Tag: revelation

Do All Blessings Come from God?

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Now for today’s drash…

We know that God loves to bless his children and that he rains on both the just and the unjust, alike (Matthew 5:4.) To me, that means even someone who rejects God will receive blessings from him, if for no other reason than God loves all his children.

Besides those blessings God gives to us simply because he loves us, we can earn blessings through obedience to his commandments (Deut. 28), which means that there is an awful lot of really nice stuff God has for all of us, and he never ever runs out of blessings for us.

But what about the Enemy, the Devil, that old lion HaSatan stalking each and every one of us, trying to place a wedge between us and God? Does he ever do nice things for people?

You bet he does!!

In fact, I believe that Satan gives more good things to people than he does bad things. Why? It’s because when we are given things we like, especially things that are worldly and appeal to our base nature, we become prideful and unappreciative. The Israelites in the desert are a perfect example of this, and for those who are not Jewish don’t think for a moment you are any better than they were. Even after 40 years of seeing bread fall from heaven, water come from rocks, clothes and shoes not worn from the rough terrain, having food and water supplied for over a million people (not to mention millions of animals) and yet, the moment they were had any trouble, they carped and complained and lost faith in the One who had been providing this all along.

They had the same attitude towards God that I used to hear when I was in Sales:

“I know you’ve been the best producer this branch has ever had, but what did you do for me today?” 

I believe that Satan gives many blessings so that when they are taken away, we will curse God. Look at the Bible verses that support this:

Job 2:9– His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Matthew 4:9–Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”

Revelation 16:11– And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores; yet they did not repent of their deeds.

We know that Job did not fall victim to the Devil’s tricks, and neither did Yeshua. But we are told that in the Acharit HaYamim (End Days) many will curse God for the pain and suffering they will be going through without realizing that this is as much a chance for them to be saved as it is having to suffer God’s just punishment for their sinfulness.

The Enemy knows that after being blessed with fleshly desires we not only get used to them, we think we deserve them. And when they are taken away, we feel rejected, unjustly punished and we take it out on the one who we think gave us these in the first place- God!  How many people who have been given blessings (Satanists notwithstanding) think that the Devil made it happen? Probably none. We blame the Devil for bad things happening in our lives, but not for the good things. And because we think God is blessing us, when the Devil takes away those things he gave us we don’t blame him- we blame God. We ask “Why?”; we look for reasons we are being punished;  we tend to get sad, melancholy and resentful, which results all too often in our rejecting God.

Can you see how by blessing us the Enemy can turn us against God?

So, nu?  How can I know who gave me the blessings I have? Actually, it’s not so hard to figure it out: if you are being obedient to God’s Torah you will receive blessings. That’s God’s promise, and all his promises are trustworthy. If you know that you are not obedient to Torah and yet, you are receiving blessings, then you have to ask yourself, “Who is giving me so many wonderful things for rejecting God’s commandments?” The answer is obvious, isn’t it? There is only one entity in the universe who will reward people for disobeying God.

One last note on this: if you are doing your best to obey the Torah and find yourself devoid of blessings, or at least having a lot of tsouris, then be happy for that. It means you have successfully rejected the Enemy’s attempt to seduce you and you are getting closer to God, which is why now he is attacking you. Maintain your faith and the blessings will come, eventually, just as they did for Job.

Blessings are able to be earned and also given freely by God to those who love him and show that love by obeying his commandments. If you know that you are disobedient to God’s commandments but have many blessings, you can be fairly certain those blessings are not from God.

This may sound like an oxymoron, but the Bible shows us it is true:

The Enemy gives us wonderful things to take us away from God; God takes away what we have in order to bring us back to him.

Always be certain your blessings are the ones earned through obedience.

Is the “Israel of God” a What or a Who?

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Don’t forget to look for the publishing of my newest book, “Parashot Drashim- A Commentary on the Weekly Torah Readings for Both Jews and Gentiles” due out in September.   

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“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.  Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.”

This is the ending of the letter Shaul (Paul) wrote to the Messianic community he had started in Galatia.  His letter was written for a specific purpose, which has been terribly misunderstood, pretty much since the time he wrote it. It has been used as a polemic against circumcision, as well as justification that Torah observance is just for the Jewish people.  

The worst usage of this line has been by Replacement Theologists, who claim that “Christians” are now the Chosen people of God, who rejected the Jewish people as his because they rejected his son.

Poppycock.  But that is for another time. 

I always found this one line to be very confusing, and have tried to figure out what he could have possibly meant by writing that. I am glad to say that finally, after having read this particular letter too many times to count, a revelation came to me recently about what it could mean.  

That’s one of the best things about reading the Bible over and over: suddenly, one day what you couldn’t understand for years will be made clear to you. I like to think that this happens when God thinks you are ready for it. 

So, nu?  What’s the big revelation? I’ll let you in on it…Shaul wasn’t talking about a who; he was talking about a what!

Let’s go back to the reason for writing this letter. The members of this congregation were being “Judaized”, meaning the Gentile converts to Judaism were being told they had to undergo B’rit Milah (circumcision) in order to be saved. This was under the system called “Legalism”, which was being proliferated by Believing Jews who were infiltrating the new Messianic communities composed of Gentile Believers. Shaul was never against obedience to the Torah; he was against this legalistic approach to it.

Let’s stop here for a moment to make sure we’re all on the same page. Legalism was the belief that no one could be “saved”, i.e. found to be righteous in God’s eyes, unless they obeyed the Torah commands. Under legalism, faith is secondary to performance. Shaul’s constant battle against Legalism is why he has been so misunderstood. Shaul never said not to obey the Torah at all, he said not to obey the Torah as the means to become righteous. 

This letter was to get the Galatians back on track by obeying the Torah as a result of faithful obedience and not resulting from a system of performance-related salvation.  That’s why he said being circumcised was useless to them if they were doing it to be legalistically obedient. He never said they shouldn’t be circumcised, just that they shouldn’t do it as a means of gaining salvation.  

I always have known there was a battle going on in Galatia; the new Believing Gentiles were wrestling with legalism vs. faith. I understood that this dynamic was the reason Shaul contacted them. And my revelation came when I suddenly remembered what “Israel” means.  We are told this in Genesis 32:29 (taken from the Soncino issue of the Chumash)- 

And he said: ‘Thy name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel; for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” 

The comment notes in the Chumash state that the name “Jacob” meant “the Supplanter,” who prevails over others by deceit. “Israel,” on the other hand, is said to be a title of victory, probably “a Champion of God.” The children of Israel, the Israelites, are Contenders for the Divine, conquering by strength from Above. 

Remembering what “Israel” means I realized why Shaul called the Galatians “the Israel of God”: he was identifying them as ones battling with both men and God. They were being wrestled with by men who wanted them to be legalistic in their actions, and with God who wanted them to show faithful acceptance and not try to earn their salvation through performance. The Galatians were just like Jacob: on the one side they had to deal with men (as Jacob had to deal with Esau) and on the other side they had to deal with faith in God (Jacob wrestling with the angel, representing his faith in God to save him from Esau.) 

The “Israel of God” could be used to describe each of us as we struggle with our faith in God and Messiah Yeshua against worldly pleasures and our naturally sinful tendencies and desires. Christians also wrestle with the (usual) teaching that the Torah is only for Jews against the faithful obedience that God has required of all who worship him. 

To the Replacement Theologists out there, sorry; the “Israel of God” is not meant to be Christians. It isn’t really who someone is, it is what condition someone (or some people) are suffering through. And that condition is wrestling with our iniquity and with God’s will for our lives. Obedience to Torah is only one form of this battle between flesh and spirit, which was the message Shaul was addressing to the Galatians.

As we wrestle with our salvation, being pulled between earthly desires and spiritual fulfillment, we also go through that same “Israel” experience the Galatians did. Let us fight the good fight so that we, too, can be the “Israel of God”- one who has conquered by strength from above. 

Signs of the Times

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There was a mass shooting at a Florida school yesterday, February 14, 2018.

It is reported there were 17 injured, some who have died, and the shooter is a kid who had been expelled from the school.

This is a terrible thing, and we see these horrible events happening more and more often; and not just across America, but throughout the world.

It is also the sign of the times. Yeshua told us we can tell the weather but cannot see the signs of the times.

As we suffer more and more of these types of anarchy, what people will call for will be a beneficial despot, one with the power to fight anarchy with total control.

Just what the enemy is waiting for.

Why Do Bad Things Happen?

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In light of Hurricane Irma, with Hurricane (or should I say, Him-icane) Jose building up power just off the Eastern Seaboard, people are again asking that age-old question:

“If God is a loving, compassionate and protective Father, why does He let these terrible things happen to people?”

The answer is, actually, very simple…just because God is in control of everything, that doesn’t mean He will control everything.

There are multiple references in the bible to the fact that the enemy of God, Ha Satan (that devil!) is in control of the Earth. He was thrown down to it (Luke 10:18), when he offered rule of it to Yeshua (Matthew 4:9) and Yeshua didn’t say anything about Satan not having the authority to offer rule over the world, it implies Yeshua recognized Satan did have rule over the world , and Satan is called the Prince of the Power of the Air (Ephesians 2:2.) There are other references, as well, all indicating that when Satan was ousted from heaven, along with 1/3 of the heavenly hosts (which are now fallen angels, or what we call “demons”), he was given authority over the Earth. Even if we skip the biblical references and just use our common sense, it is obvious that God is allowing Satan to rule. That is why there are so many terrible things happening to good people, and bad people as well. Not just destructive acts of nature, but people hurting people. I saw an an article in the paper just this past week about an 11-year old that stabbed a 9-year old to death! Clearly that can not be, in any way, something from God- it has to be of the Devil.

There have been times, no doubt, that God Himself has caused destruction: Babel, the Flood, Sodom, Pharaoh’s army, Jericho, as well as many of the battles of the Israelites against their enemies. All these terrible calamities were caused by God for a reason- to show His power, His authority and His ability to protect His chosen people when they call upon His name.

Those things God did are just “a drop in the bucket” compared to the destruction, death and devastation the enemy has caused over the millennia. God allows it because, well…I don’t know! He just does, that’s all. He has a plan, and we know what it is because He has told us all about it in the bible. However, He doesn’t always tell us why He allows these things to happen and when, exactly, He will stop them for good.

That’s where faith comes in. Our faith in God, which we demonstrate by trusting Him to make all things right in the end. And what if we have to suffer during the time between Eden and the new Jerusalem? What do we do? We suffer. We go through the fire, we get melted down so that the dross can be removed, so that through this suffering- especially the suffering caused by the enemy- we can come out more purified than before.

The enemy makes us suffer to destroy our faith, and God allows us to suffer to strengthen our faith- and when we remain faithful we come out of it stronger. That’s the big joke God is playing on the enemy: God knows that the more the enemy attacks a faithful person, the stronger the faith of that person will become. And when we remain faithful through our suffering, sooner or later the enemy will have to take a break, and that’s when God will come in with blessings to revive and refresh our spirit.

I prayed that Irma would pass by my house but when I saw it wouldn’t, I had to leave Donna in New York halfway through our road trip (which we had been planning for months), miss the friend and family gatherings we had planned, miss a niece’s wedding, and rush home to board up the house. My prayers for Irma passing were answered with, “Sorry-ain’t gonna happen.”  My next prayer was for protection from the small lake behind my house, which had risen so much it was about to flood the house (it was only about 10 feet from flooding the house just as the worst part of the hurricane started.) That prayer was given the “OK- you’re covered” (thank the Lord!) and we didn’t get flooded, although a friend in another part of town had 1 -2 feet of water throughout his house.

A little extra protection God gave, also, was that even though the winds were blowing directly from the lake to the house, all the tree branches in the backyard fell into the wind, missing my porch and house (which are only 10 feet from the tree) completely. To give you an idea of how remarkable that is, here is a shot of how much debris there was (that pile goes back a good 6 feet onto the grass):

 

So when terrible things happen on the earth, I think we shouldn’t automatically blame God because He isn’t really running the day-to-day stuff on the earth. Oh yes- He listens to us, He sees us, He protects us (when it fits into His plan) and He allows bad things to happen to us (which also fits into His plan); it is all designed to strengthen our faith and our spirit so that we can be ready for the REALLY bad stuff that is yet to come. The Book of Revelation tells us what to expect when the fecal matter hits the air circulation unit, and compared to those days, hurricane Irma, Tsunami’s, earthquakes, and all the other terrible things that have ever happened in the world’s history will seem like a walk in the park.

From now on, when someone asks you why a good God can let bad things happen, don’t let them use that as an excuse for apostasy or faithlessness- no, you tell them straight out that it isn’t God’s fault because the enemy rules the earth and God is only biding His time. Just because we don’t understand God’s ways doesn’t mean that He doesn’t exist, doesn’t care, doesn’t love us, or isn’t in control (which He is). It just means we don’t understand.

Children don’t always understand why they are punished, but their parents know that what they are doing is designed (ultimately) to teach the child how to survive. If we can acknowledge that a human parent knows how to teach it’s children how to survive, then how much more so should we trust that God knows how to teach us to survive?

 

Is Yeshua God?

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I am proving myself either crazy, suicidal or brave by even thinking about approaching this topic.

But, then again, if I believe I am given insight (the same should be the rule with everyone) and can show in the bible why I believe this way, then I should share it with you. If you disagree with me, I will not say you are wrong- I am simply telling you what I believe. I wish more people could have discussions without attacking each other’s beliefs, because in the long run, God will be the judge if I am right or wrong, and it is up to Him to set me straight. If we disagree, we should be able to do so with mutual respect, compassion, and leave it at we agree to disagree. Too often I see and hear people attacking each other, insulting each other, calling each other stupid or uneducated simply because they don’t agree. That is not how we should act.

So, here it comes.

Let’s start with the basics: Yeshua is the Messiah, and He existed before He came to earth. I really don’t know if He was God then, and became a separate entity in order to exist in our physical plane, or if He was always a separate entity but equal in divinity to God. I can’t find anything in the bible except that He appears to have been an eternal being with divine powers.

When He came to earth, He had to be able to suffer the temptations and illnesses of all humans (Isaiah 53) and to be able to die. For that to happen, and here is what is really amazing- which most people never understand the impact of- He voluntarily stripped off His divinity and took on a mantle of flesh! Yeshua was divine, He was eternal, He was all-powerful, yet He gave all that up just so that He could be a human being and die in order to give us a chance, just a chance, to be with God forever. Have you ever really thought about that? Could you have done that?

When Yeshua was born, He came out of Miryam’s womb as a human being: not eternal, not divine, just plain, old human. I say again, He had to be totally human so that He could take on our sins (a divine being cannot be associated with sin) and so that He could die. A sacrifice that cannot die (in other words, a divine being that is immortal) would not have been a “real’ sacrifice, and without a sacrificial death there is no remittance of sin, and our salvation is unfounded. But…our salvation is founded in that death, for Yeshua surely did die. The spear in His side proved it. So, whatever Yeshua was before He came to earth, He was 100% human while He lived on the earth and all the miracles He performed were done with the power that came from (a separate and unique) God through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), which was the same exact way miracles had been performed by the Prophets before Him, and by the Apostles after Him.

The one, and most important, difference between Yeshua and all other humans was that Yeshua was not born into the sin of Adam and Eve. Because of His supernatural birth, and through His resurrection, His sacrifice was able to free us of our sins and continues to do so, for now He is a Priest and Cohen forever (Hebrews 7:17.) His blood is still viable, He is still able to cleanse us with His blood because it still exists, and will forever.

I think that every time someone asks for forgiveness in Yeshua’s name, He spills a little more of His blood.

Finally, Yeshua was resurrected and became eternal, again, but he is not divine because he has to serve as Cohen HaGadol for all humanity until the plan of salvation is complete, which won’t be until the Millennial Rule is over, the Adversary and all his demons are thrown into the Lake of Fire and the new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem appear. In other words, He is still a separate and unique living entity from God. Once all is done, I do not know what will happen. Maybe He will remain the way He is, maybe He will be divine again and still the Son, maybe He will be “absorbed” back into God (which would imply the Holy Spirit would be,also) and there will be just the one and only God…who knows? I sure don’t! But, then again, who cares? I won’t, because I will be in God’s presence for all eternity, and it won’t really matter.

So, now for the biblical “proof” that I have for my position. First off, every letter that Shaul wrote to the Messianic Communities started off with a greeting from Shaul, then from God AND Yeshua. Not God, who is Yeshua, not Yeshua, who is God, but from “God the Father and Yeshua the Messiah.” Every letter from every Apostle, who lived with Yeshua for years, identifies God and Yeshua as separate entities. In Revelation 20:6– now remember that this book is the vision given to John directly from Yeshua- it says this:

Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Yeshua and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Notice it says priests (cohanim) of God AND of Yeshua: not priest of God, who is Yeshua, or of God who is Messiah, but “of God and of Yeshua.” The vision of John sees two separate, unique entities ruling in heaven.

There are some places where we hear Yeshua refer to Himself as being the “A” and the “Z”, and how before Abraham was, He is, which means He had no beginning and no end, and that is true in my understanding. As I started off saying, He was eternal and divine, then He gave that up to die, but when He was resurrected, although not divine, He is again eternal, so being ‘the beginning and the end’ while remaining a separate being from God is a valid statement about Himself.  He also constantly talked using parables and riddles, hyperbole and speaking spiritually in the same breath He would speak regarding the physical world. He was of spiritual birth but in a physical form, so He was in both a spiritual and physical place at the same time. Sort of like the Prophets that were taken up in the spirit (Ezekiel, for example) but still physically present on earth. But Yeshua was able to be in both places at the same time and stay in control of Himself.

When He told His Talmudim (students, or Disciples) that when we see Him we see the Father so He and the Father are One, it was a metaphorical statement. He said that He did nothing other than what the Father told Him to do, and said nothing other than what the Father told Him to say, which means (literally) Yeshua was a puppet, so to speak, whose actions and words were not of His own but directly from the Father. That being the case, in His statement that when we see Him we see the Father, for they are One, He was telling us that He is a perfect representation of what the Father does and says. A separate, unique and different entity but still only doing and saying what the Father wants Him to do and say, therefore, seeing Him is seeing the Father, in a matter of speaking, and as such, there is no difference between them from the viewpoint of what Yeshua did and said.

This is very hard to understand, and you don’t have to agree with my belief. If you would like to discuss this, I would ask that you post your comments below, but please don’t be abusive or impolite. I review all comments before they are made public and one’s that do not serve to edify or educate, but are simply attacks without merit, will not be honored with a reply.

Hopefully, those of you who believe differently may have an open mind, and think what I believe may be possible, and maybe there are those who believe as I believe. Let me add one more thing, if I may- we don’t need to know if Yeshua is God or not, really. All we need is to do T’Shuvah (repentance), be faithfully obedient to God, accept Yeshua as our Messiah, observe Torah (as best we can) and constantly ask forgiveness of our sins by reason of Yeshua’s sacrifice.

 

 

How to Identify the Anti-Christ

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When  we read the bible we are given the promise of a Messiah from the very beginning, in Genesis , when God promises Abraham that his seed will be a blessing to the whole world. And at the end of the bible we are told of the tribulations we will suffer when the Anti-Messiah takes rulership of the world and tries to destroy God’s people, who will be the ones remaining faithful to Him and trusting in Yeshua as their Messiah.

There are many warnings about these End Times, in Hebrew called the Acharit Hayamin. Yeshua describes the things to look for in Matthew 24:4-15:

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.  At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,  and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

The A-C (it gets tiresome typing Anti-Christ all the time) is talked about in Revelation 13:5 as having 42 months of total rulership over the entire earth. I am not going to do a detailed exegesis of Revelation because, frankly, I don’t understand it well enough to teach about it. What I do know is that the A-C will appear to be an all-powerful, divine creature who survives some fatal attack, then rises to take control of the earth. The power that he will have will amaze and astonish people, but what this power is might be anything.

OK, so we know that there will be political turmoil, ecological upheavals and other bad things happening all over the world before the A-C takes charge. There will also be a false prophet, a beast and a dragon, all associates of the A-C, that will amaze people and cause them to accept the A-C as their Messiah. This means we are not really looking for a single A-C, but (at least) three separate entities, all working in unison to promote the A-C.

Now to tell you how I think we will be able to identify the A-C. The A-C will be the one who brings order and peace to the world; as such, we won’t know who that is until we can identify the greatest threat to order and peace in the world. So I ask you: what is the most chaotic thing that is happening nearly everywhere in the civilized world?  Isn’t it the international terrorism of the Islamic extremists?

We have plenty of ecological events happening: the Tsunami’s, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc. going on all over the world, with the consequent famines and disease and poverty and starvation. End Times eschatology tells us these things will happen in unison with political trauma, and Man-oh-Manischevitz, don’t we have that in abundance now?

The A-C will be the one who puts an end to all these terrible events. 

Here’s how I see it happening: I believe we will see, originating in the United Nations, an international police organization come into being which will be empowered with authority throughout the membership of the UN to attack and defeat all forms of terrorism in the world. There will, of course, have to be management of this police force, and that will be through a triune leadership. One will be in charge of  policing actions (the Beast), one will be in charge of the administration of the program (the Dragon), and one will be in charge of reporting all that the police force accomplishes to the UN and the world (the False Prophet.) These three will lead this international police force in establishing the peace and prosperity of the world by defeating terrorism in a totally cruel and efficient manner.

For security purposes they will request (and receive) authority to establish world-wide martial law, and through this mandate they will control the world. Again, as a means of protecting the people, to simplify control there will be a single form of money, and the leaders of the world will report to this police force, essentially creating a de facto  one-world government. This won’t just be acceptable to the people, but they will actually be thankful for it.  In order to make it impossible for a terrorist to buy supplies or weapons without being known, all those who are “law-abiding citizens of the world” will be required to take the “Mark”, which will be the only acceptable form of ID to allow people to buy anything. Henceforth, anyone without the “Mark” will be considered a terrorist and an enemy of the world. This will be the beginning of the persecution and murder of God’s people, who will not be turned and refuse to take the “Mark.”

In this scenario, can you see how people will not only be giving their permission to the A-C to rule them, but will actually be thankful for his control and power? People will eagerly accept his “Mark” so that they can live peacefully. To those without the knowledge of the word of God and the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to open their eyes and ears to what is happening, it will seem that Messiah has returned. And if you think it was bad for a Jew in Nazi Germany, that will be a cake-walk for anyone in the world without the “Mark” when these events come to be.

Then things will really get bad; not so much for those that have the “Mark”, but for those that are remaining faithful to God and the real Messiah, Yeshua. We will have Tribulation like nothing ever before, and for 3 years or so we will be in great turmoil. This is what Yeshua warned us about; many will be turned from the faith and only those that hold on will be saved. Many, many thousands will be put to death in the name of Yeshua, but those that do survive will be able to see what everyone who believes in Messiah Yeshua wants to see: Yeshua riding on the clouds in power and majesty, taking power back from the A-C and chaining him up for a thousand years.

This is what I believe will happen. Although I can’t really call this a “vision”, the entire scenario came to me in a second as I was reading this morning’s paper about how England says it will tighten it’s security after yesterday’s (6/4/17) terrorist attack.  I guess we won’t know how correct I am until it happens, so please accept this as a viable scenario, Then, if I am right about this, at least you have been alerted as to what you can expect.

 

Parashah Nitzavim (You are Standing) Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30

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Moshe is continuing his Third Discourse and telling the people there, both native born and those who are also members of the community, that they are not the only ones standing before the Lord that day to renew their covenant. He says that this covenant will be to them and to their descendants. He warns them about becoming self-righteous and turning away from God when they have been satisfied and blessed, and turning to other gods. He tells them that apostasy and rebellion will result in they’re being ejected from the land, but (as follows most promises of punishment) he also says that once they return wholeheartedly to the Lord, God will regather them and then punish the nations that had hated them.

When I read 29:28 I was reminded about God’s magnificence and His awesomeness. That verse says, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

What are the “secret things” that Moshe talks about? The Chumash says they are the secret things of the sin and that what is revealed to us is the judgement for that sin.

I wouldn’t argue with that, but I think it can mean something else.

My Aunt is dying; I found out last night she is (essentially) brain dead from an accidental fall and either tonight or tomorrow we will be flying to New Jersey to attend her funeral. She has attended a Conservative Synagogue that has done some things I would say are more designed to be politically correct than keeping to God’s word, and whether or not she knew her Messiah I am not sure. I had talked with her about it often when we were together (she read my book) and her mind was open to hearing about Yeshua, but as far as I know she never confessed her belief in Yeshua. Her feelings and beliefs about Yeshua and God, for that matter, were secrets that only God knew.

I think that is what Moses is talking to us about. God knows the secrets of our hearts, most likely better than we do (in fact, I am sure of that) and He alone will know whether or not someone is saved. We can’t know that, but we can see what is revealed.

The lesson I have learned is that what is revealed is not always the truth. Look at some of the TV Evangelists in the last decade or so- PTL  founder Jim Bakker was a crook; do you remember Jimmy Swaggart crying on television about his affairs with prostitutes? And the Catholic church problems with sexual molestation. And there was a Rabbi in New Jersey years ago that murdered his wife to continue an affair he had been having. Until these secret sins had been revealed, what we saw was righteousness and people to respect and admire. What had been revealed to us were two different truths, so which was really true?

Both were true, in a sense, because what we saw that was good was good, and later what we saw that was bad was bad. While the “good” was being revealed God kept the secret “bad” to Himself, and did so until He felt it was time to reveal it. That means that what may seem “bad” to us might have some secret “good’ still not revealed. Some secrets He has revealed, others He has not. We will never know what is true and what is not with regards to people, whether that be what they say, what they do, whatever (remember what I always say: people don’t mean what they say, they mean what they do.) We have to accept what we see, and trust in God that what we do not see is known to Him and will be revealed, in His perfect time.

This doesn’t mean don’t believe anything you see or hear (but you probably shouldn’t.) I am saying, or trying to say, that we need to trust God for everything, and to also trust ourselves when we call on the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, to give us insight. The secret things are known to God, and His spirit can reveal these things to us; things that our human senses and human eyes cannot see. Always test for yourself what you are told.

Reading God’s word lets us know what is right and what is wrong, and trusting the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us will help us to see what is not revealed to others.

We can never know the inner secrets of someone’s heart; I think most people don’t even know their own heart. God does. And we should trust Him that whatever the truth is, He will know it, and it will be revealed when, and if, it needs to be.

The final lesson I have today is at the end of this parashah, which (I think) fits in with the above: the last verse of Chapter 30 is Moses telling the people that he is presenting to everyone life and death, the blessings and the curses, and for the people to choose life (obedience) so they may live long in the land God swore to the Patriarchs. The choice is ours to make; we can’t always know why some people choose to obey and why others choose to rebel, and we don’t know what is truly in the hearts of anyone. I have seen people who do not consider themselves Christian/Born Again act in ways that are more godly and Torah-observant than professed Christians. Are these people saved? I don’t know, but God does. God knows the secret things, and we should choose to obey God and not concern ourselves with trying to seek out those secrets He has kept to Himself. If they need to be revealed, He will when He is good and ready to do so.

When we lose loved ones, do not fret over their eternal fate, because you cannot be sure what it is and it is too late to do anything about it. Everyone has the right to choose, and they have had plenty of opportunity during their life to do so. Yes, I get sad thinking about all the loved ones I have already lost that I am pretty sure did not choose life, and I worry for the ones that are still alive who haven’t made their commitment to God and accepted Yeshua as their Messiah, the one God promised, and done so of their own accord. So many people I care about that have been raised a Gentile and told about Jesus, and told so many lies about salvation and Torah, and who don’t know the word of God at all, but believe (from what they have been told their whole life) that they are saved when they never really asked for it, themselves. Are they really saved?

I can’t say- it’s one of those secret things. What I choose to believe is that, based on what I read in the Bible, we have until our very last breath, until that final blip before the flat line on the machine, to accept God, Yeshua, and be saved. Do we get that one, last chance? Does God reveal Himself to the comatose, to the ones who have no responses to this world, and give them that one last opportunity to choose life?

I like to think He does, but that is one of those secret things that only God knows, and it won’t be revealed to us until we are with the Lord. So don’t drive yourself crazy thinking about it, trust in God, and concentrate on your walk with Him.

Nice to know how it all ends

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You know those movies, thrillers, comedies, whatever, that have a complicated plot line and you don’t really know what is going to happen? Sometimes they’re OK, but I really don’t like it when you can see everything going wrong and you just don’t know what the end is going to be.

I guess I like things simple. That’s why I like God. He doesn’t pull you this way and that way, although occasionally it can feel like the world is falling apart around us. But God is always there: He is always the same, He doesn’t change His mind or twist the rules. And His plan has been openly discussed and made known for centuries.

He chose a people, not a large and wonderfully holy people, but a small and insignificant people who, through His works, will show the world God’s glory and majesty and power. Then they will provide the means for everyone to become holy by showing us how to worship God, and finally give us the only pathway to spending eternity in God’s presence through accepting the Messiah He provided through this people. That’s all there is to it: God chooses a people, they survive to accomplish His plan, they bless the world and give us a Messiah to bring all the nations to salvation.

Simple. Complete. You know how it all ends long before the end comes. That’s my kind of story.

Of course we don’t all see it that way. There are many people who think His name is Allah or Shiva, there are those that worship a totally different being, an Enlightened One; there are also those that worship the Enemy of God instead of God, and there are so many (too many, unfortunately) who just don’t know Him at all. They don’t worship anything; oh, well, maybe they worship a movie star or a professional athlete. They want to “be like Mike” or grow up to be like some person they respect and admire (that’s not bad, in and of itself, but can lead one away from God) or they just wander about, not sure if God exists, or not even sure if they care. What they are really saying is that they are too lazy or disinterested to make a decision.

How many people do you know like that? They don’t realize that not making a decision is making a decision.  They are a sad and lost group of sheep, and if they are not heading to God then they are heading to slaughter. Again- it’s a simple thing. Life or death, heaven or hell, eternal joy or eternal suffering. There is only one way this all ends, and there is no escape clause and no loopholes. There is only Messiah, Yeshua, who is the shepherd that we must follow if we want to be led into Paradise.

I believe we are living in prophetic times. I see the people of the world growing more sinful and decrepit everyday. We haven’t ever been worth looking at, but we are getting worse. The weather is showing us times of terrible destruction are coming, the society is accepting sinful and demonic activity as not just normal, but acceptable. The world governments are trying to force Israel to give up it’s lands to those that want to destroy her, and the world is coming apart because of technology, which is tearing at the very fabric of the nuclear family. My profession is technology, and I am afraid of it’s overwhelming power to  separate parents and children. It has become the babysitter and caretaker of our children. Toddlers learn how to spell and talk from an electronic tablet or a PBS children’s show instead of from Mom and Dad. Teenagers communicate to each other by electronic signals on a screen instead of talking face-to-face. Even when they are 5 feet apart! They aren’t outside playing Tag or Hide and Seek- they are inside paying Grand Theft Auto or Halo! Adults send emails to each other and post statements on Facebook instead of calling and talking to each other. Christmas card sending is going the way of the Dodo.

Just like in those movies where the plot turns and twists, so, too, is our way of life being turned around on it’s head and people twist the truth to fit their sinful desires. TV shows that purport to discuss the truth, such as “Who was Jesus” or this new one, “Bible Conspiracies” are attracting people who are interested in learning more about the Bible and God. The problem is that these shows are not speaking the word of God with respect or fear- they are debunking Him and all He says. Secret messages, conspiratorial actions by the Patriarchs and “religious” people throughout the ages; whatever they are doing, it is to debase and reject the truth about God. Remember this: TV, and all the media, is sent through the air, and the Devil is called the Prince of the Air. Duh!!

I am just glad to be among the small group who haven’t bent the knee to Ba’al. But I am not so stubborn and foolish to think that because I haven’t, I won’t. We have to stay alert. Just because we know how it ends doesn’t guarantee we can’t be swayed or fooled. We need to be ever alert and vigilant, we need to put on the armor that Shaul talks about in Ephesians every day, and we need to know the word of God, front to back (that’s Genesis to Revelations) so that we won’t be as easily fooled as those following the History channel for their salvation.

I feel terrible for those poor, lost and foolish people who will be watching TV or listening to some televangelist and think that they are hearing the truth. They figure these people are on TV or radio and so must know what they are talking about. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t: you will never know for sure if you don’t read the Bible and verify what you hear.

I know how it all ends, and I know I am on the right pathway. I walk carefully, and keep my eyes on the finish line. It’s because I know how it all ends that I can see the finish line. Can you? Do you see the finish line? Can you make it out through the haze and thick forest that you need to walk through to get there? If not, read God’s word, accept God’s Messiah as your guide, and find your way to eternal peace.

When it comes to God it’s OK to look at the last chapter and see how it all ends. In fact, knowing how it ends is the best way to understanding how we get there.

Hope to see you at the finish line.

Parashah Nitzavim (Standing)

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As we continue through D’Varim (Words, also called Deuteronomy) we hear Moshe going from ordering Israel what to do when they enter the land, to reminding and re-enforcing their covenant with God, to prophesying about the future. In fact, he talks as if he already knew what is going to happen to them in the future. I believe that this may have been shown to him by Adonai when Moshe was on the mountaintop looking over the Land.

In this parashah Moshe, again, tells the people to worship Adonai and not idols and what will happen when they turn from God. He tells them the covenant that day is not like the one their fathers made because it is not just for them there, at that time, but for them and everyone coming after them. This is the generation that was not born into slavery, and they are the ones that receive the promise made to their fathers about entering the land because their fathers broke faith with Adonai. So, it seems right that the covenant that their fathers broke should be reconfirmed with them.

Moshe, like all the prophets, told of the horrible things that will happen when the people reject God, but ends up with the wonderful promise of re-gathering the people after they do T’Shuvah and return to God. Here’s the part I love to hear- in chapter 30, verse 6 Moshe tells that God promises to circumcise the hearts of the people when they return to Him. The Haftarah portion that is usually read is Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 61:10-63:9, but I would like to respectfully recommend another Haftarah- Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 31:31.

Why? Well, the Yesha’yahu reading is the prophecy about returning to the land, and that is a wonderful and beautiful expectation of the end times, when we are back in the Land of our Fathers. But it misses the Messianic vision that Moshe gives, which is that God will circumcise the hearts of the people, which is what He promises through the vision of Yirmeyahu, also known as The New Covenant. That’s the promise of Messiah, isn’t it? That we will turn to God, we will have our hearts circumcised, the Ruach HaKodesh will be within us, and we won’t even need to ask people if they know the Lord, because we all will know Him. He will be in us, and we will be in Him.

There is an old Jewish expression that the Torah should be a mirror, so that when I look into it I see myself.  That isn’t happening yet; at least, not to me. It is similar, in my mind, to when Shaul talks about Torah and salvation and says it is like looking into a clouded or shadowy mirror, where we can’t see clearly the reflection but we will when we are completed in Messiah (pardon me for paraphrasing a bit there.)

The Tanakh has many Messianic prophecies, and the B’rit Chadashah is where we see these prophecies fulfilled by Yeshua, yet there are Messianic passages in the Tanakh that are ignored by the Rabbinical world. For instance, one of the best known (if that is a good way to define it) examples is the fact that of all the writings of Yesha’yahu that are used for Haftarah reading, the one never used is Yesha’yahu 53, which is one of the most important and obvious references to the Messiah and points directly to Yeshua. Yet, it is ignored. I wonder if the reason they recommend Yesha’yahu 61 for this parashah instead of Yirmeyahu 31 is also somewhat bigoted, trying to ignore the obvious reference to Messianic prophecy.

I don’t disagree that the recommended Haftarah is appropriate, because Moshe does, indeed, talk about the gathering of Israel from all the parts of the world where she was scattered. Perhaps because I am Messianic, and understand; no, not just understand, but am gratified by and look for, the Messianic prophecies that point to Yeshua in the Tanakh I think Yirmeyahu is more appropriate here.

You need to decide which Haftarah is best for you. As I say often in this ministry-blog of mine, you need to take responsibility for your own salvation. Don’t trust me or anyone else to make the decision of what to believe and what not to believe for you: you make that for yourself. Because, no matter what you end up doing, no matter who decided that you should do that or believe this, when you meet up with the Lord He will hold you accountable for your beliefs and actions and words. You. Not the Rabbi, not the Minister, not the Priest, not the Reverend, not even Yo Mama!. It’s all on you! So, read the Parashah, read the recommended Haftarah and read Yirmeyahu, then ask God to show you what you should get out of this. After all, it’s His word and He knows best what you need to know from it.

Who knows? Maybe you’ll see something no one else has been given the sight to see in His word. In Chapter 29, verse 28(29) Moshe tells us the things that are hidden belong to God and things that have been revealed belong to us, and our children forever.  Maybe God has something hidden that He wants to reveal to you.

You won’t ever get that revelation if you don’t read His word.