Articles & Answers

A Different Perspective on Feast-Keeping

Q: I’m really struggling with the feasts. I love Shabbat and studying the Torah, but for some reason I… don’t feel a drawing to keep the feasts, other than to study them at their time and season. I’ve prayed about this because I don’t want to be disobedient to the Word… Thanks Kevin.

A: Perhaps it will help to look at this issue from a different perspective. When Adonai instituted the annual calendar for Israel’s feasts and appointed times, He based it on the Land’s natural agricultural and seasonal schedule. Passover, for example, is in the Spring, at the beginning of the harvest season; Shavuot is at the end of the spring harvest going into summer; Sukot wraps up all the harvesting in the Fall. Read more

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Listen to "Deny Yourself"

In this powerful, intense, live teaching presented during the Yom Kippur season, Kevin Geoffrey presents the Scriptural mandate for both the holiest day of the year and the daily life for disciples of Messiah: deny yourself. Taken to heart, this message will not only change the way you view Yom Kippur, but it will radically alter the course of your life.

Audio, which was available on Wednesday, September 26, 2012, is no longer available here. Please go here instead.

Yom Kippur… the single holiest day on Israel’s calendar—and it is best observed by doing absolutely nothing… the Master Yeshua, our great high priest, has already done it all! The Yom Kippur command to deny oneself is also the heartbeat of those who live for Messiah, in whom this awesome day is fulfilled. For more about “Deny Yourself” and Yom Kippur:

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The Humanity of Yeshua

While the Scriptures testify to the deity of the Messiah Yeshua—that He is, in fact, God in the flesh (see perfectword.org/deity)—they also simultaneously assert the Master’s complete and genuine humanity. Affirming His deity, Yeshua embraced the title “Son of God” (cf. John 5:18, 10:22-39 and 19:7), and occasionally referenced His own divine origins (cf. Matthew 22:42-46; Mark 12:35-37; John 3:13, 6:62), but He most often referred to Himself as the “Son of Man.” Apparently, “Son of Man” is an allusion to Daniel 7:13-14, which Yeshua seems to use as an acknowledgment of His role and calling of Messiah—similar to the meaning behind the title “Son of David.” Though neither of these titles are a direct affirmation of the Master’s humanity, both reinforce His interaction and association with humanity, as well as His sharing in our very nature and experience.  Read more

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Judaism’s Calendar Confusion

Q: A friend of mine is reading a book by someone who said there are four calendars we are to operate on Scripturally. Have you ever heard about this?

A: Your friend is correct when he says that Judaism understands there to be four calendars (or “new years”), hence the reason the first day of the seventh month is celebrated as “Rosh HaShanah”—the “head of the year.” With all due respect to the Rabbis, however, such an idea cannot be defended from Scripture.

First, while the phrase Rosh HaShanah does occur in Ezekiel 40:1, it is not in reference to the first day of the seventh month. Second, though Exodus 34:22 says that “the revolution of the year” occurs in the seventh month, the phrase is referring to the Feast of Ingathering, which falls on the fifteenth of the month, not on the first. “The revolution of the year” speaks to the circuitous nature of Israel’s agricultural schedule, the harvests of which begin in the Spring and conclude in the Fall. Then the process of planting, sowing and reaping repeats.

Scripture only mentions one beginning of the year: Rosh ’Chadashiym, which means “Head of the Months” (“Months” is literally “New Moons”). Exodus 12:2 calls it “the first of the months of the year,” referring to the month in Spring known Niysan (Ne.2:1, Est.3:7) or Aviyv (Ex.13:4).

So, despite the historical development of Judaism, Adonai established only one annual calendar for Israel, and it begins with the harvest and new life of Spring.

What do you think? How, if at all, should this affect our observance? Other thoughts?
Sound off below.

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Taking Root In Good Soil

Throughout the Scriptures, we are frequently exhorted to persevere—to keep pressing forward in the face of adversity. We need this encouragement because our natural tendency is to avoid conflict, trials, troubles, or hardship of any kind—to not persevere. No one likes to suffer and endure pain or discomfort, but if we always travel the path of least resistance, we cannot learn and grow from life’s challenges. As disciples of Messiah, we will all encounter a set of difficulties uniquely designed to cause growth in our lives. How we deal with these trials speaks directly to our level of maturity in Him. Perseverance, then, is the stepping-stone from tribulation to maturity.

The Master teaches us, “[A sower went out to sow his seed, which is…] the word of God. [The seed that fell] beside the way were those who heard [the word], then the Accuser came and took up the word from their heart, lest having believed, they might have been saved. [The seed that fell] upon the rock [are] those who, when they heard the word, received it with joy. Yet these who have no root believed for a while, but in time of trial, fell away. [The seed] that fell to the thorns [are] those who have heard, but, going forth, were choked through anxieties [about] wealth and pleasures of life, and bore no [fruit] to maturity. But that [seed which fell] on the good soil are these: they, who with an upright and good heart, having heard the word, retain it, and bear fruit with perseverance.” Luke 8:11-15

One of the primary reasons we do not grow and mature in Messiah is simple: we want the “fruit,” but we don’t have the “root.” As the Master’s parable illustrates, there are various kinds of obstacles that keep us from putting down roots and bearing the fruit of maturity. Our uncultivated, rocky soil doesn’t allow the roots to take hold, and the seed is stolen from us so that we cannot withstand the trials of life. If, by chance, a seed does begin to take root, its growth is choked back by the thorns of anxiety until the plant withers and dies. We may receive the seed and even have it planted within us, but without “good soil,” it will not bear fruit and mature.

The disciple of Messiah is to be like “good soil” for the implantation of the Word of God—having heard the Word, we are to “retain it, and bear fruit with perseverance.” The word translated as perseverance is the Greek hupomone, describing a person who is steadfast, consistent, and enduring. In the Master’s parable, this word describes a characteristic of the “good soil”—it steadfastly holds on to the seed, allowing its roots to grow deep and wide.

But instead of offering ourselves up as “good soil,” we often come with our rocks and thorns and our own “ways” of doing things. We put the seed in this soil and think something miraculous will happen. However, it is only in “good soil” that the work of perseverance can be accomplished so that, in turn, the Word of God can do its work and grow us to maturity. We need to put forth the effort to endure trials and tribulations and hold onto—“retain”—the word, so that we may “bear fruit with perseverance.”

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Introduction to Bible Translations

Q: I was curious, which English Bible translation do you find to be the most accurate? Is there a correct / accurate Hebrew / English Bible translation? Is there a good Hebrew Bible Dictionary other than the Strong’s? Is there a Messianic Jewish Commentary that I can trust? Any advice or guidance will help. Thank you.

A: These are all great questions—thank you for asking!

As you probably already know, he Scriptures were written in Hebrew (some in Aramaic) and Greek. So when we read the Scriptures in English, we are reading a translation. By definition, this means that no translation can be absolutely “correct.” A translation requires more than just the conversion of individual words. Concepts and connotations need to be understandable by the receiving audience. The various Bible translations fall along a spectrum between literal and paraphrase. A literal translation attempts to convey the original meanings of words and phrases. A paraphrase focuses on the translation of original ideas and concepts. Many modern translations attempt to preserve a certain level of what is called “dynamic equivalence” with the source texts, trying to strike a balance between the literal and paraphrase ends of the spectrum. Read more

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Yeshua Is God in the Flesh

Q: Dear sir, I have been a Bible-believing Christian for over twenty years. Lately, my brother has been debating with me that Jesus has all the qualities of a Savior and that He is the only way to be saved, but says that He was not God incarnate, but only the Son of God. Do all messianic Jews believe this? Could you please give me detailed information as to why, either way? Is Jesus Christ God incarnate, or not, according to Messianic belief? Your time spent in replying to me would be very much appreciated!  Read more

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The Promise Kept: Irrefutable Proof of God

When it comes to proving the existence of God and the truthfulness of His Word, it’s easy to come up short. As believers in Yeshua, we often present subjective or debatable evidence, such as personal experience, miracles, and fulfillment of Bible prophecy. But demonstrations of power and foreknowledge aren’t necessarily measures of truthfulness. Rather, we trust what someone says when we believe he is true to his word… when we believe he will keep all his promises. So why should we trust that God’s Word is true, that He exists, and that He is who He says He is? Because He has faithfully kept one objective, verifiable, and undebatable promise: Adonai has continued to preserve the Remnant of Israel from antiquity; He endures as the eternal guardian of the Jewish People. Read more

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The Goal of All "Doing"

Most of us (I hope!) would say that we love the Word of God… that we depend on it, submit to it, and try our best to fully abide by what God says. But the way that sentiment is realistically worked out in each of our lives is often dramatically different. Sometimes those differences are caused by the pervasive influence of the world. Sometimes it’s because we selfishly pursue our own interests. But in my experience, the fundamental reason why we don’t approach our relationship with God and our reliance upon His Word in the same way is because we do not bear the same standard when it comes to living for Yeshua. The reason we fail to know God and listen to His Word is because our aim has drifted from the goal. Read more

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Getting to the Heart of the Israel Crisis

At the center of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East is a fundamental, socio-religious ideology that says Jews should not exist—anytime or anywhere—much less as occupants of the land presently known as the modern State of Israel. As a result, the Israeli State faces a constant and seemingly imminent threat to her national sovereignty and safety: Palestinian rockets and mortar shells launched almost daily toward Israeli territory; powerful Arab leaders with potential nuclear capabilities calling for the annihilation of the “Zionist regime;” escalating, internal conflicts within neighboring countries threatening to destabilize the entire region; the nations of the world continually demonizing every attempt made by the State of Israel to defend against her aggressors. Confronted by such contempt and antagonism, the government nevertheless tries to negotiate land for peace, with an Israeli/Palestinian two-state solution looming as inevitable. Yet the real and growing danger hanging over the State of Israel endures. Read more

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