Last fall, I had the opportunity to defend against a disjointed and highly speculative attack against the Biblical account of the Exodus from Egypt in a live discussion/debate with the proponent of a theory that might be short-titled “Djehutymose = Yehudah Moshe.” Some of the basic assertions of this theory are that Moshe/Moses was trying to restore the “Aten Revolution” (of Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s father, Aten), that the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle were modeled after Tutankhamen’s burial chamber, and that King Hezekiah’s newly found Seal proved that he was laying claim to the throne of Egypt centuries after the Exodus.

Some highlights:

“Mn-Kpr-Re” is not the root of “Menorah”

“Mn-Kpr-Re” doesn’t mean “symbol of divine light,” but “enduring form of Ra/Re”

The proponent for the theory tried to “Joseph Smith” Egyptian symbols. Of note, he asserted that a certain symbol was the basis for the Tabernacle menorah. It is actually indicative of the Egyptian game of reaching the afterlife. One such game was found in Tutankhamen’s tomb.

You may never encounter such a theory contested. You might be caught off guard and fooled by a “just so story.” However, this pdf at the link (below) of the slide show used in the debate to utterly debunk this theory should help you do the same. Check it out.

https://www.beittefillah.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Exodus_defended_2018.pdf

The attached slide presentation the consolidation of slides discussed over a period of several weeks (hence the reference to “Week 2,” etc., in the presentation). The study shows how Nazarene Judaism would be squeezed from those seeking to squeeze the Judaism out of the followers of Yeshua of Nazareth, and how the religious authorities sought to squeeze the followers of Yeshua of Nazareth out of Judaism.

One of my favorite parts of the study is when we discuss the question: HOW MANY TIMES WAS THE ONE TRUE FAITH GIVEN?

Reading from the translation of the Peshitta Aramaic text of Ephesians 4:4-6 we find: 4 That you be one body and one spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling. 5 For Marya (Master Yah, YHWH) is one and the faith (or trust) is one and the immersion is one: 6 And one Eloah (Elohim) is the Father of all, and above all, and through all, and in us all. 

Jude 3 (translation from the Peshitta Aramaic) reads:

3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you, concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting that you should earnestly contend for the Faith (or Trust), which was once for all delivered to the Set-Apart-Ones.

There is only one true faith:

And the one true faith was only given once:

And, according to Paul (or whoever wrote Hebrews 11):  Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and David (among others) are counted as faithful. 

Thus, the one true faith already existed on the Earth before the events recorded in the gospels took place.

Since the one true faith already existed on the Earth before the events recorded in the gospels happened…..

It may be an anachronism to call the faith of Abraham “the Way” (haderekh)  or that of “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Nazarene Judaism), but it is functionally accurate….if the one true faith was only given once, and Abraham had that faith. 

Here is the link for the slides to Nazarene 101: Know What You Believe

As we’ve studied the book of Galatians over the last several weeks, we have found the 119 Ministries video on Galatians (part of a larger series called “The Pauline Paradox” to be insightful, easy to understand, and easy to follow. It is about 3 hours in length (so probably more than a single sitting), but we think it is well worth your time. Click the link for the 119 Ministries Galatians Study

After the Meal of Messiah last Shabbat, we did a “one off” study on the role of “abrogation” in two world religions: Islam and Christianity. The concept of “abrogation” in Islam goes as far back as Sura 2 of the Quran, and is perhaps “the” key concept that makes sense of why Al-Qaida, ISIS and their affiliates do what they do. However, “abrogation” also plays a key role in Christianity, although it is not usually called by that name. In fact, Christianity’s “abrogation” theology is what separates Christianity from Nazarene Judaism and the pro-Torah lifestyle taught by Yeshua, Sha’ul/Paul and the other talmidiym. Here is the link to the pdf: https://www.beittefillah.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Abrogation-in-Islam-and-Christianity-pdf.pdf

The video on slide 12 will not play from Adobe pdf, but here is the link from YouTube: Top 10 verses in the Quran to understand ISIS

Please see the attached pdf file for our notes on 1st Corinthians (picking up at chapter 5), one of the most important books for providing early evidence for the resurrection of Yeshua of Nazareth. By “early evidence,” we mean the oral tradition within 1st Corinthians that even skeptical scholars date to within 5 years of the resurrection.https://www.beittefillah.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Notes-on-1-Corinthians-chapters-5_16.pdf

Based on the dangerous driving conditions expected from the wintry mix and snow expected on Yom Shishiy and Shabbat, we must cancel the Beit Tefillah Messianic Fellowship Shabbat service scheduled for 12/8/2018. For your home Torah portion reading and study, the Torah portion is Mikeitz (“At the end”), Bereshiyt/Genesis 41:1 – 44:17, and the haftorah is Zechariah 2:14 – 4:7. Our reading from the Ketuvim Netzarim is 1 Corinthians 11.

Jon and Tiffanie Davidsen of Chosen People Ministries will be speaking at Beit Tefillah Messianic Fellowship on 3/10/2018 at a special meeting time of 12 noon.  We plan to start with a Biblically clean, “pot blessing” meal, and then turn the floor over to Jon and Tiffanie.  The topic is Jon’s testimony and bringing the Good News of Messiah Yeshua to the Jewish people.

Come join us!

These are the slides (below) from a study we did over the course of several weeks in 2016.  It shows how we Netzarim arrived where we are today.  Judaism was driven from believers in Yeshua, and Jewish believers in Yeshua were driven from the synagogues.  This was the prophetic outcome of what Sha’ul/Paul said would happen.

 

Netzarim_101_final

Why Count the Omer Like Paul

 

This study is about counting the omer toward Sukkot.  How would Paul count the omer?  Are you counting like Paul, or like a Sadducee?