Dear Lovers of Truth,

Time for Truth

As I contemplated July 4, 2025, my thoughts went to the founding document of the United States of America, the Declaration of Independence. The authors of this historic document, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, began this proclamation with a memorable statement: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The phrase “truths to be self-evident” stood out to me. What are self-evident truths? They are defined as truths that are obvious, beyond debate, and that do not need proof or explanation.

The Word of God and Truth

God is True and His Word is Truth, emet (eh-MEHT). When the Lord first revealed Himself and His character to Moses, the Torah says, “And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth“ (Ex. 34:6).

Our God “abounds” in truth. So does His Word, as expressed in Psalm 119:160: “The entirety of Your word is truth. And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” The Brit Hadasha also testifies to the Divine inspiration of God’s Word, implying its veracity: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).

Denial of the Truth

Truth is being denied today in many arenas—not only the spiritual. Truths that we as believers in God and the Bible hold as “self-evident”—OBVIOUS—are doubted and denied by the world. Life. Marriage. Heaven. Hell. Gender.

The opposite of truth is lies. The source of lies and lying is HaSatan, the devil. His deceiving spirits are operating at higher, more advanced levels because the enemy knows that his time is short. Yeshua said about HaSatan, “…He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (Jn. 8:44).

Men under the influence of the evil one also lie. “…let God be true but every man a liar…” (Rom. 3:4). Often people are deceived, “…if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24). Yeshua the Messiah, on the other hand, is Truth. He said so Himself, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (Jn. 14:6). Yeshua said to Pilate, who asked Him if He was a king, “…’You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice'” (Jn. 18:37).

Yeshua’s Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Referring to the Holy Spirit, He said to His talmidim, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…” (Jn. 16:13).

Evident or Not-Evident Truths in Judaism

Isaiah 7:14 and the Virgin Birth

Was Miriam a virgin or a young maiden? This is a centuries-old debate over the truth. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Is. 7:14). What kind of sign—ot (pronounced OHT in Hebrew)—would it be for a young girl (almah) to conceive and bear a son? It would be normal and natural. The word ot seems to signify that something supernatural is occurring. Note that the sign is from “the Lord Himself” What is the truth being proclaimed here? It is clearly implied that the sign is one that Adonai alone could give … the miraculous conception and birth of Messiah. The name Immanuel was not given as a proper name, but as a sign that God would be with His people. It was a prediction of the incarnation of Messiah.

Compare Isaiah 7:14 with Matthew 1:21-23 which testifies to the truth of the prophecy, “…She [Miriam] will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Yeshua [which means Adonai saves] because He will save His people from their sins. All this happened in order to fulfill what Adonai had said through the prophet, ‘The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him ‘Immanu El.’ [The name means, God with us!]” (CJB).

Jeremiah Chapter 31

The Haftorah, or reading from the Prophets, for the second day of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) is found in Jeremiah chapter 31. However, the reading ends just before the promise of a New Covenant, one of the most commonly quoted passages in the New Testament.

What truth is omitted? “Behold the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah… I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people… they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31:31-34, portions of).

The Jewish people have been denied hearing about one of the most significant truths of the Bible: God has made a way for sin to be forgiven once for all time! This prophesied New Covenant was instituted at the death of Yeshua on the tree of sacrifice. (See Matt. 26:28, Luke 22:20, Heb. 8:8, Heb. 9:15, Heb. 12:24.) May our lives be living witnesses to the self-evident truth of the New Covenant through the blood of Yeshua.

Zechariah 9:9 and 11:13

Why are these verses omitted in traditional synagogue readings? Let’s look at them: “‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey'” (Zech. 9:9). This verse is problematic for traditional Jews because, according to the New Covenant, it was fulfilled when Yeshua entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. (See Matt. 21:5 and John 12:14-15). A “self-evident” truth for those with open eyes and heart. The prophet Zechariah in 11:13 says, “And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.” This verse obviously refers to the thirty pieces of silver given to Judas in exchange for betraying Yeshua (Matt. 26:14-15).

Hosea 11:1 and Micah 5:2

Both these verses are excluded. Hosea 11:1 says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.” Why the exclusion? Because the Gospel of Matthew uses this verse to explain why the infant Yeshua is taken to Egypt and then brought back to Israel: “and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son'” (Matt. 2:15).

What about Micah 5:2? “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” This is obviously referring to the coming Messiah who would be born in Bethlehem. Yeshua was! (Matt. 2:5-6, Jn. 7:42). No Messiah would be born in Bethlehem today. It is no longer a Jewish city, but is controlled by the Palestinian Authority. You can see why Micah 5:2 is problematic for traditional Judaism, especially as it speaks of a Messiah whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

Evident or Not-Evident Truths in Christianity

I have already mentioned 2 Timothy 3:16, that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is true. But some Scriptures seem to be more emphasized than others. I have seen, in my forty-five years of teaching the Bible, that certain portions of Scripture are largely ignored or omitted. One is the entire book of the Song of Solomon. The other is chapters 9-11 of the Book of Romans. The truths in the Song of Solomon are largely veiled, and I have tried over the years to unveil them, but I have never tackled Romans 9-11. Why now? Because the truths contained in these chapters are timely. With rampant antisemitism worldwide, believers in the Jewish Messiah Yeshua need to take a stand now for God’s People Israel and God’s Land of Israel. That is why I just finished a series of short segments on YouTube titled: “Fifteen Reasons Why the Gospel is Jewish.” You can see them by scanning the QR code on page one of this newsletter or by searching @jewishjewelstv on YouTube. An evident truth is: If your Lord and Savior is a Jew, you can’t harbor bad feelings in your heart toward His brethren according to the flesh.

Romans Chapter 9

What does Romans chapter 9 say about the Jewish people? It begins with Paul’s attitude toward his own people. “The truth is,” in Hebrew divrei emet medaber imkha, often implies that what is being stated carries the weight of a divine revelation. Paul (Sha’ul) had great sorrow and continual grief in his heart for Israel. “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Messiah for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Messiah came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen” (vs. 4-5). (The truth is: God has sovereignly elected Israel and not rejected His people.)

In spite of their present spiritual condition, Sha’ul esteemed his people greatly because God had chosen them. Shouldn’t we? Chapter 9 also says that God has mercy on His people Israel. As God said to Moses, “…’I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion'” (Rom. 9:15). Shouldn’t we?

Romans Chapter 10

Romans chapter 10 reveals not only Paul’s heart, but God’s heart for Israel. Is this widely preached in pulpits today? Is giving to Jewish missions an important part of the budget of most churches? Do most Christians take a strong stand against antisemitism? Sha’ul says, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God” (vs. 1-3). This does not mean that God is through with the Jewish people as some teach, nor that the Church has replaced Israel (Replacement Theology). No. God still has a plan for His ancient, chosen people.

Israel needs the Gospel, and the Bible is clear that those who bless His people (eg. share Yeshua with them) will be blessed (Gen. 12:3; Ps. 122:6). Are verses 14-15, as concerns the Jewish people, ignored? “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?…” The truth is: Israel is waiting for us to bring the “glad tidings of good things” and to provoke the House of Israel to jealousy by our relationship with Yeshua (Rom. 10:19).

Romans Chapter 11

The self-evident truths of Romans 11 are of great importance for the bride of Messiah. In this chapter the apostle arrives at the climax of his argument concerning Israel—that far from God having rejected His people because of their unfaithfulness, their transgression is in fact part of God’s purpose to include all mankind in His kingdom. To save space, I have included a brief outline of the main points of Romans 11:

Rom. 11:1 – “I say then, has God cast away His People? Certainly not!”

Rom. 11:2 – “God foreknew.” Israel’s election is based securely on God’s promises to the forefathers.

Rom. 11:7-10 – Israel’s hardness of heart (in rejecting God’s Messiah) is both partial and also functions to bring the Gentiles into the commonwealth of Israel.

Rom. 11:11 – “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to PROVOKE THEM TO JEALOUSY, salvation has come to the Gentiles.” [Have we done that?]

Rom. 11:16 – Israel is a “holy seed” ( zera kadosh) with a holy root, but the (olive) tree may be pruned if some of the branches do not obey the commandment to be holy as God is Holy.

Rom. 11:17 – The Gentiles, an “uncultivated” olive tree, have been grafted into the covenant people of God, no longer strangers to the covenants of promise, but partakers of the rich root of the olive tree.

Rom. 11:18-23 – The root and its original branches are Israel. The root supports the branches. There is no room for arrogance or pride. “…Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear” (v.20). The Gentiles have NOT replaced Israel. He will graft the natural branches in again.

Rom. 11:25-29 – The mystery – Partial blindness has happened to Israel so that the Gentiles might be included in God’s kingdom, and then all Israel will be saved. “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (vs. 28-29)

Romans chapter 11 is a strong, truth-filled repudiation of the doctrine of Replacement Theology. Reject that erroneous teaching. Embrace the Jewish root of your faith in Yeshua. There is anointing (richness) in the root!

Gratefully grafted-in,