Kollel BeHar

Kollel BeHar

Colossians 1 & 2

We must always remember the warning of Peter when we start a new Pauline epistle – that false teachers distort Shaul’s words to make it appear he was teaching Torahlessness.

2Pe 3:15  Regard the patience of Adonai as salvation; even as our beloved brother Sha’ul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you;   2Pe 3:16  as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.   2Pe 3:17  You therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware, lest being carried away with the error of the Torahless , you fall from your own steadfastness.   2Pe 3:18  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Adonai and Savior Yeshua the Messiah. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amein.

“Athesmos,” of course, is a greek word that means “lawless,” – to us, “Torahlessness.”

If Shaul had been teaching Torahlessness, that would make him a false prophet, according to Yeshua, as YHWH Incarnate, made quite clear – so we can be sure he did not.

Deu 13:1 If there arise in the midst of you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give you a sign or a wonder,   Deu 13:2  and the sign or the wonder come to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them;   Deu 13:3  you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams: for YHWH your Elohim proves you, to know whether you love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul.   Deu 13:4  You shall walk after YHWH your Elohim, and fear him, and keep his mitzvot, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cleave to him.   Deu 13:5  That prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against YHWH your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to draw you aside out of the way which YHWH your Elohim commanded you to walk in. So shall you put away the evil from the midst of you.

That means there is an  interpretation of every one of Shaul’s teachings that is consistent with Torah, if we look at the texts from a Hebraic point of view and using clues from Hebrew language.  The early church father Jerome stated that all of Shaul’s authentic epistles had originally been written in Hebrew, and that must be our guide for proper understanding of Shaul’s teachings.  He was not a false prophet, he taught the Written Torah – much to the chagrin of the Pharisees and their Oral Law, and much to the chagrin of modern pastors and preachers who teach Torahlessness.

Colossians, continued:

Col 1:1 Sha’ul, an emissary of Messiah Yeshua through the will of Elohim, and Timothy our brother,

Col 1:2  to the holy ones and faithful brothers in Messiah at Colossae: Grace to you and shalom from Elohim our Father, and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

Col 1:3  We give thanks to Elohim the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, praying always for you,

Col 1:4  having heard of your faith in Messiah Yeshua, and of the love which you have toward all the holy ones,

Col 1:5  because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the Good News,

Since the kingdom takes place here on earth, this must be referring to the Parousia and the Bridal Chambers.

Colossians, continued:

Col 1:6  which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of Elohim in truth;

Col 1:7  even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Messiah on our behalf,

Col 1:8  who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

Col 1:9  For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Col 1:10  that you may walk worthily of Adonai, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of Elohim;

We do these things by learning and implementing Torah into our lives.  What is pleasing to Him is obedience.  Faith is part of that, good works is part of that, our daily walk is part of that, and study is part of that.  It’s a process, not a one-time thing.

Colossians, continued:

Col 1:11  strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy;

Col 1:12  giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the holy ones in light;

Col 1:13  who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love;

Col 1:14  in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins;

Col 1:15  who is the image of the invisible Elohim, the firstborn of all creation.

The Adam Kadmon, the template by which all human beings were made in Elohim’s image, a manifestation of Himself in a form comprised of the same type of matter that we are.   In the beginning, there was only the Ain Sof.  Everything else eminates from that being, outside of space and time as we know it.

Colossians, continued:

Col 1:16  For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.

Col 1:17  He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

Col 1:18  He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Enoch and Elijah were taken to heaven as mortals and have not yet died.  Of those who are dead, only one has been resurrected to  a permanent state of glory – Yeshua.  The earthly resurrections of various characters in the Tanakh and NT were more in the nature of glorified healings – those people went on to die a natural death at a later date.  Their “resurrections” from the dead should not be confused with the upcoming true resurrections which will transform us into eternal beings – finally gaining what Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden in order to prevent them from obtaining:  immortality.

Colossians, continued:

Col 1:19  For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him;

Col 1:20  and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his stake.

To make it possible for us to enter into our marriage relationship to Him.

Colossians, continued:

Col 1:21  You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,

Col 1:22  yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and blameless before him,

Col 1:23  if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven; of which I, Sha’ul, was made a servant.

Again, it’s a process.  As we saw in Philippians, even Shaul did not claim to have achieved it yet.

Colossians, continued:

Col 1:24  Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Messiah in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly;

Col 1:25  of which I was made a servant, according to the stewardship of Elohim which was given me toward you, to fulfill the word of Elohim,

Col 1:26  the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his holy ones,

Col 1:27  to whom Elohim was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Messiah in you, the hope of glory;

Col 1:28  whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Messiah Yeshua;

Col 1:29  for which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.

The mystery of the Body of Messiah was unknown to the prophets of the Tanakh, as was the mystery of the Parousia, when living persons would be transformed into immortality without ever having died.  Some believers deny these truths because they have not been a part of Jewish tradition and teachings – but that is not sufficient grounds for doing so.  The Bride does, in fact, have some special privileges unknown to the prophets – a mystery not formerly revealed.  The World War (which we would call WWIII during the Tribulation) followed by the Coming of the King of Kings, and the Resurrection of the Just at that time were not secrets at all – they are clearly described in the prophets.

Colossians, continued:

Col 2:1 For I desire to have you know how greatly I struggle for you, and for those at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;

Col 2:2  that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and gaining all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of Elohim, both of the Father and of Messiah,

Col 2:3  in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden.

The word “Elohim” is plural, but the greek word “god” is singular, so the depth of this teaching does not translate well.  Elohim is what we call the totality of all forms of the Diety.  The highest and most pure form is outside of space and time as we know it – pure spirit, called “Ain Sof,” meaning “without end.”   This being manifests itself in different forms, multitasking, even, in heaven and on earth.  Different manifestations have different attributes.  But they are all ONE – echad.  This is the mystery that is hard to understand.   There is no “trinity” of separate beings.  Indeed, there are 7 forms of Elohim, not all of them male, described in the Tanakh.  But they are simply different faces of the same Being.  Hear, O Israel!  YHWH Eloheinu, YHWH echad!  There is only one Diety.

Colossians, continued:

Col 2:4  Now this I say that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech.

Col 2:5  For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, rejoicing and seeing your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Messiah.

Col 2:6  As therefore you received Messiah Yeshua, Adonai, walk in him,

Col 2:7  rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.

The Pharisees, of course, who were going around behind Shaul attempting to persuade people to commit to their oral law – their traditions and precedents – in place of the more sola scriptura teachings of Yeshua and His apostles.

Coossians, continued:

Col 2:8  Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Messiah.

This is exactly what the Talmud is.  Philosophy, attempts to circumvent Elohim’s written requirements, men’s traditions, and pagan elements from Babylonian, Greek, and Roman mythology.  That is not to say it has no value whatsoever – many ancient and modern sages were truly men of Elohim who were sincere and loved Adonai -  but in reading the talmud you have to use a spirit of discernment, a gift of the Ruach HaKodesh, to weed out the mud and find the pearls.  Anything that is not in full accord with the written Torah is mud.  The Rabbis have falsely given themselves the authority to add to and subtract from the written Torah, but Yeshua, as YHWH Incarnate, says there is no such authority.  Elohim’s Word stands.

Colossians, continued:

Col 2:9  For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,

Yeshua is no less Elohim than YHWH is, or the Shekinah is, or the Kavod is, or the Ruach HaKodesh is, or Binah is, or the Ain Sof is…  There is only one Diety – one being.

Colossians, continued:

Col 2:10  and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power;

Col 2:11  in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Messiah;

Yeshua is YHWH Incarnate – the “circumcision not made with hands” is of the heart, yes, but that in no way abrogates the written commandment, given by Yeshua, as YHWH Incarnate, for a person to be physically circumcised in order to participate in the Passover Seder – the same seder where Yeshua gave his Kiddush-Communion, a place where no physically uncircumcised could be present, as He Himself laid down in the Torah.  A physical circumcision is not enough, by itself, to get you grafted into the House of Israel, but you certainly can’t be grafted in without it.   Our heart always has to be in line with our physical actions – that doesn’t mean we can omit physical actions.  It means we have to do them with the correct attitude and faith.

Colossians, continued:

Col 2:12  having been buried with him in immersion, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of Elohim, who raised him from the dead.

We are made clean of all our past sins by our miqvah (that is, living waters) immersion, released from the penalty of death for the things we had done.  Now we must “go and sin no more.”

Colossians, continued:

Col 2:13a  You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh…

See?  Being uncircumcised in the flesh is a sign you are still DEAD – it means you have NOT attained eternal life.  Living in sin also means you are still DEAD – as we see clearly in I John 3, sin is the transgression of the Torah.  Grace is not license for sin, ergo, grace is not license for transgressing the Torah.  If you are still willfully and knowingly living in sin, then you are still dead, even if you got a physical circumcision.  It does no good to be obedient in your body but rebellious in your heart.  Nor does it do any good to be physically disobedient in the first place.

Colossians, continued:

Col 2:13b …He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

Col 2:14  wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us; and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross;

This is important to understand, each of these phrases in the proper order.  It is not the Torah that was nailed to the cross – it was our guilty verdict!

Colossians, continued:

Col 2:15  having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Col 2:16  Let no man therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or Shabbat,

Col 2:17  which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Messiah’s.

As we see above, these people were gentiles who had turned to the Jewish Messiah.  Their friends and family were still gentiles – and just like those ancient people, our friends and family today still harass and cajole us to try and get us to continue observing their pagan holidays and to not be strict in oberving Elohim’s Feasts and Shabbats.

The Festivals and Shabbats of YHWH are a sign of things to come – not things already past!  They are signposts for our future – signposts we obviously aren’t going to see if we’re not observing them.   Yeshua, as YHWH Incarnate, commanded us to observe the Feasts and Shabbats of the Torah.  Remember, there is one law – one Torah – and it applies to both the native born and to the grafted-in!  We are told this over and over in the Torah and in the prophets.

Colossians, continued:

Col 2:18  Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

Col 2:19  and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows with Elohim’s growth.

Col 2:20  If you died with Messiah from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances,

Col 2:21 “Don’t handle, nor taste, nor touch”

Col 2:22 (all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men?

Col 2:23 Which things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but aren’t of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.

This is a flat-out rebuttal against the “fences” around the Torah enacted by the oral law – the Talmud.  It is certainly not an endorsement for eating unclean carcasses or ignoring ritual impurity.  The oral law imposes “the precepts and doctrines of men” but the Torah itself teaches us the precepts and doctrines of Yeshua, YHWH Elohim Incarnate!  There is a world of difference between the teachings of men and the teachings of the real written Torah.  The teachings of men, as we see here, have no value!  But the Torah is eternal, and good for every doctrine and reproof.

2Ti 3:16  Every writing inspired by Elohim is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction which is in righteousness,   2Ti 3:17  that the man of Elohim may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Next week:  Parashat BeChukotei.