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.

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.

Lawlessness

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.

Why You Need the Torah to Understand Christianity

Explaining how the first century Christians were expected to follow the Torah portions each Sabbath, the origin of this practice, and then using the portion called Jethro to explain important foundations of Christianity established in the book of Exodus.

Audio only below.

The Gospel According to Moses

Highlights from the last two Torah portions, which comprise establishing Moses and Aaron as leaders through the 10 plagues. This provides a remarkable outline for the plan of salvation established at the foundation of the world. We can see today that this plan, often referred to as the Gospel, is laid out by Moses in the Torah, but not in a verse by verse manner. It’s established by patterns, analogies, and allusions. Today, let’s learn about the Gospel according to Moses.  

Audio only below

From Hell to Salvation

Highlights from the last two Torah portions, which comprise establishing Moses and Aaron as leaders through the 10 plagues. This provides a remarkable outline for the plan of salvation established at the foundation of the world. We can see today that this plan, often referred to as the Gospel, is laid out by Moses in the Torah, but not in a verse by verse manner. It’s established by patterns, analogies, and allusions. Today, let’s learn about the Gospel according to Moses.  

Slide 2 Then YHVH said to Moses, “See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.” (Exo 7:1-3)

It begins with establishing the relationship between Yahweh and Yeshua. Yahweh uses their model for Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron operate as one, just as Yeshua and Yahweh do, with Yeshua being always subordinate just like Aaron. Clearly two different people, but working in concert so well that you cannot tell the difference between the two of them.

Slide 3 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Joh 6:38-40)

Moses did Yahweh’s will, Aaron did Moses’ will. The ultimate in faithfulness is illustrated in obedience. Can we say that what Aaron did, after being commanded by Moses who was commanded by Yahweh, was actually done by Yahweh? Of course. Can we can that Aaron is Yahweh? Of course not. But this is one of the key themes established in the Torah – that Yahweh desires pure obedience and subordination from His prophets. Yeshua, being His Son, perfectly achieved this and if we believe that, then we may be granted eternal life. And this pattern was established at the Exodus as a foreshadowing of the first coming of the Messiah.

Slide 4 YHVH gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. (Exo 11:3)

The goal of the plagues was not random destruction. They were to break the people’s will. Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart while He worked through Moses and Aaron to bring about the complete destruction of Egypt. He did this slowly, meticulously, and through His servants. One big reason was to show that Pharaoh was not a god, and Pharaoh’s gods were not as powerful as Yahweh. The plagues broke the people’s will and destroyed their connection to their gods while offering the true alternative – real men of God in the persons of Moses and Aaron, leading them to the true Elohim. Yahweh. This is the same at the end of days. The plagues and end time disasters that are coming aren’t just for the purpose of destruction, they are designed to humiliate the false gods and the imaginations of men, and to show people that Yahweh is indeed our Elohim and Yeshua is His Messiah. Moses was esteemed at plague 9. What happened after plague 10?

Slide 5 A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock. (Exo 12:38)

After the 10th plague, the killing of all the firstborn, many Egyptians and other foreigners left with the Hebrews. Israel began as a mixed multitude and in the end, Israel will end as a mixed multitude. And the Torah was for everyone present at Mt. Sinai. YHVH did not dismiss those who were not from the tribes at Mt. Sinai. They became a part of Israel. Because of the death of the firstborn. Remember that.

Slide 6 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)

Do you see the parallel? Those who went through the plagues who realized that YHVH is the real God obtained salvation. They were delivered from Egypt and blessed with manna from heaven. Those now who accept Yeshua as the Messiah, as the Son of God, obtain a better blessing. We become adopted children of Yahweh and heirs according to the promise. The promise that Abraham’s descendants would be more numerous than can be counted. This is clear: those who accept Yeshua as the Messiah become sons of God, which is synonymous with being Abraham’s descendants. We who accept the voluntary death of Yahweh’s firstborn Son as propitiation for our sins allow us to join the family of God. Abraham was blessed because of his obedience, thus we need to be obedient just as Abraham was, just as Yeshua was, once we become grafted into the vine and offered a chance to enter eternal life!

Slide 7 Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock. (Exo 12:37-38)

This is an incredible sentence for those who are blessed to follow in the footsteps of the first century Christians. The plan of salvation I’m speaking on briefly today is based on the holy days of Leviticus 23, which span a journey from Egypt (Ramses) to Sukkot, the 8 day festival in the fall. This sentence is alluding to that outline and it is no accident that those who were saved, the mixed multitude, left Egypt and landed at a place called Sukkot, which is the same word as the Feast of Tabernacles. The people were delivered from Egypt through Passover by the blood of the lambs, they made their escape from Pharaoh, and then got to Sukkot where they would finally be delivered. Their hell would be to have died in the wilderness, slaughtered by Pharaoh’s army. From Sukkot they crossed the red sea and there was no going back, which is an allusion to the 8th day where we transition from this sinful world, the olam haze, to eternity, the olam haba or world to come. We can choose to die here or live there, just like the mixed multitude. They didn’t know what was waiting for them after Sukkot, but they knew Yahweh was the true God, Moses and Aaron His servants, and theyirchoice was to go forward in faith or die at the hands of Pharaoh’s army.

This is the outline for our faith, brothers and sisters. We know that the festivals outline the plan of salvation. The Exodus is the first part, where Yeshua died for us on Passover. The fall festivals, culminating in Sukkot, are yet to be fulfilled. We know what’s coming is infinitely better than this world but we don’t really know what’s coming or how we’re going to get there. We know that accepting Yeshua as Messiah, as the Son of God, allows us to enter the world to come. The blood of the Lamb allows us to be saved, just like the blood of the lambs saved the firstborn of the Hebrews. And now you know the Gospel according to Moses.

Worship Matters

When and how you worship identifies which God you serve.

Video with slides from Rumble below.

Audio only from Spotify below.

When and how you worship identifies which God you serve.

When we think of the first three commandments we almost always think about false gods being idols. But what if worshiping false gods didn’t just involve what your worship but when? Unfortunately, most of Christianity worships a false god and breaks the first three commandments without even knowing it. But please bear with me because if you really want to be a part of the family of the true God Yahweh, when you worship is the actual sign. It’s about behavior as well as idols.

I spend a lot of time pitching the positive side of keeping Torah. You know, the benefits of following the entire bible and how the whole faith, from Genesis to Revelation, makes sense. This is in the vein of the Shema, which Yeshua said is the greatest commandment -to love YHVH your Elohim, the LORD your God, with all your heart, you soul, and your might. If you love YHVH, you will do what He says. And when you do what He says, the bible and our ultimate destiny become much easier to understand. But there’s a flip side to this walk:

Slide 2 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. (1Pe 2:17)

Slide 2 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecc 12:13-14)

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The list goes on and on. And it’s hard to bring this side of the faith up because we are all sinners. But we must be moving in a positive direction, towards Yahweh, and sometimes the consequences of our actions need to be addressed to bring about the necessary change. Yeshua said the greatest commandment is to love Yahweh with all your heart and second is to love your neighbor as yourself. Loving Yahweh with all our hearts is displayed by simply doing what he said to do and not doing what He said not to do. Obedience and emulation are the best forms of worship. The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves. If you saw your neighbor doing something that could hurt them, you are obliged to warn them if you love them.

So why is it so important for us to worship on the right day of the week?

Slide 3 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. ‘Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to YHVH; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. ‘So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days YHVH made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.” When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God. (Exo 31:12-18)

One of the biggest signs of God’s people, if not the biggest, is when and how we worship. One objection to this is that we’re not the sons of Israel so it doesn’t apply. Au contraire, my friends. Those who accept Yeshua as the Messiah and are baptized become adopted children of Abraham and heirs according to the promise. The NC was made with Israel and Judah. The path to salvation is inextricably tied to being part of the family of God. If you worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He has told us how to do this. And the 7th day Sabbath is a chief way of doing this.

Also in the passage above it says “sabbaths” in the plural. Leviticus 23 defines all of Yahweh’s sabbaths. The weekly being at the top and then we have annual observances, most of which are also sabbaths. I’ve spoken in detail in the past how these observances identify Yahweh’s people. The few times that Israel did what they were supposed to do by following Torah, one could imagine watching the nation from a helicopter view. Every Friday and sunset all motion would stop. All the kids would be in their houses, the streets empty and everything peaceful. On Saturday, you’d see people congregating to have their fellowships on Shabbat. In the days of synagogues, you would see people literally going to church on Shabbat. Then they’d go home and at sunset, you’d see some activity, but for the rest of the week you’d see normal hustle and bustle. Commerce, ranching, farming, and the like. Then on the annual sabbaths, you’d see the entire nation just come to a stop just like on the weekly sabbath. How is this a sign? Because it’s a culture. All the surrounding nations would know how to identify the Israelites by what days they observed. This is the true faith, not one of crosses or statues, but one of routine observances. Our behavior defines which God we serve.

Having a sign and a means to identify oneself as a believer is important. The flip side of having a sign is that it gives the adversary an avenue for attack.

Slide 4 ‘As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. ‘He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. (Dan 7:24-25)

Satan wants to be worshiped. That also means he doesn’t want us worshiping Yahweh. In fact, Satan wants to actually be the ruler of the universe. So his playbook is to change the Torah, hence the change in times and law. The Torah establishes time in the book of Genesis. An evening and a morning is a day. The seventh day of creation, which is the seventh day each week, is the Sabbath. It’s the day Yahweh rested from His works and then we follow His example by doing the same. Remember, the fourth commandment even references the creation.

The cold reality of the situation is that the switch from Sabbath to Sunday isn’t just some switch in when to meet up for church, it’s a switch in gods. Friday sunset to Saturday sunset is the mark of Yahweh. So what god is served by keeping Sunday? You’ve go it, a sun god.

Pagan religions from antiquity worship the sun, s-u-n, the helium plasma ball at the center of our solar system. People, either ignorant of Yahweh or being influenced by Satan, realized that life and light go hand in hand. The sun brings warmth and plants grow when we have sunlight and warmth. When the sun went away, which we now know it stays still and earth’s tilted orbit makes it seem like it is moving when it’s us, it got cold and things died. When it “came back”, it got warm and things came back to life. So people decided that sun, s-u-n, was a god, the giver of life. Then they added in the planets and all sorts of other things to worship, which is idolatry. Over time, these other things got days and observances because it’s hard wired into mankind to want to have religious observances. Deis solis is the day of the sun and is Sunday on our calendars. The false gods had observance times because they are copies of the true God’s worship system.

When Christianity went forth from Zion, it started in the synagogues with Jews who accepted Yeshua as the Messiah. This continued for a long time. When gentiles began to convert, they joined with the Jews at synagogue. They gave up their pagan practices and adopted the worship of the True God, Yahweh, through His Son, Yeshua. This is why the council of Jerusalem, recorded in Acts 15, includes “for Moses is read in the synagogues every Sabbath”. The converts had already stopped worshiping on the false days, were attending synagogue on Shabbat, and were expected to keep doing that to hear Moses, i.e., the Torah, every week and learn the ways of Yahweh. So understand, that first century faith was one of people accepting Yeshua as Messiah, Jesus as the Christ, and then breaking with their pagan ways. They stopped worshiping false gods and switched to the true and did it by changing when and how they worshiped.

Unfortunately, Christianity grew apart from the synagogue and keeping the Torah as it moved west. Over time it became acceptable to blend the pagan practices into Christianity. This culminated in councils of bishops who had come to loathe Jews and the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Christianity grew into somewhat of a new religion, being an amalgamation of NT scripture, some OT scripture, legends, myths, and the observances of pagan religions. Sunday, Christmas, and Easter are all pagan celebrations that were brought into Christianity and ultimately subverted it. We have evidence of this in the councils of Nicea and Laodicea, where at the council of Laodicea they were forbidding keeping the Sabbath and mandating people read the Gospels on that same day. This is because, in AD 364, Christians were still reading Torah on Shabbat as the disciples expected them to do in Acts 15. Council of Laodicea – 364 AD – The Sabbath Sentinel

It’s remarkable to not that the same sin which got Israel smote repeatedly, mixing in false god worship with the true (syncretism), has become the foundation for Christianity. Most of the world’s Christians think that Sunday is the Sabbath and that we’re supposed to observe Christmas and Easter. All three of these things actually give homage to false gods and we really need to not do them. If you want the brutal truth about Christmas, please check out my post Are You Worshiping False Gods? – First Century Christianity where you can hear perhaps the most famous minister of our time admit live on TV that Christmas and all its observances are 100% pagan.

Brothers and sisters, if you’re hearing this info for the first time, it’s time to make a change. The change is hard. Yeshua said plainly that He didn’t come to bring peace but a sword. It was not a literal sword, but a sharp division between doing what is right and following Him and His Father versus going the other way. When I learned this information, I spent a ton of time trying to disprove it. But I had to come to the reality that Friday sunset to Saturday set is the Sabbath, the real 4th commandment. And keeping any other day like that is honoring a false god while cheating on the True God. How and when we worship matters.

Thanksgiving and Torah

Giving thanks to Yahweh is a very biblical concept. Let’s enjoy this day of unity!

Video with slides below via Rumble.

Audio only via Spotify.

Slide 2 Give thanks to YHVH for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. (Psa 136:1-3)

Give thanks to YHVH, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Elohim he elohim, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to Adonai ha adonim, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. (Psa 136:1-3)

Hodu YHVH kit tov, ki l’olam chasdo. Give thanks to YHVH for He is good, his love is everlasting.

The thanksgiving holiday is uniquely North American. It is a remembrance of God preserving early European settlers on this continent after a terrible winter. They survived terrible primitive conditions, cold, disease, lack of food, and the like until the following year or years, with the help of Massasoit’s native American tribe, they were able to raise enough crops to preserve themselves and begin to grow. The held a feast in autumn to give thanks to the Creator of the universe for allowing them to live and then thrive. They feasted on turkey and deer for several days. Indeed, clean foods for a festival to honor God.

Slide 3 “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless YHVH your Elohim for the good land which He has given you.” (Deu 8:10)

Having a national day for us to give thanks to Yahweh is a very good thing. This celebration does not pretend to be a holy day, but a day of gratitude. It’s a blessing for us because we can celebrate with our families without any religious tension at all. The Torah commands us to give thanks when we have eaten and are satisfied. Even I forget to do this because our society blesses the meal before we eat, but let’s remember to do it at the right time this year. Or before and after. Giving thanks on an annual basis is also a good thing.

My family and church family have had a pretty rough year, if we were to think of times being rough. We’ve lost many loved ones, even a couple of the brethren. We lost one of our beloved dogs, a sister in Messiah named Edna who died at a good old age, a sister in our congregation lost her husband and then she herself passed exactly a month later to the day. And my own mother died at a good old age. Through all this I give thanks to Yahweh that we were all together to suffer these losses. I give thanks that I could be there for people and that they could be there for me. I give thanks that we were able to afford the time and travel necessary to attend to all these things, and more. I give thanks that my children are healthy and growing up well and becoming good citizens along the way. I give thanks for our little fellowship that shares openly and supports each other. I give thanks for the larger brethren, the WI feast site, and all of our friends, because having a larger group of like-minded brethren out there is very comforting.

Slide 4 Click

I hope you all find blessings in this American tradition and find many things to be thankful for. One thing we all must be thankful for is that Yahweh gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. It’s a blessing in this life when Yahweh brings us through trials, but we know that’s not always going to be the case. But whatever happens in this life, we have the opportunity to enter eternal life with Yahweh and His Son.  Hodu YHVH ki tov, ki l’olam chasdo. Give thanks to Yahweh for He is good, his love is everlasting.