A Warning To Torah Community
Ecclesiastes 1:9-11
⁹ 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.
¹¹ There is no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after.
We are told in Ecclesiastes that events in this life are cyclical.
All that has happened before will happen again.
We are told that people will not remember what came before…
And people will not understand what came before in order to apply it to what will come.
Why could these thoughts be considered a warning to today’s Torah community?
Let’s take a look at it.
As many know, people all around the world, in all walks of life, are returning to Torah. Many are questioning what we’ve been taught for many generations, calling it into question, and wiping the slate clean.
Jeremiah foretold this…
Jeremiah 16:19-20
¹⁹ O Yehova, 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.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?
Many are learning today that Torah is applicable now, just as it was in ancient times.
This is a good thing.
And it was prophesied, as we are told in Isaiah and Micah.
Isaiah 2:3
Then many peoples will go and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yehova,
to the House of the God of Jacob!
Then He will teach us His ways,
and we will walk in His paths.”
For Torah will go forth from Zion
and the word of Yehova from Jerusalem.
Miach 4:1-2
But at the end of days
the mountain of Yehova’s House will be established as chief of the mountains,
and will be raised above the hills.
Peoples will flow up to it.
² Then many nations will go and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yehova,
to the House of the God of Jacob!
Then He will direct us in His ways,
and we will walk in His paths.”
For Torah will go forth from Zion,
and the word of Yehova from Jerusalem.
Does everybody understand the background events that make this prophecy necessary? I’ll do a quick summary:
Yehova stated numerous times that if His people, Israel, turned their backs on Him that He would scatter them among all the nations of the earth.
The entire chapter of Leviticus 26 is one such warning (with a promise of return at the end):
Faithfulness Ensures Blessings
³ “If you walk in My statutes, keep My commandments and carry them out, ⁴ then I will give you rains in their season, the land will yield its crops, and the trees of the field will yield their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing will last until grape gathering, the grape gathering will last until the sowing time, you will eat your bread to the full, and live securely in your land.
⁶ “I will bring shalom in the land, and you will lie down, with no one making you afraid. I will remove dangerous beasts from the land and no sword will pass through your land. ⁷ You will chase your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword. ⁸ Five of you will chase 100 and 100 of you will chase 10,000, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
⁹ “I will turn toward you, make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you. ¹⁰ You will eat the old harvest and clear out the old because of the new. ¹¹ I will set My Tabernacle among you, and My soul will not abhor you. ¹² I will walk among you and will be your God, and you will be My people. ¹³ I am Yehova your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, so that you would not be their slaves, and I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright.
Faithlessness Ensures Misery
¹⁴ “But if you will not listen to Me, nor carry out all these commandments, ¹⁵ and if you reject My statutes and if your soul abhors My ordinances, so that you do not keep all My commandments, but instead break My covenant, ¹⁶ then I will do the following to you in return. I will appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever that will dim the eyes and cause the soul to pine away. You will sow your seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. ¹⁷ I will set My face against you and you will be routed before your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.
¹⁸ “If you, in spite of these things, will not listen to Me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins. ¹⁹ I will break your pride of power. I will make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze. ²⁰ Also your strength will be spent in vain, for your land will not yield its increase, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit.
²¹ “if you keep walking contrary to Me and will not listen to Me, then I will multiply the plagues on you seven times like your sins. ²² I will send the wild animals among you, which will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you so few in number that your roads will become deserted.
²³ “Now if in spite of these things you will not be chastened by Me, but walk contrary to Me instead, ²⁴ then I will also walk contrary to you. Then I will strike you, I Myself, seven times for your sins. ²⁵ I will bring a sword upon you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant, and you will be gathered together inside your cities. I will send the pestilence among you and you will be given into the hand of the enemy. ²⁶ When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
²⁷ “Yet if in spite of this you will not listen to Me but walk contrary to Me, ²⁸ then I will walk contrary to you in wrath. So I will chastise you seven times for your sins. ²⁹ You will eat the flesh of your sons and you will eat the flesh of your daughters. ³⁰ I will destroy your high places and cut down your altars of incense, cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols, and My soul will abhor you. ³¹ I will lay waste your cities and devastate your sanctuaries. I will not smell your soothing aromas. ³² I will make the land desolate and your enemies settling there will be astonished at it. ³³ I will scatter you among the nations and I will draw out the sword after you. So your land will become a desolation and your cities will become a waste. ³⁴ Then the land will enjoy its Shabbatot all the days of its desolation, while you are in the land of your enemies. Then the land will rest and enjoy its Shabbatot. ³⁵ As long as it lies desolate it will have rest, that rest which it did not have from your Shabbatot, when you lived on it.
³⁶ “As for those who remain, I will bring weakness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that the sound of a driven leaf will put them to flight, and they will flee as one flees from the sword and fall, even when no one is pursuing. ³⁷ They will stumble over one another, as if before the sword, when no one pursues, and you will have no strength to stand before your enemies. ³⁸ You will perish among the nations and the land of your enemies will devour you. ³⁹ Those of you who are left in the land of your enemies will rot away because of their iniquity, and because of the iniquities of their fathers they will rot away with them.
Yehova Remembers His Own
⁴⁰ “But if they confess their iniquity and that of their fathers, in the treachery they committed against Me, and how they walked contrary to Me ⁴¹ —in return I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if at that time their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled, so that they accept the punishment for their iniquity, ⁴² then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and also My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. ⁴³ But the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its Shabbatot while it lies desolate without them, and they will accept the punishment of their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes.
⁴⁴ “Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I hate them into utter destruction, and break My covenant with them, for I am Yehova their God. ⁴⁵ But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am Yehova.”
⁴⁶ These are the statutes, ordinances and laws, which Yehova made between Himself and Bnei-Yisrael at Mount Sinai by Moses.
The nation of Israel ended up splitting into two separate kingdoms, the House of Israel in the north and the House of Judah to the south. We see this play out in 1Kings chapter 12.
Both kingdoms turned away from Yehova, and turned away from His Ways.
Israel was divorced from the covenant and scattered among all the nations of the earth.
Judah was not divorced from the covenant, but was also punished for their harlotry.
Jeremiah 3:6-10
⁶ Then Yehova said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel did? She went up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there she committed adultery. ⁷ Yet I thought that after she had done all this she would return to Me. But she did not return. Even her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. ⁸ I noted that when backsliding Israel committed adultery I sent her away and gave her a certificate of divorce. Yet, unfaithful Judah, her sister, did not fear. Instead she also went and committed adultery. ⁹ It happened that through her frivolous prostitution, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and with wood. ¹⁰ Yet after all this her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with her whole heart, but only insincerely,” It is a declaration of Yehova.
Both the House of Israel and the House of Judah suffered consequences for their disobedience, however, it is important to note that Israel was divorced from the covenant, while Judah was not divorced.
In Ezekiel 4, we are given the intended time of their punishment.
⁴ “Then you are to lie on your left side, and set on it the punishment of the house of Israel; according to the number of days that you lie on it, you will bear their iniquity. ⁵ I have appointed the years of their punishment to you as a number of days—390 days. So you will bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. ⁶ When you have completed these, you will lie on your right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah—40 days—a day for each year, I have appointed to you.
390 years of exile for Israel, and 40 years of exile for Judah.
What kind of exile?
Most people believe this exile is just a physical scattering.
But it is not.
It begins with a physical scattering, but also includes a separation not only from Yehova, but also from the Torah!!
Not only was the original disobedient generation exiled, but also their children!
Hosea 4:6
⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Since you rejected knowledge,
I will also reject you from being My kohen.
Since you forgot the Torah of your God,
just so I will forget your children.
Deuteronomy 28:32
³² “Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while your eyes look on, longing for them all day long—but your hand will be powerless.”
This is a terrible consequence, but they were forewarned, numerous times.
They were told how to obtain life and blessing:
Deuteronomy 28:1-2
“Now if you listen obediently to the voice of Yehova your God, taking care to do all His commandments that I am commanding you today, Yehova your God will set you on high—above all the nations of the earth. ² Then all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you listen to the voice of Yehova your God…
But they did not listen to His voice.
They did not obey His Words and His Ways.
The terrible consequence is not Yehova’s fault. He warned them not to, and yet, they chose disobedience and its consequences anyway.
And what is the result of their disobeience and scattering?
Deuteronomy 28:62-64
⁶² “You will be left few in number, instead of being like the stars of the sky in number—because you did not listen to the voice of Yehova your God. ⁶³ Now just as Yehova rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so Yehova will rejoice over you to ruin and destroy you; and you will be uprooted from the land that you are going in to possess.
⁶⁴ “Yehova will scatter you among all peoples from the one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve other gods—wood and stone—that you and your fathers have not known.”

Let’s focus on the House of Israel…
Their exile, separation from Yehova and separation from the understanding of Torah, was to last 390 years.
But we are told they did not repent and turn back to Yehova.
What does the Torah tell us about the unrepentant?
Leviticus 26:18
⁸ “If you, in spite of these things, will not listen to Me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.”
Leviticus 26:21
^{“if you keep walking contrary to Me and will not listen to Me, then I will} multiply the plagues on you seven times like your sins.”
Leviticus 26:23-24
²³ “Now if in spite of these things you will not be chastened by Me, but walk contrary to Me instead, ²⁴ then I will also walk contrary to you. Then I will strike you, I Myself, seven times for your sins.”
Leviticus 26:28
²⁷ “Yet if in spite of this you will not listen to Me but walk contrary to Me, ²⁸ then I will walk contrary to you in wrath. So I will chastise you seven times for your sins.”
If one is unrepentant and does not turn back to Yehova, then consequences are multiplied by seven.
The House of Israel was to be scattered and exiled, both physically and spiritually, for 390 years. But they did not repent, and in accordance with Torah instruction, their consequence became 2730 years!!
As men and women, we cannot fully understand the idea of 2730 years.
It is just a number.
We understand years and decades.
I’m not even sure we understand full lifetimes, until we reach the end of our own.
We do not have the capability to understand 2730 years in our own sliver of existence. Many of us do not even know the names of our great-grandparents –– and that is only 3 generations, maybe 60-80 years ago.
Do you understand what I am showing you?
An exile of 2730 years is horrific and beyond comprehension!
And yet, it is spelled out for us in the scriptures.
The House of Israel chose disobedience.
The House of Israel chose to not repent.
The House of Israel chose to not turn back to Yehova.
This physical and spiritual exile began in approximately 720BC when the Assyrians defeated Israel, captured them, and began to scatter them among all the nations of the earth.
If we add 2730 years duration to this time period, we see that the exile ended in 2009/2010 timeframe!!
Yes, we are living at a time of great significance in biblical history/prophecy!
We are alive to witness the House of Israel regain understanding of the Torah and be called back into covenant with Yehova!!
I have experienced this calling, to return to Yehova and His Words and His Ways!!
This is fascinating and praise worthy!!
If this is a good thing [and it is] then why would I title this article “A Warning To Torah Community”?
Do you remember how we began this study?
Ecclesiastes 1:9
⁹ 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.
What example in ancient times do we have in the scriptures where Torah was given to Israel?
The Exodus story.
The Torah was given to Israel [and to the strangers among them, the mixed-multitude] on Mt. Sinai.
There were over 600,000 Hebrew men, plus the women and children, plus the mixed-multitude who came out of Mitsrayim [Egypt] with them and chose to be part of Israel.
How many adults of these several million people made it to the promise land?
Two.
Exactly two men of this original generation made it into the promise land.
Joshua and Caleb.
That’s it.
The nation of Israel made a golden calf and worshipped it almost immediately!!
Yehova wanted to destroy them, but He relented.
And the people continued in disobedience from there, never ending their rebellion and lack of faith.
All throughout the Exodus story, we see the people rebelling against Yehova.
And He struck them all down, save Joshua and Caleb.
Numbers 14:26-30
²⁶ Yehova then said to Moses and Aaron saying, ²⁷ “How long will this wicked community be grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of Bnei-Yisrael grumbling against Me. ²⁸ So tell them, ‘As surely as I live,’ says Yehova, ‘I will do to you just as I heard you say in My ears. ²⁹ In this very wilderness your bodies will drop—every one of you 20 years of age and older who was numbered in the census and grumbled against Me. ³⁰ Not one of you will enter the land about which I lifted My hand to make home for you—except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
Why were Joshua and Caleb allowed to enter the promise land?
Numbers 32:11-13
¹¹ ‘The men who came out of Egypt, from 20 years old and upward, will not see the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for they have not followed after Me with a whole heart— ¹² except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they were wholehearted after Yehova.’ ¹³ The anger of Yehova burned against Israel and He caused them to wander in the wilderness 40 years until all the generation doing that evil in Yehova’s sight was gone.
Joshua and Caleb followed Yehova wholly and completely.
They were included in the promise because they followed Him wholeheartedly.
This is the standard that is set for us:
We are to follow Yehova wholeheartedly.
Completely.
Not a little.
Not when it is convenient.
Not when we feel like it.
We are to have complete faith and follow Him all the time, in everything that we do, say, and think.
We are to follow completely.
Lest we fall in the wilderness.
Deuteronomy 13:1
“Whatever I command you, you must take care to do—you are not to add to it or take away from it.”
Deuteronomy 13:4-5
“…for Yehova your God is testing you, to find out whether you love Yehova your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁵ Yehova your God you will follow and Him you will fear. His commandments you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling.”
We are a new generation.
We are the first generation following the 2730 year curse and exile, to be given the Torah, and understanding of the Torah.
And this is the warning I have for Torah community:
Will we cling to Yehova?
Will we add to His Word?
Will we take away from His Word?
Will we walk His path, not turning to the right or to the left?
Deuteronomy 5:29-30
²⁹ “So you must take care to do as Yehova your God has commanded you—do not turn aside to the right or to the left. ³⁰ You are to walk in all the way that Yehova your God has commanded you, so that you may live and it may be well with you…”
The Torah was given to Israel at Mt Sinai.
They were given this charge:
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
¹⁹ “I call the heavens and the earth to witness about you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live, ²⁰ by loving Yehova your God, listening to His voice, and clinging to Him. For He is your life and the length of your days, that you may dwell on the land that Yehova swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob—to give them.
Yehova is asking for our complete and total faith and obedience.
It brings life and blessing, while disobedience brings death and curse.
Why is this important?
It isn’t just so that we can enter our promise land (kingdom of heaven), but so that our descendants might live. Our children.
Remember Hosea…
Since you forgot the Torah of your God,
just so I will forget your children.
We must follow Yehova completely!!
Deuteronomy 12:28
Take care and listen to ALL THESE WORDS that I am commanding you, so that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of Yehova your God.
We are just like the children of the Exodus.
We are being given the Torah.
Will we guard it and protect it, walking in ALL of His ways?
Or will we stray from it, only doing the parts we like?
Will we stray from it, only following His ways when convenient?
Will we turn our backs on Yehova if we see something shiny, or if we think we know better?

We are told that there is nothing new under the sun.
As it was in ancient days, so it will be again.
We see this concept played out in scripture time and time again.
We are now the generation living during a monumental time spoken of in scripture.
Will we repeat history, just as Ecclesiastes says?
Will we fail to heed His Word?
Or will we follow Him wholly and completely?
We are being given an opportunity like no other!!
We live in THE VERY GENERATION when Yehova is giving His Torah back to the people!!! Just as we saw in Isaiah 2 and Micah 4!!
Will we embrace it and follow Him completely, wholeheartedly?
Or will we follow in the path of the Exodus generation and fail?
Will we all drop in the wilderness, not seeing our promise land (the kingdom of heaven)?
I urge all of you, myself included, to be like Joshua and Caleb.
Take all of the Words of Yehova to heart.
Take them seriously.
Do not mix in the traditions and thoughts of Judaism.
Do not add the traditions and thoughts from mainstream Christianity.
Follow Him.
Cling to Him.
Do not be lukewarm and fall in the wilderness.

Please do not error as described in Isaiah 30:1
“Oh, the rebellious children”
—it is a declaration of Yehova—
“Who carry out a plan, but not Mine,
and make an alliance, but not of My Ruach,
so they may add sin to sin…”
And remember…
The Exodus generation who fell in the wilderness was a Torah Observant community.

And please keep in mind how much Yehova and Yeshua hated the traditions of men.

If your Torah walk includes the traditions of Judaism that are not given in scripture, repent and separate from it.

Do not add to nor take away from His Word!!

If your Torah walk includes having one foot in the truth and one foot in lawless Christianity, repent of it and separate from it!!

Do not add to nor take away from His Word!!

I pray for life and blessing for you by clinging to ALL THAT HE HAS COMMANDED!

Luke 15:11-32 
The Parable of the Lost Son
¹¹ Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. ¹³ And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with^[d]prodigal living. ¹⁴ But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵ Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’
²⁰ “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³ And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴ for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
²⁸ “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. ³⁰ But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
³¹ “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.³² It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

The story of the prodigal son has always been one of my favorites!
What is more comforting than to know that after failing miserably, we can and will be accepted, forgiven, and loved?
Yes, the older brother got a little cranky, but I’m guessing he eventually warmed up to the idea.
Over about 33 years in mainstream Christian churches, this was always taught as a feel-good story.  And on the surface, it is absolutely a feel-good story.
But is there more to it?
I think there is.

The teachings I’ve always heard were based on the perspective that no matter how hard we fall, no matter how bad we fail, Yehova (God) is willing to forgive and accept us back into His fold.
I have always heard the grace side of this story – and it is wonderful.
But let’s take a look at some other key details, specifically, verses 18-19 and 21.
What do we see here?
We see humility.
We see submission to the Father.
We see a change of heart.
We see a changed man who is willing to serve, even in a lowly position.

Throughout my life, I have met many people active in religion, but they are not “changed people”.  They are not humble, or submitted, or displaying a change of heart.
Yes, they are active in and very dedicated to religion, but it is always on their terms.
“I’ll do this thing, but I’ll do it my way.”
In this story, we see a humble young man who is willing to do anything and everything the Father says, without expectation of reward.
He commits himself to being a servant on someone else’s terms, not his own.
This is exactly what this means:
Luke 9:23-24
And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”
and this…
Romans 6:11
“Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to Yehova in Yeshua Messiah.”
and this…
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of Yehova, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to Yehova, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of Yehova is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
and this…
Galatians 5:24
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
and this…
Romans 8:12-13
So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh– for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
and this…
Romans 6:6-7
knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.

If we truly want to come to the Father and be His, we must come fully and completely submitted to His will and to His ways. We can’t just do religion according to our own thoughts and ideas.
Did Yeshua Messiah [Jesus] say this?
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who finds a religion that works for him and makes him happy.”
No, not at all.
He actually said this:
“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.”
This ties right into the story of the prodigal son.
Come to the Father.
Do so with a submitted heart, full of humility.
Do so with a willingness to follow the ways of the Father.
Do not bring your own terms and conditions.

Another good lesson here is to not be like the older brother.
Do not be disgruntled in such a scenario.
Forgive and rejoice that one has turned back to the Father!!
Just like James tells us:
James 5:19-20
¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth and someone turns him back, ²⁰ let him know that the one who turns a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
A soul is being saved from death!!
Rejoice!!
And as we are told in Jude:
Jude 1:22-23
²² And have mercy on those who are wavering— ²³ save them by snatching them out of the fire…

Now that we’ve discussed this story from a personal level, is there anymore meaning to this story?
There is, in fact!!
Yehova created the Hebrew nation by calling Abraham.  Genesis tells us about the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Jacob had twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel.
The nation split into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom of Israel (ten tribes) and the southern kingdom of Judah (two tribes).
Both kingdoms strayed from the ways of the Father.
Judah remained in covenant, but Israel was divorced from the covenant and scattered among all the nations of the earth. Why? Because they went whoring after other gods, and turned their backs on Yehova, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Over many centuries, the people of the House of Israel were absorbed into the Gentile nations. 
But…  
We are told by Yehova Himself as well as the prophets that one day, the tribes of the House of Israel will be regathered – when they turn back to Him! 
He will once again join them to Judah, and make a whole nation of His people once again. But Judah will not be happy about it at first.

The story of the prodigal son maps out the history of Yehova’s chosen people, and illustrates for us what is to come.
A submitted and humble heart by the House of Israel, a welcoming back into the fold, just as scripture foretells.
And a jealous older brother, the House of Judah.

I for one can’t wait!!

 

 

 

 

This study is going to take awhile, so I’ll be posting multiple parts as I go.
What idea are we exploring?
What if being saved from our sin by Yeshua Messiah [Jesus] is a completely different event and concept than being granted salvation and everlasting life?
Why would I ask such a question?

Consider this in Ephesians:
Ephesians 2:8-10
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves—it is the gift of God. ⁹ It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship—created in Messiah Yeshua for good deeds, which God prepared beforehand so we might walk in them.
We are told point blank that we are saved by grace through faith, and that it is a gift.
And verse 9 is as clear as clear gets:  “It is not based on deeds.”
But immediately after, we are told that we are created for good deeds, that Yehova has prepared for us.  We are given information that we are expected to do deeds.

James tells us this about our faith:
James 2:17-20
¹⁷ So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder! ²⁰ But do you want to know, you empty person, that faith without works is dead?
We are told that unless we have works, we have no faith.
While Ephesians 2 tells us we are saved with faith and not with deeds, we find out in James that we have no faith without said deeds. How do we make sense of this?

There are three statements in Revelation [the Revelation of Yeshua Messiah commonly known as Jesus] indicating that doing works, keeping the commands of Yehova [God], is absolutely necessary.
We are told who make up the remnant of the church:
Revelation 12:17
¹⁷ So the dragon became enraged at the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Yeshua.
This is the Revelation of Yeshua Messiah.
He identifies His church body as those keeping the commandments of God.
Works!! Deeds!!
The very deeds that Ephesians 2:10 tells us about!

We are told who the saints are, the elect:
Revelation 14:12
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua.
This is the Revelation of Yeshua Messiah.
He identifies His saints as those keeping the commandments of God.
Works!! Deeds!!
The very deeds that Ephesians 2:10 tells us about!

Yeshua Messiah then tells us who will be allowed into His kingdom:
Revelation 22:14
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.
This is the Revelation of Yeshua Messiah.
He identifies who is allowed into New Jerusalem as those keeping the commandments of God.
Works!! Deeds!!
The very deeds that Ephesians 2:10 tells us about!
He does not say those who ‘believe’ are allowed in.
He says those who do works, keeping the commandments of Yehova, are allowed in!!
If you study about New Jerusalem, you’ll find this is heaven.
This is where those who are granted eternal life and salvation will reside with Yehova.
No one can be given eternal life without access to the Tree of Life, and it is contained in a City that is only accessible by those who do works, those who keep the commandments of Yehova.

How important is it to Yehova, that we keep His commandments:
Deuteronomy 32:46-47
“Set your heart on all the words with which I warn you today, so that you command your children to guard to do all the Words of this Torah. For it is not a worthless Word for you, because it is your life…”
We are told that keeping His commands is our life!!
We are told the same in Ecclesiastes 12:13
¹³ A final word, when all has been heard:
    Fear God and keep His commandments!
For this applies to all mankind.

Yeshua Messiah tells us it is very important:
John 14:15
 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
and this…
John 14:21
²¹ He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.
and this…
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.

Why are we told that we are saved by grace and faith alone without works, but then many scriptures tell us works are necessary to enter the kingdom??

If we are “saved” when we turn to Messiah, repenting and asking Him for forgiveness, then why does He say this:
Matthew 24:13
^{13 “}But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
If we are saved already, then what does enduring until the end look like?
What does that entail?
What must we do?

1John 2:3-6
³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

If we are “saved” when we turn to Messiah, repenting and asking Him for forgiveness, then why is it necessary to work out our salvation?
Philippians 2:12
¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
We are told that working out our salvation is tied to obedience.

Why does Paul say this:
1Corinthians 9
²⁴ Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. ²⁵ And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.²⁶ Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Typical church doctrine tells us to come to Jesus, accept Him and be saved.
Is Messiah the starting line and the finish line in the race we must run?
What does Yeshua Messiah tell us?
John 14:6
⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
He tells us that He is not the finish line.
He tells us that we come to Him and He is the starting line.
But then, we must continue on.
Where must we continue?
To the Father.

Romans 10:13
¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Various scriptures listed above tell us that entering the kingdom of heaven requires us to keep the commandments of God.  
But to be saved, all we need to do is confess that Yeshua is Lord.

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!’
We see a distinction in this direct quote of Yeshua Messiah.
While Romans tells us those who call on His name will be saved, we see that a different criteria is given to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Not those who call on His name, but only those who do the will of the Father.
What is the Father’s will? His commandments, His instructions, His Torah.
Psalm 40:8
I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.

I find this interesting:
2Corinthians 7:9-11
⁹ Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰ For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
If salvation comes when we ‘accept’ Yeshua Messiah, confessing He is Lord, then why is Paul speaking about something leading to salvation afterwards?

This tells us that salvation comes later, as a separate event.
Looking at Romans 10 again, we see a difference between confessing and repenting.
Romans 10:8-9
⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

We are told that confessing leads us to being saved in Romans.
We are told in 2Corinthians that repenting leads us to salvation.
Let’s take a look at these two words:

con·fess
/kənˈfes/
verb
admit or state that one has committed a crime or is at fault in some way.
“he confessed that he had attacked the old man”
admit, acknowledge, reveal, make known, disclose, divulge, make public, avow, declare, blurt out, profess, own up to, tell all about, bring into the open, bring to light;

repent  
re·​pent | \ ri-ˈpent
verb
1: to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life
2a: to feel regret or contrition
b: to change one’s mind

We can see that to confess and to repent are very different things.
To confess is to acknowledge and admit, and leads to being saved.
To repent is to change your behavior, and it leads to salvation.

I will continue to study this in depth, and will post additional parts to this study.
In the meantime, please consider this idea and pray about it.
I’ll continue to explore the idea in scripture that being saved and being granted salvation are two separate events.
Possibly, we are saved from our life of sin when we come to Messiah, but we are granted salvation when we change who we are and endure til the end?

Who is the remnant? Who are the saints?  Who get to enter the City and have access to the Tree of Life?
Those who keep the commandments.
It is not those who are simply ‘saved’ according to the scriptures reviewed so far.
We have a race to run.
We must endure to the end.
We must work out our salvation.
We must keep the commandments of Yehova.
We must have the faith and testimony of Yeshua Messiah.

The idea that I am exploring is not common.
But if true, it makes sense of many scriptures that seem to be in some sort of conflict.
If being saved and being granted salvation are two separate events, then lots of puzzle pieces fall into place.
I am not stating this as fact, but it is an idea I am studying and will continue to do so.
Feel free to study this idea and pray about it and give me your feedback!
Stay tuned for more…

 

What if being saved from your sin by Yeshua Messiah [Jesus] is a completely different event and concept than being granted salvation and everlasting life?

Study to come…

Stay tuned.

Is it all just a test?
If so, how many people are passing?
How many are failing?

Early in the bible, the Creator of all things presented mankind with His instructions.
He says that His instructions bring life and blessing, and that not following His instructions brings death and curses.
Is it because He is hateful, and gives us a bunch of craziness to follow?
No, not at all.
It is because He is the Creator of all things.
He knows what will work and what will not work.
He is the designer, the engineer, and the manufacturer.
He has the authority, the understanding, and the knowledge to create our “owner’s manual”.

Most educated religious leaders teach that His instruction manual is no longer applicable.
But in His instructions to us, Yehova states over and over again that His instructions are forever, for all generations, a perpetual covenant, and never-ending.

Most educated religious leaders teach that His instruction manual is only for those ancient people and for the Jews today.
In His instructions to us, Yehova states that His instructions are for both the native born Hebrew and for the sojourners among them.  They are for everyone who wants to be Set Apart from the world and be His people.

Most educated religious leaders teach that the law was an imperfect system that did not work, and had to change. We are told in the scriptures that the Torah, His law and instructions, are truth and are perfect, and never change.

Today’s typical church doctrine sides with the idea that His instructions were temporary, only for the Jews, and have changed since the coming of Yeshua Messiah.
When asked about this doctrine, the leaders always go to the writings of Paul to define their thoughts and beliefs.
Call me crazy (lot’s do, no worries!!) but I will establish my beliefs and doctrine based on the very words of Yehova [God] and Yeshua [Jesus].

If the bible begins a statement with:
“And God said…”
“Yeshua said…”
“Thus saith the Lord…”
Or other such ideas, these words will get top billing.  I will pay particular attention to these words and believe them and incorporate them into my life, thoughts, words, and actions.
Next in the pecking order is someone who speaks for Yehova.
For example, look at verse Jeremiah 1:9
Then Adonai stretched out His hand and touched my mouth and Adonai said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.”

In this instance, I know that Jeremiah is speaking directly for Yehova.
Those who are speaking for Yehova, and we are told so (like in Isaiah 6), these words will get particular attention as absolute truth.

After that, we have many words, verses, and chapters of information in the bible that give us historical information. We get insight to conversations that were had throughout time, and descriptions of events and happenings.
We get explanations and commentary from people who lived during various times.
Do I think these scriptures are incorrect or untrustworthy?
No, I do not.
But I do realize that some of these scriptures depict portions of conversations (or letters) and we do not have all of the transcripts.
So to put it plainly, I absolutely believe the scriptures are true and accurate.
I do not trust that our understanding of them is always true and accurate, sometimes because we don’t have all the information, just as Peter warns us in 2Peter 3:14-17.

Is there a way we can be absolutely sure of our understanding?
Yes, there is. We are given some foundational criteria in the Torah, in the form of a test.
Actually, multiple tests.
Let’s look at one test given in Deuteronomy 13.
Here is the entire text of the thirteenth chapter, and we’ll break it down later into sections:

“Whatever I command you, you must take care to do—you are not to add to it or take away from it.
2 “Suppose a prophet or a dreamer of dreams rises up among you and gives you a sign or wonder, 3 and the sign or wonder he spoke to you comes true, while saying, ‘Let’s follow other gods’—that you have not known, and—‘Let’s serve them!’  4 You must not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams—for Adonai your God is testing you, to find out whether you love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 5 Adonai your God you will follow and Him you will fear. His commands you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling. 6 That prophet or dreamer of dreams must be put to death! For he has spoken falsehood against Adonai your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to entice you from the way Adonai your God commanded you to walk. So you will purge the evil from your midst.

7 “Suppose your brother—your mother’s son—or your son or daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your best friend of your own soul misleads you secretly, saying, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods’—that you and your fathers have not known, 8 from among the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other. 9 You are not to give in or listen to him, your eye is not to pity him, and you are not to spare or conceal him. 10 Instead, you will surely put him to death. Your hand should be the first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 11 You are to stone him with stones to death because he tried to entice you away from Adonai your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 12 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and never again will they do such an evil thing as this in your midst.

13 “Suppose you hear it said in one of your cities, which Adonai your God is giving you to dwell in, 14 that worthless fellows have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods’—that you have not known. 15 Then you are to investigate, search out and inquire thoroughly. If indeed it is true and the matter certain that this abomination has been done in your midst, 16 you will surely strike down the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its livestock with the sword. 17 You are to gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and you are to burn with fire the city and all its plunder—all of it to Adonai your God. It will be a ruin forever—it shall never be built again. 18 Nothing from the ban should cling to your hand, so that Adonai may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, and have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers— 19 when you listen to the voice of Adonai your God, keeping all His commands that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the eyes of Adonai your God.

Some people are not familiar with this at all.
Many who are familiar recognize this chapter as a test for a false prophet, and they are correct.
But what many people miss is that Deuteronomy 13 gives us, each and every one of us, an important test.
And here is my question:
Are we passing or failing this test?
Let’s start taking a closer look at this chapter, bit by bit.

Verse 1
“Whatever I command you, you must take care to do—you are not to add to it or take away from it.”

This single verse is an enormous test for everyone.
Simply put, Yehova is telling us to follow His instructions.
We are not to ever remove any of His instructions, and we are not to ever add to His instructions.
Sadly, religion is ALL ABOUT taking away and adding to His instructions.
Most people in the world align themselves to a particular religion, denomination, or church.
Should we be doing this?
Or should we be aligning ourselves to the Creator of all things?
How many people in the world today and throughout time have passed this simple test in verse 1?
…you are not to add to it or take away from it.
Maybe the answer lies in this direct quote of Yeshua Messiah:
Matthew 7:13-14
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.”

And this one as well:
Luke 13:22-30
22 And He continued on His journey through the towns and villages, teaching and making His way to Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to Him, “Master, are only a few being saved?”
Then Yeshua said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25 Once the Master of the household gets up and shuts the door, and you’re standing outside and begin knocking on the door, saying, ‘Master, open up for us,’ then He will say to you, ‘I don’t know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will start to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your company, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know where you come from. Get away from Me, all of you evildoers!’”
28 “There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 And they will come from the east and west and from the north and south, and they will recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And indeed, some are last who shall be first, and some are first who shall be last.”

Please consider Deuteronomy 13:1 very seriously.
Examine your life.
Pray about it.
Are you passing this test?

Let’s take a look at verses 2-6
2 “Suppose a prophet or a dreamer of dreams rises up among you and gives you a sign or wonder, 3 and the sign or wonder he spoke to you comes true, while saying, ‘Let’s follow other gods’—that you have not known, and—‘Let’s serve them!’  4 You must not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams—for Adonai your God is testing you, to find out whether you love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 5 Adonai your God you will follow and Him you will fear. His mitzvot you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling. 6 That prophet or dreamer of dreams must be put to death! For he has spoken falsehood against Adonai your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to entice you from the way Adonai your God commanded you to walk. So you will purge the evil from your midst.

Let’s summarize:
1 – A prophet gives a sign
2 – That sign comes true
3 – But the prophet says, “Let’s follow a different god”
4 – We must not listen to this prophet!!!
5 – Blah
6 – Blah, blah
7 – Blah, blah, blah
8 – That prophet must be put to death
9 – He has taught falsely
10 – and enticed you away from Yehova and His commands
11 – so purge the evil from among you (kill the false prophet)

You’ll notice steps 5 thru 7 are not very accurate.
This is the portion of Deuteronomy 13 that people miss.
The other parts should be quite simple:
If a prophet is teaching us to not follow Yehova’s commands, then they are teaching us to follow a false god and we are not to listen, and we are to kill that prophet, so they are unable to contaminate the people/nation of Yehova.

But let’s look closely at steps 5-7, comprised by verses 4 and 5.
4 You must not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams—for Adonai your God is testing you, to find out whether you love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 5 Adonai your God you will follow and Him you will fear. His mitzvot you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling. 

Each and every person alive today and who has ever lived is being tested by Yehova.
False prophets are not just an anomaly in life.
Yehova uses them for His purpose, to test each and everyone of us.
Will we listen to Yehova?
Or will we listen to men who teach against Yehova?
What are the standards given in verses 4 and 5?
1 – Yehova is testing us
2 – to find out???
3 – if we love Yehova
4 – how much? With all our heart and soul (that is His standard)
5 – Will we follow Yehova?
6 – Will we fear Yehova?
7 – Will we keep His commands?
8 – Will we listen to His voice?
9 – Will we serve Him?
10 – Will we cling to Him?

As you can see, there is much going on in these two short verses.
And here is the gist of it:
If we follow the teachings of men, churches, denominations, and religions — and their teachings are not exactly the same as the instructions given to us by our Creator, then we are failing this crucial test. We have followed the words of a false prophet, teaching us a new god that we did not know before.  This false prophet may get some things right, but it is not the things he gets right that defines him as false.
It is the things he gets wrong that makes him a false prophet.
So a teacher who says Yehova’s instructions, any of them, are done away with is teaching falsely, trying to change in our minds who Yehova is.
We cannot add to or take away from Yehova’s instructions and still say we are following Him.  His character and His renown is wrapped up in His words to us.  If we change them, then we have changed Him, and it is a new god of our own imagination that we are following.
Jeremiah warns us about this:
Jeremiah 16:19-20
¹⁹ 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.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?

Let that sink in for just a moment…
If we follow man’s traditions and teachings instead of Yehova’s instructions and commands, then we are failing the test.
How serious is this to Yehova?
Very serious, to the point of death.
Those who speak against His Word are to be put to death.
Not to punish the offender, but to keep them from corrupting Yehova’s people.

Are we sure Yehova is serious about this?
Let’s look at verses 7 thru 12:

7 “Suppose your brother—your mother’s son—or your son or daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your best friend of your own soul misleads you secretly, saying, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods’—that you and your fathers have not known, 8 from among the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other. 9 You are not to give in or listen to him, your eye is not to pity him, and you are not to spare or conceal him. 10 Instead, you will surely put him to death. Your hand should be the first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 11 You are to stone him with stones to death because he tried to entice you away from Adonai your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 12 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and never again will they do such an evil thing as this in your midst.

If someone, even our own family members, try to get us to follow another god (by not following Yehova’s instructions and commands), what are we to do?

1 – recognize that a false prophet could even be our brother, our wife, a close family member
2 – if they encourage us to stray from Yehova’s words and His ways
3 – Do not give in
4 – Do not listen to them
5 – Do not pity them (this is hard, since they are family!!)
6 – Do not spare them
7 – Do not conceal them (aiding and abetting)
8 – We are to put them to death! (this is even harder!!)
9 – Our hand shall be the first against them
10 – And the rest of the community shall take part as well
11 – They are to be stoned to death
12 – Why?  Because they tried to lure us away from Yehova and His ways
13 – This will protect the nation of Israel
14 – How?  They will hear and be afraid
15 – To oppose Yehova and His ways
16 – And they will not try to lure people away from Yehova from among the people.

As you can see, this is a big deal!!
This is a huge deal!!
Yehova says not to add to or take away from His word.
He then tells us to kill anyone who does so, even if it is our own family, because they are a false prophet.
He tells us that this is a test for us, to find out if we love Him.
Are we passing or failing this test?
I spent over 30 years in mainstream Christianity, failing this test.
But when I began studying the scriptures and believing what they say, I began passing the test.
Let’s pause for a moment and evaluate this a bit, and make sure we do not stray from the good news:
We are told in the scriptures that not a single person except Yeshua Messiah has lived without sin.  All have fallen short of the glory of Yehova.
Because of this, we all need a Savior.  Yeshua Messiah is our Savior.
We are forgiven of our sins if we repent and turn to Him.
We are saved by grace through faith.
Please do not misunderstand my message here, that obeying the instructions of Yehova is all there is to the truth of scripture.
Following the ways of Yehova is very important, but even more important is knowing that we have failed and Yeshua is our solution, our Savior.
But His sacrifice and the hope we have in it does not mean we are to not follow Yehova’s instructions and commands.

Now, back to the idea of killing people if they stray from Yehova’s instructions while enticing others to do the same.
In our minds, this sounds harshly unbearable.
People will dislike this blog post at the mere mention of it.
But keep in mind, these are the instructions given by the Creator of all things.
It is not about having a society of people killing their loved ones left and right.
It is about maintaining integrity of their nation, to prevent the entire nation from going astray.
We all know how this turned out.
Not good.
Right now, the ten tribes of the House of Israel are scattered among all the nations of the earth.
Why?
Because they did not pass the tests presented in Deuteronomy 13.
They allowed people to entice them away from Yehova.
They let this evil happen in their midst.
After much patience, Yehova finally divorced them from the covenant and scattered them among all the nations.

Yehova does not want us killing family members left and right. That is not His desire.
He wants a nation of people that love Him, hear His voice, and cling to Him.
Right now in 2019, we are not able to obey this instruction, to kill false prophets.
We are not a covenant nation, living under the governance of Yah’s instructions.
We are scattered among the nations of the earth, subject to the authorities of those nations.
If we killed neighbors or our own family members for straying from Yah’s ways and enticing others to do so, we would quickly find ourselves scorned from society and placed in prison, possibly on death row.
But, make no mistake.
There will come a time when Yehova will end this exile.
We will be gathered from the nations, and we will again form a covenant nation that is governed by the Torah.
Jeremiah 16:14
14 “Therefore, the days are quickly coming,” declares Adonai, “when it will no longer be said. ‘As Adonai lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’ 15 Rather, ‘As Adonai 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.”
When this occurs, I fully expect that all of His instructions will be implemented and obeyed. And I fully suspect there will be some who rebel and test the waters, and pay severe consequences for it, just as happened to Korah in Numbers 16.

Now, let’s continue by looking at the end of Deuteronomy 13.
Yehova gives us additional instructions concerning the failing of these tests, once the nation has been established, with cities.
Deuteronomy 13:13-19
13 “Suppose you hear it said in one of your cities, which Adonai your God is giving you to dwell in, 14 that worthless fellows have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods’—that you have not known. 15 Then you are to investigate, search out and inquire thoroughly. If indeed it is true and the matter certain that this abomination has been done in your midst, 16 you will surely strike down the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its livestock with the sword. 17 You are to gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and you are to burn with fire the city and all its plunder—all of it to Adonai your God. It will be a ruin forever—it shall never be built again. 18 Nothing from the ban should cling to your hand, so that Adonai may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, and have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers— 19 when you listen to the voice of Adonai your God, keeping all His mitzvot that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the eyes of Adonai your God.

We get clarification here that Yehova is completely serious about these matters.
In verse 7, we learn that we are to make these harsh corrections in our communities, even if the false prophet is our brother, our own children, our own wife, or our best friend. Yehova makes this test and these instructions VERY PERSONAL.
But now we see these instructions, not on a personal level, but as a nation of people.

What do we see here?
Let’s break it down.
1 – If in one of our cities (in a covenant nation following Yehova)
2 – worthless people
3 – entice others to stray from Yehova
4 – Investigate and verify to be sure (because the consequences are severe)
5 – strike down the inhabitants of this city
6 – with the edge of the sword
7 – utterly destroying all
8 – both people and livestock
9 – gather their belongings and burn them
10 – and burn the city as well
11 – so that nothing remains, not even memories
12 – nothing is to remain, not people, not livestock, not plunder
13 – and Yehova will have mercy and grant blessing to you
14 – when we listen to Yehova’s voice
15 – keeping His commandments
16 – doing what is right in His eyes

The last phrase is very important.
What is right in His eyes is more important than what is right in our own eyes.
Is this punishment horrific and tragic?
Yes, it is.
Some people will hate what Deuteronomy 13 says.
Some people will hate what this article says about Deuteronomy 13.
Some people will say, “I will not worship a God who is capable of such things.”

Why is this?
Because they do what is right in their own eyes, and do not see the big picture.
Yehova designed a perfect Creation, with a perfect plan.
If people stray from Him and His ways, it creates a huge mess [which is what we have world wide today].
Just look around.
People strayed from Yehova’s ways, and because of it, we have a global mess.
Even our educated religious leaders teach us that Yehova’s instructions are old, done away with, didn’t work out, or were only for ancient people.
Where has that gotten us?
We now have a world full of lawless people, doing what is right in their own eyes.

Deuteronomy is a very difficult lesson.
Yehova instructs us to do some very difficult things.
But He gives us a pleasant and perfect option.
Simply pass His test.
Do not stray from Him.
Love Him with our whole heart and our whole soul.
Hear His voice.
Cling to Him.
If we do these things, if we pass His test, then none of these horrific and tragic consequences will plague our lives. As we know, people have not passed His test for many generations and many centuries.
But Yehova has promised to restore His people.
It will happen just as Jeremiah 16 and many other scriptures tell us.

I encourage anyone reading this to do your best to pass the test.
And if you still think this test is old and obsolete and not for us, I share these verses from the New Testament with you:

1John 2:3-6
The Test of Knowing Him
³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Do you see?
The test is still in effect!!
This says we don’t even know our God if we do not pass this test.

1John 5:2-3
² We know that we love God’s children by this—when we love God and obey His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God—that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 

And just to finish…
Yeshua Messiah is our Savior.
Our salvation will come from Him and Him only.
He is the solution for when we fail these tests.
But it is still our goal to pass the test.
We should not give up on passing the test, thus placing more weight on the sacrifice of Yeshua.

All of Romans 6 is about this very idea!!!
1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God
15 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? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 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.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Most Christians today have absolutely no clue what Deuteronomy 13 says if asked.
For those who have studied it, many will reply that it is about the test of a false prophet.
While partially true, this is missing the most important lesson of Deuteronomy 13.
Deuteronomy 13 is completely about whether or not we add to or take away from His instructions, and about whether or not we love Him.
He then gives us tragic details to show us how serious He is about this.

Please pray on these things.
Study it for yourself.
Especially if you hate what Deuteronomy 13 says, or if you hate this blog post.