If you have been watching the news lately or following the stories coming out of France at all, then you know that that nation is entering a time of civil unrest and upheaval. In response to austerity measures imposed by President Sarkozy, demonstrations led by the unions have been in progress for 7 days and recently have broken out in violence. The strikes have also led to fuel shortages and shut-downs of air and railway travel throughout different parts of the country. The measure which has our debonaire older-brother in a tizzy? They have decided to raise the age of retirement benefits from 60 to 62! Mon Dieu!
Why should we be WATCHING what is going on in places like France and Greece? Because the United States is not far behind them. We're broke! Not only that, we live in an entitlement-minded society, just as they do. We are experiencing an atrocious national debt crisis with the threat that the Fed is about to announce it will begin printing more fiat money, which weakens the dollar and inflation is not too far behind. Not to mention the stage is set for civil upheaval due to the discontentedness of many Americans with the status quo in this country of taxing and spending our children's futures into oblivion and trampling upon the Constitution. Time Magazine (YES!-TIME Magazine!) has now commented that civil war is even a possibility. All one needs to do is plant that seed into the minds of some men who are prone to live and die by the sword and you have one disasterous crop at harvest time.
Then there are those who believe if we stick to our principles and the Constituion, that after all you-know-what breaks loose, we can re-build and re-make America into the great nation it was supposed to be.
I say- No. I don't think so. America's glory is fading, perhaps for good.
Our nation has entered into a cycle of divine judgement from which we are beyond the realm of an easy fix. Having a couple prayer vigils a month is not going to change that. We have entered a sovereign time on the calendar of YHVH. Yeshua said in Matthew 24 there would be wars and rumors of wars, but the end is not yet. These are merely birth pains. They will intensify and increase in frequency.
Will we see civil unrest like they are seeing in France? I don't know. And I am not trying to fear-monger. I am simply looking at the climate and looking into the scripture which always predicts accurately. Your government will not save you. If you have been trusting in it thus far, you are in for a rude awakening. It is time to become as self-sufficient as possible. I do know the economic and political situation in our nation is not improving and as I have said before, fallen flesh does not care about your precious life, or that of your children's or your posessions when they have a growl in their tummies and a life philosophy of get yours while you can. A total disregard for human life does not a lawfully abiding citizen make. Even law-abiding, level-headed people don't act towards others with the guidance of the Golden Rule when their backs are against the wall and they are desperate. Put a whole bunch of those together and what do you have?
My mom just lost a friend to a horrendously violent crime. She was shot by her husband before he turned the gun on himself. Their two teenage boys found them in the bedroom. My sincere and heartfelt prayers go out to their family.
Sad to say, but this is becoming all-too-commonplce in our lives today.
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- having a form of godliness but denying its power. (2 Timothy 3:1-5a)
Batten down the hatches. We're in for a bumpy ride.
Shalom.
**
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
A Feast, A Sign, and a Set-Up?
A Feast
This week we are in the middle of Sukkot, or YHVH's Feast of Tabernacles. I say this is YHVH's Feast (rather than a Jewish feast) because this feast originated with the Creator Elohim (God), and not with the Jewish people. The Jews merely kept this feast. YHVH first commanded this feast, as He did with all of these appointed feasts, or appointments, in Leviticus 23. During this feast, He called the people of Israel to live in tents (booths or sukkot) for 7 days to remember how the children of Israel lived in tents for 40 years in the desert after YHVH brought them out of Egypt with signs, miracles, and wonders. The Feast is punctuated by a Sabbath day of rest on both the first and last day of the Feast. It lasts 8 days total. In Leviticus 23 it is written to rejoice before YHVH our Elohim and to bring offerings. No work is to be done on the first and last days of this festival.
We just got back from a quick camp out with some friends in the beautiful hills of California and we had wonderful fellowship, barbeque, singing, hiking, swimming. The children loved playing together. Apart from my children who cried several times during the night and woke everybody up, (!) it was a very relaxing and fun time hanging out with our spiritual mishpocah (family)doing what Elohim has called us to do at the time He has called us to do it.
Since this feast is a big one, our friends shared with us how they have decided to celebrate by giving gifts to their children (and thus I imagine making an indelible mark in their children's memories forever). Since this is this family's first year of not observing the pagan holiday of Christmas, they wanted to transition to YHVH's feasts in this way instead. We talked about how each person and each family is in a process with coming out of Babylon and her counterfeited ways and holidays and how each person and family does this at their own pace as they feel the leading of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). We all process truth and change at varying degrees and our Elohim did not make a bunch of cookie-cutter human beings. That would be boring and it would not bring Him glory. But the love for the Truth which this family has is very inspiring to me and freshens up my own walk just observing how fervent they are in the faith. It is truly what spurs one another on toward love and good deeds, as the scripture says to do.
A Sign
On Yom Teruah, our friends used the space application (I don't know the name of it) on their Apple I-Pad to look at the constellations as they are in real time. This app is very cool- you can point it anywhere in the sky and it will show you exactly where the constellations are in relationship to each other. Well, on this particular feast (the Feast of Trumpets-Sept 11th 2010), which prophetically began the beginning of the end, or Daniel's 70th week, our friends spotted a very interesting configuration that I hope you will find encouraging, and confirming, as our Elohim has given us the heavenly bodies for signs and for seasons, for months and for years (Gen 1:14). They saw the constellation of Leo the Lion (which represents Yeshua- the Lion of the Tribe if Judah) with his paw on top of the serpent's (Hydra's) head! This made me think of the prophecy of what Messiah Yeshua would do to the devil in Genesis 3:15. The NIV reads like this:
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he (Messiah) will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
(clarification mine).
Indeed, at the execution stake, Yeshua did crush the head (which symbolizes authority)of the serpent.
We also know that in the book of the Revelation in chapter 12 there is another sign in the heavens and that is the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon at her feet, with a crown of 12 stars on her head. There is a dragon who seeks to kill her man child as soon as he is born, but he is caught up to heaven, and so the dragon goes after the rest of her offspring to devour them. The woman represents Israel, the 12 stars are the 12 tribes of Israel, the dragon is the devil, the man child is Yeshua, and the rest of her offspring are those who have the testimony of Yeshua and who obey God's commandments. This particular arrangement of stars will happen during the time of the end, the great tribulation. According to NASA projections, this configuration will appear above Jerusalem in a few years from now at sunrise. I will research to confirm the date and post it in the near future.
Father God loves the world and did indeed send His only begotten Son, Yeshua, to earth to die a horrible death in our place to pay for the judgement we so deserved for our sins (John chapter 3). He not only gave us His Word, but also confirmed it in the heavens (heavenly bodies). He wants the world to know His good news so that they will believe, repent, and be saved from eternal damnation. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Could He also want those who are His, the followers of Yeshua, to be encouraged and reminded of this at the start of Daniel's 70th week, the time of the end? Friend, I hope you are as encouraged as I am, that on Elohim's Feast of Trumpets (which fell on Sept 11th this year), YHVH sent a sign in the constellations to remind us that He is victorious! That He (and those who remain fathful to Him til the end) wins in the end! No matter what the circumstances look like, no matter what the cost is of serving Him in these last hours, no matter what you may be facing in your life....NO MATTER WHAT!
Now sit and think about that.
A Set-Up?
Also this week I caught wind that the deceiver is revving up his engines again getting ready for the grand deception which will envelope the whole world. One news report has the United Nations set to appoint their Contact Person (pardon the pun) or the ambassador to aliens from outer space. Apparently, this person has already been speaking out about the importance of the position. To read the article, copy and paste this into your browser:
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/un-to-appoint-earth-contact-for-aliens/story-e6frfku0-1225929498742
This is just another brick on the foundation for what the enemy has in store for all of those who will believe a lie. 2 Thessalonians 2:11 says: For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.
What is the reason God sends (them) powerful delusion? That they had not a love for the truth. Exactly what the delusion is, we do not know for certain. But we know that it may be possible for the elect to be deceived and that is why we want to walk in the truth in these last days, as we are led and guided into all truth by the Ruach HaKodesh.
Will there be "contact" made in the near future by extra terrestrials? Only time will tell. But it will be part of a powerful deception. At best, these "beings" are demons or possibly nephilim (due to limited time and scope, I am not able to go deeply into this subject at this time, perhaps in a future post). But for those who "watch" world events with discernment and diligence, all these manipulations, upheavals and cover-ups are starting to paint a very distressing scenario. Be assured of this one thing: Elohim is not taken off guard. He knows and He has told us. He declares the end from the beginning and He is sovereign. He shall be a sure foundation for our times for those who have the fear of Elohim for Isaiah 33:6 says so:
He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.
Also this past week, we caught wind of a so-called cult in Los Angeles with whom the authorities intervened. Now, whether this was an actual cult or not, I don't know. I do know this: there will be some true believers who will be made to be examples to the rest of society in order to marginalize those who will cling to truth and not to the system in these last days. Many will be made out to be fools in front of the world in a attempt to influence the masses. Be alert! Be aware! And know that the enemy will use all manner of lies and manipulation to get you to not believe the truth. That is why we must be firmly grounded in the truth, rather than our feelings or our opinions. Even our own feelings and opinions can lie to us and they often do. Investigate for yourself and study the Word diligently so that you are not taken in by these set-ups for deception.
The stage for deception has been set for many decades, if not centuries. But Revelation does tell us one thing: that there will come a point in time when the devil, the adversary (called Ha Satan) will be thrown down to the earth and will be furiously seeking to devour the people of God because he knows his time is short and those same people, the scripture tells us, will sit in judgement of angels, which includes him. One of his go-to weapons in his arsenal, and this has been the case since the Garden of Eden, is deception. May we be girded about with the truth instead during this hour.
Shalom!
**
This week we are in the middle of Sukkot, or YHVH's Feast of Tabernacles. I say this is YHVH's Feast (rather than a Jewish feast) because this feast originated with the Creator Elohim (God), and not with the Jewish people. The Jews merely kept this feast. YHVH first commanded this feast, as He did with all of these appointed feasts, or appointments, in Leviticus 23. During this feast, He called the people of Israel to live in tents (booths or sukkot) for 7 days to remember how the children of Israel lived in tents for 40 years in the desert after YHVH brought them out of Egypt with signs, miracles, and wonders. The Feast is punctuated by a Sabbath day of rest on both the first and last day of the Feast. It lasts 8 days total. In Leviticus 23 it is written to rejoice before YHVH our Elohim and to bring offerings. No work is to be done on the first and last days of this festival.
We just got back from a quick camp out with some friends in the beautiful hills of California and we had wonderful fellowship, barbeque, singing, hiking, swimming. The children loved playing together. Apart from my children who cried several times during the night and woke everybody up, (!) it was a very relaxing and fun time hanging out with our spiritual mishpocah (family)doing what Elohim has called us to do at the time He has called us to do it.
Since this feast is a big one, our friends shared with us how they have decided to celebrate by giving gifts to their children (and thus I imagine making an indelible mark in their children's memories forever). Since this is this family's first year of not observing the pagan holiday of Christmas, they wanted to transition to YHVH's feasts in this way instead. We talked about how each person and each family is in a process with coming out of Babylon and her counterfeited ways and holidays and how each person and family does this at their own pace as they feel the leading of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). We all process truth and change at varying degrees and our Elohim did not make a bunch of cookie-cutter human beings. That would be boring and it would not bring Him glory. But the love for the Truth which this family has is very inspiring to me and freshens up my own walk just observing how fervent they are in the faith. It is truly what spurs one another on toward love and good deeds, as the scripture says to do.
A Sign
On Yom Teruah, our friends used the space application (I don't know the name of it) on their Apple I-Pad to look at the constellations as they are in real time. This app is very cool- you can point it anywhere in the sky and it will show you exactly where the constellations are in relationship to each other. Well, on this particular feast (the Feast of Trumpets-Sept 11th 2010), which prophetically began the beginning of the end, or Daniel's 70th week, our friends spotted a very interesting configuration that I hope you will find encouraging, and confirming, as our Elohim has given us the heavenly bodies for signs and for seasons, for months and for years (Gen 1:14). They saw the constellation of Leo the Lion (which represents Yeshua- the Lion of the Tribe if Judah) with his paw on top of the serpent's (Hydra's) head! This made me think of the prophecy of what Messiah Yeshua would do to the devil in Genesis 3:15. The NIV reads like this:
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he (Messiah) will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
(clarification mine).
Indeed, at the execution stake, Yeshua did crush the head (which symbolizes authority)of the serpent.
We also know that in the book of the Revelation in chapter 12 there is another sign in the heavens and that is the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon at her feet, with a crown of 12 stars on her head. There is a dragon who seeks to kill her man child as soon as he is born, but he is caught up to heaven, and so the dragon goes after the rest of her offspring to devour them. The woman represents Israel, the 12 stars are the 12 tribes of Israel, the dragon is the devil, the man child is Yeshua, and the rest of her offspring are those who have the testimony of Yeshua and who obey God's commandments. This particular arrangement of stars will happen during the time of the end, the great tribulation. According to NASA projections, this configuration will appear above Jerusalem in a few years from now at sunrise. I will research to confirm the date and post it in the near future.
Father God loves the world and did indeed send His only begotten Son, Yeshua, to earth to die a horrible death in our place to pay for the judgement we so deserved for our sins (John chapter 3). He not only gave us His Word, but also confirmed it in the heavens (heavenly bodies). He wants the world to know His good news so that they will believe, repent, and be saved from eternal damnation. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Could He also want those who are His, the followers of Yeshua, to be encouraged and reminded of this at the start of Daniel's 70th week, the time of the end? Friend, I hope you are as encouraged as I am, that on Elohim's Feast of Trumpets (which fell on Sept 11th this year), YHVH sent a sign in the constellations to remind us that He is victorious! That He (and those who remain fathful to Him til the end) wins in the end! No matter what the circumstances look like, no matter what the cost is of serving Him in these last hours, no matter what you may be facing in your life....NO MATTER WHAT!
Now sit and think about that.
A Set-Up?
Also this week I caught wind that the deceiver is revving up his engines again getting ready for the grand deception which will envelope the whole world. One news report has the United Nations set to appoint their Contact Person (pardon the pun) or the ambassador to aliens from outer space. Apparently, this person has already been speaking out about the importance of the position. To read the article, copy and paste this into your browser:
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/un-to-appoint-earth-contact-for-aliens/story-e6frfku0-1225929498742
This is just another brick on the foundation for what the enemy has in store for all of those who will believe a lie. 2 Thessalonians 2:11 says: For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.
What is the reason God sends (them) powerful delusion? That they had not a love for the truth. Exactly what the delusion is, we do not know for certain. But we know that it may be possible for the elect to be deceived and that is why we want to walk in the truth in these last days, as we are led and guided into all truth by the Ruach HaKodesh.
Will there be "contact" made in the near future by extra terrestrials? Only time will tell. But it will be part of a powerful deception. At best, these "beings" are demons or possibly nephilim (due to limited time and scope, I am not able to go deeply into this subject at this time, perhaps in a future post). But for those who "watch" world events with discernment and diligence, all these manipulations, upheavals and cover-ups are starting to paint a very distressing scenario. Be assured of this one thing: Elohim is not taken off guard. He knows and He has told us. He declares the end from the beginning and He is sovereign. He shall be a sure foundation for our times for those who have the fear of Elohim for Isaiah 33:6 says so:
He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.
Also this past week, we caught wind of a so-called cult in Los Angeles with whom the authorities intervened. Now, whether this was an actual cult or not, I don't know. I do know this: there will be some true believers who will be made to be examples to the rest of society in order to marginalize those who will cling to truth and not to the system in these last days. Many will be made out to be fools in front of the world in a attempt to influence the masses. Be alert! Be aware! And know that the enemy will use all manner of lies and manipulation to get you to not believe the truth. That is why we must be firmly grounded in the truth, rather than our feelings or our opinions. Even our own feelings and opinions can lie to us and they often do. Investigate for yourself and study the Word diligently so that you are not taken in by these set-ups for deception.
The stage for deception has been set for many decades, if not centuries. But Revelation does tell us one thing: that there will come a point in time when the devil, the adversary (called Ha Satan) will be thrown down to the earth and will be furiously seeking to devour the people of God because he knows his time is short and those same people, the scripture tells us, will sit in judgement of angels, which includes him. One of his go-to weapons in his arsenal, and this has been the case since the Garden of Eden, is deception. May we be girded about with the truth instead during this hour.
Shalom!
**
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Reflecting on Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur 2010
Yesterday was Yom Kippur according to the Creator's Calendar. I would like to make a distinction here between the Creator's Calendar and the Rabbinic Jewish calendar, although I know many believers in Yeshua do go by the traditional Jewish, or rabbinic one.
The Creator's calendar goes according to the written scriptures, the TANAKH (or Old Testament) and is dictated by the moon cycles and the state of ripeness of the barley called "aviv". YHVH gave this calendar so that we, His creation, could easily and discernably know His moedim (or feasts), even before the age of technology, the internet, or even telescopes. The average farmer could look at the sky and discern which season it was and also when the feast days were. Our Elohim did not want us to be ignorant, nor did He want us to miss our appointments (moedim) with Him.
The rabbinic calendar was established by the last Sanhedrin to convene in Israel before Israel would once again go into exile, after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. The rabbis established a calendar which all of world Jewry could participate in the festivals while they were in exile because they would not be in the Land of Israel to declare the onset of the New Year in the spring with the "aviv" barley harvests and the sighting of the New Moon. This system worked while Israel was in exile.
However, Israel is now no longer in exile. She is established back in her own land and can once again follow the Creator's calendar the way He prescribed it in the scriptures. How else will she be able to discern the times and seasons of YHVH, especially at and near the end of the age? Yeshua chastized the pharisees for folowing man's traditions instead of rightly discerning the times and seasons (specifically Yeshua's first coming) according to the written Word, the Torah, which they had been custodians of for centuries. How much more will He chastize those who, now that we have the restoration of His calendar, are willfully ignorant or neglectful?
Despite the fact that Israel is back in the Land and can observe the onset of the new year according to the state of the barley and the moon cycles, they continue, for the most part, to follow the rabbinic Jewish calendar. This calendar is usually off from the Creator's calendar by as much as a week or 2. "So what?" You may say. As long as we are all doing the festivals, who cares on which days we actually do them, right? Wrong!
No word in scripture is put in there by accident. There is not ONE idle word. Every command, every instruction is put there for a reason and you bet our God has a plan for every one of them. When it comes to the fall feasts in particular, our Father in Heaven has a very specific purpose He will fulfill with them (including the fall feasts prior to and leading up to the second coming of Yeshua). That is why Yeshua was always telling parables about servants who were watching and waiting for their master to return. Likewise, our Elohim has a very specific timeline He will follow during this time. Guess who else will have a specific plan to fulfill during the time of the end? That is right- ha satan (the devil)and his false, or counterfeit messiah, also called the son of lawlessness, the son of perdition, and the antichrist. Knowing when YOUR Messiah is expected to show up is crucial. Whoever heard of a bride who did not know when her wedding would take place? What's worse, the bride does not want to show up for the WRONG WEDDING!
Is that possible? Matthew 24:24 seems to think so. It says: For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible.
In the Greek language of this manuscript of Matthew, the implication seems to be that it WILL be possible that the elect could be deceived. Remember Yeshua said see to it that NO MAN deceives you! He would not say that if it were not possible, for He knows it is written in Jeremiah that the human heart is deceitfully wicked above ALL ELSE and who can know its contents? So the human heart can even be deceitful above all that is created....including the devil himself. And he will decieve with false and lying signs and wonders in the last days.
Therefore, we must look diligently at the fruit of anyone claiming to be His in these last hours. This is something that is a continual learning process for me. However, I know for sure there are three criteria which are ESSENTIAL in order to detect the real from the fake:
#1 Does the (person being considered) follow the Torah? The Torah is the plumbline for all who come in the Name of YHVH and with His authority. If they are torahless or lawless in their attitudes concerning Yah's instructions, that person IS NOT sent from Elohim and is false or in the least, in error. Oftentimes a person or ministry will simply be in error, following man-taught false relgion and simply needs to be corrected and warned. Doing the correcting or warning does not make one popular to say the least, but it is necessary. Giving the message they need to hear in order to turn around (repent) is crucial.
#2 Yeshua of Nazareth IS the Son of God, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Period. If teaching or people attempts to negate this fact or minimize or erase it, ditch that teaching. We do not have forgiveness for our sins apart from Messiah. He came and fulfilled every spring feast of YHVH to the tee. Our righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight, and, contrary to what rabbinic judaism may teach, righteous works or deeds (mitzvot) will not get you forgiveness or entry into Heaven. This goes for Jews as well as for Gentiles. I know some believers who have renounced Yeshua in order to fit in to Judaism or even to imigrate to Israel.
#3 Does the (person, teaching, or ministry being considered), follow the timeline of YHVH as evidenced in the Torah?? Only YHVH and His representatives will do according to His commanded feasts. The false Messiah, as the prophet Daniel foretold, has CHANGED the times and seasons to seek to deceive the elect. The solar calendar by which the world goes by today was changed many years ago. The anti-messiah knows this is a very important step in tripping up those who have responded to the Good News. Yeshua was not born on Dec 25th and crucified on Good Friday with an Easter Sunday resurrection. That is counterfeit. He was crucified on Passover and raised on Firstfruits. Anything else is a false Yeshua, no matter what name they call him by, and the author is satan. Flee from such a counterfeit.
In the TANAKH, a prophet of Elohim was determined by if what he said came to pass, AND if he followed the Torah. If a prophet came, prophesied future events ACCURATELY, and yet said, "Come, let us follow other gods...." that person was a FALSE PROPHET and you were not to follow or obey him. In fact, that person would be taken outside the camp and stoned.
So it is no surprise NOTHING has CHANGED! We are still to hold up teaching to the Torah to see if it be a counterfeit fake, or if it be the real deal from YHVH.
That is why it may have been a non-deal-breaker-issue to follow the rabbinic calendar in the past, but why it is oh-so-important to be not only learning about the appointed times of YHVH in these last days, but to be WALKING IN THEM. For the whole Hebrew concept of "To hear" (Shema Yisrael....) is TO DO. We receive deeper and clearer understanding of His instructions AS WE DO THEM.
I ALMOST MISSED THE APPOINTMENT!
In the sixth month, I missed the sighting of the new moon. I was devastated. In fact, I had a holy envy when I had heard that the beloved believers had gathered the night prior and sighted the new moon, blowing the shofar and enjoying felowship on this feast when I had forgotten. I had been looking forward to it, but because we had had a really busy week and I was exhausted, I let my focus drift. It is so easy to do! I knew this was an important month to be "watching" for, for it led up to the seventh month, the first day of which THIS YEAR declared a very important season on Elohim's prophetic calendar (the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week-see article entitled Season of Sorrow Season of Joy). I was grieved in the way a lover is grieved about missing a date with her beloved. I felt like I really missed out. And knowing that it is oh so easy to get into drift mode in this day and age, I did not want to start slacking and falling back asleep. Yeshua warned against becoming weighed down with drunkeness, debauchery, and the cares of this life. I don't know one person who can say their life is not full of cares right now. Even if they habitually give them over to Elohim. Joblessness, finances, children running amok or in danger of doing so, sickness, sleeplessness (hello-that's my achilles heel!). And yet, in all of His parables, Yeshua made clear that it is the faithful servant who seeks.
Fortunately for me, I have brothers and sisters in the faith who help to keep me on track, encourage me, and keep in touch, sharpening me. Thankfully, I was ready for Yom Teruah the following month. Also, thankfully, the instructions for finding the Creators calendar are clear in the Word. And despite all the spiritual warfare onslaught which sought to distract me and prevent me from making my appointment (family sicknesses, and cooties, teething baby, exhaustion, and husband's work schedule), I was there to sight the new moon of the seventh month with my husband and children in a nearby soccer field. My husband blew the shofar and my 3 year old son blew his toy shofar. We had some fellow believers from the Sonora fellowship on speakerphone with us who were blowing the shofar at the same time, making it a holy convocation sponsored by T-Mobile. No, just joking. But it was joyful and I'm sure we gave the soccer players and their parents quite a show they had not anticipated!
Ten days later came Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement- a day of no work, of denying oneself, and reflecting on the sacrifice atonement of our Messiah, Yeshua. He paid for it ALL, once and for all (see Hebrews 7:27 and 9:12).
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON THE FALL FEASTS
This fall was the first year I had stopped giving lip service to observing the Sabbath days and festivals and actually started doing them. In the spring, it was the first time I had actually observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread, abstaining from foods containing yeast, and this fall was the first time I observed Yom Teruah as prescribed on the correct date.
Ya know, something wonderful happened. Even amidst all the hindrances the enemy tried to bring. Our Father is wise and knows if we diligently seek Him, if we really invest in finding Him, that it will be all the more rewarding for us. And we will be permanently changed. Perhaps this is one of the reasons He allows us to come across hindrances to the truth in the first place. Still, I felt for the first time in my life, like I was truly in the middle of the will of the Father, because it was there in plain sight in the scriptures, regardless and in spite of "evidence" in the natural to the contrary, and in spite of my feelings, because it was important for me to obey no matter what happened. Like it was practice for obedience when true adversity comes. I feel like something was added to my character. Moreover, I felt like the Father was giving me insight into how as Creator He has ordered everything in His will perfectly. Even the bad stuff that happens in life. He wants the gold in us. He wants to refine us according to His image, rather than the image of the world.
And El Shaddai has even provided for us in giving us His moedim. If you subscribe to the last days scenario, as many of you do, which says that Elohim will treat the remnant as He did our forefathers bringing them out of Egypt by bringing them out of Babylon, through the wilderness during the time of the great tribulation (last three and a half years prior to Messiah's return), and care for the "woman" in the desert (see Revelation 12), then there must be a plan of sustenance, and even provision for her. These are the things that have occured to me this fall that I have never realized before. YHVH has provided for His people in His appointed feasts, as they are meant to be rehearsals to ready us for the time of trial ahead:
* Yom Teruah- The sound of the shofar opens our ears (awakens us) to His feasts/appointments, which we need to be paying attention to in the last days. "Hear O Israel..."
*Yom Kippur- in addition to turning our attention to the hideousnes of sin in the eyes of Abba, and Yeshua's atoning sacrifice for all of our sins, the fasting itself prepares the remnant for times of dying to self, and maybe even times of literal hunger and thirst. When His people who have come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes and stand before the throne, Revelation 7:16 says "Never again will they hunger. Never again will they thirst...." Surely there must be some hungering and thirsting ahead of us (next year's famine perhaps?) and so having been prepared spiritually for this must be important.
*Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, in addition to being the Festival of Joy and the wedding feast to be fulfilled when Yeshua returns for His thousand year reign, also prepares the people of YHVH to live in tents, literally, to live in tents as the children of Israel did in the desert. The remnant will be preserved in the wilderness once she "Comes out of.." Babylon prior to Yeshua's coming. It is there YHVH meets with her face to face in the wilderness. There the Bride's garments will be made spotless; He will protect her and provide for her. If she has already been obeying Elohim by walking in His ways (observing His moedim), then she will be used to doing this at this time every year. It will not seem like such a major adjustment.
What a kind and merciful God! He has already provided (centuries) before we even had the need! NOW I SEE THAT HIS FEASTS WERE MEANT TO PROVIDE FOR US DURING THE TIME OF THE END, THE TIME OF GREAT TRIBULATION DURING WHICH IS THE TIME OF GREATEST SORROWS AS THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.* I never saw this truth before I started being obedient, truly obedient to walk in His ways.
Up until fairly recently, I had been looking forward to this coming season with dread and fear. When I had heard that Elohim provided such a plan for His people and that this scenario was possibly painted in the scriptures, I suddenly had total peace. In fact, brother Don shared this with one of the Torah groups recently and I went home and exclaimed to my husband, "I'm not scared anymore!" My husband was so thankful to hear that! Even if I do not make it to that point in Abba's plan, I am rest assured that no matter what, His plan is supreme and it is sovereignly perfect.
While the earth will be reaping the judgement for what it has sown for all of its sin, lawlessness, murders, witchcrafts, and defilements, our Father God will be providing and protecting a remnant of people as His own and teaching them His ways, meeting with them in love and mercy. Although I do know there will be great persecution against the saints when the anti-messiah will be given power "to make war against the saints and to overcome them" (Revelation 13:7) and many followers of Yeshua will be asked to follow literally in the footsteps of the Savior and give their lives as martyrs, the fact remains that YHVH has set aside a remnant to preserve and keep during this time who will also give Him glory. And this so encourages my faith.
Shalom!
**
The Creator's calendar goes according to the written scriptures, the TANAKH (or Old Testament) and is dictated by the moon cycles and the state of ripeness of the barley called "aviv". YHVH gave this calendar so that we, His creation, could easily and discernably know His moedim (or feasts), even before the age of technology, the internet, or even telescopes. The average farmer could look at the sky and discern which season it was and also when the feast days were. Our Elohim did not want us to be ignorant, nor did He want us to miss our appointments (moedim) with Him.
The rabbinic calendar was established by the last Sanhedrin to convene in Israel before Israel would once again go into exile, after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. The rabbis established a calendar which all of world Jewry could participate in the festivals while they were in exile because they would not be in the Land of Israel to declare the onset of the New Year in the spring with the "aviv" barley harvests and the sighting of the New Moon. This system worked while Israel was in exile.
However, Israel is now no longer in exile. She is established back in her own land and can once again follow the Creator's calendar the way He prescribed it in the scriptures. How else will she be able to discern the times and seasons of YHVH, especially at and near the end of the age? Yeshua chastized the pharisees for folowing man's traditions instead of rightly discerning the times and seasons (specifically Yeshua's first coming) according to the written Word, the Torah, which they had been custodians of for centuries. How much more will He chastize those who, now that we have the restoration of His calendar, are willfully ignorant or neglectful?
Despite the fact that Israel is back in the Land and can observe the onset of the new year according to the state of the barley and the moon cycles, they continue, for the most part, to follow the rabbinic Jewish calendar. This calendar is usually off from the Creator's calendar by as much as a week or 2. "So what?" You may say. As long as we are all doing the festivals, who cares on which days we actually do them, right? Wrong!
No word in scripture is put in there by accident. There is not ONE idle word. Every command, every instruction is put there for a reason and you bet our God has a plan for every one of them. When it comes to the fall feasts in particular, our Father in Heaven has a very specific purpose He will fulfill with them (including the fall feasts prior to and leading up to the second coming of Yeshua). That is why Yeshua was always telling parables about servants who were watching and waiting for their master to return. Likewise, our Elohim has a very specific timeline He will follow during this time. Guess who else will have a specific plan to fulfill during the time of the end? That is right- ha satan (the devil)and his false, or counterfeit messiah, also called the son of lawlessness, the son of perdition, and the antichrist. Knowing when YOUR Messiah is expected to show up is crucial. Whoever heard of a bride who did not know when her wedding would take place? What's worse, the bride does not want to show up for the WRONG WEDDING!
Is that possible? Matthew 24:24 seems to think so. It says: For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible.
In the Greek language of this manuscript of Matthew, the implication seems to be that it WILL be possible that the elect could be deceived. Remember Yeshua said see to it that NO MAN deceives you! He would not say that if it were not possible, for He knows it is written in Jeremiah that the human heart is deceitfully wicked above ALL ELSE and who can know its contents? So the human heart can even be deceitful above all that is created....including the devil himself. And he will decieve with false and lying signs and wonders in the last days.
Therefore, we must look diligently at the fruit of anyone claiming to be His in these last hours. This is something that is a continual learning process for me. However, I know for sure there are three criteria which are ESSENTIAL in order to detect the real from the fake:
#1 Does the (person being considered) follow the Torah? The Torah is the plumbline for all who come in the Name of YHVH and with His authority. If they are torahless or lawless in their attitudes concerning Yah's instructions, that person IS NOT sent from Elohim and is false or in the least, in error. Oftentimes a person or ministry will simply be in error, following man-taught false relgion and simply needs to be corrected and warned. Doing the correcting or warning does not make one popular to say the least, but it is necessary. Giving the message they need to hear in order to turn around (repent) is crucial.
#2 Yeshua of Nazareth IS the Son of God, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Period. If teaching or people attempts to negate this fact or minimize or erase it, ditch that teaching. We do not have forgiveness for our sins apart from Messiah. He came and fulfilled every spring feast of YHVH to the tee. Our righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight, and, contrary to what rabbinic judaism may teach, righteous works or deeds (mitzvot) will not get you forgiveness or entry into Heaven. This goes for Jews as well as for Gentiles. I know some believers who have renounced Yeshua in order to fit in to Judaism or even to imigrate to Israel.
#3 Does the (person, teaching, or ministry being considered), follow the timeline of YHVH as evidenced in the Torah?? Only YHVH and His representatives will do according to His commanded feasts. The false Messiah, as the prophet Daniel foretold, has CHANGED the times and seasons to seek to deceive the elect. The solar calendar by which the world goes by today was changed many years ago. The anti-messiah knows this is a very important step in tripping up those who have responded to the Good News. Yeshua was not born on Dec 25th and crucified on Good Friday with an Easter Sunday resurrection. That is counterfeit. He was crucified on Passover and raised on Firstfruits. Anything else is a false Yeshua, no matter what name they call him by, and the author is satan. Flee from such a counterfeit.
In the TANAKH, a prophet of Elohim was determined by if what he said came to pass, AND if he followed the Torah. If a prophet came, prophesied future events ACCURATELY, and yet said, "Come, let us follow other gods...." that person was a FALSE PROPHET and you were not to follow or obey him. In fact, that person would be taken outside the camp and stoned.
So it is no surprise NOTHING has CHANGED! We are still to hold up teaching to the Torah to see if it be a counterfeit fake, or if it be the real deal from YHVH.
That is why it may have been a non-deal-breaker-issue to follow the rabbinic calendar in the past, but why it is oh-so-important to be not only learning about the appointed times of YHVH in these last days, but to be WALKING IN THEM. For the whole Hebrew concept of "To hear" (Shema Yisrael....) is TO DO. We receive deeper and clearer understanding of His instructions AS WE DO THEM.
I ALMOST MISSED THE APPOINTMENT!
In the sixth month, I missed the sighting of the new moon. I was devastated. In fact, I had a holy envy when I had heard that the beloved believers had gathered the night prior and sighted the new moon, blowing the shofar and enjoying felowship on this feast when I had forgotten. I had been looking forward to it, but because we had had a really busy week and I was exhausted, I let my focus drift. It is so easy to do! I knew this was an important month to be "watching" for, for it led up to the seventh month, the first day of which THIS YEAR declared a very important season on Elohim's prophetic calendar (the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week-see article entitled Season of Sorrow Season of Joy). I was grieved in the way a lover is grieved about missing a date with her beloved. I felt like I really missed out. And knowing that it is oh so easy to get into drift mode in this day and age, I did not want to start slacking and falling back asleep. Yeshua warned against becoming weighed down with drunkeness, debauchery, and the cares of this life. I don't know one person who can say their life is not full of cares right now. Even if they habitually give them over to Elohim. Joblessness, finances, children running amok or in danger of doing so, sickness, sleeplessness (hello-that's my achilles heel!). And yet, in all of His parables, Yeshua made clear that it is the faithful servant who seeks.
Fortunately for me, I have brothers and sisters in the faith who help to keep me on track, encourage me, and keep in touch, sharpening me. Thankfully, I was ready for Yom Teruah the following month. Also, thankfully, the instructions for finding the Creators calendar are clear in the Word. And despite all the spiritual warfare onslaught which sought to distract me and prevent me from making my appointment (family sicknesses, and cooties, teething baby, exhaustion, and husband's work schedule), I was there to sight the new moon of the seventh month with my husband and children in a nearby soccer field. My husband blew the shofar and my 3 year old son blew his toy shofar. We had some fellow believers from the Sonora fellowship on speakerphone with us who were blowing the shofar at the same time, making it a holy convocation sponsored by T-Mobile. No, just joking. But it was joyful and I'm sure we gave the soccer players and their parents quite a show they had not anticipated!
Ten days later came Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement- a day of no work, of denying oneself, and reflecting on the sacrifice atonement of our Messiah, Yeshua. He paid for it ALL, once and for all (see Hebrews 7:27 and 9:12).
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON THE FALL FEASTS
This fall was the first year I had stopped giving lip service to observing the Sabbath days and festivals and actually started doing them. In the spring, it was the first time I had actually observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread, abstaining from foods containing yeast, and this fall was the first time I observed Yom Teruah as prescribed on the correct date.
Ya know, something wonderful happened. Even amidst all the hindrances the enemy tried to bring. Our Father is wise and knows if we diligently seek Him, if we really invest in finding Him, that it will be all the more rewarding for us. And we will be permanently changed. Perhaps this is one of the reasons He allows us to come across hindrances to the truth in the first place. Still, I felt for the first time in my life, like I was truly in the middle of the will of the Father, because it was there in plain sight in the scriptures, regardless and in spite of "evidence" in the natural to the contrary, and in spite of my feelings, because it was important for me to obey no matter what happened. Like it was practice for obedience when true adversity comes. I feel like something was added to my character. Moreover, I felt like the Father was giving me insight into how as Creator He has ordered everything in His will perfectly. Even the bad stuff that happens in life. He wants the gold in us. He wants to refine us according to His image, rather than the image of the world.
And El Shaddai has even provided for us in giving us His moedim. If you subscribe to the last days scenario, as many of you do, which says that Elohim will treat the remnant as He did our forefathers bringing them out of Egypt by bringing them out of Babylon, through the wilderness during the time of the great tribulation (last three and a half years prior to Messiah's return), and care for the "woman" in the desert (see Revelation 12), then there must be a plan of sustenance, and even provision for her. These are the things that have occured to me this fall that I have never realized before. YHVH has provided for His people in His appointed feasts, as they are meant to be rehearsals to ready us for the time of trial ahead:
* Yom Teruah- The sound of the shofar opens our ears (awakens us) to His feasts/appointments, which we need to be paying attention to in the last days. "Hear O Israel..."
*Yom Kippur- in addition to turning our attention to the hideousnes of sin in the eyes of Abba, and Yeshua's atoning sacrifice for all of our sins, the fasting itself prepares the remnant for times of dying to self, and maybe even times of literal hunger and thirst. When His people who have come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes and stand before the throne, Revelation 7:16 says "Never again will they hunger. Never again will they thirst...." Surely there must be some hungering and thirsting ahead of us (next year's famine perhaps?) and so having been prepared spiritually for this must be important.
*Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, in addition to being the Festival of Joy and the wedding feast to be fulfilled when Yeshua returns for His thousand year reign, also prepares the people of YHVH to live in tents, literally, to live in tents as the children of Israel did in the desert. The remnant will be preserved in the wilderness once she "Comes out of.." Babylon prior to Yeshua's coming. It is there YHVH meets with her face to face in the wilderness. There the Bride's garments will be made spotless; He will protect her and provide for her. If she has already been obeying Elohim by walking in His ways (observing His moedim), then she will be used to doing this at this time every year. It will not seem like such a major adjustment.
What a kind and merciful God! He has already provided (centuries) before we even had the need! NOW I SEE THAT HIS FEASTS WERE MEANT TO PROVIDE FOR US DURING THE TIME OF THE END, THE TIME OF GREAT TRIBULATION DURING WHICH IS THE TIME OF GREATEST SORROWS AS THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.* I never saw this truth before I started being obedient, truly obedient to walk in His ways.
Up until fairly recently, I had been looking forward to this coming season with dread and fear. When I had heard that Elohim provided such a plan for His people and that this scenario was possibly painted in the scriptures, I suddenly had total peace. In fact, brother Don shared this with one of the Torah groups recently and I went home and exclaimed to my husband, "I'm not scared anymore!" My husband was so thankful to hear that! Even if I do not make it to that point in Abba's plan, I am rest assured that no matter what, His plan is supreme and it is sovereignly perfect.
While the earth will be reaping the judgement for what it has sown for all of its sin, lawlessness, murders, witchcrafts, and defilements, our Father God will be providing and protecting a remnant of people as His own and teaching them His ways, meeting with them in love and mercy. Although I do know there will be great persecution against the saints when the anti-messiah will be given power "to make war against the saints and to overcome them" (Revelation 13:7) and many followers of Yeshua will be asked to follow literally in the footsteps of the Savior and give their lives as martyrs, the fact remains that YHVH has set aside a remnant to preserve and keep during this time who will also give Him glory. And this so encourages my faith.
Shalom!
**
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Culture Shock and the Proverbs 31 Woman
Sometimes I feel as though I live in a perpetual state of culture shock. Preparing to survive off the grid and fight off Babylonian subversive ideas that would harm my children or worse- assimilate them into the anti-Messiah's corrupt system one minute......and wiping spit-up or baby snot off of my newly laundered shirt the next. It's these mundane and humbling "mommy-moments"- laying on the floor, allowing my two young children to crawl all over me or giving them wet "zerberts"- that keep me grounded and focused on living in the now and being grateful, for instance, for even the foggy state of sleep deprivation I constantly live in. If it were not for these moments during which YHVH reminds me of who I am and who needs me, then I would surely become overwhelmed and out of balance.
As I have tried to describe to family members: I (we-my husband and I) live our lives on 2 tracks. One track is planning and preparing to live more off-grid (less dependant on the government and current social system who has its roots in Babylon- see Revelation 18:4, and, to go under cover if necessary to keep our children safe) and the other track is the normal, everyday life with its chores and tasks of putting one foot in front of another to get through each day. It is the going-between these two tracks which serves to tire me out, making me discouraged and faint of heart.
But the fact that this huge chasm remains only serves to remind me that my life is carved out to a purpose that would not be unlike that of Abraham's life. Abraham, the father of our faith, was a man who probably lived in a constant state of culture shock as well. Abraham and Sarah were the quintessential salmons swimming upstream as they sought to serve YHVH in a pagan world.
After all, Abraham did not have everything figured out. We know the "rest of the story....", but he didn't. He walked in trust every step of the way just as you and I do. Obedience was a daily choice for Abraham as well- I am not the first one to think...."Oh, what will it hurt, if I just- take- a- little- rest......"
It is moments like those when, usually, a crisis happens or the Father will remind me that it is NOT ok to just rest awhile, a folding of the hands, a little sleep- that the adversary is real, he is lurking around every corner and waiting to devour whom he can. I am deluded to think that I can just take a little rest and let my guard down, not seeking Abba with everything that is within me everyday. That is when we are led into temptation. That is when we fall back asleep. That is precisely when we need to be vigilantly awake, sober, and obedient to our Heavenly Father and walking in His Torah the most.
That is why it is during seasons like these that I am so encouraged by a friend of mine. We'll just call her "Samantha". She exemplifies the Proverbs 31 woman: caring for her husband and family and using the gifts which Elohim has given her (hello!- intelligence galore!-she is such a gift. And her reputation precedes her- I heard of this woman from other mom friends even before I ever met her)to bless and provide for her loved ones. Only, my respect for my friend Samantha far exceeds the normal I wish-I-could-be-like-you holy envy and veers toward the awe-factor in witnessing what YHVH is doing in the earth today and the kind of treasures He has reserved for Himself during times of great tribulation. The many women in the Body of Messiah who live as the Proverbs 31 woman in Suburbia USA today might be a dime a dozen comparatively. But this friend has actually worked tirelessly and faithfully to get herself off the very grid that supports the believers in the western world as she endeavors to live a life that is truly dependant on the Father and not on Emperor Cesar. (...'render unto Elohim that which is Elohim's and unto Cesar that which is Cesar's')during these stressful and uncertain days. Samantha homeschools her 2 children, she cooks nutritious organic and whole foods from scratch- no small feat in the age of Mc Convenience; and she even specializes in gluten and dairy-free fare for those in her family who are allergic (which is 3/4 of her household).
And yet, it is this friend who offers to come help me with my children while I get caught up on some rest to fight off the remaining vestiges of the seasonal cold virus. I am truly humbled. Many women are at their jobs and busy working hard to take care of the families WITH the modern-day conveniences available to them. And this friend, who works extra hard to make sure her children grow up learning and living in Torah, faithful to the very end, even in troublous times, helps ME? I have no room to complain ever again as a mom or wife. Surely she is a shining example to my life, another salmon swimming upstream-a reflection of Messiah...one of those who follows...the least of these (His) commandments and teaches others (by modeling) to keep them as well. Not only that, but the passage where Yeshua, hanging on the execution stake telling his talmidim about eachother, "Here is your mother...and Here is your brother...." is brought to life in my own faith walk as never before. And she, along with many other God-fearers in this movement, will be called "greatest" in the kingdom of Heaven. Another friend who comes to my mind....who lives with such purity of heart....deserves to have a volume of books written about her example to my life....that would be the subject for another blog.
I suppose this little deviation from end-times discussion today was necessary for me. Not only to remember those who live counter-culturally unto YHVH, as I endeavor to do and whom YHVH blesses, but also to focus more on others and their good deeds and less on myself. I suppose it was in response to a couple of compliments I have received in reaction to this blog recently, that I have not felt comfortable accepting, that I need to give the credit where the credit is really due: to those women in my life who serve as a shining example to me, such as Samantha, who live their lives unto YHVH whether they are standing in the front of a crowd of people teaching, or they are faithfully serving in their private everyday lives the ones Elohim has entrusted to them with patience and without complaining.
As women seeking to live in the pure stream of Torah and by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) in this day and age, we so need to look to women like this as beacons of encouragement, (I am so glad Abba put the example in Prov 31 so we know what to look for!-in the age where the love of many grows cold due to Torah-less-ness) as we seek to live as closely in community as possible and as we are looking UP...for our redemption draweth nigh. It makes the sense of culture shock seem less disheartening and makes it easier to keep fighting the good fight of faith. In a world where men call what is evil good and good evil, it is imperative to have God-fearing women to walk alongside who have the compass right side up in their lives; not only in sound doctrine, but in daily practice as well.
It is these women who keep pointing to the Messiah for me and it is these women who obey in secret who will one day have their (eternal) reward in plain sight.
SHALOM
**
As I have tried to describe to family members: I (we-my husband and I) live our lives on 2 tracks. One track is planning and preparing to live more off-grid (less dependant on the government and current social system who has its roots in Babylon- see Revelation 18:4, and, to go under cover if necessary to keep our children safe) and the other track is the normal, everyday life with its chores and tasks of putting one foot in front of another to get through each day. It is the going-between these two tracks which serves to tire me out, making me discouraged and faint of heart.
But the fact that this huge chasm remains only serves to remind me that my life is carved out to a purpose that would not be unlike that of Abraham's life. Abraham, the father of our faith, was a man who probably lived in a constant state of culture shock as well. Abraham and Sarah were the quintessential salmons swimming upstream as they sought to serve YHVH in a pagan world.
After all, Abraham did not have everything figured out. We know the "rest of the story....", but he didn't. He walked in trust every step of the way just as you and I do. Obedience was a daily choice for Abraham as well- I am not the first one to think...."Oh, what will it hurt, if I just- take- a- little- rest......"
It is moments like those when, usually, a crisis happens or the Father will remind me that it is NOT ok to just rest awhile, a folding of the hands, a little sleep- that the adversary is real, he is lurking around every corner and waiting to devour whom he can. I am deluded to think that I can just take a little rest and let my guard down, not seeking Abba with everything that is within me everyday. That is when we are led into temptation. That is when we fall back asleep. That is precisely when we need to be vigilantly awake, sober, and obedient to our Heavenly Father and walking in His Torah the most.
That is why it is during seasons like these that I am so encouraged by a friend of mine. We'll just call her "Samantha". She exemplifies the Proverbs 31 woman: caring for her husband and family and using the gifts which Elohim has given her (hello!- intelligence galore!-she is such a gift. And her reputation precedes her- I heard of this woman from other mom friends even before I ever met her)to bless and provide for her loved ones. Only, my respect for my friend Samantha far exceeds the normal I wish-I-could-be-like-you holy envy and veers toward the awe-factor in witnessing what YHVH is doing in the earth today and the kind of treasures He has reserved for Himself during times of great tribulation. The many women in the Body of Messiah who live as the Proverbs 31 woman in Suburbia USA today might be a dime a dozen comparatively. But this friend has actually worked tirelessly and faithfully to get herself off the very grid that supports the believers in the western world as she endeavors to live a life that is truly dependant on the Father and not on Emperor Cesar. (...'render unto Elohim that which is Elohim's and unto Cesar that which is Cesar's')during these stressful and uncertain days. Samantha homeschools her 2 children, she cooks nutritious organic and whole foods from scratch- no small feat in the age of Mc Convenience; and she even specializes in gluten and dairy-free fare for those in her family who are allergic (which is 3/4 of her household).
And yet, it is this friend who offers to come help me with my children while I get caught up on some rest to fight off the remaining vestiges of the seasonal cold virus. I am truly humbled. Many women are at their jobs and busy working hard to take care of the families WITH the modern-day conveniences available to them. And this friend, who works extra hard to make sure her children grow up learning and living in Torah, faithful to the very end, even in troublous times, helps ME? I have no room to complain ever again as a mom or wife. Surely she is a shining example to my life, another salmon swimming upstream-a reflection of Messiah...one of those who follows...the least of these (His) commandments and teaches others (by modeling) to keep them as well. Not only that, but the passage where Yeshua, hanging on the execution stake telling his talmidim about eachother, "Here is your mother...and Here is your brother...." is brought to life in my own faith walk as never before. And she, along with many other God-fearers in this movement, will be called "greatest" in the kingdom of Heaven. Another friend who comes to my mind....who lives with such purity of heart....deserves to have a volume of books written about her example to my life....that would be the subject for another blog.
I suppose this little deviation from end-times discussion today was necessary for me. Not only to remember those who live counter-culturally unto YHVH, as I endeavor to do and whom YHVH blesses, but also to focus more on others and their good deeds and less on myself. I suppose it was in response to a couple of compliments I have received in reaction to this blog recently, that I have not felt comfortable accepting, that I need to give the credit where the credit is really due: to those women in my life who serve as a shining example to me, such as Samantha, who live their lives unto YHVH whether they are standing in the front of a crowd of people teaching, or they are faithfully serving in their private everyday lives the ones Elohim has entrusted to them with patience and without complaining.
As women seeking to live in the pure stream of Torah and by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) in this day and age, we so need to look to women like this as beacons of encouragement, (I am so glad Abba put the example in Prov 31 so we know what to look for!-in the age where the love of many grows cold due to Torah-less-ness) as we seek to live as closely in community as possible and as we are looking UP...for our redemption draweth nigh. It makes the sense of culture shock seem less disheartening and makes it easier to keep fighting the good fight of faith. In a world where men call what is evil good and good evil, it is imperative to have God-fearing women to walk alongside who have the compass right side up in their lives; not only in sound doctrine, but in daily practice as well.
It is these women who keep pointing to the Messiah for me and it is these women who obey in secret who will one day have their (eternal) reward in plain sight.
SHALOM
**
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Update on the Daniel's Timeline Video
The web address I posted in my last article for the full length video of "Daniel's Timeline" sponsored by waytozion.org was giving me some difficulties yesterday. If you have been unable to see the video on this link, please let me know either by comment or by emailing me directly so that I may get a DVD copy to you. I may be able to provide copies to anyone who needs one in the near future.
If you'd like a copy, please email me your address so I can get one in the mail to you asap.
And be looking for the renewed moon (sliver) until it is spotted til this coming Friday evening. Right now the moon is in its darkened phase, invisible to the naked eye. What a picture YHVH has painted for us in the interim- to be ready for His coming, when we must walk by "faith....NOT BY SIGHT!" Remember, two witnesses are required to see the renewed moon with the naked eye from Jerusalem to declare Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets (note: this is not the same as Rosh Hashana, the rabbinic declaration of a new year. More on that later).
....And Chag Yom Teruah Semeach! Happy Feast of Trumpets!!
SHALOM
**
If you'd like a copy, please email me your address so I can get one in the mail to you asap.
And be looking for the renewed moon (sliver) until it is spotted til this coming Friday evening. Right now the moon is in its darkened phase, invisible to the naked eye. What a picture YHVH has painted for us in the interim- to be ready for His coming, when we must walk by "faith....NOT BY SIGHT!" Remember, two witnesses are required to see the renewed moon with the naked eye from Jerusalem to declare Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets (note: this is not the same as Rosh Hashana, the rabbinic declaration of a new year. More on that later).
....And Chag Yom Teruah Semeach! Happy Feast of Trumpets!!
SHALOM
**
Monday, September 6, 2010
Season of Sorrow Season of Joy
Friends, we are about to enter the most important period of time in all of human history. I entitled this piece Season of Sorrow Season of Joy because that is the only way I can describe the next series of very important events on God's prophetic calendar. I am talking about Daniel's 70th week, or what many in the Christian Church have termed the "Seven Year Tribulation Period". (Although I do not hold to a 7 year Great Tribulation period the way those who hold to the pre-tribulation rapture do). I may get a lot of flack from my churched friends for saying this, but: according to the scriptures themselves, Yeshua our Messiah (Jesus Christ) is going to be returning in seven years from this next Feast of YHVH.
What is the next Feast of YHVH? And when does it occur?
The next Feast, beginning the fall feasts and setting off the final seven years begins this Friday sunset to Sabbath (Sat) sunset. On our pagan calendars it just so happens to fall on Sept 11th. This is the Feast of Trumpets, called Yom Teruah (see Leviticus 23). I used to think that Yeshua did not want us to know when He was coming. I took a Christian teaching for granted based upon "No man knows the day or the hour, not even the angels in Heaven nor the Son of Man..." (Matthew 24:36) to mean that He did not want us to calculate or know when He would return. I have since come to learn, since studying the Hebraic root of my faith in Yeshua, that in its context, He was referring to the feast of Trumpets. This feast falls on the first day of the seventh month. However, to calculate when that Day and Hour is, one must watch the lunar phases. There is about a 1-3 day variation of when the New Moon (or renewed moon) is sighted and thus beginning this feast. It begins when the sliver of moon is sighted after the moon is in its dark phase anywhere from 1-3 days. Due to this moon phase variation, indeed, no man knows the day or the hour!- of that feast! But it is this very important moed (feast) which kicks off the subsequent fall feasts which are so significant to prophetically indicating His return. It is also the Feast which will be fulfilled when the Lord returns with the shout of the archangel, with the TRUMPET (shofar) call of God....when those who have fallen asleep in messiah before us will rise, then we will be changed in an instant to meet the Lord in the air AT THE LAST TRUMP.
The Season of Joy refers to the Festival of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. It is often called the Festival of Joy. When Yeshua returns to start His millenial reign beginning with the Feast of Tabernacles when He will again TABERNACLE (or dwell with us), it will indeed be a season of great JOY! But we have much to endure until then....
This year, we are in the 62nd Shavuim (feast of Shavuot) of Israel since the decree went forth to rebuild Jerusalem in Nov 1947. That means in just seven years from now (for we know the Lord will descend and gather together His elect at the Last Trump- a clear referrence to Yom Teruah) the entire prophecy and this earth age will be complete, according to Daniel chapter 9.
Does Yeshua really want us to know when He will return? Well, it makes no sense to me that our Master and Creator chastized the pharisees for not knowing the times or seasons, and as He commanded His followers to WATCH for His coming (parable of the fig tree), and yet, as the traditional end-times teaching would have it, He does NOT want us to know when His return is? That makes Yeshua sound schizophrenic.
There is a huge clue in Genesis 1:14 regarding knowing His seasons according to His feasts:
And Elohim said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: (emphasis mine).
The word for seasons is moedim. It means appointments, or feasts.
YHVH wants us to be watching His appointed feasts for His coming. He created the heavenly bodies for our benefit, so that it would be made clear to us what His agenda would be. The wrong teachings of man have twisted the truth and obscurred these wonderful truths from our vision.
The reason I never knew this sitting in a church pew is because most Christians-as well as the entire secular world, follow the pagan calendar, rather than obey YHVH and walk in His statutes due to error in teaching. They (and I did as well) follow a calendar based upon the solar cycles, rather than the lunar cycles that Elohim told us to go by in the First Covenant.
In this hour, these truths, the truths of His Torah, are being restored in our midst. He has written His Torah (Law) on our hearts (Jer 31) and has given us his Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to lead and guide us in them.
How about you? Will you be willing to be obedient, changing your trajectory to that of the Creator's Calendar, rather than the anti-messiah, who seeks to change times and seasons? Will you keep your appointments with your Creator? He is waiting for you. He longs to meet with you. He has set the agenda. He has named the time and place (...'all your dwellings....' Leviticus 23). Will you be there?
Beloved, I would be remiss not to mention this at this most important juncture in time. We are entering the second to the MOST important set of fall feasts (the first important are obviously those which will be fulfilled by Yeshua's soon return, which will happen in seven years).
So timeline goes like this:
Fall Feasts 2010-begin Daniel's prophetic "week" (7 yrs)
Anti-messiah causes the sacrifice and oblation to cease
and sets up the abomination which makes desolate-spring
-2013
3 1/2 yrs of GREAT TRIBULATION such as world has never seen
Yeshua gathers His elect at Yom Teruah (day or hour no
man knows- because of the lunar phase variable) 2017
Day of Atonement 10 days later- all Israel is saved
Festival of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) 5 days later
beginning the 120th Jubilee Year and the thousand year
Sabbath reign of our Messiah from Jerusalem.
To see a comprehensive and very visually accute teaching on this topic, please go to the following web address and watch the full-length video on Daniel's Timeline. It is very detailed and very awe-inspiring. And seek YHVH and to walk in all of His commands as never before:
http://www.waytozion.org/video/stream/timeline/timeline.html
All you have to do to follow the Creator's Calendar is to read His Word. It's all there. You may have to shed some false teachings along the way in order to fully understand and walk in it, but there is nothing more rewarding than doing His will and meditating on His Laws day and night. King David, the man after God's own heart did this. You can too. Read Psalm 119 to see how King David felt about the Law of YHVH. And read the entire instructions our YHVH meant for YOU!
May YHVH bless you as we prepare for a very bumpy (yet rewarding-in-the-end) ride!~ as the Bride of Messiah washes her garments and makes herself ready for her soon-coming bridegroom!
SHALOM
**
What is the next Feast of YHVH? And when does it occur?
The next Feast, beginning the fall feasts and setting off the final seven years begins this Friday sunset to Sabbath (Sat) sunset. On our pagan calendars it just so happens to fall on Sept 11th. This is the Feast of Trumpets, called Yom Teruah (see Leviticus 23). I used to think that Yeshua did not want us to know when He was coming. I took a Christian teaching for granted based upon "No man knows the day or the hour, not even the angels in Heaven nor the Son of Man..." (Matthew 24:36) to mean that He did not want us to calculate or know when He would return. I have since come to learn, since studying the Hebraic root of my faith in Yeshua, that in its context, He was referring to the feast of Trumpets. This feast falls on the first day of the seventh month. However, to calculate when that Day and Hour is, one must watch the lunar phases. There is about a 1-3 day variation of when the New Moon (or renewed moon) is sighted and thus beginning this feast. It begins when the sliver of moon is sighted after the moon is in its dark phase anywhere from 1-3 days. Due to this moon phase variation, indeed, no man knows the day or the hour!- of that feast! But it is this very important moed (feast) which kicks off the subsequent fall feasts which are so significant to prophetically indicating His return. It is also the Feast which will be fulfilled when the Lord returns with the shout of the archangel, with the TRUMPET (shofar) call of God....when those who have fallen asleep in messiah before us will rise, then we will be changed in an instant to meet the Lord in the air AT THE LAST TRUMP.
The Season of Joy refers to the Festival of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. It is often called the Festival of Joy. When Yeshua returns to start His millenial reign beginning with the Feast of Tabernacles when He will again TABERNACLE (or dwell with us), it will indeed be a season of great JOY! But we have much to endure until then....
This year, we are in the 62nd Shavuim (feast of Shavuot) of Israel since the decree went forth to rebuild Jerusalem in Nov 1947. That means in just seven years from now (for we know the Lord will descend and gather together His elect at the Last Trump- a clear referrence to Yom Teruah) the entire prophecy and this earth age will be complete, according to Daniel chapter 9.
Does Yeshua really want us to know when He will return? Well, it makes no sense to me that our Master and Creator chastized the pharisees for not knowing the times or seasons, and as He commanded His followers to WATCH for His coming (parable of the fig tree), and yet, as the traditional end-times teaching would have it, He does NOT want us to know when His return is? That makes Yeshua sound schizophrenic.
There is a huge clue in Genesis 1:14 regarding knowing His seasons according to His feasts:
And Elohim said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: (emphasis mine).
The word for seasons is moedim. It means appointments, or feasts.
YHVH wants us to be watching His appointed feasts for His coming. He created the heavenly bodies for our benefit, so that it would be made clear to us what His agenda would be. The wrong teachings of man have twisted the truth and obscurred these wonderful truths from our vision.
The reason I never knew this sitting in a church pew is because most Christians-as well as the entire secular world, follow the pagan calendar, rather than obey YHVH and walk in His statutes due to error in teaching. They (and I did as well) follow a calendar based upon the solar cycles, rather than the lunar cycles that Elohim told us to go by in the First Covenant.
In this hour, these truths, the truths of His Torah, are being restored in our midst. He has written His Torah (Law) on our hearts (Jer 31) and has given us his Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to lead and guide us in them.
How about you? Will you be willing to be obedient, changing your trajectory to that of the Creator's Calendar, rather than the anti-messiah, who seeks to change times and seasons? Will you keep your appointments with your Creator? He is waiting for you. He longs to meet with you. He has set the agenda. He has named the time and place (...'all your dwellings....' Leviticus 23). Will you be there?
Beloved, I would be remiss not to mention this at this most important juncture in time. We are entering the second to the MOST important set of fall feasts (the first important are obviously those which will be fulfilled by Yeshua's soon return, which will happen in seven years).
So timeline goes like this:
Fall Feasts 2010-begin Daniel's prophetic "week" (7 yrs)
Anti-messiah causes the sacrifice and oblation to cease
and sets up the abomination which makes desolate-spring
-2013
3 1/2 yrs of GREAT TRIBULATION such as world has never seen
Yeshua gathers His elect at Yom Teruah (day or hour no
man knows- because of the lunar phase variable) 2017
Day of Atonement 10 days later- all Israel is saved
Festival of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) 5 days later
beginning the 120th Jubilee Year and the thousand year
Sabbath reign of our Messiah from Jerusalem.
To see a comprehensive and very visually accute teaching on this topic, please go to the following web address and watch the full-length video on Daniel's Timeline. It is very detailed and very awe-inspiring. And seek YHVH and to walk in all of His commands as never before:
http://www.waytozion.org/video/stream/timeline/timeline.html
All you have to do to follow the Creator's Calendar is to read His Word. It's all there. You may have to shed some false teachings along the way in order to fully understand and walk in it, but there is nothing more rewarding than doing His will and meditating on His Laws day and night. King David, the man after God's own heart did this. You can too. Read Psalm 119 to see how King David felt about the Law of YHVH. And read the entire instructions our YHVH meant for YOU!
May YHVH bless you as we prepare for a very bumpy (yet rewarding-in-the-end) ride!~ as the Bride of Messiah washes her garments and makes herself ready for her soon-coming bridegroom!
SHALOM
**
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Why I Left the Institutionalized Church
The reasons for my recent decision to leave the institutionalized church can be summed up in 2 parts:
#1 Because I can no longer serve YHVH (the way He wants me to as prescribed in the entire Bible) in the institutionalized church
and
#2 Because in my heart, I left a long time ago.
ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS
Once I set my heart to really understand God's Word from a Hebraic perspective about a year and a half ago, I woke up to the truth of His Word, the whole thing, and I crossed over from pagan idolatry to the worship of the One True God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, through the shed blood of His Son Yeshua of Nazareth, or otherwise known by His Greek nickname, Jesus Christ. (Christ simply means Messiah, or anointed one). I have described this experience to friends as having been given a pair of 3-D or decoder glasses for a magazine I had been trying to read without them and could not understand its content. Now, as the metaphor would have it, the colors come LEAPING off the page and I see the scriptures so clearly now, the way they were meant to be seen. I even understand the Renewed Covenant (New Testament) so much more clearly whereas I could not before. Before it was murky and esoteric. Now it is wonderfully clear.
It is as if someone turned on the lights in a previously darkened room. I understand my Savior so much better now! I understand Him as Creator, Father, Husband, all those analogies we were told to see Him through but just could only see fragmented glimpses here and there.
I no longer see the Bible as this fragmented and cut up picture of God: old and grumpy in the Old Testament and all loving and dripping with syrupy sloppy agape in the New. I now see the entire counsel of the Word and the will of YHVH, He who lives forever and is to be praised. HalleluYah!
But before long, a problem arose. As I was entering deeply into His will for my life, walking in His feasts and Sabbaths and enjoying an intimacy with Him which I never knew possible (a feeling of He now knows me as friend, not just servant), I started to see the disconnect between my new-found life walking in His Torah and the beliefs, traditions, and practices of the church. Not just my church in paritcular, but the entire system known as the western institutionalized church. I had been taught Torahlessness (lawlessness) in that church system. I had been taught that His Torah (Hebrew for teachings, oftentimes translated into the Greek as Law) was not for believers in Jesus today. I had been taught in the institutionalized church that those (the laws of Moses) were for the Jews back then and that THE LAW had been "nailed to the cross". However, in my discovery of the truth of God's Word, I learned that the law is good and the commandment holy (Romans 7:12). I learned that, in fact, it was our transgressions, our inability to follow the teachings of YHVH and keep His commandments and the injunction against us for not doing so that was actually nailed to the cross. For it was our sin which was nailed to the execution stake of Yeshua, and the biblical definition of sin is transgression of the Torah. 1 John 3:4 states what the definition of sin is: Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (emphasis mine).
I learned that the whole Word of Elohim (God) was forever. No part was ever meant to be done away with, contrary to doctrine in the Christian institutionalized church. Yeshua said this out of His own mouth. He said in Matthew 15:7, "Do not think that I came to abolish the law and the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." And in Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33, Yeshua said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will never pass away". What word was He talking about?? The entire thing!! For "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness..." (2 Timothy 3:16).
And yet, I learned in the institutionalized church (again I emphasize this is man's tradition, which is in contradiction to the scriptures) that Jesus did away with The Law in favor of a 2-command replacement called, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself" (a looser, more nebulous and subjective interpretation of the Lord's words).
In Matthew 5:18 Yeshua said, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Now, last time I looked, heaven and earth was still here. I suppose not one punctuation mark has passed away from the Law from God's perspective. So why does the church say it has? Could it be that the church has taught us wrong? That the traditions in church doctrine do not line up with the Word, the express will of Elohim? Proverbs 28:9 says, "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer [shall be] abomination." I know of some praying churches that are lawless. What does this say about all our desires and efforts, our prayers, if we will not endure sound teaching or even be willing to hear it? 2 Timothy 4:3 says, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."
I learned that there was a serious schism between what the church teaches and what the scripture actually says. Most of this schism stems from anti-semitism, replacement theology (and the related dispensational theology taught in every evangelical seminary in the western world). Not to mention the rudiments of Greek philosophy (such as Gnosticism) and the reasonings of man, which have intertwined themselves with the pure gospel, like a gnarly weed growing up to kill the good fruit of a vociferous tree. The roots of this in the church go back to Constantine the Roman emperor who detested the Jews and replaced all of YHVH's holy feast days (Leviticus 23) with the pagan practices of Easter (and subsequently Christmas as well), even though the scriptures are clear that God HATES idolatry. And also the tenets of Gnosticism which teach MENTAL ASCENT (or the importance of our BELIEF or CREED), rather than works or deeds. Some of the lies institutionalized by Constantine have been done away with in some segments of the body of Messiah. However, I have not found that the practice of idolatry or dispensational theology has been rooted out or corrected in any institutionalized church, even those churches who love the nation and people of Israel!
So if the church teaches by way of their tradition of sanctioning Easter and Christmas (see Jeremiah 10), as religious holidays, they do what Yeshua chastized the pharisees for. The pharisees were following and teaching a tradition in violation of the Word of God called the "Oral Torah". Jesus said to them, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?" (Matthew 15:3). The institutionalized church actually teaches me to break the commandment of God, and yes, to break even their 2-command replacement which they say is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. For if the institutionalized church, by way of their doctrines and practices were to teach me to love God with everything that is within me, they would encourage me toward OBEDIENCE to the will of God, and NOT ENCOURAGE me toward the practice of idolatry with their annual Christmas parties and Easter egg hunts and Easter Sunday sunrise services. You can do just a minimal amount of searching on the internet to find out that the roots of these practices are indeed pagan. In some humorous attempts, even the pagans are telling Christians they want their holidays back!
To view an excellent article on the American Christian's favorite pagan holiday, check out this link: http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sbs777/vital/xmas.html
Or read "Too Long in the Sun" By Richard Reeves.
And read Jeremiah chapter 10 on the explicit instructions of how to cut down and decorate a Christmas tree! (And what the Almighty thinks of it).
There is another doctrine in the institutionalized church called "we are under grace, not under law", which is how the institutionalized Christian rationalizes all these things. They get this doctrine, in part, by taking a quote from Romans 8:2. Yes, it is true that in Messiah, you are free from a law, but what law are you freed from? NOT the LAW of Moses or the Torah, whether it be God's moral, ceremonial, or civil law. According to Jesus, those have not been doen away with! What Paul is talking about here is being freed (in Messiah by His atoning blood) from the law of sin and death....When you sin, you break God's law and are handed over to the enemy and subject to another "law" called the law of sin and death. It is THAT law (the penalty of sin) which Yeshua has freed us from. Paul is using a play on words here. Paul never spoke against following the Laws of God or any other such nonsense. Look at his actions! He observed Sabbath, he observed all of the commanded feasts of the Lord, (and not just because he was born Jewish), he circumcised Timothy, preached in the synagogues, and even silenced his accusers with His love of Torah. And yet, the modern institution known as the church teaches that Paul taught we are not to follow the Law. Truly Peter was right when he said of Paul in 2 Peter 3:16, "His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."
The church also taught me not to keep the fourth commandment which is to honor the Sabbath (which is Saturday- the seventh day), in favor of a man-made tradition instituted by Constantine which honors SUNDAY above all other days, which in actuality is in honor of the sun god. Now, we can worship God on any day. And we can gather together on any day. You and I can gather on any given day, but that does not make it the Sabbath. There is only ONE day which He made holy (set apart) for rest. That is the seventh day. He never changed it. In fact, in scripture, it is a DAY (the Sabbath-Saturday), not a man, not a position, not a nation, not an article of clothing, which was the first thing that was mentioned which was called holy. Try throwing that one out at a church potluck!
Surely, those who changed the set-apart feast days of YHVH (Leviticus 23), replacing them with pagan festivals such as Easter and child-mass, which later became known as Christmas, as led by the charge of Constantine, had no authority from the Creator whatsoever to do this. Since almost every denomination of the western institutionalized church has not reversed such a wicked decree, they are equally as guilty for taking part.
Moreover, the fact that the institutionalized church is run as a corporate money-making, revenue-turning business that must “grow” in quantity in order to succeed (nevermind the mandate Yeshua gave to make disciples, not converts or patrons and that Shaul, the apostle Paul charged Timothy to teach a faithful man to be effective for the kingdom, not to create pew warmers), that is enough to turn off the true seeker of the truth, not to mention make the assembly so lukewarm as to make the Master want to spew that assembly out of His mouth! Perhaps this is why warnings against judges taking bribes (monetary gain in exchange for their services) were given in the desert to the children of Israel. The Pharisees of Yeshua’s day (a paid position in society) certainly were guilty of this practice which has the tendency to deceive men. It seems this leaven of mammon has tried to gain its way into the holy community from the beginning and it is large and in charge of the corporate-run church today.
Suffice it to say, the church I attended and was involved in leadership with was not in agreement with what were for me, these new-found truths. (Although they are not new at all, but have been the intent of the Creator from the beginning). Although I spoke the truth from scripture every chance I got, I never got a direct rebuke, however, I heard the word "legalism" from the pulpit more times than I care to count, as well as general references to a "religious spirit" (isn't someone who has a religious spirit in favor of man-made religion, rather than the Word of God, which is the perfect teaching of liberty? That is the quintessential pot calling the kettle black) Nevertheless, when I gently and lovingly confronted leadership about these incongruencies, I was met with blank stares or disagreement. Just as I knew I would be, I had been marginalized. Although a visiting evangelist friend of this church prophesied over me that I was to "speak the vision" to (them), which I did share the message which YHVH had made clear I was to give. It has (thus far) fallen on deaf ears. I am very hopeful that with the Lord everything is possible and that many of them will come to have their spiritual eyes opened, as He has done for me, and that they will be like the servant in the parable who started off saying no, but ultimately said yes. He who has an ear let him hear. May he who has a love of the truth not be deceived by the grand delusion which the Almighty will be sending in the last days to those who loved not the truth.
I love my friends at my old church. I am saddened, in a way that I had to part ways with them. And it was due to nothing personal, but rather a vast doctrinal differences which I have enumerated here. I could no longer go against my conscience by participating in the things they are in agreement with. It is like I said to them in my resignation from leadership: if I had been in the Lutheran, Pentacostal, Methodist, community, covenant, AG church....you name it, I would be leaving any of those churches as well.
The fact of the matter is I am not in agreement with the tenets of the institutionalized church. Period. And I haven't been for quite some time. I have felt this difference and this separateness for more than a couple seasons and can no longer condone. To do so would only cause confusion and disorder. It is not fair to others nor myself. And I certainly cannot continue to serve the YHVH in such a manner.
THE URGENCY OF TIME
Now more than ever it is of the utmost importance that we serve YHVH and Him alone (His Son Yeshua, who is YHVH in the flesh/ WHO wrote the 10 commandments with His finger? None other than the Holy One of Israel, Yeshua Ha Mashiach, Jesus the Messiah).
We stand on the precipice of a period of time known as Daniel's prophetic week, or the 7 year period prior to Messiah Yeshua's return. It is imperative NOW more than ever to obey Him and for Him to find us watching and waiting, serving Him faithfully, when He comes! It is of the utmost importance that we serve Him and Him alone, doing ALL He has said to do and occupying until He comes. If that means we separate ourselves from doctrinal error, man's traditions, even friends and/or family in order to do that, then so be it. I think there are many in the church who think this separating out which is going on, between those who want to follow Yeshua and His Torah with everything that is within them, and those who just want us all to get along in unity, is of the enemy. Well, I ask you to remember the words of Yeshua Himself who said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34). Many times in scripture, the Word (Torah, instructions) is referred to as a sword. Also, Yeshua said if we do not hate our (various family members) in comparison to HIM, we are not worthy of Him. Moreover, He said if our right eye causes us to sin, we are to gauge it out! That's pretty harsh. The message remains, however, that if something causes us to transgress His Law, go against His instructions/commandments, we are to get rid of it.
In my impassioned and idealistic, albeit naive way, I tried to change the system. Or in my case, my local church congregation. However, there is a greater spiritual reality at work when a church is not only run by leaders who have been trained in seminary with all of the man-made traditions and doctrines I have mentioned above, but also when the body is incorporated with the government and/or has 501 c3 status. They are hooked into the system, part of which is Babylon, with this financial and logistical umbilical cord. The church or ministry in question must pull the plug or else it continues to open itself up to attack from the head. From the head of WHAT? From the head of government which belongs to Cesar. (Render unto Cesar what is Cesar, unto Elohim what is Elohim’s) When the church submits to Cesar, rather than to Elohim (God), it is not easy to transform it into the image of the incorruptible Elohim. In order to receive the new wine, a new wineskin must be created. I cannot change the old wineskin nor can new wine be poured in, lest it break. It is like trying to change the stripes on a tiger. It does not work. That is why Jesus said we had to COME OUT OF HER [Babylon] (Rev. 18:4). He did not say rehabilitate her.
Remember, Jesus Himself said "he who endures til the end, the same shall be saved". There is also described a great "Falling Away" from truth in the last days. And as we are living in the end times, it is important to note the description of those in the book of Revelation (14:12 and also 12:17) who obey God's commanments and remain faithful to Jesus (or who hold the testimony of Yeshua). Now, I used to view this scripture from my Greek philosophy/dispensationanalist glasses and think this was talking about 2 separate groups: the Jews being one group and those gentiles who come to believe in Jesus during the tribulation period as a separate group. I have since changed my thinking on this: this is not 2 separate groups, but ONE GROUP. Both of these defining characteristics apply to them.
Moreover, over and over in the letters to the churches in Revelation, Yeshua Himself addresses the theme of each church's "works". A case could be made that even in the last days, Yeshua is looking at our works (not just what we believe, say, feel, or sing) and, in fact, our obedience. Such works or obedience, as Revelation makes clear, determines our rewards. While He was on the earth, Yeshua said it like this in Matthew 5:19, "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." He is talking here of REWARDS, not SALVATION, for those who are in the kingdom of God already have salvation. I have made this point over and over again. Walking in Torah has nothing to do with earning salvation through our works. We have salvation through the blood of the Lamb of God (Yeshua/Jesus) ONLY. But even the Lamb of God said to "follow Him". We are to walk as He walked. We are to do as He did. We are to obey all of God's commandments. Salvation is the beginning point. He set us free from sin so that we could serve Him as outlined in His instructions.
BUT, BUT, BUT.....
I have heard so many objections to observing all of the Lord's commandments today in Messiah. I have even heard people say, well, it says to stone your children outside the camp if they disobey...are you saying we should do THAT TOO?! My answer to that is some will be fulfilled in the millenial kingdom. If God said it, just because we are not doing it today, or because we don't fully understand it yet, does not mean it is not His intent. Yeah, I am sure there are things that will be re-instituted in Yeshua's Millenial kingdom such as the strict and fair punishments which He decreed in His Word. It says He will rule the nations with a rod of iron. I am sure He has provisions for all of His Word to be fulfilled, even if we do not understand it right now. (the above punishment was not the first resort, by the way. It is my understanding that it was enacted when willfull and unrepentant rebellion took root). However, when our modern conceptions of what we think ought to be conflict with the Words of Yeshua Himself, we should be willing to re-examine our understanding of things, not blindly accept others' opinions or interpretations, or likewise, not find the most extreme example in order to discredit the whole.
NOW WHAT?
Since I have decided to leave the institutionalized church, I have not decided to take myself out of fellowship with the Body of Messiah. That would be contrary to His instructions to "assemble yourselves together and all the more as you see That Day approaching". In fact, there is a vast growing movement of people who have come to similar conclusions as I have and who gather themselves together on a regular basis. Such are part of a movement of the Holy Spirit of which He is restoring His Torah in this hour, in our generation. Many of these people are part of the greater messianic movement, attend messianic congregations, but many of them opt to meet in homes instead, in a loosely-organized group, just as the believers did in the first century. The people I have been connecting with and fellowshipping with have a great love for the Torah and study it, holding everything in the scriptures up to its foundation and even endeavor to interpret the prophecies, which are being fulfilled in our times, according to this Torah perspective. After all, it is through the Torah that YHVH provided for and promised redemption, restoration, and His future kingdom. All teachings, and interpretations of prophecy must undergo the rigorous exam of lining up with the truths of the Torah. Yeshua was the Torah made flesh (John 1:14). He followed every commandment. He fulfilled the spring feasts of the Lord in His first coming. He is about to fulfill the fall feasts in His soon return.
To know the times and seasons, as we are commanded to do to watch for His return, we must not only know the feasts (Hebrew moedim-appontments) of Elohim, but we are to be walking in them, making them part of our lives and indeed our service to Him. We will not know the times and seasons as He commanded us to do, if we do not follow the Creator's calendar. His calendar, as marked by His spring and fall festivals, which are according to the lunar cycle, is the time markers by which He does anything. He does not do things according to the Gregorian solar calendar, of which the anti-christ system goes by. If we want to know His will for the times and seasons, we must become familiar with his calendar which are outlined in the scriptures. Additionally, he has promised to not do anything unlesss He first tells His servants, the prophets. The prophets of YHVH, by His own definition, will NOT be those who participate in the worship of other gods. Which is why I do not listen to those professed "prophets" in the Body of Messiah who participate in the church's celebrations of Christmas and Easter. By the Torah's definition, these are false teachers and I am not to follow or heed what they say. The prophets of YHVH will be those who foretell accurately AND refuse to bow down to idols. They will teach the Word of Yah in its entirety, not according to a dispensational view. They will not set out to do ear-tickling. They will probably offend the sensibilities of every single one of us. They will hold fast to the Word of Elohim, for let God be true and every man a liar.
How important is it that we do not follow wrong teaching and/or voices or opinions, or even our own feelings and spiritual experiences-which can deceive us- in these last days? EXTREMELY! Yeshua told us in Matthew 24 to not let any man deceive us. He said this during His discussion of the last days with His disciples. We have been sorely deceived! We have been utterly DUPED!- into thinking lawlessness is ok with God, that He forgives, no matter what (don't forget what He will say on That Day to the workers of iniquity- those who transgress the Law- He will say 'Depart from me...I never knew you').
In order to follow the Messiah with my whole heart, mind, and soul in this very important hour, I can come to no other conclusion than to join hundreds of other believers who have seen the truth of His Word to begin to "Come out of her [Babylon] my people, lest ye partake of her sins and receive of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4). I have found it to be an important step in order to shake off the sins which so easily beset (us) and to make myself ready for the very difficult days ahead preceeding His coming.
**
#1 Because I can no longer serve YHVH (the way He wants me to as prescribed in the entire Bible) in the institutionalized church
and
#2 Because in my heart, I left a long time ago.
ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS
Once I set my heart to really understand God's Word from a Hebraic perspective about a year and a half ago, I woke up to the truth of His Word, the whole thing, and I crossed over from pagan idolatry to the worship of the One True God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, through the shed blood of His Son Yeshua of Nazareth, or otherwise known by His Greek nickname, Jesus Christ. (Christ simply means Messiah, or anointed one). I have described this experience to friends as having been given a pair of 3-D or decoder glasses for a magazine I had been trying to read without them and could not understand its content. Now, as the metaphor would have it, the colors come LEAPING off the page and I see the scriptures so clearly now, the way they were meant to be seen. I even understand the Renewed Covenant (New Testament) so much more clearly whereas I could not before. Before it was murky and esoteric. Now it is wonderfully clear.
It is as if someone turned on the lights in a previously darkened room. I understand my Savior so much better now! I understand Him as Creator, Father, Husband, all those analogies we were told to see Him through but just could only see fragmented glimpses here and there.
I no longer see the Bible as this fragmented and cut up picture of God: old and grumpy in the Old Testament and all loving and dripping with syrupy sloppy agape in the New. I now see the entire counsel of the Word and the will of YHVH, He who lives forever and is to be praised. HalleluYah!
But before long, a problem arose. As I was entering deeply into His will for my life, walking in His feasts and Sabbaths and enjoying an intimacy with Him which I never knew possible (a feeling of He now knows me as friend, not just servant), I started to see the disconnect between my new-found life walking in His Torah and the beliefs, traditions, and practices of the church. Not just my church in paritcular, but the entire system known as the western institutionalized church. I had been taught Torahlessness (lawlessness) in that church system. I had been taught that His Torah (Hebrew for teachings, oftentimes translated into the Greek as Law) was not for believers in Jesus today. I had been taught in the institutionalized church that those (the laws of Moses) were for the Jews back then and that THE LAW had been "nailed to the cross". However, in my discovery of the truth of God's Word, I learned that the law is good and the commandment holy (Romans 7:12). I learned that, in fact, it was our transgressions, our inability to follow the teachings of YHVH and keep His commandments and the injunction against us for not doing so that was actually nailed to the cross. For it was our sin which was nailed to the execution stake of Yeshua, and the biblical definition of sin is transgression of the Torah. 1 John 3:4 states what the definition of sin is: Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (emphasis mine).
I learned that the whole Word of Elohim (God) was forever. No part was ever meant to be done away with, contrary to doctrine in the Christian institutionalized church. Yeshua said this out of His own mouth. He said in Matthew 15:7, "Do not think that I came to abolish the law and the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." And in Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33, Yeshua said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will never pass away". What word was He talking about?? The entire thing!! For "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness..." (2 Timothy 3:16).
And yet, I learned in the institutionalized church (again I emphasize this is man's tradition, which is in contradiction to the scriptures) that Jesus did away with The Law in favor of a 2-command replacement called, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself" (a looser, more nebulous and subjective interpretation of the Lord's words).
In Matthew 5:18 Yeshua said, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Now, last time I looked, heaven and earth was still here. I suppose not one punctuation mark has passed away from the Law from God's perspective. So why does the church say it has? Could it be that the church has taught us wrong? That the traditions in church doctrine do not line up with the Word, the express will of Elohim? Proverbs 28:9 says, "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer [shall be] abomination." I know of some praying churches that are lawless. What does this say about all our desires and efforts, our prayers, if we will not endure sound teaching or even be willing to hear it? 2 Timothy 4:3 says, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."
I learned that there was a serious schism between what the church teaches and what the scripture actually says. Most of this schism stems from anti-semitism, replacement theology (and the related dispensational theology taught in every evangelical seminary in the western world). Not to mention the rudiments of Greek philosophy (such as Gnosticism) and the reasonings of man, which have intertwined themselves with the pure gospel, like a gnarly weed growing up to kill the good fruit of a vociferous tree. The roots of this in the church go back to Constantine the Roman emperor who detested the Jews and replaced all of YHVH's holy feast days (Leviticus 23) with the pagan practices of Easter (and subsequently Christmas as well), even though the scriptures are clear that God HATES idolatry. And also the tenets of Gnosticism which teach MENTAL ASCENT (or the importance of our BELIEF or CREED), rather than works or deeds. Some of the lies institutionalized by Constantine have been done away with in some segments of the body of Messiah. However, I have not found that the practice of idolatry or dispensational theology has been rooted out or corrected in any institutionalized church, even those churches who love the nation and people of Israel!
So if the church teaches by way of their tradition of sanctioning Easter and Christmas (see Jeremiah 10), as religious holidays, they do what Yeshua chastized the pharisees for. The pharisees were following and teaching a tradition in violation of the Word of God called the "Oral Torah". Jesus said to them, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?" (Matthew 15:3). The institutionalized church actually teaches me to break the commandment of God, and yes, to break even their 2-command replacement which they say is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. For if the institutionalized church, by way of their doctrines and practices were to teach me to love God with everything that is within me, they would encourage me toward OBEDIENCE to the will of God, and NOT ENCOURAGE me toward the practice of idolatry with their annual Christmas parties and Easter egg hunts and Easter Sunday sunrise services. You can do just a minimal amount of searching on the internet to find out that the roots of these practices are indeed pagan. In some humorous attempts, even the pagans are telling Christians they want their holidays back!
To view an excellent article on the American Christian's favorite pagan holiday, check out this link: http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sbs777/vital/xmas.html
Or read "Too Long in the Sun" By Richard Reeves.
And read Jeremiah chapter 10 on the explicit instructions of how to cut down and decorate a Christmas tree! (And what the Almighty thinks of it).
There is another doctrine in the institutionalized church called "we are under grace, not under law", which is how the institutionalized Christian rationalizes all these things. They get this doctrine, in part, by taking a quote from Romans 8:2. Yes, it is true that in Messiah, you are free from a law, but what law are you freed from? NOT the LAW of Moses or the Torah, whether it be God's moral, ceremonial, or civil law. According to Jesus, those have not been doen away with! What Paul is talking about here is being freed (in Messiah by His atoning blood) from the law of sin and death....When you sin, you break God's law and are handed over to the enemy and subject to another "law" called the law of sin and death. It is THAT law (the penalty of sin) which Yeshua has freed us from. Paul is using a play on words here. Paul never spoke against following the Laws of God or any other such nonsense. Look at his actions! He observed Sabbath, he observed all of the commanded feasts of the Lord, (and not just because he was born Jewish), he circumcised Timothy, preached in the synagogues, and even silenced his accusers with His love of Torah. And yet, the modern institution known as the church teaches that Paul taught we are not to follow the Law. Truly Peter was right when he said of Paul in 2 Peter 3:16, "His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."
The church also taught me not to keep the fourth commandment which is to honor the Sabbath (which is Saturday- the seventh day), in favor of a man-made tradition instituted by Constantine which honors SUNDAY above all other days, which in actuality is in honor of the sun god. Now, we can worship God on any day. And we can gather together on any day. You and I can gather on any given day, but that does not make it the Sabbath. There is only ONE day which He made holy (set apart) for rest. That is the seventh day. He never changed it. In fact, in scripture, it is a DAY (the Sabbath-Saturday), not a man, not a position, not a nation, not an article of clothing, which was the first thing that was mentioned which was called holy. Try throwing that one out at a church potluck!
Surely, those who changed the set-apart feast days of YHVH (Leviticus 23), replacing them with pagan festivals such as Easter and child-mass, which later became known as Christmas, as led by the charge of Constantine, had no authority from the Creator whatsoever to do this. Since almost every denomination of the western institutionalized church has not reversed such a wicked decree, they are equally as guilty for taking part.
Moreover, the fact that the institutionalized church is run as a corporate money-making, revenue-turning business that must “grow” in quantity in order to succeed (nevermind the mandate Yeshua gave to make disciples, not converts or patrons and that Shaul, the apostle Paul charged Timothy to teach a faithful man to be effective for the kingdom, not to create pew warmers), that is enough to turn off the true seeker of the truth, not to mention make the assembly so lukewarm as to make the Master want to spew that assembly out of His mouth! Perhaps this is why warnings against judges taking bribes (monetary gain in exchange for their services) were given in the desert to the children of Israel. The Pharisees of Yeshua’s day (a paid position in society) certainly were guilty of this practice which has the tendency to deceive men. It seems this leaven of mammon has tried to gain its way into the holy community from the beginning and it is large and in charge of the corporate-run church today.
Suffice it to say, the church I attended and was involved in leadership with was not in agreement with what were for me, these new-found truths. (Although they are not new at all, but have been the intent of the Creator from the beginning). Although I spoke the truth from scripture every chance I got, I never got a direct rebuke, however, I heard the word "legalism" from the pulpit more times than I care to count, as well as general references to a "religious spirit" (isn't someone who has a religious spirit in favor of man-made religion, rather than the Word of God, which is the perfect teaching of liberty? That is the quintessential pot calling the kettle black) Nevertheless, when I gently and lovingly confronted leadership about these incongruencies, I was met with blank stares or disagreement. Just as I knew I would be, I had been marginalized. Although a visiting evangelist friend of this church prophesied over me that I was to "speak the vision" to (them), which I did share the message which YHVH had made clear I was to give. It has (thus far) fallen on deaf ears. I am very hopeful that with the Lord everything is possible and that many of them will come to have their spiritual eyes opened, as He has done for me, and that they will be like the servant in the parable who started off saying no, but ultimately said yes. He who has an ear let him hear. May he who has a love of the truth not be deceived by the grand delusion which the Almighty will be sending in the last days to those who loved not the truth.
I love my friends at my old church. I am saddened, in a way that I had to part ways with them. And it was due to nothing personal, but rather a vast doctrinal differences which I have enumerated here. I could no longer go against my conscience by participating in the things they are in agreement with. It is like I said to them in my resignation from leadership: if I had been in the Lutheran, Pentacostal, Methodist, community, covenant, AG church....you name it, I would be leaving any of those churches as well.
The fact of the matter is I am not in agreement with the tenets of the institutionalized church. Period. And I haven't been for quite some time. I have felt this difference and this separateness for more than a couple seasons and can no longer condone. To do so would only cause confusion and disorder. It is not fair to others nor myself. And I certainly cannot continue to serve the YHVH in such a manner.
THE URGENCY OF TIME
Now more than ever it is of the utmost importance that we serve YHVH and Him alone (His Son Yeshua, who is YHVH in the flesh/ WHO wrote the 10 commandments with His finger? None other than the Holy One of Israel, Yeshua Ha Mashiach, Jesus the Messiah).
We stand on the precipice of a period of time known as Daniel's prophetic week, or the 7 year period prior to Messiah Yeshua's return. It is imperative NOW more than ever to obey Him and for Him to find us watching and waiting, serving Him faithfully, when He comes! It is of the utmost importance that we serve Him and Him alone, doing ALL He has said to do and occupying until He comes. If that means we separate ourselves from doctrinal error, man's traditions, even friends and/or family in order to do that, then so be it. I think there are many in the church who think this separating out which is going on, between those who want to follow Yeshua and His Torah with everything that is within them, and those who just want us all to get along in unity, is of the enemy. Well, I ask you to remember the words of Yeshua Himself who said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34). Many times in scripture, the Word (Torah, instructions) is referred to as a sword. Also, Yeshua said if we do not hate our (various family members) in comparison to HIM, we are not worthy of Him. Moreover, He said if our right eye causes us to sin, we are to gauge it out! That's pretty harsh. The message remains, however, that if something causes us to transgress His Law, go against His instructions/commandments, we are to get rid of it.
In my impassioned and idealistic, albeit naive way, I tried to change the system. Or in my case, my local church congregation. However, there is a greater spiritual reality at work when a church is not only run by leaders who have been trained in seminary with all of the man-made traditions and doctrines I have mentioned above, but also when the body is incorporated with the government and/or has 501 c3 status. They are hooked into the system, part of which is Babylon, with this financial and logistical umbilical cord. The church or ministry in question must pull the plug or else it continues to open itself up to attack from the head. From the head of WHAT? From the head of government which belongs to Cesar. (Render unto Cesar what is Cesar, unto Elohim what is Elohim’s) When the church submits to Cesar, rather than to Elohim (God), it is not easy to transform it into the image of the incorruptible Elohim. In order to receive the new wine, a new wineskin must be created. I cannot change the old wineskin nor can new wine be poured in, lest it break. It is like trying to change the stripes on a tiger. It does not work. That is why Jesus said we had to COME OUT OF HER [Babylon] (Rev. 18:4). He did not say rehabilitate her.
Remember, Jesus Himself said "he who endures til the end, the same shall be saved". There is also described a great "Falling Away" from truth in the last days. And as we are living in the end times, it is important to note the description of those in the book of Revelation (14:12 and also 12:17) who obey God's commanments and remain faithful to Jesus (or who hold the testimony of Yeshua). Now, I used to view this scripture from my Greek philosophy/dispensationanalist glasses and think this was talking about 2 separate groups: the Jews being one group and those gentiles who come to believe in Jesus during the tribulation period as a separate group. I have since changed my thinking on this: this is not 2 separate groups, but ONE GROUP. Both of these defining characteristics apply to them.
Moreover, over and over in the letters to the churches in Revelation, Yeshua Himself addresses the theme of each church's "works". A case could be made that even in the last days, Yeshua is looking at our works (not just what we believe, say, feel, or sing) and, in fact, our obedience. Such works or obedience, as Revelation makes clear, determines our rewards. While He was on the earth, Yeshua said it like this in Matthew 5:19, "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." He is talking here of REWARDS, not SALVATION, for those who are in the kingdom of God already have salvation. I have made this point over and over again. Walking in Torah has nothing to do with earning salvation through our works. We have salvation through the blood of the Lamb of God (Yeshua/Jesus) ONLY. But even the Lamb of God said to "follow Him". We are to walk as He walked. We are to do as He did. We are to obey all of God's commandments. Salvation is the beginning point. He set us free from sin so that we could serve Him as outlined in His instructions.
BUT, BUT, BUT.....
I have heard so many objections to observing all of the Lord's commandments today in Messiah. I have even heard people say, well, it says to stone your children outside the camp if they disobey...are you saying we should do THAT TOO?! My answer to that is some will be fulfilled in the millenial kingdom. If God said it, just because we are not doing it today, or because we don't fully understand it yet, does not mean it is not His intent. Yeah, I am sure there are things that will be re-instituted in Yeshua's Millenial kingdom such as the strict and fair punishments which He decreed in His Word. It says He will rule the nations with a rod of iron. I am sure He has provisions for all of His Word to be fulfilled, even if we do not understand it right now. (the above punishment was not the first resort, by the way. It is my understanding that it was enacted when willfull and unrepentant rebellion took root). However, when our modern conceptions of what we think ought to be conflict with the Words of Yeshua Himself, we should be willing to re-examine our understanding of things, not blindly accept others' opinions or interpretations, or likewise, not find the most extreme example in order to discredit the whole.
NOW WHAT?
Since I have decided to leave the institutionalized church, I have not decided to take myself out of fellowship with the Body of Messiah. That would be contrary to His instructions to "assemble yourselves together and all the more as you see That Day approaching". In fact, there is a vast growing movement of people who have come to similar conclusions as I have and who gather themselves together on a regular basis. Such are part of a movement of the Holy Spirit of which He is restoring His Torah in this hour, in our generation. Many of these people are part of the greater messianic movement, attend messianic congregations, but many of them opt to meet in homes instead, in a loosely-organized group, just as the believers did in the first century. The people I have been connecting with and fellowshipping with have a great love for the Torah and study it, holding everything in the scriptures up to its foundation and even endeavor to interpret the prophecies, which are being fulfilled in our times, according to this Torah perspective. After all, it is through the Torah that YHVH provided for and promised redemption, restoration, and His future kingdom. All teachings, and interpretations of prophecy must undergo the rigorous exam of lining up with the truths of the Torah. Yeshua was the Torah made flesh (John 1:14). He followed every commandment. He fulfilled the spring feasts of the Lord in His first coming. He is about to fulfill the fall feasts in His soon return.
To know the times and seasons, as we are commanded to do to watch for His return, we must not only know the feasts (Hebrew moedim-appontments) of Elohim, but we are to be walking in them, making them part of our lives and indeed our service to Him. We will not know the times and seasons as He commanded us to do, if we do not follow the Creator's calendar. His calendar, as marked by His spring and fall festivals, which are according to the lunar cycle, is the time markers by which He does anything. He does not do things according to the Gregorian solar calendar, of which the anti-christ system goes by. If we want to know His will for the times and seasons, we must become familiar with his calendar which are outlined in the scriptures. Additionally, he has promised to not do anything unlesss He first tells His servants, the prophets. The prophets of YHVH, by His own definition, will NOT be those who participate in the worship of other gods. Which is why I do not listen to those professed "prophets" in the Body of Messiah who participate in the church's celebrations of Christmas and Easter. By the Torah's definition, these are false teachers and I am not to follow or heed what they say. The prophets of YHVH will be those who foretell accurately AND refuse to bow down to idols. They will teach the Word of Yah in its entirety, not according to a dispensational view. They will not set out to do ear-tickling. They will probably offend the sensibilities of every single one of us. They will hold fast to the Word of Elohim, for let God be true and every man a liar.
How important is it that we do not follow wrong teaching and/or voices or opinions, or even our own feelings and spiritual experiences-which can deceive us- in these last days? EXTREMELY! Yeshua told us in Matthew 24 to not let any man deceive us. He said this during His discussion of the last days with His disciples. We have been sorely deceived! We have been utterly DUPED!- into thinking lawlessness is ok with God, that He forgives, no matter what (don't forget what He will say on That Day to the workers of iniquity- those who transgress the Law- He will say 'Depart from me...I never knew you').
In order to follow the Messiah with my whole heart, mind, and soul in this very important hour, I can come to no other conclusion than to join hundreds of other believers who have seen the truth of His Word to begin to "Come out of her [Babylon] my people, lest ye partake of her sins and receive of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4). I have found it to be an important step in order to shake off the sins which so easily beset (us) and to make myself ready for the very difficult days ahead preceeding His coming.
**
Monday, June 7, 2010
America-Wake Up and Repent Before It's Too Late- That Means You!
One of the premiere preachers of the good news of our generation, Paul Washer, was speaking to a church when he basically said he feared that within a hundred years MANY if not MOST of the attendees he was speaking to would be burning in hell. This was a church which claimed to believe the Bible (they had their mission statement written in their by-laws stating the whole Bible is the inerrant Word of God). Most of them had prayed a prayer to "receive Christ", made a profession of faith, and even participated in evangelistic outreach. These are the people who THUNDERED applause when Mr. Washer said the goal was not to be like Brittany Spears, but to be like Jesus Christ. Yet he was convinced many of them would perish.
Yeshua (Jesus)said it like this:
Mat 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
Mat 7:14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
MANY are on the road which leads to destruction! Why? How come we don't think it is US? Brother Washer was making the point that most Christians compare themselves to other so-called "Christians" (even though they my not be following Christ) and think they are ok. They think they are on the "narrow path" because they ask Jesus into their heart or believe in Him, yet do not repent and follow His ways. So when they compare themselves to people who seem more wicked than they are (Brittany Spears), they think they are safe from the judgement of God, never taking a look at His righteous requirements for living (those whose foundation is in the Old Testament Law, because 'Brother, the Law was done away with!') On the contrary! Jesus loved the law and expects us to compare our lives and behavior with IT, rather than the norms of society. Rather than the norms of even your church.
David said in Psalm 119 that he LOVES God's law and meditates on it day and night. And God said David was a man after His own heart! God would not come to earth clothed in earthly flesh (as Yeshua has done) only to abhor, alter, or in anywise do away with the law. For He himself said "Think not that I came to abolish the Law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17). In Hebraic terms, Jesus was essentially saying, don't think I have come to do away with the Law, no, I have come to correctly interpret it.
Let's see, if the American institutionalized churches don't teach the basics of God's moral Law, but rather teaches men to BREAK God's Law, then how will they stand in the judgement? The churches teach people that Jesus did away with the whole Law of Moses in favor of a law called "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself", nevermind that the whole Law of Moses teaches us HOW to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In their teaching and especially their example, they teach us how to break the first and foremost instruction on how to love God (abstaining from idolatry), by teaching and sanctioning idolatry through it's detestable practices of worshipping fertility gods and goddesses every year on Easter and Christmas. So then, how can they teach the finer points of the Law toward true spiritual maturity? If the churches in the West teach men to ignore the fourth commanment to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy (set apart), the Sabbath Day being the SEVENTH DAY, SATURDAY, NOT SUNDAY, (which to honor Sunday above Saturday is a nod of agreement to the detestable practice of sun god worship), how will those churches expect to enter the Savior's Sabbath reign on earth....the millenial kingdom?
Judgement is Near, Even at the Door
As it is, America stands on the brink of God's righteous judgement. He gave us a warning judgement on 9-11, but we did not listen. We did not repent. We went back to worshipping our gods, chasing after riches rather than truth, and did not seek the ways of God. We threw His mercy right back in His face. In addition to this, we have poked Him in the eye by touching Israel, his chosen people by siding with her enemies and we have conspired to dividing up His land, making it vulnerable to Israel's enemies, which is forbidden and punishable: Joel 3:2. Therefore, He will give US over to OUR enemies.
The Lord did something similar to His people, Israel, when they were first warned, but then refused to turn from their wicked ways, the sin of idolatry in particular. God unleashed some of the most brutal men on the face of the earth at the time, the Assyrians, to come and carry off His chosen ones into captivity. That group of people, the 10 Northern tribes, to this day have still not completely recovered from that judgement.
How, then, will America fair??
You can argue and fight politically all you want, but the fact of the matter is, a house divided against itself cannot stand and no political system, save one that is built upon (or in our case rededicated) deep repentance, an unwavering return to the principles of serving God and honoring Him only, can turn us back in the right direction. However well-meaning or truthfully sought, your politics will NOT save you.
No friend, we stand on the precipice of a string of judgements unleashed on the American people that will make the debt overhaul of the last year and a half seem like the "Golden Age of America" in the early 1900's and 1920's before the Great Depression. Now you can say I am "fear mongering" or even "hate mongering" all you want. It will make 9-11 look like a tea party (pardon the pun there). It is the watchman's responsibility to cry out the warning when he sees the sword coming, lest he end up with blood on his hands. What you do with the warning is up to you. Once I have called out the warning, you alone stand accountable before the God of Heaven for the information you now know. And by the recent censoring of my online activities, this just might be the last warning I am able to give you. I am not joking. I have been kicked off of more websites (hello Faceblock and YouScrub) than I care to count in the past couple months, just for viewing, reading, or writing material which those in power deem threatening. Freedom of speech will not save you. Say goodbye to the golden age of information and the internet. Those who do not listen to truth will no longer have access to it. Thus it will be for America.
In the coming months and years, we will be like Job in the Bible: we will be in the midst of hearing a piece of devastating news while another piece of news of devastation will be arriving. Subsequently and concurrently.
But many of you are going about your daily business, unaware this is even happening, just as Yeshua said you would. About a month and a half ago, the very DAY AFTER I read they had discovered Noah's Ark in Turkey, (however many disputes to the contrary you may have heard), I awoke after a disturbing dream, to a phrase resonating so deep in my spirit with such urgency. The phrase was, "As in the days of Noah....."
So I followed out the verse in my mind, referring to Luke 17:26-27 which says: "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man."
V. 27: "People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all." And when I got to the phrase "up to the day Noah entered the ark", I knew inately that a very important door had closed. And that judgement was on its way. I knew then and there we were about to enter a new season- the very season which precedes the coming of the Messiah (because that was the context of the scripture).
The ark represents protection from judgement. It was as if the Lord was saying to me, "the season for mercy- the holding back of my hand of righteous judegments is passed. Now the flood of destruction is coming".
And I knew that even at my warning, many will write me off and ignore the warning or find something wrong with the messenger; some people might listen, but would take the attitude "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die". Some would be in shock, while (some) others would move quickly to repent. And I myself have grappled with fear, discouragement and the feeling of hopelessness for our country. I have even grappled with the attitude, get all you can, for tomorrow we die. However, knowing these might be part and parcel of a grieving process I must go through, I seek everyday to live in repentance. I seek to obey the Lord's command to be holy (set-apart) as He is holy (set-apart). This command requires some serious and oftentimes painful decision making. It might mean the cutting off of friendships or connections. I have since permanently deleted my Facebook account for various reasons. I need to be a better steward of my time. I need to devote more time to not only preparations, but also to the work of the ministry, which includes study and fellowship with like-minded believers. And last, but certainly not least, I have been seeking to remove the leaven from my life, those things from Babylon and the world which taint and defile my life. Seemingly inoccuous things, but things which displease my Lord nonetheless. For you see, I do not care what YOU think of these things. YOU did not die a horrific painful death for me. You did not take my place in judgement for my sins. He did. And He is coming back soon. And by the estimation of many respectable and knowledgeable men and women within the body of Messiah, it could be as soon as 7 years from this fall. More about that later, perhaps at another writing.
Practical Preparations
In addition to repentance, which is by far the most important thing you can do to prepare for what is coming, not only to America but to the whole world, there are some practical preparations you can make for you and your family for the tough times ahead. My family has already begun making preparations which are not huge, but will be needed nonetheless. Thing we will have wished we did later on.
Buy a good water filter. I have heard that Berkey is the best. They can even convert pond water into drinkable water. Store up food. I recommend storing at least 6 months' worth of storable food (watch those expiration dates!) and some drinking water. And remember to plan to share with others in need. We are expected to do that. If you have the means, plant a garden as soon as possible. Make sure you have the *G* word on hand, including ammunition. You may need to defend your family from robbers, looters, and the like. Trust me, the info I have dictates that life as you know it will NOT be the same in a matter of a few days or months. And people do desperate and foolish, even destructive things when disaster hits. The fallen flesh of man is not going to care about your precious loved ones when they need food in their own bellies. I am in the process of learning to shoot mine. And I will not hesitate to protect my family. If the Jews in Persia (book of Esther) were able to use the weapons of their conspiring enemies against them and be successful, we can too!
Also, I recommend always having on hand an emergency backpack with items necessary for survival for up to 48-72 hours. This is a good idea, even if a crisis never comes. Keep it in your car or an accessible place. Make sure to stock it with water, first aid, a light source, a change of clothes, a rain poncho, and a radio for receiving emergency communications. Meet with your family and develop a crisis plan to meet somewhere in the case you get separated from one another. Figure you will not have access to cell phones, land lines, main roads or even vehicles. It's great if you have a bicycle in your possession.
And now a word to all my "pre-tribulation rapture" brethren......First of all, let's not split hairs, but rather love one another an dpray for one another in this hour, seeking to please the Lord by building one another up. Please go about making the necessary preparations for disaster. It just makes sense. Jesus said in this life we WOULD have tribulation. And it is evil presumption to think we will have tomorrow, much less come through judgement unscathed (Esther 4:13). Don't be discouraged if the future doesn't necessarily pan out the way you have been taught. And above all, I pray you not fall away from the Lord. He is not to blame. The Bible says in Romans that the wages (payment) for sin is death. Sin brings its own reward. And God has been merciful for many years. He must judge rightly, or He isn't God. Cling to Him with all your might and trust in Him (His Word) no matter what. There is no condemnation to those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (the Holy Spirit, who leads us and guides us into all truth).
I leave you with the words of Yeshua Himself, who knows the end from the beginning and has declared it, words of comfort, knowing that He is sovereign over all and holds all things in the palm of His hand:
Jhn 16:1 "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray".
Jhn 16:4 "I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you".
Jhn 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Shalom.
**
Yeshua (Jesus)said it like this:
Mat 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
Mat 7:14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
MANY are on the road which leads to destruction! Why? How come we don't think it is US? Brother Washer was making the point that most Christians compare themselves to other so-called "Christians" (even though they my not be following Christ) and think they are ok. They think they are on the "narrow path" because they ask Jesus into their heart or believe in Him, yet do not repent and follow His ways. So when they compare themselves to people who seem more wicked than they are (Brittany Spears), they think they are safe from the judgement of God, never taking a look at His righteous requirements for living (those whose foundation is in the Old Testament Law, because 'Brother, the Law was done away with!') On the contrary! Jesus loved the law and expects us to compare our lives and behavior with IT, rather than the norms of society. Rather than the norms of even your church.
David said in Psalm 119 that he LOVES God's law and meditates on it day and night. And God said David was a man after His own heart! God would not come to earth clothed in earthly flesh (as Yeshua has done) only to abhor, alter, or in anywise do away with the law. For He himself said "Think not that I came to abolish the Law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17). In Hebraic terms, Jesus was essentially saying, don't think I have come to do away with the Law, no, I have come to correctly interpret it.
Let's see, if the American institutionalized churches don't teach the basics of God's moral Law, but rather teaches men to BREAK God's Law, then how will they stand in the judgement? The churches teach people that Jesus did away with the whole Law of Moses in favor of a law called "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself", nevermind that the whole Law of Moses teaches us HOW to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In their teaching and especially their example, they teach us how to break the first and foremost instruction on how to love God (abstaining from idolatry), by teaching and sanctioning idolatry through it's detestable practices of worshipping fertility gods and goddesses every year on Easter and Christmas. So then, how can they teach the finer points of the Law toward true spiritual maturity? If the churches in the West teach men to ignore the fourth commanment to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy (set apart), the Sabbath Day being the SEVENTH DAY, SATURDAY, NOT SUNDAY, (which to honor Sunday above Saturday is a nod of agreement to the detestable practice of sun god worship), how will those churches expect to enter the Savior's Sabbath reign on earth....the millenial kingdom?
Judgement is Near, Even at the Door
As it is, America stands on the brink of God's righteous judgement. He gave us a warning judgement on 9-11, but we did not listen. We did not repent. We went back to worshipping our gods, chasing after riches rather than truth, and did not seek the ways of God. We threw His mercy right back in His face. In addition to this, we have poked Him in the eye by touching Israel, his chosen people by siding with her enemies and we have conspired to dividing up His land, making it vulnerable to Israel's enemies, which is forbidden and punishable: Joel 3:2. Therefore, He will give US over to OUR enemies.
The Lord did something similar to His people, Israel, when they were first warned, but then refused to turn from their wicked ways, the sin of idolatry in particular. God unleashed some of the most brutal men on the face of the earth at the time, the Assyrians, to come and carry off His chosen ones into captivity. That group of people, the 10 Northern tribes, to this day have still not completely recovered from that judgement.
How, then, will America fair??
You can argue and fight politically all you want, but the fact of the matter is, a house divided against itself cannot stand and no political system, save one that is built upon (or in our case rededicated) deep repentance, an unwavering return to the principles of serving God and honoring Him only, can turn us back in the right direction. However well-meaning or truthfully sought, your politics will NOT save you.
No friend, we stand on the precipice of a string of judgements unleashed on the American people that will make the debt overhaul of the last year and a half seem like the "Golden Age of America" in the early 1900's and 1920's before the Great Depression. Now you can say I am "fear mongering" or even "hate mongering" all you want. It will make 9-11 look like a tea party (pardon the pun there). It is the watchman's responsibility to cry out the warning when he sees the sword coming, lest he end up with blood on his hands. What you do with the warning is up to you. Once I have called out the warning, you alone stand accountable before the God of Heaven for the information you now know. And by the recent censoring of my online activities, this just might be the last warning I am able to give you. I am not joking. I have been kicked off of more websites (hello Faceblock and YouScrub) than I care to count in the past couple months, just for viewing, reading, or writing material which those in power deem threatening. Freedom of speech will not save you. Say goodbye to the golden age of information and the internet. Those who do not listen to truth will no longer have access to it. Thus it will be for America.
In the coming months and years, we will be like Job in the Bible: we will be in the midst of hearing a piece of devastating news while another piece of news of devastation will be arriving. Subsequently and concurrently.
But many of you are going about your daily business, unaware this is even happening, just as Yeshua said you would. About a month and a half ago, the very DAY AFTER I read they had discovered Noah's Ark in Turkey, (however many disputes to the contrary you may have heard), I awoke after a disturbing dream, to a phrase resonating so deep in my spirit with such urgency. The phrase was, "As in the days of Noah....."
So I followed out the verse in my mind, referring to Luke 17:26-27 which says: "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man."
V. 27: "People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all." And when I got to the phrase "up to the day Noah entered the ark", I knew inately that a very important door had closed. And that judgement was on its way. I knew then and there we were about to enter a new season- the very season which precedes the coming of the Messiah (because that was the context of the scripture).
The ark represents protection from judgement. It was as if the Lord was saying to me, "the season for mercy- the holding back of my hand of righteous judegments is passed. Now the flood of destruction is coming".
And I knew that even at my warning, many will write me off and ignore the warning or find something wrong with the messenger; some people might listen, but would take the attitude "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die". Some would be in shock, while (some) others would move quickly to repent. And I myself have grappled with fear, discouragement and the feeling of hopelessness for our country. I have even grappled with the attitude, get all you can, for tomorrow we die. However, knowing these might be part and parcel of a grieving process I must go through, I seek everyday to live in repentance. I seek to obey the Lord's command to be holy (set-apart) as He is holy (set-apart). This command requires some serious and oftentimes painful decision making. It might mean the cutting off of friendships or connections. I have since permanently deleted my Facebook account for various reasons. I need to be a better steward of my time. I need to devote more time to not only preparations, but also to the work of the ministry, which includes study and fellowship with like-minded believers. And last, but certainly not least, I have been seeking to remove the leaven from my life, those things from Babylon and the world which taint and defile my life. Seemingly inoccuous things, but things which displease my Lord nonetheless. For you see, I do not care what YOU think of these things. YOU did not die a horrific painful death for me. You did not take my place in judgement for my sins. He did. And He is coming back soon. And by the estimation of many respectable and knowledgeable men and women within the body of Messiah, it could be as soon as 7 years from this fall. More about that later, perhaps at another writing.
Practical Preparations
In addition to repentance, which is by far the most important thing you can do to prepare for what is coming, not only to America but to the whole world, there are some practical preparations you can make for you and your family for the tough times ahead. My family has already begun making preparations which are not huge, but will be needed nonetheless. Thing we will have wished we did later on.
Buy a good water filter. I have heard that Berkey is the best. They can even convert pond water into drinkable water. Store up food. I recommend storing at least 6 months' worth of storable food (watch those expiration dates!) and some drinking water. And remember to plan to share with others in need. We are expected to do that. If you have the means, plant a garden as soon as possible. Make sure you have the *G* word on hand, including ammunition. You may need to defend your family from robbers, looters, and the like. Trust me, the info I have dictates that life as you know it will NOT be the same in a matter of a few days or months. And people do desperate and foolish, even destructive things when disaster hits. The fallen flesh of man is not going to care about your precious loved ones when they need food in their own bellies. I am in the process of learning to shoot mine. And I will not hesitate to protect my family. If the Jews in Persia (book of Esther) were able to use the weapons of their conspiring enemies against them and be successful, we can too!
Also, I recommend always having on hand an emergency backpack with items necessary for survival for up to 48-72 hours. This is a good idea, even if a crisis never comes. Keep it in your car or an accessible place. Make sure to stock it with water, first aid, a light source, a change of clothes, a rain poncho, and a radio for receiving emergency communications. Meet with your family and develop a crisis plan to meet somewhere in the case you get separated from one another. Figure you will not have access to cell phones, land lines, main roads or even vehicles. It's great if you have a bicycle in your possession.
And now a word to all my "pre-tribulation rapture" brethren......First of all, let's not split hairs, but rather love one another an dpray for one another in this hour, seeking to please the Lord by building one another up. Please go about making the necessary preparations for disaster. It just makes sense. Jesus said in this life we WOULD have tribulation. And it is evil presumption to think we will have tomorrow, much less come through judgement unscathed (Esther 4:13). Don't be discouraged if the future doesn't necessarily pan out the way you have been taught. And above all, I pray you not fall away from the Lord. He is not to blame. The Bible says in Romans that the wages (payment) for sin is death. Sin brings its own reward. And God has been merciful for many years. He must judge rightly, or He isn't God. Cling to Him with all your might and trust in Him (His Word) no matter what. There is no condemnation to those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (the Holy Spirit, who leads us and guides us into all truth).
I leave you with the words of Yeshua Himself, who knows the end from the beginning and has declared it, words of comfort, knowing that He is sovereign over all and holds all things in the palm of His hand:
Jhn 16:1 "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray".
Jhn 16:4 "I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you".
Jhn 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Shalom.
**
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
A Strong Delusion
Rarely do I post articles written by other authors or bloggers on my blog site. However, today I am willing to make an exception with the following article. The truths contained herein are important and need to be examined in our own hearts. Time is so short. Eternity awaits.
Barbara Johnson Sandefur: A Strong Delusion
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7:45pm
WHEN discussing how to determine the truth and error of spiritual matters, people often make statements like: “I just follow my heart; I feel in my heart that this is right; I go with what my heart tells me; I trust my heart.” Such statements sound fine to most people, but the Bible plainly states that “he who trusts in his own heart is a fool.” [1]
Why is it foolish to trust one’s own heart? Won’t our heart tell us what is right? On the contrary: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” [2]
Daniel Botkin
If the Bible only said that our heart is deceitful, that would be bad enough. But it says more: the heart is deceitful “above all things.” If “all things” includes all things, then our hearts are more deceitful than the devil himself, which is a frightening thought.
Likewise, if the Bible only said that our heart is wicked, that would be bad enough. But it says more: The heart is “desperately wicked.” Our wicked heart is so desperate to continue ruling our thoughts and our life that it will go to any and all lengths to keep from being exposed for what it is, “full of madness and folly.” [3] In its desperation to survive, our heart is willing to masquerade as anything, even as a blood-washed, born-again Believer heart in love with the Savior. Jeremiah ends with this verse, “Who can know it?”
This diagnosis of the heart should also put the fear of God into anyone who takes the Bible seriously. Another sobering passage is 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12, where we read about what happens to those who refuse the truth: “God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” If we are deluded by the devil, or even by our own heart, we might hope for pity from God. But if God Himself is the one who send the delusion, as a judgment for our refusal to love truth, what hope is there for deliverance from deception? Who can deliver us from a strong delusion that God has sent?
The problem with deception is that the deceived person has absolutely no idea that he is deceived. If he knows he is deceived, then he is not deceived! Deception, by its very nature, is impossible to detect in one’s self. Until the deceived person begins to see that he is deceived, he does not suspect that he is under a strong delusion.
In Matthew 7:21-23, Yeshua describes a multitude of people who will not see their deception until it is too late for them:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
Two things about this passage should motivate Bible-believers to examine their faith. The first thing is the fact that the people described here are not atheists or Moslems. These are church people, involved in church activities, doing what appear to be good works in the name of Jesus. They even call Him “Lord,” and fully expect to inherit eternal life through their relationship with Him. That is why they are stunned to find themselves excluded from the Kingdom. The second sobering thing in this message is the word “many.” This is not some small group of cult leaders and false prophets; it is a multitude that the Lord describes as “many.”
This should raise some frightening questions for a Believer: How do I know that I am not among this multitude of deceived people? Am I truly blood-bought and born from above, or is it only my own deceitful heart, in an act of desperation, pretending to be in love with the Lord? How do I know my salvation experience was not just an imaginary experience, a strong delusion sent by God as judgment for my refusal to love the truth?
We know from the Scriptures that our heart cannot be trusted to tell us whether or not we are deceived. If we are deceived, and look to our heart to tell us, our heart will simply continue to lie to us and give us false assurance of our salvation and our doctrines, complete with warm, emotional, religious feelings to soothe any doubts we may have. And the longer we remain rooted in our deception, the stronger these feelings will be.
If we cannot trust our own heart to tell us whether or not we are deceived, who then can we trust? A pastor or a prophet? A pastor or a prophet might give us the words of reassurance and comfort, but how do we know the pastor or prophet is not deceived? The Bible is full of warnings about false pastors and false prophets. God told Ezekiel that “if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet.” [4] So even a prophet may be among those to whom YHWH sends powerful delusion!
Fortunately, we need not despair. The same Bible that warns us of deception and false teachings also tells us how to discern the true from the false. In Isaiah’s day deception was rampant in Israel, and YHWH gave a simple formula for discerning truth from error: “To the Torah (“Law” or “Teaching”); if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” [5] All true beliefs and teachings will be in agreement with Torah (the Law God gave to Moses). Any belief or teaching that opposes or contradicts these commandments is not of the Light, but of the darkness.
If we look at the context of the passages discussed earlier in this paper, we will see that deception is, in these cases also, related to our attitude to God’s Law. When the Messiah tells the multitude of deceived church people to depart, He addresses them as “you who practice Lawlessness.” Likewise, Paul’s warning of the God-sent delusion in 2 Thessalonians is also presented in the context of our attitude to God’s Law. The passage speaks of “the secret power of Lawlessness (‘separating from Torah,’ Jewish New Testament),” which was “already at work” in Paul’s time. Two times in this passage, Paul (Rav Shaul) mentions “the lawless one (‘man who avoids Torah,’ Jewish NT).” Even Jeremiah’s statements about the heart are soon followed by a lengthy plea to honor God by keeping the Sabbath.
Of course, most Christians consider the Sabbath and many other commands to be, for the most part, irrelevant to those living under the New Covenant. Ironically, the Bible tells us that one important mark of true New Covenant believers is the keeping of God’s Torah! In Jeremiah’s prophecy of the New Covenant (31:31-34), the Lord describes His intended outcome in the lives of those who accept the terms of the New Covenant: “I will put My Torah (“Law” or Teaching) in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts.” (See also Hebrews 8:8-10.)
This new heart with God’s Torah written upon it was also prophesied in Ezekiel 11:19f. Here YHWH describes the results of receiving a new heart: “Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws.” Ezekiel later writes about the promise of the Holy Spirit: “I will put My Spirit within you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.” [6] Torah observance is not learned and developed overnight, but if a believer is not being moved in a Torah-obedient direction, he should find out why not. According to Ezekiel, being moved to obey God’s Torah is evidence of having received the Ruakh HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). Speaking in tongues is great, but tongues can be counterfeited. Obedience to Torah cannot. Either a person does it or he doesn’t.
There are also many NT verses that point to Torah observance as a mark of true New Covenant Believers:
“We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” [7]
“This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.” [8] “Keeping God’s commandments is what counts.” [9] In Revelation 12:17, God’s faithful remnant is described as those “who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Yeshua.” In Revelation 14:12, “saints” are defined as “those who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Yeshua.”
A love for Torah is not proof that a person is not deceived in other areas, of course. But in these passages about deception, it is clear that deception is closely linked to our attitude to the Law. We must not turn a deaf ear to the Torah. Proverbs 28:9 says, “he that turns his ear from hearing the Law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.”
Any believer who feels any hostility toward God’s Law should seriously consider the possibility that he may be under strong delusion, and ask God to forgive his lack of love for the truth. He should ask God to release him from the secret power of lawlessness. If God has sent strong delusion to someone for refusing to love the truth, God can “undeceive” the repentant heart that agrees to embrace the Torah that he formerly ignored or despised. “A broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise (Psalm 51:17).”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Mishlei (Proverbs) 28:26.
[2] Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 17:9.
[3] Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 9:3
[4] Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 14:9.
[5] Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 8:20.
[6] Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 36:27.
[7] 1 John (Yochanan) 2:3f.
[8] 1 John 5:3.
[9] 1 Corinthians 7:19.
Barbara Johnson Sandefur: A Strong Delusion
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7:45pm
WHEN discussing how to determine the truth and error of spiritual matters, people often make statements like: “I just follow my heart; I feel in my heart that this is right; I go with what my heart tells me; I trust my heart.” Such statements sound fine to most people, but the Bible plainly states that “he who trusts in his own heart is a fool.” [1]
Why is it foolish to trust one’s own heart? Won’t our heart tell us what is right? On the contrary: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” [2]
Daniel Botkin
If the Bible only said that our heart is deceitful, that would be bad enough. But it says more: the heart is deceitful “above all things.” If “all things” includes all things, then our hearts are more deceitful than the devil himself, which is a frightening thought.
Likewise, if the Bible only said that our heart is wicked, that would be bad enough. But it says more: The heart is “desperately wicked.” Our wicked heart is so desperate to continue ruling our thoughts and our life that it will go to any and all lengths to keep from being exposed for what it is, “full of madness and folly.” [3] In its desperation to survive, our heart is willing to masquerade as anything, even as a blood-washed, born-again Believer heart in love with the Savior. Jeremiah ends with this verse, “Who can know it?”
This diagnosis of the heart should also put the fear of God into anyone who takes the Bible seriously. Another sobering passage is 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12, where we read about what happens to those who refuse the truth: “God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” If we are deluded by the devil, or even by our own heart, we might hope for pity from God. But if God Himself is the one who send the delusion, as a judgment for our refusal to love truth, what hope is there for deliverance from deception? Who can deliver us from a strong delusion that God has sent?
The problem with deception is that the deceived person has absolutely no idea that he is deceived. If he knows he is deceived, then he is not deceived! Deception, by its very nature, is impossible to detect in one’s self. Until the deceived person begins to see that he is deceived, he does not suspect that he is under a strong delusion.
In Matthew 7:21-23, Yeshua describes a multitude of people who will not see their deception until it is too late for them:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
Two things about this passage should motivate Bible-believers to examine their faith. The first thing is the fact that the people described here are not atheists or Moslems. These are church people, involved in church activities, doing what appear to be good works in the name of Jesus. They even call Him “Lord,” and fully expect to inherit eternal life through their relationship with Him. That is why they are stunned to find themselves excluded from the Kingdom. The second sobering thing in this message is the word “many.” This is not some small group of cult leaders and false prophets; it is a multitude that the Lord describes as “many.”
This should raise some frightening questions for a Believer: How do I know that I am not among this multitude of deceived people? Am I truly blood-bought and born from above, or is it only my own deceitful heart, in an act of desperation, pretending to be in love with the Lord? How do I know my salvation experience was not just an imaginary experience, a strong delusion sent by God as judgment for my refusal to love the truth?
We know from the Scriptures that our heart cannot be trusted to tell us whether or not we are deceived. If we are deceived, and look to our heart to tell us, our heart will simply continue to lie to us and give us false assurance of our salvation and our doctrines, complete with warm, emotional, religious feelings to soothe any doubts we may have. And the longer we remain rooted in our deception, the stronger these feelings will be.
If we cannot trust our own heart to tell us whether or not we are deceived, who then can we trust? A pastor or a prophet? A pastor or a prophet might give us the words of reassurance and comfort, but how do we know the pastor or prophet is not deceived? The Bible is full of warnings about false pastors and false prophets. God told Ezekiel that “if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet.” [4] So even a prophet may be among those to whom YHWH sends powerful delusion!
Fortunately, we need not despair. The same Bible that warns us of deception and false teachings also tells us how to discern the true from the false. In Isaiah’s day deception was rampant in Israel, and YHWH gave a simple formula for discerning truth from error: “To the Torah (“Law” or “Teaching”); if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” [5] All true beliefs and teachings will be in agreement with Torah (the Law God gave to Moses). Any belief or teaching that opposes or contradicts these commandments is not of the Light, but of the darkness.
If we look at the context of the passages discussed earlier in this paper, we will see that deception is, in these cases also, related to our attitude to God’s Law. When the Messiah tells the multitude of deceived church people to depart, He addresses them as “you who practice Lawlessness.” Likewise, Paul’s warning of the God-sent delusion in 2 Thessalonians is also presented in the context of our attitude to God’s Law. The passage speaks of “the secret power of Lawlessness (‘separating from Torah,’ Jewish New Testament),” which was “already at work” in Paul’s time. Two times in this passage, Paul (Rav Shaul) mentions “the lawless one (‘man who avoids Torah,’ Jewish NT).” Even Jeremiah’s statements about the heart are soon followed by a lengthy plea to honor God by keeping the Sabbath.
Of course, most Christians consider the Sabbath and many other commands to be, for the most part, irrelevant to those living under the New Covenant. Ironically, the Bible tells us that one important mark of true New Covenant believers is the keeping of God’s Torah! In Jeremiah’s prophecy of the New Covenant (31:31-34), the Lord describes His intended outcome in the lives of those who accept the terms of the New Covenant: “I will put My Torah (“Law” or Teaching) in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts.” (See also Hebrews 8:8-10.)
This new heart with God’s Torah written upon it was also prophesied in Ezekiel 11:19f. Here YHWH describes the results of receiving a new heart: “Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws.” Ezekiel later writes about the promise of the Holy Spirit: “I will put My Spirit within you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.” [6] Torah observance is not learned and developed overnight, but if a believer is not being moved in a Torah-obedient direction, he should find out why not. According to Ezekiel, being moved to obey God’s Torah is evidence of having received the Ruakh HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). Speaking in tongues is great, but tongues can be counterfeited. Obedience to Torah cannot. Either a person does it or he doesn’t.
There are also many NT verses that point to Torah observance as a mark of true New Covenant Believers:
“We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” [7]
“This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.” [8] “Keeping God’s commandments is what counts.” [9] In Revelation 12:17, God’s faithful remnant is described as those “who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Yeshua.” In Revelation 14:12, “saints” are defined as “those who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Yeshua.”
A love for Torah is not proof that a person is not deceived in other areas, of course. But in these passages about deception, it is clear that deception is closely linked to our attitude to the Law. We must not turn a deaf ear to the Torah. Proverbs 28:9 says, “he that turns his ear from hearing the Law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.”
Any believer who feels any hostility toward God’s Law should seriously consider the possibility that he may be under strong delusion, and ask God to forgive his lack of love for the truth. He should ask God to release him from the secret power of lawlessness. If God has sent strong delusion to someone for refusing to love the truth, God can “undeceive” the repentant heart that agrees to embrace the Torah that he formerly ignored or despised. “A broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise (Psalm 51:17).”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Mishlei (Proverbs) 28:26.
[2] Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 17:9.
[3] Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 9:3
[4] Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 14:9.
[5] Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 8:20.
[6] Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 36:27.
[7] 1 John (Yochanan) 2:3f.
[8] 1 John 5:3.
[9] 1 Corinthians 7:19.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
A Hiding Place in the Day of Trouble
Psa 32:7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Psa 50:15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
Humanity is about to embark on the darkest hour known to all of creation. I am talking about various trials and temptations. I am talking about the beginning of birth pains (Matt 24:8; Mark 13:8). A day in which the wrath of the enemy is going to come down to earth and test the saints. (Please note and understand that the wrath of the enemy is not the same as the wrath of God). The time of Jacob's trouble. Unparalleled sorrow in the earth.
Most people are unaware that this is even about to happen. Consumed with their love for pleasure, sin, materialism and consumerism, most living day to day to fulfill the desires of their lustful flesh. And they are marching toward eternal destruction.
If you happen to be of the chosen, of Yah's elect, then you too stand on the precipice of great trials and temptations. If you think you will escape the time to come unscathed, think again.
Am I just being "fatalistic"? A doomsday prophet? That is what they accused Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and all the prophets of being, and yet what they prophesied against Israel came to pass. But not because they woke up that morning on the wrong side of the bed. But because of Israel's gross sin. Because of God's awesome holiness (set-apartness). Because of the divine nature of Yehovah God which cannot and will not co-exist with wickedness. And yet He is merciful. He is merciful to allow us to repent. Even unto the end of the book of the Revelation Yahushua (Jesus) is longsuffering in bringing the just reward of sin into the earth, admonishing men to repent of their torahlessness and come back to Him. His ways are just and His lovingkindness is forever.
Sobering days ahead. We will see things which we could have never imagined taking place. Long-standing institutions falling to the ground. Foundations shaken to their core. Foundations of government, religion, infrastructures, and bedrock entities totally destroyed. Isa 13:13 says, "Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger".
And yet Yahushua tells us, His talmidim (disciples), to not let our hearts be troubled. To be not afraid nor dismayed. Even though Daniel and Revelation teach that the fury of the anti-messiah and satan will be unleashed against us, God's called-out ones, and will overcome them (Revelation 13:7), we are comforted knowing He is with us, even unto the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). YHVH promises to shelter us in the day of trouble. How can this be? Could it be because those who embrace and live in His Torah will experience that experience known to the psalmist as resting "under the shadow of the Almighty"? Even if we were to perish in the times of tribulation, if we hold to His teachings, His commandments, even unto the end, even if it costs us our lives, will it not only work toward our reward in eternity?
Rev 14:12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
Just how long is eternity? Forever and forever and forever. It's mind boggling.
I am asking these questions because I also need to know. I also need ministering to. I need strengthening. I endeavor and yet struggle to do the will of God now and I am sitting here in my nice cushy bed typing on my high tech laptop, clothed in my nice warm jammies sheltered behind my electronic security system. And yet, according to my understanding of the scriptures, events so atrocious as the Holocaust 60 plus years ago will pale in comparison to what is coming upon the world. As believers, even our own lives will be impacted and forever changed. How can I prepare myself and those whom I love for such a time as the one that is to come?
The only thing I can come up with is to trust in Yahushua. And part of trusting, truly trusting, means to keep His commands. To obey Him as revealed in the whole counsel of the Word of God, both the Tanakh and the Brit Chadashah (Renewed covenant). What a sobering task. What an awesome priveledge it is that God Almighty HAS revealed His will concerning us. Many people don't wanna hear it, they want to hear things that tickle the ears, and my sinful flesh certainly doesn't want to obey it, but there you go. Not one jot nor one tittle will pass away from His Torah until ALL be fulfilled. They are our instructions. Our survival guide in the days to come. So let us learn them. All of them and walk them out by faith.
Start With the Basics
I have people who are starting to wake up to the truth and toss out the man-made doctrines they've been taught come up to me and ask about the Hebrew root of their faith. They now know and understand that the "Law" (Torah) is holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12), they know they are not SAVED by keeping the "Law" (Torah), that they are saved by the Blood of the Lamb of God (Yahushua) and NONE of their so-called righteous deeds can get them in to Heaven (for Yah says they are as filthy rags to Him), they have come to apply Messiah's sacrifice to their lives for the forgiveness of sins, now they want to repent and FOLLOW HIM. Now what? What does that look like?
That looks like Torah. Jesus lived Torah. He IS the Torah clothed in flesh (John 1:14). He did every word of the scriptures, not the traditions of men when they contradicted the scriptures (such as certain dictates of the Oral Torah, one of the foundational pillars of modern-day Judaism.)
I won't go into all the details here, but in a very brief and much-paraphrased explanation, the church teaches a man-made tradition called "we are under grace, not under law". Yes, this is true. You are freed from the Law. You are no longer under "the Law", but which law are you no longer under? The Law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). How do you get under THAT LAW? By transgressing God's Law, the Torah and by being carried into the captivity of satan. Torah means "instructions" or "teaching" in Hebrew and carries the idea with it to "hit the mark". What is sin? Sin means to transgress the Torah, or to "miss the mark". There is much misunderstanding of Paul's writings because many western gentile Christians do not yet understand: 1)That Paul, a former pharisee, continued to keep true Torah, the written Word which Jesus taught in it's Hebrew context, including keeping the Sabbath and Feast days, circumcision, etc in their fullest joy as revealed in the Messiah making them full 2)the political fallings out in the first century of non-Jewish-born believers and those who wanted to push the traditions of the Oral Torah on them, 3) the Tanakh (which includes the Torah, prophets and the writings) in it's proper context and 4) That there has been some meanings lost in the translation of the New Testament from the Hebrew to the Greek, during which some of the Greek does not allow for the dileneation of the various meanings of the word "law" in their contexts (either written nomos or oral tradition).
The Image of Messiah Formed in You
How can we "dwell in the secret place?" By producing fruit in keeping with repentance? Repentance, teshuvah, means to turn away from sin. Repentance back to what? Back to Torah. Jesus lived, fulfilled, and exalted it, Paul taught and magnified it, said it was our schoolmaster. Many men who were influenced by the devil have tried to pervert it.
What will YOU do with it? How will I live in it?
It is one thing to be growing in Torah during the good times, the blessing times. It is another to cling to it during times of duress. The only conclusion I can come to is that it is during those times of difficulties when Torah is formed, rooted, and established in us. Until the Messiah be formed in us (Gal 4:19).
Like gold in the refiner's fire, may the dross (impurities) rise to the top as our faith is purified. It will be a rare, precious thing in the earth in the days to come for those who allow the fire of trials, adversity, and persecution to burn out the sin in our hearts and lives. Also, remember the warnings of Messiah to not fall away:
"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly" (Luke 21:34).
The whole nature of deception is that the one who is being deceived is not aware that he is. Whether we are deceived by our own cares for the things of this life, or by "any man" (Matthew 24:4) or by vain and empty traditions, it does not matter. It is all still deception. And all deception's ultimate destination is into a ditch (metaphor for hell). Even religious theological structures will fall when they are not built upon the sure foundation of Torah:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Messiah. Colossians 2:8.
1Cr 3:11-14: For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Yahushua the Messiah. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. (emphasis by the writer).
To know and understand the Messiah as He is, understanding He is a Hebrew of the tribe of Judah, a son of David and the Torah made flesh, one must understand the foundation of Hebrew thought, belief, and deed: the Torah of God. And thus we must understand Yahushua in His full Hebrew context in order to understand His message. Everything else is hollow and deceptive philosophy.
And so the problem remains, many deceptive philosophies based on human tradition abound in the church today where we are supposed to be learning the truth. Since churches teach a Christ and convert people to following Him, yet do not do or hold to what THE CHRIST SAYS, it begs the question, are many teaching a false christ? If that is the case, many churches are priming and grooming their congregants to embrace THE false christ, the anti-christ, the son of perdition, or lawless (Torahless) one when he is revealed.
How can we combat this? By learning the truth, living it, and teaching it as we learn it. If we want to return to Torah, and we are learning what pleases God and what does NOT please Him, we can start to get overwhelmed when we see how much our lives do not follow His plan. It does not mean the plan is bad. We learned from Romans 7:12 that the Torah is holy, good, and just and from the psalms that King David, a man after God's own heart, loved it and meditated on it day and night (Psalm 119). So what to do?
START WITH THIS ONE THING
In the book of Acts, we see a problem arise. The gentiles wanted to follow the Messiah. Many were saved and in the process of repentance. However, there were some who held to the Orah Torah who were telling the gentiles that they had to 1) be circumcised in order to follow the Messiah and 2) Hold all the teachings of Oral Torah in order to be saved. This was the main crux of Paul's railing against the "judaizers" (note: Paul was NOT against the fact that these men were culturally Jewish or the fact that they were teaching Torah, but rather the fact that they had added a bunch of extra-biblical commands which had nothing to do with Torah, against the explicit instruction not to add to Torah nor take away from it Deut.4:2)
So what did the apostles do in response to this problem? They gathered at what is now known as the Council of Jerusalem and came to a decision and sent word to the gentiles of their decision. In Acts chapter 15, the gentiles were admonished by the apostles to do FOUR things: to abstain from fornication (sexual immorality), things strangled, from blood, and from idolatry. This was so that Hebrew and gentile believers could have table fellowship together (remember that Yah taught the Israelites not to sup with idolaters). But this was a BEGINNING POINT the gentiles were to start with. They were not to stop there in their learning of Torah and repentance. They were to continue hearing the Torah and repenting, as it says in Act 15:21, "For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."
The followers of Jesus today would do well to follow the advice given by the apostles. Since the Almighty punished Israel for the transgression of idolatry by sending them into captivity not once but twice and it is a commandment that is reverberated throughout the Tanakh, I would tend to think that would be a good place to start. Get rid of the idols in the church. As I have stated in previous posts, I am not talking about our own conception of idolatrous ideas such as materialism, addiction, and the like although THOSE ARE A PART OF IDOLATRY, I am taking biblical cues to defining idolatry as the worship of Asherah (Easter, replete with sunrise services, eggs, bunnies, and the like), Tammuz and Ba'al (Christmas) and throw those things out FIRST. The modern-day practices built around these pagan idols. After all, it was the zenith of repentance when a righteous king of Israel would arise and DESTORY THE HIGH PLACES OF IDOLATRY. Today, those "high places" are Christmas and Easter, since history bears out that these practices are rooted in the pagan idolatry Yah told His children to have NOTHING to do with.
But you may be wondering: what would I tell my family, my friends, my coworkers? My children? How can I go against the grain and appear so "weird". Let me tell you, if you cannot stand for Yahushua, and take a stand for righteousness NOW, when things are cushy, what will you do in the day of persecution?? What will you do when the persecution fires are engulfing (some of) you, as they did with the martyrs of the Dark Ages who refused to bow down to their generation's anti-christ, the Catholic Church? It seems to me the lines in the sand are being drawn now. And those who seek to do righteously will only continue to grow more righteous, and likewise, those who are growing more wicked, will only continue to grow more twisted.
But consider this: it is a very real event when Jesus the Messiah will have "MANY" come to Him on that Day saying, "Lord, Lord...did we not prophesy in your name?...." (paraphrasing). But what will be His response? He will say the three words which will be the saddest words in all of history. He will say, "Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. For I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23). That phrase "workers of iniquity" means "transgressors of the Law (Torah)". And these were those who had operated in the "gifts of the Spirit".
That is a sobering thought!
What about me? Everyday I wake up and ask myself that question. "Self, are you going to carry your cross today? Are you going to stand for righteousness' sake and proclaim the truth, especially to your children?"
This, my friend, is the question of the hour. May YHVH assist you and me in answering faithfully in action and in deed until the end.
SHALOM!
**
Psa 50:15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
Humanity is about to embark on the darkest hour known to all of creation. I am talking about various trials and temptations. I am talking about the beginning of birth pains (Matt 24:8; Mark 13:8). A day in which the wrath of the enemy is going to come down to earth and test the saints. (Please note and understand that the wrath of the enemy is not the same as the wrath of God). The time of Jacob's trouble. Unparalleled sorrow in the earth.
Most people are unaware that this is even about to happen. Consumed with their love for pleasure, sin, materialism and consumerism, most living day to day to fulfill the desires of their lustful flesh. And they are marching toward eternal destruction.
If you happen to be of the chosen, of Yah's elect, then you too stand on the precipice of great trials and temptations. If you think you will escape the time to come unscathed, think again.
Am I just being "fatalistic"? A doomsday prophet? That is what they accused Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and all the prophets of being, and yet what they prophesied against Israel came to pass. But not because they woke up that morning on the wrong side of the bed. But because of Israel's gross sin. Because of God's awesome holiness (set-apartness). Because of the divine nature of Yehovah God which cannot and will not co-exist with wickedness. And yet He is merciful. He is merciful to allow us to repent. Even unto the end of the book of the Revelation Yahushua (Jesus) is longsuffering in bringing the just reward of sin into the earth, admonishing men to repent of their torahlessness and come back to Him. His ways are just and His lovingkindness is forever.
Sobering days ahead. We will see things which we could have never imagined taking place. Long-standing institutions falling to the ground. Foundations shaken to their core. Foundations of government, religion, infrastructures, and bedrock entities totally destroyed. Isa 13:13 says, "Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger".
And yet Yahushua tells us, His talmidim (disciples), to not let our hearts be troubled. To be not afraid nor dismayed. Even though Daniel and Revelation teach that the fury of the anti-messiah and satan will be unleashed against us, God's called-out ones, and will overcome them (Revelation 13:7), we are comforted knowing He is with us, even unto the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). YHVH promises to shelter us in the day of trouble. How can this be? Could it be because those who embrace and live in His Torah will experience that experience known to the psalmist as resting "under the shadow of the Almighty"? Even if we were to perish in the times of tribulation, if we hold to His teachings, His commandments, even unto the end, even if it costs us our lives, will it not only work toward our reward in eternity?
Rev 14:12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
Just how long is eternity? Forever and forever and forever. It's mind boggling.
I am asking these questions because I also need to know. I also need ministering to. I need strengthening. I endeavor and yet struggle to do the will of God now and I am sitting here in my nice cushy bed typing on my high tech laptop, clothed in my nice warm jammies sheltered behind my electronic security system. And yet, according to my understanding of the scriptures, events so atrocious as the Holocaust 60 plus years ago will pale in comparison to what is coming upon the world. As believers, even our own lives will be impacted and forever changed. How can I prepare myself and those whom I love for such a time as the one that is to come?
The only thing I can come up with is to trust in Yahushua. And part of trusting, truly trusting, means to keep His commands. To obey Him as revealed in the whole counsel of the Word of God, both the Tanakh and the Brit Chadashah (Renewed covenant). What a sobering task. What an awesome priveledge it is that God Almighty HAS revealed His will concerning us. Many people don't wanna hear it, they want to hear things that tickle the ears, and my sinful flesh certainly doesn't want to obey it, but there you go. Not one jot nor one tittle will pass away from His Torah until ALL be fulfilled. They are our instructions. Our survival guide in the days to come. So let us learn them. All of them and walk them out by faith.
Start With the Basics
I have people who are starting to wake up to the truth and toss out the man-made doctrines they've been taught come up to me and ask about the Hebrew root of their faith. They now know and understand that the "Law" (Torah) is holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12), they know they are not SAVED by keeping the "Law" (Torah), that they are saved by the Blood of the Lamb of God (Yahushua) and NONE of their so-called righteous deeds can get them in to Heaven (for Yah says they are as filthy rags to Him), they have come to apply Messiah's sacrifice to their lives for the forgiveness of sins, now they want to repent and FOLLOW HIM. Now what? What does that look like?
That looks like Torah. Jesus lived Torah. He IS the Torah clothed in flesh (John 1:14). He did every word of the scriptures, not the traditions of men when they contradicted the scriptures (such as certain dictates of the Oral Torah, one of the foundational pillars of modern-day Judaism.)
I won't go into all the details here, but in a very brief and much-paraphrased explanation, the church teaches a man-made tradition called "we are under grace, not under law". Yes, this is true. You are freed from the Law. You are no longer under "the Law", but which law are you no longer under? The Law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). How do you get under THAT LAW? By transgressing God's Law, the Torah and by being carried into the captivity of satan. Torah means "instructions" or "teaching" in Hebrew and carries the idea with it to "hit the mark". What is sin? Sin means to transgress the Torah, or to "miss the mark". There is much misunderstanding of Paul's writings because many western gentile Christians do not yet understand: 1)That Paul, a former pharisee, continued to keep true Torah, the written Word which Jesus taught in it's Hebrew context, including keeping the Sabbath and Feast days, circumcision, etc in their fullest joy as revealed in the Messiah making them full 2)the political fallings out in the first century of non-Jewish-born believers and those who wanted to push the traditions of the Oral Torah on them, 3) the Tanakh (which includes the Torah, prophets and the writings) in it's proper context and 4) That there has been some meanings lost in the translation of the New Testament from the Hebrew to the Greek, during which some of the Greek does not allow for the dileneation of the various meanings of the word "law" in their contexts (either written nomos or oral tradition).
The Image of Messiah Formed in You
How can we "dwell in the secret place?" By producing fruit in keeping with repentance? Repentance, teshuvah, means to turn away from sin. Repentance back to what? Back to Torah. Jesus lived, fulfilled, and exalted it, Paul taught and magnified it, said it was our schoolmaster. Many men who were influenced by the devil have tried to pervert it.
What will YOU do with it? How will I live in it?
It is one thing to be growing in Torah during the good times, the blessing times. It is another to cling to it during times of duress. The only conclusion I can come to is that it is during those times of difficulties when Torah is formed, rooted, and established in us. Until the Messiah be formed in us (Gal 4:19).
Like gold in the refiner's fire, may the dross (impurities) rise to the top as our faith is purified. It will be a rare, precious thing in the earth in the days to come for those who allow the fire of trials, adversity, and persecution to burn out the sin in our hearts and lives. Also, remember the warnings of Messiah to not fall away:
"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly" (Luke 21:34).
The whole nature of deception is that the one who is being deceived is not aware that he is. Whether we are deceived by our own cares for the things of this life, or by "any man" (Matthew 24:4) or by vain and empty traditions, it does not matter. It is all still deception. And all deception's ultimate destination is into a ditch (metaphor for hell). Even religious theological structures will fall when they are not built upon the sure foundation of Torah:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Messiah. Colossians 2:8.
1Cr 3:11-14: For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Yahushua the Messiah. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. (emphasis by the writer).
To know and understand the Messiah as He is, understanding He is a Hebrew of the tribe of Judah, a son of David and the Torah made flesh, one must understand the foundation of Hebrew thought, belief, and deed: the Torah of God. And thus we must understand Yahushua in His full Hebrew context in order to understand His message. Everything else is hollow and deceptive philosophy.
And so the problem remains, many deceptive philosophies based on human tradition abound in the church today where we are supposed to be learning the truth. Since churches teach a Christ and convert people to following Him, yet do not do or hold to what THE CHRIST SAYS, it begs the question, are many teaching a false christ? If that is the case, many churches are priming and grooming their congregants to embrace THE false christ, the anti-christ, the son of perdition, or lawless (Torahless) one when he is revealed.
How can we combat this? By learning the truth, living it, and teaching it as we learn it. If we want to return to Torah, and we are learning what pleases God and what does NOT please Him, we can start to get overwhelmed when we see how much our lives do not follow His plan. It does not mean the plan is bad. We learned from Romans 7:12 that the Torah is holy, good, and just and from the psalms that King David, a man after God's own heart, loved it and meditated on it day and night (Psalm 119). So what to do?
START WITH THIS ONE THING
In the book of Acts, we see a problem arise. The gentiles wanted to follow the Messiah. Many were saved and in the process of repentance. However, there were some who held to the Orah Torah who were telling the gentiles that they had to 1) be circumcised in order to follow the Messiah and 2) Hold all the teachings of Oral Torah in order to be saved. This was the main crux of Paul's railing against the "judaizers" (note: Paul was NOT against the fact that these men were culturally Jewish or the fact that they were teaching Torah, but rather the fact that they had added a bunch of extra-biblical commands which had nothing to do with Torah, against the explicit instruction not to add to Torah nor take away from it Deut.4:2)
So what did the apostles do in response to this problem? They gathered at what is now known as the Council of Jerusalem and came to a decision and sent word to the gentiles of their decision. In Acts chapter 15, the gentiles were admonished by the apostles to do FOUR things: to abstain from fornication (sexual immorality), things strangled, from blood, and from idolatry. This was so that Hebrew and gentile believers could have table fellowship together (remember that Yah taught the Israelites not to sup with idolaters). But this was a BEGINNING POINT the gentiles were to start with. They were not to stop there in their learning of Torah and repentance. They were to continue hearing the Torah and repenting, as it says in Act 15:21, "For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."
The followers of Jesus today would do well to follow the advice given by the apostles. Since the Almighty punished Israel for the transgression of idolatry by sending them into captivity not once but twice and it is a commandment that is reverberated throughout the Tanakh, I would tend to think that would be a good place to start. Get rid of the idols in the church. As I have stated in previous posts, I am not talking about our own conception of idolatrous ideas such as materialism, addiction, and the like although THOSE ARE A PART OF IDOLATRY, I am taking biblical cues to defining idolatry as the worship of Asherah (Easter, replete with sunrise services, eggs, bunnies, and the like), Tammuz and Ba'al (Christmas) and throw those things out FIRST. The modern-day practices built around these pagan idols. After all, it was the zenith of repentance when a righteous king of Israel would arise and DESTORY THE HIGH PLACES OF IDOLATRY. Today, those "high places" are Christmas and Easter, since history bears out that these practices are rooted in the pagan idolatry Yah told His children to have NOTHING to do with.
But you may be wondering: what would I tell my family, my friends, my coworkers? My children? How can I go against the grain and appear so "weird". Let me tell you, if you cannot stand for Yahushua, and take a stand for righteousness NOW, when things are cushy, what will you do in the day of persecution?? What will you do when the persecution fires are engulfing (some of) you, as they did with the martyrs of the Dark Ages who refused to bow down to their generation's anti-christ, the Catholic Church? It seems to me the lines in the sand are being drawn now. And those who seek to do righteously will only continue to grow more righteous, and likewise, those who are growing more wicked, will only continue to grow more twisted.
But consider this: it is a very real event when Jesus the Messiah will have "MANY" come to Him on that Day saying, "Lord, Lord...did we not prophesy in your name?...." (paraphrasing). But what will be His response? He will say the three words which will be the saddest words in all of history. He will say, "Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. For I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23). That phrase "workers of iniquity" means "transgressors of the Law (Torah)". And these were those who had operated in the "gifts of the Spirit".
That is a sobering thought!
What about me? Everyday I wake up and ask myself that question. "Self, are you going to carry your cross today? Are you going to stand for righteousness' sake and proclaim the truth, especially to your children?"
This, my friend, is the question of the hour. May YHVH assist you and me in answering faithfully in action and in deed until the end.
SHALOM!
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