Category: Apostolic Writings

These studies cover the writings by the closest shelakhim (apostles) of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ). Commonly called the “New Testament,” this standard canon includes the four Gospels, the letters and the Apocalypse (Revelation).

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Exodus 28: How to ‘altar’ your future to live with the ‘Lion of God’

Why does it matter how Israel’s first high priest, Aaron, and his sons were dressed, as described in great detail in Torah section תצוה Tetzaveh (“you shall command,” Exodus 27:20–30:10)? Is it merely for drawing attention to the wearer? No. We are to remember as we study about the High Priest is that every description of the High Priest is a description of the Messiah. Everytime you see read about someone being anointed with oil, that is a picture of the Messiah. 

As we’ll see in this study of Zechariah 14, Ezekiel 43 and Revelation 21, a repeating lesson is the Tabernacle/Temple altar is key to how we will live with the Mashiakh Yeshua (Christ Jesus), not only the “Lion of Judah” but also the “Lion of God.”

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

Exodus 14; 1Corinthians 10: Follow God’s escape plan from sin

1st Corinthians 10 is Paul’s midrash (commentary) from Israel’s history on how divisions arose during the journey from Mitzraim (Egypt) to the Promised Land. And the crossing of the Red Sea — recorded in בְּשַׁלַּח Beshalach, “when he sent,” Ex. 13:17-17:16 — also is a parallel for our trip from unsaved to Savior.

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Apostolic Writings Chanukah Discussions Torah

Matthew 24 and Chanukah: Why Yeshua warned believers to run to the hills

The righteous didn't suddenly become righteous, they just didn't go over the cliff with everyone else." Adobe Spark Banner Art

Why Yeshua (Jesus) went to the Temple on Chanukah, aka the Festival of Dedication and the Festival of Lights, wrapped in the history recorded in 1-4 Maccabees.

Those are prequels of sorts to the Gospels. You see why the Romans are in the Holy Land, why Yeshua  warned in Matthew 24 that in the last days God’s people will have to “run to the hills,” and what the “abomination of desolation” (Dan. 11:31; 12:11; Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14) actually looks like. 

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

Genesis 32:3–36:43: How to wrestle with and wait on God together joyfully

Word Cloud using entire text from 2018 hallel fellowship talk on Parashat Vayishlach.

The LORD sends us into the world to be His ambassadors (2Cor. 5:20) and part of the kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:5–6; 1Pet. 2:9–10; Rev. 5:9–10). Will we go? Will we face challenges of our own making or ones that are out of our control? Division is toxic to the Kingdom of God. How are we living this out?

In this study of the Torah reading וישלח Vayishlach (Genesis 32:3–36:43), we will go over a few of Yeshua’s parables that will make Ya’akov’s WWE match with the Angel of the LORD look logical. We will learn more about how God teaches us. We have been sent to a world full of brokenness while experiencing brokenness ourselves. How we deal with the brokenness of others and divisions and disagreements in the Body is a sign of our spiritual maturity. 

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Apostolic Writings Discussions

Does Peter’s vision in Acts 10 show that God is done with the dietary laws of Leviticus?

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Vision of Cornelius the Centurion, 1664.

God gave apostle Peter a startling vision in of unclean animals lowered to him on a sheet for him to “kill and eat.” The common interpretation of this elaborate and repetitive vision is it’s now permissible for believers in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Mashiakh (Christ) to eat meats like pork that were not on the Leviticus menu.

Another interpretation is there was a much greater lesson for Peter: God has always wanted a the family of Heaven to include both Jews and Gentiles. We’ll explore both views in this study.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Luke 17: How the ‘days of Lot’ prepare us for the Day of the LORD

XX-34 BADGER (yield 23 kt) - an atmospheric nuclear test performed by the U.S. on 18April 1953 as part of Operation Upshot-Knothole at the Nevada Test Site. (Photo taken in 1953 by the US Government in the public domain)

The Torah reading Vayera (“and He appeared,” Genesis 18–22) aptly describes how the Creator of the Heavens and Earth shows up “in the fullness of time.”

We will see messianic parallels between the “days of Lot” in Sodom, the “days of Noah” and the Day of the LORD preceding the return of Yeshua (Jesus), the Son of Man (Matthew 24; Luke 17).

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

What is the ‘order of Melchizedek’?

Abraham meets Melchisedech. 13th century Mosaic in the Basilica di San Marco in Venice, Italy.

The Torah portion לח לח Lech-Lecha (Genesis 12-17) includes Abraham being called out of Ur of the Chaldeans. But there’s a specific event in Genesis 14 that deserves special focus: Abraham’s encounter with the mysterious Melchizedek. We meet this ancient pre-Israel king of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) again in the books of Psalms and Hebrews. Why is he so important, and what does he have to do with Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ)?