Tag Archives: Torah

The Ascension of The Messiah

The ascension of the Messiah is something that most believers know about but don’t really know anything about because there isn’t much in Scripture said about it. In fact, Matthew, Mark, and John don’t even mention the ascension. The last four verses in Luke mention the ascension in only one of those verses. It is not until Luke continues his account in Acts that we are given a little more detail about the ascension.

What can we learn about the ascension with so little detail, and is it even an important doctrine?

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Happy Feast Day Sabbath!!!

It’s the Sabbath in the middle of the Feast. I hope you all are having a great time. Unfortunately, this Sabbath means the Feast will be ending soon, but it also means that the Torah portions begin next Sabbath.

There’s something that I think I forgot to mention, and that is the haftarah. Each Torah portion includes a passage or passages from the Old Testament that are connected with the Torah portion for the week. Those passages are called the haftarah. So now, if you see that word, you’ll know what it is about. The Torah portions also include passages from the New Testament that link to the readings, but they are simply called the New Testament passages. Sorry, no fancy name for those.

So, let’s look at what Torah portion will be for next week, October 2nd.

Torah portion #1 is called B’reisheet, which means “in the beginning.”

Torah reading:
Genesis 1:1 – 6:8

Haftarah:
Isaiah 42:5 – 43:10
1 Samuel 20:18-42

New Testament:
John 1:1-18

Throughout the week, the posts will cover the sections of the readings, but the actual reading of the Torah, haftarah, and New Testament passages will be up to you. If you keep up with the readings and the posts, then you’ll be ready for a discussion of Torah Portion #1 on October 2nd.

Enjoy the rest of the Feast, and let’s get ready for Bible Study!

Reminder on the Timing of Posts

The Feast of Tabernacles begins on Monday, September 20th, as the sun goes down. That means that the first Torah portion will be the Sabbath after the Feast is over in eight days. The posts for that Torah portion will begin the Sunday before that Sabbath. Each Torah Portion will be the same way, with the post beginning the Sunday before and going through the week. Just to be clear, the first post for the first Torah portion will be on Sunday, September 26th during the Feast of Tabernacles. All the posts during that week will be for the first study on Sabbath, October 2nd.

Enjoy the Feast, and get ready for Bible Study!

How Do You Return to a Place You’ve Never Been?

The Days of Teshuva, Part 4

In part 2, we learned that teshuva means to return to the paths of righteousness as written in the Torah. But what if you’ve never been taught the Torah? What if you were taught that Christians don’t need the Torah? Do we really need to do teshuva in that way?

Torah simply means instructions. The Torah is God’s instructions for how He wants us to live. What follower of God doesn’t want to live the way He designed for us? Maybe you’ve been taught that the Torah was just for the Jews and not for Gentile believers. Is it possible that God gave instructions to one group of people that He didn’t expect the rest of humanity to follow?

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To Lent or Teshuva, That is the Question

The Days of Teshuva, Part 3

So far, we’ve learned that the Days of Teshuva have begun and vaguely why they are at this time of year, and we’ve also learned what teshuva means. You may be able to see how Teshuva is similar to Lent. What I haven’t mentioned yet is that the days of teshuva are forty in number, just like Lent. One has to wonder, if the Days of Teshuva already exist, then why do most people celebrate Lent? I’ll get to that in a moment, but first I want to tell you about some observations and traditions about the 40 Days of Teshuva.

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