Prophetic words for the end times?

READER QUESTION:

While I was reading Ex 19 I could not help but notice what appears to me to be prophetic words in regards to the End Times.

Ex 19 verses 10 to 13 "10 so Adonai said to Moshe, “Go to the people; today and tomorrow separate them for me by having them wash their clothing; 11 and prepare for the third day. For on the third day, Adonai will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people. 12 You are to set limits for the people all around; and say, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or even touch its base; whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death. 13 No hand is to touch him; for he must be stoned or shot by arrows; neither animal nor human will be allowed to live.’ When the shofar sounds, they may go up on the mountain.”

After reading this a couple of times, here is how my mind played it out in regards to End Times:

1. "today and tomorrow separate them for me by having them wash their clothing" - following the death, crucifixion and resurrection of our Messiah, we have been given 2 more days (2,000 years??) to turn to YHWH and cleanse our self of this world (wash our clothing).

2. "and prepare for the third day. For on the third day, Adonai will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people" - after that time, Yeshua will return and the whole world will see Him when he does (Rev 1:7)

3. "12 You are to set limits for the people all around; and say, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or even touch its base; whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death. 13 No hand is to touch him; for he must be stoned or shot by arrows; neither animal nor human will be allowed to live." - when that happens, Mt Tziyon will be holy as YHWH (Yeshua) will be there. (Isa 11:9; Isa 56:7; Eze 20:40; Joel 4:17; Zeph 3:11).

4. "When the shofar sounds, they may go up on the mountain." - to me this refers to 1 Thess 4:15-17.

I am keen to get your feedback on this as well. Is this interpretation possible/reasonable to make given the parallels we see with other parts of scripture?

OUR RESPONSE:

Excellent observation! Yes, you are seeing a certain prophecy or prophetic word here. In fact Christianity is "all over" this prophecy while Judaism seems quite reserved. But just what is fact and what is hopeful fiction is hard to discern. Your particular observations, #1, #2, and #3 are quite telling.

Your #1 "Separate them". This is the very meaning of "kadosh" (English "holy") is to "be separate and special" which YHWH commands numerous times in the Torah.

Your #2 "Prepare for the 3rd day" certainly strikes a nerve in me. I'm thinking of the "be prepared" part, not necessarily the "3 days" part. Three days is actually a long time. Much can be forgotten in 3 days. But Yeshua said "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Matthew 24:44). It is not a direct "3-day" reference but the part about "be prepared" seems to resonate with "prepare for the third day" found in Exodus 19:11.

Your #3 seems to resonate with the entombment of the Messiah. No one was to go near him, the tomb sealed and guarded.

There are certainly many connections to "3 days" in scripture. Many are a stretch to link to a prophecy, but there are 5 I've encountered which seem prophetic to me.

1. In Genesis 1:12, life is "brought forth". That was the 3rd day of creation.
2. In Genesis 22:4-6, Abraham took 3 days to journey to where he was to sacrifice Isaac; yet on the 3rd day Isaac lived.
3. Exodus 19:9-11, the citation you made, the people were given 3-days to cleanse themselves.
4. Jonah 1:17, Jonah in the belly of the fish for 3 days (which Yeshua references).
5. And Hosea 6:1-2, most powerful, we are to return to YHWH and on the 3rd day WE are revived and raised to live in His presence.

Are we still under a “death penalty” for breaking the Shabbat?

READER COMMENT:

Exodus 31:15 says the following,

15 ‘Six days work is done, and on the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, set-apart to יהוה. Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.

QUESTION- is it the “being put to death” part of these commands that we are no longer under? The same as stoning for adultery? It’s the penalty of having to die when you break a command that’s been removed under the death and resurrection of the Messiah?

Am I getting this right or way off?

OUR RESPONSE:

This is an impressive question. Thank you!  Of course, you can probably guess that none of us, no human, knows the "right" answer and so I am going to caveat my response with the disclaimer that this is a complex subject and my answer is most certainly not absolute.

What we do know is that we are under civil authority in the same manner that the Jews were under Roman authority at the time of the 2nd Temple; and the Jews were not allowed capital punishment by YHWH's rules when they were under said Roman law.

We clearly see some potential leniency in our time, as we are under the redemption of the Messiah (Romans 5:8), which is good, because we are not to tolerate such behavior in our God-fearing community. In fact we (the people if we are a community under YHWH) are to RID our communities of such evil (Deuteronomy 13:5, 17:2-12 for example.)

As you know, we are commanded to be a "set apart and special" people (the meaning of holy/Kadosh) when YHWH tells us to "be holy for He is holy" (Leviticus 19:2, 20:7, and many other citations). The rules in the Bible for capital punishment are TORAH and we (if we had the authority to live by the governance of Torah) would not have the authority to change YHWH's capital punishments.

So, the answer to the question is this: We are still "under" YHWH's rules of capital punishment, but since we currently live under civil authority, we are obligated to follow the civil authority. Even if we miraculously returned to YHWH's authority, no individual has or will have any authority to carry out any of these capital punishments on their own, as the punishment is to be levied only by the appropriate court, even when under YHWH's authority.

The resurrection of the Messiah did only ONE thing. His blood redeemed us individually for our past sins – and some of those sins may have actually included punishment worthy of death! (His redemption was, in that sense, a fantastic thing!) But once we have received that redemption, we are obligated not to willfully or intentionally sin again (Hebrews 10:26).

The whole issue boils down to that "will" or "intent". If the sin was willfully or intentionally committed, and Torah cites the sin as worthy of death, then we must accept that as our possible fate. Torah amply provides for the difference between an unintentional and an intentional sin. The Messiah's resurrection did not change that.

Could the term "holy' (Kadosh ) refer to being 'clean' and being set apart?

READER QUESTION:

Could the term "holy' (Kadosh ) refer to being 'clean' and being set apart?

OUR RESPONSE:

The basic answer to your question is "yes", but as always, good questions like this are difficult to answer due to the wide meaning of a Hebrew word like "kadosh" and the typically narrow meaning of the word used as here where kadosh is translated as "holy". But kadosh has much more meaning in Hebrew than "holy" does in English because its meaning in Hebrew is defined by the context in which it is used.

For example, in Leviticus 11:45, in English it reads: "For I am Adonai, ... you are to be holy, because I am holy" (CJB). We have only our understanding of the meaning of "holy" as we know it in our time. But from the Hebrew, it actually carries more of a meaning like this: "For I am YHWH, ... you are to exist as unique ones [or separated people], given that I am unique [or separated]."

The Hebrew word kadosh is probably most often used to mean "separate" or "unique", but carries with it the quality of "special", "sacred", or "elevated", and that is the part that earns the translation as "holy" in English.

So Leviticus 11:45 is revealing that just as YHWH is separated from this world and unique, He is not withdrawn from the world He created, similarly, we become kadosh not by separating ourselves from the world, rather, we are to strive to be separated or be sacred from or elevated from the world through our proper living by YHWH's Word.

So you are correct that part of the meaning of kadosh is to be set apart, as being "clean" is part; but clean is more related to being set apart than it is directly to being kadosh. That's likely not a good explanation, so let's look at Leviticus 10:10.

In English, Leviticus 10:10 reads "so that you will distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean" (CJB). Notice that holy and clean are correctly listed as two distinct things, yet clean is actually part of the concept of holy. Here it is from the Hebrew with the Hebrew meanings provided:

"[so you will] make a separation between the special and the ordinary and between the dirty and the clean".

Here, kadosh means separated and special, while dirty (or unclean) comes from the Hebrew "tamei" which means defiled or fouled, and clean is from the Hebrew "tahor" which means "pure" in either a physical, ceremonial, or moral sense.

So while being "clean" is part of being kadosh because clean is separated from dirty, clearly something that is clean is not necessarily kadosh or Leviticus 10:10 would not have needed to list them separately.

We hope this has helped because it is hard to describe as most of us do not have a Biblical Hebrew upbringing to understand the scriptures from a Hebrew context.

Are only the Ten are considered still in vogue?

READER COMMENT:

I have a question: of all the laws that God gave through Moses, people today claim that only the Ten Commandments are still valid - well, actually only nine of them, because the fourth commandment is either relegated to Sunday or else consigned to 'ceremonial laws' which are, according to them, on the scrap heap. Yet these same people will also claim that marriage is honourable and that homosexuality is condemned (neither of which is actually in the Ten, though marriage can be inferred). So why is it that only the Ten are considered still in vogue?

OUR RESPONSE:

All good comments and thoughts, but there is no simple answer. Basically, only the 10 Commandments are "still in vogue" because Christianity sees them as the essence of "moral responsibility" taught by the Messiah. In the Messiah's "Sermon on the Mount" he specifically mentioned the prohibitions against murder and adultery and in Matthew 19:16-19 he specifically cites 5 of the ten and then explains a bit more in Matthew 22:34-40.

Also, Moses carried the two tablets with the 10 written on them, and when YHWH spoke to the people in Exodus 20:2-17, what He said has been equated to the "10 Commandments", mistaken as "the only commandments".

Christianity generally teaches that "only" the 10 commandments were handed down at Mt Sinai (Exodus 20:1-17) thus justifying their dismissal of all the others. But they are not the only commandments. In fact, ALL of YHWH's commands are contained within the ones that have been numbered 1-10 and named "The 10 Commandments."

In what is generally called commandment number 2, Exodus 20:3, "You are to have no other gods before me", the explanation actually goes on and in 20:6 YHWH explains "...but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot." Thus, all YHWH's commandments are summarized right there as "love me and obey my mitzvot."

In fact Judaism does not generally call them "The 10 Commandments"; they are known instead as the "10 Words" or "10 Utterances" acknowledging that ALL YHWH's commands are summarized in them. The "10 Words" in ancient times were read and recited in the synagogues of the day because they were greatly revered - the Words actually spoken to the people directly from YHWH. But many Jews, like Christians, began to think they were the "only" commandments, so the practice of reading and reciting them in synagogues was largely abandoned.

It seems your observation is really about the lip-service people give to YHWH about who He is and what He asks of us. You pointed out that Christianity relegated His command to "keep the Sabbath and honor it" by changing their observance to Sunday and creating a "scrap heap" where they put other laws they don't care for, and embracing man's acceptance of homosexuality. The list could go on and on. Few obey "do not commit adultery" and "do not steal" and "honor your father and mother", etc.

Actually, as YHWH continued to teach His people for 40 years in the exodus, He would often tell the people "you are to be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:45 for example). So there need not be "10 Commandments" for ALL of YHWH's commands are in those two words: "be holy". We are holy when we obey YHWH and live our lives by the commandments He gave. We are not holy when we "pick and choose" which commandments we want to agree with and which we want to put on the scrap heap.

Did you know that "grace" has ALWAYS been around?

A SAD TRUTH:

Christianity has indoctrinated people with the idea that all that "Old Testament" stuff was just for the Jews, and that people are now "under grace."

Nobody stops to think that "grace" has ALWAYS been around.

Grace is the reason Adam and Eve were allowed to remain alive after disobeying YHWH! (And they weren't Jews! There were no Jews until Jacob's son Yehudah/Judah started the Tribe of Judah, where the term "Jew" originated.)

Why were they kicked out? For DISOBEDIENCE to one of His commands!

What makes people today believe they have a right to perpetrate sin like Adam and Eve, and to not only get away with it, but expect to be considered holy enough to enter the Kingdom to Come?

If they ignore YHWH's Torah (Divine Instructions), they don't even know what constitutes holiness!

When you accept the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, you automatically become a "Hebrew" (meaning "to cross over" like Avram/Abraham did in Genesis 12) and become a part of "Israel"....

As such, you are OBLIGATED to walk in Torah, just as Yeshua did.

1 John 2: 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in him. 6 He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked. "(CJB)

How did Yeshua walk? By Torah! He didn't make up new rules. He kept Torah and expected US to follow suit. You can only know the him through the law and the testimony! Revelation reveals this:

Revelation 12: 17 "The dragon was infuriated over the woman and went off to fight the rest of her children, those who obey God's commands AND bear witness to Yeshua." (CJB)

Revelation 14: 12 "This is when perseverance is needed on the part of God's people, those who observe his commands AND exercise Yeshua's faithfulness."  (CJB)

Please note, the above scriptures don't mention the "Ten Commandments". They simply refer to "the Commands" or "the Commandments", depending on which Bible version you use....God warns us in Proverbs 4:2 - "I give you good instruction: Do not forsake my Torah."

Torah obedience is NOT a suggestion; it is commanded! (See Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:13-16, Isaiah 56:6, Galatians 3:28 and Romans 10:12-13.)

Unfortunately, many are blinded to that fact.

“Be thankful” in spite of everything going on right now….

As hard as it’s been to deal with this awful COVID-19 pandemic, we have to remember to be THANKFUL that it didn’t happen 40 or 50 years ago before personal computers, Internet or cellphones came onto the scene, allowing people to speak to - and even SEE - others all around the world!

A few decades ago, there would have been TRUE isolation, as your ONLY options for socializing would have been to either visit or call someone on a physical land-line.  And, depending on where you lived back then, chances are good that you would have had to deal with telephone “party lines” – sharing access with countless neighbors – waiting your turn to use the phone!  (I remember those days all too well.)

Back then, we had TV, radios and record players, but we didn’t have movie recording capabilities.  And we definitely didn’t have streaming services for movies!  You either watched whatever was presented on the three broadcast channels you had to choose from, or you actually went to a movie theater (which would have been closed during a worldwide pandemic).

Oh yeah, and let’s not forget, there were no “remote controls” to change channels in those days.  You actually had to get up off your duff and walk across the room to turn a knob. 

Oh, how the world has changed over the last several decades!!!

YES, dealing with this pandemic is hard.  But at least there is opportunity for remote classroom teachings; and you CAN chat with, and even SEE distant loved ones via various devices and social media.  Today, you don’t even have to go to the library to do your research; you can simply "Google" everything.

While what we’re undergoing is tough, it’s also a great time to simply be thankful for what we DO have and what we CAN do during these dark days.  Scripture commands us to be thankful in everything and to remember, with reverence and awe, whom we are serving:

Colossians 3: 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive.

14 Above all these, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly; 15 and let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart’s decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body. And be thankful — 16 let the Word of the Messiah, in all its richness, live in you, as you teach and counsel each other in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your hearts. 17 That is, everything you do or say, do in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through him to God the Father. (CJB)

Hebrews 12:25 See that you don’t reject the One speaking! For if those did not escape who rejected him when he gave divine warning on earth, think how much less we will escape if we turn away from him when he warns from heaven. 26 Even then, his voice shook the earth; but now, he has made this promise: “One more time I will shake not only the earth, but heaven too!”

27 And this phrase, “one more time,” makes clear that the things shaken are removed, since they are created things, so that the things not shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we have received an unshakeable Kingdom, let us have grace, through which we may offer service that will please God, with reverence and fear. 29 For indeed, “Our God is a consuming fire!”  (CJB)

Some words of wisdom for those who are confused….

Some words of wisdom for those who are confused:

Are you confused by all the various teachings across the Internet? Well, don’t give up or become discouraged because that is exactly what the Adversary WANTS!

The simplest recipe to get you out of your slump is to stop the ‘net cruising and grazing, and simply read your Bible, because THAT’S where YHWH’s Truth can be found.

Honestly – you don’t allow tons of chefs into your kitchen to help you prepare your meals, do you? Of course not. Within minutes, your kitchen would be “ground Zero for World War III” with everybody arguing over which spices to use and how much of each spice is appropriate.

Some would have conniption fits over your “poor taste” in pots, pans and mixing bowls; while others would begin to fight and argue about the proper “plating” of the prepared meal.

Still others would freak out over your “cheap wine selection,” and whether red, white or rose’ is more appropriate for this particular meal they are preparing in your “substandard, very low-class, bourgeois kitchen"...

So, if you wouldn’t allow a bunch of chefs into your kitchen, WHY do you allow bunches of pastors and rabbis of various “flavors” and an endless string of “wannabe’s” with no credentials into your HEAD, telling you what the Bible says and how you should conduct your life according to “their” understanding of Scripture?

Yes - we DO need proper guidance from knowledgeable teachers; but how can you tell which one is actually teaching the actual Word of God instead of just mere opinion?

The key lies in whether or not YOU personally have read your Bible from cover to cover – because if you haven’t, you do NOT know what it says, and you do NOT know whom you are worshiping, or what He expects of you...

So, first and foremost, READ your Bible, every word. Don’t skip passages or jump around. (After all, you don’t read a novel that way, do you?)

Read it, and when you’re done, start all over and read it again. And then again. Every time you read your way through, you will learn and grow, and become enlightened with things you’ve "never noticed before."

It’s an AMAZING and REWARDING journey – one that will empower YOU with the personal ability to be able to discern “good” teachings from “bad” AND keep you from ever becoming “confused” again!