Tag: Torah

The first century Christians had to learn Torah after they accepted Jesus, aka Yeshua, as the Messiah. These messages explain the Torah in a New Covenant context.

A Series of Crossroads

A series of crossroads

Explaining the basic series of crossroads we encounter in the faith on the road to the real truth of first century Christianity.

Historical Proof of the Messiah

Historical Proof of the Messiah

Historical Proof of the Messiah: The principal historical source outside the bible showing the Jesus the Christ, aka Yeshua the Messiah, existed and was resurrected.

You Matter

Nobody lights a lamp and puts it under a basket means that you matter. Jesus Christ died for you because you have worth and can be righteous.

Nobody lights a lamp and puts it under a basket means that you matter. Jesus Christ, aka Yeshua, died for you because you have worth and can be righteous. The mainstream Christian doctrines surrounding works being somehow bad force a conclusion that believers are worthless. If there are none righteous, and you are going to stay unrighteous, then the Messiah died for nothing.

This teaching unravels these destructive and evil doctrines. These wrong teachings, called the doctrines of men, must be refuted because you matter. Yeshua taught expressly against these concepts, and I explain why people believe the opposite of plain scripture in the message. Nearly every page of the Gospels contains parables, teachings, or stories about righteous deeds versus unrighteous deeds. Christ clearly expressed that the disciples, prior to His death and resurrection, were the light of the world. They needed to live so that their righteous deeds could be seen by men and thus draw men closer to Yahweh.

The book after the Gospels is not called Acts because it is fashioned after a play. It’s called Acts because it records the righteous deeds of the first century believers. Their righteousness was based upon the Torah and they lived their lives precisely so mankind could follow their lead and learn righteousness. This teaching is provided in pdf and video format because you matter and it is Yahweh’s desire that you be saved and learn to be righteous.

Works-Torah-and-RighteousnessDownload

Tribulation Takes Time

This is an in-depth study on the rise and fall of civilizations from a biblical perspective. Key points:

  • The time it takes for societies to fall is a lot longer than we think.
  • The timeline between Adam and the flood is about 1600 years.
  • The United States is a metaphor for Israel and a wicked nation simultaneously.
  • Specifically how the New Testament shifted the focus from a singular nation back to a global effort of salvation similar to pre-flood.
  • Very specific instances of falling away in the present day and why it is so difficult to get people to repent today.
Tribulation-Takes-Time-pdfDownload

The Great Tribulation

Yeshua aka Jesus was saying things the audience already knew in Matthew 24. For instance, the abomination of desolation and the great tribulation were things that had already happened once! Click here for a deeper understanding of events to come!

The Sign of God’s People

Here is how to be identified as a child of God.

Videos through Rumble, Twitter, and Spotify below.

The Sign of God’s People

Slide 2 For you are all sons of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Gal 3:26-29)

While we do not condemn mainstream Christianity by any means, we have discovered some fundamental flaws in those systems and have moved as close to the early Christian beliefs as possible. The general feeling we get from the mainstream churches is that a new religion was established in the New Testament. That the Old Testament was effectively nullified with the New Covenant and how we worship was fundamentally changed. Some go so far as to say the church replaces Israel. This is just not the case. While the New Covenant is definitely new and different, the author of Hebrews tells us it’s a change in the law, not an abolition of the law. We can see in the New Testament that it was mostly Jewish people and proselytes (like the centurion who made the synagogue) for the first ten or so years after Yeshua’s ascension. Then significant numbers of gentiles, people like us, started coming to the faith all over the world. Paul is telling us here that was the intent all along. This is another step in the plan of salvation, that now people can join the family of God through accepting Yeshua as the Messiah and being baptized. Paul is saying here that gentiles who accept Yeshua join the family of God. We join Israel and come alongside those from Israel who accepted the Messiah as well. The text of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31, which Yeshua quoted the night He was betrayed, shows that the New Covenant is with Judah and Israel. It’s not with gentiles. In order for us to matter, for the New Covenant to even apply to us, we have to have a mechanism for joining Judah or Israel. Paul explains this right here. This is why we call each other brother and sister, because we are adopted family now, and heirs according to the promise Yahweh made with Abraham to make his descendants more numerous than the stars.

Slide 3 “Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” (Act 15:19-21)

This passage of Acts 15 is almost always cited without verse 21, that I have in bold here. Paul had traveled throughout the Roman Empire spreading the news of the Messiah primarily in the synagogues. Over time, significant amounts of gentile start joining in. The meeting in Acts 15 is estimated to be about 45-50 AD, fifteen years or so after Yeshua ascended. These dates are significant because it means for about ten years, there weren’t enough gentiles joining in for this to be an issue. What happened here is that many gentiles were showing up at synagogue, hearing of Yeshua, learning Torah, etc. that the Jewish believers wanted them to be circumcised. The response was to limit them to a few things right out of the gate, to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication as a start. They were already attending synagogue and hearing Moses each week, they would continue to do that and learn as they went. This is the same pattern we follow today, isn’t it? We learn of the Messiah, then we start attending somewhere, and grow as we learn.

When you are adopted into a family, you learn the family’s rules and customs and adopt them. First century gentile converts had to do this, hence attending synagogue to learn Moses.

Slide 4 YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am YHVH who sanctifies you.” (Exo 31:12-13)

Now we arrive at the sign. The sabbaths. You’ll notice this is plural, not singular. It means the weekly Sabbath and the Holy Days. But it starts with the weekly. Those who learned about the Messiah were keeping the weekly Sabbath to learn Moses. They adopted the sign, well one of them. We know the Shema also tells us the Torah is to be a sign as well. But this is specifically about observing Yahweh’s appointed times. This is addressed to the “sons of Israel”. That benim Yisrael. It means children, not just men or sons. And the children of Israel is synonymous with the children of Abraham. One we are adopted into the family, we take the signs of the family, which means a change in behavior. We keep the Sabbaths.

Slide 5 Yeshua said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mar 2:27)

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

The word for man in Mark 2:27 is Anthropos, which is Greek for mankind. It’s interesting that the word adam, which means the guy, also means mankind. The LXX actually uses Anthropos for adam in some places. Without getting to much into the word-weeds, the Sabbath was made for all of mankind to observe. It began as a sign for all of the people and was meant to be that for all of this era. In our western reckoning, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, we are to rest and enjoy creation. Yahweh rested on the 7th day of creation as did Adam. This pattern is here for us to emulate because we are made in the image of God. That means more than just photocopying. We are made to work, to labor, to enjoy creation, and then on Shabbat to take a break and commune with our Creator.

Slide 6 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of YHVH your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days YHVH made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore YHVH blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exo 20:8-11)

The 4th commandment, in Yahweh’s voice, told them to remember. That can be taken two ways. The first is that they forgot it in Egypt and they needed to remember it, to get back to it. The second is to not forget about it. To keep doing it. The commandment is comprehensive. Nobody works, everybody gets the day off. Even the animals. Yahweh is big about his creation getting a break. He even built in land rests for the earth, meaning soil. This commandment reminds us about Creation as well. How honoring the Sabbath emulates our Creator in how He rested while also keeping us humble. Knowing that we are but dust. The one who made the heavens and the earth made each of us, which means we are special, that He would think of us. But also that we are feeble in need of our Creator and cannot provide for ourselves without His providence.

Slide 7 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: ‘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 23:1-3)

This is where the entire earth gets the notion to come to church. The word holy convocations is miqra kodesh, a sacred or holy assembly. The idea of having a weekly assembly for the purpose of worship starts right here and it’s tied to the 7th day sabbath. Leviticus 23 outlines all the Sabbaths, more broadly all the appointed times. Appointed times are the word moedim, which is the same word translated seasons when the sun, moon, and stars are made in Genesis 1. The weekly sabbath is counted apart from the months by having an evening and a morning. Yahweh then added in the moon, the sun, and the stars for us to have annual observances. Our following these times shows the world that our God is Yahweh. Getting together on this day to have a set-apart assembly is a commandment, a blessing, and a sign. It gives us a pattern for our lives and keeps us grounded while we honor the creator. We look forward to seeing each other, sharing stories, a meal, and the Word of God. This is not a burden at all. Surrendering to Yahweh’s will and surrounding ourselves with those who do the same is a blessing. It shows our humility and our faith. You might even say it’s a sign 😊

Slide 8 After these things he (Paul) left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. (Act 18:1-4)

Here we are, three chapters after Acts 15, and Paul is reasoning with both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue on Shabbat. They were having holy convocations on the day the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob declared and that’s who Paul preached Yeshua to. Paul was working six days and resting, worshiping, and preaching on Shabbat. Just was it was in the beginning so it should be to this day. The Greeks had adopted the sign of Yahweh’s people by turning from their pagan holidays and practices and adopting the true worship commanded by Yahweh and exemplified by Yeshua, the Messiah, the Son of God. Paul preached to these people because they knew the Tanakh, the Old Testament, and would know about the Messiah.

I often give a message about how the holy days, if they had been kept properly by Israel, would have resulted in peace. Had the nation of Israel actually followed Torah as they were supposed to, there would have been a predictability to life through weekly and annual observances. They would have been blessed with an abundance to bring as offerings year after year and the society would have flourished. These things are components of Yahweh intends for us to have shalom like the peace of that first Sabbath in Eden. When sin entered the world, it spiraled out of control until Yahweh was sad He made mankind and He brought a violent end for all but Noah and his family. That violent end was the result of mankind defying Yahweh and being incredibly sinful. Brothers and sisters, we find ourselves in another time that looks very similar to then. And this all ties together with October 7, 2023. When Israelis and those from all over the earth were keeping both the weekly Sabbath and an annual Sabbath in Israel. They were observing Shemini Atzaret and make no mistake about it, American and all sorts of foreign Christians were they observing along with the Jewish people. They were trying to experience shalom, peace. And the evil ones came, Chamas, the violent ones. Their thoughts are evil continually. And they hate the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, and especially of Yeshua. So they attack on a day when they knew God’s people would be resting and they destroyed Yahweh’s rest.  

Many have said there would be a Sunday law in the end times and that was the lawlessness of the end times. That never made sense to me because it isn’t “Sabbath-less-ness”, it’s comprehensive lawlessness. Today, though, I realize that keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days is indeed part of the present tribulation.  I see lawlessness and a rejection of God entirely, like in the days of Noah. We see plainly how an enormous amount of people want to kill God’s people and bring pure lawlessness across the entire world. This isn’t limited to the middle east, as we have seen people protest in favor of the demons all over the world, even here in America. This makes no sense because those who killed Israelis and foreigners in Israel would absolutely love to kill us, too. But now we are seeing people go after Jews very publicly. Please realize that we look like Jews because we have been adopted into the family of God. We are God’s people and by adopting His signs, His Torah, His commandments, we are targets just like the Jews. However, we keep the Sabbath because it is the sign of God’s people. And it appears the world wants to kill God’s people. So maybe there was something to this commandment playing a role in the end times.

Paganism in Christianity

It really boils down to a binary choice: Are we going to worship the God of the Bible or not? And if you want to know who the harlot of Revelation is, start here.

These notes do not do this message justice. Please watch the video for undeniable proof about the paganism in Christianity.

Refresh where we’ve been. Studying the Torah. It’s clear as can be that God forbids us from making up our own ways of worshiping Him and he has explicitly told us not to worship the ways of the nations. Yom Kippur starts just 24 hours from now. This is the time to talk about repenting of sins. Often time we focus on the “love your neighbor” type sins that we need to repent of. This is a great topic, but I want to talk about the “love God with all your heart” sins today. We learn that the Day of Atonement includes sins committed in ignorance. Well, the paganism inside of Christianity contains an incredible amount of sins committed in ignorance. After today, though, you won’t be ignorant any more.

Slide 2 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. “You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. (Act 19:24-26)

The disciples were preaching against idolatry. They were not Christianizing pagan practices.  This topic is the one that got me out of mainstream Christianity. Once I accepted that the biggest doctrines of Christianity of Sunday, Christmas, crosses, and Easter were not founded on scripture, I dove into a period of study to find out where they came from. In reality, I was trying desperately to find a way for those doctrines to be true. I was desperate to find some mechanism for what I was learning to be wrong. Because if it were true, then all of my ancestors, relatives, and friends were in deep error. The word for blending religious practices is syncretism but in the bible, it’s called harlotry or adultery.

The reason this is important is because it is THE sin that Israel kept committing over and over. We just finished a year of deep diving into Torah. What topic was addressed more than any other? That’s right, worshiping other gods or blending pagan worship with worship of the true God. This sin did not stop being a sin after Yeshua died. In fact, this sin defines God’s people all the way to the end of this age.

Slide 3 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.” (Rev 19:1-2)

The great harlot. Yes, this includes sexual immorality but it is talking more about paganism. The end time bad guy is the great harlot. That means idolatry, worshiping false gods, and taking Yahweh’s Name in vain are the big sins of the end times. They were the big sins when Abraham lived, the big sins when Moses lived, the big sins when Israel got smote, Israel refused these sins after they came back from captivity, we see the Apostles going all over the earth preaching against false gods, and then the end times judgment is about false god worship. This all adds up to spiritual harlotry, or syncretism, being a very big sin whenever you live.

Slide 4 Pat Robertson video

Pat Robertson and that lady are very popular Protestant ministers. Tens of millions of people follow these people and others like them. For them to be so open about this is shocking. The big reason I put this video up is to show that they actually know all the things I’m teaching today. And they don’t care. Idolatry is wrong. It’s the sin that Yahweh destroyed Israel for over and over. He loathed it, and He forbade any blending whatsoever. It’s a strange idea to say that Yahweh killed all the idolators of Egypt and Canaan, then punished Israel for doing it by killing them, and then all of a sudden it’s OK in the New Testament. That would be a God of confusion, whom Yahweh is not. We know from Acts that they preached against idolatry to the point that the merchants thought the world would turn from it. We need to stick with that. We need to get this stuff out of our lives.

Slide 5 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to YHVH.” So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. (Exo 32:1-6)

This is specifically the blending that is forbidden. Nobody is allowed to make up how they worship Yahweh. None of us get to make that decision. Aaron was left in charge of the nation and folded, quickly, too. This is the huge warning against clergy blending things, it’s simply a death penalty sin. Many people were executed for this right then and there. They named the calf YHVH and made up a day for worship that included celebratory practices. This is all of the bad stuff wrapped up in one. Their celebratory practices included lewd behavior so the net result was similar to Saturnalia, a multi-day wintertime celebration by pagans that included debauchery, and treated December 25 and January 1 as holy days. Pat Robertson acknowledged that clergy decided to Christianize that, which is completely forbidden and why we do what we do. And Christianity’s acceptance of these practices is a cause of the end time harlotry. Those who know better are not telling their flocks the truth.

Slide 6 Ankh and Crosses It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. (Luk 23:44-45)

Rome crucified people to show they were in charge. The excruciating public execution was meant to teach a lesson. Often people were crucified at the entrance of a city so all coming and going had to be reminded of who was in charge. There’s one instance where 1000 people were crucified at the same time to crush a rebellion and show the world what happens if you defy Rome. In this literal sense, it’s bizarre that the cross became a symbol of anything holy. But in a religious sense, crosses are a symbol of sun worship and have been since Egypt, hence the ankh on the picture. Do we think Yahweh want’s us to use an Egyptian religious icon in our worship of Him? Rhetorical question.

Crosses are a symbol of religions that Yahweh commanded His people to avoid and destroy. The cross is how the Messiah was executed for a couple of reasons, one being that’s how non-Romans were executed by Rome. It showed He was not Roman and served its gruesome purpose, but who would ever use the instrument of murder to memorialize someone? At the reformation, many protestant faiths took those things down but they keep coming back. We don’t use these because they are pagan and for a bunch of other reasons.

Yeshua being killed on the symbol of a sun god was a huge insult. The sun going dark when He died showed that sun god did not win but the sun, the moon, and the stars are under Yahweh and Yeshua’s authority. But now you know a little why you don’t see any crosses around here!

Slide 7 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

(Act 12:4 KJV)

When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. (Act 12:4 NAS95)

Easter is also pagan. The first thing I want to show you is the remarkable syncretism that found it’s way into the KJV, the most popular Bible ever. The Greek word behind Easter is Pascha, which is the same as paschal lamb. There is ZERO doubt this is supposed to be Passover. Easter is a day for the pagan Goddess Eostre!

Slide 8 more Easter. This one is everywhere. Fertility goddess. Yes, Starbucks logo is a fertility goddess and they know it.

Slide 9 Sun Day

This is a sermon all by itself, but Sunday worship isn’t just an invented day to replace the Sabbath. Sol Invictus was one of the gods in the Roman empire that became the god of the Roman empire in the second and third centuries. Christmas traces to this god as well as Sunday worship. You may not realize it, but our days of the week and even some of our months are named after Roman gods. Sun-day is exactly that, the day of worshiping the sun god. Saturday is Saturn day, and so on. Rome hated the Jews and the Jews were known by Shabbat. No working, resting, no commerce from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. The Romans wanted this gone. Christians were forced to give up the Sabbath when Christianity became the Roman religion, but it wasn’t really Christianity. It was a mixed up faith that all the Roman regions could adopt. And they worshiped on Sunday, not Shabbat. So Shabbat was banned, first by clergy and then by civil law. There are numerous quotes from both Catholics and Protestants about the change. The Catholics brazenly claim to have switched the day of worship and brag that the Protestants follow them. And they are correct. Sunday worship is 100% pagan, unless it’s Pentecost Sunday or some other high day. The Bible only sanctifies Shabbat.

Slide 10 Repent

This is a ton of information and just skims the top a bit. Many of us got into this faith of keeping the commandments because we discovered just one of these items was a huge error and then we unraveled all of it. When people discover this, their faith is often shaken and they go through a period of study that can last years. I was one of those types. You have to come to a point, though, about whether you will obey and turn from this wickedness or not. As I showed earlier, classically trained ministers know what we teach and they simply do not care. They somehow conclude that it’s OK to allow idolatry and syncretism even though the bible and history say no. It’s not even close to a grey area. We are not supposed to do any of these things at all, let alone in the Name of Yahweh.

Abraham was the first Hebrew. The word Hebrew means “one from beyond” but can also mean to cross over. Abraham crossed over from idolatry to worship of Yahweh. Crossing the Red Sea and then the Jordan also symbolizes this. After the faith went forth from Zion in the first century, people are invited to become as Abraham all over the world. We are invited to cross over from idolatry to worshiping the trued God. Take the invite.

As we prepare for Yom Kippur, let’s call to mind all of our sins. Today’s message was new information to some of you but old hat to others. I have some books on order to share that will educate everyone on the details of this wickedness. But I wanted to put this out just before Yom Kippur so we can repent comprehensively. Shalom.

Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge

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.

Pride and Pentecost

There’s a huge miracle that happened at Pentecost aka Shavuot in Acts 2 that is directly related to salvation but seldom noticed.

Audio only below

Talk about the new theme of the month of June is just around the corner. What do we think of pride? Do we think that’s a good thing?

Slide 2 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (Jas 2:8-13)

It’s my philosophy that there are two sins that almost all other sins stem from. Keep in mind that there is doctrine and then there is philosophy. Doctrine is teaching and a set of beliefs based on scripture. If we were to say there are two laws from which the rest emanate from a doctrinal point of view, the two would be the Shema and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Yeshua literally says this so that settles that. Hence, a settled doctrine. Philosophy is a little bit of a different angle. Your philosophy in life is based on your knowledge, experience, and emotions. A philosophy is something of how you view the world, so it changes throughout life.

Philosophically, we can approach things from many different angles and will very likely arrive at the same truths. This is why many of the commandments are common among almost all societies. Philosophically, one can figure out that adultery, murder, and theft are bad. Doctrinally, though, it’s a different story. 

Anyhow, after a rambling start, my philosophy is the two sins that drive most of the rest are coveting and pride. Coveting, the lusting after your neighbor’s stuff, is the most often talked about of these two. This is the point of the 10 commandments where the people lost it. “You mean we can’t even THINK about doing these things, Yahweh? We can’t take it anymore. Talk to us through Moses”. Coveting is the root of a ton of sins, most famously Cain and Able. The coveting led Cain to murder his brother. Coveting also got Eve as she longed for something she was not supposed to have. King David’s adultery – yep, coveting his buddy’s wife. Coveting is a really difficult thing to overcome and we all have it to one degree or another. And, doctrinally, this is the literal 10th commandment.

But pride, that one is really tough. The word pride has a couple of definitions, not all of which are bad. Taking pride in your work, like admiring a well-built fence or a well-made meal, is not a sin. It’s not a sin to set a goal, achieve it, and then be proud of it. Taking pride when your children or sports team does something well is also not a sin. But pride when used in the vein of haughtiness or arrogance, that’s the one that really gets people. That’s the one that causes people to do things they wouldn’t or shouldn’t really do. 

Slide 3 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today YHVH has accomplished deliverance in Israel.” (1Sa 11:12-13)

King Saul started out very humble. When he met Samuel and was told wonderful things, his reaction was to say his tribe, Benjamin, was the least in the land and his family was the least in that tribe. But Samuel delivered the Word of God, that Saul would be Yahweh’s anointed. Saul even hid in the baggage when they were seeking a king in the assembly but was brought forth and made king. After his first battle here on the board, he did not act haughty at all. He could have had his early detractors put to death, but he chose to allow the deeds of the day to stand on their own. Humility is on display here – the people are ready to do whatever he says and he doesn’t take the bait. He gives credit to YHVH for the victory as well.

Slide 4 Now he waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, “Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of YHVH.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of YHVH your God, which He commanded you, for now YHVH would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

(1Sa 13:8-13)

King Saul is one of the biggest examples of letting pride take over and driving him to do things he really should not have done. Look at the bold verses. It became about him, not about Yahweh and not about the nation he was anointed to serve. He took his anointing as Israel’s first king to mean that he could do anything. He ignored Samuel and decided that he could just do whatever he felt moved to do. He let his pride drive him to insane jealousy over David, chasing him like a madman all over the kingdom. And he ultimately felt the loss of his power so hard that he turned to witchcraft, breaking his own order, to try to call up Samuel to get a glimpse of what he had back. 

Slide 5 “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Adonai YHVH, “You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you. (Eze 28:12-17)

Most of us understand these verses to be speaking of Satan. Much like Saul, Satan was a magnificent specimen of a creature and anointed immensely.  Satan’s own pride brought him down and the earth will deal with the ramifications of his sin until the end of days. The parallels between here and Saul are simply remarkable, aren’t they?

Slide 6 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); and they said, “Has YHVH indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And YHVH heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) (Num 12:1-3)

The opposite of pride is humility. The understanding that even though you just did something good, and you enjoy it, you don’t let it go to your head. Humility is one of the best traits a human can have. When a successful businessman can still relate to the guys in the shop or on the assembly line, we all feel good. There was even a successful TV show called “Undercover Boss” where corporate executives went undercover to become line workers in their own companies. It was touching and one of the best products the TV industry has put out in a long time. The executives humbled themselves in secret to experience being an employee in their own firms. They often changed policies and increased wages based on the experiences. Their willingness to humble themselves made for touching TV but also positively impacted many employees.

Back to the bible, when the Jews were allowed to come back from Babylon,  Nehemiah declined to eat the governor’s portion because the people had to work instead of growing food and cattle. Nehemiah was the legitimate leader of Israel and could have stayed “in the boardroom”. He not only refused to eat well and have servants, he also worked on the rebuilding himself. The nation and history are blessed by his humble example. Moses was the most humble man on earth until Yeshua. This is one reason Moses was anointed to lead the people for so long – that he would not get that pride and blow it. When Moses did blow it, it appears to be out of frustration, not out of pride or covetousness (remember, I said most sins come from pride or covetousness. Rage is another source). You can see here in this passage that Aaron and Miriam did get a little proud and haughty. “Moses ain’t the only one YHVH speaks through…” And they got smacked down for it. 

Slide 7 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (1Ti 3:1-7)

Paul even makes it a point to clarify the traits of a man to lead an assembly. These traits combine to make someone not haughty, prideful, or conceited. In fact, the word “conceited” there could actually be “lifted up” if you look at the concordance. Yeshua and Moses are our examples for leaders. That’s a tough place to be because it’s not possible to attain to such a standard. Perhaps we could attain it for a while, but to sustain it seems far off. Yet we try. The reality of our faith is that we strive for a standard that only Yeshua attained and He mediates on our behalf. Those who lead and/or teach need more intercession because our sins can be multiplied and spread through our teaching, or we can harm the Gospel by being bad examples. Some will consider you arrogant if you are intelligent, some will consider you prideful if you can speak well, and there really isn’t much one can do to change those minds. However, a life of humble servitude – showing up, taking responsibility, arranging things, and seeing to the sick and infirm will show your true heart. 

This gets to a point that will make sense why I’m talking about this on Shavuot here in a moment. Doctrinal humility. Being able to understand the Bible and biblical history to the point of crafting doctrine is a big avenue for pride to kick in. It’s a strange cycle we live in. We come out of mainstream Christianity because their doctrines are clearly wrong. Along the way, we study like crazy, first trying to prove what we’ve been taught all along right and then, when that doesn’t pan out, we try to get to every scintilla of truth possible in the scriptures (and some even go beyond). Then many make their own doctrines and end up creating perhaps a more accurate system, but a system nonetheless with errors and end up in a similar place to where we started.

We can see the power of doctrinal pride with the way they questioned Yeshua all the time. He challenged many of their established and cherished doctrines. That’s one reason they didn’t care for Him. It was a challenge to their doctrines and their authority, which oftentimes becomes a challenge to pride. Well, there were a few miracles that came out of Shavuot in the first century. Let’s look at one that’s very appropriate to today’s message:

Slide 8 “This Yeshua God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET. Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah—this Yeshua whom you crucified.” 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?” (Act 2:32-37)

Did you catch that? They called Peter and the gang “Brethren”. They immediately left the land of

“us vs. them” and humbled themselves. They could have very well stayed stubborn and prideful,

but this time they repented, acknowledging their guilt, and the pride was gone. They were literally able to publicly admit they killed an innocent man. And this lasted. The apostles, through the power of the Holy Spirit, were able to preach the knowledge of the Son of God throughout the known world and it was received by people who were taught and trained to reject that information. They also were able to get people to stop their pagan religions and convert to Christianity – true first century Christianity. One miracle of that day of Pentecost in the first century was that finally some were able to get past their pride. And by doing so, have been granted eternal life.

Explaining the Greatest Commandment

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. (Mat 22:36-38)

Audio only below

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. (Mat 22:36-38)

Yeshua is quoting the Shema here. Let me explain this while also explaining how Jews communicated in the first century. The chapters and verses were added over a thousand years after the close of scripture. Having a printed bible prior to Gutenberg’s press was out of reach for almost all people. Starting from the return from Babylon, Jewish culture was founded each on man learning the Torah to the point of memorizing it in synagogue school. The intent of this education was to prevent another captivity. And the way they cited passages was to just quote the leading verse of a passage. Yeshua is not just saying this one sentence is the greatest commandment. He is referencing what is called the Shema, which means “hear”, because that’s the first word of the commandment. “Hear oh Israel, Yahweh is our Elohim, Yahweh is echad. You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” The entire text is at Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 but is also the entire chapter.

Many of us have adopted the practice of using the Shema as a daily or twice-daily prayer. As we have realized that Christianity started in the synagogues and was meant to be the next step in the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob instead of a replacement for that faith, we have realized that those who accept Yeshua as the Messiah are expected, even required, to keep the commandments. A great reminder of keeping those commandments is to, well, use them and memorize them, like by memorizing the Shema, using it as a prayer, and also doing what it says!

Did you know there is a little controversy with the text of the Shema that the Messiah cites above? Surprise, surprise, surprise, there’s controversy over something that ought to be black and white. The Hebrew Shema is slightly different than the Shema from the LXX, the Greek translation of the Hebrew bible that was made about 150 years before Yeshua. This was the bible of the synagogues in the first century and the reference of those who wrote the New Testament. I’ll post both and see if you can spot the difference.

Slide 2 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.” (Deu 6:5-6 NASB Hebrew to English)

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and all thy strength. And these words, all that I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart and in thy soul.” (Deu 6:5-6 Brenton Hebrew to Greek to English)

Do you see a difference? Beyond the old time English rendering of the Brenton, there is a difference that some see as significant. That difference is the insertion of the word mind instead of heart in the Hebrew rendering. Thinking from the mind is a Greek concept. The Torah almost always uses the heart when it’s talking about where ideas come from. For an example, you can look at Genesis 6:5 where Yahweh wipes out mankind because all the thoughts of men were evil continually. Those thoughts come from the heart in that verse, not from the mind.

From our 21st century perspective, the difference between the heart and the mind is the juxtaposition of emotion versus logic. Greek thinking is heavily logical and linear while Hebrew is more of an eastern philosophy that’s not so black and white, thus thoughts being intertwined with emotions. So how do we reconcile these concepts? Is the commandment based on emotion or is it based on thought and reason?

Slide 3 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”(Mar 12:28-31)

This incident is recorded in Matthew, Luke, and Mark. And in all three places, Yeshua used both the heart and the mind in his reference of the Shema as the greatest commandment. What do we learn from this? The first is that there’s no way the law has been done away with. Imagine for a moment if that were true. That would mean it would be OK to not love Yahweh. When doctrines are proposed and entertained, we must take them to their logical conclusions. Saying the law is done away with erases the two greatest commandments because they are both from the Torah. Loving your neighbor as yourself is from Leviticus 19:18. When people propose such ludicrous doctrines as the law being done away with, I just don’t think they have thought it through. Because if that’s true, we don’t need to love God or our neighbor. Do you know what that looks like? It looks like now. It looks like violent anarchy. It looks like our news or social media feeds. It looks like the days of Noah and the days of Lot.

But the deeper meaning here is that Yeshua used both mind and heart in his rendering of the Shema. This means both things are true. Loving Yahweh with minds is the logic side of things. The Torah makes sense. The earth was created. Words mean things. Words do not mean other things. Loving Yahweh with our minds is an appeal to our God-given ability to reason. This separates us from the animal kingdom. We have the ability to study and learn anything, but if we love God, we start and finish with His Word, which forms our ability to reason and drives us to make logical decisions that are founded in righteousness. On the other hand, if we emotionally love God will all we’ve got, then we will just do what He says and think about it later. Being so emotionally invested in God enables people to do things that aren’t rational, like change jobs to keep Torah or even become martyrs.

There are a couple practical applications to these concepts. When Satan tempted Eve in the garden, what did he do? He appealed to her emotions. And that nudge drove her over the edge. Had she loved God with all her heart, she would not have loved the fruit more. If she had loved God with all her mind, she would have just not eaten it because God said so. The second example I want to use is the execution of Yeshua. Here we have this wonderful Rabbi that Yahweh works miracles through that nobody has seen before. He harmed nobody. He helped thousands. He knew the Torah better than anyone ever. He was a servant to the extreme. He entered Jerusalem and they cheered and cheered. Just a couple days later, they murdered Him. This makes no sense both from a heart perspective and a mind perspective. They killed the man who could do all those wonderful things and never asked anything in return. That’s illogical to the max. Pontius Pilate was the representative of logic. He said he found no guilt in Him. But they still killed Him. They also showed they did not love Yahweh because of all the commandments they broke to kill Him. They were incited into an emotional rage, where they had the opportunity to be merciful to the innocent, but they chose to murder the innocent and let a guilty man free.

So the explanation is thus: Love Yahweh with your heart and your mind. Love Him so much that it overrides your emotions when needed or your logic when needed. Keep His commandments, speak of them when you lay down and rise up. Teach them to your children. Make them as what you think about, what you love, and what you do. Then you will be following the greatest commandment.