Kingdom Relationships

God's Laws for the Community of Faith

Dr. Ron Moseley, Ph.D.

• Publisher: Messianic Jewish Communications
• Year: 2000
• eBook ISBN: 9781936716104
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

How does Torah (Law) bless believers in Messiah?

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Section I—The Kingdom of God

Chapter 1: A Present Kingdom

Strife in the Kingdom

Taking the Kingdom by Force

The Manifestation of the Kingdom

By Miracles the Kingdom is Come unto You

Rebellion: Throwing Off the Yoke

The Kingdom of God is Near You

A Progressive Kingdom Manifestation

The Keys to the Kingdom

Peter the Rock is Based on Abraham the Rock

Abraham Renewed the Kingdom

The Miraculous: A Kingdom Principle

Teaching Review

Chapter 2: The Jewish Meaning of the Kingdom

Ancient Jews Avoided Using the Name of God

The Kingdom Age

The King Parables

Accepting the Yoke of the Kingdom

Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God

The Kingdom Message: The Main Directive of Torah

Teaching Review

Section II—Kingdom Rules for Godly Relationships

Chapter 3: An Introduction to Understanding God’s Laws (Kingdom Rules)

Three Kinds of Commandments

The Nine-fold Purpose of the Laws of God

Great Christian Leaders Who Understood the Law

Teaching Review

Chapter 4: Personal Obligations to God

Laws Concerning Our Relationship with God

Ancient Declaration of Faith

Daily Prayer

Requirement to Study

Laws Against Paganism and Idolatry

Joy in Worship

Fear and Reverence for God and Man

Teaching Review

Chapter 5: Proper Relationships Among Believers

Love and Covenant Relationship Between Believers

Loans and Money Matters Between Believers

Relationships Between Employers and Employees

Fulfilling Vows and Pledges

The Court in the Local Congregation

Care of Animals

Biblical Sexual Relationships

The Biblical Divorce

Teaching Review

Chapter 6: Conclusion

God’s Kingdom is to be Separate

Walk in the Spirit

Teaching Review

Glossary of Terms

Notes

Bibliography

PREFACE

The concept of the “Kingdom of God” is important to general readers, students, as well as professionals in every field who want information about early Christianity while it was still a sect of Judaism. This book has cut straight to the point and is divided into two sections. The first section consists of two chapters that introduce the relation of both the Jewish people and Christians to the Kingdom of God. The second section lists the laws that are applicable to a non-Jew living in the twenty-first century and outside of the land of Israel. Modern scholars have expended vast amounts of time and energy writing about the Kingdom of God. However, the primary inventory of the laws that Yeshua (Jesus) emphasized and their application as kingdom rules have remained elusive. To set the problem in perspective, this book provides a summary of the commandments for non-Jews and an analysis of some of the most important cultural differences affecting today’s reader.

Why is this book needed? There are two basic reasons. First, these little-known laws of God’s Kingdom were, according to Yeshua, the most salient features of the first-century community of believers. Yeshua even warned that anyone breaking these laws would be the least in the Kingdom (Matt. 5:19). Second, these laws will be the basis for the judgment at the end of every believer’s life.

The biblical definition of sin is the transgression of one of these laws (1 John 3:4). Every first-century Jew understood Yeshua to be saying that the books being opened on Judgment Day were none other than the Book of Life and the record of our deeds according to the laws of God (Rev. 15:12; Eccles. 12:14). This very idea of opening books during a period of judgment was common in several ancient cultures, including the Egyptian and Babylonian cultures. These ancient cultures perceived these books as a record of human deeds and destinies, in light of the laws of their deities (Mishnah Avot ii.1, iii.20; Exod. 32:32; Ps. 69:29; Dan. 7:10; see Slotki, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah, p. 59; Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 3:1115).

The purpose of this book is to provide a quick, easy-reading reference to these ancient laws. This is in the hope that they can be incorporated into the believer’s life, producing life and peace in the highest form. To this end, there is a glossary of terms at the end of this book and questions at the end of each chapter that re-establish the major points.

INTRODUCTION

Since the time of Maimonides (the greatest of all Jewish philosophers; 1135–1204 C.E.), the general public has had clear access to the 613 laws of God as the rules for the Kingdom.

For years, my personal ministry, the Arkansas Institute of Holy Land Studies, has made a list of these rules available to interested believers. A problem arose almost immediately in distributing these ancient laws in a general form to a modern society. There needed to be a non-denominational, or non-theological, analysis explaining the different cultural trends that were taken for granted during the Temple periods.

This study attempts to make progress in two areas which will hopefully explain these rules of God’s Kingdom in a manner beneficial to the scholar as well as the layperson. First, by examining the historical setting of the Kingdom and the concepts surrounding the Kingdom, this book lays a valuable foundation. It explains the origin of the Kingdom, including the role it played in ancient life, and the effect that its rules have on modern believers. Second, this book assumes that believers are more inclined to follow rules that are clearly defined. Thus, I have listed the laws which, in amiable consensus to Judaism and Christendom, make up the rules of God’s Kingdom.

CHAPTER 1

A Present Kingdom

The term “Kingdom of Heaven” (or “Kingdom of God”) was a well-defined concept in the first century. Many contemporaries of Yeshua used this term. Some explained it as in the future; others, like Hillel (leader of a Pharisaic academy of higher learning) and Yeshua, understood God’s Kingdom to be a present-day reality. Both the Zealots and Essenes viewed the Kingdom of Heaven as at hand, and saw themselves as active participants in the end-times drama that had already begun to unfold. Yeshua and the School of Hillel (the students of Hillel) believed that the Kingdom of Heaven could come about at any time in one’s life, once the individual repented and took upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom.

In ancient times, the idea of taking on the yoke of something meant that one was linked in a partnership. In this case, the yoke of the Kingdom indicated a partnership with God the King. Jewish literature of Yeshua’s day often mentions individuals taking on the yoke of the Torah and the yoke of the Kingdom.¹ At the moment that an individual takes on the yoke of the Kingdom, no nation or rule, except God’s, can control that person. He or she becomes an active partner with God, fulfilling his promise to rule over Israel through his people, as they become servants to their King. Obedience to the laws of the land is simply a means of fulfilling the higher law of obedience to the Lord and his Kingdom.

Strife in the Kingdom

There were many factions of the Jewish faith during the first century. As in the Church today, not all were in complete unity with one another. None of these religious groups was more violent than the Zealots. Hatred and disunity arose in some groups who considered themselves a part of God’s Kingdom. The Zealots’ assault against fellow Jews, as well as against Rome, contributed to the destruction of the Second Temple.

The most violent of the Zealots was a group called Sicarri. They would walk among the Pharisees and other sects as if they belonged to them, and would suddenly draw a dagger and stab innocent bystanders. The Sicarri derived their name from the word sica, meaning a short, curved dagger. The leader of the Sicarri was Abba Sicara, the nephew of the great Pharisaic peacemaker Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai. Sicara refused to follow his uncle’s advice to make peace with Rome, and became a major factor in the war of 66–72 C.E.²

Taking the Kingdom by Force

A common and unfortunate English translation of Matthew 11:12 indicates that the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Some, without knowing that the cultural and textual background of this statement came from Micah 2:13, have attributed violent, aggressive behavior to the Kingdom of God. Nothing could b...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Backcover
• Copyright page
• Contents