Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

How to study the Scriptures with understanding – part 2.

In our previous teaching we covered 3 vital keys to study the Scriptures with understanding.  We will now continue with the remaining keys to help us understand the word of Elohim better. The fourth key being to:

1. Accept all the books contained in the Scriptures as the inspired word of Elohim.

We need to ask ourselves: how do you view the Scriptures?  To fully understand the Scriptures, it is necessary that we accept the authority of all the Scriptures over our lives. All the books of the Scriptures in both the Tanach and the Renewed Covenant are the inspired word of Elohim. Elohim assured us through the writings of Rav Shaul in 2 Timothy 3: 16 & 17, that: “All Scripture is inspired by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; (17) that the man of Elohim may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”This means that we can confidently and without any doubt accept all the books of the Scriptures, as originally written, as the inspired, infallible word of Elohim. Even though there are occasional human errors (and personal agendas in Scriptures aimed at specific groups) in the different versions and translations, the original versions were correct, and it is often necessary for us to make a comparison among the various versions and translations, to help us arrive at the true meaning or more correct translation of the text.

But, what evidence do we have that all the books of the Scriptures are inspired by Elohim? What makes the Scriptures unique in its consistency?  About 40 authors wrote the various books contained in the Scriptures over many centuries, and only a few of these writers knew one another personally.   Even so, a continual agreement of philosophy and thought are obvious throughout their writings. Only the Scriptures held up over centuries of scrutiny of critics, historians and archaeologists.  The Scriptures is not only historically accurate, but its unifying principles are to be found from the beginning to the end. Faith is one of these unifying principles; throughout the centuries of Scriptural history, the same faith is to be found in the accounts of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the prophets, Yahshua our Messiah Himself, His apostles and the members of the early congregation. Hebrews 11 shows that for millennia a unity of thought was based on the principle of faith. It is therefore important to bear these spiritual principles in mind when we study the Scriptures. Whether we study Torah, the prophets, the Psalms, the four gospels, or the letters of the apostles, we will discover that all are connected to the same underlying principles inspired by Elohim.  Even though many views and interpretations of what the Scriptures say are contradictory, not one of these dogmatic views affects the integrity of the Scriptures themselves.

Elohim’s commandments are another unifying principle; they form the spine of the Scriptures and are the basis of His relationship with mankind. These commandments given to men like Noah and Abraham verbally in Genesis, where basic principles that were expanded throughout the remainder of the Scriptures. We accordingly read in the final chapter of the book of Revelation in verse 14: “Blessed are those who wash their robes (or as per the KJV: ‘keep the commandments.’), that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” Elohim’s commandments remain the same from the beginning of the Scriptures, right up to the end, even though Messiah amplified them in the Renewed Covenant as prophesied by Isaiah in Isaiah 42: 21[1]. YHVH our Elohim inspired all of the Scriptures, even though different authors penned it throughout the centuries. Messiah pointed out that all Scriptures are based on the framework of the commandments of Elohim, saying in Matthew 22: 37 – 40, “’YOU SHALL LOVE YHVH YOUR ELOHIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ (38) This is the great and foremost commandment. (39) The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ (40) On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Another example of Scriptural unity is found in the genealogies given throughout the Scriptures. Even though some think these genealogies have no real value, they form the basis of the ancestry of Renewed Covenant figures, including Yahshua the Messiah. They confirm that Messiah was not only a legendary figure, but descended from personalities in the Tanach, whose existence can be verified. Both archaeological and historical evidence confirm the existence of many of Yahshua’s ancestors, giving credence to the prophecies about Messiah’s descendants from Abraham and King David. The Scriptures contain history, genealogies, and prophecies that were all inspired by the same infallible Elohim, with each section being part of the whole. The fact that the Scriptures is still with us after many years, confirms what Yahshua said in John 10: 34 & 35, in this way: “Has it not been written in your Law, ’I SAID YOU ARE G-DS? – (in Psalm 82: 6)’ (35) If he called them gods, to whom the word of Elohim came (and the Scripture cannot be broken). Elohim does not contradict Himself. The Scriptures will survive as long as we are here on earth, and it is meant for us to read and understand, as Rav Shaul confirmed in Romans 15: 4, saying: “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Messiah also stated indisputably in Matthew 24: 35, saying: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”

Rav Kepha wrote about the inspiration of the Tanach saying in first Peter 1: 10 – 12, ‘As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, made careful search and inquiry, (11) 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. (12) 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 Set-apart Spirit sent from heaven— things into which angels long to look.’  He continues saying in 2 Peter 1: 20 & 21, ‘But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, (21) for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Set-apart Spirit spoke from Elohim.’ However, even during Rav Kepha’s time some were already twisting parts of the Scriptures to their own demise, as he wrote in 2 Peter 3: 14 – 16, saying: ‘Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, (15) and regard the patience of our Master to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Shaul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, (16) as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.’

Before the books of the Renewed Covenant had been canonized, the ‘Scriptures’ to which Rav Shaul referred to was the Tanach. For many decades in the early congregation this was the only Scriptures available. The acceptance of only parts of the Scriptures as a basis for faith has resulted in literally hundreds of different denominations, all with contrary beliefs. However, if we want to do justice to what the Scriptures teach, we should base our faith on the entire Scriptures form Genesis to Revelation, as Yahshua said to Satan in Matthew 4: 4, in this way: “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF ELOHIM.’”We should rely on the Scriptures and not man’s ideas to explain Elohim’s truths.It is one thing to view the Scriptures as a collection of stories, but it is quite another to accept it as the inspired word of Elohim.This brings us to the next key, namely:

1. Understand the context.

A great deal of misunderstanding can be avoided by keeping in mind the context of the text being studied.  In fact most misunderstandings of the Scriptures come from taking verses out of context. To read a verse in context means that we should carefully consider the verses before and after the texts being discussed, but also analyzing the verses within the framework of the paragraph, chapter and book, and in the greater sense the entirety of the author’s writings and the Scriptures as a whole.

An example is where we read from Genesis 2: 16 & 17 ‘And YHVH Elohim commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; (17) 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 shall surely die.” However, we see that even after Satan deceived Eve saying in Genesis 3: 4,“You surely shall not die!” that after both Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they did not die that very day. Yes, YHVH cursed the serpent who used to talk and walk like mankind to move around on its belly and eat dust, and mankind by telling the woman that He will multiply her pain in childbirth and her husband will have to work for them to be able to eat; and even though He expelled them from the garden of Eden, they continued to live on in the world. But, few people realize that when YHVH covered Adam and Eve in skin, that it was in fact the skin that doomed them to death.

Mankind was initially made in the image of Elohim: in other words we looked like Elohim physically, and also had all of the physical attributes that Elohim possessed. This means we were like Elohim, initially covered in light (transliterated in Hebrew as ‘ohr’ {שור}), as may be read from Psalm 104: 1 and the first part of verse 2, in this way: ‘Bless YHVH, O my soul! O YHVH my Elohim, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with splendor and majesty, (2) Covering Thyself with light as with a cloak.’ When mankind sinned they realized that they were naked; meaning they must have lost their light covering when they ate of the forbidden tree. This is when we read in verses 19 – 21 of Genesis 3, YHVH saying to Adam: ‘By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. (20) Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. (21) And YHVH Elohim made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.’ Some people assert that this was when the first animal sacrifice was made to pay the penalty for mankind’s sin, when YHVH slaughtered an animal to make skin garments for Adam and Eve. But the Scriptures do not say that. In addition we know that even though later Abel offered up the firstling of his flock to YHVH as a goodwill or righteous thanksgiving offering, the sacrificial law with its offerings was only introduced 430 years after Abraham, after the sin of the golden calf at Mount Sinai. No, YHVH simply gave mankind the skin (also transliterated as ‘ohr’ in Hebrew, but this time written with the letter ayin, as follows: {עור}) that we are presently covered with, so that we will ultimately die.  It is this skin that dooms us to death. Consider the skin of a young child – it is smooth and without any wrinkles or blemishes. Next look at the skin of a 70 year old person; it has become wrinkled and full of dark marks and blemishes. This is perhaps why we read from Job 19: 26, where job shows his understanding of the resurrection of the dead, saying: “Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see Elohim.”  A second more vivid explanation comes from 2 Corinthians 5: 1 – 4: ‘For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from Elohim, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2) For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven; (3)inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. (4) For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.’

When Messiah returns He will again look similar to what He looked like when He was transfigured before His three disciples, Peter James and John in Matthew 17: 2 ‘and His garments became as white as light.’ This is what He looked like after His resurrection and ascension to heaven, when He spoke to Yochanan in Revelation 1, as described in verses 12 – 15, in this way: ‘And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; (13) and in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His breast with a golden girdle. (14) And His head and His hair were white like wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; (15)and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.’ But, if we manage to overcome the world, Satan and our human nature by the time Yahshua returns, we will also again look like Him covered in light (the shekinah glory) as we read from first John 3: 2, as follows; ‘Beloved, now we are children of Elohim, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.’  A second witness comes from Psalm 17: 15, where David wrote: “As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake.”

But we have not fully covered the fact that Adam and Eve did not die immediately after eating the forbidden fruit, even though YHVH said that they shall die, in the day they eat of it.But, why did they not die that same day? Did YHVH lie?  We need to understand what YHVH was saying to Adam and Eve here. Yes, He doomed them to death, but was talking about a day according to His reckoning. The question therefore is: how does YHVH reckon time? We get the answer from 2 Peter 3: 8, in this way: ‘But do not let one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with YHVH one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day.’ A second witness is given in Psalm 90: 4.We see further according to what YHVH said in Genesis 5: 5, (‘So) all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.’ It is therefore clear that Adam died within the first day (thousand years) after he was created, in accordance with what YHVH told him, and that YHVH did not lie, in fact He cannot lie as is recorded in Titus 1: 2. This short discussion shows clearly how the context of a section should be understood to get to the correct understanding.

This brings us to a second often misinterpreted section of the Scriptures namely Galatians 3. Even though most believe that Galatians 3 is doing away with Torah, it is essentially talking about the administration of the Torah in respect of sin.  It tells us in verse 13 that Messiah redeemed us from the curse or the penalty of the law in respect of our past sins when we are immersed into His saving name. He died in our place, nailing ‘the certificate of debt’ due for our sin to the cross (as per Colossians 2: 14), thereby redeeming us from the curse of the law for the sin we committed prior to our immersion. However, if we continue to sin after immersion, we need to come to YHVH again in the name (or blood) of Yahshua, asking for forgiveness again, else we will still be cursed (punished) according to or by the Law. But this whole section is talking about the sacrificial law. This is why Rav Shaul asks in verse 19 of Galatians 3, ‘Why the law then? Answering his own question in the next sentence, saying: ‘It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made.’ Which law was added because of transgressions? Reading from verses 17 & 18, we understand: ‘What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by Elohim, so as to nullify the promise. (18) For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but Elohim has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.’The sacrificial law was added 430 years after the Torah was given to Abraham (which He fully obeyed as recorded in Genesis 26: 5), after the sin of the golden calf in Exodus 32. This is the ‘law’ being discussed here and which was essentially abolished, when Messiah became the Sacrifice for our sin. Before Messiah’s crucifixion the sacrificial law was our tutor, to show us that when we sin the blood of an animal has to be shed to cover our sin, but now that Messiah has been sacrificed, we are justified by the faith that His blood covers our past sins. So, now that Messiah became the sacrifice there is a new way to deal with or administer sin.

We see that it is not enough to quote an isolated verse; we must keep in mind the context. Sometimes only by reading whole chapters and sometimes a number of verses from all over the Scriptures are we able to understand a section correctly. For example some quote Mark 7: 18 – 19 to show that meats declared unfit for human consumption in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 may now be eaten. Messiah asks here: “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?” Most Scriptures add after the words of Messiah here in brackets (Thus He declared all foods clean) showing that this was added by the people who penned the Scriptures and not by Yahshua Himself.

Yet, the context of the chapter reveals the true meaning. If we start reading from verse 5 of Mark 7, we get to understand that the question was not whether particular foods should be eaten or avoided, but the way in which the disciples were eating: ‘And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with impure (unwashed) hands?” The Pharisees were criticizing Yahshua’s disciples for eating with unwashed hands, and nowhere in this section of the Scriptures is clean and unclean food brought into the discussion, as those who believe Messiah did away with Torah, wants us to understand. Messiah answered them in verse 8 of Mark 7, saying: “Neglecting the commandments of Elohim, you hold to the tradition of men.”  Even though Messiah did not mean that we should not wash our hands before meals, we need to understand that the excessive washing of hands was a tradition of the Pharisees. This same incident is mentioned in Matthew 15, but more details are added, where Yahshua said in Matthew 15: 19 & 20, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. (20) These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”Taking Messiah’s exhortation in context, we see that the misunderstanding is cleared up. Yahshua was not doing away with Elohim’s Torah about clean and unclean foods in this section; He was stating that small amounts of dirt that might be present on our hands and attached to food we eat will be eliminated through our digestive systems.Having said all that, we get to the next key to understand Elohim’s word, namely:

1. Consider all Scriptures on the subject.

Even though we have covered this point partly under the previous key, we will discuss it in more detail here. Rav Shaul sets a commendable example in this regard when he taught about Yahshua by referring to many passages of Scriptures in the Tanach; the only Scriptures available during his time, saying in Acts 28: 23: ‘And when they had set a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of Elohim, and trying to persuade them concerning Yahshua, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.’ To prove the point, Rav Shaul, explained all the relevant Scriptures that dealt with Yahshua as the Messiah. For anyone to understand the subject, all the related verses in the Scriptures must be taken into account. This is the principle described in 1 Corinthians 2: 13, to compare spiritual things with spiritual.

In many instances, when one verse appears to contradict another, it is only complementing the other, with each verse telling another part of the account. For example in Luke 14: 26, Messiah saying: “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” The words to hate one’s own family might sound odd coming from Messiah, who said in Matthew 5: 43 – 44, “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ (44) But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.”Yahshua plainly taught that we should not hate anyone. How, is it possible to explain these two Scriptures? We have to reconcile them by examining another discussion on the same subject where Yahshua explained in Matthew 10: 37, saying: “He who loves father and mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Here we see that it is not ‘hating’ that Messiah meant in the previously discussed verses, but ‘loving less’. Yahshua used the word ‘hate’, but in this case it was a figure of speech which was properly understood by His audience at that time. By comparing both passages, the apparent contradiction disappears. We see that we can easily take one statement out of context and come up with an erroneous interpretation. By using this key carefully; compiling the related passages before determining what is said on a particular subject, we can avoid confusion. This brings us to the final key, namely:

1. The use of Scriptural aids.

We need to use various Scriptural aids to assist us in understanding Elohim’s word better, because the Hebrew and Greek languages of the Scriptures are very different from our modern languages. Rav Shaul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2: 15, saying: ‘Be diligent to present yourself approved to Elohim as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.’  Rav Shaul was in effect saying that like a workman (or craftsman) makes use of certain tools to be able to do his job better, so we should use proper tools to help us understand the Scriptures better. We see that Rav Jude used the Book of Enoch to explain what he was saying in Jude 14, ‘And about these also Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “behold, YHVH came with many thousands of His holy ones.’ Rav Shaul similarly sometimes quoted from the Tanach to explain some of his discussions. So, we see that besides the Scriptures, these men sometimes used and quoted from other sources to assist the brethren in understanding the word of Elohim better.

The other sources that we use could be other translations of the Scriptures, Bible encyclopedias, dictionaries as well as commentaries to the Scriptures. However, we should be careful in using these works by outside people, since most of the aids available to us today, even though they are most useful giving translations of verses into Hebrew and Greek, they could be biased according to the author’s personal beliefs and agendas. It is therefore important to realize that most of these works available to us today, were written by Christian authors – one of the confused Babylonian religions of the world, we need to get out of. So, we should use such tools with care, understanding that certain commentaries are purely the views of the person who wrote it, and that what he wrote is definitely not part of the Scriptures. These Scriptural aids are to be found in Bible bookstores or libraries, but could also be viewed on the internet.

Since our whole purpose as Nazarene Israelite believers is to conform to the image of Yahshua, it is necessary for us to find out exactly what He was like, what He taught and did whilst He was on earth.  By comparing the different translations of the Scriptures and by using these various Scriptural aids correctly, we will be able to understand Elohim’s word a great deal better, and become perfect like He is perfect, as Yahshua told us in Matthew 5: 48, saying: “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Think about it!

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[1]Isaiah 42: 21, ‘YHVH was pleased for His righteousness’ sake to make the law great and glorious.’