Some people have taught that there are 7 words in the Hebrew version of Gen 1:1 and the word “Et” is a special word that points to Jesus. “Et” is spelled with “את” (aleph and tau) the first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. They say this word is untranslated because the Jews forgot the meaning, and that it points to Jesus because says he is the “alpha and omega” in Revelations 1:8 which references the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet. This gets connected to John 1:1 which says “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” It sounds so romantic but this is not true.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Jewish Laws and Culture
Reviewing Jewish Laws and Culture from a Christian New Covenant perspective.
Jewish Holidays and Jesus
The gospels demonstrate that many of the Torah’s holidays point to Jesus. Let’s look at Sabbath, Passover (Pesach), Festival of Weeks (Shavuot), the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), and even Hanukkah which is not even from the Torah. Jesus says to the Sanhedrin Council that they search the Scriptures because they think it gives them eternal life, but the Scriptures actually point to Jesus himself, however, the Jewish leaders refused to receive eternal life by believing him (John 5:39-40). Later in John 5:45-47, Jesus said that it will be Moses, through the Law, that will judge them for not believing in him because he [Jesus] is the one in whom the law is about.
Continue readingThe Adulteress and Jesus
Many have heard the story of Jesus and the adulteress. A woman who was caught committing adultery was about to be stoned to death stoned as the law of Moses says and she was brought before Jesus, so the leaders could hear his opinion on her execution. At the end of the story, Jesus lets her go without being punished. Did he violate the Law which requires that she be punished?
Continue readingOur Bodies Are The New Temple
It’s the holy spirit that was promised to circumcise our hearts (Deut 30:6, Jer 4:4, Ez 36:25-27, Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:16-21, Rom 2:29, and Col 2:11) and give us the power to overcome sin nature so that we could accomplish the task of keeping God’s commands.
Continue readingKosher Food Laws Framework
There appears to be a pattern with the Kosher food laws in Leviticus 11. Flying creatures only have to be herbivores, and land creatures that were herbivores that chewed cud (regurgitated grass) and had split hooves were considered clean. It seems that land and air creatures that were omnivores, carnivores, and scavengers were all classified as unclean. This may have be connected to why humans are forbidden from consuming blood as moral sin in the bible (Genesis 9:4, Lev 7:25-26, Lev 17:10-14, Lev 19:26, Deut 12:16, Deut 12:22-25, Deut 15:23, Acts 15:20 & 29). What if animals that eat meat (who consume blood), are classified as sinful in a sense because they don’t drain the blood? Land creatures are even further distinguished by diet (cud-chewing herbivore) and anatomy (split hooves), which may clue into their digestion processes. For example, rabbits are cud chewers but they also eat their own dung, which is something that may be viewed as unclean.
Continue readingChristians and the Sabbath
Some Christians are into first-day Sabbatarianism and see Sunday as Christian Sabbath, while others stick with the traditional view of Saturday always being the Sabbath, these are seventh-day Sabbatarians. Meanwhile, others view both days as equally valuable because Saturday is the true Sabbath and Sunday is Resurrection day. This is why we have a two-day weekend. In fact, in Latin Saturday is called “Sabat” which is based on the Hebrew word for rest (sabbath), and Sunday is called “Dominus” which means “Lord” so it represents the Lord’s Day. This even carries over to modern Latin-based languages like Spanish Saturday is called Sabadó and Sunday is called Él Domingo. This implies that for the early church both days were valuable.
Continue readingRitual Purity in the New Covenant
Some may wonder if Christians are supposed to be eating kosher, and following rules about bodily fluids and circumcision. Ritual purity laws are not like moral purity since they don’t involve behavior, and therefore breaking them is not punishable by execution. These laws were designed to set the Israelites apart, and they were never given to Gentiles. Paul had also to say about not enforcing these laws in the OT, and even Jesus said some things. Let’s take a deeper look at why they existed in the first place if new covenant Gentiles don’t have to follow them. What were they pointing to?
Continue readingJesus vs the Talmud
Jesus’s main critique of the Pharisees was that they were substituting God’s law with man-made traditions. The Pharisees were scapegoating laws in the old testament by reinterpreting certain verses, and these modifications are preserved in the Talmud. For example, they interpreted Deut 24:1 to allow for “any cause” divorce or adding “hate you enemies” to love your neighbor in Lev 19:18. Jesus of course corrected them in Matt chapter 5:31-32 & 5:43-48, as well as Matt 19 & Luke 10:25-37. Jesus often pointed out the fact that the Talmud (commentary on the Torah) was heresy since it contradicts the Torah.
Continue readingGod and Gentiles Old Testament
Are All Gentiles Evil in the Old Testament? Was it fair for God to judge Gentiles in the Old Testament when they didn’t have his Torah (Law)? Did they even know who he was or that he was the real God?
Continue readingBoiling Baby Goats In Their Mother’s Milk
In Ex 23:19, Ex 34:26, and Deut 14:21-22, the Bible gives the command “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” Some say this expression means we can’t eat cheese and meat together or cheeseburgers, others say it’s a Canaanite ritual but actual archeological evidence backing that up is nonexistent. I’ve only seen speculative internet articles, none of which don’t reference actual Canaanite writings. Also, all the commands related to Canaanite practices are in the moral laws section of Leviticus (Lev 18-20). Some say it’s about respecting nature, but if that’s the case wouldn’t it have said this for all animals, not just goats? There is a theory that this is an ancient idiom that lost its meaning over time, and I think this is the most likely case, based on the evidence. There are three places where this sentence is mentioned in the Bible, all three times it is surrounded by the same context of tithes and offerings.
Continue reading