Do you trust Messiah?
A simple question, right?
Do you?
Do you trust your Messiah?
Do you believe the things He said?

Why would I ask such a thing?
Well, for many good reasons.
When I show people what Yeshua Messiah said in scripture, direct quotes of the Word become flesh (see John 1:14), I get lots of strange replies.

“Yes, but Paul said…”
“Yes, but my pastor said…”
“Yes, but He did away with that…”
“Yes, but that isn’t what it means…”

There are many rebuttals that have become catch phrases within the Christian culture.
These catch phrases seem to be deployed without any thought given.  It seems we’ve been conditioned to respond a certain way, without actually evaluating any information.  We have believed what we believe for so long, the responses are just automatic.
It isn’t anyone’s fault.  We’ve simply been taught some things our whole lives. But are these things true?

If you have to choose who you will trust, will it be:
1. Paul
2. Your Pastor
3. What you’ve been taught those direct quotes ACTUALLY mean

For example, here is a direct quote from Yeshua our Messiah:
John 14:15
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

Do you read this and simply believe it, and therefore obey it?
Or do you reply with, “Yes, but…”?
Have you read Hebrews 10:26-31, where we are given consequences for not believing and obeying this direct quote of Messiah?
For if we keep on sinning willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but only a terrifying expectation of judgment and a fury of fire about to devour the enemies of God.  ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the Torah of Moses dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severe do you think the punishment will be for the one who has trampled Ben-Elohim underfoot, and has regarded as unholy the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know the One who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “Adonai will judge His people.”  ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

I don’t know about you, but that is quite the eye-opener for me.
“But that can’t be right.  That isn’t what my church teaches.”

I’m sure your church has taught you John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
But has your church taught you John 3:36?
He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
[NOTE:  Most translations say “does not believe” instead of “does not obey.” If you look at the two Greek words used in this passage, you will find one word meaning “believe” is used in the first sentence, and another word meaning believe/obey/comply is used in the second sentence. Many English translations have this wrong, either by mistake or on purpose]

Oh boy, another serious eye-opener.

Here is another direct quote of Messiah:
Matthew 5:17-18
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets! I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸ Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass.”

Do you read these words of your Messiah and believe them, or do you say, “Yes, but…”?
Have you ever been shown a direct quote of Yeshua and responded with, “Yes, but what that really means is…”?

Let’s check the definitions of these words:
abolish ~ (transitive verb)
to end the observance or effect of (something, such as a law)
to completely do away with (something)
to annul abolish a law abolish slavery
fulfill ~ (transitive verb)
to carry out, or bring to realization, as a prophecy or promise.
to perform or do, as duty; obey or follow, as commands.

I’ve been told so many times that Jesus fulfilled the law, and therefore it is done away with, that we don’t have to do it.
In the direct quote of Messiah in Matthew 5, He specifically and intentionally tells us He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it instead.
Using the definitions of these words, it is quite clear that he “did the law” as opposed to “did away with the law.”

And yet, millions upon millions of people will respond to this bit of scripture and say
“Yes, but my pastor said…”
“Yes, but it doesn’t really mean that…”
“Yes, but later Paul said…”

Are there any consequences associated with these replies? Are there any consequences for rejecting what your Messiah told you?
Matthew 7:21-23
“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!’”

Another direct quote from our Messiah tells us to depart from Him, for what?
For following the law?
Nope.
Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

And still, even after explaining these things using scripture, people will say, “Yes, but Paul teaches us that…”

Paul teaches us many things. Paul is reputed to have been an absolute genius. Paul literally memorized the Torah as a child.
Paul teaches what he teaches within the context of the Torah instructions. But our churches teach us that the writings of Paul mean something else, outside of the context of Torah.

I wish there was something recorded in scripture to help us decide which interpretation to go with.
Do we believe Paul’s teachings within the context of Torah?
Or do we believe Paul’s teachings support doing away with the Torah instruction.
If only scripture would just come out and tell us what to do…

It does.
Did you know that?
The paragraph header in my bible even labels this bit of scripture as “Final Advice”.
Teachers often save their most important lessons for last.
What was Peter’s final advice to us?

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

Did you catch that?
Some of Paul’s writings are hard to understand.
Why, because uninformed people twist his writings and the rest of scripture — to their own destruction.

Wait, what???
Yes, he said destruction.
If we misunderstand Paul’s writings and build doctrine upon those misunderstandings, it will result in our destruction.
If this is really serious, we would have been given a second warning, just to clarify and avoid any confusion.

Check out verse 17, the second warning in this bit of scripture.
It is the clarification, just to insure we are not confused:
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.
Do not be led astray by the error of the lawless.

Do you believe the law is still in effect?
I’m not asking what your pastor has taught you.
Based on the words of Messiah, and based on the words of Peter, do you think the law is still in effect?
The consequences for getting this wrong are quite bad, so slow down, think, study, and pray before you answer.

Surely, if the law were still in effect, we’d see other evidence of it, right.
In Matthew 24, Yeshua Messiah tells us to pray we do not have to flee on the Sabbath.
This is in reference to end times, way in the future.
He expects people to be keeping the Sabbath.
Do you keep and honor the Sabbath?
I’m not talking about the garbage your church has made up regarding the Sabbath.  I’m talking about what scripture says about the Sabbath.

Exodus 20:8-11
⁸ “Remember Yom Shabbat, to keep it holy. ⁹ You are to work six days, and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Shabbat to Adonai your God. In it you shall not do any work—not you, nor your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your cattle, nor the outsider that is within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Thus Adonai blessed Yom Shabbat, and made it holy.

Exodus 31:12-18
¹² Then Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ¹³ “Speak now to Bnei-Yisraelsaying, ‘Surely you must keep My Shabbatot, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so you may know that I am Adonai who sanctifies you. ¹⁴ Therefore you are to keep the Shabbat, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it will die, for whoever does any work during Shabbat, that soul will be cut off from the midst of his people. ¹⁵ Work is to be done for six days, but on the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, holy to Adonai. Whoever does any work on the Shabbat will surely be put to death. ¹⁶ So Bnei-Yisrael is to keep the Shabbat, to observe the Shabbat throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between Me and Bnei-Yisrael forever, for in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.’”
¹⁸ When He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave the two tablets of the Testimony to Moses—tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.

The book of Revelation is regarding future times, well after Messiah’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

Revelation 12:17 [referring to the remnant of the church]
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.

The church is made up of those who:
1.  Keep the commandments of God
2. Have the testimony of Messiah

Revelation 14:12 [referring to the saints, the elect, the saved]
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

The saints, the elect, the saved are defined as:
1.  Those who keep the commandments of God
2. Those who have faith in Messiah

And one last direct quote of Messiah:
Revelation 22:14-15 [saying who is in His kingdom and then who is not in His kingdom]
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.

Again we see, straight from Messiah’s mouth:
1.  Keep the commandments

Who is not in the kingdom?
Those who love and practice a lie.
If you have been taught lies for doctrine, it is not your fault.
I was taught the same lies.
But now, if you’ve read this study, you have to decide if you will evaluate these things.
You have to take the things you know and test them against scripture. You have to test these things against the very words of your Messiah.

“I wish scripture would tell us what these lies are, mentioned in Revelation 22:15.”

Well, you are in luck. Scripture does tell us what these lies are.
Check out Jeremiah 16:19-20 [referring to end times]:
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?

Can you believe it?
We are told that in end times, the Gentiles (us) will realize we have inherited nothing but lies.
These lies are worthless.

Are you ready to look into this?
Are you ready to shed the lies?
Are you ready to trust the words of your Messiah?
Or will you continue to trust the words of your pastor, and the misinterpreted words of Paul?
Will you love and practice a lie?
Lies that we have inherited?

Jeremiah 16:14-21
Returning From All Lands

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.

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

OK, we have plenty of backup in scripture to support the idea that Jeremiah really means what he said.
This is not cryptic.
This is not poetic.
This is not metaphoric.
I think it is more than safe to believe this second exodus will happen.

How will the people be gathered for this exodus?
Refer back to verse 16-18 of Jeremiah’s prophecy.
¹⁶ “Behold, I will send for many fishers,” says Adonai, “and they will fish for them. After that, I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down from every mountain and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.
Referring to the people of the second exodus, Yahuah says He will send for fishers and hunters, and they will fish for them and hunt for them.
There has been a world wide phenomenon where many men and women are “waking up” to the idea that Torah instruction, the law of the Old Testament, is still applicable today.  This defies the mainstream church message telling us that Jesus nailed the law to the cross, and that we now live in an era of grace (we do receive grace, but that is only part of the truth).
They tell us the law is done away with…

Do we see this idea anywhere in scripture, that people will return to Torah instruction?
Isaiah 2:2-3
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
³ Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

We see this repeated by Micah in chapter 4.
Study of scripture indicates that the law is not done away with. Many direct quotes of Yeshua Messiah say exactly that. (You can reference many of my blog posts to study these direct quotes of Messiah).

Study of prophecy says we will return to Torah, and that the truth will be known once again.

There are many people in the world telling others about Torah.  I am one of those people…
Our veils have been lifted and we are able to see the truth of scripture, and now we share it with anyone who will listen.
(See 2Corinthians chapters 3&4 to learn about the lifting of veils).

The fishers have been called. They are active, fishing for those who will turn back to Torah and once again be part of the house of Israel.
Yes, that is correct.  There is no such thing as a gentile believer. If you enter into covenant, then you become part of His people, the nation of Israel.

Galatians 3:26-29
For you are all sons of God through trusting in Messiah Yeshua. ²⁷ For all of you who were immersed in Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. ²⁹ And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s seed—heirs according to the promise.

We are told that if we belong to Messiah, then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise made to Abraham. We are Israel. Do we see this anywhere else?
Check out Romans 11.  It tells how gentiles are grafted into Israel when they come to believe and have faith in the truth.

Romans 11:11-27
¹¹ I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. ¹² Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!

¹³ For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, ¹⁴ if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

¹⁶ For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. ¹⁷ And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. ²² Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. ²³ And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

²⁵ For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
²⁷ For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

So far, this prophecy is just a bit of ancient writings, foretelling the restoration of His people. Many people are not aware of this prophecy. If they do read it, it just seems like ancient gobbledy-gook, with no relevant ties to our modern lives and modern culture.

But…
Let’s take a look at verses 19-20
This is earth-shattering.

Jeremiah 16:19-20
¹⁹ Adonai, my strength, my stronghold,
        my refuge in the day of affliction,
    to You will the nations come
        from the ends of the earth and say:
    “Our fathers have inherited nothing
        but lies, futility and useless things.”
²⁰ Will man make gods for himself?
    Yet they are not gods.

First, we are told that in end times, the people of the nations will realize that we have inherited lies.
These lies result in futility.
These lies are useless.

Do you understand what this is talking about?
This prophecy is telling us that our church doctrine is made up of lies. Lies that we have inherited from our fathers, for many generations.
Do you understand the significance of this?
What if this is true?
What if our mainstream doctrine, encompassing the teaching of 40,000 or more denominations, is built upon lies?

Much of mainstream doctrine is supported by ‘the church’s” interpretation of the writings of Paul.
But we are warned of this, believe it or not!

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

And exactly what does this mean in verse 20?
²⁰ Will man make gods for himself?
    Yet they are not gods.

We all know the gospel message of the mainstream church.
We all know about Jesus.

Consider this…
What if the idea of Jesus taught in our churches does not match what scripture says about Messiah?
What if the idea of Jesus taught in our churches does not match the things He said?
What if you get a red letter bible and read His direct quotes and nothing else?
What if you take notes on the things He said, and then compare it to what you have been taught?
If they are different, then you have to make a choice.
It will not be an easy choice, but you still have to.
I call this my Red Letter Challenge.
If you take the time to do this, there will be only one outcome.
You will find that “Jesus” does not match scripture.
But don’t take my word for it. Study the things He said and see if it matches what your church teaches. You’ll be quite surprised.
If you don’t want to take the time to do this, you can refer to some of my blog posts.
I’ve done this and wrote about it.
If you want the Cliff Notes version, just check out some of my other blog articles.

This is a very difficult concept to wrap our heads around.
I have studied this and prayed about this.
It took me nearly two years to understand this.
Actually, that is not true. I understood this pretty quickly, but it took me about two years to accept it.
Why so difficult?
Because the consequences of this idea are a tragedy beyond our imagination.
Can it be that during the 2730 years of punishment of the northern kingdom of Israel, that the people were exposed to lies, lies that are unprofitable and worthless?
As awful as it sounds, scripture supports this idea.

In Revelation 22:14-15, Yeshua Messiah tells us first who is included in His kingdom, followed by those who are not included:

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

Those who keep His commands are included.
Those who love and practice a lie are not included.

What lies?
Well, I’d say the lies we’ve inherited from our fathers, as described so long ago by Jeremiah.  Yahuah said it would happen, through His prophet Jeremiah.  Messiah confirms this with His statement in Revelation.

I’ve showed this bit of scripture to many people, and almost everyone rejects it.  How dare I presume to say who is in the kingdom and who is not in the kingdom, based upon “my interpretation” of Revelation 22:14-15?

Well, I don’t presume anything, nor do I interpret these words.
I just read what it says and believe it.
For those who read what it says and reject it (or say it means something else by adding to it or taking away from it), are we told what will happen to them?
Just a few verses later, still a direct quote of Messiah, we are given very severe consequences for trying to change the words/meaning of His revelation.

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

So, in summary, I plead with those reading this study:
Do not hold tightly onto the things you think you know.
Just because you’ve believed something your entire life does not mean it is correct.
Just because your father and your grand father, and many before them, believed something, that longevity does not make it true.

Scripture says what scripture says.
Scripture does not say ‘what your pastor says’.
We have inherited lies.
Good men, telling these lies? Absolutely. Yes.
Many wonderful men and women.

But if scripture says we’ve inherited lies, as hard as it might be, accept this as truth.
And then go and look for the truth.
Don’t be afraid to let go of what you’ve always known.
Are you confused? Are you unsure of what to think?
Let’s wrap this up by looking at the last verse of this prophecy:
Jeremiah 16:21
²¹ “So I will surely make them know—
    this time I make them know
        My hand and My might—
    they will know that My Name is Adonai.”

Yahuah will set everything right.
No matter if lies have been taught, Yahuah is correcting us, calling us back to His teachings and His ways.
Don’t be afraid of it.
Embrace it.

David Bowie said it best, right?
Ch-ch-changes…
Everything changes.
Nothing remains the same.
Evolving, always evolving…

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.

Nope, sorry Mr. Bowie…
Nothing changes.
There is nothing new.

Mainstream doctrine teaches us that EVERYTHING changed with the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua Messiah.

Is this true?
Are the Old Testament Covenants with Israel obsolete?

Yeshua said this in Matthew 15:24
But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
And we are told this about the New Covenant in Hebrews 8:8
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new [renewed] covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…”

But wait, the New Covenant is with Gentile believers since Israel went astray…
So we are taught…
Look at Hebrews 8:8 again (as well as the prophecy being quoted – Jeremiah 31:31 and you will see it is with the House of Judah and the House of Israel. No Gentiles are mentioned.

Also, look at Galatians 3:26-29
²⁶ For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Sorry, no such thing as Gentile believers.
If you are Messiah’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
What promise?
The promise made to Abraham, of course. That his descendants would become a mighty nation. That nation would be Israel.
Still confused?
Check out Romans 11. It tells us that Gentiles are grafted into Israel, and therefore, are no longer Gentiles.

Yes, but still, Yeshua did away with the law.  He fulfilled it so we don’t have to…  Now this is change we can all get behind, right?
Matthew 5:17-19
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. ¹⁹ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Did you catch that direct quote of Messiah?
Do not think that I came to destroy…
No, He did not do away with the law, the Torah instructions, the commandments of God.

How can we be sure?
Here are more direct quotes from Messiah:
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.

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

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.

Matthew 7:21-23
“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!’

Revelation 22:14 (Messiah saying who is in the Kingdom)
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.

But still, my pastor went to Seminary and has a master’s degree in theology. He knows better than me, right?
1John 2:26-27
²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. ²⁷ But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

No, wait. That is talking about deception. My pastor would never deceive me…
Jeremiah 16:19-20 (speaking of end times, at the time of the restoration of Israel and the time of the second exodus)
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?

Yes, it is prophesied that a time will come, when the church will find that they have been taught lies.  That their fathers have inherited lies from the teachers before them…
These lies are worthless and unprofitable.

I’m not sure I believe that…
If that were true, Messiah would have warned us.
Check out this direct quote of Messiah, telling us who will not be in the Kingdom of Heaven:
Revelation 22:15
But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

Wait, what does that mean, to love and practice a lie?
Well, it goes back to the prophecy of Jeremiah 31.
We have inherited lies (doctrine).
There are many in the world who are rejecting those lies and seeking after truth.
But… those who continue to love and practice the lie will not be included in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Not my words, but the words of Messiah!!

What do I mean about the restoration of Israel? What do I mean there are many people rejecting these lies and seeking after truth?
Let’s start looking at this in Ezekiel chapter 4.
The nation of Israel split into two kingdoms. The southern kingdom of Judah (two tribes), and the northern kingdom of Israel (ten tribes).
Both kingdoms turned away from Yahuah and were punished for doing so.  Judah repented and partially turned back to covenant.  However, the ten northern tribes did not repent, and they were divorced from the Covenant with Yahuah.
Jeremiah 3:8
Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce…

Ezekiel 4:4-5 tells us of Israel’s punishment:
“Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. ⁵ For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.”

Torah states that if one does not repent and turn back to Yahuah, then their punishment is multiplied by seven.
Leviticus 26:18
¹⁸ ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

From Ezekiel, we see that Israel was to be punished for 390 years. However, they did not repent, so their punishment became 2730 years.
The ten northern tribes were scattered among the nations in about 720BC.  If we add 2730 years to that, we see their punishment ended in approximately 2009/2010, which is when people began returning to the Torah instructions en masse.
People from all walks of life, all religions, all ethnic groups…
People are returning to the instructions given by Yahuah, our Creator.
Amos tells us that Yahuah does nothing without telling us via His prophets.
Amos 3:7
Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
So I ask the question…
Were we told in prophecy that the scattered tribes would return to the Torah instructions giving by Yahuah?
We see this in Isaiah 2:2-3
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
³ Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And as a second witness, we see this proclaimed in Micah 4:2
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
² Many nations shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

What is this ‘second exodus’ that I mentioned?
Jeremiah 16:14-15
¹⁴ “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ ¹⁵ but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.

The scattered ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel will be gathered yet again, to be restored to the House of Judah, as the [renewed] New Covenant tells us in Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8.

We see it again in Jeremiah 32:37
 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.

And again in Ezekiel 34:11-13
¹¹ ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. ¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.
And again in Ezekiel 36:24-28
For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. ²⁸ Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
And again in Ezekiel 37:21-23
²¹ “Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; ²² and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. ²³ They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
And we see it in Isaiah 11:11-12
It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time
To recover the remnant of His people who are left,
From Assyria and Egypt,
From Pathros and Cush,
From Elam and Shinar,
From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
¹² He will set up a banner for the nations,
And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.

Yes, a second exodus, more amazing than the first out of Egypt!!
Just as Ecclesiastes says:
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.

Nothing has changed.
Israel was simply punished for their disobedience, and now that the prescribed punishment is complete, Yahuah is calling His people back to His covenant.
It really is quite simple, except the mainstream church has made a mess of things. Their lack of understanding does not allow them to teach truth.

Will you listen to the call to Torah, and be brought back into the fold?
Or will you cling to the lies inherited by our fathers, and be excluded from the kingdom [those who love and practice a lie]?

What will you choose?
Because nothing has changed.

Is anyone helping to gather Israel?
Jeremiah 16:16
¹⁶ “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.”
There are many people in the world telling others about Torah.
There are many people explaining how to truly be in Covenant.
Just as we are told will happen!!

Does all this Torah stuff diminish who Yeshua is, or diminish what He did for us?
Absolutely not!!
Salvation comes by faith.  We learn of the truth, we repent of our sins, and we ask Yeshua (Jesus) to forgive us.
That is step one…
This is a beginning point, not an ending point.
From this point forward, we are to listen to His voice and obey it.
John 10:27
My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me.

The mainstream church teaches that we go to the foot of the cross to meet Yeshua (Jesus) there…
Yes, we must do this.
But the church teaches to stay there.
But the foot of the cross is not a destination.
It is a critical point on the path, but it is not where we stay.

John 14:6-7
Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me. ⁷ If you have come to know Me, you will know My Father also. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”

The foot of the cross is not the destination.  We must come to Yeshua, but then we keep going. The destination is to reach the Father.
“No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Are you continuing on to the Father, or are you sitting at the foot of the cross? Stopped. Not making any progress?

Matthew 24:13
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

1John 2:3-6
³ Now we know that we have come to know Him by this—if we keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God is truly made perfect. We know that we are in Him by this— ⁶ whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.

Yes, we are all busy, but do you have sixty seconds?
Just one minute?

I’ve been told by a number of people that they are ok with being least in the kingdom, as a result of them rejecting Torah instructions.

We could study much on this topic, but let’s just look at one parable today.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matthew 25:1-13
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
⁶ “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Many people assume this parable deals with five believers and five non-believers.  To do so is a mistake, and twists the scripture to match the mainstream church doctrine that all who believe will be included in the kingdom.

We see in verse 1 that the ten virgins are representative of the kingdom of heaven. All ten are part of the kingdom, not just half of them.  All ten are expecting to be the bride.

When the bridegroom comes, five of the virgins are well prepared, having enough oil to light their way at night, and five are unprepared. Why does this parable use lamps and light as an example for being prepared for the coming of Yeshua?

Proverbs 6:23
For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,

Psalm 119:105-106
¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
¹⁰⁶ I have sworn and confirmed
That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

Psalm 119:129-130
Your laws and precepts are wonderful.
Therefore my soul obeys them.
¹³⁰ The unfolding of Your words gives light,
giving understanding to the simple.

The virgins who know and honor Torah are the ones who are prepared, and they are welcomed into the wedding.
The five virgins who did not have light, did not have Torah, were locked out, and Yeshua tells them He never knew them.

But wait…
We are also told in scripture that Yeshua Messiah is the light.
John 8:12
Yeshua spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows Me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
So, the virgins just need to have faith in Yeshua, and therefore have His light, and they should be good, right? So… the mainstream message is correct, right?
Am I just stretching the scriptures here to promote Torah?

Is there a second witness in scripture to support the idea that knowing and keeping Torah might be important in order to be included?
Yes, there is, and it is a direct quote of Messiah:

Matthew 7:21-23
“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!’”

This is a parallel passage, where Messiah is telling people He never knew them. It shows us that workers of lawlessness will not be known by Him, and they will be told to depart, just as the five foolish virgins are locked out of the wedding.

Back to the idea of being least in the kingdom…
What if being least in the kingdom makes you virgins #6 through #10?
You get locked out of the wedding.
Being least in the kingdom does not mean you get to remain in the kingdom…

Yes, we are all busy, but do you have sixty seconds?
Just one minute?

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

Do you add to or take away from the words of this book?
Specifically, do you take away from this book?
Because that’s how you get erased from the Book of Life, and that’s how you lose your spot in the city of New Jerusalem (Heaven on Earth)…

Revelation 12:17 tells us who the remnant of the church is:
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of Yahuah and have the testimony of Yeshua Messiah.

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 and the faith of Yeshua.

Revelation 22:14 tells us who gets to be in the Kingdom:
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.

Three times in this book.
Count them. One, Two, Three…
KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

If you believe that ‘Jesus’ did away with ‘the law’ then you are taking away from the words of Revelation.
You might want to re-think this idea, if it applies to you.
Unless you are a fan of outer darkness, and weeping, and gnashing of teeth.

Three times.
Do you remove these words, not just once, but three times?

Why on earth would anyone want to be “least in the kingdom?”
And yet, I’ve had several people tell me that is what they are shooting for…
This is their response as to why they do not want to obey the commandments.

I’m putting together a study about this.
Least in the kingdom may equate to weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Stay tuned…
Coming soon…

 

I struggled trying to decide whether or not to publish this.
This was not a private ‘conversation,’ but was an open discussion in a Facebook group, for the whole world to see. So I do not believe I am betraying anyone’s confidence or privacy.

So why was it a struggle then?
For one, I don’t want to disparage or discourage anyone.
That is not my intent. My reason for sharing this is to encourage prayer for our friends in the Mainstream…

I do want to illustrate the typical outcome of a Torah discussion with Mainstream Christian pastors.
These discussions tend to not go well.
I fully understand they believe something different than I do, based upon our study of and prayer over scripture.
I do not have a problem with them thinking and believing something different.  To each his own…

However, I do have a problem when there is no scripture used to support their ideas and thoughts and doctrine.  I do have a problem when they resort to insults, instead of having a righteous discussion.
Not because I am offended, because it is not possible to offend me. Having spent twelve years on submarines in the US Navy, my mind is a steel trap.  One of the major forms of entertainment on submarines is trying to get under each other’s skin.  For lack of anything else to do, we tried to make each other angry, usually with little success. Why? Because we were all professionals at dishing it out and taking it…
Offending me is pretty much impossible. I don’t allow other people to have that kind of power over my mind and my emotions.

So what is it about this conversation that bothers me?
First of all, I did not begin this conversation. I was asked a question by one of my previous pastors when I was still in the mainstream church. I served on the board of his church, and consider him a friend.
I do not have a “need” for others to agree with me.  I share what I see in scripture, and use scripture only to support my thoughts.  I do not inject my own opinions or traditions of men into my ideas [at least, I try to make this a constant goal].
I sort of expect the same from others, even though that isn’t typically how it goes…

I’m sharing this interchange to show what happens when scripture is used to support an idea, versus deciding what you believe based upon the status quo and opinions of men.

For those of us who are being called back to Torah, we get it.
Our veils are lifted.
We can share the truth of what we see in scripture with millions and millions of mainstream church folks.
They need our prayers, that they might see the truth in scripture.
But first, they must be unveiled, as is described in
2Corinthians 3:14-17
¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. For up to this very day the same veil remains unlifted at the reading of the ancient covenant, since in Messiah it is passing away. ¹⁵ But to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. ¹⁶ But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ^[e] 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Ruach Adonaiis, there is freedom.

But in the meantime, we are battling this:
2Thessalonians 2:11-12
 For this reason God sends them a delusional force, to lead them to believe what is false,  ¹² so that they may be judged—all those who did not believe the truth but delighted in wickedness.

And we are battling this:
Jeremiah 16:19 [reference to end time gathering and restoration of the House of Israel]
Adonai, my strength, my stronghold,
        my refuge in the day of affliction,
    to You will the nations come
        from the ends of the earth and say:
    “Our fathers have inherited nothing
        but lies, futility and useless things.”

This last phrase about inheriting lies perfectly describes our mainstream churches. Sadly…
In Rev 22:15, Messiah tells us those who “love and practice a lie” will not be part of the Kingdom.

Anyway, here is what happens when we share Torah and truth of scripture with [some, not all] mainstream Christian church leaders:

PASTOR:
So are you suggesting God was wrong when he gave Peter the vision saying to eat it?
ME:
HI [xxxxxx]!! Dude, we should go have coffee some time. It has been too long.
To answer your question, no, God is not wrong.
However, the way this story is typically taught is wrong.
First of all, Peter knows that eating unclean foods is not ok.
His response in Acts 10 verse 14:
But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! For never have I eaten anything unholy or unclean.”

If we stop reading at verse 16 (when the sheet is taken away WITHOUT Peter having eaten), then it sounds like God was telling him to eat unclean animals.

However, if we keep reading the story, the vision is explained and revealed to us.
We start to see the reason for the vision in verses 19/20:
19 Now while Peter was mulling over the vision, the Ruach said to him, “Look here, three men are looking for you. 20 But get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitating, because I Myself have sent them.”

There is more narrative and some travel, but we see the explanation of the vision in verses 28/29:
He said to them, “You yourselves know that it is not permitted for a Jewish man to associate with a non-Jew or to visit him. Yet God has shown me that I should call no one unholy or unclean. 29 So I came without objection when I was sent for. I ask, then, what is the reason why you sent for me?”

God used a vision of animals to indicate to Peter that no men are unclean.
At that time, the Jews believed that interaction with Gentiles would cause them to be unclean (not true, not in Torah). But it was believed and taught by the Pharisees. You can see proof of this in John 18:28
” Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.”

Peter explains his vision a second time in Acts 10:34-35
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said, “I truly understand that God is not one to show favoritism, 35 but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.

Twice, we get the explanation of the vision.
It was not to change the dietary laws. We are told that the Torah cannot ever be added to or taken away from, which means the dietary laws cannot be changed by man (Peter, Paul, or anyone else).

Deut 4:2
You must not add to the word that I am commanding you or take away from it—in order to keep the mitzvot of Adonai your God that I am commanding you. 

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

But God can change things if he wants, right?
Not according to scripture…

We are told that God does not change His mind, and He is not a liar. 
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man who lies,
or a son of man who changes his mind!

Malachi 3:6 tells us “I am the Lord, I change not…”

We are told in John 1 that Messiah is the word become flesh, and lived among us. Hebrews 13:8 tells us Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
If He is the word, and He has never changed and never will change, then that means the word has never changed and will never change.

Are we told this elsewhere?
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

If none of this clicks or makes sense, do we have any other clues that God did not change the dietary laws, allowing us to eat anything?
Yes, of course we do.

Isaiah 66:14-17 speaks of the millennial reign:
The Reign and Indignation of God
14 When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,
And your bones shall flourish like grass;
The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants,
And His indignation to His enemies.
15 For behold, the Lord will come with fire
And with His chariots, like a whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by His sword
The Lord will judge all flesh;
And the slain of the Lord shall be many.
17 “Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves,
To go to the gardens
After an idol in the midst,
Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse,
Shall be consumed together,” says the Lord.

We see in verse 17 that those, IN THE FUTURE, will be destroyed for eating swine and the flesh of mice (unclean animals).
Acts 10 is consistently taught incorrectly.

PASTOR:
You are interpreting scripture in a way that violates millions of spirit filled Christians have for 2,000 yrs. Doesn’t that seem a bit narcissistic to you?

ME:
No, because I read it from the beginning.
God says things are forever, for all generations, never ending, perpetual.
“Rightly dividing the word” results in God being a liar, which is not possible.
For anything to change would make God a liar – not possible.
Most of what is taught as having changed comes from the writings of Paul. We are warned against this in 2Peter 3:14-18.

Some say Jesus is God, and that He has the authority to change things.
Again, not possible, for several reasons.
He is the word become flesh, and he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If He has never changed, then the Word has never changed.

John 7:16 _ Messiah tells us that His teachings are not His own, but the One’s who sent Him.
He teaches what the Father taught.

When I began discovering what scripture actually says, instead of what the establishment has been teaching for 2000 years, I had doubts.
I decided to do something I call the red letter challenge.
I took a red letter bible and ONLY read the direct quotes of Messiah.
I took notes.
I then compared what our Savior said, and compared it to what I’ve been taught.
They didn’t match.
That caused me to have to make a choice:
Follow my Messiah.
Or follow the teaching of men.

Matthew 23 tells us what Jesus thinks of the teachings of men.
It is not pretty.

Revelation is not John’s revelation. Chapter 1 tells us it is the Revelation of the Father, given to Messiah, and communicated to John to write down for us by an angel messenger.

We are told specifically not to add to or take away from the book of Revelation.
We are told who the saints are in Rev 14:12
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

We are told who the remnant of the church is in Rev 12:17
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

There are two criteria in both statements, which we are not allowed to add to or take away from:
1. Keep the commandments of God (not New Testament commands, but the commands of GOD!!!)
2. And have faith and testimony of Messiah.

The church does a great job of teaching about #2.
They have removed criteria #1 from their teachings.

What are the consequences of adding to or taking away from the Revelation?

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

PLAGUES and BEING REMOVED FROM THE BOOK OF LIFE!!!
This is not good.
This is horrific on an unimaginable scale.

In case we are confused, Messiah (direct quote again) tells us who is in the Kingdom and who is not in the Kingdom in Rev 22:14-15
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

IN THE KINGDOM _ those who keep the commandments
NOT IN THE KINGDOM_ those who love and practice a lie.

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.

“FEW who find it” – the mainstream church thinks the path is very crowded. This defies what Messiah said. Is He a liar?

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!’

Depart from me, you who practice LAWLESSNESS.

We are told over and over and over again what we are to do.
The mainstream church teaches something other than what God and Jesus teach.
It is very sad.

But I don’t need you to agree with me in order to go have coffee.
Are you up for it? Like I said, it has been too long.
[No response]

ME:
You said this:
“You are interpreting scripture in a way that violates millions of spirit filled Christians have for 2,000 yrs”
I have a choice to make.
I can either read what God and Jesus wrote for us and follow it.
Or I can follow what millions of Christians teach and believe.
I choose Messiah.

PASTOR:
I would say you choose narcissism.

ME:
And that’s the beautiful thing about free will.
I read scripture and obey it. There should be no fault in that, even if you think I’m wrong.  🙂
How about some coffee sometime?
[No response]

Did you actually read the scriptures I shared above?
What do you think about Messiah being angry about people eating pork when He returns?
Do you reject that scripture?

What do you think about Messiah saying “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.”
That is in the future, when He expects people to still be keeping the Sabbath.
Do you reject the 4th commandment?

It is a sign between God and His people.
Do you not want to be labeled as His?

I understand you believe something else, and that you disagree with my thoughts.
I’m not arguing with you. It isn’t about you or me.
I’m wondering what you think of these scriptures?
Do you reject them?

PASTOR:
I will pass. I learned along time ago that you don’t desire to learn from others. I am pretty busy and I don’t have time to waste. Learning takes real work, it takes listening to others, being humble enough to recognize you cant even read in original language and have not even read or looked at ancient scholarly writings, the early church. Learning involves work and humbleness. Firing views have more to do with lazy work than reality.

ME
I have spent thousands of hours over the last three years studying scripture, including the Hebrew and Greek.
Do you believe all scripture, or just the parts you like?
Telling me I’m narcissistic, or that I’m lazy does not answer these questions.
Do you reject the 4th commandment, or do you not reject the 4th commandment?
Your idea of learning is to swallow false teachings that do not match what our Creator said, and do not match what our Messiah said.
Good luck with that.

ME:
You asked me a question and I answered it using scripture.
You shared no scripture, and decided to insult me instead.
Who made effort and who was lazy?
Who shared the Word of God, and who resorted to childish insults?
Dear Yeahova,
I pray for {Pastor’s name], that you might lift his veil spoken of in 2Corinthians chapter three. I pray he would earnestly seek your understanding through prayer, as You promised in James 1:5-8.
I pray that he would righteously seek out the scriptures, instead of responding with insults and condemnation. I pray he would avoid the fate of Messiah’s words in Matthew 23.
Amen

…And then, he unfriended and blocked me.

Please pray for our mainstream church leaders and congregations.
They are veiled.
They cannot see the truth of scripture, even if we lay it out for them logically and quote from the bible.
When presented with evidence in scripture, they tend to respond without scripture, and sometimes choose insults instead.
Pride, arrogance, and a self imposed authority, all because of a piece of paper hanging in their office [theology degree].

But these people are not our enemy.
They are our fellow man, brothers and sisters of the human race.
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the worldly forces of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Do not be discouraged by their responses.
Do not be offended.
Do not be sparked to anger.
Simply pray truth of scripture into their lives.

Yes, we are all busy, but do you have sixty seconds?
Just one minute?

Messiah told us over and over again to “Keep the Commandments.”
Is He talking about the “law of Moses” or is He talking about His two generic commands?
Let’s find out in Matthew 22:34-40
³⁴ But the Pharisees, when they heard that Yeshua had silenced the Sadducees, gathered together in one place. ³⁵ And testing Him, one of them, a lawyer, asked, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah?”
³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love Elohim your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  ⁴⁰ The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Obviously, He means new, generic, New Testament commands, right?
Nope. Not even a little bit.
Review verse 36 again…
He is specifically speaking about the Torah, the law of Moses.
He is quoting from Deuteronomy and Leviticus.
Don’t believe me?
Look it up.

Just in case we get confused (or are taught the wrong idea by a wolf), Messiah tells us in verse 40 what He means:
“The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
He is simply paraphrasing the law of Moses, and the Prophets, which all tell us to return to the Torah (the law of Moses).

Still confused?
Check out John 7:16
Yeshua answered, “My teaching is not from Me, but from Him who sent Me.”
Messiah only teaches what the Father already taught…

Yes, we are all busy, but do you have sixty seconds?
Just one minute?

Please read this scripture, a direct quote of Messiah, and think about what it says.
Do not think about what you’ve been told it says.
Clear your mind, read this scripture, and then write down what it actually means…

Anyone who studies scripture is probably familiar with the following direct quote of Messiah:
Matthew 7:13-14
“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.”

Yeshua Messiah tells us that few will find the narrow path.
And yet, pretty much EVERY SINGLE PERSON I speak with claims to be on the narrow path.
“Men” seem to think it is a crowded place.
Scripture says otherwise, though…

I used to be that arrogant.

Now I pray for Yahuah to guide my steps, and to help me be on the narrow path.
Humility is quite a valuable commodity in scripture:

Proverbs 15:33
The fear of Elohim is the discipline of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 22:4
The reward of humility and fear of Elohim is riches, honor and life.
Psalm 25:9
He guides the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way.
Proverbs 3:34
Though He scoffs at the scoffers, He gives grace to the humble.
Isaiah 2:17
The pride of man will be humbled, the arrogance of men abased, for Elohim alone will be exalted in that day.

Claiming with confidence to be on the path that Messiah says is difficult and hard to find requires a level of arrogance that is probably frowned upon in the Kingdom.
Do you take pride in the fact that you are on the narrow path?
Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will gain honor.

If so, you may want to take a deep breath, slow down, and really consider this idea…

Does scripture tell us how narrow the gate is?
Does scripture tell us just how difficult the way to the narrow gate is?
Does scripture tell us just how few will find it?
Unfortunately, no.
Sometimes this walk would be easier if scripture just told us straight up what’s what.
Am I in, or am I not in?
Am I the least in the kingdom, or am I great in the kingdom?
Am I one of the five prepared ‘virgins’, or am I one of the five without oil?
What’s my ranking?
Why isn’t there a website showing us where we stand?

Well, maybe He wants us to strive for it, for all of our days.
Matthew 24:13
“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Philipians 2:12
“…work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

If we “KNOW” we are in, will we get lukewarm?
Revelation 3:16
So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spew you out of My mouth. 

I’m asking lots of questions here that I do not have the answers to.
But we do have examples.
How narrow is the path?

I don’t know, but we have a story to observe and evaluate in scripture.
The census recorded in scripture during the Exodus (actually, there were several taken) showed 600,000 men. Add women and children, and we are looking at approximately 2,500,000 or more.
Of these people, how many of them found the narrow path, so to speak?
Of the adults, exactly two men found the narrow path.
Joshua and Caleb.
That’s it.
Only two from the adult generation that began the Exodus.

Wow.
Two men, out of 600,000 men.

Now do you see where I’m going with this?
Yahuah was selective during the Exodus.
It wasn’t a free for all.
Men did not get to decide for themselves if they were in or not.
Even Moses didn’t get to enter the promise land because of his disobedience.

DO YOU SEE WHERE I’M GOING WITH THIS???
How much pride do you have in the fact that you are “on the difficult path, headed for the narrow gate?”
Do you get to choose this for yourself?
Do you get to proclaim this boldy, or do you get to follow Yahuah fully and wholly, and to pray in humbleness to be included?

If only two of Yahuah’s chosen people were able to enter the promise land, then we need to take Yeshua’s warning about the narrow gate very seriously.
Don’t assume you are on the narrow path.
Pray for it.
Seek it in humility.
Every. Single. Day.