Messianic Apologetics: Recent Episodes
Messianic Apologetics
In what way is Yeshua the Messiah the Alef and the Tav? Some interesting teachings circulate around the Messianic movement about the first and last Hebrew letters, and their association with Yeshua.
Our small book on the moedim or appointed times, is a very useful research for introducing people to the Biblical holidays and whether or not they were abolished in the New Testament.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee surveys the Book of Hosea from a Messianic perspective.
What does it mean that “Jesus declared all foods clean”? Does this mean that the kosher dietary laws were abolished by the Messiah? I am confused.
I heard a Messianic teacher say that the armor of God is not the armor of a Roman soldier, but really the garments of a Levitical priest serving in the Temple. Do you have an opinion about this? Is this a valid understanding?
What does your ministry think about the metaphorical view of eternal punishment? Could you explain this view to me more fully?
John McKee discusses the development of the Messianic Fall Holiday Helper, originally released in spiral comb (2004), but later appropriately expanded and updated as new needs presented themselves.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee surveys the Book of Ezekiel from a Messianic perspective.
Why are there so many leaders in the Messianic movement who call themselves “rabbi”? Yeshua explicitly forbade this in Matthew 23:8.
Why does the Hebrew Roots movement have such a negative reputation in the Messianic Jewish movement? Why is it looked at as a spiritual plague?
I am a non-Jewish Messianic Believer, and have been told that my calling as a “Messianic Gentile” is to go back to a church, and not become Torah observant. I am told that I must follow “Paul’s rule,” and that seeking to live more like Yeshua and His Apostles would violate both it and my distinct “calling,” and likely nullify God’s special calling on the Jewish people. I should instead simply help Christians in church, not too interested in their Jewish Roots, be more favorable to Israel and Jewish issues. Can you please help me?
I have encountered a Messianic Jewish teaching which states that only the Jewish people are obligated to keep Torah, because they are circumcised. Is this what Galatians 5:2-3 really communicates? I am confused.
The Statement of Faith contains the central beliefs of Outreach Israel Ministries and Messianic Apologetics. The Second Statement details a number of secondary and debated matters, witnessed across the Messianic spectrum.
Today’s McKee Moment discusses what may shift, after the 2025 Fall High Holidays and Sukkot.
Today’s McKee Moment reviews some of the most significant aspects of the nature of the Messiah.
Today’s McKee Moment reviews the faultily of trying to calculate the time of the Messiah’s return.
Today’s McKee Moment reviews how it has been a full two years, since the tragic attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Today’s McKee Moment discusses how a major part of our apologetics work, will be seen in alerting many in the Messianic community to the growing anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the significance of the Book of Ecclesiastes, providing a theological and composition summary.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee offers some important thoughts for this year’s Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the issue prompted by Zechariah 8:23, and the issue of ten from the nations grabbing old to the garment of a Jew. To what degree is this possibly occurring today, in the experience of present Messianic Judaism?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the actual meaning of 2 Corinthians 5:8. In light of the recent death of Charlie Kirk and hearing “absent from the body, home with the Lord,” some who promote psychopannchy (“soul sleep”) have been expressing themselves. What was the actual expectation of Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:8?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the difference between apodictic and casuistic law within the Torah. What kinds of Torah commandments are immutable principles, versus others which may have constituted Ancient Israelite case law?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
John McKee delivers the September 2025 Outreach Israel News update. How much do today’s Messianic people really know about the Pastoral Epistles of 1&2 Timothy and Titus?
During this special Family Unfiltered episode of Messianic Insider, Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee, and his sister, Jane McKee Ferguson, discuss some of the significant impact the recent death of Charlie Kirk has had on Millennials and Generation-Z.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews Colossians 2:16-17. We are in the middle of the Fall High Holidays, meaning that some well meaning person, sooner or later, is likely to tell a Messianic Believer not to “judge them,” as a result of observing the Leviticus 23 appointed times. What was the original context of Colossians 2:16-17, especially in light of the false teaching and false philosophy, in Colossae, which degraded the completed work of Yeshua?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews John 3:12-13. Does this passage definitively speak against a Believer’s consciousness going to Heaven at time of death? Or, is there some context which some have overlooked?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
We have just started the Ten Days of Awe, between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, and with it there is certainly going to be discussion about the future resurrection of the dead. Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses various expectations in the Tanach (OT) regarding death.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee wishes you all chag sameach for this Rosh HaShanah (Feast of Trumpets)!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some of the past experiences he has had, in remembering the Fall High Holidays.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Eitz Chaim Plano, TX - 20 September, 2025Outreach Israel Ministries director, and Eitz Chaim elder, Mark Huey, gives a testimony on the tragic death of Charlie Kirk.
With Rosh HaShanah and the blowing of the shofar soon upon us, Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the issue of the “last trumpet.” Many are anticipating the pre-tribulation rapture very soon. How Biblical is this?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the significance of Paul’s Epistle of Ephesians, providing a theological and composition summary.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the matter of the Star of David, a significant symbol of both Jewish and Messianic Jewish identity. Is the Star of David something to be regarded as having originated in paganism? Or, is the six-pointed star a geometric shape, just like many others?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews Galatians 4:8-11. Did the Apostle Paul forthrightly condemn the Galatians for observing the seventh-day Sabbath and appointed times? Or, are there some ancient background issues which need to be taken into consideration, when properly reviewing the Galatian error?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the possible significance of the assembly of Laodicea, witnessed in Revelation.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Today’s McKee Moment discusses how right now, with various tensions in the world, there are many Believers who are just flat afraid.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews Exodus 16:22-30 and the issue of Ancient Israel having to keep the Sabbath, before the formal giving of the Decalogue on Mount Sinai. What questions has this raised about the institution of the Sabbath, possibly being something which preceded the community of Israel?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the significance of Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians, providing a theological and composition summary.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the issue of Deuteronomy 12:15-17. Does it actually assume that a man in Ancient Israel could be married to two women at the same time? Or is a closer look required?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the issue of what I means for non-Jewish Believers to be grafted-in to the olive tree, from Romans 11:16-24.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the topic of the Lord’s Supper or communion. How has this been frequently approached, or not, within much of today’s Messianic movement?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the issue of what is commonly termed “male headship” from Ephesians 5:23. What are some of the differences between those who hold to complementarianism, versus those who hold to egalitarianism? Is it indeed possible that the term kephalē does not mean “authority,” but instead “source” or “origin”?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the significance of the Song of Songs, providing a theological and composition summary.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the highly contested issue of 1 Corinthians 11 and head covering garments. Many scholars agree that the the original Corinthian issue, was actually one of male and female hairstyles. If this was the case, then Messianic men wearing the kippah/yarmulke, or women wearing various scarves, would be one entirely of tradition and optional by choice—not prohibited or mandated.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews what “the fullness of the nations” actually is in Romans 11:25. Is it somehow connected to the prophecy of Genesis 48:19? Or is it instead connected to Romans 11:12 immediately preceding?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the impact that a fundamentalist mode of thought has had, on a great deal of the contemporary Messianic movement.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the complexities of Colossians 1:15-20. What does this passage communicate about the nature of Yeshua? In what significant way was Yeshua depicted as sharing some of the same qualities as the figure of Wisdom—but also be significantly different than Wisdom?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses Revelation 6:9-11, and the matter of the “souls under the altar.” Is this to be taken as some sort of metaphor or chorus, or actual disembodied people in Heaven, crying out to God to get on with the future of salvation history?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews what is going to happen, when Believers “meet” the Lord in the air at His return.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses whether or not the term “Gentile” always means “pagan.” Many non-Jewish people within the Messianic sphere of influence find the term “Gentile” to be offensive, and seek various alternatives to be employed such as “nations.” What are some of the dynamics of this which need to be recognized?This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the identity of the “lost sheep of the House of Israel”? Many in the Two-House sub-movement conclude that Yeshua was speaking of the exiled Northern Kingdom of Israel/Ephraim. Throughout a great deal of Messianic Judaism, Yeshua going to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel” is used to support the importance of Jewish evangelism. A more detailed, text conscious review is needed.This is then followed by a review of important stories and issues from the past day or so, largely witnessed on social media.
John McKee delivers the August 2025 Outreach Israel News update. Is it irrefutably true that the Messiah said that the Kingdom would be transferred from the Jewish people, to the Gentile Church?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews Jeremiah 29:1-20, and its specific reference to “a hope and a future.” What was the original context, in which this declaration was made?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reflects on the October 2009 edition of Outreach Israel News: “Is God’s Purpose Bigger?”As I have interacted with many Messianic Believers, Jewish and non-Jewish, over the years, they instinctively feel that a time is going to have to come where we move beyond the things which have held us back. Many people honestly do throw their hands up in the air and ask, “What happened to the love and grace of Yeshua? What happened to the work of the Holy Spirit? Where is God really leading us?”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reflects on the significance of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the parable of the prodigal son, from Luke 15:11-32. What important points can we take from this significant teaching of the Messiah? What do we need to be focusing on, as we wait for Yom Kippur?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics discusses some of the specific details witnessed in Jeremiah 16:11-21, as “all lies” is a frequent Hebrew Roots sound-byte derived from this passage.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the important matters encountered in the healing of Naaman the Aramean (Syrian) from 2 Kings 5.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the important message of Romans 12 and what it means to be a living sacrifice. But is this something which is just for individuals, or is it also something which is to apply corporately to the Body of Messiah?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how 2 Chronicles 7:14 will be affluently spoken by many religious conservatives. What is the wider passage, in which this statement was originally delivered? How can we have a better handle on this message?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics discusses how Millennialism has affected people both theologically and sociologically.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee raises a number of critical points, regarding the place of apologetics in one’s theological and spiritual understanding.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how many have an overly-negative view of the Pharisees, when they really should not.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how Titus 1:14 can be easily misunderstood and misapplied, in our growing time of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the impact of supersessionism or replacement theology. There is a sliding scale to be observed, ranging from what is seen in both the progressive Left and conservative right—all the way to the approaches witnessed within the Messianic sphere of influence.
I have heard many Messianic Believers claim that the Torah existed before Mount Sinai, and that Abraham kept it. To what degree is this actually true?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee summarizes the concept of bilateral ecclesiology, adhered to in various sectors of today’s Messianic movement.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses whether or not your congregation or fellowship has adequately troubleshooted what to do—when some notable sectors of people show up at your assembly.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some of the approaches to the parable of the vineyard-landowner-wicked tenants from Matthew 21:33-46. Is it actually supportive of replacement theology, or is some more attention to detail needed?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics discusses some of difficulties today’s Messianic people have in approaching a rather mundane theological debate such as pre- versus post-trib.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the challenges presented by Romans 10:5 and its quotation of Leviticus 18:5. Does the Torah actually teach that by keeping its commandments, a person can earn eternal life? Did Yeshua ever teach that by keeping the Torah’s commandments, a person can earn eternal life?Part 4 of 4
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how one’s ecclesiology (the study of the ekklesia/assembly/church) can affect one’s approach to eschatology (the end-times).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses what are today’s four main gateways to apostasy from faith in Yeshua: (1) denial of Messiahship, (2) Bible difficulties, (3) deconstruction, and (4) religious scandals. Will there be more to add to this list?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the challenges presented by Galatians 3:12 and its quotation of Leviticus 18:5. Does the Torah actually teach that by keeping its commandments, a person can earn eternal life? Did Yeshua ever teach that by keeping the Torah’s commandments, a person can earn eternal life?Part 3 of 4
Many people throughout the broad Messianic sphere of influence believe that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew. Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some of the major views present in New Testament scholarship, regarding the original language of Matthew.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the major spiritual paths which have been presented to people within the broad Messianic and Hebrew Roots sphere of influence: works, identity, destiny.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the challenges presented by Luke 10:28 and its quotation of Leviticus 18:5. Does the Torah actually teach that by keeping its commandments, a person can earn eternal life? Did Yeshua ever teach that by keeping the Torah’s commandments, a person can earn eternal life?Part 2 of 4
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee examines one of the most common claims of the pre-tribulation rapture: Believers are spared from the wrath of God.What is the wrath of God ultimately considered to be? The future Tribulation period, or eternal punishment?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the challenges presented by Leviticus 18:5. Does the Torah actually teach that by keeping its commandments, a person can earn eternal life?Part 1 of 4
John McKee discusses how there is a huge feeling among many Messianic people, that the proverbial walls have begun to “close in.” How do we approach matters of the Last Days, end-time prophecy, and the return of the Messiah, in as calm and rational a matter as possible? What do each of us need to be doing, as we anticipate God’s plan for Israel and the world, taking greater shape?
Today's Messianic movement really does not know what to do with Pentateuchal source criticism.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews how Bible students can often approach the proposal that Genesis chs. 1 & 2 are two accounts of Creation.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee goes through a number of the experiences our family and ministry have had, over the past decade, in moving back to North Texas and getting re-associated with the Messianic Jewish community.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews how Messianic people approach authorship of the Torah or Pentateuch, and typically do not have an easy job sorting through proposals of the critical tradition.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the ongoing controversies, present within the Messianic sphere of influence, regarding Acts 15:21. There is a stress on how far too much importance has been placed on this verse, and not enough on Acts 15:15.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the 144,000 sealed servants of Revelation chs. 7 & 14.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some of the critical questions raised by Isaiah 24:5. Are the nations only responsible for violating the Noadhic Covenant, or was something broader intended by “eternal covenant”?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the theological proposal, as to whether or not Paul spoke autobiographically in Romans 7 of himself.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews a number of issues involving Biblical reliability, which can often be associated with discussing the Messiahship of Yeshua. Part 2 of 2.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the importance of the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Tanach (OT), for Biblical Studies.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the funeral customs and traditions, observed across the Messianic spectrum.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews a number of issues involving Biblical reliability, which can often be associated with discussing the Messiahship of Yeshua. Part 1 of 2.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee sorts through a number of the difficult questions raised by both Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 7:12.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how today’s Messianic Jewish movement commonly approaches the main English titles for the Supreme Being: “God” and “Lord.”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee goes through some of the significant challenges present to many people—especially those of the younger generation—as it involves our present world of technology, the Information Age, and perspectives on social media.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee answers the false claim that the born again experience occurs at the resurrection of the dead.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses what the theological term “psychopannychy” involves and concerns.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some recent matters which have been raised to his attention, involving (a) the stream of apostasy present in the United Methodist Church, (b) various developments within Pronomian Christianity, and (c) ongoing theological developments in Messianic Judaism.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee addresses whether the issues Bible readers encounter in Genesis chs. 1-11 are to be (1) mainly regarded as themes of Ancient Near Eastern literature in Israel’s Scriptures, or (2) absolute imperatives of the scientific discipline.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews what the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:25-27 principally involves.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee summarizes some of the discussions in Pauline Studies as to whether or not “works of law” in Galatians and Romans means just (a) observing the Torah/Law in general, or (b) some kind of specified application/halachah or club rules.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses why many believe that there will be a Third Temple rebuilt, prior to the return of Israel’s Messiah.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews three main aspects of eschatology or the end-times: (1) millennialism, (2) rapture debate, (3) life adjustments.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some little known information on Matthew 28:1 and whether or not Yeshua the Messiah was actually raised on Sunday morning.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews and analyzes some of the significant insecurities demonstrated by many of today’s Messianic people. In our days of uncertainty, how do we acknowledge these challenges, and hopefully see them resolved? Part 2 of 2
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses a rather unknown and inconvenient matter for many Messianic people: Jewish atheism.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses a number of the high points, regarding how elders and deacons as congregational leaders, has been approached in both contemporary evangelicalism and the Messianic community.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews and analyzes some of the significant insecurities demonstrated by many of today’s Messianic people. In our days of uncertainty, how do we acknowledge these challenges, and hopefully see them resolved? Part 1 of 2
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some of the major calendar dividing lines, which are witnessed across the Messianic sphere of influence.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews how today’s Messianic people, who express some kind of ongoing fidelity to God’s Torah, should best approach the issue of animal sacrifice.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the challenging dynamics caused by historical Christianity’s widespread claim that Jewish people who believe in Jesus as Messiah—actually stop being Jewish, and are now Christian.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee frequently gets asked if he can summarize some of the major sectors, sub-movements, and streams within the Messianic sphere of influence.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses a common interpretational controversy. Are the Pauline Epistles the only place in the Bible where Messianic people really need to expel exegetical energies?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the controversial issue of how various non-Israelites or non-Jews will be granted territorial inheritance in the Promised Land, in the Messianic Age. Is this something to be experienced by all of the righteous, or limited as a unique gift for a select few?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee evaluates whether Paul’s statements in Romans chs. 2-3 are specific to Messianic Jewish Believers, or more general to both Jewish and non-Jewish Believers.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee sorts through some of the matters of the Old Covenant and New Covenant, as seen in 2 Corinthians 3.
Anti-Semitism or anti-Judaism is something every person within today’s Messianic movement has encountered, in some form or fashion. Members of the McKee-Huey-Willetts family, in their Family Unfiltered style, discuss the varied aspects they each have encountered, or think are important to be identified and dissected.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee (re)focuses the attention of Bible readers, onto what the actual issue was, which necessitated the meeting of the Acts 15 Jerusalem Council.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee evaluates what Romans 11:26-27 actually involves. Does “all Israel will be saved” mean that every single Jewish person will received salvation? Or does this instead involve the consummation of the Kingdom?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee continues, by discussing the common issue of people cherry-picking a Bible verse or two out of context. This third presentation discusses how many supporters of a bilateral ecclesiology, found in various parts of Messianic Judaism, are seen to misapply Galatians 5:2-3.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee offers a constructive approach to Jewish tradition for today’s Messianic people, as we approach various holidays such as Purim and Passover.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews a possible framework for Messianic people approaching eschatology or the end-times.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee continues, by discussing the common issue of people cherry-picking a Bible verse or two out of context. This third presentation discusses how many in the One Law/One Torah sub-movement are seen to misapply Exodus 12:49.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how Bible readers should approach the figure of “the angel of the Lord.” Was the malakh YHWH a pre-Incarnate manifestation of Yeshua the Messiah, or not?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee addresses how more specificity is needed in discussions where a “Hebrew vs. Greek mindset” is somehow invoked.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee continues, by discussing the common issue of people cherry-picking a Bible verse or two out of context. This second presentation discusses how many in the Hebrew Roots movement are seen to misapply Ephesians 2:11.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the significance of salvation history and looking at matters from God’s perspective. How important is this for a Messianic movement, which believes itself to have an important purpose and destiny in the end-times?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how the important matter of Jewish identity, has been evaluated and approached in some recent theological trends.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee begins a multi-part series, discussing the common issue of people cherry-picking a Bible verse or two out of context. This first presentation discusses how problematic this can be for Bible readers, with some commonly known examples considered.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee gives a basic overview of how today’s Messianic people should handle the issue of “halachah.”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews how today’s Messianic people should best approach different methods of interpreting Holy Scripture.
As we contemplate the current conflict in Israel and the Middle East, Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee sorts through some of the significant issues present in Romans ch. 11. What do today’s Messianic Believers need to be focusing on, as we desire to see the salvation of Israel and return of Israel’s Messiah to Planet Earth?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee introduces a new series, intended to be bi-weekly, which will succinctly attempt to address many matters of Messianic theology.
In their first open, group discussion, members of the McKee-Huey-Willetts family talk about what they consider to be the most significant or pressing issue, to them, facing today’s contemporary Messianic community.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some significant points regarding the mission and purpose of the Messianic movement—as provided by Messianic Jewish pioneer Paul Liberman.Part 4 of 4
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some significant points regarding the mission and purpose of the Messianic movement—as provided by Messianic Jewish pioneer Paul Liberman.Part 3 of 4
Outreach Israel Ministries director, and Eitz Chaim elder, Mark Huey, delivered a special prayer for repentance.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some significant points regarding the mission and purpose of the Messianic movement—as provided by Messianic Jewish pioneer Paul Liberman.Part 2 of 4
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some significant points regarding the mission and purpose of the Messianic movement—as provided by Messianic Jewish pioneer Paul Liberman.Part 1 of 4
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee delivered the following short presentation at the 2024 Rabbis Conference of the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues (IAMCS).
Torah observance is much more than just Shabbat, the festivals, and kosher. A great number of ethical and moral issues/commandments become significantly conscious to the Torah reader. Likewise, a person has to encounter a world going not only back some 3,300 years to the time of the Exodus, but multiplied millennia to the Creation of the cosmos itself. The questions and the controversies that the first five books of the Bible present to us, not just as students of God’s Word, but specifically as Messianic Believers—are quite significant. Many people do not know what to do when the social norms of the ancient period are different than those of today, and are often at a loss when reading the Torah. Not infrequently, such issues are just avoided or outright ignored in Messianic Torah study.
Perhaps the most shocking trend present today in the Messianic movement, is witnessing a return of many evangelical Believers to the foundations of our faith. This is best exemplified by many individuals studying the Torah on a consistent basis. The Torah is the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, also commonly called the Law of Moses or Pentateuch.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for V’yeilekh: Hebrews 13:5-8
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’yeilekh or “And he went”
John McKee discusses the great tragedy, particularly of various non-Jewish people who get involved in Messianic things—how they can be seen to commit apostasy against the God of Israel. This happens by abandoning the Pauline letters as Scripture, the Divinity and Messiahship of Yeshua, and later abandoning a Supreme Being altogether.
Literally speaking, the genitive clause (genitive is the Greek case indicating possession) dia pisteōs Iēsou Christou should be rendered as “through faith of Jesus Christ” (YLT). Some modern study Bibles are having to place footnotes for verses like Galatians 2:16, indicating the alternative rendering, “Or by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.”
Anyone who enters into Pauline theological studies today will easily encounter the fact that there are scholars and exegetes who think that the term “works of law” or ergōn nomou—appearing first in Galatians (2:16[3x]; 3:2, 5, 10), and then appearing again in Romans (3:20, 28)—actually does designate something other than “works/deeds/actions required by the Mosaic Law,” or at least something a bit more specific than just “observing the law” (NIV) in general. These proposals, though, have been met with a great deal of criticism, and even some hostility, by those of particular theological traditions. Alternatives to the customary meaning of “works of law” have been proposed more frequently, as New Testament theologians, over the past fifty years or so, have had greater access to ancient Jewish literature and resources, and this information has had to be considered in their exegesis.
This further study, of what “under the Law” really means, will consider some of the strengths and weaknesses today’s Messianic Believers have, especially when a Christian family member or friend exclaims “We’re not under the Law!” Not only will this analysis provide some more detailed answers to those who are skeptical of a Messianic’s Torah obedience, but it is engaged with contemporary thought and opinion surrounding the terminology “under the Law,” and why “under the Law” meaning “obedient to the Torah of Moses” is a poor conclusion.
This further study, of what “under the Law” really means, will consider some of the strengths and weaknesses today’s Messianic Believers have, especially when a Christian family member or friend exclaims “We’re not under the Law!” Not only will this analysis provide some more detailed answers to those who are skeptical of a Messianic’s Torah obedience, but it is engaged with contemporary thought and opinion surrounding the terminology “under the Law,” and why “under the Law” meaning “obedient to the Torah of Moses” is a poor conclusion.
Matthew 5:17-19, which preface the Sermon on the Mount which follows, are some of the most important verses of the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament) for today’s Messianic movement. These verses speak of the Messiah’s intent to fulfill, and not abolish, the Mosaic Law. But what does it mean that the Messiah was to come and fulfill the Law? Does it just pertain, as is commonly thought, to the prophetic agenda of accomplishment that is realized by the Messiah’s arrival? Or, is there a multi-layered dynamic of the Messiah’s coming to “fulfill” the Torah, which must be taken into consideration? Has the Law been “fulfilled and thus abolished,” as many people today conclude? If this is in error, then what might need to be corrected in some Believers’ view of the Torah?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Nitzavim: Romans 9:30-10:13; Hebrews 12:14-15
Not enough evangelical Christians today are familiar with the fact that the expectation of the New Covenant, as it is commonly called, is something rooted within some distinct prophecies of the Hebrew Bible or Tanach.
Not enough evangelical Christians today are familiar with the fact that the expectation of the New Covenant, as it is commonly called, is something rooted within some distinct prophecies of the Hebrew Bible or Tanach.
Is it indeed true that Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, says that He alone is the only means to the Father? What about all of the people on Earth, especially Jewish people, who died and never acknowledged Him?
Not enough evangelical Christians today are familiar with the fact that the expectation of the New Covenant, as it is commonly called, is something rooted within some distinct prophecies of the Hebrew Bible or Tanach.
Although we as born again Believers are not “under the Law,” meaning subject to the Torah’s penalties and condemnation as declared upon sinners—as sinners are by no means “under grace”—Messiah followers are not permitted to disregard God’s commandments.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Ki-Tavo: Matthew 13:1-23; Luke 21:1-4; Acts 28:17-31; Romans 11:1-15
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Ki-Tavo or “When you enter in”
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet” (NASU).
“[T]hen He said, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.’ He takes away the first in order to establish the second” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Ki-Teitzei: Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-12; 22:23-32; Mark 10:2-12; 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; 1 Corinthians 9:4-18; Galatians 3:9-14; 1 Timothy 5:17-18
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Ki-Teitzei or “When you go out”
“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near” (NASU).
“Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, ‘SEE,’ He says, ‘THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN’ [Exodus 25:40]. But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says, ‘BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD. FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN, AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, “KNOW THE LORD,” FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE’ [Jeremiah 31:31-34, LXX]. When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Shoftim: Matthew 5:38-42; 18:15-20; Acts 3:13-26; 7:35-53; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 1 Timothy 5:17-22; Hebrews 10:28-31
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Shoftim or “Judges”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics discusses some of the significant concerns that we should be aware of, if today’s Messianic movement is truly wanting to pass on a legacy to the Millennial generation.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics talks about whether or not today’s Messianic community really has the ability to communicate to those of the Millennial generation.
“Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also…For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God” (NASU).
“Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, ‘AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST’ [Psalm 95:11], although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: ‘AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS’ [Genesis 2:2]; and again in this passage, ‘They shall not enter My rest’ [Psalm 95:11]. Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, ‘Today,’ saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, ‘TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS’ [Psalm 95:7-8]. For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Re’eih: 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 1 John 4:1-6
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Re’eih or “See”
“But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless” (NASU).
“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Yeshua the Messiah our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (NASU).
“[N]ot paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Ekev: Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13; James 5:7-11
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Ekev or “Because”
The word “egalitarian” is not something that one employs in today’s Messianic movement, without some level of controversy. Far too frequently, those who see Bible students and scholars identify as “egalitarian,” believe they have done so because they have compromised Scripture and have gone liberal. John McKee discusses some of the significant factors of why various sincere, born again Believers, have adopted an egalitarian ideology of men and women as co-equal partners in marriage, and as co-leaders in the Body of Messiah.
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (NASU).
“[W]ho has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Messiah Yeshua from all eternity” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for V’et’chanan: Matthew 4:1-11; 22:33-40; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 4:1-13; 10:25-37; Acts 13:13-43; Romans 3:27-31; 1 Timothy 2:4-6; James 2:14-26
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’et’chanan or “I pleaded”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some recent thoughts on the Old Testament Law offered by apologist William Lane Craig on social media.
“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer” (NASU).
“But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers” (NASU).
“Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Messiah. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. If you have died with Messiah to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence” (NASU).
“[H]aving canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (NASU).
Issues involving dress and modesty can be very hard fought in various sectors of today’s broad Messianic movement. How do we identify and navigate through some of the extremes?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Devarim: John 15:1-11; Hebrews 3:7-4:11
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Devarim or “Words”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the highly controversial sexual ethics of the Apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians 7. What important lessons and points are there, which contemporary Messianic people often overlook?
Do you believe that there will be animal sacrifices during the Millennial Kingdom? If so, would these sacrifices be an affront to the final sacrifice of the Messiah?
John McKee discusses how many religious people are likely to respond to animal sacrifices being conducted sometime in the future, in association with the prophesied Abomination of Desolation.
“Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Messiah Yeshua and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the [assembly]; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Messiah. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Messiah Yeshua my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Messiah, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Messiah, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (NASU).
“For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace” (NASU).
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Mattot-Mas’ei: Matthew 5:33-37; James 4:1-12
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee answers a question from the Messiah 2023 conference, posed to the Ask the Rabbis panel.
“It was for freedom that Messiah set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Messiah will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Messiah, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace” (NASU).
“However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain” (NASU).
What is the problem with holding to a low theology of sin (hamartology), and how do we see this problem fixed?
“But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Messiah, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Pinchas: Matthew 26:1-30; Mark 14:1-26; Luke 22:1-20; John 2:13-22; 7:1-13, 37-39; 11:55-12:1; 13:1; 18:28, 39; 19:14; Acts 2:1-21; 12:3-4; 20:5-6, 16; 27:9-11; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; 16:8; Hebrews 11:28
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Pinchas or “Phinehas”
“However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, ‘HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM’ [Leviticus 18:5]. Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE’ [Deuteronomy 21:23]—in order that in Messiah Yeshua the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (NASU).
“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Messiah Yeshua, even we have believed in Messiah Yeshua, so that we may be justified by faith in Messiah and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. But if, while seeking to be justified in Messiah, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Messiah then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Messiah; and it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Messiah died needlessly” (NASU).
“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Messiah Yeshua, even we have believed in Messiah Yeshua, so that we may be justified by faith in Messiah and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. But if, while seeking to be justified in Messiah, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Messiah then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Messiah; and it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Messiah died needlessly” (NASU).
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Messiah, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Messiah toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory. Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Messiah. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Balak: 2 Peter 2:1-22; Jude 1; Revelation 2:14-15
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Balak or “Destroyer”
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Chukat or “Regulation”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of the main aspects of salvation or being born again. How might various evangelical Christians, looking in at parts of the Messianic movement, evaluate matters such as: grace, works, law? How do we as Messianic people sort through some of the aspects of what it means to be spiritually transformed?
Having constructive dialogue, and sorting through various complementarian and egalitarian perspectives of men and women—will only be possible when both sides can recognize the risks that both sides need to keep under control.
To many people in today’s broad Messianic movement, the issues involving the place of husbands and wives in the family, as well as men and women in the local assembly, is a done deal. Husbands lead the family, and wives abide by their husbands’ decisions. Men lead the congregation, and women are there to help facilitate congregational functions. Any position about men and women in the Body of Messiah which might invoke terms such as co-equal, shared responsibility, and mutual submission are often viewed as compromise with the prevailing culture at best, or capitulation to liberal theology at worst. You do not just throw around the term “egalitarian” in the Messianic movement, unless you really are willing to experience some blowback.
It is not easy to facilitate conversations about complementarianism and egalitarianism in today's Messianic movement.
What is your position on women in ministry? Should Messianic women be allowed to be teachers, pastors/rabbis, or occupy positions of leadership?
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Messiah, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Messiah toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory. Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Messiah. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (NASU).
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Messiah, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Messiah toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory. Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Messiah. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (NASU).
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the [assemblies] of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come” (NASU).
Supporters of a Flat Earth claim from Genesis 1:6-8, that the firmament above the ground is a hard structure, enclosing the Earth. Can you help me sort through this?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Korach: 2 Timothy 2:8-21; Jude 1-25
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Korach or “Korah”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee talks about some of his family’s difficulties with adopting a kosher style diet. He also talks about the ongoing controversies and debates present in the Messianic movement regarding the topic of clean and unclean.
Who do you believe that the Nephilim of Genesis 6 were? Do you believe that these were fallen angels who had sexual relations with human females?
Who do you believe that the Nephilim of Genesis 6 were? Do you believe that these were fallen angels who had sexual relations with human females?
“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Messiah? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Messiah? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we? All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake; FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AND ALL IT CONTAINS [Psalm 24:1; 50:12; 89:11]. If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake. But if anyone says to you, ‘This is meat sacrificed to idols,’ do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake; I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks? Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the [assembly] of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved” (NASU).
“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Messiah, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it” (NASU).
“Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Messiah died. And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Messiah. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble” (NASU).
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Messiah? Shall I then take away the members of Messiah and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, ‘THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’ [Genesis 2:24]. But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (NASU).
Proponents of the Two-House teaching commonly claim that the “fullness of the Gentiles/nations” in Romans 11:25, is the same as that prophesied by Jacob in Genesis 48:19. Is there any merit to the “fullness of the Gentiles/nations” being those of the Lost Tribes of Ephraim?
Some of the most important players detailed in the Book of Revelation, who actually constitute the forces of the Kingdom of Light, and are to perform some kind of critical tasks or assignments in the anticipated Tribulation period, are the 144,000 sealed servants of the children of Israel.
“Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Messiah died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD’ [Isaiah 49:18; 45:23]. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. I know and am convinced in the Lord Yeshua that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Messiah died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Messiah is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin” (NASU).
“Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Messiah died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD’ [Isaiah 49:18; 45:23]. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. I know and am convinced in the Lord Yeshua that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Messiah died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Messiah is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin” (NASU).
“Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Messiah died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD’ [Isaiah 49:18; 45:23]. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. I know and am convinced in the Lord Yeshua that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Messiah died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Messiah is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Shelakh-Lekha: Hebrews 3:7-19
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. ‘I, Yeshua, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the [assembly]. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’ The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Yeshua. The grace of the Lord Yeshua be with all. Amen” (NASU).
“But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (NASU).
“And he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true’; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. ‘And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.’ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, ‘Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God’” (NASU).
Does acceptance of an egalitarian ideology for men and women as co-leaders, inevitably lead to an acceptance of homosexuality and gay marriage?
I have heard liberal Bible scholars teach that 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 allows for homosexuality. Is this at all true?
I have heard liberal Bible scholars teach that Romans 1:26-27 allows for homosexuality. Is this at all true?
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yeshua. For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yeshua has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (NASU).
“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him” (NASU).
“I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (NASU).
“Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Messiah, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COVET’ [Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21]. But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Yeshua the Messiah our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin” (NASU).
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ Then He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death’” (NASU).
“Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Messiah, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COVET’ [Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21]. But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Yeshua the Messiah our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin” (NASU).
“Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Messiah and will reign with Him for a thousand years” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for B’ha’alotkha: John 19:31-37; Hebrews 3:1-6
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: B’ha’alotkha or “When you set up”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some of the changes which he went through from 1995-1997, in shifting toward a post-tribulational eschatology. How does the idea of enduring through the end-times, change your worldview? He reflects on some of his experiences since.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS’” (NASU).
“After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS [Psalm 19:9; 119:137]; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER’ [Deuteronomy 32:43; 2 Kings 9:7; Psalm 79:10]. And a second time they said, ‘Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER’ [Isaiah 34:10]. And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah!’ And a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.’ Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”’ And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God.’ Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Yeshua; worship God. For the testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy’” (NASU).
“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful” (NASU).
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord” (NASU).
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.’ Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, ‘These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?’ I said to him, ‘My lord, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes’” (NASU).
“Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” (NASU).
“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!” (NASU).
“I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.’ And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.’ Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’ And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.’ And the four living creatures kept saying, ‘Amen.’ And the elders fell down and worshiped” (NASU).
“But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (NASU).
“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.’ Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, ‘HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME’ [Isaiah 6:3]. And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created’” (NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee was the designated reader for Greek, from Acts 2.Languages in order: English, Hebrew, Greek, German, French, Ukrainian, Romanian, Spanish, Bulgarian, Hebrew, English
“Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law” (NASU).
“To the angel of the [assembly] in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the [assembly]’” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Naso: John 7:53-8:11; Acts 21:17-32
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Naso or “Take”
As we prepare to discuss increasingly more complicated issues, Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee goes through the Outreach Israel Ministries / Messianic Apologetics Statement of Faith—in an effort for each of us to gauge issues where we agree, disagree, and need to recognize the various levels of theological plurality in our faith community.
“And to the angel of the [assembly] in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this: ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the [assemblies]’” (NASU).
“Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Yeshua the Messiah for all those who believe; for there is no distinction” (NASU).
“To the angel of the [assembly] in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the [assembly]’” (NASU).
“On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight” (NASU).
“And to the angel of the [assembly] in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this” (NASU).
I have heard you say that you do not believe that Acts 15:21 is the most important verse, detailing the eventsof the Jerusalem Council. Can you please explain?
“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Yeshua, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Yeshua. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, ‘Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.’ Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven [assemblies], and the seven lampstands are the seven [assemblies]” (NASU).
“Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath” (NASU).
“The Revelation of Yeshua the Messiah, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. John to the seven [assemblies] that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Yeshua the Messiah, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS [Daniel 7:13], and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’” (NASU).
“Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Bamidbar: Luke 2:1-7; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Bamidbar or “In the wilderness”
As we prepare to discuss increasingly more complicated issues, Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee goes through the Outreach Israel Ministries / Messianic Apologetics Statement of Faith—in an effort for each of us to gauge issues where we agree, disagree, and need to recognize the various levels of theological plurality in our faith community.
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and [assembly] of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Yeshua, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel” (NASU).
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Yeshua, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (NASU).
“Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath” (NASU).
“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Yeshua” (NASU).
Do you believe it is acceptable for Messianic men to wear a kippah or yarmulke, when Paul says that it is a dishonor for men to have their heads covered? How do you interpret 1 Corinthians 11:4-16?
“Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, ‘Cornelius!’ And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ And he said to him, ‘Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.’ When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.’ Again a voice came to him a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky. Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are looking for you. But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.’ Peter went down to the men and said, ‘Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?’ They said, ‘Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.’ So he invited them in and gave them lodging. And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter raised him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I too am just a man.’ As he talked with him, he entered and found many people assembled. And he said to them, ‘You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.’ Cornelius said, ‘Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments, and he said, “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Therefore send to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.” So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.’ Opening his mouth, Peter said: ‘I most certainly understand now that God is not ...
“Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD [Psalm 110:1], waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET [Psalm 110:1]. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (NASU).
“Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, ‘Cornelius!’ And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ And he said to him, ‘Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.’ When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.’ Again a voice came to him a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky. Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are looking for you. But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.’ Peter went down to the men and said, ‘Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?’ They said, ‘Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.’ So he invited them in and gave them lodging. And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter raised him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I too am just a man.’ As he talked with him, he entered and found many people assembled. And he said to them, ‘You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.’ Cornelius said, ‘Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments, and he said, “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Therefore send to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.” So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.’ Opening his mouth, Peter said: ‘I most certainly understand now that God is not ...
“For Messiah did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (NASU).
“For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (NASU).
“For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Yeshua the Messiah” (NASU).
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Yeshua the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (NASU).
“The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, ‘Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?’ And He said to them, ‘Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: “THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN” [Isaiah 29:13, LXX]. Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.’ He was also saying to them, ‘You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. For Moses said, “HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER” [Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16]; and, “HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH” [Exodus 21:17]; but you say, “If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),” you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.’ After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, ‘Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.’ When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them, ‘Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?’ (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, ‘That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man’” (NASU).
“The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, ‘Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?’ And He said to them, ‘Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: “THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN” [Isaiah 29:13, LXX]. Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.’ He was also saying to them, ‘You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. For Moses said, “HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER” [Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16]; and, “HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH” [Exodus 21:17]; but you say, “If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),” you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.’ After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, ‘Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.’ When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them, ‘Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?’ (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, ‘That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man’” (NASU).
“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, ‘WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM? YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET’ [Psalm 8:5-7, LXX]. For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Yeshua, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, ‘I WILL PROCLAIM YOUT NAME TO MY BRETHREN, IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE’ [Psalm 22:22]. And again, ‘I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM’ [Isaiah 8:17, LXX; cf. Samuel 22:3, LXX; Isaiah 12:2]. And again, ‘BEHOLD, I AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN ME’ [Isaiah 8:18]. Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Emor: Matthew 5:38-42; Galatians 3:26-29
“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU’ [Psalm 2:7]? And again, ‘I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME’ [2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 7:14]? And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM’ [Deuteronomy 32:43, LXX; Psalm 97:7]. And of the angels He says, ‘WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE’ [Psalm 104:4]. But of the Son He says, ‘YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM. YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL FO GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS’ [Psalm 45:6-7]. And, ‘YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE ARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END’ [Psalm 102:25-27]. But to which of the angels has He ever said, ‘SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET’ [Psalm 110:1]? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Emor or “Speak”
“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Yeshua the Messiah our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (NASU).
Today’s Messianic community generally believes in the validity of the Torah, in the post-resurrection era. But there are levels of agreement and disagreement, when it comes to how Jewish and non-Jewish Believers should keep, or not keep, the Torah. In an as-fair-and-reasonable way as possible, John McKee directs us through how we need to focus on what we agree on first—agreeing to carefully work through those areas where not all Messianic people are presently in agreement.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (NASU).
“Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Yeshua the Messiah, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior, to Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Messiah Yeshua our Savior” (NASU).
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (NASU).
“Paul, an apostle of Messiah Yeshua by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Messiah Yeshua, to Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Messiah Yeshua our Lord” (NASU).
“I will also put an end to all her gaiety, her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths and all her festal assemblies” (NASU).
“I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Messiah Yeshua, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen” (NASU).
“Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; and My sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them. But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, before whose sight I had brought them out. Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their heart continually went after their idols. Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not cause their annihilation in the wilderness. I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and observe them. Sanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’ But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; they profaned My sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness. But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, because they had not observed My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths, and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers. I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live; and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the LORD’” (NASU).
“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Messiah Yeshua, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Acharei Mot-Kedoshim: Romans 3:19-28; 9:30-10:13; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 with 2 Corinthians 2:1-22; Galatians 3:10-14; Hebrews 7:23-10:25; Matthew 5:33-37; 5:43-48; 15:1-11; 19:16-30; 22:33-40; Mark 7:1-23; 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-39; Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:13-26; James 2:1-9; 1 Peter 1:13-21
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the great challenges all of us must encounter from supersessionism or replacement theology. How do people in the broad Messianic movement have to navigate through a sliding scale of approaches?
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Messiah Yeshua came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Yeshua the Messiah might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (NASU).
“Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, they have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them” (NASU).
Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Messiah Yeshua our Lord” (NASU).
Today’s broad Messianic movement is of the conviction that the Torah or Law of Moses is relevant instruction for God’s people in the post-resurrection era. This is a conviction firmly rooted within the teaching of Yeshua the Messiah, who explicitly said that He did not come to abolish or eliminate the Torah (Matthew 5:17-19). Yet throughout much of Christian history, and even more so today, many theologians and examiners have argued that Moses’ Teaching has been rendered inoperative, and/or that it was only to be followed by those in the pre-resurrection era. Many of today’s Messianic people, while having a witness of the Spirit that God’s commandments are to be written on their hearts and minds via the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27), are not equipped well enough to answer common arguments delivered by evangelical Protestant family members, friends, acquaintances, or even various pastors or teachers that they know—when they quote verses to them from the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament), in support of the premise that the Torah of Moses has been abolished.
“For if we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Yeshua. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (NASU).
Today’s broad Messianic movement is of the conviction that the Torah or Law of Moses is relevant instruction for God’s people in the post-resurrection era. This is a conviction firmly rooted within the teaching of Yeshua the Messiah, who explicitly said that He did not come to abolish or eliminate the Torah (Matthew 5:17-19). Yet throughout much of Christian history, and even more so today, many theologians and examiners have argued that Moses’ Teaching has been rendered inoperative, and/or that it was only to be followed by those in the pre-resurrection era. Many of today’s Messianic people, while having a witness of the Spirit that God’s commandments are to be written on their hearts and minds via the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27), are not equipped well enough to answer common arguments delivered by evangelical Protestant family members, friends, acquaintances, or even various pastors or teachers that they know—when they quote verses to them from the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament), in support of the premise that the Torah of Moses has been abolished.
“Now may our God and Father Himself and Yeshua our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Yeshua with all His saints” (NASU).
Today’s broad Messianic movement is of the conviction that the Torah or Law of Moses is relevant instruction for God’s people in the post-resurrection era. This is a conviction firmly rooted within the teaching of Yeshua the Messiah, who explicitly said that He did not come to abolish or eliminate the Torah (Matthew 5:17-19). Yet throughout much of Christian history, and even more so today, many theologians and examiners have argued that Moses’ Teaching has been rendered inoperative, and/or that it was only to be followed by those in the pre-resurrection era. Many of today’s Messianic people, while having a witness of the Spirit that God’s commandments are to be written on their hearts and minds via the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27), are not equipped well enough to answer common arguments delivered by evangelical Protestant family members, friends, acquaintances, or even various pastors or teachers that they know—when they quote verses to them from the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament), in support of the premise that the Torah of Moses has been abolished.
“Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the [assembly] of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah in the presence of our God and Father” (NASU).
Today’s broad Messianic movement is of the conviction that the Torah or Law of Moses is relevant instruction for God’s people in the post-resurrection era. This is a conviction firmly rooted within the teaching of Yeshua the Messiah, who explicitly said that He did not come to abolish or eliminate the Torah (Matthew 5:17-19). Yet throughout much of Christian history, and even more so today, many theologians and examiners have argued that Moses’ Teaching has been rendered inoperative, and/or that it was only to be followed by those in the pre-resurrection era. Many of today’s Messianic people, while having a witness of the Spirit that God’s commandments are to be written on their hearts and minds via the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27), are not equipped well enough to answer common arguments delivered by evangelical Protestant family members, friends, acquaintances, or even various pastors or teachers that they know—when they quote verses to them from the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament), in support of the premise that the Torah of Moses has been abolished.
“Let the word of Messiah richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Tazria-Metzora: Matthew 8:1-4; 11:2-6; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 2:22-24; 5:12-16; 7:18-23; Matthew 9:20-26; Mark 5:24b-34; Luke 8:42b-48; Hebrews 13:4
“Therefore if you have been raised up with Messiah, keep seeking the things above, where Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Messiah in God. When Messiah, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Tazria-Metzora or “She Conceives-Infected One”
“Therefore as you have received Messiah Yeshua the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Messiah. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority” (NASU).
Today’s broad Messianic movement is of the conviction that the Torah or Law of Moses is relevant instruction for God’s people in the post-resurrection era. This is a conviction firmly rooted within the teaching of Yeshua the Messiah, who explicitly said that He did not come to abolish or eliminate the Torah (Matthew 5:17-19). Yet throughout much of Christian history, and even more so today, many theologians and examiners have argued that Moses’ Teaching has been rendered inoperative, and/or that it was only to be followed by those in the pre-resurrection era. Many of today’s Messianic people, while having a witness of the Spirit that God’s commandments are to be written on their hearts and minds via the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27), are not equipped well enough to answer common arguments delivered by evangelical Protestant family members, friends, acquaintances, or even various pastors or teachers that they know—when they quote verses to them from the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament), in support of the premise that the Torah of Moses has been abolished.
“Paul, an apostle of Yeshua the Messiah by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Messiah who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Messiah Yeshua and the love which you have for all the saints” (NASU).
Today’s broad Messianic movement is of the conviction that the Torah or Law of Moses is relevant instruction for God’s people in the post-resurrection era. This is a conviction firmly rooted within the teaching of Yeshua the Messiah, who explicitly said that He did not come to abolish or eliminate the Torah (Matthew 5:17-19). Yet throughout much of Christian history, and even more so today, many theologians and examiners have argued that Moses’ Teaching has been rendered inoperative, and/or that it was only to be followed by those in the pre-resurrection era. Many of today’s Messianic people, while having a witness of the Spirit that God’s commandments are to be written on their hearts and minds via the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27), are not equipped well enough to answer common arguments delivered by evangelical Protestant family members, friends, acquaintances, or even various pastors or teachers that they know—when they quote verses to them from the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament), in support of the premise that the Torah of Moses has been abolished.
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Messiah Yeshua, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Yeshua EVERY KNEE WILL BOW [Isaiah 45:23], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (NASU).
“for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Yeshua the Messiah” (NASU).
“Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Shemini: Mark 7:1-23; Acts 5:1-11; 10:1-35; 11:1-18; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 1 Peter 1:14-16
“Be submissive to one another in the fear of Messiah. Wives to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the man is the source of the woman, as Messiah also is the source of the assembly, being Himself the Savior of the body” (PME).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Shemini or “Eighth”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses a number of the difficult aspects facing the defense of the faith: Christian matters, Torah matters, Jewish matters, difficult matters, future matters.
“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Messiah’s gift” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics finished our study of the Epistle to the Hebrews from a Messianic perspective. In this study, we cover the essential parts of Hebrews in a summary of the whole book.
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Messiah which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the [assembly] and in Messiah Yeshua to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of the letters of 1 Timothy, Titus, and 2 Timothy, in a summary of these books.
“and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the [assembly] to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Messiah Yeshua our Lord” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Colossians and Philemon in a summary of the whole book.
“that the God of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Messiah, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the [assembly], which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Philippians in a summary of the whole book.
“Paul, an apostle of Messiah Yeshua by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Messiah Yeshua: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah” (NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of his own personal encounters with remembering Passover, not just over the past twenty-seven years of being a part of the Messianic community, but even in previous evangelical experiences. What are some of the unique opportunities present in the Passover season, and lessons to be (re)learned about the Exodus and the work of Yeshua? What are some of the tensions and controversies, which can and do arise?
“Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Yeshua the Messiah and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, to the [assemblies] of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen… For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Messiah. For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Yeshua the Messiah” (NASU).
“The grace of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Galatians in a summary of the whole book.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of 2 Corinthians in a summary of the whole book.
“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Messiah Yeshua as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Yeshua’s sake. For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Messiah” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of 1 Corinthians in a summary of the whole book.
“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Messiah Yeshua as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Yeshua’s sake. For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Messiah” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Romans in a summary of the whole book.
“Paul, an apostle of Messiah Yeshua by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the [assembly] of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Tzav: Mark 12:28-34; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:14-23
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee was recently interviewed by Elisa Norman, a student at The King’s University working towards a Doctor of Ministry in Messianic Jewish Studies .
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Tzav or “Give an order”
“Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Messiah, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Messiah has been raised; and if Messiah has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Messiah have perished. If we have hoped in Messiah in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Messiah the first fruits, after that those who are Messiah’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET [Psalm 8:6]. But when He says, ‘All things are put in subjection,’ it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all” (NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses a very complicated subject matter: ranging from various bodies of extra-Biblical materials commonly employed for interpreting Scripture, to what many might consider questioning the “sufficiency of Scripture.”Does extra-Biblical literature—ranging from Ancient Near Eastern mythology, classical Greco-Roman works, Second Temple and post-Second Temple Jewish works, and early Christians writings—have any role to play in our theology?
“But I want you to understand that Messiah is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Messiah” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of the letters of John in a summary of the whole book.
“For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Messiah…Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of 1&2 Peter and Jude in a summary of the whole books.
“Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Messiah died. And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Messiah. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics finished our study of the Epistle to James from a Messianic perspective. In this study, we cover the essential parts of James in a summary of the whole book.
“So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Messiah; and Messiah belongs to God” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Daniel in a summary of the whole book.
“Paul, called as an apostle of Yeshua the Messiah by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the [assembly] of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Messiah Yeshua, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Messiah Yeshua, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Messiah was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Yeshua the Messiah our Lord” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Vayikra: Romans 8:1-13; Hebrews 10:1-14; 13:10-16
“For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Messiah died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD’ [Isaiah 49:18; 45:23]. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Vayikra or “He called”
“that if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED’ [Joel 2:32]” (NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews the frequent opinion that today’s Messianic movement is just another denomination of Christianity—rather than being a unique movement deeply rooted within the Jewish tradition.
“whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Messiah according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Esther in a summary of the whole book.
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Messiah Yeshua have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Messiah, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Messiah, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Messiah Yeshua. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Ecclesiastes in a summary of the whole book.
“Paul, a bond-servant of Messiah Yeshua, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Yeshua the Messiah our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Yeshua the Messiah; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah” (NASU).
“Whoever believes that Yeshua is the Messiah is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Yeshua is the Son of God?…We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him” (NASU).
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Yeshua is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for V’yahkeil-Pequdei: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Hebrews 9:1-14; Revelation 11:1-13; Revelation 15:5-8
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’yakheil-Pequdei or “He assembled-Accounts”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews a number of significant ways that Jewish evangelism has been conducted, both in North America and in Israel, since the 1960s-1970s to the present. What do these various methods inform us about any kind of future success of sharing the good news of Yeshua with the Jewish community?
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Yeshua the Messiah has come in the flesh is from God” (NASU).
“We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Yeshua the Messiah, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Job in a summary of the whole book.
“Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antimessiah is coming, even now many antimessiahs have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Yeshua is the Messiah? This is the antimessiah, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Haggai in a summary of the whole book.
“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Yeshua the Messiah. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Zephaniah in a summary of the whole book.
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Yeshua the Messiah our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Habakkuk in a summary of the whole book.
“but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Ki Tisa: Luke 11:14-20; Acts 7:35-8:1; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18
“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’—and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Ki Tisa or “When you take”
Are we about to see a resurgence of the influence of the Wesleyan theological tradition, because of the recent Asbury Revival? Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee, and his mother, Outreach Israel Ministries business manager Margaret McKee Huey, discuss some of their family’s Methodist heritage and experiences. Also considered is the positive influence the Wesleyan tradition can have on the current development of the Messianic movement.
“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For, ‘THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROME VIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT. HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT. FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL’ [Psalm 34:12-16]. Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED [Isaiah 8:12-13], but sanctify Messiah as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Messiah will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. For Messiah also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him” (NASU).
“If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Messiah. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER’ [Isaiah 40:6-8]. And this is the word which was preached to you” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Micah in a summary of the whole book.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Messiah within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Messiah and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Jonah in a summary of the whole book.
“Peter, an apostle of Yeshua the Messiah, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Yeshua the Messiah and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure” (NASU).
“You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Tetzaveh: Philippians 4:10-20
“My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Yeshua the Messiah with an attitude of personal favoritism” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Tetzaveh or “You shall command”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews some of his own personal encounters with remembering the Festival of Lots or Purim, over the past twenty-seven years of being a part of the Messianic community. What are some good traditions and customs to remember? What are some critical lessons of Purim which need not be overlooked?
“James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings” (NASU).
“Therefore many other signs Yeshua also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (NASU).
“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Yeshua came. So the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Yeshua came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Yeshua said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed’” (NASU).
“So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Yeshua came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Yeshua said to them again, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained’” (NASU).
“But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Yeshua had been lying. And they said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.’ When she had said this, she turned around and saw Yeshua standing there, and did not know that it was Yeshua. Yeshua said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, ‘Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.’ Yeshua said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means, Teacher). Yeshua said to her, ‘Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.”’ Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and that He had said these things to her” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Terumah: Hebrews 8:1-6; 9:23-24; 10:1
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Terumah or “Contribution”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Deuteronomy in a summary of the whole book.
“Pilate then took Yeshua and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and to give Him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and said to them, ‘Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.’ Yeshua then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Behold, the Man!’ So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, ‘Crucify, crucify!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.’ The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God’” (NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses some of the major reasons why non-Jewish Believers tend to be drawn into things of Torah. Does it involve sincere conviction from reading the Word? Does it involve legalism and self-righteousness? Does it involve being sensationalized by something?How can these people become co-laborers with Jewish Believers in the salvation of Israel?
“When Yeshua had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Yeshua had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. So Yeshua, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ They answered Him, ‘Yeshua the Nazarene.’ He said to them, ‘I am He.’ And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, ‘I am He,’ they drew back and fell to the ground. Therefore He again asked them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ And they said, ‘Yeshua the Nazarene.’ Yeshua answered, ‘I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,’ to fulfill the word which He spoke, ‘Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.’ Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. So Yeshua said to Peter, ‘Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?’” (NASU).
“Yeshua spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Yeshua the Messiah whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Timothy 4:9-22 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.’ His disciples said, ‘Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.’ Yeshua answered them, ‘Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world’” (NASU).
Can you please help me with understanding what “theonomy” is?Why have you considered this a problem?
“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Timothy 4:1-8 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE’ [Psalm 35:19; 69:4]. When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning” (NASU).
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Mishpatim: Hebrews 9:11-23; 10:28-39
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reviews whether or not there is a difference between the Messianic Jewish movement (mainly focused on Jewish outreach and evangelism)—versus the various non-Jewish Torah movements (Hebrew Roots, Two-House, One Law/One Torah, Pronomian Christianity). How can people, particularly online, navigate through these differences? What actually makes the Messianic movement stand out, and on a more Biblical trajectory?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Mishpatim or “Rulings”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Timothy 3:8-17 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“‘If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?’ Yeshua answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. You heard that I said to you, “I go away, and I will come to you.” If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Timothy 3:1-7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“‘Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?’ Yeshua said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.’ Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Yeshua said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Timothy 2:16-26 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Therefore when he had gone out, Yeshua said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Timothy 2:14-15 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, Yeshua knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, Yeshua, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, ‘Lord, do You wash my feet?’ Yeshua answered and said to him, ‘What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Never shall You wash my feet!’ Yeshua answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.’ Yeshua said to him, ‘He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’ For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’ So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME’ [Psalm 41:9]. From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Timothy 2:1-13 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“And Yeshua cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me’” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Yitro: Matthew 5:21-30; 15:1-11; 19:16-30; Mark 7:5-15; 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30; Acts 6:1-7; Romans 2:17-29; 7:7-12; 13:8-10; Ephesians 6:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:1-14; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 12:18-29; James 2:8-13; 1 Peter 2:9-10
“But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: ‘LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED? [Isaiah 53:1]’ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, ‘HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM’ [Isaiah 6:10]. These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God” (NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how each one of us lives within a framework of certain values and expectations. Some of these things are good, and some of these things need to be challenged—so that we can be more effective in the service of the Kingdom of God.
“So when Yeshua came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. Martha therefore, when she heard that Yeshua was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. Martha then said to Yeshua, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.’ Yeshua said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Yeshua said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Timothy 1:8-18 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Yeshua was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, ‘How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Yeshua answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’ The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Yeshua answered them, ‘I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?’ The Jews answered Him, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.’ Yeshua answered them, ‘Has it not been written in your Law, “I SAID, YOU ARE GODS” [Psalm 82:6]? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because I said, “I am the Son of God”? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.’ Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Timothy 1:1-7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“So Yeshua said to them again, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.’ A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. Many of them were saying, ‘He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?’ Others were saying, ‘These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Titus 3 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
How would you describe the current status of the One Law/One Torah sub-movement?What is your relationship as a ministry toward it?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Titus 2:11-15 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics discusses some of the unfortunate controversies and emotionalism that can arise, when the theological issue over “one law” mentioned in the Torah arises. Is it possible for there to be a mature way to approach this issue, which facilitates stability?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for B’shalach: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; John 4:5-15; 6:25-35, 47-56; 7:37-39
“Yeshua heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’ Yeshua said to him, ‘You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.’ And he said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshiped Him” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: B’shalach or “After he had let go”
“The Jews answered and said to Him, ‘Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ Yeshua answered, ‘I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.’ The Jews said to Him, ‘Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, “If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.” Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?’ Yeshua answered, ‘If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, “He is our God”; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’ So the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Yeshua said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’ Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Yeshua hid Himself and went out of the temple” (NASU).
Messianic Insider has returned! Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses a recent presentation delivered at the 2023 IAMCS Rabbis Conference, and how the attention of too many Messianic people is on temporal matters of this world rather than eternal matters directly affected by Wokeism.
The following music has been used for the intro and close of various Messianic Apologetics podcasts: Legacy by Scott Buckley
“‘I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.’ They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Yeshua said to them, ‘If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father.’ They said to Him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.’ Yeshua said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Titus 2:1-10 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Then He said again to them, ‘I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.’ So the Jews were saying, ‘Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ And He was saying to them, ‘You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.’ So they were saying to Him, ‘Who are You?’ Yeshua said to them, ‘What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.’ They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. So Yeshua said, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.’ As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Titus 1:10-16 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Then Yeshua again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’ So the Pharisees said to Him, ‘You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.’ Yeshua answered and said to them, ‘Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.’ So they were saying to Him, ‘Where is Your Father?’ Yeshua answered, ‘You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.’ These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Titus 1:1-9 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Then Yeshua cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, ‘You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.’ So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come” (NASU).
“But when it was now the midst of the feast Yeshua went up into the temple, and began to teach. The Jews then were astonished, saying, ‘How has this man become learned, having never been educated?’ So Yeshua answered them and said, ‘My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him’” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Bo: John 1:29; Luke 2:22-24; John 19:31-37; Acts 13:16-17; Revelation 8:6-9:12; 16:1-21
“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, ‘This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?’ But Yeshua, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, ‘Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Yeshua knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, ‘For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.’ As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Yeshua said to the twelve, ‘You do not want to go away also, do you?’ Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 6:1-10 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Yeshua had not yet come to them. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Yeshua walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. But He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 5:16-25 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 5:1-15 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 4:6-16 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Therefore Yeshua answered and was saying to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for V’eira: Romans 9:14-17; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
“After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Yeshua went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Yeshua saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, ‘Do you wish to get well?’ The sick man answered Him, ‘Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.’ Yeshua said to him, ‘Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.’ Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, ‘It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.’ But he answered them, ‘He who made me well was the one who said to me, “Pick up your pallet and walk.”’ They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your pallet and walk”?’ But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Yeshua had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. Afterward Yeshua found him in the temple and said to him, ‘Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.’ The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Yeshua who had made him well. For this reason the Jews were persecuting Yeshua, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But He answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.’ For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’eira or “I appeared”
“There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Yeshua said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, ‘How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?’ (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Yeshua answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’ She said to Him, ‘Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?’ Yeshua answered and said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.’ He said to her, ‘Go, call your husband and come here.’ The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.’ Yeshua said to her, ‘You have correctly said, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.’ Yeshua said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Anointed One); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.’ Yeshua said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He’” (NASU).
“He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him’” (NASU).
“Yeshua answered and said to him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 4:1-5 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Yeshua said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Yeshua of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ Yeshua saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to Him, ‘How do You know me?’ Yeshua answered and said to him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered Him, ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.’ Yeshua answered and said to him, ‘Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And He said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man’” (NASU).
“The next day he saw Yeshua coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.” I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.’ John testified saying, ‘I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, “He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 3:1-7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ They asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ And he said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, “MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD” [Isaiah 40:3], as Isaiah the prophet said.’ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 2:15 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the [assembly]. And when they had come to him, he said to them, ‘You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Yeshua, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the [assembly] of God which He purchased with His own blood” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Shemot: Matthew 22:23-33, 41-46; Mark 12:18-27, 35-37; Luke 20:27-44; Acts 3:12-15; 5:27-32; 7:17-36; 22:12-16; 24:14-16; Hebrews 11:23-26
“From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the [assembly]. And when they had come to him, he said to them, ‘You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Yeshua, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the [assembly] of God which He purchased with His own blood” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Shemot or “Names”
“and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Yeshua did not permit them” (NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee delivered the following short presentation at the 2023 Rabbis Conference of the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues (IAMCS).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 2:13-14 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, ‘What would this idle babbler wish to say?’ Others, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,’—because he was preaching Yeshua and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, ‘May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.’ (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.) So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.” Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.’ The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, “For we also are His children.” Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.’ Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, ‘We shall hear you again concerning this.’ So Paul went out of their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 2:11-12 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And he leaped up and began to walk. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, ‘The gods have become like men and have come down to us.’ And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out and saying, ‘Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM [Exodus 20:11; Psalm 146:6]. In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.’ Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them. But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 2:8-10 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, ‘Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.’ Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, ‘Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, “I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will” [1 Samuel 13:14]. From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Yeshua, after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, “What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.” Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead; and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Yeshua, as it is also written in the second Psalm, “YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU” [Psalm 2:7]. As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: “I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID’ [Isaiah 55:3, LXX]. Therefore He also says in another Psalm, “YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY” [Psalm 16:10, LXX]. For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: “BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH; FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS, A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU”’ [Habakkuk 1:5, LXX]. As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 2:1-7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Opening his mouth, Peter said: ‘I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Yeshua the Messiah (He is Lord of all)—you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. You know of Yeshua of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Timothy 1:8-20 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are looking for you. But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.’ Peter went down to the men and said, ‘Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?’ They said, ‘Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.’ So he invited them in and gave them lodging. And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter raised him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I too am just a man’” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for V’yechi: Acts 7:9-16; Hebrews 11:21-22
“Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Yeshua whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do’” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’yechi or “He lived”
“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Yeshua standing at the right hand of God; and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, ‘Lord Yeshua, receive my spirit!’ Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ Having said this, he fell asleep” (NASU).
“This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN’ [Deuteronomy 18:15]. This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you. Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt” (NASU).
John McKee discusses some of the important things on the spiritual and theological agenda for Calendar Year 2023. This includes a growing list of hot and controversial issues collected from social media exchanges.
“When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Yeshua, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of the Pastoral Epistles (1&2 Timothy, Titus). This is Part 3 of 3 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of how this letter has been approached in contemporary theology, and what it might mean for today’s Messianic community. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Yeshua the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, ‘By what power, or in what name, have you done this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Yeshua the Messiah the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone [Psalm 118:22]. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.’ Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Yeshua. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, saying, ‘What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.’ And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Yeshua. But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.’ When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened; for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of the Pastoral Epistles (1&2 Timothy, Titus). This is Part 2 of 3 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of authorship, the locations of the the author, the dates, and the target audiences. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, ‘Look at us!’ And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, ‘I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Yeshua the Messiah the Nazarene—walk!’ And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, ‘Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Yeshua, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Yeshua which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Messiah would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Yeshua, the Messiah appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. Moses said, “THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED [Deuteronomy 18:15-16] to everything He says to you. And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.” And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, “AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED” [Genesis 22:18; 26:4]. For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of the Pastoral Epistles (1&2 Timothy, Titus). This is Part 1 of 3 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of authorship, the locations of the the author, the dates, and the target audiences. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: ‘Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: “AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,” God says, “THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT and they shall prophesy. AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME, AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED” [Joel 2:28-32]. Men of Israel, listen to these words: Yeshua the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. For David says of Him, “I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE” [Psalm 16:8-11]. Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE [Psalm 132:11; 2 Samuel 7:12-13], he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY [Psalm 16:10]. This Yeshua God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: “THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, ‘SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET’” [Psalm 110:1]. Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah—this Yeshua whom you crucified’” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for V’yigash: Acts 7:9-16
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’yigash or “He approached”
“Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.’ And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God” (NASU).
“But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Yeshua had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Yeshua came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’” (NASU).
“And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Yeshua met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Yeshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me’” (NASU).
“When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” (Mark 15:39, NASU).“Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Yeshua, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!”” (Matthew 27:54, NASU).“Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent’” (Luke 23:47, NASU).
“At the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, ‘ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?’ which is translated, ‘MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’ [Psalm 22:1]” (Mark 15:34, NASU).“About the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?’ that is, ‘MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’ [Psalm 22:1]” (Matthew 27:46, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philemon verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“The soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they called together the whole Roman cohort. They dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; and they began to acclaim Him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him. After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they led Him out to crucify Him” (Mark 15:16-20, NASU).“Then the soldiers of the governor took Yeshua into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him” (Matthew 27:27-31, NASU).“Now the men who were holding Yeshua in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, ‘Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming” (Luke 22:63-65, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter to Philemon. We will be discussing issues of authorship, the location of the the author, the date of Colossians, and the target audience. We will also be discussing issues of how this letter has been approached in contemporary theology, and what it might mean for today’s Messianic community. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 4:10-18 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“They led Yeshua away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together. Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Yeshua to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, ‘We heard Him say, “I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.”’ Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Yeshua, saying, ‘Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?’ But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, ‘Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ And Yeshua said, ‘I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND FO POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN’ [Psalm 110:1; Daniel 7:13]. Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, ‘What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?’ And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, ‘Prophesy!’ And the officers received Him with slaps in the face” (Mark 14:53-65, NASU).“Those who had seized Yeshua led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Yeshua, so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, and said, ‘This man stated, “I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.”’ The high priest stood up and said to Him, ‘Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?’ But Yeshua kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, ‘I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Messiah, the Son of God.’ Yeshua said to him, ‘You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER [Psalm 110:1], and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN’ [Daniel 7:13]. Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death!’ Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, ‘Prophesy to us, You Messiah; who is the one who hit You?’” (Matthew 26:57-68, NASU).“Now the men who were holding Yeshua in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, ‘Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?’ And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming. When it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber, saying, ‘If You are the Messiah, tell us.’ But He said to them, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on THE SON OF MAN WILL BE SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND of the power OF GOD [Psalm 110:1].’ And they all said, ‘Are You the Son of God, then?’ And He said to them, ‘Yes, I am.’ Then they said, ‘What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth’” (Luke 22:63-71, NASU).
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Mikkeitz or “At the end”
“But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Mark 13:32, NASU).“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matthew 24:36, NASU).
With significant uncertainties in our future, John McKee discusses how there are some major adjustments that we all have to go through—specifically as they concern what many of us classify as “our values” and how we handle “life.”
“Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many” (Mark 13:6, NASU).“For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will mislead many” (Matthew 24:5, NASU).“And He said, ‘See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, “I am He,” and, “The time is near.” Do not go after them’” (Luke 21:8, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 4:1-9 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance. But in those days, after that tribulation, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken [Isaiah 13:10; 34:4; Ezekiel 32:7-8; Joel 2:10]. Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS [Daniel 7:13-14] with great power and glory. And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven” (Mark 13:23-27, NASU).“For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky [Isaiah 13:10; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15], and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY [Zechariah 12:10, 14; Daniel 7:13-14] with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER [Isaiah 27:13] His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” (Matthew 24:27-31, NASU).“There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD [Daniel 7:13] with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:25-28, NASU).
“One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘What commandment is the foremost of all?’ Yeshua answered, ‘The foremost is, “HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH” [Deuteronomy 6:4-5]. The second is this, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” [Leviticus 19:18]. There is no other commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to Him, ‘Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM [Deuteronomy 6:4]; AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF [Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18], is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ When Yeshua saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions. And Yeshua began to say, as He taught in the temple, ‘How is it that the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself said in the Holy Spirit, “THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, ‘SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET’ [Psalm 110:1].” David himself calls Him “Lord”; so in what sense is He his son?’ And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him” (Mark 12:28-37, NASU).“But when the Pharisees heard that Yeshua had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And He said to him, ‘“YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND” [Deuteronomy 6:5]. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” [Leviticus 19:18]. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets. Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Yeshua asked them a question: ‘What do you think about the Messiah, whose son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘Then how does David in the Spirit call Him “Lord,” saying, “THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, ‘SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET’ [Psalm 110:1]”? If David then calls Him “Lord,” how is He his son?’ No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question” (Matthew 22:35-46, NASU).“Then He said to them, ‘How is it that they say the Messiah is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, “THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, ‘SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET’” [Psalm 110:1].’ Therefore David calls Him “Lord,” and how is He his son?’” (Luke 20:41-44, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 3:12-25 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, ‘Is it not written, “MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS”? But you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN [Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11].’ The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. When evening came, they would go out of the city” (Mark 11:15-19, NASU).“And Yeshua entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, ‘It is written, “MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER”; but you are making it a robbers’ den [Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11].’ And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they became indignant and said to Him, ‘Do You hear what these children are saying?’ And Yeshua said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read, “OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF” [Psalm 8:3, LXX]?” (Matthew 21:12-16, NASU).“Yeshua entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, saying to them, ‘It is written, “AND MY HOUSE SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER,” but you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN” [Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11].’ And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said” (Luke 19:45-48, NASU).
“They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Yeshua was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again’” (Mark 10:32-34, NASU).“As Yeshua was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up’” (Matthew 20:17-19, NASU).“Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.’ But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said” (Luke 18:31-34, NASU).
“As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Yeshua said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone’” (Mark 10:17-18, NASU).“And someone came to Him and said, ‘Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?’ And He said to him, ‘Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments’” (Matthew 19:16-17, NASU).“A ruler questioned Him, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Yeshua said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone’” (Luke 18:18-19, NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for V’yeishev: Acts 7:9-16
“From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, ‘The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.’ But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him” (Mark 9:30-32, NASU).“And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Yeshua said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.’ And they were deeply grieved” (Matthew 17:22-23, NASU).“And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, ‘Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.’ But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement” (Luke 9:43-45, NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’yeishev or “He continued living”
John McKee comments on the reality of how few Believers truly understand how history is moving in a specific direction. This discussion challenges each of us to stop looking at the Bible as individually written to each of us, and instead how we are each involved in God’s great plan for Planet Earth and the universe.
“Six days later, Yeshua took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Yeshua. Peter said to Yeshua, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!’ All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Yeshua alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant. They asked Him, saying, ‘Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ And He said to them, ‘Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him’” (Mark 9:2-13, NASU).“Six days later Yeshua took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Yeshua, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, ‘Get up, and do not be afraid.’ And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Yeshua Himself alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Yeshua commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.’ And His disciples asked Him, ‘Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ And He answered and said, ‘Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.’ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist” (Matthew 17:1-13, NASU).“Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Yeshua, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not realizing what he was saying. While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!’ And when the voice had spoken, Yeshua was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen” (Luke 9:28-36,
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 3:1-11 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’ And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. And Yeshua was saying to them, ‘Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power’” (Mark 8:31-9:1, NASU).“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS [Psalm 28:4; 62:12; Proverbs 24:12]. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matthew 16:27-28, NASU).“But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.’ And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:21-27, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 2:18-23 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 2:16-17 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Departing from there, Yeshua went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them. So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 2:13-15 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Immediately Yeshua made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, ‘Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.’ Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened” (Mark 6:45-52, NASU).“Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Yeshua spoke to them, saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Yeshua. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Yeshua stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” (Matthew 14:22-33, NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for V’yishlach: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Hebrews 12:14-17; Revelation 7:1-12
“At that time Yeshua said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS [Jeremiah 6:16]. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light’” (Matthew 11:25-30, NASU).“At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, ‘I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.’ Turning to the disciples, He said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them’” (Luke 10:21-24, NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’yishlach or “He sent”
John McKee evaluates how problematic it is, how too much of today’s Messianic community promotes a watered down and diluted, popular Christian gospel: a message that is only concerned about going to Heaven when you die.
“A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse—after hearing about Yeshua, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, ‘If I just touch His garments, I will get well.’ Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Immediately Yeshua, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched My garments?’ And His disciples said to Him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, “Who touched Me?”’ And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction’” (Mark 5:25-34, NASU).“And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, ‘If I only touch His garment, I will get well.’ But Yeshua turning and seeing her said, ‘Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.’ At once the woman was made well” (Matthew 9:20-22, NASU).“And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Yeshua said, ‘Who is the one who touched Me?’ And while they were all denying it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.’ But Yeshua said, ‘Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.’ When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace’” (Luke 8:43-48, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 2:8-12 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Yeshua from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, ‘What business do we have with each other, Yeshua, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!’ For He had been saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ And He was asking him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said to Him, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, ‘Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.’ Yeshua gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Yeshua and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the ‘legion’; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, ‘Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Yeshua had done for him; and everyone was amazed” (Mark 5:1-20, NASU).“When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, ‘What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?’ Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. The demons began to entreat Him, saying, ‘If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.’ And He said to them, ‘Go!’ And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Yeshua; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region” (Matthew 8:28-34, NASU).“Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. Seeing Yeshua, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, ‘What business do we have with each other, Yeshua, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.’ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. And Yeshua asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said,
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 2:1-7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“On that day, when evening came, He said to them, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Yeshua Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’” (Mark 4:35-41, NASU).“When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Yeshua Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing!’ He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?’ Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’” (Matthew 8:23-27, NASU).“Now on one of those days Yeshua and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they launched out. But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Yeshua and woke Him up, saying, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, ‘Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?’” (Luke 8:22-25, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 1:21-29 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.’ And Yeshua answered him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ And he replied, ‘Say it, Teacher.’ ‘A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he forgave more.’ And He said to him, ‘You have judged correctly.’ Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.’ Then He said to her, ‘Your sins have been forgiven.’ Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this man who even forgives sins?’ And He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 1:15-20 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd. Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise!’ The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Yeshua gave him back to his mother. Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!’ and, ‘God has visited His people!’ This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for V’yeitzei: John 1:43-51
“Yeshua withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him. And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him; for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ And He earnestly warned them not to tell who He was” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’yeitzei or “He went out”
John McKee weighs through a number of substantial issues which concern the future viability of today’s Messianic movement: (1) why more Jewish people have not come to faith in Yeshua, (2) why we often place ourselves in a bubble, and (3) how too many non-Jewish people have been unnecessarily turned away.
“When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Yeshua seeing their faith said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?’ Immediately Yeshua, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, ‘Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”; or to say, “Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.’ And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this’” (Mark 2:1-12, NASU).
“Getting into a boat, Yeshua crossed over the sea and came to His own city. And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Yeshua said to the paralytic, ‘Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.’ And some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This fellow blasphemes.’ And Yeshua knowing their thoughts said, ‘Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up, and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—then He said to the paralytic, ‘Get up, pick up your bed and go home.’ And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men” (Matthew 9:1-8, NASU).
“One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Yeshua. Seeing their faith, He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.’ The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, ‘Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?’ But Yeshua, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, ‘Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, “Your sins have been forgiven you,” or to say, “Get up and walk”? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’—He said to the paralytic—‘I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.’ Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, ‘We have seen remarkable things today’” (Luke 5:17-26, NASU).
“They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, ‘What business do we have with each other, Yeshua of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!’ And Yeshua rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’ Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.’ Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee” (Mark 1:21-28, NASU).
“And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Yeshua of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!’ But Yeshua rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet and come out of him!’ And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, ‘What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.’ And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district” (Luke 4:31-37, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Colossians 1:1-14 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him” (Mark 1:12-13, NASU).
“Then Yeshua was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD” [Deuteronomy 8:3].’ Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, “HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU”; and “ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE” [Psalm 91:11-12].’ Yeshua said to him, ‘On the other hand, it is written, “YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST” [Deuteronomy 6:16].’ Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.’ Then Yeshua said to him, ‘Go, Satan! For it is written, “YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY” [Deuteronomy 6:13].’ Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him” (Matthew 4:1-11, NASU).
“Yeshua, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. And the devil said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ And Yeshua answered him, ‘It is written, “MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE” [Deuteronomy 8:3].’ And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, ‘I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.’ Yeshua answered him, ‘It is written, “YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY” [Deuteronomy 6:13].’ And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written, “HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU’ [Psalm 91:11], and, ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE’ [Psalm 91:12].” And Yeshua answered and said to him, ‘It is said, “YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST’ [Deuteronomy 6:16].” When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:1-13, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. This is Part 2 of 2 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of how this letter has been approached in contemporary theology, and what it might mean for today’s Messianic community. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“In those days Yeshua came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: ‘You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased’” (Mark 1:9-11, NASU).
“Then Yeshua arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’ But Yeshua answering said to him, ‘Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Yeshua came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased’” (Matthew 3:13-17, NASU).
“Now when all the people were baptized, Yeshua was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased’” (Luke 3:21-22, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. This is Part 1 of 2 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of authorship, the location of the the author, the date of Colossians, and the target audience. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“The beginning of the gospel of Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY [Malachi 3:1]; THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, “MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT” [Isaiah 40:3]’” (Mark 1:1-3, NASU).
“‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, ‘THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’ [Isaiah 40:3]” (Matthew 3:2-3, NASU).
“And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, “MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT. EVERY RAVING WILL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE BROUGHT LOW; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH; AND ALL FLESH WILL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD’ [Isaiah 40:3-5]” (Luke 3:3-6, NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 6:10-24 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Now after Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: “AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL”’ [Micah 5:2]. Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.’ After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Toldot: Romans 9:6-16; Hebrews 12:14-17
“Now the birth of Yeshua the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL’ [Isaiah 7:14], which translated means, ‘God with us.’ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Yeshua” (Matthew 1:18-25, NASU).
“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord’” (Luke 2:10-11, NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Toldot or “History”
“And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant—as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES, and FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US [Psalm 106:10]; to show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham our father, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS [Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1]; to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH [Isaiah 9:2; 58:8; 60:1-2], to guide our feet into the way of peace’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 6:1-9 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Yeshua. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. ‘For nothing will be impossible with God.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 5:24-32 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was brought forth; while He had not yet made the earth and the fields, nor the first dust of the world. When He established the heavens, I was there, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed, when He set for the sea its boundary so that the water would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth; then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the world, His earth, and having my delight in the sons of men” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 5:22-23 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’ The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of Your enemies.’ Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew. The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’ The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. He will drink from the brook by the wayside; therefore He will lift up His head” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 5:21 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end” (NASU).
“The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples have seen His glory. Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols; worship Him, all you gods” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Chayei Sarah: Matthew 8:19-22; Luke 9:57-62; Hebrews 11:8-16
“A Psalm of Asaph. God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah. Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. They do not know nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. Nevertheless you will die like men and fall like any one of the princes.’ Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is You who possesses all the nations” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Chayei Sarah or “Sarah’s life”
“For the choir director; according to the Shoshannim. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love. My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever. Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, in Your splendor and Your majesty! And in Your majesty ride on victoriously, for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let Your right hand teach You awesome things. Your arrows are sharp; the peoples fall under You; your arrows are in the heart of the King’s enemies. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows. All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad. Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies; at Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir. Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house; then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him. The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; the rich among the people will seek your favor. The King’s daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work; the virgins, her companions who follow her, will be brought to You. They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; they will enter into the King’s palace. In place of your fathers will be your sons; You shall make them princes in all the earth. I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 5:15-20 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (NASU).
“Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’ He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury, saying, ‘But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.’ I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 5:1-14 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 4:20-32 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 4:11-19 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 4:1-10 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee makes a few observations, after having recently listened to the MessianTics podcast, “What Will Make the Future of MJ Stronger?”
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Lekh-Lekha: Luke 17:26-37; Romans 9:6-9; Galatians 4:21-31; Hebrews 6:13-20; 11:13-19; James 2:14-24; 2 Peter 2:4-10
“I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened. Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time. I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’yeira or “He appeared”
“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, ‘Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?’ They replied to the king, ‘Certainly, O king.’ He said, ‘Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!’ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!’ Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 3:8-21 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Being able to discuss various details about a passage of Scripture or theology, can actually present its own share of difficulties.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 3:1-7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
As we survey today’s spiritual climate, are we likely to see more unity among brothers and sisters—or more factions—emerge?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 2:17-22 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 2:15b-16 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old” (NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee makes a few observations on the emerging Pronomian movement.
“For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), ‘I am the LORD, and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, In some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, “Seek Me in a waste place”; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, declaring things that are upright. Gather yourselves and come; draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; they have no knowledge, who carry about their wooden idol and pray to a god who cannot save. Declare and set forth your case; indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’ Men will come to Him, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. In the LORD all the offspring of Israel will be justified and will glory” (NASU).
Please allow me to do my best, in guiding you through our family’s Messianic experience from 1995-2022. Revelation 12:11a states of the future end-time Believers, “they overcame…because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony” (NASU). With this noted, perhaps by reviewing my testimony of persevering in things Messianic—something which has not always been easy for us the past twenty-seven years—you will know more about the faith community you are either already a part of on some level, or the Lord is prompting you to considering joining in a significant way.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Lekh-Lekha: Acts 7:1-8; Romans 3:19-5:6; Galatians 3:15-18; 5:1-6; Colossians 2:11-15; Hebrews 7:1-19; 11:8-12
One of the reasons why many people enter into Messianic things or Hebrew Roots, is that they are searching for a spiritual “high” of sorts—knowing things which are not necessarily known by others. This leads to all manner of problems!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Lekh-Lekha or “Get yourself out”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee responds to having just read the new Jonathan Cahn book Return of the Gods, and specifically goes through a number of the difficult subjects and future discussions it raises.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 2:14-15 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Why raise the difficult to answer questions? Is it not true that even if we are not asking them, that many people we know are?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 2:11-13 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 2:8-10 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Is it true that every generation of Bible readers has a tendency to “negotiate” with the accounts and regulations seen in the Holy Scriptures?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 2:1-7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
A common fundamentalist argument is that that consideration of critical views of the Tanach (OT) is not necessary, because if we believe in Yeshua (Jesus), He affirmed its historicity.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 1:15-23 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee offers some closing thoughts to this series, after reading the book Confronting Old Testament Controversies by Tremper Longman III.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Noach: Matthew 24:37-42; Luke 17:26-27; 1 Peter 3:18-22; 2 Peter 2:4-5; Hebrews 11:7
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee offers thoughts on the issue of sexuality, after reading the book Confronting Old Testament Controversies by Tremper Longman III.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Noach or “Noah”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee offers thoughts on the issue of Divine violence, after reading the book Confronting Old Testament Controversies by Tremper Longman III.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 1:7-14 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee offers thoughts on the historicity of major Biblical events, after reading the book Confronting Old Testament Controversies by Tremper Longman III.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Ephesians 1:1-6 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reflects on some recent social encounters with those identifying as “Exvangelical” and “Deconstructing.”
“This one will say, “I am the LORD’s”; and that one will call on the name of Jacob; and another will write on his hand, “Belonging to the LORD,” and will name Israel’s name with honor. Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me. Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; yes, let him recount it to Me in order, from the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place. Do not tremble and do not be afraid; have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none”’” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter of Ephesians. This is Part 2 of 2 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of how this letter has been approached in contemporary theology, and what it might mean for today’s Messianic community. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter of Ephesians. This is Part 1 of 2 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of authorship, the location of the the author, the date of Ephesians, and the target audience. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth” (Isaiah 37:16, NASU).
“Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, ‘I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself and spreading out the earth all alone’” (Isaiah 44:24, NASU).
“You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before You” (Nehemiah 9:6, NASU).
“The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand…” (Psalm 95:5-7, NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following Apostolic Scriptures Reflection for Bereisheet: Matthew 19:3-9; Mark 10:2-16; 1 Corinthians 6:15-20; Ephesians 5:28-33
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee offer thoughts on the Creation/Evolution debate, after reading the book Confronting Old Testament Controversies by Tremper Longman III.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Bereisheet or “In the Beginning”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee offers his initial thoughts after reading the book Confronting Old Testament Controversies by Tremper Longman III.
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for V’zot Ha’berakhah, Joshua 1:1–18
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’zot Ha’berakhah or “This is the blessing”
“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (NASU).
Join Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries for a series of special teachings from the Book of Ecclesiastes, for the eight days of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. Eight of Eight.
“Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, so that the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years. There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children. Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.’ Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, ‘A man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. But he said to me, “Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.”’ Then Manoah entreated the LORD and said, ‘O Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born.’ God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, ‘Behold, the man who came the other day has appeared to me.’ Then Manoah arose and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, ‘Are you the man who spoke to the woman?’ And he said, ‘I am.’ Manoah said, ‘Now when your words come to pass, what shall be the boy’s mode of life and his vocation?’ So the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, ‘Let the woman pay attention to all that I said. She should not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe all that I commanded.’ Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, ‘Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you.’ The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, ‘Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD.’ For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD. Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, ‘What is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?’ But the angel of the LORD said to him, ‘Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?’ So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the LORD, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. Now the angel of the LORD did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. So Manoah said to his wife, ‘We will surely die, for we have seen God.’ But his wife said to him, ‘If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.’ Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol” (NASU).
Join Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries for a series of special teachings from the Book of Ecclesiastes, for the eight days of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. Seven of Eight.
“Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, ‘The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior.’ Then Gideon said to him, ‘O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, “Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?” But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.’ The LORD looked at him and said, ‘Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?’ He said to Him, ‘O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.’ But the LORD said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.’ So Gideon said to Him, ‘If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You.’ And He said, ‘I will remain until you return.’ Then Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them. The angel of God said to him, ‘Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.’ And he did so. Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, ‘Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.’ The LORD said to him, ‘Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die’” (NASU).
Sukkot Reflections from Ecclesiastes – Day Six FEATURED PUBLICATION Messianic Fall Holiday Helper The Fall...
“Now the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, ‘I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, “I will never break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.” But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done? Therefore I also said, “I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.”’ When the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the LORD” (NASU).
Join Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries for a series of special teachings from the Book of Ecclesiastes, for the eight days of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. Five of Eight.
“Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you for us or for our adversaries?’ He said, ‘No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, ‘What has my lord to say to his servant?’ The captain of the LORD’s host said to Joshua, ‘Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so. Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. The LORD said to Joshua, ‘See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors’” (NASU).
Join Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries for a series of special teachings from the Book of Ecclesiastes, for the eight days of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. Four of Eight.
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (NASU).
Join Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries for a series of special teachings from the Book of Ecclesiastes, for the eight days of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. Three of Eight.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee begins a multi-part series after completing the book Confronting Old Testament Controversies by Tremper Longman III.
Join Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries for a series of special teachings from the Book of Ecclesiastes, for the eight days of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. Two of Eight.
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reflects upon the recent death of Messianic Jewish theologian David H. Stern.
Join Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries for a series of special teachings from the Book of Ecclesiastes, for the eight days of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. One of Eight.
The following music has been used for the intro and close of various Messianic Apologetics podcasts: Terminus by Scott Buckley
“The LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might perform them in the land where you are going over to possess it. So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Ha’azinu, 2 Samuel 22:1–22:51
Many people who are participants in the Messianic experience find themselves stuck between an entrenched establishment holding onto power, and mavericks who give little respect to any kind of authority.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Ha’azinu or “Hear”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reflects back on some of the matters of Yom Kippur this year.
“But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back into the way. Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself to the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. The angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick. And the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’ Then Balaam said to the donkey, ‘Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now.’ The donkey said to Balaam, ‘Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?’ And he said, ‘No.’ Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground. The angel of the LORD said to him, ‘Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was contrary to me. But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live.’ Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, ‘I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.’ But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, ‘Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you.’ So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak. When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the Arnon border, at the extreme end of the border. Then Balak said to Balaam, ‘Did I not urgently send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I really unable to honor you?’ So Balaam said to Balak, ‘Behold, I have come now to you! Am I able to speak anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak’” (NASU).
The following music has been used for the intro and close of various Messianic Apologetics podcasts: Wayfarer by Scott Buckley
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reflects on a few things, as he prepares for Erev Yom Kippur.
Days of Awe: Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how non-Jewish Believers, called by God into the Messianic movement, do have to give up various things to participate in the salvation of Israel and the Jewish people.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philippians 4 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Days of Awe: Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how the importance of the Fall High Holidays is diminished by some of the abuses of charismatic Christians.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philippians 3:15-21 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Days of Awe: Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee mentions the difficult subject matter of how today’s Messianic people need a better, and more constructive way, of approaching the explosion of Hebrew Roots.
“Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the LORD would speak with Moses. When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. Then Moses said to the LORD, ‘See, You say to me, “Bring up this people!” But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, “I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.” Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.’ And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then he said to Him, ‘If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?’ The LORD said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.’ Then Moses said, ‘I pray You, show me Your glory!’ And He said, ‘I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.’ But He said, ‘You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!’ Then the LORD said, ‘Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”
Days of Awe: Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee tries to help sort through the thinking of some people, who have been upset with the Messianic community over the past few years.
“‘But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.’ Then the LORD smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, ‘Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, “To your descendants I will give it.” I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way.’ When the people heard this sad word, they went into mourning, and none of them put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, ‘Say to the sons of Israel, “You are an obstinate people; should I go up in your midst for one moment, I would destroy you. Now therefore, put off your ornaments from you, that I may know what I shall do with you.”’ So the sons of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.”
Days of Awe: Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how we have all gone through phases of disagreeing more with the people we are in close contact with, than agreeing with them.
Days of Awe: Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee considers how difficult it may be to hold back, waiting on the Lord for His direction.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Two Invisible Structures Contrasted,” as we compare and contrast what is built by humans, versus what is established by God.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “A Messianic Heart,” as we consider some of the key spiritual matters to be considered, particularly during a season such as the Ten Days of Awe.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philippians 3:5-14 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reflects back on his Rosh HaShanah activities and congregational service.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philippians 3:1-4 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reflects on a few things, as he prepares for Erev Rosh Hashanah.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philippians 2:12-30 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee is preparing to read through the book Confronting Old Testament Controversies by Tremper Longman III, and reviews some of the difficulties that many Messianic people might have from it.
“Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him. But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them. You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their sacred pillars in pieces.”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee briefly summarizes some of the major factors, which will affect our interpretation and application of Moses’ Teaching: Ancient Israel, the Messiah Event, Jewish examination, Christian examination.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Nitzavim, Isaiah 61:10-63:9
People in every generation since the ascension of Yeshua (Jesus) into Heaven, have thought that they were the ones living in the very end of days. Is it possible that our approach to the end-times, is in need of some adjustment?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Nitzavim-V’yeilekh or “Standing-And he went”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philippians 2:5-11 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
You will hear various Hebrew Roots people claim that the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-34 is not active—precisely because they fail to take into consideration the principle of realized eschatology.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philippians 2:1-4 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
What kinds of difficulties are in possible store for Messianic people, as we are challenged to see things as God sees things—and think more theologically?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philippians 1:18-30 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Then God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:1-4, NASU).
“I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me” (Deuteronomy 5:6-9, NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reacts to having just read an article, introducing the new Jonathan Cahn book, Return of the Gods.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Ki-Tavo, Isaiah 60:1-22
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee reacts to having just completed reading Christianity and Wokeness by Owen Strachan.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Ki-Tavo or “When you enter in”
It is not always easy to discuss the nature of Yeshua, a high Christology, in various parts of the broad Messianic community.
“The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night” (Exodus 13:21, NASU).
“The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them” (Exodus 14:19, NASU).
Today’s Messianic movement can best be described as the “emerging Messianic movement.” Not enough people have a clear destination about where our faith community is to be focusing its efforts.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philippians 1:8-17 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee explains why he is very hesitant to describe himself as being some part of emerging “Joshua generation.”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Philippians 1:1-7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Is there agreement or disagreement between the blowing of the trumpet, depicted in: Matthew 24:29-31; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Revelation 11:15?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. This is Part 2 of 2 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of how this letter has been approached in contemporary theology, and what it might mean for today’s Messianic community. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “God’s Just Restitution,” as we consider the Biblical prophecies and expectations of the return and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land.
“Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, ‘Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs’” (Exodus 4:14-17, NASU).
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. When Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst’” (Exodus 7:1-5, NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee briefly reflects on the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
“Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, ‘I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.’ When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said also, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?’ And He said, ‘Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.’ Then Moses said to God, ‘Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” Now they may say to me, “What is His name?” What shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.”’ God, furthermore, said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, “The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ‘I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.’”
How many of us have come to incorrect theological conclusions, because we do not often consider various third and fourth possibilities?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Ki-Teitzei, Isaiah 54:1-10
A difficult aspect of being able to discuss different perspectives on Genesis 1-11, is reckoning with the concept of death before the introduction of sin.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Ki-Teitzei or “When you go out”
No community of faith, including the Messianic movement, is completely immune from the negative influences of opportunism.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. This is Part 1 of 2 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of authorship, the location of the the author, the date of Philippians, and the target audience. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Throughout religious history, a tactic of the establishment has always been to accuse various new faith communities of causing some sort of “division” to the ekklesia (“church”).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Acts 16:19-40, Paul's visit to Philippi, verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Some topics or issues do not get discussed, because a number of people have not conducted research or lack experience in the area. Yet other people lack the willingness to look into a matter, as well.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Acts 16:6-18, Paul's visit to Philippi, verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
The most well-trained, well-researched, theologians and Bible teachers—will indeed spend a great deal of their lifetime, updating and fine-tuning their views and positions on different matters.
“He blessed Joseph, and said, ‘The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and may my name live on in them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth’” (NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses how thirty years ago, the death of his father was a major step toward his family getting involved in the Messianic movement.
“Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.’ But he said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ So he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.’ Then Jacob asked him and said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved’” (NASU).
Today’s Messianic community widely stresses that God’s people need to have a Torah foundation. Yet, is not Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah to be our foundation?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Shoftim, Isaiah 51:12-52:12
There is a tendency among many people of faith, to make complicated matters overly-simplistic, and to make simplistic matters overly-complicated.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Shoftim or “Judges”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 13 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Not enough people in today’s Messianic movement realize that what they are participating in, is salvation history, and something that should take us all the way to the Second Coming of Israel’s Messiah.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 12 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses a recent letter that our ministry received, as a beneficiary of our Prison Ministry.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 11 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Too many Hebrew Roots people on social media like to hit people with sound bytes, often with very little theological engagement, as much an intention at shock value.
“The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there… He said to me, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house’” (NASU).
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee wishes you a Shabbat Shalom, and offers a brief update.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Re’eih, Isaiah 54:11-55:5
“Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ And he said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’ Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.’ Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, ‘By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice’” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Re’eih or “See”
“God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him. Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink. God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt” (NASU).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 10 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, and said, ‘My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.’ And they said, ‘So do, as you have said.’ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, ‘Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.’ Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate. Then they said to him, ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’ And he said, ‘There, in the tent.’ He said, ‘I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’ And the LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, “Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?” Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah denied it however, saying, ‘I did not laugh’; for she was afraid. And He said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’ Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. The LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.’ And the LORD said, ‘The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.’ Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD. Abraham came near and said, ‘Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?’ So the LORD said, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.’ And Abraham replied, ‘Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?’ And He said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’ He spoke to Him yet again and said, ‘Suppose forty are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not do it on account of the forty.’ Then he said, ‘Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not do it if I find thirty there.’ And he said, ‘Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.
How does one sort through the claim that evangelical Protestants who oppose homosexuality are being inconsistent, because consumption of unclean meats is also considered an abomination?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 9 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Peter’s vision in Acts 10 was about the cleansing of human beings, because of the completed work of Yeshua on the tree. It was not about the canceling out of the standard of sin in God’s commandments.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 8 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
There are some teachers you will encounter, who can seemingly only focus their attention on one particular issue or subject matter. How problematic can this be not only for theology, but also for body ministry?
“Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. He said, ‘Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?’ And she said, ‘I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.’ Then the angel of the LORD said to her, ‘Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.’ Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, ‘I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.’ The angel of the LORD said to her further, ‘Behold, you are with child, and you will bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. He will be a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.’ Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, ‘You are a God who sees’; for she said, ‘Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?’” (NASU).
Many people across the Messianic and Hebrew Roots spectrum believe that the spiritual armor of Ephesians 6 describes the clothing of a Levitical high priest, and not battle armor.
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:26-28, NASU).
“Then the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’—therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken” (Genesis 3:22-23, NASU).
“‘Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city” (Genesis 11:7-8, NASU).
There are places and regions, where the contrast between good and evil, light and darkness, are very strong.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Ekev, Isaiah 49:14-51:3
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Ekev or “Because”
In the scope and intentions of the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15, while Acts 15:21 is the most debated across the Messianic world—Acts 15:15 is the most important as far as evaluating the intentions of salvation history.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Hopefully in a fair-minded and constructive way, Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee can explain at least one theological example of where we differ with many who forcefully identify as being part of the “Torah movement.”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 6:11-18 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Is it true that obeying the Torah’s commandments will merit one as “righteous”? What is the best way to approach Romans 2:13?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mature men and women of faith are to know the right times to speak, and the right times to be silent and listen.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “A Messianic Challenge,” as we look at some of the First Century and Twenty-First Century matters facing the Body of Messiah.
It is frequently claimed that since Yeshua (Jesus) did not specifically speak about homosexuality, that it is, perhaps, acceptable among His followers.
The Hebrew Roots movement frequently rejects the mainstream Jewish calendar, but cannot agree on which alternative should be followed.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for V’et’chanan, Isaiah 40:1-26
The Hebrew Roots movement has a growing reputation for being overly negative, critical, and hostile to the good things brought to us by the Jewish Synagogue and Christian Church.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’et’chanan or “I pleaded”
Many people across the Messianic and Hebrew Roots worlds believe they can calculate the year of the Messiah’s return.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 5:12-21 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
We close up this present multi-part series on Wokeism. What are some of the challenges that will continue to exist or elude many, as we deal with the influence of Wokeism in faith communities and upon young people?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 4 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Wokeism has been directly affected by the difficulties caused by contemporary theological debates involving Genesis 1-11, Creationism, and Theistic Evolution. An insecurity on the part of many leaders and teachers, to permit difficult questions to be asked and discussed, has caused many to find liberal and progressive communities where more of an open discussion is allowed.
Wokeism has been directly affected by the difficulties modern evangelicalism has faced regarding marriage, leadership roles of men and women, the rise of divorce, and the increasing number of single people.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Devarim, Isaiah 1:1-27
What is commonly thought of as an uncritical, unconditional support for all of the actions of the State of Israel, by much of evangelical Protestantism—is a contributing factor to Wokeism.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Devarim or “Words”
A promotion of an any moment, pre-tribulation rapture—and its ensuing eschatology—actually has contributed to Wokeism.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
The debate over homosexuality is splitting entire faith communities. How can anyone fairly sort through this issue, in a Biblical but understanding way?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 3:4-11 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
How many have held to such an inflexible and unrealistic view of Biblical inerrancy—that they do not realize that they have actually pushed many people toward liberal and progressive approaches to the Scriptures?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 3:1-3 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “A Messianic Orientation,” as I recall some of the supernatural encounters and spiritual lessons I had at the Messiah 2016 conference.
We introduce a multi-part series discussing Wokeism. Who is more responsible for contributing to Wokeism: the fallen world, or an inflexible and close-minded faith community?
The motives of far too many people, across both the Messianic movement and Hebrew Roots, is so that they can have some kind of “edge” via knowledge or information that only “they” know.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Mattot-Mas’ei, Jeremiah 1:1-2:3; 2:4-28; 3:4; 4:1-2
The “Torah observance” that one sees widely promoted involves a renewed appreciation for the seventh-day Sabbath, appointed times, and a kosher style of diet. This hardly composes “all” of Torah. What difficulties await us regarding moving into discussing the Torah’s weightier matters?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Mattot-Mas’ei or “Tribes-Stages”
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “A Messianic Vision,” as I recall some of the supernatural encounters I had at the Messiah 2016 conference.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 2:12-17 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Many of us have heard about the need for unity in the Body of Messiah. But how do we counterbalance this with legitimate reasons for severing ties?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 2:1-11 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Many people in examining Hebrew or Greek matters, never get beyond Strong’s Concordance.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 1:6-24 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “God’s Patient Perseverance,” as we consider how God has steadily used human beings to accomplish His goals for Israel and the world.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Pinchas, 1 Kings 18:46-19:21
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “A Messianic Worldview,” as we consider various matters in our Western culture through the grid of what God has been doing with the Messianic community of faith.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Pinchas or “Phinehas”
If today’s Messianic students commit to reading the Torah from the perspective of Ancient Israel first—what will be a few of the difficult matters to overcome?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 2 Corinthians 1:1-5 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee was recently asked about why our ministry has yet to address the Messiahship of Yeshua in any substantial detail.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter of 2 Corinthians. This is Part 2 of 2 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of how this letter has been approached in contemporary theology, and what it might mean for today’s Messianic community. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Many sincere Believers rightfully pray against abortion. But the problem is always with what is not said.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter of 2 Corinthians. This is Part 1 of 2 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of authorship, the location of the the author, the date of 2 Corinthians, and the target audience. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Many non-Jewish Believers called by God into the Messianic movement understandably want everyone to become Messianic. But is this the best approach?
The Hebrew Roots movement is vast, but there tends to be three types of people you will encounter: the lost cause, the offended, the one close to but far enough away from Messianic Judaism.
As we continue to consider the phenomenon of Wokeism, what are some of the difficult matters which will need to be discussed?
According to Revelation 12:17 and 14:12, the end-time saints or holy ones will keep God’s commandments and hold to faith in Yeshua. Many in the Torah movement think that because they keep the seventh-day Sabbath/Shabbat, remember the appointed times of Leviticus 23, and eat a kosher-style of diet—that the Lord will give them special protection in the Last Days.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Balak or “Destroyer”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee was recently asked about his position on Torah and the people of God. His answer was not what you would typically hear among the different sides that get promoted.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 16 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
With many controversial issues needing to be discussed, should they all be talked about immediately—or should we gradually introduce them?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 15:23-58 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Many non-Jewish Believers cannot make it in the Messianic movement, because they wrongfully expect theological and spiritual uniformity.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 15:1-22 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Too many people may be seen to pay attention to various matters of this world, and not on enough matters that concern the world to come.
The future of the Messianic is going to be the next generation. But what might be some of the things to navigate through as we see the next generation emerge onto the scene?
The Messianic community has encountered various divisive issues in the past several decades. Whatever those have been, will probably seem like nothing compared to the influences of Wokeism.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Chukat-Balak, Judges 11:1-33; Micah 5:6-6:8
Many people thrive on controversy and contention. Many things get debated, but few things get resolved and taken care of.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Chukat or “Regulation”
In order to best handle a serious controversy, be sure that you have the ability to start talking to people on the areas where you agree.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Far too many people we know and love, who are sincere Believers, have theological views made up of sound bytes and half verses.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 14:1-25 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messiah 2022 Grantham, PA - 04 July, 2022
John McKee discusses the difficulties that people of faith are facing with the hyper-liberal wave of Wokeism. How do we learn to listen to the perspectives of those we may disagree with, in order to better understand them and not lose too many young people to the world?
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee looks back on some of the experiences the family has had, since being fully called into the Messianic movement in 1996.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 13 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee discusses the three books that he believes have had the most impact on his theological values.
It is common throughout Messianic and Hebrew Roots worlds to hear Yeshua called the “Torah made flesh.” This does not mean the same thing today, as it probably meant to those originally promoting it.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Korach, 1 Samuel 11:14-12:22
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Korach or “Korah”
Far too many in the Body of Messiah have limited their sexual education to: wait until marriage, homosexuality forbidden.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 12 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Is it true that according to Genesis 2:7 a human life does not begin until it takes its first physical breath?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 11:8-34 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Many people in the Body of Messiah have chosen to deliberately ignore the perspectives offered by the theological Left, and as such have left far too many incapable to understanding their perspective, so as to show them a better way.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 11:1-7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Within the broad Messianic sphere of influence, one will rightly see an emphasis on how God’s people need to return to a Torah foundation. But there are indeed those who imply that the Torah or Law of Moses is more important than the Eternal God who gave it.
Many in Hebrew Roots, encountering Yeshua’s and Paul’s teachings on the Torah, will claim that the Talmud is actually being opposed. How inaccurate is this, and how should be approach extra-Biblical materials like the Mishnah and Talmud?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Shelakh-Lekha, Joshua 2:1-24
Many people within today’s Messianic sphere of influence recognize the need to interpret the letters of the Apostle Paul from the vantage point of their First Century recipients in the Mediterranean. Yet, many of the same are unwilling to read the Torah from the vantage point of its original Ancient Israelite recipients in the Ancient Near East.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Shelakh-Lekha or “Send on your behalf”
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee responds to a recent meme, which offers a solution between the teachings of Yeshua the Messiah and the Apostle Paul.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
How many people across the Messianic and Hebrew Roots spectrum agree on the post-resurrection era validity of Moses’ Teaching—but then (strongly) disagree on how it should be implemented for Messiah’s followers?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 10:19-30 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Studying the Torah and having a Torah foundation are very important for the people of today’s Messianic community. But how many of our approaches to Torah are colored by a fundamentalist lens, that has possibly done more damage than good?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 10:11-18 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
People in the community of faith are asking questions about extra-terrestrials. What are some of the responses to these questions that we can anticipate?
Mockers of the faith have existed for centuries. But the mocking of 2 Peter 3:3-4 is specific, as it involves whether or not things will just continue as normal.
How will any of us in the community of faith be able to properly handle the increasing challenges of Wokism? Will we be able to firmly, yet compassionately, address the various issues?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for B’ha’alotkha, Zechariah 2:14-4:7
Messianic Apologetics editor John McKee responds to a recent meme, which pointed out that unclean birds are still unclean in Revelation 18:2.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: B’ha’alotkha or “When you set up”
The Holy Scriptures specifically address many things, but what might they not address? How do we have to properly consider what the Bible talks about, and does not talk about, in our increasingly complex times?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 10:1-10 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
How many people think that they have end-time prophecy all figured out, when they probably do not?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 9:16-27 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
What are some of the things that we have to reckon with, which saw interest in either the Messianic movement or Hebrew Roots grow—which are now turning out to be of little substantial value in light of present challenges?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 9:1-15 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
How much time and energy have been wasted, by various Messianic people, by doing Torah study—with little or no emphasis on the significant ethical and moral matters that face us today?
Our Bible studies and spiritual discussions cannot be business as usual anymore. It is easier now than ever, to be exposed to things, which can cause people to severely doubt God and the Bible.
Having constructive dialogue, and sorting through various complementarian and egalitarian perspectives of men and women—will only be possible when both sides can recognize the risks that both sides need to keep under control.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Naso, Judges 13:2-25
What is Biblical inerrancy? What does it mean when we encounter those who identify as holding to limited inerrancy?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Naso or “Take”
With all of the different Christian denominations out there, a classic question is: “Which one is the right one?” Will things even out in the future, or get more complicated?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 8:4-13 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
We live in an increasingly complicated world. The mission of the Body of Messiah is to declare the good news of His salvation and make disciples. How do we make sure that we are not unnecessarily turning anyone away from the Kingdom?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Shavuot, the Day of Pentecost, witnessed people from all over the worldwide Jewish community, be poured out with the Holy Spirit. They took the good news of Israel’s Messiah back to their local towns and synagogues.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 7:25-40 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Fifty of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics delivers the following message, "Is Your Torah Observance a Genuine Work of the Holy Spirit?,” as we discuss the various challenges of legalism, lawlessness, and the New Covenant power to write the commandments of God onto a redeemed heart and mind.
Let us look at what happened to Peter and the other Apostles on that first Shavuot fifty days after the resurrection of Yeshua—and only ten days after He had ascended into Heaven!
After our heart, the mind is clearly the first part of our beings that is to experience transformation. If one examines Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount and His sayings about one being angry with a neighbor, one having lustful inclinations, or simple hate for others, you can be rest assured that the Lord does place a high priority on our thoughts. It is not solely enough for us to commit a sinful act to be guilty; it is sufficient for us to have thoughts of committing a sin for us to be guilty. While some of us may watch science fiction shows where human telepaths are used to probe the thoughts and feelings of criminals or potential criminals, and we might shake our heads about how ludicrous and subjective it might be, God probes our minds all the time. He knows what each one of us is thinking right now. He knows if our thoughts are focused on Him, His Word, and the work that He has assigned us to do—or if we are thinking things that will take us away from Him and damage the relationship that He desires with us.
We face some challenges in the coming years as the Messianic movement grows and matures. We have a great responsibility before us. If we are to properly complete the work that God has assigned to us, we need to have some serious one-on-one time with Him.
Shavuot is one of three pilgrimage festivals that is commanded in the Torah (Exodus 23:14-17; Deuteronomy 16:16). In Hebrew, its name means “weeks,” derived from the command in Deuteronomy 16:19, “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.” Many Christians know Shavuot from its Greek-derived name “Pentecost,” as Pentēkostē means “fiftieth,” indicative of the fifty days that are to be counted between Passover and this time.
Every man or woman of faith operates within some kind of paradigm. How important is it that we become conscious of the various bubbles we have placed ourselves in?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Forty-Nine of the Omer Count.
How many of us realize that perhaps more people will be convinced by a testimonial of someone’s spiritual or theological experience—than being force fed some kind of religious dogma?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Bamidbar, Hosea 2:1-22
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Forty-Eight of the Omer Count.
The present trend of “cancel culture” is hardly something new, when we consider how many religious authorities throughout history have prohibited various discussions from taking place.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Bamidbar or “In the wilderness”
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Forty-Seven of the Omer Count.
Abortion and homosexuality are too frequently condemned within today’s Body of Messiah—when the real problem, thousands of times bigger, is heterosexual sin.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Forty-Six of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Forty-Five of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Forty-Four of the Omer Count.
Wokeism caught too many in the contemporary Body of Messiah completely by surprise, and widely unprepared.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Forty-Three of the Omer Count.
Is it at all possible not to upset people, when discussing the controversial and debated issues of our day?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Forty-Two of the Omer Count.
What are some of the sociological, and even pastoral factors, which are too often disregarded or ignored in the contemporary debate over homosexuality?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Forty-One of the Omer Count.
Liberal theologians are certainly familiar with Biblical passages like Leviticus 18; Romans 1; and 1 Corinthians 6. But how might they be seen to redefine the issue?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Forty of the Omer Count.
Many think that a liberal theology will result from people interpreting passages of the Bible from the perspective of their “original audience” first.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirty-Nine of the Omer Count.
We see people struggle with the writings of the Apostle Paul, because they actually think Paul is writing directly to them in the Twenty-First Century.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirty-Eight of the Omer Count.
Many people in the broad Messianic and Hebrew Roots communities have forgotten that the work of Yeshua the Messiah is the most important thing.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirty-Seven of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirty-Six of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirty-Five of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for B’har-B’chuqotai, Jeremiah 32:6-27; 16:19-17:24
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirty-Four of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: B’har-B’chuqotai or “On the mount-By My Regulations”
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirty-Three of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirty-Two of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirty-One of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirty of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twenty-Nine of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twenty-Eight of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Emor, Ezekiel 44:15-31
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twenty-Seven of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Emor or “Speak”
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twenty-Six of the Omer Count.
John McKee evaluates some of the serious challenges that exist when the term “pagan” is...
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twenty-Five of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twenty-Four of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twenty-Three of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twenty-Two of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twenty-One of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twenty of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Nineteen of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 7:7-9 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Eighteen of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 7:1-6 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Seventeen of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 6:14-20 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Sixteen of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Fifteen of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, Ezekiel 22:1-19; Amos 9:7-15; Ezekiel 20:2-20
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Acharei Mot-Kedoshim or “After the death-Holy Ones”
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Fourteen of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Thirteen of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Twelve of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 6:12-13 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Eleven of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Ten of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Nine of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Eight of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Seven of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Six of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Five of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 5:6-13 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Four of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 4:9-21 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Three of the Omer Count.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 4:1-8 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day Two of the Omer Count.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following devotional for Day One of the Omer Count.
It was not until the Spirit of God prompted me, in 2004, to actually take the time to find a methodical way to Count the Omer. When applying it, I finally received some profound spiritual nourishment for my soul.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 3:16-23 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Do you follow the method of the Pharisees or Sadducees for the counting of the omer to determine Shavuot? It seems that most in the independent Messianic movement follow the counting method of the Sadducees.
Every Jewish feast day could be remembered with this satirical prayer: They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat!
If the people are ready to sense the leading of the Holy Spirit—when told about the opportunity to annually celebrate Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread—some spiritual eyes are opened to a fuller understanding of the whole counsel of God, found in the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. The testimonies from many in the Messianic community, about how the Lord used a Passover seder meal to open their eyes, are telling. Many Messianic teachers, congregations, and fellowships utilize Passover seder commemorations, as times to reach out to family, friends, and acquaintances. Jewish people, who remember observing Passover growing up, and who may have distanced themselves from God—often get to see a dynamic to the Passover, which a traditional remembrance in the Synagogue would obviously not have shown them. Evangelical Christians, who are either curious or confused about the unique Messianic lifestyle that their relative or friend has embraced, get to see a more fuller understanding of Jesus as the Lamb slain.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message entitled, “Passover: Paradox or Outreach?” There are many questions which circulate in today’s Messianic community during the season of Passover and Unleavened Bread. How is this to be an important time for us reaching out with the full message of the good news of Messiah Yeshua, to both the Jewish and Christian communities?
It comes every Spring, usually sometime in March or April. You know it because in stores you see the baskets, candy, rabbits, eggs, and the annoying fake grass that goes in those baskets. You see the Cadbury cream egg commercials on television with the rabbits gobbling like chickens. Its name is Easter.
Most sincere Christians celebrate the season of Easter not as a time to fawn over rabbits or eat candy, but as a serious time to remember the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus). They commemorate His death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday. Certainly, of all the events in our faith, the resurrection of our Lord is the most important. The Apostle Paul validly writes, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Messiah has been raised; and if Messiah has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14). However, when we consider the pre-Messianic and pre-Christian origins of “Easter,” we do need to reevaluate it.
I have heard some Messianic teachers say that Yeshua was not crucified on a cross. Can you clarify this for me?
Is it true that there are some substantial objections to the Last Supper being a Passover meal? If there are any, how do you respond to these arguments?
What kind of issues present themselves when the Passover season arrives? Would you believe that there are some people in the Messianic community today who do not believe that the Last Supper was a real, or even a kind-of, seder meal? How many of you have been engulfed in the argument that we need to do exactly what Yeshua did, and not any “traditions of men,” making Passover a bit unexciting? While there are longstanding disagreements on halachah between the Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewish traditions on what is kosher for Passover, think about some of the new Messianic disagreements that have arisen on what actually took place in those days leading up to Yeshua’s betrayal and execution. How long is three days and three nights? Was the Messiah really crucified, or put to death another away? And this is only a short list of what often gets discussed... Part 4 of 4
What kind of issues present themselves when the Passover season arrives? Would you believe that there are some people in the Messianic community today who do not believe that the Last Supper was a real, or even a kind-of, seder meal? How many of you have been engulfed in the argument that we need to do exactly what Yeshua did, and not any “traditions of men,” making Passover a bit unexciting? While there are longstanding disagreements on halachah between the Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewish traditions on what is kosher for Passover, think about some of the new Messianic disagreements that have arisen on what actually took place in those days leading up to Yeshua’s betrayal and execution. How long is three days and three nights? Was the Messiah really crucified, or put to death another away? And this is only a short list of what often gets discussed... Part 3 of 4
What kind of issues present themselves when the Passover season arrives? Would you believe that there are some people in the Messianic community today who do not believe that the Last Supper was a real, or even a kind-of, seder meal? How many of you have been engulfed in the argument that we need to do exactly what Yeshua did, and not any “traditions of men,” making Passover a bit unexciting? While there are longstanding disagreements on halachah between the Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewish traditions on what is kosher for Passover, think about some of the new Messianic disagreements that have arisen on what actually took place in those days leading up to Yeshua’s betrayal and execution. How long is three days and three nights? Was the Messiah really crucified, or put to death another away? And this is only a short list of what often gets discussed... Part 2 of 4
What kind of issues present themselves when the Passover season arrives? Would you believe that there are some people in the Messianic community today who do not believe that the Last Supper was a real, or even a kind-of, seder meal? How many of you have been engulfed in the argument that we need to do exactly what Yeshua did, and not any “traditions of men,” making Passover a bit unexciting? While there are longstanding disagreements on halachah between the Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewish traditions on what is kosher for Passover, think about some of the new Messianic disagreements that have arisen on what actually took place in those days leading up to Yeshua’s betrayal and execution. How long is three days and three nights? Was the Messiah really crucified, or put to death another away? And this is only a short list of what often gets discussed... Part 1 of 4
What it means for the end-time Believers to sing the Song of Moses is actually somewhat complicated. By no means is it a popular praise song sung in today’s Messianic world! “Singing” the Song of Moses means that we are to embody the mission and purpose as seen in the Song of Moses. In order to do this, we must identify what the Song of Moses actually is, interpret it properly against its ancient context, and then consider some of the specific things that are involved with the prophesied restoration of God’s people. We may not actually be “singing” this song today in our approach to Biblical faith.
Can you summarize for me the debate over when the Exodus took place? Did it occur in the Fifteenth or Thirteenth Century B.C.E?
Exodus 1:8 says that a Pharaoh came to power in Egypt who did not know Joseph. How is this possible when the final part of Genesis says that Joseph was made second only to Pharaoh? How did the Israelites find themselves enslaved by Egypt?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Exodus in a summary of the whole book.
In this hour of restoration, the Holy One of Israel is forging ahead using a variety of circumstances to bring His people into a fuller understanding of Him and His Word. The festival of Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is being utilized as one of the principal magnets for restoring the Body of Messiah.
When we consider the Spring feasts of the Lord, which begin with the remembrance of Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread, we are reminded that one of the reasons that we observe these holidays is because it is a sign of our obedience to God’s commandments. What is it about this particular sign that in and of itself is so life changing? Is it possible that the Holy One really does want His children to remember the trauma of the Ancient Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt—and what it required in terms of human life—in order to get our undivided attention?
Should we eat lamb as Messianics during Passover? Is it true that the Jews do not eat lamb during Passover?
Certainly, when Believers in Messiah Yeshua sit down to partake of the Passover meal, we are not just remembering the Exodus of the Ancient Israelites and the plagues that God dispensed upon the Egyptians. We are sitting down to remember great events in the salvation history of the world.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 3:1-15 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Why do we see a great number of Jewish traditions practiced in today’s Messianic community. Would they not be in direct violation of Torah, and actually be seen to add to Torah?
Issues involving dress and modesty can be very hard fought in various sectors of today’s broad Messianic movement. How do we identify and navigate through some of the extremes?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 2:1-9 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 1:20-31 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 1:10-19 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
It is not easy to facilitate conversations about complementarianism and egalitarianism in today's Messianic movement.
The Messianic world of the 2020s is not going to be like the 2000s or 2010s which preceded it.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Tazria-Metzora, 2 Kings 4:42-5:19; 7:3-20
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Tazria-Metzora or “She Conceives-Infected One”
“But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself” (NASU).
“Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations! For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God. You have loved harlots‘ earnings on every threshing floor. Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them, and the new wine will fail them. They will not remain in the LORD’s land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat unclean food. They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the LORD, their sacrifices will not please Him. Their bread will be like mourners’ bread; all who eat of it will be defiled, for their bread will be for themselves alone; it will not enter the house of the LORD” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Cursing the Blind,” as we contemplate the severity of what it means to be cursed by spiritual blindness.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics discusses some of the specific details witnessed in Jeremiah 16:11-21, as “all lies” is a frequent Hebrew Roots sound-byte derived from this passage.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Shemini, 2 Samuel 6:1-7:17
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Shemini or “Eighth”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter of 1 Corinthians. This is Part 2 of 2 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of how this letter has been approached in contemporary theology, and what it might mean for today’s Messianic community. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics introduces this study of Paul’s letter of 1 Corinthians. This is Part 1 of 2 of our Introduction to this letter, where we will be discussing issues of authorship, the location of the the author, the date of 1 Corinthians, and the target audience. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. In a dispute they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed feasts and sanctify My sabbaths” (NASU).
“And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, say to her, “You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.” There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, “Thus says the Lord GOD,” when the LORD has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,’ declares the Lord GOD” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Tzav, Jeremiah 7:21-8:3; 9:22-23
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Tzav or “Give an order”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics covers the essential parts of Esther in a summary of the whole book.
The holiday of Purim is a relatively minor festival in the Tanach (Old Testament), yet it portrays a very important story that all of God’s people need to understand. Having been dispersed into Babylonian exile in 585 B.C.E., the Jewish people now find themselves under Persian rule. While many find their new Persian rulers more tolerant than the Babylonians, the Jews are still a minority and often find themselves subject to harassment and persecution. In the Book of Esther, King Ahasuerus’ (or Xerxes’) grand vizier, the evil Haman, devises a plot to kill the Jews when he is not worshipped by Mordecai. But Ahasuerus’ new wife, the Jewess Esther, is placed in just the right position at just the right time to see that this scheme does not come to pass. Instead, Haman is executed using the very means that he intended to use against the Jews.
John McKee of Messianic Apologetics discusses how the Festival of Purim has much, much more to teach today’s Messianic Believers—than it simply being a time to enjoy a comical play.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Acts 18:7-18, Paul's visit to Corinth, verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Acts 18:1-6, Paul's visit to Corinth, verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, raise your eyes now toward the north.’ So I raised my eyes toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol of jealousy at the entrance. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Israel are committing here, so that I would be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations.’ Then He brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. He said to me, ‘Son of man, now dig through the wall.’ So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. And He said to me, ‘Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here.’ So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping things and beasts and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. Standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his censer in his hand and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising. Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, “The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.”’ And He said to me, ‘Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing’” (NASU).
“‘But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself; you shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days. Your food which you eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; you shall eat it from time to time. The water you drink shall be the sixth part of a hin by measure; you shall drink it from time to time. You shall eat it as a barley cake, having baked it in their sight over human dung.’ Then the LORD said, ‘Thus will the sons of Israel eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will banish them.’ But I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I have never been defiled; for from my youth until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has any unclean meat ever entered my mouth.’ Then He said to me, ‘See, I will give you cow’s dung in place of human dung over which you will prepare your bread.’ Moreover, He said to me, ‘Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in horror, because bread and water will be scarce; and they will be appalled with one another and waste away in their iniquity’” (NASU).
“For behold, the LORD will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For the LORD will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by the Lord will be many. Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, following one in the center, who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice, will come to an end altogether,’ declares the LORD” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Vayikra, Isaiah 43:21-44:23
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Vayikra or “He called”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Acts 28:25-31, Paul's arrival in Rome, verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Progressive Revelation,” as we consider how God’s revelation in the Tanakh providentially continues to His revelation in the New Covenant.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Acts 28:11-24, Paul's arrival in Rome, verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ to a nation which did not call on My name. I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts, a people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks; who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places; who eat swine’s flesh, and the broth of unclean meat is in their pots. Who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you!” These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. Behold, it is written before Me, I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will even repay into their bosom, both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,’ says the LORD. ‘Because they have burned incense on the mountains and scorned Me on the hills, therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.’ Thus says the LORD, ‘As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, “Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,” so I will act on behalf of My servants in order not to destroy all of them. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and an heir of My mountains from Judah; even My chosen ones shall inherit it, and My servants will dwell there. Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, and the valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me. But you who forsake the LORD, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune, and who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you for the sword, and all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.’ Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart, but you will cry out with a heavy heart, and you will wail with a broken spirit. You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, and the Lord God will slay you. But My servants will be called by another name. Because he who is blessed in the earth will be blessed by the God of truth; and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from My sight!” (NASU).
“However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer. Only you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water. You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand. But you shall eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all your undertakings. Be careful that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land. When the LORD your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire. If the place which the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire. Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you will eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water” (NASU).
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep or a goat. Also the fat of an animal which dies and the fat of an animal torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but you must certainly not eat it. For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is offered to the LORD, even the person who eats shall be cut off from his people. You are not to eat any blood, either of bird or animal, in any of your dwellings. Any person who eats any blood, even that person shall be cut off from his people’” (Leviticus 7:22-27).
“You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor practice divination or soothsaying” (Leviticus 19:26).
“Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.’ But he said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ So he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.’ Then Jacob asked him and said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.’ Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Pequdei or “Accounts”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 16:8-27 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Progressive Revelation,” as we consider how God’s revelation in the Tanakh providentially continues to His revelation in the New Covenant.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 16:1-7 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 15:13-33 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, and said, ‘My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.’ And they said, ‘So do, as you have said.’ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, ‘Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.’ Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate. Then they said to him, ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’ And he said, ‘There, in the tent.’ He said, ‘I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’ And the LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, “Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?” Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah denied it however, saying, ‘I did not laugh’; for she was afraid. And He said, ‘No, but you did laugh’” (NASU).
“You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother” (Exodus 23:19, NASU).
“You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk” (Exodus 34:26, NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for V’yakheil-Pequdei, 1 Kings 7:40-50; 7:51-8:21
John McKee discusses some of the difficult factors that have contributed to Hebrew having an over-exalted status in many sectors of the broad Messianic community. How will this need to change, given some of the complexities of the future?
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’yakheil or “He assembled”
I saw a teaching that discussed the “Hebrew versus Greek mindset.” What does this mean?
Is the affluent usage of alef-tav in the Hebrew Tanach some significant Messianic sign?
In what way is Yeshua the Messiah the Alef and the Tav? Some interesting teachings circulate around the Messianic movement about the first and last Hebrew letters, and their association with Yeshua.
Is there any academic validity with Hebrew letter pictures, i.e., interpreting various Hebrew words through the representations of each letter in its spelling?
Can one theologically understand the meanings of Hebrew words using apparent pictograms of Hebrew letters?
Many Messianic Believers think that it is important to learn the Hebrew language, the language of the Tanach or Old Testament. This is to be commended and encouraged, as these texts make up the first two-thirds of our Bible that many Christians, sadly, ignore or feel are important only for Bible history. However, there is another portion of the Bible, the Apostolic Scriptures or Messianic Writings, commonly known as the New Testament, which were not written in Hebrew, and should not be cast by the wayside.
The claim that the New Testament was originally written in Hebrew is something that must be substantiated by those who believe it with historical references, textual support, and most of all extant manuscripts in Hebrew. These references must be credible, the textual claims must be supported within a relatively conservative framework of exposition, and the manuscripts must be verified as authentic by organizations such as United Bible Societies or the American Bible Society. Thus far, no one in the Messianic community has been able to prove a written Hebrew origin for the entirety of the New Testament on the basis of these factors.
The claim that the New Testament was originally written in Hebrew is something that must be substantiated by those who believe it with historical references, textual support, and most of all extant manuscripts in Hebrew. These references must be credible, the textual claims must be supported within a relatively conservative framework of exposition, and the manuscripts must be verified as authentic by organizations such as United Bible Societies or the American Bible Society. Thus far, no one in the Messianic community has been able to prove a written Hebrew origin for the entirety of the New Testament on the basis of these factors.
The claim that the New Testament was originally written in Hebrew is something that must be substantiated by those who believe it with historical references, textual support, and most of all extant manuscripts in Hebrew. These references must be credible, the textual claims must be supported within a relatively conservative framework of exposition, and the manuscripts must be verified as authentic by organizations such as United Bible Societies or the American Bible Society. Thus far, no one in the Messianic community has been able to prove a written Hebrew origin for the entirety of the New Testament on the basis of these factors.
Do you believe that the New Testament was originally written in Hebrew? It seems that many within today’s Messianic movement believe the New Testament was written in Hebrew, but they lack substantial proof for this.
I heard a Messianic teacher call Hebrew the “pure language.” Can this at all be substantiated? He used this to discredit the inspiration of the Greek New Testament.
By mentioning just two topics that matter to many Millennials, John McKee demonstrates how painful it is truly going to be to have an open discussion, on any issue, in today’s Messianic movement.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 15:1-12 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
John McKee indicates that there is a need for Millennials in the Messianic community to respectfully speak about the issues that matter to them.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Does the Holy Spirit Obey the Word of God?”, as we consider the importance of God’s commandments in our walk of faith.
John McKee discusses how the Torah has a great deal to say about human sexuality, that far too many people who call themselves “Torah observant” have no intention of ever talking about.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 14:16-23 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
John McKee briefly reviews some of the factors that work toward, as well as against, stability in the contemporary Messianic movement.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 14:5-15 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“You are the sons of the LORD your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave your forehead for the sake of the dead. For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. You shall not eat any detestable thing. These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep. Any animal that divides the hoof and has the hoof split in two and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these among those which chew the cud, or among those that divide the hoof in two: the camel and the rabbit and the shaphan, for though they chew the cud, they do not divide the hoof; they are unclean for you. The pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you. You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses. These you may eat of all that are in water: anything that has fins and scales you may eat, but anything that does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you. You may eat any clean bird. But these are the ones which you shall not eat: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, and the red kite, the falcon, and the kite in their kinds, and every raven in its kind, and the ostrich, the owl, the sea gull, and the hawk in their kinds, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the pelican, the carrion vulture, the cormorant, the stork, and the heron in their kinds, and the hoopoe and the bat. And all the teeming life with wings are unclean to you; they shall not be eaten. You may eat any clean bird. You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk” (NASU).
John McKee evaluates some of the notable features of the Jewish worldview, Protestant worldview, and Fundamentalist Christian worldview. How do each of them customarily approach the issues of the day? How have they each affected, or not affected, the worldview of today’s Messianic community?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 12:1-8 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 11:26-36 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“Then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time. You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female’” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Terumah, 1 Kings 5:26-6:13
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Righteous Divide,” as we reflect from a Biblical perspective on some of the drastic social changes that took place in America, in June 2015.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Terumah or “Contribution”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 11:22-25 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 11:7-21 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
“The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die’” (NASU).
“Then God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food’; and it was so” (NASU).
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Mishpatim, Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Mishpatim or “Rulings”
It should not be a great surprise to anyone studying or evaluating the kosher dietary laws, principally contained in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, that the question “Is eating kosher really healthier?” is something commonly asked. There is little doubting how the Hebrew Scriptures are materialistic, in the sense that normal human activities like eating or drinking, are not to be looked down upon or spurned.
How do any of us, in a still-emerging and still-maturing Messianic movement, sort through some of the issues regarding “kosher”? How do we get a little more realistic about what we see among the Jewish and non-Jewish Believers within our faith community, remembering that not all people share the same views as we do, and allow for a little more grace and mercy to come forth—rather than any unfair or unnecessary condemnation? How many of our challenges have been caused by an insufficient or under-whelming handling of Bible passages—versus having been caused by an under-whelming level of spiritual maturity on behalf of too many people?
There is little doubting that within the broad Messianic community, there can be huge debates over the application of the Torah’s dietary laws. Most frequently, as has been our family’s experience, the perspectives surrounding kashrut have been too quickly polarized into the realms of those who keep “Biblically kosher,” versus those who keep “Rabbinic kosher.” Those who keep “Biblically kosher,” are those who often have eliminated pork and shellfish from their diet, but at the same time will often buy commercially processed meat at the supermarket, will not look for a hechsher or approved Jewish seal on many food products, and will eat out at most restaurants (perhaps even including fast food). Those who keep “Rabbinic kosher,” are those who will only purchase traditionally slaughtered meat, will look for a hechsher on most food products, will not eat out at most restaurants, and will observe practices such as not mixing meat and dairy, having multiple sets of dishes and utensils.
Observing and/or adopting kosher eating habits is admittedly one of the most difficult things for many Messianic Believers to do. There are many theological arguments made from the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament) that when viewed a particular way, can seem to suggest that the importance of the dietary laws was rendered inoperative via the work of Yeshua the Messiah. Once a person has overcome many of these theological hurdles in his or her Messianic quest, and sees the validity of the dietary laws in the Bible and how the Apostles continued to eat a degree of kosher, the question of how one is to follow them in a Twenty-First Century world needs to be asked.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Yitro, Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Longsuffering Limitations,” as we think about various matters involving Zionism, the State of Israel, and today’s Messianic movement.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Yitro or “Jethro”
The statements made by God in Genesis 9:3-7 are delivered after the Flood is completed, and humanity now has to rebuild itself. In most Messianic examinations of Noach (Genesis 6:9-11:32), we often overlook what is being said here, for a variety of reasons. Vegetarian man is now told by the Creator that he is allowed to eat meat, something previously prohibited, with some specific stipulations on what to do with animal blood. Much of our avoidance of this section is likely because many Christians today use Genesis 9:3-7 as a proof text to show that while Noah and his family were allowed to eat meat, they seem to be told to eat the meat of any animal, which would presumably include those that would later be specifically classified “unclean.” It is thus asserted that the laws of kashrut given in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 were only temporary instructions for Ancient Israel that Noah did not have to follow.
Is this really what is asserted in Genesis 9:3-7, or is there more at work in the text that may be eluding us? What does this part of the early Genesis story tell us about animals for food, human beings, and the need to respect blood? Why did God extend permission for people to eat meat?
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics discusses the place that the dietary laws play in the Torah practices of today’s Messianic Believers, common objections issued to their ongoing relevance, and constructive ways that Messianic people can sanctify their diet.
Much of the Messianic community has promoted what it considers to be “Biblically kosher,” which primarily begins and ends at not eating pork and shellfish. In traditional Judaism, however, what it means to be kosher is much more involved than observant Jews not eating certain meats labeled to be “unclean.” Kashrut involves classification of unclean meats to be sure, but also involves some significant traditions regarding the butchering of animals, how meat is to be prepared, what can and cannot be eaten together, separation of utensils and cookware—as well as a variety of theological and philosophical reasons proposed for the institution of these Biblical instructions, and their subsequent interpretation and application over the centuries by Jewish religious authorities and diverse Jewish communities.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for B’shalach, Judges 4:4-5:31
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Rehearsing the Truths,” as we discuss some of the significant restorations that have been occurring in our day, via the emergence of the Messianic movement.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: B’shalach or “After he had let go”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 11:1-6 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 10:9-21 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 10:5-8 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 10:1-4 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Bo, Jeremiah 46:13-28
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “The Blessings of Echad,” as we reflect upon some of our family’s experiences attending a Messianic Jewish conference, where Jewish and non-Jewish Believers were united as one new man.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Bo or “Go”
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 9:19-33 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 9:6-18 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 9:1-5 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 8:18-39 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for V’eira, Ezekiel 28:25-29:21
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: V’eira or “I appeared”
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Regarding Vain Idols,” as we look to the Book of Jonah for an important lesson regarding what can keep us from the full blessings of God.
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 8:5-17 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 8:1-4 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 7:5-25 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics reviews Romans 7:1-4 verse-by-verse. Have your Bible handy, and be prepared to take notes!
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Haftarah reading for Shemot, Isaiah 27:6-28:13; 29:22-23; Jeremiah 1:2-3
John McKee comments on how discussions pertaining to the nature and origin of Christmas on December 25 have exploded in recent years. While there has been a great deal of sensationalism surrounding the apparent “paganism” of Christmas, there are still critical factors to be considered which place Christmas decisively on the non-Biblical side of things.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Restoration Calls,” as some of our family’s journey into the Messianic movement and ministry activities are explored.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message on the Torah portion for this week: Shemot or “Names”