The Example to Follow

Did Jesus go out to "meet and greet" people, getting to know them before he started to teach the Word of God?  Did he sidestep issues of the day so as not to be labeled a "Torah Thumper"?

I don't think so.

He came loaded with knowledge, understanding, love and truth and wasted no time with 'ear tickling' in an attempt to win people over.

Y'shua was known by his reputation. From a young age he was very knowledgeable of Scripture. Later he became known as a teacher and a healer, and some speculated he was possibly the son of Elohim - others knew without a doubt.  People were drawn to him, some out of curiosity, some to hear his teachings for themselves, or to be healed of their ailments, or because they recognized the Good Shepherd's Voice and responded to the calling.

His disciples were eventually sent out to people who were ready to hear about the kingdom to come. The disciples were instructed not to waste their time with the unrepentant ones, knock the dust off their feet, take their shalom and move on.  Today they may have been called "Torah Terrorists".

"Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near."

Are we to consider ourselves as 'fishers of men' or does that only apply if we are indeed in the fishing industry to begin with?  It was a snappy saying Y'shua used on Simon and Andrew who were fishing at the time Y'shua called to them. It worked - those brothers dropped their nets and followed after him.  Later he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat fixing their nets and Y'shua called them as well. They dropped what they were doing and went after him.  

They followed Y'shua through Galilee where he taught in their assemblies. They were amazed by his teachings because he taught as an authority, not like the scribes. He preached the Hope of the Kingdom and he healed every disease and sickness among the people.  His fame was heard in all Syria. Quite a crowd of people ended up following him. (Matthew 4:18-25; Mark 1:16-22;) By now he is starting to get on the nerves of the Pharisees and some scribes - he was a threat to their long held position of authority and power.

Later on he sees Levi (Matthew) sitting at the custom house and said, Come, follow me! and he did. Y'shua went up a mountain and called on those whom he desired and they came to him. He called 12 to be with him, to preach and be authorities to heal the sick and cast out demons.

Simon, whom he called Peter;

James and John, brothers he called the 'sons of thunder';

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Tomas,

James, Thaddeus, Simon and Judas

They, who had been reading Yah's Instructions and the writings of the Prophets, had been waiting for 'Immanuel' (Yahshua). By their knowledge of Scriptures (ye old testament) they recognized prophecy being fulfilled before their very eyes! They recognized the Good Shepherd's voice.

Through our continued study and reading of His Word we, too, shall be prepared to recognize the Good Shepherd when he calls. Then, without hesitation, without question, we drop what we are doing and follow him.

Yahshua the Anointed One taught these things:

Blessed are they who are poor in spirit, who are mourning, and meek because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven where they will be comforted, and they will inherit the earth. 

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness because they will be satisfied. 

Blessed are they who are merciful and pure in their hearts because mercies shall be upon them and they will see Elohim 

Blessed are they who make peace because they will be called the sons of Elohim. 

Blessed are they who are persecuted because of righteousness because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Blessed are you whenever they curse you and they persecute you and they say every evil word about you falsely because of me.  Then rejoice and be glad because your reward in heaven is great for likewise they persecuted the prophets of days gone by. 

You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt should become bland, with what would it become seasoned? For anything not fit is but to be thrown outside and be trodden by man. You are the light of the world. It is not possible to hide a city that is built on a mountain.  Let your light shine like this in front of the sons of man that they should see your works good and they glorify your Father who is in Heaven. 

Do not think that I have come to loosen (do away with) Torah of the prophets; I have not come to loosen but to fulfill (to perform my duty). For truly I say to you  that until heaven and earth pass away not one Yodh (dot) or one stroke will pass from Torah until everything happens. (He did not replace the Father or His Instructions)  All who loosen therefore from one of these small commandments and teach others to do the same will be called little in the Kingdom of heaven but all who do and teach this will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds more than that of the scribes and the Pharisees you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Yah Separates us from that Pagan World

Yahweh tells us to be 'set apart' because He is Set Apart. The first example of this is the 7 day count, beginning each month and counting every 7th day as the day of rest. This shall be a sign to Him: 

Exodus 16:23 - then he said to them, "This is what Yahweh meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, set apart to Him. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning." (get all your meals prepared the day before so you don't have to 'kindle a fire' on the sabbath to do any cooking) 35:2 For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Set Apart day, a sabbath of Complete Rest to Yahweh Elohim. You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day."

Leviticus 23:3 - For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of Complete Rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to your Elohim, in all your dwellings.

Deuteronomy 5:12 - Observe the sabbath day to keep it set apart as Yahweh your Elohim commanded you

Ezekiel 20:12- Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.

Yah says to do it, so we do it because of our Faith in Him. We believe He is the One True Living Elohim and we show our love for Him by obeying His Instructions. It is a Sign to Yahweh that we are His people.

:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:

Zephaniah 1:4- I will stretch out My arm against Judah and against all who dwell in Jerusalem; and I will wipe out from this place every vestige of Baal, and the name of the priests of the heathen gods, and those who bow down on the roofs to the host of heaven; and those who bow down and swear to Yahweh your Elohim but also swear by Malcam (Milcom, the abomination of Ammonites) and I will wipe out all those who have forsaken Me, who have not sought nor turned to Me.

Baal (ba'al) was an ancient Canaanite and Mesopotamian deity associated with agriculture. He was believed to be the "giver of life" and mankind was dependent upon him for providing what was necessary to sustain the farms, flocks and herds. He was also called the "son of Dagon" (who was in control of the grain), and "Hadad" the storm god who would provide plentiful rains after hearing his voice (thunder).

The land of Canaan was devoted to the worship of Baal. The Semitic word Baal means "lord" or "master" and the Canaanites believed that Baal was in absolute control over nature and over people. It was he who was in charge of the rain and the weather, and man's survival was dependent upon Baal's provision.

One may question that those ancient enemies of Israel were as evil as the Bible claims that they were, but even a superficial glance at Canaanite religion alone ably demonstrates their iniquity. Base sex worship was prevalent, and religious prostitution even commanded; human sacrifice was common; and it was a frequent practice, in an effort to placate their gods, to kill young children and bury them in the foundations of a house or public building at the time of construction: Joshua 6:26 "In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn." Howard E. Vos, "An Introduction To Bible Archaeology" Revised ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1953)

:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:

These are some of the pagan things mentioned in Scriptures, also known as 'alien', 'heathen' or 'foreign':

• altars/shrines
• customs
• symbols
• nations/peoples
• gods
• women

2 Chronicles 14- Asa did what was good and pleasing to Yahweh Elohim. He abolished the alien altars and shrines; he smashed pillars and cut down the sacred posts. He ordered Judah to turn to Yahweh the Elohim of their fathers and to observe the Teaching and the Commandment.

2 Kings 23- King Josiah ordered the high priest Hilkiah, the priests of the second rank, and the guards of the threshold to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all objects made for Baal and Asherah. He suppressed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to make offerings at the shrines in the towns of Judah and in the environs of Jerusalem, and those who make offering to Baal, to the sun and moon and constellations - all the host of heaven.  He brought out the image of Asherah from the House of Yahweh to the Kidron Valley, burned it, beat it to dust and scattered its dust over the burial ground of the common people. He tore down the cubicles of the male prostitutes in the House of Yahweh, at the place where the women wove coverings for Asherah (Ishtar/Easter).

(Can you imagine anyone standing up for Yahweh like this today?) 

Ezra 10:2- Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel of the family of Elam spoke up and said to Ezra, "We have trespassed against our Elohim by bringing into our homes foreign women from the peoples of the land 10:44- All these had married foreign women, among whom were some who had born children

Why are some 'believers' offended by using 'God's Word' to point out the difference between right and wrong?  His Instructions set us apart from the traditional, man inspired doings of the world. We are called to come out of this world system, a hot bed of paganism reeking of Mystery Babylon, just as the city of Babylon was back in the day: lawless, totally without regard for the Instructions of Elohim.  If we are not taught right from wrong, if we do not trust our Father and believe His Son, we will trust anyone and do whatever we please.

Are we making reservations for Fire Lake or the Promised Land?

What Evil Lurks in our Own Backyard

A few years back I continued to research this event after watching the original Loose Change video.  The original Loose Change video is better than the remakes or updated ones in which they have cleaned up and lost some of the original news clips recorded on that day. None the less, all clear evidence points to this not being an attack from outsiders and proves that our own govt. agencies were involved, to various degrees. The link provided below will take you to a website with in depth investigative coverage that I highly recommend.  It is astounding to discover how deceptively evil people truly are while smiling and lying straight to our faces.

Aluminum and Steel 
If you've never given it any thought...

...on 9/11 not one single piece was identified. No large significant wreckage at all i.e wings, engines, landing gear, tail section, wheel etc. The reason? There were no real planes on 9/11.

An aluminum plane hitting a thick steel beam will have the same effect as steel beam being swung at the same speed and hitting the plane. It makes no difference which one is moving as to the effect on the plane and the beam. In both cases the thick steel beam will do damage to the plane and the beam will emerge relatively undamaged. The faster the speed at the point of impact, the more damage that will be done to the plane.

What is the Good News?

The Good News is that YHWH and His Mashiyach are righteous and just and all who put their Faith in YHWH are being called into righteousness to walk as Yahshua walked.

Luke 8:1- Y'shua was going around in the cites and in the villages and was preaching and declaring the Kingdom of Elohim.

Romans 10:13- For everyone that will call on the name of Master YHWH will have life. How then will they call on him, in whom that have not believed? Or how will they believe in him of whom they have not heard? Or of whom will they hear without a preacher? how will they preach if they are not sent forth? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of the heralds of peace and of the heralds of good things."

Isaiah 52:7- How welcome on the mountain are the feet of him announcing happiness, heralding good fortune, announcing victory, telling Zion, "Your Elohim reigns!"

Hebrews 4:2- For to us also is the announcement (the Good News) as well as to them, but the Word they heard did not benefit them because it was not combined with the faith of those who heard it.

Quote: Andrew Gabriel Roth from the AENT:

The Good News originated in the Garden of Eden when YHWH introduced Adam and Eve to the Tree of Life and revealed to them that the fruit of that Tree would cause them to live forever. That Tree represented the Kingdom of Elohim, which has no beginning or end. The Netzer (Branch or sprout) spoken of in Isaiah 11:1 is the prophetic birth of this Tree of Life through Mashiyach, which is the foundation of the Good News, but did not originate at the coming of Y'shua: Because Elohim knew beforehand that the Gentiles would be declared righteous through faith  that he first preached to Abraham, as it is said in the Set Apart Scriptures, In you shall all the Gentiles be blessed (Galatians 3:8) plainly teaching us that Abraham responded to the Good News about 2,000 years before Y'shua's sufferings.

The Good News is that Yahweh our Creator is a loving, merciful and forgiving Father. This love of the Father is clearly demonstrated in Y'shua as an offering for all souls to turn to Yahweh, to enter his Kingdom and turn away from transgression of His Word. 

The basis of the Good News is that Yahweh Himself shows favor and mercy to His people who will live according to His Word. The Good News is the revelation of Yahweh's Eternal Grace that saves and empowers His people to be able to stop transgressing (breaking Torah) against Him. Torah is Yah's blueprint for moral, righteous living. To attempt to annul Torah is to teach a different 'gospel' than what the Talmidim (disciples) and Shlichim (Apostles) originally taught.

False gospels preach that Y'shua is 'the gospel' and that belief alone brings salvation. However, Adam and Eve 'got saved' long before Y'shua came to earth because YHWH is salvation.  Y'shua is the door to salvation but belief in his atoning blood is futile without being re-born spiritually and keeping his Father's commandments- becoming Set Apart.

Even the demons believe in Yahweh and the fact that there is only One Elohim; but demons are not Set apart unto Yah and therefore belief in itself without a righteous lifestyle is simply false religion. The false gospel has removed the Terms and Conditions of salvation, covenant and atonement and replace them with a cerebral belief system or Christian religious label (identity).  Even if every soul on earth put their faith in a false gospel, it would not cause Yahweh to change His Word to comply with man's opinion.

Life is in the Blood

We are instructed not to eat flesh with its life-blood in it (Genesis 9:4); not to partake of the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood (Leviticus 17:14); and a third time we are told: the blood is the life, and you must not consume the life with the flesh (Deuteronomy 12:23) pour it on the ground like water.

And in reading the following we discover Yah's Covenant truly is Everlasting.

Blood of the Covenant: 

Exodus 24:8 Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that Yahweh now makes with you concerning all these commands." 

Blood of the Renewed Covenant: 

Luke 22:20 And likewise also concerning the cup, after they had eaten supper, he said, "This is the cup of the renewed covenant in my blood which is shed for your sake."

Life is in the blood.
Life is the Blessing and Death is the Curse.

Deuteronomy 30:19- I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life if you and your offspring would live by loving Yahweh Elohim, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and long endure.

=====

We read beginning in John 6:48 that Y'shua says- I am the Bread of Life. This is the Bread that has descended from heaven that a man may eat from it and he will not die! I am the Living Bread who has descended from Heaven. And if a man should eat from this Bread, he will live forever. And the Bread that I give is my body which I give for the sake of the life of the world. 

Matthew 26:26- while they were dining, Y'shua took bread and blessed it, broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, "Take, eat. This is my body." And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them and said, "Take, drink from it, all of you (his 12 disciples). This is my blood of the renewed covenant, which for the sake of many is shed for the forgiveness of sins."

In John 10:11 Yahshua says he is the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the flock.  Then, in John 15:13 he says, "There is no love that is greater than this, that a man lay down his life for the sake of his friends. You are my friends if you do all that I commanded you - everything that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."

And what did Y'shua the Anointed One eventually do? He willingly fulfilled his part in the divine plan and was led to his death, without argument, without resistance. He laid down his life for his friends, those who abide by the Father's Instructions. His blood was shed for our sake, for atonement.

Revelation 12:11- And they overcame (Satan, the Accuser), because of the blood of the Lamb, (Yahshua, whom they acknowledge openly); and they loved not their own lives, even to death.  Leviticus 17:11 Yah says- "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have assigned it to you for making atonement for your lives. It is the blood, as life, that effects atonement."

In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses speaks to the people and tells them that Yahweh, "subjected you to the hardship of hunger and then gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had ever known, in order to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but may live on anything that Yahweh decrees". 

Matthew 4:4- Y'shua replies to the Accuser: It is written that the Son of man does not live by bread alone, but by all the Words that proceed from the mouth of Elohim.

The original Bread from heaven was 'manna'. This was a lesson being taught: Deuteronomy 8:3- He subjected you to the hardship of hunger and then gave you manna to eat in order to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but may live on anything that Yahweh decrees.

Who is the Word made Flesh? Who is the Living Bread from heaven? Who shed his blood for the sake of renewing the covenant and to save us from death?

As in the various types and shadows throughout the (OT), we are shown the physical events which point towards the spiritual applications for our lives in today's world. For example, there was the physical bread, the manna, which sustained His People in the wilderness and now, by means of the Renewed Covenant, we have the spiritual Bread of Life through Yahshua, which sustains us by Faith.

I'm seeing a harmonious cycle formed by having Faith in the One who created us as we abide by His plan to save us from death and adversity.  He had to do all of this because Satan became a thorn in His Side which will be removed. And Doubt is a thorn Satan tries to stick into our thoughts continually.  As you know, Satan caused Eve to Doubt the Instructions of Yahweh way back when, and paradise was placed just out of reach.  If we want to get back to the Garden we must choose Life and all the rules and regulations that go with it according to the Creator who had it all written down in His Owner's Manual = Scriptures.

Jonah son of Amittai

We don't know who we really are - only the Creator knows all things.

With that in mind, it makes sense that we should all, by Faith, trust in Him and obey His commands and live according to His Instructions, otherwise we might fall into that 'once saved always saved' trap - thinking we are one of His Chosen and later hearing Y'shua tell us to go away from him, he never knew us.

Jonah is an Example: 

Yah tells Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and proclaim judgment upon it because of their wickedness. Jonah decides to ignore this request and run away from being in service to Yahweh. He found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fare and sailed off. He left because he thought he already knew what Yahweh was going to do regardless, knowing that Yah is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, renouncing punishment - but Jonah missed the point: he disobeyed a command of Yahweh and things got pretty troublesome for him until he finally acknowledged the powerful existence of Elohim and agreed to go to Nineveh and proclaim the judgment.  

Yahweh cast a mighty wind upon the sea causing a great tempest putting the ship in danger of breaking apart.  The sailors cried out, each to their own god but Jonah had gone below and fell asleep.  They cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah - he confessed he was a Hebrew and worshipped Yahweh Elohim.  When they learned the stormy seas were a result of his attempt at fleeing from the service of Elohim, they asked what must be done to calm the waters.  Jonah told them to toss him overboard.  The men continued to row hard towards shore but could not and the storm worsened.  They called out to Yahweh not to kill them on account of Jonah nor hold them guilty for killing him.  They acknowledge that Yahweh Elohim brought this about and then heaved Jonah overboard and the sea stopped raging.

Yah provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah where he stayed three days and three nights, and he prayed.  He acknowledged his troubles and that when near death Yahweh brought him up from the pit.  He gave thanks and vowed to do as He commanded.  The fish spewed Jonah out upon dry land.

This second time when Yah told Jonah to go at once to Nineveh, he did.  The people believed that Yahweh would do what He said He would, and they turned back from their evil ways. Yah saw what they did and renounced the punishment.  Yet, Jonah was displeased.

O Yahweh! Isn't this just what I said when I was still in my own country? This is why I fled to Tarshish. Please take my life - I'd rather die than live.

Jonah leaves the city and found a place where he made a booth where he sat in the shade while he waited to see what happened to the city.  Yahweh caused a ricinus plant (castor bean) to grow up over Jonah to provide shade for his head and save him from discomfort.  He was very happy about this plant.  The next day Yah provided a worm which attacked the plant and it withered. When the sun rose, Yahweh provided a sultry east wind, the sun beat down on Jonah's head and he became faint, begging for death.  Yah asks him if he is that deeply grieved about the plant.  (There was a lesson being taught Jonah)

Yah says: 
You cared about the plant which you did not work for and you did not grow, which appeared overnight and perished overnight.  Should I not care about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not yet know their right hand from their left, and many beasts as well!

These people did not know right from wrong and could not be held responsible for their actions - just as beasts cannot be held responsible for what they do. The people had to be made aware of their wrongdoings. Nahum the prophet made a pronouncement on Nineveh, a city of crime, utterly treacherous, full of violence, where killing never stops! He writes that it is because of the countless harlotries of the harlot, the winsome mistress of sorcery, who ensnared nations with her harlotries and peoples with her sorcery that Yahweh will deal with her. 

Nineveh was founded by Nimrod shortly after the Flood (Genesis 10:11-12); and as capital of the Assyrian empire, it rose to power about 900 B.C. Years later, Assyria began the process of conquering Israel, and Jonah clearly saw this nation as an enemy and feared what it would eventually do. By 721 B.C. the Assyrian army had destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel. The Assyrians were extremely brutal and cruel, even skinning their captives alive. The city of Nineveh eventually fell to the invading armies of the Babylonians and Medes (about 607 B.C.)

Here is a link to more info about Nahum's prophecy about Nineveh

When we know right from wrong we will be held responsible for our actions. This knowledge of right and wrong is written in Scriptures, namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The Covenant Renewed

In a discussion about those who think the New Testament is not part of Scriptures, I was asked to find in just the Old Testament (Tanakh) any place where Yah said He had a son. This is challenging because the New Testament (Renewed Covenant) answers each point I have found in the Old Testament.

If we read just the Tanakh and ignore the Renewed Covenant, we are left with many unanswered questions which leave us open to speculation. The same goes for reading the NT only- if one doesn't know the circumstances, rules and regulations spoken of in the OT much of the NT writings won't make sense. It is what's referred to as 'types and shadows' of thing to come. Just as Yahweh gave the pattern of the Tabernacle to Moses, we have the pattern to understand the renewed covenant writings. 

In the course of this study I have found Scriptures to be one whole book, and that it truly does interpret itself- it just takes effort on our behalf.

Yahweh used Nathan to speak to David:

2 Samuel 7:12- and when your days are done, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of you own issue (Solomon), and I will establish his kingship. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. I will be a father to him and he shall be a son to me.

This is part of David's reply to Yahweh:

7:23- And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth, whom Yahweh redeemed as His people, winning renown for Himself and doing great and marvelous deeds for them and for Your land- driving out nations and their gods before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt. You have established Your very own people forever and You, Yahweh, have become their Elohim.

Psalm 2:6- "But I have installed My king on Zion, My holy mountain!" Let me tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, 

"You are My son, I have fathered you this day."

2:11- Serve Yahweh in awe; tremble with fright, pay homage in good faith, lest He be angered, and your way be doomed in the mere flash of His anger. Happy are all who take refuge in Him.

Proverbs 30:4- Who has ascended heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hand? Who has wrapped the waters in his garment? Who has established all the extremities of the earth? What is His Name or His son's name, if you know it? Every word of Yahweh is pure, a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He indict you and you be proved a liar.

Isaiah 7:14- Assuredly, Yahweh Elohim will give you a sign of His own accord! Look, the young woman is with child and about to give birth to a son. Let her name him Immanuel. (this prophecy was given about 700 years before Y'shua was born)

Isaiah 9:5- For a child has been born to us, a son has been given us.  And authority has settled on his shoulders. He has been named "The Mighty Elohim is planning grace; the Eternal Father, a peaceable ruler" - In token of abundant authority and of peace without limit upon David's throne and kingdom, that it may be firmly established in justice and in equity now and evermore.

Hosea 11:1- I fell in love with Israel when he was still a child; and I have called him My son ever since Egypt. Thus were they called (out of Egypt), but they went their own way; they sacrificed to Baalim.

Micah 5:1- And you, O Bethlehem of Ephrath, least among the clans of Judah, from you one shall come forth to rule Israel for Me- one whose origin is of old, from ancient times. Truly, he will leave them helpless until she who is bear has borne, then the rest of his countrymen shall return to the children of Israel. He shall stand and shepherd by the might of Yahweh, by the power of the Name 'Yahweh' his Elohim

These Scripture quotes point towards a future event, something we cannot realize until we read the Renewed Covenant (NT). Now we can connect the dots between what was, what is and what is to come.