⁣Are circumcision, the Levitical priesthood, and sacrifices still relevant for believers today? These are massive, hot-button topics that have sparked debates for centuries. They are emotionally charged, baggage-laden questions, and they're not easy to answer!

It seems to me, though, that most of the confusion stems from a misunderstanding of covenants. In this series, I'm going to talk about what covenants are and aren't. How they are established, how they interact with each other, and how they end.

Part 1 will set the stage for the conversation and provide some helpful guidelines for studying and contemplating any difficult and emotional Biblical topic.

Part 2 will talk about the 8 basic elements of a divine covenant and introduce the covenants that God has made with Israel.

Part 3 will zoom in on some details about how covenants work. How do they start and end? How are covenants inherited and how do the covenants of Israel impact Gentile believers? How do God's covenants relate to his Law?

Part 4 returns to the three questions that sparked this study. What do circumcision, the Levitical (Aaronic) priesthood, and sacrifices have to do with us today and the New Covenant?

Part 5 pulls it all together, describing how all of God's Law infuses all of his covenants and how they work together to build the mature relationship that he wants with his people.

If you find yourself getting a little hot around the collar at any point, go back and rewatch video one. Don't let your emotions control your ability to evaluate an opinion that runs counter to what you've been taught before.

I'm not a professional video producer. I don't have a studio or any professional recording equipment. I hope you'll excuse any flaws in the presentation.

From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).

This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.

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The Wedding Supper of the Lamb is an analogy... until it isn't! Throughout history, Yahweh has given warnings about impending destruction. The invitation to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb is a metaphor for this warning. This years' message on First Fruits shows the warning throughout history and why we need to accept the invitation lest we end up outside, weeping and gnashing our teeth.
Written pdf notes available at https://firstcenturychristiani....ty.net/weeping-and-g

Messianic Torah Portion Pekudei: The transition from common to holy and the relationship between the tabernacle, Ezekiel's temple, and when Jesus will drink the cup new with us in the kingdom.

⁣In Memory of Him

⁣I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.
Romans 16:22 ESV

By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.
1 Peter 5:12 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV

Paul dictated some of his letters to a scribe (amenuensis) named Tertius who inserted a line of his own into Romans 16:22. It's possible that Peter's first letter was translated and edited by Silvanus. Does the use of a scribe or editor to help write a Bible book undermine the inspiration of that book?

Not necessarily. Paul and Peter would have reviewed the end result before it was sent, and other Bible editors, such as Ezra, were also prophets and apostles who were inspired by God in their own work.

From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).

This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.

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⁣"And I'm going to be praying for you," a woman prophesied, "The Holy Spirit is going to give you a new song," explaining that a new song is what the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) would lay on my heart.
I was quite intrigued and excited. I had never really written much of a song before, except at the age of nine, which I threw away after looking back on it years afterwords.
A few months later, I'm sitting on a couch, playing guitar, and as I'm going through my screenshots of music sheets, I also come across a screenshot I had particularly liked. It was a number of verses in Lamentations. It really touched my heart. I started to strum the guitar and singing it into a song. Within minutes, I was recording it. This video, here is a different recording.

Ever since then, the Holy Spirit has been laying, continually, new songs on my heart. Although I do not have professional recording (been using just a phone), I see it as, if I steward (take heed) of what YAH has provided for me to use, I trust HE will increase.

I hope and pray this song will bless you.

⁣In Galatians 5, Paul says that if you become circumcised, you're basically throwing Jesus under the bus, and you're a heretic. But then in Acts 21, he goes to the Temple and offers sacrifices for a Nazirite Vow in order to refute the misconception that he is telling Jews they need to give up circumcision. What gives?

This is a complicated subject, but it boils down to the question of "When does Torah say you are to circumcise someone?" Apart from the household of Abraham in Genesis 17, there are only two circumstances in which men are commanded to be circumcised: first, as an 8-day old boy, and second, if he wants to eat a Passover.

There is no requirement in the Law to be circumcised in order to become an Israelite or to gain salvation. That was a man-made rule. This isn't even really a Jew vs Gentile question, although it can certainly seem that way in Acts 21. Paul was telling the Galatians that if they circumcised themselves in order to be saved, they were wasting their time. Salvation is by faith, not by circumcision!

From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).

This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.

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⁣1 Samuel 17:50 says David killed Goliath, but 2 Samuel 21:19 says Elhanan killed him. So who was it?

In this video, I take a look at this supposed contradiction and explain how it's really not a contradiction at all. The key is in 1 Chronicles 20:5.

From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).

This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.

Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah
Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://social.ttn.place/jaycarper
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Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

This one is a total slam dunk for us. There is no question the first century church kept Passover. Paul explains Messiah is our Passover and what we just did is as mirrored off the first century church as was can possibly do. This is not so we can be technically accurate, although that is important. But if we are to believe in this faith, we must pattern our lives after it and fully adopt it. Belief must be manifested as a change in behavior and practices.

Printed notes available at https://firstcenturychristiani....ty.net/yes-christian

Why are Christians Keeping the Feast of Tabernacles?
The page to learn about the North Kansas City Feast site is https://firstcenturychristianity.net/fot-2025/
You may be hearing about Christians who keep the biblical festivals and are wondering what that’s all about. As it turns out, the first century church continued to observe the biblical holy days. In fact, both Gentile and Jewish people who accepted Yeshua, Jesus, as the Messiah, continued to fellowship in the synagogues for over a hundred years after Yeshua ascended. We see hints of this in the New Testament, notably at 1 Cor 5 when Paul reminds the Corinthians to continue keeping Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, the Spring biblical holy days, as an analogy for addressing some other problems in their assembly. Keeping these days were so not in doubt that Paul is able to use them as analogies, like we would use Thanksgiving or the 4th of July today. In other words, it is completely taken for granted that the gentile converts in Corinth are observing Passover that Paul is able to use that practice at a teaching tool.
What about the Feast of Tabernacles, also called Sukkot? This festival happens in the fall. It was ordained, just like Passover, as a memorial of the Exodus. The Israelites had to live in temporary dwellings for 40 years in the wilderness so this festival is a reminder of that. But it’s also a humongous celebration because they got to cross into the promised land and enjoy the food and freedom that came with living the way God intended in the land He set apart!
Passover is a memorial of the Exodus and crossing into the Promised land but we all know now that it was a prophecy of the Messiah, the Lamb of God, coming down from heaven to live a sinless life and bear our transgressions. Tabernacles follows this same pattern. It’s a memorial to living in temporary dwellings, called sukkot, the plural of sukkah. That’s a reminder that our time in this life is temporary, that there is something more out there. But there is a specific prophecy about this observance in the Old Testament book of Zechariah, chapter 14, verses 16-18. This prophecy states that at a future time, the entire world will either observe the Feat of Tabernacles. Those who don’t will die by famine because there will be no rain on their lands.
This is a future prophecy. Nothing like this has ever happened in history. Most who study prophecy and believe this will happen place the event in the 1000 year Messianic kingdom that begins when Yeshua, Jesus, returns. Whenever this happens, though, it’s a prophecy about all nations keeping the Feast of Tabernacles in the future. So many of us ask why not now?
Many Christians have returned to the practices of the first century church because it just makes sense. The bible is one story, from Genesis to Revelation, about God’s relationship with mankind and His desire to have a relationship with us. A big blessing in keeping God’s holy days is that our faith and our lifestyle become one. We who keep these days walk out our faith all year long, planning for the next set of holy days, enjoying the last ones, and living the way we believe all mankind will live when Yeshua, Jesus, returns.
We will be hosting the Feast of Tabernacles in North Kansas City this year (2025). This year, we are going to teach the basics of why the holy days apply to Christians. The dates are October 7-14 and we would love for you to join us whether you are local or coming from out of town. Please consider joining us and you can find the information and register at the FOT25 link on firstcenturychristianity.net. I will post that link wherever this gets posted. You may also join us each week for services, online or in person, every Saturday at 1pm central time.
Thanks for your time and may YHVH bless you and keep you, in the Name of His Son, Yeshua.

Authorship, structure, and purpose of the Book of Proverbs with Common Sense Bible Study