Faithful Writers

Here’s a little tip for you when studying the Bible. Many times, you will encounter the same person or place in Scripture but with different names. Many factors come into play here. The name could change depending on which nation the person resided in. There may be a huge gap between when a given event occurred and when it was recorded. Names, cultures, and languages evolve and change over the years, and such variation needs to be taken into account when studying the Bible, especially since it spans over 4000 years of history. So from verse 6, the genealogy of Ham is reported. Decoded into modern-day names, Cush became Ethiopia, Mizraim became Egypt, Put became Libya, and Canaan became what is today Israel. However, Israel still has yet to conquer all of the land that God bequeathed to them. The truth is that many of the folks residing in the Middle East today come from the cursed line of Ham. However, the Arabs are an exception and do not stem from the line of Ham. They come from the Godly line of Shem. However, a good majority of them have given up their Godly heritage by worshipping the God of Islam, whom they call Allah. This brings up a good point that bears repeating. It doesn’t matter which line you were born into. Even if you were born into the cursed line of Ham, you don’t have to stay in that line. Back in the days of Moses and even today, one could become an Israelite by choosing to identify with them by converting. The opposite is also true. One can join the line of Ham and unwittingly make oneself an arch-enemy of God. The German people did this during the days of Hitler, and now many Arabs have also done so. Moving on, we are told that Cush ( modern-day Ethiopia ) was the father of Nimrod. This may or may not come as a surprise to some, but Cush was a black man. Both Jewish tradition and many ancient miniature statues and sketches testify to Nimrod’s negroid features. We are told that Nimrod was the first mighty empire builder. He founded Bavel, which became Babylon. We are told that Bavel was located in the Land of Shinar, which is modern-day Iraq. Take a look at verses 9–11. He was a mighty hunter before Adonai — this is why people say, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Adonai.” His kingdom began with Bavel, Erekh, Akkad and Kalneh, in the land of Shin‘ar. Ashur went out from that land and built Ninveh, the city Rechovot, Kelach,…- Genesis 10:9–11 So who in the heck is “ Asshur?" “Asshur ” is actually the Assyrian name for Nimrod. Nimrod is a Babylonian name. So verses 10 and 11 are actually talking about the same man using two different languages. Let’s take a look at verses 13 and 14. “And the Lehabites and the Naphtuhites, and the Pathrusites, and the Casluhites, and the Caphtorites f rom whom the Philistines emerged. ” Here is an interesting fact that maybe you did not know. The modern word for the “Philistines” is Palestine. However, most of the self-proclaimed Palestinians are actually Arabs who came to Israel seeking primarily manual labor on factories and farms. Nevertheless, though stemming from the line of Shem, these Arabs have made a calculated and deliberate decision to identify themselves as Palestinians, since the ancient Philistines were the mortal arch-enemy of Israel. © Richoka

Today we begin Genesis Chapter 19. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here . For the King James Version, click here . In Genesis chapter 18, we encountered three mysterious men, one of whom we were clearly told was the almighty Yahweh himself. However, we still hadn’t nailed down exactly who the other two men were. Were they regular people, or were they angels? What complicates the issue even further is that the Hebrew word used to refer to the three men in Genesis 18:2 is ENOSH… And I reiterate that this word is NEVER used to refer to spiritual beings. Well, in this chapter, all such confusion is put to rest as we witness these two “men” exercise major butt-kicking supernatural power over a gang of homosexual rapists. And this time, a different Hebrew word is used to refer to these two men. That word is MALACH . MALACH means messenger. However, whether it is just a human messenger or an angel depends on the context. And the “messengers” we are dealing with in Genesis 19 are angels. Keep in mind that most angels take on the form of humans and will usually never reveal their true identity. And the reason they don’t is because most people would freak the hell out if they knew they were interacting with an angel. Here are some other interesting facts about angels. FIRST, angels can traverse from the heavenly dimension to the earthly dimension with ease. SECOND, within the heavenly hierarchy, angels are at the lower end of the totem pole. At the higher end are spiritual beings called Cherubs or Cherubim in the proper plural form. These are God’s closest servants. In the book of Ezekiel, they are described as having multiple faces and several wings. THIRD, true to their title as “Messengers”, angels have practically zero individual freedom when sent to deliver a “message." The reason I put a “message” in quotations is because the message an angel delivers could be a message of destruction… Or they could be sent out to rescue a helpless party. Their role often goes far beyond simply speaking to someone. However, they also do only that. The bottom line, angels can unleash immense destructive power to fulfill their purpose. This should be of tremendous reassurance to us. Why? Because if God has sent an angel or angels to protect you… Without God’s permission, nothing is gonna hurt you. Ya feel me? FINALLY, we see from the previous chapter that angels can eat food… Or, according to some rabbis, give the appearance of eating food. So who knows, you may have sat down and dined with an angel at one time or another. CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT “but don’t forget to be friendly to outsiders; for in so doing, some people, without knowing it, have entertained angels. ” -Hebrews 13:2 © Richoka

In Genesis 10:21 we come to the blessed line of Shem. From this line came both the Arabs and the Israelites , from whom the Messiah would be born . ChatGPT And although I cannot say this with 100% accuracy, possibly the far eastern asian races (the Chinese and Japanese) come from this line as well. Notice that in verse 22, the name Asshur appears again. However, this is a different person than the conqueror of empires we were introduced to a few verses earlier. Again, just as in our day, the same names for different people can appear a number of times. Notice it says that Shem was the father of the descendants of Eber. “Eber” is the forerunner of the word Hebrew and it means to “cross over” or “pass through." Abraham, who we are going to be introduced to soon, is the first individual called a Hebrew. The name was applied to him because he left his native land to “cross over” to a new land that God would show him. Next it says that Eber had two sons named Peleg and Yoktan. The word Peleg means division. From the line of Peleg would come Abraham from whom would come the Israelites. So we can see that God places great importance on family lines and that He is continually in the process of dividing and separating a holy nation unto Himself. This is quite opposite to today’s political climate which is always attempting to harmonize and unify every religion and belief system under the sun. CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT …the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg , the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah…, -Luke 3:34–36 © Richoka

When I asserted that Jesus was NOT one of the visitors who appeared to Abraham, a couple of people just lost their minds. I reasoned that in the original Hebrew, since the third person is called “YAHWEH” (or YEHOVEH) and Jesus is never referred to by the Father’s name, there is no way this could be Yeshua. But, apparently, that argument wasn’t sufficient enough…so here we go with another post about this. Look, there is an important physical or biological distinction that needs to be made here. Yeshua was born from a woman, circumcised on the eighth day, and He grew up like any normal Jewish child. He was a 100%, flesh-and-blood man. This situation is qualitatively different than the three men who appeared to Abraham. The difference is that the men who appeared to Abraham were spiritual beings who only took on the form of men. And one of them was the almighty YAHWEH Himself. They were NOT men in the sense that they started life as babies who grew up and matured. My point is, if Yahweh took on physical, human form when He visited Abraham… Why didn’t He do the same thing with Yeshua? The point is, He didn’t. Yeshua was NOT an apparition of a man, like what appeared to Abraham. He was a real flesh-and-blood man born at a specific place at a specific time for a specific purpose. And numerous OT prophecies point to this event. So I think it is fallacious to call every YAHWEH-labelled human apparition who appears left and right in the Old Testament Yeshua. If this is true, then the idea of the first and second coming of Christ becomes ridiculous. When Mary gave birth to Yeshua, it would have been more like His 6th or 7th coming. Ya feel me? © Richoka

Today, we begin Genesis Chapter 11. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here . For the King James Version, click here . “Come, let’s build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth. ” -Genesis 11:4 The story of the Tower of Babel is the story of anti-God imperialistic ambition. The whole world spoke one language, making everyone feel united and powerful. This story reminds me of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan during World War II. Germany wanted to take over all of Europe. Japan wanted to be ruler over all Asia. They both wanted to establish new orders in their respective countries that would last a thousand years. No wonder these two nations became partners during World War II. Both Germany and Japan had great ambitions for their nations, but they were NOT God’s ambitions. The story of Babel is exactly the same. It is the story of mankind unwilling to accept subordination to their Creator by building a tower “ to make a name for ourselves and not be scattered ." The people went against God’s command to literally spread out and populate the planet. Can you see the serious dangers technology poses when people don’t revere God? The first hint of rebellion is that we’re told the world’s population journeyed from the East . Remember, whenever we encounter the direction East, it’s almost always connected to God. In this case, we’re told that mankind moved AWAY FROM the East as opposed to MOVING TOWARDS the East. In other words, mankind wanted to separate themselves and be independent of God. They wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted to establish their own city-state, their own tower in their own one language. This desire is at the heart of nationhood to this very day! And God wasn’t going to have any of it. He came down and stopped them. He confused their languages and forced them to scatter across the earth per His original command. You see unity in the sense that mankind, including the church, defines it as a false doctrine. The world during this time had a unified vision and purpose that they thought was good. Yet when we examine the Scriptures, we do NOT see God unifying. We see God dividing, electing, and separating! Moving forward in our Torah study, when we see Israel wind up in Egypt… And when we begin studying the Levitical (priestly) laws… We’ll see God hammer home repeatedly to Israel to separate themselves from unholy nations and customs… And make distinctions between the clean and unclean… And the pure and impure in every area of their lives. In conclusion, the story of Babel informs us that ALL nations except Israel have at the origin of their history rebellion against God. And God has appointed a day when He will judge this rebellion. The fact that this judgment has not yet come is because He is still giving us a chance to repent and return to Him. He is willing that not any should perish. Ya feel me? CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.-Acts 17:31 Therefore, “ Come out from them and be separate , says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”-2 Corinthians 6:17 © Richoka

Wanna know the biggest reason why Christians have difficulty accepting that one of the three men who visited Abraham is not Yeshua? It’s because their minds are so attached to the trinity teaching, which holds that God is composed only of three persons. They try to box all physical manifestations of God into this limited definition. Another problem with the trinity is that it has a tendency to give us this idea of God being composed of three different pieces that form a whole. We mistakenly apply this three-dimensional thinking to our understanding of God. It’s not like when Yeshua was here on earth, the Father in heaven was only two-thirds whole. God in heaven was NOT incomplete while Yeshua conducted his mission on earth. I think it is much more theologically accurate to think of the Holy Spirit and Yeshua as “manifestations” or “attributes” of God. But I cannot be dogmatic about that either. The simple truth of the matter is that it is notoriously difficult to express the mysteries of God in words. Nevertheless, the Scriptures teach that Yeshua was an agent of God. When he said, “ My father and I are the same ”… Or, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” These are statements of unity and purpose… NOT biology. Ya feel me? One way to look at is like this: If you have seen the perfect implementation of a plan by Yeshua given to Him by His Father… Then you have also been witness to the mastermind behind that plan. So in that sense, if you have seen Yeshua, you have seen the Father. I’d just break it down to this: Father = The grand Author of the salvation plan for mankind Holy Spirit = The enabler and messenger of the divine plan Son = The implementer of the divine plan Finally, here is an interesting historical fact for you to contemplate. During the 300 years following Yeshua’s crucifixion, the early church did NOT have a trinity doctrine. It was not until the church was Romanized and taken over by Gentiles in the 4th century did this teaching come into being. The first written record of this concept was formulated in what we know today to be the Athanasian Creed: “…we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity… for there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Ghost is all one… they are not three gods, but one God… the whole three persons are co-eternal and co-equal… he therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity…” This is just another example of those teachings that have caused a serious rift between Jews and Christians. If the Jewish people ever abandons its national creed of… “Here, O Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord Is One”… It’s gonna be a dark day for Israel and collective mankind as a whole. Why? Because that’s the fundamental truth that undergirds the whole universe. © Richoka

Once the heavens burst open, the Scriptures tell us that it rained day and night for 40 days. As I mentioned before, numbers in the Bible have great symbolic meaning. Next to the number 7, the number 40 is the second most used number in the Bible. The number 40 signifies a period of trial or testing. Here are some instances where the number 40 is used. 1) Yeshua fasted for 40 days and nights before being tempted by the devil. 2) Moses was on Mount Sinai without food for 40 days. 3) The 12 scouts who went to spy out the land of Canaan were in the land for 40 days. 4) Ninevah was given 40 days to repent before being destroyed by God. 5) When a mother gives birth to a new child, the amount of time required for purification is 40 days. 6) Both King David and King Solomon ruled Israel for 40 years. 7) Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebecca. © Richoka

In the story of the Tower of Babel, we encounter a couple of interesting Hebrew words. First, in Genesis 11:4 when it says they were building a tower so “they could make a name for themselves”… The original Hebrew says they were building a tower so that “they could make a shem for themselves." “Shem” is the Hebrew word for name, and unlike in our culture, a person’s name wasn’t just a means of identification. A person’s name refers to their reputation. It was what they stood for. This creation of the tower was a form of idol worship. It was to stand as a testament to the people’s supreme fleshly confidence in their feats of technology. Incidentally, the fear the people had of being scattered is understandable. History has shown that when any given group of people has been dispersed from their homeland… Within two or three generations, that group of people has become extinct. So the building of that tower was a fleshly attempt to maintain their legacy and preserve their posterity for generations apart from God. Now in the original Hebrew, the reason given as to why God was displeased is because the “people were echad." “Echad” is the Hebrew word for “one” and it is the same word used in the verse, “ The Lord our God, the Lord is one ." So while one would normally consider oneness to be a positive quality, in this case, God was against it. Why? The answer is very simple. It was not God-approved oneness. Peace without God is no peace at all. Do you remember when I talked about the Principle of Opposites? This is a scientific principle woven into the fabric of our universe. In simple terms, it means that basically, everything in our universe has to have its perfect opposite. If there is an up there has to be a down. If there is male, there has to be female etcetera. So here’s an interesting question If everything in our universe has its perfect opposite… What would be the perfect opposite of what occurred at the Tower of Babel? The answer would be the Day of Pentecost. Do you see the contrast with the Tower of Babel? At the Tower of Babel, the “human spirit” was the driving force behind the construction of the Tower. However, on the day of Pentecost, it was the “Holy Spirit” that was the driving force. One spirit resulted in disarray. The other spirit resulted in unity. Interestingly, in both cases, God used language to achieve his purposes. In the first instance, he used different languages to foil the plans of men. In the second instance, he used different languages to bring men together. CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT “The festival of Pentecost had arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak .”- ACTS 2:1–4 © Richoka

I want to ask you a question that I think may seriously overturn certain theological assumptions you have harbored all of your life. On the precipice of Armageddon, whose feet will stand on the Mount of Olives and split the mountain in two? Well, let’s take a look at the Scriptures for our answer. Then Adonai will go out and fight against those nations, fighting as on a day of battle. On that day his feet will standon the Mount of Olives, which lies to the east of Yerushalayim; and the Mount of Olives will be split in halffrom east to west, to make a huge valley. - Zechariah 14:3–4 The above excerpt is from the Complete Jewish Bible. Let’s take a look at the same verses in the King James Version. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that dayupon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the eastand toward the west, -Zechariah 14:3–4 Now, pretty much any Christian I have ever spoken to assumes that Yeshua's feet will land on and then split the Mount of Olives. It seems to make sense. Especially since Yeshua is normally referred to as “Lord” in the Scriptures. However, we encounter a big problem when we examine the original Hebrew. So let’s read the verses again and insert God’s proper name back into the Scriptures as it exists in the original Hebrew text. Then YHVH will go outand fight against those nations, fighting as on a day of battle. On that day, his feet will standon the Mount of Olives, which lies to the east of Yerushalayim ;And the Mount of Olives will be split in halffrom east to west, to make a huge valley. Okay, now we’ve got a problem. The original Hebrew says that it is YAHWEH Himself and NOT Yeshua who will descend on the Mount of Olives. For those of you who have been taught or always assumed that it was Yeshua who was going to touch the Mount of Olives, it looks like you are going to have to reevaluate your end time assumptions. I believe this is a perfect example showing why it is so important to put God’s real name back into the Scriptures instead of using generic terms like “Adonai” or “Lord." The problem we encounter is that both YAHWEH and YESHUA are called LORD in our English Bibles. (I’ve already explained how OT human apparitions called YAHWEH are NOT Yeshua in previous posts. If you want to learn more about this or review, read post 18–2 by clicking here and post 19–2 by clicking here .) So who are we talking about when we encounter the word “Lord” in the Scriptures? The distinction between God and the Messiah becomes blurred. Erroneous teachings and concepts that just do not match up with what the Scripture says have been mistakenly promoted due to the use of, or to be more accurate, the lack of the use of God’s name . I said this before, and I’m going to say it again. In your English bibles, whenever you see the word God, Lord, or Adonai, 99% of the time the original Hebrew will be what is called the tetragrammaton… In other words, God’s name is spelled out Yud, Heh, Vav, Heh. And when I say 99%, I am not exaggerating. In the Scriptures, God’s name appears about 6000 times. However, if you were to go through any modern English bible and count out the number of times Yahweh or Jehovah is used, at most you would come to about 100 times. So what happened to the other 5900 times? For whatever messed-up reason, the words “Lord” or “God” were used instead. And by the way, this is no big secret, nor is it disputed by Bible scholars, either Jewish or Christian. One final point before I close. Many believers assume that the depiction of the Mount Olive splitting is to be found in the New Testament (usually in the Book of Revelation) They are wrong. The description of this event is only to be found in the Tanach in the book of Zechariah. © Richoka

The questions we’re afraid to ask might be the ones that grow our faith the most Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash I used to think doubt was the enemy of faith. Like termites chewing through the beams of belief, leaving the whole thing ready to cave in. That’s what I was told anyway. But somewhere along the way, that neat little box I’d kept my faith in started to rattle. Prayers felt quiet. Scriptures didn’t land like they used to. And the answers I once clung to began to feel thin, like fabric worn down by too many washings. I didn’t walk away from faith — but I did start asking harder questions. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s when something deeper began to grow. Can Doubt Actually Lead Us to Deeper Truth? We treat doubt like it’s a slippery slope to atheism. But what if it’s just a natural part of the journey toward an honest, resilient faith? If I never questioned anything, was I really believing — or just parroting what I was handed? Real faith isn’t scared of questions. God certainly isn’t. In fact, some of the most faithful people in scripture — Job, David, even Jesus in Gethsemane — wrestled, doubted, and cried out in the dark. If God is real, then truth can withstand our questions. If not, then maybe it wasn’t truth to begin with. What If Certainty Is the Real Opposite of Faith? We’ve made an idol out of certainty. But Jesus never said, “Blessed are the ones who have all the answers.” He blessed the poor in spirit, the seekers, the ones hungry for righteousness. Faith, by definition, involves trust in the unseen. That doesn’t sound like airtight proof to me. Faith isn’t a brick wall — it’s more like a rope bridge. It sways. It creaks. Sometimes it feels terrifying. But it still holds. Why Do We Shame the Very Questions That Could Set Us Free? I’ve seen too many people pushed out of church for asking honest questions. Too many told they’re “backsliding” just because they’re trying to make sense of their spiritual pain. That’s not what Jesus did. He didn’t shame the doubters. He invited them closer. Thomas wasn’t cast out — he was welcomed with wounds wide open. The Thomas story tells me that Jesus doesn’t demand blind belief. He offers presence. He shows up in the middle of our uncertainty. You may ask, “Well, what about Jesus saying to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen, yet still believe.” (Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus first appeared to His disciples. The thing is, I don’t believe Jesus was shaming Thomas and requiring blind faith if he were a true follower. Jesus isn’t shutting Thomas down; he’s widening the circle to include all of us who live in the shadow of mystery and still dare to believe anyway. What If Doubt Is Holy Ground? I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t trust the ones who claim they do. But I’ve come to believe that doubt — honest, aching, soul-searching doubt — isn’t the opposite of faith. It’s part of it. Maybe even the doorway into it. If you’re in that place, you’re not alone. And you’re not broken. You’re growing. You’re searching. And sometimes, that’s where the real encounter happens — not in the certainty, but in the sacred space of not being certain about everything you’re supposed to believe. So go ahead.Ask the hard questions.Wrestle in the dark.God isn’t offended. © Gary L Ellis