Temple Sheckles are available in the hallway.

Ask the money changer for more details.

(House Of Our Father)

Welcome to our online Congregation!

We’re happy to have you with us today!

Exodus 12:49One Torah shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

Where does a Gentile who believes in Yeshua start? Acts 21:2525 "However, in regard to the Goyim who have come to trust in Yeshua, we all joined in writing them a letter with our decision that they should abstain from what had been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled and from fornication."

Then after they see the blessings that they can get from keeping those Laws and the scales begin to fall from their eyes we can tell them… There’s more blessings available, they’re right here! There’s more of G-d’s Laws.

They start keeping kosher and keeping Sabbath before ya know it, they’re Jews, just like the rest of us. If they have to work on Sabbath, they’re excused. If they’ve done and are doing everything they can to get Sabbath off, but their boss wont let them, they’re excused and no one here should give them any flack for it.

It is a higher mitzvah to provide for your family. Yes, keep trying to get Sabbath off and I do believe one day G-d will work that out for you.Don’t try to fool G-d and go and look for a job where you know you’ll have to work on Shabbat. Do everything humanly possible, but if you still can’t get that day off… you’re excused and no one should say anything about it to you.

Always be kind to each other, these ARE your brothers and sisters and as Jews always say… if you can’t say something nice, say it in Yiddish.

NEWS

Dmitry Bogotich, the leader of a Petah Tikva neo-Nazi gang that carried out violent attacks against religious Jews, foreign workers and homeless people, was sentenced in the Tel Aviv District Court on Thursday to a prison sentence of five years and nine months.

NEWS

Police exposed the “Patrol 36” gang neo-Nazi attacks in 2007, and arrested eight gang members.Bogotich fled to Kyrgystan, but was extradited to Israel and arrested in January.

NEWS

Bogotich’s mother, with whom Bogotich had lived in Petah Tikva before his arrest, wore a silver star of David necklace to the sentencing hearing. She refused to answer reporters’ questions.

NEWS

Gang member Kirill Malenkov, whose family are Holocaust survivors, was sentenced to three years.

NEWS

However, as a mitigating factor Amsterdam noted that Bogotich had apologized in court for his role in the attacks.“When I get out of prison, I will be a loyal Israeli, either in Israel or out of Israel,” Bogotich said during a previous hearing.

NEWS

“The revelation that violence based on racist ideologies is reemerging in the State of Israel is horrifying, and reopens the gaping wounds of those Holocaust survivors who are exposed to these events on radio and television,” the judge said.

NEWS

Traditions…

I Cor 11:2 2 Now I praise you because you have remembered everything I told you and observe thetraditions just the way I passed them on to you.

II Thes 2 15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm; and hold to the traditions you were taught by us, whether we spoke them or wrote them in a letter.

II Thes 3 6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

• We’d like to welcome any visitors. • We have visitor cards that you can fill

out then drop into the Tzedika (offering) box when we pass it around.

• No Hebrew class today after the service

• HaYasode Classes on Tuesdays

A little girl asked her mother, "How did the human race appear?" The mother answered, "God made Adam and Eve and they had children, and so was all mankind made.."

Two days later the girl asked her father the same question.. The father answered, "Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved." The confused girl returned to her mother and said, "Mom, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they developed from monkeys?"

The mother answered, “Simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his."

“On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and there was

the sounding of a very loud SHOFAR blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.”

Please stand for the Shema and face east towards Jerusalem.

Shema Israel Adoni Elohaynu Adoni Echad.Barukh shem k'vod malkhuto l'olam va'ed.(Remain standing for Hatikva)

Hear oh Israel the L-rd our G-d is one L-rd. Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.

Because Messiah said it is the greatest Commandment!Mark 12:28-2928 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the greatest commandment of all?”29 And Yeshua answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is One Lord:”

We’ll now sing HaTikva (The Hope)

Kol ‘od balleivav penimah Nefesh yehudi homiyahUl(e)fa’atei mizrach kadimah, ‘Ayin letziyon tzofiyah; ‘Od lo avdah tikvateinu,Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim, Lihyot‘am chofshi be’artzeinu,Eretz-tziyon (v)'Y(e)rushalayim.

O-seh Shalom Beem rue-mawvWho yah-seh Shalom aw-lay nu V'al kol Yees-raw-aleB'-eem rue Eem rue Ah- main

Ya-a-seh sha-lom Ya-a-seh sha-lom Shalom aw-lay-new V’al kol Yees-raw-aleSing twice 2X

May He who makes peace in His heights make peace upon us and upon all Israel…Amen."

He-nay maw tove oo-maw nye-eem shevet

aw-heem gum yaw hawd.

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to

dwell in unity

Yoducha Amim Elohim

Days Of Elijah

Meet new people! Let them see that Messianics truly understand community and brotherly/sisterly love. Say hello to old friends… show that you care!

We say the L-rd’s Prayer (Our Prayer) because Yeshua toldus this is how we should pray.We pray so G-d will hear our petitionsand grant whichever prayers are in accord with His will. We also prayIn order to bless Him.

• You can email or hand write your prayers for Salvation of loved ones or healing to Bob and they will then be sent to the wailing wall in Jerusalem to be placed in the wall.

• bobc@nwi.net

• If you have a need for healing or for an un-Saved loved one please raise your hand now and if you like, write it down to be sent to the wailing wall (Kotel) and give it to Bob afterwards.

• Psalms 122…• 6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they

shall prosper that love thee.

• Pray for the peace of Jerusalem • Pray for unsaved loved ones

and healings.• Pray for Salvation for the Jewish

people.

• Pray for our government and for Social Security needs.• Pray for Holland and other

countries that anti-Semitic laws will not continue to pass.

• Pastors in Wenatchee to see the truth of HaShem’s Torah and forsake Paganism.• For new Beit Aveinu in

Leavenworth.

• For survivors of crime. • Prayer over our tithes and

offerings.• Messianic Evangelistic group in

Vancouver BC

Pray for RussiaPrayer for today’s messagePray that the UN will be dismantled.

• Any terrorism plots to be foiled• Continued sovereignty of Israel

pray for Netanyahu

End

This is our opportunity to render untoG-d that which is G-d’s.

Blessing Before The Reading Of The Torah

Genesis 23: 1 - 25: 18; 1 Kings 1 1: 31; 1 Cor. 15: 50 - 57

Va Yera Nov. 19, 2011Cheshvan 22, 5772

We’ll read…Gen. 18:1-14II Kings 4:1-7II Peter 2:4-11

Gen 18:1-22:24II Kings 4:1-37II Peter 2:4-11

Va Yera Nov. 12, 2011Cheshvan 15, 5772

1 ADONAI appeared to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance to the tent during the heat of the day. 2 He raised his eyes and looked, and there in front of him stood three men. On seeing them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated himself on the ground,

Gen. 18:1-14

3 and said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please don't leave your servant. 4 Please let me send for some water, so that you can wash your feet; then rest under the tree,

Gen. 18:1-14

5 and I will bring a piece of bread. Now that you have come to your servant, refresh yourselves before going on.""Very well," they replied, "do what you have said." 6 Avraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, three measures of the best flour! Knead it and make cakes."

Gen. 18:1-14

7 Avraham ran to the herd, took a good, tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds, milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it all before the men; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

Gen. 18:1-14

9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He said, "There, in the tent." 10 He said, "I will certainly return to you around this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."Sarah heard him from the entrance of the tent, behind him.

Gen. 18:1-14

11 Avraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, "I am old, and so is my lord; am I to have pleasure again?"

Gen. 18:1-14

13 ADONAI said to Avraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and ask, 'Am I really going to bear a child when I am so old?' 14 Is anything too hard for ADONAI? At the time set for it, at this season next year, I will return to you; and Sarah will have a son." END (Baruch HaShem)

Gen. 18:1-14

In orthodox Judaism they have forbidden eating meat and dairy together. It’s not allowed in Orthodox and Conservative Judaism. It’s not even allowed to be put on the table together. What did Abraham bring these visitors?

Rebbes Parsha

7 Avraham ran to the herd, took a good, tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds, milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it all before the men; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

Rebbes Parsha

I’m pretty sure that was the first cheeseburger. This is the difference between being Rabbinically kosher and Biblically kosher. Torah Observant Messianics are Biblically kosher, not Rabbinically kosher. Torah first!

Rebbes Parsha

1 The wife of one of the guild prophets complained to Elisha. "Your servant my husband died," she said, "and you know that he feared ADONAI. Now a creditor has come to take my two children as his slaves."

II Kings 4:1-7

2 Elisha asked her, "What should I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" She answered, "Your servant has nothing in the house but a flask of oil." 3 Then he said, "Go, and borrow containers from all your neighbors, empty containers; and don't borrow just a few!

II Kings 4:1-7

4 Then go in; shut the door, with you and your sons inside; and pour oil into all those containers; and as they are filled, put them aside." 5 So she left him and shut the door on herself and her sons. They brought her the containers while she poured.

II Kings 4:1-7

6 When the containers were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another container"; but he answered, "There isn't another container." Then the oil stopped flowing.

II Kings 4:1-7

7 She came and told the man of God; and he said, "Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; then you and your sons can live on what's left." END (Baruch HaShem)

II Kings 4:1-7

4 For God did not spare the angels who sinned; on the contrary, he put them in gloomy dungeons lower than Sh'ol to be held for judgment.

II Peter 2:4-11

5 And he did not spare the ancient world; on the contrary, he preserved Noach, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, and brought the Flood upon a world of ungodly people.

II Peter 2:4-11

6 And he condemned the cities of S'dom and 'Amora, reducing them to ashes and ruin, as a warning to those in the future who would live ungodly lives;

II Peter 2:4-11

7 but he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the debauchery of those unprincipled people; 8 for the wicked deeds which that righteous man saw and heard, as he lived among them, tormented his righteous heart day after day.

II Peter 2:4-11

9 So the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and how to hold the wicked until the Day of Judgment while continuing to punish them, 10 especially those who follow their old natures in lust for filth and who despise authority. Presumptuous and self-willed, these false teachers do not tremble at insulting angelic beings;

II Peter 2:4-11

11 whereas angels, though stronger and more powerful, do not bring before the Lord an insulting charge against them.

II Peter 2:4-11

This passage speaks of Lot.I’ve heard many sermons where the speaker rails on Lot’s wife. How she foolishly turned back and became a pillar of salt.

Rebbe’s Parsha

They then go on to say how they, themselves would never have done such a foolish thing. Does anyone know how many daughters Lot and his wife had?

Rebbe’s Parsha

Lets look at the text in Gen chapter 19:8 the men of Sodom had surrounded Lot’s house and Lot offers up his daughters to them and says…

Rebbe’s Parsha

8 Look here, I have two daughters who are virgins. Please, let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them what seems good to you; but don't do anything to these men, since they are guests in my house."

Rebbe’s Parsha

So we have 2 virgins here in the house with them.Then we see in verse 12 the 2 angles say.

Rebbe’s Parsha

12 The men said to Lot, "Do you have any people here besides yourself? Whomever you have in the city - son-in-law, your sons, your daughters - bring them out of this place;

Rebbe’s Parsha

In Hebrew it says chaben oobenacha which would include grandchildren which would be sons of you.

Rebbe’s Parsha

Now read at verse 14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married (some translations say “pledged to marry), that word doesn’t exist here in the original text)

Rebbe’s Parsha

His daughters, and said, Up, getyou out of this place; for theLORD will destroy this city.But he seemed as one thatmocked unto his sons inlaw.

Rebbe’s Parsha

What I’m saying is that there were at least 2 other married daughters with children besides the 2 virgins at home.

Rebbe’s Parsha

Now, when we read that Lot’s wife turned back when they were fleeing looking to see if her daughters and grandchildren changed their minds had made it out and she turned as a pillar of salt. It makes a lot more sense doesn’t it.

Rebbe’s Parsha

How many of us would’ve turned and looked back?

Rebbe’s Parsha

Baruch atah Adonay Eloheynu melech ha'olam, asher bachar-banu mikol ha'amim, venatan-lanu et torah-to.Baruch atah Adonay, noten hatorah.

Blessed are You, LORD our God, king of the universe, who chose us from all the peoples and gave to us His Torah. Blessed are You, LORD, giver of the Torah.

•The Youth & Children are dismissed

• unmute mic for video!

The NazarenesPart 3By Rabbi Stanley

This teaching will actually have one more part. There’s just so much to look at that I couldn’t get it all into one last teaching so next week we will still continue our study of the Sect of the Nazarenes.

We’re going to be covering a lot of concepts and information today for those who are avid note takers, which is great, I highly encourage that but if you find that it’s still a lot for you, I post these teachings online.

I am completely up to date with that. I usually get each teaching posted within a day or two after Shabbat. You may want to go to the Beit Aveinu website and re-read the material if you feel you’re not taking everything in during the services.

I also have printed up the summery for this teaching if you’d like to come and get one after the benediction please feel free.

In this teaching we’ll look at what the New Testament says about the Nazarene Sect and why the Sect of the Nazarenes still made animal sacrifices in the Temple even after the resurrection of the L-rd. We’ll also look at the migration of the sect from Israel to Pella after the Bar Kochba war and

We’ll also discover that the Nazarenes and the Jews worshipped side by side each other at one time in peace. So, what does the Brit Hadasha actually say about us?

Well the first thing we notice is that it’s called a sect. A sect of what? A sect of Judaism! We see it called a sect in Acts 24, we read this last week… (slide)

5 For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

Most Believers today just read over that and don’t really contemplate what it means.A sect of Judaism. In other words it wasn’t a different religion. Years after Yeshua came and died on the cross we don’t see any hint of a different religion that Yeshua or His followers had instituted.

It’s not there! The first believers were all Jews! Many commentators will try to say differently. They point out that Paul was out killing these followers of Christ and the only way that he’d do something like that is if they were of an opposing religion.

Well, look at the Sunnis and Shiites, they’ve been fighting for a millennium and they’re both Muslim. They’re the same faith.Just because 2 different sects may violently disagree with each other doesn’t mean they can’t be from the same religion.

“Well Christians wouldn’t do that”… what’s been going on in Ireland since 1919. The Catholics and the Protestants there have been fighting for a long time and they both call themselves what? Christians.

In the approximately 25 year period the book of Acts took place in, if we study the Nazarene congregation in Israel, we see only 5 recorded conflicts with other sects of Judaism (5 in 25 years isn't bad).

The point is, these were all disagreements within Judaism-no one was claiming the Nazarenes weren't a legitimate part of Judaism.

Same as when Yeshua argued with the Pharisees-they too were "in house" arguments and He was harsh with them because He was close to them theologically and felt they could best understand His views.

After Yeshua rose from the dead, the sect of the Nazarenes didn’t change much. We read in Acts 3 verse 1 (slide)

1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.The ninth hour???That’s 3:00pm, that’s when we daven mincha!!! Afternoon prayers!

That’s one of the times in the day when we recite the Amidah. We’re going to be learning about the Amidah next week.

So nothing had changed, they were still going to the Temple for their prayers, continuing to do the Amidah and the followers of Yeshua were still doing sacrifices even. How do we know they were still sacrificing?

(Slide) We’ll start here… Acts 21… 24 Them take , and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly , and keepest the law.

If Paul kept the Law then that would include making Sacrifice. Because if he didn’t make sacrifice, there’s no way he could be considered to be keeping the Law. He’d be considered a heretic!

It goes on… (slide) 26 The next day Sha'ul took the men, purified himself along with them and entered the Temple to give notice of when the period of purification would be finished and the offering would have to be made for each of them.

I do want to quickly point out here that you’d think this rumor that had been told about him not keeping the law would’ve been put to rest after all this. But that very same rumor is still passed around about him to this very day.

Have you ever felt that there was a rumor about you going around that you thought would never go away? How about if it stuck for another 2,000 years? Even worse… were you ever one of those people who passed that rumor about him around?

I can imagine Paul looking down from heaven saying What, it’s been 2,000 years let it go. Even at the time I could see Paul when he was accused of this saying… “C’mon? All I did was talk to a few gentiles,

What about Peter, he talked to Cornelius… nobody ever said anything to him!” I can see his Jewish paranoia going out of control.

So the passage we just read says… an offering would have to be made. So why am I saying it’s a sacrifice? Maybe it was just some money being passed along to the Temple.

In order to come to the correct conclusion we have to understand a little about Jewish Law of the first century. There was only one reason why a Jewish male was ever allowed to shave his head due to a vow.

That vow was the vow of the Nazorite. We read in the Mishna (Jewish Law of the First Century) that after a man had completed his Nazorite vow he was then to shave his head and then make a sacrifice.

(slide) Well that’s the Talmud, that’s not in the Bible.Ok then lets look at Numbers 6:18… 18 The nazir will shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair removed from his consecrated head and put it on the fire under the sacrifice of peace offerings.

And let me tell ya about the peace offering sacrifice, two little baby lambs were brought and their necks were slit and blood went everywhere. How do we know they ever used lambs… Lev 23 says

… (slide) 19 Offer one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings.

So there was Paul, Rabbi Shaul still making bloody sacrifices AFTER the death and resurrection of Yeshua. He wouldn’t do such a thing if it was bad would he? What happened to that great little saying “Jesus was our last sacrifice?”

“Well Paul was wrong sometimes.”Really? Let’s remember it wasn’t just Paul that was a part of this, James and all the first Church was telling him to go and do this. If Paul was wrong, they were all wrong. All those individuals who wrote the New Testament.

The fact is, none of them were wrong! They were supposed to keep doing sacrifices. When the temple is rebuilt in the last days, we’ll be doing sacrifices again.

(slide) Ezk. 45 16 'All the people in the land are to present this offering to the prince in Isra'el. 17 The prince's obligation will be to present the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the feasts, on Rosh-Hodesh, and on Shabbat - at all the designated times of the house of Isra'el. He is to prepare the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Isra'el.'

So there we are, we’ll be doing sacrifices once again. “But I thought Jesus finished all that on the cross.” If it was finished we wouldn’t still be doing it would we? Why were the Disciples still making sacrifice after the Resurrection. Because they were doing it as a memorial.

They understood that Yeshua had died for our sins. In fact Yeshua is the only sacrifice for the cleansing of sins. The blood of bulls and goats never washed away our sins, it was only for atonement. We’ll talk about atonement in the last days in a moment.

The sacrifices will be reinstated and nothing changed for the Disciples as far as how they interacted in the Temple after Yeshua rose from the dead. They simply had the knowledge of Yeshua as the Messiah and that He had died for their sins.

(slide) But I thought G-d doesn’t delight in sacrifices? Doesn’t it say in Isaiah 1:11-13 "The multitude of your sacrifices - what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats….

(slide) When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations - I cannot bear your evil assemblies."

(slide) One may say, See, G-d takes no pleasure in sacrifices or new moons or Sabbaths etc”Ok, then what do we do with Leviticus 1:9 He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

Sure looks like He likes it here. Is this a contradiction in Scripture? No, so then we have to reconcile it don’t we? How do we do that? We think. We look at both sides of the possibilities. First side, G-d is against sacrifice so we shouldn’t do it. but he commanded us to do it. Well that cant be right then

Second side… maybe he was saying he doesn’t like sacrifice when it’s being done with the wrong heart motivation. Maybe he doesn’t like that sin has entered the universe and now we have to do it because of that. Well that makes sense and both scriptures can be reconciled.

We cant just say, G-d hates sacrifices so we shouldn’t do them and not address the other scriptures that say otherwise.Too many times I see individuals and even entire denominations take a stand on a particular Scripture and do not even attempt to address other passages that seem to oppose it. They simply ignore them.

No, all scripture must be reconciled or else you have a faulty theology. One last point on this passage where we see Paul going after the vow and making an offering. It says “offering” why didn’t it just say sacrifice? If they would’ve said sacrifice rather then offering,

that would’ve cleared up a lot of misinformation, people would've easily seen that Paul was still making animal sacrifices after the resurrection of Yeshua. So why didn’t it just say sacrifice instead of offering?

(slide) Well, ya know what… it does say that in Greek. The word there in Greek is prosfora ΠροσφοράIt can mean offering or sacrifice depending on the context. The context here is about a Peace sacrifice and it should’ve been translated into English as such.

But they didn’t choose the word sacrifice, they chose the word offering instead in English to better fit their theology.

(slide) Now let’s get back to the word atonement. I know in English it has this connotation of always having to do with sin. But lets look at it from a Hebrew standpoint. The word in Hebrew is

(פור You might remember that כfrom Yom Kippur.

What it means is “covering”. Can it be used in a context meaning covering one’s sins? Yes, but it can also just mean covering depending on the context. The word kippa comes from this same word. We cover our heads with a kippa. In the last days we will be doing sacrifices as a memorial and these sacrifices will be a covering for us. Not a covering for sin, but a covering, a kippur.

So there’s no problem with doing these sacrifices as a memorial. It’s not for sin, it’s simply a kippur.

This idea that the commentators try to impose that after Yeshua died, everything changed isn’t only incorrect historically, it’s incorrect theologically.But “Jesus came and saved us from the Law it’s all different now”. No, He didn’t save us from the Law He actually added more laws to it.

And that’s exactly how the sect of the Nazarenes understood it. Not only during the first century, but for centuries to come. We read from the Church Father, Epiphanius what the Sect of the Nazarenes believed clear down into the 3rd century, 300 years after Yeshua.

(slide) I’ve shown this to you before, let’s read it again… (Epiphanius 370 AD Panarion 29) "But these sectarians... did not call themselves Christians-but "Nazarenes," ... However they are simply complete Jews. They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do...

(slide) They have no different ideas, but confess everything exactly as the Law proclaims it and in the Jewish fashion-- except for their belief in Messiah, if you please! For they acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and the divine creation of all things, and declare that G-d is one, and that his son is Y'shua the Messiah.

(slide) They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. For among them the entire Law, the Prophets, and the... Writings... are read in Hebrew, as they surely are by the Jews. They are different from the Jews, and different from Christians,

(slide) only in the following. They disagree with Jews because they have come to faith in Messiah; but since they are still fettered by the Law -- circumcision, the Sabbath, and the rest-- they are not in accord with Christians...they are nothing but Jews...

(slide) They have the Good News according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve this, in the Hebrew alphabet, as it was originally written."

This is our Statement of Faith! But what we also see here is a sharp division between the Christians and the Sect of the Nazarenes (the first Church).

The first church and the first Christians were 2 very different groups of people. Jews who followed Yeshua were called “Jews”. In Antioch some Gentile followers of Yeshua were called Christians. This was a name they were labeled with by unbelievers.

Christian was a name of derision. I’ve said before that Dr. David Stern the translator of the complete Jewish Bible has stated this. He’s not the only one though. There are Christian scholars who are also beginning to see this.

(slide) A footnote in the MacArthur Study Bible says that “the name Christian was originally a term of derision”. It’s becoming known.So there were these huge differences between the early Christians and the sect of the Nazarenes, the first believers in Yeshua.

The sect of the Nazarenes wouldn’t have anything to do with the growing Christian population because they felt they were law breakers. I’m not talking about those few in Antioch in the very beginning, I’m talking about the ones right after them.

Now, one may say, “The sect of the Nazarenes must have created a different religion from Judaism, look how the Jews were against Peter and John in Acts 4 starting in verse 1

(slide) 1 Kefa and Yochanan were still speaking to the people when the cohanim, the captain in charge of the Temple police, and the Tz'dukim came upon them,

(slide) 2 very annoyed that they were teaching the people the doctrine of resurrection from the dead and offering Yeshua as proof. 3 The Temple police arrested them; and since it was already evening, they put them in custody overnight.

“So see they were against them.” Well think for a moment, what were they preaching about? The resurrection. Who were Peter and John having problems with? The priests, which party were the priests with? Did that party believe in the resurrection of the dead?

Any Pharisee would’ve had the same problem there. That doesn’t prove didly that the Sect of the Nazarenes were a different religion from Judaism.

So, what and when was the schism between the Nazarene Jews and Rabbinic Judaism? That happened at the time of the Bar Kochba War.

The Bar Kochba war was in 135 AD. What happened was the Jews revolted once again against Rome. They had done so in 70 AD and now they were revolting again

Rabbi Akiva had declared a man called Bar Kochba the Messiah and they started to make these plans to go against the Romans. Bar Kochba and Rabbi Akiva decided that in order for any Jews to fight with them against Rome they also had to declare Bar Kochba as the Messiah.

The sect of the Nazarenes wouldn’t do it. They knew who the Messiah was and even though they wanted to fight against Rome, they weren’t willing to lose their souls to do so. Barcochba and Rabbi Akiva weren’t very happy with this and they began killing many of the Nazarenes.

(slide) The Church Father Justin wrote… Justin, First Apology 31.5-6For in the present war it is only the followers of Christ whom Barchochebas, the leader of the rebellion of the Jews, commanded to be punished severely, if they did not deny Jesus as the Messiah and blaspheme him.

(slide) The Church Father Eusebius wrote… Cochebas, the duke of the Jewish sect, killed the followers of Christ with all kinds of persecutions, when they refused to help him against the Roman troops.

(slide) Eusibius also writes… The Jews were at that time led by a certain Barchochebas, which means 'star' a man who was murderous and a bandit, but relied on his name, as if dealing with slaves, and claimed to be a luminary come from heaven and was magically enlightening those who were in misery.

(slide) The war reached its height in the eighteenth year of Hadrian in Betar, which was a strong citadel not very far from Jerusalem. The siege lasted a long time before the rebels were driven to final destruction by famine and thirst and the instigator of their madness paid the penalty he deserved.

(slide) Hadrian then commanded that by a legal decree and ordinances the whole nation should be absolutely prevented from entering from thenceforth even the district round Jerusalem, so that it could not even see from a distance its ancestral home.

(slide) Just before the Bar Kochba war, the Nazarenes fled Israel to Pella. This is attested to by Epiphanius in Panarion 7:7. It is confirmed by the Church Father, Eusebius AD 263 – 339…

(slide) "But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella. " (History of the Church 3:5:3)

So when Bar Kochba started killing members of the sect of the Nazarenes, they started to flee. Thousands were killed before they got out. After they left, the rest of the Jews declared war on Rome and they lost.

Where’s the region of Pella? We can narrow it down a little more… Epiphanius writes…"The Nazoraean sect exists in Beroea (buh-ree-ah) near Coele (see-lee) Syria, in the Decapolis in the region of Pella. Well, we know where Beroea is

In the heart of the ancient Amorite kingdom of Yamkhad was a town called Alep, we now know it as Aleppo. (Aleppo has had many other names, including Beroea and Halab.) (slide)

They stayed there for the next 60 years according to Eusebius.As I mentioned the Romans completely kicked the Jews out of Jerusalem. Only Gentiles were allowed. The Romans even changed the name of Jerusalem to a Roman name “Aelia Capitolina”

So there was no head of the Church left there so the few Gentiles who were allowed to go there named their own “bishop” Eusibius wrote about this…

(slide) In Jerusalem the first bishop was appointed from among the gentiles, since bishops ceased to be appointed from among the Jews. and he was a Gentile. His name was Marcus (The history of the decline and fall of the Roman empire, Volume 1 page 225 By Edward Gibbon)

He was from Italy and immediately he renounced the Mosaic Law without any authority from the sect of the Nazarenes. This is when these Gentiles started calling themselves “Christians”.

These huge changes were made in Jerusalem and they began to incorporate Greek paganism with the little they knew about Yeshua. They started by changing Yeshua’s name to Iesous which is where we get the name Jesus from.

and they no longer even resembled the sect of the Nazarenes. Even before 200 AD, roughly 100 years after the war after other Christian Churches had spread even to Rome, a famous leader of this new religion named Clement of Alexandria,

a man regarded to this day as one of the greatest Church Fathers to ever live, he gave this characterization of this new faith called Christianity…

(slide)“All the churches were Greek religious colonies. Their language was Greek, their organization Greek, their writers Greek and their ritual Greek.

(slide) Thus the church at Rome was but one of a confederation of Greek religious republics rounded by Christianity”. He said this between 150-200 AD.Kind of like the way Voodoo is rounded by Catholicism.

It’s got some stuff about Jesus in it but it’s voodoo!

The original group of Believers now living in Pella continued as they always had, keeping the Laws that G-d had given us as well as belief in Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel.

What’s important to note is that before this horrible Bar Kochba situation, the sect of the Nazarenes lived and worshipped with the majority of their brothers and sisters in Israel…

(there were some sects that they didn’t get along with, but that was universal in Israel and only among a minority) but they worshipped side by side with their fellow Jews.

One day, we’ll talk more about that and what that means. But until then, I’ll leave that part with you to ponder as we move on.

After the Bar Kochba war, some of the Jews who were left at the mercy of the Romans and survived became bitter towards those who fled to Pella. They felt the Nazarenes had abandoned them. But the Nazarenes were right to do so.

(slide) Not just because they couldn’t declare Bar Kochba the Messiah but because Yeshua TOLD THEM TOO FLEE! Luke 21:20 says… "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.

(slide) 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.

(slide) 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Times of the Gentiles. You may have heard that phrase used before in various sermons. What is generally taught by the Commentators and across denominational lines is that Jesus reached out to the Jews when he was here but because the Jews rejected him this ushered in the time of the Gentiles.“Now it’s our turn” they say

They say things such as “Aren’t ya glad this is our time? Jesus reached out to us Gentiles after His death on the cross and brought us close to Him.” As if G-d never cared about any Gentiles before Jesus came, because remember (their underlying message is) the G-d of the Old Testament is a bigot. That’s what these teachers would have you believe

And now this is our time they say, the time of the Gentiles.

So the Jews got 3 and a half years and the Gentiles got 2,000 years (and still going), that’s fair. No anti-semite alive would see a problem with these kinds of numbers.However, in First Century Judaism, the phrase “time of the Gentiles” was not an unknown idiom.

We see it throughout Rabbinical literature of the first century but it never had a good connotation. Each and every time that the phrase is used it is meant as a time of persecution against the Jewish people. It is not known as a phrase to be proud of, but a phrase to be feared.

Well that’s only in Rabbinical literature Rabbi. Ok, well let’s look at this next Biblical passage first in English… (slide) Ezekiel 30:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying , 2 Son of man, prophesy and say , Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! 3 For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. (slide)

Guess what that word “Heathen” is there in the original Hebrew?

It’s obviously talking about a not so good time! But the translators weren’t about to make it look like the time of the Gentiles was a negative thing so they changed the word to heathen rather then Gentiles.

You have to watch translators, they will change the meanings of things.So, the phrase the time of the Gentiles was not a good thing. It’s also called the age of the Gentiles or the “Church Age”. But it was known to the Jewish people as a time of persecution.

The Nazarenes knew this time would come and they fled to the mountains just like Yeshua had told them to do. In Pella they continued to run the Sect as they always had. They had direct authority from Yeshua via the various heads of the faith.

Now, before the Bar Kochba war we even know who was running the sect of the Nazarenes. First of course was James the Just, the brother of Yeshua but then there were 14 more Jews who ran the sect after him. They are called the Desposyni,

(slide) Eusibius names them… James, the Lord’s brother,Symeon, Justus, Zacchaeus, Tobias, Benjamin, John, Matthias, Philip, Seneca,

(slide) Justus II, Levi, Ephres, Joseph, and Judas.

We don’t know a lot about these men but we know that most of them, if not all of them were related to Yeshua. After that, the Nazarenes fled due to the Bar Kochba war and the Gentile Marcus took over and that’s when a new religion called Christianity began.

(slide) Let’s summarize1. The sect of the Nazarenes was exactly that, a sect of Judaism.2. After the resurrection of the L-rd the sect continued as they always had even still giving animal sacrifices3. Spreading rumors is bad, just ask Paul

(slide) 4. Kippur means covering5. There was a sharp difference between the Christians and the sect of the Nazarenes from very early on.6. The Bar Kochba war is what caused the division between the sect of the Nazarenes and the rest of their Jewish brothers and sisters

(slide) 7. After the sect fled Israel, the Gentiles started a new Greek religion called "Christianity8. The time of the gentiles was never considered a good thing, but a time of persecution against the Jewish people9. the Desposyni were the first leaders of the sect of the Nazarenes.That concludes this teaching…

(slide) Also don’t forget Tuesday nights. If you don’t go you are missing out on learning.Let’s stand for the benediction.