The Sign of the Prophet Jonah

Posted on 02/16/2025 by Messyanic

There are three mentions of the Sign of Jonah in the New Testament.

Matthew first mentions it in Matthew 12:38-42 and then again in 16:1-4.

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 12:38-42

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

Matthew 16:1-4

Luke mentions it in Luke 11:29-32. Notice the commonality in all these mentions.

And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

Luke 11:29-32

They are all founded on the statement “an evil (& adulterous, according to Matthew) generation seeketh after signs“, but the Messiah said, there will be no sign given them — except for the sign of the prophet Jonah.

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Why Does Jesus Call Himself the Son of Man?

Posted on 02/03/2025 by Messyanic

Throughout the New Testament Jesus refers to himself as the Son of man1. Why is that? Let’s start at the beginning of the Bible and work our way through it to see if we can find the answer to that question.

Genesis 1:26-27 reads:

26 And God said, Let us make man2 (“adam” H120) in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man (“adam” H120) in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

The first son of man (“adam”) we read about is found in Genesis 4:1. While this offspring is not formally called a “son” let alone a “son of man”, it is clear that he is a male offspring of a union between a man and a woman.

4 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man3 (“iysh” H376) from the Lord.

Then, we read in verse 17 of the same chapter that Cain and his wife produce Enoch, and Enoch is identified as Cain’s “son”.

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son (“ben” H1121), Enoch.

But again, Enoch is not formally called a “son of man” either, however he is an offspring of Cain and his wife, suggesting Enoch is a son (“ben” H1121) of man (“adam” H120).

To me, a “son of man” is another way of saying a male human being, which is procreated from the union of a man and a woman, in contrast to the created “adam” who was made from the dust of the ground. Would you agree?

Now let’s look at where this term is specifically used in the Old Testament.

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When Shall These Things Be?

Posted on 01/28/2025 by Messyanic

Jesus/Yeshua makes a bold prophetic prediction during his ministry concerning the pride and joy of Jerusalem: the buildings of the second temple standing in the first century.

In Matthew 24 we read:

24 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Clearly, Jesus/Yeshua is speaking to his disciples, who are physically in his presence, about structures that are physically standing at that time: the buildings of the second temple.

Parallel passages can be found in Mark 13:

13 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! 2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

And Luke 21:

5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, 6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Matthew goes on to say:

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming1, and of the end of the world2?

Mark reports it in this way:

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled3?

Luke says it this way:

7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass4?

These passages reveal his disciples, specifically Peter, James, John and Andrew, question him privately as to the timing of when the destruction of that site would come to pass. They also ask for a sign.

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Posted in End Times, Jesus / Yeshua, Kingdom of God, What About? verses | 1 Comment

The Book of Revelation: Future, Present or Past?

Posted on 01/24/2025 by Messyanic

The book of Revelation opens with the following verses:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Please note the emboldened text.

And then the book concludes in this way (chapter 22):

6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. 7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

and

10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

and finally,

20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Again, please note the emboldened text.

Given that this document is understood to have been written nearly TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, why do so many believe that its contents are referencing something that is yet to take place?

I confess, having grown up in Christianity, every church I ever went to led me to believe this book, Revelation, referenced something that was to take place in the future, and I never questioned it.

It wasn’t until about seven years ago — at the age of about 49, that I even paid any attention to the words emboldened in the above verses.

Then, I learned that this text was likely written before 70 AD and therefore, spoke of the events that took place at that time: the utter destruction of the temple and fall of Jerusalem.

This understanding, coupled with Jesus’/Yeshua’s own words in Matthew 24, makes a whole lot more sense than the notion that these texts are talking about something that will take place THOUSANDS of years later.

What do you think?

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What is the Will of God?

Posted on 11/20/2024 by Messyanic

Growing up in Christianity, I came to understand the Will of God to essentially consists of loving God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength & loving your neighbor as yourself.

And we do the latter by applying the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself

When I was young, I had a hard time with the phrase “as yourself” in the loving your neighbor part, because I struggled with negative feelings of self-worth.

I remember when I was in middle school, at the age of 12 or 13, I had this notion that other people were more important than me. That it was okay for me to let people say & do bad things about & to me — that I was to “be like Jesus” and “turn the other cheek” and then to ask God to “forgive them for they know not what they do” when the kids at school picked on me.

I remember despising my physical features and being mad at God for making me this way — and then feeling guilty for being mad at God.

I eventually managed to get over it and accept the things I couldn’t change about my physical makeup and focused on that which I could — not necessarily with my appearance, but with who I was as a person.

I became obsessed with self-improvement.

Around this time (throughout my teenage years and beyond), my parents were involved in a business venture that focused heavily on self-improvement. And I became very interested in reading self-help books & listening to motivational speakers because I wanted to be the best version of me that I could be and do great things — namely, I wanted to make the world a better place.

But in time I came to see how that interest evolved into something not-so-good. I realized that I had become obsessed with trying to improve myself, because I never believed myself to be good enough.

So, I stopped feasting on self-improvement material and sought to just do what I understood the Will of God was. (See paragraph 1.)

Is there more to it (the Will of God, that is)?

Fast forward to today (or at least in more recent times), and I find myself questioning “what is the Will of God?” Is there more to it than what I have always believed?

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Posted in Creation, Encouragement / Advice, Kingdom of God, Walking in the Ways of the Creator, YHVH Elohim/God | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Creator is God vs God is the Creator

Posted on 11/18/2024 by Messyanic

For most of my life I’ve understood God to be the Creator and Source of all life, as if “God” was the identifying label for that Being who created the heaven & the earth and gave life to the vegetation & all the creatures He formed to inhabit it.

I understood it that way because I was introduced to God through the religion of Christianity coupled with the Bible.

I proceeded to understand who God was based on what I read in the Bible.

But here, recently, I’ve been reframing my understanding.

I acknowledge the Creator & Source of all life exists first & foremost. And, I consider Him to be God.

For a while now I have not agreed with all that is said about the Creator/God through the teachings of Christianity. However, lately, I have become skeptical of all that is said about Him in the Bible.

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Calling Upon the Name of the Lord

Posted on 10/19/2024 by Messyanic

This afternoon I was reading an article found at an Assembly of God website entitled, “How Can I Be Saved?”

In answer to that article’s question, the author referenced three passages: Romans 10:13, Joel 2:32 and Acts 2:21 that all essentially say the same thing:

“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

And this brought to my mind the passage at the end of Genesis 4.

25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. – Genesis 4:25-26 KJV

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Was Their Rebellion in the Garden?

Posted on 10/02/2024 by Messyanic

I recently came across two different people referring to Adam & Eve’s act of eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden as an act of rebellion.

One said, “Humans chose to rebel while in paradise.” and the other said “Adam and Eve…rebelled against the wisdom and authority of the Creator…”. That prompted me to respond.

Did Adam & Eve really “rebel”?

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Did the Creator’s Design Change After the Fall of Man?

Posted on 09/25/2024 by Messyanic

Many seem to think that the creation established in the beginning was later altered by God and that He instituted physical death, in response to the Fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden.

However, upon careful examination of the stories found in Genesis 1-3, I draw a different conclusion.

In the Garden of Eden

Genesis 2 tells us of the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil that existed in the Garden of Eden.

The created man (both male & female) was placed in that garden. And while the man was told by God that he could eat of any tree therein, he was forbidden to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil, lest he surely die.

The Fall of Adam

Genesis 3 tells the story of a serpent speaking to Eve in the garden. While she reiterates what God had said concerning the forbidden fruit, she is led astray by the serpent and ultimately partakes of that fruit. And she gives the fruit to Adam, and he eats it as well.

Shortly thereafter, the two are confronted by God about their misdeeds. The blame game unfolds with she gave it to me and the serpent deceived me, and God responds.

In this post, I focus specifically on what was told to Adam at this point.

Consequence for Adam’s Sin

In Genesis 3:17-19 it says,

“And unto Adam he [God] said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, “Thou shalt not eat of it”: cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

As I said in the beginning, many seem to think Creation was altered and physical death was instituted at this point of the story.

While I address the notion that Adam’s DNA was altered as a result of his sin in my study, For All Have Sinned*, published in 2017 — concluding that it did not, today I’d like to specifically address the Land and the institution of physical death.

[*Please note: my position has changed since this study was published concerning these two latter points, thus, today’s post.]

Did God really change the way the Land that brings forth vegetation operates from His original design & creation, or did He simply change the position of Adam on the Land?

And…

Did God really institute physical death for Adam after Adam ate the forbidden fruit, or was Adam’s mortality part of his original design?

Religious indoctrination would have us believe the former is true on both points, but a closer examination reveals otherwise.

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Posted in 3-Grass, Seed-Yielding Herbs, Fruit Trees, 6-Living Creatures on Land, 6-Man and Woman, Creation, Garden of Eden, What About? verses | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

What Does It Mean to Be Perfect?

Posted on 09/18/2024 by Messyanic

I came across a comment on another website yesterday from an apparent Bible believer that indicated his/her belief was that humans are not perfectible. And that begged me to respond.

Humans Are Perfectible

According to the Bible, in Genesis 6:9, Noah is described as being perfect.

These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Then in Genesis 17:1, we see that YHVH told Abram to be perfect.

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

The Hebrew word translated as “perfect” in these verses is “tamiym” (H8549), and according to Brown Driver Briggs, it means “complete, sound“.

This word is used all throughout the books of Leviticus & Numbers and is translated as “without blemish” in the King James Version.

Then in Deuteronomy 18:13, Moses instructs the people to be perfect with YHVH their God.

Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.

There are many passages throughout the Old Testament that use this word to describe men, and many times it is translated as “upright“. I encourage you to do your own search of this word and see for yourself where & how it appears.

Clearly the Old Testament presents the idea that humans are capable of being perfect and expected to be so.

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Posted in 6-Man and Woman, Jesus / Yeshua, What About? verses | 2 Comments