Yom Kippur 2023 Message

September 25, 2023 Leave a comment

Hello to all you bad-breath, caffeine headache, grumbling stomach, short-tempered faithful followers of Torah out there.

I am going to borrow a sermon… from myself. The following message is one that I had delivered many years ago when acting as the (temporary) Rabbi for the Messianic synagogue I used to attend in Northeast Philadelphia.

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

There is an undeniable relationship between Yom Kippur and Passover, and together they provide total atonement which allows us to have life everlasting.

Yeshua is the Lamb of God, often referred to as the Pesach Lamb. His death was the atonement for our sins, but it wasn’t just as the Passover lamb that he accomplished this. In Exodus, when we read about the Passover lamb, we see clearly that the lamb’s blood was not a sin atonement- it was a covering (a “Kippur”) for us, which identified us as God’s people and protected us from the Angel of Death.

The blood of the Passover Lamb ensured life for the people of God. Despite the fact that Yeshua’s sacrificial death as the atonement for our sins did occur at Passover, it is actually the fulfillment of what the Yom Kippur goats do.

The two Yom Kippur goats (one is killed and the other one is released) are the blood that provides for our atonement (Lev. 16:9-10). The scapegoat had the sins of all the people transferred to it before being released into the desert, or as the Bible tells us, to Azazel.

Let’s take a second here to answer the age-old question: Who is “Azazel?

The Talmud interprets this word to mean a steep mountain, and for many years the scapegoat was thrown off a steep mountain in order to fulfil this command.

Another interpretation, this one from the Book of Enoch, says that Azazel is a fallen angel. Of course, it is unthinkable that God would tell us to sacrifice a goat to a god-like satyr in the desert.

Now, according to Rabbi Hertz, who was once the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire and edited the 1965 edition of the Soncino Press Chumash, Azazel is a rare Hebrew noun that means “dismissal” or “entire removal”. I believe this is the most reasonable and best fitting definition because the transference of the sins of Israel by the Cohen HaGadol onto the goat released into the desert symbolized the total removal of sin from us.

You know, I’ve always wondered: Why do we need two goats? We transfer our sins onto both, then we kill one which is the sin sacrifice (because sin can only be forgiven by the shedding of innocent blood), so why do we have to release one alive into the desert if our sins have already been forgiven?

Well, I believe the answer is that the goat released into the desert represents our T’Shuvah– it shows our willingness to let go of our sinful desires and remove them totally from our lives. That is why all the people are present when the goat is released because we all are giving up our sinful ways and desires.

Atonement comes from three things:

1. Recognizing and taking responsibility for our sins.

2. Our desire and willingness to do T’Shuvah and remove sin from our lives.

3. Asking forgiveness from God once we have done the first two things.

Yeshua’s death as the atonement for our sin represents the Yom Kippur goats. As the released scapegoat, he took upon himself all our sins, carrying them forever to a place we would never see them again- not just into the desert but beyond the grave. He also was the sacrificial goat, the one whose blood atoned for our sins and made it possible for God to forgive us.

His death as the Pesach lamb made it possible for us to commune with God, ensuring our lives, just as the blood over the doors did in Egypt.

Yeshua is the Pesach Lamb of God and Yom Kippur scapegoat for the world. When he said he was the beginning and the end he didn’t mean some sort of timeline: he is the beginning of our eternal life, and he is the end of our sin.

Yeshua’s sacrificial death demonstrates to us that Passover and Yom Kippur, although two separate things in reality, are spiritually one thing: the Passover blood represents protection from death and the Yom Kippur blood is our forgiveness from sin. Together these two things provide our salvation, both being accomplished by Yeshua. In the Acharit haYamim (End Times), when Yeshua returns and we are all gathered up into the clouds with him, then will the ultimate fulfillment of both of these festivals be realized.

Thank you for being here; please share these messages and subscribe to my website, my YouTube channel, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word”(you must first agree to the rules!)

That’s it for now, so l’hitraot… and may you have an easy fast!

Creation of Eve and Yeshua Deny Trinity

September 5, 2023 Leave a comment

When someone wants to justify the Christian-born theological belief that Yeshua and God are one and the same entity, they can only find that justification in the Gospel of John, and mostly only in John 10:30, where he says he and the Father are one.

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

But what about everything before that? He talks of how he was empowered by God, how he, Yeshua, is a good shepherd, how he, Yeshua, does as God tells him to do, and how he, Yeshua, is the gate; and throughout the gospel he states that he only does and says what God has told him to do and say.

In all the Gospels (except for that one, FIGURATIVE statement in John 10:30), Yeshua continually identifies himself as one who is separate from God, who will sit at God’s right hand, and who only does and says what God tells him to do and say, which is why he made (again, only found in John’s Gospel) the figurative statement that when we see him, we see God. What he meant was that because he only does and says what God tells him to do and say, he is an IMAGE of God on Earth.

Not the same entity but acting as if that entity was physically there.

Now we come to Eve. How was she created? Supernaturally from a man. Adam was the first man, in Hebrew, “Ish“, and when she was created, Adam said that she was from man, so he called her “Isha” (Genesis 2:23).

When Adam first saw Eve (no, I won’t share any of the many jokes about this event), he said that she was “bone from his bone and flesh from his flesh“. In fact, in Genesis 2:24 (CJB), the Bible says:

“This is why a man is to leave his father and mother and stick with his wife, and they are to be one flesh.”

So even though the Bible says they are to be one flesh, Eve was never considered to be Adam.

So, too, when God caused Miryam to give birth to Yeshua, he was supernaturally created, born out of a woman but from God, yet he was separate from God because God is entirely of spirit and Yeshua was entirely human.

Just as Eve was from Adam, but not Adam, so, too, Yeshua was from God, but not God.

Clearly the statement that when a man and a woman are married, they are to be one flesh is meant to be spiritually as one; in the real world, they are still totally separate entities (just ask anyone who is married!). So, too, is the relationship between God and Yeshua: they are one in spirit, but physically they were two totally separate entities, and have always remained so.

We also see that the similarity between Eve and Yeshua continues into the End Times.

When punishing the snake for causing Eve to sin (Genesis 3:14-15), God says that there will be animosity between the snake and the woman, and between “his descendant and her descendant.”

Notice, please, that the word “descendant” is singular, not plural. In the other versions I have looked at, they use the word “offspring” or “seed”, but in all cases I saw, the word used was in the singular.

This clearly shows- at least, to me- that God was defining the relationship between mankind and HaSatan: Satan would constantly be at our heels, causing us to fall and his descendant is the Anti-Christ, and Yeshua, the descendant of Eve, would crush his head, i.e., destroy him.

The argument over Trinity or Unity will never stop because it has become so ingrained in so many Christian religions that it will never go away, and we will not have an absolute answer until the End Days (Acharit HaYamim) come.

Until then, we must remember that we are not saved by faithfully believing Yeshua is God, but by faithfully believing that Yeshua is the Messiah sent by God. His role is to be an Intercessor, a shepherd, a representative from God who is the one and only Messiah. And through his sacrifice enables us to be forgiven of sin, thereby able to come into the presence of God, Almighty.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know. Subscribe to my website and YouTube channel, join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but make sure you agree to the rules, or you won’t be able to post anything), and if you like what you get here, you will definitely like my (very affordably priced) books, available from my website and Amazon, in both paperback and Kindle formats.

And remember that I always welcome your comments, although it may take a day or two before I can get to them.

That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Let’s Talk Trinity

August 24, 2023 Leave a comment

As those of you who have been following me for years (which I truly appreciate), you know I have often stated that, as far as I am concerned, whether Yeshua is God or not, for the purposes of salvation it doesn’t really matter because we are not saved by belief that Yeshua is God but by our acceptance of him as the Messiah God promised to send.

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

The reason I say this is simple: God has a plan, and the Messiah is part of that plan. If God wanted to do it all as himself, he would have without confusing the issue by coming in a separate form.

We know from the Tanakh references to God that when he uses angels, they often speak in the first person because they are his messengers and are speaking for him, so when Yeshua does that (and he only does that in the one Gospel, the Gospel of John) he is not claiming to be God but speaking for God. In fact, when we look at the couple of times Yeshua says things such as when we see him, we see God, and if we knew him, we would know the Father, for anyone not already conditioned otherwise it is clear that he is speaking figuratively, not literally.

But let’s not stop there- what about the fact that throughout the Gospels (again, John being the sole exception, which by that very fact renders it questionable) Yeshua never takes any credit for himself, but instead he gives all the credit and glory to God.

There is only one exception that I can recall where Yeshua came close to taking credit for a healing, and that is in Luke 5:12, when the man with leprosy says if Yeshua is willing, he can heal him, and Yeshua says, “I am willing; be healed.”

Let’s also remember that Yeshua tells the Sanhedrin at his (illegal) trial that one day they will see him sitting at the right hand of God (Matthew 26:64). Well, I think that makes it pretty clear that Yeshua thinks he is a separate entity from God.

And then we have the testimony from Stephen (Acts 7:55), who, as he was being stoned to death, declared that he saw the Holy One and Yeshua standing at his side. Two separate entities.

It is documented that the first use of the term “trinity” was by Tertullian (160-225 AD) and there are other writings from biblical and religious historians that indicate the references in the letters from Shaul (Paul) and John regarding false teachings that were damaging the faith of the neophyte believers had to do with this idea of three-in-one. The religious doctrine that God is not unique but three entities in one form, which denies the Jewish belief that God is a totally unique entity (as stated in our most foundational prayer, the Shema), would cause all Jews to reject Yeshua as the Messiah because he was said to be God in the flesh.

My personal opinion about the Trinity is that it was created by a man, probably Tertullian, for two reasons:

To make Yeshua more appealing to the masses, who were used to believing in multiple gods and demigods; and
To further separate this new religion called Christianity from its Jewish roots by making it less appealing to Jews, who would never, and never will, accept that God-Adonai- is anything other than the one and only, unique, separate, omniscient, and omnipotent spirit that he is.

If we backtrack to why I said this whole issue of Trinity vs. Unity is irrelevant with regards to salvation, there is one aspect which makes it VERY relevant: if someone prays to and worships Yeshua instead of God, asking Yeshua for forgiveness and thanking Yeshua for blessings, by replacing God with Yeshua they have committed a terrible sin- it is idolatry, and I doubt it will go over well with either God or Yeshua.

Bad enough when you go into many churches (especially the RC’s) and see people bowing down and praying to graven images, well… how can that possibly be explained in light of the 2nd Commandment, which even the staunchest Christian admits is still something they have to follow?

The worst part of this argument about Trinity vs. Unity is that its sole use is not to edify anyone or to bring anyone closer to the proper worship of God or help anyone become more righteous. No! The only thing this age-old argument does is to serve the Enemy of God by creating a wedge between people within the body of Believers. It doesn’t bring us closer to God or closer to each other, but quite the opposite: it is a religious civil war, causing disunity and confusion, and giving the Devil a strong handhold in separating us from God.

So, nu! Believe what you want- it is, as it always has been and always will be, your choice to believe what you want to. But remember this: God doesn’t care why you believe what you do, or why you do what you do, but he does care about what you believe and what you do.

In other words, when you come before God (which we will all have to do) and you tell him that you believed what they told you to believe and so did what they told you to do, I believe that God will say something to the effect of:

“I understand you only did what they told you to do, but it is what I say that counts.”

Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know, even if they aren’t believers- maybe it will get them thinking? Also, if you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to my website (messianicmoment.com) and on my YouTube channel, as well. I invite you to join my Facebook discussion group called “Just God’s Word”, but please ensure you agree to the rules to be let in.

One other thing: did you know I have written 4 books? There is a link to them on my website or go to the Amazon Book Store; they are available in both paperback and Kindle formats.

And remember that I always welcome your comments.

Okay, that’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!

To Torah, or Not to Torah.

August 17, 2023 Leave a comment

So many people have no idea what the Torah really is. They think it is just a bunch of laws, and to some degree that is accurate, but those laws define more than just ceremonies or rituals- they define a total way of life.

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

Recently, I was in a discussion with someone who was trying to convince me that the 10 Commandments are for everyone, but the Mosaic laws (I really think she thought they were Moses’ laws and not God’s) were only for Jews. I told her that the Big Ten were really just a condensed version of the Torah, but not all the laws God wants us to obey. I gave her examples of some Torah commandments not mentioned, at all, in the Big Ten but apply to God-fearing people, such as the Torah rules against sexual perversity within a family, homosexuality, and other penal code violations. I asked if she thought those activities are acceptable for Christians to do?

Can a Christian son sleep with his Christian Mother-in-law? Can a Christian father sleep with his Christian daughter-in-law? Can Christians be absolved from punishment if they commit acts of violence against each other (what are legally defined as torts)?

I don’t think so, do you?

These are covered in the Torah, but not mentioned at all in the Big Ten.

Here is the real scoop about the Torah- it was given by God to the Jewish people, but not JUST for the Jewish people. In Exodus 19:6, God tells Moses that the Israelites- the descendants of Abraham- will be his (God’s) nation of priests.

Now, what do priests do? Well, they do more than just run the services. Their job, overall, is to act as intermediary between the people and God, teaching the people how they are to live in accordance with the way God says we should.

God chose the descendants of Abraham to be his nation of priests; now, priests don’t serve other priests, so it is pretty obvious that the ones we Jews are to be priests to have to be the rest of the world.

Do you remember that Shaul said God made salvation available to all: to the Jew first, then to the Gentile? (Romans 1:16)

The Torah is God’s instructions on how to live a righteous life, and a righteous life leads to salvation. These instructions were given to his chosen people, chosen (I really should say “commissioned”) to be God’s Cohanim (priests) to the world, first to learn for themselves, and then to teach to the rest of humanity.

Yeah, that means Christians, too!

Now let’s talk about Yeshua and the Torah.

Yeshua was God’s anointed Messiah, and he lived a sinless life, which is why he was resurrected. According to God, the only way to be sinless was to be in 100% accordance with the Torah, so we can know, absolutely, that Yeshua lived a Torah observant life.

Christianity has stated that because Yeshua lived the Torah perfectly, anyone following him is not required to observe the Torah- in essence, Christianity says by doing something correctly, that makes it obsolete.

Does that really make any sense?

If I come to a stop sign while driving, and the person ahead of me stops completely, looks both ways twice, then slowly continues on their way, having completed the law for stop signs, can I now just go right through the intersection every time I come to a stop sign?

If someone stops at a red light and doesn’t go again until the light turns green, does that mean I can just continue driving through every red light I ever see, for the rest of my life?

You may say traffic laws aren’t like the Torah, but are they really that different? Aren’t the traffic laws created to protect us from being hurt?

Don’t the rules God gave in the Torah protect us? I am not talking about protection from being T-boned in an intersection, but protection from spending eternity in hell!

No one, no human, that is, can live 100% in accordance with the Torah, 100% of the time. That is why God created the sacrificial system: he knew we couldn’t do it right, so he gave us an escape clause to protect us from ourselves. But, when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, that put an end (at least, until the next temple) to the sacrificial system, so now what? God’s escape clause from eternal damnation has been erased!

But wait! God sent Yeshua, the Messiah, so that through our belief in him as the Messiah, and by means of his sacrificial death, we could now find forgiveness from sin without the temple. And beyond that, Christianity tells us that Yeshua did more than make forgiveness available- he did away with the Torah!

Um… uh… hold it a minute. Shaul tells us that the Torah created sin (Romans 7:7), and Christianity says that Yeshua did away with the Torah, so doesn’t that mean there is no more sin? And if there is no more sin, then why do we need to follow any rules, ceremonies, or rituals? If there is no Torah, then there is no sin, and everyone is automatically saved without having to do anything! Hallelujah!!

What? You mean that’s not right? Are you telling me that when Yeshua did away with the Torah, which should mean there is no more sin, there is still sin? Shaul lied? God tricked us? Yeshua didn’t do away with sin?

But, but, but… if sin still exists, then the Torah is still valid, so how can Christians say the Torah is not valid for them? Are Christians automatically righteous in God’s eyes?

I don’t really need to answer that, do I?

Christians say that they don’t follow the Torah, they follow Yeshua, but Yeshua lived in accordance with the Torah and Christians don’t, so how can they say they follow him?

Here’s what it all boils down to, folks- if you REALLY want to follow Yeshua, then you need to live in accordance with the Torah, to the best of your abilities. And when you fail, as we all do, you still have Yeshua to fall back on to receive forgiveness.

On the other hand, if you choose to live according to one of the many Christian religions, all of which are composed of man-made rules, tenets, and ceremonies and (for the most part) reject God’s Torah, then I think you will have a hard time convincing God that you want to be righteous in his eyes.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages, subscribe to this ministry on my messianicmoment.com website, and also on my YouTube channel, “Like” my Messianic Moment Facebook page, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but please ensure you agree to the rules to be let in).

And remember that I always welcome your comments.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!

Was Paul a Christian or a Jew?

June 1, 2023 Leave a comment

In the book of Acts, Chapter 9, in nearly every Bible that has a heading over the chapter, they call this chapter “Paul’s Conversion to Christianity”.

But was he ever, really, a Christian?

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

The answer needs to be prefaced with the fact that there were no “Christians” during the time that Shaul (Paul) was persecuting the believing Jews. The only people at that time who were accepting Yeshua as their Messiah were Jews- there was no contact with the Gentiles, there were no Christians, there were no churches, there was no Christmas or Easter, there was no rule about not eating meat on Friday, the Shabbat was Friday night to Saturday night, there was no Sunday confession- none of that would exist as we know it today until hundreds of years later.

The Gentiles weren’t even a consideration when it came to Yeshua’s teachings or salvation until after Kefa (Peter) had the vision on the rooftop and went to the house of the Roman officer, Cornelius (Acts 10). It is assumed this happened maybe 7-8 years after Yeshua’s resurrection; Shaul’s vision of Yeshua was around the same time that Kefa had his vision on the rooftop, circa 36 A.D. So, as Kefa was given the OK to approach Gentiles, Shaul was being slapped upside the head so he could accept Yeshua and he (as stated in Acts) always went to the synagogues when he entered a town.

His first letter wasn’t written until some 12 years later, to the Galatians.

If you look him up on Wikipedia, it will tell you:

“Paul (previously called Saul of Tarsus; c. 5 – c. 64/65 AD), commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world.”

And though I find Wikipedia to be a good research source, in this case they are dead wrong, repeating the Christian desire to remove Shaul from his true Jewish persona, and rebrand him as a Christian.

But the truth is Shaul never was a Christian, and never even changed his name- that was a Greek translation of his Hebrew name, and I seriously doubt anyone, ever, called him “Paul” during his lifetime, just like no one ever called Yeshua “Jesus.”

The truth is Shaul never converted to Christianity (which, as we know, didn’t even exist then)- the fact is he remained a Pharisee, a “Jews’ Jew”, all his life.

And if you don’t want to believe me, then let’s see the way Shaul identified himself to others.

In Acts 21, in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) Shaul is accused by the Jews of teaching to ignore the Torah. The Elders ask him to prove he is still a practicing Jew by observing the Torah requirement regarding taking an oath, which he does, proving he is still a Torah-observant Jew.

At the end of this chapter, and in the beginning of Acts 22, Shaul is making a defense for himself in front of the Jewish population of Yerushalayim. In Acts 21:39, he tells the Roman Commander that he is a Jew from Tarsus, and when he talks to the people, he tells them he is a Jew, born in Tarsus and trained under Gamaliel.

When he wrote to the Philippians (Philippians 3:5-6), he told them that he is a Jew, given B’rit Milah (circumcision) on the 8th day, by birth belonging to Israel, from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew-speaker with Hebrew-speaking parents, with regard to the Torah, a Parush (Pharisee), who zealously persecuted the Messianic Jews, and with regard to legalistic observance with the Torah, he was blameless.

Know this: he wrote that letter at the END of his life, while he was a prisoner in Rome, so it is clear that throughout his life, all during the time he was a missionary throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, he remained a Torah observant Jew.

Another letter he wrote, which was some 18 years after he first became a Believing Jew, was to the Corinthians. In that letter, (Corinthians 11:22) he states that as far as other people boasting about their right to be an apostle, he has more of a right to do that: he says he is also a Hebrew-speaker (remember only Jews spoke Hebrew), he says he is also a person of Israel, and he says he is also a descendant of Abraham.

In Ephesians 3:8 (written while a prisoner in Rome, near the end of his life), Shaul tells the congregation there that he is a prisoner on behalf of “you Gentiles” and later states he is one of God’s holy people; in both of these statements he is clearly separating himself from Gentiles, identifying as a Jew.

Time Out: it is important that you understand the Jewish mindset: there are not a lot of different religions, there is simply us and them. The word “Goyim” means “nations”, and for a Jew, especially back in those days, there were only two kinds of people in the world: Jews, and everyone else. So, anytime Shaul, in any way whatsoever, indicates he is separate from the Gentiles, he is stating he identifies as a Jew.

One last proof: reading the letters Shaul wrote, in nearly every single one of them you will find that he always goes to the synagogues the moment he comes into town. He states in Romans 1:16 that the message of the Good News of salvation through Messiah Yeshua was to go to the Jew first, then the Gentile. Shaul was a Jew, taking the Good News to his own people first, then to the rest of the world.

There you have it: Shaul was a Jew, never converted to anything, always observed the Torah, and never taught to ignore the Torah but simply that Gentiles did not have to convert to a Torah-observant lifestyle “cold turkey” the moment they accepted Yeshua as their Messiah.

This is what’s so ironic: traditional Christian teaching is that during the First Century the Jews were converting to Christianity, but the truth is that the pagan Gentiles were converting to Judaism.

Thank you for being here and please subscribe to my website and YouTube channel. Share these messages with everyone you know to help this ministry continue to grow, and when on my website please buy my books- if you like what you get here, you will also like my books.

I invite everyone to join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but please make sure you agree to the rules, or I cannot allow you join), and remember that I always welcome your comments.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!

Which Commandments Did Yeshua Say Count the Most?

May 16, 2023 Leave a comment

I think we all know which commandments Yeshua said are the most important, right? Isn’t it from Matthew 22:37-40?

Well, if that is so, then why does he give a totally different set of commandments in three separate gospels when asked what does someone have to do to be saved?

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

Let’s start in Matthew 22, when Yeshua is asked which is the most important commandment of all? He replies (CJB):

‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”

So here Yeshua is telling us that to love God and each other is paramount. Now, traditional Christian teaching tells us that this is all we need to do. Love God and love each other, the message of Christ is to love- and that’s it! Nothing else is required. Love God, love each other, and you’re in!

They interpret this verse to mean these are the only two commandments we need to do.

But that’s not right, is it? Yeshua never said these are the only commandments, just that they are the most important ones. And, when he added that all the others pivot on these two, that means he expects that we will follow all the other commandments BECAUSE we love God and each other.

But if these are the most important, then why did he tell the rich man who asked what he needed to do to enter God’s kingdom (Matthew 19:18, Mark 10:17, and Luke 18:19) something different?

In all three Gospels, Yeshua’s answer to the man includes these commandments:

Don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t give false witness, honor your mother and father, (this additional one was only in Matthew) and love your neighbor as yourself.

So, nu? If Yeshua said that to love God and each other are the most important commandments, which all the others will pivot on, why tell the rich man something different? In fact, these commandments are straight from the Big Ten, whereas the ones Yeshua said were most important were from the Torah, but not listed in the Big Ten.

Hmmm…now we have to ask ourselves “What do we do?” Which are the commandments we are to really need to strive to obey?

It seems that we should love God, then love each other, then come the Big Ten. That makes sense, doesn’t it?

But wait a minute! Didn’t James say if we break one commandment, we break them all (James 2:10)? So, even loving God, loving each other, and obeying the ones Yeshua quoted from the Big Ten isn’t enough?

Shaul (Paul) tells the Romans that no one can be saved by the law (Romans 3:23), which he knew from his vast knowledge of the Tanakh, for there are numerous places where we are told, over and over by different people that everyone sins, and no one is without sin.

I mean, there are some 613 commandments in the Torah! We can’t do the ones involving the temple service, which is about 1/3 of them, and some are just for women and some just for men, some just for the Cohen Hagadol (High Priest), which leaves less than a hundred or so for us simple folk.

Oy! That’s still a lot to do, so once again we ask, “What do we do?”

There is no longer a temple in Jerusalem where we can be forgiven under the sacrificial system, which (according to the Torah) was the only place we could bring our sacrifice to receive forgiveness (thank God for sending Yeshua, who replaced that requirement, making forgiveness available to everyone, everywhere, at any time.)

The answer, I suppose, is that we do the best we can to obey all the commandments that God gave in the Torah that apply to us. You see, the Torah is the only place in the entire Bible (this includes the New Covenant) where God tells us what he wants us to do. We can be secure in the knowledge that if we accept Yeshua as the Messiah God promised to send, repent of the sins we commit and ask forgiveness by means of Yeshua’s blood, which was shed for us, then we can be forgiven of that sin.

Yeshua only repeats what God said, and Shaul only wrote to Gentiles what they needed to do initially, expecting (as did the Elders who wrote the letter in Acts 15) that the Gentiles would learn the rest of what God wants them to do as they grew more knowledgeable in the Word and more spiritually mature.

Christianity has taught the opposite of what Yeshua and Shaul taught; Yeshua and Shaul taught the people to obey God, but Christianity has taught the people to ignore what God said and, instead, follow the tenets, rituals, and holidays that men have created.

It is up to you to decide what you will do: you can either worship God by obeying his commandments as best as you can, knowing he will forgive you (through Yeshua) when you screw up, or worship a Christian rebranding of the true Messiah, kneeling before graven images, praying to people instead of God, and ignoring nearly everything God told about how he wanted you to live, choosing to obey man-made tenets, celebrate man-made holidays, and perform man-made rituals.

Your choice, but if you ask me, I will have to say it is probably safer to do as God says then to do as people say.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know to help this ministry continue to grow. Subscribe to my website (while you’re there please buy my books), also to my YouTube channel, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but make sure you agree to the rules to be let in).

Ans please give me some feedback- positive or negative- to let me know someone is actually reading this stuff.

Thats it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!