Before the Messiah was sent to us, we were given the Torah to identify what sin was, and we had the sacrificial system and the temple in Jerusalem to provide us the means for being forgiven when we did sin.

But after the temple was destroyed, things changed.

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The Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, was always available to us; God gave it when needed, such as with Samson when he needed strength, and Elijah after he defeated the prophets of Ba’al (1 Kings 18), and it came upon King Shaul a few times, as well as many other times with many other people. But that gift of the spirit was a temporary loan- it fell on them, then was retrieved. Except maybe for Moses, no one had an indwelling spirit.

Then God sent Yeshua, the Messiah: after he did his thing, he sent the Ruach to his disciples, but this time it was indwelling- they got it, and they kept it. Even better, they were able to baptize (in Hebrew it is called a Tevilah) people in the name of Yeshua and have others also receive the indwelling Ruach.

Now we had a permanent counselor, sort of like Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket, to help us stay on the path of righteousness.

Of course, being humans, we often ignore that small, still voce in the back of our head because we not only have a spirit of righteousness, but our own spirit of sinfulness, called iniquity, which is (sadly) part of our DNA (in Judaism, we call iniquity the Yetzer Hara, and the righteous spirit the Yetzer Tov).

You know what I mean- that little imp in the red suit with the pitchfork on one shoulder, arguing with the little angel on the other shoulder.

After the temple was destroyed, there was no way for us to receive forgiveness of sin, according to the Torah, because God told us a sacrifice is only acceptable if we do it where he places his name (Deuteronomy 12:5-6), which was the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 9:3).

So, nu? Now what can we do to be forgiven?

This is where Yeshua comes in: when we faithfully accept him as the Messiah God promised to send and believe in his resurrection as proof that his sacrifice was acceptable to God as a sin sacrifice, then we can ask forgiveness by means of Yeshua’s blood being spilt on our behalf. We don’t need to sacrifice an animal at the temple, or even be in Israel!

And more than that, when we accept Yeshua as our Messiah, we can then ask for, and be given, the Ruach HaKodesh, which will guide us in many ways: it will advise us when sin rises in our heart, it will give us supernatural understanding of God’s word, and it will convict us when we stray off the path of righteousness.

Before Yeshua we had the Torah, and – for the record- we STILL have the Torah to identify sin from righteousness, and we STILL are subject to obedience to the Torah, which are the instructions we have directly from God telling us how to worship him and how to treat each other, but now we also have the Ruach HaKodesh to guide us from committing sin, and Yeshua to provide the means of forgiveness for when we fail to listen to the Ruach.

Which, if we are honest with ourselves, is more often than I think any of us would like to admit.

If you ask me, I think it is better to have Yeshua and the Ruach than it was to have animal sacrifice at the temple, if for no other reason, I don’t have to buy round-trip tickets to Israel every time I screw up.

I would be bankrupt within a week.

Thank you, again, for being here and until next time, l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

God told us how to worship him, which Holy Days he wants us to observe, and how to treat each other. he did all that right at the very beginning of the bible, in those first 5 books, called the Torah.

So why is it that the vast majority of Christians ignore most of those instructions, yet say they worship God and love him?

When you love someone, do you ignore them?

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Today’s message is really very simple: do you observe what God said to do, or do you follow what your man-made religion tells you to do?

“I follow Christ!”

Yeah, OK… how did he worship God? I’ll tell you how- by following the commandments God gave in the Torah. And if you wish to dispute that, then explain how, since the Torah was the only scripture at that time, if Yeshua disobeyed the Torah, which is a sin, he was able to be a sinless sacrifice?

Maybe you’d like to get back to me on that?

The simple truth is that religions, all religions (yes, that includes current-day Judaism, too) are way too influenced by man-made traditions, ceremonies, holidays, and tenets.

Moses tells us, in Deuteronomy 30:11, that the law is not too hard to follow. God tells us not to add to or take away from anything he tells us (Deuteronomy 4:2), yet we have additional holidays (holiday meaning man-made, whereas Holy Days are the ones God commanded us to observe) and ceremonies that have been added to the list God gave us. Now, that doesn’t mean these are sinful; so long as we don’t remove what God said to do (such as Christians ignoring Leviticus Chapters 11 and 23) or add to it, such as Halacha (rabbinical requirements adding to what God said to do with regard to fulfilling Torah law) in Judaism.

So, what do you think is best, really? Doing what your religious leader says you should do or doing what God says you should do?

I will leave you with this, something I say often: We will all meet God, so when you do and he asks why you worshipped the way you did, you might say something like…

“But Lord, I was only doing what they told me I am supposed to do!”

And although I won’t even try to speak for God, I think he may say something to the effect of…

“I know, my child, you only did what they told you to do, but it’s what I say that counts.”

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!

Throughout the Bible we see how God uses people to perform his punishments on the sinful. Since God is unchanging, doesn’t it seem reasonable to consider that his methods would also be unchanging?

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God definitely did some supernatural things to Egypt to teach the Pharaoh that God is THE God, but he also used Moses to organize and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the desert.

God used the prophets to bring the people back into proper worship and righteous living, although most of the time that didn’t work. One exception could be in 1 Kings 18, when fire fell from heaven on Elijah’s sacrifice on Mount Carmel in Shomron. That got people’s attention, but it didn’t last for long.

God used the Philistines, the Amorites, and other semitic kingdoms to punish the Israelites when they turned from God and sinned, and he used judges to encourage and lead the people to rebel against these kingdoms when they repented.

God used King Sennacherib of Assyria to punish the Northern Kingdom of Israel for all its sins.

God used Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to punish the kingdom of Judah for all its sins.

So, considering that God has used his creation to enforce his will and punish those others of his creation, when the End Days come, why not use mankind to punish mankind?

The Book of Revelation is rife with metaphor, and I know many people will believe that what we read in there is to be taken literally, but I don’t believe that. I truly believe that the destruction mentioned will be what happens- during a nuclear war, couldn’t we expect that 1/3 of the earth would be burnt, 1/3 of all living in the rivers and streams dying, the sun turning black (from the millions of tons of earth being thrown into the sky) and the stars falling from the sky (radioactive fallout)?

I wrote a poem when I was in high school and (fortunately for you I don’t remember it well enough to recite it now) the point of it was that God makes the world turn every day, he destroyed it once and promised not to do that again, but God still makes the world turn every day, and now he will let man destroy it in his own way.

Of course, there is nothing stopping God from having all those angels pour out his fury on the world in a majestic and supernatural way, as he did with Sodom and Gomorrah. And I may be way off thinking the End Days (in Hebrew, we call that the Acharit haYamim) won’t be supernaturally performed in order to demonstrate, undeniably, that there is a God and that this is all His doing. Really, that would be something to make people stand up and take notice.

Revelation tells us that despite all these horrors, people will still curse God’s name and fail to repent, which also makes me think that God will use people. Why? Because it is all about faith: if every one of these terrific destructive forces can be explained, then only the faithful will realize it is God doing it. Those without faith will fail to repent and continue to reject God’s existence and influence, which is tantamount to cursing his name.

God is very binomial: either you is or you ain’t, and if you do not accept God’s way of living, then you reject him, which is pretty much the same as cursing him.

I suppose we will have to wait until the Day of Judgement to see if it is God doing things supernaturally, or using people to do his handiwork. I don’t know about you, but as for me, I am more than happy for this question to remain unanswered during my lifetime.

That’s it for today, so thank you, again, for being here, l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

There are two very important messages in the Megillah of Esther; one has to do with the fact that even if Esther didn’t ask the king for protection, it would come from some other source (this implies God’s protection, but did you know that this is the only book in the entire Bible where there is no mention of God, at all?), and the second was that Esther was where she was for such a time as this.

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Now, I am not implying that we are all beautiful, or raised by our uncle, or Jewish. Although Esther was all of those things, the most important thing that she was, if we go by Mordecai’s statement, was to be where she was, when she was.

I believe that we are all here for a reason, and that God has some plan for each of us; Shaul (Paul) taught this lesson, in a way, when he wrote to the Roman believers (Romans 9:19) and explained that God, like a potter, can make some vessels for holy use and others for common use.

In either case, isn’t it true that God is using us for some purpose he has in mind?

I am sure God’s purpose for me is to run this ministry. All the things that have happened to me, or haven’t happened to me, all the good and (certainly) all of the bad, have led me down a path that has placed me where I am now. Not so much where I am living, or in this marriage (for which I thank God every day), but where I am, spiritually.

So, nu? Have you thought about what is God’s purpose for you? It is very likely that you haven’t come to it yet, or that you are doing it, right now! I also believe that when wonderful people die too young, it is because they have done what God put them here to do, and so he is taking them to their reward.

You know, now that I think about it, that is a scary thought- what if I have done all God wanted me to do? Does that mean I am going to die soon? Hmmm… maybe another message for another time?

In any event, if you aren’t sure what God wants you to do, what purpose he has for creating you, don’t lose any sleep over it, even if you are an old person, like me. Remember that God didn’t use Moses until he was 80 years old.

My recommendation, with which I will end today’s message, is that if you aren’t sure why God put you here, then do as God has said he wants us all to do, which he spelled out in the Torah. I say this because I truly and faithfully believe that when you live your life to please God by doing as he has said to do, then his purpose for your life will become clear to you.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot, an early Shabbat Shalom, and Hag Sameach (happy holiday because Purim starts right after Shabbat)!

I have stated this a number of times, and sometimes I get someone who disagrees, stating that there were people in the Bible who are said to be blameless and righteous.
And they’re right, but does that mean they were also 100% Torah observant?

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So, we know Enoch walked with God, and that he was the only person, other than Elijah, who didn’t die. Clearly, he was pretty blameless, but- there was no Torah at that time.

Job is also said to be blameless, but -again!- there was no Torah at that time.

The Torah created sin by defining what it is (that’s what Shaul told the Roman Believers in his letter to them), and sin is anything that is against the Torah, so the question is: Is blameless the same as sinless?

What about King David? The Torah certainly was around then, and God said that David was a man after his own heart. David, himself, says that he is blameless a couple of times in some of his psalms, and yet he also said that he was born in sin from his mother’s womb (Psalm 51).

Noah was said to be blameless, but, oh, yeah, there’s that catch about there being no Torah at that time.

Wait a minute! The New Covenant, which came well after the Torah, said that Zechariah and Elizabeth (the parents of Yochanon, the Immerser) were blameless, but if Zach was so perfect, then why didn’t he believe the angel? That cost him the ability to speak for some 9 months.

Shaul says he was the greatest sinner of all (1 Timothy), and in Ecclesiastes 7:20 we are told that there is no one without sin; and what about Romans 3:23 (Shaul, again), Jeremiah 2:35, and Proverbs 20:9? They all indicate, clearly, that no one is without sin, so that means that no one is 100% Torah observant.

So, nu? If sin is against the Torah, and no one is without sin, then how can anyone be blameless after God gave the Torah to us?

The answer is… they can’t be. I know that the Gospel of Luke says Johnny’s Mom and Dad were blameless, but was he talking literally or figuratively?

Let’s confuse this even more: everyone can be blameless.

It is during that moment just after they ask God for forgiveness of sin, by means of the sacrifice Yeshua made on their part. Once God forgives you, you are, at that instant, blameless and 100% Torah observant.

At least, you are until you get in the car, start to drive home and find yourself cursing at the idiot in front of you who can’t make a left turn unless there isn’t a car visible for miles.

Look, no one can be 100% Torah observant, 100% of the time, and if you aren’t Torah observant 100% of the time, then you aren’t Torah observant.

That is why God gave us the sacrificial system. And that is why, a few millennia later, he sent Yeshua, the Messiah, to do his thing so that by means of the sacrifice he made (for all of us), we could find forgiveness despite the fact that we could no longer do that in accordance with the Torah after 73 A.D., when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.

Let’s end this with one, final, absolutely biblical reference to settle whether someone can be sinless: it’s in 1 John 1:8-10, and it goes like this:

If we claim not to have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

So, yes, there were people in the Bible who we are told were blameless or righteous in God’s eyes, but that doesn’t mean they were 100% Torah observant. What the Bible tells us is that no one can be sinless and 100% Torah observant 100% of the time; no one, that is, except Yeshua, and he was the only one we needed to be that way.

You know, now that we do have the Torah, if any one of us could be 100% Torah observant, meaning sinless, meaning blameless, which is also righteous, and be that way all the time (as Yeshua was), then there wouldn’t have been a need for Yeshua because if one human being could do it, then all human beings should be able to do it.

And that would result in there being only three people in heaven: God, Yeshua, and that one idiot who ruined it for the rest of us.

Thank you for being here; that’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and let me wish you an early Shabbat Shalom!

We all know that the Bible tells us not to take vengeance, which is some form of retribution against someone who has harmed or wronged us in some way. Instead, we are told to wait upon the Lord, because he says that vengeance belongs to him (Deuteronomy 32:35).

But… did you know that there is a form of vengeance, a way to “get back”, that is actually recommended in the Bible?

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In the Book of Proverbs, we are told the following (Proverbs 25:21-22 CJB):

If someone who hates you is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. For you will heap fiery coals (of shame) on his head, and Adonai will reward you.

Wow! If I treat someone who hates me with compassion, that will make them feel ashamed, and in a way, making them feel bad about themselves is a sort of retribution, isn’t it?

There is another example in the Tanakh that shows us how God takes his vengeance, in a nice way, on his chosen people. It is in Ezekiel 16:61-63, where God has been talking about how much Israel and Jerusalem have rejected him and prostituted themselves after the countries surrounding them, yet God will still bring them back to him. Here is what he has Ezekiel tell the people:

 Then you will remember your behavior and be ashamed of it as you receive your older and younger sisters and make them your daughters, even though the covenant with you does not cover that; and I will re-establish my covenant with you. Then you will know that I am Adonai; so that you will remember and be so ashamed that you will never open your mouth again, so ashamed will you be when I have forgiven you all that you have done,’ says Adonai Elohim.

Here we again see that a form of vengeance is to be so kind and loving to those who have done you wrong that they will feel ashamed of themselves.

Now, don’t get me wrong- I am not saying that making someone feel bad is a good thing, and certainly not encouraged by God, but, then again, if we do what is right, and that particular thing makes us feel good that someone who has wronged us is now ashamed of themselves, well… where’s the sin in that? Who knows? Maybe shaming them will result in some repentance, and that is a good thing for them, so we could say making them ashamed might be a sort of vengeance that is actually good for them?

So… today’s message is short and simple (I know- that can’t be from me!), and it is this- if you have been harmed or wronged by someone, and you get the opportunity to do something good for them, do it!

If they are really beyond help, the very least it will do is demonstrate to them (and others) what a truly God-fearing person is like (and probably confuse the heck out of them); and if they have some semblance of morality, they will feel ashamed, which will serve them right!

Either way, you will be doing what is right in God’s eyes, and when we do what pleases God, he blesses us.

I don’t know about you, but if doing good for those who hate us not only can make them feel bad about themselves but will get us points with the Big Guy upstairs, who will bless us, sounds like a real WIN-WIN to me!

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know. That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!

Yeshua told us that when we pray, we are to pray in his name- not to him, but in his name, meaning to use him as a sort of reference when praying (which is assumed to be directly to God) so that God knows we are one of Yeshua’s flock.

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But when we pray in Yeshua’s name, does that mean he hears our prayers?

First off, let’s get something straight, once and for all: the use of the word “name” in the Bible, unless it specifically is used to identify one person from another, refers to the reputation and renown of the one being mentioned. For example, the term “name of the Lord” doesn’t refer to the Tetragrammaton, the Hebrew letters Yud-Heh-Vuv-Heh (יהוה) but rather to God’s reputation and power. Calling on the name of the Lord means to look to God for help, to ask for his power and strength to be given to you. It isn’t calling to him like you would call to a friend (“Yo! Hey, Harry- how ya doin?“), but to ask for intercession.

That being said, the next issue is the idea of Trinitarianism- if God and Yeshua are one and the same entity, then praying to God or to Yeshua is the same thing, so then the answer is “Yes- Yeshua hears our prayers.” OK, but what about the fact that the Bible tells us they are separate beings? Stephen, when getting stoned to death (Acts 7) says he sees Yeshua sitting at the right hand of God. So, nu? If Yeshua is sitting next to God, then they are not one and the same entity- at least, not at the moment.

And what about the fact that praying to anything other than God, the Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is continually considered idolatry throughout the Bible? I have often said that Yeshua is the Intercessor of prayer, not the Interceptor of it, meaning that when we pray in his name, we do not pray to him, we only refer to him, sort of like name-dropping.

Think back to the early 20th Century in the United States, when they passed that crazy legislation called the Prohibition Act, which made public sale of alcohol a federal offence. Many places, called “Speakeasy’s”, were where people could go to get a drink in secret. They used to have a small window in the main entrance which had a sliding panel, so when someone came to get into the building, the panel slid away so the guard inside could see if it was the police. And you would give a password, such as “Joe sent me” to gain entrance.

Well, I see praying in Yeshua’s name as sort of the same thing- Yeshua isn’t there when we come to God in prayer, but we use his name to “gain entrance”. Not that God will refuse a prayer not in Yeshua’s name, but that name has power and authority that other prayers may not have.

Yeshua said the only way to the father is through him (John 14:6), and I believe that he is not talking about prayer, at all, but about being able to be forgiven of our sins, which is really going to help when we come before God at Judgement Day if we want to find ourselves written in the Book of Life.

Yeshua’s substitutionary death was just that- a substitution, which replaced the need to sacrifice an animal at the temple in Jerusalem to receive forgiveness. The Torah states that the only place we can sacrifice to God is where he places his name (Deuteronomy 12:5), which was (of course) the temple Solomon built, but that temple was destroyed in 73 A.D., so …now what?

Yeshua is what- because his sacrificial death replaced the need to bring an animal to the temple, the only way to be forgiven now is through Yeshua’s sacrifice, which can only be valid if and when you accept that Yeshua is the Messiah God promised to send.

If you haven’t guessed by now, my answer to my own question whether or not Yeshua hears our prayers is that he probably doesn’t, but to be honest, I don’t know for sure. The Bible doesn’t give us even a hint about this. He does sit at God’s right hand, and he does intercede for us, although I believe that his intercession, as I already pointed out, is not related to our prayer but to our salvation.

In either case, whether he hears prayers or not and whether he is God or not (which is NOT a topic for this discussion), the best thing to do is always pray directly to God, for he is the ultimate power and the only one who can forgive sins, despite what the Roman Catholic church says (I am sorry, but some human being wearing a silly collar cannot forgive your sins, and why pray to some saint when Yeshua says we can pray directly to God?)

What do you think?

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and let me wish you an early Shabbat Shalom!