“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him—this one bears much fruit, for apart from me you are not able to do anything. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and dries up, and they gather them and throw them* into the fire, and they are burned.

John 15:5–6 (LEB)

The wonderful quality that scripture possesses is that it uses imagery we all can relate to in order to explain sometimes hard to understand concepts. It is two thousand years of man made doctrine and philosophy that so often cloud our minds when we read scripture. There is a major understanding that has been left behind by Christianity, which causes a type of identity crisis in the church. This has led to such theologies as replacement theology, dispensationalism and Calvinism.

John 5:19 (LEB)

19 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing from himself except what he sees the Father doing. For whatever that one does, these things also the Son does likewise.

Yeshua (Jesus, Yahusha or Joshua) called himself the vine and the Father the Vine Dresser. This imagery should tell us we need to be “dressed” by the Father, who is both the God of the old and new testaments, by being plugged in through the vine Yeshua.

John 15:1–8 (LEB)

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. 2 Every branch that does not bear fruit in me, he removes it, and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes it in order that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as the branch is not able to bear fruit from itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him—this one bears much fruit, for apart from me you are not able to do anything. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and dries up, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you bear much fruit, and prove to be my disciples.

Remaining plugged into the vine and listening to his word means that He will listen to us. Otherwise our prayer is called an abomination.

Proverbs 28:9 (LEB)

⁹ He who turns his ear from listening to instruction, even his prayer is an abomination.

In this translation, the Hebrew word “Torah” is translated to instruction. These are not referring to any instructions, but specifically the instruction of Yahuah, the God of the Old Testament.

The vine dresser will guide us with his instruction so long as we are in the vine of Yeshua. Otherwise we are an abomination only good for kindling wood. Yeshua was called the righteous branch by Isaiah.

Isaiah 11:1–5 (LEB)

11 And a shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from its roots will bear fruit ² And the spirit of Yahweh shall rest on him— a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh. ³ And his breath is in the fear of Yahweh. And he shall judge not by his eyesight, and he shall rebuke not by _⌊what he hears with_⌋ his ears. ⁴ But he shall judge the poor with righteousness, and he shall decide for the needy of the earth with rectitude. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and he shall kill the wicked person with the breath of his lips. ⁵ And righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

We see that this branch will come from the stump of Jesse, who was king David’s father. Yahuah does not do anything unless He first tells the prophets. Amos 3:7 (LEB) “ Surely my Lord does not do anything unless he has revealed his secret to his servants the prophets”. How do we know which prophets to listen to? They must align with the words of Yahuah. This is how we know the Sabbaths were never done away with and that we should be eating as Yah told us through Moses. A person can ignore the Sabbaths, but their religion that promotes the practice of ignoring the Sabbaths is not worshiping the God of Abraham, Yahuah (YHWH), because He told us so. Please don’t take it personally. These are the lies that have been passed down to us through religion. One of the reasons the Christian church is so easily persuaded to abandon the instructions given by the vine dresser is that they do not understand the elect people of God and why Yeshua came.

Matthew 15:24 (LEB)

²⁴ But he answered and* said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

The House of Israel can be all twelve tribes or the ten tribes of the Northern kingdom. Most of Christianity thinks Israel is simply “the Jews” , but this is not the case. There were twelve tribes, or children of Jacob, that Yahuah made a covenant with. Ten of them broke the covenant so badly Yahuah cast them out and cut them off from the promises.

Jeremiah 3:6–10 (LEB)

⁶ Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah, the king, “Have you seen what apostate Israel has done? She has gone on every high hill and under every leafy tree and she has prostituted herself there. ⁷ And I thought, ‘After her doing all these things to me she will return,’ but she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. ⁸ And I saw that for this very reason, that on account of apostate Israel committing adultery I divorced her and gave the letter of divorce to her. Yet her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid and she went and prostituted herself also. ⁹ And it was because of the frivolity of her fornication that she defiled the land and committed adultery with the stone and with the tree. ¹⁰ Yet even in all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares Yahweh.

Israel was referred to as an olive tree. This is important to understand when considering one’s identity in Messiah. The tree that we get grafted to as believers is the natural tree.

Jeremiah 11:15–17 (LEB)

¹⁵ What rights has my beloved in my house when she has done many wicked things? Can the flesh of holiness pass over you? For you engage in your wickedness, then you exult. ¹⁶ Yahweh called your name, ‘A leafy olive tree, beautiful with fine fruit.’ With the sound of a great storm he will set fire to it, and its branches will be good for nothing. ¹⁷ And Yahweh of hosts, the one who planted you, has spoken evil against you, because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, that they have done to themselves, to provoke me to anger by making smoke offerings to Baal.”

Something that angers Yahuah is making offerings to Baal. Research your favorite “Christian” holiday and it will lead right back to Baal worship. Most of the broad path Christianity is Baal worship. As I said earlier, if it is contrary to the instructions of Yahuah, it is a different god.

Paul picks up on the olive tree analogy in his letter to the Romans. He is mostly talking to the lost sheep of the house of Israel who assimilated into the nations (gentiles).

Romans 11:13–24 (LEB)

¹³ Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Therefore, inasmuch as I am apostle to the Gentiles, I promote my ministry, ¹⁴ if somehow I may provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean except life from the dead? ¹⁶ Now if the first fruits are holy, so also is the whole batch of dough, and if the root is holy, so also are the branches. ¹⁷ Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although you were a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them and became a sharer of the root of the olive tree’s richness, ¹⁸ do not boast against the branches. But if you boast against them, you do not support the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹ Then you will say, “Branches were broken off in order that I could be grafted in.” ²⁰ Well said! They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand firm because of faith. Do not think arrogant thoughts, but be afraid. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. ²² See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity upon those who have fallen, but upon you the kindness of God—if you continue in his kindness, for otherwise you also will be cut off. ²³ And those also, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, because God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

Yeshua was the one who made it possible for the two houses of Israel to be put back together. The northern ten tribes were mixed into the nations, thus seeding them and enabling them to be brought back. This is the blessing the world received through the Seed of Abraham, or Messiah. Much of the church is from the lost sheep of the house of Israel and does not believe Torah, many of the house of Judah, “the Jews” do not understand Messiah Yeshua.

Romans 11:2–4 (LEB)

² God has not rejected his people, whom he foreknew! Or do you not know, in the passage about Elijah, what the scripture says—how he appeals to God against Israel? ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life!” ⁴ But what does the divine response say to him? “I have left for myself seven thousand people who have not bent the knee to Baal.”

This bending a knee to Baal business is very serious to the Creator. I suggest you learn His ways so you can distinguish a different god when one is presented. There is always a remnant that follows Yahuah. This is the narrow way.

The good news is that Yahuah has and is going to put the wild tree and cultivated tree together again. This is what Paul was referring to in Romans 11. What tree or vine are you plugged into?

Ezekiel 37:15–23 (LEB)

¹⁵ And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “And you, son of man, take for yourself a piece of wood, and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the Israelites his associates,’ and take another piece of wood, and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the piece of wood of Ephraim and all of the house of Israel his associates.’ ¹⁷ And join them one to the other with respect to you as one piece of wood, so that they may become one in your hand. ¹⁸ When your people say to you, saying, ‘Will you not inform us as to what these actions mean for you?’ ¹⁹ Then speak to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am taking the piece of wood for Joseph that is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel its associates, and I will put them on it, the piece of wood of Judah, and I will make them into one piece of wood, so that they be one in my hand.’ ” ²⁰ And the pieces of wood on which you wrote will be in your hand before their eyes. ²¹ And speak to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am taking the Israelites from among the nations to which they went, and I will gather them from everywhere, and I will bring them to their own soil. ²² And I will make them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and they will all have one king as their king, and they will not again be two nations and will not again divide into two kingdoms again. ²³ And they will not defile themselves again with their idols and with vile idols and with all of their transgressions, and I will save them from all of their apostasy by which they sinned, and I will cleanse them and they will be for me as a people and I, I will be for them as God.

The Hebrew word for “piece of wood” is Strong’s H6086. This is what the Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon has for this word:

n.m. tree, trees, wood — 1. a. a standing tree; to be felled; of vine עֵץ הַגֶּפֶן; תַּחַת כָּל־עֵץ רַעֲנָן place of illicit worship. b. coll. trees; עֵץ פְּרִי fruit-bearing trees; עֵץ הַזַּיִת olive trees; סֲבָךְ־עֵץ thicket of trees. c. pl. of trees felled for building. 2. (pl., to denote pieces [or articles] of wood) a. wood, as material; for building; כְּלִי־עֵץ article of wood. Hence b. עֵצִים = articles of wood; specif. הָעֵץ = helve of axe; esp. timbers of a house, of a city; עֵץ of pole on which bodies of slain (criminals and others) were exposed; late (in Pers.) used for executing criminals (? by hanging = gallows). c. of idols, עֵץ וָאֶבֶן; so עֵץ alone. d. (fire-)wood; esp. for sacrifices. e. אֶרֶז(הָ) עֵץ cedar-wood, used in purifications. f. פִּשְׁתֵּי הָעֵץ woody-flax, i.e. flax on the stalk.

Richard Whitaker et al., The Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament: From A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Francis Brown, S.R. Driver and Charles Briggs, Based on the Lexicon of Wilhelm Gesenius (Boston; New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1906).

Studying Hebrew has its benefits. From these definitions one sees that it was two trees that were going to be put back together, and the relationship of the tree that Yeshua was placed on to make this happen.

If we want to be part of the “elect” that will be gathered and brought back to the land, we need to repent, be plugged into the vine of Yeshua, grafted into the natural tree and to listen and do the words of the Vine Dresser, Yahuah. Do not be a branch without fruit, cut off from the natural tree, that will be gathered and burned!

Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

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Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. Therefore do and observe everything that they tell you, but do not do as they do, for they tell others to do something and do not do it themselves.

W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Mt 23:1–3.

What does the church, Korah and a rich man all have in common? There are other people in this group, such as Jannes and Jambres, who all had a specific trait that made them stand out. That trait is that they opposed Moses. Yeshua told his disciples to do everything the scribes and Pharisees tell them sitting on the seat of Moses. They read the words of Moses while sitting on this seat. Why would we want to oppose Moses if we are disciples of Yeshua?

Korah was a Levite and he and his sons had a serious occupation. Their job was to carry the ark of the covenant.

Numbers 3:29–32 (LEB)

²⁹ The clan of the descendants of Kohath will encamp on the side of the tabernacle to the south. ³⁰ The leader of his family according to the clans of the Kohathites is Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹ Their responsibility was the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary, with which they ministered, and the curtain, and all of its use. ³² The chief of the leaders of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest who had oversight of those keeping the responsibility of the sanctuary.

Korah was a grandson of Kohath, son of Levi, and he decided he should not have to listen to Moses anymore.

Numbers 16:1–3 (LEB)

16 Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, the descendants of Reuben, ² took two hundred and fifty men from the Israelites, leaders of the community summoned from the assembly, renowned men, and they confronted Moses. ³ They were assembled in front of Moses and Aaron, and they said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves! All of the community is holy, every one of them, and Yahweh is in their midst, so why do you raise yourselves over the assembly of Yahweh?”

Korah basically asked Moses, “who died and made you boss?”. People do not like answering to authority, and everyone wants to be the one in charge. Moses was a humble servant of God who was trying to follow the instructions the Creator, Yahuah, gave him.

Numbers 16:4–7 (LEB)

⁴ When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. ⁵ And he said to Korah and to his entire company, saying, “Tomorrow morning Yahweh will make known who is his and who is holy, and he will bring him near to him, whomever he chooses he will bring near to him. ⁶ Do this: take for yourselves censers, Korah and all of your company; ⁷ tomorrow put fire in them and place incense on them before Yahweh; the man whom Yahweh chooses will be the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, sons of Levi!”

This was a group of people that did not want to take direction from Moses any more. They were rebelling against Moses and felt that they were right and God would understand their heart. What they didn’t realize, apparently, is that Moses was doing exactly what Yahuah commanded him to do.

Numbers 16:8–14 (LEB)

⁸ And Moses said to Korah, “Please listen, sons of Levi! ⁹ Is it too little for you that the God of Israel set you apart from the community of Israel to allow you to approach him to do the work of the tabernacle of Yahweh, to stand before the community to serve them? ¹⁰ He has allowed you to approach him, you with all your brothers, the descendants of Levi, but yet you also seek the priesthood. ¹¹ Therefore you and your company have banded together against Yahweh. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?”

¹² Moses sent to call for Dathan and Abiram son of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come! ¹³ Is it too little that you have brought us from a land that flows with milk and honey to kill us in the desert, and that you also appoint yourself as a ruler over us? ¹⁴ Surely, you have not brought us to a land that flows with milk and honey, and you have not given us the inheritance of fields and a vineyard. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come!”

Once Creator Yahuah got involved things became very clear as to who should be listening to whom and which people were put in charge by the Creator himself.

Numbers 16:18–35 (LEB)

¹⁸ So each of them took his censer, and they put fire on them, and they placed incense on them; they stood at the doorway of the tent of the assembly of Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ And Korah summoned them, the entire community, by the doorway of the tent of assembly, and the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the community.

²⁰ And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from the midst of this community, that I can destroy them in a moment.” ²² And they fell on their faces, and they said, “God, God of the spirits of all flesh, will one man sin and you become angry toward the entire community?”

²³ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the community, saying, ‘Move away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ” ²⁵ So Moses stood up and went to Dathan and Abiram; the elders of Israel followed after him. ²⁶ He said to the community, saying, “Please turn away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be destroyed with all their sins.” ²⁷ And so they moved away from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out standing at the doorway of their tents, with their wives, sons, and little children. ²⁸ And Moses said, “In this you will know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; it is not from my heart. ²⁹ If they die a natural death or if a natural fate is visited upon them, Yahweh has not sent me. ³⁰ But if Yahweh creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up and all that belongs to them, and they go down alive to Sheol, and you will know that these men have despised Yahweh.”

³¹ And it happened, as soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open. ³² The land opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their houses and every person that belonged to Korah and all the property. ³³ They went down alive to Sheol, they and all that belonged to them, and the land covered over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ All Israel who were around them fled at their cry, because they said, “Lest the land swallow us up!” ³⁵ And fire went out from Yahweh, and it consumed the two hundred and fifty men presenting the incense.

Opposing Moses has consequences. These men were burned up and buried alive. Before anyone left Egypt, there were two men, the sons of Balaam, who also opposed Moses, which Paul equates to opposing the truth, because Psalm 119:142 (LEB), “Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your law is truth.”.

2 Timothy 3:8–9 (LEB)

⁸ And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these oppose the truth, people corrupted in mind, disqualified concerning the faith. ⁹ But they will not progress to a greater extent, for their folly will be quite evident to everyone, as also the folly of those two was.

This is the only place in the sixty-six book bible that Jambres and Jannes are mentioned. The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature has this to say about Jannes and Jambres:

Jannes and Jambres are thought to have been two of the Egyptian magicians who attempted by their enchantments (לָטַים, Exo_7:22, etc.; or לְהָטַים, Exo_7:11, secret arts) to counteract the influence on Pharaoh’s mind of the miracles wrought by Moses (see Exodus 7, 8). Their names occur nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures, and only once in the New Testament (2Ti_3:8), where Paul says no more than that they “withstood Moses,” and that their folly in doing so became manifest (2Ti_3:8-9). He became acquainted with them, most probably, from an ancient Jewish tradition, or, as Theodoret expresses it, “from the unwritten teaching of the Jews.” They are found frequently in the Talmudical and Rabbinical writings but with some variations.

We also can find an account of Jannes and Jambres in the book of Jasher:

And Phar’oh said to Mosheh, What do you require? and they answered him, saying, Yahuah Elohiym of the Ivriym has sent us to you, to say, Send forth my people that they may serve me. And when Phar’oh heard their words he was greatly terrified before them, and he said to them, Go today and come back to me tomorrow, and they did according to the word of the king. And when they had gone Phar’oh sent for Bil`am the magician and to Iannes and Iambres his sons, and to all the magicians and conjurors and counselors which belonged to the king, and they all came and sat before the king. And the king told them all the words which Mosheh and his brother Aharon had spoken to him, and the magicians said to the king, But how came the men to you, on account of the lions which were confined at the gate? And the king said, Because they lifted up their rod against the lions and loosed them, and came to me, and the lions also rejoiced at them as a dog rejoices to meet his adoniy. And Bil’am the son of Be’or the magician answered the king, saying, These are none else than magicians like ourselves.  YASHAR (JASHER) 79:25-30 את CEPHER

Jannes and Jambres’s fate is unclear. Some sources say they drowned in the Red Sea with Pharoah’s army and others have them still with their father Balaam opposing the Israelites. Either way, opposing Moses only brought them hardship and ultimately death.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we find Moses being opposed indirectly. We have to infer that Moses was opposed by the rich man and his brothers by the way the parable ends.

Luke 16:19–31 (LEB)

¹⁹ “Now a certain man was rich, and dressed in purple cloth and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day. ²⁰ And a certain poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, lay at his gate, ²¹ and was longing to be filled with what fell from the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And in Hades he lifted up his eyes as he*was in torment and saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus at his side. ²⁴ And he called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he could dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering pain in this flame!’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you received your good things during your life, and Lazarus likewise bad things. But now he is comforted here, but you are suffering pain. ²⁶ And in addition to all these things, a great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross over from here to you are not able to do so, nor can they cross over from there to us.’ ²⁷ So he said, ‘Then I ask you, father, that you send him to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers, so that he could warn them, in order that they also should not come to this place of torment!’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must listen to them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent!’ ³¹ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

Yeshua (Jesus), through this parable, told us that those who do not listen to Moses will not listen to Him either by referring to “if someone rises from the dead”. In another place Yeshua says something similar.

John 5:46–47 (LEB)

⁴⁶ For if you had believed Moses, you would believe me, for that one wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But if you do not believe that one’s writings, how will you believe my words?”

Yeshua told us if we do not believe Moses then we will not be able to believe His words. That is due to the fact that Moses spoke the words of the Father, just like “a prophet like Moses”, Yeshua, also did. He said He only would say what His Father said, which is also what Moses did.

How has the church made out with “believing Moses”? My observation is that the church has opposed Moses, and not believed Moses for a very long time. Here we see Constantine, arguably the first pope, call the practices of the Jews keeping passover “destable” when they were following the instruction God gave to Moses. In a letter to the bishops who could not attend the first council at Nice, this is what Constantine wrote:

We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews, for the Saviour has shown us another way; our worship follows a more legitimate and more convenient course (the order of the days of the week); and consequently, in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews, for it is truly shameful for us to hear them boast that without their direction we could not keep this feast. How can they be in the right, they who, after the death of the Saviour, have no longer been led by reason but by wild violence, as their delusion may urge them? They do not possess the truth in this Easter question; for, in their blindness and repugnance to all improvements, they frequently celebrate two passovers in the same year.

So Constantine would rather make up his own day than celebrate the Passover on the 14th of Nissan, as many did in the eastern churches, trying to obey what Yahuah told Moses.

Leviticus 23:4–7 (LEB)

⁴ “ ‘These are Yahweh’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you shall proclaim at their appointed time. ⁵ In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month at the evening is Yahweh’s Passover. ⁶ And on the fifteenth day of this month is Yahweh’s Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. ⁷ On the first day there shall be a holy assembly for you; you shall not do any regular work.

The church continues to oppose Moses. One of my favorite go to sources to exemplify the church opposing Moses is mega-pastor Andy Stanley. He gives us a lot of material to work with because he blatantly opposses Moses, much like Korah did in the desert. “All of the community is holy, every one of them, and Yahweh is in their midst, so why do you raise yourselves over the assembly of Yahweh?”. The following is from churchleaders.com:

Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church in Atlanta, argues that Jesus’ new commandment—to love one another (John 13:34)—“replaced all the old commandments.” Although the 10 Commandments “played a significant role in God’s creation of the nation of Israel,” he writes, “Jesus’ death and resurrection signaled the end of that covenant and all the rules and regulations associated with it.”

The result, Stanley says, is that Christians, as “participants in the new covenant,” are “not required to obey any of the commandments found in the first part of their Bibles.” Instead, they’re “expected to obey the single command Jesus issued as part of his new covenant: As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

He adds, “While Jesus was foreshadowed in the old covenant, he did not come to extend it. He came to fulfill it.”

This is an old heresy called Marcionism, which morphed into dispensational theology, believed by many of the thousands of denominations today. Andy Stanley completely forgot that “loving your neighbor” was what Jesus called the second greatest commandment. The first is “loving God with all of your heart and mind”, which involves doing what He said to do. It just so happens Yahuah used Moses as the messenger of the instructions stating how to love Him.

Another example of the modern church still opposing Moses comes from timberlandchurch.org, a random church website I found searching the ten commandments on the internet. I only copied the first two paragraphs, they go on to say all of the nine commandments were repeated in the New Testament, so the Sabbath is the only one that does not apply today. It is all opposing Moses; as Jesus said, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead.”.

From timberlandchurch.org:

The Ten Commandments are not our Savior; Jesus is! As a code of ethics, the Ten Commandments promoted allegiance to God and encouraged moral uprightness. But no man is good enough morally to save himself. We all sin (Romans 3:23), and we all need the forgiveness of sins found only in Jesus. Therefore, to be saved we must believe in Jesus as the Christ (John 8:24), repent of our sins (Acts 17:31), confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9), and be baptized in the name of the Lord for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16).

Furthermore, the Ten Commandments are no longer in effect today. The Ten Commandments were written on two tables of stone and given to the Jews at Mount Sinai when they came out of Egypt (Exodus 20:3-17). These commandments were a part of the Law of Moses and the covenant that God made with the Jews- the Jews would keep the commandments, and God would make the Jews His special people (Exodus 19:5). The law of Moses, including the Ten Commandments, was “nailed to the cross” with Christ (Colossians 2:14). In times past, God spoke to Israel through the law of Moses, but now He speaks to all men through Christ (Hebrews 1:1,2). Israel is no longer God’s chosen people, but those who are redeemed in Christ- the church- whether Jew or Gentile; they are His people (Ephesians 2:13-16).

Why does the ark of the covenant show up on the day of the Lord when the sky is ripped open and the ark is shown in the heavenly tabernacle? Is it empty, or is what is inside going to be what people are going to be judged by?

Revelation 11:19 (LEB)

¹⁹ And the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple, and there were lightnings and sounds and thunders and an earthquake and large hail.

This Timberland church even adheres to replacement theology, where Israel is “no longer God’s chosen people”. These are all reasons I will no longer have anything to do with churches that preach this type of nonsense. Who is the new covenant with? The house of Israel and the house of Jacob; there is no third party called “the church”. Through God’s grace we outsiders are given the chance to be grafted into Israel and partake in their irrevocable promises, if and only if we repent.

Hebrews 8:8–9 (LEB)

⁸ For in finding fault with them he says, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, ⁹ not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took hold of them by my hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I disregarded them, says the Lord.

We are told about this new covenant in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 30:1–8 (LEB)

“And then when all of these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have set before you and you call them to mind among the nations there where Yahweh your God has scattered you, ² and you return to Yahweh and you listen to his voice according to all that I am commanding you today, both you and your children, with all your heart and with all your inner self, ³ and Yahweh your God will restore your fortunes, and he will have compassion upon you, and he will again gather you together from all the peoples where Yahweh your God scattered you there.⁴ “Even if you are outcasts at the end of the heavens, even from there Yahweh your God shall gather you, and from there he shall bring you back. ⁵ And Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that your ancestors had taken possession of, and he will make you successful, and he will make you more numerous than your ancestors.⁶ “And Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self so that you may live. ⁷ And Yahweh your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, on those who harassed you. ⁸ And you will again listen to the voice of Yahweh, and you will do all his commandments that I am commanding you today.

This has not happened yet, and will not happen until the end. Yeshua alludes to this gathering of His people. Yeshua tells us this will happen after the tribulation of “those days”.

Matthew 24:30–31 (LEB)

³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect together from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other end of it.

Paul tells us that those on the outside must be grafted into the olive tree. Do not boast against the natural branches! We may be at a point of the “fullness of the gentile” in 2022 and the natural branches are getting jealous at a “foolish nation”, which appears to be the thousands of denominations that cannot agree with each other.

Romans 11:1–24 (LEB)

11 Therefore I say, God has not rejected his people, has he? May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, from the descendants of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected his people, whom he foreknew! Or do you not know, in the passage about Elijah, what the scripture says—how he appeals to God against Israel? ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life!” ⁴ But what does the divine response say to him? “I have left for myself seven thousand people who have not bent the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So in this way also at the present time, there is a remnant selected by grace. ⁶ But if by grace, it is no longer by works, for otherwise grace would no longer be grace. ⁷ What then? What Israel was searching for, this it did not obtain. But the elect obtained it, and the rest were hardened, ⁸ just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, until this very day.” ⁹ And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, and a cause for stumbling and a retribution to them; ¹⁰ let their eyes be darkened so that they do not see, and cause their backs to bend continually.”

¹¹ I say then, they did not stumble so that they fell, did they? May it never be! But by their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy. ¹² And if their trespass means riches for the world and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness mean? ¹³ Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Therefore, inasmuch as I am apostle to the Gentiles, I promote my ministry, ¹⁴ if somehow I may provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean except life from the dead? ¹⁶ Now if the first fruits are holy, so also is the whole batch of dough, and if the root is holy, so also are the branches. ¹⁷ Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although you were a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them and became a sharer of the root of the olive tree’s richness, ¹⁸ do not boast against the branches. But if you boast against them, you do not support the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹ Then you will say, “Branches were broken off in order that I could be grafted in.” ²⁰ Well said! They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand firm because of faith. Do not think arrogant thoughts, but be afraid. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. ²² See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity upon those who have fallen, but upon you the kindness of God—if you continue in his kindness, for otherwise you also will be cut off. ²³ And those also, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, because God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

Yeshua came preaching the gospel. He wasn’t the gospel. The fact that God raised Him from the dead is certainly the good news, or gospel. His sacrifice and resurrection made the gospel possible! Yeshua proclaimed the year of Jubilee when slaves are set free and land is returned to its owners. This is the good news. No one realized that He was working in a “kingdom of God” capacity and not an earthly capacity. What Yeshua would do would be permanent and eternal! He also had a custom of entering the synagogue on the Sabbath. Let’s be like Him! After all He is “Lord of the Sabbath”, and if the Sabbath is now nothing, then that means the people claiming this are saying the Savior of the world is the Lord of “nothing”.

Luke 4:16–21 (LEB)

¹⁶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and according to his custom he entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll he found the place where it was written, ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” ²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were looking intently at him. ²¹ And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Opposing Moses has severe consequences. Please do not believe this nonsense that anyone replaced Israel. “May it never be!”, as Paul proclaims. The idea that the righteous instructions of God were somehow “nailed to the cross” is equally as absurd. Run from this theology. These very instructions are supposed to be written on your heart if you are going to be in the new covenant with Yahuah, by the grace of God, through the sacrifice of Yeshua. Repent and beleive the gospel.

The featured image is by Igor Rodrigues on Unsplash.

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So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a person examine himself, and in this way let him eat from the bread and let him drink from the cup. For the one who eats and drinks, if he does not recognize the body, eats and drinks judgment against himself. Because of this, many are weak and sick among you, and quite a few have died.

W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), 1 Co 11:27–30.

We sometimes hear it said we should examine ourselves before we partake in communion. Paul also gives us the result of taking communion in an unworthy manner by saying, “Because of this, many are weak and sick among you, and quite a few have died.” How do we ensure we do not incur death and sickness by being unworthy? What does it mean to take communion in a worthy manner?

We have to look at the new covenant and the significance of the bread and wine. The covenant that Yeshua came to repair, refresh and make shiny new is the covenant Israel had with Yahuah at the base of Mount Horeb when all the people agreed to the Ten Commandments that they heard God give in an audible voice. They also agreed to the words God gave to Moses after they realized they could not bare to hear any more from Yahuah directly.

Exodus 24:3–8 (LEB)

³ And Moses came, and he told the people all the words of Yahweh and all the regulations. And all the people answered with one voice, and they said, “All the words that Yahweh has spoken we will do.” ⁴ And Moses wrote all the words of Yahweh, and he rose early in the morning, and he built an altar at the base of the mountain and set up twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ And he sent young men from the Israelites, and they offered burnt offerings, and they sacrificed sacrifices as fellowship offerings to Yahweh using bulls. ⁶ And Moses took half of the blood, and he put it in bowls, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ And he took the scroll of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will listen.” ⁸ And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and he said, “Look, the blood of the covenant that Yahweh has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

In order to get an idea of what it means to partake in communion unworthily, all we have to do is see what happened a few short days after Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar and the people, sealing the covenant the people made with God. They broke the covenant by taking His name in vain, idolatry and sexual immorality. The blood sealed the covenant which gave the people “His name”. They took this name in vain as soon as they made the golden calf and “rose up to play”. Yahuah was ready to destroy the people and make a new nation from Moses. Moses interceded for the people, but there was a price to pay.

Exodus 32:7–20 (LEB)

⁷ And Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go, go down because your people behave corruptly, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt. ⁸ They have turned aside quickly from the way that I commanded them; they have made for themselves a cast-image bull calf, and they bowed to it, and they sacrificed to it, and they said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ ” ⁹ And Yahweh said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and, indeed, they are a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰ And now leave me alone so that my anger may blaze against them, and let me destroy them, and I will make you into a great nation.” ¹¹ And Moses implored Yahweh his God, and he said, “Why, Yahweh, should your anger blaze against your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning the disaster for your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by yourself, and you told them, ‘I will multiply your offspring like the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I promised I will give to your offspring, and they will inherit it forever.’ ” ¹⁴ And Yahweh relented concerning the disaster that he had threatened to do to his people. ¹⁵ And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand, tablets written on their two sides; on the front and on the back they were written. ¹⁶ And the tablets, they were the work of God; and the writing, it was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. ¹⁷ And Joshua heard the sound of the people in their shouting, and he said to Moses, “A sound of war is in the camp.” ¹⁸ But he said, “There is not a sound of shouting of victory, and there is not a sound of shouting of defeat. I hear a sound of singing.” ¹⁹ And as he came near to the camp, he saw the bull calf and dancing, and Moses became angry, and he threw the tablets from his hand, and he broke them under the mountain. ²⁰ And he took the bull calf that they had made, and he burned it with the fire, and he crushed it until it became fine, and he scattered it on the surface of the water, and he made the Israelites drink.

After this, there was essentially a show down and the tribe of Levi stood with Moses. Three thousand people died that day, and sin had entered the camp. The tabernacle was moved out from amongst the people. Moses was an example of the first high priest trying to atone for the people breaking the covenant, after they said they would do all Yahuah commanded.

Exodus 32:30–35 (LEB)

³⁰ And the next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to Yahweh. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” ³¹ And Moses returned to Yahweh, and he said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin and made for themselves gods of gold. ³² And now if you will forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me from your scroll that you have written.” ³³ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot him from my scroll. ³⁴ And now go, lead the people to where I spoke to you. Look, my angel will go before you, and on the day when I punish I will punish them for their sin.” ³⁵ And Yahweh afflicted the people because they had made the bull calf that Aaron had made.

We can see how the people were unworthy before God. They committed intentional, rebellious sin. The result of this type of sin is listed in the curses caused by being disobedient. Deuteronomy 28:15 (LEB), “And then if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God by diligently observing all of his commandments and his statutes that I am commanding you today, then all of these curses shall come upon you, and they shall overtake you:”. Paul short listed the curses for taking the bread and wine unworthily.

1 Corinthians 11:30 (LEB)

³⁰ Because of this, many are weak and sick among you, and quite a few have died.

The concept of a “new covenant” is exemplified with the children of those who rebelled in the desert. This should be a road map to understanding the new covenant with Yeshua. This covenant was made with new people, but with the same stipulations, blessings and curses. The Creator’s side of the covenant never changes because He doesn’t change. He doesn’t expect one thing one day and something different the next. He keeps giving new people a chance at it. One has to read Deuteronomy chapters 29 and 30 to understand completely, so I am only going to quote the highlights.

Deuteronomy 29:1 (LEB): These are the words of the covenant that Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab besides the covenant that he made with them at Horeb.

Deuteronomy 29:9–15 (LEB): 9 And you must diligently observe the words of this covenant, so that you may succeed in all that you do.
10 “You are standing today, all of you, before Yahweh your God, your leaders, your tribes, your elders, and your officials, all the men of Israel, 11 your little children, your women and your aliens who are in the midst of your camp, from the choppers of your wood to the drawers of your water, 12 in order for you to enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God, and into his oath that Yahweh your God is making with you today, 13 in order to establish you today to himself as a people and so that he may be for you as God, just as he promised to you and just as he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
14 “Now I am not making this covenant and this oath with you alone. 15 But with whoever is standing here with us today before Yahweh our God, and with whoever is not standing here with us today.

Yahuah tells the second generation at Moab that they too will break this covenant and then be scattered among the nations. Then He goes on to say that they will return and remember to do His commandments and He will write them on their hearts. This is speaking of the new covenant with Yeshua (Jesus). This is the gospel or “good news”.

Deuteronomy 30:4–16 (LEB): 4 “Even if you are outcasts at the end of the heavens, even from there Yahweh your God shall gather you, and from there he shall bring you back. 5 And Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that your ancestors had taken possession of, and he will make you successful, and he will make you more numerous than your ancestors.
6 “And Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self so that you may live. 7 And Yahweh your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, on those who harassed you. 8 And you will again listen to the voice of Yahweh, and you will do all his commandments that I am commanding you today. 9 And Yahweh your God will make you prosperous in all your undertakings, and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground abundantly, for Yahweh will again rejoice over you, just as he rejoiced over your ancestors. 10 He will do this if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God by keeping his commandment and his statutes written in the scroll of this law and if you return to Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self.
11 “For this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too wonderful for you, and it is not too far from you. 12 It is not in the heavens so that you might say, ‘Who will go up for us to the heavens and get it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?’ 13 And it is not beyond the sea, so that you might say, ‘Who will cross for us to the other side of the sea and take it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, even in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it.
15 “See, I am setting before you today life and prosperity and death and disaster; 16 what I am commanding you today is to love Yahweh your God by going in his ways and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his regulations, and then you will live, and you will become numerous, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the land where you are going.

Paul even references this in Romans. Paul knew this was speaking of the covenant Yeshua would renew, just as in Moab. We are able to do our part through faith in Messiah and a circumcised heart. In other words, the Spirit of grace guides and convicts us if we listen. Confessing “Jesus is Lord” or Lord Jesus, as some translations say, means to be in agreement and covenant, not just believing that He exists. The demons believe He exists. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology says this about the Greek word homologeō, which is translated “confess”: “The legal connotation is dominant. A man agrees with another’s statement, concedes or confesses something (e.g. his guilt before a judge), agrees to something (e.g. another’s wish) and so promises. This agreement expresses itself in an act of commitment, promise, or confession in a court or legal contract.”. It is an oath we are taking part in when we take communion.

Romans 10:5–11 (LEB): 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: “The person who does this will live by it.”  6 But the righteousness from faith speaks like this: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near to you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim), 9 that if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

The new covenant was new in the sense that it was ratified with Messiah’s blood instead of the blood of bulls, and once again, made with a new generation. The heart becomes circumcised through faith in Messiah and the Spirit. The terms of the covenant really are no different than the covenant originally ratified at Mount Horeb then renewed at Moab with the children of those who came out of Egypt. The people broke the covenant continually, and Yahuah promised he would make a new covenant with the house of Judah and the house of Israel, as found in Jeremiah. This is where he writes His commandments on the people’s heart instead of solely relying on the tablets of stone, or the written code. The good news, or gospel, in part, is that He opened this agreement up to the whole world due to Israel’s dispersion and seeding. When speaking of Moses sprinkling the blood on the people that we read about in Exodus, the writer of Hebrews then goes on to show how Yeshua (Jesus), sprinkled the blood on the heavenly tabernacle. Moses made a copy of what God showed him on the mountain. Yeshua went to the actual temple in heaven that Moses merely copied.

Hebrews 9:21–28 (LEB)

²¹ And likewise he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the utensils of service with the blood. ²² Indeed, nearly everything is purified with blood according to the law, and apart from the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. ²³ Therefore it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf, ²⁵ and not in order that he can offer himself many times, as the high priest enters into the sanctuary year by year with blood not his own, ²⁶ since it would have been necessary for him to suffer many times from the foundation of the world, but now he has appeared once at the end of the ages for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this, judgment, ²⁸ thus also Christ, having been offered once in order to bear the sins of many, will appear for the second time without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him for salvation.

Many are confused due to the eagerness of teachers to want to be able to “rise up and play”. Yeshua (Jesus) made the final sacrifice to atone for anyone who will repent and follow Him; however, He did not “nail the ten commandments to the cross” as many falsely teach. The commandments are what are written on our hearts through the Spirit of grace Messiah sent to those who repent and believe. Currently, there is no high priest on earth to go into the inner part of the tabernacle once a year on the day of atonement. It is not needed now because Messiah performed this once and for all, “at the end of the age”, in the heavenly tabernacle. Our part to play in the new covenant is to keep the commandments. Do you suppose that when we drink from the cup it represents the sprinkling of blood on us whereby we are then connected to the heavenly tabernacle and the Father through the connection of the blood of the Messiah? I believe this is the image we see. We are “washed in the blood”.

Hebrews 10:19–25 (LEB)

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence for the entrance into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by the new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us approach with a true heart in the full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for the one who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us think about how to stir one another up to love and good works, ²⁵ not abandoning our meeting together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging each other, and by so much more as you see the day drawing near.

Before anyone could enter the tabernacle on earth, or meet with God, they had to wash. Hence the need for immersion (baptism).

Exodus 40:30–32 (LEB)

³⁰ And he placed the basin between the tent of assembly and the altar, and he put there water for washing. ³¹ And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet from it. ³² At their going into the tent of assembly and at their approaching the altar, they washed, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

We see that the writer of Hebrews follows up with a serious warning against deliberate, rebellious sin. What is sin defined as other than breaking the commandments of God? Under the old covenant, with sacrificial law, rebellious sin witnessed by two or three people, such as adultery, murder, idolatry or Sabbath breaking, was a cause for stoning and death. “How much worse punishment do you think the person will be considered worthy of who treats with disdain the Son of God and who considers ordinary the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy and who insults the Spirit of grace?”.

Hebrews 10:16–29 (LEB)

²⁶ For if we keep on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that is about to consume the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much worse punishment do you think the person will be considered worthy of who treats with disdain the Son of God and who considers ordinary the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy and who insults the Spirit of grace?

John tells us sin is transgression of the law, or lawlessness, but which law? All through the Bible we are told how to live a life in God’s righteousness. We receive blessings not curses when we love His righteous instructions.

1 John 3:4–6 (LEB)

⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. ⁵ And you know that that one was revealed in order that he might take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶ Everyone who resides in him does not sin. Everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him.

Does this mean we stone our children when they are rebellious or sacrifice a bull in our back yard? Of course not. The system of sacrificial law is not on earth currently, and those laws were for leaders and priests. It was only added because of sin.

Galatians 3:19–22 (LEB)

¹⁹ Why then the law? It was added on account of transgressions, until the descendant should come to whom it had been promised, having been ordered through angels by the hand of a mediator. ²⁰ Now the mediator is not for one, but God is one. ²¹ Therefore is the law opposed to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, certainly righteousness would have been from the law. ²² But the scripture imprisoned all under sin, in order that the promise could be given by faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe.

Through faith in Messiah we are able to confess our sins, be forgiven and walk in the light. If we keep returning to intentional sin, or continually live with rebellious sin in our lives, we are walking in darkness and show that we do not know the Son or His Father that sent Him.

1 John 1:5–2:6 (LEB)

⁵ And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say that we do not have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us our* sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 2 My little children, I am writing these things to you in order that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one, ² and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. ³ And by this we know that we have come to know him, 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 this person. ⁵ But whoever keeps his word, truly in this person the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in him. ⁶ The one who says that he resides in him ought also to walk just as that one walked.

The bread and the wine are symbols of sealing the covenant we now have through Messiah. It is made with a better sacrifice. John 6:56, “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him.”. His flesh is the living Word, and His blood sealed the covenant.

Hebrews 13:20–21 (LEB)

20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with every good thing to do his will, carrying out in us what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever. Amen.

Should we not listen to Messiah and keep the terms of the eternal covenant as He taught? So that, “the God of peace…equip you to do his will…what is pleasing before him through Jesus…”. It does not get any more clear. Yeshua helps us understand and do the will of the Father, which are His laws, statutes and precepts. He also gave us His Spirit to bring to remembrance everything He said. This is the beginning of writing the commandments on our hearts! Therefore, repent and believe the gospel!

The featured image is by Gabriel Tovar on Unsplash

Brothers, even if a person is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of humility, looking out for yourself, lest you also be tempted. Carry the burdens of one another, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:1–5 (LEB):

What is different about the law of Christ? Some will claim the “law of Christ” means we are able to ignore the instructions of the Father and just accept everything that the fallen world gives us inclusively, never worrying about the words and warnings of scripture, because we all “believe in Jesus”. This theology will eventually lead us to a “Drag me to church” event as the Lutheran church is having in the flyer below, copied from my Twitter feed.

Here are the verses from Galatians in context, Galatians 6:1–5 (LEB):

6 Brothers, even if a person is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of humility, looking out for yourself, lest you also be tempted. 2 Carry the burdens of one another, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something although he is nothing, he is deceiving himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in someone else. 5 For each one will carry his own burden.

Understanding the law of Christ is understanding this: “Brothers, even if a person is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of humility”. This is loving your neighbour as yourself.

Also, Yeshua (Jesus) removed the need for sacrificial law. I am talking about the part where someone who is caught in a trespass of sin requiring stoning under the law. The apostles all still brought their offerings to the temple long after the death and resurrection of Yeshua. There were offerings for uncleanness, unintentional sin and for feast days, but there were no offerings for such things as murder, adultery or idolatry. The collective sin that the high priest made atonement for on the day of atonement, had to be done each year. Even if a person never committed any of these sins and was righteous according to the law, that person would still die and be guilty due to the sin of Adam. Yeshua made one sacrifice, forever, that took care of this sin and conquered death.

Hebrews 7:11–22 (LEB)

¹¹ Thus if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood, for on the basis of it the people received the law, what further need is there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek and not said to be according to the order of Aaron? ¹² For when the priesthood changes, of necessity there is a change of the law also. ¹³ For the one about whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe from which no one has officiated at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord is a descendant of Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses said nothing concerning priests. ¹⁵ And it is still more clear, if another priest according to the likeness of Melchizedek arises, ¹⁶ who has become a priest not according to a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is testified,

“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸ For on the one hand a preceding commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect), but on the other hand there is the introduction of a better hope through which we draw near to God. ²⁰ And by as much as this was not without an oath (for these on the one hand have become priests without an oath, ²¹ but he with an oath by the one who said to him,

“The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind,

‘You are a priest forever’ ”),

²² by so much more Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

The confusion lies so often with the changing of the Levitical priest system and people teaching that this is the whole of the law of God that “has been nailed to the cross”. The writer of Hebrews makes it clear, and one has to study that letter to understand sacrificial law is temporarily (“set aside”) removed, but the righteous instructions of Yahuah still stand and are our part of the covenant. I say that sacrificial law is temporarily removed because Yeshua is only a priest in the heavenly tabernacle and will not be a priest when he rules as king on earth during the Millennial reign with the future temple Ezekiel describes.

Hebrews 7:14 (LEB)

¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord is a descendant of Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses said nothing concerning priests.

As I mentioned, Yeshua reminded us of the second greatest commandment for a reason. He knew that He was going to give the final offering as an atonement for sins that normally required stoning, by giving His life. Just as Paul stated, if someone is found in a trespass, that is breaking the commandments of God, one who is spiritual, the opposite of carnal or fleshly, should restore that person in humility.

Matthew 22:34–40 (LEB):

34 Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled at the same place. 35 And one of them, a legal expert, put a question to him to test him: 36 “Teacher, which commandment is greatest in the law?” 37 And he said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

The first greatest commandment according to Yeshua was called the Shema, and it is found in Deuteronomy chapter six.

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (LEB)

4 “Hear, Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique. 5 And you shall love Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your might. 6 And these words that I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. 7 And you shall recite them to your children, and you shall talk about them at the time of your living in your house and at the time of your going on the road and at the time of your lying down and at the time of your rising up. 8 And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as an emblem between your eyes. 9 And you shall write them on the doorframe of your house and on your gates.

The second greatest commandment quoted by Yeshua is found in Leviticus chapter nineteen.

Leviticus 19:15–18 (LEB)

15 “ ‘You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not show partiality to the powerless; you shall not give preference to the powerful; you shall judge your fellow citizen with justice. 16 You shall not go about with slander among your people; you shall not endanger your neighbor’s life; I am Yahweh.
17 “ ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you shall surely rebuke your fellow citizen, so that you do not incur sin along with him. 18 You shall not seek vengeance, and you shall not harbor a grudge against your fellow citizens; and you shall love your neighbor like yourself; I am Yahweh.

Yeshua was upholding the words given to the entire church that was at the base of Mount Horeb when Yahuah spoke the Ten Commandments in an audible voice. The people told Moses they could not bare to hear the voice of God and they thought they were going to die. So, Yahuah told them to go back to their tents and he gave Moses the rest of the instructions. This is important to understand.

Deuteronomy 5:22–33 (LEB) 22 “These words Yahweh spoke to your whole assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire and the very thick cloud with a loud voice, and he did not add anything, and then he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And then when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, and as the mountain was burning with fire, and all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me, 24 you said, ‘Look, Yahweh our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire; this day we have seen that God can speak with a human being, yet he remains alive. 25 And so then why shall we die, for this great fire will consume us if we continue to hear the voice of Yahweh our God any longer, and so we shall die? 26 For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire as we have heard it and remained alive? 27 You go near and hear everything that Yahweh our God will say; and then you tell us all that Yahweh our God tells you, and we will listen, and we will do it.’
28 “And Yahweh heard the sound of your words when you spoke to me, and Yahweh said to me, ‘I have heard the sound of the words of this people that they have spoken to you; they are right with respect to all that they have spoken. 29 If only they had such a mind’; that is, to fear me and to keep all my commandments at all times, so that it will go well for them and for their children forever. 30 Go! Say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But you stand here with me, and let me tell you all of the commandments and the rules and the regulations that you shall teach them, so that they may do them in the land that I am giving to them to take possession of it.’
32 “So you must be careful to do just as Yahweh your God commanded you; you shall not turn to the right or to the left. 33 In exactly the path that Yahweh your God has commanded, you must go, so that you may live and it will go well for you and you may live long in the land that you will take possession of.”

When Yeshua recited the Shema, “Hear, Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique. And you shall love Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your might”, He was referring to what Yahuah gave to the people at Mount Horeb in an audible voice and through Moses. These were the instructions to live a good life in the presence of Yahuah.

The second commandment involves how we treat people and what to do when they transgress the instructions from the first greatest commandment. Rebuking your brother when they sin is much different than bringing them to be stoned as one of the two to three witnesses. Sin is transgression of the law as explained in the letters of John. Yeshua showed us this with the woman caught in adultery. However, they did not have the man, which is required, or two to three witnesses. This is how they were testing him. He could have said get two or three witnesses and the guilty man, but he didn’t. He shut the whole scene down quite easily by reminding everyone there was no one without sin. He showed us the “law of Christ”.

John 8:3–11 (LEB)

3 Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery. And standing her in their midst, 4 they said to him, testing him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery! 5 Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 (Now they were saying this to test him, so that they would have an occasion to bring charges against him.) But Jesus, bending down, began to write with his finger on the ground, taking no notice. 7 And when they persisted in asking him, straightening up he said to them, “The one of you without sin, let him throw the first stone at her!” 8 And bending down again, he wrote on the ground. 9 Now when they* heard it,* being convicted by their conscience, they began to depart,* one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone—and the woman who was in their midst. 10 So Jesus, straightening up and seeing no one except the woman, said to her, “Where are those accusers of yours? Does no one condemn you?” 11 And she said, “No one, Lord.” So Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”

The theme of these commandments is “mercy not sacrifice”. Yeshua told us to go learn what that means, and He said this in a couple places. First when the Pharisees accused him of dining with sinners, and second, when the Pharisees accused him of breaking the Sabbath.

Matthew 9:10–13 (LEB)

10 And it happened as he was dining in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners were coming and dining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when they saw it, the Pharisees began to say to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 And when he heard it, he said, “Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what it means, “I want mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 12:6–8 (LEB)

6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here! 7 And if you had known what it means, ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Yeshua was quoting the prophet Hosea.

Hosea 6:1–7 (LEB)

6 Come, let us return to Yahweh; because it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck us down and will bind us up. 2 He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us know, let us press on to know Yahweh;
his rising is sure like the dawn.
He will come like the showers to us,
like the spring rain that waters the earth.
4 What will I do with you, O Ephraim?
What will I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early in the morning.
5 Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth like the light.
6 Because I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But like Adam, they transgressed the covenant;
there they dealt faithlessly with me.

The Hebrew word for “steadfast love” means joint obligation, mercy, faithfulness, loyalty, and kindness. Yeshua would likely be quoting using this Hebrew word. Church father Origen tells us the gospel of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew. Everyone needs to take time to “go learn what this means”.

Yeshua was referencing the chapter in Hosea referring to raising Him up on the third day so that we can live in the presence of Yahuah! This is the law of Christ! Show steadfast love for the Father, Yahuah, by the knowledge of God and His instructions, which is the Shema, and have mercy, loving your neighbor as yourself. Yahuah does not desire burnt offerings and sacrifices, such as the endless cycle, sin, sacrifice for sin and repeat. He wants us to learn not to sin, and Yeshua came to give us the means to do this. Acts 3:19–20 (LEB), “Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and he may send the Christ appointed for you—Jesus”.

Yeshua also reminded us not to sin in our minds either. When we have the Spirit of grace convicting our heart, it makes this easier. This is an old commandment elevated to a place of importance by Yeshua.

Deuteronomy 30:1–3 (LEB)

“And then when all of these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have set before you and you call them to mind among the nations there where Yahweh your God has scattered you, ² and you return to Yahweh and you listen to his voice according to all that I am commanding you today, both you and your children, with all your heart and with all your inner self, ³ and Yahweh your God will restore your fortunes, and he will have compassion upon you, and he will again gather you together from all the peoples where Yahweh your God scattered you there.

This prophecy is speaking of a time in the future when the scattered tribes would return to Yahuah and things will be restored. It is Millennial kingdom language because all the tribes have clearly not been gathered from all the peoples where they were scattered yet. We have some from the tribe of Judah in the nation state of Israel, but there are many more still scattered from all of the tribes. Yeshua explains what listening to His voice with the inner self means.

Matthew 5:17–23 (LEB)

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one tiny letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all takes place. ¹⁹ Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps them and teaches them, this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven. ²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people of old, ‘Do not commit murder,’ and ‘whoever commits murder will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Stupid fool!’ will be subject to the council, and whoever says, ‘Obstinate fool!’ will be subject to fiery hell.

Clearly “fulfill” does not mean “end” as some try to tell us. Fill up, complete and accomplish are other meanings for the Greek word translated “fulfill”, Strong’s G4444. Murdering someone in our heart carries the same penalty as literal murder. If we were to read further, we would see the same theory applies to adultery. “All your inner self” is serious business.

Concerning the law of Christ, we should also define grace properly. It is through the Spirit of grace that we are able to have our heart influenced by God. It is not a blank check for rebellious sin. Salvation is a free gift, through divine favor, that makes it possible to be in covenant with the God of Israel, creator of the universe, through the offerings of our high priest, Yeshua, in the heavenly tabernacle. Therefore, we don’t want to make the same mistakes of sin, sacrifice and repeat. A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament defines grace as follows:

χάρις (in early Greek literature, gracefulness, graciousness; favour; a favour; gratitude; χάριν as above: in LXX especially of the favour which an inferior finds in the eyes of his superior), (a) grace, as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ, John 1:14-17.

Alexander Souter, A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1917), 281.

John 1:14–17 (LEB)

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ John testified about him and cried out, saying, “This one was he about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me is ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ” ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, and grace after grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.

Therefore, grace is a gift of divine favor through Yeshua. The Spirit of grace is this favor influencing the heart of the believer. We see the same word “fullness” (G4444) used in John 1:16 as in Matthew 5:17. Yeshua’s fullness is like that of someone manning a ship, bringing it to its full potential. As the writer of Hebrews states, we cannot treat this gift as something ordinary, by living in rebellious sin, which insults the Spirit. For example, if someone gave you a beautiful furniture set because they knew your living room was empty, then they came to your house to find the furniture sitting outside in the cardboard boxes, ruined from the weather, we would expect them to be insulted. The expectation was that the furniture would be put to good use. It is not that they were looking for repayment, or anything in return for the furniture. It was a gift; however, it was treated with disdain.

Hebrews 10:26–29 (LEB)

²⁶ For if we keep on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that is about to consume the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much worse punishment do you think the person will be considered worthy of who treats with disdain the Son of God and who considers ordinary the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy and who insults the Spirit of grace?

This grace from the Father through Yeshua is the ability for us to be part of a covenant with the Father. It is a gift because there is nothing we can do of our own doing to be part of this covenant. The expectation is that we take the terms of the covenant seriously.

In my many years belonging to evangelical, protestant churches, the formula was to say a prayer then be “saved”, when it should be a lifestyle of commitment to the Father’s wishes, not necessarily to the church’s traditions. We were given this gift, why not bring it to its fullest potential?

Ephesians 2:12–13 (LEB)

¹² that you were at that time apart from Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, not having hope, and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you, the ones who once were far away, have become near by the blood of Christ.

The covenants of promise that we are “brought near to” were given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yahuah is allowing outsiders to be part of His big plan to restore the kingdom, and He did it through Yeshua. This is more than being just “saved”, it is being adopted as sons and daughters of the most High.

Revelation 21:5–8 (LEB)

⁵ And the one seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new!” And he said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” ⁶ And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water from the spring of the water of life freely. ⁷ The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son. ⁸ But as for the cowards and unbelievers and detestable persons and murderers and sexually immoral people and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their share is in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.

Learn the law of Christ, be imitators of God in all righteousness and truth, and how through His spirit, we can learn His righteousness in our lives. Repent, and “go and sin no more”.

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