Sunday, April 16, 2023

BEWARE THE “COUNTER-MISSIONARIES!"

BEWARE THE “COUNTER-MISSIONARIES” (THOSE WHO ACTIVELY ATTEMPT TO GET PEOPLE TO REJECT MESSIAH YESHUA. Check out a sampling of their blaspheming memes, below!)

As many of you know, I used to spend a lot of time challenging the Jewish “counter-missionary” rabbis and their converts – all for the purpose of intercepting their interminable efforts to take people away from Yeshua and the New Testament. Basically, it’s their retaliation tool to fight back against Christian or Hebrew Roots missionaries who are trying to lead Jews to Messiah Yeshua (Jesus)…

Headed by counter-missionary rabbis (such as Tovia Singer, Stuart Federow, Michael Skobac, Moshe Shulman, Pinchas Levin and Eli Cohen, etc.), the main goal is to not only to “reintegrate” Jews who have accepted Yeshua as their Messiah; but also, to reach out to the Christian/Messianic/Hebrew Roots population for “conversation to Judaism” and ultimately turn them into “counter-missionary” disciples who will then reach out to YOU by showing you the “error of your ways.”

Unfortunately, many ARE falling for their fast-talking, “ear tickling” verbiage which is peppered with plenty of Hebrew words and concepts designed to impress and deceive “even the elect” (Mark 13:22)…

While I can certainly see why Christians are easily deceived by the amazing “Jewish knowledge” of Scripture, I’m still having a hard time understanding why a Torah observant person, who supposedly knows the Truth of the “echad” of YHWH/Yeshua/Torah (the “whole Bible” concept), would be gullible enough to fall for their wiles!
Regardless, the Bible warns us that this would happen in the end times. (For example: Matthew 24:3-14; Luke 21:10-27; 2 Timothy 3:1-2; Zephaniah 1:18.)

HOW TO RECOGNIZE A COUNTER-MISSIONARY:

To hook you into their beliefs, counter-missionaries will usually approach you with the supposedly “false” teachings of the supposedly “anti-Torah” Paul - which is an absolute LIE, because Paul NEVER spoke against Torah. All he was guilty of was trying hard to explain difficult Hebrew concepts to a pagan populace! Remember, Paul was the one who wrote:

Romans 3:31 Do we then nullify the Law (Torah) through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we ESTABLISH the Law....

Still, once they get you to believe that Paul was a fake, they’ll start attacking “Jesus” who is supposedly either a "myth" or "just some man" or an “idol” you are guilty of worshiping (which, of course, is a SIN). They’ll tell you “God doesn’t have a son, nor did He ever demand human sacrifice.” (Never mind that Yeshua wasn’t “sacrificed” – because nobody “sacrificed” this DIVINE Messiah of God, who chose to martyr himself - against which there is NO Torah law!)

As I explain on my website:

Offerings "qurbana" and sacrifices "dabekha" are two different entities. Although there are certain aspects to Mashiyach's death that are utterly unique to him (Zechariah 12:10, etc.), his death nevertheless echoes aspects of offerings and sacrifices that came before. The qurbana is the human life (nefesh) that Y'shua voluntarily offers up on the stake. The result of that offering is his blood put out on the "altar"; hence dabekha.

However, this is certainly not, as some critics suggest, "human sacrifice." Rather, this indicates Y'shua's status as Mashiyach ben Yoseph. Per strict accordance with Isaiah 53 and Genesis 22:8, Mashiyach ben Yoseph was required to suffer and die. After his death, the offering of himself became a sacrifice that was taken up, and he was resurrected three days later. Many of YHWH's prophets also suffered and were martyred at the hands of those who fought against the Kingdom of Elohim. In the case of Mashiyach, his shed blood is counted as the acceptable offering, the Lamb of YHWH, which is most Set Apart unto YHWH.

Another of the favorite teachings of the “counter-missionaries” is that “Yeshua has failed to fulfill ALL the prophecies.” Well, first of all, nothing says he HAD to fulfill ALL of them during his first time on earth. However, he DID fulfill at least 300 prophecies, and there are just a few more to go (including the last three of the seven mo'edim/High Holy Days/Appointed Times), which will be fulfilled after his Second Coming, when EVERY knee will bow! (See Isaiah 45:23-24; Philippians 2:10-11; Romans 14:11 and my article on The Refiner’s Fire: https://therefinersfire.org/prophecies.htm )

THE WARNING: (COUNTER-MISSIONARY RHETORIC IS LIKE THE SERPENT SPEAKING TO EVE IN GENESIS 3: “DID GOD REALLY SAY….?”)


I know from past experiences with counter-missionaries, once people make up their mind to swallow the Jewish Rabbis’ ear-tickling, anti-Yeshua rhetoric, they don’t ever come back; and all attempts to try to get them to see YHWH’s Truth (as outlined, not just in the Torah, but in the “whole” of the Bible), are futile.

The thing is, we ARE commanded to warn our brethren when they are about to walk off a proverbial cliff, or else their blood will be on our hands (Ezekiel 3:18 and 33:8). Public rejection of Yeshua is the biggest mistake of one's life!

John 14:6 Yeshua said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life! No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 Because you have known me, you will also know my Father. From now on, you do know Him. In fact, you have seen Him. (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.
(AENT)

Hebrews 10:26. For if a man sin voluntarily after he has received a knowledge of the truth, there is no longer a sacrifice which may be offered for sins: 27. but the fearful judgment impends, and the zeal of fire that consumes the adversaries. 28. For if he who transgressed the Torah of Moshe, died without mercies at the mouth of two or three witnesses; 29. how much more, do you think, will he receive capital punishment who has trodden upon the Son of Elohim and has accounted the blood of his covenant by which he is sanctified, as the blood of all men and has treated the Spirit of grace in an insulting manner?[1] 30. For we know him who has said, Retribution is mine and I will repay: and again, Master YHWH will judge his people. 31. It is very terrible to fall into the hands of the living Elohim. (AENT)

NOTE: [1] This admonition is perhaps a midrash about “blaspheming against the Ruach haKodesh” as mentioned by Y’shua in Matthew 12:32.

HaSatan is very busy deceiving everyone he can, because he knows how “the Book” ends! (Job:1:7; Revelation 12:9; 1 Peter5:8; Ephesians 6:10-11.)

Don’t let him deceive YOU! Yeshua is your determining factor as to whether you will spend eternity in the “smoking” or “non-smoking” section! (https://blog.therefinersfire.org/2023/02/what-does-yeshua-mean-when-he-said-i-am.html)

(The memes below are just a few examples of the kind of blasphemy that goes on, on the "counter-missionary" walls and in their groups. I pray that everyone who has read the above, will think twice before allowing themselves to be deceived by those who have rejected Yeshua and are devoted to spending their lives getting the gullible to do the same.)













Thursday, April 13, 2023

Simple explanation of “Torah”for any newcomers to the Netzarim/Messianic faith…

Here’s a really quick and simple explanation of Torah (first five Books of the Bible containing all of God’s original, Divine Instructions) which I wrote several years ago, using as an example my little doggie, Dallas, who passed from this world in 2018:

Our little fur-person, Dallas, has a tiny, postage stamp, fenced-in yard consisting of just a few wires Bill fastened to some rebar posts. He could get out if he wanted to by simply jumping the short fence, but luckily for us, he’s a coward. He also won’t even go near the heat vents in the house, because they’re apparently too scary and weird.

Anyway, that little fence is kind of like our dog’s “Torah.” As long as he stays within its boundaries, he’ll be safe. In that little yard, he’s close to the house and we can keep an eye on him through the French door.

But if he were to ever escape and run up the hill into the woods, he would run the risk of becoming a meal for any number of predators, including a bear, lynx, or coyote. If he decided to run down the hill and across the properties of two of our neighbors, he would end up on a fairly busy highway. He would face possible danger even if he were to simply trot down our driveway toward the mail box, because he would end up on the road that snakes through our neighborhood where many don’t bother to follow the speed limit.

I shudder to think what would happen if he were to make it all the way to the freeway which is approximately a mile away….

What I’m getting at is that YHWH gave us His Torah - which consists of the ONLY Divine Instructions on how to live our lives according to His Will. Torah serves to keep us safe in a fallen world that is riddled with evil; yet most reject it, insisting it was “only for the Jews.” They claim we are “one in Christ,” yet, refuse to acknowledge that God does NOT have different rules for His “natural” and “adopted” children. (Why would He? How else can we know how to be “holy” or “set apart” in this world if we have no rules to follow?)

Remember, Adam and Eve were safe in the Garden until they decided to break just one little rule. Suddenly, they found themselves outside of their safe haven, in a “fallen world” where hard work, pain, sickness and death ruled … where jealousy, greed, drunkenness, lewdness, arrogance, fornication and adultery and all manner of vileness lay in wait as the world’s population began to grow.

In our “fallen world,” we aren’t guaranteed anything - not health, wealth or riches or anything else our carnal nature desires. But when we belong to YHWH, we have shalom in knowing that, no matter what else happens, He is with us … His Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) guiding and teaching us through His Word, which allows us the privilege to grow in knowledge of Him; we have His Divine Rules for holy living which serve to make our earthbound existence smoother … and, of course, we have the assurance of eternal life. (After all, if we refuse to accept YHWH/Yeshua/Torah, whom are we really worshiping?)_

The moral of the story? If Dallas dares to jump over his “Torah” fence that keeps him safe, he will mostly likely lose his life. If YHWH’s people jump their Torah “fence,” the world is ready to close in and cause them to lose not only their “way” but, possibly, their eternal life…. (See Romans 1:18-32; Numbers 15: 30; Hebrews 6:4-8 and 10:26-27; 2 Peter 2: 19-21; 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10; Deuteronomy 7: 9-10, Revelation 3:16, etc.)

To discover which Divine Instructions we can still follow today, please click on this link on our website.

Sunday, April 9, 2023

Looking forward to Shavuot 2023? Here's some info!

 

Shalom and blessings, to all our Facebook friends! I know everyone is looking forward to the final High Holy Day of Passover - which this year, on our Gregorian calendars, starts at sunset on April 10 and ends at sunset on April 11, when we can once again begin to eat leavened products! (For those who aren't yet familiar with YHWH's Festivals/High Holy Days, they are our "yearly dates" with Him. Please check out our simple explanation on our website: https://therefinersfire.org/feasts3.htm )

But let's now discuss the NEXT Festival after Passover week, called Shavuot (Pentecost) - which is another of YHWH's seven commanded (and VERY important!) High Holy Days.

Because of Shavuot’s importance, YHWH commanded His people to “count the Omer” (days) toward Shavuot, as we seek to commemorate both the giving of the Torah and ultimately, the giving of the Holy Spirit (Exodus 34:22). Simply put, Passover, the Israelites were freed from their lives of slavery in Egypt; and 50 days later on Shavuot, they accepted YHWH's Torah which made them a nation set-apart and committed to serving God.

Shavuot was fulfilled by the coming of the promised Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) on the disciples of Yeshua when they were gathered. It represents the beginning of the body of Messiah on Earth, in which ALL believers, redeemed through the blood of Messiah, are lifted up before YHWH and set apart as holy (Acts 2, John 14:15-18, Ephesians 2:11-22 and the Book of Ruth).

By the way, "Shavuot" this year, starts at sunset, May 24 and ends at sunset, May 25. See our in-depth articles: https://therefinersfire.org/counting_the_omer.htm and https://www.therefinersfire.org/shavuot.htm .

As with all the rest of the Biblical Festivals/Feasts, there is a lot of dissension here on Facebook about the "Counting of the Omer," as some insist it begins on the WEEKLY Shabbat (Saturday) during Passover, but here at the Leannah house, we use the sun, moon and stars for our "calendar days" - https://therefinersfire.org/calendar_basics.htm - and began "Counting the Omer" after the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread - which this year was on April 6. That makes the High Holy Day of Shavuot (the 50th Day of Omer) on May 25th.

Which days you wish to start counting the Omer, of course, is up to you. Just remember, the way you count the Omer will determine when you celebrate the Feast of Shavuot. Our refrain is:

JUST DO IT!