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VIOLATING THE REIGN OF THE
HEAVENS
IS DOING VIOLENCE TO THE TORAH
THE QUESTION:
(From a message on Torah
Institute Facebook page):
hello, can you help me
understand this verse luke 16;16
is it saying that the teaching
of torah ended when john the
baptist came on the scene.
RESPONSE:
It only
seems to be saying the Torah
ended
because of the present-day use
of the words. The words
have to be closely examined, as
well as the context of the
statement. Yahusha was
addressing people who loved
silver (the Pharisees) just
before making this statement:
Luk 16:16:
“TheG3588
lawG3551
andG2532
theG3588
prophetsG4396
were until
G2193
(Yahukanon):G2491
sinceG575
that time
G5119
the
G3588
kingdomG932
of
(Alahim)G2316
is preached,G2097
andG2532
every man
G3956
pressesG971
into
G1519
it.G846
”
He was speaking to the Pharisees
about the
violence
they were doing to the
Torah.
“The Reign of Alahim is
announced”
is a phrase stating that the
Torah is announced,
yet whosoever is announcing it
is doing violence to it.
As we all well know, this is
done today by Christian
preachers.
Notice the words “were until” in
this statement as translated.
The Greek word is a preposition
and abstractly means
“throughout”,
or
“continuously through”,
not necessarily the idea that we
have today of being
“terminated”, even though the
dictionary will include this.
We know this because the next
verse removes all doubt for us:
Luk 16:17:
“And it is easier for the heaven
and the earth to pass away than
for one tittle of the Torah to
fall.”
(see next verse also).
The idea of crowds of people
“pressing” their way into the
Reign of Yahuah
(Torah) is pointing out how they
are seeking their own desires in
a bull-headed way, not having
humility and complete
submission. In the
process,
they do violence to the Torah,
placing their views above it as
the Pharisees had done by
superseding specific
instructions
in order to observe men’s
rulings.
The RCC teaches that Circus
Tradition is higher than the
Scriptures, just as Rabbinic
Judaism teaches their Talmudic
traditions also may negate
specific instructions (Torah).
Just before Yahusha made the
statement at Luke 16:16, He had
addressed the Pharisees who were
listening to Him:
Luk 16:14, 15:
“And the Pharisees, who loved
silver, also heard all this, and
were sneering at Him,
so
He said to them,
‘You are those who declare
yourselves righteous before men,
but Alahim knows your hearts,
because what is
highly thought of among men
is an abomination in the sight
of Alahim.’” (Because
they taught men’s traditions to
be higher than Torah, thus doing
violence to Yahuah’s Torah).
If we follow this with Luke
16:16, you can see He is
speaking directly to the
Pharisees who had done violence
to the Torah, and placed their
own traditions above the Torah,
which Yahusha then proclaimed
will never pass away in the very
next verse.
Most compelling is the Word
given through the prophet
YirmeYahu that pertains to the
unchanging Torah:
Jer 31:36, 37:
“‘If these laws vanish from
before Me,’ declares Yahuah, ‘then
the seed of Yisharal shall also
cease from being a nation before
Me forever.’ Thus said
Yahuah, ‘If the heavens
above could be measured, and the
foundations of the earth
searched out beneath, I would
also cast off all the seed of Yisharal for all that they have
done,’ declares Yahuah.”
Let’s see how this understanding
sheds light on Mt. 11-14 now:
Mat 11:12-14:
“And from the days of Yahukanon
the Immerser till now the
Reign of the heavens
is violated, and
the violent seize it.
For all the prophets and the
Torah prophesied till Yahukanon.
And if you wish to accept it, he
is Aliyahu who was about to
come.”
Yahukanon
was mentioned because he carried
out the mission of
AliYahu,
and proclaimed the
Name
just as AliYahu had done.
The Pharisees were doing
violence to the Name, by
avoiding it and outlawing the
use of it. The
“Reign of the Heavens”
refers to the instructions, the
Torah.
The Pharisees were
doing “violence” to Torah,
and
seizing the interpretation of it
for themselves,
and would soon do violence to
Yahusha, the Son of the Owner of
the vineyard. The
Pharisees were the “hired
workers” who desired to have the
vineyard for themselves.
I hope this clarifies the issue
a little.
Love always,
brother Lew
(Lew White)
Torah Institute’s Facebook page:
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