I’ve had a few people ask me about the validity of the statements behind a video on YouTube (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DsgHUZX&h=4b2921334b24fa472a39a1114ceb45d5) trying to make a connection between the name “Barak Obama” and Yeshua’s (Jesus) statement in Luke 10:18 that he saw “Satan falling as lightning” so I thought I would go ahead & post a note about it. The creator of this video claims that the original Hebrew that Jesus would have spoken would contain the name “Barak Obama” thus pointing to our current President as the Anti-Christ. My statements henceforth are neither an endorsement of the character of the our current President, nor any kind of slander.

First, let me say that I’m no Hebrew scholar by any means, AND I am willing to stand corrected by those who know far more about the intricacies of Hebrew than myself (i.e. @aaron.eby, etc.). However, from my current knowledge of Hebrew, this is my understanding…

Although the creators of this video have some basic Hebrew knowledge, they don’t have any understanding of Hebrew syntax.( FYI – A Strong’s concordance is not going to give you Hebrew understanding beyond a few root words.) The main error he made in this is that the Vav (he called it a “Waw” or “Vau”) is used primarily as a conjunction meaning “and.” If the Vav were where he says it would be, it would read “And I saw Satan falling and lightning.” There would be no mention of “from heaven” or “AS” lightning. Also, when the Vav comes at the beginning of a word, in all the cases I know of it has the “oo” sound, not the “oh” sound.

I’m looking at one of my Hebrew New Testaments right now, and this is how Luke 10:18 reads:

ראיתי את השטן נופל כברק מן השמים.

Which transliterates to:

“Ra’iti et HaSatan nophel k’varak min hashamayim.”

The word “k’varak” uses the root word “barak/baraq” which means lightning. But in this syntax, it doesn’t sound anything like what he is saying. The prefix “k” means “like” or “as.” It has to be there to say “like lightning” or “as lightning.”

Also, there is no mention of “bama.” The common Hebrew word for “heaven” is “shamayim.” In the Avinu (what we call “The Lord’s Prayer”), it begins with “Avinu Shebashamayim” (Our Father In Heaven) and would be rendered the same in any context. The word “heaven” or “heavens” is always rendered as “shamayim” since Genesis 1, especially when referring to the throne of Hashem (God).

This appears to be a very forced, and poor translation of the Hebrew behind the words of our Master.

It is natural to think that the Karaite way of doing things would be a better way of doing things. However, the Karaite interpretation is actually anti-Scriptural. Let’s think about it. If we were to go to a Karaite interpretation of Scripture, we would all being living out the Scriptures as we interpret them. Which means, we would not be in any kind of unity. Which means we would be celebrating the feasts at different times, celebrating them in different ways, trying to fulfill the commandments in different ways. In short, this is chaos and anarchy. The Master (Yeshua) was a Pharisee among Pharisees, in that he was in agreement with the Pharisees in all but one point: hypocrisy.

Here are 3 short examples of the many that can be sited to show his Pharisaic affinity:

1. He & his disciples kept the feast at the same times as greater Israel (which was determined by Pharisaic halachah)
2. He reclined at the Passover mean (a Pharisaic invention, seemingly contrary to the biblical mandate in Exodus)
3. He gave a blessing before eating, strictly a Pharisaic invention

The list could go on and on. These are just off the top of my head. It boils down to this: Yeshua was in agreement with Pharisaic tradition so long as it did not contradict with the written Word. We must examine the words of the Master and the Apostolic writings to determine whether a tradition is able to be kept or not, and follow his example.

The Karaite method is not even an alternative. If we were following the Karaite method, we would revert to the days of the Judges when “Every man did what was right in his own eyes…And they again did wickedness in the eyes of Hashem.”

Last week, Israel National News reported a very unique find has been made near the Zion Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. It’s a limestone ritual vessel from the Second Temple period inscribed with not one, but 10 (ten!) lines of Hebrew or Aramaic text (which is still being debated). This is an extremely rare find, the first of its kind. Archaeologists say that because of the rare script used. Although the letters are very clear, they say it could take up to six months to translate the text, due to the unfamiliar cursive script. Can’t wait to find out what it says…

You can read the full report here:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132655

For more information on Tzom Tammuz and the Three Weeks: http://ow.ly/gM7A

You don’t have to be a web developer. You just need to be a little computer savvy. Essentially, you would just be logging into the site and copying/pasting in text. There would be a little formatting required, but not much. If anyone would like to help me add more texts (and finish 1 Clement) to this site, please post a comment on this post.

by Brad H. Young
Hendrickson Publishers

Many people ask why studying Jewish sources is important. They are extremely important in that they help us to understand our faith in context. Familiarizing oneself with Jewish sources will add dimension to your faith, and help gain a more in-depth understanding of key concepts found within the Biblical narratives, particularly in the Gospels and Epistles. I recommend Brad Young’s newest work as a starting point for those who desire to explore Jewish texts.

Following his other excellent works such as Jesus the Jewish Theologian, Paul the Jewish Theologian, and The Parables, Young puts forth his most recent work, Meet the Rabbis, in an effort to continue educating his readers about the Jewish context of our Scriptures, our Savior and our Faith. Young helps to gently bridge the gap between Christian understanding and the world of rabbinic writings, thought and Scriptural application. He does a great job and engaging the reader through continual cross referencing between the rabbinic texts and the teachings of our Master. This is why MTR is such a great starting point for those new to Jewish texts.

In MTR, he introduces the reader to rabbinic writings in a way that is very engaging, even including the full text of Pirkei Avot, one of the foundational texts for understanding the teachings of Judaism. This is a “don’t miss” book.

Daniel took a long, 2-part session to go into great detail and offer up an almost air-tight case for the proper interpretation of the terminology and analogy of the book of Hebrews (particularly chapters 7-10).

He first set his teaching up with three arguments typical of Christian theology & interpretation based on the book of Hebrews. With each of these, he presented the problems associated with such a perspective with an expression with Talmudic sentiments, “This is a difficulty.” Of course, he stated that the goal was to be able to reach the actual Talmudic statement, “There is no difficulty here” (for which he did—at least in my estimation).

He specifically addressed issues such as how to resolve phrases that seem to negate the Mosaic covenant, overthrow the Aaronic priesthood and the belittle the function of the Temple service.

His second part systematically worked through each of these “difficulties” and resolved them to what appears to be great satisfaction. Lord willing, I’ll be cleaning up my notes over the next few days and posting them. However, I believe Daniel is planning on posting a full, 30-page article (I am pretty sure I heard) on this teaching in the next Messiah Journal (which we all eagerly await!).

Thank you FFOZ for all of your hard work and diligent study, and for sharing it with us.

Also, Lord willing, I will be posting notes and overall thoughts from the conference over the next few days. Many blessings!