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Hello Jeff,
Thank you for taking the time to write!
You're absolutely right: There IS something missing from Christian life. Christians, like the Jews, only have HALF the Bible! You can probably find a lot of answers to your questions on our new "Challenging Mainstream Christianity" page.
Sorry, but we don't have any essays such as the ones you're seeking. But, we can tell you that "Torah" is Hebrew for "teaching/instruction". We can also tell you that Yeshua (Jesus) was the FINAL SIN SACRIFICE who said He came NOT to abolish/nullify/do away with Torah, but to fulfill. "Fulfill" or "complete" did not mean "put an end to", but rather it meant "establish" or "confirm". Read in context, the Bible becomes totally clear. For instance, most people don't bother to read Matthew 5:17 in context. They stop at verse 17, when 18, 29, and 20 go on to clarify it.
Matthew 5: 17 Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah – not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot (words/commands) and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Has everything happened that must happen? Have heaven and earth passed away yet? No, of course not. So what makes us think we can ignore Torah?
We do have some articles on our site that might interest you - including a brand new article that explains Torah in very simplified terms:
Torah put in simple terms
Torah of Righteousness
God said: Do not forsake My Torah!
One of our rabbis (Rick) has offered to respond to the rest of your questions:
You said: One thing I'm having problems finding (in my translations I guess) is a lot of the "forever" verses - there is that one in Exodus in reference to Passover, what about the other feasts? And kashrut dietary laws)? I.e., "you shall do this forever"....
Response: Forever = Throughout Your Generations = A Statute Forever In Your Generations - Lev 23:14, 21, 31, 41
One of the problems that most people deal with today is that we have been taught for generations that all the OT stuff is over with, done, completed, done away with, etc. If it is, in fact, all "done away with", then we would have to look for confirmation in the NT that a specific thing is supposed to continue.
BUT if it is not done away with (which is what I personally believe) then we need to assume that all things were supposed to continue as they always have EXCEPT those things which the NT specifically says has changed (example: sin offerings, atonement, High Priest, etc). Looking at kashrut/kosher for a moment, the OT doesn’t use the "forever" phrase, but why would I think that it is done away with in the first place? Why wouldn’t I just assume that these things continue except those things that the NT teaches have been replaced in fullness by Yeshua?
You said: My other question is this: Are there any extra-biblical proofs/documentation that first and second Century Christians in, let's say Rome, or Ephesus or some other "goyim" city would have celebrated the feasts, the Shabbat, instead of Sundays, and kosher laws? I realize that Scripture is the authority; however, when discussing with other Christians who haven't ever thought about this stuff, it's nice to have additional records.
Response: I can’t put my fingers, personally, on any first or 2nd Century Gentile Christian leaders at the moment who advocated a keeping of the holy days, kashrut, etc. Although I have read several 1st-2nd Century sermons by the Bishop of Antioch who warned his church about their doing anything that even looked "Jewish". While this would seem to be a negative thing for us, it is really a good look at what was going on behind the scenes. If none of the believers at that time were doing anything "Jewish", then there would have been no reason to preach against those things. So really, in his warning to the church, there is a proof that those things were going on. While the leaders didn’t write anything about it (as far as we know) the common people in the "pews" were involved in a true Biblical lifestyle.
In all my studies, I have been very disappointed in the early Christian leaders. I would have thought that they would have followed a Messianic interpretation of the bible, but a few years ago, I read the writings of the apostle John’s disciples thinking that they would mention the Torah, holy days, etc. But I found nothing. This just shows that out from under the direct influence of the apostles, the early church strayed away from their Biblical, Jewish roots. It did not even take one generation for this to occur...sad...very sad.
You said: Furthermore, do we have any documentation on what a first ot second Century worship service would have looked like? As far as order of worship, liturgy (did they use Psalms only? to what tune?) I have no clue where to find this stuff as most of what I find is 3-4th Century.
Response: There is a website of first and second Century writings that I have found very informative and helpful when trying to research this kind of stuff. It is called Early Christian Writings and has a wealth of writings for people to read. The site doesn’t teach Biblical Jewish roots pro or con. It just contains info.
Again - thanks for taking the time to write us, Jeff. And may God bless you in your quest for Truth.
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