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Apostolic Writings Discussions

The Book of Hebrews — Bible or baloney?

This discussion is “meat in due season,” because a noted Messianic teacher has written a couple of articles strongly questioning the canonicity of the Book of Hebrews. One unintended consequence of throwing out the Book of Hebrews would be to negate Yeshua’s (Jesus) role as the High Priest of His own sacrifice.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings

The Silence of the Righteous: Moral Failure in the Face of Evil (Judges 19-20)

Judges 19-20 is a disturbing account of a Levite, from the tribe God picked to be His closest ambassadors to Israel and the world, who not only had a concubine but also callously let her get raped to death by a Sodom-like mob. The Bible’s detractors and defenders of liberal morality hold this account up as a key exhibit, but what does God really want us to learn in this no-holds-barred account?

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 1:6 — ‘let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters’

Gen. 1:6 describes God’s action of creating the “firmament” by creating an expanse. In the original language, this process was “beating out,” like with metal or dough. What does God want to “pound out” in our lives to create what He wants in the world?

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Life With God Pentecost/Shavuot Torah

Acts 3 — Peter’s second Pentecost plea for repentance

There are language cues in Acts 3 that strongly suggest that it is a description of an event on the afternoon of Pentecost. Thus this is a continuation of the events of Acts 2. The Spirit of God is on display in the temple with power, a display meant to prompt Israel to “turn back” from their rejection God’s Messiah and be restored by God’s Spirit.

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Discussions

Genesis 1:5 — ‘God called the light, Day … the darkness, Night … the evening and the morning were the first day’

In Gen. 1:5, God is not only describing what the world was like when He created it but what it will be like when He returns to re-create it. That may be the spiritual picture behind light and darkness, evening and morning in this verse.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Pentecost/Shavuot

Acts 2 — Peter preaches with power purposefully on Pentecost

Peter’s Pentecost sermon not only made A’s for power of the Spirit but also for being “politically incorrect” in condemning the listeners. Why did Peter say what he said this particular Pentecost? What are the consistent lessons of Pentecost, called Shavuot in Hebrew for “sevens” or “weeks”?

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Discussions Prophets and Writings

Judges 17-18 — The Slippery Slope of Personalized Faith

In the profound depths of Judges 17-18, we encounter a powerful spiritual narrative of B’nei Yisrael’s covenant drift. Through Micah’s unauthorized shrine and the Levite’s compromised priesthood, HaShem reveals the dangerous consequences of creating religious systems outside divine mandate, challenging us to examine our own spiritual authenticity in Yeshua’s light.