Send us Fan Mail

Did the modern Christian church get ecclesiology wrong? First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ) argues that our modern concept of the church does not accurately reflect the biblical *ekklesia*. Instead, they propose what they call a“proleptic radial ecclesiology”—a Messiah-centered, Jewish-centered model in which priests and Levites, Israel, and the Gentile nations occupy distinct positions within the people of God.

Dr. R. L. Solberg examines FFOZ’s proposed ecclesiology and tests it against Scripture. What does the New Testament actually teach about the structure of the church? Did the apostles organize Jewish and Gentile believers according to the pattern given to Israel under the Sinai covenant? What happened to the Old Testament system of proximity to God’s holiness under the New Covenant? And does FFOZ’s model risk rebuilding distinctions between Jews and Gentiles that Christ tore down?

We’ll first examine FFOZ’s position on its own terms and make sure we understand it accurately. Then we’ll compare that framework with the ecclesiology established by Jesus and the apostles, including the New Testament teaching on **elders, overseers, deacons, the priesthood of believers, Jew and Gentile, the “one new man,” and our direct access to God through Christ**.

This is not an argument that everything taught by First Fruits of Zion is false. Rather, it is an examination of a foundational theological framework that can influence how Christians understand **Israel, the Church, Torah, the New Covenant, and the relationship between Jewish and Gentile believers**.

The Biblical Roots Ministries
Our website
Our YouTube Channel
Prof. Solberg's Blog
Support our Ministry (Thank you!)

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
03:58 What FFOZ Teaches
09:35 Testing FFOZ’s Ecclesiology
10:58 Problem #1 - No Biblical Basis
18:31 Problem #2 - Different from the Apostles
24:16 Problem #3 - Restores the Jew/Gentile Division
33:56 This Matters: The Dangers
38:42 Conclusion

What if Christmas felt sacred again? Full of Grace and Truth, the new book from award-winning author R. L. Solberg, invites you to rediscover the biblical story at the heart of the season. Available now in paperback and Kindle, with all proceeds supporting The Biblical Roots Ministries. Get your copy today on Amazon.com.

Send us Fan Mail

What really happened in Dr. Solberg's debate with David Wilber on Acts 15? More importantly, what can we learn from it? In this follow-up video, Dr. Solberg slows the conversation down to examine the four larger hermeneutical lessons that emerged. Whether you agreed with his position or David's position (or are still undecided), the goal of this video is to help us become better readers of Scripture. This video tackles the question: How should Christians read the Bible?

Topics include:

• Acts 15:21 and the Jerusalem Council
• The difference between exegesis and eisegesis
• The proper role of biblical scholarship and the Church Fathers
• Why Scripture should interpret Scripture
• The importance of a Christ-centered hermeneutic
• Does the New Testament teach that Gentile believers were expected to become Torah observant?

Watch the Original Debate
Bible Reading Plan

The Biblical Roots Ministries
Our website
Our YouTube Channel
Prof. Solberg's Blog
Support our Ministry (Thank you!)

What if Christmas felt sacred again? Full of Grace and Truth, the new book from award-winning author R. L. Solberg, invites you to rediscover the biblical story at the heart of the season. Available now in paperback and Kindle, with all proceeds supporting The Biblical Roots Ministries. Get your copy today on Amazon.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Dr. R. L. Solberg and David Wilber debated Acts 15 and one of the most important questions in Christian theology: Did the apostle's decision at the Jerusalem Council require Gentile believers to keep the Law of Moses? Wilber argues in the affirmative, Solberg in the negative.

Both participants present their cases in a semi-formal and civil debate format. The goal isn't to "score points" but to help believers understand Acts 15 by hearing both sides presented fairly.

The Biblical Roots Ministries
Our website
Our YouTube Channel
Prof. Solberg's Blog
Support our Ministry (Thank you!)

#livestream
#debate
#apologetics

What if Christmas felt sacred again? Full of Grace and Truth, the new book from award-winning author R. L. Solberg, invites you to rediscover the biblical story at the heart of the season. Available now in paperback and Kindle, with all proceeds supporting The Biblical Roots Ministries. Get your copy today on Amazon.com.

Send us Fan Mail

What does it really mean to be a disciple of Jesus? In this conversation, Mike Edwards interviews Dr. R. L. Solberg about the biblical definition of discipleship, exploring what it means to follow Christ, deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and make disciples. Together they discuss key passages such as Matthew 28, Luke 9, and John 15, while examining how Scripture—not tradition or personal opinion—defines the Christian life.

#livestream
#christianliving
#discipleship
#jesus
#apologetics

The Biblical Roots Ministries
Our website
Our YouTube Channel
Prof. Solberg's Blog
Support our Ministry (Thank you!)

What if Christmas felt sacred again? Full of Grace and Truth, the new book from award-winning author R. L. Solberg, invites you to rediscover the biblical story at the heart of the season. Available now in paperback and Kindle, with all proceeds supporting The Biblical Roots Ministries. Get your copy today on Amazon.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Did the Jerusalem Council teach that Gentile Christians must keep the Torah? In this video, Dr. R. L. Solberg examines Acts 15 in context and responds to the interpretation presented by 119 Ministries. We carefully compare their claims with the biblical text and ask a simple but important question: Where does the text actually say that?

Together we'll examine three major claims about Acts 15, including whether the Jerusalem Council addressed one issue or two, whether the four prohibitions were intended as a "starter pack" for full Torah observance, and whether Gentile believers were expected to learn the Law of Moses through weekly synagogue attendance.

If you're interested in the Hebrew Roots Movement, Torah observance, the Jerusalem Council, or how to interpret Acts 15 faithfully and in its historical context, this study is for you.

119 Ministries' Video:
https://119ministries.com/teachings/video-teachings/detail/acts-15-explained-did-the-apostles-reject-the-torah-for-gentiles/

The Biblical Roots Ministries
Our website
Our YouTube Channel
Prof. Solberg's Blog
Support our Ministry (Thank you!)

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
03:09 Overview of the Jerusalem Council
04:33 Two Separate Issues
13:39 Two Separate Responses
18:21 The Starter Pack Theory
27:59 Learning the Law in Synagogues
38:59 Wrap it up, Solberg.

#bookofacts #hebrewroots #119Ministries #biblestudy #apologetics #torahobservant

SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY
https://TheBiblicalRoots.org/support (Thank you!)

OUR LINKS
https://linktr.ee/thebiblicalroots

Send us Fan Mail

What if the gospel wasn't about something new, but about restoring something ancient? In this teaching, Dr. R. L. Solberg carefully examines the claims of Divorce & Remarriage Theology by testing them against Scripture.

Does the Bible really teach that God married Israel at Sinai, divorced His bride, died to overcome a legal dilemma, and then remarried Israel? Or has an extra-biblical framework been imposed on the biblical text? Join us as we examine the evidence and ask one simple diagnostic question: Did the biblical authors actually teach this?

The Biblical Roots Ministries
Our website
Our YouTube Channel
Prof. Solberg's Blog
Support our Ministry (Thank you!)

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
03:55 What is Remarriage Theology?
09:29 A Wedding at Sinai
13:05 On Rabbinic Sources (Talmud/Mishnah)
14:31 What is a Ketubah?
17:05 Unfaithful Brides
21:54 The Great Divorce
30:33 The Legal Dilemma
43:01 The Remarriage (Pentecost)
45:18 A Renewed Covenant
50:15 What About the Gentiles?
53:05 The Lost Tribes of Israel
01:05:24 Three Biggest Dangers
01:06:15 Danger 1: Diminishes Sin
01:08:35 Danger 2: It Displaces Christ
01:10:47 Danger 3: Changes the Gospel

Key Passages
Exodus 19–24 — The Sinai covenant
Jeremiah 3:6–22 — Israel's "certificate of divorce"
Deuteronomy 24:1–4 — The divorce law
Romans 7:1–6 — The marriage analogy
Acts 2 — Pentecost
Ephesians 2:11–22 — The "one new man"
Ephesians 3:6 — The mystery of the Gentiles
Ezekiel 37:15–28 — The two sticks (Judah and Israel)
Matthew 19:3–9 — Jesus on divorce
Isaiah 49:6 — The Servant's mission to Israel and the nations

What if Christmas felt sacred again? Full of Grace and Truth, the new book from award-winning author R. L. Solberg, invites you to rediscover the biblical story at the heart of the season. Available now in paperback and Kindle, with all proceeds supporting The Biblical Roots Ministries. Get your copy today on Amazon.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Critics often claim that Scripture is full of errors, conflicting accounts, and impossible statements. In this video, Dr. R. L. Solberg examines some of the most common alleged contradictions and explains why many of them turn out to be questions of context, language, perspective, chronology, or textual transmission rather than genuine logical contradictions.

We explore the Resurrection accounts, Paul and James on faith and works, Old Testament passages that speak of things lasting "forever," apparent contradictions about seeing God, God's unchanging nature, numerical discrepancies, and more. Along the way, we learn an important principle: a true contradiction exists only when something is affirmed and denied in the same sense, at the same time, and in the same respect.

Whether you're wrestling with difficult passages yourself or responding to challenges from skeptics, this video will help you think more carefully about what the Bible actually says and how Christians have approached these questions for centuries.

The Biblical Roots Ministries
Our website
Our YouTube Channel
Prof. Solberg's Blog
Support our Ministry (Thank you!)

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
04:06 The Bible as Historical Literature
06:39 Defining a True Contradiction
08:46 Eyewitness Contradictions
16:00 Semantic Contradictions
28:12 Examining Motivations
30:00 Descriptions of God
34:28 Contradictions of Perspective
37:06 Textual Transmission
40:49 Numerical Contradictions
43:48 Wrap it up, Solberg.

What if Christmas felt sacred again? Full of Grace and Truth, the new book from award-winning author R. L. Solberg, invites you to rediscover the biblical story at the heart of the season. Available now in paperback and Kindle, with all proceeds supporting The Biblical Roots Ministries. Get your copy today on Amazon.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Are Christians required to keep the Law of Moses? Is the seventh-day Sabbath still binding under the New Covenant, or was it fulfilled in Christ? In this conversation, host Mike Colburn sits down with Dr. R. L. Solberg, author of Torahism and founder of The Biblical Roots Ministries, to work through the questions his audience asks him about most: the law, the Sabbath, the New Covenant, and what changed when Jesus said, "It is finished."

Dr. Solberg has spent years answering the Hebrew Roots, Torah-keeping, and Messianic movements. Those arguments turn out to be the mirror image of what so many of us inherited in Adventism. If you've ever been told that "sin is the transgression of the law," that the Ten Commandments are what's written on our hearts, or that keeping the Sabbath is a test of loyalty to God, this one is for you.

#apologetics
#sda
#theology
#hebrewroots

The Biblical Roots Ministries
Our website
Our YouTube Channel
Prof. Solberg's Blog
Support our Ministry (Thank you!)

What if Christmas felt sacred again? Full of Grace and Truth, the new book from award-winning author R. L. Solberg, invites you to rediscover the biblical story at the heart of the season. Available now in paperback and Kindle, with all proceeds supporting The Biblical Roots Ministries. Get your copy today on Amazon.com.