Results 141 - 156 of 156
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: MJH Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
141 | Who is the Lord of the 10 commandments? | Ex 20:11 | MJH | 140401 | ||
The sabbath day is Saturday (as you apparently know.) During the first century the Christians, both Jewish and Gentile, continued to honor the Sabbath and usually attended the synagogue. On the first day of the week they honored the Lord's Ressurection day, meeting in homes. During the 4th century (300's) AD, the Church fathers adapted the Sunday celebration because Constantine wanted the whole empire to be consistent in their worship. They choose Sunday as the day of worship. No small reason for this was the fact that the Sun god was worhshiped on this day. This also began another persecusion of the Jews. (I believe) The day a person rests is one of contraversy. Whole denominations center around this one commandment. You need to come to your own conclusions both on the day, and how you honor it. But like the rabbis of old, you need to interpert what it means to "work" while avoiding the temptation to be legalistic, or worse, to honor the sabbath above loving your neighbor as yourself. I'm sure some on the forum, should they read my answer, will correct some errors in my history, but I know that I am close. I honor Saturday, imperfectly I am sure; but then attend church on Sunday. We realised that our Sunday was anything but restful, but it is not easy to go against the grain of the rest of your Brothers, particularly when they assume you are legalistic simply by honoring Saturday as the Sabbath. I often wonder who is being legalistic. Your question seemed to be more of a statement, but I hope that I have helped some. MJH |
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142 | Violent men take it by force | Matt 11:12 | MJH | 140400 | ||
The key to understanding this verse turns out to be an old rabbinic interpretation (midrash) of Micah 2:12-13 which reads: 12 I will gather all of you, Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel. I will put them all together like sheep in a fold, like a flock inside its pen. It will be noisy and crowded with people. 13 The breach-maker (poretz) goes through before them Then they break out. Passing through the gate, they leave by it. Their king passes through before them, their Lord at their head. Rich imagery! A picture of a shepherd penning up his sheep at night. He quickly builds a fold by throwing up a makeshift rock fence against the side of a hill. The next morning, to let the sheep out, he makes a hole or a breach in the fence. The sheep being penned up all night can hardly wait to “break” out. The ancient rabbinic interpretation said the “breach-maker” was Elijah, and “their king” was the Messiah. “The Kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus says, “is ‘breaking forth’ [not ‘suffering violence’], and every person in it is ‘breaking out’ in it.” Two things are happening. The Kingdom is bursting forth into the world, and individuals within the Kingdom are finding freedom and liberty. In Micah it is the Lord and his sheep that are breaking out. Jesus alters that figure slightly so that it is the Kingdom and its sheep that are breaking out. Though Jesus does not refer directly to his own role as the shepherd leading the sheep out, no listener could possibly misunderstand Jesus’ stunning assertion – I am the Lord. Elijah had come and opened the way, and the Lord himself was leading the noisy multitude out to freedom. Adapted from “Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus” Bivin, Blizzard MJH |
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143 | What commandments? Torah? Yes-No? | 2 John 1:6 | MJH | 140381 | ||
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144 | Good study guide for Exodus? | Exodus | MJH | 140374 | ||
The following is a Jewish commentary on the book of Exodus, but shows many of the types of things taught during the time of Jesus, thus things He would have been aware. Also, comments by latter Jewish sages. I find it very interesting, but it is not a sole source since it is not written by those who accept Jesus as the Messiah. JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus: Shemot: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation Sarna, Nahum M. (Author) ISBN: 0827603274 It is 65 dollars retail, but at www.karis.spreadtheword.com it is 45.00 MJH |
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145 | Wise Christian spending? | Lev 19:18 | MJH | 140051 | ||
Lev 19:18 ". . .you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." I think this is the best verse that applies. They could be child laborers in sweat shops. OR they could be making a good living wage in their culture. Often companies actually bring economic renewal and help to area of the world by setting up shop. Not all companies are greedy money grubbers out to harm the little guy. I mention this because I have friends on a board of a non-profit mercy organization that tries to find companies that will set up in poor nations to help them. So by not buying you may be “loving your neighbor.” But then you may be “loving your neighbor” by buying the products. It’s not always so clear. Also you said, “. . .countries that are against Christianity.” I don’t think that applies, since you may be hurting the wrong people. If we do something against a country specifically, and not just a company or product, the best way would be for the United States to impose sanctions. MJH |
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146 | Why ordain pastors? How do you do it? | Bible general Archive 2 | MJH | 140037 | ||
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147 | What is required for Salvation? | John 17:3 | MJH | 140036 | ||
Act 2:37-38 “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the emissaries, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and be immersed, every one of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (HNT) The term, shubh (Hebrew), is most generally employed to express the Scriptural idea of genuine repentance. It is used extensively by the prophets, and makes prominent the idea of a radical change in one's attitude toward sin and God. It implies a conscious, moral separation, and a personal decision to forsake sin and to enter into fellowship with God. TO TURN BACK – implies to turn back to something. This is most likely the word John the Baptist used in the desert when immersing people. (Or the Greek or Arabic equivalent). The same for Acts when Peter says the people need to repent and be immersed. (Baptism was a very common practice in those days and they would have all known what it was a picture of in relation to repentance.) So what is required for Salvation? Simple answer, “Repentance.” Although repenting implies the following: 1. you believe in the One true God; 2. you believe you have fallen short of what God requires. 3) Jesus is the Messiah; 4) His death and resurrection are sufficient to redeem you. Since you are “turning back” it might also be helpful to know to what you are turning back to. MJH |
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148 | Hair cuts and beards | Lev 19:27 | MJH | 139644 | ||
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149 | Matthew 16 | Matt 16:28 | MJH | 139477 | ||
Matt 16:28 "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (NIV) Read the very next chapter of Matthew for you answer. If you still have a question, reply to this post and maybe we can walk through it. MJH |
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150 | Why did Jesus speak these words? | Luke 23:31 | MJH | 138956 | ||
Check out a book entitled: "Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus" by David Bivin, Roy Blizzard. This verse and many others explained. |
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151 | legal rights re: copyrights | Luke 6:31 | MJH | 138955 | ||
You only are allowed to make a copy for back-up purposes for yourself only. You can give your original away, but then must destroy or give the back up away to the same owner as well. Or, you can ask the owner of the material for permission to copy. The copyrite owner must provide this in writting. Even copying songs from live radio is technically illegal. I would suggest that you simply buy what you want. In the past, I have copied something with the purpose of learning if I wanted to purchase or not and then erased the copy; but this too is not technically not legal. To be sure yourself, check out the actual law at http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html God bless, MJH |
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152 | Friend lost a close friend in a accident | Bible general Archive 2 | MJH | 138742 | ||
You have my prayers! What a very difficult time. To answer your question; first I'd say that no scripture is the best scripture right now. I have seen and heard too many people quote scripture to someone hurting only for it to be received in a negative way, particularly that Romans 8 passage that all things work out for good. That is the LAST thing someone needs to hear when nothing seems to be working out right. The fact is that evil and bad things happen. Hurt with them. Feel with them. Even smile with them (it is okay to smile at a wake). When the time is right, some good scriptures are ones that show Godly people mourning such as when David lost his son and his attendants thought he might be suicidal. Or Psalms that are heart wrenchingly honest before God. Even Jesus who wept (but that verse is too easily passed over -- Jesus WEPT was more than that word conveys. He really really wept.) I am sure others will have great ideas. I did want to get the point across that quoting scripture can often be done at times when silence may be the best course. She may not need nor want to be “cheered up.” Some cultures say that a person who shows little emotion is “handling it” well, and the person crying and weeping are not. I think the opposite. Pithy sayings can’t help at these times, not even if they are scripture meant to reveal the “good” side of every situation. I hope this is helpful. You might check out a book at a Christian Book Store. They have several on helping friends through these times. May God be with you and your friends! MJH |
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153 | Enoch's prophesy in OT? | Jude 1:14 | MJH | 138387 | ||
Jude does quote Enoch (the book of): "See the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone and convict the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done" (Book of Enoch 1:9) "Enoch the Seventh from Adam prophesied ... 'See the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone and convict the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done'." (Jude 14-15) I do not believe this means that Jude held the book up as authoritative, but I understand that most educated Jews, including Jesus, would have been quite familiar with the book. I am unable to comment any more than this as I have just begun to study the subject, thus bringing be to this forum. God Bless. |
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154 | Sources? | Matt 5:17 | MJH | 137898 | ||
I’ve spent several hours digging this up, and have yet to complete my task, but I hope that this will be adequate at least for right now. The Sources are at the end of this post. The reason I’m digging into this source and taking time to follow this thread is so that some can appreciate the value of knowing the language, culture, and contemporary teachings of Jesus time. When Jesus is placed back in His Jewish roots, the scriptures come alive in ways they do not when Jesus is taken out of His original Jewish culture. Case in point: A denominational Sunday school curriculum had a picture of a young boy walking up stairs into a building and the words with the picture said, “Jesus was a good Christian boy who went to church every Sunday.” Three things are wrong with this: 1) Jesus was not Christian but Jewish; 2) Jesus went to Synagogue, not Church; and 3) Jesus went on the Sabbath, not on Sunday. I suppose when children are taught such things, it is no wonder that there is such an uphill battle to help adults place Jesus back into His true setting. Why do I harp on this stuff? Several of you asked what this has to do with Salvation. First and foremost, when I began to study along these lines my life changed dramatically. It is not uncommon for a newly saved person to try and convert all his friends because of the Joy they have found. I too, feel this way in a sense and want everyone to experience the exhilaration of meeting Jesus in a fresh and real way, as He was and is. My goal is to know God and Jesus more and more to enjoy Him and live in the fullness of His Kingdom. Second; I do not believe that God’s only purpose in the story of the Bible was to simply get people saved and out of hell. We too often have the attitude that our job is to “get people in” when Jesus’ life and ministry was far more than just that. He practiced a first century discipleship that was not only common to His day, but ended up changing the Roman world in ways the Zealots of His time couldn’t have imagined. Jesus did this by studying immense amounts of information from the Old Testament to Oral Law and many other extra-Biblical teachings. Jesus debated with other respected Rabbis (not just those “white washed tombs” he chastised.) There were eight great debates in Jesus time and Jesus addresses all eight of them. (7 times he sides with Hillel and 1 time with Shammi, the leading Rabbinic schools of the day.) Jesus discussed the most minute law of the day as well as the greatest. I feel that when we ask, “What does this have to do with Salvation.” we devalue much of what God wants for us and from us. We cheapen the scriptures and what they can do in our lives. We forget that God is more interested IN us than in what we can do for Him. That being said, I am not one to participate in polemic divinity. I feel I side with Benjamin Franklin on this account. SOURCES: First the English ones: “Jesus the Jewish Theologian”, by Brad H. Young page 264-265 of ISBN 1565630602 “Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus”, by David Bivin and Roy Blizzard, Jr. page 111-115 of ISBN 156043550X “Our Father Abraham”, by Marvin R Wilson, page 117 of ISBN 0802804233 En-Gedi web site: http://www.en-gedi.org/articles/rtb/rtb2002apr.html “Heavenly Torah”, by Abraham J. Heschel page unknown (I do not have this book yet) ISBN 0826408028 Non English Sources: W. Bacher, Die exegetische Terminologie der judischer Traditionsliteratur (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1905; Hebrew translation by A Rabinovitz; Erche Midrash, Jerusalem: Carmiel, 1970) Rabbis of today! This is a current common saying in the schools of Jewish theology found throughout the world, particularly in Israel. Also, I do have notes from an article by Bivin that come from the earliest sources (Mishnah written in the 200’s AD and is the Oral Traditions that were common during Jesus time.) These notes are all but meaningless if you do not know Hebrew and since the article they are attached to is copy protected, I can only post the notes. I am not posting the notes because they are long, but should you want them, I can post them in a separate response. And finally, the following was emailed to me by a wonderful man who helped me track some of this down: “David Bivin and the other Jerusalem School Scholars are experts in Koine Greek (even conversing in that ancient language on occasion), Mishnaic Hebrew, Aramaic, Biblical and Modern Hebrew, Syriac, and other languages used in Biblical scholarship like German, Latin, and French. I have not found the equal of their scholarship and linguistic capabilities among other Biblical scholars.” I hope that this helps in our walk with God, not just in some stupid disagreement about interpretation. Anyway, the most common interpretation of this text, even though wrong when used in Matt. 5:17, is a correct belief and teaching of the Bible, but that point is made elsewhere in the New Testament. |
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155 | Sources? | Matt 5:17 | MJH | 137708 | ||
I am hunting down the sources for the idiom (can't locate them when you need them...) In the mean time, you can read, "Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus" by David Bivin and Roy Blizzard. Also, "Our Father Abraham: Jewish roots of the Christian Faith", by Marvin Wilson. Both books show how modern scholars agree that the first century Jews spoke Hebrew as their main language and not Arabic or Greek (or Latin). The ISBNs are: 1-56043-550-X and 0-8028-0423-3 respectively. I apologize for not having the source for the Idiom readily available, but both these authors make the same argument for this verse as I have. I will get that source a.s.a.p. |
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156 | Does Mark 7:19 contradict Acts 15:29? | Mark 7:19 | MJH | 137491 | ||
I (MJH) wrote concerning this, but opted to use the following source instead, since they stated the case best. I believe that this is the best possible interprtation of this text as you may or may not agree: Taken from: http://www.jesusisajew.org/Short/MK7V19.htm At the end of Mark 7:19 most Bible translations say, "Thus He declared all foods clean." So its pretty clear that Yeshua ("Jesus") changed the old food regulations in Leviticus 11, and its ok to eat pork, shellfish, or whatever we want, right? The most important clue for understanding any passage in the Bible is to check the context. In this case, its given in Mark 7:1-5 where Yeshua is asked, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the Tradition of the Elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?" (v.5). Notice two things: first, the question isn't about the Torah ("Law"), but about a tradition. Second, its not a question about what may be eaten. It's about whether one may eat at all without a ritual handwashing. That explains why Yeshua responded by saying, "Neglecting the Commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men," (v.8) and, "You have a fine way of setting aside the Commandment of God in order to keep your tradition" (v.9). So then, could verses 18-19 have Yeshua setting aside a commandment of God when up until that point He had been criticizing the Pharisees for that very thing (v. 8,9,13)? And could verses 18-19 have Yeshua talking about a commandment at all, when up until that point His subject had been a "Tradition of the Elders" (v. 3,4,5,8,9,13)? Lastly, could verses 18-19 suddenly be about food when up until that point the subject had been ritual handwashing (v. 2,3,4,5)? Obviously, no. This is made even clearer by comparing the same discussion as reported by Matthew (15:1-20). Yeshua concludes by saying, "but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man." Because the subject of Mark 7:1-19 isn't Kashrut (Biblical diet), it cannot be about abolishing Kashrut either. Ok, but why do so many translations* seem to say that it is? Again consider the context, but in this case the social context. This discussion took place in a social and historical context different than our own. Language and practice were based on the Word of God. For instance, their holidays were those days set apart in the Bible for special observance, not ours. Their property rights were those of the Bible, not ours. Likewise, only those things that are not taw-may ("defiled", "unclean") were considered food, everything else was not. Reading Mark 7:19 as they would have, it means, "Thus He declared all things given by God as food to be clean, regardless of ritual hand washing." *Although there are many minor textual differences between source documents of the New Covenant, it is very rare that a variance significantly affects meaning. Mark 7:18-19 is one of these rare passages. The difference of a single letter (Omicron or Omega) determines gender for the word "purging, making clean" near the end of v.19 (katharizon). Most translators believe that this word must attach to a subject, while some do not. For those who do, if the word's gender is neuter (written with the Omicron), it attaches to "stomach," and is speaking of the digestive process. (See the King James Version, for instance.) But for translators who believe the word's gender is masculine (written with the Omega), it must look all the way back to the "He" (Yeshua) at the beginning of verse 18 for its masculine subject. For the sake of clarity, these translators insert a phrase that never appears in the Greek: "Thus He declared." Regardless of which manuscripts and translations are correct, this article attempts to show that Mark 7:1-19 is not an instance of Divine self-correction, by assuming the most difficult case, "Thus He declared all foods clean." |
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