Sing "This is the Day" in Hebrew this Sunday at church.
For those who know how to read Hebrew, this is a very simple verse that can be learnt and memorised easily.
Nagilah (Let us rejoice) venishmechah (and be glad) vo (in it)
Translation: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
I.
THERE ARE two aspects that the Church has to address when believers assume that the use of Hebrew transliteration as the new norm:
(a) The assumed superiority of the Hebrew transliteration
to the English equivalent when, for example, referring to God or Jesus, proponents
of HRM claimed that it is improper to address the Lord Jesus except by His
original Hebrew name. While it is not wrong to call Jesus by the name,
“Yehoshua” or “Yeshua,” if it becomes a matter of one’s assumption that it is
more appropriate to address Jesus by His Hebrew name, or else, prayers are not
answered, this becomes a doctrinal issue. It is at the same time unacceptable
when it becomes an obligation, where failure to address Jesus by Hebrew name is
considered a sin.[1]
(b) A worse proposition made by the HRM proponents is that
the name Jesus is linked to the Greek god, Zeus, as this does not do justice to
the name that has been used since Christianity was first adopted by the English-speaking
world at least five hundred years ago, when the King James Bible was officially
translated in 1611. The idea probably
came from the Sacred Name Movement, a name within Adventism which places emphasis
on the use of the Hebrew name of God. One of its pioneers, Traina in The Origin
of Christianity, asserted that “They (referring to the Gentile believers in
the past) had worshipped Zeus, or Jupiter, as the supreme deity, so now they
were told the new name was Theos, or Dios, or God. Their [sic] savior was Zeus,
so now they were to accept Jesus (Ἰησους).”[2]
Traina’s theory, which claimed that the meaning of
Jesus is “Yah=Zeus” is baseless, as there is no historical evidence to
back up his theory. A mere similarity of the sound of words in two different
languages does not mean that they carry the same meanings. In fact, the name
Jesus originated from the Greek translation used in the second century BC
Septuagint, where the name “Yeshua” was translated into Greek as Ἰησους, which later took the
form of the Latin word “Iēsous,” before it took on the English form as Jesus.
According to Dunning, there is “no indication the translators intended to
connect Joshua to Zeus or to draw pagan Greeks to follow Joshua by using Iesous.”
Proponents of the HRM will also find it hard to explain the myriads of miracles
and healings that have since been carried out or the demons cast out in the
name of Jesus, if there is no power in that name. Many of the great preachers
had preached in this one name, Jesus, for “… there is salvation in no one else;
for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which
we must be saved.”[3]
The HRM is a recent movement in modern times, but for
over the past 20 centuries, billions of Christians have used either the Greek,
Latin, or modern translation of the name equivalent to Jesus. For example,
Jesus in Malay is Yesus, in Mandarin it is Yesu, and in some Muslim context, He
is known as Isa Al-Masihi. Therefore, to link Jesus to Zeus is to basically blaspheme
the name of Jesus; it is synonymous to saying that whatever miracles performed
in the name of Jesus over the centuries have little to do with the Lord Jesus
and that millions of people have worshipped the wrong god. Such teaching robs
the Second Person of the Trinity all the glory that is due to Him.
The other contention is that Bibles with the name
Jesus printed in them are printed in the millions; and if Jesus only wanted to
be known as Yeshua, surely, He would have through some divine intervention stopped
the printing of the Bibles using a name that ascribes all the miracles that He
performed during His ministry of earth to Zeus. God is a jealous God – “for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”[4]– and if
the god of the Philistines, “Dagon” could not stand before the ark of the Covenant[5], no
Bibles with the name that is linked to Zeus would be able to survive for so
many years, and printed in so many editions.
This claim has no basis as it is obvious that the name "Zeus" originated
from an ancient Phoenician god named Baal Tzephon or Baʿal Zebub (otherwise,
known as "Beelzebub" in Matthew 12:24). To assume that the
name Jesus is linked to Zeus is reaffirming what the Pharisees had accused of
Jesus, being possessed by Beelzebub, to which Jesus repudiated, saying, “whoever
speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this
age or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12:32).
On the contrary, the translation of the name Yeshua into
Greek as Ἰησους (Iésous, in Latin) follows the earlier usage made by
the seventy scholars who were involved in the Septuagint, a Greek translation
of the Old Testament text. Many of the early "church fathers" used
the Latin name Iesous (or Greek Ἰησους) to refer to the Messiah. For instance, Polycarp
(70-155), Clement (c 96-110), Ignatius of Antioch (c 110 AD), and Justin Martyr
(c. 100-165) all wrote in Koine Greek and plainly used the name "Ἰησους" to refer to the
Saviour. Moreover, the Didache (Aidaxn), dating from the first century AD, made
references to the name Jesus:
"First, concerning the cup: We thank thee, our Father, for the holy
vine of David Thy servant, which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy
Servant ('Indoo Too naidóç aou); to Thee be the glory forever
(Did. 9:2).
The argument that the
Hebrew names carry nuances that are otherwise missing when these names are
translated into another language is valid. However, it does not make any
difference if original Hebrew names are transliterated into the English
language, since for the non-native speakers, the Hebrew names would not mean
anything unless it is explained in the native tongue of the users. Hence, names
such as “Shemuel” (שְׁמוּאֵל Hebrew name for
Samuel), for example, would not mean anything to a non-native speaker, unless
one knows the meaning of the word שֵׁם (“Shem”) which
means ‘name’ and “אֵל” which is the short form for Almighty or God. To someone who
knows Hebrew, the name שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuel) in its Hebrew form is indeed a meaningful name, which
means, ‘His Name is God,’ an acknowledgement that it was God who spoke to
Hannah and opened her womb to have a child.
Another Hebrew name in its original form “Yehonathan”
(“יְהוֹנָתָן” or Jonathan) comprises of two words:
(a) “יְהוֹ” which is a
short form of the tetragrammaton יהוה; and
(b) נָתָן which means
‘he gives.’
When put together, the name Jonathan means “God gives”
or “God is the Giver.” This is the reason why learning Biblical Hebrew is so
necessary for every seminary student; however, the meaning of these names also
lose their nuances when transliterated in English as Shemuel and Yehonathan.
Always come back to this blogpost for any latest update. Any changes to the event or video recording will be uploaded/updated/ announced on this same blog.
Hey, does this look difficult? Let us show you the easy way to learn Hebrew
Hello there, we have just created Group18 of Learning Very Basic Hebrew together.
If you are interested to learn to read the Old Testament in its original language, here is how. First join this group. Invite your friends and children also to join and learn together.
https://chat.whatsapp.com/C125aeoja3TA3QaOko09NW
Once the number reaches about 70 people, we will do two Zoom sessions.
It's free. Go for it: Biblical Hebrew Levels 1 and 2. You can join the classes (mostly online these days)!
Session 1: Getting Comfortable with the Hebrew alphabet.
Time: 2:30 pm - 4.00 pm Kuala Lumpur Time
5 March 2023
Session 2: Adding in the Nikkud (or Hebrew Vowels)
Date: 2 December 2023 (Saturday)
Time: 2.30 pm - 5.00 pm Kuala Lumpur Time
NOTE: Most people can already start reading the Old Testament in Hebrew within just two weeks (yes, just two weeks!) because we help you jumpstart. Thereafter, Sister Rita has a Wednesday session also on Zoom that allows you to join and read the Bible together in Hebrew. Praise the Lord for this opportunity to learn.
Here is why you should learn to read the Old Testament in Hebrew: https://learnhebrewtogether.blogspot.com/search?q=Father&m=1
I have used the example of Abraham’s name and the misuse of gematria to caution us against the (so-called) teaching that “unravel the mysteries hidden in the Hebrew text” These are the influences from Judaism which are creeping into the churches.
Some like Steve Cociolanti, Edlin Abraham and Pastor Chris Choo love to use Bible numbers and gematria to interpret the Bible and teach such rubbish. Pray that the Lord would be gracious to them and spare them, as they correct their teachings.
Watch out, brothers and sisters! Some people just love to dwell into these wrong teachings and as believers, we ought to be extra-cautious to guard against false teachings that are extra-biblical.
Its influence is already felt in some churches which are trying to practise all the Jewish rites that even our born again Jewish bros and sisters do not follow.
We need not live as Jews because God accepts us the way we are whether Indian, Kadazan, Dayak, Aussie or Chinese. In heaven, I assure you people will be praising God in a multitude of tongues, not Hebrew or Greek. Rev 7:9
We will hear God’s angels blowing their heavenly trumpets, not shofar. Jesus’ disciples never blew the shofar to cast out demons! It is sad that some have turned the shofar into a hype when it is only a simple trumpet made of nothing but the ram’s horn. In the book of Revelation, God chose not to even preserve the word ‘shofar’ or any form of its transliteration; instead He used a simple Greek word in Greek which is translated as trumpet in English. Nothing supernatural about the shofar.
Guard ourselves against false teachings
Instead, learn Hebrew and understand the Hebrew culture just enough for us to get the context in which the OT was written. Hebrew gives us the nuances that are lost when the OT is translated into other languages BUT I assure you these are just nuances, not the core truths of the gospel or God’s word as a whole. The nuances only help us to appreciate the original language which was used to write the scriptures.
A good example is Psalm 119 where every eight verses begin with a Hebrew alphabet. https://learnhebrewtogether.blogspot.com/search?q=Psalm+119&m=1
So, before you soak yourselves with anything and everything Hebrew as taught by the Hebraic roots movement, ask if this is in scriptures first. If it is not, it is what I call “rubbish” in the strongest sense of the word just like Paul called the Judaisers “dogs”.
I sometimes think that God brought me through the journey just to show me how His people are turning the instruments into an object they hold so dearly to instead of worshipping the One who created the instruments.
This ought not to scare you but make you more diligent in learning the truth yourself by being Hebrew and Greek literate.
Shalom!
Always come back to this blogpost for any latest update. Any changes to the event or video recording will be uploaded/updated/ announced on this same blog.
Hello there, we have just created Group18 of Learning Very Basic Hebrew together.
If you are interested to learn to read the Old Testament in its original language, here is how. First join this group. Invite your friends and children also to join and learn together.
Chat link is removed for now
Once the number reaches about 70 people, we will do two Zoom sessions.
It's free. Please take this opportunity to embark on your journey to learn Biblical Hebrew. After this, if you wish to continue on, our local seminaries do offer Biblical Hebrew Levels 1 and 2. You can join the classes (mostly online these days)!
Session 1: Getting Comfortable with the Hebrew alphabet
Session 2: Adding in the Nikkud (or Hebrew Vowels)
Date: Sunday 12 March 2023
Time: (2.00 pm Kuala Lumpur Time)
To convert to your local time use this link: https://dateful.com/time-zone-converter
Join Zoom Meeting
NOTE: Most people can already start reading the Old Testament in Hebrew within just two weeks (yes, just two weeks!) because we help you jumpstart. Thereafter, Sister Rita has a Wednesday session also on Zoom that allows you to join and read the Bible together in Hebrew. Praise the Lord for this opportunity to learn.
The birth of John the Baptist marked the Church Age, when God showed grace after a period of silence for 200 years.
What do I mean by this? This insight comes from the Hebrew name of John, יוֹחָנָן (translated into koine Greek as Ἰωάννης) which means,
"He (God) shows grace."
The root word is the verb חָנַן (refer to Genesis 33:5) which means:
חָנַ֥ן (חנן) חנן־1 Verb qal perfect 3 masculine singular meaning 'to show favor'
[ESVS] H2603 given
After bringing the nation back from the exile, God was disappointed with the people; ֶHe sent one prophet after another, but the people of Israel did not heed the words of the Prophet.
Hence, we have a period of silence for the next 200 years.
Just before Christ was born, John the Baptist was born. It was the angel Gabriel who announced the name to Zechariah.
The name was the beginning of a new era where God would show His grace towards mankind. The body of Christ is the bearer of the good news of God's grace. Let us share this with all our loved ones.
Sing "This is the Day" in Hebrew this Sunday at church. For those who know how to read Hebrew, this is a very simple ve...
