In John’s Gospel, Yeshua says that he will be lifted up like the snake in the desert. Many consider this to be a prophetic statement about how he will die, but I believe it means more than that.

I believe he is saying he will become an idol, replacing his father as God.

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

I suppose we should start by reviewing the snake incident.

In Numbers 21, after the people kvetched (again!) about something, God sent poisonous snakes to bite and kill them as punishment. The people repented, and asked to be saved, so God had Moses make a brass serpent and place it high on a pole. When someone was bitten, they only had to look towards the snake and they would not die.

(You know, there is an entire message in that one sentence, how people sinned and would not die but still suffered the consequences of their sin, i.e., they still got bitten! But that is for another time; actually, I just recalled I already did a message on that one, and I’ll put a link to it in the Description.)

Now, what happened to that snake is not mentioned again until centuries later, in 2 Kings 18, when we learn that this snake, which originally was designed to represent God’s salvation from death (by snakebite) was now being worshipped as an idol, a god in and of itself, and it was being called Nehushtan (“Nachash” is Hebrew for snake). King Hezekiah had it destroyed.

Now let’s see why Yeshua chose that event to tell us what will happen to him.

Yeshua was placed on a stake for all to see, and he tells us that those who see him there and believe in him will be saved. Just like those who saw the bronze serpent on a pole and believed in God would be saved.

Prophecy fulfilled, right? Not quite.

The snake was later turned into a god, and what the “Church” has done is the same thing with Yeshua, changing what he is (the Messiah FROM God) into God, himself!

Christians constantly pray to Yeshua instead of to God, they ask Yeshua for forgiveness, when God is the only one who can forgive, and they thank Yeshua for blessings in their life when those blessings come from God!

Let’s get something straight: While Yeshua did say he had authority to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6), he specifies that he has this authority on the earth. This is also in two other gospels, and the reason he says that is to prove he is coming from God, NOT that he is God, and since he is no longer on the earth, the sin forgiveness thing has reverted back to Daddy.

The prophecy Yeshua made was a dual-prophecy: first, a soon-to-occur prophecy that Yeshua would be raised on a stake and secondly, as a future prophecy that he would be worshipped and replace God.

Exactly what happened with the snake.

So, if you find yourself praying to Yeshua, stop it- pray to God.

If something wonderful happens in your life, don’t thank Jesus- thank God.

And next time someone tells you that it is all about Yeshua, remind them (as you are being reminded, now) that for Yeshua, it was ALWAYS only and totally about his father in heaven.

Hey, look- if Yeshua said it is all about his father, and that his father forgives, and that his father blesses, and that he only did and said what his father told him to do and say (that’s in John), then who are you or I to say anything different?

Yeshua always referred to himself as separate from God, identifying as the Son of God, and he always considered himself subservient to God, so how do you think he feels when people worship him instead of his Father?

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

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

I believe if you ask most Believers what is the main difference between the Tanakh (the “Jewish” Bible) and the New Covenant regarding salvation, they will say the old way was through works, and the new way is only through faith.

Well, they would be right, but for the wrong reasons.

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

In the entire Bible, Genesis through Revelation, the only thing that saves us is faith. But faith in what?

Christians will say faith in Jesus, but what the heck does that mean? Faith that he existed? Faith that he was immaculately conceived? Faith that he is the Messiah God promised to send? Faith that he was resurrected? Faith that he did what the Gospels tell us he did?

My answer is faithfully believing that he was the son of God through divine conception, that he was (and still is) the Messiah God promised to send, that his death was accepted as a once-and-for-all sin sacrifice (proven by his resurrection), and that through his sacrifice we can ask God to forgive our sins any time, any where, because his sacrifice replaced the need to bring an animal to the temple in Jerusalem.

Which has proven to be really convenient since the temple was destroyed nearly 2000 years ago.

My answer also includes that the way we demonstrate that faith is to obey the Torah, which is what Yeshua did throughout his lifetime, and what we must do if we truly want to follow in his footsteps and live as he did.

And doesn’t Christianity state that is an essential part of being Christian? Yet, sadly, they say “Do as Jesus did” while teaching to do everything except what Jesus did!

TIME OUT: When I said Yeshua’s sacrifice was a once-and-for-all event, I did not mean that all sins are automatically forgiven, which some Christian religions teach. No! I mean that when he sacrificed himself, it replaced the need to bring an animal to the temple in Jerusalem, which the Torah required for any sacrifice. We still have to fulfill every step of the sacrificial system for sin: we have to be accountable (confession), we have to be remorseful (repentance), we have to have the shedding of innocent blood as our substitution (that’s the part Yeshua took care of), and we have to do T’shuvah (turn from sin) as we go forward.

Throughout the Tanakh the means of salvation was obedience to the Torah, mainly because the Messiah hadn’t come yet. But the requirement for salvation was still faith-based.

God said that sacrifices and offerings mean nothing without obedience; read 1 Samuel 15:22, or Isaiah 1:11-14 or Jeremiah 7:21-23, or Psalm 51:16-17… they all say that obedience is more important than sacrifices or offerings, meaning that just going through the motions is useless without obedience, meaning faithfulness!

Going through the motions is obeying, isn’t it? So how can God say obeying means nothing without obedience? It’s because when he says “obedience”, he means faithful obedience, i.e., obeying from faith that what God says is righteous and correct.

Truth be told, Yeshua proved that someone CAN be saved by obedience to the Torah because he was 100% obedient, and after he died he was resurrected to eternal life in God’s presence. The “fly in the ointment” is that we humans are born sinful and not filled with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) as Yeshua was. As such, we don’t have a chance of being 100% Torah observant, 100% of the time as he was.

That’s why God planned for a Messiah right from the get-go.

The New Covenant is all about faith in Yeshua, but the problem is that most Christian faith is misplaced. Some believe Yeshua is God, some believe he is the son of God but that he forgives sin, and some even pray to dead people. Most Christian religions, whether Trinitarian or not, have gotten to the point where they pray to Yeshua instead of to God, effectively replacing God with Yeshua.

That is changing Yeshua from an obedient son (like Isaac was) into a rebellious, throne-stealing son (like Absalom was.)

How can we find salvation through a Messiah who teaches to ignore God? If Yeshua taught to ignore the Torah, he committed treason against the King (God) and was a sinner. And we know sinners don’t get to be in God’s presence.

And those who follow sinners are the blind being led by the blind, and both will fall into a hole. That hole goes all the way down to Sheol.

So, both the Old and New Covenants teach we are saved by faith:

• Non-believing Jews faithfully obey the Torah (well, at least as best as they can) while faithfully waiting for the Messiah
• Messianic Jews (like me) faithfully accept Yeshua IS the Messiah God promised to send, and we also faithfully obey God’s Torah (again, as best as we can)
• Most every Christian religion teaches that they need to only have faith in Jesus (again, whatever the heck that is supposed to mean) and to love each other. The BIG mistake they make it that they totally ignore doing as God said to do, as Yeshua did throughout his lifetime, and which is the only acceptable proof that their faith is genuine.

Bottom line? Faith is not just one or the other, Jesus or Torah, law or lawlessness, but it is both sides of the same coin: one side is faithfully believing Yeshua is the Messiah and the other side is proving that faith through obeying God’s instructions (in the Torah).

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

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

Those of you who are regulars here have probably noticed that I spend almost no time talking about the Acharit haYamim (End Days), which is what the scholars call Eschatology.

The reason why is simple: the visions of that time are so difficult to understand that I have taken the attitude it doesn’t matter what happens when, so long as I am on the winning side when it is over.

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

There have been many people who believe they know when the Tribulation will occur, despite the fact that Yeshua said even he isn’t in on it (Matthew 24:36), and there is (and always will be) constant debate about the Rapture, whether it will be before, in the middle of, or after the tsouris (troubles/curses) that will result from those angels pouring from God’s bowls of wrath all those terrible things upon the earth and all the people living at that time.

(Wow, that’s a long sentence!)

However, I do have a thought on the rapture, based on the parables Yeshua told. In Matthew 13:24-30, Yeshua says that when the harvest comes, i.e., the Tribulation, the tares and wheat that have been growing together will all be pulled up, with the tares being gathered and burned, then the wheat being brought into the barn (meaning God’s presence), indicating a Post-Trib event. He also tells us the parable of the fish (Matthew 13:47-50), where the good fish are separated from the bad, which are then destroyed, indicating a Pre-Trib event.

Despite the difference in timing, the message I get from these parables is that when it is over, the believers win. And, as I said before, all I care about is being on the winning side.

Now, despite my disdain for Eschatological arguments, I have to admit that the way things are going, it certainly seems very close.

What with all these blood moons, societal strife and disorder increasing world-wide, government officials committing crimes, riots, increased crime in many of our cities, the increase in storms and tsunami’s, antisemitism increasing (or should I say just becoming more and more visible), and all that other stuff that is supposed to occur, well… like the kids on a long car ride, I have to ask:

“Are we there, yet?”

I don’t know if we are, or how close we are, and neither do you or anyone else, but the one thing that I can be absolutely sure of is this: if you haven’t chosen to be on the winning side, you may not have that much time left to decide if you will be with the tares or the wheat.

And yes, it is a choice: faith in Yeshua is something you have to choose to believe, and without that faithful acceptance, you have no way to be forgiven of your sins, which means no chance for salvation.

To be forgiven of sin, the Torah requires an animal sacrifice to be made where God places his name (Deuteronomy 12:5), which was the temple in Jerusalem (2 kings 21:7). The problem being that the temple is not there anymore, but Yeshua’s sacrifice replaced that Torah requirement to bring an animal to the temple.

Ans that is why only through Yeshua can we now be forgiven, since the temple is no longer there; what’s even worse is that where it was is under Muslim control (the Dome of the Rock).

For the record: the Dome of the Rock is not a mosque, it is a shrine. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is right next to the Dome, both being on the temple mount. The mosque is east of the Dome, so when Muslims prostrate themselves to the east during prayer, they are (effectively) mooning the Dome.

Okay, let’s finish up here. No one will ever know when the Tribulation is set to begin, and no one knows when the Rapture will occur, but one thing we all know- absolutely- is that it will happen when you least expect it (Matthew 24:37-39). So, if you aren’t really sure about Yeshua, or God, or whether or not the Torah is still valid and necessary, I wholeheartedly recommend you get off your tuchas and decide, one way or the other. Hopefully, you decide to accept Yeshua and try to live a Torah observant life.

Look at it this way: if you reject God or Yeshua or the Torah, you choose to have no future other than now. But, if you do accept that God exists, that Yeshua is the Messiah, that he was resurrected and his sacrifice allows us to ask forgiveness from sin, and you try to live as God said we all should (and not what some religion says), what have you got to lose? Yeah, you’ll have to forgo ordering shrimp scampi at your favorite seafood restaurant, and settle for pretzels and potato chips while watching the game instead of pork rinds, but isn’t eternity in total joy and peace worth it?

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers, Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

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

When Yeshua sacrificed himself, his death is not the reason that we are saved. Even after he was resurrected, proving that his death was accepted as a sacrifice, that still is not what saves us.

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

There is only one thing that “saves” us, and that is forgiveness of sin. And that forgiveness comes from only one place- God.

God, and God alone, is the only one who forgives sin.

Oh, yeah, I know what you’re gonna say: “But Yeshua said in Matthew 9:6 that he has the authority to forgive sins.”

Yes, he did say he has authority to forgive sins, but there was a condition: while on the earth. That verse says (CJB):

But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”

Notice that he says authority ON EARTH, meaning that the authority he was given to forgive sins was specifically while he was on the earth, and solely to prove that he did come from God and doing God’s work.

After he died, that authority was remanded back to God.

Think about it: if Yeshua is our Intercessor, then why would we need to ask him to intercede if he can forgive sins himself? If he can do what God does, why go to God?

This is part of the oxymoronic logic of the Trinity, in that if Yeshua and God are the same, then why does he have to intercede with himself? And when we ask for forgiveness, who do we ask: God? Yeshua? Both? Is it a joint decision or do they take turns?

But we are not talking about the Trinity, we are talking about understanding how salvation and Yeshua’s sacrificial death are related.

The sacrificial system for sin required a sheep or a goat, one that met the Torah requirements as a sacrifice, to be slain at the temple in Jerusalem (the only place sacrifices were to be made, according to Deuteronomy 12). And with the shedding of innocent blood we could receive forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22)… BUT you need to ask for it, you need to really feel repentance, and you need to desire to do t’shuvah (turning from sin).

A sacrifice meant nothing if you didn’t really feel remorse at your sin. I mean, really?- do you think God would forgive a sinner who didn’t repent of their sin?

I don’t think so!

So, when Yeshua died, he was a sinless sacrifice, innocent and pure, and his resurrection proved two things:

1. God accepted his sacrifice; and
2. If you live your life totally and completely in accordance with God’s Torah, you will be saved.

(I know that one really throws a lot of people, but it makes sense- Yeshua lived 100% in accordance with the Torah, 100% of the time, otherwise he would not have been the sinless lamb of God, right? So, if any human could be the same way – which is, sadly, impossible for us- then our “works” would save us, although works like that can’t be done without faith. But, I digress…)

Yeshua’s sacrifice provided a special sin sacrifice, one that replaced the need to bring an animal to the temple in Jerusalem, which has proven to be really convenient since the temple was destroyed soon after that. By means of his sacrifice, we can now come before God any time, any where, and be able to ask for- and receive- forgiveness of sin.

Of course, we also need to do that repentance and t’shuvah thing, as well. God isn’t stupid, and when you ask to be forgiven, if it isn’t a legitimate, heartfelt desire, well… don’t count on it.

Yeshua’s sacrificial death is not what saves us, neither does his resurrection, but it does provide the prerequisite for us to come to God and ask HIM to forgive us.

One last point: the fact that Yeshua’s sacrifice serves as a once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin doesn’t mean forgiveness is automatic. Without true repentance, a true desire to do t’shuvah, and humbly asking God to forgive you for each and every sin, you get nuttin!

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

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

The Bible tells us that God knows every hair on our head, and that he is omnipresent.

Proverbs tell us that God directs our ways (Proverbs 16:9) and so many people believe that everything they do is watched by God.

But I wonder if God is really that interested in every, single, little thing that we do?

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

Are you familiar with the term “Helicopter Parent?” It refers to a parent who is constantly watching their child, always hovering over him or her, and never really letting the poor kid do anything on its own.

I don’t see God being this way.

I do believe that God watches over us, but not to the point where he interferes with what we do, except maybe in a way that prevents us from doing real harm to ourselves.

And even then, he might let us go ahead and “skin our knees” because if you never fall, you never learn how to get back up again.

No, from my understanding of the way God has treated people in the biblical stories, he is interested, but he also knows when to let us be on our own.

The problem with a helicopter parent is that they become so involved in their child’s life that they can actually hurt their child’s development, not allowing them to learn how to get out of trouble (because they are never allowed to get into it, in the first place) or to develop independence.

Whether we like it or not, children learn best by watching their parents. Socialization skills, problem solving, how to act in public, etc. are all defined by what their parents do (for the most part), with peer pressure being the next biggest influence on their personal growth.

Maybe this is why God often says that we should be holy because he is holy?

To me, that sounds like the ultimate form of learning by example. God will watch over us, but he is also loving enough to allow us to screw-up and even get into trouble, so that we learn how to make amends and how to get out of the trouble we get ourselves into.

And I also know that he is totally able to extricate us from any problems we get ourselves into, if it comes down to that.

So, what is the point of all this?

It is that we should always trust God to be there for us, confident that we can count on him in times of trouble. And to read the Bible to learn about who God is (not just trust what some religions tells us) so that we can emulate him in our daily lives. God is the epitome of parenthood, and along with (or should I say, despite of) what our own parents teach us, we should always look to God to be the role model to emulate.

He will always be there when we need him, but he isn’t going to micro-manage our lives.

However, if you reject him by rejecting the way he said to live (in the Torah), as many Christian religions have taught their followers to do, then there is a good chance he won’t be there when you need him most.

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

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

In the New Covenant writings, Yeshua (Jesus) gives us three different methods to use when we pray. Only two of them make sense.

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

So, let’s see what Yeshua says.

In Matthew 6:9-13, Yeshua tells how to pray by giving us what we call “The Lord’s Prayer”. This is more than just a prayer, it is the template for all prayers.

We start by recognizing God’s existence and authority, then we ask for only what we need today (demonstrating faith in God to provide), then to be forgiven (this one has a caveat I will explain soon), and lastly we ask for protection from evil. We finish it up honoring God by (again) recognizing his authority and power.

That caveat I mentioned is this: we are to ask God to forgive us as we forgive others, which is actually tantamount to authorizing God not to forgive us if we do not forgive others. Yeshua even confirms this in Matthew 6:14-15.

This prayer is about as good as you can get when it comes to praying, whether you repeat it verbatim or use it as a template for your own prayer.

The second method Yeshua suggests is in Mark 11:24. Here he tells us that when we pray, if we trust we will receive it, it will be ours. This is certainly something that we have to do, i.e., trust that not only does God hear our prayers, but that he can be trusted to deliver.

Now, this doesn’t mean that whatever we want we get. There are many prayers that are not godly or even proper, so if you think praying over a lottery ticket will guarantee you will win, you will be sorely disappointed.

(Watch! Now someone will reply they did that and this whole message gets shot down.)

Trust and faith seem to be the same thing, but they are really two sides of the same coin. Trust is something that we usually give to someone after they have proven themself to be trustworthy, but faith is something we choose to have, proof notwithstanding (Hebrews 11:1).

Of course, when it comes to God, trust should be automatic because , well…he’s God. Duh!

But, for those Doubting Thomas’ out there, you should be able to trust God because we are told in the Bible about many things which archaeology has proven to be true. If the people and events we are told about in the Bible are true, then everything in the Bible can be trusted, as well.

OK, yes- there are some things that are literal and some things that are figurative, and absolute proof of God will never be given because proof is the antithesis of faith, and we are saved by faith, not scientific evidence. But, all in all, we can trust what we read about God because there are so many testimonies, both ancient and modern, to his existence that he has proven, to those who accept it, that he does exist. And if he exists, then he is what we read about in the Bible.

The third method of praying is in John’s Gospel, which I have often said is (in my opinion) a false gospel, but that is for another time. In John 14:13, and again in John 16:23, Yeshua tells his talmidim (students/disciples) that when they pray, they should pray in his name. The idea here is that by invoking the name of the Messiah, God will make sure their prayers are answered.

This one doesn’t make sense to me.

First, let’s examine this for the Trinitarians out there: if Yeshua is God, then why would we need to invoke his name when praying, since our prayers are already directed at him? What I mean is, when we pray to God we are already praying in his name, right?

See? It doesn’t make sense if we go along with the Trinity thingie.

Second, if we believe (as I do) that Yeshua and God are totally separate entities, unique and individual, then when we pray to God why do we need to “drop” Yeshua’s name? Doesn’t God already know that we belong to Yeshua? Does mentioning Yeshua let us go to the front of the prayer line?

Is praying like the game “Simon Says”?

“Dear God, do this, in Yeshua’s name.”
“You got it!”
“Dear God, give me this, in Yeshua’s name.”
“Not a problem.”
“Dear God, I need help with this.”
“NO! You didn’t say ‘In Yeshua’s name’!”

I don’t think so.

I have written a few times about why I do not believe that John’s Gospel is a real gospel, and you can find those on the website, and these verses are part of why I believe the way I do.

God knows our hearts and minds, and when we pray to him, he knows whether or not we accept Yeshua as our Messiah. The idea that we need Yeshua to intercede for our prayers to be answered makes no sense to me.

That is why this message is titled “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”- if you pray to God using the template Yeshua gave us in Matthew, and trust that you will receive what you pray for as Yeshua told us in Mark, then there is nothing else you should need to do to have your prayers answered.

Oh, I should mention one thing more- prayers MUST be heartfelt, honest, humble, and genuine. If your heart isn’t in it, I don’t believe that prayer will get much attention.

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

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

Humility is not weakness; in fact, it takes a lot of emotional maturity and inner strength to be humble. On the other hand, it takes little or no effort at all to be prideful.

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

Look at Moses- he was certainly a strong leader, yet he is also described as being the most humble of all men (Numbers 12:3), and I think we can agree that if we were to think of who was the most faithful of all people in the Bible, Moses would have to be right up there in the Top Ten.

But think of the most prideful person in the Bible and whichever name you come up with, I’ll betcha that person doesn’t show a humble bone in his (or her) body, do they?

So why is it that I say without humility you can’t be really faithful? It’s simple: pride is the antithesis of humility, and pride is the mother of all sins, so if someone is exceptionally prone to sinfulness, how can they be truly faithful?

Now, don’t go all the way to the moon with this: I am not saying someone who has pride can’t be faithful, but let’s see what God said (Jeremiah 9:23-24) about his thoughts on this:

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in  his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he  understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and  righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Later…MUCH later… this same thought was stated by Shaul (Paul) in his letter to the Corinthians, which was that a man should only boast in the Lord; over the centuries this relationship has been known to holy men of God:

Pride and faith do not go together.

We generally feel proud of things we have accomplished, such as creating something beautiful or doing such a good job at work we receive a promotion, but doing well at what we are supposed to do is expected of us, isn’t it? Yeshua said that when we do what we are supposed to do, we don’t really deserve any special reward (Luke 17:10), and aren’t we told in Colossians 3:23 that we should do everything as if for the Lord, and not for men?

So, going forward, let’s each of us try to remember that to be truly faithful, we have to be humble, and that humility shouldn’t be a false one but come from the understanding that whatever we are able to do that is worthy of respect and admiration is because God gave us those gifts.

On our own, we aren’t worth diddly-squat; if not for the gifts God gave us when we were born, and the insight we receive through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), which is also a gift from God, we would have nothing to brag about.

So when you are being complimented for saying or doing something remarkable, say what I say:

Whatever I do that is good is because it is God working through me;
when I screw up totally, then I can take full credit.

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

That’s it for this week, and I will be on vacation all next week, so until we meet again, l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!