The Story Behind Sweeter than Honey


From the earliest age I can remember, I have been fascinated with the contents of the Bible. Beginning with a large-font picture Bible for children, I remember pouring over the stories again and again with my parents at home and in Christian bookstores. I was later given my very own New International Version study Bible when I took Christianity on for myself — very much wholeheartedly — at the age of 7. I read through the Bible from cover to cover, struggling through parts of the prophets and revelling in the beauty of the Psalms. I began to learn some verses by heart, including Proverbs 19:20 "Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end, you will be counted among the wise." (NIV)

Heading into my teenage years, I became interested in Bible translation and intentionally studied linguistics at university with that possibility in mind. I learned French as well as Spanish and imagined myself translating the Scriptures in the context of an indigenous tribe deep in the Amazon.

Just as I had dreamed for so long, I eventually moved to Peru, planning to start a house church that was discipleship-based and Biblically authentic. However, this move resulted in a dramatic and unexpected twist in my journey. Knowing what the Scriptures say about the Sabbath, the goal of "Biblical authenticity" led to a difficult question that played on my mind night after night. If the house church were to be "Biblically authentic", which day of the week would we meet?

Nights laying awake thinking led to days, then weeks, then months of research. I decided to start observing the Sabbath that God gave to Israel, going on to reject the unclean meats and celebrating the feast days that are described in the five books of Moses. At this point in my journey, I still accepted Jesus (Yeshua, in Hebrew) as Messiah but began to wonder about the identity of Israel.

As a Christian, I had understood the Church to be the new, spiritual Israel through Jesus/Yeshua. However, if obedience to the commandments given to Israel at Mt. Sinai was an eternal covenant, how was the identity of Israel to be understood in the light of the New Testament?

Working from my then Messianic idea that New Testament Israel might mean "believing in Yeshua and keeping the laws of Moses", I began to listen to an audio series that would further challenge my evolving beliefs. Hosted by Jono Vandor of Truth2U with guest Rabbi Michael Skobac, the series "Debunking 365 Messianic Prophecies" put my remaining doubts to rest, leading to my ultimate rejection of the claims of the Christian Scriptures and embracing of a Jewish paradigm about the Kingdom of God, the Messiah, the nature of man, and the nature of man's relationship with the Creator. 

Through this blog, my hope is to bring to light many of the translation and contextual issues that divide Jewish and Christian beliefs — especially as they pertain to the claims made in the Christian Scriptures. In so doing, my hope is that you will see the Hebrew Scriptures in a whole new light.



References:

  1. Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed 26 Jan 2021 at Bible Gateway
  2. Truth2U, website of talk show host Jono Vandor
  3. Debunking 365 Messianic Prophecies, published on YouTube by SpiritualBabies


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