The Supplies…

 

The Scriptures…

The Beginning…

 

Someone might ask (actually some have asked)…
Why in the world would you hand write the bible?
I say, why not?
When we read, we tend to glean the big picture and miss many fine details.  If we hand write the bible, we notice and absorb every single detail in the Word.
It is fascinating to do…
If you want to be intimately familiar with the Word, there is no better way to do it than to write it down!!

If you’d like to join us, I have a group on Facebook called “Hand Write The Bible.”
Here is a link if you’d like to check it out:
Hand Write The Bible

Just a quick quiz on a few scriptures…
Which version of Matthew 7:21-23, a direct quote of Messiah, is correct?

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!’”

²¹ “Everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, as long as you believe in Me and prayed me into your heart. 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, ‘It doesn’t matter if we knew each other well; heaven is just a big party and pretty much everyone is invited!’”

Which version of 2Peter 3:14-17 is correct, regarding Paul’s writings?

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.

¹⁴ Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in peace, sort of spotless and blameless before Him, or as best as you can manage… 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. Don’t worry about what Yahuah or Messiah say, but instead read Paul’s writings in bits and pieces, isolated out of context, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—and if you get it wrong, don’t worry about it.  Yeshua Messiah has you covered, no matter what you believe or do, because Grace is awesome.
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, but even if you do ignore this warning, it’s ok because Messiah doesn’t care and has you covered by His sacrifice, no matter what…

Let’s check out another direct quote of Messiah, again from Matthew 7.  Which version is correct?

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.”

¹³ “Enter through whatever way pleases you most; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to heaven, and those who enter through it are many. ¹⁴ How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to destruction, and those who find it are few.”

 

And another direct quote of Messiah, this time from John 14.
Which seems right to you?

¹⁵ “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

¹⁵ “If you love Me, you will hold your hands high while singing praise and worship songs, and you will volunteer in the church nursery.”

Also from John 14, with Yeshua Messiah still speaking:

^{21 “}He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.”

^{21 “}He who invites his neighbors to church on Easter and dresses up and plays a part in the Christmas theater production is the one who loves Me.”

 

And still Messiah speaking in John 15:

¹⁰ 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. 

¹⁰ If you refrain from flipping people off in the church parking lot and insure you give 10% of your income to the church so they can purchase commercial properties, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

OK, moving on to what Yeshua Messiah said in Revelation 22, regarding those who WILL BE in His kingdom…

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. 

¹⁴ Blessed are those who wear crucifix necklaces and and wear fancy hats to church on Sunday, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 

How about Numbers 23:19? Which version is correct?

God is not a man who lies,
or a son of man who changes his mind!

God is not a man who lies,
or a son of man who changes his mind, except He will decide later His ‘law’ is a bust and a big mistake, and will have to come up with another plan, and will change everything so that as many people as possible can go to heaven.

This one is a bit longer…
Hebrews 10:26-31

²⁶ For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”says the Lord.^[f] And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

²⁶ For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains a sacrifice for sins,  because Jesus still has us covered because He just wants us to believe in him, ²⁷ but there is no fearful expectation of judgment or fiery indignation,  because “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.” ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more forgiveness and grace, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and swims in the unlimited supply of the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will not judge His people, but instead, will forgive them no matter what” ³¹ It is a wonderful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

I don’t write about these things in order to exclude the mainstream church from the Kingdom (not that I have that responsibility, nor would I want it).

I write about these things to show the mainstream church the difference between the warnings in scripture and what they have been taught.
I do this so our loved ones in the church might slow down and evaluate these ideas.  I want them to study the words of Messiah, and see if these warnings might apply to them.
I want them to be as the Bereans, to test all things against scripture (all of scripture, not just a select few bits and pieces of scripture).

I do what I do so that our loved ones might discover new truths and align with those truths.

Returning to Torah~~~
As we re-discover lost knowledge, people are going to have different ideas, understandings, opinions, etc…

It is ok to discuss, debate, challenge, correct, study, change your mind, change someone else’s mind, and everything else under the sun.
It is not ok to be mean, arrogant, condescending, condemning, hateful, etc…

Lex Meyer (Unlearn the Lies on Youtube) published a video describing his top ten list of problems within the Messianic/Hebrew Roots/Torah community.  Link to the video:  Unlearn The Lies Messy-Antics Video
He is absolutely right that these issues need to be addressed and corrected. There are many people causing damage with arguments, condemnation, arrogance, exclusivity, etc…
Yes, mankind needs to improve on how we treat one another, and Torah keepers should blaze the trail and set the example for others to observe and follow, loving our neighbors as ourselves.

While I completely agree that some behaviors need to be called out and corrected, I would like to respond to one of the ten topics that Lex brought up in his video.
Problem #4 – Angry Christian Haters
Lex has stated that mainstream Christians are not the enemy.
I wholeheartedly agree!!
Some Torah followers show hatred for the mainstream Christian church system through their words and their attitudes.
Man, no matter their religion (or lack thereof), is not our enemy.
Our enemy is HaSatan, the deceiver and destroyer.
Ephesians 6:12-13 explains who our battle is with:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

I stand with Lex on this concept, that we should not hate our mainstream Christian folks.
Men and women are not our enemy.
Other men and women are created by Yahuah, just as we are.
Just because they have different ideas and thoughts and doctrine does not make them our spiritual enemy.
Even if some (not talking about the church here) willingly and openly follow and serve HaSatan, they are still  men and women.  They are still flesh and blood. They are not spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Yes, we must be wary of them.  We must pray for them.  But they are not our enemy.

However…
Lex goes on to say these things about mainstream Christians:
– They are trying to follow the same God as us.
– They are trying to follow the same Messiah as us.
– They are trying to follow and obey the same scriptures as us.
– They just have a different revelation and understanding of the
    scriptures.
– This doesn’t mean they are wrong.
– They are just in a different place or spot than us.

I’d like to consider these statements and ideas.
First of all, are they following the same God and the same Messiah as us?
If we simply say they read the same bibles as us, and therefore, are following the same God and the same Messiah, then I would agree with Lex.
But here is the problem I have with this idea.
Do we simply follow a name written down on paper, or do we follow an entity, the character of our God and Messiah?

In my 30 plus years in the mainstream Christian church, I was shown an angry, wrathful God in the Old Testament as compared to a loving, accepting God in the New Testament.
When we read scripture, we find that Yahuah does not change.
That means He is the same in the Old and New Testaments.

Malachi 3:6
“For I am the Lord, I do not change…”

John 1 tells us that Messiah is the Word become flesh.
Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Messiah has never changed, does not change, and will never change.  This means that neither the word nor Messiah have ever changed, nor will ever change.

It is impossible for “God” to have one character in the Old Testament and a different character in the New Testament.
Even if the mainstream church is a bit confused on this, are they still following the same God and Messiah?

–Mainstream doctrine teaches that Messiah fulfilled the Torah law
     so that we don’t have to. The law is done away with at the cross.
–Mainstream Christians do not keep and honor the Sabbath.
–Mainstream Christians do not keep dietary laws.
–Mainstream Christians teach that ‘the law’ is a curse and a
burden.
–Mainstream Christians do not observe the moedim, Yahuah’s
     appointed times. 
And on and on and on…

If you want to follow God/, you have to know who He is.
You have to know His character.
You have to know His ways.
You have to know His words.
You have to know His promises.
You have to know His warnings.
Otherwise, what are you following? Who are you following?

Yahuah gave many instructions, and said they are forever, for all generations, perpetual, never ending.
Mainstream Christians do not follow those instructions and His ways. If a person claims to know and follow God, but does not know His ways and does not follow His instructions, are they really following the God of the bible?
Or are they following a made-up deity?
Yes, I understand that is an extremely difficult question.
But it is important. So let’s look at it in more detail.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 tells us how to spot a false prophet.
“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.”

Yahuah (God) gave us His words. He gave us His instructions.
He shows us His character in scripture. He shares how He expects us to believe and how He expects us to live.
If a religious system teaches doctrine that does not accurately describe Yahuah’s character, and does not teach the ways of Yahuah, then are they teaching about and following the same God?
If a religious system teaches doctrine that says to do something other than what Yahuah commanded us to do, then are they teaching about and following the same God?
Deuteronomy 13 says no, they are not following the same God.

This is a big deal!!
Are we warned of this in scripture?
Absolutely, we are.
Jeremiah 16:19-20
O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?

Jeremiah tells us that in end times (day of affliction) that Gentiles will realize they have been taught nothing but lies.
Whoa…
Yes, this was predicted.
Jeremiah did not say these lies would be a little off from truth, but everything is still ok…
Jeremiah said these lies are worthless and unprofitable.
Double Whoa…
What happens as a result of these lies?
Jeremiah says men will make gods for himself, except these deities are not gods.
Triple Whoa…
This is not good, is it?

Messiah Himself says that not a single pen stroke or letter of the Torah instructions (the law) will change until heaven and earth pass away (Matthew 5).
And yet, the mainstream church teaches that Messiah did away with the law, fulfilling it so that we don’t have to.

The mainstream church does not keep and observe the Sabbath, which is the 4th commandment of the ten commandments.
Scripture says that anyone who profanes the Sabbath will surely die.
Scripture says that anyone who does not observe the Sabbath and keep it holy will be cut off from the people.
Scripture says that the Sabbath is a sign between Yahuah and His people.
Scripture is clear on this.
If one does not keep the Sabbath, then they are not Yahuah’s people, they will be cut off from His people, and they shall surely die.
Not my words, but straight out of scripture.

I could go on and on and on, comparing mainstream Christian practices vs. Torah…
But I’ve done that and will continue to do so with my many blog posts.

But here is the issue I have with Lex Meyer’s take on the Christian churches.
Not long ago, Lex was sitting on a question and answer panel for a live stream session at a Torah conference.
Someone in the live audience asked if it is ok to continue attending mainstream Sunday church as a Torah follower.
Lex said, yes, it is ok to continue in the mainstream church.

I disagree.
People in the Torah community will give testimony that they have been “called out” of the church.  They will testify that they have been called to learn and keep Torah.

If the mainstream churches are ok, then why would anyone be called out of them?  If the churches are ok then why bother with Shabbat, the Leviticus 23 moedim, eating clean, or anything else in the commands?
If none of this matters, then why are any of us doing it?
Well, the answer is simple.
These things do matter.

If we know our Creator, then we will learn His ways and do them.
If we do not know our Creator, then we will follow man-made traditions and religious gobbledy-gook.
If we want to know what Messiah thinks about these things, check out Matthew 23. It is a scathing, awful rebuke of the religious leaders of His time, teaching the traditions of men instead of the Word of Yahuah. It is not pretty.

If Messiah called them out on this issue and told them they are a pit of vipers destined for the Lake of Fire, then why on earth would we claim the mainstream church and all their traditions in defiance of the Word are ok??
We would not.
We should not.
But some do, and it is very dangerous.

Am I a Christian hater?
Absolutely not.
I share what I learn in scripture out of love for our mainstream Christian friends and family.
Love is telling the truth.
Let’s pray for our mainstream Christian friends and family.
Let’s pray that their veils are lifted (2Corinthians chapters 3/4).
Let’s pray for them to shed the lies that Jeremiah warned about.
Let’s help them to get on the narrow path that Messiah says few will find (mainstream churches teach that the masses are all on the narrow path).

No, we will not hate anyone.
But we will tell them the truth, out of love…

The bible is a big book.  Much is said by many different authors, spanning many centuries.
But Messiah told us some things at the very end in His Revelation, which was given to Him by the Father. In case we get lost or confused in the many writings along the way, Messiah gives us some vital information at the very end…

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

And in case we missed it in chapter 14, Messiah tells us who is in His kingdom and who is not in His kingdom at the very end, in Revelation 22:14-15.
 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.

Those who keep the commands are in.
Those who love and practice a lie are out. Think about what Jeremiah said about Gentiles inheriting nothing but lies…
I believe that we are saved by our faith in Yeshua Messiah.  I do not ever state that our salvation comes from keeping the commands.
However, Messiah told us this:
John 14:15 
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
And Messiah told us this:
John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.”
And Messiah said this:
John 15:9-10
 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ 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.”

Salvation comes by faith.
But keeping the commands proves that we know Him and that we love Him and that we obey Him and that we abide in Him.

Here is another direct quote of Messiah:
Matthew 7:21-23
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!’
Lawlessness will cause our rejection by Messiah.
The mainstream church doctrine teaches, believes, and lives lawlessness. Do you see what I’m saying here?

Lex has a great heart and shares some really great teachings.
I agree with him that we are not to hate the mainstream Christian churches.
But I disagree with him that they are all ok, but are just “in a different place than us”.
That is why we need to tell them the truth and pray for them.
In love, not in hate.

Matthew 7:13-14
¹³ “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.

Matthew 7:21-23
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!’

I’ve utilized these two warnings (and many others) in scripture in a number of my prior posts.  Am I beating a dead horse?  Why come back to them again?

1.  They are direct quotes of our Messiah.  As such, I believe it is extremely important to know and understand these warnings.
2.  While everyone loves the feel-good-promises in scripture (and we should), there are people out there who are completely unaware of these types of warnings.
3.  When I post about these things on Facebook, people get angry with me.  But are they angry with me, or are they angry with Yeshua Messiah?  These are His words, not mine…

I’m not a doomsday type of guy, standing on the street corners with a megaphone, claiming the end is at hand.
I love the promises made in scripture, and there is much good news to convey to our fellow man…
But I share these warnings out of love for others.

Right after making these warnings, Messiah says this:
Matthew 7:24-29
Build on the Rock
²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
²⁸ And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, ²⁹ for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Yes, He follows these warnings by stating that if we heed His words, we will be safe from all that comes, and our “house” will stand.
If we do not heed His words, our “house” will fall, and we will not be safe from what is to come…

Do you want to be strong, secure, and safe?
Or do you want to be foolish, weak, and vulnerable?

Please…
Study the warnings of Messiah and heed them.
Do not be caught up in lawlessness when He returns.
He will not know you and will send you away.
Our churches teach us that the law was done away with at the cross.
Messiah says otherwise, numerous times.
Read more of my blog posts to see His other quotes.

This is very important!!