© 2 August 2019 Revive Israel Ministries

Hebraic Roots of the Scriptures (Part 1)

Asher Intrater

God has a wonderful plan for the human race.  That plan is called "the kingdom of God."  The central person of that plan is Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.  He is the King of the Kingdom.

The plan is outlined in the Scriptures.  It was planned by God before He started creation (Ephesians 1:3-14).  He designed it as an architect designs a building, before the construction takes place.  While the Scriptures were written by men in different generations, they were inspired by the Spirit of God, who designed the plan ahead of time.

Consistent Scriptures

The plan of God for the human race develops steadily throughout history. The kingdom of God develops steadily like a plant growing (Mark 4:26-29).  In the same way, the revelation of scriptures develops consistently from beginning to end. It starts with the story of creation in Genesis, and ends up with the final apocalypse in the book of Revelation.  

As a plant has different stages in its growth, so does the kingdom of God, and so do the Scriptures.  First is the story of Creation, the Fall, the Flood in Genesis; then the Patriarchs, then the Law of Moses, then David's kingdom, then the Israelite prophets, then the gospels of Messiah Yeshua, the Book of Acts; then the epistles of Paul and others to the Church, and finally John's Apocalypse.

To be understood correctly, the consistent development of the theme of the kingdom of God should be seen throughout the Scriptures, from beginning to end.

Heaven and Earth

The Scriptures begin with the creation of "Heaven and Earth" (Genesis 1:1). The Scriptures end with the restoration of heaven and earth.  The first two chapters, Genesis 1 and 2 tell of the creation of the garden of Eden. The last two chapters, Revelation 21 and 22, tell of the perfect restoration of the global paradise. The third chapter, Genesis 3, tells of Satan's deception of Man.  The third chapter from the end, Revelation 20, tells of Satan's destruction by the Son of Man – a perfect symmetry.

The earth was given into the hands of Men, with heaven remaining in the dominion of God (Psalm 115:16).  Because of the rebellion of Satan and the sin of Man the earth was defiled.  Yet ultimately through Yeshua, as both God and Man, both heaven and earth will be redeemed and joined together. Ephesians 1:10 – The plan to gather together into one in the fullness of time in Christ all things both which are in heaven and on earth.

Our understanding must include both: that which is in heaven and that which is on the earth.  Yeshua Himself is both heavenly and earthly.

Hebrew and Greek

The Law and the Prophets were written in Hebrew; the entire New Covenant in Greek.  The Hebrew scriptures are somewhat more centered in Israel and the Greek more among the nations.  This may be likened to the fact that human beings have two eyes, one left and one right.  When the two are coordinated, the mind understands the picture in all its dimensions. One eye tends to see far; one near. 

The Hebraic, Semitic, Middle Eastern view tends to be a bit more historic, earthly and covenantal; whereas the Greek, international, Multi-ethnic view tends to be more heavenly, ethereal and universal (although this statement is of course over-simplified). We need both the Greek perspective and the Hebraic.

The Jewish view of Jerusalem is a city in the Middle East; the Christian view of Jerusalem is a city in heaven.  Both are true.  There is a heavenly Jerusalem and an earthly one.  In the end, the heavenly Jerusalem "descends" to make all things one (Revelation 21).

In Part 2, I will share with you about the meaning behind some key Hebrew names and the importance of God being faithful to His covenants.

Daniel Juster tried imposing his vision on people who were not ready to follow or take responsibility. Forcing people to do what you want may last for a season, but it won't bear long term fruit. So how do you motivate people towards your God given vision?

Watch HERE!

Subtitles in: Danish, Dutch, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish.