"WILL I BE SENT TO HELL IF I DON'T SLEEP IN A TENT FOR A WEEK?"

As unbelievable as it is, some years ago, a woman on Facebook was telling everyone they would go to hell if they didn't spend a week in a tent! 

First of all, NO human being has a right to tell anyone they are "going to hell" if they don't celebrate one of the High Holy Days a certain way.  (Deciding where each of us will spend eternity YHWH's job!)  None of us have Moshe or Yeshua here to tell us exactly "how" to do them.  We can only keep them to the best of our knowledge and ability (hopefully with like-minded friends, relatives and/or a group or congregation).

You can read my indepth response to the above at this article on my website.

In the meantime, let's just concentrate on observing the festival of Sukkot without the stress of "doing it right." Unless we were present in the desert with Moshe who received his instructions directly from YHWH Himself, we cannot truly know whether or not we are "doing it right." The main thing is to "do it!"

Sukkot is not a feast where we are supposed to be made to feel "uncomfortable" or "put out" in any way. It is to be a time of REJOICING! Take a look:

Deuteronomy 16: 13 "You are to keep the festival of Sukkot for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing-floor and winepress. 14 Rejoice at your festival - you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, the L'vi'im, and the foreigners, orphans and widows living among you. 15 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!

How do you celebrate Sukkot?

If you can't have a Sukkot gathering in someone's field or having a party in someone's backyard sukkah, then simply pitch a tent and enjoy fellowship!  If you can't build a "temporary dwelling" outside for whatever reason, then simply decorate a spot in the safety of your own home where you can sit, read Scripture, and take at least one meal each day, and just "be" with YHWH.) The trick is to just DO it to get the "feel" of the Leviticus 23:43 experience.

It's a joyous time to participate in, and reflect on, the rich history of God's people and just "be" with YHWH for a week.  Remember that the first and last days of Sukkot are the High Holy Days where no work is to be done. 

Chag sameach! (Happy holiday!)

Proof that Paul was Torah observant

Many insist that Apostle Paul taught against Torah – which, of course, is untrue, as revealed in all of Paul’s teachings, when viewed via the “Hebrew” instead of the “Greek” mindset. As a matter of fact, Paul was "caught" being Torah observant 29 years after Yeshua's death!

How do we know that little fact about Paul?

The answer can be found in Acts 21:20-24; and Acts 24:27 – which reveal that Procurator Felix was replaced ~60 CE, and the events of Acts 21 two years earlier. Assuming the death of Yeshua in ~30 CE, then the events in Act 21 were in the ~29th year after Yeshua's death.

Check it out for yourself:

Acts 21: 20. And when they heard (it) they glorified Elohim. And they said to him: “Our brother, You see how many myriads[1] there are in Judaea who have believed: and these are all zealous for Torah! [2] 21. And it has been told them, of you, that you teach all the Jews that are among the Gentiles to depart from Moshe, by telling them not to circumcise their children, and not to observe the rites of Torah. [3]

22. Now, because they have heard that you have arrived here, 23. do what we tell you. We have four men, who have vowed to purify themselves. 24. Take them, and go and purify yourself with them, and pay the expenses along with them, as they will shave their heads; that every one may know, that what is said against you is false, and that you fulfill and observe Torah. (AENT)

Acts 24: 27. And when two years were fulfilled to him, another governor, whose name was Porcius Festus, came into his place. And Felix, that he might do the Jews a favor, left Paul a prisoner. (AENT)

So, there’s your answer, folks!

Here are some footnotes pertaining to the passages:

[1] Greek murias (myriads) refers to a minimum of 10,000 souls.

[2] Most translations read “zealous for the law”; it is a self-evident truth that myriads of Netzarim followers of Y’shua were also zealous for Torah! The work of the Ruach haKodesh (Set-Apart Spirit) is to write Torah (instructions in righteousness) upon the hearts of YHWH’s people, both Jew and Elohim Fearers.

[3] Attacks against Rav Shaul (Paul) by factions of rabbinical zealots were manifold. Shaul taught that faith and intent of the heart determines whether a person is ready to be circumcised and walk in Torah. At no time did Shaul teach against either circumcision or Torah; however, he opposed the “traditions of the Pharisees” who demanded blind observance to their religious traditions. Shaul required that Gentile converts be taught about covenant and have clear understanding of what they were doing, in relationship to YHWH and His Mashiyach.

To be expected to know and observe complex halakha (collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah; literal meaning: “the way”) at early stages of belief is unacceptable. Both the Pharisees and Netzarim taught that a person must study to develop their understanding and establish the intent in their heart before circumcision, rather than blindly follow the wishes of others.

Only a small group of zealots demanded immediate circumcision, which is something Rav Shaul clearly opposes. It is very evident that Awraham received instruction before his circumcision, and he is the father of Faith for both Jews and Gentiles alike.

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

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

Here's proof:

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

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

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

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

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

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