Invalidating a Commandment - oh my !

     The Fourth Commandment is the longest of the Ten Commandments: ⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8) God blessed the seventh day by setting it apart and making it uniquely holy.  Who is supposed to observe this holy seventh day? The commandments were given to the Commonwealth of Israel.  That included the twelve tribes, and strangers who joined themselves with the Tribes when they made the exodus out of Egypt in a ‘mixed multitude’.    Therefore, the Sabbath was for everyone, Jew and non-Jew, for all made up the Commonwealth of Israel and received the commandments written by the very finger of God Himself. The very first word of the commandment is the word “Remember” because the seventh day Sabbath existed in Eden,  long before there were Jews, Moses, or the mixed multitude at Mt. Sinai. 
      Keeping the Sabbath is not popular.  Some people erroneously say that the ‘Sabbath was nailed to the cross’ and is no longer in effect.  Yet, while ignoring the Sabbath, they contend that all the other commandments are binding on Believers today.  That is failed logic. Why is one Commandment invalid and the others all valid?  Eight times the New Testament mentions that the early church met on the first day of the week, while in the book of Acts, the seventh day Sabbath  is mentioned 84 times.  Clearly, the early Christians kept the seventh day Sabbath, and secular historians confirm this.
      God set apart the seventh day as a day of rest and judged Israel when they did not observe the Sabbath -  "What evil thing [is] this that you do, by which you profane the Shabbat day?  (Nehemiah 13:17).   The commandment is self-explanatory –“ do no work.”    Obeying the fourth commandment is not hard.     It is my favorite day of the week.  No shopping, housework, or  laundry.  Instead there is rest, Bible reading, praying, napping, eating what was prepared the day before.   Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday evening, and ends at sundown Saturday evening.  Rabbi sages say it is sundown when three stars are visible in the sky.  It is quite appropriate to follow the example of the early church and observe God's set-apart holy seventh day of rest, and attend church worship service on Sunday. 
       What have some Christian scholars said about the Sabbath? 

•  James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore wrote: "Is Saturday the seventh day according to the Bible and the Ten Commandments? I answer yes.  Did Christ change the day'? I answer no!"
• Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism (Episcopal), wrote:"And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day!"
• Alexander Campbell (Church of Christ/Disciples) wrote in the Christian Baptist: ” It is all old wives' fables to talk of the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day. If it be changed, it was that august personage changed … I think his name is Doctor Antichrist.'  

(Many more testimonials from respected church leaders can be found that support obedience to the fourth commandment today.)  I submit that, if it was important enough to God to  initiate the Sabbath in Eden, and again to write in his own handwriting on a stone tablet at Mt. Sinai, then it behooves us to obey today.  If we think otherwise, then we can debate holy priorities with God directly.... Shabbat Shalom (sh-BOT sh-LOAM) [peaceful Sabbath]

Indisputable Proof of Who Really Holds the Deed to the Land !

Who REALLY has ownership rights to the land  called Israel ----  the Jews, or the Palestinians?  Tracing back ownership, we see that Scripture proves that the original property-owner was God, and  He deeded the land to  the Jews.   We can see clear evidence of  God’s original ownership as He Himself declares:  ^” A nation has invaded my land…”.  (Joel 3:6)  and  “ I will put the nations on trial because they divided up my land. “( Joel 3:1). [Red Alert:  government leaders need to stop pushing Israel to divide up the land and the Holy City Jerusalem.  These advisers are going to suffer severe judgments from God Himself for pressuring Israel to do so.]   On Mt. Sinai, God told Moses “ the land is mine… and you reside in my land. (Lev. 25:23)  In Deuteronomy we are told that God “will… make atonement for His land and people.” (Deut. 32:43)  Even though it is self-evident that God is the Creator/owner of all the earth, from these verses above we see that  in an exceptional  way, God most definitely considered the land of Israel to be particularly His Land,  unlike any other acreage on earth. It was His  divine ownership that made the land incomparably Holy.  God, exercising land-owner distributory rights, then gave the Land to the Jews (the descendants of  Abraham’s God-promised son Jacob, by his legitimate wife Sarah).  God did not deed the Land to  the Palestinians  ( the descendants of Abraham’s son Ishmael, by the concubine Hagar).  He said to Moses on Mt. Sinai “When you enter the land I am going to give you…,” (Lev. 25:1)  In Deuteronomy 32  God told Moses to climb Mt. Nebo  and “ view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession…. (Deut. 32:49)  In II Chronicles 7 we observe that the Israelites, unfortunately,  did not always obey God, so He punished them – “ then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them.” (II Chron. 7:20).  However, even though He punished them, God continued to love His people  and promised  in Isaiah 54: “ with deep compassion I will bring you back….  My unfailing love for you will not be shaken.”  Perhaps the most poignant promise of all is given by the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 37:  ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘My people, I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹⁴   I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone….²² I will make them one nation, on the mountains of Israel. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” Therefore, it is clear from these Scriptures (even if they were not in underlined type !)  that:

•   1. the Land of Israel was owned by God and

•   2. treasured by Him in a very unique way.  

•   3. He then gave the Land exclusively to His Chosen People, the Jews. 

• 4.  God promises to bring all the Jews back to the Land of Israel where they will, once again, be one united nation and reside on the mountains of Israel as His People.

 We must never forget that God’s promises always come true. 

It's really dumb to poke God in the eye !

I stand with Israel because Israel is not about politics (despite what confused newscasters broadcast)….Israel is about the Word of God.  God refers to Israel as He does to no other land on Earth.    When we focus on Israel, we are dealing with the roots of everything that has to do with the revelation of God to humans.   The Jews were the original Covenant people of God.  They meticulously recorded and protected the Tanakh  (t’NOK) [the Old Testament].  Both the Old and New Testaments came to us through the Jews.  It was through the Jews that the Messiah Himself came to redeem mankind.  Yeshua Hamashiach (y’SHOO-ah ha-ma-SHE-ack) [Jesus the Messiah] was  a Torah-Observant Jew all of His earthly life, the great Apostle Paul ( Apostle to the Gentiles) was a Torah Observant Jew until his death. The first Christians were Torah-Observant Jews.  The New Testament writings were received and protected by Jews.   The first Christian martyrs were Jews.  The first ‘church services’ were in Synagogues. Scripture says that, spiritually speaking, when you receive the Lord, you become a Jew -²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring and heirs according to promise.  (Galatians 3:26) ²⁸For he is not a [real] Jew who is only one outwardly and publicly,   ²⁹But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and [true] circumcision is of the heart, a spiritual  matter. The Word of God calls Jews the  ‘root’ and Gentiles the ‘branches’ of the olive tree of Israel. “You (Gentiles), though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others (the Jews) and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root”. (Romans 11:17ff)  There simply is just no divorcing Christianity from our Hebraic roots. (Romans 2:26 ff) 

     To stand with Israel is to be a Watchman on the Wall (to keep watch in earnest prayer for her).  ^6”” I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;    they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD,   give yourselves no rest, ⁷ and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” (Isaiah 62:6)

     There are wonderful promises to those who become Watchmen on the Wall - “ I will bless those who bless you,  and whoever curses you I will curse;” Genesis 12:3

     There are frightening cautions for those opposed to Israel:  “ He who touches you touches the  pupil of God’s eye.”( Zachariah 2:8)  I don’t know about you, but I think it’s pretty foolhardy to be poking God in the eye.  The consequences  of such  foolish insolence are terrifying.  It is just as foolish to be passive towards Israel ( as if something that is so important to God is of no interest to us.) 

      Like it or not, we’re in a war (a Spiritual war) and it is wise to enlist on the correct side. Nobody sits on the fence as a spectator in this war - "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters". (Matthew 12:30) Hatred toward Israel is driven by Spiritual powers that will not be satisfied until Israel ceases to exist.  It’s not just some foolish few “who don’t like Jews”.  There are spiritual forces at work that are greater than humanity.  These forces cannot be overthrown by politics, smooth speeches, or a token vote by the UN.  These forces can only be broken by prayer in which principalities and powers are cast down -  ^12”For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but , against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.”          ( Ephesians 6:12)   

Not only are these powers opposed to the Jews, but they are the same spirits opposed to Christians and they, in time, will bring persecution to both groups.  Today the Jews may be in the cross hairs, but tomorrow it will be Christians. We are wise to remember that there is a spirit in the world that is against all that is called God, and hatefully opposed to all that He loves.  To be passive toward the Jews, is to heap judgment and punishment upon ourselves.  God will reward those who sign up to be Watchmen on His walls, and you just can’t beat a Heavenly reward-  “no eye has seen,  no ear has heard,  no human mind has conceived  the things God has prepared for those who love Him.”  (I Corinthians 2:8).   I submit that to love God is to love Israel and to enlist to  be a Watchmen on the Wall - to ‘pray for the peace of Jerusalem’ and to ask God to’ make her the praise of the earth.'

Dragons in the Bible

The Bible does not speak of mythological beings. The Bible does speak, however, of dragons.  In fact, the word "dragon" (Hebrew: tannin – [tan-NEEN]) is used throughout the Old Testament, and most directly translates as "sea or land monsters."     Records of the Greek historian Herodotus (who lived about 2,500 years ago and is known as ‘the father of history’) and  Josephus (a first-century Jewish historian who lived 2,000 years ago) describe flying reptiles in ancient Egypt and Arabia.

      Nearly every major ancient culture has legends about giant reptiles.  Dragons are found in the early literature of the English, Irish, Danish, Norse, Scandinavians, Germans, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Babylonians. Among the American Indians, legends of dragons flourished among the Crees, Algonquins, Onondagas, Ojibways, Hurons, Chinooks, Shoshones, and Eskimos. How would these civilizations, separated by continents, all come up with legends of giant reptile creatures if they did not really exist?

       Job describes Leviathan:  (some versions translate tannin to mean jackal or hippo, but as you read the following verse, do you really think it describes a hippo or a jackal?)  Hebrew scholars confirm that the truest meaning of tannin is “sea or land monster”. Job is usually considered to be one of the oldest of the Bible books, thought to be written  almost 3,000 years ago.

   ¹² “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,  its strength and its graceful form. … Who can penetrate its double coat of armor?... its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth? ¹⁵ Its back has^[c] rows of shields.  Its snorting throws out flashes of light; ¹⁹ Flames stream from its mouth;    sparks of fire shoot out. ²⁰ Smoke pours from its nostrils ...²¹ Its breath sets coals ablaze,   and flames dart from its mouth.  Its chest is hard as rock,  When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; ²⁶ The sword that reaches it has no effect,…”  (Job 41: 12-26).  Sure sounds like the classic Dark Ages dragon, don’t  you think?

       There are other Bible references to dragons, here are just a few: 

Deuteronomy 32:33 “Their wine is the poison of dragons…”

       Nehemiah 2:13 “And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem…”

Psalm 44:19 “Though thou hast  broken us in the place of dragons…”

       Psalm 74:13 “Thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.”

Psalm 91:13 “ the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.”

      Psalm 148:7 “Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons…”

Isaiah 27:1 “In that day the Lord with his great and strong sword  shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”

      Isaiah 34:13 “And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons”.
"Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons,” Micah 1:8

     In the New Testament, "dragon" is used only as an analogy for Satan.

“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.”  Revelation 12:3.

“the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast ; 4 they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast.”  Rev. 13:3

The Bible states that the dragon will deceive the whole world through miracles and smooth words.
"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." (Revelation 16:13-14)

 “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”  Rev. 20:1-3

The Amidah

While The Shema (sh-MAW) is the Holiest prayer of all Judaism, (found in  Deuteronomy 6 -  “ Hear O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is One” etc.) there is also the ancient prayer, the Amidah (ah-me-DAH), which Jesus Himself would have recited.   If you ask a devout Jew if he prayed “the prayer”, he would know you were referring to the Amidah.   It  is the central prayer around which all other Jewish prayer orbits. The word Amidah means “standing” because this prayer is recited while standing with feet firmly planted together, while facing Jerusalem.  When saying the Amidah your voice should be audible to you  but not loud enough for others to hear .  Interrupting the Amidah is forbidden,except if  you are in danger or must relieve yourself.  By nature, a person's brain is active and wandering. The Amidah brings everything into focus. The Amidah, therefore, should be recited while standing, with quiet devotion and without interruption.  It is customary  to take three steps back and then three steps forward both before and after reciting the Amidah. The steps backward at the beginning represent withdrawing your attention from the material world, and then stepping forward to symbolically approach the King of Kings. The three steps backward  is also compared to a student who respectfully backs away from his teacher.  Many scholars believe that the Lord’s Prayer of Jesus (the ‘Our Father’) is an abbreviated version of the Amidah.  Devout men  pray 3 times a day - morning, afternoon, and evening -, women are required to pray only once, though they may pray more often.  Sometimes people want to pray but don’t really know how.  I believe that the Amidah is a good way to learn how to truly give voice to our inner longings and desire to worship.  There are many Scriptures that are quoted in the Amidah and I think this prayer helps us to reiterate those concepts.   Following then is the beautiful prayer, The Amidah (when reciting, the titles in bold need not be read) (also, note that “the Redeemer” has already arrived, but it would be appropriate to pray for His  return):

THE AMIDAH

THE GOD OF HISTORY:

Blessed are you, O Lord our God and God of our
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the
great, mighty and revered God, the Most High God who bestows
lovingkindnesses, the creator of all things, who remembers the good deeds
of the patriarchs and in love will bring a redeemer to their children's
children for his name's sake. O king, helper, savior and shield.
Blessed are you, O Lord, the shield of Abraham.

THE GOD OF NATURE:

You, O Lord, are mighty forever, you revive the
dead, you have the power to save.
You sustain the living with lovingkindness, you revive the dead with great
mercy, you support the falling, heal the sick, set free the bound and keep
faith with those who sleep in the dust. Who is like you, O doer of mighty
acts? Who resembles you, a king who puts to death and restores to life,
and causes salvation to flourish? And you are certain to revive the dead.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who revives the dead.

 SANCTIFICATION OF GOD: (If praying with others)

[Reader] We will sanctify your name in this world just as it is sanctified in the highest heavens, as it is written by your prophet: "And they call out to one another and say:
[Cong.]    'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.'" [Isa. 6:3]
[Reader] Those facing them praise God saying:
[Cong.]   "Blessed be the Presence of the LORD in his place." [Ezek. 3:12]
[Reader] And in your Holy Words it is written, saying,
[Cong.]    "The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah." [Ps. 146:10]
[Reader] Throughout all generations we will declare your greatness, and to all eternity we will proclaim your holiness. Your praise, O our God, shall never depart from our mouth, for you are a great and holy God and King. Blessed are you, O Lord, the holy God. You are holy, and your name is holy, and holy beings praise you daily. Blessed are you, O Lord, the holy God.

 PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING:

You favor men with knowledge, and teach mortals understanding.
O favor us with the knowledge,
the understanding and the insight that come from you.
Blessed are you, O Lord, the gracious giver of knowledge.

 FOR REPENTANCE:

Bring us back, O our father, to your Instruction;
draw us near, O our King, to your service;
and cause us to return to you in perfect repentance.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who delights in repentance.

 FOR FORGIVENESS:

Forgive us, O our Father, for we have sinned;
pardon us, O our King, for we have transgressed; for you pardon and forgive.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who is merciful and always ready to forgive.

 FOR DELIVERANCE FROM AFFLICTION:

Look upon our affliction and plead our cause,
and redeem us speedily for your name's sake,
for you are a mighty redeemer.
Blessed are you, O Lord, the redeemer of Israel.

FOR HEALING:

Heal us, O Lord, and we will be healed;
save us and we will be saved, for you are our praise.
O grant a perfect healing to all our ailments,
for you, almighty King, are a faithful and merciful healer.
Blessed are you, O Lord, the healer of the sick of his people Israel.

FOR DELIVERANCE FROM WANT:

Bless this year for us, O Lord our God,
together with all the varieties of its produce, for our welfare.
Bestow  a blessing upon the
face of the earth. O satisfy us with your goodness, and bless our year
like the best of years.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who blesses the years.

FOR GATHERING OF EXILES:

Sound the great shofar for our freedom,
raise the ensign to gather our exiles,
and gather us from the four corners of the earth.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who gathers the dispersed of his people Israel.

 FOR THE RIGHTEOUS REIGN OF GOD:

Restore our judges as in former times,
and our counselors as at the beginning; and remove from us sorrow and
sighing. Reign over us, you alone, O Lord, with lovingkindness and
compassion, and clear us in judgment. Blessed are you, O Lord, the King
who loves righteousness and justice.

 FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF APOSTATES AND
    THE ENEMIES OF GOD:

Let there be no hope for slanderers,
and let all wickedness perish in an instant.
May all your enemies quickly be cut down,
and may you soon in our day uproot, crush, cast down
and humble the dominion of arrogance.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who smashes enemies and humbles the arrogant.

 FOR THE RIGHTEOUS AND PROSELYTES:

May your compassion be stirred, O Lord our God,
towards the righteous, the pious, the elders of your people
the house of Israel, the remnant of their scholars, towards proselytes,
and towards us also. Grant a good reward to all who truly trust in your
name. Set our lot with them forever so that we may never be put to shame,
for we have put our trust in you.
Blessed are you, O Lord, the support and stay of the righteous.

 FOR THE REBUILDING OF JERUSALEM:

Return in mercy to Jerusalem your city, and dwell in it as you have promised.
Rebuild it soon in our day as an eternal structure,
and quickly set up in it the throne of David.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who rebuilds Jerusalem.

 FOR THE MESSIANIC KING:

Speedily cause the offspring of your servant David to flourish,
and let him be exalted by your saving power,
for we wait all day long for your salvation.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who causes salvation to flourish.

 FOR THE ANSWERING OF PRAYER:

Hear our voice, O Lord our God; spare us and have pity on us.
Accept our prayer in mercy and with favor,
for you are a God who hears prayers and supplications.
O our King, do not turn us away from your presence empty-handed,
for you hear the prayers of your people Israel with compassion.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who hears prayer.

FOR RESTORATION OF TEMPLE SERVICE:

Be pleased, O Lord our God, with your people Israel and with their prayers.
Restore the service to the inner sanctuary of your Temple,
and receive in love and with favor both the fire-offerings of Israel and their prayers.
May the worship of your people Israel always be acceptable to you.
And let our eyes behold your return in mercy to Zion.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who restores his divine presence to Zion.

THANKSGIVING FOR GOD'S UNFAILING MERCIES:

We give thanks to you that you are the Lord our God
and the God of our fathers forever and ever.
Through every generation you have been the rock of our lives, the shield
of our salvation. We will give you thanks and declare your praise for our
lives that are committed into your hands, for our souls that are entrusted
to you, for your miracles that are daily with us, and for your wonders and
your benefits that are with us at all times, evening, morning and noon.
O beneficent one, your mercies never fail; O merciful one,
your lovingkindnesses never cease. We have always put our hope in you.
For all these acts may your name be blessed and exalted continually,
O our King, forever and ever. Let every living thing give thanks to you and
praise your name in truth, O God, our salvation and our help. (Selah.)
Blessed are you, O Lord, whose Name is the Beneficent One,
and to whom it is fitting to give thanks.

FOR PEACE:

Grant peace, welfare, blessing, grace, lovingkindness and mercy to us
and to all Israel your people. Bless us, O our Father, one and
all, with the light of your countenance; for by the light of your
countenance you have given us, O Lord our God, a Torah of life,
lovingkindness and salvation, blessing, mercy, life and peace.
May it please you to bless your people Israel at all times
and in every hour with your peace.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who blesses his people Israel with peace.

Fee...fi...fo...fum....legendary giants are Biblical !

The Bible has more to say about the Fallen Angels,( Nephilim) than many people know.  Fallen angels are those who, according to Jude 1:6, “ did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them”.  “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them.” Rather than meaning ‘fallen’, several English translations render the word  Nephilim as"giants" - the "giants" translation coming from the Greek old testament where "nephilim" was "gegantes", which would be  "titans" in modern Greek. In Greek mythology, the titans were the supernaturally powerful offspring of gods and humans. In Numbers 13, when the Israelites were ready to enter the Promised Land, scouts were sent ahead to see what would await them.  They came back and reported  “All the people we saw there are of great size.  We saw the Nephilim there… We seemed like grasshoppers … to them.”

   Enter Enoch, who was Noah’s righteous grandfather, who the Bible says “walked with God”.   Hebrews 11 tells us that Enoch  did not have to die, but was translated because he pleased God.  According to the Book of  Enoch, an ancient Hebrew religious writing quoted by Jude in the New Testament, God was furious with the fallen angels partly because they disclosed certain classified information to humans.  The writings say that the Nephilim taught sorcery to humans and would have been the founders of the occult arts, a sin since “ The secret things belong to the LORD our God” (Deuternomy 29:29).  They turned to humans as a food source and practiced cannibalism, especially fond of drinking human blood – which would explain the source of the legend of vampirism.  The Nephilim ( also referred to as demons) would be the originators of the dark arts and other forms of weird evil, completely contradictory to the will of our Holy God.  Is it any wonder, then, that God would institute global flooding to wipe these unholy creatures from the face of the earth? 

   One disturbing point is that, according to a few Old Testament scholars,  some of the Nephilim apparently somehow survived the flood, since there are Scripture references to them afterward, as in Numbers 13 quoted above – “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days – and also afterward…” (Genesis 6:4).  However, Genesis tells us  the flood took away "all flesh that moved on the earth" so  I believe  more Nephilim visited the Earth after the flood.  After the flood, The children of Israel were afraid to enter the Promised Land because they saw Nephilim there.  The Torah also tells of the battle with Og, the giant king of Bashan - from whose name we probably get the word ogre (sorry Shrek).  Later on, the giant Goliath, whom David dispatched, was at least nine feet tall and  was probably of Nephilim descent.  Many times in the Old Testament, when God leads the Israelites into battle, He instructs them to attack a tribe and wipe out every man, woman, and child.  Some people find this upsetting and contradictory to the loving nature of God.  Yet, they do not realize that these tribes were not only idol worshippers, but  may have had a corrupted gene pool due to Nephilim breeding.  They were so evil, God even demanded that their livestock be destroyed.  As fearsome as the Nephilim were, I find it fascinating that David was able to slay one merely with a stone flung from his slingshot.  Encouragement that, with righteous holiness and faith that calls on the Name of Yahweh, Nephilim need not be feared.   Shalom uv'racha  (Peace and Blessings)

Who Were The Nephilim?

Most Bible scholars trace the word "Nephilim" (NEF-ill-im) to the Hebrew root "Naphal" meaning "to fall." Nephilim can also mean ‘rejects’.  Some Angels were apprentices of Satan, and, with him, they rebelled against God.   They were “angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them.” (Jude 1:6). They mated with human women and produced a  perverted hybrid race -   "When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. (‘Sons of God’ in the Old Testament always refers to angels). The Nephilim were on the earth in those days …when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.” (Genesis 6:4)   Hebrew scholars disagree as to whether the ‘mighty men of old’ were the Nephilim themselves or their demonic offspring.  But, either way, the Bible confirms the sinful existence of these half-breeds.  It is believed by many that these Nephilim or their hybrid offspring  (‘ heroes of old, men of renown’) were the catalysts for such legendary figures as Atlas, Zeus, Hercules, Poseidon, and other  mythological  ‘heroes of old’ including  those in Hindu, Inca, Sumer, and  Egyptian mythologies.

    The Genesis 6 verse above also says “Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever…” The bloodlines of men on earth had become corrupted by this forbidden  mating of the Nephilim with humans.  However, we also read  in Genesis 6  “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God (some scholars think him blameless  because Noah’s blood was purely human and not tainted by the ungodly mixing of Nephal and human).

“ ¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. ¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become ¹³ So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people,” (Genesis 6:11)  The worldwide flood enabled God to cleanse the earth of their wickedness and wipe out the unnatural offspring of the Nephilim.  From the beginning, God  intended for the Messiah to come through a pure line (of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).  This corrupted blood line of Nephilim could  have tainted that Messianic line.  Even from Eden,  Satan  has tried to pervert everything good that God has planned for mankind, including corrupting the blessed  lineage of  Jesus the Messiah (Messiah Yeshua).  Every time Satan  moves a chess piece on the board, God  moves His piece too.  It is destined  that God will win the match.  As current events testify,  we are getting closer to ‘checkmate’.   Shalom. 

Everyone Needs a Paidagogos.

Torah does not mean ‘law’, it means ‘teaching’ and is not limited to just the first five books of the Old Testament. The Apostle Paul tells us “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, and training in righteousness”, (II Timothy 3:16). When Paul wrote that, he was referring to the Torah since it was the only Scripture recorded then. Now, however, we have the New Testament as well. So, for Christians and Messianic Jews, the Torah (teaching) is much broader than just the Torah of Moses , or the Old Testament. The Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and the Revelation of John are all Biblical teachings, so can then be considered Torah as well. The entire Bible is God’s teaching built upon the foundation of the Torah of Moses.

I was taught that Torah was the ‘Law’ (bad connotation - everyone frown) that spiritually imprisoned the Jews and demanded more of them that they could deliver. (If they broke one little commandment in the law they had no hope of ever appeasing an angry God ) My early Bible teachers claimed that Paul said that the Law was a curse and done away with. But, Paul himself clears up the whole ‘law-makes-a-prisoner-of-you thing’ when he writes in Galatians 3:23-25: ²³We were guarded under the Law, kept in custody in preparation for the faith that was destined to be revealed, ²⁴ The Law served as our trainer [our guardian,] until Christ [came]… ²⁵But now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a trainer.” Here Paul teaches us that the Torah was our GUARDIAN, much like a tutor, advisor, or caretaker. The Greek word is paidagogos, from which we get our English word pedagogue. The role of the Greek paidagogos was not that of a prison guard, but rather he was to act as a protector, guardian, and trusted guide who accompanied the child to school, and made sure the child was educated, kept healthy in every way, and did not run with the wrong crowd.

The Jews were not cursed or imprisoned by the Torah, they were actually protected by it for their own good. Paul says that “now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a trainer (guardian).” The Greek pedagogue brought the student to the teacher to be taught by the teacher. The Torah brings us to Messiah Yeshua, to be saved and taught by Him. Torah does not save anyone, salvation is only found in the Messiah Himself. But it is the Torah that is the paidagogos that brings us to Him. Shalom.