Summary of New Testament From a Jewish Point of View Class - 11/28/2022

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We had a fairly large turnout!  Jo Ann, Dan, Dave, Odette, Jay E., Robin, Randy, Norky, Jessica, Amy, David, Ruth, Kim, and Merrill attended. 

Below is a summary written by Dan about what we discussed:

We read Revelation chapter 2, the messages to the “angels” of the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum and Thyatira.  These are four of the seven churches in Asia, now in western Turkey. There is uncertainty about weather the “angels” these letters are addressed to are literal angels or the leaders (bishops?) of these churches. We are still uncertain. Other mysteries in this chapter include:

1. Who are the “Nicolaitans”, and why does Jesus hate them?
2. Who was this person called “Jezebel” who leads others into sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols?
3. What is the “synagoge of Satan”?

We discussed the “synagogue of Satan” the most by far. Our understanding that if Revelation is looked at from a Christian perspective, this could refer to a persecution inflicted on Christians in Symrna by a local group of Jews. Looking at it as a document by Jewish believers in Jesus, it could be referring to “God fearers” (gentiles who did not fully convert to Judaism). Pick you poison.

We do not know who the Nicolaitans or Jezebel were, but we do know the name of the man who first put forward the most popular way of looking at these letters among Evangelicals today: Thomas Brightman (1562-1607). He looked at these letters to the churches as messages telling the future of the churches, leading to Jesus’s return. Needless to say his view has been updated by many writers. In all of this, I predict we will not find out when these events predicted will happen.

Additions from Jo Ann:

We spent quite a lot of time discussing what it means to be Jewish.  Jo Ann shared some text from a favorite video by Andrew Lustig and Jay E shared about the song “Wherever You Go Someone Is Jewish.”  Jay also sent an essay he wrote called How Judaism, From Ancient to Modern Times, Has Become The “Apologetic” Religion which Jo Ann emailed to everyone after our class.  

We sang the Misheberach healing prayer at the end especially for David who had a heart attack on Monday, 11/21/22.

Our group is getting to be fun every week and even though we are a Zoom only group, we are all becoming good friends who care about one another. That is what being Jewish is about!



If anything is missing from this summary, please add your input by hitting the comment box.

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