Of my Lord, the Lord and the LORD.

Which "Lord" are we talking about?

The Name of God Almighty YHWH occur 6,828 times in the Hebrew scriptures, and is rendered as "the LORD" (all capital letters) whereas the Hebrew title Adoni (my Master) is translated "Lord" (small letters) in our English bibles. Thus, the well known prophetic verse Psalm 110:1 where YHWH spoke to the Messiah, David's adoni. is rendered as follows:

The LORD (YHWH) says to my lord (adoni):“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

When the OT was translated into Greek sometime around the 3rd century BCE (the Septuagint), a new level of ambiguity arose because the entire Greek text used only capital letters. The word "KURIOS" was used to translate both YHWH as well as adoni, with no distinction whatsoever in the letter case. It thus became somewhat difficult to make out when the Septuagint was referring to the Name of God YHWH and when it was referring to the title of adoni or my Master.

This ambiguity spilled over into the NT Greek manuscripts when the apostles quoted from the Septuagint and continued the practice of using KURIOS to refer to both YHWH and Master, using only capital letters in all their writings.

Today, we have inherited this confusion in our English translations of the Greek NT, using only "the Lord" to refer to both YHWH as well as Master.

For example, Psalm 110:1, quoted by Jesus in his question to the Pharisees in Matthew 22:44, is rendered as follows (I have used all capitals, just like in the Greek text):

‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,
“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET”’?

In view of this ambiguity over the use of "the Lord" I'd like to ask a question: How do we go about identifying references to YHWH in the NT and distinguishing them from references to the title (Master) for the Messiah?

(To be continued).

Implicit Allusions vs Explicit Assertions.

I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father. (John 16:28 ESV)
I and the Father are one. (John 10:30 ESV)
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)

I have friends who point out passages such as John 16:28 (I came from the Father), or John 8:58 (Before Abraham was, I am), or John 10:30, "I and my Father are one" to make their case for the "Divinity" of the Messiah, whether as part of a Trinity or Binity or Oneness doctrine.

At best, these arguments are based Implicit Allusions to the purported divinity of the Anointed One. For example, according to these friends, the words ". . . I am" in John 8:58, IMPLIES that Jesus is the great I AM, the Almighty God Himself. Similarly, "I and my Father are one" IMPLIES that Jesus is the same being as the Father (Oneness doctrine), and likewise "I came forth from the Father . . . going to the Father" IMPLIES that Jesus is part of the Godhead etc.

I'd like to invite my friends to leave aside for a moment their preoccupation with such Implicit Allusions and join me in examining the far more significant and undeniably obvious Explicit Assertions of the apostles who wrote the book of Acts and the Epistles in the NT. The long list of verses from Paul's and Peter's letters which I have included in my previous post are but only some of such Explicit Assertions. I reproduce some of Paul's assertions below:


2 Corinthians 1:3 NKJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

Ephesians 1:3 NKJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Colossians 1:3
We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

Romans 1:8
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Romans 1:8-9
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ . . .God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers . . ."

Romans 7:25
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God . . .

Romans 15:5-7
Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.

Further examples are found in Peter's words in his first epistle.

1 Peter 1:3 NKJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Verses 17 through 21 is rendered very clearly and unambiguously in the Good News Translation:

1 Peter 1: 17 GNT
You call him Father, when you pray to God, who judges all people by the same standard, according to what each one has done; so then, spend the rest of your lives here on earth in reverence for him.

1 Peter 1:19, 20 GNT
 it was the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or flaw. He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake.

1 Peter 1:21 GNT
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.

In Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2: 22 - 24 (note especially v36), Peter asserts explicitly that

• Jesus is a man: accredited by God, 
• handed over to the Jews by God's foreknowledge, 
• raised from death by God and 
• made Master and Messiah by God.

Another explicit assertion is found in Peter's testimony to the household of the centurion Cornelius in Acts 10: 34 - 43, a passage which I had commented back in April 2009. In this passage, Peter asserts explicitly that:

• It was God who anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power (v 38).
• God was with Him (v 38b).
• After he was killed, God raised him up on the third day (v 39).
• It was God who showed the resurrected Lord Jesus openly to selected witnesses (v 41), witnesses whom God had chosen, so that they could even eat and drink with Him.
• Finally, it was God who ordained the Lord to be judge of the living and the dead (v 42).

Let us not be troubled by various implicit allusions. Instead, let us turn to the explicit assertions of the apostles. May our Father in Heaven, the Only True God, grant us peace through Yeshua the Anointed One.

Does God have a God?

Does God have a God? (Something for Christian friends to ponder over)

I have just come across a remark by a "Oneness" member of a Christian discussion group that the words of Thomas in John 20:28, "My Lord and My God" should be regarded as an Apostolic proclamation: that our Master Yeshua the Anointed One is God Himself.

Many Christians today who are likewise persuaded by these brief words of Thomas fail to consider the more detailed words of our Master Himself in John 20:17 where He told Mary to "go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’"

Also, If we take Thomas' words as Apostolic Proclamation, then how should we take Paul's words, quoted below?

2 Corinthians 1:3 NKJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

Ephesians 1:3 NKJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Colossians 1:3
We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

Romans 1:8
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Romans 1:8-9
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ . . .God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers . . ."

Romans 7:25
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God . . .

Romans 15:5-7
Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.

And Peter's words too:

1 Peter 1:3 NKJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead


And finally, here are more words spoken by the Messiah Himself, where He refers to His God no less than four times in a single verse:

Revelation 3:11-12 (KJV)
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.


If, on the basis of one very brief exclamation of Thomas alone, we are persuaded to regard our Master Yeshua the Anointed One as our God, then on the basis of so many express statements by Paul and Peter above, would we be persuaded to regard the Father in Heaven as our God's God?

Does our God have a God?

Related post:
Thanksgiving, Prayer and Praise in the NT

Let us take Christmas out of Christ.

It is Christmas Day.

I thank my friends for all your good wishes. In my country, Christmas is a joyous celebration, an occasion of giving gifts and merry making for the Christian community. Many homes as well as shopping centres are decorated with Christmas trees while good old familiar carols are heard everywhere.

Some of my more serious and faithful Christian friends, however, would frown at the highly commercialised celebrations. They point out that the real joy of Christmas can only be found in the story of Jesus Christ, recorded in the gospel accounts of the New Testament. To them, all the celebrations, decorations and felicitations are meaningless if people forget what Christmas is really about: that God sent His Only Begotten Son to this world to save mankind from sin and to grant eternal to everyone.

Thus, we would often hear people say, "Let us put Christ back into Christmas."

I have other friends who are even more serious and faithful believers in Jesus Christ. These friends recognise a fundamental error in trying to put Christ back into Christmas. The error is that Christmas was not about Christ in the first place. Instead, the celebrations originated from some week-long pagan Roman holiday characterised by feasting, drinking and wanton sex parties.* Later, in the fourth century CE, this lawless Roman holiday was subsumed by Christianity as a celebration of the Birth of Christ.

*(Please see link below.)

As for me, I no longer celebrate Christmas, although I agree with all my friends, both Christians and non-Christians alike that it is a joyous festive occasion of giving gifts and singing Christmas carols.

Let there be a sober remembrance of the birth of Christ as recorded in the Gospel accounts WITHOUT any association with ancient pagan Roman winter holidays, from which Christmas trees and gingerbread men originated.

If possible, let us find another day to remember the events surrounding the birth of Christ, events which included the long and arduous journey of Joseph and Mary from the town of Nazareth to the city of Bethlehem to obey the decree of a heartless Roman Emperor. Of Joseph's failure to get a proper guest room for his wife who was at the point of giving birth. Of their having no place to put the newborn baby other than a manger.

And of the subsequent massacre by Herod of all boys two years old and below in Bethlehem and its surrounding neighbourhoods.

Thus, the remembrance of the birth of Christ should be both a sober and solemn occasion rather than one of feasting and merry-making. The announcements by the angels of "good tidings of great joy" should be remembered alongside the sufferings that Joseph and Mary endured and the mourning by the numerous mothers whose children were murdered by Herod's soldiers.

While some of my friends are calling for Christ to be put back into Christmas, I would like to make a different call.

I call for Christmas to be taken away from Christ.

Here's the link to Christmas - The Real Story

The Priest of God.

Psalm 2:7 NKJV
I will declare the decree:
YHWH has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.

Psalm 110:4 NKJV
YHWH has sworn
And will not relent,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

The Messiah is a priest of the order of Melchizedek. Yes, priest of the YHWH our God.
Forever.

Hebrews chapter 5 explains these prophecies in the following way:

(1) The Priest was Appointed by God
Hebrews 5:1, 4
For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. . . . 4 And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

(2) The Priest offered up prayers to God
Hebrews 5:7
who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,

(3) The Priest was saved from death by God
Hebrews 5:7
who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,

(4) The Priest became the Author of our Salvation because he was made perfect by God
Hebrews 5:9
9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

(5) The Priest was called by God
Hebrews 5:10
. . . called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”

Finally, ponder over Hebrews 5:11. Let us not remain dull of hearing.

". . . of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing."

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us hear and understand that we have Iesus the Anointed One, appointed on oath by God, as High Priest of the Order of Melchizedek. The High Priest of God. Forever.

Authority to break Sabbath? What authority?

I came across the following comments in a discussion group today:

"I don't keep a Saturday Sabbath because Jesus abolished the Law of Moses in His death...ie He destroyed the "devil" in His death. In other words, the Law falsely accused Jesus and condemned Him in His death. Every day is "Sabbath" for the Children of God...because we are FREE in Him to serve the Father every moment of our lives."

"If you have been made "priests and kings" giving you authority to break Sabbath yet remain innocent [Mat 12.5] why don't you?"

Some people say that the Messiah our Master has abolished the Torah by his sacrificial death. In fact, two years ago I was told by a well-respected Christian pastor that even the Ten Commandments have likewise abolished. As such there is, supposedly, no need to keep the Sabbath rest every week.

Then there are others who take a longer route in their reasoning. They would first point out from verses such as Revelations 1:6; 5:10 and 1 Peter 2:9 that we, children of Elohim, has been made priests and kings in His kingdom.

Revelations 1:6 NIV
and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Revelations 5:10 NIV
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.
1 Peter 2;9 NIV
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Then they would move on to the well known account in Matthew 12 about our the disciples of our Master Yeshua picking some heads of grain and eating them as they passed through a grain field on a Sabbath day, pointing out the words of our Master in verse 5 ". . . haven’t you read in the Torah that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?"

These simple minded people would put two and two together and say, "Ah-ha! There it is. Don't you see?". They would conclude that since we are chosen as priests and kings, and since the priests who serve YHWH Elohim "break" the Sabbath by carrying out their priestly duties every Sabbath day, therefore, we have the authority to also break Sabbath. (!)

Is that so? Did the Levitical priests really desecrate the Sabbath? Are we really authorised to break it, likewise? What's wrong with people who come to such a conclusion?

Let us take a closer look at the account in Matthew chapter 12

Matthew 12:1 - 8 ESV“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears of corn and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice’, you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” ”

The Accusation by the Pharisees : 
The Pharisees told the Master Yeshua that his disciples had broken the Torah commandment (did something unlawful) by plucking the ears of corn and eating them on the Sabbath (verse 1).

My friend Paul F. Herring, in his recent book, "The New Testament: the Hebrew behind the Greek" has this to say:

 "It was accepted that on the Sabbath it was permissible to pick up fallen heads of grain and rub them between the fingers. According to Rabbi Yehuda, also a Galilean like Yeshua, it was even permissible to rub them in one's hand. Some of the Pharisees though found fault with Yeshua’s disciples for most likely behaving in accordance with their Galilean tradition.

That is, it is most probable that these Galileans, picked the fallen heads of grain, rubbed them together and ate them. But what we read in Greek (Matt 12:1-2) is that they ‘plucked’ the heads of grain.

It seems fairly clear then, that when the original Hebrew account (written by someone who knew the customs and even the local differences in interpretation) was translated into Greek, the translator, not knowing these customs, and perhaps trying to make the scene more colourful, added the statement about plucking the wheat and thus introduced the one and only act of transgression of the Torah recorded in the synoptic Gospels ."
See M. Kister, "Plucking on the Sabbath and Christian-Jewish Polemic," Immanuel 24-25 (Jerusalem, 1990), pp. 35-51.


The Answer by our Master Yeshua:
Yeshua told them that his disciples had not broken the commandment. They had not done anything unlawful. Instead, the Pharisees have condemned the guiltless (verse 7). Yes, the key to this passage is the word "guiltless". The Pharisees have condemned the guiltless disciples. In making this point, the Master Yeshua made three allusions to the TaNaKh, as follows:

The Allusions to the TaNaKh:

Firstly, how David entered the temple of Elohim and ate the Show bread. see 1 Samuel 2: 1-16.
(this point to be continued . . .)

Secondly, how the Levitical priests did not rest from their duties in serving YHWH Elohim in the temple on Sabbath.

 The Levitical priests did not break the Sabbath by doing what they liked. They did not go after their own ways nor sought their own pleasure, nor talked idly. Instead they "worked" on Sabbath by doing the work of ministering in the Temple of Elohim. It was this work that the Master Yeshua was talking about in Matthew 12:5 when he said that the priests "profaned" the Sabbath when they were on Sabbath duty.

Isaiah 58:13, 14 ESV
“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of YHWH honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in YHWH, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of YHWH has spoken.”

Thirdly, Yeshua told the Pharisees to ponder over what YHWH Elohim meant when He told His people through the prophet Hosea that He desired mercy and not sacrifice.

Hosea 6:6
 "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

(to be continued . . .)

Related post: Did the Messiah break the Sabbath?

Did the Messiah break the Sabbath?

One of my facebook friends posed the following question in a discussion group this morning:

If Jesus broke the Sabbath [John 5.18], why can't you?

This friend went on to emphasise his belief that the Master broke the Sabbath by quoting verse 17:

Jesus answered them, “My Father is always working, and I too must work.”

He claimed that our Messiah's assertion in John 5:17 shows that he "worked" on that Sabbath day!

Far from breaking the Sabbath, our Master Yeshua the Anointed One actually did the opposite.

In John chapter 5, the Jewish authorities accused Yeshua of breaking the Sabbath because he:
(1) healed a man who had been sick for 38 years by the pool with five porches, near the Sheep Gate.
(2) after the healing, he told the man to take up his mat and walk.

There is no commandment in the Torah that says you cannot heal a sick person on Sabbath. Nor is there any commandment that says you cannot pick up your mat and go home. Yeshua did not break the Fourth commandment. He merely went against some man-made rules.

We will do well to remember the words of the Messiah in his sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:17-20 NKJV
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Even in this account of healing, our Messiah told the man whom he had healed,

John 5:14 ESV
. . . “Listen, you are well now; so stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

It is unthinkable that the Anointed Yeshua would have taught the man to ignore or break the Fourth Commandment.

As for your question about what Yeshua meant when he said that he is the Master of the Sabbath, well, he certainly DID NOT mean that we can break the Sabbath commandment. Otherwise, would his followers have kept the Sabbath, as we can read about the women doing so in Luke's gospel:

Luke 23:56 ESV
Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

My brothers and sisters, let us keep the Fourth Commandment. Shabbat Shalom.

Obeying The Law: can we do it?

I have just come across a remark on a page saying that those who try to practise the Law (Torah) have a false sense of self-righteousness. It went on to say that such people, who think they are righteous, will have to face their King (Messiah) on judgment day when He says, "I do not know you". It alleges that such Torah observing people have never kept a relationship with Yeshua or YHWH but instead have merely followed rules, tradition and laws to keep themselves self-deceived.

I would like to point out a number of erroneous statements from the above.

(1) The Law gives those who practice the Law a false sense of self-righteousness,

This is incorrect. It is those who do NOT practise the Law that have a false sense of righteousness.

James 1:22 tells us, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

Even Paul himself, whose teachings have been debated by many, admitted in Romans 2:13, "For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified."

In fact, if we state that those who practise the Law are given a false sense of self-righteousness, we are contradicting the word of God recorded in Deuteronomy 30: 11-14, where Moses told the people of Israel :

“For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it."

Notice verse 14 above says that the Law is very near you, that you may DO it. Can we say that Israel has been hoodwinked into a false sense of self-righteousness by Moses when he told them to practice the Law? when he told them to DO the commandments?

If we are incapable of 100% obeying the law, why did Moses tell the people in Deut. 30:14 that they can DO the commandments?

And similarly, why did the Master Yeshua teach in Matthew 5:17-20 that our righteousness should exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees when it comes to doing and teaching the commandments?

Matthew 5:17-20 NKJV
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

If we cannot obey the commandments perfectly, why did our Master teach that we should be perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect? (Matthew 5:48)

Furthermore, if no one can obey the Law 100%, why were the parents of John the Baptist both described in Luke 1:5,6 as "they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."?

In fact Paul once referred to himself in Philippians 3:6 that he was blameless when it came to righteousness in the Law. Wouldn't that contradict the notion that no one can obey the Law completely?

(2) On judgment day, the King Messiah will say to such "self-deceived" people who observe the Law (Torah), "I do not know you".

No, it is not to those who keep the Commandments of the Torah that the Messiah will say, "I do not know you". Instead it is to those who have no Torah in their lives. It is to those who practise Lawlessness, those Lawless ones, that these words will be uttered. The Gospel according to Matthew records for us the words of the Master Yeshua on this matter:

Matthew 7: 21-23 NKJV
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Notice that such Lawless people may address the Messiah as Lord. They may prophesy in the Name of Messiah. They may even perform many wonders in the Name of Messiah! How can such people who virtually do great works in the Name of the Messiah be declared as Lawless people? How can such people end up hearing from the very Messiah whom they called Lord all their lives,

"I do not know you"?

There is only one answer: they have not obeyed the commandments.

Brothers and Sisters, let us avoid Lawlessness. Let us obey the Commandments in the Torah.

We can do it.

Rituals? What rituals?

I just came across a post that says this:

"There is a subtle deception that has been invading the Christian Church in the past few years. Many fellowships have been taking on traditions that stem from Hebrew customs and rituals. These types of required behaviors were done away with at the cross. The things of the Old Covenant were done away with. The veil was torn and we all have access to the Holy of Holies. These rituals run from celebrating the feasts to wearing prayer shawls and even using Hebrew names to replace the English of “Jesus” or “God.” "

The post goes on to state:
"We cannot attain more piety by calling Jesus Yeshua. Much of this stems from a lack of understanding as to what a “name” meant to Hebrew Eastern thinkers. A name was not an identifier of an individual but instead defined the character of an individual. Some say they are honoring Christ or God by using the Hebrew names. There is no honor given to Christ by duplicating a group of letters from 2,000 years ago. The honor to Christ is duplicating in you the character trait that is described by those letters. When you are in a group of unsaved people are you Christ (an anointed one) to them? If so, you honor Christ by that act and not by a set of letters."

Here are my comments:
I'd like to comment on the following points presented in your post:

(1) May I point out that "Jesus" is not an English name for Yeshua. It is only a transliteration of the Greek Iesous. (The final 's' is appended to this Greek name because all male names in Greek must end with an 's'.) Instead of "Jesus", the English name commonly used for Yeshua is Joshua, the most well known of whom is Joshua son of Nun who led the people of Israel successfully across the Jordan and brought down the walls of Jericho.

Most of the people I know who prefer to use Yeshua instead of Jesus do so because they feel it more appropriate to call the Hebrew Anointed One by his original Hebrew name, not so much because doing so can win God's approval. At the same time, it would appear odd, even somewhat mischievous, to use a transliteration of a Greek version of the original Hebrew Name to refer to the Hebrew Messiah when His original name is clearly known and easily understood.

To those who insist on calling the Anointed One with an English name, why wouldn't you at least call Him by the well-known English name "Joshua" instead of a non-english transliterated word "Jesus"?

(2) While I agree that our Master Yeshua the Anointed One is our Passover Lamb who has delivered us from Death, and that he is also our Eternal High Priest who has

• entered the real Holiest Place in the real Tabernacle of YHWH with His Once-for-all sacrifice 
• in fulfillment of the annual sacrifice of the Bull and the Goat, 
• and the release of the Scape Goat to carry away the sins of the people of YHWH, 

I do not agree that the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) should be forgotten.

On the contrary, the Day of Atonement should be solemnly commemorated with all Godly respect, albeit without the sacrifices commanded in Leviticus chapters 16 and 17. By the way, people of the Jewish faith today observe Yom Kippur by resting, fasting, depriving themselves of pleasure and repenting from their sins of the previous year. They do not offer any animal sacrifices because their temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed and is not yet rebuilt.

My point is, if the Jews can observe the Day of Atonement on the Tenth Day of the Seventh Month as commanded by God by fasting and repentance, so can the Christians. All the more so, because Christians believe that this is THE day that our Master, the Anointed One of YHWH, has fulfilled by his offering of himself for the sins of the world.

Blessed are the Meek.

Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

When I first read the Sermon On the Mount 36 years ago, I did not know how nor why meek people would inherit the earth. Imagine meek people claiming ownership to all places on earth. Land, sky and sea. It sounded like the least ambitious of people being promised the most ambitious of blessings.

Perhaps, a more meaningful way of rendering the above verse is given in Young's Literal Translation, which goes as follows:

Matthew 5:5 YLT
Happy the meek -- because they shall inherit the land.

Reading LAND instead of EARTH, this profound teaching of our Master Yeshua the Anointed One appears to distill the essence of a fundamental truth upheld by the people of YHWH in the ancient times. It is a truth mentioned repeatedly in various places in the Writings and in the books of the Prophets. For example,

(1) Those who inherit the land are called the meek. They enjoy peace and prosper when the wicked are removed:

Psalm 37: 10 - 11
A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.

(2) Those who inherit the land are blessed by YHWH, as opposed to those who are cursed by Him:

Psalm 37: 22
those YHWH blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.

(3) Those who inherit the land are righteous as opposed to those who are wrongdoers or who are wicked:

Psalm 37: 28 - 29
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed;
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it for ever.

Proverbs 10:30
The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land.

(4) Those who inherit the land are people belonging of YHWH, growing from the shoot planted by Him, the work of His hands and the display of His splendour:

Isaiah 60:21
Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.

(5) Finally, those who inheirt the land are people who follow only justice (righteousness) alone:

Deuteronomy 16:20
Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land YHWH your God is giving you.

Tonight, as I search the scriptures, I learn that this teaching of our Master Yeshua the Anointed One carries the essence of an ancient truth given in the Word of YHWH : that the meek, those who are blessed by YHWH, those who are righteous and who follow justice alone will inherit the land promised by YHWH.

Yes, the meek who will inherit the land are people belonging to YHWH Elohim, the shoot planted by YHWH, the very works of His hands.

The meek are a splendid people. They are the display of YHWH's splendour. Blessed are the meek.

If thus did God love us, we also ought one another to love.

Dear Christian Bro. & Sis,

1 John 4:11 Young's Literal Translation, tells us

Beloved, if thus did God love us, we also ought one another to love;

The Apostle John reminds us in verses 12 to 19 that God remains in us and His love is perfected in us if we love one another, that as we confess Yeshua the Son of God and remain in this love of God, we remain in God and God remains in us. Verse 19, in particular, tells us, "we -- we love him, because He -- He first loved us".

This reminder is reiterated in verses 20 and 21 as follows,

1 John 4: 20-21 YLT

20 if any one may say -- 'I love God,' and his brother he may hate, a liar he is; for he who is not loving his brother whom he hath seen, God -- whom he hath not seen -- how is he able to love?
21 and this [is] the command we have from Him, that he who is loving God, may also love his brother.

Brothers and sisters, how shall we obey this command to love one another? What shall we do to love our brethren whom we see, so that we can also honestly say we love God whom we have not seen?

Thanks be to YHWH our God and Father in Heaven, for he has given us detailed instructions on how to love our fellow brother. These instructions are recorded in the Torah of Moshe, in the book of Leviticus, chapter 19, where Moshe commands the people of Israel not to steal, nor to cheat, nor to rob, nor show partiality nor even carry tales against their brothers. The only difference is that, besides using the term "brother", Moshe also employed the terms "one another", and "neighbour" to refer to a fellow Israelite.

Let us read this passage more closely.

Leviticus 19: 11-18 NKJV
11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.
12 And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I AM YHWH.
13 ‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning.
14 You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I AM YHWH.
15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.
16 You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I AM YHWH.
17 ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I AM YHWH.

Notice firstly, that the above commandments of Torah, come directly from YHWH our God. Four times, in verses 12, 14, 16 and 18 we read the declaration, "I am YHWH".  These are not mere opinions nor suggestions of Moshe. They are not the word of Man. Instead they are the Word of God himself.

Secondly, note that all the commands forbid us to commit evil act against our fellow brothers. We are to avoid acting wickedly
- neither with our hands (stealling, putting a stumbling block before the blind),
- nor with our words (lying, swearing falsely, cursing the deaf, talebearing),
- nor with the thoughts in our minds (injustice in judgment, partiality against the poor, favour to the powerful)
- nor in the desire of our hearts (cheating, robbing, withholding wages of the hired workers)

Finally, we see that this list brings us to the command to love our fellow brothers and sisters from our hearts. We are commanded not to hate our brother in our heart, but instead to rebuke him if he has sinned against God (v17). We are not to take vengeance, not even to bear any grudge against fellow children of God's people (v18a).

Most important of all, we are commanded to love our neighbour as ourselves (v18b). This command is described by our Master Yeshua in Matthew 22:39 as the Second Greatest Commandment in the Torah.

When we look into the Torah of YHWH, we can now understand better the instruction in 1 John 4:21. By reading the commandments of YHWH in Leviticus 19, we can heed the reminder by the Apostle John,

1 John 4: 21 YLT

and this [is] the command we have from Him, that he who is loving God, may also love his brother.

Brothers and Sisters, let us love one another.

What good is the Torah?

The following are some questions posed to me recently, along with my answers:

 

Question One:

 This is actually not a question, but a distortion of two verses from the NT, posted as follows: "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a YOKE that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in SLAVERY TO TORAH." Acts 15.10; Gal 5.1

 

Answer:

The words "SLAVERY TO TORAH" do not exist in Acts 15:10, nor in Galatians 5:1. This is a distortion!

Three times in the Book of Revelations, we are told that the saints of God obey his commandments:

 

Revelation12:17

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

 

Revelation14:12

Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

 

Revelation22:14

Blessed are those who do His commandments,[g] that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

 

Let us become like the offspring of the woman in Rev.12:17. Let us be become like the saints of Rev.14:12. And like those blessed ones who have the right to the tree of life, let us keep the commandments of YHWH and hold on steadfastly to the testimony of our Master Yeshua the Anointed One.

 

Finally, may we remind ourselves of the warning given by our Master in Matthew 7:21-23,

 

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

 

Question Two:

Torah was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith [Gal 3.24]. So what good is Torah now?

 

Answer:

 "What good is Torah?".   I shall let King David and Paul answer you:

- - - - - - - -

Psalm 19:7-11 NIV

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.

The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.

The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.

They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.

By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

- - - - - - -

Romans 6:1,2a NKJV

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!

 

Romans 6:15

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

 

Romans 7:7

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! . . .

 

Romans 7:12,13

. . . the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not!

 

Romans 9:14

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!

 

Question Three:

Why would you want to keep Torah when you are not being made right to God by it?

 

Answer:

Please see my previous answers above. 

 

Question Four:

Two verses are posed here.

Hebrews 8:12 says, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.

 

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. Harlode, Jesus kept the whole law, he was perfect, and walked perfectly. Harolde, can you walk the perfect walk of our Lord and Saviour? If not, remember the words of James, if you offend in JUST ONE POINT, you are GUILTY OF ALL.

 

Answer:

 Hebrews 10:26 also says to us," if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries."  

 

Let us remember the instruction in 2 Timothy 3:16,

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."  

 

Yes, ALL SCRIPTURE is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness, and that includes the books of the Torah.

 

 

Question Five:

"The rich young ruler told Jesus he obeyed the Torah from his youth, putting the emphasis on his own good works. What did Jesus say to him? Jesus told him to do something that was NOT in the Torah, to sell all he had and give to the poor. You see the rich young ruler missed it. You see jesus final commandment was to love others as he loved them. In doing that, they kept all the other commandments. It's about the motive of the heart, not outward appeareance of keeping the law."

 

Answer, in two parts:

 

‎(1) To say that Yeshua told the rich young ruler to do something NOT in the Torah is to miss the entire point of the account. Allow me to quote the passage below:

 

Mark 10:17-27 NASB"As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Yeshua said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

 

You know the commandments, ‘ Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 

 

And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” Looking at him, Yeshua felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property."

 

Please note carefully that it was our Master Yeshua who FIRST advised this wealthy man to keep the commandments from the Torah. It was after the man's reply that he had kept these commandments that Yeshua told him out of compassion to sell all he had and to follow him.

 

The point that our Master made is found in verse 23

 

"And Yeshua, looking around, *said to His disciples, “ How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” "

 

Please note that no where in the Gospels did our Master tell people to ignore the Torah nor to consider it useless. No where did Master Yeshua teach that obeying the Torah is "slavery" (!) And no where in the Gospels did our Master Yeshua ask people "Why do you still need the Torah anymore?"

 

‎(2) To say that obeying the Torah is merely an "outward appearance" of keeping of the Torah is incorrect. If you read the books of the Torah, the Writings and the Prophets, you find again and again that the people of God are taught to obey commandments from their HEARTs.

 

For example, we are very familiar with the Greatest Commandment, "You shall love YHWH your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might", mentioned by our Master Yeshua in Matthew 22:37-40. Let us take a closer look at how this command was first given through Moshe:

 

Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 NASB

“ Hear, O Israel! YHWH is our God, YHWH is one! You shall love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be ON YOUR HEART. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

 

No, brother, keeping the commandments is not just an outward appearance. Keeping the commandments is an inward adherence. Commandments are kept in our hearts.

 

The prophet Jeremiah teaches us a well-known verse:

 

Jer.17:9

"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick;Who can understand it?"

 

But do you know what Jeremiah writes in the very next verse?

 

Jer. 17:10

"I, YHWH, search the heart, I test the mind,Even to give to each man according to his ways,According to the results of his deeds."

 

Yes, it is the outward results of our actions, our ways and our deeds that YHWH our God will reward us. Let us keep the commandments.

 

From our hearts.

Let us hold fast our confession of Hope.

Hebrews 10:12-17 tells us that the Anointed One, our Master Yeshua, has offered one sacrifice for sins forever and has sat down at the right hand of God. The passage goes on to quote a prophecy from the prophet Jeremiah 31:33,34 that YHWH will put His Torah in our hearts and write them in our minds, that our sins and lawless deeds He will no longer remember anymore.

The chapter goes on to tell us further in verses 22 to 25 that since we now have a High Priest over the House of YHWH, we are to draw near to Him with a pure heart and we are to hold fast our confession of our hope without wavering.

This injunction to hold fast also comes with a stern warning in 10:26, that if we sin willfully after we have received this Truth, there no longer remains anymore sacrifice for sins. Instead there is fearful judgment and the fiery wrath of God. It is tantamount to trampling the Son of God underfoot.

Hebrews10:28,29

Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

Brothers and Sisters, while we hold fast our confession of our hope in the great promise of our God, that one day the Anointed One will return, let us keep ourselves from sin. Let us obey the Commandments of God.

Be holy, keep the Commandments.

1 Peter 1:15,16

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy".

Peter quotes a command that occurs at least three times in the book of Leviticus:

(1) Concerning eating and touching the dead bodies of unclean animals . . .
Leviticus 11:44

For I am YHWH your God: you shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall you defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

(2) Concerning keeping the Sabbath, honouring parents, avoiding idolatry, letting the poor to glean in one's field, not cursing the deaf, talebearing . . .
Leviticus 19:2

Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, You shall be holy: for I YHWH your God am holy.

(3) Concerning the sins of familiar spirits, idol worship, cursing father and mother, fornication . . .
Leviticus 20:7

Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be you holy: for I am YHWH your God.

Our Master Yeshua the Anointed One has offered up One Sacrifice for sins forever and has sat down at the right hand of YHWH our God (Heb.10:12). This, however, does not give us license to break the commandments. That which was in the beginning declared as sin against YHWH in the Torah remains a sin against YHWH today. YHWH our God does not change.


Malachi 3:6

For I am YHWH, I do not change;

Three times in the Book of Revelations, we are told that the saints of God obey his commandments:
Revelation12:17

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation14:12

Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Revelation22:14

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

Let us become like the offspring of the woman in Rev.12:17. Let us be become like the saints of Rev.14:12. And like those blessed ones who have the right to the tree of life, let us keep the commandments of YHWH and hold on steadfastly to the testimony of our Master Yeshua the Anointed One.

Finally, may we remind ourselves of the warning given by our Master in Matthew 7:21-23,

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

My Brothers and Sisters, beware, lest we become lawless people.

Adoni, the Anointed King.

Who is the King? Who is the Anointed? Who is Adoni (my Master)?

During my daily devotions while on some travelling a month ago, I came across several places in the TaNaK which speaks of a King chosen by YHWH:

(a) In 1Samuel 2:10, the last verse of Hannah's thanksgiving to YHWH refers to His Anointed King.

"YHWH will judge the ends of the earth.He will give strength to His king,
And exalt the horn of His anointed."

(b) The entire Psalm 45, composed by the Sons of Korach, is a song written in praise of the King. Verses 6 and 7 speak of the just and everlasting reign of this King (GNT),

The kingdom that God has given you will last forever and ever. You rule over your people with justice; you love what is right and hate what is evil. That is why God, your God, has chosen you and has poured out more happiness on you than on any other king.

(c) Psalm 110 verse 1 and verse 4 are two most quoted scripture in the NT. In this Psalm, David speaks of his "Adoni" (my Master), appointed to sit at the right hand of the throne of YHWH who made a promise, confirmed by an oath, that this Adoni will be an everlasting priest

1 YHWH says to my Lord:     “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
. . . .
4  YHWH has sworn
    and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest for ever
    after the order of Melchizedek.”

(d) Psalm 118 speaks of The Gate, The Cornerstone and a Blessed One who comes in the Name of YHWH. Verse 26, in particular, is quoted in the NT in Luke 13:34,35 where the Master Yeshua laments the wickedness of Jerusalem who had killed prophets and stoned messengers. He tells them that their house is to be left desolate until the time comes when they will say, "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of YHWH" (Ps 118:26)

(e) Psalm 89 - A Psalm of Mercies by Ethan the Ezrahite - begins with the well known verse 1 where the Psalmist "sings of the mercies of YHWH forever". This psalm goes on to speak of a vision about an exalted Chosen One (v18b) who is referred to as His Servant David. Upon reading further, however, v19 appears to protrait a picture of one of David's descendants (v29, seed) rather than King David himself.

For example,
v19b to 23 describes this Anointed Chosen Servant as anointed, established, strengthened and victorious.
- the mercies and faithfulness of YHWH will be with this Servant, whose horn (power) will be exalted in the Name of YHWH

v26 describes this servant crying out to YHWH, calling Him Father, God and Rock of Salvation.

v27 prophesies that YHWH will make this servant His Firstborn and the highest of the kings on earth

v28 says YHWH will keep His mercy with this servant forever and the covenant of YHWH will stand firm with him

v29 further states that this servant's throne will endure as the days of heaven and that his Seed will endure forever.

v30-33 describes the consequences if the sons of this servant David sin against YHWH : they will be punished by YHWH but the lovingkindness and faithfulness of YHWH will remain with them. (In contrast to 2 Samuel 7:14 which appear to refer only to David's son, Solomon, here Psalm 89 refers to Davids "sons", meaning his descendants)

v34 the covenant of YHWH, the word from His lips will not change.

v35 YHWH has sworn an oath by His holiness (compare Ps 110:4), He does not lie to David, that his Seed will endure forever (see v29, 36) and his throne will endure as the sun and be established like the moon, like a faithful witness before YHWH.

Finally, tonight I came across the following from a webpage:
Jeremiah 23:5

Behold, the days come, saith YHWH, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 - In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, YHWH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Let us be steadfast in our obedience to our Master Yeshua, the Son of David, the Anointed King of YHWH.

Created for Good Works.

Ephesians 2:10
. . . we are His workmanship, created in the Anointed Yeshua for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Our deeds and actions really reveal whether the inner man is good or evil. The prophet Jeremiah wrote a very well known verse
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?

What appears less well-known, however is the next verse:
Jeremiah 17:10
I, YHVH, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.

While it is our hearts that YHVH searches and our minds that He tests, we must take note that it is according to our deeds (and misdeeds) that He repays us.

Do we not remember the words of our Master Yeshua, the Anointed One, in Matthew 5:16?
Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who [is] in the heavens.

Yes, indeed God has created us in the Anointed One for good deeds.

The Heavenly Man.

I have recently come across verses in John chapter 6 and 1 Corinthians 15 describing our Master Yeshua, the Son of Adam, the Son of God, as having come from Heaven above. Our Master Yeshua the Anointed One is the Heavenly Man.

John 6:32-33 NKJV

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

John 6:38-40

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:48

48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

John 6:58

58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

1 Corinthians 15: 45 - 49

45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

. . .

47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is [the Lord*] from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

[*] some manuscripts do not have "the Lord"

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed, let us put our faith in the promise of God: that one day we will all be raised with transformed incorruptible bodies. As we have borne the image of the first Adam all our lives, we shall one day bear the image of our Master, the Anointed One - the Heavenly Man.

I wrote an older post with the same title about two years ago, link below:
The Heavenly Man, May 2010

What we should do, what we shall be.

What we should do now vs what we shall be eventually.

---------------------------------------------------------

Romans 6:3 - 8 NKJV tells us that:

- we were immersed (baptised) into the death of the Anointed One v3

- we were buried with the Anointed v4

- we have been united in the likeness of the death of the Anointed v5

- we have died with the Anointed v8a

==> so, just as the Anointed was raised by the glory of the Father,

- - - - we SHOULD walk in newness of life v4

- - - - we SHOULD no longer be slaves of sin v6b

==> and

- - - - we SHALL be in likeness of his resurrection v5.

- - - - we SHALL also live with him v8.

Romans 6:11, 12

Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you SHOULD obey it in its lusts.

Brothers and Sisters, if we recognise that, in union with our Master Yeshua the Anointed, we are dead to sin but alive to YHWH our God, then we SHOULD stop living in sin. And if we believe in our hearts that God has raised the Anointed One from the dead, then let us put our hope in the resurrection, when we SHALL also be raised like him.

Great men of faith.

Hebrews 11:1,2

To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.
It was by their faith that people of ancient times won God's approval.


Every man and woman of God mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 put their faith / trust / hope in a promise made by God.

In Genesis 4:3-7, Abel offered the "fat from the firstlings" of his livestock because he trusted in God's providence. In contrast, his brother Cain brought only "some of the fruits" that he had cultivated. Cain had not done what was right in the sight of God. In Gen. 4:6, God told Cain that if he had done what was right he would have been accepted.

In Genesis 5: 21-24, we read that Enoch walked faithfully with God for 300 years after his first son Methuselah was born. He lived a whole life of trust in God. As a result, he did not die, for God took him away.

In Genesis chapters 6 - 9, Noah put his faith in what God had told him: that there would be a terrible flood to destroy all the earth. Some people believe that Noah took more than a hundred years to build the huge vessel. His faith lasted that long. Heb 11:7 tells us that Noah received righteousness from God because of his great faith in God's "promise" of the flood.

Abraham's faith in God's promises for him was so well-known that it is mentioned not only here in Hebrews chapter11, but also in Romans chapters 3 and 4 and again in James chapter2.

Abraham put his faith in God's promise of a good land and many descendants by leaving his homeland and by waiting many years for his promised son Isaac to be born miraculously in his old age. (Genesis chapters 15 through 21).

So great was his faith in God that he was willing to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah when God tested him in Genesis 22. Heb.11:11 tells us in a few simple words, "He trusted God to keep his promise."

When Isaac blessed Jacob in Genesis 27 and then Esau in Genesis 28, he did it in faith, believing that God would keep His promises to his children.

Genesis 47:31 tells us that when Jacob asked his son Joseph to swear that he would be buried in the land of his fathers, he, being old and weak, leaned on his staff and worshipped God. Only after that did he proceed to bless his children in Genesis 48 and 49.

Jacob believed in God's promised land for his descendants. In Gen 48:21, he told Joseph, "“I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers"

Then there is the most well known of God's prophets, - Moses, the man who gave Israel the entire Torah of God. From the Book of Exodus through Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, we read how this great man of God lived his whole life trusting in everything that God has promised to his people.

Beginning with the liberation from slavery in Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, to the miraculous receiving of the Torah at Mount Horeb, to the meticulous building of the Tabernacle, through the 40 years of receiving manna from heaven in the wilderness, Moses had only one thing to trust in - the promises of God.

Likewise, all the other people mention in Hebrews 11, people like Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets - each of them put their trust in something that God has promised them.

Now, our God is YHWH, he does not change. Malachi 3:6

Our question today is, "What has YHWH, our Father in Heaven, promised his people today?" Perhaps the answer lies in the words of Peter's message to the household of Cornelius in Acts 10:42,

"He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he (Yeshua of Nazareth) is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead."

Like Noah and Abraham and Moses, we also live by faith in God's promise. For us, it is the promise that God has chosen his holy servant Yeshua the Anointed One, to be our Judge - who will return one day to judge the living and the dead.

Let us be like the believers in Thessalonica, who
- turned to God from idols
- to serve the living and true God,
- to wait for his son from heaven
- whom God raised from the dead,
- the son Yeshua, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
( 1 Thessalonians 1: 9,10)

Absolute certainties.

The Epistle to the Romans contain a series of emphatic assertions written in the words, "Certainly not!" (NKJV). Beginning with chapter six, we see:

Romans 6:1,2a NKJV

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!

Romans 6:15

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

Romans 7:7

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! . . .

Romans 7:12,13

. . . the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not!

Romans 9:14

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!

Finally, let's return to Romans 3:31

Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

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Each of the above assertions, expressed emphatically in the NKJV as, "Certainly not!" are absolute invariants, completely undeniable and non-negotiable. Under no circumstances are they to be changed, modified or watered-down in any way whatsoever. 

These assertions are sign posts that stand out among all the explanation, reasoning and arguments presented by Paul in Romans chapters 3 to 9, alerting the reader to the real meaning behind all the polemics written therein.

Thus the teaching in Romans chapter 5 that righteous act of one man - the Anointed One - by the grace of God, is a free gift of justification to all people, is guarded by the absolute sign post of Romans 6:1 and 6:15, that we shall certainly not sin just because we are justified under such grace from God.

Likewise, the teaching in Romans chapter 7 that through the body of the Anointed One we have been released from the penalty of the Torah, that we have "died to the Law" is guarded by the unchangeable sign-post of Romans 7:7 and 7:12, that the Torah is certainly not sin and that it has certainly not brought death to us. Instead, the commandments in the Torah are holy, just and good.

Last, but not least, the teaching in Romans chapter3 that both Jews and Gentiles are justified by faith, apart from the deeds of the Torah, is guarded by the undeniable and immoveable sign-post of Romans 3:31, that we certainly do not make void the Torah through our faith.

Au contraire! We uphold the Torah.

Brothers and sisters, let us beware of false teachings that ignore these sign posts.

YHWH said to my Master.

In his address to devout Jews "from every nation under heaven" on Pentecost Day, Peter explained Psalm 110:1 in this way:

Acts 2:34-36

For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

YHWH said to my Master,

“Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that GOD HAS MADE this Yeshua, whom you crucified, both Master and the Anointed One.

Yeshua the Anointed One, the Son of Man.

Have we considered how the Apostles describe Yeshua the Anointed One?

Peter preaching on the Day of Pentecost to God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven:
Acts 2: 22-24
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a MAN accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This MAN was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But GOD RAISED HIM from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."

Peter preaching to the household of Cornelius the Centurion at Caesarea:
Acts 10:37,38
You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how GOD anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because GOD was with him.

Paul preaching to the Areopagites in Athens:
Acts 17:29-31
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the MAN he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

Finally,
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the MAN Christ Jesus,

Also, in the last verse of Luke chapter 3, Adam was called the son of God.

Luke 3:38
the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

If Yeshua the Son of God is God, then was Adam also God Himself?

It is noteworthy that our Master Yeshua referred to himself many times as the son of Man. In Hebrew, this would actually be "son of Adam", who according to Luke is son of God.

This is consistent with Paul explaining that Yeshua is the last Adam,

1 Corinthians 15:45
So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

God's Son, God's Rest and God's Priest.

Lecture slides presented to a Methodist Youth Fellowship meeting back in 2002:

An overview of Hebrews chapters 1 to 10, entitled:

Teachings for these days.

Please click on the link above.

The Oath and the Promise.

After Avraham successfully passed the test set by God on Mount Moriah, YHWH gave him a promise,

Genesis 22:15-18
The angel of YHWH called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said,
“I swear by myself, declares YHWH, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring [seed] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

There are two immutable things in the word of YHWH in Gen.22:15-18 above i.e. there are two things that cannot be changed after it is declared to Avraham.

The first immutable thing is the promise of YHWH. The promise of YHWH is sure and unchangeable. He does not change His mind.

Num 23:19 ESV
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

When YHWH declared to Avraham that He would surely bless him, make his descendants numerous and make all peoples on earth become blessed through his seed, YHWH will not change his declaration. He will not change his words. His promise is immutable.

The second immutable thing is the oath of YHWH. The declaration was made when YHWH swore an oath by Himself, by His own Name. There is no other name higher than the Name YHWH to swear an oath by. The oath confirms the promise. Like the promise, it is also immutable.

The book of Hebrews explains this in chapter 6:

Hebrews 6:13-18
"When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, . . ."

Brothers and Sisters, both the promise and the oath made to Avraham in Gen.22 are immutable. They do not change. They cannot be changed. Through the Seed (Offspring) of Avraham, all the peoples on earth will be Blessed.

Let us ponder. Let us ask, "Who is this Seed of Avraham?"

God has done great things in these last days.

The first two chapters of the Book of Hebrews tells us some great things that YHWH our God has done:

Heb 1:2 God has spoken by His Son.

Heb 1:2 God has appointed His Son the heir of all things.

Heb 1:4 God has given to His Son a much more excellent name than that of angels.

Heb 1:9 God is the God of His Son. God has anointed His Son with the oil of gladness. (Ps.45:7)

Heb 1:13 The Son of God sits at the right hand of God and waits for God to make his enemies his footstool. (Ps.110:1)

Further on in Hebrews chapter 2, we find:

Heb 2:4 God has born witness to the words spoken by His Son with signs and wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Heb 2:5 God did not put the world to come in subjection to angels.

Heb 2:8 Instead, God is putting all things, leaving out nothing, under subjection to His Son. (Ps.8:4-6). This is still ongoing, for now we do not yet see all things under him.

Heb.2:10 God, for whom and by whom all things are made, makes His Son the captain of salvation, perfect through sufferings in order to bring many sons to glory.

Heb 2:11 The Son of God is one with those whom he has sanctified. As such, he is not ashamed to call them his brethren. (Ps. 22:22)

Heb 2:13 The Son of God will put his trust in God (2 Sam.22:3, Is.8:17)

Heb 2:13b The Son of God calls his brethren "the children whom God has given me" (Is.8:18)

Heb 2:17 The Son is a merciful and faithful high priest in all things .pertaining to God.

From Hebrews chapters 1 and 2 alone, we can see that the Son is not God and that God is not the Son.

God has done great things indeed. Blessed be the name of YHWH our God.

The Master Yeshua honoured God.

A summary of what I had elaborated on in my earlier post written two years ago,
Jesus honoured God, His Father.

The words of Yeshua the Anointed One recorded in John chapter 8 tell us that:
(1) God sent him.
v16 - My judgments come from me and from the Father who sent me.
v29 - He who sent me is with me. He doesn’t leave me by myself, because I always do what makes him happy.
v42 - Jesus replied, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God. Here I am. I haven’t come on my own. God sent me".

(2) God spoke to him.
v26b - The one who sent me is true, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.
v38 - I’m telling you what I’ve seen when I am with the Father
v40a - Instead, you want to kill me, though I am the one who has spoken the truth I heard from God.

(3) He honoured God and God glorified him.
v49 - 49 “I don’t have a demon,” Jesus replied. “But I honor my Father and you dishonor me.
v50 - I’m not trying to bring glory to myself. There’s one who is seeking to glorify me, and he’s the judge.
v54 - Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is meaningless. My Father, who you say is your God, is the one who glorifies me.

Blessed be the Name of YHWH our Father in Heaven.

Through this man is forgiveness declared.

Paul spoke to both Jews and Gentiles in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch on a Shabbat day:

Acts 13:38,39 YLT

Let it therefore be known to you, men, brethren, that through this one ("this man") to you is the forgiveness of sins declared, and from all things from which ye were not able in the law of Moses to be declared righteous, in this one every one who is believing is declared righteous;

What are those "all things" from which we cannot be declared righteous under the Torah of Moshe?

Let us consider the following examples:

(1) King David acknowledged that no one can be considered righteous before YHWH

Psalm 143:1,2 CJB

(YHWH), hear my prayer;

listen to my pleas for mercy.

In your faithfulness, answer me,

and in your righteousness.

Don’t bring your servant to trial,

since in your sight no one alive

would be considered righteous.

(2) King David also acknowledged this in a song of ascents

Psalm 130:3,4 CJB

Yah, if you kept a record of sins,

who, Adonai, could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness,

so that you will be feared.

(3) The Preacher, son of David, wrote in Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 7:20 YLT

Because there is not a righteous man on earth that doth good and sinneth not.

(4) King Solomon, in his Prayer of Dedication, said

1 Kings 8:46 ESV

If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them . . .

The Gospel of God.

Paul, Sylvanius and Timothy commended the disciples at Thessalonika for their good testimony, on how they had

- turned to God from idols
- to serve the living and true God,
- to wait for his son from heaven
- whom God raised from the dead,
- the son Yeshua, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
- 1 Thessalonians 1: 9,10

To turn away from idols, to serve the living and true God, to wait for His son from heaven, the son whom He raised from the dead, who will deliver us from the wrath to come.

This is the gospel of God which Paul, Sylvanius and Timothy preached.

1 Thessalonians 2:2
But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

1 Thessalonians 2:8
So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

1 Thessalonians 2:9
For you remember, brothers, our labour and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

The Power of the Father's Name

Dear Christian brothers and sisters, How often do we remember the Name of our God?

In Matthew 6:9, the Master Yeshua told his disciples that they should pray to God like this,
"Our Father in heaven! May your Name be kept holy. . . "

In John 5:43, the Master told the Judeans who opposed him,
" I have come in my Father’s Name, and you don’t accept me; if someone else comes in his own name, him you will accept."

And in John 17:6, our Master said in his prayer to the Only True God, "I made Your Name known to the people you gave me out of the world."

Again in John 17:11, the Master Yeshua prayed for his disciples, "Now I am no longer in the world. They are in the world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, guard them by the power of Your Name,"

Likewise in John 17:12, he prayed, " When I was with them, I guarded them by the power of Your Name, which you have given to me; "

Finally in John 17:26, our Master Yeshua reiterated, "I made Your Name known to them, and I will continue to make it known; so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I myself may be united with them".

May God our Father in Heaven guard us by the power of His Name, the Name of Adonai YHWH. Let us remember His Holy Name always.

The Gate, The Cornerstone and The Blessed One

Prophecies from Psalm 118 fulfilled. All quotes from the Complete Jewish Bible.

Psalm 118:19-20
Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter them and thank Yah.
This is the gate of Adonai;
the righteous can enter it.

John 10:7-10
Yeshua said to them again, “Yes, indeed! I tell you that I am the gate for the sheep. All those who have come before me have been thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the gate; if someone enters through me, he will be safe and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure.
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Psalm 118:21-23
I am thanking you because you answered me;
you became my salvation.
The very rock that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing.

Matthew 21:42-46
Yeshua said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Tanakh,

‘The very rock which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing’?[i]

Therefore, I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the kind of people that will produce its fruit!” 44 [j] As the head cohanim and the P’rushim listened to his stories, they saw that he was speaking about them. But when they set about to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds; because the crowds considered him a prophet.
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Psalm 118:24-26
This is the day Adonai has made,
a day for us to rejoice and be glad.
Please, Adonai! Save us!
Please, Adonai! Rescue us!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai.
We bless you from the house of Adonai.

Luke 13:34-35
“Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused! Look! God is abandoning your house to you! I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai!’”
(see also Matt.21:9)
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