| Q. To 'keep the Sabbath..holy' is primary among God's Ten Commandments. How is it that Christian teaching for centuries has changed this command, using scripture to do so which has me very confused. The Bible has stern warnings about adding to/subtracting from God's Word. Would that warning not also apply to changing His commandments?
Thank you. Shalom and blessings. Joanne.
A. Hello Joanne.
We believe that God has made the Sabbath day for us that we may rest. The word holy means sanctified or separated from your daily routines and work. We also believe that we can worship God at any day of the week as well as on the Sabbath. Sabbath should be kept apart from your daily activities. Than you. Gennady. Shalom.
Q. I would like to know, is it the Sabbath [7th day]...or 'a' sabbath...any day.
Thanks. Shalom. Joanne.
A. God spoke in different occasions about Sabbath. It is not necessarily to be the 7th day. Many times God would teach the children of Israel about the solemn rest on certain Holidays which may fall on the 7th day of the week.. In translation from Hebrerw, Sabbath does not mean the seventh day. It means Rest. In 10 Commandments, God spoke about rest "Sabbath" as the 7th day of the week. Thank you. Gennady.
Q. Why did all people before Christ's death have to go to hell? Why did God allow people to go to such a place prior to His death?
Is there such a place after Christ's death?
A. It is obvious that hell or the abyss was existing in the Old Testament. It is also known that it is a place for punishment of sin. Yet, not all people of the Old Testament went to such a place. All those who obeyed the Lord did not go there but to the place which was called paradise or Abraham's bosom. The Bible speaks about it in Luke16:20-31.
After the resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus, the place, the Bible calls hell is still there, yet, Abraham's bosom is empty because with the resurrection of the Messiah all he saints of the Old Testament were taken up to heaven with Him. Through Jesus, the Messiah, the heavens were opened and all who believe in His name are going there.
Q. I'm getting ready to teach on the parable of the ten virgins. I thought the brides lamp was a part of hebrew tradition but, I had to research so as not to teach my own suspicions. So now my question is what was the grooms interpretation if he came to get his bride and the lamp was not burning. Even if it was accidental (running out of oil)?
A. The parable of ten virgins represents born and non-born again people. Those with oil are born again and without oil are not. I hope this answers your question. For more references concerning the brides lamp, please visit our and read the article"
An Ancient Jewish Wedding
".
God bless you. Gennady.
Q. I was listening to your broadcast on Vision TV. I have a question. Do you believe that God has a special plan for the nation of Israel? Did God break covenant with Israel in 70 A.D.? Christ told a parable in luke 20:9-16 about the husbandmen. Read that and give me your understanding of that. Matt 22:2-14 describes Christ’s understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven and what would happen to the Jewish State because of what they did to the prophets and Jesus himself. He made a new covenant with the Church. I can appreciate your heritage but when it comes to the Kingdom of God it has no more significance than me being Canadian or Scottish or German. We need to come to Christ regardless of our heritage and bow before him and make him lord of our life. The Bible is broken into 2 parts the old covenant and the new covenant. I can appreciate your desire to reach the Jewish people with the Gospel and you can appeal to them through the old covenant writings. But they still have to be saved by the new covenant way of coming under the blood of Christ.
A. Hello dear brother Glen Grant.
1. Answering your question, I will say that God has a special plan for Israel as a nation. God did not brake His Covenant with Israel. It was that Israel broke the Covenant with God, (Jerem. 31:31) and God has made the New Covenant through Jesus the Messiah. But please realize that it was needed to be done. No one could keep the law in order to be righteous therefore the law was a tutor to the Messiah until He came to redeem us from the bondage of sin and make us righteous. Through Him God has made the New Covenant just as He has promised and today, Jew or Gentile can be only saved through the blood of the Messiah Jesus. In Romans 11:11-12 the Bible says, "...have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness.” At the end times Jesus will return and the remnant of Israel shall be saved because they will accept Him as their Messiah and Savior. (Rom. 11, Zech. 12-14.)
2. Concerning making the New Covenant with the Church I think that we must be very careful not to separate the Church from Israel or to replace Israel with the Church. Jesus came to the lost house of Israel first . Apostle Paul said that the Gospel must be preached to the Jew first and then to the Greek. The Church had started from the Jewish people and every Gentile accepting Jesus is grafted to that tree. Today we almost forgot that it is not the branch but the root that is holding the branches. The New Covenant came from the Jewish heritage and roots and will come back to the Jewish roots. Israel is in the plan of God and will have a great roll in His Kingdom. That is the plan of God and it is in the Bible.
God bless you.
Gennady.
Q. Is tithing under the curse of the law now or do we just give on are harts as is written in 2 corinthians 9,6-14. Thank you God bless you, Chris.
A. Hello Chris.
Any of the Commandments of God in the Old Testament could never be under the curse. It was people who were under the curse from Adam until Jesus the Messiah came and redeemed us from that curse. God cannot curse His Word. The law was good and holy. The only thing it did is that it revealed that men was under the curse of sin. Therefore tithing in the Old or New Testament are good and holy that are fullfiled by obedience from our heart. I hope I have answered your question.
Blessing, Gennady.
Shalom.
Q. I was speaking with a Jewish lady one day and she stated that the Jewish OT and the Christian OT is not the same. I thought they were and did not know how to respond to her. I appreciate your teachings so much. I have really discovered a deeper relationship with God through your program. "God is my reward, my very great reward". I am so very happy about this coming together of Jew and Christian. It is so exciting to see God moving in our lives. Shalom
A. Hello Mrs. Barbara MacDonald.
Thank you for contacting our ministry. I am so glad that our television program is a blessing to you. Let me answer you this way. There is no such a thing as Jewish Old Testament and Christian Old Testament. The reason some Jewish people saying this is because that what they hear from some rabbinical teachings. In reality the Old Testament is one same book that contains Torah ( 5 books of Moses), the Prophets, historical books, like Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs and Song of Songs as a poetic books. You will find the same collection of these writings in the Old Testament, red in Synagogues and Churches.
Thank you and God bless you.
Gennady. Shalom.
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