Israel Not Rejected

11 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected His people whom He knew beforehand. Or do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? ³ “Elohim, they have killed your prophets, they have destroyed your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.”  ⁴ But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So in the same way also at this present time there has come to be a remnant^[e] according to God’s gracious choice. ⁶ But if it is by grace, it is no longer by works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

⁷ What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained; but the elect obtained it, and the rest were hardened— ⁸ just as it is written,

⁹ And David says,

¹¹ I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they?^[h] May it never be! But by their false step salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke Israel to jealousy.  ¹² Now if their transgression leads to riches for the world, and their loss riches for the Gentiles, then how much more their fullness! ¹³ But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Insofar as I am an emissary to the Gentiles, I spotlight my ministry ¹⁴ if somehow I might provoke to jealousy my own flesh and blood and save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection leads to the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

¹⁶ If the first fruit is holy, so is the whole batch of dough;^[k] and if the root is holy, so are the branches. ¹⁷ But if some of the branches were broken off and you—being a wild olive—were grafted in among them and became a partaker of the root of the olive tree with its richness,  ¹⁸ do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, it is not you who support the root but the root supports you. ¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ True enough. They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear— ²¹ for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. ²² Notice then the kindness and severity of God:

severity toward those who fell;

but God’s kindness toward you,

if you continue in His kindness;

otherwise you too will be cut off!

²³ And they also,

if they do not continue in their unbelief,

will be grafted in;

for God is able to graft them in again.

²⁴ For if you were cut out of that which by nature is a wild olive tree, and grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

The Mystery Revealed!

²⁵ For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be ignorant of this mystery—lest you be wise in your own eyes—that a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; ²⁶ and in this way^[o] all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

²⁸ Concerning the Good News, they are hostile for your sake; but concerning chosenness, they are loved on account of the fathers^[r]—²⁹ for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.  ³⁰ For just as you once were disobedient to God but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹ in like manner these also have now been disobedient with the result that, because of the mercy shown to you, they also may receive mercy. ³² For God has shut up all in disobedience, so that He might show mercy to all.

³⁶ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

Let’s take a quick look at the seat of Moses in Matthew 23.
This idea came about during a discussion on whether or not the Talmud should be considered a valid source for teaching and establishing doctrine.

I for one do not utilize the Talmud, nor do I allow it to be used as a source in my Torah fellowship.  Yes, someone tried to present Talmudic information last Shabbat, which gives rise to this mini-article…

Why do I reject the Talmud?
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.
Proverbs 30:5-6
⁵ Every word of God is purified.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
⁶ Do not add to His words,
or else He will rebuke You and prove you a liar.

What is the Talmud?
Tal·mud
ˈtälˌmo͝od,ˈtalməd/  noun
1. the body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law and legend comprising the Mishnah and the Gemara. There are two versions of the Talmud: the Babylonian Talmud (which dates from the 5th century AD but includes earlier material) and the earlier Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud.

The entire Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in standard print is over 6,200 pages long. It is written in Tannaitic Hebrew and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis (dating from before the Common Era through the fifth century CE) on a variety of subjects, including Halakha (law), Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, lore and many other topics. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law, and is widely quoted in rabbinic literature.

There are many resources and many words written to describe what the Talmud is if you’d like to seek out more information. Have fun studying…

But here is the gist of it:
Scripture says not to add to nor take away from the Word given in the Torah.  The Talmud is 6200 pages of the ideas, thoughts, and teachings of men.  And unfortunately, this book is often used as the main source of teaching instead of scripture itself, especially in Rabbinic Judaism.

An exerpt from an article about the Talmud:
The other Holy Book for the Jewish religion is the Talmud which includes the Mishnah, which means “repetition” or “study” and the Gemara, which means “addition” or “completion.”

As society changed, the Jews found that the Torah needed to be updated from its original agricultural emphasis. Those changes became part of the Mishnah. The Mishnah also includes a description of Jewish life was during the period of the Second Temple. The Mishnah is divided into six sections (sedarim):

 

Zeraim (seeds) regarding the agricultural laws Moed (seasons) regarding the Sabbath and festivals Nashim (women) regarding marriage, divorce and family law Neziqin (damages) regarding civil and criminal laws Qodashim (holy things) regarding sacrificial cult and dietary laws) Tohorot (purifications) regarding ritual defilement and purification

The sedarim are divided into 63 treatises. Also included in the Mishnah are a collection of wise sayings called the Pirke Avot (Chapters of the Fathers).

After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D., the Talmud defines the Jews’ religious life more than the Torah. Jewish tradition says Moses received two Torahs on Mount Sinai.  The first is the written Torah above and the second is an oral Torah passed down from generation to generation. The oral Toral finally was written down at the end of the second century. Biblical scholars and scribes in Babylon edited the written “oral Torah” between 200 and 600 A.D. and that is now known as the Gemara, which means “completion” in Aramaic.

Although there is only one Mishna, there are two Gemaras. The first Gemara called the Yerushalmi was created in Israel and the second called the Bavli was created in Babylon. The Gemara is always printed with the Mishnah. The Gemara adds to the Mishna and are a source of history and legend.

Did you catch that?
This article states that the Talmud is a Holy Book associated with the Jewish religion. This is a RED FLAG all by itself.
If you are wondering why this might be a problem, refer back to the quotes from Deuteronomy and Proverbs again…

Is there evidence in scripture that the Talmud should not be utilized?
Yes, there is, believe it or not.

In Matthew 23, Yeshua says this:
 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. But don’t do what they do; for what they say, they do not do.

So let’s take a closer look at this.
Yeshua Messiah says to do and observe what the Pharisees say from the seat of Moses.  He then says to NOT do what they do.
The rest of Matthew 23 is an absolutely scathing rebuke of the Pharisees.

Yeshua calls them hypocrites. He says they are not welcome in heaven, and that they prevent others from getting to heaven.
He calls them blind guides.
He calls them whitewashed tombs.
He says they are full of lawlessness.
He calls them murderers.
He calls them snakes and a pit of vipers.
He asks how they might escape Gehenna (Hell).

We can easily see that Yeshua Messiah does not respect the Pharisees or their teachings.
He condemns them and their teachings.
He says their teachings keep others from heaven.

I think we can say without any doubt what-so-ever that Yeshua despises the Pharisees and their ways.

So why would he say to do as they say when in the Moses seat, but not do what they actually do?
It is because the Torah is read word for word without commentary from the seat of Moses. Messiah says to do and observe what they read directly from Torah.
But then Messiah says to not follow their examples in life. Do not do what they do.
And what is it that they do?
They live out the teachings of men. They live out the made up traditions of men, instead of living out the teachings in Torah.
These made up traditions of men are what is recorded in the Talmud.
The writings of many generations of Rabbis…
Whether these writings are well intentioned or not, they are not acceptable to Yeshua.
Messiah Himself rejects the teachings and doctrine of the religious leaders of His day.  Those teachings and doctrines, among other writings, make up the Talmud.

Again, why do I reject the Talmud, the teachings of men, the words added to Torah?
Because our Messiah rejects these teachings and ideas.
And because scripture tells us to not add to the word — which is exactly what the Talmud is — added words by men.

There are many who will disagree with me on this.
There are many who will continue to value the teachings found in Talmud.
There are many who will continue to say the Talmud has valuable information.
So be it.
But Messiah says otherwise…

We are all men and women of free will.
Each of us must choose what we will and won’t believe.
Each of us must choose what we will or won’t do.

As for me, I will obey scripture and obey our Messiah.
Listen to Torah taught from the seat of Moses.
Do not do the teachings of men.

 

 

If you’ve done much reading here, you are probably aware that I have a problem being brief.  This topic about Paul’s writings could span pages and pages, but my goal is to take a quick look and point out some statements that need to be considered and evaluated.

The typical mainstream church doctrine uses the writings of Paul to state that observing Torah (the law) is no longer required or desired of us.
I have compared these ideas to the very words of Yahuah (God) and Yeshua (Messiah) a number of times. Mainstream doctrine does not line up with the words of the Father nor the words of Messiah.

But… let’s take an independent look at Paul.

First of all, how do we identify a false prophet?
We have to know what that is in order to determine if Paul is a false prophet.

Deuteronomy 13 [entire chapter]
“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, ² and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ ³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. ⁵ But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
⁶ “If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, ⁷ of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, ⁸ you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; ⁹ but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. ¹⁰ And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. ¹¹ So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.
¹² “If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you to dwell in, saying, ¹³ ‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods”’—which you have not known— ¹⁴ then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you, ¹⁵ you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock—with the edge of the sword. ¹⁶ And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the Lord your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again. ¹⁷ So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, ¹⁸ because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

And Deuteronomy 18:15-22
¹⁵ “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, ¹⁶ according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’
¹⁷ “And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. ¹⁹ And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. ²⁰ But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ ²¹ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— ²² when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Ok, that gives us a good start…
Basically, we can extract three tests from these narratives.
1. If a prophet encourages us to chase after other gods, then they are a false teacher. This also includes using the right name, but teaching a deity that does not match Yahuah or Yeshua in scripture.
Churches can teach all kinds of things about Jesus, but if the things taught do not match His character, the things He did, and the things He said, then it is chasing after other gods, even if the name seems right. (Jeremiah 16:19-20 warns us of this).
2. If a prophet makes a prediction and it does not come to pass, they are a false teacher.
3. If a prophet makes a prediction and it DOES come to pass, but it leads you away from the words Yahuah has given, then they are a false teacher.

Both the Father and the Son taught to keep the commands of God (see my many teachings for direct quotes from scripture).
The mainstream churches teach us that we are no longer to follow the Torah, the law, and they use Paul’s writings to do so.
If you ask your pastor such things, he will go straight to the writings of Paul to back up his teachings, and it will seem to make good sense.
But it only makes sense if:
1. If you do not have a strong knowledge of Torah [first five books of the bible] and Tanakh [the remainder of the Old Testament writings].
2. If you ignore the warning of 2Peter 3:14-18, which states that those who misunderstand Paul’s writings will do so to their own destruction.
3. If you ignore many writings of Paul that uphold keeping and honoring the Torah, the law, the commands of Yahuah.

Here are some quotes 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.

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.”

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; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.
[documented proof that Paul kept the moedim, the appointed times of Yahuah, given to us in Leviticus 23 — well after the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Messiah].

Colossians 2:16-17
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.  [Paul says to let no one judge you for keeping Torah ~~ this is often used by the church to teach that Paul is saying to let no one judge you for not keeping Torah, but this does not line up with the many things that Paul has stated throughout his writings].

Romans 2:12-13
¹² 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;

Romans 2:21-24
²¹ You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? ²² You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? ²⁴ For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.
[Paul chastises the Jews for breaking the law and setting a bad example before Gentiles].

Romans 3:20
Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Romans 7:7
⁷ What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
[Paul states that we define sin with the law]
This matches 1John 3:4
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

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

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? 

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

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

That is enough for now…  This is supposed to be a short lesson.
Long after Messiah came and went:
Paul upholds the commands.
Paul upholds the feast days of Yahuah.
Paul upholds the law, the Torah.

But his writings are hard to understand, as Peter warns in 2Peter 3:14-18.  We can easily be mislead into thinking Paul speaks against the Torah, but only if we do not have a solid understanding of Torah and Tanakh.

For example:
Psalms 89:30-37
“If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
³¹ If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
³² Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
³³ Nevertheless My loving kindness I will not utterly take from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
³⁴ My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
³⁵ Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
³⁶ His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me;
³⁷ It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.”

Specifically, verse 34 tells us that Yahuah will not break His covenant, and He will not change the word that He gave.
The Torah stands, and is not changed.
Messiah tells us in Matthew 5 that not a single pen stroke of the law, the Torah, will change until heaven and earth pass away.

Malachi 3:6 tells us that Yahuah does not change:
“For I am the Lord, I do not change…”

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

John 1:14 tells us that Yeshua Messiah is the word become flesh.
And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. 
Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Messiah never has changed and never will change:
Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
If Messiah is the Word, and Messiah never changes, then that means the Word never changes.

In Torah, we are told ‘the law’ is given to both the Israelites and to the strangers among them.  It is not just for ancient Israel.
In Torah, we are told by Yahuah Himself that His instructions, His commands, His law, is forever, for all generations, never-ending, and a perpetual covenant.

So to wrap up this longer-than-sixty-seconds bible lesson, we have to read Paul’s writings within the context of Torah.
If Yahuah said things are forever, for all generations, and scripture tells us that God never changes His mind, and that the Word never changes, then it is not possible for the writings of Paul to be used to change everything.
Paul changed nothing.  But his writings are misunderstood and are taught incorrectly as a result.
Paul is not a false prophet, but his words are taught falsely.

I’ve mentioned the warning Peter gave about this.  Let’s take a look at it:
2Peter 3:14-18
Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in peace, spotless and blameless before Him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation—just as our dearly loved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom given to him. ¹⁶ He speaks about these matters in all of his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—to their own destruction.
¹⁷ Since you already know all this, loved ones, be on your guard so that you are not led astray by the error of the lawless and lose your sure footing. ¹⁸ Instead, keep growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity! Amen.

Did you catch that?
If we twist Paul’s writings and the scriptures (at the time, Torah and Tanakh only), then it will result in our destruction.
That is bad, not good.
In verse 17, he details it even more for us, just in case we did not understand:
Do not be led astray by the lawless.

This topic could take hours to thoroughly explore it properly.
This is just a brief introduction, hoping that it will inspire you to do more study.
Mainstream church doctrine stating that ‘the law’ is no longer applicable is built upon the misunderstood and mis-taught writings of Paul.  If we are to believe this teaching and this doctrine, it would require Yahuah to be a liar, which He is not.
It would require Yahuah to change His mind, which scripture says He does not.
It would require Yahuah to change His words, which scripture says He does not.
Since Messiah is the word become flesh, mainstream doctrine would require Messiah and the Word to change, and scripture says they do not change.

Please, think about these ideas and pray about these ideas.

OK, this will be a quick and simple exercise…

Messiah says:
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”
Did He say, “Get away from me, you legalistic pushers of the law.”
No, He did not.
He said if you are lawless, He will not know you.

Did Messiah say, “Disregard what the Father has said is forever and for all generations; instead, do what your pastors teach about the writings of Paul?”
No, He did not.
He said to do the will of the Father.

Messiah says:
^{18 “}Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the law until all things come to pass.”
Did He say, “The Old Testament Law is done away with at the cross.”
No, He did not.
He said, “Not a single pen stroke of the law will change until heaven and earth pass away.”
Last time I checked, heaven and earth are still here, so the instructions given by the Father in Torah (commonly referred to as ‘the law’) have not changed one bit.
This makes sense, because Yahuah said these things are forever, for all generations, never ending, and a perpetual covenant, for both the native born and for the strangers among you.

Messiah says:
¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. ¹⁴ How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Did He say, “Just hold up your hand in the back row and pray me into your heart? Invite all your friends to this easy path as well.”
No, He did not.
He said the way is difficult and few will find it.
Did He say, “Following Me is easy; you just have to believe.”
No, He did not.
He said, “If anyone wants to follow Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross every day, and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”
James tells us, “The demons also believe—and shudder!”

“I believe I’ll have some nachos.”  This is an idea and a concept that I can support!!
“I believe in Jesus and I’m saved.”  Ummm, this concept requires a bit more study…

Messiah says:
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
And He says:
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.”
And He says:
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.”
And He says:
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
Did He say, “Believe and do as you wish.  I’ve got you covered?”
No, He did not.
He says to go and sin no more.
For those who think continued sin will be covered by continued grace, check out Hebrews 10:26-31
²⁶ For if we keep on sinning willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but only a terrifying expectation of judgment and a fury of fire about to devour the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the Torah of Moses dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severe do you think the punishment will be for the one who has trampled Son of God underfoot, and has regarded as unholy the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know the One who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “Elohim will judge His people.”  ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Did you catch that?
There no longer remains a sacrifice for willful sin…
Instead, you will get terrifying expectation of judgement and fury and fire.
Is that what you want?
Because that’s what you get if you keep sinning willfully.

Am I saying there is no grace?  Absolutely not.
We are saved by grace, which is a gift, so that no man should boast.
We are forgiven when we repent.
If we have a heart to love Messiah as He says to (by keeping His commandments) then we are covered by grace if and when we fail.
If we choose not to love Him as He says to, and we sin willfully, then Hebrews 10 kicks in and the outcome is not good.
Please, think on these things…

Messiah Yeshua  says over and over and over again to keep the commandments.
Did He say to call yourself “Just-A-Sinner-Saved-By-Grace”?
No, He says, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.”
1John tells us this:
³ Now we know that we have come to know Him by this—if we keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God is truly made perfect. We know that we are in Him by this— ⁶ whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.

Do you walk just as He walked?
He walked by keeping the biblical Sabbath.
He walked by celebrating the Feast Days of Yahuah (Leviticus 23 tells us about the biblical holidays).
He walked by keeping the commands of the Father (John 15:10)
He taught us to follow the Father’s ways. He said His words are not His own, but the one who sent Him.

John 7:16-19 [more words of Messiah]
¹⁶ Yeshua Messiah answered, “My teaching is not from Me, but from Him who sent Me. ¹⁷ If anyone wants to do His will, he will know whether My teaching comes from God or it is Myself speaking. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true and there is no unrighteousness in Him. ¹⁹ Hasn’t Moses given you the Torah? Yet none of you keeps it…”

Did Messiah bring us a new message? New rules?
No, He did not.
He taught what the Father taught.

And again in John 12:49-50
“For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His commandment is life everlasting. Therefore what I say, I say just as the Father has told Me.”

Messiah says:
⁶ “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Did He say, “Sit at the foot of the cross and stay there, absorbing the never-ending supply of grace dripping from the cross?”
No, He did not.
He said that He is not the destination, but the path to get to the destination.  The Father is where we need to go., but we go to the Father through Yeshua Messiah.

I can give many more examples where mainstream doctrine does not match the words of Yeshua Messiah.
But I encourage you to read His words and seek out those other examples.

Let’s move on and deal this this thought:
“How is it possible that hundreds of millions of Christians throughout many generations have been taught false doctrine?”
I could spend hours answering this question, but let’s keep it simple and straight forward today.
First of all, we are told in scripture, via Jeremiah the prophet, that this would happen.
That EXACTLY this would happen.
“No way!! Really???  I don’t believe you…”
Well, let’s take a look and see:
Jeremiah 16:14-21
¹⁴ “Therefore, the days are quickly coming,” declares Elohim, “when it will no longer be said. ‘As Elohim lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’ ¹⁵ Rather, ‘As Elohim lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ So I will bring them back into their land that I gave to their fathers.

¹⁶ “Behold, I will send for many fishers,” says Elohim, “and they will fish for them. After that, I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down from every mountain and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. ¹⁷ For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. ¹⁸ First I will repay them double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have profaned My land, and they have filled My possession with the carcasses of their vile things and their abominations.”

Verse 19 actually answers this question, but I included verses 14 and on to show the time frame in context.
Some people believe that verse 19 happened eons ago in ancient times. But verses 14 and 19 give us time references.
Verse 14 tells of another exodus, one so fantastic that no one will even speak of Moses and the exodus from Egypt.
That has not happened yet, so these words were not fulfilled at some point in the past.
Verse 19 tells us it is in the day of affliction, or end times — again, not referring to an ancient bygone time.

Verse 19 tells us that the Gentiles will realize one day they have inherited nothing but lies, and that these lies are worthless and unprofitable.
“But how can this be?  Is it really possible that mainstream doctrine is untrue?”
If we read and understand the Torah, we find that actions have consequences.  Consequences require justice.
Our Elohim is a mighty and just God.
Job 34:12
“Surely, God will not act wickedly, And the Almighty will not pervert justice.”

Psalm 9:7-8
But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.

Colossians 3:25
For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

So, where am I going with this, you might ask…
I’ll try to be brief:
The people of Yahuah were brought out of Egypt with miracles.
They were taught the instructions of Yahuah, their Creator.
Yahuah wrote the ten commandments with His own finger on stone tablets (twice, since Moses broke the first set) and they were placed in the Ark of the Covenant.
Moses wrote down the remainder of the instructions as given to him by Yahuah.  These were also placed with the Ark of the Covenant.

The People of Yahuah were to follow these instructions.
They did not.
They split into two kingdoms, Judah and Israel.
Both kingdoms strayed from the Word.
Both kingdoms were punished for doing so, since Yahuah is a just God.
Judah repented and [partially] turned back to the Father.
Israel did not repent and was divorced from the Covenant, and they were scattered among all the nations.

The punishment of each kingdom is described in Ezekiel 4.
Judah received 40 years of punishment.
Israel received 390 years of punishment.

Torah (the law) states that if someone does not repent, their punishment is to be multiplied by 7.  Israel did not repent, so their punishment became 2730 years.
Wow, that is a very long time!!
If we study history, we find that Israel began their punishment in 720BC when they were defeated and scattered by the Assyrians.
If we add 2730 years to that, we get the year 2010.

Can you believe that?  We are living in the time when Israel’s punishment has ended!!
We are living in the time where we get to see Jeremiah 16:19 come to life and happen.
How exciting is it to be alive and see the miracles of prophecy happening to us and among us???
Many men, women, and children are “waking up” to the words of Messiah, which I shared above.
People are waking up to the idea that we are to keep the commandments!
People are understanding that we keep the commandments, not as a legalistic way to ‘achieve salvation’, but simply to show our love out of obedience, just as Messiah said over and over again, which I shared above.

But here is the sad part…
Many reject this idea.
Many hold tight to what they have been taught their whole lives.
Many hold tight to what their fathers and grandfathers knew before them.
Many hold tight to the lies inherited from our fathers, just as Jeremiah prophesied.

“There is no way this concept can be true unless Messiah said it.”

Check out Messiah’s direct quote in Revelation 22:15, where He is speaking of those who WILL NOT BE in His kingdom:
“But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”

Messiah Himself tells us that those who love a lie will not be in His kingdom.
Does He say who WILL BE in His kingdom.
Why, yes.
Yes, He does.
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.

There He goes again, telling us to keep the Commandments.
Are you starting to see why I believe what I believe?
Is this making sense to you?
The things I write about here were spoken of by Jeremiah.
This should not be a surprise to us, and yet it is.
Let go of the lies.
Let go of what you think you know.
Read your bible.
Start at the beginning.
When Yahuah (God) says something is forever, believe that it really is forever. Otherwise He is a liar.
If He is NOT a liar, then mainstream doctrine is false.

Numbers 23:19
God is not a man who lies,
or a son of man who changes his mind!
Does He speak and then not do it,
    or promise and not fulfill it?

Scripture tells us that God is not a liar, and that He does not change His mind.
The Mainstream Doctrine is built upon the idea that God changed His mind, doing away with the law in favor of His Son.
This is twisted theology, and requires us to ignore and reject scripture.
Yes, Messiah lived.
Yes, Messiah died and resurrected, and forgives us of our sin.
Yes, the gospel message is true.
But no, the way it is generally taught is not true or correct.
Not because I say so, but because your Messiah says so!!

Pray about these things.
Present yourself as a Berean, studying all things and testing them for truth.
Mainstream doctrine falls apart rapidly when compared to ALL of scripture.

One last note…
Pastors will argue against these ideas I am presenting.
Pastors will claim their teachings are truth.
So then, is it just my word against their word?
Do you have to choose whether to believe me or believe your pastor?
I say no. The choice is not between what I think and what your pastor thinks.
I say we let scripture, the inspired word of God settle this matter.
As for the way churches teach the writings of Paul, we are given this warning:
2Peter 3:14-18
¹⁴ Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in shalom, spotless and blameless before Him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation—just as our dearly loved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom given to him. ¹⁶ He speaks about these matters in all of his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—to their own destruction.
¹⁷ Since you already know all this, loved ones, be on your guard so that you are not led astray by the error of the lawless and lose your sure footing. ¹⁸ Instead, keep growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity! Amen.

Did you catch that?
Peter is warning us to NOT TWIST Paul’s writings.
He also warns us to NOT TWIST the rest of the Scriptures.
If we do so, it will result in our destruction.
Just to clarify as second time, in order to be absolutely clear, Peter tells us in verse 17 to not follow the error of the lawless.

Does that ring a bell.
What did Messiah say?
Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

I ask you today…
Who will you believe?
Will you listen to your Messiah?
Or will you listen to the teachings of men?

If you’ve read much of my writings here, you know that I disagree with the Mainstream Church Doctrine.
Generally, the Mainstream Church system teaches that the law of the Torah is done away with.
Messiah Himself says otherwise.
Will you believe your Messiah, or will you believe your church teachings that oppose Him?

In any case, please do not confuse my writings here as an attack against the church.
It is not my goal to attack the church, but instead, to contrast their teachings with scripture, and especially with the words spoken by Messiah, to insure people have a chance to evaluate the truth of scripture.

My thoughts, ideas, and words are not an attempt to condemn the church. I have no such authority, nor would I want that responsibility.
My goal is to share the words of scripture, and the words of our Creator, and the words of Messiah.
If the things They say are not in agreement with what your church teaches, then you have a decision to make.
Much doctrine is based upon snippets of Paul’s writings in the New Testament.  We are warned against this in 2Peter 3:14-18.  The church has fallen into the error of not heeding this warning.
Per Peter’s warning, the consequences of this mistake is your destruction.

Are you willing to risk your own destruction by listening to your church instead of your Messiah?

It is my hope and my prayer that people of all walks will turn their hearts to the Father and that their veils would be lifted so they can see the truth (Read 2Corinthians Chapters 3&4 to understand what I’m referring to).

Dear Yeshua Messiah –  I pray for the people of this city, this state, this nation, and this world.  I pray that they would be as the Bereans, to study Your word for truth and accuracy. I pray they would see all of Your words and not just the bits and pieces that have been spoon fed to them.
I pray their hearts and minds would be aligned to You and Your words, and not aligned to the teachings and traditions of men.
Jeremiah 16:19-20 tells us we will one day realize we have inherited nothing but lies.  False gods that do not line up with scripture will be the result of these unprofitable lies. I pray the church as a whole would turn to Your words and Your ways, and disregard the lies of the fathers…
Amen

 

 

Without any knowledge of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) many people believe the idea that we were given two new generic commands by Yeshua Messiah.

Matthew 22:37-38
³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love Elohim 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.’

This idea has been taught in our churches for many generations.
How do we obey these commands?  What are the criteria we need to know, so that we may obey them?
There is no criteria given. It is up to us to decide…

This whole idea falls apart if we take a closer look.
First point:
Yeshua Messiah is not giving new generic commands.  He is quoting from ‘the law’.
Deuteronomy 6:5
⁵ Love Elohim 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. I am Elohim.”

There you go…
Messiah is not creating New Testament doctrine.
He is simply quoting instructions already given, and still applicable.

Second Point:
Is there anyway to know my First Point is correct?
Look at verse 36 in Matthew 22.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah?”

This discussion is 100% about Torah.
Messiah is simply answering a question about the law, already given and still applicable.

Third Point:
Yes, but still… are you sure about that?
Just in case there is any confusion, Yeshua Messiah tells us this in Matthew 22:40
“The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Yes, Messiah takes the time to tell us He was just paraphrasing the law, as well as what the prophets spoke, which was to turn back to the instructions given in Torah (the law).

Do you love your Messiah, your Savior?
John 14:15 tells us how to love Him.
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”