Breaking news...Introducing Jewish Roots Teaching (PDF and Podcast)
~ Downloads and Summary ~
Click here to download the PDF presentation (399KB).
Click to listen to MP3 audio file (96MB, 1 hr 42 mins 37 secs).
Click here to download the PDF timeline of modern history regarding the fulfilment of prophecy (12KB).
The following is an outline of the main content and sections of this teaching session, originally given in September 2007.
A Jewish Roots example…
The teaching session is introduced by looking at Yeshua’s teaching on “New wine, and old wineskins”.
It comes at a time when Jesus is questioned about the fasting policy of his disciples (just after the calling of Matthew, as the disciples are enjoying themselves and not fasting like John the Baptist’s disciples and the Pharisees – see Matthew 9:14-17 and cf. Mark 2:18-22 and Luke 5:33-39.
“Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. “No-one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ?Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
We recognise that this passage has nothing to do with the false, yet common, Christian conclusion that Yeshua was introducing a new replacement for the Judaism of the Hebrew Scriptures (the ‘Old Testament’), but more that he was talking about the necessary flexibility and qualities of a teachable spirit – learners who want to learn and be challenged by new ideas… new things that God wants us to grasp and understand.
We conclude that God is not just introducing “new” teaching in our generation, but also recognises that we only have this teaching because God is doing something NEW in our time… restoring Israel, the Jews, and the Church.
Prophecy Is Being Fulfilled!
This section that looks at Ezekiel’s “Valley of Dry bones” in chapter 37:
“Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
~ Ezekiel 37: 4-6 ~
And especially how the modern State of Israel can be seen as a direct fulfilment of this prophecy: formed together (1948), adding flesh and substance to the land and the people… eagerly awaiting a renewal by the Ruach (Spirit) of God to be blown into their nostrils. These are exciting times, and just one output from these events is a growing number of Jewish people who are reading, studying and understanding the Hebrew Scriptures AND the New Testament (B’rit Hadasha) from a Jewish perspective and adding immense depth and value to our traditional Christian understanding!
Forming One New Man
An historical context and timeline for the relationship between the Church and the Jewish people. This includes the journey we are making to become closer to each other as distant siblings coming back together after a long separation – moving towards a fulfilment of Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:14-16 (JNT):
“He has made us both one and has broken down the dividing wall which divided us by destroying in his own body the enmity occasioned by the Torah, with its commandments set forth in the form of ordinances. He did this in order to create in union with himself from the two groups, one new man and thus make peace”
Signs Of The Times
This section looks at the prophetic times and seasons of the journey Judaism and Christianity has made in more recent history, primarily since the mid-1800s. It shows that key events have accelerated in their frequency, and examines some of the key milestones to have happened in recent years, including the emergence of Jewish roots study, theology and teaching.
It also looks at how these events can be seen as the budding of the Fig Tree, as per Yeshua’s words in Luke 21: 25-31 (esp. vv 29-31):
"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
