J-M's History Corner

This title will likely sound very strange.  I mean, we all know that the persecutor Saul got rid of all relating to Judaism, the Jewish people, and the Torah when he converted, even changing his Hebrew name to the Gentile Paul.  Luke himself mentions “Saul, who was also called Paul” ( Acts  13:9). Of course, I shredded much of those traditional misconceptions in my post Does the Torah Still Apply?   Paul himself openly observed the Torah!  (Another good post on the same subject is Sabbath – Saturday or Sunday? )  Now it’s time to expose another misconception.  I’ll let Greg Lanier do it: I keep coming across a “sticky” misconception that God (specifically, Jesus) changed the name of an important figure we now typically refer to as “Saint Paul.” In a recent sermon, I heard: “Just like Saul the persecutor can become Paul the apostle, God is gracious to us.” On an exam, one of my brightest students wrote: “It is S...

The Torah , commonly called the Law or Pentateuch, consists of the first five books of the Bible, the books written by Moses.  They provide detailed instructions from Yehovah (God) on how to live.  (Actually, the Torah is 6 books, with Jubilees originally being between Exodus and Leviticus .)  Many Christians, however, believe that the instructions in the Torah no longer apply, that they were nailed to the cross by Yehoshua/Jesus.  Jews and Messianics hold that the Torah still applies. Who is right? Well, let’s turn to the Scriptures themselves for the answer. “ Do not think that I [Yehoshua/Jesus] have come to destroy the Torah, or the prophets.  I have not come to destroy , but to fulfil.  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will in no way pass from the Torah , until all is fulfilled.”  ( Matthew 5:17-18) I’ve just looked outside and confirmed that the heavens and the earth are sti...