⁣I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
Romans 11:1-2 ESV

People love to use Romans and "A true Jew is one who is a Jew inwardly" to say that God has permanently rejected the Jews and canceled his covenant with them, but Paul refutes that idea in the very same letter.

The apostate Israelites of Elijah's day didn't stop being Israel because they were apostate. God always preserves a remnant of the natural descendants of Jacob and, through them, the whole nation. Nor can he reject his covenant with them. So long as God himself lives and a single descendant of Jacob lives, God cannot annul the covenant that made Israel his people.

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 Day of Trumpets, also called Yom Teruah, is an ancient Holy Day that prophecies the return of the Messiah. This knowledge has been lost since the first century.

The Torah is the Foundation
The book of Revelation quotes or alludes to the Old Testament no less than 505 times. The book of Revelation only has 404 total verses. Did you know this? Did you know that to understand what the future holds we must study the bible from Genesis 1 all the way through?
This path we are on is a fundamental re-orientation of our thought process with respect to Christianity. Almost all of us learn the NT first then think the OT is like a glossary of terms or just a place to look to bolster the information in the New Testament. This is backwards. The Torah is the foundation that informs the NT. Learning the bible in the order in which things happened, i.e., starting in Genesis and really learning the Tanakh, then learning the New Testament, is what the first century Christians did. The Messiah did not come to start a new religion but to build on existing faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc.
As we discussed in last week’s Torah portion, the order Paul refers to in Romans 13 was established through the Torah. When Paul wrote that people must be subject to governing authorities, we see that begin when Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek. Abraham was a known leader who had just won a military battle and still gave proper respect to one whose rank was higher than his. Abraham also made the deal for Sarah’s tomb in a public setting, insisting on paying full price with witnesses, so there would be no doubt of his ownership of that land.
When Paul went on to talk about honoring authorities for the sake of conscience, that also harkens back to Abraham’s servant who was trusted to bring back a bride for Isaac. Abraham could not do this work himself, so he made his servant swear to do it. His servant could have gone rogue, kept the camels and gold, and never came back. Or came back and lied. But that’s not what happened. Abraham’s servant did what was right in the sight of YHVH and Abraham even when nobody would have known he did wrong.
You see that honoring authorities is a virtue established in the earliest parts of the Old Testament. Paul was not issuing some new edict but rather re-iterating an existing biblical truth. Those of us who study the Torah while believing in Yeshua the Messiah have put the truth back in the proper order. The Torah informs the rest of the Old Testament, the Old Testament in total informs the New, and we look for the return of the Messiah who will establish peace by ushering in an orderly kingdom based on the truths we hold dear that are established from Genesis to Revelation.
Our challenge, though, is re-orienting our minds. Most of Christianity has been taught the New Testament is the foundation and the rest of the bible is just handy to have when it bolsters a point of doctrine or makes a point we want to make. It’s incredibly difficult to rebuild a foundation, especially one that is this ingrained into us. It’s akin to learning a second language. For many years, everything you learn of the foreign language will be compared to your native tongue. In fact, you may never get to the point where you can completely break from using your native tongue as the foundation.
Remember how I said that the book of Revelation quotes or alludes to the Old Testament at least 505 times? This is not unique to the book of Revelation. The Gospels refer to the OT almost constantly, too. So do the letters and epistles. If you want to understand the New Testament, you must first understand the Old. This is a tall task, but as the Messiah said, believing in Him is founded on Moses…. Because Moses wrote of Him! Shalom and have a blessed week!

⁣"HARRIS-TRUMP 2024; The Professor vs. The Prophet; Allan Lichtman's Prediction and Kim Clement's Prophecy," written, produced, narrated, and compiled by George Lujack of Scripture Truth Ministries.

⁣Tov Rose joined the Common Sense Bible Study community for a live conversation about God's Fall Feasts.

All of God's appointed times are profound illustrations of his plan of redemption over the millennia. The Sabbath, the Spring feasts, and the Fall feasts are pictures of how God wants to relate to us as well as prophetic of how his plan will play out in history. Every one of them look both forward and backward at God's interventions in history.

We talked about Yom Teruah (aka Rosh Hashanah), Yom Kippur, and Sukkot among many other topics.

Tov is the founder of the New Messianic Version (NMV) Bible Project & Foundation and has authored hundreds of articles and over twenty books including, The New Messianic Version Bible (available through the YouVersion Bible App, Bible.com, and Amazon). A few others include: The Baptism of Jesus from a Jewish Perspective, Jesus in the Old Testament, Jesus in the Targums, Jesus in the Jewish Wedding, Jesus in the Passover, The Book of GOD: For Men, and more found on this website and available through most booksellers. He has several websites you should check out:

https://TovRose.com
https://tovrose.substack.com
https://nmvbible.com
https://thehappytheologist.org

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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Messianic Torah Portion Toldot
This is a discussion on the Torah Portion called Toldot from a New Testament perspective. Topics covered:
• How covenants are often inaugurated with meals and how that ties into the New Covenant.
• How incredibly evil circumstances can be used by God to bring about His ultimate plans.
• Why we need to embrace predestination and understand it is not at odds with free will.

⁣It's amazing and beautiful to see so many people returning to God's commandments, but there is also a lot of ugliness along the way. We are still human, after all. Whether you call this movement Messianic Judaism, Hebrew Roots, Pronomianism, or something else, everyone has their own idea of what it means and how to live it out. Sometimes those differences can turn into arguments and division.

This is not how YHWH wants his people to be!

On Thursday, January 16th, Ed Doss joined the Common Sense Bible Study crew for a live conversation about Unity in the Kingdom.

Ed Doss is a former evangelist with more than 30 years of outreach and evangelistic experience. As a missionary, Ed has planted two churches in Los Angeles and Victorville, California, alongside two campus ministries in Phoenix, Arizona, and in Los Angeles. Ed served as an evangelist in the Phoenix Church of Christ for five years and founded Digging Deeper, a Biblical teaching group in Dallas that explores the often overlooked and untaught parts of Scripture.

Ed has authored papers on topics such as the six-day creation week, the two houses of Israel, and understanding the book of Job. He is the author of the book Finding the Ancient Paths: the Harmony of Law & Grace (affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4fCYEFb) and host of "Finding the Ancient Paths" on YouTube with many great videos on Biblical topics.

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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Messianic Torah Portion Vayera is the foundation for John 3:16 that God gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have everlasting life. This truth is founded upon Abraham’s willingness to slay Isaac, the son of the Promise and God substituting the ram for Isaac. In this discussion, we show how Abraham’s obedience foreshadowed the Messiah and the many direct parallels from this Torah portion to New Testament scripture.

Chanukkah and Christmas collide!
Channukkah and XMAS collide
1st night of chanukkah 12/25. The contrast is stark. But with the real history of Chanukkah from the Apocryphal book of 1 Mac.
I encourage you to read the first four chapters of 1 Mac. To get that, look at the Brenton translation of the Old Testament.
Matthew 24:15-20 is a direct reference to the Maccabean revolt and Channukkah.
The abomination of desolation had already been set up once by the Greeks. Their flight was indeed in winter. And they refused to fight the first Sabbath of the revolt due to their obedience to Torah and they lost.
The crux of this was compromise and mixing. The first time the Greeks came to Judea, they were welcomed. Many of the Israelites mixed Greek customs with Torah and compromised themselves. The Greeks came back after a battle with Egypt and compromise was no longer an option. They forced Israel to forsake the commandments. No more Sabbath, no more circumcision, no more festival days, temple defiled, and they had to eat pork. Or die. And they had to adopt the Greek holidays and culture wholesale, including the sacrificing of pigs and the eating of the same.
This was very bad. Judas Maccabeus couldn’t take it and started a revolt, ultimately pushing the Greeks out and restoring Torah to judea.
How does this align with Christmas? XMAS is a non-biblical observation where people partake in rituals derived from pagan religions and dine on pork. But they do it in the name of God. This is impossible if we understand Matthew 24 to be warning us against these abominations.
I’ll be talking about Chanukka on Friday night, December 20, on a friend’s study group if you want to learn the details about this commemoration. However, don’t lose the irony that the Greeks forced believers into pagan customs while modern Christianity voluntarily partakes. Hopefully more folks will read their bibles and history and come to the realization that the worship of Yahweh is easy if we just relent and to it the way His Son showed us. Have a blessed week!

The Christian Truth of Hanukkah
This study shows how Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, was referring to something that had already happened in Matthew 24 when He spoke of the Abomination of Desolation. In fact, His words about praying that their flight not be in winter or the Sabbath, that the would have to leave for the hills in haste, and women with children would have a difficult time were all a call-back to something that had already happened once. If you wish to understand what He was really telling them, we must study the Maccabees and the truth of Hanukkah, which contains much needed truth for Christians.

⁣And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
Romans 11:23-24 ESV

Very few native branches of Israel were left on the tree after the first few centuries of Christianity, so that today both the native and the wild branches need to be grafted back into the olive tree of Israel. God has promised that he will restore the genetic descendants of Jacob, and he has the power to do it!

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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⁣May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:5-6 ESV

Disciples of Yeshua shouldn't divide over relatively minor issues. We don't have to agree on everything, but we also shouldn't bring shame on God's name by public (or private!) bickering over matters of opinion that aren't central to our common faith in God and the Messiah of Israel.

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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Messianic Torah Portion Vayetzei means “and he left”. This portion chronicles Jacob’s departure from the land of Canaan into the land of Haran to find a wife. Jacob made a deal with God when he left and had many lessons to learn in his 21 year away. When he returns, he is a changed man who properly credits Yahweh for his deliverance and wealth. Along the way, we have a lesson on idolatry. Jacob was not raised to be an idolator but he had to live in the land of false gods for 21 years. At the end of the journey, he rightly credits the God of Abraham for his blessings and rejects idolatry. The sages associate this passage to the rejection of idolatry and we connect this to Paul’s work in Ephesus, teaching that gods made with hands are no gods at all. The lesson for us with Messianic Torah Portion Vayetzei is that we also must reject idolatry despite being immersed in a culture of false worship.

⁣Paul said we are to abhor what is evil and hold fast to what is good, but what is evil and what is good? The Bible is the only reliable source we have to identify these things. Whatever God says is evil, we should abhor. Whatever God says is good, we should hold fast to.

Food is nothing. Circumcision is nothing. Holy days are nothing. Obedience to God and relationship with him is everything, and so we abhor what he abhors and hold fast to what he holds fast.

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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⁣For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Romans 12:3 ESV

The grace Paul is speaking of is the favor God showed him in appointing him as an apostle to the nations, and all of the authority and responsibility that comes with that commission.

Grace isn't a divinely bestowed super power. It's unobligated favor, an honor bestowed on one person by another. Just as God showed Paul grace in making him a teacher and evangelist, he graces every person in his kingdom with a unique set of skills and a mission to accomplish for the his glory and for the growth of his kingdom. That doesn't mean we all have a commission as high as Paul's, but as Paul pointed out elsewhere, every part of a body is important, no matter how lowly it might seem.

God has given you grace by making you who you are and by giving you a role to play in his plan.

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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⁣Romans 11:30-32 ESV For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

How does God use our disobedience to bring us (and the Jews!) to repentance and restoration to relationship with him?

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 goal in raising children is to produce productive adults that can contribute to the betterment of mankind. Today, this is best achieved by breaking from the traditional education system in whole or in part. This is a testimonial about our experience with home schooling meant to encourage others who are looking for alternatives. Tips for how to home school or employ alternative paths while keeping your children in the government schools can be found at https://firstcenturychristiani....ty.net/homeschooling

Mainstream Christianity First Century Christianity
Go to church on Sunday or Keep the Sabbath
Sunday, Christmas, Easter or The Holy Days of the Bible
Dead people are now spirits or Dead people are dead awaiting resurrection
Trinity is mandatory or Accepting Yeshua as the Messiah and Son of God is the key to life
Works optional/not required or Repentance and change mandatory
Goal of life is going to heaven or Being in a better resurrection/the kingdom of God/ the Olam Haba
Old Testament for reference onlyor The Old Testament was the only bible they had for decades
Christianity is a different/new religion pr Christianity is the continuation of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

⁣In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses his sons, but many of these blessings sound more like curses. What's really going on? By recognizing who each of his sons were and prophesying over them accordingly, Jacob set them on a course to reinforce each other's strengths and minimize each other's weaknesses.

This is how the body of Christ should be. A blessing for one of us should be a blessing to all of us, and a curse to one of us should be an opportunity to defend and encourage a brother, not to tear him down.

Wild Branch Community is a home fellowship of Torah-observant believers in Texas between Houston and Austin. Find out more about us at https://WildBranchTX.org.

⁣As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
Romans 14:1 ESV

Are the "weak in faith" those people who believe trying to obey the Law or in keeping those commandments that are distinctively "Jewish"? Or are they people who are so afraid of breaking an actual commandment that they add all kinds of new rules just to be safe?

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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