The Olive Tree Post

The Next Step

2011-11-22T12:54:00.001-05:00

In a sense, Christianity is all about getting gentiles connected to God, whereas Judaism is the next step which involves engaging in activities (the Commandments) that involve bringing God down into the earth. How sad that most never get to experience this next level of relationship because they have been told that the Commandments are a thing of the past. How sad that the Church has been told that the keeping of Commandments is the activity of those who are “weak in the faith.”

The lie that the law is in opposition to grace robs gentile believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of so much. It is a tragedy.

If we look back on the history of Israel, we see that the Law was not given to a nation of unbelievers, but to a nation that were ALREADY believers and were ALREADY connected to God. After leaving Egypt, symbolic of salvation, Israel was told that if they followed all the instructions of God that He would come down and meet with them. They did, and He did, as evidenced by the cloud over the Tabernacle and later the Temple.

How great it would be if the church interpreted the NT through these patterns in the OT (Which were given to us as examples!) and embraced all the feasts, and Sabbaths and Commandments as a means to bring God’s presence down to earth more fully. What a powerhouse the Church could be if they would continue on and grow into and begin practice the faith that Jesus, the disciples and the early Jewish Church practiced.

The tragedy is that they have believed the lie that obedience to the Law and faith in Jesus are in opposition to each other. It seems the early disciples held no such belief as they continued to practice the Law IN ADDITION TO their faith in Jesus. (Were they "weak in the faith?")

How great it would be if the gentile Church could come to understand that the keeping of the Commandments are not in opposition to their belief in Jesus, but simply the next step in it.

2011-11-16T14:49:00.001-05:00

Sound Familiar?
"When God desires to give healing to the world, He smites one righteous man among them.... and through him gives healing to all... a righteous man is never afflicted except to bring healing to his generation and to make atonement for it." (Zohar 5:218A)

"[The] Messiah [ben Joseph] will... be slain and lay in the streets for three days. Then... the prophet Elijah will go and revive [him]... And in the hour when the tribes of Israel will come forth, Clouds of Glory will go before them. And the Holy One, blessed be He, will open for them the sources of the Tree of Life, and will give them to drink on that day." (Otot HaMaschiach)

2011-11-15T11:35:00.000-05:00

More Oral Tradition
We read in 1 Cor 10:1-4 "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea . . . . . 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them...."

We cannot find the concept of a rock following Israel through the desert anywhere in the written Torah (Old Testament). So, was Paul simply making this up or having a new revelation? Was this concept original to Paul? The answer is "no." Paul was simply quoting the Oral Torah which he had been taught, AND WHICH HE BELIEVED, and quoted as fact.

Oral Tradition contains a teaching that is known as the "Well of Miriam," and it can be found in the Talmud and other Jewish Oral Torah resources. One of the quotes that can be found regarding this portable well is: "Everyplace our forefathers went, the well went in front of them." Clearly, the Apostle Paul knew, believed and promoted the Oral Torah as being inspired by God. His mentioning of a portable well/rock was not a new revelation to him, but one he had been taught by his rabbinic mentors.

I will pass on one more Oral Tradition to you that is repeated in the New Testament, however, because of translation issues, it is missed.

1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. KJV

Above is the KJV translation of 1 John 3:12. However, Strong's Concordance tells us that the word translated "slew" is the Greek word "sphazo," which literally means a "ritual slaughtering." John uses "sphazo," and not the more common word for killing which is "apokteino." "Sphazo" is a rarely used word in the NT and is always connected with a sacrifice or ritual slaughter. The more common word for killing, "apokteino" is used dozens of times in the NT, never in the context of a ritual slaughter.

Now, John the Jew, writing to Jews, chooses to use the word for a ritual slaughter, which to a Jew would imply a cutting of the throat. So, if we want to literally translate what John is saying, it would be as follows:

1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and cut his brother's throat; And why did he cut his brother's throat? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

Now, where does John get this idea of the cutting of the throat? Certainly not from the Written Torah (Old Testament). One must go to the Oral Torah to find this concept, as the Midrash states that "Cain arose, lifted up a stone, aimed it at Abel's throat. Abel fell dead." (The Midrash Says, Vol. 1, p. 63, Benei Yakov Publications, 1980)

The New Testament is filled with hundreds of recantations of Oral Tradition, of which the above two are only a small sample. In learning the Oral Torah that goes along with the Written Torah, one can understand more about God and about Yeshua. Why would anyone not want to learn more about God and Yeshua?

Ignorance is not bliss.

For 2000 years, ignorance has been allowed, but we are entering into a period of time in which ignorance will get you killed. As the Scripture says, "God's people will begin to perish for lack of knowledge."

2011-11-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

You Can't Have It Both Ways
When I began learning about the Hebraic roots of our faith, I was like most believers coming out of the church: If you couldn't show it to me in the written Word, then I wasn't going to believe it. However, over time, as I began to read more and more rabbinic writings, I began to see that they didn't contradict what I believed as a "Christian," but actually confirmed it. In fact, my belief that Yeshua was/is Messiah ben Joseph has grown exponentially because I have been willing to accept the authority of the rabbis WHO DON"T EVEN BELIEVE IN YESHUA. I often jokingly, yet seriously, state that you can learn more about Yeshua from those who DON'T believe He was the Messiah, than from those who DO.

When I was preparing to teach this past week's portion Vayeira, which includes the sacrifice of Isaac, I ran across an Oral Tradition that just floored me. One of the Orthodox Rabbis I was listening to stated that the wood that Abraham placed on Isaac's back was actually a cross.

What? Are you kidding me!?!?!?

Of course, he then went on to explain that this ORAL TRADITION from the rabbis is where Christianity got the idea of Jesus carrying a cross from.

Now, I don't believe that the New Testament was "borrowed" from the Oral Tradition as this rabbi implied. I think the New Testament "fulfilled" the Oral Tradition that has been handed down from rabbi to rabbi orally for thousands of years. But that is not the point I wish to make.

The point I wish to make is this: I can understand completely if the rabbis don't want to believe that Yeshua was Messiah ben Joseph. I can understand completely if they think the writers of the New Testatment "fabricated" their stories so as to seem to fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies (both Oral and Written). But what I can't understand is how someone who believes in Yeshua can turn around and say that the Oral Traditions that HE FULFILLED are simply inventions of the rabbis and should be ignored.

What are the odds that 4000 years ago some rabbi just "made up" this story about Isaac carrying a cross? And for what purpose? And, if it was "made up" I don' think the Jews would still be making public this sort of teaching that validates the claims of the Christian world the Yeshua was Messiah ben Joseph.

Now, let's look at another Oral Tradition that is connected with this past week's Torah portion. The Zohar says, on the subject of the Binding of Isaac,

"When Abraham was about to slaughter Isaac, the latter's soul flew away to be replaced later by a holy spirit from the Celestial Regions. It follows then that Isaac's life after the Binding of Isaac was the life of a human being who had not originated from a drop of semen. We must view Isaac as someone re-born in consequence of that experience: a totally new creature. G-d had applied the strictest yardstick to him by letting him die, and subsequently infused in him a new soul. He had also sanctified his body; from that time on Isaac's body resembled that of Adam, also not the product of a drop of semen." From Shenei Luchot HaBrit by Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz

Now, let me read that again, this time substituting "Yeshua" for "Isaac."

"In order to appreciate the dimension of holiness which Yeshua represented, it is fitting that we first see what the Zohar says on the subject of the Crucifiction of Yeshua. When God took Yeshua, Yeshua’s soul flew away to be replaced later by a holy spirit from the Celestial Regions."

What did Yeshua tell His followers? It is needful that I go away, or else I cannot be replaced by the Holy Spirit.

Let’s continue on:

"It follows then that Yeshua’s life after the crucifiction was the life of a human being who had not originated from a drop of semen. We must view Yeshua as someone re-born in consequence of that experience: a totally new creature. G-d had applied the strictest yardstick to him by letting him die, and subsequently infused in him a new soul. He had also sanctified his body; from that time on Yeshua's body resembled that of Adam, also not the product of a drop of semen."

This brings to mind his reappearance with a glorified body. This also brings to mind the fact that He was the last Adam and that like Him, we are "reborn."

ALL OF THESE CONCEPTS ARE FOUND IN THE ORAL TORAH, NOT IN THE WRITTEN TORAH!

So let me repeat my conclusion of this matter. It is not intellectually dishonest for the rabbis to reject the NT as simply a story made up from the Written and Oral Torah. For if they wish to simply claim that Christianity "copied" them, that is an easy conclusion to come to. But IT IS intellectually dishonest for someone who believes the NT to reject the very ORAL TRADITIONS that it fulfills!

The rabbis CAN be intellectually honest and believe that the Old Testament and the Oral Traditions are true and the New Testatment is false. But, Christians CANNOT be intellectually honest and believe the New Testatment is inspired and that the Oral Traditions are merely traditions of men. This is an intellectually indefensible position as there are literally hundreds of rabbinic traditions that appear nowhere in the Written Torah that Yeshua fulfilled exactly as recorded in the New Testament!

A God-imposed "blindness" of Judaism to Yeshua being the Messiah is understandable, for we are told that Israel has been blinded in part until the fullness of the gentiles come in. If God blinds someone, they are blind. Period. BUT, for Gentile believers in Yeshua to remain WILLFULLY IGNORANT of the Oral Torah that He quoted, supported and fulfilled is impardonable. I urge you to begin to study the Oral Traditions for yourself. Don't take anyone else's word for it. Make up your own mind AFTER you study them.

If Yeshua was/is the Messiah to us Gentiles, then the Oral Traditions which He fulfilled were inspired. And if they were inspired, that means that the ancient rabbinic teachings as contained in the Talmud, Gemara, Zohar, etc. were also inspired. We throw them out to our own detriment.

Part of believing in Yeshua means to believe in the Oral and Written Torah's that He fulfilled. You can't just take Yeshua and the Written and leave out the Oral. That's not an option. You can't have it both ways. If you believe in Him, then you must take ALL of Him.

The Other Side of Suffering

2011-09-16T16:11:00.000-04:00

Ki Tavo – 2011

When a parent spanks a child that he loves, there is no joy in that process to the parent. This has given rise to the old saying “Son, this is going to hurt me a whole lot more than you.” Because the parent has love for the child, he disciplines. But also, because the parent has love for the child, he hurts with the child as the child hurts.

Today, we come to a portion that contains 98 curses, or 98 spankings, that God will administer to Israel for their correction. Let us stop and think for a moment about how God feels while these disciplines are being enforced. Because we cannot begin to fathom His love for us, we also never stop to think that He is enduring incredible suffering right along with us as we suffer.

Using the holocaust as an example, was God blind to the suffering of His people in the gas chambers? No. He was right there with His people suffering right along with them. In fact, His suffering was more intense, for what parent would not gladly take the place of his child in such a situation. The parent’s suffering is much less if the parent has to endure the gas chambers than if the parent has to sit by helplessly and watch his child endure the same.

Which brings us to a realization: God is even more ready for the Messianic age, when all suffering ends and is revealed for what it is, than we are! He also “groans” for the creation to be restored. But then this leads us to another question: Since He is God and can snap His fingers and make it happen, what is He waiting on?

The answer to that question becomes obvious when we think back and remind ourselves why we are here in the first place and why there is suffering in the first place.

In the deepest sense, we are here to fight a battle with our evil inclinations and overcome them. That is the whole reason for our existence in this era…. To be refined and to in turn refine the world by being a light. That is how we reconnect to God is by CHOOSING Him over our evil inclinations. By allowing Him to refine us. Like Isaac, by allowing Him to put us on the altar of sacrifice which is not pleasant!

So, if our whole existence here is to simply reconnect with Him, then there must be a valid choice, two equally attractive options, or else there is no choice at all and we are simply robots. But with the valid option of following our evil inclinations, there also enters the game this idea of suffering. Why? Because choosing the evil inclination, which separates us from God, by default, brings in suffering to the game. For in its deepest sense, suffering is simply being separated from God. Every other kind of suffering is simply a different subset of this greater definition of suffering.

So, suffering, or as today’s portion terms it “curses,” are much more than simply punishments for us doing wrong.

When we are in school, we are told some things in the first grade that, though they are true, by the time we get to the 12^th grade, we realize that our understanding of that concept was shallow. This is the natural growth process. Likewise, in our understanding of God, we read the 98 curses in today’s portion and we understand (at the first grade level) that if we stray from God, we will get punished. Reward and punishment, though true, are elementary concepts of our relationship with God. He wants us to see much deeper. He wants us to see that just like a parent who doesn’t want lazy fat children, He has blessings AND curses. He always wants to give us blessings, but blessings are not always what are the most beneficial to us in the big picture view. There is a balance.

THIS era is about our growth and learning to overcome our evil inclinations and blessings are not always conducive to that process. Therefore there has to be curses/suffering/pain. And they are not there for punishment or because God is mad, but because He cares. He loves us and he wants us to graduate so that we can become fully grown and stand in front of Him as equals and have relationship.

What parent does not long for the day when their child is grown and they can have a fully adult relationship? What mother, after a day with kids, does not long for adult conversation at the end of the day? And that is what God wants, but THIS ERA we are in now is all about growing us to that point and only then can the Messianic era begin.

So, it appears then, that if the Messianic era is being held back, then the reason is because WE are not ready for it yet. He wants it to happen now even more than we do, but it is our lack of development that is holding it back.*

In Hebrew the word for suffering is “zorah.” But those letters rearranged form the word for “light,” which is “zohar.” What is the lesson? In our greatest trials and sufferings we see the greatest light, and it is being able to see the light AND BE THE LIGHT that our whole walk is about. And when we get to the point that we can, from the heart, thank Him for our sufferings and see them for what they really are, His greatest expressions of love, THEN we be ready for the Messianic Era.

“Zoar” also means “a narrow place.” Although our suffering feels like it has constrained us, we will see in the end, that it was nothing but a big old tight hug from our Father. What is the difference between an earthy father giving a hug or a spanking? Nothing. Both are expressions of love.

To everything there is a season. A season for blessings…..and a season for curses. There is a season for suffering, that’s this era, and a season for bliss, that’s the Messianic era. Of course we long for that era, but we have to complete the job in this era first. There’s no shortcuts!

So, if, in a sense, we are not suffering for our own doings, then these things are preordained, then why bother repenting when we do wrong? Why not just adopt a fatalistic attitude and say “whatever will be will be?”

The answer to that is this. Because the whole idea of repenting is not to avoid punishment or get a reward (that’s true, but it is first grade level stuff). The whole idea of keeping the commandments is because they are the Truth and that’s what He wants from me, and I should repent when I don’t keep them because I have hurt Him, myself, others and all of creation. I have fallen short in my calling to elevate creation and bring light into the darkness and I should feel sorrow for that.

When we keep a commandment we bring light into the darkness. WHY or HOW does not eating pork do that? I do not know. All I know is that He says it does.

This is like the child that makes a drawing for his parent. It is worthless. It couldn’t be sold on ebay for even a dollar. But to the parent it is priceless. It has value. And so are the commandments. They only have value because God says they do. To everyone else, they seem to have no value, like the kid’s drawing. Had God said that pork is okay but beef is forbidden, then the observance of THAT commandment would bring light into the world. How? I do not know, I just know that it does because He says it does. It has value because HE says it has value. And when I fail to keep the commandments I should be repenting not out of fear of curses, but out of sorrow for not making the drawing that my Father cherishes so much.

In your mind’s eye, picture God in heaven with us before our souls are placed into our mother’s womb. And He tells us “I am sending you to a dark place where you can prove yourself. Where you can demonstrate your love to me.”

“How will I do that God?” we ask.

“I am going to give you a list of do’s and don’ts to observe. They will be contrary to what you want to do. You won’t always be able to figure out the “why” behind them. Just do them. But understand that when you do them, they will make no sense to anyone else, only to me. THEN, I will know that you love me, because I will know that the ONLY reason you are doing them is because you love me. I will know that you are not doing them simply to get a blessing or avoid a curse, because quite often, you won’t even understand some of the things I am asking you to do. You will simply be doing them because I asked you.”

Now, with the above dialogue in mind, repentance of falling short should take on a much deeper meaning. It’s personal. It’s intimate. It’s about relationship. Punishment and reward is first grade stuff compared to this.

So, in conclusion, “Why keep kosher? Why observe Sabbath? Etc. etc. etc.” Because it makes Him happy. And why does it make Him happy? Because it’s also good for me and every parent wants his child to choose what is best for him.

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*This insight can also help us quickly spot the fallacy in the rapture doctrine. He isn’t about to split the sky any moment. He wants to, but something is holding Him back. What is holding Him back? Our evil inclination which has yet to be conquered. A sudden return rapture cuts short the whole process that we are here for in the first place. Of course, we can see why our flesh wants to believe in the rapture, because it relieves our suffering. And we can also see that it is a doctrine born out of the flesh and not the Truth.

2 Thess 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Who is it in the above verse that has to be “taken out of the way” before the Messianic Era can commence? Your evil inclination! YOU! Not Satan. Not the Holy Spirit. Not your mother in law. YOU!

Messiah In Me

2011-09-15T12:59:00.000-04:00

The idea that “if you are a good girl or boy then at the end of the day you will get the prize,” is primitive. That just makes us sophisticated robots. Shimona Tzukernik

When we do what we do simply for the purpose of getting a reward or to avoid judgment, we are “me” centered. We must expand our mind to incorporate the “why” of what God tells us and expects of us. We must understand that we should do what we do out of love for Him and others. This is a mindset that is “others” centered, as opposed to “me” centered.

Judaism teaches that the spirit of God IS the spirit of Moshiach (Messiah). In other words, before the whole process of physical creation began, there was a desire in the Creator for redemption. The whole purpose of creation is redemption. He takes our spirit from himself (“and God breathed into Adam”) and puts it in the physical world with the idea of redeeming it back to Himself.

This is what the New Testament Scriptures teach as well. Moshiach is the firstborn of all creation. In the beginning was the word/Moshiach. This is not an idea that is new to the New Testament but certainly was confirmed by it.

The Spirit of God hovering over the chaotic, dark waters in the very first chapter of Genesis is a metaphor for our own personal lives. We are chaotic and in darkness, and it is only the spirit of Moshiach that can bring order and meaning to our lives.

The Baal Shem Tov says “memory is the key to redemption.” We must remember that we were once connected to God and that we have been placed in this temporary darkness only for the purpose of reconnecting to Him. If we forget that, then the darkness and the chaotic waters of life will overwhelm us.

Israel is told over and over to “choose life.” None of us need to be told to do this if the choices are obvious, and that is the point. The choices in life are never obvious. Life is dark and chaotic and we do not know which choice is "life" and which choice is "death" without the light of Torah/Moshiach.

Again, going back to our Genesis illustration, eventually the waters receded and land was allowed to be seen. In each of our lives, we have an essence. It is pure. It is the essence of God Himself! This essence is what is portrayed by the metaphor of the land. In our lives, we are not really creating anything new…. We are simply revealing what already exists. Our job, with the help of the Word and the Spirit and our good deeds and our obedience to His instructions is to remove the waters and darkness from our essence so that we can emerge as dry land, and only then can we become and enjoy what we were created to be. Only then can we have true fulfillment/joy in this life.

Again, in NT jargon, only then, once we have dry ground in our lives, can we produce fruit. Fruit will never grow in the watery darkness of an unredeemed soul. (Note: When I say an "unredeemed soul" I am not talking about salvation in the Christian sense, but something much deeper that must take place over time after that initial "salvation" or "reconnection" experience.)

Therefore, on a deeper level, believing in the coming of Moshiach, is the belief that God WILL redeem me in the here and now. It is a belief that I WILL make it, and I WILL succeed in what He has placed me here to do and I must be about the business of hastening His return in my life EVERY DAY!

So “Moshiach in me” is simply looking back and forward, which is a simple way of saying that our vision is all-encompassing. It is knowing where I came from, and in THAT understanding, I can be sure of my safe arrival at my pre-ordained destination. The literal physical Moshiach HAS BEEN, and Moshiach WILL BE. And likewise, I have been and I will be. Like God, in whose image I was created, I AM. I was perfect, I will be perfect, and I AM in the state of being perfected.

I work in this life not for rewards or to avoid punishment. Again, that is primitive. I work in this life become what I already am. I work to remove the waters and the darkness from my life so that I and everyone that I come in contact with can benefit from the essence of God Himself that He chose to place in me!

I am unique. I have a purpose that only I can accomplish and to fail to accomplish it is selfishness because the rest of the world is deprived from the benefit of receiving the essence of God that He has chosen to place in ME!

The word "Moshiach" in Hebrew is written with the letters, mem, shin, yud and chet. These letters add up to the same numerical value as the phrase “a worry in a person’s heart.” What is the lesson?

When we know where we have come from, what we have been created for and where we are going, then worry, anxiety and depression cannot exist in our heart because we have been “redeemed.” Therefore, when we find ourselves in worry, anxiety and/or depression we instantly know that we have either:

1. Forgotten who we are and where we came from, or
2. Forgotten that our safe arrival is pre-ordained and have put ourselves back on a primitive performance standard, or
3. We have failed to uncover the dark and turbulent waters of our life that are obscuring from our vision who we truly are.

Darkness and light CANNOT co-exist and Moshiach is the light in me that expels everything else. If we have worry in our hearts we know that we have more work to do on ourselves in uncovering our land from the dark chaotic waters that are obscuring who I am from ME!

Messiah is coming back literally, but also, He is coming back IN ME, and I want to do everything in my power to hasten His return.

“The level of anxiety in my life is in direct proportion to the level of the gap that exists between who I REALLY am and the way I live my life.” Shimona Tzukernik

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This teaching is based on the video teaching of Shimona Tzukernik entitled Moshiach and the Purpose of Creation.

Civil Unrest In Britain

2011-08-10T12:29:00.000-04:00

The civil unrest currently enveloping Britain and tearing the country apart, to me, is simply another reminder of the measure-for-measure nature of God. Though He is long-suffering and quick to forgive AND forget, those who fail to repent for past mistakes will inevitably suffer a measure-for-measure payback.

In case you are wondering what past British mistakes I am referring to, consider the following from rabbiwein.com.

The antisemitism by local Europeans continued even after World War II, especially among the Poles. There were pogroms and Jews were killed, often by people they knew. Emigration to other non-European countries was often not an option, as the quota system instituted against Jews before World War II was still in effect, even after the Holocaust. Only 1500 Jews per month were allowed by the British to enter Palestine, as England did not want to antagonize the Muslim world. The vast majority of survivors were classified as Displaced Persons and were placed in DP camps. Once again, they were living under armed guard, in poverty and unwanted. When U.S. representatives saw the situation in the DP camps, they pressed the British to let in 100,000 Jews to Palestine, to no avail. The American JDC and British JRC led the way in supplying these people with food, medicine and schools.

The sympathy for the Jews in general and for Zionism in particular grew markedly as a result of what the Jews suffered under the Nazis. The British ignoring their legal obligation under the terms of The Mandate illegally restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The political situation was reaching a breaking point. The British “occupiers” were unpopular to both the Arabs and Jews. The Jews were split as to how to deal with the British in Palestine. Some, led by David Ben Gurion and Chaim Weizman believed in negotiations and political pressure, while others led by Menachem Begin believed the only way to create the State was to fight for it – and drive the British out.

The route through and from Europe was treacherous for the Jewish refugees seeking to enter Palestine. Thousands braved the elements and made it to the shores of Palestine, only to see 62 of 63 immigrant ships be turned away by the British blockade. The most famous of these ships, the Exodus, created a standoff between its 4,500 Jewish survivors and the British. Eventually the British sent the refugees back to France, and when the Jews refused to disembark they shipped back to the “death land” - Germany. The inhumanity of the action and the iron will of the survivors swayed world public opinion.

In 1946, the British attempted to defeat any Jewish opposition by arresting 5000 Jews in Palestine, including the leaders of the Hagannah and the Jewish Agency.

Little do most realize that the US was not without blame in its treatment of the Jews.

In the years before and during World War II the United States Congress, the Roosevelt Administration, and public opinion expressed concern about the fate of Jews in Europe but consistently refused to permit large-scale immigration of Jewish refugees.

In a report issued by the State Department, Undersecretary of State Stuart Eizenstat noted that the United States accepted only 21,000 refugees from Europe and did not significantly raise or even fill its restrictive quotas, accepting far fewer Jews per capita than many of the neutral European countries and fewer in absolute terms than Switzerland. http://www.holocaustcenter.org/kinderTransport/PDFS/Immigration.pdf

Though seemingly not as guilty as Britain, we did not allow Jews who were fleeing Hitler, and begging to come to America, to find their way to the shores of the United States until AFTER WWII concluded. Can there be any doubt that troublesome times will eventually find their way to our shores as well?

In addition, though the US claims they did not know the extent of the atrocities being performed on the Jews in Germany during WWII, they DID know the location of each and every Ford Motor Company plant in Germany, and none of these facilities were ever bombed by the allies. Ford Motor Company produced the light infantry trucks for the German army throughout WWII.

You Are The Laboratory

2011-07-23T12:15:00.001-04:00

The Kabbalists teach that: “Somewhere there is an Adam within each of us that is in need of restoration – in exile from the garden. The aim of the Kabbalah is to restore that divine man in the medium of the mortal man. We are the laboratory.”

The truth therefore is that we are all born broken and seperated from God. The goal of life is to strive for reconnection to God in every area of our lives. Our goal is to make it back to the garden.

Some of us are disconnected in many areas of our lives and some may only be disconnected in a few. Inherent in the nature of the Jew is a connectedness in many areas that are a result of God's special relationship with the Jew. On the other extreme we find the Gentiles who have never had a relationship with God and need a Messiah to help them bridge the gap before they can even attempt to begin this reconnection process.

Regardless of which of these two extremes we are closest to, the fact remains that we all have work to do. Therefore, in life, the only one who fails is the one who never tries, or who tries and then gives up. IN THE TRYING ITSELF, you go from a grade of F to a grade of D-. (At least you're passing!)

Our goal in life is to end up with an A. This may take some 20 years, others 80 year and others will never achieve it. But that is okay, because in one sense of this mission, it is the trying itself, not the attainment of the goal, that is true success. Or, as Scripture would define it, makes one righteous.

Prov 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Think Like Yeshua

2011-06-23T16:15:00.000-04:00

I know that I am preaching to the choir here, but I want to make this statement anyway. It is so simple, yet so profound. Here goes:

"I want to learn to think like Yeshua. Since Yeshua was a first century Jewish rabbi from the school of Hillel, at the very least, I need to learn to think like a Jew. In this endeavor, I have found Christian scholarship to be of almost no help as they assume everything Jewish is of the devil."

Now, don't misunderstand what I am saying. It was through Christianity that I became reconnected with God. Whether I was a true gentile or one of the lost sheep of the house of Israel, either way, I needed a Messiah to bridge the gap. Thank God the Church was there to help me find my way back to God.

But, when it comes to moving on beyond the basics, there comes a point where you have to go back to the source. For this, only an Orthodox rabbinic mindset will do.

Want to learn to think like Yeshua? Want the New Testament to come alive? Well, the first step is to learn to think like a Jew.

Atonement, Blood and The Oral Tradition

2011-06-09T23:08:00.005-04:00

The following link is to a teaching I gave in Orangeburg, SC on June 5, 2011. It was really three teachings in one and it is all new material. It needs to be refined but I wanted to go ahead and make it available to all. Eat the meat and spit out the bones.

zSHARE - Atonement_ Blood _ Oral Tradition 1 of 2.mp3

zSHARE - Atonement_ Blood _ Oral Tradition 2 of 2.mp3

Marrying, and Giving In Marriage

2011-04-29T08:03:00.001-04:00

I couldn't help but think of the following passage as I was watching the royal wedding this morning:

Matt 24:38-39 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, MARRYING AND GIVING IN MARRIAGE, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Is this a sign from the Father regarding the TIME in which we live?

As I watched the bride this morning I thought of how she reminded me of what Queen Esther might have looked like were she here today. Kate's dark eyes, hair and "spotless" complexion almost gave her the stereotypical "Jewish" appearance.

"All eyes on the bride" seemed to be ringing in my spirit. What does that mean? Perhaps we are entering the days of OUR perfecting and beautifying so that we will be that "spotless" bride as well.

Also not lost on me is that fact that she her husband is named "William," which literally means "the will of I AM." So too did our husband come only to do "the will of I Am."

The Sages of Israel teach that every generation of Israel has had the opportunity to repent and return to Torah with a pure heart and so usher in the age of Messiah. However, there will come a TIME, a final day, when the Father forceably ushers in the Messianic Era regardless of our readiness. The "will of I Am" will be done regardless of our condition.

The Talmudic Sages have discoursed that the Messianic Era will be in a day when the earth is completely righteous or completely wicked. Of course Yeshua, being a student of Oral Tradition as well, weighed in on this Midrash coming down on the side of total unrighteousness:

Luke 17:26-30
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
Yeshua compares the final generation to Sodom, wholly unrighteous and self consumed. Could He have been any clearer?

Does the world look like this today? Are we on the verge of the Kingdom?

What does it all mean? I can't say that I have the answers. Perhaps we are supposed to figure that out together as we go along? But I certainly think that God is still speaking to us through many means today, including royal weddings.

Moses On Facebook

2011-04-11T20:01:00.002-04:00

Default: Torah

2011-04-01T14:26:00.000-04:00

What a shame that Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, did not write a systematic theology book. We could have avoided so much confusion if he had done so. All we have are a few letters addressed to a few scattered congregations that are certainly not theologically "all-inclusive." They are simply specific answers to specific questions that he was being asked. In fact, we don't even have the original letters that were sent to him asking him the questions. We can only assume we know the questions he was answering. There's a lotta grey area around his writings to be sure!

I mean, really.... what was Paul (and God) thinking? Couldn't they see how much confusion there would be over Paul's letters over the next 2000 years? I think they really dropped the ball on this one!

Or maybe.... just maybe.... they didn't need to write a systematic theology book because one already existed. It's called Torah!

Anything not specifically covered by Paul in his writings can be assumed to have ALREADY been covered in Torah!

When in doubt on an issue, the default answer is "What does Torah teach?"

Never forget, Paul was Jew, lived as a Jew and died as Jew. He took vows, offered sacrifices and celbrated the feasts and Sabbaths AFTER his Damascus road experience. And he wasn't just an ordinary Jew, but a Pharisee, which he remained until the day he died!

Paul didn't have a "conversion" experience. Paul had a "Messiah" experience. He met the Jewish Messiah. Paul just went from being a Jew to a "completed" Jew.

He never started a new religion called Christianity and he never renounced his Jewishness. He incorporated his followers into the Jewish Synagogue system where they were expected to learn Torah.

Acts 15:19-21
19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

Having trouble understanding Paul? Learn Torah.

Bookends

2011-03-30T18:13:00.000-04:00

According to the Bible, as opposed to church doctrine, we are told that the Renewed Covenant would be made with Israel and Judah, not the Church.

Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a renewed covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."

Then, looking back on the Renewed Covenant AFTER it had been established, the writer of Hebrews reaffirms that it was made only with Judah and Israel.

Hebrews 8:8 Because finding fault with them, He says: "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.

Jeremiah 31:31 and Hebrews 8:8 stand as two book ends and everything between them has to do with Israel and Judah. There is no church nor any other organization that has or will replace the nation of Israel. Of course, this does not agree with church doctrine, but who you gonna believe? The Word or the church?

Not a tough decision.

And Thy Father's House

2011-03-19T18:42:00.000-04:00

I was reading the story of Jericho and the following verse caught my eye:

Joshua 6:25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, AND HER FATHER'S HOUSEHOLD, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

So I did a word search and found that the phrase "and thy father's house" comes up quite often. And in fact, it just so happens that it came up this week when studying the book of Esther, since this is Purim week. Coincidence? Hummm.

Esther 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou AND THY FATHER'S HOUSE shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

So, I sent an email to my teacher this week asking what is the significance of this phrase: "and thy father's house?" Turns out that it's more significant than I thought!

Remember, male is always symbolic of spiritual, while female is symbolic of the physical world. Therefore, when you say "father's house" you are talking about a spiritual house, religion or belief system. Likewise, when you say "mother," you are talking about the land, flesh, etc. Of course Rabbi Shaul, disciple of Gamaliel and Yeshua, knew this which is why he wrote:

Galatians 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

See, there is a connection between the physical land and being a mother. (This is why Peter said that some of Paul's writings were hard to understand. If you don't know the symbolism contained in Torah, then a lot of what he writes sounds crazy and it ends up being twisted into saying things that he never meant it to say!) That is also why every believer needs to live in the land. That is why "the land" is part of the Abrahamic Covenant. It has not been done away with. As grafted in believers to the physical nation/Commonwealth of Israel, the land is our mother. Without it, we are not complete. Without father AND mother, you don't have life.

So what is the Scripture telling us in the story of Rahab by saying that her obedience in hiding the spies resulted in her "father's house" being saved?

Obviously her faith-based actions of hiding the spies merited her a physical (mother) reward: she was spared when the city was slaughtered. But it also brought with it a spiritual (father's house) reward as well. Not only was she saved on earth in the present, but she was also saved spiritually!

A PHYSICAL ACTION BROUGHT ABOUT SPIRITUAL RESULTS!!!!!

It was obvious that she was saved physically, but the added phrase "and thy father's house" lets us know that she was spiritually saved as well. She was "grafted in" to Israel.

In Reverse
Sometimes, that phrase alerts us to the same pattern, but in reverse sequence. Consider the following:

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, AND FROM THY FATHER'S HOUSE, unto a land that I will shew thee:

Before Abram could be blessed physically (given and land), he had to separated spiritually (his father's house) from idolatry and false religion.

In other words, physical and spiritual blessings go hand in hand. They are not designed to be separated though we (Church/Northern Kingdom/Lost Tribes) have done that for the last couple thousand years. We have separated out salvation (Father's house) from obedience to Torah (mother).

Jericho and the Promised Land
We are about to enter back into the promised land. We are on the verge of the kingdom era. For us, formerly as "the Church, and now, as "Israel," to only have "spiritual" new life (father's house) will not be enough to get us into the kingdom age. We must be obedient in spirit and in flesh going forward. This is the pattern taught by Rahab entertaining the two MESSENGERS that were sent, not to spy out the land, but to preach the gospel of the kingdom, just before destruction came.

Josh 6:17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the MESSENGERS that we sent.

A "messenger" has a completely different mission than a "spy." Why would Joshua need to send out spies? YHWH didn't command him to do so. Joshua wasn't going to fight a battle that required spies!

Something else deeper is going on here! We must not forget that Rahab entertained TWO /messengers/spies. What we are about to find out is that the identities of these two messengers confirm what we have already learned up till this point about "our Father's house."

We are told by the Oral Tradition that the two spies were Caleb and Phinehas. I recently learned from my friend Rabbi Jeremy Gimpel (See the Book of Joshua - Part 7 teaching) that Phinehas was of such high spiritual elevation that he would "appear and disaapear" at will. He was from the tribe of Levi, of the lineage of the High Priest. This, as we will see, is a VERY important point!

Caleb was from the tribe of Judah, again, another very important point to keep in mind.

Now, consider the following verse:

Josh 2:6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.

In the original Hebrew, the above verse does not say that she hid "them," it says "him!" In other words, since Phinehas could disappear, he did not need to be hidden. Caleb, on the other hand, was 100% physical and had to be "hidden."

In teaching the above, what the Rabbi's are teaching is a pattern of Yeshua, our great High Priest who lives to make intercession for us, and they don't even know it!

Mark 16:9-12
9 Now when Yeshua was risen early the first day of the week, HE APPEARED first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
12 After that HE APPEARED IN ANOTHER FORM unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.

Mark 16:14
14 Afterward HE APPEARED unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

Luke 24:36-37
36 And as they thus spake, Yeshua himself STOOD IN THE MIDST OF THEM, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and SUPPOSED THEY HAD SEEN A SPIRIT.

Heb 7:23-27
23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

Who was this Phinehas foreshadowing? MESSIAH! And Yeshua of Nazareth fulfilled these, and every other pattern of Messiah contained in Tanach!

So who was Caleb representative of? TORAH! He was from Judah. It's the JEWS that have protected and passed on Torah for thousands of years! And the point of having TWO messengers is that only one of the two ain't enough! And THAT'S the newsflash that the church needs to hear! WE NEED TORAH in addition to Yeshua!

Conclusion
For Rahab to have physical and spiritual salvation, she had to respond to and honor BOTH messengers...... Torah and Messiah Yeshua!

For two thousand years the church has said that "all you need is Jesus," and we really don't need to worry all that "commandments" stuff.

WRONG!

As we stand on the edge of the millenial kingdom, we need Phinehas AND Caleb. Our "father's house" has been taken care of by Yeshua, but if we want to PHYSICALLY SURVIVE AND PROSPER in the days ahead, just as Rahab had to hide Caleb, we MUST hide Torah (Caleb from the tribe of Judah) in our hearts!

_________________________________________

NOTES:
1. Rahab literally means "a wide place." What a perfect representation of "the Church." She is called "righteous" and "a whore" at the same time.

2. The gematria of Phinehas is 208. Isaac, the obedient son, who was willing to be offered as a sacrifice also has a gematria of 208. "Qodqod" is the Hebrew word for "crown," or "top of the head." It also has a gematria of 208. Now consider the following words that Yeshua speaks concerning Himself:

Mark 12:10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner?

Here is the passage from Tanach that He was quoting:

Ps 118:21-23 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
23 This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

The word translated "salvation" in Psalm 118:21 is the Hebrew word "Yeshua." In other words, it is Yeshua that is the stone that the builders rejected!

3. Joshua in Hebrew is "Yeshua," or "Yehoshua." Rahab became the wife of Joshua the king. Rahab, the wide place, the whore, the idolator, the picture of the church, became the bride of Joshua/Yeshua.

John 3:27-30
27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Messiah, but that I am sent before him.
29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

4. Here is another "father's house" verse that is interesting:

1 Sam 17:25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
As the Rabbis correctly teach, if you do something in the physical, you will have a reward in the spiritual. Yeshua's brother James/Yacov, a Jew, the head of the sect of the Nazarenes that kept Torah and believed in Yeshua as the Messiah taught us the same thing:

James 2:19-26
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 YE SEE THEN HOW THAT BY WORKS A MAN IS JUSTIFIED, AND NOT BY FAITH ONLY.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

We, the Church, for the last 1900 years have taught "Just believe in Jesus and your sins will be forgiven and you will have eternal life." Well, that is not true, that is not what Torah teaches, that is not what Yeshua taught, and that is not what James taught, and the Jews have been CORRECT in rejecting Christianity up till this point in time because we have taught a false gospel that contradicts Torah! (Sorry, got a little excited there! LOL!)

That might have been good enough for us up till this point, but going forward, that dog won't hunt.

Why? Because, as the line from the great spiritual classic movie "A League of Their Own" states: "I have seen enough to know I have seen too much!"

Guys, there just ain't no turnin' back now!

Babylon, USA

2011-03-19T09:02:00.002-04:00

Introduction
I'd really rather write positive articles that build up your faith and bless you with exhilirating insights into the Word. However, I can only write what He places on my heart. I think that a true teacher will speak the good AND the bad. If you want only good "words", then go back to the organized Church. They will give you all the "good" words you want.... if the price is right! So anyway, here's more "negative" stuff for you to consider.

Begin Article
Do you think I am giving Japan a hard time? Am I being judgmental? Where's the grace, you ask? Sorry, the time for grace is passed. We have entered into a time of "judgment!"

Besides, they got off easy considering what is coming to America.

According to Rep. Ted Poe - R, Texas, there are 192 countries in the world and we give foreign aid to about 150 of them. We support everybody. We trade with everybody. We are in bed with everybody. We're a real whore.... we'll sleep with anybody if the price is right.

IF, and I say "IF," the following passage were about a nation that exists on earth today, what nation would seem to fit this description?

Rev 18:9-11 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

That's New Testament talk. Now let's check out the "Old" Testament.

Jer 51:6-8 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

1. This entity is called "Babylon"
2. Has had relations with all nations
3. Prosperous relations
4. Sudden destruction
5. Howling/Weeping

Now, either John was a plagarist when he wrote down his revelation, or the Holy Spirit was telling him the same thing that He was telling Jeremiah. In essence, the two passages are identical!

Now consider this verse:

Jer 50:46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.

Let me paraphrase: When the talk/"noise" about taking down Babylon/America begins in earnest, then God will send a sign from heaven to His people so that they know what time it is. This sign will be that the earth will literally "move."

According to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan on March 11 has also shifted the position of the Earth's figure axis, and moved the whole planet by 25cm. (source)

You can do what you want with the above. I've begrudgingly done my duty as a watchman, since I know this post won't win me any friends. Now, the rest is up to you.

___________________________________________

(I already have a copy of How To Win Friends And Influence People, so no need to send me another one. LOL!!)

Torah Codes

2011-03-17T23:01:00.002-04:00

Bible Codes (Yacov Rambsel) from Andrew אנדרו A.C.K.C on Vimeo.

Demographics

2011-03-16T22:32:00.000-04:00

This is an over-generalization, but hang with me here. Not all of the older generation are illiterate and not all leadership within the organized Church are corrupt. And not everybody lives in South Carolina, LOL, so I am well aware of my own prejudice. Now, let's get started.

There are a lot of believers in the age 65+ crowd that never really had a good education. A lot of them can barely read and write. In addition to this, they blindly trust authority. They believe the preacher, the politician and the newspaper and see no need to check behind anybody. They assume the best. This is admirable, but hazardous.

Therefore, they have been at the mercy of Church leadership as far as what they have been taught is the truth. They have not really posessed the ability to check the Scriptures to see if what they are being told is true. However, once this generation that is easy to be controlled has died out, then the new generation that will check everything out for themselves will GET IT. They will seek the Truth for themselves, and YHWH ALWAYS rewards Truth seekers.

This new generation won't be controlled like their parents and grandparents were. They are literate and computer savy and not at the mercy of the church leadership. They can and will think for themselves and THAT'S A GOOD THING!

I seem to recall a story about an older generation having to die out so that the new generation could enter the Promised Land. As always.... history is prophecy!

Japan's Curse

2011-03-16T11:05:00.002-04:00

As we already know, the nation of Israel was not replaced by the Church, but actually we ARE Israel. Now having said that, even though the Church IS Israel, and even though most in the Church still don't even realize this, I do believe that the following principle about blessing and cursing has applied to us even when we didn't know who we were:

Gen 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Gen 27:29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

Most of Christianity has thought that this verse applies only to the "Jews." Wrong. It applies to ALL Israel, and that includes us, not just the Jews. Those who have treated us well, will be treated well by the Father. Likewise, those who have treated us poorly, will reap that too.

Although America is no longer a "Christian" nation, I feel that the average American during the 1940's probably was. Therefore, Japan's treatment of American's (scattered Israel) during WWII would, certainly merit the judgment/wrath of YHWH. Click here for a short list of some of the atrocities committed by Japan during WWII.

Is this that what we are seeing now? Payback? Recompence? Maybe.... maybe not, but it is certainly a question we need to be asking ourselves. And if we conclude that the answer is "yes," then the next question becomes even more important: "Why NOW?"

Having said that, now let's consider the following passage:

Isa 59:18-20 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.

19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.

The above passage talks about recompense to the enemies of Israel (Curse those who curse you.). Personally, and this is just MY opinion, I think Japan qualified herself as and enemy of Israel by their actions in WWII. But, just in case there is any doubt that Japan may be a different, gentler nation than it was 60 years ago, consider the fact that ONE YEAR TO THE DAY before the earthquake/tsunami, Japan denounced the nation of Israel.

Then He goes straight into talking about "islands." Japan is an island.

Then, in the next verse He talks about His glory coming from the "rising of the sun." Japan is known as the "land of the rising sun!" HELLO? Anybody listening out there?????

The passage ends with a Messianic reference and a statement about Jacob (Israel) turning from transgression. This is a passage about TIMING! In other words, when you see these things happening, you know the Messianic era is near.

When you see the enemies of Israel being repaid for their past deeds, you know the Redeemer is near! You know the KINGDOM AGE is at hand.

And finally, when you see Jacob/Israel, turning from his transgressions, which can only be done by turning TOWARD Torah, you know the beginning of the Kingdom Age is close.

I believe the message from Japan is this: "Know what time it is and act accordingly!" Time is short, we need to be fishing out as many of our brothers and sisters as we can, and get them in the House before the door shuts.

Matt 25:10-13
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Shalom.

_______________________________________

NOTE: IF, and I repeat "IF" what I am suggesting here is true, then I think Germany still has some payback coming their way for their treatment of brother Judah. Time will tell.

And don't forget, America herself, refused to allow Jews who wanted to come here from Germany to enter!! We've got some payback coming as well. Interesting that the effects of the tsunami actually touched our coast. To me, that's a big "heads-up" from YHWH!

More on Japan

2011-03-14T21:53:00.001-04:00

Rather than do one big article on Japan, I think it best to just post stuff as I am coming across it. Here is the first thing I found:

Shinto, meaning "the way of the gods", is Japan's indigenous religion and is practiced by about 51% of the population. Shinto originated in prehistoric times as a religion with a respect for nature and for particular sacred sites. These sites may have originally been used to worship the sun, rock formations, trees and even sounds. Each of these was associated with a deity, or kami, and a complex polytheistic religion developed. Shinto worship of kami is performed at shrines. Especially important is the act of purification before visiting these shrines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_of_Japan

Okay, according to this non-religious source, Shinto worships, among other things, the sun, rock formations, trees and sounds. Let's list them in order:

1. Sun
2. Rock formations
3. Trees
4. Sounds

Now, with the above in mind, let me set the stage for what I am about to present. I do not think it was just a coincidence that the day Yeshua was asked to read Isaiah 61 (the Haftorah portion for that week) in the synagogue, as recorded in Luke 4:21, that it was about Him. Likewise, I also do not think it is coincidence that seemingly random acts of nature happen on certain dates. Let me be blunt..... I believe that the Torah or Haftorah portion from the week of the quake should contain something in it related to the event. At least for me, the following sure seems to prove it!

The Torah portion for the week of the quake was Vayikra, which includes Isaiah 43:21 - 44:23 as the Haforah portion for the week. Here is verse 44:23:

Sing, O ye heavens, for HaShem hath done it; shout, ye lowest parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein; for HaShem hath redeemed Jacob, and doth glorify Himself in Israel.

In this passage the idol worshipper is contrasted with Jacob and we have the lowest parts of the earth shouting. Sounds like an earthquake to me!?!?!? Interesting that the lands that have experienced the two major earthquake/tsunamis, Japan and Indonesia, are idol worshipping nations.

It is also worth remembering that when God plagued Egypt, the 10 plagues were designed specifically to make a statement regarding the Gods of the Egyptians. Would God still do that today? Consider the following comparison:

Japan/Shinto Worship ___________ Isaiah 44:23 Idolatry
1. Sun ___________________________ 1. Heavens (where the "sun" resides)
2. Rock formations _________________ 2. Mountains
3. Trees _________________________ 3. Trees
4. Sounds ________________________ 4. Shout/Sing

Really now. You just can't make this stuff up!

Now, looking forward, I will be very surprised if we don't see some unprecedented volcanic activity next. I would assume that "singing mountains" would be a very accurate way to describe volcanic eruptions that spew forth into the heavens what they contain, just as a singer spews forth what is inside them when they sing.

Well, I guess I have really put myself out there now... haven't I?

Japan: "Oh Yeah, God's Still Talkin'!"

2011-03-13T10:51:00.000-04:00

This falls under the category of "You Ain't Gonna Believe This %$^#!"

I've been searching the Scriptures trying to find the connection between last week's Torah portion and the earthquake in Japan. I was writing some notes and thoughts in Microsoft Word on verse 23 (Isaiah 44:23 the Haftorah for the week of the earthquake) of the Haftorah for last week and decided to copy a particular section to my clipboard to be able to paste it on my blog. Then, a little while later I went to google something and when I clicked on google, the text that I had copied earlier was automatically pasted into the google search window. Here is the text that I had copied:

Verse 23 says “shout you lower parts of the earth.” The word “shout” is ruwa which means to “sound forth an alarm.” It can be uses to mean “to shout a war cry.” How would the earth literally do this? An earthquake. “Lower parts of the earth” literally means “from the depths” or “beneath.” The earthquake was in the depths, or underneath the sea. Next, it talks about the mountains singing forth. Volcanoes?

Here is what came up. CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE.

Wow! What a coincidence?!?!

Just curious..... select, copy and paste the above text and put it in the google search box on your computer and see what comes up and let me know.

Is God still talking? Oh yeah, I think so!

And The Walls Came Tumbling Down

2011-03-10T22:45:00.002-05:00

According to a story that's posted over at cnbc.com, government payouts—including Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance—make up more than a third of total wages and salaries of the U.S. population, a record figure that will only increase as baby boomers age.

When governments get to the point where they can't support their population, they often entertain radical measures of how to close gap. Population control eventually becomes a viable solution.

It occurs to me that one such avenue to help the US reduce its population is to encourage unhappy citizens to leave.

I know of a quickly growing segment of the US population that would be more than happy to leave right now and head to Israel! By allowing the "Christians" to relocate to Israel, the globalists would have the Jews AND the Christians in one place! What a great opportunity they would have to corral us all up together and destroy us all at once! I just don't see how they could resist such an offer.

In fact, if we play our cards right, we might even be able to convince them to buy the plane tickets for us.

Only one problem though..... you can't make aliya to Israel if you're not Jewish. Israel's law of return prevents the lost sheep of the exiled northern kindgom of Israel from returning at present.

However, I don't think that is going to be much of a problem if the US flexes its muscles and demands Israel loosen their immigration qualifications. We've conned them into giving up land for peace, so I'm sure our gov't leaders can manufacture some crisis that could serve to bring Israel into agreement with such a proposition.

I was recently listening to a teaching by Rabbi Jeremy Gimpel on this same subject. (Well, sort of…) Think about it. Just before Israel entered the promised Land, YHWH performed the miracle at Jericho.... the walls came down miraculously! Likewise, the only thing keeping a lot of us from returning to our Covenant Land right now are the walls of Israel's immigration policy.

I'm expecting those walls to fall too.

_______________________________________________

For those of you that would like to listen to Rabbi Gimpel’s teaching on the book of Joshua, which includes the story of the fall of Jericho, the link is here.

2011-03-10T14:42:00.001-05:00

Why The Jews Reject Jesus
The following is another great excerpt from Why The New Covenant Doesn't Do Away With The Torah:

Moreover, in falsely teaching that Yeshua came to do away with the Torah, we have put a stumbling block between the Jewish people and their Messiah:

“Everything I am commanding you, you are to take care to do. Do not add to it or subtract from it.

“If a prophet or someone who gets messages while dreaming arises among you and he gives you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder comes about as he predicted when he said, ‘Let’s follow other gods, which you have not known; and let us serve them, ‘ you are not to listen to what that prophet or dreamer says. For ADONAI your God is testing you, in order to find out whether you really do love ADONAI your God with all your heart and being. You are to follow ADONAI your God, fear him, obey his mitzvot, listen to what he says, serve him and cling to him; and that prophet or dreamer is to be put to death; because he urged rebellion against ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from a life of slavery; in order to seduce you away from the path ADONAI your God ordered you to follow. This is how you are to rid your community of this wickedness.” (Deu. 13:1-6 [12:32-13:5])

Now consider the perspective of an observant Jew: He hears of this Jesus fellow, who came with all these signs and wonders and prophecies, but who, according to the Christians, came to do away with the Torah and start a new religion based on worship of him rather than worship of the One God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Based on the information being given him by the vast majority of Christians, the Jew would be right to reject Jesus according to the Torah.

Rapture Doctrine FOUND In The Old Testament

2011-03-09T00:14:00.002-05:00

I have often said that you cannot find the Rapture Doctrine in the Old Testament. I will no longer be able to say that. Here it is:

Isaiah 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

This passage is directed at Ephraim, God's scattered Northern kingdom, the Church. The time of the fulfillment of this prophesy is "in that day," an idiom for today, just prior to the Kingdom Age.

As "Christians" we have taken solace in the fact that the impending judgment, that even Hollywood is telling us is coming, will not touch us. We will not die. The scourge will not touch us.

Why do we believe this?

Because we have believed the lie that says "we will not be here. We will be removed from earth before it gets too bad. We will be raptured outta here!"

There it is: the Rapture Doctrine in the Old Testament... a "covenant" with the coming wrath of YHWH that says "we don't need to change or do anything different because we are CHRISTIANS, and we have the rapture doctrine to save us."

Yeah, the Rapture Doctrine is in the Old Testament. Then again, so is ba'al worship. Probably don't wanna believe in that one either! LOL!

The rapture doctrine.....? God calls it "lies and falsehood."

2011-03-08T11:05:00.000-05:00

To Be Like Him
Here's a great statement from an article I was reading recently entitled Why The New Covenant Doesn't Do Away With The Torah

Sha’ul was never opposed to the Torah, nor to keeping it. What he was opposed to was the misuse of the Torah, in Torah-keeping as an end unto itself, as if one could keep God’s Law well enough to earn the salvation that God has freely offered by His grace.

And if none of that makes sense to the reader, then I have one last argument: My Lord kept Torah, therefore I strive to keep Torah--not for salvation or rewards, but so I can be like Him. My Lord kept kosher, therefore I keep kosher. My Lord celebrated the Feastdays, therefore I celebrate the feastdays. My Lord kept Sabbath on the seventh day, and so do I.

It's as simple as that.

2011-03-03T09:45:00.000-05:00

U2
Okay, I know you are all going to think I'm crazy after reading this one, but, what's new? LOL!

As we know, whatever is happening in the physical world is simply a representation of what is going on in the spiritual realm. At least for me, U2 is a big heads-up from YHWH as to what time we are in. We are in the time where the bones of the northern kingdom of Israel (Ezekiel 37) are coming alive.... world-wide.

To me, U2 is a perfect manifestation of what is going on in the heavenlies right now.

We know that when the northern kingdom of Israel was dispersed about 700 years before Yeshua came in the flesh, that they were scattered north and west, and to the "islands" and the "ends of the earth." They were prophecied to be scattered and forget who they were, only to be regatherd in the "last days."

One of those "islands" where many Israelites can still be found today is Ireland..... the home of the world's most popular rock band, U2.

U2 is the WORLD'S most popular band. They are just as popular in Europe, Asia and South America as they are in the US and their native Ireland. Like the Gospel, it is not just for one small group of people, but it is for the WHOLE WORLD!

Matt 24:14 And this GOSPEL of the kingdom shall be preached in ALL THE WORLD for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

But what really catches my attention is the fact that U2 is probably one of the most "spiritual" bands of all time. (Of course, being spiritual, even a Biblical spirituality, does not make one a believer.) Their lyrics are a "mixture" of Scripture and religion. They are the perfect embodiment of the scattered northern kingdom (the Church) that has always chosen "mixture" over obedience.

Check out some of these lyrics:

Until The End Of The World
"In the garden I was playing the tart
I kissed your lips and broke your heart
You...you were acting like it was
The end of the world..."

Judas in the garden.

Vertigo
"all of this can be yours
just give me what I want
and nobody gets hurts."

Lucifer tempting Yeshua.

I Know I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
"Every generation gets a chance to change the world
Pity the nation that will listen to your boys and girls
'Cos the sweetest melody is the one we haven't heard
Is it true the perfect love drives out all fear?
The right to appear ridiculous is something I hold dear
(Oh, but a change of heart comes slow)"

The rabbis teach that every generation has had the opportunity to bring Messiah back if they would just whole-heartly return to Torah.

The above lyrics are just scratching the surface. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Scriptural references in their songs. And every once in a while, they will even pull a surprise like the following which was filmed in MOSCOW back in August 2010:

The Greatest Show On EarthU2 is known as being the world's greatest "live" band. They sell out 100,000 seat outdoor arenas every performance! Sorry Ringling Brothers, but U2 really is "the greatest show on earth."

Sadly, this reminds me of the church system. Wanna draw a big crowd and build a big ministry? Better put on a good show! Better have good music! Better have a charasmatic preacher! Better pander to the wants and desires of the sheep you are attracting.

U2 is the perfect physical representation of the spiritual condition of the Church.

Living on the "Edge"
One of the things that is so great about coming back into the roots of our faith is that we are living "on the edge." Like I always say, "somebody's gotta be first," and that's you and me! Living on the edge is exciting. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The lead guitarist for U2 is simply known as "the Edge," a very prophetic name to say the least!

He Came To Set the Captives FREE!
Yes, I know Yeshua came for the entire world.... whosoever will. But at His first coming, He came specifically for the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24). We have been exiled and enslaved. But He came to give us FREEDOM.

The lead singer for U2 is Bono.

Ever hear the term "pro bono?" It means to do something without charge. To do it for "FREE!" Prophetic? Hummm???

Popular, spiritual, using "Biblical" quotes, etc. etc..... at the very least I would say U2 is a great picture of the Church/Northern Kingdom. But, and this is just me talking outloud..... I wonder if U2 themselves, being from Ireland, have Israelite blood flowing through their veins and don't even know it. Just kinda makes me go "hummm???"

As I like to point out often, the church thinks they have replaced Israel, but that is simply not the case. The Truth is better than that. We haven't "replaced" Israel, we "ARE" Israel. When Scripture says to Israel, "I will bless those who bless you," it is not just talking about the "Jews," but that includes YOU TOO!

Feed My Sheep

2011-03-03T09:16:00.002-05:00

1 Sam 17:15
15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

We have been like David. We have been in Saul's house, but the anointing has left. Saul was ordained (for a time) just like the Church, but He didn't obey the COMMANDMENT of YHWH and disqualified himself from a leadership role. But, like David, we must now return to our FATHER'S house in Bethlehem (House of Bread/Torah) and feed our FATHER'S sheep.

John 21:17
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, FEED MY SHEEP.

The mantle of leadership has been passed. YOU now wear it! Wear it worthily.

2011-02-27T22:41:00.000-05:00

I Can't Speak Greek Anymore!
Last night I was talking to a relative about the Hebraic and he started reasoning with me based on the logic that I used to be a MASTER at. I realized that I couldn’t even comment on what he was saying. I didn’t get it!

Just then, I realized that I can’t think Greek/western anymore. WOW! What a revelation!

I’ve been in the Hebraic for about three years now, but more importantly, I have been out of the church/greek/western environment for about three years too. And I believe that it was that leaving Babylon that has allowed Him to transform my mind.

Anyway, I said all that to say this. Why would he show the Hebraic to all of us nobodys, while the pastors and church people don’t seem to get it? I think I have a little more insight into a possible answer to that question.

It has taken me three years OUTSIDE of that environment to be transformed. I know God can change anybody, anywhere, but as a general rule, He follows the patterns that He has laid down in Scripture.

Then I got to thinking. God put Moses on the back side of the desert for 40 years to get Egypt out of his mind. God put Paul in Arabia for three years to get legalistic Pharaseeism out of his mind. That’s just the pattern He operates in and he has done the same thing with all of us as well.

Pastors don’t get it, or either, He doesn’t show them this stuff, because they CAN”T leave! Sadly, they are stuck in their churches. Sadly they are dependent upon the income the church provides. They can’t just walk away like me, and Moses and Paul. LOL! Only “losers” have nothing to lose!

Perhaps that’s why Yeshua chose Peter and the boys. They had no status, no position and no financial dependence upon the Jewish religious structure of their day.

On top of the above, I’m not trying to be mean here, but if a pastor has been called to tend nursery (feed the babies milk not steak), which is what being a pastor of a church really is, then that’s where he is SUPPOSED to be. I know that sounds strange, but maybe that’s the reason they don’t get it. HE DON’T WANT THEM TO GET IT! (Or maybe, at least not right now.)

I want them to get it sooo bad but I have to just relax and let HIM handle the timing! UN-learning takes time. But I know from experience it can be done. I can't speak Greek anymore!

2011-02-25T15:41:00.002-05:00

Sex Sells!

We all know the old advertising saying "sex sells." But the question I want to answer in this post is "WHY" does sex sell?

But first, just giving you a "heads up," I am writing this article to men as a man. The deeper truths are just as applicable to women, but the examples I will use are from a man's perspective.

On the surface, the answer to the question of "why" seems pretty obvious. Men are visual and it doesn't take much to get our attention. Put a pretty woman on the screen and you have our attention.

Advertisers know this. They know that whatever you put on that screen along with that attractive woman WILL be seen by the man. It's the way we are wired. Although the man doesn't consciously say to himself "I'm going to go out and buy that product because that woman on their TV commercial is attractive," his subconscious mind associates the pleasure of what he is looking at with the product. Subconsciously then, the man is wired to associate that feeling of excitement with that product and is therefore more inclined to buy it so that he can reproduce that feeling. (Of course, it's a lie. Buying a Vizio television DOES NOT reproduce the feeling you get when you watch the Beyonce' Vizio commercial! LOL!)

Okay, we all already knew the above. No revelation there. And before I go any further, I realize that I am just scratching the surface here. I'm sure this subject has many much deeper levels than what I am about to touch on here. I am just sharing my level of learning up to this point.

The spiritual doorway to a man's body is in his "loins" area. I am not saying that our sex organs are precisely where our spiritual region is, but it lies in that general area. This is applicable for both male and female. We can figure this out a couple of different ways.

First, by simple deductive logic, we can see that for a man to create a new living being like himelf, he has to impart his life into that new being. Only life can beget life. Only spirit can beget spirit. This process is done through the sexual reproductive organ.... the "loins." So, even eighth grade science teaches us that to say "a man's spirit" is located in his loins," makes logical sense.

But there are other clues in Scripture that allude to this truth as well.

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Interesting that he chose the word "loins" here, isn't it? Why is it the "loins" that need to be protected by Truth? Because they are the doorway. They can let in good or evil, and, as we know, only Torah can tell us what is good or evil. So if we want to be able to "stand" we had better protect our spiritual doorway with Torah. Not with "experience," and not with "religious doctrine," but with Torah.

Looking at the above another way, it wouldn't make sense for Yahweh to tell us to protect our loins with "faith" would it? Faith, by itself, would just stand at the doorway and say "I BELIEVE it is okay to let you in."

Likewise, "salvation" wouldn't make a very good doorkeeper either. "Salvation" would just open the door and say "hey good looking, wanna get saved?" All the men would go to the beach to do their witnessing and call it "sufferin' fer Jeezus!"

No, TRUTH, Yeshua Himself, the Living Torah, is the only one qualified to protect our spirits from the evil one, AND FROM OUR OWN EVIL INCLINATIONS!

Alrightey now, another verse.

Luke 12:31, 32, 35
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

Notice the context of the above verse: "the kingdom of God." That is the spirit realm, not the physical realm. Yeshua's kingdom, at present, is not in the physical, but spiritual only. So in giving us advice on this realm, he tells us to protect our "loins," because that is the doorway to and the seat of the spirit realm in a man.

Moving on, consider the following:

Mark 1:6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

I mean really? Who cares what he wore? Did YHWH really need to waste my time telling me what John the Baptist wore? Why do I care? What a waste of space!

As you have probably already figured out, I should care because there is a HUGE clue in this passage. The symbolism is unmistakeable. It is like a huge flashing neon sign if you know what you are looking for.

The word translated "skin" in the passage is "derma." It means skin or leather. Its root is "dero" which means to "beat, flay, thrash or hit."

Guys, what is the most sensitive area of our bodies? And why would John wear a rough garment on THAT area of his body? Because John purposely chose to NOT treat this area of his body with preference for what IT wants. Even in what he chose to wear, he kept it subjected. Why? Because it is the doorway to the spirit and with John's calling, he KNEW he better keep that doorway undefiled or else he'd mishear what the Father was telling him. He understood that the seat of the spirit is in the loins and he kept that area of his body subjected.

Now, add the above with this passage from Shaul:

1 Cor 9:26-27
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that BEATETH the air:
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into SUBJECTION: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Okay, let me paraphrase a little here.

Me: Hey Paul, if you are not beating the air, then what ARE you beating?

Paul: I'm beating, flaying, thrashing, hitting my loins, my sexual desires and lusts so that I can keep it under subjection.

Me: Paul, what do you mean by under "subjection?"

Paul: Haven't you read anything I have written? I use that word quite frequently. For instance, in my letter to Timotheos, I told him that the "woman should learn in silence and all subjection."

Me: So?

Paul: Well Einstein, don't you know that the woman is symbolic of the flesh and the man is symbolic of the spirit? I wasn't bashing women as so many have thought. I was painting a picture of how we are to always keep our FLESH in SUBJECTION to our spirits.

Now, in light of the above, some of the other things we read in the Word should start making a little more sense. For instance, "why circumcision?"

Because if He's got you in THAT area, He's got you in other areas as well! And also, the sybolism in circumcision itself teaches us that there is a direct link between our "loins" area and the spirit realm. We MUST be obedient in this area above all other areas. Sexual sins are different from all other sins:

1 Cor 6:18-19 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Now it should make sense why the Jerusalem council said that the new believers in Yeshua had to do 4 essential things before they could come into the synagogues with the other believers and one of them was "abstain from fornication."

Why?

Because sexual sins open the doorway for the demonic. The "loins" are the spiritual gateway to our beings and we MUST keep those gateways pure or else OTHERS will get damaged just by our very presence among them.

That's why going to church is such a terrible thing to do. You DON'T want to be in an environment where some who are in your midst are not pure. IT WILL AFFECT YOU!!!! GET OUT!

This is why we are told the following:

1 Cor 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

Spending time with a corrupted believer will damage YOU!!!!

And while we are on the subject, I will just mention that one of the other BASIC/ESSENTIAL prohibitions was/is against eating the blood. Why? Because the LIFE/SPIRIT is in the blood. You eat animal blood and your lusts will be inflamed just like that animal. Why do you thinks Satanists drink blood? THERE'S POWER IN THE BLOOD! That has a positive and a negative application. Blood affects the doorway.

Okay, back to our subject. Why does sex sell?

Sex sells because sex captures the spiritual doorway, and whoever has your spiritual doorway has you!

Ever wonder why Satanic ritual always involves sex? Ever wonder why the priestesses of the ancient temples where called temple prostitutes? BECAUSE THEY WERE PROSTITUTES! And sex and spirituality go hand in hand!

Have you noticed that western culture is saturated by sex? This is not coincidence!

Where were the lost northern kingdom tribes of Israel scattered to? North and West. Europe then America.

I believe the western church is nothing more that the scattered house of Israel and as such we still have the same character that we have always had. We still cant keep our pants up and our minds pure and have paid a heavy price for it. But now that we understand that we MUST be pure in this area, above all other areas, if we heed the warning, we will begin to hear from the Father as never before.

In the days ahead, only those with clear lines of communication to the Father will be able to stand. That's why we MUST gird our "loins!" And that's why we cannot fellowship with other believers who refuse to do so.

Sorry, I didn't write that. Just passing it on. I'm just the messenger. Stone Yeshua and Shaul, not me. They're the ones who said it.

________________________________________

1 Cor 5:1-13
1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
(KJV)

Man Up!

2011-02-25T10:30:00.000-05:00

I try not to make this blog about me, but about what I'm learning. But today, I want to make it about me. I want to use ME (my favorite subject) as the example.

Usually I am picking on someone else and pointing the finger at someone else but today I will turn it on me.... so enjoy. As Dan Ackroyd said in the movie Tommy Boy, "savor the flavor kid, cause it ain't gonna happen again."

I'm sitting here this morning thinking about this friend of mine (I'll call him MP, short for "Mister Perfect.") that has come back to the roots from out of a traditional church environment. In fact, as far as his "job" goes, he is still the music director of a several thousand member Baptist Church, but he's the real deal when it comes to being a believer. Unlike me, he is the type that is the role model for what we have always thought a real Christian should be: Looks well, talks well, dresses well, nice, kind, compassionate, gentle, says all the right things and probably never got in trouble as a kid or an adult. (In other words, he's the opposite of me. Man I hate that guy!)

(Some of my peeps. MP not included in photo! LOL!)

So, I was sitting here thinking to myself about him (As I was cleaning my 357 and listening to praise and worship led by Toby Keith), "dude, you better man up! Times are about to get very scary and you better get yourself a gun and learn how to use it to protect your family when the riots start. All that nice, oowey-gooey mushy Christian passivitiy has been fine for the last 1500 years, but dude, you better wake up, toughen up and load up!"

As I am looking down on him in my mind, as usual, God, uninvited, butts into my converstion with myself and says "Hey stupid!" (That's how I know when it is God talking, He always calls me "stupid.") "Let me ask you something."

(By the way, what comes next after He says that is never good.)

"IF, at some point in the future, things DO get scary, don't you think I can take care of MP and his family whether he toughens up or not?"

Of course, I answer "yes," and He continues.

(Out muddin'. No, there's only ONE black dude in this picture!)

"So, since I am God, and you're not, if I choose to protect him myself, OR, let some Bubba like you do it, either way, it's MY call, right?"

"Yes God, it's your call." (Head down and tail between my legs now.)

"But let me ask you this, genius. What are YOU gonna do when when persecution starts and you need someone who can pray, and counsel, and understand and listen and give good spiritual counsel, if there are no guys like MP around? You see, you may need him, but he may not need you! Ever considered that one, diplip?"

Wow. That one hurt.

(Coveralls! The perfect present!)

So I guess what I am trying to say is this. Seems we all need each other and it is a GOOD thing that we are not all alike. Some can teach, some can pray, some know about survival stuff, some have connections, some have gold, some have food stored up, some have guns, some are smart and good-looking like me, etc. etc. etc. And some have nothing but a kind, soft compassionate heart with an ear to hear, and I'm guessing THAT may be the most valuable person (MVP) in the days ahead.

MP may actually end up being the MVP!

Guess it's time for ME to man up!

(My "prissy" daughter. By the way, don't make her mad!)

AFTERTHOUGHT: In the meantime, if you run across any Amalekites, Edomites or Ishmaelites..... send em my way. I'll shoot 'em for ya. One day, He may deliver me from this Red Neck demon I have inside me..... but I'm prayin' against it!

Good News?

2011-02-25T08:28:00.000-05:00

Talking about "falling short" and not doing what we “want” to do (Romans 7), I heard someone say one day that, with the Ten Commandments, man actually could keep them. Its not that hard. Most days I don't break any them.

But then Yeshua comes along and says “not only should you not commit adultery, you shouldn’t even look at a woman. Not only shouldn’t you murder, but you shouldn’t even have hate in your heart for someone.”

In other words, when He came, He really stepped it up a notch from being able to keep the Law to not even having a prayer of living up to what He commands us to do.

So then that begs the question:

“HOW IS THAT GOOD NEWS?”

The church doesn’t want to be under the Law cause they think its too hard. Heck, give me the Law! It’s a WHOLE lot easier than following Yeshua!

LOL. You gotta laugh at the irony of that.

Drew Carey On Pagan Holidays

2011-02-11T11:38:00.001-05:00

Now for a little Friday fun....

Drew Carey at the 2002 White House Correspondent's Dinner speaks some TRUTH about America's pagan holidays.

Even Hollywood can figure it out what the church is blind to!

2011-02-09T01:37:00.004-05:00

Why You Can't Find A Church
I realize that regular readers of this site aren't looking for a church home. Most of you have already come out of the organized Protestant christian religion. However, all of us still have family and friends who are still trying to "fit" into the system. Perhaps they are dissatisfied with their former church and are looking for a new one, only to find that they can't find what they are looking for.

Well, I'm here to tell you, "THAT'S A GOOD THING."

They can't find what they are looking for because the Spirit that is inside them that is searching for Truth will never let them settle for a "new and improved" version of the same old thing they have been in all their life! Perhap you can help them understand the spiritual nature of the battle that they find themselves in the middle of.

Babylon
In Scripture, Babylon is "mixture." We are never told to reform Babylon, or even to look for a new and improved version of Babylon. We are simply told to "come out."

That being said, perhaps the following will give you some insight on their situation so that you might be able to help them come on out of spiritual Babylon completely at some point.

Our Mother the Church
When the plagues were pronounced on Egypt, Moses was not allowed to strike the Nile. He had Aaron perform that duty.

Why?

Because, symbolically, the Nile river was Moses' mother. It gave him life. The Torah teaches that anyone who strikes their mother or father must die. Moses could not strike the Nile and live.

The church was our mother, but our mother has become a whore who has left her first love. The name Moses literally means "drawn out." It was by being placed in the water of the Nile that Moses was "saved." Just as Moses was "drawn out" of the water of the Nile, so many Truth-seekers today are being "drawn out" of the place where they were "saved."

It seems that the Father has "allowed" the system of organized religion, which is a mixture of Truth and lies to be the place where millions of us have been "saved," or at least introduced to Truth. But we must also realize that Moses could not live in the Nile indefinantly. He would have eventually died. So too, we who were "saved" in the church must come out or die. A baby is alloted a specific amount of time in the womb and after that a transition MUST take place, OR, that very womb that gave him life will kill him.

The Spirit Within
You will be asked "what is so wrong with the church? Why must I come out?"

The answer to that question is simple: It is the spirit within the organized Protestant churches that will eventually kill you. I'm not even going to discuss Catholicism, as that one should be obvious already. But our mother is the daughter of Catholicism. We are told in Scripture that the harlot has daughters:

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Though Protestantism came out of Catholicism, we did not come out completely. It still has that spirit of mixiture within it as evidenced by its disregard for YHWH's feasts, sabbaths and commandments. And in these last days Protestantism is even more boldly revealing that she is still the daughter of her mother because that seed of mixture within her remains unchanged.

Popularity
As a general rule, you can usually spot error by watching how well something is received by the masses.

Luke 6:26  Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

I remember when the church that I used to attend made a big deal over things such as The Prayer of Jabez, the movie The Last Temptation of Christ and the book The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. These things were popular and drew a big crowd.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I knew even at that time that something wasn't quite right. All these things, on the surface, appeared to be good, but I knew in my spirit that there was something deeper going on. Now, I am finally able to see that spirit behind these "popular" christian movements.

Now that I understand the nature of the harlot and her daughters, these things all make sense.  Just as every man in not attracted to every woman, likewise, every man is not attracted to every spiritual harlot. Hence, we have "denominations," or "daughters" of the harlot. Whatever your preference, we have it.

Converts
"Some denominations thrive on "winning souls" for the kingdom. Only problem is, if it is a watered-down gospel, what kingdom are they actually winning souls for? If new converts get a bit of the truth but then never grow into maturity but die in the womb, is not that person worse off than had he never heard the Gospel to begin with?

I read the following recently and I remembered that strange feeling I had about Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life.

"The Chrislam movement has gained impetus by statements from President George W. Bush and that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worship the same God and by Rick Warren’s reference to Isa (the Muslim name for Jesus) in his prayer at the inauguration of President Barack Obama." Source

The true Gospel is watered-down a little more each year in a mistaken belief that what is most important is that we make "converts." We must make our churches now "Muslim-friendly" so that we can "win" them?

Yeshua never watered-down His teaching in order to win the Scribes and Pharisees. In fact, He went out of His way to HIDE the Truth from them by teaching in parables so that THEY WOULD NOT BE SAVED! Guess He wasn't too interested in building a big church, huh? I also seem to recall that He wasn't too "popular" with the organized church/religion of that day.

Matt 13:10-15 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, BUT TO THEM IT IS NOT GIVEN.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables.......
15 ..........lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, AND SHOULD BE CONVERTED, and I should heal them.

Many "Word people" are going from church to church today looking for some good preaching/teaching "like they used to hear." Problem is, they aren't going to find it, because they have outgrown the womb. They are ready for the solid meat that only the Torah can satisfy them with.

The Supernatural

Some pastors, in their zeal for church growth, have allowed their flocks to be fleeced by every seducing spirit that comes along that can attract a big crowd. I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard "flattering" words spoken by a visiting speaker over the church that I used to attend. I have now personally witnessed two pastors, who at one time were sold out to the Truth, completely seduced and turned from the Truth by the seducing spirits they allowed to speak through visiting "men of God."

Make no mistake, the supernatural will attract a big crowd and grow a big church, but in the process, many believers have become "supernatural" junkies, running from place to place looking for the next "expereince." But if they are of the True Seed, YHWH will cut them off and their searching will be in vain. They will go from church to church looking to duplicate that feeling they used to get, only to end up more disappointed at every stop.

They equate "experience" with "relationship." But a relationship with the Messiah is a relationship with the "Word/Torah." Yeshua IS the living Torah. The drug of emotional and even supernatural experience will eventually wear off leaving a hole in the believer that only Torah can fill. And every new church they visit looking for that "experience" to fill the void will just be another disappointment.

Music
Pastors know that if you want to grow a big church today that you better have a good music program. Music touches our soul and is a wonderful complement to the Word. But many are looking for a church today and won't even consider one that doesn't have a good music program.

I wonder what kind of music program the house churches in Acts had?

Again, I suspect many are looking to fill a Torah-shaped hole in their spirits with music and it just isn't satisfying them. That's a good thing. The scary thing is the hundreds of thousands that are quite content in their Torahless churches because the music pleases them.

Programs for the kids
How many times have you heard people say that they go to a particular church because they have good programs for the kids? I hear it all the time. There are churches within 10 miles of my home that have grown to thousands of members because they have great youth programs in the eyes of those who attend there.

But what of the family that is looking for a new church home and are basing their choice on the quality of the youth programs? I would submit to you that they will be unable to find what they are looking for because God is moving them on beyond that. YHWH wants the PARENTS to teach the children and not pawn them off on hirelings.

Deut 6:6-7 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt TEACH THEM DILLIGENTLY TO THY CHILDREN, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

It is sad that we as parents care enough about our kids that we want them to learn the Word of God, but we don't care enough about them to teach them ourselves. That's a mixture!

An Exhortation
If the Father Himself could talk to your friends and family here is what I believe He would tell them:

"My people perish for lack of knowledge."

You will never perish for lack of music, emotional/spiritual experiences, church programs or missionary conquests. Quit looking for Me in all the has-beens, counterfeits and add ons.  I am not in the big, flashy stuff.  I'm in the still small voice that speaks to you when you are alone with My Son Yeshua, the Torah. Without Him, everything else is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Prov 4:1-14
1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
3 For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

You will never find "life" (verses 4, 13) outside of My Son/Torah. So quit looking for it in the "paths of the wicked." Quit running from one house of "mixture" to another looking for Truth. You will not find it there!

The Last Days Church
Jeremiah 51 describes the church today.

Jer 51:6-9
6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so she may be healed.
9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

The church "HAS been a golden cup in the Lord's" hand for 2000 years, and if it were up to us, "we would have healed her." But her sins are full and shortly she shall "fall suddenly."

Your loving Father is doing you a favor right now by not letting you find a new church home, for in so doing, you will not be one of the hundreds of thousands who find their faith shattered when their God, the church system, is judged. Go to your own country, your own assembly, your own house church, for the end is revealed in the beginning, and as it was in the beginning so it shall once again be in the end.

Literally MILLIONS of believers are leaving the Protestant church system today looking for something more. They are no longer satisfied by the milk that has sustained them up to this point. (Don't misunderstand and think I am bashing the pastors who are called to tend nursery. But it is a calling whose days are numbered.) They must go back to the beginning. Back to their first love: Torah. Back to the faith once delivered to the saints.

Help your loved ones who are searching for something more to realize that they are being promoted. It is time to graduate from the nursery and enter elementary school and those classes are held in a different building. Those classes are held in homes and shops and restaraunts just as they were during the first century.

Never forget that the end is revealed in the beginning. What has been, will be. History is prophecy. As this age draws to an end God is calling us back to the roots of the faith, for it is only those who have roots that will survive the days to come.

Can't find a church home? That's a good thing.

2011-02-08T16:10:00.002-05:00

Oral Tradition and Isaiah
When I first discovered the Truth of Torah and began my journey into the Hebraic roots of the faith, I completely rejected the Oral Tradition that the rabbis have handed down for thousands of years. I know there are many within the Hebraic/Messianic community who still do.

In coming out of traditional christianity I was so surprised to learn that I had believed lies and traditions of men that I was not about to exchange my "christian" traditions for new "Jewish" ones. If I couldn't find it in the Scriptures, I wouldn't believe it.

But, as time has gone on, I am continually learning that the writers of the Renewed Covenant accepted the Oral Traditions. Today I came across another such instance in Hebrews.

Oral tradition states that Isaiah died by being sawn in half during the reign of the evil king Manasseh of Judah. (Well I reckon the Jews oughta know..... they were there!) Though we read nowhere in the Tanach about anyone being sawn in half, the writer to the Hebrews states in Hebrews 11:37 that many of the great men of faith were "sawn asunder."

Hummm..... I wonder where the writer learned this fact? Oral tradition? Sure didn't get it from the written Scriptures.

While the above does not prove that all of the Oral traditions and teachings of the ancient rabbis were true, it also is a reminder to us not to toss out the baby with the bath water.

I find it interesting that it was a king named "Manasseh" that supposedly killed Isaiah. Could this be yet another warning to us that it will not be the Muslims, Russians or Chinese that the true Church will be persecuted by, but it will be their own brothers from the apostate christian church that will kill us?

The church is not some new organization that replaced Israel, but it is actually the restored northern kingdom of Israel/Joseph/Ephraim. And Manasseh was Ephraim's brother, and his name literally means "To Forget." The Replacement Theology that the church teaches bears witness to the fact that Manasseh has truly forgotten who he is.

It is also interesting that Manasseh's had a son named Machir. Machir means "salesman" and one story of how America got its name was after the Italian Amerigo Vespucci, translated "ha Machir Vespucci."

I'll bet when our return to the true faith and our preaching that judgment is coming (like Isaiah did) starts costing the wesstern church money from lost sales of their version of the gospel, their true nature will show itself. Hide the saws!

Although Yeshua refuted many of the man-made traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees, He also supported many of them as well. If we broad-brush the Oral Tradition as a whole and reject it completely, I fear we may be doing so at our own peril. I myself have personally become convinced even moreso that Yeshua IS the Messiah since I have begun studying the Oral Traditions of the rabbis who teach that He is not, for even the Oral points to Him. (You gotta get a laugh out of that one!!!)

I know many in the Hebraic completely reject the Oral Tradition, while others have gone so far to the other extreme that they have even rejected the New Covenant and the Messiah and tried to become "Jewish." I perceive that the Truth lies somewhere in between.

As Brad Scott always says (tongue in cheek), "I agree with the rabbis when they agree with me."

The Adulterous Wife Stoned

2011-02-03T17:44:00.002-05:00

The Northern Kingdom of Israel was called an adulterous wife. Speaking of Israel, God says:

Hos 1:7 Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

What is the penalty for an adulterous wife?

Deut 22:21 Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

The penalty was stoning.

What is the penalty for serving idols?

Deut 17:5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

To be stoned.

The Northern Kingdom was called an adulterous wife because of her whoring around with idols. To fulfill the Law, she should be stoned. That was the condemnation of the Law that the northern kingdom of Israel lived under until Messiah Yeshua came.

Who did Yeshua come for?

Matt 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

The northern kingdom of Israel. Not the whole world.

Isaiah 53:8 "...for the transgressions of MY PEOPLE" (not the world) "He was stricken."

What did He come to do?

He came to "FULFILL THE LAW." To DO what the Law called for.

Matt 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

The Law required that Israel/the adulterous wife be stoned. HE took her penalty. As He was nailed to the cross, hanging naked, He was stoned.

With His death by stoning, the Law was "fulfilled." We, those of Israel scattered among the nations were made free from the curse we were under.

HE DIDN'T DO AWAY WITH THE LAW. HE TOOK AWAY OUR CURSE THAT THE LAW PUT US UNDER.

The Law was, and IS, good. It was our dilemma that was bad. He IS the Law. He did not come to destroy Himself!

NOW REGARDING THE STONING OF THE MESSIAH, WHICH I KNOW YOU ARE DYING TO LEARN ABOUT, I PRESENT THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE:

The following article can be found here.

The Stoning of Messiah

I have asked a few people recently, how did Yahshua die. A couple said He died by Crucifixion. And when I suggested He died by stoning (as he hung on the cross) they were adamant that he was crucified. Another said if He did not die by crucifixion then show me the scriptures that said He died another way.

This second approach is what I call the Berrean attitude. It is an attitude that says maybe I do not know it all. And if you know something and can prove it by scriptures, then I might listen. I enjoy discussing things with people like this. We end up teaching each other.

If you are of the opinion that you might like to learn a deeper truth to the crucifixion, then this paper might be of interest to you. If you already know it all, then now is the time to hit delete.

I have a game of four way Chess that I promote and play on occasion. Those who do play this game are excited to play and soon find out that it is very taxing on the mind. It forces you to think outside the box. In this case the box is unilateral thinking. You versus your opponent. Outside the box thinking, would be on a multi faceted level. In the example of the chess game it is playing three other opponents at the same time as they are attacking you from three different sides at the same time. I find it very much fun and very challenging.

I mention this game to make a point. How many times are we ‘In the Box’ per say, as to our thinking on the scriptures? How much of what we understand is just what others have fed us and we have never really thought much about? Have we proven all that we believe? We should, shouldn’t we? After all we are going to be persecuted for our beliefs. And in like manner, how do you know I am going to state the truth on this matter, or that any author you read has correctly done the same?

May I suggest you do as we did so many years ago, and open our minds and our bibles and step outside our comfort zone and out side of our own little safe boxes. And see if we can’t learn something more profound as we approach Passover in a very short time.

I wish I could say I have discovered this new thinking on my own. I can not though. Since coming back from Israel I have been ingrossed in a number of books by Ernest L. Martin. In one book entitled Secrets of Golgatha, Mr. Martin claims that the Messiah was killed by Stoning and did not died by crucifixion. This was extremely different to my understanding. So I read on. And now having read this book and two others by him, I wish to share the high points with you and encourage you to get and read these books.

So lets get started.

One of the big misbelieves that we have in our modern times is that The Jesus we think we follow is muscular, and strong, and as many pictures now show us, very handsome. Even in the recent movie The Passion, he was portrayed as a good looking man. Was He?

Mr. Martin shows that by reading the suffering servant prophesy in Isaiah, we can see that the Messiah was not handsome. He was not muscular. In fact He was ‘a tender twig’, ‘Comely’ and ‘a root out of dry ground’. This is a description of the Messiah from His birth and not just at his last days on earth.

A tender plant is not strong, or robust, but weakly, and feeble. A root out of dry ground, is one that is undernourished, thin, not fully muscular but skinny and weak.

Comely is a polite word for ugly. And the Messiah would be sickly and be sick. He was sick and suffered the trials of sickness just as we all do and yet never sinned. Heb 4:15. Infirmities is also translated sicknesses in other translations.

Matt 8: 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.” The implication here is that he bore our sicknesses all His life. Not just on the tree He was crucified on.

Isaiah 52:13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. 14 Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men; 15 So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider.

Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely He has borne our grief’s And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked– But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

In the book titled The Fifty-Third Chapter of Isaiah by S.R Driver and A.Neubauer, printed by Ktav Publishing, NY, are the writings of Jewish scholars from the past 22 centuries describing the Messiah’s sufferings. And because of their understanding of Isaiah 53 and the misinterpretation of Christians of this same chapter, we now have so many Jews refusing to believe Jesus is the Messiah. Because Christians relate sickness to sin, and the Messiah never sinned there for He could never have been sick. But the Jews now he was sickly from birth.

I’ll let Mr. Martin finish this part of the study with more proofs when you read his book.

But I would like to tell you about a child I went to school with. He was always sick. He was very thin and he smelled of manure all the time. I think he was sick because his water may have been contaminated from the barn yard. He had no strength and was not pleasant to look at. No one would hang around him, afraid to catch something. No one would play with him. No one did any thing with him except tease and taunt him continually. He was not retarded, as he would pull off 90% almost all the time except in Phys ed. I see him walking around town now and then and am ashamed of how we teased him. I am even more ashamed when I consider how he may have been a twin to our Messiah.

Now I’ll just mention briefly about the Centurion that had stuck the spear into Yahshua. When you read it in Matt 27:51-54 you’ll see that he saw the curtain torn from top to bottom. I went to the traditional Golgatha site, while in Jerusalem, where Ron Wyatt claims he found the three cross holes and the ark of the covenant. I wanted to believe Mr. Wyatt. I wanted to believe him dearly, but when you stand at this site near the traditional garden tomb, and look towards the Temple area, you realize something very quickly. You are looking at the back of the temple. No matter which temple site you are believing in, whether the Dome of the Rock site or between the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, or south of the Southern wall over the Gihon Spring, all of them face east towards the Mount of Olives and you are standing here looking at the back of where the Temple was. It is not possible to have seen the curtain from this location. Yahshua had to have been killed on the mount of Olives.

Now consider the fact that the Red Heifer, which was a sin offering and the Atonement Goat which was a sin offering, had to be taken out of the temple area and burnt. Numbers 19, and Lev 16, Lev 4:12, 21; 6:11.

The sin offering had to be taken out the eastern gate to the mount of Olives and totally burnt at the Miphkad Altar. Type and anti-type.

One little problem, Yahshua was not burnt up. But he was killed on the Mount of Olives near the same place the Burnt offering was made. Why was he not burnt? Why should he have been burnt?

We read in Joshua 7:15, 25, 26 about Achan and how he was accursed for taking of the things from Jerico. Therefor he and all his possessions were cursed and to be burnt by fire. To purify the Israelites from the curse.

To be in compliance with the law Yahshua, who was accursed, Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”*), which is taken from Duet. 21:23. his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.

Notice a couple of things here before I go on. No where in the law of God are we told to hang a person on a tree and kill him. But only here in Duet. 21:22-23 are we told that if we do hang a dead man on a tree that we are not to leave him there over night. I found this rather interesting. Also note that it says tree, not a cross. And it also said to bury the dead man. So you could both burn the entire accursed objects according to the law or bury the man and burn the accursed things that had come in contact with the accursed person.

In Mark 15:23 the Greek says that Joseph went to Pilate with the utmost urgency to claim the body of Yahshua. Why because the Jews were going to burn the tree and everything on it because it was accursed. From this place of execution, it would take about 15-20 minutes to walk down Golgatha across the bridge to the Temple and across the causeway joining the temple to Fort Antonio where Pilot was near the present Dome of the Rock.

But now make note of what Pilate says in the next verse of Mark 15:44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.

Why was Pilate so marveled that our Messiah was ALREADY dead when the other two criminals were not yet dead? Yahshua died at 3 PM. But the other criminals were not expected to die until an hour before sunset when they’re legs were broken.

Please understand, this is not mente to be a point of contention or arguments. But it is to show you just how much our savior actually did go through on our behalf.

In Isaiah 52:14 Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men.

Psalms 22: 11 Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. 13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.

What kind of punishment could do this to our Messiah. A whipping? This is more than the whipping he took before. Because Pilate was going to let him go after that, so it could not have been the whipping that killed Him. Luke 23:22 This is more than just being nailed to a tree. Yes he was nailed to a tree as if to be crucified, but he did not die from crucifixion.

His appearance was so badly marred. His bones were out of joint but not broken, and he could see all his bones sticking out of his skin.

There is only one type of execution that fits the description we have. And it was a common form of execution, at this time. And it was the only type of Execution that the Law of Moses allowed for capital offences.

In John 18:31 we are told that Pilot said “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.”

And the Law says in Lev 24: 13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15 Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.

This was a law, and if we look in John 8:59, and 10:31-33, and even in John 11:8, we can see that the Jews were trying to stone Yahshua many times.

When you read Psalm 38:4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds are foul and festering Because of my foolishness. 6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7 For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. 9 Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You. 10 My heart pants, my strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me. 11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, And my relatives stand afar off.

12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, And plan deception all the day long. 13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth. 14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth is no response.

When a person is being stoned, the target is usually the head. Mark 12:4. And with repeated volleys being thrown at our Messiah, he would have been hit many time in the head and groin area. His feet were nailed to the tree, and his hands. He was naked and exposed in the front to the repeated volleys of stones hurled at Him and he could not move out of the way or protect Himself . His loins would no doubt be on fire in pain or full of inflammation and swelling and bleeding. His hearing would be ringing from the repeated blows to the head. His eyes would be swelled shut and bloodied. Junks of flesh would have been cut open and torn off by the sharp stones ripping through Him.

The apostle Paul knows full well what the Messiah went through. Acts 14: 19 Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city.

And 4 years later Paul wrote to the Galatians and said 17 From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. He said in Gal 6 he bore the scars of Jesus, because he was also stoned and left for dead. And in Gal 4:13-15 Paul talks about his vision being impaired and again in Gal 6:11. This is because Paul was stoned and the main target in a stoning is the head. Paul’s eyes were injured and his flesh was scared from the cuts.

We are also told that Stephen was martyred by stoning in Acts 6.

Yahshua, our Messiah was hung on a tree with two other criminals, and stripped naked and suffered repeated volleys of sharp stones thrown at him non stop for that whole time.

One last source as proof. And it comes from the Sanhedrin 43a of the Talmud

” On the eve of the Passover Yahshua the Nazarean was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went froth and cried, ‘He is going forth To Be Stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Any one who can say anything on his favor, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.’ But since nothing was brought forward in his favor he was hanged on the eve of Passover.”

Mr Martin goes on to show how the tree on which Yahshua was killed is represented by the Menorah. The seven arms are representing the six arms of those killed on the tree and the Head of Yahshua.

He also explains the reason the Fig tree is cursed and what tree our Messiah was killed on.

I won’t tell you everything the book says, but I do highly recommend it to every one. Especially in respect to Passover soon being here. A must read before Passover by all.

So the next time you turn on the TV and see a mob of people throwing stones. Imagine them doing it to our Messiah for six hours non stop. Kids trying to have a competition aiming at certain parts of the anatomy, and the crowd cheering when they got a bulls eye. This Passover count the cost paid by our Redeemer, to redeem you from the captivity of Satan. Count the Cost.

Another Benefit Of Keeping Shabbat

2011-02-03T17:00:00.000-05:00

Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy.....
By keeping the Sabbath holy, we in turn make the whole week holy.

Did Yeshua Really Rise On Sunday?

2011-01-29T20:39:00.003-05:00

Click on chart to enlarge

Do The Math!

Good Friday is a tradition started by the Catholic Church which states that Yeshua died on Friday. They assume it was Friday since the Scripture states that the next day was a Sabbath. However, the following verse clearly states that it was a special Sabbath. Of course we know from context prior to the crucifixion that this "special Sabbath" was the Passover. If Yeshua died on Friday afternoon and was out of the tomb before sunrise on Sunday, then there are not "three days and three nights."

John 19:26 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Thursday. Yeshua could not have died on Thursday. Again, if He dies late on Thursday afternoon and then is gone by daybreak on Sunday, then He would have been in the tomb for three nights, but not three days. He would have only been in the tomb Fri"day" and Satur"day." This does not add up to three full days.

Wednesday. When you combine John 19:26 above, with the fact that He stated He would be in the earth "three days AND three nights," the only possible conclusion you can come to is that He was killed on Wednesday. That places Him in the ground for all of the daylight hours of Thursday, Friday and Saturday. That also places Him in the ground for all of Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday night. Contrary to tradition, He would have rose PRIOR to sunset on Saturday evening.... 72 hours ("three days and three nights") after He died. If He rose on Sunday morning, He would have been in the earth for 4 days.

The Saturday Sabbath. We Protestants have been handed down the doctrine of the Sunday Sabbath from the Catholic Church which states that the early church met on Sunday, instead of Saturday, to honor the day which Yeshua rose. As you can see from the above, it would have been impossible for Him to have risen on Sunday. He was discovered on Sunday, but He rose on the Sabbath, FULFILLING the Scripture that states that He IS our Sabbath rest.

Why God Had To Die

2011-01-25T17:03:00.004-05:00

Ever wonder why God had to come to earth as a man and die? After all, He is God. I'm sure He could have arranged for our salvation in any number of ways that did not include Him dying. Although I feel sure I don't know all the aspects of this subject, I do want to point out one reason given in Scripture "why" God had to die.

Israel Divorced
In the book of Hosea, God is dealing with the northern kindgom of Israel whom he likens to a whore. He ultimately divorces Israel (not Judah) as told by Jeremiah:

Jer 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

But YHWH also promises to remarry Israel again in the latter days.

Hos 2:19-20 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. 20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.

But this poses a problem for God. According to the law of Moses, a woman cannot remarry her first husband once he has put her away. HOWEVER, once he dies, she is then free to remarry.

For this reason, before Israel could once again remarry YHWH, whom she had been divorced from, YHWH Himself had to die.

NOW we know why Yeshua said that He only came for the lost sheep of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL (not Judah).

Matt 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

He/Yeshua/God died so Israel could become the bride of Messiah!

This also gives us a better understanding of the following passage which Christianity has misunderstood to say that the law is dead.

Rom 7:2-4 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

When taken in the context of Yeshua's dying for the lost sheep of the northern kingdom of Israel, we can clearly see that this passage is not saying that the law is dead, or changed or no longer valid. NO! It is saying that once the husband dies, then the law no longer holds the woman back from being remarried. We who were divorced, can now become the bride of Yeshua.

One other interesting point this raises: Judaism does not recognize the divinity of the Messiah. In considering the above, I don't see how we can say Yeshua was not divine.

Yeshua HAD TO BE divine, for God HAD to die!

2011-01-22T15:05:00.003-05:00

Yitro - 2011
(Notes from Shabbat Study)

Which Father Will You Follow
• Gideon hacked down his father’s altar.
• Moses taught Jethro about the God of Israel even though Jethro was a well respected priest of that day.
• Joseph had a revelation (dream) that his father did not have.
• Yeshua and Joseph

Children, above all things, want to please their earthly fathers. I can’t think of too many things that they value higher. And those who value it the highest, have the toughest time accepting new revelations from God that go against the traditions of their earthly fathers.

Matt 10:35-37 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

God often uses this to reveal our hearts to us and to others. It shows who our ultimate loyalty is to.

Quite often we have those who seem to be honoring their fathers but in reality, they are simply trying to fill a need in their own lives that only the approval of their earthy fathers can provide. And they desire this approval more than they desire the approval of their heavenly father.

These were often raised hard, without much open displays of affection. They are from very religious backgrounds and really believe what they believe, and have convinced themselves that God would never put them in a position to choose between their two fathers.

They call it “honoring their parents,” but it is a religious sheepskin covering over the fact that they are wolves. They use the Bible to cover over the fact that they will never relinquish that part of their life.

Jethro
This Parshah describes the arrival in the Israelite camp of Moses' father-in-law, Jethro the priest of Midian, who has heard of the miracles of the Exodus. Jethro proclaims:

"Now I know that G-d is greater than all gods..."

This tells us that he had full knowledge of every idol in the world, for he had worshipped them all. He was a “seeker” of truth.

Lifted Up
Jesus said “if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.” Jethro was a “man,” not a “wild beast.” Jethro comes to Moses AFTER Sinai. Why? Because Moses was lifted up on the mountain with the Torah and with the voice of God just as Yeshua was lifted up on the cross, and the voice of God spoke. What did the centurion say when he heard it? “Surely this was the son of God!”

Israel didn’t have to go out and evangelize. No, Jethro came and asked. The NT tells us to always be ready to give an answer to the hope that is within us. That implies that somebody will ASK!

Jethro, being a priest and spiritual leader, was comparable to Nicodemas in the NT.

The Great Commission
“Go and make DISCIPLES, not CONVERTS.” HE converts them, and WE disciple those He brings to us.

People will be drawn to us when He is lifted up. How do we lift him up? By keeping Torah. By lifting it up for all the world to see. Keeping Torah is the most evangelistic thing we can do!

Echo
Torah tells us that G-d spoke the Ten Commandments in "a great voice, which did not cease" (Deuteronomy 5:19). The Midrash offers a number of interpretations for this description of the divine voice. One interpretation is that the divine voice at Sinai was unique in that it had no echo.

What is "great and unceasing" about a voice that has no echo? Why should the divine voice at Sinai have been distinguished in this manner from all other sounds?

The echoless nature of the divine communication conveys the very essence of what transpired at Sinai. An echo is created when a sound meets with a substance which resists it: instead of absorbing its waves, the substance repels them, bouncing them back to the void. Prior to Sinai, the voice of Torah had an echo. Belonging to the spirituality of the heavens, it could not truly penetrate the physicality of the earth. The world might hear of Torah and be affected by it; but there remained a certain degree of resistance, as the Torah and the physical world each remained defined by their respective "higher" and "lower" realms. At Sinai, however, G-d rescinded the decree which had severed the heavens from the earth. The world could now fully absorb the divine voice; a physical object could now become one with its mission and role.
God came down and Moses went up, and the spiritual and physical realms met for the first time since the garden of eden.

Does the NT bear out this oral tradition?

God’s word will not return void. How come only Jethro came but all the other nations did not? Only the good seed hears his voice. Jesus said “my sheep hear my voice.” Paul heard the voice of the Lord but everyone else just thought it thundered.

Amalek
Jethro was also drawn to inquire about the God of Israel because he had heard about Amalek. What can we learn from Amalek?

Amalek too was a descendent of Isaac and had a spark of holiness, or calling on his life. Eliphaz was his father. That the Jews were going to be worthy of the world to come and if Amalek would help them he too could share in the world to come, was too much for him. Amalek would rather DIE than submit to the Jews! He KNEW they were God’s chosen people but still would not submit.

The church too is a descendent of Isaac with a spark of holiness in them, but they, like Amalek, would rather die than submit to the Jews/Torah. Like Amalek, Like the Muslims, they will claim Abraham and Isaac as their father, but they will not claim Jacob/Israel.

Wild Beasts
So, we are all born “wild beasts” but with potential. It is the Torah that brings out and refines that potential so that we can go from being “wild beasts” to “men.” But Torah requires intellect. Amalek refused to let intellect guide his decisions. Everyone else knew that to attack Israel was suicide, and so did Amalek, but they chose to ignore their intellect and act on emotion. This is why God tells us to kill Amalek.

On a related thought, why did God choose Abraham? Because God said “he will teach (intellect) his children. God wants us to reason and question and think!
“Come let us reason together….’ “Paul reasoned with them” “they could not withstand the wisdom with which he spoke” Acts 6:10 referring to Stephen

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

The son of God HIMSELF wasn’t born knowing it all. He INCREASED in wisdom.

God never asks us to put our mind on hold and this appealed to Jethro who saw this God destroy a people who put their minds on hold.

Living Holy
How do we live holy? By sweeping the house clean? By just saying “no?” NO! You will be worse off than if you just didn’t even try to clean yourself up. YOU CANT CLEAN YOURSELF UP!

We live holy by following Torah. By putting Torah in the house and that drive out the evil inclination. Those selfish desires will begin to melt away. The cycles give us “power to perpetuate the commands.” The renewing of the MIND/INTELLECT is what Torah does. It is eating from the tree of life as opposed to the tree of experience. The fuller you are from the tree of life, the less appetite you will have for the other tree. But if you decide to resist your evil inclinations by not eating from the bad tree, and you don’t also begin to eat from the good tree, you hunger/passions will overcome you and you will go back and begin to eat from the bad tree.

Understanding
Some of the commands we understand. For instance, “we know that when we eat blood it inflames our passions.” Hence, if you want to stop lusting, then ONE of the things you need to do is to obey the commandment prohibiting the eating of blood. Other commandments we will never understand “why” we are to keep them. But He lets us understand enough of them so that we can trust Him on the others and do them anyway.

Everytime we fulfill Shabbat, He refills us so that those evil inclinations die once again. By next Friday night we come back to God and say “I need another experience!” Of course, the Pentecostals have their counterfeit that they go try to get every Sunday, and it feels good, but it has no life-changing power. It has no holiness.

Holiness can only come when we keep a commandment. When we eat matzoh on the right day, it becomes holy and we then also become holy. We are inhabiting a holy place on the physical earth. That is why the angels couldn’t destroy Sodom until Lot left. The more time we spend around holy things, the more we become holy simply by osmosis.

The Highest Level
The highest level of performing Torah can only be done by the one that has the MOST evil inclinations. Jethro had tried ALL the other Gods. He’d done it all, and like Soloman, found that it was vanity. Therefore he reasoned that he could be GREAT, because He would have the opportunity to do more mitzvoh and overcome more evil inclinations than anyone else. This is what the NT is referring to when it talks about being “overcomers.”

The rabbis teach that God’s rewards are 500 times greater than his punishments. That meant to Jethro, that as low as he was, and he was pretty low, that by accepting Torah, he could be that same amount in height TIMES 500. This, he thought, is a religion for a man such as myself!

What did Paul say? I am the CHIEF OF SINNERS!

This is also why the proud resist Torah. This is why the church only want to talk about “grace,” because they see no need of what Torah has to offer. They see themselves as good enough. WELL I DON’T! I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH AND I NEED HELP! I RUN TO TORAH FOR HELP!!!!!

Chronology
Why is the story of Jethro out of chronological order? To teach us that instead of dreading Torah, we should run to meet it!

We aren’t ready to receive Torah until we have the right attitude and Jethro had the right attitude. He wanted to be elevated like Israel. He was teachable, even though he was a well respected teacher and scholar of the day. His acceptance of Torah probably cost him his reputation and position. Again, we have a similarity between the life of Paul and Jethro. (Paul, the reincarted spirit of Jethro? Hummmm)

Jethro means “extra.” Torah without the “extra” of a right attitude will bring DEATH not life. The “letter” of the law kills you. You cant keep it!

This is what Jesus was trying to teach the Pharisees: “You got a bad attitude!” He wasn’t against their trying to keep Torah…. He was against their ATTITUDE! He was against WHY they were trying to keep it….. pride!

Jethro HUMBLED himself and came to his son-in law. He condescended, and was rewarded with LIFE!

With the right attitude, Torah is GOOD NEWS. With the wrong one, it is not!

The "Jewish" Problem/The Final Solution
Oral tradition tells us that Pharoah called the three wisest men he knew to give him counsel over the "Jewish" problem: Job, Baalim and Jethro.

Water for water – Baliim told Pharaoh to kill Israel by water. Why? Because Balaam knows that God had already promised not to give another flood. And since God could only punish Egypt measure for measure, Baalim knew God could not punish Egypt with a flood/water. This is why Egypt was drowned in the Red Sea. Measure for measure! Hahahahahah!

Job, like Switzerland, took the middle ground. He didn't tell Pharoah to exterminate them, but He didn't really stick up for them either.

How could he be so indifferent to Israel's pain?

He didn't feel their (Israel's) pain. So God said, in measure for measure form, "Okay pal, you don't feel their pain? Here's some pain for you!"

Jethro advised Pharoah NOT to harm Israel, and because of this he was rewarded by having an extra Torah portion to be added in his name, as well as being allowed to know and serve the God of Israel.

Why start studying it, but not yet be asked to kept it? Because you must first LEARN what you are supposed to KEEP and this is a process. You also need to KNOW what it is you are being asked to KEEP before you respond “all you say and command, we will do.”

Jethro vs. Pharoah
Why was Jethro, an idolator, allowed to counsel Moses and become part of Israel, yet Pharoah was rejected? Because Pharoah thought that he was god, while Jethro knew that he (himself) wasn’t god. You can mess around and mess around and God doesn’t give you much grief, BUT, when you sit yourself on His throne, then watch out…. Judgment is coming.

Critical Thinking
Jethro was a critical thinker. "Hey Moses why are you doing it this way? Youre wrong. Hey Pharoah, why you want to kill the Israelites? Youre wrong."

Why should Moses take advice from Jethro, a pagan priest? Because he was a truth seeker, and if you are a truth seeker, God can use you. And if two truth seekers meet, they will each know it immediately so they will be willing to accept advice from one another.

How do we know he was a truth seeker? Because in his advice to Moses regarding the judges, he said to only choose the men who hated bribery.

Rabbis teach that after he was converted, he went back home to convert his family and then his descendents became part of Israel later. Isnt that us? We get saved and take the gospel to our world, only to come back into the nation and the land later?

Extra
One final note…. Jethro means “extra.” We are told that this portion is an “extra” portion that was added because Jethro merited this recognition because of his actions. May we too be Jethro’s.

2011-01-22T14:37:00.000-05:00

Paul, the spirit of Jethro
(please read the notes from Yitro - 2011 before reading this article)
Evangelism
Paul had to leave Israel to go take the message to others. Jethro had to leave Israel to go take the message to his family (Midian). (Could Midian have similarities with the lost sheep of the house of Israel.)

Priest
Jethro was Priest of Midian. Yet he bowed to Moses. Paul was a Pharisee of Pharisees. A ruler in Israel. Yet he bowed to the prophet like unto Moses, Yeshua.

Teachers
Jethro gave a halacha ruling to Moses: How to judge Israel. So did Paul. Much of his instructions to the churches were halacha rulings. They were not Torah, but they were truth. Jethro’s advice to Moses was not Torah, in that it did not come from the mouth of God, but it was truth just the same.

Truth Seekers
Both were truth seekers who had been going about it the wrong way. Jethro said he had served ALL the idols of the world in his search for truth.

Heard the voice of God
Both heard the voice of God when others didn’t. Paul on the Damascus road and Jethro from Sinai.

Both wealthy yet willing to give it up.
We know that as a Pharisee, Paul would have been wealthy and would have had a family. Yet we also know that he later said he wasn’t married. We also know that many times in his ministry he had no wealth. Jethro also would have lost his wealth and influence by choosing to follow this God that no one else wanted to follow. Of all the surrounding nations, ONLY JETHRO heard the call of Sinai. We can only imagine his reception was mixed at best. Much like Paul’s who would be praised on day and stoned the next.

Fathers and Sons
Moses was Jethro’s son-in-law. Timothy was Paul’s son-in-the-faith. Timothy means “dear to God.” Moses was called “the friend of God.”

Learning
Paul went to Arabia after he heard the voice on the Damascus road, to learn. Jethro went to Moses, after he heard the voice, to learn.

Counselor to Kings
Jethro had been a counselor to Pharoah. Paul stood before kings to give witness. Jethro obviously did not persuade Pharoah with his advice not to touch Israel, but to accept them. Neither was Paul successful in convincing Agrippa to accept Yeshua as Messiah.

Extra
One of the meanings of Jethro’s name is “extra,” and we learn that his story was put into the Torah as an “extra” portion due to the merit of his actions and spirit. Paul also added to the Scripture of the Brit Chadasha. No one else bore the marks of Messiah in their body (stoning) as did Paul. His dedication was complete and merited tremendous revelations.

Name Changes
We are first introduced to Saul who becomes Paul. “Saul” means “to enquire.” We are first introduced to Rueul (friend of God), who becomes Jethro (excellence). We know that Jethro was a searcher (enquirer) of truth like Paul.

Timing of Conversion
Jethro did not enquire of Moses about his God until AFTER the law was given on Sinai. Paul was not converted until AFTER the crucifixion. Moses ascended the mountain and lifted up Torah. Yeshua, the living Torah, was “lifted up” on the mount. Both conversions included each man hearing the voice of God for himself when all others around them did not.

Good Seed
Jethro was the good seed, but on the surface he was a pagan priest (child sacrifice?). Saul was good seed, but on the surface he was a murderer of innocent men, women and children in his role as a Pharisaic leader.

Chief of Sinners
Jethro admits that he has tired all the gods and tried everything out there. He was not doubt a man who had tried to fill his spiritual void with physical pleasures, no matter how depraved. Like Solomon, in the end he must have said to himself, “it is all vanity.” Likewise, Paul called himself, “chief of sinners.”

Attitude
Why is the story of Jethro coming out to meet Moses told before the story of Sinai? To teach us that before we are ready to receive Torah we must have an attitude of humility like Jethro. We must be teachable. We must be willing to unlearn and relearn. This is what Jethro displayed in coming to his son-in-law, one lower than him, and saying “teach me!” His reward was that the spiritual scales were removed from his eyes. Likewise, Saul, Pharisee of Pharisees, once he realized that he too was blind, was willing to go to Ananias to be instructed what to do. Then, and only then, could Paul rightly follow Torah. He had a new attitude. He had come to the end of himself and had been humbled. The Torah that once brought death into Saul’s life could now bring life because of his renewed attitude. The “letter” of the law kills, but the “spirit” (attitude) of the law brings life.

Replacement Theology

2010-12-30T00:00:00.001-05:00

Jeroboam’s statement that they don’t have to go to Jerusalem anymore, but can stay up in Samaria and worship the golden calves, is a picture of Christianity’s foundational “Replacement Theology”, which teaches that the Christian Church replaced Israel, therefore we don’t have to observe the Torah (The Instructions and Teachings) of Yahuweh anymore. source

Wishing You And Yours A Very Scary Mithras!

2010-12-24T02:35:00.002-05:00

Aramaic English New Testament

2010-12-22T19:57:00.002-05:00

Brothers, I just wanted to let you know that I have recently purchased an Aramaic English New Testament. It is fantastic. Like the Chumash, it has footnotes that explain the texts from a Hebraic point of view. It is well worth your investment and it can be purchased here.

Here's an example of the commentary on Acts 15:21:

A very clever fulfillment of Isaiah 56:1-9. Gentile converts are observing Shabbat and learning Torah as one body along with Jews. Shortly thereafter, Marcion, whom Polycarp referred to as the "firstborn of the devil" built the first all-Gentile church to promote Christo-Paganism. Marcion held his services on Sunday which blended with Zeus (the sun god) culture and projected a hybrid Je-Zeus identity in opposition to the Jewish Mashiyach. The modern theologies of Je-Zeus Christos are based more on Hellenism than on fundamental Hebraic values. Marcion coined the world "Old - New Testament" and did his very best to warn Gentiles away from Torah and "the God of the Old Testament." Marcion invented theologies known as replacement, dispensational, supercessionism, etc., which are very popular among Christianity today.

Sabbath Observed By NT Church, Not Sunday

2010-12-21T17:02:00.004-05:00

The verse most often used to prove that the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday is:

1 Cor 16:1-2
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

The logic goes like this: Since they were meeting on the first day of the week, they were doing this to commemorate the day Jesus rose on.

Aside from the fact that God set apart the seventh day of the week to be observed as the Sabbath FOREVER (see notes), the problem with this logic is that the verse does not say “on the first day of the week,” but it actually says “one Sabbath.”

The word translated "first" in this verse is the Greek word “mia,” which is translated “one,” not “first.” Mia is only translated 6 times as “first.” It is translate 73 times as “one.”

It is interesting to note that every time it was translated as “first” was when it was being used as in the above verse when it was translated “first day of the week.”

It appears that the theology of the translators, or possibly the anti-Jewish bias of the Romans factored in to the use of the word “first,” instead of “one.” (Those darn Catholics! LOL! Can't believe they'd lie to us!)

Mia is used in the following verses:

Mark 14:37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?

Luke 9:33 And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.

The word that is usually used for “first” is “protos,” which means first in place, rank or honor. It is used in the following verse:

Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

Now if we were talking about the first day of the week in 1 Corinthians 16:2 , the word “protos” would have been used, so the verse obviously should be translated “one,” not “first.”

In addition, the word translated as “week” is actually the Greek word “Sabbaton,” from which we get the word “Sabbath.” It appears in the NT text 68 times and is translated as "Sabbath" in all but nine instances. In each of these nine instances, there is no compelling contextual nor linguistic reason to translate this word as "week," instead of "Sabbath."

In addition to the above, the word "day" in the verse "first day of the week" was added by the translators. It does not appear in any of the original texts.

Conclusion

So what is being said in this verse?

“On ONE SABBATH, or, ONE OF THE SABBATHS take up this collection.”

This implies that they were still meeting on the Sabbath. This is confirmed by 84 separate instances in the book of Acts alone.

So, why are we disobeying the very first commandment in the Bible? Why are we not resting on the seventh day Sabbath, Saturday?

It is NOT because the early church changed it.

It is NOT because the Messiah changed it.

It is NOT because the Apostles changed it.

It is NOT because the New Testament changed it.

And it certainly is NOT because Gold Himself changed it, or pointed out anywhere in Scripture that it would be changed.

It is simply because MAN changed it, so now we have a dilemma.

We all say that we would follow the Word rather than man, preachers, or denominations, so here is our chance to prove it.

Are you ready to get radical?

Yee Haw!!!!!!

________________________________________________________

NOTES:

Ex 31:15-17

15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a PERPETUAL covenant.

17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel FOR EVER: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

Catholicism and Sabbath

2010-12-19T20:45:00.001-05:00

“Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The Holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. „ The day of the Lord‟ was chosen, NOT from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the Church‟s sense of its own power… People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become Seventh-day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy.” ---Saint Catherine Church Sentinel, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995.

“Of Course the Catholic Church claims that the change (Saturday Sabbath to Sunday) was her act…And the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things.” H.F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons.

“Sunday is our MARK of authority…the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is the proof of that fact”. ---Catholic Record of London, Ontario Sept 1, 1923.

“Protestants do not realize that by observing Sunday worship instead of Saturday Sabbath, that they accept the authority of the Holy Father of the Church, the Pope.”----Our Sunday Visitor, February 5, 1950

“No such law in the Bible “Nowhere in the Bible do we find that Jesus or the apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep the Sabbath day that is the seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today, most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the Roman Catholic Church outside the Bible.”-----Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947

“Sunday is a Catholic Institution…..From the beginning to the end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer….from the last day of the week to the first.”----Catholic Press, Sydney Australia, August 1998

“Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her;----she could not have SUBSTITUTED the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is NO SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITY.”----Rev. Steven Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, “On the Obedience Due to the Church,” chapter 2, pg 174.----Imprimatur, John Cardinal McCloskey, archbishop of New York.

Joseph "Revealed" Himself To His Brothers

2010-12-14T09:02:00.001-05:00

Gen 45:1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

OT:3045 yada` (yaw-dah'); a primitive root; to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.) [as follow]: KJV - acknowledge, acquaintance (-ted with), advise, answer, appoint, assuredly, be aware, [un-] awares, can [-not], certainly, comprehend, consider, could they, cunning, declare, be diligent, (can, cause to) discern, discover, endued with, familiar friend, famous, feel, can have, be [ig-] norant, instruct, kinsfolk, kinsman, (cause to let, make) know, (come to give, have, take) knowledge, have [knowledge], (be, make, make to be, makeself) known, be learned, lie by man, mark, perceive, privy to, prognosticator, regard, have respect, skilful, shew, can (man of) skill, be sure, of a surety, teach, (can) tell, understand, have [understanding], will be, wist, wit, wot. (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

Joseph sent everyone out because he “revealed” himself to his brothers.

He showed them his circumcision.

This is how we recognize our brothers. Not by what they say or claim, but by the fact that they are covenant keepers. Their hearts have been circumcised AND they keep the covenants out of obedience, not ritual.

Yeshua said “if you love Me keep My Torah.” This is how we, as brothers, reveal ourselves to one another.

There is another lesson to learn here also: How does the world recognize us? By our love for one another.

But, if we truly love one another, we will keep Torah because only Torah can teach us how to behave justly with one another.

If we just do what WE think is right, then we will ultimately by fooled by our own selfish motives which we don’t even recognize that we have. The best way to DO love to your brother is to follow Torah.

By following Torah, you protect your brother from being harmed by you!

First Love and First Works

2010-07-15T22:54:00.003-04:00

I just had one of those "ah ha" moments.

I was thinking about the difference between legalism and obedience as I explain it to my "Christian" friends when they think my obedience to the law/Torah is legalism.

I always explain that "legalism" is trying to be SAVED by doing the works of the law, whereas, "obedience" is going back and doing the works of the law AFTER we are saved.

Then, this verse from Revelation pops into my head:

Rev 2:1-5 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Although we are "Christians," we have never gone back and done the "first works," which is simply being obedient to Torah.

As grafted in believers, we are grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel. It is interesting that we find this statement by Paul when he is writing to the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:12), the same Church being addressed by Yeshua in Revelation. What was Israel's "first love?"

Ps 119:119 I love thy testimonies.

Ps 119:127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold;

Ps 119:159 Consider how I love thy precepts:

The Commonwealth of Israel, of which we are members, became a nation at the foot of Mt. Sinai when the Torah was given. At that moment, Israel said:

Exodus 19:8 All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.

What Yeshua is telling the Church in Ephesus to return to Torah. Love it, and do it.

Teaching - The Gospel of the "Kingdom"

2010-06-28T21:27:00.002-04:00

This is a teaching I gave in Orangeburg, SC on Rosh Kodesh (New Moon), June 13, 2010. It explores the hidden chiastic structures within the book of Acts and their implications for us today.

Oil Spill - A New Perspective

2010-06-28T11:01:00.001-04:00

Sharon Wilbur Video

2010-06-23T11:02:00.000-04:00

Acts 27 Chiastic Structure

2010-06-19T01:47:00.007-04:00

1 Paul
__1 centurion
____2 ship
______5 sea
________7 wind
__________9 Paul admonished them,
____________16 certain island
______________22 be of good cheer:
23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou MUST be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
______________25 be of good cheer:
____________26 certain island.
__________33 Paul besought them
________40 wind
______41 seas
____41 ship
__43 centurion,
43 Paul

About 2000 years ago the Apostle Paul took the Gospel of the Messiah to Rome. Well guess what? We will repeat his pattern! History is also prophecy, and everything that the first century church did, we will do the same.

Paul took the Gospel of "Salvation" to the world, but we live in a day when we will leave our Jerusalems and take the Gospel of "TORAH" to Rome/the Church.

Torah was well-known in the first century, but Paul was commanded to take the Messiah to those who already had heard of the Jewish Torah. Today, those of us who are modern day Pauls are being commanded to take Torah to those places where the knowledge of the Messiah already exists.

As was the case with Paul, we "MUST" go before Caesar/Rome/the Church with the Gospel of the Torah...... and NOTHING can stop us!

Once the full "Gospel of the KINGDOM," not just "salvation" has been preached to all the world, THEN the end will come..... and not a minute before.

Looks like we better get to work!

Acts 18 Chiastic Structure

2010-06-15T21:50:00.005-04:00

A chiastic structure is a way of writing in which two or more words or phrases are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point. The chiastic structure forms an arrow that points to the hidden message within the text.

The Holy Spirit has hidden hundreds of chiastic structures within the Bible. The following structure is hidden in Acts 18.

5 that Jesus was the Christ
--12 Jews
----17 Synagogue
------18 After this tarried there a good while
--------19 Ephesus
21 I must by all means keep the Feast in Jerusalem
--------21 Ephesus
------23 After he has spent some time there
----26 Synagogue
--28 Jews
28 that Jesus was Christ

It is interesting to contemplate WHY the Holy Spirit would go to so much trouble to point out that Paul ALWAYS kept the Feasts. Is He perhaps allowing us to discover these hidden messages NOW at the precise time when so many believers are once again discovering that the Feasts of the Lord are still for today? Sure seems like a lot of trouble to go to for something that is no supposedly longer applicable for modern Christianity.

__________________________________________________

Acts 18:1-28 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
6 And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
7 And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.
8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
12 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
13 Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.
14 And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:
15 But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.
16 And he drave them from the judgment seat.
17 Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.
18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.
20 When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;
21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
22 And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.
23 And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:
28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

Scales and Fins

2010-04-17T15:59:00.001-04:00

To be a clean, a fish must have scales and fins. If either one is missing, the fish remains unclean.

We are like fish in our study of Torah. Our fins are our intellect and study skills that propel us through the water of the Word. Our scales are our protective armor which we must put on to shield from error and distortion. These scales are our fear of God.

Notice in nature that there are fish with fins and no scales, but ALL fish that have scales also have fins.

What does this tell us?

We can study and dazzle one another with our genius, wit, oratory skill and charasmatic personalities, but in the end it does no eternal good because such learning is not based on Divine wisdom but man's.

However, even a person who has deficient intellect, yet has a fear of the Almighty, will succeed in his pursuit of Truth. The Almighty will see to it that this man who only has scales, will also be provided with fins.

Earthen Vessels

2010-04-15T15:52:00.002-04:00

And every earthen vessel into which any of them fall... shall be unclean. Leviticus 11:33.

The rabbis teach that "if the source of impurity enters within the space of an earthen vessel--even without touching its walls--it becomes impure. If it did not enter into it, even if it touched it from the outside, it remains pure."

Sounds like Yeshua might have been teaching on the above Torah Portion (Shemini) when He said the following:

Mark 7:18-23 18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; 19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? 20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

What Is Truth?

2010-04-15T15:50:00.002-04:00

"Truth" is "everything as God sees it." Our job in life then is to get to the point where we see everything as God does.

This is an impossible task without Torah.

Spring Feasts Schedule

2010-03-13T15:29:00.002-05:00

by servant@nazareneisrael.org
Shemote (Exodus) 12:14 "Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to YHWH; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance."

Shabbat Shalom, Nazarenes.
Observers in the Land of Israel have spotted significant quantities of Aviv barley in the Land of Israel, thus clearing the way for the the New Hebrew Year to begin with the declaration of the next Hebrew month.

The next new moon is not expected to be visible from the Land of Israel until the fourth day of next week (W-dnesday), 3/17, when it is supposed to have 97 minutes of lagtime (or 'hang time'), and 3.22% illumination. While that should be enough to make a positive sighting (assuming there are no clouds), it should not be visible the day prior. Further, since 3/17 is the evening ending the 30th day of the previous month, the New Moon Day will be declared whether there are clouds or not (as a month cannot be longer than 30 days).

At this time (pending final confirmations and the final sighting of the New Moon of the Seventh Month), the Feast Days are expected to be:

Spring Feast Days:
Rosh HaShanah: Evening of 3/17 thru evening of 3/18
Passover: Afternoon of 3/31 (All leaven removed from houses)
First Day of Unleavened: Evening of 3/31 thru evening ending 4/1 (No work)
Wave Sheaf: Afternoon of 4/4 (begins Omer Count to Pentecost)
Last Day of Unleavened: Evening of 4/6 thru evening ending 4/7 (No work)
Pentecost: 5/23 (always the first day of the week)

Approximate Fall Feast Days
(pending final sighting of the New Moon of Seventh Month):
Yom Teruah/Trumpets: Evening of 9/10 thru evening of 9/11 (Blow the Shofar)
Yom Kippur/Atonement: Evening of 9/19 thru evening of 9/20 (No work, no food, no water)
1 Sukkot (Tabernacles): Evening of 9/24 thru evening of 9/25 (No work)
8 Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret: Evening of 10/1 thru evening of 10/2 (no work)

Norman Willis

www.nazareneisrael.org

Great Purim Costumes!

2010-02-28T02:53:00.000-05:00

LOL! I had to pass this one on.

This Is HUGE!!!!

2010-02-25T14:13:00.006-05:00

When a Torah-loving Jew stands in the streets of Jerusalem and declares that the lost 10 tribes are beginning to be regathered by God, YOU KNOW SOMETHING IS UP! Yet, that is exactly what our friend Jeremy Gimpel did in a recent episode of Tuesday Night Live From Jerusalem. (Click to watch)

The timing of this event fits perfectly with the prophecy of Ezekiel 4:4,5, which states that about the year 2010, the judgment of the northern kingdom would be coming to an end and they would begin to desire to return to the covenant land.

Unfortunately, those of us who are part of the regathered northern kingdom cannot return to the the land at present. But, I want to pass on a scenario from Norman E. Willis from his book entitled The Post-Millenial Return (click title to read online free) which could very quickly give those of us who believe in Yeshua the opportunity to make aliya to the Land of the Covenant.

Willis suggests that were the Islamic nations surrounding Israel to attack both Israel and the US, we would have no choice but to respond. No doubt, the United States government (not out of love for Israel) would jump at the opportunity to overthrow the governments of the nations surrounding Israel so as to control the oil reserves. Once these nations have been annexed by Israel, both Israel AND the United States will be looking for settlers to occupy these territories. Incidentally, these are the same territories that the northern tribes occupied prior to the dispersion.

Willis' scenario can be outlined as follows:

Proposed Timeline Of The Return House Of Israel

• A spiritual resurrection of the House of Joseph (taking place now, Ezekiel 37, 1st Cor. 15).
• Islamic attacks against the United States and Israel start the War(s) for Territorial Expansion.
• The United States and Israel emerge victorious from these wars (Zech. 10:5-10, Isaiah 11:14).
• At the conclusion of the Wars for Territorial Expansion, the annexation of lands creates a greatly expanded Land of Israel (Gen. 15:18).
• The Ingathering of the Lost Tribes fills these newly-annexed territories with Ephraimite settlers (Zech 9:6-7, Isa. 11:14-20, Isa. 66:20).
• The House of Judah sees that Yeshua is the reason the Ephraimites are coming back
together as a nation, and accepts Yeshua as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10).
• The Two Houses of Israel are united.

When brother Judah begins to openly proclaim from the streets of Jerusalem that the northern kingdom needs to return (That's us!), should we not expect to see the doors opened that will allow us to make that return? (Believers in Yeshua are currently barred from making aliya.)

Rav Shaul (Paul) said that we are now the children of Abraham and fellow citizens in the Commonwealth of Israel. God gave us the land of Israel in which to live as a part of the Covenant. I plan on claiming my inheritance as soon as the doors are opened!

Gen 13:14-17 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed FOREVER.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

"For," or "Against"

2010-02-25T13:28:00.004-05:00

This is an excerpt from David Wilkerson Today.

"They...limited the Holy One of Israel" (Psalm 78:41). The word for limited here comes from two root words, meaning, "grieving God by scratching out an imprint." In short, limiting God means drawing a line, or making a circle, and stating, "God is in here, and he goes no further." This describes the thinking of many believers. We've marked in our minds a very small imprint, or concept, of Christ's magnitude.

That's just what the early church in Jerusalem did. They limited Christ to a small circle, confining him to the Jewish population. But Jesus can't be confined. He is constantly breaking out of our little, confining circles, and always reaching out to the uttermost.

Let me give an example. Up to about 40 years ago, Pentecostals seemed to have the baptism of the Holy Spirit confined to their movement. Many Pentecostals thought, "We are God's Spirit-filled church!" Pentecostal preachers bemoaned the deadness of mainline denominations, "They don't have the full gospel like we do," they declared.

Suddenly, God's Spirit burst through everyone's drawn circles. The Holy Ghost fell on believers in all kinds of denominations. A classic book was written about this move of the Spirit, called They Speak With Other Tongues by John L. Sherrill.

The Lord also used my book, The Cross and the Switchblade, especially in Catholic circles. Yet, like Peter and the early church, I had to allow God to work in my heart before I could accept what was going on. I had been raised Pentecostal, and for the first time in my life I saw priests weeping with conviction, crying out to Jesus.

Soon I had evangelical preachers contending with me, demanding, "What about those Catholics' Maryology? How can you minister to people who believe in that?" I found myself answering the same way Peter did: "I don't know anything about Maryology. All I know is, there are hungry people in the Catholic Church. And there are true Jesus worshippers among the priests. God is filling these people with his Spirit."

God has his people everywhere, and we are not to call any of them common or unclean. We have to be careful that we do not represent Jesus as being small and box him in with our puny thinking.

This really convicted me as I have been guilty of this also. I have been trying to get "Church-folks" to come out of the traditional church and return back to their roots. I have been trying to get them to quit doing Sunday Worship, Easter, Christmas etc, and THEN start doing things the "right" way.

But if Wilkerson's pattern above is correct, and I believe it is, we don't need to get them "out" of anything. That is God's business. Had Wilkerson tried to get the Catholics "out" of Catholicsm before he would minister to them, then many would have missed the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Wilkerson couldn't be "against" Catholicism, instead, he simply had to be "for" the baptism. We can't be "against" traditional Protestantism, we simply must be "for" the Truth.

Manna Comes Down At Night

2010-02-09T04:31:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine just pointed something out to me. The manna came down at night, not in the morning. By morning, it was already there.

Yeshua is the manna/bread that has come down to us. He came down in person about 2000 years ago. Pretty soon he will be coming down in person again. When? In the darkness!

Judah in the first century was in captivity. It was a very dark time when the Messiah arrived. And so it will be again today. It will be the dark days ahead in which He shows up again to lead us safely home.

Isa 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Isa 49:8-12 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee...
9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves.....
10 ...... for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them....
11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west....

Persecution got so bad in the first century that the believers eventually had to leave the synagogue and meet privately in homes. It was dangerous to be a Christian.

Get ready. Pretty soon, those of us who are serious about the Truth will be FORCED out of the system and into homes and private assemblies. And as in the first century, it will be the Romans that persecute us. The cycle repeats. History is also prophecy.

I was reminded this morning as I visited a traditional church that we never really broke with a lot of the traditions of the religion of Rome. I watched everyone in this Protestant church take communion which is found nowhere in the Scriptures. What we have called the "last supper" was simply the Passover supper. Nothing new was instituted here. It was the Roman Catholic Church that hijacked true Christianity implanting THEIR festivals and symbolism within the true Church.

I thought, as I passed the communion tray without partaking, that one day, that simple act will mark me as an enemy. Why? Because I don't honor the god of THEIR fathers, I honor the God of MY fathers.... Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Don't misunderstand, there are many Christians in the Church. It is the church system of control that I am speaking of.... not individuals.)

Of the anti-christ system, Daniel said:

Dan 11:38-39 "But instead he will honor a god of fortresses, A GOD WHOM HIS FATHERS DID NOT KNOW; he will honor {him} with gold, silver, costly stones, and treasures.
39 "And he will take action against the strongest of fortresses with {the help of} a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge {him,} and he will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

I believe, as I watch the devolution of Christianity that the anti-christ system will be apostate Christianity. We're not there yet, but it looks like the time is growing short. The days are getting darker and darker.

But the Good News is that THE MANNA comes in the darkness. As the end grows closer, so does His coming. So does our relationship with Him and others. And that's a good thing.

What About The Children?

2010-02-07T01:14:00.003-05:00

We have ran into a lot of folks that want to come out of the traditional church, but their concern is "what about our children?"

My kids are all grown now. They were brought up in Sunday School and learned all the stories about Noah, Adam and Eve, David, etc. And it is only with these stories in mind, that they can come into a full understanding of the faith. Thoses stories from Torah are the foundation! As we like to say in our Torah Study group, "you gotta know the stories."

So as we were going through our Torah study today (no kids invited), we learned the following principle:

Egypt was gathered together AGAINST Israel. They got killed. Israel was gathered together FOR the feast and they got Torah/Life.

Those of us coming into the Hebraic cannot gather AGAINST the Church. Our purpose is to come together FOR the feasts and commandments of the Father.

We know the church is blind on many things BUT, they are still bringing people to salvation. In fact, that is where WE were saved, so we don’t need to be AGAINST them. In fact, it was on the FIRST day of creation that God separated the light from the darkness which is symbolic of salvation. The FIRST thing we do, if we want to join with God is to come out of darkness into light and become born again. Therefore, it is symbolic that the Church meets on the FIRST day of the week.

It is in the traditional Church, in Sunday School, that we learned the basics…. The stories. So should we kick against them for teaching the basics? As Paul would say, “God forbid!”

So what's the point?

If you are coming into Torah and joining yourself to a local Torah study, chances are, they have nothing for your children. No Sunday School. Nothing for the kids. So what are you to do as a parent?

STAY IN THE TRADITIONAL CHURCH!

The traditional church is where we were born and received the milk of the Word. Likewise, our kids need to be receiving the milk of the Word, and you as a parent, must see to it that they get it!

So, what about the children?

Make sure they are getting the stories! Make sure they are getting the basics, and if you have to spend a little more time in the traditional church, then so be it!

But better yet, how about go to an adult Torah study on Saturday morning, and then take the time to teach the stories to your children on Saturday afternoon.

What better way to spend a Shabbat?

Hudson's Smokehouse Barbeque

2010-02-04T08:37:00.002-05:00

I heard this commercial on the radio this morning for Hudson's Smokehouse Barbecue and had to pass it on. I am paraphrasing but basic facts are true.

Come on down to Hudson's Smokehouse Barbecue. They have the best barbecue in town, in the state and possibly in the Southeast. (Must be a lot of barbecue served in the Bible Belt huh?)

And don't forget to try their catfish nuggets. Why not come on down on Sunday so mom doesn't have to cook on the Lord's Day.

Wow, the trifecta! I don't think God Himself could have squeezed so much false doctrine in such a few sentances!

If I had heard that commercial prior to coming into the fullness of the Word, I would have probably patronized them simply because they honored "the Lord's Day." Nothing like a little barbecue and catfish on a Sunday afternoon.

But now, well, I just get sad for how many well-meanings Christians don't have a clue what the Word really says about Kosher and Shabbat. Are their pastors not preaching the Word to them?

Jer 23:1-2 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

(By the way, I still eat there. Great chicken and veggies!)

Orion: The Glorious One

2010-02-03T15:24:00.005-05:00

From the Biblical Astronomy January Newsletter

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

ORION (the Glorious One)

Light breaking forth in the Redeemer.
Orion is a decan constellation to the Sign Taurus.

Ancient Names for this constellation
Hagat (Denduran) – this is he who triumphs.
Urana (Akkaidian) – the light of heaven.
Orion – anciently spelt Oarion from the Hebrew root meaning light, so Orion means coming forth as light.

Complementing scriptures to this constellation picture
Isaiah 60:1-3 – “Arise, for thy light is come, And the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And gross darkness the people; But the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, And kings to the brightness of thy rising.”

Isaiah 42:13,14 – “The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war; He shall cry, yea, roar; He shall prevail against His enemies. I have [He says] long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: Now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.”

Stars in Orion and the meanings of their names
Betelgeuz (Arab) – the coming of the branch. Brightest star in Orion or the Lucida (the Lucida is the brightest
star of any particular constellation, e.g., Regulus is the Lucida of Leo).
Rigel or Rigol (Arab.) – the foot that crusheth.
Bellatrix (Arab) – quickly coming, or swiftly destroying.
Al Nitak (Arab.) – the wounded one referring to he who whose heel was bruised (Gen. 3:15).
Saiph (Heb.) – bruised.
Al Rai (Arab.) – who bruises, who breaks.
Thabit (Heb.) – treading on.

This is a picture of Messiah coming in great light and crushing the head of his enemy. The hare seen in the picture here was not the picture seen in ancient planespheres. In ancient times this was a picture of a coiled serpent. Messiah is seen here crushing the head of the serpent or dragon, not a rabbit. The star names of Lepus will bear this out when I do Lepus as a feature constellation in the near future. This goes along with the main theme of the Sign of Taurus, which is Messiah, the coming Judge of all the earth. Here, Messiah is seen pouring forth his wrath on his enemy Satan, the Devil. The river of wrath or fire, Eridanus, is seen flowing here from the place that His foot is coming down on the enemy’s head. The following is from E.W. Bullinger’s The Witness of the Stars, pp. 125, 126 concerning this constellation.

“The constellation is mentioned by name, as being perfectly well known both by name and appearance,in the time of Job; and as being an object of familiar knowledge at that early period of the world's history. See Job 9:9; 38:31, and Amos 5:8 (Heb. Chesil, which means a strong one, a hero, or giant). It contains 78 stars, two being of the 1st magnitude, four of the 2nd, four of the 3rd, sixteen of the 4th, etc. A little way below (in the sword) is a very remarkable nebulous star. A common telescope will show that it is a beautiful nebula. A powerful telescope reveals it as consisting of collections of nebulous stars, these again being surrounded by faint luminous points, which still more powerful telescopes would resolve into separate stars.

Thus beautifully is set forth the brilliancy and glory of that Light which shall break forth when the moment comes for it to be said, "Arise, shine, for thy light is come."

The picture presents us with "the Light of the world." His left foot is significantly placed upon the head of the enemy. He is girded with a glorious girdle, studded with three brilliant stars; and upon this girdle is hung a sharp sword. Its handle proves that this mighty Prince is come forth in a new character. He is again proved to be "the Lamb that was slain," for the hilt of this sword is in the form of the head and body of a lamb. In his right hand he lifts on high his mighty club; while in his left he holds forth the token of his victory--the head and skin of the "roaring lion." We ask in wonder, "Who is this?" and the names of the stars give us the answer.

The Widow's Two Sticks

2010-01-26T01:25:00.000-05:00

This article is a follow-up article to my previous article entitled Elijah Is Here.

We all know that the "two sticks" of Ezekiel represent the two houses coming together in the "last days." That's today. Well, there is another occurance of that term "two sticks" in the life of Elijah.

IKing 17:10-16
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

We know that we are the end time Elijahs preaching repentance to our brothers of the northern kingdom, the Church. Therefore, let us look at some of the details in the above passage so that we might understand the setting in which we find ourselves in these "last days," so that we don't perish for "lack of knowledge."

First of all, we find Elijah BEING SENT BY GOD to Zarephath. Zarephath means "place of refinement." Also notice that this is during a time of famine. Elijah has already had to move once from the brook, now to the city.

So I believe we will find ourselves fleeing to the wilderness to be hidden from the Ahab religious system that will try to kill us. There will be a terrible famine in the land of "the Word," as well as a physical famine as foretold by the book of The Revelation. It is in these journeys that we will be "refined," and learn to live completely by His bread and water.

The woman saw no hope of escaping death, but God miraculously fed her, her son and Elijah. Our days ahead will be dark with no possible way of escaping death. But if we follow "the Word of the Lord" just as Elijah did, we will be saved. Of course, the "Word of the Lord" is Torah.

Notice that there is no more water, no more rain. Water is life. Water is symbolic of the rebirth. These times we live in are not for going out and preaching a "turn to Jesus and be saved" message. These are not times to be sending missionaries to the pygmies in Africa. NO. These are the times to preserve our own lives and those who are IN OUR HOUSE. We are to go to those who ALREADY know Jesus and preach repentence. We are to give them the "water" of the Word. The time for going to the pagans has passed. Now is the time we go to Israel/the Church.

Notice in verse 14 that Elijah says that "rain" will come again. Just not right now.

And so it is, when we are finally "refined" that the "rain" will come again "to all the earth," and ALL MEN shall be witnessed to by His "refined" Israel. This will be our jobs in the millenial kingdom, but not now. Now we stay with the "widow." We go to this Babylonian religious system of mixture that we have been brought up in and witness to her, for SHE is the "widow."

Rev 18:1-7 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much SHE HAS GLORIFIED HERSELF, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and AM NO WIDOW, and shall see no sorrow.

Who are His people today that are being called out of the Babylonian system of mixture? That's us. That's our fellow believers in Jesus who need to know that Torah is Life and that anything built on anything less is about to COLLAPSE! It is about to be judged by God Himself! He is not calling pagans to "come out of Babylon." Pagans are not IN Babylon.

Elijah was on the run, moving from place to place. So we will be on the run. We will be hunted, because the Ahab system does not like our message. John the Baptist was rejected and killed by the religious leaders of his day.

Elijah and John the Baptist were both rough men. They didn't look like everybody else, nor did they talk like everybody else. John ate locusts. He didn't eat like everybody else, and neither should we. This is a CLEAR call back to kosher!

Hey, I KNOW this is a "rough" teaching, but that's the time in which we live. This is not the time for an ooey gooey "Jesus loves you" message. No. This is the time when we slap our fellow believers up side their heads and say "WAKE UP." This is the Elijah Message and if we offer anything less to our brethren then their blood will be on our hands.

Elijah Is Here

2010-01-24T10:13:00.001-05:00

We are told that Elijah will preceed the Messiah. Just as the spirit of Elijah rested on John the Baptist before Yeshua's first coming, so the spirit of Elijah will be present before His final return.

IF we really believe that we are in the "last days," then the spirit of Elijah must be here already. Is it?

John the Baptist preached repentance. Repentance for breaking the law, and a plea to return to it and leave the traditions of men that had crept into the religious system of that day.

You and I are today's John the Baptists. At the first coming, there was only need of one Elijah because the House of Judah was all in one place. But today, Israel is spread all over the world. Therefore, the spirit of Elijah dwells in many of us to take that message of repentance to God's Israel that is "among the nations."

It is you and I that are charged with "turning the hearts of the sons to the fathers."

It is interesting to note that Elijah was a Tishbite of Gilead. The word "Tishbite" means "captivity," whereas the word "Gilead" means "rocky region."

Elijah was prophet to Ahab, the ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel. Gilead was in the region of the northern kingdom. Thus Elijah is associated with the northern kingdom, which today, we know has become the church.

Why did Elijah prophesy to Ahab and Jezebel? Because they had perverted the Word and Commandments of Yahweh by mixing them with pagan customs. Ahab would not allow the Israelites to return to Jerusalem for the feasts, and instead, set up feasts and customs and times of his own. He did not DENY the God of Israel and they did not DENY the Word of God. He simply perverted it to build and preserve HIS kingdom.

Jeroboam, who preceeded Ahab, set up his own places of worship. He set up his own days of worship. He set up his own feasts. Sound familiar?

Is there a people today who are part of the scattered northern kingdom of Israel who do not deny the God and Word of Israel, but have perverted that Word to suit their kingdom building efforts? It is to those Ahabs and Jezzebels that we have been called to. We are being sent to those who are "captives" and to a perverted religious system, and they don't even know it.

Where will we find these people? In Gilead. In a "rocky region."

Jer 16:16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, AND OUT OF THE HOLES OF THE ROCKS.

Wow!

Okay you Elijahs, get out there and hunt for our lost brothers, preaching repentance and encouraging them to return to the WHOLE Word of our fathers.

Johnny Wishbone

2010-01-22T11:55:00.005-05:00

There's a really funny scene in Beverly Hills Cop when Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) pretends to be a Carribean psychic named Johnny Wishbone.

Two of the officers in the room (Taggart and Rosewood) know that he is a fake, while the other two do not...they just suspect it.

Likewise, a Torahless Christianity is like Johnny Wishbone. Like Taggart and Rosewood, the Jews have known for 2000 years that a Torahless Christianity is a fake. They know the REAL thing, so a fake is easy to spot.

When a Jew is told that they need to accept Jesus as the Messiah, they simply drop their heads like Taggart and try not to laugh at the spectacle they are witnessing. They are being told by some well-meaning Christian that they need to repent for breaking the Law, accept Jesus, and then the Law miraculously goes away! I'm sure the Jew is thinking to himself "why do I need to repent for breaking the Law if the Law has been done away with?"

See, the Jews know something that we have missed. They understand the words of Moses which were given to them as a guide for just such an encounter as this.

Deut 13:1-4
1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

The Jew knows that ANY religion that advocates NOT keeping His Commandments is a false religion.

Deut 32:45-46 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:
46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall COMMAND YOUR CHILDREN to observe to do, all the words of this law.

As one who understands the Scripture above, the Jew knows that he is one of the "children" spoken of above. So when someone comes to him telling him that he needs to become a Christian, forsake the feasts and Sabbaths, and just be lead by the Spirit, the Jew immediately rejects the claim that Jesus is the Messiah.

Of course, the sad thing about this is that Jesus really IS the Messiah, and it is the false way in which He is being presented that makes the Jew reject Him. If He is presented as the one who kept Torah perfectly and did not change the Commandments of God, THEN the Jews would entertain our evangelistic efforts. And in fact, very soon, they will. For just as the blindness to the Messiah is being removed from the House of Judah, so also is the blindness to the Torah being removed from the House of Israel (the Church).

Fellow Israelites, we've got a lot of work to do to undo the damage that the Johnny Wishbone's have done to the claim that Yeshua IS "that prophet like unto Moses." So just do like Taggart when you see them coming. Just lower your head and play dumb.

It really is quite humorous when you stop and think about it.

Race and Salvation

2010-01-19T09:22:00.004-05:00

This little nugget from Scott Dryer of Profound Prophecy.

The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

As I was pondering this little parable, it dawned on me...the three types of people to whom "the parables" are addressed. Parables are for the believer and all believers fall into one of THREE categories.

1.Believers from Judah - Southern Kingdom
2.Believers from Israel - Northern Kingdom
3.Grafted in believers from "the nations" or former Gentiles

The "flipside" is also important in that each of these groups also has those who are "cut off" in unbelief and as a result are not "the Israel of YHWH." So Paul's enigmatic quotation "All of Israel will be saved" is 100% spot on...because all who ARE saved ARE ISRAEL, the Israel of God. This also explains Paul's riddle regarding the following statement:

"For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel" - Romans 9:6

Notice the "of Israel" statement...He is referring to natural branches that have been "CUT OFF" because of not believing or not abiding in the vine. This also explains the former verse:

Who are Israelites; to whom pertainieth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; - Romans 9:4

Notice "the adoption" pertaineth to Israel. Wait a minute!!! I thought Israel was the "heir by birth," NOT SO! It is by adoption or the rebirth and "grafting into" the commonwealth.

END OF ARTICLE

Good stuff Scott. As far as salvation is concerned, race means nothing. BUT, as far as the fulfillment of prophecy is concerned, race is very important. God will bring ALL THREE groups back into the land, and they will be identifiable to the world. The world will marvel that those tribes of Israel that were lost have all of a sudden been reunited and returned to life.

Ezek 37:1-14
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
(KJV)

The Time Of The Second Exodus Nears

2010-01-17T01:35:00.000-05:00

From Joel's Trumpet Newsletter

This infamous Government-run health care plan had grown to 1,990 pages on October 30th, and it went on to exceed 2,000 pages later.

On November 7th, the House opened their debate on this new legislation that has the potential to destroy our country. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi quickly broke her promise to post the entire document on the Internet for seventy-two hours prior to a vote. During the darkness of a Saturday night, less than twenty-four hours from the time that discussion began, Pelosi called for a vote and the measure was passed narrowly at 220 to 215.

How heinous and evil is this legislation? Republican leader John Boehner revealed that a separate abortion premium will be charged to all who come under the new health care system, and it will be billed monthly as such! Boehner said the following: "What is even more alarming is that a monthly abortion premium will be charged of all enrollees in the government-run plan. It's right there on line 16, page 96, section 213, under Insurance Rating Rules. The premium will be paid into an U.S. Treasury account, and these Federal funds will be used to pay for the abortion services."

Think of it! An U.S. Treasury account specifically for abortions from a specific allocated premium that you and I would be forced by law to pay! The Scriptural curses are upon this nation!

What will happen to people who object to the new Obama-Pelosi plan?

According to ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp, a Republican from Michigan, the Joint Committee on Taxation, or JCT, confirmed the following: "Failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi Health Care Bill (H.R. 3962, as amended)….and who choose not to pay the bill's new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income) are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 dollars and imprisonment of up to five years." Apparently the words "liberty and freedom" are being redefined for Americans.

As I see it, we will have three options:

1) Pay for abortions knowingly and incur God's wrath
2) Don't pay it and incur the government's wrath
3) Flee

The PURPOSE of Captivity

2010-01-14T01:54:00.000-05:00

Israel was sent to Egypt to refine them. This was God’s plan and though it seemed like a bad thing, it was a good thing.

Were this to happen today, there would be no need to try to stomp on the devil and try to cast out the spirits of slavery. Captivity is not from Satan trying to attack us. The fact is that all of us have evil inclinations and need to be refined in certain areas. God sends up problems in those areas, which make us slaves to those sins to refine us.

Trials, addictions, problems and sicknesses are divinely ordained by God. Rather than trying to escape, we need to realize that deliverance will come once we have been refined. We need to ask God what it is we are supposed to be learning rather than for deliverance.

1 Sam 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an adverse spirit from the LORD troubled him.

Notice that Saul’s “adversity” was sent BY GOD!

The best way to deal with a problem or crisis is to accept it and try to learn from it. The one who does this stays at peace throughout the ordeal, while the one who is continually looking for escape lives in misery.

COMPETE Freedom

2010-01-12T09:34:00.003-05:00

Maimonides said “A people are not free until they are able to return to the spiritual heights their forefathers enjoyed." This is why Exodus doesn’t end after the escape from Egypt. They had physically escaped but spiritually they were not free. That is why the book of Exodus contains the Torah/Ketubah. Once they had Torah and the Tabernacle (the testimony of Yeshua AND keep the commandments - Rev. 12:17), THEN they were free.

So, is Israel/Church today still enslaved? Is something missing? Yes, Torah. So without Torah we are still in bondage. Torah RELEASES us from bondage, it does not enslave us as we have been taught in time past.

Notice that the giving of the "Law" was done AFTER the Passover was observed. The blood of Passover represents salvation. The Law was given AFTER salvation had been accomplished as a contract between God and Israel to ensure their blessings and protection. You can find these blessings in Deuteronomy 28 (reprinted below).

The Law was never meant to bring salvation, but life, and life to its fullest as Yeshua stated in John 10:10. Since Yeshua IS the Word/Torah, there is no conflict between a believer trusting in the blood of Yeshua for salvation and the Torah for protection, direction and fullness of life.

Those who teach that returning to the Law is legalism do not understand the patterns of the Torah which were given to prevent us from following bad doctrine, which is exactly what the modern Bible teachers are guilty of.

______________________________________________________________

Deut 28:1-68
1 And it shall come to pass, IF thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, TO OBSERVE AND TO DO ALL THESE COMMANDMENTS WHICH I COMMAND YOU THIS DAY, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.
27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.
31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.
32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand.
33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:
34 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.
41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.
44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:
46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:
51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:
54 So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:
55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.
56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.
63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
68 And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
(KJV)

Torah Code: 2012

2010-01-11T18:45:00.000-05:00

God's Food Laws

2010-01-05T09:55:00.002-05:00

Source: Food Laws

INTRODUCTION
It has been a long time since Moses recorded the laws, statutes, and judgements at Mount Sinai. People today are largely unaware of them. Some of this is because of the widespread belief that God's laws are no longer relevant. This includes those laws concerning diet. Even among those who believe the dietary laws are still valuable, it is common to find an incomplete understanding of them.

There are many health benefits to following the food laws. Whether you are religious or not, following the ancient diet is so simple, easy, and unobtrusive that you need to ask yourself: "How can I justify not finding out what this diet involves?"

Some people assume that the food laws of the Bible are more or less identical to Jewish kosher and the Islamic halal restrictions. There are actually some quite important differences, which I'll note as we go along.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. (Genesis 1:29)

Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. (Genesis 9:3)

Not every "herb" bears seed, and not every tree bears fruit. That rules out some plants as possible food sources. If the green, photosynthesizing herb was given to us, why do we assume that the non-green, non-seed-bearing, non-photosynthesizing herbs were given to us? Since every moving thing was given to us as the green herb was, we know the flesh of moving things is also given to us with restrictions. The restrictions on eating flesh are more commonly known, so let's start by examining the situation with herbs.

VEGETATION

LAWFUL HERBS
First, the good news. Most of the vegetation we eat today is lawful. Tubers like carrots and potatoes; grains like corn and wheat, and all the delicious varieties of fruits and nuts, garlic, onions and spices we enjoy are approved under God's law. They all bear seed and live above water. Rice, which spends some of it's early life submerged in water, isn't as nutritious as the wheats, barleys, and other grains that grow completely above water, but is completely lawful.

FORBIDDEN HERBS
The unlawful herb most likely to be part of your diet is mushrooms. Mushrooms are fungi, spore-spreading scavengers of the plant world. All forms of fungus are unlawful to eat as food because they don't meet the criteria of "bearing seed". What is more, they are not "green"; they don't photosynthesize. They live like vampires off the corpses of dead plants and animals, instead of getting their nutrients from the soil. Only experts can tell which are safe and which are not, and even the experts are fooled sometimes, and die early deaths from gruesome poisonings.

The other unlawful plants are never eaten in the West: ferns, lichens, molds, and mosses. Inuit and Japanese people are known to eat "rock tripe", which is a lichen. Ferns, lichens, molds, and mosses have little nutritional value for humans, and can be quite dangerous to eat.

SEAWEED
All forms of seaweed are unlawful on the basis that they are not "herbs of the field". There are no fields underwater. Also, all the commonly eaten seaweeds like dulse (carrageen), kelp, and rockweed are unlawful on the grounds that they are forms of algae. Algae does not bear seed.

Many kinds of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese food include seaweed, especially sushi snacks. Sashimi, which is just slices of raw fish, has no seaweed, and is lawful to eat.

Many desserts include carrageen because of it's good binding and gelatin-making properties. Jello, pudding and cake with pudding layers often have carrageen and when they do, should not be eaten. Gelatin made of animal cartilage often includes pork, even when it has a kosher label. Gelatin products made with locust bean gum are lawful. Locust bean is also known as "carob".

YEAST
And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, … for wine, or for whiskey. (Deuteronomy 14:26)

Yeast is an interesting organism. It is really good at sucking up the types of vitamins, nutrients, and proteins that are good for humans. If you eat live yeast, this has a negative effect, because the yeast will eat up the nutrients and things that were supposed to be used by your body. If the yeast is dead however, they are a potent, bountiful source of easily digested nutrition.

Yeast is an essential component in bread and fermented alcoholic drinks. Both involve dead yeast, not live yeast. In the baking process, yeast not only dies, but disappears, leaving behind it's payload of nutrition. In the case of alcohol, the yeast goes dormant and flocculates to the top or bottom, where it is strained out of the beverage of happiness.

And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. (Ruth 2:14)

Baked goods made with yeast, "Nutritional Yeast", and fermented liquids, both alcoholic and vinegary, are lawful. One delicious Italian dish, Focaccia bread, is eaten just as described in the Bible; you tear it into pieces, and dip them in vinegar.

What is leaven? During the week-long Festival of Unleavened Bread is it unlawful to eat goods made out of sourdough (leaven). Beer (shekar) used to be made with leavened bread. I don't know whether beer was allowed during the Seven of Unleavened. Todays beer is made differently, and throwing out the carefully cultivated strains of domestic yeast would bring the industry to a standstill. Jesus drank wine at the Passover meal, so probably wine was allowed during the rest of the festival. And if that is the case, maybe beer and vinegar were allowed also. This is speculation; I don't know. If anyone does know, please contact me immediately.

FLESH

LAWFUL FLESH
Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. (Leviticus 11:3)

When it comes to meat, we have more good news. The only common meat that is unlawful is pork. The other common meats are lawful, to wit, beef, lamb, goat, and venison. The milk of these animals is also lawful. Antelope, bison, buffalo, elk, gazelle, giraffe, moose and reindeer are also lawful. The criteria for lawful meat is that the animal must split the hoof and chew the cud.

FORBIDDEN FLESH
Anything without hooves, is unlawful. This rules out reptiles, rodents, and anything with paws. Apes, cats, dogs, snakes and turtles are unlawful meats commonly eaten in Asia. In Africa, cheetah, elephant, hippopotamus, lion and rhinocerous are commonly hunted unlawful meats. In the West, some eat bear, opposum, raccoon, rattlesnake and squirrel, all unlawful meats.

Some animals have hooves, but don't split them, or don't properly split them. Members of the horse family, including donkeys, horses and zebras, are unlawful for this reason. Some other animals chew the cud, but don't have hooves, such as rabbits and guinea pigs. Camels chew the cud, but their hooves are only partially split.

Finally, we have animals that have split hooves, but don't have a cud to chew. The only example I know of such a meat is swine. People have thought that today our cleaner techniques for raising, slaughtering, and cooking pigs make them clean and safe. Science however has shown that for all our modern technology, pork is still a toxic and dangerous meat. A pigs body is structured in such a way that no amount of clean diet and clean environment will make it clean. It is not healthy to even touch a pig.

The tapir, in modern times classified as a swine, may be lawful to eat. It chews the cud, and splits the hoof. It is also a vegetarian, unlike the pig. The only reason I hesitate with the tapir, is that the hoof is not split into two portions, but into three.

CANNIBALISM
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)

The Bible says that "man is made in God's image". To desecrate a human body would be to disprespect "God's image". And to disrespect God's image is to disrespect God.

He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. (Numbers 19:11)

If it makes you unclean for seven days merely to touch a dead human body, how much more unclean does it make you to eat a human corpse?

Human beings don't have hooves, so it is impossible for them to split the hoof. Neither do human beings chew the cud, nor have any cud to chew. We are thus unlawful to eat as food. Apes and monkeys are unlawful to eat for these same reasons.

FLYING FOWL
Doves, pigeons, and quail are the only birds that we know for sure are lawful. Doves and pigeons, because they were accepted as sacrifices. Quail, because Jehovah himself sent quail on two occasions to feed the assembly of Israel. Todays science classes chicken, grouse, peacock, pheasant, ptarmigan and turkey as part of the "quail" family. The Jewish Mishnah also accepts this categorization, because they all share a unique crop and gizzard digestive arrangement that breaks down the food properly, just as the four-stomach arrangement of cows, sheep and goats makes them fit to eat.

Duck, goose, and swan are not allowed, as they fit into the category of diving, web-footed birds. Not eating duck isn't such a great loss; the small amount of non-fatty meat one can get from them makes it wasteful to use them as food anyway. The majority of duck and goose meat is forbidden under the law against eating fat.

The eggs of all lawful birds are lawful to eat. There is nothing in the Bible specifically forbidding the eggs of unclean birds, but I personally will not touch them.

It may be a surprise to some that many consider birds of the order Galliformes (the quail family) to be clean; their diets can be quite disgusting at times. I have seen chickens greedily gobbling up bloody goat placentas and pecking snakes to death. Although they do eat flesh, they are not primarily carnivores, and their unique crop and gizzard arrangement handle their diet cleanly.

Carnivorous and scavenging fowl of various types such as eagles, owls, pelicans, ravens, seagulls, storks, vultures, etc, are unlawful. Ostrich and emu, which some have tried to promote as a food source, is unlawful.

SEAFOOD
And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you. (Leviticus 11:10)

The Law says only water-creatures with fins and scales may be eaten. This leaves the most commonly eaten fish, such as salmon, ling cod, albacore tuna, trout, bass, pike, walleye pickerel, perch, smelt, sardines, and tilapia as lawful to eat. This lawfullness naturally includes their roe, or eggs, known as "caviar". Everything else living in the waters, whether of ocean or river, is forbidden. Halibut, eulachon, some kinds of tuna, some kinds of cod, catfish, eel, sturgeon, swordfish, some kinds of sailfish and flying fish are forbidden. Swordfish and sturgeon have scales when they are young, but lose them when they reach maturity. If it helps you judge their kosherness, sturgeon urinate through their skin. If you don't skin them immediately on catching them, the meat is tainted. This is identical to sharks and their method of urination through the skin.

For all practical purposes, in todays Western world, God's seafood law means no mollusks. Clam, crab, lobster, mussel, oyster, and shrimp fall into this category. Other unlawful water dwellers commonly eaten outside the West are alligator, crocodile, dolphin, dugong, manatee, seal, shark, squid, walrus, and whale.

Frogs are an interesting case. Not only are they forbidden as aquatic creatures, but they don't meet the criteria for a lawful "leaping" land creature either, nor do they meet the criteria of splitting the hoof and chewing the cud for non-leaping land animals. Frogs were chosen to embody the three "unclean" and disgusting spirits coming forth from the beasts mouth in the book of Revelation. (Revelation 16:13) When you understand that frogs were already considered unclean, you can understand the repugnance that was supposed to be attached to these unclean spirits. You will notice that in Japanese cartoons for children, such as "Spirited Away", the benevolent ghosts and spirits are often depicted as frogs. This clearly contrasts with the Bible view of frogs.

INSECTS
Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. (Leviticus 11:22)

The grasshopper family, including crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts are lawful to eat. The word "beetle" is an incorrect translation of the Hebrew "chargol", which is a kind of grasshopper. If someone offers you a candied grasshopper, remember that John the Baptist lived on locusts and honey all the time that he wandered in the desert. They're kind of crunchy, like a cross between potato chips and mildly roasted peanuts, but with a richer, more interesting flavor.

If you miss eating shrimp, grasshopper is a very passable substitute.

Keith Hunt says: "grasshoppers have a crop, gizzard, gastric caeca and a stomach, in that order, from front to back. Truly, they could be classified as "clean birds" according to the Mishnah!" Like the other clean birds, grasshoppers eat a clean diet.

All other insects are not lawful. This includes ants, bees, beetles, butterflies, caterpillars, cockroaches, dragonflies, flies, mosquitoes, slugs, snails, and worms. The honey of bees however, is lawful.

BLOOD
But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. (Genesis 9:4)

For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. (Leviticus 17:14)

That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 22:8)

The Bible says eleven different times, "do not eat blood". It must be a pretty important restriction. Science has revealed that the blood stream acts as a gigantic waste disposal system, carrying toxins, viruses, and waste away from the muscles and organs. It is truly unclean and unhygienic. For practical purposes, this command rules out blood sausage, blood pudding, commercial meat containing "meat byproducts", and "diniguan" (A Filipino delicacy made of hogs blood).

Even when a clean animal is slaughtered, it is not clean to eat until the blood is drained out of it. The Bible doesn't say how to do this. The important thing is that an honest attempt is made to get the majority of the blood out. In the West, the rule of thumb has been to hang the animal vertically by it's feet, and let the blood drain out of it's throat until at there are at least 15 seconds between drips of blood.

Kosher and Halal butchering methods, where the butcher slits the animals throat and lets it bleed to death, are very quick and humane. The precedent for kosher slaughter is in Exodus 12:46, where it says the Passover lamb must be slaughtered without breaking any bones. Nowhere is kosher slaughter commanded in the scriptures, but my personal experience is that the animal drifts off to sleep very quickly, with no apparent pain or thrashing around.

Kosher meat preparation includes extensive washing with water and then using salt to "suck" the remaining fluid out of the meat for several hours. I personally have never tasted kosher meat, but have read that it is very tender and tasty. On the other hand I have heard that kosher meat has "no flavor". And another person told me that kosher meat is tasty "if you use the proper spices". Such measures in meat preparation is a matter of conscience. I personally do not view meat juice the same as the "life blood" that drains out immediately after slaughter.

Meat from animals that die by themselves, or are found dead, are unlawful to eat. In former days this usually meant animals that were killed by other animals and partially eaten. Today this includes roadkill. This law is a direct consequence of the necessity to bleed a food animal immediately after it dies. Unless you control the circumstances of the animals death, you have no idea what kind of poisons were inserted into it's body by the killing predator, or if it died of some disease.

Blood is to be poured into the ground. This precludes it's use for other purposes, such as creating serums for vaccines. This also precludes dumping it into the sewage system, which almost always leads to the river or ocean. Blood contains a lot of minerals and nutrients; when disposed of into the water system, those minerals and nutrients don't replenish the land the way they were intended to. Gardeners have found that animal blood greatly helps their compost heaps; this is a lawful use of blood.

FAT
It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood. (Leviticus 3:17)

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. (Leviticus 7:23)

Today's manufacturers of hamburger meat and hot dogs inject fat until it reaches a concentration of 30%. Is it any wonder that we are dying of heart disease, clogged arteries, and strokes? Next time you eat at MacDonalds remember that that tasty burger is forbidden under Jehovah's Law.

Animal fats are "trans fats". When vegetable fats, called "oils" are hydrogenated, they become chemically identical to animal fats. So if you eat hydrogenated oil in any form, you are breaking the ordinance against eating fat, and will reap the bad health consequences.

This Law refers to the body fats of clean animals, not to milk fats. Milk fats are healthy and good for you.

It is forbidden to eat fat. Some consider this to mean that all fatty parts, such as kidneys, tongue, and skin, should be thrown away. I agree with this. There is some fat present even in lean meat. That is why it is a good idea not to eat too much meat. Once a week, once a month, or just in the wintertime, is good. All clean meat containing fat needs to be roasted. As with blood, you can't remove all fat from meat, but you should remove what you reasonably can. There should at least be no big chunks or layers of fat left in the meat when you eat it.

Whatever fat drains away from the animal, you can use for anything except cooking and eating.

Food that is roasted together with meat, so that the fat of the meat comes in contact with it, is unlawful to eat. Gravy, which is made from the juices that come out of roasted meat, is unlawful until you remove the fat. To make lawful gravy, you refrigerate it. This makes the fat form a crust on top. You can remove the crust of fat, then the gravy is fine.

INTERNAL ORGANS
Kosher and Halal law forbid eating various internal organs. However, at the first passover, the Israelites were commanded to roast a sheep whole, only bleeding it. They were instructed to eat the whole thing. When making an offering, the kidneys and fatty membrane encasing the liver were to be burnt on the altar, and never eaten.

Once you smell the intense odor of cooked kidney, you can detect the same smell in heart meat, although to a lesser degree. Having smelled kidney once, the odor was so pungent that I cannot even eat heart meat now. Heart meat is very lean and tasty, but the uric smell is probably telling us that it is not good.

Tongue is an extremely fatty organ. You cannot cook the fat out of it, just as with duck meat. Because of the law against eating fat, I do not eat tongue.

DAIRY PRODUCTS AND BABY FOOD
By "baby food" I do not mean food for human babies. Milk, eggs, honey, nuts and grains are all "baby food". They are all very pure, easy to digest, and extremely nutritious packets of food made by their respective species to feed their "babies". They are also some of the most beneficial foods a human can eat, full of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and extremely high energy content. Compared to these things, ordinary vegetables and tubers have less than half the food value.

Cheese, cottage cheese, keifer, yoghurt, and curds and whey are direct derivatives of milk. As the milk is lawful, so are these milk products. The eggs of clean birds are lawful to eat, and so is the roe of clean fish, since roe is just fish eggs.

And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. (Genesis 18:8)

Jewish Kosher rules say that dairy products and meat must not be mixed. The classic example of a kosher forbidden food is the cheeseburger. God himself disagrees with the Rabbis, since he set the example by sitting down and eating meat, milk, and butter together at the same meal.

Honey is a clean food, but shouldn't be given to babies who are less than twelve months old. Bees sometimes mistakenly collect botulism spores along with their pollen. When eaten, the human intestine kills the resulting Clostridium botulinum bacteria. Babies intestines can't yet deal with this bacteria, and so they get botulism, a form of toxic poisoning.

LAW FOR FEEDING LIVESTOCK
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat. (Genesis 1:30)

Not only does the Bible specify what foods are fit for humans, but it specifies what foods are fit for animals. Some animals are carnivores, but since they are not lawful to eat, their diets need not concern us. The animals that are clean to eat, cows, sheep, and goats, are supposed to eat "green herbs". Seaweed, moss, lichen, and fungi are lawful animal food.

If todays food industry would follow God's law, there would be no mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy). They violate the law by mixing chopped up animal organs, bones, blood, hair, hormones and even manure into the food they give the livestock. This isn't healthy for the poor animals, and the resulting polluted meat is dangerous for us.

We humans were given the very best of the foods, and what we leave behind was ordained to be food for the animals. When we eat grain, God grants the hay that is left over to the animals. When we eat vegetables, God grants the remaining parts of the plant to the animals. Even when we are vegetarians, we still wind up on top of the food chain!

LAWS FOR AGRICULTURE
Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat. A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. (Leviticus 25:3-7,11,12)

Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. (Leviticus 19:19)

MERCY
Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. (Exodus 23:19)

And whether it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. (Leviticus 22:28)

If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young. (Deuteronomy 22:6)

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. (Genesis 1:20,21)

Because we are at the top of the food chain, we need to show mercy and restraint in our eating habits. The Jews interpret these laws in a purely nutritional sense, saying that you cannot eat meat together with dairy products. This is false and unbiblical. These rules exist to remind us of God's mercy, and our human duty to extend that mercy to all the plants and animals which God put under our dominion.

God commanded the animals to swarm and multiply and fill the earth. By obeying the scriptures cited at the beginning of this section, we not only show mercy to the animals, but we show respect for the divine mission that God gave them. If you take eggs from a nest, you must leave the mother alone; you may not kill and eat her. Likewise, if you take a goats kid away, you may not cook the kid in its own mothers milk. It is a heinous crime to make a parent participate in the death of their innocent child. The world was horrified when reports came from Rwanda of parents being forced to watch as their children were hacked to pieces. These laws are also reminders that parents and children may not be punished for each others sins.

Although not directly discussed in scripture, the principle of mercy applies to methods of slaughter too. To be merciful, one must kill the animal quickly and painlessly, and start draining the blood as soon as possible. When one injures an animal while hunting, one has an obligation to locate it as quickly as possible and finish the kill, so it dies with as little agony as possible.

CONCLUSION
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:4)

Should you follow these laws today? The food laws predated Moses. Noah knew which animals were clean and unclean. Abel, son of the first man, Adam, raised and ate sheep, a clean and lawful meat. God gave the law directly to Adam concerning which vegetation he could and could not eat. Is it not reasonable that after the Flood, when men were authorized to eat meat, they would be restricted in that aspect of their diet too?

Jesus said that the things you eat would not make you unholy. However, God did not send out his word for it to have no effect. Even today, if we follow God's food laws, we will enjoy health benefits, including longer life. Even if you don't believe in God or in the keeping of his laws, for the sake of your health this particular set of laws is still worth following.

Good health to you!

REFERENCES
•Keith Hunt's detailed and thorough Bible Food Laws series of articles.
•Thomas H. Nelson, LL.B. wrote an important tract, Health and the Mosaic Law. It is a simple, quick read on the filthiness of the pig.
•The Adverse Influence of Pork Consumption on Health, by Professor Hans-Heinrich Reckeweg, M.D. is a longer, more detailed account of the perils of the common pig.
•Soil and Health, Steve Solomons website about agriculture and nutrition.
•Many mature and loving Christians in the Lower Mainland area gently helped me understand that the food laws had health benefits, and included more than just which meats to eat and not eat.

After Salvation - Making Him Lord

2010-01-05T03:02:00.002-05:00

In the last post we talked about salvation.

Yeshua is not only Savior, but Lord. He cannot be divided. We cannot accept Him as Savior, but decline Him as Lord.

Traditional Christianity, as espoused by Martin Luther, says "after accepting Him as Savior, there are no options to Lordship."

Sadly, they don't understand what they are saying.

How do we make Him Lord? By following His commands. It's that simple. And these are the very commands that we have just repented for breaking, only to turn around and say "we don't have to keep the law anymore." (I'm actually laughing as I write this. I know it sounds crazy, but that's what we've done. That's what I blindly taught for 20 years!)

When Yeshua said "if you love me keep my commands," He was talking about the commands HE spoke to all of our forefathers that were eventually codified by Moses.

HIS commands were put into effect from the beginning of creation, NOT on Mt. Sinai.

Consider the following partial list of the "pre-law" keeping of the "Law/Torah/Commandments."

Offering of sacrifices - Cain and Abel sacrificed. Noah sacrificed.
Laws against murder - Cain and Abel.
Kosher laws - Noah took on "clean" and "unclean" animals into the ark.
Prohibitions against eating blood - Genesis 9:4
Prohibitions against idolatry - Tower of Babel
Prohibitions against adultery - Genesis 12:17
Prohibitions against homosexuality - Sodom and Gomorrah
Commandment of circumcision - Abraham
Feast of Unleavened Bread - Genesis 19:3
Passover - Sacrifice of Isaac
The law of the firstborn - Isaac blesses Jacob

Obviously, to differentiate between pre-law and post-law commands is ridiculous. The commands/Word of God has always existed and always will.

Therefore, to repent and then throw out the Law you just repented for breaking makes no sense.

It is the Torah/Law that determines what sin is. And now that we have the Holy Spirit to enable us to finally KEEP these commands, it is a sign of the power of God that we can now keep them, whereas before we couldn't.

It is "the Law" that He wrote on our hearts. He did not do away with the need for them. The only thing that was changed was our ablity to keep them.

I heard a preacher recently say that the only function of the Law was to be a schoolmaster to bring us to the realization that we need a Savior. Well, that is ONE function of the Law, but not the only function.

It tells us how to live AFTER salvation because it defines what sin is. It spells out what God expects from us. It lays out for us His Appointed Times in which He says He will meet with us.

Western Christianity has also espoused that "only the laws that are repeated in the New Testament are still applicable for today." Of course, the Scripture does not say this anywhere, but it is another one of those doctrines that have been handed down to us from the Catholics that came about as a desire to take everything Jewish out of the Scriptures. (Hey, why did they leave Jesus in there? Wasn't He Jewish?)

Then why don't we observe the seventh day Sabbath like Yeshua, the disciples and early church did? This was repeated in the New Testament.

Why don't we observe the Feasts of the Lord like they did, in the New Testament?

Why don't we eat kosher as they all did in the New Testament?

Why don't we drain the blood from our meats before we eat them and refrain from eating strangled animals as we were told to do in the New Testament? Acts 15:29

As you can see by these few examples, when a preacher espouses "making Jesus Lord of your life," he is preaching something that he is not doing, unless he is following Torah.

Our problem is that we have decided to pick and choose WHICH of the Old Testament Laws we want to follow and which we don't.

As you might expect, preachers ALL teach that tithing is still in effect, but their justification is that practised pre-law by Abraham. Well, as we have already seen, ALL of the Law has been since creation. There is not such thing as "pre-Law."

However, one of the aspects of the tithing law that they leave out is the fact that an Israelite could give his tithe to any Levite that they chose to give it to. This is quite a different commandment than your preacher's commandment to give it to your local church by twisting Malachi to suit their desires.

Okay, enough bashing.

Making Him Lord simply means doing what He says. What does He say?

If you love me keep my commandments.

It takes a lot of twisting and theologizing to obscure the simple and obvious meaning of this statement.

Tamar Revisited - An Illustration of The Sinner's Prayer

2010-01-03T14:49:00.002-05:00

Rom 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

In my last post about Tamar and Judah, it should be noted that this is the first recorded instance of repentance in the Scriptures.

This morning I listened to a sermon on the above passage in Romans, and the point was made that to "confess" is to "agree" with God that you have fallen short of His standard of righteousness.

Now, in looking back at the passage on Judah and Tamar, notice that Judah "confessed with his mouth" that "she is more righteous than I."

Gen 38:26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

What is the Sinner's Prayer? To confess, or agree, with God that you have fallen short of His standard of righteousness, and to determine to turn from your sin and TOWARD His commandments.

"Forgive me God, I am wrong! Help me to do better!" THAT is the sinner's prayer.

Tamar

2010-01-02T17:14:00.001-05:00

Tamar had the goods on Judah. She could have gone public and exposed him. But, she chose rather to quietly settle the situation without public embarrassment to Judah. She saw his potential, that deep down he was good seed and she chose forgiveness over vengence.

Tamar took a great risk. By approaching Judah quietly, he could have denied the whole incident and had her killed. But he didn't. In stating "she is more righteous than I," he shows us that he has finally realized that he is falling short of the calling of God. It is a picture of repentance. It is a picture of the casting down of one's pride.

Tamar means "palm tree." The root meaning of the word is "to stand erect." This name certainly fits her as she "stands up" for righteousness.

What is this trying to teach us?

That like Tamar, God prefers rehabilitation over vengance. He prefers repentance over judgment. And like Tamar, He proved it by putting His life on the line because He sees His seed within us.

"Doing" Is Learning

2009-12-31T17:08:00.000-05:00

How many times has a newly appointed military officer been placed in charge of a bunch of seasoned soldiers, thinking that he knows it all. But as soon as he gets in the field, he realizes that he doesn't know as much as he thinks. He also realizes that there are some things he can learn from those who have been doing it for a while.

Likewise, regarding the Feast of God, it is in the "doing" that we learn what He wants us to learn. We can read and study all we want, but it is only through the "doing" that we learn.

If someone says that they don't want to celebrate the Feasts of Scripture, then what they are saying is that there is nothing they can learn from them. They already know it all. They are satisfied.

That's a dangerous place to be.

Joseph As The Prince Of Peace

2009-12-30T02:18:00.000-05:00

Seems that everywhere you look in the life of Joseph he foreshadows the Messiah. We have another such instance in his confrontation with his brothers.

Up till the time of Jacob's sons being born, a pattern had been established that the promised seed would pass through the younger son. Abraham had Ishmael and Isaac but the seed passed through Isaac the younger son. Then Isaac had Esau and Jacob with the seed of the promise passing through the younger Jacob.

So, one can understand the nervousness of the 10 brothers when Joseph brings them a dream to interpret that clearly shows that he will rule over them. They fear that he will destroy the brotherhood of Israel and receive the birthright all for himself, just as the younger always had before, and the nation of Israel will be perpetuated through him, and they will be left out and lose their status and power.

Jacob was aware of this dissention among his children. We are told that the brothers couldn't even look at Joseph without being jealous of him.

Gen 37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

Notice that they could not even speak to him without showing their disdain. It was not as if they were nice to him on the surface and spoke bad of him behind his back. No, they openly hated him, and Jacob knew it.

The Oral Tradition says that it is for this reason that Jacob sent Joseph to his brothers... to make peace with them. "To see how they were doing," has a deeper meaning than just checking on their welfare. Jacob sent Joseph to see if they were still angry over the dreams. It is perhaps the reason why Jacob had sent the sons away and left Joseph at home, so that there could be a "cooling off" period.

So Joseph left Hebron and went to Shechem. The word Shechem has a root meaning of "neck or between the shoulders as in a place of burden."

Notice that he did not find his brothers in Shechem, but in Dothan. But to be obedient to the father, he went to Shechem. This will become an important point as we go on.

Joseph, knowing the brother's hatred of him, probably went to his brothers with the knowledge that they might try to kill him, but again, in obedience to his father's command, he went.

They indeed DID try to kill him, led by Judah. He was placed in a pit and left to die.

The Pattern
Like Joseph, we are told that every knee shall bow to the Messiah. The sun, moon and stars which are for signs and seasons (the feasts)are in submission to Him. When we observe God's appointed times, we are bowing the knee to Messiah.

Like the brothers who thought Joseph to be a threat to the brotherhood of Israel, so too did the Jews, led by Judah, deem Yeshua a threat to the nation and their power.

Yeshua was sent by His Father to make peace with the nation of Israel. Of course, they killed him, led by the Jews/tribe of Judah.

Yeshua also went to a place of burden where all mans' sins were placed on Him for Him to bear. And like Yeshua, we are told to take up our "burdens" as well.

Like Joseph, Yeshua knew that His brothers were going to kill Him. Yet, at the Father's command, He went anyway.

Notice also, that like Joseph, Yeshua went down into the pit of the earth where ha Satan expected Him to die. And like Joseph, whose brothers were unsuccessful in killing, He was received again unto life.

And finally, just as Joseph went ahead and prepared a place for his brothers and they ultimately made peace, so also has Yeshua made peace with us and prepared a place for us so that we might be saved.

Woe To The Mothers

2009-12-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

We have discussed before that the Church is like our mother. We were all born there. But there comes a time when one must leave the womb and grow up. Our striking out on our own, outside of the system, to study Torah is that leaving of the womb.

We see this pattern in the life of Moses.

First, he was born to his mother, but then he was placed in the Nile River to die. However, he was brought out of the water for a SECOND time, which is symbolic of the "born-again" experience.

This is why Yeshua asked Nicodemas how he could be a teacher of the Torah/Moses and not understand what it meant to be born-again.

THEREFORE, with it in mind that the Church is our mother, consider the following verse.

Mark 13:14-19
14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:
16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.
17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
(KJV)

WOE UNTO THE MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN!

We need to come out of the womb before we and the mother are killed! We need to flee to the mountain of Torah where there is protection. Don't go back in your house and bring out any doctrine stored therein. Just flee!

Do You Want To Go Through The Tribulation?

2009-12-25T03:31:00.003-05:00

The following is a teaching that I have been working on. I pass it on here in hopes that those with insight will comment, whether you agree or disagree. It is though MANY counselors that we arrive at the truth.

There seems to be two groups of God's people during the time of the tribulation. There is one group that is told:

Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Then there is another group that doesn's escape but are martyred:

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Likewise, we see two groups of people that are mentioned regarding their "robes." The first group has washed their own robes.

Rev 7:13-17 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.*
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

The second group has their white robes given to them.

Rev 6:9-11 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Both groups have salvation, but there seems to be a difference in their levels of protection based on what THEY do.

Analysis
There seems to be a group of saints that have washed their robes prior to the tribulation and they are protected during the time of trial. There is a second group that does not have washed robes and they are martyred and THEN they get their robes. It is the process of the tribulation that purifies them and enables them to THEN be clothed with His white robes.

Since we are washed by the water of the Word, I would suggest that it is TORAH that washes our robes and makes us "worthy" to be kept from the hour of temptation that comes upon the whole world.

We can be cleaned/purified in one of two ways. We can wash/purify ourselves with Torah, or we can be purified by tribulation. It seems that the choice to go through the tribulation rests with us. In fact, Yeshua pleads with us to take PREPARATION so that we DON'T have to go through the fire in order to be purified.

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

This was the lukewarm, last days, Laodicean Church that He said this to. They thought they were rich (in theology) and knew it all. Nobody could teach them anything new. They had it all figured out. But they were blind and naked.

They chose not to buy HIS gold tried in the fire, preferring the traditions of men handed down from the Roman Catholic church to present day Protestantism which say that the Torah, the "Old" Testament is no longer to be followed as instructions for how we are to live and worship today. (Of course, the Roman Catholic Church did not exist when John wrote this, but he was seeing a vision of the future in which it would exist.)

II Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

"They received not the love of the TORAH."

This passage in Thessalonians is not talking about Pagans, but about BELIEVERS! Based on the context, I have to conclude that this passage is not talking about salvation, but about being "saved" from the "perishing" in coming time of tribulation. God has no pleasure in the death of his saints. THAT"S YOU!

More Patterns
There are other patterns of these two groups of believers "in the last days."

Luke 17:26-30 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Yeshua points out two different types of people "when the Son of man is revealed." First, there is the Noah type. When judgment came, Noah, because he fully kept the Torah, even before it was written, was able to escape with his entire family. He was given a place of safety and provision through the whole time of judgment.

Then there was Lot. Lot was a compromiser. He preferred the luxuries of Sodom to the complete obedience to God's commands. He lived by sight and not faith, as is illustrated by him taking the portion that "looked" like the best portion when he and Abraham separated.

Lot did not listen to the angels very well and had to be drug from his home. In the process he lost family members. He only had partial protection from the judgment. He fled to the mountaina and lived in a cave which is also thematically connected to the following passage regarding the last days.

Mark 13:14 But WHEN ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea FLEE TO THE MOUNTAINS:

Warning
We must let our Church brethern know this distinction before it is too late. We must let them know that it is the lawless/Torahless one that is the enemy, NOT the Word of God.

II Th 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for {it will not come} unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, (NAS)

To a Hebrew, "lawlessness" would be understood as "TORAHlessness"!!

WE are the Elijah generation that preceeds the coming of Messiah that needs to be preaching "repent, repent, for the Kingdom of Yaweh is at hand."

What are we to "repent" from? From sin! And what is sin? The breaking of His commandments.

And if we fail to warn them, then their blood is on our hands!

And if we fail to warn them, does that in turn make us needful of going through purification ourselves, because OUR love is not where it should be?

I don't know the answer to that question regarding me personally, and like Paul, I hope I don't fall short.

1 Cor 9:27 I discipline my body, and bring it under submission to the Spirit: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.

If Paul understands that EVEN HE might fall short of keeping his flesh in subjection to Torah, then I think we all should fear the same and not rest where we are, but continue to push forward.

_____________________________________________________

*Note: Regarding the group mentioned above who washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14), I don't think this refers to salvation. I believe this is a reference back to the passover in Egypt, where the instruction of the Lord (Torah) had to be followed for PROTECTION. Yes, the blood of the Lamb saves us, but it also is symbolic of us having to do something. In salvation, there is nothing we can do, for it is not by works. So for them to be doing the washing themselves I would have to conclude that this is not a reference to salvation.

Jesus Ditun Eet No Perk

2009-12-24T01:15:00.000-05:00

The Tradition of Christmas

2009-12-22T11:31:00.001-05:00

I Maccabees 1:29-43
And after two full years had passed, the king [Antiochus] sent his chief Tribute collector [tax collector] to the cities of Judah; he came to Jerusalem with a great multitude and spoke peaceable words to them: but all was deceit, for when they had given him credence he fell suddenly upon the city and smote it very sore, destroying many people of Israel. And when he had taken the spoils of the city, he set it on fire and pulled down the houses and walls on every side. However, the women and children they took captive, and possessed the cattle. Then they [the wicked] rebuilt the City of David with a great and strong wall, and with mighty towers, making it a stronghold for themselves. They put therein a sinful nation, wicked men, and fortified themselves therein. They also stocked it with armor and food, and when they had gathered up the spoils of Jerusalem they laid them up there as well; and so they became a sore snare, for it was a place to lie in wait against the Sanctuary, and an evil adversary to Israel. And so they shed innocent blood on every side of the Sanctuary and defiled it, insomuch that the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them, at which point the City was made a dwelling-place of strangers and became strange to those who were born in her: her own children left her!

Her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness; her feasts were turned into mourning, her Sabbaths into reproach, and her honor into contempt. As had been her glory, so was her dishonor increased, and her excellency was turned into mourning. Moreover, king Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, and every one should leave his laws: so all the heathen agreed according to the commandment of the king. Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his religion, and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the Sabbath, for the king had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that they should follow the strange laws of the land and forbid burnt offerings, and sacrifice, and drink offerings, in the temple; also that they should profane the Sabbaths and festival days, and pollute the sanctuary and holy people; set up altars, and groves, and chapels of idols, and sacrifice swine's flesh, and unclean beasts; that they should also leave their children uncircumcised, and make their souls abominable with all manner of uncleanness and profanation: to the end that they might forget the law, and change all the ordinances. And whosoever would not do according to the commandment of the king, he said, he should die.

In this same manner he wrote to his whole kingdom, appointing overseers over all the people, commanding the cities of Judah to sacrifice, city by city. Then many of the people were gathered unto them: that is, every one that forsook the law; and so they committed evils in the land and drove the Israelites into secret places – wherever they could flee for safety.

Now the fifteenth day of the month Casleu [Kislev] [December], in the 145th year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and built idol altars throughout the cities of Judah on every side, and burned incense at the doors of their houses, and in the streets. And when they had torn into pieces the Books of the Law which they found, they burnt them with fire; and whosoever was found with any the Book of the Testament, or if any committed to the law, the king's commandment was that they should put him to death. Thus did they by their authority unto the Israelites every month, to as many as were found in the cities.

Now on the 25th day of the month, they did sacrifice upon the idol altar, which was upon the altar of God, at which time according to the commandment they put to death certain women, that had caused their children to be circumcised. And they hung the infants about their necks, and rifled their houses, and slew them that had circumcised them: however, many in Israel were fully resolved and confirmed in themselves not to eat any unclean thing, wherefore the rather to die, that they might not be defiled with meats, and that they might not profane the holy covenant: So then, they died. And there was very great wrath upon Israel.

Never forget that our Messiah was Jewish, and as Paul Harvey used to say, "Now you know the rest of the story."

Related story about the Christmas tradition.

The Imminent Return Of The Messiah

2009-12-21T14:58:00.003-05:00

In the story of Joseph being sold by his brothers, it is Judah who takes the lead in suggesting that he be sold and not killed. His reasoning is that there would be no profit in it.

Again, another pattern of the Messiah emerges from the life of Joseph. The Jews turned Yeshua over to the Romans to be killed. Their decision was based on what would be best/most profitable for them.

John 11:49-50 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

The word translated "expedient" in the above verse is also translated "profitable" in Acts 20:20.

Also, we find that right in the middle of the story of Joseph (Genesis 37), the text abruptly stops and begins telling us about Judah (Genesis 38). Why?

We find that even though Judah did not kill his brother Joseph, he most probably assumed that he would be killed. Ishmaelites hated the Hebrews. Therefore, we learn in Genesis 38 that Judah lost 2 sons. It is interesting then, that the Jews/House of Judah said about Yeshua in Matthew 27:25, "let His blood be on us and our children."

Could the Spanish Inquisition and the Holocaust be these "two sons/children" of Judah that were killed? Interesting parallel, isn't it?

After Judah gets Tamar pregnant, his nature of habitual deceit is exposed and he proclaims of Tamar, "she is more righteous than I." And it is only AFTER Judah's repentance, evidenced by his proclaimation that "she is more righteous than I," that the seed of the Messiah comes into the world born of Tamar in what was looked upon as an act of adultery. Again, the parallel between Tamar and Mary would be hard to ignore as they both were going to be "put away" for their adultery.

NOW, with the repentance of Judah, we can go back and pick up the story of Joseph, the shadow of the Messiah, for the Messiah can do nothing lest WE first repent. And with Judah's repentance as evidenced by his willingness to lay down his life for his brother Benjamin, ALL Israel is saved.

It is only AFTER the Jews forthcoming repentance that Messiah will return, and not before. The doctrine of the imminent return of Christ is NEVER supported by the patterns of Torah.

The Scrambler

2009-12-18T10:15:00.004-05:00

When I was a kid, my favorite ride at the fair was The Scrambler. Not only did it sling you around and around in a big circle, but it also slung you around and around in a smaller circle as well.

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This reminds me of God's cycles. The earth revolves around the sun, but at the same time, the moon revolves around the earth. Hence, we have a cycle within a cycle.

This is a common theme in the Scriptures. Ezekiel's wheel within a wheel is one such picture that God has painted for us within the Scriptures. God has His cycles as well, and He gives us a picture of them with the sun, moon and stars, which Genesis tells us are for "signs and for seasons."

Therefore, within the 50 year jubilee cycle, we have the annual cycle of feasts. And within that cycle, we have the New Moons cycle every 30 days. And within that cycle we have the weekly cycle of the Sabbath. All of these cycles have a purpose, just as the sun and moon have a purpose.

The sun and moon have an affect on the earth, with the sun providing warmth and the moon exerting gravitational pull. Likewise, when we observe God's cycles, they have an affect on us as well.

The word translated "seasons" in Genesis is "moed," which literally is His appointed feasts and times. Each of His cycles mentioned above, when observed, have an affect on us. He tells us that these are His appointed times, and it in on these times/moed that He will meet with us.

If you meet with God, it WILL have an affect on you, and who wouldn't want to experience more of the Presence of God?

Unfortunately, there are many of His people who do not believe His moed are to be kept today. They think they can worship God anytime they want. To be sure, they can worship anytime they want, but why would they not want to worship at the BEST times? Why would you not want to meet with Him when you can get the MOST benefit out of it?

Sadly, the answer is that they are satified with their level of intimacy with Him, and that is a scary place to be in.

Like the Scrambler, God's cycles are exhilarating and fun. They provide an experience and a deeper knowledge of Him that cannot be obtained by regular daily living and regular worship.

So get on the ride. See if you like it. And when you have ridden it a couple of times, I'll bet that you will want to get back on.

Enjoy the ride!

Why Study Torah?

2009-12-17T10:20:00.003-05:00

We do not study Torah and follow the commandments of our Father for salvation. The instructions of Yahweh, mislabeled "the Law," are for our health, wealth and protection AFTER salvation.

As we have said many times, it is the patterns we find in Torah that will guide us in the days to come.

How close are we to "the day of the Lord?"

This is a commentary by a secular financial journalist commenting on the medias' insistance that the economy is on the upswing.

"Meanwhile, we can’t fathom why anyone would believe such things, nor why the spinmeisters would be so brazen as to suggest that an economic environment characterized by falling incomes, growing structural unemployment, mushrooming federal debt, plummeting asset values and a collapse in bank lending somehow portends recovery. In reality it’s 1931 again, except that the dollar is worthless and the work force has unlearned just about everything it ever knew about surviving hard times. Even those who have been socking away gold and silver are uncertain how much of a cushion they will actually need. For our part, we are prepared for hard times, though not for rioting in the streets. It is a comfort to be living in a small, semi-rural area of Colorado rather than in, say, Los Angeles. But there’s still no way of knowing what level of preparedness will see us through troubles that we’d care not to imagine."
Source