About that “grace” thing….

Let’s talk about “grace” for a moment.   People keep mistaking "grace" as carte blanche to continue sinning. "We're under grace and Jesus forgives everything we do!" Well...not really, because there's more to it.  If you have a habit of committing adultery, don’t think for a second that you’re “forgiven” because, according to Scripture, your soul is in mortal danger as there is NO sin sacrifice for continued, deliberate sinning.

We once had an email exchange in which someone kept trying to get us to overlook his pastor’s penchant for adultery, insisting he was such “a good guy and a great pastor, and he’s really sorry.”  Well, okay, but if he’s so sorry, why doesn’t he stop?  Does he not realize that knowing you’re sinning but continuing anyway constitutes DELIBERATE sin?  Apparently he’s never read the Torah to find out what happens to people who refuse to live according to YHWH’s rules!

YHWH gives grace to those who didn't know about, or were lukewarm toward His Divine Rules, so that they can repent and turn from their sins/stop the sinning and begin to do things according to His Torah. But there is an end to His grace and mercy for those who refuse to repent and turn from their sins.  Take a look:

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.

2 Peter 2: 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for a person is slave to whatever has defeated him. 20 Indeed, if they have once escaped the pollutions of the world through knowing our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah, and then have again become entangled and defeated by them, their latter condition has become worse than their former. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the Way of righteousness than, fully knowing, to turn from the holy command delivered to them. (CJB)

How many of today's believers behave in a way they know is sinful and yet they go ahead and do what they feel like doing, anyway? That's because they mistakenly think Divine grace covers intentional sin. That is a huge misconception! Divine grace has made wonderful provision for unintentional sin. But there is no provision for intentional sin. The Bible tells us so.

Deliberate, premeditated sin is willful disobedience and rebellion against ELOHIM. It results in severe punishment or even loss of our salvation.

Leviticus 26: 23 If, in spite of all this, you refuse my correction and still go against me; then I too will go against you; and I, yes I, will strike you seven times over for your sins. (CJB)

1 Corinthians 6: 9. Or don't you know, that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of Elohim?* Make no mistake! Neither sexual sinners, nor idol-worshippers, nor adulterers, nor the corrupt, nor men who lay down with other men, 10. Nor the oppressors, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of Elohim. (AENT)

FOOTNOTE: Compare this to Matthew 5:17-20, where we are told that breaking the least commandment of Torah and teaching others to do the same makes a person "least in the kingdom" but they still get in. Y'shua implies that those with more serious sins won't make it in: "Depart from me, workers of iniquity, I never knew you"; but here, Rav Shaul gives a more specific list of what will keep them out.

1 Corinthians 6: 17. But he that joins himself to our Master (Y'shua), is with him one spirit. 18. Flee from sexual sin. For every (other) sin which a man commits, is external to his body*; but he that commits sexual sin, sins against his own body. (AENT)

FOOTNOTE:Actually the sexual sin goes deeper than the body, as the note on Romans 1:26 shows. But the other point is also that a sexual sinner brings sin upon himself rather than his partner, and vice versa, unless rape or abuse is involved.

It is not sin per se that causes a person who professes to be a believer to be eternally estranged from YHWH; rather, it is our surrender to sin which causes our faith and faithfulness to dim or completely die out. We flirt with spiritual disaster if we - by our thoughts, words, and conduct - deny Messiah, reject grace, spurn redemption, and push away the Holy Spirit.

For more, please check out our website’s article about deliberate sinning.

Whom are you worshiping?

John 17:1. Y’shua spoke these things and he lifted up his eyes to Heaven and said My Father the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that your Son might glorify you. 2. Just as you have given him authority over all flesh that whomever You have given him, he will give to him life that is eternal. 3. Now this is life that is eternal, that they might know You, that You are the Elohim of Truth, and he alone whom You have sent, the Mashiyach Y’shua.

4. I have glorified You on earth. The work that You have given to me to do I have finished it. 5. And now glorify me my Father with You in that glory that I had with You from before the world was. 6. I have made Your Name known to the sons of those men whom You had given to me from the world. They were Yours and You have given them to me, and they have kept Your Word.

7. Now they have known that everything that you have given to me I have given to them and they received them. 8. And they know that I have truly proceeded from your presence, and they believe that You have sent me. 9. And I plead for them. It is not for the world I plead; rather, for those whom you have given to me because they are Yours. 10. And everything that is mine is Yours, and Yours is mine and I am glorified by them. (AENT)

Looking for some great Messianic books to read?

Please check out Carmen Welker’s books!

Forgiving is sometimes hard to do!

As we head toward the Fall festivals, including Yom Kippur where we are to concentrate on forgiving and forgiveness, we might as well be honest: It's HARD to forgive some people! I personally have had a lot of trouble over the years forgiving my parents who gave me away at birth; and my mother who (when I was 9) unceremoniously jerked me out of my happy foster home away from the only parents I had ever known, and forced me to live in her unloving, self-centered home with her and her new American husband, a raving pedophile who sexually abused me for many years.

I also have a hard time forgiving some relatives who have said and done some horrific things to Bill and me and dumped us after we stopped supporting their ungodly ways and money-grubbing habits; and also some who pretty much shun us for reasons they’ve never bothered to disclose….

On one hand, I WANT to hold grudges against all these people because, in all honesty, their past ungodly or “chilly” behavior has had a very negative effect on our lives, and so they don’t deserve to have a relationship with us now. On the other hand, I feel sorry for them because they don’t know YHWH/Yeshua and I would take them all back in a heart-beat if they ever attempted to reconcile.

The only stipulation would be that they have turned their lives to God and stopped their sinful and/or hateful or arrogant behavior and desire to have a REAL relationship with no “strings attached” (i.e., don’t constantly have your hand out wanting us to help you financially or “do for” you ad nauseum, because that one-way street was CLOSED a long time ago!). I’m done with one-way “gimme, do for me” and lukewarm relationships where the “other side” shows no appreciation and makes absolutely NO effort to be in our lives in any way, except when they want something. Bill and I are not ogres! We will give you the proverbial “shirt off our backs,” but do NOT presume you have the right to make endless demands of various kinds, or have carte blanche to our bank account!

So, how to handle my feelings for the upcoming Yom Kippur? Well, the parents who hurt me are all dead and gone, and there’s nothing I can do except to let the memories of their evil deeds stop ruling my life. I “honor my mother and father” because I readily admit I’m here because of them and I’m grateful for that; but nothing says I have to have “loving memories” of them or anything else. What I do have to do is “forgive them in my heart,” and move on (Matthew 6:14-15 and 18:35; Mark 11:26).

Same thing goes for those who are still alive and have hurt us in one way or another. Yes, memories of times gone by still hurt, but I will not allow their “baggage” to destroy my present, nor hinder my relationship with God! I readily and wholeheartedly forgive everyone who has hurt me; I ask forgiveness for anyone I might have ever hurt in any way; and I pray that we may all one day reconcile. But if we can’t, then I wish you well and will keep turning you and your memory over to YHWH/Yeshua.

I recently read this wise saying somewhere: “Feelings are like plants. Don't water them and they wither away to dust. So too, let your grudges go without any pondering for a short while and one day you wake up and the feeling is all gone.”

About the word “amen”

Reader comment:

The word AMEN appears to be of pagan origin but it is used quite often in the bible can you explain this.thank you

Our response:

The word "amen" is from a Hebrew word אמן pronounced "ʼāmán", meaning "truth" or "so be it".   Many think or assume a pagan origin of "amen" because they've heard  there was an Egyptian god called "Amen" or "Amen-Ra", but there is simply no historical evidence that the Hebrew word came from any Egyptian influence.   What is really happening is this:  The Hebrew  "אמן" is pronounced phonetically using English letters "a-m-e-n".  The Hebrew Aleph sounds like the English "a", the Hebrew Mem sounds like the English "m" and the Hebrew Nun sounds like the English "n".  Thus the English word "amen" came from the phonetic pronunciation of the Hebrew, that's all.  Over time, saying "amen" became an English word meaning the same thing as the Hebrew word.  The English "amen" has no ties to or implied meaning from the mythical Egyptian god.

Why Yom Kippur since Yeshua was our atonement?

With Yom Kippur coming up next month, some of you are probably wondering why we need a “Day of Atonement” since Yeshua was our Atonement. This is thoroughly explained in a wonderful teaching by my husband; and here is a short explanation of what to do on Yom Kippur on one of my blogs.

For more on Yom Kippur, please check out these readings on our website:  Must we fast on Yom Kippur? and Yeshua’s Last Yom Kippur

Fire the football players who refuse to stand for the National Anthem!

My thought for today: Americans are divided by race, religion and everything else in ways that only Yeshua can heal. May he come soon! America is out of control with everybody “exercising their rights” – which they erroneously feel means they have the “right” to be violent, decadent, demonic and downright stupid in order to make their “statements.” (Did you all know that an ESPN announcer named Robert Lee was recently removed simply because of the coincidence of his name? Our country is OUT OF CONTROL!!! http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/23/media/espn-robert-lee-uva-game/index.html What's next? Kicking out of America anyone with that name? How moronic are we going to allow ourselves to get?

If it isn’t the maniacal, pathetic hate-mongering “neo-nazis” and “white supremacists” and other lunatics wanting to tear down statues and incite riots, it’s football players refusing to stand for the National Anthem – something Colin Kaepernick started last year.

So, now, with all the other horrific things going on in our country (admist the fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes of biblical proportions) we suddenly have yet MORE football players reviving this disrespectful nonsense so they can make THEIR "statements" by abusing the national platform they happen to have: https://www.sbnation.com/2017/8/22/16182184/browns-players-national-anthem-protests-nfl-2017

I say, FIRE THEM ALL! There are OTHER ways to make “statements”!

Sorry, but I have to say this:

Football players - If you think you have a RIGHT to disrespect our country’s flag and National Anthem, then you DON’T deserve to make your MILLIONS by playing a GAME for a living! Get a real job – one where you don’t have to pretend you didn’t know that abusing your bodies and having head-on collisions for years on end might hurt your brains….

How dare you incite the rest of the country to join your particular pet tirade by abusing a national platform to further your respective interests! Has it ever occurred to you that all you’re doing is fanning the flames of prejudice – not to mention stepping on our flag and those who served, fought and died for it? SHAME ON YOU! Like I said above, get a real job. You are nothing but a bunch of spoiled brats playing a GAME for a living..

Time to awaken from our slumber….

Many today, it seems, are “asleep at the wheel.” They live more by personal opinions and "religiosity" than by the plain meaning of the Word – a Word that tells us how to be holy for the One and only Creator who never suggested there were to be different rules for different people groups. Throughout Scripture we see the messages that scream: Same ELOHIM, same rules!

Yeshua’s death didn’t change that. His death changed the need for men to kill innocent animals to atone for their sins. His death didn't change Torah - YHWH's Divine Instructions in Righteousness, without which we would have NO blueprint for moral, holy living. Yet men keep twisting the Word to suit their own agendas.... Please read the following passage and ask yourself WHY or WHEN this message would have changed, just because Yeshua died.

Jeremiah 10:1 Hear the word which יהוה speaks to you, O house of Yisra’ĕl. 2 Thus said יהוה, “Do not learn the way of the gentiles, and do not be awed by the signs of the heavens, for the gentiles are awed by them. 3 “For the prescribed customs of these peoples are worthless, for one cuts a tree from the forest, work for the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. 4 “They adorn it with silver and gold, they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it does not topple. 

5 “They are like a rounded post, and they do not speak. They have to be carried, because they do not walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they do no evil, nor is it in them to do any good.” 6 There is none like You, O יהוה. You are great, and great is Your Name in might. 7 Who would not fear You, O Sovereign of the nations? For this is Your due, for among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their reigns, there is none like You. (ISR)

The Fall Festivals are upon us!

Hey, everybody, the Fall festivals are coming up! Check it out:

• Yom Teruah (Trumpets)/Rosh Hashana is Thursday, Sept. 21: This Feast on Tishri 1 is also considered the New Year (http://therefinersfire.org/two_new_years.htm) ; it is 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's a rehearsal for the day when the bridegroom will come to claim us, his bride, who are betrothed to Him.

Leviticus 23:23-25: ADONAI said to Moshe, "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI.'" (CJB)

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. However, what most traditional Jews do not yet realize is that this Feast is the next one to be fulfilled by Yeshua, because when the trumpets will sound and the true believers in Messiah Yeshua will be gathered/resurrected (I Thess. 4:13-18, I Cor. 15:50-54).

• Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) this year falls on September 30: Celebrated ten days after Yom Teruah; represents the need for the sacrifice/sin offering that must be made for the sins of the nation. Yeshua WAS that Sacrifice and He will be recognized for it at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which will take place immediately after Rosh Hashana/the "rapture" just BEFORE we all return with Him to fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles, wherein Yeshua will "tabernacle" among us for the next thousand years! Celebrated on Tishri 10, this Feast falls in the September/October timeframe.

Leviticus 16:29: "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)

• Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) this is on Oct 5-12. The first and last days are high holy days: Sukkot as seen in Leviticus 23: 33-37, is celebrated five days after Yom Kippur. Sukkot is a week-long holiday that reminds us of the hardships of Israel's 40 years in the wilderness and provides us with insight into the correct birth date of our awesome Messiah. Yeshua, our Savior was born during the Feast of Sukkot (not on the 25th of December, which is a Christian myth!) and He was circumcised on the eighth day.

Because there was no room at the inn because of the census (Luke 2:7), Miriam and Yosef (Mary and Josef) ended up in a "sukkah" - a temporary dwelling. Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem and so Y'shua was born there because there was no room at the inn. The name Bethlehem means "House Of Bread". And as we all know, Y'shua is the Bread of Life" (see John 6:43-51).

Leviticus 23: 33 ADONAI said to Moshe, 34 "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of Sukkot for seven days to ADONAI. 35 On the first day there is to be a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work. 36 For seven days you are to bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI; on the eighth day you are to have a holy convocation and bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI ; it is a day of public assembly; do not do any kind of ordinary work.

37 "'These are the designated times of ADONAI that you are to proclaim as holy convocations and bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI -a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, each on its own day - 38 besides the Shabbats of ADONAI, your gifts, all your vows and all your voluntary offerings that you give to ADONAI. (CJB)

In Deuteronomy 16:13 - 15, YHWH tells the Israelites: "You are to keep the festival of Sukkot for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing-floor and winepress. Rejoice at your festival - you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, the L'vi'im (Levites), and the foreigners, orphans and widows living among you. Seven days you are to keep the festival for ADONAI your God in the place ADONAI your God will choose, because ADONAI your God will bless you in all your crops and in all your work, so you are to be full of joy! (CJB)

For more about God’s Feasts, please check out our article!

It’s time to embrace the whole picture….

Continuing with my challenge of the offensive idea that Paul said "everything except Jesus is crap," I pose the following.

Did Paul, a mere human, have the authority to suggest that Torah is "crap" or that everything concerning YHWH is crap, and that the ONLY thing that matters is "Jesus"? Or were the writings of Paul perhaps a tad misunderstood?

Does your Bible read: In the beginning was Paul, and Paul was with God, and Paul was God? If it doesn't then why would you place his writings over what the Messiah is recorded as saying? Stop being a part of the group Peter spoke of in 2 Peter 3!

2 Peter 3: 15 And account the long suffering of Master YHWH to be redemption; as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom conferred on him, wrote to you; 16. as also in all his letters speaking in them of these things in which there is something difficult to be understood; (and) which they who are ignorant and unstable pervert, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, [1] to their own destruction. (AENT)

Footnote: It’s rather shocking that Peter writes of how Paul’s letters had already been turned into a Torahless fiasco, even in Peter’s day! Certainly it was not the Pharisees who were renouncing Torah Observance, but the humanist, pagan and materialist, “modernists” who operated under “Christian” labels.

We CANNOT separate YHWH from Yeshua, or Yeshua from YHWH as they are ONE! Yeshua was YHWH's "arm" - Isaiah 53:1. What happens if you separate an arm from the "brain" (so to speak)? Can it do ANYTHING on its own? So HOW can Yeshua be the ONLY thing in Scripture that matters

Please read my indepth article on this issue.

Hate groups are evil, ungodly swines with nothing to offer the world

"Neo-Nazis" and all the other maniacal hate groups have NO clue they are catering to satan, who walks this earth, seeking to devour and destroy! (Job 1:7, 1 Peter 5:8) My Jewish mother (who had to hide her Jewishness in WWII Germany) was a product of the Hitler regime - an insidious evil that played a large part in her ending up a mental wreck and an alcoholic. The photo above shows my mother marching in a “Hitler Youth” parade. Hitler Youth was an organization that all German children were required to be members of….

The thing the world seems to have forgotten is that YHWH hates hatred, and He WILL ultimately turn it all around and use it for good! (Genesis 5:20; Genesis 50; Exodus 1:1-2:10; Matthew 16:13-17:9, Psalm 21:11-13, etc.) He used Hitler to make TWO of His “end times” prophecies come true: (1) Israel would become a nation again and (2) it would happen in one day! (See my short article: http://therefinersfire.org/israel_born_in_one_day.htm)

Knowing YHWH is in control, one would think the world would have learned its lesson, but mankind seems hell-bent on destruction, as evidenced by the fact that we once again are forced to witness the rise of “hate groups” – with the media eagerly promoting their sick agenda by granting them an endless air time. Hardly anyone would know about the likes of "grand wizard" David Duke or "neo-nazi" and other “white nationalists” nut jobs IF the media would simply IGNORE those brainless "white trash" dregs of society who have nothing, whatsoever to offer the world except demonic swinery….

America – and pretty much the rest of the world – seems to be out of control; ready to fall into a bottomless pit. Not only is the earth experiencing some natural disasters of “biblical proportions” now; but humanity is doing exactly what Scripture foretold – with most turning away from God and falling prey to their carnal natures. The Bible tells us that most will take that “wide gate that leads to destruction” (Matthew 7:13-14); and that only a “remnant” will stand strong and endure to the end for YHWH’s sake (Matthew 24:13).

2 Thessalonians 2: - 9. For the coming of that (Evil One) is the working of haSatan with all power and signs and lying wonders 10. and with all the deceptiveness of iniquity in them that perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth by which they might have life. 11. Therefore Elohim will send upon them the strength of a deception that they may believe a lie; 12. and that they all may be condemned who believe not the truth but have pleasure in iniquity. (AENT)

I pray that ALL who read this blog will research what is required of them to be able to pass through that “narrow gate” that leads to life….

What was it that the Apostle Paul considered “dung”?

Several people have asked what Paul considered to be “dung” (or “crap” as one “Hebrew Roots” teacher so colorfully referred to anything outside of “Jesus”). Let’s check out the context of what the Apostle Paul wrote:

PHILIPPIANS 3

Finally, my Brothers, rejoice in our Master (Y’shua). To write these (things) again and again to you is not bothersome to me because they make you more careful. 2. Beware of dogs; beware of evil doers; beware of the circumcised in flesh (alone). 3. For we are the (real) circumcision who worship Elohim in spirit and glory in Y’shua the Mashiyach, and place no reliance on the flesh,[1] 4. And though I might place reliance on the flesh. For, if any one thinks that his reliance should be on the flesh, I might (do so) more than he.

5. Circumcised when eight days old; of the stock of Israel; of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew, descendant of Hebrews; as to Torah, a Pharisee; 6. as to zeal, a persecutor of the assembly (of Messianic believers); and as to the righteousness of the (Oral) Torah,[2] I was without fault. 7. But these things which had been my mastery, I have accounted a detriment because of the Mashiyach.

8. And now also I account them all a detriment, because of the superiority of the knowledge of Y’shua the Mashiyach my Master; for the sake of whom I have parted with all things and have accounted (them) as dung that I might gain the Mashiyach[3] 9. and be found in him; since my righteousness is not (now) that from Torah, but that which is from faith in the Mashiyach, that is, the righteousness which is from Elohim; 10. that thereby I might know Y’shua and the power of his resurrection; and might participate in his sufferings and be assimilated to his death: 11. if so be, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (AENT)

FOOTNOTES:

{1} Torah teaches that we must not rely on our flesh (for dust you are, and to dust shall you return), but that we obey our Father YHWH as His children. We are the real circumcision if we obey YHWH and do His will. Circumcision counts for nothing if we are unwilling to turn to YHWH’s instructions and follow in the steps of His Mashiyach (Jeremiah 9). Rav Shaul repeatedly teaches that circumcision of the heart must come first; circumcision of the flesh can never begin to substitute the perfect work of the Ruach haKodesh.

{2} By including Pharisaic tutelage, Rav Shaul is specifically referencing the “Oral Law” in which he was without fault. Y’shua rebuked the Pharisees (contrary to popular Christian opinion), for not keeping the Torah of Moshe, but for superseding Torah with their traditions (Matthew 15:1-20). Y’shua clearly advocates Torah observance (Matthew 5:17-20). Rav Shaul never referred to the Torah of YHWH as anything detrimental to Faith (Romans 3:31, 7:12). Rav Shaul quotes extensively from Torah – indeed, from all the Tanakh – to uphold every teaching he puts forth! There is nothing Paul upholds which is not based in the Torah of YHWH, so those who preach Paul must not be unbelievers, but also follow what Paul taught, which is the Torah of YHWH, not the traditions of men.

[3] Because Rav Shaul knew that the halacha (way to walk) of Y’shua was superior to that of the Pharisees. It was not that Y’shua abandoned Torah, Elohim forbid! But that Y’shua understood, clarified and revealed Torah far better than any other teacher that Rav Shaul knew, and Paul associated with the greatest souls within Judaism! (Luke 24:44-45). Sadly, many have never even been able to enter into the discussion as it pertains to Y’shua, Paul and Torah, as they’ve been led to believe by false religion that Paul was anti-Torah!

The coming eclipse is NOT a biblical “sign”….

By now you've surely seen several teachers trying to use the upcoming eclipse as yet another biblical "sign" … Question:  WHY would a regular, common, completely predicable (in advance) astronomical occurrence be a prophetic SIGN? 

These same teachers were also warning you that the "blood moons" of 2014-2015 were portends/signs of horrific things to come during that period.  Well, as usual, nothing out of the ordinary happened as my husband revealed in his short article that attempted to debunk the hype. 

Yet many on FB are following these false teachers AGAIN… never mind that Scriptures warns us to stay clear of their nonsense!  People, it would be a "sign from God" IF something in the heavens occurred that was UNUSUAL and inexplicable!

A note to those who like to make fun of older people

Psalm 71: Elohim, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wonders. 18 And also when I am old and grey, O Elohim, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to a generation, Your might to all those who are to come. 19 For Your righteousness, O Elohim, is most high, You who have done great deeds. O Elohim, who is like You? 20 You who have shown me great and evil distresses, Revive me again and bring me up again From the depths of the earth. 21 You increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side. (ISR)

Every once in a while, I see people being attacked by some Facebook smart aleck for “being old.” Normally, these people are uneducated loudmouths with a grudge against older folks; but not always. I personally was once attacked by a Jewish Rabbi who wrote under one of my teaching videos: “Who’s that old lady with the bony fingers?”

When I contacted him and told him I was “that old lady with the bony fingers,” and was writing to give him a chance to apologize, he became even more belligerent and silly – proving that his title had given him neither knowledge of Scripture nor common sense. In the end, realizing I was getting nowhere with him, I forgave him and blocked him. That’s really all you can do with people who give in to their carnal nature.

People who attack someone for “being old” obviously have never paid attention to the many scriptures that tell YHWH’s people to RESPECT their elders. Here are but a few examples:

Proverbs 16:31 White hair is a crown of honor obtained by righteous living. (CJB)

Leviticus 19:32 ‘Rise up before the grey-headed. And you shall favour the face of an old man, and shall fear your Elohim. I am יהוה. (ISR)

Job 12:12-13: With the aged is wisdom, and understanding with length of days. With Him are wisdom and might, He has counsel and understanding. (ISR)

If you’re among those who likes to poke fun at older people, take heed!  First of all, you are SINNING by engaging in this silly, juvenile behavior!  Secondly, the human life span is very short, and so you’d better hope that you will have the privilege of living to old age.  Finally, God is NOT happy with those who like to pretend they belong to Him while constantly allowing themselves to fall prey to their carnal natures. Deliberate and continued sinning WILL result in YOU losing your salvation!

Warning about all the “Christs” showing up these days

Scripture amply warns us that the "end times" scenario would consist of all kinds of terrible things, including many false messiahs cropping up out of nowhere. There are several of them on Facebook now, and they have lots of followers!

I have been challenging false "prophets" and "messiahs" for years, including these two: Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda (who died in 2013) who insisted he was "Christ AND Antichrist" at the same time and made his followers to wear a tattoo; and Ray-El - a former "Guardian Angel" who lost touch with reality.

They both screamed and hollered like crazy when I asked them some pointed questions, and they eventually blocked me in hopes of keeping me away from their followers....

Does Hebrews 8 Negate Torah? (Christian Pearls #1)

A Christian posted recently: "The New Covenant: Hebrew 8" then he went on to say: "Why cling to the shadow when you can have the substance? Why hold on to that which is obsolete and passing away when you can have the fullness of Christ?"

All we can say is "Here we go again!" Another attempt to argue that simple obedience to God, by His rules (Torah), was somehow "done away with", and the "proof", evidently, must be Hebrews 8! Well, we have long addressed Hebrews 8 in other articles. Here are two: https://www.therefinersfire.org/hebrews.htm, and http://blog.therefinersfire.org/…/does-hebrews-8-show-that-…

But let me address the central assumption: "The New Covenant: Hebrews 8".

Hebrews 8 begins by discussing the priestly order addressed in Hebrews 7. In fact, the point is made in Chapter 7 that the Messiah (Jesus [Yeshua] Who was not of the tribe of Levi), required a change to Torah for the Messiah's righteous leadership (7:11-16). This "change to Torah", though, has nothing to do with the abolition of Torah, rather, it is referring only to a change in instructions that relate to priests! Chapter 7 goes on to explain that the Messiah's priesthood is "better" because the Messiah has conquered death (7:20-27). Hebrews 7 closes with the fact that human priest were "flawed", that is, being sinful men, they had to first make sacrifices for themselves before they could offer a sacrifice for others. But the Messiah, having no flaws, is identified in two post-Torah scriptures (verse 7:28) as anointed. These two post-Torah scriptures refer to Psalms 2 and 110.

Then, Chapter 8 begins with the fact that the Messiah is the Cohen identified in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 is very clear that it is NOT talking about Torah when it addresses those who ministered in the "shadow" of things in heaven (8:3-5), rather, the subject is the impermanence of the actions of the earthly priests via the earthly tabernacle. The Messiah's ministry is identified as "better" than the "former", still referring to the imperfect, earthly actions within the earthly priesthood. Indeed, the author refers to the "new covenant" with "the house of Isra'el and the house of Y'hudah" (straight from Jeremiah 31)! The "the house of Isra'el and house of Y'hudah" are BOTH Torah obedient children of God!

Now, note what happened to the "old covenant"! Hebrews 8:9, regarding the new covenant: "'It will not be like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by their hand and led them forth out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, did not remain faithful to my covenant; so I, for my part, stopped concerning myself with them,' says Adonai." Did you catch that? Torah was not the problem! The problem was that the people were not faithful to the covenant! The people broke Torah, not God!

So what was to happen? The people, who, all along were obligated to Torah as children of God, but whom had been unfaithful, would be the recipients of a "new covenant", one in which Torah would be "in their minds and written on their hearts." (Hebrews 8:10 citing Jeremiah 31:33). Torah was not declared "old"! Here is an announcement that it would be the PEOPLE who would change, not Torah! The people would have their hearts and minds opened for a love of Torah such that they would not need the formalized instruction any more from the old way of being taught by the scribes and priests. All would have this love of, acceptance of, and guidance by Torah. (Hebrews 8:11-12 citing Jeremiah 31:34-36).

And finally, Hebrews 8 closes with verse 13, one of the most misunderstood verses in all of the New Testament! The verse reads: "By saying, ‘renewed,’ He has made the first old. Now what becomes old and growing aged is near disappearing." Most take this to mean that the Torah is that which was identified as "old and near disappearing"! But that is dreadfully wrong! This error in interpretation is revealed by the preceding verse! Verse 12 reads: "Because I shall forgive their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawlessnesses I shall no longer remember."

You see, the "old covenant" required the person with the sinful nature who sinned, had to obtain an animal sacrifice offered on his behalf by a Levite Priest. But in the new covenant, Torah would be "in their minds and written on their hearts"! In other words, what was "old" was the "old sinful nature" of man, and what is "new" is the new disposition of man given to him by his having Torah in his mind and on his heart! The New Covenant did not require Torah to change - it required man to change!  Torah was and still is the measure of one’s love for God!

So the central assumption: "The New Covenant: Hebrews 8", is a bit flawed. The assumption implies that the "New Covenant" replaced Torah, while the truth is that the "New Covenant" replaced man's desire to sin with a desire instead to fulfill and live by Torah. The sacrifice of the Messiah, for you, remains so long as you live your life voluntarily without intentional sin (i.e. Torah is on your mind and in your heart). But the Messiah's sacrifice for you is negated if you reject Torah and continue to live in sin!

If women don’t want to be sexualized, then how come they allow themselves to look and behave like whores in music videos?

Isn't it funny how today's women are whining about being sexualized, yet they don't mind dressing like whores and being used as sex objects in videos like this, which is basically porn? The fact that this video (and others like it where women behave like dogs in heat) is the "most watched" reveals where humanity is today. As the days of Noah were.....

Ephesians 5:1. Be therefore imitators of Elohim as beloved children: 2. And walk in love; as the Mashiyach also has loved us and has given up himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to Elohim, for a sweet aroma. 3. But sexual sin and all impurity and greed, do not let them be at all heard from among you, as such (denials) are not becoming of the Set Apart believers; 4. Neither obscenities nor words of foolishness, or of division, or of falsehood, which are not useful; but instead of these, thanksgiving. (AENT)

Psalm 11:3 If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (ESV)

Proverbs 7:1 My son, keep my words, store up my commands with you. 2 Obey my commands, and live; guard my teaching like the pupil of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister"; call understanding your kinswoman; 5 so that they can keep you from unknown women, from loose women with their seductive talk. (CJB)

Proverbs 7:21 With all her sweet talk she convinces him, enticing him with her seductive words. 22 At once he follows her like an ox on its way to be slaughtered; like a fool to be punished in the stocks; 23 or like a bird rushing into a trap, not knowing its life is at stake till an arrow pierces its liver. 24 So now, children, listen to me; pay attention to what I am saying. 25 Don't let your heart turn to her ways; don't stray onto her paths. 26 For many are those she has struck down dead, numerous those she has killed. 27 Her house is the way to Sh'ol; it leads down to the halls of death. (CJB)

Beware of vegetarians and their agenda!

Scripture warns us that there would be myriad false teachers in the end times, and one of the latest crazes I’m seeing is vegans trying to twist Scripture into suggesting that God never condoned the eating of flesh. One such person wrote:

DID YAHUSHA FEED THE CROWD OF 5000 BREAD AND FISH?

Those readers familiar with the New Testament story in which Yahusha miraculously fed 5,000 persons with but a little bread and a few fish, might ask: "Didn't Yahusha eat fish?" The answer is: NOT IN THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC NEW TESTAMENT! In the original, unadulterated version of the New Testament (), Yahusha fed those 5000 persons with but a little BREAD AND GRAPES! The vegetarian teachings of Yahusha were removed by merchants of death -- persons who earned money from the flesh of animals -- after they forcibly took over the early Essene-Christian church and established a State-run religion.

(Before I go on, I would like to get off my chest that I’ve noticed over my 20 years in Torah, that everyone who has weird spellings of YHWH (Yahweh) and Y’shua (Yeshua) are always off the mark in other major areas as well. The weirder those spellings of the transliterations from the Hebrew into English, the weirder their theology! Please see our article on this.)

That said, here are a few questions for the vegan Scripture Twisters:

It’s true that man was originally vegetarian.

Genesis 1:30 And to every wild animal, bird in the air and creature crawling on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I am giving as food every kind of green plant." And that is how it was. (CJB)

Later on, after the “fall” we see the beginnings of meat consumption – which is why animals suddenly began to fear man:

Genesis 9:2 "And the fear of you and the dread of you is on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the heavens, on all that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea – into your hand they have been given. 3 Every moving creature that lives is food for you. I have given you all, as I gave the green plants. 4 But do not eat flesh with its life, its blood. 5 But only your blood for your lives I require, from the hand of every beast I require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I require the life of man. 6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood is shed, for in the image of Elohim has He made man. (ISR)

But, for those who read Scripture in context, it is clear that YHWH had some limits as to what animals were to be eaten, and He passed down MANY instructions about “clean and unclean” animals!

So, where do vegans get off INSISTING that man is to be vegan and WHERE do they get the audacity to twist Scripture in order to prove their point? Anyone who has the most basic knowledge of Hebrew and/or Aramaic knows that Y’shua didn’t feed people bread and GRAPES!

Matthew 14:17. But they said to him, “We have nothing here but five loaves of bread and two fish.” 18. Y’shua said to them, bring them here to me. 19. And he commanded the crowds to recline upon the ground, and he took those five loaves of bread and two fish and gazed into heaven and blessed them and broke them and gave them to his disciples. And those disciples placed before the crowds. 20. And all of them ate and were satisfied. And they took up the remnant of the fragments — twelve baskets full! 21. And those men who ate were five thousand, aside from the women and children! (AENT)

In Matthew 13, do we see Y’shua discussing the casting of nets for GRAPES? Please read this, because it reveals what will happen to those who are deliberately trying to CHANGE Scripture to serve your own bellies!

Matthew 14:47. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a net that was cast into the sea, and every kind of fish it gathered. 48. And when it was full, they pulled it out to the shore of the sea, and they sat down and sorted them. And the good they placed into bags, and the bad they threw away. 49. Thus it will be in the end of the world. The Messengers will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous. 50. And they will cast them into the furnace of fire, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (AENT)

What other reason except to eat the FISH would there be for “fishing”?

Here’s yet another question for the vegan Scripture Twister: Since you insist the Bible tells us we are to be vegans, are you all eating RAW veggies only? After all, nowhere does Scripture tell us to COOK them.... I mean, if you're going to try to "get biblical" let's do that, shall we?

Yes, unfortunately, we are seeing the Books of Daniel and Revelation unfolding before our very eyes! YHWH, His Prophets and Sages and Apostles amply warned about these “wolves” among us. Here are but a few examples:

Jeremiah 14:14 YHWH replied, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I didn't send them, order them or speak to them. They are prophesying false visions to you, worthless divinations, the delusions of their own minds.... (CJB)

Matthew 24:11. 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.  (AENT)

2 Peter 2: 1. But in the world there have been also false prophets, as there will likewise be false teachers among you who will bring in destructive heresies denying Master YHWH that bought them; thus bringing on themselves swift destruction. 2. And many will go after their profaneness on account of whom the way of truth will be reproached. 3. And in the greediness of raving words they will make merchandise of you: whose judgment of a long time is not idle; and their destruction never sleeps. (AENT)

Scripture even tells us what to do about these people:

Matthew 18: 16. And if he does not listen to you, take with you one or two others, because of the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word is established. 17. And if he will also not listen to them, tell the congregation. And if he will also not listen to the congregation, let him be to you like a tax collector and like a heathen. (AENT)

In other words – READ and STUDY Scripture for yourself and test every word with which someone anyone attempts to lure you so that you don’t fall into anyone’s lying trap!