If you’ve been studying the Scriptures along with me the past couple of years…
Or heck, even just a few months…
One thing should be pretty crystal clear by now…
It is the height of idiocy to think we can just lift the Bible characters out of their ancient Middle Eastern context…
And then set them in our living rooms decked out in Levis and Pumas while chomping down on pepperoni pizzas.
Ya feel me homies?
Because let’s face it…
Without a grasp of the cultures, societies and rituals of the people of the Bible, God’s Word will remain unintelligible to you.
Here’s another truth bomb…
And I say this from many years of experience attending a ton of Bible studies hosted by congregations all around the world.
Your average Christian’s understanding of the Scriptures is literally the equivalent of a 13-year old junior high schooler.
I kid you not man..
However, we shouldn’t be surprised at this…
Because historically, the gentile church has demonized the Hebrew Bible or what they call the “Old” Testament…
And as a result, they view the history of Israel as irrelevant to their faith.
Plus, in some extreme cases, they’ll go so far as to say God has rejected Israel and replaced it with the Church.
But if you’ve been studying along with me for any length of time…
You know all of that is pure booooooooooooool sheeeeeeeeeeeeet.
You understand that God’s eternal covenant with Israel is hmm…actually eternal.
In fact, a gentile covenant doesn’t even exist and never will.
God never made a covenant with some goy nation whether it be the United States or South Korea…
If you’ve been studying with me…
You’re also aware the Law has never been and will never be done away with…
Or as Yeshua put it…
“For truly I tell you,
until heaven and earth disappear,
not the smallest letter,
not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear from the Law
until everything is accomplished.”
-Matthew 5:18
Now I’m aware there are Christian theologians out there who say the “everything is accomplished” bit refers to Yeshua’s “finished work on the cross” as they put it.
Gimme a freakin’ break man.
Just read the text!
The condition for the Law to be invalid is until heaven and earth disappear…
Which means if you’re reading this, it hasn’t happened yet.
And besides don’t take everything so literally for crying out loud.
“Until heaven and earth disappear” is just a colorful way of saying “forever” homies.
Don’t forget that when Yeshua comes back…
The Law of the whole world is going to be based on the Mosaic Law…
Not just Israel…
But the whole planet from Albania to Zimbabwe.
Remember, the 10 Commandments aren’t just the only commandments we’re required to obey homeroos…
They are the table of contents for the entire Law man…
Plus, keep in mind when I say your average Christian’s understanding of the Bible is equivalent to a 13-year old Junior High Schooler…
I’m not just talking about the degree of actual Scriptural knowledge they possess…
Yeah, for the most part that’s a joke and a half…
But I’m also talking about their attitude towards the Hebrew Bible.
After skimming through Genesis and Exodus, they’ll come to Leviticus and say to themselves..
“I don’t need to know this stuff.
It’s boring!”
They’ll say that simply because they don’t understand it.
As for me, I consider Leviticus to be one of my all-time favorite books in the whole Bible…
I get all tickled with delight at the Scriptural treasures awaiting me in this book that literally reveals the Lord’s holiness algorithms.
And why?
Because I’ve taken the time to do the difficult digging to get at its molten core.
Compare that to the rest of the population who relies on Scripture translations and doctrinal studies that have been dumbed down to a grade school level of understanding.
So trust me on this.
Your average Christian does NOT understand the Scriptures.
They only understand the doctrines their particular congregation has force fed them over the years.
Stuff like the Nicene creed which they repeat mindlessly every Sunday…
Or other nonsense like systematic theology that again attempts to simplify the Scriptures into an easy-to-understand framework…
But just ends up robbing the Scriptures of any nutritional value it has.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“We have much to say about this subject,
but it is hard to explain,
because you have become
sluggish in understanding.
For although by this time you
ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you the very
first principles of God’s Word
all over again! You need milk,
not solid food! Anyone who has
to drink milk is still a baby,
without experience in applying
the Word about righteousness.
But solid food is for the mature,
for those whose faculties have
been trained by continuous exercise
to distinguish good from evil.”
-Hebrews 5:11-14
Shalom Richoka,
I think you may like to take a break from your daily articles (which is a very heavy task),
Since we know that common bible translations have been unfaithful/ adulterated by unscriptural traditions and doctrines, shouldn’t we focus on publishing a new (no holds barred) version which is as faithful to the original Hebraic roots as possible? The BTC-ITT (as well as CJB, RMB, etc) version is an example of how such a (OMO) project is possible.
Gim
Ps – this msg is obviously meant for you only (not for publishing). Pls contact me directly by email (we can WA after that).
I vehemently disagree that the average Christian knows the scriptures as well as a teenager in High School.
Neither of them know the scriptures, AT ALL!
Remember that we kicked God out of the school system in this country back in the late 1950’s (Brown vs. the Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas).
If you watch YouTube videos of American college students being asked basic, elementary school level history questions, they have no idea about American history- at all!
So, no, Rich- most Christians (and to be fair, most Jews, as well) do not know the Bible (Old or New), and so believe lies that they think are biblical truths, such as “God helps those who help themselves”.
I agree with most of what you have said but I would take it a bit further and say; when ever God speaks it becomes Law. He can say a horse is a fish than, it’s a fish. As someone has said, ” God has to be careful when he speaks for whatever he says must happen or, he’s not,God Almighty.”
In that verse in Matthew the context is everything He has ever spoken.They all will be accomplished. Including what ever He said through the Prophets.
Also I agree the scripture first should be read in their historical context. This puts flesh & blood on these people. If that is done then, a spiritual application can be made. Modern Christians have no time for study, they just want a quick fix to get a spiritual high. God doesn’t care about our feelings, if that were case then He wouldn’t have asked Abraham to take his beloved son to Mt. Moriah. They have replaced spiritual growth with feelings thinking they are closer to God . Therefore the Gospel today is nothing more then humanism that has brought about this woke generation. It’s not that feeling are not nessasary to human nature they are, but, like misplaced love they will stunt ones growth.
The average Christian has a less than a kindergarten equivalent knowledge of the Bible.
Richoka
I’ve been following you for some time now, and always enjoy your insight and approach to the scriptures. You made a comment in this post that I must disagree with! You stated that ” a gentile covenant never existed, and never will”. but that is not true!
Abram was an uncircumcised “Gentile” from Ur of the Chaldeans, with whom God did make several covenants! There was no Israel in existence at that time, and God did not require Abram to be circumcised until he was 99 years old. It was then his name was changed to Abraham and his first son with Sarah was promised.
It was several generations later before and Israel even came into existence!
Good point…
And I don’t disagree with what you wrote here…
Yes, true before Abraham became a “Hebrew”, he was a gentile…
But after being chosen by God, that was it!
It was a one-time event…
It doesn’t matter now…
Because “salvation is from the Jews” as Yeshua said…
Any gentile who is saved today must go through the covenants that God has ONLY made with Israel…
And that will NEVER change…
The Lord is never going to turn around and all of a sudden make a covenant with South Korea or France or something…
Ya feel me?
Shalom brother.