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Keys to the Kingdom, Part 4

"On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19)

Over the last few articles we have been exploring the implications of Yeshua's instruction to Peter in Matthew 16:18-19. In this passage, Yeshua tells Simon Peter he will given him the "keys of the kingdom of heaven." In order to understand what these keys are, we first need understand a bit about what the Kingdom is. What is the Kingdom? Is it heaven? Or is it something else?

Keys to the Kingdom, Part 3

"On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19)

Keys to the Kingdom, Part 1

"On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19)

Numbers 19:1-22:1

This week's Torah portion contains one of the least understood passages in all of the Scriptures. In the beginning of our portion we have the instructions for the parah adumah—the red heifer—whose ashes are mixed with water to create the singular source of ritual purity for specific conditions described within the Torah. For example, it is only by the water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer that corpse contamination could be negated. 

Leviticus 19:1-20:27

This week's Torah reading begins with God's telling Moses that they are to be holy:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." (Lev. 19:1-2)

The name of the portion comes from the instruction, "You shall be holy (kedoshim)." The word kedoshim means "holy" (plural). But what does it mean to be holy? A lot of things should be taken into account when we define what it means to be holy, but the primary aspect of holiness is defined through restrictions. This is why God gave the Children of Israel so many "thou shalt not" commandments. He set them apart from the pagan nations around them through restrictions in their conduct, showing that they were to be a holy people.

On December 10, 2015, the Vatican issued a paper highlighting and clarifying their ongoing dialogue with Judaism. Many may have heard about this through Facebook or church organizations who immediately began criticizing the paper’s pivotal statement, which seems to be theologically opposed to the message of the gospel. Many people have assumed that the paper simply means “Jewish people don’t need Jesus.” But what exactly does it mean and how did the Catholic Church arrive at this conclusion? What I would like to do is divide the discussion into three parts: First, I would like to give a little background as to what lead to this development. Second, I would like to accurately communicate the statements made by the Catholic Church. Third, I would like to explain the significance of these statements, particularly in light of how biblical covenants work, as well as help to clear up any misunderstandings of these statements.

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