Let There Be A Firmament

Posted on 04/29/2015 by Messyanic

ClearBlueSkyAnd God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

And God called the firmament Heaven.

H7549
רקיע
râqı̂ya‛
BDB Definition:
1) extended surface (solid), expanse, firmament
Part of Speech: noun masculine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H7554

H7554
רקע
râqa‛
BDB Definition:
1) to beat, stamp, beat out, spread out, stretch
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:14-18 ASV) 
Continue reading →

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The Earth and Seas as a Globe Just Doesn’t Add Up

Posted on 04/25/2015 by Messyanic

sphere_700We have been fed from early childhood the notion that the earth (& seas) is a globe, without any real physical evidence.

Nobody *discovered* the earth to be spherical. It was just arbitrarily decided and ultimately rammed down our throats.

The notion was conceived in the minds of men…Greek philosophers.

Later the notion was thrown into the mix of mathematical models and the “heliocentric model” came to light, stating the earth is a spinning ball revolving around the sun. Again, with no real physical evidence to suggest such an idea.

After much resistance, from the *Bible-believing community* I might add, this notion was finally accepted as a reasonable scientific theory. But over time it somehow transitioned from being a scientific theory to a scientific fact without any real physical *conclusive* evidence.  Continue reading →

Posted in 3-Land and Seas, Walking in the Ways of the Creator | 2 Comments

At Odds with Modern Science

Posted on 04/17/2015 by Messyanic

Origins-2I contend that what the Bible teaches concerning the heavens, earth, sun, moon and stars and what we experience in our daily (and nightly) lives are at odds with what the world of modern science would have us believe.

The Heavens and the Earth

We read in Genesis 1 that a firmament, a firm, stamped out expanse, which is called the “heavens”, was made to separate between the waters under it and the waters above it. Then the waters under this firmament were gathered together and dryness appeared. This dryness is called earth and the gathered waters are called seas. And when we stand on the earth near any shoreline and look up, we see the heavens are above the earth and seas.

And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:6-10 ESV)

Yet modern science would have us believe that the “earth” is comprised of both land and seas in the shape of a ball, moving about within the heavens, without any substantial physical evidence.

Continue reading →

Posted in 2-Heaven, 3-Land and Seas, 4-Sun Moon & Stars, Creation | 6 Comments

By Strength of Hand YHVH Brought You Out

Posted on 03/28/2015 by Messyanic

father-and-sonAnd the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.

And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.

This day came ye out in the month Abib. (Exodus 13:1-4 KJV)

The day on which this was spoken was the 15th day of the 1st month of the year, following the Pass Over event when the plague of death to the firstborn hit Egypt and all those residing in homes marked with the blood of the Passover lamb were spared.

The plague of death was the last in a series of many signs and wonders that YHVH performed when Pharaoh continually refused to let YHVH’s people go to serve Him.

When we look back before all these things took place, we see YHVH identified Israel as His firstborn son and foretold what would come to pass if Pharaoh refused to let him go.  Continue reading →

Posted in Feast of Unleavened Bread | Leave a comment

The Passover Timeline

Posted on 03/27/2015 by Messyanic

the-passover-instituted-by-cf-vosUnderstanding the timing of the Passover can be very confusing considering the different mindsets surrounding timekeeping, religious tradition and the teachings of man.

According to the world’s standard, a Day is a 24-hour period that begins at midnight, when the clock strikes 12 in the middle of the night and continues until the next night.

In mainstream Judaism and most Hebraic circles, a Day is also a 24-hour period reckoned from evening to evening, when the sun goes down to the next sundown.

But according to the Bible, a Day is separate from the Night. After the Creator made the heavens, earth and seas, He placed the sun, moon and stars in the heavens for the express purpose to separate between Day and Night.

Religious Tradition

Since the reckoning of a day in mainstream Judaism is evening to evening, and the world’s standard of timekeeping recognizes the day begins in the middle of the night, it can be difficult to wrap your mind around when to keep the Passover.

But then there are religious traditions that have been handed down through Judaism that are not found in the Bible, such as the Seder, which also make it difficult.

Teachings of Man

Compounding the problem is the New Testament writings, which seem to portray conflicting testimony surrounding the timing of the Passover. Then, there’s also the nature of Jesus/Yeshua’s last supper in question and a supposed discrepancy surrounding his time in the grave.

But if we take the understanding of what the Bible says concerning Day and Night, that they are separate from each other, and we consider the actual Pass Over event found in Exodus 12, the Passover Timeline is very simple to understand.

Let’s walk through the initial event together.  Continue reading →

Posted in 1-Day and Night, Passover - Pesach | 4 Comments

Let Them Be…For Seasons

Posted on 03/24/2015 by Messyanic

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. (Genesis 1:14-15 ESV)

The word translated as “seasons” in the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) is “moedim” (H4150), which means “appointed times”.  Continue reading →

Posted in 4-Sun Moon & Stars | 8 Comments

And Let Them Be For Signs

Posted on 03/21/2015 by Messyanic

cool-photo-sun-moon-starsAnd God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. (Genesis 1:14-15 ESV)

The Hebrew word (in the singular) translated as “signs” in this verse is “oth” (H226) and appears 79 times in the Tanakh (OT). It simply means “sign” or “signal” as in the sense of “appearing”. There are many examples in the Tanakh as to what an “oth” is.

  • YHVH put an “oth” on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him (Gen 4:15).
  • There are numerous “oth”s of covenants mentioned throughout the Torah: the bow in the clouds (Gen 9:12-13), circumcision (Gen 17:11), and the Sabbath day (Ex 31:13).
  • YHVH bringing the children of Israel to Mt Horeb was an “oth” to Moses (Ex 3:12).
  • YHYH told Moses to perform certain “oth”s before the children of Israel so they would believe him (Ex 4). And the wonders performed by Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh and the people of Egypt were considered “oth”s (Ex 7,8,10).
  • The blood of the Passover Lamb on the doorposts acted as an “oth” to avert death (Ex 12), and the unleavened bread that is to be eaten for seven days serves as an “oth” (Ex 13).

These are all examples of signals, things that are seen. And these are just a sample of its use throughout Scripture.

Many turn to Genesis 1:14 to justify looking to the lights in the heavens for either a gospel message of some sort, or an omen of things to come. But is this consistent with the entirety of Scripture? Is this something that we ought to be using them for?  Continue reading →

Posted in 4-Sun Moon & Stars | 3 Comments

The Rebellion of Israel in Egypt

Posted on 03/17/2015 by Messyanic

According to Ezekiel 20, Ezekiel received the following word from YHVH regarding the rebellion of Israel while they were still in Egypt:

[A]nd say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the LORD your God. On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.

And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. (Ezekiel 20:5-10 ESV)

I’ve always wondered where this event was recorded because it is not listed in Exodus.  Continue reading →

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Shepherds and Herdsmen

Posted on 03/11/2015 by Messyanic

bethsheepHave you ever noticed all the references in the Bible to shepherds and sheep?

The Hebrew word most often translated as “shepherd(s)” in the KJV is “ra’ah” (H7462) and means “to pasture, tend, graze, feed” according to Brown Driver Briggs. While it is only translated as “shepherd” or “shepherds” a total of 61 times, the word “ra-ah” appears almost 3 times as often (172).

The first mention appears in Genesis 4, addressing the occupation of Abel, the younger brother of Cain, who was a “ra’ah” of sheep:

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper (H7462 “ra’ah”) of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. (Genesis 4:1-2 ESV)

The next mention addresses the occupation of Abram’s household and his nephew Lot’s household…

(Genesis 13:7-8 ESV) and there was strife between the herdsmen (H7462 “ra’ah”) of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen (H7462 “ra’ah”) of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen (H7462 “ra’ah”) and my herdsmen (H7462 “ra’ah”), for we are kinsmen.

But in this case these are not necessarily sheep that they are pasturing, tending, grazing and feeding, but more specifically cattle or other form of livestock.

So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold…And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. (Genesis 13:1-2, 5-7 ESV) 

Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Walking in the Ways of the Creator, YHVH Elohim/God | Leave a comment

The Son of God vs. God, the Son

Posted on 03/10/2015 by Messyanic

trinityThere is a teaching of man, commonly referred to as the Trinity Doctrine that says God is one, in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost/Spirit. This is a fundamental tenet in Christianity. As a result, many believe that Jesus is God, but what does the Bible say?

Below is a list of every verse in the New Testament that includes the Greek words for “son” (G5207 “uihos”) and “God” (G2316 “theos”). Notice, that Jesus is never referred to as “God, the son”, but is consistently referred to as “the Son of God”. (Also note that there are other “sons of God” mentioned as well.)

See for yourself.  Continue reading →

Posted in Jesus / Yeshua, YHVH Elohim/God | 9 Comments