Comcast had me off line last night and this morning. I am back up now. Shabbat Shalom My Friends, We are approaching the spiritual new year and this is a good time to consider what is: Born Again? By Rabbi Kittron ben-Calev© Yehoshua tells Nicodemus, at least as it is translated in the King James Version of the Messianic Scriptures, in order to see the Kingdom of Elohim, he must be born again. (John 3:3) This term “Born Again” is used again in John 3:7 where Yehoshua tells Nicodemus to “marvel not” at this when Nicodemus asked how can a man be born when he is old and can he enter the womb of his mother a second time and be born. He scolds Nicodemus for being a teacher of Israel and not knowing this? (John 3:10) What is it that Nicodemus should have known as a teacher of Israel? We shall see what this is later on. You know the answer to this question but not in the way you think. What I call Orthodox Evangelical Christianity has an answer to the question what is being born again. “Accept J-sus Christ as your personal savior repent of your sins and make him lord of your life by saying a “Sinners Prayer” and poof you are born again. What does the scripture say about that? The King James Version and many of its offspring use the term “born again” in John 3:3 and 3:7. However if you read the footnotes, the Greek rendition is born from above. The only other place that born again is used is in 1Peter 1:23 where Peter is talking about being begotten, (not the same word as being born from above) anew by incorruptible seed. Here he is talking about repentance from sin through the word of Elohim. Sound familiar? Yehoshua said much the same thing in the Parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13 and Mark 4. Peter was there and was an eye witness so he should know the words of Messiah. There are no other places in the Torah, Prophets, Writings or in the Messianic Scriptures that have the term Born again. The term is not found in any of the Greek Codices. So, that leaves the term born again an artful creation of a translator from 400 years ago. How about the concept of accepting J-sus as your personal savior? Scripture speaks about Yehoshua accepting us and that we are to accept each other, (Romans 15:7). There is nowhere in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation that I have found that says being born again is accepting J-sus. I have also tried to find the term “personal savior,” but I have not found that either. If there is someone out there who can show me these things in scripture I would love to see it. To be fair, believing in Yehoshua as your personal savior and repenting of your sins is a place to start true belief in the Messiah. Doing that is sort of like getting a high enough score on the S.A.T. To get into college in that you then can begin to learn what the process of repentance truly is. One thing it is not is being born again / born from above. In my opinion, this is what Yehoshua meant when says, “... many are called...” (Matt 20:16 and 22:14). Lets face it, you cant be chosen if you are not called first. For us as the children of Adam, seeing the Kingdom of Elohim is of significant importance. It is Orthodox Evangelical Christian doctrine that says being born again using the formula I stated above gets a person into the Kingdom of Elohim. That is, as I said a good place to start but it is not what Yehoshua meant by being born again. The answer to what is born again may be revealed in a question. What is it that any teacher in the Israel of Yehoshuas day would know? Think. This was the central question that separated the Pharisees from the Saducees. Nicodemus wanted it to be something complicated. It is not complicated at all. It is simple. Have you figured it out yet? Rabbi Shaul (Paul) has the answer and he gives it in Acts 23: 6 – 8 But when Shaul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!” And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. The thing any teacher of Israel would know in Yehoshuas time was the concept of resurrection. Thats right! Yehoshua was telling Nicodemus, “You have to be in the resurrection of the righteous in order to be “born again”. Take the time to check it out. So, Yehoshua says you must be in the resurrection of the righteous in order to see the Kingdom of Heaven. The question now is how do you get to be in the resurrection of the righteous? The answer might not be what you think. It may not be what you heard while sitting on your pew taking note after note. It does have something to do with the rest of Yehoshuas quote on many being called and few chosen. Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread are approaching. These festivals take place in the first month of the year. This is the true spiritual new year and time to make spiritual resolutions. I hope that this essay is thought provoking and perhaps makes you consider what obedience is. As usual, your questions comments and criticisms are welcome. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Kitt
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 19:12:32 +0000
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