And then every survivor from all those nations coming against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths.

Zechariah 14:16 (LEB)

Most Christians have no knowledge of the week long festival the Creator gave to His people to enjoy called Sukkot. However, most celebrate the worldly festival of Saturnalia every year for the god Mithra, Saturn and Odin. Creating a myth about the timing of the birth of Jesus to coincide with the sun worshiper’s festivals does not sanctify the days. So how did Christians switch from celebrating festivals ordained by Yahuah to festivals of the gods of this Earth? It is a valid question that everyone who celebrates the time of Saturnalia, renamed Christmas by the Catholic church, should find an answer. Essentially it is a 3500 year old prophecy.

Deuteronomy 4:25–28 (LEB)

²⁵ “When you have had children and grandchildren and you have grown old in the land and you act corruptly and you make a divine image of the form of anything and you do evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God, thus provoking him to anger, ²⁶ I call to witness against you today the heaven and the earth, that you will perish soon and completely from the land that you are crossing the Jordan into it to take possession of it; you will not live long on it, but you will be completely destroyed. ²⁷ And Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations to where Yahweh will lead you. ²⁸ And you will there serve gods made by human hands, of wood and stone, gods that cannot see and cannot hear and cannot eat and cannot smell.

Sukkot is a week long festival of the Creator that He shared with the Israelites through Moses. It is the harvest festival of God with specific instructions. Like all the feasts and festivals, without a temple and priests, there are many aspects of the instructions we cannot complete. However, it can be a remembrance of what God has done and point to the future that God has in store for His people.

Leviticus 23:1–2 (LEB)

23 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites, and say to them, ‘The festivals of Yahweh that you shall proclaim are holy assemblies; these are my appointed times.

Take note that the Creator refers to the Feasts as His festivals and appointed times, and not the feasts and festivals of the Jews, as Christians call them today. Christianity separated themselves from God’s special days listed in Leviticus 23 early on, mostly due to the antisemitism of the Church leadership and the ingrained paganism of the new converts. There were Christians well into the 5th and 6th centuries still celebrating these days and they were persecuted for doing so. Paul encouraged believers in Colossae not to worry about people who judged them for keeping God’s Sabbaths and feasts.

Colossians 2:16–17 (LEB)

¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you with reference to eating or drinking or participation in a feast or a new moon or a Sabbath, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of what is to come, but the reality is Christ.

Many Christians today have been programed to think Paul is saying not to keep Sabbaths and Feasts of God by these words in his letter to the Colossians. How ridiculous is that? Believers in Colossae were surrounded by pagans celebrating the days of the “elemental spirits” of the world. The root of this Greek word, “stochion” was talking about fairies, elves and Santa Claus, otherwise known as, demons.

Colossians 2:20 (LEB)

²⁰ If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as if living in the world?

1 Corinthians 10:19–22 (LEB)

¹⁹ Therefore, what am I saying? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ No, but that the things which they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become sharers with demons. ²¹ You are not able to drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You are not able to share the table of the Lord and the table of demons. ²² Or are we attempting to provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than he is, are we?

Paul would never refer to the word of God, or the special days of God, as elemental spirits. Someone who thinks that has been duped by the enemy! Melding God’s days with the worldly festivals and gods was exactly how the Northern kingdom, the House of Israel, was cut off.

Jeremiah 3:6–9 (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.

Israel gets rejected by God for “committing adultery with stone and tree”, and Christianity thinks it is a good idea to fabricate their own holy days where they place the same trees used by the pagans on their altars and in their homes. Not to mention, the use of stone pillars at their religious sites. Typically, these same people will reject the holy days provided by the Creator through Moses and Israel.

Leviticus 23:33–36 (LEB)

³³ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴ “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, this shall be the Feast of Booths for seven days for Yahweh. ³⁵ On the first day there shall be a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work. ³⁶ For seven days you must present an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh; it is a celebration; you must not do any regular work.

During Sukkot, all of the men were required to travel to Jerusalem for the feast and people would make temporary shelters to live in to remind them that they lived in tents when they left Egypt. It is a remembrance of the mighty works of God in the Exodus where He gathered His people out of Egypt.

Leviticus 23:39–44 (LEB)

³⁹ “ ‘Surely on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, at your gathering the land’s produce, you shall hold Yahweh’s festival for seven days; on the first day there shall be a rest period and on the eighth day a rest period. ⁴⁰ And on the first day you shall take for yourselves the first fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees and branches of a leafy tree and of a brook’s poplar trees, and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God for seven days. ⁴¹ And you must hold it as a festival for Yahweh for seven days in the year; it shall be a lasting statute throughout your generations; in the seventh month you must hold it. ⁴² You must live in the booths for seven days; all the natives in Israel must live in the booths, ⁴³ so that your generations shall know that I made the Israelites live in booths when I brought them from the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.’ ” ⁴⁴ Thus Moses announced to the Israelites Yahweh’s appointed times.

When God’s people returned to the land from seventy years of captivity in Babylon, they read from Moses’s writings, and some heard this for the first time.

Nehemiah 8:13–18 (LEB)

¹³ On the second day the heads of the families of all the people, the priests, and the Levites gathered together to Ezra the scribe to study the words of the law. ¹⁴ They found written in the law, which Yahweh had commanded by the hand of Moses, that the Israelites should live in booths during the festival of the seventh month, ¹⁵ and that they should proclaim and give voice in all of their cities in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill and bring olive tree branches, olive oil wood branches, myrtle shrub branches, palm tree branches, and other leafy tree branches to make booths, as it is written.” ¹⁶ So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, in the public square of the Water Gate, and in the public square of the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ And all of the assembly of those who returned from captivity made booths and lived in the booths because the Israelites had not done it from the days of Jeshua son of Nun until that day. And there was very great joy. ¹⁸ And he read from the scroll of the law of God day by day from the first day up to the last day. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly according to the rule.

Forever is a very long time, and even though Christianity chooses to celebrate feasts of other gods now, it will not always be this way. Many Christians are leaving the Babylonian, Roman roots of Christianity and are returning to the word of God, trying the best they can to do what He says we should do. This is also prophecy from 3500 years ago, repeated by many of the prophets.

Deuteronomy 4:29–31 (LEB)

²⁹ But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. ³⁰ In your distress when all these things have found you in the latter days, then you will return to Yahweh your God, and you will listen to his voice. ³¹ For Yahweh your God is a compassionate God; he will not abandon you, and he will not destroy you, and he will not forget the covenant of your ancestors that he swore to them.

Everyone who makes it to the Millennium kingdom will surely be celebrating the Feast of Booths. Why wouldn’t people who are striving to be in this kingdom want to learn now about these things that they will be doing?

Zechariah 14:12–21 (LEB)

¹² And this will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike all the peoples that fight against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are standing on their feet; their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. ¹³ And then on that day a great panic from Yahweh will fall on them, and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of another. ¹⁴ And Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—gold and silver, and garments in great abundance. ¹⁵ Like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, and the donkey, and every kind of animal in those camps.

¹⁶ And then every survivor from all those nations coming against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths. ¹⁷ And then whoever of the clans of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, it will not rain on them. ¹⁸ And if the clan of Egypt will not go up and come in, on them will be that plague Yahweh inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. ¹⁹ This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

²⁰ On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to Yahweh.” And the cooking pots in the house of Yahweh will be holy like the sacrificial basins before the altar. ²¹ And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts, and all those who sacrifice will come and will take from them, and will cook in them, and there will be no longer a trader in the house of Yahweh of hosts on that day.

It sounds like even after Yahuah establishes His kingdom on this Earth there will be people still not on board with His Feasts. I wonder if they will still be celebrating the feast of other gods such as the Saturnalia (Christmas) at that time? The people that do not celebrate the Feast of Booths in this kingdom will be punished with drought and plagues, yet we often pray this prayer:

Matthew 6:9–10 (LEB)

“Our Father who is in heaven, may your name be treated as holy. ¹⁰ May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Learn about Sukkot and leave behind the gods of this world. With Israel still dispersed in the nations, no priests or temple, we will have to wait until the Millennial kingdom to be able to celebrate properly; however, that does not give us reason to ignore the feasts and turn to feasts of other gods. That is nonsensical. Repent and believe the gospel!

Featured photo by Maja Petric on Unsplash.

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Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice,
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
and to let the oppressed go free,
and tear every yoke to pieces?
 Is it not to break your bread for the hungry?
You must bring home the poor, the homeless.
When you see the naked, you must cover him,
and you must not hide yourself from your relatives.

Isaiah 58:6–7 (LEB)

Yom Kippur starts the evening of October 4th this year and ends the evening of October 5th. A Christian that does not regard this day should really ask themselves “why not?”. Both Judaism and Christianity have their traditions, and Yom Kippur is typically thought of as a “Jewish” holy day; however, it is actually a day commanded by the Father for His people to keep. If one claims to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Yahuah, then why wouldn’t they regard His special days?

Leviticus 23:26–32 (LEB)

²⁶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “Surely the Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of the seventh month; it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall deny yourselves, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh. ²⁸ And you must not do any regular work on this very same day, because it is the Day of Atonement to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God. ²⁹ If there is any person who does not deny himself on this very same day, then he shall be cut off from his people. ³⁰ As for any person who does any work on this very same day, I will exterminate that person from the midst of his people. ³¹ You must not do any work; it is a lasting statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ³² It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening—from evening to evening you must observe your extraordinary Sabbath.”

The oracles of God were handed down to us through Moses and Israel. The gospel has always been that the whole world would be blessed through Abraham’s seed. We know now that this is the Messiah who accomplished this. The oracles of God did not change because of anything Jesus may have done. Anything Jesus, or in Hebrew, Yeshua, did was in perfect agreement with the word given to us through Israel from God, yet Christianity made up their own laws and special days using the special days, traditions and symbols of other gods. Yahuah told us specifically not to do this very thing.

Deuteronomy 12:28–32 (LEB)

²⁸ Be careful to obey all these things that I am commanding you, so that it will go well for you and for your children after you forever, because then you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of Yahweh your God. ²⁹ “When Yahweh your God has cut off the nations whom you are about to go to, to dispossess them before you, and you have dispossessed them, and you live in their land, ³⁰ take care so that you are not ensnared into imitating them after their being destroyed from before you, and so that you not enquire concerning their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods, and thus I myself want to do also.’ ³¹ You must not do so toward Yahweh your God, because of every detestable thing they have done for their gods Yahweh hates, for even their sons and their daughters they would burn in the fire to their gods. ³² All of the things that I am commanding you, you must diligently observe; you shall not add to it, and you shall not take away from it.”

The church leadership in Jerusalem made this Torah command one of the first, most important commands to regard for new converts coming from the pagan religions.

Acts 15:19–21 (LEB)

¹⁹ Therefore I conclude we should not cause difficulty for those from among the Gentiles who turn to God, ²⁰ but we should write a letter to them to abstain from the pollution of idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood. ²¹ For Moses has those who proclaim him in every city from ancient generations, because he is read aloud in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

The intention here was for the new converts to have a starting point. They will learn the entire instructions of God given to Moses eventually “because he is read aloud in the synagogues on every Sabbath”. The intention was that the gentiles would start to observe the Sabbath and learn the words God gave to Moses. Pollution of idols still means do not blend the holy things of God with pagan deities and symbols. These things include evergreen trees, pine cones, mistletoe, holly, eggs and rabbits. These are things that are used to worship other gods and should not be included in the worship of Yahuah. He gives us His own symbols that we can use to honor Him on the days He told us to celebrate. We don’t need to change His days or make up new ones that mirror the pagan holy days and their traditions.

In the religion of Judaism, it is a custom to fast on Yom Kippur. I do not know all of these customs, and how people in that religion observe the day, but I can read the command in Leviticus and it tells us it is a Sabbath and we are to afflict or deny ourselves. The word for afflict or deny is where the fasting tradition comes from. The trappings with this thought process is that one could symbolically fast and put the day in without actually grasping the meaning of the day. The word for deny is “anah” in Hebrew.

Fasting is a way to deny one’s self, but it is not in the meaning of the word. It is a day of solemn reflection. God explains the day through the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 58:3–10 (LEB)

³ ‘Why do we fast, and you do not see it? We humiliate our soul, and you do not notice it?’ Look! You find delight on the day of your fast, and you oppress all your workers! ⁴ Look! You fast to quarrel and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You shall not fast as you do today, to make your voice heard on the height. ⁵ Is the fast I choose like this, a day for humankind to humiliate himself? To bow his head like a reed, and make his bed on sackcloth and ashes; you call this a fast and a day of pleasure to Yahweh? ⁶ Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice, to untie the ropes of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and tear every yoke to pieces? ⁷ Is it not to break your bread for the hungry? You must bring home the poor, the homeless. When you see the naked, you must cover him, and you must not hide yourself from your relatives. ⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall grow quickly. And your salvation shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh will be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am!’ If you remove from among you the yoke, the finger-pointing and evil speech, ¹⁰ if you offer your soul to the hungry, and you satisfy the appetite of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be like noon.

In other words, don’t be a big jerk all of the time then think a fast on Yom Kippur is going to fix everything. I know of people who go to homeless camps on Yom Kippur and ask the people there what they need, then go buy it and bring it to them. One could say that is breaking the Sabbath, but the words in Isaiah, along with our Messiah seem to point in this direction rather than fasting while “oppressing your workers, quarreling, having strife and striking with a wicked fist”.

Yom Kippur also has prophetic implications. Many think this is symbolic of the future judgement day. The ten days between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur are sometimes referred to as the “days of awe”. The seventh and last trumpet will sound on Yom Teruah and the “day of the Lord” will actually be this time leading up to Yom Kippur.

Revelation 11:15–19 (LEB)

¹⁵ And the seventh angel blew the trumpet, and there was a loud voice in heaven saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.” ¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God fell down on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God All-Powerful, the one who is and the one who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. ¹⁸ And the nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to give their reward to your slaves the prophets and to the saints and to the ones who fear your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” 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.

The book of Revelation will be closed to anyone who does not study the words of the prophets. This is why there is so much confusion and millions, if not billions, of dollars in book sales on the subject. Obadiah speaks of the day:

Obadiah 15–18 (LEB)

¹⁵ “For the day of Yahweh is near against all the nations! Just as you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return on your own head. ¹⁶ For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain, all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and they will slurp, and they will be as if they had never been. ¹⁷ But on Mount Zion there will be an escape, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will take possession of their dispossessors. ¹⁸ And the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; and they will set them on fire and will consume them. And there will not be a survivor for the house of Esau,” for Yahweh has spoken.

God’s wrath will happen to the world,  “But on Mount Zion there will be an escape“. Use this Yom Kippur as a day to reflect on your life. Are you obedient to the eternal covenant? When the ark of the covenant appears in the heavenly temple, will you be able to be at peace? It is through the holy Spirit of grace that we are enabled to please the Father, thanks to Yeshua the Messiah. Grace is divine influence of the heart. This is where His laws are written on our hearts. The laws are not “old Jewish laws”, they are the laws of God that He shared with the world through Israel.

Ezekiel 36:24–27 (LEB)

²⁴ “ ‘And I will take you from the nations, and I will gather you from all of the lands, and I will bring you to your land. ²⁵ And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols. ²⁶ And I will give a new heart to you, and a new spirit I will give into your inner parts, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give to you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will give my spirit into your inner parts, and I will make it so that you will go in my rules, and my regulations you will remember, and you will do them.

Learn the ways of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Repent and flee from idolatry!

Featured photo is by BAILEY MAHON on Unsplash.

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Yom Kippur starts the evening of October 4th this year and ends October 5th. A Christian that does not regard this day should really ask themselves “why not?”. Both Judaism and Christianity have their traditions, and Yom Kippur is typically thought of as a “Jewish” holy day; however it is actually a day commanded by the Father for His people to keep. Whether one regards this day or not helps identify the god they serve or do not serve

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You stiff-necked people and uncircumcised in hearts and in your ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit!

Acts 7:51

Anytime subjects such as the Sabbaths or dietary instructions present themselves, the average Christian will sharply reply, “that is the old covenant” or “I am saved by grace and not under the law”. It is as if the Creator made these terrible “laws” for His favourite people, Israel, then required His son to come and die to release His people from these horrible “laws”. How ridiculous does that sound? It is actually a form of Marcionism and what most Christians believe, unfortunately.

Marcion was a second century heretic that taught that Jesus came from a different god than the creator God, Yahuah. The creator god was a mean god who went rogue and the good god had to come as a phantom (in the body of a man) to release the people from this demiurge. Marcion is attributed to labeling the Bible into the New Testament and Old Testament. Much of Marcion’s theology found its way into mainstream Christianity and remains today.

Why does the Christian church get so defensive when claiming to “be saved by grace and not under the law”? What are they scared of? They may have to stop eating swine’s flesh? Wouldn’t that be better for their health? Is there a correlation between following the instructions, or Torah, of the Creator, which were given to Israel to share with the whole world, and a healthy life?

Isaiah 42:5–7 (LEB)

⁵ Thus says the God, Yahweh, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it. ⁶ “I am Yahweh; I have called you in righteousness, and I have grasped your hand and watched over you; and I have given you as a covenant of the people, as a light of the nations, ⁷ to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoner out from the dungeon, those who sit in darkness from the house of imprisonment.

Yahuah’s instructions are the lamp that lights our path.

Psalm 119:103–105 (LEB)

¹⁰³ How smooth are your words to my palate, more than honey in my mouth. ¹⁰⁴ From your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

The Creator of the universe has given us the instructions to live a blessed life through His chosen people, Israel, and Christians view it as an evil thing. This is not a Biblical mindset and it is deception from the enemy to rob people of the blessings built into the fabric of the universe by God.

Acts 7:51–53 (LEB)

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people and uncircumcised in hearts and in your ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so also do you! ⁵² Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, ⁵³ you who received the law by directions of angels and have not observed it!”

Yahuah gave Moses His instructions to share with the people. The “old covenant” is that Israel swore to do them at Mount Horeb. The covenant was sealed with the blood of bulls. The instructions of God were not the covenant, or “old law”. They were the instructions that Israel agreed to. They broke the covenant by not doing the instructions of God. God made covenants with their children who also broke them. The instructions of God are not limited to a covenant with any group of people, they are eternal.

Psalm 119:1–16 (LEB)

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of Yahweh. ² Blessed are those who keep his testimonies; they seek him with a whole heart. ³ They also do no wrong; they walk in his ways. ⁴ You have commanded your precepts, that we should keep them diligently. ⁵ Oh that my ways were steadfast, to keep your statutes! ⁶ Then I would not be ashamed when I look to all your commands. ⁷ I will give you thanks with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous laws. ⁸ I will heed your statutes; do not utterly forsake me. ⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By taking heed according to your word. ¹⁰ With my whole heart I have sought you; do not let me stray from your commands. ¹¹ In my heart I have hidden your word, so that I may not sin against you. ¹² Blessed are you, O Yahweh. Teach me your statutes. ¹³ With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of your mouth. ¹⁴ In the way of your testimonies I have rejoiced as I would over all riches. ¹⁵ I will meditate on your precepts and look at your ways. ¹⁶ I will take delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

Are these words of David no longer true? Putting the laws or instructions of God in a negative light has ruined the church. There is so much confusion with the false teachings of dispensationalism and lawlessness. What laws or instructions do Christians think God said he would write on our hearts? The writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah:

Hebrews 8:10 (LEB)

¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will decree with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I am putting my laws in their minds and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God and they will be my people.

The instructions, “laws”, or “torah”, were shared by God to Israel for them to have a better life. The word “torah” means instructions as well as civil law.

תּוֹרָה n.f. direction, instruction, law — 1. instruction: a. human: of a mother; of a father; of sages; of a poet; תּוֹרָת חֶסֶד kind instruction (of a wise wife). b. divine; through his servants. c. a body of prophetic (or sometimes perh. priestly) teaching; in the heart; myriads of precepts. d. instruction in Messianic age. e. a body of priestly direction or instruction relating to sacred things. 2. law (prop. direction): viz. a. of special laws, sg. of Feast of Maṣṣoth, sabbath; of direction given by priests in partic. case; of statutes of priest’s code; pl. תּוֹרוֹת laws; (of decisions in civil cases given by Moses); the laws of the new temple; those laws in which men should walk. b. of codes of law, (1) התּוֹרָה as written in the code of the covenant; (2) the law of the Deuteronomic code. (3) the law of the Priest’s code. 3. custom, manner: תּוֹרַת הָאָדָם the manner of man, not of God, i.e. deal with me as man with man.

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).

If we seek after the instruction of God we are promised blessings. Why wouldn’t a Christian want to partake in this? I see Christians fighting with nature all of the time and once did it myself. It is the enemy robbing them of their blessing. Will people who continually walk in disobedience to God’s instructions still be saved? I cannot answer that, but I can say I experienced both the blessings and the curses and would prefer the blessings while walking on this Earth.

Deuteronomy 28:1–13 (LEB)

“And it will happen that if you indeed listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to diligently observe all his commandments that I am commanding you today, then Yahweh your God will set you above all the nations of the earth. ² And all of these blessings shall come upon you, and they shall have an effect on you if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God: ³ “You will be blessed in the city, and you will be blessed in the field. ⁴ “Blessed will be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your livestock, the calf of your cattle and the lambs of your flock. ⁵ “Blessed will be your basket and your kneading trough.⁶ “Blessed will you be when you come in and blessed will you be when you go out. ⁷ “Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; on one road they shall come out against you, but on seven roads they shall flee before you. ⁸ Yahweh will command concerning you the blessing to be in your barns and in all your endeavors; and he will bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you. ⁹ Yahweh will establish you for himself as a holy people as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and you walk in his ways. ¹⁰ And all of the peoples of the earth shall see that by the name of Yahweh you are called, and they shall fear you. ¹¹ And Yahweh will make you successful and prosperous, in the fruit of your womb and on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors to give to you. ¹² Yahweh shall open for you his rich storehouse, even the heavens, to give the rain for your land in its time and to bless all of the work of your hand, and you will lend to many nations; you will not borrow from them. ¹³ And Yahweh shall make you as head and not the tail, and you shall be only at the top of the nations, and you shall not be at the bottom, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you today and diligently observe them.

Why wouldn’t Christians want to partake in these blessings? From observation, I know that most Christians do not experience these blessings. Why not try following the instructions God gave through Israel that He said He would write on our hearts? Writing them on our hearts is not a magical process. It means in the new covenant, with new people, He would give us His spirit to enable us to do these things. If we reject the Spirit of grace He gave to us and willfully ignore His instructions, can we expect anything different than the promised curses?

Deuteronomy 28:15–46 (LEB)

¹⁵ “ 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: ¹⁶ “You shall be cursed in the city, and you shall be cursed in the field. ¹⁷ “Your basket shall be cursed and your kneading trough. ¹⁸ “The fruit of your womb shall be cursed and the fruit of your ground, the calves of your cattle and the lambs of your flock. ¹⁹ “You shall be cursed when you come in, and you shall be cursed when you go out.

²⁰ “Yahweh will send upon you the curse, the panic, and the threat in everything that you undertake, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly because of the evil of your deeds in that you have forsaken me. ²¹ Yahweh will cause the plague to cling to you until it consumes you from the land that you are going to, to take possession of it. ²² Yahweh will afflict you with the wasting diseases and with the fever and with the inflammation and with the scorching heat and with the sword and with the blight and with the mildew, and they shall pursue you until you perish. ²³ And your heavens that are over your heads shall be like bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be like iron. ²⁴ Yahweh will change the rain of your land to fine dust and to sand; from the heaven it shall come down upon you until you are destroyed.

²⁵ “Yahweh shall cause you to be defeated _⌊before_⌋ your enemies; on one road you shall go against them, but you will flee on seven roads before them, and you shall become a thing of horror to all of the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ And your dead bodies shall be as food for all of the birds of the heaven and to the animals of the earth, and there shall not be anyone to frighten them away.

²⁷ “Yahweh shall afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scurvy and with the skin rash that cannot be healed. ²⁸ Yahweh shall afflict you with madness and with blindness and with confusion of heart. ²⁹ And you shall be groping at noon just as the blind person gropes in the dark, and you shall not succeed in finding your way, and you shall only be abused and robbed all the time, and there will not be anyone who will rescue you. ³⁰ You shall become engaged to a woman, but another man shall sleep with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not live in it; a vineyard you shall plant, but you shall not enjoy it. ³¹ Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, and you shall not eat it; your donkey shall be stolen right before you, and it shall not be returned to you; your sheep and your goats shall be given to your enemies, and there shall not be anyone who rescues you. ³² Your sons and your daughters shall be given to other people, and you will be looking on longingly for them all day, but you will be powerless to do anything. ³³ A people that you do not know shall consume the harvest of your land and all your labor, and you will be only oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives. ³⁴ You shall become mad because of what your eyes shall see. ³⁵ Yahweh shall strike you with grievous boils on the knees and on the upper thighs from which you will not be able to be healed, from the sole of your foot and up to your crown. ³⁶ Yahweh will bring you and your king whom you set up over you to a nation that you or your ancestors have not known, and there you will serve other gods of wood and stone. ³⁷ And you will become a horror and a proverb and ridicule among all the peoples where Yahweh drives you there.

³⁸ “You shall carry out much seed to the field, but you shall gather little produce, for the locust shall devour it. ³⁹ You shall plant vineyards and you shall dress them, but you shall not drink wine and you shall not gather grapes, for the worm shall eat it. ⁴⁰ There shall be olive trees for you in all of your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself, for your olives shall drop off. ⁴¹You shall bear sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity. ⁴² The cricket shall take possession of all your trees and the fruit of your ground. ⁴³ The alien that is in your midst shall ascend over you, higher and higher, but you shall go down lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, but you shall be the tail.

⁴⁵ “And all of these curses shall come over you, and they shall pursue you, and they shall overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, by observing his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. ⁴⁶ And they shall be among you as a sign and as a wonder and among your offspring forever.

Many of us are unknowingly descendants of the twelve tribes due to the dispersion or scattering of Israel throughout the nations. At the very least, if we follow Yahuah, we are spiritual children of Israel. “And they shall be among you as a sign and as a wonder and among your offspring forever” . From observations, I know many Christians are living with some of these curses on a daily basis. Is it because of their stiff necked, hardened heart? Why not try keeping the sabbaths of the Creator, and following some of His other instructions just to try out the theory? Is your heart too hard? This is for the here and now, not for just a group of people that lived 3500 years ago.

Deuteronomy 4:27–31 (LEB)

²⁷ And Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations to where Yahweh will lead you. ²⁸ And you will there serve gods made by human hands, of wood and stone, gods that cannot see and cannot hear and cannot eat and cannot smell. ²⁹ But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. ³⁰ In your distress when all these things have found you in the latter days, then you will return to Yahweh your God, and you will listen to his voice. ³¹ For Yahweh your God is a compassionate God; he will not abandon you, and he will not destroy you, and he will not forget the covenant of your ancestors that he swore to them.

James wrote to this same group of people:

James 1:1 (LEB)

1 James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. Greetings!

As did Peter:

1 Peter 1:1–2 (LEB)

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen who are residing temporarily in the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Yeshua, called Jesus by the Christian church, knew how important the instruction of His Father was and told us.

Matthew 19:16–17 (LEB)

¹⁶ And behold, someone came up to him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do so that I will have eternal life?” ¹⁷ And he said to him, “Why are you asking me about what is good? There is one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments!”

John 12:49–50 (LEB)

⁴⁹ For I have not spoken from myself, but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So the things that I say, just as the Father said to me, thus I say.”

Yeshua is the living word of God in flesh. That means Yeshua is the instruction or torah of God. He is the lamp that lights our feet, the way and the truth just as the instruction of God is these things. They are the same.

Do you just regurgitate what you have been told by religious leaders and doctrine? Do you go silent when presented with something that challenges what you have been told all your life? If one really knows what they believe it should be easy discussing it with someone else. Learn your identity. Repent and follow God’s instructions to live a blessed life! Psalm 119:165 (LEB) “Great peace is for those who love your law, and they do not have a cause for stumbling”.

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The Feast of Trumpets
 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a rest period, a remembrance of the trumpet blast, a holy assembly. You must not do any regular work, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh.’ ”

Leviticus 23:23–25 (LEB)

Tomorrow is Yom Teruah which is the Feast of Trumpets. The command for this fall feast day is to simply blow trumpets or more appropriately, the ram’s horn shofar, don’t do any regular work and make a joyful noise. It is the only feast day that has very little assigned to it, and many believe it has prophetic implications.

Numbers 29:1 (LEB)

29:1 “ ‘On the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you will have a holy convocation; you will not do any regular work. It will be a day for you of blowing trumpets.

The word in Numbers 29:1 translated as “blowing trumpets” is Teruah.

We can see that it is also a day of shouts of joy, being joyful and sounding the alarm.

Joel 2:1–2 (LEB)

2 Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of Yahweh is coming —it is indeed near. ² A day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness,like the dawn spreads on the mountains, a great and strong army! There has been nothing like it from old, and after it nothing will be again for generations to come.

Scripture is consistent with the “Day of the LORD” involving trumpet blowing. The serpent will be dealt a final death blow.

Isaiah 27:1 (LEB)

27 On that day, Yahweh will punish with his cruel, great and strong sword Leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and Leviathan, the twisting serpent, and he will kill the sea monster that is in the sea.

Isaiah 27:12–13 (LEB)

¹² And this shall happen: on that day, Yahweh will thresh from the floodwaters of the Euphrates to the wadi of Egypt, and as for you, you will be gathered one by one, sons of Israel. ¹³ And this shall happen: on that day, a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria will come, and those who were scattered in the land of Egypt, and they will bow down to Yahweh on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Zephaniah 1:14–18 (LEB)

¹⁴ The great day of Yahweh draws near; it is near and coming very swiftly. The sound of the day of Yahweh is bitterness; there, a warrior cries out! ¹⁵ That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of disaster and ruination, a day of darkness and deep gloom, a day of clouds and thick clouds, ¹⁶ a day of trumpet and trumpet blast against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers.¹⁷ And I will bring distress to all humankind, and they shall walk about like the blind, for they sinned against Yahweh; their blood shall be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung. ¹⁸ Moreover, their silver and their gold will not be able to save them on the day of the wrath of Yahweh. And in the fire of his zeal, the whole land shall be consumed, for a terrifying end he shall make for all the inhabitants of the land.

Even Yeshua echoes the prophets speaking about the day with a loud trumpet call and gathering his people. It will be a good day for those who fear the Creator, but for the rest of humanity it will not be a good day. There will be no atheists on that day.

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.

Yeshua, transliterated to Jesus, was thought to be born during the fall feasts. His English name is Joshua. “Jesus” comes from the the Greek form of Iesous. There was no letter “J” in Hebrew or Greek, and the first letter of his name in Hebrew corresponds with the letter “Y” in the English alphabet, not “J”.

Ἰησοῦς
Iēsous, n.p., Joshua. 280× +NT +AF

Hebrew Alignment
יְהוֹשׁוּעַ—Joshua

The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Septuagint (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).

Paul continues with the concept of serious things happening at the blowing of the trumpet. In his first letter to the Corinthians he speaks of the resurrection happening at the last trumpet.

1 Corinthians 15:52–53 (LEB)

⁵² in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For it is necessary for this perishable body to put on incorruptibility, and this mortal body to put on immortality.

Paul tells the Thessalonians the same thing.

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (LEB)

¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who remain, will be snatched away at the same time together with them in the clouds for a meeting with the Lord in the air, and thus we will be together with the Lord always.

We are told about the last trumpet in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 11:15–19 (LEB)

¹⁵ And the seventh angel blew the trumpet, and there was a loud voice in heaven saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.” ¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God fell down on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God All-Powerful, the one who is and the one who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. ¹⁸ And the nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to give their reward to your slaves the prophets and to the saints and to the ones who fear your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” 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.

It is interesting that we see the ark of the covenant appearing in the heavenly temple on this day. The significance of the ark of the covenant being shown at this time is that is where the tablets with the Ten Commandments were held in the earthly copy of the ark. I am sure God’s copy of the covenant is right there in the heavenly ark of the covenant and it is what He will use to judge the world. Have a restful Sabbath tomorrow and make some joyful noises. Repent and believe the gospel!

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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, 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.

Hebrews 13:20–21 (LEB)

What is the eternal covenant which is spoken about by the writer of Hebrews and the prophet Isaiah? In Isaiah, the people of the world have broken this covenant causing the Creator to come out of His place to destroy them. It may be a good idea to learn about this everlasting covenant.

Isaiah 24:1–6 (LEB)

24 Look! Yahweh is about to lay the earth waste and is about to devastate it, and he will twist her surface, and he will scatter her inhabitants. ² And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the female slave, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the one to whom he lends. ³ The earth shall be utterly laid waste, and it shall be utterly plundered, for Yahweh has spoken this word. ⁴ The earth dries up, it withers; the world languishes, it withers. The elevated of the people of the earth languish, ⁵ and the earth is defiled beneath its inhabitants. For they have transgressed laws; they have passed by statutes; they have broken the everlasting covenant. ⁶ Therefore a curse devours the earth, and the inhabitants in it suffer for their guilt. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth burn, and few men are left.

Israel was pulled from out of the nations to be a special people. The Creator gave Israel all of His laws, ordinances and statues showing how to live a successful life pleasing to Him. They were going to be a nation that other nations admired and would want to be like because of the secrets of the universe that they possessed.

Deuteronomy 4:6–8 (LEB)

⁶ And you must observe them diligently, for that is your wisdom and your insight before the eyes of the people, who will hear all of these rules, and they will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people.’ ⁷ For what great nation has for it a god near to it as Yahweh our God, whenever we call upon him? ⁸ And what other great nation has for it just rules and regulations just like this whole law that I am setting before you today?

Christians call God’s laws a “ministry of death”, which shows the deception that has been handed down and the willful ignorance that exists today. Israel was to be a light to the nations and share all of God’s goodness with the nations of the world. This has been accomplished through the Messiah.

Isaiah 49:6 (LEB)

⁶ And he says, “It is trivial for you to be a servant for me, to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. I will give you as a light to the nations, to be my salvation to the end of the earth.”

The eternal covenant was with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but it was about much more than just acquiring land. We see the language of every instruction the Creator gave through Moses and how it would be forever. Forever isn’t just an age as dispensational theology claims. We are not conveniently in the “age of grace” now able to disregard everything Yahuah said was forever.

Deuteronomy 5:29 (LEB)

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.

Exodus 31:16–17 (LEB)

¹⁶ The Israelites will pay attention to the Sabbath in order to fulfill the Sabbath throughout their generations as a lasting covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between me and the Israelites forever, because in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh he ceased and recovered.”

The Sabbath is a sign that is forever and part of the eternal covenant. For those who say “that was just for the Jews”, or ancient Israelites, that lie is put to rest in Isaiah.

Isaiah 56:6–7 (LEB)

⁶ And the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh to serve him and to love the name of Yahweh, to become his servants, every one who keeps the Sabbath, so as not to profane it, and those who keep hold of my covenant, ⁷ I will bring them to my holy mountain; I will make them merry in my house of prayer. their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,”

God knew from the beginning that Israel would break the covenant and He would scatter them for disobedience. The good news or “gospel” is that they would return, and through the process the whole world would be able to enter the covenant with Yahuah. This is what we call the “new” covenant in which the process was enabled by Yeshua (Jesus). This is where God writes His laws on our hearts.

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.

Yeshua enables us to covenant with the Father and keep the terms of the covenant. There are terms to the covenant. They are the same terms Yahuah has always presented. When speaking of the coming of John the immerser and Messiah, the prophet Malachi makes this point.

Malachi 4:1–6 (LEB)

“For look! The day is about to come, burning like an oven, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says Yahweh of hosts. “It will not leave behind for them root or branch. ² But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like fattened calves. ³ You will trample down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am going to act,” says Yahweh of hosts.

⁴ “Remember the instruction of my servant Moses, which I commanded him at Horeb to all Israel, the rules and regulations. ⁵ Look! I am going to send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh! ⁶ And he will bring back the hearts of the fathers to the sons, and the hearts of the sons to their fathers, so that I will not come and strike the land with a ban.”

“The arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble” is talking about those who do not revere the name of Yahuah and ignore all of His righteous instructions. This is the eternal covenant. The good news is we can all be a part of it now and it is not limited to the physical descendants of Israel. Grace is what enables us to be a part and please the Father. Grace is not a license to ignore the terms of the covenant. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology speaks about how the word “grace” is used in the book of Acts.

(b) In Acts, grace is that power which flows from God or from the exalted Christ, and accompanies the activity of the apostles giving success to their mission (Acts 6:8; 11:23; 14:26; 15:40; 18:27). It appears in “the word of grace” which is identical with the → gospel (13:43; 20:24). The Lord himself confirms it (14:3). It is that which enables men to believe (18:27).

H. H.-Esser, “Grace, Spiritual Gifts,” ed. Lothar Coenen, Erich Beyreuther, and Hans Bietenhard, New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), 119.

I believe this captures the essence of the role of grace in regards to the eternal or “new” covenant. Grace is the divine influence on the heart, the spirit of grace, which enables us to please the Father. Do not insult the spirit of grace. This is similar to “blaspheming the Holy Spirit”.

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?

Sin is the transgression of the law. The law was given to the world through Israel. The Messiah enabled the entire world to be eligible to be in covenant with the God of Israel and Creator of the universe through his high priestly sacrifice on the heavenly tabernacle altar. It is not that hard when one removes the lies that “the law has been done away with” or “that is for the Jews” the enemy has been telling the church for hundreds of years.

1 John 2:3–6 (LEB)

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.

1 John 3:4–10 (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. ⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you: the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as that one is righteous. ⁸ The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this reason the Son of God was revealed: in order to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Everyone who is fathered by God does not practice sin, because his seed resides in him, and he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. ¹⁰ By this the children of God and the children of the devil are evident: everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, namely, the one who does not love his brother.

Sadly, most people in the world reject the Messiah, what he said and the eternal covenant. Even Christians unknowingly reject the Messiah by creating new laws, rejecting His laws, making new holy days shared with pagan deities, a new special day of the week , a new name “LORD” and a new people group. They call Yahuah’s righteous instructions a “ministry of death” and a curse, when this same Word came in the flesh as Messiah Yeshua. What is the Word of God if it is not His holy words given through Israel? Yeshua made the comparison.

John 14:6 (LEB)

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Psalm 119:142 (LEB)

¹⁴² Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your law is truth.

Psalm 119:151 (LEB)

¹⁵¹ You are near, O Yahweh, and all your commands are truth.

Psalm 119:29–32 (LEB)

²⁹ Remove from me the deceptive way, and graciously give me your law. ³⁰ I have chosen the faithful way; I have set your ordinances before me. ³¹ I cling to your testimonies; O Yahweh, do not let me be put to shame. ³² I will run the way of your commands, for you will enlarge my heart.

Psalm 19:7 (LEB)

⁷ The law of Yahweh is perfect, reviving life. The testimony of Yahweh is firm, making wise the simple.

With all of the deceptions injected into the gospel, it is hard to see that Yeshua is the same light, truth, life and way of the commands and laws of Yahuah. Anyone who desires truth and seeks Yahuah with all of their heart will be able to see clearly. Sadly, many are happy where they are spiritually and content to live as they are told every Sunday morning without ever searching these matters out for themself. Repent and believe the gospel! John 17:17 (LEB), “Sanctify them in the truth—your word is truth”.

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And he also told them a parable: “Surely a blind person cannot lead the blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?

Luke 6:39 (LEB)

Many Christians believe in a pretribulation rapture happening before a seven year period called the “tribulation” where the “church” is taken off the Earth before the so-called antichrist is revealed. In this belief system the “restrainer”, spoken about in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, is assigned to the Holy Spirit and is removed from the Earth with the church. The Jews are then left with the remaining population to endure the reign of the antichrist and the prophecies of the Old Testament now pick up again after they were paused during the “age of grace” between the cross and the rapture of the church.

I am not going to necessarily argue against this theology because it causes many believers to be driven into a defensive mindset at the very least, all the way to immediate rage. Rather, I would like to objectively look at where this belief system originated. The following is from the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Clearly Paul is describing a majestic coming, a coming to rule and not as at Christ’s first coming, a coming to serve. He goes on to speak of living believers as caught up to meet the coming Lord in the air. Traditionally this has been understood to mean that Paul is speaking of the end of this life as we know it and the ushering in of the final state of affairs.
But some Christians have seen in the words a secret rapture (“rapture” is from the Latin raptus, “seized,” “carried off”), wherein believers are caught up secretly out of this life and taken to be with the Lord while earthly life goes on without them for the rest of the human race. Pretribulationists hold that there follows a period of tribulation for those remaining on earth (Matt. 24), which will last for a thousand years (Rev. 20:5). Midtribulationists think that the church will experience three and a half years of the tribulation before being raptured (citing Dan. 7:25, etc.). Posttribulationists hold that the church will remain on earth throughout the tribulation and that the return of Christ is after that. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that some have been far too confident in the way they interpret some difficult scriptural passages. That Christ will return at the end of the age, bringing “those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thess. 4:14) and that living believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air is clearly taught (1 Thess. 4:17). So is the fact that all this will be public and open, for the Lord will come “with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (1 Thess. 4:16). But we must exercise care in the way we go beyond these words and in our attempts to relate them to other scriptural passages. Whichever way we interpret the difficult passages we must bear in mind Jesus’ exhortation to his followers to watch (Matt. 24:42).

Leon L. Morris, “Second Coming of Christ,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, electronic ed., Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 721.

The futurist eschatology is ascribed to an arm of the Catholic church to counter the protestant reformation. Under traditional theology, the pope and Catholic church were looking similar to the antichrist and beast system to the reformers, and the church needed a way to deflect this negative image that was spreading rapidly.

Francisco Ribera was a Jesuit priest that proposed the futurist view that most evangelicals believe today. It was rejected by reformers, but through John Nelson Darby and C.I. Scofield, it spread like wild fire through the twentieth century in America. This is in part due to the Scofield Reference Bible. Scofield inserted these futurist views into the commentary notes of his study Bible that were used by evangelical seminaries throughout the United States. The Dallas Theological Seminary, who produced teachers such as David Jeremiah and Hal Lindsey, was one of the leading seminaries to put forth the dispensational and futurism theologies.

In most cases, evangelical Christians are blindly lead into this view as the only way to interpret scripture when considering end times, even though it is a relatively new way to view scripture. It feeds well into the politics of the United States with the nation state of Israel, because many people are waiting for a third temple to be built in Israel due to these futuristic interpretations. Evangelist John Hagee has used the futurist view of end times prophecy to unite evangelicals with the politics of the United States and Israel. This may be all with good intentions, but one should know the source ultimately comes from a Jesuit priest and a lawyer turned theologian, namely C.I. Scofield.

These views of the pretribulation rapture, seven year tribulation with the antichrist rising in the middle of the seven years, come from an interpretation of Daniel that inserts a gap of over two thousand years between verses 25 and 27 of Daniel chapter nine.

Daniel 9:25–27 (LEB)

²⁵ And you must know and you must understand that from the time of the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem until an anointed one—a leader—will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be restored and will be built with streets and a moat, but in a time of oppression.

²⁶ “And after the sixty and two weeks an anointed one shall be cut off, and he shall have nothing, and the people of the coming leader will destroy the city and the sanctuary, and its end will be with the flood and on to the end there shall be war; these desolations are determined. ²⁷ And he will make a strong covenant with the many for one week, but in half of the week he will let cease sacrifice and offering and in its place a desolating abomination comes even until the determined complete destruction is poured out on the desolator.”

Verse 25 is clearly talking about the Messiah, or anointed one, who came in a time of oppression, that is the oppression of the Roman Empire. However, with the futurist and dispensational view, verse 27 switches and is now talking about the antichrist figure over two thousand years after the Messiah in verse 25. This is a poor way to interpret scripture. Verse 27 traditionally was still talking about the Messiah who made a strong covenant and ended the sacrifice in the temple. A few years later in 70AD the temple was completely destroyed.

The “time, times and half a time” is used with the three and a half year time line. There is a lot of ambiguity in these translations. First, an example of the “time, times and half a time” in the English Standard Version translation of the Bible.

Daniel 12:5–8 (ESV)

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. ⁶ And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” ⁷ And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.

In the Lexham English translation these words are translated to “appointed time, appointed times and half an appointed time”.

Daniel 12:5–8 (LEB)

⁵ Then I looked, I myself, Daniel, and look, there were two others standing: one on this bank of the stream and one on the other. ⁶ Then he said to the man who was clothed in linen who was above the water of the stream, “How long until the end of the wonders?” ⁷ And I heard the man who was clothed in linen who was above the water of the stream, and he raised his right hand and his left hand to heaven and he swore by the one who lives forever that an appointed time, appointed times, and half an appointed time would pass when the shattering of the power of the holy people would be completed; then all these things will be accomplished.

What Hebrew, or in the case of Daniel, Aramaic words, are we getting these English words that the futuristic, dispensational view of end times events are founded upon? It is Strong’s H4150:

H4150
מועדה / מעד / מועד
mô‛êd / mô‛êd / mô‛âdâh
BDB Definition:
1) appointed place, appointed time, meeting
1a) appointed time
1a1) appointed time (general)
1a2) sacred season, set feast, appointed season
1b) appointed meeting
1c) appointed place
1d) appointed sign or signal
1e) tent of meeting

The “half” in “half a time” is Strong’s H2677:

H2677
חצי
chêtsı̂y
BDB Definition:
1) half
1a) half
1b) middle

The point is that these scriptures have been manipulated a certain way to create the futurist, dispensational view of the end times. Someone as creative as John Nelson Darby could easily manipulate these scriptures into another story. Much of Christianity has been lead into believing Walt Disney style theology, unfortunately. There have been also millions of dollars of book sales making modern “prophets” quite wealthy. This alone should send out red flags to true students of the scriptures.

What does the Bible say about prophesying in the name of the Creator and making merchandise of people? It is actually prophecy itself.

2 Peter 2:1–3 (LEB)

2 But there were also false prophets among the people, as there will be false teachers among you also, who will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, thus bringing on themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their licentious ways, because of whom the way of truth will be reviled. ³ And in greediness they will exploit you with false words, whose condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Exploiting sincere people by selling them books with “the answer” to biblical prophecy or cheap trinkets for donations is certainly what happens in many ministries. I do not believe the Creator needs gimmicks, and there will be a price for all of this. Playing on people’s emotions regarding end times is also a trait of many ministries. People are convinced the Bible backs their views of a rapture, whatever that may be, without studying the whole matter, and possibly never reading and studying for themselves.

Jeremiah 23:16–18 (LEB)

¹⁶ Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “You must not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are deluding you with visions of their mind, They do not speak from the mouth of Yahweh. ¹⁷ They are continually saying to those who disregard the word of Yahweh, ‘Peace it will be to you,’ and to each one who walks in the stubbornness of his heart they say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’ ¹⁸ For who has stood in the council of Yahweh, that he has seen and heard his word? Who has listened attentively to his word and heard it?

Is this not the teaching we have today? “Disregard the words of Yahweh” is the same as saying “those are the old laws of the Jews, we are in the age of grace and need not be concerned about them”. “Calamity will not come to you” is similar to saying everyone who is breaking all the commandments in the church is going to be whisked away in the nick of time to some ethereal place on the rapture bus and the Jews will be left behind to deal with the antichrist in the time of Jacob’s trouble. The rapture bus is looking like it could have a few flat tires according to scripture.

Amos 5:18–24 (LEB)

¹⁸ Alas, those who desire the day of Yahweh, why is this for you the day of Yahweh? It will be darkness and not light! ¹⁹ It will be as if a man fled from a lion and a bear met him; or he went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall and a snake bit him. ²⁰ Is not the day of Yahweh darkness and not light, and pitch dark with no brightness in it? ²¹ “I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your assemblies. ²² Yes, even if you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them, and I will not look at the fellowship offerings of your fattened animals. ²³ Remove from me the noise of your songs, and I do not want to hear the melody of your harps! ²⁴ But let justice roll on like the water, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Desiring the day of Yahweh is exactly what the church is doing today. Yahweh goes on to say He hates your festivals and has no delight in your assemblies. Could this be speaking to the church today about all the false festivals they celebrate neglecting the commands of God for their traditions of pagan deities? Israel did the same thing the church is doing. They mixed up their religion with gods of others. He calls your worship band rock and roll concerts noise and does not want to hear the melody of your harps. It is a terrible situation. He destroyed Israel for the same things the church does today.

Study the scriptures for yourself using the entire Bible. Revelation quotes the Old Testament many times. Without studying the Old Testament it is impossible to understand the New Testament. This is the way Christianity has become a new religion, seemingly with a different God than the God of the Old Testament.

Featured photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash.

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And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth.

John 1:14

The fall feast days start soon and what better time to celebrate the birth of our Messiah? There are many reasons to believe Jesus was born on Yom Teruah or during Sukkoth. The fall feasts consist of Yom Teruah (day of trumpets), Yom Kippur (day of atonement), Sukkoth(tabernacles) and Shemini Atzeret (the great day). These days are not hard to celebrate and will be celebrated in the Millennium kingdom, so why not start learning and practicing now?

Leviticus 23:23–38 (LEB)

The Feast of Trumpets

²³ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a rest period, a remembrance of the trumpet blast, a holy assembly. ²⁵ You must not do any regular work, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh.’ ”

The Day of Atonement

²⁶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “Surely the Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of the seventh month; it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall deny yourselves, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh. ²⁸ And you must not do any regular work on this very same day, because it is the Day of Atonement to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God. ²⁹ If there is any person who does not deny himself on this very same day, then he shall be cut off from his people. ³⁰ As for any person who does any work on this very same day, I will exterminate that person from the midst of his people. ³¹ You must not do any work; it is a lasting statute_⌋ throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ³² It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening—from evening to evening you must observe your extraordinary Sabbath.”

The Feast of Booths

³³ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴ “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, this shall be the Feast of Booths for seven days for Yahweh. ³⁵ On the first day there shall be a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work. ³⁶ For seven days you must present an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh; it is a celebration; you must not do any regular work.

³⁷ “ ‘These are Yahweh’s festivals, which you must proclaim, holy assemblies to present an offering made by fire to Yahweh—burnt offering and grain offering, sacrifice and libations, each on its proper day— ³⁸ besides Yahweh’s Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides your vows and besides all your freewill offerings that you give to Yahweh.

One of the biggest mistakes that Christendom has made is the belief that these feasts, such as Sukkoth, are only for the “Jews”. Lev 23:37, “These are Yahweh’s festivals”. One could argue that the term “Jew” did not even exist when these feasts were proclaimed. Christendom also failed to recognize being grafted into the natural olive tree puts a person in the commonwealth of Israel. We were once alienated, but now we are brought near as the Israel of God. There is no such thing as a gentile Christian. One is either a gentile, which means “from the nations” and alienated form God, or part of the commonwealth of Israel.

Ephesians 2:11–13 (LEB)

¹¹ Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, the so-called uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision in the flesh, made by hands, 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.

Jesus, or in Hebrew, Yeshua, only did what was pleasing to His Father, Yahweh. If someone doesn’t believe that they are grafted in to Israel and no longer a gentile, then it makes sense that they would not do the things of Yahweh. Yahweh is the name the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob gave to His people. Christendom changed His special day, the Sabbath, to a different day, changed His special holidays to those of foreign gods (Halloween, Christmas and Easter), changed his name to the generic term “Lord”, changed his commandments and changed the people group from the commonwealth of Israel to simply the “church”, with a completely different identity than Israel. With all these changes it begs the question if they are worshiping Yahweh, or another god. They have disassociated themselves from Yahweh. Who is your god? Is it the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or another god? Do you follow His instructions and His special days, or those of different gods and demi-gods?

John 8:25–30 (LEB)

²⁵ So they began to say to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I have been saying to you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but the one who sent me is true, and the things which I heard from him, these things I say to the world.” ²⁷ (They did not know that he was speaking to them about the Father.) ²⁸ Then Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will recognize that I am he, and I do nothing from myself, but just as the Father taught me, I say these things. ²⁹ And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” ³⁰ While he was saying these things, many believed in him.

Having a birthday celebration on the day of the birth of the sun god, Mithra, or changing the Sabbath to the venerable day of the sun, does not please the Father; therefore, there is no way Yeshua would sanction either of these. This is why these things are not found in scripture. By understanding the feasts and scripture, we know Yeshua was not crucified on Friday and did not rise from the dead on Sunday. This is simply a myth to fit the account to honor the goddesses Venus (Freya) and Ishtar (Easter), and sun god Mithra (Saturn). It is only through the twisting of scripture that people have fallen for these things. Once the feasts of Yahweh are understood, scripture clearly shows the Messiah, Yeshua, was crucified on a Wednesday and rose at the end of the Sabbath, Saturday. These are hard words unless a person immerses themselves in scripture, becomes obedient and asks to be shown the truth.

Deuteronomy 12:29–32 (LEB)

²⁹ “When Yahweh your God has cut off the nations whom you are about to go to, to dispossess them before you, and you have dispossessed them, and you live in their land, ³⁰ take care so that you are not ensnared into imitating them after their being destroyed from before you, and so that you not enquire concerning their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods, and thus I myself want to do also.’ ³¹ You must not do so toward Yahweh your God, because of every detestable thing they have done for their gods Yahweh hates, for even their sons and their daughters they would burn in the fire to their gods. ³² All of the things that I am commanding you, you must diligently observe; you shall not add to it, and you shall not take away from it.”

The early church leaders reinforced the Deuteronomy 12 instructions by telling the new pagan converts to give up their things that are polluted by idols. It obviously didn’t work because pagan idolatry over took the church.

Acts 15:19–21 (LEB)

¹⁹ Therefore I conclude we should not cause difficulty for those from among the Gentiles who turn to God, ²⁰ but we should write a letter to them to abstain from the pollution of idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood. ²¹ For Moses has those who proclaim him in every city from ancient generations, because he is read aloud in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

Peter continues with this messaging. Being “ransomed by the futile ways of your forefathers” and “do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance” is talking about pagan idolatry. Replacing Yahweh’s holidays with those blended with foreign gods and their traditions, is the same thing Peter was speaking about in his letter to the dispersion. The house of Israel was separated from Yahweh for doing these things. Yeshua made a way for them to come back, and many never did. They simply blended their pagan traditions with some new religion later to come under the name of Christianity. We have inherited these lies from our forefathers, just as Peter indicates.

1 Peter 1:13–19 (LEB)

¹³ Therefore, when you have prepared your minds for action by being self-controlled, put your hope completely in the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former desires you used to conform to in your ignorance, ¹⁵ but as the one who called you is holy, you yourselves be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ for it is written, “You will be holy, because I am holy.”  ¹⁷ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves with fear during the time of your temporary residence, ¹⁸ because you know that you were redeemed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb

There is an argument that today we are not even able legitimately to observe the feast of Sukkoth. In Deuteronomy, it says to appear where Yahweh chooses.

Deuteronomy 16:16–17 (LEB)

¹⁶ Three times in the year all of your males shall appear before Yahweh your God at the place that he will choose, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before Yahweh empty-handed. ¹⁷ Each person shall give as he is able, that is, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you.

Whether we believe we should keep Sukkoth by living in temporary dwellings, based on these scriptures or not, does not give us a license to make up new holidays on the holy days of foreign gods. It is a good practice to learn the feasts and remember what Yahweh did for His people, along with the future hope we have. It is especially easy to keep a Sabbath, have a day of reflection or blow a trumpet anywhere in the world.

Yeshua kept the feasts and prophecy was fulfilled during the spring feasts. It is likely the fall feasts will play a large role in end times prophecy.

John 7:1–10 (LEB)

7 And after these things Jesus was going about in Galilee. For he did not want to go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. ² Now the feast of the Jews—the feast of Tabernacles—was near. ³ So his brothers said to him, “Depart from here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also can see your works that you are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret and yet he himself desires to be publicly recognized. If you are doing these things, reveal yourself to the world!” ⁵ (For not even his brothers believed in him.) ⁶ So Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it, that its deeds are evil. ⁸ You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, because my time is not yet completed. ⁹ And when he had said these things, he remained in Galilee. ¹⁰ But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not openly, but (as it were) in secret.

Yahweh tells us through the prophet Hosea that Ephraim will have to dwell in tents again. This is what is referred to as the second Exodus. It is all through scripture where Yahweh will deliver His people in the end times. Ephraim is another name for the house of Israel, who was dispersed into the nations.

Hosea 12:5–9 (LEB)

⁵ Yahweh the God of hosts, Yahweh is his renowned name! ⁶ But you, you must return to your God; keep love and justice, and wait continually for your God. ⁷ The trader, in his hand are scales of deceit; he loves to oppress. ⁸ And Ephraim said, “Surely, I am rich, I gained wealth for myself; in all my toil they have not found guilt in me that is sin. ⁹ But I am Yahweh your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, like the days of the appointed festival.

This time that Yahweh is referring to does not look like it is in the distant future either. It will be such a great event that we will not even talk about the first Exodus. This has not happened yet because we are still talking about the first Exodus.

Jeremiah 23:5–8 (LEB)

⁵ “Look, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he will reign as king, and he will achieve success, and he will do justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell in safety, and this is his name by which he will be called: ‘Yahweh is our righteousness.’ ⁷ “Therefore look, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when they will no longer say, ‘As Yahweh lives, who led up the Israelites from the land of Egypt,’ ⁸ but ‘As Yahweh lives, who led up, and who brought the offspring of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where he had driven them.’ Then they will live in their land.”

This is possibly speaking of the event Yeshua told us about.

Matthew 24:29–31 (LEB)

²⁹ “And immediately after the tribulation of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.’ 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.

One thing is for certain, everyone that is part of the millennium kingdom will be keeping this feast, or they will not get rain. This takes place after the great day of Yahweh.

Zechariah 14:16–21 (LEB)

¹⁶ And then every survivor from all those nations coming against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths. ¹⁷ And then whoever of the clans of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, it will not rain on them. ¹⁸ And if the clan of Egypt will not go up and come in, on them will be that plague Yahweh inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. ¹⁹ This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. ²⁰ On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to Yahweh.” And the cooking pots in the house of Yahweh will be holy like the sacrificial basins before the altar. ²¹ And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts, and all those who sacrifice will come and will take from them, and will cook in them, and there will be no longer a trader in the house of Yahweh of hosts on that day.

Learn the feasts of Yahweh, knowing they are a shadow of things to come, or a remembrance of events that have happened. The fall feasts all point to future prophecies that have not been fulfilled. Remember what Yahweh has done and the hope we have of a future kingdom where we will be keeping the feasts as intended. Repent and leave behind the pagan idolatry we inherited from our forefathers, and follow Yahweh’s instructions!

By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome

1 John 5:2–3 (LEB)

People have reminded me at times that teachers and instructors will be held accountable and maybe I should not speak about the things that I do. It is true I do not want to put myself in this position, and I definitely do not consider myself a teacher or instructor. I am a guy that pays for a website to ask in a public forum, “Hey! Yahuah said not to do that, so why are we doing it?”. I am simply saying we need to reconsider what we have been taught because Yahuah told us He would send people our way to deceive us just to see if we cared enough to study His word. When we look at the words that came from the Creator’s mouth, through His Holy Spirit, it appears there have been many people that have convinced God’s people to do what He specifically told us not to do.

James 3:1–2 (LEB)

3 Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you* know that we will receive a greater judgment. ² For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to hold in check his whole body also.

What would be thought of a person who saw a fire in a building full of people and did not ring the bell for fear of being wrong? The words of Yahuah are so clear, and He told us to sound the alarm. It is our duty to point out blatant errors that will lead people to eternal death!

Ezekiel 33:1–6 (LEB)

33 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, speak to your people, and you must say to them, ‘A land, if I bring over it a sword and the people of the land take a man, one from their number, and they appoint him for them as a watchman, ³ and he sees the sword coming against the land, and he blows on the horn and he warns the people, ⁴ and anyone who listens hears the sound of the horn and he does not take warning and the sword comes and it takes him, his blood will be on his own head. ⁵ For he heard the sound of the horn and he did not take warning; his blood will be on him. But if he took warning, he saved his life. ⁶ And as for the watchman, if he sees the sword coming and he does not blow the horn, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and it takes their lives, he will be taken through his guilt, but his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.’

One could say these verses were simply about Yahuah appointing Ezekiel as a watchman over Israel, and it is ancient history having nothing to do with Yahuah’s words for people today. However, these words are eternal and most definitely apply today and in the future, much like the words of Isaiah.

Isaiah 21:8–10 (LEB)

⁸ Then the watchman called, “Lord, I am standing on the watchtower continually by day, and I am standing at my post throughout the night. ⁹ And look at this! A man’s chariot is coming, a pair of horsemen!” Then he responded and said, “It has fallen! Babylon has fallen! And all the images of her gods are smashed on the ground!” ¹⁰ My downtrodden people and the son of my threshing floor, I will announce to you what I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel.

Babylon’s gods will be smashed to the ground. This is future prophecy because Babylon is alive and well residing in your local church of practically any denomination. They worship the same false gods and use the same symbols, statues and special days. Once a person learns the ways of Yahuah through His word, then examines the things of Babylon, it becomes very clear.

Revelation 18:1–6 (LEB)

18 After these things I saw another angel descending from heaven, who had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. ² And he cried out with a powerful voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and it has become a dwelling place of demons and a haunt of every unclean spirit and a haunt of every unclean bird and a haunt of every unclean and detested animal. ³ For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the power of her sensuality.” ⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out from her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins, and so that you will not receive her plagues, ⁵ because her sins have reached up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. ⁶ Pay back to her as she herself also paid out, and pay back double according to her deeds; in the cup that she mixed, mix double for her.

There are many issues that I do not speak about, or give my opinion. There are some things that are not clear and I would never want to sway someone to do something wrong. However, there are so many subjects Yahuah is very clear about, we cannot go wrong with pointing them out. If it came from the mouth of God through His prophets and son, then I cannot see any reason not to proclaim it to everyone. It is our duty. This is not about teaching theology, that is best left for someone else, who will bare the burden of their own teaching. This is about proclaiming the gospel and dismissing all the fables, commandments of men and “meat sacrificed to idols”. How can one go wrong with that?

Matthew 12:34–37 (LEB)

³⁴ Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say good things when you are evil? For from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good person from his good treasury brings out good things, and the evil person from his evil treasury brings out evil things. ³⁶ But I tell you that every worthless word that they speak, people will give an account for it on the day of judgment! ³⁷ For by your words you will be vindicated, and by your words you will be condemned.”

If we are quoting the prophets we cannot be accused of putting forth worthless words. My intentions are to show how far Christians have traveled away from the commands of God by telling themselves they do not have to do what God commands anymore. It is so obvious this has happened and the prophets told us it would.

Jeremiah 16:19–21 (LEB)

¹⁹ O Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our ancestors have inherited only lies, vanity, and there is no profit in them. ²⁰ Can a human make for himself gods? Yet they are not gods!” ²¹ “Therefore look, I am about to let them know, this time I am going to let them know my power and my might, and they will know that my name is Yahweh.”

During the Protestant reformation some men devised a plan to assign all the instructions of God to someone other than Christians, and create a futuristic view of the Bible’s teachings. They came up with the theory of dispensationalism where God supposedly treats people in different “dispensations” of history differently. This is where we get terms like “the age of law” and “the age of grace”, where allegedly in the age of grace the “law” or the oracles of God entrusted to the Jews, no longer apply to God’s people. Yahuah and the prophets supposedly did not see the messiah being rejected and we are in a parenthesis in the timeline of prophecy. The “church” will be removed off the Earth at some point during a seven year tribulation and then the prophecies for Israel will be able to continue. This is what most of mainline Christianity embeds in their theology, even if people that believe it do not understand where it comes from. I argue that most would reject this belief system if its origins were explained. Even the ones who teach it don’t take the time to examine it. They are simply brainwashed into thinking it is what scripture teaches. In other words, they are looking for these preconceived ideas in scripture, so then they find them.

Jeremiah 23:30–40 (LEB)

³⁰ “Therefore look, I am against the prophets,” declares Yahweh, “who steal my words each one from his neighbor. ³¹ Look, I am against the prophets,” declares Yahweh, “who take their tongues and declare as prophets, ‘Yahweh declares.’ ³² Look, I am against those who prophesy dreams of lies,” declares Yahweh, “and tell them, and they caused my people to err through their lies, and in their recklessness, when I myself have not sent them nor commanded them, so they profit not this people at all,” declares Yahweh.

³³ “Now when this people, or a prophet, or a priest, ask you, saying, ‘What is the burden of Yahweh?’ then you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden, and I will forsake you, declares Yahweh.’ ³⁴ And the prophet, and the priest, and the people who say, ‘The burden of Yahweh,’ I will punish that man and his house. ³⁵ Thus you shall say, each one to his neighbor and each one to his brother: ‘What has Yahweh answered?’ or, ‘What has Yahweh spoken?’ ³⁶ But the burden of Yahweh you shall not mention again, for the burden is to each one his word, and so you twist the words of the living God, Yahweh of hosts, our God. ³⁷ Thus you shall say to that prophet: ‘What has Yahweh answered you?’ or, ‘What has Yahweh spoken?’ ³⁸ But if you say, ‘The burden of Yahweh,’ therefore thus says Yahweh: ‘Because of your saying these words, “The burden of Yahweh,” then I will send to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of Yahweh.’ ” ’ ³⁹ Therefore look, here I am, and I will surely lift you up and forsake you and the city that I gave to you and to your ancestors from my presence, ⁴⁰ and I will bring upon you an everlasting disgrace and an everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”

It appears that the one who will be in trouble is the person who is making up new holy days, new traditions and fables then saying it is from Yahuah, not the person who is repeating the actual word of God. Causing people to err through lies is a serious offense. Making up a fake birthday for the son of Yahuah on the birthday of all the sun gods comes to mind as being reckless. Saying the Sabbath doesn’t matter any more and calling it the “burden of the LORD”, or in other words, an oracle of God, is reckless as well. If I were teaching those things I would really be worried.

Luke 12:10 (LEB)

¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but to the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

What does blasphemy against the Holy Spirit really mean? Jeremiah 23:40, “and I will bring upon you an everlasting disgrace and an everlasting shame that will not be forgotten“. Our words have to be considered carefully when it comes to these matters. Remember Matthew 12:37? ^“For by your words you will be vindicated, and by your words you will be condemned.” Don’t say “the burden of the LORD” making up your own lawless gospel complete with fables from the myths of other deities.

Acts 4:24–26 (LEB)

²⁴ And when they heard it, they lifted their voices with one mind to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them, ²⁵ the one who said by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David, your servant, ‘Why do the nations rage,and the peoples conspire in vain? ²⁶ The kings of the earth stood opposed, and the rulers assembled together at the same place, against the Lord and against his Christ.’

According to these verses, it was the Holy Spirit speaking the words of Yahuah through the prophets, such as David. After all, The “Holy Spirit” is the breath of God. Would not lying about what He said be the same as blaspheming the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, says the following:

Isaiah 56:1–2 (LEB)

56 Thus says Yahweh: “Observe justice and do righteousness, for my salvation is close to coming, and my justice to being revealed. ² Happy is the man who does this, and the son of humankind who keeps hold of it, who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it, and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

Can a human negate what the Holy Spirit said through Isaiah by saying the Sabbath is no longer important? Did the Sabbath get changed, or eliminated by the Holy Spirit speaking through anyone in scripture? Absolutely not! He said do these things because salvation is coming and His justice will be revealed. In other words, “repent and believe the gospel”. Any prophet or dreamer that says to do something different than the words of God was to be executed in Deuteronomy 13. This is a terrible situation for those teaching against the commands of God.

Mark 3:28–29 (LEB)

²⁸ “Truly I say to you that all the sins and the blasphemies will be forgiven the sons of men, however much they blaspheme. ²⁹ But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit does not have forgiveness forever, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—

What is this eternal sin but to speak against the things of Yahuah? Again we see reference being made to the Holy Spirit speaking through David.

Mark 12:35–36 (LEB)

³⁵ And continuing, Jesus said while teaching in the temple courts, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is David’s son? ³⁶ David himself said by the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’

The writer of Hebrew reinforces this idea that rebelling against the words of Yahuah spoken through men by the Holy Spirit insults the Spirit of grace. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit could be defined as sinning deliberately after knowing the truth.

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?

If the Holy Spirit is residing in us why would we believe something different than the same Holy Spirit that spoke through the prophets? What spirit are we listening to? When we reject the commandments of God we invite a lying spirit, or a spirit of error to guide us, much like Ahab.

2 Chronicles 18:18–22 (LEB)

¹⁸ Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting upon his throne with all the host of heaven standing on his right and on his left. ¹⁹ And Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel that he would go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said this, and another said that. ²⁰ Then a spirit came forth and stood before Yahweh and said, ‘I will entice him.’ Then Yahweh said to him, ‘By what means?’ ²¹ Then he said, ‘I will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You will entice him and will also succeed. Go out and do so.’ ²² So now, behold, Yahweh has put a spirit of deception into the mouths of these your prophets. Yahweh has spoken disaster against you.”

John knew this lying spirit would take over the church once they rejected the things of God. He tells us if we love God we will keep His commandments.

1 John 5 (LEB)

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God, and everyone who loves the father also loves the child fathered by him. ² By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and keep his commandments. ³ For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, ⁴ because everyone who is fathered by God conquers the world.

There is much more danger speaking against the words of the most High given to the prophets through the Holy Spirit than to affirm these same words. Don’t make things up from your imagination and call it “the burden of the LORD”. By your words you will be condemned, or vindicated. Line up your words with those of the Holy Spirit instead of taking a chance of being guilty of blaspheming. Repent and believe the gospel!

Featured photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.

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But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a faith without hypocrisy, from which some have deviated, and have turned away into fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the law, although they do not understand either the things which they are saying or the things concerning which they are speaking confidently.

1 Timothy 1:5–7 (LEB)

So you have finally decided to dust off the Bible that has been sitting on the shelf as a sort of sacred good luck charm? Perhaps you have never owned a Bible and have just purchased one. Where does one start when endeavoring to read, study and understand what is written on the pages of this book?

I read the Bible in spurts for thirty years and would get discouraged because I couldn’t make any sense of it. I understood some things, but could not tie Genesis to Revelation into anything that seemed to flow coherently and hold the key to understanding how one should live their life on this Earth. When I would ask someone who I thought should know, such as, pastors, leaders, seasoned Christians etc., it appeared to me that they didn’t understand either. It’s not that these people wouldn’t give answers, it is that I was not looking for opinions or doctrinal cliches.

Genesis 12:1–3 (LEB)

12 And Yahweh said to Abram, “Go out from your land and from your relatives, and from the house of your father, to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great. And you will be a blessing. ³ And I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse. And all families of the earth will be blessed in you.”

I was told to tell people unfamiliar with Christianity to start reading the Bible in the gospel of John. That may not be bad advice because there is a lot of information in that book of the Bible, but is the Bible even about Christianity? Christians use the Bible and some say they “believe everything between the covers of this book”, but do they really? My experience has been an emphatic “no”, and that many do not even read the Bible at all. Therefore, they cannot question anything they are told about what is between the pages. Hence the current condition of the “church”.

The Bible is much bigger than the Greco-Roman religion of Christianity. It contains the oracles of the Creator of the universe that were given to a certain people group to eventually bless the whole world through a top secret mission to destroy the enemies of God and the enemies of His creation. It gives the problem, solution and outcome of the past, present and future world history. The future is already history when one grasps what is in the pages of the Bible. Do not make the mistake of limiting the understanding of the Bible through the lenses of one of the fifty thousand Christian denominations, or interpretations of Scripture.

Genesis 1:1 (LEB)

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth—

If you are one who struggles with the first verse of the Bible don’t give up. Faith increases the closer one gets to knowing who “God” is and His ways. This is really the entire purpose of reading and studying the Bible. The purpose of my blog posts are to bring forward ideas and facts that are simply ignored in much of the generic Christian churches. Many of these churches have to conform to the government of their country in order to maintain their tax exempt status or receive special funding. This presents a problem right away because now some entity that is not concerned with scripture is manipulating how it is taught. The US and Canada have this problem.

Understanding the history of Israel is important in order to grasp what is happening and how it applies to us today, even if we have seemingly no connection to the twelve tribes of Israel, that is, the twelve sons of Jacob and their descendants. Understanding that there were twelve tribes and not just one tribe, Judah, referred to now as the Jews, or that there was a northern kingdom of Israel, not just the southern kingdom of Judah, will greatly help with the understanding of the prophets, why Jesus had to die, and how the kingdom of God will reunite in the future.

Jeremiah 31:7–10 (LEB)

⁷ For thus says Yahweh, “Sing for joy for Jacob with gladness, and shout out for the head of the nations. Proclaim, praise, and say, ‘Save, O Yahweh, your people, the remnant of Israel.’ ⁸ Look, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and I will gather them from the remotest part of the earth. Among them the blind, and the lame, those who are pregnant, and those who give birth, together, a great assembly, they will return here. ⁹ With weeping they will come, and with pleas for mercy I will bring them; I will let them walk by streams of water in a straight path. They will not stumble in it, for I have become to Israel a father, and Ephraim, he is my firstborn.” ¹⁰ Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations, and declare in the coastlands from afar, and say, “The scatterer of Israel will gather him, and he will keep him as a shepherd his flock.

Yahweh or Yahuah are transliterations of the name of God. The four Hebrew letters of the Creator’s name, YHWH, were substituted with “LORD” over six thousand times in most English Bibles. For example:

Exodus 3:15 (LEB)

¹⁵ And God said again to Moses, “So you must say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my remembrance from generation to generation.’

Exodus 3:15 (KJV 1900)

¹⁵ And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Exodus 3:15 (ESV)

¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

There are not many versions of the Bible that tell you the name that Yahuah says, “This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” His name is not “LORD”, and one of the meanings of the word “Baal” is Lord.

Jeremiah 23:26–28 (LEB)

²⁶ How long will this be in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceitfulness of their hearts, ²⁷ who plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell each one to his neighbor, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal? ²⁸ The prophet who has with him a dream, let him tell the dream. But the prophet who has my word with him, let him speak my word faithfully. What is straw compared to wheat?” declares Yahweh.

One example of understanding the Bible in its complete context is the story of Balaam and Balak. There is not much about Balak and Balaam written, yet Jesus, who is called Yeshua, writes some stern warnings in His revelation to the Apostle John.

Revelation 2:14 (LEB)

¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: that you have there those who hold fast to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat food sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.

Without understanding who Balaam was, and that sexual immorality is often talking about adultery with a foreign deity, this could be brushed off as a warning that doesn’t even apply today. Balaam was a prophet that Balak hired to curse Israel. In the end Balaam appears to bless Israel instead of cursing Israel, so what do these words mean in Revelation 2:14?

Numbers 25:1–5 (LEB)

25 When Israel dwelled in Shittim, the people began to prostitute themselves with the daughters of Moab. ² And they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and worshiped their gods. ³ So Israel was joined together to Baal Peor, and Yahweh became angry with Israel. ⁴ Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang them before Yahweh in the sun, so the fierce anger of Yahweh will turn from Israel.” ⁵ So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill his men who are joined together with Baal Peor.”

Balaam told Balak the way to curse Israel was to get them to curse themselves by getting them to break their marriage vows with Yahuah. This was idolatry and sexual immorality. They participated with the worship of the fertility gods of Moab, with all their festivities, decorations and rites.

Micah 6:5 (LEB)

⁵ O my people, remember what Balak the king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you might know the righteous acts of Yahweh.”

A bible dictionary is very helpful for understanding many of the places, history and people that one encounters. The Holman Bible Dictionary is full of useful information. A lexicon is also helpful to get the full understanding of words. Often a Hebrew or Greek word is not easily defined with one English word. For example:

Deuteronomy 6:4–6 (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.

The word “hear” is what the translators used for the Hebrew word pronounced “shema”. It actually means hear, listen carefully, and understand. Knowing this makes understanding James easier when He says the following:

James 1:22–25 (LEB)

²² But be doers of the message and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, ²³ because if anyone is a hearer of the message and not a doer, this one is like someone staring at his own face in a mirror, ²⁴ for he looks at himself and goes away and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues to do it, not being a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts, this one will be blessed in what he does.

The Bible is one continuous flow of world events that are still affecting our lives, an instruction manual about how to live a successful life on Earth, and what the future holds for various groups of people. The more one hears and does what it says, the more one will understand what to do.

John 14:15–17 (LEB)

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, in order that he may be with you forever ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it does not see him or know him.* You know him, because he resides with you and will be in you.

The scriptures have greatly affected my life once I started applying the whole Bible to my belief system and daily living. One of the best pieces of advice, instruction or “law” that Yahuah gives His people, (who I am striving to be) is not to listen to anyone who tells us to do something different than what He said. I have taken this to heart, so if a prophet, dreamer, pastor, family member, etc., tells me to do something that Yahuah says not to do, who should I listen to?

Deuteronomy 13 (LEB)

13 “If a prophet stands up in your midst or a dreamer of dreams and he gives to you a sign or wonder, ² and the sign or the wonder comes about that he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,’ ³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God is testing you to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your inner self. ⁴ You shall go after Yahweh your God, and him you shall revere, and his commandment you shall keep, and to his voice you shall listen, and him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. ⁵ But that prophet or the dreamer of that dream shall be executed, for he spoke falsely about Yahweh your God, the one bringing you out from the land of Egypt and the one redeeming you from the house of slavery, in order to seduce you from the way that Yahweh your God commanded you to go in it; so in this way you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Yeshua told us to “love our neighbor as our self”, which if we read where he was quoting in Leviticus 19 we would see that instead of executing people who tell us to do things contrary to the instructions of Yahuah, we need to rebuke them or reason frankly with them.

The point is that one cannot understand Scripture without studying all of it. Otherwise, every wind of lawless, ear tickling doctrine will get absorbed like a sponge soaking in a tub of water. After absorbing all the nonsense, the Scriptures will definitely not make sense to the reader. Hear, listen carefully and do the perfect law of liberty, understanding will increase and you will be blessed. Once this happens, you are ready to tell other people. Repent and believe the gospel.

Featured photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.

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“So you must be very careful for yourselves, because you did not see any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,  so that you do not ruin yourselves and make for yourselves a divine image in a form of any image, a replica of male or female

Deuteronomy 4:15–16 (LEB)

Why do Christians celebrate days that are not celebrated by Jesus (Yeshua) and His disciples, and disparage the special days that they actually celebrated? Why are we told we do not have to follow the instructions of the Creator? Why are we making and using divine images like the ones in the featured image of this post when Yahuah clearly told His people not to do this? Did God change His mind? Christians have been tricked, duped and bamboozled, and I will tell these things a thousand different ways hoping someone will be interested enough to search themselves out of the deception and condition of cognitive dissonance. The following is from psychologytoday.com regarding cognitive dissonance:

The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people are averse to inconsistencies within their own minds. It offers one explanation for why people sometimes make an effort to adjust their thinking when their own thoughts, words, or behaviors seem to clash with each other.

When one learns new information that challenges a deeply held belief, for example, or acts in a way that seems to undercut a favorable self-image, that person may feel motivated to somehow resolve the negative feeling that results—to restore cognitive consonance. Though a person may not always resolve cognitive dissonance, the response to it may range from ignoring the source of it to changing one’s beliefs or behavior to eliminate the conflict.

When being taught scripture in Sunday school or Bible study, I had to deal with cognitive dissonance. For a long time I had to ignore the source, that is scripture, until I finally had to change my behavior. In the Christian religion, we are told many things that directly contradict the scriptures. In order to reconcile this we have to chalk it up to not understanding, completely ignore scripture, place traditions of men higher than scripture or assign the uncomfortable things we find to someone else, such as “the Jews”, as is done in dispensational theology.

Romans 3:1–2 (LEB)

3 Therefore, what is the advantage of the Jew, or what is the use of circumcision? ² Much in every way. For first, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.

Paul tells us the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. Yahuah, the Creator, shared with His people how He wants someone to conduct their life if they are to be called His people. Do you consider yourself one of God’s people? Then why don’t you follow His instructions? Are you feeling some cognitive dissonance right about now? Do not ignore the source, reconcile it!

Yeshua (Jesus) told us the Father’s commandments are eternal life. Through Moses they were shared with us also. Yeshua told us how to apply them: “I want mercy and not sacrifice.”

John 12:49–50 (LEB)

⁴⁹ For I have not spoken from myself, but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So the things that I say, just as the Father said to me, thus I say.”

Nowhere in your New Testament pages will you find an early believer celebrating the “birthday” of Jesus, Easter, All Saints Day or the Sabbath day on a Sunday. These are all corruptions to deceive people away from worshiping the Father in spirit and truth because these days are all based on lies and pagan rituals otherwise known as witchcraft.

Daniel 7:21–25 (LEB)

²¹ I continued watching, and this horn made war with the holy ones and it prevailed over them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and gave judgment to the holy ones of the Most High; and the time arrived and the holy ones took possession of the kingdom. ²³ “And he said, ‘The fourth beast is the fourth kingdom that will be on the earth that will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and it will trample it and it will crush it. ²⁴ And as for the ten horns coming from it, from this kingdom ten kings will arise, and another will arise after them. And he will be different from the earlier ones, and he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ And he will speak words against the Most High, and he will wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and he will attempt to change times and law, and they will be given into his hand for a time and two times and half a time.

We are at war with the fourth beast, and changing times and laws seems to fit our situation very well in Christianity. Look at the special days that Yahuah calls His days, which the fourth beast hates and taught its children to hate also.

Leviticus 23:1–2 (LEB)

23 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites, and say to them, ‘The festivals of Yahweh that you shall proclaim are holy assemblies; these are my appointed times.

Yahuah told the Israelites what His appointed times are and we have the advantage of knowing them because “the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God”. His appointed times are called Mo’ed or Mo’edim (plural) in Hebrew, and are the designated meeting times for Yahuah and His people. These are God’s best days that He shares with His people. There is nothing about birthdays, dying and resurrecting sun gods and celebrating a day of the dead, even if it is changed to dead “saints”. Yeshua and his disciples celebrated Passover and First Fruits which are a shadow of the Messiah’s sacrifice and resurrection. We should not be making images, or mixing bunnies and eggs from the spring sex goddess into these celebrations.

Psalm 95:8–11 (LEB)

⁸ “Do not harden your heart as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, ⁹ when your ancestors tried me. They put me to the test, even though they had seen my work. ¹⁰ For forty years I loathed that generation, and said, ‘They are a people whose heart wanders. And my ways they do not know.’ ¹¹ Therefore I swore in my anger, ‘They shall surely not enter into my rest.’ ”

The writer of Hebrews quotes these verses in Psalms when speaking about the Sabbath. He also tells us not to abandon meeting together.

Hebrews 10:24–25 (LEB)

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.

What better times to meet together than the appointed days of Yahuah? He gave us His festivals, Sabbaths and feast days that we find the Messiah and His disciples meeting on and celebrating. The fourth beast changed the special days of the Creator to the special days of the beast, honoring the forever resurrecting sun god and springtime sex goddess. We are even found posting “he is risen” on social media Easter morning as if he just “rose again” in the yearly sun god cycle. Yeshua resurrected once on first fruits, and by celebrating Passover and First Fruits we honor this event as Yahuah intended. Everything else is counterfeit.

Leviticus 23:1–36 (LEB)

Yahweh’s Feasts

23 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites, and say to them, ‘The festivals of Yahweh that you shall proclaim are holy assemblies; these are my appointed times.

Yahweh’s Sabbath

³ “ ‘For six days work is to be done, and on the seventh day shall be a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy assembly; you shall not do any work; it shall be a Sabbath for Yahweh in all your dwellings.

The Passover

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_⌋. ⁸ And you shall present an offering for Yahweh made by fire for seven days; on the seventh day there shall be a holy assembly; you shall not do any regular work.’ ”

The Feast of Firstfruits

⁹ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites, and say to them, ‘When you come to the land that I am about to give to you and you reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruit of your harvest to the priest. ¹¹ And he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh for your acceptance; the priest shall wave it on the day after the Sabbath. ¹² And on the day of your waving the sheaf you shall offer a yearling male lamb without defect as a burnt offering to Yahweh. ¹³ And its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of finely milled flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire for Yahweh, an appeasing fragrance; and its libation shall be a fourth of a hin of wine. ¹⁴ And you shall not eat bread or roasted grain or ripe grain until this very same day, until you present your God’s offering. This must be a lasting statute for your generations in all your dwellings.

The Feast of Weeks

¹⁵ “ ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day of your bringing the wave offering’s sheaf—there shall be seven full weeks. ¹⁶ Until _⌊the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days; then you shall present a new grain offering for Yahweh. ¹⁷ You shall bring from your dwellings for a wave offering two loaves of bread made with two-tenths of an ephah of finely milled flour; they must be baked with leaven—the firstfruits belonging to Yahweh. ¹⁸ And, in addition to the bread, you shall present seven yearling male lambs without defects and one young bull and two rams—they shall be a burnt offering for Yahweh with their grain offering and their libations, an offering made by fire, an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. ¹⁹ And you shall offer one he-goat as a sin offering and two yearling male lambs as a sacrifice of fellowship offerings. ²⁰ And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before Yahweh; in addition to the two male lambs, they shall be holy for Yahweh for the priest. ²¹ And you shall make a proclamation on this very same day; it shall be a holy assembly for you; you shall not do any regular work; this is a lasting statute in all your dwellings throughout your generations. ²² And when you reap the harvest of your land, you must not finish the edge of your field at your reaping, and you must not glean the remnants of your harvest—you shall leave them behind for the needy and for the alien; I am Yahweh your God.’ ”

The Feast of Trumpets

²³ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a rest period, a remembrance of the trumpet blast, a holy assembly. ²⁵ You must not do any regular work, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh.’ ”

The Day of Atonement

²⁶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷ “Surely the Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of the seventh month; it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall deny yourselves, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh. ²⁸ And you must not do any regular work on this very same day, because it is the Day of Atonement to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God. ²⁹ If there is any person who does not deny himself on this very same day, then he shall be cut off from his people. ³⁰ As for any person who does any work on this very same day, I will exterminate that person from the midst of his people. ³¹ You must not do any work; it is a lasting statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ³² It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening—from evening to evening you must observe your extraordinary Sabbath.”

The Feast of Booths

³³ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴ “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, this shall be the Feast of Booths for seven days for Yahweh. ³⁵ On the first day there shall be a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work. ³⁶ For seven days you must present an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh; it is a celebration; you must not do any regular work.

Paul tells believers in Colossae not to be troubled by people judging them for keeping the Sabbaths or festivals. The Colossians were mostly converted pagans and polytheists coming out of those traditions. Much like when a Christian tries to honor the Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened Bread and Shavaout, people will mock and criticize them, especially in Christian circles. The standard Christian holy days, such as Christmas and Easter, are the same days the polytheist people of Colassae would be celebrating. They were festivals for the gods of their culture that were “Christianized”. The whole culture honored these days, much like today with Christmas and Easter. Think about it: why does the whole world celebrate Christmas and Easter and pay no regard to the Creator or His son?

The Muslims know Christmas has nothing to do with the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua. These days have ancient origins and are found in every culture. Anyone that does not follow suit, celebrating weird “Jewish” days are judged. Paul tells us not to worry about being judged for not partaking in these worldly holidays and keeping the days special to Yahuah. They are “a shadow of what is to come, but the reality is Christ”. This does not mean we should not celebrate God’s days and go back to pagan rituals, rebranding them in the name of Yahuah. Many understand this, but continue to ignore it.

Colossians 2:16–17 (LEB)

¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you with reference to eating or drinking or participation in a feast or a new moon or a Sabbath, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of what is to come, but the reality is Christ.

I realize these verses are usually used to impugn the people who are keeping the Sabbaths, but the context of the verse clearly shows former gentile believers were being drawn back into philosophy and pagan rituals. We can celebrate God’s feast days now with the understanding of their meaning in the reality of the Messiah.

The fall feast days are coming towards the end of September this year. There is much debate on how to keep them and how to determine the dates. When the temple was still standing in the first century, the latest calendar was proclaimed, and it was the calendar used by the apostles and Yeshua. This is the calendar our family uses because the leaders and priests were the people assigned to the task of proclaiming the days. If the days are technically wrong, it is on those leaders’ shoulders, not mine, and I do not feel that I have any authority to pick and chose the dates these feasts should be celebrated.

23 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites, and say to them, ‘The festivals of Yahweh that you shall proclaim are holy assemblies; these are my appointed times.

September 26 is the Feast of Trumpets this year, a day of trumpet blowing and a Sabbath, the Day of Atonement is October 5th, which is a day of reflection, repentance and also a Sabbath, and Booths starts October 10th, ending with Shmini Azteret on October 17th. October 10th and 17th are Sabbaths. There are no priests, no temple, and not much opportunity to return to the land; however, anyone can keep a Sabbath, blow a trumpet and reflect, repent or fast anywhere in the world. These are all days with huge prophetic implications we should be learning and putting into practice.

Next time you are slicing your ham on Easter or bowing down under the Christmas tree, a symbol of the ancient sex goddess, do not ignore the source of cognitive dissonance. These are counterfeit festivals the enemies of Yahuah celebrated in Egypt and Babylon that the fourth beast just put a new spin on to supposedly line up with Christianity. It is worship to the wrong god. There are many warnings in scripture about trying to worship Yahuah with the things of other gods. It is called sexual immorality and idolatry, and the House of Israel was punished severely for doing these things that Christians shamelessly do today. Yeshua also warned us.

Revelation 2:18–23 (LEB)

¹⁸ “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:“This is what the Son of God says, the one who has his eyes like a fiery flame and his feet like fine bronze: ¹⁹ ‘I know your works, and your love, and faith, and service, and patient endurance—and your last works are greater than the first. ²⁰ But I have against you that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, the one who calls herself a prophetess, and teaches and deceives my slaves to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²¹ And I have given her time in order to repent, and she did not want to repent from her sexual immorality. ²² Behold, I am throwing her into a sickbed and those who committed adultery with her into great affliction, unless they repent from her deeds. ²³ And I will kill her children with deadly disease, and all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

Apparently our deeds do still matter. Repent, believe the gospel and worship Yahuah in spirit and truth as the Messiah told us to do!

Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash

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