Podcasts about in hebrew

John 5:1-6 After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now, there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.] A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" This seems like a strange question to ask someone who has been afflicted for 38 years, if he wishes to get well. However, there are some significant issues at stake. He has probably made his living by begging, if he is healed, then his means of income will change. He will have to find a job and go to work. If before he was afflicted he had no marketable skills, then if healed, he will have to start at the bottom and work his way up. It is possible that he might have to take a cut in his income if healed. Furthermore, he would have to break into an entirely new social circle. That wouldn't be comfortable or easy. So perhaps the question is relevant after all. In Hebrew, Bethesda, means "house of mercy." Jesus is going to perform an incredible act of mercy for this man. Jesus knew he had been there a long time. He probably had seen him several times before, when He had been in Jerusalem for other feasts. We may assume that Jesus was led by the Father to walk through the Bethesda porticos. Why did He pick this man? He knew the man had been there a long time. John tells us it was because of mercy. D. Martin Lloyd-Jones differentiated grace from mercy. "Grace is especially associated with men in their sins; mercy is especially associated with men in their misery. While grace looks down upon sin as a whole, mercy looks, especially, upon the miserable consequences of sin. Mercy really means a sense of pity, plus a desire to relieve the suffering. That is the essential meaning of being merciful; it is pity plus action." Here's a helpful definition of pity: sympathetic or kindly sorrow evoked by the suffering, distress, or misfortune of another leading one to give relief or aid or to show mercy. As we live to love with Jesus, there will be times when we see the suffering of people and will be led to give relief or aid. Perhaps today, someone like that will cross our paths. Let's not be surprised if Jesus brings them to our attention, and may we not be afraid to engage them in conversation. One of the best ways to engage them is with questions so we can learn how we may express the love and mercy of Christ. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of "giving it forward," so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.

In Dark Sayings, I explain how Emperor Justinian stands as a striking example of imperial harlotry. Like all rulers, he filtered Scripture through his own agenda—much like what we see in 2025, with elites twisting the biblical text to justify the very actions it condemns. Today's world leaders are effectively reenacting the sins of the Bible's villains.If it weren't a tragedy, it would be a comedy. I'd sit with Jonah beneath the vine—bag of popcorn in hand.What came of Justinian copying the sins condemned in Scripture?A massive stone temple—still longed for today. This longing betrays a rejection of the preaching of the story of the Gerasene demoniac, where God himself, through his anointed Slave, rejects Roman law and silences the Greek intellectual tradition.In defiance of this witness, Justinian—praised even now—translated Roman law into Greek, a move that flatly contradicts the biblical text.O foolish Galatians. You asked for a king, and you got one.Justinian's reign was marked by a bloody attempt to resurrect Rome's former glory: the North African campaign against the Vandals, the prolonged and ruinous Gothic Wars in Italy, and a brief incursion into southern Spain. These campaigns were catastrophically expensive, devastating to local populations, and—like all imperial games—ended in failure. Far worse was the Justinianic Plague, a lethal epidemic that ravaged both the population and the economy.Together, these calamities fractured the region's future. Though the Western Roman Empire had already collapsed in the 5th century, Justinian's ambitions destabilized its successors and hindered the organic development of local societies.Things might have turned out differently. We might have avoided the first Dark Age—or at least the first one we know of—had Justinian not tried to impose a new civilization atop the ruins of the old.Dear friends:There is no God but One.He is the Heavenly Shepherd.He claims no embassy, joins no assembly, and takes no seat at your councils.He casts no vote, answers to no electorate, and has no constituents.He occupies no office, nor does he dwell in any capital.He is beholden to nothing and answers to no one.His throne is in the heavens, far beyond your reach, where maps are not drawn.Be afraid oh nations.Tremble with fear, oh bordermongers, for he is not mocked—Not by you, nor your puny gods, nor your counterfeit leaders.I place all my hope in his Slave who trusted in his command to subdue the Latin-lex and silence the Greco-lego at the Decapolis in Luke.Everything I do, I do for this Slave's Rebellion.This week, I discuss Luke 8:30.Show Notesἐρημόω (erēmoō) / ח־ר־ב (ḥet–resh–bet) / خ–ر–ب (khāʾ–rāʾ–bāʾ)To dry up, to be desolate, or to be destroyed. To be devastated, often referring to lands, cities, or nations. Greek examples in the LXX include: ξηραίνω (xērainō - to dry up), ἐρημόω (erēmoō - to make desolate), ἀφανίζω (aphanizō - to destroy).In Hebrew חָרַב and Arabic خَرِبَ both describe the undoing of cities, structures, or human systems—especially in the wake of divine judgment.In both the Bible and the Qur'an, ruin is not random—it is the consequence of injustice, arrogance, or rejection of divine instruction.Isaiah 51:10 – “Was it not you who dried up (הַמַּחֲרֶבֶת [ha-maḥărébet]) the sea…”Surah Al-Hashr 59:2 - “They destroy (يُخْرِبُونَ [yukh'ribūna]) their houses with their own hands…” يُخْرِبُونَ (yukh'ribūna) comes from خَرَّبَ (khar·ra·ba) — they lay waste / destroy, describing the self-inflicted ruin of the Banu Nadir tribe, continuing on the itinerary of civilizational ruin brought on by pride and resistance to God's covenant.The function ח-ר-ב (ḥ-r-b) appears in Scripture to prescribe the destruction of cities and the downfall of kings—figures aligned with human systems of law and control. This same root functions in the name Mount Horeb, the site where divine law is given. It also functions as “sword,” an agent of God's judgment. In Exodus 32:27, Moses commands the Levites at Horeb to take up their swords ח-ר-ב (ḥ-r-b) and execute judgment within the camp after the sin of the golden calf, connecting the themes of lawgiving and purifying violence. ח-ר-ב (ḥ-r-b) highlights the biblical tension between the collapse of human law and the assertion of divine will through biblical instruction and judgment.In the Septuagint, ἐρημόω (erēmoō) corresponds lexically to ח-ר-ב (ḥ-r-b) in the following passages: Judges 16:24; 2 Kings 19:17; Job 14:11; Isaiah 34:10; Isaiah 37:18, 25; Isaiah 44:27; Isaiah 49:17; Isaiah 51:10; Isaiah 60:12; Jeremiah 28:36; Jeremiah 33:9; Ezekiel 26:2, 19; Ezekiel 29:12; Ezekiel 30:7; Amos 7:9.Λεγιών (legiṓn)(For a detailed discussion, please see Blaise Webster's article, The Crux of Paul and John's Gospel.)From the Latin legio, meaning legion, a Roman military unit (~6,000 soldiers), itself from the Indo-European root legō.From Latin legō, we also get Lex—law (that which is gathered or set in order)Lex, derived from legō, becomes a symbol of civilizational control—a codified system that enforces order, often violently.Roman Legions (from the same root) are the custodians of lex, instruments of imperial coercion and domination.Lex and legion are bound together both linguistically and ideologically—law enforced by gathered violence.In Greek, λόγος (logos) stems from λέγω and is associated in Hellenistic philosophy with reason, logic, and natural law. The Pauline School's co-opting of this term is an attack on Hellenism.For Paul, λόγος is not Greek reason, but shorthand for “the word of the cross” (ὁ λόγος τοῦ σταυροῦ)—foolishness to the world and power to those being saved, who trust in God's victory (1 Corinthians 1:18); Knowing that his work will find its own completion in the Day of the Lord. (Philippians 1:6)Unlike the constructive Greek logos, which seeks order and coherence, the Pauline logos is destructive—an insurgent word embedded within Greco-Roman structures, intended to bring about their co-termination in the execution of Jesus, thereby dismantling the entire system.Lex (law) and lego (rhetoric/philosophy) represent false structures of control and meaning, in opposition to the Pauline gospel.T...

Shavuot - Episode 7 Let's consider those amazing connections between what happened at Sinai and during Pentecost shortly after Jesus' ascension.  These amazing connections are pictures to us today of God's amazing power to bring us to a deeper and more enhanced understanding that the feasts of the Lord, all eight of them, are shadows of the Messiah.  Consider … Both events occurred on mountains known as "the mountain of God." Exo 24:13 So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. (Ex. 24:13; Isa. 2:3).  The mountain of God in the Sinai when the Lord gives the Ten Commandments. But, the mountain of God moves.  The Lord changes its location.  Consider what we read in the book of Isaiah, “And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.' For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”  (Isa 2:3 ) Or in the book of Joel we read, “Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will pass through it no more.” (Joe 3:17) Then again in the book of Micah, “And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, ‘Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths.' For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Mic 4:1-2) Both events happened on day 50. They arrived at Sinai in the third month on the very day (Ex. 19:1). “In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.” (Ex. 19:1) In Hebrew “on that very day” means they arrived on the third day of the third month exactly 50 days after their first Passover meal in Egypt. The feast of Shavuot is to happen on the 50th day after the weekly sabbath during Passover and Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:15-16). Both involved similar sounds and symbols, such as wind, fire, and voices (Ex. 19:16-19; Acts 2:1-3). Note that the Hebrew for "thunder" (kolot) means "voices" (Acts 2:4). Jewish tradition said that the Israelites heard God speak in 70 languages or, to translate direct from the Hebrew, God spoke in tongues! Both events involved the presence of God (Ex. 19:18,20; Acts 2:4). About 3,000 people died because of their sin when Moses received the Torah (Ex. 32:28). About 3,000 people believed (were born again into new life) when the Spirit came (Acts 2:41). At Mount Sinai, God wrote his revelation on stone tablets (Ex. 31:18). On the fulfillment of Pentecost, God wrote his law on people's hearts as he had promised He would (2 Cor. 3:3; Jer. 31:33). Torah means "teaching." The Spirit, given on Shavuot, also became the "Teacher" of the new community of Jesus' followers (John 14:26) Many Jews from all over the world heard in their own language from a bunch of kids, young men and women, who only knew Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew.  These 120 disciples of Yeshua received "power" and spoke in other language they didn't know or understand.   All the people, probably hundreds of thousands at the Temple on Shavuot, heard the Gospel!! Peter did a short five minute speech and 3000 wanted to be baptized.  It was as if it was SINAI REPEATED!! This is part of what Jesus meant when He said they'd receive “power.” Both events were times when God's people entered a NEW covenant with the Lord. Israel became a new nation, a nation of priests, and nation that would be the light of the world (Ex. 19:6, Isa. 49:6). And, for us, we have entered a NEW covenant with the Lord as we take the cup of Messiah in His Last Seder meal (Luke 22:20). We too become a new people, a new nation, a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9-10). We to are to be the light of the world (Mat.5:14, Acts 1:7-8).  But, this time, this covenant is the covenant to restore all people to Himself as our sins our totally cleansed and forgiven. This is the final covenant for Jew and Gentile to become one flock with one shepherd, the Good Shepherd, the Messiah Jesus (John 10:14-16). The Shadow of Messiah. On Shavuot there is a special sacrifice. Amazingly it uses two loaves of LEAVENED BREAD (Lev. 23:17). Is God giving us a picture that Jew and Gentile are a new people, a new culture, a holy nation, His two flocks coming together as ONE permeated and saturated with His Holy Spirit dwelling in us and through us?  Is God helping us see that His Bible is ONE book, about ONE God, about ONE Gospel, ONE Baptism, and ONE Savor of all – Yeshua!

Let's take a quick look at a much-neglected aspect of the third commandment which says: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…” (Exodus 20:7, ESV)It has to do with the word “take.” In Hebrew it's the word “nasa'.” It means to take, to bear, or to carry.It's telling that … Continue reading Bearing the Name

How It All Ends! (White Horse Series) by Dr. Richard Ruhling Amazon.com An increasing number of people are wondering, Are we getting to the biblical end-times? The answer is YES, but most people do not know that Muslims will precipitate it as seen in Christ's warning for Jerusalem. We can expect the war against Israel to escalate with Jerusalem taken as Zechariah 14 shows. Hezbollah has already joined with Hamas. In Hebrew, hamas is translated as violence in Genesis 6:13. God knew what was coming. and the Bible says, "The Lord shall roar from Jerusalem...the heavens and earth shall shake," Joel 3:16. That earthquake will be felt worldwide as it initiates the biblical end-times. God won't do anything without revealing it, Amos 3:7, and the next verse is the "roar" that He wants to reveal. The “roar” is one of four ways the earthquake is encoded in Revelation. The last of seven churches, lukewarm with materialism, ended in an earthquake also encoded as a “knock” circa 63 AD. And the message to that church has 7 parallels to Luke's wedding parable where, when Christ “knocks,” The passage links a Biblical meaning to current events, and if we understand, we can move forward to be part of Christ's kingdom after His knock (earthquake).About the author Richard Ruhling, MD, MPH was board-certified in Internal Medicine and taught Health Science at Loma Linda University. NIH gifted his school $40 million for a study to learn why the community lived about seven years longer than other non-smokers. The study supports the benefits of a vegan or vegetarian diet and many diseases are reversible if we eat wisely. Ruhling's wife died from another MD's prescription for a urinary infection and Ruhling visited US senators with medical literature showing that prescription drugs are a leading cause of illness and death. One senator said, “You are wasting your time—they own us,” speaking of drug company donations to their re-election campaigns. Ruhling was reared a Seventh-day Adventist, but now sees all denominations as stuck in their own history and closed to new truth from the Bible. His latest book, From Lockdown to knockdown The Fall of America & New World Order. It points to Judgment for US in 2023. It shows how judgment fell on Egypt for killing Israelite babies and how the US has aborted 60 million and enslaved most people in substance abuse and negative lifestyles.

The Underwater Army of Abaddon - Walking on Water Part 4 In Walking on Water Part Three, we looked in depth at the Gospel of Matthew 14:22-33 account of Yeshua and Peter walking on water. Peter lost faith when he saw the wind, and he had to call on Yeshua.When it looks like the angels of the four winds, or princes and principalities, or spiritual darkness in high places (and low ones!) are bringing destruction, our confidence is in the right arm and saving hand of YHVH, Yeshua. For Peter, the last watch of the night, the time of immindent destruction, was too close for comfort. He knew that the "dry land" he walked on could turn to stones of destruction at any second.Yeshua said to Peter, "Come!" In Hebrew, he said, "Bo!" [???]That should sound familiar from our Reed Sea salvation as well:The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land,?????????? ???????????????? ???????? ?????? ?????????????The verb? Yavo-u! The collective congregation in plural form of Bo. Peter knew YHVH walking on water had happened in the past...if Yeshua was who he said he was, the son of YHVH, then wouldn't he want the disciples to Bo! now in their present time of trouble as well? If it was Yeshua, then it wasn't a “ghost,” a spirit assigned to the East Wind, but Salvation guiding the East Wind.This is an example to us that neither should we be distracted by the tempestuous spiritual forces being used to shepherd us into safe haven.In this newsletter, we need to review the dark spiritual forces of "Egypt" that were bound at the Abyss of the Reed Sea and how they play a role in the prophecies of Revelation. It's a necessary layer of understanding to help us take the next step with Yeshua, the dry land, the resurrection, and the mystery of its mikveh.It also is an encouragement that even as we walk on the water with Yeshua when he says "Bo!", he is marshaling the King of Abaddon and "Egypt" to take vengeance on the very adversaries who pursued us. He is surrounding us with a protective, pure tunnel of salvation.Please review the Chariots of the Abyss this week, and we will progress to the mystery of immersion in Messiah next week. Since each of these lessons of the mini-series builds on the previous one, it is recommended to print and review in order if possible.Also, if you want to review a related video, Chariots of Abaddon it is free to view on YouTube.Please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to get new teachings.

Welcome to Day 2618 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2618 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 63:1-11 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2618 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2618 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. In today's Wisdom Nugget, we continue our journey through the Psalms, ancient prayers, and songs that reveal deep insights about life, faith, and our relationship with God. Today, we arrive at Psalm 63—a passionate and vivid Psalm of longing, trust, and joyful praise. King David wrote this Psalm during a profoundly difficult period, hiding in the Judean wilderness, fleeing either King Saul or perhaps later from his own son, Absalom. Yet in these harsh conditions, David's heart reveals a passionate hunger—not merely for relief or rescue, but for something far greater: an intimate and personal encounter with the living God. So, let's embark on today's journey into Psalm 63:1-11 from the New Living Translation, opening our hearts and minds to discover the wisdom within these verses: Psalm 63:1-11 (NLT) 1 O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. 3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! 4 I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. 5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. 6 I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. 7 Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. 8 I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely. 9 But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin. They will go down into the depths of the earth. 10 They will die by the sword and become the food of jackals. 11 But the king will rejoice in God. All who swear to tell the truth will praise him, while liars will be silenced. A Deep Spiritual Thirst (Verses 1-2) David opens Psalm 63 by vividly expressing his deepest spiritual longing: “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory.” David begins with the deeply personal address: “O God, you are my God.” This isn't merely a theological acknowledgment; it's a passionate, personal declaration of relationship. In Hebrew culture, the phrase indicates covenant intimacy—a committed, deeply personal connection with God Himself. David's physical surroundings in the Judean wilderness—harsh, dry, barren—mirror his spiritual thirst. He compares his inner longing for God to physical thirst in a parched desert. Ancient Israelites understood thirst profoundly—water was scarce, precious, and life-giving. David feels the same intense craving for God's presence. Yet David also remembers vividly his past worship experiences. He recalls being in God's sanctuary, where he experienced God's powerful presence firsthand. These memories fuel...

One of your friends or colleagues is talking your ear off – blabbering, nagging, or over analyzing. In Hebrew, you would kindly ask that person to stop being a ‘hafran,' or literally, ‘digger.' Guy explains how and when to use this illustrative slang. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Hofer, hoferet – Digging, excavating, talk a lot – חופר, חופרת Lahpor (lahfor) – To dig, to talk a lot – לחפור Lahpor bor – To dig a hole – לחפור בור “Hi lo mafsika lahfor li” – She wouldn't stop talking to me – היא לא מפסיקה לחפור לי “Tagidu la, giveret, at hoferet, kol ha-zman medaberet” – Tell her, mam, you keep talking all the time – תגידו לה, גברת, את חופרת, כל הזמן מדברת “Ma ata hofer?” – Why do you keep talking, overanalyzing? – מה אתה חופר Dai lahfor – Enough talking and talking – די לחפור Dai lahfor li – Stop blabbering – די לחפור לי Hafarti? – Did I talk too much? – חפרתי Hafira, hafirot – Excavation, excavations – חפירות Hafira Archi'ologit – An archaeological excavation – חפירה ארכיאולוגית Hafran, hafranit (hafrawi) – Someone who obsessively, never stops talking – חפרן, חפרנית Hafarperet – Mole, double agent – חפרפרת   Playlist and Clips: E-Z – Kolboinikit (lyrics) Shai Yom Tov – At Hoferet Hafira Archi'ologit Hafran (monologue)

B"H Compassion isn't just about kindness, it's about deep empathy and the desire to ease suffering. In Hebrew, the word “rachamim” (compassion) comes from “rechem” (womb), symbolizing the nurturing care we're meant to show others. From the Ten Commandments to the Passover story, we see how God's compassion guides us to care for the vulnerable, because we, too, were once strangers. Let's bring more compassion into your daily life! To watch Torah Thoughts in video format, click HERE Subscribe to the Torah Thoughts BLOG for exclusive written content! Please like, share and subscribe wherever you find this!

He took me out in the desert to an immense valley surrounded by reddish mountains, which turned increasingly purple and blue as they extended out into the far distance.
"What words come to your mind," said the teacher, "when you look at the desert wilderness?"
"Dry ...barren ...hot ...austere ...severe ...hard ...forbidding ..."
"And when people go through hard times - times of loss, crisis, tragedy, loneliness, conflict, hardship, problems, separation, tears - they speak of going through the wilderness. And yet the wilderness is a holy place. It was in a desert wilderness that God gave His Law, His Word, and where He revealed His presence. The wilderness is holy."
"So the hard times in our lives are holy?"
"For those who are His children, yes."
"How so?"
"In Hebrew, the wilderness is called the midbar. Midbar comes from the root ward dabar. And dabar means to speak. What is the wilderness? It is the midbar. And what is the midbar? It is the place of God's speaking, the place of His voice. It's where God especially talks to us. Why did He bring His people into the wilderness, into the midbar? So He could speak to them. He brought Moses into the midbar to speak to him in a still, small voice. So too He brings us into the wilderness that He might speak to us."
"What is it about the wilderness that makes it the place of God's speaking?"
"Look around you," he said. "What do you see?"
"Rock, sand, mountains - not much."
"That's why," said the teacher. "God speaks, but we don't hear. We have too many distractions. But in the wilderness the distractions are gone. So God brings us to the wilderness that we might hear His voice. Therefore, do not fear or despise the wilderness of your life, and don't despise His removing of the distractions. Rather embrace it. Draw closer to Him. And listen to what He is saying. Seek to hear His voice, and you will hear Him. For the wilderness in your life is not just a wilderness. It is holy ground ...the midbar ...the place of His voice." The Mission: Put away the distractions, those things that keep you from hearing. And go into the wilderness, the midbar, and seek the voice of God. Enjoy the YouTube version here and join the family: https://youtu.be/FM8B26htm-0If you would like to join us for bible study, bible study is on Friday nights from 7:30pm - 9pm CST. To get the link, please feel free to message us at perceptualpneumaministries@gmail.com.

What does Yahweh Yireh mean? What does Yahweh Ropheka or Yahweh Rophe mean? Rabbi Schneider shares that El Shaddai, God Almighty, was the name known prior to revealing His covenant name, Yahweh. Yahweh's name is used over 7,000 times in the Old Testament. In Hebrew, there are no vowels. Learn how the scribes hid the name of God to prevent gentiles from using God's name in blasphemous ways. In the ancient Hebrew language, there was no "J" sound. As language changes forms, we see how the accent markings and the new sounds caused the gentile church to mispronounce the personal name of God. Yahweh Yireh (God Will Provide) is a combination that God does with His name to show you what He will do. Know this so that you will learn to trust Yahweh Yireh. Father, thank You, that You are Yahweh Yireh and that You will provide.   Visit our website at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com

He took me out in the desert to an immense valley surrounded by reddish mountains, which turned increasingly purple and blue as they extended out into the far distance.
"What words come to your mind," said the teacher, "when you look at the desert wilderness?"
"Dry ...barren ...hot ...austere ...severe ...hard ...forbidding ..."
"And when people go through hard times - times of loss, crisis, tragedy, loneliness, conflict, hardship, problems, separation, tears - they speak of going through the wilderness. And yet the wilderness is a holy place. It was in a desert wilderness that God gave His Law, His Word, and where He revealed His presence. The wilderness is holy."
"So the hard times in our lives are holy?"
"For those who are His children, yes."
"How so?"
"In Hebrew, the wilderness is called the midbar. Midbar comes from the root ward dabar. And dabar means to speak. What is the wilderness? It is the midbar. And what is the midbar? It is the place of God's speaking, the place of His voice. It's where God especially talks to us. Why did He bring His people into the wilderness, into the midbar? So He could speak to them. He brought Moses into the midbar to speak to him in a still, small voice. So too He brings us into the wilderness that He might speak to us."
"What is it about the wilderness that makes it the place of God's speaking?"
"Look around you," he said. "What do you see?"
"Rock, sand, mountains - not much."
"That's why," said the teacher. "God speaks, but we don't hear. We have too many distractions. But in the wilderness the distractions are gone. So God brings us to the wilderness that we might hear His voice. Therefore, do not fear or despise the wilderness of your life, and don't despise His removing of the distractions. Rather embrace it. Draw closer to Him. And listen to what He is saying. Seek to hear His voice, and you will hear Him. For the wilderness in your life is not just a wilderness. It is holy ground ...the midbar ...the place of His voice." The Mission: Put away the distractions, those things that keep you from hearing. And go into the wilderness, the midbar, and seek the voice of God. Enjoy the YouTube version here and join the family: https://youtu.be/FmKmFLW2zqwIf you would like to join us for bible study, bible study is on Friday nights from 7:30pm - 9pm CST. To get the link, please feel free to message us at perceptualpneumaministries@gmail.com.

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Numbers 21-23; Mark 6-7 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome, dear friends, to the Daily Radio Bible. Today, we're embarking on day 58 of our transformative journey through the scriptures. Together, we'll immerse ourselves in the rich narratives found in Numbers chapters 21 through 23 and Mark chapters 6 and 7. As always, our mission is not just to read, but to be changed by the Living Word—Jesus Christ. We will explore themes of trust, obedience, and the miraculous as the Israelites confront hostile territories, and as Jesus performs wondrous acts of healing and teaching. May our hearts be open to the profound truths and the healing that comes from His wings. Join us as we dive into this sacred text, engage in soothing prayer, and discover the enduring message that you are deeply loved. Tune in and let's walk this journey together. TODAY'S DEVOTION: The sick and the needy were reaching out for the tassels of Jesus' tallit. The tallit is a traditional prayer garment worn by devout Jews, as commanded by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy and Numbers. The tallit was a poncho-like garment that had fringe along the border with knotted tassels at four corners. Devout Jews were to wear it at all times. In fact, they still wear it today. It's there to help remind them at all times to obey God's commandments. It was also to serve as a reminder to them that they belong to God, that God had delivered them out of Egypt, and that they were his people. It was a constant and daily reminder. In Hebrew, the word for corner, where these fringes are, is "kanaf," which can also be translated as "wings." This interpretation of certain messianic passages was used during that time. From Malachi 4:2: But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings, in his kanaf, in his corners. They took this to mean that when the Messiah came, they would simply need to touch the corners of his tallit, and they would be healed. And that's exactly what we see people doing when Jesus comes through their town. They were reaching out to touch his tallit, the four corners, the wings of his prayer shawl. And when they do, we're told that they were healed. It's so beautiful. This is the second time we have Mark showing people reaching out for the fringe of Jesus' garment. These were everyday people, hurting desperate people who are looking to Jesus as the long-expected Messiah and receiving healing in his wings. There is healing in his wings for us too. But that healing doesn't always come when we want it to come. If you've walked with the Lord for any length of time, you soon realize this. Even if we've received healing in miraculous ways, it doesn't always come when we want it to come. Sometimes God has something else in mind. Sometimes he lets these light and momentary afflictions, as Paul calls them, work something out of eternal importance in our life. He's shaping us through the suffering and through the waiting. He's allowing us to participate in a cruciform way of living. And we should not let this momentary suffering and the waiting dissuade us from the truth that there is healing in his wings. That healing is ongoing. There will come a time at the resurrection when our bodies will be healed completely, and then we will forever be living in the shadow of his wings. There'll be no cancer, sickness, Alzheimer's. It'll all be gone. But right here, right now, ours is to do what these people did, to reach out, to lay hold of the promise that that tallit represents, to lay hold of the healing that is offered for our souls. There's a whole lot more healing that needs to go on. And some of it can happen right now, and some of it will have to wait, but all of it is going to happen. We can count on that. So today, even as you hear these words, reach out. Something eternal is being worked out, and we together are reaching out. Not begging or pleading to an indifferent God, but we are reaching out to the one who has come to us. The one who brings healing to me and to the whole world. And the prayer of my own soul today is that I will see the one who comes, the one who's with me, and lay hold of the one who has laid hold of me. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul. That's the prayer that I have for my family, for my wife, and my daughters, and my son. And that's the prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Listen along as we begin our series through Exodus. Notes//Quotes: Exodus 1:7-22 Books do not usually begin with the word “And.” But Exodus does, in the Hebrew text, and so do Leviticus and Numbers: the second, third, and fourth books of the Bible. You would not know this from most modern English translations, presumably because it is not considered good literary style to begin a sentence, never mind a whole book, with “And.” In Hebrew, however, although these are clearly whole books in their own right, each of them begins in a way that clearly connects them altogether as part of one long story that began in Genesis and stretches to the borders of the promised land by the end of Numbers. Deuteronomy, however, begins with a fresh telling of the same story and ends where it started, so does not need the connecting and forward-moving opening word “And.” - Chris Wright The Pentateuch as a whole—the Torah—constituted the foundation of Old Testament Israel's faith and identity, and the book of Exodus sets in place some of the largest theological blocks within that foundation. It showed Israel who their God was, who they were as God's people, how God's desire was to dwell in their midst, and how the grace of God was the only guarantee that their journey with God (or rather, God's journey with them) could continue - Chris Wright “Ironically, Genesis presents the mother of all Israelites oppressing an Egyptian slave, while Exodus presents an Egyptian king oppressing Israelites as slaves. To that degree, Sarah foreshadows pharaoh's role, just as Hagar's story prefigures Israel's story” - Victor Hamilton “The pogrom has reached its height. All Egypt has been recruited to destroy the population explosion of the enemy” Brevard Childs The first exodus comes in the midst of a plot that should be familiar to anyone who has read the garden story in Genesis. The people of Israel are fruitful and multiply and fill the land, but the serpent-like king is tricksy, and he attacks the women, with a view to destroying their male descendants. Yet in contrast to the garden story, the women outmaneuver him. - Alastair Roberts The unmissable proclamation heard in the openings of all four gospels, then, is simply this: “God is doing it again!” The God of Abraham is keeping his promise. The God of Moses is confronting the world's pharaohs. The God of the exodus is on the way to save his people. Except that the ultimate confrontation and victory will not come about by God sending plagues upon the Romans but by God the Son becoming the Passover lamb, his flesh broken and his blood shed on the cross for the redemption not only of Israel but of people from all nations who put their trust in him. From this point on, the New Testament is replete with echoes of exodus and new-exodus themes, along with its references to the covenant and law given at Sinai, and the tabernacle - Chris Wright

He took me to an open desert plain. It was a windy day, so windy it was almost violent.
"Come," said the teacher. He was asking me to walk against the wind's blowing. So I did.
"What is it like to walk against the wind?" he asked.
"It's a struggle," I replied.
"In the language of Scripture," he said, "the word for wind is ruach. But it has another meaning; it also means the Spirit. In Hebrew, the Holy Spirit is the Holy Wind. So what happens if you walk against the wind?"
"It creates drag. It becomes harder to walk and you get tired."
"In the same way," he said, "when you walk against the Spirit, it creates a drag on your life. Everything you do becomes harder. It takes more energy to do less. So when you go against His Spirit, you're fighting against the Wind. And you can't walk against the direction of the Wind without getting weary and worn out."
"And what way is the direction of the Wind, the Spirit?"
"The Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it blows in the direction of the holy, and blows against the direction of the unholy. Now try something else. Turn around and walk back, the same way you came."
So I did. I was now walking in the direction of the wind's blowing.
"And what was that like?" he asked.
"It was much easier," I said.
"That's because there was no drag," he said. "You were walking in the direction of the wind. And the wind helped you walk. It moved you ahead. It made your walking easier. So when you walk against the wind, it creates drag. But if you turn around, then the wind gives you power. So it is with the Spirit. If you turn, if you change your course, if you repent, if you walk in the Spirit, then the drag will dissappear. Then the Spirit will empower you and will move you forward. And then everything you do, that you must do, will become easier."
"So if you walk in the Spirit," I said, "life will go from being a drag to a breeze."
"Yes," said the teacher. "For those who walk in the Spirit, the Wind is at their back."The Mission: What part of your life is against the direction of the Spirit? Today, turn it around and start walking with the Wind at your back.Enjoy the YouTube version here and join the family: https://youtu.be/WrNXdiLbKGEIf you would like to join us for bible study, bible study is on Friday nights from 7:30pm - 9pm CST. To get the link, please feel free to message us at perceptualpneumaministries@gmail.com.

Scripture - Luke 24:36-49  “What Is Written”.  Other scripture: Exodus 15:2,Isaiah 52:7, Psalm 27:1, 1 Chronicles 16:35  Our story today continues with the two disciples in the story, “Road to Emmaus” from last week who once they understood that it was Jesus they had been talking with, immediately returned to Jerusalem. Our story picks up after they have arrived back in Jerusalem and are with the others in a private, locked room when suddenly Jesus Himself is with them in the room and greets them, “Peace be with you!” Peace… The peace we receive from Jesus is life transforming. Peace or the Hebrew word, Shalom, means everything is right with the world because everything is right with God because when Jesus rose from the grave it shows that now everything is now right with God and with those who have repented and received Him by faith.  As those people with God's peace, we know that ALL things are going to work together for good, we know God has won the victory and that we will be part of His final triumph - so fear flees and peace comes! Back to the story: Jesus' sudden appearance startles them. He's supposed to be dead and defeated and yet here He is and He is no longer dead - He is not defeated, He is VICTORIOUS! Jesus shows them His hands and feet and eats with them and reminds them that everything written about Him in the books of the Law, the prophets and the psalms was fulfilled through Him. Then He opens their minds so they can understand the Scripture and they see who He truly is and how the scripture is all about Him.  Jesus' name means SALVATION - and all throughout scripture the One who saves is mentioned over and over - Jesus is the One who has become our Salvation. Jesus IS Salvation! In Hebrew the word for Jesus is the same word as the word for Salvation.  It's an interesting exercise to read scriptures replacing “Jesus” for the word “salvation.”  Examples: Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?  Becomes: The Lord is my light and my JESUS; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Exodus 15:2 The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. Becomes: “The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my JESUS. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. One more, Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Becomes: How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim JESUS, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Jesus is all over the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). It is not simply the prophetic words that predicted His coming, his death and His resurrection; it is not merely the historic events that mirrored who He would be and give us a picture of Him before He even came; it is not simply the promisee of the prophet's that Messiah would come - HIS NAME - Is everywhere! He is salvation!  Salvation and Jesus are the same Hebrew word. Wherever you read salvation it is Jesus! Now it will be impossible to miss it every time you read it! As our story continues, Jesus talks how the scriptures say He would suffer, die but rise again. He talks of how repentance for the forgiveness of sin would be preached in Jerusalem and then into the whole world, and he shares how they were witnesses to these things. He ends with the promise of the Holy Spirit. As we look at the New Testament - we can see for example that the story of Zacchaeus when Jesus said, “Today, Salvation has come to this house” that Jesus was probably speaking Hebrew (not Greek, the language the New Testament was written in) so what is translated “salvation” was most likely “Jesus” so it sounds like this: Jesus said, “Today, JESUS has come to this house!” Jesus is the name by which we are saved because Jesus IS Salvation! May we never stop speaking Jesus! May we never stop speaking salvation! What is written - is our Salvation What is written - Is the Name of Jesus! Our website –  https://www.awakeusnow.com Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01 St. Luke's Account is part three of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. This book written by Luke, a non-Jew, offers a unique perspective into the story of Jesus' life. This study is great for large group, small group or home group study.

In America, we are a nation of debtors. In the ancient world, debt was a matter of life and death. Prisons were places where debtors would be sent. Foolish people would go into increasing amounts of debt, bringing along their spouse and children. In light of this, debt brings to mind anxiety. God's answer to that was redemption. Someone would agree to come alongside you to forgive the debts. "Debts" is a strange word. In Hebrew there are eight different words for "sin", and one of them is translated debts. In more recent days, this is where we get the phrase, "The borrower is a slave to the lender." Pastor Mike Patz continues this segment on the Lord's Prayer in the School of Jesus series by reading Matthew 6:9-15.So, why do we need to pray, "forgive us our debts?" Why do we even need to continue to pray for things that have already been forgiven? Religious, or churchy people functually feel like the debt has never been paid. The longer you live like that the more your life will be destroyed. Jesus brings the picture brilliantly, "forgive us our debts!" The ripple effects of sin vary. Some are small, and others are much larger, weighing you down. Sins of thought, sins of the mouth, debts of deed... Lies, gossip, looking lustfully, greed. Unforgiveness will weigh you down in this life and destroy you in the next. When one has sins on their account, it weighs them down. When we come to God admitting our sins of omission and commission, we are able to let go of the guilt of sin. Daily praying "Search me and know me" brings the lightness of heart that we need. Forgiveness sets us free in this life and prepares us for the next. Praying "forgive us our debts" allows you to be free of sin in this life, and eternal life to come. Jesus' prayer is genius! In the same breath He shows us that forgiving others brings freedom to us. The evidence of forgiveness in my life is my willingness to forgive others. Never forget how much we have been forgiven. Jesus gave His life so we can be loved much.

BEST OF TST: The Kansas City Chiefs victory parade turned deadly and injurious to dozens of people on Valentine's Day, marking not only a shocking tragedy but a truly bloody Valentine. Strangely enough, the odd series of number patterns that appeared during Super Bowl weekend, were also present in reports of the shooting. Headline after headline reported different totals of victims - those injured, those killed, children, those being treated at hospitals - all in a manner where the numbers added to 22 and 25, the score of the big game, or to 13 or 33. These numbers appear in the inconsistent reports about the parade shooting: NBC News reported at 9:44am Thursday 15th, 23 injured and 2 taken into custody = 25. At 10:17am Yahoo reported 22 injured and 3 taken into custody = 25. An early article reported before arrests were announced that 22 were injured. The 3 arrested were out of a group of 10 questioned = 13, and 10-3 was the Halftime score of the Super Bowl. Such number synchronicity may not be a conspiracy, but instead a result of some influential force acting behind the scenes of human affairs - what Helena Blavatsky called the Secret Chiefs. The word ‘Chief' is also used in the ancient Jewish text called Talmud, where such a titled referred to anyone who stood against Israel, particularly the goyim, and how they should be killed. Tract 57a of the Talmud says their “ashes are gathered” and scattered, another odd link to Ash Wednesday.Maybe Joe Buck of ESPN, veteran play-by-play voice for "Monday Night Football," was on to something when he said this of the Super Bowl: "There's going to be some story. There's going to be something that happens because it's Vegas, and it won't stay in Vegas. It's going to be a big something that happens. I don't know what it is. I have no idea. I just think that is going to be a mess in my mind." Statement made by the KC Chiefs - calling the shooting “senseless violence” - and the KC Police Chief - “people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment” - suggest we dismiss the motivations behind these events and further live in a fantasy where no violence ever occurs: remember when a homemade gun as used to kill former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe? The shootings took place in front of 800 officers, too, and it took a few bystanders to tackle a shooter despite laws against such gun violence. California's governor immediately vomited: “We need to pass a Constitutional Amendment to prevent gun violence nationwide.” The irony here is that the 2nd Amendment gave those bystanders the right to tackle one of the shooters. It's not the first shooting at a championship parade either, as others occurred in the wake of NBA and MLB celebrations as well. If violence of this sort of is planned by those other than ‘crazies', it would make far more sense to carry it out in the parade rather than the event itself since doing so would be too costly for the leagues, advertisers, etc. On our Super Bowl show, we discussed the ER in “super” and the “o” in Bowl and Champions being a different font than the rest of the letters. In Hebrew the strange E was two of the letters BET adding to 22, while the strange R was comprised of VAV and QOPH for a total 25. This was the score of the game. ERO is also the name of the god of love and passion we call cupid, who carries a bow and arrow (ero) - pronunciation reminds us of Arrowhead Stadium and the KC Chiefs logo. ERO is the quintessential Secret Chief, influencing our love from behind the scenes. Oddly, Valentine's Day was only 3 days after the Super Bowl. While 22 means ‘balance', the number 25 signifies a romantic passion associated directly with Valentine's Day and cupid or ERO.-FREE ARCHIVE (w. ads)SUBSCRIPTION ARCHIVEX / TWITTER FACEBOOKWEBSITEPAYPALCashApp: $rdgable EMAIL: rdgable@yahoo.com / TSTRadio@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tst-radio--5328407/support.

What is wrong with Lot?  As we read the events in Genesis 13 without the understanding of the background of the ancient Near East, we do not grasp the full understanding of the answer to the question.  Yes.  Most agree Lot chose poorly; Lot decided to live in Sodom and Gomorrah.  But, is there more to these events that we can't see?  Once again, if you have been part of our journey through the Torah, the 1st five books of the Bible, with are focus on Genesis, you know that as we put the Bible in its historical context, we “see” things in a whole different manner.  It then helps us through the Holy Spirit understand His Word in a more expanded way. I mentioned a website one can go to study the ancient family structure called the בית אב - Beit Av – the house of the father – the extended family structure lead by the patriarch.  Here's the link to the article - https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/family By studying the concept of the Beit Av we can perhaps get a better understanding of what we call the family of God.  We as disciples of Yeshua live in His House, the House of the Father, the Temple.  In Hebrew the Temple in Jerusalem was never called the Temple.  It was called the בית המקדש - Beit HaMikdash – the holy dwelling house of Adonai.  So, we are God's Temple, His בית המקדש - Beit HaMikdash - as Paul teaches in 1 Cor. 3:16. Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

Luke 2:22-40; “Simeon and Anna”  What is the meaning of the name, Jesus? Do we fully comprehend what this name means? In Hebrew it is Yeshua. It literally means Yehovah, Jehovah, Yahweh saves. “God Saves.” This is the name given to Jesus.  A precious name. “God Saves” is a powerful name, a mighty name and a remarkable name, a name that blesses all who call upon Him, a name that declares God is the One who saves us. Every time we speak His name we are reminded of the truth that God has broken into our world and stepped in to save us. We need this divine intervention. It is God who saves us and not we ourselves. In today's story we see Jesus, Mary and Joseph at the temple and are introduced to Simeon. The Holy Spirit told him he would not die before seeing the Messiah. Simeon was in the temple as Mary, Joseph and Jesus entered and Simeon was prompted by the Holy Spirit to know this baby was the promised Savior.  Simeon takes Jesus in his arms and speaks, “Sovereign Lord, now dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all nations, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.” Simeon was thrilled to be holding God's promised Savior in his arms and to know God's promise was right before his very eyes. Then Simeon blessed them and to Mary he added, “This child is destined to cause the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against so that the thoughts of hearts will be revealed.” The good news: God is fulfilling all He promised, but there's also a warning that the fulfillment of the promise of a Savior comes at a great cost - that many will not receive what God so graciously offers. This is a prophetic word about the later years of Jesus' ministry. Jesus will grow in favor with God and men, but when He begins His ministry there will be a division that will occur because many will not receive what Jesus has to offer. This is still true today. Many will not admit their need for a Savior. God loves humble people. He opposes the proud and pride will get in the way of many from believing. Simeon also prophecies to Mary, “And a sword will pierce your own soul.” Words that were fulfilled for Mary - a mother that experienced unbelievable sorrow and incredible grief. She would watch her son die on the cross, see Him rejected by many and Simeon gives her a heads up on what's to come. In verse 36 - We are introduced to Anna. Anna was a prophet who also recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah and comes up to the group. She gives thanks to God and spoke about Jesus to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Israel. What a day of joy this was as the realization of God's promises are being fulfilled in Jesus. This is also for us today, an indication of what is to come. Just as they yearned for Jesus to come, we too yearn for His return.  Through the fulfillment of the promise of a Savior - We too can trust the promised fulfillment of His return. This day IS coming! There will be a day for us like there was for Simeon and Anna when we behold the One whom the Father promised. And like Anna and Simeon we too will rejoice!  This story reminds us that God keeps His word! Just as they saw baby Jesus face to face, we too on His return will see Him face to face in His full glory! And there will be endless rejoicing! Our website –  https://www.awakeusnow.com Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01 St. Luke's Account is part three of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. This book written by Luke, a non-Jew, offers a unique perspective into the story of Jesus' life. This study is great for large group, small group or home group study.

Join us as Pastor John kicks off our advent series talking about peace. In Hebrew the word is Shalom which is hard to translate but it essentially means wholeness. Come and listen how peace isn't the absence of something but adding something. 

God invites us to embrace the promise of perfect peace, a profound tranquility that transcends any peace the world might offer. This divine peace emerges from the assurance that every battle is won and every need is met, a state of being He calls Perfect Peace. In Hebrew, "Perfect Peace" embodies the essence of being hidden, protected, guarded, safe, prosperous, healthy, and totally complete. Through the prophet Isaiah, we are guided toward experiencing this extraordinary peace. I invite you to join me this week on a journey to discover the secret to experiencing Perfect Peace and transform your life into complete freedom from fear with its boundless serenity.

A single, passing word is easily overlooked in translation. You could pontificate about it in abstraction, but can you observe its importance, its technicality? Of course, you can't—not in English. No way. Not in a thousand years.What does the word “luxury” have to do with the book of Genesis? Can you tell me how or where it connects to Genesis? What does “luxury” have to do with a dog's vomit? Can you figure it out? Perhaps you could look up “dog's vomit” and try to put it all back together from that hint. But by simply hearing Luke in English, you wouldn't stand a chance. You have no hope of finding these connections. No hope, for example, of hearing what the writer is telling you about the Four Rivers in Genesis. About the difference between a tree and a human being.Could you, in English, hear by hearing the word “luxury” what Luke is proposing? No—you would simply pontificate about the problem of “ living in luxury” because you're not interested in lexicography. You're interested in context, in narrative, in interpretation. The best you could do is theologize about Paradise (or your 401K savings; they are functionally the same), which puts you in league with those condemned in 2 Peter 2.Your only way out of this dilemma is to hear Luke in the original Greek—but even that's not enough. You will never hear what Luke is saying if you deal solely with the Greek manuscript.You have to hear Luke in triliteral Semitic.Can you discern from the word “luxury” in Luke 7 that you were never supposed to congregate in the first place? That there is a problem with “congregating?” That you're supposed to spread out, to disperse? That you shouldn't be here, safe and sound “inside?” You should be spreading out all over the earth—not gathering here in your synagogue, in your “ecclesia,” and settling down.According to Luke, the proof of your ignorance is found in your dress and your place of habitation. The place of luxury of which God speaks does not require soft clothing, let alone fancy suburban houses.This week, I discuss Luke 7:20-25.Show Notesق-ن-ى (qāf-nūn-yāʾ) / ק-נ-ה (qof-nun-he)קָנֶה (qāneh) in biblical Hebrew refers to a “reed,” “stalk,” or “cane. " It is often associated with plants that grow near water, such as the reeds along the Nile or Jordan River.As “calamus” or “sweet cane”“Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane (קָנֶה־בֹשֶׂם, qāneh-bōśem) two hundred and fifty,” (Exodus 30:23)“Nard and saffron, calamus (קָנֶה, qāneh) and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices.” (Song of Solomon 4:14).“The waters from the sea will dry up, and the river will be parched and dry. The canals will emit a stench, the streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up; the reeds and rushes (קָנֶה וָסוּף, qāneh wāsūf) will rot away.” (Isaiah 19:5-6).“The scorched land will become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, its resting place, grass becomes reeds and rushes (קָנֶה וָסוּף, qāneh wāsūf).” (Isaiah 35:7).“You have bought Me not sweet cane (קָנֶה, qāneh) with money, nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices; rather you have burdened Me with your sins, you have wearied Me with your iniquities.” (Isaiah 43:24).As “reed” or “measuring rod”“Behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring rod (קָנֶה הַמִּדָּה, qāneh ham-middāh) in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway.” (Ezekiel 40:3).“And behold, there was a wall on the outside of the temple all around, and in the man's hand was a measuring rod (קָנֶה הַמִּדָּה, qāneh ham-middāh) of six cubits, each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one rod; and the height, one rod.” (Ezekiel 40:5).“He measured on the east side with the measuring rod (קָנֶה הַמִּדָּה, qāneh ham-middāh) five hundred rods by the measuring rod.” (Ezekiel 42:16).The Arabic term قَنًى (qanā), which refers to a reed or stalk, is from the same root as the Hebrew קָנֶה (qaneh), and is associated with “acquiring,” “creating,” or “possessing. However, in the context of plants, it refers to reeds or stalks as slender, hollow structures.قَنًى (qanā): A reed or stalk, similar to the Hebrew קָנֶה (qāneh).قِنِيَة (qinīyah): Related to possession or acquiring, aligning with ק-נ-ה, which can also mean “to acquire” or “possess.”قَنِيَ (qaniya): The verb form meaning “to acquire” or “to obtain.”وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ أَغْنَى وَأَقْنَى (wa-annahu huwa aghnā wa-aqnā) “And that it is he who enriches and satisfies (or makes content).” Surah Al-Najim 53:48)τρυφή / ع-د-ن (‘ayin-dal-nun) / ע-ד-נ (‘ayin-dalet-nun)Luke employs the term tryphē as a sociopolitical statement, contrasting the immorality of his opponents—condemned in 2 Peter 2 for emulating the Roman “palace”—with the gentleness of John, who is associated with the Lord God's Eden.The term עֵ֫דֶן (‘ēḏen) refers to the “place of delight,” “fertility,” or “pleasure.” In Hebrew, עֵ֫דֶן emphasizes delight and lushness, tied to a specific place, the Garden of Eden. In Arabic, عدن (‘adn) pertains to permanence and bliss, the abode of reward, جنة عد (jannat ‘adn), the “Garden of Eternity” or paradise. This function corresponds to τρυφή tryphē in Luke 7:25. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

...That's All She Wrote Have you ever written a book? Or thought you might? It seems like a good idea until you start trying to put the words on the page. Or laptop. Everyone has the material to write a book, but not everyone will take the time to write it. The truth is that every single human being has written a book, is still in the process of writing it, or will write it when they are born. The biographies of our lives are transcribed in Heaven. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. (Re 20:12) So there are books of our lives. Why so many? Perhaps we are also judged according to the places our lives intersected other lives in their books. And then there is THE book, The Book of Life. This is the standard by which every life will be judged. It is the Law of the Land and the Law of Heaven. The Word of Adonai. The things written in the book are the deeds of each individual. What you write is your “name,” or reputation, based on your deeds and attitudes. In Hebrew naming, the name chosen for a child represents the many righteous deeds that the parents hope will characterize his or her biography. The Greek word for “written” is grapho: Strong's Definitions ????? gráph?, to "grave", especially to write; to describe. Outline of Biblical Usage I.to write, with reference to the form of the letters to delineate (or form) letters on a tablet, parchment, paper, or other material II.to write, with reference to the contents of the writing to express in written characters to commit to writing (things not to be forgotten), write down, record used of those things which stand written in the sacred books (of the OT) to write to one, i.e. by writing (in a written epistle) to give information, directions So congratulations, you're an author! Your book will be judged by the Author of Life Who wrote THE Book of Life, our instructions. He wrote the basics of life, gave us THE Book, and then breathed life into us so we could start writing. As we grew and learned His Book, we began to write, first instinctively, then consciously, our book intersecting with thousands, maybe millions, of other biographies. Imagine the size of Abraham and Sarah's books at this point. What you write can certainly affect the biographies of those who are born after you! While the Torah instructs us in the precepts, each person may creatively live them, making the biography uniquely his or hers. Imagine how the Father takes joy when we find a beautiful or inspired way to write that precept into our own biography. When we write such beautiful things in our book, we are beautifying our garments as a Bride-to-be awaiting the arrival of her husband. That's not nearly as scary as the second resurrection, which is reserved for those who were not gathered into the cloud at the first resurrection. In our weekly Zoom classes, we have been examining the twenty-four garments of the Bride as listed in Isaiah Three. Although Isaiah is chastising Israel for using those garments for the harlotry of idolatry, the judgment prophesied gives insight into how those twenty-four garments should be used to prepare for the Bridegroom's coming. “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.” (Re 4:4) Everything is double on Shabbat. Double manna. Double joy. Double peace. Guard and remember. In celebrating Shabbat, the Bride experiences a taste of Heaven on earth, a peaceful millennium and firstborn double portion under the rule of Messiah when “the day that is all Shabbat” is administrated by the twelve tribes of Israel from their assigned gates of New Jerus...

John 18, 33: 'Are you the king of the Jews?' Pilate asked. Jesus replied, ‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?' Thinking it would placate Jesus, he had the inscription placed over his head on the cross: Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews. In Hebrew, Greek, and Latin: Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judaeorum…  Different characters and languages that suggested his own universal kingship in the universal church. Latin was the languages of the conquerors, Greek was more universal, like English today, and Hebrew, the local dialect.

In Hebrew, the default form is the masculine form. But what happens when a navigation application speaks to women as if they were guys? Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Maslul – Route – מסלול Ya'ad – Destination – יעד Pni – Turn (Imp., fem.) – פני Pneh – Turn (Imp., m.) – פנה Hayim, hayot – Live (present tense, pl. m, pl. f.) – חיים וחיות Anachnu hayavot ve-hayavim – We must (f.) and must (m.) – אנחנו חייבות וחייבים Anachnu lo yecholot ve-yecholim – We cannot (f.) and cannot (m.) – אנחנו לא יכולות ויכולים Hakesh – Dial (Imp., m.) – הקש Na lehakish – Please dial (Inf.) – נא להקיש   Playlist and Clips: MK Merav Michaeli inauguration speech Rita – Ani chaya li mi-yom le-yom (lyrics)

The Big Picture of the King and His Kingdom I want you to recall the five meta-narratives of the entire Bible from my previous sermon: God is completely unique; God gave us dominion of the Earth; we have rebelled against God and are in exile; God has been and will continue to repair the fix we are in; God will reestablish our place in Eden and on Earth. I also want you to think about how the Kingdom of God stretches out into eternity past and eternity future. In our own human history, the Kingdom of God started in a garden that resided in the land of Eden. The Garden of Eden was a real and specific location on Earth where Heaven and Earth co-existed. Isaiah and Ezekiel talk about this location being not only a garden but also a mountain (Isaiah 14:13-14 and Ezekiel 28:13-14). In Eastern and Mesopotamian cultures, a garden was where the king would spend leisure time with his family. It was also where kings met with their cabinet members. The garden inside the land of Eden then was a place created by God where Adam and Eve had fellowship with their heavenly Father. This is also where God met with His council members. These were angelic authorities, celestial beings, who were administrative rulers in God's kingdom. No doubt, Adam and Eve would have had multiple interactions with these beings while they lived in the Garden of God. This is why Eve did not freak out when the serpent spoke to her in Genesis 3. She had seen these beings before. Remember, there is no snake mentioned in the text of Genesis 3. In Hebrew, he is called the nachash [1]. The being that talked with Eve was a supernatural, ancient, super intelligent, celestial being, probably a seraph.  A seraph was one of the highest orders of throne guardians that surrounded God's throne. He may have been one of God's council members in the past. Once Adam and Eve agreed to follow the nachash, they sabotaged their relationship with God and their ability to spread the dominion of Eden to the rest of the globe. Nonetheless, God has been moving forward to correct this dilemma for thousands of years. He is still using His heavenly and earthly councils to redeem the earth. The King and His Council All nations have kings or some sort of leadership that resembles kingship. Even our own Democratic Republic has fallen under the rule of people acting like kings. All kings have council members to help them administer their rule over the affairs of their kingdom. Human leaders did not make this concept up. It existed long before the Earth was created. The first council is the one that God established before the creation week of Earth. It's called the Divine Council. Now, even though God does not need help ruling over His universe, He insists on sharing responsibilities with the beings that He has made. Whether they are human or celestial. The problem is that among the celestial beings, certain council members rebelled against God. You may want to call them the infernal council. They absolutely hate God's human children and all righteous celestial beings who have remained loyal to God. Just as the Divine Council existed before the creation week, so too do I believe this rebellion occurred before the creation week. Others believe that it occurred possibly on Day 2 or 4 of the creation or soon after. Which ever position you take, it was a horrendous betrayal towards God and His remaining loyal family members. The King Delegates Responsibilities to His Divine Council Consider this: although Yahweh is supreme over His council, He allows them to discuss solutions. He then delegates to them authority for particular assignments. However, Yahweh is unique and superior to His council members. Scripture is full of examples where Yahweh is shown to rule among His council members. One example is Psalm 89:5-7: Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD (Yahweh), your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD (Yahweh)? Who among the heavenly beings [2] is like the LORD (Yahweh), God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?   Some argue that the “holy ones” are human leaders, human “saints.” But the context proves otherwise because the residence of these council members is “in the skies.” Another example is in Daniel 4:17. Although Yahweh is supreme over His council members, He allows them to form and implement their own solutions: The sentence is by the decree of the watchers (council members), the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men. The council formed the solution for Nebuchadnezzar's arrogance and then they carried out the sentence. This resulted in the humbling of Nebuchadnezzar and the declaration of God's ultimate power over all nations. This is similar to 1Kings 22. A heavenly council meeting was called to determine the fate of Ahab, the wicked king of Israel. God allowed His divine council to deliberate Ahab's demise. Here are verses 19-23: And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh): I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven (council members) standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?'And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.' And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?'And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.'And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.' Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.” Both stories are about kings who have ignored warnings from Yahweh. Notice also that in both cases God allowed His celestial council members to deliberate the solution and then implement the punishment.   The Infernal Council Moses warned Israel not to worship the “host of heaven” in Deuteronomy 4:19 because of the Tower of Babel affair. After the Tower of Babel event occurred, celestial authorities were assigned to govern the nations and then shepherd them back into a right relationship with God. This is Moses' point in Deuteronomy 32:8-9: When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God [3] (angelic authorities). But the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. At some point, these heavenly shepherds became corrupt and received the worship of men. This is the point Moses is making in all of Deuteronomy 32: worship belongs to Yahweh only; do not worship the gods of the nations because they are rebel council members. This relates to Psalm 82, where Yahweh crashes a council meeting among the fallen heavenly shepherds and rebukes them for their rebellion. Verses 1 through 4 say: God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm 58:1-2 captures this same idea: Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. Some argue that these passages do not support the Divine Council worldview. They see Psalm 82 as an event where God enters a council meeting of earthly kings and judges. I would respectfully push back – verse 7 proves that God is not angry at mere humans in this scene. He is rebuking fallen entities when He says that they will die like mere men. This would not be a punishment if God were rebuking human rebels. Again, it is important to understand that this passage is not talking about humans who have offended God; it is talking about fallen angelic authorities. These beings were once righteous participants of Yahweh's council. Everything God creates is good and perfect. They began their journey in agreement with the plans and purposes of God. I don't accept the theological concept, as some do, that Yahweh created them as evil entities to begin with; or that He created them with the idea that they would one day rebel in order to advance His own glory. Nevertheless, they did rebel. And since they had once been part of God's kingdom, they naturally formed their own authority structures based off of the kingdom they rejected. So, I believe that the infernal council is an imitation of what they once experienced in the Kingdom of God.   This is not Polytheism, This is not Mormonism In the last sermon, I covered several attributes that prove that Yahweh is completely different than all other elohim, or the “sons of God” that He created to operate in His council. God is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, and immutable. He is the creator of all other heavenly beings; He existed before them. He can strip them of their immortality, and no heavenly being can outmaneuver Him. This is important to know because of the resistance you will get from those who are unfamiliar with this subject. People will want to categorize you as a polytheist or a Mormon. Neither of these are true. Most ancient cultures were polytheistic in nature. They believed in many gods. Often there was a chief god ruling the lesser gods and demigods. They often incorporated succession stories where one chief god was defeated in battle by a lesser god, who then became the leader. But what I am teaching is that our God is different. He is not a leader among a group of gods who are similar in nature; He is infinitely higher in supremacy. Again, He is the uncreated Creator. There is no being equal to Him. However, as I have already outlined, He assigns authority and responsibility to the heavenly sons of God, which He created. He also expects us to occupy our territory while expanding His kingdom.   I am also not teaching Mormonism. Mormons teach that you can become a god; in fact, they claim that God was once like us. Joseph Smith said: “It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God. . . . He was once a man like us; . . . God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did” [4]   But I insist that Mormonism is incorrect. I teach that God was never a created being. John 4:24 says, God is spirit (not a man), and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Again, as I outlined in the last sermon, there are unique attributes that belong only to Yahweh and no other being. Conclusion The Divine Council worldview has solid biblical backing. First, we see in several places that God is supreme yet also delegates His authority to a celestial council of lesser beings. These council members are called the “sons of God” in the Old Testament. Second, we see that certain members of this council rebelled against God and formed their own wicked authority structures. The Divine Council worldview that I am advocating is not a salvation issue. Those who disagree are not my enemies; however, without it, I believe you will have a truncated understanding of the spiritual realm. Some simply see the spiritual realm as more of a fairy tale than a reality. To them, heaven is nothing more than an eternal vacation spot where you sit on clouds and play harps. This kind of thinking is childish; there is so much more going on. One of my biggest complaints about modern Christianity is that it refuses to leave elementary school, so to speak. Many churches teach superficial concepts, and as a result, their congregations are withering in the shallow soil of mediocrity. And so, over the last several generations, the church has raised a gaggle of believers who barely understand their Bible and their God. The Divine Council worldview has helped me back up and look at the whole tapestry of Scripture. When I read a passage, I find threads that move in multiple directions and create larger ideas. For me, understanding the Bible through the Divine Council worldview has been as stunning as going from a black and white TV to the brilliant colors of plasma TV. It's like watching an action movie with a pair of good 3-D glasses. JCN 7/24 [1] In the Hebrew text, this rebel being is called han nachash, the nachash (Gen.3:1,2,4,13,14). As a noun, nachash means serpent (think more of a dragon rather than a snake); as a verb, it means a deceiver or a diviner; as an adjective, it means bronze or an object that is brazen or a radiant being that glows from within. All three meanings are at play here. The ideas of luminosity, serpentine features, and divine wisdom all relate to a divine throne guardian being. Both Hebrew and Gentile readers would have instantly understood this concept. Both seraphim and cherubim are known as guardians around God's throne. The Hebrew word seraph (Is. 6:2) especially relates here because its meaning derives from a burning, fiery serpentine being.   [2] In Hebrew: ben el the “sons of God,” the celestial beings of heaven.  [3]Some translations render the phrase as “sons of Israel,” while others render it “sons of God.” I believe that translations like KJV, NIV, and NASB are misinformed to render the phrase as “sons of Israel.” The phrase “sons of Israel” follows the Masoretic Texts, which were edited by Jewish scholars in the middle ages who were hostile to Christianity, and the supernatural appearances of the 2nd person of the Trinity (Jesus) throughout Old Testament passages. The Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls uphold the phrase “sons of God.” Both of these sources were penned by Jewish scholars about 1000 years before the Masoretic Texts were collated. [4]Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, 1976, pp. 345 –46.

Matthew 28:19-20 As we continue the series on the Great Commission, we see that we are called to make disciples of Jesus. To make disciples of Jesus, as He instructed us, we must be disciples of Jesus. In Hebrew culture, young men sat under the tutelage of Rabbis, to grow in their spiritual walk.  To be a disciple of Jesus, we must ask ourselves: do we spend enough time with Him? Does our life look like that of Jesus? Do we do the things that Jesus did?  Website: immanuelde.com Facebook: immanuelchurchwilmington YouTube: Immanuel Church Wilmington DE

The superscript of Isaiah 1:1 is a crucial introduction that situates Isaiah's message historically and underscores its divine authority. In Hebrew prophetic literature, superscriptions provide critical context about the audience, the divine source, and the political and spiritual circumstances. They help readers view the prophetic vision as God's direct message to His people. In Isaiah's case, the superscription highlights his ministry during times of prosperity and decline, paving the way for calls to repentance, justice, and future redemption. These introductory remarks formally affirm the prophet's authority and the significance of his messages for contemporary and future audiences.

On May 3, WYFF News 4 Sports Director Marc Whiteman shared this on social media: Been pretty low key on social media and at work lately, and I'm ready to share some news. Liam Finn Whiteman was born at just 28 weeks old last weekend at 3 lbs and 12 ounces. Earlier in the week, Mary and I were rushed to the hospital under the threat of preterm labor, and a little less than 72 hours later, Liam was here. We didn't have his name picked out. We thought we had more time. But as it became apparent that he was coming, sooner than expected, we realized it was always Liam.   In Irish, Liam points to a “strong-willed warrior.” In Hebrew, a “determined guardian.” We knew whatever was coming, he'd need to be both of those things. He is already so much more.   We're anxious to get our little guy home from the NICU, and are so confident in the incredible team of doctors, nurses and caregivers at Prisma looking after him. Progress isn't always linear, but we're incredibly encouraged by his growth so far. He's a tough little nugget.   Mary and I already love him so much more than we could even fathom, and are so eager to watch him get a little bit bigger, stronger and healthier each and every day.   We're so thankful for the village we have around us. Our family, friends and incredible co-workers have picked us up and looked after us as we grapple with each day. They've dropped what they were doing, rearranged their lives, and come to our side. We're looking forward to repaying that kindness in the future, and showering our baby boy with all the love in the universe when he comes home.   After 67 days in the hospital, Liam finally came home in late summer. He is now more than sixth months old. Marc joins the podcast to share their story.

Comparing the Hebrew of Isaiah 9.6 to most popular English translations results in some serious questions. Why have our translations changed the tense of the verbs from past to future? Why is this child called “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father”? In this presentation I work through Isaiah 9.6 line by line to help you understand the Hebrew. Next I look at interpretive options for the child as well as his complicated name. Not only will this presentation strengthen your understanding of Isaiah 9.6, but it will also equip you to explain it to others. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— See my other articles here Check out my class: One God Over All Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean’s bio here Below is the paper presented on October 18, 2024 in Little Rock, Arkansas at the 4th annual UCA Conference. Access this paper on Academia.edu to get the pdf. Full text is below, including bibliography and end notes. Abstract Working through the grammar and syntax, I present the case that Isaiah 9:6 is the birth announcement of a historical child. After carefully analyzing the name given to the child and the major interpretive options, I make a case that the name is theophoric. Like the named children of Isaiah 7 and 8, the sign-child of Isaiah 9 prophecies what God, not the child, will do. Although I argue for Hezekiah as the original fulfillment, I also see Isaiah 9:6 as a messianic prophecy of the true and better Hezekiah through whom God will bring eternal deliverance and peace. Introduction Paul D. Wegner called Isaiah 9:6[1] “one of the most difficult problems in the study of the Old Testament.”[2] To get an initial handle on the complexities of this text, let's begin briefly by comparing the Hebrew to a typical translation. Isaiah 9:6 (BHS[3]) כִּי־יֶ֣לֶד יֻלַּד־לָ֗נוּ בֵּ֚ן נִתַּן־לָ֔נוּ וַתְּהִ֥י הַמִּשְׂרָ֖ה עַל־שִׁכְמ֑וֹ וַיִּקְרָ֨א שְׁמ֜וֹ פֶּ֠לֶא יוֹעֵץ֙ אֵ֣ל גִּבּ֔וֹר אֲבִיעַ֖ד שַׂר־שָׁלֽוֹם׃ Isaiah 9:6 (ESV) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Curiosities abound in the differences between these two. The first two clauses in English, “For to us a child is born” and “to us a son is given,” employ the present tense while the Hebrew uses the perfect tense, i.e. “to us a child has been born.”[4] This has a significant bearing on whether we take the prophecy as a statement about a child already born in Isaiah's time or someone yet to come (or both). The ESV renders the phrase,וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ  (vayikra sh'mo), as “and his name shall be called,” but the words literally mean “and he called his name” where the “he” is unspecified. This leaves room for the possibility of identifying the subject of the verb in the subsequent phrase, i.e. “And the wonderful counselor, the mighty God called his name…” as many Jewish translations take it.  Questions further abound regardingאֵל גִּבּוֹר (el gibbor), which finds translations as disparate as the traditional “Mighty God”[5] to “divine warrior”[6] to “in battle God-like”[7] to “Mighty chief”[8] to “Godlike hero,”[9] to Luther's truncated “Held.”[10]  Another phrase that elicits a multiplicity of translations is אֲבִיעַד (aviad). Although most versions read “Eternal Father,”[11] others render the word, “Father-Forever,”[12] “Father for all time,”[13] “Father of perpetuity,”[14] “Father of the Eternal Age,”[15] and “Father of Future.”[16] Translators from a range of backgrounds struggle with these two phrases. Some refuse to translate them at all, preferring clunky transliterations.[17] Still, as I will show below, there's a better way forward. If we understand that the child had a theophoric name—a name that is not about him, but about God—our problems dissipate like morning fog before the rising sun. Taking the four pairs of words this way yields a two-part sentence name. As we'll see this last approach is not only the best contextual option, but it also allows us to take the Hebrew vocabulary, grammar, and syntax at face value, rather than succumbing to strained translations and interpretational gymnastics. In the end, we're left with a text literally rendered and hermeneutically robust. Called or Will Call His Name? Nearly all the major Christian versions translate וַיִּקְרָא (vayikra), “he has called,” as “he will be called.” This takes an active past tense verb as a passive future tense.[18] What is going on here? Since parents typically give names at birth or shortly thereafter, it wouldn't make sense to suggest the child was already born (as the beginning of Isa 9:6 clearly states), but then say he was not yet named. Additionally, וַיִּקְרָא (vayikra) is a vav-conversive plus imperfect construction that continues the same timing sequence of the preceding perfect tense verbs.[19] If the word were passive (niphal binyan) we would read וַיִּקָּרֵא (vayikarey) instead of וַיִּקְרָא (vayikra). Although some have suggested an emendation of the Masoretic vowels to make this change, Hugh Williamson notes, “there is no overriding need to prefer it.”[20] Translators may justify rendering the perfect tense as imperfect due to the idiom called a prophetic past tense (perfectum propheticum). Wilhelm Gesenius notes the possibility that a prophet “so transports himself in imagination into the future that he describes the future event as if it had been already seen or heard by him.”[21] Bruce Waltke recognizes the phenomenon, calling it an accidental perfective in which “a speaker vividly and dramatically represents a future situation both as complete and independent.”[22] Still, it's up to the interpreter to determine if Isaiah employs this idiom or not. The verbs of verse 6 seem quite clear: “a child has been born for us … and the government was on his shoulder … and he has called his name…” When Isaiah uttered this prophecy, the child had already been born and named and the government rested on his shoulders. This is the straightforward reading of the grammar and therefore should be our starting point.[23] Hezekiah as the Referent One of the generally accepted principles of hermeneutics is to first ask the question, “What did this text mean in its original context?” before asking, “What does this text mean to us today?” When we examine the immediate context of Isa 9:6, we move beyond the birth announcement of a child with an exalted name to a larger prophecy of breaking the yoke of an oppressor (v4) and the ushering in of a lasting peace for the throne of David (v7). Isaiah lived in a tumultuous time. He saw the northern kingdom—the nation of Israel—uprooted from her land and carried off by the powerful and cruel Assyrian Empire. He prophesied about a child whose birth had signaled the coming freedom God would bring from the yoke of Assyria. As Jewish interpreters have long pointed out, Hezekiah nicely fits this expectation.[24] In the shadow of this looming storm, Hezekiah became king and instituted major religious reforms,[25] removing idolatry and turning the people to Yahweh. The author of kings gave him high marks: “He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel. After him there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah nor among those who were before him” (2 Kgs 18:5).[26] Then, during Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib sent a large army against Judea and laid siege to Jerusalem. Hezekiah appropriately responded to the threatening Assyrian army by tearing his clothes, covering himself with sackcloth, and entering the temple to pray (2 Kings 19:1). He sent word to Isaiah, requesting prayer for the dire situation. Ultimately God brought miraculous deliverance, killing 185,000 Assyrians, which precipitated a retreat. There had not been such an acute military deliverance since the destruction of Pharaoh's army in the sea. Indeed, Hezekiah's birth did signal God's coming deliverance. In opposition to Hezekiah as the referent for Isa 9:6, Christian interpreters have pointed out that Hezekiah did not fulfill this prophecy en toto. Specifically, Hezekiah did not usher in “an endless peace” with justice and righteousness “from this time onward and forevermore” (Isa. 9:7). But, as John Roberts points out, the problem only persists if we ignore prophetic hyperbole. Here's what he says: If Hezekiah was the new king idealized in this oracle, how could Isaiah claim he would reign forever? How could Isaiah so ignore Israel's long historical experience as to expect no new source of oppression would ever arise? The language, as is typical of royal ideology, is hyperbolic, and perhaps neither Isaiah nor his original audience would have pushed it to its limits, beyond its conventional frames of reference, but the language itself invites such exploitation. If one accepts God's providential direction of history, it is hard to complain about the exegetical development this exploitation produced.[27] Evangelical scholar Ben Witherington III likewise sees a reference to both Hezekiah and a future deliverer. He writes, “[T]he use of the deliberately hyperbolic language that the prophet knew would not be fulfilled in Hezekiah left open the door quite deliberately to look for an eschatological fulfillment later.”[28] Thus, even if Isaiah's prophecy had an original referent, it left the door open for a true and better Hezekiah, who would not just defeat Assyria, but all evil, and not just for a generation, but forever. For this reason, it makes sense to take a “both-and” approach to Isa 9:6. Who Called His Name? Before going on to consider the actual name given to the child, we must consider the subject of the word וַיִּקְרָא (vayikra), “and he called.” Jewish interpreters have and continue to take אֵל גִבּוֹר (el gibbor), “Mighty God,” as the subject of this verb. Here are a few examples of this rendering: Targum Jonathan (2nd century) And his name has been called from before the One Who Causes Wonderful Counsel, God the Warrior, the Eternally Existing One—the Messiah who will increase peace upon us in his days.[29] Shlomo Yitzchaki (11th century) The Holy One, blessed be He, Who gives wondrous counsel, is a mighty God and an everlasting Father, called Hezekiah's name, “the prince of peace,” since peace and truth will be in his days.[30] Jacob ben Isaac Ashkenazi (16th century) “For a child is born to us.” A son will be born and this is Hezekiah. Though Ahaz is an evildoer, his son Hezekiah will be a righteous king. He will be strong in his service of the Holy One. He will study Torah and the Holy One will call him, “eternal father, peaceful ruler.” In his days there will be peace and truth.[31] The Stone Edition of the Tanach (20th century) The Wondrous Adviser, Mighty God, Eternal Father, called his name Sar-shalom [Prince of Peace][32] Although sometimes Christian commentators blithely accuse Jewish scholars of avoiding the implications of calling the child “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father,” the grammar does allow multiple options here. The main question is whether Isaiah specified the subject of the verb וַיִקְרָ (vayikra) or not. If he has, then the subject must be אֵל גִבּוֹר (el gibbor). If he has not, then the subject must be indefinite (i.e. “he” or “one”). What's more, the Masoretic punctuation of the Hebrew suggests the translation, “and the Wonderful Adviser, the Mighty God called his name, ‘Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace'”[33] However, Keil and Delitzsch point out problems with this view on both grammatical and contextual grounds. They write: [I]t is impossible to conceive for what precise reason such a periphrastic description of God should be employed in connection with the naming of this child, as is not only altogether different from Isaiah's usual custom, but altogether unparalleled in itself, especially without the definite article. The names of God should at least have been defined thus, הַיּוֹעֵץ פֵּלֶא הַגִּבּוֹר, so as to distinguish them from the two names of the child.”[34] Thus, though the Masoretic markings favor the Jewish translation, the grammar doesn't favor taking “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God” as the subject. It's certainly not impossible, but it is a strained reading without parallels in Isaiah and without justification in the immediate context. Let's consider another possibility. His Name Has Been Called Instead of taking אֵל גִּבּוֹר (el gibbor) as the subject, we can posit an indefinite subject for וַיִקְרָ (vayikra): “one has called.” Examples of this outside of Isaiah 9:6 include Gen 11:9; 25:26; Exod 15:23; and 2 Sam 2:16. The phenomenon appears in Gesenius (§144d) and Joüon and Muraoka (§155e), both of which include our text as examples. However, the translation “one has called his name” is awkward in English due to our lack of a generic pronoun like on in French or man in German. Accordingly, most translations employ the passive construction: “his name has been called,” omitting the subject.[35] This is apparently also how those who produced the Septuagint (LXX) took the Hebrew text, employing a passive rather than an active verb.[36] In conclusion, the translation “his name has been called” works best in English. Mighty Hero Now we broach the question of how to render אֵל גִּבּוֹר el gibbor. As I've already noted, a few translations prefer “mighty hero.” But this reading is problematic since it takes the two words in reverse order. Although in English we typically put an adjective before the noun it modifies, in Hebrew the noun comes first and then any adjectives that act upon it. Taking the phrase as אֵל גִּבּוֹר (gibbor el) makes “mighty” the noun and “God” the adjective. Now since the inner meaning of אֵל (el) is “strong” or “mighty,” and גִּבּוֹר gibbor means “warrior” or “hero,” we can see how translators end up with “mighty warrior” or “divine hero.” Robert Alter offers the following explanation: The most challenging epithet in this sequence is ‘el gibor [sic], which appears to say “warrior-god.” The prophet would be violating all biblical usage if he called the Davidic king “God,” and that term is best construed here as some sort of intensifier. In fact, the two words could conceivably be a scribal reversal of gibor ‘el, in which case the second word would clearly function as a suffix of intensification as it occasionally does elsewhere in the Bible.[37] Please note that Alter's motive for reversing the two words is that the text, as it stands, would violate all biblical usage by calling the Davidic king “God.” But Alter is incorrect. We have another biblical usage calling the Davidic king “God” in Psalm 45:6. We must allow the text to determine interpretation. Changing translation for the sake of theology is allowing the tail to wag the dog. Another reason to doubt “divine warrior” as a translation is that “Wherever ʾēl gibbôr occurs elsewhere in the Bible there is no doubt that the term refers to God (10:21; cf. also Deut. 10:17; Jer. 32:18),” notes John Oswalt.[38] Keil and Delitzsch likewise see Isa 10:21 as the rock upon which these translations suffer shipwreck.[39] “A remnant will return,” says Isa 10:21, “the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.” The previous verse makes it clear that “mighty God” refers to none other than “Yahweh, the holy one of Israel.” Without counter examples elsewhere in the Bible, we lack the basis to defy the traditional ordering of “God” as the noun and “mighty” or “warrior” as the adjective.[40] Mighty God-Man Did Isaiah foresee a human child who would also be the mighty God? Did he suddenly get “a glimpse of the fact that in the fullness of the Godhead there is a plurality of Persons,” as Edward Young thought?[41] Although apologists seeking to prove the deity of Christ routinely push for this reading, other evangelical scholars have expressed doubts about such a bold interpretation.[42] Even Keil and Delitzsch, after zealously batting away Jewish alternatives, admit Isaiah's language would not have suggested an incarnate deity in its original context.[43] Still, it would not be anachronistic to regard a king as a deity in the context of the ancient Near East. We find such exalted language in parallels from Egypt and Assyria in their accession oracles (proclamations given at the time a new king ascends the throne). Taking their cue from the Egyptian practices of bestowing divine throne names upon the Pharaoh's accession to the throne, G. von Rad and A. Alt envisioned a similar practice in Jerusalem. Although quite influential, Wegner has pointed out several major problems with this way of looking at our text: (1) the announcement is to the people in Isa 9:6, not the king; (2) Isa 9:6 does not use adoption language nor call the child God's son; (3) יֶלֶד (yeled), “child,” is never used in accession oracles; (4) the Egyptian parallels have five titles not four as in Isa 9:6; (5) Egyptians employ a different structure for accession oracles than Isa 9:6; and (6) we have no evidence elsewhere that Judean kings imitated the Egyptian custom of bestowing divine titles.[44] Another possibility, argued by R. A. Carlson, is to see the names as anti-Assyrian polemic.[45] Keeping in mind that Assyria was constantly threatening Judah in the lifetime of Isaiah and that the child born was to signal deliverance, it would be no surprise that Isaiah would cast the child as a deliberate counter-Assyrian hero. Still, as Oswalt points out, “[T]he Hebrews did not believe this [that their kings were gods]. They denied that the king was anything more than the representative of God.”[46] Owing to a lack of parallels within Israel and Isaiah's own penchant for strict monotheism,[47] interpreting Isa 9:6 as presenting a God-man is ad hoc at best and outright eisegesis at worst. Furthermore, as I've already noted, the grammar of the passage indicates a historical child who was already born. Thus, if Isaiah meant to teach the deity of the child, we'd have two God-men: Hezekiah and Jesus. Far from a courtly scene of coronation, Wegner makes the case that our text is really a birth announcement in form. Birth announcements have (1) a declaration of the birth, (2) an announcement of the child's name, (3) an explanation of what the name means, and (4) a further prophecy about the child's future.[48] These elements are all present in Isa 9:6, making it a much better candidate for a birth announcement than an accession or coronation oracle. As a result, we should not expect divine titles given to the king like when the Pharaohs or Assyrian kings ascended the throne; instead, we ought to look for names that somehow relate to the child's career. We will delve more into this when we broach the topic of theophoric names. Mighty God's Agent Another possibility is to retain the traditional translation of “mighty God” and see the child as God's agent who bears the title. In fact, the Bible calls Moses[49] and the judges[50] of Israel אֱלֹהִים (elohim), “god(s),” due to their role in representing God. Likewise, as I've already mentioned, the court poet called the Davidic King “god” in Ps 45:6. Additionally, the word אֵל (el), “god,” refers to representatives of Yahweh whether divine (Ps 82:1, 6) or human (John 10.34ff).[51] Thus, Isa 9:6 could be another case in which a deputized human acting as God's agent is referred to as God. The NET nicely explains: [H]aving read the NT, we might in retrospect interpret this title as indicating the coming king's deity, but it is unlikely that Isaiah or his audience would have understood the title in such a bold way. Ps 45:6 addresses the Davidic king as “God” because he ruled and fought as God's representative on earth. …When the king's enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself.[52] Raymond Brown admits that this “may have been looked on simply as a royal title.”[53] Likewise Williamson sees this possibility as “perfectly acceptable,” though he prefers the theophoric approach.[54] Even the incarnation-affirming Keil and Delitzsch recognize that calling the child אֵל גִּבּוֹר (el gibbor) is “nothing further…than this, that the Messiah would be the image of God as no other man ever had been (cf., El, Ps. 82:1), and that He would have God dwelling within Him (cf., Jer. 33:16).”[55] Edward L. Curtis similarly points out that had Isaiah meant to teach that the child would be an incarnation of Yahweh, he would have “further unfolded and made central this thought” throughout his book.[56] He likewise sees Isa 9:6 not as teaching “the incarnation of a deity” but as a case “not foreign to Hebrew usage to apply divine names to men of exalted position,” citing Exod 21:6 and Ps 82:6 as parallels.[57] Notwithstanding the lexical and scholarly support for this view, not to mention my own previous position[58] on Isa 9:6, I'm no longer convinced that this is the best explanation. It's certainly possible to call people “Gods” because they are his agents, but it is also rare. We'll come to my current view shortly, but for now, let's approach the second controversial title. Eternal Father The word אֲבִיעַד (aviad), “Eternal Father,” is another recognizable appellative for Yahweh. As I mentioned in the introduction, translators have occasionally watered down the phrase, unwilling to accept that a human could receive such a title. But humans who pioneer an activity or invent something new are fathers.[59] Walking in someone's footsteps is metaphorically recognizing him as one's father.[60] Caring for others like a father is yet another way to think about it.[61] Perhaps the child is a father in one of these figurative senses. If we follow Jerome and translate אֲבִיעַד (aviad) as Pater futuri saeculi, “Father of the future age,” we can reconfigure the title, “Eternal Father,” from eternal without beginning to eternal with a beginning but without an end. However, notes Williamson, “There is no parallel to calling the king ‘Father,' rather the king is more usually designated as God's son.”[62] Although we find Yahweh referred to as “Father” twice in Isaiah (Isa 63:16; 64:7), and several more times throughout the Old Testament,[63] the Messiah is not so called. Even in the New Testament we don't see the title applied to Jesus. Although not impossible to be taken as Jesus's fatherly role to play in the age to come, the most natural way to take אֲבִיעַד (aviad) is as a reference to Yahweh. In conclusion, both “mighty God” and “eternal Father” most naturally refer to Yahweh and not the child. If this is so, why is the child named with such divine designations? A Theophoric Name Finally, we are ready to consider the solution to our translation and interpretation woes. Israelites were fond of naming their kids with theophoric names (names that “carry God”). William Holladay explains: Israelite personal names were in general of two sorts. Some of them were descriptive names… But most Israelite personal names were theophoric; that is, they involve a name or title or designation of God, with a verb or adjective or noun which expresses a theological affirmation. Thus “Hezekiah” is a name which means “Yah (= Yahweh) is my strength,” and “Isaiah” is a name which means “Yah (= Yahweh) has brought salvation.” It is obvious that Isaiah is not called “Yahweh”; he bears a name which says something about Yahweh.[64] As Holladay demonstrates, when translating a theophoric name, it is customary to supplement the literal phrase with the verb, “to be.” Hezekiah = “Yah (is) my strength”; Isaiah = “Yah (is) salvation.” Similarly, Elijah means “My God (is) Yah” and Eliab, “My God (is the) Father.” Theophoric names are not about the child; they are about the God of the parents. When we imagine Elijah's mother calling him for dinner, she's literally saying “My God (is) Yah(weh), it's time for dinner.” The child's name served to remind her who her God was. Similarly, these other names spoke of God's strength, salvation, and fatherhood. To interpret the named child of Isa 9:6 correctly, we must look at the previously named children in Isa 7 and 8. In chapter 7 the boy is called “Immanuel,” meaning “God (is) with us” (Isa 7:14). This was a historical child who signaled prophecy. Isaiah said, “For before the boy knows to reject evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned” (Isa 7:16). In Isa 8:1 we encounter “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz,” or “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens.”[65] This child has a two-sentence name with an attached prophecy: “For before the boy calls, ‘my father' or ‘my mother,' the strength of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off before the king of Assyria” (Isa 8:4). Both children's sign names did not describe them nor what they would do, but what God would do for his people. Immanuel is a statement of faith. The name means God has not abandoned his people; they can confidently say, “God is with us” (Isa 8:10). Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz does not mean that the child would become a warrior to sack Damascus and seize her spoils, but that God would bring about the despoiling of Judah's enemy. When we encounter a third sign-named child in as many chapters, we are on solid contextual grounds to see this new, longer name in the same light. Isaiah prophecies that this child has the government upon his shoulder, sits on the throne of David, and will establish a lasting period of justice and righteousness (Isa 9:5, 7). This child bears the name “Pele-Yoets-El-Gibbor-Aviad-Sar-Shalom.” The name describes his parents' God, the mighty God, the eternal Father. Although this perspective has not yet won the day, it is well attested in a surprising breadth of resources. Already in 1867, Samuel David Luzzatto put forward this position.[66] The Jewish Publication Society concurred in their 2014 study Bible: Semitic names often consist of sentences that describe God … These names do not describe that person who holds them but the god whom the parents worship. Similarly, the name given to the child in this v. does not describe that child or attribute divinity to him, but describes God's actions.[67] The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV) footnote on Isa. 9:6 says, “As in many Israelite personal names, the deity, not the person named, is being described.”[68] Additional scholars advocating the view also include Holladay (1978), Wegner (1992), Goldingay (1999, 2015), and Williamson (2018). Even so, Keil and Delitzsch eschew “such a sesquipedalian name,” calling it “unskillful,” and arguing that it would be impractical “to be uttered in one breath.”[69] But this is to take the idea too literally. No one is going to actually call the child by this name. John Goldingay helpfully explains: So he has that complicated name, “An-extraordinary-counselor-is-the-warrior-God, the-everlasting-Father-is-an-officer-for-well-being.” Like earlier names in Isaiah (God-is-with-us, Remains-Will-Return, Plunder-hurries-loot-rushes), the name is a sentence. None of these names are the person's everyday name—as when the New Testament says that Jesus will be called Immanuel, “God [is] with us,” without meaning this expression is Jesus' name. Rather, the person somehow stands for whatever the “name” says. God gives him a sign of the truth of the expression attached to him. The names don't mean that the person is God with us, or is the remains, or is the plunder, and likewise this new name doesn't mean the child is what the name says. Rather he is a sign and guarantee of it. It's as if he goes around bearing a billboard with that message and with the reminder that God commissioned the billboard.[70] Still, there's the question of identifying Yahweh as שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם (sar shalom). Since most of our translations render the phrase “Prince of Peace,” and the common meaning of a prince is someone inferior to the king, we turn away from labeling God with this title. Although HALOT mentions “representative of the king, official” for the first definition their second is “person of note, commander.”[71] The BDB glosses “chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince” as their first entry.[72] Wegner adds: “The book of Isaiah also appears to use the word sar in the general sense of “ruler.””[73] Still, we must ask, is it reasonable to think of Yahweh as a שַׂר (sar)? We find the phrase שַׂר־הַצָּבָא (sar-hatsava), “prince of hosts,” in Daniel 8:11 and שַׂר־שָׂרִים (sar-sarim), “prince of princes,” in verse 25, where both refer to God.[74]  The UBS Translators' Handbook recommends “God, the chief of the heavenly army” for verse 11 and “the greatest of all kings” for verse 25.[75] The handbook discourages using “prince,” since “the English word ‘prince' does not mean the ruler himself but rather the son of the ruler, while the Hebrew term always designates a ruler, not at all implying son of a ruler.”[76] I suggest applying this same logic to Isa 9:6. Rather than translating שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם (sar shalom) as “Prince of Peace,” we can render it, “Ruler of Peace” or “Ruler who brings peace.” Translating the Name Sentences Now that I've laid out the case for the theophoric approach, let's consider translation possibilities. Wegner writes, “the whole name should be divided into two parallel units each containing one theophoric element.”[77] This makes sense considering the structure of Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which translates two parallel name sentences: “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens.” Here are a few options for translating the name. Jewish Publication Society (1917) Wonderful in counsel is God the Mighty, the Everlasting Father, the Ruler of peace[78] William Holladay (1978) Planner of wonders; God the war hero (is) Father forever; prince of well-being[79] New Jewish Publication Society (1985) The Mighty God is planning grace; The Eternal Father, a peaceable ruler[80] John Goldingay (1999) One who plans a wonder is the warrior God; the father for ever is a commander who brings peace[81] John Goldingay (2015) An-extraordinary-counselor-is-the-warrior-God, the-everlasting-Fathers-is-an-official-for-well-being[82] Hugh Williamson (2018) A Wonderful Planner is the Mighty God, An Eternal Father is the Prince of Peace[83] My Translation (2024) The warrior God is a miraculous strategist; the eternal Father is the ruler who brings peace[84] I prefer to translate אֵל גִּבּוֹר (el gibbor) as “warrior God” rather than “mighty God” because the context is martial, and  גִּבּוֹר(gibbor) often refers to those fighting in war.[85] “Mighty God” is ambiguous, and easily decontextualized from the setting of Isa 9:6. After all, Isa 9:4-5 tells a great victory “as on the day of Midian”—a victory so complete that they burn “all the boots of the tramping warriors” in the fire. The word פֶּלֶא (pele), though often translated “wonderful,” is actually the word for “miracle,” and יוֹעֵץ (yoets) is a participle meaning “adviser” or “planner.” Since the context is war, this “miracle of an adviser” or “miraculous planner” refers to military plans—what we call strategy, hence, “miraculous strategist.” Amazingly, the tactic God employed in the time of Hezekiah was to send out an angel during the night who “struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians” (Isa 37:36). This was evidently the warrior God's miraculous plan to remove the threat of Assyria from Jerusalem's doorstep. Prophecies about the coming day of God when he sends Jesus Christ—the true and better Hezekiah—likewise foretell of an even greater victory over the nations.[86] In fact, just two chapters later we find a messianic prophecy of one who will “strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked” (Isa 11:4). The next phrase, “The eternal Father,” needs little comment since God's eternality and fatherhood are both noncontroversial and multiply attested. Literally translated, שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם (sar-shalom) is “Ruler of peace,” but I take the word pair as a genitive of product.[87] Williamson unpacks this meaning as “the one who is able to initiate and maintain Peace.”[88] That his actions in the time of Hezekiah brought peace is a matter of history. After a huge portion of the Assyrian army died, King Sennacherib went back to Nineveh, where his sons murdered him (Isa 37:37-38). For decades, Judah continued to live in her homeland. Thus, this child's birth signaled the beginning of the end for Assyria. In fact, the empire itself eventually imploded, a fate that, at Hezekiah's birth, must have seemed utterly unthinkable. Of course, the ultimate peace God will bring through his Messiah will far outshine what Hezekiah achieved.[89] Conclusion We began by considering the phraseוַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ  (vayikra sh'mo). We noted that the tense is perfect, which justifies a past-tense interpretation of the child who had already been born by the time of the birth announcement. I presented the case for Hezekiah as the initial referent of Isa 9:6 based on the fact that Hezekiah’s life overlapped with Isaiah’s, that he sat on the throne of David (v7), and that his reign saw the miraculous deliverance from Assyria's army. Furthermore, I noted that identifying the child of Isa 9:6 as Hezekiah does not preclude a true and better one to come. Although Isa 9:6 does not show up in the New Testament, I agree with the majority of Christians who recognize this text as a messianic prophecy, especially when combined with verse 7. Next we puzzled over the subject for phraseוַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ  (vayikra sh'mo.) Two options are that the phrase פֶּלֶא יוֹעֵץ אֵל גִּבּוֹר (pele yoets el gibbor) functions as the subject or else the subject is indefinite. Although the Jewish interpreters overwhelmingly favor the former, the lack of definite articles and parallel constructions in Isaiah make me think the latter is more likely. Still, the Jewish approach to translation is a legitimate possibility. I explained how a passive voice makes sense in English since it hides the subject, and settled on “his name has been called,” as the best translation. Then we looked at the phrase אֵל גִּבּוֹר (el gibbor) and considered the option of switching the order of the words and taking the first as the modifier of the second as in “mighty hero” or “divine warrior.” We explored the possibility that Isaiah was ascribing deity to the newborn child. We looked at the idea of Isaiah calling the boy “Mighty God” because he represented God. In the end we concluded that these all are less likely than taking God as the referent, especially in light of the identical phrase in Isa 10:21 where it unambiguously refers to Yahweh. Moving on to אֲבִיעַד (aviad), we considered the possibility that “father” could refer to someone who started something significant and “eternal” could merely designate a coming age. Once again, though these are both possible readings, they are strained and ad hoc, lacking any indication in the text to signal a non-straightforward reading. So, as with “Mighty God,” I also take “Eternal Father” as simple references to God and not the child. Finally, we explored the notion of theophoric names. Leaning on two mainstream Bible translations and five scholars, from Luzzatto to Williamson, we saw that this lesser-known approach is quite attractive. Not only does it take the grammar at face value, it also explains how a human being could be named “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father.” The name describes God and not the child who bears it. Lastly, drawing on the work of the Jewish Publication Society, Goldingay, and Williamson, I proposed the translation: “The warrior God is a miraculous strategist; the eternal Father is the ruler who brings peace.” This rendering preserves the martial context of Isa 9:6 and glosses each word according to its most common definition. I added in the verb “is” twice as is customary when translating theophoric names. The result is a translation that recognizes God as the focus and not the child. This fits best in the immediate context, assuming Hezekiah is the original referent. After all, his greatest moment was not charging out ahead of a column of soldiers, but his entering the house of Yahweh and praying for salvation. God took care of everything else. Likewise, the ultimate Son of David will have God's spirit influencing him: a spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of God (Isa 11:2). The eternal Father will so direct his anointed that he will “not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear” (Isa 11:3). In his days God will bring about a shalom so deep that even the animals will become peaceful (Isa 11:6-8). An advantage of this reading of Isa 9:6 is that it is compatible with the full range of christological positions Christians hold. Secondly, this approach nicely fits with the original meaning in Isaiah’s day, and it works for the prophecy’s ultimate referent in Christ Jesus. Additionally, it is the interpretation with the least amount of special pleading. Finally, it puts everything into the correct order, allowing exegesis to drive theology rather than the other way around. Bibliography Kohlenberger/Mounce Concise Hebrew-Aramaic Dictionary of the Old Testament. Altamonte Springs: OakTree Software, 2012. The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text: A New Translation. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 1917. The Jewish Study Bible. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Second ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Net Bible, Full Notes Edition. Edited by W. Hall Harris III James Davis, and Michael H. Burer. 2nd ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2019. The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Edited by Carol A. Newsom Marc Z. Brettler, Pheme Perkins. Third ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. The Stone Edition of the Tanach. Edited by Nosson Scherman and Meir Zlotowitz. Brooklyn, NY: Artscroll, 1996. Tanakh, the Holy Scriptures: The New Jps Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. 4th, Reprint. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 1985. Translation of Targum Onkelos and Jonathan. Translated by Eidon Clem. Altamonte Springs, FL: OakTree Software, 2015. Alter, Rober. The Hebrew Bible: Prophets, Nevi’im. Vol. 2. 3 vols. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2019. Ashkenazi, Jacob ben Isaac. Tze’enah Ure’enah: A Critical Translation into English. Translated by Morris M. Faierstein. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2017. https://www.sefaria.org/Tze’enah_Ure’enah%2C_Haftarot%2C_Yitro.31?lang=bi&with=About&lang2=en. Baumgartner, Ludwig Koehler and Walter. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Edited by M. E. J. Richardson. Leiden: Brill, 2000. Brown, Raymond E. Jesus: God and Man, edited by 3. New York: Macmillan, 1967. Carlson, R. A. “The Anti-Assyrian Character of the Oracle in Is. Ix, 1-6.” Vetus Testamentum, no. 24 (1974): 130-5. Curtis, Edward L. “The Prophecy Concerning the Child of the Four Names: Isaiah Ix., 6, 7.” The Old and New Testament Student 11, no. 6 (1890): 336-41. Delitzsch, C. F. Keil and F. Commentary on the Old Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996. Finnegan, Sean. “Jesus Is God: Exploring the Notion of Representational Deity.” Paper presented at the One God Seminar, Seattle, WA, 2008, https://restitutio.org/2016/01/11/explanations-to-verses-commonly-used-to-teach-that-jesus-is-god/. Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996. Gesenius, Wilhelm. Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar. Edited by E. Kautzsch and A. E. Cowley. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910. Goldingay, John. “The Compound Name in Isaiah 9:5(6).” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 61, no. 2 (1999): 239-44. Goldingay, John. Isaiah for Everyone. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Holladay, William L. Isaiah: Scroll of Prophetic Heritage. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978. III, Ben Witherington. Isaiah Old and New. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2017. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1ggjhbz.7. Luzzatto, Samuel David. Shi’ur Komah. Padua, IT: Antonio Bianchi, 1867. O’Connor, Bruce K. Waltke and Michael P. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Winona Lake, IN: Esenbrauns, 1990. Ogden, Graham S., and Jan Sterk. A Handbook on Isaiah. Ubs Translator's Handbooks. New York: United Bible Societies, 2011. Oswalt, John. The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39. Nicot. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986. Péter-Contesse, René and John Ellington. A Handbook on Daniel. Ubs Translator’s Handbooks. New York, NY: United Bible Societies, 1993. Roberts, J. J. M. First Isaiah. Vol. 23A. Hermeneia, edited by Peter Machinist. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2001. Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996. Walter Bauer, Frederick W. Danker, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Wegner, Paul D. “A Re-Examination of Isaiah Ix 1-6.” Vetus Testamentum 42, no. 1 (1992): 103-12. Williamson, H. G. M. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Isaiah 1-27. Vol. 2. International Critical Commentary, edited by G. I. Davies and C. M. Tuckett. New York: Bloomsbury, 2018. Yitzchaki, Shlomo. Complete Tanach with Rashi. Translated by A. J. Rosenberg. Chicago, IL: Davka Corp, 1998. https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Isaiah.9.5.2?lang=bi&with=About&lang2=en. Young, Edward J. The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1-18. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965. End Notes [1] Throughout I'll refer to Isaiah 9:6 based on the versification used in English translations. Hebrew Bibles shift the count by one, so the same verse is Isaiah 9:5. [2] Paul D. Wegner, “A Re-Examination of Isaiah Ix 1-6,” Vetus Testamentum 42, no. 1 (1992): 103. [3] BHS is the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, the standard Hebrew text based on the Leningrad Codex, a medieval Masoretic text. [4] In Hebrew the perfect tense roughly maps onto English past tense and the imperfect tense to future tense. [5] See NRSVUE, ESV, NASB20, NIV, NET, LSB, NLT, NKJ, ASV, KJV. [6] See translations by Robert Alter, James Moffat, and Duncan Heaster.  Also see Westminster Commentary, Cambridge Bible Commentary, New Century Bible Commentary, and The Daily Study Bible. [7] See New English Bible. [8] See Ibn Ezra. [9] See An American Testament. [10] “Held” means “hero” in German. In the Luther Bible (1545), he translated the phrase as “und er heißt Wunderbar, Rat, Kraft, Held, Ewig -Vater, Friedefürst,” separating power (Kraft = El) and hero (Held = Gibbor) whereas in the 1912 revision we read, “er heißt Wunderbar, Rat, Held, Ewig-Vater Friedefürst,” which reduced el gibbor to “Held” (hero). [11] See fn 4 above. [12] See New American Bible Revised Edition and An American Testament. [13] See New English Bible and James Moffatt's translation. [14] See Ibn Ezra. [15] See Duncan Heaster's New European Version. [16] See Word Biblical Commentary. [17] See Jewish Publication Society translation of 1917, the Koren Jerusalem Bible, and the Complete Jewish Bible. [18] In the Dead Sea Scrolls, 1QIsaa 8.24 reads “וקרא,” the vav-conversed form of “קרא,” translated “he will call,” an active future tense. This reading is implausible considering the unambiguous past tense of the two initial clauses that began verse 6: “a child has been born…a son has been given.” [19] “Here the Hebrew begins to use imperfect verb forms with the conjunction often rendered “and.” These verbs continue the tense of the perfect verb forms used in the previous lines. They refer to a state or situation that now exists, so they may be rendered with the present tense in English. Some translations continue to use a perfect tense here (so NJB, NJPSV, FRCL), which is better.” Graham S. Ogden, and Jan Sterk, A Handbook on Isaiah, Ubs Translator's Handbooks (New York: United Bible Societies, 2011). [20] H. G. M. Williamson, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Isaiah 1-27, vol. 2, International Critical Commentary, ed. G. I. Davies and C. M. Tuckett (New York: Bloomsbury, 2018), 371. [21] Wilhelm Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, ed. E. Kautzsch and A. E. Cowley, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910), §106n. [22] Bruce K. Waltke and Michael P. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake, IN: Esenbrauns, 1990), §30.5.1e. [23] John Goldingay takes a “both-and” position, recognizing that Isaiah was speaking by faith of what God would do in the future, but also seeing the birth of the son to the king as having already happened by the time of the prophecy. John Goldingay, Isaiah for Everyone (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015), 42. [24] Jewish authors include Rashi, A. E. Kimchi, Abravanel, Malbim, and Luzzatto. [25] See 2 Kings 18:3-7. [26] Unless otherwise noted, all translations are my own. [27] J. J. M. Roberts, First Isaiah, vol. 23A, Hermeneia, ed. Peter Machinist (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2001), 153. [28] Ben Witherington III, Isaiah Old and New (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2017), 95-6, 99-100. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1ggjhbz.7. [29] Translation of Targum Onkelos and Jonathan, trans. Eidon Clem (Altamonte Springs, FL: OakTree Software, 2015). [30] Shlomo Yitzchaki, Complete Tanach with Rashi, trans. A. J. Rosenberg (Chicago, IL: Davka Corp, 1998). https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Isaiah.9.5.2?lang=bi&with=About&lang2=en. [31] Jacob ben Isaac Ashkenazi, Tze’enah Ure’enah: A Critical Translation into English, trans. Morris M. Faierstein (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2017). https://www.sefaria.org/Tze’enah_Ure’enah%2C_Haftarot%2C_Yitro.31?lang=bi&with=About&lang2=en. [32] Square brackets in original. The Stone Edition of the Tanach, ed. Nosson Scherman and Meir Zlotowitz (Brooklyn, NY: Artscroll, 1996). [33] Net Bible, Full Notes Edition, ed. W. Hall Harris III James Davis, and Michael H. Burer, 2nd ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2019), 1266. [34] C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 249-50. [35] As mentioned above, the Hebrew is not actually passive. [36] The LXX reads “καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ” (kai kaleitai to onoma autou), which means “and his name is called.” [37] Rober Alter, The Hebrew Bible: Prophets, Nevi’im, vol. 2, 3 vols. (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2019), 651. [38] John Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39, Nicot (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986), 247. [39] Delitzsch, 252. [40] The אֵלֵי גִבּוֹרִים (eley gibborim) of Ezek 32.21 although morphologically suggestive of a plural form of el gibbor, is not a suitable parallel to Isa 9:6 since אֵלֵי (eley) is the plural of אַיִל (ayil), meaning “chief” not אֵל (el). Thus, the translation “mighty chiefs” or “warrior rulers” takes eley as the noun and gibborim as the adjective and does not actually reverse them. [41] Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1-18, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965), 338. [42] Translator's note A on Isa 9:6 in the NET states, “[I]t is unlikely that Isaiah or his audience would have understood the title in such a bold way.” Net Bible, Full Notes Edition, 1267. [43] “The Messiah is the corporeal presence of this mighty God; for He is with Him, He is in Him, and in Him He is with Israel. The expression did not preclude the fact that the Messiah would be God and man in one person; but it did not penetrate to this depth, so far as the Old Testament consciousness was concerned.” Delitzsch, 253. [44] See Wegner 104-5. [45] See R. A. Carlson, “The Anti-Assyrian Character of the Oracle in Is. Ix, 1-6,” Vetus Testamentum, no. 24 (1974). [46] Oswalt, 246. [47] Isa 43:10-11; 44:6, 8; 45:5-6, 18, 21-22; 46:9. Deut 17:14-20 lays out the expectations for an Israelite king, many of which limit his power and restrict his exaltation, making deification untenable. [48] Wegner 108. [49] See Exod 4:16; 7:1. The word “God” can apply to “any person characterized by greatness or power: mighty one, great one, judge,” s.v. “אֱלֹהִים” in Kohlenberger/Mounce Concise Hebrew-Aramaic Dictionary of the Old Testament.. The BDAG concurs, adding that a God is “that which is nontranscendent but considered worthy of special reverence or respect… of humans θεοί (as אֱלֹהִים) J[ohn] 10:34f (Ps 81:6; humans are called θ. in the OT also Ex 7:1; 22:27,” s.v. “θεός” in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. [50] See Exod 21.6; 22:8-9. The BDB includes the definition, “rulers, judges, either as divine representatives at sacred places or as reflecting divine majesty and power,” s.v. “אֱלֹהִים” in The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon [51] Thayer points this out in his lexicon: “Hebraistically, equivalent to God’s representative or vicegerent, of magistrates and judges, John 10:34f after Ps. 81:6 (Ps. 82:6)” s.v. “θέος” in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [52] Net Bible, Full Notes Edition, 1267. [53] Raymond E. Brown, Jesus: God and Man, ed. 3 (New York: Macmillan, 1967), 25. [54] Williamson, 397. [55] Delitzsch, 253. See also fn 40 above. [56] Edward L. Curtis, “The Prophecy Concerning the Child of the Four Names: Isaiah Ix., 6, 7,” The Old and New Testament Student 11, no. 6 (1890): 339. [57] Ibid. [58] Sean Finnegan, “Jesus Is God: Exploring the Notion of Representational Deity” (paper presented at the One God Seminar, Seattle, WA2008), https://restitutio.org/2016/01/11/explanations-to-verses-commonly-used-to-teach-that-jesus-is-god/. [59] Jabal was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock (Gen 4:20) and Jubal was the father of those who play the lyre and the pipe (Gen 4:21). [60] Jesus told his critics, “You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires” (John 8:44). [61] Job called himself “a father to the needy” (Job 29:16) and Isaiah prophesied that Eliakim would be “a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (Isa 22:21). [62] Williamson, 397. [63] For references to Yahweh as father to the people see Deut 32:6; Ps 103:13; Prov 3:12; Jer 3:4; 31.9; Mal 1.6; 2:10. For Yahweh as father to the messiah see 2 Sam 7:14; 1 Chron 7:13; 28:6; Ps 89:27. [64] William L. Holladay, Isaiah: Scroll of Prophetic Heritage (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978), 108. [65] See NRSVUE fn on Isa 8:1. [66] והנה המכוון במאמר פלא יועץ וגו’ הוא כי האל הגבור שהוא אבי עד ואדון השלום, הוא יועץ וגוזר לעשות פלא לישראל בזמן ממלכת הילד הנולד היום, ואח”כ מפרש למרבה המשרה וגו’. ולפי הפירוש הזה לא לחנם האריך כאן בתארי האל, כי כוונת הנביא לרמוז כי בבוא הפלא שהאל יועץ וגוזר עתה, יוודע שהוא אל גבור ובעל היכולת ושהוא אב לעד, ולא יפר בריתו עם בניו בני ישראל, ולא ישכח את ברית אבותם. ושהוא אדון השלום ואוהב השלום, ולא יאהב העריצים אשר כל חפצם לנתוש ולנתוץ ולהאביד ולהרוס, אבל הוא משפילם עד עפר, ונותן שלום בארץ, כמו שראינו בכל הדורות. Chat GPT translation: “And behold, the intention in the phrase ‘Wonderful Counselor’ and so on is that the mighty God, who is the Eternal Father and the Prince of Peace, is the Counselor and decrees to perform a wonder for Israel at the time of the reign of the child born today. Afterwards, it is explained as ‘to increase the dominion’ and so on. According to this interpretation, it is not in vain that the prophet elaborates on the attributes of God here, for the prophet’s intention is to hint that when the wonder that God now advises and decrees comes about, it will be known that He is the Mighty God and possesses the ability and that He is the Eternal Father. He will not break His covenant with His sons, the children of Israel, nor forget the covenant of their ancestors. He is the Prince of Peace and loves peace, and He will not favor the oppressors whose every desire is to tear apart, destroy, and obliterate, but He will humble them to the dust and grant peace to the land, as we have seen throughout the generations.” Samuel David Luzzatto, Shi’ur Komah (Padua, IT: Antonio Bianchi, 1867). Accessible at Sefaria and the National Library of Israel. [67]The Jewish Study Bible, ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, Second ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 784. [68] The New Oxford Annotated Bible, ed. Carol A. Newsom Marc Z. Brettler, Pheme Perkins, Third ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 991. [69] Delitzsch, 249. [70] Goldingay, 42-3. [71] Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, ed. M. E. J. Richardson (Leiden: Brill, 2000). [72] See s.v. “שַׂר” in The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon [73] Wegner 112. [74] Keil and Delitzsch say the sar of Dan 8:11 refers to “the God of heaven and the King of Israel, the Prince of princes, as He is called in v. 25,” Delitzsch, 297. [75] René and John Ellington Péter-Contesse, A Handbook on Daniel, Ubs Translator’s Handbooks (New York, NY: United Bible Societies, 1993). [76] Ibid. [77] Wegner 110-1. [78] The main text transliterates “Pele-joez-el-gibbor-/Abi-ad-sar-shalom,” while the footnote translates as indicated above. The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text: A New Translation (Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 1917), 575. [79] Holladay, 109. [80] Tanakh, the Holy Scriptures: The New Jps Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text (4th: repr., Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 1985), 634. [81] John Goldingay, “The Compound Name in Isaiah 9:5(6),” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 61, no. 2 (1999): 243. [82] Goldingay, Isaiah for Everyone, 40. [83] Williamson, 355. [84] An alternative is “The warrior God is planning a miracle; the eternal Father is the ruler of peace.” [85] For גִּבּוֹר in a military context, see 1 Sam 17:51; 2 Sam 20.7; 2 Kgs 24:16; Isa 21.17; Jer 48:41; Eze 39:20; and Joel 2:7; 3:9. [86] See 2 Thess 2:8 and Rev 19:11-21 (cp. Dan 7:13-14). [87] See Gesenius § 128q, which describes a genitive of “statements of the purpose for which something is intended.” [88] Williamson, 401. [89] Isaiah tells of a time when God will “judge between nations,” resulting in the conversion of the weapons of war into the tools of agriculture and a lasting era when “nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa 2:4).

This sermon covers the fifth attribute of God found in Exodus 34:6-7: faithfulness. In Hebrew, emet means truth, trustworthy and faithful. God is faithful even when we are not! We should always respond by trusting Him and His word.

Hebrews 7:2, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. We are learning about Melchizedek here in chapter 7 of Hebrews. He was a priest of the Most High God who blessed Abraham when he returned victorious after a war with some kings. The author reminded his readers that Abraham gave him a tenth of all that he had taken as spoil from the war. The significance of that will be explained later. Jesus is a priest like Melchizedek. He explained the meaning of his name. In Hebrew, Melchi means king, and zedek means righteousness. Jesus is the real King of Righteousness. Second, Melchizedek was the king of Salem, which in Hebrew is translated peace. Look how we have been blessed by Christ! He has blessed us with His righteousness so we might be justified before God. Furthermore, through His sacrifice, we have peace with God. Consider the great love God has bestowed upon us that we would be called children of God, presented 100% righteous before God. We have peace with God because all of our sins have been paid for and removed from consideration. We have been brought to God through Jesus' high priestly intercession, through the blood of His sacrifice. What an encouragement we have today to set our minds on the righteousness and peace we have in Christ. Full righteousness! Full peace! My friends, we are loved perfectly. You may feel like you are in a war or just are returning from a war. This righteousness is your breastplate, the protector of your heart. You journey through this world with your feet shod with the gospel of peace. You are ready to walk the path God has for you today in fullness. Out of the fullness of being right with God and at peace with God, you can love whoever God puts in your path. When you approach God's throne of grace, you can be confident you will be blessed by Jesus, just like Abraham was.

The Big Picture of the King and His Kingdom I want you to recall the five meta-narratives of the entire Bible from my previous sermon: God is completely unique; God gave us dominion of the Earth; we have rebelled against God and are in exile; God has been and will continue to repair the fix we are in; God will reestablish our place in Eden and on Earth. I also want you to think about how the Kingdom of God stretches out into eternity past and eternity future. In our own human history, the Kingdom of God started in a garden that resided in the land of Eden. The Garden of Eden was a real and specific location on Earth where Heaven and Earth co-existed. Isaiah and Ezekiel talk about this location being not only a garden but also a mountain (Isaiah 14:13-14 and Ezekiel 28:13-14). In Eastern and Mesopotamian cultures, a garden was where the king would spend leisure time with his family. It was also where kings met with their cabinet members. The garden inside the land of Eden then was a place created by God where Adam and Eve had fellowship with their heavenly Father. This is also where God met with His council members. These were angelic authorities, celestial beings, who were administrative rulers in God's kingdom. No doubt, Adam and Eve would have had multiple interactions with these beings while they lived in the Garden of God. This is why Eve did not freak out when the serpent spoke to her in Genesis 3. She had seen these beings before. Remember, there is no snake mentioned in the text of Genesis 3. In Hebrew, he is called the nachash [1]. The being that talked with Eve was a supernatural, ancient, super intelligent, celestial being, probably a seraph.  A seraph was one of the highest orders of throne guardians that surrounded God's throne. He may have been one of God's council members in the past. Once Adam and Eve agreed to follow the nachash, they sabotaged their relationship with God and their ability to spread the dominion of Eden to the rest of the globe. Nonetheless, God has been moving forward to correct this dilemma for thousands of years. He is still using His heavenly and earthly councils to redeem the earth. The King and His Council All nations have kings or some sort of leadership that resembles kingship. Even our own Democratic Republic has fallen under the rule of people acting like kings. All kings have council members to help them administer their rule over the affairs of their kingdom. Human leaders did not make this concept up. It existed long before the Earth was created. The first council is the one that God established before the creation week of Earth. It's called the Divine Council. Now, even though God does not need help ruling over His universe, He insists on sharing responsibilities with the beings that He has made. Whether they are human or celestial. The problem is that among the celestial beings, certain council members rebelled against God. You may want to call them the infernal council. They absolutely hate God's human children and all righteous celestial beings who have remained loyal to God. Just as the Divine Council existed before the creation week, so too do I believe this rebellion occurred before the creation week. Others believe that it occurred possibly on Day 2 or 4 of the creation or soon after. Which ever position you take, it was a horrendous betrayal towards God and His remaining loyal family members. The King Delegates Responsibilities to His Divine Council Consider this: although Yahweh is supreme over His council, He allows them to discuss solutions. He then delegates to them authority for particular assignments. However, Yahweh is unique and superior to His council members. Scripture is full of examples where Yahweh is shown to rule among His council members. One example is Psalm 89:5-7: Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD (Yahweh), your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD (Yahweh)? Who among the heavenly beings [2] is like the LORD (Yahweh), God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?   Some argue that the “holy ones” are human leaders, human “saints.” But the context proves otherwise because the residence of these council members is “in the skies.” Another example is in Daniel 4:17. Although Yahweh is supreme over His council members, He allows them to form and implement their own solutions: The sentence is by the decree of the watchers (council members), the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men. The council formed the solution for Nebuchadnezzar's arrogance and then they carried out the sentence. This resulted in the humbling of Nebuchadnezzar and the declaration of God's ultimate power over all nations. This is similar to 1Kings 22. A heavenly council meeting was called to determine the fate of Ahab, the wicked king of Israel. God allowed His divine council to deliberate Ahab's demise. Here are verses 19-23: And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh): I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven (council members) standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?'And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.' And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?'And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.'And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.' Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.” Both stories are about kings who have ignored warnings from Yahweh. Notice also that in both cases God allowed His celestial council members to deliberate the solution and then implement the punishment.   The Infernal Council Moses warned Israel not to worship the “host of heaven” in Deuteronomy 4:19 because of the Tower of Babel affair. After the Tower of Babel event occurred, celestial authorities were assigned to govern the nations and then shepherd them back into a right relationship with God. This is Moses' point in Deuteronomy 32:8-9: When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God [3] (angelic authorities). But the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. At some point, these heavenly shepherds became corrupt and received the worship of men. This is the point Moses is making in all of Deuteronomy 32: worship belongs to Yahweh only; do not worship the gods of the nations because they are rebel council members. This relates to Psalm 82, where Yahweh crashes a council meeting among the fallen heavenly shepherds and rebukes them for their rebellion. Verses 1 through 4 say: God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm 58:1-2 captures this same idea: Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. Some argue that these passages do not support the Divine Council worldview. They see Psalm 82 as an event where God enters a council meeting of earthly kings and judges. I would respectfully push back – verse 7 proves that God is not angry at mere humans in this scene. He is rebuking fallen entities when He says that they will die like mere men. This would not be a punishment if God were rebuking human rebels. Again, it is important to understand that this passage is not talking about humans who have offended God; it is talking about fallen angelic authorities. These beings were once righteous participants of Yahweh's council. Everything God creates is good and perfect. They began their journey in agreement with the plans and purposes of God. I don't accept the theological concept, as some do, that Yahweh created them as evil entities to begin with; or that He created them with the idea that they would one day rebel in order to advance His own glory. Nevertheless, they did rebel. And since they had once been part of God's kingdom, they naturally formed their own authority structures based off of the kingdom they rejected. So, I believe that the infernal council is an imitation of what they once experienced in the Kingdom of God.   This is not Polytheism, This is not Mormonism In the last sermon, I covered several attributes that prove that Yahweh is completely different than all other elohim, or the “sons of God” that He created to operate in His council. God is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, and immutable. He is the creator of all other heavenly beings; He existed before them. He can strip them of their immortality, and no heavenly being can outmaneuver Him. This is important to know because of the resistance you will get from those who are unfamiliar with this subject. People will want to categorize you as a polytheist or a Mormon. Neither of these are true. Most ancient cultures were polytheistic in nature. They believed in many gods. Often there was a chief god ruling the lesser gods and demigods. They often incorporated succession stories where one chief god was defeated in battle by a lesser god, who then became the leader. But what I am teaching is that our God is different. He is not a leader among a group of gods who are similar in nature; He is infinitely higher in supremacy. Again, He is the uncreated Creator. There is no being equal to Him. However, as I have already outlined, He assigns authority and responsibility to the heavenly sons of God, which He created. He also expects us to occupy our territory while expanding His kingdom.   I am also not teaching Mormonism. Mormons teach that you can become a god; in fact, they claim that God was once like us. Joseph Smith said: “It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God. . . . He was once a man like us; . . . God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did” [4]   But I insist that Mormonism is incorrect. I teach that God was never a created being. John 4:24 says, God is spirit (not a man), and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Again, as I outlined in the last sermon, there are unique attributes that belong only to Yahweh and no other being. Conclusion The Divine Council worldview has solid biblical backing. First, we see in several places that God is supreme yet also delegates His authority to a celestial council of lesser beings. These council members are called the “sons of God” in the Old Testament. Second, we see that certain members of this council rebelled against God and formed their own wicked authority structures. The Divine Council worldview that I am advocating is not a salvation issue. Those who disagree are not my enemies; however, without it, I believe you will have a truncated understanding of the spiritual realm. Some simply see the spiritual realm as more of a fairy tale than a reality. To them, heaven is nothing more than an eternal vacation spot where you sit on clouds and play harps. This kind of thinking is childish; there is so much more going on. One of my biggest complaints about modern Christianity is that it refuses to leave elementary school, so to speak. Many churches teach superficial concepts, and as a result, their congregations are withering in the shallow soil of mediocrity. And so, over the last several generations, the church has raised a gaggle of believers who barely understand their Bible and their God. The Divine Council worldview has helped me back up and look at the whole tapestry of Scripture. When I read a passage, I find threads that move in multiple directions and create larger ideas. For me, understanding the Bible through the Divine Council worldview has been as stunning as going from a black and white TV to the brilliant colors of plasma TV. It's like watching an action movie with a pair of good 3-D glasses. JCN 7/24 [1] In the Hebrew text, this rebel being is called han nachash, the nachash (Gen.3:1,2,4,13,14). As a noun, nachash means serpent (think more of a dragon rather than a snake); as a verb, it means a deceiver or a diviner; as an adjective, it means bronze or an object that is brazen or a radiant being that glows from within. All three meanings are at play here. The ideas of luminosity, serpentine features, and divine wisdom all relate to a divine throne guardian being. Both Hebrew and Gentile readers would have instantly understood this concept. Both seraphim and cherubim are known as guardians around God's throne. The Hebrew word seraph (Is. 6:2) especially relates here because its meaning derives from a burning, fiery serpentine being.   [2] In Hebrew: ben el the “sons of God,” the celestial beings of heaven.  [3]Some translations render the phrase as “sons of Israel,” while others render it “sons of God.” I believe that translations like KJV, NIV, and NASB are misinformed to render the phrase as “sons of Israel.” The phrase “sons of Israel” follows the Masoretic Texts, which were edited by Jewish scholars in the middle ages who were hostile to Christianity, and the supernatural appearances of the 2nd person of the Trinity (Jesus) throughout Old Testament passages. The Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls uphold the phrase “sons of God.” Both of these sources were penned by Jewish scholars about 1000 years before the Masoretic Texts were collated. [4]Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, 1976, pp. 345 –46.  

A challenging project has Kiddo and his friends frustrated. They need to construct something that can protect an egg for their school's Egg Drop event, but each friend has tried their own ideas without success. Mimi reads the book Five Brave Knights vs. the Dreadful Dragon, a story about kids facing similar, though fire-breathing, frustration. What can we do when our individual efforts aren't enough?In Hebrew, the word for “together” (yachad) shares the same root as the word for “individual” (yachid), illustrating how every group is made up of individuals. Your uniqueness is a superpower, but it can be combined with others' to achieve big shared goals. The book Mimi reads in this episode, Five Brave Knights vs. the Dreadful Dragon, was written by Netalie Gvirtz and illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt, and published by PJ Publishing. Episode Cast and Credits: Afternoons With Mimi is a production of PJ Library. Production: Executive Producer, Alli Thresher, Associate Producer, Elizabeth Korelitz Writers and Story Editor: Alli Thresher Audio editing, mixing, mastering, and score: Peter Moore, Palace of Purpose Studios in Malden, MA Opening Theme Song: Lyrics by Alli Thresher, composed and arranged by Hovav Paller Performed by Deirdre Wade Cast: Kiddo: Percy Blythe Mimi: Deirdre Wade

“We can't expect people to stand up for us against antisemitism if they don't know who we are. And we can't expect them to know who we are if we're not there to tell our story.”  Adiel Cohen: Jewish activist, social media influencer, and Israel Defense Forces reservist, has a passion for storytelling – especially that of his beloved grandmother, Savta Sarah. She fled Yemen under harrowing circumstances to come to Israel in the mid-20th century. At just 12 years old, she left the only home she'd ever known, braving dangerous terrain, bandits, and gangs – to reach safety in Israel. Recorded live at AJC Global Forum 2024 in Washington, D.C., this conversation explores the vibrant life of Yemenite Jews and the scarred history of Jewish persecution in the country. In a candid conversation, Adiel reflects on his advocacy, both online and off, and emphasizes the importance of sharing diverse Jewish stories. —- Show notes: Sign up to receive podcast updates here. Learn more about the series here. Song credits:  Pond5:  “Desert Caravans”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI), Composer: Tiemur Zarobov (BMI), IPI#1098108837 “Meditative Middle Eastern Flute”: Publisher: N/A; Composer: DANIELYAN ASHOT MAKICHEVICH (IPI NAME #00855552512)  “Suspense Middle East” Publisher: Victor Romanov, Composer: Victor Romanov; Item ID: 196056047 ___ Episode Transcript: Adiel Cohen: Because they dare to fight back, they knew that they're no longer safe, because God forbid Jews resist to oppression and to violence. And the same night, my grandma told me that her father gave her a pair of earrings, silver earrings, and he told her, ‘Sarah, take these pair of earrings and keep them safe. That's the only thing that you can take with you to Eretz Yisrael.' Manya Brachear Pashman:   The world has overlooked an important episode in modern history: the 800,000 Jews who left or were driven from their homes in the Middle East and North Africa in the mid-20th century. Welcome to the second season of The Forgotten Exodus, brought to you by American Jewish Committee. This series explores that pivotal moment in history and the little-known Jewish heritage of Iran and Arab nations. As Jews around the world confront violent antisemitism and Israelis face daily attacks by terrorists on multiple fronts, our second season explores how Jews have lived throughout the region for generations despite hardship, hostility, and hatred, then sought safety and new possibilities in their ancestral homeland. I'm your host, Manya Brachear Pashman. Join us as we explore untold family histories and personal stories of courage, perseverance, and resilience from this transformative and tumultuous period of history for the Jewish people and the Middle East.  The world has ignored these voices. We will not.  This is The Forgotten Exodus. Today's episode: leaving Yemen. _ On the night of October 7, while Hamas terrorists were still on their murderous rampage through Israel, 26-year-old Adiel Cohen was drafted to serve in a reserve artillery corps unit and rocket division of the Israeli Defense Forces. He went directly to a base near one of Israel's borders to start working on his unit's vehicles and tools. But that is not the only battlefront on which Adiel has been serving.  Adiel is a content creator on social media, creating Instagram posts and TikTok videos to counter the antisemitism and anti-Israel messages proliferating online. One way Adiel dispels some of these misconceptions is by sharing his own family's story. Adiel's grandparents on both sides were in that group of 800,000 Jews who fled Arab lands and started life anew in Israel. In 1950, they fled Yemen, making their way to Israel to help build a Jewish state.  Today's special episode of The Forgotten Exodus presents an exclusive interview with Adiel, recorded in front of a live audience at the AJC Global Forum 2024 in Washington D.C. Adiel, you heard stories from your Savta Sarah who passed away only a few months ago. She was your paternal grandmother. Could you please share that side of your family story in Yemen? Adiel Cohen:   Of course. So first of all, I want to thank you all for coming and listening to my story. It's my first time in this type of AJC event, especially on that scale. It's very exciting to me, and it's amazing to see this beautiful display of Jewish solidarity and strength. So I'm very, very honored to be here. Thank you.  So the history of the Jewish community in Yemen dates back for as long as the Israelite Kingdom existed. It dates back all the way to King Shlomo (Solomon) and the First Temple when we had trade with the kingdom of Sh'va (Sheba), at the time that ruled Ethiopia and Yemen.  And for my family, as far as we can tell, we go back all the way to that era. I do know that I have one ancestor somewhere along the line 15 generations ago from the Jewish community of Iraq that migrated into Yemen.  But my ancestry for the most part is in Yemen, Yemenite Jewish. I did a DNA test. The results were nothing too revolutionary, aside from 1% Nigerian. But yeah, it just came out Yemenite Jewish. And they spent pretty much the entire diaspora in Yemen until 1950. Manya Brachear Pashman:   And your grandfather was a jeweler, right? A silversmith? Adiel Cohen:   He was. So fun fact: the work of silver and crafts made of silver, was a profession only done by Jews in Yemen. So you can imagine how impactful it was for the economy in Yemen. And you know, a lot of people say that Jews, like, control the economy and all these, you know, stereotypes that we know. In Yemen, we really drove a big part of the economy, because of the professions that we did that were pretty much only Jews doing them.  So he used to do silver work and jewelry. He did both the traditional Yemenite jewelry which is made of thin silver wires, creating these beautiful patterns. And not just jewelry, but also Judaica, candlesticks, and all these ritual tools like the can for the b'samim (ritual spices), for the Havdalah.  Beautiful, beautiful art, passed from his father and then his father, all the way, thousands of years as far as we can tell. And nowadays, my uncle, my father's brother, is preserving this tradition. He has a gallery in Tzfat, if you're ever planning to go there. Now, it's not really a good time, but definitely hit me up, and I'll send you his way. Very proud of that tradition. Definitely. Manya Brachear Pashman:   That's lovely. Were they city folk? Or did they live in a more agricultural area? Adiel Cohen:   They were fully city folks. They lived in Sanaa, the capital, both sides of my family. It's interesting, not a lot of people know, but there's a lot of nuance in the Yemenite Jewish community. So Yemen is a pretty big country and pretty diverse. You've got mountains and green terraces and agriculture, but you also have very, very dry desert, and you have port cities.  So every Jewish community in Yemen was very unique in its culture and its essence in their professions. And in Sanaa specifically, they were more into spirituality and humanities. They were intellectuals and thinkers, a lot of philosophy, a lot of the Jewish philosophy and poetry in Yemen came from Sanaa. And this is where both sides of my family come from. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Did they live in harmony with their neighbors in Sanaa for most of that time? Adiel Cohen:   Yeah, so the relations between Jews and Arabs in Yemen vary. It was a roller coaster for the most part of history, and it really depended on the king and the leadership at every single time. And there were times of great coexistence and flourishing and times where, you know, you could see Jewish poetry and literature and just like in Spain, like what we hear in Spain.  But there were also times of great conflict and oppression and violence. One instance that I can point out to was in the 1600s, in 1679, it was an event called the Mawza Exile. Not a lot of people know about it, which is a shame, because it is the single most traumatic event in the history of our community. It lasted one year, and during this year, the king decided that all the Jews in Yemen should be expelled to the desert.  And the desert in Yemen is very, very harsh – wild animals, climate, lack of food, soil that cannot be cultivated. And of course, this also came with burning of books and literatures and archives. Yemenite Jews, up until then, kept archives of their family trees and scriptures and poetry. We don't have a lot of it left before the 1600s, because of this event. Two-thirds of the community perished during that year, there was no one to fill the jobs that Jews used to do.  And at some point, the king allowed Jews to come back to their homes and live in their own ghettos. That was from the 1600s till 1950 with Operation Magic Carpet. But in the more modern, in the more recent history, we can point out the 40s as an uptick in violence and antisemitism against Jews in Yemen.  A lot of people think that what happened in Europe at the time did not really affect Jews in Arab countries, but it is completely the opposite. We had Nazi emissaries visiting some Arab countries and Jewish communities trying to inspect options to transfer Jews from the Middle East to concentration camps in Europe and even building and establishing concentration camps in the Middle East for Jews. The Mufti of Jerusalem at the time, Hajj Amin al-Husayni, was also very involved in trying to transfer the Jews of Yemen to concentration camps. It did not succeed. At the time, there was a pretty friendly king. But Nazi propaganda infiltrated every single society at the time in the Middle East.  The Farhud in Iraq is a great example of that, right, of Nazi involvement in the Middle East. And the same thing happened in Yemen. And I can point out to one event that was kind of like the turning point and then we can also continue to the story of my grandma's aliyah.  There was a blood libel that was spread in Sanaa. Hundreds of Arabs who used to be neighbors just turned against their Jewish neighbors, started attacking them, looting their homes, raiding the Jewish Quarter of Sanaa.  Manya Brachear Pashman:   So did the violence reach your family directly? Adiel Cohen:   My grandma's family, they used to live all in the same house. It was a big family in Yemen. It was common that the entire family, the entire clan, lives in the same house, especially if they're well off. And my family, Baruch Hashem, they were pretty well off. They were jewelers and traders, and they had a big house with the entire family. And their neighbor came, broke into their house. All the grandchildren, including my grandma, had to hide in the pantries and in the closets, and their grandfather, Saba Avraham, was there protecting the house.  Their neighbor came, assaulted their grandfather, knocked him to the ground. And my grandma, when she told me this story, she told me that they were looking, they were peeking through the cracks of the door and they saw what's going on. And when they saw the assault, they decided to storm out of the pantries and the closet with pans and pots and knives and attack the neighbor. And she tells me they chased him down the street and this is how they saved their grandfather's life.  And this is a story over Shabbat dinner. It's crazy, crazy stories that we used to listen to. Manya Brachear Pashman:   And how long after that incident did your family say, we have to leave? Adiel Cohen:   The same day, the same day. But because they dare to fight back, they knew that they're no longer safe. Because God forbid Jews resist to oppression and to violence. And the same night, my grandma told me that her father gave her a pair of earrings, silver earrings, and he told her, ‘Sarah, take these pair of earrings and keep them safe. That's the only thing that you can take with you to Eretz Yisrael.'  And the same night they were packing everything that they could but not too much because they needed to walk by foot. They packed their stuff for the way, and with dawn they set to the city of Aden. In Aden, there was the transit camp, Hashed, which all Yemenite Jews from all over Yemen fled to during this time.  And from there, Operation Magic Carpet commenced, but the journey was incredibly hard. My grandma used to tell me that the entire world was in the 20th century, and Yemen was still somewhere in the 18th century – no roads, camels, donkeys, sometimes Jeeps. And she told us one story which completely blew my mind. It was a few weeks before she passed away. About how she, at some point, they traveled night and day, continuously, and at some point, her donkey with her sister and her little brother, baby brother, broke off from the caravan.  The rest of the family, they had to stay somewhere. And they were held up, basically. But my Savta continued with their donkey, with her sister Tzivia, and their baby brother, one-year-old Ratzon. And, you know, along the way, they had to face bandits and gangs, and it was very, very tough. They had to pay ransom every few miles.  And at some point, when they broke off from the caravan, a bandit came and assaulted them. He pushed them off the cliffside and took the donkey with everything, everything they had – food, the equipment, they had nothing left. And they were left stranded on the cliffside. It was already starting to get dark. And they don't know where the rest of the family is, somewhere in the back, and they don't know if they can ever find them.  And she told me that it began to get darker and darker. And at some point, they looked up and all they saw was pitch black and just night sky full of stars. And they were praying and they were singing, just hanging on a cliffside. Imagine that at the time, she was 12. Her sister was 14. And they were both holding a little one-year-old baby.  And she said that when they stopped singing, they kind of lost hope already. Their brother started crying. And when he started crying, that's exactly when their family passed on the trail up on the mountain. And this is how they got rescued in the middle of the night, in the middle of the desert after being attacked and robbed. And they had to just continue walking all the way to Camp Hashed. They spent a few months there as well. Not easy months. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Your grandmother was one who believed in miracles, I believe. Adiel Cohen: Yeah. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Yeah, okay.  Adiel Cohen: Yeah, definitely. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Yes. Well, instead of going into the details of Operation Magic Carpet, or On Eagle's Wings was really the name of that operation, I encourage our audience to listen to the first season of The Forgotten Exodus, where we interviewed Israeli Olympian Shahar Tzubari. His family also came from Yemen and the details of Operation On Eagle's Wings, there's a lot of details about that in that episode. So I encourage you to go back and listen to that, so that we can move on to your family's arrival in Israel, which also was not easy. Adiel Cohen:   Yeah, definitely not easy. I believe you all heard of the conditions in the transit camps in Israel. My family arrived in the winter of 1950. It was considered probably the coldest winter recorded in Israel. So cold it snowed in Tel Aviv. And that was the first time my grandma ever saw snow.  They arrived at the transit camp in Ein Shemer, and they were one of the lucky families. I guess, maybe, because they were pretty well off. They didn't sleep in a tent, but they slept in a tin shack, a little tin shack. Not the best conditions, obviously. No heating, no beds, sleeping on the ground, the entire family, and, you know, passing the tough winter months. Mud, rain, everything.  And, after a few months there, they were assigned a new place in Kadima, which is a small village in the Sharon, in central Israel. Agricultural community. And my family – who are all traders, jewelers, they don't know anything about farming – they lasted there for very, very little time.  At some point, the head of the family, the grandfather said, we're out of here. And part of the family moved to Tel Aviv, to Kerem HaTeimanim, the Yemenite quarter, which is very, very dear to my heart. And the other half to Ramat Gan, my hometown, which is even more dear to me. This is where I was born and raised. My grandma met my grandfather there, and this is where they married. Manya Brachear Pashman:   How did they plant roots in Israel? I mean, they left with hardly anything, except for a pair of, your grandmother had a pair of silver earrings in her possession. How did they start with nothing and build from there? What did they build? Adiel Cohen:   There was a lot of, like, hustling and, like, trying to make things work, and moving from job to job until she got married and became, how do you call it, like? Manya Brachear Pashman:   Homemaker or housewife? Homemaker, mother. Adiel Cohen:   A housewife, yeah. She took care of the kids, and my grandfather, he did most of the work. He did, again, silversmith, some trading, a lot of hustle as well, in between. They really just kind of made it work somehow.  Also, they were organizing a lot of events in their homes, a lot of community events and parties for the community, for the neighborhood, which is also something that looking back now that, you know, I spoke to my parents about it, it makes a lot of sense. You know, I grew up on these values of how important the community is and how important it is to be involved in the community. So it came from my grandparents.  Manya Brachear Pashman:   In addition to those values, what traditions have you been able to preserve that are very meaningful to you in terms of – when I say traditions, I mean, religious rituals, recipes, attire? Adiel Cohen:   Yeah, so if you mention attire, I have a very, very special item in my closet that I got from my grandfather, from Saba Pinchas. It is his original Yom Kippur gown for men. It's a beautiful, white, long shirt, with golden embroidery, all the way from Yemen. And it still sits in my closet waiting for the right project to kind of show it off. I tried wearing it, I'm not gonna lie, tried wearing it. It looks weird – it's very, very archaic, but it's beautiful nonetheless.  And in terms of recipes, of course, my grandma used to make all the Yemenite Jewish food from Yemenite soup, to all sorts of bread which we're very famous for. People think that Yemenites only eat bread, but it's not true. But we do have a lot of types of bread.  So every Friday growing up I used to wake up and see a pile of zalabiyeh, which is kind of like a fried pita flatbread. Very amazing, like, crunchy but also soft. Every Friday morning, lahuhe, all the recipes. And if you follow my Instagram and you see sometimes when my grandma was alive, I used to post a lot of videos about her and about our traditions.  She had her own recipe for charoset for Pesach. In Yemenite Jewish dialect we call it duqeh. It's kind of like the regular charoset that you know, only with a little bit of Yemenite spice mix, so it's very sweet but also has a little, like, zing to it. Very, very good.  If we're talking about Pesach, then I also made a video about that. The Yemenite Seder is very, very unique in the sense that we don't have a plate; we don't have a Seder plate. All the simanim (signs) and all the food is on the table as decoration. So we use the lettuce and radish and all the simanim (signs) as kind of like a frame for the table, it looks like a whole garden on the table. And we just eat from what we have on the table. And, of course, the religious traditions, the way of pronouncing the Torah. I spent months before my Bar Mitzvah relearning Hebrew in the Yemenite dialect. It's like learning a whole new language, not to talk about the te'amim, the melody that you need to read it. You need to be very, very punctuate. All of it – it's a huge part of my identity. Manya Brachear Pashman:   You must have done a wonderful job because there's also a photograph of you and your Savta at your Bar Mitzvah, and she looks quite pleased. So you must have done a fine job. Adiel Cohen:   She was my best friend. Yes, we lived together in the same house. In Israel, we kind of preserved the original way of living in Yemen. So we lived in the same house with my Savta. And I was very lucky. Most of my grandparents, all of my grandparents beside her, passed away when I was very young, but I was very lucky to live with her for as long as she lived and hear all these stories, every single week.  And, you know, even after I started my activism, she was my biggest supporter. I used to come back from trips to different Jewish communities and delegations and trips to Dubai and Morocco.  And the first thing I did was knock on her door, sit with her for a good 20 minutes, and just share my experiences and she was so pleased. And if I can share one example: a year ago, I came, not a year ago, it was this summer, I came back from a trip to Dubai where I met a Yemeni guy that took me to a Yemeni shop owned by actual Yemenis from Yemen, with spices and honey from Yemen and jewelry and, really, everything from Yemen.  And they offered me, when I told them the story of my family and I showed them pictures, they offered to give my grandma a gift. They told me, pick whatever you want from the jewelry section, and it's a gift for your grandma.  And when I came back from Dubai, and I gave her that, her eyes were just lit and filled with tears, because, you know, she hasn't been to Yemen, where she was born, ever since they left. So it was really one of the most touching moments before she passed away. Oh, I'm gonna cry. Yeah, we were very, very close. And I'm very, very lucky to be her grandson. Manya Brachear Pashman:   What happened to the earrings that her grandmother gave her? Adiel Cohen:   Wow, I wish we still had them. They sold them when they got to Israel to make a living. It was very, very tough, especially in the 50s. In Hebrew we call it t'kufat ha'tzena (period of austerity). All of Israel was basically a huge refugee camp, and the government had to, you know, make sure everyone has enough food and, you know, supply and all that. So they, unfortunately, sold it. Manya Brachear Pashman:   I do love it when you share your family stories and your heritage on your social media channels and, you know, the videos of making charoset and the language, the sharing of the vocabulary words. I'm curious what kinds of reactions you get from your audience. Are they surprised to hear that you hailed from Yemen? Are they just surprised by your family's origins? Adiel Cohen:   So it's interesting to see the progression throughout the years. I started my activism and content creation in 2020. And when I just started talking about my Yemenite heritage, people were very surprised, people from our community, from Jewish communities around the world, were surprised. I heard a lot of more surprised reactions.  I think nowadays and in the past few years there's a lot more awareness to different stories and different Jewish communities, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. So I'm happy to see that. And I see a lot of interest among Jews from other parts of the world. People ask me all the time to share about my traditions, to share about, you know, how we celebrate that and how do we pronounce that and all of that.  And from the non-Jewish audience, I'll start with reactions from the Arab world. I managed to forge a lot of amazing connections and friendships with Yemenis, Yemeni Muslims, based on our shared traditions and commonalities between our cultures. Yemeni Jewish culture and Yemeni Muslim culture is a little bit different, even in terms of food, but there are some commonalities, of course.  So it's very fun and fulfilling to be able to be a bridge between these communities who are alienated from Israel, to Israel. We're sort of a bridge between our nations. For sure, there are also a lot of hateful comments that I receive from people telling me, you're not really – the Zionists kidnapped you and you shouldn't be in Palestine, you should be in Yemen, come back to Yemen where you actually belong.  They made sure that we can't come back to Yemen throughout these years, and they showed us where we really belong. So, you know, there are these comments as well. But I can definitely say that the majority of the comments and reactions are very positive, and people are thirsty for knowledge and for stories about different communities. I see it. Manya Brachear Pashman:   I mean, everyone in this audience has a family story to share, has their own heritage. And I'm curious, Adiel, how does it serve the Jewish people to share our stories and where we all come from? Why is that so important to share, especially at a time like this, when there are so many false narratives out there? Adiel Cohen:   This is my favorite question. Because telling stories is my whole shtick. This is my bottom line of every single, you know, speaking engagements with students and stuff like that. Two things that make telling stories, telling our stories very important.  First of all, is outside of the community. People don't know who Jewish people are. Non-Jews, they don't know who Jewish people are. I see it all the time, a lot of ignorance, which I don't blame them for, right? I don't know a lot about Uyghur people in China. And we can't expect people to stand up for us against antisemitism if they don't know who we are. And we can't expect them to know who we are if we're not there to tell our story.  Because unfortunately, a lot of haters love to tell our story for us. It's kind of like a tactic for them. And the way they tell their story about us is completely different, and it serves a purpose that doesn't align with our purpose. To put it in good words.  So that's one important thing, telling our stories open up who we are to other audiences. When they get to know us, they can, more chances that they will stand up for us against antisemitism. And just in general, you know, just getting to know different communities and building bridges is always good.  And the second important point of telling stories is within our community. I can for sure say that before I started my activism on social media and being more involved with other Jewish communities, I did not know much about Yiddish. I did not know much about, you know, Ashkenazi culture or other cultures, even those we have in Israel. Because, you know, in Israel, we don't really talk about it. It's all on the surface level.  You know, Yemenites eat jachnun, Iraqis eat kubbeh. But once you get to know other Jewish communities and build bridges between these communities based on our stories, your individual Jewish identity and connection to the bigger Jewish collective would be stronger.  I feel a lot more Jewish – now that I know what Ashkenazim have gone through, what Ethiopian Jews have gone through, what Indian Jews have gone through, and all throughout the world. When we build these bridges, between our communities, we bring our people and our nation to the next step in history. We've been in diaspora for 2000 years, disconnected from each other, loosely connected but generally disconnected.  And now that we have Israel and now that we have social media and that we are more connected and that we have this very strong compass that points at this one land, it's easier for us to build these bridges.  And when we build them, we turn from a nation that is dispersed and made of disconnected communities to a network of communities that make a bigger, better, stronger nation, together with our diversity, with our stories, with our different experiences. Manya Brachear Pashman:   That's beautiful. Thank you so much. Adiel Cohen:   Thank you so much. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Yemenite Jews are just one of the many Jewish communities who, in the last century, left Arab countries to forge new lives for themselves and future generations.  Join us next week as we share another untold story of The Forgotten Exodus. Many thanks to Adiel for joining us at AJC Global Forum 2024 and sharing his family's story in front of a live audience. Too many times during my reporting, I encountered children and grandchildren who didn't have the answers to my questions because they'd never asked. That's why one of the goals of this project is to encourage you to ask those questions. Find your stories. Atara Lakritz is our producer. T.K. Broderick is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Jon Schweitzer, Nicole Mazur, Sean Savage, and Madeleine Stern, and so many of our colleagues, too many to name really, for making this series possible.  You can subscribe to The Forgotten Exodus on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can learn more at AJC.org/theforgottenexodus.  The views and opinions of our guests don't necessarily reflect the positions of AJC.  You can reach us at theforgottenexodus@ajc.org. If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to spread the word, and hop onto Apple Podcasts or Spotify to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us.

Deception is Under Control  (audio) David Eells - 8/21/24  And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn [upon them] (2Co.4:3-4).   The god of this world is Satan, but he does not run this world. He is called the god of this world because this world worships and serves him whether they know it or not. Anyone who serves the lusts of their flesh worships and serves Satan as their god. He is the father of the flesh, which is also called the old man. God never gives Satan credit in the Scriptures for being sovereign. Jesus said, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth (Mat.28:18).   Satan blinds the minds of the unbelievers so that they do not understand and see the light of the Gospel. We can see from other Scriptures that Satan received his authority from the Lord to blind the unbelievers. (1Pe.5:8) Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (9) whom withstand stedfast in your faith… We have the ability to withstand Satan when we walk by faith, but the word “may” here implies that he has permission to devour those who do not believe. With Christians or non-Christians, unbelief gives permission to Satan. The faith that resists and binds Satan is a gift from God (Eph.2:8).   (Joh.12:35) Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not: (Notice that word “overtake.” This indicates that darkness is chasing all of us. The Lord is saying that for a little while we are going to receive the light but do something with that light while you have it, so that the darkness does not overtake you.) and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.   (36) While ye have the light, believe (I.e., trust in and act on) on the light, that ye may become sons of the light. (If we do not act on the light now, the impression will leave us and the darkness will again close in. When we pass by the moment, we have been tried and failed if we have not done something with the light.) These things spake Jesus, and he departed and hid himself from them. (Jesus hides Himself from those who do not value the light enough to act upon it.)   …(38) that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? (39) For this cause they could not believe, for that Isaiah said again, (40) He hath blinded their eyes, and he hardened their heart; Lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, And should turn, And I should heal them.  Israel had the light for a long time, and they did not bear fruit of it. Many Christians have the light, but do not act on it. They start out in a blaze of glory, but soon the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, trials, and persecutions hardens their hearts and allows the darkness to overcome them (Mat.13:19-23). We must believe and walk in the light while we have it so that Jesus does not withdraw and hide himself.  In (Isa.6:8) And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me. (9) And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. (10) Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed. God is blinding eyes and hearts through the devil. God makes us responsible when we see His Word to walk in the light of its truth. (1Jn.1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Walking in the light sanctifies us.   God has a method for weeding the Church which most do not understand. (2Th.2:3) Let no man beguile you in any wise: for [it will not be], except the falling away come first… (8) And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming; (9) [even he], whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,   (10) and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: (12) that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Falling away comes through the deception of Satan.   However, God is sending this working of error to those who do not love the truth so that they might be judged. This letter is addressed to the Church. Only Christians, using the term loosely, can fall away. There is a great falling away today, but an even greater deception is coming. Before God sends judgment, He sends “a working of error” to weed out the Church. Who will believe a lie? It is the evil and wicked who will believe a lie.   (Pro.17:4) An evil-doer giveth heed to wicked lips; [And] a liar giveth ear to a mischievous tongue… (11) An evil man seeketh only rebellion; Therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. The evildoer will be weeded out by deception. They will be the ones who are going to buy the lie and fall away. The righteous love God's Word and the truth, and will not be deceived because they will not depart from it in the midst of trials.   (1 Cor.11:19) For there must be also factions (Greek: “heresies”) among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you. It is necessary for heresies to be among us, so that they that are approved by God may be known. God is doing two things with deception and evil: He is revealing the wicked, and revealing the true. This is God's method throughout history for separating His people from the tares. Birds of a feather flock together. God will gather the tares into bundles to burn them.   Deception is one of God's methods for proving who will be counted worthy of the kingdom of heaven. Remember this working of Satan will come through power, signs, and lying wonders. These are placebos to pacify the Church with replacements for the genuine to confirm the lies being taught. The genuine are listed as gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healings, workings of miracles, prophecy, discernings of spirits, kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. For our own safety, we should obey Paul who said, Learn not [to go] beyond the things which are written (1Cor.4:6).   We read in (Dt.13:1) If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, (2) and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods (Elohim), which thou hast not known, and let us serve them. Here we have a false prophet speaking a sign that comes to pass. No false prophet can command something and have it come to pass unless God says so.   (Lam.3:37) Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? This is clear that God is trying His people with error. This prophet is saying, “Let us go after other gods.” This is not as uncommon as we may think. Actually, the Hebrew word for “gods” here is the same word used everywhere else in the Old Testament for our God “Elohim.” In this case, he is talking about a false elohim.   There are many false elohim, because anyone who has a Jesus of their own making and not the Jesus of the Bible has a false elohim. (Dt.13:3) Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. False prophets prove us for God by deception. God is saying it is necessary for us to be proven by deception to see if we love Him.   Those who love Him will not buy the lie. (Dt.8:2) And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not. This is the whole point. A prophet, a dream, a vision, a teaching, or anything that comes to us that is not according to the commandments is a trial from God, to see if we are going to be counted worthy of the kingdom.   Now in (Eze.14:1) Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. (2) And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, (3) Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them? An idol is anything that demands more of our love, time, or money than God; self-will being the most evil idol. Should we ask the Lord's direction if all we want is what we want? It is dangerous to inquire of the Lord with self-willed motives before our face. We may satisfy our flesh but lose a blessing.   (Eze.14:4) Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord: Every man of the house of Israel that taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him therein according to the multitude of his idols.   God is not our God, and we are not His servants when our will is more important than His Will. Before we ask God, we should ask ourselves if we would be as willing to go in the opposite direction should He give that answer. If we would not, then we have an idol. We should deal with our idol first. (Eph.5:5) For this ye know of a surety, that no… covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. The Greek word for “covetous” only means “to desire more.” A person who desires more than is necessary is an idolater. The word “idolater” comes from two words, eidolo, meaning “that which is seen” and latres meaning “a servant to.”   Those who constantly desire more are servants to that which is seen (physical things), not the Lord. These things can be anything – possessions, a job, a religion, or people to name a few. When people serve themselves, they can be their own idol, like the son of perdition who sits in the temple of God making himself god. Judas, whom Jesus called the son of perdition, sat among the disciples who were the temple of God. He was his own idol because he only wanted to please himself. There are many Judas' today. (Exo.20:3) Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Whatever is more important to us than the Lord is going to deceive us if we do not renounce it.   Back to (Eze.14:7) For every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that separateth himself from me, and taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet to inquire for himself of me; I the Lord will answer him by myself: (8) and I will set my face against that man, and will make him an astonishment, for a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.   Those who are separated from God through their idols will be answered according to the lusts of their own heart. God is going to give them an answer that is not a true answer because He will be answering their lusts. God said, “I the Lord will answer him by myself.” The Lord's answer may come through an apostate prophet, a religion, a thought, a dream, a word or a doctrine, but it will come to deceive. This could bring chastening or even reprobation as we see in verse eight.   (Eze.14:9) And if the prophet be deceived and speak a word, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. A true prophet, who has idols, or a false prophet can be deceived by a false word from God, as we shall see. (2Th.2:11)… God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie. The Lord sends the false word because people do not love Him, but the world. (1Jn.2:15)… If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. We are here to prove who it is that loves God.   God is going to cleanse His Church in these days because there are many idols. When the Word of God says one thing, and we believe our religion, which says another, our religion is our Babylonish idol. God will send deception and it's an increasingly degenerative road to travel. The more we believe religion, instead of God, the more deception comes in. Nothing but the Word of God should move us.   (Rom.3:4) God forbid: yea, let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified (accounted righteous) in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment. When we agree with God in the midst of judgment, we will prevail. These are the people whom God accounts as righteous.   When we receive a prophecy, vision, dream, revelation, or a word that agrees with the Word of God, praise the Lord because the Word does not give many specifics. It does not tell us where God wants us to live or work or whom He wants us to marry. It gives us principles to find out the true will of the Lord in all areas. We can desire something so much, we hear “the Word of the Lord.” We can become convinced that this is what the Lord wanted us to do, only to find out later that we missed God. We need to be careful, because if our desires are not for the will of the Lord first, we can be deceived.   Let's look at Balaam's situation. The children of Israel were in the plains of Moab. Balak, the King of Moab, was very fearful of the Israelites. He gathered together the elders of Midian and Moab. They decided they would hire Balaam to curse these people. Balak said to Balaam, I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed (Num.22:6). If Balaam spoke the Word of the Lord, it was going to come to pass.   The “profit” Balaam went to the Lord with the promise of rewards in his heart and a request to curse Israel on his lips. (Num.22:12) And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed. (13) And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land; for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.   Balak did not give up. He sent more honorable princes who offered to bestow upon Balaam a very high honor and give him anything he asked. Balaam decided to ask the Lord again since this sounded like a pretty good offer. (Num.22:19) Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will speak unto me more. (20) And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men are come to call thee, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak unto thee, that shalt thou do.   Balaam did not like God's “no,” so God, wanting to put to death his covetous self-will, gave him a “yes.” (21) And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. (22) And God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the Lord placed himself in the way for an adversary against him…   Notice that God was angry that He went contrary to the first word spoken to him. The ass carrying Balaam to his reward, saw the angel with his sword in the way and stopped, saving his life. Balaam, still ignorant of the angel, was furious and beat the ass. Then God opened the ass's mouth to reason with Balaam, who was so blinded by the prospect of reward that he did not realize that an ass was reasoning with him and making more sense than he was.   (Num.22:32) And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because thy way is perverse before me. The Hebrew word translated “perverse” here means “headlong” or “self-willed.” Because of this self-will, the Lord gave Balaam what he wanted to hear and told Balaam to go and speak what he was told to speak, but when Balaam went, the angel of the Lord was waiting to kill him.  Balaam got the following revelation through this: (Num.23:19) God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and will he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good? Balaam really wanted God to change His Word. Have we ever been there? It is a dangerous place to be in if we want a straight answer from God. God can send deception that will lead to crucifixion of the flesh or in more stubborn cases reprobation.   (Jude 1:11) Woe unto them! for they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah. We can be hired by our own selfish desires. Balaam wanted God to tell him “yes” and refused to hear God's “no,” so God told him “yes.” Be careful how much you want something from God. God wants us to submit our will to His, to desire what He wants, and to take Him at His Word. Do not let your flesh be pampered by voices that speak contrary to what the Word has already spoken, or God will send deception.   (2Th.2:11) And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: (12) that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Many have adopted deceptive doctrines that appease their selfish desires such as doctrines of materialistic prosperity rather than sacrifice, unconditional eternal security so that they may live after the flesh without fear of God's warnings, rapture without purification through trial, eternal life without discipleship and holiness, etc.   God's people have justified just about anything to appease their flesh such as unscriptural divorces, abortion, drunkenness, drugs, lying, stealing, etc. Peace for the flesh is deception. Satan and his ministers are anxious to tell us what our flesh wants to hear. (2Co.11:14) And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. (15) It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness…   When Jeroboam was the king of the northern ten tribes, he was afraid that his people would go and worship in the ordained temple at Jerusalem and, in so doing, stay and serve the king of Judah. He decided that he would erect altars for the people in Bethel and Dan. Jeroboam then made two golden calves and called them in Hebrew Elohim (1Ki.12:28). He put the name of our God on his own creation. Aaron did the same thing when Israel came out of Egypt. He built a golden calf and called it in Hebrew YHWH and Elohim. The apostate religions teach a Jesus of their own creation, not the Jesus of the Bible. Paul called him another Jesus (2Co.11:4). Jeroboam and his people were serving another Jesus.  The golden calf was the Egyptian god Apis who was called the creator. In other words, they were worshiping the god they knew in the world before they ate the Lamb and came out of Egypt. Many “Christians” are worshiping a Jesus that is acceptable to the world and the flesh. Jeroboam and his apostates were also making priests (ministers) who were not Levites (1Ki.12:31). This tells me that in ten of the twelve tribes, the ministers were not ordained of God but apostates. That is exactly what has happened in the church today.   God sent a young prophet to prophesy against the altar in Bethel. In Hebrew, “Bethel” means “house of God.” At that time, the king was standing at the altar offering incense before the people. When the prophet prophesied against the altar, the king stretched out his arm and pointed his hand at the prophet and told his men to seize him. At that point, the king's hand dried up and he could not draw it back. The altar rent and ashes poured out, which the prophet prophesied would happen.   This, obviously, symbolized that God did not accept their sacrifices in this place of apostasy. The king asked the prophet to restore his hand, so the prophet prayed, and the Lord restored the king's hand. As a result, the king wanted to take the prophet home and reward him. The prophet declined for he was commanded by the Lord to neither eat bread nor drink water in that place (1Ki.13:8-9). That place was where God's people were in apostasy and where their leaders were not ordained of God. It was an apostate religious system.  We must not eat their bread! This represents partaking of a false Jesus since He was the bread of life (Joh.6:48). Jesus is also the Word. Jesus said to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Leaven changes the bread (the Word) to make it more acceptable to the flesh. Neither should we drink their water, which represents the false spirit formed by a false word. Jesus commanded us to come unto Him and drink of the living water of the Spirit through the Scriptures. (Joh.7:37)… Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. (38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. (39) But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive… Without this, any Jesus we might know is another Jesus.   The prophet was being obedient and was leaving those backslidden people. In Bethel, there was an older prophet who had heard what the young prophet did. He saddled his ass and caught up with him. (1Ki.13:15) Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. (16) And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: (17) for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. (18) And he said unto him, I also am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. [But] he lied unto him.   (19) So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. The young prophet falsely believed that God had changed His Word that was originally given and so ate and drank of the apostate word. We are told in Jude 1:3 to contend earnestly for the faith which was once… delivered unto the saints. Today many without scriptural foundation tell us that after the apostles God changed what He called an “eternal covenant.” This lie has robbed the Church of its power by replacing Jesus with a golden calf. Daniel and his three friends would not defile themselves with Babylon's food (Dan.1:5-16). After refusing Babylon's food, they were said to have ten times the wisdom and understanding of those who did eat (Dan.1:17-21). They also were the only ones to not bow down to the image of the beast (Dan.3:12,18), Babylon's version of the golden calf.  The young prophet was deceived into a modern gospel. (1Ki.13:20) And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back; (21) and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient unto the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee,   (22) but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy body shall not come unto the sepulcher of thy fathers. The Lord tried the young prophet; but he was said to have “not kept the commandment” of the Lord, which was synonymous with partaking of apostate spiritual food. He lost his life in that place as many do today. The old prophet of God spoke a lie for personal gain. That place had leavened him, and he was now a false “profit.”   We must respect the Word of God so much that nothing can turn us away from it to another Jesus. We have to remain on guard, for even vessels of honor can be used as vessels of dishonor to try us. When the young prophet left a lion met him in the way and slew him. (1Ki.13:26)… the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord…The lion was given permission from God to kill the one who ate the apostate spiritual food. (1Pe.5:8)… the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. “May” is used here because the devil must have permission to devour. He is ordained to devour apostates.   The Lord tested the apostle Paul by His Spirit. (Acts19:21) Now after these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. Paul determined in the Spirit, that he was going to Jerusalem and then to Rome. He could have only gotten that revelation from God because it was in the future. (Act.20:22) And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: (23) save that the Holy Spirit testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. It was the Holy Spirit telling Paul to go to Jerusalem where he could expect bonds and afflictions.   (Act.21:4) And having found the disciples, we tarried there seven days: and these said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not set foot in Jerusalem. Notice this was just the opposite of what the Holy Spirit had told Paul he was going to do three times before. Paul was being proven by “the Spirit” as to whom he would listen. Other disciples were offering a new word. He was being given an opportunity to obey his flesh and avoid the spiritual cross. (Act.21:10) And as we tarried there some days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. (11) And coming to us, and taking Paul's girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.   Having been told by the Spirit again that he would go to Jerusalem and be persecuted, he was now going to be tried by human sentiment. (12) And when we heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. (13) Then Paul answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. (14) And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. Paul obeyed what the Lord told him, which is the important thing.   The Lord will try us by His Spirit to see if we will believe what He has told us. We need to believe the original promises above all that we see and hear. God will prove or try us through religion, ministers, spoken word, or well-meaning friends. We are tried by external circumstances, but we are tempted by our own lusts. These things are necessary to prove who loves God. God waited until the last seconds, when Abraham was about to plunge the knife into Isaac, stopped him and said unto him, Now I know that thou fearest God (Gen.22:12). There is no proof that we believe God's promises until we are tried. The Lord then provided a ram caught in a thicket for a sacrifice in the place of Isaac, the seed of Abraham. This, of course, typified Jesus who died in the place of all the seed of Abraham, including we who believe.  God will tell our spirit what He wants us to do. Dreams, visions, revelations, or spoken words will agree with our spirit, but not our flesh. When God sends us to a cross, we are going to be tried to not go. We can also be tried to go beyond the Lord. We should do nothing when we are uncertain of God's direction. We should not be led by prophecy or by dreams and visions when they disagree with our own spirit. These are to be wonderful confirmations and direction for what we feel in our spirit. We are to be led by the Spirit of God.   If God puts something Scriptural in our spirit, we should let no one talk us out of it. Peter was used to try Jesus in this way. Jesus told the disciples that He was to die at Jerusalem, and Peter rebuked Him. (Mat.16:22) And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall never be unto thee. (23) But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men. Jesus knew that He was being tempted by Satan through Peter to do his own fleshly will.  Many may be tested by alien demons, artificial intelligence, CGI, religion's seducing doctrines, fleshly enticements, money and prosperity but we must follow the Spirit and Word through our spirit to escape.

In this week's episode of Defending Faith, Family, and Freedom, GaryBauer interviews frequent guest Tom Rose, who is live from Israel. The two discuss the historical importance of the National Jewish Day of Mourning. In Hebrew, the Tisha B'Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar (August 12-13, 2024). On this day, Jews deprive themselves of nearly all human comforts and devote themselves to prayer and fasting. The holiday is the culmination of the Three Weeks, a period during which the Jewish people mark the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 486 BC and the Roman Empire in 70 AD. You won't want to miss this fascinating discussion.

In this week's episode of Defending Faith, Family, and Freedom, GaryBauer interviews frequent guest Tom Rose, who is live from Israel. The two discuss the historical importance of the National Jewish Day of Mourning. In Hebrew, the Tisha B'Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar (August 12-13, 2024). On this day, Jews deprive themselves of nearly all human comforts and devote themselves to prayer and fasting. The holiday is the culmination of the Three Weeks, a period during which the Jewish people mark the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 486 BC and the Roman Empire in 70 AD. You won't want to miss this fascinating discussion.

Web Description: Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah is called the Prince of Peace because He reconciles us to the Father. Through Him we have shalom, which is expressed in the wholeness and completeness of mankind on the Sabbath when God rested after His works were completed. This is the peace that is ours in the fruit of the Spirit. And we reach in for the Holy Spirit to pour out this expression of God's emotion within us.   Show Notes: When we talk about emotions, we understand that there are human emotions and divine emotions. This includes the emotion of peace. And if we want to understand the emotion of peace only in human terms, we could find many ways that peace is defined and applied in the world today. However, the peace that we have in the fruit of the Spirit is not human peace but the peace that we receive from God. And we need to understand God's definition of peace.   In Hebrew, the word for peace is shalom. And shalom means “to be whole, to be entire, to be complete, to be in safety, and to be in health.” These concepts are distinctly tied to the meaning of the Sabbath. God rested on the Sabbath from all His works because His works were completed. They were perfect. They were whole and entire. Therefore to have the shalom that is the fruit of the Spirit is to have the wholeness and completeness that enables us to enter into the rest or Sabbath of God.   Clearly there is no rest in the world because people are always striving to achieve or enforce peace according to their own definitions. But this striving is directly related to our lack of wholeness and completeness, which only comes through our reconciliation with the Father. And this reconciliation is only brought about by Messiah, who is called the Prince of Peace because He restores our oneness with God, allowing each of us individually to become whole and complete. Only when we individually have shalom in God will we be able to bring peace into the world.   Key Verses:   •       Galatians 5:22–23. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” •       Isaiah 9:6. “A son will be given to us; … His name will be called … Prince of Peace.” •       1 Thessalonians 5:23–24. “May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely.” •       2 Corinthians 13:11–12. “Live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” •       Hebrews 13:20–21. “The God of peace … equip you in every good thing.” •       Philippians 4:8–9. “Practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” •       2 Thessalonians 3:16. “May the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace.”   Quotes:   •       “When we look at human striving that exists around us in the world today, we understand that all striving exists because of our lack of shalom, our lack of completeness. And that of course comes because of our separation from God.” •       “From now on when we greet one another with the word shalom, we realize that we are releasing the ability to be made whole and complete by the peace that God has made available through His great love for us.” •       “The prime objective of God's love is to bring about His peace with each of us personally and individually in order that peace can then encompass the globe.”   Takeaways:   1.    When God completed His creation, which included mankind, He sanctified it, by which man was purified. The Sabbath rest that followed was by the fact that everything was whole and complete, which is the definition of shalom or peace. 2.    This reality was lost by Adam in Eden, and it has left all of mankind trying to figure out what peace is, while striving to accomplish or gain what will make them feel whole and complete. 3.    God has made provision for our peace through His love manifested in Yeshua, who is the physical manifestation of the Day of Atonement. He is the Messiah, the great Prince of Peace, who has come to establish on this earth God's Kingdom of peace. 4.    Peace is only possible when we individually are at peace, having been restored to wholeness through reconciliation with the Father by the Prince of Peace.  

In Hebrew. Thank you for listening and God bless you!

Daily Dose of Hope July 18, 2024 Day 5 of Week 16   Scripture:  I Samuel 6-8; Acts 7   Welcome back everyone!  We are finishing up week 16 of the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements New Hope's Bible reading plan.  Let's get to our Scripture for today.   We will begin with our Old Testament reading in I Samuel.  Let's start with chapter 6.  The Ark of the Covenant had become a liability to the Philistines and they knew it had to be returned.  They return it to Israel, sending a guilt offering of golden tumors and golden rats along with it, to "appease" the God of Israel.  The Ark is met with much joy by the people of Beth Shemesh, the town to which the Philistines sent the Ark.  They make offerings to the Lord and the Levites set the Ark on a large rock for all to see.    But there were problems here too.  Some of the inhabitants were bold enough to look into the Ark and God struck them down.  To us, this seems kind of harsh but God had given his people strict rules about handling the Ark of the Covenant.  This is where the presence of God dwelt among his people.  It wasn't to be taken lightly.  It wasn't simply a curiosity; it was the presence of the living God and thus, there should be reverence and even fear.  The people seem a bit shocked.  They ask, "Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?"    I am quite relieved that we live on the other side of the cross.  Because of Jesus' death on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn.  We no longer have to be fearful about being in the presence of a holy God as the Israelites once did.  As Hebrews 4:16 states, we can go boldly to the throne of grace and receive his mercy.  Jesus has made a way for us to be reconciled to God; no more barriers and no more fear.  At the same time, I think there is still a place for reverence.  We don't need to be hesitant or fearful of God but we should still have a deep respect that God is God and we are not.   In chapter 7, we see the Ark of the Covenant being taken to its proper place and the whole of Israel repenting before the Lord.  Under Samuel's leadership, the Hebrew people put away their false gods and turned back to the one true God.  As a sign of repentance, Samuel called the people to gather at a place called Mizpah, where he sacrificed a lamb as an offering to the Lord.  The Philistines heard about this, all of Israel gathering together, and they decide this would be a good time to attack.  In response, Samuel pleads to God on behalf of the Israelites.  God takes care of things and the Philistines are easily defeated.   Samuel places a stone, called an Ebenezer, to mark the significant event when God interceded on behalf of the Israelites.  In Hebrew, the word Ebenezer actually means stone of help.  The purpose of an Ebenezer, as we see in I Samuel, is to remember what God has done for his people.   When I read this passage, I was reminded of one of my favorite hymns, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, which was written by Robert Robinson in 1758.  In one of the verses, we sing, "Here I raise my Ebenezer, Here by Thy great help I've come,  And I hope by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home."  Robinson grew up in a difficult home.  After his father's death, his mother sent him to London to learn a trade but he fell in with a bad crowd.  But God's hand was at work.  Robinson is led one night to a gathering in which George Whitefield preached and Robert Robinson gave his life to Jesus Christ.  At age 23, Robinson begins to pastor a Methodist Chapel and writes the hymn.  To him, raising an Ebenezer meant very intentionally remembering the good work God had done in him, pulling him out of a terrible situation and demonstrating his power and grace.    Think of the good works that God has done in your life.  How has God demonstrated his power and grace?  I'm wondering if we all might go get a large stone and raise an Ebenezer as a way to remember what God has done.   In chapter 8, Samuel is coming to the end of his life.  We read that he wants to appoint his sons to lead Israel but the people are opposed.  His sons, like Eli's sons before him, are more interested in getting rich than caring for the people.  It is a strange thing that we see throughout Scripture, some of the most faithful, strong leaders raise children who have no integrity.  Are they too busy leading the people to lead their own families?  That may need to be a discussion for another day.   In this situation, the people recognize the weaknesses of Samuel's sons and don't want to be led by them.  They request a king.  Samuel is distressed by this and goes to God.  God tells Samuel to warn the people what having a king will mean.  The king will force their sons to fight in wars and their daughters to work as domestic servants.  The king will tax them and take a portion of their crops and livestock.  But the people insisted.  From the earliest of days, God had been the one to direct Israel and choose its leaders. But now the people are demanding something else.  They think a human king will bring stability and safety, as well as a certain status among the nations around them.  And while God knew this was not what was best for Israel (the ideal way was for God to remain the one providing direct guidance and instruction to the people), he granted their request anyway.  God would now achieve his purposes in a new way, through a human king and all his frailties.  God will achieve his purposes.   Acts 7 covers the stoning of Stephen.  When he is dragged in front of the Sanhedrin, Stephen gives a long, eloquent history of how God worked through his people, leading up to Jesus.  The Jewish leaders are offended by his directness and they get really worked up when he looks up at heaven and declares that he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father.  Keep in mind, this would have been blasphemy to the strict Jews who sat on the council.  There was no real trial, no real discussion.  They simply drag Stephen out and start throwing stones.   Stephen was the first Christian martyr.  This was, of course, a sign of what was to come.  But Stephen also offers all Christians a beautiful model of how to live and die, trusting fully and completely in Jesus Christ.    Blessings, Pastor Vicki  

“It is not only the shortest psalm in the collection but also the shortest chapter in the Bible” Alter, 414; Longman, 398.  It is 27 words in the NASB and 28 in the ESV. In Hebrew it is only 17 words. “Many Hebrew mss.attach it to Ps. 116….Other Hebrew mss. join the psalm to Ps. 118” Allen, 117.The basic structure of a song of praise is simple. It begins with a call to praise (vs. 1). Then the word translated for or because introduces the reason for praise (lines 1 and 2 of vs. 2). Last, there is a final call to praise (line 3 of vs. 2).“Underlying this invitation is the conviction that the God of Israel is the God who rules the world” McCann, 1150.117:1 Praise the LORD, all nations- Other psalms, like Psalm 96:3, speak of praising God among the nations, but here all the nations and all peoples are called to praise God- Alter, 414. Laud Him, all peoples!- “This verb appears to be an Aramaic word for ‘praise, laud'; and unless it was also Hebrew but not used much in the psalms, it may indicate that the Psalmist chose it to address the nations since Aramaic was spoken in the non-Israelite world and became the dominant language at the time of captivity” Ross, 435. The word is used 11 times in the OT: I Chron. 16:35; Pss. 63:3; 65:7; 89:9; 106:47; 117:1; 145:4; 147:12; Prov. 29:11; Ecc.  4:2; 8:15.117:2 God's lovingkindness is described as ‘great.' The word ‘great' can refer to victory on the battlefield. For example, it is used twice in Exodus 17:11 in the description of Israel's battle with Amalek. Also see the word in military contexts in I Sam. 2:9; II Sam. 1:23; 11:23. The word is used for the flood waters prevailing- Gen. 7:18-20 – our iniquities prevailing- Ps. 65:3- God's blessings- Gen. 49:26- His lovingkindness- Ps. 103:11. “The Hebrew root is often used to indicate the power of a military conquer. Here it also affirms that God conquers the world, but that God does so by the power of His faithful love” McCann, 1150. God's lovingkindness has triumphed; it has prevailed.  Lovingkindness and truth are accompanied by each other in Ex. 34:6; Ps. 25:10; 36:5; 40:10; 57:10; 85:10; 86:15; 89:14; 92:2; 98:3; 100:5; 108:4; 115:1; 138:2 And the truth of the LORD is everlasting- The emphasis of the second line can be summed up by saying that God's plans and promises are as fresh and intact now as on the day that they were made; and they will remain so” Kidner, 412. His love and truth know ‘neither measure nor end” Allen, 118.God's lovingkindness and truth were dramatically demonstrated in the exodus and the events surrounding it. God revealed Himself to Moses as “abounding in lovingkindness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). “Their history was a monument to the greatness of His loyal love, for it was full of instances of loving, protecting, delivering, pardoning grace” Allen, 118. As Israel sang Psalm 117 at Passover, they remembered God's lovingkindness and truth in the exodus. God's dealing with Israel are a cause for universal praise among all nations and an attraction to all nations to worship such a God. Psalm 117 and JesusThe crucifixion/resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate display of the LORD's lovinkindness and truth. In the cross, God's lovingkindness and truth have triumphed, prevailed, and conquered the ruthless enemies of sin and death. The cross serves as a call for all nations to worship Him (John 12:32; Phil. 2:5-11; Rev. 5:8-14). Interestingly, as brief as Psalm 117 is, it is quoted in the New Testament. In Romans 15:8-12 Paul quotes from several OT passages (Rom. 15:9/ Psalm 18:49; Rom. 15:10/ Deut. 32:43; Rom. 15:11/Psalm 117:1; Rom. 15:12/Isaiah 11:10) to show God's desire has always

Send us a Text Message.“Is this not the brother of James and Joses?” In Hebrew, Jacob and Joseph. Jacob of course was the father of twelve sons, Joseph being the youngest, and favored son. And Judah and Simeon, the two brothers who very nearly had Joseph killed.I have Mass on Sunday, July 7 at St. Isidore @ 9:30/11:30 am.frjoedailey@gmail.comJoseph and his brothers, Painting by AVI EZRA, Israel.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 19, 2024 is: jubilee • JOO-buh-lee • noun Jubilee usually refers to a special anniversary or a celebration of such an anniversary. It can also refer generally to a season of celebration or act of rejoicing, or to a religious song of African Americans referring to a time of future happiness. // My grandparents will be celebrating their golden jubilee this year—as Grandpa puts it, "50 years of wedded bliss and occasional blisters." // The town is planning a year-long jubilee in celebration of its founding 200 years ago. See the entry > Examples: "The Juneteenth Freedom Day Festival … will celebrate the date the remaining 250,000 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, first heard news of the Emancipation Proclamation. The commemoration of that event has spread from Texas and now is observed nationally as a day of jubilee and freedom." — Patrick Murfin, The Chicago Daily Herald, 16 June 2023 Did you know? Juneteenth, a holiday observed in the United States on June 19 in commemoration of the end of slavery, has several other names as well, including Juneteenth National Independence Day, Freedom Day, Black Independence Day, and Jubilee Day. The word jubilee here is of special significance; while jubilee is often used generally to refer to an anniversary or celebration of an anniversary, its history is intertwined with the idea of emancipation. According to the biblical book of Leviticus, every fifty years Hebrew slaves were to be set free, lands given back to their former owners, and the fields left unharvested. This year of liberty was announced when a ram's horn was blown. In Hebrew, that ceremonial horn was called a yōbhēl, and the celebratory year took its name from that of the horn. As the Bible was translated into other languages, the concept of the yōbhēl spread around the world, as did its name (albeit with spelling modifications). It eventually entered English via the Anglo-French word jubilé in the 14th century. Since then, jubilee has not only kept its original, biblical sense, but has gained others, including one referring to a traditional African American spiritual that looks forward to a time of future happiness and deliverance from oppression.

A Wedding of Words Ruth's One-Way Flight Each year, it is traditional to read the scroll of Ruth at Shavuot. We might say the three scrolls of Ruth, Esther, and Song of Songs are the Bridal Scrolls of return from exile. There are many wonderful ideas about why Ruth commemmorates the giving of the Torah in addition to the story's setting, the time between the first fruits of the barley harvest at Pesach and the wheat harvest at Shavuot. Sometimes the simplest answer is the most memorable. What happened to Israel in leaving Egypt at Pesach is what happened to Ruth in leaving Moab and arriving at the House of Bread (Beit Lechem) at Pesach. The Israelites left Egypt as strangers there before she became a Bride, and Ruth left Moab to become a stranger in Judah before she became part of the Bride. The clue is in the wings that carried the Israelites and Ruth to their destinations, the wildernes and the Promised Land. In Hebrew, "wing" is kanaf  (??????). And why were they carried their places? To engage in a covenant of the Ten Words: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings (??????), and brought you to Myself.” (Ex 19:4) “May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings (??????) you have come to seek refuge.” (Ruth 2:12) He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering (??????) over your maid, for you are a close relative.” (Ruth 3:9) Were Israel and Ruth flown to a place of refuge, or were they moved to holier places in their journeys? Yes. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment (??????) of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”'” (Zec 8:23) The setting of Ruth's story is Beit Lechem, the House of Bread, where Judah was recovering from the famine. The wilderness also was a place of miraculous, Heavenly Bread and Living Water. A place of covering, anointing, preparation, and clean clothes for a nation of priests. The wilderness was where the Bride was purified with the Torah as she walked as she walked after her Bridegroom, picking up what He dropped for her each morning. Let's see if there are wilderness template parallels in the story of Ruth: The Ten Words to the Bride at Shavuot, Mount Sinai, Via Moshe, Friend of the Bridegroom become Ten Witnesses to the Bride's purity and offspring. Think of the Ten Words (Commandments) as Ten Witnesses, the observable grace of the Bride in preparing for her Bridegroom according to their everlasting agreement. Ruth's character exhibited this grace in the Word, witnessed by ten elders of Beit Lechem: ...for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. (3:11) He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. (Ru 4:2) Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today...(v. 9) All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the LORD will give you by this young woman.” (v. 11-12) Numerous times in Deuteronomy Moses called heaven and earth as well as the Israelites to be witnesses "today" of the importance of obeying the Words of the covenant. Ruth's obedience to the Ten Words had risen to such heights that she broke the "Moabite barrier," a passage in the Torah forbidding marriage to a Moabite, for they were stingy and inhospitable to their kin, Israel, as they passed in the wilderness. Ruth, however,

Faith is one of the primary foundations of our relationship with God. In Hebrew, the word for faith is Emunah. In this episode, Rabbi Schneider introduces the principles of Biblical Emunah and how you can put them into action in your life.   Visit our website at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com

IT'S HERE: STS HARDCOVER BOOK SIGNED COPIES FROM JOEL AND KARM: https://premierecollectibles.com/waldmanPre-Order Joel's Book: Https://amzn.to/48GwbLxSTS Website: https://survivingthesurvivor.com/STS Merch Store: https://www.bonfire.com/store/sts-store/STS Patreon: Https://patreon.com/SurvivingTheSurvivor#STSNation, Welcome to another episode of Surviving The Survivor, the podcast that brings you the #BestGuests in all of True Crime… Today, one of the worst mass crimes ever committed … The internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called Yom Hashoah. When the actual date of Yom Hashoah falls on a Friday, the state of Israel observes Yom Hashoah on the preceding Thursday. When it falls on a Sunday, Yom Hashoah is observed on the following Monday. In the United States, Days of Remembrance runs from the Sunday before Yom Hashoah through the following Sunday. #BestGuest: Child Holocaust Survivor Karmela Waldman #HolocaustRemembranceDay #Holocaust #Antisemitism #YomHashoah #CollegeCampuses #Hate #Jews #Jewish

In Hebrew, like many other languages, there are clear distinctions between male and female words — and the difference between the words “born” and “begotten” can alter your understanding of the resurrection! In one of the most eye-opening teachings he has ever taught, Michael Rood explains why this difference is so critical. Get your notes HERE! https://tinyurl.com/mwhypzv6 Watch more on the Michael Rood TV App! https://bit.ly/2X9oN9h Join us on ANY social media platform! https://aroodawakening.tv/community/s... Your Donation keeps these videos going! Thank you! https://aroodawakening.tv/donate/ Support us by visiting our store! https://roodstore.com/ Support us with purchases on Amazon!* https://amzn.to/3pJu9cC Have Questions? Ask us Here! https://aroodawakening.tv/support/con... "PLEASE NOTE: This is an affiliate link. This means that, at zero cost to you, A Rood Awakening! International will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions Covered:  06:25 – Can the Sacrament of matrimony be valid from other Christian denominations?  12:23 – Does the Church have a moral obligation to talk against Communism?  17:07 – Is Baptism after death possible?   20:28 – If two Catholics are married in Church and get a divorce, are they still spiritually married?   30:06 – Can you explain more about the current plenary indulgence from the Franciscan and Pope Francis? Is there a reason that communion wine has not come back in some churches?   36:33 – When was the church established?   43:18 – In Hebrew 5:8 it says Jesus had to learn obedience, why would He need to learn anything?    48:14 – Where can you go to get a Christian fiction book published?  51:38 – What is the appropriate way to evangelize an elderly atheist?   …