Halloween is an ungodly “holiday” that caters to witches and demons and the “dark side”….

It’s kind of sad to see some Torah observant believers talking about the joys of Halloween, and making excuses for it, just to please their children. “Well, it’s just make-believe; innocent fun for the kids.” Fine, but as Torah observant believers you know that you cannot use the "we're under grace" mantra to justify SIN, right? Or do you?

You CANNOT get away from the fact that Halloween caters to the forces of darkness. That’s the bottom line! Witches, goblins, demons, sorcery, magic… some crazies even see pleasure in sacrificing black cats. What’s “innocent” about that? Every one of these things are an abomination to YHWH who made sure to tell us we CANNOT serve two masters (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13).

How many times does Scripture condemn the idea of “other gods” (in Halloween's case, SATAN!) and magic and sorcery, etc., as evil? I don’t understand how people can simply overlook that! Is THAT what “Jesus” died for? NO!

Paul puts it well in his explanations about humanity’s stiff-neckedness and desire to do exactly what they want, whenever they want, ignoring Torah and pretending. Here’s just one example - and I pray that those who are lauding Halloween will let this sink in:

Titus 1:10. For many are stiff necked and their discourses vain; and they mislead the minds of people, especially such as are of the circumcision. 11. The mouth of these should be stopped: they corrupt many families; and they teach what they should not, for the sake of sordid profits. 12. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies.”

13. And this testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith 14. and may not throw themselves into Jewish fables and into the precepts of men who hate the Truth. 15. For to the pure, everything is pure; but to them who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but their understanding is defiled, and their conscience.

16 And they profess that they know Elohim, but in their works they deny him; and they are odious and disobedient and to every good work reprobates. (AENT)

FOOTNOTE:

A persistent charge is levied against the Renewed Covenant for being anti-Semitic; this is, of course, wholly remarkable when we consider that every writer, except perhaps Luke, was in fact Jewish! Still, the charge continues due to some very strong language; language that must be considered both carefully and in its proper historical and cultural context. Perhaps the largest source of misunderstanding comes from not appreciating the vociferous manner in which Jews are known to debate.

If we fast-forward this verse two thousand years, we now interpret the invectives through our own modernity, but a good preview of how certain statements can be easily misunderstood is right here in Titus 1:10-16. If a Jewish person didn’t know better, they would wince and cry “Ouch!” The reading here is in fact accurate, but there is much more to this passage than first meets the eye.

First, the line about “Cretians are always liars” is from a Greek poet, Epimenides, who often wrote in an exaggerated theatrical style. Even today, the term “cretin” survives in English and is a holdover from those times, meaning the same thing. Also, since Paul is Jewish and following “all righteousness” it’s impossible that Torah is the object of his rebuke as “fables” and “commandments of men”! The same can be said of Jewish mysticism, which we have seen Paul teach on a variety of levels.

What then are these “Jewish fables”? According to Charles Ryrie: Jewish myths; speculations of a Gnostic sort, supposedly based on OT scripture. Ryrie Study Bible (NASB), p. 393. The key is in the highlighted portion of the above passage, “they profess to know Elohim, but in works deny him” for by this very description, Paul has named the heretical sect. “Gnosticism” is derived from the Greek gnosis, “to know.”

What is often overlooked is that Gnosticism did not originate with Christianity, although later adopted by many Messianic themes. Rather, it began as a Jewish sect with their own “myths and fables.” According to Professor Ryrie: The heresy of Gnosticism had begun to make inroads among churches in John’s day.

Among its teachings were: (1) knowledge is superior to virtue; (2) non-literal sense of Scripture is correct and can only be understood by a select few; (3) evil in the world precludes God being the only creator; (4) the incarnation is incredible because deity cannot unite itself with anything material such as a body (Docetism); and (5) there is no resurrection of the flesh. The ethical standards of the Gnostics were low… (Ryrie Study Bible (NASB), p. 440).

Is it any wonder then why Paul was upset at these false teachers? Even a conventional Pharisee would take great offense to such posturing, and they most certainly did with four of these five articles of belief.

These false teachings are, of course, diametrically opposite to Paul’s own teaching as a “ringleader” of the Netzarim, so there should be no surprise when he takes these false teachings to task. In any case, one can easily see how modern readers, divorced from the historical context, can easily draw the wrong conclusion and not take into account who the speaker is, and who the intended audience is

The great “falling away” continues….

The exodus of “Hebrew Roots” types leaving Y’shua to join the counter-missionaries continues.  Daily, there are those who “cross over” to join them – and this is because they never had the Holy Spirit within and they never understood the Bible, in the first place.  Too bad for them!

All sides are to blame, really (especially the individuals themselves, who allowed themselves to be sucked into all sorts of ignorant teachings that they readily swallowed as Truth!); but here’s a quick explanation as to why Jewish counter-missionaries and their hangers-on are so vicious and outspoken against Y'shua and the New Testament:

The reason why Jews get all bent out of shape and have formed their "counter-missionary" cults is because of the Christian mantra that "Jesus is God and it's all about Jesus!" NO, it's NOT! Yeshua was the MESSIAH! YHWH is God! Yeshua had a Divine Nature, but he never came to replace YHWH as "God" in the short time that he was a human walking this earth. Humans CANNOT be God! Yeshua was born and died - something that ELOHIM cannot do....

Yeshua, as "the Word" came from YHWH and was part of YHWH, but in his brief time on earth as a HUMAN, he never once said HE was God and that it's all about him! He was YHWH's MESSIAH! And he certainly didn't bring "Christianity." He didn't bring ANY "religion." He proclaimed the Kingdom of YHWH and did everything his Father commanded him to do.

But thanks to this Christian "Jesus is God and everything is about Jesus" mantra (which is what many "Hebrew Roots" adherents are bringing into the faith), the Jews are out there challenging the crud out us and taking our gullibles away and using them to become their mouth pieces to constantly teach AGAINST "Jesus." (Once they reject our Messiah, they cannot even bring themselves to use his real name, Y'shua!)

Does this sound like Y'shua, the Messiah thought of himself as "God"?

Luke 4: 43 "But he (Yeshua/Jesus) said, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."

Luke 8: 1. And it happened after these things that Y'shua was going around in the cities and in the villages and was preaching and declaring the Kingdom of Elohim.

John 12: 44. But Y'shua cried out and said, He who believes in me, it is not in me he does believe, but in Him who sent me. [1] 45. And he who sees me sees Him who sent me! 46. I have come as the light into this world that all who believe in me might not remain in the darkness! 47. And he who hears my words, yet does not keep them, I do not judge him, for I have not come to judge the world but to give life[2] to the world.

48. He who rejects me and does not receive my words, there is something that judges him. The word that I have spoken, it will judge him on the last day. 49. For I have not spoken from my soul, but the Father who sent me. He gave a Commandment to me what I should say and what I should speak. 50. And I know that His commands are eternal life. [3] Therefore, these things that I speak just as my Father told me, thus I speak.[4] (AENTt)

[1] Y'shua does not bring a new Faith, but reveals the original Faith of YHWH the Father.

[2] Y'shua proclaims that he came to give life, then he declares that His father's Commands are eternal life! The Father's "Commands" are instruction in righteousness; this is Torah which contains Commandments, Judgments, Testimony and Witness regarding the Kingdom of Elohim. Those who enter into Covenant with Mashiyach are entering into Covenant with his Father YHWH; therefore, it is evil - an outright lie - to teach that Torah is done away with and replaced by a new theology!

[3] The Commands of YHWH bring eternal life. YHWH's "Commands" refers to all of His Commandments; these are one and the same as every Word that proceeds out of the Mouth of Elohim. These are not Commands only between Y'shua and His Father but they are universal for all souls who will enter into the Malchut Elohim.

[4] Y'shua speaks the Word of YHWH, not his own words; therefore, he conveys the revelation of YHWH according to the Ruach haKodesh without the baggage of man's religious tradition. Religion has a propensity to reinvent or interpret the Word of YHWH to make it "acceptable" to man's standards; whereas Mashiyach came not to please men, but to honor and bring Glory to his Father.

Do you know any “weed-people”?

HERE'S A THOUGHT:

Many people are kind of like weeds; they have the spark of life in them .... a kind of “pilot light” which allows them to live, multiply and die. But that's it. They're not really good for much of anything. They serve no purpose in life but to "be there" and do whatever they do in their own little world. Like weeds, most people really never accomplish anything except to multiply and die. They've never figured out they could use that "pilot light" to spark a wildfire within that's designed to "fill that little hole in our soul" that only God can fill....

I had those thoughts as I was watching my husband struggle to mow down the "weed patch" in front of our house last week. The part nearest the house is "lawn': but the rest is not. The Home Owners Association calls it, “Protected Wetlands.” Nothing can be built there, which means there won’t be another house built between us and our next-door neighbor to the north, who shares this “wetland” with us. (That's a GOOD thing, really!)

Regardless, weeds have no boundaries, and so they pretty much started taking over as Bill was waiting for our procrastinating neighbor to agree to “going half-sies” on a brush hog, Bill finally “took the bull by the horns,” and simply rented one and mowed the whole area himself.

So, my mind raced as Bill was mowing and I got to thinking how Satan must be having a field day (pardon the pun) among all the "weed-people" on this earth, who haven't got a clue about the Spiritual Realm and the "big picture" outlined in Scripture. And this came to mind:

1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

I’ve known many people like that over the course of my lifetime, and have personally witnessed these "weed-people" doing nothing with their lives and having nothing to offer the world other than wreaking havoc in some way; and mindlessly passing along the sins of the father - whatever they might have been (Exodus 20:5-6). They don't realize they're easy prey for satan.

I remember one such person - a "religious" man who pretty much fooled everyone with his phony actions and ways - someone who started attending the synagogue Bill and I belonged to a couple decades ago. This guy completely managed to tear our congregation apart, bit by bit, thanks to the weak leadership who didn't recognize him for who he was...
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My book, Destroyed from Within, is actually based on what happened in those dark dark days, perpetrated on us by one of those "weed-people" who clearly made Satan smile. Here’s a quick synopsis borrowed from the back cover:

"Satan just walked through the door!"

Those were Rebecca Ritter's initial thoughts when handsome rancher, R. B. "Rex" Lambert, first entered the Messianic synagogue!

And she was right. Not only did Rex end up wreaking havoc in the congregation, but he also devastated the leadership, caused some to lose their faith in God, and even managed to destroy the Rabbi's marriage.

Making matters worse, his very presence caused "flashbacks" for the forty-something Becca - flashbacks to a childhood fraught with unspeakable horrors at the hands of her demented father, Klaus-Dieter Behringer, a former prison guard at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, who had a few sinister "skeletons in his closet."

Set in the beautiful countryside near Seymour, Missouri, "Destroyed from Within" is an intense, fast-moving psycho-thriller revealing how the "sins of the father" are passed along from generation to generation while depicting the many ways in which weak faith and poor leadership can lead people completely away from God.

(If you are interested in any of my books, you can find them on my books website: http://betorahobservant.com/ or at Amazon.)

A mini-lesson on being sober and alert

My husband and I had the most interesting morning! Our house happens to be on a migratory path for the forest's wildlife, and this morning we saw a doe in the back yard behaving very oddly. She stood, very alert, one leg raised as if frightened of something; but she kept advancing toward it, while kind of stomping her front legs. She was clearly afraid, but ready to charge at whatever it was.

Well, we soon discovered what it was: A lone lynx! Small as it was compared to the doe, the doe knew this was a dangerous animal and she was prepared to meet it head on! Luckily, the lynx seemed oblivious to the deer (deers are docile animals, after all), and it passed right on through our back yard and disappeared into the underbrush.

This serves as a great example of how YHWH's people are to behave - believe and obey YHWH, first and foremost - but remain alert, always ready to defend yourself against the evils of this fallen world of ours! Scripture tells us so:

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.… (Berean Study Bible)

We are also told that those who endure to the end will be saved (see Acts 2:21; Mark 13:13, also please read all of Mark 13 and Matthew 24). And remember that“being saved” doesn’t necessarily mean physically saved from harm; it refers to our souls/natures/the “being” that is left when we die lives on in Eternity with ELOHIM. THAT is what truly matters.

Yeshua, from an Aramaic perspective

Let’s take a look at John 1 and who Yeshua is - from an Aramaic perspective:

John 1:1. In the beginning was the Miltha.[1] And that Miltha was with Elohim. And Elohim was that Miltha. 2. This was with Elohim in the beginning. 3. Everything existed through His hands,[2] and without Him, not even one thing existed of the things which have existed. 4. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5. And that light shines in the darkness,[3] and the darkness did not overtake it. 6. There was a man who was sent from Elohim whose name was Yochanan.

7. This man came for a witness that he might testify concerning the light that all might believe through his hand. 8. He was not the light; rather that he might bear witness concerning the light. 9. For the light was of truth, that which shines on all who come into the world. 10. He was in the world, and the world existed by His hand and the world did not know Him. 11. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

12. But those who did receive Him He gave to them authority that they might be the sons of Elohim, those who have believed in His name. 13. Those who neither by blood nor by the will of the flesh nor by the will of a man, rather were begotten by Elohim. 14. And the Miltha[4] became flesh and dwelt among us and we saw His glory,[5] the glory as the Only-Begotten who is from the Father who is full of grace and truth.

15. Yochanan witnessed concerning him and cried out and said, “This is he whom I said would come after me, and yet be before me because he was earlier than me.” 16. And from his fullness we all have received grace on account of grace; 17. Because Torah was given through Moshe, but truth[6] and grace[7] through Y’shua who is the Mashiyach[8]. 18. Man has not ever seen Elohim. The Only Begotten of Elohim, he who is in the bosom of his Father, he has declared Him. (AENT)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Miltha has no direct English equivalent. It can mean ‘Word’, ‘Manifestation’, ‘Instance’ or ‘Substance’ among other things. In this context, it may best be left untranslated.

[2] Literal Aramaic reading; “through his hands” indicates the Word as a creative force, like a sculptor working under the orders of a king. See Psalm 33:6; Isaiah 44:24; 66:1, 2.

[3] Aramaic wordplay. Nohra b’nshokha menhar (light in the darkness that shines) is a deliberate mirror-reversal of menhar-nohra (menorah), which marks the conception of the light of the world at Hanukkah. This puts the birth of Mashiyach nine months from Hanukkah, during the fall feasts; many point to the first day of Feast of Tabernacles for the date of Y’shua’s birth.

[4] Miltha refers to the “Manifestation” of the Ruach haKodesh within Mashiyach. The physical body of Mashiyach is not the Word of YHWH, but his words and actions demonstrate the Will and Word of YHWH, which upholds observance of Torah. However, Christo-Pagans like Marcion and Constantine taught that Y’shua’s body and spirit manifest a different “word” that did away with Torah. The Word of YHWH was substituted with dispensational and replacement “theologies,” which are very popular among Christians.

[5] Isaiah 42:8; 48:11

[6] Shemot/Ex. 34:5, 6; D’varim/Deut. 32:4; Psalm 25:10; 31:5; 119:142, 151; 146:5, 6; Isaiah 65:16; Jer. 4:1, 2; John 17:17.

[7] Genesis 6:8; Shemot/Ex. 33:12-17; Psalm 84:11; Jeremiah 31:1-3.

[8] The Torah of Moshe is the Word of YHWH, but grace and truth revealed in Y’shua are the impelling forces that uphold all righteousness and keep the Word of YHWH (Torah) positioned in our hearts; these are complimentary, not opposites. It is according to the Grace of the Father YHWH that Mashiyach is revealed in a person’s heart; see John 17:9, 10.

Atheist comment: “Mary was raped by God”

There's a guy posting on one of my Facebook threads who insists "Mary was raped by God." Well, that kind of an ignorant and blasphemous comment deserves "getting real" about rape:

During rape, a virgin's hymen would be broken from the outside. Miriam's hymen was broken from the inside when baby Y'shua pushed his way out. So, HOW does that constitute "rape"?

And why would ELOHIM, when He chose to impregnate a young virgin, have a need to do it the conventional "human" way? "GOD" is SPIRIT! Unfortunately, that silly train of thought seems to be rampant among atheists and counter-missionaries who clearly don't have the Ruach within and yet insist on challenging those of us who DO believe that Y'shua is the Messiah.

This same person also asked why we would need a Messiah, in the first place. Well - the simple answer is: To show a fallen and decadent world that YHWH is real. Y'shua (the WORD) was sent in human form to TELL people, human-to-human and face-to-face (something they could identify with, instead of "just believing" in an entity they couldn't see), about YHWH and what YHWH expects of human beings ... and to warn people what was ultimately going to happen to a lost and fallen world where people kept insisting on ignoring Him (Matthew 24) - things that are unfolding right now, today!

Luke 4: 43 "But he (Yeshua/Jesus) said, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." (AENT)

Luke 8: 1. And it happened after these things that Y'shua was going around in the cities and in the villages and was preaching and declaring the Kingdom of Elohim. (AENT)

Acts 28: 23 "From morning till evening the Apostle Paul explained and declared the Kingdom of God and tried to convince people about Yeshua from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets."
Acts 24: 14. But this indeed I (Paul) acknowledge, that in that same doctrine of which they speak, I do serve the Elohim of my fathers, believing all the things written in Torah and in the prophets. (CJB)

YHWH said HE would send a prophet who was to do everything He ordered him to do:

Deuteronomy 18: 15 "ADONAI will raise up for you a prophet like me from among yourselves, from your own kinsmen. You are to pay attention to him, 16 just as when you were assembled at Horev and requested ADONAI your God, 'Don't let me hear the voice of ADONAI my God any more, or let me see this great fire ever again; if I do, I will die!' 17 On that occasion ADONAI said to me, 'They are right in what they are saying. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I order him. (CJB)

Yeshua Himself said He came to do HIS FATHER's will; not His own!

John 6: 35. Y'shua said to them, I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will not hunger. And whoever believes in me will not ever thirst. 36. But I have said to you that you have seen me, and you do not believe. 37. All who my Father has given to me will come, and whoever comes not to me I will cast outside! 38. For I came down from heaven,[1] not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent me. 39. And this is His will, that of Him who sent me, that all that He has given to me I do not lose even one. 40. For this is the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in Him, will have life that is eternal. And I will raise him up on the last day. (AENTt)

[1] As in the context of Miltha (the Word) or the "Manifestation" or the "Will of" YHWH coming down from heaven to do the Will of YHWH upon earth; his Spirit is of YHWH but his nephesh (soul) and body are human and temporal. This shows that Yeshua, while in his human form, was NOT in charge; HIS Father, the One who sent him, was!

So, Mr/Ms Atheist - please set aside your arrogance for awhile and think about the above before attempting to fight Believers any further! And, oh yes, pick up a Bible and READ it from cover to cover BEFORE making anymore comments about it. If you can't do that, then I'm going to ask you to start discussing other books you've never read and see how far THAT conversation can go!

“Grace” a permit to sin?

I read a post by a devout Christian who said: “Some falsely teach that the Christian concept of salvation by grace is the equivalent of a license to sin. This is absolutely false, because Biblical grace trains us to renounce ungodliness!” 

Take special note of the last phrase: “…because Biblical grace trains us to renounce ungodliness.”

He is quoting Titus 2:11-12 which, in the ESV, reads:  “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness…”

But let’s read Titus 2:11-15, in context, and from a version not so watered-down:

“For the all-resurrecting grace of Elohim is revealed to all men;  and it teaches us to deny that which is without Elohim and worldly lusts, and to live in this world in sobriety and in uprightness and in the Fear of Elohim, looking for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of the great Elohim and our Life-giver, Y’shua the Mashiyach who gave himself for us that he might recover us from all iniquity and purify for himself a new people who are zealous in good works. These things speak and encourage and point out with all authority; and let no one despise you.” (AENT).

Here, the verse quoted says “it teaches us to deny that which is without Elohim and worldly lusts”! In this verse, Paul, in his letter to Titus, is NOT simply saying “Biblical grace trains us to renounce ungodliness” as if “grace” somehow negates one’s actions and magically renders all personal actions “godly”! Not at all!  Paul is saying instead that “grace” is a gift for all people who accept it and become zealous in good works!

Paul is saying that people have been given a chance to abandon, to deny, that “which is without Elohim and worldly lusts”! Indeed, Paul goes on to say  that those who are thus “purified” for YHWH are those who are “zealous in good works”!  That means that Christians who have been so taught, are, or should be ZEALOUS to obey God!  Not by “demands” or by “law”, but by the simple desire to please Him! (Leviticus 20:7 for example which reads: “And you shall set yourselves apart, and shall be set-apart, for I am יהוה your Elohim” – ISR).  Indeed, Leviticus 20:8 goes on to say: “and you shall guard [My statutes] and do them. I am יהוה, who sets you apart.”  Who, being “zealous”, would not want to guard and do God’s statutes?

Well, Christianity teaches that “grace” is some “get out of jail free” card – in Christianity there is no 7th-day Sabbat, no observance of the annual feasts, and no obedience, so absolutely YES, the Christian concept of “grace” is most certainly the equivalent of a license to sin! Few, if any, Christians are taught that “grace” only means that one’s sins are forgiven only up to that point that they accept the atoning death of the Messiah for their prior sins!  Upon acceptance, they are obligated to live a life “sin-free” as best they can! The term “grace”, simply is NOT a “permit to continue to sin and be forever forgiven”!  I’m sorry to break that news to you , but “grace” is not a blanket permit!

Folks, the fact that God said, repeatedly, “BE HOLY FOR I AM HOLY”, did not change just because the Messiah was sent to die and atone for all who accepted Him! People have always been expected to live their lives in a manner pleasing to God! THAT DID NOT CHANGE with the death and resurrection of the Messiah!  The phrase in Titus 2 which in some English versions reads “Biblical grace trains us to renounce ungodliness”, is not something that “just happens” to Christians! It is something that is supposed to be manifested in Christians as a DESIRE to abandon the things of the world and to live a life pleasing to God!  We are told what pleases God! It is in scripture!  But Christians, for the most part, are taught that all behaviors are “forgiven” because of this misunderstanding of the term “grace”.