2 Peter 3:15, "And account that the longsuffering of our Adon is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."
Peter really pins things down here, doesn’t he? How can we trust the words of Rabbi Sha’ul when they could lead to our destruction? The answer is very simple; the solution is quite complex.
Rabbi Sha’ul not only had a vision, he had years of training at the feet of Gamali’el.
Hebrews 5:12, "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of YHWH; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe."
I could go on to examine the differences between meat and milk, but it’s summed up pretty well:
Hebrews 6:1, "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Messiah, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward YHWH, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment."
Or, as Jude says:
Jude 1:3, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."
How often have you sat through a Christian Sunday service and heard preached salvation, faith, baptism, judgment, resurrection. Over and over? Or, a verse taken out of a chapter and had it expounded into a feat of faith accomplished by an early Church Father or a "life example" of how some nice person (usually famous) accomplished some glorious work of charity or forgiveness?
How often have you been taught Bible studies? Was it all that much different in Wednesday Bible Class than it was on Sunday? Did you really get into teaching the Word?
The letters from Sha’ul have many characteristics that make them difficult to understand. First, you have no idea what was in the original letter to him, or just exactly what the circumstances were that caused him to initiate a letter in the first place.
There is one thing for sure, though. He was not writing to Gentiles. He was writing to the Helenized Jews that had some Hebrew training or to those he had taken with him to put in place to teach them. That is obvious no only from the tone, but from the Hebraic concepts at the sod level of understanding (the closest he came to directly writing to Gentiles is his message to the Romans).
Sod? His extensive training caused him to use a particular time-honored, divinely-inspired teaching method called pardes – peshat, remez, drash and sod – http://www.midrash.net/ .
Peshat = Simple
Remez = Hint
Drash = Explore – Ask
SOD = Secret
Sha’ul uses all of these and spends much time in the SOD or secret level, challenging Torah-observant Jews to reach towards heaven through heavily kaballah-based study.
KABALLAH! Jewish mysticism? Mysticism, secret, yes. Gnostic, no. Make it up as you go along? NEVER!
PARDES has one overriding rule. No search above the simple level can ever replace the simple meaning. I can tell you that the very first implication is: YOU MUST UNDERSTAND TORAH (the first five books – the Law given to Moses) before you can go on.
If you can understand up to this point, I guarantee that without extensive knowledge of Hebrew along with embracing Torah, you have no business attempting to strike out on your own to make your own assumptions. Honestly, you put yourself in that shaky category Peter spoke of in the opening verses like the Christian gnostics. Christianity contains enough errors, don’t attempt to compound them.
An example of Jewish exegesis of Revelation using the 42 Laws of the Zohar. If you feel competent in progressing at this level, I suggest reading all three books of the Messiah series (in order) from Avi ben Mordechai at M7000 publishing.
I can tell you that the very first implication is: YOU MUST UNDERSTAND TORAH (the first five books – the Law given to Moses) before you can go on.
How often does your church violate that? Like a politician, EVERY TIME THE PASTOR’S LIPS MOVE.
Hebraic Roots teacher Peter Michas informs us further that Jesus quoted the Midrashim and the Talmud, apparently with approval:
"… The New Testament is in the pattern of the Jewish traditional work of Torah, Mishnah, Haggadah, Halakah, Talmud and Midrash, but inspired by God Himself for the common people. These Hebraic works as well as the Inspired Scriptures were quoted from by Jesus and all the writers of the New Testament. But even now, to have full comprehension, we must read the scriptures in the proper Hebraic context…Most all of the Judaic writings have been preserved for us and now translated into proper English directly from the Hebrew…"
So, where is this "Law getting Old" stuff? Remember, this was written long after Y’shua was gone. "Getting old" is not the same as "gone." So, what’s the date. If there is a date, how can David say that the Law is Eternal?
The answer is:
Jeremiah 31:33, "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith YHWH, I will put my Torah [law] in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know YHWH: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith YHWH: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Seems to me like there’s a whole lot of teaching goin’ on for this prophecy to have been fulfilled.
Conclusion: The Law is Eternal – it is not written on your heart yet.
When Sha’ul speaks of this time, he is using what is called "prophetic tense."
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Deuteronomy 11:1, "Therefore thou shalt love YHWH thy El, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway."
2 Corinthians 6:7 By the word of truth, by the power of YHWH, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left
March 27, 2005
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Conservative Hall 