The Real Yeshua

Did you ever have one of those “ Aha Moments! ” when you were reading your Bible? One of my biggest moments happened when I was reading the account of the second day (Genesis 1:6-7). Read the complete blog at -- https://wisdomofthebeginnings.blogspot.com/2017/12/you-may-want-to-rethink-heaven_31.html

After completing Its first creative act, the Creator observed the light (of life) . It measured what It saw by a Standard and the light measured “ TOV .” This word is usually translated “ good, ” but good is a word with a wide range of meanings -- morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; well-behaved; fertile . TOV is a very important word because it is the Creator’s Standard and reveals Its Values . Therefore, we are going to let context and culture define it. Read the complete blog at -- https://wisdomofthebeginnings.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-creators-standard-for-measuring-life.html

In the earlier blog -- The Meaning of Create – we discussed the definition options for BARA , the Hebrew translated “ created ” in many translations. They all shared a common idea -- “changing the shape of something that already exists.” “ BARA ” does not mean “ to create something out of nothing .” Something must exist first, before one can create. In Genesis 1:2 we discovered the three things that existed before the creation process began. Read the complete blog at -- https://wisdomofthebeginnings.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-first-act-of-creation.html

If you have ever participated in a Christmas play or been in the audience, you are very familiar with this scene: Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, Peace on earth and good will toward men. That is the translation I memorized in Sunday School before I was old enough to go to elementary school. Today, I have a different understanding of the words of the angels – an understanding that reflects the Jewish culture of the shepherds, the family of Jesus and the Jewish nation of the first century. Let’s begin with a new translation: Glory to God in the Highest Heavens, And on the Earth, SHALOM upon people of good will. The form in which the text is written is called a parallelism , which means the two lines are related in a format in which relationships and meanings of words are highlighted. The  layout below will help you see those relationships better: Glory ...

After just reading the first 21 words of the Hebrew text together, we had two Very Big BS Problems . BS , by the way, stands for Belief System . Read the complete blog at -- https://wisdomofthebeginnings.blogspot.com/2017/12/once-upon-time-rabbi-and-preacher-had.html

There is a big difference between the meanings of the English word “create” and the Hebrew word in the ancient text. Read the blog at - https://wisdomofthebeginnings.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-meaning-of-create.html

When an elohiym began creating the Heavens and the Earth, the Earth did not exist.   Darkness was over the surface of deep waters. The presence of the elohiym hovered above the surface of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2 The Hebrew word elohiym is a theologically loaded that is translated God, god, gods, goddess, goddesses, angels and judges in the Hebrew Scriptures. The theologies of the translators usually determine how it is translated. In this ancient wisdom account, we are going to allow the Hebrew text to contextually define elohiym for us. Read the complete blog at -- https://wisdomofthebeginnings.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-mysteries-of-beginning.html

Over 200 years before the birth of Yeshua (Yeshua), a central figure in the Essene community at Qumran was called “the Teacher of Righteousness .” He was extolled as having a proper understanding of the Torah and qualified to accurately teach it, as well as being one through whom God revealed “the hidden things” to the community. His name is not known, but it is important to remember the attributes linked to him: (1) He taught his followers TZEDEQ ( righteousness ). (2) He had a high level of understanding of the Torah and was qualified to accurately teach it. (3) He revealed “hidden things” to the community. Over the years other famous Jewish teachers arose who were also described as Teachers of Righteousness : ● a Sadducee (Zadokite) priest ● Hyrcanus II ● Hillel the Elder ● James, brother of Yeshua Messianic ideas emerged about a figure “like” the Teacher of Righteousness who will appear before the Great Day of Judgment . The author of the Gos...

Take a few moments to consider how you would answer the following questions. (1) How many of your sins do you want God to forgive? (2) How many sins of the person you hate the most are you willing to forgive? (3) What does that person you hate the most have to do for you to forgive him or her? (4) What if God required you to do those same things to receive forgiveness? How do you think Jesus would answer those questions? He used techniques like this to make important points. If you like this blog, “Like” our Facebook Pages: Real Yeshua Page Click Here Y Team Page Help us provide you with more information about Yeshua in 2018. Make a special year-end donation and/or become a monthly partner. Click Here to Help.

Learning about the Jesus of history , the one we call Yeshua , transforms our understanding of the one over two billion people today call Jesus Christ . I have been researching and studying the Jesus of history and his words from English translations, Greek manuscripts and reconstructed Hebrew texts for over 30 years now with scholars, professors, rabbis, ministers and a lot of sincere students of the Bible. Over the years I created guidelines and models for the people that I study with to follow and use when we gather to study the words of the Bible. They make our Bible Study gatherings very different from other Bible study groups . Learn more about our guidelines and models at -- https://theyeshuateam.blogspot.com/2017/11/y-team-guidelines-for-bible-study.html

If you had been a member of Yeshua’s group in the first century, there is little doubt that you would have heard Yeshua quote from and teach the following words. They are found in your Bible in ten chapters of Isaiah, chapters 51 through 61. I would like to suggest that you first read the version below and get a feel for what hearing Yeshua read it would have been like. You can use the online version, but it would be even better if you print the pdf version. http://www.biblicalheritage.org/yeshua-movement-handbook.html

Few readers of the English Bible realize that the name “James” actually comes from the Hebrew name Jacob or Yaaqov, which adds to the confusion over the various “Jameses” mentioned in the New Testament. There is, of course, Jacob the Patriarch, grandson of Abraham; James the Apostle, the fisherman brother of John and one of the two sons of Zebedee (Mark 4:21); “James the Less,” and several others. Ironically, the most obscure, and surely the most important James as “James the brother of Jesus,” known subsequently as “James the Just.” takes a bit of analysis. Read James Tabor’s complete blog at -- https://jamestabor.com/jesus-his-brother-james-and-peter-when-a-picture-is-worth-more-than-a-thousand-words/

Over 25 years ago when their journey began, Jim Myers was the pastor of a nondenominational church and Jeffrey Leynor was the rabbi of a Conservative synagogue. This is the first in a series of videos and live streams to come. View it at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXGrlyty0v0

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A very useful tool for your New Testament studies is the Parallel Greek New Testament online. It is great for comparing manuscripts and translations of a verse and identifying differences. Read complete article at -- https://theyeshuateam.blogspot.com/2017/11/parallel-greek-new-testament-bible.html

I have been involved in and coached youth sports (first grade to varsity) for many years. One thing I never expected from my players was perfection – “ You must be perfect to be part of the team .” But, I have spoken with many Christians that believed that “ being perfect ” is what Yeshua, the Jesus of history, expects from them. Read the complete blog at -- https://theyeshuateam.blogspot.com/2017/11/perfecting-is-goal-not-perfection.html

Amen! I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law . . . (Matthew 5:18) What are jots and tittles? One thing they are is evidence that Yeshua, the Jesus of history, and his followers were very familiar with the Hebrew language. Read complete blog at -- https://theyeshuateam.blogspot.com/2017/11/jots-and-tittles.html

Beliefs about the afterlife -- “ salvation ” -- are the biggest barriers keeping many Christians from straying away from their long held beliefs. This is completely understandable when so much is at stake in their minds – spending eternity in Heaven or Hell! Read the complete blog at -- https://theyeshuateam.blogspot.com/2017/11/tackling-big-elephant-in-room-afterlife.html

One of the cultural factors we learned about Yeshua, the Jesus of history, in a previous study is that he read and spoke Hebrew. Today we are going to examine one of the sources of that information. It is found in Luke 4:16-17. See pictures and read the complete blog at -- https://theyeshuateam.blogspot.com/2017/11/yeshua-and-hebrew-language.html

Two subjects that most people try to avoid are discussions about politics and religion , especially with strangers. Of course, politics and religion just happen to be two major factors in many of the conflicts and issues that are dividing Americans today. So, if people who live in a democracy won’t or are unable to find mutually beneficial ways to discuss things, how will those conflicts and issues be resolved? Read the complete blog at -- https://lives1st.blogspot.com/2017/11/valuing-lives-1st-requires-examining.html

Developing your Bible study skills is one of the most important things you can do to accurately understand the life and words of Yeshua, the Jesus of history. We use a Linguistic Method of Bible Study , a science based model. Our goal is to discover what Yeshua’s words meant to him . Click here to learn more about our method – http://www.biblicalheritage.org/y-team-bible-study-method.html Sign up for the Y Team and receive all of the team information. Click Here for an Invitation Donations appreciated, no amount is too small. Click Here to Donate

What comes to your mind when you hear the following words of Jesus (Yeshua)? “ You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect .” (Luke 6:36 & Matthew 5:48) The opening phrase -- “ You must be perfect. . . ” -- has generated many debates over the centuries and caused a great deal of confusion and guilt . The dictionary definition for the word “ perfect ” that comes to most peoples’ minds is usually “ completely free from faults or defects .” Read the complete blog at -- https://theyeshuateam.blogspot.com/2017/10/you-must-be-perfect.html

Yeshua’s lesson on anger is clearly linked to the story of Cain and Abel. In his world, rabbis and teachers added their insights to commandments in the Jewish Scriptures to help people obey them. Their insights were called “ fences around the Law .” If a people followed the instructions of the “fences” they would keep the commandment.” Yeshua was a master fence builder. Read the complete article at https://theyeshuateam.blogspot.com/2017/10/successfully-overcoming-anger-part-2.html

Beliefs about “ salvation ” are the biggest barriers to open discussions about the differences between different Christian group and about Yeshua , the “ Jesus of History .” This is completely understandable when so much is at stake in the minds of “believers” – literally going to Heaven or Hell! Read the complete blog at https://theyeshuateam.blogspot.com/

10 CE marked the end of Hillel’s 40 year reign as nasi .  He was the founder of a school of legal religious thought and dynasty that led Jewish life in Judea for the next four centuries . Hillel was born to a wealthy family in Babylonia, but came to Jerusalem without the financial support of his family and supported himself as a woodcutter. It is said that he lived in such great poverty that he was sometimes unable to pay the admission fee to study Torah, and because of him that fee was abolished.  Hillel was known for his kindness , gentleness , and his concern for humanity .  Another popular teacher at that time was Shammai. He was known for the strictness of his views.  He was reputed to be dour, quick-tempered, and impatient. Shammai and his teaching were more popular in Israel before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. The views of Hillel and Shammai represent positions in the range of interpretations of Jewish law and instructions. ...

A Misleading Hyphen Some people, including American politicians who want to sound “ inclusive ” and do not want to offend Jews, have taken the Latin term Judaeus and melded it with “Christian” to describe a so-called “ Judeo-Christian ” tradition or heritage. While there are many Christians in the world, there are no “ Judeos .” The accurate phrase should be “Jewish and Christian” traditions or heritages, without a hyphen. Each faith community has many religious streams; there is no one single “ Jewish traditio n” or “ Christian tradition ,” and there is certainly not a “ Judeo-Christian ” one. Source: Christians & Jews Faith to Faith: Tragic History, Promising Present, Fragile Future By Rabbi James Rudin © 2011; Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock, VT; p. 6.

The July issue of the Biblical Heritage Center newsletter -- Creating Safer Better Lives By Discovering Ourselves & Our Biblical Heritages – is now online. It contains the following articles and July Memorials. Once upon a time a minister, professor and rabbi took a journey. . . The title sounds like the beginning of a good joke, but it isn’t. It is proof that people with different biblical heritages can work together to tackle religious issues that most people try to avoid. I am the minister, Ike Tennison is the professor and Jeffrey Leynor is the rabbi. I have been on this journey for over thirty-five years now. Ike joined it about thirty years ago when I enrolled in a course in Classical Greek he was teaching at the University of Texas at Arlington. Jeffrey became part of our journey a little over twenty-five years ago when I enrolled in a course he was teaching about the Prophets at the Jewish Community Center in Dallas. The Forgotten Father: The Man that Raised ...

The opening chapters of Genesis reveal that the highest value and top priority of the Creator of the Heavens and Earth is human life . They teach that all people are created with the spirit of the Creator, meaning with the Spirit of the Creator . Humans reveal the Creator’s Spirit to members of their generation by doing thing that measure up to the Creator’s TOV Standard – acts that protect life, preserve life, make life for functional and increase the quality of life . Religious institutions disconnected from real life or salvation doctrines that require people to believe someone’s “ right theologies ” were not part of the Creator’s plan. The importance of the Creator’s Life 1 st Values and TOV Standard is repeated throughout the Jewish Scriptures. There are many examples in the Bible of people, especially leaders, who elevated other things above the value of human life. Some of those people’s decisions had very bad consequences for the nation – or even for all mankind . But...

Historically, Protestant Christianity was decisive in forming western civilization as we know it, especially in the United States. You can’t imagine modern individualism, democracy, or freedoms without it – and it has given us some other legacies which we might not like so much. But it’s not just a subject of historic interest. There are a billion Protestants in the world today, and in Africa, China, Latin America and other places the numbers are rising fast. Protestantism is going to be one of the key forces shaping the world this century, and we’d better understand it. The first Protestants didn’t set out to create the world we live in now, but some key features of that world come directly from them. The ideal of free enquiry and free speech; the assumption that we’ve got a right to challenge our rulers, and that in spiritual terms we’re all equal; and the notion of limited government, that there are freedoms of conscience over which no political authority has any jurisdiction. ...

The Real Yeshua Torah Readings for May 20 th are: Exodus 22:26-23:33 Isaiah 49:3 Bookmark the weekly schedule at – http://www.biblicalheritage.org/torah-reading-schedule-of-yeshua.html Let us know if you find this information of value and useful by going to The Real Yeshua Facebook Page and “ Liking It ” by CLICKING HERE .” Have you ever thought about making a donation? Why not do it today! CLICK HERE .  Please Share & Discuss The Torah Readings With Others: In Yeshua's culture reading the Torah is something that required two or more people. It wasn't done silently and alone. SHALOM!