See and Hear the Spirit: Introduction

Segulah launches her blogtalk podcasting with this first episode where she will tell listeners what they can expect to hear when they tune in. Learn about the host, hear why she has chosen to participate in BlogTalk radio, get her proposed podcast uploading schedule and a brief run-down of the first topics she will be speaking about. It is eleven minutes as a beginning to a renewed path – a path to the Spirit of Wisdom. It is the Good News in an ENTIRELY RENEWED LIGHT. 

Click on the link below and it will open a new window for listening.

//percolate.blogtalkradio.com/offsiteplayer?hostId=1007991&episodeId=9265093

The Third Year Tithe: 2015

“THE YEAR OF TITHING”

“When you have completed tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, and they have eaten within your gates and have been satisfied, then you shall say before YaHUaH your Alohim,

“I have put away the set-apart from my house, and also have given it to the Levite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your command which You have commanded me. I have not transgressed Your commands, nor have I forgotten.

I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for any unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of YaHUaH my Alohim, I have done according to all that You have commanded me.

Look from Your set-apart dwelling place, from the heavens, and bless Your people Yisra’el and the land which You have given us, as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”’

Deuteronomy (Debarim) 26:12-15

Some of us have read this instruction many times as we are reading through the Scriptures. Because we don’t understand them, we simply read the words and then move on to get the reading done.

Some of us have never read these words until just now, because we have been taught in our churches that the Old Testament is “old” and no longer applies to the “Christian church.” That stuff is just for the Jews, right? We hope and pray that all of you who are walking this journey with us have realized by now – that God’s Words are for all those who love Him and follow Him. The Commonwealth of Israel, also known as His Bride, His Priests, His Sons, and His People.

Then, there is a remnant who read these words and become saddened because we know the Words are YaHUaH’s Words, our Heavenly Father spoke them and means for us to do them – yet, we don’t know how, we don’t know when, and we have no one to teach us.

That time is over.

As you now know, as of April 19th, we began a New Year.
This New Year is the time of the Year of Tithing, and we would be cheating you and being poor shepherds to not teach you and tell you about the 3rd year tithe… a set time… set by our Father Himself… for us to take care of the widow, Levite, and fatherless – to make sure they have what they need.

So because this Year of Tithing starts now for this year, we are accomplishing the teaching in this portion. There is no time to waste.

How do we know this year is the 3rd year, for this tithe?
Put your thinking caps on here, this will take some effort.

I need you to think about and picture – a week of days. Just like:
Sunday Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sabbath

This above is a week of days isn’t it? 7 days makes a week and a week is 7 days.
So this is “a” week of days.

Now, beginning on the first day of the week – Sunday… count to 3:
1 – Sunday
2 – Monday
3 – Tuesday

Tuesday here is the 3rd day of the week.

Now, do this again to finish out the week:
1 – Wednesday
2 – Thursday
3 – Friday

Now, Friday is the 3rd day of the week isn’t it?
OK, after you get this “counting” picture into your mind and think on it a couple of times to truly let it sink in. Go ahead and set that aside for just a moment. We are going to do the same thing next again – only with the concept of years.

In Scripture, Father YaHUaH gives us sevens doesn’t He? He gives them to us ALL OVER THE PLACE! He even opens Scripture with Genesis 1:1 being 7 Words and if any of you have seen that video on the breaking down of only the first verse of Scripture and the amazing 7’s that come out of that – you are truly missing something.

We are now going to look at and picture of “a week of years”
It is the same as a week of days, only it is a week of years. Week = seven.

Example: Consider the following “week of years”
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Above, you see a line of seven years (just as you saw seven days in the week example)
Now, count to three:
1 – 2010
2- 2011
3- 2012
The year 2012 was a third year in a week of years.

Continue on:
1 – 2013
2 – 2014
3 – 2015

The year 2015 is the third year in a week of years. That is where we now are.
But you ask, How do you know when to begin the count? Good question and the answer is a VERY VERY long one.

Understand our Creator’s and Father’s pattern of time that He gave us.
Seven days makes a week, the seventh day being a Sabbath
Seven weeks makes a Covenant, the day after the seventh Sabbath is Shavuot
Seven months makes a wedding, in the seventh month is the Wedding Feast
Seven years makes a Sabbath cycle or a week of years, the seventh year is a Sabbath year
Seven of these weeks of years makes a Jubilee, the year after the seventh Sabbath year is the Jubilee year
Every 49 years constitutes a Jubilee. See the sevens again? Seven weeks of seven years each (7X7) is 49 years.

Then the cycle starts over again.

All of these cycles are the “wheels within wheels” that Ezekiel talks about in his vision in Chapters 1 and 2.
The third year “year of tithing” is one of these cycles found deep within the cycles of time.
Time began for mankind with the creation of Adam. This was year 1.
If you do a study calculating the years of life of the fathers until they had sons and then the length of years of their lives until they had sons, all the way to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – we can track those years right out of the Bible. We can also track Jubilee years, Sabbath years, etc.
There are also several Sabbath year records that have been found on clay tablets and in documents concerning land transactions and things adding to the proof of when the Sabbath years were.
2 Kings chapter 19 also gives us a proof of a 49th year Sabbath year followed by a Jubilee year during the times of King Hezekiah. This year is heavily documented even in secular history and we know beyond any doubt that these years are 701 BC and 700 BC for the Sabbath year and Jubilee Year respectively.

So there are many ways to prove the time and many documents to back it up. I personally have been through these calculations in the Bible, Studying the documents and proofs, the contracts, the coins, the archeology and an excellent piece of work (over 400 pages) from Qadesh LaYaweh Press found here if you would like to read it on your own: http://www.yahweh.org/yahweh2.html

I have actually been through them more than once, several times to check, check, and recheck all the time.

Therefore, we present to you the following Jubilee chart of “Our Current Jubilee Cycle” that we are walking through year by year:

Weeks of Years Sabbath 6th Cycle 5th Cycle 4th Cycle 3rd Cycle 2nd Cycle 1st Cycle
7th Year 2044 2037 2030 2023 2016 2009 2002
6th Year 2043 2036 2029 2022 2015* 2008 2001
5th Year 2042 2035 2028 2021 2014 2007 2000
4th Year 2041 2034 2027 2020 2013 2006 1999
3rd Year 2040 2033 2026 2019 2012 2005 1998
2nd Year 2039 2032 2025 2018 2011 2004 1997
1st Year 2038 2031 2024 2017 2010 2003 1996

NOTE: The chart is read from right to left and bottom to top.
*The year we are currently in.

Now, returning to the exercise we did earlier in our current Sabbath cycle:
1 – year 2010
2 – year 2011
3 – year 2012 (this was a third year tithe, but we missed it)

1 – year 2013
2 – year 2014
3 – year 2015* Third year tithe: The Year of Tithing

So there it is for you to see how it is that this year is the year of tithing. As ALWAYS, please write to us if you have questions. This chart also shows us that next year, 2016, is a Sabbath year. We will learn about that more in future portions.

I know this was very technical and a lot to take in, but it is very important to us that you know we don’t just “pull stuff out of a hat” and do this based upon our own human reasoning. Many people do this type of thing and it gets people off track, on a side road. We want to stay on the straight path through proof, evidence, study, etc.

Now let’s move on to learning how it is we are to keep this instruction.

Exodus 22:22

“Do not afflict any widow or fatherless child.”

“For YaHUaH your Alohim is Alohim of mighty ones and Master of master, the great Al, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.
He executes right-ruling for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and a garment.
And you shall love the stranger, for your were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

Deuteronomy (Debarim) 10:17-19

“At the end of every third year you bring out all the tithe of your increase of that year and store it up within your gates. And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the sojourner and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, shall come and eat and be satisfied, so that YaHUaH your Alohim does bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”

Deuteronomy 14:28-29

There can be no question as to our Father’s heart concerning the poor, the fatherless (orphan), the widow, in fact any of the down-trodden in life. The question we have today is, “what does this look like for me to do today” or “how is this instruction accomplished in today’s world”

Let’s take a look at what it ‘would have looked like’ during the times in which the instruction was given and see if that helps us.

In times past, especially in the community of the Israelites, there were land owners. We read through the book of Joshua in particular and know that each of the tribes received a portion of land and within that portion, each of the heads of the tribes received a plot of land. This is what would be called, “within your gates.”
Picture a family having 10 acres or so, working the land for not only food, but all their needs from clothing, to fruit, wine, oil, date sugar, cheese, wheat, meat, milk, etc. The family living nearby was a family of a head of household, a wife, 3 daughters and 2 sons. Something happens and the father dies. The sons will take over when old enough but for now… the family has no head of house, no one to do business transactions and all that. They may even lose the land and home for a brief time until the year of Jubilee when the land would return to the family in case they lost it.

Maybe the woman had no sons and then her husband dies. This case in particular is one where there is no question about her needing assistance for food and many other needs. Land and inheritance means life. No land, no inheritance = no life… unless the mercy of YaHUaH and people on earth act on His behalf and His instructions.

More than likely, this family is kin-folk. The father that passed away may be a brother to the family living in the next portion of land or maybe the widow a sister. But even if they were strangers, the instructions still apply as we have plainly read.

When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow, so that YaHUaH you Alohim might bless you in all the work of your hands.
When you beat your olive trees, do not examine the branch behind you. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean behind you. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.”

Deuteronomy (Debarim) 24:17-21

This is the family that is to be allowed to glean in your fields, to pick the grapes or olives left behind on your trees or vines. This is the family that receives the tithe of our increase at the end of the third year of all our labor in our own land and homes. They are to attend each Feast and be given a place at our table, eat our food, drink our wine. The same goes for the Levite all the time, for he has no portion at all and he requires our giving. The Levite today is a teacher of God’s Word. Teaching YaHUaH’s Word was their responsibility then and it is the same today.

“Do not twist the right-ruling of a stranger or the fatherless, nor take the garment of a widow.
But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that YaHUaH your Alohim redeemed you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this word:

“Cursed is he who twists the right-ruling of the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.”
And all the people shall say, “Amein”

Deuteronomy 27:19

We are not to take advantage of the needy and we are not to pretend they are not around or try to “get by” or “around” the instruction to meet their needs. We are not to sit back and make excuses such as “the government is taking care of that.” Look, if we know in our true hearts we have trouble with things like this and deep down we don’t “want to” – we can pray for a changed heart. Do we really think YaHUaH will not answer such a prayer? He most certainly will. Plus, I double dog dare anyone to find a place in Scripture where YaHUaH says we have to “feel like” keeping His instructions or right-rulings. It matters not how we feel, what matters is what we do. At least in the beginning. Hearts and minds are changed with action. We do the instruction first and the feelings and heart changes come later many times.

So how do we do this in today’s world? The instruction as it is written focuses on “produce” – that which is brought in from our fields. Obviously today this is different for most of us. One idea… begin gardening just so you can keep the command. This is what we are doing.
Be creative. THINK about it! PRAY about it. I know our lives are not like they were back then but that is no reason to disregard the instruction.

The instruction reads as though this tithe is one that is “gathered over time” and then at the end of the third year – it is given. So we can do this over time, storing up slowly and continuously. In Malachi we see that it is literally a “storehouse” and as we do our part – YaHUaH will do His part.

As we go to the grocery store, we can pick up an extra bag of rice or pasta each time. A can of vegetables, beans – whatever. We can put aside $10 or $20 dollars each pay period. If we are getting some clothing like socks, coats, shirts – we can get an extra one. Of course then we run into questions of what size but if we already know the person or persons we can take a guess. Gloves. Hats. We can invite them over for a huge feast. Anything. Be creative. We picture ourselves in the situation they are in and we answer the call of the need.

This year is THAT year to get this accomplished. Do we have to? No. But if we want to please our Father and have Him bless us… then yes, we must. It is up to each one of us what we will do with that huge blessing that is awaiting for us. Plus, what a testimony of the love and wisdom of God to others. As we present our offering to the person we are giving to — we can explain why we are doing what we are doing and how we know. Right there – BAM! Testimony of God’s love for them!

Malachi Chapter 3 and 4

Matthew 25:13-46

Credits: Final Jubilee charts & Dates come from: The Prophecies of Abraham by Joseph F. Dumond

The Third Commandment

The Third Commandment

 “You do not bring the Name of YaHUaH your Alohim to naught, for YaHUaH does not leave the one unpunished who brings His Name to naught.” Exodus 20:7

What is YaHUaH saying to us here in this commandment? Oh to express the beauty of this instruction to readers with only printed words. Does your mind immediately go to a picture of a wedding, and a man and woman standing together at a ceremony, they say “I do” and the bride takes the name of her husband with joy and love? The bride is no longer called by the name she was born into, but she is now called by her new name… her married name… the name she took on the day of her marriage to him.

And when the bride receives letters of communication, or when she is addressed in public or at parties, she is addressed as “Mrs. [insert husband’s name: both first and last]” This is her new identity. When she leaves her home she is wearing her husband’s name. Her actions represent her husband and also her words. She is just as he is.

 “And the man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one is called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.”

“For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:23-24

When a man and a woman are united in a covenant of marriage, they become, “one flesh” (Gen.2:24). And this “one flesh” bears one name. The wife is the beauty of her husband displayed to the world in her visible appearance. She represents her husband in her dress, the way she carries herself, her speech, the way she cares and nurtures others and her own children. She is the jewel in the crown of her husband.

 “And now, if you diligently obey My voice, and shall guard My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession above all the peoples – for all the earth is Mine –“ Exodus 19:5

“for you are a set-apart people to YaHUaH your Alohim, and YaHUaH has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a treasure possession above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” Deuteronomy 14:2

“And YaHUaH has caused you to proclaim today to be His people, a treasured possession, as He has spoken to you, and to guard all His commands, so as to set you high above all nations which He has made, for a praise, and for a name, and for esteem, and for you to be a set-apart people to YaHUaH your Alohim, as He has spoken.” Deuteronomy 26:18-19

“For Yah has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His treasured possession.” Psalm 135:4

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a set-apart nation, a people for a possession, that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light,” 1 Peter 2:9

“You shall not take the Name of the LORD your God in vain…”

Do we profess a faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with our lips, but deny Him in our actions? Do we tell the world, “I said I do and I will,” to God… and then misrepresent our Alohim’s Name in that same world, thereby breaking the third commandment?

To the brethren reading this letter, what would you think, do, and feel if you found your wife outside the home dressed provocatively, perhaps drinking all day in a bar and dancing with other men. Perhaps you heard her gossiping or slandering someone you adored, or perhaps you found out she was having lunch with another man on a consistent basis. Is she representing you and your name properly? Are these things that are seen out in the public for all the world to witness concerning your wife… representing your good name in the way in which you not only revere your own name, but is she representing the name YOU DESIRE to be built up being represented by her?

If not, she has taken your name in vain, or falsely. She is bringing your name to nothing and declaring to onlookers, “I am not married, I am in covenant with no man, I am a possession of no one, and I am available.”

Women may have an advantage in the understanding of this commandment. Women and girls, by nature and upbringing, have some understanding of this truth. Men see this truth from their side… as the one who possesses and covers and gives his name to another. However men need to understand… in this relationship of Covenant with the Almighty Elohim – you are also the bride. Men should think on these things. Are you able to see how your actions in dealing in your businesses, whether you are secretive, or lying, or gambling, or stealing (in time and attention away from your family) – now you are behaving just as the wife in the bar. You see, you have taken the Name of your Alohim in a marriage covenant when you profess to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Behavior outside the instructions (the Torah of YaHUaH) of the covenant bring the Name of your Elohim to destruction. You are taking the Name of YaHUaH in vain. This taking His Name in vain includes professing belief in Him and then conducting the wickedness of observing times and seasons that He did not put forth.

A man was asked, “what can a wife do to bring your name to desolation?” He replied, “When she displays perpetual anger, meanness, spitefulness.” He said, “my name is supportive and honest.” He plainly defined his name by actions that are accomplished in the physical world by his covenant partner.

He went on to discuss how he had experienced and been the target of possessiveness and the feeling of being used. He worked hard to have a good name and experienced that good name being taken by another and being used to obtain what the spouse desired. He specifically spoke about finances in the form of running up credit card debt and writing bad checks. He spoke of the other person, instead of “building up and improving” his name, the person tore down and brought his name low by her actions.

He spoke as if remembering something painful and asked, “Why would someone want my name if they are going to put me down. What part do they desire in me if they are going to continue to put me down?” This man plainly identified his worth with his name. What do you associate with your name? Would you approve of an impersonator going around the city, proclaiming to be you, then going about engaging in things like lying, stealing, cheating, using very poor language, abusing others, etc? This person is bringing your name to evil in the eyes of the world. So that when the name is heard – the world thinks evil, crookedness, and wickedness.

The name becomes synonymous with the action. The action creates the memory which speaks to people. All a person has is their name. It is the reputation. The name preceeds you. The name becomes the action the person takes who is bearing the name.

Another person once said, “I am afraid if I do not do all the things the Christian church does such as attend church on sun-day, observe Christmas and easter and all the traditional holidays, that people will think I don’t believe.” Do we see how our Alohim and the faith we proclaim has become something that does not represent His Name? How many of you have realized, that by walking out YaHUaH’s commandments in truth… is a greater testimony to your faith and His Character than your old walk ever was… just by your actions alone? There is a change in the day of observance for worship, what you do on that day or maybe don’t do, what you eat and don’t eat, how you dress, the days of the year you now consider Holy and how they are different from so many. This is the taking and the bearing of the Name of YaHUaH as He prescribed. Any other display of living becomes a false witness and a bringing of His Name to desolation and in vain, thereby breaking the commandment.

Hebrew Word Study for the Commandment

Take: nasa. Several Hebrew words are translated into the English word “take,” but this one means “lift up,” “bear,” “carry,” “use,” “appropriate.”

Name: shem The Hebrew root denotes something high or elevated, a monument implying majesty or excellence. It is an outstanding mark, sign, or reputation. Thus “name” is a word by which a person, place, or thing is distinctively known. A name identifies, signifies, and specifies.

Vain: shav. The underlying Hebrew word suggests emptiness, futility, and/or falsehood. It implies lacking in reality, value, or truth. Its single-word synonyms—depending upon the context—are “futile,” “worthless,” “profane,” “foolish,” “reproachful,” “curse,” “blaspheme,” “purposeless,” “useless,” “inconsequential,” “unsubstantial,” and “vaporous.”

shav’ {shawv} or שוא shav {shav} from the same as 07722 in the sense of desolating; TWOT – 2338a; n m AV – vain 22, vanity 22, false 5, lying 2, falsely 1, lies 1; 53 1) emptiness, vanity, falsehood 1a) emptiness, nothingness, vanity 1b) emptiness of speech, lying 1c) worthlessness (of conduct)

שוא show’ {sho} or (fem.) שואה show’ah {sho-aw’} or שאה sho’ah {sho-aw’} from an unused root meaning to rush over; TWOT – 2339,2339a AV – desolation 5, destruction 3, desolate 2, destroy 1, storm 1, wasteness 1; 13 n m 1) ravage n f 2) devastation, ruin, waste 2a) devastation, ruin 2b) ruin, waste (of land)

Guiltless: naqah. This word indicates “free,” “clear,” “innocent,” “clean,” “blameless,” “unpunished.”

What about Reputation?

What about YaHUaH’s reputation? Can people look at us as believers and form ideas and thoughts about our God? Of course they do and this is very serious! The reputation of an entity (a person, a group of people, an organization) is an opinion about that entity, typically a result of evaluation on a set of criteria. It is important in education, business, and communities. Reputation may be considered as a component of identity as defined by others. Who, if not believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have the responsibility of bearing His Name in the earth?

Reputation as a socially transmitted (meta-) belief (i.e., belief about belief) concerns properties of agents, namely their attitudes toward some socially desirable behaviour, be it cooperation, reciprocity, or norm-compliance. Reputation plays a crucial role in the evolution of these behaviours: reputation transmission allows socially desirable behaviour to spread. What about the issue of spreading the Gospel? Do we bear the Name of YaHUaH, or do we bear the name of ourselves, our churches, our organizations or denominations, the social club we belong to?

The instruction in the Shema is an example of our taking The Name of YaHUaH, which is Himself, into our families and communities. We help Him build His reputation in the world by our performing His commandments.

“And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart, and you shall impress them upon your children, and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9

As we demonstrate the Torah in truth to the world, we begin to leave an impression of YaHUaH and who He is. These impressions that we leave work to form an image in the mind. Do we leave a true image of YaHUaH or do we, by our actions, take His Name in vain?

Some bible translations use the word “take” as in “thou shall not take the Name…” and others render the word “bear” and it reads “thou shall not bear the Name in vain.”

In Matthew 10:22 Messiah tells us “And you shall be hated by all for My Name’s sake. But he who shall have endured to the end shall be saved.” Why would the people of the world hate us over a Name? Have you ever wondered about this? A name is just a word… right? Or is it? Could it be that what the world will hate is what we ‘stand for’ or ‘stand against’ as we raise the banner of YaHUaH’s Name? There should be many things in this world that we will not go along with as we bear His Name in truth.

And again in Luke 21:12 “But before all this, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the congregations and prisons, and be brought before sovereigns and rulers for My Name’s sake.” These are those who are not going along with the crowd and are “different” as in “set- apart.” It is His Name (His commandments) that sets them apart.

Rev 3:8 “I know your works – see, I have set before you an open door, and no one is able to shut it – that you have little power, yet have guarded My Word, and have not denied My Name.”

YaHUsHa told Paul that he was to “bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Paul says that he labored. Read that and understand. Bearing the Name of our Messiah is not a cake-walk. Wearing His Name takes much work in getting our flesh and sometimes personalities out of the way. Bearing His Name requires a renewing of our minds so that they line up with His. Bearing His Name requires we change our natural desires and continue working and laboring until His desires are our desires. This is the writing of His Word upon our hearts.

YaHUaH insists that we bear His name honorably. He chooses mankind to be the vehicle for His divine light, and by obeying His Voice and guarding His covenant, we exude light and wisdom, and draw other nations and people to Him. He reveres His Name and gave us the instruction, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” and strengthens the instructions with a consequence of not guarding it. “For YaHUaH does not leave the one unpunished who brings His Name to naught.” He makes us set apart by placing upon us His Set apart Name made visible by our actions in the world through our obedience. His Word is His Name.

The world’s view of YaHUaH is often shaped by the lifestyles of those who bear His name. We are to live so “that the name of our God and his doctrine be not blasphemed” (1Tim.6:1). Do you ever wonder what first comes to mind when others “think” of you? Even if we talk about YaHUaH and our faith a great deal, do we cause others to match up our actions with words like: mercy, grace, love, forgiving, slow to anger, righteousness, compassionate? These are characteristics of our Alohim.

Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that, because of the manner of some believers, the unbelieving hold a low opinion of God. Speaking of the some who were evil, Paul wrote, “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you”Rom.2:24

What a sad commentary upon our guarding the commands. Yet, even those well known for their devotion to God have, by stumbling into a transgression, sometimes brought shame upon the holy name they bore. Sternly rebuking King David, who was crushed with remorse for his sin with Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan said, “by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme” (2Sam.12:14). Nathan was not concerned that the Lord’s enemies would blaspheme David for his sin. What disturbed him was, he knew that sinful souls would use David’s sin to defame the God David served. Oh, how it must have grieved David to think of the disgrace he had brought upon the One who had lifted him from the lowly status of shepherd-boy to be King of Israel! David’s heartfelt confession of sin included an acknowledgement that his sin had actually been against God Himself (Ps.51:4), for it was God’s holy name which was brought into disgrace by David’s evil deed.

What more compelling reason could we have for living a holy life than to bring honor to the holy name we bear?

Proverbs 22:1 instructs us about the importance of one’s name: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.” A person’s name, which holds his reputation, could be considered his most valuable asset. How many times does God say, “For My name’s sake”?

Isaiah 43:10-12 bears on our responsibility to uphold God’s name:

“You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, and there was no foreign god among you; therefore you are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God.”

Since we, as sons of God, now bear His name, we witness for God both as an individual, leading our lives, and as a body, living the gospel.

By our conduct, we hallow or profane God’s name. We keep or break the third commandment the same way. This commandment sets the standard for our witness and tests its quality. God’s name is the standard. If we take the name of God and use it in any way that denies its true meaning and God’s character, we are either breaking this commandment or are on the way to doing so.

The apostle John writes in 1 John 3:1-3 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies Himself, just as He is pure.”

People spend their lives chasing after a name that will bring them a measure of honor or notoriety. They want to be associated with a “name” university, a “name” team, a “name” company; wear clothing with a certain “name” label; drive a “name” automobile; or marry into a certain family “name.” Yet, the greatest name that anyone could possibly bear has come to us when we did nothing to have received it. Thus, John is exhorting his readers to remember their privileges in bearing that awesome name.

Is there a paradox in what John writes? We know that in order to see God, we need to be like Him. Carnally, we think that to be like Him, we need to see Him. God says that seeing Him is not necessary, as He has chosen to conduct His purposes for man through man and his faith in His Word in action. He has revealed what He is by His names and by the life of YaHUsHa. By faith and guarding the commandments, we can emulate Him through His Spirit.

Malachi 3:16 Gives us a wonderful insight into heaven, and the books that are kept there: “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.” Meditating on His Name is the same as having His Commandments as frontlets between our eyes, and written on our hands.

Some teach that the third commandment is concerning the use of different names. That unless the name they propose is used, then you are taking His Name in vain. Someone could be using the right name day in and day out in the speech and writings, but if they are angry, mean, spiteful, cheating, abusive, or calls there brother a fool – they have taken YaHUaH’s Name and brought it to desolation. They are breaking the third commandment whether or not they have the right name or not. Can we see this?

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. Revelation

This commandment has nothing to do with the proper pronunciation of God’s name, which no one knows for certain how to say anyway. It also has nothing to do with superstition or magic. It has little to do with cursing as most are taught for the last centuries. This commandment’s application is much broader, deeper, and more dignified than that.

To know the name of God is to know God as He has revealed Himself, that is, to know His nature. His Name is His Word and Instructions to us on how to conduct our lives. Someone could be using His Name perfectly in speech and then be involved in trespass and sin and bring His Name to naught and be taking His Name if vain.

So next time our child asks us, “what does it mean to take God’s Name in vain?” Let us tell them it is about being true to His commandments, and doing what He tells us to do in His Word. It is about obedience, so that we may reflect His True Image to the world and be a true witness of His Character. Please let us not end it with – “don’t curse or swear” Let us not cheat our children out of the true knowledge and understanding of what this most beautiful commandment means.

Gog Part 1: The Question of When

Have you ever had something consuming your mind and thoughts that you know is of no consequence to you but you just cannot let it go? Well, this is me and this topic of Gog. Gog is such a mystery isn’t he? And yet, I know it is somewhat of a waste of time to even be concerned with Gog because of the timing of his appearance in history. Unless he is one of these character “types” that our Father gives us in His Book of Love, then this exercise is certainly not a waste of time.

Either way… my plan is to go ahead and put out there all my thoughts, findings, study notes, etc — and find a way to get it out of my head and onto paper. Perhaps this emptying will help me move on to something else.

Let me start by sharing something of significant note in my mind about the Gog. I hear many bible teachers bring him up with his friends: Magog, Rosh, Meshek, Tubal and how the Gog Magog war is coming soon and we are near the war of the end and that this is Russia and on and on and on it goes. But here is what I cannot get away from…

When “I” read the scripture related to this character, I read that he and his fellows are not showing up to be dealt with by YaHUaH until *after* the thousand year Reign of King David. I have got to get this fact out there first and foremost. Now, if anyone can prove me wrong or show me where I am wrong — please do! Please leave me a comment or something and show me what I am missing here. This is why I kind of feel it is a matter for me not to be concerned with and yet I am. Perhaps it is do to the dichotomy of what I actually *hear* from teachers and then what I actually “read” for myself. Perhaps that is where all the consumption is coming from?

Now the first mention of Gog, as a person (and you will understand why I say as a person later on in this study) is in Ezekiel Chapter 38. Ezekiel is telling us about a war that is coming between our Mighty One, YaHUaH Alohim, and a group of rebellious and warlike peoples. These hordes of warlike men of battle, armed to the teeth, are going to come and try to take a spoil from YaHUaH. As they do so… at YaHUaH’s command mind you… they are going to be utterly destroyed by Him and He is to display His great might and wrath and character in the sight of all the nations — to ESTEEM His Name.

There is no disagreement on this account of what is going to take place, so the “what” is answered clearly and all (I think) agree on this. Now we have remaining the “who” and “when.” I am addressing the “when” first.

Ezekiel 38:8a

After many days you shall be called up.

OK so here we see the beginning of “when.” After many days. Well, that could be now or soon. Ezekiel prophesied this somewhere around 590 BC, and if you have read some of my other posts you understand that we are in the last Jubilee Cycle of this age with only three weeks of seven years left. Pretty close to the end of the age (minus the thousand year reign of cours). This certainly fits the “after many days” phrase here. But we have to read the rest of the verses.

Ezekiel 38:8b

In the latter years you shall come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Yisra’el, which had been a continual waste. But they were brought out of the gentiles, and all of them shall dwell safely.

Uh oh. We now have a problem (at least in my mind). We have not been brought back from the sword yet. In fact, there has not even been a war or sword go through the lands yet. We have not been gathered yet. We do not live on the mountains of Yisra’el. We have not been brought out of the gentiles yet, and most certainly — if you are thinking that “yes, the Jews have” then first of all, there are 12 tribes of Israel, not one only, and secondly surely you are not saying that the Jewish people (who are many of them… not even Jews), are dwelling there in the land of Israel safely. There has been nothing but terror in that land since they first descended upon the people living there in peace before they arrived.

And again in 38:11-12

And you (Gog) shall say, ‘Let me go up against a land of unwalled villages, let me go to those at rest who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,’ to take a plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the gentiles, acquiring livestock and goods, who dwell in the middle of the land.

I have highlighted above the distinguishing parts of these verse that simply are not true at this time. Again, if one looks at the land *OF* Israel today, it is certainly not safe, not peaceful, not unwalled or at rest. And just as important… the regathering of Israel from the nations has not occured yet.

Therefore, YaHUaH Himself answers the question of “when” in verse 14

In that day when My people Yisra’el dwell safely, would you (Gog) not know?

This is pretty specific. Chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekile continue on with the prophecy of what will happen to Gog and his hordes and what their end will be. Additionally, I want to drive home this idea of “when” as we further read on towards the end of chapter 39 because YaHUaH further explains to us what has happened throughout history and what He is doing with His people.

Beginning in verse 21 through the end of the chapter 39

And I shall set My esteem among the gentiles. And all gentiles shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.

And the HOUSE of Yisra’el shall know that I am YaHUaH their Alohim from that day onward. And the gentiles shall know that the HOUSE of Yisra’el went into exile for their crookedness (720 BC), because they have trespassed against Me, so that I hid My face from them, and I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword.

According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.

Therefore thus said the Master YaHUaH, ‘Now I am going to bring back the captives of YA”AQOB. And I shall have compassion on all the HOUSE of Yisra’el, and shall be jealous for My set-apart Name.

And they shall have borne their shame, and all their trespass they committed against Me, when they dwell safely in their own land, with none to make them afraid, when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of the lands of their enemies. And I shall be set apart in them before the eyes of many gentiles.

And they shall know that I am YaHUaH their Alohim, who sent them into exile among the gentiles, and then gathered them back tot heir own land, and left none of them behind.

And no longer do I hide My face from them, for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the HOUSE of Yisra’el,’ declared the master YaHUaH.

Ah! So we see here, that our glorious Alohim is speaking to ALL the HOUSE of Yisra’el, even the captives of Jacob!! That makes it even MORE people. There are Israelites in all nations in all the world today and we have not been brought back yet. There is to be a second Exodus, led by our King back to “our own land” as our Father tells us. So I don’t know about you, but there is A LOT that must occur before we see Gog and his bands. It is not around the corner it seems to me.

Now let us take a look at what we are told in the Book of Revelation.

And when the thousand years have ended, Satan shall be released from his prison, and he shall go out to lead the nations astray which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together for battle, whose number is as the san of the sea.

And they came up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the set-apart ones and the beloved city. And fire came down from Alohim out of the heaven and consumed them. Revelation 20:7-9

So once again we are told plainly that Gog and Magog are seen ‘when the thousand years have ended.’ A second witness as to the question of “when” we will see Gog. And both these testimonies seem to agree… that it is when the thousand years era of Messianic Reign, when all Yisra’el (House of Judah, House of Israel and all our companions out of the nations who are ALSO GRAFTED into the vine just as we are/have been) are living and dwelling together. We are at rest, in the land of our inheritance, at peace, our cities are unwalled, and all is well. We are living under the right-ruling of our King and prospering.

And both of these portions of scripture have Gog ending in utter destruction by the Almighty Hand of YaHUaH Himself. Otherwise, I would consider that perhaps this Gog figure is a type of figure here and we could actually experience him in generations throughout time. Perhaps we have seen types of him (which I will discuss in Gog Part 2: The Question of Who) but as for specifically the Gog/Magog war… I just do not see it happening for a loooooong time. This is why I don’t understand it when I hear teachers and preachers warning us all that Gog/Magog is coming and we had better get ready. If this also makes sense to you what I have shared, perhaps it will put your mind and heart at ease.

In Gog Part 2 I will share my thoughts on the “who”

Year of the Double Portion

I am truly excited and looking forward with anticipation to see what YaHUaH will do this coming year – 2015. This year begins in the springtime for me, Israel, according to God’s Word and His timetable. If you are of the House of Yehudah and reading this post – yes, let it be known, the House of Ephraim is waking up!

This year will be a sixth year in a seven year cycle. It is the year I am to give the third year tithe to the poor, fatherless, and widow, and to store up for the seventh year and have enough for the eighth year. That is a tall order isn’t it? And yet, that is exactly what we are promised if we would have kept the instructions.

Now this is all new to me, as far as keeping this commandment of God to guard and keep the Sabbath (Shmittah) year. I learned (and am learning) about the Sabbath years, their cycle, when they are and how to guard them and keep them. But this is my very first opportunity to actually DO it after all the reading, studying, and teaching it. And so that alone is cause for great excitement for me. What will my Father do? Will He give the perfect sunshine and rain mixture? Will He give me great and full crops so that I will have lots and lots of produce to give away and share and also store up?

To be entirely honest here also, I do have a small shiver in my spirit when I imagine not being able to plant or reap in 2016. We have come to depend on our small garden for all our fresh produce during the summer months and we truly need that harvest both health-wise and financially too. But even this nervousness I am counting as a great blessing. I do not know how much I *do* trust YaHUaH until my faith is exercised. Oh yes, I can talk about it all I want to, but it is meaningless unless I do it. And do it we shall.

Now I know many folks are saying that this year – 2015 – is a sabbath (or smittah) year. This is incorrect and the chronology is based upon errors that are known errors but have not been corrected. So be on the look out for this issue. 2015 is *not* the Sabbath year. 2016 is the Sabbath year.  With some study, anyone can prove this to be true and if anyone reading this would like some direction on what to study to prove it yourself – just email me and ask me or place a comment below. I wish the whole world would keep the Sabbath year in 2016 so that our Father would then hear from heaven and heal our land.

It is wickedness not to keep His Sabbaths and yet that is what most all the world does – not keep His Sabbaths and wonder why He does not hear our prayers. He told us we have to turn from our wicked ways, THEN He will hear from heaven. But we do not turn from our wicked ways – profaning His Name, His Sabbaths, His Instructions and then we claim He does not hear or does not answer prayers. It is madness.

Anyway. So this growing season I will do my best to post all that goes on for us during this year so as to share what YaHUaH does. I have already noted how He has brought to me an extra, away from home, garden plot. Ha! It just truly kind of fell in my lap so to speak. It is a community garden about 3 miles from my home and the plot there is at least double the size of my plot here at home! So how about that? It has already begun!! Ha ha ha. I did not even realize this until just now as I was typing my blog post! Praise Yah! Praise His Name! He is True and Trustworthy all the time!

And YaHUaH said to Mosheh, “See, I am raining bread from the heavens for you. And the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, in order to try them, whether they walk in My Torah or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” Shemoth 16:4-5

And again,

And it came to be, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Mosheh. And he said the them, “This is what YaHUaH has said, ‘Tomorrow is a rest, a Sabbath set-apart to YaHUaH. That which you bake, bake; and that which you cook, cook. And lay up for yourselves all that is left over, to keep it until morning.'” Shemoth 16:22-23

Some might say those verses are talking about days of the week, and the seventh day Sabbath. Yes, that is true… but it is a pattern, don’t you see? Read here:

Six years you sow your field, and six years you prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit, but in the seventh year the land is to have a Sabbath of rest, a Sabbath to YaHUaH. Do not sow your field and do not prune your vineyard. Do not reap what grows of its own of your harvest, and do not gather the grapes of your unpruned vine, for it is a year of rest for the land.

And the Sabbath of the land shall be to you for food, for you and your servant, and for your female servant and your hired servant, and for the stranger who sojourns with you, and for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land. All its crops are for food.

And you shall count seven Sabbath of years for yourself, seventimes seven years. And the time of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.  Wayyiqra 25:3-8

So how do I know it is to be a year of double portion, like the sixth day of the week?

And since you might say, “What do we eat in the seventh year, since we do not sow nor gather in our crops?” Therefore I have commanded My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth the crop for three years. And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat of the old crop until the ninth year. Eat of the old until its crop comes in.” Wayyiqra 25:20-22

Yep! An exciting year indeed!

To anyone who might say that we need not keep this instruction unless we live in the land… I have three words for you: “circumsize your heart”

Adding To and Taking From

Several months ago, around the time of the second feast of the year (Pentecost or Shavuot), I had a notion to try my hand at creating and sustaining a sourdough starter.

A sourdough starter is nothing more than ground or milled grain (flour) and water. The flour and water is mixed and then left out and left alone (except for feeding which we will get to in a moment) to mature for several days in a container. Over time, the mixture that inhabits small bacteria… some good and some bad will begin to show visual signs of life. These bacteria live in and on the grain naturally and by leaving them alone in the water they will begin to feed on the carbohydrate in the grain and produce gasses from the digestion. With time, air bubbles will be seen and an aroma will be detected.

This project was much harder than it sounds. It took me several weeks and several tries with new batches to get this thing going. I almost reached the point of throwing my hands up and saying, “just forget it!” but I persevered. I also thought I was doing this for the taste of sourdough. We no longer buy bread, crackers, cookies, muffins, or any bread product from the store. I make them all here at home – homemade so that we know all the ingredients. What I have come to appreciate is that in addition to wonderful tasting bread… my sourdough starter is also my natural yeast for getting my bread to rise. I never knew that either! But now I do.

I also learned something FAR more important as well which I will share in a moment.

After several batches of the “store-bought” flour failed… I decided to mill the kamut wheat I had grown specifically for the feast of shavuot. I did not have enough to make the two loaves of bread for the feast, I just had a nice full hand- full of the kamut wheat berries. I was torn about destroying them by milling them, but read about how good starters actually come, not from the yeast floating around in the air like everyone says… but from the natural bacteria both on and in the grown grain berries that are “on” the grain. So I thought if any grain will have the bacteria I needed to get this thing going… it is my kamut wheat that I grew out in the back yard. So I milled it. I mixed it with some distilled water and went to work.

Low and behold… it worked! The little bit of dough began to smell nice and fruity. I carefully measured and weighed out the flour and water mixture I fed it with each and every 8 hours and truly did my very best to be successful. And guess what? The sourdough starter is still going today after 4 months. I have baked dozens of beautiful and great tasting loaves of all kinds of bread and there is never any doubt or problem with having the loaf rise… perfectly!

Now… why am I sharing this on this blog that is about walking with our Creator and King?

I am being taught a language. A language not of words but of actions. The understanding comes through the doing for this language. Why do you think God gives us instructions? Some people, many people, call His instructions “commandments” I guess it depends on how a person sees them. I see them as instructions: instructions for life. As I do what is spoken of in His Word, I am blessed with learning the language. It is not truly a language that can be written down with letters and words.

Anyway, one morning… actually the morning of Shavuot I believe it was… as I was doing a morning feeding of the sourdough starter I finally had going with the kamut wheat from my garden, I SAW SOMETHING IN WHAT I WAS DOING.

Each time I fed the starter with more water and more flour, I first had to remove some of the starter that was in the container. This is how a starter is fed:

The existing lump is gently stirred down a bit.

All but about 1/4 of a cup is removed from it and thrown away.

Then more water and more flour is added and stirred in.

This is left for 8-12 hours to begin the process again.

I suddenly realized I was “adding to and taking from” the original measure of milled wheat. Each time I did this, I was removing more of the true, initial wheat and adding flour from a different, outside source to keep it going.

When the simple yet beautiful truth of this hit me, I began to cry. I suddenly realized “why” I was doing this sourdough starter, what the purpose was for it, and how it came to me. My Father had something to teach me, in a way I would never, ever, ever forget. I had read the words a thousand times, but now… now I truly “saw with understanding”

And now, O Yisra’el, listen to the laws and the right-rulings which I am teaching you to do, so that you live, and shall go in and possess the land which YaHUaH Alohim of your fathers is giving you.

Do not add to the Word which I command you, and do not take away from it, so as to guard the commands of YaHUaH your Alohim which I am commanding you. Deuteronomy (Debraim) 4:1-2

Every Word of Eloah is tried; He is a shield to those taking refuge in Him.

Do not add to His Word, Lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.

Two I have asked of You – Deny them not to me before I die: Remove falsehood and a lying word far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me my portion of bread; lest I become satisfied and deny, and say, “Who is YaHUaH?” and lest I be poor, and steal, and seize the Name of my Elohim. Proverbs (Mishle) 30:5-9

I have been working on understanding the instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread for a very long time. Not the understanding we are given from teachers, Rabbis, and others… but the true meaning. It is becoming clearer to me and I hope to be able to share what I am learning very soon. It is difficult to put into words. Take care for the words you eat from others and digest. Take care for what you say and teach others so that we don’t become the “added” flour from an outside source that is not our Master alone. We are to be the pure lump from His Seed, His kernel of wheat, without words of instruction that has turned us aside to the right or to the left. Each time the Feast of Unleavened bread comes around again, we have a new opportunity to begin again. Remove all the extra teachings of the foreign flour we have taken in throughout the previous year. Start again, with a new lump. The true matzah that is the true mitzvah. So you see it?

Yadah 1

O Yah, the Glory of my fathers and strength of my days

Who else but You? Who else but You?

You are my breath of life and my salvation all the day.

There is chaos all around me and eyes full of emptiness, yet in my being I have peace because You are there.

You and You alone are full of might and power.

By Your Word have you created all things.

I never forget Your Tender Mercies and Strong Hand when You delivered me.

You are the New Song of my heart and shall ever be.

Who else but You? Who else but You?

You never leave me nor forsake me, and though You slay me, I shall praise You

If I am hungry, I shall praise You

If I am cold, I shall praise You

If I am destitute, I shall find joy in You

Worthy, worthy, worthy are You above all that is and ever shall be

Beyond all words – You are

You are everywhere Father YaHUaH! And thanks be forever for it!

Kindness without end and hope eternal exist only in You

My Rock, my Redeemer, My Inner Being – I love You

Blessed be Your Name, forever on my lips and in my hands

Amazing Love!

New Barley Update Posted!

Shalom Everyone!

The latest news for Barley for the First Fruits offering has been posted (finally!). The updates are at the bottom of the post from:

Barley for First Fruits Updated!

So scroll down to March and April to see the photos!

Have a blessed day, but more importantly… be a blessing to Yah and someone else.

-Segulah

Happy 10th Chodesh 5849

Happy 10th Chodesh for the year 5849!

Jan 1

1:14 PM

New moon time in Jerusalem, Israel. That would be Wednesday, January 1, 2014. Making 2 January (the fifth day of the week) the first full day with a renewed moon (chodesh) beginning at sunset on 1 January.

Welcome to the 10th Moon of the year 5849 from creation of Adam.

1:14 PM on Jan 1st was new moon for Jerusalem Israel. That new moon (chodesh) occurred during the unity of the day from sunset on the 31st Dec to sunset on the 1st Jan, and some of the unity of the day on the 1st of Jan contained the old moon.  Therefore, the 2nd day of Jan is the first full day of the 10th moon or month. I hope these evaluations help us to become accustomed to time-keeping the way we are supposed to or at least opens a door to further understanding on our journey of restoration.

9th Chodesh 5849

Happy New Moon!

We have just entered the 9th renewal of the moon for the year 5849. I will update this post as soon as I can with the reason and time on this from Jerusalem Israel. Shalom!

Dec 3, 2013 6:32 AM 5:16 PM 113° 247° 11:54 AM 37.7° 224,307 0.3% New Moon at 2:23 AM

from: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy

2:23 AM on Dec 3rd was new moon for Jerusalem Israel. That new moon (chodesh) occurred during the unity of the day from sunset on the 2nd to sunset on the 3rd, and some of the unity of the 3rd of Dec contained the old moon.  Therefore, the 4th of December is the first full day of the 9th moon or month. I hope these evaluations help us to become accustomed to time-keeping the way we are supposed to or at least opens a door to further understanding on our journey of restoration.

 

Morning and Evening: To Stand in Perpetuity

I have desired to share something with others for a while; maybe a year at least on this particular topic (I typically have about ten topics making their rounds in my head that I want to write about and share). This particular one is starting to really take shape after much prayer and actually doing the instruction which has opened my understanding a great deal which is the whole point by the way.  I want to share my personal experience and would very much enjoy to challenge you, hear your thoughts, and read your experiences on this very same matter if any of you out there have been pressed upon like I have to accomplish this “word”

It began with a curiosity as I was reading about it in Scripture mostly having to do with prophecy. It appears to be one of those “markers” to look for as we near the end of the age. I am speaking of “that which is continual”  and the fact that it is going to be “taken away”

If that which is continual is going to be taken away… then I was wondering: “What is it exactly?” and “Who is doing it?” and “Should I be doing it too?”

These were my initial questions.

So I set out to learn about the “morning and evening” and what it entailed the best way I know how today… and that is by DOING. So here is my quest and what I have come to understand so far.

The “what is it?” part always begins with Scripture study. I enjoy searching out all the times it is spoken of in Scripture, the context, the literal meaning, the metaphorical meaning, and the hidden meaning. I will lay that out for you now:

For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar, and set it apart. And the altar shall be most set-apart – whatever touches the altar is to be set-apart. And this is what you prepare on the altar: two lambs, a year old, daily, continually.

Prepare the one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb you prepare between the evenings, and one-tenth of an ephah of flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering, with the one lamb.

And prepare the other lamb between the evenings. And with it prepare the grain offering and the drink offering, as in the morning, for a sweet fragrance, an offering made by fire to YaHUaH –

a continual burnt offering for your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before YaHUaH, where I shall meet with you to speak with you.

And there I shall meet with the children of Yisra’el, and it shall be set apart by My esteem.

And I shall set apart the Tent of Meeting and the altar. And Aharon and his sons I set apart to serve as priests to Me. And I shall dwell in the midst of the children of Yisra’el and shall be their Elohim. And they shall know that I am YaHUaH their Elohim, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, to dwell in their midst. I am YaHUaH their Elohim.  Exodus 29:37-46

The next time this continual morning and evening offering is mentioned is in Numbers Chapter 28

And YaHUaH spoke to Mosheh, saying, “Command the children of Yisra’el, and you shall say to them, “Take heed to bring My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet fragrance to Me, at their appointed time,’

And you shall say to them, “This is the offering made by fire which you bring to YaHUaH: two male lambs a year old, perfect ones, daily, a continual burnt offering.

The one lamb you prepare in the morning, and the other lamb you prepare between the evenings, with one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, a continual burnt offering which was offered at Mount Sinai for a sweet fragrance, an offering made by fire to YaHUaH, and its drink offering, one-fourth of a hin for each lamb. Pour out the drink to YaHUaH as an offering in the set-apart place.

And the other lamb you prepare between the evenings. As the morning grain offering and its drink offering, you prepare it as an offering made by fire, a sweet fragrance to YaHUah.

And on the Sabbath day two lambs a year old, perfect ones, and two-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, with its drink offering, the burnt offering for every Sabbath, besides the continual burnt offering with its drink offering.   Numbers 28:1-9

King Solomon spoke of the continual morning and evening:

see, I am building a House for the Name of YaHUaH my Elohim, to set it apart to Him, to burn before Him sweet incense, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, and on the New Moons, and on the appointed times of YaHUaH our Elohim. This is for Yisra’el forever.   2 Chronicles 2:4

Through these Scripture instructions and their context, I learned that the morning and evening daily and continual is in fact – an olah offering, a *wholly* burnt offering, A Lamb. Perfect lambs a year old and they were to be sacrificed and placed upon the altar of burning. They were a burnt offering which means they were an offering that resulted in  a lifting up or rising smell within the resulting smoke. This was a “sweet savor” to YaHUaH Elohim. AND a very important part to the bringing of this offering was YaHUaH said that as this offering is brought to the door of the Tent of Meeting… He will meet with us there and speak to us.

olah {o-law’} or עולה `owlah {o-law’} f act part of 05927; TWOT – 1624c,1624d; n f AV – burnt offering 264, burnt sacrifice 21, ascent 1, go up 1; 289 1) whole burnt offering 2) ascent, stairway, steps

A continual “going up” and continual offering that is “going up” “ascending”

`alah {aw-law’} a primitive root; TWOT – 1624; v AV – (come, etc…) up 676, offer 67, come 22, bring 18, ascend 15, go 12, chew 9, offering 8, light 6, increase 4, burn 3, depart 3, put 3, spring 2, raised 2, arose 2, break 2, exalted 2, misc 33; 889 1) to go up, ascend, climb 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to go up, ascend 1a2) to meet, visit, follow, depart, withdraw, retreat 1a3) to go up, come up (of animals) 1a4) to spring up, grow, shoot forth (of vegetation) 1a5) to go up, go up over, rise (of natural phenomenon) 1a6) to come up (before God) 1a7) to go up, go up over, extend (of boundary) 1a8) to excel, be superior to 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be taken up, be brought up, be taken away 1b2) to take oneself away 1b3) to be exalted 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to bring up, cause to ascend or climb, cause to go up 1c2) to bring up, bring against, take away 1c3) to bring up, draw up, train 1c4) to cause to ascend 1c5) to rouse, stir up (mentally) 1c6) to offer, bring up (of gifts) 1c7) to exalt 1c8) to cause to ascend, offer 1d) (Hophal) 1d1) to be carried away, be led up 1d2) to be taken up into, be inserted in 1d3) to be offered 1e) (Hithpael) to lift oneself

The primitive and basic meaning of this word “olah” is the idea of lifting “something” up over yourself (or something else) and placing that something on your neck or the neck of something else. It is the idea of “yoking.” It could be many things such as a shawl, a mist, leaves as in a covering, a necklace.  Primarily in the ancient times, this “thing” was a shepherd’s staff:

 The ayin and lamed literally express, “experience the staff” [Jeff Benner, Ancient Hebrew         Research Center]

Some other very significant aspects of this specific morning and evening lamb offering are:

Wholly and completely burnt all except the blood.

Blood must be placed at the base or against the altar of sacrifice

Offering slaughtered not by the priest, but by the person bringing the offering.

There are other sacrifices which are burned but they are not called “olah” offerings because they are not wholly burned… therefore the fact that it is called olah because of the rising smoke does not express the reason it is called an “olah” offering. As we have already seen, it has more to do with the raising up of a necklace, chain, staff, or yoke upon the neck. So the key appears to be that alone among the sacrificial offerings… the olah is wholly burnt. Think about that for a moment. What does this say about this offering when it relates to Yahusha? To me? To you?

Thus, the whole animal is brought up to the altar and the whole is offered as a gift to YaHUaH. Did you see that? The “whole” is offered as a “gift” You see, it appears that yes, the offering is burnt but the burning, the smoke and all the rest that goes with this olah offering is very much secondary to the purpose. The primary picture and purpose of this offering that is continual and to stand in perpetuity morning and evening is that it is a GIFT that is given willingly and in its ENTIRETY. No one benefits from this offering in the form of food, clothing, or any other thing. Very important points to ponder as well.

Sometimes, a sacrifice was performed by the priest, but for the olah not so (those bringing their sin and fellowship sacrifices slaughtered them as well). It was essential that the blood be put on the altar. This lamb is killed by the worshipper him or herself beside the altar, after which the priest poured the blood against or upon the altar. Only after the worshiper had skinned and cut up the animal and washed the parts in water was the whole animal conveyed to the priest. He then takes it to the altar and arrages it there where it was wholly burned up.

The olah is offered for specific reasons. In times of joy and celebration, an olah is a gift to express that joy and to reverence YaHUaH. The olah is not associated with negativity or horrors of death. Common to the olah is the overriding awareness of the need to give honor and homage to the Elohim who is holy.

Another interesting aspect of this offering is what is brought with it: Grain, Oil, and Wine. When I was meditating on these items I received a wonderful understanding of these things. I am not saying that what I am about to share is the entire and only meaning… only that I felt like it was pretty fantastic to consider the concepts. The following is what was brought to my mind…

There are other items in the Torah that also receive the designation of: continual.

These are: The shewbread

The oil and light of the menorrah

The incense upon the altar of incense.

Pondering all these I realized what they have in common is that they ALL were items that were kept in the Holy Place (The Set apart Place). Additionally, when we think about all these they have incredible symbolism when it comes to representing our Messiah Yahusha. He too — is continual. He is the beginning and the end, the Aleph Tav, He was – He is – He is to come. He most assuredly is continual and stands in perpetuity. Therefore it stands to reason that all these visible pictures in our seen realm represent Him… standing continually and in perpetuity. Add to these characteristics the perfect Lamb and it become obvious to me that this morning and evening continual and daily are pictures of Messiah and are related to Him intimately.

Now, all these items that are brought with the morning and evening continual offering of the lamb could go into the Set Apart Place. The shewbread represented by the grain, the oil that provides the source of the light of the menorrah represented by the pure olive oil, the drink offering of wine is represented by the wine. All these can exist in the Set Apart Place. But the lamb and the blood do not go in. The lamb is wholly burned and the blood goes on the altar. Just as we are told by our Master Himself:

Yahusha therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of  Adam and drink His blood, you possess no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood possesses everlasting life, and I shall raise him up in the last day. For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood stays in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Fahter, so he who feeds on Me shall live because of Me.” John :53-57

And also Paul tells us:

The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, earthy; the second Man is the Master from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the likeness of the earthy, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly. And this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood is unable to inherit the reign of Elohim, neither does corruption inherit incorruption. 1 Corinthians 15:46-50

So there we see the literal meaning of the morning and evening daily continual offering. It was a perfect male lamb and it was a gift of honor and thanks to Elohim and it was wholly burned. It was offered by a member of the Israelite community with fine flour, pure oil, and wine.

So there I was about 9 months ago praying and pondering how I was to accomplish this morning and evening daily and continual offering for my King. I received a limited understanding that the lamb was me. As I put on Yahusha, eat His flesh, drink His blood… we become one. I was to come to the altar in the morning and in the evening before YaHUaH, place His yoke upon my neck,  and offer myself and a wholly burnt offering. I have the flesh, I am made from earth just as the grain is produce of the earth, I have the Spirit of Elohim in me which is the oil, and I have the wine which is my blood. This brought up even more questions.

What was I to do there? What times are the mornings and evenings? The entire idea was a big mystery to me and yet I was being instructed by the Set Apart Spirit to accomplish this. I knew from study that the third hour and ninth hour of each day holds significance and so I just started there. I stopped whatever I was doing at 9 AM and 3 PM each day, faced East and I did understand I am to offer something. But what did I have to offer????? I was confounded about this for a little bit and I truly was searching and praying for answers in this area. I had understanding to “be there” and I also had understanding that this was not a time for me to ask of YaHUaH favor and blessings of any kind, or healing, or anything like that. This…. *this* was different. I could sense that in my innermost parts.

Then… He told me. I am to bring the “Bulls of my lips.” Let me share with you the Scripture:

O Yisra’el, return to YaHUaH your Elohim, for you have stumbled by your crookedness. Take words with you, and return to YaHUaH. Say to Him, “Take away all crookedness, and accept what is good, and we render the bulls of our lips.”  Hoshea 14:1-2

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a slaughter of praise to Elohim, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His Name.  Hebrews 13:15

With each passing day and week I began to receive increased and greater understanding of what this offering is about. Along with this I want to share a confession. As I began to understand that this morning and evening, daily and continual offering was one of Praise, Honor, Thanksgiving, and Joy over Him… I soon realized that sadly, I did not know how to come to Elohim with Praise and Honor alone! How shamed I was. I was shamed but it was mixed with gladness too because I now have an opportunity to learn, change, and grow. I soon realized I do not know how to Praise my King. I was so accustomed to going to Him and asking Him for blessings, talking to Him about my known sin and transgression, asking for His forgiveness and help and giving thanks to Him. But what about all the honor, praise, glory, and esteem!!?? I had no clue!

So I spent some days in sadness, knowing my condition and not having an answer as to how to correct (quickly) my problem. Certainly it was not that praise and honor were not in my heart for Him but I NEEDED the WORDS on my lips and to come out of my mouth before Him. Then it occurred to me. Let me begin reading the Psalms of Praise of King David and let King David teach me how to properly Esteem my King. If anyone knew how to Praise YaHUaH, it was King David. So that is what I did. I would write down some lines of Psalms of Praise and learn them. I said them before my Father morning and evening. You know what? I can now Praise Him without hesitation. The words are there, they flow out of my lips. Many times I have begun to cry with joy with overwhelming emotion towards Him for all that He is. Now I don’t have enough words! I need more and more and more words to express how I love, adore, esteem Him and His Majestic Name! It truly is incredible what has happened to me on this journey that began nearly nine months ago. I am so very thankful too.

So I have learned the literal meaning of the morning and evening continual. I have learned some of the metaphorical meaning and some of the hidden meaning too. Lastly, I would like to return just for a few words concerning the “raising a staff and placing on the neck”  — the meaning of Olah, and Olah Offering. In one simple word picture… it is a yoke. In this life, each and every one of us are yoked to something. And there are only two forces that exists whether we believe them or not. One force is YaHUaH’s Spirit and the other is the spirit of the adversary, the rebellious one. That is it. We are either Yoked to God or yoked to sin and transgression. We can look around us and see the yoke of the enemy and I will not even try to name them all here. The entire category could simply fall under bondage and death.

Here is the testimony of our Master of His Yoke:

All have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are burndened, and I shall gie you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your beings.

For My yoke is gentle and My burden is light. Matthew 11:27-30

I can say with certainty these Words are sure and true. I *know* this without a doubt. Not by reading, studying, or writing or thinking; but by doing and experiencing it in my life. This is Hebraic Faith, it is action, proving, doing, learning. Walking out the lifestyle and path of Torah.

Father YaHUaH said the same thing through the Prophet Jeremiah:

Thus said YHUH, “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and find rest for yourselves…” Jeremiah 6:16

So many of the patriarchs speak to us concerning yokes, and also Paul:

In the freedom with which Messiah has made us free, stand firm, then, and do not again be held with a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

I am sure there are loads more to be revealed on this topic and I will share what I learn as I learn more and more. Please share if this article has sparked something in you. Are you accomplishing your morning and evening daily continual olah offering? Yes, it could mean a death sentence upon us in these coming and last days of this age. But what a way to go out, huh? Praising and honoring our King with His Great Esteem on our lips. Worthy is the Lamb.

What I have learned about “Grace” Part 1

In Sabbath keeping, there are untold blessings from heaven. Keeping the Seventh Day Sabbath is the key to opening the door to the flood-gates of Heaven and have our Father pour out His Spirit upon us.

A few incredible blessings of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding have come to my husband and me on recent Sabbaths and I must share one of them (for now) with whoever out there needs to hear it, desires to hear it, and will receive it with their hearts, eyes, and ears.

It is about grace.

For just a moment, forget everything you know or have been taught about grace and take this walk with me. What we have been shown about grace is nothing like you have ever heard before I assure you. Since grace is a word that comes to us in English by way of the Greek… it is an abstract word. Grace is one of those words we reach out to the air and try to “catch it” and try to understand what it means, literally. In other words, grace is an abstract word. It exists in our minds and thoughts and we attempt to attribute some meaning to it. The question is: what does it mean? And better yet and much more importantly, what is God speaking and meaning when He uses the word for grace in our Bibles?

That is what I desire to share with you in this posting. I hope and pray you receive this and are as amazed and blessed as I have been.

Allow me to show you, and give you, the “picture” of grace. Here is grace:

And Bil’am lifted up his eyes and saw Yisra’el encamped according to their tribes. And the Spirit of Elohim came upon him.

How good are your tents, O Ya’aqob, your dwellings, O Yisra’el! Like wadis that stretch out, like gardens by a river, like aloes planted by YaHUaH, like cedars beside waters.

He makes water flow from his buckets, and his seed is in many waters. His sovereign is higher than Agag, and his reign is exalted.

And here are two other pictures of grace:

How in the world are these photos of tents and camps a picture of grace? Remember, we have to leave our previous teachings aside and listen to God’s point of view and not our own.

The Hebrew word for grace is: Chen. Sometimes you may see it as Hhen. This is a “ch” (pronounced as in the word: Bach) and is called chet. The “n” is the letter nun. To us English speakers, this word means nothing and even if we learn to pronounce it and read it and memorize the fact that it means grace, mercy, and/or compassion, all of this still does not tell us much more than we knew if we just simply said: grace. The point I am trying to make is this: what did this word *look like* when Moses wrote it because God said it? Or what did the word picture look like when Moses was describing an attribute of God and His Word and Way? I am speaking of picture words here — in original paleohebrew appearance of this word.

So again, we have a word that was written with what came to be known today as a chet and a nun. The chet is the picture of a fence or a wall and the nun is a seed (which gives life).

Hhets (Hhet) By Jeff A. Benner

Characteristics

Ancient Modern Image Wall Meaning Outside, Divide, Half Name Hhets Hhet Sound hh (like the “ch” in the name Bach) hh (like the “ch” in the name Bach)

History & Reconstruction

The ancient pictograph  is a picture of a tent wall. The meanings of this letter is outside as the function of the wall is to protect the occupants from the elements, halp as the wall in the middle of the tent divides the tent into the male and female sections and secular as something that is outside. Remember, we are talking about a Hebrew pictographic letter that makes up the word: grace. The Modern Hebrew name for this letter is hhet meaning a string. A very similar Hebrew word is hhets, meaning a wall and is most likely the original name for this letter. The sound of the letter, in ancient and modern times, is a guttural “hh” (as in the “ch” in the name Bach). The early Semitic pictograph  evolved into  in the Middle Semitic script by being rotated 90 degrees. This letter continued to evolve into  in the Late Semitic script. The Middle Semitic script is the origin of the Greek and Roman H while the late Semitic script became the modern Hebrew ח. The Middle Semitic form of this letter became the number 8. Nun By Jeff A. Benner

Characteristics

Ancient Modern Image Sprout Meaning Continue, Heir Name Nun Nun Sound n n

History & Reconstruction

The ancient pictograph  is a picture of a seed sprout representing the idea of continuing to a new generation. This pictograph has the meanings of continue, perpetuation, offspring or heir. The Modern Hebrew name is “nun”, a Hebrew word meaning continue, offspring or heir. This two-letter word is the original name for the letter. The phonetic sound for this letter is “n”. The Early Semitic  evolved into  in the Middle Semitic script and continued to evolve into  in the Late Semitic script. The Late Semitic script became the Modern Hebrew נ and ן (final nun). The Middle Semitic script became the N (written in reverse direction) in both the Greek and Roman alphabets.

The first time we read about “grace” in scripture, is Genesis chapter 6 (yep, the first book of the Bible)

But Noah found grace in the eyes of YaHUaH   Genesis 6:8

When we do a search of the Hebrew word here for grace, we discover it is the word “chen” as we discussed above. I have already shown you the “picture” of chen. It is a camp, with tents in a line forming a wall which has a specific purpose of protection and security for life and continuing generations *inside*.

Now, I ask you the question — what did Noah find in YaHUaH? Let me share at this time, that the Hebrew word used here for “in the eyes of” in Genesis 6:8 (and elsewhere) is the word: ayin. Ayin is the picture of an eye. It means more than to simply “see” something in the physical world. It is the type of seeing that comes from understanding, comprehending, knowledge of, etc. The phrase could read, “in understanding of God, or in the knowledge of God.”

In the previous verse to this one concerning Noah, we read

And YaHUaH said, “I am going to wipe off man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping creature and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” Genesis 6:7

So I ask you again: What did Noah find in understanding and knowing YaHUaH?

Was it “unmerited favor” as we are always taught? or was it a refuge, a camp of protection, a place of safety (as in Psalm 91). Verse 9 tells us that “Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with Elohim.” Doesn’t sound like unmerited favor to me. Sounds like Noah was on the Path provided by God to all mankind, the Way, His Way. Sounds like Noah had knowledge and understanding of God, His Ways, His Wisdom. THEREFORE, Noah found “a camp of protection and safety” in the true and real existence of YaHUaH. *Noah found “a place of protection” in the “wisdom, knowledge, and understanding” of God* The KJV states this as “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” It is so important that we grasp the deeper truth of what this one-sentence and seemingly simple phrase truly means.

(From Jeff Brenner’s Ancient Hebrew Research Center) Most theologians will define “grace” as “unmerited favor,” but notice the abstractness of these words. The Hebrew verb translated as gracious in the Aaronic blessing is the verb חנן (hhanan, Strong’s #2603) and is often paralleled with other Hebrew words meaning healing, help, being lifted up, finding refuge, strength and rescue. From a concrete Hebraic perspective this verb means to “provide protection.” Where does one run to for protection? The camp, which in Hebrew is חנה (hanah, Strong’s #2583), a word related to חנן (hhanan).

Another Hebrew letter derived from the tent itself is the letter “chet”, a word meaning “wall”. This letter in the ancient pictographic script is , a picture of a wall as can be seen in the above picture.

The size of the tent will depend on the size and wealth of the family. The wealthier families will have separate tents for the wife, such as Abraham had for Sarah. As the family grows, additional panels are added to increase the size of the tent. “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes” (Isaiah 54:2).

The goat hair tent is unique in that it is perfectly suited for the desert regions of the Near East.

Heat

A tent provided shade from the sun. During the strong heat of the day, the father would often sit at his door watching his family, livestock and the road for travelers (Genesis 18.1,2) The walls of the tent could be lifted to allow the breeze to pass through the tent.

Cold

The black tent absorbs heat keeping the tent warm. A fire is also built just inside the door for warmth.

Rain

Like any other cloth, there is space between the hair fabric. Light coming through the black roof appear as stars in the night sky. “He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in” (Isaiah 40.2). When the hair fibers get wet from the rains, the fibers expand, forming a watertight roof.

Wind

Strong ropes, secured by pegs driven into the ground, supported the poles which held up the tent. “I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will be a seat of honor for the house of his father” (Isaiah 22.23). The word “firm” in the previous passage is the Hebrew word “aman” and is often translated as “believe”. The walls of the tent are laid on the top of the ropes allowing the wind to pass over the tent. The Hebrew letter “vav” (or waw) –  is a representation of the pegs used to secure the tent. The word “vav” is also a word in the Hebrew language meaning “peg”.

The Nomadic family consisted of the beyt (house, family), mishpechah (clan) and matteh (tribe). The family, children, parents and grandparents, all resided in one tent. The clan consisted of the extended family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc, all residing in one camp and may contain as many as 50 to 100 tents laid out in a circular pattern. When the clan becomes too large for one area to support, the tribe splits into two clans (see Genesis 13). All the clans (all being descended from one ancestor) may cover hundreds of square miles making up the tribe. As an example, the house of Moses, of the clan of Levi, of the tribe of Israel.

Chanan is a Hebrew word often translated as “grace” but is Hebraicly understood as a “camp”. The camp, as seen above, is a place of beauty, love, warmth and comfort.

Additional Scriptural References

I would like to share some other scriptures now to widen the view for a fuller and deeper understanding and to provide support for this teaching.

In Genesis chapter 18 I see that this grace, this “Place of abiding together” can be reciprocal. It is the event of Abraham who had just followed the instruction to circumcise himself and his household, sitting in the doorway of his tent when the messengers and YaHUaH were approaching. I notice that we are now given a vision of “our tent, or camp” and how we now appeal for The Holy One to come and stay with us.

And YaHUaH appeared to him (Abraham) by the terbinth trees of Mamre, while he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and saw three men standing opposite him. And when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, YaHUaH, if I have now found favor (chen) in Your eyes, please do not pass Your servant by. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And let me bring a piece of bread and refresh your hearts, and then go on, for this is why you have come to your servant.”

This entire passage is fascinating all the more to me as I look for the meaning of grace here. Abraham says, “now, if I have found grace in Your eyes… come into my company and sup with me.” There is so much color here for the house, the tent, the home, and the presence of being together in a common place, and a meal. This is the picture of grace. I immediately recall the Words of Moshiach Yahusha (Jesus) when He says,

Stay in Me, and I you. As the branch is unable to bear fruit of itself, unless it stays in the vine, so neither you, unless you stay in Me. John 15:4

If anyone does not stay in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and tthey are burned. John 15:6

See, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I shall come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20

Grace is a house in which YaHUaH resides. He eats, drinks, and teaches. He is the Master of that house.

Lot

Lot makes a statement to the messengers who came to his home in Sodom, he says

Look, please, your servant has found favor (chen) in your eyes, and you have increased your kindness which you have shown me by saving my life…” Genesis 19:19

Why did Lot know he had found grace? Because the messengers came into his house and ate and drank with him… and then also, because they held for him safety and protection. Did you know this was the time of Passover and Unleavened Bread? Yes. Notice, that Lot was able to have the messengers abide with him in his home and to eat and drink because Lot was *on the Path* of the Way of God – observing the Feasts according to the instructions of God. I am not saying Lot was perfect. He was reaping the harvest of choosing to live in a secular city. But in that city, he was a Judge and he was doing his very best to keep the Way of YaHUaH in his own home and family.

Laban and Jacob

And Laban said to him, “If I have found favor (chen) in your eyes, please stay, for I have diligently watched that YaHUaH has blessed me for your sake.” Genesis 30:27

Laban is saying, “If now you see that my house LOOKS like your house and you find it acceptable to be in its presence.” Do you see this? Do we enjoy staying with people who do not conduct themselves in a manner that is pleasing to us? I know I don’t. I cannot wait to get out of there and get back to my own home. But if I were to have the pleasure to stay with others who were Commandments keepers, loved God and served Him… I would feel right at home there. Jacob does not stay with Laban though does he? No, he goes on in the next verses to state his case in how Laban is a deceiver and has taken advantage of him at every turn. In essence, Laban DID NOT find grace in the eyes of Jacob. The result? Jacob takes all his family and LEAVES Laban’s house and presence. Grace was removed from Laban because of his actions. The house of Grace could not and would not abide with a house of lawlessness. Remember this.

Joseph in Egypt

And Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. And icame to be that YaHUaH was with Joseph (the picture of grace, chen. The seed was inside the house, the protection. Yahuah abided *with* Joseph) and he became a prosperous man, and was in the house o his master the Egyptian. And his master way that Yahuah was with him and that Yahuah made all he did to prosper in his hand.

So Joseph found favor (chen) in his eyes, and served him, and he appointed him over his house, and gave into his hand all that he had. Genesis 39:1-4

Now watch what happens as “the house of Joseph in which Yahuah lived, protected, blessed, and prospered” expanded to the house in which he dwelt also. The tent was widened, the chords elongated, and the blessing was shared.

And it came to be, from the time that he appointed him over his house and all that he had, that Yahuah blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake. And the blessing of Yahuah was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Geneis 39:5

Are you carrying the tent or tabernacle of God with you wherever you go? Is there evidence of it that is seen by those around you and who come into contact with you? Do they say of you, “I can see that God is with you and that He prospers you in all that you do”? If not, it is time to ask why not. It is time to find out… why not? Perhaps God is not able to abide in your tabernacle in its current condition. When God gives us instructions on our conduct, diet, appearance, and days of rest… and we don’t do them… why do we expect that we can stay in His House… or expect that He will stay and abide in ours? He is Holy and Set-apart. Our personal houses are to also be Holy and Set apart. That way, we can abide together as One and be a blessing to the world as He promised.

Picture of Grace Removed

We are now seeing a new way to understand grace. We are beginning to understand that grace is abiding in the House of God where we find peace, sanctuary, safety, refuge, teaching, and feasting… and having God find a place of abode in and with us. This is grace. We are wise to also seek situations in scripture where we are shown what it looks like to have grace removed, what caused it, and what happened. Do we have this in scripture? The answer is yes. Read chapter 33 in the book of Exodus.

Exodus 33

And YaHUaH siad to Mosheh, “Come, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Yitshaq, and to Ya’aqob, saying, ‘To your seed I give it.’

And I shall send My Messenger before you, and I shall drive out the Kena’anite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hiwwite and the Yebusite, to a land flowing with mild and honey.

For I do not go up in your midst because you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way.

And when the people heard this evil word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.

And YaHUah said to Mosheh, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. Should I go up in you midst for one moment I shall consume you. And now, take off your ornaments, and I shall know what to dot o you.'”

So the children of Israel took off their ornaments at Mount Hireb.

And Mosheh took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the Tent of Meeting. And it came to be that everyone who sought YaHUaH went out to the Tent of Meeting which was outside the camp.

And it came to be, whenever Mosheh went ou to the Tent, that all the people rose, and ea h man stood at his tent door and watched Mosheh until he entered the Tent.

Ant it came to be, when Mosheh entered the Tent, that the column of cloud descended and stood at the door of the Tent, and He spoke with Mosheh. And all the people saw the column of cloud standing at the Tent door, and all the people rose and bowed themselves, each one at the door of his tent.

Thus YaHUaH spoke to Mosheh face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the Tent.

And Mosheh said to YaHUaH, “See, You are saying to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not made known to me whom You would send with me, though You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor (chen) in My eyes (you understand Me, God says).’

And now, please, if I have found favor in Your eyes, please show me You way, and let me know You, so that I find favor in Your eyes. And consider that this nation is Your people.”

And He said, “My Presence does go, and I shall give you rest.”

And Moses said to God, “If Your Presence is not going, do not lead us up from here. For how then shall it be known that I have found favor in You eyes, I and You people, except You go with us? Then we shall be distinguished, I and You people, from all the people wo are upon the face of the earth.”

And YaHUaH said to Mosheh, “Even this word you have spoken I shall do, for you have found favor in My eyes, and I know you by name.”

Then Moses said, “Please, show me Your esteem.” And YaHUaH said, “I shall cause all My goodness to pass before you, and I shall proclaim the Name of YaHUaH before you. And I shall gavor him whom I favor, and shall have compassion on him whom I have compassion.”

“You are unable to see My face, for no man does see Me and live. See, there is a place with Me! And you shall stand on the rock. And it shall be, while My esteem passess by, that I shall put you in the cleft of the rock (I will graft you in, plant you into the vine), and cover you with My hand (bind you in safety) while I pass by. Then I shall take away My hand (remove the binding that protects the grafted in branch or planted seed) and you shall see My back (you shall see hereafter, in a time to come), but My face shall not be seen.”

We do not know the mind of God, but we are told of and always see His evidence of presence. We see His hinderside (where He has been) even though we do not know where He is going. We can hear Him, speak to Him, see evidence of Him, feel His Presence… but we are not His equal nor His counsel and therefore do not stand opposite Him in our current state. When He gives us the Robes of Righteousness (Fine Linen), then we will see Him as He is and Face to Face, as a Bride stands Face to Face with her husband at the altar in the marriage ceremony and thereafter.

Paul spoke about this in 1 Corinthians when he wrote in his letter to the Corinthian Assembly:

For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part shall be inactive. When I was a child, I spoke as a child,I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child. But when I became a man, I did away with childish matters. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know, as I also have been known. 1 Corinthians 13:9-12

And John also wrote of this:

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of Elohim! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved ones, now we are children of Elohim. And it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:1-2

I have digressed a little bit from the primary subject of grace, but these things are important to tie into together as a scarlet thread throughout the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation.

Ex 34:9 Moses testifies of the meaning of grace (chen)

Moses said,

If, now, I have found favor (chen) in Your eyes, O YaHUaH, I pray, let YaHUaH go on in our midst, even though we are a stiff-necked people. And forgive our crookedness and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.

We see again plainly here, that Moses absolutely associates God being “in their midst” His Presence, His Tabernacle, His Place, His Home — as grace. God and Moses removed the Tent of Meeting from the midst of the people because of their sin and trespass. This is a removal of the House of God from them. Our Elohim makes it clear to us He cannot reside where sin and uncleanness exist. He expelled Adam and Eve, He expelled Cain, He removed Himself from Israel after the golden calf incident, He expelled Israel from the Land of His inheritance, He gave Northern Israel a bill of divorcement, He sent Judah into captivity, and He will not exist *in us* just the same. He does not change. If you have ever experienced seperation from God you know what I am talking about. I have experienced it… and it is as death.  People live in their sin and trespass, secret perversions, lawlessness, and rejection of the Sabbath and so on and think in their hearts that God overlooks these things. I assure you, He does not. I know… I was this person and I found out that He will put these lawless ones outside the camp and outside of His House (removing His Grace).

Some may argue that they were “saved” and they “just believe” and that is enough for them. Don’t they desire life, abundant life? Peace, Joy, Love, His Presence and Fellowship, His GRACE on a day to day basis? Chaos, calamity, sickness, and disease is not LIFE. There are reasons everything is so messed up today from the church, to families, to communities, and governments. Lawlessness. The Bible is a manual for living abundant and blessed life. And this is the thing that so many want to throw out, keep out, trample on. All the while death, chaos, and disease is rampant in our society. [Shaking my head with tears in my eyes]

Falling from Grace

In Deuteronomy chapter 24 we have one of the most poignant pictures of what happens to the bride when she falls from grace in the eyes of her husband. I read this passage picturing God and His Bride Israel. You know, His instructions are like that: He gives us right-rulings and judgments to be carried out in this physical world between us in our relationships and in so doing, He is telling us about Himself and His expectations of our relationship with Him.

When a man takes a wife and shall marry her, then it shall be, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found a matter of uncoveredness in her, and he shall write her a certificate of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house, and if she left his house and went and became another man’s wife, and the latter husband shall hate her and write her a certificate of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house, or when the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that would be an abomination before YaHUah.

This passage is so full of so many things, but I would like to focus on what I am trying to share concerning what grace really is. It is abiding in the House of God, His Presence… and have Him abide with you. It is not unmerited favor. This woman, from above, we are not told much about her. Only that her husband has found something in her that he cannot abide and therefore she does not find “chen” grace —- a place to stay in safety and care. He sends her “out of his house” Do you see? If grace were unmerited favor, the man would have let the woman stay in his house, no matter what she did. She would receive his favor just because he gave it and she could then do and behave any way she wanted. But this is not the case is it?

Yet many believe (including myself in the past) that we can also live any way we think is appropriate in our own mind and reasoning (not consulting God’s Word – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (the Torah))) and still live in God’s House and have Him live in us because of “grace”. Beloved I pray you now see this is simply not the case and most certainly not what the Scriptures teach us. It is man’s religion that teaches such things, and it is lawlessness.

In closing of Part 1 of what I am learning about true grace, I leave you with the words of King David. He had a good understanding of grace. Notice all the beautiful references to the House of God and the unmatched joy one can have by being in His Presence. Psalm 84

How lovely are Your dwelling places, O YaHUaH of hosts!

My being has longed, and even fainted, for the courts of YaHUaH;

My heart and my flesh cry out for the living El.

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herelf, where she has put her young ones –

Your altars, O YaHUaH of hosts, my Sovereign and my Elohim.

Blessed are those who dwell in Your House, they are ever praising You. Selah.

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, highways are in their heart.

Passing through the valley of weeping, they make it a fountain;

The Teacher also covers it with blessings.

They go from strength to strength, appearing before Elohim in Tsiyon.

O YaHUaH Elohim of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O Elohim of Ya’aqob! Selah.

O Elohim, see our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed.

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.

I have chosen rather to be a doorkeeper in the House of my Elohim, than to dwell in the tents of the wrong.

For YaHUah Elohim is a sun and a shield; YaHUaH gives favor and esteem; He withholds no good matter from those who walk blamelessly.

O YaHUaH of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Is your house conducted in such a way that the God of Israel, the Elohim of the Universe, can find a place to rest, abide, Feast, and teach? Does your walk fulfill the prayer: “On earth as it is in Heaven”? It is up to us to learn His Ways and then with His Spirit… Make it so.

Has your vision of grace increased by this sharing? Let me know 🙂

In part 2, I want to explore grace in the prophets and the Brit Chadashah to continue looking for the scarlet thread.

 

Today You are Going Out, In the Month Abib

Shalom Readers!

I wanted to get this out for reading today. It is somewhat time sensitive and I would have desired to have more time to have given you good research and organization. However, my family and I have been packing and moving and I have not had time to sit and put together an ordered and well documented post on this topic. We stop our labors though for today and tomorrow for Passover and Unleavened Bread and then again for Sabbath and day of First-Fruits.

Today, 24 April 2013 at around 5:35 PM central time, the Full Moon will be in conjunction with the brightest star of the constellation Virgo – Spica.

This is pretty fantastic.

If you are a regular reader or follower of this blog, you know that the true month of the Exodus and Passover have been discovered to be when the sun, moon, and stars are in the sign of the Lamb – Aries. This heavenly witness of the Full Moon crossing and occulting (covering/conjunction) this star (Spica) is a special blessing to me this year. This conjunction does not happen every year in the month of the Passover, but the Full Moon is always very near the star Spica at this time – and only this time I might add. What I am saying is this: The *only* time there is a *Full Moon* (meaning we are on the 14-15th day of the month) in a year is when the sun is in Aries and the Full Moon occurs in Virgo. The moon travels *through* Virgo each month along its path of orbit, but the *Full Moon* is only here at this place once per year. The month of Passover and the first month of the year.

Did you know, that at this time of year – the time of the sun in Aries, the time of the Exodus and the Passover of the Lamb, that during the nighttime, the constellation that dominates the heavens for the northern Hemisphere is the Virgin (Bethulah in Hebrew). This is insteresting to contemplate. In the left hand of the Virgin is a sheaf of grain. The bright star Spica is found in the “green ears” of grain she is holding.

Here is one depiction of her:

 

See her left hand? She is holding a sheaf of grain. The brightest star of the sheaf is called today in English – Spica which is from Latin. It was not always called Spica though. The ancients called in Simak, Al Simak for the Arabs… Tsemach or Zamach in Hebrew. This word means

tsemach {tseh’-makh} from 06779; TWOT – 1928a; n m AV – Branch 4, bud 3, branch 1, that which grew 1, spring 1, springing 1, grew 1; 12 1) sprout, growth, branch 1a) sprouting, growth, sprout 1b) growth (of process) 1c) sprout, shoot (of Messiah from Davidic tree)

Do a study of this word in scripture. Here is only one example of “The Branch”

In that day the Branch of YaHUaH shall be splendid and esteemed. And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for the escapted ones of Yisra’el. Isaiah 4:2

There are so many more and I shall desire to do a complete study on this in another post.

Now, the sheaf the virgin is holding is a sheaf of grain (green ears, abib) and the brightest star in her constellation of stars is this tsemach. Just as Yahusha is the star that came from the virgin and from Israel. He is the Righteous Branch. He is the First of the Fruits Fruits!

‘And if you bring a grain offering of your first-fruits to YaHUaH, bring for the grain offering of your first-fruits green heads (abib) of grain roasted on the fire, crushed heads of new grain.’ Leviticus 2:14

‘And you do not eat bread or roasted grain or fresh grain until the same day that yo have brought an offereing to your Elohim – a law forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.’ Leviticus 23:14

Today you are going out, in the month abib. Exodus 13:4

The day (HaYom) את You came out (yatsa’) in the month (beyt chodesh, בכדש) the abib. We came out on the day of the moon abib. When is the moon abib? When the full moon (the fifteenth day of the moon or month) is in the green ears (abib) the bright star of the virgin – tsemach. The heavens witness to us yet again (you may like to read the article The Lamb’s Witness from Heaven on this site).

Guard the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of abib – for in it you came out of Egypt – and do not appear before Me empty-handed; and the Festival of the Harvest, the first-fruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Festival of the Ingathering at the outgoing of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labor from the field. Exodus 23:15-16

Those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, who believe He is the Good Shepherd and is Elohim manifested in the flesh, the Word manifested, and who love Him and keep His instructions, His charge, His ordinances and Sabbaths… are His Bride. We are His Virgin Bride. We are His Bethulah. We have these ears of grain, the wave sheaf in our left hand to offer to Him of our First-Fruits which we are. Do you see it too?

Here is the sky today from Jerusalem at 8:19 PM – the Fifteen day of the first moon:

 

Do you see it? Is it not amazing!? Our Redeemer, Elohim, and King came from the Virgin and He is the First of the First-Fruits! I love YaHUaH!

There is so much more I would love to share but don’t have the time right now. I will do more study and sharing after we get moved into our new home. We are literally packed up and ready to move out this Passover and Unleavened Bread week of the year 2013. The picture is hard to miss, ha ha.

Look up and be amazed at what YaHUaH is sharing with us! Happy Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits celebrations! Praise Yah for all His Gorious Blessings upon us!

 

 

The Lamb’s Witness from Heaven

It has been a truly amazing journey thus far in my life returning to a walk of Faith grounded in Spirit and Truth. Simply being on this path is a testimony to God’s Faithfulness and everlasting love. He never leaves nor forsakes and His Promise is true: “seek (keep on seeking) Me and you shall find Me. Knock (keep on knocking), and it shall be opened to you. Ask (keep on asking) and it shall be answered.” (Deuteronomy 4:29, Joel 2:12, Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9)

I am going to make a statement now of what I believe to be truth to share with you. In this day it will be considered a “new” statement, but I will show you it is not a “new” statement, but an old one… an ancient one. Our Father tells us in His Word to search out and follow the ancient paths and tells us it is dangerous to walk along strange bypaths.

But My people have forgotten Me, they have burned incense to what is false, and they have stumbled from their ways, from the ancient paths, to walk in bypaths and not on a hightway, …     Jeremiah 18:15

Thus said YaHUaH, “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and find rest for yourselves. But they said, ‘We do not walk [in it].'” Jeremiah 6:16

So return to the ancient paths I shall. Here is the statement and claim:

The appointment of the Passover occurs when the sun, moon, and stars testify of the sign of the Lamb (Aries)

Let me now make the case.

Let us ask YaHUaH how it is we are to tell time and keep His appointments (Feasts, Festivals, Moedim).

He answers us:

Let lights come to be in the expanse of the heavens to seperate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and appointed times, and for days and years, and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.  Genesis 1:14

Father, what are these light?

The greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars. And I set them in the expanse of the heavens to give you light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkenss. And it was good. Genesis 1:16-18

The sun, moon, and stars. All of these are found in the heavens. God “set” them there, for signs and appointed times, for days and years. The sun, moon, and stars… not the grass, not the rain, not the clouds, not the minutes or hours created by mankind nor the mathematical calculations… but the sun, moon, and stars He “set” for us. I believe that when YaHUaH “sets” something somewhere, it is permanent and unchangable. What do you believe? If He set something in place for us to be for signs and appointed times, do you believe that would be changable? Do you believe that it would move around, drift, be variable? How then would it be “set”?

Therefore, Father YaHUaH has set the times, the days, the years, and our Appointments with Him from the weekly appointment (The Sabbath) to the yearly appointments (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and the Last Great Day). Our question today: how are we to determine “when” these are so that we may “make” our appointments? He outlined them beautifully in Leviticus 23 and our first step is finding the first moon (month, in Yah’s ordinances – not ours) and start our counting and time keeping. These same times and keeping of time have existed ever since He first “set” them, but He literally tells Moses and Aharon just before the Exodus from Egypt. Let us look.

Mosheh, Arahon, and the Deliverance from Egypt during the Passover

And YaHUaH spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon in the land of Egypt, saying,

“This month is the beginning of month for you, it is the first month of the year for you.”  Exodus 12:1-2

Here are our questions:

Why is this important? Because without knowing how to recognize the first month of a new year, we cannot keep the appointments in their propers times. If we get the first month wrong and Passover wrong — the whole year we will be keeping the feasts in error. As we read Leviticus 23 as I mentioned earlier, we find we have to be able to “count” months and days. The moons (months) are not named like we have today – they are numbered. The moons (months) do not start in January either – they start when YaHUaH told Mosheh and Aharon they start. This is our quest today.

Notice, YaHUaH spoke to Mosheh and Aharon in the land of Egypt, not the land of Israel. How then, can grain that is growing in Israel be a sign or determinant of what Yahuah was showing Mosheh and Aharon in reference to the first month. Not only that, but the matters pertaining to the earth are not included in the signs, appointments, days, and years that we find in Genesis above. Certainly YaHUaH gave us reference that the first month is the month *of* abib and that is descriptive of a “seasonal” situation… but the season and the month is determined by the sun, moon, and stars.

Returning to our verse in Exodus 12:2: “This month”. What is the “this?” that Yahuah is speaking of? This is our question. The word Father used here is “chodesh” and it has come to mean “moon” because of its idea of constant “renewing”. There is another Hebrew word for month when trying to express the literal object of the moon and it is the word “yareach” but that is not used here.

Father said, “This chodesh is the rosh chodesh. It is the rishown chodesh shenah (This moon is the head or first moon. It is the beginning moon in the year)

This word chodesh comes from chadash: chadash {khaw-dash’} a primitive root; TWOT – 613; v AV – renew 7, repair 3; 10 1) to be new, renew, repair 1a) (Piel) 1a1) to renew, make anew 1a2) to repair 1b) (Hithpael) to renew oneself

So we can see that it is a word that describes something that is happening in a cyclical fashion and because the moon does this renewing each and every month or 29-30 days, it has become synonomous with month and moon.

We know from subsequent instructions given by YaHUaH that “this” month, “this” moon is also the month or the moon **of** the abib.

Today you are going out, in the month abib.” Exodus 13:4

The moon or month of abib is also descriptive.  ‘abiyb {aw-beeb’} from an unused root (meaning to be tender); TWOT – 1b; n m AV – Abib 6, in the ear 1, green ears of corn 1; 8 1) fresh, young barley ears, barley 2) month of ear-forming, of greening of crop, of growing green Abib, month of exodus and passover (March or April)

It is the month or moon when the earth begins to grow again and spring forth. Another “type” of renewal, just like the month or moon renewal. Today we call this time – springtime. So the Passover occurred in a moon or month that ocurrs in the springtime, when the earth is bringing forth anew. We can see from the above definition too, that this time of abib or springtime spans the time of the year that we today call March or April. Everybody in the western world knows this.

OK

The question becomes: Which month and which day to begin counting to Passover? To find the answer, do we look to the earth? Do we look to mathematical calculations? Do we look to the grass, grain, crops, farmland? Do we look to teachers, preachers, or calendars made in China or a calendar put out by Popes and Astonomers? Well, we do this when we have lost our way and have come up with ways in which we are “trying” to do this. There are several methods today in which we are trying to do this. Some use a combination of sighting a new sliver of the moon at a time when the barley crop is ripe enough for a first fruit offering. Some use the vernal equinox as a marker to start looking for the renewed moon. Some are beginning their count now from the vernal equinox and counting 14 days to Passover. Some use a Jewish calculated calendar from the early centuries, and then of course there is the Gregorian calendar and the Catholic church who sets easter for all the christian world for the festival of ishtar and fertility rituals with bunnies and eggs and candy.

Hey!

Here is an idea! Why don’t we just LOOK UP!? Why don’t we look up… to the heavens? Weren’t we already told that the sun, moon, and stars were for signs and appointments, days and years? I mean, that is what we read in Genesis. Do we think it changed to now be something that grows on the earth? I used to use the sighted sliver of the new moon that occured when the barley crop was enough for a first fruits offering. But there has always been something unsatisfactory about this. What if we are in a cycle of punishment for famine or drought and there is no barley? Plus Yah did not say that we use the earth. He said the sun, moon, and stars. We added the barley because we are trying to accomplish a task by human reasoning to accomplish obedience. The intention is good, but still in error. We are only doing this because some rabbis used to do this at some time in history and we assume they know what they are doing. But Father YaHUaH never says to do this, search for barley for the First Fruits offering. I now see this as “adding to” the Instructions of God and a path that is off the ancient path that He has laid for us to be on. This walk back to YaHUaH and our return to His Ways is a true journey. I know this. Many times we are on the path and we see all these pretty and shiney rocks along the way and we stop and pick them up.

They become a type of “detour” because we stop, pick them up, look at their beauty and begin walking on a side road off the path. The sighted moon and aviv barley was as this pretty shiney stone for me. I walked on that path for about 4-5 years but found it led to a dead end. When this happens, we have to have the courage to see the “Dead End” sign and to turn around and walk back to the ancient path and try to discover where we went wrong. Most of the time it is a matter of listening to others to what sounds right and reasonable and not being able to rid ourselves of that leaven (false teachings) even when we read the Words of Scripture. It is as if we read them *with* the learned twist and bias and cannot see what is right in front of us.

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (also Proverbs 16:25)

Enough of that, let us continue.

Does Yahuah change? The Bible says He does not change. If He changes then there is no truth… it becomes something variable.

Let’s talk about The Lamb’s Witness from Heaven. Let’s return to looking up to Him shall we?

Ancient History

According to the Bible and the witness of the lives and ages of the Patriachs (with a little help from the Book of Jubilees and the Book of Jasher) – the year of the Exodus out of Egypt can be known. It was 1379 BC or 2458 years after the Creation of Adam. What did the night sky look like in the abib of that year? It was Springtime and it was just before the Passover in Egypt when YaHUaH gave the instruction to Mosheh and Aharon in the land of Egypt that we find in Exodus 12:2. This was not the first revelation of this Feast, for the Feast was observed since the time of the beginning. There is proof in scripture for this, but that topic is not the focus of this article.

We also know from the Scripture, that months are marked by new moons. Some mark the new moon by witnessing the visible sliver each month, but there is no scriptural support for this method. The other method is by the dark moon, or when the moon is perfectly aligned between the earth and sun such that we cannot “see” the moon because all the light from the sun is reflected directly back to the sun. This time is called a conjunction and lasts for only a few seconds. It is very easy to determine when the conjunction occurs, at least which night it occurs on, perhaps not the very moment without today’s telescopes, satellites, and computers BUT it can be calculated by each and every one of us through simple counting. All one needs to do is count days. King David literally prayed to Yah for His help in being a person that counts or numbers his days:

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Dark moon night + 14.7 days = full moon. Full moon + 14.7 days = conjunction moon. Very very easy. I only mention this part because the Passover occurs on the Fourteenth day of the First Moon of the year and therefore one needs to know about the New Moon in order to know when to mark Yah’s New Year and begin counting days to Passover.

But again, this concept of New Moon determination is not the focus of this article. The focus of this article is: The Moon of the Passover. To express this another way: The Month of the Passover.

Anyone can do a short research project to find out which moon, or month, was the month of the abib in the year 1379 BC… the year of the Exodus out of Egypt.  This would have been the sky map that Mosheh and Aharon saw when YaHUah said, “This month is the beginning of months for you.” The sky map during the time of the instruction given is the *this* that Mosheh and Aharon *saw* when the instruction was given. We know two things: there was a new moon, a chodesh, and *it* (the new moon) was at a certain place along with the sun and stars. Here is my report to share with you: We can absolutely know what this is today. It will never change.

The Children of Israel came out of Egypt in the moon of Aries

We have several witnesses testifying to this fact and I will share them all with you. The first one we will cover is historical astronomy. Let me say something here first though, to help with the understanding. There are 12 and sometimes 13 months in a year. There are also 13 constellations of “fixed stars” in the celestial band of stars. Coincidence? Not hardly. There are 28 stations of the moon, and a month lasts 29.??? days. Coincidence? Not hardly. The sun and the moon both travel East to West and travel *through* the star constellations based upon the very time schedule that marks our days and months. Coincidence? Not hardly. Not only that, but ALL the world can see and view these things no matter where they are living on the planet. In other words, they “speak” to ALL people, ALL over the earth – the SAME message.

In Ancient History, Springtime was in Aries and was literally “brought in” by the constellation of Aries:

The First Point of Aries, the location of the vernal equinox, is named for the constellation. This is because the Sun crossed the celestial equator from south to north in Aries more than two millennia ago. Hipparchus defined it in 130 BCE. as a point south of Gamma Arietis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aries_(constellation)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac

First point (or cusp) of Aries and first point of Libra are names formerly used by astronomers and now used by navigators. Navigational ephemeris tables record the geographic position of the First Point of Aries as the reference for position of navigational stars. In sidereal astronomy, by contrast, the first point of Aries remains aligned with Ras Hammel “the head of the ram”, i.e. the Aries constellation.

Now a word concerning the above information. Scientists and Astronomers state that the equinoxes have moved from Aries and Libra to Pisces and Virgo. We do not need to be concerned with this. Why? Because YaHUaH does not change and His Appointments do not change, or drift, or do anything like that. He gave Mosheh a picture and that picture in the sky still happens each and every year all over the earth for millenia. The point is, that when we came out of Egypt and for the Passover, the first moon and moon of Passover, the sun and moon were in the sign of the Lamb.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_point_of_Aries#Names

The same is true in western tropical astronomy: the vernal equinox is the first point (i.e. the start) of the sign of Aries. In this system, it is of no significance that the equinoxes shift over time with respect to the fixed stars. ***Fixed Stars***

{Please note: the stars are “fixed” but it is stated that the equinox shifts} more on this a bit later.

Using the current official IAU constellation boundaries — and taking into account the variable precession speed and the rotation of the ecliptic — the equinoxes shift through the constellations as follows[6] (expressed in astronomical year numbering in which the year 0 = 1 BC, −1 = 2 BC, etc.):

The March equinox passed from Taurus into Aries in year −1865, passed into Pisces in year −67, will pass into Aquarius in year 2597, will pass into Capricornus in year 4312. It passed along (but not into) a ‘corner’ of Cetus on 0°10′ distance in year 1489.

The September equinox passed from Libra into Virgo in year −729, will pass into Leo in year 2439.

 Once again, the so called procession is of no consequence to our instruction of keeping the first month and month of Passover. Father YaHUaH did not say: look for the equinox and do anything. He simply said, “This month is the beginning of months for you.” So to get this into our stiff-necked hearts and minds … let us repeat to ourselves, “this moon, this moon, this moon, this moon” It is not “this equinox, this equinox, this equinox” See the difference? This troubled me for a while, because how could our Father, who does not change then give us an instruction that is going to change with time. It could not be! And I knew it could not be. Otherwise, the moon that He has Mosheh looking at would no longer be the moon we are to look at… and that is not possible. It would lead us into wandering and this is not the Way of Yah. Therefore, forget the equinoxes for now, the equinoxes will happen and it will travel and fall in different places according to man made calculated calendars.

Having said forget the equinoxes for now, I suppose I should say a few words anyway. Although I do not want to talk about the spring equinox, I am going to have to. An equinox is a man made descriptive term or word that has been given to a time in the year when there is nearly equal day and equal night hours. The Holy Scriptures does not find occasion to talk about equinoxes. Equinoxes are simply a phenomenon of the heavens and earth that occurs twice each year, and man has named it: Equinox (Spring or Vernal and Autumn or Autumnal). Additionally, you should know that the man made date of these equinoxes are not based upon observation. They are based upon a set calendar and currently this calendar is called the Gregorian. This is how the March 20, 21 date is given for people. This equinox you should also know, that according to man made calendars (whether it be the Julian, Gregorian, or any other historical man made calendar) moves around and/or drifts. When this begins to be noticed in reality, historically man comes up with a new calendar.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_equinox

Take time to read this short article on the changing equinox, how it is reckoned, and how much it moves and you can understand how this “day” or “time” is not advisable to use as a standard upon which to base YaHUaH’s Holy Days or His year. http://www.space.com/14951-spring-equinox-early-arrival-2012.html

Here is more information to prove the point:

When Julius Caesar established his calendar in 45 BC he set March 25 as the spring equinox. Since a Julian year (365.25 days) is slightly longer than an actual year the calendar drifted with respect to the equinox, such that the equinox was occurring on about 21 March in AD 300 and by AD 1500 it had reached 11 March.

This drift induced Pope Gregory XIII to create a modern Gregorian calendar. The Pope wanted to restore the edicts concerning the date of Easter of the Council of Nicaea of AD 325. (Incidentally, the date of Easter itself is fixed by an approximation of lunar cycles used in the Hebraic calendar, but according to the historian Bedethe English name “Easter” comes from a pagan celebration by the Germanic tribes of the vernal (spring) equinox.) So the shift in the date of the equinox that occurred between the 4th and the 16th centuries was annulled with the Gregorian calendar, but nothing was done for the first four centuries of the Julian calendar. The days of 29 February of the years AD 100, AD 200, AD 300, and the day created by the irregular application of leap years between the assassination of Caesar and the decree ofAugustus re-arranging the calendar in AD 8, remained in effect. This moved the equinox four days earlier than in Caesar’s time.

So we can see here, by using some critical thinking abilities… that the equinoxes themselves a phenomenon of the sun and moon… are accused of *drifting* when they do not fit in with a man made calculated calendar. This itself is comical in a way. But the point is, that this phenomenon of equal day and equal night that we call equinox occurs when YaHUaH has prescribed them to occur, not to a date that man sets according to his own created calendar. They are not important enough for Father to tell us about them in His Word such that we need to deal with them in any special manner *for His Appointments*. Not only that, but the date of equinox is different for different places on the globe.

I bring this up so that you will know, that the spring equinox is not a constant according to the calendar. Please read that sentence again. Let it sink in. If a time in the year of Yah’s time is based upon a made up point in time, that moves and drifts from years to years – how can that point in time be dependable? It is like building a house on shifting sand.

In many ways, this year’s (2013) equinox played a very large role in my search and findings and led to this article and for that I am eternally thankful. 119 Ministries produced an excellent video teaching of their belief on The Torah Calendar and how to determine a new month, a new year, and the Feast days. All of their scriptural evidence was excellent and so I set out to prove it true this year. Each new moon by conjunction moon, I walked outside, looked up, and examined the night sky with the stars and constellations. Especially noting Orion, Taurus, the star Aldebaron, and the Pleiades… and noting their position in the sky and how much they were moving each week and month into the western horizon. I could tell that there was no way that Aldebaron and Pleiades were going to be fading into the western horizon by the time of the spring equinox. And as a matter of fact, when the equinox came on March 20 and 21 both of these stars were still very plain to see directly over our heads and not fading at all!

Why do these stars begin to fade out? It is simple. Between the constellations of Pisces and Taurus (Taurus is the constellation where we find both Aldebaron and Pleiades) is the constellation Aries. If Aldebaron and Pleiades are still plainly seen shortly after sunset we KNOW that the sun is not close to Aries but is still in Pisces. When the sun gets in Aries these two stars will fade because the brightness of the sun even during and after sunset will be shining too much light on them for us to still see them. People were declaring the new year when I could still *plainly* see both of these star patterns and *still* see Aries up above my head in the night sky! Something was not proving out to be true!

Then I began looking for *actual* equinox to see if something was wrong because I got to thinking, how in the world can the equinox be on the same day year after year after year? Something seems amiss.

I chose to look at the the time of equal day and equal night from the location of Jerusalem and sure enough… that date was not March 20th but was March 16th. Bottom line: I knew I had to abandon the idea of looking for equinox and then looking for new moon to start the counting of Yahuah’s year because it is forever changing, drifting, and just could not be trusted especially within our calculated calendar system (speaking of the Gregorian Calendar of the West).

SO, I continued on the journey looking at what I knew to be fixed and knew to be the instruction: the sun, moon, and stars – and nothing else. These never change and Yahuah directs their paths. I just need to learn to look, listen, and intrepret and so that is what I have been doing. I am sharing now with you, the reader, some of my findings although it seems now that this article could go on and on and on with all I am discovering! It is taking me a long time to get it all organized for you and to make it a length that does not take you a year to read.

Having said that and shown you the truth of this concept of the travelling equinox — we can indeed know, that when the daylight hours start to become longer… that this “marker” (the equinox) in time of the year is approaching. Therefore, it has become the standard for marking springtime. This following statement is truthful:

When the daylight hours begin to last longer – springtime is approaching. The moon/month of the abib is approaching. The month of the Passover is approaching. Now, placing that time or date in a scheduled Gregorian month is in error. The Seasons and months are determined by the heavens. The evidence on the earth follows suit.

Mosheh and Aharon would have known this, along with every other farmer, shepherd boy, and astronomer in the ancient world because these things have everything to do with planting and harvesting and therefore survival of life itself in that it concerns obtaining food from the earth. We are told, that the spring equinox passed from the contellation Taurus into the constellation Aries in the year 1865 BC and stayed in Aries until 67 BC. This claim is based upon a theory of the “procession of the stars.”

Regardless of whether or not this is true, the springtime during the time of Mosheh, Aharon, and the children of Israel leaving Egypt was under the Constellation Aries.

That was our first witness: The Springtime (the Abib Month) during the time of the Exodus was in the constellation of Aries – the Lamb. This fact is incontrovertable and undeniable.

Our next witness is the Famous, Jewish Historian Josephus: Flavius Josephus.

In Book III in The Antiquities of the Jews, he writes:

“In the month of Xanthicus, which is by us called Nisan, and is the

beginning of our year, on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, WHEN

THE SUN IS IN ARIES (for in this month it was that we were delivered

from bondage under the Egyptians,) the law ordained that we should

every year slay that sacrifice which I before told you we slew when we

came out of Egypt, and which was called the Passover:  and so do we

celebrate this Passover in companies, leaving nothing of what we sacrifice

till the day following.  The feast of unleavened bread succeeds that of the

Passover, and falls on the fifteenth day of the month, and continues seven

Days, wherein they feed on unleavened bread . . . . But on the SECOND

DAY of unleavened bread, which is the SIXTEENTH DAY OF THE

MONTH, they first partake of the fruits of the earth, for before that day

They do not touch them” (Antiquities, Book III, chapter X, part 5).

“Aries” is the heavenly constellation which begins at the Spring Equinox, and continues 30 days.  Thus Passover, according to Josephus, could not come before the Spring Equinox!  “Aries” is the sign of the Lamb, or Ram – which is the sign of the “Lamb of God” who took away the sins of the world, bearing them upon Himself when He was slain for us, as our “Passover Lamb” (I Cor.5:7; John 1:29).

There we have two witnesses to this very simple way of knowing when the first month is and when to start counting to Passover and all the following festival days.

Our next witness will be in the language of Ancient Hebrew and how they saw some of the fixed star constellations and interpreted their meanings. What do you think our Hebrew Patriarchs called the constellation of Aries? I will show you.

The Constellation of the Lamb

Let’s talk about this constellation of Aries for a bit. The things I found out about this constellation from the viewpoint of the Hebrews was awe inspiring. Witness after witness came forth.

First, the ancient Hebrews did not call this constellation by the name of Aries. They called it

Taleh

From the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament concerning the root tav, lamed, hey תלה

verb – to hang

Derivative: quiver

The parallel form tala rendered “be bent,” “hang,” “hang in doubt,” is attested only in Deut 28:66

And YaHUaH shall scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other mighty ones, which neither you nor your fathers have known, wood and stone. And among those nations you are to find no rest, nor have a resting place for the sole of your foot. But there YaHUaH shall give you a trembling heart, and failing eyes, and sorrow of being. And your life shall be hanging (tala’) in suspense before you, and you shall fear day and night, and not be certain of your life. In the morning you say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ and at evening you say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear of your heart, with which you fear, and because of the sight which your eyes see. And YaHUaH shall bring you back to Egypt in ships, by a way of which I said to you, ‘You are never to see it again.’ And there you shall be sold to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one to buy. Deut 28:64-68

Also in the sense of “hang in doubt” in Hosea 11:7 and 2 Samuel 21:12

The major form of this word tala is found 28 times. The verb means basically “to hang” whether a utensil on a peg (Isaiah 22:24, Ezekiel 15:3), weapons on a wall (Ezk 27:10, Song of Songs 4:4), or a lyre on a tree (Psalms 137:2). Job 26:7 strikingly pictures the then-known world as suspended in space, thereby anticipating future scientific discovery, when it states that God “hangs the earth upon nothing.” Other examples of the verb may be seen in Lamentations 5:12, 2 Samuel 4:12, 18:10.

Most frequently, tala is used in reference either to the execution of a person or to the public display of his corpse after execution. Since Herodotus (History, 3.159) indicates that impaling was a common method of execution in Persia (see also Ezra 6:11), perhaps tala al’es, traditionally rendered “he hanged on a gallow/tree,” means rather “he impaled on a stake,” especially in Ester (ef. particularly LXX stauroo “impale/crucify,” which is used to translate tala in Ester 7:9). The same notion underlies Gen 40:19, 22; 41:3, reflecting Egyptian practice.

A somewhat similar sense underlies Lamentations 5:12 reflecting Mesopotamian practice. In any event, there is no evidence that the hangman’s noose was employed in such context while Assyrian reliefs during the time of the Hebrew monarchy often picture corpses hanging on the stake where they have been impaled. If this interpretation is correct, Deut 21:22 take on greater vividness; “If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, because a hanged man is accursed by God.”

[However, this passage may indicate that Israel’s method of executing the crimnal differed from that of her pagan neighbors; whereas the latter executed the offender by hanging or impaling, Israel stoned him and supplemented his punishment by hanging/impaling his body (2 Samuel 4:12; Josephus, Ant. 4.202; cf. Josh 10:26; 8:29.

Since this supplementary act demonstrated that the victim was cursed by the Lord, his body had to be buried by nightfall in order not to defile the blessed land; cf. Dt 21:22]. This famous passage, alluded to in the commentary on Nahum found in Qumran Cave IV, is also referred to in Ats 5:30, 10:39, and quoted in part in Gal 3:13. In all three NT passages, the crucifixion of Yahusha is in view, OT impaling was accomplished most likely on the single upright post or crux simplex, while our Lord was crucified most probaly on the notorious and all-too-familiar upright-plus-crossbar, the crux immissa enabling the super-scription to be nailed to the cross above his head (Mt. 27:37, Lk 23:38). More significantly, his hanging on a tree denoted that he bore the curse of death for us.

The Ancient Hebrews called the constellation of fixed stars that occured with the usshering in of Springtime (Abib) Telah. The Lamb, to hang, impaled on a stake/tree. This is pretty phenomenal to me.

I found some good references online concerning the ancient names of some of the constellations and stars. I was looking specifically for names in Hebrew because that is the language of the people who Elohim’s Word has come through to us. I will post the links for you following each copied reference material.
THE TWELVE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE ZODIAC.

Aries (Ram), Taurus (Bull), Gemini (Twins), Cancer (Crab), Leo (Lion), Virgo (Virgin), Libra (Balance), Scorpio (Scorpion), Sagittarius (Archer),Capricomus (He-Goat), Aquarius (Waterman), Pisces (Fishes).

The broad belt, the Zodiacal circle, was first regarded as the path of the Moon by most of the Eastern nations (according to Mr. Blake). By the Chinese, Egyptians,’ Persians, East Indians, Siamese and Arabians ; and was divided into twenty-eight parts, called Moon-stations or mansions. (The Moon being one day of twenty-four hours in each station.) These are named by the Arabs from parts of the larger Constellations in or near the belt of the Zodiac. http://archive.org/stream/namesstarsandco00higggoog/namesstarsandco00higggoog_djvu.txt

I found it fascinating that there are moon stations. Indeed there are as I found out. Each night the moon will be at its next stop in its twenty something hour rotation around the earth and there are 28 of them. 28 days. Now we know that a month is 29 or 30 days… but remember the conjunction causes us to not see the moon for at least one night and sometimes two, so the 28 stations makes complete sense. I will share some amazing facts with you concerning the moon when it moves into its “spot” to tell us of the month of Passover later on in the article. Truly amazing discovery.

The Hebrew words, Mazzaroth, found in Job, 38:32, and Mazzaloth, found in 2 Kings, 23:5, are generally believed to stand for the Constellations of the Zodiac. The Arabs call the ** Zodiac,” Mantakat al Buruj = or Girdle of the Mansions or Stations.

/. Aries = The Ram, The Greeks called this Krios = The Ram. The Arabs called this Buij al Hamal = The Constellation of the Ram, from Buij = a Constellation, and Hamal = a Ram.

Name on charts, Arabic, Meaning, Alpha Hamal hamal The Ram.

The sun and 12 zodiac signs (for the year) The moon and 28 stations (for the month). Coincidence? I don’t believe in coincidences – I believe in a Divine Creator who set all things in order. There is also a 13th constellation sign for the occasional 13th month (moon) of the year if Yah so desires.

Let us go to our next witness. There is an online and downloadable software program called Stellarium. It is an astronomy program of the sun, moon, and stars. Dates can be put in throughout history to see where the heavenly bodies were and into the future as well. I put in 1379 BC and saw the night sky from Egypt. Here is what I saw:

The Sun was in Aries and the New Moon (dark moon) was in Aries as well.

Next I looked up the years 26 to 31 AD. In the year 30 AD the sky map appeared *exactly* and I mean *exactly* the same as it did in 1379 BC

Here are the screen shots for you to look at:

1379 BC from Egypt. Regular shot first and night shot second: (The legend reads 1380 BC because there is no number or accounting for year “zero” therefore a year is added to the one I am searching out)

We can see the sun and moon are together, marking the new moon and they are both at the first point of Aries, which historically was the outstretch front leg of the Lamb as seen to “severe” the chains upon the pisces fish from the whale of Cephus.

I am sharing with you now some historical renderings of the constellations of Pisces (the fish) and Aries (the Lamb) and I would like for you to take special note of the Lamb’s foremost hoof and where it is located.

Do you see in the above images how the Lamb’s foremost hoof is literally “on” or “in” the constellation Pisces and in fact is intimately associated with the cord/knot/rope/chains of the fish? There is a reason I am focusing on this now because it will be very important later. Don’t worry, I am *not* getting into lore or myth. There is a factual, literal, and scientific reason I have to show you this. Take speical note that the knot of the cord or rope holding the fish is literally a star.

Here are some renderings of the constellation Pisces:

Aries (Telah, the Lamb or Ram)  was originally defined in ancient texts as a specific pattern of stars, and has remained a constellation since ancient times; it now includes the ancient pattern as well as the surrounding stars.^[4] In the description of the Babylonian zodiac given in the clay tablets known as the MUL.APIN, the constellation now known as Aries was the final station along the ecliptic. The MUL.APIN was a comprehensive table of the risings and settings of stars, which likely served as an agricultural calendar. Modern-day Aries was known as ^MULLÚ.ḪUN.GÁ, “The Agrarian Worker” or “The Hired Man”.^[5] Although likely compiled in the 12th or 11th century BCE, the MUL.APIN reflects a tradition which marks the Pleiades as the vernal equinox, which was the case with some precision at the beginning of theMiddle Bronze Age. The earliest identifiable reference to Aries as a distinct constellation comes from the boundary stones that date from 1350 to 1000 BCE. On several boundary stones, a zodiacal ram figure is distinct from the other characters present. The shift in identification from the constellation as the Agrarian Worker to the Ram likely occurred in later Babylonian tradition because of its growing association with Dumuzi the Shepherd. By the time the MUL.APIN was created—by 1000 BCE—modern Aries was identified with both Dumuzi’s ram and a hired laborer. The exact timing of this shift is difficult to determine due to the lack of images of Aries or other ram figures.^[6]

That is our testimony of the Sun and Stars, now let us go to the testimony of the Moon and Stars

The Testimony of the Moon and Stars

The sun and stars consists of the sun as it travels along the ecliptic literally *through* the star constellations. The sun does this every year in a cycle and spends approximately 30 days in each fixed star constellation. This is likened unto the hour hand on a clock. We will now look at the moon and stars in that the moon does exactly like the sun does with the exception that the moon travels through the fixed star contellations along the ecliptic each and every one to two days approximately. Such that the moon travels through each constellation once every 30 days. This is likened to the minute hand on a clock.

I have shown and proved to you the sun was in Aries during the time of the exodus Passover. Now, where was the moon? A little information for you of the moon and stars.

The Twenty-eight Moonstations or Mansions. The twenty-ninth and thirtieth positions are not listed because the moon is not seen due to conjunction (this is my deduction on the matter). Different cultures have named these stations different names and they are named according to the nearest star to the moon during its travel across the constellations. Zodiac or Mazzeroth constellations are literally made up of groups of stars, and these prominent stars have been given names. Who named them? YaHUaH did as we are told in Scripture:

[He] appoints the number of the stars, He gives names to all of them. Psalm 147:4

The heavens declare the glory of God, and earlier versions of Psalm 19: 1 say that the “firmament” shows His handiwork. Genesis 1: 8 tells us that the “firmament” is heaven.  Later versions say the “host of heaven,” meaning the stars, the work of His hands.  And what majesty it is!

The stars are silent.  Yet, Psalm 19: 2 – 4 tells us that they utter speech day unto day, and show knowledge night unto night.  There is no speech, yet the message is so clear that all can understand it in any language.  We only have to consider the TRUE message that God wrote in the sky from the very beginning, not the FALSE message of the evil astrologers.  We will learn how, before the astrologers subverted God’s message, the stars were placed in such a way as to give direct revelation from God to His creation.  They prophesied the entire Bible before there was a Bible.  They told the life of Yahusha Messiah, and the life of you and me, from the beginning of time through all eternity.  The constellations tell of God’s glory and set forth His purposes and counsels. http://www.intelligentdesigntheory.info/astrology_12_zodiac_signs_symbols_meanings.htm

Also, this reference book Mazzaroth by Frances Rolleston gives evidence that Adam and Seth were taught the names of the stars and their constellations. A portion of it is on Google Books here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=A3v65RqTWsMC&pg=PA1&lpg=PP1&output=html_text

Again from the online book: The Names of the Stars and Constellations (Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Arabic) found here: http://archive.org/stream/namesstarsandco00higggoog/namesstarsandco00higggoog_djvu.txt

we learn the following:

The first Moonstation

f =E1 sheratain = The two signs.

t=Beta and gamma = of Aries = The Ram.

2nd Moonstation f =E1 Botein=The little Belly.

t = Ep6ilon and delta = of Aries = The Ram.

3rd Moonstation (=E1 Thoreyya==The Pleiades.

Beta Sheratan … el sharatain … The two signs. (dual of Isharat = a sign)

Hebrew, Gamma Mesartim … dual of Mesharat An attendant. I Meshartim Beta and gamma were — Sharatain Mesartim = The two attendant signs to, Hamal = The Ram = Hamal — being originally the whole group.

Now this is a combination of all the cultures information giving us Hebrew names of these stars and also the Arabic names and understandings. Now, please take another look at the constellation of the Lamb along with the stars of the constellation

Mesarthim in Hebrew is Mesharetim (Ministers)

Then there is an alpha and beta stars named Hamal and Sheratan respectively and isn’t it fascinating to see and know that the Arabs called these “the two witnesses”

Does that ring a bell with anyone? The new moon today is proclaimed by the sighted moon community when two witnesses come forth and testify they have “seen” the sliver of the new moon. I just have to wonder if this is not done as a remnant of the Arab names for these two stars in Aries. It truly is an uncanny coincidence, if a coincidence at all.

But this is not the most amazing find for me. There is another star. This star is the point of the knot that makes up the tie of the rope that is attached to the two fish of Pisces. If you will look at the front hoof of the Lamb – it extends into Pisces and in fact in some older renderings the hoof is this same very star. The name of this star is: Al Rescha. In Arabic, the Al prefix is like an article in the English language. The Arabic “Al” is as the English “The”. In nearly all the books and articles I have read researching this topic of the names of the stars, the testimony and evidence is this: That all the names are today mostly from the Greek. Greek is very similar to Hebrew and in fact stems from Hebrew. The Greek words and names nearly always contain a two or three letter consonant root as the parent stem of the words. This is just like Hebrew. In fact, the two and three letter root stems (parent words) do not change when going from Hebrew to Greek much of the time.

When we look at Al Rescha, we have “The” Rescha. We have an “R” we have a “sh” and we have an “a” or “ah”.

These Hebrew consonants are: resh, shin, hey… Spelling the word: roshah. The word rosh or resh in Hebrew is: Head. Translating the name of this star in the Hebrew language is literally: The Head.

Al Rescha —- The Head.

This month is the beginning of months for you, it is the first month of the year for you. Exodus 12:2

chodesh ro’sh chodesh ri’shown chodesh shenah

It is amazing to me, to have been able to discover this information. This is all what happened as I set out to “test everything” When I saw that the stars that were supposed to fade when the new year and month of passover was approaching did not, in actually, begin to fade (Alebaron and Pleiades), I set out to find out what was wrong and I believe with all my heart that Yahuah has led me to find it. By the time that the new moon at the head of the year is in the station of the two witnesses, it is a day old. It crossed “the head” [of the year] a day or two earlier when it was at or near Al Rescha, The Head.

Let me show you where the sun, moon, and stars were when the new year was proclaimed by the Messianic community this year going by the sighted moon and aviv barley AND going by the equinox for others:

The top photo is from stellarium on March 10th and the bottom photo is from March 13th to show the sky whether a person is a conjunction moon person or a sighted moon/barley person. As plainly shown, the sun is not testifying of the month of Aries, but of the month of Pisces. The sun is barely even entering into Pisces at the Western edge of Pisces. This is because it was the moon of Pisces, not Aries.

Why can’t the first month be when the sun is in Pisces, like people are testifying to today because of the equinox? Because the *new moon* and I am talking about whether or not people do sighted moon or conjunction… in this instance is *does not* matter… the *new moon* cannot be renewed without passing between the earth and sun, isn’t that right? This is what produces a new moon. If the sun is in Pisces and we have a new moon, then by straight facts of evidence, then the moon AND sun are in Pisces and not the Lamb. Can you see what I am saying here? The night sky pictures above show of where the sun and moon were this year when believers proclaimed the new year. Now you can decide for yourself if this appears correct to you.

Here is what the sun, moon, and stars appeared as on 10-11 April 2013:

As we can see, the sun and moon are located in Pisces yet would be at the forehoof of Aries proclaiming the beginning or head of the new year and countdown to Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits.

In Conclusion

I have shared these discoveries and revelations with you in all humility. It is not my desire to cause division or strife in the Body but it is important that we be united in Truth. There are still so many matters that require proving and searching out and sharing with one another. This method of the witness of the Lamb from the heavens is fixed and will never change. It is the testimony of the sun, moon, and stars.

And Elohim said, “Let lights come to be in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and appointed times, and for days and years, and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.” And it came to be so. Genesis 1:14-15

With Yahusha (Jesus) as our High Priest and only Rabbi and Head of the Body of believers, He instructs us each year of the time He has ordained and set forth from the beginning. All we have to do is “look up” to the heavens and receive.

As time permits, I will do additional articles on some of the other amazing things I have learned. Things concerning the stars in Pisces and also concerning the 7th month of the Fall Festivals. With Aries and the first moon, we now have Libra as the 7th moon. Libra is the constellation of the balance scales — meaning justice and judgment. Oh the riches of His Glory for ALL the world to see!

The new year began on 10 April 2013 according to the heavens and Passover occurs on 24 April followed by Unleavened Bread on 25 April.

The Forty-Year Probation over Abortion is now Ending: And so the Doors of Judgment Open Over the USA

 THE FORTY-YEAR PROBATION OVER ABORTION IS NOW ENDING: AND SO THE DOORS OF JUDGMENT OPEN OVER THE USA

by Craig Peters

(reprinted and posted without change with permission by the author)

On January 22, 1973, Roe vs. Wade was ratified by the Supreme Court.

On January 22, 2013, the forty-year probation over abortion will end and the judgment of יהוה will then have absolutely free reign over a nation which evidently has no impetus to repent.

a This document was originally published under the title, “An Open Commentary on the Sixties Generation: And a Lesson in Counting to Forty.” It remains largely unchanged since first being written and published in late 2000. In the Preface to some of those early editions, the author stated the following:

“The world around us is crumbling: Morals decline daily on a worldwide basis. Even nations which began as peoples seeking the Most High Creator are now turning their backs on Him altogether. Lawlessness now abounds even within many Christian circles. Homosexuality has become “acceptable,” and many denominations are even “ordaining” such sexual reprobates. In the face of these and many other rebellious abominations, the wrath of יהוה will soon be kindled.

Although His patience and slowness to anger are very great, hwhy will only tolerate a foreseen and finite limit over sin and rebellion. His patience will only endure for a very short season. This document is a warning to America and to the entire world that there is a price to be paid by all nations which exalt sin and lawlessness. This country has sown the wind of lawlessness, and it will soon reap the tornado-whirlwind of destruction unleashed by such rebellion”

… And in another section, that preface continued as follows: “This commentary was first written, printed, and distributed in November- December of 2000—a number of months before the 9/11 tragedy of 2001. The author does not take lightly the tragedy which ensued some 9 months later. However, it must pointed out that the warnings we announced were largely ignored across the USA. Even many Evangelical leaders ungratefully ignored our numerous pleas. So we emphasize once more: If this country continues to turn its back on the Most High, we will not be able to stand before our enemies.5 If our country continues its rage and madness 1 Even this Preface excerpt has been slightly edited. 2 Psalm 2:11-12, 119:126 3 Proverbs 14:34 4 Hosea 8:7, Proverbs 1:24-29, Amos 9:8 5 Leviticus 26:37 2 against the eternal Law of the Almighty 6—and if the present moral decline continues unchecked and without repentance—such tragedies will again befall us, yet they shall be exceedingly worse. If we think the destruction from foreign invaders is apocalyptic, what will we do when the wrath of יהוה Himself is known through the Sovereign Hand that unleashes tidal waves, earthquakes, volcanoes, famine, disease, and pestilence? America will not stand before this terrible onslaught and it is the entirety of such judgments over which the present document once more warns the nation. In this present work, we continue to sound forth such warnings without apology.” In the past, many have made the mistake of date-setting.

While that may be a shrewd business move (gleaning more tithe money from those who are both sincere and frightened), it is certainly not the way to feed the Messiah’s sheep. So let it be emphasized: the author of this commentary is making no predictions regarding January 22, 2013: January 22, 2013 may come and go and be the quietest day in the history of the world. Even so, at the precise day and hour when the 40-year probation ends over abortion, something final and significant will occur in the Courts of Heaven: A judgment will be decreed, and the USA will never be the same. יהוה does not change and His numbers do not lie. It should also be pointed out that the author of this work does not advocate violence: Through fasting and prayer, יהוה Himself will fight our battles; there is no need to blow up abortion clinics or to kill those who are caught in the throes of performing abortions. We see יהוה did a fine job of closing the 5 abortion clinics in New Orleans when He flooded the city! (Of course, in their quest to “rebuild” it is evident that no one took His queue!7) Our mission is to show love by praying for all men8 and trusting El Shaddai to ultimately fulfill His Word via Judgments from on High. In the remainder of this document, readers will find much of the original manuscript, along with a few slight editions and a few new considerations. At this point, all believers in the Messiah should be in fasting and prayer as we await whatever Judgment יהוה brings within whatever timetable He has foreseen. —1/5/2013

t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a

6 Psalm 2:1-3, Jeremiah 50:38 7 Malachi 1:2-4 8 1Timothy 2:1-8 3

The Number 40: The Number of Testing, Probation, and Judgment The sixties generation: “God is Dead” … “Drugs, Sex, and Rock ‘n Roll” … and, “If It Feels Good, Do It!” These were the rebellious battle cries of ignorant, teenage bliss which rang out between the 1962-63 legislative removal of prayer and the Ten Commandments from public schools and the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision to legalize murder/abortion. Since that time millions of infants have been tragically obliterated from human history. But since they failed to learn it while growing up, the “God is Dead” generation is now learning how to count to 40 … the hard way. And it is about to get a lot harder.9 While it is tragic to say, many of the lawless rebels who came forth out of the sixties generation may soon regret having never learned to count as high as four tens before graduating: In the inspired Scriptures of the very Creator whose Existence they deny, forty is the number particularly related to testing, probation, and Heavenly Judgment: When the time period of forty has elapsed, something very significant occurs after the patience of יהוה has delayed judgment across the predetermined time span, waiting to see if any repentance and any change will be manifested in the hearts of men. Consider the inspired and historical examples we are given in the Scriptures:

• The prophet Mosheh/Moses was made to dwell 40 years in the wilderness of Sinai before his ultimate calling to lead forth Yisrael from Egypt10 …

• The rebellious children of Yisrael died in the wilderness over a 40 year period following their generation’s repeated disobedience towards hwhy in their rejection of the One who had miraculously delivered them from Egyptian bondage11 … • Nineveh was given 40 days to repent before hwhy destroyed their city.12 Nineveh, however, repented and the judgment was halted.

• But when Flood judgment did finally fall on the antediluvian world of Noach,13 the rain continued for 40 days and 40 nights.14 9 A pre-9/11 statement … as are the majority of statements made in this document excepting those made within the excerpts from the Preface or those which are otherwise indicated within the updates seen in those footnotes which have been added since the first publication in Dec-2000. 10 Acts 7:22-23, 7:29-34 11 Numbers 14:33-34; 32:13 (judgment) and Deuteronomy 8:2 (testing) 12 Jonah 3:4-5 13 The Hebrew transliteration of “Noah” 14 Genesis 7:4,12,17 4

• The Messiah fasted for 40 days in the wilderness and withstood the temptations of Satan across the duration of this significant period of testing.15

• And within 40 years after Israel rejected their Messiah and the Israeli leaders surrendered Him to heathen courts for sentencing and execution on a tree,16 the city of Yerushalayim/Jerusalem was destroyed in a terrible, ferocious, and merciless judgment filled with absolute terror and carnage.17

The point? By 1963, prayer and the Ten Commandments were removed from the public schools of the United States … and in less than 40 years the students attending those schools began blatantly and openly violating those very Commandments— including numerous incidents of deeply tragic disregard for the Sixth Commandment wherein some youth have now murdered their own classmates, schoolmates, and teachers with cruel, cold, and calloused detachment.18 So apart from national repentance, what yet remains to occur before the year 2013—the 40th year since the legislative sacrilege under consideration occurred?!19 The sixties generation failed to anticipate that “cause and effect” works in the spiritual realm just as well as it does in 15 eswhy being the Epitome of True Yisrael, His 40 days of flawless obedience in the wilderness stand in stark contrast to ancient Yisrael’s flagrant disobedience for 40 years on the same turf over the same issues. Luke 4:1-14 16 (about A.D. 30) 17 (about A.D. 70) 18 Exodus 20:13. The Columbine massacre was only one of many such incidents of blatant murder and carnage. Update 12/20/2012 Unfortunately, there are now many other such slayings to add to the list: carnage at universities, malls, movie theaters, and the now the 26 children and adults who just died in Connecticut at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. 19 What came to pass around 10 months after this question was posed was the 9-1-1 tragedy—along with continued moral decay/decline both socially and legislatively! This country has still not learned its lesson!! Only recently the Ten Commandments were removed from the Alabama courthouse! All the while the Spirit of יהוה asks, “Where will this country be smitten again as it continues in its rebellion?”

Update 9/1/2005 We have now suffered a disaster far more devastating than 9/11. As hurricane Katrina approached New Orleans, Louisiana, local news reporters in Los Angeles were turning back the clock 40 years to hurricane Betsy. Betsy had hit that city four decades earlier, resulting in widespread flooding. At that time, many in New Orleans died of drowning, or suffocation, because they climbed to their attic to escape the rising water and were trapped under the roof with no means of exiting. Since the time of that disaster, many homes were equipped with hatchets in the attic to enable residents to escape onto the roof by chopping a hole from beneath. Many people did just that after the flooding caused by hurricane Katrina forced them into the attic and, then, onto the roof. Hurricane Katrina hit on 8/29/2005 and marked the end of a 40-year probation for the city of New Orleans—a city hosting 5 abortion clinics, the hub of large-scale, shrimp fishing, the perpetuator of the orgiastic Mardi Gras (from which came the idea for the show “Girls Gone Wild”), the promoter of widespread casinos and gambling, and the long-time host of “Southern Decadence”—an immoral, idolatrous show of lust in which drunken homosexuals openly engage in perverse, sexual conduct in the bars and streets of the French Quarter.

That such a thing was actually sanctioned, allowed, and welcomed by city officials, was certainly a major factor in the judgment which has now destroyed most of the city. The 2005, “Southern Decadence” gathering was actually scheduled to begin on 8/31/2005 and, we believe, the Hand of יהוה quite cancelled it as the hurricane roared through two days before said depravity commenced. For more information on Hurricane Betsy see: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Storm_pages/betsy1965/ http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/2003-10-09-hurricane-betsy_x.htm 5 the physical.

But how could they realize that? They had no Bible-based lessons to study as did the scores of other youth who had preceded them in previous generations; there were no moral absolutes; the already-shaky and flawed foundations had been removed. And as we are all witnessing, the surrogate, man-made philosophies of life and “morality”20 ever since suggested have failed to offer any lasting substructure for a thriving society and nation. On the contrary, the more fully foolish, human reasoning squelches the Eternal moral codes of the Scriptures, the more fully and quickly a society cracks and crumbles.

Then, at long last, a certain juncture is encountered and it only becomes a matter of time before the weight of Heavenly Judgment effortlessly breaks beyond repair what has theretofore weakened and decayed via moral degeneration. Then closes the stage curtain—never again to open—as the existence of the so-called “great” empire ends forever. It is ironic the liberal left—largely populated and led by many of the sixties sexters— absolutely refuses to “legislate morality” whilst they hypocritically promote laws embracing, condoning, and even encouraging immorality!21 And concerning their relation to the timeless code known as “The Ten Commandments,” it is interesting a lot of the sixties folk—and their illustrious leaders—can so easily count to Minus Ten, yet they seem quite incapable of counting to Plus Forty! And this will certainly be their ultimate downfall; for a judgment even more severe and more signal than the one reviewed thus far (i.e., murder in the public schools) is now looming on the horizon; and it is a Judgment which shall be the unavoidable fulfillment of the Creator’s immutable, unchanging and Eternal Law requiring “life for life”22 over the estimated 40 million23 babies which have been executed since abortion was legalized in 1973.

The 40-Year Probation is Now Ending: And Bloodguilt Brings Judgment 1973. Now, let’s see; do our readers’ minds race ahead to see the point before we ever make it? If only a few of our readers already see or sense where this is going before continuing, the writer is most gratified. We certainly wish that all Americans began learning how to count to 40! But these lessons in counting are becoming rather hard and deeply tragic: As those seemingly endless years to “40” roll by, increasingly more people are now reaping the fruit of their evil doings and rebellion while increasingly more lives are destroyed in the crossfire. And our next lesson in counting to 40 may 20 Which America embraced as it almost completely rejected the aforementioned, eternal Standard. 21 To more fully understand the original intent of the founding fathers, readers are directed to consider the video tape, “America’s Godly Heritage,” by Wallbuilders. The Wallbuilders url/website is: http://www.wallbuilders.com. 22 Deuteronomy 19:16-21 23 Ten years after the original publication of this document, this number is now likely to be significantly larger. Statistics indicate an abortion occurs once every 24 seconds. 6 well be the last: it may be “the count to end all counts,” and it may well mark the end of life as Americans know it. For the forty-year probation period over this more-than-dire issue of abortion finds its consummation in the year 2013.

But does America have even that long? Do we even have another week? Do we even have another day? Apart from a serious, national repentance which turns back the tragic, heathen, and inexcusable legislation allowing women/men to sacrifice the fruit of their body to the wiles of abortion clinics for the “advancement” of medical research and industry profiteering, what will fall upon our nation next in the way of Heavenly Judgment and Vindication?24 As the Protective, Providential Hand of the Most High is withdrawn, destruction will soon follow. If any time remains, it is but a little.25 Has the Sixties Generation learned too late to count to 40? If the alleged, anticipated Muslim terrorism is unleashed on this country with the vengeance and hatred so characteristic of the past, might it be that the Islamic, biological, anthrax attack26 shall be the dreadful calling to account never foreseen or anticipated by the rulers of this country who, graduating from the “sixties program,” subsequently spearheaded the incessant injunction of their lewd, lawless lifestyles right into the laws and educational systems of the land? 24 Since this question was posed: • 9/11 occurred (10 months later)

• New Orleans and surrounding regions were practically destroyed (5 years later) What will have to be added to the list next? 25 This update concerns the facts surrounding President Reagan’s funeral: Update: September 2004 Since the second printing of this article on 3/22/2004, another event has occurred which is most regrettable. It is an event, however, which we believe has further and remarkable significance over the demise of the United States and its pending doom as a nation. Our 40th President, Ronald Reagan, passed away on June 5, 2004. Not only was Mr. Reagan the 40th President, his burial wishes requested his interment occur precisely at sunset. No one could have staged this event or its timing, and we believe it numbers among the final warnings being afforded this nation as well as being a call to national repentance for those who still have ears to hear. Of course, we do not infer Mr. Regan necessarily believed any of the things about which we write in this article; we do not infer he related the judgment of this country to his sequence in the historical list of United States presidents, nor do we feel he was personally trying to infer anything about the country’s demise by the timing of his interment. Nevertheless, the One who directs the hearts of kings and leaders is ultimately responsible for the timing in which the former president was laid to rest.

Proverbs 21:1 Not many years remain before the year 2013, and as the sun set on our 40th President, we believe it is likewise setting on the nation of America. 26 Some believe the Moslems are actively smuggling nuclear devices into the country and plan to detonate them at some future point. In any case, the word of hwhy and His judgments shall be executed on every wicked, lawless, and unrepentant nation. Amos 9:8 With or without anthrax or nuclear warheads, the Almighty will judge this nation if it continues on its headlong plunge into the depths iniquity’s cesspool. 7

Oversight of oversights! Instead of being dead, the very One who they love to hate has set in motion Laws which are such an inexorable part of His Creation that, one way or another, they shall be fulfilled to the letter! If no one can be found who will stand for the ageless principles and decrees of His Torah, then hwhy El Shaddai, the Maker of heaven and earth, will arise with vengeance and execute them Himself!27 The lesson to be learned is that if we choose to disobey the Eternal Law of the Most High, He will soon intervene with judgments which see to it that His Law is kept all the same.28 An example of this is seen when Yisrael—who refused to give the tilled soil rest by observing the decreed land Sabbaths—was carried captive so their farmland was able to lie fallow for 70 years in their absence.29 If this happened to the chosen people of hwhy, does this proud, rebellious nation think it can in any way escape judgment? Hence, if capital punishment is not properly carried out against the wicked with complete justice as it should be,30 the Almighty will step in and fulfill His Law with Judgments from on High. When He arises to execute judgment against this nation for the sins of abortion, He will require “life for life:”31 if no one will do it for Him, יהוה will Himself reinstate Capital Punishment!32 And given the cruelty and violence of abortion and its perpetuators, a worse judgment than merely “life for life” appears to threaten millions upon millions: the possibility we shall pay double for this grossly inexcusable sin which has been allowed to prolong itself in the land—all in the name of unbridled, irresponsible, murderous, sexual lust!33

Thus, if the abortion estimates are anywhere close to being correct, at least 80,000,000 Americans may die from the Providential Judgment which shall surely fall on this nation as the Most High brings forth His retribution against those who have passed and perpetuated “laws” to justify practicing lawlessness. And yet, someone more knowledgeable than the author believes abortion estimates to be extremely low and the current number of 40,000,000 accounts for surgical procedures alone; if we were to include chemical abortions in this statistic, the number of infant deaths is claimed to be in the hundreds of millions. If this is the case, America seems to be facing a fearful expectation of judgment—an imminent, fiery Judgment which will consume the adversaries of יהוה who is enthroned on High.34 27 Isaiah 59:16, Revelation 5:2-7 28 Psalm 119:126, Isaiah 26:9 29 2Chronicles 36:15-21 30 And such justice never occurs when a nation is filled with unrighteousness, Isaiah 5:20-23, 10:1,2. 31 Deuteronomy 19:16-21 32 Genesis 9:4-6, Exodus 21:23, Deuteronomy 19:21, 30:19, Hebrews 10:28-41 33 Exodus 22:4,7,9, Isaiah 40:21 34 Psalm 97:3-4, Hebrews 10:26,27 8 It may be when we all stand in the Judgment Day—after enduring the terror of seeing millions of Americans die from anthrax (or still other unforeseen horrors from the Hand of relentless, inescapable Heavenly Wrath)—that a decree such as the following shall come forth from the Eternal Throne: “Through abortion, 100,000,000 innocent babies were slain by the hypocritical Americans—supposedly outraged at the holocaust in Nazi Germany whilst themselves initiating and perpetuating genocide on a far greater scale and magnitude. Thus, were 200,000,000 not-so-innocent Americans delivered to death at the hand of plague upon plague; the widespread judgment and destruction across the face of United States was precisely commensurate with the evil they embraced … condoned … ignored … and allowed. The doing of their own hands was done unto them.” Obadiah 1:15

Let there be no doubt: the One who extends to every soul His infinite love can only delay His wrath for so long. At long last, when His loving patience has endured all it can bear, the doors of mercy will be heard thundering closed. After such time, hwhy shall mete out justice and judgment in complete righteousness and with full, inescapable, and relentless vengeance.35 And what will the legislators and the sixties rebels say in this hour of Divine Vengeance? What will they say in the hour this country forever falls due to its own evils? (For even now—at this late and critical hour—many of our nation’s leaders still fail to be sobered by the awesome, weighty responsibility of ruling over others which ahs been bestowed upon them from the Most High!36) What will they say when the realization occurs that America has become like so many other “great” empires which have fallen never to rise again? What will they say when America has become a mere memory—existing only on paper and in history? Perhaps some of their number will lament: “Oh that we had learned to count to 40 the Bible way!” And a few of the wiser ones might even realize, “The Almighty wasn’t dead, it’s just that we were.”37 As we contemplate this great judgment, we must further take into account the additional, pending judgments of fire and brimstone upon the homosexuals and lesbians38 along with the other plagues of judgment against the advocates of idolatry, false worship/paganism, sorcery,39 murder, fornication, adultery and stealing.40 In their own right, the plagues of sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts shall be judgments no less terrible than the ones mentioned above as these sins are set forth and judged in 35 Revelation 6:12-17 36 Daniel 4:17, 25, 32; 5:21 37 Ephesians 2:1 38 Genesis 19:24,25, Psalm 11:6, Isaiah 24:4-6, Nahum 1:5,6, Revelation 8:5-7, 16:8,9 39 See Revelation 21:6 and 22:15. The Greek words used here are “pharmakeia” and “pharmakeus” … words related to and meaning “poisoning/poisoner” … clearly the Greek words from which we derive our word “pharmacy.” 40

Hosea 4:1-3 9 the Providential, penetrating light of Divine Vengeance—vengeance from which there shall be no escape. And none of this yet takes into account the widespread destruction from volcanoes (lava, lahars, and ash),41 tidal waves of fearsome magnitude,42 and earthquakes which shall devastate roads, bridges, cities and all related infrastructure.43 This writer could only shake his head with amazement and pity when hearing President Clinton speak of our great budget surplus in his final State of the Union Address; this minuscule and famous “surplus”—as well as our seemingly endless existence as a country—will be as ephemeral as vapor vanishing into the coldest, longest, and darkest windy night should the Courts of Heaven decree the earth is to once more shake mightily with destruction from on High.44

Which of our readers is yet unfamiliar with the New Madrid fault?45 Should the New Madrid fault precipitate an earthquake of 8.3 Richter magnitude—as it was estimated to have done on three occasions some 190 years ago, ringing church bells 1,000 miles away in Boston, making the Mississippi River flow backwards and shaking the entire continent46—all of middle America would become worse than a war zone: Atlanta, Birmingham, Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Lexington, Louisville, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville, St. Louis, Toledo, (and many others cities in between) would most likely be devastated beyond measure, repair, or recognition! And the major roads connecting these cities would be absolutely impassable! And what could then be said for the current budget surplus?47 Deceptively great as it seems, it would quickly become less than a pittance, a thing of naught, and it would not even be enough to assist just one of the above-named cities. Such judgment would literally be the end (or the beginning of the end) for the United States. And it would only take sixty, no, just forty, fateful seconds.48 We pray that if the sixties generation will not learn how to count to 40 then maybe the seventies generation … or the eighties … or the nineties will step forward. Since simple mathematics shows time is up in t minus one month and counting,49 one can only pray it is not too late! If it takes Judgments decreed from on High for some to come to the sober realization the Almighty Creator is alive and well, then we pray that in His 41 i.e., “pillars of smoke,” Acts 2:19. 42 Psalm 46:2,3, 98:7-9, Luke 21:25,26, Haggai 2:6, Revelation 8:8,9 43 Isaiah 2:19-21, Hebrews 1:10-12, Revelation 6:12-17 44 Isaiah 2:10-22 45

So-named for New Madrid, Missouri in the tri-state area of Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri. 46 These three quakes occurred on December 16th, 1811, January 23rd, 1812 and February 4th, 1812; these are all estimated to have measured approximately 8.3 on the Richter scale! 47 (i.e., the one set forth by former President Clinton as an economical accomplishment) 48 To read eyewitness accounts of these New Madrid quakes—along with a few of their awesome effects on locations quite near some of these present-day cities—refer to the following: http://hsv.com/genlintr/newmadrd/index.htm On this web page, look under “Eyewitness Accounts of the 1811 and 1812 Earthquakes.” 49 When this article was first written, it said, … “t minus 13 years and counting.” Many times since then, it was “t minus x number of years and counting.” We are now down to a mere 30 days! 10 fierce wrath hwhy will remember mercy.50 For His wrath will soon be kindled apart from full and far-reaching national repentance. Let all inhabitants of the earth be warned and repent: Turn from lawlessness. Turn from violating the Ten Commandments which are but a condensed summary of the entire, eternal Torah!51 Turn from idolatry and coveting to worship the Creator who loves you and who is waiting to bless your life through His resurrected Son!52 Acts 3:26

Let all Americans be solemnly warned and let all take heed, for hwhy has spoken the ominous word through Amos, the prophet: “Behold, the eyes of the Sovereign hwhy are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth.” Amos 9:8 hwhy also shall roar out of Tsiyon, and utter His voice from Yerushalayim; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but hwhy will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Yisrael. Joel 3:16 May many people across the globe be warned and turn back to the Most High with all their hearts. May hwhy be the strength of all who seek Him in these final and extremely critical days.

t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a Postscript

The above discussion regarding the ax of Divine Judgment now falling on this country is not taken lightly: the suffering which such things have brought and will bring upon millions is a staggering tragedy of horrendous, nightmare, and wrenching proportions. But that is the whole point in Divine Visitation: it must necessarily provide a final warning to allow for repentance as the tidal wave of destruction seen swelling on the horizon grows nearer, taller, more ominous, and more fearfully inescapable.

The current slaughtering of unborn lives is something far worse than the present and pending judgments now facing this nation: compared to the judgment now falling on this country, abortion has been an ongoing, staggering tragedy of immensely greater horror and of unbelievable, nightmare proportions! 50 Habakkuk 3:2 51 Psalm 105:8 , 119:89, Isaiah 40:7,8, Matthew 5:17-20, Acts 24:14, 1Peter 1:24,25, Revelation 22:14 (King James Version) 52 Acts 3:26 11 Yet so few have been sobered by or have acknowledged abortion as the worst carnage and genocide in all of human history! It is a detestable holocaust authored by a country which, consequently, borders on the verge of complete and irreparable doom, devastation, and demise! A just, loving Creator must and will arise and come down to end this outrage and require justice over the lawless murder of the unborn as well as the other evils which express blatant disregard for His Law … While I have many dear friends and family— all very much loved and respected—who are adherents of Evangelical and Catholic Christianity, the following must be said without apology:53 It cannot be overlooked that multitudes among Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christian persuasions are part and parcel of the American problem as they unwittingly promote the nearly 2000-year-old traditions of the Papacy.

For the Roman Catholic Church historically boasts of having changed the Seventh Day Sabbath to Sunday, thus dispensing with one of the Ten Commandments in open defiance of the Decalogue! Exodus 20:1-17 And they further scoff that the entire Protestant world bows down in obeisance (to the authority of the Pope/Roman Catholic Church) by observing a day of rest (i.e., Sunday) nowhere enjoined in the Scriptures! Sunday is a pagan day of worship never kept or taught by the Messiah of Yisrael! Ezekiel 8:15-18, Luke 2:32 Nor was it kept or taught by any of His apostles! Acts 24:14 eswhy is the Creator and “Sovereign of All”—including the Sabbath54—and since He never changes,55 the Sabbath (not Sunday) is still the day over which He presides as Sovereign; it is the Day in which He directs True Worship to hwhy.

So while this country had a commendable start based on the efforts of the founding fathers, it was certainly not a perfect one. And subsequent generations failed to build on the basic truths to which their forbears clung so as to progress spiritually. Thus, the degeneration which ever plagues those who become complacent56 is seen today having slowly permeated and putrefied every sector of this society since the Constitution was penned. And those Christian denominations who have all-the-while adhered to pagan rites under the guise of “religion” are, perhaps, just as guilty as the heathen lawyers who ratified abortion. Any individual, family, or nation refusing to seek, change, and progress based on the Eternal Scriptures, will ultimately be rejected. Jeremiah 6:28-30, Revelation 3:16,17 All true believers must realize the Constitution was not, and is not, and never will be Scripture—the ultimate authority in matters of human conduct. Mainstream Christianity57 adheres to supposedly religious observances—which have 53 And all should carefully note: no judgment and no condemnation are passed upon anyone as the mere facts of the matter are set forth for all to consider. 54 Acts 10:36, Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:27,28 55 Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8 56 Ezekiel 16:49, Amos 6:1 57 Including both Catholicism and most of it’s Protestant puppets. 12 clear, verifiable origins in pagan customs spawned from the demon worship of antiquity58—while rejecting and opposing the worship days commanded through the Scriptures. On this point, no open-minded individual can conclude anything less.

For the Messiah and His early followers59 observed the times and seasons of worship which were set apart from the very beginning of creation,60 while history shows that many of today’s supposedly religious observances have their origins in paganism and demon worship by which Satan has supplanted the Feasts of True Worship established from the beginning by hwhy. Genesis 1:1461 • The Passover: Although perpetuated by the Messiah Himself,62 this Day63 was replaced by Ishtar/Easter/Sun(rise) worship … pagan, bunny-and-egg fertility rites from centuries before the Savior ever walked the earth.

• The Feast of Tabernacles: A week-long time of rejoicing and giving thanks64 which was replaced by “Thanksgiving”—the exalted, worldly, food gorgy which elevates gluttony and, thereby, becomes the antithesis of true thanksgiving.

• Christmas: The Catholic ‘Christ Mass’ which originated in the heathen Saturnalia festival – a pagan rite of Sun worship established centuries before the Savior was born into this world and, thus, in no way connected with His birth in Bethlehem (which likely occurred in the fall of the year).

• Halloween: Outright, in-your-face, demon worship which is still blindly accepted today by many well-meaning, but ignorant Christians. A former, shaman witch doctor from South America visited the United States around Halloween and made a remark about all the masks which he saw in the stores; his words went something like this: “These are all those demons I used to worship when I was under spells and trances!”

• And “New Year’s Day” is not the first day of the year as reckoned by the Most High—Who, alone, has the right to establish times and seasons. The true New Year begins neither in the fall on Yom Ha’kippurim (the Day of Atonement)65 nor does it commence in the dead of winter!66 The New Year begins in the spring when all things are being regenerated and are returning to life with fresh, renewed beauty and vigor. Exodus 12:1,2

• Most every other holiday can also be traced backwards to its pagan and demonicallyinspired origins. 58 Pagan rites are inspired by the demon-driven worship of unclean spirits. 1Corinthians 10:19-21, Revelation 9:20 59 Including engrafted Gentiles! 60 Genesis 1:14, Revelation 14:6 61 The Hebrew for “seasons” is “mo-e-dim” and is the word used for “feasts” in Leviticus 23:2,4,37,44. 62 Luke 22:14-20 (and kept even by the first Gentile converts, 1Corinthians 5:7,8!) 63 (And the week of unleavened bread which it commences). 64 Deuteronomy 16:13-15 65 (as erroneous, Jewish tradition teaches) 66 (as erroneous paganism has established) 13 The apostle Paul warned the Gentile converts of Galatia against returning to their pagan days of worship—worldly heathen practices held before their conversion! Were they to do so, he declared his labor over them would have been in vain, Galatians 4:8- 11.

Returning to such false worship and deeds of the flesh, he warned, would jeopardize their reward/inheritance in the Kingdom of hwhy. Galatians 5:19-21. He would surely say the same today to so many Christians who engage in displeasing, heathen-derived observances which have a show of religion but which are merely “the ways of the nations”67 with no basis in the eternal truths of Scripture. Hence, it is time for all followers of the Messiah to stand forth in the light and obedience of a New Reformation—one which seeks and obeys the truth of Scripture while standing opposed to all religious, man-made, and oftentimes, pagan traditions— traditions which have been implemented by pagan influence in times far anterior to our own. Yet over the centuries, such traditions have become increasingly exalted and are now tenaciously defended as established, inviolable truth despite the fact they are covered with the filth and mire of apostasy. That the Scriptures readily attest to the eternal significance of the Law is immediately discernible if one remains unbiased long enough to put aside the contemporary traditions of man which have been fueled by centuries of ignorance among translators and perpetuated by the now quickly-fading facade of false doctrines which have suppressed the truth of this matter, Romans 1:18.

We stand in absolute and open defiance of Pope John Paul II’s, 1998 declaration regarding the “sanctity” of Sunday:68 No man … at any time … on any continent … has any authority … to nullify any Scripture mandate … much less the Fourth Commandment! Whether apostate traditions are touted by Catholicism, Evangelical Christianity, or even Judaism, if they nullify the Word of יהוה, they should be forever repudiated. Regarding a day of rest and worship, there is no sanctity to Sunday and absolutely no Scripture can be found which indicates the True Sabbath has ever been replaced by a day of false worship which sets forth the pagan rite of Sun worship. It is totally incongruous for the Catholic Church to stand against abortion—a murderous violation of the Sixth Commandment—and yet boast in its annals of having dispensed with the Fourth Commandment concerning Sabbath. One Protestant reformer observed, “Great, say they, is the power of the [Catholic] church since it has dispensed with one of the Ten Commandments.” 67 Jeremiah 10:25,26 68

The Pope’s letter, “Dies Domini”—in which the “sanctity” of Sunday is falsely upheld by tradition and a deeply erroneous interpretation of Scripture—may be seen on the official Vatican Website at: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini_en.html 14

The Roman Catholic Church should either embrace the Fourth Commandment, keep the Sabbath, and renounce the Sun-day, or else it should stop opposing violations of the Sixth Commandment, including abortion. If the Papacy boasts of having forsaken the Fourth Commandment with no sign on the horizon of any semblance of recanting,69 why bother wasting time and energy hypocritically advocating the Sixth Commandment—especially in light of the Roman Church’s past, murderous inquisitions against those Protestants who have dissented in opposition to Popery’s apostate, anti-Messianic (anti-Torah), heathen-based rites?!

We now provide a number of quotations from Catholic Church fathers which are outright admissions on their part (often in arrogance) that there was never any scriptural authority for having changed the Sabbath Day—the Day the Messiah taught and upheld—to the Sun-day:70 James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of our Fathers, 88th edition, pg. 89.

“But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” 71 Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, 3rd edition, pg. 174. “Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept? “Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her – she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” John Laux, A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies (1936), Vol. 1, pg. 51.

“Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the New Law, that He Himself has explicitly substituted the Sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is now entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His Church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as Holy Days. The Church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days.” 69 (much less changing so as to forsake their gross error!) 70 For additional quotes, see the following: http://www.biblesabbath.org/confessions.html 71 Italics mine; used to indicate reference to a book in Scripture. 15 Daniel Ferres, Editor, Manual of Christian Doctrine (1916), pg. 67. “Question: How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holy days? “Answer: By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of, and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church.” James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore (1877-1921), in a signed letter. “Is Saturday the seventh day according to the Bible and the Ten Commandments? I answer yes. Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the seventh day – Saturday – for Sunday, the first day? I answer yes. Did Christ change the day? I answer no! 72 Faithfully yours, J. Card. Gibbons” The Catholic Mirror, official publication of James Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.

“The Catholic Church, … by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.” Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947, pg. 9, article, “To Tell You the Truth.” “For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is, the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible.” Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1957), pg. 50. “Question: Which is the Sabbath day? “Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day. “Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? “Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked About (1927), pg. 136. “Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that worship should be changed from Saturday to Sunday … Now the Church … instituted, by God’s authority, Sunday as the day of worship. This same Church, by the same divine authority, taught the doctrine of Purgatory long before the Bible was made. We have, therefore, the same authority for Purgatory as we have for Sunday.” 72 Italics mine. 16 Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society (1975), Chicago, Illinois. “Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts: 1) That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath.

The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man. 2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws. It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible.” T. Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884. “I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’

The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church.” Baptist, Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, in a paper read before a New York ministers’ conference, November 13, 1893; reported in the New York Examiner, November 16, 1893. “There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week … Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament, absolutely not. “To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years’ intercourse with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question … never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated. 17 “Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history … But what a pity it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!”73

Dr. Augustus Neander, The History of the Christian Religion and Church, Henry John Rose, translator (1843), pg. 186. “The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to establish a Divine command in this respect, far from them, and from the early apostolic Church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday.” John Theodore Mueller, Sabbath or Sunday, pp. 15, 16. “But they err in teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had to be kept by the children of Israel … These churches err in their teaching, for Scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New Testament to that effect.” Augsburg Confession of Faith, article 28; written by Melanchthon, approved by Martin Luther, 1530; as published in, The Book of Concord of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Henry Jacobs, editor (1911), pg. 63. “They [Roman Catholics] refer to the Sabbath Day, as having been changed into the Lord’s Day, contrary to the Decalogue, as it seems. Neither is there any example whereof they make more than concerning the changing of the Sabbath Day. Great, say they, is the power of the Church, since it has dispensed with one of the Ten Commandments!” 74

In closing, does not the last quote indicate something rather telling in light of the prophetic warning through Daniel that the anti-Messiah would “think to change the times and the law?”75 How are we to respond in light of the fact that the apostle Sha’ul referred to the anti-Messiah as “the lawless one?76 … and in light of the teachings of יהושע—our Torah-observant Messiah and Lawgiver77—who said not even “the least” of the Torah commandments would ever be abolished?78 73 We see the Sun-day legacy was not sacred in any way, even as this speaker so clearly inferred. Ezekiel 8:16 74 Italics mine. 75 Daniel 7:25 76 2 Thessalonians 2:8 77 Deuteronomy 33:2,3, Luke 10:39 78 Matthew 5:17-20 18 Regardless of how one may attempt to circumvent the issue, in the spiritual realm, true Law is light and love, while rebellion against that Law is darkness and hatred. Romans 8:7 All those who seek His Law of light and love with a whole heart will be immensely blessed. Ezra 7:9-10, Psalm 119:2, Matthew 6:33, Revelation 22:14

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PC Personal Copyright, 2000-2013, by the author. We believe most copyrights have been abused worldwide in religious circles as false shepherds and other merchants feed on the sin of the people. These many abuses have filled the worship house of יהוה with money changers who hinder True Worship by robbing and oppressing the poor. Zechariah 7:10 Many, if not most, have turned reverence and the worship of יהוה into a means of great, personal gain. Micah 3:11, 1Timothy 6:5-10, 1Peter 5:2 We assert such things were never meant to be, Isaiah 55:1,2, Mark 11:15-17.

Hence, our copyright is intended to allow for free distribution of the word of יהוה with the following, minimal limitations: This document may be copied and distributed if it is left unaltered and in its entirety and if it is given away at no cost. Matthew 11:5, Luke 4:19, Galatians 2:10. This article may not be included in any publication—religious or otherwise—without the author’s written consent. All peaceable correspondence is invited: gematria303@hotmail.com For other free documents which are offered to provide encouragement and edification from the Word of יהוה, please refer to the following websites:

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• First Printing: 12/27/2000

• Second Printing: 3/22/2004

• • Third Printing: 9/18/2004

• Fourth Printing: 9/1/2005 •

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Recommended Books for Further Study From Sabbath to Sunday, by Dr. Samuele Bacchiocci. The author of this work gives a detailed synopsis of the apostasy which resulted in the change in worship from the Sabbath Day to “the Venerable Day of the Sun.” Daniel 7:25. Ordering information may be obtained at: http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/sabbath_to_sunday/

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Is All Meat Meet to Eat? Available for downloading at no cost from the author’s websites: http://www.scribd.com/yhwh26echad13 http://www.yahuyahweh.org/iah This book begins by proving the Law of יהוה was never abolished in regard to clean and unclean animal flesh. The appendices then explain many relevant things about the continuation of the Seventh Day Sabbath and of Torah-based worship. The text even offers proof the Messiah anticipated believers would still be keeping the Sabbath across the many centuries following His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension! The One who declared Himself to be “the Lord/Sovereign of the Sabbath” has never changed. Matthew 12:8, Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6 t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a

 

The Everlasting Covenant

Commandment number four of the Ten Commandments is:

“remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Set Apart” Exodus 20:8

The seventh day of the week is the Sabbath day. Why? In six days Elohim created the heavens and the earth and on the seventh day, He rested. Genesis chapter 1 and chapter 2:2.

I remember reading this as a child and it was pretty simple and straightforward. However… it seemed that something had happened. Why? Because I was going to worship and going to Sunday school on Sunday. I knew that Sunday was the first day of the week and that Saturday was the seventh day of the week so it was very confusing for me. But you know what? I trusted people. I trusted the adults in my life, I trusted my pastor, and all the other people who should have been wiser than I at that young age. Surely these people, all these people, knew something that I did not know.

All my life I was profaning God’s Sabbath day. Truly unbelievable when I think about this now. How can believing people do this? I just have to figure that Yahuah is blinding their eyes from this somehow. There is no other explanation. Surely they are not in utter rebellion against His Word… on purpose. I pray they aren’t and I also pray that He will open their eyes and circumcise their hearts very very soon.

Honoring His Sabbath day is more joy than can be expressed with words. Keeping the Sabbath – keeps me. A whole day with my Father every week. We (my husband and me) read His Torah, discuss it, study it, and talk about how we are going to apply it. Truly a day of refreshing, just to breathe Him in. Wish I had a house of many children to teach them this too.

When I keep the Sabbath, I am mirroring my Creator in the heavens during His Creation week. I work six days and rest on the seventh, just like He did. I image Him like I was created to do. I am no longer sending out to the world a false image or confusing image. I am on His rhythm, marching to His drumbeat.

The Sabbath is the everlasting covenant between the Elohim of Israel and His People. It is the sign we are His. I guess one of the more exciting things about the Sabbath is just know that alone. I am sure, sure, sure, sure – that I am doing His Will in this – keeping the Sabbath. The instruction is so plain and the blessings so plain and this one, I can do! I got this one! And it is such a joy to my heart, to know I am pleasing Him, doing what He has asked of me, and being His “proper” image to the world and the nations.

If you are not keeping the seventh day Sabbath, please listen to me – begin to do this. Time is truly getting short now and we never know when we shall be in His presence. We could perish this coming week and we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Does your heart desire to please Him? This is a sure way, He can know you are hearing Him, hearing His Voice. Keep His Sabbath like He said.

 

“And they camped in Rephidim”

I am going to share some revelation of the Torah of Yahuah that He recently shared with me. I hope it helps you as much as it did me. Thank you, O Yah! You are so merciful and gracious to all those who seek You! Amein!

And all the congregation of the children of Yisra’el set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the command of Yahuah, and camped in Rephidim. And there was no water for the people to drink.

Therefore the people strove with Mosheh, and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Mosheh said to them, “Why do you strive with me? Why do you try Yahuah?”

And the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Mosheh, and said, “Why did you bring us out of  Mitsrayim, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

Then Mosheh cried out to Yahuah, saying, “What am I to do with this people? Yet a little and they shall stone me!”

And Yahuah said to Mosheh, “Pass over before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Yisra’el. And take in your hand your rod with which you smote the river, and go.

“See, I am standing before you there on the rock in Horeb. And you shall smite the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people shall drink.” And Mosheh did so before the eyes of the elders of Yisra’el.

And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the ‘strife’ of the children of Yisra’el, and because they ‘tried’ Yahuah, saying, “Is Yahuah in our midst or not?”

And Amaleq came and fought with Yisra’el in Rephidim.

And Mosheh said to Yahusha, “Choose for us men and go out, fight with Amaleq. Tomorrow I am stationing myself on the top of the hill with the rod of Elohim in my hand.”

And Yahusha did as Mosheh said to him, to fight with Amaleq. And Mosheh, Aharon, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

And it came to be, when Mosheh held up his hand, that Yisra’el prevailed. And when he let down his hand, Amaleq prevailed.

But Mosheh’s hands were heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aharon and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and th other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

And Yahusha defeated Amaleq and his people with the edge of the sword.

And Yahuah said to Mosheh, “Write this for a remembrance in the book and recite it in the hearing of Yahusha, that I shall completely blot out the remembrance of Amaleq from under the heavens.”

And Mosheh built an altar and called its name, Yahuah Nissi,

for he said, “Because a hand is on the throne of Yah, Yahuah is to fight against Amaleq, from generation to generation.”

 This passage is so much more than a “story” to read through and make a short comment about. I never knew about the great treasures that are here until yesterday – during Sabbath. These are the gems Father gives when we spend time and recline with Him on His Sabbath day.

We are going to uncover the gemstones one by one and little by little: some diamonds, saphires, and rubies they each are. Then we will put this treasure together at the end and look upon the marvelous beauty of it and praise His Name. All right, let’s go!

Rephidim where they camped, what does this mean? Have we ever thought about it? We should… how else would we get the understanding of what happened and learn from it? All that happened to Israel is for our example. We can choose to study it and learn or we can disregard it as some “story” and throw it aside. Let’s study.

Rephidim means “rest”, “stay”, or “resting place”

This place sounds like it would be favorable. A place of rest. The word comes from rephad which means spread 1, made 1, comfort 1; 3 1) to spread 1a) (Qal) to spread 1b) (Piel) to spread out, support.

 Let us look at more form of this root.

Rephiydah which means – bottom 1; 1 1) support

raphah {raw-faw’} a primitive root; TWOT – 2198; v AV – feeble 6, fail 4, weaken 4, go 4, alone 4, idle 3, stay 3, slack 3, faint 2, forsake 2, abated 1, cease 1, misc 9; 46 1) to sink, relax, sink down, let drop, be disheartened 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to sink down 1a2) to sink, drop 1a3) to sink, relax, abate 1a4) to relax, withdraw 1b) (Niphal) idle (participle) 1c) (Piel) to let drop 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to let drop, abandon, relax, refrain, forsake 1d2) to let go 1d3) to refrain, let alone 1d4) to be quiet 1e) (Hithpael) to show oneself slack

rapheh {raw-feh’} from 07503; TWOT – 2198a; adj AV – weak 4; 4 1) slack

There is more form of this word that we need to look at, and that is rapha.

rapha – dead 7, deceased 1; 8 1) ghosts of the dead, shades, spirits

rapha’ {raw-faw’} or רפה raphah {raw-faw’} a primitive root; TWOT – 2196; v AV – heal 57, physician 5, cure 1, repaired 1, misc 3; 67 1) to heal, make healthful 1a) (Qal) to heal 1a1) of God 1a2) healer, physician (of men) 1a3) of hurts of nations involving restored favour (fig) 1a4) of individual distresses (fig) 1b) (Niphal) to be healed 1b1) literal (of persons) 1b2) of water, pottery 1b3) of national hurts (fig) 1b4) of personal distress (fig) 1c) (Piel) to heal 1c1) literal 1c2) of national defects or hurts (fig) 1d) (Hithpael) in order to get healed (infinitive)

I hope that you are now getting a picture of what this place is where we stopped to “rest.” We had been travelling on foot for many miles, after the supernatural act of Yahuah of dividing the sea of Aqaba and feeding us with quail and manna and healing us at the place of the bitter waters. So we are in a valley, a low or bottom place to camp and we are to “rest” because we are “frail and weak” and we are to be “healed” and renewed. There is also a strong component of death here as we saw from the word rapha. We see this word rapha in the noun raphaim. Rapha means “dead” and when a Hebrew word is made plural, the suffix “im” is added to the end… making the word raphaim for “dead ones”

The sick are in need of healing. The frail are in need of renewing. The dead are in need of restoration.

During this time of “rest” one of two things can happen depending on our trust in Him: healing or death.

During a time of rest, our minds may become idle along with our feet and hands. What do we begin to think about? Do we think about good and righteous things or do we begin to think about things that are unuseful for us? Past transgressions or past memories that used to please the flesh? Do we remember resentments, people that made us angry, plotting revenge, meddling, gossiping? Do we look to get into trouble with pictures, internet sites, magazines, movies. Do we gorge ourselves with food, go shopping and spend money, drink to excess, take in a movie with all sorts of abominations portrayed on screen?

All of these things come to us when we are in Rephadim. Rephadim is the valley, or low place and “can be” a place of rest and restoration.

What speaks to us during these time? Is it the spirit or the flesh? The children of Israel were to rest there at Rephadim. I cannot help but notice the “dalet” in the middle of this word. The dalet is the Hebrew letter “d” and it represents a “door” or a “window.”

Remember how rephaim is “dead ones” and when we see the dalet or “d” in the middle of that word to make Rephadim it is very intriguing. At the place of rest, there is a door. Doors swing two ways. Will we serve the spirit or will we serve the flesh during our rest, during our time at Rephadim? Will we be healed, or will we have a battle?

Well, the example of our beloved ancestors tell us what happens when we choose to serve the flesh at Rephadim, don’t they? But we have to study these things to learn from them, that is why they are there for us!  

This brings me to the next thing I was shown on Sabbath day (the seventh day) I spent with my Father, Praise be to Him for His Blessing of the Sabbath. ….

Reading the verses of Exodus 17, I could not help but find it strange how in verse 7 we have Moses naming the places where these things happened based upon our actions and “striving” and “testing” our beloved Elohim, and in the very next verse (verse 8) out of the blue – we are being attacked!!! Who is attacking us here – Ameleq!

I thought… “what is this?” “Why is this placed here?” So I began to look at the word Ameleq. Now some folks will look this us and get: Ameleq – grandson of Esau and son of Eliphaz with his concubine, and people may stop there. But I was not satisfied so I continued the search. 

Amalek 24, Amalekites 15; 39 Amalek = “dweller in a valley” 1) son of Eliphaz by his concubine Timnah, grandson of Esau, and progenitor of a race of people in southern Canaan 2) descendants of Amalek.

Amaleq – “dweller in a valley”. Hmmm. This is telling and gets us started. I then looked up some things from the TWOT and I will share the findings. The proper name Amaleq is not in the TWOT because it is of unknown derivation, but what we can always do, it look for the “primary root” of the word. This is usually three letters that make up the word, so I looked up “a” “m” and “q”.

amoq – be deep, make deep, be profound. The verb means – to sink down

emeq – valley

omeq – depth

All but one scriptural examples of amaq are severely judgmental. Isaiah 29:15 pronounces “woe on those who deeply hide their plans from Yahuah and do their deeds in the dark,” as though God does not see or know.

emeq – Vale, valley. Very common and used seventy times. Generally used as a geographical description as in “the valley of Siddim (Gen 14:3). Going down also speaks of a spiritual degradation. In Numbers 14:25 there is a bitter reminder to the sinning and rebellious Israel that at that time the Amalekites and the Canaanites were living int he valleys (enjoying the produce of the land). It was in the valleys of Canaan that agriculture was maintained. It was in the valleys that chariots could be used to the best advantage.

I will share with you another thought that came to mind. If a valley is a place of agriculture, and we are camping at Rephadim, which is a low valley, how can it be… that there is no water? Think about that for a moment. Could it be that there is truly something else going on here? Think about the implications of this for just a moment.

ameq – Deep, strange. This is an adjective that is used to mean “unintelligible” or “obscure, foreign”

amoq – Deep, deeper. This adjective occurs sixteen times in the Tanak (with seven times in Leviticus 13 speaking of the severity of leprosy). In Proverbs amoq describes a man’s speech:
Proverbs 18:4 “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a flowing stream.”

Proverbs 20:5 “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding draws it up.”

See how both of these proverbs speak of something deep, low, and dead (as in not moving) and compares them with the opposite which is wisdom and understanding  –  something higher, lofty and alive.

amoq also describes the disastrous destruction to be found in harlots:

Proverbs 22:14 “The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit; the one denounced by Yahuah falls in there.”

Proverbs 23:27 “For a whore is a deep pit, and a strange woman is a narrow well.”

This information was incredibly explanatory for what I was seeing in the passage of Exodus 17! Something to look at here in the Hebrew letters is the root “amq” as we just did above. But with the Hebrew name Amaleq, there is an additional “l” in the middle. The Hebrew letter for “l” is “lamed”

The Lamed is the shepherd’s staff!

Do you see the first couple of images? It is the shape of a shepherd’s staff, the lamed. Now what do we think happens when we are in the valley, in the place of rest, and we begin to entertain the flesh? Does it not grab us, attack us, and cull us in with its staff and then, we find ourselves in a battle and at war – with Amaleq!

Now, there is another staff in this experience for both the children of Israel and for us. One staff pulls us up, and the other staff pulls us down. Do you see it?

verse 8: And Amaleq came and fought with Yisra’el in Rephidim.

verse 9: And Mosheh said to Yahusha, “Choose for us men and go out, fight with Amaleq. Tomorrow I am stationing myself on the top of the hill with the rod of Elohim in my hand.”

The rod of Elohim – matteh {mat-teh’} or (fem.) מטה mattah {mat-taw’} from 05186; TWOT – 1352b; n m AV – tribe 182, rod 52, staff 15, staves 1, tribe + 04294 1; 251 1) staff, branch, tribe 1a) staff, rod, shaft 1b) branch (of vine) 1c) tribe 1c1) company led by chief with staff (originally)

Our Elohim is always before us with His rod and staff to pull us up to Him and where He is if we will just rest in Him and allow Him to cull us, direct us, nudge us into the right place and thoughts.

And the peace of Elohim, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Messiah Yahusha [the living water]. For the rest, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is righteous, whatever is clean, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any uprightness and if there is any praise – think on these. Philppians 4:7-8

Exodus 17:10

“And Mosheh, Aharon, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.” Now, who are these three men?

Mosheh is “the Name” or HaShem

Aharon is the Light Bringer – the Light

Hur is the pure righteousness

verse 11 “And it came to be, when Mosheh held up his hand, that Yisra’el prevailed. And when he let down his hand, Amaleq prevailed.”

When The Name (Yahuah) holds up His Hand [His Staff, Yahusha, His Strong Right Arm], we (Israel) prevails… led by our Commander Yahusha Messiah (Joshua) and without Him – Amaleq prevails. Light and Righteousness supports the holdind up of our Commander for the victory. That is why we must “think on these things.”

verse 12 “And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”

verse 13 “And Yahusha defeated Amaleq and his people with the edge of the sword.” What is the sword? It is the Word of God! This is what will defeat Amaleq in each of our lives. Until the going down of the sun in our lives… each of us.

We are to remember this!

In Deuteronomy, we are reminded by Elohim again to remember Amaleq: “You shall have perfect and right weight, a perfect and right measure, so that they prolong your days on the soil which Yahuah your Elohim is giving you. For all who do these, and all who do unrighteously, are an abomination to Yahuah your Elohim. Remember what Amaleq did to you on the way as you were coming out of Mitsrayim, how he met you on the way and attacked your back, all the feeble ones in your rear, when you were tired an weary. And he did not fear Elohim. Therefore it shall be, when Yahuah your Elohim has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which Yahuah your Elohim is giving you to possess as an inhertance, that you blot out the remembrance of Amaleq from under the heavens. Don not forget!” Deuteronomy 25:15-19

verse 14 “And Yahuah said to Mosheh, “Write this for a remembrance in the book and recite it in the hearing of Yahusha, that I shall completely blot out the remembrance of Amaleq from under the heavens.”

verse 15 “And Mosheh built an altar and called its name, Yahuah Nissi”

(nec {nace} from 05264; TWOT – 1379a; n m AV – standard 7, ensign 6, pole 2, banner 2, sail 2, sign 1; 20 1) something lifted up, standard, signal, signal pole, ensign, banner, sign, sail 1a) standard (as rallying point), signal 1b) standard (pole) 1c) ensign, signal)

The prophet Bil’am, after seeing the coming Redeemer from afar off, in his vision, pronounced a proverb against Amaleq: “He then looked on Amaleq, and he took up his proverb and said, “Amaleq was first among the nations, but his latter end is to perish forever.”

When The Holy One calls us to His Rest, His Sabbaths, to His mountain, His Nissi (standard) — look out! Remember Amaleq (the flesh) and how it wants to grab you with its staff, to cull you in, by old habits, by memories, by whatever means necessary to keep you down in the valley, the place of chaos and confusion.

Yahuah is standing right there, in front of us with His Staff and His Rod… to pull us “up” to Himself – even when we are the valley [of rest]. Dwell on righteousness, forgiveness, kindness, mercy. These things that come from His Character, will lift us up and “if you do turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My se-apart day, and shall call the Sabbath ‘a delight,’ the set-apart of Yahuah ‘esteemed’ and shall esteem it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in Yahuah. And I shall caus you to ride on the heights of the earth, and feed you with the inheritance of Ya’aqob your faither. For the mouth of Yahuah has spoken!” Isaiah 58:13-14

Remember!

In the valley, in the quiet times, in the times of rest – Amaleq will most assuredly come. He attacks from the rear. What does this mean? He comes from behind us, in the form of habits and memories, things of the ‘past’. Don’t entertain him! Place your thoughts on the Heights, the Standard, the Ensign of Yahusha!

Why are we contantly told the wicked have no rest? They are constantly fighting in battle with Amaleq. Every time the wicked attempt to rest – Amaleq is there – and they give place to it. Prepare for your quiet times of rest. Read scripture, pray, who do we need to forgive? Who do we need to show love or kindness to? Who do we need to give service to and help? There is always someone.

One final note to share, because I never saw this passage in this light before, but now I do after being shown these things. The 23rd Psalm:

Yahuah is my shepherd; I do not lack.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.

He turns back my being; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.

When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You spread before me a table in the face of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil; my cup runs over.

Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life;

And I shall dwell in the House of Yahuah, to the length of days!

Amein! if this has touched you, please comment and share your thoughts.

Hebrews (Ibrim) Chapter 9

Hebrews Chapter 9

1 Now the first [covenant] indeed had regulations of worship and the earthly set-apart place.

Right away I remind everyone (even myself) that Sha’ul is talking about the PRIESTHOOD, not the covenant. As anyone can plainly see – covenant WAS NOT in the original text – but was ADDED. That is why it is in italics!! So let us read it as it was written: now the first indeed had regulations of worship and the earthly set-apart place.

What had regulations of worship? The priesthood!

What had the earthly set-apart place? The priesthood and called out assembly. And then Shaul goes on to describe more of the earthly, made with hands, tabernacle.

2 For a Tent was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, and the table, and the showbread, which is called the Set-apart Place.

3 And after the second veil, the part of the Tent which is called Most Set-apart,

4 to which belonged the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that held the manna, and the rod of Aharon that budded, and the tablets of the covenant,

5 and above it the kerubim of esteem were overshadowing the place of atonement – about which we do not now speak in detail.

6 And these having been prepared like this, the priests always went into the first part of the Tent, accomplishing the services.

The set apart place was entered into by the priests daily for themselves and the people, to fulfill the instructions of our Father. Has anything changed for today or should anything have changed for us today?

Let’s read some verses concerning this from the Messianic Writings.                                                             Acts 3:2 “And a certain man, lame from his birth, was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the Set-apart Place which is called Yaphah (Beautiful or Lovely), to ask alms from those entering into the Set-apart Place.                                                                                                                                        Acts 5:42 “And daily in the Set-apart Place, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and bringing the Good News: Yahusha the Messiah!”                                                                                                  Acts 17:11 “Now these (Beroia) were more nobel than those in Thessalonike, who received the word with great eagerness, and searched the Scriptures daily, if these [words] were so.

We can liken the set apart place of the tent, as our inner man (person) where we are to daily light our spirit with Messiah to keep our lamps burning. The table of showbread – the nourishment of His Word daily to keep us on the right path.

7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for sins of ignorance of the people,

Here is a reading from the Torah concerning sins of ignorance and the loving instruction given on how to deal with this type of sin or missing the mark – which is ONLY shown to us by His Torah (Instructions and Guidance).

Numbers 15:15-28 “One law is for you of the assembly and for the stranger who sojourns with you – a law forever throughout your generations As you are, so is the stranger before YaHUaH. One Torah and one right-ruling is for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you. And YaHUaH spoke to Mosheh, saying, “Speak to the children of Yisra’el, and say to them,’When you come into the land to which I bring you, then it shall be, when you eat of the bread of the land, that you present a contribution to YaHUaH. Present a cake of the first of your dough as a contribution – as a contribution of the threshing-floor you present it. Of the first of your dough you are to give to YaHUaH a contribution throughout your generations. And when you sin by mistake, and do not do all these command which YaHUaH has spoken to Mosheh, all that YaHUaH has commanded you by the hand of Mosheh, from the day YaHUaH gave command and onward throughout your generations, then it shall be, if it is done by mistake, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall prepare one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet fragrance to YaHUaH, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the right-ruling, and one male goat as a sin offering. Then the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the children of Yisra’el, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was by mistake. And they shall bring their offering, an offering made by fire to YaHUaH, and their sin offering before YaHUaH, for their mistake. And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Yisra’el and the stranger who sojourns in their midst, because all the people did it bymistake. And if a being sins by mistake, then he shall bring a female goat a year old as a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for the being who strays by mistake, when he sins by mistake before YaHUaH, to make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.

8 the Set-apart Spirit signifying this, that the way into the Most Set-apart Place was not yet made manifest while the first Tent has a standing,

I am reminded here that the sons of Israel and the mixed multitude at this time knew that what they were doing, how they were doing it, and when they were doing it – was a pattern of that which was in heaven! Father had already given the pattern to Mosheh and Mosheh gave the pattern to the assembly. So much of what they were doing, they were doing through faith and faith alone. They were doing it – because Father said to do it. The first part of the tent (the Set-apart place) was entered daily by the priests. They went in and they went out, taking care of the lighting of the menorah, the table of shewbread, the incense. But this Most Set-apart Place, they knew was different because the of “special” instructions that went along with being able to ‘enter into it.’ A perfect ‘mystery’ of the gift The Messiah!

9 which was a parable for the present time in which both gifts and slaughters are offered which are unable to perfect the one serving, as to his conscience,

“….. as to his conscience,” why does Shaul separate out these specific words? We will see below in the next verse that he will explain that much of the rituals that the mediators (earthly priests) went through for service, were to obtain cleansing/sanctification of the “bodies” —- the vessels for service. The administration and administrators were pictures of what is in the heavens, the throne room and the tabernacle.

10 only as to foods and drinks, and different washings, and fleshly regulations imposed until a time of setting [matters] straight.

In the wilderness tabernacle and thereafter – a teaching and picture HAD to be accomplished. The teachings, doings, and pictures had to answer questions like: who is YaHUaH? what is He like? What does He require of us? What does He consider unrighteousness? What does He call clean or unclean? What is His heart? These teachings and pictures rested upon the shoulders of the priests until the occasion of restoration of the true heavenly picture of Messiah as High Priest would come to pass. The entire NATION were to be priests if we remember, but transgression happened.

11 But Messiah, having become a High Priest of the coming good [matters], through the greater and more perfect Tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation,

12 entered into the Most Set-apart Place once for all, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, having obtained everlasting redemption.

13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the defiled, sets apart for the cleansing of the flesh,

Clearly, Sha’ul re-affirms the necessity of the Instructions from YaHUaH concerning the requirement of cleansing of our flesh in verse 13. The blood of bulls and goats, the ashes of the red heifer, sprinkling of the ashes mixed with water onto those who had been in contact with the dead DID cleanse the flesh. These instructions were given by our Creator and He declared that they DID cleanse us, so that we could approach Him and not be destroyed by His Holiness.

14 how much more shall the blood of the Messiah, who through the everlasting Spirit offered Himself unblemished to Elohim, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohim?

“Renewing of the mind…….”

15 And because of this He is the Mediator of a renewed covenant, so that, death having taken place for redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called might receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance.

Clearly we see that the Aharonic and Levitical Priesthood were mediating THE covenant between Yahuah and us in all the earthly vessels as instructed through Mosheh, and Messiah is mediating THE covenant, THE SAME COVENANT that is now in fleshly vessels!

16 For where a covenant is, it is necessary for the death of the covenanted one to be established.

17 For a covenant over those dead is firm, since it is never valid while the covenanted one is living.

Beloved, this is why it is a “Blood” Covenant.

18 Therefore not even the first [covenant] **remember, we are still talking about the priesthood or type of mediation here, don’t get fooled*** was instituted without blood.

19 For when, according to Torah, every command had been spoken by Mosheh to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which Elohim commanded you.”

21 And in the same way he sprinkled with blood both the Tent and all the vessels of the service.

22 And, according to the Torah, almost all is cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

23 It was necessary, then, that the copies of the heavenly ones should be cleansed with these, but the heavenly ones themselves with better slaughter [offerings] than these.

24 For Messiah has not entered into a Set-apart Place made by hand – figures of the true – but into the heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of Elohim on our behalf,

25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters into the Set-apart Place year by year with blood not his own.

Yom HaKippurim, Day of Atonement or Coverings. We are privileged to rehearse this day each and every year according to the instructions given to us by YaHUaH in Leviticus chapter 23. It is a rehearsal to prepare us for a very, very important time and day coming to us in the future. I implore anyone reading this work to obey the instruction and be blessed. In doing this – you will be ready for your deliverance when our Messiah comes.

26 For if so, He would have had to suffer often, since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the offering of Himself.

27 And as it awaits men to die once, and after this the judgment,

28 so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to those waiting for Him, unto deliverance.

Shalom.

Hebrews (Ibrim) Chapter 7

Hebrews Chapter 7

*Make sure you read the first sentence with the emphasis on “this“

1 For this Malkitsedeq, sovereign of Shalem, priest of the Most High Elohim, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the sovereigns and blessed him,

2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, [his name] being translated, indeed, first, ‘sovereign of righteousness,’ and then also sovereign of Shalem, that is, ‘sovereign of peace,’

3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but having been made like the Son of Elohim, remains a priest for all time.

Beloved, WE MUST understand something here before going any further. Melkitsedeq is not a person. Melkitsedeq is not a lineage of people which can be traced, in earthly terms, through DNA or paternity. Melkitsedeq is an order. “This Melkitsedeq” means “this King Priest” – This King of Salem was “a” Melkitsedeq – a member of an [arrangement, succession] instituted by YaHUaH.

Below I have posted the Greek and Hebrew words for the word “order” from the verse.

Order – the greek word G5010 — Strong τάξις taxis

tax’-is

From G5021; regular arrangement, that is, (in time) fixed succession (of rank or character), official dignity: – order.

G5021 — Strong    τάσσω tassō

tas’-so

A prolonged form of a primary verb (which latter appears only in certain tenses); to arrangein an orderly manner, that is, assign or dispose (to a certain position or lot): – addict, appoint, determine, ordain, set.

Now the Hebrew…… (taken from Psalms)

H1700 — BDB

דּברה

dibrâh

BDB Definition: 1) cause, manner, reason

Part of Speech: noun masculine

Chapter 7 in the book of Hebrews, let us proclaim and remember, is NOT about covenants, it IS about who our Messiah is, what He has done, and the position He holds! It IS about the transferring or laying aside of an institution that was implemented (among other reasons) because of uncleanness and crookedness of a people who had just come out of 430 years of slavery and their destiny was to be a nation of priests. Let us not forget also, that Shaul is speaking to scattered Israel and Judah. How do we think he would be able to explain to them what has taken place on the issue of the Levitical sacrificial system? They needed to understand what has happened now that Messiah has come and arisen from the dead and is Melkitsedeq – our High Priest and King.

From Genesis (Bereshith) 14

And after his (Abram’s) return from the defeat of Kedorla’omer and the sovereigns who were with him, the sovereign of Sedom (the region of Sodom and Gomorrah)came out to meet him at the Valley of  Shaweh, that is, the Sovereign’s Valley. And Malkitsedeq sovereign of Shalem brought out bread and wine. Now he was the priest of the Most High El. And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of the Most High El, Possessor of the heavens and earth. And blessed be the Most High El who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tenth of all.

4 Now see how great this one was, to whom even the ancestor Abraham gave a tenth of the choicest booty.

Very first mention of this “Order” of Priest is here in Genesis 14. Many teachers  teach that this Melkitsedeq in Genesis 14 is Shem, the son of Noah. This is supported by the Book of Jasher which states:

Jasher 16: 11-12 And Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, the same was Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine, and they remained together in the valley of Melech. 12 And Adonizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth from all that he had brought from the spoil of his enemies, for Adonizedek was a priest before God.

This is more than possible and is probable that this Melkitsedeq that met Abraham that day was Shem, son of Noah. He was definitely alive at that time according to the scriptures. Shem was still alive when Isaac was born and when Jacob was born.

5 And truly, those who are of the sons of Lewi, who receive the priesthood, have a command to receive tithes from the people according to the Torah, that is, from their brothers, though they have come from the loins of Abraham,

So there is a Heavenly order – the Melkitsedeq – by Oath. There is an earthly institution- the Levitical – by calling.

Bear with me as I reproduce the first part of Numbers 18 here so that we understand some of the office of the Levitical Priesthood.

“And YaHUaH said to Aharon, “You and your sons and your father’s house with you are to bear the crookedness against the set-apart place, and you and your sons with you are to bear the crookedness against your priesthood. But bring with you your brothers of the tribe of Lewi too, the tribe of you father to join you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the Tent of the Witness. And they shall guard your charge, and the duty of all the Tent, but they do not come near the furnishings of the set-apart place and the altar, lest they die, both they and you. And they shall be joined [[twined, as a cord]] with you and guard the duty to the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent, but a stranger does not come near you. And you shall guard the duty of the set-apart place and the duty of the altar, so that there be not more wrath on the children of Yisra’el.

And see, I Myself have taken your brothers the Lewites from the midst of the children of Yisra’el – a gift to you, given by YaHUaH, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting. But you and your sons with you are to guard your priesthood for all matters at the altar and behind the veil, and you shall serve. I have given you the priesthood as a gift for service, but the stranger who comes near is put to death.

And YaHUaH spoke to Aharon, “And see, I Myself have also given you the charge [[watch]] of My contributions [[lifted up or heave offerings]], all the set-apart gifts of the children of Yisra’el. I have given them to you for the anointing, and to your sons, as a law forever. This is yours of the most set-apart [gifs], from the fire: all their offerings, all their grain offerings and all their sin offerings and all their guilt offerings which they render to Me, are most set-apart for you and your sons.

Eat it in the most set-apart place – every male eats it. It is set-apart to you. This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, with all the wave offereings of the children of Yisra’el. I have given them to you, and your sons and daughter with you, as a law forever. Everyone who is clean in your house eats it.

All the best of the oil, and all the best of the new wine and the grain – their first fruits which they give to YaHUaH – I have given them to you. The first-fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to YaHUaH, are yours. Everyone who is clean in your house eats it. All that is dedicated in Yisra’el is yours. (End of Scripture)

6 however, the one whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham, and blessed the one who held the promises.

Shaul is now speaking again of the Melkitsedeq Priesthodd (the Priest King) and how this Melkitsedeq was not of the Levite lineage, or tribe of Levi. Yet, he received tithes from Abraham and blessed Abraham. Now Abraham held the promises given by YaHUaH and so it is understood (although I am not sure we understand this in the West) that the better blesses the lesser and the lesser gives tithes to the better. So here we see that the Melkitsedeq Order is greater than Levitical Priesthood in position before YaHUaH.

7 And it is beyond all dispute that the lesser is blessed by the better.

8 And here it is men who die that receive tithes, but there it is someone of whom it is witnessed that he lives.

Here (in part of His Torah addressing the Levite Priests) The Levitical Priesthood were men, who did die as all mankind does – and yet they received tithes just like the Melkitsedeq Order who does not die but is an Eternal Priesthood.

9 And one might say that through Abraham even Lewi, who received tithes, gave tithes, [[to the Priest King Melkitsedeq]]

10 for he was still in the loins of his father [[Abraham]] when Malkitsedeq met him.

This is a very well understood concept in Hebraic thought. The idea of all lineage being in the seed (the loins) of the forefathers. Surely we do believe this because of the Promises and Blessings given to the seed of Abraham and also the promise given to Adam and Chavah concerning the seed of the woman. So it is understood that the Levite Priesthood gave tithes to the Melkitsedeq Order also because they existed in the “seed” of Abraham when Abraham gave the Priest King tithes.

11 Truly, then, if perfection were through the Lewitical priesthood – for under it the people were given the Torah – why was there still need for another priest to arise according to the order of Malkitsedeq, and not be called according to the order of Aharon?

This is so interesting isn’t it? Shual is really writing as a Pharisee here, I think. This reminds me so much of how the Hebrew sages wrote and discussed things amongst each other. Asking questions of why Father caused certain things to happen a certain way for His Purpose – and to search and prove that thing out – which brings us ever closer to the Mind of Elohim.

See, the Torah is perfect – converting the soul unto sanctification – that is a fact,

Psalm (Tehillim) 19:7 “The Torah of YaHUaH is perfect, bringing back the being”  and James (Ya’aqob) 1:25 “But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing [of the Torah].”

It shows us what is unholy or unrighteous (some use the word sin) AND, AND, AND what is Holy and Just and Right and Clean. But what Shaul is saying- that the Torah (perfect instructions) was given (again) to a Nation at Mt Sinai directly from the mouth of God. At that time, however, some of the instructions were given to a specific Tribe of Israel, as a gift, so Father’s people could draw near unto Him. Father “called” the Aharonic (Levitical, earthly pattern) priests to duty for mediation, but Father “swore by Oath” the order of Melkitsedeq (spiritual true) as we saw already in Psalms.

12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.

Some will read a verse like this and say “ah-ha! See, Paul says the law is changed.” Well I say – nope, something is wrong here with MY UNDERSTANDING. Because neither is the law changed, and neither did Shaul write or speak against the perfection of the law, therefore the proper conclusion is: “I don’t understand this – I really need to search this out.” So that is what I did.

Let us not erroneously assume that just because Shaul says “law” here, that it means “the ENTIRE law” or instructions of Torah. There are over 613 instructions in Torah, and they do not all apply to all people at all times. So here, Shaul is speaking of the instructions specifically given to the Aharonic or Levitical Priesthood. Also, in the next verses we are going to come across an interesting description that Shaul uses – “the Torah of fleshly command” and so we will investigate that too.

The following information was taken from an on-line source: http://www.beittefillah.org/files/Hebrews_for_Sukkot1.pdf. There are over 50 slides that do an excellent job at teaching this transfer of covenant mediation: both in “who” and “how”

Change Priesthood=Change Torah?

We are looking at the word changed – both the Hebrew and the Aramaic words for “change”

Hebrew: SHANASHTANAH  from the verbal root                       SHANAH(Strong‟s 8138) ”to repeat, to do a second time”.                      Aramaic: SHUKLAFA, the Semitic root KHALAF “Change, transform, renew or revive.”                                                                                                                            The word SHUKLAFA appears only five times in the entire PeshittaNT. Of these all but one (Ya’akov1:17) are in Hebrews. Of those four usages, three of them are right here in our section (7:11-12, 18-19) the other is in 12:27 where it implies a renewal or repair and seems to refer back in summary to the three usages in Chapter 7 which we are dealing with. The Hebrew form of this same root is Strong‟s word # 2498.

H2498 — Strong

חָלַף

châlaph   khaw-laf’

A primitive root; properly to slide by, that is, (by implication) to hasten away, pass on,spring up, pierce or change: – abolish, alter change, cut off, go on forward, grow up, be over, pass (away, on, through), renew, sprout, strike through.

This Hebrew cognate of the word appears in Is. 40:31 & 41:1 “…let the people renew their strength…”.The verb is used to mean “renew” or “revive” in the Hebrew Tanak in Is. 40:31; 41:1; Job 14:7, 13 & Job 29:20. The Peshitta Tanak agrees and uses the KHALAF verb in Is. 40:31; 41:1; Job 14:7 & 29:20 to mean “renew”. The Greek translator misunderstood the word here to mean “change” however there can be no change of the Torah.(Deut. 4:2; 12:32 & Mt. 5:17).

There can be no change of the Torah

Deuteronomy 4:2″Do not add to the Word which I command you, and do not take away from it, so as to guard the commands of YaHUaH your Elohim which I am commanding you.

Deuteronomy 12:32 “All the words I am commanding you, guard to do it – do not add to it nor take away from it.”

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah, or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete.”

Change Priesthood=Change Torah?

Hebrews 7: 12(NKJV) For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.

Changed – Strong’s #3346

G3346 — Strong     μετατίθημι metatithēmi

met-at-ith’-ay-mee

From G3326 and G5087; to transfer, that is, (literally) transport, (by implication) exchange, (reflexively) change sides, or (figuratively) pervert: – carry over, change, remove, translate, turn.

The Torah was not done away with, but adjusted, or slightly altered, to accommodate a better, more complete priesthood and sacrifice. Strong‟s Greek # 3346 metatithaymee means “moved from one place to another, not eliminated.” So the priesthood was shifted, not eliminated. Shifted from Aaron to Melech-Tzadik and from Leviticus to Genesis, still within the Torah itself. (written commentary by a Messianic commentator). This messianic commentator had a Hebrew book of Hebrews.

Hebrew Hebrews

In 1537 Sebastian Munster, professor of Hebrew at the University of Basel, published the Hebrew text of Matthew and in 1557 a second edition of Munster’s Hebrew Matthew was published which also included the Hebrew text of Hebrews. The text was given to him by Jewish believers in Messiah Yeshua.   [End of online source reference]

13 For He of whom this is said belongs to another tribe, from which no one had attanded at the altar.

Wow! A puzzle developing right? Father has made Messiah the High Priest and mediator now between us and God. How can this be? – He was from the tribe of Judah – that throws a kinker in the understanding for some of us, and then for others, gives an error of reasoning that ALL of Torah has been done away with because of this. Funny we should think this and here is why….

In the following scriptures  – who was the priest?

When Abel sacrificed his lamb unto YaHuaH                                                                When the Torah that was given through Mosheh to  the heads of the households to slaughter the passover lamb that night in Egypt                                 How about the Torah to gather manna for six days                                                     The Torah to observe the Sabbath day                                                                               The Torah to count the Omer, The Torah to obey His Voice, The Torah to guard His Covenant, The Torah to be set-apart, The Torah to wash our garments, The Torah to not make beside Him any mighty ones of silver or gold, The Torah to make an altar of earth for Him to slaughter on it the burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle, The Torah concerning a Hebrew servant, the Torah of the Sabbatical year release, etc. In fact in the Torah of Mosheh, all the instructions given from Exodus 20 – 29 are all prior to the calling of the Levitical Priesthood. Once time, in all the giving of the many Torah directly from Elohim to Mosheh on the mountain, Mosheh came back down the mountain and told the children of Israel all that YaHUaH had said. They said all the Words YaHUaH has spoken, we shall do.

Then Mosheh wrote down all the Words of YaHUaH, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve standing columns for the twelve tribes of Yisra’el. And he sent young men of the children of Yisra’el, and they offered burnt offerings and slaughtered peace slaughterings of bulls to YaHUaH. Exodus 24:4-5

Who can we say were the priests in this situation? Simply the young men of the 12 tribes!

Beloved, it goes on and on and on. What about Job who sacrificed, and Noah? All of these Tarot (plural of Torah, Teaching and instructions of a Holy Creator) WERE GIVEN TO US PRIOR TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE  AHARONIC OR LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD! So… even if we could say “part” of the Torah has been abolished, which we cannot – it would not give us a reason not to obey the commands of Yah.

It was also very helpful for me to learn about the usage of the word “priest” in the Hebrew Scriptures. Here are all of the meanings for priest:

H3548 — BDB

כּהן      kôhên      BDB Definition:

1) priest, principal officer or chief ruler

1a) priest-king (Melchizedek, Messiah)

1b) pagan priests      1c) priests of Jehovah       1d) Levitical priests

1e) Zadokite priests     1f) Aaronic priests         1g) the high priest

14 For it is perfectly clear that our Master arose from Yahudah, a tribe about which Mosheh never spoke of cencerning priesthood,

The tribe of Judah was to be the Kingly line and the lawgiver. Ref: David and Genesis with the blessings of Jacob (Israel) onto his sons.

15 and this is clearer still, if another priest arises in the likeness of Malkitsedeq,

16 who had become [a priest], not according to the Torah of fleshly command, but according to the power of an endless life,

The Torah of fleshly command – there is a torah (instruction) that was given by YaHUaH of a priesthood based upon lineage – a physical determination of a Levite’s duty in life to serve YaHUaH and mediate between the people and Elohim. I believe this is what Shaul means by fleshly command. It was according to the flesh that determined the priestly office.

17 for He does witness, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Malkitsedeq.”

18 For there is indeed a setting aside of the former command because of its weakness and unprofitableness,

Here is another place difficult to understand because we are ignorant of the Word of Elohim. Let us now explore the purpose of the Levitical Priesthood and what it did and did not do.

What the Priesthood did do

Exodus 28:1  This is I believe the first time we hear of the intended duty of Aharon and his sons from the mind and plan of Elohim. Let us remember that at this time, Mosheh was up on the mountain and he had just received all the instructions and vision of the Tabernacle and Furnishings.

“And you, bring near Aharon your brother and his sons with him, from among the children of Yisra’el, for serving as priest to Me: Aharon, Nadab and Abihu, El’azar and Ithamar, the sons of Aharon.” Exodus 28:1

“from among the Children of Israel”  from among as used here is the Hebrew word “tavek” which is from the root verb meaning “to sever.” If we read each Hebrew letter individually we get “mark, nail or secure, possession” Father is telling Mosheh to sever the Tribe of Levi from the tribes, mark them for Me, they will be secured to Me as My possession. Amazing!

Also let us note that Father says “for serving as priest to Me.” The KJV uses the word “minister.” When we serve as something, we are acting in place of. The Levites were serving as priests unto Elohim.

The Levites needed special garments, they required cleansing, they had to make atonement for themselves prior to making atonement for the assembly, etc. They were given authority to cleanse the congregation, to bless them, to determine clean from unclean for disease and illness. They were charged with the duties of the upkeep of the tabernacle and furnishings such as the showbread, menorah, burning incense at the altar – and conducting the Festivals of YaHUaH. They had authority to set value upon people, accept vows to YaHUaH, and redeem vows and people for service in Tabernacle. They were taken by YaHUaH as a substitute for the firstborn of the children of Israel (Numbers 3:12). They made judgments within marriage covenants for infidelity. They assembled, disassembled, transported the Tabernacle. {By the way – are we not also priests. I know many who claim to be, but they do not do these things. Hmmm}

What the Priesthood did not do

The blood sacrificial system under the Aharonic or Levitical priesthood only provided covering for unintentional sin/tresspass.

Leviticus (Wayyiqra) Chapter 4

And YaHUaH spoke to Mosheh, saying, “Speak to the children of Yisra’el, saying, ‘Wehn a being sins by mistake against any of the commands of YaHUaH, which are not to be donw, and shall do any of them: ‘If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then he shall bring to YaHUaH for his sin which he has sinned a young bull, a perfect one, as a sin offering, …   verse 35 “…… So the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has sinned [by mistake], and it shall be forgiven him.”

All of the animal sacrifices for sin, guilt, atonement, etc were only for sinning by mistake or unintentional sin. Never, never was it for intentional sin – or rebellion. The wages of sin is death.

Numbers 15:28  ‘And the priest shall make atonement for the being who strays by mistake, when he sins by mistake before YaHUaH, to make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.

Numbers 15:30 ‘But the being who does {whatever} defiantly, whether he is native or a stranger, he reviles YaHUaH, and that being shall be cut off from among his people.’

19 for the Torah perfected naught, but the bringing in of a better expectation, through which we draw near to Elohim.

An instruction, per se, of Torah – in and of itself perfects nothing. Just because we are instructed to perform or do something does nothing. We have to actually do it, to be perfected by it. So where the mediation of the Levitical Priesthood between us and Father was incomplete, the completeness comes through Messiah Melkitsedeq, our High Priest eternally! The Torah gives us the hope of Messiah that is coming to mediate for us. Now, we can have forgiveness and atonement for all trespasses, both intentional and unintentional which most assuredly is comforting when we wish to draw near to our Holy Elohim!

20 And it was not without an oath!

21 For they indeed became priests without an oath, but He [became Priest] with an oath by Him who said to Him, “YaHUaH has sworn and shall not regret, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Malkitsedeq.'”

22 By as much as this YaHUsHa has become a guarantor of a better covenant.

An oath taken and sworn by the Creator of the Universe is more powerful than one without. The gift of the priesthood to the Levites was a gift and representation of future events.

23 And indeed, those that became priests were many, because they were prevented by death from continuing,

24 but He, because He remains forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.

There came a time, when even the children of Israel were warned and told by the prophets that the sacrificial system could not and would not, nor was it meant to – save them.

Isaiah 1:11 “Of what use to Me are your many slaughterings?” declares YaHUaH. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.

Samuel 15:22 Then Shemu’el said, “Does YaHUaH delight in burnt offerings and slaughterings, as in obeying the voice of YaHUaH? Look, to obey is better than an offering, to heed is better than the fat of rams.

and again in Jeremiah (YirmeYaHU) 7:21-23      Thus said YaHUaH of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’el, “Add your burnt offerings to your slaughterings and eat meat. For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land Mitsrayim, about matters of burt offerings or slaughterings. But this word I did command them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I shall be your Elohim, and you be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, so that it be well with you.’

25 Therefore He is also able to save completely those who draw near to Elohim through Him, ever living to make intercession for them.

26 For it was fitting that we should have such a High Priest – kind, innocent, undefiled, having been separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens,

27 who does not need, as those high priests, to offer up slaughter [offerings] day by day, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

28 For the Torah appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath which came after the Torah, [appoints] the Son having been perfected forever.

Ezekiel chapter 43-48 tells us that the Levites will be in the Temple of the New Jerusalem to come. They will again be ministering there. So in fact, even this portion of Torah instruction has not been abolished, only set aside for a time.

And finally, there is the wonderful prophesy of Jeremiah 31:31 which prophesies of the mediation brought to us by our Messiah and Melkitsedeq:

See, the days are coming,” declares YaHUaH, “when I shall make a newed covenant with the house of Yisra’el and with the house of Yahudah, not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Mitsaryim, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares YaHUaH. For this is the covenant I shall make with the house of Yisra’el after those days, declares YaHUaH: I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. And I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.”    Praise and AMEN!

 

Hebrews (Ibrim) Chapter 6

Hebrews Chapter 6

Because Chapter 6 begins with a “Therefore,” I need to go back to the last part of Chapter 5 just to make sure I know what the “therefore” is therefore.

verse 12 – 14 of Chapter 5, Rabbi Shaul was talking about milk and solid food.

For indeed, although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first elements of the Words of Elohim. And you have become such as need milk and not solid food. For everyone partaking of milk is inexperienced in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature whose senses have been trained by practice to discern both good and evil.

So what are the first elements of the Word of Elohim? The word elements can also be principles or fundamentals the basic things that make up something greater. Well, common sense would tell us that the first principles of God are the first writings of His Word: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

There is nothing much more important in a believer’s walk than having a solid footing in the principles of God. He lays out His principles to Moses for all of His people forever. Those who do not work at getting solid footing in the principles of Elohim – instead of maturing unto evermore increasing sanctification – become as babes and Paul (Shaul) even says “inexperienced” in the word of righteousness.

Wow – discerning good and evil. He might as well said life and death! Having senses “trained by practice.” When we train for something, or practice for something – that sounds like some action being taken. So being able to discern good from evil takes not only having a solid foundation in the principles of Elohim (the Torah), but putting those principles into action. We should know the 613 instructions of YaHUaH, we are to practice them, and train our flesh to do them. Then, we are able to discern good from evil. Just as Moses said: These commands are life to you.

In further study, the words Shaul is using here – words like milk, skillful, experienced, craftsmen, wise, learned, mature, etc – he is harkening us back to the Torah. Specifically I would like to bring Exodus Chapter 35 into focus. In Exodus chapter 35, Moses has called a gathering, an assembly of all the people and instructs them again on keeping the Sabbath. On down a bit in the chapter to Exodus 35 and verse 10

And let all the wise-hearted among you come and make all that YaHUaH has commanded:

Mosheh is very specific here: Who is going to make ALL that YaHUaH has commanded? The wise-hearted, the same people who Shaul is writing about in Hebrews 5 that are mature in their senses:

But solid food is for the mature whose senses have been trained by practice to discern both good and evil.

The word for “wise” as used by Moses in Exodus 35:10, those who will “make ALL that YaHUaH has commanded” (speaking of His Tabernacle) is the Hebrew word chakam (khaw-kawm’). This word means: intelligent, skillful, artful. I believe when Shaul says “mature in senses” he is saying “wise-hearted.”

Ok, now – Chapter 6

1 Therefore let us leave the basics of the Word of the Messiah, and continue on to its perfection. Or will you again lay another foundation for the repentance which is from dead words and for the faith in Elohim

Did you see that? Shaul tells us that the foundation of repentance from dead works is the beginning words or principles of God, The Principles of Torah. There is only one foundation for repentance – and that is leaving “dead works” and turning to Father’s Ways. True repentance is teshuva, a return. When I return from the place where I have been – doing dead works, serving other idols taught to me by society, family, and friends, to His Word in the Beginning, then and only then can I move on to maturity (perfection). How many times must one be saved again? And in fact, can we be continually saved?  Are we not saved once and for all? How many times did the Children of Israel and mixed multitude leave Egypt? I believe it was only once! Let us move on from our salvation unto sanctification. We are out of Egypt – let us move into the Promised land!

Dead works are those things that are not in harmony with God’s instructions. Keeping His Sabbaths, His appointments, His Feasts, His principles are in harmony. There is no profit in being in servitude to untruths and traditions made up from man. They have no meaning, they do not profit us unto eternal things. As our Brother Jeremiah the prophet is trying to tell us:

O YaHUaH, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge, in the day of distress the nations shall come to you from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them.” YirmeYaHU 16:19

The holidays and traditions that all of Christianity observes today did not originate with Holy One of Israel. He has a serious and everlasting purpose for everything He tells us to do. If we are not doing them, we are foolish, babes on milk, and not wise-hearted and not useful, skillful craftsmen. We will not be assembling the Tabernacle of David ‘in that day.’

So we first return to our Father from where we have been-(make teshuvah), grow wise in learning the foundation (His Torah), the Word in the Beginning (Messiah), then move on to completeness, perfection, and usefulness in His Kingdom.

2 And for the doctrine of immersion, and for the laying on of a hand and for the resurrection from the dead, and for the eternal judgment?

The phrase “everlasting judgment simply means the time of the decision of our Holy Creator that is eternal for us. Judgment, for those cleaving to YaHUaH, Israel, Bride of Messiah, Keepers of His Torah – is to be read as “deliverance”.

3 And this we shall do, if Elohim indeed permits.

If Elohim permits. Permits – is the Greek word epitrepo. It is made up of two words: epi and trape, meaning turn over or transfer. So, back to the notion of being wise-hearted and skillful, being able to do ALL that YaHUaH has commanded us – we shall do, if YaHUaH turns over to us or transfers to us – His attributes and power. Just like previously noted in Exodus, only the wise-hearted will be trusted to do these things. It can be no other way. Father just cannot trust these all important matters to babes. This is not unjust of Father – you would not trust babies with your most important matters either. We do not even let our teenagers drive our cars – why? They are not wise or skillful, or experienced. And yet, we think the Holy One should love us enough to trust us with His eternal matters when we are not mature or wise – this is a recipe for disaster. This, I believe is one reason there is so much strife and contention in the body.

4 But they who have once descended to immersion and have tasted the gift from heaven and have received the Set-apart Spirit

5 and have tasted the good Word of Elohim and the power of the world to come,

6 cannot again sin and a second time be renewed to repentance; or a second time execute him on a stake and insult the Son of Elohim.

Hebrews 10:26-31 (which we will study in a later post) helps us understand this and also going to Torah in Deuteronomy 15.

“For if we sin purposely after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a slaughter [offering] for sins, but some fearsome anticipation of judgment, and a fierce fire which is about to consume the opponents. Anyone who has disregarded the Torah of Mosheh dies without compassion on the witness of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think shall he deserve who has trampled the Son of Elohim underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was set apart as common, and insulted the Spirit of favor? For we know Him who has said, “Vengeance is Mine, I shall repay, says YaHUaH.” And Again, “YaHUaH shall judge His people.” It is fearsome to fall into the hands of the living Elohim. Hebrews 10:26-31

“And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Yisra’el and the stranger who sojourns in their midst, because all the people did it by mistake. And if a being sins by mistake, then he shall bring a female goat a year old as a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement of the being who strays by mistake, when he sins by mistake before YaHUaH, to make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. For him who does [whatever] by mistake there is one Torah, both for him who is native among the children of Yisra’el and for the stranger who sojourns in their midst.”

“But the being who does [whatever] defiantly, whether he is native or a stranger, he reviles YaHUaH, and that being shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of YaHUaH, and has broken His command, that being shall certainly be cut off, his crookedness is upon him.”   Deuteronomy (Bemidbar) 15:26-31

And directly following this particular instruction, we are given a story of a man found gathering sticks on the seventh day Sabbath day of rest, and of his punishment. Coincidence? No such thing with Elohim.

Some definitions for verses 4, 5, & 6:

tasted – eat, taste, experience

heavenly gift – an offering (sacrifice) from above.

become partakers of the Set apart Spirit – this phrase has marriage language written all over it. Become can mean “married to”, partakers can mean “partner”, Set-apart Spirit of course is Messiah Himself in the form of a breath.

So we could say “become partakers of the Set apart Spirit” or “married to our husband Messiah.”

tasted the Good Word of Elohim –  tasted again is “experienced, eaten (reminds me of the Tree of Life, His Torah)”, Word of Elohim: “an utterance, command”. YaHUaH spoke the Torah to Moses and Moses wrote them down for all of creation. Our Messiah spoke the same words as His Father.

“Because I spoke not from Myself, but the Father who sent Me has given Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” John 12:49 is just one example of several.

“and the powers of the world to come” – mighty, wonderful, miraculous work of the age (time period) which is the intention and plan of YaHUaH and is the expectation of all of His people.

7 For ground that is drinking the rain often falling on it, and is bearing plants fit for those by whom it is tilled, receives blessing from Elohim,

8 but if it brings forth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near to being cursed, and ends up by being burned.

The rain is the Spirit of Elohim, we are the ground. Just like the real ground outside our door, when it rains from the sky, that drain is taken in by all the ground it hits. Are we bearing plants, fit for Elohim, or bringing forth thorns and thistles? Elohim rejects thorns and thistles – He has given that ground His Spirit! And that ground is bringing forth something He cannot use, and just a little more and He shall curse that ground and that ground will end up being burned like chaff. This is the person who has received the light of the Messiah, and yet blatantly chooses to not follow the walk of His Instructions, His Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

9 But, concerning you, my Brothers, we are persuaded better things, and things pertaining to life, although we speak in this way.

Sounds like here, Shaul was trying to uplift again, these believers.

10 For Elohim is not unrighteous to forget your works and your charity which you have shown in His Name, in that you have ministered and do minister to the Set Apart believers.

11 And we desire that each one of you may show this same activity for the completion of your hope, even to the end:

12 in order that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through belief and patience inherit the promises.

Verse 12 has been cleaned up a bit. The word seen here as sluggish, faint, slothful, lazy – is a derivative of the word illegitimate or bastard. That is, let us not become as one who is Fatherless. This is also supported by the next part of verse 12 in that he tells us what “to be” instead. Let us be as those who have an inheritance (Abraham and his seed), and do as they did in their lives as we have recorded for us in Scripture of their faith and patience.

13 For Elohim, having promised Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, swore by Himself,

Let us remember that YaHUaH Elohim caused Abraham to fall asleep and He Himself ONLY passed through the blood covenant. The Holy Almighty Creator swore by Himself!

14 saying, “Truly, blessing I shall bless you, and increasing I shall increase you.”

15 And so, after being patient, he obtained the promise.

16 For men swear by one greater than themselves: and in every controversy that occurs among them, the sure termination of it is by an oath.

17 Therefore, Elohim, being abundantly willing to show to the heirs of the promise that His promising was irreversible, bound it up in an oath;

18 so that, by two things which cannot endure alteration, and in which Elohim cannot deceive we, who have earnestly looked for refuge in him, might have great consolation and might hold fast the hope promised to us;

19 which is to us as an anchor that retains our soul so that it stays fixed; and it enters into that within the veil

20 where YaHUsHa has previously entered  for us and has become a Priest forever, according to the order of Malkitsedeq.