We didn't have class on 12/06/09, but we continued with three more positional truths in last Sunday's class, (12/13/09). They are listed in order:

1. Forgiveness-1 a: to give up resentment of or claim to requital for (forgive an insult)
   b: to grant relief from payment of (forgive a debt)
   2: to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) : pardon (forgive one’s enemies) vi : to grant forgiveness
   Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

Three Scriptures were cited; Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, and 2:13. This gives us a truth that, (as Arnold puts it), "there is no sin that a believer can commit which will cause him to lose his salvation".
Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). The Messianic Bible Study Collection (110:8). Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries.

There are two application Scriptures that we also looked at: Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13.

The next positional truth that we looked at was:

Justification-1 a: to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable
b (1) : to show to have had a sufficient legal reason
(2) : to qualify (oneself) as a surety by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property
2 a archaic : to administer justice to
b archaic : absolve
c: to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation

There were also synonyms listed: exculpate, absolve, exonerate, acquit, vindicate mean to free from a charge. We talked about an easy way to remember its meaning:

Justified................just as if I'd never sinned! There were three main Scriptures that we looked at:

Romans 3:24, 5:19, and 8:30. The righteousness of our Messiah is conveyed to the Believer through faith.

The last term we considered was:

Glorification-Perfect conformity of the believer to the image of Jesus Christ at the final resurrection, (as defined by "Nelson's New Christian Dictionary"). We looked at several Scriptures: Romans 8:18, 30, 9:23, Colossians 3:4, and 1 John 3:2. Quoting from Arnold:

"The fact that the believer is glorified in the sight of God is the assurance of the ultimate imparting of the Messiah’s glory."
Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). The Messianic Bible Study Collection (110:9). Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries.

So we've looked at six of the thirty-three positional truths and that should begin to form a solid base concerning who we really are "in Christ."

Be blessed

George Haven

Your Chrbrotherist

Yesterday, the 29th of November we continued with our discussion of the 33 positional truths. We had talked about the first one last week, (redemption), and continued with 2 more:

2). Reconciliation:

rec•on•cile \ˈre-kən-ˌsī(-ə)l\ vb
-ciled; -cil•ing [ME, fr. AF or L; AF reconciler, fr. L reconciliare, fr. re- + conciliare to conciliate] vt 14c
1 a : to restore to friendship or harmony; reconciled the factions
b : settle, resolve; reconcile differences
Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
SETTLE- to seat, bring to rest, come to rest
RESOLVE-to dissolve or melt

As Arnold points out, "Reconciliation means that the position of the world, which was in a state of alienation from God, was changed by the Messiah’s death so that all men are now able to be saved".
Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). The Messianic Bible Study Collection (110:8). Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries.

We looked at three Scriptures pertaining to reconciliation:

1. Romans 5:10-11
2. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
3. Colossians 1:20-22

I also brought out another kind of reconciliation that is very important to understand and that is found in Ephesians 2:11-16 and 3:1-6. This reminded us of the olive tree example that Paul gives us in Romans 11. We discussed how we are grafted in, (as wild olive branches), and receive the spiritual blessings that are mediated through the Jewish covenants, of which we are partakers, not taker-overs.

3). Propitiation:

1 : the act of propitiating
2 : something that propitiates specif : an atoning sacrifice
act active
Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

We looked at Romans 1:18a, which helps us to define propitiation. Messiah's death brought satisfaction concerning the wrath of God. We looked at three corresponding Scriptures:

1. Romans 3:25
2. 1 John 2:2
3. 1 John 4:10

We can see a picture beginning to develop with the first three positional truths and that should bring us great comfort in our daily walk with Him.

Be blessed,

George

Your Chrbrotherist

Last Sunday, 11/22/09, we finished setting the stage concerning the 33 positional truths that we'll be studying in order to more fully understand our inheritance and the Believer's authority that accompanies it.
We noted that positional truth is the best defense against our continual spiritual warfare by looking at the following passages:

1. Colossians 2:14-15 that we have been co-crucified with Christ.
2. Hebrews 2:14-15 that being co-crucified and co-resurrected with Christ represents victory for the Believer.
3. Ephesians 6:10-18 that we are encouraged to be strong in the Lord, which signifies our position once again.

We then moved on to the first of the 33 positional truths and that is "Redemption." Next we looked at the English definition of redemption and found that it means to:

1 a : to buy back : repurchase
b : to get or win back
2 : to free from what distresses or harms: as
a : to free from captivity by payment of ransom
b : to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental
c : to release from blame or debt : clear
d : to free from the consequences of sin

In the original language, three different Greek terms bring with them the concept of being "purchased out of the slave market of sin" and that we were purchased with a price and that is with the blood of the Messiah. Next week we'll continue with the second positional truth.

In the meantime, however, we should rejoice in the fact that we have been purchased, (bought back, if you will), extricated from the weight of sin because of the Father's love for us.

Be blessed,

Your Chrbrotherist

George

Our inheritance

During class, when asked what subject/topic would be of interest to pursue, one person asked to know more about our inheritance. So, we began a study of the Believer's inheritance in light of positional truths, (of which there are at least thirty-three). We talked a little about the Greek word used in Scripture and that word is kleronomia (κληρονομία in the Greek). It is defined as:

Divine salvation, considered both promised and already bestowed, is designated an inheritance in the NT so far as man, the heir, obtains possession of it (1 Pet. 1:4).
NT (New Testament)
Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.) (G2817). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
We then looked at several Scriptures:

1. Acts 20:32
2. Galatians 3:18
3. Ephesians 1:14, 18
4. Ephesians 5:5
5. Colossians 3:24
6. Hebrews 9:15
7. Hebrews 11:8
8. 1 Peter 1:4

We discussed the fact that these 33 truths occur at the moment of salvation on account of us being "in Christ." It is through God's grace and the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. An incredible, often overlooked, truth is that it is the basis of the Believer's authority. Arnold likened it to a Sergeant being promoted to a Lieutenant. He eventually learns what new authority is given to him. Like Believer's, we operate with some knowledge about our authority, but many don't fully understand its scope.

Our position is how God sees us, not how we really are, but we should aim to keep our practice consistant with our position. So we will venture off on a study of 33 positional truths that will help us understand our authority in our spiritual life.

Be blessed,

Your Chrbrotherist

George Haven

The Prerequisite to the Second Coming

On November 8th, we discussed five Scriptures that clearly speak of "the iniquity."

1. Leviticus 26:40-42 speaking of "the iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers," in verse 40.
2. Jeremiah 3:11-18 speaking of the blessings of the Messianic Kingdom coming with preconditions....a confession of an iniquity.
3. Zechariah 12:10 comes out plainly and identifies their iniquity.
4. Hosea 5:15 I'll let Arnold address this one:
   "The One who is speaking throughout this chapter is God Himself. There are certain presuppositions behind the understanding of this verse. Before anyone can go back to a place, he must first leave it. In this passage, God states that He is returning to His place. God’s place is Heaven. Before God can go back to Heaven, He must first leave it. The question is, “When did God ever leave Heaven?” God left Heaven at the Incarnation in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. Then, because of one specific offense committed against Him, He returned to Heaven at the Ascension from the Mount of Olives. This verse further states that He will not come back to the earth until the offense that caused Him to return to Heaven is acknowledged or confessed. What is that Jewish national offense committed against the Person of Yeshua? It is not, as many believe, the act of killing Him. The actual killing of the Messiah was done by Gentile, not Jewish, hands. He was condemned and sentenced by a Gentile judge. He was crucified by Gentile soldiers. But all this is ultimately irrelevant for, regardless of Jewish acceptance or Jewish rejection, Jesus would have to die anyway to become the sacrifice for sin. The national offense of Israel was in the rejection of His Messiahship. According to this verse, only when this offense is acknowledged or confessed will the Messiah return to the earth."
   Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). The Messianic Bible Study Collection (3:12-13). Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries.
5. And lastly, Matthew 23:37-39 which plainly states: "For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord."

I closed by reading Arnold's summary:
"As was shown earlier, this chapter contains the Messiah’s denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees, the Jewish leadership of that day, for leading the nation to the rejection of His Messiahship. Still speaking to the Jewish leadership, Yeshua reiterates in verse 37 His original desire to gather them if they would only accept Him. Because of their rejection of His Messiahship, they will be scattered instead of being gathered. In verse 38, their house, the Jewish Temple, will be left desolate and will be destroyed, with nothing remaining. But then He declares that they will not see Him again until they say, “ Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” This is a messianic greeting, and it will signify their acceptance of His Messiahship.
So Yeshua will not return to the earth until the Jews and the Jewish leaders ask Him to come back. For just as the Jewish leaders once led the nation to the rejection of His Messiahship, they must some day lead the nation to the acceptance of His Messiahship.
It is this fact that explains Satan’s war against the Jews throughout history in general and during the Tribulation in particular. Satan knows that once the Messiah returns, his freedom ends. Satan also knows that Jesus will not come back until the Jewish leaders ask Him to come back. So if Satan can succeed in destroying the Jews once and for all before they come to national repentance, then Yeshua will not come back and Satan’s career is eternally safe. That is why once Satan is confined to his fourth abode and knows his time is short, he expends all of his satanic energies to try to destroy the Jews once and for all. Anti-Semitism in any form, active or passive, whether it is racial, ethnic, national, economic, political, religious, or theological, is all part of the satanic strategy to avoid the Second Coming.
This, then, is the twofold basis of the Second Coming of the Messiah: first, Israel must confess her national sin; secondly, Israel must then plead for Messiah to return, “to mourn for him as one mourns for an only son.”"
Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). The Messianic Bible Study Collection (3:13-14). Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries.

I hope you have a clearer picture of what is to take place yet future. Hopefully, we'll put more pieces of the puzzle together through the lens of Scripture.

Thanks and be blessed,

Your Chrbrotherist

The Rejection of the Messiah-Part 3

On 11/01/09 we discussed the last group of background Scriptures before going on to the prerequisite for Christ's return. They were:

1. The Sign of Jonah-John 11:1-57 which, in verse 42 shows for whom Lazarus was resurrected. Some believed, and others went to the Pharisees and told them about it.
2. The Sanhedrin's Verdict-John 11:47-50 and 53. One can see that they stuck with the original verdict and sought to put Him to death.
3. The Triumphal Entry-Luke 19:41-44. We discussed the fact that even though some hailed Him as the Messiah, the "unpardonable sin" of that generation had already been committed, causing Yeshua to weep over Jerusalem.
4. Denunciation of the Pharisees-Matthew 23:1-36. This is a lengthy passage that we could only highlight because of time constraints and it certainly speaks for itself!

One of the observations that has always impacted me is the fact that the great judgment of 70AD was the result of them not knowing/believing prophecy. I think that this should be sobering to us because there are those who reject the study of prophecy and those who undertake it. Unfortunately there are newspaper exegetes who have given the study of prophecy a bad name, (88 reasons for the Lord's return in 1988, for example). However using the *Golden Rule of Interpretation will save one much grief and embarassment. Next Sunday will the "meat" of the topic and I hope to see many there.

Be blessed,

Your Chrbrotherist.

George Haven

*"When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning, unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise." (Formulated by Dr. David L. Cooper, the late founder and director of the Biblical Research Society).

I also instructed the class to always be good Bereans, (Acts 17:11) and check things Scriptural out for yourselves, don't believe a word I say. :)

Rejection of the Messiah-Part 2

This past Sunday, we continued with Matthew 12 and the rejection of the Messiah, noting the following Scriptures:

1. Matthew 12:38-40 which speaks about the sign of the Resurrection. I read portions of Jonah chapter 2 and it is my belief that Jonah actually died and God resurrected him out of the belly of the great fish. I mentioned that Israel would see a total of three signs concerning resurrection. First, Lazarus was resurrected, (purposefully on the fourth day-John 11:1-46). Secondly, Yeshua's own Resurrection, (Matthew 28:1-10), and thirdly, the raising of the two witnesses during the Tribulation period, (Revelation 11:3-13).
2. Matthew 12:41-45 which includes Jesus' words of judgment. We noticed how many times that the phrase "this generation" occurs and were reminded by Arnold that this contextually is the unpardonable sin, (see last week's post). I then quoted from Arnold's manuscript MBS003:

"The point of this story is often missed. The Messiah closed the story with the point that what was true of the man was also true of that particular evil generation. When that generation began, it began with the preaching of John the Baptist. John’s ministry was to prepare the people for the reception of the Messiah. By means of the preaching of John, that generation was swept, and garnished. But now that the Messiah had come, they rejected Him on the basis of demon possession. The nation that was swept and garnished now remained empty on account of the rejection of the Messiahship of Yeshua. And because it remained empty, the last state of that generation was to be worse that the first.
When that generation began, it was under Roman domination. Nevertheless, it had a national entity. It had a semi-autonomous form of government in the Sanhedrin. Jerusalem stood in all its Herodian glory, and the religious worship system in the Temple remained intact. But later, as a result of the rejection and judgment in a.d. 70, the national entity of Israel ceased to exist. In the place of bondage, they were dispersed by the Roman armies. The Temple, the center of Judaism, was completely destroyed so that not one stone stood upon another. Eventually, the Jews were dispersed all over the world. So, indeed, the last state of that generation became worse than the first. They went from bondage to worldwide dispersion."
Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). The Messianic Bible Study Collection (3:7). Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries.

Next week, we'll look at some more relevent Scriptures before we turn our attention to The

Prerequisite to the Second Coming.

Be blessed,

Your Chrbrotherist

The Rejection of the Messiah

The class on 10/18/09 began with a question:
Can anyone tell me what will be the basis of the Second Coming of the Messiah?
We're not talking about the Rapture here, which carries with it no preconditions. The Rapture i s imminent, or could occur at any time. The Second Coming does have a major precondition attached to it, which must be met before the Messiah will return to establish His Kingdom.
First, however, we need to look at the rejection of the Messiah to get a proper perspective.
Before reading Scripture, I quoted Dr. Fruchtenbaum, (affectionately...Arnold), as "make sure there is no offense between me and Thee, (Acts 24:16)". Also, studying God's Holy Word requires spiritual discernment and the mind at enmity with God cannot discern the things of God, (1 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:7). Psalm 119:18 says, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold Wondrous things out of thy law."
Matthew 12:22-37 was discussed as the background text.
Earlier, we had talked about the 4 Messianic miracles that the rabbis taught well before Jesus was ever born. I've been waiting to discuss the second one, (the healing of a person with a dumb demon). As seen in verse 27, Judaism also had exorcists. One had to first establish communication with the demon in order to discover the demon's name. Only then could the demon be cast out. We see Jesus using this method in Luke 8:30, but with a dumb demon, it was considered impossible. However, when the Messiah came, He would be able to cast out even this kind! That's why they responded the way they did in verse 23.
Verse 24 gives us the Pharisaic response; because He didn't fit their preconceived idea of what and Who the Messiah was.
Yeshua's, (Jesus'), response is found in verses 25-29 and judgment pronounced in verses 30-37. We also discussed the fact that the "unpardonable sin" was a national sin that that generation had committed. It is not an individual sin and Arnold says the following:
"the content of the unpardonable sin was the national rejection of the Messiahship of Yeshua while He was physically present on the grounds that He was demon possessed." The judgment came 40 years later in 70AD with the Temple's destruction and the Jews' worldwide dispersion.
Next week we'll continue looking at various Scriptures surrounding this amazing event that completely changed the whole purpose of His miracles and His ministry.

John 1:1-18, The Word

One of the most fascinating things that I ever studied was the "Logos" of John 1:1-18. After reading many commentaries concerning how Jesus fulfilled the goals of Greek philosophy in the areas of both "reason" and "speech," Arnold, (Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum), reminded me that John was not a Greek philosopher, he was a Jewish fisherman and that what he really had in mind was first century Jewish theology that existed in Israel. The rabbis during that time used an Aramaic term that meant "word." It was the concept of memra that John used and there were six things that the rabbis taught concerning the memra:

1. The same, but distinct from God, (John 1:1)
2. The agent of Creation, (John 1:3)
3. The agent of salvation, (John 1:12)
4. The visible manifestation of God's presence, (John 1:14). That word is "skeinei" in the Greek, because the Greek's didn't have a "sh" sound for Shechinah, but they liked the concept of gods coming down from Mount Olympus and intermingling with men. So, it should be read, "And the Word became flesh, and "tabernacled" among us."
5. The agent of Revelation, (John 1:18)
6. The Seal of the Covenants, (John 1:17)

Arnold summarizes as follows: "John's introduction of verses 1-18 can be summarized in four points. First, the Word, the logos, the memra, finally came in visible form, in the form of flesh, in the form of a man. Secondly, unfortunately, the world in general did not know Him; it did not recognize the light that had arrived. Thirdly, even more tragically, His own people, the Jewish people, did not recognize Him either. However, fourthly, those individual Jews and Gentiles who did recognize Him are the ones who became the children of light; they are the ones who received spiritual salvation from Him, the agent of salvation."

In class, we also listened to Paul Wilbur perform "Day's of Elijah" at the feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. What a blessing.

Hope to see more of you in the following weeks.

Chrbrotherist

George Haven

Feast of Tabernacles

During our last class, (10/04/09), we finished up with the fall feasts and concluded with the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. We learned about the three key symbols in the Jewish observance of the feast:

1. The booth or tabernacle
2. The lulav, consisting of myrtle, willow, and palm branches
3. The etrog or citron.

While studying this, a word study came to mind, so with my Logos Bible software, a search of the word, "branch" yielded a tremendous blessing. The following Scriptures were highlighted on the board:

Isaiah 4:2, 11:1 and following, 14:19, which speaks of Satan, and 60:21 and following.

Jeremiah 23:5 and 33:15.

Zechariah 3:8 and of course:

John 15:1 and following.

We talked about the two key ceremonies:

1. The pouring out of the water ceremony followed by great rejoicing, (Jesus' response can be found in John 7:37-39).
2. The kindling of the lights ceremony, (His response can be found in John 8:12).

I know that I won't look at His words the same way again! What an incredible way to announce His Messiahship.

We also watched the live performance of Paul Wilbur, (10 years ago), in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles, called "Jerusalem Arise." Two songs were selected that were quite moving. I'll continue to play songs from this video as time permits.

Be blessed,

George Haven

Choir Bible study class

Last week, 09/13/09 we began to study the Fall feasts of Israel and learned:

1. There are three feasts that point to the Messiah's Second Coming, just as the spring feasts point to His First Coming.
2. They are Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and The Feast of Tabernacles or Succot.
3. Rosh Hashanah begins the Jewish Civil New Year and its fulfillment occurs with the Rapture of the Church and begins a 22 day season.
4. The time between Rosh Hashanah begins a time of repentenance and reflection preparing for Yom Kippur known as the "days of awe."
5. In 2009, Rosh Hashanah, (Feast of Trumpets), begins sundown of September 18th.
6. Yom Kippur, (Day of Atonement), begins sundown of September 27th.
7. Succot, (Feasts of Tabernacles), begins sundown of October 2nd.

This week, 09/20/09 we looked at the next observance called Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement.

The Scriptural text concerning this can be found in Leviticus 23:26-32, Numbers 29:7-11, and Leviticus 16:1-34. A key passage can be found in Leviticus 17:11. We discussed the sacrificing of a goat, (chosen by lot), and a bull and then the leading of the Azazel, (the second goat or scapegoat), 12 miles outside of Jerusalem to its ultimate death. The key point here is that the first goat's blood is shed before the sins of Israel could be transferred to the second goat. We can clearly see the significance of Messiah's shedding of blood, death on the cross, and remission of sins to all who would believe in that ultimate sacrifice. After a brief discussion, we watched a celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem on video as performed by Paul Wilbur. How will you celebrate the onset of the Messianic Kingdom?

Messianic Miracles

Before the birth of Christ, rabbinic leadership believed that there were two types of miracles:

1. Those performed under the influence of the Holy Spirit and
2. Those that only the Messiah could do or "Messianic Miracles."

There were three such miracles:

1. The healing of the leper
2. The casting out of a dumb demon
3. Healing someone who was born blind

The incredible thing to study are the reactions to these miracles after Jesus performs them.