Download pdf version
Another discussion relating to the article about the so-called "New Testament" relates to the widely held but mistaken belief that Yahooshua {Jesus} changed all sorts of things that He did not have the authority to change and would not have changed anyway.
For example, in passages where Yahooshua corrects and reproves the Scribes, Pharisees and Priests he is NOT introducing new teaching {doctrine} he is re-establishing and explaining the laws [Torah] given through Moshe {Moses}.
Yahooshua clearly states that he came to fulfill the commandments and laws given through Moshe and other spokesmen {prophets} NOT change them.
But the widely held view of a "New Testament" or "New Covenant" which radically changed the laws of Yah persists amongst people who have been raised in pagan Christianity.
This happens because virtually no Christian knows the so-called "Old Testament" – the books before Matthew well and many have not even read them because they have been lied to and told that Yahooshua changed everything and that we "live under the New Covenant and so the Old Testament is not really relevant" and other lies such as this.
I realized a few days ago that those who followed Yahooshua were largely in the same situation. Those who physically went around with Yahooshua were largely uneducated in terms of Pharisaic / Rabbinical law and most likely did not have access to nor had they read in detail the writings that today form the so-called Old Testament or, for that matter, any other writings of that time. They were fishermen, tax collectors, etc.
There were some members of the priesthood, etc who followed Yahooshua but they were in the minority and, anyway, at the time everyone close to Yahooshua was concentrating on what he was saying filtered through their perceptions of the teachings, traditions, etc of that age.
Those who came after Yahooshua, of which Luke and Shaul {Paul} are the most notable in terms of the writings in the bible filtered their understanding through their historical context. So, for example, Luke is unlikely to have been knowledgeable of Torah (the laws and commandments of Yah) and his writings reflect this.
Shaul, on the other hand, was raised as a Pharisee, a strict Rabbinical sect and was deeply steeped in the traditions of his day as well as the Rabbinic teachings and also presumably in the writings ascribed to Moshe which claim to report the events in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt but which, as we saw last week, were even then based on fragments preserved through the Babylonian exile.
Thus, the main reason that Shaul has set out diverse aspects of teaching relating to the covenant through Yahooshua is simply because he was one of the few followers to have the context and background to hear Yah on these matters and to write them down.
However, for the most part, all who have come after Yahooshua, right up to the current day, lack in-depth knowledge of the writings prior to Matthew in the bible and lack in-depth understanding of the covenant through Moshe and related matters many of which have been discussed on this list over the last eleven plus years (incidentally, my older writings are all available at www.ETIMin.org).
So, when interpreting the writings about Yahooshua and the period that followed, including modern writings and teachings right up to the present day it is VITAL to recognize that almost without exception that the writers and teachers lack an in-depth understanding let alone revelation of the covenant through Moshe and the teachings, etc of the faith going back thousands of years.
Also apply your intellect. For example one of the most absurd teachings of this age is that Yahooshua instituted monogamy as a legal requirement. So, we have the prospect of Yahooshua hanging on the tree in a society that widely practiced covenant between one man and more than one woman and as he dies an agonizing death he introduces a law which makes all the covenant unions of one man with several women illegal and introduces enforced monogamy – it is outright foolishness to believe things like this and a grievous insult to Yahooshua. It also flees in the face of well-established historical information which shows that monogamy was first legislated in Christianity by Justinian in Rome in 600+ AD. There are other false beliefs like this.
Accordingly the message must AGAIN be "turn to Yah as your teacher".
Conclusion
It is pointed out that very few of those who have followed the teachings and covenant given through Yahooshua in any age have a solid understanding of the teachings of Moshe, the prophets before Yahooshua or the commandments given by Yah.
As a consequence it is falsely imagined and claimed that Yahooshua did all sorts of things that he could NOT possibly have done.
Readers are advised to apply their intellect and think critically about what is taught and what they choose to believe.
May Yah bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.
Download pdf version