Tag Archives: doctrine

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Days of Elijah – Part 1

What are the Days of Elijah? To understand this, we need to study the ministry of Elijah which we will do in Part 2. But first we’ll start with a prophesy about Elijah.

Mal 4:5-6
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
KJV

What does it mean “Turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers?” Does this mean kids will love their daddies more? No. Does this mean that kids will love their Daddy more? Not on the surface; it’s a reference back to the forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who received the promises of God. How does scripture sum up their life?

Gen 26:5
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
KJV

Let’s back up a verse in Mal 4.

Mal 4:4
4 Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
(N)KJV

What else does this theme remind us of?

Deut 30:1-16
30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and you will call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
2 And will return unto the LORD your God, and will obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul;
3 That then the LORD your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, where the LORD your God has scattered you.
4 If any of you be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from there will the LORD your God gather you, and from there will he fetch you:
5 And the LORD your God will bring you into the land which you fathers possessed, and you will possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.
6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.
7 And the LORD your God will put all these curses upon your enemies, and on them that hate you, which persecuted you.
8 And you will return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command you this day.
9 And the LORD your God will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers:
10 If you will hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.
11 For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou should say, Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it.
15 See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil;
16 In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply: and the LORD thy God will bless you in the land where you go to possess it.
(N)KJV

These verses cover a lot. But what are the common threads in all scriptures we’ve gone over so far?

  • fathers
  • commandments, statues and laws (literally instruction – the reason Torah is interpreted as ‘law’ is because ‘nomos’ in Greek means ‘instruction’ but when translated from Greek to English means ‘law’)
  • blessings and curses
  • captivity (described in the context around the verses)

Let’s sew with some of these threads for a bit.

Abraham is the father of our faith. He is also a picture of the Father. Isaac is a picture of the Son. And Jacob is a picture of the Bride. (All this requires another article to explain.) With them the covenants were made and the promises given (Gen 15, 17, 22:15-18, 26:3-5, 28:11-15, 35:9-13, 46:2-5, 48:3-4). Turning our hearts towards them doesn’t simply mean we love them but desire to be like them and do what they do. Them turning their hearts toward us means they desire to instruct us in the ways of life so that we might live. That is where the commandments, statues and laws come in.

Most people resist the commandments, statues and laws of God because they don’t understand them. They don’t understand them because of what they have been taught about them. I want to spend some time putting these things into perspective. It’s taken me a long time to understand these things myself and change my perspective and ultimately my attitude towards them.

We have been taught that the Law of Moses was given for salvation in the Old Testament and that Jesus came bearing grace and put away the Law of Moses. This perspective comes from several sources.

  • During Jesus time and even now Judaism teaches salvation by works.
  • Paul dealt with and addressed these same people in his letters.
  • It is a doctrine held by the Catholic Church (spawned out of anti-Semitism) that has been passed down and permeates every denomination that I know of.

What is the problem with this teaching? It simply isn’t true. Jesus himself states:

Matt 5:17-19
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
KJV

Salvation has always been about relationship. This is what Jesus, Paul and the other writers of the New Testament often address. Remember, Abraham believed (faith in Hebrew) God and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Gen15:6). Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD and was saved from the judgment that came to the world (Gen 6:8). Moses intercedes on Israel’s behalf appealing to God’s grace and God grants it because he “knew Moses” (relationship) (Ex 33:12-17). Salvation has always and always and always been and is about relationship.

So what is the purpose of the commandments? Love. The two greatest commandments upon which all the others are based are commandments to love.

Deut 6:5
5 And you will love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
(N)KJV

Lev 19:18
18 You will not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you will love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD.
(N)KJV

Matt 22:40
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
KJV

Jesus admonishes us:

John 14:15
15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
(N)KJV

John 15:8-17
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so will you be my disciples.
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you: continue in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
(N)KJV

And they are about life (primarily physical) and blessings.

Deut 30:16
16 In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply: and the LORD your God will bless you in the land whither you go to possess it.
(N)KJV

Deut 32:45-47
45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:
46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which you will command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing you will prolong your days in the land, wherever you go over Jordan to possess it.
(N)KJV

Deut 28:1-13
28:1 And it will come to pass, if you will hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD your God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings will come on you, and overtake you, if you will hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God.
3 Blessed will you be in the city, and blessed will you be in the field.
4 Blessed will be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your oxen, and the flocks of your sheep.
5 Blessed will be your basket and your store.
6 Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed will you be when you go out.
7 The LORD will cause your enemies that rise up against you to be smitten before your face: they will come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways.
8 The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand unto; and he will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
9 The LORD will establish you a holy people unto himself, as he has sworn unto you, if you will keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and walk in his ways.
10 And all people of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD; and they will be afraid of you.
11 And the LORD will make you plenteous in goods, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give you.
12 The LORD will open unto you his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto your land in his season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you will lend unto many nations, and you will not borrow.
13 And the LORD will make you the head, and not the tail; and you will be above only, and you will not be beneath; if that you hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them:
(N)KJV

If you would like to know more about the physics of the commandments of God, please read my article on “The Physics and Definition of Sin, Repentance and Forgiveness“.

They are also the purpose of life, what we are supposed to do.

Eccl 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and guard his commandments: for this is the purpose of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
(N)KJV

In Hebrew, purpose is ‘kol’ (כל) which is all, whole, everything, sum. Guard is ‘shomer’ (שמר) which is to keep, protect, guard with your every breath of life.

It is also said that the commandments are divided into moral, civil and ceremonial laws and only the moral and civil ones are to be obeyed. There is no such division in scripture. Morals, by its very definition, are agreed upon instructions of men, commandments are instructions of God. (I may explain this more later.)

Some say only the commandments that Jesus repeated in the New Testament need to be followed. I cannot comprehend how that makes any sense being Jesus is from the beginning with God as God who gave the commandments to begin with. If Jesus added to, took away from, changed, or did not obey any of the commandments in Torah, he would not have been sinless and could not have been the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the World (Deut 12:32, John 1:29, Luke 23:13-15).

The reason God ends Malachi 4 with, “Lest I smite the earth with a curse” is because of the physical repercussions of not obeying the commandments of God which are the instructions for life.

In life, we have two perspectives, God’s and men. When things are done that men cannot comprehend or understand, they attribute it to God or a god and often spiritualize it (hence why people think that scientific understanding somehow disproves God). Everything is made up of frequency (energy). (I hope I don’t lose you here). God spoke (frequency) everything into existence. It is the Word of God that holds everything together. Debar (דבר) is Hebrew for both ‘word’ and ‘thing’ (try and wrap the two concepts together in your head). P’al, (פעל) is Hebrew for ‘energy’ and is the base pronunciation for Hebrew verbs.

Evil, ra (רע) means to take something that was created for a purpose and destroy it. For example, you are mixing up bread in a bowl. In the process, someone takes it from you and throws it on the ground smashing it into a million pieces. The bowl and dough can no longer be used for anything.

When people sin, they are taking the things that God created and doing likewise. They are breaking it, smashing it, destroying it and making it of no use. Hence why the world is falling apart and there are earthquakes and floods and volcanoes and sickness and disease. Hence why, in the last days, these things will be commonplace. Hence why Jesus, when he returns, must restore the earth. This is why there is a curse. And this is why Israel, we, ended up in captivity. And this is why Elijah must come first to turn our hearts back to the fathers (which is happening today). And this is why it isn’t until we repent and return back to the commandments of God that He will restore us and gather us from all the nations (Deut. 30).

Again, I want to emphasize, obeying the commandments of God has nothing to do with salvation.

The next part may be difficult to read.  Take your time.

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Physics and Definition of Sin, Repentance and Forgiveness – Part 11: We Sin Less than we Think

 

Sin is a broad subject with a lot to talk about.  I don’t want to talk about sin without talking about repentance.  I don’t want to talk about repentance without talking about forgiveness.  The few things I want to cover are:

If you do not understand something I’m saying, please ask.  The concept may be hard to grasp at first but it will change how you see yourself and your life when you do.

We Sin Less than we Think

This is kind of a hard point to address.  Sin has become such an abstract word that it means different things to different people.  If sin is a physical condition, like we have discussed, what must be done for something to be constituted as sin?  An action must take place.  James the brother of Jesus sums it up like this:

James 1:15
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

This is why Jesus spends so much time talking about our thoughts.  Our thoughts are where our spirit battles with our flesh.  It goes back to the principle of the seed.  Temptation is a seed and our mind the field where it is planted.  When that seed is planted, like a weed, it doesn’t take much care to grow.  Once it is grown, it produces fruit.  Fruit is action.  When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, corruption entered their body.  That corruption gives birth to desire which gives birth to sin which will eventually bring death.

This is why Jesus makes statements like, ‘If a man looks upon a woman and lusts after her he commits adultery with her in his heart.’ (Matt 5:28).  Number one, he is referring back to David and Bathsheba but more importantly he’s addressing the weight of our thoughts.  We need to weed our thoughts and think on things that are good (Phil 4:8).  Our thoughts are where we chop a tree down to the root (Matt 3:10).  Its best to do this before it has a chance to bear its bad fruit which is the sin.

We can’t avoid temptation, especially in our day and age; its everywhere.  Temptation comes from anything we see and/ or hear.  Temptation is not sin.  Jesus was tempted yet did not sin (Heb 4:15).  Dwelling on temptation is not sin.  But if we entertain it until it becomes a desire or lust, it is like Eve holding the fruit in her hand drooling over it.  She hadn’t sinned yet but was imminently about to.  She believed the lie that she couldn’t touch the fruit.  When she touched it and did not die, she reasoned that she could eat it and not die.  You know what its like to be starving and walking into a kitchen with the sweet smell of food.  All your senses, your entire focus turns to food.  You’re stomach begins to scream in a gravely voice, “Feed me!”  Any other fleshly appetite is no different.  If we believe that these appetites are sinful when they are not, we will eventually reason that there is likewise no penalty when we feed them.

You can think about donuts all you want, but is that going to make you fat?  No.  You can think about sex all you want, but is that going to make anyone pregnant?  No.  Does that mean we should necessarily think about these things?  No.  Most of us get upset and repent for our thoughts.  We are not commanded to repent for our thoughts because they are not sin.  This is a problem because we usually end up tearing ourselves down for what we think about.  I used to do this a lot but no so much any more because of a question Paul Nordvik asked me; thanks Paul.  In your life, you need to discern what is temptation and what is sin.  You may find that you don’t sin as often as you think you do.  When you do sin, you should be able to be specific in confessing that sin.  If you can’t, then either you haven’t sinned, or if you have, that sin hasn’t been revealed to you yet (Lev 4:27-28).

It is said that our sin separates us from God, but does it (Is 59:2)?  When Adam and Eve sinned, who did the separating?  Adam and Eve.  Who hid?  Adam and Eve.  When we sin, we tend to think that it is God who separates from us which is backwards.  We think he moves far off but we are the ones who distance ourselves because we are ashamed.  Our mentality is the same as the younger brother in the story of the Prodigal Son.  “I’m not worthy because . . . .”  We think God can’t be in the presence of sin yet God is omnipresent (Ps 139).  Think about that for a moment and let it sink in.  We think all these things because this is what we’ve been taught (by doctrine) most our lives and it hinders our relationship with our Creator.

Stop looking at yourself as a sinner; it puts the focus on you and your sin.  Thinking you are a sinner while knowing you’ve repented and that works don’t justify or condemn you is an oxymoron.  A sinner is someone who continues to walks in sin and does not repent.  You have repented and are striving towards home.  That means you are on the path of righteousness.  Someone who walks the path of righteousness pressing towards home is righteous.  Our Father looks at us as righteous.  Just like in the story of the Prodigal Son, we are part of God’s family, clothed with his robe of righteousness.  This should not fill us with pride but humble us.  How we see ourselves makes a huge difference in our relationship with God.  When we see ourselves the way God see us, it allows his Spirit which dwells inside of us to be greater just as John says (1 John 4:4).  It will change your whole perspective on life, strengthen your relationship with God, reflect in your actions and make you closer to our Messiah which is our goal.

References

*all scripture is from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.

  • A Concordance to the Septuagint – Edwin Hatch & Henry A. Redpath
  • Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds:  2012 Pure Seed Book! – rareseeds.com
  • God’s Key to Health and Happiness – Elmer A. Josephson
  • King James Version of the Bible
  • New King James Version of the Bible
  • Strong’s Concordance to the Bible
  • The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible – Jeff A. Benner – August 29, 2005
  • Wildbranch Ministries – Brad Scott – wildbranch.org
 
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Physics and Definition of Sin, Repentance and Forgiveness – Part 10: What Defines Sin: Doctrine

Sin is a broad subject with a lot to talk about.  I don’t want to talk about sin without talking about repentance.  I don’t want to talk about repentance without talking about forgiveness.  The few things I want to cover are:

If you do not understand something I’m saying, please ask.  The concept may be hard to grasp at first but it will change how you see yourself and your life when you do.

What Defines Sin

Deut 32:46-47
46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe — all the words of this law.
47 For it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”

Sin is the transgression of the commandments of God.

1 John 3:4
4 Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
KJV

There are generally four sources that are used to define sin:

  1. Torah or Law of Moses which is the first five books of the Bible
  2. Gospels
  3. Apastolic scriptures
  4. Doctrine
  5. We don’t really know but we think . . . and then make something up that sounds religious

Doctrine

Doctrine is a belief held and taught by a religious entity and is not a source of commandments.  They are partially commentary on the commandments but mostly other, extraneous stuff.  Even though they can be helpful in understanding the commandments and give us different perspectives, they should never be held up as commandments yet this is what the various denominations do.  This is the same thing Jesus dealt with the religious leaders of his day about.

Matt 15:3-9
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’
5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God” —
6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'”

Judaism, which was basically created a few centuries before Jesus was born, upholds what is called ‘Oral Torah’.  According to their tradition, God spoke to Moses about things that Moses didn’t write down but passed on to the leaders of Israel all the way down to the rabbis.  The number one problem with this is Moses says differently.

Deut 30:11-14
11 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

You see, if we are required to go to someone else to understand the scriptures, then that person becomes god and we have no personal relationship with our Creator.  This is the issue Jesus has with the Pharisees and Sadducees.  This was the same issue Paul had with certain people coming into the Body saying ‘You have to do this and that’ for salvation.  Eventually, those people took over and formed what is known as the Catholic Church and Orthodox Church from which most other denominations have come.  They, like Judaism, think they have the power to change the written word of God and they do so liberally; this is the yoke we want to stay away from.  This is why we think we sin more than we really do which is my last point.

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Physics and Definition of Sin, Repentance and Forgiveness – Part 9: What Defines Sin: Apostolic Scriptures

Sin is a broad subject with a lot to talk about.  I don’t want to talk about sin without talking about repentance.  I don’t want to talk about repentance without talking about forgiveness.  The few things I want to cover are:

If you do not understand something I’m saying, please ask.  The concept may be hard to grasp at first but it will change how you see yourself and your life when you do.

What Defines Sin

Deut 32:46-47
46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe — all the words of this law.
47 For it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”

Sin is the transgression of the commandments of God.

1 John 3:4
4 Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
KJV

There are generally four sources that are used to define sin:

  1. Torah or Law of Moses which is the first five books of the Bible
  2. Gospels
  3. Apostolic scriptures
  4. Doctrine
  5. We don’t really know but we think . . . and then make something up that sounds religious

Apostolic Scriptures

The apostolic scriptures were not meant to be a source of commandments yet they are the primary source for the majority of doctrine.  This is one reason why there are so many denominations.  One day, we will have Q and A with Paul and he’ll exclaim, ‘You said I said what?!?’.  Peter says this very well:

2 Peter 3:15-16
15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation — as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

For example, some people use Paul’s dialog about long hair and head coverings to shape their whole way of life.  In short, the people of Corinth worshiped Aphrodite by cross-dressing.  The believers of Corinth were divided about what constituted cross-dressing and therefore should not be done by believers.  Paul explains the pagan practice and sums it all up by saying:

1 Cor 11:16
16 But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.

Another example is when Paul said:

Rom 3:10
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
KJV

What does this mean?  From this one verse stems all sorts of doctrine that basically causes us to look at ourselves as worthless sinners.  It is used to motivate people to perform penance by crawling up steps until their knees bleed and other forms of self-mutilation.  This is what I like to call ‘sound-bite doctrine’ where one verse is used in exclusion of all others to build whole doctrine.  What does Jesus say on the matter?

Matt 23:35
35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Remember righteous means to ‘walk a straight path’.  If you veer of to the right or left, repent and get back on the path.  In context, Paul is talking about fools and people who do not repent of their sin.  Specifically, people who say in their heart there is no God.  He is summarizing Ps 5, 14, 53, and Prov 1.  Solomon says “A righteous person falls seven time and get back up again . . .” (Pr 24:16).  When you look at it in its simplicity, it makes perfect sense that there is not a single righteous sinner.  You are either a servant to sin, or a servant to righteousness; you cannot serve both masters.

How many times have you heard the sound-bite that we shouldn’t forsake the assembling of ourselves together?  Has that statement been used to encourage people or to tear people down for not going to church?

Heb 10:25
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Most often that middle part of the verse is omitted where we are to encourage one another.  Moreso, who was the apparent audience?  Hebrews who had a prior knowledge of what is meant by ‘assemble yourself together’.

Deut 16:16-17
16 Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.
17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.

Its not that we can’t get together more often if we desire, but we are only required to do so three time a year.  When we do get together, it should be for the purpose of encouraging, building one another up and glorifying God.  This is why Jesus and his disciples and all the people were in Jerusalem for Passover.  This is why the disciples were in the upper room on Pentecost and why Jews and proselytes from all over Rome were there to hear them (Acts 2:8-11).  Remember, Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem.  I.e. don’t go anywhere between now and then (Luke 24:29, Acts 1:4).  And this is why Jesus and his disciples went to Jerusalem for Tabernacles, the Feast of Booths.

When reading the Apostolic Scriptures, it is important to note who the author is writing too.  The author may be writing to people who have prior understand and knowledge of the scriptures in which case he will not take time to establish the foundation upon which he is making his statement.  This is how abstract thought in Hebrew is formed.  A thought that is abstract with no foundation can be mean pretty much anything; it’s abstract.  But abstract thought, built on a foundation, can only mean things that fall into the confines of that foundation.

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Physics and Definition of Sin, Repentance and Forgiveness – Part 7: What Defines Sin: Torah

Sin is a broad subject with a lot to talk about.  I don’t want to talk about sin without talking about repentance.  I don’t want to talk about repentance without talking about forgiveness.  The few things I want to cover are:

If you do not understand something I’m saying, please ask.  The concept may be hard to grasp at first but it will change how you see yourself and your life when you do.

What Defines Sin

Deut 32:46-47
46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe — all the words of this law.
47 For it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”

Sin is the transgression of the commandments of God.

1 John 3:4
4 Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
KJV

There are generally four sources that are used to define sin:

  1. Torah or Law of Moses which is the first five books of the Bible
  2. Gospels
  3. Apostolic scriptures
  4. Doctrine
  5. We don’t really know but we think . . . and then make something up that sounds religious

Torah

Most people don’t use the Torah as the source which defines sin, including Judaism.  Torah is better defined as ‘instruction’.  The reason it is translated into Law in English is because of the Greek step.  In Greek, nomos, law, means instruction.  In English, law means red and blue lights, the fuzz is coming to get you.

Literally, Torah means the ‘direction one is to walk in life’.  Remember, righteousness means to ‘walk a strait path’.  Pictographically, it means ‘Behold, the firstborn nailed to a cross’.  Firstborn is the raysh (ר) which first appears in Gen 1:1 and is a title for Jesus.  This is another reason why John said, ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’ (John 1:14).  Jesus is the physical embodiment of the Word of God.

Torah has a sister named Morah (מורה).  Morah is an archer.  Remember, chatah – sin means to ‘miss the mark’?  The Torah, if you will, is the bow and arrow that is used when aiming for the mark or goal which is Jesus.

Torah has another sister named Yarah (ירה) which means rain (as in water).  Drought is caused by a lack of rain.  When there is drought somewhere, it is usually an indication of the lack of the Word of God.  That is why it didn’t rain for three and a half years during Ahab’s reign until Elijah cut the bull and gave the people an ultimatum of who they’d serve (1 Kings 18:21).

Torah has an uncle named Y’ar (יאר) which means river.  What is a river but life?  Every river has a source.  The purest water you will find is at the headwaters of a river.  As a river flows down stream, things get added to it, fish/ life get taken out, it get polluted, turns color, and at its end is an ocean or body of salt water which will kill anyone who drinks too much of it.

We know that the source of the Word of God is God.  His instructions are life.  When we add to it or take away from it, it becomes polluted.  The more polluted it becomes, the more toxic it becomes to the point where it can kill you.  That is why he commands us:

Deut 12:32
32 “Whatever thing I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.

Why am I going through all this?  God is so smart that he knew men would come along and intellectualize his word.  So he embedded his word in things we can touch and feel and identify with.  This is why most every child’s first drawing is a picture of a house, a tree, the sun, grass and his family.  This is why Paul says:

Rom 1:20
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
KJV

A picture is worth 1k words.  This is why at its base, Hebrew is a pictographic language.  The more you study Hebrew words and take them back to their mountaintop purest meaning, the more you will see a picture and be taken back by the simple yet profoundly detailed beauty of the Word of God.  I’m trying to show you part of that picture hoping you can see what I see.

In total, there are traditionally 613 commandments.  I haven’t taken the time to go through and personally count them all.  Many commandments are gender specific, job specific or disease specific.