Before we journey through Sha’ul’s letter to the Nazarene assembly of
Hebrews in Israel, there are a few things we must consider. In this
Introduction, I will provide very short summaries of topics found in
other books in my Original Revelation Series:
· Sha’ul the
Leader of the Nazarenes
· Book of Hebrews
Twisted by Christian Translators
·
“The Faith of Abraham” is based on The Ancient Path of Enoch
·
Sha’ul takes the Gospel The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel called
“Gentiles”
Each topic above is covered in great detail in my book series. The truth
of these topics will be critical to understanding the Book of Hebrews
and providing an accurate “in context” rendering of the text. For that
reason, you must read my book series as a study guide, or you will never
fully comprehend the degree we have been misled concerning Sha’ul’s
writings, the NT, and the Tanahk! For more information see my book
Overcoming the Lying Pen of the Scribe.
Buy Now!
Rav Sha’ul was a Nazarene or Notsri not what we would consider a
Christian. The fact that Sha’ul was not only a Nazarene, but the “Leader
of the Sect of Nazarenes”
indicates what Sha’ul believed and taught in the letters that survive
today. We must go back to the first century to identify what the
Nazarenes believed and put Sha’ul’s writings in that context.
Each letter we have written by Sha’ul to the Nazarene assemblies was
written to a unique audience with unique challenges he addressed. When
attempting to understand any one letter, we must put them into context
of all his writings and teachings. What Sha’ul mentions in passing in
one letter is explained in more detail in another. What the assembly in
Rome faced, believed, and required was different than what the assembly
in Galatia faced, believed, and required. We must assume there are many
letters written to these assemblies we do not have. What he taught each
assembly was most probably taught to all, we just no longer have those
letters. For this reason, a solid understanding of all his surviving
letters must be brought to bear on each individual letter.
The Book of Hebrews is very deep as it was written to the Jews in Israel
who knew The Law and the role of the Priesthood. Sha’ul was also a
leading Pharisee of his day meaning he was an expert in the Torah and
Prophets. Being a Pharisee, he was also intimately familiar with the
oral traditions and human commands keeping the Jews (the House of Judah)
in bondage to the establishment. This “establishment” of Pharisees,
Sadducees, and Levites who controlled the synagogues and Temple had lost
their way by denying The Heavenly Scroll coming out of Babylonian
captivity. The entire religion of Judaism is a Hellenized religion and
as pagan as Christianity as a result. As
we come out of total paganism (Christianity) and realize that we are to
keep The Holy Days of Yahuah, we naturally look to Judaism for the
answers. What we do not realize is, Judaism is a Hellenized pagan
religion as much as Christianity!
Hellenization - Wikipedia
“The twentieth century witnessed a lively debate over the extent of
Hellenization in the Levant and particularly among the ancient
Palestinian Jews that has continued until today. The Judaism of the
diaspora was thought to have succumbed thoroughly to its influences.
Bultmann thus argued that Christianity arose almost completely
within those Hellenistic confines and should be read against that
background as opposed to a more traditional (Palestinian) Jewish
background”
Being mentored by Gamaliel who was the most famous Rabbi in Jewish
history; there was no one more qualified to break these bonds and
confront the establishment than Sha’ul the Apostle.
All accusations that Sha’ul was
a “false teacher” are based on mistranslated texts by the pagan Roman
Christian Church. Please see my book The Law and The Pauline Doctrine for
the truth of what Sha’ul taught and to overcome the twisted Greek
appropriate lie that is … The Pauline Doctrine.
Buy Now!
Sha’ul was not a Roman Hellenized Christian but a Hebrew Nazarene. This
is stated clearly in the Book of Acts:
Acts 24:5-6
“For we have found this man to be a pest and a mover of sedition
among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the
sect of the Nazarenes: Who also hath gone about to profane the
Temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law”
Sha’ul, like John the Baptist and Yahusha the Messiah, was the leading
figure in defense of the Ancient Enochian Path (The Heavenly Scroll),
the written Torah, Prophets, and Messiah. That is what being a Nazarene
was all about 2000 years ago and remains true today. I will establish
these beliefs in this book and then use that context to understand the
Book of Hebrews.
All Nazarenes kept the hidden mysteries of Yahuah dating back to Enoch.
They were to guard these mysteries, watch over and protect them! They
were fierce opponents of all forms of paganism including the Babylonian
Talmud and Hellenism (the worship of Greek gods and twisting of The
Heavenly Scroll into what we know as the Zodiac today).
The Nazarenes rejected Incarnation outright and any concept associated
with Babylonian demi-gods:
·
They rejected the Virgin Birth and the Trinity
· Proclaimed the
Name of The Creator Yahuah and that He is the only God
·
Followed the ancient Enochian Path (Enoch
Calendar and Enoch Zodiac)
· Rejected the
worship of the Messiah as a demi-god believing him to have been to two
human parents a mother and a father
· Refused the
label “Christians” outright and felt it slanderous
The word Nazarenes means “followers of the Branch” which was
foretold in what the Bible calls The Heavenly Scroll given to Enoch.
They “admit” the stars and constellations proclaim a message to all
mankind and followed The Ancient Way of Enoch they called The Way.
This ancient path was rejected by the Hebrew people over time and
carried forward in secret by the Zadok Priesthood:
Jeremiah 6:16
This is what Yahuah says: "Stand at the
crossroads and look; ask for the ancient (Enochian)
paths, ask where “the
good way” is, and walk in The Way (of
Enoch), and you will find
rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'”
Isaiah 48:3-6
3 I foretold the former things long ago (written
in the stars on Day 4 of Creation), My mouth announced them (to
My Prophets via The Heavenly Scroll) and I made them known (to
all mankind written in the stars - Psalm 19, Enoch 35:3 - given to
all mankind - Deuteronomy - 3:19); then suddenly I acted, and
the message proclaimed by the stars/constellations came to pass (at
the end of the Age of Aries). 4 For I knew how stubborn you
were; your neck muscles were iron; your forehead
was bronze. 5 Therefore I told you these things (in
The Heavenly Scroll) long ago (at
Creation so that you are without excuse because Yahuah is known
through His Handiwork - Romans 1:20, Enoch 35:3); before they
were fulfilled I announced the Plan of Salvation to you (in
The Heavenly Scroll) so that you could not say, ‘My images
brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained
them.’ 6 You have heard these things (that
the stars proclaim day after day, night after night to all mankind
as a witness - Psalm 19, Isaiah 48:111-15, Isaiah 40:26); look
at all the stars/constellation. WILL
YOU NOT ADMIT THEM (the
Sun/stars/constellations are The Word of His Testimony called
The Way)?
Isaiah 48:11-15
11 For My
Own Sake, for My Own Sake I will do it; for how could dishonor come
to My Name? I will not give My Glory (as
Creator) to another! 12 Listen to Me, O Jacob and Israel, My
Called; I am He; I am the Aleph, I also am the Tav. 13 My Hand has
laid the foundation of the Earth (by
Himself - Isaiah 44:24), and My Right Hand has spanned
(Authored) The Heavenly Scroll;
when I summon the Sun/stars/constellations together,
they will minister together as a Divine Counsel to all
mankind (to proclaim His
Handiwork/The Messiah/Plan of Salvation - Psalm 19, Enoch 35:3). 14 All
of you, gather yourselves together and hear (what
the Sun/stars/constellations proclaim day after day, night after
night - Psalm 19, Enoch 35:3)! Who among them has foretold
these things in the Shamayim (heaven/stars)? Yahuah
has loved him (Spoken of in The Heavenly
Scroll; Yahusha); He will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his
arm will be on the Chaldeans. 15 I, even I, have spoken (LOGOS/DABAR –
‘Spoken Promise’); yes, I have called him (Yahusha -
Luke 4:18). I have brought him (forth
as The Branch as My Eternal High Priest see - Zechariah 3:8),
and his example, The Way,
(example of Mikveh,
Circumcision, and Offering) will
succeed (in producing Perfection and
Resurrection CAPRICORNUS/AQUARIUS called “The Doctrine of
Righteousness”).
Isaiah 40:26
Lift up your
eyes and look to The Heavenly Scroll: Who created all these stars
and constellations? He Who brings out the Starry Host (constellations
‘Host stars’) in order (of
the Sun’s path) one by one and calls forth each of the
constellations by name (called The
Heavenly Host or Host of Heaven which witness of the coming Messiah
– Psalm 19). Because of His Great Power and Mighty strength,
not one of the constellations are missing (there
are 12 major Signs along the ecliptic plane in every culture over
the history of mankind). If you would admit they
proclaim (Isaiah 48:3-6)
my Father’s Testimony (in the
stars which witness about Yahusha),
Enoch 35:3
I blessed Yahuah of glory, who had made those great and splendid
signs (of
the Zodiac),
that they might display the magnificence of his works (The
Plan of Salvation -Psalms 19)
to angels and to the souls of men; and that these (splendid
signs in The Heavenly Scroll)
might glorify all his works and operations; might see the effect of
his power; might glorify the great labor of his hands; and bless him
forever.
Sha’ul was a leader of the “sect of the Nazarenes” who followed The Way
of Enoch:
For more on this topic, read my book The Nazarene.
Concerning the Nazarenes in the first century, the Christian Church
father Epiphanius tells us:
Epiphanius; Panarion 29:9:4, A.D. 374.
“But these sectarians… did not call themselves Christians – but
“Nazarenes” [Natsarim] . . . However, they are simply complete Jews.
They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well,
as the Jews do… They have no different ideas but confess everything
exactly as The Law proclaims it and in the Jewish fashion – except
for their belief in Messiah, if you please! For they acknowledge
both the Resurrection of the dead and the Divine Creation of all
things, and declare that God is One, and that His son is Yahusha The
Messiah. They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. For among them the
entire Law (Torah), the Prophets, and the… Writings … are read in
Hebrew, as they surely are by the Jews. They are different from the
Jews, and different from Christians, only in the following. They
disagree with Jews because they have come to Faith in Messiah; but
since they are still fettered by The Law – Circumcision, the
Sabbath, and the rest – they are not in accord with Christians . . .
they are nothing but Jews… They have the Gospel according to Matthew
in its entirety in Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve
this, in the Hebrew alphabet, as it was originally written.”
Based on the above historical account, a Nazarene was what Epiphanius
called “a complete Jew”. But what else did they believe? John the
Baptist rose to the position of Zadok High Priest with the Spirit of
Elijah, the “Great Nazarene Teacher of Righteousness”. Those who
followed John were originally of the sect of the Essenes. This new sect
who followed John the Baptist became known as
Nazarenes. As John taught
them The Heavenly Scroll where the Messiah is called The Branch.
Almah
(VIRGO)
– Maiden, Virtuous Bride
A young
maiden (Hebrew
‘almah’) will
give a virgin birth (he
will be her firstborn son to open up her virgin womb)
to a beautiful Glorious
and Righteous Branch. The seed (star
Spica) of the
woman will be a man
of humiliation (Suffering
Servant/Spring Feasts)
to rise to be the Desire of Nations (King
of Kings) and
will become exalted first as Shepherd (High
Priest) then
as Harvester (Conquering
King/Fall Feasts).
John was a prophet and High Priest, the son of the Priest Zechariah. We
see that John taught The Way as “the rising sun (zodiac) will come to us
from Shamayim/stars” called The Heavenly Scroll.
Luke
1:76-79 76
And you, my child, will be called a
Prophet of the Most High (for proclaiming
The Heavenly Scroll/Plan of Salvation); for you will go on
before The Messiah to prepare THE WAY for him, 77 to give his people
the Knowledge of Salvation through the forgiveness of their sins (through
MIKVEH called The Way), 78 because of the tender Mercy of our
Elohim, BY WHICH THE RISING SUN WILL COME TO US FROM THE HEAVENLY
SCROLL (Psalm 19, Enoch 35:3, Isaiah
48:3-6, Isaiah 40:26)!
We know more about the Nazarenes by examining their origin as Essenes
and Ebionites:
From “Ebionites &
Nazarenes: Tracking the Original Followers of Jesus” by James Tabor:
This Ebionite/Nazarene movement was made up of mostly Jewish
followers of John the Baptizer and later Jesus, who were
concentrated in Palestine and surrounding regions and led by “James
the Just” (the brother of Jesus), and flourished between the years
30-80 C.E. Non-Jews were certainly part of the mix but the dominant
ethos of the group was an adherence to live according to Jewish law
(Galatians 2:14). They were zealous for the Torah and continued to
observe the mitzvot (Commandments) as enlightened by their Rabbi and
Teacher…
-
Nazarene comes from the Hebrew word Netzer (drawn from Isaiah 11:1
and the Constellation VIRGO) and means “a Branch”—so the Nazarenes
were the “Branchites” or followers of the one they believed to be
the Branch–that is the Davidic Messiah…
- Referred
to themselves as The Way, Perhaps their most common designation was
the Yachad–the brotherhood
-
They were bitterly opposed to the corrupt Priests in Jerusalem, to
the Herods, and even to the Pharisees whom they saw as compromising
with that establishment to get power and influence from the
Hellenistic/Roman powers.
-
They had their own developed Halacha (interpretation of Torah)
- They accept
Paul (with caution) and believe in some aspect of the divinity of
Jesus (after his resurrection), even possibly the virgin birth (as
simply a sign) but viewed him as “adopted” as Son of God at his
baptism.
-
Belief that Jesus as a human being with a father and a mother
-
Sought out the “Path” reflected in the pre-Sinai revelation,
especially the time from Enoch to Noah.
-
Dedication to following the whole Torah, as applicable to Israel and
to Gentiles, but through the “easy yoke” or the “Torah of liberty”
of their Teacher Jesus, which emphasized the Spirit of the Biblical
Prophets in a restoration of the “True Faith,” the Ancient Paths
(Jeremiah 6:16; Matthew 11:28-30; James 2:8-13; Matthew 5:17-18;
9:13; 12:7), from which, by and large, they believed the
establishment Jewish groups of 2nd Temple times had departed.
-
Rejection of the “doctrines and traditions” of men, which they
believed had been added to the pure Torah of Moses, including
scribal alterations of the texts of Scripture (Jeremiah 8:8).
From these historical records combined with the proper interpretation of
the Scriptures, we can confidently say Sha’ul:
· Put his
faith in The Heavenly Scroll called the ancient path where the Plan of
Salvation is laid out and Yahuah bears witness of Yahusha
·
Believed in the intent of the written Torah and rejected the human
traditions of Rabbinical Judaism known today as The Talmud.
· Believed
that Yahusha the Nazarene was the Messiah.
· Rejected
the labels “Jew and Christian”
· Rejected
the worship of the Messiah and later the name “Jesus”
· Believed
the Messiah was born to two human parents
· Rejected
the efforts of the Christopagans to drag believers into Lawlessness and
pagan rituals.
· Called
upon and spoke the full Name of the Creator Yahuah.
· Kept and
taught his assemblies to keep the Sabbath and Holy Days.
· Observed
the sacred Enochian calendar not the solar calendar.
· Rejected
Incarnation.
·
Taught the ‘intent’ of The Law over the
letter.
· Believed
that Yahusha is Yahuah’s Firstborn AGAIN
Son, adopted upon his
Mikveh!
· Rejected
the Greek Hellenistic Mindset.
· Kept
Circumcision, the Sabbath, and Holy Days
What we find today is a "movement" among almost all Scholars who have
come to recognize that Sha'ul's writings were twisted, mistranslated,
and intentionally altered by Christianity to "do away with The Law"!
Textual Critics are finding many instances in the modern English
translations as well as with the Greek copies of the original Hebrew
scripts, where the translators subtracted words and then added words and
phrases to twist Sha’ul’s writings to create The Pauline Doctrine.
It is admitted among Scholars that Sha'ul did not intend to teach
against ‘The’ Law, Feasts, and Sabbaths of the Most High. Let me
quote from The Jerusalem Perspective which is a Christian site of true
scholars and textual critics:
Source: ‘The Western
Captivity of the Apostle Sha’ul’ by Jack Poirier columnist for
The Jerusalem Perspective.
"No area of modern textual
criticism is more prominent, and theologically momentous, than the
developments that have taken place in the past forty years
concerning our understanding of what the books of Romans and
Galatians are all about.
"It is now a commonplace
observation among scholars that Sha’ul’s most basic convictions were
misrepresented by the most dominant streams of Western theology.
Although a more detailed discussion would include a number of lesser
figures as well, it is significant that the principal culprits in
the Westernization of Sha’ul (e.g., Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Karl
Barth, et al.) are all deserving of chapter (on how Sha’ul's was
misrepresented in their teachings) in a general history of the
Church. This shows how central the interpretation of Sha’ul is to
the Christian history of ideas. As it goes with Sha’ul, so with the
Church."
And there you have it... Sha'ul's writings were twisted by the Greek
‘exactly’ as Jeremiah, Peter and Sha'ul warned us they would be.
1 Corinthians 1:23
but we
preach the Messiah crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and
foolishness to Greeks---
2 Peter 3:16-17
Sha’ul writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of
these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to
understand, which ignorant and unstable (Greek)
people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own
destruction. --- Therefore, dear friends, since you have been
forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by
the error of the ‘Lawless’ and fall from your secure position.
Jeremiah 8:7-9
7
But My people do not know the ordinance of Yahuah (Eternally
preserved in the stars - Psalm 119:89, Psalm 89:2).
8 How can you say, we are wise men (h2450
chakam - 'astrologers'),
And the Word of Yahuah's Testimony (that
Yahusha is The Branch foretold in The Heavenly Scroll)
is with us? But behold, the ‘lying
pen of the scribes’ has made My Word (LOGOS/DABAR
- 'Spoken Promise in the beginning' Eternally preserved in
The Heavenly Scroll - Psalm 119:89)
into a lie (by
removing The Word of His Testimony).
9 The wise men (h2450
chakam – ‘astrologers’)
are put to shame (for
twisting The Heavenly Scroll into Incarnation the 'Mystery' of the
Babylonian Zodiac called The Way of the Gentiles),
They are dismayed (Jeremiah
10:2)
and caught (in
idolatry - Deuteronomy 4:19);
Behold, they have rejected the Word of My Testimony (The
Heavenly Scroll),
And what kind of wisdom do they have (because
the Scriptures are literally based on The Heavenly Scroll/Plan of
Salvation/LOGOS written in the stars at Creation which is what
Yahusha came to fulfill - Hebrews 10:7, Matthew 6:10)?
