Churchianity > Hebrew Roots > Faith

We are still learning as we continue on His Path of Righteousness

Break out of your perceived Comfort Zone

Let Go of Tradition

Jude 1:3 ~
.... while I take all pains to write to you of our common life, it is needful for me to write to you, encouraging you to maintain a conflict for the faith which was once delivered to the Set Apart believers, for some have obtained entrance who, from the beginning, were registered beforehand under this condemnation: wicked men who pervert the grace of Yahweh to impurity and deny him who is the only MarYah Elohim and our Master, Y'shua the Anointed One. And I wish to remind you, though you all know it, after once rescuing the people from Egypt, Yahweh again destroyed them who did not believe.

I know there are still folks coming out of Churchianity as they seek the truth of Scriptures and have gotten too comfortable with the Hebrew roots of things. I know, I was there once upon a time. It is, however, one of the best stepping stones we have leading us in the right direction. But that is where many people take the rabbit trail leading them into another traditional religion (Judaism) instead of continuing on to the faith once delivered. Our Creator was never about religions, various belief systems or churches. His Instructions were given for our health, well being and to guide us to exist as a community, a body of believers = His people, training us up for the return of His Son. Our Heavenly Father was never about 'division' but has called us to be One. Satan, on the other hand, has caused extreme division by using the above mentioned 'wicked men' who pervert the Word of God and teach it to others who have not read Scriptures for themselves or taken the time to search for the truth of His Word as if looking for treasure.

Mark 7:5 ~ The scribes and the Pharisees ask Y'shua, "Why don't your disciples walk according to the traditions of the elders? His short answer is: "You hypocrites... You have left the Commandment of (God) and have embraced the tradition of men. ... And you despise the Word of Elohim because of the tradition that you have handed down..."

Matthew 15:3 records the same... the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem ask Y'shua why his disciples transgress against the traditions of the elders. He asks them, "Why do you transgress the Commandments of YHWH (God) because of your traditions?"

By reading Scriptures we learn that YHWH's Chosen People are the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob along with those who have been adopted in:  We who come into covenant with the Creator and abide by His Instructions and have the testimony of His Son.

It is no longer a tribal thing because when anyone of any background comes into covenant with our Creator we all become part of the House of Jacob, the commonwealth of Israel. We become one as we worship YHWH in Spirt and in Truth. With this in mind, consider that His People are not just the 'Jews' and His people have not yet been gathered to the promised land. The tiny nation-state of modern day Israel does not represent the 'promised land' as that land includes all of what was the land of Canaan.

There is only one gathering of His chosen people and, according to Scriptures, it occurs at the 7th Shofar Event, when all eyes see the coming of Y'shua in the clouds. Those who are alive at that time will see the dead being risen up, all those believers who have died since the beginning, and then they will be gathered with them. It is at this point we are given bodies that are incorruptible, gathered together in the clouds for the time being.

Matthew 24- All eyes will see the return of Y'shua...

:29 immediately after the suffering of those days...

:30 Y'shua comes upon the clouds of heaven with great power and glory. He sends his Messengers with a large trumpet and they gather his chosen from the four winds.

First Thessalonians 4:16 confirms Y'shua will descend from heaven with the voice of the chief Messenger and the shofar of Yahweh. His Set Apart believers (his chosen, the elect) are caught up together to the clouds to meet Y'shua Messiah and be with him forever.

Revelation 6:12 tells us the 6th Seal is opened and because of the earthquake, darkened sun, red colored moon, falling stars and mountains and islands being moved out of their places Every One Will Know the great day of wrath has come. Revelation 11:15 tells us the world becomes the kingdom of Y'shua after the 7th shofar is sounded (the last trumpet before the final plagues).

After these events and the pouring out of the Cups of Wrath His People receive the promise, the everlasting covenant Yah made with Abraham about the land of Canaan. After we are gathered and changed from corruptible to incorruptible, then we are set down upon our own soil - the promised land of Canaan where we live in the Kingdom ruled by Y'shua for a thousand years.

Jeremiah 23:7 ~ A time is coming when people will say As Yah lives, who brought out and led the offspring of the House of Israel (Jacob) from the north land and from all the lands to which they've been scattered... and they shall dwell upon their own soil.... 16:14 I will bring them back to their land which I gave to their fathers... 30 I will deliver you from far away and make an end to all the nations where you have been....

The gathering has yet to happen but will in His good timing.  There will be no mistaking this event.

Click Here to go to my study, Who Is Israel

Click Here to go to my study about the word 'church'

Click Here to go to my study, The Last Day

1 Peter 1:6-9 ... when you are under some pressure by the various trials that pass over you (it is) so that the proof of your faith may appear more precious than refined gold that is tested by fire, to glory and honor and praise at the manifestation of Y'shua: whom having not seen, you love; and in the faith of whom you rejoice with the joy that is glorious and beyond expression, that you many receive the reward of your faith, the life of your souls...

False Teachers Once True

The first person I ever heard teaching about Torah was Monte Judah of Lion and Lamb Ministries. I had recently found a radio station on iTunes called Solace Radio and he was one of the 'programs' they supported. It was then that I eventually learned of other Torah Teachers of the Hebrew Roots mindset, such as:

• Mike Clayton 
• Bill Cloud 
• Brad Scott 

This began the new learning process for me and my husband about ten years ago. Later we heard of Mark Biltz, Perry Stone, Rico Cortes, and others that many in 'the group' seemed to know, like and agree with. In my zeal for more about this Torah teaching idea I searched the internet and found a few web sites that rounded out this new world we had entered: 119 Ministries; Jim Staley's Truth or Tradition; Michael Rood's A Rood Awakening, for examples.

Through the various teachings and insights of them all, my husband and I became firmly rooted in the Hebrew origins of Scriptures and continue in study of His Word to this day. We gleaned many a nugget and felt the joy and blessing from the Creator as we carnal Gentiles started leaving the old Babylon worldly system. Yet we were believing in men and not taking what they were saying back to Scriptures at that time. We, like many Christians before us, were following the leader, without question.

We started wondering about those people and what they were teaching and what, exactly, were we learning. Once we understood the Old Testament was just as important as the New Testament, the more we read and studied Scriptures for ourselves the more we realized they were straying from His Path and taking us with them. Most had left Churchianity years ago but were still dragging religious baggage with them, trading the cross symbol for the star of David. Others were trading religions: Christianity for Judaism. We do acknowledge that they served their purpose as Stepping Stones that got my husband and I lined up with our Creator and His Path of righteous living, but I will not recommend any of them so that those new to the Hebrew origins of Scriptures will not be tempted to follow false teachings. Many will sit back and listen without consulting the Creator on all things.

As the years went by and without intentionally doing so, we measured ourselves against people who helped open our eyes to the truth about Yah's Instructions for His Creation, but when those teachers seem to have gone down a rabbit trail or adopted Jewish traditions it was time to leave them and move on, continuing in our studies, reading Scripture and staying on YHWH's Path of Righteousness. Many who were seeing the truth still fell into a religious comfort zone, traps set by Satan.

Mike Clayton was a great teacher and able to put the Word of YHWH into simple stories for those new to reading the Old Testament. He was easy to understand and seemed a trustworthy teacher to have along the Hebrew Roots journey. I copied a few of his teachings and shared them here and there because they were perfect for getting folks interested in Torah. But since then Mr. Clayton has changed his name to Mikell, doesn't use the Name of our Creator, thinks Israel has already been gathered and puts too much emphasis on today's Jews. He's taken many trips to Israel and offers tours. All these things do not make him a bad person, but like many he has been tripped up by Judaism, trading his Christian religion for a Jewish one. This is not someone who should continue teaching the Word of "G-d" because he is no longer teaching the whole Truth. I do not doubt that Mike Clayton loves YHWH and truly believes he is doing the right thing, but he is also mixing and mingling doctrines of man with the pure word of our Creator. If you come across his teachings on your journey I know you will find some nuggets worth gleaning but do not let your guard down else you get sidelined by that same rabbit trail. Always take what you learn back to Scriptures and the Set Apart Spirit of our Creator will show you the truth of all things.

My same sentiment goes for Bill Cloud: If you come across his teachings on your journey I know you will find some nuggets worth gleaning but keep your guard up else you travel down that same rabbit trail. Always take what you learn back to Scriptures and the Set Apart Spirit of our Creator will show you the truth of all things.

Mr. Cloud is another one of those likable down-home fellas who came out of Churchianity after learning that Torah is YHWH's set of Instructions for everyone - not just the Jews. But, like many others, he allowed the religion of Judaism to replace the religion of Christianity as he continued to adopt traditions of man. This may be because he was taught by a rabbi. I began to question his view of Torah years ago when I attended one of his seminars on a Sabbath day and noticed he had an assortment of CDs and Books displayed on a table, all for sale, on the Sabbath. I had learned enough about Yah's instructions to know that this wasn't right. All it takes is one contrary thing to raise an eyebrow of mine and spur me into research mode. These guys were valuable stepping stones in my journey and taught me how to read and study Scriptures for myself as I began to take their teachings back to the Word of our Creator, so they served their purpose in that respect.

If you think you need to learn the Hebrew Language then Brad Scott is the guy for you. I think he pushes the language topic a little too far, however, knowing Hebrew idioms and poetic prose does indeed help us to better understand Scriptures and clear up errors in translations. It is not necessary for us to be speaking and reading the Hebrew language as a whole in today's world, yet I believe it will be the language restored when we enter Y'shua's kingdom. I am content to wait until then. Mr. Scott goes beyond simply teaching the Word of Elohim and makes Scriptures seem as a mystery that needs to be understood by seeking deeper meanings. We are to be seeking YHWH as if looking for treasures and not picking and choosing a Hebrew word to analyze for an hour or two. That is one of those famous rabbit trails readily available in any Hebrew Roots group. I am not accusing Mr. Scott of being a bad guy, but his teaching strays off course when he relies on science to prove a point. If you come across his teachings on your journey I know you will find some nuggets worth gleaning but do not become distracted else you end up down that same rabbit trail. Always take what you learn back to Scriptures and the Set Apart Spirit of our Creator will show you the truth of all things.

I no longer recommend these teachers or websites because I hate it when a 'fellow believer' tells me to "eat the meat and spit out the bones". I shall never offer that advice to anyone. The bones are snares cast by Satan and I would never point someone in that direction. If I find something true and worthy of sharing in a site that is riddled with bones, I will not send someone there looking for it, but will dig out the nuggets and share them as a quote without leading anyone astray.

I post this topic hoping to bring awareness to those of you who are still relatively new to YHWH's Path and learning to live according to His Instructions (aka Torah). You will more than likely hear of these popular teachers in the Hebrew Roots learning curve and watch the videos. I will simply say avoid them and continue reading Scriptures for yourself. These teachers have come to represent, in my view, bait dangling on a hook: it looks good and we're hungry for His Word, but once they get you hooked they will take you to the wide gate along the broad way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. (Matthew 7:14) There is almost no avoiding these 'teachers' when one awakens after hearing and recognizing the Good Shepherd's voice. We are called to come out of Babylon, that pagan religious mindset, which means leaving all religions behind and returning to the Faith once delivered. 

One more mark against good men teaching traditions: They should not be advertising their 'studies' for sale, or providing shofars, tzitzits, shabbat candles or prayer shawls for sale, nor asking for donations, as this is not what was taught by Y'shua. This behavior reminds me of the flea market and money exchange that was set up in God's House in Jerusalem. On one particular Sabbath day Y'shua entered and tossed them all out.