FAQ: Olive Tree Congregation

Q. What would be the accurate word or phrase to describe your building and/or congregation?

A. The scriptural term for a congrgation is the Hebrew word "kahal" and that would describe the people in general who belong to the L-rd. That is also a universal word for His people. The word "synagogue" is Greek and means "assembly" and the Hebrew term is" Beit Knesset", or house of assembly. Another term is "Beit Midrash", or house of study. These two terms describe some of the functions of an assembly, that is, a place to assemble and study the scriptures. The term "messianic" and has several meanings.

In the 1st century it carried the idea of a nationalistic, messianic expectation , in that the Messiah would come and deliver Israel from the Romans. Today, it is used to describe the fact there is a belief that Yeshua is the Messiah and the Torah is taught. However, the 1st century believers were referred to as "nazarenes" and that would probably be more accurate. These terms are used today to make a distinction from "the church" and rightfully so. There is no similarity between the two. What is taught is different, the concept of the Messiah is different, holidays and theology is different. The two groups may use the same terms, but the meanings are far different.

Q. What is this talk of three' heavens"? I've heard this before, but i'm unsure of what is the "good" heaven where G-d id, and what the "bad" heaven is. Is the "bad" heaven hell?

A. I don't know what you have been looking at, so it will be hard to get to the heart of your question, but I'll try to simplify it. There is a scriptural concept of 4 heavens, and the third heaven is referred to specifically by Paul in 2 Cor 12.2.

The first heaven is the sky and clouds. The second is where the stars, moon and sun are and the third is where Paul went. It is where the throne of G-d is and where Ezekiel saw his vision. This heaven is also called "paradise" and it is where believers go at death. But, there is a fourth heaven, where everything originated from. That is why Ezekiel would say he saw "something resembling a throne" and "on that a figure with the appearance of a man" (1.26). To help understand this, these heavens were given names corresponding to the four -lettered name of G-d. YHVH. Y="Azilut" meaning "emanation" because everything"emanates" from there.It is where G-d began creation from, where the other three "heavens " or worlds came from.

That would be referred to as the "fourth" heaven. The H= "beriah" meaning "creation" and that would be where Paul went, heaven proper, or third heaven or where the throne is. The V= "yezirah" meaning "formation" or the second heaven, the realm of angels. The last letter of G-ds name, the H= "asiyah" meaning "making" or the 1st heaven. That is the physical realm. The concept of unifying G-ds name (YHVH) carries with it the idea of the unification of these four realms (Zech 14.9). G-ds creation is vast and far beyond our mortal minds to comprehend, and many have tried to make easier to understand, but it just opens up more questions. But, keep studying and one day we will know for sure.