What Must Our Focus Be in Hebrew Roots–Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections–63

by | Jun 28, 2016 | Podcasts

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What Must Our Focus Be in Hebrew Roots

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. (2Ti 4:1-5 KJV)

Is our focus in the Faith to such a degree as we'd focus on this drop of fluid?

Is our focus in the Faith to such a degree as we’d focus on this drop of fluid?

  • What must be the focus of the Natsariym? What must be his or her purpose? What is his or her responsibility?
  • Who am I to question such a thing as purpose, focus or even responsibility in our Faith Community
    • Hesitancy to say anything because I am a nobody
  • I submit to you that we have been given a set of marching orders that defines what our focus, purpose and responsibilities are in this Faith of ours
  • Yet it would seem that we are not following suit. It appears that many in our beloved Faith are victims of the “itching ears syndrome” and are off following all kinds of things that have little to nothing to do with that in which the Master has instructed us to focus on
  • What is our responsibility and what is to be our focus and purpose? I submit that the Master outlined it beautifully in the famed “Sermon on the Mount”
    • Everyone knows of this great oratory piece that spans 3-chapters in Matthew’s Gospel
    • It is here that Master sets the rules of the Kingdom and in effect, gives us our marching orders in preparation for the Great Commission which He ultimately delivers at the end of Matthew’s Gospel account
  • A few Sabbaths ago, we were privileged to have gone through this most relevant of passages in the whole of the Holy Writ
  • I would like for the remainder of this “Thoughts and Reflections,” to conduct an overview of this section of the Gospel records and discern what we as Natsariym should be focused upon
  • The problem I am seeing, at least in and around the Hebrew Roots circles I have been associated with, is that we as a community are all over the place in terms of what we do, understand, teach and focus on
Are we focused on stuff that appeals to our itching ears and our shortened attention span?

Are we focused on stuff that appeals to our itching ears and our shortened attention span?

    • As a result, we as a community have made ourselves irrelevant to the world
    • This is problematic: for we are at a crucial crossroads in world history: millions of former Christian adherents are leaving Churchianity in record numbers and thus, we being in such flux and uncertainty in our Faith, I submit to you, that we are missing invaluable and maybe even, once in a lifetime opportunities to show the world the only true path that leads to life; to lead people to the true Faith once delivered to the first century saints by Yeshua Messiah
  • As Natsariym, we know that we should be doing and responding to that which Yeshua taught and modeled
    • Yet Churchianity over the centuries has been erroneously focused primarily upon that which Shaul (Paul) taught
      • Don’t get me wrong, I believe that which Shaul taught is in alignment with the teachings and doctrines of Master Yahshua, but Shaul is not Yeshua–Shaul is not the head of the Body
      • The enemy, in my opinion, has capitalized upon the problems associated with Paul’s writing style (2 Peter 3:15,16). That, in concert with Paul’s considerable influence among the Gentiles who through his ministry and the work of the Ruach Kodesh have been grafted into the commonwealth of the true Faith once delivered, these have falsely presumed and falsely understood the true meaning of much of Shaul’s teachings and as a consequence, have been in many instances, completely thrown off the correct path set forth for us by Master Yahoshua
      • Yet Churchianity has stubbornly refused to return to the teachings of Yeshua Messiah and to Torah-living to gain a firm foundation and understanding as to what we as grafted in believers, should be doing; should be focusing on; should be responsible for
  • Churchianity has postulated over the centuries that there exists a “highway” to heaven–that all one has to do is come just as they are, say a “sinner’s prayer, maybe be dunked in some water and maybe attend a handful of Sunday church services throughout the year
    • There are no responsibilities beyond these to be had by the new convert
  • Sadly, Hebrew Roots has somewhat taken this laissez faire mentality to heart and have applied it in great part to herself and what we now see are people observing the Sabbath (to a greater and lesser degree); observing the feast days (to a lesser and greater degree); and abstaining from pork and shell fish (again, to a lesser and greater degree)
    • But for the Natsariym, that’s where everything seems to stop for the most part
  • I submit to you that Master gave us a great amount of responsibilities and specific things to focus upon
    • And the focus and responsibility He’s given us is not tied to “itching ear” stuff that seems to have gripped our beloved Faith
    • Our Faith is slowly but surely becoming irrelevant (although I don’t have any numbers to prove it apart from my personal observations and research) because we are not laser-focused on doing that which Yahoshua taught and showed us to do
    • Instead of obedience to the teachings of our Master; instead of being true disciples of Master–we find ourselves in many instances, being disciples of self
      • We individually determine what our personal focus and responsibilities and purpose to be
      • And in most cases, we give in to the human propensity for the “itching ears syndrome,” whereby we get bored with the stated purpose and focus of a thing such as the Gospel that Yeshua taught, and instead, we latch on to the latest and greatest and most intriguing subject matter
        • Lunar Sabbaths
        • Flat Earth
        • The 3rd or 4th Temple in Jerusalem
        • The Apocryphal and Forbidden Books not contained in the “authorized” canon of Scripture
        • Messianic Judaism
        • Kabbalah
        • Black Israelitism
        • Modern Israel (the nation that is) Fanatics
        • Sacred Names and Hebrew Names
  • I’ll be the first to admit, in the course of my 12-plus years in this Faith, I’ve dabbled in virtually all of the above and Yah knows whatever else was out there
    • Although when I first came into this Faith, my focus was to learn the tenets of the Faith
      • Those were the best years of my walk with Messiah
      • I grew in obedience and understanding during this period more than anytime in my walk
      • I want to get back to that stage of my life and that is what I am aiming from this time forward to do
      • Focus on that which Master taught us to do and then teach others to do likewise
      • Otherwise, when we default to focusing solely on all of the types of things that I’ve mentioned above, we become like obnoxious and obstinate little children who misbehave while mommy and daddy are away
        • Do we want Master to return and find us not doing that which He commanded us to do? I say absolutely not
          • This goes beyond the above type things–this also applies to being obedient to Torah and not sinning
    • Is dabbling in these things–some of these “itching ear” type topics alway wrong or are they are sinful? Absolutely not (although some do cross the line over into paganism and man made traditions and dogmas
      • But when we focus our whole attentions to these and other such things and ignore our core values and purpose in the Faith, we will invariably start to move away from the Faith; which ultimately will diminish our witness and hinder our effective walk with Messiah
      • Proper focus on the things Master has directed us to do will ground us and get us into a “Kingdom of Yahovah” mindset that will prepare us for Master’s return and our effectiveness and success in the Great Commission
  • So, what exactly are we to focus on?
  • This topic is so huge and voluminous and relevant. Yet, I don’t wish to turn this into a burdensome dissertation that robs you of your individuality and joy in the Faith
    • I only wish to reflect and provide my thoughts on a problem that I see in our Faith and in our community and to provide some corrective content that I personally will be immediately incorporating into my daily walk with Master and that I believe are relevant for our beloved Faith corporately
    • Everything that I am considering in this episode is coming directly from the Bible–coming actually from the mouth of Master Yeshua
What did Yeshua tell us to focus on? Are we doing it?

What did Yeshua tell us to focus on? Are we doing it?

  1. Ideally, subsist in a humble, always dependent upon Father attitude (5:3)
  2.  Always mindful of our past and our need for the provisions set forth by Father for today and the future (5:4)
  3. Remaining ever so gentle and teachable (5:5)
  4. Remain always thirsty and hungry for truth and righteousness (5:6)
  5. Merciful towards others in our day-to-day lives (5:7)
  6. Live transparently; our actions and our thoughts and our purpose be transparent and pure (5:8)
  7. In everything we do, always seek after peace and in effect, be peacemakers (5:9)
  8. Be sold out to Master and His way of life, such that we defy the norms of our society (not in a creepy or suspicious or evil way) and we are set apart from the world, ready and willing to be persecuted and judged by the world for our Faith (5:10)
    1. Are we in the proper place in our respective lives to be able to do this?
  9. Be salt and light to a lost and dying world (5:13-16)
    1. salt acts as a seasoning and preservative–thus we are obliged to safeguard the truth that is in us and to properly dispense that truth to a dying world
    2. light illuminates and makes one’s path visible and prevents stumbling–thus we must be examples to the world as to the proper path each soul must take in order to obtain life–live lives such that men are drawn to us and that point the world to Yeshua Messiah
  10. Be Torah observant Yeshua-style (5:17-48)
    1. In order to be Torah observant, we must know Torah
      1. Getting sidetracked with the itching ear stuff that has taken over our beloved Faith will rob us of valuable time that should be used to learn and apply Torah to our lives
    2. This alone will take a lifetime to master!!!!!
    3. Practice obedience to Torah which embodies justice, mercy and equality (7:12)
  11. Practice forgiveness (6:14-16; Luke 6:37)
  12. Fast Regularly (6:17,18)
  13. Maintain a positive and responsive perspective in life where focus is on spirituality (6:19-23)
  14. Maintain a trusting faith in Father entirely for our substance and sustenance (6:24-34)
    1. Subordinate ambitions, carer, possessions to the service of Yahovah
  15. Practice self-assessment over judgment and criticism of others (7:1-5; Luke 6:37)
  16. Safeguard the Word (7:6)
    1. Sanctify it
    2. Regard the Word as holy
    3. Discriminate the sharing of the Word with others such that it is not squandered
  17. Turn over reliances and needs to the Father (7:7-23)
  18. Learn, obey and imitate Yahoshua’s teachings teachings–read, re-read, study, meditate on the Bible (7:24-27)
  19. Seek this Kingdom life and the righteousness that is maintained, determined and required of all by Yahoshua Messiah (6:33)
    1. Be giving and generous (Luke 6:30)
    2. This encapsulates much of this whole focus matrix
    3. Requires constant punching of the Bible to figure out how we are to be obedient to these instructions of our Master
  20. Love one another (John 13:34,35 and Luke 6:27)
  21. Make disciples of the nations of the world (Matt. 28:19)
  22. Above all, bear good frujit; do that which is good; feed the hungry; help the needy; visit the prisoner; clothe the naked (Luke 7:43,44)
  • If we simply focused on these, let’s say 22-teachings and instructions of Yeshua, we would have little to no time to worry about the other extra-curricular activities that seem to captured much of our community’s attention these days
    • More people will come into the true Faith once delivered
    • More good works will be accomplished
    • Our community and Faith will be so tight and inviting and point the way to the path that leads to life and salvation and away from the broad smooth path that leads to destruction
    • Our walk with Messiah will be more fulfilling and responsive
    • We will grow spiritually beyond imagination
  • At the base of Mount Sinai, we were given a most auspicious and unique opportunity. That opportunity, up to that time, was never offered to any other peoples of the world. Yet Father, in His infinite wisdom, chose a people who were from the lineage of Abraham to be His people. And not just a people. A people to serve a purpose for the Creator of the Universe:
    Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exo 19:3-6 KJV)
    • Thus, Father chose us, took us unto Himself and proposed (i.e., a marriage proposal) to us at the base of that mountain. We were given the unique opportunity to say yes or no to His proposal. And what a proposal it was: Not just to be called or seen as Father’s favorite, or as He coined, His peculiar treasure–a treasure–valued above all people–but also to be His representatives and example to all the peoples of the world–that is, to become a kingdom of priests and by default a holy–set apart–nation
  • So the proposal was given to us and we did not hesitate to say yes:  7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD. (Exo 19:7-8 KJV)
  • So the the marriage covenant was made between Father and us on that day at the base of Mount Sinai
  • But we cheated; we adulterated; we violated the tenets of that covenant–over and over again
  • Yeshua came to repair that breached marriage covenant and those of us outside of Israel were also invited to be part of that renewed marriage covenant: 6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13 In that he saith, A new covenant , he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. (Heb 8:6-13 KJV)
    • One thing we know from years of research is that when one party in the marriage partnership places their focus and interests in places that are not in the best interests of the marriage relationship, that marriage is often destined for problems if not divorce at some point
    • The focus must always be on keeping the relationship viable, healthy, loving, caring and the like
  • We cannot confuse dabbling in quasi-religious topics, issues and matters as being focused or having a sense of purpose or as fulfilling our responsibilities in this Faith…if anything, when our focus crosses the line of not devoting time to develop the relationship such that we focus on the things that we’ve discussed prior, it is full on distraction–itching ears. And that eventually causes us to become numb and disinterested in sound doctrine
    • It’s a prescription for problems in the covenant relationship and violation of our unique call
  • Yeshua is returning for a holy assemblage of believers who He will designate as His bride: Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. (Eph 5:25-28 KJV)
  • Shaul teaches that we must be holy in every respect: he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Eph 1:4-6 KJV)
  • How can we achieve the level of holiness that Master is requiring at His return if we spend our days focusing on empty spiritual caloric foods such as those we discussed earlier? Such a requirement for holiness demands focus on the things that Master has given us to focus on and do
  • What has been my focus the last several years?  Recently? More importantly, what will be my focus as it relates to my Faith and my walk with my Master?
    • Yes, I am sad to admit that I’ve dabbled in a lot of “itching ears” stuff and have not devoted the time and gray matter to the things that matter the most
    • I’ve been convicted of this fault and I will be much more focused upon learning and doing that which Master Yahoshua taught and commanded of us. Furthermore, I purpose to do whatever I possibly can to pass what I learn to others as the Father provides the opportunities and means
    • Have I been distracted with the latest itching ears dogma? Absolutely. Do such things still capture my attention and imagination? Absolutely
      • But I know now that I must learn to put all of that itching ear stuff in their proper perspective and not allow it to take over the limited time and gray matter that should otherwise be given over to serious discipleship training and working the great commission
  • How about you? Are you caught up in the itching syndrome. Is your focus, as it has been mine and countless fellow Natsariym?
    • The times at hand and ahead of us demand that we re-purpose and re-focus and be about our Father’s business
    • Are you with me?
Until next time fellow saints in training, stay blessed and Torah Observant–Yeshua-style. Shavuatov. Shalom.
Faithfully submitted, Rod Thomas

The Mixing of Seeds in our Faith–Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections–Episode-62

by | Jun 20, 2016 | Podcasts

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The Mixing of Seeds in our Faith

Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections–62

  • Torah Studies came across Deut. 22:9-11 where it talks about the mixing of seed and the mixing of fabrics and the mixing of animals to till the soil
    • You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together. (ESV)
    • A companion passage to this Deuteronomic passage is Leviticus 19:19: Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. (KJV)   
  • Read multiple times
  • Failed to see the relevance since I’m not a farmer
    • the clothing aspect makes absolutely no sense to many in both houses of Christianity and Judaism
    • the mixing of seed simply put is don’t plant different seeds in the same hole of dirt
    • the yoking of different species of beasts of burden, however, seems to resonate with most Christians however and at least we see truth–at the very least–in part reaching a rather large segment of the world
      • Although Christians might have some modicum of spiritual understanding here–although most have no idea that the concept that Paul talks about being unequally yoked in 2 Corinthians is based upon this passage of Torah because the Church doesn’t realize it in most cases–they still fail to be obedient in exercising this instruction
  • Pretty good guess that much of the world today has no clear understanding of the relevance of this concept of mixing seed, mixing animals and fabric, regardless if you are Christian, Catholic or Jew
  • Truth of the matter is that there is significant relevance here in these 3 brief sentences, more so to the Natsariym, than any other people of faith in this world
  • The thing that we as Natsariym must be acutely aware of is that Torah in and of itself is Father’s instruction book for life on this planet
Mixing fabrics is demonstrative of mixing spiritual influences in our lives

Mixing fabrics is demonstrative of mixing spiritual influences in our lives

    • When Torah was given to us in the Sinai, much of the instruction was given in terms of agricultural meanings
    • Much of it was given to us in preparation for our entering the land of promise
    • To those of us living in those times, all of the instruction provided by Yahovah would have been readily and very easily understood by us, for we all would have had extensive agricultural experience
  • Today, a great deal of the instruction handed down to us in Torah is foreign and not easily understood. And much of that which is understood is often discarded as having absolutely no relevance to us today–so we quickly read past or even over these amazing passages of truth
    • In doing so–going past or reading over passages of Torah–we miss essential instructions for Torah Living Yeshua-style (as opposed to Rabbi-style)
  • But the truth of the matter is that Father in His infinite wisdom made Torah relevant to anyone who has an ear to hear, eyes to see and a heart and mind to receive
The yoking of different beasts of burden denotes our fellowshiping with those not of our Faith

The yoking of different beasts of burden denotes our fellowshiping with those not of our Faith

    • Probably one of the greatest reasons Christians and even most Jews reject the applicability of Torah today–apart from Christians citing the erroneous mantra that the Law was done away with at the cross of Mithra and that Jesus kept Torah perfectly so that they don’t have to–apart from Jews just not caring anymore about their beloved Faith and mixing the seeds of secularism into their heritage and faith–is that they are unwilling to open themselves up to the teachings of Master Yahshua and the revelation and leading of the Ruach Kodesh and see the bigger picture at play here
      • indeed, blindness in part that Shaul wrote about in Romans 11:25
    • You see, when we were learning how to live Yah’s way as we wondered in the Sinai in preparation for entering the land, we were as children having had little to no upbringing
    • Father in His infinite wisdom realized this and simply gave us His instructions for living as it would apply to us in our present state
      • We couldn’t handle more than milk at the time
      • Adding a spiritual and general life application to Torah would have simply resulted in information overload
        •  I’m a firm believer that Father touches us in whatever place we are found at the time to deliver to us His Word and His instructions
        • Are we in a position to receive and obey those instructions, that is the billion dollar question
      • And even after 3,500-years, Jews (really Israeli’s) still are subsisting–if we can really call it subsisting since they pretty much all but reject Torah–on the milk of Torah which the Rabbis have taken and denatured, re-processed, and reformulated into the Talmud and Mishnah–the so-called wall around Torah
        • Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. 12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
           (Mar 7:1-13 KJV)
      • Father never instructed or required us to erect walls around Torah, although the original intention might have been noble. Nevertheless, it served only to bring about a different Faith–actually a religion–that would lead a wandering nation down a path towards destruction–away from Yahovah–out of and away from his will
  • The amazing truth of the matter folks is that Christianity and even Judaism has failed to see one of the greatest aspects of Master Yeshua’s earthly ministry and that was to show us how to live Torah the way Father had always intended
The Mixing of seeds denotes the mixing of truth and fiction/paganism/traditions

The Mixing of seeds denotes the mixing of truth and fiction/paganism/traditions

    • That is to take us away from the milk of baseline Torah living, manifested in mindless-rote Torah obedience–based not on love of or for Father, but out of fear or out of tradition (that is because I was raised a Jew or raised a Baptist)
      • In that sense, yes, the Law has been done away with–for Yeshua has greatly raised the stakes folks or Torah living
        •  27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. 33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Mat 5:27-48 KJV)
    •  Both Jew and Christian have failed to clearly see and understand this simple Truth
    • Torah in its broadest application was intended to help us build that true–thriving–flourishing–and powerful relationship with the Father that only just a handful of people who have ever lived have experienced
      • These are true friends of Yah, not just adherents to a Faith that is often fraught with the mixing of seed
  • It is my humble opinion that the reason we fail to experience a true relationship with Father–that our day-to-day lives are often fraught with problems and challenges–that we are so confused about who and what we are–often doing that which we should never do–is because our lives and our Faith is tainted with mixed seed–mixed relationships–mixed loyalties–mixed everything
    • Very little in our lives is ever pure and undefiled
    • And that defilement–that mixture is the work of hasatan who began his destructive work of mixing seed in the garden and from that point forward, the world has gone into complete and utter disrepair
      • But Master is returning and He has been given the authority to return the world to the state that it was originally made to be by Father–when He said “it is good”
  • Father made everything after its own kind–he did not make hybrids to function on this earthly plain
    • Although He is making us hybrids from the perspective that we are human beings with Father’s precious Ruach HaKodesh dwelling within us
      • But that is only temporary, for we will be translated into a pure and unimaginable to man:  45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (1Co 15:45-54 KJV)
  • The concept of Seed=Literal seed that produces fruits and vegetables, is also likened unto the Word of the Creator
    • Horrendous problems with the mixing of seeds as we see today in GMO’s and other hybrid agriculture
      • Health issues
      • Father did not provide for an alteration in his setup for agriculture and thus in so doing, man is in complete and utter violation of Torah
    • The Master taught us about the spreading of the Word and likened it unto seed. But we know that when the Word of Yahovah is diluted with incompatible teachings, doctrines and beliefs as we saw in the Judaism of our Master’s day (and even in the Judaism of our day), all that comes out of this mixing of truth with fiction and paganism and man made dogma is a holy mess that leads people away from the Creator and over to the enemy
      • Christianity–Protestantism; then Catholicism (really good example); Judaism, as we saw in Messiah’s day–all took the framework of Torah and the Tanak and the writings of the Apostles and introduced paganism–pagan beliefs, teachings and doctrines–even in modern day Messianic Judaism, we see how that Faith has detoured from the true Faith once delivered because of the emphasis on manmade doctrine mixed with just a slight smattering of Torah-truth
      • Christmas being the birthday of Jesus Christ–but the original holiday has nothing to do with the birth of the Messiah
      • Easter Sunday being the Day our Lord and Saviour was resurrected when in reality the day denotes pagan Babylonian practices and mythology
    • The Word of the Creator, especially His Torah, must remain pure and unsullied of the whims and imaginations and personal ambitions of man. The only person who was permitted to address Torah from the perspective of application and truth was Yeshua Messiah who changed nothing from the original teachings, but demonstrated and taught us the original intent of the Torah so that we would live in accordance with the desires and requirements of our Creator–such that we may establish and maintain a true and meaningful relationship with Him
  • Yoking together different beasts of burden=certainly has practical applications associated with it, but from a more spiritual perspective, it beautifully crosses over into relationships
    • There are concerns in rabbinic teaching that this prohibition was intended to show compassion for the beasts tilling the soil, given that two different animal species would not operate in the same manner and create a mess
      • Father never intended again the mixing of animal species, be it in reproduction or in use
    • This is probably one of the most challenging of the 3 prohibitions with spiritual applications: for our carnal nature pulls us to establish and maintain relationships with individuals who do not share our Faith. It is these unequally yoked relationships that have the tendency of:
      • pulling us away from the purity of the Faith by pushing us to compromise our convictions
      • compromise in our obedience to Father’s instructions because we simply don’t want to hurt or harm peoples’ feelings or we just feel comfortable with certain people and we’re willing to compromise just so that we are not inconvenienced
      •  or how about those in our circles who might be members of our Faith and even our Faith community who for whatever reason or manner simply don’t add positively to our walk with Messiah–these cause problems in the assembly and cause our walk to be compromised?
    • Paul taught a Torah principle here: 2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?  
  • Linen and Wool=some contend, as I found in www.ourrabbijesus.com, that the prohibition of wool and linen had to do with restricting two items of clothes worn by the Levitical Priests–on item made of wool and another made with linen–restricting those items from the lay folk and keeping them solely in the domain of the priests. But a careful read of Deu. 22:11 indicates that “you shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.”
    • This verse to me is saying that the fabric that a single cloth is made from can not be made of wool and linen; as we have today with our clothes being made of a mixture of polyester, wool, cotton and other items
    • Interestingly enough, and I agree with ucg.org’s take on this issue, science has revealed that certain mixtures of fabrics can cause imbalances in our bodies such as raising body temperatures or causing other physiological imbalances
    • To me, then, this could tie into mixing spiritual influences in our lives–when we walk this walk, are we introducing spiritual influences into our being, psyche, heart and mind that can detract from our overall Godly spiritual wellbeing?
  • Bottom line Saints: Torah requires that we not take Father’s creation and alter it–that we not mess around with nature. Furthermore, we are not to mess around with His Word and the Faith that was brought to us by Yeshua Messiah
    • Yet man has taken the manipulation of nature to the greatest level known in history
      • GMOs are now mainstream in our food stores
      • things that we consume are also made in labs
      •  human organs and tissues are being grown in pigs as well as well as they are being manipulated through the mixing in of technology–computer chips and the like–as well as mixing DNA from animals in with the DNA of humans
      • is it not understandable then that we have such widespread physical and psychological problems in the world today?
    • But then we have the mixing of spiritual and faith-related things. We have the Faith once delivered being mixed with paganism and manmade agendas and beliefs and the like. People are taking the Word of the Almighty and mixing in concepts and man made traditions, dogma and beliefs. The end result is a bastardization of the truth that only comes from Yahovah
      • What about the things that many in our Faith have latched on to that have no Torah-basis whatsoever such as lunar sabbaths and other foolish dogmas that are mixed in with the truth of Scripture?
        • The end result is that we have members of our community utterly clueless of what they are supposed to do; they are heavily distracted; they are completely misaligned and are only taking their lives down a path of certain doom and destruction
    • In our personal walk with Yahshua Messiah, we mix in carnal living with Torah living. The end result is that we live compromised lives that are not in alignment with Torah living. Many of us align ourselves with people that are not  true believers of Yeshua Messiah
      •  Shaul warned us to not be partakers with them–Ephesians 5:7
      • He further admonished us to not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness–all types of entertainment; relationships; careers; behaviors; social norms; belief systems–Ephesians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 5:9; 1 John 1:6
  • I believe the mixing of seeds–be they of nature or of food or of clothing–violates Torah. At the same time, the mixing of spiritual, relational and biblical seed not only violates the spirit of Torah, but also compromises our witness and our walk with Messiah
  • We must constantly be on guard not to mix seed in our Torah living–that is Torah Living Yeshua-style
    • We can not afford to give one inch to the enemy who seeks to take away that which we’ve gained
    • to take advantage of the cares of this world to rob us of our focus
    • that we be fully sidetracked and invested in the world such that when times of trouble come, we stumble and fall away from the Faith
  • May our testimony remain forever intact through our refusal to allow the mixing of seed in all and in every aspect of our lives
  • Master taught of the principle of the Word of Yahovah being planted in the lives of potential believers through the parables of the sower and the seeds found in Matthew 13:10-53; Mark 4:10-34; and Luke 8:9-18
    • Master provided 4-scenarios for the direction that the planting of the Word in our lives could go–it’s that mixture of the variables of this life into the pure seed base which is the Word that sullies and makes of no effect the fruit that should be manifested in our lives
    • (1) the planting of the pure Word fails to penetrate our thick skulls in the first place and any chance of a firm implantation is removed by hasatan who comes and steals the word away from us (the wayside)
    • (2) we receive the unadulterated seed in our lives and we intend to allow that seed to germinate and manifest in good fruit (i.e., good works) in our lives, but when hard times come we are offended (or maybe better stated–we stumble and depart from the way (the stony ground)
    • (3) then there are those of us where the pure seed–the Word takes hold within us, but the cares of life (e.g., the desire for wealth, career, relationships, power, status, making it, lusts, etc.) strangle and choke away any chance of viable fruit being manifested in our lives (thorny ground)
      • It is this mixture of elements that prevent us from ever having a fair chance in our Spirit Walk and Torah Living
  • But then, some of us find ourselves at a place in life whereby the pure-unadulterated Word of Truth and Life is able to take hold in firm fertile soil within us: strong and viable roots take hold and the Ruach is allowed to till and weed and nurture that which has been revealed to us to the point where luscious, beautiful and wonderful fruit is manifested in our lives and our walk with Messiah and our relationship with the Almighty is beyond that of any others in the world–we become true friends of Yahovah–His amazing workmanship–His treasured possession–the culmination of His purpose and desire for mankind
  • If we take the parable of the sower at face value, less than 25% of us will ever manifest this fruit in the world.
    • These will be gathered into the barn in a great joyful harvest (Matthew 13:30)
    • The other 75% will be gathered and bundled and burned–the tares as Master described them
  • Father is insistent upon His people being pure and not hybrids of this world. He’s calling for purity of heart; purity of mind; purity of behavior–to such an extent that we achieve the original goal and purpose of Torah, the covenant and the working of the Ruach Kodesh in our lives: 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exo 19:5-6 KJV)
  • In so achieving that goal and purpose, let us be careful not to allow mixtures to invalidate our witness in the world, otherwise we lose the whole ball of wax. Master taught:
    • “Take heed and listen carefully: Whoever obeys, to him shall more be given. Whoever does not obey, even what he seems to have will be taken away from him” (Luke 8:18, CKJV)
Stay within His perfect will and may you be most blessed Fellow Saints in Training–Shavuatov and Shalom
Faithfully submitted by Rod Thomas

The Value of Life According to Yahovah–Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections 59

by | Jun 7, 2016 | Podcasts

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The Value of Life According to Yahovah

Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections 59

My daily Torah studies brought me to Deuteronomy 20. This chapter, in general, discusses the Father’s perspective on warfare. As I launched into this chapter, recalling the previous 19-Deuteronomic chapters that I’d read, I found that I had what I would call a self-generated, preconceived notion of Father’s view on dealing with the enemies of His people. For I was pretty sure the Father’s perspective on war against the enemies of His chosen people would be pretty cut and dry–no tolerance; no mercy; wipe them out at all costs. But after reading this and other chain-references to this chapter, I found that I must repent. Yes, I said I find that I must repent. Sadly, I believe my preconceived notions of Father’s perspective on war against the enemies of His people may have been fashioned and built upon the erroneous and satanically inspired fundamental Churchianity notion that the so-called “God of the Old Testament” was a merciless tyrant who cared little if at all for the lives of those whom He did not own. I recall discussions with a former boss of mine–a self-professing fundamentalist–who struggled within her being about the persona of the so-called “God of the Old Testament.” And allow me to say that she possessed the likely majority opinion of a dichotomous–dual nature God held by a great majority of Christians around the world. The “God of the Old Testament” (who they believe to be Jesus Christ) under this dualistic paradigm was a tyrant–mean, intolerant, racist and hateful; while the “God of the New Testament”–Jesus Christ–both walking the earth and ruling in heaven at the same time–was diametrically opposite to His Old Testament counterpart–even though He’s the same being–exhibiting and advocating love, forgiveness, inclusiveness and just being a nice God. And although I, in principle, rejected this general churchianity perspective, I apparently held on to some of that dualistic perspective in that I believed that the Creator was tyrannical and intolerant and saw little value in the life of Israel’s enemies.

But after studying this chapter, I found that this perspective was far from true. Father, in the midst of war against the enemies of Israel, held that life–the life of the enemy and the life of an Israeli soldier newly wed was ultimately sacrosanct. The 20th chapter of Deuteronomy addressed Father’s instructions as it related to Israel going to war against her foreign enemies. Father’s perspectives on war as presented in this chapter fly in the face of man’s views and practices related to war and the various players of war. I believe that Hertz’s summary of this chapter best explains Father’s position on war:

“Israel is bidden to display human kindness even in wartime: thus, the betrothed is to be exempt from service; offers of peace are to be made to every city attacked; and fruit-trees are not to be destroyed during a siege. The conduct of war is to be guided by reason and mercy. Israelite kings were famed for their humanity (I Kings 20:31); while contemporary Assyrian monarchs delighted in inhuman savagery and made it a rule to devastate forests and cultivated fields; Isaiah 14:8.” (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, Hertz, Soncino Press)

Now most of us in the Faith will likely not face the horrors and inhumanities of war anytime soon. Nevertheless, as in many areas of Torah, there is a larger, greater spiritual application of this passage that we must consider and that has to do with the sanctity of life. If Father made provision for soldiers, fruit trees and even an enemy’s life to be valued in the midst of war, how can we who are outside of the environs of war not recognize the sanctity of life as Father does? Today, as in every time period in human history, the value of human life is diminishing by the day. Beyond the general news feeds that give us the daily statistics of murders transpiring in and around this nation’s major cities; beyond the 125,000 abortions per day that occur around the world; beyond the 75,000 yearly euthanasia deaths that occur in the U.S.; there are untold numbers of murders that occur around the globe each year at the hands of terrorists, criminal organizations and world governments. Thus the value of human life has fallen to an all time low. Just in this country alone, hundreds of people are murdered each day in some of our major cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington DC, and New Orleans where black-on-black crime is almost immeasurable. Why do I say immeasurable? Because the federal, state and local governments turn a blind eye to the problem; the communities are forced to hide or ignore the problem out of fear and intimidation; the perpetrators are often indiscriminate as it relates to the murders they perpetrate, and because their criminal activities are staged in response to a larger criminal enterprise that they host, such as drugs and prostitution and the black market, the murders they perpetrate go unrevealed and unsolved. Yet our world is unwilling and seemingly unable to handle this problem of the devaluation of human life. Some have taken upon themselves the monumental task of addressing this enormous problem, but those efforts either have utterly failed or have been completely destroyed by evil individuals who have infiltrated and hijacked these one-time well-meaning organizations as a means of creating chaos, death and destruction in various communities of our nation.

Take “Black Lives Matter” for instance. Currently, this is a militant organization that came into existence in the aftermath of a number of tragic shooting deaths of black youths by white men–some police officers and one a white citizen acting in the capacity of a security guard. Certainly the nascent cause/purpose of “Black Lives Matter” highlighted injustices in many black communities of this nation whereby black youths were being beaten and quite often shot and killed in unacceptable numbers by those in positions of authority and power in our society. This group at first served the noble purpose of shedding light on this most serious of societal problems–that poverty, crime and the lack of sound and healthy family and societal structures continue to drive many black youths into inevitable confrontations with the law and law enforcement in turn finding itself ill-equipped to deal with this problem apart from resorting to deadly force to quell the immediate problem.

Black Lives Matter Protest

Black Lives Matter Protest

Black Lives Matter Protest

However, the organization got grossly side-tracked when it failed to address the bigger problem of black-on-black violence and the causes of this overwhelmingly incurable problem; and it allowed “thugs and malcontents” to take control of the direction and practices of the group. The leadership of “Black Lives Matter,” supposedly in principle showing profound concern for the lives of the members of the above stated black communities,” has of late embarked upon a course of nullifying the lives of anyone who does not see things the way they see things in this world. As a consequence, “Black Lives Matter” has become an intolerably violent organization bent upon total societal discord and destruction; intimidation; hatred; racism, overt criminal activity; even at times denying the general public their basic human rights. The organization has adopted a “scorched earth” policy that endorses the destruction of many of the communities it claims to be supporting–mainly poor-criminally plagued black communities and their infrastructures–at times seeking to harm those who do not adopt the organization’s ideals and practices. Such an organization has absolutely no biblical basis and as such is destined to be simply another tool of the enemy to join with the rest of the world’s efforts to devalue human life, destroy the world and reject the Creator of the Universe and His instructions (i.e., His Torah) for mankind. You see, if Torah and the teachings of Yeshua Messiah aren’t effectively factored into the equation, the enemy will have free reign to get in there and destroy that organization, regardless how noble that organization’s original purpose and goal may appear to the world.

The Bible suggests that the devaluation of life will only get worse as we sprint towards the end times. Unfortunately, it would appear that there’s not much that we can do about it from our position as true Believers in Y’shua Messiah. But I believe what we can do is to value every life that we come into contact with to such a degree that we highlight, through Torah Living Yeshua-style, Father’s commandments regarding the value of all human life to a lost and dying world. We can not call ourselves disciples of Messiah if we despise our wayward cousins in fundamental christianity. We can not call ourselves disciples of Messiah if we advocate and stay silent on the issue of abortion in this country. We can not call ourselves Torah Observant Believers in Y’shua Messiah if we maintain unwarranted ought against our brother and sister simply because they hurt our feelings or because we just don’t like people.

This what I’ve just said applies to me just as much as it applies to the whole of our community. I, above anyone, am grappling with my carnal nature that seeks to avoid people at all costs simply because I inherently don’t care for people. I just don’t have the love for human life that Father requires us to have. Nevertheless, over the last few years, I’ve been convicted of this shortcoming and stronghold, and I am fighting, with the help of the Ruach Kodesh to throw off this old nature that cares little people and fully adopt that new nature that values life in every respect.

I’ve always advocated that we must be Torah Observant/Torah Obedient, but Torah Obedient and Observant Yahoshua-style. Everything that our Master taught and demonstrated to us had a firm Torah foundation attached to it. Unfortunately, churchianity fails to understand and teach this crucial principle. Churchianity vehemently contends that we must not, under any circumstances, follow, keep or observe The Law: for if we do, we will have fallen from their hijacked doctrine of grace and have nullified Christianity’s Pauline-based (erroneously conceived)  Greek-based religion of “Lawlessness.” And we all know that sin is defined as the “violation of Torah.” (Reference Matthew 23:28; 24:12; 1 John 3:4; Romans 6:19; Ephesians 5:1-11) What was it that Shaul wrote regarding Torah and sin:

“Therefore, what are we to say? That the Torah is sinful? Heaven forbid! Rather, the function of the Torah was that without it, I would not have known what sin is. For example, I would not have become conscious of what greed is if the Torah had not said, “Thou shalt not covet.” (Romans 7:7, CJB)

Master taught His Father’s principle of the sacrosanctness of human life and how we as His disciples must behave and view human life:

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil (that is, resist not him that is evil), but whosoever shall smite thee on they right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain (that is, go with him two). Give to him that asketh thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard it hath been said (and bear in mind saints, when you read where Master started off a thought with the phrase, you have heard it said, Master is referring to the traditions and the teachings of man, not Torah–not the Law–we must always keep that in mind whenever we study the teachings of our Master)–Continuing–Ye have heard it hath been said thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; (interestingly, the old concept of a hateful, angry god of the Old Testament seemingly melts away here in this passage under the teachings of Master Yahoshua HaMaschiach). Continuing–for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust (that is, Father is no respecter of person–He values all human life–the difference with us, however, is that we are his valued possession and He especially loves us). Continuing: For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect (that is “telios” in the Greek which means to bring to an end or to finish; to want for nothing; to complete). Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:38-48, KJV)

I have a long way to go in my journey to fully realize and practice that which Father commanded us regarding the sanctity of life. I can see that I’ve made tremendous strides in my life, thanks be to the Ruach Kodesh and Father’s mercy. But I see that, in some respects, our community goes a long ways towards invalidating the value of life as we often tend to be highly dismissive of those who are not of like-mind with us. Furthermore, and as we saw in a portion of Master’s teaching in this passage of Matthew, we tend to be steeped in the Rabbinic interpretation of Torah such that we despise all who are not like us. Yeshua came and changed all that and has called us to Teshuva: return to the true Faith once delivered and to Torah. Let us take Father’s perspective on the sanctity of life and go forth and do that which our Master has ordained as His disciples to do: to value human life so much that we hesitate not to go forth and make disciples of all nations, teaching them that which Master taught us to do; to obey Torah Yeshua-style; and to maintain His testimony in our lives for the world to see. This Greatest of all Commissions places a value on human life that is beyond human measure. Thus, it is our opportunity to share the same care for human life that Father possesses.

Be most blessed fellow saints in training. Shalom and shavuatov.

 

Pope Francis and the Spirit of Anti-Messiah–Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections–Episode 58

by | May 31, 2016 | Podcasts

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Pope Francis and the Spirit of Anti-Christ/Anti-Messiah

This is Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections–Episode 58

Certainly of late, the news has been aflutter with reports of Islamic Extremism and horrifying-violent acts of Jihadi assertiveness spreading throughout the European theater; and the members of these European nations seemingly incapable, and more and more apparently, seemingly unwilling to do anything to take control and contain this growing threat to each nation’s sovereignty and security. And if this situation were not disturbing and unsettling enough, we come upon stories in the non-conforming media of Pope Francis—Jorge Mario Bergoglio, indirectly equating these violent, aggressive acts against the citizens of many European countries with the Great Commission that our Master Yahoshua put before us as he concluded His time here on earth with us. (Matthew 28:18-20) And when I first came across these articles, I had a difficult time believing what I was reading and we’ll get more into the crux of these articles in just a second. But I want you first to bear in mind who the Pope—or better, the Papacy—is supposed to be and represent to the world and to the Catholic Church that he is suppose to oversee. According to Wikipedia, Pope is defined and described as follows:

“The Pope (Latin: papa from Greek: πάππας pappas,[1] a child’s word for “father”)[2] is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church.[3] The primacy of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the traditional successor to Saint Peter, to whom Jesus is supposed to have given the keys of Heaven and the powers of “binding and loosing”, naming him as the “rock” upon which the church would be built.”

Pope Francis--The Bishop of Rome--The Vicar of Christ

Pope Francis–The Bishop of Rome–The Vicar of Christ

Furthermore, the Catholic Church has placed an additional title upon the man holding the office of pope as the so-called “Vicar of Christ,” that according to Wikipedia: “a vicar is an “earthly representative of God or Christ” and the title is now used in Catholicism to refer to the bishops[2] and more specifically to the Bishop of Rome (the pope).”

Keeping in mind that the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church have virtually nothing in common with Hebrew Roots and the true Faith once delivered to the first century saints, it still boggles the mind that a man who is revered throughout the world as the “end all to be all”—the absolute leader and teacher of the Roman Catholic Church, would make such an outrageous analogy. His very title—the Vicar of Christ, allegedly places him in Jesus Christ’s stead here on earth. In other words, He is Christ here on earth while Christ Himself resides in heaven. What comes with that is the infallibility of the pope and his office in terms of creating and pushing down to the masses Catholic doctrines, teachings and traditions. It’s quite a narcissistic thing when you think about it. Here you have a man who places himself on an equal plane with the Savior and in so doing, he is able to rewrite and even replace the primacy of the bible as it relates to the lives of the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world today. (BBC census) Thus one would naturally think that the Vicar of Christ would get things like the Great Commission of Matthew 28 right, or at least place the concept of the Great Commission within a perspective of spreading the message of Yeshua around the world. Certainly, the Great Commission—the true commission, could not be even remotely compared to the Islamic movement that is currently happening in our world today.

And let me just say before we go any further: as it relates to the Great Commission, the true purpose of the so-called Great Commission was and continues to be for the true followers of Messiah to go to the nations of the world and make disciples and teach those new disciples what Yeshua taught us—His faithful followers. The Catholic Church sees the Great Commission, which they’ve termed “ad gentes” or literally “to the nations,” from a standpoint of missionary work—be that what they call stationary or foreign missionaries. In either case, it is that missionary’s duty (applying to the Church as a whole) to “continue the mission of Jesus.” (Catechetical Sunday, 9/22/09, “The Great Commission: Ad Gentes”) Is the Catholic Church’s understanding of the Great Commission consistent with the Bible’s explanation of the Great Commission? I’d say, ideally yes. But from a practical standpoint and looking back at history, the Catholic Church’s handling or practice of the Great Commission—or in the Church’s parlance, ad gentes—has swayed greatly from the true Biblical standard. We all are aware of the Catholic Church’s bloody history and the way she carried out the ad gentes—which was to conform or die. In a broad sense, it was all about conquest, which is exactly what Pope Francis referred to when he contrasted Islam and the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. So I’m led to believe, off the cuff, that Francis was referring to the Catholic Church’s version of the Great Commission and not the true, biblical concept of the Great Commission.

So what exactly did Francis say regarding the Great Commission and the spreading of Christianity throughout the world? Francis’ comments are recorded in an article written by Kit Daniels, dated 05/19/2016, entitled: “Pope Francis Likens Jesus to ISIS: Says Muslims Must Breed with Europeans—Francis claims ISIS similar to Jesus sending His disciples to all nations.” Mr. Daniel’s article is actually a reiteration of an article in La Croix, a French newspaper. Francis is quoted as saying: “Today, I don’t think that there is a fear of Islam as such but of ISIS and its war of conquest, which is partly drawn from Islam. It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam, however, it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus sends His disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest.”

Did you get that? “…it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew’s Gospel (I’m thinking he’s referring to the Great Commission passage found in Matthew 28:19) where Jesus sends His disciples to all nations in terms of the same idea of conquest.” So here it seems that Pope Francis is saying that the Great Commission of our Master is synonymous to the Islamists’ purpose and goal of total conquest through forced—violent usurpation and assiimilation that has and continues to be exercised without the slightest bit of remorse or hesitation by Muslim Extremists throughout the world. If this analogous examination of the Great Commission by Francis doesn’t make you fume with disgust, I don’t know what will. Nowhere in all of the Brit HaDashah did our Master instruct us to launch a “turn or burn” movement in order to force the citizens of this world over to Christianity. Father, who instituted the Great Commission from the beginning of time, through His Son, has and will always maintain that man has the right to choose which path he or she will go. He would never have us treat the Great Commission as some kind of conquering crusade, the way that Francis’ predecessors have done over the centuries. And given the influence that this man has on the religious world stage, I fear that he stands to lead many astray by his remarks. It is clear that Pope Francis is not speaking from a position of ignorance. That would be an impossibility in my opinion. What I believe, however, is that Francis is speaking from a position—or more accurately, a spirit of “Anti-Christ,” or more accurately, “Anti-Messiah.” And there’s more to this story that further solidifies my claim here.

Pope Francis recently outlined a few other troubling contrasts between Islam and Christianity: (1) He doesn’t like to hear anything about Europe’s Christian roots because they loudly trumpet the call of “colonialism” that has overshadowed much of the world over the centuries. (2) He believes and strongly advocates that the Muslims who have migrated into all parts of the European Union “integrate” with the European citizenry. This would seem an innocent and altruistic comment if it were not for a recent sermon that was delivered by a high-ranking Islamic Imam by the name of Sheikh Muhammed Ayed. The Sheikh is quoted as saying: “Europe has become old and decrepit and needs human reinforcement…they are not motivated by compassion for the Levant (that is, a large swath of land in the eastern Mediterranean), its people and its refugees…soon, we will trample them underfoot, Allah willing. Throughout Europe, all the hearts are enthused with hatred toward Muslims. They wish that we were dead, but they have lost their fertility, so they look for fertility in our midst. We will give them fertility! We will breed children with them, because we shall conquer their countries!” Sure sounds like a call for total conquest to me. But wait, there’s more.

In an article written by Eric Snyder entitled “The One World religion Cometh: Pope Francis Warmly Welcomes Top Islamic Cleric to the Vatican—So precisely what kind of “message” was Pope Francis attempting to convey?,” this in the “End of the American Dream” dated 05/24/2016, Pope Francis is reported to have met with a Grand Imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque, who is described as “the highest figure in Sunni Islam.” Francis is quoted as saying that this meeting represents dialogue between the two churches of Islam and Christianity.

Pope Francis Embracing a Topic Egyptian Imam

If Francis is a believer in Jesus Christ (the key word here is “if” and let’s just be open and transparent, Pope Francis is not a true believer of Messiah since he and the members of the Catholic Church do not keep the commandments of Yahovah nor have they the testimony of Yeshua Messiah—the proof positives of true believers in Messiah—Revelation 12:17)—but let’s just assume for the sake of discussion here that he is a true believer in Christ; then it would stand to reason that the tenets of his Faith would prevent him from hooking up with Islam in anyway. Right?

Rav Shaul, aka the Apostle Paul, taught:

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14, KJV)

Shaul furthermore tells the Ephesian Assembly of Believers in Yeshua Messiah:

“Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light…And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Ephesians 5:7-13, KJV)

Sadly, I don’t see no reproving going on here, do you?

Moving on: (3) Pope Francis is quoted as saying: “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters.” Again, how can this man make such an outrageous statement unless there is a spirit of Anti-Christ or Anti-Messiah at work here.

(4) Early on in his papacy, Pope Francis authorized “Islamic prayers and readings from the Quran’ at the Vatican for the first time ever.” Hey, since the Jihadists are our brothers and sisters, why not.

(5) Pope Francis is quoted as saying that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Many of us have heard such foolishness before by the more liberal and rogue members of the Christian Faith. But we Rooters know that the one true God; the Creator of the Universe; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—who gave us Torah and His Son Yahoshua HaMashiyach, is nothing like—whatsoever—Allah. The Pope is quoted as follows: “I would like to express 2-sentiments for my Muslim brothers and sisters: firstly, my greetings as they celebrate the feast of sacrifice. I would have wished my greeting to be warmer. My sentiments of closeness, my sentiments of closeness in the face of tragedy. The tragedy that they suffered in Mecca. In this moment, I give assurances of my prayers. I unite myself with you all. A prayer to Almighty God, all merciful.“

Friends, do you see the spirit of Anti-Messiah at work here? When you stand and pose as a child of light as this Pope pretends to do, but you blaspheme some of the most fundamental aspects of the Christian Faith, you can be nothing more than a child of the devil. Now I’m not saying that Pope Francis is THE Anti-Christ that so many people believe will bring about a one-world religion in the end times. Well, let me restate: I don’t know if Pope Francis is THE Anti-Christ of the end times; I seriously doubt it. But Pope Francis seems to be a good example of a precursor of what we’d imagine to be THE anti-Christ or anti-Messiah; in that he clearly seems to show forth for all the world to see, the spirit of Anti-Christ.

Along that same line of Francis saying that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, he is quoted yet again spouting a similar message: “I then greet and cordially thank you all, dear friends belonging to other religious traditions: first of all the Muslim, who worship the one God, living and merciful, and call upon Him in prayer, and all of you. I really appreciate your presence: in it I see a tangible sign of the will to grow in mutual esteem and cooperation for the common good of humanity. The Catholic Church is aware of the importance of promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions. I wish repeat this: promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions.—it also attests the valuable work that the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue performs.”

Besides the obvious folks, there’s something just not right about this Pope. He’s up to something and he’s up to something big. We need to be on our best behavior and guard. As Natsarim of Yahovah, we are commanded to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahovah (Deuteronomy 8:3). Since Yeshua HaMaschiach is the one and only mediator between Yah and men, we must likewise live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of our Master. Matthew records a key admonishment and commandment of our Master in response to questions posed to Him by His Talmudim (aka disciples) regarding the prophecies He’d made to them about the end times. Master responded:

“Take heed that no man deceives you! Many will come in my name (e.g., the Vicar of Christ; the Bishop of Rome; Pope Francis)—many will come in my name, acknowledging that I am Messiah, yet they will deceive many…Many false teachers shall rise up among the believers and they will mislead many. Because those who are without Torah will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:4-12; cf. Mark 13:3-13; Luke 21:7-19, Rood’s CKJV)

It’s not just Islam that this Pope has made unifying gestures towards during his relatively short tenure: he’s also reached across one of the greatest schisms known in the history of religion: the schism between the Catholic Church and Protestantism. It was on January 21, 2014, that Pope Francis employed the services of one of his Evangelical Episcopal friends, a bishop by the name of Anthony Joseph “Tony” Palmer, to stretch forth an olive branch to fundamental Christianity, urging them to return to their Mother, the Roman Catholic Church. (You can pull up the YouTube video on this amazing event by clicking this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtXiOzp43Yw). Bishop Palmer believed himself to be some type of reincarnation (my words mind you) of Elijah, who was sent to unite Christian evangelicals with the Roman Catholic

Kenneth Copeland and Tony Palmer

Kenneth Copeland and Tony Palmer

Church. It was at a well-attended event hosted by a number of well known charismatic preachers, the most notable being Kenneth Copeland, that Palmer dropped the bomb regarding the Vatican’s call to Protestant-Catholic reconciliation. Palmer stood before the crowd of hundreds and in the most polished, articulate and charismatic of orations that I’ve heard in quite some time, urging Christians to place themselves under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis made a video appearance at this conference where he urged the Christian evangelicals to unite with the Catholic Church. Palmer declared to the over joyous crowd: “the “Martin Luther protest to be over”” and “it was time for “Christians to come home to Rome.””

Bishop Tony Palmer addressing an evangelical assembly

Bishop Tony Palmer addressing an evangelical assembly

But this story does not end here saints. Palmer was further used by Pope Francis to prime the skids for a future reunion of Catholics and Protestants. Palmer was ordained a bishop in a sect of the Episcopal Church that sees itself, according to Austen Ivereigh of the Boston Globe—in an article he wrote entitled “Pope’s Protestant friend dies, but push for unity lives” dated 08/07/2014, as “part of a “convergence” movement, seeking to combine evangelical Christianity with the liturgy and sacraments typical of Catholicism.” Palmer told Ivereigh that this “is a precursor to full unity between the Protestant and Catholic Churches.” It was back in 2006 when Palmer journeyed to Buenos Ares and met with then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and collaborated on a joint Catholic—Protestant gathering of 6,000. At that time, Cardinal Bergoglio had thoughts favorable to a potential reuniting of the two faiths. According to Ivereigh, Palmer confided to Cardinal Bergoglio that he was tired of living outside of Catholicism and wanted to fully convert to Catholicism. However, Cardinal Bergoglio counseled Palmer to stay the course in his self-imposed mission to unite the two faiths. Bergoglio believed Palmer would be more effective in his mission if he remained as he was in his religion and that this was all about “bridge building.”

Pope Francis and Tony Palmer

Pope Francis and Tony Palmer

Interestingly enough, on June 24, 2014, Palmer led a delegation of evangelical Christians—the delegation composed of the likes of Kenneth Copeland, James Robison and Geoff Tunnicliffe—on a meet and greet luncheon at the Vatican with Pope Francis. Now, if you aren’t familiar with these three evangelical church leaders, simply Google them at your next opportunity and you’ll see that just these three gentleman alone possess eye-popping influence in the Evangelical Christian realm; some estimates place their influence at 600 million followers. So there was a lot of horsepower going into this meeting that I would guess most of the Christian world has likely never heard about. It appears that these evangelical leaders were in principled agreement that some form of unity be sought between the two great world faiths. Crazy huh? And here’s another shocker: Palmer at some point after that luncheon turned over to Pope Francis a proposed “Declaration of Faith in Unity for Mission” that these three “jack-legged preachers” drafted up, with the intention of having not just the Pope sign off on a reunion of the centuries old, two warring faiths, but also to be signed off by the leaders of the major Protestant Churches of the world in Rome in 2017, at the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and the 50th anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Oh how lovely! Can it get any worse?

The Attendees of the Luncheon at the Vatican

The Attendees of the Luncheon at the Vatican

A month after this historic meeting, Bishop Tony Palmer died in a tragic motorcycle accident—I’m not entirely certain the location—but he was interred in fine fashion in a full-Catholic Mass in Bath, UK.

Now, some would say that all that I’ve just reflected upon should have absolutely no bearing upon us Natsarim—we have no relationship with the Catholic Church and we are all about Torah keeping and the like. And in a broad sense, I would say those folks would be right. But then, weren’t we admonished by our Master to take heed and not allow any man deceive us? How many of us in our fold are ill-prepared to understand all that is currently going on around us and all that will take place in the future and the end times? Master taught that “…there shall arise false Christs (i.e., false Messiahs) and false prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matthew 24:24, KJV) I can’t help but think that if this Pope is able to pull off such a reunion with the Protestants and then some form of union with the Islamists, the world will herald him as some type of Messiah. And given what we know about and what we’ve seen of this pope, he ain’t no messiah; for that matter, he ain’t even no believer in Yahoshua Messiah. In fact, it is my conviction that this man is operating in a spirit of Anti-Messiah (aka, anti-Christ) and either him or his successor(s) will fulfill the position of THE Anti-Christ (aka, the anti-Messiah)—assuming there will be such an individual.

Yochanan (aka John), Shaul (aka Paul) and Peter address this issue of anti-Messiah in their various epistles:

  • In 1 John 2:18, Yochanan speaks of there being many anti-Messiahs through the ages, somewhat alluding to more of a spirit of anti-Messiah than a single individual. Clearly, human history has produced world leaders who would fit the bill for an anti-Messiah: Nimrod, Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanies, Nero, Charlemagne, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, and certain segments of fundamental Christianity have always had suspicions that the Papacy would harbor THE anti-Christ at the end times. Bear in mind that this thoughts and reflections is more about the spirit of anti-Messiah than about identifying who the anti-Messiah(s) were and will be.
  • In 1 John 4:3 and 2 John 1:7, Yochanan writes to the identifying character of an anti-Messiah and that is one that does not confess the Master as being of the Father would qualify one being considered as coming in the spirit of anti-Christ/Messiah. Does Pope Francis fall within this realm? I would say yes, for in all his unity talks, he never brings up or puts forth the significance of the Master as being the One individual through whom everyone must go in order to receive the gift of life and to be counted as one of the Father’s chosen ones. Allah is certainly not an option for true spiritual restoration with the One True God—the Creator of the Universe, who’s name is Yahovah.
  • The former publican Matthew, also known as Levi, in Matthew 24:5 and 24, writes about Yeshua warning us that false teachers and leaders will lead many of us astray with their false teachings. Does the Pope meet this criteria for an anti-Christ—I’d have to say absolutely. When you, as the so-called “Vicar of Christ,” the leader and teacher of 1.2 billion adherents around the globe, put forth an infallible edict (which the Catholic Church has certified that the Pope is infallible)—when you put forth an edict that says that Allah and the One whom we call Yahovah are one in the same; when you put out an edict that says that Muslims and Christians are brothers and sisters; when you allow Islamic prayers and teachings to take place on Vatican property, you are full-on anti-Christ if you ask me.
  • Shaul wrote to the young evangelist Timothy, in 2 Timothy 4:3, that there would come a time or come times when men would not endure sound doctrine. When the true Faith once delivered has not penetrated the thick skulls and dead hearts of the fundamental Christian Church and the fundamental Christian Church is not satisfied with the direction that it’s going, to such a degree that they would entertain uniting with Rome, this prophecy of Shaul seems to have come to fruition right before our very eyes. I reported to you that in 2017, world Protestant Christian Leaders are planning to meet in Rome and sign a “Declaration of Faith in Unity for Mission” with the Vatican. Now why would the mission of the Christian Church take such a detour and support such a heretical idea as reuniting with Rome, apart from the fact that Christianity is not interested in hearing; not interested in learning; not interested in turning from their pagan-based traditions and doctrines for the true Faith once delivered? These are not interested in obeying the commandments of our Father and of our Master and holding fast the testimony of Yeshua HaMaschiach. Why is that? Because they are not interested in fully giving their lives over to Yahovah. They are only interested in giving themselves over to men—giving themselves over to a religion that men have made and that men staff and run. Furthermore, these individuals, when they speak, as we’ve clearly seen in these articles, deliver destructive heresies that lead many astray and down the broad path to annihilation, as we find mentioned in 2 Peter 2:1.
  • Going back to Yochanan, we are encouraged to test the spirits at work in our world in order to determine if those spirits are of Yahovah or not. Yochanan writes: “My beloved, do not believe all spirits; but discriminate among spirits whether they are of Elohim: for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this the Spirit of Elohim is known: every spirit that confesses that Y’shua the Mashiyach has come in the flesh is of Elohim. And every spirit which does not confess that Y’shua the Mashiyach has come in the flesh is not of Elohim, but he is of false Messiah of whom you have heard that he comes and now is he already in the world.” (I John 4:1-3, Roth’s Aramaic) And I tend to agree with Roth’s commentary on this passage whereby he downplays the common understanding that all one has to do is confess that our Master once existed here on earth in a human, physical form and that person is validated as a true believer. We know there is more to simply having a cognitive and confessing knowledge that the Master once existed. What is it? Anyone does well by understanding that Yahovah is one as the demons also believe this doctrine and shudder. (James 2:19) No, what John seems to be trying to get across here is that we who are Natsarim have a firm foundation of who our Master is and what He stands for in the light of Torah. It is the Spirit (that is the Ruach) of the Creator in us that will aid us in discerning which teachers and preachers and scholars His. And certainly, all of the spiritual bells, whistles and lights in our being should be going off within being over this Pope and his position on Islam and Christianity. It would clearly seem that this man is a false teacher and leader. But as I said earlier, by virtue of this man simply being the Pope and given all that he and his religion stands for, he can be nothing other than a false teacher.

Lastly, and I’ve just barely scratched the surface on this issue in this “thoughts and reflections”: the reason why this sort of thing must matter to us is that it serves as a wake-up call to each of us in this Faith community. In fact, I would suggest that this is the focal point of this “Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections”—that being our time is running short.

Shaul wrote about this to the Assembly of Believers in Rome. He wrote:

“And this also know you, that it is the time and the hour that we should therefore awaken from our sleep. For now our life has come nearer to us than when we believed.” (In most English translations, it is our salvation that is nearer to us than when we first came to trust Yahoshua.) Shaul continues: “The night now passes away and the day draws near. Let us therefore cast from us the works of darkness; and let us put on the armor of light. And let us walk decorously (that is, “honestly” in most English translations), as in daylight; not in merriment nor in drunkenness, nor in impurity of the bed, nor in envy and strife. But clothe yourselves with our Master Y’shua the Mashiyach: and pay no concern about your flesh for the indulgence of appetites.” (Roth’s Aramaic, Romans 13:11-14)

In other words, the antics of this Pope should serve as a wake-up call to each us; that we take our Natsarim calling beyond seriously; that we get studied up, fasted up, prayed up and ready for the battle ahead us.

Saints, it’s time to stop playing religion. It’s time to stop playing church. It’s time to stop compromising our Faith and start once again to earnestly contend for the true Faith once delivered.

It is my sincerest hope and trust that your thoughts and reflections, regardless which day of the week they may fall on, lead you to a deeper appreciation and understanding of and a deeper and more meaningful relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Let us not squander the time that we have been given as the night rapidly approaches and we no longer may work. (John 9:4)

Be most blessed fellow Saints in Training. Shalom. Shavuatov.

Counting Omer and a Question of Circumcision–Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections Episode 57

by | May 21, 2016 | Podcasts

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Counting Omer and a Question of Circumcision

Reflections on the Creator’s Calendar and the Counting of the Omer

As I am recording this episode we find ourselves on 5/20/2016, it’s after sundown, which translates to the 13th day of the 2nd biblical month. Thus we are at day 28 of the so-called “Counting of the Omer.” If you are new to Hebrew Roots, the “counting of the omer” as popularly referred to in our community, is a 50-day countdown to the Feast or Day of Shavuot or Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Harvest; and as famously referred to in Christian circles, Pentecost. All these titles or names for the day are used interchangeably in our community, so if you are new to the Hebrew Roots Community, don’t be intimidated by all the titles and names: it will all eventually make sense to you as you study and get to know the significance and placement of the Feast of Yahovah. Yah willing, I will reflect on Shavuot as the day approaches.
But for now, without boring you with particulars, the term omer is a Hebrew agricultural term found just 3-times in the King James Version of our bible. According to the CJB, an omer is one-tenth of an eifah, which is a bushel dry-measure. The significance of the omer and the counting thereof (which is really not so much a counting) is that we are actually counting the days leading up to Shavuot or Pentecost. That count began on the Day of First Fruits which on our present-day calendar, began the day after Passover/Pesach, which this year translated into the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The day of First of Fruits this year fell on 04/24/2016 and that was the day that we began our 50-day count towards Pentecost as was outlined to us in Leviticus 23:15 and 16 and Deuteronomy 16:9. Interestingly, Arthur Bailey, in his book entitled “The Feast of Pentecost,” attributes the common reference of “the counting of the omer” to tradition that is not based upon Torah. Arthur writes: “Very few people refer to Shavuot or Pentecost as the Feast of Weeks. When you remove it from the Feast of Weeks, you remove it from the weeks that we’re required to count. And we don’t count by weeks, we count by days. With the culture comes a tradition, so counting days and counting weeks becomes Counting the Omer. We’re not commanded to count omers, but people are counting days and calling them omers—the third day of counting the omer, the fifth day of counting the omer, the twentieth day of counting the omer.” He goes on to ask the question: What omer have you been counting?”
Counting of the Omer

Counting of the Omer

Now if you know anything about Arthur, he is staunchly against the implementing of traditions that either replace or obscure the actual Torah command and its associated meaning. I certainly cannot agree more. It does become a sticky wicket, so to speak, when we begin substituting traditions for actual commands: in this case counting omer (and yes, there are certain congregations and individuals in Hebrew Roots that gather 50-omer of produce and count them leading up to the Day of Shavuot) replaces counting 50-days to the advent of Shavuot.I don’t necessarily think, however, that using the parlance or vernacular “counting of the omer” is necessarily a bad thing. I think it falls upon each of us who are in positions of instruction or whatever, to make sure that the truth of the thing being substituted in word by a tradition is made apparent to all. I believe there is danger of becoming so dogmatic about certain things such as vernacular that we begin to lose sight of the forest for the trees. The real point to this period on the Hebrew Calendar is a 50-day time-period leading up to the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost or whatever name you are so led to refer to this Feast of Yahovah. I’m not intent on bad mouthing Arthur who I consider to be one of our community’s great Hebrew Roots teachers; I’m just saying let’s look at the bigger picture and point behind these days. Who really cares, in particular Yahovah, if we call the counting days or omers. Just saying.

If you have any questions whatsoever: be it about the biblical calendar (i.e., Yahovah’s reckoning of time), or the counting of the omer or the Feasts of FirstFruits or Shavuot/Pentecost/Weeks/Harvest, don’t hesitate to communicate with us by using any of the aforementioned methods that I gave at this episode’s opening remarks. We’ll get you up to speed and once you understand the significance and placement of these Feasts of the LORD, your life will forever be changed. If you are old-hat this, let us rejoice and make the most out of the Spring Feasts of the LORD: this is our heritage and commonwealth. Our coming into this Faith was not something of petty happenstance or a religious fad that so many of our Churchianity cousins have said about and thrown at us—that we have fallen from grace and such. Indeed, our coming into the true Faith once delivered was actually—or should I say, was in direct accord with Shaul’s (aka the Apostle Paul’s) teaching that is recorded in Romans 11. Shaul wrote to the Roman Assembly of believers:

“For I speak to you other people (most translations deem other people as “gentiles,” but here the Cepher uses “other people” to denote those who are not “Jews”)—continuing—inasmuch as I am the apostle of the other people, I magnify my office. If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit be holy (Shaul here is speaking of the original Hebrews—true Hebrews)—For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off and you , being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them (that is, you as a Gentile coming into this Faith are grandfathered in as a Hebrew-a crossed over-one)—as a wild olive tree you were grafted in among them and with them partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree, boast not against the branches, but if you boast, you bear not the root but the root you” and so on (Romans 11:13-18, Cepher)

Now the fullness of Shaul’s teachings is made more apparent when we attach his teaching that he wrote to the Assembly in Ephesus which goes:

“For we are His workmanship, created in Yahusha HaMashiach (don’t get hung up in the name of our Master being different from the name that I refer to Him here on this show—I’m using the Cepher bible rendering of this text)—created in Yahusha HaMashiach unto good works which Yahuah has before ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember that ye being in time past the other people (remember “other people is rendered as Gentile in most other translations)—in time past ye being other people in the flesh who are called “Uncircumcision” by that which is called the “Circumcision” in the flesh made by hands that at that time ye were without Mashiach (that is, without Messiah); being aliens from the Devariym of Yisra’el (that is, you were aliens from the “commonwealth of Israel” and that is the crux of what we must keep in mind here—that we were once outside of the true Faith once delivered and all the benefits and accompanying expectations)—continuing—being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and—(get this folks)—without Yahuah in the world. But now in Yahusha HaMashiach ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of HaMashiach. For He is our peace who has made both one (that is, He—Messiah has made both Hebrew and Gentile one)—continuing—and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the regulation of commandments contained in dogma; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace. And that He might reconcile both unto Yahuah in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby and came and preached peace to you which were afar off and to them that were nigh. For through Him we both have access by one Ruach unto the Father. Now therefore you ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the qodeshiym (that is the “saints”)—but fellowcitizens with the saints and of the household of Yahuah and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Yahusha HaMashiach Himself being the chief cornerstone in whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto a holy Templein Yahuah in whom ye also are built together for a habitation of Yah through the Ruach. (Ephesians 2:10-22, Cepher)

So we have been afforded all the benefits of being a true Hebrew and in assuming this role in Yah’s creation, there are expectations that we must fulfill and those expectations are found in Father’s Torah and in the teachings and example of Yeshua HaMashiach. We have been released from the Law ONLY in the sense of the penalty that comes from violating the Torah. Instead of blindly obeying Torah, as new creatures (2 Colossians 5:17 and Galatians 6:15), we begin the evolution from that of being fleshly creatures to that of being spirit-based creatures. Thus Yahovah’s Spirit—His Ruach—slowly but surely replaces our fleshly self, beginning from the inside working out (ultimately to be physically translated into a full spirit being)—but beginning from the inside working out, we seek to please Father and establish a true and eternal relationship with Him that is unlike any relationship known to man. That relationship, like all relationships, has rules. The rules for that eternal relationship with Father is found in Torah. Thus, we observe and honor Torah, not because we are forced through fear to blindly obey Torah, but because we love and honor and want to please our Father. And that is the foundation of why we observe the Feasts of Yahovah and we adjust our lives to Father’s reckoning of time and His appointed times—His moedim.

More to come on this as we get closer to Shavuot.
Reflections on the Question of Circumcision for the Hebrew Roots Community
Zachary Bauer

Zachary Bauer on Circumcision and Midwives

     Zachary Bauer recently recorded a YouTube Video, the topic being the two most important things the Hebrew Roots community is lacking or are in need of today. Zachary’s response to this inquiry is that our community is in desperate need of “midwives” and “mohels.” Zachary went on to explain: Midwives are needed to provide birthing services to our community’s mothers so that they may give birth to their children independent and apart from the world’s established medical system. Certainly it should come as no surprise to anyone in our community—at least I would think it would be of no surprise—that our current medical system advocates pharmakia to treat illness and the use of c-section procedures to facility birth which is dangerous to the overall health of newborns and mothers alike. In the case of “mohels,” they are typically Jewish men who are trained and dedicated to the administration of the Brit Milah (Askenazi) or Bris (Yiddish). Both practices are essentially the same and is simply the keeping of some semblance of the “circumcision covenant” as provided in Torah—first in Genesis 17:9-14, followed by Leviticus 12:1-3—and these passages read as follows:
“And Elohim said unto El-Avraham: ‘You shall guard my covenant therefore, you and your seed after you in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall guard, between me and you and your seed after you; every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin and it shall be a sign of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you; every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house or bought with money of any stranger which is not of your seed. He that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money must need to be circumcised and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.’” (Bere’shiyth-Genesis 17:9-14, Cepher)

“And Yahuah spoke unto Mosheh saying, ‘Speak unto the children of Yisra’el saying, if a woman have conceived seed and lorn a manchild, then she shall be unclean seven days according to the days of the separation for her infirmity (menstruation according to ERV and CJB translations) shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.’” (Viyiqra-Leviticus 12:1-3, Cepher)

     In our modern western society, circumcisions are generally performed in hospitals and various out-patient facilities by medical doctors. But for centuries, circumcisions have been performed within the tight confines of Jewish societies throughout the world by a select group of men known as “mohels.” Mohels have remained loyal to the clear provisions of the circumcision covenant from the very beginning and it is custom even today for every Jewish infant male to be circumcised on the 8th day of his life. Clearly, circumcision was a provision of Torah that Yahovah gave to our forefathers to serve as a sign of the covenant between Him and every Hebrew male.
     Zachary goes on to cite Ezekiel 44:7 as the driving force behind his thoughts that we need to ensure that our newborns receive circumcisions as prescribed in Torah without having to rely upon the pharmakia-based medical system of our modern-day western society.

Let’s take a quick look at this passage of the Prophet Ezekiel, chapter 44, but let’s begin at verse 4 and proceed up through verse 9. And the Cepher Bible rendering reads as thus:—

”Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house (speaking about the Temple): and I looked and behold the glory of Yahovah filled the house of Yahovah and I fell upon my face. And Yahovah said unto me, son of Adam (men in most translations), mark well, and behold with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say unto you concerning all the ordinances of the house of Yahovah and all the Torah thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house with every going forth of the sanctuary (the LXX adds “in all the holy things). And you shall say to the rebellious, even to the house of Yisra’el, ‘Thus says Adonai Yahovah; O ye house of Yisra’el, let it suffice you of all your abominations (the NET says–“Enough of all your abominable practices, O house of Israel”). In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary; to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. And ye have not guarded the watch of my holy things but ye have set guarders of my watch to my sanctuary for yourselves.’  (The LXX simply says “and ye appointed others to keep the charges in my sanctuary.”)Thus says Yahovah, ‘No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh shall enter into my sanctuary of any stranger that is among the children of Yishra’el.” (Cepher)

And as it relates to the added Torah commandment of circumcising of one’s heart as well as one’s flesh–Deuteronomy 10:16.

     So my take on circumcision for us Hebrew Rooters today is that, under the renewed covenant, our circumcision must be of the heart first and foremost. I would go over to Shaul’s letter to the Roman Assembly where he wrote the following:
“For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law or Torah (i.e., circumcision profits indeed if you fulfill or better, if you properly understand and manifest the understanding of Torah through accurate practice)…” Continuing—”but if you are a transgressor of the Law or Torah, your circumcision has become uncircumcision (i.e., but if you depart from Torah, one’s circumcision becomes uncircumcision).” Shaul continues: “And if uncircumcision should keep the precepts of Torah, would not that uncircumcision be accounted as circumcision? And will not he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law (or Torah), will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law AND circumcision are a transgressor of the Law (i.e., of Torah)? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men but from Elohim.” (Romans 2:25-29, NAS and Roth’s Aramaic NT)
     So from this key passage of Shaul, coupled with the Torah passages of Deuteronomy 10:16 (”Circumcise then your heart and stiffen your neck no more.” NAS) and 30:6 (”And Yahuah Elohayka will circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love Yahuah Elohaykawith all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Cepher)and with the Ezekiel 44 passage, Father was more focused upon each of us having circumcised hearts before Him such that we may walk in His ways without restraint, hesitation, malice, ignorance, fear or whatever; and that we would have a true relationship with Him. Physical circumcision was simply a fleshly formality that never ever guaranteed that the one circumcised would be a true Child of the King. Even the Jerusalem Council, led by the flesh and blood brother of Yeshua our Messiah, ruled in response to Peter’s and Shaul’s testimony not to place the full Jewish burden of laws and statutes and ordinances upon the newly converted Gentiles. James stated: “Wherefore my sentence is that we trouble not them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.” (Acts 15:19,20, NAS) These four rules that were given by James to the attendees of the Jerusalem Counsel addressing the issue of the Gentile converts were basic Torah principles that had always been required of every proselyte to Judaism. In other words, it is my belief that this edict of James did NOT nullify the Torah mitzvah of circumcision, but it put the covenant of circumcision in its proper perspective. It essentially directed the convert to focus on those weightier matters of Torah first. The other matters of Torah could and would come later and I believe that this must be our mindset in Hebrew Roots today—circumcision of the heart must come first—adherence to Yahovah’s Feasts and Sabbath and Food Laws come next; and then all the rest must be a subject to be worked out between each individual and Yahovah. I do believe that every male disciple of Yeshua should be circumcised. If Hilary and I were still having children today, I would certainly lean towards having my boys circumcised on the 8th day instructed in Torah. But if an adult male were to cross over into our Faith, I would first counsel him to seeking after that true relationship with Father first through obedience to His Torah and the teachings of Yeshua Messiah. When the time comes—and he will most definitely know when that time arrives—then physical circumcision may be considered. You see, simply running out to be circumcised without first establishing that crucial relationship with Father and becoming a true disciple of Yeshua Messiah, will only lead to a focus upon fleshly obedience to Torah. Circumcision of the heart, I believe, must precede physical circumcision.
     I would further submit that Shaul never once, in all his teachings and admonishments to the assemblies he oversaw, that any Gentile male and or their male children be circumcised. And yes, I absolutely get it: we don’t follow every word and commandment that proceeds from the mouth and pen of Shaul—it is Yeshua that we Shema and Yahovah that we obey. But it would stand to reason that if circumcision was the end all to be all of our beloved Faith, then Shaul would have insisted that we be circumcised. But Shaul did not teach that we be circumcised—those of us coming into the Faith who were not Jews. Instead, he actually spoke against the practice such that one might focus too much upon the fleshly act and miss the spiritual necessities of our Faith which is Faith in Yeshua Messiah and love. Let’s take a quick look at Shaul’s teachings and his position on this subject of circumcision:
  • Circumcision profits us only if one keeps Torah—Romans 2:25
  • If those who are uncircumcised keep Torah, their uncircumcision will be counted as circumcision—Romans 2:26
  • The uncircumcised who keep Torah will judge those who’ve violated Torah and are regardless, circumcised—Romans 2:27
  • A Jew is defined as one who has a circumcised heart and is Spirit-born—Romans 2:29
  • Both the circumcised and uncircumcised will be considered righteous through their faith—Romans 3:30
  • Avraham’s faith was counted unto him as righteousness BEFORE he was circumcised. But circumcision became a seal of that righteousness of faith which Avraham had prior to his circumcision—Romans 4:9-11
  • If we were called in an uncicrcumcised state, then we should not undergo the b’rit-milah (i.e., circumcision); for circumcision means nothing. What does mean something is keeping God’s commandments—I Corinthians 7:18,19
  • Titus, a Greek follower of Shaul, was NOT moved to be circumcised (Galatians 2:3)
  • If you undergo the b’rit-milah, Messiah will be of no profit to you. For in so doing—being circumcised that is—that person is obligated to observe the entire Torah without failure—Galatians 5:2,3
  • Neither circumcision or uncircumcision matters, but faith working through love matters—Galatians 5:6; 6:15
  • Circumcision becomes a show of righteousness as opposed to faith. This is a denial of the Faith. The focus then becomes that of circumcision and not obedience to Yeshua and Yahovah’s way of life or Torah—Galatians 6:13
     So do we see in this extensive listing of verses that Shaul was not a fan of Gentile converts going out and being baptized? Now I highly suspect that many listening to this podcast episode or reading this as a blog post will take great exception to and might feel that I am misinterpreting Shaul’s writings and teachings. Well, let me tell you, if it was one or two verses, I might concede and say that I may be misinterpreting Shaul’s stance on circumcision for the Gentile convert and cross-over to this Faith. But given the numerous places that Shaul hits on this issue, I am pretty confident that I understand what Shaul is trying to get across in his teachings. The point is that circumcision of the heart and walking this walk and faith and good works and obedience are that which matter the most to Father. Circumcision has always been nothing more than a physical seal of the covenant that Yahovah made with the originators of the Hebrew Faith. It was a sign that was placed upon their flesh, yet it was not a guarantor of their relationship and faith in Yahovah, as we clearly saw over and over throughout their tempestuous history.
     Circumcised Messianic Jews of Shaul’s day reveled in their circumcision and not their obedience to Torah. It was blind obedience to their religion—Judaism–and their physical identification—circumcision–as Jews to the world that mattered most. And crossing over to the true Faith once delivered, these Jews brought with them a myopic understanding of faith that they zealously attempted to shove down the throats of crossed-over Gentile converts—circumcision first and foremost. It was this mindset and cult-like proselytizing of the Gentiles in Rome, Ephesus, Colossaie, Galatia and the like that opened the door to a transference of Judaism over into the true Faith that was delivered to us by Yeshua Messiah. The various assemblies that Shaul planted or oversaw began to look a lot like Jewish synagogues with Gentile Jews who were beholden and obedient to Judaism as opposed to Yeshua Messiah discipleship. This is clearly seen in many Messianic Jewish assemblies today.
     Shaul’s problem with circumcision to me was similar to Yeshua’s problem with the Prushim and Lawyers (or Scribes) when He attacked them for their obsessive focus on certain points of the Law while overlooking the more substantive aspects of Torah. Matthew records Master’s rant against the Prushiym and Scribes as follows: (Matthew 23:23, CJB)  
“Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim ! You pay your tithes of mint, dill and cumin; but you have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah- justice, mercy, trust. These are the things you should have attended to- without neglecting the others! (Mat 23:23 CJB)
     Folks, I believe the Master hit the nail on the head with this one. Shaul had his way of stating his concerns about the risk of having an unhealthy focus upon circumcision over that of the more weightier aspects of our Faith and Torah. Shaul’s take was: he dudes, just don’t worry about circumcision; it doesn’t get you any further in your Faith and walk with Messiah than if you remained uncircumcised. But here, in Matthew’s account of Yeshua addressing the tithing issues of the Prushim (Pharisees and Scribes), Yeshua Messiah basically said: Hey dudes, focus on the essentials of the Faith first while still doing the less weightier aspects of our Faith. And it is this mindset that I believe we must have in Hebrew Roots today: circumcision is a commandment that was given to every male Hebrew back in the day as a physical seal upon His “chosen people.” But Father has always desired the hearts of His people over their physical-blind obedience. Father stated:
“If only there were such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep my commandments always so that it might go well with them and with their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29,
QBE)
That heart is what Father continues to call for and the ultimate point that Shaul was trying to get the Gentile and Jewish converts to understand—circumcision of the heart for the most part has replaced circumcision of the flesh.
     Again, circumcision of the flesh is still something that I believe every male Hebrew Rooter should seriously and prayerfully consider once they have their spiritual act together. Certainly, I believe it is something that we should do to our boys on the 8th day as a show of our Faith and adherence to the Word of Yahovah. Thus the circumcision does not define who we are any longer—it’s our Faith and love that defines who we are today.
     Interestingly, both of Zachary’s suggestions—that of having more access to midwives and mohels in Hebrew Roots today–focus primarily upon that of the family, and I absolutely have to admire Zachary for that. Indeed, if you are familiar with Zachary’s ministry and overall Hebrew Roots-centered content, you can clearly see that he has a heart for the family. Like Zachary, I being one of the central stabilizing elements of the Hebrew Roots community is the Torah Observant—Yeshua Follower Family.
     Family is certainly important to the strength and structure of our Faith and community. But I do not believe that midwives and mohels are the two most important things lacking in our community today. I definitely believe that we should seek alternatives to the pharmakia-based medical system of our western society as we obediently strive to care after our families. Contrary to Zachary’s position on the two most important things our Hebrew Roots community needs today, our community needs two other things that I believe are vitally more important than mohels and midwives: “Unity” and “Truth.” Unity in that we must come together as a community–as the Hebrew Roots community that is. Right now we are splintered into dozens of micro-communities that practice our Faith differently than our brothers and sisters in other Hebrew Roots communities. We struggle coming together because we are all over the place as it relates to what we believe and how we live out our Faith. This is precisely what has happened in Christianity today: with some estimates going as high as 30,000 or so denominations in the Christian Faith. That’s absolutely crazy, I’m sorry. When we’re essentially all using the same Bible, why do we have thousands of ways to live and believe? As Hebrew Roots communities, we are all over the place in terms of how we live and walk this walk and what we believe. Thus we establish fellowships that turn into churches because the leaders of these fellowships begin to develop doctrines and teachings that are based, not upon Torah and the teachings of Yahoshua, but upon traditions and opinions of these “assembly—fellowhip—church leaders.”
     What if we were simply to adhere to what Yahoshua taught and live in accordance with the principles that He passed down to us, which is essentially Torah, but Torah Yeshua-style? If we were to simply do that, then we would all pretty much get along—that is, be unified in our Faith and live our lives as Yeshua intended when He left His disciples on the Mount of Olives and instructed them to carry out the “Great Commission.” Yeshua gave us only a handful of direct commandments that are NOT difficult to understand and follow: He told us: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 28:19, ESV) Yahoshua commanded us to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33, ESV). Then we’re commanded to “…love Yahovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39, ESV). And how do we love the Creator and our fellow man–it is spelled out definitively in Torah. And being spelled out in Torah, we have the teachings and the example and model of Yahoshua who taught us how to live Torah the way it was always intended for us to live.
     Friends, I’m not opposed to our Hebrew Roots community having more midwives and mohels. That would be a good thing as we seek to separate ourselves from the world. Rav Shaul wrote to the Corinthian Assembly to “…go out from their midst and be separate from them…” (2 Corinthians 6:17, ESV) Indeed, midwives, mohels and moving our families from pharmakia-based medicine is the way to go. But I humbly believe that our community needs Truth and Unity.
Of unity and truth, it was, according to the Rood Chronology, on Wednesday, 4-28-28 CE or the 14th Day of the First Biblical Month—it was during the evening hours—that Yeshua prayed with and for His disciples in the Kidron Valley on their way to Gethsemane. Yeshua prayed: “I have given them your Word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You would take them out of the world, but that You would keep them from evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through your truth—your word is truth. As You have sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. I have sanctified myself for their sakes so that they also might be sanctified through the truth. I do not pray only for these alone, but for those also who shall believe in me through their word, that they all may be ONE—THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE!!! As you Father are in Me, and I in You, I pray that they also may be one in us and that the world may believe that you have sent me…I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in ONE—and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:14-23, CKJV)
     Unity and Truth—that is my desire and my prayer for our community Saints.