Let’s discuss the church’s horrific misunderstandings about God’s commanded Seventh Day Sabbath

Let’s discuss the church’s horrific misunderstandings about God’s commanded Seventh Day Sabbath, as there are so many misconceptions.  Here’s just one example of someone trying to justify "Sunday" Sabbath:

“It is well documented that the early church adopted Sunday as their day of worship. Acts 20:7 speaks of this, "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people …" and 1 Corinthians 16:2, "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made." These passages indicate that Christians were probably meeting regularly on Sunday (the first day of the week).” (Source: Got Questions.org)

WHY IS THAT STATEMENT WRONG?  Let’s view this using a Hebrew, as opposed to Greek understanding.

Referencing Acts 20:7:

Fact is, Jewish believers in Yeshua continued meeting at synagogue (or the Temple) for Sabbath. Common practice would be havdallah - meeting in homes after sundown on Saturday to continue discussions and praise from the Sabbath, which explains Paul "preaching until midnight" in Acts 20:7. The first day of the week for Jews (like Paul) began at sundown at the end of the Sabbath - Saturday evening - not "Sunday."

Referencing 1 Corinthians 16:2:

Acts records 84 occasions when he met in the synagogues on Shabbat.  Paul does not want his hosts to break the Shabbat and he counsels them to make ready for him in advance.  All early Netzarim believers like Paul rested on the Seventh Day Shabbat in Mashiyach.

Paul asks people to make preparations on “the first day” (i.e. work), which PROVES that neither he nor the Corinthians viewed the first day of the week as a Shabbat. Paul's actions speak volumes FOR the Seventh Day Shabbat!

Furthermore, and most importantly, neither the Father nor the Son has ever claimed the first day as His own in any higher sense than He has each or any of the other laboring days. Neither of them has ever placed any blessing upon it, or attached any sanctity to it.

The Bible tells us God expressly reserved the seventh day to Himself, placing His blessing upon it, and claimed it as His holy day. (Genesis 2:1-3.) Moses told Israel in the wilderness of Sin of the sixth day of the week, "Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord." Exodus 16:23.

It’s both funny and sad that a pastor decided to temporarily turn his chapel into a strip club, to be deemed “essential”

The fact that a pastor saw fit to temporarily turn his chapel into a strip club so his chapel could be “deemed essential” is both funny and sad.

FUNNY, because this pastor is exposing the hypocrisy of the businesses being deemed "essential" during a pandemic.

SAD because chapels/churches are “businesses” (which is a sad thing in itself!) that are supposedly safe places for "God to visit" on Sunday [1]; and "essential" because they are gathering places for "worship" [2].

SAD also, because most don't seem to grasp the seriousness of COVID-19. It's the rare person who seems to realize that the world is under siege by a deadly virus right now, which has changed EVERYTHING - which means, we MUST ALL cooperate by changing our behaviors in hopes of surviving this thing!

NOTES:

[1] Ironically, Sunday was instituted as the Sabbath by Constantine who forbade anything "Jewish"; never mind that YHWH commanded the “Seventh Day” as a day of rest, to be kept holy (Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 31:16-17; Ezekiel 20:11, etc.) – which, on our modern calendars, falls on Saturday. One can and should “worship” on ANY day; but the Seventh Day is the COMMANDED day of REST. God never said a word about keeping the "first day" holy.

In the year 321 A.D., Constantine decreed, "On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed" (Source: Codex Justinianus lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, p. 380, note 1).

[2] While worship of God IS “essential” and even commanded; churches comprise large gatherings, which are NOT safe during a pandemic! (Large gatherings have been proven to be “super-spreaders!”)

God is not going to keep anyone from getting a dangerous virus that HE sent into our lost, decadent and belligerent world, just because they gather in a place designed for community worship ….

…Especially NOT a place that was “temporarily turned into a strip club” – an act that desecrated the very ground that chapel stands on, and rendered it “unholy.”

When did the Rabbis start prohibiting the use of “The NAME?”

READER QUESTION:  When did the Rabbis start prohibiting the use of “The NAME?”

OUR RESPONSE:

It seems not possible to discover an exact time/period when the rabbis prohibited the uttering or writing of "The NAME", the Tetragrammaton. But it seems to have originated during the Second Temple period, in the 5th century BCE.

It is recorded in the Mishnah (which itself was not compiled and written down till the 3rd century CE and later) which explains that the sacred name was restricted only to the Temple, and even then only on specific occasions. Thus, outside the rabbinic circles, the pronunciation of the sacred name was already not permitted.

Then, in 70 CE, when the Second Temple was destroyed, even the rabbis had no authorized place to speak the sacred name, and it fell into complete disuse. The consequence is that the pronunciation was lost, leading to today, where we spend a lot of time arguing with each other about the proper pronunciation.

Oddly enough, rabbis recognize that there is no prohibition of speaking or writing the sacred name, yet they cling to the old tradition.

A well-known congregation leader says Biden would win because God is worried about the “Church’s idolizing of President Trump.”

I was totally floored and rendered quite speechless after reading a recent article by one of the leaders of Tiferet Yeshua in Tel Aviv.

In this article, the author insists God told him that Biden would win the election, and that it was “because of the Church’s idolizing of President Trump. (Not everyone in the body, but enough that God was upset.)”

He went on say:

“I sensed him saying that this was not His perfect will, that he had intended him to serve four more years, but Christian leaders had become more like Trump, than Trump like Jesus. And many believers over the past four years have imitated his brash, mean-spirited behavior on social media.”

My questions are as follows:

In the history of “the Christian church” and in the history of America’s leadership, can you name ANYONE who “became like Jesus?” or that God would become afraid that some pagan leader was going to basically, “steal His Thunder?” I certainly can’t.

YHWH gave us His Word, His Torah and His Messiah, and you either accept that “whole package,” or you don’t.

WHO, in the history of the Christian church, has actually preached the need for the “whole package” of YHWH/Yeshua/Torah? Nobody! They have done their level best to keep Torah OUT of the church, citing untruths such as, “The Law was only for the Jews!”  (That is NOT what God said! See Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:13-16, Isaiah 56:6, Galatians 3:28 and Romans 10:12-13.)

WHEN has “the church” ever followed YHWH’s Divine Instructions (Torah)? They’ve refused to even keep the commanded Seventh Day Sabbath holy - the SIGN between YHWH and His people! (Genesis 2:1; Exodus 31:16-17; Ezekiel 20:11-12)  They idolize unclean meats, and condone and endlessly forgive DELIBERATE sin.

“The church” has not only changed the Name of YHWH’s Divine Messiah (Yeshua, which contains the Name of YHWH within, and has an actual meaning – “YHWH is Salvation!”); but also the dates of his birth, death and resurrection.

They totally ignore His Seven COMMANDED High Holy Days, and have come up with their own man-made versions - “Christmas” and “Easter” – both of which are steeped in paganism and traditions!

I never personally cared for Trump, but he HAS done more to try to rebuild America than any of the Democratic "leadership" we've seen in decades! Trump is FOR Israel and even moved the American Embassy there. What did Carter, Clinton and Obama do for Israel OR for America's economy? (Clinton was largely responsible for the 2008 market crash!) Are Joe BIDEN and his socialist sidekick, Kamala Harris, going to be friends of Israel?

So, this author insisted that Biden would win the election because God was worried about the “Church’s idolizing of President Trump.”  My question is: WHY?  Have the world’s churches been SO holy and obedient over the last 2,000 years that they were in danger of Trump leading them astray because church leaders were becoming like Trump? 

What a LUDICROUS statement!  The church, as a whole, has been steeped in idolatry since the very beginning when people like Constantine forbade “anything Jewish” in congregations!

America kicked God out of schools and public places in the Sixties and has become a virtual pit of ongoing sin on every level. America’s liberal leadership has even legalized homosexual marriage AND the KILLING of fully-formed fetuses, ready to be BORN! WHERE was the collective voice of “the church” then?

Truth be told, "the church" wouldn’t recognize the actual Jewish MESSIAH, if he walked through their doors today!

“The church” has turned “Jesus” into a Torah-less being who came to abolish everything his Father ever commanded, and bring the kind of “grace and mercy” that suggests humanity can do whatever it wishes, “because God is love and He always forgives us, no matter what, as long as we repent!”

Well, that is NOT what the Bible says – and America has certainly NOT repented!  (If it had, we wouldn’t be undergoing these terrible tribulations we’ve been experiencing lately, in a world that’s been turned upside-down….)

No, that is NOT what we read in Torah, nor Tanach, nor the last fifth of the Bible called the “New Testament” from which "the church" gets its watered-down ideas about who Jesus was and what he actually taught; not to mention, “the church” bases MOST of their theology on what they THINK Paul wrote (which is the dangerously erroneous idea that “Torah was abolished at the cross”).

At the end of his article, the author gives himself a way out, just in case God DIDN’T tell him these things. He wrote: “P.S. If for some reason, Trump prevails in the courts, I will be the first to repent for saying the Lord told me Biden would win. But I would still be convinced that the overall message I’m sharing here with you is true. God bless America.”

People, if YHWH actually tells you something, you KNOW it beyond a shadow of a doubt! You won’t have any need to caveat your comments with, “Well, just in case I’m wrong, I’ll be the first to repent.” When YHWH spoke to the prophets of old, NONE of them ever repented.  They had no need to because every word from their mouths came straight from Him!

What really saddens me about this person’s article is that he is in the position to influence hundreds of thousands of people with this “God told me” article – and judging from the myriad comments on the article and on social media, they are gobbling it up like honey and passing around this “amazing insight” on the social media circuit….

So, myriads are waiting in food lines because they have no money, but yet they’re busy buying plane tickets and Christmas presents online?

This morning's news showed us endless streams of cars of people waiting in food lines because they have no money to buy food. We were told people are desperate for many reasons, including loss of jobs, loss of businesses, and their unemployment compensation is coming to an end, etc.

Next, we saw a segment featuring professionals urging people not to travel on Thanksgiving due to the COVID pandemic which has literally exploded over the last month or so.  One person even said, “If you gather this year for Thanksgiving, people may be gathering for your funeral in January.”

In the very next segment, we learned that most people this year were opting to buy their Christmas presents online…

Okay, so here are some pointed questions:

If people are desperate enough to wait for hours in food lines because they're short on money, from WHERE are they getting the money to buy Christmas presents and/or the gas money or plane tickets for travel across the US to spend Thanksgiving with relatives? 

If the answer is "credit cards," then why aren’t they using their credit cards to ONLY buy FOOD and necessities, and deciding to forego the Christmas presents this year? 

After all, isn’t “Christmas” (which today is nothing more than a commercial holiday designed to get you to buy, buy, buy) supposed to be all about honoring the birth of Messiah?  The "three wise men" didn’t exchange presents with each other; they brought gifts for the baby!  Christmas should never have been "all about presents," in the first place.  Unfortunately, that's what it's been made into - but that's a whole 'nuther subject....
  
Why are so many (approximately 50 million, we’re told) insisting on traveling for Thanksgiving during a raging pandemic? Wouldn’t it make sense to just this ONE time, tighten our belts at every level and work together to END this terrible thing that is holding us captive?  COVID could have been long gone already if EVERYONE had fully cooperated….

A word about Pastor Karl Lentz’s fall from grace….

And another one falls from grace…

Another pastor has “bitten the dust” by committing adultery – and it’s all because he clearly doesn’t bother to follow ADONAI’s Torah rules and consequently allowed himself to commit “deliberate sin.” (Committing adultery is not “an accident”….)

Karl Lentz, who baptized Justin Bieber, was a popular lead pastor of Hillsong Church NYC until November 4, 2020, when he was fired for committing adultery – and his mistress is now “spilling the beans” to the press (and, of course, making it look as though it was all his idea and his fault….).

Well, Lentz has said he’s sorry (of course, he’s sorry … he got caught!). But “sorry” doesn’t help on Judgment Day because the Bible tells us there is no “sin sacrifice” for deliberate sin.

You see, Yeshua’s death doesn’t cover purposeful sins AFTER you have accepted his divine blood to “wash you clean!” Yeshua’s death removed PAST sins – those committed BEFORE we received the Ruach (Holy Spirit). (See Genesis 2:21-24; Numbers 15:30; Hebrews 6:4-8 and 10:26.)

I’m pretty sure there will be those who accuse me of “judging” and suggest “we pray for Pastor Lentz.” To that I say, yes, we can certainly pray for him all we want, but that won’t remove his guilt nor change anything because he has not only committed a sin against God by desecrating his own body which is a temple where the Ruach resides; but also against his wife and the woman with whom he committed adultery….

Before Yeshua came onto the scene to shed his blood on our behalf, anyone caught in adultery (both parties) immediately received the death penalty by stoning (Leviticus 20:10-15).

The severity of the act of adultery has never changed, and therefore, Pastor Lentz no longer qualifies to be a “man of God” for he has ruined the “spotless reputation” required of a congregation leader (Matthew 20:25-28; Titus 1:5-9, 1 Tim. 3:1-7, 1 Peter 5:1-4).

Exodus 18: 21 "But you should choose from among all the people, competent men who are God-fearing, honest, and incorruptible, to be their leaders..."

Lentz – like all the other adulterous pastors who preceded him – will end up begging for forgiveness; and “good” Christian people will (as usual) insist “he just made an honest mistake”; and they’ll go around quoting that “God is loving, merciful and forgiving” etc., and therefore, we must forgive this “little transgression.”

The thing is, if they had ever read the Bible from cover to cover, and understood God’s original, divine instructions in those first five Books called “Torah” wherein the Ten Commandments reside (Exodus 20), they would have realized that there are some DIRE consequences for deliberate sins AFTER having received the Ruach….

The Seventh Commandment says, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).

That was NOT a “suggestion!”

We humans are commanded to be “wholehearted.” Anything less will not work on Judgment Day.

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)

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)

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of Adonai is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (CJB)

On “going back to Eden”….

READER COMMENT:

There is some talk about ‘going back to Eden’ and no longer eating any living creatures.  What does that mean?

OUR RESPONSE:

It seem this idea is developed from Revelation 22, verses 1 and 2. People see the phrase "the river of the water of life...flowing" and "Between the main street and the river was the Tree of Life producing twelve kinds of fruit" and you have the theory that the description sounds like the Garden of Eden.

As to not eating any living creatures, it is not clear we will eat at all. Revelation 7:16 seems to imply that eating and drinking are not necessary for sustenance. Yet Revelation 22:2 mentions the tree of life with 12 kinds of fruit (though it is not clear if that refers to edible fruit).

Matthew 8:11 seems to imply that the faithful will be "at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven with Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya`akov", which also implies eating. But as for eating animals, Revelation 22:3 says there will be no more curses. One could argue that animals were cursed when humans gained the approval to eat meat, so one could argue that if there are animals in the end, then they will not need to die to provide meat.

We can’t really spend much time trying to assess the things for which there’s no real answer, because Scripture isn’t clear.  But it is an interesting topic for speculation.

A message to impart to those who have rejected Messiah Yeshua

John 5:39 You keep examining the Tanakh because you think that in it you have eternal life. Those very Scriptures bear witness to me, 40 but you won’t come to me in order to have life!

41 “I don’t collect praise from men, 42 but I do know you people — I know that you have no love for God in you! 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you don’t accept me; if someone else comes in his own name, him you will accept. 44 How can you trust? You’re busy collecting praise from each other, instead of seeking praise from God only.

45 “But don’t think that it is I who will be your accuser before the Father. Do you know who will accuse you? Moshe, the very one you have counted on! 46 For if you really believed Moshe, you would believe me; because it was about me that he wrote. 47 But if you don’t believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (CJB)

Notice in the above passage that Yeshua came in his Father’s Name; yet, mankind struggles to distinguish the Name of YHWH, versus the name of man. This includes those who practice Judaism or Christianity who know full well that YHWH (or “Yahweh”) is the Name of the Creator of the Universe.

Unfortunately, most prefer to follow religious traditions about His Name. Rabbinical authorities, for instance, have long established a ban on verbalizing the Name of YHWH, for fear of misusing it. Instead, they invented the title of “HaShem” (which means, “The Name”) to use in place of ‘YHWH”. And Christians like to use “the LORD”.

In such cases, religious traditions come in “their own name” – and by usurping authority over Scripture, “religion” sends followers out “in the name” of their respective religion….

As you can surely see, a “name” carries authority, or “branding” just as universities award degrees in their “name”. Honor and recognition by the faculty extends the use of the “name” to its “disciples.”

Do people really have a Constitutional “right” to expose themselves to a deadly virus, and then spread it?

Well, a quarter million Americans have died from COVID-19, thanks to the lack of cooperation of many. Even so, many are STILL protesting against any restrictions, and are boldly posting memes featuring a copy of the Constitution designed to remind us of our “rights.”

My question is: WHERE in the Constitution does it tell us we have a “right” to purposely and carelessly risk exposing ourselves to a deadly virus and then spread it?

It's a proven FACT that careless behavior by people participating in large gatherings has been a (if not THE) major reason for the steep increase in cases!

How many huge weddings, football games, birthday parties and other large “super-spreader” events will it take before people decide to cooperate by wearing masks and doing some social distancing?

It seems, because they can't SEE this virus, they apparently see no reason to change their lifestyles. (Remember - you can't SEE the wind, either, but you can certainly see the devastating damage it can do...)

I shudder to think what will happen after the Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings, as myriads are already protesting the pleas to stay home and forego the gatherings this year to keep this deadly virus from getting completely out of control…. (I mean, would it really kill you to do your part by staying at home this year?)

How many millions of deaths will it take for people to wake up to the reality of COVID, and start cooperating by using some common sense preventive methods? Are a quarter million not enough?

Now since the virus has gained major ground, there's no stopping it in time to save the millions who will surely become infected before any vaccine is distributed....

(And speaking of vaccines - I haven't seen any vocal "anti-vaxxers" saying a word about the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines about to hit the market, LOL!)

It's truly sad that Americans feel the Constitution includes the “RIGHT” to do whatever they wish – even if it means that their uncooperative and rebellious behavior may cause the deaths of millions ... including those innocents who have been DOING their part all along.

Moshe (Moses) wrote:

Deuteronomy 31:²⁸ Assemble for me all the leaders of your tribes and your officials, so that I can say these things in their hearing, calling heaven and earth to witness against them — ²⁹ because I know that after my death you will become very corrupt and turn aside from the way that I have ordered you, and that disaster will come upon you in the acharit-hayamim, because you will do what Adonai sees as evil and provoke him by your deeds.”

Isaiah wrote:

Isaiah 1:4  "Oh, sinful nation, a people weighed down by iniquity, descendants of evildoers, immoral children! They have abandoned Adonai, spurned the Holy One of Isra'el, turned their backs on him! 5  "Where should I strike you next, as you persist in rebelling? The whole head is sick, the whole heart diseased.  6  From the sole of the foot to the head there is nothing healthy, only wounds, bruises and festering sores that haven't been dressed or bandaged or softened up with oil.  7  "Your land is desolate, your cities are burned to the ground; foreigners devour your land in your presence; it's as desolate as if overwhelmed by floods.  (ISV)

Timothy wrote:

2 Timothy 3:3 Moreover, understand this: in the acharit-hayamim (latter days) will come trying times. 2 People will be self-loving, money-loving, proud, arrogant, insulting, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, uncontrolled, brutal, hateful of good, 4 traitorous, headstrong, swollen with conceit, loving pleasure rather than God, 5 as they retain the outer form of religion but deny its power. (CJB)

A question for all the liberals who voted for Biden/Harris

If you want to see what the US will look like in 4 to 8 years, check out what has been happening in liberal Seattle for some years now!

There has been a huge increase in people selling their homes and leaving the Seattle area lately, because Seattle has become a totally lawless society where (to mention just a couple issues) criminal codes seem to be fading and misdemeanor crimes are dismissed; and the law enforcement's "hands are tied" when it comes to removing the ever-growing homeless colonies where drugs, criminal activity, public fornication, defecation and urination are the norm....

When a body of government taxes its decent, hard-working citizens to death for the purpose of catering to the criminal element with all its endless needs and demands for "more" and where everyone does “whatever they see as right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25), there certainly comes a point where decent people leave for "greener pastures"; thus ultimately causing the government supported, government-sponsored programs, to run out of money….

In the end, all that's left is the criminal element and all the chaos, destruction, devastation and evil it breeds.

As amply evidenced by the collapse of every socialistic government in the history of the world - when the money runs out, the economy completely collapses, and everyone loses.

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. (ESV)

Proverbs 16:4 ADONAI made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of disaster. 6 ADONAI detests all those with proud hearts; be assured that they will not go unpunished. (CJB)

Psalm 1:1-6 How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don’t stand on the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit! 2 Their delight is in ADONAI’s Torah; on his Torah they meditate day and night. 3 They are like trees planted by streams — they bear their fruit in season, their leaves never wither, everything they do succeeds. 

4 Not so the wicked, who are like chaff driven by the wind. 5 For this reason the wicked won’t stand up to the judgment, nor will sinners at the gathering of the righteous. 6 For ADONAI watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed. (CJB)

(See also Isaiah 34 to see what happens to a people who reject YHWH's Divine Instructions for holy, righteous living!)

Is the “great reset” real?

READER QUESTION:

Someone sent me a video today about the great reset and new world order. This person said this was all in the Bible. Is this REALLY in the Bible or is this another group of people coming up with a story?

OUR RESPONSE:

No. The great reset and new world order is NOT in the Bible. People can see just about anything they want to see in Scripture but it is only a way to sucker people into thinking that they know something you don't.

The term "Great Reset" is just a catch phrase coined by people hawking their ideas on how the global economy and capitalism must change. The idea has been around since at least 2011 in a book by Richard Florida.

Lately, Klause Schwab of the "World Economic Forum" has hawked the idea by linking the "need" to reform to the Covid-19 crisis to suggest that this "change" they advocate is needed NOW. And, other books published recently, are appearing also using this made-up term, the "Great Reset" to capitalize on the "fad" idea. (Ironic, isn’t it that these people hate capitalism, yet use and rely on capitalism to make money on their books!)

So yes, it's just another group of people coming up with a story.

…The “great falling away” is gaining momentum!

I just discovered that two more Facebook friends have rejected Yeshua, thanks to the cunning, Scripture-twisting efforts of the Jewish "counter-missionaries" whose goals are to get people to reject Yeshua and then use those people to help to lure others away...

Clearly, my two "friends" (who considered themselves "Hebrew Roots" for many years) NEVER knew Yeshua, in the first place - or else, they could NEVER have rejected him!

It's truly sad that in this day and age (where most of the world's population is literate, and Bibles are plentiful), Christians have never realized their need for Torah; and Jews still can't comprehend that their long-awaited Messiah came some 2,000 years ago, and will return soon....

Neither "side" realizes that if they would begin reading the Bible from cover to cover without their "bias-clouded glasses," the WHOLE Truth of YHWH/Yeshua/Torah would FINALLY become crystal clear, and the Angels would rejoice! (Zephaniah 3:17, Luke 15:7-10, etc.)

How very, very sad that both "sides" remain blinded to YHWH's whole Truth due to arrogance, pride and rampant selfishness. Abba can't do anything with people like that.

Scripture twisting is rampant

As you know, Scripture twisting is rampant. 1 Corinthians 8:1 gives us an inkling as to why that is:

1 Corinthians 8:1 And concerning sacrifices to idols, we know, that in all of us there is knowledge; and knowledge inflates (the ego), but love uplifts (the spirit). 2. And if any one thinks that he knows anything he knows nothing yet, as he should know (it). 3. But if any one loves Elohim, that man is known of him. (AENT)

What does this mean?

Well, basically, that humans with their limited mindsets simply do not and cannot "know everything" while we are stuck in these "earth suits."

While it's good to be "educated," we must always remember that even the vast knowledge of the most brilliant human minds would fit on that proverbial "head of a pin" when compared to the knowledge of יהוה (YHWH), Creator of the entire universe.

Messiah Yeshua (God's Divine Son, who amazed the Rabbis with his knowledge at the tender age of 12, Luke 2:41-52) even deferred to YHWH while in his "earth suit"; so what makes us mere, fallible humans believe we have the right to exalt ourselves?

YHWH breathed life into each of us, along with the ability to learn and grow into everything HE intended us to be. ALL the glory belongs to Him!

We must ALL be willing to continue learning and growing throughout our entire lifetime (especially when it comes to Scripture!), always making sure to thank GOD for allowing us to receive that knowledge; AND making sure that what we are learning from our teachers, lines up perfectly with Scripture ... for if it doesn't, we risk the chance of being led off the Path...

This is why actual continuous STUDY of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is so very important....

Is it okay for dogs to sleep in our beds?

READER QUESTION:

Someone, with assistance of several verses from her friend, said dogs or any pet should not sleep on my bed. The scriptures shared by her: Leviticus 18:23, Leviticus 20:15 and Exodus 22:19. My dogs sleep innocently on my bed. I really hope dog sleeping by m bed is alright. I have been doing that for many years. Any comments and clarification of scriptures appreciated. Thanks!

Also, Rev. 22:15 seems to put dogs in the same category as wickedness. Why dogs, not other animals?

OUR RESPONSE:

Of course, it’s okay to allow your animals to sleep with you! It is ridiculous to suggest there is a sexual connection to loving your pets and allowing them to sleep with you!

The mentioned scriptures by the people making the allegation of sexual involvement refer to the perversion of bestiality:

Exodus 22:19 Whoever has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death.

Leviticus 18:23 ²³ “‘You are not to have sexual relations with any kind of animal and thus become unclean with it; nor is any woman to present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; it is perversion.

Leviticus 20:15. ¹⁵ If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you are to kill the animal. ¹⁶ If a woman approaches an animal and has sexual relations with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal; their blood will be on them.

Some people attempt to suggest that God hates dogs, using such passages as Revelation 22:15, which DO seem to put dogs in the same category as wickedness – because the allegory is taken out of context.

Let’s look at the actual Hebrew meanings of passages such as Matthew 7: 6 and Revelation 22:15, which will help to clarify:

Matthew 7: 6. You should not hang earrings on dogs and you should not place your pearls before pigs that they should not trample them by their feet and they overtake and wound you. (AENT)

Revelation 22:15. Without (will be) dogs and sorcerers, and whoremongers and manslayers and idolaters, and everyone that loves and does falsehood. (AENT)

The word “tithlon” (hang) was misunderstood as “talon” (to give); “qudesha” (earrings) was misunderstood as qudsha (holy). The picture of hanging earrings on dogs dovetails with giving pearls to pigs, and the symbolism of the two animal groups could not be clearer, as dogs represent apostate Jews, and the pigs, apostate Gentiles who are ignorant of YHWH and His Torah.

Either way, the lesson here is do not give what is precious to those who will not appreciate the value.

Got a “toxic” person in your life? Give ‘em the boot….

Got a “toxic” person in your life? Give ‘em the boot….

The Bible commands us to forgive (Matthew 6:14-15, Ephesians 4:31-32) but there does come a time when we must choose shalom/peace of mind over certain toxic relationships.

If a person is a conniving liar, “user” and back-stabber who keeps choosing “the world” and blaming everyone else except themselves for their failures, then chances are, you’re basically “spinning your wheels” in a one-sided relationship.

Keep them in your prayers, but LET THEM GO! Stop fretting, and just let them keep on doing what they have been doing; for they are stuck in a “carnal rut” where they will “keep getting what they got.” If you don’t let go, then they will continue to ruin your shalom while dragging you down with them….

Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. (ESV)

Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (ESV)

1 Corinthians 5: 11. But this is what I wrote to you, that you don't mix, if anyone is called a brother, and is a sexual sinner, or avaricious, or an idol-worshipper, or a charlatan, or a drunkard, or rapacious, with him who is such, not even to eat bread.[1] 12. For what business have I to judge them who are without? But those within the body, you judge, 13. and those without, Elohim judges; and remove you the wickedness from among you. (AENT)

Don’t miss verse 13 which tells you it’s okay to “remove you the wickedness from among you.”

If you’ve tried to lead someone to the Truth of YHWH/Yehua/Torah, then you have DONE your duty according to Ezekiel 3:18-21, and they are no longer YOUR problem.

Here is what you’re supposed to do:

Matthew 18:15 And if your brother with you is at fault, go rebuke him, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. 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, cut that proverbial umbilical cord and set yourself free!

Proverbs 16:28 A deceitful person stirs up strife, and a slanderer can separate even close friends. (CJB)

Romans 1:18 What is revealed is God’s anger from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who in their wickedness keep suppressing the truth; ¹⁹ because what is known about God is plain to them, since God has made it plain to them.

²⁰ For ever since the creation of the universe his invisible qualities — both his eternal power and his divine nature — have been clearly seen, because they can be understood from what he has made. Therefore, they have no excuse; ²¹ because, although they know who God is, they do not glorify him as God or thank him. On the contrary, they have become futile in their thinking; and their undiscerning hearts have become darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they have become fools! (CJB)

Psalm 1: How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don’t stand on the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit! ² Their delight is in Adonai’s Torah; on his Torah they meditate day and night. ³ They are like trees planted by streams — they bear their fruit in season, their leaves never wither, everything they do succeeds.

⁴ Not so the wicked, who are like chaff driven by the wind. ⁵ For this reason the wicked won’t stand up to the judgment, nor will sinners at the gathering of the righteous. ⁶ For Adonai watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed. (CJB)

Does God REALLY “lead us into temptation?”

READER QUESTION:

When praying "the Lord's prayer" - the one The Messiah taught His disciples - the usual translation includes the words, “... and lead us not into temptation...”

My two-point question: The Father would never tempt us, so why would He lead us into temptation? Surely, isn't there a better translation of what that line might more accurately be translated?

Thank you!

OUR RESPONSE:

Excellent question, and you are correct. Why would He lead us into temptation? Perhaps a better understanding of Matthew 6:13 is "And not bring us into trial, but deliver us from the evil one,..."

The Aramaic word here in the verse which is usually translated as "temptation", is more appropriately "trial". We are often "tested". YHWH does test people. Deut. 13:3-14; Job 1:7-12; James 1:13-14.

It is, therefore, the "evil one" who temps us, YHWH, on the other hand can certainly "test" us!

Yeshua wasn't "tempted" to be beaten and crucified, but he was certainly led into "trial" – “tested” to the limits of human understanding … and so we mere humans who live in a fallen world should definitely not expect any less. (And boy, do we get it spades sometimes!)

Is taking medicine considered sorcery? And how a believer should approach vaccines?

The answer is no. But as always, "medicine" can be abused and linked to the occult in the same way that watching the sun, moon, and stars can be used for both good and bad purposes. (See Ezekiel 47:12; Isaiah 38:21; Matthew 9:12; and many other verses.)

Medicines are a gift from YHWH for He permits our healing by them. On the other hand, even useful medicines can be abused, but that is our fault, not YHWH's."Sorcery" is evil and we are commanded to stay away from it (Leviticus 19:31; 20:6; Galatians 5:19-21; and many other verses).

Look at it this way: the blue dye [techelet] that was used in the the blue thread of the tzitzit (Numbers 15:38) came from an unclean animal, a snail. Yet the tzitzit was and is holy, and not unclean at all!

But, here’s a dilemma: if the dye for the tzitzit can come from an unclean snail, then that also has implications for vaccines that use fetal tissue, right? 

Well … yes, it does have "implications."  My example of the source of the blue dye is intended to show only that even in the world of Orthodox Judaism they understand that a chemical or compound extracted from something "unclean" is itself NOT unclean.

Yes, animal byproducts are in vaccines. But YHWH said that ALL He created was "good" (Genesis 1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:25); and that would certainly include compounds and byproducts found in the things He created….

Surely, Louis Pasteur had no hidden agenda in his work when he made his discoveries. In fact, Pasteur was a Catholic. His son-in-law wrote: "[He had] absolute faith in God and in Eternity, and a conviction that the power for good given to us in this world will be continued beyond it, were feelings which pervaded his whole life; the virtues of the gospel had ever been present to him."

This man used his God-given brain to advance our knowledge, and he created life-saving techniques and vaccines!

Many people may object to vaccines that are made from human tissue. This was the case with the Rubella Virus vaccine, as the original vaccine came from aborted fetus tissue, created to avoid the risk of major birth defects. Since the vaccine was developed in the lab, there was no need for further human tissue. The Rubella vaccine has prevented thousands of abortions by protecting women from infection.

Today, the Rubella vaccine is made only from a chemical reproduced in labs, and not from "fresh" fetal tissue. YHWH said, on the 6th day after creating humans "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31). If that is true, then how can a chemical found in the human tissue which is exploited for such good, be considered "bad"?

Sure, it is repulsive to think of human fetuses being harvested for research. But if we are going to be honest, the barbarity of that thought need not exist. While the early research was forced to use actual fetuses, opportunistically, science now knows how to reproduce the necessary chemicals and compounds without using what is widely accepted today as an unethical procedure.

Here’s a question:  If we are to strongly object to vaccines, then why do we eat? We eat meat, which is the dead muscle of animals including their DNA; and we eat plants, which is nothing but the dead matter from non-breathing organisms, including all their DNA. And, let’s not forget, we breathe constantly, inhaling both bad things and good things with each breath.

As a matter of fact, we ingest millions of spores of yeast when we breathe, 365 days a year; yet, at Passover, we are expected to "rid" our homes of it! (Actually, the word is LEAVEN, not yeast, as mentioned in many Bibles.  So, IF we were to rid our homes of yeast at Passover, then we shouldn't breathe...)

If we are going to be so sure that OUR perspective on vaccines is the only correct one, then what have we become? Do we have faith in YHWH or not?

What’s wrong with studying uncanonized books, such as Enoch?

There are several reasons the Book of Enoch not canonized!

First, we have no authoritative Book of Enoch; rather, we have documents that purport to be the Book of Enoch. It's pseudepigrapha.

Secondly, its calendar is indecipherable being only an agricultural calendar based on the sun, not matching scripture.

Thirdly, it contradicts the canonized scriptures and, honestly, could we have today a "book" written by a man who existed such a long time before the Flood? While we have evidence of some very ancient writings on tablets, few, if any, have been shown to have been written by anyone prior to the flood.

Yes, stories of Enoch circulated in Biblical times. He is even mentioned in Jude 1:14 regarding a prophecy from Enoch. But since Jude was written in the First Century CE, its reference to Enoch is most likely only expressed from oral tradition and not any "Book of Enoch" which is nowhere mentioned in scripture.

I have an idea: Let’s dissolve the political parties and start thinking about the “good of the country”….

Wouldn't it be nice if there were no political "parties" and people would run for President for the good of the whole country?

If Biden had had any brains, he would have picked a Republican running mate, and run on a platform designed to "Take America back to its godly roots and heal this country from the inside-out by completely eliminating the petty fights or arguments."

Instead, it's been the same-ol' stuff that always happens during elections anymore. Professionalism and common sense are things of the past because everyone has allowed their egos to get in the way of rational thought. ALL we've heard and seen is both guys endlessly bashing "the other side"; with neither side talking about doing what their actual job description demands of them.

What's also disgusting is that the Democrats don't even PRETEND to be interested in "the good of the whole" anymore! ALL they have done for the last four years is to bash and trash and fight Trump at every turn, because they hate him. Never once did they put their childish feelings aside and try to work WITH Trump on anything! "The good of the country" has completely fallen by the wayside.

My personal feelings are that Dems are a PATHETIC party consisting of ignoramuses ELECTED BY ignoramuses! They have clearly forgotten what the Democrats' "leadership" has done to our country over the last several decades....

Case in point, the financial crisis of 2008 was directly caused by 8 years of a lying, cheating, adulterous Democrat who had been RE-ELECTED to continue doing damage to the USA, AFTER his disgusting character was revealed on national television by a young intern who admitted to crawling around under his desk to "entertain" him while he was supposed to be running the country....

I lost complete confidence in the American people the day Clinton was re-elected, because his actions went straight into the Face of God - and hardly anyone seemed to care....

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned BOTH parties need to be dissolved, because this partisan nonsense and rampant childishness have now entered the realm of ridiculousness. It is crystal clear that the endless fights are all about their own precious "parties" and selfish interests. America can't be a "great country" if it's being run by people who insist on behaving like out-of-control, bratty five-year-olds.

Those running for office all seem to have forgotten that they are supposed to WORK FOR the good of "we the people."