Olive Tree Ministries - Messianic

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2010-04-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

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Q. I have heard that Ezekiel 1 describes a UFO. Is that true?

2010-04-18T06:57:00.001-07:00

A. Ezekiel chapter one is a very interesting chapter and it uses what is called “apocalyptic” ( to reveal) language. That’s why the Book of Revelation is also called “The Apocalypse” because it uses a style of language known in Hebrew thought as “apocalyptic.” To understand this chapter there are few things that have to be understood. This chapter has nothing to do with flying saucers and here is why. This vision is known as the “merkavah” (chariot) or in other words the “Ma’aseh Merkavah” or “the work or account of the Chariot.” The term “chariots of fire “ (merkavah mophtim) comes from this. A “chariot” is the means (vehicle) by which God’s glory is displayed in creation. Angels, Israel or something else that could be considered Gods “chariot.” What Ezekiel saw in this vision was the angelic realm that “supported” the throne of God. There are two classes of angels here called “ophanim and cherubim” and they work as messengers, carrying out his will. This brings us to something that needs to be understood. There are five elements in the physical world and they are time, light, mass, space and energy. The spiritual world has the same thing. There is spiritual time, light, mass, space and energy. This vision is saying that God’s presence ,or Shekinah, would no longer find its place among so degraded a people and it would be confined in the heaven (See Ezekiel 10.1-22; 11.22-25). We see later that Ezekiel saw the presence leave (spiritual movement)the Holy of Holies, then the Temple, then the city and finally into the heavenly realm at the Mt of Olives because judgment was coming and the Temple and city were going to be destroyed. Interestingly enough, after the resurrection, the Lord left the Temple, the city and ascended into heaven at the same place before the city was again destroyed by the Romans. Here is an important concept. Spiritual movement does not relate to a measurable distance as in physical movement. “Near” means “similar to” and “far” means “opposite” or “different.” Spiritual time can be the holy days or prayer time, things like that. Spiritual light is the cause or will of God. Spiritual mass are the agents that carry out God’s will. Spiritual space can be heaven, the Temple, Israel, a home or any place set apart for the Lord. Spiritual energy, therefore, is the result or effect of the spiritual mass on mankind or creation. So, the vision of the Merkavah in Ezekiel 1 shows a heavenly (spiritual space) “chariot” which is really four angelic beasts called Cherubim. These angels (spiritual mass) are carrying out God’s will. This purpose of God is also called being “in the spirit” or ”under the control” of the spirit, but no mention is made of what exactly the purpose was at that point. But what we have is an example of the relationship between spiritual light (will of God) with spiritual mass (the angels carrying out that will) and the resulting spiritual energy (effect of the actions) upon man and creation. Ezekiel 43.1-5 has the account of the presence of God returning into the Temple. Now, why is Ezekiel 1, Ezekiel 10 and Ezekiel 43 important to understand in the right way? Because these portions of scripture were read in the Temple and synagogues on the feast of Pentecost and it prepared the people for what was about to happen 50 days after the resurrection of the Lord and it was the setting for what happened in Acts 2.1-13 with the coming of the Lord’s presence (Spirit) into another Temple, the believer. All the five spiritual elements were in action. There is so much more to get into concerning this but I hope this at least gives you an idea about what the Lord is trying to communicate in these chapters and also will dispel any notions you may have that these chapters have anything to do with UFO’s or flying saucers.

Q. If people believe that Yeshua is God, why don’t they leave out a letter like they do when they write “Lord” and God?”

2010-04-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

A. I can’t answer that question for them, but I can give some reasons why this possibly could happen. There came a time, especially by the first century, that people were discouraged from saying the name of God found in the Hebrew letters “yod, hey, vav, hey”(or signified in English by YHVH). A man-made tradition developed that said people were to avoid saying the name. So, they would say “heaven” instead of “God” and use other things to avoid saying the name. Scrolls that had the name of God in them could not be thrown away because they felt that this violated the 3rd commandment also. These scrolls would then be stored in a place called a “genizah” and left there. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a perfect example of this. Used or otherwise unusable scrolls were stored in these caves and when the Romans were coming, those living in Qumran hid their manuscripts there because they could not take all them with them, and they thought that they may be coming back again. Whatever they were thinking, they stored the scrolls in those caves which were considered “genizahs” because those particular scrolls contained God’s name in them. When the scrolls were discovered in 1947 and after, they found fragments of every Old Testament book except Esther because the book of Esther did not contain the name of God (YHVH), so they did not need to store Esther scrolls away. But, how to pronounce the name was known and that name (YHVH) was pronounced in the Temple, especially on Yom Kippur and there is debate as to whether everyone submitted to the ban on saying it in the first century or not, but the true pronunciation was known to the people. After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple the true pronunciation of the name was lost to most because the services were stopped and the people killed, enslaved or scattered. The rabbis discouraged its usage and that is what has been passed down today, but it wasn’t always that way. As far as today,here are some sages and rabbi’s that know the true pronunciation and it will be said again when Temple services begin, but that is another story. So another tradition arose, and you will see it in many Orthodox Jewish publications in English that said that whenever the word “Lord” and “God” came up you left a letter out in remembrance of the commandment not to desecrate the name of God. So Lord would look like L-rd and so on. Technically, Lord and God are not his names but are titles, but I think you get the picture. Now, I want say this before I answer the question. Many reading this will say that the Jewish and in particular the Qumran traditions and others like them were silly, but had they not taken this as serious as they did, we would not have the manuscripts and scrolls we have today. Many genizahs have been found all over the world in Jewish communities and there have been many valuable scrolls found there and translated. God has his way of preserving his word. And in the same way, say what you want about the Catholic Church, but it was the monks who were cloistered away during the times of the barbarian hordes and tremendous political and social upheaval, copying the scriptures, that have allowed us to have the Bibles that we have today. I wish that believers had a tenth of the love of the word of God that those people had.

With that as a back-round, let me try and answer the question. When one honors the name of God and does not use it in vain or in a profane way, he does honor Yeshua because he is God. On the other hand, Yeshua is the name that was given him at birth, it is his human name. He did not have that name from all eternity, it shows that he is human and had to be human otherwise he could not be our Goel, or “kinsman” redeemer. To be a “kinsman” he had to be human. If he wasn’t human, there is no redemption. So, just because you leave out a letter in Lord or God and not in Yeshua doesn’t mean that you don’t believe that Yeshua was God, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But it is his human name, he was the same flesh as we are, the second Adam and it is by his blood that man and creation was redeemed. But, keep in mind that to leave a letter out of Lord and God is just a man-made tradition and if that is what you want to do to honor the Lord, that’s fine but there are others who don’t and that’s fine, too. When the Scriptures are not specific about a particular action, we need to let others have room and not get judgmental either way. But we should be consistent in what we do and not do things just because we see others do it. We should be able to explain why we do what we do, and all of that should be to bring glory to the Lord.

2010-03-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

This week I want to continue with the question that was raised about the Holy Spirit and whether He is God or just a “force” or “power.” The Father ,the Son and the Holy Spirit are divine and unique beings, coequal and co-eternal. The Lord has chosen to reveal this doctrine carefully and gradually. It is a guarded revelation due to our limitations. Wrong ideas have produced heresies and threatened the faith at times. There are many examples of this concept. For instance the mind is made up of the intellect, emotions and conscience. In nature, a tree has branches, a root and a trunk. In fact the tree has been used in scripture to illustrate the union of the Lord with his people as one entity. An egg has whites, yolk and shell. Light is one, yet has distinct colors. Time is past, present and future and to the Lord there is no distinction, He transcends it. Space has length, breadth, height. Matter has the atom with its parts, and so on. I think you get the idea. In other words, the Lord has put within nature examples of His essence to illustrate it for us. Titles for the Lord like “elohim” (gods, judges) is a collective title and plural. YHVH ( made up of the Hebrew letters “yod, heh, vav, heh “) is singular, but it can be used for the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit individually. The Father (Deut 32.6), the Son (Rom 8.14) and the Holy Spirit (Jn 3.1-8) represent their individual roles for us in order to help us understand the relationship and functions of the three divine beings. These roles should not be pushed beyond their clear and intended “relationships.” For instance, “son” does not mean subordinate in essence to the Father. The “spirit” is not an inanimate wind or force. Father is a position of authority, the Son is the intercessor and the Holy Spirit is a comforter, or helper. These terms are used to help us understand the Lord and what their roles are in relation to the redemption and should not be pushed beyond that. I hope this helps you reconcile your question somewhat. Remember, there are certain things we will never understand fully in this life and trying to explain the essence of the Godhead is one of them, but the Bible is very clear about what the Lord says about Himself and this should always be where we find out the answers to our questions. This, of course, is only my opinion on the subject but I hope it helps.

Q. I have some friends that do not believe in the Trinity or they say that the Father and the Son are God but not the Holy Spirit, who is just a source of power. Is there any scripture that proves that the Holy Spirit is God?

2010-03-25T17:50:00.001-07:00

A. There are many verses that prove it but let’s start with Acts 5.3. Of course the story is about Ananias and Sapphira and how they lied about some land that they gave. Peter says to Ananias in verse 3 “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit.” Now, you can’t lie to a “force” or be baptized in the name of a “force” (Mt 28.19). The Holy Spirit can be grieved (Eph 4.30) and he speaks (Acts 13.2). He intercedes for us (Rom 8.26). He is called God in the next verse(Acts 5.4). There is a concept in the Bible called the “overlapping of Deity” in that the Father is associated with the Son in deified terms. Many epistles talk about grace and mercy coming from the Father and the Son ( Phil 1.2, Eph 1.2). Then the Son is associated with the Holy Spirit (Jn 16.7-15) So, if A equals B and B equals C, then A equals C. The Father is a God of truth (Isa 65.16), so is the Son (Jn 14.6) and so is the Holy Spirit (1 Jn 5.7). He is included when the Lord says “us” and “our” (Gen 1.26). All three are mentioned in Isa 48.16. God is one in essence (being), distinct in persons and not a multi-faceted manifestation of one person, as the “Oneness” movement teaches and many denominations. The Father is unique (Dan 7.13), the Son is unique (Psa 40.7-8) and the Holy Spirit is unique (Rom 8.26). They possess a full, equal share of the status of deity (Mt 28.19-20, Gen 1.26, 2 Cor 13.14). All three are uniquely revealed as God. For example, the Father (Deut 4.35), the Son (Titus 2.13) and the Holy Spirit (Acts 5.4, 1 Jn 5.7). The Holy Spirit has the same nature or composition of essence of the other two in that He is infinite, spirit, immeasurable, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. The character traits of essence of the Holy Spirit are the same as the other two also in that He is perfect, good, holy, truthful, sovereign ,loving, righteous and just. The Bible clearly teaches that the Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit, that the Son is not the Father or the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Next week I will continue this thought and hopefully give some insight into your question on this very important subject.

Q. Jer 19.6 mentions a place called “Tophet” or the valley of Ben-hinnom. Where is this and what does it mean?

2010-03-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

A. This is a very prophetic place in Jerusalem and it plays a very significant role in the Tribulation and the judgment that follows. The word “tophet” means “spitting” and it is a burial place of the ashes of the children killed in the worship of Molech. The place is at the south end of Jerusalem and at the base of the Hebrew letter “Shin” where the three valleys meet. It was a valley known for idolatry and it will be the place where idolatry will be judged. The Hinnom valley is on the west of Jerusalem and it winds around the southern end of Jerusalem. Now, “valley of Hinnom” in Hebrew is “gay Hinnom” and it is where the word “Gehenna” comes from. This word became synonymous with “hell” because it was the opposite of heaven, or paradise and it was also called the “valley of the shadow of death” for obvious reasons. It was also known as the “valley of Jehoshaphat” in the book of Joel. After the idolatry stopped and the images and carnage ended, this area became a burial place for unbelievers, who were not buried with Jewish believers. This is a picture of the judgment that falls on people who have rejected the Lord (Rev 19.21, Ezek 32.2, 17-34, Rev 14.14,Isa 14.9-22, Joel 3.9-16. Lk 19.27, Mt 24. 29-31, Jer 7.27-34, Lk 17 33.37). This place was associated with Ba’al and considered unclean (Jer 32.35). In the first century it was the garbage dump of the city of Jerusalem and the smoke of the trash burning was constant and the Lord used it as an example of Hell in several of his teachings. It is not possible to give an in-depth teaching on this but this area was the setting for the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man found in Lk 16 and in Matt 25 with the judgment of the sheep and goats. He says to the righteous on his right to enter into the kingdom. The holiest site of earth was the Temple. Then he sends the wicked on his left into “eternal fire” (tophet) and their bodies are thrown into Tophet or the valley of Hinnom for all mankind to see (Isa 66.23-24) and considered the most cursed place on earth. If the righteous are on his right (the Temple) and the wicked to his left (valley of Tophet) then Yeshua is sitting on the Mount of Olives during this judgment. Also, Yeshua’s betrayal was directly related to this area in one of the most ironical stories of the Bible. We know that Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver for his work, and after he repented for what he had done, he threw the money into the Temple. Judas hung himself and the priests took the money and bought a burial place south of the city, in the valley of Hinnom (gehenna) and called it “akeldama” which means field of blood (Acts 1.19). It was cheap land and it was a place where the poor, the transient and those considered “cursed” were buried. Later, this field came up for sale and the family of Annas and Caiphas bought it. Recent excavations have found their actual tombs in the valley of Tophet. The two High Priests who presided over the murder of the Messiah were buried in Tophet, the most cursed place on earth. So, this area has a very dark history and symbolic but it is also prophetic and it will play a role in the future and is directly related to the judgment of the nations.

Q. Does Mt 17.24-27 teach that believers are exempt from paying taxes?

2010-03-08T09:04:00.001-08:00

A. These verses have been misinterpreted by many to bolster some anti-government agenda, but that is a stretch. We already know that Yeshua said that we were to render to Caesar the things that were Caesar’s and that tax was a civil tax, so that settles the tax issue. What is going here is this. Exodus 30.12 talks about the half-shekel that was given when Israel took a census for war. This shekel was paid as an atonement because a soldier was a potential life-taker. If this wasn’t done, then there could be a plague among the people. The word “plague” in Hebrew means slaughter, defeat or fall. David did not do this in 1Chr 21.14-17 and 2 Sam 24.25 and a plague resulted in many deaths until it was stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah, the future site of the Temple altar. This is very symbolic because the plague of sin was covered at that altar, and ultimately sin was dealt with at the altar called Golgotha. The word Golgotha is related to Gilgal” where Joshua circumcised Israel after crossing the Jordan and entering the land, thus rolling back their reproach. Gilgal means “to roll away.” Another Joshua (Yeshua) came along and ratified a New Covenant that circumcised our hearts at Golgotha. Now, after the half-shekel was paid by the males who were being mustered for the army, the money was used for the Tabernacle, its services and worship, upkeep and needs. It was seen as a contribution to the Lord to make “atonement for yourselves.” Later, this “tax” was used for the Temple for the same reason. This was a religious tax, not civil, and in the first century it was collected right before Passover. Now, in the narrative in Matthew, Peter is approached by collectors of this tax and they ask him if the Lord paid the half-shekel tax. Peter answers yes, and goes into the house there. Knowing this dialogue happened, Yeshua uses the opportunity to reveal to Peter who he was. He asks for his opinion and then asks “from who do the kings of the earth collect taxes, from their sons or from strangers (regular subjects).” Peters answers “from regular subjects.” Then Yeshua says “so, the sons are exempt. But, lest we offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook and the first fish (a tilapia by the way!) that comes up, when you open its mouth you will find a stater. Take that and give it to them for you and me.” There are some who say that this is a Hebrew idiom meaning that the first fish he caught was worth a stater when sold and Peter was to use that to pay the tax, but others say this was literal. Whatever the case, here is what happened. Yeshua doesn’t need to pay the tax because he is the son of God, the King of the Temple. Since this was for the Temple service and worship, and he was Lord of the Temple, he didn’t owe it. But, rather than cause an offense and exert his right not to do so, he tells Peter to go fishing. And notice , he doesn’t say pay the tax for “us” but for “you and me” because he was paying “not to cause offense”(because he didn’t owe it), but Peter was paying because owed it. Far from being a mandate to refrain from paying civil taxes, this was saying that Yeshua was God and Lord of the Temple.

Q. In studying, there is a major difference between the KJV/NKJV and the NASB on Acts 18.21. Why is there a difference?

2010-02-26T13:12:00.001-08:00

A. The difference you refer to is where the KJV/NKJV contains the phrase “I must by all means keep this feast that comes in Jerusalem” where the NASB leaves it out. This is due, in many cases, to the fact that different versions use different manuscripts or if a majority of manuscripts carry the verse or not and so on. This is called “Textual Criticism” and the KJV bases its translation on different reasons than the NASB. However, even though the NASB leaves that phrase out based on their texts, it still does not mean that in other places it won’t tell you where and why he was going. In v22 it says “he went up” to greet the church and “to go up” is a phrase talking about going “up” to Jerusalem. In Acts 20.16 the NASB explicitly says that Paul was hurrying to be in Jerusalem if possible on the day of Pentecost. So, 20.16 basically says the same thing as 18.21. In Acts 24.17 it says that Paul went to Jerusalem at the time of that festival because he was giving alms and to present “offerings” in the Temple. Why would he do that? In Acts 18.18 it says that Paul “cut his hair” because he was keeping a vow, which was a Nazarite vow found in Num 6.1-21 and the offerings he gave are listed there. Acts 21.15-26 tells you he gave these offerings. Now, Pentecost was one of three mandatory festivals that the males were to attend every year (Exo 23.14-17). So, in my opinion, here is what happened. Paul cut his hair ending his Nazarite vow in Acts 18.18 It is the only vow in the Bible that ends when one cuts his hair. It then says in 18.21 in the KJV/NKJV that he must go to Jerusalem. This was for 2 reasons, he was required to attend if possible (Exo 23.14-17) and he was ending his Nazarite vow and had offerings to give and he had to take his hair to the Temple to be burned (Num 6.1-21, Acts 21.26, 24.17). The scriptures are very clear as to why he went no matter what version you read, but in 18.21 the NASB leaves out the phrase found in the KJV/NKJV probably due to manuscript evidence, but other verses tell you why anyway so the basic truth of God’s word still is conveyed. By the way, I use the NASB myself but it is always good to read other versions as well to get the full flavor of what is being said. There is another thing to keep in mind, the original manuscripts written by the authors themselves were inspired by God, but copies upon copies were made from them and human error will inevitably happen. But God’s truth is still there and the concepts are still contained in the Bible. Some Bibles are strong in some areas, and weaker in another so it is always good to look at various versions and to get a working knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek. Also, look up words in concordances and lexicons and have a basic idea of textual criticism as well. But, remember that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the truth regardless of education and will help us use the tools mentioned above. We are all students of His word and on different levels so also keep this in mind when sharing.

Q. Prosperity teachers say that Mk 11.22-24 says that whatever we say and believe is going to happen. Is that what that verse is teaching?

2010-02-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

A. No, that verse is not teaching that. To understand the verse you have to look at the context, so let’s look at what was going on at the time that prompted the Lord to say what he did. Chapter 11 starts out with his entry into Jerusalem and he comes to Mt Moriah where the Temple stood. He goes in, looks around and leaves. The next day he goes back to the mountain and the Temple and begins to cast out the moneychangers and declares that the Temple has become a den of thieves, quoting Jeremiah. He knows that the chief priests and the scribes want to kill him so he would go out of the city at night. The next day he comes upon the fig tree he cursed a few days before and it had withered. Then fig tree was symbolic of the spiritual state of Israel and how it bore no meaning fruit anymore. His disciples were astonished and he then says “Have faith in God” and then the verses you mention follow. In verse 23 he says you will “say to this mountain.” What mountain is he talking about? It is Mt. Moriah which was the seat of so much corruption that he had to drive the robbers away from his Father’s house, cleansing it. He says that it would be “cast into the sea” and the Temple literally was cast into the sea when it was destroyed because they found pieces of it in the harbor at Caesarea. What he is saying is this. The false teachers, the priests and scribes were keeping people away from the Kingdom of God through their teachings. Yeshua is saying that with faith in God the falsehood of their teachings can be overcome and they will be able to enter into the Kingdom if you stand firm and don’t doubt in your heart what Yeshua was teaching because some of it conflicted with the teachings at the time, especially when it came to who he was, faith and salvation to name just a few areas. He was in conflict with the religious establishment at the time (see verses 1-21). This has nothing to do with saying and believing something and it has to come to pass. This verse has been twisted into something it was never intended to say. There is so much more to this but I hope this gives you another way of looking at the verse.

Q. Is there any text to support or refute that Yeshua ever took a Nazarite vow?

2010-02-12T12:09:00.000-08:00

A. I am going to give an opinion and hopefully shed some light on your question, based on some rabbinic teachings and Scriptural concepts. A Nazarite vow is when a person is totally dedicated to the Lord by not consuming anything from the grape, letting their hair grow and not touching the dead. It comes from the word “nazir” which means to be set apart. This vow is found in the Book of Numbers and it can be entered into voluntarily, like Paul the Apostle in Acts 18.18 or it can be made for them from birth like Samuel, Samson and John the Baptist. The only place there is an indication that he might have taken a Nazarite vow is at the Last Supper when he said that he would not drink from the fruit of the vine until everything was accomplished. This vow can be for whatever time the person wants. It can be for a day, week, months or years, and even a lifetime. Now, if Yeshua took this vow, why would he do it? To understand this, we have to go back to the Garden of Eden. When Adam was in the garden, the Lord told him not to eat from a certain tree. He also had the glory of God as his covering and there was no death. The Bible does not say what the fruit was that Adam was to refrain from, but some think that the tree was the grape vine which may have looked different before the fall. All aspects of the vow goes back to the Garden. To refrain from the grape may be a clue that Adam was not to eat from the grape tree/vine. Also, letting the hair grow had to do with restoring a covering/glory (1Cor 11) that Adam lost after he sinned. And since there was no death in Eden before the fall, one is not to touch the dead. So, in other words, to refrain from these three things was an echo of Eden. No grape products, having a covering and not touching the dead.

How does this relate to Yeshua. He was the second Adam. As Messiah, he was going to restore that which man lost. Look at the crucifixion. It was near a garden (Eden), he had thorns (the curse) on his head and he was nailed to a tree. If he took a Nazarite vow it was only for a day and it was because he had to restore Eden(symbolic of the Kingdom of God) back to mankind. So, he did not drink the grape and put himself in the same situation Adam had. He sets himself apart to God for the redemption of man (Adam) and refused the wine while on the cross until the end, when he looks around and sees that all things have been accomplished. It is then that he says he is thirsty and they give him something to drink and he takes it. He then dies right after this because his short but meaningful Nazarite vow is over because redemption was now accomplished and he comes out of it by partaking of the fruit of the vine. There is so much more to this but I hope this helps. There is no way to prove this but it is an interesting question, thanks.

2010-02-02T09:55:00.001-08:00

In last few articles, we discussed the function of a prophet, but how does that work in the day to day affairs of people. In the Old Testament prophets received what they had to say by direct revelation from the Lord, and some of what they had to say foretold the future and dealt with present concerns of the nation and people. They also revealed doctrine not previously known or understood and they ministered in all areas of life. Some were prophets assigned to the reigning king and some were not. In the New Testament there is no change in the character and focus of their ministry. They still receive direct revelation and 1Cor 13.9 and Eph 2.20 states that prophets are the foundation of the congregation of the Lord and upon which it is built. God built a congregation in the Old Testament and He is building and eschatological congregation in the New Testament. Both buildings need an “architect” who sees the plan of the builder and can put it down so others can bring it into reality. That is the role of a prophet in the Old and New Testament. They “see it” before it is even written down.

Now, the gift of prophecy is not to be confused with the gift of teaching, although they “overlap” somewhat and are related. A teacher takes revealed truth from the Word and expounds on it according to their level of understanding. Their authority only goes as far as their interpretation is correct. One is not obligated to obey or even listen a teacher who is wrong and has a false interpretation of the Scriptures. Also, a teacher can only take their people as far as their understanding of the Scriptures and so what they say is limited. On the other hand, a prophet has no “script” to go by but delivers new revelation and truth as the Lord has revealed it. There are many New Testament examples of this, and Agabus in Acts 21.11 and Ananias in Acts 9.10-19 come to mind. Their authority lies in the message itself and they are judged by whether it is correct or comes true. Therefore, prophecy is ranked above teaching (1Cor 12.2-8) and it must be proved. That’s why the gift of discernment is given to the congregation. It is a “check and balance” against false prophecies.

During the Tribulation period, these gifts will be operating at a level never seen before, and for good reason. As false prophets will increase, so will the true prophets of the Lord increase and they will be anointed by the Lord to counteract the works of the evil one who will try to distort the Scriptures and lead many astray. The enemy will try to use illusion and delusion at an unprecedented level. Now, an illusion is when you think you see something but it’s not really there. A delusion is where you see something, but have the wrong interpretation of it. Delusion will be the main tool of the enemy in the last days, therefore true prophets of God will be needed as never before. There is so much more that can be said about the function and ministry of a prophet, but hopefully you have a better idea about it as a result of these articles. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me at ot.waxahachie @Yahoo .com and I will try and get back to you or use your question in succeeding articles.

2010-01-23T14:34:00.001-08:00

This week we are going to continue with our look into the function of a prophet. One of the main reasons the Lord calls one to be a prophet is to restore the people to the ancient paths set forth in the Scriptures. They are to give warnings concerning politics and give positive visions in many different areas . They will rebuke or give positive instruction and move to restore in any given area. Listening to the Lord is essential and there are many different ways the Lord speaks, so let’s look at a few. We must test our listening and stay away from the occult. Another obstacle to clear hearing is the desire to feel “special” because being chosen does not make you special. A prophet must devour God’s word because it is the exercise track of their training and the structure of their thoughts and memory, the guard house, if you will, against bad doctrine. It is the basis for ideas, the checkpoint, the boundary. God speaks through dreams and one must learn his own dream language. Symbols can have external meanings and have little to do with our personality, character or internal meaning. It has to do with their inner being. Colors can have double meanings. For instance, red can mean blood or anger, green can mean life or envy and so on. People can be symbols. To dream about the death of a person can be literal or it can mean the person is dying to themselves, and giving birth can be literal or the new birth to an aspect of their lives. Visions can flash in pictures across the inner screen of their mind, very short in duration or a picture can “pop-up” before them. A vision can also be like watching a movie outside of themselves, or a trance. If the meaning is unclear, pray and ask questions and wait on the Lord. Recurring dreams or daydreams need to be examined (Job 33.14,29). God may show the prophet their sin to save them from the effects of it. It is a time to rejoice if that happens and it doesn’t mean it disqualifies them but means they are still relying on the Lord. Another way the Lord speaks is dark speech. This is a pun, a puzzle, a parable or an allegory and is non-direct. Direct speech is hearing the voice of the Lord plainly and clearly like He spoke with Moses and others. He may also speak through messengers that he sends. The Scriptures themselves is a very common way He speaks. God speaks through circumstances and also what is called the “still, small voice” that one hears within himself. A mature prophet will be silent before the will of another. They are silent observers of what God does, a watchman or witness. If they have something revealed to them in secret that would create turmoil or frighten people but has no unction to say anything, it is a clear call to intercede. This goes for blessings as well. They must be careful on how they hear. Don’t solidify a revelation in too many concrete terms. They could add to what God is trying to communicate and confuse the whole thing. They must make sure the words that they say are from the Lord, so they should counsel with others who have functioned as a prophet (Prov 24.6). Ask the Lord to confirm what He says. But, once He does they should not let anything deter them. In addition, prophecy can be expressed in other ways such as speech, a flow of words, sayings and burdens. Next, we are going to look at the function of Old and New Testament prophets and look at how prophets will function in the Last Days.

2010-01-08T12:46:00.001-08:00

This week we are going to continue with the topic of a prophet and briefly go into their function. We have already given an overall description of a prophet and also discussed their calling, preparation and training. But, how do they function and what exactly do they do once the Lord puts them “to work.”

A prophet will call people back to the Word of God, speaking God’s word to him so that the Lord can write His word uniquely on his heart. Behind his words of warning and words to obey is God’s mercy. But, all the while he may be directed to give a word to others, he is acutely aware of his own sin and deceit in his own heart. He thinks he will never be true to the Lord and will feel somewhat helpless, but that’s what God wants and this will temper his message to others because the training of a prophet is the most excruciating discipline to endure and his hurts and sins become his schoolmasters. The prophet will humble the mighty and raise the fallen. When others laugh he will be weeping in his spirit. When others weep and are in the grip of true repentance, his spirit rejoices because he sees God’s rewards of mercy coming. When believers are celebrating a great victory he has already been called to the next battle, the next pit of sorrow. In other words, a prophet will always feel “out of synch” with other believers and will have a sense that he just doesn’t “fit in”, but he really does and the prophet will and must understand this or it will really discourage him. Prophets warn of trouble coming and they prepare people for the fire. He will be laughed at, cursed, rejected, fall and arise. He may have to speak a hard word to people for which he will disliked and hated. His services are free and they do not charge because the Lord is their source, not man. It’s acceptable, however, to take an offering but he must never be for hire. Many so-called prophets today are nothing but hirelings and they charge a high price to the next bidder. This is clearly the mark of a Balaam. A prophet will stand mute before the will of another and must never force what he wants. He must find ways for the person to receive his words and let them join into the search rather than tell them too many answers. He must not only know what to say, but how to say it. A prophet owes the people nothing but comes and goes as the Lord directs and he may co-exist with some strange people. He sees no visions or perceptions unless the Lord has revealed them. He will never “peep” on his own but will rest in the Spirit and the Word. He can’t always be gentle or courteous because he must also rebuke, so he must depend on the Spirit of God. If he must render a rebuke then do it, but let God discipline. He also must pray always, think God’s thoughts and study, study, study. Daniel received angelic visitations after he was studying the Book of Jeremiah because he wanted answers. Much of what God reveals may frighten him or cause him distress so he must pray for guidance or intercede for another. He must also keep quiet about things he knows until the Lord tells him otherwise. He must be careful how he hears and be aware that what people want will and can affect him.

He must not be put into the position of a “seer”, this not the primary function of a prophet. He must listen to God’s voice and not be affected by what others say. Warnings may not go down as prophesied because God warns so it WON’T happen. Confirmation may not mean agreement by others so just because some don’t agree shouldn’t stop him. He must do all he can do to verify what he has heard is from the Lord. The prophet, for the most part, is not for the general public but is sent to believers. (1 Cor 14.22, Matt 7.6). He must give what he has to say to the right people, at the right time. When disasters happen, that doesn’t mean that the victims were evil (Lk 13.1-5). The relation of sin is more “corporate” than “personal” and doesn’t mean the people have sinned. A prophet must never rationalize too soon by pouring comfort into situation that the Lord was using to move people to repentance. The Lord’s prophet learns to relax in the mess. He will see God’s faithfulness no matter what is going on. True repentance brings life, but remorse is self centered and the prophet must not only know the difference but be able to recognize it and deal with it in others. A prophet may never see the fulfillment of what he sees. He will have the blueprint that God will use to bring it to pass however. In the next article we will continue with the function of a prophet and deal with more of what he does, and how does a prophet listen and know when the Lord is speaking to him. How can one discern between his own voice and the voice of the Lord. This will be very helpful, not only to budding prophets, but to believers in general so don’t miss the next article.

2009-12-17T13:01:00.001-08:00

This week we are going to continue with the subject of prophets and their calling, preparation and training. This is a very important aspect of the function of a prophet and it is a very hard thing to go through. A person does not decide to become a prophet, there are no clubs or schools one can join or attend, no monthly dues. God calls someone Himself and to Himself and the training can vary from person to person, from what situation God may use him in, what the social situations are that he is sending him into and so on. There are no courses or curriculums, but once called, the training can take years. They must be led into the “wilderness” where they will be purged and cleansed, until, after all their human strength is gone, they are made strong as metal and is ready to be used in their Makers service. They must hold people to the Word of the Lord. They will have little honor in this life and at times, won’t be able to explain why they do what they do. Things in their life will go wrong so that the Lord can break them of their own self-confidence and ability. Humiliation and the crushing of pride will reveal their individual smallness and inability before God. A test is a success only if it fails sometimes so that they learn that they cannot succeed on their own ability alone. Whatever shows them the inner rottenness of their core takes away any confidence in the flesh. Their training undercuts all their hidden and false motivations. Name any area of natural success like communication, intelligence, marriage, friendships, employment and so on. If the Lord hasn’t already smashed them, He will. When humiliation is complete, He moves on. In other words, life will be the teacher.

How do we recognize a budding prophet? First of all, the Lord can call someone at any age. Jeremiah and John the Baptist were called before they were born while Abraham and Moses were called later in life. Many times, their lives will have tragic events that would break some people, but the Lord sustains them and teaches them. Sometimes these events can be very humiliating and other people around them will not understand why they happened. The budding prophet will have dreams and visions from the Lord and will share these with people. Some will think it’s their imaginations and brush them aside as a nuisance, but those with spiritual discernment will immediately recognize these as signs of a developing prophet. They must learn how to hear God in dreams and visions, mind-flashes, colors and open and dark speech, circumstances, the still small voice and all the other ways the Lord speaks. They will also be burden-bearers and have a keen sense of justice. Some will be teachers and have distinctive gifts that will enable them to do the work of a prophet. These should also be looked for. They must know the word of God in letter and in spirit. Their training will take years and they must renounce whatever has formed them, cutting the apron strings and any carnal hold on them. They also must learn not only what to say, but how to say it.

Next week we will continue and talk about the function of a prophet, how do they operate and what they actually do. After seeing these basic facets, then we will go into the Old and New Testament prophets and look at how they functioned and some of the differences. Then we will briefly look into how prophets will function in the last days and Biblical prophecy.

2009-12-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

Q. There are many today who claim to be prophets. Could you explain what a prophet is and how can you tell the real ones from the false?

A. This is a very important question, especially in the last days when the Scriptures warn us that there will be many false prophets. I’m going to give a detailed answer and describe who and what a biblical prophet is. This will take several weeks but I want you and other readers to have it for yourself so you can keep a copy handy to go over from time to time. This week we will start with the definition and purpose of a prophet. Next we will look at their function and what do they do and how they serve the believer and a congregation. After that we will discuss their calling, preparation, training and the distinguishing marks of one being called into this function. Then we will talk about the Old and New Testament prophets and their similarities and differences, the tests of a true prophet from the false. And lastly, how do the prophets fit today and how they relate to biblical prophecy and the coming of the Messiah. All of these areas will overlap somewhat

The word “prophet” in Hebrew is “navi” and it means a spokesman. The word does not describe who he is but what he does. He is to hear a word from the Lord and to speak exactly what the Lord tells him and to whoever God sends him to. The Word can come in the many different ways God speaks to man and this has been discussed in previous articles. There were Old Testament prophets and there are New Testament prophets. The main function of a prophet is to be an interpreter of the word. Deut 13.1-5 says that what he says and teaches should be in line with the Scriptures or what God has clearly said. Isa 8.20 says that the people should check out what people say according the Law and the Testimony, which is another way of saying the prophets. Yeshua came not to destroy the Law, or misinterpret it, but to fulfill it, which literally means to interpret it correctly. The Bereans in the Book of Acts checked out everything the Apostle Paul taught by the Scriptures and they were considered more noble than the rest. So, the function of a prophet is to interpret the Word of the Lord and then to speak and teach it to whoever God sends them to. Now, there is a difference between and watchman and a shepherd. When one had a flock of sheep, some served as watchmen and others shepherds. The watchmen usually were perched high above the shepherd fields, alone, and they looked for danger. If they saw danger coming, they warned the shepherds. The shepherds then protected their sheep. The watchmen did not deal with the sheep directly because the sheep did not know their voice. The sheep follow their shepherd. In the spiritual realm it’s the same way. The prophets are often warned by the Lord or advised by Him concerning something and they were often times sent to the kings, leaders or shepherds for the word to be disseminated among the people because the sheep know the shepherds voice and trust him (Amos 3.6-8). Yeshua did this also but many times appealed to the people directly because He said many times that they were “sheep without shepherds.” So a prophet is called by God, it is not something you inherited like the function of a priest or a king. It is not something you can desire to be, it is entirely up to the Lord who His prophets are. A prophet in many ways is an “enabler” because he ,too, has fallen. They are servants of the Lord, first of all, and they are to speak and interpret the Word that they hear. So, his main purpose is more “forth-telling” than “foretelling” although the Lord may have him give a word concerning future events. They see the vision and listen and speak for God (Exo 7.1). They admonish, reprove, warn, direct and intercede to prevent or soften events. They teach through direct interpretation or parables. The prophet Samuel had a school for the Prophets. They are counselors and are ahead in the vision. They will be hidden ,for the most part, and they may stand a little apart from others. They are like an iceberg where they are seen in part but there is more to them than meets the eye, and they have depth. Next week we will pick up with the function of a prophet.

2009-12-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

Q.There are several places in the Bible where the word "forever" is used but the verse is clear that it wasn't forever. Why is that and can you clarify what "forever" means?

A. The word "forever" is the Hebrew "olam" and it seems to mean indefinitely with reference to the nature of the thing being described. If the nature is God, then olam is truly eternal. If the nature of man is being referenced then it means as long as he lives. If the nature of what is being talked about is relationships, then it is as long as the conditions upon which the relationship is based still hold true. When those conditions change, the relationship ends. So, forever has several meanings depending on what is being referenced. For example God's nature is "forever" because that is who He is. God may call someone to do something "forever" but of course when he dies, that is over. Also, like a marriage, the intent is to stay together "forever", meaning a lifetime, unless the conditions in the relationship change (Deut 24.1-4). Another example will be the ages found in the Scriptures like the "olam hazeh" which means "this world" or "this present age." Olam is used but it won't be like this forever. Another age is called the "olam haba" or the "world to come." Again, forever is used but it won't be the world to come forever because it will change after 1000 years. So, olam does not means "philosophic eternity" but it is relative to some base. Olam does not always, in every case, mean "continuously in force" throughout infinite time no matter what happens to the world nor does it mean "irreversible" or something that cannot end if He wants it to, if conditions change (1 Sam 2.30).

2009-11-20T07:41:00.000-08:00

Q. In Revelation 13.3 it says that the Beast will suffer a mortal head wound. Does this mean that the Antichrist will be assassinated and come back to life?

A. No, this has symbolic meaning so let me explain. The Book of Revelation is full of symbolic language and the symbols used can be found throughout Scripture. In Revelation 13.1, John sees a beast arising out of the sea. The sea is symbolic of the unconverted “sea” of humanity (Isa 57.20). In Jewish writings of the 1^st century this creature was known as Leviathan and he is also symbolic of the false messiah. Look up Leviathan in the Jewish Encyclopedia or Google it and there will be much information on it. This creature has seven heads. In Revelation 17. 9 these 7 heads are 7 mountains, and mountains in Scripture were symbolic of world kingdoms (Dan 2.25, Matt 16.18, Gen 49.24, Matt 21,44, Isa 2.2)). These kingdoms are Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and then Revived Rome. In Revelation 17.10 it says “five have fallen” by the time Revelation was written and that would be the first five just mentioned, one is and that’s Rome and the other has yet to come, Revived Rome. It says that when it comes it must remain a short while, which is the 7 years of the Tribulation. Now, in Revelation it says “he” but the kingdom is always personified by the king. The king was the kingdom. Now, back to Revelation 13.3. It says that “one” of the seven heads (plural) was slain. That means that Rome “fell” but this wound was healed. That simply means that Rome will be “revived” temporarily for 7 years. In other words, certain nations have arisen and have held dominion over Israel and all of God’s people. The wounded head was Rome and being “healed” is referring to the fact that Rome will be “revived” in the last days and the geographical area that will make up this last kingdom will be the same area that was part of the old Roman Empire. It will be primarily 10 nations, just like the Roman Empire was made up of 10 divisions as it fell apart. The 10 toes of the image in Daniel 2 reflect not only the Roman Empire as it fell apart, but are also symbolic of the 10 divisions of Revived Rome. So, this “beast” is symbolic in Revelation 13. It had seven heads that ruled over Israel, and 10 horns that are the same as the 10 toes in Nebuchadnezzar’s image. The “head” that was slain is Rome, and it being “healed’ refers the fact that 10 nations or areas that were a part of the old Roman Empire will make be aligned together in what is referred to as “revived Rome” with the false messiah as the head. It is not the literal “head” of the false messiah that is slain but one of the 7 “heads” (mountains, kingdoms=Revelation17.9) that once ruled over Israel, and that would be Rome.

2009-11-13T11:55:00.001-08:00

This week we will conclude this short series on spiritual warfare with what to do after a victory. Wars have been lost because a victory was not handled correctly, and this can happen in spiritual warfare as well. The “poison fruit” of victory can stunt our progress. Japan won a battle at Pearl Harbor but it also had much to do with why they were defeated in WW II. Israel had some very early victories against Rome in the Jewish revolt of 70 AD but those same victories contributed to their ultimate defeat. When victory is in sight, don’t stop and “smell the roses” or enjoy the spoils before it’s time. You must keep on till the battle is over. Pharaoh Necho stopped too soon at Megiddo because his men started pillaging and this gave the enemy time to escape and it took an extra year to finally defeat them. The Union army at Gettysburg had the perfect opportunity to rout the confederate army after Pickett’s charge, but didn’t and the war dragged on. In defeating the enemy, render him useless or incapable of fighting back. David won a victory and captured many chariot horses (1Chr 18). So, he kept what he needed and hamstrung the horses so that they could not be used against him again. How do we do this? Don’t get involved with the same people again that have caused us much damage, don’t answer their calls and go into business with them and avoid the situations that led to the “battle” with them to begin with. In the spoils, don’t take more than can be handled. Keep only the useful things. When fighting a battle and God gives unexpected victories and rewards, don’t refuse them, but accept them gratefully. Israel got control of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in the 6-day war of 1967, but gave the Temple Mount back to the enemy and that decision has caused and will cause much damage.

When God intervenes, you don’t have to worry about carrying out vengeance. When Assyria attacked Israel in Isa 36 and 37, God intervenes and defeats Sennacarib. Humiliated at the sudden demise of 185,000 men, Sennacarib goes back home and is eventually murdered. Israel didn’t have to do a thing. It’s the same way spiritually. When God delivers us from someone, we don’t have to carry out personal vengeance against them, if it needs to be done the Lord will do it. Remember Sennacarib! Another important thing to remember is “don’t keep fighting the battle.” When it’s over, it’s over. Rehashing the battle leads to bitterness, anger and resentment, but, don’t ever think the battle is over in a victory either, expect it to get “hotter.” Why? Because you just improved your weapons and the enemy will counter. Also, God will allow the enemy to hit you because of pride. In 2 Cor 12.1-10 it says that Paul was given many great revelations but the Lord allowed him to be buffeted by his enemies to keep him from exalting himself. Some think the “thorn in the flesh” was some physical ailment but it wasn’t. Paul had a job to do for the Lord and he needed to be physically able to do it. But, a “thorn in the flesh” is a Hebrew idiom meaning an adversary, to falsely accuse, abuse or slander you. In Judges 2.3 it says because Israel had made covenants with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, they (the inhabitants) were now going to be “thorns in your sides, (or flesh).” In Num 33.55 it says that if Israel doesn’t drive out these inhabitants they will be “pricks in your eyes and thorns in your flesh.” In Ezekiel 2.6 the Lord tells Ezekiel not to fear the people or their words though they be as “thorns and thistles” to you . So, Paul’s thorn in the flesh was the accusations of the people against him who slandered and falsely accused him of things, stirring up crowds against him. This was to prevent pride in Paul, as he says himself (2 Cor 12.7). If we get “hit” and lose, we need to assess the reasons why and adjust, building our walls and defenses stronger than before. After a victory, rebuild your walls and develop your weapons (Isa 61.4, 58.12). We must also stay balanced through study of the Scriptures, receiving wisdom, being refined and prayer. As you can see, there are many aspects of spiritual warfare. We looked at definitions and basic warfare truths. We then looked at the Captain and who He is. Then, we discussed wise preparations and what psychological warfare was. Next we looked at what to do when on the attack and what to do when attacked. And lastly, we have just looked at what to do after a victory. What we have gone over the past few weeks is just an introduction to spiritual warfare. To develop all this out would take over a year but hopefully you have received enough to help you in this all important area of biblical spiritual warfare.

Spiritual warfare study continued......

2009-10-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

This week we are going to continue our study of spiritual warfare and briefly discuss what to do when under attack. The enemy will try to penetrate you and there several ways this can be done. We already discussed what our “walls” are and the enemy will try and come over your wall. This is when he thinks he has you defeated and you will be overwhelmed by an attack. Secondly, he will also try and come through your walls by a constant pounding, being harassed and it doesn’t let up. Third, he may try and come under your walls. This is when the enemy tries to undermine you by imperceptible methods, trying to “tunnel” his way into your defenses by “digging” into your life trying to find a weakness he can exploit. If that doesn’t work he will try to get through your gates. Your gates are your senses and he will try to use your perceptions to control you. Last, deception is always a good tactic, a spiritual “Trojan horse” if you will. They will try to be your friend and get close to you. Then, in time, their real agenda will be unleashed and you won’t know what hit you. Accusations, falsehoods, friends turning on you will reveal the sad truth that you have let the enemy inside your walls, too close to you, and unless you get control real fast much damage will be done.

When under attack, the goal of the enemy is to keep from doing a work for the Lord. Just do it and don’t be distracted. Speed up and don’t slow down. An excellent example of this is the Book of Nehemiah. He is building the walls of Jerusalem and was under attack constantly, but he kept on working, even with one hand on a weapon and the other with a tool. This is where we study harder, pray and take action even when under attack. Keep up a steady pace, stay on schedule and keep on standing. Do the things that the enemy is trying to keep you from doing. But, don’t be stiff and formal, use “formulas or act like the next guy. Israel was disobedient in 2 Sam 4.1-22 and thought that if they carried the Ark into battle, God would give them the victory. It was like “magic” and sometimes people have a desire to do the same thing. They wave a bible, or wear crosses or stars of David thinking it protects them. In other words, don’t replace the Scriptures with anything else. When attacked, pray because that is your source of strength and have an attitude that you won’t back down. Do something like knowing your attacker, his strategy, strength and plans. Also what weapons he will use. Know your foundation and why the battle is being fought. Don’t be a “crusader.” Study, learn, pray and move when God tells you. Your devices of protection should not be a hindrance to you, streamline your “armor. During the Crusades, the Crusaders had so much armor on that the heat of the Middle east was bad enough but the Moslems would set fires, raising the temperature even higher and the Crusaders suffered heat exhaustion and heat strokes and literally fell off their horses. Don’t ignore the minor things when battling major attacks (Ladders at the back gate while there are battering rams at the front gate). During a battle, find a place to rest. You can’t fight, fight, fight without any rest. Cool it for awhile. Don’t talk about the battle all the time because it drains you and you can’t hear from the Lord. Spiritual battles don’t need to be centered in reason and don’t be surprised when those closest to you join in the battle against you. On the other hand, the enemy can’t sustain a battle against you forever either. Hang tough and keep going. Use whatever means you can to hold on. Wait and be confident. Also, be flexible and know when to “pull” back. During a battle you must protect your water source, which is the Word of God. If you are well protected, don’t let the enemy “draw” you out from behind your walls. An example of this is where one is really learning the Scriptures and is on fire, Then, they move away because of a job offer or they leave the congregation because they are “led of the Lord” when they really haven’t heard. They will soon be “cut off” from the “good city” from others and from their studies. How do you know when God speaks? First, does it line up with the scriptures. Second, if it is accompanied by a sign that you ask for. Here’s how NOT to put out a fleece. “I want to do…….. and if you want me to do it then give me….”
and name the sign. Here’s how to do it. God speaks to you and you are not sure. You want to confirm it, and it is then that you send out your sign. “If you are speaking to me about this, then……(name the sign). Many fleece their own thoughts. If the Lord is in it, He is not ashamed to confirm it.

The enemy will try to “thin you out” by having too many irons in the fire. He will try and draw you away from your “home base” which is where you are learning and are fed. You are then in his territory. What do you do when you haven’t heard from the Lord? You wait, study, grow and learn. How does God speak? You can hear His voice directly. Messengers, prophets, teachers, donkeys, unbelievers can be used to speak to you. Circumstances or the Scriptures are common also. There is His still, small voice or dreams, visions, mind flashes which are called “open speech.” Then there are puns and parables which are called “dark speech.” God is not limited on how he can speak and we must know that he does and believe that he will speak to us.

Next week we will go over what to do after a victory.

In spiritual warfare there will be times when we need to be on the offensive.

2009-10-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

In spiritual warfare there will be times when we need to be on the offensive. Many people think that believers should be passive, turning the other cheek, and we should at times, but there are other times when we are to be aggressive and moving forward and “the gates of hell will not stand” indicates we are on the offensive. The key thing is to know the difference and to hear from the Lord on what to do. So, when and how to attack will be discussed in this article. Pulling down strongholds is a dangerous job and you must always count the cost before you engage. Many believers quote this verse about warfare but few realize what it is, so let’s look at that for a moment. As always, these concepts in warfare can all be applied to our spiritual warfare and how we fight our battles on an everyday basis. To pull down an enemy’s strong hold means we are going to have to get close to his defenses, up close to their “walls” and try to loosen the stones or dig under their walls to destroy their foundation so the wall will come down. This is dangerous and casualties will be high. The people who do this are called “sappers” and there are several things that are needed if you are going to do this. To be a sapper, you must be properly trained for this particular job and have the appropriate tools. Many get into “battles” and don’t know what they are talking about and get hurt. Then, you need a covering from other people and are fighting with you. This involves shields, barriers and protection from the enemy above who are trying to keep you away from their walls. They are going to throw everything they can at you. Secondly, you are going to have to know what you are doing and do it fast. Third, you are going to have to “look up” constantly and be aware of what’s coming at you. Lastly, you must know your limits and capabilities and also to know when to retreat (back-off). This type of battle is when you have to get close and personal with an opponent. You are going to have to attack his foundation and defenses and try to get him to “come out” from behind his walls. This can get very uncomfortable for both and there can be some rough moments. They will throw everything against you, and you will get hurt, no question about it, so this type of attack should be entered into with caution. When David wanted to kill Uriah the Hittite he gave orders for Joab to place him close to the walls of the city. Joab did, and Uriah got killed. Now, if it’s dangerous to attack the outer defenses, it will be even more dangerous to attack the “citadel.” This is where the enemy inside the wall falls back to for a last line of defense. The superior forces are usually concentrated there. This means we may get through someone’s outer defenses but they will fall back to old habits, arguments, logic that has worked for them for years and you will have to deal with their best reasoning.

What if you are in the open field and not close to the walls of your enemy. Well, we must attack the lesser enemy first before you take on the stronger (Joab and Abshai did this against the Ammonites and Syrians). We must take the cautious road, not the fastest and we must cutoff the outside “reinforcements” and then go for the main target. Pharoah Shishak cut off Sukkot, a major defense in Israel, before he attacked Jerusalem. Even when attacking we must always have a defensive position in case of a counter-attack. Julius Caesar attacked a city called Alesia in Gaul and set a siege mound around the city. He then built a second wall outside of that in case he was attacked from the outside, and he was. As a result, he defeated an enemy that was positioned defensively and offensively against him at the same time. In our spiritual warfare we should be fighting to defend the Lord and His Word, not fighting for God to defend you. David fought Goliath for the sake of God’s honor. We tend to get into our own battles then ask God to bail us out. When choosing when to engage, ask yourself is this for the honor of God or are you just defending yourself against personal attacks. If it’s the latter, just let it go in most cases. When your strategy is gaining minimum results with maximum effort, a change in strategy is needed. In a battle, you could lose or have major problems by being distracted or giving up too soon. We must be consistent in our walk. If the enemy has the high ground, don’t attack him. To move the enemy off the high ground you must give him something he knows he can take. Joshua did this at AI by drawing the enemy outside of the city, then a second group attacked the weakened defenses inside the city.

These are just a few things to keep in mind when attacking. Next week, we will deal with what to do when under attack.

This week we are continuing our study on spiritual warfare

2009-10-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

This week we are continuing our study on spiritual warfare with a look into psychological warfare and how it applies. The essence of psychological warfare is to confuse the meaning of words and infiltrate the mind with conflicting concepts. This week, we will talk about some of the distinguishing marks of a psychological battle, things you can use and things that will be used against you. Before any battle begins the enemy will begin working on you, so there are things you can do also. Of course, we are not talking about literal battles but everyday confrontations and issues that come up where people are trying to control you, influence you and change you into something that is not what God has for you. We must, at times, speak loudly when you aren’t carrying a big stick. We sometimes must show our strength even more than it really is. A biblical example of this is Gideon and his 300 when he made the enemy think there were more soldiers than there were. Israel actually did this in the 1973 Yom Kippur war when they sent 300 radio operators into the field to make it sound like there were many more troops than there really were. We must be strong and show the enemy we are strong even when we aren’t. You must realize when you are under a psychological attack and one of the advantages of using a psychological attack is time is on your side and you can make the enemy work all the time., but this can and will be used against you as well. But, we should not carry “arks” into battle to assure victory. These can be things like good luck charms, crosses, statues, a Star of David, emblems, magic formulas and talismans, Bibles or whatever you think will assure victory. Israel went to battle at Aphek carrying the Ark and it didn’t save them because they were in rebellion against God to begin with (1 Sam 4) and the Philistines captured it. We must stay psychologically strong in God, not things. King Hezekiah listened to Isaiah and not to the Assyrian representatives of Sennacarib in Isaiah chapters 36 and 37. They were trying to get into the heads of the people. In the Civil war, there was a battle called Chickamauga and a confederate soldier said one of the reasons they lost the battle was “you Yanks got into out innards.”

We must be prepared to go out on a limb and get hurt in psychological warfare. Psychological warfare will always try to keep you at odds from within (groups fighting one another or to keep you busy, running, not resting) to weaken you. Rome did this against the Jews behind the walls of Jerusalem during the 1^st Jewish revolt. They will watch to see if you are disintegrating from within and then they will try to keep you in confusion. Spiritual battles don’t have to be centered in logic and the enemy you may have at times will be illogical in what they do and say. The Arabs, Palestinians, Iranians and certain political groups today are a perfect example of this. There are two key elements in successful battles. First, God told them to go and secondly He told them what to do. Doubt can be a killer in a psychological battle so don’t let the enemy discourage you or those around you. Don’t “hate” your enemy, you don’t need it to defeat them. Don’t talk to the enemy either, trying to strike back against their accusations. The Assyrians told King Hezekiah that they would be “drinking their own urine” if they didn’t surrender and Hezekiah didn’t say a word about the water tunnel he had dug bringing water into the city. The tunnel still exists today but how many Assyrians do you know? In battles like this, come before the Lord in humility because He directs the battle, not the believer. There is no such thing as “name it and claim it” because it is the Lord who does it, not us. Your enemy will accentuate the problems you may have and will try to speak to others around you to get them to influence you, especially if they think they don’t know what to do either. These mind games can include false promises, but that always ends in slavery and you will be worse off than before.

Hopefully, this brief look into psychological warfare will help you recognize it, using it to your advantage and not letting others exploit you. In the next phase of spiritual warfare we will talk about attacking and what to do and mistakes to avoid.

This week we are going to continue with wise preparations in regards to spiritual warfare

2009-09-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

This week we are going to continue with wise preparations in regards to spiritual warfare. There are some things we can do to prepare for the battles we will have to engage in and these are some of the things you can do. Fasting, seeking direction, prayer, worship are some preparations you can do but warfare requires physical action as well. For example, when unexplained sickness hits, seek the most qualified Doctor and follow his directions. When the IRS calls, get the best accountant. If you have a house and a car, get good insurance. To obtain these things is not a lack of faith, they are shields for our protection. Many godly soldiers in the Bible had faith in God but they also had a shield so don’t let people tell you that to have insurance is a lack of faith on your part. We have to learn who or what our enemy is. Pray and plan your method of defense or counter-attack. Purify yourself spiritually before the Lord and build up your supplies, fortify your defenses and guard your gates. Do all you can do to win a battle. After you have done all you can do, then look to the Lord to be your deliverer.

Now, you build your walls with what you understand and know about the Lord and His Word. That is your armor (protection) as described in Ephesians 6. The shield of faith is confidence in Him, it deflects untruth. The more you know about the Lord the more confident you will be. When you know what you believe you can stand. My walls cannot be your walls, you must build your own emunah (faith), da’at (knowledge), binah (understanding), chachmah (wisdom). Isaiah 33.6 says that “wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability (walls) of your times and the strength of salvation, the fear of the Lord is his treasure.” Others can help you but you must fight your own battles. What kind of “fort/city” do you want? I want a broad wall, with crenels, bastions, a glacis, moat, towers with top-notch weapons and strong gates! But, I can’t build these overnight by attending a few meetings, listening to tapes and reading a book. You must immerse yourself into the Lord and His word and learn, but gaining wisdom at the same time, with much thought in the process. I know many who learn but have no “chachmah” (wisdom) and they fall for any rumor and false teaching that comes down the road because they lack wisdom and discernment. So, we must prepare our walls but call on God also (2 Chr 14.5-11, Prov 16.1). But there is a trap to all this. If you look for only the “tavnit” or pattern you won’t get a good foundation that will allow you to build your walls. Read all the scriptures all the way through over and over again. Then you will know what’s right and wrong when a book or a message comes along. Let the Scriptures mold your mind, not the book or the message. You will find that when you center yourself in the Scriptures many of the programs, books, messages you wanted to read or hear won’t matter anymore.

When should your defenses go up? Following great victories or revelations. And another thing, don’t waste your time on stupid arguments with people who don’t know what they are talking about. They say they are “serving the Lord” when they are only serving themselves. In the next phase of spiritual warfare we are going to talk about psychological warfare. The essence of psychological warfare is to confuse the meaning of words and infiltrate the mind with conflicting concepts. So, before a battle even begins the enemy will be working on you so don’t miss this very important subject of psychological warfare and how it relates to our spiritual battles.

This week we are going to continue.....

2009-09-18T17:58:00.001-07:00

This week we are going to continue with the subject of spiritual warfare and be dealing with the subject of wise preparations. Battles are won or lost before any fighting begins. The Lord is not going to entrust His truth to the weak and timid. There are several spiritual preparations we need to make. First, we must pray and study the Word of God. These two need to be balanced. In Gen 49.8-12 we have the blessing given to Judah by his father Jacob. In Judah’s blessing all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are present except the letter “zayin.” This letter means “weapon” and this tells us that spiritual wars are fought with the Word of God, not carnal weapons (2 Cor. 10.4). Another thing we can do is fast. In Ezra 8.21-32, Ezra fasted until God showed him what to do. Giving to others is a crucial preparation. There is also the area of praise and worship. Jacob made sacrifices before entering Egypt, the priests carried the Ark and praised God before Jericho and other battles. We must also separate from the world. The war is coming and you must learn the Scriptures. You won’t have time for hayrides and socials because you must be getting ready for a battle. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, but remember this must be balanced also. Remember, you are either going into a battle, going through a battle or coming out of a battle. Preparations can only be made before it comes. Once it starts and you are coming out of one, it’s too late. There are some defensive things you can do. Don’t fight alone, make sure you have people around you. There’s a joke that says that we should have at least 6 friends because then your family doesn’t have to hire pall bearers at your funeral. Anyway, we should always have back-up protection. And speaking of protection, we must know our protection and it must not “weigh us down.” The crusaders wore so much armor that in one battle The Moslems started the brush on fire, raising the temperature. This caused the Crusaders to get hotter and this cause heat sickness and heat stroke. Eventually they just fell off their horses and were killed. Not having the right armor can limit your mobility, defense and firepower. You must know the potential of you adversary, so there must be time to assess. Until you get good equipment (weapons, intelligence, etc) you can’t fight the battle with confidence. And once you have superior weapons, you must know how to use them. Don’t get caught in a place where you can’t maneuver spiritually. Israel in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 did not make the right preparations and got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. This nearly cost them the war. So, don’t get caught in a “Yom Kippur” war.

When you are at peace, keep your fortifications strong. King Solomon built a huge chariot force with towns during a time of peace. It was that strength that contributed to the peace. Today, politicians want to cut the defense budget and not develop weapons and this is a serious mistake that this country will pay for. Nearsighted, ignorant people contribute greatly to war by putting their country in harm’s way by weakening the country’s defense. The same applies spiritually. We must prepare our fortifications before they are needed like King Hezekiah did. We must also know what we are talking about. The more you “build” the less you will “contend” because you won’t have time nor be interested in having battles. When building a good stronghold you will need good footing (your walk) and foundation (the Word). To move from the “stone age” to the “iron age” it’s going to take maturity and training. You must have “basic” training and this is found in Heb 6.1-2. Next week we will continue discussing what kind of preparations we can make before a battle even begins.

This week we will continue with spiritual warfare

2009-09-11T13:39:00.001-07:00

This week we will continue with spiritual warfare and look into the most important aspect of the whole thing, and that is The Commander. We must have a balanced, biblical view of the Lord in our warfare in order to be victorious. We should never get into a battle or a confrontation unless the Lord leads. Until then, we wait and seek Him and most of all prepare (learn). This area of preparation (learning) is very neglected. Most of the people I know, especially spiritually, do not do this. I’ve known some people over 10 years and they haven’t learned anything, they still see things the same way and don’t really prepare. As a result, they get into the same battles over and over again with no resolution or victory. If God called you into a battle, then put the burden on Him, but God must direct you. He will show you how to attack, whether it’s the direct method (they can see you coming) or not. The avenue of attack is very important along with the timing and method of warfare. When you have done all that you can, then “stand firm” and don’t break ranks. We must never attack unless we have a clear word from the Lord. David waited until the mulberry tree moved. Why? The sound of the wind in the trees covered the sound of his troops moving. When there are problems, take them to the Lord, but don’t tell God what to do because He is your Commander, not the other way around. Also, we should not talk to Satan while praying, that is talking to the enemy. Talk strategy and tactics with the Lord. Hezekiah did not talk to the enemy in Isa 36.21 but went to the Lord. The only way for a lasting victory is intervention by God, your strength alone won’t do it. If God is in control, then we must ask “why am I being attacked?” It could be to challenge us, to teach us warfare (Judges 3.1-3). Also, ask “why are the attacks so hard?”. This will always be to strengthen us for the future. People who undergo tremendous battles are usually being prepared for something bigger. Another question to ask is “why do we feel defeated?” But remember, no matter the losses along the way, the Lord is always the winner.

When given a directive from God, complete the job. Don’t get to a stopping place and just quit, as so many tend to do. Your enemy will be diligent in his objectives, so should we. An Amalekite killed King Saul after he failed to wipe them out as instructed. And later, as chronicled in the Book of Esther, a descendant of the Amalekite King Agag nearly carried out a plan to exterminate the Jewish people. So, we must finish the job. There are stories in history where the victorious army stopped to loot the victims, allowing the enemy to get away. As a result, they had to continue fighting longer because the enemy had time to recover. Another thing to keep in mind, rank does not necessarily mean talent. The Lord and the disciples were not a part of the high class society of Israel, and yet look at the talent and gifting of God they had. On the other hand, just because someone has a high “rank” doesn’t mean he has talent. There’s nothing worse than inferior talent in places of leadership. And remember, God will not hit you at a level you are not prepared for unless you have not proceeded to the level you should be. If you are a “child” who is at a first grade level but you should be at a fourth grade level He will allow you to be “hit” with fourth grade “material” because you failed to learn the things you should have. Next week we will continue with the next part of spiritual warfare which will be how to make wise preparations. This will be a very important aspect of warfare because preparing wisely can be a deterrent to someone who wants to start something with you. He must stop and count the cost, and if it’s too high, then he won’t fight and there will be peace. False teachers will not be a snare to you. So, don’t miss next week and how to make wise preparations.

This week we continue Spiritual Warfare

2009-08-28T04:26:00.000-07:00

This week we are continuing with the subject of Spiritual Warfare and we are going to look at a collection warfare truths. * We must deal with and come to grips with the fact that we going to be attacked, so there are things we can do beforehand. War is the attempt of one side to impose its will on the other side. So these thoughts will help you when thinking about spiritual warfare and what you need to do. They are written to encourage you and help you prepare for the battles that will come into your life. There is no way to completely develop every one of these concepts, but you can study these out for yourself and ask the Lord to give you the insight needed.

· Strategy is the art of war and tactics is how you wage a battle. The strategy of the enemy spiritually is to take the true meaning of the Scriptures away so that you don’t know God. The tactic is to get the Jews to look at what was done to them in the past and not see the hand of God in it, nor to see the Messiah in the Torah. To the Gentiles, it is to confuse who the Messiah is and not study the Old Testament at all. The third goal is to keep both groups apart.

· Just because we may lose a battle doesn’t mean we lost the war.

· To be forewarned is to be forearmed-the enemy will attack with no exceptions.

· Spiritual Warfare is a process of difficulty. The first enemies are simple as is the weaponry. Succeeding battles will get more difficult and the weapons more sophisticated.

· Never interrupt your opponent when they are making a mistake.

· “Battering ram” theory: as weapons against you develop, so should your defenses.

· Roman attacks: require intervention from God. The “Roman” attacker comes at you with the attitude that you will be defeated, no matter what the cost. They like to intimidate and divide you, keep you off balance and infiltrate your life in as many ways as they can.

· Hittite attacks: they are people who like to “undermine” you, they try and “dig tunnels” under your walls. The best way to defeat a Hittite attacker is to cave in his walls by confrontation and exposing them for what they are trying to do.

· Philistine attacks: they try to draw you in close. They like confrontation because they think they have better weapons than you.

· Assyrian attacks: already discussed in the previous article.

· Vanity is one’s greatest weakness, so try to avoid it (2 Sam chapters 16 and 17- the story of Achitophel, Absalom, David and Hushai).

· Spiritual and physical battles often go hand in hand so be prepared, casualties will occur. Jer. 12.5 says “If you have run with the infantry and they have worn you out, how can you contend (keep up with) the cavalry.”

· As always, the best defense is a strong offense.

· No matter how strong your defenses are today, if you stay as you are (static) an adversary will come along who can knock down your fortress.

· Don’t get stuck in the stone age (with stone age weapons) and fight a nuclear age enemy.

· Don’t rely on past victories and tactics to win future battles. The enemy will have learned and developed superior tactics.

· Know your enemy and his weaponry and tactics. You must assess and evaluate all incoming data.

· Never underestimate your enemy (Casemate walls at Masada).

· The success of a battle is determined by the abilities of the enemy.

· The attitude of the commander and the spirit of the troops will change the outcome of a battle.

· Rank does not necessarily indicate talent. Inferior talent as a leader will result in severe losses.

· Managers do things right, but a leader does the right thing. There is a difference.

These are just a few warfare truths to keep in mind. In the next article we will talk about the Commander and how we should relate to Him before, during and after a battle.

Spiritual Warfare Continued.....

2009-08-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

This week we are going to continue with the subject of Spiritual Warfare and this will continue over the next few weeks. I am going to discuss what it is rather than what it isn’t because once you see the concepts you will be able to distinguish the false for yourself. This week, we are going to start with some definitions and basic concepts and build upon them. Jer. 9.23-24 says that our goal as a believer is to know the Lord. Our goal is not to fight battles, but we are in a war and that will never stop. The Lord is a warrior (Ex 15.3) and our battle begins by making the decision to be a warrior as well and entering into warfare. In the book of Haggai, the Jewish people were so concerned about their own lives and houses that they forgot about rebuilding the Temple. In v 7 the Lord asks them to “consider your ways.” In like manner, we are to consider our ways. Are we wasting our time in life or are we building the house of God (Ezek 13.1-5)? We are to “repair the walls” like Nehemiah did and every truth we learn is like another brick in the wall. Song of Solomon 8.9 states “ if she is a wall” which means strong, then they can build, but if she is a “door” it means she is weak. Some may say, “I don’t see the application or understand all this.” But, this is not something you just sit down and understand quickly or all at once. It takes time to learn spiritual warfare, and it takes just as much time to do it wrong so we might as well get it right, don’t you think? If I told you you could double your knowledge of the Lord, how far would you go to attain it? Ecclesiastes 9.14-16 says you will deliver your city by wisdom, and a believer is seen as a city (Jer. 1.18). Matt. 13.45-46 says that a merchant went to great lengths to attain a certain pearl, and a pearl is likened to wisdom in the Scriptures (Job 28.18). To interpret Ezekiel 16.1-63, the Song of Songs, Daniel chapters 11-12 you need to know history and eschatology (Isa 41.22). So, to begin with, there is a concept called “moreshet karav” which means “heritage of war” (Judges 3.1-2, Isa 2.4, 2sam 22.35, Isa 58.14). It teaches Israeli history and is taught to Israeli children today. It recounts all the battles Israel has fought and how the enemy was defeated. They take the children to actual battlefields and they show them where Goliath fell, where Joshua made the sun stand still, where the Maccabees defeated the Greeks. They experience the feelings, the terrain and the history and that is called the moreshet karav, the heritage of war, and that is our heritage as a believer also.

So, with that said, let’s start with some basic definitions that you will need to know. I’m going to just list them with a brief explanation next to it so we can have a the same understanding of the things that will follow later in the teaching.

*War=is the attempt of one side to impose its will on another side.

*Strategy=is how you win the war.

*tactic=is how you win battles.

*Roman attack= attacker keeps coming with the attitude you will be destroyed through intimidation, psychological warfare, division, keeping us off balance and infiltration. This requires intervention from God.

*Hittite attack=like to undermine us, non-confrontational, “dig tunnels” to get inside our walls.

*Philistine attack=try to draw us into a confrontation, close combat. They like it.

*Assyrian attack=overwhelm us, costly, nasty, dirty, able to wage war on numerous fronts, high in casualties, can’t win, domino effect problems, organized, even our friends are under attack, cut off, spiritual walk can deteriorate, won’t win on our own strength, we are outnumbered, outmaneuvered and outgunned but don’t panic and run because you will get “killed” anyway so you might as well fight and not make it easy on the enemy and buying time knowing that the only thing that can save us is God’s intervention.

*Laws of warfare =read Deut 20.1-20, Num 4.3 ( the word for service in v 3 is the word for warfare in Hebrew), Eph 6/10-17.

*Gospel=is “basar” in Hebrew and it means good news from the battlefield (1Sam 31.9, 2Kings 7.9).

*Casualties =our minds, hearts, lives and souls..

*Fort/city=is an individual, family, congregation or nation (Eccl 9.14-16, Jer. 1.18, Mt 13.45-46).

*Mobility=how far and how fast can we move our infantry, cavalry and chariots and translates into how we move, our walk with God, how we study. Do we read a few chapters a day=may be too slow, 100 chapters a day=may be too fast.

*Firepower=weapons with a purpose to hit the enemy at various ranges through prayer, scripture, books, media and speech.

*Wall foundation=the Scriptures

*Walls=that which separates and keeps the enemy away, our protection (Isa 30.13-14).

*Security=is provided by our walls and personal defenses against enemy effectiveness by obtaining and utilizing knowledge, wisdom and understanding (Isa 33.6).

*Shield=is faith/confidence and there are 2 types of shields. A “magen” is a small shield and a “zinah” is a larger, full body shield. Too little confidence or too much confidence can hurt us. We needs the right shield (confidence) for the right battle. It also deflects the missiles/arrows (untruths) of the enemy.

*Towers= the units of study we master. Towers keep the enemy away from our walls. There are 2 types. A square tower represents basic truth and a round tower is symbolic of knowing something well and takes more time and expertise to build.

*Balconies= the application of what you know in defense.

*Glacis/moat=is our attitude, a “stiff-arm” if you will. It keeps the enemy from our walls, it is what you put out front to discourage people from attacking our walls because enemy will try and break down your walls (wear you down from every direction) in order to defeat you.

*Water source= water is symbolic of teaching (Hebrew= “mayim chaim” or living water). Wells are dug which means digging for wisdom, life, truth. Water is below the ground and buried, hidden and it can only be brought forth with hard work. A water source (teaching) is essential to a city. It must be protected in a siege/battle.

*Gates=the weak point in a wall (our life and our defenses). They need attention and relate to our senses (what you see, hear, feel, taste/say and touch).

*Sword=a sharp mind in the Word, sharp words (Ps 59.7). There several types. A double edged sword is used to pierce deep and long with one blow.

*Arrows, stones=words (Psa. 120.3-4).

*Helmet=covers our head against psychological warfare, guards the mind.

*Bows/slings=that which fires the arrows, information.

*Quiver=stores the information, like memory.

*Composite bow=blends many areas of study together.

*Spear/javelin=medium range weapon, anything that keeps the enemy at a distance, not too close.

*Axe=anything that pierces or cuts or hacks, like a “cutting remark.”

*Mace=inflicts a heavy blow, can beat you down (like a death, divorce, job loss, etc).

*Battering ram=repeated, frontal pounding “right in the gut” and has to be stopped.

*Conservatism=not changing with new tactics or weapons can lead to destruction (apathy, decadence, etc). The Philistines did not continue to develop the bow, and Egypt did, resulting in a Philistine defeat.

*Firebrands, coals=thoughts, words (Psa. 120.4) trouble or troublesome people (Isa 7.4).

*Auxiliary forces=those close to us who turn against us and fight with the enemy (family, friends, etc).

*Siege=long, drawn out trial or battle (Julius Caesar at Alessia).

*Posterns=schemes, undermining, “tunnels” coming against us from another while you are on the attack from the outside (they come out of the city against you).

*Allies=those close to us who fight with us (family, friends, or other believers, etc).

*Surprise=to move your force, to engage the enemy at a time and under conditions he does not expect or has prepared for. He cannot react with his own weapons and forces effectively.

Along with these definitions, there several other concepts to include here. There 3 types of battles. A duel is one on one, a small group battle is one group against another and armies are one large movement against another (elections, etc). The basis for strategy and tactics involves surprise, maintenance of aim, economy, concentration of force, coordination of arms and security.

In other words, spiritual warfare means engaging in battle (getting involved). Even if you don’t want to do it, it is a necessity for a believer to prepare for battles because they are coming. Many wait until they are under attack to begin learning something about it, but by then it may be too late. In the next segment, we will discuss warfare truths and give some overall, practical advice which will help in future battles. After that we will discuss God as the Commander, what He will do and not do. The next thing we will talk about will be what preparations can we make for future battles. Then we will look at psychological warfare and how to recognize it and what to do about it. Then we will look at what to do when attacking followed by what to do when under attack. Lastly, we will look at what to do after a victory.

Q. I have heard talk about spiritual warfare and that we should anoint our door posts and windows with oil and pray a prayer to keep the enemy out.

2009-07-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

Q. I have heard talk about spiritual warfare and that we should anoint our door posts and windows with oil and pray a prayer to keep the enemy out. What are your thoughts on this?

A There is no Scripture that tells us to do this, but there is no Scripture prohibiting it either. The practice of using anointing oil is ancient and God commanded the Israelites to make a special kind of oil and to us it for various reasons.. The Tabernacle, the furniture, the priests, and kings were anointed with oil, but those were one -time events. The anointing was done to set something apart for a holy purpose, not to keep evil away from or out of something. The New Testament doesn’t say much about using anointing oil. In Mark 6.13 and James 5.14 the Greek word “aleipho” is used and it means “to rub, smear and to cover.” In James 5.14 it means that the rubbing oil was the medicinal means applied prior to prayer. Aleipho is the common word used for the first century practice of rubbing oil on the body or hair for any reason, including medicinal. The word “chrio” is used when it is for a “sacred” reason (Luke 4.18, Acts 4.27, Acts 10>38, 2 Cor 1.21, Hebrews 1.9). But, the word “chrio” is never used in connection with healing and anointing oil, or anointing an object like a door or a window to keep evil away from or out of something. So, anointing a house is one of those areas that a person must be led of God about. There is no special oil to use or words to say, no particular way to do it, but this question brings up the subject of what spiritual warfare really is. Warfare is when one entity tries to impose their will on another, and warfare is made up of three elements. They are firepower, security and mobility. In spiritual warfare it is the same. Our firepower is our weapons with a purpose, to hit the enemy at various ranges through prayer, the Scriptures, books media and speech. In the area of security, any offensive action must include the ability to maintain a viable defensive position . A warrior in the physical must believe in the training they have received, their leadership and support. They know they can use and trust in their weapons, they know the terrain and have knowledge of the enemy. All these can be applied spiritually also. It is knowing that we are safe and secure in His promises, that we are truly saved and sons/daughters of God and we are doing what the Lord has commanded us to do through His Word. Mobility involves speed, quickness and the ability to move from one battle to another, to be a mobile firing platform . Spiritually, it involves our walk with the Lord and being able to move from one subject to another with speed, quickness, truth and accuracy. In spiritual warfare, you must be able to move from prophecy, in-depth knowledge of the Temple (Ezek 43.10-11), history, geography, having a working knowledge of the biblical languages, spiritual warfare, the festivals, Hebrew idioms and phrases and many, many other biblical subjects with a seconds notice, and oftentimes within the same conversation. We must be a mobile “firing” platform, able to hit the desired target with pinpoint accuracy and because a moving target is hard to hit as well. And we must be obedient to our Commander in the field, as He is called “Adonai Za’va’ot” in the Scriptures which means “Lord of the Armies”. We have confidence (faith) in Him, His abilities and command of the battlefield. We know He has the ability and “expertise” to wage war, and win. When we obey Him, then He will be our shield and protector (Psalm 91). In addition, to be an effective warrior you have to be trained. When I was in the Marines, we became familiar with live rounds, weapons, close combat, cannons and bombs going off, jet planes overhead and battlefield situations. This was done to familiarize you with what battle is like and to get you to the point where you no longer pay any attention to all that “noise.” Spiritually, you have to develop your skills and know your weapons to be appropriately prepared for battle in these current times. What won a battle yesterday may not win the next one. And remember, the enemy’s attacks and weapons against you will become more sophisticated as well. The Lord will do the same thing. He will teach you spiritual warfare and use “live rounds” to do it. In Judges 3.1-3 it says ; “Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; so that generation of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, those who did not know war before.”” You see, God will teach you about spiritual warfare by putting you into spiritual warfare. All the oil in the world is not going to keep the enemy from attacking you if the Lord’s wants to train/condition you. In a battle, communication is one of the most important elements. So, find out why something is happening and what to do about it. You must be able to communicate with the Commander and that is called prayer. The Lord doesn’t fight battles the same way every time. Strategy is how to win a war, tactics is how to win battles and situations change so you must be able to use your firepower correctly, maintain a defensive position and be mobile in case of counterattack. But, even with all this, attitude also plays an important role in warfare. We must build our walls, fortify our gates and use our weapons according to the pattern the Lord has shown us in the Scriptures. Then, when an enemy is outside our walls he must stop and count the cost it will take to defeat you. He doesn’t want to start something he can’t finish. Battles can be won or lost before any fighting has even been done. In the Israeli tank corps, they have a motto that says “the real steel is in the tank” so attitude is very important. The Lord’s warrior must be trained, prepared and have put in the work necessary to become ready, but the battle belongs to the Lord and He will ultimately do what is right in His own eyes. If the Lord tells us to put oil on the door, then do it. But, we must make sure that this, or anything He may tell us to do, is expedient and doesn’t turn into a ritual because that (the ritual) may develop into something greater than obedience and the power of prayer and faith in the name of the Lord. The subject of spiritual warfare is a very important, but neglected, subject so over the next few weeks we will look into this in more detail. We will look into definitions, how to make wise preparations, psychological warfare, who the Commander is, what to do when attacking, what to do when under attack, what to do after a victory and overall warfare truths. It would take nearly a year to go over this subject in detail in person, so what will be written over the next few months will be the “nuts and bolts” of spiritual warfare but very important and necessary to help clarify what biblical, spiritual warfare really is. Remember, you are either going into a battle, in a battle or coming out of a battle and this will be the case for the rest of your life so hopefully these truths will be of great benefit to you.

Mystery Babylon cont..Part 2

2009-07-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

This week I want to conclude on the theme of idolatry, pagan practices and just how does that apply to a believer today. Much has been said about practices that are seemingly “pagan” but in reality do not hold up to a closer look. We cannot make conclusions based on similarity alone. If we did, then the Lord Himself would be pagan. For instance, the woman in Rev 17 has a cup in her hand, so does the Lord in Psalm 75. Pagan gods were pictured with wings, so does the Lord in Psalm 91. Pagans built high towers, the Lord is described as a high tower. Pagan gods were described as stars, so is the Lord in Rev 22. Pagans worshipped the sun and yet the Lord is called the “Sun of righteousness in Mal 4. Pagan deities sat on thrones and had crowns, so does the Lord and the list goes on and on. Being able to quote a pagan similarity does not necessarily give evidence that something is a forbidden practice. Some practices are so general that no conclusion can be drawn at all, like the use of bricks, plaster and water. Pagan deities ride chariots, but that doesn’t make chariots pagan. If general practices are pagan, then eating Italian food would be forbidden because the Romans were pagan. Some practices today are so limited in scope that they could hardly be considered a common custom. For instance, if someone came to America and said there are people there who don’t wear make-up, it would be wrong to go back to their respective country and say “all Christians don’t wear make-up.” Most arguments about pagan practices are centered around similarities but without no real connection to paganism. This is called “superstition” and that is, in many cases, all there is to many objections to some practices of believers. Pagans lit candles, does that mean if we light a candle in a religious ceremony it is pagan? I don’t think so. The number 13 is considered an unlucky number, but where did that come from? Many times we mix fact and fable and come out with superstition. I’ll give another example that may seem silly, but it shows the absurdity of some the comparisons. Babylon had gates and Nebuchadnezzar’s image was made of gold, and many people worshipped the image and many went through the gates to worship in pagan temples. So, based on similarity alone, the Golden Gate Bridge would be pagan and should be avoided. Sweeping statements about denominations is wrong and to throw out all they teach is also wrong just because one thinks they have “pagan” practices. Again, is there a real connection to what they do to a pagan deity, or are there just similarities in practice and no connection to a pagan deity. The Lord is always against the worship of pagan deities no matter where or how it’s done. The Jewish people went to the Temple itself and worshipped other gods, but that didn’t invalidate the Temple. It would be better to find areas of agreement and to build on common ground rather than isolate and condemn. The Lord is a God of compassion and mercy, of understanding and wisdom, not condemnation over some supposed pagan practice that has no connection to the worship of another god. Paul even quotes pagan philosophers in Acts 17.28 to find common ground with the Athenians. Accusing people of pagan practices is not the best way to counter errors in anyone. The best way is to study the Bible itself and let the Lord teach through His Word, energized by the Holy Spirit. If there is a similarity between a pagan practice and something done by a believer, where does that leave the believer? There are several things to consider. Maybe the believer did the practice first, and the pagan adapted it. Where is the intent of the heart? Does the practice glorify the Lord? Does reciting our prayers just tests of our memories, like the Lord’s Prayer, or are they spontaneous expressions of the heart? Any Biblical practice can be mundane, mechanical and rote and this needs to be guarded against also. The Lord had more to say about a cold, hard heart than He did about supposed pagan practices. It would acceptable to point out error, of course, but if ones logic includes the statement that it came out of paganism, this could invalidate their contention. Discussing pagan origins does keep us in mind about such things, but if this anti-pagan attitude is carried too far, then it will stifle real growth and cause some real hurt feelings unnecessarily, which in turn can lead to fruitlessness and anger. The Lord had to admonish the Apostles once for trying to stop someone who was ministering in His name because they weren’t of their particular group, or “denomination.” The Lord told them not to reject them, because if they were not against them then they were for Him. Our focus should be on the Lord and the Bible, not dogmas. Our boast should be in the Lord, our walk should focus on His word and our hearts to what is pleasing to Him, which includes the love of our neighbors as we love ourselves. Jacob made a sacred pillar at Bethel, and Joshua did at Gilgal, a forbidden practice. Moses made images. I can’t begin to tell you what was or was not allowed by God. But, I can tell you, that which is given over to the worship of another god is forbidden and that was the deciding factor. Similarity of and the usage of objects, signs and symbols does not seem to play an aggressive role, as some may say today. The peddling of forbidden pagan practices sells a lot of books and tapes but is it accurate? The basic things to keep in mind and ask is: “Is it centered on the One, True God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?”; “Does it Glorify Him? “; “Is my heart right before Him?”; “What kind of fruit does it bear?”. If you will remember these things and keep them in mind, I think you will do well… and let the Lord guide you from there.

Q. Mystery Babylon sits on seven mountains, is this talking about Rome?

2009-07-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

A. No, Mystery Babylon is a religious system that has been around for a long time. The Catholic Church sits in Vatican Hill and it is not one of the seven hills of Rome. It did not belong to the ancient district of Rome or was it included within the walls of Rome. The seven hills of Rome are Palatine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Aventine, Caelian, Esquiline and Viminal. Vatican Hill is not one of the seven. Also, these hills would hardly qualify as “mountains” and are not very high, not over as few hundred feet. The mountains referred to in the Book of Revelation are referring to kingdoms that held power over Israel. These mountains are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. The final two are in the future and they are revived Rome and the final configuration of seven nations after three leave. This is referred to in the book of Daniel. This brings up another problem going on today. People cite pagan practices they see and automatically think something is evil, but is that really true? Practices are condemned as wrong because “pagans” did it and it’s not spelled out in the Bible. But, one should ask if it is fruitful and does it glorify the Lord? Is it in harmony with the Scriptures? If it isn’t, then it should be discarded. If you just go by pagan similarities, the Bible itself could be considered pagan. Here are some examples to think about: kneeling, upraised hands, barefooted, a holy mountain, a holy place, temples priests, temple pillars, sacred pillars,arks, cities of refuge, thrones, lions, healing, a rod, laws on stone, fire, feast of tabernacles, firstfruits, bread, wine, sacrifices and the list is endless. People tend to see these things in paganism and then speak out if they see this in a church or synagogue. Pagans also held similar beliefs as believers, does that mean that belief is pagan? For instance, some pagans opposed the making of idols? If you use the logic that if it’s done by pagans it’s wrong, then not making idols is pagan! Next week, we will continue with this in some other areas and then try to sort it all out and give ideas on how a believer should handle these things .

Q.Why do people condemn drinking wine and strong drink when it is allowed in the Bible?

2009-06-23T06:58:00.001-07:00

A This is a good question and it is usually based on a misunderstanding of several verses which seemingly contradict one another but really don't. Just considering the negative verses without looking into what the Scriptures say as a whole, including the context, can lead to the wrong conclusion. What has happened in the last 100 years in this country has shaped what many believe about alcohol. There was a movement at one time that believed that alcohol should be eliminated from American society and proponents of this view enlisted and were even led by religious leaders. They proceeded to find many verses in the Bible that spoke of alcohol in a negative way, trying to convince voters that alcohol was evil and should be outlawed. This resulted in what was called Prohibition. Well, after a few years, this didn't work and Prohibition was voted down. But, these ministers taught younger ministers, who taught other ministers and there are those today who maintain the same mindset as the prohibitionists. They clearly teach that drinking wine or strong drink is sin, but by doing that they have a problem because Yeshua clearly drank wine and even made wine at a wedding, and it wasn't grape juice. The headwaiter tasted it and said it was the best wine. He knew the difference between grape juice and wine, and if Yeshua had made grape juice he would have really complained. These teachers fall into the category of forbidding things permitted to be eaten (1 Tim 4.1-5). The problem is while condemning drinking as sin, they have to get around the fact that Yeshua drank, so they say He drank grape juice, which isn't true. He was accused of "eating (gluttony) and drinking (drunkenness)" and they said he had a demon. People today try to do the same thing. Wine was used for medicinal purposes (Parable of the Good Samaritan) and Paul's advice to Timothy. In Deut 14.26 it says to sell your tithe and buy "strong drink". The word for "strong (chazak) drink (shekar)" means an intoxicant. Now, God would not have commanded something if it was sin. Water, as an example, has many negative connotations in the Bible, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't drink it or use it. You can say the same thing about fire, or just about anything. There is a difference between eating and gluttony just as there is between drinking and drunkenness, which is always destructive. Paul said not to get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. He didn't say to avoid wine altogether. Aside from love, mercy, kindness and justice, one should use moderation in all things. A person should know what their limitations, faults and weaknesses are and act accordingly in good conscience before the Lord. If a particular behavior does not violate righteous behavior, harm your health or violate civil law, then it is most likely acceptable.

Q. What is the Abomination of Desolation and what does it look like?

2009-06-03T06:42:00.001-07:00

A. The Abomination of Desolation is an idol that will be placed in the Holy Place of the coming 3rd Temple in Jerusalem. In Hebrew it is called the “Shikutz Somem” and it means “the idol that causes horror.” It will be an image of the false messiah, and it will be standing next to another image, probably of Mary. It is my opinion that this idol will be a crucifix. Now, for those who don’t know, a crucifix is a cross with a man hanging on it, not the sign or symbol of a cross. Let me explain. The Scriptures are full of pictures and types of the false messiah and this image is described in several areas. In Isaiah chapters 40-46, an idol is being described there. In short, it is an image of a man, it’s nailed to a tree, it can be placed in a house, worn around the neck and carried on the shoulder. It is very descriptive of what the Bible calls an “asherim” (masculine plural in Hebrew) and these are forbidden. Portions of Isaiah 40-46 were used in a Jewish prayer called the Oleynu and during the 1500’s the Catholic church forbade the Jews from using those portions from Isaiah in that prayer because they saw it as an attack on the Crucifix. Documentation for this can be found in the Hertz Authorized Prayer Book, under the commentary for the Oleynu prayer. The Catholic Church saw this portion of Isaiah as describing a crucifix, so it isn’t my opinion alone. That has been around for nearly 500 years. This brings us up to the Shroud of Turin. The Shroud is reported to be the burial cloth of Yeshua but it really isn’t and it can be disproved scripturally in many different ways, but that is another article. I believe that God allowed this as a sign and a wonder (Deut 13.1-5) and a satanic counterfeit in order to deceive people (2 Thes 2.11) into accepting the false messiah eventually. It is a documented fact that Antiochus Epiphanes tried to get Israel to accept Greek gods, resulting in the Maccabean revolt around 160 years before Yeshua. Commentaries will tell you that Antiochus made images of himself as Zeus Kyrios and placed them everywhere. Some of these statues exist today. Well, a statue of Zeus was examined by a Dr Wanger of Duke University several years ago and it was dated to the 1st century. He was trying to say that the Shroud was used a model for the face on the statue, thus proving the Shroud was 1st century, thus giving further proof that the image was Yeshua. He said that the statue of Zeus had nearly 70 points of similarity and congruence with the Shroud, thus it was an exact image. The face on the Shroud is the face on the statue of Zeus. But there is another way of looking at this. The statue is the face of Antiochus Epiphanies, who the Bible uses as an example of the false messiah in the book of Daniel, and the Shroud, being the exact image of the statue, is the image of Antiochus, not Yeshua. And, the Shroud has been used for centuries to influence paintings of Yeshua in art and even movies to this day. By doing this, people have been led to believe that Yeshua looked like that. 2 Thes 2. 3-12 warns us about a great delusion that is coming about the false messiah in the last days, and this is part of it. It is this Shroud that influences the image on the crucifix, which I believe is the Abomination of Desolation. I think that this image will be placed in the coming Temple by the false prophet, who will be the reigning Pope during the Tribulation. The false messiah may very well resemble the face on the Shroud, thus “proving” he is “Jesus”. I believe that the Abomination of Desolation will be placed in the Temple alongside a statue of Mary. This has been done before by King Manasseh of Israel. In 2 Chr 33 he places a female “asherah” (feminine plural in Hebrew) in the Temple. We already know that the Abomination of Desolation is an “asherim” (masculine) but here he places a feminine statue. I believe that it is possible that when the Pope places a crucifix in the Temple, he will also put a statue of Mary next to it, the Queen of heaven. If one thinks about this, this happens right now. Wherever the Pope goes there are crucifixes and Mary statues everywhere, and nobody even notices. When the false messiah and false prophet stop the Temple services during the Tribulation, and they will, if they placed a crucifix and a statue of Mary next to each other in the Holy Place, most people will not be surprised, and that’s the point. Many people have already accepted these idols, but not everybody. When this is taught in our congregation, there are handouts and visuals to all this to document this, and there is so much more detail, but hopefully this gives you some idea about this very important prophetic concept and will stimulate you into finding out more about it through the Internet and other sources.

Q. What does the term “arm of the Lord” mean?

2009-05-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

A In Hebrew the term is “zeroah adonai” and in the peshat (literal) level it means the “power of the Lord” but in the sowd (hidden)level it is a metaphor for the Messiah in creation, judgment and salvation. When the Lord did something “with a strong hand” (yad) or “outstretched arm” (zeroah) it intimates that He did it through the Messiah. The metaphor came from the fact that one carries out a task with his arm (zeroah) or his hand (yad). So, at Passover an unbroken shank bone of a lamb is used called the “zeroah adonai” and it takes the place of a lamb. It symbolizes the unbroken bones of Messiah, the Lamb of God, whose blood delivered us from bondage, ratified the New Covenant, where we become a new creation, pass from judgment and experience salvation, all by the power of God.

2009-05-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

Some very important events have happened in the world in the last few weeks so I would like to give a prophetic update. The United States has a reputation for duplicitous behavior and what is going on “above board” is not what is really going on “under the table” so to speak. It is good to look at events from a prophetic mindset to gain some insight into just how real events fit into that scenario. God uses countries to fulfill His will. No head of state really runs the country, the Lord does. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s. So when looking at world events and political decisions, keep in mind that it always serves the purposes of Heaven. This is no exception. The United States has a fear of the Soviet Union. In the 40’s and 50’s it was very strong. America needed an ally in the Middle East and Israel was formed and supported to further the ideology of this country. We needed a democratic state in the Middle East. This helped in the Cold War. The aftermath of World War II gave an emotional response due to the holocaust and the desire for a Jewish homeland. Political factors dictated that we have a friendly ally in the region with a warm water port, and where our Navy had access. We also have economic reasons for supporting Israel also because it helps protect the oil resources. We have always “controlled” Israel to a point and this is no different. We need to have this area in peace because chaos brings instability. Now, we are forcing Israel into another corner, like we always do, for our own reasons. The Obama Administration is backing a plan to build a coalition with Arabs, the UN, Europe and Russia for Israel to surrender Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem to the Palestinians. Israel will be left out of the planning, of course. There are many complicated issues as to why we would do this, but it comes down to control and a Palestinian State. This all fits into Bible prophecy, in that, Russia will gain a foothold leading to their eventual invasion during the Tribulation, the False Messiah will come out of Europe to back a security agreement, and the United States will be attacked by Russia and eliminated several days before the tribulation even begins. All these are by God’s doing because He is the hidden hand behind world politics. By forming a Palestinian state, Arabs will have a right to return. By accepting millions of so-called Palestinian exiles, Israel will cease to be a Jewish State, have enemies inside her border and will have no ability to defend herself from attack. The problem with this is the Arabs don’t want it because there already is an agreement going back to 2002 and the Arab League doesn’t feel that the one being proposed is better, but the Obama Administration doesn’t care, the Arabs and Palestinians are only pawns in the real game and Israel is the obstacle to “peace”. Israel understands what is going on and sent President Peres ahead of Prime Minister Netanyahu to “ smooth out the waters” before the hawkish Netanyahu arrived. Israel has to be made a scapegoat to please the Arabs and militant Islam. The United States is trying to blame Israel for Iran’s nuclear program. By refusing a Palestinian state, other Arabs are supporting Iran against Israel. When people are moved by ideology, facts become irrelevant and this applies to the Arabs and the United States and the growing coalition. Regardless of what Netanyahu says, he can expect no sympathy. The fix is in. Israel should no longer consider the United States when making decisions about their own national security. Additionally, it would be very hard to attack Iran because Israeli planes would have to attack over Iraqi and Saudi Arabian airspace and that would not be allowed by the United States. So Israel has a problem. Either way, they lose. But, God is in control of the situation and this is what is called a “catalytic” event that will shape world events into the prophetic scenario as predicted by the Prophets. The demonic spirit behind Arafat just moves to other Palestinian leaders, and that goes for the spirit behind Saddam. Once he died, it moved to Iran. Which leads me to conclude that the real reason behind the current move towards peace among the participating nations is really an attempt by Satan to hinder prophecy from being fulfilled, in other words, he is trying to buy time. He knows what prophecy says about war in the Middle East and he is trying to keep that from happening, and God allows him to influence the leaders there for a time. But, while they are crying out for “peace and safety”, God will put hooks into their jaws and bring the nations to where He wants them regardless of their attempts to do otherwise and use this to usher in the Tribulation period. And the United States is being prepared for a fall due to our rejection of the Lord, our declining moral and religious values, abortion and for being a treacherous dealer, not only in foreign dealings, but also domestic. For instance, the federal government is taking control of private businesses and banks. The government knows that retirement systems, CD’s, 401-K’s and everything else is an untapped resource for the government to get their hands on. By taking control of the banks, they can tell the banks what to do. They will then tell the banks to release the money to the government, leave an I.O.U and use it to finance the debt, but have other reasons for it, leaving Americans with nothing. Control the money, you control the people. So, the things that are happening in the world are setting up prophecy. But, it also is a time when people will not rely on the world and will begin to seek the Lord. He uses the things of this world to bring around His ultimate purpose. This brings us to the recent visit to the Holy Land by the Pope. He wants the Vatican to control the Holy sites. This puts pressure on Israel to make concessions because if the Catholic Church can make these sites safe, then millions of Catholics and Christians will travel to Israel and tourism will help the Israeli economy. Tourism is an important part of the Israeli economy so they welcome the Pope and hope his influence will help in the long run. But, all this is doing is paving the way for the influence of the coming false prophet.

Q. In Revelation 17.9 it talks about the seven heads are seven mountains. What is this referring to?

2009-05-03T07:49:00.001-07:00

A. The seven heads and seven mountains mean the same thing. The seven heads are seven kings and the seven mountains are seven kingdoms. Kings were often referred to by their kingdoms and vice versa. In v 10 it says “five have fallen” referring to Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Medo-Persia and Greece, “one is” refers to Rome (the sixth), and the “other has not yet come” refers to a revived Rome( the seventh) in the last days and spoken about by Daniel the prophet. The “he’ in verse 10 is referring to the seventh kingdom. This kingdom will start out with ten kingdoms/kings but three will defect leaving seven. These are the ten toes of the statue Nebuchadnezzar saw in Daniel 2. But, in Rev 17.11 it talks about “the beast”, who is the false messiah, who is also “an eighth” and that means that this final configuration of seven kingdoms will have seven leaders, with the false messiah being the “eighth” or the one who rules over all seven. In Micah 5.5 there is a prophecy about these seven kings/kingdoms. It says that the Assyrian will invade Israel . Now, Assyria is a picture of the coming Russian invasion of Israel (Ezekiel 39-39). It then says “then we (Israel) will raise against him (Gog) seven shepherds (shepherds=kings) and eight leaders of men.” This refers to our passage in Revelation ,in that, there will be seven kingdoms/kings but one is “an eighth”, who is the false messiah ruling over these seven kingdoms/kings. So, Russia will invade Israel between Rosh ha Shana and Yom Kippur the third year of the Tribulation. Europe, led by seven nations with the false messiah (eighth leader of men –Rev 17.9, Micah 5.5)) will be called on to help due to the covenant they made for seven years back in Daniel 9.24-27, but they will be no help. God destroys the Russian army and the false messiah will be given credit for it by the world and lead his seven kingdoms/kings into Israel. Six months later he will declare himself to be God (2 Thes 2). So, this last kingdom is the eighth. But, in addition, the false messiah will also be” the eighth” which means that He will rule over the other seven kings, making him the “eighth” ruler.

Q. What do the 12 stones taken out of the Jordan mean in Joshua 4.5?

2009-05-03T07:48:00.001-07:00

A. To get the overall picture, let’s go back to Joshua 3.14-17. Israel is going to cross the Jordan and enter the land. This is symbolic of taking the land spiritually. The Jordan river is a symbol of death. They enter the river at the place where the priests are crossing and they represent the Messiah entering death (Jordan) before us. Now, the waters rose up and rolled back north to a place called Adam, which means “man.” That means sin/physical and spiritual death has been rolled back all the way back to Adam, the first man. Adam is a city near Zarethan, which means “distress.” Now, the Jordan flows down to the Dead Sea, which is symbolic of the Lake of Fire. So, what is being communicated here. There is only one place to cross, one way to enter death safely and that is where Yeshua has crossed (John 14.6, Acts 16.31). Man (Adam, red earth) dwells near distress (Zarethan) and is always close to death (Jordan). One day we will all come to the Jordan and without faith in Messiah, there is no crossing place.

Now with that back-round we come to your question about why did they take 12 stones out of the Jordan. The stones were placed in a heap as a memoral to the later generations, marking the place where Israel crossed over. But, there is a spiritual meaning to this as well. The Jordan symbolizes death, both physical and spiritual. The stones symbolize believers (1Pet 2.5) and raising them out of the Jordan symbolizes our being raised out of death. Now, Gilgal was where they crossed and where these stones were set up. Gilgal eventually was seen as a place of rest to Israel based on Joshua 10.43. It was where the kingdom would be renewed in the time of Saul and David (1 Sam 11.14). Galilee is an allusion to the same concept because of the “gal” in the name but also it was located in the north, which is where God’s throne is located in the Universe (Isaiah 14.13; Psalm 48.2). Gilgal also played a role in the lives of Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2.1, 4.38). So Gilgal became a concept associated with Heaven and the eternal kingdom. As a side note, these stones were possibly referred to in Matt 3.9 where John was preaching along the Jordan. It would make sense for John, who came in the spirit of Elijah, to start preaching and preparing the people for the coming Kingdom of God (Matt 3.2) there because it had become the place to “renew the kingdom.”

The Jews that died in the holocaust , did they or are they going to Heaven?

2009-04-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

Q. I had a guest this weekend that I asked this question to and he gave me an answer that really made my heart spin. The question was, "The Jews that died in the holocaust , did they or are they going to Heaven?" His response was "No, they are all in hell because they were not saved in the glory of Jesus." Well this gentleman was a Jew till he was brought to Christ and is now a Baptist minister in the ministry of converting Jews to Jesus. I ask you the same question. What of the many who died in the Holocaust, will they ever see the love of the Father?

A. Let me first begin by saying this is a complicated question that cannot be so easily answered. He has a severe misunderstanding of the Lord and His ways and seems rather judgmental. But, let's take a few things first. You say this gentleman was a Jew, but that is incorrect. He still is a Jew. Israel as a nation (corporately) rejected the Messiah because they did not recognize Him. By the first century they accepted rabbinical interpretations about the Messiah over what the Scriptures had said. So, Yeshua comes along and He didn't look like or act like what they, the Rabbis had said He would look and act like. John 5.39-47 says that if they reject Moses (Scriptures), they will reject Him because he spoke of the Messiah. Now, the answer to any question is always in the question. So, I ask this, what of the many Gentiles that died in the Holocaust, did they or are they going to Heaven? Gentiles who die in unbelief have the same fate as Jews because you must be born from above (John 3) to enter into salvation, to the Jew first (especially, because they were the first to know, and to whom much is given, much is required), then the Gentile. I can tell you right now, if your friend is trying to win Jews to Jesus with his judgmental attitude he won't be very successful. He might convert a few to a denomination or a movement, but is that what the Lord means by "born again?" I think not. There is more to this than his generalized answer. So, let's get to the heart of the matter.

Israel had a responsibility, a covenantal calling, to follow the Lord and be a witness and a light of understanding to the Gentiles. When they obeyed, they were blessed, when they didn't God got their attention. That calling has not been revoked and will be fulfilled in the Tribulation period. That's why the 2 witnesses will be Jewish, that's why the 144,000 will be Jewish. The Holocaust and all the other problems Israel has encountered over the centuries is a warning to repent, but not just for Israel. Your friend needs to remember things happen to the Jew first (especially, see above) then the Gentiles as the Apostle Paul points out, because they were the first to know the truth and had the Scriptures (Rom 3.1-2). Let's go to Luke 13.1-5 and I'm going to illustrate something. Here, Yeshua gives a warning to repent and will quickly dispel their notion of calamity, a notion your friend and many others seem to share. Yeshua brings up a historical tragedy about some Galileans who were killed while offering sacrifices in the Temple by Pilate, and asks if those Galileans were greater sinners because they were killed than other Galileans who weren't. Yeshua says "No" and then says it was a warning that if they did not repent they would likewise perish. Well, they did not repent and 40 years later millions were killed when Rome came and destroyed the Temple. Then He gives another example of where a tower fell and killed 18 people and asks the same thing, were they greater sinners because they died? He again says "No" and warns them to repent or they would likewise perish. Well, they did not listen and 40 years later not only one tower fell, but many towers fell in the city when Rome destroyed it. The bottom line is, tragedies happen and rather than be judgmental towards the victims we should be examining ourselves and take it as a warning that we need to be right with the Lord and repent of our sins or something worse will happen. Like in the first century, not just a few people died but millions died because they did not recognize what the Lord was doing and saying in these events. What your friend doesn't realize is that more Gentiles died in the Holocaust and World War II than Jews.

The word "holocaust" comes from the Greek "holos" which means "burned" and "kaustos" which means "an offering to a god". The Hebrew words for "burn't offering" is "Korban Olah" and in Greek translations of the Bible Holocaust is used for korban olah. In a way, those that died were wholly consumed by the fire of God's judgment and according to God's purposes as warning to us ,on whom the end of the age has come.

In conclusion, many, not all, Jews perished in unbelief in the holocaust, and they were forever lost, NOT because they were Jews but because they did not believe in the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But many Jews perished in the United States at the same time and were lost for the same reason. It's not where or how you perish that determines whether you are lost or not, but it is the condition of your soul with the Lord that determines that. God chooses how your death may happen, but it is not necessarily an indication of our spiritual condition. It's like when you get married. It's not how you get to the wedding that determines whether you are married or not, it's your heart and who's waiting for you when you get there that determines it.The same can be said for many Gentiles who died. Your friend said "they (the Jews) are all in hell" which I take issue with also, he didn't know every person who did there was an unbeliever. He should read some books about many Jewish believers who got caught up in it, as well as Gentiles. Like in the first century, Yeshua warned Jerusalem that the city of Jerusalem would be surrounded by Rome and when they saw that, they were to flee the city. Some did, but many didn't and got caught inside the walls.Well, in the 1930's many saw Germany "surrounding" them and fled to the United States and survived, but millions didn't or couldn't and also got caught within the walls. The Holocaust is awarning for the whole world to repent and come to the God of Israel through his Messiah because a greater holocaust is coming, and the false messiah will make Hitler look like a choir boy. This holocaust will not be centered in Europe, but be worldwide. So I leave your friend with the same admonition. Do you suppose that those that died in the Holocaust were greater sinners than others because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will likewise perish. I hope this helps. Ask your friend to contact me if he wants to talk about this further.

Q. I looked at Col 2.14 and it seems really confusing. Could you comment on it?

2009-03-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

A. Col 2.14 needs to be understood in it's context. Paul is talking about the sins of a believer...that the cross cancelled out our sins, past present and future. Now, "having cancelled out the certificate of debt (sin demands death- Gen 2.17) consisting of decress against us" is referring to the Torah, the condemnation aspect of it. The Torah has a dual nature to it. The first aspect of it is that we are guilty and deserve death and are under condemnation. Once we become a believer, that aspect no longer has power over us but the second aspect comes into play, in that it becomes a way to live, and that's why the first century believers were referred to as "The Way." It is instructional and educational, it reveals the Messiah, prophecy and so much more (Rom 8.1, Gal 3.24-25). Col 2.14 goes on to say "which was "hostile to us" meaning that the Torah is holy, righteous and good but we are corrupt and the Torah goes against our old nature, making God's commandments "hostile." And He has "taken it out of the way" refers to the condemnation/curse part of the Torah NOT the obedience, way to live aspect. The condemnation, the "it", has been taken out of the way by Yeshua's death. In Col 2.15 it says that God made a public display of this. To understand this better, we need to go to Rom 3.25 where Paul says the same thing but with more detail. It says that through the Cross, God made Yeshua a "hilasterion" in Greek. It is where we get the word "hilarious" from. The Hebrew equivelant is "kipporet" which is translated "mercy seat" in English. It refers to the cover of the Ark of the Covenant where the High Priest would sprinkle the blood on Yom Kippur. In other words, the Father looks at us through the kipporet./ hilasterion / mercy seat (Yeshua) and His grace hilariously bursts forth towards us and He is happy to do it because of what Yeshua did, and He see's no condemnation in us because we are 'in Christ." Rom 3.25 goes on to say that He "demonstrated His righteousness because of the forebearance of God, He passed over the sins previously committed." The plan of salvation was decided upon before sin ever existed. All of this was decided on and planned for before the world was. A saviour was provided before the first sin was committed and so was the method to recover, which is by His grace, mercy and love, and not by works. What Yeshua was going to do and what the Father was going to do was all decided. Sin demanded death, but having confidence that Yeshua would finish his work, God "passed over" the death penalty for the sins previously committed up to that point. Satan, which means "accusor", had been accusing God of lying and having no integrity because the righteous were not "dying" but were preserved in Sheol in Abraham's Bosom awaiting the Cross. Yeshua's blood and resurrection is the "proof" that God was righteous all along in letting death "pass over" Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and any other person who had faith before the Cross. As a result, Yeshua's death "disarmed the rulers and authorities" which means that the putting away of His flesh by death was a death blow to Satan. Satan's accusations against God and any believer has been silenced for all time. The Lord see's Yeshua as the kipporet before Him, which He looks at/through on our behalf. So, if Yeshua is not condemned, neither are we. So, Colossians 2.14-15 is describing what happened in their salvation process and to help them understand just what happened at the Cross. Colossians 2.16-17 says that as as a result, therefore, let no man outside of the faith judge them in regard to observing the food laws, a biblical festival (Lev 23), new moon or a Sabbath because these are a "shadow" (or picture) of what is to come and will help them understand their salvation more and God's plan for the future in regards to prophecy (1 Thes 5.1-11).

2009-03-13T13:56:00.001-07:00

Q. What is the original translation for the word “word” in the New Testament and what does it mean to “spread the word?”

A. The word in Hebrew is “davar” and Greek is “logos” and I won’t get into the mystical meanings of both but it basically means to teach the concepts behind what the word means. Both Testaments are written from a Jewish mindset so that is where I would start to get the meaning of the words being used, and then there are cultural meanings and idioms. To understand the Bible you must study it in its original setting, from a Jewish rather than Gentile mindset, keeping in mind its historical and cultural settings. To “spread the word of God” we must know what God means by the words He used. Anyone can tell me what God said, but not everyone can tell me what He means, there’s a difference.

Q. Some people believe that Islam is the religion of the false messiah that is prophesied in the end times. Can you refute this belief or are they correct?

A. Islam is going to play a role, but it is not the religion of the false messiah. The false messiah will claim to be “Jesus” and try to deceive believers. Yeshua said that if it were possible, the very elect could be deceived, but of course they won’t, which tells me that whatever is being taught will resemble the truth, but it isn’t Islam. No true believer would even be remotely deceived by Islam. It isn’t even close, but if anything, the false messiah would claim to be Mohammed, not Jesus anyway. The religion of the false messiah will be a form of apostate Christianity that promotes idols, Islam hates idols. The false messiah will have an image of himself in the Temple, and sit as God. Islam would not even allow a Temple to stand. There are many more differences. However, I do believe that Islam will be the religion behind the Kings of the East. Islam and Christianity have fought before and they will oppose each other again in the Tribulation.

Q. Should we consider extra-biblical sources as equal to the 66 canonical books of the Bible, or should we trust those who put it together and only consider the books as we have today as Scripture.

A I believe we can trust beyond a reasonable doubt that what have in our Bibles is accurate. There was a certain criteria used when considering these books and you can go and study what those were and God can use anyone to preserve what He wants. One of the biggest areas that differentiates the canonical books from the others is the area of prophecy. Other books, when examined, just don’t measure up and as time goes by more and more prophecy is revealed in the books we have, and the others seem rather amateurish in comparison. I think people need to master the books we have before they worry about all the other books they may feel were “left out” of the Bible, but that’s my opinion.

Q. What does Paul mean when he says that he will be “all things to all men” in 1 Cor 9.22?

A. Paul is teaching the Corinthians how to relate to others who are different. He said he would accommodate customs and practices that did not violate the Torah. He says he will be as “without the Law (Gentile) to those without the Law(Gentile), though not being without the Law himself” meaning he would be like a Gentile but still observe the commandments as they apply (1 Cor 19.21). Paul was not going to compromise truth for the sake of unity either.

Q. What is gossip and how do we handle it?

A. Gossip, by definition, is small talk often involving personal or sensational rumors. We handle it by not listening to it and then spreading it further. Another thing we can do is to verify a story for ourselves. If you hear something, go to the person it is about and find out for yourself, from the person being talked about. But, spreading talk about anyone without verification is gossip, and it doesn’t have to be bad. Sometimes we need to warn others about someone who is damaging others, or is dangerous and Paul warns others to stay away from certain individuals and even names them, but that is totally different then gossip. For the most part, you’ll know it when you see it.

Q. If Jesus fulfilled the feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First fruits and Pentecost, why do we still celebrate them?

A. Well, the main reason is God told us to, and we know first century believers did, and these festivals will be celebrated in the Messianic Kingdom, with Yeshua Himself celebrating them. Another reason is these festivals fulfilled prophecy in the first coming of Yeshua. He was crucified on Passover, buried on Unleavened Bread, resurrected on First Fruits and sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Now, even the most ignorant of men can see that if these festivals were prophetic of Messiah’s first coming, the remaining 3 fall festivals of the Day of the Awakening shofar blast (Yom Teruah) or Rosh ha Shanah, the day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) will play a major role in prophecy concerning the second coming of Yeshua. The same people who question this also celebrate birthdays, even their own and are often disappointed when people forget. Why celebrate a birthday, after all its fulfilled, right? And anniversaries. You married men who are reading this want to tell your wife that anniversaries will not be celebrated anymore because it has been fulfilled? Well, if we celebrate these things as a remembrance of something significant, how much more should we be celebrating the things of God and what He has done for us in the past.

Q. Are the Bible Codes real, and should we place any validity in the prophecies that are contained in them

A The Codes are real but they are not to be used for telling the future because certain events may seem to be pointing a certain way in the Codes, but it really doesn’t mean that it will play out the way we expect. There is not enough information in them to predict things and you don’t know what to tell the computer to look for to begin with. But, I believe the Codes are a sign for believers. The Codes tell me that there is an infinite mind behind the written words, that our days are determined before there is even one of them (Psalm 139) and this was determined before the world was (Eph 1.4). But, I don’t need them ,either because I can have confidence in the Bible I have today, the books contained in them and the words used in Hebrew and Greek. I can trust what it says. The Bible Codes were not meant to be read that way. God has been explicit enough in what He has written already and the codes were there in the first century but they weren’t needed to see that Yeshua fulfilled prophecy. Yeshua went to the written Law and Prophets, not any Torah code, to prove who He was.

Q. How did the Bible and its doctrines get perverted from their original meanings?

2009-02-18T16:17:00.000-08:00

A To answer that question I will start from the beginning and try to give a short history and hopefully some perspective on what happened. This is by no means an attack on people or any organization, but a “post mortem” on what exactly occurred. Because we are so many centuries removed from the original intent and study the Scriptures from a western perspective, our understanding of the Bible is very off. It’s not like we can go up to Peter and Paul and ask them what happened. We have to reconstruct the events based on an understanding of history. To understand, I will try to put what happened into a Jewish setting. We know from Genesis that God created the earth as a home for man, who was created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth. Adam eventually sinned and man was lost spiritually, including his role as “ruler” over the earth. God instituted His plan to restore man and creation by providing a kinsman redeemer , a “go’el”, who would be filled with the Ruach ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) and restore man. This redeemer would be known as the “mashiach” or messiah because he was anointed by the Holy Spirit. This messiah would come to earth about four thousand years after creation, preaching the “basar” or good news concerning man’s restoration, and be killed unjustly. But, God would accept his death, raise him from the dead and by doing so, redeem mankind. Fifty days after Yeshua’s resurrection, the Holy Spirit fell on believers at the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost), fulfilling what was promised by the prophets. These first believers were all Jewish and they maintained a Jewish life-style in their walk with God. Their faith was centered on Yeshua and they remained active in synagogues and the Temple. In Acts 10, a Roman centurion named Cornelius was saved and the basar, or gospel, was now open to gentiles, much to the surprise of the Jewish believers. Their understanding of the Great Commision was to go into all the world and make Jews out of the gentiles who believed. As a result, major changes began to take place. These gentile believers who left paganism were known as “phoubemenoi” or Godfearers and are not really understood by most Bible scholars even today. They observed the Sabbath and biblical festivals, they ate biblically kosher and followed many Jewish customs. The Torah defined how these people were to be treated and how they were to live. Observance of these laws had nothing to do with salvation and never did. The scriptures defined their faith and practice.

Well, needless to say, many problems began to arise between Judaism of the time and these gentile believers. God raised up Rav Shaul, or the Apostle Paul, to confront these situations and to lay down guidelines so that these two groups could get along. These principles can be found in his epistles. Belief in Yeshua was everywhere in and outside of the land of Israel during the first century. But, at the same time more and more gentiles came to believe as well, and their numbers began to “outweigh” the Jewish believers. In so doing, their opinions began to affect the decisions being made in the congregations outside of Israel. So, during the next 200 years or so the faith that began to develop did not resemble the faith Paul taught and that remains true today. The epistles warned that this would happen. In A.D. 66, Paul died and at the same time Israel revolted against Rome. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed and congregations in the empire underwent massive changes. To support the Jewish people was seen as unpatriotic and the gentile influence began to get stronger and stronger. Anti- Jewish sentiments ran strong, not only politically but spiritually. But, Jews still became believers but pressure was building against them from several directions. First, non-believing Jews didn’t like the power they had, non-believing gentiles didn’t like anything Jewish and then believing gentiles came in with a bias towards anything Jewish anyway, much like today. In 116 A.D. another war broke out between Rome and the Jewish people and they were nearly wiped out in Alexandria, further weakening the Jewish position in spiritual matters. Then, a final war broke out in 135 A.D. where a Jewish leader named Bar Kochba was actually declared the messiah. Well, Jewish believers in Yeshua would have no part in supporting a false messiah. As a result, these Jewish believersrefused to fight and were called traitors and a bitter separation occurred between mainstream Judaism and Jewish believers. They were driven out of the synagogues for good and left on their own. Hadrian, the Roman emperor, destroyed the Jewish army and virtually the nation. Anti-Jewish sentiments were encouraged and even seen as politically correct in the empire resulting in turning the people away from anything considered Jewish. By 325 A.D. religious issues were very fractured and many views prevailed because the people had been ignoring the faith given by God as found the Scriptures. Anyone who had an opinion could get a following, but they all agreed to avoid the Jewish concepts, festivals and customs. A man named Constantine became Caesar and saw the opportunity to unite these factions into a state religion. He called a council at Nicea to discuss these issues, but did not invite one Jewish leader. Constantine said he wanted to “root out the last vestiges of Judaism” and that’s exactly what he did. Laws were passed forbidding Jews to circumcise their children, it was illegal to keep the 7th day Sabbath as found in the Scriptures. Jews were “forced” into becoming like the gentiles. Pagan festivals such as Easter, Christmas replaced the biblical ones. Sunday replaced the Sabbath and so on. Not only were the Jewish believers gone, but so were the “phoubemenoi”, or gentile believers who had joined themselves to Israel. The faith was now a different religion. Western concepts, theologies, practices replaced the faith once delivered to the saints. It was now a gentile religion. Jews had to give up keeping the Torah to be accepted in the congregations now dominated by western, gentile thought and it largely remains that way today. But, God has always had a remnant of Jewish and non-Jewish believers that have sounded a warning down through the centuries. Today, this number is growing and God by His Spirit is calling both groups out of these man-made religions back to Himself and showing them how to live and walk in faith before Him. The numbers are growing and many Christian leaders and teachers are seeing what happened and are writing books and teaching the Jewish roots again and people are responding in greater numbers to this call to “come out of her” and I am thankful to the Lord that we can play a small role in that movement in Ellis County. But, it is not a call to another religion but to a right relationship with the Lord by faith in Yeshua, and then learning to walk in the faith once delivered to the saints so long ago. We have a long way to go, but with the Lord’s help, we are on our way. I hope this answers your question and will give you a better idea of what happened. As Paul Harvey says, “Now you know the rest of the story!”

A pastor has been teaching that Jews who don’t believe in Yeshua will not be judged to eternal damnation because they are God's chosen people...

2009-02-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

Q. A San Antonio mega-church pastor has been teaching that Jews who don’t believe in Yeshua will not be judged to eternal damnation because they are God’s chosen people-what is the truth? (Joe)

A. This teaching is called the Plural Covenant or also known as the Dual Covenant. This teaching basically says that the New Testament applies to Gentiles, including Yeshua’s atoning blood and that the Jewish people relate to God through the Old Testament or the Abrahamic Covenant. This has been around a long time and certainly the pastor isn’t the first one to teach it, but it is not true and is very destructive at its core. It tells the Jewish people they don’t need to have faith in Yeshua. Now that may make some of them feel better, but it is not what the Scriptures, Old or New Testament, teach. Yeshua was sent to Israel and they did not believe. Acts 2 is all about Jews believing in Yeshua and getting saved. The gospel was sent to the Jew first, and then the Gentile. It was sent to the Jews first because they should have known the Scriptures and the signs that Messiah had come, and they in turn were to be a light to the Gentiles and bring this truth to the nations. And so the teaching that Jews don’t need to believe in Yeshua for salvation is just not biblical and I find it hard to believe that anyone who reads the Bible could draw such a conclusion, unless there was another agenda. I know of several prominent teachers who believe this and they all have one thing in common, they need the favor of the Jewish rabbi’s to further what they believe God called them to do. Well, if you taught that these rabbis and leaders need God you aren’t going to sell many books or have any access to the leaders in Israel, so they compromise the truth in order to further what they want to do. Most of you who read this article know that there are many Scriptures that refute the teaching of the Plural Covenant but there are many who accept it because their pastor or favorite teacher believes it. But, all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God and there are none righteous, not one. The main concern in the first century wasn’t whether Jews needed to be saved in the name of Yeshua, but where did the Gentiles fit in to all of it. How the times have changed. Now the Gentiles are telling the Jews they don’t need Yeshua because they have the Abrahamic Covenant. But don’t you think that Yeshua and Paul understood the Abrahamic covenant, and if they did, why did they insist that the Jewish people needed to accept Yeshua to be saved?. They spent a lot of time getting this truth to Israel and those that opposed it killed them for it. Well, teachers today don’t want their ministries ”killed” because then they couldn’t lead tours to Israel, have access to political leaders, be able to finance television programs, sell books on prophecy, be invited to all the big Bible conferences and so on, so they tell the Jewish people things that won’t offend them, and the fact that Yeshua was crucified under the careful eye of Jewish religious leaders is very embarrassing, so this teaching is a perverted way of making everybody happy. It’s just wrong and if anyone teaches it they are dead wrong. In a way, it’s a satanic trick to make sure more Jews die unsaved, and I want no part of it. So, in short, this teaching is unbiblical and should be opposed if you ever are confronted by it. For more information on this, just go to the Internet and do a Google search on the Plural Covenant or Dual covenant to get more information. Thanks for the question.

What do you think about the Mayan calendar and its prediction for something very disastrous happening to the earth in 2012?

2009-02-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

A. Quite frankly, I don’t spend much time being concerned with what the Mayans thought or their calendar, and here’s why. First, they were pagans and didn’t know God so their predictions were not being inspired by the Holy Spirit. Secondly, true prophecy is found in the Jewish prophets found in our Bibles. People need to be studying the Scriptures, not what some ancient people said who didn’t know the Lord. There is nothing in the Bible that specifically points to 2012 and we already know that date setting just isn’t God’s style. He gives signs along the way, and confirms His word, but He didn’t reveal anything through the Mayans and so I would discount their prediction, which is nothing but astrology anyway and we know we are not to listen to pagan prognosticators. But some might say that other pagan predictions came true in the past, or bring up Nostradamus or someone. To that I say this, they have to be correct 100% of the time to be considered from God, and they weren’t. A broken clock is right twice a day, too, but that doesn’t mean it works.

Q. Could you explain what is going on in Gen 4.1-8 with the story of Cain and Abel?

2009-01-08T14:50:00.000-08:00

A. This is a very interesting story and there is a lot going on, so we’ll look at this verse by verse so the proper context can be brought out. Cain and Abel were brothers by Adam and Eve. They had other siblings (Gen 5.4) not named in Scripture because it wasn’t important. Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer and in v 3 it says that they both came to give offerings “at the end of days” in Hebrew which means it could have been a Sabbath or the end of a particular time span. Knowledge of the type of offerings God required will be needed here to understand what is going on and you must look up the words in Hebrew being used here. A good study of the book of Leviticus will bring that out, so it won’t be discussed here, but it will give insight to what these two were doing. You see the sacrifices and what they meant to God did not start with Israel and the book of Leviticus. God taught them to Adam and this knowledge was passed down. We see Abraham offering burnt offerings, Jacob offering peace offerings and Moses told Pharaoh they were going out to offer sacrifices to the Lord before the Exodus. Cain brought an offering from the ground called a “minchah” in Hebrew in v3 which meant it was probably a thank offering involving some sort of bread offering. Abel on the other hand brought a blood sacrifice and it was a sin offering. We know that whatever was going on, God required a sin offering from Cain also because the Lord had regard for Abel’s offering and did not for Cain. So, Cain became angry and thought his status as first-born was being rejected also. This caused him to be very upset. So the Lord asks Cain “why are you angry?” in v6. Then in v7 the Lord tells him what to do. He says “If you do well” meaning that if Cain was innocent and blameless his thank offering would have been accepted, but he needed a sin offering and then he would feel better because it would have been accepted also. But the Lord said “if you don’t do well, sin is crouching at the door.” Now, what He is saying is this. In Hebrew, the word for sin there is “chata’at” which means a sin offering. The translators of the KJV and NASB just use the English word “sin” but sin offering is implied. You see this many places in the Bible, for instance in Hosea 4.8 it says “they feed on the sin of my people” but it should be translated “sin offering” and the same thing happened in Gen 4 7. Another example of this is 2 Cor 5.21 where it says that Yeshua became sin but it means “sin offering” which gives it a whole different meaning. Yeshua didn’t become sin, that would have made Him a defective offering of Himself. Ephesians 2.14 says that Yeshua “is our peace” but it means our peace offering, a “shelem” in Hebrew. In Isaiah 53.10-11 it says that he rendered himself as a “guilt offering” or “asham” in Hebrew (NASB). There are many more examples of this. So, God was requiring a sin offering from Cain and that is why his offering was not accepted, it had nothing to do with his rejection of Cain as first-born. He then goes on to say that the sin offering is “crouching” meaning “stretched out in submission” at “the door”, or available, for him to offer right now. The verse ends with “and unto you (Cain) shall his (Abel) desire be, and you (Cain) shall rule over him (Abel).” As first-born he had ruled over Abel. Cain feared that Abel’s offering being accepted changed this. God tried to rest his fears. All he had to do was bring the lamb but Cain’s pride got in the way, so he decided to take matters into his own hands and killed Abel, thus restoring himself back into first-born status. That’s what it means in Jude 11 when he talks about “the way of Cain.”. It is simply our pride that gets in the way of doing what God wants us to do, and many have gone that way, too. Well, Cain’s plan didn’t work and he was driven away. To study the Scriptures requires many things. You will have to understand history, the languages, culture, geography, the Temple and it’s sacrifices and biblical time. You have to read the Scriptures as if you were there at the time it was written, and you need a teacher. I want to encourage you and anyone who reads these articles to do that and you will move from one who could tell someone what God said to someone who can tell someone what God means, they are two different things. I hope this helps and thanks for the question.

Q. There seems to be several groups that contended for the religious attention of the people in the New Testament. Is this right and who were they?

2008-12-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

A. Just like today, there was not one group that made up the religious ‘conscience” of the Jewish people in the first century. There was a diverse and very often violent opposition to one group by another. No one group spoke for all Jews, unless they got into some sort of political or highly powerful religious position of authority and could force their beliefs on others. Much like politics in the United States, if you can get enough of “your side” in power you can make things happen. There was no such thing as “Judaism” in the 1st century but “Judaisms” due to many different groups (sects), beliefs and teachings. Here is a basic rundown of just some of the varying groups and beliefs that made up the collective belief system in Israel that Yeshua was confronted with and had to “straighten” out, starting with His select group during His ministry, but what the 1st century believers had to contend with once they were sent out. That is only within the borders of Israel, among the people. This doesn’t even include what was waiting for them once they got outside the borders of Israel into the rest of the world.

· Pharisee’s – they had two main groups, but there were others:

*School of Hillel- Ist born was President (or Nasi) of the religious Sanhedrin , they were mainly based from the north, were more into the spirit of the law, wanted converts, Jewish halakah today is decided on their teachings, very eschatological, Paul was from this group.

*School of Shammai- based mainly in the south, strict, had one of their number as “Av Beit Din” (father of the house of judgment) as a “balance” to the Nasi from Hillel on the religious Sanhedrin, believed in the letter of the law, discouraged converts, very eschatological, would contend with School of Hillel over halakah

· Sadducees’s-opposite of the Pharisee’s,believed very little(no resurrection,angels, Messiah etc), accepted only the books of Moses, non-eschatological’

· Boethucians- rich Sadducees, upper class, many were High Priests, rejected the Oral law, non –eschatological

· Sicari- most radical, “cutthroat”, would assassinate anyone who helped Rome

· Zealots- politically opposed Rome, for the most part torah observant, could belong to other groups

· Chasidim- “pious ones”, in the north mainly but not like the Pharisee’s, very eschatological

· Essenes- confusion still exists as to who they were exactly, had many priests who were fed up with the Temple system and priesthood, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, very eschatological

· Theraputae- “healers”, related to the essences and may have been the same group, eschatological

· Am ha Eretz- “people of the land”, common folk, uneducated in the yeshiva’s, either not interested in Torah study or something else, followed the Pharisee’s mainly.

· Hellenists- goes back to the time of the Maccabee’s (Approx. 165 B.C.), influenced by Greek culture and were looked at with distrust by the more traditional groups.

*Judean- not real eschatological or Torah observant.

*Asia Minor-very eschatological and Torah observant.

* Alexandrian-Torah observant,

· Babylonian- Torah observant, did not have these other sects to contend with

Now, knowing this and knowing what these groups believe will help you understand many of the debates and controversies seen in the New Testament. For instance, in Acts 15.1 it says that certain believers came from Judea and taught other believers that a gentile had to get circumcised to be saved. Well, they were from the School of Shammai and we see that Paul, taught in the School of Hillel, opposed them. We’ll see the same argument in Galatians (Chapter 2) were the same doctrine was trying to be taught, and Paul opposed them again. Another example id in Mark 7 and the discussion over halakah and hand-washing. We know from what was being discussed that these Pharisee’s were from the School of Shammai who believed very strongly in ritual hand-washing, but the Scriptures never commanded it and Yeshua makes that point. Anyway, it helps to know who believes what when you read the Scriptures. When it says “Pharisee” it doesn’t mean all the Pharisee’s believed the same thing. Yeshua’s apostles came from some of these groups and had a diverse range of beliefs to deal with. Even after salvation, they still clung to some of these beliefs and you can see how God had to change them in order to receive the truth so they could effectively teach others. The same thing happens today. Just because someone becomes a believer doesn’t mean he automatically discards the belief system he has known. It takes time and good teaching from God to do that, so, patience is needed with believers without compromising the truth they need to know. So, there is nothing new under the sun. Even though we don’t have the same groups today as the 1st century, we still have many denominational beliefs that have to be discarded and replaced. Being called of God and teaching the Word is not to be done by novices. This comes through the revelation of the Holy Spirit and good teachers placed in the body to help guide these believers to the truth the Lord would have them to know in order to make their life a true testimony and a true light to the world, rightly dividing and handling the Word of Truth.

Continued from last weeks article

2008-12-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

This week we will pick up where we left off with whether or not Jesus and the Holy spirit are God, and with the concept of the Trinity. Again, the current Jewish view of this would seem contrary but the concept was believed and discussed anciently and there was much agreement on this matter, although not readily discussed today. Certainly, the writers of the New Testament believed it and taught it without much opposition, so that tells you many of those who heard their teachings weren’t totally unaware of the concept.

All three are divine, unique persons , coeternal, coequal in essence (being). God has chosen to reveal this doctrine carefully and gradually. It is a guarded revelation due to our human limitations to understand it. Wrong ideas have produced many heresies that actually threatened the Faith in the past. God has given us many examples of this concept that we still have trouble understanding, and if we don’t fully understand the picture, we will truly struggle when confronted with the reality. For example, look at the mind. It is made up of conscience, will, emotion, intellect and so on. Psychiatric and psychological schools of thought have confronted the human mind and walk away dumfounded over the complexities, and yet we think we have the Creator of that mind figured out? Look at nature, the tree has the root, trunk and branches, the egg has the whites, yolk and shell. Light is one and yet it can be broken down to many colors, some of its essence we can’t even see with the human eye. Time is one yet distinct (past, present, future), space has length, breadth, height and so on. And the atom, well, we haven’t even explored all of that yet. Look at the cell and you will see the Lord giving us a glimpse of His essence. Even the names of God give us a clue. Elohim is masculine plural, used in a collective sense. YHVH is singular but is used for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The names Father (Deut 32.6), Son (Rom 8.14) and Holy Spirit (John 3) represent the individual roles each have to make it easy for us to understand the relationship and functions they have. These roles are not meant to be pushed beyond the clear, intended purposes in which they were given to us. For example, the “Son” does not mean subordinate to in essence to the Father. The Spirit is not a force or wind. The Father speaks of a position of authority, the disciplinarian, the teacher, provider and so on. The Son speaks of the mediator and servant, the Holy Spirit as the helper, comforter.

So, in conclusion, the concept of the Trinity, the three divine “persons” of the Godhead is a biblical concept clearly taught within the pages of Scripture. We should not go beyond the boundaries given in God’s description of Himself, but I hope this brief overview gives you a better understanding of this.

Q.Are Jesus and the Holy Spirit God?

2008-12-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

A. Yes and the Scriptures are very clear about that but there are many believers who have a different idea on this concept called the “trinity” but I believe the Scriptures are very clear about it. Contrary to current belief, there were ancient Jewish views on this that is very consistent with how the Trinity is viewed today in Christianity and it was not considered as idolatry or a violation of the Shema in Deut 6.4. There was a very interesting teaching on the Hebrew letter “shin” which has three heads, and there are other teachings, As Christianity developed a theology about this concept, the Jewish view would take the opposite view and that was true with many such teachings. Where Judaism taught something, Christian theology would counter with something different and vice versa. But, with all that said, let’s look at this concept. We’ll start in Acts 5.3 where Peter is telling Ananias that he has lied to the Holy Spirit. Now, if the Holy Spirit was just a “force” or a “power” how could Peter say he lied to an “it?”.You can’t lie to a force/power. You also were to be baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit (Matt 28.19) and you can’t be immersed in the name of a force/power. So, the Holy Spirit has to be something other than a force/power and He is. In Eph 5.30 it says that the Spirit can be “grieved, in Acts 13.2 the Holy Spirit “speaks.” In John 2Cor 3.17 and John 4.14 the Lord is called “Spirit” so that isn’t inconsistent. In Rom 8.26 He intercedes for us, and is called God in Acts 5.4,Genesis 1.2, Psalm 139.7 and 1 Cor 12.11. God is spoken of in the plural many times like in Gen 1.26, Isa 6.8. In Jer 30.5 it says that the Lord says “I have heard “ but it should be ”We have heard.” You can see all three together in Isa 48.16 and Matt 3.16-17. In Ecc 12.1 it says “creator” but it should read “creators” and in Job 35.10 “maker” should read “makers” and the list goes on and on. Yeshua is called God in John 20.27 and Phil 2.5. When you read the beginning of many epistles Yeshua is listed as a co-equal with the Father, and if He isn’t that is blasphemy. So, what does all this mean? God is one in essence (His being), distinct in “persons”, not some multi-faceted manifestation of one being, or “person” if you will. In Jewish mystical teachings like Kabbalah, this multi-faceted concept of one Person is taught through the idea of the ten “Sephirot” or “emanations” but this is just man’s feeble attempt to explain the Godhead. The Father is unique (Dan 7.13), the Son is unique (Psa 40.7-8) and the Spirit is unique (Rom 8.26). All possess a full, equal share of the status of Deity (Mt 28.19-20, Gen 1.26, 2 Cor 13.14). All three have been revealed uniquely in Scripture as God, with Father in Deut 4.35, the Son in Titus 2.13 and the Spirit in Acts 5.4. His nature is the composition of His essence, or being, having been revealed as infinite, a spirit, immeasurable, omniscient, all powerful, omnipresent and so on. His character is the “traits” of His essence, or being, having been revealed to us as perfect, holy, good, just, merciful, truth sovereign, love, light to name just a few. Next week we will continue with this concept in further detail and hopefully “pull” all this together to give you a better idea of who God really is according to His own description of Himself as found in the Scriptures. Please study the verses already given so that it can be built upon next week.

Q.Some people say that the Jews are different from the Israelites and try to make a distinction today. What is your opinion?

2008-12-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

A. There are some who believe that the two terms mean different things but in actuality they are really the same people. There have been many false, theological concepts that have developed over the years based on this misunderstanding. So, let's do a basic study in definitions and get to the heart of the matter, using Easton's Bible Dictionary as a source. In the Bible, there are actually three terms used to describe the same people, Hebrew, Jew and Israelite. The name "Hebrew" is a name applied to the Israelites in the Bible only used by foreigners (Gen 39.14,17,41.12). It is also used by the Israelites themselves when talking to a foreigner( Gen 40.15, Ex 1.9). In addition it is used when compared to other nations (Gen 43.32, Ex 1.3,7,15, Deut 15.12). In the New Testament the same contrast exists (Acts 6.1, Phil 3.5). The name "Israel" is the given to Jacob after his struggle at Peniel (Gen 32.28) because as a "prince" he had power with God. This is the most common name given to his descendants. All twelve tribes are called "Israelites" or the "children of Israel" (Josh 3.17, 7.25, Judges 8.27, Jer 3.21) and also the "house of Israel" (Ex 16.31, 40.38). This name is sometimes used for the "true Israel" (Psalms 73.1, Isaiah 45.17, 49.3 John 1.47, Rom 9.6,11.26).After the death of Saul the ten tribes took this name forythemselves as if they constituted the whole nation (2 Sam 2.9,10,17,28, 3.10,19.40-43) and the kings of the ten tribes were called "kings of Israel" while the kings of the other two tribes were called "kings of Judah." After the exile the name Israel was used for the all twelve tribes. The name "Jew" comes from Judah, a son of Jacob. It was first used to designate one from that tribe or to the kingdom of Judah ( 2 Kings 16.6,25.25,Jer 32.12,38.19.40.11,41.3. It is used in contrast to those belonging to the kingdom of the the te tribes, who were called Israelites. While in Babylon ,and after, the name was given to all twelve tribes (Esther 3.6,10; Dan 3.8,12; Ezra 4.12,5.1-5). At the beginning the people were called Hebrews until after the exile when the name was not used used much. Paul described himself as a Hebrew in 2 Cor 11.22 and Phil 3.5 however. So, in conclusion, there are three names used in the New Testament to describe those who have descended from the twelve tribes. The name "Jew", in regards to their nationality and to distinguish them from the Gentiles, "Hebrews" in relation to their language, customs and lifestyle to distinguish them from the Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews). this contrast can be seen in the Book of Acts very clearly. Lastly, the name "Israelite" will be used when they are described as a people chosen by God and the mandate they have to teach the nations about about God, the Messiah and the redemption. All three names are used to describe the descendants of Jacob, those that come from any of the twelve tribes. Confusion over these biblical defintions exist today and it has caused an "identity crisis" with many believers. Several denominations today believe they "Jews" or "Israelites" when in actuality they are not. This type of believe comes from a severe lack of teaching at one end and a severe lack of personal study with the Lord on the other. Somehow, some believe they are lacking in something, have fallen short spiritually and feel "left out" of something unless people consider them Jewish. In actuality, God doesn't care either way and that is quite clear from the New Testament where Paul says in 1 Cor 7.17-20 that we should walk as God has assigned us. If someone is "circumcised" (Jewish), let him not seek "uncircumcision" and if called by God as "uncircumcised" (Gentile) let him not seek "circumcision" . He says circumcision or uncircumcision doesn't mean anything but keeping the commandments do, as they apply. Peter came to the same conclusion in Acts 10.35 were he says that God is not partial to anyone (Jew or Gentile) and he "who fears Him and does what is right (keeps the commandments as they apply) is welcomed by Him".

Q. What does it mean in Mt 24.12 where it says that the “love of many shall wax cold?”

2008-11-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

A. Before we look at what it means we need to define a couple of words. The verse reads “ and because lawlessness is increased most people’s love shall grow cold.” (NASB). The first word we need to define is “lawlessness”, which is “anomos” in Greek. The Greek word for Torah is “nomos” and when you put an “a” before it , it means to be against or “none”. So “anomos” means “no Torah” or in other words people are not obeying God, thus becoming “lawless.” The other word that needs to be defined is “love.” The word there is “agape” and that is God’s kind of love, love that is unmerited. It’s charitable love and the idea Paul was conveying in 1 Cor 13. So with that in mind, let’s look at the verse again in its context. Yeshua is giving signs of the end times. We won’t get into all of that, but He says in verse 12 that because people have a disregard for the Laws of God their God-kind of love will grow cold. So, you have to ask “cold in what way?” There are three areas we will look at . First, their love towards God, which is really what Yeshua is saying here. He said “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Deut 6.4 says we should love the Lord with all our heart, mind and strength and Yeshua said this was the greatest commandment. Well, how do you do that. You love Him by obeying His Word. When you don’t obey Him, you are “lawless” in the sense that His word has no affect on you, you won’t do it. That is not loving the Lord, so your love for Him will grow cold. Paul wrote to the Ephesians that their love for God was well known, but then later in Rev 2.4 Yeshua says they have left their first love and they should repent and do the deeds they did at first, by being obedient. Now, for love to “wax cold” you must have had a love in the first place, which was for the Lord. But, through self-centeredness it grew cold.

Secondly, let’s look at family love. Not obeying the Lord will affect this area, too. To wax cold means to lose the warmth of love for the family and become self-absorbed, self-centered and uncaring for your family. All of these are contrary to God’s word, of course. Do you know why any relationship fails and is destroyed? It’s when one person stops being kind to the other. When parents are unkind to their children, the relationship fails. When one spouse commits adultery, is that being kind to the other? When one abuses the other, is that being kind? Again, when one does not follow what the Lord says (lawless) then the love for your family will grow cold. Lastly, let’s look at some of the social ramifications of this. Society is plagued with this. People will stop acting charitably towards one another as a result of their own sin, or lawlessness. 2 Tim 3.1-4 says: “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” You see, what it all comes down to is when we love God and our neighbor, our love will not grow cold. Now, that doesn’t mean that others won’t mistreat us, cheat on us, hate us ,curse us, try to destroy us, leave us and do all manner of evil against us because they will. People who love themselves tend to gravitate towards people who are kind and charitable because it’s all about what that person can give them. Many marriages fail because those that are self-absorbed marry one who is not like that because they have no intention of giving to the other, but it’s what the other can do for them and it eventually destroys the relationship. In the same way, it’s like that with the Lord. He is a giver and charitable and the selfish want a relationship with Him for what they can get from Him, but when He wants them to give back, they won’t and their love “grows cold.” So, I hope you have a better understanding of this verse and your love for God, family and your neighbor does not grow cold.

Q. I have a general question on Exodus 34.6-7.

2008-10-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

Q. I have a general question on Exodus 34.6-7. Can you expand my understanding on these two important verses. Is it true it is a new covenant with his people at that time? (Paul)

A. This portion of the Torah is called the “Midot” or God’s 13 Attributes of Mercy. It has some major commentary in Jewish literature and what we will do is review the events leading up to why God spoke these words and how it relates to the covenant at Sinai. The whole Exodus story is a picture of the individual salvation we receive as believers. They were delivered out of Egypt (the world) by the blood of a lamb (Yeshua) and they arrived at Mt. Sinai. He enters into a covenant with Israel and gives them commandments, which is what He does with a believer today. These commands weren’t meant to save them, they were already delivered but He was going to show them how to love Him, which is the purpose of the commandments even today. Yeshua said “If you love Me, keep My commandments”. Israel then accepted God’s idea of a “holy nation” of kings and priests (Exodus 19.5-8) and then He gives additional laws found from Exodus 20.19-24.11. Moses then will ascend Mt Sinai to receive the stone tablets which were the symbol of this covenant which were the Ten Commandments and the results of disobeying them. God included certain attributes in this first covenant. Well, we know what happened later. Israel disobeys this covenant with the Golden Calf and God is going to destroy Israel and rebuild through Moses, still fulfilling His earlier covenant made with the “avot” or fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). God’s presence or “shekinah” will not be present and Moses rejects this idea (Exodus 33.12-16). To resolve the problem, God gives a “new covenant” which allows His Shekinah to remain even though Israel may sin in the future. God says that He will grant mercy in certain situations and this will give Israel another chance. As a result, Moses must ascend Mt. Sinai again for another “ceremony” if you will. Now, there is no reason to change the commandments in this new covenant, they will remain as before because it is by obeying them that Israel will be a “holy” (set apart) nation. What changes is how the Lord will relate to Israel and so the 13 attributes of mercy are proclaimed. As a result, God comes down in a cloud and says Exodus 34.6-7. These attributes of mercy will allow God’s Shekinah (presence) to remain with Israel even when they sin. However, these attributes do not guarantee that God will forgive, but they allow for the possibility that He will. To experience His forgiveness, each individual must repent and forsake his sin. Each attribute in 34.6-7 can be researched out for their individual meaning, so that will not be done here, but there is an interesting thing in the Hebrew in verse 7. The word “keep” in v 7 is written with an elongated “nun” in Hebrew and it carries the meaning that God will go “far beyond” or “longer” than what He needs to in being merciful. Now, there is a picture being portrayed here. This “new covenant” is not the New Covenant spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah in 31.31-34 or the gospels and epistles. That covenant can be found in Deut 29.1 through 30.20, but it is a picture of it. The word “new” means to rebuild, or to be renewed. In the New Covenant the commandments don’t change because that is what is being written on our hearts, or desires (Jer 31.33). It also is not symbolized by a physical circumcision but a spiritual circumcision of the heart (Deut 30.6). Now, circumcision of the heart is just another way of saying “live” or to be “born from above” or born again. What changes from the Covenant at Sinai to the Covenant in Moab is how God will relate to it. The Lord told the people to circumcise their own hearts in Deut 10.16 and then says in Deut 29.4 that He did not give them the heart/desire to know Him, or eyes to see or ears to hear. That was the problem with the Covenant at Sinai. They failed and died in the wilderness. The New Covenant was “cut” in Moab with a new generation and not only included those present, but those that will be born later ( Deut 29.14-15). Moab means the “seed of the father”. This covenant will be ratified or “cut” in Yeshua Himself, the seed of the father (virgin birth). So, are you getting the picture. Exodus 34.6-7 is really a prophecy of the New Covenant that will be coming later and God is giving us a picture of how it will work and how He will relate to it. His presence will not leave us even though we sin because it is based on His attributes of mercy for those who believe. Those that don’t believe will not receive the benefits of that mercy and their sin will remain and the wrath of God will have to be carried out. There is much more to this but hopefully this will basically answer your question.

Q.”Is Matthew 5.32 and 19.3-9 correct? I want to explain it to a divorced friend.” (Pete)

2008-10-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

A. The area of divorce can be a difficult issue to understand if one does not have a proper biblical foundation to understand it with, so I will try to give a balanced view based on my understanding of the Scriptures and where Yeshua and Paul were coming from. The basis for their view can be found in Deut 24.1-4. The word for “uncleanliness” in verse one is “ervah” and it means improper behavior and can be translated “indecency” in other versions but it does not mean adultery or any uncleanliness found in Leviticus 18, those were punishable by death, so a divorce wasn’t needed. The word used here means anything that made life together impossible because that would lead to cruelty and abuse. Exodus 21.10-11 gives other reasons for a divorce that clarifies what this word can mean. If a husband marries a woman, he cannot reduce her food, her clothing or conjugal rights. He must support her. If he doesn’t, she can initiate a divorce if she is not supported by the husband. Deut 21.14 says he that cannot mistreat his wife. So, with that back-ground a divorce can be initiated if life together becomes impossible due to various, very serious reasons. Adultery was punishable by death, not a divorce. So, what is going on in the verses you cited? Yeshua is freeing up Deut 24.1-4 from all the false interpretations of the Pharisees from the School of Hillel, who was very liberal on divorce. Yeshua says that if you divorce someone for any other reason than the “ervah” of Deut 24.1 causes her to commit adultery ( “Moichao” in Greek) because that is not a biblical divorce. The word in Greek for fornication is “porneia”, where we get pornography from in English and as you can see they are two different words and it is the Greek equivelant to the Hebrew “ervah” of Deut 24.1 and complements it exactly. What he is saying is if you divorce someone in order to marry someone else, that is adultery. That was a big problem in the 1st Century because people were abusing the meaning of the word “ervah” and stretching it to mean if she burned the toast, or did trivial offenses that displeased the other you could divorce her/him. To divorce someone for that was just adultery covered up by a divorce. Another school of Pharisees called the School of Shammai disagreed with the Pharisees of the school of Hillel and agreed with the interpretation Yeshua gave on it. The common people, for the most part, agreed with what the Pharisees from Hillel taught because it was to their advantage and more expedient and Yeshua was giving what God had originally intended through Moses, which sided with what the school of Shammai was saying. Divorce and remarriage was always permissible if done for scriptural reasons. In Matt 19.3-9 it comes up again. The debate there is not over the right to remarry, all the rabbi’s agreed that you could. The argument was over the legal grounds for the divorce. Divorce, war, slavery was never God’s plan “from the beginning” because it does not reflect His perfect character as stated in 19.4 but it was “allowed” because of the hardness of our hearts (19.8) and so He gives the boundaries for doing it the right way. Again, in 19.8, Yeshua says that you cannot divorce in order to remarry someone else, it had to be for biblical reasons already stated in the Torah, and those have already been cited above. We don’t stone people today for adultery, but that breaks the marriage covenant completely and that would be a biblical reason today. Non-support, any type of abuse(emotional, physical, chemical) that makes life impossible, loss of conjugal rights are other reasons but there are many more. That’s why God uses the word ”ervah” because it can cover so many areas that can make life impossible, and it’s Greek equivalent is “porneia.” Unfortunately, some English translations translate “porneia” as “adultery” and it gives the wrong interpretation to what Yeshua is really saying. He is addressing some of the wrong interpretations of “ervah” done by the Pharisees, especially from the School of Hillel, who clashed with the Pharisees from the school of Shammai over this matter, and He clarifies God’s intention through Moses, which happened to be more consistent with how the school of Shammai interpreted it than the school of Hillel. Now, Paul was trained in the School of Hillel because his teacher Gamaliel, Hillel’s grandson. He had to change his view on divorce and you see it in 1Cor 7 where he is teaching the Corinthians about what to do in their domestic situations. We know he taught the Torah concepts because he tells them in 1 Cor 11.1-2 that he wanted them to “hold fast to the traditions “he taught them. The word for traditions in Greek is “paradosis” which means the Jewish traditions that were biblical, as found in the Scriptures, and the only scriptures that exixted at that time was the Old Testament, or “ Tanak” which is an acrynym fot Torah ( 5 bks of Moses), Nevi’im (prophets) and Ketuvim(writings). Now, these Corinthians were well versed in the pagan culture of Greece and Rome and were getting divorces for many of the same reasons the Jews were, only worse. In 1 Cor 7.10-11 he says that it is not his opinion “but the Lords” ( which means it’s found in the Scriptures-Deut 24.1-4, Exodus 21.10-11 for a start) that the wife should not leave her husband for trivial , unscriptural reasons , and if she has, she can’t remarry or else she needs to be reconciled to her husband. This is not referring to a wife who has biblical, legal grounds for a divorce but to one who just abandoned her husband for her own, selfish reasons not sanctioned by the Scriptures. This verse is taken out of context by those not understanding all of the scriptures. Remember, Paul is a trained rabbi who was an expert in Jewish hermeneutical interpretation and would have all the scriptures relating to divorce in mind when writing this. Remember, he said it wasn’t his opinion, but the Lord’s in v10. In verse 39 he gives another reason to remarry and that is the case of one spouse dies, and he was telling the Corinthians in that case you can also remarry. So, divorce and remarriage is permissible in the Scriptures in all cases where the marriage cannot go on due to some of the reasons already given, but it is not limited to only those mentioned. This should only be entered into with much prayer and sound biblical counsel that is founded on the principles God already has laid down in the Torah because that is what Yeshua and Paul used as the basis for their instruction in the verses you cited. I know this doesn’t even scratch the surface of this difficult subject, but I hope this will help you counsel your friend who may be struggling with a lot of guilt piled on her by people who misunderstand what God has said. She doesn’t need that kind of guilt because a divorce is difficult to deal with emotionally even when it is necessary. If I can help her further, tell her to contact me as soon as possible.

Q. In John 1, Jesus says he saw Nathanael “ under the fig tree.” What is the significance of this?

2008-10-03T15:38:00.001-07:00

A. Being “under the fig tree” is a Hebrew idiom for peace, and more specifically the Messianic Kingdom. In John 1, Yeshua is looking for his disciples. They didn’t choose Him, His followers never do, it’s the Lord who finds them. He says to Nathanael that he is an Israelite “in whom there is no guile” which means he had no false estimation of himself, he was an honest man. And Nathanael asks Him “how do you know me?” or why do you say that. Yeshua answers and says in v 46 that “before Phillip called you (v45) when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael knows the meaning of the idiom and immediately declares Yeshua a king by saying “you are the Son of God” which is a title for kings found in 1 Chr 28.5-7 where the Lord calls Solomon a “son to Me” and from that time on kings were called the “Son’s of God.” He then comes right out and tells us what he means by saying that by calling Yeshua the King of Israel. The term ”sitting under the fig tree” is an idiom for peace found in several scriptures Micah 4.4 says that in the Messianic Kingdom each person will sit under his fig tree, with nobody making them afraid and it will be a time for study, meditation and peace. If you are sitting under a tree you aren’t building walls to defend yourself so that’s why it carried the idea of peace. In 1Kings 4.25 it says that Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree during Solomon’s reign. You will also see this concept in Isa 36.16 where an Assyrian envoy tries to convince those in the city of Jerusalem to surrender and says that if they make peace then each person can eat of his vine and of his fig tree and drink from his own water cisterns and so on. Again, eating and sitting under the fig tree symbolized peace. Lastly, in Zech 3.10 it says that “In that day (another idiom for the Messianic Kingdom or when Messiah comes), declares the Lord of Hosts every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.” So, when Yeshua calls Nathanael a righteous man He also says He sees him the Messianic Kingdom by saying He saw him “under a fig tree.” It is also very probable that Nathanael was actually sitting under a fig tree. When Yeshua told him He saw him, Nathanael knew that there was something different about this Man and it is possible that he declared Yeshua King through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is also possible that Nathanael may have been meditating on Jacob’s Ladder found in Genesis 28 and that’s why Yeshua immediately goes into the imagery found there and ties Jacob’s Ladder to Himself.

Q. There are rumors going around on the Internet that Barack Obama could be the Antichrist. What is your view on this?

2008-09-17T13:29:00.001-07:00

A. Right off, Mr. Obama is not the Antichrist, who I will refer to as the False Messiah which is closer to its meaning. Over the years many politicians have been accused of that including Prince Charles, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Henry Kissinger and many others. But, the subject of the False Messiah is very comprehensive in the Scriptures and it is a subject that has been talked about for several thousand years. Some of the Rabbi’s of the first century believed that he would be Jewish from the tribe of Dan. A good source to study this subject can be found in the Jewish encyclopedia under “False Messiah” and it is very well developed and actually has a lot to say on the subject. I will go into some of the Scriptures concerning him but some back-ground in Eschatology will have to be laid first. In Prophecy, some of the countries today will have an ancient counterpart. For instance, Europe will be symbolized by Egypt. Egypt was called the “iron furnace” in Deuteronomy and where Israel was held captive, and Europe was where Israel was held captive and the iron furnaces are well known to those who are familiar with the holocaust. Europe will also be known as
Kittim” in prophecy and we will get to that. Russia will be pictured by Assyria, the United States by the Land of Babylon, the Kings of the East by the army of Babylon. To develop this out takes many hours and in our congregation I take about a month every fall and teach nothing but prophecy, using the festivals, idioms, phrases found in Scripture to develop out Biblical eschatology. The false Messiah of course is an end-time eschatological character that must be understood. So, with that in mind let’s look at a few Scriptures to get an idea of who he is. Leviticus 24.10-16 gives a good picture. The son of an Israelite woman (Jewish) and an Egyptian man(European) struggles with a man of Israel (Messiah-Gen 3.15). He blasphemes the name of the Lord (Dan 7.8-11, 11.32, 2 Thes 2.4). His mother’s name is Shelomith which means “peaceful”, the daughter of Dibri which means “my word” from the tribe of Dan. He is eventually killed because of his blasphemy and so will the False Messiah (2 Thes 2.4-8). Daniel 9.26 describes the False Messiah as “ a prince from the people that will come” who we know will be the Romans, which is referring to Europe. There is a concept found in the prophets about a creature named Leviathan. The Jewish Encyclopedia also has a lot to say about this creature. Isaiah 27.1-2 describes what will happen to this creature in the day of the Lord, and he is described here as a “tannin” or sea monster who is destroyed. If you compare this with Ezekiel 29.3-7 and 32.2-8 you will see how this dragon is referred to as Pharaoh, king of Egypt, or Europe again. In Dan 11.30 there is a prophecy about Antiochus Epiphanes. He is the Greek king in the Chanukah story who made war with the Jewish people and forced them to stop observing the Torah. In v 30 it talks about ships from Kittim coming against him to help the Macabees. We know from history that Rome came to the aid of Israel and so we know Kittim means Rome, or Europe. The False Messiah will attempt to help Israel in the birth-pains but will eventually turn on her, just like Rome did. So again, the False Messiah will come out of Europe. In Ezekiel 21.25-27 there is a prophecy about a wicked prince of Israel whose day of judgment has come and his ruler-ship is ended. In the literal, the prophecy concerns Zedekiah but Zedekiah is also a picture of the False Messiah. But notice he is a “prince” and Dan 9 calls the False Messiah a “prince”. There is a small prophecy in Micah 2.4 where it says that God will give Israel over to the “apostate”. Now to be an apostate means he is away from the biblical faith. The False Messiah is described as the “lawless one” ( 2 Thes 2.1-12) and when you look up the word it means “no Torah” or “Torah-less”. The religion of Europe is apostate Christianity and we know from Revelation 12.17 that the False Messiah will make war on anyone who believes that Yeshua is the Messiah and keeps the commandments of God. So, he will be against Torah observance as most of Israel’s enemies have been. There is so much more that can be said about this but in conclusion the False Messiah will be Jewish, probably from the tribe of Dan and come out of Europe. It is very dangerous to accuse anyone living today of being the False Messiah and the Scriptures say that he won’t be identified until after the catching away of the believers on earth at Rosh ha Shanah anyway (2 Thes 2.1-3). There may be many reasons not to vote for Mr. Obama and that is up to the individual, but being the False Messiah shouldn’t be one of them.

Q. What is the purpose of fasting?

2008-09-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

A. Fasting is a means of cleaning out the mind of earthly thoughts and desires in order to connect to God at a higher , spiritual level and to hear from the Lord. It is a time where we can get alone and ask the Lord “where am I with you” and to separate from the flesh. There are many examples of it in the Scriptures but I am going to limit it to several examples and then draw on the principles found there. The first one is found in Ezra 8.15-30. Ezra is going to lead some of the people back to the land after the Babylonian Captivity and he assembles some of the people to “humble” themselves before God and to pray for a safe journey for themselves, their children and their possessions. The term “humble” is a Hebraism for fasting and you will see it in Leviticus 23.29 in relation to Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement and Paul also refers to Yom Kippur as “the Fast” in Acts 27.9. Ezra had been saying to their captors how God’s hand was upon the Jewish people and how He was going to protect them in their journey back to the land so he was embarrassed to ask the king for troops and horseman for additional protection because it would have made the Lord look insufficient, and so Ezra had a problem (Ezra 8.22). You see, they were bringing back gold and silver and the utensils that had been captured from the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians and they were going to use it again once the Temple was rebuilt, so they were sitting ducks for thieves and robbers, who would immediately see they were traveling unescorted with a virtual treasure. So, in Ezra 8.23 he calls a fast so that God will give them some ideas on how they were to transport all this wealth back to the land. After 3 days Ezra gets a word from the Lord to divide up the treasure in 12 parts and entrusted it into the hand of some priests and Levites and they wouldn’t have all their eggs “in one basket” in case of an attack. He instructs them to watch and keep the Temple treasure until they arrive in Jerusalem and can give an accounting before the leading priests, Levites and family heads (v 29). So in this case they fasted in order to hear from God on what to do.
In Isaiah 58.1-12 the Lord admonishes the people about their fasting because it had become a mundane performance void of any deeper concerns concerning love, mercy, justice and kindness to others. The Lord was not taking notice of what they were doing because they were oppressing the poor, not supporting their families and pointing the finger at others and supporting false doctrines. He was telling them to stop neglecting the weightier commandments concerning the above things and to start correcting their attitudes. Then they would have the understanding they needed and then He would answer their prayers. In Zechariah 8.19 Israel had added 4 fasts during the year that God never ordained. The Jewish people still observe these today. These self-appointed days of fasting was not going to fix why Babylon came and destroyed the Temple in the first place. They needed stop mourning the destruction of a building ( the Temple)and find out why God allowed it in the first place, which was due to their callousness, sin, idolatry. They were trying to ingratiate themselves to God by their ritualistic fasting but had missed the point as to why the Babylonians were allowed to defeat them in the first place. This exact point is brought out in Ezekiel 20.1-49. They had been fasting on one of the self-appointed days mentioned in Zechariah 8 and inquired of the Lord and He tells them that they needed to understand why the Temple and the exile happened. In Ezekiel 24. 16-24 the people are told why the Temple was destroyed, and he tells them not to mourn over it but to examine themselves and to correct what happened, starting with their own hearts. Another aspect to fasting is seen in the sacrifices performed in the Temple. We read in Leviticus 3. 4,9 that the fat was not to be consumed but burned on the Altar. Now fat has several meanings. First, the fat symbolizes that which is too rich to consume and it is for God alone. We cannot fully understand God’s ways and we need to trust Him. We can “digest” the rich things of God (the fat) in small amounts but most of it is beyond our human comprehension. Secondly, fat is symbolic of pride, prosperity and folly (Psa 17.10; Psa 119.70, Psa 37.20)and it can block our “spiritual arteries” rendering the mind dull, insensitive and oblivious to spiritual truth. The life is in the blood and eating too much fat can cause heart disease, and the same thing happens spiritually. Earthly prosperity can often be the prelude to destruction in much the same way a calf or sheep is fattened before it is slaughtered. By fasting, we burn not only the natural fat in our bodies but it can also be seen as offering the fat on the Altar and to getting rid of the “spiritual fat” that may have been accumulating around our hearts causing is to be dull and insensitive to the things of God. There is so much more that can be said about fasting and how it should be done but I hope this gives you some idea of how it should be done and the correct attitude we should have while doing it. It is certainly ordained of God ( Matt 6.16-19) and should never be done unless we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to do it (Matt 4.1-2) and it should be done in order to hear from God about something or when we don’t know what to do. It can be a blessing to us and others when it is done with the proper understanding and attitude and not turned into some mundane, ritualistic act void of any real spiritual reality.

Q. What is the verse that indicates that God has always known us, even before we were born. Where is it located in the Bible?

2008-09-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

A. There are many verses that indicate that the Lord has known us before we were born and I’ll deal with a few right now. God is outside of time, and He is not limited in what He does or knows like we are. That is the whole concept behind the prophecies in the Bible. He knows the players and the situations that He will use to ultimately bring about His desired purposes. For instance, Pharaoh was raised up for the very purposes he played out in the Exodus. Paul even refers to this in Romans 9.17. In Isaiah 45.1 he actually names a Persian King named Cyrus many years before he was even born and tells what he will do and that the Lord was the one who was going to raise him up and bring it about. Daniel 8.5-8 is a prophecy about Alexander the Great and what would happen to him and it continues to describe world history and specific kings that would come and what they would do in relation the people of Israel. In Jeremiah 1. 5 it says that God knew Jeremiah before he was formed in the womb. In Psalms 139 the doctrines on omniscience and omnipresence of God are described. In v 16 it says that God’s eyes saw the writer’s “unformed substance” wrote down in a scroll all the days ordained to him when “yet there were none.” In Ephesians 1.4 it says that God chose us in Him (those who would believe) before the foundation of the world, and compare this with Roman 8.29-30 and you will see that everything was “set” before we ever drew our first breath. There are many verses that teach us that God knew us and planned out our lives before we were ever born and there is no doubt about that. I could mention Judas, who was specifically raised up to do what he did, Isaac who was predicted to be born a year ahead of time and even given the name he was to be called, Jacob and Esau, John the Baptist was also named and prophesied about before he was born, and the greatest example of this is Yeshua Himself. So, God knew us before the world was even created and no human being is an accident but has a specific role in God’s plan.

Q. What does it mean when it says to “know the Lord?"

2008-08-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

A. This is one of the most important concepts in the Scriptures to understand. In Jeremiah 9.23 it says that if we are to boast we are to boast in the fact that we know Him. So, I am going to develop this out some to give you a better understanding of what is to “know” the Lord. In Genesis 4.1 it says that Adam “had relations” with Eve and she conceived. The Hebrew word for “had relations” is “yada” and it is an intimate knowledge. It doesn’t get any closer than that physically speaking. Now, in a spiritual sense how can this be applied? In Hosea 2.20 it says that the Lord is going to betroth Himself to His people and then they will “know” the Lord. But, the Hebrew word for know is “yada’at.” It combines “yada” with the another Hebrew word for knowledge “da’at”. So, this knowledge is intimate and deep. But what exactly is it and how do we know if we know the Lord. Now turn to Hosea 4.6 and you will recognize this verse because it is quoted by people all the time but they do not recite the whole verse. It says “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge” and most people stop there. They say it in the context that you need to buy their book on health or prosperity because you don’t have this knowledge and need it, or some other contrived reason. But, is that what the Lord is saying? When you read it in Hebrew it says my people are destroyed for the lack of “the knowledge” or “ha da’at, so what is “the” knowledge. The rest of the verse tells you the answer. It goes on to say that because they rejected “the” knowledge the Lord was going to reject them as “priests” (Exo 19.6; 1 Pet 2.9), since they have forgotten the Torah commandments of God. Do you see what He is saying? The Torah commandments are “the” knowledge that the people rejected. When the New Covenant is in full force, which it isn’t right now, it says that God is going to write the Torah commands on our hearts and then we will “all know the Lord.”. So, in other words, the Torah commands are the knowledge we need to acquire and to obey if we are to know the Lord. It is the evidence that we really do know the Lord. In 1 John 2.3-4 it says that “by this (the keeping of the commandments) we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one that says “I have come to know Him” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in Him.” In other words, if someone says they know the Lord and does not keep the commandments contradicts himself, his walk is inconsistent with his talk. You see, all this is the work of God, not just a rote, mundane ritual of observance void of any real intentions of the heart. When one becomes born again, the Spirit of God puts the desire to keep the commandments in that persons heart, also called the circumcision of the heart (Deut 30.6, Jer 31.31-34). Then you will have the desire to keep the Sabbath, to get away from paganism and idolatry, to observe biblical festivals and to love your neighbor and to follow the Torah because it is God who writes these on our hearts, and that is how we know we have truly come to know Him.

Q. Why do some people say Rosh Ha Shanah is the head of the year, and some say the head of the year is really in the spring.

2008-08-22T09:13:00.001-07:00

A. The term Rosh Ha Shanah means “head of the year” but it is not the Biblical name for the festival. The name for the festival on Tishri 1 should be called “Yom Teruah” which means the “day of the awakening blast (teruah) of the shofar. It can be found in Num. 29.1. You will see it in Hebrew and it is translated in English as a “day of the blowing of trumpets.” The confusion you speak of comes from a basic misunderstanding of the Scriptures, which I will try to explain briefly but much more can be said. In Genesis 1 God creates the heavens and the earth. The first day of creation is seen by many to be Tishri 1, day 2 Tishri 2 and so on. Others see Tishri 1 beginning on day 4 when He created the moon, but no matter which way you look at it, time began that first week of creation. This is referred to as the civil year and the dates given up to Exodus 12 are according to the civil calendar. That’s how you figure the years. So, each Tishri 1 is called a rosh (head) shanah (year) or “new year”. In Exodus 12.2 God says this (new moon) shall be the beginning of months for you and He is referring to a religious calendar He is going to institute. The religious year begins on Aviv (Nisan) 1 with the new moon for that month. Every date given in the Bible after that will be according to the religious calendar. So, there are two calendars operating at the same time in the Bible, one civil and one religious. The civil year begins in Tishri in the fall and the religious year begins in Aviv (Nisan)in the spring. In Exodus 23.14-17 we see that the Lord commanded Israel to appear before Him three times a year. In V 16 He says that the Feast of Ingathering (Sukkot) will happen at the “turning of the year” and He is talking about the civil year in the fall. We know He said Aviv (Nisan) is the beginning of the religious calendar, but here he says there is another new year in the fall, which is the civil year beginning on Tishri 1. He says the same thing in Exo. 34.22 and Deut 14.28 so there is no mistake about it. We will see the two calendars in action again in Joel 2.23 where the Lord says He will send the early and Latter rain “as in the first month.”. Now, you can’t have the rains in the spring and the fall happen “in the first month” unless there are two calendars. These two calendars will directly relate to the coming of the Messiah. When you look up the Hebrew terms for early and latter rains you will find that is says “moray Tzedekah” which means “teacher of righteousness”. So, He says the teacher of righteousness (Yeshua) will come upon Israel in the spring and fall., during the religious and civil new years. When you check the dates given from Genesis 1.1 to Exodus 11.10 they will be according to the civil calendar. Every date given after Exodus 12.1 will be according to a religious calendar. So, those are some examples of two calendars operating together in the Bible. How does this concept relate to prophecy.Yeshua appears during the spring festivals, is crucified, buried and resurrected all on the first three festivals in the religious first month of Aviv (Nisan). He sends the Holy Spirit at Shavuot (Pentecost), but that is not in Aviv but it is the concluding festival of the spring season. He will also come the second time during the fall festivals that happen during Yom Teruah (rosh ha shanah), Yom Kippur and Sukkot, at the “turning of the year” according to the civil calendar. So, to understand eschatology and prophecy one has to know that there are two calendars in operation in the Scriptures. The confusion comes in when people don’t understand that and take Exodus 12 to mean the civil year when it is only referring to a religious calendar that the Lord is instituting, not meaning to replace the civil one, but to operate along side of it.

Q. When reading the commandments, how do you know which apply today and which ones don’t?

2008-08-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

A. When reading and studying anything in the Scriptures, there are certain rules to go by. A simple set of rules that will help are called the “7 Rules of Hillel” and they are quite common and have been used for several thousand years. These rules existed long before Hillel. He lived in the 1st century along with another man called Shammai. They were leading figures in 1st century Judaism and both were heads of “schools’ named after them. Hillel’s grandson was Gamaliel, who taught Paul. These rules of interpretation can be found in Paul’s writings and was possibly what he was referring to in 2 Tim 2.15. I’m going to list them briefly here but further research can be done on your own.
1) Light to heavy: If A is true B, then how much more is C
2) equivalence of expressions: An analogy is made between two separate verses on the basis of similar words being used
3) Building a father (truth) from one verse: One very clear verse is the foundation for a rule for all other similar cases
4) Building a father from two or more texts: two verses or truths serve as a foundation for a conclusion
5) general and the particular: a general statement is made and is followed by a single statement which itemizes a particular rule. For instance Genesis one generalizes, Genesis 2 particularizes.
6) An analogy made from other verses: Two verses may conflict, so a third is brought in that solves the conflict
7) explanation obtained from the context. The total context in which the verse or passage is found has to be considered in order to get the proper meaning.
Now, how do you apply these to what commandments apply today. Let’s take sacrifices for instance. Do they apply today? The answer would be no because there is no Temple or priesthood. They can only be offered in the place where God chooses to put His name. At this point it is Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem and only when there is a functioning priesthood and Temple, in particular the Altar. However, just because a commandment cannot be done doesn’t mean we shouldn’t study them and find out what the meanings are. The biblical festivals cannot be kept exactly either because they involved Temple worship and sacrifices. You see, Yeshua’s death has nothing to do with whether or not sacrifices are offered, it has to do with the Temple, Altar and priesthood. Paul and the 1st century believers offered animal sacrifices 30 years after Yeshua’s death (Acts 21). Tithing is another commandment that is not valid today for many of the same reasons. Tithing was done only if you lived in the land, made a living in agriculture and the tithe was given to the Levites and they distributed it to the priests, and the needy. I think it’s funny how false teachers will tell you that the Law is done away with then tell you to tithe, and people fall for it because they don’t understand how to interpret the Scriptures. On the contrary, eating a biblically kosher diet does apply everywhere and you don’t have to have a functioning priesthood or Temple to avoid pork. The commandment to not murder, lie, commit adultery, not cheating your neighbor applies everywhere. You just have to ask yourself “how can I keep this commandment” and implement it into my life and go as far as you can. So, here is what I would do in order to understand what to do. Find yourself a good, balanced Torah teacher who you can interact with. You’ll learn more and a lot faster than doing it by yourself. Remember you can only rise to level of whoever is teaching you. If you find a teacher who knows much, you will learn much. Secondly use the 7 laws of Hillel, in particular number 7 which deals with context. Study the verses over and over again, it takes a lifetime. Read commentaries about the verse or commandment being studied. Ask yourself if it’s possible to keep this today in light of living outside the land, no Temple, priesthood and other applications. You need to find some group of like-minded believers who can help you study and understand the scriptures. Start there and see where the Lord leads you.

Q.Is there going to be a new Temple with sacrifices and why the need for sacrifices if "Jesus was the final sacrifice?"

2008-08-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

Q. I've been debating with fellow messianic believers and gentile Christians alike over the new Temple and the sacrificial system in the coming Kingdom. Could you settle the debate once and for all and explain two things. Is there going to be a new Temple with sacrifices and why the need for sacrifices if "Jesus was the final sacrifice?"
A. This question is very multifaceted and rather than go back and lay a foundation with your friends, I'm going to let the Scriptures answer the question and let your friends do the homework. First of all the Scriptures are full of verses that talk about the coming Temple in the Messianic Kingdom. In Ezekiel Chapters 40 through 48 this Temple is described. We know it's the Messianic Temple because it has never been built yet. So, by logic, it has to be after Yeshua came. Tell your friends to read those chapters. It gives the exact measurements of the Temple, it talks about the animal sacrifices that will be offered there and the festivals being celebrated, none of which include any of the festivals Christians keep like Christmas and Easter. The festivals talked about are found in Leviticus 23. That alone shatters their false notions. But, for fun let's go to Zechariah 14.16-21. This describes what happens after Yeshua returns and it says that all the nations will come up to Jerusalem to worship at Jerusalem during the Feast of Sukkot. If you want to see what the worship is, I refer you back to Ezekiel and the chapters given above and find out what biblical worship is. Then it says in Zechariah that a plague will be sent on any nation that does not go up to Jerusalem to worship. Isaiah 2.1-4 talks about the Temple being established and the nations coming to worship. Isaiah 66.23-24 says that all mankind, Jew and Gentile will come to bow down before the Lord on the New Moons and the Sabbaths and the context is after Messiah comes. I could go on and on with verses but if they don't see it after 11 chapters they don't want to see it. Now, why the sacrifices? The sacrifices only cleansed the flesh from ritual impurity but never the conscience, only God can do that by being born from above. They were only pictures of what Yeshua accomplished and went through on the cross, the bread offerings spoke of the Word and provision, the wine offered spoke of blood, marriage, covenant, teaching, joy and many other things. To say that we don't need those things now is like saying we don't ever need to go back and look at a picture we took of a vacation, or of a relative. We don't need to look at videos of our children when they were younger, playing soccer or whatever. The sacrifices looked forward to what Messiah was going to do, now they are reminders at what He did. Didn't He say "Do this (Lord's Supper) in remembrance of Me?" The sacrifices never did take away sin and were never meant to. Scripture is very clear about that. They were educational because they taught that One was coming who was innocent and would substitute Himself in our place and offer His innocence to God because we couldn't (Ezekiel 43.10-12) and practical because the priests and the worshipper could eat and drink many of them. The skins were given to the priests and he could use or sell them and so on. If someone believes that Yeshua's death did away with the sacrifices, they must believe they took away sin and both concepts aren't even biblical. Paul and 4 other messianic believers did animal sacrifices 30 years after Yeshua's death (Acts 21.15-27 Acts 24.14-21) coming out of a Nazarite vow ( Acts 18.18, Num 6.1-21). The messianic believers in the first century went to the Temple daily (Acts 2.46). Peter and John were going to the afternoon Tamid service (Num 28) when a lame man was made to walk. Don't you think that the next Passover after Yeshua died had a little more meaning as they sacrificed an innocent lamb and basically reenacted everything they saw and were a part of the year before? So, this should answer their objections and if it doesn't, refer them to our congregation and we can help them further.

Q. God brings us into struggles and battles. Why does He do this and how do we handle them?

2008-07-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

A. The Lord brings us into struggles and battles to teach us something. It is an unpleasant business for sure, but that’s the way He does things. In Judges 3.1-2 it says “Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan: only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those that had not experienced it formerly)”. You see, the Lord left some of the nations intact in Canaan because He wanted the inexperienced to learn about Him through warfare. He does the same thing today. He will purposely bring us into struggles and battles so that we learn how to fight and what it takes to win a battle. The problem is too many resist it and turn from the battle and run. If we don’t face the enemy and resist the Lord will continue to place you in situations and battles until you finally stand up and get strong in the Lord. That’s why some people keep going through the same struggles again and again. He wants to work out something in your life and you are going to have to stand and fight sometime, so you might as well get it over with. Israel today is making that mistake. Sooner or later they will have to realize who they are and who the Lord is, and fight His battles in His name. But they are trying to be political and they are afraid of the world’s opinions and certainly listen too much to the United States. Someday they are going to have all that stripped away, all their defenses will be of no use and they will be forced to turn to the God of their fathers for help and He will respond in a way they will understand. It’s the same with us. He will strip away our defenses until we acknowledge Him and turn to Him, so it’s better to enter the battle right away and learn what the Lord is trying to do. But, there is way to go to battle and way not to. First, we are to be obedient to Him before the battle begins. In Num 4.1-3 it says that they were to take a census from the sons of Kohath “from 30 years and upward, even to 50 years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting.” The word for “service” there is the word for warfare in Hebrew. In other words, as we are serving the Lord as He commanded, it is a type of spiritual warfare. The best spiritual warfare you can do is to obey the Lord and keep His commandments. Then He will be a shield and a buckler to you and drive out your enemies. What is taught today in many circles as “spiritual warfare” is not the biblical example. So, you will need to believe in the Lord and keep His commandments. When you have done that and a battle comes, there are several Scriptures I use. The first is found in 1 Sam 24.12. David had a conflict with Saul and he says “ May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you, but my hand shall not be against you.” David left it all in God’s hand and did not seek his own revenge or justice, he left it up to the Lord. The second one is dealing with a battle between Israel and the sons of Ammon found in 1Chr 19.10-15. Ammon had hired the Syrians to fight with them against Israel and they surrounded Israel. Joab takes his elite forces and positions them against the hireling Syrian forces. Abshai is Joabs brother, and he takes his forces and positions them against the sons of Ammon. Joab says if you need help, I’ll come to you, and if I need help you come to me. After he has done all he can in the natural he says this: “Be strong and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His own sight.” In other words, they have done all they can do in the natural to take on the enemies of the Lord, but what happens is up to the Lord. Well, the hireling Syrians took one look at the elite Israeli forces and they had no heart for the battle and they ran. When Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, they lost courage and ran also. The battle was never fought and Israel won the victory without a fight. That’s how we should approach our battles. Be obedient to the Lord, do what needs to be done in the natural and leave the rest up to the Lord. Having done all you can do, stand and be ready to fight and no matter what happens, leave it up to the Lord. There is so much more to the concept of biblical spiritual warfare but I hope this answers your question for the most part.

Q. In Zechariah 8.19 there are four fasts listed. What is their significance today?

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A. These fasts are still done in many Jewish circles but they were never commanded by the Lord. In fact He has a very interesting take on them. These fast days commemorated the taking of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians. They were self-appointed times of mourning, which in and of themselves doesn’t make them bad, but they had become mundane rituals and a way to get God to do something for them. God sees them suffering without food, God feels sorry for them and owes it to the participants to grant their requests. But that is not how the Lord works. The key, from God’s point of view, on the fasts can be found in Zechariah 7.1-14. I won’t get into detail but the idea is that the Lord was not concerned over whether they continued the practice of fasting, He never commanded them to begin with, but over the reality of why the destruction happened . It was an empty ritual void of any real repentance over the things that caused the Temple and the city to be destroyed in the first place. If repentance was there, then the Lord would have found value in their fasting. The people needed to remember why the Temple was destroyed and repent, not weep and fast over the loss of a building with an empty ritual. In 7.9 He tells them what they should have done to avoid the destruction of the city by the Babylonians, but they didn’t do it. They hardened their hearts so that they would not hear the Torah or listen to the prophets (7.12). In Chapter 8.16 He told them what they should do instead of an empty, ritualistic fast. He then says in 8.19 that when genuine repentance is done, He is going to turn those fast days into days of feasting. This can be applied to us today in many ways. We tend to replace genuine repentance with traditions and rituals that make us feel like we are doing something or makes us feel good. Many fast for the same reason today, they feel that God must respond to their suffering, or what they have given up when He doesn’t have to respond to anything if he chooses not to.. These fasts would not even have been necessary had the people obeyed the Lord in the first place. That should have been the conclusion the people reached. When we find ourselves in similar situations, go before the Lord and find out what went wrong so you can correct it. Sometimes fasting is necessary because it helps us focus on the Lord so He can speak to us about what the real problem is, but it should never be the main focus in and of itself.

Q. What is Romans 14.4-6 speaking about?

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A. This chapter is dealing with several groups of people. In the 1st century, Gentiles who believed in Yeshua went to the local synagogue to learn the Scriptures (Acts 15.21). There were also Jews who believed in Yeshua in these synagogues who went back to Rome after Acts 2.10. Another group consisted of Jews who did not believe that Yeshua was the Messiah. These three group co-existed in these synagogues and with that came contention. Paul is dealing with some of these contentions in those synagogues and Romans 14 is continuing with that thought. In Romans 14.1 he uses the term “weak” to describe those synagogue Jews who did not believe that Yeshua was the Messiah (Rom 4.19-20, 10.2, 15.1)). The believing Jews and Gentiles there were not to pass judgment on their opinions. So right there he is talking about their oral traditions, not written Scripture which were not the opinions of men but the commands of God. In verse 2 he discusses the fact that some of the Jews would not eat meat or drink wine sold by Gentiles. There is Jewish law today that says the same thing. That was a part of their “halakah” or how to walk their faith before the Lord and this was an oral law. So, they would just eat vegetables because vegetables could not be considered ritually unclean (Dan 1.8-16). This offended the believing Gentiles and Paul was telling them not to be offended. He is telling those who are “strong” (have faith in Yeshua –Rom 4.19-20, 15.1)) not to look with contempt on those who do not eat meat from Gentiles because God accepts the actions of the weak and the strong. They are serving God the best they know how and it is their opinion that their actions were correct, so leave them alone. God will make their actions stand or fall, in other words reveal truth to them eventually. In v5 he talks about certain days they regarded over other days. This has nothing to do with Sabbath days or biblical festivals, everyone in the synagogue agreed about those because they were not the opinions of men but written by God Himself. These days were certain days regarded by the synagogue Jews there as being important, like certain fast days (Lk 18.11-12). Others there didn’t regard them as that important. What Paul is saying is when it comes to certain traditions, let each man do what he considers right, and not to judge the other about it. After all, each person does it to the Lord so let the Lord deal with it. A modern example would be candle-lighting in Friday nights. There is no commandment to light candles and some do it and others do not. Those that do should not force others to do it or look down on them for not doing it, and those that don’t should not try to convince the others that they shouldn’t do it. When a tradition does not violate the Torah, it’s permissible to do it but it should not be imposed on others one way or the other. There are many traditions like that, and many different variations on how to do them, even today. On the other hand, if a man-made tradition violates or goes against written Scripture, then that is a different story and that is not what Paul is talking about. Modern examples of this is Sunday “Sabbath” over Saturday. The Scriptures are clear that Saturday is the Sabbath. Another issue is eating pork or not. Some will take these verses to justify eating pork and one should not judge the other. But again, the Scriptures are clear about eating pork and it is sin. If we are not to judge one another when it comes to sin you could never raise a child. If your child tells a lie, are we to judge it and deal with it, correct it or just let it go. Of course not, and it’s the same with any other clear commandment God gave. I’ve seen preachers get on homosexuals and quote Leviticus, then turn around and eat pork and tell someone they weren’t to judge them about it. I guess it depends on whose ox is getting gored! So, in conclusion, this portion in Romans is dealing with how to get along in a congregation where unbelieving Jews, believing Jews and believing Gentiles co-existed and that we were not to pass judgment on another’s opinions on how to walk before the Lord as long as the opinion was not in direct conflict with the Scriptures. I hope this answers your question. Keep this in mind as you read the book of Romans and the different groups he is addressing.

Q.In Revelation 16.13 three frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet

2008-07-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

Q. In Revelation 16.13 it says that three frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. What does this mean and how does that relate to us today?

A. To fully understand this we will start in 16.13 and go to verse 16. The Scriptures teach that good and evil will exist together in the Kingdom of God. God uses the demonic realm to achieve His purposes and one of the purposes is to test the earth, to test His people and so on. He will use lying spirits to do it ( 2 Chr 18.19-21) if He wants, God is sovereign. I am going to give my opinion on these verses and why. In the verse you mentioned, a similar thing is going on and it is completely under the control of the Lord. Satan, the False Messiah and the False Prophet are not running out of control in the Birth-pains, it is all according to the Lord’s purpose. In V 13 it describes the power behind these beings in apocalyptic language and symbolism. Frogs are used because a frog captures it’s victim by the tongue and so do false prophets. These three will deceive many by their “tongues” also. The next verse tells you it is the power of demons and their job is to gather the world together for a war. This war has been going on since Eden, and notice it does not say “battle.” It is an ongoing war and during the Tribulation it is going to be even worse. I don’t really see a literal “Battle of Armageddon” here, as taught in many prophecy scenarios. These lying spirits will try to convince the world to go against God’s commandments and to embrace replacement theology Christianity, or whatever religion is in their country. The key verse in understanding their purpose is verse 16. John says they will try to gather them to a place called in the Hebrew Har-magedon. Now, why did he say “in the Hebrew” and not just say it in Greek. It’s because there is something to be understood about this and it can only be understood if you have been taught from the Torah and the Prophets and the concepts found there. The Greeks didn’t have these concepts (Jn 4.22). The term “har-magedon” has been used before in Scripture. You will find it in Isaiah 14.13. It talks about Satan’s desire to sit on the “mount of assembly” (har-moe-ghed) and be worshipped. It refers to the people coming up to Jerusalem, to the Temple on Mt. Moriah at the appointed times (Sabbath/Festivals) to meet with God. So this term is used again in Revelation 16.16 to describe why these lying spirits go out to deceive the world. This term does not mean “Mount Megiddo” because there is no Mount Megiddo in Israel. This is a war over whose holy days are the people going to keep. Dan 7.25 says the False Messiah and the False Prophet will replace the biblical festivals with other ones because he wants to be worshipped on the “Mount of Assembly (har-moeghed).” The war being described here is over obedience to the Torah. These lying spirits, described as frogs (because of their tongues) go out and tell people that the Law has been done away with, Sunday is the Lord’s Day, Christmas is godly, go ahead and eat unclean meats like pork, lobster, catfish, and that is just in this country. He has deceived the whole world with many different religions. Satan doesn’t care what you follow as long as it isn’t biblical. And if it isn’t what God said, then by implication you are really following Satan, and he is now on the “Mount of Assembly” (har-moeghed) and that is what he has wanted (Isa 14.13) and that is what the verse is saying. Notice God uses an unclean creature like a frog to signify a demon, and there are people reading this article right now who eat frogs and say God says it’s alright! The war has always been over whether you will obey the Lord or not. So, in short, these frogs signify demonic spirits/teachings, who go forth and try to capture victims with their tongues. The place for this war is the “the mount of assembly” or true worship as described in the Torah (Jn 4.19-24). Do you follow the Lord’s festivals or do you follow replacement festivals? I don’t really see a physical last “Battle of Armageddon” here. That is part of the deception. People are looking for a physical battle when the real war is spiritual and it is over obedience to the Word of God. That is not to say there won’t be physical battles in the Tribulation because there will be, but there is something greater going on in these verses. The world is being prepared right now to embrace these three frogs, the theology is in place and growing and there are plenty of “frogs” capturing their victims with their tongues right now in any religion that does not follow the written word of God as found in the Torah.

This week will be the conclusion of the series on the New Covenant and the Kingdom offer.

2008-06-29T17:19:00.001-07:00

The whole matter will come back to Moab. In 2 Macc 2.1-8 it says that Jeremiah his the Mishkan (tabernacle) at Mt. Nebo. Many have heard about this when they study about where the Ark of the Covenant may be. But, nobody talks about why he picked Mt. Nebo in Moab! Because according to Jeremiah God was going to place that same law in our hearts someday, just like Jeremiah was placing the Covenant in the “heart” of the mountain in Moab where the New Covenant was described in Deut 29.1-30.20. Again, there is a connection between Moab and the Covenant with Moses. According to this book, the Mishkan (tabernacle) and all its items will be revealed to the world at the re-gathering of Israel, another element of the New Covenant. So, let’s review a few things. There are 2 covenants in the Torah. The New Covenant at Moab is distinguished from the “curse” of the Mosaic covenant. This new Covenant is tied to the work of the Messiah, or Yeshua. This New Covenant involves a change in the heart, or desires, and involves the Holy Spirit to guide us in these desires to observe the Torah. This covenant has been offered to Israel collectively on at least three occasions. The first was in Deut 29.1, upon entering the land. The second when returning to the land in Jer. 29.10, 31.30 and the third in the first century with the coming of Yeshua (Mt 26.27-29). While Israel may not collectively enter this covenant until Yeshua returns, individual people may enter early by becoming citizens of a Kingdom not yet established on earth. The New Covenant is God writing His Torah on our hearts. He did this by the work of Yeshua and the blood He shed on the cross as the pure “seed of the father” (Moab). This fulfills the promise to Abraham about how his “seed” (singular in Hebrew- Gal 3.16) would “bless the nations” (Gen 12.1-3). The Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts 2 on Israel and Acts 10 on the Gentiles. This covenant was cut and ratified like the covenant with Abraham and the covenant at Sinai, not with the blood of bulls, sheep, goats or birds, but with the pure blood of Yeshua. This covenant is repeated in Ezek. 36.22-38. The ultimate outcome of the covenant does not depend on Israel or their obedience like the covenant at Sinai (Heb 8.7-8), but on God and his faithfulness. As you can see, these concepts are very foreign to most reading this because it is not taught. What is usually taught is a remanufactured “New Covenant” made in man’s image and according to the bias of whatever religious institution that does not want to comply with what God has already said about it and gave to Israel. I hope this helps.

This week we will continue with last week's question about the New Covenant

2008-06-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

We dealt briefly with what the New Covenant is and this week we will discuss Yeshua, Paul and the New Covenant. When Yeshua began His ministry He reads from Isaiah which is the Haftarah reading for the Torah reading which dealt with the Covenant of Moab. He said that it was fulfilled "today" in their ears (Lk 4.21). The Lord was going to "hasten" this restoration but if the people did not repent it would come in its due time (Isa 60.22). The offer of the Kingdom began with John the Baptist (Mt 3.2, 4.17). One of the elements of the New Covenant is the restored kingdom of Israel (Acts 1.6-7, Jer 23.5-6, Isa 9.6-7, 2 Chr 28.5, 13.8). But the kingdom was being rejected and Yeshua compared this rejection with "those who would not dance" (Mt 11.12-19). But the New Covenant still needed to be ratified in blood, which He did when he was crucified (Mt 26.27-29). The Kingdom offer was later extended and that is what is spoken about in the book of Acts. There was a national call for repentance in Acts 3.12-26 but the people did not respond and by Acts 28.17-28 the final curtain was being drawn on it ever happening in the first century. This brings us to Paul and the New Covenant and this was the basis for his ministry. He contrasts the circumcision of the heart by the Holy Spirit (an element of the Covenant of Moab) with those who were circumcised in the flesh (an element of the Covenant at Sinai) in Rom. 2.27-29. He spoke of the renewal of the Spirit (Moab) with the oldness of the writing of the Sinai covenant alone (Rom 7.6). In chapters 7 and 8 of Romans he contrasts the two Mosaic covenants when he said that walking by the Sinai covenant alone was a work of the flesh but walking by it in the Spirit was what the New Covenant was all about. You see, the Torah or Law of God was never done away with. It was how you walked in it that made all the difference. In Rom 10.4-8 he contrasts the "righteousness that is by the Torah" by quoting Lev 18.5 with the righteousness that is by faith by quoting from the covenant at Moab (Dt 30.11-14). He says that this covenant is the word of faith that "we proclaim" and said that the Covenant at Moab is the covenant of Messiah by which we are saved (Rom 10.9-13). In 2 Cor 3.3-6 he refers to the New Covenant when he contrasts the "letter" written on stone with the "spirit" of Torah written on our hearts. He says following the letter kills, but following the spirit of it gives life. In Galatians 3 he alludes to these 2 covenants. He says Messiah redeemed us from the curse (3.10-13). Jewish commentators tell us the word "besides" in Dt 29.1 distinguishes the covenant at Moab from the curse of the Law. In Galatians 4.16-31 he plainly compares the two covenants. The main thing to remember in all of this is that the Torah is what is being followed in both covenants. One is by the flesh (Sinai) and the other is being led by the Holy Spirit to keep the commandments (Moab). It all comes down to being "born from above" or not. The book of Hebrews is full of references to these covenants. Heb 8.1 begins with the "main point" then it quotes all of Jer 31.31-34 regarding the New Covenant. In Hebrews 8.8-11 and beyond he compares the first covenant at Sinai with the second at Moab (8.6, 7, 13, 9.1, 15, and 10.9). This second covenant differed from the first. The first (Sinai) was ratified with the blood of animals but the second (Moab) was ratified by the blood of Yeshua. Again, the Torah itself didn't change or was done away with (9.12-24) with the covenant at Moab, it was repeated or "renewed" with better promises and that is why it is called the New (renewed) covenant. In Heb 3.7-4.10 he says the "rest" we enter is like the entry of Israel into Canaan which took place at the death of Moses and after making the covenant at Moab. If you study out the names and places when Moses died you will see the whole picture of the covenant at Sinai and the covenant of Moab played out. Remember, the common element in both covenants is the commandments of the Lord. That hasn't changed. But instead of the Lord writing them on stone, He writes them on our hearts. This is made possible through the ratification of this covenant by the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua. Next week we will review all of this and try to wrap it up nicely so it can be understood better and we will see the New Covenant all comes back to the Covenant at Moab in Dt 29.1 through 30.20.

Q. You have mentioned in past articles that the kingdom was being offered in the 1st century. What exactly do you mean?

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A. To understand this I will have to go back and give some background. This will take several weeks so don't miss the next few articles. This will not be in massive detail but it will give you a better idea of what is going on, This week we will go over what the New Covenant is, next week we'll talk about Yeshua, Paul and the kingdom offer in relation to the new covenant and then the next week try to wrap everything up with a historical overview and show you it all comes back to the Covenant at Moab in Dt 29.1 through Dt 3.20. The "new" covenant is called the "Covenant at Moab." The Mosaic Covenant was made at Mt. Sinai and mediated by Moses, ratified with blood and given to those present at that time ( "in your ears" Dt 5.1-5). The Covenant at Moab ( Moab="seed of the Father") was made at Mt. Nebo (Nebo="prophet") shortly before entry into the promised land. This covenant is "besides" the Mosaic Covenant and includes Torah observance (Dt 30.10). Are you starting to see the connection? The people said they would keep the Mosaic covenant (Ex 24.7) but didn't. This brought on the need for the 2nd covenant at Moab. Both covenants are a work of God's grace (Jn 1.17). It's not like the Mosaic covenant because it had better promises, it was made with everyone, even those unborn (Dt 29 10-15). The Messiah (Yeshua) was the "surety" (Heb 7.22, 8.6, 12.24) and it would be ratified in His blood, not animals like in the Mosaic Covenant. The Moabite covenant had blessings, not just curses. Israel would be honored in the earth, the land would prosper, enemies defeated and they would be the head not the tail. It would be centered around repentance (Dt 30.2,8) and a circumcised heart ("desires"-Dt 30.26). The prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah talked about this new covenant (Ezek 36.22-38, Jer 11.1-4). This is the new covenant Yeshua spoke about and it is based in the Torah (Dt 30.10, everlasting (Jer 32.40) and gives life (Dt 30.6,15,19). The difference between the "old" covenant and the "new" covenant is not what is written but where it is written. It won't be on stone this time but on the heart, through the Holy Spirit. Daniel was studying about the prophecies in Jeremiah (Dan 9.2) and knew that the curses had come upon Israel due to their disobedience (Dan 9.13, Lev 26.14, Dt 28.15). He also knew that it would be seven times worse if they didn't repent (Lev 26.18,21,24,28). In Dan 9 he prays for mercy because he knows Israel failed to repent and 7 x 70 equals 490 years. Gabriel comes with God's reply and Israel will fall into a 490 year cycle. But Messiah will come after 483 years and be "cut off." Israel would need to repent when he came and accept the Torah and then at the end of 490 years enter the new covenant, already promised in Dt 29.1-30.20). But the new covenant could not take place until it was ratified in blood and that brings us up to the coming of Yeshua. He came to offer the kingdom and to ratify this new covenant for the forgiveness of sins, to open the way up for the coming of the Holy Spirit who would circumcise the heart and write the Torah on the hearts of those "born from above" (Jn 3.1-21). This circumcision of the heart is the desire to keep the commandments and that could only happen after the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit ( Jn 7.37-39). Next week we will pick up right here with the coming of Yeshua and His mission to offer the kingdom and to ratify the Moabite or new covenant and repentance.You see, the failure of the Mosaic covenant wasn't because the commandments were bad, it was the people who were at fault in Heb 8.8-13 and repentance was needed. That's why Jeremiah 31.31-34 is quoted by the writer of Hebrews describing the new covenant. Their desires needed to change and that could only be done through the work of God. So, hopefully, you have a better understanding of what the new covenant really is. It has nothing to do with the Law being done away with as is taught by many today but a new, circumcised heart to obey God and not make the same mistakes the people did under the Mosaic covenant. We'll pick up there next week with Yeshua and Paul in relation to the new covenant.

Q. Why does your interpretation of Paul’s writings seem to differ from mainstream Christianity?

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A. I want to make this clear that it is not my interpretation only and that I had many teachers and scholars who passed on their knowledge to me over the years. To know the Lord is a commandment and that comes through knowing His word primarily and that takes a lot of work. Many people have told me what God said, but few could tell me what He meant and there is a difference. So, let me pass on to you some ways to help you understand Paul (and the rest of Scripture). There are several things to understand when you are reading Paul that just aren’t taught in seminaries or churches, so I’ll go over some of those things to give you some idea on how to understand the difficult words of Paul. Paul was a second Temple period Pharisee and was also an expert in the Torah. His teacher was the grandson of Rabbi Hillel. His writings contain many deep and mystical Hebraic concepts about the Lord. Most people who read the New Testament know very little about the Pharisaical understanding of the Scriptures. Most people know little or nothing about PARDES ( the 4 levels of interpretation called Peshat, Remez, Drash and Sowd) and the 7 Rules of Hillel in interpreting Scripture. Paul uses both of these in his writings. Anyone trained in these levels and rules will recognize them immediately when they read Paul. And if they don’t know the 4 levels (PARDES) they will not understand the deeper, mystical aspects of Paul’s writings and the writings of the other New Testament writers for that matter.. Another problem is the that the Hebrew concepts do not carry over well into the Greek. There are several good books on this subject like “ Understanding the Difficult words of Jesus” by Roy Blizzard and David Bivin. For instance, how does Paul convey the meaning of legalistically following the commandments without faith? Well, a phrase had to be invented called “erga nomos” in Greek which means “works of the Law” because there was no equivalent concept in Greek. Now if some of Paul’s meanings were lost from Hebrew to Greek, it got worse from Greek to English. Another problem is people read Paul’s letters with an instilled bias from their own theology and backround. They already think Paul was teaching “we are not under the Law” before they even start reading. Peter taught that Paul was hard to understand and that was before some of the above problems (2 Pet 3.16). Peter said that there would be “lawless” people who would twist what Paul said into error. He did not mean people who are were without Roman or American law, but “lawless” is to be understood as “without Torah (anomos in Greek).” He is saying that those who twist Paul’s writings do not follow God’s Law, the Torah ( the teaching, the instruction, the bull’s eye, the commandmants). They may do it ignorantly or on purpose, it really doesn’t matter. The fact is they will have incorrect interpretations because their “plumb line” is crooked. So, how should Paul be understood? You must understand the overall biblical and historical context. Be aware of Peter’s warning in 2 Pet.3.16. Remember what Yeshua said in Mt 5.17-19 when He said “Do not think that I have come to destroy (misinterpret) the Law, but to fulfill (interpret it correctly).” Today there are people who not only think it but teach it! Paul had positive statements about the Torah (Rom 7.12;22,25;1 Tim 1.8;Rom 3.31; 1 Cor. 7.19; Acts 25.8;28.17). Even Paul’s negative statements was not about the Torah but about the people and man’s misuse. Lastly, Paul himself was Torah observant (Acts 21. 15-26) and he taught others (1 Cor. 11.1-2; 2 The 2.16, 3.6). Eventually his writing’s would be used not only against the Jews by Gentile Christianity but used to deter anyone from following the Torah. They “redefined” his writings into what has developed into Replacement Theology (exactly what Peter warned us about) and that is where we find ourselves today. But, God wrote the Scriptures and inspired Paul and it is God who will teach us the same truth He conveyed to Paul so it is not hopeless. Many are being taught of the Lord through teachers He has raised up and they are rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem like Nehemiah and finding out that Paul is not difficult to understand at all. Try to keep these things in mind when you read his writings the next time. One of the questions I always ask myself is “How would this have been understood in the first century?” When Paul said what he said, how would his listeners have understood him. Don’t look at the Scriptures through the Church Fathers or the Rabbis, look at Scripture as if you were a first century Jew or Gentile and you will see what the writers were trying to say. It takes work and going back in history but God has not asked us to do something that is impossible. He wrote the book and He will show you what He meant.

Q. .What is the Lord's Supper?

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A.This is a very important concept in the Scriptures and it started in the Torah. The information on what a Lord's Supper is will conflict with the concepts, ideologies and doctrines of many but hopefully you will look deeper into this. Again, there is no way to get into detail about all of
the concepts related to it but you will get a good idea of what it is and what it isn't.
Let's start with what it is. A Lord's Supper is a meal, a full meal, dedicated to God and concentrated on Him. Every Sabbath, festival (except Yom Kippur), life-cycle event had a theme and a meal was centered around it. Harvests and sacrifices also had meals around them. The emphasis of the meal always came back to the Wedding Supper. A Lord's Supper pointed to Sukkot and Sukkot pointed to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The idea was to rehearse being in the Messianic Kingdom ( Mt 8.11; Mt 22.1-14; 25.10;Dt 16.1-16;Gen 18.1-8;31.54;Ex 24.1-11;Lk 12.35-38;Job 1.4). Each festival had a meal with songs, prayers, blessings, a theme, teaching, ceremonies, symbolic foods and scriptures.You could have a meal to celebrate victories, give comfort to mourners and it had a celebatory nature to them. Joy was an essential element and a right attitude. Paul admonished the Corinthians about how their meals had degenerated. Portions were given to the poor and guests were invited accompanied by a spirit of hospitality. The essence of a Lord's Supper was a banquet, an eschatological meal that taught something about the redemption. To eat with someone showed you had accepted them. In The Book of Galatians, the Gentile believers were being told that they had to be ritually circumcised( become Jewish) to be saved by some well-meaning believers but that wasn't true. When these teachers came to Galatia, Peter stopped eating with them to show he had not accepted them and Paul took him to task about it. It was Peter who had the revelation from God in Acts 10 that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised to be saved and yet he entered into hypocrisy for fear of them. This didn't look very good and Paul had to correct Peter to his face. A communal meal is one of the concepts around a meal concecrated to God and Peter didn't want to be seen "communing" with them. As you can see, there a many elements to a Lord's Supper that is very unfamiliar to most reading this and that is because what is being practiced today is not what the biblical model is. The current practice in many congregations is based on pagan concepts related to Mithraism. If you did some research on the Lord's Supper as it was done in Mithraism you would be very surprised to find out that
that it has more to do with pagan rituals than what the biblical model is. It has some mystical, sacramental element that has nothing to do with what the Lord had in mind. And
how did a full meal degenerate down to a thimble full of grape juice and a piece of bread?
It's because Replacement Theology has turned it into something it never was supposed to be. How many of us would invite someone over for a Thanksgiving dinner and then serve grape juice and a piece of bread? Now, if we wouldn't do that for a man-made festival why do people do it with a meal consecrated to God Himself? I hope this gives you some idea of this concept and also causes you to rethink what you may be practicing. There is so much more to this than what people have experienced and I hope this motivates some to find the true essence of what a meal consecrated to God is all about. For more information on this you can go to the Jewish Encyclopedia on the Internet and to Tyndale's commentary and look up "Banquets" and also look up"mithraism" on the Internet and find out what was practiced. You will be very surprised.

Q. Are the “sons of God” in Genesis 6.2 fallen angels?

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A. This issue comes up every so often and we’ll deal with it again here. The “sons of God” are not fallen angels and they did not produce some sort of half-man, half-angel type of being . Let’s start in Genesis 6.1 and work through verse 4. Chapter 6 is telling us of Satan’s further attempt to corrupt mankind. There are other attempts in Scripture like when Balaam and Barak caused Israel to sin and 24,000 died. As mankind procreated, daughters were born. As time went on some followed after God and others didn’t and the truth was being corrupted. The “sons of God” is merely an expression for the believing line, also called the “sons of Seth” based on Genesis 4.26. In Genesis 6.2 these sons of Seth began to choose wives from the daughters of men from “whomever they chose” out of the unbelievers, and they were unequally yoked. Remember Abraham had a fear of this when he wanted to choose a wife for Isaac, and the wives of Jacob and Esau is another example. The Lord saw this wasn’t good. Living long lives was not producing repentance (2 Pet 3.9) and He sets a certain time limit (2 Cor6.2) in Genesis 6.3. The Nephilim in verse 4 were the children produced by these parents. Nephilim in Hebrew simply means “fallen ones” which implies that they had fallen from the truth with ferocity and impiety. This word is used again in Num 13.33 with allusions to the “giants in Deut 1.18, 2 Sam 21.18-22, 1 Chr 20.4-8 and these certainly were not children born from fallen angels but simply people with a “giant” reputation of ferociousness and impiety who had fallen away from the truth . These people became famous for their valor, power and rule and certainly the battle between David and Goliath would be an example of this struggle between the truth and those who had fallen away (nephilim) that has been going on since Genesis 6. There “nephilim” in the world today ,too. Now there are several other reasons why these were not fallen angels. First, angels cannot marry or are they given in marriage (Mt 22.29-32). Secondly, angels can’t produce children with humans because they don’t have the DNA to do it. Mankind can only produce “after their own kind” and that is through the DNA so that should settle this whole issue right there. So, in conclusion, Genesis 6 begins to tell the story of how the truth of God begins to get corrupted, and believers began to intermarry with unbelievers producing a mixture of truth and error. In time mankind was so corrupted that God brought the flood and preserved the truth through the righteous line of Noah. Later through the line of Shem (“semites”) the Messiah would be born who would destroy Satan as promised in Genesis 3.15. Genesis 6 tells us the story of how God preserved the truth of His Word to save mankind and judged those who had fallen from the truth and corrupted themselves through unbelief.

QIn Luke24Yeshua appears to the Apostles after His resurrection and said he was“flesh and bone”After the resurrection will glorified bodies have blood

2008-05-01T20:10:00.001-07:00

A. In 1 Cor 15.50 it says that flesh and blood will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The term “flesh and blood” is an idiom meaning “the carnal state, mortal, subject to death.” In other words a man in his fallen state will not inherit the Kingdom. The Bible does not state all the capabilities of the new, glorified body or exactly how it will function. Secondly, the Bible doesn’t state whether it has blood or not. Some teach that glorified bodies will not have blood based on Luke 24.39 where Yeshua appears after His resurrection and says that He is “flesh and bone.” He is saying He is not a ghost or a vision but literally standing before them with flesh and bone they can physically see and touch. His choice of words is alluding to Genesis 2.23 where Adam “falls asleep” and out of his side his bride is created and he sees her for the first time after he “wakes up” and says she is “ bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh”. Yeshua dies (falls asleep) and then resurrects (wakes up) then appears to His Bride(believers) and says the same thing. Paul says that Adam and Eve is a picture of Messiah and His Bride (Eph 5.31). Just because Yeshua does not mention blood does not mean He didn’t have blood. (He is alluding to Gen 2.23). Remember, Leviticus 17.11 says that “life is in the blood.” It is the “carrier” or “operator” of the body, especially the brain. At times , the physical is not subject to the Laws of Physics. Phillip was physically transported from one place to another in an instant, Peter walked on water and so on. If God can do that with a physical body He can make a glorified body function any way He wants. The Scriptures clearly teach that we are returning back to the original creation. We will have full, capable physical bodies that God originally designed. The difference will be that new life, energized by the Spirit of God will course through our veins, the very life of God and we will operate at full capacity. Yeshua appears in a locked room (Luke 24) but that doesn’t mean He won’t use doors. There will be doors in the Messianic Temple and Ezekiel 46.1-8 describes one He will use. The original body was “very good” before the Fall ( Gen 1.31) and it certainly had blood. Activities in the Messianic Kingdom will be normal like eating, drinking, building, farming and so on so there is no reason to think that glorified bodies will not have blood and you certainly can’t find anything in the Bible that states specifically we won’t have blood. I hope this answers your question.

Q. I see men praying with their heads covered. Is this biblical?

2008-05-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

A. There is a lot of confusion about this practice so I am going to give what I believe about it, not only concerning men but women, too. The best place to learn about this will be 1 Cor 11.1-16 and I want to go verse by verse so that we can get the whole context. You have seen Jewish men wearing a “kippah” or yarmulke and many teach that this is a biblical thing to do. But in reality there is no commandment for men to wear a head-covering. A priest was to cover his head while ministering in the Temple but that was because he was anointed with the holy anointing oil, but that certainly did not apply to a non-priest. The practice of covering the head is one of those traditions that evolved over the centuries. Even the movie “Fiddler on the Roof” comments on the head-covering tradition and when Tevye asks about its origin he says “I don’t know” and we all have heard the song “Tradition” from the movie. The kippah/yarmulke shape is interesting. Some say it relates back to the practice of the idolaters to shave or “tonsure” the hair on the head in a circle because they were sun worshippers. Some denominations have a history of pagan sun worship and they wear head-coverings in the shape of a sun disk and the modern kippah is patterned after that. But, like Tevye, they’d have to say when asked about its origin “I don’t know” so let’s look at what Paul says and let’s put it into a first-century biblical, Jewish context because that is where he was coming from .

In Chapter 11 he begins to comment about the proper relationship between a husband and a wife in public worship in regards to authority. Being a Greek city these Gentile believers were heavily influenced by its culture and traditions. Paul is trying to teach the Corinthians about the Torah and how to walk in the Scriptures which was totally different to the culture and thought processes they were familiar with. That’s why he starts out in Chapter 11 by exhorting them to follow him because he follows Yeshua. We know that Yeshua followed the Torah so that means Paul followed the Torah and he tells the Corinthians to follow the Torah. He praises them because they follow the traditional and biblical concepts he has taught them so far. He then gives the spiritual application of what he is about to teach them in verse 3 and it is this verse that is the basis on how v4-16 should be interpreted. He says that Messiah is the head of the man, and the man is the head of his wife and God is the head over Messiah. What he is basically saying is that he, Paul, is not the “head”. He has already clarified that fact in 1 Cor 1.11-17. So he gives a basic spiritual hierarchy and then begins to deal with a problem in the congregations there. In verse 4 he says that any man who has his head “covered” (by any other man or institution) disgraces his head, who is Yeshua. We are not to follow or submit to any man-made authority that violates what the Lord has said (Acts 5.29). In verse 5 he goes on to say that any woman (wife) who has her head un-covered (by ignoring her husband’s authority as specified in v 3) disgraces her head (husband) and she is like one who “shaves her head”. He is referring to the practice of prostitutes who shaved their hair off. In other words she is like a spiritual prostitute because she has “cut-off” her spiritual covering. As you can see Paul is teaching Torah concepts on how a husband and a wife relate to each other especially in regards to public worship (praying and prophesying/teaching). He says that for a woman (wife) to shave her head literally would be disgraceful, so it is also disgraceful for her to “shave her head spiritually” by going against her husband’s authority . In v7 he says that it is disgraceful for a man to have his head covered (by any authority or institution other than Messiah) since he is the image of God and the woman is the glory of her husband. This is because the woman came from man and was created for his sake. Therefore a wife should have her husband as her authority. He goes on to say that this is done “because of the angels” and he is referring to that fact that some angels weren’t satisfied with their place and tried to usurp authority that was not given to them and they fell. So it is a warning about going against God-given authority, especially in a family. In v 13 he says that we are to judge for ourselves as to whether it is proper for a wife to pray to God by going against her husband (uncovered). He says that even nature itself teaches us that if a man has long hair he dishonors himself, but if a woman does it is a glory to herself. In a spiritual sense it is the same way. A husband who covers himself with any man-made institution or authority (long hair) dishonors Messiah but a wife who covers herself with her God-given “covering” (her husband) is doing the right thing because her glory (husband) was given to her, just like her hair in a natural sense. Her hair is a built-in “badge” of her femininity. Paul concludes this teaching by saying that if anyone wants to argue about what he is saying “don’t bother” because there is no other practice in the congregations. So, in short, Paul is not teaching about literal head-coverings. There is no Torah teachings about that. But, there is plenty of teaching in the Scriptures (Gen 2, Num 30 for instance) about how a husband and wife are to relate to each other, especially in a congregational setting and that is what he is talking about. Evidently the Corinthians were having some problems in this area very similar to what we experience in this culture today because our western culture is based on Greek thought as opposed to Hebraic thought and few husbands and wives today are taught God’s ways because we are not taught the Torah. So, it was the same back then. These people were coming out of a Torah-less society and Paul had to teach them the “traditions” (which in Greek is the word “ Paradosis”) which basically means “tradition by instruction based on the Torah”. These principles hold true for today also. A man is not to have any spiritual institution or authority over him other than the Messiah/Word of God and his wife should place herself under his authority and not rebel against his leadership in a spiritual or congregational setting. Now if she believes he is wrong, she can submit him to his head (Messiah) in prayer and let God deal with him. David did the same thing to Saul when he said he would let God judge between them, but he (David) was not going to lift his hand against him because he was his (David’s) authority as King and placed there by God. This brings up all sorts of questions and scenarios, but that is the basic instruction Paul is giving to the Corinthians and it has nothing to do with literal head-coverings.

Q. Was the Last Supper a Passover Seder?

2008-04-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

A. This question comes up every so often and it is a good time to discuss it because this is Passover week. I realize Christianity has already celebrated Easter but the reasons why have already been explained in recent articles. The bottom line is Christianity purposely tried to sever any connection with Judaism, the biblical festivals, the Sabbath and God’s commandments in favor of the traditions of men. Well, Rabbinical ( not biblical) Judaism has been just as guilty. The choice in Rabbinical Judaism is whether you will believe Moses or Rabbinical oral Law and tradition and the choice in Christianity is whether you believe Yeshua or the Church Fathers. Passover is to be determined by the ripeness of the Barley in Israel and the New Moon. This year Passover was on April 21st. The Feast of Unleavened Bread started at sundown and goes for seven days , ending on April 28th. The first and seventh day is a Sabbath and no work is to be done. The meanings of these spring festivals have been discussed in past articles so I won’t get into it again here, but these festivals can be found in Leviticus 23 and there is information about their prophetic significance on the Internet. Now, back to the question. I do not believe that the Last Supper was a Passover meal and I’ll give several reasons why. This meal took place on the night of Nisan 13 at sundown as the 14th began. Yeshua fulfilled Passover by being the innocent Lamb of God. In Luke 22.13-23 the basic story of what happened can be seen. Other gospels have it but let’s look at Luke for simplicity. The days of Unleavened Bread were approaching on which the lamb had to killed. In the first century, Passover could refer to the seven days of Unleavened Bread and Unleavened Bread can include Passover, totaling eight days total. It was just a way of thinking. So when it says the Unleavened Bread was coming on which the Passover lamb was killed was just a Hebraic way of saying Passover. The Passover lamb cannot be killed on any day other than Nisan 14 and so neither could Yeshua. Now I have heard many people try to get around that fact and make the Last Supper a Passover meal but it doesn’t work. They will say that the lamb was killed as the sun set on the 13th leading to the 14th of Nisan so Yeshua could be placed on the cross later that day. But the Passover lamb could not be killed that early in the day. The Temple was the only place the lamb could be brought and that didn’t happen till after the morning sacrifice on the 14th and well after 12pm. The worshippers in Jerusalem were divided into three groups of people. Each group would come up to have their lambs slaughtered and when they were done, the next group came in and so on and so you can see that this was very time consuming. They tried to get the lambs killed “between the evenings” and we know this was around 3pm. We know this because the true Lamb of God was killed at 3pm and so God Himself defined what “between the evenings” really meant. So, on Nisan 13 Yeshua sends His men ahead to prepare a room for Passover. Now that is no easy task. You have to “de-leaven” the room first of all, get tables, chairs, cushions, utensils, water and everything needed for the feast. This was done at least a day early. So when Yeshua talks about getting a place ready to eat Passover, that doesn’t mean He will eat it that night. In Luke 22.15 He says that He earnestly desired to eat this Passover with them, but again that doesn’t mean that night. He won’t be able to eat the Passover with them because He will be dead the next day, a fact that the Disciples still didn’t grasp at that time. What He was doing was getting together one last time with His students for one last night of instruction. This meal was known as a “Seudat Mitzvah” or a consecrated meal that accompanied any good work. It was called the Last Supper simply because it was the last supper before Unleavened Bread started. Anybody who keeps the festivals and especially Unleavened bread will telll you when the “last supper” will be after which no leaven can be eaten. The supper itself does not resemble a Passover, the lamb is never mentioned and bread and wine was eaten at many meals, not just Passover, Yeshua gives meaning to the bread and wine and then ties it into the ratification of the New Covenant in His own body and blood in Luke 22.19-20. Messiah Yeshua never broke a commandment of God and so He did not kill a Passover lamb a day early, outside of the Temple and eat a Passover on the night of the 13th going to the 14th. He was killed on Passover, between the evenings as prophesied, and was buried before the sun set on the 14th leading to the 15th of Nisan. It was probable that the Disciples went to the upper room and ate a very somber Passover meal, full of fear and very confused about the day’s events. Even though Yeshua warned them, they did not understand that the Messiah had to suffer on Passover, be buried on the first day of Unleavened Bread and rise from the dead on the 3rd Biblical festival of that week, the Feast of first Fruits. Which means that the true remembrance of the resurrection of Yeshua will be April 27th this year. But, in answer to the question, it is highly unlikely that Yeshua and His disciples were eating a Passover meal in the Gospels.

Q. What does Acts 11.26 mean when it says that the disciples were first

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A To answer this question we will have to get into some first century
history and what was going on "behind the scenes" if you will. This verse
does not imply that a new religion was being formed that in any way
resembles what is known as Christianity today. Christianity did not exist in
the Book of Acts and neither did the false teachings that it disseminates.
The believers in the first century were Torah observant Jews and Gentiles
who came under the authority of the synagogues. They did not teach that
Sunday was Lord's Day, they did not eat pork or teach that the food laws
were invalid, they did not celebrate pagan festivals. So what exactly was
going on. Torah observance was expressed in many ways through many
traditions and not everyone did the same thing. But they all agreed about
the Sabbath and the keeping of the biblical festivals, what you could eat
and so on. Anyone who said that the Torah was "not for today" and taught
that one was "free from the Law" would be accused of heresy and rightly
judged and this included the writers of the New Testament who had nothing
good to say about those who taught a gospel without the Torah commandments.
In the first century there were various groups like the Pharisees. There was
not one group of Pharisee's but as many as 3 and four main groups but two
groups are predominant and they were called the School of Shammai and the
School of Hillel and were very eschatological (believed in the coming of the
Messiah).Both Shammai and Hillel lived in the first century. They had a high
regard for oral law but disagreed on how it was observed. The Mishnah and
the Talmud contain many arguments on halakah between the two schools.
Shammai was more strict than Hillel. The Sadducees were more of the priestly
class that opposed the Pharisee's and believed very little. The Boethucians
were rich Sadducee's that were non-eschatological and rejected the oral law
and many High Priest's came from this class. The Sicari (cut-throats) were
the most radical and would assassinate people who helped Rome. The Zealot
party was politically opposed to Rome and were Torah observant. There was
the Chasidim who were from the north and were pious but not like the
Pharisee's. The Essenes were a very zealous group and we are not sure
exactly who they were but they were fed up with what they felt was a corrupt
priesthood and withdrew into the wilderness. They were very eschatological.
There was also the Theraputae, or "healers" and they were related to the
Essenes. The Am ha Eretz or "people of the land" were the common folk who
didn't really care to study much and followed the Pharisee's and liked to be
told what to believe. Most of these groups would be called traditionalists.
The Hellenists (influenced by Greek culture) were those who were not so
"traditional" and this goes back to the time of the Maccabee's. The zealous,
traditional Jews were at odds with the Hellenists and a war was fought over
this 160 years before Yeshua. The traditionalist Jews fought the Greeks and
the Hellenized Jews in what was called the Maccabean War. The
traditionalists won the day but they looked with contempt on anyone who was
influenced by Greek culture and the feeling was mutual with the Hellenists.
This animosity and distrust permeated any interaction between the two
groups. Now the Hellenists were divided into several groups. The Judeans
were not eschatological and not very observant. The Asia Minor Hellenists
were very observant but influenced by Greek culture. The Alexandrian Jews of
the Hellenistic sort were Torah observant but influenced by Greek culture.
The last group I want to mention were the Babylonian Jews and they were very
Torah observant and did not have these other sects to deal with. After Rome
destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem, most of the above mentioned groups
disappeared except the Pharisee's. They formed what is called Rabbinic
Judaism and that is what has been handed down today. Rabbinic Judaism does
not resemble or represent what was being done in the first century and it
relies on rabbinic tradition. Yeshua's disciples were made up of people from
these groups with all the diverse beliefs and practices and He taught things
that could be found already in these groups. His overall beliefs were very
similar to the school of Hillel but his views on divorce agreed with the
school of Shammai. His teachings on hand-washing rituals and carrying a
pallet on the Sabbath agreed with the School of Hillel. His teachings about
the spirit of the Torah agreed with Hillel and "doing unto others" is very
similar to this school of thought. That is a whole study in itself but the
point is there was not one "Judaism" in the first century but "Judaisms" and
what Yeshua and the Apostles taught was very mainstream. Each group had
elders and leaders who set the "halakah" of that group, or how to walk
before God in light of the Torah commandments. Messianic believers had a
council or Sanhedrin where religious controversies could be settled (see
Acts 15). Yeshua's followers differed from the other groups in two main
areas. One, they believed He was the Messiah so they were known as the
"mashiachim" or "messianics" by others. The other area was on how to deal
with Gentile converts. All the groups accepted Gentile converts but some
believed that they had to undergo ritual circumcision to have righteousness
with God, or a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Pharisaic school of
Shammai was very adamant about this. The Messianic followers of Yeshua
thought that too in the beginning, but by Acts 10 and Cornelius that
doctrine was dropped for the most part. Now, it was into this world of
traditional versus Hellenistic thought that the disciples were sent into,
not to mention plain old paganism. So, when people from these different
groups began to be saved they brought their theology with them, good and
bad. You see the concept of ritual circumcision of Gentiles cropping up in
Acts 15 because traditionalist Pharisee's from the school of Shammai began
to get saved and brought this concept into their interaction with the
others. Paul, being a traditionalist from the school of Hillel would
naturally oppose this view and it came to a head in Acts 15 and the Book of
Galatians. Galatians has nothing to do with keeping the Torah, it has to do
with the traditionalist, Pharisaic concept as to whether a Gentile has to be
ritually circumcised according to the halakah of the school of Shammai or
not. It was the Lord's plan to educate Paul in Pharisaic Torah from the
school of Hillel and then reveal Messiah to him He was then sent out as a
teacher who wrote most of the New Testament Scriptures. The epistles were
Messianic commentaries on how to observe the Torah in light of the fact that
Yeshua is the Messiah. So, with that back-round let's talk about your
question. Gentiles who believed in God would be taught the Torah and were
called "Yiray Shamayim" or G0d-fearers. There were several other Hebraic
terms they were known by. One was called the "ger t'shav" or stranger in the
land. They were believers who lived in the land of Israel like Ruth and
Cornelius. If you lived outside the land you were called a "ger ha Sha'ar"
or stranger at the gate. This was important because where you lived
determined what commandments applied to you. For instance, if you lived
outside the land you did not tithe. In Greek they were called "phoubemenoi"
(God-fearers) and "sebemenoi" (devout ones) and these terms are used in the
book of Acts. So, you must understand that there was tension between the
traditionalists and the Hellenists in the first century and this had been
going on for over 150 years. Paul was a traditionalist from the school of
Hillel and you can see why he made war on messianic believers who were
Hellenistic by influence. That's why he was going to Damascus. There were
plenty of traditional messianic believers in Judea but he went after the
Hellenists. After Yeshua revealed Himself to him he did not give up the
traditional Judaism he learned but now he could interpret it correctly,
holding on to the good and discarding the bad. I think the Lord had a sense
of humor in sending Paul the traditionalist outside the land to reach
Hellenistic Jews and Gentiles. So, with all that back-round let's get to the
question. Antioch is a Hellenistic city (remember the Maccabean
traditionalists fought the Hellenists who sided with Antiochus) named after
the Greek kings. So, the Greek speakers in Antioch called the "mashiachim"
(Hebrew for messianics) "christianos" which is the same thing, only coming
from a Hellenistic angle. This term eventually was used to insult believers
and that is why Peter said not to be ashamed of being called a "Christian"
(christianos) in 1 Pet 4.14-16, or "messianic" coming from a Hebraic
mindset. This was not the start of a new religion and has nothing to do with
what is called "Christian" today. Peter was talking to Torah observant
believers in Messiah who were Jewish and Gentile and they would have never
accepted Christianity as it is today. Christianity is based on replacement
theology so the term messianic and Christian do not mean the same thing
anymore. Messianic carries the meaning of Torah observant which is seen as
applying only to Jews and Christian means non-Torah observant and is seen as
applying only to Gentiles. This couldn't be further from the truth as
expressed in the Scriptures. That is why Jews who believe are often called
"Hebrew Christians" and not Messianic Jews today. So, what is it supposed to
look like? God saves a Jew or a Gentile and both groups are part of one Body
and both groups were to keep the Torah as it applies. We are all a part of
one Bride, one Olive Tree, one congregation and we are to follow one Torah.
We have one Shepherd, one Prince, one King, one Messiah and we all follow
one God. Messianic is just the Hebrew word for "anointed ones" and if you
said it in Greek it would be "christianos" but both words mean the same
thing. That is what it is supposed to look like but that isn't what is out
there today and that is why there is much confusion about this verse. That
is why we should understand the Scriptures in the way they would have been
understood at the time they were written and not according to the
understanding and definitions of whatever denomination that happens to be
teaching you at the time.

Q. Was there a reason Yeshua made his home in Galilee and taught there, especially around the Sea of Galilee?

2008-04-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

A. As mentioned before, names and places mean things in the Scriptures and God is communicating something whenever specific names or places are mentioned. Galilee and the Sea of Galilee are no exception. This “sea” is more like a lake and it is often called Lake Galilee. It is also called the Sea of Tiberias but I want to concentrate on another name that has Scriptural connections. It is also called the Sea of Kinneret in Num. 34.11 and Joshua 13.27. The name Kinneret seems to derive from the Hebrew word “kinnor” which means “harp” because the lake is shaped like a harp. Galilee means “circuit” and comes from the word “gal” which means “circle,circuit “ or “to roll” and the circle carries the meaning of “eternity” and would be related to eternal life. It is related to the word Gilgal where Joshua circumcised Israel after crossing the Jordan and before they entered the promised land. The Tabernacle was placed there and it was the traditional place where the kingdom was renewed in the time of Samuel and David. So Gilgal and Galilee are connected by the concept of the “rolling away” of the reproach of sin. In Isaiah 9.1-2 it talks about Galilee dwelling in darkness and in the shadow of death, but now sees a great light. This area was the first to go into the Assyrian captivity and they are the first to hear the good news that Yeshua was bringing. The New or “renewed “ covenant ( remember the concept of the kingdom being renewed) was first preached in Galilee. So being in Galilee fulfills many prophecies. But there are deeper meanings to these names and places that we will get into. In Psalm 33.2 it talks about praises being sung to God on a harp with ten strings. The harp was synonymous in Hebrew thought with the heart and the ten strings is an allusion to the Ten Commandments. In Proverbs 20.27 it says that the “ spirit (heart) of man is the lamp of the Lord” because the Torah is written on our desires (hearts) and we want to obey His word. The harp is the only known instrument whose strings can be played by the wind/breath or “ruach” in Hebrew. The heart is also aroused and stimulated by the Ruach ha Kodesh in the same way. In Rev. 14.2-3 it says that the 144,000 play “harps” but that is symbolic for being born from above by the Spirit of God who “plucks” their heart to follow God wherever He goes ( Rev 14.4) because the Spirit has written the commandments on the hearts fulfilling the promise of the New Covenant. They sing a “new song” which is alluding back to Psalm 33.2-3 again. So Yeshua teaches in Galilee about the “rolling away” of our reproach by a lake shaped like a harp because the wind of the Holy Spirit will “pluck the heart-strings” of the people to hear His word and obey it. This brings us to another concept. In Mark 3.28-29 it talks about the unpardonable sin. This confrontation takes place in Galilee around the Sea (harp) as mentioned in v 7. Some scribes from Jerusalem have accused Him of casting out demons by the power of the devil. He says that all manner of sin will be forgiven except the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. In Jn. 3.5 Yeshua teaches that a person must be born from above through the Holy Spirit who is likened to the “wind” which blows when and where it pleases. So the Ruach (wind) plucks the heart and man is born from above. Romans 8.29-30 explains the process. God declares us sinners, helpless and dead. He proposes to save us so He reaches for us and the “wind” begins to blow on our hearts (harps) while we were dead. We had no thoughts of God in our hearts before that, no need of salvation (Rom 3.9-12, 5.8, Jn 1.13). Saving faith is planted by the Holy Spirit, plucking our heart-strings, bringing conviction. It looks like we were searching for God when in reality that “seeking” is the first sign eternal life (the circle=Galilee) has been planted already. Then God uses some human agent who comes along bearing the good news and faith is stirred and we are born from above, but this process is entirely the work of God. Blasphemy is simply calling something that is holy unholy, or calling something unholy holy. I know this may offend some but saying that Sunday is the Lord’s day and the Sabbath is blasphemy. Saying December 25th is a “holy night” is blasphemy. Saying a believer can eat pork and catfish is blasphemy. Certain days and certain creatures have been “set apart” (holy) by God and man can’t change it. Well, Yeshua is working miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit . The scribes attribute it to something unholy. As a result the Spirit is blasphemed and He cannot do the saving work on the heart( harp) that is required to be born from above. So, in short, unbelief is the one sin that cannot be forgiven. All of this was taught by Yeshua and being in Galilee and around the Sea of Kinneret were physical allusions to spiritual realities

Q. I was in a discussion this week over where Jesus was crucified. Some said Mt. Sinai while others said Mt. Golgotha. What mountain was he crucified?

2008-04-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

A. He was crucified on Mt. Moriah (“mount of the teacher”) just outside the northern gate of the city of Jerusalem at a place called Golgotha meaning “skull.” It was the site of public executions in the city used by Romans and Jewish authorities. It was possibly the site of the stoning of Stephen. He was crucified along the road leading in and out of the city to strike fear into the population about even thinking about rebelling against Rome. He was not up on a hill because the romans usually did it along the road, and the Scriptures say that the people “passing by” hurled insults at Him. Now, I want to get into some history and meanings about all this because nothing happens in the Scriptures by accident, especially if God gives us the name of people and places. All names mean something. The word Golgotha is Aramaic and simply means skull. It would be impossible to determine the true site of the crucifixion but there are two main sites. Directions in the Bible are always from Jerusalem and the Temple site so that is what I will use. The Catholic Church maintains that the site is west of the Temple and it was found by St. Helena, Constantine’s mother. The other site is called Gordon’s Calvary which is north of the Temple site. This site is near a rock formation which resembles a skull and that is what drew Professor Gordon’s attention, among other things. Some think it was here that Jeremiah wrote Lamentations and it is also referred to as Jeremiah’s Grotto. The Torah says that the sin offering is to be slaughtered north of the altar (Lev 1.11) and this site fits that prerequisite, but that site cannot be proven either. But, let’s get into what we do know. He was to be killed on Mt. Moriah and we see a picture of this in Genesis 22 and the Akedah, or the Binding of Isaac. Interestingly enough, this is the most important chapter in the Bible to the Jewish people.We know God told Abraham to goto the land of Moriah, to a certain mountain and to sacrifice Isaac there. Well, God never had Abraham carry out the whole thing but he did “act out” the scenario that the Father and His Son would actually have to do. The word Golgotha has the same root as “Gilgal” which means to “roll away.” It was at Gilgal that Joshua crossed the Jordan and circumcised Israel physically as they entered the land. It was at Gilgal the Kingdom was renewed in the days of Samuel and David, also a picture of the Father (Samuel) and the Son (David). Spiritually, Yeshua (Joshua) crossed over death (Jordan) at Golgotha (Gilgal) and brought in the circumcision of the heart (spiritual) and ratified the New Covenant with His own blood (and the people entered the promised land spiritually). As a result we can become born-again (renewed) and the Torah commandments can now be written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit and He will give us the power to obey Him. North in the Bible is the direction of intelligence and wisdom and that is why He was crucified at the place of” intelligence and wisdom” (the skull) which is related to Gilgal, where the kingdom is renewed ( or born again in us ) and that is what the New Covenant is. It was on the north side of the Temple Sanctuary that there was a table with bread called the “Shulchan shell Lechem ha Pannim” or the Table of Bread of the Faces (plural). The bread symbolizes the knowledge and wisdom gained through the Scriptures and the Menorah (candlestick) on the south side illuminates that Word by the oil of the Holy Spirit.

Now, let’s get into some deeper meanings. Satan has always wanted to sit on “the mount of assembly”, or the appointed festivals to be worshipped ( Isa 14.13 ). The mount of the appointed times is Mt. Moriah of course because that is where the people came to keep the festivals because the Temple was there, now called the Temple Mount. In Hebrew “mount of assembly” is said as “har moed” but it can be said with a slightly soft guttural “g” sound in moed and it would sound like “moe’ghed”. So, Satan wants to sit on “Har Moe’ghed” and how does he try to do it. Now the last part of the verse says that this “har moeghed” is in the sides of the north, the “direction” of intelligence and wisdom. So Satan can sit himself on the mount through intelligence and wisdom, the place of the skull or the “battle for the mind” as some refer to it by replacing God’s festivals with something else. This battle is talked about in Revelation 16.14,16: “For they (the frogs of v13 who speak lies) are the spirits of unclean devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” and v16 says “ and he gathered them together to a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Notice he says this is known in the Hebrew tongue because he is not coming from a Greek context. He could have said this in Greek but didn’t because he is alluding to a greater concept here. Many biblical scholars teach that this is a great, physical battle at the mountain of Megiddo, but there is no Mount Megiddo in Israel. The last battle when Yeshua comes is not at Mount Megiddo but at Jerusalem Zech 12-14, Matt 24). Armageddon does not mean Mount Megiddo but “har moeghed” or the “mount of assembly” or the appointed times (festivals). So, let me pull all this together. The battle of Har Moeghed is over whether or not you will follow the Torah . It’s a battle over what Holy days you will keep. Dan 7.25 says that the False Messiah will come and changes the times (festivals of God) and the Torah. This battle is over obedience to the Torah commandments. That is why those who do not follow the Torah are called “lawless” or “anomos” meaning Torah-less. That has always been the battle. It was the battle fought in Eden. Whether there is a literal Battle of Armageddon is debatable and not probable., but there is a battle of “Har moeghedon” spiritually and it’s going on today. God says that only certain people will dwell on “His Holy hill (Psa 15.1, 24.3-4, 43.3). Psa 48.1-3 says that God is to be praised on “His holy mountain” (because the Temple was there and the feasts were celebrated there) and on the “sides of the north” (Wisdom). Isa 2.2-4 says that in the last days the “mountain” of the house of God will be established over all the mountains ( kingdoms…including Satans’s) and raised (“elevated” spiritually-Psa 48.2) above the nations and the Gentiles will come and say “let us go up to the house of the Lord.” Why are they doing that? Because the Torah will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. The context of this is when Yeshua comes back. Now, if the Law has been done away with as some say, why is it being taught again when Yeshua comes? The answer is because it has never been done away with and those who ascend His Holy Hill will be ascending the Mount of Assembly , or the appointed times, because they are Torah observant and have defeated Satan at the battle of “Har-moeghedon” and have not followed the lies of all the “frogs” out there who are trying to deceive the nations into letting Satan sit on the mount of assembly and to come and worship him with replacement festivals and observances. The battle of Har-moeghedon was fought and won at the place of the skull, on Mount Moriah , the mount of the appointed times, just north of the Altar on that Passover nearly 2000 years ago. What it comes down to is who are you going to serve. Is God seated on the recesses of the north on the Mount of the appointed times or have you seated Satan there and you are following his appointed times. The Scriptures will give you the answer and the battle plan on how to defeat Satan at the Battle of Har-moeghedon which is being fought all around us today.

Would Your Church Allow You To Be Like Jesus?

2008-04-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

By: Jim Myers

Would Your Church Allow You To Be Like Jesus?

Which religion would a person be a member of if he did the following?

(1) Was circumcised on the eighth day.

(2) Kept Sabbath from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown.

(3) Attended a synagogue regularly.

(4) Kept Passover, Shavuot, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah.

(5) Was a citizen of Israel.

(6) His Bible only contained the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings.

(7) Quoted passages from the Mishnah.

(8) Taught that Deuteronomy 6:4 was the most important commandment.

I would guess that most of you came up with the same answer -- Judaism. As a friend of mine always says, "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out." Now, let's take a look at another person. See if you can identify the religion of this person.

(1) Sabbath was on Sunday.

(2) Attended a church.

(3) Kept Easter and Christmas.

(4) Bible contained an Old Testament and a New Testament.

(5) Stressed a person's beliefs.

(6) Taught that people had to be "saved" in order to go to heaven.

(7) Taught that they were not under the law.

(8) Taught that the church had replaced Israel as God's people.

I bet you got the right answer again -- Christian. Now let's take this discussion one more step by answering this question -- If a Jew wanted to become a member of a Christian religion could he continue practicing Judaism? Probably in the 99.9% of the cases the answer would be - NO!

What about the other side of the coin? If a Christian wanted to become a convert to Judaism could he continue practicing Christianity? Now, the percentage moves upwards, probably in 100% of the cases the answer would be - NO!

It is very apparent that not only are Judaism and Christianity different religions, they are exclusive in many ways. This reveals an amazing fact which can be seen by asking one very simple question -- Which religion did Jesus belong to -- Christianity, Judaism or both?

(1) He was circumcised on the eighth day.

(2) He kept Sabbath from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown.

(3) He attended a synagogue regularly.

(4) He kept Passover, Shavuot, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah.

(5) He was a citizen of Israel.

(6) His Bible only contained the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings.

(7) He quoted passages from the Mishnah.

(8) He taught that Deuteronomy 6:4 was the most important commandment.

The answer to the above question is a matter of historical record -- Jesus was a Jew, not a Christian and he was certainly not both. It is clear that Jesus was a practicing Jew who lived a very observant lifestyle. An amazing discovery for any Christian is the fact that there is simply no evidence that Jesus ever renounced Judaism and quit being a Jew. Also, his teachings do not indicate that he ever wanted any Jew to renounce their Judaism and join a new religion. How then, did he get credited with the distinct label that he was the person responsible for creating a new religion? Especially a religion which opposed the religion and way of life he continued to live? Can you answer the questions raised by such an assumption:

(1) Would a rabbi prohibit circumcision?

(2) Would a rabbi change the Sabbath to another day?

(3) Would a rabbi create a replacement for the synagogue?

(4) Would a rabbi substitute a pagan feast which was clearly idolatrous, Ishtar (Easter), for Passover?

(5) Would a rabbi want his followers to celebrate the birth of a Roman god (Saturnalia - December 25)?

(6) Would a rabbi teach his students to not keep the biblical commandments?

(7) Would a rabbi teach Gentiles to hate Jews?

(8) Would a rabbi add books to the Torah?

(9) Would a rabbi replace Deuteronomy 6:4 as the most important commandment?

The answer to all the above questions is that a rabbi wouldn't, and that includes a rabbi named Jesus! If Jesus didn't create a new anti-Jewish religion, who did? Was it the men who acquired leadership after Jesus' departure? Did they continue teaching his message or did they change things?

The book of Acts provides us with some very valuable information. Acts 21:17-25 records Paul's return to Jerusalem and his meeting with the leaders of the "church." Keep in mind that these were the men who had been personally taught by and lived with Jesus. Their words provide us with some very enlightening information. The translation given below is based on a cultural and historical methodology. Your translation most probably reflects the doctrines of the Roman church and therefore may differ.

"You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have become faithful (observant). All of them are zealous for the Torah (Law). They have been informed that you have taught the Jews of the Diaspora to not keep the Torah, that they should not circumcise their children or live according to the Jewish religion.... Take these men and do the following... so that everybody will know that there is no truth in these reports about your teachings, but that you yourself are living an observant lifestyle and keeping the Torah."

A quick summary provides us with some very significant information. Is your church producing the same results?

(1) Jews became more faithful (observant) Jews because of the message.

(2) They became zealous for the Torah (Law).

(3) They kept the Laws of Moses (the Torah).

(4) They circumcised their children.

(5) They lived according to the traditions (Jewish religion).

Notice that Paul did as he was requested - he wasn't teaching the Jews to abandon their religion. Paul was "under the law" and lived an observant lifestyle. How then could he have been the author of a doctrine that advocated rejecting the law?

I don't mean to linger on this point forever, but are you really getting the importance of this message?

(1) The message of the apostles caused Jews to repent and become observant Jews who practiced Judaism faithfully.

(2) The apostles were causing Jews to become eager for the Torah and to pursue it with fervor. It is clear that they were not teaching them that "they were under grace and no longer under the law." This one point is in complete opposition to most fundamental teaching of every modern Christian doctrine.

(3) The Jewish members of the early church continued to circumcise their children. In other words, they continued to see themselves as participant's in the Abrahamic Covenant, just as every practicing Jew does today. Their children were Jews, not members of some new mystical religion that replaced Judaism.

(4) The Jewish members of the early church continued to practice Judaism. They did not switch to a new religion.

(5) When we look at Paul's actions, after being asked to take the men to the Temple to prove that he was an observant Jew, we are faced with two possibilities: (A) Paul intentionally deceived the apostles and the Jews in Jerusalem; or, (B) Paul's image and/or the teachings attributed Paul may have been altered by the Roman Church a hundred or more years later.

Did Paul intentionally deceive the apostles? After all they were the men who lived with and were personally taught by R. Jesus for three years. If Paul did deceive them, could you put much confidence in his teachings? On the other hand, if Paul's words were changed by the Roman Church could we base our foundational beliefs on forged documents?

Christianity, almost universally, requires a Jew to convert to Christianity before he can become a member of the church or be saved. This conversion process forces the Jew to renounce his or her Judaism and terminate or redefine any Jewish practices. Just answer the following questions.

(1) Would your church require a Jew to renounce or stop practicing Judaism if he or she wanted to become a member?

(2) How many circumcisions have you attended for the children of Jewish members of your church?

(3) How many of your church's members are zealous for the Torah and are pursuing it with fervor?

(4) Does your church conduct at least one Torah study per week?

(5) How many of your church's Jewish members are observant Jews?

(6) When was the last time you attended a Rosh HaShanah or Yom Kippur service at your church?

(7) Do you have a rabbi or a minister leading your church? Your answers to the above questions are probably -- Yes, None, None, No, None, Never and Minister.

I want you take some time to think about the next question before you answer it. What would your church require a rabbi to do if he applied for membership?

Would they allow him to continue to be a rabbi, practice Judaism, teach the Torah, wear his prayer shawl, observe all the Jewish festivals and teach the members that they were under the Law?

What if that rabbi was Jesus?

Is the light beginning to come on? Without a great deal of effort it becomes glaringly apparent that neither R. Jesus, the apostles nor the Paul of Acts 21, would be allowed to join a church. On the other hand, it is also clear that R. Jesus would not participate in any religion that not only opposes, but is actively dedicated to destroying his religion! Is it not true that the goal and stated mission of Christianity is to "save the world?" How is this mission to be accomplished? To put it very simply, the goal is to convert every non-Christian to Christianity. The convert must renounce any non-Christian religion, agree to accept the doctrines of Christianity and oppose any religion that opposes Christianity.

Instead of a physical Jihad (holy war), Christianity has engaged in a doctrinal Jihad. As I stated above, Christianity is an exclusive religion. Christians are not allowed to simultaneously practice Islam, Buddhism, Judaism or any other religion. Therefore, if Christianity was to attain its goal of "getting every person on the face of the earth to believe in Jesus," including all the Jews, Judaism would be totally destroyed and cease to exist.

This would accomplish something that the crusaders, the inquisition, Hitler and a number of others have failed to accomplish. How do you think R. Jesus would react to the idea that such a mission was being carried out in his name? This really gets weird when you think about it! Christians base their proof for their ultimate salvation on a Jewish rabbi named Yeshua (Jesus), who was an observant Jew who faithfully practiced Judaism. On the one hand, his religion would most probably not allow him to practice modern Christianity. On the other hand, modern Christianity would not allow him to practice its religion without first renouncing his religion -- Judaism!

This should present a very important challenge to every Christian -- If R. Jesus could not, and would not, practice a religion dedicated to destroying his religion, how can anyone who bases their salvation on R. Jesus participate in and perpetuate it? Would R. Jesus agree with a salvation message being based on such a system? Are you getting the drift of this discussion?

How did the religion that R. Jesus and his followers practice evolve into what it is today? To begin to unravel this problem lets ask how a religion whose foundational position focused on teaching its members "to keep the Law" became a religion whose main message was that "members are no longer under the Law."

Early Christian writers taught that the Law had been fulfilled with the coming of Jesus. Fulfilled, as they defined it, meant that it had been canceled and therefore was of no importance to Christians. However, to R. Jesus, "fulfilled" meant (1) to keep the Law; and (2) to correctly interpret the teachings of the Bible. There is absolutely nothing said by R. Jesus that would support modern Christianity's doctrine of grace.

Next, the Roman Christian leaders focused on the story of God's unconditional and unending support. However, they claimed that this was something new and was created when God made a new covenant of grace. Again, this was unknown to R. Jesus and his apostles. Early Gentile Christian leaders and theologians continued to develop their new doctrines from the mid-second century on through the seventh century. As they refined their arguments they became much more antagonistic toward Judaism.

The anti-Judaic movement spanned almost all of Christianity -- from the Roman African communities represented by Tertullian (160-220 C.E.), to the Iranian monk Aphrahat (300-350 C.E.) of the eastern Syriac Christian tradition, and to Bishop John Chrysostom (349-400 C.E.) in Antioch.

Studies have clearly shown the extent to which leaders of the early church attacked Judaism for its position on the law, calling Jews "slavish adherents to the letter of the law." They claimed that Judaism was allowed to continue to exist primarily as an example of degradation. What do you think that rabbi Jesus would have thought about that position?

Origin, the third-century leader of the Christian community in Caesarea, summed up the difference between Judaism's and Roman Christianity's approaches to Scripture:

"It seems necessary also to explain how certain people by failing to read or understand Scripture correctly have given themselves up to a great many errors, since the way one ought to approach the understanding of divine letters is unknown to a great many people. And so, the Jews, through the hardness of their heart and because they wish to seem wise in themselves, have not believed in our Lord and Savior....

Now the reason that those we have just mentioned [Jews and heretical Christians] have a false understanding of these matters is quite simply that they understand Scripture not according to the spiritual meaning but according to the sound of the letter....

[But] a person ought to describe threefold in his soul the meaning of divine letters, that is, so that the simple may be edified by, so to speak, the body of the Scripture's; for that is what we call the ordinary and narrative meaning. But if any have begun to make some progress and can contemplate something more fully, they should be edified by the soul of Scripture. And those who are perfect... should be edified by that spiritual Law (Rom. 7:14) which has a shadow of the good things to come (Heb. 10:1), edified by the spirit of Scripture. Thus, just as a human being is said to be made up of body, soul, and spirit, so also is sacred Scripture, which has been granted by God's gracious dispensation for man's salvation."

This new scheme for reading Scripture, and the charge that Jews miss all but the literal meaning, made for powerful arguments. Origin's dichotomy between "letter" and "spirit," or in other words, between reading biblical materials either at their face value for norms of behavior and as a more generalized stance toward the world, set the stage throughout history for Christians to increase the fervor of the charge of legalism. Legalism became synonymous with Jewish, and therefore was viewed in a negative light. However, the word "legalism" simply means someone that "lives in accordance with or adheres to a legal system." What would you call someone who "did not adhere to or live in accordance with a legal system"-- a Christian? The products of this anti-Jewish tradition still shapes the thoughts of over 1.6 billion Christians regarding Judaic law.

I am challenging every Christian to make a decision to return to the religion, teachings and lifestyle expounded by R. Jesus. There will be some differences between what the Gentile and the Jewish Christian will need to do. First, let me address the Jew who has converted to Christianity. As I stated above, according to the book of Acts, your conversion experience should have made you zealous for the Torah and brought you back to an observant lifestyle. Has it?

Becoming a member of R. Jesus' movement should have caused you to become a serious student of the Torah. You should be teaching the Torah to others, especially the flood of Gentiles who are coming to you to be taught. Is there any other way for you to be a "light to the Gentiles?"

If you are a Gentile, you will also need to take a very close look at Acts 15. Gentiles who were coming to the movement originated by R. Jesus were given very special instructions. First they were to place themselves under specific laws. For all practical purposes those laws were the Ten Commandments. Of special importance was their keeping the Jewish Sabbath and studying the Torah at the synagogue with the Jews.

Keeping the Jewish Sabbath is something that you can do immediately, however; many of you may find it difficult to locate a synagogue where you will be allowed to study the Torah. For very good reasons, after thousands of years of persecutions, the Jewish community is very cautious. I believe that as Christian Jews return to the synagogue, because of the teachings of R. Jesus, the doors will be opened wider to Gentiles desiring to know the God of R. Jesus.

Two things must be kept in mind as both Jews and Gentile Christians choose to return to the teachings of rabbi Jesus. First, almost two thousand years of conflict between Judaism and Christianity has left many scars. Both religions have developed reactionary doctrines and theologies. A reactionary doctrine created as a reaction to the another religion's actions or doctrines.

An example would be the Jewish position concerning kneeling for prayer. Because Christians knelt for prayer, the Jews took the position that they should no longer kneel but stand for prayers. Judaism altered its form of worship because of this practice of Christianity. There have been many reactionary doctrines created both between and within both religions. This is an area of research that deserves much attention. I would challenge my readers to consider such a research project.

It must be kept in mind that the Judaism of Jesus is not exactly the same as the Judaism of today. Also, the movement attributed to Jesus is not the same as modern Christianity. Obviously, many things have taken place since the time of Jesus which resulted in the separation and numerous differences between the two religions.

It is of the utmost importance for both Christians and Jews to understand these changes. You must know when the changes were made, identify the people who were responsible for making the changes, and discover why they made them? Which changes were motivated by inspiration, which were produced by the hunger for power and wealth and which were the results of human frailties such as anger, rejection, fear and hatred?

As you embark on this journey you will quickly come to realize that you have stumbled upon the greatest cover-ups in history. To compare it to the JFK controversy is like comparing an elephant to an ant! Two very important factors confront everyone who explores this territory:

(1) Leaders, especially scholars, have always been aware of this information and have deliberately chosen to ignore it.

(2) Information itself is virtually within the grasp of every American. In many cases it is as close as an encyclopedia.

Today, there are over 1,600,000,000 Christians on the face of the earth -- a sleeping giant, just waiting for the wake-up call. If they all returned to the teachings and life-style taught in Acts, we would see a moral and ethical revolution that would literally rock the foundations of the world. Would your church allow you to REALLY be like Jesus?

Copyright 2008: Jim Myers http://www.biblicalheritage.org

Printed with permission by: Olive Tree Ministries, Waxahachie, Tx

http://otwaxahachie.blogspot.com

Q.Why is Easter before Passover this year

2008-03-24T06:58:00.000-07:00

A.This is a perfect example of how Christianity has
departed from the Word of God and follows man-made
traditions. Constantine presided over the Council of
Nicea in 325 A.D. He did not want Christianity to have
anything to do with Judaism because he thought the
Jews were a cursed people and Christians should have
nothing to do with them or their religion. Little did
he realize that the festivals were given by God and
were His holy days, but Constantine didn't let truth
get in his way. Sadly, many professing Christians
believe the same thing and blindly follow along.

Among
many other changes, Constantine wanted to "root out
the last vestiges of Judaism"( his actual quote) being
practiced by professing Christians. One of the items
being discussed at this council was when to set
Easter. Now, God had set biblical festivals in the
Scriptures and they can be found in Leviticus 23.
Yeshua was crucified on Passover, buried on the first
day of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of First Fruits
was to be on the first day of the week during the
seven days of Unleavened Bread. He resurrected from
the dead just after sundown on the Sabbath and the
beginning of the first day of the week (Saturday to
Sunday).

The biblical festivals are blueprints to
God's plan of redemption. The 7th day Sabbath and
these seven festivals teach eschatology and Yeshua has
fulfilled( given meaning to) the first four biblical
festivals on the day God has commanded us to celebrate
them. These are called the Spring Festivals. The
remaining three are called the Fall Festivals and
have a future fulfillment and they are also related to
the redemptive plan of God. Yom Tereuah, or Rosh Ha
Shana teaches the catching away of the Bride and the
resurrection of those dead in Messiah. It also teaches
the Judgment of believers (in heaven) and the wedding
and coronation of Messiah. These festivals have been
commented on in past articles.

The next festival is
Yom Kippur and it teaches the second coming of
Messiah, the death of the false Messiah and the
beginning of the judgment of those who have survived
the tribulation period. There are five days between
Yom Kippur and the next festival it is during these
five days that Yeshua will judge those survivors in
Jerusalem. This judgment is described in Matthew 25.
Then five days after Yom Kippur the final festival is
called Sukkot (tabernacles) and this festival teaches
the Messianic Kingdom and the setting up of that
Kingdom on earth by Yeshua, to be administered by His
Queen, the true believers who have been born-again and
have followed Him in this life.

With that brief
overview, we can get back to what happened.The Romans
didn't like the Jews and this goes back centuries
before Constantine. Julius Caesar allowed the Jews to
practice Judaism in the empire when other defeated
nations were not allowed to practice theirs. This
brought on jealousy among the people and an
anti-Jewish attitude. Their laws and practices were
far diferent than any other religion also, but all
that was a part of God's plan. From 70 A.D. to 325
A.D. three major wars were fought between Rome and
Israel. Many lost loved ones and anything Jewish was
seen as unpatriotic as far as the Romans were
concerned. At the same time Gentiles were coming into
the faith and did not like the idea of practicing a
religion so many didn't like or even want to
understand. Jewish leadership and influence became
less and less in the congregations the further you got
way from Israel. This allowed pagan influences to
cloud interpretation of the Scriptures because these
people had not grown up in the faith practiced by the
very people they were reading about. So, tiny changes
began to creep into the one, true faith given by God
and then the Gentile voice became louder than the
Jewish voice, one change upon another till finally
something had to be done.

The epistles are full of
admonitions to believers to continue in the Torah as
delivered by the apostles which centered on Torah
observance with Yeshua at the center and not the
rabbinic additions that were also being taught. So the
Messianic believer was being influenced by rabbinic
traditions on one side and apostate Gentile influences
on the other. This continued until 325 A.D.
Constantine was pragmatic and a politician and he knew
all these religious factions were tearing apart the
Empire. You had Gentile Christianity, Saturnalia,
Bacchanalia, plain paganism, Mithraism to name just a
few. Apostate Christianity was stronger than most so
he called a council to get these groups together on
doctrines and creeds. What he did not want is anything
that resembled Judaism at all. One of the areas
discussed was what festivals were to be observed.
Constantine was a sun-worshipper at the time he
presided over this council.

He was the high priest of
Mithraism called the "pontifus maximus" (sound
familiar?)and he favored things that was "mithraic" in
nature. You can do a Google search on Constantine and
Mithraism to find the full story, but he wanted the
Jewish roots out and fast. I think it is very sad that
Christianity claims to have Jewish roots when in fact
the church fathers condemned anything Jewish and tried
to stamp it out by changing everything. This attitude
is alive and well even today, believe me.
Christianity's roots are more Mithraic paganism than
Jewish. But, to answer your question now, Constantine
did not want their "Easter" (look up what that name
means) to coincide with the Jewish Passover for all
the above reasons. So, they decided to set Easter for
the first Sunday (remember he was a sun-worshipper)
after the first full moon after the spring equinox.

They changed God's seventh day Sabbath (Saturday) to
the first day of the week ( called Sunday) because
Constantine worshipped the sun and that became the
"Lord's Day" and they did not want to keep the same
Sabbath Day the cursed Jews were keeping. Little did
they realize that this day was designated by God
Himself, not the Jews. Easter was the same way and
Constantine got his wish and so did the other church
fathers and so their Easter would have nothing in
common with the Jewish Passover, including the date
and that is what has been practiced by Christians ever
since.This council evolved into the Roman Catholic
Church and then the protestant churches came out of
that. But, the protestants follow many of the same
apostate beliefs and have more in common with each
other than differences. Few probably even noticed or
cared that they had they celebrated the resurrection
before the Passover this year, but at least now you
know why.

Q. In your articles you mention the New Covenant but it seems different then what is taught in Christianity. What is the New Covenant then?- Gary

2008-03-24T06:56:00.000-07:00

A. You are right in noticing that the biblical concept of the New Covenant, or “testament” is different than what is generally taught in churches or Messianic synagogues. To understand I will go back and try to show what it is and then you will see what it isn’t. The New Covenant in Hebrew is called the “brit chadasha” which means a renewed or rebuilt covenant. When God gave the Torah on Mt. Sinai the people agreed to keep the commandments, ordinances, testimonies and judgments contained in it ( Ex 19.8). God wrote his 10 commandments on stone and gave the rest to Moses to record on scrolls. This covenant was ratified in blood (Exo 24.1-18) because a covenant is not considered legal or binding unless it is ratified in blood. In Deut 10.16 the Lord told the Israelites to circumcise their own hearts and obey Him. Well, the people didn’t obey and we know what happened to them in the wilderness. Now, here is a point that is largely overlooked in Christianity but it is important in understanding what the Renewed Covenant is. In the Mosaic Covenant the people were to circumcise their own hearts, but you can’t and they failed. Paul brings this point out in Hebrews 8.8 and said God found fault with the people. The covenant is perfect, righteous, holy and good (Rom 7.12) so he wasn’t talking about the Torah. He was saying the people were corrupt. So, God makes another covenant in Deut 29.1-30.14 called the Moabite covenant (that’s where it was made-Moab means “of the father”), besides or along side of the Mosaic Covenant not invalidating it, where He says that He will circumcise the hearts of the people giving them the desire to keep His commandmants (30.6). Jeremiah picks up on this theme of a renewed covenant in Jeremiah 31.31-34 where he says that the Torah (Mosaic covenant)will be written on the hearts of the people. He doesn’t say it will be a new law, but a new place for the same law. Instead of stone it will be written on the heart, giving them the desire to keep the commandments. This is known in Jewish thought as being “born again” or “rebuilt” (chadash)as in the covenant being rebuilt, renewed in our hearts. Ezekiel mentions this covenant in Eze 36. 24-27 where the Spirit will be within us causing us to walk in His commandments. That is another way of saying being born again. Yeshua said the same thing in John 3.1-21. Paul is contrasting the Law written on stones with the Law written on the heart in Hebrews 8. He said it is better to have the Lord circumcise our hearts (Spirit coming within and being born again) than to have it written on stone. He says the same thing in 2 Cor 3.6-7. The Law written on stone didn’t do anything because it wasn’t in the heart and it lead to death. The New Covenant promises that God will circumcise our hearts because we have life ( the Spirit=born again) and that is why it is better. Paul is contrasting the Mosaic covenant written on stone(which didn’t work out to well) with the Moabite, or renewed covenant, that is written by the Spirit on the heart. That’s why the Law kills but the Spirit gives life (Jn 3.5). Notice in Chapter 8 of Hebrews he doesn’t say it is a new “law” being written because the fault was not with the Law but with the people (8.8). He then quotes Jeremiah 31.31-34. This proves that the Law being talked about is the Mosaic Law because that is the Law Jeremiah had in mind when he wrote it. Paul merely says that the main difference between the Mosaic covenant and the Moabite/New covenant is not the content (the Torah) but where it was to be written. That can only be done by being born again by the Spirit of God. There is one Law for Jew and Gentile(Num 15.14-16) with the Gentile being grafted into the commonwealth of Israel (Rom 11.16-24, Eph 2.11-22). Some groups in Messianic Judaism teach that the Torah is only for Jews and Gentiles don’t have to keep it, but that is not true and is not supported by Scripture. God writes His Law on the heart, He doesn’t care if it is a Jewish heart or not. Remember there were Gentiles present at Mt. Sinai and He repeatedly said these commandments applied to them as well. Ruth followed the God of Israel and His commandments and said so. There weren’t separate laws for Jew and Gentile. You followed the Torah as it applied to you. Sabbath, festivals, sacrifices and other laws applied to everyone. Laws concerning the priesthood, or kings, only applied to those of priestly and kingly descent although everyone had to know them. One of the biggest organizations in the Messianic movement is called the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations and they don’t believe the Torah applies to Gentiles. Many Gentiles go to their synagogues and support them without realizing they are being lied to. They will tell you that a Gentile can keep the Torah if he wants to show his love for the Jewish people but they don’t have to because that is not the Gentile’s culture. Deep down they really wish they wouldn’t. It’s based on what is called covenantal covetousness that Jews have had for centuries and is still alive today. You see it in the book of Acts and it was at the root of the problem in Acts 15. They just did not like Gentiles keeping the Torah unless they were circumcised (converted to Judaism). They will take Gentile money, however. I know many Gentile people who go to UMJC synagogues that have no idea what they really believe and it is racist at its core. They are rebuilding the walls of man’s tradition that separated the Jew and Gentile in the first century. These synagogues are just churches with a kippah and a prayer shawl. They know that Jewish people will not accept the church so they come as wolves in sheep’s clothing (talit’s are made of wool by the way) and they present the Gentile/replacement gospel in a Jewish context to win Jews. I know of a leader of this organization who said their calling is not to teach the Torah to Gentiles. I’m sorry, but that is exactly the calling of the Jewish people. I personally know some of the leaders and have dealt with them before so this isn’t just an opinion. They get this idea from Christian theology about what the New covenant is because a lot of them were trained in Christian Seminaries. So, they keep the Gentiles at arm’s length by telling them that the Law doesn’t apply to them and then give them another lie about the so-called Seven Noahide laws. These are rabbinic concoctions that state that Jews keep the Torah and Gentiles these seven laws. In that way, the Jew can be on one side of the fence and the Gentile on the other side. So, now you have the dividing wall of partition rebuilt again by man-made tradition. All of these beliefs stem from a basic misunderstanding of what the New, or renewed, covenant really is. So, here it is in a nutshell. The Mosaic covenant was given but the people did not circumcise themselves and became stiff-necked. God makes another covenant in Moab before they enter the land, only this time He says that He will circumcise their hearts, giving them the desire to keep the commandments. Yeshua comes and ratifies this covenant with his own blood after the resurrection (Jn 7.39), the Holy Spirit now comes upon us and we are born again. As an evidence that we have truly been born again, we have a desire to keep His commandments. This is because the Torah is being written on our desires (hearts) now. If one opposes the commandments and says he doesn’t have to obey them because of some freakish theology foreign to the Scriptures, he probably isn’t born again. He can go to church or synagogue, sing, dance ,pray, work miracles, cast out demons but none of these are evidence he is born again (Mt 7.21-23). There is only one biblical evidence for being born again and that is obeying the Lord according to what He has written. When one comes in faith he keeps the commandments as they apply to him (1Cor 7.18-20).

Q. Where do you think the Garden of Eden was?

2008-03-10T07:43:00.001-07:00

A. I will give my opinion on it and some reasons why
but there is no way to get into a detailed study of it
in this article, but you can go to the Internet and do
some research on it. There are several sites offered
by many good scholars but I believe that the Garden of
Eden was in Jerusalem and the Land of Eden was Israel
and parts of Lebanon. Here are some reasons why but I
can't get into massive details here. First of all,
directions in the Bible are always from Jerusalem or
the land itself. So, when God says that He drove Adam
"east" it is from the future site of Jerusalem. Have
you ever asked yourself why that city and that land is
so special to the Lord? Now east of Jerusalem is one
of the oldest cities in the world called Jericho.
North of Jericho is a city called Adam and it was
where he lived according to some Jewish and Arabic
histories and traditions. Jewish tradition has Adam
and Eve buried in the cave at Machpelah, which is the
same cave Abraham bought and where the patriarchs are
buried, except for Joseph. God considers Israel His
land, set apart for His people. Ever wonder why He
drives His people out of the land when they don't obey
his commandments? Because He did the same thing to
Adam and Eve when they disebeyed! The Mishkan(or
Tabernacle) was seen as a miniature "Garden of Eden"
and later was replaced by the Temple of Solomon. But
they could not put the Temple just anywhere, it had to
be in a specific area and the place was eventually
shown to Samuel and David. But David could not build
the Temple because he was a "man of blood" and so his
son Solomon (peace) would build it. The reason is
simple. The Temple was going to be on the actual site
of the Tree of Life and a man of death could not
restore it. It was sin that resulted in death that
caused man to be driven from the site of the Tree of
Lifein the first place, so a man of peace was the only
one who could restore it. He is obviously a picture of
Yeshua who will build the Temple seen by the Prophet
Ezekiel (Ch 40-48). Solomon was shown the pattern for
the Temple. Now when you read about what he built you
will see that the Holy of Holies made with a garden
motif.There were trees and pomegranates everywhere. He
also built two 14 ft. Cherubim that stood in the Holy
of Holies to guard the Tree of Life and no man could
get near that spot except one time a year, on the
tenth day of Tishri, called the Yom Kippur. Many
believe it was on the tenth of Tishri that Adam sinned
and it became an idiom for Yom Kippur to this day.
That's why God allowed the High Priest to approach the
Tree of Life one day only. Was it because it was on
that day Adam sinned, and the second Adam (symbolized
by the High Priest) must make atonement?
Ever wonder why the Middle East has so much oil? Could
it be because of the compressed vegetation from Eden?
Eden was not a small place originally. In the Book of
Revelation we see the restored Eden, called the New
Jerusalem, coming out of Heaven having a length and
width of 1500 miles. God drove Adam out of the Garden
area east, and if you go to Jerusalem today and travel
just east of the city you come to the Judean
wilderness. Jerusalem and it's surroundings are green
and was very luxurious anciently, but going east of
the city it became desolate and seemingly "cursed" and
a stark contrast to the city, just like what God told
Adam. In Ezekiel 28.13-14 it talks about Eden being
the "garden" and "mountain of God" and that seems to
point to Mt. Moriah. Another name for Mt. Moriah is
"Har- Moghed or "Har magedon" which means "mount of
the appointed times" (Isa 14.13, Rev 16.16). Where did
God go to "meet" Adam every day? That's right, on that
mount where the Temple would stand. You see, the
battle that raged in the garden is still the battle
today. Are you going to keep the Lord's appointed
times found in the Torah (festivals, Sabbath) or are
you going to replace them with a satanic counterfeit
like Christmas and Easter (notice there is "east"
again). The battle of Armageddon is over whether or
not one is going to obey God and His Torah. If not,
you will not have a place on His Holy mountain, the
site of the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life.
Ezekiel describes a river that will once again flow
from beneath the Temple (Garden) just like it did in
Genesis 2.10. Now remember, Yeshua was crucified on
Mt. Moriah and probably very near the spot where Adam
originally sinned. Remember it was from a forbidden
(by God) tree that he ate from and it is possible that
that tree was just north of the Tree of Life in the
Garden of Eden. That's why Yeshua was crucified on a
tree, north of the Holy of Holies (the original site
of the Tree of Life)and near a garden, on the spot
where Adam may have sinned so long ago. Now, since the
goal of the plan of God is the restoration of all
things, it would seem to be in the order of all things
to restore the Tree of Life back in it's proper place.
Noah's flood changed the topography of the area and so
it would be impossible to actually locate the Garden,
the Tree of Life and how the rivers interacted today,
but I believe the Lord has given us plenty of signs as
to where it may have been. When we see the roles that
the Land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem and Mount
Moriah has played in Bible prophecy and in the
redemption of mankind, I believe that gives us a
strong indication as to where the Garden of Eden
really was. But that is my opinion on it for what it's
worth. That's one of those questions I'm still working on.

Q. In Revelation 5.1 there is a scroll with seven seals that only Yeshua will be able to open. Is this scroll the Bible ?

2008-03-03T14:06:00.001-08:00

A. Yes, the scroll sealed with seven seals is the Scriptures. A King is to have a copy of the Torah in his possession at all times. It is to be written himself and used to carry out righteous judgment. Revelation 4 describes the coronation of Yeshua and as a good Jewish King, He will have a written copy of the Scriptures for Himself and it is these Scriptures that He uses to dispense judgment during the Tribulation and to govern Israel and the nations during the Kingdom. Some of the prophetic scriptures are sealed until the last days and then they will be revealed then (Dan 12.4) and that is what is going on in Revelation. The number seven relates to perfection and completion and the scroll is written in the inside (meaning there is some understanding to the prophecies), and on the back (meaning there are other things hidden about the prophecies). The Lamb is the only one worthy to fulfill or accomplish the prophecies and to carry them out. These seals relate to prophecies already given and if you compare the seals you will see that they relate especially to Mt 24.1-30.

Q. Why don’t Messianic believers celebrate Yeshua’s birth, death and resurrection on appropriate days and feasts. I’d be interested in your response.

2008-03-03T14:05:00.002-08:00

A. Messianic believers do celebrate many aspects of Messiah’s life but they are not according to man-made traditions or dates set by man. We don’t celebrate Yeshua’s birth because it was never deemed to be important. Even first century believers, who wrote the Scriptures and set up congregations, never celebrated His birth on any particular day or fashion. His own mother didn’t get everyone together and do a celebration. Secular as well as ecclesiastical history about Christmas will tell you that his birth was not celebrated for hundreds of years, and they didn’t even know what day it was. The Council of Nicea finally decided on a day that was used in paganism to worship the sun deity, but even that day wasn’t agreed upon by all and to this day a day in January is still observed by others. As far as His death is concerned , we have a day called Passover that brings out what happened very well. He was taken down from the cross and buried by the next feast called Unleavened Bread. He raised from the dead on the next feast called the feast of First Fruits. The next feast is Shavuot (Pentecost) when the Holy Spirit was sent and when the Torah was given at Mt. Sinai. Then comes the long summer and then the wheat harvest. The next feast is Yom Teruah (day of the awakening blast) or Rosh Ha Shanah and it teaches the catching away of the Bride to the wedding and coronation of the King. The next feast is Yom Kippur and it teaches the second coming of Messiah and the destruction of the false messiah. The seventh and last feast is called Sukkot and it is the Feast of Nations and the ingathering of the harvest. This feast teaches about the coming Messianic Kingdom. Last but not least we have the weekly Sabbath where all these subjects are touched on. The feast can be found in Leviticus 23 and these were the feasts celebrated by Yeshua and His followers, not what Christianity and other religions may have replaced them with. So, as you can see, the significant events in Yeshua’s life are celebrated and they are linked to our redemption and are the blueprints for prophetic events.

Q. Aren’t the people who are against Christ’s work actually “anti-Shemitic?”

2008-03-03T14:05:00.001-08:00

A. Technically yes but one needs to understand what the word means. I notice that you use the term “Shemitic” so I want to address that first. The term anti-Shemitic is the same thing as anti-semitic and it means prejudice or hostility towards the Jewish people as a religious, racial or ethnic group. The word’s history does indicate that it is directed against all those who speak “Shemitic” languages because it is from the Hebrew word “shem” which means “name” and it was the name of the third son of Noah. It was used to refer to a language family whose origins were in the Middle East consisting of, but not limited to, such groups like the Akkadian, Assyrian, Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Canaanite people and language groups. Now, Shem, the son of Noah, had 5 sons named Aram, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud and Elam and it was from these that the “shemitic” family and language groups descended. The term “anti-semitic” (antisemitisch in German) was first used around 1860 and it is exclusively used to refer to the hostility towards the Jewish people. It is applied when referring to the hostility and hatred towards the Jews as a racial group and towards Judaism and Torah observance in a theological context as well. For instance, the holocaust would be an example of racial hostility towards Jews and replacement theology (any system that replaces the Torah and the keeping of the commandments) is an example of theological anti-semitism. One is what would be called “overt anti-semitism” while the other would be “covert anti-semitism.” With all that in mind, let’s get to the heart of your question. I would have to know what you mean by “Christ’s work”, so bear with me because I’m going to try and answer it not knowing what you mean. Much of what passes for “His work” today is really covert anti-semitism. So to oppose it would actually not be anti-semitic, but supporting biblical Messianic Judaism, and therefore not anti-semitic. Remember, Yeshua and the believers of the first century, including all those who wrote the New Testament, were Torah-compliant Jews and they were considered a sect of Judaism. As replacement theology crept into the faith the people began to turn away from the Scriptures and accept a religious system that replaced the Torah and the commandments. This happened over a period of 300 years and the system culminated in the Council of Nicea where Constantine said that they were there to “root out the last vestiges of Judaism.” This led to a corrupt doctrine that teaches that the Torah has been done way with (Sunday replaced Saturday, Christmas, Easter, St. Valentine’s Day replaced Passover and the biblical festivals, pork replaced kosher and so on) that is still being taught today. So, it is this system of replacement theology that really opposes the Messiah’s work and that would be considered anti-semitic in a theological context at the very least. The prophets warned us in the last days that people would be calling good (Torah observance) evil and evil (non-Torah observance or “lawlessness”) good. I hope this answers your question.

Q. How does Shem fit in into the bloodline of Jesus?

2008-03-03T14:04:00.003-08:00

A Yeshua descended through Shem’s son Arpachshad (Luke 3.36)

Q. Who was Judas Priest and what did he do in history?

2008-03-03T14:04:00.001-08:00

A. Judas Priest is a rock band not a real person.

Q. In Rom 7.1-6 doesn’t Paul say that the Law has been done away with when we believe in Jesus?

2008-02-17T17:09:00.000-08:00

A. The answer to the question in the question. How can one say that now that I believe in Yeshua I don’t have to keep the commandments! Didn’t Yeshua say the opposite. So if Paul kept the commandments (and he did) then Paul is saying something else here. Here is what I believe he is saying. He assumes his listeners have a knowledge of the Torah (Law) because it is the framework that this passage is understood. The basic scripture for understanding what Paul is saying will be Deut 24.1-4. Paul is going to use the Jewish concept of marriage to teach the spiritual concept that we are free from the condemnation of the Law through our old nature/sin. So, we have characters assigned to this metaphor for this principle to be understood. The woman is a picture of the us, who at one time was “married” to the old nature/sin and it’s impulses. We “obeyed” our “husband” like a good little wife and was subject to “him” (the old nature/sin-Rom 7.1 =“bound”).The problem was he was “killing” us in the ultimate case of spousal abuse. The Torah is like a marriage counselor/manual and has advised us (the woman/wife)of what the problem was and what to do about it. So, in v 4 Paul says that we were made to die to that part of the Torah that condemned us through our old nature/sin (the 1st husband) so that we can be joined (or married)to another husband (the 2nd) who is Yeshua. We are released (divorced=Rom 7.6) from the 1st husband (that part of the Law that condemned us). We can never go back to the 1st husband (condemnation) once we have been divorced from him (Deut 24.1-4). So, the Torah is like a marriage counselor who leads us through this marital crisis. We must leave or die, it’s just that simple. People get angry with the “marriage counselor” (Torah/Law/commandments) for giving good, holy, righteous advice (v12-13) on how to deal with the 1st husband and don’t want to listen. Some will say “I have the Holy Spirit so I am set free from the Law” ,misunderstanding v6. But, the Holy Spirit uses the “marriage counselor/manual “of the written Word of God (Torah) , not away from it. Anyone who says that the Holy Spirit has lead them away from keeping the commandments is deceived at best. Paul goes on in Chapter 7 to describe the struggle within a believer now that she (believer) has “remarried” another (v14-25). The 1st husband (flesh) continues to make demands on his former spouse (us) and sometimes we listen to it do what he (the 1st husband says) which is called sin. But we need to remember that we are “divorced” from him and he (the 1st husband) does not have any rights over us anymore. For example, the 1st husband will say “you don’t have to keep the Sabbath, keep biblical festivals, you can eat pork and catfish, you are free from the Law just like you were when we were married”. But, you have a new husband now (Yeshua) and He says “if you love Me keep the commandments” and it is by this we know we have eternal life (1Jn 2.1-5). One who contends with the marriage counselor (Torah) about obeying the advice given and says” I don’t want to listen to your counsel” probably does not really want a divorce from the 1st husband in the first place, or thinks he is divorced and really isn’t. The Torah as a counselor says that the believer’s (wife) marriage to the 1st husband (sin/condemnation) is over and that she must listen to her 2nd husband now. The wife (believer) listens to her husband’s voice (the Torah/marriage counselor) by faith through the Holy Spirit in our hearts (or inner promptings). In Romans 8.1 Paul says “Now (in light of all I have just said in chapter 7) there is no condemnation (what we are set free from in the Law, not the Law itself) for those who are in Christ Jesus (or married to the 2nd husband)”. We are set free from the servitude and marriage to the sin nature (our 1st husband) which condemned us. As you can see this has nothing to do with the false theology out there that says you don’t have to keep the biblical commandments but it deals with who you are married to.

Q. What does it mean in Zech 14.21 that there will no longer be Canaanites in the house of the Lord?

2008-02-10T18:28:00.000-08:00

A. To get the answer to that let’s back up to v 20. It says “on that day” and that is an expression meaning “when Messiah comes.” It goes on to say the vessels of the Temple in Jerusalem will be “holy’ or sanctified, set apart to the Lord. This tells us that when the Messiah comes there will be a Temple and sacrifices (see Ezekiel chapters 40-48) and everything there will be ritually clean. In v 21 some versions mention “Canaanite” and others “merchants” or “traffickers” which is the meaning of Canaanite. So, you could read it this way that “in that day, when Messiah comes, there will be no merchants or traffickers for money in the house of the Lord.” This is also a prophecy concerning Yeshua. When He cleansed the Temple of the moneychangers, the traffickers and the merchants it was a direct reference back to this verse. He was saying to the people that the Messiah had come and traffickers and merchants were not allowed in the house of God.

Q. In 1 Samuel 17.40 David picks up five smooth stones to kill Goliath. Does that have any significance?

2008-02-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

A. All the stories in the Bible have significance. There is tremendous meaning to what David is doing. In Deut. 32 Moses records a song and this is very eschatological, but we won’t get into all the prophecies there at this time but there is an interesting fact that has a bearing on the question. Moses describes God as a “Rock” and it is mentioned five times. The rock was a significant theme in the life of Moses because it was how he treated the ‘Rock” that had a role in whether he entered the promised land or not (Deut 32.51). He also wrote the five books of the Torah which is the foundation or cornerstone to all other Scripture. David is going to face Goliath in the name of the Lord so he picks up five rocks, one for every time the Rock is mentioned in Deut 32 and the five books of Torah. The Scriptures say that the rocks were “smooth” because the stream (living water) had fashioned them indicating that God had made them not man. David knew something about aerodynamics, or in this case how the “rock” moves through the air (the Ruach).He only needed the first one and of course Goliath is killed. David’s men kill four other “giants” related to Goliath in 2 Sam 21.22. In 2 Sam 22 David records a song very similar to Deut 32 and mentions God as a “Rock” five times again, so he recognized the significance. Now, this them of the rock will play out throughout Scripture and is clearly a reference to the Lord and Yeshua. In Dan 2 Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a giant (v 31) statue and Daniel gives the interpretation. A “rock” or stone uncut by human hands (smoothed by God) comes and strikes the” giant” again and destroys it (2.35,45), a direct allusion back to what David did. In Zechariah 12.3 Jerusalem is described as a “burdensome stone” that will lacerate, injure any nation that comes against it. The concept of the “rock” or stone is a major one in Scripture. We see Jacob resting on and anointing a stone on Mt. Moriah in Genesis 28, “the stone that the builders rejected is the cornerstone” in the Psalms, the confession by Peter (stone/rock) that Yeshua is the Messiah is the “rock” (cornerstone) on which Yeshua will build His eschatological congregation and He is of course the “rock” that was with congregation (Israel) in the wilderness and the concept goes on and on. So, David’s five stones have a very significant eschatological meaning.

Q. In Matthew 19.23-24 it talks about a camel going through the eye of a needle. I heard this was a gate in Jerusalem. Is this true?

2008-02-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

A. There is no historical evidence that the “eye of a needle” is a gate in the ancient city of Jerusalem and that was what Yeshua was referring to. But, repetition of this idea has given it “dogmatic” status in some circles. As the story goes in Scripture, Yeshua tells a man to give up his riches and follow him. The man becomes grieved because he was rich and decides not to follow Yeshua, prompting Yeshua to say that it is “hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven “and that it is” easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Now there are several things going on here. This verse is very similar an old Jewish proverb. There is a midrash ( which is a teaching or an interpretation)on the Song of Songs which says” “The Holy One said open for Me a door a big as a needle’s eye and I will open for you a door which may enter tents and camels.” This saying was showing God’s willingness and ability to accomplish His work in a person. Some have even suggested that the word “camel” in the Greek should read “rope” because they are almost exactly the same in Greek, with only one letter difference. But, either way the message is the same. He said it is hard ( but not impossible) for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven because it’s the work of the Lord. Now remember He is not necessarily talking about salvation alone when He talks about the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom is God’s rule in your life and it is hard for a rich man to totally give himself to what the Lord may want him to do because he is distracted by too many things. Remember the parable of the sower and the seed In Matthew 13.18-23. In v 22 he talks about the one who hears the word but the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. This is the idea Yeshua is getting at in this proverbial saying about camels and the eye of a needle and it is very unlikely that he was referring to a particular gate in the walled city of Jerusalem.

Q. I am trying to keep kosher but can I take medications that have a source in unclean animals?

2008-01-24T09:10:00.000-08:00

A. Many people have come to the conclusion that their diet consisting of pork, catfish, shrimp, lobster and the like is not biblical and want to follow the food laws found in Leviticus 11. They were on one extreme and are now trying to walk in a biblical lifestyle as described in the Torah. The problem is some go from one extreme to another. In their excitement they become over scrupulous and they actually “add to” the Torah which is just as bad as “detracting from” it (Deut 4.2). This can be a trap if we are not careful. Yeshua rebuked the Pharisees for adding things to their observance and teaching others to do the same. I will give you an opinion on this that I hope will help. In Matthew 23.24 Yeshua says that the Pharisees strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel. He was commenting on the fact that they used to strain their wine for gnats so that they would not accidently swallow one and using that practice to illustrate a spiritual principle. This implies that if something was smaller than a gnat they were allowed to drink it. This is the prevailing rule in Orthodox Judaism today , and they are really serious about not eating unclean things. They realize that kosher food may contain a small insect or rodent hair because it is impossible to prevent it from happening. Even the U.S. Government health standards for processed food allows for some of it. It just can’t be stopped. Anybody who thinks their food does not contain these things is wrong. In Israel there have been times when certain crops had tiny bugs in them and the rabbis told the people not to worry about it. You have to be pragmatic about things. What about enzymes and other ingredients derived from unclean sources? Some will say they are not allowed, but are they? We should avoid certain additives if it is a health issue or something, but does the Scriptures actually forbid it? I wouldn’t throw a piece of pork into something for flavoring but if a substance has changed through processing so that you could not tell what it is through a microscope, that is another issue. An example of this is gelatin. It can come from pork or beef but the rabbis consider Jell-O kosher because gelatin is not meat. When a substance goes through processing it actually changes and is called “davar chadash” or a new thing. The same thing happens in a garden. Unclean animals, bugs, worms die in the soil and decomposes and becomes part of the soil. We used to take dead carp and put it into gardens to decompose. Everyone has heard of a compost pile. The squash seed you plant transforms the soil as it is absorbed into a squash. When you eat the squash you aren’t eating decomposed animals, insects and worms. It has changed substances, or “davar chadash.” You have heard of the commandment to not eat blood. Does that mean you can’t have one molecule of blood? No matter what you do you will always have blood in a piece of meat. Kosher slaughtering does not remove it either. You can drain, salt, split, soak a piece of liver all you want and it still will have blood in it. If you kept the letter of the Law then you could not eat any meat or vegetables grown in soil. The spirit of the Law requires that we do not drink blood or use it in soups and so on like some do today. We should be diligent in following what the Lord has commanded concerning food but not over scrupulous about it, thus adding to the Torah. We get so concerned about tracing down the source of everything that has been molecularly changed anyway we miss the whole point of the dietary laws. We get concerned about things that aren’t even an issue with the Lord and we lose our peace. So, the basic rule I follow is that if something is smaller than a gnat I’m not going to worry about it. With that as a back-round, it is my opinion and the prevailing opinion of those who should know that it is allowable to take medications that may have been derived from an unclean animal, especially if it is a matter of health.

Q. Is the Book of Mormon Scripture?

2008-01-22T15:30:00.001-08:00

A. The simple answer is no and for two reasons, although there are more. First, the Scriptures were entrusted to the Jewish people (Rom 3.1-2) and the writer of the Book of Mormon was not Jewish. Secondly, even if he was you were not to add to or detract from what the Lord had already given Deut 4.1-2). These two facts alone just about eliminates every book out there that claims to be from God except one.