Recognizing Demons in Today's World

Most of the following is gleaned from a web site I came across while researching 'demons'. Much of it does make sense in light of Scriptures as we know demons are written of more than once throughout Scriptures. This study is to help us better understand our enemy so as not to be destroyed for lack of knowledge; nor shall we fall for the strong delusion coming our way. I provided Chapter and Verse references taken from my copy of the Tanakh and the Aramaic English New Testament. Please read from your own copy of Scriptures as you further your studies.

We learn from reading Ephesians 2 that before we knew right from wrong we were unaware of our sins and offenses.  We behaved according to the the worldliness of this world (religions, customs and materialism...) and lived according to the will of the prince and power of the air, that spirit which is active in those who are rebellious and disobedient (shunning the Creator).  We gave into temptations and desires of the flesh and our thoughts... we were just like the rest of the people we hung out with. 

Satan is "the prince of the power of the air". 

John 12:31 tells us when Judgment Day comes, the ruler of this world will be cast outside. It is reasonable to think that he and his demons have some control over the elements of nature such as wind, rain, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Remember that it was Satan who directed a "great wind" to collapse the home of Job's oldest son, resulting in the deaths of all Job's children:

Job 1:19  ... suddenly a mighty wind came from the wilderness. It struck the four corners of the house so that it collapsed upon the young people and they died..." 

Another thing I'd like to point out is the fact that governments of this world use weather as a weapon by means of control through the HAARP program, chemical spraying of the atmosphere, pinging and things we've yet to hear about which are all behaviors connected to demonic influence.

It is not logical to blame every illness on demonic activity nor is it biblical. Many of our illnesses are the result of poor lifestyle choices: too much fast food; lack of physical exercise; addictions to things such as alcohol, nicotine, drugs, TV, social media; hanging onto guilt and not forgiving others; holding onto a grudge and blaming ourselves for things not our fault. Though not all illnesses are caused by Satan and his demons, some of them are. Reading in Mark we see there is a difference between sicknesses that were caused by demons and those that were not.

Mark 1:32 ~ And in the evening at the setting of the sun, they brought to him all those who were severely diseased and possessed ....he healed many who were severely diseased with diverse weaknesses  ....he cast out many demons, and he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.

It seems Mark is making a difference between people who are sick with some sort of disease and those who are possessed. Folks can become physically ill from a weakened immune system and maybe if one is spiritually weak they can become home to a demon.

Just like physical illness, some mental disorders are caused by other factors while some are demonically influenced.  Again I would like to suggest it relates to how spiritually weak a person is. I think it is a mistake to say that all mental illness is directly linked to demons. 

Our thoughts and emotions are directly traceable to a series of electrical and chemical impulses in the brain. When the brain does not function properly, drug therapy can help restore the natural balances. However, our thoughts and emotions are more than a series of electrical and chemical impulses. There's an immeasurable, though very real, spiritual component that influences our thoughts and emotions. Positively, this spiritual component can protect us from anxiety and its attendant consequences:

Philippians 4:4 ~ Rejoice in יהוה always, again I say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Master is near. Do not worry at all, but in every matter, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to Elohim; and the peace of Elohim, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Messiah יהושע. For the rest, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is righteous, whatever is clean, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any uprightness and if there is any praise – think on these.

If a positive spiritual exercise like prayer can influence our thought processes by removing anxiety, then it is reasonable to conclude there are also negative spiritual influences that can seize control of our minds and emotions. While not all mental disorders are caused by external spiritual forces such as demons, some of them are.

Consider the man in Luke 8 who was controlled by numerous demons. A refusal to put on clothes, withdrawal from others, strange voices emanating from his mouth, and deep depression were symptoms that today would immediately land him in a mental hospital. Yet as soon as the demons left him, notice the immediate and radical change in his mental state and behavior: "The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Y'shua, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Y'shua, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well" (Luke 8:35-36).

The restoration of this man's mental health did not require years of psychotherapy or drug treatment, because his root problem was not primarily physical or emotional, but spiritual. Please understand that I'm not condemning psychotherapy or chemical treatment. What I am suggesting is that sometimes there is also a spiritual component to mental disorders we should not ignore.

Demons can use other people to discourage, distract, and deceive us. In extreme instances, demons have the ability to use human agents to persecute and murder other Believers. John attributes the slaughter of Elohim's people during the coming Tribulation to demonic activity (see Revelation 18:2,24). We are aware of similar persecution throughout history and in many areas of the world today.

While no true Set Apart believer can be possessed by a demon, we can be influenced by demons - it is an ever present, although spiritual, war. Any area of our lives that is not controlled by the Ruach haKodesh is vulnerable to being controlled by Satan and his forces. You may remember from physics that nature abhors a vacuum. The same truth applies to the spiritual realm. Some spiritual force is going to fill or control your life. Any area of your existence — finances, marriage, work, and morality — that is not being directed by the His Spirit is vulnerable to being controlled by demonic influences.

The key to resisting demonic influences in our lives is to make sure that every area of our lives is filled or controlled by Yahweh Elohim.  Put Him first in all things.

(Adapted from The Divine Defense by Robert Jeffress, Waterbrook Press, 2006)

Flying Scroll and a Tub of Wickedness

If you thought Ezekiel's visions were far-out, read this from Zechariah. He's been talking with an angel while being shown different visions. This is from chapter 5:

I looked up again, and I saw a flying scroll. "What do you see" the angel asked. I replied, "A flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide." The angel explained, "That is the curse which goes out over the whole land. For everyone who has stolen, as is forbidden on one side of the scroll, has gone unpunished; and everyone who has sworn falsely, as is forbidden on the other side of it, has gone unpunished. YHWH declares; I sent it forth and the curse shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My Name, and it shall lodge inside their houses and shall consume them to the last timber and stone. The angel tells Zechariah to look up and see the other object that is approaching. "This tub that is approaching, this is their eye in all the land." A disk of lead was lifted revealing a woman seated inside the tub. "That is Wickedness"; and thrusting her down into the tub, he pressed the leaded weight into the mouth of the tub. Two women came soaring with the wind in their wings- they had wings like those of a stork -and carry off the tub between earth and sky. They took it to build a shrine for it in the land of Shinar, a stand will be erected for it, and it shall be set down there upon the stand.

A Cubit is a measure of approximately 18 inches. That scroll is about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. It is the curse that infests liars, cheaters and thieves who think they've "gotten away with it" - they haven't been caught or punished, yet. It consumes them, timber and stone. That tub being used as 'their eye' in all the land makes me think of a satellite or the famous 'all seeing eye' until we find the wicked woman inside. Is that Ishtar or perhaps alluding to Mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots; the woman who rides the beast, controlling governments. It takes a covering of lead to keep her inside. 

The Land of Shinar was a general geographic term for what is today Iraq, known in ancient times as Mesopotamia. There, two of the greatest of ancient empires, Assyria and Babylon, were centered and this is where a shrine to wickedness is kept.

For an example, in today's world, there is the Shrine of Sayidda Zeinab - (quote) ... an Iranian-style mosque and shrine in southern Damascus, Syria. The mosque dates from the 1990s, but was built on a pre-existing shrine. It attracts Shia Muslim pilgrims from Iran and around the world who care far less about its blue-tiled architecture than about it's the shrine of Sayidda Zeinab, daughter of the Shia martyr Ali and granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad. (end quote) 

Could this be the foreshadowed shrine of wickedness? hmmm... Islam opposes Yah's Instructions in righteous living. Arabs are the descendants of Esau... Mystery Babylon will be remembered and judged. Shinar is the name given, in the earliest Hebrew records, to Babylonia, later called Babel, or the land of Babel. In Genesis 10:10 it is the district wherein lay Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, cities which were the "beginning" of Nimrod's kingdom. In 11:2 Shinar is described as the land of the plain where migrants from the East settled, and founded Babel, the city, and its great tower.

There is also a replica of the Ishtar Gate in Babylon today. The original was taken by archaeologist over a century ago and is in Berlin. I find it interesting that Babylon is being rebuilt and has been submitted to the UN World Heritage Center for consideration.

I don't think we've heard the last of the Tub of Wickedness.

Meat as Food

Food was plant based in the beginning and by Genesis 9 Yah gave the go ahead to eat meats after Noah and his family left the ark, according to Yah's menu of what and what not to eat of.  Later, too, we get a better understanding:

Deuteronomy 12:13 ~ Take care not to sacrifice your burnt offerings in any place you like, but in the place that YHWH will choose in one of your tribal territories (which became Jerusalem). Verse 15 ~ BUT whenever you desire, you may slaughter and eat meat in any of your settlements, according to the blessing that YHWH your Elohim has granted you. But do not partake of the blood, pour it out on the ground.....

There were animals designated for sacrifice and animals to use as food at home. And His people knew how to kill an animal with care. Abraham was aware of Yah's teachings, knew the difference between what could be simply eaten and what was intended as burnt offerings. He had great wealth in animals: sheep, oxen, asses and camels as well as cattle. He was the model of hospitality when he offers rest and a meal in Genesis 18, having Sarah prepare cakes and the servant boy prepare a calf.

Time goes by and the rules and regulations about burnt offerings become associated with food and taking care of the servants of Elohim: 

Numbers 18:21: And to the Levites I hereby give all the tithes (mostly from the field, the herd, and the flock) in Israel as the share in return for the services that they (the priests from the tribe of Levi) perform, the services of the Tent of Meeting... :24 for it is the tithes set aside by the Israelites As A Gift to Elohim that I give to the Levites (for they have no territorial share among the Israelites) :26 Speak to the Levites and say to them, When you receive from the Israelites their tithes, which I have assigned to you as your share, you shall set aside from them one-tenth of the tithe as a Gift to YHWH... (the best of the best of the best always goes to the Creator) :29 You (the priests) shall set aside (one-tenth of) all Gifts due to Elohim from everything that is Donated to you, from each thing the Best portion :31 You and your households may eat it anywhere for it is your recompense for your Services in the Tent of Meeting

Not all animals and birds and fish were designated as burnt offerings or intended as food for human consumption. Some predators and scavengers are not to be eaten because they are part of the clean up crew. Take a look at our polluted oceans from which commercial fisheries have raked out lobsters, crabs and other bottom feeders who were not intended as food for us but are Yah's garbage collectors of the deep. Clams, mussels and shrimp are also on the Do Not Eat list. (click here for more on this subject)  (And Here)

I think part of the lesson is not to make a big deal about food and that means don't take pictures of it and post them to your facebook page "Yum". We should simplify what we eat as we continue to walk His Path and abide by His rules. I think it is very important to abstain from the 'food industry' and their methods of mass breeding and slaughtering birds and animals. All the injections, hormones, antibiotics and other additives have really made our choices limited. So, without distorting Yah's Instructions for His creation, we can choose a healthier lifestyle by not buying commercial meats and dairy, cutting back on all pre-made packaged foods etc.... and start cleaning up this temple of ours. I say these things because my husband and I are on this path and have aligned our food choices with His Menu. My latest is to avoid all genetically modified foods and hybrid varieties. We are the physical and spiritual result of the choices we make and they aren't always easy, but once we commit ourselves to our Creator it gets easier to move forward, one stepping stone at a time.

PS.... Give up your microwave, too.

Traditions added to the Instructions of YHWH

Definition of "tradition" from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary

1. An inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior
2. A belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable
3. The handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction
4. Cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions
5. Characteristic manner, method, or style

What we shall discover is that the established thoughts and behavior of the elders were handed down to the Pharisees as in Definition #3 and eventually became the religion we know of today as Judaism: a cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs and institutions (as are most religions). As we uncover the Hebrew origins of our faith, there are traditions we should not add to our spiritual awakening thinking we are pleasing Elohim.

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 Elohim 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 Elohim because of your traditions?"

Written Torah was pitted against the oral traditions of the Pharisees who were nullifying the Word of YHWH by their traditions - he would not instruct his followers to do likewise.

YHWH did say this, through Isaiah. It is what had happened back then and has continued to happen throughout time, including today's world:

Beginning with Isaiah 1:11, Yah said: What need have I of all your sacrifices... I am sated with burnt offerings of rams, suet of fatlings, blood of bulls; and I have no delight in lambs and he-goats. Who asked that of you, that you would appear before me? Trample my courts no more; bringing oblations is futile, incense is offensive to Me. New moon and sabbath you proclaim solemnities in assemblies with wickedness, I cannot abide.  Your new moons and fixed seasons fill Me with loathing; they are become a burden to Me, I cannot endure them. And when you lift up your hands, I will turn My eyes away from you; though you pray at length, I will not listen. You hands are stained with crimes. -- Wash yourselves clean; put your evil doings away from My sight. Cease to do evil; learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; aid the wrongly accused. Uphold the rights of the orphan; defend the cause of the widow. Let us reach an understanding, says YHWH Elohim.

YHWH also lets us know, eventually:

Isaiah 66:23 And new moon after new moon, and sabbath after sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship Me.

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Traditions have been handed down and Satan has made it easy for us to overlook them in our excitement to obey our Creator. So I ask, are we doing something because we think it's right or because we know it's right? Are we pleasing ourselves or are we pleasing YHWH by obeying His Command? His Instructions in Righteous Living are not traditions. If we're not careful to see the difference between His original commands and what man has added, we will inadvertently begin to 'worship' the created thing instead of the Creator. If we do things our own way we are doubting the Word of Elohim and have fallen into the same trap set by Satan in the Garden. 

Romans 1:25 - They exchanged the truth of Elohim for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise...

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Following is part of the discussion that prompted the need for a better understanding of 'tradition' according to Scriptures. The original post was about YHWH no longer being happy with people who were not keeping His Set Apart times according to His Instructions. The hot spot became the keeping the 7th day sabbath. The discussion went the way of many a FB discussion: rapid fire posting and loss of context. The names have been changed and my comments begin with 'Corn'. My added after-the-fact notations are in italics. Spen's comment was in response to the original post referencing what Yah said in Isaiah 1:11.

Spen: But He was talking to the people who were keeping the biblical feast days and they were keeping all the biblical laws. They weren't keeping pagan holidays. They were keeping Passover, Shavuot, and Tabernacles. They were slaughtering animals. 

This is correct. They had been keeping His 'feast days' according to Torah, but as time went by, they started changing how they were doing things, falling short of Yah's Instructions.

Note: Spen now offers a quote from Isaiah 1: 11 overlooking that I had entered that same quote as my first response. These verses I have provided above.

Gard: "Your" not His.  ie. I hate "your" feast days, "your" new moon....  It makes it clear to me that He is talking to people that are not keeping "His" ways.

Note: He is talking to His people who have changed the way they keep His set times.

Corn: Yah specifies Your new moons (months) and your fixed seasons (man's traditions and substitutes for Yah's moedim) fill Me with loathing - they have become a burden to Me, no longer a joy. ~ Those same people began to mix pagan traditions with His Instructions. The same happened with the church system when Constantine incorporated pagan traditions into Christianity. This really helps me to understand His building anger and the Day of Wrath to come. Now consider how many in this day and age who claim to be coming back to Torah, have taken His plain instructions for His set apart times and changed them to fit their idea of how they should be done. For example: today's months are according to the Gregorian calendar, not His way of keeping track by new moon reckoning. If we aren't starting the month on the right day then how can we keep the 7th day count set apart? Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot were to be kept in Jerusalem which was the last place He chose to attach His Name, so we shouldn't be trying to keep them anywhere we choose, turning His Set Apart times into our Fixed Seasons.

Corn: Over time, for example, Judaism has taken the simple instruction of keeping the seventh day set apart and turned it into 24 chapters. This is included in the Mishnah where Oral Law was finally being recorded. Oral Law is what Y'shua referred to when speaking against what the Pharisees promoted.

Quoted from the Jewish Virtual Library:

The Oral Law is a legal commentary on the Torah, explaining how its commandments are to be carried out.

Question: who can keep Sabbath according to His heart and not our own.

Corn: It can be done, but first we must remember the Sabbath day and keep it set apart. He must have known we were going to get so far off track that He had to tell us to 'remember''. We begin to 'remember' by reading Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, the first 5 books of Scripture also known as Torah, Yah's Instructions for His creation.

Point brought up: oh, they didn't do it right then, but we're doing it right now?

Corn: As with most of His Instructions, adaptations need be done in these modern times. His Instructions have not changed, but the times we are living in are nothing like the good old days.  We do not substitute what we think is right. 

Gard: We can only obey to the best of our understanding. As we learn more it becomes easier.

Note: We do not stop learning or else we begin to stagnate on that part of His Path. By our patience we gain understanding as we continue to read His Word and grow in our faith.

Question: The Jews were so afraid of breaking the Sabbath they added extra laws. Didn't the Father know their heart?  I don't see how they did it wrong, now all the sudden we do it right.  I believe the Father was taking about something deeper.

Yahweh tests us to reveal what is in our heart. 

Deuteronomy 8: You shall faithfully observe all the Instruction that I enjoin upon you today, that you may thrive and increase and be able to posses the land that YHWH Elohim promised on oath to your fathers. Remember the long way that YHWH your Elohim has made you travel in the wilderness these past forty years, that He might test you by hardships to learn what was in your hearts: whether you would keep His commandments or not....Romans 2:5 - But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when Yah's righteous judgment will be revealed.

Corn: They weren't afraid. The 24 chapters I mentioned from the Mishnah are basically what the rabbis think should be done and how it should be done, adding their own ideas to Yah's instructions. They don't think we are smart enough to figure it out for ourselves. The religious leaders wanted to keep their power over the common folk which is one of the reasons Y'shua said to beware the leaven of the Pharisees (a little leaven affects the whole batch). It is about right or wrong - Many are Not doing it 'right' these days, adding the same traditions the Pharisees included. Many have mixed those traditions in with His Instructions and it started long ago.

Note: It becomes apparent that we three do not agree on the definition of 'tradition' which became a stumbling block toward a unified understanding.

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 Elohim and you 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 Elohim because of your traditions?"

Note: In those verses we learn Y'shua is pointing out The Traditions of the Pharisees go against the Instructions of YHWH.  These traditions are woven into the religion of Judaism. This is the key I missed in trying to explain myself.

Questions: Which oral laws were so bad as to be sin? Which traditions are we not allowed to do on Sabbath?

Note: This is when I realized I needed to excuse myself from this discussion and proceed with Scriptures to find the answers that explained the difference between keeping Yah's Way His way or doing things the way we think is right and pleasing.  I refer back to Isaiah 1:11. Nadab and Abihu are good examples as well as Jeroboam.

Corn: A tradition we should not partake of is lighting candles, for example. It is not a matter of His allowing us to, it's just not part of His instruction pertaining to the 7th day shabbat.

Gard: At least their traditions are recognizable when you read the Bible. For instance, Christmas seems to not be biblically based whatsoever. I see no harm in lighting candles. I also don't see it as necessary. Is it a harmful tradition? I think it is a good way to get everyone's focus around the table. Is it necessary to drink or harmful to drink a cup of coffee on the Sabbath? A tradition we follow.

Note: Drinking coffee on the sabbath is not a tradition, it is customarily done by many people by habit, any day of the week. Although, if you only drank coffee on the 7th day because it was the sabbath, then you have created a tradition which is not according to Yah's instructions.  The mention of a candle on the table to get everyone focused is similar to how a seance is performed. I am NOT saying that is what you intend, but I AM trying to make you see what is tradition. We should live as close to His Word as possible so our deeds are not misleading to others. Yahweh's Instructions in Righteous Living are not traditions. They are laws, rules, teachings and commandments He has provided for us. His is the perfect governing system for our health and well being, not a burden.

Corn: I should have said, Lighting of Shabbat candles is a Jewish tradition added to the Word of God which is not necessary as part of the 7th day rest, and not to be confused with what we eat or drink. Also, Christmas is a tradition and you're right, it is not biblically based. Most of us have given up celebrating it yet we still hold onto other traditions. 

Here is what our Creator said in regards to keeping the 7th day rest:

Genesis 2:2- By the seventh day YHWH completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which He had created. (He has set the pattern for us)
Exodus 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.... (this day is not for ourselves but to honor Him)
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. (Keep the day of rest according to His Instructions)

As it is written in the Ten Commandments, we are told to remember:

Remember the sabbath day and keep it set apart. Six days you shall do all your work but the seventh day is a sabbath of Mine. You, your family, your hired hands or your work animals or the stranger who is visiting your town shall do no work. I made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them in six days and on the seventh I rested, therefore I blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.

Corn: Do we want to follow His Commandments or not? Are we lighting candles for ambiance, or because we live off grid, or are we trying to copy Jewish tradition?  Are we cooking full fledged meals this day or do we have enough left overs from the 6th day? Are we causing others to work on this day, or using our farm animals to work, or did we get it all done in the prior six days so everyone could rest on this day, just as our Creator has told us to do.

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.

Note: Kindling a fire took a lot of time and was considered work back in the day. Many of us only need flip a switch or turn a knob to light the stove which is fine for reheating yesterday's leftovers. We prepare on the 6th day enough for two days.

Spen: Yahshua condemned the jews for lighting candles, or a fire? I don't understand. What is the definition of tradition. Maybe the traditions were something really awful and we haven't recognized it. What are the traditions that are so heinous in the eyes of the Father.

Everything has been written for our benefit so we would not make the same mistakes as they did. There is nothing new under the sun. Nothing is hidden that won't be revealed.  We have no excuse, only the choice: obey or don't obey our Creator.

Question - What is the harm of copying a tradition unless it is anti-biblical? It is an American tradition to salute the flag. Where does it forbid lighting candles.

Where does it tells us to light two candles on the sabbath? It doesn't. It is an added tradition. Anti-biblical? That means anti-Elohim, doesn't it? Do we want to go there?  Celebrating the 4th of July is tradition, celebrating Chanukkah is tradition, celebrating birthdays year after year is tradition. All of these are man made holidays, not required by our Maker to keep or observe. They are distractions from His Truth. Most of us have been brainwashed from birth with all this 'american' fanfare and thanks be to Elohim we are seeing the truth in all things.

Spen: I don't know. I don't think it is a sin. But we keep saying they kept the Sabbath wrong with their traditions, so what we're they?

Corn: Traditions of man that have been added to His Instructions is what I'm trying to point out.... (which is why I am doing this study)

Gard: Misunderstanding tradition - Okay, stay isolated from everyone! You just might copy one of their traditions? I am sorry but I am I am aggravated. Are you saying that if anything is a tradition it is wrong?

Never said nor intended that and never meant to aggravate anyone .... once again another reason I left the discussion to regroup with Scriptures.

Question - which ones where added? He said don't add or take away from the word, so clearly the scribes did.  So what was added? And what was taken away? I'm not saying any of those traditions are a sin. I'm asking is there some great sin we are missing?

Corn: OK.... I am seriously being misunderstood here so give me a moment to see if I can regroup and make sense. (I left the discussion last night and have been working on this study.)

Admission of how chaotic this discussion had become:

Gard: I am just not grasping this sorry. I do see that we need to question traditions or maybe I am think habits or culture? Are we to isolate on the Sabbath so that we don't fall into traditions? Are we just to read scripture, argue if the earth is flat and go home? A gathering without any kind of traditions would just suck!

Whew!

"A gathering without traditions would suck."

Best go back and read some of our Creator's advice about copying other peoples traditions and why He instructed them to tear down the altars, posts, idols and destroy other areas of pagan worship, removing them from the land He was giving them. There you will find that even then they disobeyed Him and kept some of the people, the animals, the traditions, etc... look where it has gotten us today: Folks still want to embrace 'tradition'. No wonder He has stored up His anger for that coming Day of Wrath.  I don't want to be part of His anger and hope my prayers are received as a pleasing aroma to Him. Let's all stay on the straight path that leads to the narrow gate.

Now let me present what is written about tradition in Scriptures so that we may understand why we need not incorporated Jewish Tradition into the clear Instructions given us by our Creator. Yahweh once asked how long we would spurn Him.  How many times does Yahshua have to point out that the traditions of the elders which have been passed on to the Pharisees is transgression against the Father's Instructions?

Matthew 15:3 Y'shua is speaking to the Pharisees:

Y'shua answered them and said, Why do you transgress against the Commandments of Elohim because of your traditions?

Mark 7:1
The Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem and gathered around Y'shua. They saw some of his disciples who were eating without washing their hands first. All Yehudeans and the Pharisees, if they do not carefully wash their hands they would not eat because they hold to the traditions of the elders. And there are many other traditions that they have been taught in washing of cups and pots and brass vessels and of beds. (Jewish traditional kosher laws which have been added to YHWH's instructions concerning dietary laws)

Colossians 2:8

Beware, or else any man make you naked by philosophy and by vain deception, according to the doctrines of men, according to the rudiments of the world and not according to Y'shua Messiah.

Matthew 15:6 ~ Y'shua is speaking to the Pharisees:

Thus you nullify the word of Elohim for the sake of your tradition.

Mark 7:6 ~ Y'shua was saying this to the Pharisees and scribes:
And he said to them: Isaiah the prophet did well prophesy about you hypocrites! As it is written, This people honor me with their lips. But their hearts are very distant from Me. And vainly they fear Me while they are teaching the doctrines of the commandments of men. For you have left the Commandment of Elohim and embraced the tradition of the sons of men: the washing of cups and pots and many others that are like these. You have rejected the Commandment of Elohim that you might establish your tradition. (Jewish Tradition still practiced to this day)

1 Peter 1:15 ~ But you be Set Apart in all your conduct, as he is Set Apart who called you. Because it is written: "Be you Kadosh even as I am Kadosh."  And you are thus, you call on the Father .... who judges everyone according to his deeds, since you know that neither with perishable silver nor with gold were you redeemed from your vain doings which you had by tradition handed down from your fathers.

Esther 9:20 - Mordecai recorded these events and sent dispatches to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus charging them to observe the 14th and 15th days of Adar every year... to observe them as days of feasting and merrymaking and sending gifts to one another and giving presents to the poor. The Jews made a tradition out of what they had begun to do which Mordecai prescribed for them. 

Esther 9:27 - ... the Jews undertook and irrevocably obligated themselves and their descendants, and all who might join them, to observe these two days in the manner prescribed at the proper time each year.* 

*This Jewish Tradition is known as Purim. It is not one of Yah's moedim as it was instigated by Mordecai and supported by Esther who made the people obligated to them, just as they had assumed for themselves the obligation of the fasts with their lamentations (fast days in commemoration of national calamities).

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What are the traditions of the elders passed down to the Pharisees that found there way into the religion of Judaism and copied by the Messianic Hebrew Roots people?  Many of them were picked up during the Babylonian exile and brought back to Jerusalem after those seventy years.  The names of the months and names of the days, for example, were learned in Babylon.  Our Creator did not name them, but had numbered them.  If you really want the answer about 'traditions of men' and will use Scriptures as your foundation, then take a look at the Jewish Virtual Library and do a key word search.  Most every doctrine of Judaism has been heavily tainted with traditions handed down by the elders to the Pharisees to the rabbis. They do not simply rely on the written Word found in Torah, but have added the Mishnah, Talmud and Kabbalah. Rabbis believed without an oral tradition, some of the Torah's laws would be incomprehensible. This simply is not true.  Mysticism is an integral part of Chasidic Judaism, for example, and passages from kabbalistic sources are routinely included in traditional prayer books. The mystical school of thought came to be known as Kabbalah, meaning "to receive, to accept." The word is usually translated as "tradition." 

It is not just the Jews that Yah is angry with; His wrath is against all teachers who lead others astray regardless of nationality or heritage.  Read Scriptures and let His Spirit open your eyes to the Truth.

Here is another example: Making fringes on the corners of a garment and adding a blue cord is the command. The knotting and wrapping of strings is tradition.

Tradition has turned "fringes" into ornamental tzitzits complete with mystic overtones by wrapping and knotting them, denoting numbers and applying the system of gematria, which is numerology, which is from pagan traditions. That is one of the 'traditions' I am pointing out. I do not deny the command or that Set Apart believers, including Y'shua, wore garments with fringed corners, but they were not knotted, beaded, braided or color coordinated clip-ons.

We are most capable of understanding the instructions left for us by our Creator and without the temptation of discovering deeper meanings. He does expect us to make an effort, such as reading Scriptures and studying in fellowship with other Set Apart believers. When we show Him our intent and abide by His Instructions, best we can in this day and age, He gives us understanding as we are comforted with the truth revealed to us by His Spirit. Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, rabbis, preachers and all the church fathers lose their perceived power, importance, money and control over the common folk when the common folk start reading Torah, and all of Scriptures, for themselves.

We have successfully peeled back the layers of Christian deceptions and religious traditions and found our place in Torah. Now lets peel back the next few layers of tradition and leave Babylon behind us.

Click Here to go to my study Traditions of Man

Click Here to go to my study Sneaky Little Traditions

Call on His Name

י ה ו ה

from right to left the Hebrew letters are:

yod - hey - waw - hey (HWHY)

In English, left to right: YHWH

pronounced Yah-Weh

which is the name of Elohim, the Creator, 

our Father of heavenly lights.

The name of the Father is in the name of His Son, 

the name He gave him, meaning:

Yah is Salvation = Yahshua

י ה ו שׁ ע

from right to left the Hebrew letter are:

yod - hey - waw - shin - ayin 

pronounced Yah-Shua

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Y'shua to Zeus

I have avoided the Name Game discussion which many choose to involve themselves, who are armed with concordances, interlinears, charts, commentaries and traditions, even though I do believe there is a Name above all Names and it is in the Hebrew language.  

 

This is all part of our learning process and should not be a topic of contention. Each of us will come to the realization sooner or later.  But what spurred this post was another comment elsewhere about the letter "J" which isn't part of the the Hebrew alphabet, so how could the Son of God be named Jesus? 😉 A person responded saying the name Jesus.... "which is a Spanish pronunciation of His German Name, which is a German pronunciation of His Greek Name, which is a Greek pronunciation of His Hebrew Name" -- so you see, I needed to expound a bit.

The following is quoted from the Aramaic English New Testament appendix:

While it is true that Iesous became the Greek substitute for Yehoshua (Greek Septuagint translation of the Tanakh), it is also true that the Greek language is capable of reproducing the name of Yehoshua with exact sonic pronunciation.  However, an etymological link evolved between Iesous, Zeus and Jesus, pronounced: Ie-soos; Zoos; and Jee-zuhs.  

Regardless as to whether one recognizes sonic similarities or not, there are many other factors that connect the Christian worship of Jesus to Zeus. Historians have noted that for many centuries busts of Zeus were prominently displayed in many Christian churches throughout Europe. The original busts of Zeus were imported into the most prominent front and center parts of Christian sanctuaries. In the year 230 A.D. the Christian 'church father' Tertullian wrote: "By us Gentile Christians who are strangers to Jewish Sabbaths, new moons and festivals once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia and the Matronalia are now frequented with gifts begin carried to and fro."  

Early in Roman church history it was very fashionable to syncretize pagan worship into Christianity. One of the most evident pagan elements is the sun-child of Dec. 25th who became the son-child of "Mary the mother of God."  Ishtar, from where the fish symbol originated, was also a carry-over into Christianity, and transubstantiation is another rite that was ripped right out of paganism and dropped into the .... wafer in which most Christians indulge.

Caligula considered himself 'god' and demanded worship as a physical god, not unlike the Catholic pope who postures himself as being infallible and in the place of god. The Catholic Church demonstrates all manner of demonic spirit that Caligula enjoyed including pedophile sex crimes. Those who are not Catholic, however, need not point their fingers because every Christian who erects a Christmas tree or attend church on Sunday or celebrates Easter or Valentine's Day is blindly following Roman Catholic authority. 

Y'shua Mashiyach is the government of YHWH, he is altogether righteous, just and lawful, but most Christians are adamant that 'Jesus did away with the Law'.  The greatest slap in the face to Yahshua is when Christians are presented with the truth about him and instead of repenting and turning to God, most choose to ignore Truth and continue to follow pagan customs. Most ask "what difference does it make?" because they see no difference between the absolute Truth of the Perfect Messiah versus a false religious system that invented Je-Zeus according to a mixture of truth and paganism. 

Yahshua used many parables and metaphors to bring the point across that the carnal nature of man must die so the spiritual man can live within him. There are no religious substitutes that can be given in exchange for living a righteous lifestyle in the Anointed One who came to do the will of the Father.

Sacrifices in the Kingdom to Come

First Corinthians 3:16 

"Do you not know that you are the temple of Elohim 

and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you?"

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Isaiah 56:6-8

As for the foreigners who attach themselves to YHWH, to minister to Him, and love the Name YHWH, to be His servants - all who keep the sabbath and do not profane it, and who hold fast to My covenant - I will bring them to My sacred mount and let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices shall be welcome on My altar; for My House shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Thus declares YHWH Elohim who gathers the dispersed of Israel: I will gather still more to those already gathered."

If He is still gathering those who have been scattered, then this cannot be applicable to the Earthly Kingdom where all have been gathered and placed on the promised land. It is more likely that this is a poetic metaphor welcoming these 'foreigners', those other sheep, in accepting their offerings as spiritual sacrifices, when elsewhere Yah has mentioned the physical act of bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices and incense had become very irritating to Him. Yah uses the same poetic metaphors about divorce, love and acceptance in regards to His people and keeping His promises.

John 10:16 ~ Y'shua said, And I also have other sheep, those who were not from this sheepfold (already gathered). And also them, it is necessary for me to bring them and they will hear my voice and all the flocks will become one. And there will be One Shepherd.

Isaiah 7:11 ~ YHWH said, "What need have I of all your sacrifices... I have no delight that you come to appear before Me - trample My courts no more. Bringing your offerings is futile, incense is offensive to Me. New moon and Sabbath you proclaim solemnities and assemble with wickedness I cannot tolerate. Your new moons (calendar months) and your fixed seasons (man's traditions and substitutes for Yah's moedim) fill Me with loathing - they have become a burden to Me, no longer a joy. When you lift up your hands in false praise and worship I will turn My Eyes away from you."

In Zechariah 14:16, verse 6 describes the New Jerusalem as does verse 8. Verses 9-15 may relate to the Magog time line, after the thousand year reign of Y'shua and prior to Yah restoring all things. 

Chapter 14, Verse 16 ~ All who survive of all those nations that came up against Jerusalem* shall make a pilgrimage year by year to bow low to the King of Hosts** and to observe the Feast of booths (Sukkot***).  Those who do not shall receive no rain....

*End times scenario

**Y'shua presides over his earthly kingdom

***Sukkot will be the last set apart time to be fulfilled

Jeremiah 33:14-18

See, days are coming, declares Yahweh, when I will fulfill the promise that I made concerning the House of Israel and the House of Judah. In those days and at that time I will raise up a true branch of David's line (Y'shua) and he shall do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah shall be delivered and Israel shall dwell secure. And this is what she shall be called: YHWH is our Vindicator. For thus said Yahweh: There shall never be an end to men of David's line who sit upon the throne of the House of Israel. Nor shall there ever be an end to the line of the Levitical priests before Me, of those who present burnt offerings and turn the meal offering to smoke and perform sacrifices.

There may never be an end to the Levitical line of priests who were chosen from the beginning to tend to offerings and sacrifices, but will the need for these offerings and sacrifices end?  For the most part, the practice of sacrifice stopped in the year 70 AD, when the Roman army destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, the place where sacrifices were offered and handled by the priests. The practice was briefly resumed during the Jewish War of 132-135 AD, but was ended permanently after that war was lost.

Ezekiel 40

In a previous study I came to the conclusion that Yahweh gave this grand vision to Ezekiel to illustrate the awesome power and glory of the heavenly realm. Ezekiel was shown the Hope we have in the Good News of the Kingdom to come! He was told to share this 'vision' to those who had grown hopeless. This sharing of the Good News is echoed throughout the Renewed Covenant writings. Ezekiel, the Watchman for the House of Israel, shared this Good News with those people in his day and was a 'type and shadow' for Set Apart believers in this day and age, sharing the Good News of the Kingdom to come - a joyous time we can only try to imagine and hope for. How on earth could we describe it? Keep in mind that earlier in Ezekiel 3:1-15 he "ate a Torah scroll" - the imagery symbolizing the prophet being sustained by and proclaiming Torah.

Ezekiel 46:19-24

46:19 ~ He led me to the passage at the side of the gate to the sacred chambers of the priests, which face north, and there, at the rear of it, in the west, I saw a space. He said to me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offerings and the sin offerings* and where they shall bake the meal offerings....  These are the kitchens where the Temple servitors shall boil the sacrifices of the peoples."

Please Note: 

We read in Hebrews 10, which I have lightly paraphrased:

We choose to accept Y'shua as our High Priest who offered a *one time sacrifice for sins, who sits forever at the right hand of Elohim where he waits until his foes are placed as a footstool under his feet. For, by one offering (himself), he has perfected forever them who are sanctified (set apart) by him. And the Ruach haKodesh also testifies to us by saying: This is the covenant which I will give them after those days, says Master YHWH: I will put my Torah into their minds and inscribe it on their hearts and their iniquity and their sins I will not remember against them. Now, where there is a forgiveness of sins there is no offering for sin demanded. We have therefore my Brothers assurance of entering into the sanctuary by the blood of Y'shua and by a path of life.

Y'shua said: 

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

but a body you prepared for me;

with burnt offerings and sin offerings

you were not pleased.

I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—

I have come to do your will, O Elohim"

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Ezekiel Chapt. 44 -- In verse 10 Yah says the Levites forsook Him when Israel went astray to follow their fetishes and they will suffer their punishment, given lowly every day jobs of temple service, no longer handling priestly duties. But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok who maintained the service of His sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from Him, they are the ones to minister to YHWH.  This line of priests has already occurred and does not apply to an end times temple.

Ezekiel 44:6 - To the rebellious House of Israel, says Yahweh, Too long have you committed all your abominations, admitting aliens, uncircumcised of spirit and flesh, to be in My Sanctuary and profane My very Temple, when you offer up My food - the fat and the blood. You have broken My covenant with all your abominations. You have not discharged the duties concerning My sacred offerings, but have appointed them (uncircumcised strangers of spirit and flesh) to discharge the duties of My Sanctuary for you. The Levites who forsook Me when Israel went astray from Me to follow their fetishes, shall suffer their punishment for making them stumble into guilt. (The priesthood lineage now shifts to the descendants of Zadok. II Samuel 8:17 tells us Zadok was one of the priests who maintained the service of Yah's Sanctuary, the temple, when the people of Israel has gone astray.)

Who are the priests in Messiah's Kingdom?

Y'shua is the Lamb of Elohim and his blood was shed for the forgiveness of sin. In this he has become our High Priest offering atonement on our behalf. He has gone before the throne of Elohim for our sake, seated at His right hand until the day of wrath. He also pointed out that 'we' are the temple, as he knew the destruction of the physical temple would come. Designating our physical bodies as 'temples' makes it possible for the Spirit of YHWH, the Ruach haKodesh to dwell within. This Spirit comforts us with truth.

Revelation 5:9 ~ And they sang a new song, saying: worthy are you to take the book and to open the seals because you were slain and have redeemed us to Elohim by your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation; and you have made them kings and priests to our Elohim and they reign on the earth.

What other kings shall reign on this earth while Y'shua is king? None. Are these kings mentioned possibly kings that have reigned throughout time up to now? They are singing this new song before Y'shua begins to open the seals and this happens before the earthly kingdom is established.

First Peter 2:9 ~ For you are an elect race, officiating as priests of the Kingdom; a Set Apart people, a redeemed congregation; that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness to His Precious Light (Y'shua is the Light of the World), who formerly were not counted as a people but now are the people of Elohim. There were once no mercies on you but now mercies are poured out upon you.  My beloved I entreat you as strangers and pilgrims, separate yourselves from all lusts of the body for they war against the soul.

Isaiah 66:20 ~ And out of all the nations, said YHWH, they shall bring all to Jerusalem My holy mountain as an offering to Me, just as the Israelites bring an offering in a pure vessel to the House of YHWH.  And from them likewise I will take some to be Levitical priests. For as the New Heaven and New Earth which I will make shall endure by My will so shall your seed and your name endure. And new moon after new moon, and sabbath after sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship Me.

Our bodies become the pure vessel by which we offer ourselves as Spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to MarYah, our Creator.

Hebrews 10:1-4

For in Torah there was a shadow of the good things to come; not the substance of the things themselves. Therefore, although the same sacrifices were offered every year, they could never perfect those who offered them. If they had perfected them, they would have stopped a long time ago making offerings because their conscience could no more compel them who were once purified, on account of their sins. But in those sacrifices every year they acknowledged their sins. The blood of bulls and goats cannot purge away sin. Verse 8, Y'shua said to Yahweh, "Sacrifices and oblations and burnt offerings for sins which were offered according to Torah you did not desire.... I have come to do Your will O Elohim" .... hereby he abolished the former sacrifices that he might establish the latter... and by this we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Y'shua the Mashiyach a single time.

In the Kingdom to Come there will be no sacrifices made for guilt or sin offerings because Y'shua put an end to them. Sacrifices and drink offerings he abolished when his blood was shed. It seems Sukkot will be celebrated year after year in his Kingdom. Perhaps Sukkot is the last 'shadow of things to come'. Then, after the thousand year time line is complete, we enter that rest, the Eighth Day - when Yah will truly be in the midst of His People.  

We have been taught that our Creator's set times have been fulfilled by Y'shua as in Passover/Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Shavuot. Maybe the Day of Trumpets will be fulfilled when he returns and the Day of Atonement could be during the time the gathered are in the clouds being made ready to inherit the promised land. I've often wondered if it would take ten days for that to be accomplished. That would leave Sukkot yet to be fulfilled which would be why it is observed in Y'shua's Kingdom, still a shadow of things to come. It will be then that we can actually keep Sukkot in Jerusalem.  Other than Sukkot I have not read of any other feast days that are kept during the time Y'shua reigns as King on this earth. But we do know that new moon after new moon (month after month) and sabbath to sabbath (every 7th day count) all will come before the Creator, our Father of heavenly lights.

Ephesians 2:18 ~ Because by him there is access for us both, by one Spirit, to the Father. Wherefore you are not strangers (foreigners) nor sojourners but are fellow-citizens with the Set Apart believers and of the household of Elohim. And you are built upon the foundations of the Apostles and the prophets; and Y'shua the Mashiyach has become the head of the corner in the edifice. And in him all the edifice is framed together and grows into a Set Apart temple in Master Yahweh; while you also are built in him for a habitation of Elohim through the Spirit.

First Peter 2 ~ Therefore, cease all evil and all deceit and hypocrisy and jealousy and backbiting and be like very small children and crave the Word as being the pure spiritual milk by which you are nourished up to life; if you have tasted and seen that Master YHWH is good. You have been drawn to His Son because he is a Living Stone, rejected indeed by men, but with Elohim elect and precious. And you also as living stones are built and become spiritual temples and Set Apart priest for the offering of Spiritual Sacrifices, acceptable before Elohim through Y'shua the Mashiyach.

Romans 12

I plead to you, therefore, my brothers, by the mercies of Elohim, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, Set Apart and acceptable to Elohim by rational service to Him. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renovation of your minds and discern what is the good and acceptable and the perfect pleasure of Elohim.

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Here are links related to this post for your further research and study:

• Meggido to Magog timeline
•  Form or Function
• Who Is Israel?
• Ezekiel