Sacred Assembly Presentation

The Study of the Sacred Scriptures

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James 5: 19, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who

turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death, and cover a

multitude of sins.”

Comprehensive Adult Study of the Biblein

Orthodox Christianitysacred-assembly.org

James 5: 19, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, v.20, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a (his)

soul from death, and cover a multitude of sins.”

What is meant by the term “study”?EXEGESIS: (ek sa-je’’ sis) pl. –ses (-seg) Critical explanation of the meaning of words and passages

in a literary or Biblical work, (Greek Exegeesthai, to explain); also, EXEGETIC: (-jet’ik); EXEGETICALLY or EXEGETE: One skilled in critical explanation as of the Bible; also, EXEGEIST:

(ek sa – je tist). EXEGESIS: (Greek Exegesis, from exegeisthai); To interpret, an exposition, esp. of Scripture, an

explanatory note or discourse.

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Orthodox Christianity:

1. Adhering to established or traditional beliefs, esp. in religion.2. Conforming to accepted standards, doctrines or practices that

are held to be true.

The Sacred Assembly is dedicated to the study of the ancient Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, and will not

deviate from the truth of Yahweh’s Word.

James: 5: 19-20: “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a (his) soul from death, and cover a multitude of sins.”

Turn: This word ‘turn’ was used the same as the word that was used for ‘repentance’ (Gk. metanoia), and meant a “…complete change of mind and action”; more than just a turning around.

Galatians 6:16: “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the ‘Israel of GOD’.”

Israel: This Israel was not the Old Testament Nation of Israel, but the new People of Israel (People of GOD, ELOHIM), and should not be misinterpreted as the Nation of Israel.

Romans 11: 29 “For the gifts of the calling of God (Elohim) are irrevocable.”

James 1: 17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father (YAHWEH) of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

The mission of the Sacred Assembly is to help teach how to study the Sacred Scriptures without having to spend years at school learning Hebrew and Greek. The study of Hebrew and Greek would be beneficial, but is not mandatory as others have spent years putting all of the information together for you, all you have to do is know where to look.

The purpose of this study of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures is not to tell you what the Sacred Scriptures say. But to tell you how to research and understand for yourself, what the Sacred Scriptures say, in their own language. Once you learn how to research the words of Scripture for yourself, you can decide for yourself what they say and mean to you.

No one person can know all there is to know about the Scriptures, so we are combining the research of many scholars and theologians to form a more complete and comprehensive study of the Hebrew and Greek words of the Sacred Scriptures. We will employ, at different times, many who are well versed in the knowledge of Hebrew and Greek in our quest to know Elohim’s words. As well, we will enlist the help of many who are just trying to understand what is said in the Sacred Scriptures.

I Hope all of you are interested in joining us in this quest for the truth of Yahweh Elohim and Messiah’s words – feel free to add whatever you think is necessary to your study!

May YAHWEH richly bless us all with His Words.

Who we are and what we do

The main goal of the Sacred Assembly, as you may know by now is not to tell you what the Bible says, as in our Mission Statement, but to show you how to find this information for yourself.

We are not a church but an “Assembly” of people to research and study the Sacred Scriptures; anAssembly of YAH:

Hebrew 4153 [1] ‘mow e adyah’, mo-ad-yah; from 4151 and 3050, meaning, “Assembly of YAH”. Hebrew 4151 ‘mow ‘ad’, mo-awd, (prop.) an assembly; and3050 “Yahh” yaw, contraction for 3068, and meaning the same; YAH, the Sacred Name:--- Yah {1x}; The LORD{48x}; most

vehement. Compare with 3068, “YHVH” (Yah ‘vah) or {YHWH} YAHWEH.This is the Hebrew word for God’s (ELOHIM’s) church or “Assembly”. The Sacred Name of the Covenant Father YAHWEH is used in

the Hebrew Old Testament many times instead of the word ‘GOD’ or Elohim as the “God of Israel”, the covenant name of “The Father”.

Not the miss-use of the word “ J E H O V E H” as used in the terms of “Jehovah’s Witnesses” where there was mistakenly added the vowels from the Greek word “Adoni” to the Tetragrammaton YHVH (or YHWH). [Compare with 4573, ‘ma adyah’, mah-ad-yaw; from 5710 and 3050, ornament of YAH]

When we speak of the “Church of God”, we are speaking of the church of Yahweh, and the church of Christ. We are speaking of the Assembly of the only true Elohim (Elohim is Hebrew for Deity) whose Sacred Name is the covenant name of the Father, “YHVH” {Yahweh}. This is contrasted with the name Elohim which is plural and was the plural name for the Father and the Son. This Assembly is made up of the people of “The Israel of Yahweh Elohim”.

[1]THE NEW STRONG’S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE, James Strong LL.D. S.T.D. (1822-1894); 1995, 1996, Thomas-Nelson Publishers; with main concordance, appendix to main concordance, Hebrew and Aramaic dictionary of the Old Testament, Greek dictionary of the New Testament; ISBN: 07852-5055.

Many times a Research Report will have many pages and many references

We at the Sacred Assembly believe that good habits are essential to good

learning, and that as we will see, leads to good discipleship!

This is how it’s done:The key to all understanding is to first find all uses of the word

that you are researching:

John 3: 16, RSB, NKJV, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in Him

should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The first six steps:

• 1 . Check all the cross-references and see if they are on the same subject or context of the words in the passage, or if they are just similar in historical significance. They may be different in some way and not be pertinent to the topic at hand.

• 2. Go back to the King James Version and look in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, or some other such as Word Study, etc. and look up each word to see it’s true meaning in which ever language it was written, and in each concordance which translation it came from to get a better understanding of their context.

• 3. Compare Bible translations to see how it has been translated in the past, and which translation is the closest to the Hebrew or Greek original Scriptures. Which one gets the “atta’ boy” as Gary would say; or which is most accurate.

• These first three steps may take several hours themselves

The second three steps:

• 4. Now that you have a better understanding of the words used in the passage you are researching, look in several good dictionaries or encyclopedias and find the meanings, the way they were used through the years, and if there are any differences in the meanings or uses of the words through time.

• 5. By now you should have a better understanding of the peculiar passage you are researching so go to the Bible translations that are the most accurate or best translated, by what you have learned and read all the verses around the passage, chapter, or the whole book if necessary!

• 6. Ask questions that you can not answer, and read until you can answer them, then ask more and read until you can answer them also. This will give you a start – but only a start –on your research. Now you can go back and do the same on each cross-reference of the original passage.

• Good luck, and may Elohim’s Spirit be with you. Remember that if this was easy – everyone would have already done it!

First let’s look at several different Bible translations:

King James Version:John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever should believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

New King James Version:John 3: 16, “PFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten QSon,

that whosoever should believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Cross-references:P – Romans 5: 8Q – Isaiah 9: 6

Some other translations:

The New Jerusalem Bible:John 3: 16, “For this is how God loved the world:He gave His only Son,So that everyone who believes in HimMay not perish, but may have eternal life.”

But the Greek Interlinear says:John 3: 16, “For thus loved - God (Theos) the world, so as the

Son the only begotten He gave, that everyone believing {this is another Research Topic in itself} in Him may not perish but may have life eternal.”

[The breaks are to show the separation of the definitions of the original words in the Greek Language.]

Subjects Are Not Always what they seem!

• We will just go through a small portion of the first of this verse to see what it actually came from in the Greek Language.

• You can research these verses in another Bible or Dictionary and see what you can find, this is only a beginning to this study of the Bible, to show some of the steps involved in Bible Research!

John 3: 16

What does it mean?

The first word is “FOR”

The word for is used as a introduction into the verse to show that something is set as a requirement for both parties; if

this was not so He would have used something like just starting with, “God

so loved the world …”The actual Hebrew and Greek are:

3588 Hebrew “kly kee” primitive particle indicating relations of all kinds; forasmuch, inasmuch, +except, for how (because, in, so, than) that, +nevertheless, whom, yea, yet.1063 Greek “gar” primitive particle; properly assigning a reason;- and, so, because (that), but, even, for, indeed, no doubt, verily, what, why, yet.

The second word is “GOD”The second word is a name of a pagan deity of the past translated into an

English word of today. God or in the Hebrew “Elohim”, was a form made from “EL”, the god of Canaan. The word was translated to mean the Father and the Son, a plural word {by adding the ‘him’ at the end};

430 elohim ‘el-o-heem’ plural of 433; gods in ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus especially with the [definite] article) of the Supreme god:- angels, God (gods), very great, judges, x mighty.

410 el ‘ale’; shortened from 352; strength, mighty, especially the Almighty (but also used of any deity):- God (god), great, idol, might (-y), power, strong.Compare 3050 “Yahh”; contraction from 3068, and meaning the Sacred Name; the tetragrammaton YHWH {or YHVH}

Whereas the Greek word was:2316 Gk. “Theos”, used 1343 times in the New Testament, it meant “The

Supreme Divinity”; God {1320x}, god {13x}.

The third word is “SO”

So was to show a degree of action, that something was done because of, or as a result of; as the Father’s love for His people inspired Him to offer His Son as an atonement for man’s sins as man could not atone for his own sins no matter what he did! Man’s keeping the law and following Yahweh Elohim’s rules the best that man could would not save him.

Next is “LOVED”

This was the Greek word ‘agape’ which meant that you would show the kind of affection and appreciation that you would go so far as to lay down your life for your friend, if it meant doing so would help him; even if he didn’t realize it at the time.

25 Gk. “Agapao”, [compare 5689] to love (in a social or moral sense): love {135x}, beloved {7x}.

The World

This word in Greek was kosmos, used as the universe:

2889 Gk. “Kosmos”, orderly arrangement; by implication the world; probably the universe.

That He

That the Father Yahweh Elohim did something because of the conditions that had arisen.

Gave

That ‘something’ that The Father Yahweh Elohim did was to give us something.

1325 Gk. “Didomi”, to give {365x}, grant {10x}, put {5x}.

His only begotten

His only “BEGOTTEN” Son, this was the only true Son that Yahweh Elohim had by the Holy Spirit, and through a human mother. A ‘biological’ Son so to speak. All others at the end of this period of time, or present age, are to be ‘adopted’ sons of Elohim.

3439 Greek “monogenes” ‘mon-og-en-ace’; from 3441 and 1096; only-born, i.e. sole:- only (begotten, child).

Son

This was the only true Son that Yahweh Elohim had, by the Holy Spirit, and through a human mother, as a ‘biological’ Son, an ‘only begotten’ Son {or heir} of Yahweh Elohim. This Son was the Messiah, the Anointed Son of Yahweh, our Savior and brother in the kingdom to come.

5207 “huios” ‘hwee-os’; apparently a primitive word; a ‘son’ (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively kinship: child, foal, son.

You can continue on with each word

used in this verse. As you find information it is always good to keep notes. Next we will

discuss the format and style of notes; what information is important and should be on

your notes, and in what order.Note Keeping:

First is the reference of notes by verses, and other verses that are cross-referenced to the original verse.

Note Keeping:

For God has the cross-reference to Romans 5: 8, “But Elohim demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ (Messiah) died for us.”Son has the cross-reference to Isaiah 9: 6, “ hFor unto us a Child is born, unto us a iSon is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father …”h – [Isaiah 7: 14; Luke 2: 11] John 1:45i - Luke 2: 7; [John 3: 16; I John 4: 9]

These cross-references always go to each other and back in a in a certain system or style. You can follow the cross-references to Isaiah 9: 6 and back to John 3:16. If there is no return to the original verse check that the cross-referenced verse is still on the subject or topic that you started on. Always keep track of where these cross-references came from – documentation – footnotes – all citations must contain all the information for a footnote {this will be explained later}

Next is any concordance information for the words in the verse, as well as the verses in their original languages and any other meanings for the words.

2316 Gk. “Theos”, used 1343 times in the New Testament, it meant “The Supreme Divinity”; God {1320x}, god {13x}.

25 Gk. “Agapao”, [compare 5689] to love (in a social or moral sense): love {135x}, beloved {7x}.

2889 Gk. “Kosmos”, orderly arrangement; by implication the world; probably the universe.

1325 Gk. “Didomi”, to give {365x}, grant {10x}, put {5x}.

These are examples only, the actual notes are very much more inclusive!

Taking notes is a very special process

• I use 5x8 cards to write my notes of verses, with a short explanation of why I felt the verse had significance. I started with using 3x5 cards, and then went to 4x6, and now am using 5x8! The more information that you put on the card – the easier it is to find the passage or information again later. Include the title of the book and author, date of printing, etc

Look in Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Hebrew or Greek Lexicons for Definitions:

Some of these words are used everyday, but the meanings at the time that the verse was written may have been different. You

can look at some of them, comparing which are the best interpretations of the words.

After your study of these words you will see and have a better understanding of what the writer was trying to convey to the

readers.

Then again to different translations:The Amplified BibleThompson’s Chain-Reference BibleScofield Study BiblesReformation Study Bible

And any other that you feel are translated in the most accurate way for the passage that you are studying.

Read and study – ask questions – and answer them yourself!

When you see a word that you question, look it up and research it yourself, what was meant, and how was it used.

From the end, back to the beginning and start over to the next verse or passage

This ends the beginning of our study – but only the beginning – there is even more as we shall see!

Next is to go to other reference books and find what other people have found in their studies.

Do you see what they saw, or are they “way off”?

What were they thinking about the passage?What did they say that you found to be true?

This ends the presentation

• As you can see it takes a lot of looking up things, in several different sources

• Today you can research many of these words and passages on the internet

• This saves time and writing, however, be sure to document where you found everything!

• Plagiarism is not only illegal, but shows a severe lack of due diligence on the part of the researcher.