovah, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

6. Yehovah has a great investment in each person’s walking righteously. Yehovah leads Israel in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His Name. His Name would be on the line if a Saint were to sin. John, by the Spirit of Yehovah, wrote,

1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2And He is the covering for our sins—and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

He tells the little children to not sin. If any man does sin, the Israelis have Yeshua, the advocate with the Father Who is the covering for the Israelis’ sins, and also for the sins of the whole world. Any man who sins must come to the Advocate that the Israelis have. In the meantime, these little children are not to sin.

7. Is sinning just going to happen? Are we bound to sin daily? We have examples who did not, so they were not bound to sin. Have we less power than they? What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1) The modern answer is, Amen! The modern Churchianic answer is, It’s going to happen, and the Grace of God will cover it. The correct answer is, How shall we (who are dead to sin) live any longer in it? We are not to serve sin.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

8. There is no such thing as a ‘sinner saved by Grace.’ Either one is a sinner, or one is saved by Grace. “You either is or you ain’t!” No ‘is’ can say that he is a ‘saved Ain’t’! Perhaps the ‘used-to-be-a-sinner’ is now saved by Grace.

Paul stated that he is the chief of sinners. If he was still sinning at the time of his writing, and is still the chief of sinners in evil, what right does he have to write Scriptures telling others to stop sinning? If his being chief was acquired before Salvation, and he still holds the record, and/or if he is prophesying in the voice of another (like Israel) who has now turned to righteousness, is this not an excellent example of the great Grace of God?

9. Consider the woman caught in adultery:

John 8:1 Yeshua went unto the mount of Olives. ²And He came again early in the morning into the Temple. And all the people came unto Him. And He sat down and taught them. ³And the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman unto Him taken in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, ⁴they say unto Him, “Master! This woman was taken in adultery—in the very act! ⁵Now, Moshe commanded us in the Torah that such should be stoned. But what sayest thou?” ⁶They said this, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him. And Yeshua stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger as though He heard them not. ⁷So, when they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself and said unto them, “He who is without sin among you, he shall first cast a stone at her.” ⁸And He again stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹And they who heard being convicted by conscience, went out one by one beginning at the eldest unto the last. And Yeshua was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰When Yeshua had lifted up Himself and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, “Woman! Where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?” ¹¹She said, “No man, Lord.” And Yeshua said unto her, “Neither do I condemn thee. Go! And sin no more!”

Had Yeshua commanded her to do what she could not possibly do, Yeshua would have compounded her sin! If she was capable, however, acknowledge that this command is reasonable.

Also consider the following text:

1 John 3:4 Whosoever does a sin also does lawlessness. And sin is lawlessness. ⁵And ye know that He was manifested so that He will take away our sins. And sin is not in Him. ⁶Anyone who abides in Him doesn’t sin. Anyone who sins has not seen Him nor has known Him. ⁷Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. ⁸He who does a sin is of the devil because the devil sins from the beginning. The Son of God was manifested for this—that He will undo the works of the devil. ⁹Everyone that has been begotten of God doesn’t do sin because His seed abides in him. And he is not able to sin because he has been begotten of God.

I propose that the last verse (verse 9) should have been rendered in the following manner:

Everyone that has been begotten of God doesn’t do sin (because His seed abides in him, and He is not able to sin) because he has been begotten of God.

This would verify that God’s inability to sin is what empowers the Saint to not sin. Since a Saint has Yehovah’s seed in him, and Yehovah doesn’t sin, simple consistency will teach that the person also will not sin. (Should a Saint sin, the consequences will be much worse than if a sinner sins, since that action brings Yehovah and His Body into disrepute.)

Romans 6:1,14,15 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Not to exist! ¹⁴For sin shall not have dominion over you. For ye are not under the law, but under grace. ¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? Not to exist!

Conclusion

Saints must consistently live righteously, refusing to sin. Messiah died and rose again so that Saints would live, not sin! If His power is not great enough to enable Saints to stand, He is neither sovereign nor omnipotent. Saints glorify His Name by walking righteously. This is perfection.

Learn what is and isn’t sin by reading the Torah (the first six books of the Bible). Yehovah paid a great price because of sin. Don’t treat the price with contempt by showing that He failed.

February 12, 2009March 30, 2016

1 Corinthians 11: What Does the Bible Say about Head Coverings?

What Does the Bible Say about Head Coverings?

Introduction

I will give a literal rendering of the text. After this, I will have a series of questions and proposed answers for your consideration.

The Text

1 Corinthians 11:1 Be imitators of me according as I am also of Messiah. ²Now I commend you, brethren, that ye have remembered me in all things. And ye keep the guardings according as I delivered to you. ³But I wish you to know that the Messiah is the head of every man and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Messiah. ⁴Every man praying or prophesying having, on the head, puts his Head to shame. ⁵But every woman praying or prophesying with the head uncovered puts her head to shame. For it is one and the same with having been shaved. ⁶For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if shameful to a woman to be shorn or to be shaven, she shall be covered. ⁷For man indeed does not owe to have the head covered, being the image and glory of God. But woman is the glory of a man. ⁸For man is not from woman, but woman from man. ⁹For also man was not created on account of the woman, but woman on account of the man. ¹⁰The woman owes to have authority on the head because of this: on account of the angels/messengers. ¹¹However, man is not apart from woman or woman apart from man in Yehovah. ¹²For as the woman is from the man, so is the man also via the woman, but all things are from God. ¹³Judge in yourselves. Is it comely for an uncovered woman to pray to God? ¹⁴Or doesn’t even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonour to him? ¹⁵But if a woman has long hair, it is glory to her! For the long hair is given to her instead of a covering. ¹⁶But if anyone thinks to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the assemblies of God.

Questions and Proposed Answers

(Numbers correspond to verse numbers.)

1. a) Was Paul claiming perfection? He wasn’t, but he was stating that he imitated Messiah. Messiah was obedient to Yehovah the Father, and He selflessly served others. He was willing to (and did) give his life to save the lives of others. Paul did the same. Yeshua always taught Truth. Paul did the same once he was in faith of Yeshua. Imitating Messiah in this manner would require perfection. Yet, Paul’s statement shows a measuring system: “Be imitators of me according as I am also of Messiah.” This means that if Paul were not to imitate Messiah, they should not imitate him.

1. b) How would they know if Paul was imitating Messiah or not? They would learn that by word of mouth and by direct observation of Paul. Those who hadn’t seen Messiah were able to obtain direct documents of His works and teachings; they were very quickly available after Messiah rose from the dead.

1. c) What does imitate mean? It means to do the same things in the same manners. They could not imitate him by acting as missionaries (unless they were called). Since Paul was not a missionary of Yeshua until He called Him to that task, they should imitate him in this also: not playing missionary (which is almost universally what is done in Christianity, today).

1. d) Did Paul something that was contrary to imitating Messiah? He once upbraided Peter in public in a way that he, himself, by the Spirit of Yehovah told others not to do.

Galatians 2:11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. ¹²For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. ¹³And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. ¹⁴But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

1 Timothy 5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat as a father, the younger men as brethren.

1. b) Did Paul give this imitation command because those present couldn’t see Messiah, but they could see Paul (who imitated Messiah)? The Spirit of God through Paul gave this command. Thus, Yehovah recognized Paul as a proper imitator of Messiah. Thus, they could see Messiah in Paul and in his life as it was from that point on. Every person (regardless of faith) is the very image of God. Behaviours are what make distinctions. Imitating has to do with behaviours, not appearance.

2. a) What have they done that shows that they have remembered Paul in all things? They kept the guardings exactly as Paul delivered to them. (They also were ready to contribute to the poor Saints in Jerusalem as they had been apprised.) They very much remembered Paul in his various situations.

2. b) What guardings are these? They are the prophecies of the ‘Old Testament’ regarding Messiah and the commandments that Yehovah gave to non-Jewish Saints. These include events yet to come, since they had to be guarded. All the appointments of God are to be guarded (often commanded in the Tenach). They also guarded the commands that Yehovah gave to Israel—not as to do them (because they weren’t presumptuous), but because they are vital for understanding God, understanding righteousness, and understanding the plan of God and its working in the End Times. That is the basis of Hope. No one who cares about the Bible and God in the Bible can or will ignore Israel and the commands given to Israel.

2. c) What is the benefit of guarding these things (especially referring to Messiah’s visitations that He will do far into the future)? It is always important for one to be ready against the time of the Rapture or the person’s death. The benefit of guarding the very things that are normally ignored (and thus not guarded) in nearly all churches claiming Christianity is so that the individuals doing the guarding will not be fooled by false declarations of God’s intents and timings. A person who knows eschatology exactly right and who fears God will have little difficulty walking righteously, having no false expectation (of the supposed ‘soon return’ of Messiah, of disasters supposedly being ‘signs’ of God’s anger, of a death of a child showing that God is ‘displeased’, and therefore that He supposedly killed the child, etc.), and truly being consistent in doing right.

2. d) When did Paul deliver these things to guard? It was during a previous journey or in a previous letter:

1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:

1 Corinthians 7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

2. e) Why did they have to keep the guardings exactly as Paul delivered to them? Was Paul infallible? He delivered the guardings of Messiah as a prophet. Thus, he spoke infallibly. These guardings had to stay accurate from generation to generation in order for what they taught to remain accurate.

3. a) In what way is Messiah the head of every man? Every man (that is, every male) is in the image of God (the woman also being in the image of God, but built later) and is not above Messiah in authority, but is subject to Him. He (the Messiah) is God. Thus, He is the boss. Most men do not know that Messiah is the boss—that He is sovereign and all-powerful, but they will in the Millennium. Messiah will be both King of kings and Lord of lords in the Millennium. His head status will be very evident as He rules with an iron rod.

Most readers of this text assume that it refers to Christian men. But the text does not demand any such thing. Yet, only folks who believe the text will take the head-status of Messiah seriously. The text will speak of Adam, and Adam never was a Believer of the Truth of God. (He resented Him.) The text giving the conversation between Yehovah and Adam after the fruit-eating incident shows this resentment. No text indicates that he turned from that.

Genesis 3:12 And the man said, “The woman whom Thou gave to be with me—she gave me of the tree. And I ate.”

3. b) Is a man always the head of a woman? This is referring to a marriage-type relationship. It is not referring to a brother with a sister or a son with a mother or men in general with women in general. The text is only referring to that relationship type formed by Adam and Eve.

3. c) What is the order of headship according to this verse? God is head of Messiah Who is head of every man who is head of a woman.

3. d) What does a woman mean? It is referring to the marriage relationship. The term woman is the same as wife; the Hebrew word for wife is practically never used. It is Biblically right to say, “She is my woman,” and for her to reply, “He is my man.”

3. e) Why is a man the head of a woman? She was made from him to be a helper. He wasn’t made for her. But there is a second part to this. She was not responsible for the fall due to sin, but he was. She was in transgression having been deceived; he was not deceived. His actions were intentional and thought out. Therefore, part of Yehovah’s rehabilitation of males is to set them as head and to bring them to responsibility to lead and guide their families (of which they are the husband) to do right before God, reversing the sin that a male brought into the world.

4. a) What does “Every man praying or prophesying having, on the head” mean? We searched the text to find any place that mentioned a head covering like a scarf, a hat, or a turban. We found no direct reference. Translators assumed that the text referred to some object like that as the covering, but what we found was in verse 14: long hair. If the text is self-contained and doesn’t have a reference to some other text, all the information needed to understand that text will be right there.

If the above is true, then the text would be implying, ‘Every man praying or prophesying having [long hair] on the head…’ This is not contrary to the culture that Yehovah taught Israel, since all Nazarites grew their hair, and some were assigned to be Nazarites from birth.

Since verse 16 denies that this instruction to Corinth is also the custom of the Israelis and the assemblies/congregations of God (that is, those groups consisting of Saints), I understood that this is speaking of the Corinthian culture. That culture must have looked badly on men with long woman-like hair, and it must also have looked badly on women wearing their hair cut short (shorn) like men or shaved like men who have all their hair removed from the scalp.

4. b) If the above is true, should Godly women maintain long hair if possible, and should Godly men keep their hair short? This is an issue of culture, and it is not an issue of the Word of God. Making one’s culture into an extension of the Word of God shows contempt for the Word of God.

On the other hand, taking pieces of the Word of God and making them into a culture is also treating the Word of God with contempt.

Yet, many brought up in these traditions are unaware of the nature of the founder who misused the Bible to produce a dress code. Those who are brought up in ignorance are not showing contempt, but are following a new cultural tradition from their parents. There is nothing wrong with a new cultural tradition even if it includes women wearing dumpy clothes and all having curls over their foreheads with their hair color being mandatory green as long as they don’t misuse the Bible to prove that Godly women must dress and color their hair this way. Such arrogant exclusivity has never been the way of gracious, Godly men or women. Instead, they serve others to save lives.

In some cultures, long hair is dangerous. Having long hair, then putting it up is akin to cutting one’s hair, though one can let it down. The only case where the Bible specifies long hair of which I am aware is in the case of the Nazarite vow for life.

Judges 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head. For the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb.

4. c) What is shameful about a man praying or prophesying with something on his head? If this is speaking of his having long hair as verse 14 addresses, it is dishonourable in the Corinthian culture. I propose that this culture came with a history of warriors. A warrior with long hair has a major disadvantage: a handle for an enemy to grab. Such cultures saw long-haired men as effeminate—or at least not useful in battle. If that is in the psyche of the culture, a person who is out of the norm in this way will be viewed as not honourable in the culture, and therefore has no business praying or prophesying in the assembly. (Imagine in today’s conservative churches how a cross-dressing preacher would seem.) There is no absolute standard regarding hair length and honour in the Bible’s culture that Yehovah gave to Israel.

4. d) Why do Orthodox Jewish men of today cover their heads when praying in the synagogues? They (or their ancestors) determined to do and be the opposite of the ‘Christians’ who identified Jesus (or Yeshua) as the Messiah. Thus, if the ‘New Testament’ commanded a male to pray with his head uncovered, the orthodox leaders of centuries ago commanded followers of Judaism to pray with their heads covered. They apparently also thought this text referring to head coverings, when it appears to only deal with hair.

5. a) Why would every woman praying or prophesying with the head uncovered put anything or anyone to shame? A woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered is as if she is a congregational leader, and her husband as a follower of her, a subordinate. If she prays or prophesies with her head covered, however, she shows respect to her husband in this ancient culture. Thus, the text shows that she puts her head (her husband) to shame by that behaviour. She is showing that she isn’t under the authority of a husband if her head is shorn or shaved. (This text does not speak of a single woman at all.)

5. b) Why is her praying with her head uncovered compared with her being shaved? In some cultures, if her head is shaved, she is bemoaning the loss of her parents, and she is declaring a disassociation from her parents who may have died or been killed. If she is disassociated, she is not married. Thus, both cases declare singlehood—that she is not in a marriage situation or under a father. She is under no man. A woman shaved shows her humiliation. She has been greatly humiliated, and therefore cuts off her glory—her hair.

Her head being uncovered gives her the look of a man and the station of a man in the assembly, as if she were a man.

The Teaching of Yehovah (Torah) is very strong regarding a commandment against cross-dressing. No man is to dress like a woman, and no woman is to dress like a man. That is a death-penalty offense. This was not a command given to the Gentiles, but to Israel. These folks in Corinth also have a propriety regarding dressing. A woman who takes on the hair style of a man is shaming her husband (assuming she is married, as this text does assume). A woman whose hair is in a butch format in this culture is shaming her husband. Praying or prophesying to God while shaming her husband is a flagrant violation.

6. a) Why should a woman who is not covered be shorn? (This is referring to a married woman who will be praying or prophesying.) Shearing is like what one does to a sheep, not a stylish haircut. It would be an insult to the woman because she has insulted her husband and the culture by refusing to have her head covered with hair (or something) while praying or prophesying in the assembly. In Corinth, being sheared like a sheep or having her head shaved with a razor was shaming the woman. If she will be beneficial to the assembly by prayer or prophecy, she must not be in violation of the culture and of her husband.

6. b) If the woman is married, why would she shave her hair? She wouldn’t; that makes no sense. But if she has the audacity to come into this group in this culture without her head covered by her hair or some object, she deserves to have her head shorn bald; for she is showing contempt for her husband, and thus for Messiah who is above her husband.

This text is not addressing a woman who is married and isn’t part of this assembly, being a stranger to the faith.

6. c) Could a shaved married woman pray or prophesy in this assembly? She would first have to cover her head. (This text doesn’t deal with an unmarried woman.) This text only refers to a woman who is praying or prophesying in the assembly; it has nothing to say if the woman is just in attendance.

6. d) If the woman has cancer, can she pray or prophesy? She would just cover her head. That is all the text is declaring.

7. a) Why does man not need to have the head covered according to this text? He is the image and glory of God.

He does not owe this, but rather he owes to uncover his head if he is wearing a head covering when he comes into the assembly as a mark of the respect of rank before Yeshua in this culture. The issue, here, is hair, not head coverings. I don’t see where coverings like hats or scarfs are directly mentioned anywhere in this text. Making them part of the text is a presumptive error unless proof can be provided.

7. b) Why isn’t the woman also the image and glory of God? She is the glory (importance) of the man. She makes his importance. It is not appropriate to assume that a woman isn’t in the image of God or that she isn’t the glory of God, but rather that she is the glory (not the image) of the man (referring to the husband). She is still in the image of God just as much as the man is, and sometimes more! The emphasis is on glory, on importance. She makes the importance of her husband (since glory in Hebrew is importance). In the same manner, the man is the importance of the Messiah since Messiah is the man’s head. Everyone under the rank and authority of another becomes the importance of the one under whom that person serves.

7. c) What does image mean in this text? It is the sum of the characteristics that produce a resemblance. This is physical in nature as well as psychological and emotional.

7. d) What is glory? It is importance. It can be brightness if a different Hebrew word is used, but normally refers to importance.

7. e) In what respects is a man the glory/importance of God? The higher-ranking person’s reputation is always set by those under that person. Whatever the underlings do, the reputation of the head is either enhanced or is degraded. The willingness to selflessly serve greatly enhances the clout of the leader. Thus, humans are the ones who give importance to God or who demonstrate evil things about God by what they do.

7. f) How is woman the glory of a man? She shows and is his importance. Her abilities and wisdom will only tend to reflect well on him. If she is a tramp, she will greatly lower his importance. His importance can be greatly diminished without her. If she is insipid, obnoxious, rude, annoying, bitchy, or of some other irritable type, she tends to lower his importance because she diminishes his glory.

Proverbs 31:23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.

She has greatly increased his importance.

7. g) What if a man desires his woman to do wrong, should she do that, being his importance? No! It is for that very reason that she must refuse. She makes his reputation, and therefore has no business doing wrong if she will prove to be his importance.

7. h) Why is his importance based on a woman? What if a man has no woman? The text states that this is the case, and it is only speaking of a married man and woman. It has nothing to do with singles. She was built to help him in life. She therefore had to be endowed with much greater abilities than he has in areas that he needed help in order to be an excellent helper. Her abilities and her work on his behalf will therefore be the greater part of his reputation and importance.

There is no correlation between being a help and being the importance. These are two different things. While a woman is the importance of a man and a help to that man, no man is a helper of God. He needs no help. But the Bible does state that a man is the importance of God. This text speaks also of being the head. It doesn’t state that God (as in Yehovah the Father) is the head of man, but instead that Messiah is the head of man with God being the head of Messiah. These three must be kept separate. But all three enter into Yehovah’s design. The man is the head of the woman while the woman is the importance and the helper of the man. This all refers to responsibilities and to God-given abilities.

If a man has no woman, he can still achieve much importance in life.

7. i) What is the timing of this? Is it always true? Man is always in the image of God. He thus must always be the glory (importance) of God. Thus, the timing is always.

7. j) Why does Yehovah permit a man to be His importance? It has everything to do with being made in His image. A human is a physical, limited representation of Yehovah. Since a human sees other humans, that human is seeing how important Yehovah is by seeing His limited representation. If a human is as capable as most are, how much more is Yehovah capable? That is why humans are held so responsible. They bear the image of Yehovah.

7. k) If one looks at a violent unbeliever who is also a limited representation of Yehovah, does this represent an evil side of Yehovah? It doesn’t since Yehovah has no evil side. Yehovah uses violence in justice. That doer of evil also has capabilities and responsibilities. That person isn’t being responsible to the image of Yehovah that has been fashioned onto him or her. That is why such a person will suffer great damnation. This person is smearing the image of God with violence contrary to justice.

7. l) Why does a doer of evil behave this way instead of living in accordance with the image of Yehovah that has been formed into him or her? The three reasons for sin are given:

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

This person is pursuing one or more of the above three: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and/or the pride of life. Anyone who follows these passions will not be doing what is right.

7. m) If a person will be among the damned, how can that person be the importance of God? What shows this importance is Yeshua’s always abiding with everyone found in the Lake of Fire and Sulfur forever, everlastingly providing the heat of His wrath. This could not be the case if man were not His importance. The one major torment of the Lake of Fire and Sulfur is Yehovah’s presence being always there.

Revelation 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God that is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever. And they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.

7. n) What does “woman is the glory of a man” indicate? She is the importance of a man! That means that a man who has a woman has importance according to her character. If she is a good woman, the man will have much importance even if his character is lacking. If she is an evil woman, his importance will be compromised even if his character is good. A woman can make or ruin a man’s reputation just as a man can make or ruin Messiah’s reputation through sin.

Read the following text carefully, noting the section at the end:

2 Samuel 12:1 And Yehovah sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him. And he said unto him, “There were two men in one city—the one rich and the other poor. ²The rich had exceeding many flocks and herds, ³and the poor had nothing except one little ewe lamb that he had bought and nourished up. And it grew up together with him and with his children. It did eat of his own food and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. ⁴And there came a traveller unto the rich man. And he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him, but took the poor man’s lamb! And he dressed it for the man that was come to him.” ⁵And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man! And he said to Nathan, “Yehovah lives! The man who did this shall surely die! ⁶And he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity!” ⁷And Nathan said to David, “Thou art the man! Thus says Yehovah God of Israel, ‘I anointed thee king over Israel! And I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul! ⁸And I gave thee thy master’s house and thy master’s women into thy bosom! And I gave thee the House of Israel and of Judah! And, if too little, I would have also given unto thee such and such things. ⁹Why hast thou despised the commandment of Yehovah to do bad in His sight? Thou hast murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword and hast taken his woman thy woman! And thou hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon! ¹⁰And now the sword shall never depart from thy house because thou hast despised me and hast taken the woman of Uriah the Hittite to be thy woman!’ ¹¹Thus says Yehovah, ‘Behold, I will raise up bad against thee out of thine own house! And I will take thy women before thine eyes, and give unto thy neighbour! And he shall lie with thy women in the sight of this sun. ¹²For thou secretly did, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun!’” ¹³And David said unto Nathan, “I have sinned against Yehovah.” And Nathan said unto David, “Yehovah also has put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die. ¹⁴And because thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Yehovah to blaspheme by this deed, the child also born unto thee shall surely die.”

If one made in the image of God sins, that person gives others occasion to blaspheme—that is, greatly insult the God in whose image that person is made.

7. o) The last statement is not equivalent to the one before it, since it leaves out image. Why doesn’t the text declare this: “But woman is the image and glory of a man”? She was taken from the man. Thus, she is not his image, but is derived from him with separate parts from him being fashioned into her. An image is a faint representation. She is no faint representation of a man; she is part of the line of Adam. She is every bit as much the image of God as the man. Thus, she is the image of God while being the glory of a man.

7. n) Does the above mean that she is not the importance of God? She is vital to all pictures of God (the image), but her importance makes the man. If she has no man (that is, if she is not part of any man), she is directly responsible to Yehovah and is thus His importance. But if she is part with a man, she is doubly responsible: to Yehovah and to the man. She must do right before Yehovah, and she is the importance of that man. (That is why mistreating/abusing a woman is a crime against Yehovah; she was made to benefit a man, and a man who abuses is showing direct contempt for the gift that Yehovah gave.)

7. o) Does this mean that a man has no importance without a woman? No. He is directly responsible to Messiah, and therefore a portion of his importance is in that representation of Messiah in the man’s own body. He is still the importance and representation of Messiah in limited form. Yet, how many single men still have women in their lives who are their importance? One does not have to be married to be glorified by the work of a woman. This starts early. A mother is the glory of her son.

The man who has no woman is still directly responsible to Messiah, and a man who has a woman is still directly responsible to Messiah. That is his given role on this earth.

8. a) What does “man is not of woman, but woman of man” mean? Man did not come from woman; this is not referring to birth. Woman came from man because Yehovah took her from him and built her to be a help to him in Genesis concerning Adam.

8. b) If woman was taken from man, who is greater in importance? She is the importance of the man! Thus, it would appear that she is more important. Yet that is impossible. She is not more important, but she is the importance of the man! His importance is invested in her! Thus, he is a fool who sees himself as more important than his own importance (the woman)!

9. a) If the woman was created on account of the man, what part of her was created? Her soul was not the same; she had a separate personality. She did not think like Adam. She did not do in life what Adam did as an occupation. Her thoughts were diverse from his and her justice and humility were quite different. She was not a mirror of him. She looked for the Messiah. Adam was bitter against Yehovah.

The part of her that was created was her soul. Her body was built from Adam’s body.

9. b) Again, why was woman created? She was created because Adam was alone, and that was not good, and he needed a helper. Thus, Yehovah designed a being who could do well and help. She was efficient; he was deficient. She completed.

10. a) What does the woman owe? She owes to have authority on the head.

10. b) What does that mean? She has a debt to have and maintain authority on the head.

If we recognize this head to be her husband, it means one thing. If this head is her own head, it means another.

First, she already has authority over her own head; anyone who doesn’t has lost her head! That is insane.

If the text is referring to her owing to have authority by having something on her head, that makes no sense. Whatever is on her head doesn’t show that she has authority.

The only one left is that she owes to have authority on the husband. This makes sense, because she was built to help him. She cannot help him if she has no authority on him. She doesn’t have authority above him, since that would make her his supervisor, but she has authority with him such that she is able to help him when he is unable to help himself. (This occurred numerous times in the Bible.) A man who doesn’t hearken to his helper when she is attempting to help him is a fool, like Nabal in the Bible. Rebecca (Rivka, Rebekah) saved Isaac’s life; she was a helper. She had authority on her head—that is, on her husband, and she used it.

10. c) Why must she fulfill the debt of having authority on the head, her husband? The text states, “on account of the angels/messengers.” The messengers are themselves under authority, and they deliver messages to humans—often to women. The commands to women involve the women’s homes. They therefore must be able to show their husbands what must be done as commanded through the messengers. If they didn’t have authority on their husbands, their husbands could countermand what Yehovah is commanding the women to do. This line of authority is passed down from Yehovah the Father to Yeshua to the man, and finally to the woman. Yehovah sometimes gives commands directly to a woman, however, and her husband is involved in obedience to that command.

Even Joseph and Daniel gave information and instructions to those far higher in rank than they were to save lives.

10. d) What does this verse tell the man? This verse tells the man that the woman owes the debt of having authority on him, and he had better listen, since she will occasionally be speaking the Word of God. When messengers came to women in the Bible, husbands who hearkened to their women were both wise and alive. One who didn’t was very soon dead (I refer to Nabal in 1 Samuel 25).

10. f) What is the timing of the fulfillment of these verses? The situation of these verses is in a particular culture (in Corinth) that views hair, being shorn, and being shaved in a particular way. The timing will be for any time (though this text may speak of a particular End Times event; we will have to discover that, if that is the case).

11. a) What does this verse mean? They are derived from each other. See the next verse. No woman exists without a man first existing, and all men that exist after Adam were born from a woman.

11. b) How does this connect to verses above it? The verses above it dealt with authority and responsibility, especially in the assembly when praying or prophesying. The two, the man and his woman, are a team. They are not equal in the team in abilities or in rank, but they are absolutely equal in that they are both the image of God and are responsible to each other for the sake of the team. Their inequality has to do with their abilities. The woman is often much more able than the man. The man is directly responsible for himself and the woman. He also is the importance of Yeshua.

12. a) In what way is the woman from the man? She was taken from the man (Adam) and built into a woman.

12. b) In what way is the man via the woman? Every man (except Adam) is born from a woman. He comes into the world via a woman.

12. c) Are all things, including sin, from God? Sin is obviously not from God. All things that are created and all forms of life are from God. Every personality is created from God. Every living creature has a personality and individuality. Humans and angels are able to take good things and use them for bad. Even animals and small organisms can do this, because of the fall of man (because sin is in the world).

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.

13. a) Isn’t comeliness very subjective? Yes, it is. So are cultural traditions. This text is exploring a cultural tradition, and rank and authority as Yehovah views it. These two very different views are being combined to instruct those in Corinth and careful readers in any period of the world. One culture will see bald women as being a shame, while another may see it as good fashion. Since this culture in Corinth had views of shame and dishonour, the Spirit of God through Paul is using this culture to explain Truth to folks in Corinth. They did not see anything appropriate about uncovered women praying to God in an assembly. Violating a culture when that is not necessary is rude, and is not part of Godliness.

13. b) What exactly is an uncovered woman in this text? It is a woman whose head is not covered, especially with hair.

14. a) Does nature teach everyone that a man’s long hair dishonours the man? No. This is only the case for this and some other cultures. They observe nature and animal coverings as pictures of honour and dishonour, shame and glory. This is no universal Truth (as a future verse will prove).

14. b) Did nature teach the Israelis that long hair on a man dishonoured the man? No, it didn’t. Those who took the Nazarite vow had to grow their hair. Some were Nazarites for life; cutting their hair would have been a shame.

15. a) Is a woman’s long hair always glory to her? This is not part of many cultures today. Women often cut their hair, preferring to have shorter cuts. Again, this is a cultural issue.

15. b) Why, according to this text, was long hair given to a woman? It was given to her instead of a covering.

16. a) Why would a person even think to be contentious on this issue? A person would potentially be contentious for the following reasons:

If the person’s culture saw hair in a very different way, the person might fight for what is in that person’s culture
If the person misunderstands the text, the person might be contentious. This is true of some ‘Christian’ faiths today that do misunderstand this text.

February 12, 2009March 27, 2018

Genesis 28:10 – Jacob’s Vow

Jacob’s Vow

Background and Printed Text: Genesis 28:10-22

Genesis 28:10 And He-Will-Heel (Jacob) exited from Well-Of-Oath (Beersheba). And he walked toward Charred (Haran). ¹¹And he reached in a place. And he lodged there because the sun came. And he took from the stones of the place. And he put his headings. And he lay down in that place.

Continue reading “Genesis 28:10 – Jacob’s Vow”

Drinking The Blood

Of the New Covenant

Introduction

The Four Texts: Matthew

The Four Texts: Mark

The Four Texts: Luke

The Four Texts: 1 Corinthians

Mark

Luke

1 Corinthians

The Three Covenants

Email between a Teenage Girl and a Youth Pastor

Or,

Is Modern Christianity Teaching the Doctrine of Balaam–that Sins such as Fornication are a Normal Part of the Godly Life?

Tomb Texts – What Happened around the Resurrection? Garden Tomb in Israel

Tomb Texts – What Happened around the Resurrection?

Preface

The Great Earthquake

Women at a Distance at the Cross

Joseph of Arimathaea to Pilate

Chief Priests and Pharisees Sealing the Tomb

Rolling Away the Stone

Running to Peter (and John)

Miriam and the Angels in the Sepulchre

Yeshua is Risen

Telling the Eleven

Peter’s Sepulchre Run with John

Emmaus Appearance

Emmaus Walk with Yeshua

Money Paid for Lying about Stealing Yeshua’s Body

Eleven Disciples See Yeshua

Thomas

Going into Galilee

Many Appearances

Yeshua’s Third Visit

Yeshua Opens Their Understanding

Other Signs

Ascension

Aftermath

Can a Saint Go a Day without Sinning?

Introduction

The Biblical Definition of Sin

Discussion

Conclusion

What Does the Bible Say about Head Coverings?

Introduction

The Text

Questions and Proposed Answers

Jacob’s Vow

Background and Printed Text: Genesis 28:10-22

Tomb Texts – What Happened around the Resurrection?

Garden Tomb in Israel