How Jesus views the Torah

Deuteronomy 6:4-8  Hear, O, Israel. The LORD our God is one LORD. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart. And you shall carefully teach them to your sons, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

John 14:6  Jesus sayeth unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What is that way?

Psalms  119:1  Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law (Torah) of the LORD.

And what is the truth?

Psalms 119:142  Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law (Torah) is the truth.

And what is life?

Proverbs 13:14  The law (Torah) of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

The Helmet of Salvation(Yeshua) covers our head; protecting our eyes, ears, and mouth.

Isaiah 59:17a For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation (Yeshua) upon his head;

Proverbs 7:2  Keep my commandments, and live; and my law (Torah) as the apple of thin eye.

Proverbs 28:9  He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law (Torah), even his prayer shall be abomination! 

Malachi 2:6-9  The law (Torah) of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity. “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge , and people should seek the law (Torah) from his mouth; Foe he is a messenger of the LORD of hosts. But you have departed from the way, you have caused many to stumble at the law (Torah). You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of hosts. “Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept My ways but have shown partiality in the law (Torah).”

Psalms 1:2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD and in His law (Torah) he meditates day and night.

Psalms 119:97  O how I love thy law (Torah)! It is my meditation all the day.

Psalms 119:1  Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law (Torah) of the LORD.

Psalms 119:44,45  So shall I keep thy law (Torah) continually for ever and ever. And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. 

Isaiah 51:7a  Harken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law (Torah); 

We meditate on Torah, look at Torah, listen to Torah, speak Torah, walk in Torah, seek Torah, delight in Torah, the Torah is in our heart. There is liberty in Torah! For Torah is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. For Yeshua is the living Torah and we have the mind of Messiah! Isn’t it great to know He is the same yesterday, today and forever! He didn’t decide His past teaching was wrong and all messed up so He’d have to come and correct/change it! His initial Word could stand forever! Torah does not mean “law” it means “teaching” and is still good for reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness!!  

BE LIKE YESHUA “JESUS”, LIVE & WALK IN TORAH!

Revelation References to the Tanakh

Revelation                           Tanakh
Rev. 1:1 ............................. Dan. 2:28, 29
Rev. 1:4 ............................. Ex. 3:14; Is. 11:2; Zech. 3:9 & 4:10
Rev. 1:5 ............................. Gen. 49:11; Ps. 89:27
Rev. 1:6 ............................. Ex. 19:6; Is. 61:6
Rev. 1:7 ............................. Dan. 7:9,13; Eze. 1:26-28; Is. 40:5; Zech. 12:10-14
Rev. 1:8 ............................. Is. 41:4, 44:6 & 48:12
Rev. 1:12 ........................... Ex. 25:37, 37:23; Zech. 4:2
Rev. 1:13-16 ...................... Judges 5:31; Ps. 149:6; Is. 49:2; Dan. 7:9,13;
                                             Eze. 1:7,24, 44:6 & 48:12
Rev. 1:17 ........................... Dan. 8:17,18 & 10:5-19; Is. 41:4, 44:6 & 48:12
Rev. 1:18-20 ...................... Job 3:17; Ps. 68:20; Hos. 13:14; Mal. 2:7
Rev. 2:1 ............................. Deut. 23:14
Rev. 2:2 ............................. Ps. 1:6
Rev. 2:4 ............................. Jer. 2:2
Rev. 2:7 ............................. Gen. 2:9 & 3:22-24; Prov. 11:30 & 13:12; Eze. 31:8
Rev. 2:12 ........................... Ps. 149:6; Is. 49:2
Rev. 2:14 ........................... Num. 24:14, 25:1-3 & 31:16
Rev. 2:16 ........................... Is. 11:4
Rev. 2:17 ........................... Ex. 16:33,34; Is. 62:2 & 65:15
Rev. 2:18 ........................... Dan. 10:6
Rev. 2:20 ........................... Ex. 34:15; 1Kgs 16:31 & 21:23-25; 2Kgs 9:7,22,33
Rev. 2:23 ........................... 1Sam. 16:7; 1Chr. 28:9 & 29:17; 2Chr. 6:30; Ps. 7:9,                                              26:2, 28:4 & 62:12; Jer. 11:20 & 17:10
Rev. 2:27 ........................... Ps. 2:7-9, 49:14; Is. 30:14; Jer. 19:11; Dan. 7:22;                                                    Mal. 4:1, 3
Rev. 3:4,5 .......................... Ex. 32:32,33; Ecc. 9:8; Ps. 69:28
Rev. 3:7 ............................. Is. 22:22; Job 12:14
Rev. 3:9 ............................. Is. 43:4, 49:23 & 60:14
Rev. 3:10 ........................... Is. 24:17
Rev. 3:11 ........................... Ps. 89:39; Lam. 5:16
Rev. 3:12 ........................... 1Kgs 7:21; Ps. 87:5,6; Is. 62:2
Rev. 3:14 ........................... Is. 65:16
Rev. 3:17 ........................... Hos. 12:8; Ecc. 2:7-11
Rev. 3:18 ........................... Prov. 27:21; Is. 55:1
Rev. 3:19 ........................... Job 5:17; Prov. 3:11,12
Rev. 3:20 ........................... Songs 5:2
Rev. 3:21 ........................... Ps. 110:1
Rev. 4:1-3 .......................... Is. 6:1; Jer. 17:12; Eze. 1:1,26-28 & 10:1; Dan. 7:9
Rev. 4:4 ............................. Ps. 21:3-6
Rev. 4:5 ............................. Ex. 19:16 & 37:23; 2Chr. 4:20; Eze. 1:13; Is. 6:1-4
                                              & 11:2; Zech. 4:2
Rev. 4:6 ............................. Ex. 24:10 & 38:8; Eze. 1:5,18,22,26 & 10:1,12
Rev. 4:7,8 .......................... Is. 6:2,3; Eze. 1:10,18 & 10:12,14
Rev. 4:9 ............................. Deut. 32:40; Dan. 4:34, 6:26 & 12:7
Rev. 4:11 ........................... Gen. 1:1
Rev. 5:1 ............................. Is. 29:11; Eze. 2:9,10; Dan. 12:4
Rev. 5:5 ............................. Gen. 49:9,10; Is. 11:1,2,10
Rev. 5:6 ............................. Is. 53:7; Zech. 3:8,9 & 4:10; 2Chr. 16:9
Rev. 5:8 ............................. Ps. 141:2
Rev. 5:9 ............................. Ps. 40:3 & 98:1; Dan. 4:1 & 6:25
Rev. 5:10 ........................... Ex. 19:6; Is. 61:6
Rev. 5:11 ........................... Ps. 68:17;  Dan. 7:10
Rev. 5:13 ........................... 1Chr. 29:11
Rev. 6:2-5 ......................... Ps. 45:4,5; Zech. 1:8 & 6:2,3,11
Rev. 6:8 ............................ Lev. 26:22; Jer. 15:2,3 & 24:9,10; Eze. 14:21;
                                            Zech. 6:3
Rev. 6:10 .......................... Deut. 32:43; Zech. 1:12
Rev. 6:12,13 ..................... Is. 13:13, 24:18,23 & 34:4; Hag. 2:6; Joel 2:10,31
                                            & 3:15
Rev. 6:14 .......................... Ps. 102:26; Is. 34:4; Jer. 3:23 & 4:24
Rev. 6:15,16 ..................... Is. 2:9-12,19; Hos. 10:8; Is. 13:13; Ps. 48:4-6
                                            & 110:5; Joel 2:11
Rev. 6:17 .......................... Ps. 76:7; Is. 13:6; Jer. 30:7; Nah. 1:6; Zeph. 1:14-18;                                                Mal. 3:2
Rev. 7:1 ............................ Dan. 7:2 ; Zech. 6:4,5
Rev. 7:2 ............................ Eze. 9:2
Rev. 7:3 ............................ Eze. 9:4-6
Rev. 7:9 ............................ Lev. 23:40
Rev. 7:10 .......................... Ps. 3:8; Is. 43:11; Jer. 3:23; Hos. 13:4
Rev. 7:14 .......................... Gen. 49:11; Is. 1:18; Zech. 3:3-5
Rev. 7:15 .......................... Lev. 26:11; Is. 4:5,6
Rev. 7:16 .......................... Ps. 121:5,6; Is. 49:10
Rev. 7:17 .......................... Ps. 23:1,2 & 36:8; Is. 25:8; Eze. 34:23
Rev. 8:2  ........................... 2Chr. 29:25-28
Rev. 8:3,4 ......................... Ex. 30:1,8; Lev. 16:12; Ps. 141:2
Rev. 8:5 ............................ Ex. 19:16; 2Sam. 22:8; 1Kgs. 19:11; Eze. 10:2
Rev. 8:7 ............................ Ex. 9:23; Is. 2:13; Ps/ 18:13; Eze. 38:22; Joel 2:30
Rev. 8:8 ............................ Ex. 7:17-20; Jer. 51:52; Eze. 14:19; Amos 7:4
Rev. 8:10 .......................... Is. 14:12
Rev. 8:11 .......................... Ex. 15:3; Ruth 1:20; Jer. 9:15 & 23:15
Rev. 8:12 .......................... Is. 13:10; Eze. 32:7; Amos 8:9
Rev. 9:1 ............................ Is. 14:11-16
Rev. 9:2,3 ......................... Gen. 19:28; Ex. 9:8 & 10:12-15
Rev. 9:4 ............................ Ex. 12:3; Eze. 9:4-6
Rev. 9:6 ............................ Job 3:21; Is. 2:19; Jer. 8:3
Rev. 9:7-9 ......................... Dan. 7:8; Joel 1:6 & 2:4,5; Nah. 3:17
Rev. 9:14 .......................... Gen. 15:18
Rev. 9:16 .......................... Ps. 68:17; Eze. 38:4; Dan. 7:10
Rev. 9:17 .......................... 1Chr. 12:8; Is. 5:28,29
Rev. 9:19 .......................... Is. 9:15
Rev. 9:20 .......................... Lev. 17:7; Deut. 31:29 & 32:17; Ps. 106:37, 115:4
                                            & 135:15; Dan. 5:23
Rev. 10:1 .......................... Eze. 1:26-28
Rev. 10:2 .......................... Eze. 2:9
Rev. 10:3 .......................... Jer. 25:30
Rev. 10:4 .......................... Dan. 8:26 & 12:4-9
Rev. 10:5 .......................... Deut. 32:40 ; Ex. 6:8
Rev. 10:6 .......................... Neh. 9:6
Rev. 10:7-10 ..................... Jer. 15:16; Eze. 2:8-10 & 3:1-3; Amos 3:7
Rev. 10:11 ........................ Jer. 1:9,10
Rev. 11:1 .......................... Num. 23:18; Eze. 40:3,5,47, 41:13 & 48:35;
                                            Zech. 2:1
Rev. 11:2 .......................... Ps. 79:1; Eze. 40:17-20; Dan. 7:25 & 8:10
Rev. 11:4 .......................... Ps. 52:8; Jer. 11:16; Zech. 4:1-3,11,14
Rev. 11:5 .......................... Num. 16:29,35; 2Kgs. 1:9-12; Jer. 1:10 & 5:14;
                                            Eze. 3:3; Hos. 6:5
Rev. 11:6 .......................... Ex. 7:19,20; 1Kgs. 17:1
Rev. 11:7 .......................... Dan. 7:3,7,8,21; Zech. 14:2
Rev. 11:8 .......................... Is. 1:9,10 & 3:9; Jer. 23:14; Eze. 16:49 & 23:3
Rev. 11:9,10 ..................... Esther 9:19,22; Ps. 79:2,3
Rev. 11:11 ........................ Eze. 37:5,9,10,14
Rev. 11:12 ........................ 2Kgs. 2:1,5,7; Is. 14:13 & 60:8
Rev. 11:13......................... Josh. 7:19
Rev. 11:15 ........................ Ex. 15:18; Is. 27:13; Dan. 2:44 & 7:14,18,27
Rev. 11:18 ........................ Ps. 2:1-5, 46:6 & 115:13; Dan. 7:9,10,22 & 11:44
Rev. 12:1,2 ....................... Gen. 37:8-10; Micah 4:9,10; Is. 26:17 & 66:7
Rev. 12:3 .......................... Is. 27:1; Dan. 7:7,20,24
Rev. 12:4 .......................... Ex. 1:16; Dan. 8:10
Rev. 12:5 .......................... Ps. 2:9,10; Is. 66:7
Rev. 12:6 .......................... Dan. 7:25
Rev. 12:7 .......................... Dan. 10:13,21 & 12:1
Rev. 12:9,10 ..................... Gen. 3:1,4; Job 1:6-9 & 2:1-5; Zech. 3:1
Rev. 12:12 ........................ Ps. 96:11; Is. 49:13
Rev. 12:14 ........................ Ex. 19:4; Deut. 32:11; Is. 40:31; Dan. 7:25
                                            & 12:7; Hos. 2:14,15
Rev. 12:15 ........................ Is. 59:19
Rev. 12:17 ........................ Gen. 3:15
Rev. 13:1-7 ....................... Dan. 2:37, 5:19, 7:2-11,21,25, 8:10,24 & 11:36
Rev. 13:8 .......................... Ex. 32:32; Dan. 12:1
Rev. 13:10 ........................ Gen. 9:6; Is. 14:2 & 33:1; Jer. 15:2 & 43:11
Rev. 13:13 ........................ Deut. 13:1-3; 1Kgs. 18:38; 2Kgs. 1:10,12
Rev. 13:14 ........................ 2Kgs. 20:7; Dan 3
Rev. 13:18 ........................ 1Kgs 10:14
Rev. 14:1 .......................... Ps. 2:6; Is. 59:20; Eze. 9:4
Rev. 14:2,3 ....................... Eze. 1:24 & 43:2; Ps. 144:9
Rev. 14:5 .......................... Ps. 32:2; Zeph. 3:13
Rev. 14:7 .......................... Ex. 20:11; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 33:6, 124:8 & 146:5,6
Rev. 14:8 .......................... Is. 21:9, Jer. 51:7,8; Dan. 4:31
Rev. 14:10 ........................ Gen. 19:24 Ps. 75:8; Is. 51:17,22; Jer. 25:15
Rev. 14:11 ........................ Is. 34:10 & 66:24
Rev. 14:13,14 ................... Ecc. 4:1,2; Is. 19:1; Eze. 1:26; Dan. 7:13
Rev. 14:15-18 ................... Jer. 51:33; Joel 3:11-14
Rev. 14:19,20 ................... Is. 63:1-6; Lam. 1:15
Rev. 15:1 .......................... Lev. 26:21
Rev. 15:3 .......................... Ex. 7:17,20 & 15:11-16; Deut. 31:30 & 32:4;
                                            Ps. 92:5, 111:2, 139:14 & 145:17; Hos. 14:9
Rev. 15:4 .......................... Ps. 86:9; Is. 66:23; Jer. 10:7
Rev. 15:5,6 ....................... Ex. 38:21; Lev. 26:21
Rev. 15:7 .......................... Jer. 25:15; Eze. 10:7
Rev. 15:8 .......................... Ex. 40:37; Lev. 16:17; 1Kgs. 8:10,11; 2Chr. 5:13;
                                            Is. 6:1-4; Eze. 10:4
Rev. 16:1 .......................... Ps. 79:6; Jer. 10:25; Eze. 22:31
Rev. 16:2 .......................... Ex. 9:9-11; Deut. 28:35
Rev. 16:3-6 ....................... Ex. 7:17-21; Ps. 78:44 & 145:17; Eze. 16:38;
                                            Is. 49:26
Rev. 16:7 .......................... Deut. 32:4; Ps. 19:9
Rev. 16:9,10 ..................... Ex. 10:22; Dan. 5:22,23
Rev. 16:12 ........................ Is. 11:15,16, 41:2,25 & 46:11; Jer. 50:38 & 51:36
Rev. 16:13 ........................ Deut. 13:1-5
Rev. 16:14-16 ................... 1Kgs. 22:21-23; Zeph. 3:8; Joel 3:2;
                                            Zech. 12:11 & 14:2
Rev. 16:18,19 ................... Dan. 12:1; Is. 51:17,22 ; Jer. 25:15,16
Rev. 16:21 ........................ Ex. 9:23-25,34
Rev. 17:1-8 ....................... Jer. 51:7-13; Is. 23:17; Eze. 28:13; Dan. 7:7-11
                                            & 11:38; Nah. 3:4
Rev. 17:12 ........................ Dan. 7:20,24
Rev. 17:14 ........................ Dan. 8:25; Deut. 10:17; Jer. 50:40,45
Rev. 17:15 ........................ Is. 8:7; Jer. 47:2
Rev. 18:1 .......................... Eze. 43:2
Rev. 18:2-4 ....................... Jer. 50:8,39 & 51:6-9; Is. 13:19-21, 14:23, 21:8,                                                     34:11,14 & 52:11; Nah. 3:4
Rev. 18:5 .......................... Gen. 18:20,21; Jer. 51:9; Jonah 1:2
Rev. 18:6 .......................... Jer. 50:15,29 & 51:24,29; Ps. 137:8
Rev. 18:7,8 ....................... Is. 47:7-9; Jer. 50:31,34; Eze. 28:2; Zeph. 2:15
Rev. 18:9 .......................... Jer. 50:46; Eze. 26:16,17
Rev. 18:10 ........................ Is. 13:1 & 21:9
Rev. 18:11 ........................ Is. 23; Eze. 27:27-36
Rev. 18:13 ........................ Eze. 27:12-25
Rev. 18:17,18 ................... Is. 23:14 & 34:10; Eze. 27:29-31
Rev. 18:19 ........................ Josh. 7:6; 1Sam. 4:12; Job 2:12; Eze. 27:20
Rev. 18:20,21 ................... Is. 44:23 & 49:13; Jer. 51:48,63,64
Rev. 18:22 ........................ Is. 24:8; Jer. 7:34, 16:9 & 25:10; Eze. 26:13
Rev. 18:23 ........................ 2Kgs. 9:22; Is. 23:8; Jer. 33:11; Nah. 3:4
Rev. 18:24 ........................ Jer. 51:49
Rev. 19:2 .......................... Deut. 32:4,41-43; Jer. 51:48
Rev. 19:3 .......................... Is. 34:10
Rev. 19:4 .......................... 1Chr. 16:36; Neh. 5:13 & 8:6
Rev. 19:5 .......................... Ps. 115:13, 134:1 & 135:1,20
Rev. 19:6 .......................... Ps. 93:1; Eze. 1:24 & 43:2; Dan. 10:6
Rev. 19:8 .......................... Ps. 45:13,14, 61:10 & 132:9; Eze. 16:10
Rev. 19:11 ........................ Ps. 18:10 & 72:2; Is. 11:4
Rev. 19:12 ........................ Dan. 10:6
Rev. 19:13 ........................ Is. 63:1-6; Lam. 1:15
Rev. 19:15,16 ................... Deut. 10:17; Ps. 2:9; Lam. 1:15; Is. 11:4; Dan. 2:47
Rev. 19:17,18 ................... Is. 34:6; Eze. 39:17-20
Rev. 19:19 ........................ Ps. 2;2; Joel 3:9-11
Rev. 19:20 ........................ Is. 30:33; Dan. 1:7-11 & 7:11
Rev. 20:1,2 ....................... Gen. 3:1; Eze. 29:1-6
Rev. 20:3,4 ....................... Dan. 6:17 & 7:9,22,27
Rev. 20:5 .......................... Is. 26:14,19
Rev. 20:6 .......................... Ex. 19:6; Is. 61:6
Rev. 20:8 .......................... Eze. 38:2 & 39:1
Rev. 20:9 .......................... Is. 8:8; Eze. 38:9,16
Rev. 20:11 ........................ Dan. 2:35
Rev. 20:12 ........................ Ps. 62:12 & 69:28; Jer. 17:10 & 32:19; Dan. 7:10
Rev. 21:1 .......................... Is. 65:17 & 66:22
Rev. 21:2 .......................... Lev. 26:11,12; Is. 52:1, 54:5 & 61:10; Eze. 40 & 48
Rev. 21:3 .......................... Eze. 37:27 & 43:7
Rev. 21:4 .......................... Is. 25:8, 35:10, 51:11, 61:3 & 65:19
Rev. 21:5 .......................... Is. 43:19
Rev. 21:6,7 ....................... Is. 12:3, 51:1 & 55:1; Zech. 8:8
Rev. 21:10 ........................ Eze. 40:2 & 48:1-35
Rev. 21:12,13 ................... Ps. 69:28; Eze. 48:31-34; Dan. 12:1
Rev. 21:15 ........................ Eze. 40:3; Zech. 2:1
Rev. 21:19 ........................ Is. 51:11,12
Rev. 21:23 ........................ Is. 24:3 & 60:19,20; Eze. 48:35
Rev. 21:24,25 ................... Is. 60:3,5,11,20 & 66:12; Zech. 14:7-21
Rev. 21:27 ........................ Is. 35:8, 52:1 & 60:21; Joel 3:17; Eze. 44:9
Rev. 22:1,2 ....................... Gen. 2:9 & 3:22-24; Ps. 46:4; Eze. 47:1,7,12;
                                            Zech. 14:7,8
Rev. 22:3 .......................... Gen. 3:17-19; Eze. 48:35; Zech. 14:11
Rev. 22:5 .......................... Ps. 36:9 & 84:11; Is. 24:23 & 60:19; Dan. 7:18,22,27
Rev. 22:10,11 ................... Dan. 8:26 & 12:4,9,10; Eze. 3:27
Rev. 22:12 ........................ Ps. 62:12; Is. 40:10 & 62:11
Rev. 22:13 ........................ Is. 41:4, 44:6 & 48:12
Rev. 22:14 ........................ Gen. 2:9; Prov. 11:30; Dan. 12:12
Rev. 22:15,16 ................... Num. 24:17; Deut. 23:18; Is. 11:1,10; Zech. 6:12
Rev. 22:17 ........................ Is. 55:1
Rev. 22:18 ........................ Deut. 4:2 & 12:32; Prov. 30:6
Rev. 22:19 ........................ Ex. 32:33; Ps. 69:28

Greek vs. Hebrew Mindset

John is stuck in the rat race of life.  He was in charge of the company picnic.  John was so mad he blew a fuse when it started raining cats and dogs.  His big plans were now ruined and he was boiling over.  Straight from the horse’s mouth, he was warned by his friend, a TV weatherman, that it was supposed to rain hard.  John thought he was just pulling his leg, yet now he was really up a creek without a paddle.  “Well, I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles,” John said.  He worried that because of this failure, his boss would give him the axe.

We have comments like “a bull in a china shop” and when the cows come home.”  Idioms add lively ideas to our speech.  These phrases have been adopted into our language over the years, to the point where, they have become part of normal speech.  They are word pictures that describe situations vividly.  “What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” or “I’m just killing time.”

Various Hebrew idioms have found their way into the everyday talk of millions of people.  Take for example, these Biblical expressions in the story about a man unwilling to “go the second mile,” or we’re going to kill the fatted calf.”  She couldn’t see the “handwriting on the wall.”  He thought he could “walk on water.”

Yeshua quoted a Hebrew idiom when He said He came not to “destroy the Law or the prophets.”  He was using a familiar phrase easily understood during Biblical times.  Yeshua had been accused of misinterpreting the Torah, yet He said that He was actually rightly and correctly teaching it.  What does Yeshua mean by “destroy the Law” and “fulfill the Law”?  “Destroy” and “fulfill” are technical terms used in rabbinic argumentation.  When a sage felt that a colleague had misinterpreted a passage of Scripture, he would say, “You are destroying the Law!”  Needless to say, in most cases, he colleagues strongly disagreed.  What was “destroying the Law” for one sage was “fulfilling the Law” (correctly interpreting Scripture) for another.”  In plain English, Yeshua is saying, “Don’t even think for a moment that I intend to do away with the Law by misinterpreting it.  My intent is not to even weaken it, but by properly interpreting God’s Written word, I aim to establish it.  I would never invalidate the Law by removing something from it through misinterpretation.

Unfortunately, for many years translators and teachers have also struggled with the Hebraic concept of the “evil eye.

Matthew 6:22,23 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. KJV (“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness) NKJV

Matthew 6:22 If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. NKJV

Matthew 6:22 Therefore if your eye is sound, your whole body shall be full of light. MKJV  

Matthew 6:22 If then your eye is true, all your body will be full of light. BBE

Matthew 6:22 If your eye is unclouded, your whole body will be lit up; TCNT

Matthew 6:22 Thine eye may be perfect, all thy body shall be enlightened, YLT

This is very confusing!  The people who heard Yeshua speak these very words immediately recognized what Yeshua meant when he talked of the evil eye.  This idea was and still is common in the Hebraic culture.  What did Yeshua really mean?  Hebraically, what is an evil eye or a good eye?

To answer these questions and bring clarity to this idiom, let’s first look at the context of Yeshua’s words and the links in the Torah/Tanakh.

First, let’s look at the context.  The very next verse after the evil eye quotation, explains exactly what the evil eye is about.

Matthew 6:23,24 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

When he spoke of the bad eye, Yeshua wasn’t talking about bad eye sight or the need for lasik surgery!  From the context it is easy to grasp that Yeshua was using a Hebrew expression to comment on people’s greed.  Each time Yeshua spoke of the eye he was speaking of the issue of greed.  An evil eye is a greedy eye.  A person with an evil eye is controlled by the desire of selfishness.

Proverbs 28:22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

Proverbs 22:9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

Deuteronomy 15:7-9 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.  Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you.” NKJV

The most famous of Socrates’s pupils was an aristocratic young man named Plato who was born in 428BC, lived in Athens, Greece.  After the death of Socrates, Plato carried on much of his former teacher’s work and eventually founded his own school, the Academy, in 385BC.  The Academy would become in its time the most famous school in the classical world, and its most famous pupil was Aristotle.

Alexander the Great  356BC to 323BC

Gentile believers with a Greek mindset had a hard time believing that Jesus wa human as well as divine, because in Platonic thought the spirit was all-important.  The body was only a prison from which one desired to escape.  Heresies developed from a uniting of this kind of Platonic thought and Christianity.  A particularly widespread, false teaching, later called Docetism (from a Greek word meaning “to seem”), held that Jesus was actually a spirit who only appeared to have a body.  In reality they say, “he cast no shadow and left no footprints; he was God but not man.”

Another heretical teaching, related to Gnosticism (from a Greek word meaning “knowledge”), held that all physical matter was evil, the spirit was good, and only the intellectually enlightened could enjoy the benefits of religion.  Both groups found it hard to believe in a Savior who was fully human.

John answers these false teachers as an eyewitness to Jesus’ life on earth.  He saw Jesus, talked with him, touched him—he knew that Jesus was more than a mere spirit. 

1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

In the very first sentence of his letter, John establishes that Jesus had been  alive before the world began and also that he lived as a man among men and women.  In other words, he was both divine and human.

Through the centuries, many heretics have denied that Jesus was both God and man.  In John’s day people had trouble believing he was human.  Today, more people have problems seeing him as God.  But Jesus’ divine-human nature is the pivotal issue of Christianity.  Before you accept what religious teachers say about any topic, listen carefully to what they believe about Jesus.  To deny either his divinity or his humanity is to consider him less than Christ, the Savior.

It was easier to believe that holding to some intellectual belief or dogma could be the source of salvation rather than simple submission to the atonement and Lordship of Messiah.  As if doctrines constitute divine saving secret knowledge.  Many continue to act as if the only people saved are those who share the exact accurate knowledge of the Gospel as they understand it.

Gnosticism involves the relational or experiential knowledge of God and of the divine or spiritual nature within us.  Gnostics believe that they have secret knowledge about God, humanity and the rest of the universe of which the general population was unaware.  It became one of the three main belief systems within 1^st century Christianity.

A one-sentence description of Gnosticism: a religion that differentiates the evil god of this world (who is identified with the god of the Old Testament) from a higher more abstract God revealed by Jesus Christ, a religion that regards this world as the creation of a series of evil archons/powers who wish to keep the human soul trapped in an evil physical body, a religion that preaches a hidden Wisdom or knowledge only to a select group as necessary for salvation or escape from this world.

(EarlyChristianwritings.com)

Plato believed that reality existed in the realm of ideas not in the material world. 

Reality and truth exist only in the concept rather than in the thing itself: (Horsiness) (Unity and diversity)

For Plato truth was obtained through philosophy and reality is found in the mind not in the world in which you live.  Our existence is dualistic.

Acts 17:16-18 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.  Therefore, disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.  Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans (pleasure is the sole intrinsic good), and o the Stoics (detachment from emotions and indifference to pleasure), encountered him.  And some said, “What will this babbler say?”

When the church separated from the wisdom of the Torah after the expulsion of the  Jews, they looked for educated men among the Greek universities who had been schooled in Greek thought for their leaders.  So they treated the scriptures allegorically looking for the “idea” behind the test rather than taking scripture literally.

The Hebrew perspective was unified rather than dualistic.  Reality exists in both realms, the visible and invisible, and neither was better.  So the physical world was not evil or inferior to the nonmaterial world.

Greek: It’s the thought that counts

Hebrew: It’s the actions that count

Constantine 280AD – 387AD

The end of the Roman Empire.  The Greek-speaking Eastern Roman, known today as the Byzantine Empire, preserved Greco-Roman legal and cultural traditions along with Hellenic and Orthodox Christian elements for another thousand years.  After 395AD, the emperors in the Western Roman Empire were usually figureheads.  (Wik)

Saint Augustine 354AD – 430AD In Roman Catholicism and the Anglican Communion, he is a saint and pre-eminent Doctor of the Church, and the patron of the Augustinian religious order.  Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider him to be one of the theological fountainheads of Reformation teaching on salvation and grace.  He was a student of Plato.

Saint Augustine was in his fifties and the bishop of Hippo when the Visigoths overran Italy and sacked Rome.  Augustine saw the refugees pouring into North Africa, including noble families from Rome, and he heard accusations that Rome’s destruction was the result of neglect to worship the city’s traditional gods.

Christians were responding with uncertainty to these allegations.  They believed that their god protected people, and obviously Rome had not been protected.  They believed, as had Eusebius, that God had linked Rome and Christianity.  And, with disaster befalling Rome, they needed a new view on God’s ties with Rome and with Christians.  Augustine supplied it, drawing from the old association of evil with the present world and on the habit to put things into the form of allegory.

The church has focused its attention on the hope of escaping this world and getting to heaven.  God wants us to live an active life here!  God wants to dwell with us here!

The church:  Goal of salvation is to escape here and go to where God is in heaven.

The Bible:     Goal of salvation is to be holy that God may dwell here among His people and influence others here.

The church:  Kingdom of Heaven is Heaven and is not on earth.

The Bible:     Kingdom of Heaven is God’s reign among His people here on earth.

The church:  Messiah is coming to take us away.

The Bible:     Messiah is coming to reign over us.

The church:  Get your ticket now or miss the train!

The Bible:     Kingdom of Heaven is coming get ready to serve the King!

Antisemitism in the Early Church

What is Replacement Theology?

Replacement theology teaches that when it comes to the promises of God in scripture, the Church has “replaced” Israel.  In this doctrine, the church views Israel as the “branch” that was broken off, (Romans 11:20), and the gentile church, now being grafted into the olive tree, has “replaced the branch of Israel.  In replacement theology, the Jewish people have no future in God’s plan. 

Replacement theology falsely teaches that the Church has taken the place of Israel.

Historical Roots of Replacement Theology.

Many today are still under the false assumption that the “Church” has replaced Israel in the plan of God.  For almost 2,000 years, there had been no Israel.  With there being no Israel, the Church has always assumed that they must be the ones to whom all the promises referred to. Then all of a sudden through God’s promises to the real Israel they became a nation again!  What is the Church to do?  There’s not room for both of us!  This doesn’t fit our theology.

This is actually a very old theology.  Let’s explore how old:

The antagonism of the early Christians towards the Jews was reflected in to writings of the early Church Father.  Here are some examples:

Justin Martyr (c. AD 160), in speaking to a Jew, said: “The Scriptures are not yours, but ours.”

Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon (c. AD 177) declared: “Jews are disinherited from the grace of God.”

Tertullian (AD 160-230), in his treatise, “Against the Jews,” announced that God had rejected the Jews in favor of the Christians.

In the early 4^th century, Eusebius wrote that the promises of the Hebrew Scriptures were for Christians and not the Jews, and the curses were for the Jews.  He argued that the Church was the continuation of the Old Testament and thus superseded Judaism.  The young Church declared itself to be the true Israel, or “Israel according to the Spirit,” heir to the divine promises.  They found it essential to discredit the “Israel according to the flesh” to prove that God has cast away His people and transferred His love to the Christians.

In AD 306, Constantine became the first Christian Roman Emperor.  In AD 321, he made Christianity the official religion of the Empire to the exclusion of all other religions.  This signaled the end of the persecution of Christians, but the beginning of discrimination and persecution of the Jewish people. 

Numbers 9:6-12  And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.  And those men said unto him, “We are defiled by the dead body of a man; wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel?”  And Moses said unto them, “Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.”  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto the LORD.  The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  They shall leave none of it unto the morning, or break any bone of it; according to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. 

2 Chronicles 30:1-3  And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover unto the LORD God of Israel.  For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the Passover in the second month.  For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.

Council of Nicea, 325 AD/CE:  From the letter of the Emperor (Constantine) to all those not present at the council.  (Found in Eusebius, Vita Const., Lib III 18-20).

“When the question relative to the sacred festival of Easter arose, it was universally thought that it would be convenient that all should keep the feast on one day; It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the holiest of festivals, to follow the customs (the calculation) of the Jews who had soiled their hands with the most fearful crimes, and whose minds were blinded.  In rejecting their custom we may transmit to our descendants the legitimate mode of celebrating Easter; We ought not therefore to have anything in common with the Jew, for the Saviour has shown us another way; our worship following a more legitimate and more convenient course (the order of the days of the week: And consequently in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest brethren to separate ourselves from the detestable company of The Jew.  For it is truly

shameful for us to hear them boast that without their direction we could not keep this feast.  How can they be in the right, they who, after the death of the Saviour, have no longer been led by reason but by wild violence, as their delusion may urge them?  They do not possess the truth in this Easter question, for in their blindness and repugnance to all improvements they frequently celebrate two Passovers in the same year.  We could not imitate those who are openly in error.

How, then, could we follow these Jews who are most certainly blinded by error? 

For to celebrate a Passover twice in one year, is totally inadmissible.  But even if this were not so, it would still be your duty not to tarnish your soul by communication with such wicked people(the Jews).  You should consider not only that the number of churches in these provinces make a majority, but also that it is right to demand what our reason approves, and that we should have mothering in common with the Jews.”

St Jerome (AD 347-407) describes the Jews as “…serpents, wearing the image of Judas, their psalms and prayers are the braying of donkeys.” 

At the end of the 4^th century, the Bishop of Antioch, John Chrysostom (Golden Tongued), the great orator, wrote a series of eight sermons against the Jews.  To quote him: “the synagogue is not only a brothel and a theater; it is also a den of robbers and a lodging for wild beasts.  No Jew adores God…  Jews are inveterate murderers, possessed by the devil, their debauchery and drunkenness gives them the manners of the pig.

In the 5^th century, the burning question was:  If the Jews and Judaism were cursed by God, then how can you explain their continued existence?  Augustine confronted this problem in his “Sermon Against the Jews.”  He maintained that even though the Jews deserved the most severe punishment for having “killed our Jesus” but that they have been kept alive by Divine Providence to serve, together with their Scriptures, as witnesses to the truth of Christianity.

In 1492 synagogues burned.

Martin Luther:  The Jews and Their Lies (excerpts) 1483-1546:

What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews?  Since they live among us, we dare not tolerate their conduct, now that we are aware of their lying and reviling and blaspheming.  If we do, we become sharers in their lies, cursing and blasphemy.  Thus we cannot extinguish the unquenchable fire of divine wrath, of which the prophets speak, nor can we convert the Jews.  With prayer and the fear of God we must practice a sharp mercy to see whether we might save at least a few from the glowing flames.  We dare not avenge ourselves.  Vengeance a thousand times worse than we could wish them already has them by the throat.  I shall give you my sincere advice:

First: To set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians, and do not condone or knowingly tolerate such public lying, cursing and blaspheming of his Son and of his Christians.  For whatever we tolerated in the past unknowingly – and I myself was unaware of it – will be pardoned by God.

Second:  I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed.  For they pursue in them the same aims as in their synagogues.  Instead they might be lodged under a roof or in a barn, like the gypsies.  This will bring home to them that they are not masters in our country, as they boast, but that they are living in exile and in captivity, as they incessantly wail and lament about us before God.

Third:  I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings; in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them.

Fourth:  I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach hencefore on pain of loss of life and limb.  For they have justly forfeited the right to such an office by holding the poor Jews captive with the sayings of Moses.  They wantonly employ the poor people’s obedience contrary to the law of the Lord and infuse them with this poison, cursing and blasphemy.

Fifth:  I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews.  For they have no business in the countryside, since they are not lords, officials, tradesman, or the like.  Let them stay at home.

Sixth:  I advise that usury by prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them and put aside for safekeeping.

Seventh:  I commend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff or a spindle into the hands of young, strong Jews and Jewesses and letting them earn their bread in sweat of their brow, as was imposed on the children of Adam.  For it is not fitting that they should let us accursed Goyim toil in the sweat of our faces while they, the holy people, idle away their time behind the stove, feasting and farting, and on top of all, Boasting blasphemously of their lordship over the Christians by means of our sweat.  Burn down their synagogues, forbid all that I enumerated earlier, force them to work, and deal harshly with them; as Moses did in the wilderness, slaying three thousand lest the whole people perish.  They surely do not know what they are doing; moreover, as people possessed, they do not wish to know it, hear it, or learn it.  There it would be wrong to be merciful and confirm them in their conduct.  If this does not help we must drive them out like mad dogs, so that we do not become partakers of their abominable blasphemy and all their other vices and thus merit God’s wrath and be damned with them.  I have done my duty.  Now let everyone see to his.  I am exonerated.”

The Bible declares that there is nothing new under the sun.  It was happening  back then and it is happening; today.  We are only building upon the sins of the fathers.  There is a saying that the Church started it all with forced conversions declaring:

“Jews cannot live among us as Jews!”

Then, the nations of the world followed up on what the Church said and declared:

“Jews cannot live among us  as Jews!”

Hitler simply built on the foundation the Church had laid and simply stated: “Jews cannot live       among us as Jews!” 

Ezekiel 34:6,11,12:  My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.  For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.  As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so I will seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

Matthew 26:31: For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Acts 20:29:  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

Mark 10:42-44:  But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.  But so shall it not be among you; but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister; And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

Did you realize replacement theology was even taking place during the time of the Apostle John?  After the Jews were scattered and gentile leaders began to take over the congregations, Yeshua said not to be like the Gentiles who “lord over the flock”.  The problem was that most gentile leaders had little to no foundation in Torah on which to build.  One Greek pastor would not allow the Apostle John and other Jews in the church, and he even kicked out any gentile who allowed Jews in!  Here it is:

3 John 1:9,10:  “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.  Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words.  And not content with that, he himself do not receive the brethren, and forbids those who which to, putting them out of the church.

History is written by the victor:

What’s the Greek word for Church?   

Sunagoge/ecclesia: they both mean assembly of any kind – sporting event, town hall meeting…

The Hebrew word “Kahal” became ecclesia in the Septuagint

The Hebrew word “Edah” became sunagoge

Acts 18:26:  And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. (sunagogue) 

James 2:1,2:  For if there come unto your assembly (sunagogue) a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

Revelation 2:9:  but are the synagogue (sunagogue) of Satan.

Acts 7:37,38:  This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.  This is he, that was in the church (ecclesia) in the wilderness.

Acts 19:35-41:  And when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?  Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.  For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.  Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.  But if ye enquire anything concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.  For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.  And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly. (ecclesia)

Genesis 6:8:  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Exodus 34:6,7:  And the LORD passed by before him; and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,…

Hebrew 11:31-38:  By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.  And what shall I more say?  For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.  Women received their dead raised to life again: and other were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword:  they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

Was English the first language in which the Bible was written?  If it wasn’t English, there is no “Church” in the New Testament!  There is only an Ecclesia which includes all the Jews who had faith.  It is the Jews into whom the Gentiles are grafted.

What Happens When a Church Replaces Israel?

1)    The Church becomes arrogant and self-centered.

2)   It boasts against the Jews and Israel.

3)   It devalues the role of Israel or has no role for Israel at all.

4)   These attitudes result in anti-Semitism in word and deed.

5)   Without a place for Israel and the Jewish people, today, you cannot explain the Bible prophecies, especially the very specific ones being fulfilled in Israel today.

6)   Many New Testament passages do not make sense when the Jewish people are replaced by the Church.

7)   You can lose the significance of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, for today.  Many Christians boast of being a New Testament Christian or a NT Church as in the Book of Acts.  However, the Bible of the early Church was not the New Testament, which did not get codified until the 4^th century, but rather the Hebrew Scriptures.

8)   You can lose the Hebraic/Judaic contextualization of the Brit Chadashah.

9)   The Church loses out on the opportunity to participate in God’s plan and prophecy for the Church, Israel and the world today.

What Happens When We Relate To Israel?

1)    We take our proper role in God’s redemptive plan for the world, appreciating God’s ongoing covenant relationship and love for Israel and the Jewish people.

2)   We can see the consistency of God’s redemptive plan from Genesis to Revelation as an ongoing complementary process, not as disconnected snapshots.

3)   We show love and honor for God’s covenant people; not contempt.

4)   Bible prophecy makes sense for today and offers opportunities for involvement in God’s plan for Israel.

5)   We are able to appreciate the Hebraic/Judaic roots that fill in the definitions, concepts, words and events in the New Testament that are otherwise obscured.  Why?  Many were not explained by the Jewish writers of the New Testament, because they did not feel the need to fill in all the details that were already explained in the Tanakh.

Had the “Church understood this very clear message from the beginning, then the sad legacy of anti-Semitic hatred may have been avoided.  The error of Replacement Theology is like a cancer in the Church that has not only caused it to violate God’s word concerning the Jewish people and Israel, but it has made us into instruments of hate, not love in God’s Name.  Yet, it is not too late to change our ways and rightly relate to the Jewish people and Israel today.