It goes without saying that many of us have a difficult time grasping the things of YHVH, especially when we first transition into our Faith Community. It’s one thing to decide to give up pork and shell fish and to start worshiping on Sabbaths as opposed to Sundays. But once we fully make that transition into the Faith, we begin accumulating more questions about our newly found Faith than we are ever able to find answers to.
Thus, many of us struggle:
In our understanding of how we are to properly walk out this Faith.
In our understanding of how to properly apply Torah to our day-to-day lives.
In our understanding of keeping Torah in accordance with the example and teachings given to us by Yeshua our Master (e.g., how does grace truly fit in with Torah-keeping? Why does Paul seem to teach in his writings that Torah was done away with? Do I circumcise my son(s)? How do I properly keep the Feasts and the weekly Sabbath? Am I doing this Hebrew Roots/Messianic thing right?
We struggle in our understanding of Father’s will for our respective lives? Are we supposed to evangelize the world/Christians/Jews? Or are we to focus all our energies on a vertical relationship with the Almighty?
We struggle in our understanding of scripture and spiritual matters in the midst of so many conflicting teachings, both within and without our Faith Community.
Indeed, there are a variety of reasons why so many of us struggle in our understanding of the things of YHVH. When we fail to accurately understand the things of Yehovah, which I truly believe are fully embodied in the Hebrew Roots/Messianic Faith, we become easy prey for the enemy. The enemy, according to Yeshua our Master, comes only to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10). It is that catastrophic failure to understand the things of our Faith that the enemy uses to side-line us and cause us to doubt; to sin; to sully our witness; to give in to that old nature that is just waiting to spring back into action and rob us of the victory we are suppose to have as Disciples of Yeshua Messiah and Children of the Most High Elohim. And it is that lack of understanding that often gets in our way of making any substantive advancement in our walk with Messiah.
Many of us find ourselves in religious and spiritual traps at various points in our journey. As a result of our lack of understanding of the things of YHVH, we find ourselves in places we have absolutely no business being in. Those places include:
Rabbinic Judaism.
Kabbalah.
Fringe groups such as black Israelitism and other racial and culturally exclusive groups.
Other fringe groups that perpetuate extra-biblical doctrines and teachings designed to deter our attentions away from the teachings of Yeshua and of Torah. Such groups include: the flat-earthers; the lunar sabbatarians; the Enochian calendar followers; and so many others.
Dubious ministries highlighting the teachings of self-serving preachers and teachers.
Isolationism, whereby we feel no one else has Truth out there (or has Truth that will satisfy us) and we choose to go it alone and keep the Faith in isolation.
Back in Fundamental/Traditional/Charismatic Christianity.
For those of us who are experiencing an overall lack of understanding of the things of this Faith and who are going through a particularly tough period of confusion, isolation, uncertainty, regret, resentment, and the like, there is hope and there are indeed answers to our many questions. However, we must understand that there is no true course of study; there is no true outline; there is no sanctioned protocol out there that defines how we are to walk out this Faith. Unlike most every other man-made system in existence today, Hebrew Roots/the Messianic Faith has no true prescribed walk. And many of us who come into this Faith have an extremely difficult time adapting to this seeming lack of organized way of life.
Contrary to outward appearances, our Faith is not disorganized at all. Yes, we are divided in various areas of our Faith—in our understanding of the Creator’s and Master’s revealed names; in our understanding of the Feast Days and a few others. Nevertheless, most of us realize that the general tenets of the Faith are firmly established and we practice them to the best of our understanding and ability. Consequently, it would appear that Father is fine with this current situation. I believe Father is looking to see the state of our hearts and the level of our faith and commitment to Him. This life that we’ve chosen surpasses any faith and commitment to man-made systems and religions.
The absence of an established method for walking out this Faith serves as a natural shield against the blight of religion. Religion by its very nature seeks to control its members by establishing protocols, traditions and rules that every member of that body is required to follow. We saw this very thing played out in Yeshua’s day with Rabbinic Judaism. As a religion, Judaism was foisted upon the Jewish nation. Originally developed by the so-called sages, Judaism was developed to be a wall/fence around Torah. Thus, it served to control virtually every aspect of every Jew’s life. The focus is shifted from YHVH and His commandments and instructions, to that of the religion’s instructions, traditions and protocols. It goes without saying that Father would not be pleased with this set-up.
Yeshua railed against Judaism’s control over the minds, hearts and souls of the people. He proclaimed that part of His mission was to deliver us from such systems. So it stands to reason that Master did not deliver unto us this Faith so that we would be subject to another iteration of Judaism. He came to bring us into an abundant life (John 10:10), free from religion, authoritative traditions and burdensome rules. The basis of that Faith is love: love of Father and love for our sisters and brothers. And contrary to conventional thinking, Torah was Yehovah’s love gift to fallen mankind. We, Abba’s chosen, have the sobering responsibility of demonstrating that life and love to the world through our obedience to Torah the way Master Yahoshua taught and live it.
Our chosen life is not one of man made rules, protocols and traditions, although at the core of our existence as humans, we desire to be ruled over by something or someone greater than ourselves; to be subject to something or someone greater than ourselves. It’s just that those things or persons that we look to be ruled by and subject to is not Yah.
The Apostle Paul taught that the mindset of the flesh is naturally hostile to God because it does not submit itself to Elohim’s Torah (Romans 8:7). We don’t mind being subject to the Christian Pastor or Bishop; subject to our bosses; subject to the organizations we pledge our allegiance to; subject to our spouses, our desires, our habits, our hopes and dreams, our friends and so many other things. But the things of Yah, we naturally tend to resist with every fiber of our being.
So the reason many of us struggle so in our understanding of the things of Yah—in our understanding of the Faith—has nothing to do, necessarily, with things or persons beyond our control. The reason we struggle so is because of us—our nature—our mindsets—our inability to let the former life go—and oh so many other reasons. I would have us consider just 5 of the innumerable impediments that cause us to struggle in our understanding of the Faith. In identifying those 5-reasons or impediments our understanding, if you will, I would have us consider potential solutions to overcoming those impediments.
The point in going over this rather obscure subject/topic is my desire that we as a community find freedom, restoration, peace, happiness and the greatest faith possible in our walk. If we can identify the reason for the difficulties that so many of us experience in our walk and understanding of the Faith, then just maybe we can search out and implement proper fixes to our uncertainties and confusions.
Now, this is not meant to be an exhaustive discussion on the topic. It is meant to get us on the right track to receive proper direction from Yah’s Spirit for our lives. For many of us right now, there is just too much noise that is preventing us from hearing Yah’s voice and from understanding His way of life and this Faith.
Discipleship training is essential to our effectively walking out this Faith and understanding the things of YHVH.
Probably one of the greatest tragedies we see happen so often to new members coming into our Faith Community is that they are not discipled. Most of us transition into this Faith Community of ours—wide-eyed and bushy-tail—ready to live Torah the way Yeshua taught us—only to be left to figure this whole Torah versus Yeshua versus Christianity versus the world thing out for ourselves. Unlike Christianity, Hebrew Roots/Messianic ministries, for the most part, are not geared to disciple people coming to Faith. Most of them are in the business of delivering Truth (e.g., teaching on the Feast Days, the weekly Sabbath, and a whole host of other Messianic topics). But rarely, if at all, do we find Messianic ministries willing to devote their resources to discipling incoming members to our Faith.
Discipleship is not necessarily the same thing as delivering and receiving teachings, although part of the discipleship process must involve the giving and receiving of teachings.
Master instructed His disciples turned apostles:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:19).
A disciple (in the Greek is matheteuo) is a pupil or student. A pupil or student is taught the ways of their master or teacher. There is a systematic and progressive course of training that is provided to the disciple by their master.
Yeshua systematically taught and modeled the Gospel of the Kingdom to His pupils who we’ve come to know simply as His disciples. Yahoshua systematically taught His disciples every aspect of living a life of Torah (i.e., the way Father originally meant for it to be understood and lived by His people) as well as living life in the Spirit. It was an intense time of training and preparation that culminated in the disciples being sent out and tested by Master (i.e.,. The 70). It was after Master ascended to Father that the process of discipling the nation peoples of the world became the ultimate responsibility and purpose of every disciple of Yeshua Messiah. That mandate has not changed in 2,000+-years.
Therefore, it goes without saying, that one of the top reasons so many in our Faith Community struggle in their understanding of the things of YHVH and of the Faith is that they’ve never been properly discipled. I was fortunate. When I first came in to this Faith walk, I was discipled for a short time by my brother-in-law. His guidance and instructions helped steer me in the proper direction and establish the basis upon which I was able to grow in my understanding of the Faith with minimal confusion and uncertainty. I’ve since come to realize that a great many converts to this Faith are not as fortunate as I was to have someone they trust disciple them. This is a serious problem that must somehow be remedied, more sooner than later.
Solutions to the Lack of Discipleship
It goes without saying that our Faith Community needs to assume the responsibility of discipling our newly transitioned members. When we are personally the conduit by which someone enters this Faith, it becomes our responsibility to get that individual discipled. It is irresponsible to leave that newly converted disciple to fend for themselves. The Messianic/Hebrew Roots landscape is filled with spiritual minefield and booby-traps, illusions, misinformation and false teachings and doctrines. If left alone, we stand to condemn our young to certain failure. It’s time that our community veterans step-up and provide the necessary discipleship.
Those of us who have never been properly discipled and who are still struggling in our understanding of the things of YHVH and of the Faith, must seek out competent discipleship training. We can approach responsible, doctrinally sound Messianic/Hebrew Roots ministries and ask if they have members who would help in our discipling and getting us up to where we need to be in the Faith. Or simply petition the Father to send the individual He has chosen to disciple us.
Now, it is certainly not unheard of to be discipled, I guess, by the Holy Spirit. Depending on the path that our respective journeys are taking, it is quite possible that Father will not have individuals in place to disciple us, at least not at the time we would prefer to have them at our disposal. In this case, it behooves us to give ourselves fully to the leading of the Holy Spirit, who will direct our path of discipleship.
We Don’t Have the Holy Spirit Operating in our Lives
The Holy Spirit helps us understand and recall to memory the things of the Faith.
This is the big one. I dare say that the Holy Spirit is not operating as it should or could in our Faith Community today. And part of the reason for this Holy Spirit drought, if you will, is that we tend to focus all our energies on accumulating knowledge. The other side to this is that many of us outright reject the things of the Spirit (e.g., some reject miraculous healings and other powerful manifestations of the Spirit in our lives). As a result of that rejection (or denial), we effectively cut ourselves off from revealed Truth and intervention by the Holy Spirit. We then lean to our own understanding of Scripture and the things of the Faith. We become no different than religious leaders and followers of first-century Judaism, dependent upon the traditions and rulings of the sages. We become cold and dismissive of those who we feel don’t measure up to our level of understanding. Some of us become odd-balls and outcasts in the Body of Messiah because we don’t possess the Spirit of Truth nor are we operating in the Spirit. In these cases, we are operating on our own and are distant from the Spirit of Truth.
Master promised us the gift of the Holy Spirit that is also known as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17; 15:26). The Spirit of Truth, according to Master, would guide us into all truth; unto all understanding (John 16:13).
We should realize that Master Yeshua operated 24/7 in the Spirit as it was prophesied that “the Spirit of YHVH would be upon Him;” and indeed it was (Luke 4:18; cf. Isaiah 61:1). And it was because Yeshua exclusively operated in the Spirit that He knew the Truth and was able to rightly divide and deliver that Truth like no other before or after Him (Mark 1:27; Luke 4:36).
If Yeshua operated in the Spirit 24/7, and we are supposed to conform to His image (Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2), why would we even consider NOT living in the Spirit? Refusing or denying the things of the Spirit is committing spiritual suicide (Luke 12:10).
When we do not have the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Truth–operating in us, it becomes virtually impossible at times to understand the things of YHVH and of the Faith. The things of YHVH are beyond the carnal man’s ability to properly process and appreciate. The things of YHVH and of our Faith are Spirit-driven (John 4:23, 24).
Father revealed of Himself through the Prophet Isaiah:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares YHVH. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8,9; NASB).
The things of YHVH are foreign to our carnal sensibilities. Therefore, it only stands to reason that we must figure out the means by which to make sense of the things of YHVH and of the Faith.
Solutions to not Having the Holy Spirit Operating in our Lives
It goes without saying that each of us must seek the infilling and revelatory power of the Holy Spirit so that we may understand the things of YHVH and of our Faith. Otherwise, we will continue to struggle in our understanding of a great many things of the Faith.
We must get on our knees and seek the infilling of the Ruach HaKodesh. We must also resolve to walk in the power and might of the Holy Spirit. Somehow we must get over the lie that the things of the Spirit are not for Messianics/Hebrew Rooters. It’s simply not true. If our Master operated exclusively in the Spirit, and His hand-picked disciples turned apostles operated in the Spirit; and we’re told to imitate Messiah, it then becomes a “no-brainer” that we have to somehow get the Holy Spirit working full-force and perpetually in our lives. Yeah, we are going to have to, once again, die to ourselves in order to make that happen I’m afraid.
If we have not already done so, we need to be baptized and receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit sooner than later. If this has not been done or if we have no idea how we would be baptized (e.g., logistically or circumstantially) and receive the Holy Spirit, even with the laying on of hands by true disciples of Yeshua Messiah, we simply must ask and trust YHVH to make provisions for that to happen. It may not happen in our time, but it will happen, if we trust and are obedient to Him. Let us allow Father to guide us where He would have us go or to whom He would have us contact, so that we may receive the Holy Spirit. Then let us walk and operate in the power and authority of Father’s precious Holy Spirit, His Ruach HaKodesh, at all times and not grieve the workings thereof in our lives (Ephesians 4:30).
The Bible is the compass to our destiny. For this post we will consider those impediments that block our understanding of the Bible and prevent us from Living in the Faith taught by the Word of Yehovah. Many of us have a hard time grasping the things of Yehovah because there are things in our life that impede us from receiving and understanding the scriptures; forming barriers on how to grow our understanding of the Faith. There are many impediments that we could explore, but today we will look at a few.
Reason #1: We lack the time for Bible reading and Bible study.
Despite having ready access to modern technology, most of still suffer from having too little time to devote to Bible reading and Bible study. This seriously impact our ability to teach the Bible to our children and to apply its treasures to our own lives.
Our daily schedules are more often than not, filled to overflowing. We have very little time to fit Bible reading and Bible study into our daily lives. By the end of a busy day we are generally exhausted and lack the physical and mental energy to read, much less, study to grow our understanding of the Faith.
The problem is not limited to our having full schedules: many of us simply do not have a good enough understanding of the enormous value of regular study of Scripture on our personal time; and so we do not factor it into our daily lives as a priority. Most of us do not realize that the enemy of our soul is constantly at work creating schemes to bombard us with distractions to consume our time. Because we are unaware of this fact, we become entrapped in his schemes and end up with no time or less time to read the Bible. The cumulative effect of this trap leads us to not being able to grow our understanding of the Faith, due to not having the time to read and study the scriptures.
Abba communicates with us primarily through His Word. When we don’t properly read and study the Bible, we miss that which Father has to tell us.
Reason #2: The Bible is too confusing.
Most of us lack knowledge of the culture, language and historical background of the Hebrew people featured in the Bible. This lack of knowledge not only creates misunderstandings, but also leads us to interpret the Bible through our western mindset, ideals and understanding; or through the eyes of our Christian denominations.
Bible reading becomes even more confusing when we do not understand the Hebrew mindset of the writers and the people to whom it was written. Knowing what was affecting the people at the time to cause them to lose their faith or walk away from the Faith is key to understanding the messages written. Each message is written to God’s covenant people, the nation of Israel. And today, those same messages speak to those who desire to enter into covenant and remain in covenant with Jehovah. Understanding this piece makes a big difference in helping us to understand the things of the Faith.
Israel was given a holy culture to live by in order to have the presence of their God dwell among them and provide them with protection, safety, peace and the blessings of abundant resources. But What were the threats to their holy culture, that caused them to go in and out of their Covenant with Yehovah, their God; and lose their abundant blessings? Their lack of understanding that their security, their peace, wealth, safety and protection all came from the teachings of their God, Jehovah who established the Faith! Those are the same threats we face today but we do not make the connections in our minds because we do not understand the culture of holiness and the holy language. We lose the ability to grow our understanding of the Faith when we are unable to connect the dots.
When we stop seeing the Bible as just another religious book, we will learn to appreciate the life giving power concentrated in it. Some see it as a history book; others see it as a mystery book, but those who are in covenant with Yehovah, understand it to be the Book of the Covenant, and use it as the Manual for Life and holiness, to remain in Covenant with their God.
Yes, it has been translated from the Hebrew to the Greek to Latin, to all the languages that are derived from Latin; plus many other languages. This fact has caused many to treat its contents lightly because some translations do not always reflect the original Hebrew in which it was written. But the error remains in our court if we refuse to search out the correct translation for those parts. Fortunately, many historical, archeological, and linguistic experts have read those areas of the Bible before we received our copy, and they found the errors and wrote about them in books, and articles so we would be aware and have that correct information available to us when we are ready to seek and find the corrections to those errors, so we can grow our understanding of the Faith.
Now that knowledge and technology has increased, we have no excuse for staying in the dark with a lack of understanding and confusion, because the answer is only a few keyword clicks away. And knowing that the Bible is truly our Life Manual with a treasure map, we should be highly motivated to place reading and studying it very high on our priority list. The Bible is a compilation of ancient writings inspired by God. It is unlike any other literary in existence. It is the words of life and it is spiritual. Its writers wrote under the inspiration of God. In it, we get to not only learn about the Creator of the Universe, but read His instructions for life. His words resound in our spirit and minds as we read them. This is how we grow in our fear and admonition of God and grow our understanding of the Faith. “So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).
Where else could you get a transcript of the event when Yehovah spoke from heaven in the hearing of over 2 million people? We get to participate in the event as you read and “see” the effects His voice had on the physical earth as He spoke? Read Exodus 20 for yourself. Yehovah’s words are spiritual food and life. The sound of His voice causes us to fear Him. When we don’t internalize these truths recorded in the Bible, we cheat ourselves of the treasures available to us. When we do not engage in the reading or study of it, we cannot and will not truly understand it.
Reason #3. The cares of life get in the way.
Life unfortunately happens for each of us. Now that our economy demands two incomes to make ends meet for most families, we put our children in day care and after school care, so we can earn that second income. While this is a necessity there is also a consequence because children talk to each other about what they are doing after school and parents get to find out what other children are doing and they desire these things for their children too.
While this is health for our children to have opportunities to bond with other children of their age group, and be part of the community, this desire for extra-curricular activities take the shape of sports, arts, etc, which consumes more of our time and our children’s time. Everyone is happy, which is a good thing, but by the end of the day, everyone is exhausted and left with very little quality time to spend together as a family.
But the biggest consequence is the loss of time to do our own personal Bible study as parents so we know what lessons to teach our children. So, we leave that job to the pastor, which most times, the children do not get or understand the message preached. Other life impediments such as family concerns, finances, job challenges, relationship conflicts and so many others, drain our energy and choke out our ability to understand and process the Word of Yehovah in our lives, when we do settle down to read the Bible.
Reason #4. We lack sound teachers and teachings.
In addition to having a lack of cultural, historical and linguistic biblical knowledge to aid in our reading and study of Scripture, many of us face major challenges in finding teachers of Faith who rightly divide the Word of Truth. The story of the Ethiopian high-official (wrongly interpreted as eunuch in Acts 8) is a prime example of why having Godly teachers is vital to our spiritual growth and understanding of the Bible at various times in our walk.
Reason #5. Carry-on Baggage
Each of us brings with us excess, carry-on baggage, so to speak, when we come into Faith. We have been entrenched in like religious traditions, doctrines of men, racial and cultural experiences and worldviews; political leanings and preferences; past and abiding sins; spiritual strongholds; habits; preferences, questionable mannerisms; anger; hatred; socio-economic biases; and the list goes on. This load of carry-on baggage, so to speak, serves to cover-over, hide and drown out the still-small voice of Yehovah as He speaks to us through His Word.
Reason #6. Dependency upon man-made Biblical constructs
Many of us become dependent upon man-made constructs to make up for our deficiencies in bible reading and study. In so doing, we run the risk of boxing ourselves into mechanical systems that may not allow for the movement and direction of the Holy Spirit in our reading and studies which is essential to any understanding and application of the Word in our lives.
The other thing to keep in mind is that commentaries, when indiscriminately used, may be misleading and cause us to go off-track in our understanding of Scripture. This is generally because the commentators are expounding upon the Scriptures based on their predisposed denominational world views.
Solutions to the Impediments Preventing our Understanding of the Bible and the Faith
The key to overcoming these and other impediments to our understanding of Scripture and the ways of Yehovah and the Faith is to take a full and honest assessment of where we are in our walk and search for Truth. In so doing, we should aim to identify the areas in our walk–such as those impediments mentioned above–that adversely impact our ability to discern and process Truth.
What follows are solutions to the various impediments that prevent us from understanding our Bible and applying the Word of Truth to our day-to-day walk with Yahoshua Messiah.
Solution #1. Approach bible study and reading with an intent and purpose to hear from Yehovah.
It is also important to adopt a proper mindset (purity of heart and mind and soul; hungry for Truth; lacking any guile) when studying and reading Scripture. Must somehow put the baggage that impedes our understanding in their proper perspective, if not, discard the baggage that is not of Yehovah.
Solution #2. Seek the leading of the Holy Spirit to guide our study and reading of Scripture. This may require fervent prayer leading up to the study and even after.
Solution #3. Seek out Godly, anointed teachers and teaching to help us bridge the gap of biblical knowledge and understanding. This too will require prayer and seeking the direction and will of the Father.
Solution #4. Let us empty ourselves of the things from our previous lives. In other words, seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit to divest us of those cultural, experiential, biases, sins, strongholds, unholy perceptions and opinions that cloud and block our minds from receiving Truth
Solution #5. Seek out others who have successfully walked this thing out and learn how they overcame such impediments.
Solution #6. Let us prioritize our days and make sure that Bible reading and study is factored into each day’s schedule.
Set aside time for Bible study and learning each day. The weekly Sabbaths are a good place to start. Teaching our children Scripture on a regular basis is also paramount to our spiritual well-being. Torah requires that we train up our children in the ways of Yehovah. This is our God-given responsibility as parents.
That which we have learned, we are to share the information with others. One way of doing so is by posting what we learn on social media. It is important that we factor in that which we learn, otherwise, it will be factored out of us, eventually.
Solution #7. Seek out and maintain a substantive relationship with the Father. This is the most important thing we must do in this life. Everything else pales in comparison. When we put Father first, everything associated with our walk falls right in line. We don’t want to treat our relationship with Father lightly. The amount of time we give to our relationship with Father ensures how well we do in growing in and walking out this Faith. Scripture is Father’s words communicated to us.
Solution #8. Learn to properly study and read the Bible. Learn to read and study Scripture in proper context. Exegesis (pull out from the text that which Father has given) versus eisegesis (reading into the meaning of the text, which is likely going to be influenced by the excess, carry-on baggage we refuse to let go of. Also, let us make a concerted effort to learn the history, linguistic elements and culture that surrounds the passages and texts in question.
Solution #9. Acquire well-researched Bibles and Bible resources.
Solution #10. Let us resist the urge to be too independent in our Bible study. We should not be insistent upon studying alone; that is leaning to our own understanding of Scripture. We do need teachers and teachings to fill in the gaps of our biblical knowledge from time-to-time. It is important that every new believer coming in to Faith be discipled and we must be open to disciple others.
Solution #11. Let us be voracious consumers of the Word as we see described in the persons of the Bereans as recorded in Acts 17:10-12.
For the Torah Observant Believer in Yeshua Messiah, Shavuot—The Feast of Weeks—Pentecost is about the giving and receiving of YHVH’s Torah and the establishing of the marriage covenant between YHVH and the Children of Israel. The Feast of Weeks is about the re-establishment of a broken covenant through the grace of YHVH and the outpouring of His Holy Spirit to aid fallen man in their keeping of the Creator’s instructions. Pentecost is about life and the establishing of the Body of Messiah through the atoning sacrifice of Yeshua Messiah and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
What is Shavuot—The Feast of Weeks?
Shavuot is one of the seven-annual one of the 3-pilgrimage Feasts of YHVH. The instructions related to its keeping is found in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus. However, the origin of this set-apart day is founded upon the story behind the Creator’s giving of the commandments to the mixed multitude at the base of Mount Sinai as recorded in Exodus 19 through 24.
The first Shavuot was likely the day Israel received the Commandments of YHVH at Mount Sinai.
As the story goes, a mixed-multitude of souls, composed of the 12-tribes of Israel and various nationals from other nations, had escaped Egyptian-bondage roughly 50-days prior their settling at the base of Mount Sinai. YHVH, the Creator of the Universe, who bore this mixed multitude (with some estimates as high as 2 to 3-million souls) on eagles’ wings (Exodus 19:4) and brought them unto Himself. It was here and at this time that Father proposed a covenant between He and the Children of Israel that would be the shadow picture of an even greater covenant iteration in the years to come.
We find in Exodus 19 that Father proposes the establishment of a Covenant between He and Israel, whereby He would be Israel’s God and Israel would be His special and favored people above all the nation-people of the world (i.e., their Elohim) if they would hear His voice and obey His instructions (i.e., His commands). The Children of Israel agreed to the terns of this covenant and on that fateful day, at the foot of Mount Sinai, YHVH, in the midst of fire, lightening, smoke and loud shofar blowing, spoke His commandments directly to the people. Although the people were terrified by this indescribable manifestation, even to the point of demanding that YHVH speak exclusively through Moses to them so as to not repeat this terrifying manifestation, the covenant was ratified by the sprinkling of blood upon the written contract and upon the people.
More and more evidence is emerging that supports the real Mount Sinai being in Arabia.
A covenant is an official, established agreement between 2 or more interested parties. A blood covenant, which is what the Sinai Covenant was, required that both parties swear to abide by the terms of the contract. YHVH, because He is Creator and Elohim, certified His agreement to abide by the terms of the covenant (i.e., He would be the nation’s God and the people would reap the benefits of being a special possession of YHVH), simply by stating His Name—I am YHVH. Israel’s certification to abide by the terms of the contract was embodied in the nation’s collective, verbal affirmation that they would obey YHVH’s instructions and not worship or follow any other god. Thus, the contract—the covenant—was ratified and sealed by the sprinkling of blood upon the written contract and the people.
It was only but a short time after the ratification of the marriage agreement between Israel and YHVH that the people broke the covenant.
Because this was a blood covenant, if either party were to violate the terms of the contract, their life would be required of them. It goes without saying that YHVH could not—would not—violate the terms of the covenant. Israel, on the other hand, because they failed to have the Spirit of YHVH and His Torah (i.e., YHVH’s instructions) implanted in their hearts, returned to the worship of their Egyptian god (i.e., the Golden Calf) while Moses was attending to sacred business on the Holy Mountain (Exodus 32).
Despite the nation breaking the Sinai Covenant, the Almighty continued to honor the covenant. Israel cheated on her spouse YHVH. Yet YHVH did not put Israel, His bride away immediately; at least not until many centuries later when Israel delved so deep into idolatry that they could no longer hear the voice of YHVH and had completely turned their back upon their Elohim. That’s when YHVH divorced His bride Israel and the nation was left to suffer through a severe fracturing of the nation into two, followed by several usurpations, exiles and captivities at the hands of pagan nations and rulers.
The New (Renewed) Covenant
The Father knew that His people would break the marriage covenant from the very beginning. Thus, He set into motion a plan that would re-invigorate that broken covenant and re-establish the nation of Israel (both Houses of Israel—Judah and Israel) back to her favored state as His chosen people. This re-established covenant would be the Sinai Covenant on steroids. For not only would the Father bring back the original covenant to be followed by a reconstituted nation of Israel, it would be extended to the nation peoples of the world if they too agreed to the terms of the agreement. But Father did not stop there. Knowing the inherent problems His people originally had keeping His instructions, He would give His children the help they needed to keep His instructions and to ensure their success in staying in covenant with Him. This He would accomplished through the outpouring of His Holy Spirit upon His elect. Thus the Creator of the Universe’s presence would be within each one of His chosen people, and that Holy Spirit would inscribe Torah—Abba’s instructions—upon each and every heart and mind. (Read or listen to Hilary’s teaching on the New Covenant.)
Of this New Covenant, the Prophet Jeremiah wrote:
“Behold, days are coming, declares YHVH, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares YHVH. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares YHVH. I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:31-33; NASB).
This prophecy was confirmed by the Prophet Ezekiel who wrote:
“And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and givem them a heart of flesh that they may walk in My statutes and keep MY ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God” (Ezekiel 11:19, 20).
Down Payment on the Renewed Covenant
The giving of Torah at Mount Sinai was a shadow picture of the Day of Pentecost when YHVH’s Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples of Yeshua.
Although the New (or Renewed) Covenant has not been fully enacted, we saw the down-payment of it played out on the Temple Mount on Shavuot, just 10-days after Yahoshua commissioned His disciples on the Mount of Olives and then ascended up on high. On that fateful day, Pentecost 28 C.E., the Holy Spirit (i.e., the Ruach HaKodesh) was poured out upon the disciples of Yeshua who were attending Shavuot, gathered on the Temple Mount (Acts 2). This was the fulfillment of the “shadow picture” of the very first Shavuot at Mount Sinai. At the first Shavuot, YHVH gave the Children of Israel His Torah—His instructions—His commandments. On the Day of Pentecost in 28 C.E., YHVH gave the Children of Israel (i.e., the disciples of Yeshua HaMashiyach) His Holy Spirit. Thus we see how Torah became fully manifested and is Spirit within the people YHVH. At the time of the first Shavuot, 3,000 souls perished because Israel chose to break the covenant. At the time of Pentecost on the Temple Mount, 3,000-souls entered the Body of Messiah and into life eternal.
The Importance of Shavuot For Messianic Believers Today
Shavuot remains relevant to every Torah Observant Believer in Messiah today. Beyond the fact that we are commanded by YHVH to keep Shavuot (Leviticus 23:21, 22), we gain invaluable and crucial understanding of the New (Renewed) Covenant that Messianics are now privileged to be under. Shavuot is important in reminding Messianic Believers of the importance of keeping Torah and being in a right-relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Shavuot also serves as a prompt for every Torah Observant Believer to seek the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit in their lives such that they live lives of their chosen status as Kings and Priests of YHVH Elohim. And Shavuot teaches the Messianic Believer that just mechanically keeping Torah is not to secure their place in the Kingdom of YHVH. Torah is Father’s house-rules that help us maintain a substantive relationship with Him. Admission into the Kingdom of YHVH is gained through the shed blood of YHVH, for salvation is a gift from Yah. YHVH’s Holy Spirit aids the believer in his/her keeping of the Creator’s house-rules in the midst of his/her living in this corrupt and dying world.
The keeping of Shavuot by today’s Torah Observant Believer in Yeshua Messiah is pretty simple. We find in Leviticus 23: 21 that Messianics are to:
Make a proclamation on Shavuot; such that believers are to extol the glories of the Creator and speak to others of YHVH’s Word.
Have a holy convocation; such that believers come together (e.g., fellowships and congregations and assemblies) for the reading of Scripture and the breaking of bread.
Perform or conduct no servile or laborious work.
With the Temple in Jerusalem no longer in existence, Messianics can not truly keep Shavuot as one of the 3-pilgrimage Feasts of YHVH and as instructed in Torah (Exodus 23:14-17; Deuteronomy 16:16). However, under the auspices of the renewed covenant, the believers’ bodies have replaced the Temple proper as the dwelling place of YHVH (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). Thus, wherever 2 or 3 have gathered together in their Master’s Name, there He will be in their midst (Matthew 18:20).
Thus every Torah Observant Believer in Yahoshua Messiah is obliged to keep Shavuot in Spirit and in Truth. The actual method for keeping the Feast of Weeks is strictly between the individual believer and YHVH (Colossians 2:16, 17; Romans 14:5).
Organizations establish standards by which its members’ job performances are judged. There are set standards and job performance levels that separate an average from an exceptional worker. A member’s job performance when compared to those standards may determine that member’s standing in the organization; advancement opportunities in that organization; and even the amount that member will be paid. Those members who find themselves rated as exceptional employees tend to be rewarded with higher responsibilities, privileges and salaries within the organization. Unlike any other human organization or activity, YHVH established the standards by which our performance will ultimately be judged by our Master, Yahoshua Messiah. Our positions and privileges in the Kingdom of YHVH will depend upon how we measure up to those basic, and most importantly, exceptional expectations. In this post, we focus on the exceptional life to be lived by disciples of Yahoshua, using the expectations that were modeled for us by our Master Yeshua and the expectations that were established for members of the Levitical Priesthood in Leviticus 21: 1-22:16. In so doing, the true disciple of Yahoshua HaMashiyach is expected to live a life beyond the norm.
YHVH’s Expectations Established
YHVH provided us the standards by which we are expected to live. Those expectations are encapsulated in His eternal Torah and through the teachings and example of Yahoshua Messiah. As with any human organization, there are basic standards and expectations, as well as exceptional standards and expectations. The basic standards YHVH established for day-to-day living are embedded in Torah–the first-five books of the Old Testament. The exceptional standards and expectations established by YHVH were delivered to and modeled for us by His Son, Yahoshua our Messiah. I believe we also see exceptional expectations and standards that were given by YHVH to the Levitical Priesthood. Those exceptional standards and expectations offer us, in a sense, a shadow picture of the exceptionally high standards that Yeshua requires of all of His disciples.
Levitical Priesthood Standards/Expectations Were Higher Than the Norm
The expectations and standards set for a Levitical Priest was beyond the basic standards for men by Torah.
One-fifth of Torah is dedicated to the rigorous, exceptional standards and expectations that YHVH established for the Levitical Priesthood. At the time these instructions were handed down to us, very little of those priestly expectations and requirements applied to the average Israelite. Those standards were established specifically for the Levitical Priesthood. The Levitical Priests were expected to meet, not just the basic, core, rote-mechanical standards and expectations of Torah that applied to every Israeli male. They were expected and required, in addition, to meet exacting, ritual-holiness-cleanliness standards that exceeded the universal standard, basic instructions of Torah. Failure to meet both the standard and exceptional standards and expectations disqualified a Levite from serving in the sanctuary and serving the nation.
Higher Standards and Expectations For Every Disciple of Yeshua
I contend that we who are Torah Observant Believers in Yahoshua Messiah are now, and in the future, expected to not only meet all applicable Torah instructions (i.e., commandments), but also every applicable aspect of Torah that is over and above each rote-mechanical aspect of Torah (e.g., not only are we to not commit adultery or fornication, but we are not to look upon another member of the opposite sex who is not our spouse in a lustful manner).
It is about living a life that is above and beyond the NORM. This is about living and exceptionally righteous life. I would submit to you that failure to meet both the basic and those exacting, exceptional standards and expectations will adversely affect our role and inclusion in the Kingdom of YHVH.
Torah Is NOT Just a Jewish Thing
Many outside of our Faith Community adamantly contend that Torah was created and implemented for the Jews. These maintain that the Jews failed to keep Torah and thus forfeited their opportunity for salvation and that Christians have replaced the Jews in God’s great plan of salvation for mankind. Is this an true line of thought and teaching? Well, when Torah was given to us during our sojourn in the Sinai Desert, and even after we entered the Land of Promise, the bible clearly indicates that all 12-tribes of Israel were subject to Torah. By the first half-of the 6th-century B.C., 10 of our 12-tribes had become scattered by the Assyrians leaving only the tribes of Judah and Levi. Today, the identities and locations of those scattered 10-tribes of Israel are lost to the memory of world history. Interestingly, during the time our Master, Yahoshua and His handpicked disciples walked, taught and preached on this earth, the identities and locations of those 10-tribes was well known to the Jews of the Ancient Near East (Matthew 10:6; 15:24; 9:36; Jeremiah 50:6). Scholars who have attempted to identify some of the lost “Sheep of Israel;” or rather the misnomer “Lost 10-Tribes of Israel,” have found archaeological evidence that is scattered throughout the eastern and western world that many of the scattered peoples have kept Torah to a lesser or fuller extent throughout the ages.
The Pharisaical religious establishment has successfully duped the world into thinking that Torah (and the Land of Promise) was given only to the Jewish nation. Christianity then took this Jewish-only mindset and understanding a few steps further by hijacking and corrupting the concept and doctrines of “grace.” Christianity teaches the “Law” was for those evil Jews who will suffer for their refusal to play by God’s rules, but we Christians are under grace and not required to keep one jot or tittle of the “Law.” By default, the Christian worldview has separated would-be disciples in Yeshua Messiah (thought of mainly as Gentiles) from their naturalized Israeli heritage and Faith that is based upon Torah. Therefore, the hijacked doctrine of grace has unceremoniously completely eliminated Torah as a life-expectation and requirement for any would-be disciple of Jesus Christ (i.e., Yeshua Messiah). This doctrine is not only false, it is also the vehicle by which countless well-intended, sincere, but grossly misinformed souls will NOT be admitted to the Kingdom of YHVH in the World Tomorrow.
None of this is to say, in the least, that a would-be disciple of Jesus Christ (i.e., Yeshua Messiah) receives admittance to the Kingdom of YHVH or eternal life by keeping Torah. To the contrary, eternal life and admittance into the Kingdom is a gift of YHVH that was won and will be delivered as a result of the atoning sacrifice of Yahoshua on the execution stake on that fateful Passover Day on or around 28 C.E. Nevertheless, for the true Disciple of Yeshua HaMashiyach, Torah stands as YHVH’s house rules that every disciple is expected to honor, keep and obey as applicable under the Renewed Covenant.
Torah Expectations and Requirements For Levitical Priests Were Over and Above The Basic Torah Instructions
Abba passed on to Moses (i.e., Moshe) and Aaron (i.e., Aharon) and Aaron’s posterity, the exceptional standards and expectations that would be required in order for the males in Aaron’s lineage to serve the nation of Israel. As we can see throughout the book (i.e., the Cepher) of Leviticus, these standards and expectations were often rigid and were overall, over and above the baseline instructions given for every Israeli male. It was these exceptional expectations and standards set the would-be Levitical Priest apart from the rest of the nation in the manner of:
His conduct
His behavior.
His home life
His diet
His finances
His cleanliness (both physically and ritually speaking)
His service in the Sanctuary
His service in the community
His attire (i.e., his clothing)
His reputation.
Things to Keep in Mind When Studying Leviticus
When reading through and studying Leviticus and the Levitical Priesthood, it is important to keep the following in mind:
the Levitical Priesthood has passed away.
As Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah, we are no longer under the Levitical Priesthood, but under the Melchizedekian Priesthood whose High Priest (i.e., Cohen Gadol) is our Master Yahoshua Messiah.
“YHVH has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek'”(Psalm 110:4; cf. Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 7:15-17).
As a Torah Observant Believer in Yeshua Messiah, each of us is fully naturalized Israelite possessing all of the privileges and benefits afforded any true, Torah-keeping, naturally-born Israeli Disciple of Yeshua.
As Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah, we have been commissioned to be a nation of priests unto YHVH (Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:6).
Like the Levitical Priests of old, as Torah Observant Believers of Yahoshua Messiah, there are rigid, exacting standards and requirements that we are expected to meet and maintain. Those standards and expectations were enumerated, taught and modeled for us by our Master Yeshua.
As Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah, we will be judged accordingly by Yahoshua based upon those standards and expectations.
What good is studying this or any other similar portion of Torah addressing the Levitical Priests?
Torah provides us an example (although a crude one) of heavenly things and of prophetic shadow pictures of good things to come. (cf. Hebrews 8:5; 10:1)
We are NOT obliged to keep the instructions directed to the Levitical Priesthood (e.g., wearing priestly clothes; purification rituals; serving in a make-shift sanctuary; etc.).
Since we are to serve as Priests of YHVH, under the leadership of Yeshua HaMashiyach, these instructions serve as a wonderful reminder of the high standards and expectations a would-be Priest of the Most High Elohim is required to meet and live out.
Master established similarly established high standards and expectations for us, His Disciples. These standards rival the most exacting requirements of the Levitical Priesthood. THEY ARE NOT EASY.
These standards and expectations are, in effect, the fullness of Torah, that we are expected to measure up to in our day-to-day lives and in our work for the Kingdom of YHVH. Unfortunately, most of the world will not meet those high standards and expectations. Case in point is the story of the Rich Young Man (Pharisee, found in Matthew 19:13-20:16; Mark 10:13-31; Luke 18:15-30. Here we see a level of commitment and responsibility established by Father and implemented by our Master that disqualifies most from entering the Kingdom and service of YHVH.
We Are A Nation of Priests
Yahoshua has made us to be a kingdom of priests to His Elohim and Father (Revelation 1:6; 5:10). As priests of the Most High, the examples given in Torah relating to the required ritual cleanliness of every Levitical Priests 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, should serve as a reminder to us of our Master’s expectations for us. When these expectations and requirements are understood through the doctrines and teachings of Yeshua our Messiah, we should come to realize how important our personal and spiritual cleanliness is to YHVH. Father requires that we be “holy as He is holy” (I Peter 1:15, 16). That requirement has not changed in the least, despite the Torah naysayers that teach a perverted grace doctrine that inputs upon a Christian believer perpetual cleanliness and holiness. What this perversion is actually saying to the world is that all you need to do to inherit eternal life and have a relationship with the Creator of the Universe is ask Jesus Christ into your heart. Upon asking Jesus Christ into one’s heart, then grace takes over and your eternal life ticket is punched. You can live anyway you choose to live because God’s grace inputs perpetual righteousness to us and we become “holy” by default, forever.
This perverted version of grace is so far from Truth that it’s not even funny. We are required to “be” holy–to live holy lives; to live a life that is beyond the norm of all humanity, or even Christianity for that matter. The Apostle Peter wrote:
Gird up the loins of your mind (Greek for mind is Anazunomi, which means to prepare one’s mind for action); be sober; and hope to the end for for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Yeshua Messiah. As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written: “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (I Peter 1:13-16; cf. Leviticus 20:7; KJV).
Thus, we are not to defile ourselves or become spiritually and physically tainted by the things of this world, which when given over to, serves to blunt our service and effectiveness as priests of YHVH. By default, then, we are to die to self (reference Romans 6:2, 11; 2 Timothy 2:11).
Like the Levitical Priests of old, the standards by which we are to live are higher than most people will ever aspire or conceive to meet. Those lofty, but doable standards and expectations, affect how we conduct every aspect of our lives:
Our family, work, community and other personal relationships
Our diets
Our behavior and habits
Our individual thoughts and feelings
Our participation in modern life activities
Our obedience to YHVH’s instructions (i.e., His Torah).
An entire book (i.e., cepher) of Torah was dedicated to instructions for the Levitical Priesthood. The requirement for exacting ritual purity and cleanliness in order for any priest to serve the nation in the community and in the sanctuary cannot be understated. YHVH requires, without exception, cleanliness and purity in order for any to worship and commune with Him. The priestly ritual instructions were primarily in place to allow the priests to serve in the sanctuary and in worship of YHVH. The sanctuary was the place where YHVH’s presence rested. Thus, in order to approach the sanctuary (as a non-priest) and the inner sanctum (as a priest), one had to be in a state of ritual cleanliness.
Although the sanctuary no longer exists, Father still requires that each of us be in a state of cleanliness and purity when we come before Him in worship, prayer and service. We have a baseline cleanliness afforded to us by the shed blood of Yahoshua HaMashiyach. There are, however, ongoing things in our lives that cause us to be impure and unclean that we must constantly be cognitive of and constantly address. Such impurity and filth hinders our worship, walk and witness and service to YHVH and His Kingdom. Intentional and perpetual and unresolved uncleanness (i.e., sin, unholy behavior and habits, improper thoughts and feelings and a lawless life) will adversely impact and hinder, (1) our personal relationship with the Most High Elohim; (2) our service to the Kingdom of YHVH and our Faith Community; and (3) our present and future standing in the Kingdom of YHVH. Yeshua revealed:
“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20; NASB).
Many will say to me in that day, :Master, Master, have we not prophesied in they Name? And in thy Name, have cast out devils? And in thy Name done many wonderful works?” And then will I profess unto them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22, 23).
Yeshua Set the Bar High
The story of the rich man and Yeshua is an excellent example of the high expectations set for disciples of Yeshua.
Master set the bar high for true discipleship. The sad, sorry and tired adage that so many so-called people of faith like to say, that God knows their heart, just doesn’t fly when one truly considers Master’s true discipleship standards and expectations. For it will be upon that great, end time revealing of the Sons of the Most High, that Yahoshua will separate those who are righteous from those who are unrighteous, and unfortunately for many, there will be no excuse accepted.
Master prophesied:
When the Son of Man shall come in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory. And before Him shall be gathered all nations. And He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth His sheep from the goats. And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, “Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…Then shall say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:31-41).
Our Master set the bar high for true discipleship and service, just as Father set the bar high for Levitical Priesthood service. Are we then to follow the example of the Levitical Priests, per se? Well, no. The fact of the matter is that we follow exclusively the example of Yeshua HaMashiyach, our Master. The exceptional standards of the Levitical Priests are excellent shadow pictures of the standards and expectations that Master requires of us who are His disciples; we who are being made into a Kingdom of priests unto YHVH; conforming to the image of Yahoshua Messiah.
Faithfully,
Shalom and warmest blessings to you, your family and fellowship.
The Day of Firstfruits is a little known or publicized feast in our Faith Community. Firstfruits is also referred to as Yom haBikkurim (Hebrew) and the Wave Sheaf Offering. It is sandwiched into the week of Passover–Unleavened Bread and always occurs on the first-day of the week after the weekly Sabbath during the Passover–Unleavened Bread week.
We were instructed to bring an omer of barley–the firstfruits of our spring harvest–to the Levitical Priests who would wave it before YHVH on the Day of Firstfruits.
This Gregorian Calendar year, Firstfruits took place on the first day of the week—4-8-18 according to the Observational Calendar and on the first-day of the week on 4-1-18 according to the Jewish Calculated Calendar. On the Jewish Calendar, it is noted as Pesach II and the 1st Day of the Omer.
The instructions Father gave regarding the keeping of Firstfruits is found in Leviticus 23:10-14. As with each of the Torah-instructed Feasts of YHVH, Firstfruits is rich in prophetic and spiritual application.
How Do We Keep Sabbath Holy–Is it Permissible to Have our Children Play Organized Sports on the Sabbath?
Is it permissible to have our children play organized sports on the Sabbath? Would this be a violation of Torah and of Sabbath-Keeping?
This situation and many, many others are not addressed in Torah. We must be careful not to add to or take away from Torah.
The applications related to this question goes well beyond simply allowing our children to play organized sports on the Sabbath. Torah’s silence on this and many other aspects and issues of Sabbath-keeping require us to examine:
–Our relationship with the Almighty
–What it means to keep the Sabbath Holy
–What it means to proclaim a holy convocation on the Sabbath
–What it means to do no work on the Sabbath
Why did Father make Sabbath-keeping so vague in the first place? It was likely to test our hearts and commitment to Him. It also serves as a gauge to measure the level of relationship we have with Father.
The silence of Torah on the keeping of Sabbath (as well as a great many other issues and topics) resulted in the Rabbi’s creating hundreds of rules and traditions around the keeping of Sabbath that include 39-general categories of what is required to keep Sabbath (http://www.pursuegod.org/rules-pharisees/). These 39-general categories in turn include hundreds of specific individual rules for Sabbath-keeping. These rulings and instructions are contained in the Talmud.
When addressing the concerns of the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well regarding where YHVH had established the place of worship, He was noted as saying:
“You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews (i.e., from the lineage of Judah and the oracles entrusted to Judah by Father as opposed to the religion of Judaism). (Continuing) But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. Yah is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:22-24; Holmann CSB).
Thus Master foretold of a two-prong formula for worship of Yah that would be practiced under the renewed covenant: Spirit and Truth.
As it relates to Truth, our worship is founded upon Torah and the teachings of Yeshua Messiah:
Psalm 119:160—”Thy Word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever” (KJV).
In terms of Spirit, our worship is founded upon having a substantive–personal–relationship with YHVH:
“And this is eternal life, that they (they being Master’s disciples which ultimately includes us)—that they know you the only true God, and Yeshua Messiah whom you have sent” (John 17:3; ESV; adjusted).
“To know” here is the Greek term “ginosko,” which means to “learn to know a person through direct personal experience, implying continuity of relationship” (Louw-Nida Lexicon). This “knowing” that Master was referring to is more than a simple cognitive awareness that God exists.
The relationship we have with Father, when coupled with His Torah—His Truth–through the agency of the Holy Spirit (i.e., the Ruach HaKodesh)–help us navigate through such questions of Sabbath-keeping.
Once we establish a true and substantive relationship with the Creator, we get to know what He approves of and what He does not approve of, even in the areas where Torah is silent.
In Deuteronomy 16:1-3 Abba instructed us to “observe (i.e., shamar—guard) the Month of the Aviv,” and keep the Passover unto YHVH our Elohim.” Because in the Month of the Aviv YHVH brought us forth out of Egypt by night.
What are we talking about here?
In order to guard the Month of the Aviv we have to do some things:
1. We must know what it means to guard—from a Hebraic perspective. One must ask, does this guarding even make sense to us in the 21st-century West?
2. We must know that the Month of the Aviv is and when it occurs. This then becomes a calendar issue.
3. We must know what is required of us in the guarding of the Month of the Aviv. We must understand how we are to go about guarding/keeping the Month of the Aviv; not from man’s perspective, but from the Creator’s perspective.
Let’s look at each of these in some detail.
1. Understand/Know what it means to guard/observe
Deuteronomy 16:1 contains the instruction that we are to guard—to shamar—the Month of the Aviv.
The Google definition for guard is to watch over in order to protect or control.
The Hebrew definition for guard is to hedge about a thing as with thorns; with additional clarifications of protecting; to keep; to mark; to preserve; to wait for; to watch. Sadly, most of us focus solely on the Passover Seder. Yet we see here that we are commanded to do what? We are commanded to guard The Month of the Aviv.
The Jewish Calendar is based solely upon precise mathematical calculations and is not Torah based.
Rabbinic Judaism has taken this instruction (and others like it) to place a hedge around the Month of Aviv (and thus all of the Creator’s Feasts) as authority to manipulate and control the Feasts of YHVH contained therein. Thus they have changed the instructions of YHVH and made them of no effect by their traditions and ordinances and rules (Matthew 15:3-6).
We are instructed to guard/keep the Month as opposed to just one Feast Day. Strangely, most commentaries (on both side of the aisle—Christian and Judaism) fail to mention this powerful commandment. They bypass the command to guard the Month and go straight on over to “keeping just the Passover.” In terms of Christianity, it’s keeping Easter. However, we’ve been called to do better and to obey the instructions of YHVH.
Father instructed:
“Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am Yehovah” (Leviticus 22:31; ASV).
Father exclaimed:
“Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29; ASV).
Our Master addressed this same issue when He instructed:
“If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments” (John 14:15; ASV).
The Apostle John took this concept even further when he wrote:
“And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is not in Him” (I John 2:3,4; KJV).
Thus we are instructed to guard the entire Month of the Aviv.
2. Know what the Month of Aviv is and when it occurs—a calendar issue.
Father instructed us:
“This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you” (Exodus 12:2; QBE).
Which month is Father referring to here? He clarifies in Exodus 13:4:
“On this day in the Month of Aviv, you are about to go forth” (NASB).
We see here that Abba is declaring that the Month of the Aviv is where our new Year begins. It is our New Year!
According to Torah, the aviv barley in conjunction with the renewed moon in the land determines the start of the sacred calendar year.
Thus Father has established with us His reckoning of time. He has established with us His calendar that we are to “shamar.” In this, we must bear in mind that we followed a pagan calendar during our sojourn in Egypt for centuries. Father was stopping that practice and now establishing His own calendar for us to follow. Do you see any spiritual and life parallels here? I say that our accepting Father’s calendar is part of our sanctification: that which sets us apart from the rest of the world.
Therefore, Father in this command is telling us that this is going to be the month that not only establishes the beginning of our annual calendar, but also marks our freedom from captivity and the start of a new life for us. Can you see the amazing spiritual and prophetic parallels here?
When the renewed moon is sighted in conjunction with the aviv barley in the land, the sacred calendar year begins.
So what’s the deal with the Month of the Aviv? Aviv is a term that describes the condition—the state of maturation—of the barley crop in the Land of Israel. Thus Aviv denotes a specific harvest season—the spring harvest season. Can you recognize the tremendous spiritual and prophetic applications portrayed here as well?
The term “Aviv” (or Abib as used in most authorized English translations) means: fresh, young barley ears, barley; the month of ear-forming; of greening of crop; of growing green Abib that takes place exclusively during our spring time here in the west. The term “Abib” is used 6 times in the authorized versions of our Bible.
Why is the maturity of the barley in the Land important? Well, to begin with, Father says so. But the other things is that we needed the barley to be aviv so that it may be offered by the priests on Yom HaBikurim—the Day of Firstfruits as described in Leviticus 23:11-15. The prophetic and spiritual implications of this are nothing short of amazing and spectacular.
By knowing the state of the barley harvest in the Land, Father has given us the key to knowing when His year is to begin. From there, all we need to recognize then is when the new month begins. Torah tells us that each new month begins with the sighting of the renewed/new moon, which is the appearing of the first sliver of of the moon.
The Hebrew Calendar is Torah Based and hinges upon sighting the renewed moon and the aviv barley in the land of Israel.
Thus Abba’s calendar is an agriculturally—celestial—based method for us to be in sync with His reckoning of time and to know when His Feasts are to be kept by us. This system of reckoning handed down to us by Father is not based upon traditions or calculations. Father set His order of the heavens and the earth to not only glorify Him, but also to provide a clear understanding of when His moedim occur. Father declared:
“Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years…” (Genesis 1:14; NASB).
The Torah Observant Believer in Yeshua Messiah must make key decisions as it relates to this time of year: whether to recognize who they are and to whom they belong. In determining who they are and to whom they belong, he or she must determine who they will obey: Torah or religion; Yah or man; truth or tradition.
Most Messianics adhere to the Rabbinic/Jewish calculated calendar. The rabbis changed the head of the year (Rosh Hashanah) from the 1st day of the month of the Aviv to the 1st of the Babylonian month Tishri, which is the 7th month. The focus shift was from that of the sacred start of the calendar year to the commercial start of the calendar year.
Consequently, several changes have been made to adjust Abba’s Feast days and assign guidelines for Feast observance through this calendar. The state of the barley and the sighting of the renewed moon has been entirely eliminated from consideration through the implementation of this calendar.
So enamored has Judaism become over this calendar that one Jewish scholar remarked about the calendar’s “mathematical exactness” (Hertz).
One should note also that Babylonian names were assigned to each month whereas in Torah, the only month assigned a title or name was the first month—the Month of the Aviv.
Please understand dear saint: this is in no way meant to be or appear anti-Semitic. I am using Torah and the rest of scripture to paint as real and fair a portrait of the current calendrical situation as possible.
Our western—Gregorian Calendar of course factors in Catholic/pagan-based horror-days and is based, like the Rabbinic Calculated Calendar, on precise mathematical calculations. There is no concern whatsoever for the Creator’s reckoning of time as stipulated in Father’s Torah. The Gregorian New Year begins, not in the spring of each year as Father requires, but in the middle of winter, on January 1st. Needless to say, this New Year celebration is filled with debauchery and is absent the solemnity that the Aviv Month observance is filled with. All in all, the Creator is intentionally and completely factored out of the celebration.
As Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah, we must pick a calendar. Sticking with the Gregorian Calendar will NOT put us in sync with Father’s reckoning of time simply because Father is not in the least factored into its development. The calculated Jewish Calendar on the other hand puts us under control of the Sanhedrin’s and Hillel’s reckoning of time that is based upon religion. The one thing that should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind here is: did we come out of religion only to find ourselves in religion all over again? The observational calendar puts us in sync with Father’s reckoning of time simply because it is Torah and faith-based.
I guess it comes down to determining within each of us: how important is it to each of us to be in sync with Father and on time for His set apart days?
3. Know/understand what is required in terms of guarding the Month of the Aviv
So how do we actually guard or keep the Month of the Aviv as commanded by Father in His Torah?
The answer to this bottomline question is found in Exodus, chapters 12 and 13; Leviticus chapter 23; and Deuteronomy chapter 16. We must keep in mind that we’re talking about keeping a season/keeping a month, as opposed to just a single night. Father knew we would reduce the significance of His command to guard the Month; thus He especially wanted to make this clear to us in Deuteronomy 16.
Thus we are instructed to celebrate the Passover. Now, if we take the time to actually read Torah in context, we will clearly see that Passover is not just one night’s dinner celebration. It’s much more than that dear friend.
We are instructed to sacrifice the Passover Lamb, which Master took care of for us on Calvary’s execution stake. So there is no longer any need to worry about that particular task. Certainly, there’s nothing with having a nice lamb meal on Passover night with friends and family. However, we have no business sacrificing lambs as so many in our Faith have made a tradition of during each year.
We are instructed to keep the Passover meal, which can include a traditional Passover Seder, but more importantly, Master encouraged us to keep the sacred traditions of eating the bread and wine and washing one another’s feet as He demonstrated and outlined for us in Matthew 14; John 13; and I Corinthians 11.
We are instructed to eat Unleavened Bread over the course of the 7-days that immediately follow the Passover Day. Thus, we are to rid our homes and dwellings of all leaven. Leaven during the Month of Aviv, symbolizes sin and the Feast of Unleavened Bread is rich in prophetic and spiritual symbolism and application.
Of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Paul wrote to the Assembly of Messianic Believers in Corinth:
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Messiah our passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (I Corinthians 5:7,8; KJV; adjusted).
We are also instructed to celebrate Yom HaBikurim which is the Day of Firstfruits. This day provides us an opportunity to thank Father for His provision and blessings throughout the winter months and thank Him for the spring harvest (Leviticus 23:10-16). Today, it provides us an opportunity to give of our increase to the work of the Gospel. Needless to say, the spiritual and prophetic symbolism and applications here are spectacular as well.
Furthermore, we are to teach our children the significance of the season/month (Exodus 12:26). This month offers us the opportunity to redeem our firstborn children and dedicate them to Yehovah (Exodus 12:2-13). How many of us have taken the time to teach and train up our children, and then offer them—pray and anoint them—unto Yehovah our Elohim?
Closing Thoughts
In closing, when we look at guarding the Month of the Aviv, we must actually prepare ourselves to keep the month. It will require that we be zealous and non-compromising in our commitment and practices related to the month and its associated festivals. We must be teachable and obedient to Father’s Holy Spirit so that we are in-sync with Father’s timing and the lessons He’s trying to teach us. We must have in place the proper logistics and even finances to ensure that we are good to go through the month’s activities. We must be Johnny on the Spot to have the time set aside for observing the Month as Father’s has instructed. For those of us who work, it will require that we secure time off for work during key days of the festival.
Thus, it behooves us as we prepare to guard the Month of the Aviv, to pray and study, study and study.
Each of us must be convinced within ourselves that we are doing what Father would have us do. Paul stated to the Assembly of Messianic Believers in Rome:
“One man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Romans 14:5; KJV).
It is vital that each of us establishes, fosters and maintains as deep a relationship with Abba as we possibly can and then seek Father’s Holy Spirit to lead us and guide our guarding of the Month of the Aviv.
I’ve just given you the framework upon which to build your own guarding of the Month of the Aviv. It now falls to each of us to put drywall and finishing touches to our guarding of the Month of the Aviv.
AS of this writing, Christmas is upon us. My goal in this episode is to encourage the Body of Messiah during this Christmas season is to continue “Earnestly Contending for the Faith Once delivered to the Saints.”
Christmas Celebrations ‘Round the World
Many Christians and non-Christians here and around the world are celebrating Christmas. We cannot get away from seeing the beautiful decorations of lights on buildings everywhere and the colorful decorations of red, green, white, silver, and gold inside and outside of buildings and trees that line the streets and homes.
In addition we hear the music and singing of Christmas carols and many catchy jingles and before we know it we are singing them in our head. There are smiles everywhere as people are shopping for gifts. But that’s not all. There are so many parties making this a joyous occasion of well wishes and giving gifts. Those who do not participate are seen as the Grinch or Scrooge.
What’s A Christian to Do with Christmas?
So what is a fun loving, kind hearted Christian to do?
Many of us find ourselves separated from family during this time because we choose to not participate in the parties and fun celebrations. This time is especially hard for young children of believers who choose to live out their unwavering faith grounded in the gospel of the Kingdom of God delivered to us by Yahoshua Messiah through the apostles. Therefore, we use this time to teach and remind our children and grandchildren of the commandments spoken from the mouth of our God, Yahovah, creator of the universe and the giver of life.
Obedience to the Instructions of Yahovah
The first 4 commandments of the Ten Commandments are the rules that establish our relationship with Yahovah our God and His Son Yahoshua. When we disobey and break these commandments, we do not get to know Him though we may know about Him; and we exclude ourselves from the Kingdom of God. Our disobedience leads to the abominable practices of idolatry and rebellion against His laws. This is the life of iniquity.
The Gospel of the Kingdom
In AD 33 after Yahoshua was crucified, buried and resurrected He sent His disciples as apostles to go out into all the world and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God teaching all nations what he taught them, and to make disciples of all nations of the world.
During his teachings, Yahoshua made some statements pointing to faith of the believers in the future, when He returns to the earth.
In Luke 18:8 Yahoshua, Messiah asked,
“When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Let us not take His question lightly. It is our duty to seek His approval because he is the Judge who will return on the last day. Will be ashamed to answer the question of how we kept the faith?”
In Matthew 7:21-24 he said,
“Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.”
False Teachers Infiltrate the Body
During the first century, the apostles noticed that false teachers we infiltrate the body of believers and undermining the teachings they had delivered to the saints. As a result, the apostles addressed these false teachings to set the record straight and get the saints back on track so they would not fall prey to these deceptive teachings from those false teachers that were infiltrating the body.
The apostle Jude charges us in Jude 1:3-5 saying,
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.”
Believers are to Stand Firm in the Faith
So he wrote a letter to the body of Messiah in the book of Jude 1:3 exhorting the believers to not waver in their faith because of the false teachers who had infiltrated the body, but to “earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints”. Here Jude is speaking of the original teaching the apostles taught to them, which they had received from the messiah, Yahoshua.
Like Jude who addressed the problem, there were James, John, Paul, and Peter who also thought it extremely important to address the false teachings that threatened to shake the faith of the believers. They encouraged the saints to contend for the faith, which they had received through their teachings.
How and When Did Christmas Become Part of Christianity?
Christmas can be traced back to Tammuz and Babylonia.
It was common knowledge among Jews and Gentiles in those days that December 25th was the celebration of the birthday of the pagan gods. It was also well known that the Romans worshiped the Sun god Mithra as creator. The sign of or emblem of Mithra is the Cross. As a result, crucifixions were done on the cross which was the emblem of Mithra, the sun god. For this reason, Yahoshua became curse for us because he hung on the Mithra cross.
Romans celebrated Saturnalia a festival on December 25th which was the dedication of the temple of their sun god. These celebrations featured parties, gift-giving, dwellings decorated with greenery, drunkenness, orgies, etc.
After Yahoshua’s ascension into heaven, it was Rome that martyred and crucified many of the apostles of Yahoshua when the apostles refused to abandon the faith they had received from Yahoshua, Messiah. The apostles were commanded by Rome to stop preaching and teaching in the name of Yahoshua. When the apostles refused to obey, they were martyred and crucified. Rome continued the killing and martyrdom of the Christian saints for centuries after the death of the last apostle.
But the Roman Emperor Constantine, the first “Christian” Roman Emperor put a stop to the killing of Christians when he took office , declaring that the followers of Yahoshua Messiah, and all religions must live together in the Roman Empire peaceably. He was a very diplomatic Emperor who served many different Babylonian gods of many religions and he accepted the Christian religion as the religion that provided power not found in his other religions. His words and acceptance of the many religions won the hearts of the people and the Christians. However, the “Christian” Emperor Constantine continued to worship pagan gods and idols and was faithful to maintain his devotion to the god Mithra even after he had declared himself to be a Christian and the head of the Christian church.
Constantine, by using a play on words, used a homonym between the Christian title for Yahoshua (Jesus) “the Son of God” and the Roman title for their Roman creator “the sun god” Mithra (aka: Tem/Temu, Ra, Amun-Ra, Apollo, Tammuz)
AMUN-Ra “The Hidden One”
RA “The God of Sun & Radiance”
MITHRA “the Light of the World”
Tammuz (was Nimrod reborn – alias, his son. His wife and mother was Rhea (Semiramis). Egyptian and Babylonian antiquities recognize his mother as Semiramis, and his birthday is celebrated on 25th December.)
It was Nimrod who became the first self appointed king of Shinar over the people of the new world after Noah and his family survived the flood. He was rebellious against God and started the building of the Tower of Babel in Genesis to protect the people from God in case another flood should happen. This mindset of Nimrod showed he had no faith in the God of Noah his great grandfather. For God had made a covenant with Noah that he will never send another flood to destroy the people because of their sins. To seal the covenant He gave Noah the sign of the rainbow in the sky. But Nimrod was an idolater and turned the people’s faith to idolatry and against God and His covenant, by starting the building of the tower to protect them against a flood that God might send in the future. But in the midst of their building project, God divided up the nation into 70 nations giving them each a new language bringing the building project to a screeching halt. The first biblical mention of Nimrod is in the Table of Nations. He was the son of Cush, grandson of Ham, and great-grandson of Noah; and as “a mighty one in the earth” and “a mighty hunter before the Lord”.
Nimrod (aka: Tammuz, Bacchus, Adonis, Osiris) is the sun god
Semiramis, Nimrod’s wife became his mother when she was impregrnated by the sun and gave birth the Tammuz, who was Nimrod reincarnated.
This story told to the people by Semiramis (aka: Ishtar, Diana, Aphrodite, Astarte, Rhea, Venus), that made her famous, powerful and revered was that Nimrod is the sun god and he impregnated he by the sun. The baby in her womb was Nimrod. Her baby was named Tammuz, and was born on Dec 25th which started the sun god birthday celebrations. Nimrod had returned to the people who were still in mourning of his death but was now re-birthed as Tammuz (her son). After Tammuz died in much the same way as Nimrod did, the people now mourned for Tammuz. And every year, in their celebration, they worshipped Tammuz the sun god.
Like I said earlier, Rome celebrated saturnalia on December 25th which was the dedication celebration of the temple of their sun god.
Constantine sought to create a new religion by applying the power and life in Hebrew Christianity to give authenticity to the weak, lifeless pagan religions which he had embraced. He found loose similarities and played upon them, then used a play on words to create homonyms that would appeal to the ignorance of the people. He added his own pagan feast celebrations to replace the Feasts of Yahovah which Torah commands Christians to observe. When he was done creating the new religion, Christians were worshiping the sun god Mithra on Christmas and his wife Ishtar for Easter.
Pagan Feasts Replaced the Feasts of Yahovah
These pagan feasts replaced the Feasts of Yahovah; and those Christians who adopted this new Roman Christian religion were told they were worshiping the Son of God, when in actuality they were worshiping the Sun god. And for Easter celebration they were told that they were focusing on the death of their crucified Lord, when actually the true celebration was the weeping for the return of dead Tammuz (Mithra: Tammuz, the reincarnated sun god Nimrod.)
Thus the Hebrew Feast days commanded by Yahovah the God of Israel were removed from the faith of Christianity and replaced with pagan feast days. Historians recognize December 25 as a well known pagan birthday, honoring many of the ancient sun gods. This day was known to be the birthday of pagan gods long before the birth of Yahoshua (Iesus) and the formation of the Roman Catholic Church. Mithraism is also known as the Mithraic mysteries, a mystery religion centered around the god Mithra. This religion was practiced in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to the 4th century CE.
Thus, Constantine used the teachings of Christianity and the teachings of Mithraism and created parities between them to form a pseudo form of the Christian religion through this technique. He produced a final product that is an amalgamation between the Christian religion and his cultic pagan religions by picking and choosing from each religion’s doctrines and celebrations and finding generalities to include celebrations during the year, to create compromises for the adaptation of pagan cultic practices in the Christian religion.
To successfully achieve his plan as the Sol Invictus Pope of the Christian church and remain the head of the Sol Invictus cult of the Church of the Roman empire, he brought the two religions together by force, making edicts and decrees forbidding obedience to the ways, laws and commandments of the God of Israel and observance of His Seventh Day Sabbath, replacing it with Sunday and replacing Yahovah’s Feast days with Christmas and Easter. In this way, Constantine kept his pagan cultic beliefs and religion in tact while removing the fundamental doctrinal teachings of the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith.
When he met resistance from some of the leaders of the Hebrew Christian movement, Constantine gave them the ultimatum to forsake their Hebrew roots or face death. Many gave up the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith to adopt the Roman Catholic version of the Christian faith to save their lives.
Eventually, Rome reneged or went back on its decision of tolerance and peace when the people did not choose to follow the new Roman Christian religion. So it made decrees and called for the killing of Christians who chose to contend for the faith they first received from the apostles. But, in the face of their earnest contending for the faith, Pope Julius I, decreed that the birth of Jesus will be celebrated on December 25th. This decree increased the martyrdom, struggle and persecution of Christians holding fast to the Hebrew roots of their faith. Finally, Hebrew Christians holding to the faith were forced to go into hiding to practice their faith.
While some Christians yielded to Emperor Constantine’s edicts and decrees others remained faithful to Yahovah, the God of Israel, the Hebrew roots of the faith, the teachings of Yahoshua the Messiah, Son of God, and gave their lives for the faith. They were killed for the faith that was originally delivered to the first century saints by the apostles of Yahoshua (Jesus).
Consequently, Constantine was able to forge his own version of the “Christian” faith and declare himself to be Sol Invictus Pope over the newly formed “Christian” Roman Catholic Church. At the same time Constantine maintained his role as head of the Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun) cult of the Church of the Roman Empire. And he accomplished this by forcing the Christians to give up the Hebrew roots of their faith and to adopt the tenets of Mithraism.
According to Wikipedia.com, Sol Invictus (“Unconquered Sun”) was the official sun god of the later Roman Empire and a patron of soldiers. In 274 AD the Roman emperor Aurelian made it an official cult alongside the traditional Roman cults. He set aside 7 days, from Dec 17th to Dec 24th followed by a festival celebration on Dec 25th to celebrate the birth of the sun god, Sol invictus (Unconquered sun).
Constantine also drew parity between the cross of Mithra which he saw in his “conversion” vision equating it to the crucifixion cross of Yahoshua, claiming that the sign of the cross he saw was an indication that Yahoshua had spoken to him, telling him to conquer in the name of the cross. The Christians who were seeking to save their lives fell for the deception and adopted the Roman pseudo-Christianity created by Constantine.
The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in AD 336, three hundred years after the ascension of Messiah for there was never a December 25th Christmas celebration in Hebrew Christianity. But the earliest known reference to Celebrating the birth of Messiah on December 25th is found in the Roman Philocalian calendar of AD 354.
Finally, Rome did away with the Laws of Yahovah in order to create their Roman Christianity. Thus, the Hebrew origins of Christianity were removed and replaced by Roman pagan celebrations through edicts and decrees forced upon the Hebrew Christians. The new pseudo-Christian Roman Catholic Church was born with Christmas and Easter and Sunday as the new feast days and Holy day commanded by Rome.
Hebrew Christianity was now illegal in Rome and only Roman Christianity could be practiced.
The new Christianity adopted by faithless Christians, celebrated the birth, death and return of the Sun god. And ignorant and faithless Christians who converted to Roman Christianity convinced themselves that they were celebrating the birth, death and return of the Son of God, Yahoshua knowing full well that never in the history of Hebrew Christianity were they ever commanded to do this celebration. Instead, they were commanded not to practice or participate in the ways and the celebrations of the heathens for their pagan gods. The first Christians in the first four centuries never celebrated Christmas as it was never part of the Christian faith. December 25th Christmas celebration among modern day Christians was introduced by Rome in the 4th century AD.
The early church father Origen argued against celebrating Jesus’ birthday: He said Only sinners like Pharaoh and Herod make great rejoicings over the day on which they were born into this world.”
The Puritans of 17th century in Massachusetts banned the Christmas holiday. They found no Biblical authority for celebrating the Nativity on December 25th. They knew the pagan history of the date, that it comes from Saturnalia celebration and wanted nothing to do with it.
The Quakers also abstained from celebrating Christmas.
Still most modern day Christians choose to celebrate Christmas because they have chosen to repurpose this winter solstice, saturnalia, sun god birthday celebration as the birthday celebration of Yahoshua (Jesus). We are commanded by Yahovah to observe the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. And to keep the Feasts of Yahovah. Therefore those of us who chose to contend for the faith will exercise our faith and take the time off even without pay to honor our God in worship and all the time recognize the gift of eternal life He has given to us in His only Begotten Son, as a ransom for our sins. To obey His commands, grow in the fruit of the Spirit, make disciples for Yahoshua, preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God, walk in faith, love, charity, visit the widows and fatherless in their affliction, stay away from idolatry and worship Him alone. This is the faith we must earnestly contend for and not become contaminated in the things of the world after we have been cleansed by the precious blood of Yahoshua (Jesus).
WARNING : DO NOT WORSHIP YOUR GOD THE WAY THE PAGANS WORSHIP THEIR GOD
We are warned by our Creator:
Jeremiah 10:1-4 Hear ye the word which Yahovah speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2 Thus saith Yahovah, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers that it move not.
Deu 12:1-4 These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: 3 And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. 4 Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.
Deu 12:30-32 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31 Thou shall not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hates, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. 32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it. (KJV)
But Yahovah is merciful to save if we confess our sins, seek after him and repent of our idolatrous ways. He will forgive us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is not his will that any person should die in their sins. He does not take pleasure in the death any sinner.
The prophet Jeremiah said:
Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
Now let us reflect on what happened after Aaron build the golden calf:
Ex 32:1-10 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
I pray that all who read or listen to this message will be able to receive it and meditate on the scriptures included in this message. May Yahovah give us eyes and ears to see the things he wants us to see and hear that we can have a closer walk with Him and not be ashamed on the last day.
Please share your thoughts and experiences about contending for the faith, I would love to hear it.
What is the Law of Reconciliation? How was Yeshua Messiah’s crucifixion intricately tied to the Law (i.e., Father’s Torah)?
The process of atonement of sins used Laws in Torah that were vaguely understood and may have never been used before. These laws were written specifically for the crucifixion of Yahoshua under the Roman government. Though these laws were not well known understood, they were crucial to the fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice of the Lamb of God for our salvation. If these laws were not obeyed as Yahovah prescribed, then Yahoshua’s holy sacrifice would be in vain for the atonement of our sins and for the purpose of our reconciliation.
The Law
Lev 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.”
In the sacrificial Laws that Yahovah gave to Israel, He outlined the daily sacrificial offerings to be offered to Him during the Temple Services as temporary remedies for breaching their covenant relationship with Him, if they ignorantly committed sins. In keeping with his commands to offer the ceremonial sacrifices to Him, He gave them this law so they would understand why He required these offerings of blood sacrifices from them.
Then the apostle Paul taught:
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Messiah died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (1Co 15:3-4 KJV)
Heb 9:22-28 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.23It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
Who Performed the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God
The first sacrificial offering Yahovah performed for mankind was in the Garden of Eden
It was for the sins of Adam and Eve just before He expelled them from His Garden. This was the sacrificial offering of the blood of animals, which served as a temporary covering for their sins, until He would send His own Son, the Lamb of God, to be the permanent atonement for their sins and the sins of their descendants.
The second sacrificial offering Yahovah performed for mankind was Golgotha also known as Calvary
This place was outside the city gates of Jerusalem and was the place of capital punishment for criminals by crucifixion. This sacrifice was for the sins of the whole world and the offering was the blood of a righteous man, not the blood of animals. The blood of a sinless righteous man was the sacrificial offering that Yahovah desired for permanent atonement; not the blood of animals.
Law
Deut 21:23 Yahovah’s law to Israel was: “You must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.”
This law made it illegal to leave the crucified body on the cross/tree (Acts 13:29), until the next day. Here we must also remember that the new day starts at sunset. Therefore Yahoshua had to be taken down off the tree and buried the same day (Passover), before the new day (Feast of Unleavened Bread) started at sunset; otherwise, they would have broke God’s Law and be guilty of a sin because they would have desecrated the land if the body was allowed to stay on the cross/tree and not buried until sunset.
The Crucifixion and Passover
Only those criminals who had someone to claim the body were taken down and placed in graves. Yahoshua’s body was taken down and buried in a borrowed grave belonging to Joseph of Arimathea before the day of Passover ended at sunset (Matt 27:57-60).
Paul teaches us in Gal 3:23, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”
If you have been hearing teachings and messages about the Feasts of Yahovah and you are confused or on the fence of whether or not you should do this then this episode is for you. For thirty years I was in the Christian church faithfully going to church on Sunday, filled with the Holy Ghost, teaching bible study and involved in Praise and worship in the church. I thought I was set for the rapture, to get to heaven. Then one day, the church closed its doors due to an immorality scandal concerning the pastor and we were now in between churches; or so I thought.
My daughter and I took some time to visit my mother on the east coast and while we were there she and my sister shared their conversion with me. Now this was weird because My father was a Pastor before I was born and so I grew up as Pastor’s kid., with daily morning devotions, bible studies, fasting and prayer in the home, participation in church and busy with church all the time. So my mother’s conversion was surprising to me since I never thought I would ever hear he say that. By this time my father had already passed away for 25 years. The first thing my mom gave me was a huge article to read in the newspaper. the article was written by my brother who was in Bible Seminary completing his Masters degree.
My daughter and I were reading my brothers thesis which his bible school published in the university newspaper. This was a Christian Trinitarian seminary so it was shocking that they would publish a thesis that countered what they believed. From His thesis I learned that the law of God was not done away with and the seventh day Sabbath is to be kept in obedience to God’s law. In addition, the Feasts of Yahovah was not the Feasts of the Jews. the feasts were the Creator’s Kingdom Plan for the people who accept His son, and obey His commandments. The biggest eye opener was was that sin is the transgression of God’s law. Therefore, my sincere love and desire for God meant nothing if I continued to sin and not obey His laws. This was a hard pill to swallow but I swallowed it with a big gulp.
Now I had a mighty lot to learn and unlearn. I had the hardest time coming online with the Feast days because the blood of Jesus was shed and I am not prepared to kill any animals. Then I learned later that we are not killing any animals. We are celebrating the work that Jesus accomplished in the spring feast and we are celebrating the Fall Feasts and looking forward to His return to fulfill those feasts.
Yahovah’s feasts are a map for His timeline to accomplish His plan in the earth. So when I saw it like that I became interested. Then with further study I discovered that we celebrate these feast because Yahovah commanded us to celebrate them and at my first feast it was like a summit meeting where so much revelation of His truth was poured out on me that it was unbelievable. At one feast I received education equivalent to 30 years of going to church on Sunday. Then I realized that God was bringing his family together at His feasts to reveal his secrets to us. Things that are considered mystery in the Christian church are revealed to us at the feast. The volume of information to absorb was great but exciting and drove me to more and longer Bible studies. I was now hooked on the feasts and filled up my calendar each year using vacation time and any other time I had on the books to get away to celebrate the Feasts. Three of the feasts are pilgrimage feasts and the rest are not.
My eyes were opened and this made we realize that the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light are very real. I thought I was in the kingdom of light but I was in the kingdom of darkness because I was not walking in obedience to my God who I loved so much. Worse yet, I didn’t even love Him because I was not keeping his commandments. Love is not just a feeling, it is an action.
One thing that remained constant was that we enter into the kingdom of light through Yahoshua (Jesus) who is the way, the truth and the life. We are led to worship Yahovah by the spirit of Yahoshua who is the spirit of truth (John 15:17).
Yahoshua taught his disciples inJohn 15:14-17 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but ye know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.”
John 14:21 “21 He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
The Spirit of truth connects our sincere desire to know and obey the truth, so we can lose the scales that are covering our eyes to receive the revelation of who God is and how to obey His commandments. The Spirit of truth will turn us in the right direction towards the narrow path of righteousness. He who hungers and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. We get to know God better when we learn the truth about Him and to know what he expects of us.
Joshua 24:14 (KJV) “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.”
Jer 16:19, NIV “Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, “Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good.”
Certainly, without faith it is impossible to please God. He will not even hear our prayers without faith! The book reinforced the fact that Yahovah does not take kindly to compromise, laziness, whining, excuses, lack of courage, ignorance, fear and lack of faith. He expects us to take action mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
To worship in spirit and in truth means to worship Yahovah in sincerity based on the truth of his word made plain to us by the Spirit of truth. When we know what the truth is we can worship with all our heart, with your entire mind, with all our soul and without all our strength. In order to worship this way, we must base our thoughts, actions and lifestyle on believing and obeying His word as Yahoshua teaches it. Most people know what the pastor says, but not what Yahoshua said. Only Yahoshua can help us to become true worshipers, worshiping in spirit and in truth because it is he who reveals the truth to us!!!!
Deut.10:12-13 “”Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command thee this day for thy good?
1 Sam. 12:14 “If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.”
1 Sam. 12:24 “Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.”
Sincerity without truth is worthless because we can be sincerely wrong. The apostle Paul was sincere and full of zeal to persecute and kill all the disciples of Yahoshua because he was convinced that he had to defend the name of Yahovah from these heretics because they were growing in number of converts of Jews and Gentiles and Judaism was dying and losing power. Therefore, he had to stop them. Here we saw the tragic outcome of Paul’s sincerity as many followers of Yahoshua lost their lives due to Paul’s sincerity and zeal. This is because sincerity is not a reflection of worship and is not synonymous with truth.
Godly sincerity must be paired with the truth, but worldly and political ‘sincerity’ do not require truth. When we learn that truth must trump zeal and sincerity in all cases, we will begin our search for truth and not be deceived by the sincerity of teachers who do not have truth.
Joshua spoke to the children of Israel on the last leg of their journey to the Promised Land, saying: Joshua 24:14 (KJV) “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.”
I remember when I celebrated Christmas and Easter: celebrations deeply rooted in worshiping the Babylonian sun god who goes by various names in different civilizations; and is currently represented by the Roman Catholic Church under the god Mithra. I was worshiping with all my SINCERE heart, believing I was honoring my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I worshiped God with tears of joy; giving Him thanks for the gift of His son, Jesus and the blood he shed on the cross to wash away my sins. In my ignorance of the truth, I was worshiping Him with the idols of paganism present in Christmas and Easter, which I inherited from my parents because I knew no better.
When I learned that the pagan celebrations of Christmas and Easter were introduced into Christianity by the Roman Catholic Church, and that the seventh day Sabbath and Feasts of Yahovah commanded in Torah and practiced by Yahoshua and the apostles were abolished by the Roman Catholic Church, my eyes were opened to the deceptive root of Satan that invaded Christianity. A simple search on the internet will provide access to the Roman Catholic encyclopedia, and many resources that disclose the history of the institution of Sunday, the first day of the week, to replace the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath. The Roman Catholic Church has proven to Christians that they are observing hte laws made by the Roman Catholic Church when they observe Sunday as the Sabbath, Celebrate Christmas, and Easter, while denying obedience of Yahovah’s Torah. YouTube has many videos where you can find the Roman Catholic church attesting to be the origin of these changes in the beliefs of Christianity.
This act of Constantine, deleted many truths from the teachings of the Bible leaving us in the darkness, not with the word of truth but twisted truth mixed with lies. The lies we inherited have moved us far away from obedience that brings eternal life. We have continued to believe and practice these lies because we have been complacent to be fed rather than search the scriptures to find the bread of life for ourselves.
Another reason for this blindness to truth lack of knowledge of the truth is our busy lifestyle. At the end of the day we are so tired and drained from our labors that we are in search of entertainment for relaxation rather than search for the instructions that come with the bread of life for eternal life. This mindset dictates to us that it is okay to delegate our eternal destiny into the hands of those we have chosen to be our spiritual leaders. To ease our conscience we give money to the church and attend religiously, become active in church activities, pay by way of tithe, offerings, donations, time spent in church activities and then we buy into the doctrine without seeking truth.
Those who later hear the truth are afraid to leave their church for fear of change and love of doctrine more than love of the truth. They do not stop to question why the changes were made, who made them, where can they find the truth and what does the the original Hebrew scriptures teach because of the amount of work attached to doing the search and study to find the truth. But, it is important to spend the time to do the search because anything worth having requires us to spend time and energy to attain it. What are we willing to give in exchange for eternal life? No amount of money can purchase it. No wealth, association or person can give it to us. It has already been purchased by Yahoshua with His blood and many people will forfeit the blessings of this gift because of ignorance, arrogance, laziness, and deception.
One of Satan’s warfare strategy against us that has been working very well for him is the strategy of distraction and manipulation. If we are too tired and worn from our toils of work each to pay the bills and maintain our lifestyle, then it is easy to become willing to pay the church to take on our responsibility to search out the truth for us and tell us about it. We pay with our charitable donations, tithes, offerings; delegate our authority and responsibility to these religious leaders to tell us what is the truth. But who will be blame in the end when we inherit eternal death instead of eternal life? It is time to take back our responsibility and authority from the religious leaders and teachers by scrutinizing and questioning their teachings like the Bereans, and hold them accountable when they teach the traditions and doctrines of men and interpret them to be truths; instead of teaching the truths taught by Yahoshua and his apostles as found in the Old Testament. Lies and twisted truths come from Satan and lead us away from truth to worship carnality, idols of wood, metal and stones. That information does not lead us to search out the truth but creates blinders leading us away from the truth and prevents us from worshiping God in spirit and in truth.
That is why the prophet Jeremiah said, Jer 16:19, NIV “Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress, to you the nations (Gentiles) will come from the ends of the earth and say, “Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good.”
Christianity lost the heirloom seeds of the truth of God’s word once delivered to the saints with the influence and edicts of the Roman Catholic Church to enforced their religion and agenda to infuse paganism in Christianity. Because of the “mixed seeds” the seventh day Sabbath was declared to be the first day of the week, Sunday. Also, the Feasts of Yahovah were abolished and replaced with Easter, and Christmas, which led to the persecution and martyrdom of believers who held to the teachings of the apostles in the second, third, fourth and fifth century believers, who refused to submit to the change. As a result, they had to hide to preserve their lives and the Hebrew Roots of Christianity by going underground to obey the commandments of God and live according to His instructions (Torah).
All these changes to our faith and worship, by the Roman Catholic Church, were introduced into Christianity because of antisemitism. The Jews were hated because they killed Jesus. Martin Luther carried that antisemitism with him into the reformation causing him to stop short in reforming the faith back to its Hebrew roots. Today, Christianity still suffers from antisemitism among the believers in many denominations. When they realize the pagan roots of these celebrations they refuse separate themselves if the alternative is to return to the Hebrew roots. So they continue to adhere to the Greek-Roman modification doctrines rather than embrace the Hebrew roots of the faith once delivered to the saints.
Jude 1:3 Jude, the brother of Yahoshua in his epistle wrote: “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
So what is the faith which was once delivered to the saints?
The faith that was first delivered to the saints is the gospel that Yahovah gave to Moses to give to teach the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness. Paul tells us it is the same gospel we have received. The difference is that the Gentiles received the same gospel by faith; but the children of Israel did not receive it by faith. They received it as tasks and activities to be carried out, instead in seeing the shadow of the Messiah in all their worship services with sacrificial offerings.
All this was written in the Book of the Covenant which the children of Israel ratified and Moses sealed it with blood in Exodus 24. This was a marriage covenant that Yahovah made with Israel, sealing them as His bride and treasured possession. But their desire for the ways of the gentiles and the gods of the gentiles caused them to wander away from Yahovah and not obey His commands and not keep His covenant as they promised.
The covenant identified the Israel as a people of covenant because Yahovah place his name on them through the covenant and they became His own treasured possession. His covenant foreshadowed the day when they would become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This is still an outstanding promise which Yahovah made to Israel and is waiting to fulfill. Because it was a bilateral covenant, they must do their part for him to do his part to make the covenant whole.
To live the covenant life with Yahovah is to know what His covenant entails and keep His covenant. But Israel did not study His covenant and fell away from her husband Yahovah, causing a breach in their relationship. Because of His faithfulness and His love for her, He promised her a subsequent covenant that would help her to come in compliance with His covenant so she can reconcile with him. But this requires her to repent, recognize Yahoshua as Messiah and accept the atoning sacrifice of Messiah for her sins so she can become the holy nation covered in his righteousness and serve as the kingdom of priests. He intends for her to be.
Through Yahoshua, Yahovah made the provisions to fulfill His portion of the covenant to make Israel a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, but for this to be a reality, Israel must do her part to obey His commands and keep His covenant. While Israel remains in non-compliant to His Marriage covenant, Yahovah has opened up to the Gentiles, the door of opportunity to become spiritual Israel through Yahoshua; in this way the Gentiles will be grafted into the true vine who is Yahoshua and become part of the commonwealth of Israel.
As spiritual Israel, the Gentiles will qualify to be part of the Marriage Covenant with Yahovah and share into the covenant blessings of becoming a kingdom of priests unto Yahovah, a holy nation, being included as His treasured possession, they will be His people and He will be their God. However, the gentiles must comply with the terms of the Marriage covenant. The covenant is found is four chapters long and included Yahovah’s commands to obey all He says we must do, including His feast days.
On his first mission to earth, Yahoshua’s agenda was to accomplish the plan of salvation to first reconcile Israel to Yahovah. But only a remnant of the Jews and the lost sheep of the House of Israel accepted Him and the Gospel of the Kingdom of God that he preached. Therefore, Yahovah opened the doors of the covenant to the Gentiles. Yahoshua accomplished through the feast of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruit and Pentecost the following prophecies which are part of the plan of God.
Yahoshua’s Spring Ministry Agenda: this is what his father sent him to do.
1) Gen 3:15 He Crush the head of the Serpent by His death on the cross
2) Luke 2:10, He brought good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, because the Father included the Gentiles in His covenant. This was a light to the gentiles who was in darkness.
3) Luke 2:32, 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
4) John 1:12, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
5) John 1:29: he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”.
6) John 1:33: “it is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit”.
7) Luke 1:55: He is the fulfillment of the covenant, which Yahovah made with Abraham, and to his seed for ever”.
8) John 6:48-51, To be the bread of life for the world: Yahoshua said, 48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
As a result, we are looking forward to the return of Yahoshua to fulfill our hope of Eternal life and resurrection on the Last day.
When Israel accepts the Messiah, the Gentiles will already be in place and Yahovah’s covenant with Israel can be fulfilled. The Gentiles who are part of the covenant will also inherit the kingdom of God which is open only to those who are in covenant with Him. Moses wrote the covenant in a Book called the Book of the Covenant.
The Book of the Covenant: is the Marriage Covenant between Yahovah and Israel. Click the link for more information
On Mount Sinai, Yahovah dictated His Covenant to Moses, the representative of the people and Moses wrote it in a book with his own handwriting. Ex.24:4 “Moses then wrote down everything Yahovah had said”.
Moses wrote the Marriage Covenant in a Book.
Content of the Book:
The Ten commandment of the covenant: Ex 20: 1-17;
The Judgments of the covenant: Ex 21- Ex 22:9
The Law of the covenant: Ex 22:10 – Ex 23:33
(Ex. 23:12-19, 24-26 contains the Feasts of Yahovah)
The sealing of the Book of the Covenant: Ex 24:3 – 8
The Feasts of Yahovah
Spring Feasts
Feast of Passover
Feast of Unleavened Bread – a pilgrimage
Feast of Firstfruit
Feast of Pentecost- a pilgrimage
Fall Feasts
Feast of Trumpets
Day of Atonement
Feast of Tabernacles & Last Great Day- a pilgrimage
In the law section of the Book of the Covenant, we find Yahovah’s commands to keep His feasts. We find the Feasts of Yahovah listed in the Book of the Covenant below:
Exodus 23:12-19, 24-26.
“12 “Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest, that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed.
13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect; and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
14 “Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year.
15 Thou shalt keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty), 16 and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors which thou hast sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering, which is at the end of the year when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field. 17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.18 “Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrificewith leavened bread; neither shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until the morning. (the feast of my sacrifice is referring to the Passover Sacrifice) 19 “The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. “Thou shalt not boil a kid in his mother’s milk.
24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them and quite break down their images. 25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. 26 None shall cast their young nor be barren in thy land; the number of thy days I will fulfill.
The Christian churches teach that the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 replaces the Marriage covenant of Ex.20:1-23:33. However, Yahovah does not teach that. The New covenant was given to help Israel, obey the Marriage Covenant. His covenant with Israel still stands because He did not annul His marriage to Israel. This is why Yahoshua said he did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets because the law and the prophets are focused on Yahovah’s covenant relationship with Israel and the reconciling of that Marriage relationship.
Through His blood, Yahoshua accomplished the reconciliation provision for the marriage covenant. He did this through the provisions of the Spring Feasts of Yahovah. His teachings expound on the law of Yahovah and clarify what it was and what it was not. Yahoshua challenged the Oral Torah of the Scribes and Pharisees making it clear that their laws which they were upholding was not God’s laws, it was their own laws made up of man-made laws and traditions. Therefore Yahoshua used every possible opportunity to break their laws so he could teach the people that they did not have to keep those man-made laws and traditions of the Pharisees.
Many Christian churches teach that Yahoshua was breaking God’s law because the law was done away with. But what they fail to see is that if the law was done away with then Passover would also be done away with and there would be no provision for his blood to atone for our sins. And if Yahoshua had nailed the law to the cross then the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Feast of First fruits would be done away with and there would be no provision in the law for His righteousness to be imputed unto us; and Feast of First fruits would be null and void removing our hope of resurrection.
Also, after his resurrection Yahoshua told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father, which was the baptism of the Holy Spirit spoken about in Joel 2 and Ezekiel 36. This was the Father’s provision to give us the spirit of adoption, which is the spirit of Yahoshua and equip us with power from on high to help all who is Israel to obey His law and keep His Marriage covenant, become the sons of God and qualify to inherit the kingdom of God. But because the law was not done away with and Yahoshua did not nail it to the cross, it is still valid to accomplish the work of Yahovah according to His battle plan to make us into the holy nation and kingdom of priests according to His covenant promise.
Consequently, Yahoshua was able to fulfill the Spring Feasts of Yahovah starting with Passover on the cross/tree.
Passover remained valid and still in the Book of the Covenant and for our sins are atoned for with the blood of Yahoshua. Today, we celebrate Passover because yahoshua carried out all the rites associated with atonement of our sins.
Feast of Unleavened Bread is valid and still in the book of the covenant since Yahoshua resurrected and presented himself to His father in the holy of holies on our behalf and the Father has imputed the righteousness of Yahoshua to us; giving us the ability to enter boldly before the throne of Grace in heaven.
Feast of Firstfruits is still in the Book of the Covenant since Yahoshua ascended to heaven and presented himself as the first fruit from the resurrection giving us hope of resurrection life in messiah when we die in the flesh.
Feast of Pentecost is still in the Book of the Covenant since after walking the earth for 40 days in his resurrected body and before his final ascension to his Father in heaven, Yahoshua instructed his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, based on his teaching to them about the promised new covenant in Ezekiel 36. As a result, the disciples stayed in Jerusalem and received power when the Holy Spirit which the Father poured out on them.
The Feasts outline Yahovah’s Plan of Reconciliation. It is the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. When I was first introduced to the Feast days, I saw that Yahoshua (Jesus) even after he was resurrected observed the Feast of Unleavened bread and instructed his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. They were waiting for the feast of Pentecost. What was clear to me was that Father was fulfilling His plan for reconciling His people to Himself for His Kingdom on His Feast Days.
2Cor 5:18 tells us that God was in Yahoshua, reconciling the world to Him. He used His Spring Feasts to implement the reconciliation provision. Now all who come to Him can be reconciled through the work of Yahoshua on the spring feasts: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruit, and Pentecost.
We exercise our faith by walking in obedience to Yahoshua’s commands. He commands us to obey Yahovah’s commandments. In this way we show our love to Him. I learned that His law was not done away with; Yahoshua did not nail it to the tree as I was taught in the Christian church, because when Yahoshua resurrected from the grave, He observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the feast of First Fruit which we are all commanded to observe in God’s Law. Then before he went to heaven, he told his disciples to observe the feast f Pentecost.
Also, the apostles and the first century assemblies (early church) all obeyed the law of God even after Yahoshua ascended to heaven decades afterwards. They are our role models, who set the example of obedience for me to follow. During Paul’s missionary journeys, He planned his travel around the feasts. Regardless of where he was, he timed his travel to return to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feasts of Yahovah as commanded in Torah. During Yahoshua’s ministry He obeyed God’s laws but broke the laws of the Pharisees. He observed every feast day confirming he did not come to abolish the law or prophets.
We have learned from the apostles including Paul’s teachings that Yahoshua is our Passover Lamb and all the sacrifices associated with the blood of the lamb, pointed to our salvation. Yahoshua’s blood has replaced all those blood sacrifices of animals so they are no longer required considering Yahoshua’s blood removes our sins and iniquity washing us clean; while the blood of animals did not remove any sins but only covered us from the wrath of God, until the better sacrifice, Yahoshua would come.
Father even changed the priesthood from the Levitical priesthood to the priesthood of Melchizadeck of which Yahovah made Yahoshua the High Priest. Consequently we now celebrate the feasts instead of observing them. There is no need for sacrifices because Yahoshua is the ultimate sacrifice which Yahovah gave us once and for all.
Yahoshua told the woman at the well that the day is coming when we no longer will go to Jerusalem or on any mountain to worship God in any temple. That day is the days we are currently living in. What God is requiring from us is to worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Spirit speaks of sincerity (Humility, faithfulness and obedience) and truth is the word of truth from god’s mouth. This means with all our heart in obedience and faithfulness with a broken and contrite heart (Ps. 51:17), accepting his truth and living our lives according to what he has commanded. This is how we show our faith in him. It is not to think about it, tell about it and talk about it, but to do it. As a result, worshiping requires focus, awareness and understanding of the truth because worshiping is not a passive activity, it requires energy and strength.
Where do we get the energy to worship Him? The presence of the Holy Spirit in us stimulates our desire and gives us a sense of purpose. Each day we generate energy to go to the job, run our business and actually accomplish work, return home and take care of our family relationships, then take care of our body and finances, home and health. It all comes from desire, commitment, motivation, duty and a sense of purpose. In this same way we get the energy needed to worship Yahovah.
The enemy is constantly fighting against us each time we get started by depleting our energy, overcoming us with sleep, creating distractions to interrupt our focus, planting contrary seeds in our minds, growing those seeds with lies, sending his children of darkness into our lives and creating confusion to throw us off track, in order to create doubt in the truth found in Yahovah’s word, as we encounter increased cares of life.
We are fighting the enemy who works through our flesh to force us to give up the good fight of faith. It is not enough to talk a good talk; we must also fight the good fight of faith (i.e. push ourselves to do it), because our actions speak louder than our words and thoughts. Thoughts, words and wishes are passive endeavors which by themselves and all together, can accomplish nothing. The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”.
Also, James, the brother of Yahoshua tells us in the book of James 2:17, “17 Thus, also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”. So let us put life into our faith by taking action. Abraham was a friend of God because he took the commands of God seriously and obeyed them. His greatest act of faith was when he took his only begotten son, Isaac and was ready to offer him as a sacrificial burn offering to Yahovah. The angel of Yahovah stopped Abraham before he killed Isaac. God was impressed and said now I know of a truth you do love God.
What do Yahovah and Yahoshua require of us? Obey their commands. Obedience will open the door to a new lifestyle of worshiping God in spirit and in truth. Remember, many people know what they should do but they never do it. The reward is in the doing! Not the knowing, thinking, saying, teaching, wishing, intending, or planning to do; it is in the doing. The consequence of, not taking action is disobedience to God’s commands, which is sin.
Concerning the Feasts of Yahovah, we are commanded in the portion of the Law recorded in Leviticus 23, what these feasts are and that they are not the feast of the Jews, but the feasts of Yahovah. The Jews did not create nor come up with these feasts. They are Yahovah’s feast that he has commanded all of Israel to keep as an everlasting ordinance, for all their generations.
The Law to keep the feast is included in the marriage covenant that Yahovah made with Israel at Mount Sinai. The complete marriage covenant is four chapters long, found in Exodus 20:1 through to the end of Exodus 23:33. Moses sealed the covenant in animal’s blood once the people ratified it (i.e. voted to keep it and obey all Yahovah’s words to them). This is the covenant that seals the relationship with Yahovah and His people. To come in covenant with God, we must keep his covenant. The New Covenant was sealed with the blood of Yahoshua and cannot be unsealed or done away with, in the same way that Yahoshua’s blood cannot lose its power.
The New Covenant that Yahovah promised Israel to help them obey His Marriage Covenant is not the New Testament. The new covenant is found in Jeremiah 31 starting at verse 31 and in Ezekiel 36 starting at verse 27. Yahoshua taught his disciples about the new covenant. The night before his crucifixion, he said the new covenant was in his blood. This means that no longer was Yahovah ratifying his covenant with the blood of animals, but with the blood of his only begotten son, Yahoshua. After his resurrection, he reminded them about the new covenant that he taught them about and told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit which was the fulfillment of the new covenant promise from the Father.
Cain and Abel were brought gifts to Yahovah. Abel brought the gift Yahovah desired and Yahovah accepted and was pleased with the gift he received from Abel. But he was displeased with the gift he received from Cain because Cain’s gift was according to Cain’s desire rather than what Yahovah desired to receive. How did Abel know what Yahovah desired to receive? He learned the commands and instructions of God from his father Adam. Cain learned the same commands and instructions. But Cain decided to do what he chose to do rather than what He was commanded to do. So Cain pleased himself, but Able pleased God.
In the Old Testament, Yahovah tells us what He requires of us. And in the New Testament, Yahoshua reiterated what Yahovah told us. The bottom line is obedience. The message Yahoshua preached was the message of the Kingdom of God, the message of Obedience.
Yahoshua is Yahovah’s only begotten Son and the teacher to whom the treasures of Yahovah has been entrusted. Yahoshua will be our judge and He will restore heaven and earth to the way Yahovah intended them to be in the beginning. Therefore, it only makes sense for us to obey his commands to us now before it is too late. He came to fulfill not to abolish or destroy His Father’s law and prophecies. By fulfilling them he made them plain and clear to our understanding so we may know the truth and be able to worship Yahovah in spirit (with sincerity) and in truth (based on the truth of His Father’s words).
Under the leadership of Joshua and the Elders; and under the rule of King David and then King Solomon, Israel was the envy of the known world because of their awesome and mighty God and His Laws which He had given them to make them wise. In addition, He had blessed them so no curses of the heathen could affect them. He gave them wealth, beauty, bountiful resources and He fought and defeated their enemies. The Kingdom of Israel was now God’s Kingdom on earth. Israel was a fortress that could not be destroyed because their God lived among them.
In Lesson 13 we learned that the Old Covenant was Marriage Covenant between Yahovah and Israel that He used to establish the Kingdom of Israel. We also learned that this covenant is a legal document, which was signed by both Yahovah and Israel. And each party has their own copy of the document stored in their respective safe space.
However, after the death of these leaders who Yahovah had set to govern over them, Israel sinned against their God, Yahovah by transgressing His Laws. They did this because they desired to be like the other nations. Israel took her blessings for granted and forgot her God, Yahovah. This mindset led her to repeatedly break His Covenant, which she had vowed to keep causing Him to drive her off the land and into exile. Because of the hardness of her heart, she did not reconcile to Him. Yahovah promised her a New Covenant that would help her to keep His Marriage covenant and obey Him. This is because she was unable to obey His words and keep His covenant according to her vow, which was sealed in blood at Sinai.
The Law stipulates that the priests were to cleanse themselves with water before they entered into the temple to carry out their priestly duties. The Law stipulates that the duty of the priest is to study and know Yahovah’s law and to teach the knowledge of Yahovah’s Law to the people. That is why after the people were sent into exile, Yahovah made it clear through the prophet Hosea that the predicament of the nation was due to the Priests not doing their duty. Later, the prophet Malachi said: Mal 2:7 “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts”.
Ezekiel 36:17-28, Yahovah makes his case against House of Israel:
Why Yahovah destroyed the Kingdom of Israel
Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
Why Is Yahovah Reconciling Israel to Himself?
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus says Yahovah GOD; I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am Yahovah, says Yahovah Elohim, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
The Process of Reconciliation for Israel?
For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
Outcome of Israel’s Reconciliation
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
You are Clean through the water of the word
Yahovah is starting the process of reconciliation with the priests by making them into the Holy Nation and Royal Priesthood he had promised. The role of the priest is to have knowledge of the Law of Yahovah and teach it to Yahovah’s people (Hosea 4:6).
Yahovah sent the people and the priests into exile as they were all unclean because they broke his law and the Priests were to blame. They needed to learn His Law and teach it to the people. As a result, the first thing in Yahovah’s New Covenant that he told Israel he would do after bringing them out from the heathen nations is to wash them with clean water. Yahoshua defines the use of the term “cleanse with water” when he said: “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (Joh 15:3; 17:17). Paul used that term also in Eph 5:26 26 “That he (Yahoshua) might sanctify and cleanse it (the body of Messiah) with the washing of water by the word”. King David also concur with the use of the term in Psalm 119:9 saying, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word”. The word Yahovah will us for the cleansing is contained in the Marriage Covenant are His Ten Commandments, His Judgments, and His Law. This is the Word of Yahovah, which He had given to Israel in the Marriage Covenant which they broke.
In the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, Yahoshua preached about the restoration of the Kingdom of God, which is the Kingdom of Israel under the government of God on earth. In his teachings, Yahoshua taught his disciples about the Promised New Covenant which the Father made to Israel and Judah through the prophets; and to rejoin the House of Judah and House of Israel together again as one nation.
This New Covenant that Yahovah offered Israel was not a poor reflection on the Old Covenant because He did not find any fault with the Old covenant. Instead, He promised them the New Covenant because he found fault with the people’s ability to honor their vow to Him to keep His marriage covenant. As a result of the fault He found with the people (Children of Israel), He made His New Covenant loaded with changes that He promised to make in the people’s heart, spirit and mind; NOT the Marriage Covenant! (Rom. 8:8-13)
It was well known from the Messianic Prophecies that the Messiah would be Yahovah’s appointed King to do this work and re-establish the Kingdom of God, which is the Kingdom of Israel as one holy nation and a kingdom of Priests. Therefore, his disciples armed with knowledge of the messianic prophecies, expectation of the people, teachings of Yahoshua and him being Messiah, they ask him in Acts 1:6, “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”
Thus, to be reconciled to Yahovah, Israel must enter the regeneration process of the New Covenant in the blood of Yahoshua, starting with their washing by the word for their cleansing. Once all the steps of the regeneration process, which Father outlined in His New Covenant, is complete then Israel will be reconciled to her husband, be able to walk in His ways, obey His statutes and keep his Marriage Covenant. Fear of God comes from knowing His word. We cannot know Him if we do not know His word because His word teaches us about Him. Fear of Him also moves us to love and obey His words and His instructions (Torah).
Israel needed a new mind and new spirit for their new heart to work together effectively. With these changes in place, and the stony heart replaced with a new circumcised heart, they would be healed from their “hardness of heart condition”. He also promised to cleanse them with clean water. The cleansing with clean water is the first step for reporting to duty in the temple to serve as a priest. With His law written on their new mind and heart, they would have the knowledge of His ways and nature implanted in them to direct their thoughts and desires towards Him.
In this new and improved condition they would fear Him and keep His marriage covenant. Upon meeting these criteria, Israel would be reconciled to her Husband where the Kingdom will be restored again to Israel to become the Kingdom of God on earth to function as a Holy Nation and Kingdom of Priests in service to her God.
