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Gen 1:1-6:8 BeResheet (In the Beginning, for the purpose of the first fruits, in the first fruits)

NASB 1995 update


Tishrei (7th month) 26, 5769

Where are the old and the new covenants? What does salvation look like under the
old and the new covenants?
Most people think that the first covenant in the bible is the one with Noah, the second with
Abraham, the third with Moses, the forth with David, and the New covenant is prophesied in
Jeremiah and found in Yeshua (Jesus name prior to the Hebrew to Greek consonant reassignment
followed by the Greek to Modern English loose transliteration in the late 1600s. Found in the
Tanakh over 100 times, means HaShem’s salvation or salvation.)

Yeshua and the New Covenant.


Matt 26:26-28 26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke
it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a
cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My
blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. See also Mark
14:22-25
Luke 22:17-20 17 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share
it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until
the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke
it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of
Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is
poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
We see Yeshua identifying with the bread and wine within the Pesach Seder. (Note He says He
will partake of it again with us in Eternity in Matt 26:29, Mark 14:25, and Luke 22:16 and 18 and
in 1 Cor 5:8 we are reminded that we are to “celebrate the Feast” (the 8 days of Pesach and
Matzah).) He does not say this is “a new covenant” thereby replacing the former covenant
(which is a good thing as this would make Him the anti-Messiah [by the way that theology is the
foundation of the Mormon Church, and proves that Mormonism is a false theology. One only
needs to read the preface to the book of Mormon to see this.]) but rather this is “the new
covenant in My blood.” The new covenant already existed! Where is it?
John 12:47-50 47 “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I
did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 “He who rejects Me and does not
receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last
day. 49 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given
Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 “I know that His commandment is
eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

What is the Word?


Cf John 1:1-5,14-17 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and
apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life
was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend
it…14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the
only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out,
saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He
existed before me.’ ” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For
the Law (Torah) was given (1325 to give, bestow, deliver, provide.) through Moses; grace and
truth were realized (1096 to be made or created from nothing. The Hebrew equivalent is bara
and is used within the creation narrative. It is the second word in Gen 1:1.) through Jesus Christ.

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Dt 4:13 13 “So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is,
the Ten Commandments; (1697 davar word the Hebrew word for commandment is mitzvah) and
He wrote them on two tablets of stone. (Cf Ex 34:28 and Dt 10: 4) Further more, note that the
10 words are but a summary of the Torah or said another way, the Torah as a whole is an
explanation of the 10 words. I.e. the 10 Words say not to steal. What is the definition of theft?
Without the Torah we wouldn’t know.
What is this Torah that was given, delivered through Moses and what is God’s relationship to it?
Lev 26:40-46 40 ‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their
unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against
Me— 41 I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their
enemies—or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends
for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also
My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the
land. 43 ‘For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its sabbaths while it is
made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity,
because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes. 44 ‘Yet in spite of
this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them
as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. 45 ‘But I
will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of
Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.’ ” 46 These are
the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself
and the sons of Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai.

Grace and Truth. The Hebrew word for Grace is usually translated as lovingkindness. The
phrase Grace and Truth appears throughout the Tanakh. I.e.
Ps 119:142 142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law (Torah) is
truth.
1 Kings 2:3-4 3 Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His
statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is
written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you
turn, 4 so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If
your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all
their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ The promise is that Yeshua will sit
on the throne as king for eternity for those that receive eternal life, the promise. To the
damned they face the second death, divine wrath and do not receive the promise.
2 Sam 2:6 6 Now may the Lord show (lit. do) lovingkindness (2617 chesed – grace – An act of
chesed presupposes the existence of a relationship between the parties involved. It is central
to God’s character. It is closely tied to His covenant with his chosen people; in fact the
covenant may be thought of as the relationship from which the chesed flows. God’s chesed is
everlasting.) and truth to you; and I also will show this goodness to you, because you have
done this thing.
2 Sam 7:28a 28 Now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are truth,
John 17:17 17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Quoted from 2 Sam 7:28
(Remember Yeshua identifies Himself as truth John 14:6 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way,
and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
As believers we receive the “Spirit of truth.” John 14:15-17 15 “If you love Me, you will
keep My commandments. 16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper,
that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides
with you and will be in you.
We are to worship in truth John 4:23-24 23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the
true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father
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seeks to be His worshipers. 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth.”
Ps 25:10 10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness (2617 grace) and truth To those who
keep His covenant and His testimonies.
Ps 61:7 7 He will abide before God forever; Appoint lovingkindness (2617 grace) and truth
that they may preserve him.
Ps 85:7-13 7 Show us Your lovingkindness, (2617 grace) O Lord, And grant us Your salvation.
(3468 Yesha from 3467 Yasha which is the root to Yeshua and Y’hoshua) 8 I will hear what God
the Lord will say; For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; But let them not
turn back to folly. 9 Surely His salvation (3468) is near to those who fear Him, That glory may
dwell in our land. 10 Lovingkindness (2617 grace) and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11 Truth springs from the earth, And
righteousness looks down from heaven. 12 Indeed, the Lord will give what is good, And our
land will yield its produce. 13 Righteousness will go before Him And will make His footsteps
into a way. (see John 14:6 above where Yeshua says He is the way. An interesting study is to
follow Way, Truth, and Life (as in eternal life) through the Tanakh.)
Ps 117:1-2 1 Praise the Lord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! 2 For His lovingkindness (2617
grace) is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!

Where is eternal life commanded?


Ps 133:1-3 1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon
the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.
Dt 30:19-20 19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before
you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you
and your descendants, 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding
fast to Him;(this is what the definition of what faith is) for this is your life and the length of
your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Obviously He is not talking about life as in breathing in and out, but rather eternal life; and not
death as in the ceasing of breathing in and out, but rather damnation. The promise was two fold:
first and foremost eternal life and second length of days in the promise land here on earth.

But was eternal life through faith introduced at the time of Moses? No!
Gal 3:6 6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
Gal 3:8 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the
gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”

So was faith introduced with Abraham? No!


Heb 11:1-7 and following 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval. 3 By faith we understand that the
worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which
are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained
the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he
is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he
was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken
up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes
to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 7 By faith Noah,
being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of
his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness
which is according to faith. …etc
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So the New covenant must be introduced before Abel! But where?
Hosea 6:6-7 6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather
than burnt offerings. 7 But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant; There they have
dealt treacherously against Me. What covenant did Adam transgress? The Old Covenant!

The Old Covenant:


Gen 1:27-29 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male
and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; (The Blessing was eternal life. We know this
as the Father’s “commanded blessing” of Ps 133:3 is life forevermore and later in Gen 2:17 we
see that if they disobey God they will die. They later do eat and do die (spiritually not
physically). We also see in John 12:50 that the Father’s commandment is “eternal life.”) and
God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; (While this has a
small bit to do with “procreation” that is not its focus. This is the “Great Commission.” Be
fruitful: Have the fruit of the Spirit (Love) in you i.e. Love God and obey Him (If you love Him you
will obey His commandments)- have the fruit of obedience in your own life. Multiply: make
disciples (teach others to imitate you as you imitate God) See 1 Cor 4:16, 11:1; Eph 5:1, 1 Thes
1:6, Heb 6:12, 13:7 and 3 John 1:11. Fill the earth: fill the earth with the Spirit of God. Walk in
love toward you neighbors (love your neighbor as your self). Subdue it: teaching obedience to
everything commanded.
What are the initial words spoken to mankind after their creation and what are some of Yeshua’s
closing words as He departs from earth physically and how do they relate?
Matt 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been
given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
age.”
So much has been said and done with the “Great Commission” in Matt 28, but little has been
done with it in relationship to the purpose for which mankind was created. Verse 19 and 20 are
easily broken down into four separate commands just as Gen 1:28a. In fact they are identical.
Let’s take a look.
Genesis 1:28a Matt 28:19-20
Be fruitful Go
Multiply make disciples of all the nations
Fill the earth baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Subdue it teaching them to observe all that I commanded you
Be Fruitful (6509 parah; to be fruitful, to flourish.); Go (4198 to travel (lit. or fig,; espec. To
remove [fig. die], live, etc,)) If we look to the Hebrew word Halakhah we see that it means: walk,
go. We also know that “one’s walk” in scripture of before HaShem is not talking about their gate
or their stride, but rather their actions before HaShem. We know that Matthew was originally
written in Hebrew as attested to in early extra Biblical sources. Therefore, the word translated
“Go” is not a reference to locomotion, but rather obedience!
and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that
moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that
is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for
you;
Gen 2:15-17 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to
cultivate (5647 to serve, be made to serve, be served; work, toil, be worked; to worship, cause to
worship. Used throughout Exodus in the phrase “let My people go that they may serve Me.” Cf
Ex 4:23, 7:16, 8:1, 8:20, 9:1, 9:13, and 10:3)
Coming out of Egypt is a picture of our salvation. He brought us out in order to bring us in (Dt
6:23) so that we would no longer be slaves to sin but rather slaves to righteousness. Paul
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picks up on this and teaches extensively about it. i.e. Rom 6:14-23 14 For sin shall not be
master over you, for you are not under law (law – Greek= nomos. In this case refers to the
Torah, the first five books of the Bible. Note those who are “under the Law” are gentiles
(pagans) and Yeshua and all those who are under the law will be judged by their works in
comparison to the Torah.
Romans 2:12 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law,
(Paul makes it clear that claiming ignorance or following a path of “willful ignorance” will
not provide a way to circumvent judgment unto damnation.) and all who have sinned
under the Law will be judged by the Law;) (Paul who is way after the time of Yeshua,
makes it clear that the “Law” – the Torah – is still valid and will serve as the standard by
which those who are “under the Law” will be judged. This means that the pagan will be
condemned for not keeping Shabbat, kosher (food laws), tzitzit, etc.
Yeshua was, and was found to be without sin, hence the reason He able to provide us with
redemption through His death and resurrection. He was perfect to the Torah (this also
means that He could not teach against the Torah, change or alter the Torah, or replace the
Torah; not so much as one letter of it. We know this as this would at best make Him a
hypocrite (teaching one thing and living another), and at worst it makes Him a liar and the
Anti-Messiah. Furthermore the Torah prohibits it.
Dt 4:2 2 “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away
from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command
you.
Dt 12:32 32 “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to
nor take away from it. Note Dt 13 goes into addressing false prophets (ones who add
and subtract from the Torah.)
Galatians 4:4-5 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a
woman, born under the Law, (He was to be judged in His life here on earth according to
the Law – The Torah) 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, (Who
needs redemption? All who are not perfect according to the Torah’s standard, all who have
sinned need redemption. Therefore, it is us who prior to our salvation through the Messiah
who were under the Law. It was only through His being perfect according to the Torah
that He was able to create a credit to pay the price for our sins. That credit was created
when He was crucified without cause on the stake and became a curse for us.) that we
might receive the adoption as sons.
(back to Rom 6:14-23 from above) but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin (Note Rom
3:20, 4:15, 7:7 all claim that the Torah is what defines what sin is. Note Torah means “divine
instruction.” The root word to Torah is yara which is an archery term which means “to hit the
mark.” Both the Hebrew word for sin, “chata” and the Greek word for sin “hamartia” are
archery terms that literally mean “to miss the mark.” Torah could rightly be defined as
“divine instruction that hits the mark,” or “divine instruction that defines what is not sin and
by definition, what is sin.” because we are not under law (Torah) but under grace? May it
never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for
obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or
of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were
slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were
committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am
speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented
your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, (if the law goes to the Torah, then
lawlessness goes to Torahlessness. Note that in 2Thess 2:3-9 the man of lawlessness is the
anti-Messiah) resulting in further lawlessness, (Torahlessness) so now present your members
as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you
were free in regard to righteousness. (When you were a slave to sin, you had not
righteousness in you, you were free of it. That is not a good thing to be free of.) 21 Therefore
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what benefit were you then deriving from the things (What things? Sin) of which you are now
ashamed? For the outcome (5056 the end, goal, That which is aimed at. “It does not, as is
commonly supposed, mean the extinction, end, termination with reference to time, but the
goal reached, the completion or conclusion at which anything arrives…It never denotes
merely an end as to time, a termination in and for itself, for which another word (5054),
death, is always used.”) of those things is death.
(Rom 10:4 uses the exact same Greek words: 4 For Christ is the end (5056) of the law for
righteousness to everyone who believes. Alt trans.: For the Messiah is the goal of the
Torah, for righteousness to everyone who believes. Dt 6:25 says the same thing. Note the
word in 6:25 for commandment is in the singular form. Dt 6:4-25 is one commandment
and is referred to by Yeshua as the greatest commandment in the Torah. Of course it is, as
it has to do with our salvation. We also see in John 5:45-46 that Yeshua says that “…if you
believed Moses (the Torah), you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not
believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”)
22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit,
resulting in sanctification, and the outcome (5056), eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is
death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.)
(back to Gen 2:15-17)
it and keep it. (8104 keep it is also in the feminine form and is frequently used in the phase
“keep My commandments, statutes, ordinances, word, etc. The word means to keep, guard,
protect, hedge about as with thorns, to observe (a covenant; commandments of God; the
Sabbath, a promise). They obviously were not put into the garden to cultivate it as Gen 2:5-9
makes it clear that God cultivates the garden. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: Genesis 1B provides the
last half of v15 as, “made him dwell in the Garden of Eden to labor in the law and to keep its
commandments.” (emphasis in original). The foot note below it says “The phrase “to till it and
keep it” raised problems, since the Garden of Eden needed no one to till it…” Earlier in v8 the
same source says that the, “garden had been planted by the Memra of the Lord God…and he
made Adam dwell there when he created him.” Targum Neofiti 1: Genesis says, “had him dwell
in the garden of Eden to toil in the Law and to observe its commandments.” Here we see that
the ancient Jewish commentator is stating that the garden had been planted by the Messiah (the
Memra) and then He put mankind into the garden. Additionally it is important to note that in Gen
3:17-19 part of man’s punishment was that he is to toil in the ground. When man was placed
into the garden it had been cultivated and after man’s sin, part of his punishment was having to
toil in the ground. Man was put into the garden to serve God and keep/obey His Torah
(commandments) or as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan states to “labor in the law and to keep its
commandments.” Both have the same outcome and mean the same thing.) Rom 1:18 says the
same thing:
Rom 1:18-21 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
(763 (1) a: not (4576) to worship. Impiety, ungodliness; wickedness in general; neglect of
violation of duty towards God, or neighbor or ourselves, joined with and springing from
impiety towards God.)) and unrighteousness (93 – (1) a: not (1349) dike justice. Unjust,
unrighteous, It is not meeting God’s justice or His goal for us.) The opposite of this would
be to worship/serve HaShem and keep His commandments.
1 John 5:17a 17 All unrighteousness is sin,
of men who suppress the truth (God’s word is truth, Yeshua is truth) in unrighteousness,
(93) 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it
evident to them. (God is not a liar and He doesn’t command something be kept that is not
known or revealed.)20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His
eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through
what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew
God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their
speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, (The serpent
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was said to be “crafty/cunning” from the same root word that is used for “naked” after
mankind sinned. The root H6191 means to be bare, be smooth; to be cunning, be crafty,
act craftily, form a cunning plan, deal subtly; prudent. G4680 translated here as wise
means: wise; prudent, sensible, judicious.) they became fools, (they hid from God and
covered themselves with aprons of vegetation.) 23 and exchanged the glory of the
incorruptible God (Walking in perfection and image of God) for an image in the form of
corruptible man (for that of walking in death) and of birds and four-footed animals and
crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to
impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged
the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped (4573 to worship religiously. It denotes not
merely the act of pious reverence but the act or acts of worship.) and served (3000 to
serve; in a religious sense to worship God.) the creature (the serpent in the Garden, Satan)
rather than the Creator, (Yeshua) who is blessed forever. Amen (This is a parallel
reference to Adam and Eve and then to all of mankind that follows after.) …. 28 And just as
they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved
mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness,
wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30
slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to
parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although
they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death,
(Adam was told this in Gen 2:17) they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval
to those who practice them. Paul understood that Adam and Eve were to serve God and
keep His commandments.
16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you
eat from it you will surely die.” (God is not a liar. The day they ate of it they died, they lost
eternal life and entered into spiritual death with no opportunity of redemption (at that point) that
they knew of.) That is the conclusion of the “Old Covenant.” The “Old Covenant” being that they
are to remain in faithful obedience to HaShem and they will retain eternal life. This verse also
contains “the Law of sin and death. “ This Law is still in force. It states that when you sin, you
will die – face damnation.)
Rom 8:1-4 1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
Rom 7:14 14 For we know that the Law is Spiritual, (4152 pneumatikós; fem.
pneumatiké̄, neut. pneumatikón, adj. from pneúma (4151), spirit. Spiritual. (I) Pertaining
to the nature of spirits. “A spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:44) means a body dominated by the
Spirit, in contrast to a natural or soulish body (só̄ma psuchikón [só̄ma {4983}, body;
psuchikón {5591}, pertaining to soul]) which obeys one’s natural instincts or soul. In Eph.
6:12, tá pneumatiká té̄s ponērías ([4189], iniquity) means the evil spirits. (II) Pertaining to
or proceeding from the Holy Spirit, tó pneúma tó hágion (see pneúma 3, D). (A) Of
persons who are spiritual, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, enjoying the influences, graces,
gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:13, 15; 3:1; 14:37; Gal. 6:1). (B) Of things spiritual,
communicated or imparted by the Holy Spirit: Rom. 15:27; 1 Cor. 2:13, meaning those
things pertaining to the Spirit (tá toú Pneúmatos [as in 2:14]); 1 Cor. 9:11; 12:1; 14:1, the
things pertaining to the Spirit; Eph. 1:3; 5:19; Col. 1:9; 3:16, “spiritual songs,” meaning
those composed in the Spirit on spiritual and instructive subjects. In Rom. 7:14 “the law
is spiritual” means it is according to the mind and will of the Spirit. In Rom. 1:11
chárisma pneumatikón (chárisma [5486], gift), “a spiritual gift,” means a gift relating to
the mind or spirit of Christians as enlightened and quickened by the Holy Spirit (cf. in 1:12,
and see pneúma, III, D, 2, e). Also spoken of things in a higher and spiritual sense, not
literal or corporeal, including also a reference to the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 10:3, 4, they ate
spiritual food and drank spiritual drink; 1 Pet. 2:5 “a spiritual house”).
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Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament
(electronic ed.) (G4152). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.) but I am of flesh, sold into
bondage to sin.
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4
so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the
flesh but according to the Spirit.
The “New Covenant” is to restore us to the point we once where at: To give us the opportunity to
Serve God and Keep His commandments. When we are in sin, under the Law, apart from
salvation, all that we do is sin. God looks at the actions and the heart. If the action is wrong it is
sin regardless of where the heart is. But as a pagan, our motivation or heart is never to do obey
God out of a love for Him. Therefore, our motive is wrong making even any seemingly “good”
action, sin.

The New (Renewed Covenant)


Adam and Eve took and ate of the tree of knowledge and evil, and tried to provide a new
covering for themselves as they were outside of the covering of God. They sewed fig leaves
together representing the works of man. Gen 3:6-7.
God hits the scene and in Gen 3:14 He curses the serpent (Satan) to damnation.
Gen 3:14-15 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you
more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust
you will eat All the days of your life; (This is universally (Jewish, Catholic, Christian, Messianic)
seen as eternal damnation, with no opportunity for redemption)
Next God does not address mankind or it would have been judgment for them also. No, instead
He provides for the plan of salvation; the “New Covenant.” Gen 3:15
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed (2233 seed) and
her seed; (2233) (Note that it does not say, “the seed of a man and woman.” This is to teach us
that the Messiah will be born of a woman who was not impregnated by a man. The only way to
ensure that is for the woman to be a virgin.) He shall bruise you on the head, (death- damnation)
And you shall bruise him on the heel.” (injure Him for a short period of time, say three days and
three nights. The “seed” is important. The “seed” is the Messiah. We see in Targum Neofiti 1:
the aspect of the Messiah, reconciliation between man and HaShem through the Messiah, and
damnation of the “serpent.”
Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your sons and
her sons. And it will come about that when her sons observe the Law and do the
commandments they will aim at you and smite you on your head and kill you. But when they
forsake the commandments of the Law you will aim and bite him on his heel and make him
ill. For her sons, however, there will be a remedy, but fro you O serpent, there will not be a
remedy, since they are to make appeasement in the end, in the day of King Messiah.
We can trace the seed from here through to Abraham and continuing on through to Yeshua. Paul
identifies the “seed” as the Messiah.
Gal 3:16 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say,
“And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. (Cf
Acts 3:25 and Gen 22:17-18).
Our passage in Gen 3:15ff does not do away with the covenant or the commands that
precede it. In fact it requires that they stay in place and builds upon them. (The law of sin
and death is first found in Gen 2:15-17 and is very much still in force. It is because of our sin
that we need a redeemer.) If we fast forward through to Noah, Abraham, and Moses we also
see that they were all found righteous before a covenant was made with them and in no case
did what was provided to them, do away with that which preceded it nor did they provide a
new way of salvation.
In the verses that follow this, we see that God punishes mankind. (Gen 3:17-19)
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Then God provides a covering of animal skin. (Gen 3:21) The new covenant requires the
shedding of blood as now sin has been introduced to the world. The (clean) animal, the death of
the animal, and its shed blood all represent the Messiah. The animal’s blood was not sufficient to
provide salvation, but pointed to the blood of the Messiah which would pay for or ratify this
covenant. The skin also represented the Torah as a Torah scroll is always written on the skin of a
clean animal that were found to be perfect. Remember that the Messiah was the word (Torah)
made flesh or the living Torah. The (clean) animal was presumably “perfect” representing the
Messiah without sin, who was a propitiation for our sins.
Adam and Eve are sent out of the Garden so that they do not eat of the tree of live in an
unworthy manner and become eternally damned with no opportunity for redemption.
In Gen 3:23-24 we see that the Targum Ps-J says:
And the Lord God drove him out of the Garden of Eden and he went and settled on Mount Moriah
to till the soil from which he had been created. 24. And he drove Adam out of (the place) where,
from the beginning, he had caused the Glory of his Shekinah to dwell between the two cherubim.
Before he had yet created the world, he created the Law. He established the Garden of Eden for
the righteous, that they might eat and take delight in the fruit of the tree, for having during their
lives cherished the instruction of the Law in this world and fulfilled the precepts. For the wicked
he established Gehenna, which is like a sharp two-edged sword. Within it he established sparks
of fire and burning coals with which to judge the wicked, who during their lives rebelled against
the instruction of the Law. The Law is better for him who toils in it that the fruit of the tree of
life, (that Law) which the Memra [Word – Messiah Yeshua] of the Lord established to be kept so
that the people might endure and walk in the paths of the way of life in the world to come.
(italics in original)
Prov 11:30 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.
(According to Paul in Romans 6:16 obedience results in righteousness. Romans 6:19 says that
being a slave to righteousness results in sanctification and 6:22 says that being enslaved to
God results in sanctification and that the outcome of sanctification is eternal life. OBEDIENCE
=> RIGHTEOUSNESS, SLAVE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS = SLAVE TO GOD, SLAVE TO
RIGHTEOUSNESS/TO GOD => SANCTIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION => ETERNAL LIFE.
Prov 3:13-19 13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom (singular feminine form) And the
man who gains understanding (singular feminine form). 14 For her (third person, singular
feminine form – this makes wisdom and understanding one) profit is better than the profit of
silver and her gain better than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels; and nothing
you desire compares with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and
honor. 17 Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace. 18 She (the “she”
throughout this passage is a reference to the same “person” but to this point that person is
not defined for us.) is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold
her fast. 19 The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the
heavens. (According to the Targumim and John 1:1ff Yeshua is the one who founded the earth
and established the heavens. Therefore we know that the tree of life is not only the Torah and
all of its commandments, but it is also the Messiah. We also see that the feminine form of
“serve” in Gen 2:15 is a reference to the Messiah!)
Did Adam and Eve understand that the “Seed” is to be their savior? Yes!! But they thought Cain,
then Abel, and then Seth were to be the Messiah and provide redemption to them. It was not
until Seth has a son that they collectively begin to have faith in HaShem looking forward to His
salvation. We do however see from Heb 11:4 that at least Abel understood this prior to his death
because he was a man of “faith.” Let’s take a look.

Gen 4:1 1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, (Their act of cohabitation is recorded for
us so that we know that Cain is not the Messiah.) and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and
she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.” (They look to Cain to be the

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Messiah. Note that His name means acquisition; root means: to possess; to acquire. They were
looking for Cain to possess salvation and that through him they could acquire salvation.)

Next they have Abel in v2. Abel means withering; fading away; vapor; transitory. His name
foreshadows his untimely death and that his death will be as a vapor passing away not providing
eternal life like that of the Messiah.
Cain holds something against his brother yet brings his sacrifice to God. (Remember Yeshua
when He says in Matt 5:23-24 that if you have something against your brother, leave your
sacrifice at the altar and go; reconcile to your brother and then come and present your sacrifice
to God.) His sacrifice is rejected by God. (Note that fruit offerings are commanded within the
Torah so it obviously could not be a problem because he brought fruit.) Abel’s sacrifice is
accepted by God. Cain kills Abel. Abel cannot be the Messiah as he is dead and does not rise.
Cain cannot be the Messiah as he has visible sin in his life and is just like Adam and Eve. (Just
because a sin is not noted for Abel does not mean he was perfect. Other passages within
scripture make it clear that he sinned. “For all have sinned and fallen short…”)

The Birth of “The New Testament Church!”


Now we fast forward to the end of the chapter: Gen 4:25-26 25 Adam had relations with his wife
again; (again we see the emphasis on the role Adam plays in the pregnancy.) and she gave birth
to a son, and named him Seth, (Means appointed; compensation; substitute; to replace) for, she
said, “God has appointed me another offspring (2233 seed) in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
(This passage makes it clear that Adam and Eve (mankind) were looking to Seth to surely be the
Messiah as Cain and Abel could not be the Messiah. However, an interesting thing happens to
Seth. Seth has a son.) 26 To Seth, (Seth is mentioned so as to make it clear that he participated
in the process. Therefore we know that his son cannot be the Messiah either.) to him also a son
was born; and he called his name Enosh. (Now the following is the key.) Then men began to call
upon the name of the Lord. When Seth had a son, mankind realized that the Messiah was going
to be off in the future and that they were going to have to “call of the name of the Lord” for their
salvation. This verse proves that HaShem is our Savior and since we know that the “Seed” is
the Messiah and is our Savior, we know that The Messiah must be HaShem. Note that that is
what ancient Judaism teaches also.
Midrash Rabbah Bereishit 23:5 AND SHE CALLED HlS NAME SETH: FOR GOD HATH
APPOINTED ME ANOTHER SEED, etc. R. Tanhuma said in the name of Samuel Kozith: [She
hinted at] that seed which would arise from another source, viz. the king Messiah. INSTEAD
OF ABEL, FOR CAIN SLEW HlM. Through the sin against Abel, Cain was slain. It was as if two
trees were standing near each other, and a wind uprooted one of them, which fell upon the
other and uprooted it too. Similarly, you read, INSTEAD OF ABEL, FOR HE SLEW CAIN
Midrash Rabbah Bereishit 51:8 8. AND THE FIRSTBORN SAID UNTO THE YOUNGER: OUR
FATHER IS OLD, AND THERE IS NOT A MAN IN THE EARTH. etc. (XIX, 31). They thought that the
whole world was destroyed, as in the generation of the Flood. COME, LET US MAKE OUR
FATHER DRINK WINE... THAT WE MAY PRESERVE SEED OF OUR FATHER (ib. 32). R. Tanhuma
said in Samuel's name: It is not written, that we may preserve a child of our father, but, THAT
WE MAY PRESERVE SEED OF OUR FATHER: viz the seed that comes from a different source,
which is the King Messiah.
Midrash Rabbah Bereishit 53:12 AND GOD SAID UNTO ABRAHAM: LET IT NOT BE
GRIEVOUS IN THY SIGHT... FOR IN ISAAC SHALL SEED BE CALLED TO THEE (XXI, 12): R. Judan
b. Shalum said: Not ' Isaac ‘, but IN ISAAC is written here. R. ‘Azariah said in the name of Bar
Hutah: The beth (IN) denotes two, i.e. [thy seed shall be called] in him who recognises the
existence of two worlds; he shall inherit two worlds. R. Judan b. R. Shalum said: It is written,
Remember His marvellous works that He hath done, His signs [E.V. ‘wonders’], and the
judgments of His mouth (Ps. CV, 5): [God says]: ' I have given a sign [whereby the true
descendants of Abraham can be known], viz. he who expressly recognises [God's judgments]:
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thus whoever believes in the two worlds shall be called " thy seed “, while he who rejects
belief in two worlds shall not be called "thy seed".’ (“two worlds” is a reference to the gift of
life through the Messiah and damnation through rejection of the Messiah.)
Midrash Rabbah Ruth 7:15 15. AND THE WOMEN SAID UNTO NAOMI: BLESSED BE THE
LORD, WHO HATH NOT LEFT THEE THIS THIS DAY WITHOUT A NEAR KINSMAN (ib. 14). Just as
this day holds dominion in the skies, so shall your seed produce one who shall hold dominion
and rule over Israel for ever. R. Hunya said: It was as a result of the blessings of those women
that the line of David was not cut off entirely in the days of Athaliah. R. Tanhuma said in the
name of R. Samuel: Elsewhere it is written, That we may preserve seed of our father (Gen.
XIX, 32). It is not written ' son ‘, but ’ seed ‘; that seed which comes from another place. Who
is thus referred to? The Messiah.
Midrash Rabbah Ruth 8:1 R. Huna said: It is written For God hath appointed me another
seed (Gen. IV, 25), that is, seed from another place, referring to the Messiah. R. Berekiah and
R. Simon said: We may illustrate with a parable of a king who was travelling from one place to
another, when a precious pearl fell from his head. So the king and all his retinue stopped
there. All the passers-by asked, ‘What are the king and his retinue doing here?’ They
discerned the reason and said, ‘A pearl has fallen from his head.’ What did he do? He
gathered all the soil into heaps and brought brooms. He had one heap swept, but did not find
it; a second heap, and he did not find it; but in the third, he found it, and they announced,
‘The king has found his pearl!’ So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, ’Get thee
out (Gen. XII, 1). It was to thee that I looked forward. What need had I to record the
genealogy of Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Nahor, and Terah? (I Chron. 1, 24). Only
on account of thee, Abram-the same is Abraham’ (ib.); And foundest his heart faithful before
Thee (Neh. IX, 8). So said the Holy One, blessed be He, to David, ‘What need had I to record
the genealogy of Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse? Only
on account of thee; I have found My servant, David.’
Joel 2:32a 32 “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be
delivered;
Peter at Shavuot (Pentacost)
Acts 2:21 21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Paul after he has said that the goal of sin is death and then later that Messiah is the goal of
the Torah for righteousness to everyone who believes, goes on to say in that same chapter
Rom 10:11-13 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all,
abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord
will be saved.”
Peter in Acts 4: identifies Yeshua as HaShem in the flesh, and as our savior.
Acts 4:8-12 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the
people, 9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has
been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the
name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by
this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 “He is the stone which was
rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. 12 “And there is
salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among
men by which we must be saved.”
We also see that calling upon Him for our salvation has the desired outcome of unified
obedience.
Zeph 3:9 9 “For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, That all of them may call on the
name of the Lord, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
We also see that those who do not call upon the name of HaShem the prophet Jeremiah calls
for their destruction, their damnation. Note also that this knowledge is a knowledge of
intimacy.
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Jer 10:23-25 23 I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who
walks to direct his steps. 24 Correct me, O Lord, but with justice; Not with Your anger, or You
will bring me to nothing. 25 Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You And on
the families that do not call Your name; For they have devoured Jacob; They have devoured
him and consumed him And have laid waste his habitation.
This phraseology is used repeatedly. However, there is an interesting thing about this passage
in Gen 4:26. This portion can be translated equally: (“Then men profaned calling upon the
name of the Lord.” Or “Then to call in the Name of HaShem became profaned.”) Just as
mankind began to call on the name of God for their salvation (the birth of the New Testament
Church), men profaned calling on His name for their salvation, espousing the concept that
they could save themselves variously (the birth of paganism).

Did anyone else see this in scripture?


Heb 12:24 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which
speaks better than the blood of Abel. The author of Hebrews saw that the “sacrifice” or death of
Abel was not able to provide the redemption of the “new Covenant.” This requires that the “new
covenant” had to be in place before the death of Abel for his blood to even be considered to be
adequate. Yeshua was the one whose blood could be shed for the new covenant, not Abel’s. The
author of Hebrews saw that the new covenant preceded Cain and Abel.

Did they know the Torah (law) before Moses?


Rom 5:12-14 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, (Through the sin
of Adam, sin entered the entire world) and death through sin, (We see here that Paul says that
Adam died the day he ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and that that death was
through sin, (266 hamartia; sin, missing the true goal and scope of life.) and so death spread to
all men, because all sinned— 13 for until the Law (This is a reference to the Torah being provided
by Moses) sin was in the world, (Paul says that between the time of Adam and Moses sin was in
the world. If we look at the time of Noah, Lot, Joseph we see that clearly. We also see that
murder, sexual immorality of a wide variety of types, etc. are punished but are not defined or
codified as sin until Moses. Even Noah knew the difference between clean and unclean animals.)
but sin is not imputed when there is no law. (If they did not have the Torah, sin, or infractions of
the Torah, would not have been charged, taken into account, taken into consideration, or
imputed against them.) 14 Nevertheless (235 and, but (even), howbeit, indeed, nay,
nevertheless, notwithstanding, save, therefore, yea, yet) death reigned from Adam until Moses,
(Paul is not saying that God held mankind accountable to a standard that they did not know or
that did not exist. Nor is he saying that God changed the standard or introduced a new standard
at the time of Moses. Paul is saying that mankind did know what the definition of sin and
righteousness were and that they were held accountable to the same standard from the time of
Adam to Moses. This is important to understand as in Gal 3:17 Paul talks about the promise of
salvation through faith in the promised seed preceding the providing of the Torah in a written
form to Moses. In Galatians He takes them back to the time of Abraham, and the promised seed
as much of the focus within Galatians was on Abraham and his life. It would have been odd to
change directions and go back to Adam at that point and unnecessary as anyone prior to Moses
would have been adequate for the argument he was making.) even over those who had not
sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, (Paul is addressing the argument that “I didn’t eat
of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and I am a good person so I will live” or “I’m better
than those around me so God has to save me” and is saying that even though your sin may be
different, greater or less than that of Adam, it still leads to death just as it did for those who lived
between Adam and Moses.) who is a type of Him who was to come. (In the verses that follow we
see that Adam is similar to the Messiah in that death, damnation came into the world through
one man, just as salvation came into the world through one man.)

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Gal 3:15-26 15 Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man’s
covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. 16 Now
the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as
referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. (The promises were
spoken to Abraham were in regard to the Messiah. We also see that when the covenant with
man has been “ratified” it cannot be altered, this is very important to keep track of and find out
when this covenant was ratified. Most would teach that it was ratified with the coming of the
Messiah or with His death on the cross. Let’s continue on to see if scripture provides us with a
definitive timeframe as to when it was ratified.) 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, (The Torah)
which came four hundred and thirty years later, (the time between Abraham and Moses) does
not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, (Here we see that Paul immediately
provides us with the answer we were looking for regarding when the covenant was ratified. Paul
in this narrative says it was ratified at least 430 years prior to the provision of the Torah in a
codified manner. Remember that once it has been ratified it cannot be added to or set aside by
anyone. Furthermore, the implication is that the Torah that was codified 430 years later cannot
be an “added condition” to it, therefore it must have been apart of it to begin with. Paul’s main
concern that he is addressing is dispensationalism. The Galatians were looking to obedience to
the Torah, their being “Jewish”, for their salvation wrongly believing that Moses had ushered in
this as a new dispensation replacing the former dispensation that was one of faith. It is
interesting that today we have dispensationalism that claims that Yeshua ushered in faith that
replaced the keeping of the Torah or being Jewish. If we were to go back to the origin of both the
covenant and the promise we see that both are found in the first three chapters of Genesis. The
question of which came first at that point is mute as both are completely interconnected and
inseparable.) so as to nullify the promise. (That is something to be thankful for, that the
codification of the Torah did not nullify the promise of salvation through the Messiah. Note that
to alter the Torah after it has been ratified does nullify the promise according to this verse.) 18
For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it
to Abraham by means of a promise. (If eternal life, not the promise of eternal life, is based on the
Torah (obedience to it/keeping it), then Moses did usher in a new dispensation as it is no longer
through the promised seed. Note that Paul wrote this about 30 years after the death, burial, and
resurrection of the Messiah and his focus is on the fact that salvation has always been and will
always be through the promised seed, Yeshua. We see this point brought out by Paul in
Romans 4:13-17 13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir
of the world was not through the Law, (torah) but through the righteousness of faith.
(Righteous was never through the Torah, It was always about the Messiah.) 14 For if those
who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; (And as we saw
above, this is not the case.) 15 for the Law brings about wrath, (showing the need for
redemption through the Messiah.) but where there is no law, there also is no violation. (The
Torah provides us with the definition of what sin is. If we eliminate the Torah, then sin will
cease to exist. However, pandemonium and chaos will be the rule.) 16 For this reason it is by
faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed
to all the descendants, (The from before the time of Moses to those who are after the time of
Moses to those who after the time of the Messiah, etc.) not only to those who are of the Law,
(In this case, those who are “of the Law” are those who are apart from faith, they are
therefore “under the Law” as pagans and as such will be judged according to the Torah. We
know this as they are contrasted to those who are of faith. This means that the promise is
offered and guaranteed to all peoples regardless of genealogical backgrounds.) but also to
those who are of the faith of Abraham, (those who are redeemed through faith in the Messiah
are of the same faith as Abraham.)
Gal 3:6-9, 26-29 6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness. 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of
Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,
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preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in
you.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer...
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who
were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all
one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s
descendants, heirs according to promise.
John 8:39 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to
them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. What are the
deeds of Abraham? The Torah! We know that as the covenant was ratified by this time
and no provisions could be added to it or subtracted from it according to Gal 3:16ff above.
Who are the children of Abraham? Those who are of faith in Yeshua.
who is the father of us all, 17 (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in
the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into
being that which does not exist. )
19 Why the Law then? (So then why the Torah?) It was added because of transgressions, having
been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom
the promise had been made. (Before Adam and Eve sinned, truth, the Torah existed as we have
seen in John 1:1-17 above. Mankind did not have or need commands regarding what to do after
he has been caught stealing, after he accidentally kills someone, he murders someone, etc., as
sin was not present. Mankind only had to serve God in absolute perfection. One of the reasons
for the provisions of Torah is to provide mankind with a way of dealing with their sin between
each other (reconciliation and restitution) and most importantly, a way of restoring our
relationship with HaShem when we have sinned because it is affected when we sin. Another
purpose is to show us how detestable sin is to God and how costly it truly is. The Torah was not
done away with, as some would teach here in verse 19, with the “coming” of the seed, but rather
the Torah here is acting as the one who brings us to the Messiah and it was added because of our
sin to show us our dependence as pagans for God’s redemption. When we come to faith in the
Messiah it no longer functions in this capacity. It now provides us with the definition of what is
sin and what is not sin, how to worship and serve God and how not to worship and serve God,
etc. now that we are no longer slaves to sin (now that we are not longer in the position where
everything that we are doing is by definition sin and detestable to God.) Let me emphasize and
clarify what this verse is saying. It is initially talking about when we were in this world as
pagans, Gentiles. It is saying that because of our status as pagans, the Torah was added to, to
teach us how to deal with our sin, how to be reconciled to HaShem. . It was added to through the
Messiah, the Mediator. When we come to faith, the Seed will have come to us, those to whom
the promise of salvation has been made.) 20 Now a mediator is not for one party only; (The
Messiah is “mediator” not only to those who are of faith, but also those who are not of faith. In
one the righteous judgment called for is salvation and the other it is damnation.) whereas God is
only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! (Said as a
statement another way, The Torah is not contrary to the promise of salvation from HaShem. May
that thought never cross your mind or literally “may it not be created from nothing.”) For if a law
had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based
on law. (Paul recognizes that if God could have provided redemption to mankind after they sinned
through any other means besides the death of Yeshua, He would have. The Torah, contains the
promise of salvation through the Messiah, but trusting in the Torah or trying to keep all of the
commands within the Torah cannot and never did provide anyone salvation.) 22 But the
Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, (All of mankind is damned by their sin. No one is
righteous on his own merit. The Torah makes it clear that we cannot attain salvation apart from
the Messiah. Without the Messiah, we are not only slaves to sin, we are under sin/under the Law.
Moses makes this clear in

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Dt 29:19-21 19 “It shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will boast, saying,
‘I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered
land with the dry.’ 20 “The Lord shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of
the Lord and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in
this book will rest on him, (Therefore he will be under the Law or Torah as the curses of the
Torah will rest on top of him. This is where Paul got the phrase “under the law” or “under the
Torah” from. This is also found in Dt 28:13, 15, 20, 45, 61, 65; 29:27; 30:1, 7.) and the Lord
will blot out his name from under heaven. 21 “Then the Lord will single him out for adversity
from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant which are written in
this book of the law.
so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (See Heb 11 for
a short list of those from Able on who received the promise by faith) 23 But before faith came,
we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.
(There are two times this is addressing simultaneously. The first and foremost is the time frame
between Adam and Eve’s sin and when HaShem provides for His salvation with the promise seed.
We see this as Adam and Eve were dead, they lost the gift of eternal life when they sinned. They
were then a slave to sin and bound or held in custody under the Torah facing the final judgment
and damnation. They were not aware of the option of faith in a Messiah as it does not appear
that it had been revealed to them prior to Gen 3:15. When it was revealed to them, they thought
it was to occur in their immediate son, but later realized that it would be some time in the future.
With their faith in the Messiah they were no longer under the Law or Torah but under God’s
grace. The second is weaker but still present within this verse. It is the time frame from when
we and individuals were gentiles (pagans) and when God reveals His plan of salvation to us. We
were slaves to sin, bound or held in custody under the Torah facing the final judgment and
damnation until we accepted the Messiah.) 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead
us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. (The Torah serves many functions (See the
appendix for a short list of some of the attributes of the Torah according to Scripture.). Paul is
now focusing on the fact that the Torah would guard us on the path to the Messiah and lead us to
the Messiah. The Greek word here refers to “the slave who conducted the boys from home to
the school.” (It was not until later that it came to denote the teacher or educator.) When we
were pagans and obeyed the commands of the Torah in the physical sense (as our motives were
obviously wrong so it was still sin) we would reap some of the benefits. For instance, if we did
not rob a bank we would have a certain level of peace in our life and we did not suffer the
consequences of being a thief in the physical world. It also showed us the need for an
alternative method of righteousness as we continuously fail in our “obedience.” The Torah
pointed us to the Messiah. Yeshua says the same thing in John 5:45-46 where Yeshua says,
John 5:46-47 46 “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. 47
“But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (In verse 46 the first
inference we see is that if we believed Moses, we would do all that is commanded in the
Torah. We would keep kosher, keep Shabbat, etc. as he commanded and defined it. We also
see that all of the Torah is about the Messiah and that all that the Messiah taught and did is in
accordance with the Torah. Therefore if one were to say that the Messiah did away with the
Shabbat, that person must be able to show in the Torah that that is one of the things the
Messiah is going to do. Otherwise, there is not permission for that statement. V47 is a
rhetorical question. If one does not believe Moses, there is no way they can believe the words
of the Messiah.
Ex 19:9 9 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the
people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then
Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
Ex 14:31 31 When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians,
the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.

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Ex 4:29-31 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel;
30 and Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the
signs in the sight of the people. 31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the
Lord was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they
bowed low and worshiped.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (This passage is often used to
say that the Torah, the tutor has been done away with. That is not at all what Paul is saying. If
he were, he would be a false prophet, (Dt 13) contradicting himself and Yeshua, and a liar. (See
appendix on Who is Paul.) What Paul is saying is that now that we have accepted the faith in the
promise seed and are no longer pagans, we are no longer under the Law, we are no longer facing
judgment according to our motives, thoughts, and actions in comparison to the Torah which
provides no outcome for mankind besides death/damnation. Now we are under grace. Now we
have the opportunity to actually keep/obey the commands of the Torah and we have the gift of
life. In the context of the examples provided within this section of Galatians we have to ask
ourselves, Now that we have the promise that was spoken of above to Abraham, how can we say
that it nullifies the commands which were provided 430 years later? Context prohibits it, logic
prohibits it, scripture prohibits it.) 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
(We are sons, not fathers. We were of the household of Satan, slaves to sin, facing damnation,
free from any righteousness, dead. Now we have been adopted as sons into the household of
HaShem. Who sets the rules in HaShem’s household? HaShem, not the adopted son. What are
the rules in His household? The Torah! They were the rules before we came into His household
and in fact when we were pagans, they the standard by which we were going to be judged and
damned according to as we were “under the Law,” “under sin,” “under the curse of the Law,” or
“under the tutor/pedagogue.” When we were outside of His household we had no opportunity to
keep any of His commands and we were to be “judged according to the Torah.” Now that we are
adopted as sons and He is our Father, we have the opportunity to keep all of His commands. We
do not have the right or “privilege” to question, alter, add to, or subtract from, any of His
commands.

Now we see that the “Old Testament” of the Bible is from Gen 1:1– Gen 3:14 and the “New
Testament” of the Bible is from Gen 3:14 to Rev 22:21. It should also be noted that the “New
Covenant” did not do away with anything from the original covenant but rather it “renewed” it
just as we have a “new Moon” each month. Furthermore, the covenant with Noah provided no
new plan of salvation, but rather presupposes a covenant of salvation, and was added on top of
the “Covenants” of Adam. (Note also that the Rainbow is for God to see and remember not to
destroy us via a universal flood because of our sinfulness. Think about it, a sign is only needed
to warn of something that is eminent. Seeing a rainbow is not a “good thing.”) The same is true
for the covenants with Abraham and Moses. They presuppose that salvation is provided
previously. After Moses no new commands are ever provided within the scripture. Jeremiah
31:31-34 (the “new covenant” passage) is addressing the future, at the judgment of the
righteous, (which occurs after the reunification of the house of Judah and the house of Ephraim
or Israel as one), where what changes is that we will no longer have the opportunity to break
God’s covenant by sinning like we did when we left Egypt (when we got saved here on earth).
The opportunity for sin is removed in eternity or else we would have to be removed from eternity
because of our sin, thereby making eternity temporary and requiring a second judgment, a
second opportunity for re-salvation or damnation etc. It then goes on to say that (Jer 31:33-34)
Jer 31:33-34 “I will put My law (lit. Torah) within them, and on their heart I will write it (The
Torah); and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach again,
each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all
know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, ‘for I will forgive
their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Within this passage we see that the
pagans are not present. Israel is all that is present, and they (by definition) will know
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HASHEM, will be forgiven, and their sins forgotten. The pagan’s sins are not forgiven, nor
forgotten as we saw in Dt 29:20-21 above. Today we still teach our neighbors and brothers to
“know the Lord” as not all know Him. Note also that Yeshua uses similar phraseology
regarding “the least of them to the greatest of them” in the context of in eternity in Matt
5:17-19.
Matt 5:17-19 17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; (One
abolishes something Hebraicly by wrongly interpreting or applying something.) I did not
come to abolish but to fulfill. (One fulfills something Hebraicly by rightly interpreting or
applying something. It should be noted that that is exactly what Yeshua does from here to
Matt 7:12 and then from 7:13-8:27 He warns of false prophets, those who “say Lord, Lord,”
who prophesied in His name and cast out demons in His name, and performed miracles in
His name but practice “lawlessness,” or more accurately Torahlessness, He says “I never
knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice Torahlessness.” These false prophets are
also discussed in Dt 13.) 18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not
the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law (Torah) until all is accomplished. (Until
eternity ends, not all that is commanded or promised within the Torah will be
accomplished.) 19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and
teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but
whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Note
that it is the one who keeps and teaches the Torah who will be great in the kingdom of
heaven. Obedience does not provide the salvation, nor does disobedience prohibit or
eliminate salvation. Continued or willful disobedience does however call into question
whether one truly is saved or not. Remember, If you love Yeshua, you will keep His
commandments.

If Adam and Eve (mankind) had not sinned, their/our eternal life would have remained secure in
their/our obedience under the old covenant.
The introduction of sin to mankind necessitated a new covenant to be ushered in at the time of
sin (not 4000 years later) with our salvation being manifested through faith the Messiah. The
Greek word for faith is 4102 pistis: being persuaded, faith, belief. In general it implies such a
knowledge of, assent to, and confidence in certain divine truths, especially those of the gospel,
as produces good works. Simply a knowledge and assent to religious truths without good works
is false faith.

Rev 14:12 12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and
their faith in Jesus. Alternate translation based on the meanings of the names and titles: “Here
is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of HaShem and their faith in
HaShem’s salvation.”

So what about the new covenant in Jer 31:31-34?


Jer 31:31-34 31 “Behold, days are coming,” (this is off in the future from the time of Jeremiah)
declares the Lord, (Declares HaShem. This is important as so often we are taught that the
commands of HaShem were replaced by the commands of the Messiah. While this is basic
polytheistic theology, many churches espouse this theology.) “when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, (This is to be a new covenant with the
House of Israel and Judah. Note that it is not a covenant with the Gentiles/pagans. Also note
that the word used for “new” here means to renew. A related word in the Hebrew is used of the
new moon. It does not mean new as in replacing that which is old but rather taking something
that exists and renewing it, making it fresh again.) 32 not like the covenant which I made (It will
be different. The focus is on what the difference will be.) with their fathers in the day I took them
by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, (When the covenant is renewed it will be
different in comparison to the covenant with Moses. But how will it be different?) My covenant
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which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” (We broke it and HaShem did not break it.
So what will be the difference? God will break the new one? No! May it never be! No, the
difference will be that We will not have the ability or opportunity to break the covenant and
HaShem will not break it either. When does that happen. Not until after we die physically. After,
we die the opportunity for sin is removed from all people. Those that receive the gift of life will
be declared righteous and enter into eternity. We know that they cannot sin as God cannot be in
the presence of sin, there is but one judgment, the Messiah cannot die a second time to redeem
us again, etc. If we sin in eternity, God would need to remove us from eternity, thereby making
the gift of eternal life temporal. That is a contradiction. Eze 37:15-28 develops this further.)
declares the Lord. (Again the emphasis is on HaShem.) 33 “But this is the covenant which I will
make with the house of Israel after those days,” (Note that the House of Judah is not called out
separately. That is because they have been rejoined with Israel. Josephus, a Jewish historian
soon after the time of Yeshua, says that it happened at his time and they were still looking
forward to its occurrence. The Orthodox Jewish community, as are many Messianic, are still
looking for this to happen. This has not happened yet. ) declares the Lord, “I will put My law
(Torah) (Whose Torah? – HaShem’s Torah) within them and on their heart I will write it; (The Torah
or HaShem is what the “it” refers to here. Some argue that this occurred at Shavuot in Acts 2.
While we as believers do have this to a certain extent, we do not have it perfectly put into us and
written on our hearts. All we have to do is look at our lives and compare it to the Torah and see
that this has not been done to its fullest and perfect amount.) and I will be their God, and they
shall be My people. (Again this began in the garden but has not come to its fullest. There are
times when HaShem is not God in our lives and we are our own god and we sin.) 34 “They will
not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for
they will all know Me, (Obviously we all know pagans who do not know HaShem. They reject
Him. We still teach one another what it is to know God.) from the least of them to the greatest of
them,” (Yeshua uses this phraseology in Matt 5:19 in relationship to those in the kingdom of
heaven. This is in regards to Israel in the Kingdom of Heaven.) declares the Lord, “for I will
forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (This is the clincher for we know
that no pagans/gentiles can be present. Their iniquity is not and will not be forgiven and their sin
is remembered. They will be judged according to their works in relationship to the Torah. So
what is the “new covenant?” It is taking the covenant of HaShem and renewing it perfectly
within us. Truth does not change and the Torah is truth. Ps 119:142 and it is everlasting Ps
117:2.

1 Chr 1:1-4a Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah.
"Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow, (but) the praised God descends, instructing (that) His Death
shall bring to (the) afflicted rest."

Are you saying that I must obey the Torah to be saved? - No!
Gal 3:11-12 11 Now that no one is justified by the Law (This is speaking specifically of the Torah)
before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” (note this is a quote from Hab
2:4 written some 600 years before the birth of Yeshua. ) 12 However, the Law is not of faith; on
the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.” (This is a quote from Lev. 18:5. Paul is
using the Tanakh to prove that Salvation is of faith not obedience to the Torah. He cannot quote
from the Torah to prove that the Torah is wrathful or evil, or done away with (Unless it is a
prophecy in the Torah to state that it would be done away with). Salvation sought by obedience
to the Torah is “legalism” and always results in damnation/death.)

You have the opportunity to obey the Torah because you are saved!!!
John 14:15, 21 15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments… 21 “He who has My
commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by
My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” (Yeshua speaking)
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Are “Jesus” commandments different than “God’s?” No, remember they are one not two.
John 10:30 30 “I and the Father are one.”

Appendix A: Torah Attributes

HASHEM’s Truth: His Torah - His Salvation (Yeshua)


The Spirit of Truth: John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13, 1 John 4:6
Truth identified as Yeshua: John 14:6 Ps 145:18, Ps 40:10-11 Ps 85:10-11
Yeshua full of grace and Truth: John 1:14, 17
Truth is in Yeshua: Eph 4:21
God’s words are Truth: John 17:17 Ps 119:160
The Torah is Truth Ps 119:142, Mal 2:6
All of God’s commandments are Truth: Ps 119:151
Truth is everlasting: Ps 117:2
We are to obey the Truth: Romans 2:8 Gal 5:7
If we willfully continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of truth there is no sacrifice left for
us: Heb 10:26

Other Torah attributes include:


His Torah is Spiritual (of the Spirit) Rom 7:14
His Torah is holy Rom 7:12
His Torah is established in faith Rom 3:31
His Torah is not sin Rom 7:7
His Torah defines what sin is Rom 3:20, 4:15, 7:7
Yeshua is the goal of the Torah Rom 10:4 (note the goal of sin is death (damnation) Rom 6:20-21)
His Torah is the embodiment of knowledge Rom 2:20
His Torah is the embodiment of the truth Rom 2:20
The Torah of God is perfect Ps 19:7, James 1:25
The Torah is in the heart of the believer Ps 37:31, 40:8
The Torah is a gracious gift from God Ps 119:29, John 1:16-17
The Torah is truth Ps 119:142, Mal 2:6
The Torah is the source of Peace to those who love it Ps 119:165
The Torah is the source of happiness Pr 29:18
The Torah is the delight of the believer Ps 119:70, 77, 174
The Torah is loved by the believer Ps 119:97, 113, 163
The Torah is great Isa 42:21
The Torah is the Torah of liberty/freedom James 1:25
The Torah is glorious Isa 42:21
The Torah contains wonderful things for our eyes to behold Ps 119:18
The Torah is better than silver or gold Ps 119:72
The Torah is the source of happiness to those who keep it Prov 29:18
The Torah is good (valuable or virtuous) 1 Tim 1:8, Rom 7:16
The Torah is kind/gracious Prov 31:26
The Torah is on the lips of the virtuous woman Prov 31:26
The Torah is HASHEM’s Hos 4:6 Ps 1:2, 119:1
The Torah is the way of life Ps 119:1
Yeshua is the living Torah John 1:1-5, Rev 19:13
The Torah is the same for everyone Num 15:15-16, 27-29, Acts 15:19-21 & 28-29 (the
“essentials” Acts 15:28-29 get them into the synagogue so they can hear the whole Torah
each and every Shabbat.)
The Torah is just Dt 4:8
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The Torah presents us with how to attain eternal life Dt 30:19
The Torah presents us with death if we reject life Dt 30:19
The Torah presents us with the blessings believers will receive for obedience Dt 30:19, Matt 5:19
Blessed is the man who is chastened by HASHEM according to the Torah Ps 94:12 1 Cor 30:32
Blessed is the man who is taught the Torah Ps 94:12
The Torah presents us with the curses we receive for disobeying it Dt 27:26, 28:58ff, Dt 30:19
The Torah will be put perfectly into the innermost being of believers in eternity Jer 31:33
The Torah will be put perfectly into the hearts of believers in eternity Jer 31:33
The Torah of HASHEM is in the heart of the righteous Ps 37:31, 40:8
The Torah will not be kept by the believers for a time Ps 78:9-11
Believers will be perfectly obedient to the Torah in eternity Eze 37:23
The Torah is the standard by which pagans will be judged and damned Rom 3:19-20, John 5:45
The Torah is eternal Jer 31:33, Dt 29:29
The Torah is for the believer to keep (obey) Dt 30:8ff, Dt 31:12
Yeshua’s “stake” and “stripes” were because of our forsaking of the Torah Ps 89:30-35
The Torah leads unbelievers to and protects them along the way to Messiah Gal 3:24
The Gospel was preached by HASHEM to Abraham in the Torah Gal 3:8
The Torah is all about Yeshua John 5:46
If we don’t believe the Torah, we cannot believe Yeshua John 5:46-47
The Torah is light Prov 6:23
One cannot believe Yeshua’s words if he does not believe the Torah John 5:47
He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination. Prov
28:9
Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three
witnesses. Heb 28:10
The weightier provisions of the Torah are Justice, Mercy and Faithfulness Matt 23:23
Those who practice Torahlessness will not receive eternal life Matt 7:23, 13:41, 23:27-28
The wicked forsake the Torah Ps 119:53
Those who follow after wickedness are far from the Torah Ps 119:150
The proud/arrogant are not in accord with the Torah Ps 119:85
When Torahlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. Matt 24:12
When we come to the Messiah our Torahless deeds are forgiven Rom 4:7, Tit 2:14
Yeshua hates Torahlessness Heb 1:9
Torahlessness and righteousness are opposites 2 Cor 6:14
The practice of sin is the practice of Torahlessness 1 John 3:4
Sin is Torahlessness 1 John 3:4
If we die without the Torah, we are damned Rom 2:12
If we live under the Torah, we will be judged by the Torah (and we are damned) Rom 2:12
The doers of the Torah will be justified Rom 2:12 (Remember the greatest command of the Torah,
Love HASHEM 100%! Without it you cannot do any other part of the Torah! Loving HASHEM is
soteriological.)
The Torah cannot be added to or subtracted from Dt 4:1-2, 12:32, Gal 3:15-17
Those who add to it or subtract from it (any part of it) are false prophets or Anti-
Messiahs Dt 13: 2 Thess 2:3-4

This list is far from comprehensive, but does give a bit of perspective on the Torah that so many
say has been done away with. If it has been done away with, we would be lawless or without
law. One who walks lawless or without law, is full of lawlessness. The Greek word for “Law” is
nomos. It goes to civil or Roman law, oral law/rabbinic tradition, and most frequently to
Torah/Pentateuch also known as the Law of Moses. The inverse of nomos in the Greek is anomos
or anomia (lawless or lawlessness). In all cases of the use of lawless or lawlessness, the law
being discussed it is the Torah (Gen., Ex., Lev., Num., Dt.), the Law of HASHEM and in a few cases
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it is both the Torah and Roman law that are being discussed. Those who are called lawless, the
man of lawlessness, or without law are always the anti-Messiah or pagans/gentiles. The faithful
or righteous are never to be anomia or anomos. If we are not to be anomia or anomos, then we
must be faithful to nomos as HASHEM intended. We do not have to keep or obey the law in order
to be saved, and we know that we cannot. In fact if we attempt to, we put ourselves under the
law, along with the pagans/gentiles and receive damnation as we cannot walk perfectly to the
law. No, instead we have to keep and obey the law because we are saved. John 14:15 “If you
love Me, you will keep My commandments. And Matt 24:12 “Because lawlessness
(Torahlessness) is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” We are no longer under the law
(judged according to how we did in comparison to the law) but rather we are under grace able to
now walk in obedience to the law. Before we were believers we were incapable of obeying or
keeping even one single command in the law as all that we did was sin (as our motive for our
action was never love and trusting of HASHEM). Now with the Spirit of HASHEM in us, we are
capable of doing obedience and not living in sin. Yet, so many choose to put themselves in the
place of a god, determining what is and what is not sin, claiming they are under grace. Yeshua
says in Matt 7:21-23 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to
Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out
demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never
knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ (458 Torahlessness)
(Taken from “Torah attributes” revised 5765 02 27)

Appendix B: Who are Paul, Ananias, and Stephen?

Who was Paul?


A Jew Acts 21:39, 22:3, Gal 2:15
Of the tribe of Benjamin Rom 11:1, Phil 3:5*
An Israelite, of the nation of Israel Rom 11:1, Phil 3:5*
A descendant of Abraham Rom 11:1
A Hebrew of Hebrews Phil 3:5*
Circumcised the eighth day Phil 3:5*
Not a sinner from among the Gentiles (pagans) Gal 2:15
Foremost sinner of all sinners 1 Tim 1:16
Born in Tarsus of Cilicia Acts 21:39, 22:3
Brought up in Jerusalem Acts 22:3, 26:4
Brought up among my own nation Acts 26:4
Educated under Gamaliel (one of two chief rabbis of the time) Acts 22:3
Educated strictly according to the Torah (law) of our fathers Acts 22:3
His education in the Torah made him zealous for God Acts 22:3
A Pharisee Acts 23:6, 26:5
A son of Pharisees Acts 23:6
Lived according to the strictest sect of our religion Acts 26:5
Was apart of the Way which is called a sect (of Judaism) Acts 24:14
Stood trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers Acts 26:6
A bond-servant of the Messiah Yeshua Rom 1:1. Phil 1:1
Free 1 Cor 9:1
As to the Law (in this case both rabbinic/oral and the written Torah), A Pharisee (the strictest
sect) Phil 3:5*
As to zeal, A persecutor of the church Phil 3:5*
As to righteousness which is in the law (rabbinic law, oral law), found blameless Phil 3:5*
Born a Roman Citizen Acts 22:28

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*The context is that of prior to his Damascus road incident he was these things. The first four
of them did not change physically upon conversion but all of them changed upon conversion
as he did not look to them for his salvation. He remained an Israelite, of the tribe of
Benjamin, circumcised, a Hebrew of Hebrews, and a Pharisee. He however did stop
persecuting the church, was declared righteous by his faith, and was obedient to the law
because of his faith not in place of having faith.

What was His calling?


A chosen instrument of God’s Acts 9:15
Appointed to know His will Acts 22:14
Appointed to see the Righteous One Acts 22:14
Appointed to hear an utterance from His mouth Acts 22:14
As an apostle Rom 1:1, Rom 9:1, 2
Set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through the Prophets in the
scriptures Rom 1:2
I am an apostle of Gentiles (pagans) Romans 11:13
I am the least of the apostles 1 Cor 15:9
An apostle of the Messiah Yeshua Eph 1:1
An apostle sent through the Messiah Yeshua Gal 1:1
An apostle sent through God the Father Gal 1:1
An apostle of the Messiah Yeshua by the will of God 1 Cor 1:1, 2 Cor 1:1

How was he to use his calling?


To bear HaShem’s name before the Gentiles (pagans) Acts 9:15
To be a witness for Him to all men or what he saw and heard Acts 22:15
To bear HaShem’s name before kings Acts 9:15
To bear HaShem’s name before the sons of Israel Acts 9:15
To bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles (pagans) for His names sake Rom
1:5
I am appointed for the defense of the gospel Phil 1:16

What did he claim he taught?


Yeshua Acts 9:20
The Word of God Acts 13:5, 13:44, 17:11, 17:13, 18:11
The Word of God that Yeshua is the Messiah Acts 18:5
The good news (gospel) of the promise made to the fathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) Acts 13:32
From the Scriptures that Yeshua is the Messiah Acts 17:3, 17:11
That they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance Acts 26:20
I state nothing but what the Prophets said was going to take place regarding the Messiah Acts
26:22
I state nothing but what Moses (the Torah) said was going to take place regarding the Messiah
Acts 26:22
I was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the Kingdom of God from the Torah of
Moses Acts 28:23
I was trying to persuade them concerning Yeshua from the Torah of Moses Acts 28:23
I was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the Kingdom of God from the Prophets Acts
28:23
I was trying to persuade them concerning Yeshua from the Prophets Acts 28:23
The gospel Rom 1:15
The gospel of God 2 Cor 11:7

Where did he teach?


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In the synagogues Acts 9:20, 13:5, 13:14, 14:1, 17:1, 17:10, 17:17, 18:4

When did he teach?


On the Sabbath day Acts 13:15, 13:44, 17:2
On every Sabbath Acts 18:4
On the first day of the week (from sunset Sat. to sunrise Sun.) Acts 20:7

What was his relationship to the Torah (Law)?


Upon healing after his conversion he remained with the disciples (Acts 9:10) who were devout by
the standard of the Torah (Acts 22:12) for several days Acts 9:19
He walks orderly, keeping the Torah (Law) Acts 21:24
I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day Acts 23:1
According to the Way which they call a sect (of the Jews) I do serve the God of our Fathers Acts
24:14
I believe everything that is in accordance with the Torah (Law) Acts 24:14
I believe everything that is written in the Prophets Acts 24:14
I have hope in God Acts 24:15
I do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience before God Acts 24:16
I do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience before men Acts 24:16
I have committed no offence against the Torah (law) of the Jews Acts 25:8
I have committed no offence against the Temple Acts 25:8
I have committed no offence against Caesar Acts 25:8
I have done no wrong to the Jews Acts 25:10
I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision Acts 26:19
I had done nothing against our people (the Jews) Acts 28:17
I had done nothing against the customs of our fathers Acts 28:17

Paul, a short summary of who he is and what he taught.

(HaShem speaking of Saul) a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles
and kings and the sons of Israel; Acts 9:15
he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues Acts 9:20
they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews Acts 13:5
on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. Acts 13:14
And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers Acts 13:32
The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord Acts 13:44
In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a
large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. Acts 14:1
they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And according to Paul’s
custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3
explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and
saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” Acts 17:1-3
to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were
more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great
eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Acts 17:10-11
the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea Acts 17:13
he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles Acts 17:17
he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks Acts
18:4
Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus
was the Christ. Acts 18:5
And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them Acts 18:11
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for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost Acts 20:16
I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30
and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the
disciples after them. Acts 20:29
20 And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother,
how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all
zealous for the Law; 21 and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews
who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children
nor to walk according to the customs. (note this is the false accusation) 22 What, then, is to
be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do this that we tell you.
We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take them and purify yourself along with them,
and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is
nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk
orderly, keeping the Law. 25 (If he is keeping the Torah, he would be hypocritical at best to
tell others that they don’t need to.) But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote,
having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and
from what is strangled and from fornication.” (This was stated in Acts 15 were we had
someone teaching that circumcision was a requirement for salvation (v1). The outcome was
that salvation is by faith (v9 and 11) and that works never saved anyone (v10) and neither
did circumcision (v9). As for the Gentiles they needed to do these four things to get into the
synagogues on Shabbat because then they could here the whole Torah (v21). These four
things were seen as the “essentials” (v28) or pertaining to being necessary and indispensable
to the occurrence of some event. That event was the getting into the synagogues on
Shabbat.) 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them,
went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the
sacrifice was offered for each one of them. (This is in accordance with the vow he started
before. The Nazirite vow from Num 6:1-21. See Acts 18:18 above. Note also that he was in
the temple doing the sacrifices required in the Torah. Paul was still offering sacrifices after
the ascension of the Messiah.) Acts 21:20-26
I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel,
strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.
Acts 22:3
Paul said, “But I was actually born a (Roman) citizen Acts 22:28
I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.” Acts 23:1
I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!” Acts
23:6
I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 Neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the
city itself did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot. 13 Nor can
they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me. 14 But this I admit to you, that
according to the Way which they call a sect (a sect of Jews) I do serve the God of our fathers,
believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; 15
having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a
resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. 16 In view of this, I also do my best to
maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men. 17 Now after
several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings; 18 in which they
found me occupied in the temple, having been purified, without any crowd or uproar Acts
24:11-18
I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against
Caesar.” Acts 25:8
I have done no wrong to the Jews, Acts 25:10
King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today; 3 especially because you
are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to
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me patiently. 4 So then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up, which from the
beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem; 5 since they have known about
me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the
strictest sect of our religion. 6 And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made
by God to our fathers; 7 the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they
earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews Acts
26:2-7
So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to
those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea,
and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds
appropriate to repentance. 21 For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to
put me to death. 22 So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to
small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take
place; 23 that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead
He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” Acts
26:19-23
I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, Acts 28:17
he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to
persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from
morning until evening. Acts 28:23

Who was Ananias?

A certain disciple Acts 9:10


At Damascus Acts 9:10
A believer Acts 9:13 (by referring to those persecuted by Saul as “your saints”)
A man devout by the standard of the Torah Acts 22:12
Well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there Acts 22:12
One spoken to by HaShem Acts 9:11-12, 15-16
One who performs miraculous healings at HaShem’s command Acts 9:17

Acts 9:11-17
HaShem spoke to Him in a vision saying:
Arise and go to the street named Straight
And inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul
For behold, he (Saul) is praying and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in
and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.
Ananias reply to HaShem
Lord, I have heard from many about this man,
How much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem;
And here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call upon Your name.
HaShem’s reply back to Ananias
Go, for he (Saul) is a chose instrument of Mine,
To bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
For I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.
Ananias replies in obedience to HaShem
Ananias departed and entered the house
And after laying his hands on him said,
Brother Saul, the Lord Yeshua, who appeared to you on the road
By which you were coming has sent me so that you may regain you sight,
And be filled with the Holy Spirit.

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Who is Stephen?

Qualifications:
Good reputation Acts 6:3
Full of the Spirit Acts 6:3, 6:5
Full of wisdom Acts 6:3
Full of faith Acts 6:5
Full of grace Acts 6:8
Full of power Acts 6:8

Congregational duty:
Serving of food to Hellenistic Jewish widows Acts 6:2
To serve tables Acts 6:2
Put in charge of this task. Acts 6:3

What did he do?


Performed great wonders Acts 6:8
Performed great signs Acts 6:8

What was the false accusation against him and who brought it?
Men from the synagogue of the Freedmen (including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, some from Cilicia
an Asia)
They secretly induced men to say: Acts 6:11
We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses Acts 6:11
We have heard him speak blasphemous words against God Acts 6:11
They put forth false witnesses Acts 6:13
This man incessantly speaks against this holy place (the Temple) Acts 6:13
This man incessantly speaks against the Law (Torah) Acts 6:13
For we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus will destroy this place Acts 6:14
For we have heard him say that Jesus will alter the customs which Moses handed down to us
Acts 6:14
Acts 7:2-53 is Stephen’s reply to their false accusation. Note that it is all out of the Torah, it is all
about the Messiah and obedience to the Torah. Vv 51-53 are key summary verses that lead to
their being cut to the quick and their stoning of him.
Devout men buried Stephen Acts 8:2

Acts 6:1-15 1 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose
on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, (Note how the Greeks (pagans)
were becoming Jews as they are compared with those that were born Hebrews) because their
widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the
congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in
order to serve tables. 3 “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good
reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 “But we
will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The statement found approval
with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,
and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. 6 And
these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them. 7 The
word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in
Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. (Jewish priest
were becoming obedient to the faith. They were no longer doing their works of obedience for
salvation but rather were obedient because of trusting HaShem for their salvation. What they
were doing did not change (with the possible exception of the rabbinics that were contrary to the
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Torah), only their motive.) 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great
wonders and signs among the people. 9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of
the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose
up and argued with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit
with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him
speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 And they stirred up the people,
the elders and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away and brought him
before the Council. 13 They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man incessantly speaks
against this holy place and the Law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will
destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 And fixing their
gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel. Acts 7:1-
60 1 The high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And he said, (Stephen’s defense is
completely taken from the Tanakh) (Abraham) “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory
appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and
said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’
4 “Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died,
God had him move to this country in which you are now living. 5 “But He gave him no inheritance
in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, even when he had no child, He promised that He would
give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him. 6 “But God spoke to this effect,
that his descendants would be aliens in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and
mistreated for four hundred years. 7 “ ‘And whatever nation to which they will be in bondage I
Myself will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out and serve Me in this place.’ 8 “And
He gave him the covenant of circumcision; (Isaac) and so Abraham became the father of Isaac,
and circumcised him on the eighth day; (Jacob) and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and (the
twelve tribes) Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 9 (Joseph) “The patriarchs became jealous of
Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions,
and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him
governor over Egypt and all his household. 11 “Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan,
and great affliction with it, and our fathers could find no food. 12 “But when Jacob heard that
there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. 13 “On the second visit Joseph
made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family was disclosed to Pharaoh. 14 “Then
Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five
persons in all. 15 “And Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers died. 16 “From
there they were removed to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a
sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 “But as the time of the promise was
approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,
18 until there arose another king over Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph. 19 “It was he who
took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their
infants and they would not survive. (Moses) 20 “It was at this time that Moses was born; and he
was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home. 21 “And
after he had been set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own
son. 22 “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in
words and deeds. 23 “But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit
his brethren, the sons of Israel. 24 “And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he
defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. 25 “And he
supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but
they did not understand. 26 “On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting
together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren, why do you
injure one another?’ 27 “But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying,
‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? 28 ‘You do not mean to kill me as you killed the
Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ 29 “At this remark, Moses fled and became an alien in the land of
Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30 “After forty years had passed, an angel
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appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31 “When
Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came
the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’
Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. 33 “But the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the
sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34 ‘I have
certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have
come down to rescue them; come now, and I will send you to Egypt.’ 35 “This Moses whom they
disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be both a
ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. 36 “This
man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in
the wilderness for forty years. 37 “This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise
up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.’ 38 “This is the one who was in the
congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai,
and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you. 39 “Our fathers
were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to
Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out
of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’ 41 “At that time they made a calf
and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 “But God
turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the
prophets, ‘It was not to Me that you offered victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness,
was it, O house of Israel? 43 ‘You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god
Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will remove you beyond Babylon.’ 44
“Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses
directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen. 45 “And having received it in
their turn, (Joshua) our fathers brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations whom
God drove out before our fathers, (David) until the time of David. 46 “David found favor in God’s
sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 (Solomon) “But it
was Solomon who built a house for Him. 48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in houses
made by human hands; as the prophet says: 49 ‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is the footstool
of My feet; What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord, ‘Or what place is there for
My repose? 50 ‘Was it not My hand which made all these things?’ 51 (present day) “You men
who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you
are doing just as your fathers did. 52 “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?
They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose
betrayers and murderers you have now become; 53 you who received the law (Torah) as
ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.” (now we see their reply to his defense.) 54 Now
when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him.
(HaShem’s reply to his defense.) 55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into
heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said,
“Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
(Back to their response to his defense.) 57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered
their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. 58 When they had driven him out of the city, they
began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named
Saul. (Stephen’s response provided by the strength of HaShem.) 59 They went on stoning
Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then falling on his
knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this,
he fell asleep. Acts 8:1-2 1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that
day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Some devout men buried
Stephen, (devout to what and to whom? From what is seen in Stephen’s defense, the Torah and
Yeshua.) and made loud lamentation over him.

George Hunt, Messianic Minister 28 of 29


Roots of the Messiah, www.rootsofthemessiah.com 5769 07 26 BeReishit
color code: commentary, scripture, alternate translation, definition of Heb. or Greek word, # = Strong’s number, added English word, large quote
from another source.
Acts 11:16-20 16 “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized
with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 “Therefore if God gave to them the
same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could
stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying,
“Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles (pagans) also the repentance (3341 compunction
(for guilt, including reformation); by implication reversal (of [another’s] decision) ) that leads to
life.” 19 So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in
connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the
word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and
Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
(taken from “Paul a short summary of who he is and what he taught” {revised 5764 04 16})

George Hunt, Messianic Minister 29 of 29


Roots of the Messiah, www.rootsofthemessiah.com 5769 07 26 BeReishit
color code: commentary, scripture, alternate translation, definition of Heb. or Greek word, # = Strong’s number, added English word, large quote
from another source.

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