Category: Messianic 101

How To Properly Interpret The Bible: Lesson 4- Chumash and Commentaries

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So far in this series, we have reviewed those tools that can be used by the reader when trying to interpret, for themselves, what is in the Bible. These tools are valuable, and we should always look for what God has for us, alone, when we read his word.

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(PS: I have a new microphone so the sound levels will be good.)

But that doesn’t mean someone else doesn’t have a proper interpretation, or a message that he or she was given which can edify us. That is why there are some extra-biblical tools we should use, as well, when seeking out the meaning of God’s word.

One of my favorite books for studying the Torah is the Chumash. Here is the one I use, which is the Soncino edition:

“Chumash” is a form of the word חמשת ,which is Hebrew for the number 5, representing the first five books of the Bible, i.e. the Torah. This book has the Torah, the English translation, and a commentary on the passage, as well. There are also detailed commentaries at the end of each book of the Torah.

Besides the Torah readings (called the Parashah), it also has the Haftorah readings, which are sections from other parts of the Tanakh that are read after the Torah portion and used to enhance the Torah reading by showing how what we read was performed (or failed to be performed) in later history.

What I love most about the Chumash is that it is just so very Jewish. It is, if you ask me, essential for Gentiles who want to know what the Torah means to Jews to read this book, and use it constantly when they come to something in the New Covenant that refers back to the Torah so they can see what Yeshua or an Apostle was thinking about when they said what they did. I say this because the Messiah and his Apostles thought much closer to the way the commentator of the Chumash thought than any Gentile commentator ever could.

Other examples of commentaries are below:

These are commentaries I use when I want to verify or see what someone else thinks about a passage I might be wondering about; however, these are not the only ones out there. In fact, there are many, many different commentaries written by all types of people, so when you look for one, try to find one that as you peruse it (before buying, of course) you can see if it seems to be in line with your understanding.

By the way, I really recommend the commentary called “Parashot Drashim.” I happen to know the author really well and think he has a pretty good idea of what he is saying.

Commentaries are very useful tools for properly interpreting the Bible, but just as with any tool, you need to use the right tool for the job. What I mean is, if you want to become familiar with the “Jewish mindset”, make sure the commentary you get is a totally Jewish one, meaning not Messianic and certainly not written by a Gentile. You might be surprised, and maybe even a little dismayed, at the negative tone it might have when referencing Christian interpretations of the messianic passages.

On the other hand, when you want to know what the New Covenant is saying, then you need to get a commentary written by a Gentile because you won’t find any Jews who want to have anything to do with the New Covenant, unless it happens to be a Messianic Jew.

This covers today’s lesson, and next time we will discuss other types of extra-biblical resources you can use when you are trying to properly interpret the Bible.

Oh, yeah, one more thing…even though this is a teaching series, I welcome any comments or additions you feel you would like to submit regarding any of these lessons.

So, until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

How To Properly Interpret The Bible: Lesson 3- PaRDeS

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In the last lesson you learned that to properly interpret the Bible you need to read contextually so that the word makes sense within the sentence, the sentence within the paragraph, and so on. But that isn’t enough: you also need to use hermeneutics as you interpret what you are reading to ensure that whatever message you get is the same message throughout the rest of the Bible.

Today we will take this a step further and talk about the spiritual understanding of the words and passages we read.

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The Jewish system of biblical exegesis you will learn about to day is called PaRDeS: I have bold-printed specific letters because this is not a word, it is an acronym.

The “P” stands for the word P’shat. The P’shat is the literal, or plain language meaning of the words. It is, at best, a topographical understanding of the Bible and is sort of like the old saying:

What you see is what you get!

The “R” stands for the Remes. This is a deeper, more spiritual meaning of the word(s) we read. I will be giving an example of the difference between the P’shat and the Remes later in this lesson.

The “D” represents the Drash (sometimes called a Derash). A drash is a story with a spiritually moral ending. When people refer to the lessons of Yeshua they call them parables, but they are, in essence, a drash.

Finally, the “S” represents the Sod. This is a mystical understanding, the kind revealed through a revelation or vision.

When we read in the Gospels how people said that Yeshua taught and spoke differently from anyone else they had ever heard, that he talked as a man with authority, it was because all they had been taught by the Pharisees and Scribes was the plain language of the Torah, the P’shat. Yeshua took the people one step deeper into God’s word, which is why they were so astounded at his understanding and interpretation.

The best example I have found, which I use often, to demonstrate the difference between the P’shat and the Remes is the Sermon on the Mount.

When teaching about adultery and murder, Yeshua would begin with “You have heard it said…” and follow up with “…but I tell you…”; in this way he showed the difference between the P’shat and the Remes.

He told them that they shouldn’t murder (P’shat), but then he taught that if you so much as hate in your heart, that is the same as murder (Remes).

He also said we are told not to commit adultery (P’shat), but that if we lustfully look at another, we have already committed adultery (Remes).

Yeshua showed us the spiritual understanding of the literal words, i.e., physically hating someone is spiritual murder, and lusting after someone, even if not acted upon, is spiritual adultery. This is what was so impressive to the people, who had never been given the deeper revelation of God’s word.

The parables (drashim) Yeshua told were stories that had a spiritual moral, but the people didn’t understand because they had only been taught to listen to the words, the P’shat, and were unable to grasp the Remes of his messages. I believe the reason Yeshua often said that those who have ears should listen, and those with eyes should see is that he was trying to tell them to listen with their spirit.

The Sod is something that I really find hard to describe, as it is mystical and, as such, a difficult subject to grasp. Perhaps good examples are Daniel understanding the writing on the wall and interpreting the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar, or Joseph interpreting the dreams that Pharaoh had. These were visions that were indecipherable from a literal view, but on a mystical level were understood to be prophecies about events that would happen in the real world.

There is a “catch”, however, with regard to using the Remes (and Sod) when you are interpreting the Bible: you need to have spiritual eyes to see spiritual things, and (I believe) the only way to get spiritual eyes is to see through the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit. When we read the Bible we will be shown the Remes by the Ruach, but if we don’t have the Ruach, we have no better chance of seeing God’s spiritual messages than color-blind people have when taking one of those “what number do you see” tests you get when applying for a driver’s license.

Maybe this is why so many people with biblical knowledge have so little understanding of what they “know”.

That’s it for today’s lesson. You now know you must read the Bible for yourself and how to use Circles of Context and Hermeneutics so you can properly interpret the meaning of the words you read. You also now know there is a deeper, spiritual meaning to the written words and to ask the Ruach HaKodesh to show it to you.

In the next lesson we will talk about extra-biblical resources available to further help you properly interpret the Bible.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Lesson 2- Circles of Context and Hermeneutics

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Have you ever thrown a pebble into a quiet pool of water? The waves emanate from where the pebble entered the water, outwards in concentric circles until the wave dissipates into the pond.

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When we read a passage in the Bible, we need to remember that there is no such thing as a single thought, or a single word, which represents the entire message God has for us. Like the pebble, the word is part of the sentence, which is part of the paragraph, which is part of the chapter, which is part of the book, which is part of the entire Bible.

The meaning emanates from the word all the way out until it is understood within the context of the entire Bible, which brings us to another tool for proper interpretation called Hermeneutics.

OK, so why the big word? I mean, I had enough trouble trying to remember what exegesis means, so who’s this Herman guy?

Let me give you a very simple explanation of what hermeneutics is, with regard to interpretation of the Bible: it means that whatever we read, wherever we read it, the meaning should be the same as we read in other messages or thoughts or lessons within the rest of the Bible.

For example, we read in Genesis that we should not eat the blood, and several times again in Leviticus, and again in Deuteronomy, in Ezekiel, in Acts, in Hebrews, in John, and even in Revelation. The one message is the same, throughout the Bible. So, if we were to have someone tell us that a particular passage says we can eat the blood, it would not be correct because it isn’t hermeneutically confirmed.

Let’s get back to Circles of Context.

Hebrew is a consonantal language, which doesn’t mean it originated in Europe- it means it is composed solely of consonants, with no vowels. Of course, there are vowel sounds used when we pronounce the words, but these are not found in the original Hebrew in the Torah. The Masoretes developed a system of vowel identification, called Masoretic Text or Cantillation Marks, between the 6th and 10th Centuries in order to secure a standard pronunciation of the Hebrew in the Torah. This was to help those who did not have an advanced ability to read Hebrew properly pronounce the words, thereby being able to interpret their meaning correctly, as well.

As an example, let’s take the two letters, G and D…does it stand for God? Maybe it means the word good? Is it Gad? Is it Aged? Is it Goad? Is it Egad!

The only way to properly understand the meaning of these two letters is to see how they make sense within the sentence (first circle), then to look at that sentence within the paragraph (second circle), and so on.

Circles of Context also applies to the author and the audience. For example, in the letter to the Hebrews the author is writing to Jews, but in the letter to the Colossians, the author is writing to a congregation of (mostly, if not all) converted pagans who are not that familiar with either Jewish law or lifestyle.

One letter is written to those who know how to understand Jewish logic and the other is written to ex-pagans who probably never talked to a Jew, except to give him or her orders and have no real understanding of Jewish logic.

What the heck is “Jewish Logic“? It’s my own term, and it describes how a Jewish person will present an argument, which is that he will tell you everything it isn’t before he tells you what it is. The trouble with this, as with the letters Shaul (Paul) wrote to the Gentile congregations he formed, is that he first proposed arguments against following Torah until he, eventually, showed how those very same arguments were wrong. The letter to the Romans is a great example; over the centuries it has been used as a polemic against the Torah, justifying that Believers in Messiah do not have to follow the Torah, but he wrote it as an apologetic to confirm the importance of Believers in Messiah to continue to follow the Torah.

The wrongful interpretation is not justified, either by proper use of the Circles of Context within the letter, or hermeneutically by comparing it with the rest of the New Covenant writings, especially the Gospels, or the Old Covenant.

Many people believe that Shaul stopped going to Jewish temples early in his ministry, but when we read all of the New Covenant Epistles, we can see throughout them the constant references to how Shaul did go to the Temples first. This is how hermeneutics helps us to understand the Bible correctly- Shaul never stopped living a Jewish lifestyle or being a Pharisee- he NEVER converted to anything and always went to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles. And that is hermeneutically confirmed by the prophecies in the Book of Isaiah, which state the Messiah would be a light to the Gentiles.

To properly interpret the Bible, we need to look at each word within the sentence, the sentence within the paragraph, all the way out until we take into account the entire Bible, as well as remembering who wrote what to whom. When Moses and the Prophets wrote and spoke to the Jewish population, the laws and the lifestyle were known, but when Shaul and other Disciples wrote to the new Believers who were Gentiles, they had to change their way of writing to (pardon the expression) “dumb down” the message and the interpretation so that these converting pagans wouldn’t have too much forced on them at one time.

When you read Galatians you have to remember this was written to new Believers who were Gentile, but being told by the Jewish Believers they had to convert to Judaism, completely, overnight! That’s why Shaul was so mad at those “Judaizers”: he knew that much of a paradigm shift of lifestyle and worship would cause more to apostatize than to convert. By using Circles of Context and Hermeneutics, we can see the true meaning of what Shaul was saying to the Galatians.

Todays lesson was to explain Circles of Context and Hermeneutics and show how they are essential tools to help you better understand and properly interpret what you read in the Bible.

Next time we will talk about another tool of biblical exegesis (there’s that word again!) called PaRDeS.

Until then, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

How To Properly Interpret the Bible, Lesson 1: Read the Book, Yourself

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That’s right. How can anyone really know what is in the Bible if they have never read it?

(I am having issues with my webcam so there won’t be a video today)

And I don’t mean to go buy one of those “Read a Bible Passage a Day” calendars. That’s like telling someone you are bringing a cake to their party and showing up with eggs, flour, salt, and some water. It may be what is in a cake, but it ain’t the same thing.

Maybe you’re thinking, “But Steve, I hear the Rabbi or Priest or Minister tell me what is in there every time I attend services.”

No, you don’t.

What you hear is what that person thinks the Bible is saying, and most likely because that is what he or she was taught it means, from people who were taught, from people who were taught, from…well, you get the idea.

Christianity has been teaching the same stuff for millennia, and they have never gotten most of it right. Why do you think there are so many different Christian religions? If they had it right, they wouldn’t have so many followers think it should be something else. In truth, if they had it right, they would be Jews, but now we’re getting way off-topic.

If you ask me, most of the religious leaders are doing nothing more than parroting their teachers. “Parroting” means repeating what you have been told without understand what you are saying, and that is what you learn when the only thing you learn about the Bible is what others tell you.

Do you know who Tarzan of the Apes is? Do you agree with me (and you should) that Johnny Weissmuller was the best Tarzan portrayer, ever? And that Tarzan lived in a treehouse, spoke English worse than Tonto, and had an adopted son named Boy?

The truth is quite different: I have read the entire series of Tarzan books (there are 27 of them) and Tarzan was fluent in French (his first human language), English, and some African dialects, as well as being able to converse with animals. His son was not called “Boy” but had a name, Korak. And they lived in a large plantation deep in the jungle, protected by a fierce warrior tribe of Africans who were Tarzan’s friends.

Now ain’t that a kick in the tuchas! You thought you knew about Tarzan, but I’ll bet very few of you did. So, do you think maybe, just maybe, there might be more to learn from the Bible than what you have been told or seen on TV?

You bet there is! And you will never know what is in there until you read it for yourself. If you don’t read the Bible, it is possible you are being taught an improper understanding of God’s word and you need to understand this- you will be held accountable for what you have learned, whether it is right or wrong.

When you get a new job, you read the Employee Handbook (if you’re smart) so you know what is expected of you and to stay out of trouble. When you get a new power tool, you read the instructions so you know how to use it without hurting yourself. When you have a new medication, you read the warning label so you know what to be aware of if you have a bad reaction. You read these instructions to ensure you are safe while alive, so why wouldn’t you read the instructions for how to be safe for all eternity?

One of the most wonderful things about the Bible is that no matter how many times you read it, there is always something new in there for you. When we get to a later lesson about the Jewish exegesis system called PaRDeS, you will see that underneath the written word is a spiritual message, and often you will not understand or comprehend that message when reading the words. But then, many readings later, you suddenly have an epiphany and say to yourself, “WOW! So that’s what it means…how come I didn’t see that before?”

When this happens to me, and it has many times over the past two decades or so I have been reading the Bible, I figure the reason I didn’t see it before was simply that I wasn’t ready for it. There is a certain level of spiritual maturity at which we all have to be in order to grasp the deeper meaning of the words we read, whether in the Bible or even in an Employee Handbook. There is a lot to be “read between the lines”, but until you have had enough exposure to the lines, you won’t be able to see what is between them.

I know many people don’t read the Bible because they tell themselves they don’t have the time or they can’t deal with all the “begots” and “begets” or the tough language. Well, don’t use a King James Version (I would never recommend that version, anyway, but that’s for a different time); use an NIV or CJB or some other version of the Bible written in easy to understand language.

As for not having the time, do what I do: I keep my Bible in the bathroom. Yes, that’s right- it is on the back of the toilet tank in a little basket with other reading material. I keep it there because that is the one place I know I will be spending 5-10 minutes, every day, with no one disturbing me. I read a chapter or two each day, and if you follow my example, you will be surprised how quickly you go through the book.

It makes me feel a little closer to God, knowing that he is on his throne and here I am, on mine.

And, one last thing: the Bible is from the first line of Genesis to the very last line of Revelation: it is one book, about one God, who choose one people to bring his instructions for how to worship him and treat each other to the world; it also tells of the Messiah he sent to help us to be forgiven of our sins so that we can be with God throughout eternity when this life is over. Don’t skimp on what you read, even the boring parts (and yes, there are some pretty boring sections but you have to muddle through them) because you never know what God will reveal to you, and to you, alone.

I believe there is something for everyone in the Bible that is uniquely for them, and God is just waiting for you to come to that point in your spiritual growth when he can show it to you. But you will never get there if you do not read the book.

Reading the Bible is not just part of being able to properly interpret it, it is the very keystone of interpretation. Without reading the Bible, you will never really know what is in there.

In our next lesson, we will begin learning about some different methods of Bible exegesis.

Until then, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Yom Kippur 2020 Message

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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, the Pesach Lamb. His death was the atonement for our sins, but it wasn’t just as the Passover lamb that he accomplished this.

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If we read Exodus, Chapter 12 we see that the Passover lamb’s blood was not a sin atonement- it was the identification of and covering (a “Kippur”) to identify us as God’s people and protect us from the Angel of Death.

The blood of the Passover Lamb provided life for the people of God.

Yeshua’s sacrificial death as the atonement for our sins may have occurred at Passover but it was the fulfillment of what the Yom Kippur goats do for us. The Yom Kippur goats (the one killed and the one released) are the blood sacrifices that provide 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.

The Talmud interpreted this word to mean a steep mountain, and for many years the scapegoat was thrown off of a steep mountain in order to fulfill this requirement.

Another interpretation (from the Book of Enoch) is that Azazel is a fallen angel. Of course, it is unthinkable that we would be told by God to sacrifice a goat to a god-like satyr in the desert.

According to Rabbi Hertz, the Late Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, in his 1965 edition of the Chumash, Azazel is a rare Hebrew noun that means “dismissal”, or “entire removal”. 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.

Have you ever wondered why we needed two goats? If all the sins were removed by the scapegoat why kill another one? We know sin can only be forgiven by the shedding of blood and that God is the only one who can forgive and remove sin, so if the killed goat is for sin forgiveness, what does the scapegoat represent?

It represents our Teshuvah. It represents our willingness to let go of our sinful desires and remove them totally from our lives. That is why all the people were present when the goat was released. It represented all of us 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 Teshuvah and remove sin from our lives; and
  3. The asking of forgiveness from God once we have done the first two things.

When we accept Yeshua as our Messiah, the blood he shed as the Passover Lamb is the thanksgiving sacrifice, bringing us into communion with God. Yeshua’s death also served as the sin sacrifice which, through his shed blood, we can receive atonement for our sins, just as with the Yom Kippur goat which was killed. And, as the Yom Kippur scapegoat, Yeshua 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.

His death shows us that Passover and Yom Kippur, although two separate events in the real world, are spiritually one and the same thing. Redemption saves us from sin and allows us to be with the Lord forever. 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 (the End Days), 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. Yeshua is the Lamb of God and the Yom Kippur scapegoat for the world.  When he said he was the beginning and the end it represents more than just a timeline; he is the beginning of our eternal life and the end of our sin.

Praise God and praise His son, Yeshua Ha Meshiach, for His goodness, mercy, and ability to save.

Thank you for being here and please share these message, subscribe, and I welcome any comments you may want to add to this message.

Until next time, L’hitraot and may you have an easy fast.

Free Will is a Spiritual Wormhole

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In these modern times, when science fiction is almost a prophecy of reality, the Wormhole Theory is still unproven, but so popular with TV shows and movies that most people probably think they do exist.

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A wormhole is a break, so to speak, within the space-time continuum. In other words, it is a connection between two locations that can be crossed without traveling the distance.

Let’s see how this works: Say you are at the beginning of a 100-mile long road. This road has a large hinge in the middle that allows it to fold up, in just one second, so that both ends are touching each other. Now, you are standing at the beginning of the road, and when the road bends in half, with one step you are now at the end of the road, which extends itself to its original position. What has just happened is that you traveled 100 miles with just one step, in a matter of two to three seconds.

So, nu? What does this have to do with God or the Bible? It actually has a lot to do with it, if you will allow me to explain.

We all are given Free Will, the opportunity and right to choose what we will do, say, and who we will be. As God told Cain, sin is always crouching at our door, and it is up to us to conquer it or fall victim to it. Either way, it is our choice no matter why we choose it, and we will be held accountable for the choices we make.

When we are old enough to know right from wrong, we begin walking on a road. We have no choice but to walk this road, but the road extends into infinity, in many directions. The problem is that there is no visible connection or bridge between these roads. However, as you walk along the road there are doors on either side, and they are labeled; some are labeled “To Desires of the Flesh” and others are labeled “To Sacrifice and Self-Discipline.”

It appears to most people that as they walk on their chosen path through life, once they have traveled on that road there is no going back or changing. Along the road, on both sides, is a bottomless chasm. However, the doors are always there, and even though there is nothing on the other side, these doors are spiritual wormholes that can take us to a totally different road.

All we have to do is chose one, walk through it, and in one simple step, we are walking on a totally different road.

That is how Free Will, our gift from God, can save us…or destroy us.

This is really good news if you are living a sinful life because it means no matter how long you have walked this sinful road, you can change the path you are taking to another one. But it is a double-edged sword, for those who are walking the path of righteousness can just as easily lose their way by going through the wrong door. In the end, every road we take leads to the Throne of Judgment.

This is what we are told in Ezekiel 18:21-24:

However, if the wicked person repents of all the sins he committed, keeps my laws and does what is lawful and right; then he will certainly live, he will not die. None of the transgressions he has committed will be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done, he will live. 

“Do I take any pleasure at all in having the wicked person die?” asks Adonai Elohim. “Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?”

On the other hand, when the righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits wickedness by acting in accordance with all the disgusting practices that the wicked person does, will he live? None of the righteous deeds he has done will be remembered; for the trespasses and sins he has committed, he will die.

This is God’s confirmation to us that no matter how many miles we have walked in sin, one step through the door and we are on the path of righteousness- no longer walking to certain death. And the same goes for people who change their route from righteousness to sinfulness.

The doors that we pass during our lifetime are all spiritual wormholes that can transport us from Sheol to heaven or in the other direction; all we have to do is step through them.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But the problem is that it isn’t easy. In fact, it can often be very difficult, and too often simply because people don’t realize the doors are wormholes. They think they are just cosmetic because when we open the door, we can’t see where it leads to.

We have to take a step of faith when we go through one of those doors.

If you are on a pathway that you chose before you knew better and feel that you can’t change your direction, you are most certainly mistaken. You have the opportunity to change lanes, to get off this highway, and to travel to a better destination any time you want to. And if you don’t see any doors right now, ask God to provide one for you. It may happen immediately, or you may have to wait a bit, but look for the door! It will be there.

But be warned- the Enemy of God, HaSatan, also knows how to make a door, so before walking through any door, always read the label.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages to help this ministry grow. I never ask for money, but it would be nice if you bought some of the books I have written. And please subscribe so you will be notified the next time I post a message.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

 

Understanding Galatians 3:24-25

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Before we discuss this specific passage, let’s review what Galatians is all about.

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It is a letter written by Shaul (Paul) to a congregation of mostly Gentile Believers in Yeshua as the Messiah, and who were, essentially, converting from their pagan Roman religion to Judaism. These Gentiles were being harassed by Jewish Believers in Messiah who demanded that their conversion process be immediate and complete. Shaul was trying to maintain control of his fledgling congregation by keeping them on track with his slow introduction to the proper worship of God, and understanding of how Messiah Yeshua fit into God’s plan of redemption.

We can see this in all of Shaul’s letters to the different congregations he formed (there were no “churches” in the First Century), each battling with their own problems in keeping on the right track to developing proper worship. There was NEVER any condemnation of Torah or instructions to ignore or abandon Torah- there were slow, step-by-step instructions helping people to make a spiritual paradigm shift in both worship and lifestyle.

Now that we know the context of the letter to the Galatians, remembering that understanding the context is essential in any biblical study, we can take a look at the passage:

Accordingly, the Torah functioned as a guardian until the Messiah came, so that we might be declared righteous on the ground of trusting and being faithful.  But now that the time for this trusting faithfulness has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

We are all children of God, right? And anyone who has ever raised a child knows that the one thing children do, the moment they are able to understand boundaries, is to push the envelope of those boundaries. We, as parents, or should I say guardians, do all we can to allow them to explore their world while keeping them within the very boundaries they want to be free of. And when they cross those boundaries, we bring them back into righteousness through a time out, or grounding them, or sometimes a good slap on the tuchas.

Yet, even when understanding what will happen when they cross the boundary line, why do they continue to push those boundaries? If you’re asking me (and even if you’re not, I’m gonna tell you, anyway) it’s just basic human nature. We are always trying to push beyond whatever boundaries we are given.

We are bound by the sea below and the sky above: we can’t breathe underwater and we can’t fly, yet we pushed against those boundaries and eventually found ways in which we can now do both.

The Torah is a guardian that establishes boundaries; not natural boundaries like water and gravity, but moral ones. The Torah defines these boundaries, and human nature, being what it is, urges us to push those boundaries as far as we can to see where they break. That is who we are. The Torah accounts for this, in that not only does it establish the boundaries for proper living and worship, but as our guardian, it also provides the means for us to be brought back within those boundaries if, and when, we cross over them into sin.

When the Messiah came, he replaced a specific part of the Torah. It wasn’t the part that established the boundaries but the part that brought us back into righteousness when we crossed those boundaries. Yeshua’s sacrifice replaced the need to bring an animal to the temple in Jerusalem, which is the requirement under the Torah in order to be forgiven. The Torah states that we must bring our sacrifice to the location where God places his name in order for the sacrifice to be accepted (Deuteronomy 12:11), so when the temple was destroyed in 73 AD, there was no means of attaining forgiveness of sin.

Now we come to the most misunderstood truth about the Messiah:

The sole purpose of the Messiah is to be the means through which people can be forgiven of their sins.

Yes, Yeshua taught the deeper, spiritual meaning of the Torah (in Jewish exegesis it is called the Remes), but that wasn’t why he came. He performed many miracles, but that wasn’t why he came- that was only to prove who he was. The one and the only reason he came here was to provide the means by which we can be forgiven.

Once we understand this essential truth, then we can understand what Shaul meant when he said with the coming of the Messiah we are no longer under the guardianship of the Torah. He wasn’t talking about the boundaries set by the Torah, he was talking about the means to be brought back within those boundaries.

Let’s get back to kids for a second: as their guardian, we teach them the way to act and we enforce those rules, but when they get old enough to be on their own, they are no longer under our guardianship. That doesn’t mean that what we taught them as their guardian is no longer valid and necessary; it simply means that they are now the ones who are responsible to enforce the rules. The way we do that is through self-discipline and being responsible adults.

Do you now see the logic and relationship between the Torah, Yeshua, and guardianship? A guardian defines our boundaries and is the one who brings us back into righteousness, and the Torah did both of these before Yeshua came; now, after Yeshua, the Torah still establishes the boundaries, Yeshua is the one who brings us back into righteousness, but we are each of us responsible to stay within the boundaries the Torah defines.

The boundaries are still valid, the means to be brought back within the boundaries is through Yeshua, but we are now our own guardians.

Thank you for being here, and please share these messages and subscribe to the website and the YouTube channel. And remember: I always welcome your comments.

Please also check out and join my new discussion group, Just God’s Word (there are a few groups with this name, and mine is the one with the Torah as the cover photo.)

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

 

Yeshua Certainly Knew the Book of Proverbs

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It is truly a shame that too many Christians are being taught mainly from the New Covenant writings while ignoring most everything in the Tanakh. The reason it is a shame is that Yeshua didn’t teach anything from the Epistles, and not just because they hadn’t been written, but because he tells us, over and over throughout all four gospels, that he does and says only what his Father in heaven has told him to do and say. And what God has said is only in the Tanakh.

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

I have been reading Proverbs lately, and as I go through them I see so many that I immediately relate to some of the teachings that Yeshua gave. Here are just a few examples:

Proverbs 11:2- First comes pride, then disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

Doesn’t Yeshua tell us that the meek will inherit the earth? (Matthew 5:5)

 Proverbs 11:4– On the day of wrath, wealth doesn’t help; but righteousness rescues from death.

Doesn’t Yeshua tell us that we are to seek first the kingdom of God? (Matthew 6:33)

Proverbs 24:3– By wisdom a house is built, by understanding it is made secure.

Didn’t Yeshua tell us that rejecting his wisdom is like a house built on sand? (Matthew 7:26)

Proverbs 25: 6,7– Don’t put yourself forward in the king’s presence; don’t take a place among the great. For it is better to be told “Come up here,” than be degraded in the presence of a nobleman.

Didn’t Yeshua say that when you sit at a table, take the least important place? (Luke 14:10)

Proverbs 25:21– If someone who hates you is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

Didn’t Yeshua tell us to love our enemies? (Matthew 5:44)

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that what Yeshua taught is from the Tanakh, for that was the only word of God that existed then. The New Covenant hadn’t been written. So if Yeshua taught from the Tanakh, my question is why don’t the Christian churches teach from it, also? Why do they use, almost exclusively, the Gospels and the Epistles? In the Gospels, Yeshua teaches what the Tanakh says, and the Epistles were written by a man to the Gentiles in congregations he started and were not written to teach them anything new, but to remind them of what he already told them. Things that he already taught them that they were having trouble remembering and living by.

You’ve seen those bracelets that have “WWJD” written on them, right? I believe the people who wear them really want to do as Jesus did; the problem is that the Christian church teaches Constantinian doctrine and not what is in the Torah, which is what Jesus followed, so to do what Jesus did means to NOT do what (most of) Christianity teaches.

Jesus did not celebrate the Christian holidays, he celebrated the Holy Days that God commanded we celebrate in Leviticus 23.

Jesus did not eat many of the foods that Christians eat, he ate only what God said we should eat in Leviticus 11.

Jesus did not rest on Sunday, he rested from Friday night to Saturday night.

The point of today’s message is that if you really want to live “as Jesus lived”, you need to worship as he worshiped, eat as he ate, and celebrate as he celebrated.

Doesn’t that make sense?

It is truly a shame that this very sensible argument is lost on so many people; people who probably really want to please God and do as Jesus did, but refuse to because they would rather accept the easy way of life that is Constantinian Christianity.

What a terribly disappointing surprise they will have when they come before the Throne of Judgment.

Thank you for being here and please subscribe and share these messages with others. And, as always, I welcome your comments.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

 

 

 

Marketing the Mark of the Beast

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We all know that the Devil is a liar. In fact, he is the father of all lies, and when he wants to destroy your soul for all eternity, I can guarantee that he will NOT come up to you and say:

 “Hi, there. I’m Satan, nice to meet you. I am here to condemn you to eternal damnation, so just sign here and we can get started.”

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

 Nope, it ain’t gonna go that way. What he will do is market himself as someone who is here to help everyone, especially you. He will entice you with health, or wealth, or whatever your heart desires which is tied to earthly things. He doesn’t know our minds, but he does know our iniquities, and what human hearts desire, and that is how he can turn us from godly to satanic, in a heartbeat.

And if you are thinking, “Oh, no. Not me! I will resist the Devil!” you might be one of the first ones to accept that mark.  We have to realize that we aren’t smarter or more cunning than Satan, so we have to always be aware of our weaknesses in order to stay alert. False confidence is a tool for the Devil to use against us.

The concentration camps of the Nazis had a saying over the entry gate which was “Arbeit Macht Frei”, which means “Freedom through work”. The Jews that were selected for the showers thought that they were getting cleaned, which was probably welcomed since the traveling arrangements were disgusting. Yet, what they thought was something being done for them, was actually something being done to them. It was known as The Final Solution.

The Enemy of God will also make us think he is here to help. We are told he is a false prophet, and that he and his minions will have supernatural power which will cause many people to fall away from the faith. And let me tell you this- it will be easy for him (or maybe, her?) to do.

Don’t think so?  Well, just look at how easily people today are being controlled by the media. Look at how easily the anarchy which is growing in America is not only allowed, but encouraged by many of our leaders.  Look at the level of deep-seated resentment there still is between the races. I believe the really racist people, of whatever color, are the minority, but this country has been appeasing the noisy minority for decades now, while the silent majority allows it to go on.

The mark of the beast may not be a physical thing on our foreheads and hands, or it may be, who knows? It doesn’t really matter because the reason we take the mark will have nothing to do with what it is, but with what we are promised. We will be promised peace, racial equality, subsistence payments, free health care, and any number of earthly things that appeal to our financial and emotional senses.

There are some saying wearing a face mask is like accepting the mark of the beast. Well, I think that is a little over the top, but there is something to what they say regarding accepting something we are told to do without taking the time to verify whether or not it is really effective or necessary.

The current pandemic is more dangerous than just catching a sickness: the real danger is how easily people are being frightened and how polarizing the effect has been on the populace. There is no middle ground and no acceptance of individual rights: we are being told to wear a mask to protect others, appealing to our desire to help each other, when it may be that all we are really doing is learning to do what we are told to do. I am not talking about wearing masks being good or bad, I am talking about people being controlled by fear, and falling for the line that “Do this to show you care.”

No one really cares or they would have been wearing masks long before Covid-19. Any flu or even a common cold is potentially deadly to the high-risk group that today everyone is concerned about. And what will happen after there is a vaccine? We know from experience that vaccines do not eliminate a virus, so even after there is a vaccine will we wear masks to keep someone from getting sick? If there’s a vaccine, is it then OK to take off the mask and let them get sick? What if they can’t get to the vaccine? What if they can’t afford it? What if they are asymptomatic but sick, and by the time they show symptoms it will be too late?

All of these questions are valid, so why don’t we just decide to wear the mask from now on? Anyone who currently wears a mask to prevent others from getting sick, if you ever take it off then you must not really care but are doing it because you have been told you have to.

And that is how it will be with the mark of the beast. People will be suckered into a false sense of doing good for others, and that is when they will accept the mark, whatever it is.

You have to think about what you do, and not trust anything you hear from any media, whether news or social. People are liars when they know they are lying, and even worse liars when they think they are telling the truth.

Here’s the message for you today: always use discernment and seek the truth. NEVER accept anything you hear from anyone, and I mean A-N-Y-O-N-E! Not from friends, not from family members, not from your doctor, not what the politicians say (oy, never from politicians!), and not from your Pastor, Priest, or Rabbi.  Don’t believe anything from anyone until you have verified it for yourself, or you may just find yourself wearing a mark you never knew you accepted.

Remember: the devil won’t tell you that you are taking the mark of the beast; he will lie through his teeth in order to get you to accept whatever it is that he is offering which he tells you is to help you.

If you disagree with anything or everything I have said here today, please consider this one last thing: the Enemy of God will make you fall from Grace by convincing you that what you are doing is the right thing.

Thank you for being here, and please don’t believe anything I have said until you verify for yourself that it makes sense according to what you read in the Bible.

Please share these messages with others, subscribe to my website and YouTube channel, and remember that I always welcome your comments.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!