2023-05-22, Netanya, Israel: A question came in about divisions in the Body of Messiah.
Teddy: So, the teaching about Ephesians 4 goes like this: We have the first 9 verses or so which describes the unity of the Spirit, because there is actually only one Elohim since the false ones don’t count, for us who are believers. So for any believers in Y’shua – how can they actually be in disunity of the Spirit if there IS only ONE Spirit? So thus, we are called to maintain that unity of the Spirit – maintain it, not gain it – because we already have it as a free gift.
The second type of unity is something different. That unity is built with the help of the pastors, prophets, apostles, evangelists, and teachers, and that is unity of faith, which is to say, unity of the knowledge of the full stature of Y’shua, the Son of Man. That we may be built UNTIL we come into that unity of knowledge of Him. See there – UNTIL means we don’t have it YET. But we will. Meanwhile, we already have the unity of the Spirit, as verses 1-9 already explained.
The mistake that many make, is getting these two types confused. So then they wrongfully split from one another because of different knowledge about Y’shua’s stature. No, different knowledge is ok – let’s try to learn from each other. And while we try and do that, we must MAINTAIN the unity of the Spirit.
In the ancient tradition of the Body of Messiah in the Eastern half of the world, the New Testament was written down in Aramaic, delivered to the Elders of the Eastern Church, and then quickly translated into Greek for the benefit of Europe and the West.
Why Aramaic and not Greek? First of all, first-century CE Israeli Jews considered Greek to be a pagan foreign language which contained the names of false gods, never to be pronounced by the faithful. As Josephus wrote:
“I have also taken a great deal of pains to obtain the learning of the Greeks, and understand the elements of the Greek language, although I have so long accustomed myself to speak our own tongue, that I cannot pronounce Greek with sufficient exactness; for our nation does not encourage those that learn the languages of many nations, and so adorn their discourses with the smoothness of their periods; because they look upon this sort of accomplishment as common, not only to all sorts of free-men, but to as many of the servants as please to learn them. But they give him the testimony of being a wise man who is fully acquainted with our laws, and is able to interpret their meaning; on which account, as there have been many who have done their endeavors with great patience to obtain this learning, there have yet hardly been so many as two or three that have succeeded therein, who were immediately well rewarded for their pains.” —Antiquities of Judeans XX, XI.
For many text comparison examples, FREE download:
“Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek?” With contributions from Andrew Gabriel Roth, Paul Younan.
Paul Younan, Aramaic scholar: “Native Aramaic spells Arabia (the geographic name) with an Aleph, which is how we know that the Peshitta NT wasn’t originally translated from Hebrew. However, we (aramaic speakers) spell “Arab” (the ethnicity) with an Ayin. For reference, see Acts 2:11 for “Arab” (the ethnic designation) spelled with an Ayin.” – Paul Younan
Acts 2:11, Eastern Aramaic Peshitta, from Aramaic English New Testament, 1st edition (2008), pg 305.
There are well known claims from Eusebius et al that Matthew was written in Hebrew. I disagree slightly. “In the Hebrew tongue,” actually means the “in the dialect in use by the Hebrew people at the time,” which was Aramaic after the return from Babylon. I give Acts 1:19 as one example. The name for “field of blood” given there (“Khagel Dema”) is Aramaic, whether read in Aramaic or Greek, where the Greek scribe explains the meaning in a gloss which does not appear in the Peshitta. So Eusebius meant Aramaic as the Hebrew tongue. Even if I’m wrong, and Eusebius meant Hebrew and not Aramaic, it doesn’t practically matter since all that’s survived is Aramaic. And that’s over 360 mss. strong. – Teddy Chadwick
Acts 1:19, Eastern Aramaic Peshitta, from AENT 1st Ed (2008) pg 305.
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18 May, 2023, Chomesh, Israel: Lead politicians Gallant and Smotrich have reached an agreement to officially confirm the village of Chomesh:
“Green light for Jews to stay in Chomesh,” Israel HaYom 18 May 2023, front cover.
It’s always a blessing when the government of modern Israel officially affirms a Jewish village in Judea and Samaria.
Without going into the specifics about every village, here’s an overview of the complexity:
Some Jewish villages were built on parcels of land that was bought and paid for, to an Arab family that had claimed ownership.
Some were authorized by an prior Israeli government – and trouble may come if a subsequent government chooses to not uphold their agreements with Jewish citizens.
Generally, land in Judea and Samaria was won in defensive military conflicts, in which International Law states that the defender keeps land that they win, while following strict rules to establish who is the aggressor and who is the defender.
Please pray, as we seek to accomplish our work in troubled times and places.
Update 11 May 2023, Tel Aviv: Second rash of missiles just fired this afternoon:
Second day of Attacks: Red Alert phone app reported rockets launched at Israeli towns and cities before sunset on May 11, 2023
10 May 2023, Tel Aviv: Israel Defense Forces recently surgically killed three top leaders of Iran-backed Islamic Jihad, an organization in Gaza that competes against Hamas for warfare and governance. Rather than respond against Israeli military targets, as is permissible by law, Gaza armies have instead fired missiles at civilian “soft targets” in population centers such as Ashkelon, Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, and Bat Yam.
At left, Gaza fires many missiles simultaneously at Israeli civilians in an attempt to overwhelm the Iron Dome. At right, Iron Dome Israeli defense system launches and strikes Gaza missiles in mid-air. Photo: Israel Today, 11 May 2023, front page.
5 May 2023, Israel: In Nablus, about 20 minutes from here, the terrorist who murdered members of the Dee family while driving to their Pessach (Passover) vacation site, was apprehended by Israeli security forces. He resisted arrest, initiated combat against the Israelis, and was eliminated in the process.
Palestinians in Nablus claim that these (pictured below) are Israeli undercover agents who apprehended the terrorist in the PA-controlled town of Nablus (aka Shechem, the burial place of Joseph):
“The undercover [agents who found the terrorist -ed.], according to the Palestinians’ claim.” Israel Today – 5 May 2023 pg 1.
The front-page headline: “In the heart of the terrorist nest: The account is closed.”
“The elimination in Nablus is a testament to the ability of security forces – and so the situation in Judea and Samaria has been the most explosive for 20 years.” Israel Today – 5 May 2023 pg 1.
Pictured below: This terrorist had killed these women who were driving north on Highway 90. The Dee family, who are dual British-Israeli citizens, was in a 2-car convoy towards their Pessach vacation spot in the north:
“Killer was eliminated. The late Di family members.” Israel Today – 5 May 2023 pg 1.
Father in Heaven, we pray in Y’shua’s name that You comfort and provide for the Dee family in their time of mourning.
3 May 2023 Update: Ok now we know the reason. A convicted terrorist committed suicide in Israeli prison and the Arabs blame Israel. However, it is clear that the “administrative detention” is criticized internationally.
Jerusalem Post, 3 May 2023 pg 1.Jerusalem Post, 3 May 2023 pg 1.Jerusalem Post, 3 May 2023 pg 1.Jerusalem Post, 3 May 2023 pg 1.
2 May 2023, Israel: Out of the blue, at least six rocket attacks against Jewish civilians in Israel:
1 May, 2023, Israel: Thousands of protestors in the streets regarding the proposed judicial change bill. And yet polls show that the high cost of living is the big issue–by a long shot–for Israelis. As for the judicial reform issue, I’ll post my take below:
Update 2 May, 2023: Judicial reform: Most Western nations which aim for liberty-based self-governance seek for balance between three centers of power: Namely, the Legislative branch, the Executive branch, and the Judicial branch. The three-way tug-of-war ideally results in a fair situation for the benefit of The People.
The Legislative branch – chosen by The People – writes the laws.
The Executive branch implements policy and takes action according to the laws.
The Judicial branch judges transgressors of the laws.
In Israel, for many decades this has not been the case. The Judicial branch has possessed an outsized power to strike down laws which were written by the Legislature (the Knesset). In short, right now the Knesset has debated a bill which would make the process more fair by balancing out the committee which chooses judges: a portion of the committee would be made up of duly elected Knesset members.
Similar systems already exist in recognized Western governments such as Ireland, for example. And yet the global media has castigated Israel for departing from democracy. Actually, the Judicial branch has had too much power for all this time, and the proposed bill would merely reduce that power down to an equal footing with the other branches.
So that’s the main issue. The Left has been in control of the selection process for judges. Meanwhile, ever since the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the populace has been steadily moving from the Left to the Right. Thus, the Knesset has also moved rightward. And yet, the High Court and the court system at large has remained frozen in a leftward position.
Two other issues on the side: First, Israel’s Jewish population has a bitter divide between the Religious minority which trends toward the Right, and the Secular majority which is mainly on the Left. As I wrote, the secular majority has been giving up its voters as the nation moves toward the Right, as can be seen by the distribution of the Knesset’s 120 seats since the 1970’s. This long-standing rift complicates the issue a bit.
Secondly, over the years, Israel has successfully judged several politicians for crimes and placed them in jail, including Arye Deri, former Minister of Interior (which oversees immigration, visas, and citizenship issues), Ehud Olmert, former Prime Minister, and several others. Current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has several court cases in proceedings, and he certainly would be highly motivated to reduce his chances of guilty verdicts–by any means necessary. I don’t see this as a deciding factor in the issue. The main issue is the current Knesset members goal to build a democratic system with a better balance between the three Branches.
Let us pray and contend for righteousness to prevail in Israel.
Pray about your support for our work here in the Land.
