A RABBI DISCUSSES TRUMP’S ASSSSINATION ATTEMPT…

OH MY GOODNESS - PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS RABBI EXPLAINING THE POWER OF ELOHIM IN THE TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, and how Trump and America fit into this whole scenario! It's over an hour long, but well worth it, as he compares some Torah stories into what is happening today.

I have to admit (and please don't beat me up verbally until you finish reading my little soliloquy), I don't like Trump because he's an arrogant megalomaniac bully and "playboy" who has no respect for women and tends to incite rage and violence. I can't stand men like him!

My late husband, Bill Welker and I "wrote in" Dr. Ben Carson during that election year, and we couldn't believe that ultimately Trump won - yet, we were happy to see "Billary" lose... Bill and I had a sinking feeling that America is absolutely hosed when it comes to REAL leadership because it's become evident over the last 25 years, that there is none...

I couldn't believe Biden was elected, and oh my goodness - I dread the idea that if anything happens to that poor old gentleman (who belongs in a nursing home rocking chair instead of the White House), Kamala will automatically become President and, consequently, become Trump's opponent - which means that myriad women voters (like many folks did when Obama ran as the first "black man") will be crawling out of their holes to vote for her, just because she's a woman who may become the first female President of the United States. GOD FORBID!

(Unfortunately, America has many ignorant and fickle people who don't have any intellect or knowledge, and who vote with knee-jerk "feelings" - which is why we have morons running our country today.).

BE THAT AS IT MAY, I know that YHWH's WILL is etched in the proverbial granite, and I always accept His Will without hesitation. So, if Trump is His choice for America, I will shut my big mouth and deal with it. I don't know if I will ever like Trump, but I do hope and pray that this assassination attempt has jolted him awake, and filled him with a true desire for YHWH/Yeshua/Torah.

I pray it has turned him INTO a GODLY person who can steer America into a revival like never before, that reaches around the globe in ways we've never seen before. Perhaps that is why YHWH saved him - for "such a time like this." HALLELUYAH - to HIM goes ALL the Glory!

A CURRENT EXAMPLE OF HOW QUICKLY OUR WORLD SYSTEMS COULD COLLAPSE

Most of you have heard by now that a global internet outage is affecting airlines, banks, media and offices from the U.S. to Australia. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said that the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack — and that a fix was on the way.

The company said the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows. But hours after the problem was first detected, the disarray continued — and escalated.

Long lines formed at airports in the U.S., Europe and Asia as airlines lost access to check-in and booking services at a time when many travelers are heading away on summer vacations. News outlets in Australia — where telecommunications were severely affected — were pushed off air for hours. Hospitals and doctor's offices had problems with their appointment systems, while banks in South Africa and New Zealand reported outages to their payment system or websites and apps.

DownDectector, which tracks user-reported disruptions to internet services, recorded that airlines, payment platforms and online shopping websites across the world were affected — although the disruption appeared piecemeal and was apparently related to whether the companies used Microsoft cloud-based services.

Cyber expert James Bore said real harm would be caused by the outage because systems we've come to rely on at critical times are not going to be available. Hospitals, for example, will struggle to sort out appointments and those who need care may not get it.

(The info above was gleaned from various online news organizations.)

Folks, this is not "global warming"; it's "global warning!"

I don’t like to be a fear-monger, but we MUST be aware of, and prepared for, what is happening in our world – and to seriously start warning others! The Destroyer has been doing his level best to pull the wool over people’s eyes, and has managed to take myriads away from YHWH/Yeshua/Torah.

It’s time for us to do our part to get people’s attention focused on preparing their souls for Eternity – which will end up in one of two places: Smoking or non-smoking.

The Books of Daniel and Revelation, along with Matthew 24 and others outline many of the things that are going to happen before Yeshua’s return. (It is imperative to read the whole Bible to get the WHOLE story!)

The Bible tells us Yeshua IS returning and, when He does, things are going to change. Matthew 24 tells us that no one knows the exact day or hour of Yeshua's return, but that we are to be aware and to prepare for it. In the meantime, we need to keep up with what's happening in the world, because the signs are all around us.

Matthew 24: 3. And while Y'shua was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples drew near and were saying among themselves and to him, "Tell us when these things will be and what is the sign of your coming and the end of the world." 4. Y'shua answered and said to them, Beware, let no man deceive you. 5. For many will come in my name and will say that "I am the Mashiyach." And many they will deceive. 6. For you are bound to hear of revolutions and rumor of wars. Watch out and do not be disturbed, for it is necessary that all these things happen, but it is not yet the end.

7. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in different places. 8. But all these things are only the beginning of sorrows. 9. Then they will deliver to afflictions and they will kill you and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10. Then many will stumble and will hate one another and will betray one another.

11. And many false prophets will arise and deceive many. 12. And because of the growth of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold. 13. But whoever has patience until the end, he will have life. 14. And this Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.... (AENT)

Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them. On the day of ADONAI’s fury, the whole land will be destroyed in the fire of his jealousy. For he will make an end, a horrible end, of all those living in the land.” (CJB)  (Read all of Zephaniah 1 to get the whole picture of God’s wrath.)

Deuteronomy 32:23-25 - I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust. (CJB)

Luke 21:10-12 - There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. (CJB)

Revelation 6:7-9 - I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. (CJB)

Revelation 18:7-9 - Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. (CJB)

NO ONE KNOWS THE HOUR OR THE DAY of Yeshua’s return, but we ARE told that bad things WILL happen before he does. Therefore, we CANNOT and SHOULD NOT stick our heads in the sand. We MUST begin to let others know that the BIBLE prophecies are continuing to unfold; that there WILL ultimately be an end to the world as we know it, and that YHWH ELOHIM DOES have an ultimate purpose for us…

The GOOD News is that we know that Messiah Yeshua, will be returning at some point. He will put an end to wickedness and evil on this earth. He will rule and reign for a thousand years upon the Earth after he defeats the Antichrist at Armageddon. After that, on Judgment Day, every soul that has ever lived will stand before YHWH to give an account of their life. (Psalm 2:2; Daniel 2:44; Ezekiel 39:7; Revelation 16:14-16, 19:11-16 and 20:1-15.)

Until then, we MUST become aware of the fact that we will see some terrible times. The only thing we can really do is to be AWARE of what Scripture tells us, and prepare our souls by clinging to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with every fiber of our being!

Are we allowed to hate?

Reader Question:

Could you please explain if Yahweh hates as quoted by David can we hate also? Yahshua states love your enemies Luke 6:27 and other scriptures.

The Refiner’s Fire’s Response:

We read these verses in English and don't exactly understand from the perspective of the Hebrew culture an idioms since "hate" essentially has only one meaning in English. Psalm 5:5 reads slightly differently in all English versions but here are a few:

(ASV) The arrogant shall not stand in thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

(CJB) Those who brag cannot stand before your eyes, you hate all who do evil, (Darby) Insolent fools shall not stand before thine eyes; thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

(ESV) The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.

(HRB) The boasters shall not set themselves before Your eyes. You hate all workers of iniquity.

(ISV) Boastful ones will not stand before you; you hate all those who practice wickedness.

(JPS) (5:6) The boasters shall not stand in Thy sight; Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

(KJV) The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

In each case, the added punctuation implies a stand-alone thought: That YHWH hates evidoers. But the original Hebrew did not have such punctuation and the entire verse is actually a single thought which is a comparison between the righteous and sinners.

Comparatively speaking, YHWH loves His people but "hates" it when people sin. Note the words "workers of iniquity" or "do evil". We know that YHWH will have these people back if they repent and turn back to YHWH (for example: 2 Chronicles 7:14, 30:9; Psalm 28:13). (We do the same thing. We say "I hate it when that happens." We don't actually "hate" it, whatever it was, we are just comparing the event/thing with the opposite which would meet with our approval.)

Romans 5:8 and 1 John 4:16 and many other New Testament passages echo the love YHWH has for us (His creation) that we read throughout the Tanakh, so we know that an interpretation of Psalm 5:5 that "YHWH hates" is an incorrect interpretation.

But, no, we are not to hate others. We are to hate evil as YHWH hates evil. See for example, Leviticus 19:17-18; Proverbs 26:24-26; Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 8:13; Proverbs 10:12; Psalm 26:5; Proverbs 26:24-26; 1 John 4:20...and quite a number others.

Confused about gender identity? It doesn't come from God!

 

 

This online news article explains: Author comes out as transgender man after his wife came out as trans woman - and pair, who have a trans daughter, now live in a four-way open relationship with their trans lovers. 

 MY OPENING QUESTION TO THE ABOVE IS:   Is God the Author of confusion?

 Honestly, all I could think of when I first saw this was: Those poor, confused people! They clearly don't realize that Scripture is clear about how God made male and female, and NO other gender; He didn't even make room for "I identify as"... 

The reason he made male and female was to procreate to produce more humans "in His Image." If people like this want babies, they CANNOT do it the "normal" way; have to get creative and use a surrogate or adopt.

They may not believe they are "hurting anyone" by following their "worldly" instincts; but they are brazenly going into the Face of God with their blatant rejection of His Word .. and telling the whole world to do the same!  They ARE therefore, "hurting" others, because they urge others to ALSO ignore the Creator ... and the Bible tells us clearly that people who sin, WILL face the consequences of their actions!

What IS clear to me here is that "the sins of the father TRULY ARE passed down through the generations" (as clearly seen in the photo in the newspaper article above); and each one WILL answer for him/herself on Judgment Day ... UNLESS they repent and turn from their sins!  

Here is what I mean - let's apply Bible hermeneutics:

Deuteronomy 5: ⁷ “‘You are to have no other gods before me. ⁸ You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline — ⁹ you are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents, also the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ¹⁰ but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot.  (CJB)

Exodus 34:  ⁵ Adonai descended in the cloud, stood with him there and pronounced the name of Adonai. ⁶ Adonai passed before him and proclaimed: “YUD-HEH-VAV-HEH!!! Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai] is God, merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace and truth; ⁷ showing grace to the thousandth generation, forgiving offenses, crimes and sins; yet not exonerating the guilty, but causing the negative effects of the parents’ offenses to be experienced by their children and grandchildren, and even by the third and fourth generations.” (CJB)

Leviticus 26: ³⁹ Those of you who remain will pine away in the lands of your enemies from guilt over your misdeeds and those of your ancestors. ⁴⁰ Then they will confess their misdeeds and those of their ancestors which they committed against me in their rebellion; they will admit that they went against me. (CJB)

In other words:

The sins of the fathers are punished in the children through becoming the sins of the children. (Exodus 20:5; Numbers 14:18)

The generations to come who experience the penalty of the fathers’ sins are those who hate ELOHIM– meaning, they are either atheists or “lukewarm,” and refusing to live according to His Divine Instructions in Righteousness (Torah); nor follow the examples of YHWH’s Divine Messiah, Yeshua.  When the father’s sins are visited on the children it is because the children are sinful. That is the form in which the fathers’ sins are visited. Therefore, all judgment is really deserved by the person who is punished.

2. Because of God’s grace, through Messiah, the children CAN confess their own sins, which means the sins of their fathers and be forgiven and accepted by ADONAI.  Once they confess their misdeeds/iniquity along with those of of their fathers, their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they are able to make amends, then YHWH will remember His covenant with Ya’akov” (Leviticus 26:39-42). This means that the words of Exodus 34:5-7 are NOT nullified by the generational migration of sin!  (Exodus 34:5-7)

Continuing with the original intent of my article:

No TRUE believer would dare kick God in the face by "un-creating" what HE lovingly created. How much clearer could God have made his "Do's" and "don'ts"? Let's take a look:

Genesis 1:27 So God created humankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them: God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it..." (CJB)

Deuteronomy 22:5 "A woman is not to wear men's clothing, and a man is not to put on women's clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to ADONAI your God. (CJB)

Leviticus 18:22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. (CJB

Leviticus 20:13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. (CJB

2 Peter 2: 19. And they promise them liberty while they themselves are the slaves of corruption: for, by whatever thing a man is vanquished, to that is he enslaved. 20. For if, when they have escaped the pollutions of the world by the knowledge of our Master and Redeemer Y'shua the Mashiyach, they become again involved in the same and are vanquished, their latter state is worse than the former.

21. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after having known (it), to turn back from the Set Apart Commandment that was delivered to them. 22. But the true proverb has happened to them: the dog returns to his vomit and the pig that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire. (CJB

Revelation 22:14 How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city! 15 Outside are the homosexuals, those who misuse drugs in connection with the occult, the sexually immoral, murderers, idol-worshippers, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.(CJB

Romans 1: 22 Claiming to be wise, they have become fools! 23 In fact, they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for mere images, like a mortal human being, or like birds, animals or reptiles! 24 This is why God has given them up to the vileness of their hearts' lusts, to the shameful misuse of each other's bodies. 25 They have exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, by worshiping and serving created things, rather than the Creator - praised be he for ever. Amen.

26 This is why God has given them up to degrading passions; so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural; 27 and likewise the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men and receiving in their own persons the penalty appropriate to their perversion.

28 In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things. 29 They are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and vice; stuffed with jealousy, murder, quarreling, dishonesty and ill-will; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God; they are insolent, arrogant and boastful; they plan evil schemes; they disobey their parents; 31 they are brainless, faithless, heartless and ruthless.

32 They know well enough God's righteous decree that people who do such things deserve to die; yet not only do they keep doing them, but they applaud others who do the same.(CJB

Truth is, in today's "anything goes" and "tolerant" world, it's easier to allow hypocrisy and outright sinning to run amuck, than it is to read the "pshat" - PLAIN MEANING of Scripture - which is a true shame, because God could not have made it any clearer how HE feels about things that veer from His Divine Instructions in Righteousness!

Unfortunately, there are many pastors out there who tell their flocks that "it's okay to be gay" (or trans or LBQ- and whatever all the other letters are, that are systematically and constantly being shoved down our collective throats!); and they actually, and without hesitation, promote the LIE that "We're born that way."

THEREFORE, MY FINAL QUESTION IS THIS: Would the Creator purposely cause someone to be "born gay" only to then turn around and make their lives miserable by telling them their acts are "an abomination?"  Anything He views as "an abomination" (an act from which one CAN repent and turn their life around) will certainly NOT inherit Eternal Life...

A powerful warning to keep from straying off ADONAI’s Path

THIS PASSAGE CONTAINS A POWERFUL MESSAGE, featuring yet another stern warning that YHWH's people must stay on track and stop straying because the enemy is out there constantly, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Throughout the ages we have, over and over again, seen ADONAI warning His people to humble themselves before Him, making sure to remain clean in thought and deed:

James 4: 1. From where is it, that there are among you arguments and conflicts? Is it not from the lusts which war in your members? 2. You covet but do not possess; and you kill and envy, and effect nothing: and you fight and make attacks; and you do not have, because you do not ask.

3. You ask, and do not receive because you ask wickedly, that you may feed your lusts. 4. You adulterers, don't you know that the love of the world is hatred towards Elohim? He therefore who chooses to be a lover of this world is the enemy of Elohim. 5. Or do you think that the Scripture has vainly said: The spirit dwelling in us lusts with envy?

6. But our Master (Y'shua) has given us more grace. Therefore he said: Master YHWH brings low the arrogant, and gives grace to the humble. 7. Subject yourselves therefore to Elohim; and stand firm against the Accuser and he will flee from you. 8. Draw near to Elohim and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners: sanctify your hearts, you who are divided in mind.[1]

9. Humble yourselves and mourn: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into grief. 10. Humble yourselves before Master YHWH and He will exalt you. 11. Speak not against each other, my Brothers; for he that speaks against his brother, or judges his brother speaks against Torah and judges Torah. And if you judge Torah, you are not a doer of Torah, but its judge. 12. There is one Torah-giver[2] and Judge who can make alive and (can) destroy: but who are you that you judge your neighbor? (AENT)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Torah is our judge! If you add your own judgments to those already established in the Torah of YHWH, then you have judged Torah as insufficient, and are not allowing it to be your judge.

[2] One Torah Giver who gives One Torah. The halacha (way to observe Torah) is revealed by the Ruach haKodesh, and demonstrated in Mashiyach. The concept of "two torahs" one oral and one written is the basis of authority on which the Rabbinate operates.

The Rabbis of old wrote their own "oral Torah" and gave themselves the authority to interpret it; unfortunately, their oral Torah often speaks against both the Written Torah and haMashiyach (Messiah). On the other hand, Christian theologians have made up their own "New Testament" based on their own non-Torah cultural value systems which makes void Torah and diminishes the true goal of Mashiyach.

To “see the whole picture” and live according to YHWH’s Divine Instructions, we MUST begin to view the Bible as ONE, continuous entity, from Genesis to Revelation. Only THEN can we properly understand who YHWH is, who His Son/Messiah is, and how to begin living a truly holy/set apart life consistent with His Divine Standards.

A word to all those who feel inclined to incite and/or engage in endless fights and arguments

A word to all those who feel inclined to incite arguments and attempt to tell others where they are wrong:

It's okay to do that -BUT, make sure YOU know what you're talking about! Make sure you KNOW Scripture, from cover to cover, and post IT, instead of just your own personal opinions. Opinions don't matter; Scripture does, which is really ALL you need!

Be VERY careful to "choose your battles" - because YOU might just be the one who is in error...

2 Timothy 3: 1. But know this: That in the latter days hard times will come: 2. and men will be lovers of themselves and lovers of money, boasters, proud, revilers, unyielding towards their own people, deniers of grace, wicked, 3. unloving, addicted to irreconcilable malicious gossips, ferocious, haters of the good, 4. treacherous, rash, inflated, attached to pleasure more than to the love of Elohim, 5. having a form of respect for Elohim but wide from the power of Elohim. Them who are such, repel from you. (AENT)

2 Tim 2:14 Keep reminding people of this, and charge them solemnly before our Master (Y'shua) not to engage in word-battles. They accomplish nothing useful and are a catastrophe for the hearers! 15 Do all you can to present yourself to Elohim as someone worthy of his approval, as a worker with no need to be ashamed, because he deals straightforwardly with the Word of the Truth. 16 But keep away from godless babbling, for those who engage in it will only become more ungodly, 17 and their teaching will eat away at people like gangrene. (CJB)

James 4: 1. From where is it, that there are among you arguments and conflicts? Is it not from the lusts which war in your members? 2. You covet but do not possess; and you kill and envy, and effect nothing: and you fight and make attacks; and you do not have, because you do not ask. 3. You ask, and do not receive because you ask wickedly, that you may feed your lusts. 4. You adulterers, don’t you know that the love of the world is hatred towards Elohim? He therefore who chooses to be a lover of this world is the enemy of Elohim. (AENT)

Romans 16: 17. And I plead with you, my Brothers, that you beware of them who cause divisions and stumblings apart from the doctrine which you have learned: and that you stand distant from them. 18. For they who are such do not serve our Master Y’shua the Mashiyach, but their own belly: and by bland speeches and good wishes, they deceive the hearts of the simple. (AENT)

Isaiah 30:10: They say to the seers, "No more visions," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us the truth. Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions. (CJB)

So, what can we do about it?

Romans 14: 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (CJB)

We must continue to "keep on keeping on", enduring until the end because the same will be saved (Matt 24:13).

Matthew 24:10 At that time many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other, 11 many false prophets will appear and fool many people; 12 and many people's love will grow cold because of increased distance from Torah. 13 But whoever holds out till the end will be delivered. (CJB)

Some very important Bible messages for those who refuse to believe in Torah obedience…

1 John 2:7 My beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but the old Commandment which you had from the beginning; and the old Commandment is the Word which you have heard. (AENT)

Please read and re-read the above until you come to understand its plain meaning!

John 14:15 If you love me, you will keep my commands; (CJB)

What commands are they?  Some new ones Yeshua made up after he supposedly came to bring a new religion that relieves everyone of the need to obey his Father’s Divine Instructions in Righteousness, and ignore such things as the Seventh Day Sabbath command (which is a SIGN between YHWH and His people - Exodus 31:16, Ezekiel 20:11) and the seven yearly Feasts – all of which foreshadow Yeshua, who has so far fulfilled the first FOUR of the SEVEN?  No! Please re-read 1 John above…

Proverbs 28:9 If a person will not listen to Torah, even his prayer is an abomination. (CJB) (See also 1 Peter 3:12, Proverbs 15:29, James 5:16, Isaiah 59:2, James 4:3-8, James 1:6-7, John 15:7, Revelation 21:8, etc.)

Romans 10: 12. And in this, it discriminates neither Jews nor Gentiles. For there is one, Master YHWH, over them all, who is abundantly generous towards every one that calls on him. 13. For everyone that will call on the name of Master YHWH, will have life. (AENT)

And take a look at this passage that speaks not to just "the Jews" but to all humanity!

Ecclesiastes 12: 13 Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about. 14 For God will bring to judgment everything we do, including every secret, whether good or bad. [Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about.] (CJB)

1 John 2: 3. And by this we will be sensible that we know him, if we keep his Commandments. 4. For he that says I know him, and does not keep his Commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him. 5. But he that keeps his Word, in him is the Love of Elohim truly completed: for by this we know that we are in him. 6. He that says I am in him, is bound to walk according to his halacha. 7. My beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but the old Commandment which you had from the beginning; and the old Commandment is the Word which you have heard. (AENT)

FOOTNOTE:

“Elohim is light”, (1 John 1:5); therefore, it can be argued that at Creation when YHWH said, “Let there be light”, Genesis 1:3, that He in effect brought a part of Himself out to accomplish the creative act. The “Word” does this same feat, Psalm 33:6; John 1:1; a few lines earlier we read the “Word of Life.” We have also seen before the direct linguistic relationship between the Hebrew and Aramaic roots for “Light” and “Torah” such as: “Your word (davar) is a lamp to my feet, a light (aur) to my path.” Psalm 119:105. “For the commandment is a lamp. The teaching is a light (aur), and the way to life is the rebuke that disciplines.” Proverbs 6:23

What makes this citation in Proverbs most profound is the word mitzvah (commandment), since tradition commonly calls the revelation at Sinai the Ten Commandments when in fact the Tanakh uses davarim (words)! Keep this in mind while considering 1 John 2:4. “He who says I know Him and does not keep His Commandments (poqadona) is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word (miltha) in him, verily is the love of Elohim perfected; hereby we know that we are in Him.” 1 John 2:4 (Lamsa).

Aramaic could not make a more forceful point. The fact is, poqadona and miltha are exceedingly close matches for their Hebrew counterparts mitzvah in Proverbs, and davar in Psalms. However, it is in this next passage that the full measure of John’s brilliance is shown: “My beloved, I do not write a new commandment to you, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard from the beginning.” 1 John 2:7 (Lamsa)

The Commandment is the Word, which comes from the beginning. We must now realize that to translate this as “his Commandments” is wrong, but “His Commandments” is correct. “His Commandments” is the WORD which came from the very beginning of time. Many fail to understand this truth: It is impossible for Torah to have passed away during the lifetime of the Shlichim if John himself writes about the Word they have heard from the beginning.

What else could this WORD be, except the living Torah! John is a native Aramaic speaker and follower of Y’shua who knows that the WORD (or the Torah of YHWH) comes from the “Light”; he states that Elohim is Light and that we abide in that Light when we do His Mitzvot/ Poqadona/ Commandments. Furthermore, the interchanging of “Word” and “Commandment ” simply does not happen in any other language except Hebrew and Aramaic, the “word that you have heard” is the Shema!

IN CLOSING:

1 John 2: 3 The way we can be sure we know him is if we are obeying his commands. 4 Anyone who says, "I know him," but isn't obeying his commands is a liar - the truth is not in him. 5 But if someone keeps doing what he says, then truly love for God has been brought to its goal in him. This is how we are sure that we are united with him. 6 A person who claims to be continuing in union with him ought to conduct his life the way he did.

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command. On the contrary, it is an old command, which you have had from the beginning; the old command is the message which you have heard before. (CJB)

The Bible does NOT say that "Torah is a curse"; rather it is a love letter from a Father to his children that provides instruction and wisdom for life!

Folks, it gets really tiresome hearing that “Torah is a curse!” or “Read Galatians 3:10!” or “You can't keep all those 613 laws anyway!” So, here’s our response to anyone who feels that way:

If you read the context of Galatians 3:10, the first thing you’ll notice that it does NOT say "Torah is a curse!"  It says people are cursed if they DON'T live by Torah!  (The curses and blessings on the people are found in Deuteronomy 27-15 to 28-68.)  Please go back and look at how Paul says the same thing in Galatians 2:16 as he does in 3:10.  If you'd only start reading Galatians from the beginning, you might come to understand who Paul is, and what he, himself is identifying as the problem in the congregations of Galatia (see Galatians 1-6 to 2-13). 

The confusion about what rules Gentiles were to follow was when Jews in the community were putting on the Gentiles, the same "mandates" they had learned and had grown up with.  These "mandates" meant that the Jews were insisting the Gentiles "live like Jews" (Galatians 2:14).  And the way Jews lived was by the requirements of the rabbis who mandated to them how they had to live to "be justified"! 

In other words, though the Messiah had brought eternal life to ALL (Jew and Gentile alike) through faith, the Jews were still teaching that one must "do this and do that".  But Paul and all the apostles understood that Torah itself does not "justify"; and that Torah is NOT meant to be a "must do this and must do that" sort of thing!

That "must do" mentality is called strict “religious halakha.”  You can study the meaning of halakha, but in a nutshell, it is from a Hebrew word that means "to walk" - and what it means in the phrase "strict religious halakha" is that rather than simply obeying Torah because YHWH asked us to (and doing so with the joy of our heart), your "walk" is instead burdened because obeying Torah had become a "you must to what the rabbis say" sort of thing.  Simple commands like "obey the Sabbath day" became instead a stressful thing because the rabbis declared what you could and could not do on the Sabbath! 

So, Paul is not condemning Torah! What he goes on to say is that if you have accepted the Messiah by faith, and have received the "Spirit" then your walk is by the Spirit, and you willingly follow YHWH's Torah, and you no longer want to be "your old self" when your life was dominated by the disgusting practices of the world and your old, gentile (pagan) ways.  What he is saying is that no "way of the Jew, prescribed by the rabbis" (which he knows was a problem, even for the Jews) must be forced upon the Gentile. (By the way, Paul was Jewish through the tribe of Benjamin.)

If you insist on believing that "Torah is a curse", and continue to “cherry-pick” your verses, then you need to sit down and reconcile why other scriptures in the New Testament, written by Paul and the other apostles completely contradict your own conclusion. 

Take for example James 2:17 which says: "Faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions, is dead."  Actions are what you do in your day-to-day life to demonstrate your love of YHWH and you should DO something to demonstrate your love!  After all, YHWH has offered you eternal life!  You certainly don't want to blow it.   All you have to do is live your earth-bound life without sin!  But if you have dismissed Torah, then you have no way to measure if you have sinned!  You are wandering through life without a guide to what YHWH measures as sin!

SIN IS TRANSGRESSION OF TORAH (1 John 3:4), and without Torah all you have is YOUR OWN definition of "sin"!  But by offering you eternal life, YHWH did not at the same time give you the authority to define sin.  If YHWH is your God, and Yeshua is your Messiah, and you have accepted what the Messiah did for you,  then you are obligated to define sin the way He does!

Indeed, John wrote earlier:  

"And by this we will be sensible that we know him, if we keep his Commandments.   For he that says I know him [Messiah], and does not keep his Commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him.  But he that keeps his Word, in him is the Love of Elohim truly completed: for by this we know that we are in him.   He that says “I am in him” is bound to walk according to his [Messiah's] halakha." (1 John 2:3-6, AENT).  The Messiah's walk (halakha) was in Our Master YHWH's Torah!

REFERRING TO THE MANTRA "you can't keep all those 613 'laws' anyway!" – who ever said you HAD to?  You only need to keep the ones that apply to you!  NOBODY is expected to adhere to "all 613 commands" as most of them were directed at the Levite cohens (priests); some were only for men; some only for women; and some were only for a certain time frame.)

But some were meant to last FOREVER - and those are the ones that believers must pay attention to!

While YHWH eventually recorded ten in stone, we must remember, these ten are just part of the larger picture taken from His Torah which He said would stand forever. Many people balk at this idea because they are under the erroneous impression that they don't even have to bother even keeping the TEN Commandments anymore (let alone the "613"); but, rather, just TWO - and they cite the following as "proof":

Matthew 22:36. "Teacher, which Commandment in Torah is the greatest?" 37. And Y'shua said to him, that "You should love Master YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and with all your mind." 38. This is the first and the greatest Commandment. 39. And the second is like it. That "You should love your neighbor as yourself." (AENT)

Unfortunately, they stop right there, totally ignoring the next verse, which says: 40. On these two commandments hang Torah and the prophets.

Does verse 40 imply that all of God's original instructions have been done away with? NO! The Torah and the Prophets HANG/ARE DEPENDENT ON those two commands! There's more to it than just "loving God and loving your neighbor!" SIN is still sin and God still expects His people to adhere to His Divine Standards for moral, holy living! So, it is important to note that Torah HANGS on those two commandments. 

Note also that it doesn't say they REPLACED the Torah!  (And it certainly doesn't say that "Jesus" came to bring a new religion that somehow abolished the Torah, because Gentiles were too special to bother with any of His Divine Commands.  Yeshua came to proclaim the Word and show people how to walk it out, and then to offer himself as the "Final SIN Sacrifice.")

Truth is, people love to pick and choose and play around with the commandments that were written in stone - such as, for instance, the Fourth Commandment concerning the seventh-day Sabbath; and it's time to realize that important commands such as the seventh-day Sabbath REST, along with His seven feasts were NEVER abolished ... on the cross, or anywhere else! There were parts of Torah that God said would endure FOREVER. (Has "forever" ended yet?)

2 Timothy 3:16. All Scripture that was written by the Spirit is profitable for instruction and for decisive refutation, and for correction, and for deep extensive learning in righteousness; 17. that the man of Elohim may become perfect and complete for every good work.

HERE IS WHAT WE CAN STILL KEEP:  If you truly love God, then please don't ignore this - because He is not happy with those who refuse to comply with His commands.  What parts of Torah are still applicable today?

The bottom line is:  For those who do not have a relationship with YHWH, Torah might be viewed as a book of do’s and don’ts; but in reality Torah is a love letter from a Father to his children that provides instruction and wisdom for life…

So, before bashing Torah again, we suggest you do some serious scripture study to learn what Torah is before you ever again calling it a curse again … because Torah truly IS a blessing!

A mini-study about the “antichrist”– something ALL believers should pay attention to…

Please read all of Daniel 11 and 12 to get the gist of what the world will experience in the end times that usher in the arrival of Yeshua haMashiyach.  Given by the shape our world is in now, with everything that is happening – especially in Israel - it would seem that the events outlined in these two chapters concerning the “antichrist” aren’t that far away. EVERY believer in YHWH and Yeshua should pay close attention!

Daniel 11:

²¹ “There will arise in his place a despicable man not entitled to inherit the majesty of the kingdom, but he will come without warning and gain the kingdom by intrigue. ²² Large armies will be broken and swept away before him, as well as the prince of the covenant. ²³ Alliances will be made with him, but he will undermine them by deceit. Then, although he will have but a small following, he will emerge and become strong.

²⁴ Without warning, he will assail the most powerful men in each province and do things his predecessors never did, either recently or in the distant past; he will reward them with plunder, spoil and wealth while devising plots against their strongholds, but only for a time.

²⁵ “He will summon his power and courage against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south will fight back with a very large and powerful army; but he will not succeed, because of plots devised against him. ²⁶ Yes, those who shared his food will destroy him; his army will be swept away; and many will fall in the slaughter. ²

⁷ These two kings, bent on mischief, will sit at the same table, speaking lies to each other; but none of this will succeed; because the appointed end will not have come yet. ²⁸ Then the king of the north will return to his own land with great wealth; with his heart set against the holy covenant, he will take action and then return home.

²⁹ “At the time designated, he will come back to the south. But this time, things will turn out differently than before; ³⁰ because ships from Kittim will come against him, so that his courage will fail him. Then, in retreat, he will take furious action against the holy covenant, again showing favor to those who abandon the holy covenant. ³¹ Armed forces will come at his order and profane the sanctuary and fortress. They will abolish the daily burnt offering and set up the abomination that causes desolation.

³² Those who act wickedly against the covenant he will corrupt with his blandishments, but the people who know their God will stand firm and prevail. ³³ Those among the people who have discernment will cause the rest of the people to understand what is happening; nevertheless, for a while they will fall victim to sword, fire, exile and pillage. ³⁴ When they stumble, they will receive a little help, although many who join them will be insincere. ³⁵ Even some of those with discernment will stumble, so that some of them will be refined, purified and cleansed for an end yet to come at the designated time.

³⁶ “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god, and he will utter monstrous blasphemies against the God of gods. He will prosper only until the period of wrath is over, for what has been determined must take place. ³⁷ He will show no respect for the gods his ancestors worshipped, or for the god women worship [*] — he won’t show respect for any god, because he will consider himself greater than all of them.

NOTE ABOUT VERSE 37:  The King James Bible renders it thusly:  “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.”  Apparently the antichrist, among other things, will be homosexual…

Continuing with Daniel 11:

³⁸ But instead, he will honor the god of strongholds; with gold, silver, precious stones and other costly things he will honor a god unknown to his ancestors. ³⁹ He will deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will confer honor on those he acknowledges, causing them to rule over many and distributing land as a reward.

⁴⁰ “When the time for the end comes, the king of the south will push at him; while the king of the north will attack him like a whirlwind, with chariots, cavalry and a large navy. He will invade countries, overrun them and move on. ⁴¹ He will also enter the Land of Glory, and many [countries] will come to grief, but these will be saved from his power — Edom, Mo’av and the people of ‘Amon. ⁴² He will reach out his hand to seize other countries too. The land of Egypt will not escape — ⁴³ he will control the treasures of gold and silver, as well as everything else in Egypt of value. Put and Ethiopia will be subject to him.

⁴⁴ However, news from the east and north will frighten him, so that he moves out in great fury to ruin and completely do away with many. ⁴⁵ Finally, when he pitches the tents of his palace between the seas and the mountain of the holy Glory, he will come to his end, with no one to help him. (CJB)

Daniel 12:

1 “When that time comes, Mikha’el, the great prince who champions your people, will stand up; and there will be a time of distress unparalleled between the time they became a nation and that moment. At that time, your people will be delivered, everyone whose name is found written in the book. ² Many of those sleeping in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting shame and abhorrence. ³ But those who can discern will shine like the brightness of heaven’s dome, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

⁴ “But you, Dani’el, keep these words secret, and seal up the book until the time of the end. Many will rush here and there as knowledge increases.”

⁵ Then I, Dani’el, looked; and I saw in front of me two others, one on this bank of the river and the other on its other bank. ⁶ One of them asked the man dressed in linen who was above the water of the river, “How long will these wonders last?” ⁷ The man dressed in linen who was above the water of the river raised his right and left hands toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times and a half, and that it will be when the the power of the holy people is no longer being shattered that all these things will end.

⁸ I heard this, but I couldn’t understand what it meant; so I asked, “Lord, what will be the outcome of all this?” ⁹ But he said, “Go your way, Dani’el; for these words are to remain secret and sealed until the time of the end. ¹⁰ Many will purify, cleanse and refine themselves; but the wicked will keep on acting wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand. But those with discernment will understand. ¹¹ From the time the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. ¹² How blessed will be anyone who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. ¹³ But you, go your way until the end comes. Then you will rest and rise for your reward, at the end of days.” (CJB)

A perfect example of the dangers of Scripture twisting

THIS MEME BELOW  IS A BLATANT LIE, and clearly created by someone who doesn't understand the Hebrew context of Scripture! What it does reveal is that a little knowledge intertwined with self-serving aspirations to be viewed as a "Bible scholar", and spewed forth as "truth" in a public forum can be dangerous!

 

 A critical eye on 1 Timothy 4:1-6 reveals that this passage in NO WAY shows that God’s Divine Instructions (which is what the Hebrew faith is based upon!) is supposedly a “doctrine of demons.”

TAKE A LOOK at that whole passage via the Hebrew instead of the Greek mindset:

1 Timothy 4: 1. But the Spirit says explicitly that, in the latter times, some will depart from the faith, and will go after deceptive spirits and after the doctrine of demons. (AENT)

First of all, there’s no mention of WHAT the “doctrine of demons” refers to (even though anyone with two brain cells to rub together can figure out that it refers to anything that goes AGAINST Torah).

Secondly, it’s truly ironic that so many supposed “believers” attempt to demonize those of us who wish to obey YHWH’s original Divine Instructions in Righteousness! Since when is OBEYING God's Instructions evil?

The Bible warns us that we would be attacked for our faith. (2 Timothy 4)

Paul wrote, Therefore, what are we to say? That the Torah is sinful? Heaven forbid! Rather, the function of the Torah was that without it, I would not have known what sin is. For example, I would not have become conscious of what greed is if the Torah had not said, "Though shalt not covet." (Rom.7:7).

He further added, So the Torah is holy; that is, the commandment is holy, just and good. (verse 12). He went on to say that YHWH's Law is spiritual (Rom.7:14) - and that which is spiritual is eternal. Paul also wrote, We concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen, since things seen are temporary, but things not seen are eternal. (II Cor.4:18).

If the Laws of God were all abolished, as some believe, then Yeshua did away with what was clearly holy, righteous, good, and spiritual...

Let’s continue with 1 Timothy 4:

1 Timothy 4: 2. These will seduce by a false appearance, and will speak a lie and will be seared in their conscience; 3. and will forbid to marry,[1] and will require abstinence from meats which Elohim has created for use and for thankfulness by them who believe and know the truth 4. because whatever is created by Elohim is good; and there is nothing which should be rejected if it be received with thankfulness, 5. for it is sanctified by the Word of Elohim[2] and by prayer.

6. If you will elucidate these things on your Brothers, you will be a good minister of Y’shua the Mashiyach, being educated in the language of the faith and in the good doctrine which you have been taught. (AENT)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The Roman Catholic church and other Christian organizations forbid priests to marry; by installing their own so called “infallible” deity-like “fathers” they’ve chosen to wage war against Torah and Mashiyach Y’shua. See also Matthew 23:9.

[2] Food includes meat which must be sanctified by the Word of Elohim (Torah), and there are clean and unclean meats – some are sanctified, some are not; see Leviticus 11. Saying a prayer over unclean food doesn’t sanctify the food anymore than praying that you don’t get caught stealing can “sanctify” or protect you from the consequences of that transgression. Many fail to remember that, just because the punishment is not immediate, doesn’t mean that it’s been forgotten by heaven.

SO, WHERE IN 1 TIMOTHY 4 IS MY FAITH IN YHWH/YESHUA/TORAH supposedly being addressed as a "doctrine of demons?" Whoever created this meme is a LIAR!

PLEASE READ ON:

Acts 21: 20 On hearing it, they praised God; but they also said to him (Paul), "You see,brother, how many tens of thousands of believers there are among the Judeans, and they are all zealots for the Torah. 21 Now what they have been told about you is that you are teaching all the Jews living among the Goyim to apostatize from Moshe, telling them not to have a b'rit-milah (circumcision) for their sons and not to follow the tradition.

22 "What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that hear that you have come. 23 So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. 24 Take them with you, be purified with them, and pay the expenses connected with having their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is nothing to these rumors which they have heard about you; but that, on the contrary, you yourself stay in line and keep the Torah. (CJB)

If Yeshua had abolished the "law", then why did the apostle Paul observe it with four other Church men in Yerushalayim 29 years AFTER the crucifixion of the Messiah?

What does this tell us about the true "religion" that Yeshua the Messiah proclaimed? What does it tell us about His true gospel?  Those who teach contrary to the Torah, which Yeshua upheld - and Paul also taught - are false preachers and prophets. Paul wrote of them:

2 Corinthians 11: 13 The fact is that such men are pseudo-emissaries: they tell lies about their work and masquerade as emissaries of the Messiah. 14 There is nothing surprising in that, for the Adversary himself masquerades as an angel of light; 15 so it's no great thing if his workers masquerade as servants of righteousness. They will meet the end their deeds deserve. (CJB)

So - is "the Law" still valid today? You bet it is! It is a standard for righteousness. Yeshua said that not one yod or tittle would pass away, and that those who love Him will keep His commandments. The Law is not for salvation, but for sanctification (being Holy). No one can keep the Law perfectly, but striving to live as ADONAI commands brings us closer to His desire for our lives.

We need to remember that, while God changed the Covenant, He never changed His Torah. Yeshua came to abolish the "rabbinical stuff" and the need to sacrifice innocent animals to atone for our sins; not YAHWEH's Divine Instructions in Rigthteousness. Torah observant believers adhere to both, the "Old" and the "New" covenants without pretending they are allowed to ignore the "forever" commands.

And so I leave you with this, my brothers and sisters in the Hebraic Faith:

2 Timothy 4:1. I charge you before Elohim and our Master Y’shua the Mashiyach who is to judge the living and the dead at the manifestation of his Kingdom 2. Proclaim the Word and persist (in it) with diligence, in time and out of time; admonish and rebuke with all patience and instructiveness. 3. For the time will come when they will not give ear to sound teaching; but, according to their lusts, will multiply to themselves teachers in the itching of their hearing; 4. and will turn away their ears from the truth, and incline after fables. 5. But be vigilant in all things; and endure evils and do the work of a proclaimer of the Good News, and fulfill your ministry. (AENT)

 

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE IS AMAZING!

This morning, my husband, Tom, and I somehow landed on the subject of the Hebrew letter “Yud” (also spelled as “Yod”) – the tenth, and smallest, letter of the Hebrew alef-beit (alphabet). The Yud resembles an apostrophe, but there is so much more to it, as show below in part of an article I borrowed from Chabad.org. 

Anyway, Tom and I got on this subject because it seems that YHWH has a certain affinity to the Yud, as many Hebrew names (including His own Name and that of His Messiah) begin with a Yud. For instance, YHWH (Yahweh), Yeshua, Yehuda (Judah), Ya’akov (Jacob), Yisrael (Israel), Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), etc.

Curious, I began to do some research on this tiny, little Hebrew letter, and found some amazing insight at Chabad.org.

Here’s an excerpt:

The tenth letter of the alef-beis—and also the smallest—is the letter yud.

On the simplest level, the design of the yud is a point: a dot which represents G‑d’s essential power; the one G‑d Who is indivisible. Furthermore, the yud looks like a flame that soars ever higher, representing the soul of a Jew yearning to unite with G‑d.

Additionally, the yud represents the method by which the blessing descends from G‑d to His people. The letter yud when spelled out is י-ו-ד. (Yud-Vav-Dalet).

The yud represents a seminal drop, the concentrated power of G‑d. The vav represents a descent, for its form is that of a chute—and through this the bless­ings of G‑d travel downward to our world. The dalet, having height and width, represents the physical world, signifying how G‑d’s blessings are manifest in every aspect of nature.

This teaches us that G‑d’s blessings don’t only reside in heaven. They flow down to this corporeal world and endow us with physical health, sustenance and success.

Perhaps this is why the first letter of each of the three pas­sages of the Priestly Blessing begins with the yud:

יברכך ה' וישמרך—May G‑d bless you and guard you.

יאר ה' פניו אליך ויחנך—May G‑d shine His countenance upon you and be gracious to you.

ישא ה' פניו אליך וישם לך שלום—May G‑d turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace.

TO LEARN MORE, AND GO REALLY DEEP, please check out the full article Chabad.org.

A warning: Always give God the glory, but don’t be guilty of ascribing to Him something He did not do or say …

SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO PONDER:

Moshe was the most holy man on earth in his day, chosen by YHWH to liberate His people from Egypt, and lead them into the Promised Land, knowing that he himself would never see the land he had been looking forward to seeing, ever since he had led the Israelites out of Egypt.

Why didn't he get to the Promised Land? (1) Because he had broken the first set of tablets containing the Ten Commandments; and (2) because he had failed to "speak to the rock" as commanded by YHWH; and (3) pride and arrogance.

Let's take a look:

Numbers 20: 8 "Take the staff, assemble the community, you and Aharon your brother; and before their eyes, tell the rock to produce its water. You will bring them water out of the rock and thus enable the community and their livestock to drink." 9 Moshe took the staff from the presence of ADONAI, as he had ordered him. 10 But after Moshe and Aharon had assembled the community in front of the rock, he said to them, "Listen here, you rebels! Are we supposed to bring you water from this rock?" 11 Then Moshe raised his hand and hit the rock twice with his staff. Water flowed out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank.  (CJB)

Notice in verse 10 he said "WE"? What's this WE business? Now, based on what Moses has just done and said, who do the people believe brought the water from the rock, YHWH or Moses? How can they tell? Do they put their trust in YHWH or in man? Of course, there is no other choice but to make sure the people put their faith in YHWH. So in the next verse, He takes the matter into His hands:

Numbers 20: 12 But ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon, "Because you did not trust in me, so as to cause me to be regarded as holy by the people of Isra'el, you will not bring this community into the land I have given them." (CJB)

This is a great lesson about the importance of always giving ELOHIM the credit that He is due … as well as being very careful to NOT ascribe to Him something He DIDN’T do … the kind of thing we can see people doing every once in a while.

For instance, not only do some create memes to send around on the Internet, promising God’s blessings to anyone who reads them; but some actually even dare to write messages “from God” (in the first person) telling us all that, “I, the Lord God, say to you … blah, blah, blah” – whatever they think God “told” them to share in the message.  It doesn’t matter that the material MAY line up with Scripture to a certain degree; but the fact is, YOU, not YHWH, are the one writing down things that you imagine Him to have said – especially when those things are are “new” and never mentioned in Scripture. When it comes to God, there is nothing new under the sun!

Do you get the drift?  “We” mere humans are NOT Yeshua or Moshe, receiving our messages straight from YHWH, “face-to-face”... which means we must be VERY careful about what we attempt to tell others concerning any “messages from God.”

Another example is people daring to “send you to Hell” because your theology doesn’t line up with theirs.  Just recently, some Christian on a Facebook post told me I was going to Hell because I have “put myself back under the law” because “Torah-keeping is unbiblical.” My only response to that guy was, “Unless you’re God Almighty, you don’t get to decide where I will spend eternity!”

My final example of the dangers of ascribing to YHWH something He did not say or do, is about a former Facebook friend from years ago who was always teaching and preaching and genuinely appearing to be “walking the walk.”

Then one day, he suddenly shared that he was leaving his (second) wife and moving to somewhere in Africa because God had supposedly given him a “soulmate” on the other side of the world. (She was someone he had never met in person, but they often “talked on the phone” and he just KNEW “she was the one.”

Because he didn’t have a job or money, he promptly started asking his FB friends for donations – and he actually managed to get enough for a plane ticket and start divorce proceedings! (I know of no one else besides myself who tried to warn him that he was treading on the proverbial “thin ice” by believing this was a gift from YHWH; but he wouldn’t hear it.)

Anyway, I surely don’t have to explain what all was wrong with that whole, sordid situation but I’ll never forget how he was praising God all over the place, and many were agreeing and cheering him on. I was absolutely floored, and left wondering what Bible these people were all reading, because he was definitely guilty of taking some liberties with the Word!

It’s not a good thing to make a habit of twisting Scripture to suit your purposes. As we see in the Bible passages above, YHWH is NOT kidding around! Yes, by all means, fall on your face to thank Him daily for His grace and mercy and the bounty in your life, etc.; and don’t be afraid to give Him credit where credit is due when you’re positive that He has performed some great works in, or for you; but don’t ever be guilty of “making something up,” or using His Name in vain to bring glory unto yourself.

The following passages pertain to ALL of us:

Titus 1:7:  7 For an overseer, as someone entrusted with God’s affairs, must be blameless — he must not be self-willed or quick-tempered, he must not drink excessively, get into fights or be greedy for dishonest gain. 8 On the contrary, he must be hospitable, devoted to good, sober-mindedness, uprightness, holiness and self-control. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy Message that agrees with the doctrine; so that by his sound teaching he will be able to exhort and encourage, and also to refute those who speak against it. (CJB)

1 Peter 2: 9. But you are an elect race, officiating as priests of the Kingdom; a Set Apart people, a redeemed congregation; that you should proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness to his precious light: 10. who formerly were not counted as a people but now are the people of Elohim; and also, there were (once) no mercies on you but now mercies are poured out upon you. 11. My beloved, I entreat you as strangers and pilgrims, separate yourselves from all lusts of the body, for they war against the soul. 12. And let your behavior be honorable before all men; so that they who utter evil speeches against you, may see your good actions and may praise Elohim in the day of trial. (CJB)

The Book of Jude puts a damper on the once-saved-always-saved debate!

If you haven’t read the Book of Jude lately (it consists only of one chapter), then we suggest you take some time to do so, as it is a real eye-opening reminder.  It seems to lay to rest the “once-saved-always-saved debate!  In other words, we CAN lose our salvation.  Take a look:

Borrowed from Stern’s Complete Jewish Bible:

¹ From: Y’hudah, a slave of Yeshua the Messiah and a brother of Ya‘akov

To: Those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept for Yeshua the Messiah:

² May mercy, love and shalom be yours in full measure.

³ Dear friends, I was busily at work writing to you about the salvation we share, when I found it necessary to write, urging you to keep contending earnestly for the faith which was once and for all passed on to God’s people. ⁴ For certain individuals, the ones written about long ago as being meant for this condemnation, have wormed their way in — ungodly people who pervert God’s grace into a license for debauchery and disown our only Master and Lord, Yeshua the Messiah.

⁵ Since you already know all this, my purpose is only to remind you that Adonai, who once delivered the people from Egypt, later destroyed those who did not trust. ⁶ And the angels that did not keep within their original authority, but abandoned their proper sphere, he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for the Judgment of the Great Day. ⁷ And S’dom, ‘Amora and the surrounding cities, following a pattern like theirs, committing sexual sins and perversions, lie exposed as a warning of the everlasting fire awaiting those who must undergo punishment.

⁸ Likewise, these people, with their visions, defile their own flesh, despise godly authority and insult angelic beings. ⁹ When Mikha’el, one of the ruling angels, took issue with the Adversary, arguing over the body of Moshe, he did not dare bring against him an insulting charge, but said, “May Adonai rebuke you.” ¹⁰ However, these people insult anything they don’t understand; and what they do understand naturally, without thinking, like animals — by these things they are destroyed!

¹¹ Woe to them, in that they have walked the road of Kayin, they have given themselves over for money to the error of Bil‘am, they have been destroyed in the rebellion of Korach. ¹² These men are filthy spots at your festive gatherings meant to foster love; they share your meals without a qualm, while caring only for themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; trees without fruit even in autumn, and doubly dead because they have been uprooted; ¹³ savage sea-waves heaving forth their shameful deeds like foam; wandering stars for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁴ Moreover, Hanokh, in the seventh generation starting with Adam, also prophesied about these men, saying, “Look! Adonai came with his myriads of holy ones ¹⁵ to execute judgment against everyone, that is, to convict all the godless for their godless deeds which they have done in such a godless way, and for all the harsh words these godless sinners have spoken against him.”

¹⁶ These people are grumblers and complainers, they follow their evil passions, their mouths speak grandiosities, and they flatter others to gain advantage.

¹⁷ But you, dear friends, keep in mind the words spoken in advance by the emissaries of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. ¹⁸ They told you, “During the acharit-hayamim there will be scoffers following their own godless passions.” ¹⁹ These are the people who cause divisions. They are controlled by their impulses, because they don’t have the Spirit.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith, and pray in union with the Ruach HaKodesh. ²¹ Thus keep yourselves in God’s love, as you wait for our Lord Yeshua the Messiah to give you the mercy that leads to eternal life.

²² Rebuke some who are disputing; ²³ save others, snatching them out of the fire; and to yet others, show mercy, but with fear, hating even the clothes stained by their vices.

²⁴ Now,

to the one who can keep you from falling
and set you without defect and full of joy
in the presence of his Sh’khinah —
²⁵ to God alone, our Deliverer,
through Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord —
be glory, majesty, power and authority
before all time, now and forever.

Amen.

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.... (CJB)

Still, once they get you to believe that Paul was a fake, they’ll start attacking “Jesus” (they will hardly ever use Messiah's given, Hebrew name "Yeshua" - which means "YHWH is Salvation") 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!)

In other words, unless you KNOW Scripture properly (from a Hebrew; not a Greek mindset), they will tear you to shreds and use your comments as teaching tools to hone their skills!

If you don't want to risk being "confused" by their shrewd and calculated assertions about Yeshua, Paul and the NT, then start doing some intense Bible studies from the Hebraic perspective so that you can respond intelligently to their, for instance, "God never demanded human sacrifices" allegation thusly:

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.

BOTTOM LINE: KNOW the Bible, from cover to cover! If you've only read the NT (the last FOURTH of the Bible), or have spent your life cherry-picking your way through it, then IGNORE the counter-missionaries completely, and do everything in your power to get away from them. Don't even bother trying to defend yourself because you have no real understanding of Scripture ... in other words, you DON'T really know God, His Messiah, or what happened in the first THREE-FOURTHS of the Bible...

THE BOMBARDIER BEETLE..SETTING FIRE TO EVOLUTIONARY THEORY!

 

At only half an inch long, the Bombardier Beetle may not be very big, but it helped chew great big holes in his long-held views on evolution. Or, more accurately, burned them. For on closer inspection the modest beetle is a marvel of nature, a sort of six-legged tiny tank. It defends itself by mixing chemicals that explode; firing through twin tail tubes that can swivel like gun turrets. The bubbling liquid that shoots out at 212 degrees Fahrenheit is enough to deter most predators.

The force of the "round" fired should be enough to blast the little beetle into orbit,if not pieces, and it would be if it was discharged at one time. But slow motion photography has revealed that the crafty beetle actually lets go with a stream of up to 1,000 little explosions. Together they are enough to put off would-be attackers while leaving the small defender with its feet still on the ground. 

Marveling at the intricate design there is simply no way the Bombardier Beetle could have evolved its sophisticated defense system over time, adding swiveling "gun barrels" or its "repeater" firing mechanism at different stages. It needed them all in one package, at the same time. 

A beetle that blew itself up would not be around to develop a more refined firing system. A beetle that could not keep the enemy in firing range would not survive to work on more maneuverable firepower. There's simply no way a slow, gradual process will produce this beetle.  

 (Biblical Creation:  https://www.facebook.com/1mill.creationist )