There is a great war going on, but it’s not a war waged with conventional weapons. This is the war for the souls of human beings, and every person alive is currently engaged in it… There is no place of neutrality in this war, and you cannot escape from the conflict. The enemy is now at the gate, the battle lines drawn. Pastors are being arrested around the world for holding church services; civil liberties and freedoms are being striped away from us in the name of state “security” for the “greater good.” Passivity or indifference is not an option, and therefore each of us must choose. We are either going forward or going backward; we are either drawing near or pulling away (Rev. 3:16). The question is now made urgent: מי ליהוה אלי – mi Adonal aylai? “Who is on the Lord’s side?”
The apostle Paul wrote about this great war when he said: “For though we walk in the flesh (i.e., as mortal men), we are not waging war according to the flesh (i.e., in human terms). For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to demolish strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the truth of Messiah” (2 Cor. 10:3-5).
Successful spiritual warfare is waged in the spirit realm, not relying on physical means at all, but trusting in the power of God and the weapons he gives to demolish “strongholds” where evil is deeply rooted (the word “stronghold” is better translated as “fortress,” a metaphor for militant prejudice that attempts to justify godlessness). In the profane world, these strongholds are expressed in the reasoning (i.e., λογισμός, “logic”) and “arrogant opinions” (i.e., ὕψωμα, pretenses) of the godless heart that are distilled into a dark vanity called “the wisdom of this world” (1 Cor. 3:19). The phrase “every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” refers to the various devices of the heart and mind that erect obstacles to the knowledge of the truth revealed in the Messiah. Such obstacles are affirmed daily in the treacherous news of this world that reinforce godless assumptions and ongoing deception. We must use active discernment to identify the fallacies and misleading schemes promulgated by the world system by “taking every thought captive” to the glorious truth of the Messiah.
This is the good fight of faith (1 Tim 6:12). The fight is “good” because it turns on the victory and glory of the Lord who shares his overcoming life with us. The battle belongs to the Lord; the victory has been secured (Psalm 84:11; Rom. 8:37-39). Always remember that we never fight for, but always from, the place of His victory, standing our ground in the sufficiency of God’s power given to us (Luke 10:19). We must be sober and vigilant (1 Pet. 5:8-9); we must stay focused and persevere in the truth (2 Tim. 2:4). God gives us the “armor of light” that blinds the eyes of powers of darkness. We must not be afraid but stand firm in the strength given to us by the Spirit of God (Zech 4:6; Eph. 6:11-18). The Lord will help us in the battle (2 Thess. 3:3; Deut. 3:22). “No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD” (Isa. 54:17).
Hebrew Lesson:
The Apostle Paul (רבי פאולוס השליח) taught that we are not to be “conformed” (συσχηματίζω) to the pattern of this fallen world but rather be “transformed” (μεταμορφόω) by renewing our minds, so that by testing we may discern what is the will of God (Rom. 12:2). Note that the word translated “conformed” in this verse means to accept the world’s scheme (σχῆμα) of understanding things, that is, to passively go along with the world’s matrix of lies, wishful thinking, propaganda, etc. The word translated as “transformed,” on the other hand, means to be metamorphosed or radically changed into a different kind of nature with a different source of being itself. Such transformation comes from having our minds “renewed” — the word used in this verse (i.e., ἀνακαινόω) means being “made new on the inside,” and therefore renewal is the gift of teshuvah (turning to God). Understand, then, that the foundation of all transformation of inner character and outward conduct comes from the miracle of having a renewed mind. I use the word “miracle” quite intentionally, since by itself “right thinking” is powerless to help the sinner truly change his ways, and therefore something more – new life and healing power from heaven, is needed.
God’s people are “strangers” in this world; they are literally “e-stranged” and live as “resident aliens” — here, yet not here…. We wander; we are lonely; we yearn for our heavenly home. Life in this world is “olam ha’sheker,” the false world — full of deception, troubles, and struggle. Here there is no lasting hope, no abiding…
The revelation of God in Yeshua means that Ultimate Reality — that is, the transcendental source of all that exists — is intensely personal, intimately knowable, and full of love. “Metaphysics” (i.e., that which is “really real”) is therefore not about an impersonal force known in objective relationship (i.e., a “what”) but a personal agency and creative mind known in subjective relationship (i.e., a “who”). The Scriptures teach that what is ultimately real (אהיה אשׁר אהיה) is the Ultimate Person of the LORD (אני יהוה). In Him we “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
While it is wonderfully true that Yeshua died to free us from our sins, the corollary is that he imparts life for us to walk in the light of his glorious Divine Presence (2 Cor. 5:15). The two go together. You are redeemed by God to serve him. Simply believing (or hoping) that “Jesus died for your sins” doesn’t mean walking through your days without any thought of where you are going. Our teshuvah must make traction with our feet as we go forward by faith. This means we have a responsibility to practice the truth of Messiah, partaking his vision, hashkafah (philosophy) and compassion. Indeed each of us will give account for his or her life before God, as it is written: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of the Messiah (כסא־דין המשיח), so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord (יראת יהוה), we persuade others” (2 Cor. 5:10-11).
The great Name of the LORD is “I-WILL-BE-WITH-YOU-ALWAYS” (אני אהיה עמך תמיד), which implies that we always live within God’s Presence and care (Deut. 31:8, Josh. 1:9, Isa 41:10, Matt. 28:20; etc.). The Name YHVH (יהוה) signifies God’s indomitable love and unfailing compassion. The LORD says to the trusting heart, hen al kapayim hachotikh: “Behold I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (הֵן עַל־כַּפַּיִם חַקּתִיךְ; Isa. 49:16). Remember the One who stretched out his hands and died for your healing; remember that he said, “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Again, “do not be anxious for any reason, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God (שלום יהוה), which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Yeshua the Messiah” (Phil. 4:6-7). God keeps in perfect peace (lit. “the peace of peace”) those whose lean on Him (Isa. 26:3).
Instead of soberly acknowledging that our days are numbered in this world, many people deny the reality of death, steadfastly ignoring any idea of judgment to come. Yeshua warned us, however, that “nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light” (Mark 4:22). We should tremble before such words. Each of us will give account for what we have done with the time given us (Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 12:36). Moses therefore prayed to God: “teach us to number our days,” that is, help us understand how to make our days count for eternity, to have a “weight of glory” (βάρος δόξης) that will shine in the world to come…
There are some who believe that the holiday of Shavuot is linked (eschatologically) with the “rapture” of the church, that is, the doctrine that the followers of Yeshua the Messiah will be “caught up” (ἁρπάζω, harpazo) and suddenly taken away before the time of the Great Tribulation and the Great Day of the LORD (1 Thess. 4:17; John 14:3; 1 Cor. 15:51-52). They reason that since Shavuot marked the day of great and dramatic revelation, with signs of fire and the sounds of a heavenly shofar blast, an appointed time when Moses first ascended to receive revelation from Sinai and later the Holy Spirit descended upon the followers of Messiah from Zion. Shavuot therefore marks the fulfillment of Passover that culminates in the rapturous goal of our redemption… Both Jew and Gentile are “waved” together before the LORD (as symbolized by shtei ha-lechem, the two loaves), representing the “one new man” of kallat Mashiach, the “bride of Messiah,” or the assembly of those called out from every tribe and tongue to be a part of God’s heavenly kingdom.
Perhaps the first or most basic question of philosophy is “what is real?” The ancient philosopher Aristotle wrote, “All men by nature desire to know,” and knowing presupposes an object of knowledge… The quest of discovering “what is real” is the subject matter of “metaphysics,” or the study of what makes up reality…