Hi all! The entries are in consecutive order. It is like an ongoing book; so to make sense of things, just start with the first entry. From the bottom to the top. Hope it isn't confusing!

Friday, December 28, 2012

BIBLICAL PROPHECY

In the book of Daniel, it says that there are in the end times those that possess insight and wisdom as to what is occurring in the world  in order that they not be deceived:

"Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." Daniel 12:3

"Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked.  none of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand." Daniel 12:10

The following, is what I believe to be some of this insight as to what is occurring as we speak. 

Here's a probable future headline in a Christian newspaper: "The Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court of Israel, has charged all believers in Jesus as the divine saviour of the world with blasphemy.  They have also officially accepted the mahdi or Anti Jesus Christ as their messiah. A new temple patterned after the Solomon's temple will be a place for all the world's religions. Many others in the world have also accepted the Mahdi as the global peacemaker. The good news is that there are many in Israel who do not go along with what the Sanhedrin has proclaimed."

This has not happened yet, but things are getting set up for this at present. It is prophesied in the following scriptures:

"For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy....Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock!" Zechariah 11:16,17

"He shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering.  And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate..." Daniel 9:27

"Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God." 2 Thessalonians 2:3

After some 1700 years, the Sanhedrin court that convicted Jesus of blasphemy was reestablished in 2006. Their website is www.thesanhedrin.org.  In November 2012, representatives of the court traveled to Turkey and said some pretty startling things. It all goes back to Noah again or what this court falsely has created about Noah. 

Part of the Sanhedrin court system is the council of Bnei Noah or sons of Noah.  In their view, the sons of Noah or Noahides are the righteous Gentiles that follow the laws of Noah.  This council rules on what makes a Gentile righteous before God.  A Gentile is a non Jewish person. They say that to qualify as righteous, it is not important that a gentile believe in  Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but only follow the seven laws of Noah.  Their seven laws of Noah are:

1. prohibition of idolatry
2. prohibition of murder
3. prohibition of theft
4. prohibition of sexual immorality
5. prohibition of blasphemy
6. prohibition of eating flesh from and animal while still alive
7. establishment of courts of law

Gentile believers or any believers in Jesus as the divine savior of the world would not only be considered as not qualifying to be righteous, but actually would be guilty of breaking the Noahidic laws. These believers would be considered idolaters and blasphemers for worshiping Jesus as the second part of the Godhead of Yahweh and as the one who takes away the sins of mankind.

The Sanhedrin has created a fictional account of the story of Noah that bears little resemblance to the account in the scriptures. They got a lot of these ideas from the extra biblical material of the Talmud. The following are reasons that prove how far off track the Sanhedrin is from the Word of Yahweh God:

A.  Noah and his sons existed before Abraham was called to bring      into being, the nation of Israel; therefore, there was no  distinction between Jew and Gentile during the time of Noah's flood.  The Word of God   says that  Noah knew and walked  with Yahweh. Yahweh God that Noah believed in is the God  who created heaven and earth and would become the  God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of national Israel and of the Jews. Any one who believed in the one true God before the  flood event, believed in Yahweh, who is the God of the Jewish  people. There was no such thing as a gentile at this time;  therefore, there could not be a specific set of laws that only apply to gentiles, and Noah and his sons were not considered  Gentiles.

B.  The scripture never says that Noah and his sons had to follow 
the seven Noahide laws in order to become righteous before God. Noah was considered righteous before the flood and before any laws were given to him and his sons.  The scripture says:

"and Noah found grace in the eyes of Yahweh." Gen 6:8

"These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." Genesis 6:9

Noah was righteous before Yahweh because he knew Jesus, the part of Yahweh that is revealed to mankind. The words that describe Noah are that he found God's grace, was righteous, was blameless, and walked with God.  Grace is unmerited or unearned favor. Righteous means made right with God or found innocent of any sin before God.  The word blameless means complete or without defect.  Noah became righteous, blameless, complete and whole because he was saved by the future work of Jesus on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind.  Noah knew Jesus well and walked with him. The good news of the Gospel was presented to Noah even though it had not happened in real time yet.  The covenant established between Yahweh and Noah and his sons is a foreshadowing of the renewed covenant made between Yahweh Jesus and his believers.  The flood is a foreshadowing of the coming wrath of God on earth as described in the book of Revelation.  The ark is the provision and protection Jesus gives his believers once they agree to covenant with him.

"For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven.  Everything that is on the earth shall die.  But with you, I will establish my covenant and you shall come into the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your son's wives." Genesis 6:17, 18

It is only after salvation from the flood, that God talks to Noah about changes in his laws.  God deletes one law, the law forbidding the consumption of animals, with the stipulation that it not be alive when eaten.  He tells Noah and his sons to be fruitful and multiply and to not murder any other human.  It is not found in scripture any Noahide laws against blasphemy, idolatry, theft, sexual immorality or establishment of a court system.  Laws were not given to Noah and his sons in order to make them righteous, but the opposite is true.  The true Bnei Noah or sons of Noah are all believers in the saving work of Jesus on the cross, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Ironically, the Bnei Noah council of the court of the Sanhedrin has
been set up to ensnare true Noahides, believers in Jesus as Yahweh, as blasphemers, which in the times of Jesus was punishable by death. All followers of the divine Jesus need to pay close attention to this dangerous development.

The next post will deal with the newly formed Sanhedrin and their growing potential of accepting a false Messiah or Christ.


     
     
      
      









 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

NOAH

I was going to write about something occurring in the real world that you might not know about that is predicted to happen in God's Word, but I have to speak about this terrible tragedy that occurred first in Newtown Connecticut.  It is the saddest thing ever that little innocent children were gunned down before christmas right after the shooter killed his own mother.  My heart is for people to not blame God for these things and to not be deceived, but be prepared. Those of you who know me, know that I believe that we are living in the time right before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that many terrible things have occurred throughout the history of the world, but for many reasons, that I will not get into here, I believe we are in the season right before his return. Timothy writes in his letter 2 Timothy:

"...there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good..."

Jesus said that the times of his coming would be likened to the days of Noah. Tragically, one of the children killed was a six year old Jewish boy named Noah. In the account of Noah in the book of Genesis, the Word says, "Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence." The hebrew word for violence is the word "hamas". This is the same name of the terrorist group that has been shooting rockets into Israel and recently stated that they want to kill all Jews and America. The word "hamas" means malicious, violence (specifically physical violence) and also wrong (including injurious language, harsh treatment).

There is good news in all of this and that is the good news of the gospel. The Word of God says that "He (God) named him Noah and said, 'He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground YAHWEH God has cursed." Gen 5:29
Noah is a bringer of good news and comfort and his name in hebrew means "rest". Noah prefigures all of us who enter God's rest by believing in God's provision made for us by Jesus' death on the cross. We, who believe that Jesus died in our place to save us from our sins, are all Noahs. The ark is God's provision and salvation from destruction.  All Noah had to do was believe God and enter into his provision.  The Word says that it was  God himself that actually shut him into the ark.  It says, "Then YAHWEH shut him in." Genesis 7:16 We, as Noahs, are to comfort the distressed and show them the way to the good news of rest.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

PAGE 58 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(THE BAD FIG TREE)

At the same time the shepherds of the post apostolic gentile church began separating the church from its Hebrew root, they also started  erecting dividing walls within the church. 

The apostles and Jesus warned about people, being used by Satan, who would bring teaching that differed with what the apostles taught and they warned believers to watch out and keep away from them.  The teaching of the apostles is now in written form in the New Testament scriptures. Paul says:

"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us." 2 Thes 3:6

"I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them." Romans 16:17

Paul uses words such as command, implore, beseech, and beg believers to guard against those that bring any teaching that is contrary to the Word of God that will cause division and create obstacles.  Just as Adam and Eve were to be watchman and guard the Tree of Life in the garden, believers were to watch over their assemblies and make sure the serpent Satan didn't enter in with false teaching. 

Jesus came to tear down walls of separation between Jews and Gentiles. It says in Ephesians 2:

"you who were Gentiles...at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."

He came to tear down walls that divided an assembly of believers: all believers were priests, and no human was needed to mediate between Yahweh God and humans.

"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5

"...and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--" Revelation 1:6

 There was to be no hierarchy of leadership but every believer was to offer their particular spiritual gift to the body.  Preaching, teaching, prophesying was not designated to a particular class of people because of birth or schooling,  but every believer could proclaim the gospel to unbelievers. There was to be no spiritual aristocracy or nobility and all believers are to be saints. 

"and have made us to our God kings and priests: and we shall reign upon earth." Revelation 5:10

The shepherd or overseer of their assembly was to make sure the body of Christ was flowing as it should according to the Word of Yahweh and that it was staying true to the renewed covenant of Yeshua Jesus. The body of Jesus was to be a living breathing organism and just as the human body survives because of the unity of all it's parts  and gets sick and will eventually die if there is anything blocking or dividing one section of itself from another.

However, after the Apostles died, men came in  that slowly started erecting dividing walls and obstacles in the church. Satan started his work in getting the shepherds or overseers of the church  to use their position for unjust gain. The verse in Romans 16 about men who cause division and obstacles is followed by:

"For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."

Thursday, November 1, 2012

PAGE 57 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(BAD FIG TREE)

After the Apostles died, the shepherds of various churches began to not take heed or pay attention to Paul's warning in the book of Romans.  These shepherds that are known in history as the early church fathers began to slowly distance themselves from their Hebrew roots and the Word of God and began to boast over the branches:

Justin Martyr (100-165ad) - claimed God's covenant was no longer valid and that the gentiles had replaced the Jews.

Iraenaeus (130-202ad) - said the Jews were disinherited from God.

Tertullian (155-230ad) - said the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus and argued that they had been rejected by God.  He also said that the old law had been obliterated.

Origen (185-254ad) - wrote "If he who is commonly called a Jew murdered the Lord Jesus and is still today responsible for that murder, it is because he has not understood the law and the prophets in a hidden manner."

"The true Israelite, then, is everyone who knows Christ, if a man does not know Christ he is no Israelite."

"O Jews, when you come to Jerusalem, and find it destroyed, it had been changed into dust and ashes, don't weep as a child, don't be in grief but ask for a city in heaven instead of that which you search here on earth."

Cyprian (200-258ad) - "That the Jews should lose the bread and the cup of Christ, and all his grace; while we should receive them, and that the new name of Christians should be blessed in the earth."

"That rather the gentiles than the Jews should attain to the kingdom of heaven."

The shepherds of the church turned away from the Word of God and started boasting over the Jews and their covenant with God. They started separating themselves from their Hebrew root and said that earthly Israel and Jerusalem had lost its calling. These writings brought great cursing in the future as they became the justification Hitler needed, in order to do what he did to the Jewish people in Nazi Germany.

The Apostle Paul had stated that staying connected to the Hebrew root would bring the nourishing sap or spiritual blessing to the believer or assembly, and we see huge Holy Spirit power in the early believers in the time of the apostles as recorded in the book of Acts. After the Apostolic age, at the same time as these shepherds started breaking away from the Hebrew root, miracles and wonders began to decline significantly. So much so, that many people today believe that God ceased giving spiritual gifts after the time of the Apostles. Origen reports a decline in signs and wonders in AD 230.  He writes, "...Moreover the Holy Spirit gave signs of his presence at the beginning of Christ's ministry, and after his ascension he gave still more, but since that time these signs have diminished, although there are still traces of his presence in a few who have had their souls purified by the Gospel."

The Bible never declares that the gifting of the spiritual gifts will cease after the Apostles die, but it clearly states that if an individual or assembly cuts itself off from its Hebrew root and boasts over the non-believing Jewish people and Israel, it will also cut itself off from the power of the Holy Spirit.


Sunday, October 28, 2012

PAGE 56 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(BAD FIG TREE)

The amazing mystery of God is that he will demonstrate his mercy to blind natural Israel through the mercy of gentile believers in  Jesus. 

The Apostle Paul in Romans 11 is pleading with the gentile Roman church to understand God's plan and for them not to be arrogant towards Israel and the Jews. This arrogance (thinking they were better than) was obviously happening in the Roman church in Paul's day.  Paul gives stern advice for how gentile christians are to act in relation to non-believing Jews and the nation of Israel.  He says:

1. Gentile believers are to stay connected to their Jewish roots. They are supported by the holy root of the patriarchs of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were not now a whole new religion that has replaced the Hebrew people and scriptures, but are a continuation of it.  They are co-partners with all of the great believers like Moses, Elijah, David, Ezekiel, Ruth among the many. They are to understand, as all the prophets did, that  natural physical Israel has a great calling and a future that had not been fulfilled yet, and that they should  wait expectantly for it. They are to be proclaiming as the prophet Isaiah does:

"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand." Isaiah 62:1-3

Paul says that staying connected to the Hebrew roots brings nourishment or filling of the Holy Spirit, abundance, fatness, and spiritual blessing. 

2.  Gentile believers are not to boast over or be arrogant towards the blind non-believing Israel or Jewish people and if they do, they should be scared.  He then says a pretty amazing thing; he says that if you do this, God will cut you off spiritually.  The Hebrew word for cut off is "karath" and it means destroyed. It was used many times in the Old Testament referring to people cut off from the nation of Israel and Jesus uses it referring to people that don't abide in him and produce fruit.  He says those branches will be cut off and thrown into the fire. It is similar to what Yahweh says about the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He says in Genesis 12, that those that bless you and this covenant will be blessed and those that curse you and this covenant will be cursed. 

3. He says that gentile believers must show God's kindness to natural Israel and the Jewish people. The word for kindness in Greek means goodness and gentleness.  They must show this kindness even though the Jewish people might consider them their enemy on account of the gospel.

4. Finally, they must show the Jewish people and natural Israel mercy.  The word for mercy in Greek is "eleos" and it means pity, compassion or covenant love (love to them on account of loyalty to God's covenant with them).

 By doing these things, the Jewish people will come to know Jesus.

These verses in Romans 11 apply to individual gentile believers, assemblies of gentile believers and to gentile nations. 

As the 2012 elections approach, I see how God's word has played out in the United States of America.  Our country, mainly founded by people that were connected to their Hebrew roots, who made our country a safe haven for the Jewish people and believed in the ultimate restoration of natural Israel, has been so richly blessed.  We are at great risk however, of reversing that blessing, if our leaders don't understand this great mystery that Paul pleads with gentiles to understand.

Monday, October 22, 2012

PAGE 55 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(THE BAD FIG TREE)

The Apostle Paul in Romans 11 makes a lengthy appeal to the gentile church in Rome.  He warns them against their tendency to believe that Yahweh God had rejected his original plan and covenant with natural Israel.  This letter to the Roman church is a central document in the renewed covenant scriptures. Paul says that "...what Israel sought so earnestly, it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened."  He then says that they have not been hardened or stumbled as far as to fall beyond recovery. He proclaims "...Not at all!" He says that "...because of their transgression, salvation has come to the gentiles in order to arouse the Jews to jealousy.  The following are the main points he makes about natural, physical Israel:

1. those that rejected Yeshua Jesus in Israel stumbled and were hardened.  
2. the hardened physical Israel and the Jews that are hardened and blind that live there will one day in the future be redeemed.
3. their fullness (full participation in the covenant with the messiah Jesus) will bring great riches to the world.
4. natural Israel's acceptance of the covenant will bring about the resurrection of the dead.
5. blindness has happened in part to Israel until the full number of gentiles has come into the covenant. 
6. only part of Israel believed in the renewed covenant offered by Jesus, but in the future, all of Israel will believe and will receive salvation.
7. Jesus has this promise to Israel that he will take away all of their sins.
8. Even though hardened Israelites are enemies of the gospel of Jesus and it's believers,  they are still loved by Yahweh because of the covenant  he made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as regarding  their election and calling.
9. God's gifts and calling are irrevocable. God doesn't break his promises. The gift of God to Israel is the actual physical land. The scripture says:

"Because he loved your forefathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today." Dt 4:37, 38

The calling on Israel is to be a unique nation on the earth; an actual political nation that inhabits a particular piece of land designated by the creator of the earth himself. This actual physical nation is to be inhabited by Yahweh's flock, his people, his called out ones, his church. There is to be no separation of church and state in this peculiar nation: this is to be where the Kingdom of God is to fully manifest itself on the earth. They are to reveal Yahweh God to the other nations. No other plot of land on the earth has this calling placed upon it; it is the same plot of land that fully manifested the Kingdom of God at the beginning of creation, the Garden of Eden.

10. Yahweh will once again have mercy on stubborn, blind, hardened, fallen down Israel.




Friday, October 19, 2012

PAGE 54 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(THE BAD FIG TREE)

Satan is desperate to keep the Tree of Life, the living Word which is Yeshua Jesus and the written Word of Yahweh God,  away from mankind. His strategy is to work on man's weaknesses; such as, their desires, ego, lusts and greed in order to get them to do what he wants.  James describes Satan's strategy in James 1:15:

"...but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed (by Satan). Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

Satan's ultimate goal is to get the shepherds of God's flock to change the Word of God by adding to it or taking away from it and to make it complicated and confusing.

 His goal is to transform the Tree of Life into the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan did this with Adam and Eve, the shepherds of the Israelites, and will again with the post Apostolic church leadership.  

Those that were overseers during the time when Jesus was alive on earth, warned that after they leave, wolves would come in to destroy the flock. After that generation had passed on, the time of the Apostolic church, The Word of Yahweh spread, but would slowly begin to be disbelieved. 

Friday, October 12, 2012

PAGE 53 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(THE BAD FIG TREE)

Satan, the embodiment of darkness and evil, had penetrated and taken captive the Kingdom of Yahweh God before the coming of Jesus.  Satan gets people to accomplish his goals.  The nation of Israel was covered in darkness because the Light of the Messiah Jesus, the tree of life, was almost snuffed out.  The Prophet Isaiah describes the darkness on the land:

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light, in those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2

The great Light of the Messiah arrived to the nation of Israel just before a complete takeover by Satan.  Jesus found waiting for him, a remnant of believers in Israel to make a renewed covenant with: a better covenant to renew the covenant made at Mount Sinai that had been broken. The Light of the Messiah Jesus was shining forth out of this assembly of people as the Kingdom of Yahweh God spread throughout the gentile nations. The Tree of Life, the Word of God and Jesus, was the heart and soul pulsating through the body or church of Jesus. Each member of the body or church served God together with their individual spiritual gifts as priests.  

Jesus and his apostles warned however of the enemy who would once again be let into the assembly of new covenant believers by Shepherds who would go astray from the way of Yahweh. This did occur after about 300 years after the death of Jesus on the cross. For about 1,000 years, the earth was thrown into darkness, in a period known as the dark ages.

Satan the serpent, the embodiment of darkness, has not changed since the beginning of the creation of the world. He is the enemy of Yahweh and man and is a thief, murderer and a liar. He will use cunning strategies, his secrets and doctrines to destroy Yahweh's plan for the earth.

Just as he nudged Adam and Eve to reach up for the evil fig leaf in order to cover themselves, he tempted the shepherds of Israel by working on their pride, ego and lust for power to turn to the false fig tree as well, and will do the same thing to the shepherds of the church of the Messiah Jesus.  Satan's strategy is to snuff out the light of God by altering the Word of God and by replacing the salvation offered by Jesus with  salvation offered by Man.


Monday, October 8, 2012

PAGE 52 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(THE BAD FIG TREE

There are different words used used throughout the entire Bible to designate the group of like minded believers called out by Yahweh God to be holy unto him :  the main words are church, assembly, kingdom, bride and flock.  All of these words mean essentially the same thing and can be used interchangeably; they illustrate the different characteristics of the believer's relationship with Yahweh God. The term church is not used in the Old Testament scriptures, but assembly, kingdom, bride and flock are. 

The kingdom of Yahweh God was inside the borders of the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve broke their covenant,  the kingdom of Yahweh was to be found again in individual believers who then later became organized into the nation of Israel.  The church, assembly, kingdom, bride or flock of Yahweh God was officially born again at Mount Sinai under the leadership of Moses.  Moses speaks of this day in Deuteronomy 18:16:

"According to all that desire of Yahweh in Horeb (Mount Sinai) in the day of the assembly."

The covenant that Yahweh made with his people at Sinai was a marriage contract. This group of hebrew people officially became his bride, his assembly and flock.  They were to be a spiritual  kingdom of priests and a geopolitical nation attached to a specific piece of land.

However, once again, Satan is allowed inside the kingdom of Yahweh to corrupt and destroy it from within. 

The prophets Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Zechariah and Habakkuk  speak about how Israel had been led astray from the Tree of Life, the Messiah and the pure Word of Yahweh God,  by evil and false shepherds, wolves and snakes:

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill.  My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, declares Yahweh, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh.  Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep.  No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them." Ezekiel 34:2-10

"The priests did not say, 'Where is Yahweh?' Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit." Jeremiah 2:8

"The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Yahweh, so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered." Jer 10:21

"But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride: my eyes will weep bitterly overflowing with tears because Yahweh's flock will be taken captive." Jer 13:17

"Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture! declares the Lord." Jer 23:1

"My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains.  They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their resting place." Jer 50:6

"The idols speak deceit, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false. they give comfort in vain.  Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd." Zechariah 10:2

"Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation, he makes idols that cannot speak." Habakkuk 2:18

By the time of the Messiah Yeshua's first coming, the flock of Yahweh had been totally taken over by the evil and false shepherds: the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes.  Yeshua describes what the nation of Israel looked like at the time of his ministry. He says:

"All that came before me were thieves and robbers." John 10

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Matt 9:6

The Tree of Life had become the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: the assembly of Yahweh's people that was to point people to their need of the Messiah as King, as the Great Shepherd, as the High Priest, and as their Groom to offer them salvation instead became an organization which pointed people to man's ability and  works in order to save themselves. 






Sunday, September 30, 2012

PAGE 51 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(THE BAD FIG TREE)

The shepherds are to keep watch over their assemblies of believers or churches just as Adam and Eve were to guard the borders of the Garden of Eden. As the Kingdom of Yahweh God was within the borders of the Garden, the Kingdom of Yahweh God  is within the border of each individual believer and each assembly, gathering or church of individual believers. As Adam and Eve were to keep predators away by continually eating from the Tree of Life, which is Yeshua Jesus and the pure Word of God, and by keeping their covenant with God,  the shepherds of the churches are to guard against predators by continually eating and feeding their flock the 
Tree of Life, Yeshua and the pure Word of God, and by guarding their covenant with God of the atoning sacrifice of Yeshua Jesus on the cross and their testimony of it.

 Adam and Eve failed in their mission to guard the borders of the Garden and allowed the serpent Satan in because of their disbelief in the Word of Yahweh God and the covenant they had made with Him. The Apostles continually warn about this happening yet again; they warn about these coming predators, often referred to as vipers, snakes and wolves throughout the New Testament.  The Apostle Paul says:

"...keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.  Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock." Acts 20: 24-29

Yeshua Jesus warns:

"watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." Matt 7:15

The Apostles describe the strategies that these false shepherds, wolves and snakes will use to cause deception.

The Apostle Paul says:

"...and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them." Acts 20:30

"I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause division and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.  Keep away from them." Romans 16:17

The Apostle Peter says:

"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them..." 2 Peter 2:1

Timothy says these predators "...having a form of godliness but denying its power.  Have nothing to do with them."  2 Tim 3:5

In Yeshua Jesus' letters to the churches in the Book of Revelation, Yeshua speaks of what some of the false shepherds and wolves look like.  Yeshua says he hates the Nicolaitans.  Nikos in Greek means triumph or dominance (as in the Nike sporting goods line). Laos means people in Greek and laiton means laity.  It is speaking of when the overseers or shepherds of the church use their position to oppress other members of the church.  The Apostle Peter speaks of this:

"Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock." 1 Peter 5:2

Yeshua also talks about the church coming under the influence of the woman Jezebel. Yeshua says:

"Nevertheless, I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols...now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned  Satan's so-called deep secrets." Rev 2:20

The Jezebel teaching is the mixing together of the pure Word of God with the teaching of mystery Babylon and the occult: the mixing together of the Tree of Life (the good fig tree) with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (the bad fig tree).














Thursday, September 27, 2012

PAGE 50 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (FIG TREE)

Even though the majority of the Jewish people were under the influence of the Pharisaical leadership and rejected Yeshua Jesus as their Messiah at his coming over two thousand years ago,  there was a remnant of Jewish believers.  They busted out from Satan's grip and spread the Kingdom of Yahweh God to the gentiles by the preaching of the gospel (the good news of Yahweh's gift of salvation given to those who believe that Yeshua died on the cross to atone for their sin).  All who believe the gospel message are the "good figs" on the good fig tree, the tree of life and they are also called the church.  The Greek word for church is "ekklesia" which means a body of people who Yahweh has called out for himself.  It is an assembly of two or more people, built upon the common belief that Yeshua is the Messiah or Savior of the world and the son of the living God. Yeshua Jesus is the head of this corporate body of believers and they are his body and his bride.

As the gospel spread in different communities by individuals by 1. hearing the salvation message of Yeshua. Then 2. Repenting. Then 3. Agreeing with or accepting Yahweh's offer of salvation, the different assemblies became organized.  

Each believer that is part of the church is considered to be a priest of Yahweh God.  Yeshua Jesus is the high priest over them.  The Apostle Peter says:

"And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.  What's more, you are his holy priests.  Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God." 1 Peter 2:5

The word priest in Hebrew means servant or worshipper of God.

The individual believers that made up each assembly all had different spiritual gifts given to them by Yeshua, which equipped them for different works in the church.  It is said in Ephesians 4: 11,12

"Now these are the gifts the Messiah gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ..."

The different jobs were not ranked as to importance: a shepherd was as important as a prophet or teacher.  The shepherd is someone who Yahweh raises up to care for or oversee the well-being of their particular flock or church. They were to watch over their flock to make sure no false teaching or teaching contrary to the Word of God entered in. The Apostle Paul, who is a shepherd or overseer, speaks to other overseers:

"Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.  Be shepherds of the church of God which he obtained with his own blood." Acts 20:26-28

The church is the body of believers bought with the blood of Christ and does not refer to the leadership or overseers or to the building that they assemble in.  The Apostle Peter was one of many also appointed by the Holy Spirit to be a shepherd, overseer or elder.  He says to others that were also given this gift:

"So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away."  1 Peter 5:1-4

The other most important roles of the shepherd was to present the Word of God to the flock. Yeshua tells the Apostle Peter that that is what he is to do as a shepherd.  He says:

"'Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?' 'yes, Lord,' Peter replied, 'you know I love you.' 'Then feed my lambs,' Jesus told him.'" John 21:15

All through out scripture the Word of Yahweh is described as food: Jeremiah says "your words were found and I ate them. Jeremiah 15:16; Psalm 119 says, "How sweet are your words to my taste...."; the scripture says "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."; Peter says, "...desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." 1 Peter 2

The most important role of the shepherd is to preserve and present the pure word of Yahweh God to the flock or church.

In the body or flock that the shepherd, overseer or elder is to watch over, are those that were teachers, administrators, prophets, intercessors, and those that have the gift of healing, wisdom and knowledge.  The whole church is to be working together as one body and the individuals that make up the body, called priests, obtained these gifts from the Holy Spirit and not by getting a degree.






Sunday, June 24, 2012

PAGE 49 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(THE BAD FIG TREE)

"Adam and Eve made an apron of fig leaves for themselves." Genesis 3:17.  


The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is rooted in religious Judaism of today. This religious Judaism is called modern rabbinic Judaism.


When the Jewish people were taken into captivity in Babylon, they learned the doctrines of the occult or  "Mystery Babylon." Since they had no Temple, they gave the authority of the High Priest to the Rabbis or teachers and replaced the importance of the Temple with synagogues.  The religious leaders in Babylon invented a whole system of man made traditions while they were there and then falsely proclaimed that these laws and traditions had been  orally  transmitted by God to Moses. These religious leaders evolved into the sect of the Scribes and the Pharisees.  The Scribes and the Pharisees instituted the practice of complicated rituals which made them have the outward appearance of pious religiosity while simultaneously cultivating new secret doctrine and conducting pagan rites in secret. By the time of Jesus', Yeshua's, visitation to Israel, the Pharisees were in control of Jerusalem. The Pharisees had the written Word of God, which are the books of the Bible from Genesis to Malachi (the Torah, wisdom literature and the Prophets),  but then they added to it all of their made up traditions they had learned while in Babylon. The Pharisees called these traditions the oral torah and they said that these new laws and traditions were as authoritative as the books of the Bible. At the time of Yeshua, Jesus,  the oral torah had not been put in written form.


With the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, the Sadducees had disappeared; the Pharisees became fully in charge of the regulation of all Jewish affairs. They then put their oral torah and traditions into written form in a book called the Talmud from about 200AD to 500AD.  The Talmud consists of the Mishnah or Halacha and the Gemara.  The Gemara is commentary on the Mishnah. The secret pagan teachings the Pharisees had learned in Babylon were eventually written down in a book called the Zohar in the 13th century and is the basis for Kabala or Jewish mysticism.  The Rabbis of modern Judaism consider Kabala the hidden portion of the oral torah. The Holy Bible (books of Genesis to Malachi) plus the Talmud and Zohar, which were made up and added by the Pharisees, are the foundation of modern Rabbinic Judaism. The Talmud is considered as legally binding as the Holy Bible and they believe that religious authority was passed from Moses to Joshua to various generations of elders and then to the Rabbis.


Modern Rabbinic Judaism bears very little resemblance to the faith of the Israelites written down in the books of the Holy Bible. Satan was successful in turning the very thing that was supposed to be the Tree of Life, into the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He destroyed the pure Word of God and thus eliminated the need for the life giving Messiah and Spirit and replaced it with the self righteousness of Man.


The Talmud states that the Rabbis put a fence around the Torah.  They think this is a good thing but Yahweh God did not want a fence to be put around his Torah.  They reinvented the basics of the Torah by the belief that:


1. Adam and Eve did not corrupt their flesh and all mankind after them by their sin.  The Rabbis state that a soul at birth is pure and holy and though we have an inclination towards both good and evil, that we are essentially good. We can become righteous by making the right choices or doing what the Rabbis say. 


2. Adam and Eve were not separated from God by their sin and hence there is no need of a mediator.  The Word of God or the Holy Bible teaches that because of man's sin, mankind has been separated from God and that the Levitical Priests were to be the mediators between Man and God. The Bible teaches that Yahweh is so Holy that Man cannot approach him without bringing an animal sacrifice to the Priest in the Temple. Moses as a foreshadowing of the Messiah Yeshua had the role of mediator between Yahweh and the Israelites.  Modern Judaism teaches that the need for a mediator is unbearable: a quote from a writing says "Between God and Man stands no one.  Nothing between potter and vessel, so nothing separates Man from God." They revised the role of Moses as mediator between the people and God to Moses the Rabbi. They eliminated the need for Priests and replaced them with Rabbis, who were just teachers of the writings of the Talmud. The Rabbis have elevated Man to the level of Yahweh and without any need for help from God by an intermediary.


3.  Satan's words in the Garden were actually true: that if you eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, "...that you will surely not die." Modern Judaism believes that death is no longer required for the atonement of sin. They state that animal sacrifices and Temple rituals are to be replaced by prayer and good deeds.  They state that repentance alone atones for all transgressions.




 Just as Adam and Eve, the Rabbis have reached for the leaves, the self righteous works of Man, off Satan's Tree to cover their sin. The deceptive Tree that leads only to death and enslavement. Just like Adam and Eve, these Rabbis have rejected the Tree of Life, the pure Word of God and his Messiah, which bring the fruit of the Spirit and life everlasting. 



Wednesday, June 20, 2012

PAGE 48 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST(THE BAD FIG TREE)

Satan's tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,  has been judged by Yeshua, Jesus, and will be totally eradicated in the future, but is still firmly planted in all false religious systems other than the one true system that has Yahweh's Tree of Life as its foundation. The Kingdom of Yahweh has the Tree of Life, which is the Word of God and the Messiah Yeshua in its midst. The Kingdom of Satan, or "Babylon" as it is called in scripture, has the Tree of the the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which is the teaching or doctrines of Satan and his demons and Satan himself. Satan's false religious system is called "Mystery Babylon" in scripture. "Mystery Babylon" is referred to in scripture as a woman prostitute. The scripture says:


"The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." Revelation 17:4,5


 Satan's system is manifested in different ways in different organized false belief systems today; all of these false systems will unite together in the one world religion of the Anti-Christ at the end of times. The symbolism for all of these false systems is exemplified when Adam and Eve "...sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." Genesis 3:7.  The fig leaves from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.


At one time in the history of the Earth, Satan's kingdom was openly manifested in an actual kingdom on Earth called Babylon.  This kingdom destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and took the Jews captive in 588 BC.  During this time in Babylon is when the Pharisees and the Scribes  formed their sect based on Satanic doctrines and teachings they had learned there. These teachings comprised the "oral law" or the "traditions of their fathers" that Yeshua, Jesus had condemned them for.  Scripture speaks of the Jewish people being enthralled with the teachings of the Chaldeans of Babylon:


"(Jerusalem) increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity: And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.  And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them..." Ezekiel 23: 14-17

Thursday, June 14, 2012

PAGE 47 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (THE FIG TREE)

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is a copy of the Tree of Life; they are hard to tell apart from afar because they both have many fig leaves, which represent works.  Yeshua,  Jesus, uses a barren fig tree to symbolically curse the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that had overtaken the religious system in Jerusalem and to teach his disciples about the Kingdom.  The scripture says in Mark 11:12-14


"The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Yeshua was hungry."


The name Bethany means "house of figs"; this is where the Tree of Life, with it's abundance of spiritual fruit was flourishing. Yeshua was leaving there and heading near Bethpage, which means "house of unripened figs". This is the city of the religious leaders and where the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil had a stronghold.  The scripture says:


"And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it.  When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs." Mark 11:13


Yeshua uses this fig tree as a teaching tool: he actually knows the truth that this tree has no fruit, but is teaching  his disciples that from afar, it looks like the Tree of Life because of its many fig leaves.  He then curiously tells them  that it isn't the "season" for figs.


The Greek word for "season" is koinos and the Hebrew word is moed.  It means "appointed time". Yahweh has his own calendar set with his appointed times and seasons when he manifests and takes action on Earth.  The remnant of believers in Yahweh Elohim, the triune God, are to understand what season in God's calendar they are in.  Jeremiah prophecies about the religious leader's lack of understanding of the Messiah Yeshua's appointed first time of visitation. He says:


"Even the stork in the heavens knows her times (moed), and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming (moed), but my people know not the judgment of Yahweh." Jeremiah 8:7


Yeshua rebukes the Pharisees and Sadducees for not understanding the appointed time of his coming:


"He answered them, 'When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times (koinos)." Luke 16:2,3


By saying that it "...isn't the season (koinos) for figs...", Yeshua is teaching his disciples that it is not the time for the religious and political structure in Israel to bear spiritual fruit or be the Tree of Life to the world. He later prophecies about the time in the future when that will take place:


"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near." Matthew 24:32


The Greek word for "summer" is theros  and the Hebrew word for "summer" is quts.  it means the the time or season for the second fig harvest which occurs in August and September. Yeshua's first coming fulfilled God's springtime feasts on His calendar. The fig tree bears fruit in the spring and in the early fall. His first coming brought in a harvest of a remnant of individual believers pictured as in Mary, Martha and Lazarus of Bethany, the "house of figs".  The time between the two fig harvests represents the times of the Gentiles.  The second coming of Yeshua will be about the harvest of souls of the nation of Israel: the time when Yeshua brings down the Tree of Life with him to Jerusalem. The appointed time on God's calendar where the Kingdom of God is restored to the nation of Israel.  This is fulfilled in the appointed fall feasts in God's calendar. This "summer" season is right around that time.


Yeshua is telling his disciples to be aware that this summer season is near when they see leaves on the fig tree.  He is talking here about the Tree of Life; that it will happen slowly.  First, they will see leaves and then later, comes the Spirit or the fruit harvest.  The leaves that will appear first are the political and religious structure of Israel being reborn in the land which, miraculously  happened in the year 1948. The Bride of Christ must be aware that we are in the season of Yeshua's second coming at this present time!


Yeshua tells his disciples that the fig tree that they see near Bethpage is not the Tree of Life because it isn't the "appointed time" or "season" for that. Instead, it is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the tree that the religious leaders of that time had embraced. It is the copy, full of leaves or vain religious works. 
He then places a curse on Satan's Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil:


"Then he said to the tree, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again,' And his disciples heard him say it.'" Mark 11:14


He then goes on to cleanse the Temple of it's evil; the disciples then pass by the tree again and see that it had withered and died.  Yeshua will in the next few days judge Satan's tree by being crucified on a tree very near to where this particular cursed tree was. He is stating a prophecy that in the future, mankind will never make the mistake that Adam and Eve made: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and Satan's schemes will completely be done away with, and no one will ever eat fruit from it again!











Tuesday, June 12, 2012

PAGE 46 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (THE FIG TREE)

By changing the Word of God, the Pharisees self righteously elevated themselves to be co-equals with God. The Prophet Isaiah writes about the religious leaders at the time of Yeshua, Jesus. He says:


"You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'He did not make me'? Can the pot say of the potter, 'He knows nothing'?" Isaiah 29:16


Yeshua explains their self righteousness in a story:


"The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance.  He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 'I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'" Luke 18:11


Satan had hijacked the priestly system in Jerusalem and turned it into his own priestly system:  the Tree of Life had turned into the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He kept people away from the true Word of God and which brings life eternal and turned it into a way to aggrandize the religious leaders to the level of Yahweh.  Satan had them use everything that Yahweh had given them: the land, their heritage, the temple, and the scriptures as a tool to oppress those with less power and stature.  This is always Satan's way; just like his tempting words to Eve: "Don't you want to be like God?" The priestly system in Jerusalem became a system of seemingly righteous works: that man could perform these works and be just as righteous as Yahweh and without any help from Him. This is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: it looks like the Tree of Life from afar, adorned with many leaves (a religious system with seemingly pious works in order to achieve salvation from God), but it has no fruit (Spirit, that which comes from Yahweh).  The Scripture speaks about these "leaves":


"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Isaiah 64:6


These are the "fig leaves", the fig leaves from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, that Satan had prompted Adam and Eve to grab to cover their sin. 



Sunday, June 10, 2012

PAGE 45 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (THE FIG TREE)

The land of Israel; their Jewishness; the possession of the Scriptures; and the Temple were all to be used for Yahweh's purposes, but instead they used all of it for their own gain and it became an idol to the Sanhedrin.  These things were to point to God but instead they made them point to them.  They made their possession of a building, the land, their Jewishness, and the scriptures their place of refuge.  The following scriptures speak to this:


"Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers. I will thrust you from my presence..." Jeremiah 7:14,15


"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.  These are the Scriptures that testify about me."  John 5:39


The Pharisees defiled the Temple by making something that was supposed to be Holy into a place that enriched themselves:


"The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the LORD.  They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name have defiled it." Jeremiah 7:30


Yeshua drives out the money-changers in the Temple:


"In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen.  And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, 'Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of merchandise.' And his disciples remembered that it is written, 'The zeal of thy house did eat me up;'"John 2:14-16


Yahweh hates hypocrisy:  sacrifices being made by men who treat others wickedly, and perform the sacrifices with evil intent and without their solemn holy meaning of bringing people closer to God.  They are intended to be pinnacle of righteousness before God; therefore, he would rather that they not be conducted at all.  The following scriptures speak to this:


"'The multitude of your sacrifices--what are they to me?' says the Lord. 'I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me.  New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations- I cannot endure your iniquity and solemn assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates.  They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." Isaiah 1:11-18


"The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him." Proverbs 15:8


"Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?" Zechariah 7:5


"Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the Yahweh, 'and I will accept no offering from your hands.'" Malachi 1:10

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

PAGE 44 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (THE FIG TREE)

The Word of Yahweh,  the Torah and the Prophets, has a simple and straight message: it all points to the sacrificial system, which is ultimately fulfilled by the Messiah Yeshua.  The sacrifice is what brings humans close to Yahweh and brings salvation and life to all those who sincerely believe it.  The message of God's Word that humans can't get close to God by their own works and without his help.  Righteous works then follow those who have salvation; they are the fruits of the Spirit.  Satan wants to obfuscate this simple message and keep people from it.  The Pharisees were willing participants in Satan's strategy because of their greed and lust for power. Jeremiah prophesied about them:


"...all are greedy for unjust gain; prophets and priests alike; all practice deceit."  Jeremiah 8:10


Yeshua, Jesus, called the temple in Jerusalem a "den of robbers."


The Pharisees, with the prompting of Satan, changed the salvation message of the torah by changing the torah; they granted salvation to those who obeyed their rules and traditions.   The sacrificial system was just another ritual of many and it lost its significance. God warns against anyone changing his Word. He says:


"See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it." Deut 12:32


Yeshua speaks to the Pharisees about the change they made to the Word of God:


"And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, 'Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?' He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban (that is, given to God), then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.  Mark 7:5-14


Jeremiah prophesies about these Pharisees and the Scribes:


"How can you say, 'We are wise,  for we have the law of the Lord,' when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely."  The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the Word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?" Jeremiah 8:8-9


The Prophet Isaiah speaks a prophecy about the Pharisees at the time of Yeshua and how their rules are a lie and falsehood that only leads to death :


"...to whom he said, 'This is the resting place, let the weary rest'; and, 'This is the place of repose'--but they would not listen. So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there--so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured. Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You boast, 'We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement.  When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.'" Isaiah 28:10-15


The Apostle Paul speaks about them:


"For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own,  they did not submit to God's righteousness." Romans 10:2-3


The Pharisees and Scribes masqueraded as religious men having the oracles of God but in reality created an entirely different concept of God based on their made up traditions.  They introduced rites in the Temple which were without foundation in the law.  They declared that priests were but deputies of the people and that the High Priest was just a messenger of the Sanhedrin.  They wrested the power of atoning for the sins of the people from the High Priest and transfered it to the day itself.  They said that people could get close to Yahweh, God, without sacrifice and the priests as long as long as the people followed their rules and traditions.