Acts 15

Why does Peter refer to the readers of his first epistle as "Strangers" and "Aliens"? Answering this question provides insight into the rift between Peter and Paul, the controversy over Acts 15, and the Gentile disciple's obligations to the commandments of the Torah. 

Changes are coming. What will Beth Immanuel services be like after the Covid-19 shut downs? Here's a teaching about Jewish/Gentile identity confusion and the transition from the One Law Theology synagogue service to the Distinction Theology model. 

Not every law in the Torah applies to everyone equally. There is a difference between Jewish and Gentile disciples and their respective obligations to the Torah. Here's a quick overview of Distinction Theology and the commandments in the Torah that apply to non-Jewish followers of Yeshua.

Did Paul really rebuke Peter "to his face"? In Galatians 2:11-14, Paul recounts how Peter, on his visit to Antioch, separated from the God-fearing Gentile believers and incurred Paul's sound rebuke. Get the story behind the story. 

People who keep the Sabbath and eat kosher are weak in faith, but the strong in faith treat every day alike and eat anything. That's the conventional interpretation of Romans 14. Take a second look at this passage from Paul's Epistle to the Romans and consider a Messianic Jewish intepretation that turns the conventional one upside down. 

A hidden psalm lies concealed, interspersed through the text of Amos. When assembled, the psalm reveals clues about the mission and message of the prophet. Find out the hidden relationship between the book of Amos and the festival of Sukkot, and discover how the Apostles used Amos to justify the inclusion of the Gentiles in the kingdom and the Messianic Era.

All roads lead to Rome, and all New Testament studies eventually lead to the book of Romans. Maybe you have studied the book of Romans, but have you ever studied it from a Messianic Jewish perspective? A Jewish reading of the book of Romans opens new insights, turns old ideas upside down, and reveals the original intention behind the epistle.

Was Jesus crucified for being an anti-Roman zealot who was agitating against Rome? Does the Torah provide an avenue of personal salvation, thereby rendering the atonement of Jesus unnecessary? This anti-climactic lesson concludes our study of Asher Norman's book, Twenty-Six Reasons Jews Don't Believe in Jesus by briefly considering the closing arguments of reasons number twenty-five and twenty-six, including another tedious tour of duty through the wild-eyed claims of junk scholars. 

Did the apostles only give the Gentiles four laws? What about the other laws of the Torah? Why these four laws? Are they the same as the seven Noachide laws?

A discussion on the four prohibitions of the Apostolic Decree in Acts 15, their meaning and significance, and their origin in Torah Portion Acherei (Leviticus 17-18). Listen to the lecture that became the basis for one of the new chapters in the Ten-year Anniversary Edition of Restoration: Returning the Torah of Moses to the Disciples of Jesus.

Revelation chapter two and the epistle to the assembly at Thyatira warns about a mysterious prophetess called Jezebel. Who is Jezebel of Thyatira, and what are the deep things of Satan which she taught? What does it mean to have a "Jezebel Spirit"? This teaching goes into the details of the Master's epistle to Thyatira, revealing a fascinating correlation to the Apostolic Decree in Acts 15.