WHY DO WE NEED YOM KIPPUR FOR ATONEMENT, SINCE YESHUA DIED TO REMOVE OUR SINS?

Yeshua died to remove our "past sins" - not so that we could continue sinning.  Problem is, we humans do have a tendency to commit inadvertent sin, sometimes, and that's where Yom Kippur comes in.  Any sins we commit today, no matter how inadvertently, are not covered by Yeshua's death, as he died to remove our PAST sins. 

Here's proof:

Numbers 15: 30 "'But an individual who does something wrong intentionally, whether a citizen or a foreigner, is blaspheming ADONAI. That person will be cut off from his people. (CJB)

Hebrews 6: 4. But they who have once descended to immersion and have tasted the gift from heaven and have received the Ruach haKodesh 5. and have tasted the good Word of Elohim and the power of the world to come, 6. cannot again sin and a second time be renewed to repentance; or a second time execute him on a stake and insult the Son of Elohim.

7. For the earth that drinks the rain which comes often upon it and produces the herb that is of use to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from Elohim. 8. But if it should put forth thorns and briers, it would be discarded and be approaching closely to a curse, and its end would be a conflagration. (AENT)

NOTE: Huge contrast between Aramaic and Greek. The Greek reads: "once having been enlightened..." This "enlightening" seems logical until we look at Aramaic: "But they who have once descended to immersion..." The difference is acute, since baptism is clearly a subject being introduced just two verses earlier. The reason for the Greek redaction to "enlightenment" may well have been due to early Gnostic influence that stressed Mashiyach's knowledge over his actual power and incarnation of Deity. See also Hebrews 10:32.

Hebrews 10: 26 For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but only the terrifying prospect of Judgment, or raging fire that will consume the enemies. (CJB)

The above Scripture is not referring to those unclean bondages that dwell in our flesh but to the conscious choices believers make. It refers not to our unintentional sins but to those we pursue knowingly and willingly.

Yom Kippur 2023 is around the corner!

YOM KIPPUR/DAY OF ATONEMENT - THE HOLIEST OF GOD'S APPOINTED TIMES - is once again on the horizon. Celebrated on Tishri 10 (which, this year on our Gregorian calendar begins at sunset on September 24), this "Fall Festival" High Holy Day always falls in the September/October time frame.

Leviticus 16:29 tells us: "It is to be a permanent regulation for you that on the tenth day of the seventh month you are to deny yourselves and not to do any kind of work, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you. For on this day, atonement will be made for you to purify you; you will be clean before ADONAI from all your sins. It is a Shabbat of complete rest for you, and you are to deny yourselves. This is a permanent regulation." (CJB)

NOTE: This COMMANDED High Holy Day is not just for the Jews; it is for ALL who have accepted YHWH (can also be written as Yahweh) as their God Most High, and His Divine Son, Messiah Yeshua. (See Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:13-16, Isaiah 56:6, Galatians 3:28 and Romans 10:12-13.)

On this solemn day we are to "deny ourselves" (i.e., fast, refrain from work of any kind, and repent and bare our souls to YHWH, asking Him to forgive us anything we may have done throughout the year that was not pleasing to Him).

Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins will not succeed; he who confesses and abandons them will gain mercy. (CJB)

1 John 1:7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Y’shua his Son cleanses us from all our sins. 8. And if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all our iniquity. 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not with us. (AENT)

This mo'ed (Appointed Time) also represents the need for the sacrifice/sin offering that must be made for the sins of the nation. As the Bible tells us, Messiah shall descend to put to an end the sins of Israel (Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:21) .

At that time the Jews will mourn for the "One who was pierced" and FINALLY recognize that Yeshua was the Messiah, all along! This day will be fulfilled upon the Second Coming of Messiah to the Earth (Matt. 23:37-39, Hos. 5:15 thru 6:1-3, Zech. 13:8,9 Zech. 12:10, Zech. 13:1, Ezek. 16:61-63).

(TO REITERATE: "Israel" includes not just the Jewish people; but ALL who believe in and follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! And yes CHURCH, this includes you, as well. Jesus did not put an end to YHWH's Torah; he offered himself on the cross to remove our "certificate of sin and debt" so that we could enter into the Presence of YHWH.)

IN SHORT - this mo'ed signals the call for "Teshuva" - repentance - for the time is short and Judgment is coming upon the Earth, whether people are ready, or not! (See the Books of Daniel and Revelation.) Teshuvah basically allows us to erase our sins through a four-step process:

ONE: Leave the Sin. Leaving the sin consists of stopping the commission of the sinful act. You cannot do teshuvah if you continue to do the sin - period!

TWO: Regret. Regret is sincerely regretting one's wrong action. You must be genuinely ashamed and embarrassed over your sins. (This is where "God knows your heart" comes into play...)

THREE: Confession Before Yahweh. Confession before Yahweh means confession spoken out loud, in which you formulate in words the commitments and attitudes you have reached in your heart. It should go something like this: "I have sinned, I have done such and such; I deeply regret my actions, and I declare before Yahweh, Who knows my innermost thoughts, that I will never do this sin again."

(Note that this confession is directly to Yahweh. No one needs to confess to an intercessor as Catholics are told.)

FOUR. Acceptance for the Future. Acceptance for the future consists of resolving in your heart never to commit the sin ever again.

PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT these 4 steps are only for sins committed against Yahweh! For sins committed against a person, you must first ask forgiveness from that person and then ask Yahweh to accept your teshuvah.

And - these four steps are only valid if you do teshuvah AFTER an unintentional sin. You cannot say: "I can do this sin, then do teshuvah and He will forgive me..." It simply doesn't work that way! The Bible tells us that the sin offerings of Leviticus were for unintentional sin. There never was atonement for intentional sin, and there still is no atonement for deliberate sin...

Hebrews 10: 26 "For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." (CJB)

The good news is, Torah tells us that no matter how far we stray or how many times we sin, Yahweh will wait for us to return to Him.

Make sure YOU are ready! Your eternal life depends on it...

Yom Teruah/Rosh HaShana is on the horizon once again…

ANOTHER GLORIOUS HIGH HOLY DAY IS ON THE HORIZON: Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashana (Feast of Trumpets/New Year)! This year (2023) Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashana begins at sunset on September 15 and ends at sunset on Saturday, September 16.

The biblical name for this holiday is actually “Yom Teruah” ("day of shouting/blasting"). It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days known as "Days of Awe" as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, kicking off a ten-day period of penitence culminating in the holiest of High Holy Days, known as Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

Why is it so important and what, exactly, makes this day so special?  Let’s begin with this passage, where God Himself commanded it to be observed:

Leviticus 23:23-25 says: And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a rest, a remembrance of blowing of trumpets, a set-apart gathering. 25 ‘You do no servile work, and you shall bring an offering made by fire to יהוה.’” (ISR)

Rosh Hashana denotes the Jewish Civil New Year … the creation of the world, according to tradition; the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve and their first actions toward the realization of man's role in the world; of the first sin that was committed and resulting repentance; a day when YHWH takes stock of all of His Creation, which includes all of humanity.

It is also a rehearsal for the day when the bridegroom will come to claim us, his bride, who are betrothed to Him … when Yeshua will return to earth as the “Lion of Judah!”

1 Thessalonians 4: 16. Because our Master (Y'shua) will himself descend from heaven with the mandate and with the voice of the chief Messenger and with the Qarna (trumpet/shofar) of Elohim; and the dead who are in the Mashiyach will first arise; 17. and then we who survive and are alive will be caught up together with them to the clouds to meet our Master (Y'shua) in the air; and so will we be ever with our Master. (AENT)

Matthew 24: 27. For as the sunshine comes out from the East and is seen even in the West, thus will be the coming of the Son of man. 28. Wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles gather. 29. And immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not shine its light. And the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

30. And then will be seen the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land mourn, when they will see the Son of man who comes upon the clouds of heaven with great power and glory. 31. And he will send his Messengers with a large trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. (AENT)

According to tradition, during this time YHWH's people are to concentrate all their efforts into making amends with their brethren and apologizing for past offenses – in preparation for the next Feast, which is Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement.

It is important to note that, judging by the fact that Yeshua has so far fulfilled the first four Appointed Times in sequence, Yom Teruah/Trumpets will be the next one to be fulfilled, because when the trumpets sound, those who have accepted YHWH as their God (along with His Divine Messiah, Yeshua) will be gathered/resurrected (I Thessalonians 4:13-18, I Cor. 15:50-54).

Halleluyah!

An important message from Bill Bullock, “The Rabbi’s Son”

I am sharing below some shocking truths and words of wisdom from Texas Attorney, Bill Bullock ("The Rabbi's Son"), on Torah portion - Parashah 48: Shof'tim (Hebrew for "Judges") ; Deuteronomy 16:18 through 21:9 – which features the  "Last Will and Testament" of Moshe (Moses)- the words he spoke the day he departed from the Israelites as they were making their Exodus through the desert, headed towards the Promised Land.

In the following teaching, Mr. Bullock reveals how the doctrines and ideas of men via their carnal mindsets, have skewed YHWH's Divine Instructions (handed to the Israelites via Moshe who spoke with YHWH “face-to-face”), turning them into critical errors into which both Christianity and Judaism have wandered:

Are the Words of the Holy One 'Commandments' – or Prophetic Empowerments?

The words which Moshe will speak in this second speech are usually described in English as “commandments” and “ordinances” and “laws”. But those terms do not describe them accurately at all.

Alas, the translation of the Holy One’s declaration at Sinai into English and other Western language as ‘commandments’, ‘ordinances’ and ‘laws’ lies at the root of the most critical errors into which both Christianity and Judaism have wandered.

By and large organized Christianity has erred in rejecting Torah’s “commandments, ordinances, and laws” as “unspiritual” – indeed considered to border on being demonic.
Most of Christianity has thus over the centuries devolved into a King-less, Constitution-less, Kingdom-less, Love-less, Law-less blob of prudish, angry religious people who try to process glorious spiritual mysteries through the filter of fleshly, carnal minds, who spread hate-filled opinions instead of truth, who expose people to dull, repetitive sermons instead of flowing in vibrant words of life, who pass off cute marquee one-liners as revelation, and who promote models of church growth and bean-counting instead of any real, substantive message that could lead to freedom, destiny, and purpose.

Organized Christianity today thus has virtually nothing of value to offer either the world or its own adherents, and both groups are rejecting it in droves.

Many modern forms of organized Judaism on the other hand have committed the exact opposite error, focusing almost all their attention on the letter of Torah’s instructions, drawing all the wrong lessons from the Holocaust and therefore instilling in upcoming generations the paranoia that everyone who is not Jewish is anti-Semitic, dangerous, and inferior.

Indeed since the Holocaust the mantra of organized Judaism seems to have unofficially changed from Sh’ma Yisrael! to ‘Never Again’! As a result mind-numbing sets of extra-Biblical rules designed to keep people away have been promoted in the guise of ‘building a fence around the Torah’.

There is indeed now a fence around the Torah in many forms of Judaism – and that fence is so high, is laced with so much razor wire, and is strewn with so many IEDs that the beauty of Torah – if not of the Holy One Himself -- has become hidden behind the carnage.
Father Avraham would weep. Moshe would be appalled. David would hang his harp in the willows. Sh’lomo would scratch his head in bewilderment. Eliyahu would rend his mantle in twain and start thrashing.

Fragments of the Messianic Judaism are alas falling into the same traps as organized Christianity and Judaism. Labels such as ‘Sacred Namers’, ‘Two-Housers’, ‘Lunar Sabbatarians’, and ‘Sabbatical Year Followers’ have become modern ‘Shibboleths’.

Swords are drawn and waving, ready to strike off the ear, cut out the tongue, or lop of the head, of anyone and everyone who fails to adopt the specific phraseology the ears of those bearing one’s chosen label itch to hear.

Brethren, these things should not be so. What in Heaven’s Name are we doing? How can we continue to misrepresent the Holy One’s character so horribly?
The Sinaitic covenant is not “law” - at least in any sense that term is used today. Nor are the mitzvot, mishpatim, and chukim “commandments” or “ordinances”.

They are Divine Energy.

They are a sweet fountain of life, health and peace.

They are substantive words of Divine empowerment and activation.

They are loving instructions, given in the context of an abiding covenant relationship, prophetically and creatively reshaping the soul and spirit of the recipient, transforming her from a redeemed slave into the Betrothed Bride-to-be of the Holy One.

Are mushrooms considered “clean”?

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE SOMEONE WRITES TO OUR WEBSITE TO ASK ABOUT MUSHROOMS ARE CONSIDERED "CLEAN" FOOD.

Great question and the simple answer is "Yes"- because YHWH gave no prohibition on fungi.
While Scripture is very clear on many issues, it isn't replete with every little detail concerning all aspects of life, and so sometimes we're left to figure things out on our own ... using our knowledge of Scripture and some common sense.

For instance, the scriptures of Genesis regarding food are very general, not intended to be a complete, thorough, and solid reference of do's and don'ts. There are no other mitzvah (instructions/rules) presented in the Bible narrowing down what green plants can be consumed and which can't. In that, we have to use our own brains. So, while YHWH doesn't prohibit the eating of any plants, some plants will hurt or kill us - and therefore, we must choose wisely!

In the story of Elisha's miracle in 2 Kings 4: 39-42, the words of verse 39 translated as "wild squash" (Sterns) or "gourds" (NIV), in Hebrew is "paquot sade" or "fungi of the field". So it seems we have a story in the Bible which gives credence that fungi, which includes mushrooms, are not expressly forbidden.

According to this logic, mushrooms are edible. (As a matter of fact, Chabad.org, insists that mushrooms are kosher.) Some have even argued that manna was a sort of fungi.  As a matter of fact, Talmud Bavli, in Shabbat 30b, gives the following opinion about the miraculous fruitfulness of the land of Israel in the Messianic age:

"Come, and I shall show you their equal in this world," [Rabbi Gamaliel] replied. He went forth and showed him morels and truffles.

Another Jewish view of them is that they were not included in the curse of the ground that applied to plants, since they are not vegetation. (Source:  The Avnei Nezer - Avraham Borenstein, the first Sochatchover Rebbe, who claimed such in Orach Chayim 111. His claim is that they do not officially come from the ground like plants so they legally were never cursed.)

Additionally, many are highly medicinal, from immuno-modulators to cancer-fighting properties, and some (lion's mane and psilocybin types) exhibit distinct neuroplasticity (the ability for the brain to make new neural connections), and thus are being used for patients with Alzheimer's and similar dementia-like issues.

As further evidence in our “mushroom debate,” we must discuss the yeast cell, which are fungi, and they are critical to making chametz.  Yeast cells are not prohibited by YHWH either! We'd be in big trouble if fungi were prohibited as we breathe yeast cells constantly. In most cases, what yeast we consume is already dead (in both bread and wine), but we do ingest live yeast cells just by breathing. These are promptly killed by our immune systems.

Regardless, for those who consider themselves to be mushroom foragers, it would be wise to make sure you only consume culinary mushrooms from reputable sources, or educate yourself extensively before trying anything you find in the wild, as some will give gastrointestinal distress that would be unpleasant, and a few others can actually shut down vital organs, and so must be avoided at all costs…

Having said all the above, the eating of mushrooms is basically a decision each individual must make on their own.

(NOTE:  My gratitude to author, scholar and Amazon Associate, Jeremy Chance Springfield for his learned input to this article! Please check out his website!)

WAS TORAH REALLY ABOLISHED AT THE CROSS?

Check this out and decide for yourself.

To begin with, let’s take a look at Romans 3:31 in several different Bible versions:

Romans 3:31 Do we then nullify the Torah through the belief? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah. (ISR)

Romans 3: 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid*: yea, we establish the law. (KJV)

Romans 3: 31 Does it follow that we abolish Torah by this trusting? Heaven forbid! On the contrary, we confirm Torah. (CJB)

Can you really SEE and understand what that passage says? Paul is adamant in that passage about YHWH’s Divine Instructions remaining forever! That is reiterated in Romans 7:12, which says, “So the Torah is holy; that is, the commandment is holy, just and good.”

Let’s check out what James wrote:

James 2: 21 Wasn’t Avraham avinu declared righteous because of actions when he offered up his son Yitz’chak on the altar? 22 You see that his faith worked with his actions; by the actions the faith was made complete; 23 and the passage of the Tanakh was fulfilled which says, “Avraham had faith in God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness.” He was even called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is declared righteous because of actions and not because of faith alone. (CJB)

Faith without action (or works) is DEAD! (See James 2:14-26.) That is because the lack of works/action reveals an unchanged life or a spiritually dead heart. How we live reveals what we believe and whether the faith we profess to have is a living faith.

Back to Paul:

Romans 15: 4. For everything written of old was written for our instruction; that we, by patience and by the consolation of the Scriptures, might possess hope. (CJB)

This is one of the clearest pro-Torah statements in all of Romans! Paul believes that "everything written of old" is for the instruction of the Gentiles, this clearly indicates Paul's intent.

So, again – do you believe Torah was abolished at the cross?

IS THE COVID VACCINE THE “MARK OF THE BEAST?”

SIGH!  Once again we are seeing the rise of religious zealots who are trying to push their unbiblical ideas down the world’s collective throats.  One of these ideas is that those who take vaccines (i.e. COVID), are “taking the mark of the beast.”

Please bear with me as I attempt to allow Scripture to debunk that silly conspiracy theory via the BIBLE – the instruction manual for human beings, handed down by God Himself. 

To begin with, let’s check out the following scriptures and ask ourselves if the COVID vaccine (and/or any other man-made concoction or device) could possibly refer to the “mark” outlined in the Bible:

• Revelation 14:9. And another, a third Messenger followed them, saying with a loud voice: If any man will worship the beast of prey and its image, and will receive its mark upon his forehead or on his hand, 10. he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of Elohim, which is poured undiluted into the cup of his indignation and will be tormented with fire and sulfur, before the Set Apart Messengers, and before the throne. 11. And the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever; and there is no rest, by day or by night, to those that worship the beast of prey and its image. 12. Here is the patience of the Set Apart believers who keep the commandments of Elohim, and the faith of Y’shua. (AENT)

• Revelation 13: 15. And it was given him to put life into the image of the beast of prey; and to cause that all they who would not worship the image of the beast of prey, should be slain: 16. and to cause that all, great and small, rich and poor, bond and free, should receive a mark on their right hands, or upon their foreheads; 17. so that no one might be able to buy or to sell, except those who had the mark of the name of the beast of prey, or the number of his name. 18. Here is wisdom: let him that has intelligence compute the number of the beast of prey; for it is the number of a man: and its number is six hundred and sixty and six. (AENT)

A few points to consider and questions to ask concerning the scriptures above:

1. What does the COVID vaccine have to do with the ability to “buy or sell?”

2. Does the COVID vaccine contain “the name of the beast or the number of his name?”

3. Vaccines are normally given into the muscles of the upper arm, or perhaps the buttocks.  Nobody gets them in their forehead or on their hands…

Now, check this out:

Revelation 20:4. And I saw thrones, and (persons) sat on them, and judgment was given to them, and to the souls that were beheaded for the testimony of Y'shua and for the Word of Elohim: and these are they who had not worshipped the beast of prey nor its image; neither had they received the mark upon their forehead or on their hand; and they lived and reigned with their Mashiyach those thousand years. (AENT)

Question:

Conspiracy theories aside, how could the taking of a vaccine designed to help prevent illness of death during a deadly pandemic, be considered “mark of the beast?”  I took the vaccine and didn’t get COVID; I’ve never worshiped “the beast of prey” or ANY “image”; nor have I received any “marks” on my hands or forehead that could be construed as evil!  Furthermore, I haven’t been sent by God to the pits of hell for taking the vaccine … matter of fact, He has kept on blessing me in myriad ways…

So, using Bible-only hermeneutics, let’s get real and try to figure out what that “Mark of the Beast” could be.  To do so, we have to understand that YHWH also has a “mark” –  often mentioned as “signs” or “seals.”  Here are just a few examples:

• Genesis 4: 15 ADONAI answered him, "Therefore, whoever kills Kayin will receive vengeance sevenfold," and ADONAI put a sign on Kayin, so that no one who found him would kill him. (CJB)

• Ezekiel 9: 4 ADONAI said to him, "Go throughout the city, through all Yerushalayim, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who are sighing and crying over all the disgusting practices that are being committed in it." (CJB)

• Ezekiel 9: 6 Kill old men, young men, girls, little children, women - slaughter them all! But don't go near anyone with the mark. Begin at my sanctuary." They began with the leaders in front of the house. (CJB)

• John 6: 27. Do not labor for food that perishes, rather for food that endures to life that is everlasting, that which the Son of man will give to you, for this man Elohim the Father has sealed. (AENT)

• 2 Corinthians 1: 21. Now it is Elohim who establishes us, with you, in the Mashiyach, and has anointed us, 22. And has sealed us, and has given the earnest of his Spirit in our hearts. 23. Moreover, I call Elohim for a witness on my soul that it was in order to spare you that I did not come to Corinth. (AENT)

• Ephesians 1: 13. In whom you also have heard the Word of Truth which is the Good News of your life, and have believed in him; and have been sealed with the Ruach haKodesh who was promised; (AENT)

• Ephesians 4: 30. And do not grieve the Ruach haKodesh of Elohim, whereby you are sealed for the day of redemption. (AENT)

• 2 Timothy 2: 19. But the firm foundation of Elohim stands and it has this seal; Master YHWH knows them who are His: and, Let everyone who invokes the name of our Master (Y'shua) stand aloof from iniquity. (AENT)

From the above scriptures we can see that God uses "marks", signs and "seals" to separate the Godly from the ungodly. If you've read the Bible in its entirety, you know that the "godly" are not only those who believe in Yeshua HaMashiyach (whom Christians call Jesus Christ), but also those who follow the teachings and instructions contained in Torah (first five Books of the Bible) - without which man would not know who YAHWEH is, nor who His Son is; nor how to behave towards God and each other!  (Proverbs 4:2 "I give you good instruction: Do not forsake my Torah"; Proverbs 28:9 “If a person will not listen to Torah, even his prayer is an abomination.”)

Moving on…

In Exodus 13:9 we see YAHWEH speaking to Moshe (Moses):  "Moreover, it (the festival of Passover) will serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, so that YHWH's Torah may be on your lips; because with a strong hand YHWH brought you out of Egypt." (CJB)

Compare the above with this:

Revelation 13: 15. And it was given him to put life into the image of the beast of prey; and to cause that all they who would not worship the image of the beast of prey, should be slain: 16. and to cause that all, great and small, rich and poor, bond and free, should receive a mark on their right hands, or upon their foreheads; 17. so that no one might be able to buy or to sell, except those who had the mark of the name of the beast of prey, or the number of his name. (AENT)

SEE THE DIFFERENCE? 

The "mark of YAHWEH" is our obedience to His Divine Instructions. The Mark of the Beast is what YAHWEH is ALLOWING Satan and the Antichrist to do in the end times, to kick off the process of separating the sheep from the goats!   In Revelation we find that the beast is “borrowing” that SAME “hand and forehead” concept to put his own "mark" on the gullible  - those he can draw away from YAHWEH! 

Now take a look at this powerful verse:

Deuteronomy 6: 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. (CJB)

Sound confusing?  Does God really expect us to tie and/or bind anything on those parts of our bodies?

No!

Logically, we can surmise that “binding” things on your forehead means to “remember” them (something the brain is designed to do); and that “tying them as symbols on our hands” means, we are not only to remember and DO His commandments, but also to implement, do them, put them into operation.  And how do we implement something?  With our hands!

Our brains send signals to all parts of the body.  Our hands cannot grasp, and our feet cannot move unless they receive a signal from the brain. The part where we make decisions to take action on a thought and which handles our behavior is called the prefrontal cortex.  The thought comes into the frontal lobe (forehead) and then goes through the unique process of order and duration in the different parts of the brain, which sends the signal for action to the various parts of the body.

Returning to Deuteronomy 6:6-8 above, we see that God commanded us to keep his word both in our hearts and brains/minds (prefrontal cortex) to keep us holy/from sinning. When we sin, how do we typically commit those sins? With our hands! A thief does not steal with his ear. An angry man does not strike another with his hair. A man does not kill another with his nose. It’s usually our HANDS that do “good” or “bad” according to what they received from the prefrontal cortex…

In the majority of cases, we commit our sins with our hands. Keeping God's word "on our hands" would mean that we proceed through life NOT allowing them to commit a sin. (There’s a more indepth explanation in my article about the “forehead and hands” mentioned in the Bible.)

The Bible-prophesied end times are inevitable, and MANY bad things are on the horizon.  It’s a battle between “good and evil” (YHWH vs. haSatan) and it is imperative for us to recognize the signs, and NOT make up what those “signs” or marks mean!

So, here is the bottom line:  We don’t know for sure what the mark of the beast is.  However, if it’s a man-made invention of some kind, beware – especially if it is to be placed on your hand and/or forehead and is required for buying or selling. 

I hope you can see now that it’s all about GOD and the spiritual behind-the-scenes battle for our souls; NOT man-made things, thoughts or personal opinions.

Be careful to NOT fall for lies or outlandish ideas!  Yeshua himself gave us a warning:

Matthew 24: 4. Y'shua answered and said to them, Beware, let no man deceive you. 5. For many will come in my name and will say that "I am the Mashiyach." And many they will deceive. 6. For you are bound to hear of revolutions and rumor of wars. Watch out and do not be disturbed, for it is necessary that all these things happen, but it is not yet the end. 7. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in different places.

8. But all these things are only the beginning of sorrows. 9. Then they will deliver to afflictions and they will kill you and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10. Then many will stumble and will hate one another and will betray one another. 11. And many false prophets will arise and deceive many. 12. And because of the growth of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold. 13. But whoever has patience until the end, he will have life. 14. And this Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.... (AENT)