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The Plan of Salvation part 3: Our part in the plan

Did you know that you have a part in the plan of salvation established at the foundation of the world? At the end of the book of Deuteronomy is a prophecy that Paul later explains showing that we do, indeed, have a part in God’s plan!

Our Part in the Plan of Salvation

Review Luke 18:8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Part 1 showed that keeping the commandments, including the holy days, is a key way to be able to answer “yes” to this question

Review And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. (Rev 22:5) Part 2 showed how the plan of salvation was laid out at the foundation of the world through the establishment of the sun and moon, a calendar for the appointed times. And the shalom YHVH experienced on day 7 of creation is what we can look forward to at the end of this age. The clock established in Genesis will no longer be needed once all things are accomplished and this is when the Torah will no longer be needed, either.

So what now? We live in the “in between” time, but much closer to the end of that middle period. Well, now we get into the details and the how-to. We get into the actions that we can take today in order to be found faithful when Yeshua comes back, which really looks to be closer today than, say, a couple weeks ago.

First, let’s talk about why this even applies to us. Many would say we are not Jews, so this doesn’t apply. And others may say that we can’t keep the commandments, so why bother? Well, it’s clear that we are supposed to keep the commandments because Revelation literally says that the remnant, God’s people, keep His commandments and the testimony of His Son all the way to the end. In addition to that, look at this:

Slide 2 “Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom is no faithfulness. ‘They have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation, For a fire is kindled in My anger, And burns to the lowest part of Sheol, And consumes the earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.” (Deu 32:20-22)

Still slide 2 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Messiah. But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; “THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.” But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, “I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION, BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WILL I ANGER YOU.” And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.” But as for Israel He says, “ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.” (Rom 10:17-21)

The LXX matches Paul’s citation perfectly, by the way. This is a very important distinction for us. We keep the Torah because we are the people who were not a people. We keep the Torah because we are called to do so. And this angers those who are native born Israel. We are adopted into the family. We have no birthright to Yahweh’s family. And that is by design. Oftentimes people get moved to study scripture and adopt the Torah while continuing to believe in Yeshua and then they start thinking they are literally Jews or the lost tribes or something. This is not why we are called to be children of God. We have no claim to the family aside from our adoption through the shed blood of Messiah. Paul and the gang had to deal with this in Acts 15. Many, many gentiles were giving up their paganism and attending synagogue because of the draw of the Messiah. They had to have a meeting to decide what to do with them all. It was a new thing happening. Today, this new thing is happening again with Christians and even unbelievers, seemingly at random, reading the whole Bible and deciding to live as the first century Christians – keeping Torah and believing in Yeshua.

Let’s start making some connections here that perhaps you haven’t considered.

Slide 3 At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said, “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. “For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘LET HIS HOMESTEAD BE MADE DESOLATE, AND LET NO ONE DWELL IN IT’; and, ‘LET ANOTHER MAN TAKE HIS OFFICE.’ “Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” (Act 1:15-22 NASB)

At the end of Acts 1 we see the Apostles replacing Judas. This is not a mystery so you may ask, “Chris, what are you up to on this one?” The Apostles had yet to receive the Ruach, the Holy Spirit, and they realized they were part of prophecy. They finally understood the scriptures and they realized they had to make a twelfth apostle in order to replace Judas, per the scriptures. That was a huge responsibility. It’s quite remarkable they realized exactly who they were and what their place was in the plan of salvation in real time. That’s a miracle. The importance here cannot be overstated due to the timing. Remember, always remember, those chapters and verses are not really there. The very next thing recorded is Shavuot, the Day of Pentecost, and the 12 had to be complete. Peter and the gang understood they had the authority and responsibility to do something very important to further the plan of salvation. The did not know what was to happen next, Yahweh and Yeshua did, and I imagine they were smiling from ear to ear when their chosen ones took the initiative to make a big decision and complete the 12.

Well, guess what? We have a part to play in the plan, too. This is our part. To keep the commandments because we WANT to. No bloodline. To fulfill the part about making people jealous. The Christian understanding of being called is often inadequate. Too often people think of being called as just becoming a believer. That just the knowledge of the scriptures with the proper doctrinal understanding is the destination. This isn’t the case. The idea that one is called to understanding but then left to just live out their days with that understanding, attending services on the right days and such, is simply incomplete. The calling we receive and the knowledge we understand is always for a purpose, just like with Peter and the 11. In fact, it’s going to be for multiple purposes. It’s not just knowledge for the sake of knowledge, we have jobs and are playing a part in the plan. I don’t want to overstate our part. Be sure you don’t think I am equating us with the Apostles. That would be hubris of the highest order. We have a part to play, but it’s much lesser than the Apostles. However, the hairs of our heads are numbered, so our parts matter to Yahweh for sure!

Slide 4 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; (Rom 11:25)

We need this knowledge to drive behavior which displays our faith. Paul is telling us in Romans 10 and here in 11 one of the big reasons. The fullness of the gentiles. We are part of the fulfillment of the prophecy Moses made in Deuteronomy 32. We’re not nearly as special as the apostles in Acts 1, but we do have a part in the plan of salvation. They were 12 men out of the history of all mankind. Doesn’t this really make you feel better about the walk? Knowing that your actions, your desire to keep the Torah while believing Yeshua is the Messiah, was not only planned and prophesied but is part of the giant plan of Salvation!

When I talk to Jewish folks, the practicing ones not just the ethnically Jewish. The rabbi on the plane, random Israeli at the hotel. They do not know what to do with me. They do not know what to do with us. Why, out of the blue, do we have all these gentiles studying the whole bible and even using Jewish resources to understand things, they ask. Some of it is the protestant view of the Bible, of course. The dispensationalists believe that the law is nailed to the cross only for non-Jews and that the Jews keeping Torah and then accepting Yeshua is a key to their view of the end times. But all the while the Christians get to keep eating pork and celebrating Christmas, etc. It’s quite confusing. So when Jews look at us like we’re from Mars for observing the Torah and believing in Yeshua, well, it’s partially because our fathers inherited lies and taught them to us. The Protestants also think we are from Mars for keeping the commandments because they are still in that world with an artificial barrier between being a Christian and keeping the commandments. But for those of us who understand we are grafted into the vine, that we become fellow heirs of the promise, part of both the blessings and the cursings, through the shed blood of Messiah, well, that’s different. And it’s kind of neat to have at least made a couple Jews curious, albeit likely not jealous. Again, I don’t want you to think I’m overstating our walk, but at least we are getting noticed!

Remember, for the first many years of Christianity belief in Yeshua was almost exclusive to Jews who accepted Yeshua as Messiah. The Gentiles who joined, years later, adopted the Torah. We are doing that again here in these last days. Because we have a job. We have a role. And it is special.

Which brings me to part three of this series on the 6000 year plan of salvation.

Slide 5 He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation (Yeshua) may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isa 49:6)

Israel’s purpose is to be a light to the nations so that the knowledge of Yeshua, His Name literally means salvation, can be made known to the world. What do we know now about the plan of salvation? We know when and how it was laid out at the foundation of the world through the appointed times, the seasons. We know that the Holy Days are a big part of this plan, literally, prophetically, and in every way, shape or form. We know that Yeshua, Yahweh’s agent of Salvation, asked if He would find faith when He returns and that an easy way for Him to spot faith when He returns is for there to be a people who are keeping his Father’s commandments, particularly the Holy Days. And it all comes together. Our job is to see that light to the nations and to act on it. Yeshua is the light of the world, and we draw near to Him and His father by trusting and obeying. And understanding that we each have a tiny part in the plan of salvation.

The Plan of Salvation part 2: When will the Torah be abolished?

This message identifies when the Torah (law) will be abolished and explains the deeper meanings of Shalom.

Shalom

Explain Lev 23 from 40K feet or a helicopter view, not so much detail, just intro. Explain the shalom and how far we are removed from that society. How the universe was made to be a clock and how observing the holy days displays our faith. One answer to the faith Yeshua is looking for when He returns is obedience to Torah, specifically observing the appointed times of Leviticus 23. As with a lot of scripture, there are many levels of understanding. Today we are going to talk about observing the holy days as a display of faith about something that will be done, not something that has been done. We’re going to explore one aspect of how these days are prophetic that is seldom considered.

Very broad view in order to explain what it is we’re looking at. Torah establishes a culture that is foreign to us.

What we are talking about here and what we desire is a culture, a world, that we are very far away from. When we observe these days we know it’s not perfect. What we are doing is trying to get a glimpse of the kingdom. We are doing so to get closer to Yahweh and His Son.

Shalom – explain how encompassing that is with respect to the holy days. When you ask someone how they are doing in Hebrew you ma shlomcha? Shlomi tov. It means so much more than how are you doing. Shalom has a ton of meanings and is supremely important in God’s culture. When the 6th day was completed and Yahweh rested on Shabbat, it was shalom. Perfect, sinless, shalom. For the entire universe. All was perfect, there was no sin, the animals, the plants, the ocean, all was in perfect balance doing what it was all designed to do perfectly. The fall broke this peace. The fall broke the shalom.

Today, we can get a small glimpse of this in our own lives. When you tune a car or build something at home. When the house is actually clean and all the laundry is done. When the kids actually understand the math you have been teaching them. When you work on a project at work and it comes together on time and on budget. Any time you work on a project or a task and it comes together. You can sit back and enjoy your work because we are made to enjoy our work. We are made to accomplish things because we are made in the image of God.

Back to Genesis, the moment Eve decided to listen to the serpent, the shalom was broken. It was no longer perfect. From that moment, we have been in a fallen condition. Imagine a perfect meadow with a perfect pond with no ripples on the pond at all. Just a beautiful day, 74 degrees, perfect sun, perfect atmosphere, perfect birds. And then somebody take a pebble and drops it in the pond. Now the beach is no longer perfect. The pebble is out of place. It’s at the bottom of the pond. The pond is disturbed and the ripples go out. But this time, the ripples increase instead of attenuating. They get bigger and bigger until there’s a tidal wave. This is an analogy of what happened when Eve sinned. Her sin put things out of place. Then she spread it to Adam. Then the sin increased until it was pure chaos with just one righteous family and the flood, absolute terror, came upon the land. The opposite of peace. Chaos, death, and misery.

How does all this relate to the Holy Days of Leviticus 23? Well, they are individually significant in the literal, simple sense. Each day has a purpose that it fulfills. This is something that we have to accept – YHVH instituted these observances, each with a literal purpose, and they did what they were designed to do. Since we live in the culture we do and understand the scriptures looking back into history prior to the Messiah, we often think that system didn’t work. We get the notion that perhaps the Israelites were set up for failure and all the work put into observing Torah was for naught. That’s nonsense. Yahweh would not allow that to happen. The Sabbath honors creation, marks a weekly cycle, allows for a break, allows for us to rest, provides a day for holding a religious gathering, etc. The day has functioned as designed from inception. Passover week provided a commemoration of what happened in Exodus 12 and subsequent chapters. The observance did what it was intended to do. It also prophesied the Messiah and was a shadow of Abraham and Isaac. It worked. They all did what they were designed to do when used properly. Today, we long for the time when we can observe them properly. And not in an OT context but in the proper context with the knowledge of Yeshua being the Messiah.

The whole of them were meant to reflect a culture of shalom, a nation at peace. This is a very high level view of the holy days. I want you to imagine the entire nation of Israel, millions of people, in ancient Israel, ceasing work on Shabbat. Imagine this from the view of a helicopter. You’ve watched them for Friday and they are busy, doing commerce, agriculture, and the affairs of the day. By Friday sunset, everything comes to a halt. Sunrise Shabbat and there is no activity. Perhaps some kids at play. People wandering to fellowship at each other’s houses. Perhaps they had meeting places like a synagogue back then, we don’t know. Then the sun goes down on Saturday and Sunday comes back with the hustle and bustle. Millions of people doing the proper thing at the proper time. Looking down from above, we would see something designed to do a job functioning perfectly. Week after week, like a well oiled machine.

Then we look at it from an annual observance perspective. The month Abib has arrived. The trumpet sounds with the new month. Ten days later, all the heads of household go to the sheep pens and select a lamb. 4 days later, all the households shut up at sundown and there is a strong smell of cooked lamb throughout the nation. The next day, everybody goes to meet together again. This time in celebration. Then they do it again 6 days later. About 45 days later, they have another festival. Then they have the rest of the spring and summer for work, keeping Shabbat every 7 days just like the commandment. Then in the fall, they have a festival at the blowing of a trumpet, then ten days later the most tranquil day a nation could ever have. Then 5 days later, a nationwide party! A festival with dancing, singing, eating, fellowship, and general fun! People have come from all over the land to celebrate! It’s absolutely wonderful!

Actually, three times a year all the men of the land stopped what they were doing and came to the country’s capital. They left all their possessions, land, and such behind and made three pilgrimages per year. This would be shalom. All of the people doing what they were supposed to do week after week, year after year. From the view of a helicopter or an airplane, it would look like the functions of a machine. It would be peaceful to know what to expect.

What do we see when we think of all these things from a helicopter view? We see a nation at perfect peace. We see families at peace with children doing what they are supposed to do when they are supposed to do it. We see a prosperous nation with no enemies. Remember, the men have to leave their residences and convene at a central meeting place, either where the tent of meeting was or at Jerusalem. That means they had to leave their flocks, herds, and lands unprotected and make a long journey. The nation would be very vulnerable during festival times. That shows national faith in Yahweh. It shows that Yahweh will protect their lands while they are vulnerable. If a nation wanted to invade, they could easily do so during one of the pilgrimage feasts. If someone was a criminal, they could stay back from the pilgrimage festivals and steal livestock or other assets. The festivals are around harvest season so an invading army could just come and take it all and leave Israel without food. The vulnerability of the holy days of Leviticus 23 to the nation was immense. What it tells us is that Yahweh planned to actually protect the entire nation in total had they been obedient.

And in this vein, it mirrors the Exodus when Yahweh did literally take care of His people, 100%, for 40 years in the wilderness. Their clothes did not fall off of them, they didn’t need to go to war until towards the end, they didn’t go hungry, they were completely safe.

Slide 2 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by YHVH, And their descendants with them. It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says YHVH. (Isa 65:17-25)

So here is that peace I’ve been talking about. This is talking about a period of time where society is perfectly peaceful. Where even the animals will be back to what they were doing prior to the fall, living in peace and the world will be in balance.

Slide 3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. (Rev 21:1-7)

The holy days represent an ideal culture and also something we are looking for and long to experience – true shalom. The real Jerusalem will descend from heaven. Yahweh will tabernacle with us, just like He did in the garden. There won’t be any death, there won’t be any pain or sorrow. This is the goal. A perfect society for eternity. So, what’s missing?

Slide 4 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. (Rev 21:22-23)

There is no temple and the clock is missing. The sun and moon no longer mark time. Because it won’t be needed. The plan of salvation laid out at the foundation of the world is now done and executed so that method of reckoning time will no longer be necessary. Sin will be gone and the perfect shalom will be back. Only this time, it will last. Let me explain something to you now that will likely make a lot more sense than it did 30 minutes ago.

Slide 5 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Mat 5:17-18)

Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I like to teach by tying things together that believers already know. You know this verse, maybe even by heart. Now you know what it means. Now we see that this isn’t just some Hebrew idiom. And we can clearly when all will be accomplished. At the end of the age. The present heaven and earth are here to do a job. Just like the holy days. Today, the universe functions as it should. Time is marked by the sun and the moon. We observe the days as best as we can, understanding these observances cover a multitude of meanings. We do so out of faith – faith about things that have happened in the past and faith about things that will happen in the future. And we look forward to the day when we get to experience that pure shalom in the New Jerusalem with Yahweh and Yeshua. When everything will again be perfect, as it was on the 7th day. When Yeshua takes that pebble out of the pond and puts it back on the beach. And we enter eternity.

The Plan of Salvation part 1

We know the plan of salvation was established at the foundation of the world. This message shows how that is revealed through the Hebrew scriptures and how Torah, the commandments, show us how to be shown faithful when the Son of Man returns. This is the first in a series of messages intended to give believers a better insight into the plan through plain scriptures we have overlooked for too long.

Many people, if not most, start studying scripture because of prophecy. Whether they are returning to the faith or looking for the first time, a big motivator is that state of the planet. As things look bad, people look to God, which is good. This cycle of Christianity has been in high gear for the last 150 years. From the Civil War to the two World Wars to the Cold War and now with everything seeming to come unraveled all at once, people should be turning to Yahweh in great numbers. This message is the first in a series to help people understand the Plan of Salvation laid out at the foundation of the world and how this plan has been in plain sight for thousands of years. Through progressive revelation, we are able to see more of it revealed, but we need to look at scripture the way it was written and meant to be understood.

Slide 2 Explain PaRDeS – Peshat is plain, Remez is hints or deeper, Derash is analogical or metaphorical, Sod is hidden or yet to be revealed. This is the one most people are interested in and we will get to some revealing before long!

Understanding that scripture can have different levels of meaning is very enlightening. We always knew this was the case, but seeing the system kind of unlocks the scriptures. The different levels don’t take away from the literal meaning when a passage can be literal. Some passages are poetic or fantastical, so we know they are not to be taken literal. Hebrew has idioms, too. Like how when Americans say “superbowl”, we are not talking about a literal gigantic bowl. We’re talking about a game that’s played in a bowl shaped stadium. Giving with a clear eye is an idiom that exists to this day in Israel and it just means to be generous. It has nothing to do with an eye at all, but many Christians make a lot out of that verse when it was never meant to be taken literally.

Slide 3 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of YHVH and their faith in Yeshua. (Rev 14:12)

So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of YHVH and hold to the testimony of Yeshua. (Rev 12:17)

Keeping the commandments is a big part of salvation. Sinners will not make it into the kingdom, so we need to do our best to not sin. Sin is the transgression of Torah, so Torah we shall follow. The other part of salvation is to accept Yeshua as the Messiah, the Son of God, who followed Torah perfectly and died sinless. Following the commandments isn’t just the top ten list. It’s the whole Torah. Here’s a great big “sod”, a huge mystery, in the Torah. The plan of salvation is established on some specific commandments that most of Christianity isn’t even aware of! And we know about this plan based on the timing of the death and resurrection of Yeshua and when the Ruach was given.

Slide 4 YHVH spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘YHVH’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these: (Lev 23:1-2)

Some of the commandments are “thou shalt not” and some are “thou shalt”. These are the “thou shalt” variety. Yeshua asked about finding faith when He returns in the same chapter, He told us to come to God as a child. Coming as a child, to me, means to do just that. If your father tells you when church is, you believe him. If your father tells you when the Holidays are, you believe him. This is why most of us grew up keeping Sunday, Christmas, and Easter holy. We accepted what our biological parents told us as truth. We adopted their traditions like children because we were part of a family. But once we are born again, we need to learn the ways of our Father in heaven and adopt them. The observance of these days is a literal commandment. But there’s so much more to it than that!

Slide 5 YHVH spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘YHVH’S appointed times (moedim) which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these: (Lev 23:1-2)

Still Slide 5  Then Elohim said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons (moedim) and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. (Gen 1:14-15)

If we could read Hebrew, we would see the same word for appointed times as for seasons. That doesn’t mean the word has to mean the exact same thing. Hebrew doesn’t work that way. Concordances show many meanings for words because context is key and Hebrew doesn’t have a lot of words like English does. The point is that our Father, when He created the universe, did so as a clock to mark time. There are many reasons for this but the one I focus on today is to tell us when to assemble. If we come to Him as children, we realize that the earliest information our Father gives us is in Genesis 1 where He tells us how He created everything. Think of this as a bed time story being told to a baby. Genesis 1 is the start of all life and is the beginning of the Bible so it is the start of our spiritual lives.

Slide 6 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day Elohim completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then Elohim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which Elohim had created and made. (Gen 2:1-3)

Also Slide 6 ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to YHVH in all your dwellings. (Lev 23:3)

The creation week ends with the establishment of the Sabbath. This is when God sat back and enjoyed His Creation. What would we do if we came to God as a child? If we came to Him like He is really our Father? We would emulate Him, that’s what. We would do what our Father does. That’s what kids do. They learn behaviors from their parents.

And evening and a morning is one day. How was there an evening and a morning before there was a sun? We’ll find out some day. But for 6 evenings and mornings we work. That’s how we first show our faith. But emulating our Father and working 6 days just as He. And then we rest on the 7th, just as He did. This 7th day Sabbath is also the first of the appointed times in Leviticus 23. It’s the weekly Sabbath. And by observing it we show our faith.

As we come to God as a child, we learn by doing. By copying our Creator, we learn to live the way He wants us to live through example. Over time it becomes second nature. When we slip up, He nudges us back into the way we need to be. I started this series off with this information because, frankly, people might only listen to the first video. The most important thing for us in the plan of salvation is to be saved. Isn’t that why we study? In the book of Luke, Yeshua told the man exactly what he needed to do to enter eternal life – keep the commandments. Now we know that we need to repent, accept Yeshua as the Messiah, then be baptized, and then keep the commandments. This is the recipe for salvation and it will not change as we add knowledge. If we do these things, we begin to understand as a child. But we don’t have to stay children.

Slide 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2Pe 3:7-13)

Here we have some talk about the end of days. Today I’ve spoken about the middle of time (Yeshua’s day) the beginning of time (Genesis 1) and now words about the end of days. Yeshua will return like a thief, unexpectedly, and that God’s people need to be found living properly. We understand that to mean keeping God’s commandments and our faith in Yeshua. And we are looking for something new, something to come after the complete 7K year cycle. This newness comes after this flawed world and all the evil is destroyed in intense heat.

The bold sentence on the screen likely has a couple meanings. The first is that time is meaningless to Yahweh. He lives outside of time. He can be in a moment for 100 years or he can be in all of eternity in a moment. We are temporal beings and cannot imagine living outside of time, which is what it means to be eternal. But we also look at this as a sod, a deeper level of scripture, hinting at something else. If we look at history and apply the one day per thousand years idea, we see 7000 years for this era, a 1000 year break, and then the beginning of something else. This is where we get the idea of a 7000 year plan and how it ties into the creation and the holy days. Please understand this 7000 year plan is not exact, but an outline. It’s not like at exactly year 4000, Yeshua was crucified. Biblical time is nowhere near as precise as we in the 21st century are accustomed to. But the 7000 year plan does show us intervals and stages in the ultimate plan for bringing in the world to come. By emulating Yahweh and keeping His Sabbaths, we display our faith. This is the faith that we want Yeshua to see when He returns, us obeying our Father and His. And we come to it like a child but we learn more as we grow.

This outline aligns with the appointed times of Leviticus 23. The first appointed time is the Sabbath, which was made at the completion of the Creation. That seventh day aligns with the 1000 years of Revelation 20, when Satan is locked up. We look at the world as having 6000 years of bringing us to something then a 1000 year break, just like the first 6 days were brining us to perfection and then a 1 day break. Within the 6000 years, we see eras, or phases. The Passover marks some of these eras. Abraham and Isaac foreshadow the first Passover, where the firstborn of Egypt was killed and the Israelites freed. Those two events foreshadow the death of Yahweh’s firstborn Son on Passover, some 1900 years ago. And Yeshua said He would drink the cup new with us in the kingdom at some point, which means there could be another fulfillment of Passover. This is an example of the Holy Days outlining the Plan of Salvation, and I’ll keep covering that for the next few messages. Shalom!

Biblical Utopia

Contrasting today’s governing philosophies of right and left against the realities and expectation of society from a Torah/Biblical standard. Most of this comes from the true, biblical definition of loving your neighbor as yourself.

The struggle to make heaven on earth normally fails to define the biblical goal of life on earth.

I’m reading Bill Barr’s new book. My interest in it is because he was the AG when I was finishing high school and then again when Trump was president. It’s turning out to be a great history book and a wonderful read. Buried in the middle of this book, though, is an incredible education on the difference between the left’s idea of society and the conservative idea of society. On the left, is the desire to create a perfect society by using government to remove risk, provide for almost all basic services, and generally educate and indoctrinate society toward whatever fancies the elites. On the right is the idea of limited, tiered governance with decisions made on the lowest level possible by elected representatives who reflect the population of their localities. The former position is one that has been tried and failed miserably over time and the latter is one that generally works for a spell but needs to be re-set every 50 years or so. That’s a very interesting number of years, by the way. It’s important to note that we have a mix of these two systems in our country today with the leftist position generally having the upper hand these days.

Both of these systems of government try to offer something to the citizens. Even though they are diametrically opposed concepts, the adherents to these beliefs believe that their method of governance is going to create their version of a utopia on earth. Those on the left view utopia, in concept, as a society where everyone is equal with equal income, status, and lifestyle. That’s their stated goal, however there’s always an elite that gets to live like wealthy capitalists at the head of this version of utopia. The right’s version of utopia is a free market system where hard work and innovation can lead to financial success, employment is generally fair, and people are left alone as much as possible. This second one sounds really appealing, I must say. But what is the Bible’s concept of a utopian society this side of the kingdom? It’s something different from both of these concepts.

Slide 2 Then did they till their ground in peace, and the earth gave her increase, and the trees of the field their fruit. The ancient men sat all in the streets, communing together of good things, and the young men put on glorious and warlike apparel. He provided victuals for the cities, and set in them all manner of munition, so that his honourable name was renowned unto the end of the world. He made peace in the land, and Israel rejoiced with great joy: For every man sat under his vine and his fig tree, and there was none to fray them: Neither was there any left in the land to fight against them: yea, the kings themselves were overthrown in those days. Moreover he strengthened all those of his people that were brought low: the law he searched out; and every contemner of the law and wicked person he took away. He beautified the sanctuary, and multiplied vessels of the temple. (1Ma 14:8-15 Brenton/Apocrypha)

  • Oddly enough, this comes from the apocrypha
  • Peace
  • Eating what you plant
  • Free to keep Torah
  • Torah enforced, wicked taken away
  • Restoration of the temple
  • Where does this come from?

Slide 3 ‘Corresponding to the number of years after the jubilee, you shall buy from your friend; he is to sell to you according to the number of years of crops. ‘In proportion to the extent of the years you shall increase its price, and in proportion to the fewness of the years you shall diminish its price, for it is a number of crops he is selling to you. (Lev 25:15-16)

  • Land value based on what it could produce, not arbitrary like today. Valuations today are incredibly out of sync with wages and earnings. Without a periodic reset, the working class just can’t keep up.

Slide 4 “For YHVH your Elohim will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you. If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which YHVH your Elohim is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to YHVH against you, and it will be a sin in you. You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing YHVH your Elohim will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’” (Deu 15:6-11)

  • Lending is control. Don’t we know it.
  • The poor will never cease. Get that. Governments cannot end poverty.
  • You have to be generous to the poor even when it’s going to hurt.

Slide 5 ‘You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. ‘You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. ‘You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. ‘You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines. ‘For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field. ‘On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property. (Lev 25:8-13 NASB)

  • A great reset every 50 years.
  • During the reset, everybody goes back to their ancestral lands, the source of their sustenance.
  • Everybody gets their debts forgiven.
  • Everybody does not give up their wealth.
  • Families are reunited – talk about the present state of families.
  • During the reset, nobody works and YHVH provides the food. This eliminates strife and puts everyone on a level playing field.
  • Economics have learned these cycles are organic. YHVH either knew we would do this or He made all societies to have this. Today’s governments spend enormous amounts of money to avoid this reality. Detroit. NYC. Companies “too big to fail”. All was meant to fail periodically.
  • This is not a model for eternity. It’s not necessary in eternity.

Slide 6 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am YHVH your Elohim. ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. ‘You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your Elohim; I am YHVH. ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. ‘You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your Elohim; I am YHVH. ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. ‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am YHVH. ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am YHVH. (Lev 19:9-18 NASB)

  • This defines loving your neighbor as yourself. Not a new commandment and is well defined through Torah.
  • Leaving food around for travelers and the needy. Shows much dignity. Expects people to be traveling and doesn’t discriminate.
  • No false dealings. Wouldn’t that be great.
  • No swearing falsely by His Name – why we put our hands on bibles.
  • No mocking the disabled or hindering them.
  • Justice is blind – rich and poor are to have the same standard. Don’t we all want that?
  • No slandering, uh social media?
  • No hating your countryman. We’re way past that.
  • No bearing grudges or taking vengeance.
  • All this boils down to loving your neighbor. It is defined, not new. So we can know how to love our neighbor. And don’t we wish life was like this?

These topics show how Israel was meant to be a society, a culture. The Torah is not just a set of dos and donts, but a lifestyle. I only know of a record of them keeping this lifestyle in the Maccabees. The assumption is that this will be the way of life in the 1000 years, or something very similar. In the olam haba, we really don’t know. But for today we have a model for how we should strive to live, even though we are outside the land. We have to find a way to navigate the societies we are in while longing to live a biblical lifestyle. And we can do that understanding that even in the Torah’s biblical lifestyle there are poor, needy, needs for justice, income equality, families being separated, and all sorts of bad things that need to be dealt with. We live in a fallen world and Torah was given as the best means to manage that fallen world. And we have the Torah on our hearts because we long for its justice, realizing that the economic and legal realities of today aren’t aligned with the bible.

Truth is Truth

Truth is ready to be discovered if we trust the Spirit and are willing to break away from credal Christianity.

We must challenge the doctrines of men.

Did you know there is a controversy over who discovered mechanical flight first? Being Americans, we naturally know that the Wright Brothers were the first to fly an airplane. But between 1895 and 1906, there are several people who claim to have conducted the first manned flight. And guess what? Many of them are correct. These people did fly something, and in their regions, they were the first to do it. These people were not stealing ideas from each other and claiming credit, they figured it out about the same time and before new could travel fast, if at all.

The reason I bring this up is to illustrate how truth is simply truth. Mankind had wanted to build a flying machine for hundreds of years. Gliders and hot air balloons were a reality, so we knew it was possible to get up there and possible for the air-plane to work. An airplane is called this because its body and wings form a geometric plane on which the craft glides on the air. It compresses the air beneath it to give it rigidity. It’s similar to surfing and you feel this when trying to move a board in a strong wind. With enough thrust, the glide becomes a flight. As technology progressed where we had strong yet light enough materials coupled with the internal combustion engine and some propeller or propellers, it became a real possibility. And many men (and likely women) realized how to get it done at the same time. Because knowledge, technology, and resources all came together at the same time. This illustrates how truth is discovered and is simply “true”. This is only one example among a great many where different, and isolated, people have made scientific or engineering discoveries at nearly the same time because they had the means to discover truth at similar times. It even happens on a grand scale. Continental drift was discovered in a similar fashion, where people operating telescope observatories on different parts of the globe realized their observatories were actually moving. They anticipated their platforms to be perfectly still but the math didn’t add up. Air travel figures into this, too, as many pilots had the opportunity to see the coastlines of Europe and North America and realized they could fit together as a puzzle. Submarine captains were also realizing something similar. Somebody put all this together to realize that the surface of our planet is not stationary. And this is quite recent as well, hence the plane and submarine references.

The amount of people who have come to the knowledge of the truth of scripture in the last twenty years is astonishing. This is how we start our walk. Arriving at the truth is an inevitability if we let the words say what they say. But what’s happening now is different from the historical changes in doctrine. I often mused that if someone who was educated but completely isolated from religion ever read the bible, they would come to something similar to what we do. I imagined that perhaps someone from a godless, communist country could get their hands on a bible, any bible, and just read it, they would not come up with the doctrines of mainstream Christianity but their worship would look very similar to ours. I understand this has actually happened over time, once even with some people or pirates who got shipwrecked in the Caribbean. They read the bible and started a Christian society that followed the Torah. But for us, something else has to happen. A little different.

Slide 2 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” (Joh 16:13)

This is literally about prophecy but it applies to our walk. The context is that Yeshua was about to be crucified and they would not realize what was happening but after, the Spirit would come and lead them into all truth. But this does apply to us today in a similar manner. It’s absolutely possible for us to read the Bible as a technical manual and apply its truth to our lives in a very academic fashion. But to make the words actually matter, well that takes supernatural power. That takes the Spirit.

Slide 3 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Messiah Yeshua, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1Co 2:1-5)

Paul had superiority of speech and wisdom and he knew he couldn’t make anyone believe. Paul’s pedigree, intellect, and knowledge surpasses almost all of mankind’s. His faith does, too. And he knew he couldn’t force change. It takes the Spirit to make the change. So take it to heart, brethren, that I can’t make the words meaningful, either. If these messages help you understand the Bible and bring meaning to it, it’s not me doing it. It’s the Spirit. And if these message inspire anyone, let them inspire you to read the Bible and let the Spirit guide you into all truth.

This is why the message is entitle Truth is Truth. We have to have faith that our Bibles are the true Word of God and then place our trust that He will lead us into what we need to know and when we need to know it.  

Slide 4 The Jews then said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He?” (Joh 7:35)

We’re still fighting this exclusionary spirit. Yeshua was disliked among the clergy of His day because He was not beholden to them for His knowledge or for His authority. He challenged their doctrines by means of His mere existence and one educated in Torah and all things related to Israel. They kept testing Him because they wanted to put Him into a box. If He believed in resurrection, He had to be a Pharisee. If he didn’t follow traditions of the elders, He had to be a Sadducee. And on and on. They wanted to put Him into a box so they could control Him. And they were terrified of Him teaching the Greeks (which means us). They wanted special, compartmentalized knowledge and control. He wanted to save all mankind.

Slide 5 Enter Credal Christianity

For the first 150 or so years of Christianity, aka The Way, aka, the Faith Once Delivered, we had that freedom. What’s really unusual is that we had that freedom in the synagogues. That’s where the Jews worship, dontcha know? And that’s where the faith started. Paul went right into the synagogues to teach Yeshua and Him crucified, challenging the clergy right to their faces. And it took a while for him to be expelled. The gentile converts also attended synagogue to hear Torah, as recorded in Acts 15. When the Jews finally had enough, the faith grew independent of central leadership. Until the Nicene council. Which I spoke of in my recent podcast about how God is not a Trinity.

Having a creed, or statement of beliefs, is almost a requirement. We had to have a statement to get the 501c3. So what happened after the first creed went into place? It grew. And then came the edicts. Over time, the faith became bloated with rules and rulings and it very quickly turned into a form of Rabbinic Judaism, where men became the gatekeepers of all dogma. But, worse than Judaism, these clergy men made themselves out to be the arbiters of salvation. If you didn’t agree to the creeds and dictates of the church, then you were excommunicated, which meant you lost your salvation. Worse, if you still didn’t shut up, they would kill you outright.

But if their doctrines were true, then why did they need to be enforced by, well, force? And this gets to the core of faith. Yahweh sent His Son to die so that mankind could have a shot at salvation – a shot at living with Him and His Son for eternity. It’s an invitation. What is the goal of trying to force this on anyone? If Yahweh wanted to force the issue, isn’t He powerful enough to do so?

Then we get to the reformation, but that didn’t pan out the way it should have, either. The believers did throw out the Catholic dogma, well some of it, but then they kept a lot and kept the church governance. Luther started Lutheranism. Calvin started Calvinism. And on and on. The Geneva bible is printed, which was great. It is the precursor to what we carry today. Small and cheap so each family could have one. But then you had men interpreting what things meant, so they didn’t get rid of Sunday worship, they kept the pork, they kept a lot of the pagan stuff. They became Catholic-light.

Slide 6 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. (Act 17:10-12)

Here we have Paul going into the synagogue in Berea and challenging the doctrines of the day. What did the people do? They searched the scriptures. And I bet those scriptures were the LXX in Greek. And they challenged their long held beliefs. Paul convinced them to check it out.

Today, we all have the scriptures. In every language. And we have reference material galore. And we can see the LXX and the MT. We can go nuts with this stuff. But you have a bible. If you don’t and need one, let me know and I’ll send one. An NASB, which is a modern, literal, translation not some special thing that fits my doctrine. Don’t be afraid to challenge doctrines. If they are true, then they will pass the test and be retained. If they are false, then adjustment is required. But there’s a third option that many find too uncomfortable to accept. It’s a little known place called “I don’t know”. If the doctrine is true, then it’s true. If it’s false, then it’s false. Even if you don’t have a better option. I don’t know is a fine place to be.

But just know that truth is truth. And if you are meant to find it, you will. If you trust Yahweh, Yeshua, and their Ruach, the Spirit, to guide you!

Last Day of Unleavened Bread 2022

Various topics about this Holy Week, the Wave Sheaf offering, and the timing of the count for Shavuot.

There isn’t much to talk about on the last day of unleavened bread. I’m not aware of any significant happenings on this day in scripture. And you know what? That’s just fine. Sometime it’s good to just obey simply because the WORD says so. We always want to get into deeper meanings, parallels, analogies, and the like, but once in a while it’s good to just trust and obey, huh? For our observance, we bring all our left over unleavened bread treats to Oneig on this day to eat them up. Oneig is a Hebrew word that means “meal of delight”. Bringing in various foods and kind of cleaning everything up is sort of a metaphor for today’s message, which is just a bit of cleanup on the various topics surrounding the week we are wrapping up.

Slide 2 “Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to YHVH your Elohim; you shall do no work on it.” (Deu 16:8)

Today is the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Since it’s Friday, this year, it’s the next to the last day of unleavened bread since we can’t go buy anything. The commandment, as we see on the screen, is not just to get rid of the leaven but to actually consume some matzah every day. Since we’re in the west, we can switch up to rice or corn tortillas, which I don’t care for, and forget to have the ULB so I hope you didn’t forget to have a little every day. This is a good segue to contrast between back then and now. On Sunday, or after sundown on Shabbat, we can just go buy some regular bread because we live in the west. In first century Judea, likely not. In ancient Israel, definitely not. It would take a good while before they would have soft bread again. It would come back slowly. We can just go to the store and buy made bread or buy yeast and be back in action pretty fast.

Leavening is metaphorically like sin, but it’s not sin. Be careful when we use analogies, similes, metaphors, and other literary teaching devices not to confuse the real with the analogy. If leavening was sin, then we wouldn’t be able to eat it at all. Leviticus 11 tells us what foods are OK and which are prohibited. Leaven is not prohibited at all. Leavening is used as an analogy for sin because we have to search it out and put forth effort to get rid of it, just like we do with sin, but leavening itself is not bad. In fact, there’s a holy day where leavened bread is offered.

There’s a metaphor in this leaven/sin paradigm for where we live today. We live in Babylon, so while we exit the world for Shabbat or the festivals, once they are over we are right back where we started. Well, physically. Emotionally and spiritually, we should be in a much better place, refreshed and ready to go for another season! In Israel, the festivals likely had more of a lasting effect, especially ULB. Just like it takes a long time to get that starter lump going, it also could have taken longer for the people to get back to hustle and bustle. Since these days were pilgrimage festivals, they had to go home on foot or in carts, so the festival would definitely linger. Like when Yeshua was a boy and they lost Him in the caravan home. They were still together, talking about the festival, talking about the harvest, and traveling. The festival would linger for sure. Today, not so much.

Slide 3 “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” (Joh 17:13-16)

Just to be clear, though, we’re supposed to be in this condition. After Yeshua ascended, the apostles took the faith outside of Judea. They used the synagogues in the world to spread the Gospel, traveling everywhere. We have the documentation of Paul’s journeys and when they intersected the brethren, but we need to remember that happened to all of them. Paul is just the one whom YHVH saw fit to use as our example. Paul was a citizen of both Rome and Judea. A highly educated Jew who could live in both worlds. This is our condition right now. We have come to the truth in the world and in the world we shall stay until Yeshua returns. It’s also important to note that this was the expectation. Their mission was not to start their own Israel or stay in Judea. They had to venture out into the pagan world and spread the Gospel. Such is our fate as well.

Switching gears, there’s an appointed time that isn’t a High Day for which we don’t have any observance or any means to actually observe outside of the land without a full blown priesthood. That’s the day of the wave sheaf offering.

Slide 4 Then YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. ‘He shall wave the sheaf before YHVH for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. ‘Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to YHVH. ‘Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to YHVH for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine. ‘Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your Elohim, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places 

(Lev 23:9-14)

This is an appointed time that is uniquely a work day. And boy oh boy there’s a lot of speculation about this day, its scope, and its timing. Before I get into it, let’s look at why it’s very important to us!

Slide 5 But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. (1Co 15:20)

First fruits is the day Yeshua was resurrected as the first fruits of the dead. The timing of the week of his death and resurrection puts Him coming out of the tomb on the 1st day of the week after Passover, albeit before sunrise. The holy days are literal, but are also part of the prophecies of YHVH and His plan of salvation. While this day is very literally real, the people had to make this offering before partaking of the new grain, it’s also a sod, a mystery, a prophecy of the resurrection of our Lord. And since YHVH accepted that first offering of His Son’s death, we are able to be part of the spiritual harvest, looking forward to our resurrection to eternal life.

Returning to the Torah, there are two popular ways of timing this day and then a third one that I think I’m the only one who contemplates. The first is the way our group counts this day. This reads “on the day after the Sabbath” and we understand that to be the first day of the week.

Our way to identify this day is to make it the first day of the week during ULB. This year, it would have been Sunday the 17th of April. 50 days from then we arrive at Sunday, the 5th of June. In this manner of counting, we always start on a Sunday and end on a Sunday because 50 days from any day of the week will land on that same day of the week. I think this has to be the way because this observance doesn’t start from a calendar date like the rest of the days in Leviticus 23. The other way to count this, which we will get to next, makes it possible to have the day of first fruits be the actual Sabbath day, which doesn’t make sense as this is a work day. Our way lines up with Yeshua’s resurrection, though, so I think it’s a keeper.

The second way to count this is to say the day after the Sabbath to wave the sheaf is Abib 16. This way of counting calls the Sabbath the high day, which is the 15th of Abib, and starts counting on the same calendar date each year, which is Abib 16. That doesn’t make a lot of sense because it’s not set in Leviticus or anywhere as a calendar date. It’s also very possible for Abib 16 to fall on the weekly Sabbath, which would mean people would bring their offerings on a day when nobody is supposed to work. But a lot of people use this manner of counting, including the Pharisees of the first century.

Both of these methods of counting hinge on the timing of Passover and ULB. Passover is Abib 14, ULB 1 is Abib 15, so then you either have Abib 16 or the Sunday during ULB as the day to start. In my feeble mind, and I’m the only person I’ve ever heard say this part, what if the barley isn’t ripe enough to cut on Abib 16 or the first day of the week during ULB? What if the crops just aren’t ready by then and they have to go another week? Could it be possible this day isn’t directly tied to Passover at all? Like I said, our group times this one of the two popular ways and isn’t likely to change, but I wanted to bring this up in case we get to the kingdom and learn something different 😊.

You don’t have to count every day. This is a tradition. There’s nothing wrong with counting every day, I just want to point out it’s not a commandment. Literally, we are to count 7 weeks and a day, so one could count week 1, week 2, etc. This also lends more credence to starting the count on the first day of week one, so you actually count 7 Sabbaths and a day. And I’m sure there were people would did count 50 days individually back in the first century and before. The kohenim definitely kept count. Regular folk probably kept count, too, to keep track and because it’s a fine tradition. But it’s just fine today to look at a calendar 50 days down the road and mark an X. Which is June 5 this year.

It’s also important to remember what was happening during the Exodus at this time. Today is the LDUB, but it’s also the 7th day of fleeing. The people were terrified, they were on the run with the flocks, herds, and kneading bowls. Pharaoh was in hot pursuit. It was still chaos. Pure, uncertain, chaos. They had to get to the Red Sea, get boxed in, and then have that incredible miracle happen. And then they get to the other side and have some relief because they are safe. All that happens during the 50 days. The tradition, which does work out mathematically and makes sense, is that the first day of Shavuot during Exodus was when YHVH gave the 10 commandments from Mt. Sinai. The bible doesn’t say this, but there’s no reason for it not to have happened like that.

In contrast to the Exodus, these days actually anticipate shalom, not chaos. The remembrances are instituted so we can remember the chaos. The Torah is not just a set of rules, it’s an actual culture for a nation. The nation entered the land in Joshua 5, after circumcising everyone, and was able to harvest grain they did not plant and observe the days of unleavened bread in complete peace. Nobody was chasing them. They were enjoying bread for the first time in 40 years. Many of them born in the wilderness had never tasted bread. This happened during peace. Then they went off to war. After the conquest, the nation was expected to plant, harvest, offer, and eat in peace. They were expected to observe ULB and then millions of households would make new starter lumps. They would do this safe and snug in their land with no enemies. The memorial to eat the bread of affliction was to teach the generations that it wasn’t always peaceful and to cherish what they had.

The moral in that story is that they didn’t. They were good for exactly one generation, the Joshua generation. Our adopted ancestors couldn’t keep the faith, just like how the apostles couldn’t even stay awake. They sinned, got tossed into captivity, brought back, were good for a while, then decided to become Greeks. Then a remnant called the Maccabees restored Judea but made a pact with Rome that led to the occupied Judea of the first century. Then we have the Son of God coming to begin the New Covenant, which then launches the greatest evangelism in the history of the world. So that we, a people who were not God’s people, could be grafted in, and be called His People. So as we finish the festival of unleavened bread, let’s rejoice that we are called, and be dedicated to doing it again every year until the Messiah returns.

God is not a Trinity

God is not a Trinity

God cannot be a Trinity because Jesus, the Son, is always subordinate to the Father, who is God.

“You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” (Joh 14:28)

This is a very clear example of Yeshua (Jesus) being lesser than His Father (Yahweh), and it just makes sense. Most people who say they believe in the Trinity actually believe this, too. When it comes down to it, they don’t actually believe in the Trinity at all, but think they do because the word is rather ambiguous and it’s a requirement for baptism in 99.9% of churches. One must say they are Trinitarian to be members in the club.

There’s a reason the doctrine of the Trinity is ambiguous. It was created to allow a whole lot of people with varying beliefs about the relationship between Yahweh and Yeshua to claim to believe the same doctrine. This is the net result here 1700 years later. Two people sitting in pews in the same church who say they are Trinitarian don’t believe the Trinity the same. The shocking truth is the Trinity doctrine is actually a political dogma built to solve a political problem. Disputes about the nature of Yeshua and His relationship to Yahweh created full blown physical conflicts back in the third and early fourth centuries. Doctrine wars were literally wars. You can’t have a universal church (Catholic really means universal) when people are openly disagreeing to the point of violence. So they came up with a doctrine that satiated almost everyone. And those who refused to believe, well, at a minimum they got disfellowshipped. A minimum.

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The Bread of Chaos

John 19:31 records that they wanted Yeshua to be off the cross because that Sabbath was a “High Day”. This message explains what that High Day is and how it parallels events around the Exodus as well as events to unfold at the end times!

The Bread of Chaos

1st ULB Welcome. We’re really in the minority observing these days. Not Passover in general, mind you. Most of Christianity and Judaism does something at this time of the year in commemoration of Yeshua’s sacrifice or the Exodus. In both our movement and within Judaism, the ULB days tend to get short shrift. The Seder is such a beautiful observance, it’s common for folks to just do that and no more. But let’s take a look at the mitzvot:

Slide 2 “Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to YHVH your Elohim, for in the month of Abib YHVH your Elohim brought you out of Egypt by night. You shall sacrifice the Passover to YHVH your Elohim from the flock and the herd, in the place where YHVH chooses to establish His name. You shall not eat leavened bread (chamets) with it; seven days you shall eat with it unleavened bread (matzah), the bread (lechem) of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), so that you may remember all the days of your life the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. For seven days no leaven (seor) shall be seen with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day shall remain overnight until morning. You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your towns which YHVH your Elohim is giving you; but at the place where YHVH your Elohim chooses to establish His name, you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the time that you came out of Egypt. You shall cook and eat it in the place which YHVH your Elohim chooses. In the morning you are to return to your tents. Six days you shall eat unleavened bread (matzah), and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to YHVH your Elohim; you shall do no work on it.” (Deu 16:1-8)

  • Bread of affliction – the topic today, even though I’m calling it the bread of chaos. Oni means misery, poverty, depression, affliction. It’s supposed to be a chore to eat this bread. Unusual and a break from the norm. YHVH using food. Agrarian society.  I’ll get to the bread of chaos later.
  • Different types of bread = English versus Hebrew and Greek.
  • Chamets = zume = yeast or leavened bread
  • Seor = zume = leaven
  • Lechem = artos = bread. Artos alone means leavened bread.
  • Matsah = azumos = unleavened bread, one word
  • In English, we have to have the adjectives which are not necessary in Hebrew or Greek. Greek words are there to help with NT. They ate leavened bread the night Yeshua was betrayed. If we could read Greek, we would just see it.
  • YHVH uses food to teach us lessons. This week begins before hand for us to remove the leavening signifying a renewal. Abib is the beginning of the year, natural for renewing. Removing the leavening to make a new lump teaches lessons. It starts a cycle. It gives us a pattern from which to grow.
  • Using food shows we need to trust YHVH for our sustenance. On a national level, throwing out starter lumps shows we need to rely on peace to grow a new lump.
  • Unleavened bread is a chore. Here in the US in the 21st century, we can have recipes and make tasty treats for ULB. Not so much in first century Judea or ancient Israel.
  • Not in our towns, where YHVH places His Name – no Temple or priesthood, no real Passover. We are doing the best we can, practicing for when this becomes a real thing again in the future. Practicing for the 1000 years.

Slide 3 The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We will all be dead.” So the people took their dough before it was leavened (chamets), with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders. Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock. They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread (matzah). For it had not become leavened (chametz), since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves. (Exo 12:33-39)

  • The bread of chaos. Imagine this scene. Imagine the nation of Egypt, then the most powerful empire in the world, laying in waste. All ten plagues have been executed. The Israelites are unscathed. The Egyptians are decimated. All their first born are dead. That means the leadership is gone. A generational disaster – nobody to hand the family farm to, nobody to inherit the royal titles. And the Egyptians have been brought to their knees, begging the Israelites, their workforce to leave. And a mixed multitude joining. Egypt is a wreck. And the Hebrews have a very tight window to get out of town. Despite the commandment, it reads their bread was not risen because of time, leaving in haste.
  • The commemoration is for this. To remember that YHVH saved a people who didn’t really know who they were. Our adopted family. They knew they were different from the Egyptians, but not how much. They were slaves and had to be chased out. They even shirked their identity many times, but YHVH did not give up on them. Well, there was that one time and then Moses interceded. He brought them out in haste and made them a nation.

Slide 4 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (Joh 19:31)

  • Today is that High Day. It’s not the day of the week because it was really a Thursday that year, but you get the picture. Imagine the chaos of the disciples at this point. Imagine their sorrow. They do not know where to turn. Their rabbi, who is the Messiah, was dead. They were surely lost. And He stayed dead for three whole days. Do you know what they were eating then? ULB. The bead of affliction. They were mourning the death of YHVH’s firstborn Son. That’s not a coincidence. The blood of the lambs in Egypt covered the Israelites and whoever else put that blood on the doorposts. Then the blood of YHVH’s Son, shed on Passover, as the Lamb of God, allows for all who accept it to be grafted into Israel and become heirs according to the promise.
  • And when He was resurrected, He would have eaten ULB. Still keeping the commandments.
  • The Apostles remained unscathed after His death. Even though the leaders wanted the movement stopped for good. They were protected in the chaos.

Slide 5 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2Ti 3:1-7)

  • Chaos of the end times – believers unscathed? Maybe, maybe not. Some will be martyred. Some will survive until the absolute end. The chaos will be immense at the end. Keeping Pesach and ULB will be incredibly hard. The world will be incredible violent and godless. Which isn’t too hard to imagine. And what will we be doing?

Slide 6 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of YHVH and hold to the testimony of Yeshua. (Rev 12:17)

  • Well be keeping the commandments the best we can. Even in times of chaos. In Yeshua’s Name!

Loyalty, Faith, and the Betrayal of Yeshua

Judas’ betrayal of Yeshua is one of the worst things recorded in scripture. Yeshua’s loyalty to Yahweh is perhaps the most important thing recorded in scripture. Did you know both of these things have parallels in scripture?

Slide 2 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. (1Co 11:27-29)

This coming week is the week. The week where we remember the Messiah exactly the way He told us to do that. I’ve covered the details on how we are to observe Pesach and the Night Yeshua Was Betrayed a few times. I’ve talked about how our works display our faith and how salvation and works are dependent upon each other. In this walk, we spend a whole lot of time in study to get the details right. Proper doctrine, teaching, and works are super important. But let’s not neglect the deeper aspects. There’s a foundation to what we do. Our works display our faith. But how do we define faith? How do we define the intangible part of this concept, the ”things unseen” part? Today, we’re going to get at that. Today, we’re going to talk about a core value, perhaps THE core value, from which faithfulness and obedience sprouts.

Up a few verses, Paul talks about divisions among the Church of God in Corinth. That’s in verse 18, Paul meanders in his writings so it’s not a lock that just because he mentioned something a couple sentences ago that it’s really “in context”. But let’s assume it is part of his context for examining ourselves. Think about how special it was to have a believing group in Corinth in the first century. Paul talks about factions but we don’t know what the factions were about. Were they about money, position, doctrine? Who knows. But we do know when we have to be united and that around Yeshua’s sacrifice. When it comes to salvational issues like this week, we need to drop the divisions and unite around the Messiah’s sacrifice. Everything else is second. Everything we do stems from His sacrifice and resurrection. Without that, we are not grafted in. Without that there is no new convenant at all. Without that there is no resurrection from the dead. Without that there is no new High Priest. Without that, we can eat and drink for tomorrow we die. And stay dead. So the first part of examining ourselves is about priorities. Have we really, spiritually, accepted that Yeshua died for our sins? Is that our prime mover in our lives and in our ministries? We all stray to other topics throughout the year, but this time of year, we need to take to heart what really matters and get refocused on the most important thing, Yeshua being the Lamb of God.

Slide 3 While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Yeshua to kiss Him. But Yeshua said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luk 22:47-48)

Betrayal. Is there anything worse than betrayal? When you experience this, it shakes you to the core. If you haven’t experienced it, then bless YHVH. Do you know what? There is no commandment against betrayal. The activities surrounding betrayal are often covered in Torah, bearing false witness being chief among them, but if there’s a literal commandment against betrayal, I can’t think of it. The closest is adultery, and the damage is very similar.

What exactly did Judas do? It doesn’t appear that Judas accused Yeshua of anything. He wasn’t one of the false witnesses, either. He just took money to identify Yeshua. He just provided intelligence, like where to find the Messiah, and then he identified Him through a kiss. He helped Yeshua’s enemies capture Him, that’s it. And what an awful thing to do. The worst. To guide the enemy to find the Messiah.

It’s also written that Satan entered Judas to make this happen. Judas needed a little help to get over that emotional hurdle of betrayal. Where else do we see this in scripture? In the garden, of course. Eve’s betrayal included a literal sin, eating the forbidden fruit. In that, she betrayed both Yahweh and her husband. And then what did she do? She led her husband into the betrayal. How do you think this made Yahweh feel?

Slide 4 Then YHVH Elohim said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen 3:13)

Of course YHVH already knew what they had done. This is a rhetorical question. From someone who had just been betrayed. He was devastated, even though He knew it was coming. We talk about the fall and how it originated in covetousness a lot. But it also originated in something else: disloyalty. Eve decision to listen to the serpent was a betrayal of her husband and of Yahweh. She made a mental decision to put her faith in the created serpent rather than her Creator and her husband, from whom she came.

And what does she do? She immediately implicates somebody else. Betrayal appears to be quite a bit easier the second time around. And the betrayal started with Adam selling out Eve, who then sold out the serpent. And did all that blamestorming do anything? No, it didn’t. Well, except saving the trial. The blaming didn’t replace the bite in the fruit. The damage was done. And it was irreversible. Just like when Judas betrayed the Messiah. There was no taking it back. The damage was done.

Except in Judas’ case, he had nobody else to blame. He had nobody to bring down with him. He tried to go back to the priests and elders when he realized he had betrayed Yeshua to dead and they wouldn’t have anything to do with him. With the help of Satan, Judas had betrayed the Messiah. This is remarkably similar to what happened with Eve. In Judas’ case, though, it would have been better had he not been born.

Is there another place where scripture records such a betrayal? Well, not exactly, but we all know about it. The first betrayal.

Slide 5 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” (Luk 10:17-18)

Satan is in similar position to Judas. At some unrecorded point in history. Satan betrayed YHVH and tried to ascend to the throne. Satan is more like Eve, though, because he took a third of the angels down with him. Satan was the covering angel, he had a very high office, and betrayed the Creator trying to take over an office that nobody could earn. Satan wanted to have all that authority that belongs to someone else and to get it, he betrayed YHVH. And I bet it hurt. Yeshua saw this betrayal.

Slide 6 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Joh 6:38-40)

Yeshua came to earth to stay loyal. He came to earth to run through anything Satan could throw at Him and stay true to His Father and our Father. This is the core of spirituality, faith. Faith to the point of death. The ability to be betrayed but to not betray. This shows His perfect spirit, His essence, His core.

Slide 7 Then Moses returned to YHVH, and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!” (Exo 32:31-32)

Moses was willing to die eternal death to intercede for the sinful Israelites. Moses witnessed their sins, their betrayals, and he did not join in. Instead he offered to die in their stead. Moses’ life was not required. But Moses’ faith ran to his core. He would never give up YHVH for anything.

Slide 8 “YHVH your Elohim will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” (Deu 18:15)

This is what is meant that Yeshua was one like Moses. Except it’s really the other way around, since Yeshua is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And Yeshua is our example. Our loyalty to Him and His Father has to be our foundation. Our loyalty how we are able to choose their way of life over the world’s and traditional Christianty’s. This shows our spiritual side. That at our deepest, we trust Yahweh and Yeshua, even before we know them.

Slide 9 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. (Heb 11:1-3)

Faith and loyalty are intertwined. Faith is the act of trusting someone or something that is not tangible or known: unseen. Loyalty can be built by things seen or unseen. Yeshua was loyal to Yahweh to the point of trusting Him to resurrect Him. The same holds true for the martyrs, who stayed loyal to Yeshua even while being executed. As we examine ourselves this week, contemplate our loyalty to Yahweh through His Son, Yeshua. To be a Messianic, a Christian, is to emulate Christ. As we prepare to observe the days, we know we are loyal enough to do what He said to do in memory of Him. As we examine ourselves for sins, asking forgiveness, and understanding that Yeshua bore our transgressions, let’s examine our loyalty to Yeshua, and make sure it’s a strong as humanly possible.

How to Keep the Holy Days of the Bible

Here’s a basic “how to” for those who keep the Holy Days of the Bible in the context of the New Covenant. This includes the Sabbath, The Night Yeshua was Betrayed, the Passover, Pentecost, The Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

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How to keep Yahweh’s appointed times under the New Covenant

We have many, many teachings about what the days mean and how they fit into prophecy, but not so much on how to actually observe the days. Here’s an easy to use chart on what to actually do on each of Yahweh’s Holy Days. These are in chronological order.

Holy DayMain ScripturesHow and What
Shabbat aka The SabbathLev 23:3, Exodus 20:8-11Rest from Friday Sunset to Saturday Sunset. No work, no commerce. Have an assembly.
The Night Yeshua was BetrayedMatthew 28: 26-29, 1 Corinthians 11: 23-34Abib 13, the day before Passover, assemble, wash each other’s feet, sing a hymn, have wine and bread (leavened). A somber assembly. This is not a Sabbath.
Pesach aka PassoverLeviticus 23:5 and many othersAbib 14 at sunset. Have all the leavening removed from your house, car, etc. before sundown. Have a memorial meal with unleavened bread. Prefer to have a Seder (link) that includes Passover from Abraham through to the Kingdom. Meal can be family at home with or without guests or an assembly. Abib 14 is not a Sabbath.
Days of Unleavened BreadLeviticus 23:6-8, 1 Corinthians 5:8Eat unleavened bread for 7 days. Have an assembly on Abib 15 and on Abib 21 which are Sabbaths, but you can prepare food on them. These two days are feast days.  
First FruitsLeviticus 23: 9-14, 1 Cor 15:20The day Yeshua was resurrected. Not a Sabbath. Nothing for us to do except start counting.
Feast of Weeks aka Pentecost aka ShavuotLeviticus 23: 15-22, Acts 250 days from First Fruits (the Sunday during Unleavened Bread). Always lands on a Sunday. This is a Sabbath where you can prepare food, a feast day. Celebrate the giving of the Ruach ha Kodesh or Holy Spirit.
Yom Teruah aka Feast of TrumpetsLeviticus 23: 23-25, 1 Thessalonians 4:161st day of the 7th month. Not Rosh Hashana or “New Years’”. Have an assembly. Blow a shofar if you have one. Many dress in white as this is the day that foreshadows Yeshua’s return. This is a Sabbath where you can prepare food.
Yom Kippur aka Day of AtonementLeviticus 23:26-32, Acts 27:910th day of the 7th month. Fast from sundown on the 9th through sundown on the 10th. No water or food (if able). No work at all. Have an assembly. 
Sukkot aka the Feast of Tabernacles aka Feast of Booths aka Feast of IngatheringLeviticus 23: 33-43Have an assembly on the 15th day of the 7th month and on the 22nd day of the 7th month which are sabbaths that you can prepare food on (feasts). Most celebrate this by traveling to have larger gatherings that are festive with a lot of teachings. Making a communal sukkah (not a tent) is common practice. Dancing and a general festive atmosphere is the way to go!

That’s the most simplified list I think one could make.

YHVH spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:” (Lev 23:1-2)

Now that we’ve gone through the list, let’s talk about having an assembly. The origin of a church service is in the second line of Leviticus 23 where it says holy convocations. This is called a Holy Convocation in Leviticus 23, which is a miqra kodesh in Hebrew, which is represented well by holy convocations. The KJV calls this a feast which isn’t quite accurate. Only some of the appointed times in Lev 3 are feasts. Yom Kippur is obviously not a feast or a festival.


This is what we call “church” in English, but is also called an ekklesia in Hebrew, which is an assembly. These days are assemblies for the purpose of worship. Here lies the problem: the Torah doesn’t tell us what to actually do to have a holy assembly. This means we have latitude. The elements of a holy assembly have evolved over time, but we who have the New Testament can figure out some elements that should be included.

And Yeshua returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding districts. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. (Luk 4:14-15)

The synagogue is not in Torah. This is the foundation for modern day church services and was instituted by the Jews after the return from the exile. Yeshua’s behavior sanctions the synagogue. He taught there often and even told the disciples they would be punished in the synagogues. Paul used the synagogues often, being a high ranking Pharisee, he was welcomed with honor in these houses of worship.  

The synagogue system of the first century is where we get the elements of gathering in a building on Shabbat. Christianity shifted this to Sunday in error but retained many of the same practices. Reading scriptures, having a sermon, and corporately singing hymns are all from the synagogue. A Catholic church even looks like a synagogue, but with the Torah scroll replaced with a chalice and the host bread. The large altar on a Catholic stage is remarkably similar to the large table a synagogue uses for the reading of a Torah scroll. The Catholic church is the foundation for the modern church service, so you can see how easy it is for use to trace these practices back to the synagogue.

“For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” (Act 15:21)

Acts 15 is most often misused by Christianity to show the Torah ended, but the opposite is actually true. The gentile converts were attending synagogue, which is why that council was called. The Messianics didn’t know what to do with these uncircumcised people showing up at the synagogue. And the result was that they would hear Moses read every week and learn. The synagogue system was sanctioned by Yeshua and allowed to flourish so the faith would have a base of operations from which to grow in every city.

As you gather on the holy days, understand there is latitude in how we observe the days. Hopefully you have somewhere nearby to fellowship with, but if you’re on your own, then trust the Ruach and just get started. We cease from commerce and work on all Sabbaths. On the days that aren’t Sabbaths, like Passover and the night Yeshua was betrayed, we follow the example of scripture wherever possible understanding that our actions display our love for Yahweh and His Son, Yeshua.