Search the Community

Romans 7:1-4 7 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only during that person’s lifetime? 2 Thus a married woman is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies, she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress. 4 In the same way, my friends, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. Yeshua affirms this in his own way on Matthew 19:16-19. Matthew 19:16-19. 16 Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Did Yeshua, the dabar (word) of God, just forget commandments? Did he just not feel he should remind practicing Jews of all the commandments? Let us read again. "...If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Yeshua clearly says that not all the commandments are not required for eternal life, but more importantly, we learn of Yeshua's commandments for the New Covenant, The Law of Christ. Yeshua not only takes away but even gives NEW commandments in John 13:34. John 13:34 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. Yeshua magnifies commandments and even adds more but I will not cite them all. What do you, my brothers and sisters, think of this? Do you still follow the 10 commandments of Moses even though our lord has abolished them? And for my non-Christian and Christian brothers and sisters, do you think this displays enough proof that Yeshua abolished the commandments or did I miss something that makes me wrong? With Love, Brother Yosef

"Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) While I am not a great believer in the historical accuracy of the Gospel of Luke, I still see value in this verse. Whenever I read this verse, I can not help but think of the many great works human kind has achieved. Mankind has developed cures for many diseases, built automobiles for faster transportation, and cellular communication for immediate long distance communication. What do you, my brothers and sisters, see when you read this verse? With love, Brother Yosef

This topic will be controversial. The Jews for Jesus are/is having a debate on the topic of antisemitism. In particular, the question of whether the Christian Scriptures are, themselves, antisemitic and a source of antisemitism. In fairness, I must put my own bias up front. I am a Jewish Atheist. I have definite thoughts on the history of antisemitism. In terms of scriptural theology, I'm not clear on how much I actually have a dog in this race. I think this topic can fuel interesting conversation. The fuel can also be explosive. This is a time for tactful and cautious restraint. I will be on my good behavior. On balance, I'm optimistic. The board can use some serious conversation. If we have any Messianic Jewish lurkers, perhaps they will come out of hiding. Here goes. https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-you-should-support-my-upcoming-debate-with-rabbi-shmuley-boteach/?utm_source=The+Blogs+Weekly+Highlights&utm_campaign=blogs-weekly-highlights-2019-08-01&utm_medium=email

Hello. I am wondering how many here have done a web search for sermons by others of Christianity's Priests, Pastors, Ministers, etc. Have you quoted them? Have you used them to write your own? How long do you keep them (in terms of number of paragraphs)? For those with your own congregations, do have loose copies of your past sermons for parishioners to pick up & take home? Or do you offer to email the sermon(s) to them? Or do you post them on a web page for them to download and/or print out? Thank you for your time and consideration.

Consider for a moment that something you have believed all your life is not quite the way it really is. Can you imagine that? Has it ever happened to you that someone did not tell you the whole truth, or misrepresented the truth, in order to get something they wanted, which they wished to remain hidden? The early Church Fathers suppressed such truth, resorting to alternative "truths." This information becomes apparent when you discover the Books of Enoch and many other Nag Hammadi Scriptures, which were in fact well-known as scriptures until 325 BCE, over 325 years after Jesus. Oral tradition kept these books alive until such time as they were written down. After they were written, Church Fathers excluded them. It would have been too much power for the people to have, especially women. Yet even Jesus referred to the Books of Enoch and other Nag Hammadi writings. Do you want to know what they said? This post, and the ones to follow in this series, address three types of angels, their missions, and how their actions have affected all of us human beings on planet earth. It is a fantastic realization which some of us have already arrived at on their own long ago. It is so fantastic I have dismissed it for years, as some of us have shunned such knowledge, preferring instead to believe, if we ever believed, what was spoon fed to us as children. I always found it interesting that the traditional Christian message came to a stagnant halt on about the sixth grade. After that, the message and the story kept playing on a repetitive loop. The Books of Enoch include: The First Book of Enoch (The Ethiopia Book of Enoch) The Second Book of Enoch (The Slavonic Secrets of Enoch) The Third Book of Enoch (The Hebrew Book of Enoch) The Book of Fallen Angels, The Watchers, and the Origins of Evil: With Expanded Commentary on Enoch, Angels, Prophecies and Calendars in the Sacred Texts Why would these Books of Enoch be taken out of the Bible? Enoch is said to be the one who walked with God, that he did not die, but God took him up to heaven. Then Enoch was no more. He was beloved by God. Jesus referred to these writings. Yet these books, and over 49 other scriptures and numerous other writings, were taken out of the Bible we have today. Why? The Books of Enoch have a different explanation of the Fallen Angels, the Origins of Evil, the mission of the Fallen Angels and that of the Watchers, than that of the traditional Bible. The three groups of angels Enoch mentions are: Good and Faithful Angels in heaven. They use their Free Will to choose good, choosing to align with the Good God of heaven. Rebel Angels who fell through pride with Lucifer mentioned in Isaiah 14:12-17; and Revelation 12:7-9. They amounted to about one-third of the formerly good angels, who were then cast out of heaven in a war with Archangel Michael. The spirits of these fallen ones still roam the earth, since they are not allowed back in heaven. The Fallen Watchers, whose fell through lust in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis 6:1-4, having sex with women, and whose children are the famed giants of old, the Nephilim. Though when their physical bodies died, their spirits did not. Those angels who sinned against the Good God who made them, also still roam on the face of the earth. Still, the Loving God, Father of Jesus, has empathy and compassion on the entire human race, which He intended to be Created in pure goodness. When He saw how His Creation was maligned, through the Fallen Angels, and how they misused their creative powers, He chose to send his only begotten Son to redeem us all. Now for this next part, you will have to allow different, very different reasoning for your consideration. These thoughts and concepts are so revolutionary that I stopped reading them when I first heard them. I had been conditioned to only read and support what I already believed. But that is no way to grow spiritually. I hope you do better than I did when I first heard this information. Keep seeking and questioning why the Church Fathers would not want you to know this precious and accurate information. In this series, I will simply put forth the themes of the Books of Enoch, and many other Nag Hammadi Scriptures, that explain angels and their classifications, as well as the true origins of angels and humans. The Secret Book of John, Nature of The Rulers, On The Origin of The World, The Wisdom of Jesus Christ, The Second Discourse of Great Seth, Three Forms of First Thought, The Gospel of Judas, all Nag Hammadi Scriptures, all say there were two Gods, not one. Technically, there is the one true God of all Creation, who is also the Father of Jesus. However, these books mentioned a god who created humans on earth, who is not this loving God. How did Enoch come to know this information about Creation and the angels, as well as Jesus coming as Savior years before it happened? "And he began his story saying: (I am) Enoch, a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, and who saw the vision of the Holy One in heaven, which the angels showed me. And I heard everything from them, and I saw and understood, but it was not for this generation (to know), but for a remote one which is to come." First Book of Enoch 1:2 We are this remote generation. I will explain more on this point in future posts. Enoch told his son, Methuselah, everything God showed him through the angels. This account of our creation by the Fallen Angels, our current state of affairs, and why we have both good and evil inside us, got preserved in the safe vault of the earth over time, until now, for our enlightenment. This gives a different view to many of the parables, such as the good seed which a farmer sows in his field, only to have weed seeds also sown in this field right after he plants the good seed. Jesus uses this illustration also. The farmer decides to let the wheat and the weeds grow together, so as not to pull up the wheat along with the weeds. You have been told by traditional religions*, that the field is the earth, that the good seed is God and the Word of God, and that the bad seed is Satan and all his temptations. You were told you had to make choices between what is good and what is bad. You (all humans) were also told that you sinned by giving in to temptation and choosing evil, or eating that fruit in the Garden of Eden. Then you were told that God punished all human beings for the sin of Adam and Eve. You were even told that the Original Sin is yours. Not so says Enoch. Enoch, (and most of the other books explaining this to us), says that we human beings are the field in this parable. We are Created part good from the good DNA from the good angel Created by the Good God, and part evil since our bodies were created by a Fallen Angel. If the part of us with the bad DNA had that part removed, we would be completely destroyed. So the bad seed cannot be removed from the field of our bodies without lethal consequences. Did you get that? Human beings did not choose to sin in the Paradise Garden as the Church Fathers want you to believe. They had a strong reason for promulgating this story. Rather, Original Sin belongs to the Fallen Angels, a sin that belongs to them alone. This point will be further explained in posts to come. Still, being created with good DNA and evil DNA, we do need to make a choice as to which way we live our lives. This is the constant struggle we have each and every day, whether to choose evil over good, or good over evil, because both are ingrained into our very nature. Looking out at the world stage, many of us are not choosing good over evil. Jesus also explains this very point in our traditional Holy Bible, in John 8:44, when he says, "For you are the children of your father the devil and you love to do the evil things he does." He meant this literally. He was trying to tell us way back when, but so many of us did not want to listen. Don't forget to breathe. Maybe you have known this all along. I did not. For me, it took my breath away. I did not even know if it was safe to consider the possibility, so I stopped studying this for a long while. One thing I know, is to never ever make a decision based on fear. Fear is a dark energy, not from the Good God above, who is total LOVE and PURE LIGHT. But I am still human, and succumb to fear from time to time, when I am not consciously walking in LOVE. We come to realizations and knowledge a little bit at a time, step by step. I only mention this struggle with fear in case any of you out there are in the same boat. I urge you to continue reading these posts as I explain many more false truths that have seeped in to the hearts and minds of most of humankind. How liberating it is to know the truth. We all know the truth when we hear it. Truth simply rings true. Truth has no opinions. * Also, the Creation stories in Genesis in the modern Bible is a compilation of at least three conflicting creation stories from various authors. What the composer (not writer) of Genesis did was to select portions of each to best portray his line of thinking, and omit other important things. There are even more Creation stories from other cultures that were not included in the Bible's version of Creation. *Traditional Bibles have Jesus explaining the good and bad seeds and the field. But remember, Jesus is still using parables and illustrations in trying to help us understand. We are the field he is teaching about. I will explain more in future posts.

I am hoping this is the appropriate place to post this. I know some here have done a bit more scholarly research into the historical language of the Christian Texts than I, so I am curious as to the take on this. It is, I am afraid, kinda vague and short of details. I suspect that is, in part, because the professor is trying to flog his upcoming book. Still, what of the basic premise. In summary , Prof. Hudson (U of MO, KC) is arguing that Jesus Message was about debt not about "sin" as we think of it today. And that the modern view of "Sin" as tied to the fleshy desires, was a redirect by the oligarchs of past to protect the Oligarchy. Now, I am not asking here to get opinions on whether debt forgiveness (a major theme of his argument) is a a good or bad policy. Just whether his historical grounding is solid enough to warrant further research, or if his is standing on mud and if so, how wet is it. LInky here.

Hebrews 11:1-10 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Matthew 25:9-12 9 But the wise replied, There will not be enough for us and for you; go instead to the dealers and buy for yourselves. 10 But while they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were prepared went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other virgins also came and said, Lord, Lord, open [the door] to us! 12 But He replied, I solemnly declare to you, I do not know you [i am not acquainted with you]. What do you think of this scripture????