Question 187: What were the “Marks of Moshiach Yeshua”?

Answer:

It was a practice to brand slaves with their owners' initials. A slave by showing the brand proved to whom his service was due and that no one else had a claim upon him. The marks of Moshiach Yeshua which Paul bore (Galatians 6:17) were the scars received in His service - the marks of the rods with which He was beaten and the wounds He received in fighting with wild beasts. He showed them as evidence that He belonged to Moshiach Yeshua.

Frequently asked questions and answers:

Question 186: How did Satan receive the name “Lucifer”?

Answer:

There have been at different times various interpretations of the famous passage in Isaiah 14:12: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" "Lucifer" means "light-bringer" and has also been translated "son of the morning," "morning star and ““brilliant,” “splendid," "illustrious." Tertullian and Gregory the Great interpreted the passage in Isaiah as referring to the fall of Satan and since their time, the name "Lucifer" has been almost universally held by the Church to be an appellation of Satan before the fall. Dr Henderson, a famous commentator, simply interprets it "illustrious son of the morning" and holds that it has no reference to the fall of the apostate angels. Some later authorities claim that the passage has a prophetic reference to the fall from power of the great and illustrious King of Babylon, who surpassed all other monarchs of his time in splendour.

Question 185: What is meant by “Because thou have left thy first love?”

Answer:

These words (in Revelations 24.) were addressed to the believers at Ephesus. The "first love" does not refer to any person or influence other than Moshiach, but simply means that the Ephesians had lost the intensity of their affection and zeal for Moshiach. The Ephesian Church had had special opportunities and blessing. Under Paul's ministrations its members had received the gift of Ruach HaKodesh (Acts 19:1-6); the apostle had resided with them for three years (Acts 20:31); he had later written to them what is perhaps his most spiritually exalted epistle. Their experience of love for Moshiach had been warm and keen. In his message sent them through John the Master is reproving them for having allowed their love for him to grow weak and cold.

Question 184: What is an indulgence?

Answer:

An "indulgence" is a spiritual bill of health or official act of pardon granted by the Church of Rome. It has no warrant in Scripture. There are indulgences to ease the way of souls out of purgatory, indulgences for the living, permitting them to eat meat on holy days; indulgences for the forgiveness of past sins and, in Spain at least and probably in other countries, indulgences for those who have committed crimes, by which they are relieved of the responsibility of their acts. Indulgences are usually purchased with a fee, although in some cases they are granted in consideration of undergoing some form of penance. A recent illustration is the distribution of indulgences during the Eucharistic Congress in Vienna, where they seem to have been granted free to many people as a reward for their loyalty and devotion to the Catholic Church on that occasion.

Question 183: What was the “heresies” of apostolic times?

Answer:

The Greek word translated "heresies" in Galatians 5:20 mean either an opinion or a party. As used in the New Testament it stands for an opinion "varying from the true exposition of the faith" (as in 2 Peter 2:11) or a body of men following mistaken or blameworthy ideas or, as a combination of these two meanings, "dissensions." This latter definition "dissensions" is the rendering given by Thayer in this passage. The American revision translates the word "parties," leaving however, the expression "heresies" as the marginal reading. The three last words of the verse, "strife," "seditions," "heresies," are, in the American revision, "factions, divisions, parties."

Question 182: Where does the name “Hebrews” come from?

Answer:

It is held by the best authorities and by the Jews themselves that the name is derived from Heber or Eber (which means "from the other side" or a sojourner or immigrant). Heber was the son of Salah and the father of Peleg (see Genesis 10:24, 11:14 and 1 Chronicles 1:19). Abram was the first to be called a Hebrew (Genesis 14:13), presumably in the immigrant sense. The name is seldom used of the Israelites in the Old Testament, except when the speaker is a foreigner or when the Israelites speak of themselves to one of another nation. Some writers have held that Hebrew is derived from Abraham (Abrai), but this explanation is not generally adopted.

Frequently asked questions and answers:

Question 181: What does “YHVH’s Image” mean?

Answer:

In discussing spiritual things, to be right, no one can go beyond the word of Scripture. The Bible tells us that YHVH gave to man a living soul. In this sense he was in the image of his Maker in his dispositions, temperament and desires and in his obedience to the divine will; but this condition was forfeited through sin. It could only be said thereafter of those who walked uprightly before YHVH and were inspired of him, that they were "His offspring." (Matthew 13:38; Mark 7:10. See John 12:36; Acts 13:10; Colossians 3:6.) Yeshua Himself drew the distinction when he told the wicked scribes and Pharisees that they were the children of the evil one and this is the actual condition of every one living in sin, unrepentant and unforgiving. Thus, while in his perfect condition man was like his Maker, in a condition of sin he is no longer so, nor has he any of the spiritual attributes and qualities that belong to the perfect condition or even of the pardoned sinner, who has the hope through Moshiach of reconciliation and restoration. The Bible nowhere declares that man is of himself and inherently immortal. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." When sin entered, then came physical decay and death; man's first condition was lost and with the continuance of sin, and unrepentant and unforgiving, he also forfeited spiritual immortality. Eternal life is the gift of YHVH. Paul declares that Yeshua, through his Gospel, brought life and immortality to light for fallen man and showed the path to restoration through repentance, forgiveness and acceptance.

Take a look at some of the water immersion that happened around the United States this year!

"An abomination to Yahweh thy God are all who do such things: all who do unrighteousness."
תוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ כָּל־עֹשֵׂה אֵלֶּה כֹּל עֹשֵׂה עָוֶל

De 25

Thought for Today: Friday January 24

Wholehearted, real laughter heals, it encourages others and relaxes anyone within hearing distance. The laughter that comes from love, widens the space around it – gives room to the loved one to enter in. Real laughter welcomes and never shuts out.