Connections - The Testimony & the Witness

Has the Torah Been "Done Away"?

2007-07-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

I have been asked another great question. The answer to this will probably take more than one article to answer so consider this Part 1. Here is the question: "Are you now under Jewish law or does your church hold to New Testament teachings on the law?"

My answer I guess would depend on what you mean by the "New Testament Teachings on the Law" and even what you mean by “Jewish Law”. There is actually only one word in Hebrew for the commands of Yahweh and that is Torah. The word Torah has been interpreted as Law, Instruction, Command, Word, and Teachings. Anytime you see the word "Law" it is from the Hebrew word Torah. The Greeks did not have a word for Torah so they used either of these other words in their interpretations. We have therefore followed in this practice in the English language as well.

The first question we should ask is “What is the Torah?” The Torah is the first 5 books of the Bible (Genesis - Deuteronomy). It is Yahweh’s laws, instructions, commands, teachings etc. So when you say “are you under Jewish law”, I would say “NO”. The Torah was never created by the Jews. The Torah is Yahweh’s instructions given to the Hebrews. By the way, the “Jews” only covers the tribe of Judah, or Yahudah, some of the Levites, and Benjamin. The term “Jew” was never applied to the other tribes. So you can be a Hebrew and not be Jewish. But if you are Jewish you are from the Southern Kingdom. So am I under Yahweh’s commands? To this I would wholeheartedly answer, “YES!”

You would probably agree to this yourself, as you would say that you keep the 10 commandments to the best of your ability. The “10 Commandments” are part of the Torah, but not in the least bit all of Yahweh’s commands. For instance, when you read about keeping the feasts in Scripture, are they referred to as the “Jewish Feasts”? Actually No. Each and every time they are referred to as Yahweh’s Feasts! He states several times “these are My Feasts”. Throughout all Scripture you will see, guard My commands, keep My laws, follow My instructions, obey My right-rulings, listen to My word, etc. Each one of these references is the word Torah. So if we were to interpret it correctly the Scriptures would say guard My Torah, keep My Torah, follow My Torah, obey My Torah, listen to My Torah, etc. Let’s look at Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Again, in Hebrew the word is Torah. “Your Torah is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

So what is this lamp that lights our path? The Torah, the instructions in the first 5 books of the Bible. Not just the 10 commandments, but all of the Torah. The Jews did not make these laws or commands. Nor did any other Hebrew. Matter of fact, they kept breaking them! The Torah was written by Yahweh and given to Moses on Mt. Sinai.

Furthermore the Torah was not just for the Hebrews, let’s look at Exodus 12:49 for instance. “There is one Torah for the native-born and for the stranger who sojourns among you”.

This is not the only scripture reference that states this. The Torah was for the Hebrew and any one else who aligns themselves to Israel. Some of you may not believe you are Jewish or Hebrew but do you align yourself with Israel? Think about it. You read a book that is about the history and future of a Hebrew people, that was written by Hebrews, in the Hebrew language, about a covenant that was made with the Hebrew people, and about a promised Hebrew Messiah, who came as a Hebrew, born of a Hebrew woman, raised by Hebrew parents, who Himself states He “came for the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel”, and who will return to Israel, re-joining the 2 Houses of Israel, so that He will rule and reign in Jerusalem! If you don’t think you are aligned with Israel then you must not be reading the same Scriptures I am.
Now as for the “New Testament teachings on the law”. What does the New Testament teach about the Law/Torah? Let’s establish one thing first. If Yahshua would tell you to keep the Torah and Paul or any other one of the disciples would tell you not to, who would you follow? My hope is that you would choose Yahshua over any man. So assuming that you answered Yahshua, let’s look at what Yahshua said concerning the commands.

Matt 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done. “Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens."

Well, looking around I still see the earth beneath me and around me, therefore, I would say that not one single thing from the Torah has passed away. What else does Yahshua say about His commands? Well here’s a few examples:

John 14:15 “If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.”
John 14:21 “He who possesses My commands and guards them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him.”
John 14:23 “Yahshua answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he shall guard My Word. And My Father shall love him, and We shall come to him and make Our stay with him.”
John 14:24 “He who does not love Me does not guard My Words. And the Word which you hear is not Mine but of the Father Who sent Me.”

So if Yahshua and the Father are One, then would They have different commands? Would They have a different Torah? There’s no way They could. He did not teach a different covenant. He upheld His Father’s commands because they were the same as His own. When He was asked which command was the greatest, did He say, “Oh those aren’t in effect anymore!” Of course not! What He did say was a quote from the Shema. Shema means Hear and Obey.

Mark 12:29-30 "And Yahshua answered him, “The first of all the commands is, ‘Hear, O Yisra’el, Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is one. ‘And you shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first command."
Deut. 6:4-5 “Hear, O Yisra’el: Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is one! “And you shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might."

He was quoting from the Scriptures Yahweh’s commands.

Here’s another point to consider. What is a prophet? A prophet not only foretells future events, a true prophet upholds the Torah of Yahweh. Every prophet in Scripture told the people to follow Torah, to repent and keep Torah. John the Baptist was a prophet. He told the people to repent. Repent to what? The word repent is “teshuva” which means to come back or to turn back, turn back to what? Back to Torah! Yahshua was also called a prophet. If He would say that we are no longer to follow Torah (the instructions of Yahweh, His Father) He would be a false prophet. If you read about Yahshua’s life, He kept the feasts, He kept the Sabbath, when He healed people, as in the case of the leaper, He told them to go to the priests (this was per the instructions in Torah), in everything He did, He followed Torah.

Now we come to Paul or his Hebrew name Sha’ul. Whenever someone wants to say that the Torah is no longer in effect they turn to Paul. None of the other disciples ever said anything to imply that the Torah was “done away”. Paul is the only one that people like to quote saying that the Torah was “done away”. As I stated earlier, even if this were true, whose words would you go by, Yahshua or Sha’ul? So did Sha’ul (Paul) really say that the Torah was “done away”? Let’s see what Sha’ul said about the Torah in Romans which was towards the end of his ministry.

Rom 2:12 "For as many as sinned without Torah shall also perish without Torah, and as many as sinned in the Torah shall be judged by the Torah.”
Rom 3:31 “Do we then nullify the Torah through the belief? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah.”
Rom 7:1 “Or do you not know, brothers - for I speak to those knowing the Torah - that the Torah rules over a man as long as he lives?”
Rom 7:12 “So that the Torah truly is set-apart, and the command set-apart , and righteous, and good.”
Rom 7:14 “For we know that the Torah is Spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.”
Rom 7:16 “But if I do what I do not wish, I agree with the Torah that it is good.”
Rom 7:22 “For I delight in the Torah of Elohim according to the inward man,”
Rom 7:25 “Thanks to Elohim, through Yahshua Messiah our Master! So then, with the mind I myself truly serve the Torah of Elohim, but with the flesh the law of sin.”
Rom 13:10 “Love does no evil to a neighbor. Therefore, love is completion of the Torah.”

That’s just one book. I won’t quote every Scripture. But let’s look also at Sha’ul’s life. He kept the Sabbath, he kept the feasts, he followed the Torah in all that he did. Reading Acts you will see that there came a time when he was accused of teaching that the Torah was “done away”. To this he wholeheartedly denied! They asked him to prove it by not only taking a Nazarite vow (which is in Torah) but to also pay for 4 others to do this as well. He did all they asked to prove that he still believed in the Torah and that he was not teaching others that it was “done away”.

Acts 21:18-24 "And on the following day Sha’ul went in with us to James, and all the elders came. And having greeted them, he was relating one by one what Elohim had done among the gentiles through his service. And when they heard it, they praised the Master. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Yahudim there are who have believed, and all are ardent for the Torah. “And they have been informed about you that you teach all the Yahudim who are among the gentiles to forsake Mosheh (Moses), saying not to circumcise the children nor to walk according to the practices. “What then is it? They shall certainly hear that you have come. “So do this, what we say to you: We have four men who have taken a vow. “Take them and be cleansed with them, and pay their expenses so that they shave their heads. And all shall know that what they have been informed about you is not so, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Torah.”

So if Sha’ul (Paul) kept the Torah why would he teach others that it was “done away”? He didn’t. Now there are verses in his letters that he wrote that would seem he is contradicting himself. This is where you have to have an understanding of Jewish culture. I say Jewish here because at this time it was the Jews, from the tribe of Judah (Yahudah) who were in Jerusalem. there are two different Torahs discussed in Sha’ul’s (Paul’s) writings. There is the Oral Torah and the Written Torah.

Next month’s article I will do my best to describe what the Oral Torah is and what Sha’ul really said. For now may I suggest that you do a word search if you have a computer program like E-Sword on the words “Commands”, “Law”, “Word”, “Statutes”, “Teaching”, Instructions”, etc. and see what the Scriptures say about the Torah.
Shalom,
Saya

Ephraim’s Punishment Part 2

2007-06-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

So, when will it end? When will Ephraim come to the end of his season of punishment? If we count 2730 years from 734 B.C., we arrive at the year 1996! If we use the year 722 B.C.E as a base, we come up with the year 2008!

So, why do we need to understand Ephraim’s punishment? Because some of us are Ephraim and our punishment is now coming to an end! Also, we need to see that Yisra’el would not be rewarded with restoration of their kingdom while a majority of the people were still undergoing their punishment of not being a recognizable people! And, they could not be recognized as the people of Yisra’el until now! Even so, non-Jewish believers (Christians) have not seen themselves as physical co-heirs with Yahudah. They have not seen that they might well be actual heirs to the promises made to the Patriarchs. Instead, many have been taught that they have replaced Jewish Yisra’el, or that they are spiritual Yisra’el. But, these believers have not seen themselves as part of the corporate (physical) people of the commonwealth of Yisra’el. And, they especially have not seen themselves as a people who need to be reunited with their brother Yahudah.

When Yahshua returns, we as his people will be freed! But before full restoration can come to pass, the price had to be paid. For YHWH has to adhere to His own Word. So, Yahshua cannot return until the punishment that YHVH mandated for those of Ephraim is completed. Praise YHWH we are now in the time of the completion of our punishment! We cannot be absolutely sure as to the exact beginning or end of YHWH’s decreed discipline. However, based on Scripture in Ezekiel and Leviticus, I believe starting in about 1996 and through 2008 Ephraim’s punishment is coming to end.

The ending of Ephraim’s punishment begins a new and accelerated phase of two house truth and national reconciliation with our brother Yahudah! Mainly since 1996 non-Jewish believers (Christians) began to see that there are two houses of Yisra’el, Ephraim and Yahudah, as described in Scripture. And, the believers now are beginning to come out of the Church. Isaiah 8:14 “And He shall be for a set-apart place, but a stone of stumbling and a rock that makes for falling to both the houses of Yisra’el, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem)”. Further, it is evident that the two houses have not as yet been fully reunited as one Kingdom.

For the people of Yisra’el have not yet taken full possession of the Land. And, the Son of David is not ruling over us. So, it is in this day or age that people are beginning to see that Ephraimites are full-fledged members of the commonwealth of Yisra’el.
YHWH is now in the process of restoring Yahudah and Ephraim, the two sticks as His one united Kingdom! (Ezekiel 37:19-22).

We see this restoration in the parable of the fig tree. The generation that sees the fig tree blossom will see His return. (Matthew 24:32-34 HRV). “Learn you the parable from the fig tree, when its branch is tender and the leaves sprout you know that summer fruit is near”. “So likewise you, when you will see all these things, know that it is near, even at the door.” “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away, until the whole is accomplished.” Notice, Vs 32 says, “Learn you the parable from the fig tree, when its branch is tender and the leaves sprout you know that summer fruit is near”.

This scripture says branch, not branches, indicating one stick. Also, there is a play on the words “summer fruit”. When we go Amos 8:1-2 we see that the “summer fruit” is Yisra’el. Amos 8:1-2 says “This is what the Master YHWH showed me, and see, a basket of summer fruit. And He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” And YHWH said to me, “The end has come upon my people Yisra’el, no longer do I pardon them.” Amos 8:1-2. From Amos we see that the summer fruit is the house of Yisra’el. Amos was a minor prophet to only the House of Yisra’el. He prophesied their demise and restoration. In the Matthew parable Yahshua was using the basket of fruit to indicate the beginning of the House of Yisra’el (Ephraim) being restored – coming out of their punishment and that the whole restoration was near.

Unlike most who say that the fig tree blossomed in 1948 when Yahudah become a State, I personally believe the fig tree began to blossom in 1996 when the house of Yisra’el began to wake up to who they are and return to the Torah. Why? Because the punishment was coming to an end. I think the house of Yisra’el is the fig tree, not the house of Yahudah. Yahudah represents only 2 of the 12 tribes. And Yahudah never was called Yisra’el until they changed their name to Yisra’el in 1948. The basket of fruit (house of Yisra’el) is the harvested fig tree. The harvest of the house of Yisra’el will not be complete until all the 10 tribes of Yisra’el know their Messiah, realize their heritage and are living in the land with their brother Yahudah joining them. So Ephraim must now be instructed as to his heritage (Jeremiah 31:18-19), and Yahudah to the identity of their Messiah (Romans 11). Then the two houses will become one reunited, victorious house of Yisra’el living in the land! (Isaiah 11:11-14). Ezekiel 37:19-22 “Say to them, ‘Thus said the Master YHWH, “See, I am taking the stick of Yoseph, which is in the hand of Ephrayim, and the tribes of Yisra’el, his companions. And I shall give them unto him, with the stick of Yahudah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.” ’ “And the sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes. “And speak to them, ‘Thus said the Master YHWH, “See, I am taking the children of Yisra’el from among the gentiles, wherever they have gone, and shall gather them from all around, and I shall bring them into their land. “And I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Yisra’el. And one sovereign shall be sovereign over them all, and let them no longer be two nations, and let them no longer be divided into two reigns.” How will YHWH accomplish this massive task?

We are the generation to whom the truth (Torah) and of the restoration of the two houses is now being revealed. The task of getting the word out about the two house message falls on us!
Now as I was putting this paper together I did come on to something new that I have never seen before that also may mean something to us today. I would like to read Ezekiel 4:1-8. “And you, son of man, take a clay tablet, and you shall lay it before you, and shall inscribe on it a city, Yerushalayim, and shall lay siege against it, and build a siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it, and set camps against it, and place battering rams against it all around. “Then take an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. And you shall set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. It is a sign to the house of Yisra’el. “And lie on your left side, and you shall put the crookedness of the house of Yisra’el on it. As many days as you lie on it, you shall bear their crookedness. “For I Myself have laid on you the years of their crookedness, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days. And you shall bear the crookedness of the house of Yisra’el. “And when you have completed them, you shall lie again on your right side and shall bear the crookedness of the house of Yahudah forty days, a day for a year. I have laid on you a day for a year. “Then you shall set your face toward the siege of Yerushalayim, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against it. “And see, I shall put cords on you so that you do not turn from one side to another until you have completed the days of your siege.” Now remember that Yisra’el was taken into captivity in the 8th century BCE which was over a hundred years before Ezekiel was even born in the 6th century BCE. Since Yisra’el had been taken into captivity and dispersed by the time of Ezkiel's prophecies, anything he has to say about Yisra’el is for the future, because the fall of the house of Yisra’el was before Ezekiel’s time, so they never heard the warnings of Ezekiel, who is to be a Watchman to the House of Yisra’el. So this warning is for the children from Ezekiel’s time forward and on to us today.

Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Yisra’el. And you shall hear a word from My mouth, and shall warn them from Me.” Either Ezekiel did what he did and wrote a history lesson, or it is a prophecy for the future. I think this prophecy had already begun to happen by the time Ezekiel came on the scene and is also a prophecy being fulfilled throughout history to this day for both houses, and I might add, that it has already come to pass in our time as you will see later on. This Scripture is plainly a punishment situation and days and years are concerned. YHWH instructed Ezekiel to make a portrait (one translation says map) of Jerusalem. Ezekiel 4:1-3 “And you, son of man, take a clay tablet, and you shall lay it before you, and shall inscribe on it a city, Yerushalayim and shall lay siege against it, and build a siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it, and set camps against it, and place battering rams against it all around. “Then take an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. And you shall set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. It is a sign to the house of Yisra’el.” Now notice carefully, that Ezekiel is to bear the iniquity, not to symbolize it but he was ACTUALLY TO BEAR THE INIQUITY of the house of Yisra’el and the house of Yahudah in his own body: Ezekiel 4:4-5 “And lie on your left side, and you shall put the crookedness of the house of Yisra’el on it. As many days as you lie on it, you shall bear their crookedness. “For I Myself have laid on you the years of their crookedness, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days. And you shall bear the crookedness of the house of Yisra’el."

The iron plate is behind Ezekiel. Ezekiel 4:3 “Then take an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. And you shall set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. It is a sign to the house of Yisra’el.” He is also tied up. Yehezqel 3:25; 24:7 “Put cords on you and bind you with them, so that you do not go out in their midst.”
This shows that what he is portraying is captivity. Notice that this is different from Numbers 14:36 where Yisra’el was to bear their own iniquity. This time EZEKIEL IS TO BEAR THE INIQUITY of these two houses, who, remember the house of Yisra’el had been taken captive over a hundred years earlier. Since, Ezekiel personally bore the iniquity of Yisra’el in his flesh, is Ezekiel a "suffering servant," or is there something more at play here? In addition, notice: Ezekiel 4:6 "And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the House of Yahudah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.
Therefore, EZEKIEL IS PERSONALLY TO BEAR INIQUITY, this time for Yahudah. Since he was in captivity during the siege days show that he bore their iniquity--which was captivity. Also all the things that were to happen to Jerusalem, were to be a sign to Yisra’el (Ezekiel 4:3).

More on the Punishment of Ephraim in July’s edition! Most of this article was taken from a teaching given by Allen Dodge of Beit Emet Congregation in Vancouver, WA.
Blessings and Shalom! Saya

The Prodigal Son is Ephraim coming home!

The Punishment of Ephrayim

2007-05-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

After completing the 5 Part series on the 2 Houses of Israel we need to ask a question. When? When will the 12 Tribes be reunited? We might as well be asking, when will Yahshua return? That’s the age ole question, isn’t it? For over 2000 years man has been asking this question. Well, I’ll tell you right now before someone starts labeling me as a heretic, I don’t have the answer! So don’t go sell everything you own or what I’ve always thought and that’s to go rack up the credit because the world would be ending and then they won’t be able to collect the debt! But seriously, no one knows when Yahshua will return and we know that there are things that have to happen before He will return. Prophecy can be a mystery. Usually you don’t understand the fulfillment until after the fact. Man has for centuries tried to figure out when Yahshua is retuning. People have predicted this date and that date and well, they’ve all been wrong. So am I going to set a date? No way! But I do want to present some interesting facts and let you consider if the time is in fact near.

Growing up in the church I have always heard that Yahshua was coming back “soon”. I’m now 46 and He’s not here yet. Just what did they mean by soon? I thought 46 years was bad until I read Rev 22:20 “He that bears witness of these matters says, “Yes, I am coming speedily.” Ahmein. Yes, come, Master Yahshua!” This was 2000 years ago!

The trend that I see in the church today is that because we have been told He is coming back “soon” and He hasn’t yet, that we and our children don’t believe it anymore. Or at least we don’t really talk about it anymore for fear of looking foolish in the world’s eyes. So instead of hearing sermons on repent, get your life right, seek the Kingdom, we hear sermons on how to get along with your spouse, your neighbor, and your world today. We hear sermons on loving each other and spreading this love to our fellowman. Now don’t get me wrong, these are important subjects as well, but we have shifted our focus to the extreme. I realize that I am speaking in generalities as I’m sure there are some churches who still speak of His return, however, as a former Pastor’s wife who was in full time ministry for 15 years, and in the church most of my 46 years, I have seen the shift and have experienced it.

Some would say, “Well why worry about when He’s coming back? When He comes I’ll be ready and that’s all there is to it.” Ah, my dear family member or friend, you should be very concerned!

One thing that we must know about Yahweh is that He is never late. He knows exactly when Yahshua will return, reunify the 2 Houses of Israel, and establish His Kingdom. I can’t tell you when but I can show you some things that need to happen before He returns. So let’s venture into Ezekiel and see what we can find. I’m sure this subject will end up being a series as well.
Do you remember singing a song in church that goes, “The Lord is building Jerusalem. The Lord is building Jerusalem. Gathering together the outcasts of Israel, healing broken hearts, binding up their wounds. The Lord is building, the Lord is building up Jerusalem!”

This comes from Psalms 147:2-3 “Yahweh builds up Yerushalayim, He gathers the outcasts of Yisra’el, He heals the broken-hearted And binds up their wounds.” Ephrayim has been under the punishment. The House of Israel has been divorced, called outcasts, and Lo-Ami meaning “Not My people”. From Ezekiel we gain an understanding of the duration of Ephraim’s punishment.

Through Yahweh’s Prophet Yehezqel (Ezekiel) we see that Yahweh had him lay on his side for 390 days to signify 390 years of punishment for the House of Ephraim. “And lie on your left side, and you shall put the crookedness of the house of Yisra’el on it. As many days as you lie on it, you shall bear their crookedness. “For I Myself have laid on you the years of their crookedness, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days. And you shall bear the crookedness of the house of Yisra’el.” Ezekiel 4:4-5. We know Yahweh is speaking to Ephraim, Yisra’el, because He also said, In verse 6 “And when you have completed them, you shall lie again on your right side and shall bear the crookedness of the house of Yahudah forty days, a day for a year. I have laid on you a day for a year.”

To understand this punishment we need to see that Ezekiel lived approximately 135 years after the Northern Kingdom of Yisra’el (Ephraim) had become “no more.” Yet, Yahweh had not forgotten them. And, through Ezekiel, He reveals the length of their punishment for their iniquity.

The people of the Northern ten tribes did not repent of their paganism. And, Yahweh was adamant that He is a jealous Elohim and that Yisra’el was to have “no other Elohims” before Him. Yet, He also was, “a compassionate Elohim; who would not fail them nor destroy them nor, and this is a key, He didn’t forget the covenant which He had sworn to their fathers” (Deut 4:31; 5:9).

So this is what He said in Jeremiah, 16:17-18 “For My eyes are on all their ways; they have not been hidden from My face, nor has their crookedness been hidden from My eyes. “And first I shall repay double for their crookedness and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the dead bodies of their disgusting matters, and have filled My inheritance with their abominations.”

Using the base of 390 years and doubling it we see that Ephraim now has 780 years of punishment to begin with. If we calculate from the beginning of their captivity 734 BCE we get the year 46 CE. Or if we calculate from the final fall of Samaria in the year 722 BCE we come up with the year 58 CE. What was happening around the time 46-58 CE? That is the time frame that Sha’ul (Paul) came on the scene to go to the gentiles (nations) looking for the lost sheep of the House of Yisra’el.

We realize the duration of Ephraim’s punishment by first looking at Yahudah’s punishment. For, Ezekiel was instructed to lie on his right side for 40 days, a day for a year. Thus, Yahudah was to receive 40 years of punishment. Unfortunately, these forty years are only part of Yahudah’s punishment. Because in the account of the two sisters in Ezekiel 23, Aholah (Samaria or Ephraim) and Aholibah (Yerushalayim or Yehudah), we see that they engaged in prostitution when they were young and still in Egypt (Ezekiel 23). Additionally, Aholah/Ephraim engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians. And, it was this harlotry with their Assyrian neighbors that led to Ephraim’s downfall.

During the century preceding the final destruction of the City of Samaria, the Northern Kingdom was integrated into the Assyrian Empire. Piece by piece various portions of the Northern Tribes became vassals of Assyria until they were entirely absorbed into the Assyrian Empire. When the City of Samaria fell in 722 B.C., it was just the last little bastion of the Northern Kingdom.
It did not take a war for most of Yisra’el to become Assyrian. This fact is confirmed by Yahweh’s statement: “I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she had lusted” (Ezekiel 23:9). Re-calling the demise of Aholah/Ephraim, Yahweh said of Aholibah/Yehudah, ‘You have walked in the way of your sister, and I shall give her cup into your hand.’ Ezekiel 23:31-33. “Thus said the Master Yahweh, ‘Drink of your sister’s cup, the deep and wide one – you being laughed at and mocked at – for it holds much. ‘Be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, the cup of astonishment and ruin, the cup of your sister Shomeron.”

Yahudah sister’s cup contained 390 years of punishment! Therefore, we add 390 years of punishment to the 40 years that Yahudah initially received. And that gives us a total of 430 years of punishment for Yahudah. So when did Yahudah’s punishment start?

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, subdued Yahudah in 595 B.C.E. After this date, they no longer had political or religious control over their own territory, Yerushalayim, nor over their temple. Thus, if we take 596 B.C.E as the first year of their punishment, and if we move forward 430 years we come to 166 BCE the end of Yahudah’s punishment. What happened in 166 B.C.E? The Maccabean’s revolted against the Greeks. We come to the time of the Maccabean victory, and to the cleansing of the temple. Yahudah’s punishment was over. They had regained religious and political control over their temple and a portion of their territory.

Now let us go back to Ephraim. He was assigned 390 years of punishment. Correct? No. Unfortunately, Ephraim would receive far more than 390 years. We understand this through Yahweh’s fourfold declaration given in Leviticus 26. For this rule establishes unrepentant Ephraim’s fate:

Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28 “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I shall punish you seven times more for your sins. ‘And if you walk contrary to Me, and refuse to obey Me, I shall bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins,... then I also shall walk contrary to you, and I Myself shall smite you seven times for your sins.....then I shall walk contrary to you in wrath. And I Myself shall punish you seven times for your sins”

Yahudah was punished for 430 years. And, when they went to Babylon (that being their punishment), they repented. To this day, the Jewish people (as a whole) do not have idols. And since they repented of their idolatries, their punishment lasted only 430 years. Unfortunately for Ephraim she never repented. So, the Northern Kingdom received a seven-fold punishment: 390 years times 7, for a total of 2,730 years of punishment. Exactly what was Ephraim’s punishment? Yahweh said the Ephraimites would be scattered among every nation, and that there, they would “lose their identity.” They would become, “Lo Ami,” meaning “Not a People” Hosea 1:9; 2:2, 23 “…for you are not My people, and I am not for you.” So Ephraim received a sentence of 2730 years--the punishment being, they would not be a recognizable as Yahweh’s people--they would lose their identity.

When Did Ephraim’s Punishment Start? In determining the date of Yahudah’s punishment, we do not pick the year 585 BC, which was when Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem and destroyed Solomon’s temple. Rather, we start from the year 595 B.C.E, when Yahudah no longer had political and religious control over their territories. Therefore, we will apply this same measure to Ephraim.

When Assyrians completed their campaign against Bet-Omri the last king of Yisra’el, Yisra’el was mortally wounded, decimated by deportation, beaten back into a tiny corner of the Northern Kingdom. With the exception of Samaria, all its cities had been annexed, and the country had been divided into provinces over which Assyrian governors and officials exercised strict control. All that was left of Yisra’el was a dwarf state, a tiny pinpoint on the map: the mountain of Ephraim with the royal city of Samaria. While the city of Samaria was finally destroyed in 722 BCE, the majority of the Northern Kingdom had become a vassal state for the most part to Assyria from 734 BCE to 722 BCE. Confirmation of these facts is substantiated by the Cuneiform Text of Tiglath-Pileser 111, which chronicle his Gaza-Damascus Campaign in 734-722 B.C.E.

So, when will it end? When will Ephraim come to the end of his season of punishment?
Out of room! Stay tuned for next month’s article! Blessings, Saya
Most of this article comes from a teaching by Allen Dodge.

Are We Jewish? Are We Hebrew? Part 5

2007-04-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

The term “New Testament” is an incorrect translation. The original term is Brit Chadesha which correctly translated means “Renewed Covenant”. Yahshua came to renew the original covenant that was made with the whole House of Israel back in the wilderness years ago. It was a marriage contract back then and now that the Husband was to die, the House of Israel, Northern Kingdom, 10 Tribes, would be able to remarry and have a marriage contract once again.
Is there more proof text in the Renewed Covenant that those calling themselves Christians are nothing more than the physical descendants of the ten lost tribes? In 1 Kepha (Peter) 2:8-10 we see Peter quoting Hosea chapter one. The people who are a “royal priesthood a chosen generation and a holy nation ” are identified by Kepha as nothing more than the former lo-ami and lo-ruhammah of Hosea chapter 1. In Peter 2:11 He says: “You who are now Renewed Covenant Priests and Renewed Covenant Israel once were not a people (lo-ami) and had not obtained compassion and mercy (lo-ruhammah). But now through Yahshua you are restored to a people called ami and receiving ruhammah.”

Did Sha’ul (Paul) also understand the regathering of the twelve tribes of Israel through Yahweh's Son? In Romans 9:24 Shaul states that Yahweh calls Jews and Gentiles to make up His body as heirs of eternal life. Then in verse 25 quotes Hosea chapter one and identifies the born again redeemed Gentiles of his day as the Old Covenant House of Israel (Ephraim). He quotes the lo-ami passage of Hosea one and attributes this to "saved Gentiles". Verses 25 & 26 boldly declare this. Finally in verse 27 he puts the icing on the cake and declares that these "saved Gentiles" not only are the former House of Israel that became the "fullness of the Gentiles", but he even quotes Isaiah stating that out of the entire "sand of the sea" promise to Ephraim regarding physical multiplicity only a remnant of Israelites from all twelve tribes will be saved. Notice the transition and progression as the saved Gentiles of verse 24 in Romans 9 wind up being identified as the former House of Israel (ten tribes) spoken of by Isaiah, in the next two verses.

In Ephesians 2:11 Shaul declares that those who got saved as Gentiles are no longer Gentiles. They have a new identity, and that identity is according to verse 12 a citizenship in the Commonwealth of Israel. They are Israelites! You cannot be a citizen of a spiritual entity known as "the church" or any other spiritual entity. In order to be a physical citizen of the state of Washington you have to be a physical being. In order for former Gentiles, who by virtue of their acceptance of Messiah have become physical citizens of the House and Commonwealth of Israel, they must be and in fact physical Israelites from a different side of the family than Messianic Jews. Verse 19 nails this down for us as Shaul declares that these folks are no longer strangers to the House of Israel but fellow citizens.

In Galatians 3:29 Shaul refers to born again non Jews as the seed or sperma of Abraham. Does the Greek word for seed (sperma), from where we get the English word sperm, sound like something spiritual or something very physical? Therefore if you belong to Messiah through the new birth, regardless of who you think you are, you are Abraham's sperm! That's why verse 28 says there are no Jews, Greeks, men or women there is only Abraham's physical seed that has been redeemed and should be known as Renewed Covenant Israel.

Further proof is found in Galatians 4:28 where Shaul refers to non Jewish believers as being exactly like Isaac -- the heir of the physical promise of multiplicity. Was Isaac a physical being or just a spiritual being? He was a spirit-filled-and-led physical being. According to Shaul, that is exactly who the non-Jewish believers are in the Renewed Covenant. In 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, Shaul reminds saved Ephraimites that they were once Gentiles, but not any longer. He reminds these non-Jewish Israelites that their fathers (Hebrews) who were led out of Egypt went through the Red Sea and eventually met the Rock (Messiah) just as they had. In 1Corinthians 5:7-8 we see these Ephraimite Israelites keeping Pesach (Passover)! Only the people of Israel celebrate the Feasts of Yahweh!

There are man-made teachings and teachers that place the word "spiritual" in front of the word "fathers" in 1 Corinthians 10:1 as well as Galatians 3:29 where they add the word "spiritual" before the word "seed", to make it seem as if Christians are only some kind of spiritual seed, or worse yet something called "spiritual Jews." Adding to the Word of Yahweh is a capital offense punishable by death (Proverbs 30:5, Deut. 4:2, Deut. 12:32, Rev 22:18).

This is the day divinely decreed for the restoration of all things (Acts 3:20-21). When Ephraim begins to believe that they are part of physical Israel they will act like Israelites and return to Sabbath, kosher, keeping the feasts, Zionism and aliyah (returning to the land), and will cease to be jealous of the Jews (Isaiah 11:12-14). According to these same verses the day is coming when Jews will recognize Ephraim as their physical brothers in much the same way that all Jacob's sons came to recognize Joseph in Egypt. They thought he was a Gentile and all the while Joseph was an Israelite. Whether Judah recognizes born-again non-Jews as Ephraim does not change the fact that they, like Joseph, are unrecognizable to their brothers. Yet still like Joseph, Ephraim is Joseph's son and Jacob's grandson and is in fact an Israelite experiencing the same lack of recognition that his father Joseph experienced in Egypt. Joseph knew them but they knew not Joseph. Today, large segments of Ephraim recognize chosen, born-again Yahudah (Judah). Many within Brother Yahudah are beginning to recognize Ephraim. However, Yahudah is struggling to let Brother Ephraim back into the family, as Yahshua taught in the parable of the “Prodigal Son”, in Luke 15:11-32. Yahweh declares that this vexation of Ephraim by Yahudah will come to an end through Messiah (Isaiah 11:13-14), when He gathers the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Yahudah from all the earth. Notice how Yahudah was never outcast like Ephraim, only dispersed.

In John 10:16 Yahshua said "other sheep I have which are not of this fold. I have to bring them in as well. And they shall hear my voice and there shall be one flock and one shepherd". Notice that Yahshua had another Israelite flock that was still of His fold even before He died and rose again. He did not say that he will create a new and separate fold called "the church". He said that He already had two folds -- that He was sent to bring them in, and they will become one flock, or one united house.

John (Yohanan) expressed the same truth in John (11:49-52). He stated that when Ciaphas prophesied that it was good that Yahshua was dying for Yahudah, John added that Ciaphas was prophesying that Yahshua would not only die for that nation (Judah), but also the former House of Israel that were scattered abroad 722 years prior to Yahshua's birth. We know this is a reference to the House of Israel (ten tribes) since he calls them a nation (physical people), as well as children of Elohim. They were called children of Israel because Yahweh is the Elohim of Israel and they were Israel or children of Elohim even before Yahshua went to the tree of Korban (sacrifice). Notice that the Father's' revealed plan in verse 52 of chapter 11 is to gather both nations, or houses, into one. Even at the time of Yahshua, people's eyes and hearts were being opened to the truth about the family feud perpetuated by Jacob widened by Jeroboam and Rehoboam and in the last two millennia inflamed by the Church vs. Jewish battle over the title of “Who Is Israel?”. The question is fully answered when one realizes that there is only one people of Israel with one Elohim of Israel and one Messiah of Israel and one Torah of Israel and that both houses need to follow the same blueprint for the restoration of all Israel on common ground.

It’s comforting to note that according to Isaiah 49 verses 1-6 the Messiah is promised to all Israel and is even referred to as Israel, since Israel's restoration is the personification and primary purpose of His mission. Hosea 11:1 also calls The Messiah, Israel! In Isaiah 49:6, we see the Father asking Him if He is prepared to raise up the twelve tribes of Israel by bringing back into the fold those who, though scattered and lost as a nation, would be individually preserved in and amongst the Gentiles in the four corners of the earth for the Messiah's ministry. He did come. He did go looking for preserved individuals physically descended from Ephraim and Judah and has in fact restored these preserved ones. Though these preserved ones may not know who they are, though they may look, act, smell, behave and conduct themselves as gentiles and as descendants of their father Jeroboam, our Messiah knew where to locate them. He has located them and He is bringing them back to the fold on an individual basis not a national basis, as of yet. Interestingly enough the Hebrew word for preserved ones in Isaiah 49:6 is Notzrim or Nazarenes. It is these preserved born again Ephraimites that would be re-gathered in to the rebuilt Tabernacle of David and would return to the fold of Israel as Nazarenes. Let us recall that the entire early Messianic communities were known as The Nazarenes (Acts 24:5), the preserved ones of returning repentant Israel. Not to be confused
with today’s church group who call themselves the Nazarene church.

There are those of us who know we have “Jewish” roots, meaning we are descendants of the Southern Kingdom from the tribes of Yahudah, Benjamin or Levites. Yet there are those of us who do not know what tribe we are from but we are also children of Israel. These are those who are from one of the 10 Tribes, the Northern Kingdom. So whether we are Jews or Ephraimites, we are all children of Israel. Now the question we should all be asking is, when? When will the 12 tribes be reunited? Or as the disciples asked Yahshua, “Master, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6. Next month we will begin to look at the “when”.

Videos

2007-03-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

I have seen some interesting videos on You Tube, etc. that I thought I'd post on here as well.
Hope you enjoy them as I have.
This is a speech from John Hagee. Although he does not have an understanding of the 2 Houses of Israel, at least he is making a stand for Israel!

Here's one for Pasach/Passover!

This one is fun for Hanukkah!

I like this one because it is the Midrash that moves them. Midrash in my congregation is the discussion of Torah. So it's music to our soul and it moves us.

Here is a beautiful video of the land of Israel. It's our land, our home, even if we are not there....yet! It is also a reminder that there are those who have gone before us and have struggled to prepare and restore the land.

Be Brave be Strong! A powerful music video. Watching this video brings tears to my eyes and gives me a love for the land. Pray for Israel that not only will they be brave and strong but that they will return to Torah and come to the understanding of who Moshiach Yahshua is!

This one is for my Mother. She always wanted this song at one of her kids or her grandkids weddings and so far none of us complied. Well, at least I have it on the blogsite!

Here is a beautiful scene from the movie Fiddler on the Roof, Sabbath Prayer. I of course would change the words to "May Yahweh defend and protect you". As well as insert Yahweh's Name in the other appropriate places.

Here is a beautiful example of the sound of the shofar. You can also hear it when you listen to the Ahronic Blessing that my husband John does.

One of my favorite movies is "Schindler's List" directed by Steven Spielberg. There are many emotionally touching scenes in this movie but the one that grips me the most is the final scene when he is presented a ring. He begins to break down and although he saved many lives his soul is tortured in the thought that he could have done more. Anyone who is involved in any kind of ministry knows how this feels. You always reflect on how you could do more!

Don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the page to watch the video of the Moshav Band singing "Eliyahu Hanavi" and "Bereshit".

Are We Jewish? Are We Hebrew? Part 4

2007-03-01T22:55:00.000-08:00

I hope by now you have gotten a picture of the 2 Houses of Israel. Once you do, you will start to see in Scripture many “shadow pictures” of the 2 Houses. For example, Joshua and Caleb, the only two from the original band that came out of Egypt over the age of 20 who are allowed to go into the land are a picture of 2 House. Joshua is from the tribe of Ephrayim and Caleb is from the tribe of Yahudah.
Think about the parable of the Prodigal Son. There's a Father with 2 sons. One thinks he can go out on his own and make it in the world without the guidance of his Father (Ephrayim). The other stays with the Father guarding His ways (Judah). When the Prodigal comes back, he is welcomed with open arms and much rejoicing! But the brother (Judah) is upset because here he kept the ways and yet the one who left and lived his life the way he wanted gets the best of everything! The Father tells the brother (Judah) that he has always had these things and will continue to have them. But that this miracle of the lost brother is something to rejoice over! Now let’s just live as one happy family!
There are two groups in Israel today. One group is still jealous of Ephrayim and feels they are forever lost and have no desire to share the land with them. However, the other group prays for the return of Ephrayim. They know that when Ephrayim returns that means Messiah will come! They do not realize that it will be His second coming, but they long for Him to come none the less.
The Jews look for the promise of Messiah in that He would come as Messiah ben Yoseph and as Messiah ben David. Meaning Messiah as the suffering servant Joseph and Messiah as the son of David, a King. “Ben” is Hebrew for son. Our Pastor is named Benjamin as was his father. So he is Ben ben Ben. :-) We who know that Yahshua is the Messiah can see how He has fulfilled the role of suffering servant and we have the expectation and promise that He will return as the King!
Now let’s look at the ministry of the disciples. Sha’ul (Paul), Kepha (Peter) and the other talmidim (disciples) were sharing the gospel with Gentiles. Where else are you going to find the seed of Ephrayim, except among the Gentiles filling the globe? Amos 9:9 tells us that though scattered among the Gentiles, not one grain, or person, will fall to be destroyed. In other words they will not disappear from the earth, but will mix and literally become the peoples of the earth, only to be brought back to Yahweh in the end times, on an individual basis. The Great Commission (Matt: 28 18-20) is a world wide search for the seed of Ephrayim, the sand of the sea, dust of the earth, the teeming multitudes of humanity. Part of that search of course will be to look for the dispersed of Judah as well. Ya’akov (James) testifies to this truth by reminding the Jerusalem Council that Yahweh was just visiting the Gentile nations through the preaching of the gospel, not to live there, but to rescue and pull out His people, called by His Name (Acts 15:14-17). Through this rescue James reminds us that Yahweh is rebuilding The Tabernacle of David made up of all the twelve tribes of Israel. Since He is Israel's Elohim, He is pulling out and rescuing Israelites from the "outcast” status that had been their inheritance due to their disobedience to Torah. These people are Israelites regardless of whether they themselves realize it or not. Isn’t that what it means to be lost? Lost spiritually as well as physically?
Acts 15:15-17 “And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it has been written: ‘After this I shall return and rebuild the Booth of David which has fallen down. And I shall rebuild its ruins, and I shall set it up, so that the remnant of mankind shall seek Yahweh, even all the gentiles on whom My Name has been called, says Yahweh who is doing all this,’
Isn’t it fascinating that after Yahshua's earthly ministry, as He is about to ascend back to heaven, the remaining eleven talmidim come to Him and ask Him the same exact question? This is almost unimaginable since these eleven rarely agreed on anything and were always fighting and asking questions, seeking to bolster their own agenda. Yet in total unanimity they all had the same final question. “Master, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Acts1:6. That is what they were concerned with. Not the creation or building of a separate entity called "the church" which has sought to replace, annihilate and often destroy the Yahudahite people. Let it be clearly understood that the word "church" is nothing more than the ekklesia or assembly of the Tanach. It is the same assembly that was receiving Torah on Mt. Sinai (Acts 7:37-38). There is one Renewed Covenant assembly, called Israel by Shaul (Galatians 6:16). In Spanish and Portuguese and almost every language ekklesia means "called out ones" and maintains the basic idea of an assembly. Yahshua did not come to build something new called "the church", nor start some new religion. He came to rebuild the mikra or assembly of the Tanach (TaNaK basically is what’s called the Old Testament) and fill it with power. When the Septuagint translation of the Tanach was translated from Hebrew to Greek around 175 B.C.E., every translator translated the word mikra into ekklesia (which means assembly) and that is exactly what Yahshua Himself claims to have come to build (Matthew 16:16-19).
The Gospel is not merely a proclamation of personal salvation. It is a message of national restoration to Israel from a divided family which manifested itself in two still separate houses of Israel. Matthew 24:14 reminds us that the Gospel is the “Gospel of the Kingdom”. In Matthew 12, Yahshua speaks of the principal of a divided house without any ability to withstand the fiery darts of Satan. In Luke 24:21 the talmidim were very disappointed since they fully and rightfully expected the twelve tribes to be restored under Yahshua the Messiah. Where would they get that idea? In Jeremiah 23 verses 3-6, Yahweh declares that He will bring Israel and Judah back from global dispersion in the days that Messiah arrives. In verse 5 and 6 it states that Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely. We see the reunification of both houses under the Messiah or the reunification of all twelve tribes all living in the land of Israel. Remember that in order for the House of David to be fully restored and rebuilt it has to be composed of the same composition that left Egypt, received Torah and made up the days of King David. All twelve tribes! Any revival or restoration movement that does not include the full restoration of all twelve parts of the family and merely focuses in on two of the twelve parts is not flowing in the full vision of restoration.

In order to experience the last days blessings and protection of Yahweh, we must expand our vision to include all of Israel. Is it not interesting that the promised “Renewed Covenant” of Jeremiah 31:31-34 talks about Yahweh cutting a covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, and never once mentions cutting one with Gentiles. The House of Israel mentioned in Jeremiah is Ephraim, those born-again non-Jews. Remember that all Jews are Israelites but not all Israelites are Jews. In the heavenly Jerusalem of Revelation 21:12 notice that all those born again folks planning on having everlasting life must enter the city through one of 12 gates, one for each of the twelve tribes. There are no other gates by which to enter. The reason is that everyone in Renewed Covenant Israel from both sides of the physical family is a descendent of Israel.
In Jeremiah 31:3-22 we read detailed descriptions of Ephraim (ten tribes) returning to the land. We see the ten tribes being replanted on the mountains of Israel. It was Yahshua Himself who promised the twelve talmidim a millennial rule over twelve verifiable and recognizable tribes of re-gathered Israel (Matthew 19:28). Zechariah in chapter 8:22-23, specifically refers to ten men, representing the ten returning tribes grabbing the tzitzit (fringes) of a Jew (Messiah) and declaring that they will also return to Zion and Torah. Notice that these ten returning men speak all of the world's known languages. In this passage we see the ongoing return of all Israel, to Israel!
In Yaakov (James) 1:1, Yaakov writes his epistle to the 12 tribes scattered abroad. If the ten tribes remained lost and nowhere to be found why would James write to them and call them brethren of faith in verse 2? Obviously he had no problem with the body of Yahshua being Renewed Covenant Israel, made up of all twelve tribes and perhaps some very few exceptions. He would never have written a letter to people that had disappeared from the earth or didn't exist.
Was it just Yahshua and James that had this revelation? In 1 Peter 1:1, Kepha writes to the chosen people living in the Diaspora. The Jewish Diaspora did not happen until 20 years after this epistle was written in about 50 AD. Yet he refers to these other ten tribes' descendants who have come to faith as "the chosen people". Could it be that Ephraim is just as chosen as Judah? You thought that only two tribes (Jews) were chosen? The scriptures never once calls the Jewish people chosen. Rather it calls all Israel, of which the Jews are but two parts, the chosen people! Jeremiah 33:24 confirms this truth. Yahweh states that he has chosen two houses or two clans or two nations! That is the House of Israel and the House of Judah. Peter wrote to the re-gathered House of Israel when addressing his epistle!
There is still so much more to discuss about the 2 Houses of Israel. I knew this subject would take several months to go though so I ask that you hang on, continue to read and learn maybe some things you have never heard before. The answer to the question are we Jewish, are we Hebrew, is YES! We are both! However your neighbor may not be Jewish, but he/she could certainly be Hebrew!
Blessings once again.

Portions of this article taken from “Two House 101” by Ben Ehrhardt. His complete teaching and other teachings can be found on www.hearoisrael.org

High Priest's Garments

2007-02-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

I am a very visual person. I like pictures, charts, graphs, maps, etc. to help me see and understand. When I was reading about the Levite Priests and the High Priest, I couldn't get a grasp as to how it was all put together. So I did my usual and did the ole Google search and found a really great website that not only showed me what they looked like, but the Tabernacle and the Temple as well. They have a 3D tour you can take of the two as well as Noah's ark. Of course some items they have had to guess on with the infomation given but they do a great job regardless. I will be adding their link to this site as well as on this posting. To take the tour or view the models go to http://www3.telus.net/public/kstam/en/default.htm

There were two garments for the High Priest. One was pretty colorful and fancy worn on a normal basis. However on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippurim, he wore pure white. It is Jewish tradition today to wear white on this day representing purity.

Exodus 28:4, 36, 42 (ISR)
“And these are the garments which they make: a breastplate, a shoulder garment, a robe, an embroidered long shirt, a turban, and a girdle. And they shall make set-apart garments for Aharon your brother and his sons, for him to serve as priest to Me.
“And you shall make a plate of clean gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: SET-APARTNESS TO YHVH
“And make linen trousers for them, to cover their nakedness, reaching from the waist to the thighs.

The Golden Garments
The golden garments consisted of eight items: tunic, belt, turban, pants, breastplate, ephod, robe, and a golden head plate. Over the white tunic, he put on the sky-blue robe, hemmed with decorative pomegranates and bells which rang as he moved around. Then he put on the ephod, which looked like an apron and was fastened by a long belt. There were two shoulder-straps sewn onto the belt. These straps went behind, up and over the priest's shoulders. Two sardonyx stones were attached at the ends of these straps, on the shoulders. He also put on a breastplate, set with twelve precious stones, one stone representing each of the twelve tribes of Israel. His turban differed from those of the ordinary priests, and had in front a golden plate inscribed "Set-Apart to YHWH".
These were called "golden garments," because gold, the symbol of splendor, appeared in them.

Adapted from 3D Bible Project, http://www3.telus.net/public/kstam

Leviticus 16:4 (ISR)
“He should put on the set-apart linen long shirt, with linen trousers on his flesh, and gird himself with a linen girdle, and be dressed with the linen turban – they are set-apart garments. And he shall bathe his body in water, and shall put them on.

The White Garments
Only on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippurim would the High Priest wear the white garments: tunic, belt, turban and pants. This signifies that the High Priest (Cohen HaGadol) came before YHWH within the Most Set-Apart Place humbly and simply. He did not come in the outward splendor of gold and rich colors, but in pure white. Furthermore, white is the color of forgiveness, and forgiveness is what the High Priest is seeking for himself and all Israel as he came before the Ark.

Adapted from 3D Bible Project, http://www3.telus.net/public/kstam

There was also the shoulder stones and the breasplate to represent the 12 Tribes of Israel.

Exodus 28:9-12 (ISR) "And you shall take two shoham stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Yisra’ĕl, six of their names on one stone, and the remaining six names on the other stone, according to their birth. "With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Yisra’ĕl. Set them in settings of gold. "And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the shoulder garment as stones of remembrance for the sons of Yisra’ĕl. And Aharon shall bear their names before יהוה on his two shoulders, for a remembrance.

Exodus 28:15-21 "And you shall make a breastplate of right-ruling, a work of a skilled workman, like the work of the shoulder garment. Make it of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine woven linen. "It is square, doubled, a span its length, and a span its width. "And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row is a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald; and the second row is a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row is a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row is a beryl, and a shoham, and a jasper. They are set in gold settings. "And the stones are according to the names of the sons of Yisra’ĕl, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name, for the twelve tribes.

Also on the breastplate was the Urim and the Tummin. These were for "right-ruling". I was told that they were "Yes" or "No" stones and if the answer was Yes, that the Yes stone would glow if No then the No stone would glow. I can't find this is Scripture, the glowing part, so it may be Jewish tradition.

Exo 28:30 "And into the breastplate of right-ruling you shall put the Urim and the Tummim, and they shall be on the heart of Aharon when he goes in before YHWH. And Aharon shall bear the right-ruling of the children of Yisra’ĕl on his heart before YHWH, continually.

I hope this helps you get a visual of what the Priestly garments looked like. I will later post pictures for the Tabernacle (Mishcan) and the Temple (Hekal) and the elements that were involved.

Blessings.

Are We Jewish? Are We Hebrew? Part 3

2007-02-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

As we begin part 3 of this series, I’ll quickly recap. Yahweh gives Abraham a promise. This promise states that He will make his physical seed as the sands of the sea or the stars of the heavens, too numerous to count. The promise also includes the “Land Grant”, or the land of Israel. This same promise is passed along to Isaac, Jacob and Ephrayim. Yahudah (Judah) is given the authority and kingship while Ephrayim is given the blessing of multiplicity. The Hebrews possess part of the land that was promised and after Saul, David reigns as king. During Solomon’s reign, his kingdom falls into idolatry. Because of this, Yahweh splits the kingdom in two, the Northern Kingdom known as the House of Israel and the Southern Kingdom known as the House of Yahudah (Judah). Although both fall into idolatry and paganism, Yahweh divorces the House of Israel who are taken into captivity into Assyria, today Syria. They become the 10 Lost Tribes assimilated into the Gentile nations. The House of Yahudah is not divorced for the sake of David and because Yahshua will come from this kingly line. However they are also taken into captivity to Babylon, today Iraq, for 70 years. While in Babylon they became known as Yahoos which later became known as “Jews”. The whole House of Israel, meaning both the Northern Tribes and the Southern Tribes will be re-gathered and reunited in the last days by Messiah Yahshua. Here is where we will pick up.

There are several things that changed while the Jews were in Babylon. The written language, and the Talmud, oral Torah, to name a couple.
The written language changed from what’s known as Paleo-Hebrew to today’s modern Hebrew. Here is an example of Paleo-Hebrew in written form. Read right to left is the Name Yahweh.
Paleo & Modern

Secondly is the Oral Torah or Babylonian Talmud began. I will not go into this in this article but will save it for a future article. Now let’s get back to the 2 Houses of Israel. Let’s look at Ezekiel 37:15-28.
“And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “And you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it, ‘For Yahudah and for the children of Yisra’el, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Yoseph, the stick of Ephrayim, and for all the house of Yisra’el, his companions.’ “Then bring them together for yourself into one stick, and they shall become one in your hand. “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what you mean by these?’ say to them, ‘Thus said the Master Yahweh, “See, I am taking the stick of Yoseph, which is in the hand of Ephrayim, and the tribes of Yisra’el, his companions. And I shall give them unto him, with the stick of Yahudah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.” ’ “And the sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes. “And speak to them, ‘Thus said the Master Yahweh, “See, I am taking the children of Yisra’el from among the gentiles, wherever they have gone, and shall gather them from all around, and I shall bring them into their land. “And I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Yisra’el. And one sovereign shall be sovereign over them all, and let them no longer be two nations, and let them no longer be divided into two reigns. “And they shall no longer defile themselves with their idols, nor with their disgusting matters, nor with any of their transgressions. And I shall save them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and I shall cleanse them. And they shall be My people, and I be their Elohim, while David My servant is sovereign over them. And they shall all have one Shepherd and walk in My right-rulings and guard My laws, and shall do them. “And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Ya’aqob My servant, where your fathers dwelt. And they shall dwell in it, they and their children and their children’s children, forever, and My servant David be their Prince forever. “And I shall make a covenant of peace with them – an everlasting covenant it is with them. And I shall place them and increase them, and shall place My set-apart place in their midst, forever. “And My Dwelling Place shall be over them. And I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people. “And the gentiles shall know that I, Yahweh, am setting Yisra’el apart, when My set-apart place is in their midst – forever.” ’ ”

Are you understanding that this is a prophecy that has not yet happened? The 2 Houses of Israel have not yet come together nor has the Messiah Yahshua come to rule over them as King. Yahweh’s covenant and His promise is to the descendants of Abraham. His plan from the beginning, His promise, is to multiply Abraham’s seed and give them the Land Grant. That’s what all the fighting is about in the Middle East. The Arabs are also descendants of Abraham through Ishmael but they are not the children of promise. They have surely multiplied but they are not promised the land! There are churches today who also claim that the promise has been taken from the “Jews” and that the covenant is now made with them. This is called “Replacement Theology”. This is not what Scripture states. Ezekiel is only one prophet who talks about the regathering of the 2 Houses. Read Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Obadiah, Amos, etc. Yahweh is not a man that He would break His promises. And we praise Him for that!

The Land Grant pictured below is much larger than the current Land of Israel. Israel has never yet possessed this portion of land, but the promise to Abraham is, that they will! Ouch! Now you know why the Arabs hate Israel. This portion of land goes into Iraq, part of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, etc!

So even though the current Israeli government is giving away portions of land today to the Arabs, when Yahshua re-gathers the Tribes, the promised land will be given to the whole House of Israel and Yahshua will be King! No man will be able to stop this!
Back to the House of Israel. After the Assyrian Empire declined, they began to migrate further away from Assyrian lands. The largest portion of the Israelite refugees moved north toward the European areas to eventually settle. In the nations, they would accept Gentile cultures and adopt heathen religions. They would so thoroughly assimilate that they would become like Gentiles, thus they became "invisible" in the world and were believed to be "lost." They would look like Gentiles, act like Gentiles, eat pork and break the Sabbath like Gentiles, but are in fact nothing more than the lost physical sheep of the house of Israel who became as Gentiles. They continued to move from lands to lands to eventually migrate throughout all the world (Hosea 9:17). They would lose their identity as Israelites, and their conscience would be seared (Hosea 7:8, 8:8). The Israelites would not return to their land in Israel as the House of Israel, or the ten tribes, until their hearts returned to Yahweh (Deuteronomy 4:29- 31), and the prophecies of restoration would be fulfilled Ezekiel 37:21-22; Hosea 2:22-23). The House of Israel will be reunited with the House of Judah under one leader, Yahshua HaMashiach (Jeremiah 3:18; Ezekiel 37:15-28; Hosea 1:11). They will come up out of the land in the Day of Jezreel. The word Jezreel means “to re-gather”. The Israelites along with the Jews will be taken from the four corners of the earth to be re-gathered in Eretz Israel in the near future (Isaiah 11:12).

Now let’s look at when Yahshua came to walk among men. When Yahshua comes He is born a Jew, from the line of David. He is living among other Jews. But who does He state He came for? Matt 15:24 "And He answering, said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the House of Yisra’el."
This is who Yahshua came for. WHAT?? Now ponder this for a moment, if you know the laws of divorce according to Scripture you will see that the woman who is divorced cannot remarry unless the husband dies. There is more to it than this but let’s get the picture. When he dies, she is free to remarry. Remember Yahweh divorced the House of Israel. The only way for the House of Israel to be remarried, is for Him to die. What did Yahshua come to do? He came for the lost sheep of the House of Israel to die so that she can become the bride of Yahweh! Yahshua becomes our sacrifice for our sins, He is our Passover Lamb, He is our Redeemer, He is our Savior, but not only from our sins but in order to reconcile us back to Yahweh!

These are the ones who have been "lost" not only physically because they no longer know who they are but "lost" because they have lost the commandments of Yahweh. They have embraced every pagan way and religion and have lost what Yahweh set up for them to follow. They broke the marriage covenant and now must remarry the Bridegroom and come back to the marriage vows they took long ago.

What does Yahshua tell his followers to do? Matt 10:6 …”but rather go to the lost sheep of the House of Yisra’el.” Luke 15:4-6 “What man among you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “And having found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And having come home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’

So if Yahshua calls the House of Israel the “lost sheep” who is He telling Peter to feed? John 21:15-17 …“Yahshua said to Shimon Kepha, “Shimon, son of Yonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yea, Master, You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again, the second time, “Shimon, son of Yonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yea, Master, You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Shimon, son of Yonah, do you love Me?” Kepha was sad because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Master, You know all, You know that I love You.” Yahshua said to him, “Feed My sheep.”

I’ll continue next month with more about the 2 Houses of Israel! However before I end this article, I need to tell you all as my family, that there are prophetic events that are now in play that may be ushering in the time of the re-gathering of the 2 Houses and Yahshua’s return. Currently world leaders are meeting to announce the creation of a PLO state. This would mean a division of the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. When this happens, the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zachariah, etc. talk about the day of Yahweh beginning. This could very well be the covenant of death described and the beginning of what we call the Tribulation. We will have to watch and see how these events play out and how it fits with prophecy. Regardless, we must daily examine our hearts and pray for Yahshua’s return! Blessings.

Are We Jewish? Are We Hebrew? Part 2

2007-01-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

Last month I began this series. In last month’s article I began with the history of who are the 2 Houses of Israel. Let’s recap and expound a little. After Solomon’s death Israel was split into 2 Kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom became known throughout Scripture as The House of Israel, Ephrayim, House of Joseph, etc. The Southern Kingdom became known as The House of Judah (Yahudah). There are also times in Scripture when Yahweh states a word for the whole House of Israel. When this is stated in Scripture it is referring to both houses. With this understanding you can now read Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc with a better understanding of who a word or prophecy is spoken to.

As you read 1&2 Kings or 1&2 Chronicles you will read the history of the Kings of both Kingdoms. Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, became the first king of the Northern Kingdom and decided to separate his kingdom from Jerusalem and from following the commands of Yahweh. He adopted pagan practices and in some cases created “mixed worship”, meaning a little bit of truth and following Yahweh’s commands with the rest being lies and false worship. He set up golden calves and in some cases they called this worship unto Yahweh. Similar to when Aaron and the children of Israel made the golden calf and said, “tomorrow is a festival unto Yahweh!” He also changed some of the feast days to different times as well as eliminated Yahweh’s feast days for other pagan holidays. The Northern Kingdom plunged headlong into mixed worship and full pagan worship. Yahweh called all of this an abomination to Him. Every king of the Northern Kingdom continued this pattern of disobedience and destroying the Torah of Yahweh from their lives.
The Southern Kingdom’s first king after Solomon was Rehoboam. The kings following Rehoboam wavered back and forth in their worship of Yahweh and following Torah, Yahweh’s commands. Some kings were evil and worshipped pagan deities. However, some cleaned up the kingdom and worshipped Yahweh the way He commanded, for instance Josiah. See 2Kings 22.

Because of the wickedness of the Northern Kingdom, Yahweh gives Ephrayim, the House of Israel a certificate of divorce and although her “sister” Yahudah has also chased after other false deities, for the sake of David, He does not destroy her.

Jeremiah 3:8 “And I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Yisra’el had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Yahudah did not fear, but went and committed whoring too.
2Kings 8:19 However, Yahweh would not destroy Yahudah, for the sake of David, His servant, as He promised him to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.

Yahweh would not destroy the House of Yahudah because of His love for David and because it would be through Judah/Yahudah that the Messiah would come! Yahshua would come from the kingly line of David.

In Hosea chapter 1, the prophet sent to the northern kingdom of Israel is told to take a wife who is a whore since that would give him a pretty good idea what the ten tribes have done to Yahweh. After cohabiting with Gomer, Hosea calls their daughter "Lo-Ruhammah" (verse 6), meaning no mercy or compassion. In Hosea 1:4 we see Yahweh putting an end to the northern House of Israel and in verse 6 He promises not to show Israel, in the north, any mercy. In verse 7 Yahweh stated that unlike Israel, He will show mercy to Judah in the south. The couple conceived a son in verse 9 and Yahweh commands Hosea to call his name "Lo-Ami" for you are not my people and I am not for you. Israel or Ephraim is called Lo-Ami, not my people. No more mercy, no more My people, no more a kingdom, and Yahweh is fighting against you. We see clearly the end of the ten northern tribes as a nation before Yahweh. A total divorce and rejection has taken place. Hosea 7:8, 8:8, 9:11, 9:17,10:1, 12:1 and other passages confirm that Ephraim's plight is to become Lo-Ami, swallowed up among the Gentiles. Yet in verse 10 we see a startling declaration. Despite a death sentence for the ten tribes as an identifiable kingdom or nation, miraculously they reappear and are born-again, so to speak, in the last days. Hosea 1:10 begins with the words "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the seashore. Here we have a kingdom totally destroyed and swallowed up among the Gentiles, miraculously reappearing as the former children of Israel and are even called the sand of the sea. Sound familiar? It should! This is the sand of the sea promise made to the patriarchs and to Ephraim. This verse further reveals just where we are going to find the ten lost tribes or the sand of the sea that cannot be counted; the ones who call themselves and are called by Yahweh children of Elohim.

Who is this born-again community of Gentile believers? Most of the “Lost Tribes” can be found in the churches today. They are the former dispersed House of Israel! Yahweh further states that when Ephraim is gathered they will be His people or His Ami and He will be their Elohim since they have become sons of the living Elohim by grace though faith (Hosea 2:21-23).
A nation that has come to an end, disappeared or become lost if you will, all of a sudden showing up as sons and daughters of Yahweh in the last days! Elohim Himself reminds us in verse 10 that this group is nothing more than the former House of Jeroboam or House of Israel. In Hosea 1:11 we see this return of the ten lost tribes coming back into the House of David in the days when these former lost Israelites appoint for themselves the same head that Messianic Jews are appointing for themselves.

This one head is the head of the body made up of Judahites and Ephraimites with perhaps some true Gentiles, now restored to Yahweh as redeemed individuals from both houses and are learning to trust and lean on the same Sovereign by appointing Him (Yahshua) as personal Elohim and Savior!

Verse 11 goes on to say that when individual Ephraimites and Judahites are making this personal appointment of Yahshua as king of their lives, it will not be a day to build something called "a church" that replaces the Jew, rather it will be the day of Jezreel. Jezreel means the replanting of those who were scattered! Notice the very next verse in Hosea 2:1, where both Judahites and Ephraimites who appoint Yahshua as their head (in the day of Jezreel’s regathering and replanting into David's rebuilt Tabernacle), will no longer look at their brothers and sisters as spiritual brothers or sisters only, but will see them in a new light. What light is that? As "ami", My own people. When Ephraim and Judah are individually regenerated and regathered into the rebuilt Tabernacle of David then we will begin to recognize each other as blood brothers, as physical Israelites from different sides of the same family that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!

The word Gentile simply means “of nations”. Yahweh promises Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that their seed would fill the nations. Jacob blesses Ephrayim with multiplicity in Genesis 48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also becomes a people, and he also is great. And yet, his younger brother is greater than he, and his seed is to become the completeness of the nations.” The scattering of the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel is the fulfillment of this promise.

Now before we continue with the prophecy of the regathering of the Tribes let’s take a look at Judah (Yahudah). Like their brothers in Israel, Yahudah also falls into idol worship and paganism. Because of this the Southern Kingdom is taken into Babylon for 70 years but after the 70 years they are allowed to return to the land. While in Babylon they are called by the slang term of "Jews" or "Jewish". So when one states they are "Jewish", if they are speaking correctly, they are claiming to be from the Southern Kingdom of Judah/Yahudah. The Southern Kingdom consisted of those from the tribe of Yahudah, Benjamin, and some of the Levites.

Therefore you can be Hebrew and not be “Jewish” but if you are Jewish you are also a Hebrew! Or to put it another way, all Jews are Hebrews but not all Hebrews are Jews. If you aren’t getting my last two sentences, you need to go back and re-read this article.
We will continue with our study of the Hebrews in the next edition. Hopefully we can answer many of these questions. However, if you can’t wait, most of this article was taken from a teaching by Ben Ehrhardt, our congregational teacher, from our congregation’s website, HearOIsrael.org. You can find more of this teaching with more detail under the “Two House 101” Teaching on the site.
Blessings and Shalom!

Are We Jewish? Are We Hebrew? Part 1

2006-12-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

Occasionally the question arises as to whether or not we are really “Jewish”. There would also be a second part to this question which is, if we are “Jewish” then what does that mean? This topic is one reason why I started this family newsletter. Those who can remember back to the first edition of the newsletter will remember the title article, “So We’re Jewish, Now What?” Since that time, my articles have been on the “Now What?”. I have also included articles from others on what is a Sephardim, which as descendants of Spain would include us in this group. So now, let’s look at the Scriptures to see if we can get an understanding as to our “Jewishness”. In order to do that, we must start at the beginning of the “promise” to Abraham.

In Genesis 13:14-16 Yahweh our Heavenly Father promised Abram the land of Canaan as well as a promise of physical multiplicity of his zera, or his seed (sperm). Abram was told that this promise of physical multiplicity will be so vast and so extensive that the entire earth will literally be full of his zera. Verse 16 tells us that by the time this promise is literally and physically brought to pass it will be absolutely impossible for mankind to even count it or take a census of it; since mankind is totally unable to count the dust of the earth. That same seed will inherit the land eventually to be known as Israel.

Abram tries to help Yahweh by choosing Eliezer, who is not a physical offspring of Abram's own sperm or zera, to be the one through whom that promise would be brought to pass. Yahweh rebukes him and makes clear to him that this promised heir would come from Abram's own body. Any tendency to somehow spiritualize this promise is a lack of faith in Yahweh's literal Word.

This promise of physical multiplicity and blessing is renewed in Genesis 17:4 where Abram is told that this promise will establish him as a father of many nations or "hamon goyim". This term "hamon goyim" is also found in verse 5 and literally means a noisy multitude of Gentile nations. Verse 6 promises Abraham that through this seed of promise, kings would be manifest. This of course is talking about the kings that would one day make up the royal House of David through whom Messiah would come to His throne. In verse 7 Yahweh reassures Abraham that this promise of greatness through physical multiplicity would be unconditional and everlasting.
We know that Abraham and Sarah have a son, the fulfillment of the promise, named Isaac or Yitsaq. Yahweh made it clear that Ishmael was not the fulfillment of the promise. In Genesis 26:4 we see this promise of physical increase being renewed with Abraham's son Isaac. He is told that his seed will be more than the stars of heaven. The promise of physical multiplicity that would fill the earth, yet still possess the land of Canaan as its own homeland.

Isaac, (Yitsaq) has 2 sons, Jacob (Ya’acob) and Esau (Esaw). Genesis 28:3 finds Isaac blessing Jacob and prophesying that the promise that Yahweh gave Abraham and Isaac would now be bestowed upon Jacob and not Esau. We see that in verse 3 Isaac prays that Jacob's seed would be blessed and become a "kehelat goyim" or "assembly of peoples." For the first time in scripture we get a glimpse of Yahweh's plan for filling the earth with the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Somehow the Father will fill the earth with the physical seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by putting together an assembly of peoples. In Genesis 28 in the account of Jacob's ladder we find Yahweh telling Jacob that his seed will be spread out as the dust of the earth and will break forth to the four corners of the globe. In other words his offspring would find its home in the land of Canaan, but would somehow through Yahweh's divine plan break forth and find its way to the four corners of the earth. This promise is the same promise and blessing of Abraham. The Hebrew term used in Genesis 28:14 is the term "parats" meaning to break forth. It literally means to jump out and spread quickly.

In Gen. 48:14-20 We find Israel (Jacob renamed) gives a blessing to each of his children. But he also adopts Joseph’s 2 sons and gives them a blessing as well. When he does, he gives the first born blessing to Ephrayim instead of Menashsheh who was the physical first born.

Gen. 48:14-20 "And let them increase to a multitude in the midst of the earth." And when Yoseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephrayim, it was evil in his eyes; and he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from the head of Ephrayim to the head of Menashsheh. And Yoseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the first-born, put your right hand on his head." But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also becomes a people, and he also is great. And yet, his younger brother is greater than he, and his seed is to become the completeness of the nations." And he blessed them on that day, saying, "In you Yisra’el shall bless, saying, Elohim make you as Ephrayim and as Menashsheh" Thus he put Ephrayim before Menashsheh."

After stating "let my name be called upon them," meaning they are Israel's children, he prays that they will become a multitude. The Hebrew term used here for multitude can be read as a "teeming multitude of fish".
Israel declares that the seed or zera of Ephraim will become the "melo ha goyim", or the "fullness of the Gentiles". In other words the physical seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that was promised to one day literally fill the earth as the sand and dust of the earth and stars of heaven, will now come to pass in and through Ephraim. Ephraim will be the vehicle though which the great and precious single promise of physical multiplicity will literally come to pass. If the term “fullness of the Gentiles” sounds familiar it should. It is a quotation from Romans 11:25 by Shaul (Paul) as the method and means by which all Israel would be saved.

There is however some needed insight at this point. In all ancient Mideast cultures the right of the firstborn was essential in establishing leadership over the house of the dying father. With the birthright went power, authority, respect, grandeur and the right to enact all family business and transactions pertaining to its sustenance, care and well being. In essence the birthright was the permission to the firstborn to take over and rule the fathers' house in the father’s absence through death. Isaac received this right from Abraham even as Jacob received it from Isaac. With the birthright went power and therefore it was coveted greatly in that culture.
When Israel gave Ephraim the birthright, however, he gave it to him with one major reservation. We read about this in Genesis 49:8-10, where Judah is given the pre-eminence or power to rule and reign royally over the House of Israel! Verse 9 states that all Israel's children will bow before the royalty of Judah and verse 9 states that the pre-eminence will cause all Israel to pay homage to the Lion of Judah whom verse 10 refers to by the Messianic name of Shiloh. Shiloh means the "sent one" or the anointed King Messiah from the kingly line of Judah who would be manifest in the natural through the tribe of Judah. Hebrews 7:14 makes it clear that Yahshua was Shiloh and it is evident that He sprang forth from Judah.

Did Jacob go to all the trouble of establishing Ephraim as the firstborn with the firstborn birthright only to give him a title without authority and without preeminence over his brothers? He did bring a split into and among the sons of Israel since one son had a birthright but the other son Judah had the right to rule. What good is a birthright without the authority that goes along with it? The children of Israel would submit to Judah's seed not Ephraim's, yet Ephraim's seed would become the fullness of the Gentiles. Judah would rule over the House of Israel, but Ephraim would bring forth the promised zera (seed) that would fill the globe with the promise to the patriarchs of physical multiplicity. Of course Israel knew what he was doing since he was ministering through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). He split the authority and blessing between the two brothers who would continue to wage war over the fullness of the blessing that would ultimately be played out in a battle royal over the title of “Who is Israel?” How ironic that according to Genesis 49:10 it will be the Lion of Judah (Messiah Yahshua), that would regather the goyim or nations of the seed of Ephraim back into the House of Israel.

After Israel died and his children became great in Egypt this promise of physical multiplicity began to trouble a Pharaoh who “knew not” Joseph. Of course he enslaved the Hebrews and it took Moshe (Moses) the great deliverer to rescue Israel from the house of bondage. As history teaches us, Moshe took the twelve tribes out of Egypt, to Sinai where they received Torah and then the twelve tribes settled the land of Canaan. After a period of diverse Judges and after King Saul, David was anointed King over all Israel. In the days of David the King, we see the house of Judah ruling and reigning over a united Israel with 12 tribes under David's monarchy. All was well until Solomon, David's' son, began whoring physically as well as spiritually and Yahweh revealed to Solomon that the kingdom would be broken in the life of his son Rehoboam because of Solomon's sins. (1 Kings 11:11-14). Yahweh further revealed to Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, one of Solomon's talented craftsman, that he would receive ten tribes resulting from this split in the kingdom of Israel after Solomon's death. The days under David was the last time that the kingdom belonged to all Israel, made up of all twelve tribes. In approximately 921 BC the ten northern tribes broke away from the House of David and called themselves Israel making Samaria its capital. The southern tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi made up the southern kingdom under Rehoboam with Jerusalem as its capital (1 Kings 11:26-43). This split in 921 BC was simply the literal fulfillment of the prophecy pronounced by Jacob over his sons when he split the family so to speak. He split the birthright between Ephraim and Judah and that is why Yahweh says in 1 Kings 12:24 that this family split is from Him. He ordained it and desired it so that He could bring to pass the promise He made to the patriarchs; specifically the promise of physical multiplicity. The means by which our Heavenly Father chose to do this is through this split in David's House.

The Kingdom of Israel is known throughout Scripture by several names: Israel, Ephrayim, Joseph. The Northern kingdom of ten tribes began to adopt pagan practices, holidays, customs and false worship. Unfortunately, Jeroboam became the father of Ephraimite pagans. In 1 Kings 12:26-33 we see the evil heart of Jeroboam son of Nebat as he devised a scheme for the ten tribes collectively known as the House of Israel or Ephraim to begin to practice a false religion designed to keep Ephraim separate from Judah and separate from Judah's Elohim. This system of Jeroboam had as its basic design the creation of a separate entity from the House of David consisting of the ten tribes in the north.

This separation unto debauchery and unto Ephraim's departure from the family of Israel resulted in Yahweh's judgment. Between 734 and 722 BCE Yahweh sent Tilgat Pilsger III, the Assyrian king, to utterly destroy the House Of Ephraim or the ten northern tribes. Since Ephraim played the harlot and lifted her skirt to every foreign deity, Yahweh declared that He would in like manner sift her and cause her to be naked before the Gentile nations, by bringing an end to the northern kingdom, of Israel. This stern punishment would be enacted by the dispersing and swallowing up of these ten tribes by the world's pagan nations. Since Ephraim's lust, penchant and desire for paganism was so great, Yahweh permitted the ten tribes to become the very thing that they so desperately and so wickedly craved to be. Thus we find that the children of Israel experienced their first holocaust in 722 BCE when ten tribes seemingly disappeared and became lost spiritually as well as physically. Thus was born the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel”.

This breakup was the method by which Yahweh chose to fulfill the promise of physical multiplicity to the patriarchs. Are the ten tribes really lost? Can they be found? Have they been destroyed, or somehow preserved? Did the Messiah come to restore the Tabernacle of David which had fallen in 920 BCE? Did the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel” become Gentiles later to be regathered back into the House of Israel by the ministry of Messiah? Is it possible that the ten tribes became the "melo ha goyim" or the "fullness of the Gentiles" that we read about in Romans and that was promised to be the physical Israelite seed through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Ephraim?

We will continue with our study of the Hebrews in the next edition. Hopefully we can answer many of these questions. However, if you can’t wait, most of this article was taken from a teaching by Ben Ehrhardt, our congregational teacher, from our congregation’s website, HearOIsrael.org. You can find more of this teaching with more detail under the “Two House 101” Teaching on the site.
Blessings and Shalom!

What Did Leah Really Say?

2006-11-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

I have been asked why I do not use the word God and instead use the word Elohim. I will attempt to convey as best as possible the answer to this question. However, this “study” is not for the causal reader but for the ones who are truly seeking to know truth. If you’ve read my articles on the Names of Yahweh and Yahshua you will remember that our Heavenly Father has a personal name. A Name that He has not only given us but has commanded us to call Him and to remember forever.
So if He has a personal Name, why would we continue to call Him by a title? Is the word “God” a title or a name? This “title”, “God”, has been known as His name for many years. But if it isn’t His Name, then whose name is it?
We can find the answer from Leah, one of Jacob’s wives. Let’s look at Genesis 39:11 in 3 versions of Scripture, Hebrew, King James with the numbers from Strong’s Concordance, and Institute for Scripture Research.

Gen 30:11 ותאמר לאה בגד ותקרא את־שׁמו גד׃ (Hebrew)

Gen 30:11 And Leah3812 said,559 A troop cometh:1413 and she called7121 (853) his name8034 Gad.1410 (KJV)

Gen 30:11 And Le’ah said, “With Gad_!” So she called his name Gad_. (ISR)

What exactly was Leah saying? Did she say “a troop cometh”? Or did she say “with Gad”? Looking at the Hebrew and using Strong’s concordance let’s see what we can find. Strong uses the number 1413 and 1410 when quoting and describing what Leah said. Let’s see the definition for these numbers based on Strong’s. Strong’s lists the number, then the Hebrew letters, then the pronunciation, and then his definition. So first let’s look at H1413 and then H1410.

H1413 גּדד ga^dad , gaw-dad'
A primitive root (compare H1461); to crowd; also to gash (as if by pressing into): - assemble (selves by troops), gather (selves together, self in troops), cut selves.

H1410 גּד ga^d, gawd
From H1464; Gad, a son of Jacob, including his tribe and its territory; also a prophet: - Gad.

1. The first thing to notice is that the Hebrew letters are not the same for the two words.
2. Secondly, we notice the pronunciation of the name, gawd or god.
3. Thirdly we should notice that the number 1410 is not a definition of the word but it describes who this person was.

So where is the definition of the word? What does the word mean?
Why are there two different numbers for what she said? Is it really saying “god”?
Now I use Strong’s rather frequently when trying to see what is said in Scripture, but I have found that Mr. Strong was human. Occasionally he makes a mistake. Let’s look at the Hebrew letters above in the verse from Gen. 30:11. For those who can’t really read Hebrew we will just have to look for two groups of letters that look similar.

Here are the two groups of letters for what Leah said about her son. Now notice something very interesting. Remember Hebrew is read from right to left. So the first group of letters are Dalet-Gimmel dg and the second group of letters are different they are Dalet-Gimmel-Bet dgb. In 1413, the first set of Hebrew letters that Strong uses, he uses letters that are different than what is written in the Hebrew. He uses Dalet-Dalet-Gimmel- ddg גּדד . This is not what it says in the original Hebrew, therefore the number he assigns to the first group of letters cannot be 1413, so the definition “troop” would be incorrect. So what number should be assigned?

Let’s look at the second group of letters. The number assigned is 1410, which as I’ve stated is not a definition, but describing who the person became. So what is the definition, or meaning of the word? Let’s look at Strong’s number 1408 and even 1409.

H1408 גּד gad, gad
A variation of H1409; Fortune, a Babylonian deity:

H1409 גּד ga^d, gawd
From H1464 (in the sense of distributing); fortune:

The Hebrew letters are written the same as what was written in our verse above. Why did Mr. Strong not use 1408 or 1409 instead of 1410 or 1413? You can ponder that for a moment.
Now let’s look at Isaiah 65:11

Isa 65:11 But ye859 are they that forsake5800 the LORD,3068 that forget7913 (853) my holy6944 mountain,2022 that prepare6186 a table7979 for that troop,1408 and that furnish4390 the drink offering4469 unto that number.4507 (KJV)

Isa 65:11 "But as for you who forsake the LORD and forget my holy mountain, who spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny, (NIV)

Isa 65:11 “But you are those who forsake יהוה, who forget My set-apart mountain, who prepare a table for Gad, and who fill a drink offering for Meni. (ISR)

In the KJV it states that they prepare a table for that “troop” and yet Strong gives it the number 1408. The NIV uses the word “Fortune” based on the 1408 number. Then ISR takes it a step further and uses the Hebrew word or name of Gad. It is clear that the Isaiah 65 verse is talking about the name of a pagan deity named Gad as well as the deity Meni who was the deity of destiny. Isaiah was not talking about a troop or a number. It doesn’t even make sense reading the context of the verse.

Therefore based on the Hebrew letters and the definition of the words, Mr. Strong should have used his number 1408 for the name of Leah’s son instead of 1410. So if Gad in Isaiah 65 is the same as Gad, Leah’s son, just what was she really saying? What Leah was saying was that the deity of Fortune,Remember Jacob’s wives were not necessarily followers or believers of Yahweh as their Elohim or as the only Elohim. Rachel, Leah’s sister, took the idols from their father Laben’s house before they left. Leah and Rachel were no strangers to pagan deities and would not blink an eye to naming their children after one of them.

Gen 31:19 And when Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Raḥel stole the house idols that were her father’s.

Gen 31:34 Now Raḥel had taken the house idols and put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them.

Gad “God” was and is the name of the mighty one of fortune. We know that as believers in Yahweh we should not be seeking the mighty one of fortune but that Yahweh is our treasure and He will supply our needs. It’s kind of ironic isn’t it that our money states, “In God we trust” Is it in Yahweh we trust or in Fortune?

Apart from Gad, the son of Jacob, Yaacob, there was another “Gad.” The astrologers of Babel called Jupiter (Zeus) by the name “Gad.” He was also well known among the Canaanites (the Kenaanites) where his name was often coupled with Baal, Baal Gad, which according to the Massoretic vowel pointing in the Book of Yehoshua is pronounced: Baal God, or Lord God. This same name is discovered in the ancient Germanic languages as Gott, Goda, Gode, God, Gud, Gade. And searching further back into its Indo-Germanic (Indo-European) roots, we find that it traces back to the word GHODH, which means “union,” even “sexual union”.

I do not call Yahweh my Father, “God” because that is how the name of the pagan deity Gad’s name is pronounced. So if I say God help me, it is the same as saying Gad help me, in pronunciation. I find it better to use the Name of the One True Elohim, the Name He gave us to call Him, Yahweh. I find no reason to give Him a substitute name or title. So I hope that answers the question as to why I use Elohim. Inevitably, someone will say, “Well, I don’t speak Hebrew”. To which I answer, “Do you speak Greek? Babylonian? German? French? Then why use their words but balk at using Hebrew?” If you have ever uttered the word Halleluyah or Immanuel then you are speaking Hebrew. So using another Hebrew word isn’t such a stretch. I realize that habits are hard to break, but consider the following verse:

Exo 23:13 “And in all that I have said to you take heed. And make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, let it not be heard from your mouth.

On this road we travel to walk as righteously as we can, doing what we can to please our Father and Savior, I encourage you to pray about it and see what He speaks to your heart concerning what His Name is and what is pleasing to Him. This choice is yours for the making, I’m only answering the question why I don’t use it. This is between you and Yahweh. Yahweh Bless you!

The Fall Feasts of Yahweh

2006-10-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

There are 4 Feasts of Yahweh that are to be observed in the Fall. The Fall Feasts are not as easy to interpret because they have not been fulfilled. The Spring Feasts each pointed to Yahshua’s first coming, while the Fall Feasts point to His second coming. So all we can do is read our Scriptures and try to find the meanings as best we can. Therefore I will do my best to explain what the Feasts are and how to observe them. As I do, remember that I am a believer in Yahshua as the Messiah, so my understanding of the Feasts will be different than what you hear or read from the Jews. I also do not hold to the Talmud, which is also known as the Oral Torah. These are laws and fences that the Rabbis have made in addition to what the Scriptures say. In a future article I will explain this further.
Let’s take each of the Feasts one by one. First Yom Teruah: On the 1st day of the 7th month, Yahweh commanded us to keep the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets is mentioned in the following verses:

Leviticus 23:24 - Speak unto the children of Yisra’el saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a rest, a remembrance of blowing of trumpets, a set-apart gathering.
Numbers 29:1 - And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work, it is a day of blowing the trumpets for you.
This day is to be observed as a Sabbath day. It is a time of shouting, blowing trumpets and rejoicing. The Hebrew name for this day is "Yom Teruah" which literally means "Day of Alarm or Day of Sounding".

A Shofar (pronounced Show-far or Show-fur) is perhaps the oldest wind instrument known to man. Made of the hollowed horn of an animal, usually a ram, it is blown on Yom Teruah. It is blown on Yom Teruah to inaugurate Moshiach as King of the Universe, and on Yom Kippur to cap off the day as it surmounts its spiritual peak.
Because of its powerful, thundering voice, a shofar was sounded at events of earth-shattering significance. A surround-sound shofar blast filled the atmosphere when the Torah was given at Mt. Sinai, Joshua conquered Jericho with seven assault-shofar city circlings, Jewish kings were inaugurated to the sound of the Shofar, and the greatest shofar recital in all eternity will accompany the arrival of Moshiach, Yahshua!
The blowing of the shofar on Yom Teruah consists of four sounds sounded in a specific order: tekiah (t-KEE-uh), shvarim (sh-VAW-reem) teruah (t-ROO-uh) and tekiah gedolah (geh-DOH-luh). Each lasts approximately three seconds except tekiah gedolah. Tekiah is a straight, unbroken blast, shevarim is a tekiah broken into three one-second segments, teruah is a staccato division of the tekiah into nine rapid-fire notes, while tekiah gedolah is a triple tekiah, lasting a minimum of three consecutive tekiot, or nine seconds. A tekiah gedolah replaces the final tekiah in the set blown. Tekiah “Blast”, Shevarim “Broken”, Teruah “Alarm”, Tekiah Gedolah “The Great Tekiah” or “The Great Blast”.
Are you making the connection? Many believe that this feast is symbolic of Yahushua's return, and our own advancement toward the promised land (Yahweh's kingdom) at Yahushua's return. Remember that scripture says Yahushua will return at the 'last trump':
1Corinthians 15:51-52 “See, I speak a secret to you: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
When that Tekiah Gedolah, “The Great Tekiah” or “The Great Blast” sounds it will announce the return of Yahushua!

Yom Kippur: After Yom Teruah there are what’s called the 10 days of Awe. It is a time to reflect on your life and to make Teshuvah or repentance. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. It is not a day of feasting. Rather, it is a day of fasting. It is a high Sabbath:
Leviticus 23:27-28 “On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a set-apart gathering for you. And you shall afflict your beings, and shall bring an offering made by fire to Yahweh. “And you do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your Elohim.”
“Afflict your beings” has nothing to do with cutting yourself or crawling on your knees for miles. It just means to fast. The focal point of this feast involved the high priest entering the holy of holies. However, before entering, he had to first bathe his entire body, thus going way beyond the mere washing of hands and feet which were required for other occasions. This washing symbolized the high priest's desire for purification. Rather than wearing his usual robe and colorful garments (Exodus 28 and Leviticus 8), he was commanded to wear special garments of linen. The high priest sacrificed a bullock as a sin offering for himself and for his house (Leviticus 16:6). After filling his censer with live coals from the altar, he entered the holy of holies where he placed incense on the coals. Next, he took some of the blood which was taken from the slain bullock and sprinkled it on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant (Leviticus 16:13) and also on the ground in front of the mercy seat, providing atonement for the priesthood (Leviticus 16:14-15). Then he sacrificed a male goat as a sin offering for the people. Some of this blood was then also taken into the most set-apart place and sprinkled there on behalf of the people (Leviticus 16:11-15).

Next, the high priest took another goat (called the "scapegoat"), laid his hands on its head, confessed over it the sins of Israel, and then released it into the desert where it symbolically carried away the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:8,10). The remains of the sacrificial bullock and male goat were taken outside of the city and subsequently burned. Some believe that Yom Kippur is symbolic of when Yahushua will completely destroy the last enemy (death) at the end of the 1000 year reign when Satan will finally be thrown into the lake of fire. Then all sin will be atoned for and those who have chosen righteousness will forever be with Yahweh. On Yom Kippur, the Book of Life is sealed.

Sukkot: Now let's look at the Feast of Tabernacles. It is 5 days after Yom Kippur.
Leviticus 23:34 - “Speak to the children of Yisra’el, saying, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Booths for seven days to Yahweh. On the first day is a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work.
‘For seven days you bring an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day there shall be a set-apart gathering for you, and you shall bring an offering made by fire to Yahweh. It is a closing festival, you do no servile work.

Sukkot means "booths, tabernacles". All of Israel is commanded to dwell in booths during the 7 days of the feast. This is the first and eighth day mentioned in the above verses. The last day is also known as the "Last Great Day". The first and eighth days are Sabbaths and holy convocations. At this feast, it is good to build a "Sukkah" or temporary dwelling place made with surrounding trees and branches.
It is a time to remember how temporary this life really is and to consider that one day we will tabernacle with Yahweh forever:
Revelation 21:3 - And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of Yahweh is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. Yahweh Himself will be with them and be their Elohim.
This year, according to the Biblical reckoning of time, Yom Kippur will fall on Tuesday, Oct. 3rd at sundown until Wednesday, Oct. 4th at sundown. Most of the Jews follow the Rabbinic calendar which made Yom Kippur last Sunday-Monday. However in a future article I will explain why I do not follow the Rabbinic calendar. According to the Biblical reckoning of time Sukkot begins on Sunday, Oct. 8th at sundown. The first day is a Sabbath. The eight day, or Shemini Azaret will fall on Oct. 16th at sundown and end on the 17th sundown and is also a Sabbath.
My family will be joining our congregation, and others from all over (some are coming from Canada) at the coast for a 10 day camping trip. We will dwell in tents, yurts, RVs, etc, spend the week studying Scripture, worshipping, playing, visiting, eating, making crafts, sitting around the campfire, etc. It is a joyous time and a time to fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Yahshua. This year we are going to review all of the prophets and prophecies and see how they correlate concerning the coming of Yahshua and the Millennial Reign. It should be an interesting and exciting study.
Let’s look at the Fall Feasts another way, Yom Teruah, Day of Blasts, announces the coming of the Bridegroom. Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement, is the marriage to the Bride, and Sukkot, Feasts of Tabernacles, is the celebration or Marriage Supper of the Lamb!
Rev 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him praise, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife prepared herself.” And to her it was given to be dressed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the set-apart ones. And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true words of Elohim.”
We are to keep the Feasts of Yahweh the best we can because first, He commanded us to, and secondly because they are rehearsals of things to come. If we don’t practice now, we will be caught unprepared.
Blessings to you on these Sabbaths and Feasts of Yahweh. Whether you are following the Rabbinic calendar or the Biblical calendar I pray that His Feasts will become more and more meaningful to you everyday. With much love.

The Name of Yahshua

2006-09-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

Last month my article was on the Name of our Heavenly Father, Yahweh. So this month I thought I’d write about our Savior’s Name.
We know that Mary (Miriam) and Joseph (Yoseph) were Hebrews. They were not Greeks or Romans or any other race. They spoke Hebrew and/or Aramaic. It would have been against Hebrew law to name their child with a Greek name. The name Yahshua means "Yah's Salvation". Again as with the name of Yahuweh, Yahshua’s name has also been pronounced Yeshua, Yehoshua, Yahoshua, Yahushua. Yeshua means Salvation. Yahshua means Yah’s Salvation. Personally, and from what I have been able to research, I use Yahoshua or Yahshua.
Luke 1:31 “And see, you shall conceive in your womb, and shall give birth to a Son, and call His Name Yahshua.”
Matt. 1:21 “And she shall give birth to a Son, and you shall call His Name Yahshua, for He shall save His people from their sins.”
The Angel Gabriel told both Miriam and Yoseph that the child’s Name was to mean Salvation. There is meaning in His Name. The first 3 Hebrew letters for the His Name, read right to left are YodHayVav, the last 2 letters are Sheen and Ayin. The YodHayVav are the same as the Father’s Name, Yahweh. This is because He would come in the Name of His Father. Now I do not mean to offend anyone, because like you, the name Jesus is the name that I have called Him since I could speak. But the name Jesus does not translate into anything from any language, much less the Hebrew. The name "Jesus" does not translate into Yahweh Saves, or Yahweh's Salvation, or anything else for that matter. No part of "Jesus" has the Father's Name.
John 17:11-12 “And I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Set-apart Father, guard them in Your Name, which You have given Me, so that they might be one, as We are. “When I was with them in the world, I was guarding them in Your Name which You have given Me, and I watched over them, and not one of them perished except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be filled.
Yahshua has His Father’s name, Yah. The Name of Yahweh is highly exalted and above all others. As stated in last month’s article, the Name of Yahweh is to be praised, honored, used, remembered, etc. etc. Now let’s look at Philippians.
Phil 2:9 Elohim, therefore, has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name,
What about Salvation? By whose Name are we saved?
Act 4:12 “And there is no deliverance (salvation) in anyone else, for there is no other Name under the heaven given among men by which we need to be saved.”
Joel 2:32 “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the Name of Yahweh shall be saved.”
Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth the Master Yahshua and believe in your heart that Elohim has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”
Romans 10:13 “For ‘everyone who calls on the Name of Yahweh shall be saved”

So if there is “no other Name” by which we are saved then, do we have a contradiction in Scripture? Never!
Remember the Name of Yahweh has been taken out of our Scriptures but if you look in the Aramaic for Romans 10:13 it says that those who call on the Name of Yahuweh shall be saved. How can it be both? Easy! Yahshua has His Father's Name. Because of this, salvation is in both of these Names because the Name is the same.
Psalm 118:26 “Blessed is He who is coming in the Name of Yahweh ! We shall bless you from the House of Yahweh.”
Matt 23:39 “for I say to you, from now on you shall by no means see Me, until you say, ‘Blessed is He who is coming in the Name of Yahweh!’ ”
Mark 11:9 “And those going before and those following cried out, saying, “Hoshia-na! ‘Blessed is He who is coming in the Name of Yahweh!’
Luke 19:38 saying, “ ‘Blessed is the Sovereign who is coming in the Name of Yahweh!’ Peace in heaven and esteem in the highest!”

Yahushua has literally come in His Father's Name as His name begins with YAH!
The leader who led the Children of Israel into the land, Joshua’s actual name in Hebrew is Yahoshua. Moses changed his name from Hoshea to Yahoshua. Yahoshua (Joshua) is a picture of Yahshua., his name was changed by Moses to mean Yah’s Salvation, just as our Savior’s Name.
Now let’s look at Zechariah.
Zechariah 6:11-13 “And you shall take the silver and gold, make a crown, and set it on the head of Yahoshua the son of Yahotsadaq, the high priest, and shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus said Yahweh of hosts, saying, “See, the Man whose name is the Branch! And from His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the Hekal (Temple) of Yahweh “It is He who is going to build the Hekal of Yahweh. It is He who is going to bear the splendor. And He shall sit and rule on His throne, and shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both,” ’

This story in Zechariah is a prophecy of Yahshua. He will be our High Priest and our King. This son of the high priest has the same name as our Savior, Yahoshua.
Jeremiah 23:5-6 “See, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I shall raise for David a Branch of righteousness, and a Sovereign shall reign and act wisely, and shall do right-ruling and righteousness in the earth. “In His days Yahudah shall be saved, and Yisra’el dwell safely. And this is His Name whereby He shall be called: ‘Yahweh our Righteousness.’

Yahshua is called Yahweh our Righteousness! He is called Yahweh because He has His Father’s Name! When Yahshua died Pilate had a sign placed over His head. What Pilate wrote angered the chief priests of the Jews. They wanted him to change it. What was written was: “Yahshua of Natsareth, the sovereign of the Yahudim.” In Hebrew it would have been said like this: Yahshua Hanazri Vemelech HaYaudim. YHVH. Not only did it bother them that it said He was the Sovereign of the Yahudim but seeing YHVH’s Name must have made them afraid.
John 5:43 “I have come in My Father’s Name and you do not receive Me, if another comes in his own name, him you would receive.
With the Temple destroyed, during the Babylonian exile, and the prohibition on pronouncing The Name outside of the Temple, pronunciation of the Name fell into disuse. Scholars passed down knowledge of the correct pronunciation of YHVH for many generations. The Mazoretic text, which have added vowel points, have caused “Yah” to be said as “Yeh”. Original Hebrew has no vowel points. They used these vowel points to hide Yahweh’s Name, so that no one would say it. This comes from the oral torah/talmud. This is wrong teaching, which is what the Pharisees and scribes, or rabbinic Judaism have done. The name Judah is even wrongly spoken, as the real name is Yahudah, which scripturally means “Praise Yahweh”.
Genesis 29:35 “And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I praise Yahweh.” So she called his name Yahudah. And she ceased bearing.”

So is it important to use His real Name? There is a store I used to shop at in Gresham, OR called Fred Meyers. It’s the HEB of Oregon and Washington. Anyways, there’s a certain cashier who every time he sees me says, “Hi Tracy”, “How’s it going, Tracy?”, “How are you Tracy?” You get the idea! For some strange reason he thinks my name is Tracy! Now I can’t verify this, but I have never met a Latina named “TRACY”! So what do I say? “Oh Hi”, “Going good”, “I’m fine”. I have yet to correct him! Ok, so call me a wimp!
But my point is this, he calls be by a wrong name. It’s because he doesn’t really know my name even though he thinks he does. If however, I were to correct him and say, “My real name is Saya” what should his response be? I would think he would apologize, feel a little silly, and then from that day on use my real name. But what would happen if he said to me, “Oh, well, I’ve called you Tracy for years now and so to me you are Tracy!” or “Well, I like Tracy better, so I will call you that.” or “I don’t really care if it’s not your real name, you have always been Tracy to me and that’s what I will still call you!” or, “Well, I don’t speak Spanish or Hebrew so I’ll call you my English version of what I think your name should be.” If this was his answer to me I think I would have the right to be upset, even angry! I would feel as if he didn’t really care about me or about what I thought or felt about my own name. It would be downright disrespectful to me as a person!
Using YAHshua's true Name brings honor to the Him and to the Name of YAHweh the Father. Their divine memorial-names are from eternity's threshold yet have been hidden for centuries under the doctrines and traditions of men. At the close of this age, Their sacred and awesome names are once again being revealed, honored, and restored to a place of pre-eminence.We know that the Father and Son are One. They are One in everything, including their Names.
Psalm 68:4 Sing to Elohim, sing praises to His Name. Raise up a highway for Him Who rides through the deserts, By His Name Yah, And exult before Him.

Prov. 30:4 Who has gone up to the heavens and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who established all the ends of the earth? What is His Name, And what is His Son’s Name, If you know it?

Next month’s article will be about the Fall Festivals, or Feasts of Yahweh. The Day of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), and The Last Great Day (Shemini Azeret) . Blessings and Shalom.

The Name YHWH, Yahweh, Yahuweh

2006-08-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

Prov 30:4 Who has gone up to the heavens and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who established all the ends of the earth? What is His Name, And what is His Son’s Name, If you know it?
You have seen in my previous articles that I use the Name Yahweh instead of the titles of God and Lord when speaking of our Heavenly Father. This month’s article is to explain why. I must tell you that the subject of His Name is one that I am very passionate about and I take very seriously. The Name of our Heavenly Father and His Son are of the utmost importance in our lives. Therefore my article this month is extra long. Hopefully I can convey my thoughts and some of my research in this article.
The Name of the Father has been eliminated from our Scriptures some 6,823 times and replaced with Lord". The short form, Yah, has also been substituted 48 times with "Lord", and only retained in one verse in the KJV Psalms 68:4. Further, wherever we read "GOD" in capital letters, that too is a substitute for Yahweh."
Some Bibles will even explain this in the very front of the book using what’s called the tetragamation YHWH or YHVH. The V was used after the Babylonian captivity and W before. His Name can be pronounced Yahweh or Yahuweh, or with a few other variations. There are some who use the name Jehovah or Jehowah but these do not hold well as first, there was no letter “J” until about 500 years ago and secondly the first part of His Name is Yah, as seen in Scripture, His Name can not be pronounced with a Je or Ye sound. Unfortunately the true pronunciation of His Name is uncertain as the Jews hid His Name and ceased from using it. Only a few truly know the exact pronunciation but we do know that we are close to it. I tend to use Yahweh but at times will interchange with Yahuweh.
Elohim means “Mighty One”. The word Elohim was replaced with God although in another article someday I will show that this is not a correct translation either. The title, "lord," is applied to all heathen deities, if the word "god" is not used for them. In most cases "lord" and "god" are used interchangeably for pagan idols. For instance, Hare Krishna is popularly known as "Lord." British landowners where known as lords. These words were never used as a name of our Father, only as a generic replacement title.
Exo 3:15 And Elohim said further to Mosheh, “Thus you are to say to the children of Yisra’el “ YHWH Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Yitsḥaq, and the Elohim of Yaaqob, has sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance to all generations.’
Here Yahuweh tells Moses His Name. He says His Name is Yahuweh! Cecil B. DeMile in the movie The Ten Commandments picks up on the "I Am" in verse 14 of this same chapter and uses this as Yahuweh's name. If Mr. DeMile and others would have read just a little further they would have seen His True Name, His Personal Name. But let's also look a little closer at this verse. Yahuweh also states that "This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance to all generations." We are to remember His Name, forever! So why have we as His children forgotten His Name and no longer use His Name?
For the sake of irony I will quote some of my reference points in both “The Institute for Scripture Research version (ISR) and the NIV. Let’s look at the Exodus 3:15 reference in the NIV:
“God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”
Reading this verse in the NIV one has to ask themselves, “Did I miss something?” Nowhere in this verse in the NIV does He state His name so how can Moses tell it to the Israelites and how can it be remembered? Remember, at the very least the words “God” and “Lord” are titles, not names.
Now let’s look at the 10 Commandments.
Exo 20:7 “You do not bring the Name of YHWH your Elohim to naught, for YHWH does not leave the one unpunished who brings His Name to naught. (ISR)
Exo 20:7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (NIV)
Now do you see the irony in this? NIV says not to misuse His Name and that He will find you guilty if you do. Yet they have eliminated His Name! Wouldn’t that be considered a “misuse” of His Name? The third commandment, of the 10, states that we are not to bring His Name to naught, or to take it in vain. This does not simply mean not to take His Name and use it as a curse word. The word "naught" according to Webster’s Dictionary means: nothing, nothingness, nonexistence, of no importance, insignificant, or zero. The word "vain" means: having no real value, idle, worthless, marked by futility or ineffectualness, useless, empty, hollow, devoid of worth or significance. By removing His True Name from our scriptures haven't we done just that? The NIV translation stating “You shall not misuse the name” is a poor translation of this verse. The Hebrew text does not state that we are not to “misuse” it. It states bringing it to nothingness. The Jews not speaking His True Name and hiding it from the world have done the same with His Name. The Torah, Prophets, and the Writings have His name YHVH/YHWH in the Hebrew text so it is not a mystery as to whether He has a personal name. It is only the pronunciation of His Name that there is some question.
Psa 68:4 Sing to Elohim, sing praises to His Name. Raise up a highway for Him Who rides through the deserts, By His Name Yah, And exult before Him.
Here in Psalms 68:4 the poetic short form of His Name was kept. We use the poetic short form of His Name in the word HalleuYah! The word HalleuYah is a Hebrew word which means Praise Yah! We also see this poetic short form in many of the prophet's names; YeshaYahu (Isaiah), YermeYahu (Jeremiah), ObadYah (Obadiah), TsephanYah (Zephaniah), ZekarYah (Zechariah), EliYahu (Elijah).
Yahuweh revealed His Name to the children of Israel:
Gen 28:13 And see, YHWH stood above it and said, “I am YHWH Elohim of Abraham your father and the Elohim of Yitsḥaq. The land on which you are lying, I give it to you and your seed.
Isa 42:8 “I am YHWH, that is My Name, and My esteem I do not give to another, nor My praise to idols. (ISR)
Isa 42:8 “I am the Lord; that is My Name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.” (NIV)
Looking at the NIV or any other version are we really to believe that He would say, “I am the Lord; that is My Name!” Would He really call Himself by a generic title and say it’s His Name?
All religions generally are known by the one they worship or give homage to. Anciently the god of the Addadians was Marduk; the god of the Romans was Moloch; the god of the Greeks was Zeus; the god of the Romans was also Jupiter; the god of the Moabites was Baal-Peor; the god of the Hebrews was...God? Using an all-inclusive, indefinite, impersonal title simply does not identify the One you worship! Capitalizing that title doesn't help either, no more than the title "mr." suddenly becomes a name if we make it "Mr." Yahweh would not have said, “My Name is Lord!” Simply because it was not His Name and further because it is not a name at all. Strange, isn't it, that all the pagan "deities" have their own special names, yet we are expected to believe that the True Mighty One of the Scriptures goes by general terms that can apply to any "deity"?
Micah 4:5 For all the peoples walk, each one in the name of his mighty one, but we walk in the Name of YHWH our Elohim forever and ever. (ISR)
Psalm 83:18 And let them know that You, Whose Name is YHWH, You alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Yahushua also revealed Yahuweh's name to the disciples:
John 17:6 “I have revealed Your Name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have guarded Your Word. (ISR)
John 17:26 “And I have made Your Name known to them, and shall make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me might be in them, and I in them.” (ISR)
We are to know His Name. Isaiah 52:6 is a prophetic verse that states what will happen in the end times. We see this today as more and more are learning His Name and calling upon His Personal Name. Isa 52:6 “Therefore My people shall know My Name, in that day, for I am the One who is speaking. See, it is I.”
We are told throughout Scripture to Call upon His Name, Love His Name, Fear His Name, Honor His Name, we can take refuge in His Name, His Name reveals His character, There is Salvation in His Name, and on and on.
Yahuweh commands that we do not use the names of other deities. He tells us to destroy their names and wipe them out. He also states that He will remove the Ba’als from our lips. But we are to keep His Name and not destroy or remove it!
Deu 12:3 - 4 “And you shall break down their altars, and smash their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire. And you shall cut down the carved images of their mighty ones and shall destroy their name out of that place. “Do not do so to YHWH your Elohim,
Exo 23:13 “And in all that I have said to you take heed. And make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, let it not be heard from your mouth.
Hos 2:16 - 17 “And it shall be, in that day,” declares YHWH , “that you call Me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Ba’al.’ “And I shall remove the names of the Ba’als from her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
Jer 23:26 - 27 “Till when shall it be in the heart of the prophets? – the prophets of falsehood and prophets of the deceit of their own heart, who try to make My people forget My Name by their dreams which everyone relates to his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My Name for Ba’al.
Zep 3:9 “For then I shall turn unto the peoples a clean lip, so that they all call on the Name of YHWH, to serve Him with one shoulder.
Now here’s the interesting part, the word Ba’al or Baal, is Hebrew for the word Lord. Now re-read the above verses with this new insight.
Names have always been important to Yahuweh. He changed the names of several people in the Scriptures, Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, and Jacob to Israel to name a few. Even Yahshua changed Peter’s name. The Hebrews named their children with special meanings to their names. When I named my boys it was not done haphazardly. Each one was named with a purpose. Gabriel, Caleb and Levi were named after the characters in the Scriptures and what they represented. How much more important is it to know His Name and to call Him by His Personal Name.
I have gone through some of the books in the Scriptures and looked for how many times He uses the phrase “I am Yahweh” or “I, Yahweh”. I didn’t even count the times that state “thus says Yahweh”. Only where He states His Name Himself, the table has a few samples.

With the name YHWH taken out 6,823 times, the short form Yah taken out 48 times, and looking at the chart of only a few of the books in the Scriptures where He Himself states His Name, would you think that He feels that His own Name is important?
We should be honored to be able to call upon the Mighty One of Israel, our Father, the Elohim of Heaven and Earth by His Personal Name!

Sabbath / Shabbat Part Two

2006-07-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Last month we began looking at the Sabbath. I showed you the two main verses that people use to say that the early believers met and worshiped on Sunday instead of keeping the Sabbath. With the understanding of the Feasts of Yahweh and looking into exactly what these verses really do say we see that contrary to what we thought, these early believers were actually meeting on the Sabbath and not on Sunday. A day in Yahweh’s reckoning of time starts at sundown and ends the following sundown. So Sabbath is actually Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. So in the winter months the Sabbath starts earlier than it does in the summer.
Now here were my questions 10 years ago. “Why don’t we keep the Sabbath? Why do we worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? When did the day get changed and who decided this? Where in Scripture does it say that the Sabbath is now on Sunday and not on Saturday?”
Hopefully I can answer these for you as I know these same questions and questions like it have entered into some of your minds as well.

There is nowhere in Scripture that states that the Sabbath is now on Sunday instead of Fri-Sat. Most people will agree that the Sabbath is Fri-Sat. Where the debate stands is do we have to keep it. However, some will argue that it doesn’t really matter what day you choose to worship or keep as a day of rest as long as you do it on one day, so it could be on Tuesday. Let’s investigate these beliefs. First let’s establish one thing. As a believer in Yahshua and a servant of Yahweh, it does not matter what men think or say, including what you yourself “thinks” or “feels”. What I mean by this is that I may “think” or “feel” that something should be a certain way, but the only thing that matters is what HE says, in His Word. Our ways are not His ways and His ways are always right!

According to church history the early believers met/worshiped on Sunday and then later Constantine the converted “Christian” made a law that all should worship on Sunday, “the Lord’s Day”, and have a day of rest. But according to real history this is far from the truth.
The early believers in Messiah Yahshua met on the Sabbath. When the debate came as to whether the new believers in Yahshua should be circumcised or not, it was decided that there were some strict guidelines they must follow and as for the rest… Acts 15:21 “For from ancient generations Mosheh has, in every city, those proclaiming him – being read in the congregations every Sabbath.” Meaning that the new believers will learn the ways of Yahweh, given to Moses, in the assembly when they gather on the Sabbath.

When people say, “the Early Church Fathers” they don’t mean Peter, James, John, or Paul. What is meant by this term is the “fathers” of the Universal Church established by Constantine which we today call the Roman Catholic Church. So who was Constantine? He was a Roman ruler who believed in the pagan sun god Mithra, also known as Mars, and in other cultures by many names. Constantine had a kingdom that had two main stream religions, those who believed in sun worship, Mithra, and the Hebrews with their One Most High, Yahweh. He also had this “sect” of Hebrews and others who worshiped Yahshua along with worship of Yahweh. Constantine made a brilliant move in terms of his political career, to combine these religions into one. He stated that as he was looking to the sun, he saw a vision of a cross before it. This was his “conversion”. Of course later after his “conversion” he had his wife and son killed, but hey, if you don’t really believe in Yahweh’s commands then murder’s ok!
Constantine made several rulings that would begin major persecution among the truly devote believers in Yahshua and those who believed in Yahweh. He not only commanded that Sunday be a day of rest and universal worship but those who did not follow this were tortured or put to death. It was also decided to persecute those who kept what became known as the “Jewish Feasts”. I say this because Yahweh calls the feasts HIS Feasts, not the Jewish Feasts. This was the effort of the “fathers” to separate the Jews and their beliefs from what they called “Christianity”. In their minds this religion of “Christianity” didn’t have to keep the feasts of the Jews, they didn’t have to keep the Sabbath, nor follow the Torah, and they could eat swine, etc. And although the book of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew they took the Greek translators version, as well as the Greek translators versions of other books in the New Testament instead of the Aramaic versions. Aramaic is a form of Hebrew which Yahshua and His disciples spoke.

If you have seen our cousin Dell’s teaching on the Sephardic Jews and the persecution they were subjected to, it all stems from Constantine and his rulings. You had to convert or die. The way they could identify you was if you kept the Sabbath and did not worship on “Sol Invictus" (The Invincible Sun) Sunday, if you kept the Feasts, and if you ate Kosher.

Now Constantine and the “fathers” had to come up with a reason that would convince some that Sunday was the new day to worship. They couldn’t come right out and say, we honor the “sun day” because of Mithra. So they said it was because Jesus, (yes, they gave Him a new name too, they couldn’t have Him with a Hebrew name!) rose from the dead on Sunday and called this “the Lord’s Day”. Those especially who were not learned in the Feasts of Yahweh bought this line. But if you remember from the calendar in the April edition, Yahshua rose on a Sabbath, Saturday, Sábado.

So the Sabbath day that Yahweh commanded us to keep was changed by man. It was changed in order to create mixed worship and in essence began an extension of an already established pagan religion. Pagan sun god worship has been around in various forms since the days of Nimrod, builder of the Tower of Babel.
A couple of things to consider. Even if the early believers did meet on Sunday, which they only would do as a result of persecution, did that make it right to change what Yahweh commanded? Secondly, the prophet Daniel prophesied that there would come a deceiver who would be the anti-Messiah who would do evil things. Here is the verse: Dan 7:25 “and it speaks words against the Most High, and it wears out the set-apart ones of the Most High, and it intends to change appointed times and law, and they are given into its hand for a time and times and half a time.” The appointed times are also known as the festivals or feasts and the law, is the Torah of Yahweh. If the anti-Messiah is considered evil because he changes Yahweh’s feasts, Sabbaths, and His Torah, why would we as true believers in Yahshua want to follow these ways?

I hope I have answered the questions as to why the Sabbath was changed to Sunday and who masterminded this idea. I pray I have also sparked something inside you in the way of righteous indignation to demand to know the truth, Yahweh’s Truth, and that the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) leads you to seek out His ways and follow them. Too many of us are complacent in our spiritual walk. We strive to be good people, and maybe even pay our tithes, and that’s about as far as we want to go. We have believed the lies and we choose to be comfortable in them.
But there are those who are passionate for Yahshua. There are those who do want to seek after Him and serve Him with all their heart, soul, and mind. To you, I would ask that you take what I have shared and search out the Scriptures. See what it is that Yahweh says about keeping His commands and keeping His Sabbaths.

As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh! (Joshua 24:15)
The picture above is Pope John Paul II holding what is called a Monstrance or Ostensorium. It is used to display a round wafer of bread, which is used in what is called the Mass, Lord’s Supper, Communion, or Eucharistic meal. The Roman Catholic Church admits the Monstrance to be a sunburst. There are many pagan symbols used in the Catholic church which have come from Mithraism and sun god worship. Some of this has also been passed along to the Christian church as well. It’s time we evaluate our traditions and beliefs and see what Yahweh would have us shed so that we can have pure worship of Him and our Savior Yahshua.
Many Blessings and Shalom.

Sabbath / Shabbat Part One

2006-06-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

The Sabbath is not just a day off work for me, rather it’s a day that I get to spend time with my Creator and Savior, my congregational family, and a day of rest. About 10 years ago I remember going to a pastor and asking, “Why don’t we keep the Sabbath? Why do we worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? When did the day get changed and who decided this? Where in Scripture does it say that the Sabbath is now on Sunday and not on Saturday?” At the time I thought these questions were very important and the answers given to me sounded good. I trusted what the pastor had to say and did not put much more thought into it. I didn’t do the research to find the answers myself until about a year and a half ago.

My husband, John, became a Sabbath keeper before I did. I wasn’t against it, I just didn’t see that it was all that important. I really believed what I was taught all my life that it didn’t really matter what day you set aside to worship as long as you set one day aside. I was also taught that there were Scriptural reasons why we worship on Sunday. However, John became much more serious about his Sabbath keeping than I was comfortable with. I decided that he was taking this too far and he was a little misdirected. Of course I wouldn’t tell him this! My thought was that I would study the Scriptures myself, and then I would prove him wrong.
When you set out on a quest to find answers the first thing you need to do is pray. Ask Yahweh for His Truth. Not the truth of men, because men fail us. But the Truth of His Word. The second thing you have to do is make a commitment that whatever you find, no matter how difficult change may be, you must be obedient to Him and His ways. I take my walk with Yahshua very seriously and I have spent my life doing my best to follow Him. I fall short at times, but I continue to get back up and do my best again.

I use a computer program called E-Sword. It is a pretty awesome reference tool for Strong’s Concordance, different versions of Scripture, and a search engine. I put in a search for any verses that mentioned the word Sabbath. I found approximately 146 verses that talked about the Sabbath. Out of the approx. 146 verses not one said that the Sabbath was no longer to be kept. However, most of the verses stated that the Sabbath was to be kept for all generations.
So just how long is all generations? How long is forever? We believe that He has promised us everlasting life because we believe Him when He says forever. Yet someone, at sometime, decided that He really didn’t mean forever when He told us to keep His Sabbath forever. We know He doesn’t lie, so does forever really mean forever?

There are some of us who are very politically active or at least enough to balk when some atheist or the ACLU suggests taking the 10 commandments out of the courts, schools, and any other public place. But why does that bother the Christian Church so much? Most of the Christian Churches do not keep all of them anyways, including the Sabbath. So why are the 10 commandments so important to us if we ourselves do not keep them? More than that, some argue that it is “done away”, “nailed to the cross”, etc. If this is so, then Yahweh doesn’t know what forever means. And if forever doesn’t really mean forever then how can we be sure of our everlasting life?

There are two main verses that the pastor shared with me to show me why we worship on
Sunday instead of on the Sabbath, 1 Corinthians 16:2 and Acts 20:7. So let’s look at these verses and see what they state. 1Co 16:2 “On the first day of the week let each one of you set aside, storing up whatever he is prospered, so that there are no collections when I come.” Paul (Shaul) was coming to visit. There was a famine in Judea and the body of Messiah was asked to gather what they could for their brothers. He asked them to gather and to have everything ready. The word “day” is not in the original Greek text. It was added by the English translators. The word "week" is "Sabbath". Paul (Shaul) wanted to make the most of his time when he was there and not have to have his teaching time interrupted or delayed. He just wanted everything ready. So how one can use this verse to show that the believers now worshipped on Sunday is unbelievable.

Now let’s look at Acts 20:7 “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” KJV

This verse has nothing to do with observing Sunday but actually shows that Paul (Shaul) was keeping the Sabbath. How? I’m glad you asked! First, this story was approximately 25 years AFTER the time of Yahshua. Please keep this in mind.

If you have been reading my articles on the Feasts for the last few months you will remember that there is Passover, then Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Counting of the Omer, and then Pentecost or Shavu’ot. So let’s back up to verse 6, Acts 20:6 “And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.”

So this shows you the time of the season they were in, Spring. Back to verse 7, “And upon the first day of the week." If you look at the word “day” it is italicized. That is the way it appears in the King James Version because it shows that the word “day” was an added word, not in the original Greek text. So now the verse would say, “And upon the first of the week.”

Now let’s investigate a little further. The word “week” used here is Strong’s #G4521 means sabbaton, sab'-bat-on, Of Hebrew origin [H7676]; the Sabbath (that is, Shabbath), or day of weekly repose from secular avocations (also the observance or institution itself). This is taken from Strong’s Concordance. So now what the verse states is that “And upon the first of the Sabbath.” Just a little more investigation will also show you that the word first is also the word "one". So now it states "And upon the one of the Sabbaths."

What does this mean, the one of the Sabbath? Remember the season? It is Spring, after Passover, after Unleavened Bread. They are now counting the Omer, the 49 days until Shavu’ot. They are meeting one of the 7 Sabbaths that come before Shavu’ot. Unless you have an understanding of the commands of Yahweh and His Feasts, one can take a verse like this and either misunderstand it or twist it to again, remove anything Hebrew from the faith. Now let’s look just a little deeper for full clarification. In the Greek Interlinear It states “And on the one of the sabbaths…” So it could have been the first or the second Sabbath of the 7.

We can see that the Feasts of Yahweh were on Paul’s mind in Acts 20:16 "For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost." He was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem in order to observe the Feasts.

Paul went to Jerusalem to worship and observe Shavu’ot more than 25 years after the death and resurrection of the Savior! If he truly believed that the Sabbath no longer had to be observed then why was he gathering with the believers on the Sabbath and keeping the Feasts of Yahweh? Yahshua kept the Sabbath, the disciples & Paul kept the Sabbath. Yahweh states in the 10 Commandments, Exo 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart. “Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of YHVH your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. “For in six days YHVH made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore YHVH blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.”

If you take the time to read the Prophets, you will find numerous verses where Yahweh is angry and hurt with His people because they have profaned His Sabbaths. It seems that it is important to Him. Why isn’t it important to us?

Isaiah 66:22-23 are prophetic verses about when the new heavens and earth are created. “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make stand before Me,” declares YHVH, “so your seed and your name shall stand. And it shall be that from New Moon to New Moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,” declares YHVH." It sounds as if in the days of the new heaven and earth we will be keeping the Sabbath. Why would we if it is “done away”?
There are more arguments about whether the Sabbath still stands, why it was changed to Sunday worship, and what does it mean to keep the Sabbath. I will save this for Part Two. So how long is Forever?

Feast of Weeks/Pentecost/Shavuot

2006-05-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

I have been married to my wonderful husband, John for 4 years now. He and I get along great, love each other dearly, and are very happy to be together, but he is my second husband. My first marriage ended in divorce after 15 years. I’m not going to take the time to explain what happened or what went wrong but suffice it to say that I do not believe in divorce. There’s not much good that comes out of divorce. However, I also know that there are times when it is necessary and although regrettable, there are times when it has to happen. There are also times when Yahweh allows it. Now let’s look at another marriage.

The Exodus from Egypt of the Children of Israel brought them to the base of Mt. Sinai. Exodus 19:1-8 “In the third month after the children of Yisra’el had come out of the land of Mitsrayim, on this day they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. For they set out from Rephidim, and had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Yisra’el camped there before the mountain. And Mosheh went up to Elohim, and יהוה called to him from the mountain, saying, “This is what you are to say to the house of Yaaqob, and declare to the children of Yisra’el: ‘You have seen what I did to the Mitsrites, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ‘And now, if you diligently obey My voice, and shall guard My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession above all the peoples – for all the earth is Mine – ‘and you shall be to Me a reign of priests and a set-apart nation.’ Those are the words which you are to speak to the children of Yisra’el.” And Mosheh came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which יהוה commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, “All that יהוה has spoken we shall do.” So Mosheh brought back the words of the people to יהוה.
This is a very important event for the Children of Israel. It was their marriage proposal with Yahweh! He made the proposal and they said “I do”. Following this He gave Moses what we all know as the 10 Commandments. This is part of the marriage contract between His bride and Himself. There is more to the contract than just the 10 Commandments so you will need to read the rest of Exodus for the full scope. We see Israel’s agreement to the terms in Exo 24:3 and Exo 24:7 as well.

Of course Israel has a hard time keeping their part of the contract. Moses goes up to the Mountain for 40 days and while he’s gone, Israel convinces Aaron to make a golden calf.

Yahweh tells Moses to go down and see what the people are doing and Moses has a fit! After Moses has a few choice words with Aaron he then asks the people in Exo 32:26 “And Mosheh stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Who is for יהוה ? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him.” Following this about 3000 men are killed.

In Lev. 23:15-19 and Deut. 16:9-12 Yahweh tells Moses that they are to count from Passover/Pesach 7 Sabbaths (49 days) and on the 50th day it would be Shavuot. They were to remember this day every year. It is their wedding anniversary. All the men were to be in Jerusalem on this day, every year. The counting of the days is called the Counting of the Omer. This is a harvest time. The time to prepare for what’s sometimes called the Second First Fruits. That’s why this is also called the Feast of Weeks, the 7 weeks until Shavuot.

When I was growing up, my mother had us in church every time the doors were open. But more than that, she had us in other churches when their doors were open! I remember receiving a white Bible at the end of a week long prophecy series put on by the Seventh Adventist church. Not sure I remember everything they taught but I still have the Bible.

One day she took us to us to a Foursquare church pastored by a woman in California. I had just gotten my first pair of glasses and so at the end of the service my mother encouraged me to go up and ask for healing for my eyes. I didn’t want healing! I liked my new pink striped glasses, I was 12 years old! But I went up anyways. Someone came to pray for me and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground uttering words I had never thought to utter before. I had no real conscious thought of what I was saying but I was praising Yahweh with all my heart. It wasn’t something I was looking for, asking for, or even knew what it was! I was filled with the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) with the gift of speaking in tongues. Now, those who have been brought up Pentecostal or Assembly of God know exactly what I’m talking about. The rest may think me insane or even evil! So let’s look at Scripture and see how this all began…
Yahshua tells His disciples to wait for the Comforter to come in Luke 24:49 “And see, I am sending the Promise of My Father upon you, but you are to remain in the city of Yerushalayim until you are clothed with power from on high.” And in Acts 1:8.

Now in Acts 2:1 And when the Day of the Festival of Weeks had come, they were all with one mind in one place. The King James Version or other versions will say when the day of Pentecost had come. The word Pentecost is the Greek word for 50. In other words, when the 50th day had come, the 50th day of the Counting of the Omer.
The disciples and those gathered with them receive the in-filling of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) with the gift of speaking in tongues. At this time in Jerusalem there were men from many nations and they heard them speaking in their languages. These men from other nations were in Jerusalem because it was Shavuot, and they were keeping the Feast of Weeks and the command that they are to be in Jerusalem at this time. Because of this about 3000 men came to accept Yahshua as their Messiah!

So let’s look at a little bit of Hebrew. In Hebrew, every letter, every word and every letter’s numerical value means something. So you don’t just look at a word but the meaning of each letter and number value to that letter or word. “Kodesh” (kuf-dalet-shin) means “set-apart” or, as some say, “consecrated” or “holy”. But, truly the best definition is indeed “set-apart” or “separated” in Him. Looking at the meanings of the letters, kuf = surround or behind, dalet = door and shin = El Shaddai. So, set-apartness equals, “behind the door is El Shaddai”. The word “Ruach” (reish-yud-chet), while translated as “spirit”, literally means “breath of the mouth” or “wind” (as in blowing). According to Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, it also references the “mind”, “thinking”, “intellect” or “counsel”. In the Hebrew, it is a feminine word and considered a feminine part of Elohim. I would add here also, that the numeric value of the letters in Ruach HaKodesh is 622; which equal “britee” or “My covenant”, also “b’rachot” or “blessings”, “v’d’bar’tee” or “I will speak” and “v’hatorah” or “my instructions”.
Now let’s compare the two Shavuots:

As stated above, the numeric value of Ruach HaKodesh is 622 which means “My Covenant” or “My Instructions” isn’t that what Yahweh gave the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai? So on Shavuot Yahweh gave us His Instructions, and made a Covenant with us, a Marriage Contract, and gave us His Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh.
The word Pentecost is ok, but personally I like to use the Hebrew word Shavuot because I am a child of Israel, not a child of Greece. :-) This year according to the Biblical keeping of time Shavuot is on June 4th.

When did Yahshua rise? Calendar of Events

2006-04-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

A day begins and ends at sundown. So the “Master’s Supper” would have been what we know as Tuesday night but on the Hebrew calendar it would be considered the 14th. The Passover Meal was eaten on the 15th but as the day begins at sundown, it would have been on what we call Wednesday night. Yahshua was killed on Wednesday, therefore, would have risen on Sabbath, Saturday, Sábado, three days and three nights later.

Matt.12:39-40 “But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of Adam be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

If He rose on Sunday it would be 4 nights. If we can’t get this right, how can we be trusted with more? Neither “Good Friday” nor “Palm Sunday” work according to Scripture. Nor does a “Sunrise Resurrection Sunday.” These concepts have all come about through Constantine and the Roman Catholic Church in order to incorporate the Roman pagan religion of Mithraism and an attempt to destroy anything “Jewish” about Yahshua.

I would encourage those who question what I have stated to study what’s called the “Early Church History,” which means studying the Roman Catholic Religion’s history, and to study Mithraism and sun-god worship. And of course to study the Scriptures and seek after truth. I also welcome any correspondence with questions or comments to my email account that are done according to scripture, in love. This year according to the Biblical Calendar, Passover will begin at sundown April 13th. Feast of Unleavened Bread/HagHaMazot ends at sundown April 20th.

Leviticus 23:4-8; Matthew 12:40; John 19:14,31; John 20:1; Daniel 9:27 THE MESSIAH WAS CUT OFF AT MID-WEEK

Below is a Calendar of the month of Aviv. If you click on the page it will open up as a PDF document. If you are unable to open it then I have tried to spell it out below.

AVIV 1, 5th Day, Thursday, HIGH SABBATH, ROSH HASHANAH

AVIV 3, Weekly Sabbath

AVIV 10, Weekly Sabbath, YAHSHUA CHOSEN, TRIUMPHAL ENTRY, TEMPLE CLEANSED

AVIV 13, 3rd Day, Tuesday Evening, MASTER'S SUPPER

AVIV 14, 4th Day, Wednesday early morning and afternoon, PRAYER IN GARDEN, DIED ON STAKE

AVIV 14-15, Wed-Thurs evening, PASSOVER MEAL (Pasach) EATEN

AVIV 15, 5th Day, Thursday, FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD BEGINS, HIGH SABBATH

AVIV 17, Weekly Sabbath, YAHSHUA WAS RESURRECTED LATE AFTERNOON, 72 hrs.

AVIV 18, 1st Day, Sunday, FIRST FRUITS, EMPTY TOMB YAHSHUA WAS ALREADY GONE

AVIV 21, 4th Day, Wednesday, THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD ENDS AT SUNDOWN

Original Calendar taken from http://www.nazarite.net/answer-07.html However I have modified it.

Feast of Unleavened Bread/HagHaMazot & First Fruits/Yom Habikkurim

2006-04-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

Last year was the first time I kept the Feasts of Yahweh. I will have to say each one brought about an interesting experience. However, none surprised me as much as this one! When my husband told me that we were to dispose of anything in our home that rises I was appalled! Throw out the bread? What about mac-n-cheese? Popcorn? They also rise! What would we eat? I love my carbs! I went to the ladies of my congregation and asked them what do they eat for a week? What would I pack in my son’s lunches if he can’t have a sandwich? They smiled at me and began to explain exactly what unleavened really means.
In last month’s article I gave an overview of Passover or Pesach. I will attempt an overview now. Exo. 12:30-31, 34 states that after the first born sons were killed, that Pharaoh finally allowed the Children of Israel to go. “And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Mitsrites. And there was a great cry in Mitsrayim (Egypt), for there was not a house where there was not a dead one. Then he called for Mosheh and Aharon by night, and said, “Arise, go out from the midst of my people, both you and the children of Yisra’el. And go, serve Yahweh as you have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go. Then you shall bless me too.” And the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their garments on their shoulders.” The people were in such a hurry that they didn’t have time to finish letting their bread rise.
Yahweh tells Moses to tell the people to remember this each year by not eating leavened bread for 7 days. He even goes so far as to tell them to remove it from their midst and that no leaven should be found in their homes. See Exo.12:15-20 & Lev. 23:6. It was to be a High Sabbath and a memorial to be kept forever.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is actually during the Passover meal and continues for seven days. A Leavening agent is yeast. Therefore they were not to eat anything with yeast in it, so popcorn is ok! As well as rice, beans, pasta, matza bread, and my personal favorite, the Sephardic matza, otherwise known as… the Tortilla! Now if you were to talk to a Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, they would tell you that rice, beans, pasta, etc. are not allowed according to their Talmud, or Oral Torah. I will explain what the Talmud (Oral Torah) is at a later edition but suffice it to say that we are not under those laws. Those are man-made laws not Yahweh’s commands.
First Fruits was to be observed the first day after the Sabbath, and after Unleavened Bread began. Lev. 23:11, 14b, 15 “And he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, for your acceptance. On the morrow after the Sabbath the priest waves it. ...a law forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ...And from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you shall count for yourselves: seven completed Sabbaths.”
This was an offering to Yahweh. Giving Him the first of our plenty. Yahweh requires the first of everything we have.
Now for my favorite part, let’s connect Yahweh’s command with Yahshua’s fulfillment. Paul (Shaul) tells the Corinthians to put out an unrepentant man from their assembly, stating that a little contaminant is like yeast; it spreads through the whole lump of dough. The Corinthians, who were just coming out of paganism, were to apply this understanding to their keeping of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 1Cor. 5:7-8 “Therefore cleanse out the old leaven, so that you are a new lump, as you are unleavened. For also Messiah our Passover was offered for us. So then let us observe the festival, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of evil and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
The first day of the feast (festival) of Unleavened Bread can be seen as the day we repented and began our journey to leave our sins behind. This week should be a lesson to us, a reminder each time we eat a piece of unleavened bread, to discover what we should discard in our walk.
Yahshua also calls Himself the Bread of Life. John 6:47. The Word of Yahweh is also known as Bread. Isa. 55:1, Ezek 3:1, Rev. 10:8. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. He was in the beginning with Elohim. All came to be through Him, and without Him not even one came to be that came to be.” So He is the Bread of Life, The Word is called Bread, and Yahshua is called the Word. So this week can also be a time to remember Him being our Life and the Word of Yahweh.
First Fruits was to be on the day after the Sabbath, after Passover, Sunday. Matt. 27:52-53; “and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the set-apart ones who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they went into the set-apart city and appeared to many.” John 20:17-18; “Yahshua said to her, ‘Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My Elohim and your Elohim.”
Between Pesach and the Yom haBikkurim waving of the barley sheaf, the High Priest would remain in seclusion so that he would not become defiled before the waving of the first-fruits. Yahshua was “in seclusion” in the tomb between Pesach and Yom haBikkurim when He emerged from the tomb as our High Priest to wave the long foreshadowed first of the first-fruits of the dead offering before Elohim His Father. 1 Cor. 15:20; “But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, and has become the first-fruit of those having fallen asleep.”
Ephesians 4:8“That is why it says, ‘When He went up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’”
Yahshua gave the gift, the first-fruits of eternal life, to those who were part of that very first resurrection of the dead. He was the first of the first-fruits from the dead, and they were as a fragrant sheaf, a delightful wave-offering of the resurrected sons of men, presented to the Father the year that Yahshua became the Pesach Lamb.
To understand Unleavened Bread and First Fruits we must understand when Yahshua was killed and when He arose. On the next page you will see a calendar of the Month of Aviv. Let’s look at the events from scripture. “And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!”John 19:14
“The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. John 19:31.
“And on the first day of the week Miryam from Magdala came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.” John 20:1.
So we know from Scripture that on the first day of the week before the sun had rose, Yahshua had already departed from his tomb and was long gone. The first day of the week starts when the sunsets on the Sabbath and this is probably when she went to the tomb as it was customary to change the burial cloth after three days and this would have been the first opportunity to do so because it is also customary not to touch a corpse on the Sabbath. Knowing that Yahshua was to rise in late after-noon we know that it was not late after-noon of the first day of the week (Sunday) but of the Sabbath (Saturday). So if He arose on a Sabbath that means He died on a Wednesday.
We can go back a few days sooner and see that the Triumphal Entry was also on the Sabbath before. The ritual of choosing the Sacrificial Lamb without blemish for the Passover and the entry of the Sacrificial Lamb into the city gates was observed four days on the 10th day of the month which would make it a Sabbath. “And Yahshua went into the temple of Yahweh, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,” Matthew 21:12. What day did the Jews gather in the Temple? It was on the Sabbath, they were changing money for tithes, offerings, and temple taxes and selling items for offerings such as doves on the Sabbath in the Temple. This was right after the triumphal entry.
View the calendar on the next blog titled "When Did Yahshua Rise, Calendar of Events" for the series of events. I encourage you to check out each Scripture reference and see the time table for yourself. Blessings & Shalom.

Passover/Pesach

2006-03-01T12:50:00.000-08:00

I recently visited a Christian Bookstore in search of one of my favorite novels. While I was pursuing the store I thought that maybe I would look to see what items they might have for Passover as it is nearing. I thought maybe a nice Seder plate, or a wall hanging, or some type of knick-knack. Not finding anything, I asked the sales gal if they had anything for Passover and were they planning on getting anything before the observance. She gave me a puzzled look as if I were out of my mind and said “No”.
As I walked out of the store shaking my head I was sincerely surprised. I assumed that the significance of Passover would likely find it’s way into the Christian stores. I did however find decorative Easter eggs, cute little spring bunnies, and a million crosses. It occurred to me that maybe the Christian church doesn’t really understand all that Passover signifies and represents. I will attempt to give an overview on Passover. But you, as a student of the Scriptures, must take responsibility to look it up for yourself.
Passover is the most popular Jewish holiday. It is the first of the Spring Feasts. Immediately following is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Those of us who were brought up in church or those who have watched the movie “The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston, know well the story of the Hebrews who were in bondage to the Egyptians for several hundred years. Although Cecil B. De Mille made a classic movie it is not entirely accurate but it gives an example of how things went to some extent. If you aren’t familiar with the real story, please read Exodus chapters 3-14.
Yahweh sends Pharaoh and the Egyptians through a series of plagues each bringing the demand to Pharaoh to “Let My People Go!” Because of his hardness of heart, Pharaoh refuses and the plagues continue. The final plague (10 plagues in all) is the death of the first born. Yahweh instructs His people, through Moses, to take a perfect lamb, and kill it, then dipping hyssop into the blood and placing the blood on the doorposts of their home. In doing this, death will not come for their firstborn. They are saved from death. The mourning of the Egyptians was heard throughout the land that night.
At this Pharaoh finally sends the Hebrews away from him, which brings us to the story of the crossing of the Sea of Reeds. Pharaoh can’t leave well enough alone and admit defeat so he and his army chase the Hebrews and then witness the awesome power of Yahweh by seeing the sea part. The Hebrews walk across on dry ground. Pharaoh and his army are not so fortunate. They are drowned in the sea. So Yul Bryner does not go back to Egypt but dies in the sea. By the way, Yul Bryner’s real grandfather was Jewish and a Christian.
The Israelites are saved from death and delivered from Egypt though the miraculous power of Elohim.
Exo. Chapters 12-14 gives His instructions on how the children of Israel were to keep the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread and that it was to be a remembrance for all generations, an everlasting law, both for the children of Israel and for the sojourner. See also Lev. 23.
Yahshua kept the Passover as well as the disciples and Paul. See John 2:13-25, John 13:1, Matthew 26:17-28, Mark 14:12-25, Luke 22:7-20, Acts 20:6.

The Christian church, celebrates the death and resurrection of our Savior Yahshua. If you’ve watched Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ”, you will see a horrific execution yet a beautiful message of what Yahshua did for us. We who grew up in church know very well John 3:16 “For Elohim so loved the world that He gave His only brought-forth Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but possess everlasting life.”
John the Baptist introduced Yahshua by saying “Behold the Lamb of Yahweh, who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. The Jews had been celebrating Passover for years. They understood the significance of John’s statements. Isaiah 53 speaks of what the Messiah would go through as our sacrifice. He would be our Passover Lamb. Isa. 53:5 “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our crookedness. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
So in keeping with the name of this newsletter, let’s connect. Taking the story of the Exodus of the Hebrews and the story of Yahshua’s death and resurrection let’s connect the dotted line between the two.
The Passover Festival was observed the exact same way every time. On the tenth of Aviv, before the actual feast day, a lamb was chosen by the high priest outside of Jerusalem . The priest would lead this lamb into the city while crowds of worshippers lined the streets waving palm branches and singing Psalm 118. They would not use the Name of Yahweh because it had become punishable by death. However, this time as Yahshua entered Jerusalem on the colt, the crowds heralded the entrance of the sacrificial lamb, the Lamb of Yahweh! They cried out, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of Yahweh.” Yahshua comes in the Name of His Father.
The High Priest would then take the lamb to the Temple, where it would be tied in public view so that it could be inspected for blemish. In the same way, Yahshua sat and taught in the Temple courtyard for 4 days. He was inspected and questioned by the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the teachers of the day, to trip Him up in His words and entrap Him. They could not, because He was perfect and without blemish.
The “Last Supper” was not a Passover meal, however Yahshua explained the upcoming meal and used the elements in the meal to show how He is represented in it. In the Passover meal there are 4 cups of wine, or juice, that are taken. The third cup is called the Cup of Redemption. It was with this cup that Yahshua took and instructed his disciples to take in remembrance of Him. Why? Because He is our Redemption! Leaven represents sin. The bread He broke was unleavened bread, He was without sin. The bread He asked us to remember Him with was a traditional Jewish bread that you can buy today called Matzah bread. It is a cracker that is pierced, bruised, and stripped, as He was for us. Yahshua wasn’t really starting some new “communion,” He asked His disciples to remember Him each time they held the Passover and to remember how the elements represent Him. The next day Yahshua would be sacrificed as the Lamb at the same time the lambs were. That evening the Passover Meal would be eaten. It would be at that point that the disciples would see the Cup of Redemption and the Matzah bread and would hopefully make the connection and remember His words.
Yahshua died as the lambs for the Passover meal were being slain. Not a bone was to be broken in these sacrificial lambs (Ex 12:46, Num. 9:12) Yahshua, the Lamb of Yahweh, was the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world (1Cor.5:7)
A sign was hung on each lamb’s neck, bearing the name of the owner of the lamb. Yahshua was crucified with a sign hung over His head. Pilot instructed that a sign was to be hung on the stake stating “Yahshua of Nazareth King of the Jews” in three languages. In Hebrew it would have been written as Yahshua Hanazri Vemelech Hayahudim, YHVH or YHWH is the Tetragrammaton for Yahweh’s Name! The Name of the Father! That is why the priests insisted that Pilot change what was posted. (John 19:21-22). Yahshua not only comes in the Father’s Name but carries His Father’s Name.
Of course we all know the story does not end there. He is not only our Salvation, but our Risen Master and soon coming King.
So should we keep the Passover today? Some would say that it was a law and command to the Hebrews only. Well, I guess that would mean us since we are of Jewish descent. But regardless of that fact, if the disciples, Paul (Shaul), and the early believers continued to keep the feasts long after Yahshua ascended, then why not us? If Yahshua Himself tells us to remember Him each time we observe the Passover Meal and see the represented elements before us, why are we not doing this?
For those who do not consider themselves Jewish, or Hebrew, and therefore feel they do not need to observe the feasts, I would suggest you read Romans 11. There is one tree, not two separate trees. We are all under one marriage contract. I would also suggest reading the commands about keeping the feasts and you will see that it is for the children of Israel as well as for the sojourner, or stranger who is among them. Yahshua was a Hebrew, His parents were Hebrew, He spoke Hebrew. He taught in the Jewish synagogues. The whole of our Scriptures is about a Hebrew people, their history, and the covenant that Yahweh made with them. Why would we throw away everything that is “Jewish”?
So to the gal at the Christian Bookstore, I would suggest she read her Scriptures, get rid of the bunnies and eggs and focus on the Passover Lamb! It’s not a Jewish Holiday, it’s the Feast of Yahweh for all believers! Yahweh describes it as a remembrance for all generations, an everlasting law.
There is so much more that can be written about how Yahshua fulfilled all the prophecies of being the Messiah and on how He bought us with His blood. When you study Passover and all that it represents you will see that it is symbolic of both the story of the deliverance from Egypt and the Plan of our Salvation.

Excerpts taken from “A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays”

So We're Jewish, Now What?

2006-02-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

For those of you who attended the Sanchez Family
Reunion, or those who have heard our cousin Dr. Dell Sanchez speak, or read any of his books, you will have learned at some point that our family has Hebraic Roots. Chances are, many of the Latin, Hispanic people you know have these same roots.
If you have not heard Dell’s information on our family
history, I strongly suggest that you visit his website at www.4sephardim.com You can also order books and/or DVD’s on the subject of the Sephardic Jews.
So what does it mean to us personally? I noticed that many family members at the reunion wore Star of David’s, myself included. I also wore tzit tzits, or tassels on the 4 corners of my garment based on Num. 15:38 and Deut. 22:12.
But what else? Do we start following the Rabbis and the Talmud? As the Apostle Paul or Shaul would say, “Elohim forbid!”
Do we give up on Yahshua (Jesus) the Messiah? Again, “Elohim forbid!”
Do we ignore our Jewish roots and what it all means? “Elohim forbid!”
So what do we do?
This newsletter has a 2-fold purpose. First, it’s simply another way for us as a family to stay connected. Second, it will be a way to offer information and articles on Israel and on how to connect both our Christian beliefs we were brought up in and the Hebrew roots we have discovered.
If for some reason you wish to be taken off the email list, simply send me an email and I will remove your name from the list. If there are other family members who wish to be added send me their email address and I will add them on. Feel free to print this out for any family members who do not have internet access.
This newsletter will attempt to answer the questions, “So We’re Jewish, now what?” I welcome your feedback and comments as long as it’s done according to Scripture, in love.
In His Service,
Saya