The Scarlet Cord - Moriel Ministries

nal Hebrew canon which are either called
“Midrash” or refer to it. Key examples,
which we shall explain, pertinent to the
Book of Revelation are as follows:
“Now the remainder of the deeds of
Abijah, and his ways and words are
written in the Midrash [vrim] of the
Prophet Iddo”. (2 Chronicles 13:22)
“As to his sons and many oracles
[burdens] against him, and the reconstruction
of the House of God, behold
these are written in the ‘MIDRASH‘
[vrim] of the Book of Kings. Then
Amaziah his son became King in his
place”. (2 Chronicles 24:27)
Because the King James Version mistranslates
the original term “Midrash” as
“Treatise”, some objectors reject the validity
of the term midrash. These do not accept
the scriptural teaching that the priority
belongs with the original meaning of the
original languages (Nehemiah 8:8). Their
authority is not with the intended meaning
of the original text, but with a 17th-century
post-Elizabethan English translation of a
translation (even though the KJV can be
readily documented to often deviate from
both the Masoretic and Textus Receptus
manuscripts it portends to follow). These
KJV-Only adherents are simply too ignorant
to warrant any further consideration in
their absurd efforts to canonize a 1611 edition
that quotes Apocrypha as Scripture and
lists Roman Catholic feast days of Mary as
sacrosanct. This is to say nothing of their
efforts to beatify King James, (son of the
Roman Catholic Mary Queen of Scots),
who persecuted born-again Christians. By
the accounts of secular historians (including
Winston Churchill), King James was
corrupt and by common report a homosexual.
These rejecters of Midrash are the
followers of the racist serial divorcee Peter
Ruckman, the proven fraud Gail Riplinger,
and the lunatic fringe conspiracy theorist
Texe Marrs. Others are simply too uninformed
to know the term ‘midrash’ is even
found in God’s Word, yet they insist it be
ignored or expunged from Holy Writ.
Among the ranks of the opponents of
scriptural midrash are those who confuse
the scriptural teaching of midrash with the
later rabbinic midrashic writings produced
by Talmudic Judaism, which Moriel, this
author, and more importantly Jesus Christ,
denounced as a false religion. Talmudic
Judaism is no more the Judaism of Moses
and the Hebrew prophets than the Church
of Rome, Eastern Orthodoxy, or liberal
Protestantism are the Christianity of Jesus
and the apostles. It is not difficult to understand
how sincere believers can be misled
by crackpots who do not know the original
languages or Judeo-Christian history, but
Jacob Prasch
misrepresent themselves as having an expertise
where they demonstrably have none.
To reject midrash—something found and
used in Scripture because later rabbis distorted
it—makes no more sense than rejecting
the meaning of the original languages
in favor of the KJV because the rabbis of
Talmudic Judaism and the Eastern church
fathers in the patristic era of the Greek Orthodox
Church misinterpret the meaning
of the Greek and Hebrew. But such people
never make much sense. Since liberal Protestantism
emerges from a hermeneutical
misuse of the grammatical-historical exegesis
the Reformers used to re-identify the
Gospel in terms of justification by faith and
salvation by grace against the lies of papal
Rome, shall we reject literalist grammatical-historical
exegesis
We have demonstrated repeatedly in article
after article and film clip after film clip
that we detest Gnosticism, mysticism, and
Talmudic Judaism and have shown repeatedly
that the scriptural use of midrash has no
more to do with the later midrashic writings
of the rabbis than papal encyclicals have to
do with apostolic epistles. Let such foolish
virgins cling to their oil-less lamps. We
need to fuel ours up for the coming night.
More problematic however are well intentioned
academics with a scholarly perspective
not framed by Scripture itself (which is
Hebraic), but by denominational traditions
and their respective systematic theologies
(which is Hellenistic). They confuse midrash
with the ancient battle between the
Alexandrian School of theology that spiritualized
texts out of context under the incipient
influences of Gnosticism and Philo
and the more literalist Antiochian School.
Both of these schools emerged in the patristic
age, but midrash was already in the
apostolic age long prior to Gentile theology
coming into the church. Fortunately, this
higher level of ignorance is fading due to
the Qumran discoveries and is giving way
to a renewed sense of Hebraic scholarship
championed by conservative scholars such
as James Charlesworth at Princeton University.
Such serious academic theology however
is not to be confused with the charlatanism
and legalism that has defined too much
of the modern “Hebrew Roots’ movement.
Along a related line, to be co-equally ignored
of course, are false teachers such as
vulgar-mouthed Mark Driscoll, and Rick
Warren, author of his ‘Purpose Driven Lie,’
both of whom defy the plain teaching of Jesus
to be alert to prophetic events. Instead
they urge their followers to avoid studying
eschatology and the return of Jesus. As
the truths in Scripture of the Last Days are
unsealed by the Holy Spirit, none of the
wicked will understand (Daniel 12: 4-11)
and the foolish virgins following such se-
Hebrew Teaching
ductive trash will have no oil in their lamps
and not realize it until it is too late (Matthew
25:1-13). Satan is working through
deceivers like Driscoll and Warren and
their supporters to set their followers up in
fulfillment of these prophetic warnings.
The third category of those to be avoided
are conspiracy theorists. For sure, no saved
Christian should be involved in Freemasonry
and should be aware of the designs
of the Jesuits as agents of the Vatican, etc.
However, those consumed with such things,
instead of placing their emphasis where
Scripture does, are simply the same as secular
conspiracy theorists who are borderline
psychotics, reframing their conjectures and
obsessions about the Illuminati and Freemasonry,
etc. as, in their minds, “discernment
ministry” or “end times prophecy”.
Any not subscribing to their fancifully concocted
scenarios become suspect of being
party to the conspiracy. As we warn on our
recorded teaching, “The Four Sons of Isaiah,”
the confident determinations of these
sad, yet often well intentioned clowns are
not to be paid any attention to by God’s
people (Isaiah 8:12). They waste their time
dwelling on speculative matters Scripture
does not teach, but under-emphasize what
Scripture does stress.
Having by way of preface noted these
realities, let us examine the inductive basis
for the use of midrashic hermeneutics in the
book of Revelation in order to understand
the interpretation.
THE BASIS OF MIDRASH IN THE BOOK
OF REVELATION
No theological commentator of any persuasion
has ever declined to recognize that
the literary character of the Book of Revelation
draws on Old Testament themes
and motifs more than any other New Testament
book, rivaling or arguably exceeding
that of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The
images and narratives of Genesis, Exodus,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Zechariah, Joel,
Zephaniah, and above all, verse-by-verse
in Ezekiel, are recycled in every pericopae
of the New Testament Apocalypse. Indeed,
although no chapter divisions occur in the
original canon, every chapter of Revelation
contains some reference, allusion, or citation
from the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel.
From a purely literary as opposed to doctrinal
avenue of consideration, the Book of
Revelation is much closer to the Old Testament
in its genre. This however reflects
a doctrinal dimension. Specifically, when
the ‘Time of the Gentiles’ closes, the age
of the predominantly Gentile church ends,
culminating with the episunagoge (rapture
and resurrection) after the age of grace concludes
and God once again refocuses His
September 2012 • Moriel Quarterly 11