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If you have read the previous articles in this series then I feel it would serve us best if we did a quick review of what we have learned in the previous four lessons. I have shown you that Yeshua's death, which was followed I believe by his resurrection, catalyzed from within a "Gentile" hating Judaism of the first century lead by Rabbi Shammai, a movement outside itself spearheaded by the followers of Yeshua. You need to understand mainline Judaism was not supportive of such and still required circumcision of the non-Jew for any meaningful relationship with the non-Jew. Otherwise the non-Jews were "tolerated" and considered "dogs". This is the picture you need to get. Yeshua's death, and more important his resurrection, gave validity to his message to his followers in a way not possible before his death. No longer was Yeshua's message just "a voice" among many, it was "the" voice. He instructed his followers to take in a Great Commission God, Torah, and Israel to the "lost sheep of the House Of Israel". It took years, Paul being first, but this was gradually done as the persecution finally motivated their obedience to such a command. Such was the depth and strength of religious bigotry at the time. But make no mistake about it, the message of Yahweh's salvation for all men was taken into the world because of Yeshua and his death and resurrection. So, it is not wrong, in a rightful sense, to say that today we who benefit from such a message of salvation have received it in "Yeshua's name". Only God saves, but understand, I would not know of God had it not been for Yeshua's death and resurrection for no other Jew has come to me in the name of the LORD yet. Now, in closing this part of the article, we can bring new meaning to what Paul says in the New Testament when teaching non-Jews....that in reality had it not been for Yeshua's death and resurrection, they would not know God and His plan for salvation. Even more so, you now have the ability to understand correctly, maybe for the first time in you life, what Paul meant when he said they were saved by the "blood of Yeshua". No, he did not mean what we have been told that the "blood" was some magic talisman that brought forgiveness and eternal life, but through the "blood" of Yeshua, his death event, there came a movement out of Israel to the entire world where the truth of YHVH was brought to the non-Jewish world along with His Torah in which the plan of salvation exits. Now let us proceed.
Yeshua's death brought the message of salvation to the world. It was a death which destroyed the hatred toward the Law by the Gentile by reaffirming Gentile salvation through faith and obedience to the Laws of Noah (without enforced circumcision by the Jews). We must remember that the Laws of Noah are only a small part of the Laws of Moses. What we also need to know is that with James' stand in Acts 15 no longer could PERFECT OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW be mistakenly held above one's head as a form of bondage by those who mistakenly misinterpreted the Scriptures; as if one's Eternal Life had ever depended upon their EXACT FULFILLMENT AND OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW. No longer would the Gentile HATE the LAW (especially the law of circumcision) which was, in and of itself, a major obstacle in the Gentile coming to saving faith, thus turning from IDOLS and PAGANISM. With circumcision as the first obstacle to overcome for the adult Gentile male who had always previously converted to Judaism in order to come to God, let us understand that this was quite a hurdle for a grown man to overcome who had his whole life engaged in idolatrous-fornication-worship. Trying not to be crude here, but it was through the use of "his member" that he had previously "worshiped" his false gods and now someone was wanting to "cut" part of it off. As if that was not enough, let us not also forget the incidence of infection to such crude surgeries that unfortunately led to a multitude of deaths and this was quite a deterrent for the Gentile in his coming to God. Besides circumcision, there were LAWS concerning and regulating one's whole life which Gentile multitudes deemed much too difficult and restrictive to accept (kosher law for example), thus sadly influencing them to remain as pagans, ignorant of pleasing God and suffering Hell as their inheritance after death.
To this, Yeshua opened the way for the Gentile
to become part of THE ISRAEL OF GOD by validating his
message of compassion and love for the non-Jew following his resurrection.
He thus paved the way by providing through the Messianic branch of Judaism
salvation for the non-Jews. Later James' declaration at the Acts 15 Church
Council where he stated that ALL that was necessary for the Gentile to be
part of Israel (BEING
GRAFTED INTO ISRAEL)
was adherence and obedience to the Laws of Noah (not 613
laws but only 66 laws given prior to the Laws of Moses for Gentile
Salvation) was the culmination of Yeshua's efforts. Because of the
widespread hatred for Gentiles by the ruling Pharisee party headed up by
Shammai there were little attempts before Yeshua to reach out to the
Gentile and bring them the possibility of eternal life. In
Acts 15, James quotes 4 of the 7 Laws of Noah which were understood by
Jews of his time as necessary for Gentile acceptance with God. The
only problem is that before Yeshua, his cross and resurrection and Great
Commission, little was being done about reaching the Gentiles for God!
Again let me reiterate that Paul, in his epistles, was NOT saying that "Yeshua abolished the Laws of Yahweh and man is now only under grace", he was SAYING that Yeshua had abolished the ENMITY-the HATRED and OPPOSITION-to all of Yahweh's Laws (ESPECIALLY FOR THE GENTILES-remember the circumcision issue let alone the other restrictions which the Law imposed); the "enmity" that brings "death" by alleviating the PRIOR NECESSITY OF ALL GENTILES TO CONVERT TO JUDAISM VIA CIRCUMCISION AND ACCEPTING ALL 613 LAWS OR MITZVOTH FOR ACCEPTANCE AND INCLUSION IN ISRAEL (the redeemed of the LORD). Accepting only 66 Laws for Eternal Life is much easier and appealing to Gentile than accepting 613 Laws. It was the non-Jew who found grace and not the law of circumcision. It is so simple yet so hard for so many to see!
It is quite clear from the Bible that God has ordained a separate and unique covenant with all mankind as He has made a special and unique covenant with the Jewish people. The covenant that God has made with all Gentile nations is not to be found in the perverted misinterpretations of a Gentile Church which has rejected the teachings of the original church of Yeshua (a totally Jewish institution for it's first seventeen years and which continued in Jewish faith until 325 C.E.). It is this "Jewish church" which was built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets which has sadly become today a church built upon Roman Catholicism, Reformation theology, and upon the Charismatic Gentile misinterpretations of Hebraic Scriptures. Such fallacy that believes that a "New" covenant was given to replace an "Old" covenant is a total misinterpretation of the words in our Bibles as well as the perversion of Yeshua's own words as recorded for us in Matt. 5:17ff: "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Remember, this is in the "red" of your Bibles.
"New," as understood in "New Covenant," refers to a "RE-NEWED" prior covenant, not to a replacement of a prior covenant or a substitute for a previous covenant. To interpret any differently is a perversion of the Biblical text and creates a new religion, and Yeshua warns us that he has not come to destroy the Torah (Law), also known as the Old Covenant. "Old" and "New" are such unfortunate terms to be chosen to express such a wonderful concept from God as His eternal covenant, but we have totally misunderstood the dynamics involved in the ministry of Yeshua and his renewal of the covenant at the last supper.
What so many Gentile believers fail to understand is that God's covenant with mankind started with Adam (himself a Gentile and not a Jew) in the Garden of Eden. According to Jewish tradition and Oral Law (called "Mishnah" and dating back prior to Moses), God had given to Adam, and later to Noah after the flood, certain basic laws of universal morality which were to be observed by all of Adam's (and later, Noah's) descendants.
These universal laws came to be known as the laws of the Benei Noah (i.e. children of Noah, since after the flood we are all Noah's children). Jews have, for the most part, never sought to covert Gentiles to Judaism, for there were never was a need to. Gentiles have their own covenant and path to God by faith in God and resultant obedience and observance of the commandments that God gave them. This was and still is the message of Yeshua in our Bibles as reinforced in the Great Commission where Yeshua commanded NOT his identity be taken to the Gentile world but "obedience to those things I have commanded you." Notice belief in the identity of Yeshua was not the goal of the Great Commission but obedience.
Answer for yourself: Obedience to what? How can we be obedient to an "identity?"
We should re-read our own Bibles and look for the "verbs" in Yeshua's discourses, and listen to what he tells and commands to be done, and quit listening to our 2,000 different Christian denominations which may tell us to do something that is opposite to or in violation to what Yeshua says in the New Testament Scriptures.
This knowledge concerning the Laws of Noah for Gentile salvation is nothing new. Even the original Christians knew this! It is we, the contemporary church of today, who have forgotten what the original Church of Yeshua both believed and practiced for salvation. When I say "original" church I mean those Jews and Gentiles of the first two-three centuries, who came to faith in Yeshua as the Messiah of Second Temple Judaism and his message. The church of Yeshua, as it exists today, as well as during it's long history, has, for the most part, rejected anything Jewish in nature. Thus, little study was done in Hebrew or very little effort expended to understand the Scriptures from a Hebraic perspective, both Old Testament and New Testament. We have forgotten that Yeshua is a Jew and he spoke Hebrew and taught from a Jewish perspective. The fact that Yeshua is a Jew seemed to have little bearing on his message to us today. How unfortunate for the church today because they have failed "to let Yeshua's mind be in them..which is a Jewish mind". This has been for well over 1700 years a tragic mistake, for which we still suffer the consequences today.
James, the leader of the Yeshua Messianic Movement within Judaism at that time, was asked regarding Gentiles who were listening to their "gospel", if these Gentiles who were accepting the message of Yeshua and his invitation had to convert to Judaism in order to be saved and accepted as grafted into Israel. James rightly said to them (Acts 15) that all these Gentiles had to do was certain "essentials", and he proceeds to list a basic form of the laws of Benei Noach. Please notice also that James also says these "necessary things" also seemed good to the Holy Spirit as well (Acts 15:28)!
8 For <1063> it seemed good <1380> (5656) to the Holy <40> Ghost <4151>, and <2532> to us <2254>, to lay upon <2007> (5733) you <5213> no <3367> greater <4119> burden <922> than <4133> these <5130> necessary things <1876>
Lexicon Greek 1380
1380 dokeo {dok-eh'-o} a prolonged form of a primary verb, doko {dok'-o} (used only in an alternate in certain tenses; cf the base of 1166) of the same meaning; TDNT - 2:232,178; v
AV - think 33, seem 13, suppose 7, seem good 3, please 2, misc 5; 63
Answer for yourself: Did James, the head pastor of Yeshua's church, say that it seemed good and pleasing to both the church and the Holy Spirit to lay no other requirements upon Gentiles who were coming to faith in God thru Christ than these Laws of Noah? Yes indeed!
Lexicon Greek 2007 2007 epitithemi {ep-ee-tith'-ay-mee} from 1909 and 5087; TDNT - 8:159,1176; v AV - lay on 10, lay 7, put 6, lay upon 4, put on 3, put upon 2, set 2, not tr 1, misc 7; 42
Answer for yourself: Did or did not Yeshua's pastor and his church actively put upon the Gentiles coming to God such necessary things as the Laws of Noah for Gentile salvation? They sure did.
Answer for yourself: Since more Gentiles would come to God thru Messianic Judaism which appealed back to the Covenant of God with Noah which did not require circumcision than the Covenant of God with Moses which required Gentiles to be circumcised if they converted to Judaism, can you not see how the mercy of God finally was manifested to Gentiles whom He loves by the Messianic branch of Judaism because of Yeshua's love and proper instruction of his disciples? I hope so.
Notice "lay upon" is in the middle voice.
Lexicon Greek 5733
Answer for yourself: Since "lay
upon" is in the middle voice, can you see the importance of these "necessary
things" be LAID UPON THE GENTILES by the Messianic Jewish community
and the Gentiles had no choice in the matter? I hope so.
Answer for yourself: Did James and
Yeshua's church "lay upon" the Gentile obedience to the Laws of
Noah before or after the cross of Yeshua? After!
Answer for yourself: If the Laws of Noah were required as "NECESSARY THINGS" for Gentiles after the cross of Christ don't you think that they are still required for you even though you Christian church has not told you or taught you correctly about them? You sure are.
Answer for yourself: Are you now
beginning to see that you have been taught incorrectly by many of your
spiritual leaders only because they didn't know any better? I hope so.
James, the pastor of the Messianic Church of Jerusalem us in the
Bible that obedience to the Laws of Noah are "NECESSARY."
Lexicon Greek 1876
1876 epanagkes {ep-an'-ang-kes} from a presumed compound of 1909 and 318; adj n AV - necessary 1; 1
1) necessarily
Lexicon Greek 318
318 anagke {an-ang-kay'} from 303 and the base of 43; TDNT - 1:344,55; n f AV - necessity 7, must needs 3, distress 3, must of necessity 2, need + 2192 1, necessary 1, needful 1; 18
1) necessity, imposed either by the circumstances, or by law of duty regarding to one's advantage, custom, argument
2) calamity, distress, straits
Answer for yourself: Does not the root word in the Greek for "necessary" teach us that these Laws of Noah were imposed by the circumstances that were present (reluctance to undergo circumcision by Gentile males...remember that the family would go the way of the father)? Yes.
Answer for yourself: Does not the root word in the Greek for "necessary" teach us that the requirements for obedience to these "necessary" Laws of Noah by Gentiles was imposed upon them by our duty to God and his law that had previously existed since the Covenant of Noah? Yes.
Did you
catch that? The Laws of Noah seemed good to the head of the Messianic
church as well as to the Holy Spirit as the answer as to how Gentiles were
to become a part of believing Israel and members in the church of
Jerusalem! Thus they were grafted into Israel by faith and obedience
and Paul would refer to this very thing later in the New Testament
Scriptures.
An important fact we must understand is that "Christianity" at that time, while a "Messianic sect" within Judaism, and not apart from it, had not yet turned idolatrous as it has today. The Yeshua Messianic Movement, as it evolved and changed over the centuries under Gentile influence, began to claim that "it only" was the "true Israel". This new message ("another gospel" as was warned by Paul and as preached today), found its strength in Roman Catholicism and in the Reformation Protestant church. Such damnable doctrines surfaced as we confront today such as that pernicious error which teaches that the "church" is the "New Israel", and as "the church" has replaced natural Israel in the plan of God. This is blasphemous!
The message of such churches is the "inclusion of the Gentiles" into a "new" covenant with God, as if they did not possess one already. In ignorance, the Gentile Christian church has for centuries wanted to avoid any knowledge of the "Benei Noah" (sons of Noah) covenant that God has had with the Gentiles for thousands of years, even before there was a Jewish people. Such an ancient covenant would abrogate the Christian position of having to reach out to the Gentiles, claiming they (the Gentile) had no other avenue to God or relationship with God outside of the New Testament.
Dear Christian, God's Word is God's Word, regardless of Christian misinterpretations. The Word of God must be our authority, whether Jew or Gentile. As Christians, we have failed to adhere to this cardinal principle when it comes to interpretation of our Bibles, and unfortunately let our Church's denomination and its doctrine stand above the Bible as our authority. Shame on us! We must learn to study to find out the truth about the words of our Bibles!
The Christian Church, to this day, holds itself to be the "replacement" for the Jewish people and therefore, the definer or right and wrong for the Gentile (and the Jew). The last time I read Matt. 23 I believe that Yeshua says that the Pharisees (of whom he is one) are to sit in Moses's seat and not Gentiles. Though this "replacement" nonsense is clearly exposed in the Bible for the falsehood that it is, many sincere Gentile believers are still deceived into believing it. It is to these sincere Gentiles first that we at Bet Emet, as well as other similar ministries, as well as the Jewish community, have an obligation by Torah (law, instruction, teaching of God) Law to educate them in what God truly (and not falsely) said and demands of them.
The laws of the Benei Noah (sons of Noah), although originating with Adam, are conveniently recorded in the Talmud (Jewish commentary) and expounded upon in Maimonides's Mishnah Torah, the great codification of Jewish Law written in the 12th century. This is required learning for every Jew. For as it is known, the children of Israel (Benei Israel) have the obligation to be a "nation of priests", this means to be teachers and educators. The children of Noah, Benei Noah (i.e. all Gentiles) have the obligation to learn these laws and practice them.
Only
in this way does a Gentile draw close to God and fulfill his/her spiritual
purpose here in this world. Faith in God with incorrect responses and
obedience to God's commandments does not please God!
Answer for yourself: What level of spirituality can be achieved by the righteous children of Noah?
To begin with, they are the ones who are called the "righteous Gentile." Of them, the prophet Elijah has said (Tana D'evi Eliyahu, Rabbah 9),
"Heaven and Earth will bare witness to Me, be it a man or woman, Jew or Gentile...all can receive the Holy Spirit. It all depends upon one's actions"
For further elucidation on these commandments I recommend The path of the Righteous Gentile by Rabbi Haim Clorfene published by Targum Press (Feldheim) and The Seven Laws of Noah by Aaron Lichtenstein, published by Berman Books.