Biblical Heritage Center Blog

A Conflict  Between the Disciples of Jesus - Acts 6:1 In those days, as the disciples were multiplying,  the Hellenists   among them complained against the Hebrews because their widows  were being overlooked in the daily support. (Acts 6:1) Read the complete Bible Study at --  http://bhcbiblestudies.blogspot.com/2013/09/acts-61-conflict-between-disciples-of.html

Jerusalem has been a religious and historical hot spot for millennia, and yet it still manages to surprise the experts. Why does the city continue to yield unexpected revelations about the days of King David and Jesus — seemingly in plain sight of its residents? One big reason is that it's devilishly difficult to tease out the history of a place where every acre is closely guarded and deeply coveted. "It's a living city, and it's a city that's been inhabited continuously for thousands of years,"Jodi Magness, an archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told NBC News. "Unless, God forbid, the city is ever completely abandoned, we'll never get a complete picture." Magness is one of the scientific stars of a new movie titled "Jerusalem." The movie, opening this week, takes advantage of IMAX 3-D technology to produce an ultra-big-screen vision of the city, its history and its people. On one level, the film...

It started, as a number of the world's great religions have done, with a small group of friends and a persuasive idea: why should atheists miss out on all the good things churches have to offer? What would happen if they set up a "godless congregation" that met to celebrate life, with no hope of the hereafter? Eight months after their first meeting in a deconsecrated church in north London, the founders of the Sunday Assembly have their answer: on Sunday they will announce the formation of satellite congregations in more than 20 cities across Britain and the world, the first wave of an expansion that they believe could see 40 atheist churches springing up by the year and as many as 1,000 worldwide within a decade. Satellite assemblies will agree to the central charter of Jones and Evans's original gathering – which still meets monthly in central London – and Jones expects them, initially at least, to stick to a similar format, in which a "hos...

Irenaeus was a priest of the Church of Lyons during the last quarter of the 2 nd century. He wrote Against Heresies , which is one of the primary sources of information about the different early Christian sects.  There was no one source of Christian authority or orthodoxy in existence at that time. The doctrines that would become the primary doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church would began to be created after 325 CE, over a century after Irenaeus. A single Christian canon of Scripture did not exist either. This is a period of history that is basically unknown to most Christians. Read what he  wrote about a Christian group led by Cerinthus at  http://fromonejesus.blogspot.com/2013/09/early-christian-sects-cerinthus.html

By the time Yeshua finished his message on anger, every Jew listening that day would have recognized its connection to one of the most important accounts in the Torah. It is an account that was, and still is, considered so important because when past generations failed to observe the principles it taught, the result was the Great Flood and the conquering of Israel and Judea by foreign kings. Its message is clear -- the greatest threat to the existence the Jewish people -- and to mankind – is the failure of man to be his brother’s keeper .  Yeshua’s teaching on anger was a commentary on the account of Cain and Abel. Read the complete account at --  http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2013/09/an-angry-man-who-almost-destroyed.html

In this part of Yeshua’s teaching on anger, we discover that the angry man isn’t the only one that may have to leave his sacrifices at the altar in the Temple. Everyone that heard what he said out of anger may have to join him. We now discover that Yeshua’s lesson on anger is about much much more. Read the complete blog at – http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2013/09/you-shall-not-ignore-your-brothers.html

On September 17, 1787, the Founding Fathers signed the U.S. Constitution and each year, on September 17, Americans celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day . In addition, September 17-23 is also recognized as Constitution Week . Below are some activities that will increase your knowledge and understanding of our Constitution and what it means to live as a participating US Citizen today. Take time to do them all on the 17 th or spread them out during the week. Continue by going to --  http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2013/09/constitution-day-and-citizenship-day.html

Let’s continue with Yeshua’s teaching on anger (Part 6): Agree with your adversary quickly while you are still on the road with him; lest at any time your adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.  Amen! I tell you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last kodranthn ( KODRANTEN ). (Matthew 5:25-26) The three key terms in the closing of Yeshua’s lesson on anger are adversary, amen and kodranthn . Read the complete blog at --   http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2013/09/settle-matters-with-your-brother-while.html

Why did Yeshua tell his disciples to leave the QORBAN (sacrifice, gift) at the altar in the Temple and walk away from the presence of YAHWEH? Therefore if you bring your QORBAN to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you , leave your QORBAN there, before the altar, and first be reconciled to your brother , and then come and offer your QORBAN. (Matthew 5:23-24) Notice that Yeshua gave a specific reason – your brother has something against . What does “has something against you” mean? Keep the context in mind -- Yeshua was teaching about a person being angry with his brother .  Read the complete blog at --  http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2013/09/would-yahweh-not-accept-his-sacrifice.html

Now Yeshua continues his lesson: Therefore if you bring your QORBAN to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your QORBAN there, before the altar, and first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your QORBAN . (Matthew 5:23-24) Yeshua was clearly addressing people who understood what he was talking about because it was something they did. The Temple’s sacrificial rituals were part of all of their lives. There are many different types of QORBAN, and the laws related to them are detailed and complicated. ● Olah (Burnt Offering) ● Zebach Sh'lamim (Peace Offering) ● Chatat (Sin Offering) ● Asham (Guilt Offering) ● Food and Drink Offerings Read the complete article at -- http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2013/09/leave-your-qorban-at-altar-yeshuas.html

“And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of GEHINNOM.” According to Yeshua, calling a person a fool, because one is angry, is even a more serious offense than saying he is useless, empty and of no value. We know this because the court that tries this offense is higher than the Sanhedrin. However, English translations make it impossible for readers to understand because of how they translated the underlined words – “but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” Let’s start with the second term first. Translations, like the King James Version above, make it seem that Yeshua was saying that if anyone called another person a fool, he or she would spend eternity in Hell (for Protestants) or for a limited time (for Catholics). Read the complete blog at --  http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2013/09/will-calling-person-fool-send-you-to.html

“Whoever says to a brother, ‘ RAKA ,’ shall be answerable to the Sanhedrin.” [i] Yeshua reveals that the seriousness of the offense has become greater by elevating the crime to the next highest court – the Sanhedrin . It is the highest court in the nation and would be the equivalent of our Supreme Court. What makes this offense more serious than murder, to keep things in the context established by Yeshua? It is because of what the angry person said out of anger – “ RAKA !” RAKA is the English transliteration of the Greek word found in the ancient manuscripts of Matthew. Interestingly, the Greek word is also a transliteration of a Hebrew word into Greek. Read the entire blog at --  http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2013/09/do-not-say-raqa-yeshua-on-anger-part-2.html [i] Matthew 5:22

The battle lines in Syria are being drawn along sectarian — that is, religious — lines. Both sides fear that whoever wins power will obliterate the loser. Religious civil wars are longer and bloodier than other types of clashes, according to studies. They are also twice as likely to recur and twice as deadly to noncombatants. People hold onto religious fights longer than battles over land and water. It becomes existential and related to belief in a higher calling. If we come and give one group a total win, we may be setting up an ethnic cleansing. The situation is Syria is fluid, with a lot of conflicting reports and shifting alliances -- Alawites , Shiites. Sunnis , Christians, etc. Here is a breakdown of the religious groups at war and some background on their beliefs. Read the complete article at -- http://www.sentinelsource.com/cnn/religious-divides-fuel-syrian-war/article_887a5d1e-27a0-5cb7-9b80-962813cd7079.html

This was Yeshua’s attention grabbing opening for the lesson : “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be tried in the second highest court in the land, the 23 judge Bet Din .’ But I tell you – anyone who is angry with a brother would also be tried by the 23 judge Bet Din .’” Find out more by clicking here --  http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2013/09/an-angry-person-should-be-tried-in.html

Yeshua, like other rabbis, used a popular method of teaching in which a light commandment is linked to a heavy commandment to show that keeping the light commandment is just as important as keeping the heavy commandment.  The premise is that if a man keeps the light commandments he will not break the more serious heavy commandments. On the other hand, breaking a light commandment can have serious consequences because it could lead to breaking a heavy commandment. Read complete article at --  http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2013/09/yeshua-master-builder-of-fences.html

Everybody knows about the Ten Commandments, so let’s have some fun and see what we really do know. It will just a about 10 minutes to do the following. #1 - Without looking in your Bible or at anything else, find the commandments in Exodus 20, the traditional source of the Ten Commandments. Click Here -- http://biblicalheritage.org/DTB/Exodus%2020%20Text.pdf  -- to download and print the texts of Exodus 20 without the verse markers. Read the text and when you come to the end of a commandment insert a slash, like those in the example below: “You shall not commit adultery. / You shall not steal. / You shall not bear false witness against” Put the number of the commandment above the sentence & when you finish see if you have 10 commandments. #2 - After you finish locating the commandments in Exodus 20, down load the “Three Versions of the Ten Commandments” by Clicking Here -- http://biblicalheritage.org/DTB/Ten%20Commandments%20Three%20Versions.pdf .   ...

Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. This name is somewhat deceptive, because there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year, and the American midnight drinking bash and daytime football game. There is, however, one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one: Many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions." Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. More on this concept at Days of Awe. The name "Rosh Hashanah" is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day o...