STOP EVERYTHING AND VIEW THIS NUMBER #1 GOOGLE RATED MESSIANIC VIDEO Why your soul's salvation hangs on the inerrancy of the Bible DO YOU KNOW THE DERECH HASHEM [REQUIRES LITERACY IN HEBREW]? ARE YOU DEPRESSED [THIS IS IN ENGLISH]? IF YOU HAVE HIGH SPEED ACCESS, TAKE A MOMENT TO LISTEN TO THIS MP3 FILE BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO YOU THAT THEY ARE NOT TELLING YOU IF YOU DO NOT HAVE HIGH SPEED ACCESS, TAKE A MOMENT TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE ABOVE MP3 FILE, BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO YOU THAT THEY ARE NOT TELLING YOU MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO PHILEMON This letter was probably written fairly early in Rav Sha'ul's first Roman imprisonment) probably C.E. 60-6l, from the little Roman house Brit Chadasha kehillah whose members he names in 23-24, some of whom shared his incarceration for a time. It was delivered by Paul's co-worker Tychicus and Onesimus to Philemon in Colossae in what is today modern Turkey. It concerns a slave boy Onesimus, whose name means "useful" or "beneficial." See the play on words in 10-11 below between onesimos (Onesimus, "useful") and axrestos ("useless" here with the idea of unreliable or unfaithful) and euxrestos ("useful") and in v. 20 onaimen ("benefit"). It is no accident that Shliach Sha'ul commends the slave master Philemon for the love and faithfulness (pistis) he has for the L-rd and for all his saints, since the thieving, run-away slave Onesimus is now born-again and has therefore just become one of the saints. This new turn of events means that Philemon is now going to have to be put to the test to see if he will be loving and faithful to this apprehended slave who has wronged him but has now become his brother in the L-rd. Every believer is undergoing a similar test of faithfulness to the brethren. Heb. 10:25 says, "not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching." The question is, will you and I be useful and beneficial and loving and faithful to one another in our local assembly? Or will we neglect meeting together? Or, worst of all, will we desert one another in time of need (II Tim. 4:10) as, on the night of his betrayal, the Shluchim all "neglected to meet together" and deserted our L-rd, all of them committing the sin of Demus in II Tim. 4:10? It is ironic that, although the slave Onesimus once deserted the slavemaster Philemon, Philemon is now in danger of deserting his duty to Onesimus as a brother in the L-rd, for the L-rd is requiring something of Philemon--love and faithfulness to a brother. Shliach Sha'ul models this for Philemon in v. 10-11. And Philemon must pass the test. There is also irony in the list given in vs. 23-24 of Rav Sha'ul's fellow-workers: Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, since Demas will not pass the test of faithfulness, but prove to be a devil as far as Rav Sha'ul's tiny Roman house Brit Chadasha kehillah is concerned (see II Tim. 4:10). What the L-rd is requiring is that Philemon have the attitude of Shliach Sha'ul toward Onesimus and not the attitude of an angry, vengence-seeking slave master. Philemon must understand that as brothers in the L-rd we are bound to one another? and there is a chain of love and commitment more unbreakable between us than the bands of the institution of slavery. In this letter Shliach Sha'ul points to the chains of love in Moshiach that hold Onesimus, Philemon, and himself bound to one another (see v. 12). Onesimus may be a slave in the flesh but he is a brother in the L-rd, and Shliach Sha'ul is appealing that Philemon not punish the boy. Indeed, v. 21 ("knowing that you will do even more than I ask") seems to be a veiled plea for Onesimus' release from slavery and, by implication, even for the abolition of slavery as a sub-Biblical institution. See also v.16, "receive him back no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother." Shliach Sha'ul has, of course, already finished dealing with Onesimus by the time Shliach Sha'ul pens this letter. Shliach Sha'ul has led the boy to the L-rd (v.10)and has persuaded him to stop living the life of a run-away slave and return to his master Philemon. Now Shliach Sha'ul must deal with Philemon, from whose household and house Brit Chadasha kehillah in Colossae (a city in modern Turkey 110 miles east of Ephesus) Onesimus has run away. The penalty for this (Onesimus also stole from Philemon) was severe. The slave's forehead could be branded with a hot iron. If he is returned, Philemon will have the power of life or death over the boy. Therefore, Shliach Sha'ul has to remind Philemon that Philemon owes Shliach Sha'ul his very life, since Shliach Sha'ul was also responsible as the Shliach to the Gentiles for not only bringing the Besuras Hageulah to the slave Onesimus (v. 10), but also for the reaching out to that general part of the world, where the slave master Philemon himself lived and was saved (see v.19). When the path of the run-away slave crossed Rav Sha'ul's in Rome, Rav Sha'ul not only led the boy to the L-rd, but also wrote this letter to Philemon and sent back to Philemon both the boy and Tychicus. Tychicus was an Ephesian who joined Shliach Sha'ul on his final trip to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4-5) and was an associate like Timothy and Titus. Tychicus was also the one who carried Rav Sha'ul's letters to the Ephesians (Eph. 6:21-22), Colossians (Col. 4:7-9), Philemon and possibly II Timothy (II Tim. 4:12) to their destinations. Rav Sha'ul's letter to Philemon is a perfect example of how G-d rewards faith and unselfishness. How often in the ministry we need to read it! How often a messianic minister is tempted to operate without faith and according "to the natural" and keep a staff person, who really belongs in the ministry of someone else. Shliach Sha'ul could have done this. He could have said, "I won this boy Onesimus to the L-rd; Philemon didn't win him to the L-rd. Therefore, he belongs to my ministry, not Philemon's. And I need him here in Rome more than Philemon needs him in his house Brit Chadasha kehillah. I'll just insist on having things my way. But Shliach Sha'ul knew that this was not the will of G-d. So he did the right thing, though it was against his own best interests. And look how G-d rewarded Shliach Sha'ul: the letter has become part of the Holy Scriptures! Notice how Shliach Sha'ul uses his authority with Philemon, not like a religious overlord or slave master commanding obedience to G-d, but gently, appealing for freely decided, totally voluntary commitment to Moshiach Yehoshua, recognizing the equality of brothers in the L-rd, even though Shliach Sha'ul does have authority in his office which he could use (v.8). Shliach Sha'ul is making his appeal with Philemon's wife (Apphia?) and Archippus (exhorted as an emissary of Moshiach's shlichut) soldier" in Col 4:17 to fulfill the ministry calling G-d has given him and the work unfinished he must complete) as witnesses. Rav Sha'ul's appeal is to Philemon's noble duty as a believer and as a "slave" of Moshiach Yehoshua Moshiach (see v. 13 where Rav Sha'ul says of Onesimus, "I wanted to keep him with me so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the Besuras Hageulah"). Onesimus learned a valuable lesson too: once one becomes a believer, and begins the walk of faith, there is no turning back. One must make restitution and do the right thing, even if it is risky. Apparently Onesimus was rewarded by G-d, too, because reliable tradition seems to place him in the ministry and over the Brit Chadasha kehillot in Ephesus at a later date. Philemon had to learn a lesson, too. It is a hard lesson for many believers to learn--how to be graciously charitable to others who have sinned against you. Because this slave owner and his slave learned through Moshiach Yehoshua how to be brothers, slavery was doomed and could not carry on with its former strength. On this matter of slavery and true brotherhood, there is no other religious book in the world to compare with the Brit Chadasha. Isn't it time to come back to your spiritual home? PRAY THIS PRAYER AND THEN PRAY THIS PRAYER. NOW READ THE WHOLE MEGILLAH here and here READ ONLINE THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE. 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