I have a friend who loves God, studies his bible, has faith in Jesus, and believes we are NOT supposed to keep the commandments, honor the Sabbath, or observe the Feast Days.

I love YHVH, study my bible, have faith in Yeshua, and I believe we ARE supposed to keep the commandments, honor the Sabbath, and observe the Feast Days.

How is it possible for two people, with similar values and a desire to know God, to come up with two different doctrines when using the exact same source material (scripture)?

After months of discussion and miles upon miles of shared scripture, I have broken it down to this simple concept:

• I believe every word of scripture, front cover to back cover, is true and relevant, and I believe the New Testament writings build upon the Old Testament writings.
• My friend believes the Old Testament writings are obsolete, having been superceded by new teachings in the Messiah era.

My thoughts on the matter are somewhat rare, and make up a small minority in the “Christian” world.

My friend’s thoughts are the same as the Mainstream teachings, and make up the significant majority in the “Christian” world.

What does Jesus say about that?
Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

How does something like this happen?
In order to communicate what he thinks and why he thinks those things, he always uses the writings of Paul in the New Testament to support his thoughts.  Scripture is scripture, right?

Here is what gives me pause…
1. Peter struggled with the same differences of opinion in the first century, and he gave us a warning against making this mistake.

2 Peter 3:14-18
 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵ and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Yes, Peter gave us a warning to not misunderstand and mis-teach some of Paul’s writings. Is this warning old? Is this warning just an obscure passage that is irrelevant today? Can we ignore it?
Well, what are the consequences of this warning?
“people twist to their own destruction”

When we start throwing the idea of personal destruction around, I think we should pay attention and listen.  I, for one, do not want to be destroyed.

2.  While some of Paul’s writings absolutely sound like they are saying we should not follow the law, is it a consistent message?
No, it is not.  Many of Paul’s writings support and uphold following       Torah instruction (the law).  Paul was accused of teaching against       Torah, and he defended himself against those accusations, even volunteering for the death penalty if he were guilty.

If Paul is making inconsistent statements, does that make him
wrong? Does that make him a politician?
No, all scripture is true.  So what gives?
Refer to the  warning given by Peter.  Some of Paul’s writings are         simply misunderstood.

Here are a few of Paul’s writings that support the law, support and uphold Torah instruction:

WORDS OF PAUL Acts 24:14
But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.

WORDS OF PAUL Acts 25:7-8
When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove, 8 while he answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.”

WORDS OF PAUL – Keeping the Feast Days Acts 18:20-21
When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, 21 but took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem;[c] but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.

WORDS OF PAUL Romans 7:25
I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

WORDS OF PAUL Romans 2:12-13
For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified

WORDS OF PAUL Romans 3:31
Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

WORDS OF PAUL Romans 6:15-16
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

WORDS OF PAUL Romans 7:12
Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

WORDS OF PAUL Romans 7:22
For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

WORDS OF PAUL Romans 6:19
I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

WORDS OF PAUL 2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

WORDS OF PAUL Romans 4:7
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;

WORDS OF PAUL Hebrews 1:9
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

3.  We believe that scripture is inspired by God.  In the bible, we find
many authors, spanning many centuries and many generations.
However, I decided to study the VERY words of Yahuah (God), and the VERY words of Yeshua Messiah.
Throughout scripture, Old Testament and New Testament, both
Yahuah and Messiah tell us to follow the commandments of Yahuah
without exception.  Not once in scripture does Yahuah or Messiah ever tell us to stop following the law (in fact, Messiah says the opposite, many times over!).

If this topic interests you, and you don’t know what to think, I challenge you to do this:
Read all scripture spoken directly by God and read all scripture spoken directly by Jesus.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll find yourself in a quandary.  You will have to make a decision.

Will you follow the words of God and Jesus?
Or will you follow the words of misunderstood Paul?

Ready, set, go…

What can we learn regarding the two greatest commands in Matthew 22?

Mainstreamers tell us Jesus Yeshua replaced the entire teaching of God, the Torah law as well as the words of the Prophets, with these two simple statements:

Matthew 22:38-39
And He (Yeshua, Jesus, Messiah) said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

OK, there we have it, right?  Jesus changed God’s word — which God said not to change, and that it is forever, for all generations. But Jesus Yeshua is God, so he can change His mind, right?
He can give us new, simplified, generic doctrine to follow until the end of days. Awesome, that is how we like things in the 21^st century – simple.

Ummmm, no, I have to disagree.  That is what the mainstream teaches, but is it true?
Should we answer this with my thoughts and ideas, or should we let scripture do it for us?  I say we go with scripture, because I’m just a goofy, 51 year old bald guy. I don’t matter for much of anything…

Let’s start by looking at this WHOLE story in scripture:
Matthew 22:34-40
34-But the Pharisees, when they heard that Yeshua (Jesus) had silenced the Sadducees, gathered together in one place. 35-And testing Him, one of them, a lawyer, asked, 36-“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah?”
37-And He (Yeshua, Jesus, Messiah) said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” 38-This is the first and greatest commandment. 39-And the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 40-The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Point #1 – Was this bit of scripture simply Jesus giving us brand new “New-Testament-Doctrine?”  No, a Pharisee asked Him a question.

Point #2 – What was the subject matter of this question?  Look at verse 36. The Torah. God’s law. Old-Testament-Doctrine.  Call it what you like. Jesus is answering a question about existing doctrine. The only doctrine.

Point #3 – Did Jesus get off track, and give us new doctrine instead of simply answering the question? No, absolutely not.  How do we know this?  Check out verse 40. Yeshua (Jesus) tells us Himself that He is simply paraphrasing the Torah instruction and the Prophets, which all turned the people back to Torah, God’s commands.

So, am I telling you these two commandments are part of the original and only doctrine, God’s instructions to His people? Yes. Check this out:

Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Leviticus 19:18
“…but love your neighbor as yourself.”

The mainstream doctrine teaches us that the two greatest commandments are Jesus’ doctrine for us to follow. Generic, simple, decide-for-yourself-what-it-means.

The mainstream message uses the catch phrase “missing-the-mark” all the time, but they never define what “hitting-the-mark” is.
Well, thankfully, we don’t need them to figure it out for us.  God gave us His criteria for hitting His mark.  He even wrote it down for us, some with His own finger in stone tablets, and some via Moses. Jeremiah and Hebrews tells us that in the New Covenant, it is all written on our hearts! Amen!

Is there any other way for us to know that Yeshua (Jesus, Messiah) was not creating new, simplified doctrine for us in Matthew 22?
Once again, let’s go to scripture (since I’m a knucklehead).

John 5:19
Therefore, Yeshua answered them, “Amen, amen, I tell you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself. He can do only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.”

Hebrews 13:8
Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

If we look at Hebrews 13:8, John 1:1, John 1:14, and Matthew 14:35 together, we see the following:
The Word has existed since the beginning, and will never pass away.
The word was God, and the Word became flesh (Jesus), so God and Jesus and the Word are one.
Hebrews tells us Jesus Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever, therefore God is the same and the Word is the same.

Maybe this gets a bit confusing, saying they are all the same. But scripture says it, not me!

But wait, there’s more scripture showing that God’s word never changes, and therefore, Jesus did not change doctrine during His time on earth:

Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers, the flower fades. But the word of our God stands forever.

Psalm 119:89
Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.

Psalm 33:11
The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.

Numbers 23:19
God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes his mind.

I could go on and on with this.  Scripture, from start to finish, tells us that the Word of God never changes.
The mainstream message that Jesus created a simple doctrine consisting of two commands —– DEBUNKED!!

Many people have spent countless hours, days, and years studying the book of Revelation. I’m sure we could fill a whole library with all the commentary that has been written about Revelation.  I’ve heard many interpretations and ideas regarding the prophecy of this book.
My goal here today is not to address the often misunderstood prophecies contained in Revelation.  No, you are not going to get my interpretation and ideas…

But there is a vital lesson for us to learn, and it does not require us to force strange, hard to understand scriptures into some kind of idea based on speculation.

All we have to do is read and apply. Let’s get started.

First of all, whose “Revelation” is it? Is it John’s revelation?
We get the answer in Rev 1:1
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants…”

OK, so that was an easy answer.  The book contains the revelation of Yeshua our Messiah, and it was given to Him by the Father YHVH.

Let’s move on.  Is there a blessing given in Revelation, and is this blessing conditional? Yes, absolutely, yes.
Let’s look at Revelation 1:3
Blessed are the reader and hearers of the words of this prophecy, provided they obey the things written in it! For the time is near! (CJB Version)

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand. (ASV)

Yes, scripture indicates a blessing to those who read/hear, but it is conditional upon keeping/obeying what it says.

That’s nice to know, isn’t it?  Who doesn’t love a good blessing from God?
Now for an important question; are we given any warnings regarding the words in this book of Revelation?
Absolutely, yes we are.

Check out Revelation 22:
18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (NKJV)

We are not to add to the words of this book or we will suffer the plagues mentioned in the book. 
We are not to take away anything from the book of Revelation, or we will be removed from the book of life, and will not be allowed to enter the city of New Jerusalem.

Wow, that is a very harsh warning and consequence, maybe the harshest in the entire bible!!
Who wants some of those consequences?  Not me.  I would not wish that upon my worst enemy.

We have learned some important things in Revelation, just by paying attention to a couple of details.  Let’s review:
1.  The words of Revelation are Yeshua Messiah’s, as given to Him by the Father.
2.  There is a blessing associated with the book, but only if we obey what the book says.
3.  There are severe consequences for adding to or taking away from the words of this book.

Now that we have that straight, let’s look at a couple of very important verses in Revelation.

Revelation 14:12
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Revelation 12:17
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

These three verses are taken directly out of the book of Revelation, which we are not allowed to add to nor take away from, otherwise we will suffer great consequences.
Per Revelation 1:3, we will be blessed if we obey these words.

What common theme do we see in these three verses?
All three verses mention that we are to keep the commandments of God.
Two of the three verses also mention that we are to have faith in Yeshua Messiah.
If we compare these verses to the Mainstream church message, do we find any problems?
Yes, we do. I can hear the air raid sirens going off in my mind. Danger, danger Will Robinson!!!

The Mainstream church does an incredible job of teaching us about the gospel message and about having faith in Jesus.
Check mark.  “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

But how does the Mainstream church do about teaching us to follow the commandments of God?

Ooops…
Houston, we have a problem.
The Mainstream message specifically teaches us to NOT follow the commandments of God.  Yes, there is a reason they believe it is a correct teaching.  But it requires them to ignore the blessings and the warnings of Revelation, and it requires them to ignore the words of Jesus in Revelation.

What is the consequence of taking away any words from the book of Revelation?
Revelation 22:19
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

What do I see here?  I see an absolute disaster for the Mainstream church. They do a great job of teaching half of what Jesus tells us, but they have removed the other half of these words in the book of Revelation. And the consequences for doing so are severe.

Without studying anything else, we can see just from Revelation what is expected of us, and what we are expected to teach.  And the Mainstream church is doing a disservice to the masses by only teaching half of what is expected.

If Jesus tells us multiple times in Revelation to keep the commandments of God, and the church teaches us NOT to keep the commandments of God, is that a lie?
Whether intentional or unintentional, it is a lie.
Revelation 22:14 includes this phrase in its statement about whom is allowed access to the Tree of Life, and whom is allowed (or not allowed) into the holy city of New Jerusalem in End Times:
“and whoever loves and practices a lie.”

How does the church get this teaching wrong?  It is because they misunderstand some of the writings of Paul.  This misunderstanding has been passed down for many generations. Without having a solid understanding of God’s instructions (Torah, the law given to Moses, and what God says about these things being forever, for all generations, a perpetual covenant), the writings of Paul seem to teach against following the commandments of God.  But if we do have a solid understanding of God’s commandments and what He says about them, Paul’s writings are able to be understood within that context.

How do I know this is true?
1.  Paul was accused of teaching against God’s instructions in Torah, and he defended himself against those accusations, travelling to Jerusalem to do so.
2. Paul wrote about keeping the law and upholding Torah many times.  Therefore, the mainstream message is built upon just half of Paul’s writings, not all of his writings. Does that mean Paul was schizophrenic?  No, it just means that half of his writings are misunderstood.
3.  Is there any evidence in scripture that supports the idea that some of Paul’s writings are misunderstood.
Absolutely, yes.
Misunderstanding some of Paul’s writings was a problem in the first century, just as it is a problem today.  See Peter’s warning of this very thing in 2 Peter 3:14-18
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

If you ask a Mainstream pastor if we should follow the law today, they will say no and will ALWAYS refer to the writings of Paul in the New Testament to prove it.
And it will make sense, but only if you ignore the rest of the bible.

1.  God gave us His commandments and told us to follow them forever, for all generations, as a perpetual covenant. He also told us not to add to them or take away from them in Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32.
Deuteronomy 4:2
You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. 
Deuteronomy 12:32
“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.

2.  When God’s people turned away from His instructions, the prophets, judges, poets, and wisdom writers advise the people to turn back to His instructions and commands.

3. Jesus Yeshua tells us to follow His commands, the commands of the Father many times throughout scripture.

4. Prophecy teaches us that 100% of Torah instructions, the law, God’s commandments, will be fully implemented when Jesus Yeshua returns. Why would it be fully implemented when Jesus returns if He did away with it?

5. The only scripture in the entire bible that seems to tell us not to follow the law are half of Paul’s writings. The Mainstream message is built upon the misunderstanding of Paul’s writings, and goes against EVERYTHING else in scripture, from start to finish.

If you are still unsure about this idea, just go back to the start of this study and look at the lesson we learned in Revelation only. What things did Jesus tell us in Revelation that we are not allowed to change?
If you accept what you have been taught about Paul’s writings, you have to REJECT the very words of Yeshua Messiah in Revelation.

Make a decision if you will believe and follow the words of Jesus in Revelation, or if you will follow the mis-taught writings of Paul, then we can look at more of the same throughout scripture.

Start small and build upon it.

We’ve all heard of this concept, that we are not to add to nor take away from God’s (YHVH’s) word.  Is this a blanket statement for every word written in the bible, or does it apply to specific writings?
As always, let’s take a look at what scripture says about it (by now, you probably know that is where I was headed with this, right?).

So where can we find scripture that includes this warning?
I can spend a year or so reading the entire bible and taking notes, or I can defer to Google and my bible app search functions.  I find this:

Deuteronomy 4:2
You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. 

Deuteronomy 12:32
“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.

Revelation 22:18-19
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

OK, so my first question is this:
What is special about these three passages?

1. In Deuteronomy, we are receiving the very words of YHVH (God). These verses are specifically referring to the instruction, the commands, the law, that God gave to His people to follow.
2. In Revelation, this warning is isolated to just the words of the prophecy of this book.  In this book, we are receiving the very words of Yeshua (Jesus). Many people consider the book of Revelation to be John’s words.  Let’s take a quick look at Revelation 1:1-3
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, ² who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. ³ Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Did you catch that?  This is the Revelation of Yeshua, given to Him by YHVH, and relayed to the apostle John by an angel. This is not John’s revelation, but God’s which He gave to Yeshua.

These passages are warnings given regarding the very specific words of YHVH and Yeshua. These particular warnings do not apply to the entire volume of scripture, front cover to back cover.
Deuteronomy warnings are the very words of God and apply to His commandments.  Revelation consists of the words of God, given to Jesus, and apply specifically and only to the book of Revelation.

Scripture is very clear about this.  This point cannot be argued or debated. It is not speaking about the prophets, the judges, the wisdom writings, nor the letters of the apostles.  Those writings are definitely inspired, and are important.  I am not devaluing those scriptures.
But the warnings given to not violate the word by adding to or taking away from it are very specific to those sections referenced by the warnings.

We see many other more general references in scripture about adding to, taking away from, or changing scripture.  Here are a few:

Proverbs 30:5-6
Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
⁶ Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

In Proverbs, we find that adding to the word of God will earn us a rebuke and make us a liar.

Mark 7:6-13
He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
⁷ And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
⁸ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men —the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
⁹ He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), ¹² then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, ¹³ making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

In this passage, we see Yeshua rebuking the Pharisees for neglecting YHVH’s Torah instruction, and teaching their own doctrine instead.  Check out Matthew 23 for more commentary from Yeshua regarding the educated religious leaders of His day (it is not pretty).

Matthew 22:23-29
The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, ²⁴ saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁵ Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all the woman died also. ²⁸ Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Again, we see Yeshua rebuking the Sadducees for not knowing YHVH’s Torah instruction, and speaking of their own doctrine instead.

Genesis 3:2-5
² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

We even see this concept going all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
Eve adds to the instruction of God by stating they were not to touch the fruit, when they were only commanded to not eat the fruit.
In the same passage, we see the deceitfulness of Satan.  He says, “You will not surely die,” when we know that God had told Adam and Eve they would die if they ate of the fruit.  If you check the original text language, we see two different kinds of death. One is a physical death, and one is a spiritual death.  In reality, Satan did not lie to Eve, although his choice of words were intended to deceive her, and he was successful.

OK, let’s get to the point of this teaching, shall we?
YHVH gave His Torah instruction, the law, and said to never add to it nor take away from it.

Can you think of any problems here?  Holy cow, wait a minute…
The Mainstream Church message tells us to not follow the commands of YHVH.

WHAT???? How can this be?

Let’s take this one step further…
In YHVH’s Torah instruction, which we (nor anyone else) are not allowed to add to or take away from, we see the following references to “all generations”:

“For all generations”
Exodus 3:15 This is My Name forever, and the Name by which I should be remembered from generation to generation.

Exodus 12:42 It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

Leviticus 6:18 All the males among the children of Aaron may eat it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings made by fire to the Lord. Everyone who touches them must be holy.’”

Leviticus 23:14 You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Leviticus 23:21 And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

Leviticus 23:31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

We also see these references to “Forever”

Exodus 3:15  Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’

Exodus 12:24  And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.

Exodus 19:9  And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”

Exodus 27:21  In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which isbefore the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.

Exodus 28:43 They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him.

Exodus 29:28  It shall be from the children of Israel for Aaron and his sons by a statute forever. For it is a heave offering; it shall be a heave offering from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, that is, their heave offering to the Lord.

Exodus 30:21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”

Exodus 31:17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”

Exodus 32:13  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

Leviticus 6:18 All the males among the children of Aaron may eat it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings made by fire to the Lord. Everyone who touches them must be holy.’”^[a]

Leviticus 6:22 The priest from among his sons, who is anointed in his place, shall offer it. It is a statute forever to the Lord. It shall be wholly burned.

Leviticus 7:34 For the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering I have taken from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons from the children of Israel by a statute forever.’”

Leviticus 7:36 The Lord commanded this to be given to them by the children of Israel, on the day that He anointed them, by a statute forever throughout their generations.

Leviticus 10:9 “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, 

Leviticus 10:15 The thigh of the heave offering and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave offering before the Lord. And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the Lord has commanded.”

Leviticus 16:29 “This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you.

Leviticus 16:31 It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.

Leviticus 17:7 They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.”’

Leviticus 23:14 You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Leviticus 23:21 And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

Leviticus 23:31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 

Leviticus 23:41 You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 

Leviticus 24:3 Outside the veil of the Testimony, in the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron shall be in charge of it from evening until morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a statute forever in your generations.

Numbers 10:8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations.

Numbers 15:15 One ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord.

Numbers 18:8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, I Myself have also given you charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. 

Numbers 18:11 “This also is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

Numbers 18:19 “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”

Numbers 18:23 But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Numbers 19:10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.

Deuteronomy 5:29 Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! 

Deuteronomy 12:28 Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 18:5 For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons forever.

Deuteronomy 23:3 “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 

Deuteronomy 23:6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.

Deuteronomy 28:45-46 ⁴⁵ “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. ⁴⁶ And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever.

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

And we see this in Torah, regarding the things of YHVH that are “PERPETUAL”

Genesis 9:12-13  And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³ I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

Exodus 29:9 And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

Exodus 30:8  And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

Exodus 31:16-17  Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lordmade the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”

Leviticus 3:17  ‘This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’

Leviticus 24:9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”

Leviticus 25:34 But the field of the common-land of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession.

Numbers 19:21 It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening.

Yes, that was a great deal of work, and I commend you if you read all of those scripture references.
But if you skipped to here, I’ll sum it up for you.
In the words given to us by God Himself, which He told us we can neither add to nor take away from, we are given ALL of these ideas and concepts that are FOREVER, FOR ALL GENERATIONS, or are PERPETUAL.

Take a minute and let that sink in…
These things never end. God Himself says so.  And we are told by God Himself to never add to nor take away from these commands.
But…. Wait…
The Mainstream church message for many generations and many centuries has instructed us to NOT DO these things that are forever.

Question #1
Upon whose authority did we change the things that God said are forever, for all generations, perpetual covenants?

Some will say this happened by the authority of Yeshua Jesus Messiah.
Well, what exactly did Yeshua say to us?

We see this in John 7:16-19
 Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. ¹⁷ If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. ¹⁸ He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. ¹⁹ Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”

REALLY??? Jesus Himself, in the New Testament, tells us His doctrine is the Father’s (given to us in Torah, which we are instructed to never change)??
REALLY???  Jesus Himself rebukes people for not following the law given by Moses? YES!!!

We see this (words of Jesus) in John 12:48-50
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. ⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

What about this?
John 14:10-11
Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

YES, Yeshua tells us He does not speak on His own authority, but speaks what the Father speaks…

John 6:38 tells us this:
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹ This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.

Matthew 7:21 is pretty scary for those who wish to change God’s word of the Torah
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Did you catch that?  Those who do the will of the Father shall enter the kingdom.  What is the will of the Father?  He gave it to us in Torah, and instructed us that it is FOREVER, FOR ALL GENERATIONS, a PERPETUAL covenant, and then told us to not add to it or take away from it.

What about the people who have changed God’s word, or believed the teachings of those who changed God’s word?  What about the people who spent their lives serving Jesus in a way other than what the Father instructed?  This is the scary part:
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

REALLY???  If you practice lawlessness (not follow the law given in Torah) Yeshua will not know you???
Well, scripture is pretty clear. These are not my thoughts, but simply what scripture says, what Yeshua tells us.

Just in case this is not clear enough, can we find other words of Jesus that tell us to follow the law?

John 14:15 is very simple, short, and straight to the point:
 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

Again Jesus speaks in John 14:23-24
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴ He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

Some will claim that Jesus gives us new instructions during His sermon on the mount.  But that is a false teaching. How can I say this with such authority?  Let’s take a look at His preface to the sermon on the mount.  In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus tells us this:
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. ¹⁹ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus tells us not one jot or tittle (pen stroke) will pass from the law until heaven and earth pass away.  We can’t get any more clear than that, now can we? He then goes on to teach why the Pharisees’ doctrine is false, and he corrects many of those false teachings.
Jesus is not doing away with Torah instruction, He is doing away with the false teaching of the Pharisees.

I could go on and on and on and do this all day.  But let’s evaluate the one sticking point that is difficult to get past.
Many of Paul’s New Testament teachings seem to indicate that we are NOT to follow the law.  In fact, the Mainstream message is built upon the ideas presented by Paul.

Question #2
How is it possible that Paul has the authority to change what God said was forever, and that we could not change it?  We looked at scripture where Jesus told us that even He does not have the authority to teach against what the Father had instructed. If Jesus did not have the authority to change God’s word, then Paul certainly does not have that authority.

Based on this one concept, you as a man or woman of faith are required to reject what Paul is teaching.

But, I say there is another solution.  I say that Paul’s writings do not mean what the Mainstream church has taught us they mean. How can I say this with confidence?
This misunderstanding of Paul’s writings was a problem in the first century, just as it is today.  WE ARE WARNED NOT TO MAKE THIS MISTAKE!
Check out 2 Peter 3:14-18
 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵ and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Wow, can you believe it?  We are told NOT to do what the entire Mainstream church does, teaching Paul’s writings incorrectly. Millions upon millions of people have accepted the teaching of the Mainstream church, for many generations, even though we are warned to not make this mistake.
How can this be?  This is tragic and sad.
And then Jesus will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Hopefully, this teaching has made you ask some questions…  I sure hope so.
Don’t be afraid to search out the answers to these questions.  And just in case you aren’t quite sure what to think about this, don’t forget that Jesus said not to add or take away from His revelation.

Revelation 14:12 tells us who the saints are:
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Revelation 12:17 tells us who the remnant of the church is, whom Satan will try to destroy:
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Yeshua tells us more than once in His revelation (which we are not allowed to change) that we are to keep the commandments of God and have faith in Jesus.

The church teaches us to have faith in Jesus, but NOT TO KEEP the commandments of God.

What did Jesus say would be the consequences of taking a statement away from His revelation?

“and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

WOW, that is pretty serious.
Houston, we have a problem…

 

 

Two young brothers were given a ball to play with by their parents.  They absolutely loved their ball, and they played with it often.  Their parents told them it was a blue ball.  The children grew up, loving their blue ball.
As years passed by, the young boys became teens, and their blue ball remained one of their favorite possessions.  They still played catch once in awhile, but not as often as when they were younger.
More time passed, and the boys became young men.  They still had their blue ball, as it was a special toy they had owned nearly their whole life. It sat on a shelf in one of their homes.

One day, one of the brothers found an old book.  While looking through the book, he saw pages that taught what the color names were.  He was shocked and surprised to see a ball just like the one he and his brother owned and had played with growing up.  It was the same color as their ball, but the words on the page said the ball was red, not blue as they had been taught.
This seemed very odd, so the young man did more research.  The more references that he checked, the more it was confirmed that the ball they treasured was actually red and not blue, as their parents had described it. How is it possible that their parents had the colors wrong??? How could this be?

He went to his brother and told him what he had learned.  His brother thought he was crazy.  He said, “Our parents gave us a blue ball, and we have known our whole lives that it is blue.”
The first brother replied and said, “Yes, I know and understand that is what we were told.  But I’ve learned that what we think is blue is actually red!!”

His brother continued to reject this idea, holding tight to his belief that the ball is blue. He believed what his parents had taught him, regardless of what any resources had to say about it.
The first brother, though, embraced his new knowledge.  If the ball is really red, then he loved his red ball, and he was happy to know truth.

Yes, this is a goofy little story that I made up.  But this relates to the mainstream church vs. those who are waking up to scriptural truth.  We have been taught religious ideas from the time we were young.  But we are being called to God’s wisdom and knowledge.  James 1:5-8 tells us this:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Micah 4:2 tells us this:
“For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

And we see the exact same words in Isaiah 2:3
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

The restoration of Israel, as promised in scripture, is a whole study by itself.
But we are experiencing the beginning of the restoration.
Many people are seeing the truth of scripture. Many people are turning back to Torah instruction, honoring the Sabbath, keeping the Feasts, and following the commandments, while still having faith in the testimony of Yeshua Ha-Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah).

Deuteronomy 30:1-4 tells us this:
“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you,2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.

YHVH (God) Himself gave us this prophecy through Moses, way back in Deuteronomy. He knew at the time of entering the promise land that Israel would stray from His word, and they would be scattered.

As sad as that is, the good news is we are living in the time of the gathering.  We are being restored.  People are turning to Torah and seeing the truth of scripture for the first time.  Some will reject it and some will embrace it.

This restoration was prophesied by YHVH (God) Himself from the beginning.
Do not be afraid to know that your ball is red, and that it is not blue.  Do not be afraid to let go of what you think you know, that what you have been taught your whole life is not accurate. Does scripture advise us of this coming shift in knowledge, when Torah flows from Zion?

1 Corinthians 3:18-20 
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”

Yes!!! We are told that ‘what we think we know’ is foolishness to God.  We must become fools (giving up what we think we know) in order to become wise (embrace Torah flowing from Zion).
Don’t take my word for it (not that many do).  But pray about this, and especially pray the way James 1:5-8 tells us to pray.  YHVH (God) will give you His understanding.

We are accountable to the word of God, not to the thoughts of educated men.  Seminary graduates lead the majority of our churches today. We are taught to NOT follow YHVH’s (God’s) commandments. We are told the law is done away with, because Yeshua (Jesus) fulfilled it.
Do these men have it right just because they are educated?
Check out what Yeshua (Jesus) had to say to the educated religious leaders of his time:

Matthew 23
Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees

23 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ Therefore whatever they tell you to observe,^[a] that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. ⁴ For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. ⁵ But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. ⁶ They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ ⁸ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ,^[b] and you are all brethren. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹ But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.^[c]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁷ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies^[d] the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁹ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? ²⁰ Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. ²¹ He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells^[e] in it. ²² And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ²⁴ Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.^[f] 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

³¹ “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. ³³ Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? ³⁴ Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.³⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem

³⁷ “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸ See! Your house is left to you desolate; ³⁹ for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”^[g]
Wow, our Messiah was not pleased with the educated religious leaders of His day.  That is a whole lot of woes.  But what about today??

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
And we have this…
2 Timothy 4:3-5
For the time will come when they will not put up with sound instruction, but they will pile up for themselves teachers in keeping with their own desires, to have their ears tickled. 4 And they will turn away from hearing the truth and wander off to myths. 5 You, however, keep a clear mind in all things, withstand hardship, do the work of proclaiming the Good News, and fulfill your service.

Are We Israel?

Most will say that “The Law” of the Old Testament, given to us in Torah (the first five books of the bible) was fulfilled and done away with by Jesus. There are many scriptures in the Torah (actually translated ‘teaching and instruction’ vs. ‘law’) that say it is “for all generations”, “forever”, or a “perpetual covenant”.  

We are told many times in scripture that God does not change, and that God’s Word will never pass away… 
I’ve discussed this with many people, and most say those Old Testament ideas were for ancient Israel only, and only applies to Jews today. Many have said they are not of the Nation of Israel, and therefore, the statement “for all generations” does not apply to them. 
However, the same people claim to be part of the New Covenant, ushered in by Jesus.  I could post much scripture showing that we are, in fact, of the Nation of Israel, but the summary is this:
We are either descended from the scattered ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel, or if purely Gentile believers, we are grafted into the Nation of Israel per Romans 11.  We are heirs to the promise made to Abraham. (Ephesians 3:29 — And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.) 
As such, the many scriptures in Torah that say “for all generations” or “perpetual covenant” apply to us today, because God’s word does not pass away. (Matthew 24:35  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.)
Let’s explore this idea from the perspective of the “New Covenant.” The New Covenant is mentioned prophetically in Jeremiah, and it is spoken of again in Hebrews after it was established. Let’s take a look at both descriptions of the New Covenant, which most Christians believe we are a part of:
Jeremiah 31 A New Covenant 31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Hebrews 8 A New Covenant
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds[b] I will remember no more.” 13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

In both instances, we see that the New Covenant with Messiah is made with the house of Israel. If we deny that we are Israel, we are denying that we are in covenant with Messiah, Jesus. And if we ARE Israel, which the definition of the New Covenant confirms, then the scriptures in Torah that say “for all generations, forever, perpetual covenant, etc” are applicable to us. The mainstream message teaches that the first covenant with Israel had fault, and was replaced by a second covenant.
There is truth in this idea, but not in the way it is taught. We are taught that the law did not work, that Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf, and as a result, we are no longer required to do the instructions given by God in Torah. This (false, imho) idea can be supported with select bits and pieces of scripture, but not with all scripture, the WHOLE truth of the WHOLE bible.

Yes, the first covenant did have fault, but the covenant itself was not the issue. The issue was the people not complying with the covenant. In fact, we see that in the verses above. In Jeremiah, we are told the people broke the covenant. In Hebrews 8:8, we are told the fault was with the people, not with the covenant.

Jesus tells us in His own words that the law, the instructions given to us in Torah, for all generations, is not destroyed by His coming. 
Matthew 5:17-19 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

1. Jesus did not come to destroy. 
2. Jesus did come to fulfill. 
3. No part of the law will change until heaven and earth have passed away.
4. He who breaks and teaches to break – will be the least
5. He who does and teaches to do – will be the greatest
6. And just in case you were not paying attention, Jesus makes it clear that this is important with, “For assuredly, I say to you.”

Where this passage may get confusing is in the way it is translated, using the word fulfill in both verse 17 and in verse 18. If we take a close look, we’ll see that two different words are used in the original language. In verse 17, we see “plēroō” and in verse 18 we see “ginomai”. Both are translated as fulfill, which some will say tie verse 17 to verse 18 with the same meaning, for the same subject. But that is not factual. 
Verse 17 speaks of the law and prophets. 
Verse 18 speaks of heaven and earth passing away.

If we look at other uses of “plēroō” in scripture, we see the following in Romans 15:19 —- “19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”
“Plēroō” is used here to mean “fully teach”, not to fulfill. I believe verse Matthew 5:17 is telling us that Jesus came to fully teach the law, not to fulfill it by doing it (which He actually did, though).

Is there any evidence that Jesus tells us to do what Torah says? We see exactly that in Matthew 23:

“Then Yeshua spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying, “The Torah scholars and Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. 3 So whatever they tell you, do and observe.”

Teaching from the seat of Moses means one thing and one thing only — that Torah was being read from the scroll, word for word. Jesus says to do what the Pharisees say when reading from Torah, but not do what they do, because they created and pushed a false doctrine. 

Yes, I’m aware that what I am saying goes against mainstream teaching. It goes against what millions upon millions of people know and believe, going back many generations.  But is there other scripture that would indicate I am correct?

Revelation 12 describes whom the antichrist will attempt to destroy, the remnant of God’s kingdom.
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 
It is both, keeping the commandments and having the Testimony: BOTH, not either/or. Satan gets a lot of people confused thinking it’s either /or when in reality it’s both.

Rev 14:12 confirms again, by saying this about the saints: Here is the perseverance of the kedoshim (saints)—those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua.

And the wisest man to ever live (Solomon), says this as a summary of human life in Ecclesiastes 12:12-13 
12 Be warned my son of anything in addition to them: There is no end to the making of many books, and excessive study wearies the flesh. 13 A final word, when all has been heard: Fear God and keep His commands! For this applies to all mankind.

Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who do His commandments,[g] that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

The New Covenant does not nullify the law, but it says this (the words of YHVH, God Himself):
“I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
The instruction given in Torah is not void, it is not fulfilled and done away with…
It is placed in our minds and written on our hearts. It is still applicable. But we are told it is a part of us in the new covenant, as opposed to being taught to us by our neighbor and by our brother. 

I can say with 100% confidence (because I have researched it) – absolutely no where in the bible does YHVH (God) or Yeshua (Jesus) tell us to no longer follow Torah instruction. In fact, both God and Jesus tell us over and over to continue to follow and do God’s commands.

The mainstream doctrine which teaches us to not follow God’s commands is built upon the words of Paul.
Am I saying Paul is a false prophet? 
No.
I am simply saying that his teaching is misunderstood and improperly taught.

For every instance where it seems Paul was teaching against the law, I can show you where Paul taught his converts to follow the law. I can show you in scripture where Paul defended himself, more than once, against accusations of teaching against keeping Torah instruction.
Either Paul’s writings are misunderstood, or Paul was schizophrenic.

But we don’t have to ponder these things, because Peter knew this would become an issue, and he gave us warning in advance:
2 Peter 3 
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;

Nearly the entire Christian ‘world’ is taught and believes that we are NOT to follow Torah instruction. But this premise is based completely upon the writings of Paul.

I challenge anyone who is thinking on these things to show where God or Jesus said to not follow His commandments. It can’t be done. 

One of the harshest warnings we are given by Jesus Himself can be found in Matthew 7:
I Never Knew You
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
There will be some who spend their life serving Jesus in their own way, with Jesus’ name on their lips, and yet, Jesus will not know them. Why not?  Because they did not do the will of His Father in heaven, which is spelled out for us in Torah (the first five books of the bible).  Who will Jesus not know?  Those who practice lawlessness. 

Do we read and believe and follow the Word of God, or do we listen to sermons and follow the teachings and traditions of man?  

There will come a day when we will not have to discuss and debate these things.  

Deuteronomy 29 tells us there are things we understand, which YHVH has given to us, and there are things we do not know, which belong to Him: 
“29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
Yes, God has secret things, but we know all understanding will eventually be revealed, just before the seventh trumpet sounds:
Revelation 10:5-7 5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven 6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, 7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

In the meantime, will you follow the teaching of man, or will you follow the Word of God?

 

In recent weeks, I’ve had several people tell me that Jesus (Yeshua) broke the Old Testament law. One of the commonly cited cases is the story about the adulteress in John 8.
I did an in-depth study of this so we can compare Mainstream teaching vs. God’s word on the matter…

Here is the story from the New King James:
“Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Before we dig in to study this event, let’s try to put ourselves in this situation.
How would you react if you were placed on a jury in a death penalty case? Would you take it seriously? Would you pay close attention, take notes, review the evidence, debate it with your fellow jurors? Or would you show a lack of interest, seeming to not care very much? I think the first description would match my reaction to being on a jury for a capital punishment case.

But in this story, how does Jesus react? He seems a bit disinterested, and writes in the dirt with his finger.
Is it because he didn’t care? No.
Is it because he didn’t take it seriously? No.

The Mainstream teaching of this scripture is Jesus shows that forgiveness and love are more important than following the law to the letter, and that was why He was disinterested in these ‘proceedings’. But that doesn’t make any sense. If Jesus broke the law of Torah, then he sinned and could not be the Messiah (1John 3:4 defines sin as this: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”)
We are told numerous times in scripture that Jesus did not sin. Here is one of many examples:
Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

So what is going on here?
First, let’s extract some facts from the scripture.
1.  The woman is not just accused of adultery, but was caught in the very act.  There is no question about her guilt.
2.  The scribes and Pharisees were ‘testing him,’ or setting a trap, hoping He would fail.
3.  Jesus ignored them, pretending not to hear. He wrote on the ground instead.

Scripture does not tell us what Jesus wrote in the dirt, but I can’t help but wonder if He wrote out Leviticus 20:10, for the Pharisees to see:

 “The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.”

Or maybe Jesus wrote Deuteronomy 17:6-7:
“Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.”

These verses from Torah are vital to this event, and to this study.  How were the Pharisees intending to trap Jesus?  It is evident from the scripture that they were not following the requirements of Torah.

1.  Leviticus requires both the man and the woman to be brought to justice. The Pharisees only brought the woman for these ‘proceedings’ with Jesus.
2.  Deuteronomy requires two or three witnesses of the crime, and the actual witnesses must be the first to throw stones.  We are not told how many were actual witnesses, but we are told this in verse 9:
Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.

We know for a fact that Torah procedure was being violated because the man was not also brought before Jesus.  We don’t know how many Pharisees were actual witnesses, but maybe we can speculate there were not two or more, as the Pharisees were not willing to throw the first stone.
Were they convicted by their conscience because they all had sin of their own? Or were they convicted because they knew they were not following Torah?

This woman (caught in the very act) was allowed to go free and avoid death.  Events played out this way because at least one, and possibly two, requirements of Torah were not followed.
The Mainstream message teaches us that Jesus neglected stoning her to death out of love and mercy.  But I’ll ask this question:  What if the Pharisees HAD adhered to the requirements of Torah?  What if the man and the woman were accused and brought to justice, as Leviticus requires?  What if there were two or more eye-witnesses to the crime, and they were willing to cast the first stone?
Would Jesus have allowed their execution?  Absolutely.  Why? Because Jesus followed Torah instruction, always. The law given to Moses by God is His will for the people.  Jesus always follows the will of the Father.
John 5:30
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

Again, if Jesus did not follow the requirements of Torah, it would be counted as sin, and He could not be Messiah.
Some in the Mainstream will use the story of the adulteress to say Jesus did not follow Torah because He showed that forgiveness and love are more important than the law.
Knowing the requirements of Torah allows us to study this event in scripture and see that Jesus did not condemn her BECAUSE Torah WAS followed, not because Jesus failed to follow Torah!!

On a side note, we are taught that the law was harsh. We are taught that the death penalty required by the law was a severe punishment.  If you study the law, you will notice that the death penalty is never referred to as punishment.  It is always described as a means ‘to purge the evil from among you.’ The death penalty is a protection for the people, not a punishment for the offenders.

Yes, I realize scripture and bible study are serious business.
But I’m a smart aleck by nature, so here is this…

Thanks to Dilbert for the base material.
Disclaimer ~ No cartoon characters were harmed in the making of this picture.

So, I heard a rumor about an election or something yesterday…
Here are my thoughts.

People who are affiliated with the left have built their opinions on lies that came from the left.
People who are affiliated with the right have built their opinions on lies that came from the right.
Very little of what ‘we’ have been told is true.

The system gave us two awful candidates, pretty much to flaunt the idea that ‘we the people’ are not in control and they don’t respect us. They gave us two poor choices, and people ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, buying into the illusion of choice.

Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

What Christian has never read or heard a teaching on this bit of scripture?  Of all the Books, Chapters, and Verses in the bible, the story of Jesus’ death on the cross is foundational.  I’ve been taught a concept my entire life about this scripture, but I’ve recently learned more about it.
God has called me to study Torah, and doing so is making puzzle pieces of understanding fall into place.  James 1:5-8 tells us to pray for God’s wisdom and understanding, and He will give it to you, and I have been doing exactly that.

I’ve been taught many times that in Matthew 27:46 Yeshua (Jesus) is crying out in desperation, being near His death. As He is about to take on the sin of the world, YHVH (God) cannot be in the presence of sin, and turns away from or forsakes Him.
That is what I’ve been taught, and you probably have been taught the same…
But does this teaching make sense?  Let’s think about it, and more importantly, let’s see what we find in scripture.

Tell me, how many times in scripture do we see a desperate Messiah?  We can read numerous accounts of prophecy regarding Jesus in the Old Testament, as well as recorded events from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Other New Testament writings also quote the words of Jesus, and tell of additional experiences He had.  Not once do we ever see Jesus desperate or without hope.

Satan tempts him with various offers during his trials, but Jesus does not waver.  He does not respond with emotion, but with “It is written…” and He relies on the Word of God to dispel Satan, specifically quoting Torah instruction iin all three cases.
There are numerous stories recorded of the Pharisees and scribes trying to trap him in sin, so that they could arrest Him and put Him to death.  Not once did He falter, or have difficulty with these scenarios.

We see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane in great stress, to the point that His capillaries rupture and drops of blood and sweat fall from his skin. Yes, that is incredibly stressed, but is He desperate?  No, He prays to the Father and says “Your will be done”.  In the midst of great stress, He knows His purpose and remains committed to it, despite His stress.

Desperation is not how Jesus approached anything during His life on earth. This idea is unprecedented.
However, when we read the story of Jesus’ crucifixion in Matthew 27, we can clearly see that this idea of Him being desperate makes sense. But, Peter warned us about ‘making sense’ of New Testament writings (especially the writings of Paul):

2 Peter 3:14-18
¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵ and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

What does Peter mean when he says “untaught and unstable” people?  At that time, the entirety of scripture consisted of the Torah and Tanakh (Old Testament).  People who were not knowledgeable of such scriptures were considered to be untaught and unstable, and ran the risk of twisting New Testament writings (and the rest of the Scriptures) to their own destruction (this is a serious warning, not insignificant).
Peter gave warning that not knowing the basis for God’s Word will render us destroyed in our errors.  So, what does this have to do with Matthew 27 verse 46?

With knowledge of the Old Testament writings, we can answer this question.

Jesus was not crying out in desperation, as is commonly taught, but he was pointing us to prophecy.  Psalm 22 begins with the exact same exhortation, word for word, and letter for letter.  Psalm 22:14-18 goes on to describe in prophecy this very event.

Psalm 22:1 (Words of David) My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Psalm 22:14-18
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

¹⁶ For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced^[c] My hands and My feet;
¹⁷ I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
¹⁸ They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.

While on the cross, the amassed crowd was mocking Jesus.  In His moment of greatest need, He did not cry out in desperation, accusing God of forsaking Him (as is taught). No, he pointed those watching and mocking (and the millions to come afterward by reading scripture) to Psalm 22, to remind them of who He was. In His moment of greatest need, He thought of others.  He guided us to prophecy to confirm His identity, to remind us of His purpose, that it was foretold, and to show His detractors that He was fulfilling it.

No, Matthew 27:46 does not portray a desperate Messiah, as is frequently taught. Sound knowledge of Old Testament scripture makes sense of this passage, and gives us further insight into the way Jesus pointed His mockers to the truth. At His very worst, He was in control and full of purpose.
Do not allow yourself to misunderstand scripture by not having a solid understanding of the Torah and Tanakh (Old Testament).