Author: FCC Admin

Tickled Ear Syndrome

Examining amazing things that people have convinced themselves to believe from Exodus to modern days and exploring why mankind has such a propensity to believe things that just aren’t true.

Slide 2 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2Ti 4:1-4)

Theranos – scientists, technicians, and very educated people. A drop of blood versus spun down volumes. Talk reactions. This was impossible, yet it still happened

Abortion not in the constitution – lawyers and historians. Civics lesson. Slavery, women voting, legislature, etc.

Freedom of religion – the “free exercise” clause ignored for decades.

Sunday, Christmas, Easter, and the Trinity – very educated theologians

Why do all these remarkably educated and bright people keep falling for these things?

Slide 3 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and YHVH is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of YHVH?” When Moses heard this, he fell on his face; and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning YHVH will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. (Num 16:1-5)

The rebellion of Korah. These guys were led out of Egypt by YHVH through Moses. Their ambition made them think “hey, I can do that, too.” They wanted to believe something that wasn’t true, that Moses, the most humble man the world had every known at the time, had exalted himself.

Slide 4 In that night Elohim appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” Solomon said to Elohim, “You have dealt with my father David with great lovingkindness, and have made me king in his place. “Now, O YHVH Elohim, Your promise to my father David is fulfilled, for You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. “Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of Yours?” Elohim said to Solomon, “Because you had this in mind, and did not ask for riches, wealth or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed nor those who will come after you.” (2Ch 1:7-12)

Now YHVH was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from YHVH, the Elohim of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what YHVH had commanded.(1Ki 11:9-10)

Solomon and the idols. The guy asked for wisdom. He knew better. He knew a lot better.

Slide 5 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. “If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of YHVH at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” (1Ki 12:25-28)

Penuel means “face of God”. The guy who built a city called “face of God” then built two idols to replace Him. Can you imagine? Jeroboam purposely deceived his people so they would not go worship Yahweh at the proper place and at the proper time. And many, many people followed. Knowing full well it was wrong. And Jeroboam knew well the idols were just metal, nothing supernatural at all. And the people followed.

Today we have the same exact thing. Sunday, Christmas, Easter, and the Trinity are all laughable false doctrines. The same is true with many things people believe about current events and our society. But folks keep believing. What to we have this tendency?

Slide 6 “For Elohim knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:5)

Because we want the world to operate on our terms. We want to be our own gods. Tickled ears because we want to be able to set the rules. As Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun. And it spans all topics, not just religion. Those people at Theranos who knew the technology was impossible and still made themselves believe are the same as the people who knew the golden calves were just statues and the same as those who let Solomon introduce idols and the same as those who rebelled against Moses in the desert.  

Life in Babylon

The question comes up often as to how involved we should be in society as Messianic believers. This message shows that we should indeed be involved and the decision to overturn Roe v Wade proves it!

The Torah is a history of the beginning of time through to the edge of entering the promised land and the death of Moses. The ending purpose is to tell Israel how to live once they enter the land. What is often called “the law”, the Torah is actually a lifestyle document. It commands the people how to run their society once they enter the promised land. These instructions include blessings and cursings. Deut 32 tells what will happen when they fail to follow the instructions. Not if but when. The instructions for living outside the land are pretty scarce and quite bad. It’s meant to teach them a lesson, that abandoning Yah’s ways will result in a bad lifestyle and they will year to get it back.

Slide 2 ‘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. ‘I will heap misfortunes on them; I will use My arrows on them. (Deu 32:21-23)

We are part of Deut 32. We’re “that foolish nation”. These days, I feel God has taken that line to the extreme. Our literal nation has been its most foolish in memory in the last year to 18 months. Paul explains in Romans how this passage pertains to those of the nations, gentiles, who join Israel through the shed blood of Messiah and thus make Israel jealous. So we look to the Torah for our lifestyle, but there’s a problem. We’ve never experienced that lifestyle in full and it hasn’t even been possible since the close of scripture. So how do we live our lives in a Godly manner while coming to the truth in Babylon?

Slide 3 Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, “Thus says YHVH of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to YHVH on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’ (Jer 29:1-7)

The instructions for life in exile come through Jeremiah. What’s unspoken here is, effectively, don’t be revolutionaries. Don’t try to start uprisings and free yourselves. Don’t forgo having children. Live life and have kids. Not only do not be revolutionaries but seek the welfare of the places they were sent. They were sent into exile for lack of belief and they needed to trust that Yahweh would restore them, which had already been prophesied through Isaiah. In fact, Babylon not only remained a power, Yahweh used that power to restore Judea through Nehemiah and Ezra. So Yahweh’s plan, which we can see in arrears, was to use Babylon to restore Judea and to use educated and useful Jews who knew when it was time to return. There was a plan and Jeremiah’s message was part of that plan.

These instructions were for the first exile. Our present circumstances are a little different.

Slide 4 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.” (Dan 9:25-26)

The return, or end, of this exile is not prophesied in the Tanakh, what we call the Old Testament. The end of this one is prophesied in the New Testament. And this one ends with global destruction, then the return of the risen Messiah and the first resurrection. It’s a much different thing. Which is why the term coined by some “Second Exodus” doesn’t make sense. While there are parallels with the Exodus (which isn’t even called that in the Tanakh), what’s to come is a totally different thing. One could say the return from the Babylonian exile was kind of a second Exodus because they had to make a trek and relearn Torah. But in our present paradigm, people are coming to the knowledge of the truth without respect to ethnicity and wherever we are in the world, which is the purpose of today’s message. We don’t live in the first Babylon, we live in the greater Babylon for lack of a better word. 😊 We are not 70 people living in the USA that will turn into millions and march across the Atlantic ocean and on to the Jerusalem. We are not going to be taught the ten commandments standing at the base of a mountain. Those things were very special and very holy and very much singular events. We are also not Jews who were carried off into a specific country who are waiting to be called to march back to Judea and rebuild. We are not looking for a temple made with hands, brother and sisters. While those events prophecy and inform the future they are not going to be repeated. The Lamb of God has been sacrificed, that’s not going to happen again, and the temple we look for will be the original in shamayim, heaven, the one not built with hands.  

What happened before informs our present. While what will happen in the future is a bit different from the past restoration, we need to look at the instructions given through Jeremiah for how we should live in spiritual Babylon. Yahweh knows how each of us grew up. He knows when He called each of us to The Way. He knows our circumstances so we can trust that He doesn’t want us to isolate ourselves from society and we should participate in the betterment of society and the betterment of ourselves. The Jews in Babylon had a purpose: to exist and wait faithfully for the restoration. Our mission has that component, but also more. We are to prepare ourselves spiritually and preach the gospel, aiding in Yahweh’s calling of people and growing the flock while living in Babylon.

Slide 5 “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. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (Joh 17:14-18)

Brothers and sisters, we aren’t sent into the world. We are born in it and come to the truth in it. We have a stake in it. We have to be salt and light. We have to work to better ourselves and our world. The desire to not be in the world is strong in us because we see right and wrong clearly. We don’t belong here. And ultimately we won’t be here. We have confidence in the resurrection of the dead and in the world to come. But we have to live here and we have a big stake in here being the best it can be.

Today is a day of celebration for our nation. 50 years of abortion legalized improperly has come to an end. My lifetime. Half a century. They made it as difficult as possible, including a recent assassination attempt on a judge. 49 years of abortion and then a Jubilee!

And this happened because all who fear God came together on this crucial point. We’ve had countless volunteers, hundreds of millions of dollars, and countless geniuses dedicate themselves to ridding our land of the abominable Roe v. Wade. The best we can hope for on that front is to be able to decide for ourselves through our country’s political systems. There can be no larger example of why we need to be involved in the welfare of Babylon. Yahweh hates sin. Jonah’s example preaching to Nineveh shows this before the New Covenant. Yahweh wants all to repent and come to the knowledge of the truth. The truth that our government never established a right for a baby to be killed in the womb is now established and enshrined by the blessed Clarence Thomas and his God-fearing peers. And guess what? None of those justices keep Shabbat or eat clean. They are opposed personally to Yahweh’s Torah. But they also are installed by Him to protect our rights.

Slide 6 “If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.” Then when Festus had conferred with his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.” (Act 25:11-12)

The most extreme case of using one’s citizenship to further the kingdom of God is here on the board. Paul was such a unique individual. He was educated in everything and a citizen of both Judea and Rome. And he was called to spread the gospel to the nations, which he does here by forcing to be brought to Rome in chains. He had the ability to get an audience with the most powerful person on earth and he did so, risking his own life. 

We are blessed to live somewhere we can influence the government. This also causes us conflict because we are educated in Torah and know that this land will not be proper until the return of Yeshua. Today, though, let’s celebrate that for 50 years there have been enough God-fearing people in this land to rid the land of the atrocity of Roe v. Wade. Praise Yahweh!

Get a Job!

Able bodied people must work! 2 Thessalonians 3: 6-13

Go to Work

70 year old Iranian guy running the entire bar and food service

Older immigrant Uber driver “poor people in America have $1000 phones and are fat”

50-something Uber driver, PhD pharmacist, hit by a truck, driving Uber because he can’t sit still.

Where are the native-born Americans? Where are the young people?

Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. (2Th 3:6-13)

We live now. In the world. Jeremiah, too. Reality check.

My dad’s example. Worked until he got hospitalized for the last time. His workmates all came to see him at the hospital. He worked after he couldn’t stand, getting a security post sitting in his car or chair for hours on end.

Brothers and sisters, unless you have something seriously wrong with you, are retired, or are financially independent, you have to work. You have to provide for your family. That means housing, shelter, education, clothing, and transportation. If you need help, that’s fine. Yeshua told us we will always have the poor, which is also recorded in Torah. We know that some folks need to be helped, but this is more of an incentive for those who can work to do so, in order to help those in need.

Rabbinic or Not?

The shocking Rabbinic origins of many Christian beliefs and practices!

In this walk of ours, where we literally question everything, is littered with some land mines. Many of these things come from misconceptions and our tendency toward purity. Let’s face it, we are all working toward a goal we know we can’t obtain. This purity goal is one that drives us to study anything ancient, whether it’s really ancient or otherwise, trying to get to “the truth”. This is the root of those wanting to study the pictograms, thinking that if we can just get to that pure, exact, first language that the scriptures started from, then we can attain to a pure faith. The same is true with the Names and calendars. When you step back and look at this behavior without bias, you will see that it literally is a works based philosophy combined with Gnosticism. Folks start to believe, whether consciously or sub-consciously, that if they can just get the proper doctrines then they will have attained salvation. Well, let’s take a look at that concept:

Slide 2 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Eph 2:8-10)

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Rom 4:1-3)

You see, our faith contains people who would have been saved by works if that was an option. Abraham is one of the first that comes to my mind. But Paul goes to great lengths to explain what was already known: Abraham was saved by his blind faith not by his works. Abraham believed THEN acted. This is salvation, brothers and sisters. It’s why we are here today and why we are on this walk. We started, with less knowledge than a child, and were saved at that moment in time. We are not working toward salvation, we are working from a place of salvation. This is not some Calvinistic idea but a reflection of what Paul writes here. We can lose our salvation. We can turn our backs on Yahweh and His Son. But we don’t because our faith drives us on this path. Our quest for knowledge is not salvational, but driven from our desire to know God and His Messiah. We long to be with them so much, that we study to show ourselves approved, and to learn about their character and draw near to them.

Slide 3 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah —this Jesus whom you crucified.”  (Act 2:36)

Who made Yeshua Lord? Who made Yeshua the Messiah? Who saved Yeshua? It was God, Yahweh. This philosophy extends even to the very Son of God. I think it is safe to say that Yeshua had His doctrine perfected. He knew the original languages and everything. He had perfect works of mercy, faith, justice, you name it! He performed miracles galore and was the best preacher of eternity! He is the very image of God! But He was saved by faith, not by works.

Now with this preface, let’s take a look at the meat of today’s message. We draw lines in the sand in our walk, which I have done many times. Fortunately, sand lines erase easily. I have had the bug to refuse any Rabbinic teaching. It’s an easy thing to do. Find some outlandish Talmudic reference, paint the whole lot of them with that brush, and then confidently dismiss the entire history of Jewish doctrine and teaching. All while using Protestant commentaries and singing the songs of the pork-eating Sunday keepers, right? We will toss out the Rabbis while embracing those who teach much easier to spot errors. Then, we embrace people who we don’t even know because they have some teaching that tickles our ears! It’s a glaring hypocricy! So, let’s take some easy looks at what is Rabbinic by starting with what is not:

What is not – Calendar, the Shema, the Aaronic Blessing, the Holy Days

Slide 4 “Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your Elohim. I am the YHVH your Elohim.” (Num 10:10)

The calendar was decreed by the last Sanhedrin, it is not simply a Rabbinic decree. That Sanhedrin revealed the calculation for the calendar that had been in use since after the temple came down. Without a functioning temple and priesthood, there is no means for us to have a sighted moon calendar. I’m sorry if this offends you, but if you do not have the authority to call the blowing of the silver trumpets in Numbers 10, which you don’t if you’re not the high priest, you don’t have the authority to call the new moon. There were two silver/metallic trumpets used to call assemblies, call to war, call to anything, and they could only be commanded to be blown by the high priest. Saying you have the authority to call the calendar is saying you have the authority to send Israel to war. OK? They made the decision to reveal the calendar, which is very complex, so the people could continue to observe in unison throughout the diaspora. They did this because others were calling the calendar themselves due to lack of communication, and there was confusion. The calendar is not perfect, and the jury is out whether the calendar was ever perfect, but the same condition exists today as when the last Sanhedrin made this decision in 358 AD.

Slide 5 “Hear, O Israel! The YHVH is our Elohim, the YHVH is echad! “You shall love the YHVH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deu 6:4-5)

Then YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: YHVH bless you, and keep you; YHVH make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; YHVH lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”  (Num 6:22-27)

The Shema is a prayer based on scripture. Reciting this as a prayer is a tradition, and it may even be a Rabbinic command, but it’s not Rabbinic. Yeshua told us this is the greatest commandment and we observe it by living it, but we also remind ourselves to observe it by reciting it together each week. I just have the abbreviated version on the screen and I hope you say this daily, as it is commanded. The Aaronic blessing is also a scripture that was commanded to the kohen to recite. We do this as a congregation. Even though I may lead it, understand I am a commoner and not a priest. We recite this scripture as a prayer as well.

Slide 6 YHVH also spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. “It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of YHVH, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your Elohim. “I am YHVH your Elohim who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your Elohim; I am YHVH your Elohim.” (Num 15:37-41)

Blue tassels are not rabbinic. They are a commandment to all Israel. We are Israel through the adoption by the blood of our brother Yeshua. He wore them even though He kept the commandments perfectly. He was there when the commandments were given for goodness sakes, if He wasn’t the One who actually gave them! Wearing blue tassels is the best thing we can do to shun the Rabbis, incidentally, because they wear white. Which is a strange practice!

What is Rabbinic

Slide 7 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luk 4:16-21)

The synagogue, which is a Greek word for assembly that means “church” in this context, is a Rabbinic tradition. Yes, brothers and sisters, having an assembly led by commoners, meaning non-Levites, is not in the Torah. The practice was started after the return from Babylon. The synagogue system was invented to educate Jews, which at that point meant “Israel”, so the faith would increase and they wouldn’t get busted again. It was more than just a building with a Rabbi that they met in weekly, but the way to teach children during the week. Our church systems trace their origins to this tradition. And Yeshua sanctioned it.

Also in these verses is Yeshua reading from the prophet Isaiah. The bible canon was created by the Rabbis, too. Remember how “synagogue” is a Greek word? Well, so is the word Septuagint, which is the slang for the Hebrew bible canon when the scriptures were translated into Greek about 150 years before Yeshua. It’s that document that is the basis for having a bible canon at all and it is the foundation for our modern bibles.

The book of Isaiah is Rabbinic. This is very hard for us to believe, but it’s a Pharisee thing to even have books of the bible after the Pentateuch be considered scripture. The Pharisees are the Rabbis of the first century. So where I am going with this is if you don’t want to be Rabbinic, then you have to take a hard look at having a lay-person led weekly service and you don’t really have a foundation for accepting the books of the bible apart from the Torah.

Slide 8 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. (Act 5:34)

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today. (Act 22:3)

The apostle Paul was a Rabbi, taught by the highest respected Rabbi in all Judea. Yahweh used the Rabbinic system to give the world the ultimate evangelist. Paul was so respected he could walk into any synagogue in the world and be allowed to speak. The Gospel was spread throughout the world using the synagogue system, including the Greek canon of scripture, and being led by a Messianic Jew named Saul of Tarsus, who was beaten in the synagogues per the prophecy of Yeshua.

Moral of the story today? We need to be careful drawing lines in the sand. We should also educate ourselves on the easier to obtain knowledge before reaching for the esoteric. Understanding what practices we do that are 100% from the Torah versus what we do that are from tradition is something of great value. We have much more latitude whether to partake or not when something comes from tradition, but when those traditions are enshrined in scripture and sanctioned by the Messiah and the Apostles, then they become very important. We also have to be very careful when we break from Torah. The Sanhedrin is not perfect and did not accept Yeshua as the Messiah. And when there is another one, we will have to evaluate their commands in that light. But please understand that our faith and its practices, in its pure form, is not nearly as pure as we often want. Also remember that we were saved at the start of this path. Our learning and practices have changed much, and will continue to change, along the journey. This is fine and quite a blessing to have this freedom in Messiah!

The Feast of Weeks for Christians

“You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.” (Exo 34:21-22)

This Sunday, June 5th, is the Feast of Weeks for 2020. This day goes by many names in scripture including “count fifty” which, in Greek, is Pentecost. Most Christians know this day to be Pentecost because of the miracle of the Spirit (Ruach) descending on the Apostles in Acts 2. The book of Acts was written in Greek and Pentecost was not translated into English. What’s ironic is many Christians don’t realize this day is from the Torah and it shows the Apostles were continuing to observe Torah after Yeshua ascended.

I used the Exodus scripture above vice the many others to illustrate the Feast of Weeks for a reason today. It’s because the commandment is adjacent to the Sabbath commandment. In English, we don’t see an association here that is plain to see in Hebrew. Let me show you:

“You shall work six days, but on the seventh day (yom shebee-e) you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks (Chag Shebua), that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. (Exo 34:21-22)

Yom Shebee-e means seventh day. Chag Shebua means Feast of Weeks. And you can see these words are derived from the word Shabbat, which we know is the weekly holiday commanded by the 4th commandment. The Feast of Weeks is tied to the Hebrew week. We are to count 7 Sabbaths and then a day to arrive on the day to be observed, which is June 5 this year.

I understand there is another counting method to this day that makes it start on a calendar date each year instead of a day of the week. This results in the Feast of Weeks falling on random days of the week fifty days later. Does it make sense to count 7 weeks apart from the week established by Yahweh at Creation? I don’t think so.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. (Act 2:1-4)

I will speak about this day in detail this weekend. The Sabbath before Pentecost is rather special to those of us who believe in Yeshua and the New Testament. Please join us on Zoom at 1pm central to hear more about that specific day in history. On Pentecost, please join at 3pm central. Sorry for the change in times but we share meeting space and couldn’t get in at our normal time. Here’s the link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9833667268

On the day of Pentecost in Acts two, we can know the count started on the 1st day of the week because Yeshua was resurrected on the 1st day. The women arrived at the tomb to find it empty before sunrise on the 1st day. Since a day starts at sunset, we know Yeshua was resurrected sometime Saturday night (using modern words for understanding). Paul later tells us Yeshua is the first fruits of the dead, meaning He was resurrected on the day the wave sheaf was offered as Yahweh’s blessed first fruits of the dead. Yahweh accepted His Son’s sinless death as an offering for all sin and resurrected Him at the proper time. This observance is particularly important as an apologetic to our common Messianic faith. Because it shows the Apostles were still keeping Torah even after the Messiah was resurrected and explained everything to them. And they were rewarded incredibly for displaying their faith through their works. Shalom and I hope to see you online this weekend!

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!