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Discussions Torah

Why a life is worth remembering respectfully (Genesis 23:1–2)

How to live a life worth remembering (Genesis 23:1-2)

Ancient views on the opening verses of Torah reading חיי שרה Chayei Sarah (“Sarah’s life,” Gen. 23:1–25:18) about the funeral for the pivotal matriarch of Israel remind us that we all go through phases of our lives. Like Sarah, Abraham and other key leaders of the people of God, we get a new name — character, reputation and legacy — when we are delivered from our old life of bondage to things that keep us separated from the Kingdom of Heaven. In this study, we explore why embracing our “new name” as a “new creation” of Heaven is essential to this transformation.

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Discussions Torah

How the righteous can preserve a wayward nation (Genesis 18–22)

How the righteous can preserve a wayward nation (Genesis 18-22)

Does God judge the nations based on what they don’t know? The Torah reading וירא Vayera (“he appeared,” Genesis 18-22) illustrates through Abraham’s dealings with Sodom-Gomorrah and Philistia that Heaven judges the Gentiles by their conduct, specifically on how they take care of other people, aka the Golden Rule.

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Discussions Torah

How Abram learned faith, fought fear and become a friend of God

In the Torah reading Lech Lecha (“go forth,” Genesis 12–17), we see some key motifs from Abram/Abraham’s life that are repeated or echoed elsewhere in Scripture. Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) is the ultimate expression of these messages from Heaven.

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Discussions Torah

5 similarities between Noach (Noah) and Mashiach (Messiah)

5 similarities between Noah and Messiah: Genesis 6:9–11:32

Though separated by roughly 4,000 years, the “preacher of righteousness” who led his family to “rest” through the Flood foreshadowed the Righteous One Who would bring rest to the world. Here are several reasons why the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Discussions Trumpets

How the 7 trumpets of Revelation are revealed through the Torah and Prophets

How the seven trumpets of Revelation are revealed in the Torah and Prophets

Interpretations of the book of Revelation are numerous, but one key to understanding the mysterious imagery is to find where the same images appear earlier in the Bible. Discover in this study on the Feast of Trumpets how the account of the Exodus and the writings of the prophets Joel, Zechariah, Isaiah and others reveal how the seven trumpets of Revelation point to judgment starting at the house of God.

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Discussions Torah

Heaven’s curses become blessings for the teachable heart (Deuteronomy 27–28)

Heaven's curses become blessings for the teachable heart (Deuteronomy 27-28)

In the West, we live in an era when many so-called Christian preachers teach their congregants that an overflowing bank account, a fancy house and an expensive car are evidence of God’s blessing. But that’s a heresy that many Pharisees at the time of Yeshua (Jesus) also believed.

A key lesson of Torah reading כִּי־תָבוֹא Ki Tavo (“when you come in,” Deut. 26:1–29:8) is that it’s in the periods of sorrow and desolation when God does His best work with us and in us. Check out this study.

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Discussions Torah

Wandering heart, where treachery starts (Deuteronomy 21:10–14)

We may think that faith and belief are wishy-washing things that can change with our mood or socio-economic situation. But the way the Bible uses those concepts, the clearer translation may be “trust” or “dependable.” We trust in God’s words, find the promises of Heaven dependable.

But the flip side of that is, are we trustworthy? Are we dependable? Are our desires, lives and resources following after Heaven’s instructions? Or are they wandering back and forth between God’s rules and the Zeitgeist, the Spirit of the Age, what’s trendy and popular.

Those questions are behind the instructions about marriage and adultery in the Torah passage כי תצא Ki Tetze (“when you go forth,” Deut. 21:10-25:19).