There is a meme on social media showing a large mega-church with many thousands of people in attendance.  Another photo shows a very small gathering or assembly of people for bible study.
The caption indicates you will have a massive following if you teach what people want to hear, and a very small following if you teach the truth.
The concept is stated in scripture for us as well:
2Timothy 4:2-4
2 Proclaim the Word! Be urgent in season, out of season. Convict, warn, appeal, with all
patience and teaching. 3 For there shall be a time when they shall not bear sound teaching, but according to their own desires, they shall heap up for themselves teachers tickling the ear, 4 and they shall indeed turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to myths.

Yeshua Messiah [Jesus] made a statement that quantifies the idea for us:
Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter in through the narrow gate! Because the gate is wide – and the way is broad – that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in through it.
14 “Because the gate is narrow and the way is hard pressed which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

We can go all the way back to the prophets for confirmation that these ideas are well entrenched in our religious culture today, just as they foretold would happen:
Jeremiah describes what has become of religion in end times:
Jeremiah 16:19-20
19 O יהוה, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge, in the day of distress the nations shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them.”

20 Would a man make gods for himself, which are not gods?

Ezekiel, so very many years ago, accurately describes our modern church situation:
Ezekiel 22:25-28
25 “There is a conspiracy of her prophets [teachers] in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured life, they have taken wealth and precious matters, they have made many widows in her midst.

26 “Her priests have done violence to My teaching and they profane My set-apart matters. They have not distinguished between the set-apart and profane, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean. And they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned in their midst.

27 “Her leaders in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy lives, and to get greedy gain.

28 “And her prophets have coated them with whitewash, seeing a false vision, and divining a lie for them, saying, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה,’ when יהוה had not spoken.

As set-apart followers of Elohim, should our thoughts and ideas line up with scripture regarding the nature of religion today?
If I had to characterize my blog, I’d say this is one of the key components of the many articles I’ve written and shared here.
I try to tie my thoughts and ideas to the direct quotes of Yehova [God] and Yeshua Messiah [Jesus].  We are told in scripture that we need to know Their Voice.
What does that mean?
We need to study the scriptures and learn the things They have said.
As we learn what They said, we also learn Their Character.
We learn Their expectations.
We learn Their standards of behavior.
We learn Their instructions on how to live.
We learn about the promises They have made in scripture.
We learn about the warnings They have given in scripture.

Knowing the Voice of Elohim is incredibly important.
Here are two of many direct quotes advising us to do so:

Words of Yehova, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:
Deuteronomy 13:3-4
“…for יהוה your Elohim is testing you to know whether you love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being. Walk after יהוה your Elohim and fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His Voice, and serve Him and cling to Him.

Words of Yeshua Messiah, our Savior:
John 10:27-28
27“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

28 And I give them everlasting life, and they shall by no means ever perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.”

I have found that if we know the Voice of Elohim, we learn some very discouraging things about religion in the world, including Christianity.  Much of my blog is dedicated to this idea.
Some people get angry and frustrated with me because of it.  But I don’t think they understand my motivation.  I’ve been accused of being judgmental, critical, arrogant, and exclusive.  I’ve been called a dangerous heretic.  I’ve been accused of trying to decide for myself who is in the Kingdom and who is not in the Kingdom.
But that is not the case.
I do not study and share these articles to “exclude people from the Kingdom.”
In fact, I do so hoping to INCLUDE people in the Kingdom.

I do not have that authority or responsibility to exclude anyone, nor would I want it.
I share these articles to help people learn the Voice of Yehova and the Voice of Yeshua.
People need to know the warnings They’ve given, along with the harsh consequences of not heeding these warnings.
I study and share these warnings out of love for others, especially for people who may be in line to receive the consequences of warnings instead of the promises of scripture.
Truth is not often well received, especially by those in need of it.
I once shared nothing but the direct quotes of Yeshua Messiah (Jesus).
It was a list of approximately ten warnings He has given in scripture.
I did not add my thoughts or commentary.
I simply quoted Messiah.
A person told me to, “Stop it!”
They said I had no love in me, and the words I had shared felt like they were being beat on with a hammer. This was their response to the very words of Messiah.
They did not know His warnings, and they especially did not like His warnings once they were presented.
Knowing His warnings is just as important as knowing His promises.
Maybe even more so…
Remember what Messiah said?
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

We must hear His Voice.
All of His Voice, not just the parts we like.
And sadly, this person was a self-proclaimed leader in a Torah fellowship.
A Torah leader who does not know the Voice of Yeshua Messiah.
In other words, there are problems within the community of Torah as well…

I’ve come to realize that scripture is not always pleasant.
There are many people in the world who are only interested in warm and fuzzy verses.
Refer to the mega-church photo above.
Yes, there are many places that will tell you about promises and blessings, and ONLY promises and blessings.

Everyone must decide what it is they want.
Only promises and blessings?
Or whole truth?
Even if the whole truth might cause some self-reflection and life changes?

Recently a friend sincerely asked me if maybe I’m getting things wrong…
Maybe I’m missing some information that might change things for the non-Torah mainstream Christians.
Instead of rejecting her questions, thoughts, and ideas I tried to answer her honestly and to the best of my ability. The following is my response, and I’m sharing it here to help people understand why I do this blog.

Really great question, and not an easy one to answer…
But I’ll explain where I’m coming from.

#1
I am not trying to decide who gets to be in the kingdom and who does not get to be in the kingdom.
Only Yeshua Messiah has the authority to make such a decision for anyone.
Matthew 28:18
18 And יהושע came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth”

We know from scripture that Yeshua will separate the sheep from the goats. But we also learn that His standard is not subjective. In fact, Yeshua even tells us He did not come to judge the world, but to save it. He says that we do have a judge, and it is the word that was spoken. He goes on to say His command is the Father’s command, and the Father’s command brings everlasting life.
It is good for us to know that the criteria for being in the kingdom, or not, is based on the Word and is not subjective.
It is a level playing field, and the same standard exists for all.

John 12
47“And if anyone hears My Words but does not watch over them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
48He who rejects Me, and does not receive My Words, has one who judges him: the Word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day.
49“Because I spoke not from Myself, but the Father who sent Me has given Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
50“And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, as the Father has said to Me, so I speak.”

People often criticize me, saying I am being exclusive.
They say I’m trying to decide who is in the kingdom and who is not in the kingdom via my studies and blog articles.

I do not try to accomplish this. I don’t have the authority to do so, nor would I want to.
But Yeshua is very clear…
We will all be judged by the Word that was spoken.

Yeshua makes it clear that we must know the things He said, and that we must heed His words, and we must obey His words.

Again, John 12…
48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My Words, has one who judges him: the Word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day.

My goal is not to include/exclude people by my studies.
My goal is to know the Voice of Elohim and to share what Yehova and Yeshua say with others.
Yehova and Yeshua speak of who will be in the Kingdom and who will not be in the Kingdom.
I’m just trying to be the messenger.

#2
Along the same theme, I do not try to classify people into what their eternal fate might be.
I have no doubt there are atheists who [today] completely reject Yehova, reject Messiah, and reject the word — but will be in the Kingdom.
Where someone stands today does not mean that is where they will remain.
Every single person has the opportunity to turn their hearts to Yah. If not today, then tomorrow, or next month, or next year, or in five years…
As long as they have breath and life, they have opportunity to submit their will to the Father’s will.

Can we compare where someone is ‘right now’ to the Word that was spoken?
Yes, we can.
And I do exactly this.
Not to criticize or exclude, but to warn.
More often than not, people do not like the warning.
But who knows…
Maybe one day they will need to call on our Creator, and they will remember…

#3
I make a deliberate effort to NOT speculate on future events that are difficult to understand [ie Revelation, Daniel, and various end time prophecies].
I study and I pray for wisdom as James 1:5-8 tells us:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of Elohim, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it shall be given to him.

6 But he should ask in belief, not doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

7 For that man should not think that he shall receive whatever from the Master –

8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

…but I still do not understand everything.
Some things are not revealed.
Many people will speculate, read into things trying to connect the dots, arriving at some type of conclusion that is not specifically stated in scripture.

There was a time when I did this, but I no longer try to do so.
Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us that we will not know and understand everything.
I accept this and I’m comfortable not knowing.

#4
With that in mind, let’s look at your question:
“how do you think the few mentioned in Matthew 7:14 should be reconciled with the great multitude in Revelation 7:9?”

— Without speculation or imagination, all we can do is look at the information contained in scripture and do our best.

Yeshua said this:
13 “Enter in through the narrow gate! Because the gate is wide – and the way is broad – that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in through it.
14 “Because the gate is narrow and the way is hard pressed which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

The first thing we have to do is recognize that these words came from the mouth of Messiah.
Not only can we believe this, but we must believe this.
He said it, therefore it is truth.

We could start speculating, trying to define “few”.
Can we put a number on it?
No, we are not given enough information to quantify this.
But we can take the warning to heart, and make efforts to be one of the few.
How do we do that?
We learn the Voice of Yehova and obey Him.
He tells us what brings life and blessing, and what brings death and curse.
Do we conduct our lives according to the Word that was spoken?
Or do we do our own thing, speculating what we can or cannot get away with and still be included in the kingdom?

We must learn the Voice of Yeshua, and heed the things He said.
If we do this, then we will be one of the few, no matter how many that actually is.
As men, we don’t have to define this concept.
Simply know the Voice of Elohim, and walk in His ways, obeying ALL that He commanded.
This phrase is repeated numerous times in scripture, both by Yehova and Yeshua.
Do we believe them?
Do we agree to obey ALL that They have commanded?
Or do we think close enough is good enough?

In Rev 7:9 we see this:
9After this I looked and saw a great crowd which no one was able to count, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, and palm branches in their hands,
10and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Deliverance belongs to our Elohim who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Is this speaking of billions?
Is this speaking of millions?
I don’t know.
It doesn’t say.
Imagine this…
If one were to go to a professional sports event in a stadium, can you successfully count 30,000 people?
Can you successfully count 50,000 people?
Can we even count 10,000 people without making an error?

We know in Revelation that 144,000 will have the sign/mark of Yehova.
Can we count a mass of 144,000?
Or from our perspective, will they seem like too many to count?

Or are we talking about millions or billions of people?
This is an event that will take place in the future.
I don’t know the answer to these questions.
All I can do is look at what is written in the scriptures, and accept them as fact.

Yah promises that Israel, His chosen people, will be restored one day. I believe we live in THE GENERATION where this is beginning.
We know Israel was divorced from the covenant and scattered among all the nations of the earth. They were not just exiled from the land, but also from God Himself and from the Torah.
That is what scripture tells us.
It is fact.
Yah said that He would not only not remember them [Israel] but He also would not remember their children.
This is stated in scripture.
If we believe the Voice of Elohim, then we can accept this as fact.
But…
The good news is that Yah promises to restore His people.
The Torah/Truth will flow from Zion.
We are experiencing this now.
The duration of exile has ended, and people are again gaining understanding of the Torah.
But we are still in exile.
Jeremiah 16:14 tells us there will be a second exodus, greater than the first.
Once again, Yah will gather His people and remove them from Mitsrayim/Egypt

[the World, Babylon]

.

Will this exodus consist of millions or billions of people around the earth?
Not if we believe the scriptures.
First of all, Yah tells us that in the exile, Israel will be destroyed such that few remain.

Deuteronomy 28:20
20“יהוה sends on you the curse, the confusion, and the rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the evil of your doings by which you have forsaken Me.

Deuteronomy 28:45
45“And all these curses shall come upon you, and they shall pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard His commands and His laws which He commanded you.

Deuteronomy 28:62-64
62“And you shall be left with few men, although you had become as numerous as the stars of the heavens, because you did not obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim.
63“And it shall be, that as יהוה rejoiced over you to do you good and increase you, so יהוה does rejoice over you to destroy you and lay you waste. And you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.
64“And יהוה shall scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other mighty ones, which neither you nor your fathers have known, wood and stone.

These are the Words of Yehova.
These are His warnings to Israel.
But Israel did not heed His Voice, and these consequences came to pass.

As verse 62 states, there will be few left of Israel.
That is where we are today.
The exile duration is over, and people are being called to Torah.
Most don’t hear, because they do not know the Voice of Elohim.
For those who do hear, some submit their hearts and their will to the Father and walk in His ways.
It would seem that many, though, only submit a little. They walk in His ways a little, but not a lot.
These are the lukewarm. Those who hear His call, but are stiff necked and rebellious. Just like we see in the first exodus story.

There are many statements in scripture about the restoration of Israel.
Here is one in Deuteronomy 30

1“And it shall be, when all these words come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you shall bring them back to your heart among all the nations where יהוה your Elohim drives you,
2and shall turn back to יהוה your Elohim and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your being, you and your children,
3then יהוה your Elohim shall turn back your captivity, and shall have compassion on you, and He shall turn back and gather you from all the peoples where יהוה your Elohim has scattered you.
4“If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under the heavens, from there יהוה your Elohim does gather you, and from there He does take you.
5“And יהוה your Elohim shall bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. And He shall do good to you, and increase you more than your fathers.
6“And יהוה your Elohim shall circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, so that you might live,
7and יהוה your Elohim shall put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.
8“And you shall turn back and obey the voice of יהוה and do all His commands which I command you today.
9“And יהוה your Elohim shall make you have excess in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground for good. For יהוה turns back to rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers,
10if you obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard His commands and His laws which are written in this Book of the Torah, if you turn back to יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being.
11“For this command which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for you, nor is it far off.
12“It is not in the heavens, to say, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’
13Nor is it beyond the sea, to say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’ ”
14“For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart – to do it.
15See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil,”
16in that I am commanding you today to love יהוה your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to guard His commands, and His laws, and His right-rulings. And you shall live and increase, and יהוה your Elohim shall bless you in the land which you go to possess.

Do you see the criteria in verse 2?
” you and your children,”

Sadly, the first generation of the exodus did not obey Yehova.
They grumbled and complained and did not have faith.
They refused His Voice and His promises.
They even wanted to quit and go back to Mitsrayim.

And what happened?
They all died in the wilderness, except Joshua and Caleb who followed Yehova with their whole hearts.

Do you see the relevance?
The first generation died off without receiving the promise.
But their children did, after much tribulation and testing.

This will play out again.
There is a second exodus coming.
It is foretold, and it will happen.

Deut 30:2 tells us that both the first and subsequent generations (your children) must turn back to Him and walk in His ways, obeying His Voice according to all that is commanded.

In the original exodus story, two men (few) made it to the promise.
What are we told about the re-gathering of Israel?
Jeremiah 3
14“Return, O backsliding children,” declares יהוה, “for I shall rule over you, and shall take you, one from a city and two from a clan, and shall bring you to Tsiyon.

How many are gathered?
One from a city…
Two from a clan…

Just as in the first exodus story, few will make it in the restoration.
One here, two there…
Not masses.
Not entire Torah fellowships.
One here, two there.

It will be quite selective. Those who follow partially, or walk in partial obedience instead of obeying all that is commanded will not be included.

Who are those that are included?
Philadelphia.

Revelation 3
7“And to the messenger of the assembly in Philadelphia write, ‘He who is set-apart, He who is true, He who has the key of Dawiḏ, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens, says this:
8“I know your works – see, I have set before you an open door, and no one is able to shut it – that you have little power, yet have guarded My Word, and have not denied My Name.
9“See, I am giving up those of the congregation of Satan, who say they are Yehuḏim and are not, but lie. See, I am making them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
10“Because you have guarded My Word of endurance, I also shall guard you from the hour of trial which shall come upon all the world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
11“See, I am coming speedily! Hold what you have that no one take your crown.
12“He who overcomes, I shall make him a supporting post in the Dwelling Place of My Elohim, and he shall by no means go out. And I shall write on him the Name of My Elohim and the name of the city of My Elohim, the renewed Yerushalayim, which comes down out of the heaven from My Elohim, and My renewed Name.

The few who love Yah with their whole heart will be excluded from tribulation.
They will be protected from harsh and difficult things, like no other time in the history of mankind.

This is what I’m trying to teach people today.
Know the Voice of Yehova
Know the Voice of Yeshua Messiah.
Obey all that They command.
It will bring life and blessing to do so.

Our goal is not to do as little as possible and still make it in.
Our goal is to know the Voice of Elohim, and walk in His ways because of our love for Him and for Messiah.

Going back to Revelation, to a crowd too numerous to count.
We understand the reason for tribulation, the great and fearful day of Yehova.
It is a test.
It is a merciful last chance.
There are those who reject Elohim, or are lukewarm followers, who will be tested by tribulation.
Many will see in that time the seriousness of all this.
While some will be angry and shake their fist at God, many will submit their hearts to Him.
We are told that their heads will be lifted from them by those in the world.
But it is better to enter the kingdom with a destroyed physical body than to not enter the kingdom.

Maybe the countless masses are those who turn to Yehova in tribulation.

 I do not know the answers to future events, and I do not try to speculate as to exactly what will happen.
I will praise Yah, that His plan, even tribulation, will bring about good results.

In the meantime, I will study the words of Yah and the words of Yeshua, and the rest of the scriptures.
I will believe what they say.
Even the harsh things they say in warning.
I will do my very best to help people be one from this city, two from this clan.
I will do my very best to help people be Team Philadelphia.

I do not have all the answers, and I do not need them.
I know enough to obey the words of this Torah, and to encourage others to do so as well.

Deuteronomy 29:29
29“The secret matters belong to יהוה our Elohim, but what is revealed belongs to us and to our children forever, to do all the Words of this Torah.

There are many wonderful and uplifting concepts in scripture.
They are quite wonderful, and people should know about them, and place their hope in these promises.
What many people do not realize, though, is the conditional nature of many promises in scripture.
If we go back a few verses before a promise is made, we often find the words, “If you…”
While the promises are great, they often require something of us.
Christian leaders often refer to this idea as blasphemy!!
They tend to teach that not only do we not have to do anything, but that we SHOULD NOT do anything.
However, if we ACTUALLY read the words of Yehova (God), Yeshua Messiah (Jesus), and the prophets (who spoke on Yehova’s behalf) we do find conditional IF-THEN scenarios regarding promises and blessings.
Not only that, we also find IF-THEN scenarios in place regarding very harsh warnings.
DO THIS – experience the blessings and promises of a loving God
DON’T DO THIS – experience severe consequences of a fair and just God.

While this idea may sound harsh to those who only know what their church leaders have taught them, it is backed up by countless direct quotes of Yehova, Yeshua, the prophets, and other scriptures.
Churches teach the opposite of what Yehova said.
Churches teach people to disobey God [and therefore Yeshua Messiah, since He taught what the Father taught].
Church going Christian pastors and congregants all fail the Deuteronomy 13 test.

Deuteronomy 13:6-11
“When your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own being, entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other mighty ones’– which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the mighty ones of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth – do not agree with him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pardon him, nor spare him or conceal him, but you shall certainly kill him. Your hand is first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people, and you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, from the house of bondage. “And let all Yisra’ĕl hear and fear, and not again do any such evil matter as this in your midst.

Imagine this:
In a covenant nation governed by Torah [the instruction of God], church going Christians would be stoned to death according to the Words of Yehova, even if they are beloved family!! While this might sound absolutely crazy to you (as it did to me), these are the VERY words of the God we all serve.
Does this mean that God of the bible has some serious character flaws?
No, not at all.
He cares for us so much that He gives harsh warnings with VERY serious consequences.
He wants us to walk in His ways SO MUCH [because they bring life and blessing] that He requires the death penalty for anyone trying to teach us to stray from Him.
That is LITERALLY how much He loves us, that He will go to unimaginable extremes to protect us and keep us in His fold.

And yet, we live in a society and church culture so far removed from His truth and His Character, that this merciful and loving warning is considered a flaw of God’s Character.
People are so comfortable with their own disobedience and the disobedience of others that a warning like this is offensive to them. 
They do not recognize the incredible love behind this warning.
He wants us so badly that He is willing to require death for those who try to steal us away from Him.
Do you find this very hard to believe?
I did when I first began studying the warnings in scripture.
Jeremiah forewarned us of what we see today in Christianity:
Jer 16:19-20
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. ” Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods?

Jeremiah tells us ‘religions of the world’ will have it wrong, and as a result they serve a made up god of their own imagination. And if their god is made up, then they cannot be saved by their non-existent god.

I do not share these words to be critical of lawless Christians, but simply because it is the Word of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I share this and other difficult ideas because people need to know. I share these harsh ideas in scripture out of love, because people need to know, especially if they fall into the category of not heeding these warnings.

Yehova (God) and Yeshua Messiah (Jesus) have established some standards of truth in scripture, and They say these standards of truth are for all time, forever, never-ending, and for all generations.

The following scripture is a direct quote of Yeshua/Jesus.
In this statement, Yeshua Messiah is not speaking to non-believers, atheists, evil people, etc.
He is speaking to people who called Him Lord/Master, and these people claim to have served Him.

Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens. “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’ “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’

What is the disqualifier among these self-proclaimed believers and followers of Messiah?
“Lawlessness”

What is the result?
Depart from Me [not good].
I never knew you. [Even worse].

Why is it worse for Yeshua to not know them?
Another direct quote of Messiah explains why this is so very bad:

John 10:27-28
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. “And I give them everlasting life, and they shall by no means ever perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.”

Messiah knows His sheep.
If he does not know you, then you are not His sheep.
Let that sink in…
Not His sheep.
This should be a scary thought.
His sheep follow Him, which means obeying the things He said and walking just as He walked.
Lawless Christians do not.

What does Messiah give to His sheep, the people He knows?
Eternal life.

If He does not know you, then you will not receive eternal life [according to Him, not me].
If you are not His sheep, then you will not receive eternal life [according to Him, not me].
His sheep follow Him, and this is good.
What happens to those in Matthew 7 — the lawless?
“Depart from Me.”
They do not follow Him, nor are they allowed to follow Him.
They are sent away by Yeshua Messiah (Jesus).
This is sad and tragic for billions of people riding a religious train that is completely off the rails.

Yehova and Yeshua Messiah have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.
How does Messiah continue in Matthew 7?
He reiterates what He had just spoken in verses 21-23.
He speaks of people who heed His words, and those who do not heed His words.

Matthew 7:24-27
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does them, shall be like a wise man who built his house on the rock, “and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not do them, shall be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.” for He was teaching them as one possessing authority, and not as the scribes.

He again tells us the outcome of the lawless, those who do not heed His words:
“…and great was its fall.”
And there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I pray for the many churches of today’s religious systems.
There are many who claim to know and serve Jesus.
But according to the words of Jesus, they are disqualified.
He does not know them, they are not His sheep, and He sends them away.
If this study has offended you, please don’t be angry with me.
Take these scriptures I’ve shared and read them.
Study them.
Pray about them.
Learn the Voice of God and the Voice of Jesus.
Know the things They say, and not just the good things.
Find out if any of these harsh warnings apply to you, because your eternity depends on them.

I used to wonder why the Scriptures could allow the possibility of confusion. I keep Torah and eat clean, but ask any mainstream Christian and they will tell you that all food has been made clean and is permissible. They will quote Peter’s vision in Acts, or they will quote Yeshua Messiah saying what goes into a man does not defile him.Yes, I’ve learned that both examples are twisted and out of context by reading those entire stories instead of building doctrine upon a single isolated verse or two.
But why did Yehova allow writings that have the possibility of being taken out of context?
It is simply a test.
Here is the test that Yehova is giving every single one of us:

Deut 13:3-4
…for Yehova your Elohim is testing you to know whether you love Yehova your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after Yehova your Elohim and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

Anyone who knows the Voice of Yehova, fears Him, obeys Him, and holds fast to Him will not fall for twisted scripture or confusion.
Yehova allowed Scripture to become a test for us.
He could have inspired the authors to be plain as day, where every single thing is spelled out in black and white. But instead, He inspired the authors to word things in such a manner that they match His Truth, and yet, could be taken a different way if one does not know the Voice of Yehova and follow Him.
A simple test.
Pass or fail.
It reveals the condition of one’s heart.
We see a similar test in the New Testament:

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.

We are told that those who do not keep the commandments do not REALLY know Him, and that they are liars if they say they serve Jesus/God without following Yehova’s instructions.
Again, a simple test to reveal the hearts of men.
Pass or fail.
Obey in truth, or be a liar by claiming to follow God in disobedience.

And there are many examples of this in the Scriptures. It is not just about food. He is testing our hearts in many things.
The only way to pass these tests are to know His Voice, fear Him, obey Him, walk in His commandments, and cling to Him.
Yeshua said these things:

Luke 6:46
“But why do you call Me ‘Master, Master,’ and not do the things which I say?”
John 10:27-28
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

I’ve spent the last several years debating and arguing with people about the Scriptures, both in mainstream Christianity AND in Torah Community.
I’ve learned that if they do not want to pass their test, then no amount of debating, discussing, sharing, counselling, or studying will ever change their heart or change their mind.
Yes, we can show them the Voice of Yehova and the Voice of Yeshua, but that doesn’t mean they will like it or accept it — all while claiming to follow and obey Yehova and Yeshua.

We are warned of THIS.VERY.THING, and it applies to both Christianity and to Torah community, as there are many in Torah who are still failing their test (sadly).
Pray for all in this matter.
Pray those (and ourselves) will submit and humble our hearts, desiring to know the Voice of Yahweh in all things.

2Thes 2:9-12
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

This is why people are willing to argue and debate where they stand, even when where they stand on a matter defies the very words of Yehova and Yeshua.
It is because their hearts have failed the test, and they have been given over to the delusion of false doctrine.
This is why they cannot see the truth when quoted word for word from the scriptures.
How many times have we quoted Yehova or Yeshua, only to have the other person start with, “Yeah but…”

This alone shows they are not interested in knowing the Voice of Yehova.
They are interested in the desires of their own hearts.
They are interested in what they think they know to be true.
I wondered why millions or billions of people could be mislead in scripture.
I prayed about it, and Yehova led me to these scriptures to show that each and every person is being tested, to see if their heart is in it.
He could have given us simple black and white instructions with no possibility of error.
But He does not want us to be robots, doing a list of things without love for Him.
People can use the scriptures to develop false doctrine that defies the very words of Yehova and Yeshua.
They can explain their false doctrine by quoting scriptures, and they can usually make a logical case for what they believe.

However… it requires them to fail the test.
It requires them to disregard the Voice of Yehova.
It requires them to disobey Him.
Pass or Fail.
The scriptures allow loopholes — not to deceive us, but to test our hearts.
What do we value more?
The things that Yah said?
Or disobedience by loophole?

And here is the really cool thing.
All of the scriptures used to create loopholes and false doctrine also tell the truth of Yehova’s words.
They can have dual meaning, depending on the condition of our hearts!!

And just to help us with all of this, the scriptures contain warnings, over and over and over again.
Such as this one:

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

Yeshua tells us exactly why He taught in parables.
Direct quote of Yeshua Messiah:

11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’

Those with dull/calloused/hardened/unsubmitted hearts are not ALLOWED to understand the scriptures.
It isn’t that they “just don’t get it.”
They are literally prevented from being able to understand, and this is done intentionally.

2Cor3:14-16 tells us how to lift this and to be able to understand the Torah (writings of Mosheh)
14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

When one TRULY submits his/her will to the Father’s will, and TRULY submits their heart to Elohim, then the veil is lifted and they are allowed to understand.

There are many, many countless people in the world claiming to serve Jesus/God. They go to church and study the bible. They discuss and debate and some even teach. They write articles and create videos. They collect a gathering.
They live their lives with great effort and sacrifice for what they believe, and yes, we see this in Torah community as well.

But…
If their actions defy the VOICE of Yehova or the VOICE of Yeshua, then they make all of their efforts in vain.
If they deviate from what Yehova and Yeshua taught, then they’ve made up their own gods and serve them.

Quote of Yeshua Messiah [Matthew 15 quoting Isaiah}
8 ‘These people
draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

Jeremiah warns of this so long ago…
Jer 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?

You may have noticed that I’ve essentially taken a break for the last two months or so…
I have not written nor posted blog articles for awhile.
I have not taken a break from Torah, and I have not taken a break from studying Torah [and the rest of the Scriptures].

Over the last three years, my blog has been a great tool for me.
I wrote as I came into Torah.
I wrote as I learned, and I learned by writing.
I shared my thoughts with the world.

When I read a direct quote of Yahweh, or a direct quote of Yeshua Messiah, I simply chose to believe what They said.
And I still do.
The things They said are non-negotiable for me.
But believing the things said by Elohim caused me to question other things I’d been taught by men over several decades of my life.
This blog is a written historical record as I questioned and explored the differences between the Scriptures and the doctrines of men.
It was hard.
It still is hard.
But given the choice of siding with Yahweh and Yeshua, or siding with what some guy learned in college, I will side with Yah and Yeshua every single time.

When I realized that mainstream Christianity teaches something different than what Yahweh says, I got angry.
I was angry that I had been taught things that do not line up with the Word.
I was angry that I myself perpetuated these ideas.
I taught Sunday School and led men’s studies, teaching the same false doctrines I had learned from others.
I got angry with the church and church leaders, and I believe it shows in some of my early articles.
But I’ve come to realize my failings were not their fault.
I failed to submit my heart to Yahweh.
I failed to submit my will to His will, and as a result, I did not gain truth in my efforts [as the scriptures teach will happen].
It is the same for the church today, and for church leaders.
They are not the enemy. They are just lost without the whole truth of the whole bible.

You might see a significant and definitive change in my attitude as my writings continued.
As I studied through another Torah portion series, I paid particular attention to Mosheh.
Make no mistake about it… Mosheh was an incredible leader.
But he did not like his calling.
Mosheh did not like leading a group of rebellious and complaining people.
He did not enjoy being responsible for the nation of Israel.
He disliked his ‘position’ so very much that he asked Yahweh to kill him on the spot.
That’s pretty bad, right?
And yet, Mosheh soldiered on.
Mosheh continued in his calling.
Mosheh had compassion for the people.
When they messed up (sometimes badly) Mosheh fell on his face before Yahweh and prayed for the people.
Mosheh interceded and prayed for a rebellious, disobedient, stiff-necked people.
I learned from Mosheh.
I valued what I see in his example.
My tone softened.
My blog articles still called out the truth of the scriptures, but I began to pray for those who do not know the Word, instead of being angry with them for teaching, believing, and living false doctrine.

This is where I remain today, with regard to mainstream Christianity.
I pray for them.
I have compassion for them.
I pray that Yahweh will be merciful and kind to those who do not know the truth, even if it is their own fault. Even if they think they have it right…

And then, I began shifting the focus of my blog articles.
I noticed through personal experiences in fellowship as well as online that the Torah Community at large has some issues.
What issues?
Lukewarm behavior.
Lack of faith.
Disobedience.
Partial followers.
Fakers, claiming to be Torah followers when the evidence of their lives indicates otherwise.
False teachers, wolves, twisting and changing and deceiving and injecting confusion and doubt.

All the problems we see in the people of the Exodus story, we also see in today’s Torah community.
My blog continued, but I began writing to them, the Torah community,  instead of to mainstream Christians.
And the Torah community did not like my input.
They seemed to be fine when I was addressing the issues in Christianity. Nearly everyone was willing to rally around that…
But when I began addressing the issues that exist in Torah community, people stopped interacting with me. Or worse, they began debating against me.
My blogs would go unread, and my posts would sit with few comments and little discussion. My “online fellowship” dried up and withered.
A very small minority stood by my side, and even had my back at times. A small group of people would tell me encouraging things. You know who you are, and I say, “Thank You!!”

All of these experiences culminated with another blown up local fellowship.
False doctrine was being introduced stating that most of the Torah is not applicable today.
I quoted Yahweh and Yeshua to debunk the ideas.
And it all blew up.
Some in the group were hungry for truth, but others wanted to maintain the status quo, no matter what.
For some, hugs and smiles and friendship were more important than clinging to Yah’s Voice.
Keeping the peace took precedence for some, while others encouraged me privately.
Please understand… this is a great group of wonderful people.
These are all people I grew to love very much.
I was told by some that I know the Scriptures well, and that standing firm upon the things Yahweh and Yeshua said was much needed.
Others told me I was divisive and offensive and that I’m really not good at any of this.
And that is when I took my break from writing blog articles.
I wanted to take some time and pray.
I wanted to take some time and ask that Yah refine me.

Here I am today.
I’ve learned I cannot be responsible for what others think and believe.
I’ve learned that most people will not change their minds or their behavior, just because I quote a few scriptures.
I have several blog articles that talk about why some people understand and “get it” and why some people do not understand and do not “get it.”
I’ve come to realize that if people submit their hearts and their will to Elohim, then they will be given understanding. It is promised in the scriptures.
If someone has not submitted their heart to Yah, then my input cannot help them.
If someone has submitted their heart to Yah, then they are already receiving truth and understanding, and my input is not necessary.
I cannot change people, and I cannot change the lives of other people.
They must respond to their own calling of God.
They must decide for themselves if they will follow wholly and completely, or if they will follow partially.
I cannot decide for them.
I cannot force anyone to be more serious about the Word.
I cannot make anyone be serious about their obedience to the Word.

Yahweh says for us to make for ourselves and wear tzitzits, and to do so throughout our generations.
And yet, countless people in Torah do not wear tzitzits.
It is a simple litmus test.
Do they know the Voice of Yah?
Do they believe the Voice of Yah?
Do they obey and follow the Voice of Yah?
If they do, then they already wear tzitzits.
If they do not, then I cannot convince them to wear tzitzits.

Yahweh speaks of His expectations and His standards for the Sabbath.
He tells us that Shabbat is a sign between Him and His people.
He tells us that anyone who profanes/violates the Sabbath will surely die and be cut off from His people.
What do we see in Torah community?
Countless people profaning and violating the Sabbath.
If it is not in their heart to honor and remember the Sabbath, to keep it at all costs because they know the Voice of Yahweh, then I can not help them.
If they do know the Voice of Yah and keep the Sabbath as a result, then my input is not needed. They are on the path already.

If someone in Torah decides they must work on Yahweh’s moedim – for whatever reasons – then I cannot help them.
If an individual has no reverent fear of Yahweh, to keep His commands out of love for Him, then my input is worthless.

I recently had someone tell me that God will understand if we violate the Sabbath.
God will understand if we work on His Feast Days.
They said that we are in exile.
They said that we are subject to the ways of the nations where we reside.
They say we have no choice but to conform to the pressures of the nations in which we are exiled.
“God will understand this…”
Is that what the bible teaches us?
Look at Daniel.
Daniel was a man in covenant with Yahweh who happened to be in exile.
Daniel was expected to eat unclean meats.
Did he conform to the expectations of his captors?
No.
He obeyed Yahweh.
Daniel was expected to bow down to King Darius only, and not bow down to Yahweh, with the lion’s den awaiting anyone who disobeyed this decree.
Did Daniel conform to the ways of this nation of exile, stating that “God will understand”?
No, Daniel did not.
Daniel sought Yahweh and only Yahweh.
Daniel remained steadfast in honoring Yahweh, even though he knew it would cost him his life. 
He chose his fate, the lion’s den, because He valued Yahweh over everything else, even his own life.
This is the example we are to follow.
Sound extreme?
Yes, it does.
Sound a bit serious?
Yes, it does.
We are not to add Torah to our lives where ever we can seem to make it fit.
No, we are to conform our lives to Torah, no matter the cost.
This is what the scriptures teach.
This is what Yahweh teaches.
This is what the prophets teach.
This is what Yeshua teaches.
We are not to conform to the world, all while changing Yahweh’s character in our own minds, deciding for ourselves what He will or won’t accept.  
He has already spoken.
Yahweh has already told us what He will or won’t accept.
We don’t get to change it.
We don’t get to decide who He is.

The scriptures are recorded for us, that we might learn from them.
Romans 15:4
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
Are the accounts of of Daniel’s life just a cool story to read?
Or are we to learn from his account?
Are we to violate the ways of Yahweh in order to conform to the world, all while claiming that Yah will understand?
No, we must each pass our test that Yahweh is giving us:
Deuteronomy 13:4-5
“…for יהוה your Elohim is testing you to know whether you love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being.  Walk after יהוה your Elohim and fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His voice, and serve Him and cling to Him.”

People do not need my blog articles if:
1. they love יהוה with their whole heart
2. they walk after יהוה
3. they fear יהוה
4. they guard His commands
5. they obey His Voice
6. they serve יהוה
7. they cling to יהוה
If people do not do these seven things, then my blog articles cannot help them.
Each person must pass or fail this test.
No one else can take this test in our place, and none of us can take this test for another.

So where does this leave me?
Will I continue?
Will I soldier on?
Yes, I will.
I will continue to study.
I will continue to write and post blogs.
I will encourage others.
I will pray for others.
I will encourage you to pray for others.

But I will not carry the weight of the disobedience and lack of faith of others. I will not burden my own shoulders with the thoughts, words, and actions of others.
I will not tell people they are wrong.
This is never effective, even if it is true.
I will only show you what Yahweh says and what Yeshua says.
I will show you what the scriptures say.
People will have to decide for themselves whether or not they are wrong, and what to do about it.

Yes, I’ll write blogs, and I pray my blogs will continue to be helpful.
But I won’t carry the burden of others any longer.
Each must pass their own test, as I cannot do it for them.

Ecclesiastes 12
And besides these, my son, be warned – the making of many books has no end, and much study is a wearying of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the entire matter: Fear Elohim and guard His commands, for this applies to all mankind! For Elohim shall bring every work into right-ruling, including all that is hidden, whether good or whether evil.

Is “being saved” different than the idea of having “salvation”?
We’ve been taught for many generations and many centuries that being saved and having salvation are one and the same, and are not two separate things. However, if we study the scriptures, we find the two concepts are different, and have different qualifying criteria.

Let’s take a quick look at a couple scriptures that help to define the idea of being in the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is a direct quote of Yeshua Messiah (Jesus):
Matthew 7:21
“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.”
This is but a short statement, but we can learn much from it:
1 – Calling Jesus our Lord does not get us into the Kingdom.
2 – There are people who believe in Yeshua Messiah (Jesus) that will not be in the Kingdom.
3 – In a very straight forward and concise manner, Yeshua Messiah tells us exactly who will be in the Kingdom of Heaven:  “he who does the will of My Father in Heaven.”

Uh-oh, we have a big problem here.
Churches teach that anyone who believes in and accepts Jesus as their Savior will be in the Kingdom, inheriting all the promises of the Good News of the Gospel.
What shall we do?
Will we believe what countless churches teach?
Or will we believe what Messiah says?
We have to choose one or the other, because they do not teach the same exact thing.

As for me and my house, we will listen to what Yeshua Messiah says and believe Him.
He said this:
John 10:27-28
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them everlasting life, and they shall by no means ever perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.”

If we want to be His sheep, we have to do these things:
1 – Hear His Voice
2 – Be known by Him
3 – Follow Him
— Then, He gives everlasting life
— Then, they shall not perish
— Then, they shall not be snatched from Him

We must hear and know His voice.
Again, what did He say?
‘those who do the will of the Father in Heaven will be allowed into the Kingdom.’

Well, this is very subjective, right?
It means something different to each and every person. The will of the Father is different depending on each person’s circumstances, correct?
Does that idea make any sense?
We are speaking of eternity here.
We are speaking of the very most important thing to us.
Does it make sense that the criteria for each and every person should be different, based on subjective ideas and thoughts?
Or is there a level playing field?
Is the standard the same for all?
How does scripture define the will of the Father?

Psalm 40:8 in various translations:
ISR2009 Scriptures
I have delighted to do Your pleasure, O my Elohim, And Your Torah is within my heart.
King James Version
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
English Standard Version
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.
Complete Jewish Bible
Doing your will, my God, is my joy;
your Torah is in my inmost being.
The Passion Translation
I delight to fulfill your will, my God,
for your living words are written upon the pages of my heart.
Young’s Literal Translation
To do Thy pleasure, my God, I have delighted, And Thy law [is] within my heart.

We are told that the will of the Father is to keep His Torah instructions.
What is that exactly?
It is what is commonly referred to as the Old Testament Law.
Our churches teach that the Old Testament Law is done away with, that it was nailed to the cross.
Can we believe this to be true?
How is it possible that Yeshua Messiah (Jesus) would give us a criteria to be in the Kingdom, only to then believe that criteria is obsolete and done away with?
The law in fact was not nailed to the cross, but our sin was.
Scripture defines sin for us:
1John 3:4
ISR2009 Scriptures
Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
New King James Version
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
Complete Jewish Bible
Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah.

With this in mind, consider this:
If the law is done away with, and the law defines sin, then sin is also done away with.
If sin were done away with during Yeshua’s time (Jesus) then no one has ever sinned since His time on earth.
If no one has sinned, then none of us need a Savior.
Does this make sense?
The law was not done away with, nor was it nailed to the cross.
Yahweh (God) says it is forever, for all generations.
It is not obsolete.
It is still used to define what sin is, and it is like a mirror, showing us where we have strayed. It’s purpose is to show us that we have fallen short of the glory of God.
We are forgiven for those trespasses by Messiah, and this forgiveness is a free gift of grace, and not of our own works.
But then, we are baptized into this new life, this new truth.
We are immersed as a sinner, covered in death, which is the wage for sin.
We come up out of the water forgiven and clean, given robes of righteousness by our Messiah. Our old self is dead and gone, and we rise as a new being.
Romans 6:1-4
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound? ² May it never be! How can we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Or do you not know that all of us who were immersed into Messiah Yeshua were immersed into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried together with Him through immersion into death—in order that just as Messiah was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

“Inheriting eternal life, being in the Kingdom of Heaven, being granted salvation”
Remember, we are not talking about an insignificant thing here.
We are speaking about eternity, and whether or not we will be in the presence of Yahweh (God) for all eternity.
This is a very big deal.
There is nothing bigger.
So I ask this…
Are “being saved” and “being in the Kingdom of heaven” synonymous?
Are they the exact same thing, or are they different?
If we believe the very words of our Messiah, the two have to be different.
We know that we are saved by grace, which comes through faith, and not of works so that no man should boast.
Being saved is a simple matter of faith.
It is a matter of belief.
It is a matter of recognizing we have sinned [violating or transgressing the Law, the Torah instructions], and knowing we need to be forgiven for that sin.
And when we confess our sin and repent of our sin, we are forgiven by the only One who can do so. Yeshua Messiah (Jesus).  We are saved from the wages of sin which are death.
But then what?

Then…
We begin our race.
We work out our salvation in fear and trembling.
We begin the process of sanctification.
We begin our journey towards salvation, inheriting eternal life, and being in the kingdom of heaven.
Salvation has different criteria than being saved.
We are not taught this, but if we know the Voice of our Messiah, it is quite evident.

Do you know His Voice?
Yeshua Messiah said these things:
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. 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?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

John 14:15
“If you love Me, you shall keep My commands.”
John 14:21
“He who keeps My commands and guards them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him.”
John 15:10
“If you keep My commands, you shall stay in My love even as I have guarded My Father’s commands and stay in His love.”

Matthew 19:16-17
Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

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

I fully understand what I’m showing you is different than what we have all learned. Not just what ‘we’ learned, but also our parents, our grandparents, our great-grandparents and so forth.
This is very difficult, but we have to decide whether we will listen to the Voice of our Messiah and know Him (and be known by Him), or if we will hold to the traditions of men.
What does Yeshua Messiah say about the traditions of men?
Mark 7:6-8 (another direct quote of Messiah)
He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men…” 

Did you know that Yeshua (Jesus) spoke of exactly what I am speaking of?
He is not fond of the men who reject the commandments of Yahweh (God) in favor of the teachings of men.
1 – He calls them hypocrites
2 – He says their heart is not near to Him
3 – They worship Him in vain (without results)
These are not good things.
But this is what men and women are taught in our churches, and this is what has been taught for many generations, too many to count.
Is that addressed in the scriptures?
Absolutely.
Yes.
It was foretold long ago:
Jeremiah 16:19-20
O Yahweh, 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?

“Being saved” is a free gift that comes by grace through faith.
“Being in the Kingdom of Heaven” has different criteria, and requires us to do something
James 1:22-25
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
We are taught that “having to do something” is blasphemy, and that it tramples the work done on the cross.
What did Yeshua Messiah (Jesus) tell people after he forgave them or healed them?
“Go and sin no more.”
They were told by Messiah Himself to do something: sin no more.
Is this blasphemy, for Yeshua Himself to expect something of us?
James says we must do something.
Messiah (Jesus) says we must do something.
What must we do?
The Word. The Torah.
The will of the Father.
The things that Yahweh told us to do.
And He said these things are forever, for all generations, and are for both the native born Hebrew and the stranger among them. It is for everyone, for all time.
Not sure about that?
James tells us in this narrative:
1 – Look at the perfect law of liberty
2 – And continue in it
3 – This one will be blessed.
Do we have to be perfect in doing these things, the will of the Father?
No. If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, and that is Yeshua Messiah (Jesus).
1John 2:1-2
My children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Intercessor with the Father—the righteous Messiah Yeshua. ² He is the atonement for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world.
What follows this reminder that Messiah atones for us?
1John 2:3-6 (remember, we must know Yeshua and He must know us in order for us to be His sheep)
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.

I fully realize everything I’m saying here is foreign to you.
It was foreign to me as well.
Church leaders will call this idea blasphemy.
Church leaders will call the Old Testament Law a burden and a curse.
What does the New Testament tell us about it?
1John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

Do you believe the scriptures?
Or do you believe the traditions of men.
Please pray about these things.
Do not believe anything I say.
Open your bible to page one and read it.
Take note of the things that God says are forever, never ending, a perpetual covenant, and for all generations.
Understand that if He proclaimed these things, that Paul does not have the authority to override Him [See 2Peter 3:14-17 where we are warned of this mistake].
Study and show yourself approved.

Psalm 17:7-9
ISR2009 Scriptures
The Torah of יהוה (God) is perfect, bringing back the being; The witness of יהוה is trustworthy, making wise the simple;
The orders of יהוה (God) are straight, rejoicing the heart; The command of יהוה (God) is clear, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of יהוה (God) is clean, standing forever; The right-rulings of יהוה (God) are true, They are righteous altogether…
New King James Version
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

 

 

Ephesians 6
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in Elohim and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of Yahweh, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of Yahweh, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of Yahweh; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

#1 Stand
Always stand firm upon the very words of Yahweh.
Always stand firm upon the very words of Yeshua.
If we find verses in the bible that defy the things Elohim said, then find a better way to understand those verses.  They cannot be in conflict with Yahweh and Yeshua.  If they are, it does not mean the verses are wrong, nor does it mean there are contradictions in the scriptures. It just means we do not understand them properly.  Seek better understanding – an understanding that aligns with Yahweh and Yeshua instead of opposing them. We are warned of this potential error in 2Peter 3:14-16, and the consequences of failing are quite harsh.
1Corinthians 16:13
Watch, stand firm in the belief, be men, be strong.

#2 Gird your waist with truth
Know the words of Yahweh and Yeshua.
All truth is built upon their words.
Keep in mind that in ancient times, girding your waist was to prepare for battle.
Always battle for and with the truth.
Don’t battle with your own understanding, but let truth be your weapon.
What is the truth?
Psalm 119:142
Your righteousness is righteousness forever, And Your Torah is truth.

#3 Wear the breastplate of righteousness
First and foremost, have faith in Yeshua Messiah.  He is our righteousness when we fail to obey the Father.
2Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of Elohim.
However, we are to do our best to live righteously as men.
Yes, Yeshua Messiah is our advocate with the Father when we fail [see 1John 2], but what about when we do not fail?
What is righteousness to us?
Deuteronomy 6:24-25
And יהוה commanded us to do all these laws, to fear יהוה our Elohim, for our good always, to keep us alive, as it is today.
And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.’

#4  Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace
There is an old saying among soldiers: Always take care of your feet.  If your feet are not well, you will be hindered in all things that you do.
What does “preparation of the gospel of peace” mean?
This is an oddly stated phrase and will require more study, but my first take on it is that we should be well prepared in understanding the gospel message; not according to the traditions of men, but according to the foundation of the Word, which is the Torah.
If we don’t understand it well, then we will be hindered in all that we do.

#5 taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one
Our faith must be unmovable.
It must be resolute.
If we enter into this fight and the wicked one causes us to stumble in doubt or lack of understanding, then cracks in our faith will appear. We will be unsure of ourselves in the midst of battle. We cannot take the fight to the enemy if we are unsure of ourselves, in matters of truth and righteousness, or in understanding the gospel.  We cannot take the fight to the enemy if we are not prepared to stand firm, knowing exactly what we believe and have faith in.
Psalm 119:30
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your commandments before me.

#6 the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit
These two work together, and are included in the same statement.
These two concepts come from our head, so to speak.
Know with certainty in your mind what salvation is.
Know in your mind what brings salvation, and put on the helmet to protect it.
We learn the requirements of salvation (being in the Kingdom, receiving eternal life) from Yeshua Messiah, among other sources in scripture. Here are several examples:
Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens.
“Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’
“And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’
According to Messiah, doing the will of the Father is what gets us into the Kingdom (salvation).  He warns us to not be workers of lawlessness (transgressing the Torah, as the Torah instructions are the will of the Father).

Matthew 19:16-17
And see, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good shall I do to have everlasting life?”
And He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One – Elohim. But if you wish to enter into life, guard/keep the commands.”
Yeshua tells the rich young ruler that to receive eternal life, keep the commands. Obey the Torah.

And one last example – Yeshua speaking of who will be allowed into the Kingdom and have access to the Tree of Life:
Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
Once again, we see that obedience to the commandments is a requirement to enter the City of New Jerusalem, and partake of the Tree of Life.

[Side note – church culture has taught the entire world that being saved and being granted salvation and eternal life are one and the same, but the words of Messiah tell us they are separate events with separate “terms and conditions”. If this idea is new to you, please study all the scripture references to being saved, and compare the results to all the references to salvation, eternal life, or being in the Kingdom.]

The second item in this concept is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of Yahweh.
When we have studied the Word and been given understanding by the Ruach, the Word emanates from our mind and from our mouth, thus it is guarded by the helmet.
Faith in the Word and obedience to the Word bring life and peace.
But lack of faith and disobedience cause the Word to be the sword of the Spirit.
And what does the sword of the Spirit do?
Hebrews 4:12
For the Word of Elohim is living, and working, and sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting through even to the dividing of being and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Yeshua Messiah is often referred to as having a sword coming from His mouth, and it is referring to the Word, that He speaks it.
But use of the Word is not limited to Yeshua Messiah.
We are to use it as well; teaching, encouraging, or even rebuking if necessary.
2Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work.

In the fight with the enemy, the Word is our greatest weapon.
When Yeshua resisted the devil during His temptation, He responded by quoting Deuteronomy three times, the Word of Yahweh.  In it He claimed victory.
We are to do the same, as Paul writes:
“…that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” and “that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Hopefully, this gives us a good understanding of the Whole Armor of Yahweh, or at least a start.
This study is short, and there are countless other verses that could be included.
I encourage everyone to continue digging in on their own.

Once we understand the whole armor of Yahweh and wear it, who are we to battle with?
Each other?
No, we see this defined in Ephesians 6
“that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
We can clearly see that other humans are not our enemy.
But what if other men/women bring forth teachings that do not align with the truth?
Do these people become our enemy?
James 4:11
11 Brothers, do not speak against one another. He that speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against Torah and judges Torah. And if you judge Torah, you are not a doer of Torah but a judge.

No, these individuals do not become our enemy.
We do battle against the false doctrine, not the man presenting it.
It may be the case that a spiritual host of wickedness is working through them.
The bad doctrine is what we fight against.
We do not fight the people.
How do we do this?
We review the Whole Armor of Yahweh…
We take these principles, and we correct the false doctrine, using the Words of Yahweh and Yeshua.
We use the Whole Armor of God to protect our own faith and our own obedience.
And if we can help someone else in their walk, do so.
Remember this very simple concept that I have failed:
We cannot decide anything for others.
We cannot take up the fight for others.
We can fight alongside them, but we cannot fight instead of them.

The hope is that our brother, who is also seeking to be in covenant with the Father, will recognize the truth when presented.  We all need to help each other, pointing ourselves and our friends towards the words of Yahweh.
But this hope does not always come to fruition.
Sometimes men and women will still seek after false doctrine, as we are told in 2Timothy.
2Timothy 3:1-9
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

Yeshua says this about false teachers and their followers:
Matthew 15:14
“Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
In other words, we do not have to do battle with these people.  Make an attempt to show them the words of Yahweh and Yeshua.  If they continue on their path, let them be. Do not pursue an argument or debate over the Word.
Proverbs 18:2
A fool has no delight in understanding,
But in expressing his own heart.
Proverbs 29:9, 11
If a wise man contends with a foolish man,
Whether the fool rages or laughs, there is no peace.
A fool vents all his feelings,
But a wise man holds them back.
Proverbs 26:7-11
Like the legs of the lame that hang limp
Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
Like one who binds a stone in a sling
Is he who gives honor to a fool.
Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard
Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
The great God who formed everything
Gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages.
As a dog returns to his own vomit,
So a fool repeats his folly.

Why am I writing about these things?
I recently experienced a great deal of turbulence within our Torah community.
Our local fellowship is made up of really great people.
But an idea was presented to the fellowship that a large portion of the Torah [about 65% of it, from Exodus 24:12 to Deuteronomy 34] was given only to the first rebellious generation of the Exodus, and does not apply to anyone in covenant with the Father today.
I studied this idea, and found several details in scripture that debunks this idea.
I then studied it much more in depth finding numerous issues with this doctrine, and I shared these findings with the group as well. I concentrated on direct quotes of Yahweh and Yeshua in the scriptures.
This idea/doctrine cannot be true if we cling to the words of Yahweh.
But it seems like it could be true if we piece together various statements made by Paul in the New Testament. A logical argument can be made for this idea, using scripture.

So why would Yahweh allow us to form ideas using scripture, that might not be true?
God tells us why, in His very own words.
Deuteronomy 13:3-4
“…for Yahweh your Elohim is testing you to know whether you love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after Yahweh your Elohim and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.”
Believe it or not, it is a simple test.
If we read anything in the scriptures that leads us to believe we are not to keep His commandments and obey His voice, then we are not understanding those verses properly, in my humble opinion.
Do we need to reject Paul as a false prophet?
No, we just need to pray and study more, or set aside Paul’s writings until we do understand better.
We learn how to receive better understanding of the Torah in 2Corinthians 3:14-16
14 But their minds were hardened, for to this day, when the old covenant is being read, that same veil remains, not lifted, because in Messiah it is taken away.
15 But to this day, when Mosheh is being read, a veil lies on their heart.
16 And when one turns to the Master, the veil is taken away.

But at no time can Paul’s writings defy the things Yahweh said, and at no time can Paul’s writings defy the things that Yeshua Messiah said.
We should stand firm in this.

To make a long story short, I stood firm upon this idea, that we cling to the Voice of Yahweh – at all costs.  I put on the whole armor of God, and I took up the fight against what I believe to be false doctrine.
This would have worked out just fine had I studied the word and shared my study, and then said no more.
Each person must pass or fail their own test that Yahweh is giving.
My study material will hopefully help with that, and that is enough.
But I failed, and I went further.
I took up the fight, not just against doctrine, but also against my friend.
Much chaos and drama ensued.
I took up a righteous battle, to stand firm on the words of Yahweh and Yeshua.
And I took up this battle, not just for myself, but for the entire fellowship group.
And I see I’ve been doing this for three years, through this blog, online discussions, as well as in local fellowship.
I’ve been taking on the responsibility of what others believe (or not), heaping it upon my shoulders.
I’ve been taking on the responsibility of the disobedience of others, heaping it upon my shoulders. Because of this heightened sense of responsibility, I overstepped the boundaries of the battle.  I cannot pass Yah’s test of Deuteronomy 13 for other people.
I can share what I’ve learned in the scriptures in an attempt to be helpful to others, but I cannot decide for them what they will believe, nor how well or how much they will obey Yahweh.
They must pass or fail their own test.
In trying to complete this test for others, I tried to set expectations for them that they did not want. I shared things in scripture that they did not believe to be true any longer (or maybe applicable is a better word here).
Obviously, this shook things up within the fellowship.
In the long run, I believe much good will come from it.
In fact, I have already seen good things come from it.
I’ve seen others express a desire to put on the whole armor of God and take up the fight for themselves, instead of remaining in their comfort zone and letting someone else engage in the battle.
I’ve seen others express a desire to fiercely guard and protect the Word of Yahweh moving forward.
The fellowship group is now organizing a bit, creating agreeable methods to present new ideas or studies to the group, instead of letting everything be a free for all. Ideas will then be tested against the whole of scripture, and it will be a group effort.
In overstepping my bounds, I created some difficulty.
But difficulty often produces growth, and I’m already seeing it.
In the group, but more importantly within myself.
But I repent of this mindset that I’ve had.
I will no longer try to take on the responsibility of what others believe. I have no control over that, nor should I.
I will no longer try to take on the responsibility of whether or not others obey the Father, or to what extent.
I will no longer try to take on the responsibility of how others interpret scripture, if differently than me.
All of this has been a very heavy weight to carry, and I’m happy to have shed it.
I will no longer take up the fight with a brother, but will only do battle against the doctrine or teaching if necessary.  And in this manner, the Words of Yahweh and the Words of Yeshua can settle the matter. It is not something that I need to try to settle through my own efforts.
If others choose to accept and believe doctrine that defies the words of Yahweh, then so be it. It is their test to pass or fail. I have to pass my own test, and I cannot take on the responsibility of the testing of others.
I will pray for them instead of trying to bend them to my will, and I will pray for myself, that I might pass my test.
Trying to bend other people to my will does not work very well in anything, let alone in sorting out the scriptures and our walks with Yahweh.
Again, I repent of this, and I have apologized for the difficulty my actions caused.
But Yahweh can create good from all things, and I already see good coming from this.
May Yah’s will be done in all of us.

I’ve been studying the words of Yahweh and Yeshua and trying to share them here since November 2016.
I am very much straight forward, and pretty blunt about the difficult things that Yahweh and Yeshua have said. While our society has heard much about grace and forgiveness, not many are knowledgeable about the warnings or their consequences.
Some people identify with the Voices of Yeshua and Yahweh – even in the difficult things, and are encouraged by these writings.
Many, though, are offended and angry.
I need to sort out if they are offended and angered by me, or if they are offended and angered by the words of Elohim.

The warnings I write about in scripture are very important concepts, but if the message is not getting through to those who need to hear it, then it is somewhat pointless.
I don’t want to be a stumbling block to anyone.
I am praying for Yahweh to refine me, to help me do this better.
Some people, both in real life and on the internet, think I’m pretty terrible at this.
Maybe that is the case…
I want to be refined and learn to do this in a way that is helpful to all, not just some.
My apologies to anyone, if I’ve made your study of the scriptures difficult.
For those who have identified with these ideas and shown your support, thank you.
I’ll be back when the Ruach leads me to continue…

It saddens me to consider this topic, but consider it I must.
It would seem that our Torah community is suffering from a plague of disobedience.
I cannot even begin to count the number of self-proclaimed Torah keepers I’ve met, who openly and willingly defy the words of Yahweh, and do not keep the Torah.
It happens all the time, and every fellowship I’ve attended (including a national Torah conference) includes the willfully disobedient.

Consider this photo of my favorite cheese grater:

What’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Probably: “That’s not a cheese grater.”
It is quite obvious, isn’t it?
No, this is clearly not a cheese grater. It is a spatula.
The same concept applies to Torah Keepers.
If someone labels themselves as a Torah Keeper, and then blatantly and willingly violates the Torah, the first thing that comes to mind is this:
“That’s not a Torah Keeper.”

Most of us have come out of the mainstream church with the concept that close enough is good enough. Most of us have all been there, done that.
“Do your best, even if your best is terrible.”
It will all be ok in the end.
Failure is ok, even expected.
What does Yeshua say?
Luke 6:46-49
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Master, Master,’ and do not do what I say?
47 “Everyone who is coming to Me, and is hearing My words and is doing them, I shall show you whom he is like:
48 “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock. And when a flood came, the stream burst against that house, but was unable to shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
49 But the one hearing and not doing, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream burst, and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.

In verse 46, Yeshua is giving the same example as my cheese grater/spatula idea above.
To paraphrase: “Why do you call yourself My follower, but you do not follow Me?”
He goes on to say that the one who does this will come to great ruin.
In other words, this is serious.
This scripture tells us the same, and backs up this idea:
1John 2:3-6
3 And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands.
4 The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
6 The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.

According to 1John 2, one who claims to be a Torah follower, but willfully violates the Torah, is a liar and the truth is not in him. This is a very harsh accusation. All of us need to do self-evaluation in comparison to this idea, and do so regularly [yes, myself included].
Am I the Torah Police, demanding perfection for myself and others, without grace?
No, I am not.
Grace is fundamental, and we are all lost without it.
1John 2 also tells us this:
1My little children, I write this to you, so that you do not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Intercessor with the Father, יהושע Messiah, a righteous One.

We are given instruction so that we will not sin.
But…
If we do sin by accident, we have an advocate/intercessor with Yahweh the Father, and that is Yeshua Messiah our Savior.
Yes, I believe in grace and forgiveness wholeheartedly.
But I believe it within the boundaries of scripture.
Hebrews 10:26-31 tells us serious warnings about willful sin:
²⁶ For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says Yahweh. And again, “Yahweh will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living Elohim.

Grace is for unintentional sin, which we also see illustrated in Numbers 15.
Willful sin has no sacrifice to cover it, but instead is replaced by a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
This should scare us!! This should make us want to never sin on purpose.
James 4 tells us this:
17 To him, then, who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
If we know the good works of the Father, His Torah instructions, and do not do them, it is sin to us.

During my time in Torah, I have found one of the easiest commands to keep is to wear tzitzits.
They are simple strings attached to my belt loops. It requires practically no effort to obey this command. Let’s take a look at it:
Numbers 15:37-40
37 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
38 Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and you shall say to them to make tzitzit on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit of the corners.
39 And it shall be to you for a tzitzit, and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of יהוה and shall do them, and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring,
40 so that you remember, and shall do all My commands, and be set-apart unto your Elohim.

Please note that I am not the tzitzit police, nor am I legalistic about wearing tzitzits. It is not my business if others wear them (or not), although I encourage people to do so.

I choose to wear them all day every day, not out of legalism, but simply because I want to comply with what Yahweh the Father has commanded.
It is for my benefit.
In reading this passage, we see very strong language from Yahweh.
He gave us tzitzits so that we do not go whoring after the desires of our own hearts and our own eyes, in defiance of His commands.
The strength of language here suggests the level of seriousness of this command.
In the preceding verses in Numbers 15, we see a man is stoned to death by the nation for living in disobedience.
Is there anything more serious than death?
The death of this man helps to define just how serious Yahweh is regarding tzitzits.
To paraphrase: Do this simple thing that I give you in mercy, to avoid being stoned to death for your disobedience.
How do we see this play out in Torah community today?
I can only speak from my own experience, but this is what I have observed in every single situation:
In typical Torah fellowships (multiple that I’ve attended), few tend to wear tzitzits. While there are some who are obedient to this, and take it seriously, the majority typically either ignore this entirely, or only wear them occasionally. Even worse, there are some who make a show of wearing them on Shabbat, but do not wear them any other time (as evidenced by running into them during the work week).

Out of sincere curiosity, I’ve asked those who do not wear them for their reasons why.
Again, not to be the tzitzit police, but to try to understand their reasoning.
While the reasons vary, it always boils down to this: People simply choose to not obey the Father.

One gentleman told me he does not wear them because “God told him not to.”
Really?
I quoted above the very words of Yahweh, and He tells us to wear them.
Does it make any sense for Yah to tell someone to NOT do what He already has commanded everyone for all generations to do?
No, this does not pass the common sense test.
This man proclaims himself to be a mature Torah Keeper.
How can one call himself a Torah Keeper if He ignores the words of Yahweh and disobeys the Torah?
And ironically, the purpose of tzitzits is to remind us to keep Yah’s commands.
If one does not obey this command — to remember the commands — just how ironic is this? That’s about an 11 of a scale of 1 to 10.

I know a self-proclaimed Torah teacher of more than 20 years who does not wear tzitzits.
When I asked about it, he said tzitzits are for the spiritually immature. He said he knows the Torah so well that he does not need to wear them. I then observed this Torah teacher and his wife willfully and intentionally disobey Yahweh, neglecting to keep His commands, in much that they do.
Their business, not mine, but it makes me sad for them.

Very many times I’ve been told by self-proclaimed Torah keepers that they do not wear tzitzits because they have moved on to the weightier matters of the Torah. They claim to have matured beyond the simple things, and are now concentrating on the concepts that truly matter, the most important things. They are referring to the words of Yeshua Messiah in Matthew 23:23
23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you tithe the mint and the anise and the cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah: the right-ruling and the compassion and the belief. These need to have been done, without neglecting the others.
These folks always quote this verse partially, speaking of Yeshua’s insistence that we pay particular attention to the weightier matters, and they NEVER include the final few words:
“without neglecting the others.”
Sticking with the theme of the entire bible from front to back, Yeshua instructs us to do ALL in the Torah, and to not leave the simple things undone.

Another reason I get for people not wearing tzitzits is that we don’t know how to wear them properly.
They say the original method of wearing tzitzits is unknown to us.
Maybe it is fringe like we see in Native American traditional dress.
Maybe there was a special outer garment from that era in time that we no longer wear today.
Is this a good reason to not wear tzitzits, because we do not know how?
Did Yah command us to wear tzitzits exactly in a certain way, otherwise don’t do it?
No, He did not.
He made this command very simple to accomplish.
Make tzitzits containing a blue thread, and wear them on the corners/borders of your garment.
Easy-peasy.
I made some to include a blue thread, and I wear them.
How hard is that?
Not hard at all, but there are people who refuse to do so, for a number of different reasons, all while proclaiming their great love for Yahweh and their steadfastness in keeping His commands.
Except… the evidence shows they are not as steadfast as they claim.
Tzitzits are just one of many examples. I chose this example because it is commanded for good reason, Yahweh is serious about it, and it is very easy to accomplish.

Another disobedience that is rampant in Torah community is defiling/profaning the Sabbath.
Here is what Yahweh says about it:
Exodus 31
12 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
13 And you, speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, יהוה, am setting you apart.
14 ‘And you shall guard the Sabbath, for it is set-apart to you. Everyone who profanes it shall certainly be put to death, for anyone who does work on it, that being shall be cut off from among his people.
15 ‘Six days work is done, and on the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, set-apart to יהוה. Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.
16 ‘And the children of Yisra’ĕl shall guard the Sabbath, to perform the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.
17 ‘Between Me and the children of Yisra’ĕl it is a sign forever. For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”

Did you notice this part:
“Everyone who profanes it shall certainly be put to death.”
Once again, we are dealing with an issue that is highly important to Yahweh.
What is more important than death?
And yet, every single Torah fellowship I’ve attended has people willfully and intentionally profaning the Sabbath.
Do they not care what Yah says about it?
Do they not understand the seriousness of this offense?
Do they not fear Yah, as we are commanded to do?

Many have said they must work on the Sabbath in order to provide for their family.
Yah tells us that He will provide. While I understand the difficulty in this, and that keeping the Sabbath may cost someone their job, Yah will provide.
If someone steps out in faith to keep the Sabbath (by all means as we are instructed, which also could mean at any cost), then I have faith that Yahweh will provide a solution, even if they lose their job because of it.
One self proclaimed Torah keeper, who claims to walk upright in all the ways of Yah, openly and proudly proclaims that they go shopping on the Sabbath, does house chores on the Sabbath, and assigns chores to their children on the Sabbath.
How do these things profane the Sabbath?

From Exodus 31 above: “‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means”
Are they guarding the Sabbath, by all means?
No, sadly not. Instead of guarding it, they are trampling it.
Also from above: “Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.”
How important can house chores be that one is willing to suffer death to get them done?

And from Exodus 20, we see this: “You do not do any work”
Same as we see in Exodus 31, but it continues with this clarification:” you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.”
We are told not to cause our sons or daughters to do work on the Sabbath, which means we should not assign our children chores on Sabbath.
This is profaning the Sabbath.
We are told not to cause the strangers in our gates to work on Sabbath, and shopping on the Sabbath does exactly this.
This is profaning the Sabbath.
These violations are punishable by death, and yet, we see many in Torah community violating the Sabbath instructions constantly, and without worry.
Is it my business if someone violates the Sabbath?
No, but it is my concern, because I have concern for my friends.
If I know the consequences of violating the Sabbath instruction and I take them seriously, then I need to warn others about their transgression, hence very difficult articles like this (not to mention very difficult conversations with people I love and care about).
Am I just a Torah terrorist, a legalistic jerk who wants to criticize others?
Am I just one who wants to impose difficult expectations upon others?
Why does this even matter to me?
Romans 15:1-2 advises this with regard to our interaction with others:
1 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let each one of us please his neighbour for his good, to build him up.
And in verses 5-7
⁵ Now may the Elohim of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Yeshua Messiah, ⁶ that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the Elohim and Father of our Yeshua Messiah.
⁷ Therefore receive one another, just as Messiah also received us, to the glory of Yahweh.

What is this saying?
Paul is telling us to encourage our neighbors if they are weak.
If we have strength of conviction, strength of commitment, strength of obedience – whatever – then we should stand firm and help others who are not strong.
Do we do this by condoning their disobedience and their sin?
Do we do this by pretending everything is ok, when it is not ok?
No, I don’t think so.
We do this by telling them what Yahweh says.
We do this by telling them what Yeshua says.
We do this by showing them the truth, and encouraging them in the truth.
Some respond well to the truth and grow.
Others hate it and fight against it.
But I must do my part, when Yah provides opportunity to do so, as should we all.

We see this in Romans 15:4
⁴ For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

And the same idea in much more detail in 1Corinthians 10:1-12
10 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, ² all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. ⁵ But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
⁶ Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. ⁷ And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” ⁸ Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; ⁹ nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; ¹⁰ nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. ¹¹ Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
¹² Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

What was written before is for our learning and instruction.
Romans 15 and 1Corinthians tell us this, and specifically show us what happened to the first generation of the Exodus. They all fell in the wilderness (as in dead) because they did not follow Yahweh. They were disobedient.
Only two men from the rebellious generation made it into the promise land, and Yah tells us it is because they followed Him wholly and completely.
This is important!!
Let this next statement sink in…
The Exodus generation that fell dead in the wilderness, not receiving the promise, was Torah observant.
If asked, they all would have said, “Yes, of course we are Torah Keepers. We are a Covenant Nation, governed by Torah.”
And yet, they all fell dead, not attaining the promise.
Being called “Torah Observant” does not attain the promise.
Being obedient does.
Following Yahweh wholly and completely is what is rewarded.

Yahweh said this about Caleb:
Numbers 14:24
24“But My servant Kalĕḇ, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me completely, I shall bring into the land where he went, and his seed shall inherit it.”
And we see this in Numbers 32:11-12
11 Not one of the men who came up from Mitsrayim, from twenty years old and above, is to see the land of which I swore to Aḇraham, Yitsḥaq, and Ya‛aqoḇ, because they did not follow Me completely,
12 except Kalĕḇ son of Yephunneh, the Qenizzite, and Yehoshua son of Nun, for they have followed יהוה completely.’
This is exactly why I make a big deal about obedience.
It is not because I am legalistic.
It is not because I am arrogant or critical of others.
It is because of the examples recorded in scripture, that we are told are for our learning.
Those who do not follow Yahweh wholly and completely will not inherit the promise.
Again, I am not speaking against grace.
Grace exists and is necessary for us.
The expectation is not to attain perfection.
The expectation is that we desire to attain perfection, even if we fail at times.
It is a matter of the heart.
We see this in David’s Psalms.
He said over and over again how much he loves the commands of the Father.
He failed at keeping them, sometimes epically!!
But he was considered “a man after God’s own heart” because of his love for the words and the ways of the Father.

So let’s take a look at expectations in the scriptures.
Is it a big deal for us to obey everything, or is it ok if we just get the important things right?
Here are a couple examples of instruction given to us:
Leviticus 19:37
37 ‘And you shall guard all My laws and all My right-rulings, and do them. I am יהוה.’
Deuteronomy 6:5-8
5 “And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might. 6And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart, 7and you shall impress them upon your children, and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, 8and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
Deuteronomy 6:25
25 And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.’
Deuteronomy 8:1
1 Guard to do every command which I command you today, that you might live, and shall increase…’
Deuteronomy 11:8
8 “And you shall guard every command which I command you today, so that you are strong…
Deuteronomy 11:32
32 and shall guard to do all the laws and right-rulings which I am setting before you today.’
Deuteronomy 12:28
28 “Guard, and obey all these words which I command you, that it might be well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of יהוה your Elohim.

These are just a few examples of many, where the scriptures tell us to do ALL of the commands. We are to keep EVERY command. Not just the ones we like, or the ones “we don’t mind doing.”

Does Yahweh allow for deviation from this idea?
Dueteronomy 5:32
32 “And you shall guard to do as יהוה your Elohim has commanded you – do not turn aside, to the right or to the left.
Nope, we are not to stray from keeping His commands.
Is this because Yahweh wants to be a dictator?
Is this because He wants to control us against our will?
Yahweh tells us why this is, in the very next verse:
Deuteronomy 5:33
33 “Walk in all the ways which יהוה your Elohim has commanded you, so that you live and it be well with you.
He gives us His commands and tells us to keep ALL of them so that:
— we may live
— and that it will be well with us.
It is for our own well-being.
It is so that we live, and not die.

We can view His commands and instruction in two ways:
1. We “have to” keep His commands.
2. We “get to” keep His commands.
I have found that when we submit our will to Yah’s will, keeping the commands is a joy. As stated above, David speaks of this often throughout the Psalms.
David ‘gets to’ keep the commands and takes pleasure in it, as opposed to “having to” keep the commands, in disdain and against his will.
Do you see the difference?
As a Torah keeper, how do you look at it?
Do you have to?
Or do you get to?

Let’s look at other instruction to not turn aside from His commands and His path:
Proverbs 4:25-27
25 Let your eyes look forward, And your eyelids look straight before you.
26 Consider the path of your feet, And all your ways are established.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Turn your foot away from evil.
Joshua 1:7-8
7 “Only be strong and very courageous, to guard to do according to all the Torah which Mosheh My servant commanded you. Do not turn from it right or left, so that you act wisely wherever you go.
8 “Do not let this Book of the Torah depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you guard to do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and act wisely.
Joshua 23:6
6 “And you shall be very strong to guard and to do all that is written in the Book of the Torah of Mosheh, so as not to turn aside from it right or left,
Deuteronomy 17:11-13
11 “Do according to the Torah in which they teach you, according to the right-ruling which they say to you. You do not turn to the right or to the left from the word which they declare to you.
12 “And the man who acts arrogantly, so as not to listen to the priest who stands to serve there before יהוה your Elohim, or to the judge, that man shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Yisra’ĕl.
13 “And let all the people hear and fear, and no longer do arrogantly.
In this passage, we see the seriousness of not turning to the left or to the right.
It is attributed to our own arrogance if we do.
And the penalty?
Death, to purge the arrogant, disobedient attitudes from among the nation.
Not only does it purge the evil from among us, but it also allows people to hear and fear [this consequence] and encourages and inspires them to act in obedience themselves.
Deuteronomy 28:14-15
14 “And do not turn aside from any of the Words which I am commanding you today, right or left, to go after other mighty ones to serve them.
15 And it shall be, if you do not obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard to do all His commands and His laws which I command you today, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.”
In this passage, we are told that turning to the left or to the right, deviating from Yah’s commands, is akin to serving other gods.
Let that sink in for a moment.
What if you do some of the things in Torah, but not others?
According to Yahweh, He considers this a departure from serving Him, and entering into the realm of serving false gods. Even if you do some things right, intentionally not doing other things right is the same as serving a false god.
This is terrible!!!
And yet, our Torah community is filled with people turning to the left or the right, willfully disobeying Yahweh our Elohim.
Yah says they are serving false gods, and not serving Him.

Remember Yeshua’s words:
46“But why do you call Me ‘Master, Master,’ and do not do what I say?
Having a heart of disobedience, even in some things, means you are not following Yahweh and you are not following Yeshua.
Messiah confirms this in Matthew 7:21-23 (which we’ve looked at in many of my blog articles).
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens.
22 Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’
23 “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’
Let’s break this down:
It does not matter if we call Him Master.
It does not matter if we proclaim ourselves to be followers of Him.
Only those who do the will of the Father will be included in the Kingdom of Heaven.
What is the will of the Father?
It is His will that we choose life, and do so by obeying His instructions.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
…therefore you shall choose life, so that you live, both you and your seed,
20 “to love יהוה your Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him – for He is your life and the length of your days…

What does it mean to cling to Him?
— Love Him with all your heart
— Love Him with all your being
— Walk after Him
— Fear Him
— Guard His commands
— Obey His voice
— Serve Him
Deuteronomy 13:3-4
“…for יהוה your Elohim is testing you to know whether you love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being. 4“Walk after יהוה your Elohim and fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His voice, and serve Him and cling to Him.

This life is just a wisp, a vapor.
James 4:14
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
Eternity is forever, though.
This life is simply an audition for eternity.
While this life is everything to us here in the moment, from Yahweh’s perspective it is just a blink, a moment in time.
Are you completing your audition with eternity in mind, walking in the ways of the Father so that you might be included in His kingdom?
Or have you already decided you’ve made the team, based upon criteria set forth by men?
Do not be fooled.
Do not be one who labels himself/herself in a way that does not match your actions or your heart.
Don’t call yourself a cheese grater when you are a spatula.
Do not call yourself a Torah Keeper if you are living in willful disobedience.
Do not allow yourself to be one of these, spoken of by Messiah:
“And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’

I say these things, not to be critical of others, but so that:

The standards of scripture as established by Yahweh and Yeshua are known and

So the warnings regarding the standards might be understood and taken seriously.

The Book of the Law and the Book of the Covenant

I’ve heard this concept presented a number of times over the last several years, and I’ve not really spent much time looking into it.
As always, my goal is to simply pass my test:
Deuteronomy 13:3-4
“…for Yahweh your Elohim is testing you to know whether you love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after Yahweh your Elohim and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.”

This simple idea should be the goal of every person who wants to be in the Kingdom of Heaven one day…
Ecclesiastes tells us the purpose of mankind:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

All of my basic doctrine beliefs and behaviors are based on this concept:
If Yahweh said it, then I do my best to understand and obey.
If Yeshua said it, then I do my best to understand and obey.

For many centuries, the Roman Catholic church and her many ‘daughters’ [40,000 plus Christian denominations] have presented to humanity the idea that the Old Testament Law is obsolete and done away with.
We can walk into any church and ask the leader there to show us in scripture that the law is done away with — and they will do exactly that.
They will show us a series of verses that, when isolated from the rest of scripture, will prove that the Law is very much done away with.
There is just one problem with this idea (and it is a very big problem).
We have to depart from the things Yahweh said in order to believe this idea.
We have to depart from the things Yeshua Messiah said to believe this idea.
Just because a concept can be developed and “proven” by quoting scriptures does not make it true.  It needs to line up with the whole of scripture, and it needs to line up with the Words of Yahweh (God) and the Words of Yeshua (Jesus).
Don’t forget what Yahweh said in Deuteronomy 13.
He is testing us.
Are we able to pass this test?
He said His perfect Law is forever, and that it is for both the native born Hebrew and for the strangers among them.
Do we believe Him?
Do we listen to His voice?
Or do we depart from it?
Yeshua Messiah said He did not come to abolish the Law or the prophets.
Do we believe Him?
Do we listen to His voice?
Or do we depart from it?
I have made the decision for myself and my family that we will cling to the words of Yahweh and the words of Messiah.
We will not depart from them, even if most people think we are foolish for doing so.

Within the Torah community, there is a doctrine being taught that the Torah instructions of Yahweh are separated into the Book of the Covenant and the Book of the Law.
The idea is that the Book of the Covenant is comprised of the stone tablets that Yahweh wrote with His own finger — the Ten Words or the Ten Commandments.
This idea says the remainder of the Torah [Old Testament Law] is given as a punishment to Israel because of their Golden Calf incident.  They say the Book of the Law is only applicable to the rebellious first generation of the Exodus.  And as such, they say the Book of the Law is obsolete and no longer applicable.
Here is how they break it down:
Genesis 1:1 thru Exodus 24:8 is the Book of the Covenant, and is to be obeyed forever.
Exodus 24:9 to Deuteronomy 34:12 is the Book of the Law and is no longer applicable.

If this is true, it means that the majority of Yahweh’s commands and instructions are obsolete and need not be obeyed today.
Before we look at scripture, does this pass the ‘sniff test’?
Does this even make sense?
I say no right off the bat, without even looking into it.

We are told countless times to “obey all that I have commanded” as spoken by Yahweh.
Why would He tell us to obey all that He has commanded if we are not supposed to obey all that He commanded?
Even Yeshua Messiah said the same…
In Matthew 23, we are told to obey all that is stated from the Seat of Moses.  A little research will show that the Torah was read word for word from the Seat of Moses — Yeshua says to do it.  In addition, Yeshua Messiah tells us how to make disciples — “teaching them to obey all that I have commanded.”  What did Yeshua teach and command?  He says His teaching is not His own, but the Father’s who sent Him.  He taught the same thing the Father taught — to obey the Torah.  And specifically, to obey ALL the Torah.
Matthew 23:1-3
1Then יהושע spoke to the crowds and to His taught ones,
2saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Mosheh.
3Therefore, whatever they say to you to guard, guard and do. 

No, this obsolete Book of the Law does not pass the sniff test.
It already requires us to ignore the words of Yahweh and Yeshua.

Let’s take a look at some of the information in the “Book of the Law”, which some believe is obsolete:

Exodus 25 thru Exodus 31 gives details about the Dwelling Place of Yahweh and its appointments (the Tabernacle), as well as the priestly garments and instructions.  There are some problematic words in these chapters having to do with:
— a law forever to their generations
— continually
— a law forever to him, and to his seed after him.
— And the priesthood shall be theirs for an everlasting law. So you shall ordain Aharon and his sons.
— “And it shall be from the children of Yisra’ĕl for Aharon and his sons by a law forever…”
— a continual incense before יהוה throughout your generations.
— once a year he makes atonement upon it throughout your generations.
— And it shall be a law forever to them, to him and his seed throughout their generations.”
— ‘This is a set-apart anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.

Exodus 27:21
21“In the Tent of Appointment, outside the veil which is before the Witness, Aharon and his sons are to tend it from evening until morning before יהוה – a law forever to their generations, from the children of Yisra’ĕl.

Exodus 28:29-30, 43
29“And Aharon shall bear the names of the sons of Yisra’ĕl on the breastplate of right-ruling over his heart, when he goes into the set-apart place, for a remembrance before יהוה, continually.
30“And into the breastplate of right-ruling you shall put the Urim and the Tummim, and they shall be on the heart of Aharon when he goes in before יהוה. And Aharon shall bear the right-ruling of the children of Yisra’ĕl on his heart before יהוה, continually.

43“And they shall be on Aharon and on his sons when they come into the Tent of Appointment, or when they come near the slaughter-place to attend in the Set-apart Place, so that they do not bear crookedness and die – a law forever to him, and to his seed after him.

Exodus 29:8-9, 28
8Then you shall bring his sons and put long shirts on them,” 9and shall gird them with girdles – Aharon and his sons – and put the turbans on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs for an everlasting law. So you shall ordain Aharon and his sons.

28“And it shall be from the children of Yisra’ĕl for Aharon and his sons by a law forever, for it is a contribution. And it is a contribution from the children of Yisra’ĕl from the slaughters of their peace offerings – their contribution to יהוה.

Exodus 30:8, 10, 21, 31
8“And when Aharon lights the lamps between the evenings, he shall burn incense on it – a continual incense before יהוה throughout your generations.

10“And Aharon shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement – once a year he makes atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most set-apart to יהוה.”

21“And they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a law forever to them, to him and his seed throughout their generations.”

31“And speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘This is a set-apart anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.

Without even digging too much, we have already debunked this idea using direct quotes of Yahweh.
If Yahweh said it, then we know it is truth.
If Yahweh said things in the Book of the Law and called them forever, everlasting, continual, and throughout their generations, then we must believe what He says.
The book of the law is not added instructions just for the rebellious first generation of the Exodus.  Again, from Exodus 30:21 we see this statement made by Yahweh:
“…to him and his seed throughout their generations.”
We need not go any further to debunk this idea, but let us do so anyway, just to be sure.

Let us look at some more instructions from Yahweh, contained within the ‘so-called-obsolete’ Book of the Law:
Exodus 34
— do not make covenants with the Nations
— do not bow down to other mighty ones (other gods) for יהוה is a jealous El
— do not take daughters from the Nations as wives for you sons
— Do not make a carved mighty one for yourselves.
— Keep the feast day of Unleavened Bread
— All first born, man and beast, belong to Yahweh
— Keep the Sabbath
— Keep the feast day of Shavuot
— Instructions for the feast day of Passover
Do these instructions sound temporary? No, I don’t think so…

Let’s take a look at Leviticus:
Leviticus 1-5 give instructions for various types of offerings.
We see evidence of this continuing for many centuries and many generations throughout the scriptures, so these instructions are not just for the first generation of the Exodus.
We see this in Leviticus 3:17
17 ‘This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’
Perpetual.
Throughout your generations.

Leviticus 6 gives us instructions about lying to our neighbor for personal gain.
Do we think this instruction is obsolete?
Can we now do this?
We see this in Leviticus 6:18
It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings made by fire to the Lord.
Does that sound temporary and obsolete?

Leviticus 11 tells us about clean animals permitted for food, and unclean animals which are not food.
We see in Isaiah 66 that those eating unclean animals in the Millennial Reign (still in the future) will be destroyed.
Does this instruction sound temporary and obsolete?
Nope.

In Leviticus 16:29, 31, 34 we see this instruction regarding the feast day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement:
29And this shall be for you a law forever: In the seventh new chodesh, on the tenth day of the new chodesh, you afflict your beings, and do no work, the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. 31“It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you shall afflict your beings – a law forever.  34“And this shall be for you a law forever, to make atonement for the children of Yisra’ĕl, for all their sins, once a year.” And he did as יהוה commanded Mosheh.
Does this sound temporary and obsolete?
Nope.

Leviticus 17 Instructions:
7And let them no longer slaughter their slaughterings to demons, after whom they whored. This is a law forever for them throughout their generations.”
Are we now allowed to make sacrifices to demons, and whore after them?
Nope, I don’t think so.

Leviticus 18 tells us this:
4‘Do My right-rulings and guard My laws, to walk in them. I am יהוה your Elohim. 5‘And you shall guard My laws and My right-rulings, which a man does and lives by them. I am יהוה.
Shall we stop doing His laws, commands, instructions, right-rulings, and statutes?
Or shall we keep doing them and so live?

Leviticus 18 tells us not to commit incest.
Are we to believe incest is now allowed, since this instruction was temporary and obsolete, only applying to the rebellious first generation of the Exodus?
Nope.

Leviticus 18 tells us this:
20‘And do not have intercourse with the wife of your neighbor, to defile yourself with her.
Are we now allowed to have sex with our neighbor’s wife?
Nope, I do not believe so.

And we get this in Leviticus 18
21‘And do not give any of your offspring to pass through to Moleḵ. And do not profane the Name of your Elohim. I am יהוה.
Are we now allowed to sacrifice our children to false gods?
No, I do not think this instruction is temporary nor obsolete.
What about this one, also in chapter 18?
22‘And do not lie with a male as with a woman, it is an abomination.
Or this:
23‘And do not have intercourse with any beast, to defile yourself with it. And a woman does not stand before a beast to mate with it, it is a perversion.
Are homosexuality and beastiality now allowed?
Were these temporary and obsolete commands, only applying to the rebellious first generation of the Exodus?
Nope.

With regard to these acts of sexual immorality, Yahweh ends Leviticus 18 with this statement:
30‘And you shall guard My Charge, so as not to do any of these abominable laws which were done before you, so as not to defile yourselves by them. I am יהוה your Elohim.’ ”
Is this obsolete?
Are we now allowed to defile ourselves?
Yeshua (Jesus) can answer this for us.
Is יהוה no longer our Elohim?

Let’s look at a direct quote of Yeshua Messiah, far in the future. He is speaking of who will NOT be in His 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.
Hmmm, it sounds to me like the commands given in Leviticus 18 are serious and forever.  People who break these commands about sexual immorality are not allowed into the Kingdom.
This does not sound temporary to me, nor obsolete.

On to Leviticus 19
10‘And do not glean your vineyard or gather every grape of your vineyard, leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am יהוה your Elohim.
Are we no longer allowed to help the poor?
11‘Do not steal, do not lie, do not deceive one another.
Are we now allowed to steal and lie, and to deceive one another?
Nope, I don’t think so.

12‘And do not swear falsely by My Name and so profane the Name of your Elohim. I am יהוה.
Can we now profane the name of Yahweh?
Nope, I would not recommend it.

14‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling-block before the blind, but fear your Elohim. I am יהוה.
Are we now allowed to play tricks on the deaf and the blind, to injure and ridicule them?
No, probably not.

29‘Do not profane your daughter by making her a whore, so that the land does not whore, and the land becomes filled with wickedness.
Shall we force our daughters into prostitution?
I’m gonna go ahead and say no to this one.

31‘Do not turn to mediums, and do not seek after spiritists to be defiled by them. I am יהוה your Elohim.
Shall we engage in witchcraft and divination?
No, I don’t believe this is allowed now.

35‘Do no unrighteousness in right-ruling, in measurement of length, in weight, or in measuring liquids.
36‘Have right scales, right weights, a right ĕphah, and a right hin. I am יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim.
If we are merchants, are we now allowed to cheat our customers?
Nope, I’m going to avoid that…

Leviticus 20
In case we missed it the first time, this chapter reiterates that we are not to sacrifice our children to false gods, and we are not to commit incest, beastiality, nor other sexually immoral actions. We are not to eat unclean animals, we are not to perform witchcraft.

Leviticus 23 gives us details pertaining to Yah’s feast days, His appointed times.
Are these obsolete?
No, they are not.

Leviticus 24 gives us more forever, everlasting, and throughout their generations statements.
This is not obsolete.

I won’t go into this level of detail for Numbers and Deuteronomy, but let’s take a quick look at Numbers 15 regarding the making and wearing of tzitzits:
37And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
38Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and you shall say to them to make tzitzit on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit of the corners.
39And it shall be to you for a tzitzit, and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of יהוה and shall do them, and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring, 40so that you remember, and shall do all My commands, and be set-apart unto your Elohim.

A man had just died for sinning with a high-hand against Yahweh.
This command is then given in mercy, intended to be helpful to those in covenant with Yah.
We are told to:
— remember ALL of the commands of הוה
— and shall do them
— throughout their generations

Does this sound like a command given only to the rebellious first generation of the Exodus, which is now obsolete and no longer in effect?
No, it sounds pretty permanent to me.
Are we now allowed to forget Yah’s commands and go whoring after the sinful desires of our own hearts?  No, I’m going to avoid that.


Let’s set all of this aside for a moment.
Let’s assume I’m wrong about every single thing so far.
Let’s assume that the Book of the Law (Exo 24:9 to Deut 34:12) is obsolete.
Let’s assume this very large chunk of the Torah Instructions is only for the first rebellious generation of the Exodus.

What do we do with this?
Deuteronomy 29:10-15
10“All of you are standing today before יהוה your Elohim: your leaders, your tribes, your elders and your officers, all the men of Yisra’ĕl,
11your little ones, your wives, and your sojourner who is in the midst of your camp, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water,
12so that you should enter into covenant with יהוה your Elohim, and into His oath, which יהוה your Elohim makes with you today,
13in order to establish you today as a people for Himself, and He Himself be your Elohim, as He has spoken to you, and as He has sworn to your fathers, to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Ya‛aqoḇ.
14And not with you alone I am making this covenant and this oath,”
15but with him who stands here with us today before יהוה our Elohim, as well as with him who is not here with us today.

Much of this Book of the Covenant/Law doctrine is based on the idea that the nation of Israel was only held to the contract [covenant] made at Mount Sinai, which was blood ratified in Exodus 24.
This idea requires us to believe the remainder of the Torah is given as punishment to the rebellious first generation of Israel after the Golden Calf incident.

EVEN IF WE BELIEVE ALL OF THIS TO BE TRUE—–
We see a new covenant made with Israel in Deuteronomy 24.
This new covenant is made with the native born Hebrews, as well as the strangers among them.
This new covenant is made with those standing there that day, as well as those not standing there [future generations].
Even if we believe the Book of the Law/Book of the Covenant division and theory, a new covenant is made with the people and their future generations.
And the gist of it?
Deuteronomy 29:29
29“The secret matters belong to יהוה our Elohim, but what is revealed belongs to us and to our children forever, to do all the Words of this Torah.
They are not expected to know and understand everything.
They are simply expected to do all the words of this Torah.
Not some of it, but all of it.

Yahweh gives us a glimpse into the future in Deuteronomy 29 and 30, telling us about how Israel would turn their backs on Him and serve other false gods. They will be divorced from the covenant (Jeremiah 3:8) and scattered among all the nations of the earth.
And then afterwards, we see this in Deuteronomy 30 speaking of a far future generation of people who return to the Torah (today this is happening!):

1“And it shall be, when all these words come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you shall bring them back to your heart among all the nations where יהוה your Elohim drives you,
2and shall turn back to יהוה your Elohim and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your being, you and your children,
3then יהוה your Elohim shall turn back your captivity, and shall have compassion on you, and He shall turn back and gather you from all the peoples where יהוה your Elohim has scattered you.
4“If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under the heavens, from there יהוה your Elohim does gather you, and from there He does take you.
5“And יהוה your Elohim shall bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. And He shall do good to you, and increase you more than your fathers.
6“And יהוה your Elohim shall circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, so that you might live,
7and יהוה your Elohim shall put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.
8“And you shall turn back and obey the voice of יהוה and do all His commands which I command you today.
9“And יהוה your Elohim shall make you have excess in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground for good. For יהוה turns back to rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers,
10if you obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard His commands and His laws which are written in this Book of the Torah, if you turn back to יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being.
11“For this command which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for you, nor is it far off.
12“It is not in the heavens, to say, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’
13Nor is it beyond the sea, to say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’ ”
14“For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart – to do it.
15See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil,”
16in that I am commanding you today to love יהוה your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to guard His commands, and His laws, and His right-rulings. And you shall live and increase, and יהוה your Elohim shall bless you in the land which you go to possess.

Yahweh makes it clear that today’s generation is to return to His Torah instructions.
Not the Book of the Covenant, but all that He has commanded, and it specifically states the Book of the Torah, not the Book of the Covenant.

Just prior to his death, Moses gives this advice to the people in Deuteronomy 31
10And Mosheh commanded them, saying, “At the end of seven years, at the appointed time, the year of release, at the Festival of Sukkot,
11when all Yisra’ĕl comes to appear before יהוה your Elohim in the place which He chooses, read this Torah before all Yisra’ĕl in their hearing.
12“Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and your sojourner who is within your gates, so that they hear, and so that they learn to fear יהוה your Elohim and guard to do all the Words of this Torah.
They are warned that in the future they are to read the entire Torah every seven years at the feast day of Sukkot. It is to include young and old, both the Hebrews and the strangers among them [everyone who wants to be in covenant with Yahweh]. 
Why is this to be done?
— so that they hear [the Torah]
— so they learn
— to fear Yahweh our Elohim
— to guard
— to do ALL the Words of this Torah

There are countless scriptures throughout the writings of the prophets that warn us to keep all that Yahweh commanded.
I won’t go through all of them, but here is one such example in the very first book after the Torah:
Joshua 1:7-9
7“Only be strong and very courageous, to guard to do according to all the Torah which Mosheh My servant commanded you. Do not turn from it right or left, so that you act wisely wherever you go.
What do we learn?
— Be strong
— Be courageous
— To guard
— and to do
— ACCORDING TO ALL THE TORAH
— To not turn right or left
— SO that you may act wisely
8“Do not let this Book of the Torah depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you guard to do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and act wisely.
What do we learn?
— Do not let
— this Book of Torah
— Depart from your mouth
— Meditate on it day and night
— so that you guard
— to do
— ACCORDING TO ALL THAT IS WRITTEN IN IT.
— To be prosperous and wise
9“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, nor be discouraged, for יהוה your Elohim is with you wherever you go.”
What do we learn?
— REMINDER – Have I not commanded?
— Be strong and courageous
— Do not be afraid or discouraged
— Yahweh is with us.

Let’s again assume I am wrong about everything.
Let’s again assume that the Book of the Covenant is in effect, and the Book of the Law is not in effect.
Let’s take a look at some direct quotes of Yeshua Messiah:

Matthew 22:34-40
34But the Pharisees, having heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, were gathered together,
35and one of them, one learned in the Torah, did question, trying Him, and saying,
36Teacher, which is the great command in the Torah?
37And יהושע said to him, “‘You shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind.’
38“This is the first and great command.
39And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
40On these two commands hang all the Torah and the Prophets.

Messiah is being tested, as the Pharisees are trying to ‘trip Him up’.
They asked about the Torah.
Not the Book of the Covenant, but the whole Torah.
What is the greatest commandment in the Torah?
How did Yeshua answer?
Did He quote from the Book of the Covenant?
Did Messiah keep His answer confined to the information held in Genesis 1:1 to Exodus 24:8?
No, He did not.
He quoted Deuteronomy 6:5
5“And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might.’

If Deuteronomy 6 is part of the obsolete Book of the Law, then why is Yeshua Messiah quoting it, saying that it is the greatest command?
This tells me it is not obsolete, and is still in effect.
What did Yeshua say about the second greatest command in the Torah?
Again, He quoted from the section of Torah that is supposed to be obsolete and no longer applicable.
He quoted Leviticus 19:18
And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am יהוה.
Why is Yeshua Messiah quoting from obsolete information, and even saying these concepts are the greatest?
He is not.
He is quoting from the Words of יהוה your Elohim, Words that He said are forever and for all people.

Let’s wrap things up here…
If you have been swayed by the idea that the “Book of the Law” is obsolete and not in effect, please study this out for yourself.
I’ve given you a good start here in this article, but do not take my word for anything.
Study and show yourself approved.
Know, recognize, listen to, and obey the Voice of Yahweh and the Voice of Yeshua Messiah.
Cling to your Elohim!!
Do not depart from Him.

Men have been developing doctrine based on isolating a few scriptures, out of context with the rest of Scripture, since Yeshua’s days on this earth.  It does not matter if they can string together a few scriptures and make complete logical sense of an idea.
If the idea requires you to deviate from the Words of Yahweh, then simply say no.
Walk away.
Take a stand for your Creator and your Savior.
Listen to their Voices.
Be sure to pass your test:
Deuteronomy 13:3-4
“…for Yahweh your Elohim is testing you to know whether you love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after Yahweh your Elohim and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.”

There are many more scriptures that debunk this concept and this doctrine.
Please do not be deceived by this, allowing yourself to stop listening to Yahweh’s voice.
Do not be deceived into failing your test.
Do not turn away from doing His commandments.
Pray about this, and spend some time studying for yourself.
Do not look in the scriptures for ways to validate this idea/doctrine.
Look to see if this idea aligns with the Words of Yahweh.

Who says there is no humor in the bible?
The people said this to Moses:
‘And now why should we die? For this great fire is consuming us. If we hear the voice of יהוה our Elohim any more, then we shall die. You go near and hear all that יהוה our Elohim says, and speak to us all that יהוה our Elohim says to you, and we shall hear and do it.’

Paraphrased:
We will die if we listen to the Voice of Yahweh.
Solution – let’s tell Moses to do it.
LOL, I guess they don’t care if Moses dies.

Another one…
Exodus 19
20And יהוה came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And יהוה called Mosheh to the top of the mountain, and Mosheh went up.
21And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Go down…

LOL
Mosheh:
“Come on, make up your mind!!!
Up the mountain, down the mountain.
I’m an old man!!
I can’t be doing this all day long!”