Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of Yahweh and their faith in Yeshua. (Revelation 14:12)
Messages explaining prophecy from a first century Christianity perspective.
Explaining the Day of Trumpets and the return of the Messiah . A brief prophecy primer and what we can do to prepare for His return!
Explaining the Day of Trumpets and the return of the #Messiah . A brief prophecy primer and what we can do to prepare for His return! #JesusIsComingSoon pic.twitter.com/MdKYyuZNRS
— Chris (@Messianic73) September 10, 2023
The truth about salvation and works.
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. (Eph 2:8-9)
This is the famous verse that believers use to show we can’t save ourselves. That’s completely true. We can’t save ourselves. Yahweh grants salvation to whomever He wishes. Paul writes the same thing in Romans 9:18, that Yahweh hardens whom He hardens and has mercy on who He has mercy.
The challenge comes when folks focus on this topic to the extreme position that negates works with respect to salvation. The idea is that because works can’t save, then one doesn’t need to do anything to obtain or maintain salvation. This is a ridiculous concept.
Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Yeshua the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Act 2:37-38)
Repentance means what we all think it means, to be sorry for what you have done, acknowledge it, and decide to not do it again. Peter is talking to the very people who had Yeshua innocently executed. Murdering people will prevent you from being in the kingdom, therefore not murdering people is required for salvation. Repentance covers sins, therefore one must acknowledge sins and repent of them to be saved. What are sins, pray tell?
Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. (1Jn 3:4-6)
Read more in the pdf below but this is best experienced through the media options.
The truth about #salvation and works! pic.twitter.com/K0R5ycuQ1f
— Chris (@Messianic73) September 3, 2023
The real meaning of the resurrection of judgment, identifying two false prophets, and showing how the KJV misrepresents Jesus’ own words.
Defining the Nephilim and the Days of Noah a key to understanding prophecy. There is a pattern established at the beginning of the bible that continues to repeat all the way to Revelation and the end of days. This format is not generally recognized in mainstream Christianity. Since about the third century AD, Christian doctrine has moved to break from the Old Testament and try to become a new religion. This is a big error because Christianity is really the continuation of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
For those of us who came up in mainstream Christian circles, there was seldom any doubt about the Nephilim. Genesis 6 had something to do with fallen angels mating with women and creating demi-gods and that was that. The doctrine goes further to teach that mankind was destroyed because of these illicit matings. There are a number of problems with this concept right from the get-go.
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Gen 6:4-7)
The Nephilim are already on the earth before the supposed illicit mating. That’s a pretty big problem if we’re we are defining the Nephilim as demi-god spawn. Another big problem is why YHVH (the LORD) destroyed mankind. This says He did that because all of men’s thoughts were continually evil. He destroyed mankind because of mankind’s behavior, not because of a corrupted bloodline.
The Torah was not written with chapters and verses. They were added over 1000 years after the New Testament was completed. If we read the Torah without chapters and verses, we realize that the Sons of God are defined just before the flood. Genesis 5 tells of the holy lineage, which are the Sons of God through Seth. This is confirmed by the beginning of the Messiah’s lineage in Luke:
the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
(Luk 3:38)
The video above and the pdf below are a teaching to correctly identify what happened in Genesis 6. This is so we can be on the alert for the behavior that will occur at the end of days. When Yeshua (Jesus) spoke of the Days of Noah in Matthew 24, He was not warning us to be on the alert for angels to mate with our women. He was warning us that when the children of God give themselves over to lust, by rejecting their calling, then the end will come. This pattern is established in Genesis 6 and repeated in other places of the Old Testament. We look for an enormous repeat of it at the end of day.
I hope you find Defining the Nephilim and the Days of Noah not just interesting, but a tool to help you understand scripture and prophecy better.
How the generation with the most access to information in history can be destroyed for lack of knowledge what that has to do with organic sea salt, encyclopedias, and a chance encounter with a Rabbi.
Audio only below
Slide 2 Listen to the word of YHVH, you sons of Israel, Because YHVH has a case against the inhabitants of the land, For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty, Nor knowledge of God in the land. There is oath-taking, denial, murder, stealing, and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky, And even the fish of the sea disappear. Yet let no one find fault, and let no one rebuke; For your people are like those who contend with a priest. So you will stumble by day, And the prophet also will stumble with you by night; And I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hos 4:1-6)
I’ve often wondered how modern society could ever get to a place where we have a lack of knowledge. These verses have likely been fulfilled at least once before, but we read them as prophetic, also looking forward to an end time scenario where lawlessness abounds. We certainly have lawlessness in abundance, but we appear to have more knowledge than we know what to do with. Today, I’m going to talk about how our society is actually lacking knowledge even though we appear to have more knowledge than ever before in recorded history.
Slide 3 
Rabbi on the plane story with Josephus Finish later.
The knowledge here is primarily talking about the Torah, that YHVH was upset about Israel not keeping the commandments. Included is one who contends with a priest. That’s really what I’m going to talk about, specifically but also broadly.
There is an anomaly that has been brewing for about a decade where people are having no respect at all for learned people. Not just learned people when it comes to the bible, but people who are authorities on even secular topics.
Slide 4 
This picture is where I started thinking about this problem. And the problem is immense because this advertisement works. This ad would not work thirty years ago because people were better educated. I’m going to ask a question here and pause for a second. What’s the problem with this labeling?
Salt cannot be organic. We learn this in middle school. This is the most basic of science. Right after we learn the difference between solids, gasses, and liquids, we learn about the periodic table of the elements. Salt is sodium, or a few other elements, which just exist as minerals. They cannot be organic. Organic material comes from organisms, like a tomatoes or grass. It’s something that grows. Salt is a mineral, it has to be mined. In the case of the ocean, the water needs to be boiled off or the salt filtered out somehow. My point is that everybody knew that thirty years ago. It was foundational teaching in our country and society. So people would think a label like this would have been a joke or something.
Slide 5 Scientific method
The Scientific Method was also something we learned in junior high.
Make an observation.
Ask a question.
Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation.
Make a prediction based on the hypothesis.
Test the prediction.
Iterate: use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions.
This was taught to us young so we could have a standardized template for understanding and testing things as we continued in school. You see something that makes you curious and wonder why or how, then you come up with an answer, test the answer, analyze the results, and continue until you find your answer.
This is how a lot of us came to the knowledge of the truth of scripture. We made the observation that our old churches were teaching things that didn’t line up with the bible. We tested that with the bible, and realized the errors. Then we searched out where the false doctrines came from and realized we had been worshiping like pagans.
The first layer of concern here is that this came from our education. We were equipped from an early age to question things and make changes if we found answers. This was the foundation of American education, know things, have a system to test them, and learn more stuff, and help progress society. That doesn’t seem to be the case today. What we’re seeing are people testing traditional Christianity, sure, but then they’re coming up with more absurd ideas than the ones we left. It’s maddening.
Slide 6 
Another layer of concern here is that we believed what we read, which is not necessarily the case today. There are two problems simultaneously on this front – folks don’t know how to evaluate a source, meaning what to trust, and due to the internet, sensationalism has been beating accuracy for 20 years. It’s a bit of a mess, much like the stuff to the left of my bookcase. This bookshelf has my parents’ encyclopedias on it. These were my childhood reference materials. We understood that when we looked something up in these books, it was true. Publishers would not let errors be put into their encyclopedias and these books even contain the truth about Christmas. We could trust the entries in the encyclopedias and use them as references in our later papers and such. It was also considered a luxury or special to have these so that one could be informed about the world. The top set was written in 1967 and the bottom set in 1983. Interesting note, the 1983 date was ONLY in Roman numerals, so praise Yahweh I learned that in grade school, too!
This is a concern today because people are challenging the actual bibles, and worse, they are challenging the Strongs numbering and the dictionaries! Don’t get me wrong, the more you learn the more you will understand that the Bibles got better over time. If you want one that’s readable and literal, the NASB is my preferred. But the traditional bibles like the KJV are not that bad and I still look things up in them. I am not saying that we can’t test all things and adjust accordingly, but what’s happening in our movement today is to distrust everything and then make up your own replacement, particularly when it comes to the Hebrew language.
This brings me back to the Rabbi on the plane story from the beginning of today’s message. At that point in time, I was pretty mature in my faith but still learning at a rapid pace and apt to just rule stuff out that sounded ridiculous. But I trusted the information in Josephus. Even though I disagreed with the author, I could trust that the information was reasonably accurate. I was looking for a sense of 1st century Judea by reading it and the doctrinal things I learned along the way were just icing on the cake. Beyond this, I trusted the Rabbi as a legitimate authority. Here’s a man who presumably rejects Yeshua as the Messiah but is a professor of religious studies at a university and an ordained Rabbit. I found it exciting and an honor to be able to converse with such a person and ask him Biblical questions. The story sticks in my mind because of the opportunity to learn but also the opportunity to teach. Imagine how he felt that a Christian was not just interested in his faith, but one who respects it and understands Christianity is built on the Torah. This was a moment in time where our societal foundations worked as they were meant to. We have to learn from people with whom we disagree and respect their intellect and studies so they can do the same and we all grow as people while progressing civilization. What is happening today is the absolute opposite. We have a population that is increasingly ignorant of our founding, ignorant of science and methodology, and motivated more about self than either serving God or serving the greater good of civilization.
Slide 7 
Guy who rejected Yeshua the word. Yod shin vav ayin is not salvation. That somehow the Jews changed that word so it wouldn’t reflect on the Messiah. Absolutely ridiculous. But how do you have a conversation when someone is so wrong but convinced they are so right? We all were able to leave Babylon because of the education and societal norms our nation used to cherish. A basic education, a bible, good reference material, and a respect for educated people or those with solid expertise, couple with the Holy Spirit, brought us to the knowledge of the truth. Unfortunately, the same paradigm today, where someone questions the Sunday system doctrines, tends to be leading people to worse outcomes, not better. And it’s making our way, Yahweh’s intended form of belief and worship, a laughingstock.
Our culture, our very foundations, simply aren’t there anymore. Without the common, trusted foundation, how can we function as a society? Are we even still considered a society without these basic elements? How can we even have a conversation about things that are wrong, in religion or otherwise, and how to fix it if our nation doesn’t have this common education anymore. Hence, we are destroyed from a lack of knowledge while swimming in a sea of information.
We in the west are conditioned to be convinced of everything. We have no concept of authority, let alone the authority we will be under in the kingdom of Yahweh. Are you willing to shed your liberty for salvation or are you in the “You can’t tell me what to do!” camp?
Audio only belowUS society is based on individual liberty. Without a lengthy civics lesson, that I would need to refresh on anyhow, this nation was founded as a clean break from the feudal systems of Europe and residents of this new country became citizens instead of subjects. It’s not the first time in History that this happened. Rome had citizens and not subjects, for instance. In general, a citizen has a say in how they are governed while a subject does not. A subject is someone who is ruled by a monarch, where the only sovereign individual in that government/country would be the king and all others subjected to his rule. The residents of western countries that retained their monarchies while adopting parliamentarian democracies have mostly become citizens because their monarchies have either restrained themselves or have become ceremonial offices. Becoming a citizen of the United States culminates in swearing an oath to our constitution, a document that was ratified by the people as an agreed foundation of governance. In a pure monarchy, becoming a subject would be to swear allegiance to a crown and the wearer of that crown. Britain is the country we most relate to in this regard and you can see that even though they use the word citizen in their oath of citizenship, the reality is that those become British citizens literally become subjects. For reference Citizenship ceremonies: guidance notes (English and Welsh) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | Are we subjects or citizens?
I’m bringing this up to discuss a practical and a theological point of view. In our faith, we are looking forward to being in the Kingdom of Yahweh, where we will be subjects. Being raised in the United States, or most anywhere in the west, we largely have no idea how to be ruled. In fact, we are conditioned from birth to not be ruled and that we can ultimately do whatever we wish. We are raised that we must be convinced of everything. This is by design. Our country elects representatives who represent either a set population of a state or entire states, who then have to be convinced to pass laws and spend money. We lobby our representatives to support or oppose issues. So this idea of being convinced of things is foundational to our upbringing. Our president is the commander in chief of the military, but we are not supposed to go to war without the consent of Congress. In history and in the bible, kings were the leaders of the militaries, and they answered to nobody but God. I refer you to King David being a brutal military commander and his heirs were expected to be the same. Hence why the disciples were so ready to take up arms for Yeshua, being He is the Son of David as well as the Son of Yahweh.
With the only possible exception I can think of being those who have served in the military, we find ourselves in a place where we are almost completely ignorant of how to be subjects. We’re supposed to have some reverence for the elected offices, not necessarily the people who hold them, but with the advent of social media, we don’t even do that anymore. We’ve arrived at a place where not only do we not respect offices, but we also often believe the opposite of what a person in authority says just because we figure they are all either wrong, lying, or both.
Slide 2 “And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Mat 24:10-14)
We are in a very strange place today because of a lack of authority, or rather, a lack of respect for authority. Just ten years ago, could you imagine there being even one drag show at an elementary school, let alone a controversy about this being appropriate? Could you ever imagine men pretending to be women so they could win trophies in women’s sports and even force young ladies to allow these men into their locker rooms? We even have men who protect others from violent criminals being arrested and the violent criminals being protected by the law. This present state of lawlessness has come about because we don’t have anybody willing to say “no”. This has gotten to the point where states are making drugs legal that are federally illegal and nobody is willing to say “no” or, gasp, change the federal law. Brothers and sisters, for most of my time in this walk I was told that the Sabbath was the commandment of lawlessness. That the Sunday keepers purposely breaking that one commandment was the sign of lawlessness. That is because for most of our lives, for most of the last 1500 years, the other 9 commandments were a given. Today, most recoil at the word commandment at all, because Jesus set us free, don’t you know, so nobody can tell us what to do!
Last week, the Torah portion brought us to a pretty obscure passage for most believers that I really like to use to illustrate the problem we have with authority. Check it out.
Slide 3 YHVH spoke further to Moses, saying, “Make yourself two trumpets of silver, you shall make them of hammered work; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and breaking camp. Now when both are blown, all the congregation shall meet you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. But if only one is blown, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall meet you. And when you blow an alarm, the camps that are pitched on the east side shall set out. Then when you sound an alarm the second time, the camps that are pitched on the south side shall set out; an alarm is to be sounded for them to break camp. When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow the trumpets without sounding an alarm. The sons of Aaron, moreover, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and this shall be a permanent statute for you throughout your generations. And when you go to war in your land against the enemy who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, so that you will be thought of by YHVH your Elohim, and be saved from your enemies. Also on the day of your joy and at 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 YHVH your Elohim.” (Num 10:1-10)
Chatsoserah not shofrot. These are very special metallic trumpets. Only two people could blow them and then their descendants. This is part of the kingdom/authority stuff I’m talking about today. The trumpeters were the trumpeters, and nobody else’s lips would ever touch those special trumpets. Ever. Shofrot are animal horns that all of us can have. They are common, not holy, but could be used for holy purposes. YHVH took the Levites to be set apart and gave them sets of specific tasks, to the point of specific descendants doing very specific tasks. That’s how a kingdom works. They were subjects and YHVH was the King. Only the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest could say when these trumpets were blown and for what purpose. If they were blown to move out, out they moved. If they were blown for a new moon, it was the new moon. What somebody in the camp thought about a sliver or whatnot meant nothing. The Kohen Gadol determined the new moon and that was that. These metallic trumpets were a reminder of who was in charge and that was YHVH. By respecting the Levitical priesthood, the people were showing reverence and respect to Yahweh who set that system up.
Guess what? We’re going back to something like this when Yeshua returns.
Slide 4 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (1Co 15:50-52)
The last trumpet is something we have likely never heard in our lifetimes, but I bet you it’s something made of a metal we have never seen before. Paul is telling us the kingdom of God begins with the sound of a trumpet. From Revelation, it seems there will be a series of trumpet blasts leading up to it. When these sounds happen, will we be ready? Will we be ready to submit to our king, Yeshua, who is coming back with legions of angels? Are we going to submit to His rule and be ready to serve however He commands? Because that’s how it works in a kingdom. There will be one last choice for us, which will be very similar to this one:
Slide 5 “Now, therefore, fear YHVH and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve YHVH. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve YHVH, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve YHVH.” (Jos 24:14-15)
Joshua is using monarchy language here. Serving Yahweh as the King of the Universe that He is. He is Melech ha olam, but also Melech ha ba, which is the world to come. He is asking the people if they will put away their gods and submit to Yahweh. The choice at the return of Yeshua will be similar, but with worse consequences for failure.
The sound of Yeshua’s return will begin with the blast of a Trumpet. Will that be a welcome sound to us or will it bring terror?
How will we know if it’s really Him or some imposter? Through study and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Ruach Ha Kodesh.
The real Messiah is coming back and will usher in a 1000 year reign of Torah with Him ruling from Jerusalem. And mankind will have one last chance to say “you can’t tell me what to do”. For most of us, the time to choose is right now. To become a subject in the kingdom of Yahweh, you have to submit to Him and acknowledge that He, and His Son, can indeed tell you what to do. And you’re going to do it. And you learn what they want us to do by reading their Word, the Bible, from cover to cover.
Putting this off this submission until the end is the worst decision a person could make. Those who choose “you can’t tell me what to do” will not like the consequences. But as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh and His Son, Yeshua.
Exploring the different applications of the word “Babylon”, speculation about the end time Babylon, and how we are to come out of her today.
Audio only below. Audio with slides above.
Slide 2 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven with an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people; and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth, and sea and springs of waters.” And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”(Rev 14:6-8)
When I got into the faith once delivered, there was no doubt the end time Babylon was the Roman Catholic Church. This was universally accepted as fitting the verses in the book of Revelation. We can be quite certain John wasn’t talking about literal Babylon in the book of Revelation. That was a real place in those days, in Persia, and Peter wrote to the believers there. These believers would be Jews who did not come back from the exile hundreds of years prior that the apostles went and preached Yeshua to. Babylon at that time was not powerful enough to do much except hope Rome didn’t decide to expand that far. There’s no way John was talking about contemporary Babylon in the book of Revelation.
For hundreds of years people have been convinced the Roman Catholic Church was the Babylon of Revelation because it fit, to a degree, if you were a protestant. It came out of the Roman empire and continues the pagan practices that Rome brought into Christianity to this day. It is still the largest Christian denomination, practicing pagan rituals in plain sight, but it’s a shadow of what it was before the reformation. In fact, it’s a shadow of what it was just 50 years ago. In the US, it doesn’t even enforce its own doctrines.
Scripture can have different levels of meaning beyond the literal. The word Babylon is a great example of this. After the flood, the people tried to make a tower so tall that Yahweh would not be able to drown everyone again. That’s a pretty interesting psyche there. You can have the tower to survive the flood, but what will you eat? Oh, and I’m sure the people building that tower all thought they would be allowed on it if it should ever rain again, not just their leaders. 😊 The world had one language at that time so Yahweh confused the languages and scattered the people to effectively set technology and cooperation back due to their actions. Then He called the place Babylon, which means confusion. He confused their languages. The word Babylon, from inception, had more than one meaning – a place, and confusion.
It has come to have more meanings. When there’s a system or government that thinks it is out of reach of the Most High, just like those at the tower of Babylon, you have Babylon. Another usage is the mixing of religious practices, which is technically called synctretism, and is biblically called harlotry, can also be associated with Babylon. The Persian Empire, headquartered in literal Babylon, purposely mixed up religious practices and cultures in order to dilute any individual culture and to assimilate everyone. When they took Jerusalem captive, their intention was to do this to the Jews. The Greeks tried the same thing after the return from Babylon. And the Romans tried the same exact thing in AD 70. In all these schemes, the evil invaders want to erase the faith of Yahweh from the earth and replace it with polytheism, idolatry, and even satanism. When Rome converted to Christianity, this is what the priests did. They blended in the pagan practices all over the world into Christianity which is why the statue of Apollo in Rome is called Peter, the birthday of Mithra is now called Christmas, the worship of the pagan goddess Diana aka Astarte is now called Easter, polytheism is now called the Trinity, and the worship of a woman and child is associated with Mary. These practices are also associated with Babylon because the word means confusion and these mixed up systems are a mess of confusion.
In Revelation, if John was talking about a literal place being Babylon in his day in the book of Revelation, it was very likely literal Rome. That was the city that ruled the known world and was the seat of all uncleanness. The world’s economy depended on Rome and when it fell, it absolutely did throw the world into economic chaos. No longer could ships sail their cargoes unimpeded pretty much wherever they wanted to go, if they just had that Roman flag on their masts.
Slide 3 “This is what Yahweh of armies, the Elohim of Israel, says 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 father sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may give birth to sons and daughters; and grow in numbers there and do not decrease. ‘Seek the prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to YHVH in its behalf; for in its prosperity will be your prosperity.’” (Jer 29:4-7)
Here’s the part about praying for Babylon but it’s phrased as seeking the prosperity of the city where they were sent.
Jeremiah is being quite literal here. I’ve gone back in time to talk about the captivity in Babylon to show a point. Judea had been sacked, Jerusalem is in ruins, and the Jews were largely carried off to literal Babylon. They were carried off by their enemies and became exiles and even captives in a far off land. They could have looked at this predicament as an opportunity to launch a guerilla warfare campaign or resist some other way, but Yahweh, through Jeremiah, said “no, you’re there for a reason and you will come out in due time. Make lives for yourselves.” The Jews were allowed to retain their identity in Babylon, with some even becoming government officials. In fact, Yahweh used the power of the Babylonian government to restore and rebuild Judea through Nehemiah and Ezra. Their mission for the time in Babylon was to exist, procreate, and make lives for themselves. They were not to try and escape, make their own Torah compounds, or try to overthrow the government that took them captive, but to understand their predicament was part of a much large plan Yahweh had for them.
How do we apply this principle today? The Babylon in Revelation is something that we understand exists in the end of days. The context of Revelation pretty much requires this to be something future, even though it has past applications. We can spend a lot of time speculating on this, as many have done in the past. Today, it doesn’t look like mainstream Christianity in any form has the power to be something like this Babylon. The Roman Catholic Church is a shadow of its former self and its adherents completely ignore the tenets of their faith without consequence. Almost all the Catholic politicians who go on television with ashes on their forehead after Ash Wednesday are in favor of abortion, a reprehensible practice that is against Catholicism, and nothing happens to them. So we can know that the Catholic church is effectively neutered in the public square. This is in stark contrast to days of old when kings had to ask the Pope’s permission to invade countries and such. Articles have been written that we live in a post-Christian world because the rest of Christianity has sadly diminished in influence to the point of being just another lobbying group here in the US. In Europe it sounds even worse. This is sad and a topic for another day but it’s hard to imagine Babylon being a religious authority in a world that has shunned religion almost wholesale.
In my view, the end time Babylon system probably has something to do with government. In our system of government, the government is supposed to represent the people. The present national government does not. Our state governments often do represent the people and some states are pushing back hard against the debauchery. Our little congregation is a 501c3 so we cannot endorse specific candidates, but we absolutely can lobby for issues. Freedom of religion, assembly, education, against abortion, and other issues are founded in religious institutions. The right to an education is rooted in the ability for people to understand the bible, which is derived from our nation’s protestant Christian founding. The right to be born seems God-given and not even need defending. But our national government is almost completely out of control and constrained by pretty much nothing at this point. It’s corrupt and justice is not equally meted out. People have different rules based on their political affiliation and station in life, which is most ironic because this country was founded to crush such systems. Here, though, we still can have a voice and can still matter. We can unite with other Christians to support issues and traditional values, if we so choose. This is not a requirement by any means.
There’s another place the Babylonian system can be, or be part of, today. Corporations and the economy are rife with Babylonian, and even hedonistic, practices. Large companies and athletic organizations operate in almost instant concert to push satanic and abominable practices in our faces. This is apart from government and happening at breakneck speed. These companies are literally evangelizing for the Adversary now. Target’s recent abominable issue where they put children’s swimsuits in their stores for “trans kids” is just disgusting and the designer of this is an avowed Satanist. What happened with the LA Dodgers having trans men show up as nuns and be honored is disgusting and dismaying. The phrase “Sodom and Gomorrah” is actually trending on Twitter, which is quite remarkable when we realize how far removed we are from being the Christian nation we used to be. In this realm we have a voice because we can choose where to shop, but the choices to get stuff from minimally non-political companies are getting scarce.
When the Jews were carried off to literal Babylon, they knew it would be exactly 70 years until they were restored. The end-time Babylon is a rather global power that survives until the return of the Messiah. Is there some time marker for this? I think so.
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)
This is kind of an obscure verse where Paul uses the phrase “the fullness of the gentiles”. Paul writes this to the congregation at Rome which comprised both those Jewish by birth and the gentiles who were grafted in. He’s writing to articulate a balance and this bit comes right after he says that gentile believers in Messiah are grafted in, we are part of the commonwealth of Israel through the blood of Yeshua. Paul goes on:
Slide 5 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:2)
We who are grafted in have a mission to be in the world but not conformed to it. The hope for us today is that regular people are waking up because of the Babylonian debauchery that we are being soaked in. People have had it and maybe that’s the fullness of the gentiles, when people have had it to the point that they repent and return, or turn, to Yahweh and His Son. And we need to be here to help them as this happens. So let’s pray for as many as possible to wake up and depart from Babylon. Shalom.
Those who teach that the law ended at the cross have no standing to complain about where society is today.
Audio only below
Those who teach that the law ended at the cross have no standing to complain about where society is today.
In Joshua 9 we have a very unique situation. The Israelites have entered the land and have had some success demolishing the inhabitants. A group of people called the Gibeonites who inhabit the land appear to know that Israel is going to destroy everything in Canaan. So they set Israel up to let them continue living in the land. They make a huge ordeal of pretending to be from very far away, their emissaries shower Israel with praise, and ask for a covenant. Israel failed to consult with Yahweh and made the covenant. Three days later they discover the deception.
Slide 2 Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon and Chephirah and Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim. The sons of Israel did not strike them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by YHVH the Elohim of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by YHVH, the Elohim of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.” (Jos 9:17-19)
Even though they were commanded to destroy the inhabitants of the land and even though the covenant was clearly fraudulent, they had to honor it. Why? Because they swore an oath to their Elohim. That cuts two ways: they have to honor their oath to Yahweh because He’s Yahweh and if they swear falsely to Him, then their goose is cooked. They also have to honor it or the word of the nation means nothing. If they didn’t honor that covenant then they would not be able to make any agreements because they would be seen as untrustworthy and also to not even take their own God seriously.
Did you know this is a two way street?
Slide 3 “For I, YHVH, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Mal 3:6)
Do you know what this means? I mean REALLY know what this means? It means He’s made a covenant with Israel and He will not go back on it. He can’t. Because if He did, then we would not know what to believe.
Slide 4 On that day YHVH made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: (Gen 15:18)
Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, YHVH appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Elohim Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell on his face, and Elohim talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be Elohim to you and to your descendants after you. (Gen 17:1-7)
“Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'” (Exo 32:12-13)
The foundation of order is honor. To have order it starts with honor. If two people come to an agreement and seal that agreement, however that’s accomplished, then both have to honor the agreement. Today, if someone makes a fraudulent agreement you can get out of it. Why? Because that’s the order of our society. We have clauses that if either side withholds meaningful information, called concealing, then the contract is void.
Yahweh promised to make Israel a great nation and to make Abraham the father of many nations. This is why He brought them out of Egypt. Moses appears to be talking back to Yahweh here but it’s a lesson for us all. The Israelites were told 40-ish days prior not to make idols or worship false gods and they sinned. Yahweh is infuriated. All the plagues, all the plundering, all the fleeing, the miracle of the Red Sea, all brought to nothing in a manner of days. But Moses says “remember your promise”. You said it, so it has to become true. Moses also says if you destroy them you will damage your reputation with the world. To put plainly, if He destroyed them after all that work in Egypt, who would follow Him?
The pagan gods were fickle, selfish, greedy, and, well, human. They were depicted as being effectively super-human beings with powers, not like Yahweh who is not human at all. He’s something else that we don’t understand. He speaks to us in human terms to relate to us and let us understand Him as much as possible, but we can’t comprehend an omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal being because we are none of those things. Their followers didn’t know what they wanted because they were myths, or worse, demons. So they had to guess. Our Elohim, Yahweh, the true Elohim, is different. He says and He does. His words are true. He is referred to as a rock because rocks don’t change. Because if He changed, then we would not know what to believe.
Slide 5 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. (2Th 2:7-12)
Today we are together on LDUB because we’re following the Torah. We’re doing the best we can to obey here in the 21st century because we believe the Bible is God’s Word and His appointed times matter, as does all of his Torah. But mainstream Christianity teaches that the law was nailed to the cross. They particularly teach that these appointed times are null and void, which makes no sense as we see the first century church having adopted the days. Paul specifically told the church at Corinth to keep this very feast.
What happens when lawlessness and dishonor rule the day? The idea of “the law being nailed to the cross”. Mainstream Christianity has taught lawlessness for hundreds of years. How is society going to be able to identify lawlessness if it’s citizens are taught that lawlessness is biblical? The pagan gods were fickle, but at least they were gods. Today, western society is making it up. Each day is another abomination. It’s pure chaos. And it has been a slippery slope. Decades ago it was “why do you care what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home?” Today, we have drag queen story hour at the public library. It’s disgusting. Decades ago it was that girls had to be allowed in the boy scouts. Today, boys can claim to be girls and be admitted to the girls locker room and are actually participating in female athletics! Those Christians who taught the law was nailed to the cross have absolutely nothing to complain about. Because this is the natural result of their ridiculous doctrines.
Freedom requires boundaries. In order to have peace, we have to have order. We have to have a set of expectations and limitations that society agrees upon. This doesn’t even need to be a set of Christian of biblical tenets. Egypt had order and had peace. So did Greece. So did Rome. Within their borders, they had a set of laws and punishments for breaking those laws. They had rewards for obeying the laws. Societies need boundaries in order for there to be any sort of peace. Now, it becomes very un-peaceful in dictatorial societies when you stray from the path, so I am not endorsing these lifestyles. Not at all. The way Yahweh set it up was for the people to agree and follow, not for there to be a dictatorial society. Yahweh set up a simple set of commandments, the people cried, then He finished with Moses on the mountain. While the people obeyed. Then He added the laws about the priesthood, to keep them on the straight and narrow. Then Israel fell away over and over. But they never descended to the depravity we have today. And they knew the path back because righteousness was defined and had not changed. As far as individuals go, we are in the process of surpassing Sodom and Gomorrah. We are on the fast track to Genesis 6, where the thoughts of men were evil continually. All because we have discarded the basic principles of God and nature.
But remember, I set this up with national sins. With the Israelites having to honor their covenant even though it was made in deceit. Well, we’ve broken those rules as well. To the point that our oldest ally, France, is moving away from us. The French president, who was one of our best friends just four years ago, has openly indicated he can’t trust us. Because our government is ran by dishonorable people. When we abandoned our allies in Afghanistan, we told the world they can’t trust us anymore. That abrupt withdrawal, where we abandoned the airport before we even got our own citizens out, and left all of our military hardware behind, showed the world that our word means nothing. Other allies who depend on us for their existence have betrayed us this week with intelligence. Our inability to keep secret classified information makes it impossible for other nations to share their intel with us. And within this dump of classified information was evidence of us spying on our own allies. Our nation’s leaders are more concerned with men being able to shower with girls than they are of our common defense and standing in the world. We have become a nation of complete lawlessness from the top down. For more than two centuries this nation was the bedrock, and that was because we were a force for good. In two short years that has completely collapsed. No boundaries, nothing to cling to.
Slide 6 “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Mat 24:11-14)
Our movement has focused on the Sabbath as the mark of the beast for over 150 years. That was because it was the commandment that set us apart from the rest of Christianity. Those who preached lawlessness still clung to the other 9 commandments, even though that was a ridiculous position. But they continued to preach their lawlessness and adopted worse and worse practices that I won’t even speak of. Instead of being the anchor for truth, Christianity gave into society’s increasing depravity until we have arrived at the place where we are now. Brothers and sisters, it was an error to focus on one commandment when the scriptures were talking about total lawlessness all the time.
The demise of society (as seen on TV).
Audio only below.
The true outline of prophetical events from the first century until today is profound and very easy to learn. The resurrection of the dead is a key to these truths which were held dear by the first century Christians.
Yeshua told us exactly what we are supposed to do to remember Him. We know it, so let’s get together and do it. His command to remember Him by washing each other’s feet and sharing the bread and wine the night before Passover is also tied into today’s message. This is a big apologetic on why we do what we do.
We are commemorating the death and resurrection of Yeshua, the Messiah, the Son of God. While it’s easy to think this is the end of the road, it’s not. It is the single most important event in history, everything before looking to it and everything after looking from it. Imagine in your head an hourglass on it’s side. Yeshua’s death on the cross is the middle point. Everything from Creation flows to that point in time and everything since flows out of it. Sometimes we have to give credit where credit is due and this is the case with the numbering of years on our Gregorian calendar. Today is March 19, in the year of our Lord 2023. It’s been roughly 2023 years since Yeshua was born. Granted, this distinction doesn’t really exist in the faith once delivered, where it is actually the year 5783, and if they were to begin counting, they should have counted from His death, not His birth, but even with all those caveats, I still like the idea of realizing a starting point/finishing point with the coming of the Messiah. Because that’s literally true. And it’s not CE, the “common era”. That’s just a cop out to try and divorce our calendar from Christianity. If one was to consider a “common era”, it would have to be from the printing press or from some much more modern time. There’s nothing common about the Messiah. In fact, He’s very specific and very holy, the opposite of common. But I digress.
The reason I’m on this tangent is because accepting Yeshua as the Messiah, the Son of God, who died so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life, is the most important piece of information available since His death. We really did enter a new era when He was crucified, resurrected, and ascended to the right hand of God. In the first century, one of the biggest doctrinal disputes, if not the biggest doctrinal dispute, was the resurrection of the dead.
Slide 2 But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!” As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. And there occurred a great uproar; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man; suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” And as a great dissension was developing, the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks. But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.” (Act 23:6-11)
Understand that the Jews were more upset about the resurrection being a thing than they were about Paul preaching Yeshua. It’s astonishing to think of, but once Paul made it about the resurrection of the dead, the Pharisees took his side. Paul was a Pharisee himself when he had papers to persecute the Church of Yahweh. But Yeshua being the Messiah, the Son of God, took a backseat to there being a resurrection of the dead. Next month, when we observe the night Yeshua was betrayed and the Spring Holy Days, we will be commemorating just that – that Yeshua was resurrected from the dead. And that’s a key for what is to come later.
Slide 3 Now if Messiah is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Messiah has been raised; and if Messiah has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Messiah, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Messiah has been raised; and if Messiah has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. (1Co 15:12-17)
1st Corinthians 15 is the resurrection chapter. Most of what I am talking about today is summed up in that chapter, which is a remarkably concise and clear outline of what is next to happen in prophecy. This is all founded on the resurrection of the dead, which means that dead people are literally dead, without life, unconscious, and awaiting one of two resurrections. Those two resurrections are separated by 1000 years referred to as “the millennium”.
Slide 4 “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” (Dan 12:1-2)
But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Messiah the first fruits, after that those who are Messiah’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. (1Co 15:20-24)
“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” (Joh 5:28-29)
I started this with Daniel to show that the resurrection, and the outline of what’s to come, is not all that new to the New Testament. Yeshua is effectively citing Daniel in John 5: 28-29 and Paul is providing more detail. Ezekiel gives the most graphic information about the resurrection, too. This outline was common knowledge to the Pharisees and because central to first century Christianity. Of course we believe in the resurrection of the dead because our Messiah was resurrected from the dead! At some point, though, mainstream Christianity deviated from this and has a very confused look at what is to come. The pagan belief that dead people are alive somewhere else has overtaken a core doctrine of the early church. Instead of looking forward to a resurrection, Christians of almost all denominations talk about dead people as if they are in heaven, hell, or in some sort of third option yet still conscious. But if we just read 1 Cor 15, and other places, we know the truth. And next month we will commemorate the truth.
Slide 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Messiah and will reign with Him for a thousand years. (Rev 20:5-6)
Revelation 20 is the place to look for the timing. This is where we learn about the millennium. Today I’m encouraging you to listen and then go read these chapters for yourselves. 1 Corinthians 15, Revelation 20 and the one I’m going to talk about next, Ezekiel 37 and 38. Putting these together shows us the time frame and the details about what’s next in the history of mankind. In fact, this shows us what is next all the way until the end of this era and the beginning of eternity. Which is the first resurrection when Yeshua returns, a 1000 year period of time where mankind gets a break from Satan, who is locked up for the 1000 years, and then the second resurrection, which is called the resurrection of judgment. The second resurrection is where all of mankind who did not get resurrected in the first resurrection are judged, which means decided upon. Some are found written in the book of life, others are not. And at the end of that is when we enter into eternity.
Slide 6 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. (Rev 20:7-9)
And the word of YHVH came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, ‘Thus says the YHVH Elohim, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. (Eze 38:1-3)
This is showing is the timing of the second resurrection. This goes against the grain of most of Christianity as well, but Ezekiel 37, the chapter prior, talks about the first resurrection then Ezekiel 38 talks about the second, where this great final war, Gog and Magog, are to take place. It’s the end of the 1000 years, at least 1000 years and 1 day from now, when this battle takes place. After Satan is released from being imprisoned for 1000 years, he will go out to deceive the nations again. Unfortunately, many will follow that deceiver and pay the ultimate penalty.
Slide 7 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1Jn 5:10-12)
Brothers and sisters, this knowledge I am talking about today is the knowledge that leads to life – eternal life. That we know the Son, and have accepted Him as the Son of Yahweh, so we have the opportunity to enter into life, a resurrection of life. And for a special few, some will not even need to be resurrected but will rise to meet Him in the air when He returns. As you listen to these messages, and read them, and they hopefully inspire you to search the scriptures to see if they are true, understand this is not knowledge for the sake of knowledge. It’s the knowledge of the plan of salvation laid out at the foundation of the world. That plan relies heavily in the resurrection of the dead, something we will commemorate again this year, as we do each year. And you’re invited to join us.