Tag Archives: pictographs

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Gay Marriage

homo hetroThe Bible directly states that a gay relationship is wrong:

Lev 18:22
22 You will not lie with a man (זָכָר) as with woman (נְקֵבָה): it is abomination (תּוֹעֵבָה).
MKJV

But it is much deeper than that. Homosexuality is a sign of something much, much worse (not saying it is a greater sin). Such a thing is naturally shameful and done in secret. When it is no longer done in secret it shows that our society has become full-fledged ungodly. Abomination here is toavah (תּוֹעֵבָה) meaning ‘disgusting’. Pictographically it means, ‘behold, the sign that the house of the eye has been established.’ The eye is that symbol on the back of our dollar bill. Its modern origins date back to ancient Babylon with the tower of Babel. However, it’s meaning dates back to when Adam and Eve sinned. The Serpent promised them illumination; that is what the eye in this context represents, the promise of the Serpent. Satan appears as a messenger of light because our Savior, God is light. The anti-messiah spirit doesn’t just mean ‘against to the Messiah’ but to copy Him in every way shape and form to deceive the very elect if it were possible.

Part of the reason why this is such an issue in the Church is because it has been taught the Torah, the first five books of the Word of God, has been crucified. To what degree a person believes this to be so determines where they stand on homosexuality. But it was established at creation and embedded in nature that heterosexuality is how God formed our world to operate.

Gen 1:27
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male (זָכָר) and female (נְקֵבָה) created he them.
KJV

Zachar (זָכָר) means ‘male’. The action is ‘to remember’ by speaking and acting on behalf of another, ‘to give’; the concrete is ‘male’ or to ‘perforate’; and the abstract is ‘memorial’. One modern English term would be ‘penis’.

N’qavah (נְקֵבָה) means ‘female’. The action is ‘to pierce, to receive’; the concrete is ‘female, hole’ or ‘to be perforated’. One modern English term would be ‘vagina’.

The concepts that go along with these words have more to do than just with anatomy; they include the God-given function of a male and female (not roles!). A male is to be the initiator, that is why the sign of the covenant is in his flesh; circumcision. That which initiates must first be set apart and cleansed before it can give the seed (Word of God) to another. That is why our hearts must be circumcised. If it is not then the seed we produce is not the Word of God but our own seed or that of the Adversary. This is why the Messiah was born a male; He is to initiate or act on behalf of God.

A female is to be a receiver. This is why the Messiah was born of a virgin. A virgin is someone who has not known a man and received his seed. The seed that produced the Messiah came from God passed down through Eve, not a man (Gen 3:15). The female is to take what she has received and use it to produce a blessing. We, the Bride of the Messiah, are to take on the function of the female. God is the one who initiates, gives us His seed/ Word, and we are to use it to produce a blessing in our life and the lives of others.

1 John 4:19
We love Him because He first loved us.
KJV

In the society we live in today, nobody knows the functions of a male or female. This can be viewed as the spiritual preparation for the physical manifestation of blatant homosexuality. Our generation no long knows what to think of such things. Most don’t feel that is right, but neither do they feel that it is necessarily wrong. Yet, because of the draw of society, they are forced to at the very least tolerate it and be so ‘open minded’ that their brain falls out. If a person or organization does not tolerate it, they are attacked, ridiculed, and viewed as ‘primitive’ and ‘barbaric’. It should be obvious that such behavior is not born of God but from our Adversary. Our Adversary always expresses a perverted function of the female when he is week; namely he gets what he wants via coercion and deception. When he becomes strong, he expresses a perverted function of the male; namely he gets what he wants by force and abuse. We are on the verge of reentering the Dark Ages when Christians and Jews who cling to God will be persecuted, even unto to death. Our Messiah said such would be so in the End of Days.

We are not responsible to judge those who are not born of faith. Even those born of faith, we must be given the responsibility of a judge before we judge them. Our society today is composed of Godlessness. We and those who cherish our country long to hold on to what we have and many strive to do so. The only way we can change the fabric of society is to change the individuals who make up that society which is something only God by His spirit can ultimately do. In regards to the Church; homosexuality is a sin like any other. If a person truly has a sincere relationship with Jesus, they will strive to remove sin from their life as we all should. Paul never tolerated sin. If a person continued in his sin and did not repent, Paul admonished the churches he was responsible for to excommunicate them. If we practiced the same today, churches would be pretty empty.

The thing we must realize is that we are at a crossroads. God is sifting His people to find those who are truly His and those who aren’t. A separation is coming and will soon be at hand. Those who are truly His will be hated by both the world and those who say they are His but are of the synagogue or church of Satan. We need to make sure our heart and life is right. He has promised that in this sifting none of those who are His will be lost.

Amos 9:9
9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
KJV

We are on the verge of being called out of Egypt. Something I realized just the other day when I was reading about God make a way so He could dwell among His people:

You know how the books in the Torah are named based on one of the first word that appear and how that is the theme of the book? If we squish them together they tell us a story.

  • בְּרֵאשִׁית – in the beginning; family of heads; first family
  • שְׁמוֹת – names; character
  • וַיְּקְרָא – and he called/ proclaimed
  • בְּמִדְבַּר – in the wilderness; word/ thing (of God) produce a family
  • דְּבָרִים – words; things (of God)

So what we have is, “The names and character of the first family which God proclaimed His word producing a family according to the things of God.”

  • b’rashiyth tells a story about the first family God called.
  • shemoth tells a story of the character of the family He called to which He gave His name and showed His character. Namely, He is the one who delivers us, leads us into the wilderness to speak to us and enter into an intimate relationship with us and makes a way so He can dwell among us.
  • viyiqra tells a story about how the people He called fellowship with Him, how they set themselves apart, and He gives them His moedim.
  • b’midbar tells a story of how God purifies His people removing the rebellious making a people ready to enter His rest; it is by His word.
  • d’bariym tells a story about how Israel must hear and obey His word. If they do not then they will be under a curse but if they do then they will be blessed. It also foretells of a generation (the last) that will embrace the words/ things of God and be His people and He will be their God.

Remember to look up, our Redeemer is drawing close.

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Why and How to Study your Bible

It is said that less than 20 percent of Christians read their Bible. Moses said that, “Man should not live by bread alone but by every word that come from the mouth of God.” (Deut 8:3) I think we have a problem here.

Most have heard of the Mississippi river; it starts with lake Itasca and ends at Biloxi, MS. The purest water in the Mississip is where it starts. As it meanders its way down the US, it’s fished, life is removed, and it is polluted, toxins are added.

Instruction, Torah, the Word of God means ‘flow as water’. Jesus said, “He that believes on me, as the scriptures says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). And Jesus is the Word of God in the flesh. So to get this fountain, we need to go to the source.

Devotionals, study books, and sermons are helpful but there comes a point where a person must move beyond them; they are the waters downstream. Maybe not so far down as Biloxi, but, good as they may be, they still have life removed from them and pollutants added. Notice when you talk to people. Do they say, “So and so said this” more than “The Bible says this”?

One day the Children of Israel were hanging out around the Tent of Meeting listening to Moses. Forty years had gone by, they were tired and just wanted to be home. Moses was preaching a long-winded sermon instructing them in the ways of God and as he went on the hearts of the people said, “How will we ever do the things the LORD wants us to do? Who will instruct us and teach us after Moses is gone?” Moses knew their heart and responded, “The commandments which I command you today are not hidden from you nor are they far off. They are not in heaven that you should say, ‘Who will go up and get them for us that we may hear and obey them’. Nor are they beyond the sea that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea and get them for us that we may hear and obey them’. But they are close to you, in your mouth and in your heart that you may do them.” (Deut 30:11-14)

You see, in a lot of ways we are like the Children of Israel. We expect someone else to do the work for us and give us the final product. “You hang out with God, Moses, and then come back and tell us what God wants us to do. But don’t be gone too long or we’ll build a golden calf and serve God our own way.” We make up excuses like, “It’s too hard to understand, I don’t have time, and I don’t know how.” God says that’s not good enough. I’m going to give you some tips for studying your Bible and go through an example.

There are three essential tools you need, even four:

  1. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
  2. Hebrew Etymological Dictionary
  3. Englishman’s Hebrew and Greek Concordance
  4. Concordance to the Septuagint

A Strong’s concordance is used to look up an English word and see every verse it appears in. It also tells us the Hebrew or Greek word used in that verse and gives us a brief definition. There are several versions so if you can, get the one that matches the version of the Bible you are most familiar with or use an electronic version.

The Etymological Dictionary tells us where that word came from. Strong’s doesn’t always give the best definition of the word but did an excellent job with what they had to work with at the time. Words mean things so to properly understand a word we must first know what it means. I prefer to use the “Ancient Hebrew Lexicon” by Jeff Benner.

An Englishman’s Concordance uses the Strong’s number to tell us every verse where that Hebrew or Greek word appears. This is important because where a word is used and how it is used gives us a better concept of that word just as spending time with a person is imperative to getting to know that person.

Lastly, a Concordance to the Septuagint is of upmost importance for tracing Greek words back into Hebrew. As legend has it, seventy Hebrew scholars were commissioned to translate the Torah into Greek in about the third century BCE. They were placed in seventy different rooms and, it is said, they all translated it exactly the same. This book became known as the ‘Septuagint’ meaning ‘seventy’ in Greek. The rest of the books of the Old Testament were added in the years after as well as some other Hebrew books. Years went by and along came Jesus and the Apostles immersed in a world ruled by Rome. Their writings have only been preserved in Greek. So about a hundred years ago, a couple of brilliant British scholars, Edwin Hatch and Henry Redpath decided to map every Greek word in the Septuagint to its corresponding Hebrew word. This was a lifelong endeavor and, thanks to them, we are able to trace words between the Old and New Testament. More so, thank God, he is so smart he knew all this beforehand and used an unbelieving leader to commission those original seventy scholars.

Now, these are just tools, a means to an end. Art is birthed in the heart of an artist. A form, a shape; an artist uses tools to bring his art to life. Even so, the Word of God is first birthed inside of us. We use these tools to sculpt it, to reveal the details of a faceless shadow.

For example: one day you’re sitting on your couch one morning drinking coffee and hanging out with God and read, ”

Luke 17:5-6
5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6 And the Lord said, If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say unto this sycamine tree, Be plucked up by the root, and be planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
(N)KJV

And you say to yourself, “Huh, I’ve heard about faith all my life, I wonder what it means?” That is a seed planted in your heart. Now, you have two options:

  1. You can do nothing and it will never germinate.
  2. You can water it, nourish it and help it grow into a tree that produces fruit to nourish you and others, aka study it and think about it.

Let’s use our tools to study ‘faith’. An important principle to remember is that the Word of God defines the Word of God. It is the bread of life. Now if the Word of God is life and we use a different source to establish what a word or concept means, is there any life in it? Remember the Mississippi.

We live in a society that likes to redefine words. Consequently, that habit has bled over into our understanding of scripture. Faith no longer means the same thing today as it meant a few thousand or even a hundred years ago. This is contrary to the way God established things.

In the beginning, God created everything and said it was ‘good’ or ‘complete’. Hence when what God created is changed or redefined, it is no longer ‘good’, it has become perverted. Long story short, perversion ends in death. Scientifically this is known as ‘entropy’.

So, to get the least perverted meaning of a word, we want to go back to what it means in its concrete form in its original language. Let’s start from where we are and work backwards. From there we can then move forward.

The English word ‘faith’ dates back to the 1200’s and is thought to have come from the Latin word ‘fidem’ meaning ‘trust’. By the 1600’s, when the King James Bible was written, it had become a religious term synonymous with Christianity. We’ll see this by how Strong’s defines faith.

Today ‘faith’ is used by people from different religions and cultures. It has come to mean “A strong belief in something with no evidence or in spite of the evidence.”  Most often it is misused to oppress people or as an excuse for doing something irrational, weird, or contrary to sound logic. Let’s bring it home and see how God defines faith.

First thing we need to do is look up ‘faith’ in our concordance. There is a Hebrew term that describes scripture that means ‘spider web’. In other words, you can’t touch one scripture without touching other scriptures.

Strongs: Faith

We see that is appears 247 times in the King James Bible. On the left we are given the address where it appears. In the middle column we are given a snippet of that verse. And on the right we are given the Strong’s number. Looking down, we see that the Greek word used for faith in our verses in Luke is ‘4102’. So we go to the dictionary in our concordance and look up its meaning.

NT:4102
pistis (pis’-tis); from NT:3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:

KJV – assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

Notice is says, “from 3982”? That is the Greek word that pistis is derived from. So let’s look up ‘3982’.

NT:3982
peitho (pi’-tho); a primary verb; to convince (by argument, true or false); by analogy, to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); reflexively or passively, to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty):

KJV – agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be (wax) conflent, make friend, obey, persuade, trust, yield.

Both these definition are abstract. Abstract thought must be based on something tangible or concrete else it doesn’t mean anything and we get all these jacked up ideas that are currently making our world go round today.

This is as far as we are going to study the Greek. What we have is Christianese definitions i.e. these words have been interpreted for us not defined. So now we are going to look at faith in the Hebrew. Sometimes it can be hard to find the equivalent Hebrew word for the Greek word because translators have decided to translate them differently.

For example, did the church exist before the book of Acts? We find the church everywhere in the epistles. Yet if we were to look up ‘church’ in our Strong’s, we wouldn’t find one instance where it appears in the Old Testament. This is where our Concordance to the Septuagint comes in handy. We are not going to do this today, but if we were to look up ‘church’, ‘ecclesia’ in Greek meaning ‘called out’, we would find it is the Hebrew word ‘qahal’ (קהל) which is translated into English as ‘assembly’ and is all over the OT.

In the King James, faith does appear in the OT in two places.

  1. Deut 32:20
  2. Hab 2:4

Guess nobody had faith in the OT. I’ve traced ‘faith’ through the CS to the Hebrew words ’emunah’ (אמונה), ‘ameyn’ (אמן) and ‘aman’ (אמון). Starting with ‘aman’ Strong’s defines it as:

OT:539
‘aman (aw-man’); a primitive root; properly, to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; once (Isa 30:21; interchangeable with OT:541) to go to the right hand:

KJV – hence, assurance, believe, bring up, establish, fail, be faithful (of long continuance, stedfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the right.

Most of us have been nursed at one point or another and have had parents. This is the concrete definition of ‘faith’. Its children are based on this concept:

OT:529
’emuwn (ay-moon’); from OT:539; established, i.e. (figuratively) trusty; also (abstractly) trustworthiness:

KJV – faith (-ful), truth.

OT:530
’emuwnah (em-oo-naw’); or (shortened) ’emunah (em-oo-naw’); feminine of OT:529; literally firmness; figuratively security; morally fidelity:

KJV – faith (-ful, -ly, -ness, [man]), set office, stability, steady, truly, truth, verily.

‘Firmness’, ‘Established’, ‘trust’; we can relate to those concepts as well. Simply by looking at the Strongs definition of ‘faith’ we already have a much better understanding of the concept of faith. But we still have gone back to its mountaintop meaning which I will talk more about later.

Remember when you were a kid? I mean, way back when you first starting drawing pictures. Do you remember what you used to draw? One of the first pictures kids draw is a house, a family and a piece of land. That is the basis of the Hebrew language and is instilled in all of us. It goes back to receiving the Kingdom as a little child. Hebrew and the word of God are so simple at its basis yet so very profound. As adults we tend to complicate it with intellectual babel. When we strip that away, we will be awestruck.

Let’s look at our Etymological dictionary and look at the pictures and the words family. Did you know that Hebrew is the only language in the world that is studied letter by letter? A picture is work 1k words.

AHL 1290

So what it comes down to after we’ve stripped away all the mumbo jumbo is “Faith is trusting in a firm foundation of truth, as a child trusts a nursing father.” Faith cannot be based upon a lie.

Pilot said, “What is truth”? What did Jesus say earlier?

John 17:17
17 Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth.
(N)KJV

The Word of God is truth. Faith can only be based on the Word of God. All these other religions say they have faith but they are not based on the Word of God; they are not based on truth. What hope do they have?

John tells us that Jesus is the embodiment of the Word of God (John 1:1&14). Faith must be based on trusting in the Messiah. That is why he said, ”

Matt 7:24-25
24 Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
(N)KJV

Are we seeing the progression here? We started out with the most basic definition of faith, the concrete. From there we were able to derive, basically, trusting in the Messiah. From there we were able to understand why the Messiah said certain things. The more we think about it, the more we will understand. That is why David said, ”

Ps 1:1-3
1:1 Blessed is the man that doesn’t walks in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law does he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also will not wither; and whatsoever he doeth will prosper.
(N)KJV

Remember when we started I talked about the instruction of God being like a river? David tells us that when we meditate or think about the Word of God, we are planted by that river and will produce fruit in season, we will not wither, and we will prosper. I.e. wells of living water will burst forth from us.

Finally, we are going to look up ‘faith’ in the Englishman’s Concordance to see all the places it appears in the OT.

English: OT539

At second glance, it appears as though they did have faith in the Tanak, OT. Words are like people. By getting to know a person’s family, we get to know a person better. We’ve already spent some time getting to know faith’s family. Next we need to spend some time getting to know faith. To do that we look up all the verses it appears. Just like different traits of a person are expressed in different environments, different aspects of a word are expressed in sentences it is used it. We’ll only review some of them but I encourage you to look through all of them later.

Gen 15:6
6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
KJV

Good works alone don’t make us righteous. As the writer of Hebrew says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Faith, trusting in God puts us on the straight path so that we can walk with God.

Ex 14:31
31 And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.
KJV

Faith comes from experiencing God and seeing his hand work in our life. This is why the writer of Hebrews says that faith is substance and evidence (Heb 1:1). If the hand of God isn’t at work in our life how can we have faith in him? That is why it is about relationship. We cannot have faith without relationship. This is why God gives us prophesy and tells us what is going to happen in the last days, so that when they do and we see them happen we can believe in him (John 14:29).

There is no such thing as ‘blind faith’. Jesus said that when the blind lead the blind, they both fall into the ditch or sin and destruction. Faith must be based on evidence.

Num 11:12
12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that you should say unto me, Carry them in your bosom, as a nursing father bears the sucking child, unto the land which you swear unto their fathers?
(N)KJV

This is a concrete meaning of faith. Faith is trusting in God like a child trusts in his ‘nursing father’. I.e. God feeds us, provides for us, takes care of us and changes our dirty diaper. Because he spends time doing this we get to know him and trust him by experience through a loving relationship. Knowledge holds no argument stronger than experience. Hence why Jesus says to not worry about tommarroww, what we will eat and wear (Mat 6:27-34).

Ruth 4:16
16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
KJV

In like manner, God has adopted us, taken us in and has become the one whom we put our trust in. Hence why John says that those who believe in him are empowered to become the sons of God (John 1:12)

Jonah 3:5
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
KJV

Faith requires action and at times repentance. This is why James talks so much about faith being evident by good works (James 2).

Are you seeing how all this is working together? When we let the Word of God define the Word of God, it comes alive. The well of living water inside of us begins to flow producing life for us and others. It gives us wisdom to distinguish what is correct and what has been perverted and is in err.

Faith must be built on a firm foundation of truth which is the Word of God. If it is not, then it is like the foolish man who built his house on the sand. When trials and tribulation come, foolish people will be swept away. We see this every day. People put their faith in a man and his words, not God and his Word. If that man falls, so do all those who believed in him. The irony, though, is that it appeared, to them and perhaps to others, that their trust was in God.

If we want to supply our well with pure water, we must go back to the Word of God. It is fine to read and hear about what others have studies; they are feeding us with the fruit of their tree. But if that is our main diet, we may survive but a well of living water will never spring forth from us and we’ll never produce fruit.

You’ve heard it said, “Be ye holy as I am holy”? And I’m sure you’ve heard many different ideas as to what this means. That phrase only occurs four places in scripture, three of which define it.

  1. The food you eat (Lev 11)
  2. Miscellaneous sins (Lev 19)
  3. Secret sins (Lev 20)
  4. 1 Peter 1:16

You may recall Jesus saying, “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matt 5:48). And have been told and think it is impossible because only Jesus was perfect. But if you study ‘perfect’ you will discover that it doesn’t mean ‘without faults’ as we have been misled to think, but to be ‘complete’. And when we study it we’ll find that there were at least three people in the Tanak, OT, that were perfect: Noah, Jacob and Job.

The Word of God is so rich and full of treasure waiting to be discovered. So much of it is missed because so much of what we are taught is milk. You have the ability to discover these treasures.

Jesus left us with the Spirit to lead us into all truth (John 16:13). When you study, God will reveal things to you and touch your heart in ways I can’t describe. Understanding is beyond words and must come from within. The only way that can happen is if you take time to study and think about God’s Word. Only then will your belly burst forth with living water giving life to your soul and health to your body and empower you to be a blessing to those around you.

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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.

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Physics and Definition of Sin, Repentance and Forgiveness – Part 3: Types of Forgiveness and their Definitions: Salach

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.

Types of Forgiveness and their Definitions

Salach – סלח

Pictographically, salach is to ‘take hold of the leader for protection’.  The simech (ס) is a thorn which is to ‘take hold’, the lamed (ל) is a shepherd’s staff whish is ‘leader’ and the chet (ח) is a wall which is ‘protection’.  When we take hold of God, we become his servants and are inside his wall of protection.  If we do not take hold of God, we are not his servants and outside his wall of protection where the workers of iniquity, murders, and idolaters are (Luke 13:27, Rev 22:15).

This can be seen in the parable of the man whose debt was forgiven but did not forgive another’s debt to him.

Matt 18:22-35
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’
34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

The literal meaning of this word is to ‘lift out of debt’.  Conceptually, it is as the parable portrays: a petitioning of the one in debt to the one he is in debt to or one greater for mercy.  If mercy is shown, deserved judgment is withheld.  If mercy is not shown, the debt must be paid or a just punishment rendered.

When we sin, we become in debt or servants to sin.  We cannot deliver ourselves from sin because we are not able to repay the debt.  Because sin, like the wicked servant, will not forgive us our debt, we must petition to one greater, God, who is able to and has delivered us from our debt to sin hence making us free.

Rom 6:20-23
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become servants of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In regards to the sin and trespass offerings, only chatah – accidental sin is salach – forgiven (Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35, 5:10, 13, 16, 18, 6:7).

This word is typically translated as forgive and pardon.

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Physics and Definition of Sin, Repentance and Forgiveness – Part 2: Repentance and its Definition

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.

Repentance and its Definition

Shuv – שוב

The concept of repent is to ‘return to where you came from’.  I.e. you are turning away from where you are going back to where you were going.  The place you return to is the path of righteousness.  It’s like when you and a friend are going home for a party on New Years Eve in a snowstorm.  You can’t see the road, its dark and snowing to beat sixty.  Next thing you know, a sign pops in the middle of the road.  You scream, your friend screams and you realize you’re no longer on the road.  You veer to the left and are relieved that you didn’t get stuck in the ditch.  It takes a bit of breathing to calm your elevated heart rate but your still on your way home.

Pictographically, shuv is to ‘press towards home’.  Repentance isn’t simply a turning away from sin but a striving towards God.  In Hebrew thought, in order to build a house, a man must first take a wife.  Jesus is our home and his instruction the path that leads us there.  Following his directions will lead us to his house, but relationship is what invites us in.  That is why salvation and condemnation are not products of works; they are products of relationship or lack thereof.  This is why we have religious people who will be turned away at the judgment because ‘I never knew you’ (Matt 7:23).

Shuv is typically translated as return, restore, go back and a lot more similar terms in the OT and repent in the NT.

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Physics and Definition of Sin, Repentance and Forgiveness – Part 1: The Types of Sin and their Definitions

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.

The Types of Sin and their Definitions

The three types of sin are chatah (חטאה, חטא, חטאת), avan (עון), and p’sha (פשע).

Chatah – חטאתה

Chatah literally means ‘to miss the mark’ or goal.  Let’s say you just bought a shiny new pistol and want to become proficient at shooting it.  You’ve never handled one, it doesn’t feel right in your hand and it scares you a little.  If you want to change that, you need to go to the range and practice.  So you go to the range and set up your target 10 yards out.  Pistol in hand, you aim, squeeze the trigger and, to your disappointment, miss the bull’s-eye.  You’re new at this and it doesn’t bother you too bad.  The more you practice, the better you get.  The better you get, the more frustrated you will be when you miss.  Missing is not usually intentional.  You might chalk it up to not trying hard enough, or being out of practice, or your sites being off.

This is the concept of chatah sin.  New believers tend to miss the mark more than experienced believers.  Experience believers tend to be harder on themselves when they sin.  They tend to get frustrated and say things like, “If only I try harder”, “I haven’t been spending enough time in the Word lately”, and “I’ve lost my focus”.  It’s unreasonable to shoot yourselves in the foot every time you miss the bull’s-eye, it would make you lame.  In like manner we shouldn’t beat ourselves up when we accidently sin.  Repent and move on; keep practicing.

Who is the goal?

Rom 10:4
4 For Christ is the end (goal) of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

And what is the Messiah?

John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Messiah is the Word of God in the flesh.  We are to strive to be like Jesus who is without sin.  When we chatah sin, we are striving to be like the Messiah but have fallen short.  If we dwell on these sins, we are making them our focus.  When they become our focus, we are no longer focused on our Messiah, the goal.  When we are no longer focused on the Messiah, our sin has become a stumbling block and we are more likely to miss the mark next time or in other areas.

This type of sin is generally translated as ‘sin’ and is the most common form of sin in the Body of Messiah.

Avan – עון

No, we are no talking about the Avon Company although some may consider it sinful.  Literally it means ‘twisted’ or ‘crooked’.  This type of sin is done with prior knowledge or is what chatah sin becomes when it is made known and not followed by repentance (Lev 5:1).  Conceptually, it is justification of wrongdoing by twisting.  It is the opposite of righteousness which means to ‘walk a straight path’.  It’s like stealing from the rich to give to the poor.  It may be slander, but it’s not murder.  ‘I did not have sex with that women,’ according to ol’ Bill.  Typically this is done for conscious sake or for the public eye.

This type of sin is mostly translated as fault, iniquity, mischief, pervert and sin.

P’sha – פשע

This type of sin is rebellion against God or your neighbor.  Pictographically it means to ‘consume and destroy what is seen’.  As an expression, it would be to ‘break the yoke’ of rulership or authority.  Remember when Jesus said, ‘Take my yoke upon you and learn for me for I am gentle and humble in spirit and in my you will find rest for your soul.’  (Matt 11:29)?  This yoke is the teachings and doctrines of mankind or God.  Just as an ox can only wear one yoke, we can only embrace the instruction of God or the instruction of man (Matt 6:24).  Jesus is telling us to embrace his instruction, that it is the only place where rest for your soul can be found.  In other words, ‘the instruction of men will enslave you but my instruction will make you free because they are for your good’.

When p’sha sin is committed, it is rebellion against God.  “I don’t have to obey you God, I know better.”  It is the younger brother demanding his inheritance and going out into the world to do things his way in the story of the Prodigal Son.  It is the weightiest form of sin in that the offender wants people to see and know his offence.

Τhis type of sin is typically translated as rebellion, sin, transgress, trespass, offend, rebel and revolt.