A

[Rabbi Eric]

********************

A:

********************

Adultery. The verses from John 7:53b-8:11 were added to the New Testament in the fifth century and teach a valuable lesson, which is that we are not to be quick to condemn others, but each of us must know and do what is right. The textual scholars determined that these verses were added by examining ancient manuscripts rather than by criticizing content, but here the content too tells us the person who wrote these verses was not familiar with Jewish Scripture and practice. If you catch someone in adultery, you have to catch two because one person cannot commit adultery: Yet only the woman was brought to be stoned. That was the practice of the societies of the ancient world, except for Judaism. In all the other societies, except for a few that were matriarchal, the wife was a chattel, a possession of the husband, so if she was caught in adultery it was a crime against her husband and he could punish her any way he wished. She was just like any other possession, to be treated like furniture or a slave. Adultery to those societies was not sin. It was a crime against the husband. Only in Judaism was adultery a sin against God.  Because it was a sin against God both participants were to be stoned -- it was not a lesser sin for one than for the other. Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22 say “If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; so shall you put away evil from Israel.”

Although the verses, John 7:53b-8:11, were added long after the Scriptures were written, we need to keep the basic message of the addition, that we are to love the sinner, but hate the sin. It is more important for each of us to focus on his own shortcomings rather than on the shortcomings of others.

Agapao   is an ancient Greek verb used well over one hundred times in the NT. Its meaning in Classic Greek was to welcome, entertain, and, in reference to things, to be content. In first century Israel the meaning was love, as in “love your neighbor” in Matthew 5:43. Other forms of agapao are: agape, a noun meaning love; agapemai, a noun indicating the object of love; agapenor, meaning loving manliness, manly, used to refer to heroes; agapesis, a noun meaning affection; agapetikos, a noun meaning affectionate; and agapetos, an adjective meaning worthy of love, beloved, esteemed.

Of the above only the verb agapao, the noun agape, and the adjective agapetos are used in the Greek New Testament. The feminine noun agape uses case endings that are not used in any classic Greek literature. Case endings on Greek nouns and adjectives varied depending on how the word was used in a sentence.

Agape apparently was in common usage by the Hellenists for several centuries before Jesus’ birth because it is used more than a dozen times in the Septuagint, the 250 BC Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. At least four forms: the feminine agape, a neuter agape, agapesis, and agapao, are used in the Septuagint. The feminine agape is used in the Septuagint in 2 Samuel 13:15, Ecclesiastes 9:1 & 6, and Song of Songs 2:4, 5, 7, 3:5, 10, 5:8, 7:6, 8:4, 6, 7. Since the word agape is used by every New Testament author except Mark and is used about one hundred fifteen times in the New Testament, it must have been common throughout the Roman world, wherever the Epistles were sent. Koine Greek was the common language of the Roman Empire, not being replaced by Latin until the third and fourth centuries AD. The people spoke Greek in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, Thessalonika, and the various cities written to by the authors of Hebrews, Peter, Jude, and John.

Phileo, a synonym of agapao, is used only twenty-four times in the New Testament. It is used in John 5:20 and 16:27 of God loving Jesus and of His loving us. It is used to speak of Jesus’ love for us in John 11:3. 11:36, 20:2, and Revelation 3:19. Phileo is used in the Septuagint in similar proportion as in the New Testament.

Alef    is used in this translation instead of the Greek letter Alpha. Alef is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Tav, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, is used instead of omega because Hebrew was the first language of the apostles and was widely used in Jesus’ day as is evident from archeological finds, including the Dead Sea Scrolls. All teaching of Scripture was in Hebrew, as was every service in a synagogue or the temple. Any other language was considered to profane those buildings and the people inside.  The alef and tav spell a word, et, which is placed in front of the direct object of a verb to show the object of the action. For more on this see John under Book Order.

Anokhi   is a very powerful Hebrew word translated “I AM.” The basic word translated “I AM” is Ani. Adding the syllable “khi” makes the word a very definite, deliberate action. God uses Anokhi fourteen times in the Hebrew Scriptures, while He uses Ani hundreds of times. Some examples of Anokhi are: Your Shield, Genesis 15:1; With You, Genesis 25:24, 28:15; God of Your Fathers, Genesis 46:3, Exodus 3:6; Brought You Out of Egypt, Exodus 20:2, Deuteronomy 5:6; He Who Blots Out Your Transgressions and Will Not Remember Your Sins, Isaiah 43:25, and Who Makes All Things, Isaiah 44:24. For each of the above God says “I AM” and does so with great and intense purpose. Read the above verses and remember that God put extra emphasis in each of them, and that He has determined to be your shield, to be with you, and to forget your transgressions and not remember your sins. See Sins, forgiveness of in this Glossary.
      
Anokhi is referenced three times in New Testament writing: Matthew 22:32, Mark 12:26, and Acts 7:32. These all refer to the same verse in the Hebrew Scriptures, Exodus 3:6, “And he said, I AM the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”

Apostle   is the English spelling of the Greek word used to describe someone who is sent. There was a position in the ancient synagogues for someone who was sent from that synagogue to another or to authorities in Jerusalem or to some school in order to get the correct interpretation of a Scripture or point of oral law. The Hebrew name of this office is Shelakhim, meaning the “ones sent.” Shelakhim is plural. The apostles in the New Testament were sent from Jerusalem to outlying areas to bring correct interpretation to early Christian congregations. Some of these apostles were promoting themselves and not focusing on the Jerusalem agenda. Paul referred to them in 2 Corinthians 3:1 as using letters of recommendation to get invitations. Since Corinth was a wealthy city, those seeking large offerings would have coveted ministry there. Paul also referred to false apostles in 2 Corinthians 11:12. “But what I am doing, and I will keep on doing, so that I will cut off the opportunity of those who want opportunity, so that in whom they are boasting they would have been found just like us.  13. For such false apostles as these are deceitful workers disguising themselves as apostles of Messiah.  14. And no wonder: for Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (Is 14:12) 15. Therefore it is not great if his, Satan’s, servants also are disguised as servants of righteousness: whose end will be according to their works.” Today we still have ministers who do not report to anyone, but each of us needs to be accountable to some organization or board so we do not go off in error like those Paul wrote about.

The first century apostles did not have organizations other than the council in Jerusalem; they simply went out, with more than one going to the same synagogues. In the first century there were no churches, just synagogues and home congregations, even if a congregation was all non-Jewish. While there was not a formal organization, there was order. Notice that Paul reported to Jacob and the council in Jerusalem, as in Acts 15 and Acts 21:23. The false apostles were those who answered to no one. We still have rebels today, those who report only to God Himself. Just what Phoebe’s responsibilities were is not clear, but Paul refers to her in Romans 16:1 as being from Cencrae, the sister city of Corinth, and being set over others, even himself.

   The Latin word for apostle is missionare, meaning to send, which gives us a better handle on the role of the apostle. Missionaries are those who are sent to take the Gospel message to new peoples. We generally have missionary organizations to supervise missionary activity, whether denominational or some separate organization. Some of these organizations are very tightly run, while others are more open, like first century Jerusalem. Our Western minds require organizations with managers and organization charts, but that is not what the Middle Eastern mind requires, so it is not what Paul and other NT authors understood the word translated Apostle to mean.

Ark   This article is quoted from an exposition of the book of Genesis by Rabbi Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, reprinted here with his permission:

   The Lord said to Noah, "ase lekha tevat atzey gofer -- make yourself an ark [literally `a box'] of Gopher wood." It is interesting to note that God does not instruct Noah to make a ship or a boat. This is NOT to be "the first vessel" for a long ocean voyage. Rather, it is a box -- like a coffin! Yet it is not for the dead - it is for the only ones who are to survive. The type of wood for making this box is never mentioned again either in the Torah or in any other literature! Commentary suggests that Gopher comes from (or is related to) m10 - gophrit, which is the brimstone -- by which Sodom was to be destroyed in another time of "God's judgement:” The text continues, "Kinim ta'ase et hateva vekhafarta ota mibayit umihutz bakofer -- make the ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch." [6:15] It is clear that since the `box' was to serve not only Noah and his family but everything that must be saved, it must have many compartments - but the next words require special attention. The Hebrew does not actually say “cover it inside and out with pitch” but rather, using the Hebrew root of the word pitch, ‘pitch [KFR] it within and without in pitch [KFR].' Is KFR pitch? Let us assume for the moment that it is. The purpose of the pitch is to keep the box dry. If you pitch the outside, it will prevent water from sipping in, and it will stay dry. If the water, or the mud, stripped the pitch off the wood, the water would invade the box. What effect would a cover of pitch inside the box have on it? The water won't be stopped from invading the ark once the outside has been stripped. The water would simply separate the pitch from the wood and push it into the compartments of the ark. What is the effect of ‘pitching' the inside of the ark? It makes it sticky and very hard to manage. It just does not make sense. Yet, we certainly expect that God's instruction would make sense. Therefore, we must reconsider how we read the text.

What if the KFR with which the ark was to be covered was NOT pitch, then. Let us look at the root again. KFR is not only pitch, it is also camphire or henna, a bush that has bunches of fragrant flowers and fruits. It is possible that this was the KFR that was used as a deodorant to keep the ark habitable. This is certainly a worthwhile idea for a small ark that will be inhabited by all those animals as well as Noah and his family -- but at the same time it does not seem likely to have been done on the outside as well as the inside.

Looking a little further into the matter we discover two more meanings for KFR – ‘Kafar’ meaning deny and ‘Kipper,' meaning made atonement. While the two meanings seem almost to contradict one another, they would both apply and make sense for the purpose of building this instrument of the survival of life in the time of the flood.

Consider: The Lord informs Noah that he is about destroy all living things. He says, .now, I want you to put yourself outside of all that is around you -- deny their very existence! Thus you KFR Kafar  [deny] them (on the outside) even as they deny you (by their actions) [KFR] on the inside; or, to make the ark worthy of salvation you dedicate it through the act of atonement [kipper] on the outside, and all within are an atonement unto the Lord - a KFR of the inside.

There is one more meaning of the word that we may consider, and it is kofer, meaning ransom. It is possible to consider the act of entering the ark as a ransom for saving the lives of those who will survive the flood.

   Thus, the text "vehafarta ota mibayit umihutz bakofer “ will now be read “and you shall deny all that is without for all that is within, as an atonement;” or, “and you shall ransom all within by denying everything that is outside this box.”

The text continues, "Vahakimoti et briti itkha uva'ta el hateva ata uvanekha veishtkha unshey vanekha; umikol hakha'y mikol basar shna'yim mikol tavi el hateva lehakha'yot itkha -- But 1 will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee-" [6:18-19] "And 1 shall establish my covenant with you_" What is the covenant? There shall be a covenant with Noah, established AFTER the flood -- but so far there is no covenant! The great sage, Rambam, suggests that the word 'briti -- my covenant -- should actually read 'bri'ati -- meaning 'my creation.' Thus God informs Noah, "I shall establish a continuity of creation through you and all who come into the ark with you." In other words, while the world needs to be purged, I must not -- and will not -- allow My creation -- 'bri'ati -- to be negated, not even by Myself in My judgement. This is understood to be a sign and an example of God's benevolence and lovingkindness, for there is no question that there was no 'brit f1" [covenant] before the flood!

Armageddon. The battle has been joined! What the world calls The Battle of Armageddon is in full fury. The problem is that the Church is asleep and does not even know about it. The Church is too busy anticipating Gog and Magog, trying to figure out how and when Russia and others are going to join with China to attack Israel. It is not aware of the spiritual battles that are in full fury right now. If the Church wins the spiritual battle there will be no ground war. If we lose the spiritual war, the world will be all but destroyed.

That the Church is also wrapped up in fund-raising and building programs is another great distraction keeping focus off the spiritual battles.

The Church has ignored the Scriptural terminology, allowing the half-truths of the world to co-opt the truth.

There is one battle of Armageddon in Scripture. That is in 2Kings 23:29,30 and 2Chronicles 35:22 which record the battle in which Joash, King of Israel is mortally wounded. The Hebrew name is Har Megiddo, meaning Mount Megiddo. The Valley of Jezreel lies at the foot of the mountain. This was also the location of the Midianite army that Gideon chased off with trumpets and lanterns. In 1Samuel 29:1 The Philistine armies gather at Jezreel, but the battle is at Mount Gilboa in the Valley of Esdraelon, which is east of the Valley of Jezreel.  In the New Testament, the armies gather at Har Megiddo Revelation 16:12. Then the sixth poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates and its water dried up, (Is 11:15, 44:27, Jr 50:38, 51:36) so that the way of the kings from the east could be prepared.  13. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet: 14. for spirits of demons were performing miracles, which were going out over the kingdoms of the whole inhabited world to gather them into the war of the great Day of the God of the Hosts. (Mt 25:31) 15. “Behold I am coming as a thief.  Blessed is the one who is awake and keeps his garments ready, so that he would not walk naked  and they would see his shame.”  16. And He gathered them into the place called in Hebrew Har Megiddo.  (Judges 5:19, 2Kings 9:27, 23:29, Zch 12:11), mistranslated from the Greek as Armageddon, the Greek text has Harmagedon but the battle is not at Har Megiddo.

The battle is formed at the Valley of Jehoshaphat Joel 3:2. I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will enter into judgment with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and have divided my land. 12. Let the nations be stirred up, and come to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the nations around. [Chapter 4:2,12 in Tanach].The Valley of Jehoshaphat is a few miles southeast of Jerusalem, called the valley of Beracha 2Chronicles 20:26. And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, to this day. God zaps the armies when they surround Jerusalem. In Revelation 20:7. Then when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be loosed from his prison 8. and he will come out to deceive the heathens who are in the four corners of the earth, (Ezekiel 7:2) Gog and Magog, (Ezekiel 38:2) to gather them for the war, whose number is as the sand of the sea.  9. And they went up upon the breadth of the earth and they surrounded the army of the saints and the beloved city, and fire descended from the sky and consumed them. 2Kings 1:10  And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume you and your fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Ezekiel 39:6. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among those who dwell securely in the islands; and they shall know that I am the Lord. This is at the end of the Millennium, and is often referred to as Apocolypse, which is the Greek word for “Revelation.” This is the terrible time when it takes seven months to bury the dead. Ezekiel 39:11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travellers to the east of the sea; and it shall block the path of the travellers; and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it the Valley of Hamon-Gog, (Multitude of Gog).12. For seven months shall the house of Israel bury them, so that they may cleanse the land.

The current war is against Humanism and fanatic Islam. What is going on the ground now is but a faint example of what is going in the spiritual.

The believers in Humanism are those who align themselves with appeasement and tolerance of pagan beliefs.  Humanism is our spiritual battle in the US and the world of those loyal to God’s teachings vs. those who tolerate all manner of evil, accepting homosexuality as another “life style” and abortion as “choice.”  They encourage teaching occult and false religions in our public schools, but forbid the teaching and practice of Christianity, all in the name of “multi-culturalism.”  This battle will not be won with the weapons of war, but will be won in the hearts of Americans as revival takes root.

The battle with Humanism has already taken most of Europe and has made great strides in the U.S., with our need to be politically correct and having courts trying to take “under God” out of the pledge of allegiance, make homosexual sin a cause for extending “rights.”  The spiritual warfare needs to be joined by the whole body of Messiah. Losing this war will cost us everything. Warfare against principalities and powers needs to be corporate since it is too dangerous for individual prayer, just as an independent soldier does not go into battle against an army, although we should pray individually in support of the corporate prayer. Each church should have intercessors committed to this fight, and groups of intercessors should be coordinating prayer.

Fanatic Islam is a great danger at this time. Their shout of “Allah Akhbar” is usually translated as “God is great” but that has two errors: First, Allah is a god, not the King of the Universe, the Creator of everything. Second, Akhbar does not mean great, but greatest! They are saying Allah, one of 360 Canaanite gods, the god of war, is the greatest, greater than the God, the One we worship.  As the god of war, no act is too cruel or too inhuman, with no love for anyone, even his own followers. That is why the leaders can recruit even innocent children for suicide attacks. It encourages the barbarism of leaders such as Saddam, and the corruption of the Palestinian Authority. Simultaneously, Humanism encourages its followers to let each one decide for himself what is proper, so Western European leaders had no problem doing business with Saddam – that was very profitable.

Sadly, the Church is barely aware of spiritual warfare, either for individuals or for effecting changes in the powers and principalities. Those who are able to fight this war need to band together with like-minded congregations or groups of intercessors, making a concerted effort to win this battle in the here and now.