Demons and spiritual warfare are always popular subjects for discussion. This study discusses who/what demons are and how/why they gain influence over people. It also discusses how to get rid of them.
Three vignettes in Genesis show the development of Judah's character. In the first, he is the one who engineers selling his brother into slavery. In the scene with Tamar, we see a change. He is able to acknowledge his error and do what's necessary to make it right. Finally, standing before Joseph, he is able to put his own interests aside and do whatever is necessary to save his brother Benjamin. His character growth is simply astonishing.
Malachi, written after the Babylonian exile, addresses a jaded and cynical priesthood. They are just going through the motions to satisfy the crowd and maintain their places in society. In this they are very similar to much of the modern church.
Until Y'shua returns, God has given man dominion on Earth. That means we have an obligation to participate in whatever political process we find ourselves in. In the 2016 Presidential election, the two candidates each have Biblical parallels which can help us to choose wisely.
We are creatures moving in time. As such, at the time we act, we cannot know the consequences of our actions; nor can we go back and undo our actions if they are unwise or cause damage. Forgiveness is the mechanism that God has provided that allows us to recover from our errors.
In the earlier books of the Bible the divide between the spiritual world and the physical seems to have been much less rigid than it is now. There are quite a few stories where two people meet and it is only later that one realizes that the other is an angel. Indeed, some of these angelic beings appear to be either God or Messiah.
Ezekiel chapters 36 through 39 describe the resurrection and regathering of Israel and their living under the New Covenant. During this process Israel remains distinct from the nations even through the reign of Messiah. At the end, the nations, influenced by Satan's lies, will rise up against Israel and her Messiah and will have their armies destroyed.
Faith is the human faculty that allows us to operate in the time stream. In order to take action, you must have faith that that action will get the result you expect. In a Biblical sense, you are behaving as if the promises of God are true. In that case you expect the results He promises.
In Christian theology, Joseph prefigures Christ in that many of the events in his life are prophetic. There are, however, marked differences between Joseph and Christ, one of which is that Joseph set up a police state on Pharaoh's behalf in Egypt. The system that Joseph established during the Egyptian famine would be used later to enslave Israel for several centuries.
It is traditional to read the book of Jonah on Yom Kippur. This talk, inspired by Rabbi Fohrman of AlephBeta.org, explores Jonah in the context of the tension between strict justice and divine compassion. In other words, why would Jonah rather die than see Nineveh repent?
