The 'Church Age' didn't begin in Acts 2

Q."Did the Church Age begin in Acts 2?"
A. The answer to that is "No" and here is the rest of the story. The word "church" is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word 'Kahal" which means assembly. There was no such thing as the "church" as it is known today in the Scriptures or in the 1st Century when the "new" Testament was written. The Congregation, another name for Kahal started at Mt. Sinai. In Deut. 18.16 G-d calls the day that Israel gathered around the mountain to receive the Torah as "Yom Kahal", the day of the assembly, or congregation. This assembly was made up of Jews and Gentiles who were to follow G-d's ways. What was seen, not only in the Torah but also the Nevi'im, or Prophets, was that when Messiah came there would be what was called the "Eschatological Congregation" empowered by the Ruach (power) of G-d. Let me explain.

When Adam sinned, he lost his authority to rule over the KIngdom of G-d. He lost the Kivod (glory, radiance), the Shekinah (presence) and the Ruach(power) of G-d. These were to be resstored by the work of the Messiah. These manifestations would appear at times among certain individuals, but not among groups of people. But, the Scriptures predicted a time when they would. In Num 11.14-35 we have the story of Moses asking for help to rule the people. G-d says to bring 70 elders to Him and G-d would take the Ruach(power) that was upon Moses and give to the 70. Two of the elders were not there, but G-d placed the Ruach upon them also. Joshua complains and Moses says that he wished all the people had the Ruach.

This was seen as prophetic. Joel 2.28-29 prophesies about a time when the Ruach will be on many people, and Peter quotes this verse to explain what happened in Acts 2. Shavuot, or Pentecost, is the day that G-d gave the Torah on Mt Sinai, and it was the day Yeshua said to wait for in Acts 1.8-9. Wait for what? The Ruach (power) to upon them, which was part of the restoration. Here is another problem. In Greek, the word for Shekinah and Ruach were both translated by the word "pneuma". But, they are two different manifestations. The Shekinah is "in" us and the Ruach comes "upon" us. That's why in Jn 20 Yeshua breathes "in" them (actual Greek) the Shekinah, wrongly translated "spirit" and then in Acts 1 tells them to wait for the spirit. Why would he tell them to wait for something they already had in Jn 20?

He didn't, the translators didn't understand the concepts. So, this eschatological congregation was now the "empowered" (by the Ruach) congregation , made up of Jews and Gentiles. What they did not see at that point was the "grafted in" concept which was the basis for Paul's teaching, based on the Shema in Deut. 6.4. Another thing which was never seen, nor should it have been, was a "gentilized church" that did not follow the Torah, the biblical festivals, that ate unlean foods and divorced itself from Israel and the Torah of G-d, actually calling themselves "replacement Israel". This" eschatological congregation" was to believe in Yeshua as the Messiah and show evidence of that faith by obedience to the written Torah commandments.

This concept was rejected by the so called "church fathers" and eventually was the basis for the theology formulated and consolidated by Constantine in 325 A.D. This was the beginning of the "catholic (universal) church" and is the "mother church" for every protestant denomination thereafter. In short, The Kahal Israel (congregation of Israel), made up of Jews and Gentiles, began at Mt Sinai, continued up to Acts 2, when in fulfillment of prophecy is now the "eschatological Kahal" empowered by the Ruach. The "church" most see today is counterfeit to this, which actually had its official beginning at the Council Of Nicaea in 325 A.D., headed by a known sun-worshipper named Constantine who remained a sun worshipper until the day of his death.

David buys threshing floors

Q. Why does it say in 2 Sam 24.18 that David bought Araunah the Jebusites threshing floor for 50 shelels and in 1Chr 21.25 he bought the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite for 600 shekels. Is this a contradiction?

A. It is not a contradiction, these were two seperate places. Araunah's floor was on Mt Moriah and Ornan's was most likely on Mt of Olives, called the "miphkad altar." Miphkad means "withheld" and it was something withheld or outside of the Temple. What many do not realize is that there were 2 altars. They were both seen as part of the Temple. On the Mt of Olives, certain offerings were cremated there, ashes were taken there and so on. There was a hole that measured 9x12 ft deep and 12-15 ft wide. It was a "depressed" altar if you will. The ashes in the hole were blown from west to east because of the winds off the Mediteranean Sea. Thus, Psa. 103.12 was fulfilled when it says that "as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." These threshing floors were no located on the top of the mountain, but down from the top. The threshers wanted to keep the wheat, so they did not want everything to blow away so they were down on the east side of the mountain, just down from the top.

They would throw the wheat and the chaff up in the air, catching the west wind at the top, blowing the chaff but the wheat fell down on the floor. Now, just a word about the Great Altar in the Temple. If anyone has seen pictures of it you will know what I mean, if you haven't, look on the Internet under Temple Altar to get an idea of what I'm saying. It was very high and wide and had 3 fires on it. It was made from uncut stones taken from a river bed, beneath the surface to make sure that no iron object had scraped the surface of the rock. It was lifted from the riverbed with wooden paddles. This area is known as the Beit Kerem valley, west of Jerusalem and tradition says it was the home of John the Baptist.

These stones were taken for the altar. During the Maccabean revolt, the altar was desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes and when the Temple was rededicated to G-d, there was no ritual to purify the altar so they had to build a new one. What about the old stones? You could not just throw them away because they were once dedicated to G-d. They decided to store them in a room in the northwest chamber of the inner court or "azarah" called the Beit ha Moked until Elijah the prophet came to tell them what to do. They are probably still up on the Temple Mount today. We are commanded to study the Temple in the scriptures and it reveals much about the Messiah.

1 Cor 15:52 & the Last Trump

Q.In 1Cor 15.52 the term "last trump" is used..what does that mean?
A. This would be a good time of the year to explain this because we are in what is called "the High Holy Days" which are the 10 days in between Rosh Ha Shanah and Yom Kippur. So to get a better understanding, lets start from the beginning. Biblically, Rosh Ha Shanah is the name of the feast in Num. 29.1-2 called "Yom Teruah" which means "the day of the awakening blast". A "teruah" is a note played on the shofar or rams horn.

Teruah also means "shout" (1Thes 4.16) and you will see it all over the scriptures. Rosh ha Shanah is the day that the resurrection of the dead and the believers in Messiah who are alive and remain will be caught up together to be with the L-rd. An idiom for Rosh Ha Shanah is "the Last Trump" because it relates to the 2 horns on ram caught in the thicket in Gen. 22 ,which is the reading from the Torah on this day. It relates to the full marriage between G-d and His people. A Jewish marriage consists of 2 parts, betrothal and full marriage. The betrothal between G-d and His people is seen at Mt Sinai when He gave the betrothal contract called the Torah. That festival is called Shavuot, "the first trump". The full marriage is seen as taking place on Rosh Ha Shanah sometime in the very near future, and is called the "last trump" (of the ram).

G-d sees how we kept the commandments(betrothal contract) as to whenther or not we belong to Him. Those who say the Torah is done away with have no contract, therefore no" betrothal" contract.That's why He says to those who say they believe in Him and worked miracles in His name and cast out demons "I never knew you" in Matt 7.21-23. They had no intimate marriage betrothal contract with Him because they are "lawless" or without the Torah. If you believe that the Torah is done away with and you follow man-made religions but say you believe in Yeshua, you may be this category and you need to get out of there.

At the resurrection, we go for the full marriage where we receive what was promised. The term "last trump" is an idion referring to this festival. Another Hebrew idiom for this festival is called "the day know man knows" because no man knows the day of his wedding in Jewish custom of the 1st century. Rosh ha Shanah is also the first day of creation in Genesis and that is why this day is called Rosh (head) ha Shanah(of the year). It starts the civil year biblically. It is also the only festival that begins on a new moon, and nobody knows when it is until the first sliver of the new moon is sighted, beginning the seventh month.

There is so much more about this festival that shows the resurrection of the dead and the believers who are alive and remain being caught up to heaven. Pauls uses at least 3 Hebrew idioms for Rosh ha Shanah in 1 Thes 4.13-18 and 1 Cor 15.50-52. The days leading to Yom Kippur are days of repentance. Yom Kippur teaches the actual arrival of Yeshua to the Mount of Olives and the destruction of the False Messiah. This festival is known as the "Great Trump" because one ,long shofar blast is sounded on this day to signal the end of the days of repentance and you are sealed for judgement.

There was an elaborate service in the Temple on this day and information is avaliable in the Mishnah 'Yoma" and Lev 16 in the Torah. Matt 24.30-31 says that Yeshua will return to the land with the "great trump" and judgement of the survivors of the Birthpains will begin. That judgement will occur within the 5 days between Yom KIppur and Sukkot, the feast of Booths or "tabernacles", which will be dealt with next week. These concepts are biblical and we know that these festivals are the blueprint for understanding Bible prophecy.

If you have not been taught these things it is because you are involved with people who do not follow the L-rd or His word and you will remain in darkness until you wake up and find someplace that does. Anyone who does not understand these festivals in detail will not understand Bible prophecy. Once these things are understood, you can listen to a so-called "prophecy" teacher and in five minutes find out whether or not they know what they are talking about or not, and that alone will save you alot of heartbreak, confusion and error. For more information contact us at our E-mail address OTMIN@SBCGLOBAL.NET. Now, go and study.

The Book of Jonah

Q.What is the book of Jonah about?
A. The main theme of the book is related to last weeks article about true stewardship. THis book involves a basic understanding of prophecy and the history of Israel and we can't go into too much detail here, but the overall idea will be discussed. Anciently, Jonah was seen as Israel. They had a commission to go out to the Gentiles, but "ran" from it. They wwere cast into the "sea" of the nations, encounter the sea monster known as Leviathan in the scriptures. Eventually. they were "resurrected" and "vomited" back onto dry land, the land of Israel.

Again, the commission to reach the Gentiles still stood , and although not perfected yet, will fulfill their original commission. Let's look into this a little deeper. Jonah means "dove" and this is the symbol of Israel on Song of Songs. His father is Amittai which means "truth" and Israels "father" was the Torah that was to instruct them. He goes "down" spiritually to Joppa and tries to run from his commission to the Gentiles where he encounters a great storm, which means troubled times. The sea was seen as the world and the domain of a creature called Leviathan, or twisted serpent. Then he is "swallowed" by Leviathan, who is a picture of the False Messiah, and at least the world system.

After he "dies" to himself he is resurrected (Ezek 37) from among the nations, or Leviathan, onto dry land which is seen as the land of Israel, alive but not perfect yet. He is told to arise a second time to fulfill his commission to the Gentiles, and Israel has this call today and we know it will be fulfilled in the Tribulation period. This commission has never been withdrawn and never will be. Jonah still has some attitude problems as we see in the last chapter when he is more upset over a shade plant dying then the repentance of the people. This concept is played out again in the story of Peter in Acts 10. Peter again symbolizes Israel. He is the physical son of a man named Jonah (Mt 16.17) and he is in Joppa, where Jonah was.

He receives the commission to go the house of the Gentile Cornelius and preach repentance. He is reluctant at first, but goes and the household is saved and Peter knows that anyone who comes to the L-rd, whether Jew or Gentile, is delivered without partiality (Acts 10.34-35). We see this commission in Mt.28.19-20 when Yeshua tells the Jewish talmidim (students) of His to go into all the world(nations) and teach them about the Kingdo, and to make them students as well. That is our commission today at Olive Tree Ministries and we invite anyone who fears G-d and does what is right (keeps the commandments) to come study with us (Acts 10.34-35). Contact us at OTMIN@sbcglobal.net or 972-937-9478 if you want more information.

Is tithing applicable today?

Q. Is "Tithing" applicable today?
A. To save the suspense, no it is not applicable today and here's why. When one reads the scriptures, you do not read it like you would a novel. You are to read it like a contract. Words mean things and to get the proper definition you must find the Hebrew meanings. Don't trust your English translations to give the right meaning, look them up the way G-d communicated them. In the details lies the message, so you need to go into the Word like a lawyer. Tithing in Hebrew is the word "ma'aser" . There are volumes written on this subject but it is nearly unknown within Christianity because they have "redefined" the words to fit what they want.

An attempt will be made here to get to the heart of the matter, but it will not be an exhaustive explanation.Tithing was agricultural. You did not tithe money. There are no scriptures to support what is done today. Secondly, you only tithed if you were involved in agriculture within the land of Israel. If you were a farmer outside the land, you did not tithe. Third, you tithed to the priests and the Levites, at certain times and places. There are three main types. There is the "Ma'aser Rishon" which is the first tithe, usually given around the feast of Shavuot. You went to the Levitical city near you and deposited the tithe there, at the storehouses and corrals that were prepared there. The years were divided into a "Shemitah" which is a seven year cycle. At the completion of seven cycles, or 49 years, the 50th year was a "Yovel" year, or mistranslated as "jubilee" year in most Bibles. Now, during each year it was divided into the spring and the fall. You brought the ma'aser rishon in the spring as things ripened in years 1-6 of the shemitah cycle. You did not tithe the 7th year.

The second type of tithing in Israel was the "Ma'aser Sheni" or the second tithe. This was brought in the fall around the feast of Sukkot to the Temple in the 1,2,4,5 year of the shemitah and a massive banquet was prepared and you ate it with the Priests and Levites at the Temple eventually. In the 3 and 5th year, it was taken to the Levitical city near you and given to the poor, widow, orphan and the Ger(Gentile who lived in the land and followed G-d). This was called the "Ma'aser Ani" or the poor man's tithe. You did not tithe the 7th year. There are two other types of ma'aser, or tithing. The first one is called the "Terumah Gedolah" or the great heave offering. This was 1/50th of your crop and given directly to the Kohanim, or priests. This was done all six years of the shemitah. The second is called the "Terumah Ma'aser" or the Levitical tithe where 1/10 of the Ma'aser Rishon is given to the priests by the Levites.

This is done all six years of the shemitah as well. As you can see, this does not resemble what is done today because what is done today isn't scriptural or accurate. It is a way to raise money for their respective churches and organizations, but it is not Tithing. Therefore, the verses like Malachi 3.8 and others that are used to promote these teachings so people will give are taken out of their intended meaning by G-d for personal gain. Now, that is not to say we should not give. If you give 10%, or 20% or whatever that is "Biblical Giving", but don't call it tithing and don't make people feel guilty if they don't. You who think you are tithing aren't really tithing biblically anyway.

Tithing was agricultural, done if you lived in the land of Israel, given to the priests, Levites, widows, poor, orphans and strangers, done at certain times of the year , to a certain place and not done at all every 7th year. The priests and Levites had no inheritance in the land and it was a way to take care of them. If you made your living off the land, you tithed to give back to G-d. If the people obeyed, He sent rain and kept the insects away. But, if you didn't, He would stop the rain and not rebuke the devouring insects until you did. This cannot be done in Texas, obviously. I hope this helps, Forward any questions you may have to OTMIN@SBCGLOBAL.NET. Now, go and study.

Esau's birthright

Q Jacob has been accused of "stealing "the birthright from Esau, but is this accurate?"
A. There has been much said about this incident found in Gen 25-27 and much of it has been fueled by anti-semitic feelings, but a closer examination shows that there more to this story than meets the eye, so let's examine this a little closer. Rebekah is pregnant and is told by G-d she is going to have twins. They struggle within her and she is told that the older one will serve the younger. Later Esau comes through the birth canal first, with Jacob grasping at his heel, thus the meaning of his name. "Heel" is alluding the the "end" of days and is also a messianic reference from Gen 3.15. This episode reveals that Jacob had in his heart even at birth a desire to have first-born status. It mean't something to him. Esau sells his birthright to Jacob because he didn't care about it (Gen 25.34).

Now, Rebekah overhears Isaac telling Esau about blessing him and realizes that this was not what G-d desired. She knew the prophecy about Jacob and Isaac appparently was not lining up with that, so she devised a plan to have Jacob impersonate Esau. Jacob was apprehensive about it from the start, but Rebekah took full reponsibility for it in 27.13. Jacob goes in and says to his father after a certain question, "G-d has caused this to happen to me" and receives the blessing of the first-born. Esau comes in later and finds out Isaac has blessed Jacob and accuses Jacob of "stealing" his birthright in 27.36. But, that is not true because Esau gave it away in 25.34, so Jacob was first born and Isaac blessed him correctly.

So, in reality, Rebekah believed G-d's word about Jacob and Isaac did not have his eye on what G-d wanted. She felt led to take this action and G-d caused this to come about in this manner, according to His purposes. Jacob didn't steal the birthright, it was given to him by Esau and this played out exactly as G-d desired. This story was initiated by Rebekah, not Jacob. G-d chose Jacob over Esau because G-d can do that, it's His choice. Esau wanted the status without the responsibility. Many teachers have called Jacob a "supplanter", and a "cheater and deceiver" but that is not the case. It was G-d's idea from the start and Rebekah was G-d's tool to bring this about in this way.

Almsgiving

Q. In Mt 6.1-4 it says when we give alms we are not to "sound a shofar(trumpet)", what does this mean?
A. The context of Yeshua's statement is giving alms. Alsgiving was done on a freewill basis and it has certain rules attached to it. The term used many times to cover this type of giving is "righteousness" which is the Hebrew word "tzedekah" and can also mean charity. There are many scriptures relating to this and one of the requirements is that you just didn't hand out money to anyone. You had to know whether or not they were really in need. In Vayikra Rabbah 34, which a rabbinic commentary on Leviticus, it says that there is an admonition to us to take personal interest in the person you give to, and to simply give a stranger alms. The thinking behind this is that G-d gave the money to a person to give as G-d directs and to just give without checking out the person would be a misuse of those funds that were meant for someone else. So, when we give, we should be involved with these people to a degree. We should not be giving money to imposters..

There are people who make their living off charities. In the Temple, there was a chamber that people went into to give alms or to take something out if you were in need. Nobody knew why you went in there. Also, there were 13 trumpet shaped receptacles in the Temple. When you gave alms, you dropped you gift into one of them The Mishnah and Josephus talk about thes receptacles. The reason they were shaped like that is because you could drop money in but you could not reach in and take any out, giving the impression you were giving. So, in Mt 6 "sounding a shofar"(the sound the money made as it went in) meant" to give the appearance of giving." In Prov 21.14 it says that we are to give in secret. Yeshua uses the very Hebraic term of "not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing" as a way of expressing that we are not to make a big production out of it. Today, people give and have their name written on a brass plate, or on a brick along a walkway, or have a building named after you.

THis practice ought not to be. THose things are incentives to get people to give and it appeals to the pride among the people. Yeshua said that they will not get a reward in Heaven because they were only after the affections of men, and they have their reward. In Lk 11.34-36 Yeshau uses another Hebrew idiom when He discussed giveng. He uses the terms "good eye" and "evil(bad) eye" and this term is also found in Proverbs. A "good eye" means a generous person and a "bad eye" is a stingy person. In our passage in Mt 6, verses 19-23 He uses these terms to describe a generous person contrasted with the stingy person. G_d wants people to give out of their hearts and with joy, not because you have to. There is an interesting passage in Num 31.48-54.

Christianity teaches that the sacrifices took away the sins of the people, and the Temple was destroyed because G-d sent the Messiah and a "new " way replaced this. They saw the passages about the sacrifices and how they "atone" for the soul. In Num 31, the people had just come from a battle with the Midianites and not one person was lost. In their thankfulness, the people gave gold, chains, bracelets, rings and earrings to "make an atonement for our souls before the L-rd." There were no animal sacrifices here.

The people were thankful in their hearts because they were safe and out of that they gave an offering back to the L-rd. It was not required but freewill, and it was equated with atoning for the the sins of the people. The blood of animals never took away sin, it was the hearts of the people in obedience to G-d that He saw, always did and always will. I hope this helps, now go and study.