KP - I wanted to ask you what your thoughts were regarding working through a Torah cycle. Here is one example on-line: http://www.lionlamb.net/torahcycle.htm (this site incorrectly uses Yeshua instead of the proper name: Yahshua) Here is an another site offering free lessons sent out by e-mail: http://www.restorationoftorah.org/

What are your thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks.

-Yada

Edited by user Saturday, July 21, 2007 5:43:36 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I may not yet be fully awake at the moment, but after looking through both links, I'm still not sure what a Torah cycle is? I'm guessing it is a gradual reading and exploration of the books of Mosheh?

Whatever the particulars are if it involves studying the Scriptures with KP and others here, I'm interested.

My friends, I hope I haven't inadvertently left a false impression. I am not an expert on "all things Judaic." I do not speak Hebrew, whether Paleo, Babylonian, or modern. I am not a scholar by any stretch of the imagination. I am merely a guy who loves Yahweh and loves His word---all of it. Any insight or information I've been able to bring to the party is the result of many hours of loving labor poring over lexicons, dictionaries, and other resource materials, and letting God's Spirit speak to me. Don't ask me about how other men approach the scriptures. I have never found following man-made formulas to be of any use whatsoever---especially if there is even a hint of Talmudic influence.

Guys, rabbinic Judaism has nothing to offer us, and most of the sites referred to in this string owe something (some of them, a lot) to rabbinical tradition. The scriptures themselves tell us the sad fact: Yahweh has divorced His unfaithful wife Israel---the religion of Judaism---and by His own rules may not remarry her. She must become a "new creation" before Yahweh can once again bethroth her to Himself. There is nothing magical about the "Messianic movement," either. If they rely on the Talmud and Mishnah for insight, they're no better off than Catholics following papal bulls (or is that bull), or Protestants following their charismatic preachers and politicians. My advice: follow Yahweh and His Word. Dig for the truth. Don't trust your English translations without checking and double checking, and for heaven's sake, don't take any man's advice (including my own) without filtering it through the truth of Scripture.

If you find a resource claiming to be "Torah observant," mark my words: they're lying to you. It can't be done, not literally, not today. But as I've said til I'm blue in the face, what it symbolizes is of inestimable value to us today. It reveals the very mind of God, lays the foundation for the mission of the Messiah, and provides an indespensible "Owner's Manual" with which we can keep our mortal equipment in good working order. But it is a road map, not the road itself; it is a sign post, not the destination. Studying the Torah in isolation of the remainder of Scripture is like checking MapQuest but never getting into your car.

All that being said, the Torah cycle that looked the most promising to me was the one from Lion & Lamb, because it corelated the Torah readings with other passages elsewhere in the Tanach and New Covenant scriptures. (I couldn't tell you how meaningful the pairings were without a whole lot more reading.)

kp

I know it may sound a little strange for a writer like me to be saying, "Don't trust any man, including myself..." but I'll let you in on a little secret. I wrote Future History and The Owner's Manual for only one reason: I wanted to know this stuff myself, and I wasn't able to find satisfactory answers elsewhere. I write things down because I want to be able to remember them. I want to bottle the light God has given me so I can use it both now and later. Frankly, at my age :-) I forget stuff. It's really cool when I can go back to something I wrote a year ago and say, "Hey, that's pretty good." 'Course, I have to be a faithful craftsman when I handle God's truth, cause it'd suck if I went back to an old paragraph and have to say to myself, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever read..." I thank God for the Internet, 'cause (1) if I do find something amiss, I can go back and change it, (2) I can afford to give it away for free this way, but printing and distributing books is real expensive, and (3) I get to meet and chat with nice people all over the world, like y'all.

If commentaries like Yada's and mine are helpful, then by all means, keep reading. And if having somebody's schedule to go by helps you develop good study habits, then by all means, use them. (I prefer to follow my nose and document what I've sniffed out, but that's just me.) It bears repeating, however: don't take anything I or anybody else says at face value. There is a standard of perfection: the Word of Yahweh. Okay, so we have to work a little (or a lot) do dig out the truth that's there for us from amid the rubble of errant translation and traditional misapplication. That just makes the truth that much more satisfying when we find it.

kp