Biblical Heritage Center Blog

  Something I was reading today caught my attention. The author was making some points related to how many people today trace their roots (physical or religious) back to Abraham.   2,382,000,000 (Christians)   1,907,000,000 (Muslims)   14,700,000 (Jews)   The members of the three major monotheistic religions above total 4,303,700,000 people -- 55% of the total population of the world .     The thing that caught my attention was a reference to Genesis 18:17-19. Genesis contains some of the most difficult sections to translate in the Jewish Hebrew Scriptures . A habit I picked up over the years is to always compare multiple English translations of Bible verses. In many cases the place where translators differ can be quickly identified. After doing a comparison, it was clear to me this is one of those cases. So, I had to pull out the Hebrew text and dig into it. The first verse in Genesis 18 sets the stage for the events.   1 And Yahweh came to Abraham by the oaks

  The Jewish people respect and value wisdom – all wisdom not just Jewish wisdom . The Babylonian Talmud ( Berakhot 58:a ) has a blessing that is to be said on seeing a sage (wise man) of Israel:   Blessed…Who has shared of His wisdom with those who revere Him.   They have another blessing that is to be said on seeing a sage (wise man) of the nations of the world:   Blessed…Who has given of His wisdom to flesh and blood.   This is a remarkable insight into the culture of the Hebrew speaking people, especially when it is said over Greek or Roman sages. Remember that the Greeks, under Seleucid Antiochus IV, banned the public practice of Judaism . Centuries later, the Romans had destroyed the Temple and razed Jerusalem . These were Israel’s enemies in every way -- politically, militarily, above all culturally and spiritually . The Greeks were polytheists, and the Romans had a disturbing tendency to turn caesars into gods.*   For the sages of Israel to institute a bles

  My previous email was about “ Laying Up Treasures With God .” Jesus ended the parable with these words:   No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.   This is written in a form called a “ parallelism ,” which Jesus used to highlight specific points. The following words are highlighted -- “ love // loyal ” and “ hate // despise .” They are sandwiched between “ serve and serve .”   Those who serve God, love God and are loyal to God.   Those who serve mammon, hate and despise God.   The Hebrew word “ AHAVAH ” is translated “ love . ” In Hebrew, “ to love is to give .” This brings us to one of the most important teachings of Jesus. It is found in Matthew 22:34-40. _______________________________________   Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.    One of them, an expert in the Torah, tested h

  This salvation parable is found in Matthew 6:19-24. Below is the first part of the parable.   Do not store up treasures for yourselves upon earth, where moths and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal.   Store up treasures for yourselves in Heaven , where neither moths nor rust consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.   For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.   This parable is about storing up treasures for yourself . This is about your treasures . That makes it personal! There are only two options you have for storing your treasures . For those of us with Christian biblical heritages, we assume earth and heaven are two places – one is we where we live now and the other is where we will spend eternity . But, that was not what Jesus had in mind.   His Jewish audience knew exactly what “ Heaven ” meant. It is a euphemism for the “ unspoken name of God ,” “ YHVH .” Jewish people used euphemisms to “ a

  When I became a minister, everything I preached had one purpose – save unbelievers! I believed we (all Christians) had been commissioned by Jesus to do this – “ Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone!   Saved people go to Heaven and unbelievers go to Hell!   That was the message we took to the world. It was not just a belief system – it was our reality . We believed there were only two kinds of humans -- believers and unbelievers . It was as simple as that! Now let’s see what Jesus said about salvation.   The Great Day of Judgment Matthew 25:31-46   31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.   Be sure to note that all the nations of the earth are being judged and e

  “ The Jesus Movement ” was the original group of Jews that followed Yeshua , the Jewish Jesus of history , in the early first century CE. His movement can only be understood through the meanings of a handful of Hebrew words that were the foundation of his message. Once the Greek translations of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke began to circulate among Gentile churches, the message of Jesus changed .   In my previous email I discussed three things people who participate in our Bible studies bring to the meeting with them -- beliefs about the Bible, an English vocabulary, and life experiences . People reading the Greek Gospels brought with them -- beliefs about the Gospels, a Greek vocabulary, and life experiences from a variety of Gentile cultures . For over 1,800 years Christians did not have access to the Hebrew message of Jesus.   Science changed everything, beginning with archaeology . At the end of the 19 th century CE, there were only about 20 ancient Greek manus