Adult class syllabus
Reading the Bible the way Jesus did
On the surface, the purpose of this class is not to teach you what to believe. It is to:
- Share observations enabling you to think like a Hebrew child of the first century.
- Correlate ideas across the Biblical record.
- Use tools which enable you to dig deeper in a Hebrew understanding of words.
- To recognize hostilities to God's word found in our traditional 'doctrine'.
The real purpose of this class is to teach you:
- To hear God in a verifiable way.
- To preach the gospel from anywhere in the OT, since it is the power of God unto salvation.
- To formulate valid doctrine, rather than mere opinions from God's word.
and to re-establish the "fellowship of the mystery". Eph 3:9
Inside the classroom you will learn how to hear the voice of God in a verifiable way. You will be able to prove you heard him. Training you to recognize his voice in a verifiable way enables you to recognize his voice when he speaks personally to you in unverifiable ways.
Jesus said that to enter into his kingdom (which is teaching) we must come as a little child. This is a parallel teaching to the new wine and new cloth. Wine represents grace. The old grace through sacrifices was a promised grace, not an actualized grace. The blood of animals saved no one, but was a promise of the cross. Garments represent works. The new cloth is a new work based in Christ's law of love, not of works of the flesh and religious ritual.
The young child comes without pre-conceived ideas. The old man cannot learn since he thinks he knows it already.
Do not try to fit old teaching with new. Pencil in the new teaching, and when you understand it in it's own context see if it glorifies God and Christ and is consistent with the message of grace through the cross.
We have a world view pushed on us by ... hmm, the world, which includes 2000 years of secular 'history'. The reason history tells us that the good guys always win is because the winners write the history making themselves the good guys. There is a slightly different version of history to be considered.
The facts are in front of us, but we have had a different narrative concerning them.
Before God created the universe, he had a plan. This plan is available to us through the meaning of Hebrew letters in the alphabet. He used words to create and he needed letters to form words.
He created Adam last because the things created before him set the stage for revelation. Light, representing holiness, was created before Adam. If Adam saw it's creation he might think God became holy instead of always being holy.
God did not lose control over his creation. He made a system where you reap what you sow; he gives you what you want (to be a god declaring good and evil for yourself); your sin creates pain, suffering and death; and since god's don't suffer, your suffering make you realize you are not a god, and you cry out to him for relief.
From beginning every stroke of every letter of every word and verse, chapter and book speaks of Christ. Many scholars and theologians mock the idea. But do you wish to learn to fix a car from a guy who says they are unfix-able, or from one who can show you how?
He hid his plan in riddles buried in the literal-historical record so that men would not believe and would not get saved. If they could get saved by teaching alone, the cross would not have been necessary. The purpose of the cross was not to save us. It was the culmination of the revelation of the invisible father. Without it we would not know him. We get saved in the process.
Jesus obtained his bride through the cross, and the marriage supper of the lamb was the explosion of doctrine right after the cross, revealing what had been hidden since the beginning.
When the Jews met God, they made a golden calf. When the Gentiles met God, they deified Mary and lost their first love. They set up a priesthood and became the Nicolaitans (conquerors of the laity). They adopted the doctrine of Balaam by compromise with the government and providing entertainment in the liturgy. And they became the Judaisers by adding the law to grace, through sacraments and "New Testament commands".
They denied access to the Bible for the common man for 1200 years until the Gutenberg press made it available. Then they controlled the narrative through Loyola Jesuits using education and entertainment.
The Reformers did not have the Hebrew tools to change the teaching. People got saved all along because salvation is of the Lord. His word does not return void.
You need not accept this alternate history. As you learn to read the Bible for yourself, you will see the intentional distortions by the church which hide the cross, and fuel uncertainty and disbelief in God's word. We will bypass 2000 years of tradition and go straight to the scriptures that Jesus read (and these are NOT the Hebrew texts used in seminaries).
1. As co-workers in Christ, we expect the highest standards of conduct.
2. I apologize in advance for cultural differences. Here in the states we are less formal in addressing one another.
3. I appreciate the dignity afforded the brethren in Africa by addressing one another with titles and 'sir', however please call me Bob. I am your servant. Please forgive my irreverent American way.
4. The class is not a debate forum. It is a collaboration. Debate is when two or more choose sides and attempt to persuade others to their belief. Collaboration looks more like a group attempting to solve a crossword puzzle together. There is a standard of truth apart, from our opinions, that makes itself known by the formation of words, patterns of ideas, and compliance with hermeneutical rules.
5. Theological debates over topics that have raged for 2000 years need not be recapitulated here. They are obviously, by their nature, the vain disputes that cause division that Paul warned against. Those topics may be revisited only if there is additional information provided by the careful exegesis of the "mystery hidden from the beginning".
6. We agree to not take offense, even if we believe offense was intended. Love covers a multitude of sins so we will strive to absorb the sins of one another to end strife before it begins. Sometimes humor does not translate well. This does not mean we should avoid humor, but if it received wrong, please let me know. I am old and deaf. Heavy African accents are sometimes difficult for me to understand. Please use the message page if necessary to make sure I understand what you say. Sometimes Africans use words foreign to Americans, so if I say "Please speak English" is is not an insult. Hear it as "I'm an old fart, so I need assistance in understanding." and just laugh at me.
7. We will strive to live peaceably with each other.
AC Student responsibilities [∞]
Since there is no diploma nor degree offered, these responsibilities are suggestions to get the most out of the class.
- God's glory and wisdom is hidden in riddles. Wisdom is the ability to discern his riddles. If you lack wisdom, ask God for it.
- God says that if we seek we will find. Seeking is not a casual read of a popular translation of the Bible. It is a diligent, purposeful, systematic search of scriptures in his language for the purpose of knowing God.
- Knocking is done by the hand, representing works. We do not obtain magic knowledge. The spirit reminds us, and helps us correlate what we know. We must know something first. Reading and meditating on the word of God is the work of one who desires Christ to open the door to his mysteries.
I ask that you learn with the intent to teach. This is not a novelty for entertainment purposes. God wishes to be known by everyone. Though not everyone is a prophet, it was Paul's desire that all should prophesy. The Holy Spirit used the OT prophets to hide away the mystery. The same Spirit assists us in unpacking it. True prophecy is not telling the future, or soothsaying. It is the preaching of the cross by the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, of the verifiable and reproducible mystery of the cross, from the OT which God has shown you.
So I ask that rather than taking notes, you write an article, in such a way that you teach what you learn, as you learn. As I see your article, I can assess if I have done a good job of teaching, and you have prepared to teach.
I took a 12 hour trip with a 4 year old in the back seat. I gave her a digital camera with instructions that whenever the mileage marker ended in 0 (every ten miles), she had to take a picture of something. She was engaged in the trip the whole time observing the landscape that wizzed by at 60 miles an hours.
Active learning in this class is:
- Having a running dialog with God: Is it true? Help me understand.
- Sharing contextual observations and questions arising from your engagement with the material.
- Writing a sermon or lesson from one or more things you learned in class.
Are you ready for this class?
- Do you have a desire to know God better?
A secret from the Hebrew is that the word 'saved' means 'his flesh that loves the increase of the word'. If you have a desire to know God, then you have heard his voice, like his sheep, and you recognize it though you may not understand it yet.
This class is merely teaching his word in a way that Jesus and the apostles taught it, where it all speaks of him in prophetic riddle. There is no special prerequisite to learning. The one barrier is that we are not native Hebrew speakers. This presents a small linguistic barrier that we will overcome together.
When Peter said, "You are the Messiah..." he heard from God and was unaware, for no man had taught him. When you can see Christ in the OT where no one has taught you, you know you have heard from God. You can share it, and others can validate it. The Spirit has helped you solve the mystery hidden from the beginning.
I use:
https://onlinebible.net/ with KJV and Hebrew Dictionary add-on. It is free.
An older version of : https://www.scripture4all.org/
I keep study notes (not organized well) here: https://sensusplenior.net
It is expected that you treat this course with due respect for everyone's time.
It should be a priority, not an entertainment. Material will build from lesson to lesson. If you miss too may lessons you will not be in a position to ask intelligent questions. There may be places in the itinerary where a new "chapter" begins which places everyone on the same page.
I will teach from a high level of understanding God's patterns which are recognizable in any language. We will work our way into deep understandings using ancient Hebrew. I will teach you Hebrew in a much more efficient manner than in a seminary class. You do not need to learn to pronounce it 'properly' since no one knows how it is pronounced. It was re-invented after being dead for centuries. Your pronunciation will be sufficient for native Hebrew speakers to understand you.
I expect that you will do brief exercises designed to help you recognize Hebrew letters and understand their meaning. Don't fret this. I have taught children 8 years old.
I expect that some may not wish to continue, and they are free to drop at anytime. They may follow at their convenience through material posted during the rest of the course. If the class drops below 3 we will cancel and participants who wish can continue to correspond privately.
If the class decides the pace is too aggressive, let me know. I am your servant.
If you wish to rejoin, another student may pick up to offer classes to catch you up. Videos of session should be available.
I may have to cancel classes from time to time. Or circumstances may prevent me from joining. If I have not joined the class by 5 minutes after, consider the class cancelled, though you may discuss without me. In these circumstances, please record the questions you have brought to class in IM so they are not lost.
