Explanation of Titus 1:14

This morning our website received the following simple question which we are happy to answer:  “Please explain for me  Titus 1:14.”   To provide a proper, well-rounded response, we begin with Matthew 23 where the scribes and Pharisees were being admonished for their anti-Torah behavior:

Matthew 23: 23. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and you overlook the weightiest things of Torah: Judgment and Mercy and Faith. And these things were necessary for you to have done, and these things you should not have forgotten. 24. Blind guides who strain at gnats and swallow camels. 25. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate but inside they are full of extortion and iniquity.

26. Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, Then the outside will be clean also. 27. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites! For you are like white tombs that appear beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are filled with the bones and all the corruption of the dead. 28. Thus you also appear on the outside as righteous men to the sons of men. On the inside you are filled with iniquity and hypocrisy. 29. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and you adorn the sepulchers of the righteous. (AENT)

FOOTNOTE: A “marketing strategy” of the Pharisees is to posture themselves as being obedient to YHWH’s Prophets, and thus appear to legitimize their authority regarding Torah and the Prophets. A similar strategy is adopted by Christians who posture themselves as authorities on the Jewish Mashiyach, but who instead promote pagan religious traditions; these “crucify” Mashiyach daily by choosing to willfully neglect the Word of YHWH.

The above ties in with Titus 1 where we see Paul’s instructions to Titus, ordering Titus to “attend to the matters still not in order and appoint congregation leaders in each city.”  These instructions included the following:

Titus 1:  13. And this testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith  14. and may not throw themselves into Jewish fables and into the precepts of men who hate the Truth.  15. For to the pure, everything is pure; but to them who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but their understanding is defiled, and their conscience.  16 And they profess that they know Elohim, but in their works they deny him; and they are odious and disobedient and to every good work reprobates.  (AENT)

What then are these “Jewish fables”?

According to Charles Ryrie: Jewish myths; speculations of a Gnostic sort, supposedly based on OT scripture.  Ryrie Study Bible (NASB), p. 393.  The key is in the highlighted portion of the above passage, “they profess to know Elohim, but in works deny him” for by this very description, Paul has named the heretical sect. “Gnosticism” is derived from the Greek gnosis, “to know.”

What is often overlooked is that Gnosticism did not originate with Christianity, although later adopted by many Messianic themes.  Rather, it began as a Jewish sect with their own “myths and fables.” According to Professor Ryrie: The heresy of Gnosticism had begun to make inroads among churches in John’s day.

Among its teachings were: (1) knowledge is superior to virtue; (2) non-literal sense of Scripture is correct and can only be understood by a select few; (3) evil in the world precludes God being the only creator; (4) the incarnation is incredible because deity cannot unite itself with anything material such as a body (Docetism); and (5) there is no resurrection of the flesh. The ethical standards of the Gnostics were low… (Ryrie Study Bible (NASB), p. 440).

Is it any wonder then why Paul was upset at these false teachers? Even a conventional Pharisee would take great offense to such posturing, and they most certainly did with four of these five articles of belief. These false teachings are, of course, diametrically opposite to Paul’s own teaching as a “ringleader” of the Netzarim, so there should be no surprise when he takes these false teachings to task.

In any case, one can easily see how modern readers, divorced from the historical context, can easily draw the wrong conclusion and not take into account who the speaker is, and who the intended audience is.”

Settling the arguments over Y'shua's lineage

How often have you heard that Yeshua couldn't possibly be YHWH's Messiah because he didn't have an earthly father; and consequently, he didn't have any tribal affiliation, which means he could NOT have been a Jew, nor have come through the Davidic bloodline?  Jewish counter-missionary rabbis constantly attempt to use that hackneyed excuse to show that Yeshua was not the Messiah....

Well, so let's employ some Bible hermeneutics and allow Scripture to explain itself: 

According to the Bible, adoption in Biblical times was an accepted practice among the Hebrews. Please read the following from The New Unger's Bible Dictionary:   

ADOPTION:  
 
Greek: huiothesia, the "placing" as a "son". The admission of a person to some or all of the privileges of natural kinship. As the practice of adoption was confined almost exclusively to sons - the case of Esther being an exception - it probably had its origin in the natural desire for male offspring. This would be especially true where force, rather than well-observed laws, decided the possession of estates.  

Hebrew: Abraham speaks of Eliezer (Gen 15:3), a house-born slave, as his heir, having probably adopted him as his son. Jacob adopted his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh, and counted them as his sons (48:6), thus enabling him to bestow through them a double portion upon his favorite son, Joseph. Sometimes a man without a son would marry his daughter to a freed slave, the children then being accounted her father's; or the husband himself would be adopted as a son (1 Chron 2:34).

Most of the early instances of adoption mentioned in the Bible were the acts of women who, because of barrenness, gave their female slaves to their husbands with the intention of adopting any children they might have. Thus Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham, and the son (Ishmael) was considered the child of Abraham and Sarah (Gen 16:1-15). The childless Rachel gave her maid, Bilhah, to her husband (30:1-7) and was imitated by Leah (30:9-13). In such cases the sons were regarded as fully equal in the right of heritage with those by the legitimate wife. (From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)  

Here's more from another source:

ADOPTION: The taking of one as a son who is not so by birth. (I) Natural: As Pharaoh's daughter adopted Moses; Mordecai Esther; Abraham Eliezer (as a slave is often in the East adopted as son) (Gen 15:2-3); Sarai the son to be born by Hagar, whom she gave to her husband; Leah and Rachel the children to be born of Zilpah and Bilhah, their handmaids respectively, whom they gave to Jacob their husband. 

The handmaid at the birth brought forth the child on the knees of the adoptive mother (Gen 30:3); an act representative of the complete appropriation of the sons as equal in rights to those by the legitimate wife. Jacob adopted as his own Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, on the same footing as Reuben and Simeon, his two elder sons (Gen 48:5). Thereby he was able to give Joseph his favorite son more than his single share, with his brothers, of the paternal heritage. 

The tribes thus were 13, only that Levi had no land division; or Ephraim and Manasseh were regarded as two halves making up but one whole tribe. In 1 Chron 2 Machir gives his daughter to Hezron of Judah; she bore Segub, father of Jair. Jair inherited 23 cities of Gilead in right of his grandmother. Though of Judah by his grandfather, he is (Num 32:41) counted as of Manasseh on account of his inheritance through his grandmother. 

So Mary, being daughter of Heli, and Joseph her husband being adopted by him on marrying his daughter, an heiress (as appears from her going to Bethlehem to be registered in her pregnancy), Joseph is called in Luke's genealogy son of Heli. (From Fausset's Bible Dictionary, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1998 by Biblesoft)   

Soooo ... let's discuss Mary and HER rights!
 
Mary should be disqualified to transfer the rights of her lineage to her son Yeshua - except for a little known exception to the rule....

In Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38 we are presented with two genealogies of Yeshua. On the surface these different listings would appear to be a contradiction in the scriptures. The genealogy found in Matthew's gospel is the lineage of Yeshua's earthly father Joseph, while the genealogy found in Luke's gospel is the lineage of Yeshua's mother Mary. Conventional "wisdom" suggests that Matthew's lineage is Joseph's and Luke's is Mary's - but this is BACKWARDS.  Matthew's Gospel -- as the Aramaic exclusive reading of Matthew 1:16 and 1:19 PROVES--is MARY's Gospel, and she is descended from Solomon.
 
Once you have established that the line is indeed Mary's you must deal with a second difficulty: The rights of the line are not passed through the mother, only the father. Even though Mary, through her lineage, was of the Davidic bloodline, she should be excluded from being able to pass those rights of the bloodline because of being a female (Deut 21:16). 

So it is not enough to prove that Mary was an unblemished descendant of David; she also had to be a male to transfer the rights. Therefore she would be disqualified to transfer the rights to her son Yeshua, except for a little known exception to the rule!

In Numbers 26 we are introduced to Zelophehad. Zelophehad, we are told, had no sons, only daughters. In Numbers 27, following the death of Zelophehad, the daughters of Zelophehad came before Moses and argued their plight. Because their father had died with no sons, all of their rights of inheritance were to be lost and they felt this was unfair. So Moses prayed to God and God gave Moses an exception to the rule. 

YHWH told Moses that the inheritance CAN flow through a female, IF they fulfill two requirements: (1) There must be no male offspring in the family (Numbers 27:8) and (2) if the female offspring should marry, they must marry within their own tribe (Numbers 36:6).

Now we come back to Mary. On the surface she should be unable to transfer the rights to her Son. But when you research you find that Mary had NO brothers, AND Mary did indeed marry within her own tribe to Joseph. What an awesome God we serve Who set in order the requirements to allow the virgin birth to take place 1,400 years in advance! 

A footnote to Matthew 1 from the Aramaic English New Testament (AENT) says this: 

The word gowra designates a protector-male or guardian; the context of this verse determines its specific meaning. Y'shua elsewhere says "which one of gowra, if he has a son...."; obviously "father" is intended. "Gowra" also applies to other forms of protector-male type relationships depending on the context, such as "husband", "son", and so forth. Ancient Aramaic Matthew ends at verse 17, not verse 25. 

The text not only establishes the subject, but shifts from "background history" into the present, from intro to body. This means that the Yosip in verse 16 (the guardian or adopted father of Miriyam (Mary)) is not the same Yosip as the husband of Miriyam in verse 19.

There is no reason for Matthew to use two different words for the same individual, whereas gowra sometimes means "husband" but can also mean "father". The other term baalah can only mean "husband". On the other hand, there would most definitely be a reason to differentiate two men named Yosip, one being the adopted father, the other the husband of Miriyam. With this differentiation we now have three full sets of 14 generations, which satisfies the demands of verse 17.

Furthermore ... When you read thoroughly the details of Zelophedad's daughters it is clear that is exactly what it is about: Females inherit the assets of their father when there is no male heir. This is stated DIRECTLY:

Numbers 27: 7 'Zelophehad's daughters are right in what they say. You will indeed give them a property to be their heritage among their father's kinsmen; see that their father's heritage is passed on to them. 8 Then speak to the Israelites and say, "If a man dies without sons, his heritage will pass to his daughter. 

9 If he has no daughter, the heritage will go to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, his heritage will go to his father's brothers. 11 If his father has no brothers, his heritage will go to the member of his clan who is most nearly related; it will become his property. This will be a legal rule for the Israelites, as Yahweh has ordered Moses."' (NJB)

Proof of this is also indirectly stated with Joseph and Mary returning to Bethlehem. Mary is attached to that inheritance through her husband but she also inherits from her family without there being a male heir.

And let's not forget, Talmud says a child is considered Jewish if his MOTHER is Jewish....And Torah says land can only pass WITHIN THE TRIBE it is allotted to. YHWH calls it an INHERITANCE. And with the Levites YHWH says, "I am their inheritance"...so obviously being from a tribe is an asset if you inherit YHWH....

Wonder why people don't bother to "know" God?

Woke up this morning pondering this thought: "I wonder why people don't bother to get to know YHWH?  People really don't.  They don't!  Examples:  Most in Christianity think they are "under grace", which apparently is understood to be a "get out of sin free card" because what I see many Christians doing (with a cross around their necks) is going around doing whatever they want without regard to any obligation on their part to know YHWH.  Similarly, most of what I see in Judaism is that they simply "believe and do what the Rabbi says" and they don't bother to know YHWH beyond that.  And those who leave the Messiah Y'shua altogether, for whatever reason, all I've observed in them is a complete loss of the Ruach (Holy Spirit) and they become rabid, vitriolic, hate-mongers against anyone who continues to believe in Y'shua!

The problem is, if you are a believer in YHWH, the Creator, whether you are Jew or Gentile, whether you do or do not believe Y'shua is the promised Messiah, you are expected to know Him!  It's part of the deal and it actually requires effort on your part!

In the Tanach (Old Testament) it's here:

Thus said יהוה, “Let not the wise boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty boast in his might, nor let the rich boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am יהוה, doing kindness, right-ruling, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” declares יהוה. (Jeremiah 9:23-24, ISR)

And in the Brit Chadasha (New Testament) it's here:  Y'shua said:

Just as you have given him authority over all flesh that whomever You have given him, he will give to him life that is eternal.  Now this is life that is eternal, that they might know You, that You are the Elohim of Truth, and he alone whom You have sent, the Mashiyach Y’shua. (John 17:2-3, AENT)

How does one "know" anything? 

You study!  You spend time with the subject and learn it and practice it.  Great sports players are great through their knowledge of the game and their practiced skills.  People become good at their jobs by knowing all there is to know about their jobs and practicing what they know to do good work. Brain surgeons don't just take a scalpel and start digging around in the brain!  To "know" requires the active part of gaining knowledge!  We humans gain knowledge by actively seeking it and and study.  (Knowledge does not just "come" to you!  Remember how you were required to study to learn in school?)

Which brings me back to my thought: Why do people not know YHWH? 

We have an entire Book about Him - it tells us who He is, what he expects of us, how we are to behave and treat each other, what we can eat, how to be "clean" (both spiritually and physically) so we can be in His presence, and how to gain eternal life with Him!  Yet people choose to not read and study that Book, relying instead on what someone else has told them about YHWH.

YHWH is very clear in what He wants from us:

“Hear, O Yisra'el: יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one! 

“And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might.  “And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart, and you shall impress them upon your children, and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  “And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  

“And it shall be, when יהוה your Elohim brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Ya'aqoḇ, to give you great and good cities which you did not build,  and houses filled with all kinds of goods, which you did not fill, and wells dug which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied – be on guard, lest you forget יהוה who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, from the house of bondage.  “Fear יהוה your Elohim and serve Him, and swear by His Name.  

“Do not go after other mighty ones, the mighty ones of the peoples who are all around you, for יהוה your Elohim is a jealous El in your midst, lest the displeasure of יהוה your Elohim burn against you, then He shall destroy you from the face of the earth.  “Do not try יהוה your Elohim as you tried Him in Massah.  “Diligently guard the commands of יהוה your Elohim, and His witnesses, and His laws which He has commanded you.  “And you shall do what is right and good in the eyes of יהוה, that it might be well with you, and you shall go in and possess the good land of which יהוה swore to your fathers, to drive out all your enemies from before you, as יהוה has spoken.   

“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the witnesses, and the laws, and the right-rulings which יהוה our Elohim has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Mitsrayim, and יהוה brought us out of Mitsrayim with a strong hand,   and יהוה sent signs and wonders, great and grievous, upon Mitsrayim, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes.   ‘And He brought us out from there, to bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers.  ‘And יהוה commanded us to do all these laws, to fear יהוה our Elohim, for our good always, to keep us alive, as it is today. 

‘And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.’  (Deuteronomy 6:4-25, ISR)

When was the last time you read His Words and held them in your heart, impressed them on your children, spoke of them when you sat in your house, and when you walked by the way, and when you lay down, and when you rose up?  If you don't do these things, then how can you know YHWH?

As you look around at the horrors going on in the world today.  It's pretty clear we are in trouble - because FEW know YHWH.

It is because my people are foolish - they do not know me... (Jeremiah 4:22, CJB)

About the Mormons becoming more "transparent" about their religion....

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently released documents that give more information on the origins of the founding of the religion by Joseph Smith in the 19th century. They are attempting to become more “transparent” – explaining how ”The Book of Mormon,” the church's official Scripture (which they don’t seem to realize is EXTRA-BIBLICAL!), supposedly came from an ancient text inscribed on golden plates discovered by founder Joseph Smith.

If you have ever studied Mormonism, they have some really STRANGE ideas – NONE of which line up with Scripture!  We invite you to see our article which exposes some of their totally off the mark ideas.

Was "the law" abolished?

Many Christians have misunderstood the concept that the “law was fulfilled and therefore, abolished."  NOT TRUE! Let’s a take a look at the context of the following passage: 

Matthew 5:  17 Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to complete.  18 Yes indeed!  I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah – not until everything that must happen has happened.  19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

QUESTION:  Has everything that "must happen" happened yet?  Have "heaven and earth passed away?  If not, then it seems believers are supposed to BE Torah observant today!  The verse in Matthew 5:17-20 that says:  So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven" is a major key, because it is talking about YHWH's commands!   What commands are they:  TORAH commands - those that have the word "forever" or "throughout your generations" attached to them!  "Forever" hasn't ended yet!  Not to mention, "fulfill" never meant "to put an end to."  It means, Yeshua came to do His Father's will and to fulfill "the next thing on the agenda".....

"Fulfill", among other things, means to have proper understanding of a scriptural passage, such as recognizing a precise fulfillment of prophecy. Therefore, when Y’shua says, "This word is fulfilled in your hearing," (Luke 4:21), he means that he is the goal or object of that prophecy and has now arrived on the scene to do his mission as specified according to prophecy. Now, if the "fulfillment" has not happened yet, as is the case when Y’shua says, "All that is written in the Torah and Prophets must be fulfilled," then it means, quite obviously "kept", "vouchsafed" or "adhered to" – the exact opposite of passing away! That is also why he says, "He who keeps (fulfills) my words shall not taste death"!

"Since Paul admits he is a liar in Romans 3, why should I believe what he says elsewhere?"

COMMENT FROM AN ANTI-MISSIONARY:  “Paul said in romans 3:7 ‘For if the truth of G-d hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?’ So, if he admits he is a liar here, why should I believe what he says elsewhere?”

MESSIANIC RESPONSE:  Great question.  But (1) why bash Paul for being honest? - and (2) why twist what he wrote?  Paul never, ever went against YHWH or Torah!  Let’s examine that whole passage in context: 

Romans 3:1. What then is the superiority of the Jew? Or what is the advantage of circumcision?  2. Much in every way. And first, because to them were entrusted the words of Elohim.  3. For if some of them have not believed, have they, by their not believing, made the faith of Elohim inefficient?  4. Far be it:  for Elohim is truthful, and every man false: as it is written: That you might be upright, in your declarations; and be found pure when they judge you.  5. But if our iniquity establishes the righteousness of Elohim, what will we say? Is Elohim unrighteous when he inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.)  6. May it never be! Otherwise, how will Elohim judge the world?  7. But if the truth of Elohim has been furthered by my falsehood to his glory, why am I then condemned as a sinner?

(You should be able to see from the context he is talking about the general behavior of all people - see verse 4 - so in verse 7 "my falsehood" is illustrative of all people.)  Paul goes on:

8. Or will we say as some have slanderously reported us to say: We will do evil things, that good (results) may come? The condemnation of such is reserved for judgment.  9. What then, have we the superiority when we have before decided as to both Jews and Gentiles,  that all of them are under sin?  10. As it is written: There is none righteous; no, not one:  11. And none that understands, nor that seeks after Elohim.  12. They have all turned aside together and become reprobates. There is none that does good; no, not one.  13. Their throats are open tombs and their tongues treacherous; and the venom of the asp is under their lips.  14. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;  15. And their feet are swift to shed blood.  16. Destruction and anguish are in their paths:  17. And the path of peacefulness they have not known:  18. And the Fear of Elohim is not before their eyes.  (AENT)

A doctrine known as replacement theology began in early all-Gentile Christian churches that postures the idea that all the blessings of the Bible were transferred to Christians and all the curses in the Bible fell upon Jews.  While this may remain as a popular Christian belief, it is nevertheless very unscriptural:

“Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For YHWH has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their sorrow. Yet Jerusalem says, "YHWH has deserted us; YHWH has forgotten us." Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?  Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!  See, I have written your name on my hand. Ever before me is a picture of Jerusalem's walls in ruins. Soon your descendants will come back, and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.”  Isaiah 49:13-17

“What then is the superiority of the Jew? Or what is the advantage of circumcision? Much in every way. And first, because to them were entrusted the words of Elohim. For if some of them have not believed, have they, by their not believing, made the faith of Elohim inefficient? Far be it: for Elohim is truthful, and every man false: as it is written: That you might be upright, in your declarations; and be found pure when they judge you.” Romans 3:1-4

Obviously, both of these passages refer to Jews and not Gentile Christians, since Christians are assumed to be Rav Shaul's audience in Romans.  Also please read Romans 11:1, 11-17 and verses 25-29.

Rav Shaul clearly attacks hypocrites (who happen to be Jewish), rather than all Jews which would include himself. It is also very clear that Jewish sinners are not the only people Rav Shaul rebukes in his writings.  Please see 1 Corinthians 5:1-13.

So if all Israel is saved, where is the “Church” in all this? You will find the answer in Ephesians 2:11-14.  But, the reality is, there never was such thing as the “Church” in the days of the original Apostles   only a renewed Israel that Gentiles are welcomed to join! Gentiles do not “replace” Israel but become part of Israel!  Please read Jeremiah 31:31 which very clearly references the recipients of the Renewed Covenant.

Did God commit "adultery" by impregnating a married woman?

COMMENT FROM A Y’SHUA REJECTER: There was no such thing as "betrothal" 2000 years ago – Miriam was married. So supposedly G-d impregnated a married woman, breaking yet another of His own laws (adultery). Plus He offered Himself as a human sacrifice to Himself for a sin He created (in the Garden of Eden), but then He promptly undied ,negating any "sacrifice." Yep, sure makes a lot of sense (not)!

MESSIANIC RESPONSE: (Thanks to our friend Scott Paddock for supplying this response!) There were 2 stages of marriage and in the Ketubah (Betrothal) Stage, one was considered fully married but had not yet consummated the Marriage or lived with the Bride. At first Yoseph thought about a "Get" (Divorce) because he had not yet slept with Miriam or entered the full Shitrez Erusin Contract Marriage...but was assured by HaShem that she was still a virgin.

The reason she went to stay with Zechariah (Top Priest of the Mishmarot (Course) of Abiyah would almost assuredly have been her willingness to go through the "Sotah" (Numbers 5:11-31) to prove her virginity as well.

What sin did HaShem/Messiah create in Gan Eden? No need for a Messiah until AFTER - man of his own freewill...sinned first. Only the Nephesh (Soul) in the blood and the physical body make up the "Korbanot" (Offering)...not the Neshamah that is eternal that only "Spiritual" men have (not animals or men that only are soulish and physical). This part of man is beyond the physical Offering and the part that can be resurrected into a new being that is now un-corruptable and cannot be Offered again as a Chatah (Sin) Korbanot.