First-Fruits with timeline!

 We have already begun the spring moedim (Appointed Times) of our ELOHIM and we just completed celebrating Pesach (Passover) and The Feast of Unleavened Bread. Now this coming Yom Rishone (Sunday), April 16th will be First-Fruits. This day is not a Shabbat, so you do not have to take off from work; however, it’s good to be aware of the importance of it because we are now beginning the 50 day count to Shavuot.

 Leviticus 23:9-16 (Aramaic)

 “And YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying, “speak to the children of Yisra’el, and you shall say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I give you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the priest; and he shall wave the sheaf before YAHWEH to be accepted for you; on the morrow the priest shall wave it. You shall offer that day when you wave the sheaf of a male lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering to YAHWEH. And its meal offering shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to YAHWEH for a sweet savor; and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, a fourth part of a hin. And you shall eat neither bread nor parched wheat nor green ears until that same day, until the day when you have brought an offering to your ELOHIM; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And you shall count to you from the morrow, that is, from the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Shabbats shall be complete; even to the morrow AFTER THE SEVENTH SHABBAT (The weekly 7th Day Shabbat) you shall count fifty days; and you shall offer a meal offering of new wheat to YAHWEH.”

Aviv in Hebrew means the month of green ears of barley when the barley is ripening. The etymology for the word “Aviv” H24 is defined by Brown-Drivers-Briggs as 1) fresh, young barley ears, barley 2, month of ear-forming, of green of crop, of growing green Aviv of exodus and Passover (March or April). Strongs defines it as “From an unused root (meaning to be tender); green, that is a young ear of grain; hence the name of the month Aviv.”

The children of Yisra’el would take the first-fruits of the barley harvest which is the earliest and best of their crops on Shabbat night (start of the first day of the week) and tie them into a bundle and bring it to the high priest. The high priest would then wave the sheaf (omer) before YAHWEH to accept the future crops and then begin the 50 day count to Shavuot. They were not allowed to put the sickle to grain nor eat any of the harvest until after this ceremony was completed. This reminded the children of Yisra’el that ELOHIM gave them this land and all the harvest belongs to Him. As we see barley is the crop that matures faster than the other crops:

Exodus 9:31-32 (Amplified Bible)

“And the flax and the barley were battered and ruined [by the hail], because the barely was in the ear (RIPE, but soft) and the flax was in the bud, but the wheat and spelt (coarse wheat) were not battered and ruined, because they ripen late in the season.”

First-fruits are the best of the first produce of a harvest that has matured and ripened! The barley was ripe yet soft, which shows that it had already matured and the Septuagint agrees by saying it was “advanced” and therefore was easily destroyed by the hail. Whereas the Concordant Version of the Old Testament says about the wheat and spelt “Yet the wheat and the spelt were NOT SMITTEN, FOR THEY WERE IN BLADE.” Which means not ripened, not mature, no grain, because it was still growing.

When do we begin the counting of the omer?

 There has been much debate about when we should begin the 50-day count to Shavuot, and the biggest part of the debate is whether we should begin counting after the first day of unleavened bread (a High-Shabbat) or on Sunday after the Shabbat. It’s critical to know that the Appointed Times are separated and do not mix or overlap. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are connected, which means that first-fruits should come after the Feast of Unleavened because first fruits in connected with Shavuot. Let’s view some ancient texts to arrive at the answer.

 Leviticus 23:16 (Aramaic Peshitta)

 “Even to the morrow AFTER THE SEVENTH SHABBAT (The weekly 7th Day Shabbat) you shall count fifty days; and you shall offer a meal offering of a new wheat to YAHWEH.”

 Leviticus 23:15 (Samaritan)

“And you shall count for yourselves from the DAY NEXT TO THE SHABBAT (Sunday), from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering, there shall be seven complete Shabbats.”

Temple Scroll Column 19:11-16

 “And you shall count for yourselves from the day you bring in the new meal-offering to YAHWEH, the bread of the first-fruits. SEVEN COMPLETE WEEKS there shall be until the day you bring the sheaf of the elevation-offering, you shall count the morning AFTER THE SEVENTH SHABBAT, YOU SHALL COUNT FIFTY DAYS…”

 The Aramaic Peshitta, Samaritan Torah, and Temple Scroll one of the Dead Sea Scrolls) all clarify that first-fruits is AFTER the 7th day Shabbat which is a Sunday and no other day; and this is when we begin the 50-day count, which matches the Book of Jubilees, which will be discussed below.

 Benjamin Tsedaka a Samaritan who translated the Samaritan Torah says:

 “From the day NEXT TO THE SHABBAT”---There is a fundamental difference between the counting of the sheaf between the Israelite Samaritans and the Israelite Jews. The Israelite Samaritans interpret LITERALLY AND SIMPLY, as it is written “after the Shabbat”---as it is obvious that the terminology “Shabbat” is for the SEVENTH DAY OF THE WEEK. Therefore, the Israelite Samaritans start the counting from the FIRST SUNDAY after the Festival of Passover…”

As I’ll show in this message that according to the Zadok Priestly Calendar we are to begin counting on April 16th the Sunday AFTER The Feast of Unleavened Bread is completed to arrive at the 15th day of the THIRD MONTH which is June 4th on our Gregorian calendars. Keep the 15th day of the 3rd month in mind because the Scriptures below will show that is the day when Shavuot is to be celebrated.

 So, Passover is on the 14th day of 1st month (Aviv), feast of unleavened bread is on the 15th-21st of 1st month (Aviv). And First-Fruits is on the 26th day of the 1st month of (Aviv) AFTER the Feast of Unleavened bread is completed; then that morrow after the Shabbat is first-fruits which this year is April 16th.  First-Fruits is tied to Shavuot so it cannot overlap with The Feast of Unleavened Bread, because they are separate.

 The problem is that many calendars have first fruits falling on any day depending on what day they observed Passover. The days of the Judaism calendar shift to a different day every year, whereas, on the Zadok Priestly Calendar the days are fixed and do not move.  For example, since the first day of the Feast of Unleavened bread is a “High Shabbat” Judaism interprets the next day after the first day of unleavened bread to be “Day after the Shabbat” and that is when they begin their count.

 So, this year on the Judaism calendar Passover/Feast of Unleavened bread was on Wednesday (April 5th) which means they would begin counting of the omer on Thursday (April 6th) and 50 days later would be May 25th for Shavuot. Being that the days on the Zadok Priestly calendar are fixed and do not move, the counting of the omer always falls on a Sunday after the completion of Unleavened Bread (April 16th) and Shavuot is always celebrated on a Sunday (June 4th). So being that they are starting their count of 50 days DURING the Feast of Unleavened Bread they will be celebrating Shavuot TEN DAYS too soon (May 25th as opposed to June 4th). And there is a warning given to us concerning this matter about the days and years.

Jubilees 6:36

“For there will be those who examine the MOON DILIGENTLY (Lunar calendar) because it will corrupt the appointed times and it will advance from year to year TEN DAYS. Therefore, the years will come to them as they corrupt and make an abominable day the day of witness, and an unclean day a feast day, and they will MIX ALL THE DAYS, the set-apart with the unclean, and the unclean day with the set-apart: for they will GO WRONG as to the months and Shabbats AND FEASTS and Jubilees.”

 Scriptural Timeline:

The Israelites left Egypt on 15th day of 1st month (Wednesday) which is the first day of the feast of unleavened bread:

 Exodus 12:17

 “And you shall guard the Matzah (Feast of Unleavened Bread 15th Day of 1st Month), for on this SAME DAY I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. And you shall guard this day throughout your generations, an everlasting Law.”

 And then almost exactly TWO MONTHS later on the 12th Day of the 3rd MONTH which was a Thursday the Israelites arrived at the Wilderness of  Sinai according the Zadok Priestly calendar.

 Exodus 19:1

 “In the THIRD MONTH after the children of Yisra’el had come out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.” For they departed from Rephidim, and had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Yisra’el camped there before the mountain.”

 So basically, if we don’t start the count of First Fruits on the 26th day of 1st month to get to the 15th day of the 3rd month, then Shavuot will be celebrated too soon, even before the Israelites entered into the Wilderness of Sinai, which on our Gregorian calendars would be June 1st. As explained earlier, on the Judaism calendar that Shavuot will be celebrated on May 25th, which means they are celebrating Shavuot 7 days before they entered the wilderness of Sinai and 10 days before the actual celebration Shavuot. The Book of Jubilees confirms this:

 By the Israelites arriving on the 12th day of the 3rd month would give them time to celebrate Shavuot on the 15th day of the 3rd month, which is always on a Sunday, then YAHWEH spoke to Moses on the next day the 16th, which means that the tablets of stone were given to Moses on a Monday the second day of the week after the Shavuot celebration.

 Jubilees 1:1

 “And it happened in the first-year of the exodus of the children of Yisra’el out of Egypt, in the third month, on the SIXTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH, that YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying, “Come up to Me on the Mount, and I will give you two tablets of stone of the Torah and the command, which I have written, that you may teach them.”

 Celebration of Shavuot on the 15th day of 3rd month:

 One of the biggest problems that arises is that we have been told that there is no fixed day for Shavuot. The book of Jubilees which is listed with the Torah in the Dead Sea Scrolls Bible and followed by the righteous Zadok priests knew this book was scripture and inspired.  Jubilees solves the problem of the Shavuot date.

 Jubilees 15:1

 “And in the fifth year of the fourth week of this Jubilee, in the THIRD MONTH, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH (15th Day) Abram celebrated the Festival of the First-Fruits (Shavuot) of the grain harvest.” The Book of Enoch says there are only 30 days in a month; therefore, the middle of the month is the 15th day.

 Jubilees 16:13

 “And she bore a son in the THIRD MONTH. And in the MIDDLE OF THE MONTH (15th Day) at the time of which YAHWEH had spoken to Abraham, on the Festival of the First-Fruits (Shavuot) of the Harvest, Isaac was born.”

 So we see that Abraham celebrated Shavuot also known as First-Fruits in Jubilees because the two are connected by the 50 day counting of the omer.

 The messenger/angel goes into great detail about the two-fold meaning of The Festival of Shavuot and First-Fruits together:

 Jubilees 6:15-21

“And He gave to Noah and his sons a sign that there should not be a flood on the earth again. He placed a rainbow in the cloud for a sign of the everlasting Covenant that there should not be a flood again on the earth to destroy it all the days of the earth. For this reason it is ordained and written on the tablets of the heavens, that they should celebrate the FESTIVAL OF SHAVUOT IN THIS MONTH ONCE A YEAR to renew the Covenant every year.” Verse 19 “But Abraham observed it, and Isaac, and Jacob, and his children observed it up to your days, and in your days the children of Yisra’el forgot it until you celebrated it anew on this mountain. And you shall command the children of Yisra’el to observe this Festival in all their generations for a Command unto them; one day in the year in this month (3rd MONTH) they shall celebrate the Festival. For it is the Festival of Shavuot AND THE FEAST OF FIRST-FRUITS: This Feast is twofold and double nature: according to what is written and engraved concerning it, celebrate it.”

Again, we know that this Festival/Appointed Time is in the THIRD MONTH because the beginning of Jubilees 6 says:

Jubilees 6:1

“And on the new month of the THIRD MONTH he went out from the ark, and built an altar on the mountain.” And we have seen that Abraham celebrated Shavuot on the 15th day of the THIRD MONTH.

Jubilees 44:1-8

 “And Yisra’el took his journey from Haran from his house on the new month of the THIRD MONTH, and he went on the way of Beersheba, and he offered an offering to the ELOHIM of his father Isaac on the seventh of this month. And Jacob remembered the dream that he had seen at Beyth El, and he feared to go down to Egypt. And while he was thinking of sending word to Joseph to come to him, and that he would not go down, he remained there seven days, if it came to be he should see a vision as to whether he should remain or go down. And he celebrated the HARVEST FESTIVAL OF THE FIRST-FRUITS with old grain, for in all the land of Canaan there was not a handful of seed, for scarcity of food was over all the beasts and cattle and birds, and also over man.” And on the sixteenth (16th) YAHWEH appeared to him, and said to him, Jacob, Jacob.” YAHWEH spoke to Jacob on the 16th after he celebrated Shavuot on the 15th day of 3rd month.

 So if we count the 50 days starting on April 16th (on our Gregorian calendar) which is the 26th day of the 1st month on YAHWEH’s calendar, then we will arrive in the middle of the 3rd MONTH (15th Day) when Abraham celebrated it, Noah. So, Shavuot will be observed this year on June 4th a NO WORK day.

YESHUA the First Fruits:

What is the first-fruits connection with YESHUA? YESHUA is our first fruits, but I believe that Paul’s words have been misunderstood what he was saying about YESHUA and His connection to the first fruits. YESHUA is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep in hope of Him as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:20, meaning that the righteous who have died and are awaiting in sheol that lived for YESHUA will be resurrected just as He was.

 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

 “But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, and has become the FIRST-FRUITS of those HAVING FALLEN ASLEEP. For since death is through a man, resurrection of the dead is also through a Man. For as all die in Adam, so also all shall be made alive in Messiah.”

 2 Baruch 30:1-3

 “And after these, when the time of the advent (the coming) of the Messiah will be fulfilled and He will return in esteem, then all those who have FALLEN ALSLEEP IN HOPE OF HIM WILL RISE. At that time, those reservoirs will be opened in which the number of the souls of the righteous have been preserved, and they will come out, and the abundance of the souls will appear in one assembly, of one mind. The first will rejoice, and the last will not be saddened, for they know that the time has arrived of which it is said that it is in the consummation of times.”

This is beautiful because Paul is using Old Testament terminology in the Torah as he always does as a Torah observant Jew from the tribe of Benjamin. As mentioned above first-fruits is when the earliest and best of the crops were brought to the priest to be waved and then 50 days later would be the full harvest (Shavuot). Same applies with YESHUA, He is our first-fruits as He is the best offering being the perfect Lamb of YAHWEH who took away the iniquities of the world by becoming flesh, dying for our iniquities, and rose on the third day. In doing so YESHUA made many righteous through His blood and afterwards we became the harvest ready for reaping, now we have to walk in Torah and believe in YESHUA and found to be wheat and not the tares.

Matthew 13:24-30 (Hebrew)

“And there was another parable before them- He said, “The heavenly kingdom is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while the men were sleeping, his enemies came and sowed thistles upon it---among the wheat---and went away. And when the plants grew up and produced fruit—then the thistles WERE SEEN AMONG THE WHEAT. So the servants came and said to the master, ‘Did you yourself now sow good wheat in your field? If so, who sowed thistles upon it? And he said to them, ‘The enemy-man did this thing. So the servants said, ‘Do you want that we should go and gather it?” But he said: ‘No, that you do not root up the wheat with the thistles. Leave everything until the HARVEST. And at the time of THE HARVEST, I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather the thistles, and bind them in burdens and burn them, BUT GATHER THE WHEAT INTO MY GRANARY.”

Isaiah 53:11 (Dead Sea Scrolls)

“Out of the suffering of His soul He will see LIGHT (resurrection) and find satisfaction. And through His knowledge His servant, the righteous one, WILL MAKE MANY RIGHTEOUS, HE WILL BEAR THEIR INIQUITIES.”

 Romans 5:18-19 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“In other words, just as it was through one offense that all people came under condemnation, so also it is through one righteous act that all people come to be CONSIDERED RIGHTEOUS. For just as through the disobedience of the one man, many were made transgressors, so also through the obedience of the other man, many will BE MADE RIGHTEOUS.”

 Another good example of this:

 John 12:23-24 (Hebrew)

 “Then YESHUA answered them, “Now the time has come that the Son of Man will be exalted truth I say to you, if a grain of mustard which falls there, does not die, it remains alone, but IF IT DIES IT GIVES MUCH FRUIT.”

 1 Corinthians 15:35-36

 “But someone will ask, “In what manner are the dead raised? What sort of body do they have? Stupid! When you sow a seed, it doesn’t come alive UNLESS IT FIRST DIES.”

 YESHUA died as first-fruits and through His death He brought forth life for us by making many righteous through His blood and we can see that illustration about a seed. The seed  dying in the ground is a representation of YESHUA dying, being buried, and then being in the heart of the earth for 3 days and 3 nights. Then the seed comes alive after it died and sprouts up (the resurrection), and produces fruit, which are the righteous ones who belong to Him!

 1 Thessalonians 4:16

“Because the Master Himself shall come down from the heavens with a shout, with the voice of a chief messenger/angel, and with the trumpet of ELOHIM, and the dead IN Mashiach shall rise first. Then we, the living who are left over, shall be caught in the clouds to meet the Master in the air…”

 What are we to do on First Fruits?

 What do we offer?

Leviticus 23:13

“You shall offer that day when you wave the sheaf of a male lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering to YAHWEH. And its meal offering shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to YAHWEH for a sweet savor; and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, a fourth part of a hin.”

As for the offering, YESHUA is the Lamb of YAHWEH who takes away the sins of the world and offered Himself with His blood and not the blood of bulls and goats. It is important to see what YESHUA’s blood did for us being that we do not have to sacrifice animals for atonement today. YESHUA fulfills the animal offerings for us with His blood and is the sweet fragrance that YAHWEH mentions:

Ephesians 5:2

“And walk in love, as Mashiach (Messiah) also has loved us, and gave Himself for us, a gift and an offering to YAHWEH for a SWEET-SMELLING FRAGRANCE.”

As we read in Leviticus 23 that the Israelites were not to eat any grain of the new harvest until they brought their initial crops (first-fruits) and bring the barley sheaf to the priest so he could wave it before YAHWEH to accept the future crops and begin counting down the 50 days to the next Appointed Time which is The Festival of Shavuot aka The Festival of First Fruits aka Pentecost (50 in Greek).

 Leviticus 23:14

“And you do not eat bread or roasted grain or fresh grain until the same day that you have brought AN OFFERING to your ELOHIM.”

We know that YESHUA gave Himself up once and for all with His own blood and not the blood of bulls and goats. This is what Paul says about how we can also apply this by living holy lives and being obedient to our ELOHIM!

Romans 12:1

“I call upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion of ELOHIM, to present your bodies a LIVING OFFERING-holy, well pleasing to ELOHIM-your reasonable worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing and perfect desire of ELOHIM.”

1 Peter 2:4-5

“Drawing near to Him, a living Stone-rejected indeed by men, but chosen by YAHWEH and precious-you also, as living stones, are being built up, A SPIRTUAL HOUSE, a holy priesthood, to OFFER UP SPIRITUAL SLAUGHTER OFFERINGS acceptable to YHWH through YESHUA HA’Mashiach.”

Other than that we all we need to do is count down the 50 days to get to Shavuot which is on June 5th this year.

 As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!

VIRGIN BIRTH!!!

Testament of Joseph 19:8 (parentheses mine)

 “And I saw that a VIRGIN (Mary) was born from Judah, wearing a linen shawl, and a SPOTLESS LAMB (YESHUA) was born from her.”

This scripture is from the Testament of the 12 Patriarchs found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which means that it was written long before YESHUA walked the earth. Mary was a virgin and she gave birth to the LAMB OF YAHWEH which is YESHUA So, continuing with the topic about heresy that is being preached and believed in these last days is whether YESHUA was born of a virgin or not. It seems that the plain and literal reading and interpretation of scripture is no longer acceptable as many are adding their own agendas into the text. The scriptures are being twisted, then preached, and then accepted by the masses. I have even heard believers go as far as to say that they don’t believe that Noah could put all the animals on the ark. If anyone does not believe every word written in the scriptures then they are not true believers. A little bit a leaven will leaven the entire lump and we can see why this is true. This is not a small matter by any means, because not only are they denying the power of YAHWEH,  but they are also calling Him a liar. LET IT NOT BE!

Romans 3:4 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“Heaven forbid! ELOHIM would be true even if everyone were a liar!---as the Tanakh (Old Testament) says, “so that you, ELOHIM, may be proved right in your words and win the verdict when you are put on trial.”

So, with that said, I’ll show that as always that YAHWEH is true and all those who say otherwise are the liars! We will examine the scriptures, YESHUA’s words, Mary’s words, Gabriel’s words, the Zadok Priests, The Ascension of Isaiah and an early church fathers to let the truth shine forth.

Zadok Priests

The Covenant of Damascus pg. 20 under the section titled “Zadok Beliefs” we find this written as their third and fourth beliefs:

3. The Messiah would be BORN OF A VIRGIN.

4. The Messiah would come and die to reconcile us to ELOHIM THE FATHER.

Why is it so important to know that the Zadok priests believed in the virgin birth? It is very important because we have documentation of ANCIENT WITNESSES who knew the truth and never turned away from YAHWEH, so again I’ll quote the following as proof:

Ezekiel 44:15

“However, the PRIESTS, who are LEVITES and DESCENDANTS OF ZADOK, who took care of My sanctuary when the PEOPLE OF YISRA’EL WENT ASTRAY FROM ME----they are the ones WHO WILL APPROAH ME AND SERVE ME; IT IS THEY who will attend Me and offer Me the fat and the blood,’ says YAHWEH ELOHIM. THEY will enter My sanctuary, approach My table TO MINISTER TO ME AND PERFORM MY SERVICE.”

Whenever there was a new initiate in Qumran after a three-year initiation process, they would be required to take an oath, which is stated in “The meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls” page 249 which says:

“Every initiate into the society of the Yahad is to enter the Covenant in full view of all the volunteers. He shall take upon himself a binding oath to return to the LAW OF MOSES (according to all that He commanded) with all his heart and with all his mind, to all that has been revealed FROM IT TO THE SONS OF ZADOK----PRIESTS AND PRESERVERS OF THE COVENANT, SEEKERS OF HIS WILL…”

So the righteous Zadok Priests, the preservers of the covenant and the seekers of YAHWEH’s will understood this concept completely.

Hebrew manuscript of Matthew

 The authentic Hebrew manuscript of Matthew records the original words and teachings of YESHUA! So being that we can now accurately see what YESHUA said, let’s view one of the titles that He gave Himself that we won’t find in other manuscripts.

Matthew 13:37 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“So He (YESHUA) answered and said, “He who sows good seed is the SON OF THE VIRGIN.”

Matthew 24:30 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“Then a man will see the sign of the Son of ELOAH in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth will howl, and they will see THE SON OF THE VIRGIN coming with the clouds of the heavens with great power and image and appearance, and He will send His messengers, shouting with great voices, and they will gather the chosen ones of EL from the four portions of the world—from the heavens and unto the earth.”

 Matthew 24:37 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“And just as it was in the time of Noah, so will it be at the coming of THE SON OF THE VIRGIN.”

Matthew 26:24 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“And a man who walks with Me will betray the Son of ELOAH, as it was prophesied of Him. Woe to him! – To the man by whom the SON OF THE VIRGIN will be betrayed: It would have been a good thing for him if he had not been born.”

Matthew 26:63-64 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“But YESHUA was quiet. So the chief of the priests said to him, “I adjure You by the living EL that you tell us whether you are Mashiach (Messiah), the Son of the living EL.” Then YESHUA said unto him, “You are saying it. Truly I say to you that you will also see the SON OF THE VIRGIN sitting at the right side of EL and coming with the clouds of the heavens.”

Can it be any doubt why these Hebrew manuscripts are unknown to the world? Although it is abundantly clear in the scriptures that YESHUA was born a virgin without the Hebrew Matthew, but if the world was reading YESHUA’s originals words, there would be no room for the heresy being preached in Torah communities today.

Joseph had sex with Mary AFTER YESHUA was born!

As we clearly saw from the authentic Hebrew manuscript of Matthew that YESHUA said that He was born of a virgin several times. However, the heretical teachers say that Joseph is the literal father of YESHUA because he had sex with Mary. This is complete falsehood! Mary conceived by the RUACH HA’KODESH because it makes YAHWEH the Father of YESHUA when He became flesh, just as YESHUA is the eternal Son of YAHWEH Who always existed and uncreated before He walked the earth.

Matthew 1:18-24 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“Here is the how the birth of YESHUA the Messiah took place. When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she was found to be PREGNANT FROM THE RUACH HA’KODESH. Her husband-to-be, Joseph, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame. But while he was thinking about this, an angel of YAHWEH appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home with you as your wife; for what has been CONCEIVED IN HER IS FROM THE RUACH HA’KODESH. She will give birth to a son, and you are to Name Him YESHUA means “YAHWEH Saves”, because He will save His people from their iniquities.” All this happened in order to fulfill what YAHWEH had said through the prophet, “THE VIRGIN WILL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY WILL CALL HIM IMMANU’EL.” (The name means, “EL (God) IS WITH US.”) When Joseph awoke he did what the angel of YAHWEH had told him to do---he took Mary home to be his wife, but HE DID NOT HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH HER UNTIL SHE HAD GIVEN BIRTH TO A SON, AND HE NAMED HIM YESHUA.”

Most translations including the Hebrew says “But Joseph did not know her until she gave birth to the son” that is because the phrase “to know” was sexual in context in the scriptures. Everyone is familiar with what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah because of their homosexual practices and the same phrase is used there:

Genesis 19:4-5

“Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sedom, both old and young, all the people from every part, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, and let us ‘KNOW’ them.”

Ascension of Isaiah 11:1-6

“After this I saw, and the malach (angel) who spoke with me, who conducted me, said unto me: Understand, Isaiah son of Amoz; for this purpose have I been sent from ELOHIM. And I indeed saw a woman of the family of David the prophet, named Mary, A  VIRGIN, and she was espoused to a man named Joseph, a carpenter, and he also was of the seed and family of the righteous David of Bethlehem Judah. And he came into his lot. And when she was espoused, she was found with child, and Joseph the carpenter was desirous to put her away. But the angel of the Spirit appeared in this world, and after that Joseph did not put her away, but kept Mary and did not reveal this matter to any one. And HE DID NOT APPROACH MARY, BUT KEPT HER AS A SET-APART VIRGIN, THOUGH WITH CHILD. And he did not live with her for two months.”

Joseph kept Mary as a virgin even though she was pregnant, which means she was a virgin who conceived by the RUACH HA’KODESH, and that Joseph did not have sexual relations with her even during her pregnancy, which matches what we read in Matthew that he did not have sexual relations with Mary until AFTER YESHUA was born! And while we are at it, we can throw out the false doctrine from Catholicism that Mary remained a virgin her entire life as we see in John 7:3

“But the festival of Sukkot in Judah was near; SO HIS (YESHUA’S) BROTHERS said to Him…”

Galatians 1:18-19

“Not until three years later did I go up to Jerusalem to make Peter’s acquaintance, and I stayed with him for two weeks, but I did not see any of the other emissaries except James the MASTER’S BROTHER.”

When we read the scriptures for what it actually says, we can clearly see that it would be impossible for Joseph to be the literal father of YESHUA being that he did not have sexual relations with Mary, until AFTER YESHUA was born, which means that she was already pregnant WITHOUT him being involved in the process, and scripture does not leave us in doubt about how she became pregnant as we are told that she conceived by the RUACH HA’KODESH! Let’s now see what Mary and Gabriel have to say concerning her virgin status.

Luke 1:26-35 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by ELOHIM to a city in the Galilee called Nazareth, TO A VIRGIN engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; THE VIRGIN’S NAME WAS MARY. Approaching her, the angel said, “Shalom, favored lady! YAHWEH is with you!” She was deeply troubled by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with ELOHIM. Look! You will become pregnant, you will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him YESHUA. He will be great, He will be called Son of Ha’ ELYON (The Most High), YAHWEH, ELOHIM, will give Him the throne of His forefather David; and He will rule the House of Jacob forever---there will be no end to His Kingdom.” How can this be,” asked Mary of the angel, “SINCE I AM A VIRGIN?” The angel answered her, “The RUACH HA’KODESH will come over you, the power of Ha’ ELYON (The Most High) will cover you. Therefore the set-apart child born to you will be called the Son of ELOHIM..”

Scripture wants it to be abundantly clear to us that Mary is a virgin as the term is used three times in this one passage alone, and one of those is Mary herself asking how she can have a son being that she is a virgin? In other words, she has not had sexual contact with a man before including her engaged husband Joseph. This is the reason why Joseph wanted to divorce Mary during the betrothal stage because during the betrothal stage they did not live together. The bridegroom would go back to his father’s house to prepare a place for his soon-to-be bride, so when Joseph saw that she was pregnant he thought she was being unfaithful to him knowing that he was NOT THE ONE who had sexual relations with her.

Then Gabriel the angel tells Mary exactly how she will conceive through the RUACH HA’KODESH and not through a human being. Again, going back to Matthew’s quote, we can see that he understood the prophecy as he was quoting Isaiah.

“All this happened in order to fulfill what YAHWEH had said through the prophet, “THE VIRGIN WILL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY WILL CALL HIM IMMANU’EL.” (The name means, “EL IS WITH US.”)”

Isaiah 7:14 (Aramaic Peshitta)

“Therefore YAHWEH Himself will give you a sign; Behold,  A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE and bear a son, and shall call His name IMMANU’EL.”

The beautiful thing about Isaiah 7:14 is that it contains a dual prophecy, one for the near future and one for the distant future! Sadly, many are only seeing one layer or one prophecy out of this verse and rejecting the prophecy of the virgin birth of YESHUA! There is always a physical and spiritual meaning embedded within the scriptures, especially with a prophet like Isaiah. Many will say “The word used is not virgin (betulah) but is (Almah) which means young woman or young girl. But does it only mean young woman? Let’s view the etymology of the word virgin used here:

Brown-Drivers-Briggs H5959 “Almah” definition: VIRGIN, young woman 1a) of marriageable age 1b) maid or newly married

Strongs H5959 “Almah” definition: Feminine of H5958; a lass (as veiled or private):-damsel, maid, VIRGIN.”

So we can see that the word “Almah” carries two meanings , one is a virgin and the other is a young woman of marriageable age. So, lets view the literal meaning of the passage and then view the deeper spiritual meaning.

To fully understand the literal meaning of this prophecy we have to go back to the beginning of the chapter:

Isaiah 7:1-9

“During the days of Achaz the son of Yotam, the son of Uziyahu, king of Judah, Retzin the king of Aram and Pekach the son of Remalyah, king of Yisra’el, advanced on Jerusalem to attack it but were UNABLE TO CONQUER IT. It was told to the house of David that Aram and Ephraim had become allies. Achaz’s heart began to tremble, as did the hearts of the his people, like forest trees shaken by the wind. Then YAHWEH said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Achaz, you and your son Sh’ar Yashuv, at the end of the aqueduct from the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderers’ Field; and say to him, “Take care to STAY CALM AND UNAFRAID; don’t be demoralized by these two smoldering stumps of firewood, by the blazing anger of Retzin and Aram or the son of Remalyah; or because Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remalyah have been plotting against you, thinking, “We will invade Judah, tear it apart, divide it among ourselves and appoint the son of Tav’el as king there.” This is what YAHWEH ELOHIM says; “IT WON’T OCCUR, IT WON’T HAPPEN. For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus Retzin. In sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken and will cease to be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remalyah. Without firm faith, you will not be firmly established.” YAHWEH spoke again to Achaz, he said, ask YAHWEH your ELOHIM to give you a SIGN. Ask it anywhere, from the depths of Sheol to the heights above.” But Achaz answered, “I wont ask, I won’t test YAHWEH.”

Achaz was afraid because the kings of Aram and Ephraim were coming up to fight against him, but YAHWEH told Achaz not to be afraid because their plans would fail because He would protect them. YAHWEH told Achaz to ask for a sign, and even though Achaz refused to do so, YAHWEH told him the sign anyway. The sign was when the “Almah” the young woman gives birth to a son, which is a reference to Isaiah’s wife because she was not a virgin. We are told this in verse 3 when YAHWEH tells Isaiah to take his son with him to meet Achaz, which means this son to be born in Chapter 8 would be their second son. So the peshat, which means the literal meaning of this prophecy is that when she gives birth to their second son, it would be the sign that “EL (God) IS WITH US”, because YAHWEH would protect them from those two kings, but in the remez the hint to a deeper spiritual meaning it was a prophecy for the distant future, that a VIRGIN which is the other definition included in the etymology of the word “Almah” would give birth to a Son (YESHUA) and be called IMMANU’EL (EL WITH US)! So it’s a prophecy within a prophecy and Matthew understood this as we saw him quoting this from Isaiah. Is YESHUA EL WITH US? Yes indeed!

John 1:14 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“And so EL WAS MADE FLESH and DWELT AMONG YOU…”

Matthew 28:19-20 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“Therefore go preach to all the peoples, and immerse them in the Name of the Father and the Son and of RUACH HA’KODESH, and teach them, and keep all that I commanded you. AND I WILL BE WITH YOU IN ALL TIME, UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD.”

Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho 160 AD)

“But you (Jews) and your teachers venture to claim that in the prophecy of Isaiah it is not said, ‘Behold the virgin will conceive,’ but, ‘Behold, the young woman will conceive, and bear a son.’ Furthermore, you explain the prophecy as if (it referred) to Hezekiah, who was your king. Therefore, I will endeavor to soon discuss this point in OPPOSITON to you.”

So even Justin Martyr in 160 AD was dealing with false teachers in Judaism who claimed this prophecy refers to a young woman and not a virgin, and as demonstrated above, it was a dual prophecy and shows clearly that Mary was a virgin!

Early Church fathers

Irenaeus 185 AD

As a reminder, Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp and Polycarp was a disciple of John who walked with YESHUA! Which means we have another ancient witness who was close to the original teachings as he was not far removed from YESHUA’s day. In his book titled “Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 22) he states this:

“In accordance with this design, MARY THE VIRGIN is found obedient, saying, “Behold the handmaid of YAHWEH; be it unto me according to your word.” Luke 1:38 But Eve was disobedient; for she did not obey when as yet she was a VIRGIN. And even as she, having indeed a husband, Adam, but being nevertheless as yet a virgin (for Paradise “they were both naked, and were not ashamed,” Genesis 2:25 inasmuch as they, having been created a short time previously, had no understanding of the procreation of children; for it was necessary that they should first come to adult age, and then multiply from that time onward), having become disobedient, was made the cause of death, both to herself and to the entire human race; so also did Mary, having a man betrothed to her, and BEING NEVERTHELESS A VIRGIN, by yielding obedience, become the cause of salvation, both to herself and the whole human race. And on this account does the law term a woman betrothed to a man, the wife of him who had betrothed her, ALTHOUGH SHE WAS A YET A VIRGIN…

Irenaeus wrote in 195 AD “The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching”

“VIRGINITY DURING BIRTH; sinlessness; incorruptibility; childbirth without pain—Isaias says, “Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and He, being EL (God), is going to be with us” (Isa 7:14). And whilst, as it were, astonished at this thing, he makes known what will come about, that EL will be with us. And concerning His birth, the same prophet says in another place, “Before she who was in labor gave birth, and before the birth pains came on, she was delivered of a male child” (Isa 66.7) he indicated the unexpected AND EXTRAORDINARY BIRTH FROM THE VIRGIN.”

Irenaeus (Against Heresies 180 AD)

“Messiah YESHUA, the Son of ELOHIM, because of His surpassing love towards His creation, humbled Himself to be BORN OF THE VIRGIN. Thereby, He united man through Himself to ELOHIM.”

Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD) Paedagogus, Book I

“YESHUA whom the lightening flash of Divinity THE VIRGIN BORE.”

So in conclusion we see that the righteous Zadok Priests knew that YESHUA would be born of a virgin well before He walked the earth, YESHUA called Himself the Son of the Virgin, Isaiah the prophet said that a virgin would give birth to YESHUA, Matthew knew it and wrote it in his gospel, Mary said she was a virgin, as also did Gabriel who brought the good news to her, Irenaeus, Clement and Justin Martyr wrote about it, it was prophesied in the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Testament of Joseph and the Ascension of Isaiah . Let’s let the word of YAHWEH speak for itself without adding to or taking away from it.

Testament of Levi 16:2

“And you will make void the Torah, and SET THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS AT NOTHING BY EVIL PERVERSNESS.”

Don’t let this be you by despising the words of Isaiah the prophet, who spoke the words of YAHWEH and setting aside the prophecy of the virgin birth in order to build a wall of heresy.

As always may YAHWEH bless you all in YESHUA’s Name!

ELOHIM is 3 in 1!!!

This is another hot topic that is highly debated amongst the Torah community and one that needs to be addressed as heresy continues to increase in these last days. Many believe in the doctrine of “Unitarianism” which is the belief that ELOHIM is a single entity and not three forms as I like to call the Triune-ELOHIM aka 3 Persons operating as One United ELOHIM! This will be explained further in the message.

Many well-meaning Torah teachers and believers will say that believing in a Triune-ELOHIM is a pagan concept that was developed by the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. and then they will go on to call those who believe this doctrine as following pagan Christianity doctrine! Again, as I mentioned in the message “Zadok Priest: A Day is Evening to Evening Part 3”, is that just because a group of people who is not walking completely in the truth DOES NOT mean that everything, they believe is false or pagan, again that is throwing out the baby with the bath water and we have to simply examine the evidence. So, I will show that the early Hebrew manuscript of John, the Zadok Priests, the early church fathers, The Ascension of Isaiah, and even Buddha clearly prove that a Triune-ELOHIM is not a pagan concept but rather a scripturally based one that existed long before the Council of Nicaea. Furthermore, the Council of Nicaea did not invent this as many believe.

Patheos.com writes in an article titled “Do you know the Doctrine of the Trinity was NOT established at Nicaea, in 325 A.D.?” States:

“The main purpose of the Council of Nicaea was to resolve a debate within the Catholic Church which was threatening the peace of the Roman Empire. It was whether YESHUA is fully EL (God) or essentially subordinate to EL the Father, thus not equal to the Father in essence. It is quite clear in the writings of the church fathers of the second and third centuries, who were called “apologists,” that they subscribed to the belief that YESHUA was EL/deity yet essentially subordinate to the Father. Thus, they could call the Father “EL Almighty,” yet refrain from doing that same regarding YESHUA. I call this “big EL and little EL.” Origen even called YESHUA a “SECOND EL.”

 I have already proven from a 12-part series that YESHUA is EL (God) the Son, and again anybody who does not believe that YESHUA is EL or that He is a created being is a heretic. I will also prove that the Triune-ELOHIM concept always existed, and as the article stated the Council of Nicaea discussed whether YESHUA is EL (which He is) NOT about them inventing a “Trinity” doctrine. Many well-meaning Torah observers will shout out loud that the book of Matthew is the MOST JEWISH BESORAH (GOSPEL) yet because of biases they will automatically throw out YESHUA’s own words quoted in Matthew. This is exactly what happens when emotions get involved versus accepting the scriptures for what it says.

Matthew 28:19 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“Therefore go preach to all the peoples, and immerse them in the Name of the FATHER AND THE SON AND OF RUACH HA’KODESH (THE SET-APART SPIRIT), and teach them, and keep all that I commanded you.”

We can clearly see that YESHUA mentions 2 others that are ELOHIM that are not Himself, but yet ONE, UNITED WITH! How can this be? We see the first application of this in Genesis!

3 in 1 (Triune-ELOHIM) is a scriptural doctrine!

The first clue is given to us in the very beginning, where we see that in the beginning “ELOHIM created”! The word ELOHIM in itself is plural and means “MIGHTY ONES!” Strongs H430 defines ELOHIM as “PLURAL of H433; gods in the ordinary sense, but specifically used (in the PLURAL THUS, especially with the article) of the SUPREME GOD).”

Genesis 1:26 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“Then ELOHIM said, “Let US make humankind in OUR image, in the likeness of OURSELVES…” Verse 27 “So ELOHIM created humankind in HIS OWN IMAGE; the image of ELOHIM He created him: male and female.”

We can clearly see the plural usage of ELOHIM in verse 26 by the descriptors US, OUR and OURSELVES, then in verse 27 it says ELOHIM created humankind in “HIS OWN IMAGE” to paint the picture of ELOHIM being 3 Persons yet ONE UNITED ELOHIM!

Genesis 2:24 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“This is why a man is to leave his father and mother and stick with his wife, and THEY are to be ONE flesh.”

The etymology for the word one here is Echad and Strong’s #H259 says “A numeral from H258; PROPERLY UNITED, that is, one…”

We know that Adam and Eve did not morph into one human being! They were two separate people being husband and wife yet ONE (ECHAD) flesh through the marriage, which is the same concept YESHUA was referring to when we read His Words in the Hebrew manuscript of John.

John 8:16 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“For when I judge, my judgment is true, because I am not alone-for I AND THE FATHER who sent Me-WE ARE ECHAD.”

John 10:29-30 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“My Father who gave them to Me, is greater than everything-and no man is able to tear them from the hand of My Father. I AND The Father, WE are ECHAD.”

But then, you will hear some Torah observant followers that will point to John 17 and say “We are echad with ELOHIM, does that make us ELOHIM too?” Even though YESHUA has emphasized twice about He and His Father being One. So my response is, did YESHUA say to be immersed in the Name of The Father, The Son, The Set-Apart Spirit AND the human beings He created? Absolutely NOT because we aren’t divine, and nobody is going to immerse anybody in our name!

1 Corinthians 1:12-13

“I say this because one of you says, “I follow Paul”; another says, “I follow Apollos”’ another, “I follow Peter”; while still another says, “I follow the Messiah!” Has the Messiah been split in pieces? WAS IT PAUL WHO WAS PUT TO DEATH ON A STAKE FOR YOU? WERE YOU IMMERSED INTO THE NAME OF PAUL?”

So, we can go ahead and easily throw out that heretical argument!

John 16:13 (Hebrewgospels.com)

“But when that RUACH (Spirit) of truth will come, He will teach you all truth. For He will not speak of His own heart, only the words which He hears He will speak, and make known to you those words. He will glorify Me-FROM MY FATHER He will take, and will make known to you all the things which are My Father’s-Which are Mine—and He will make them known to you.”

Again, we can clearly see 3 Persons being mentioned, especially in the Hebrew manuscript. Some people argue that the RUACH HA’KODESH (The Set-Apart Spirit) is YAHWEH; however, the Hebrew disproves that theory. YESHUA says that the RUACH HA’KODESH will take the words from YAHWEH the Father and announce them to us, so the RUACH HA’KODESH is clearly not YAHWEH. Again, YESHUA mentions two others that are not Himself, but yet ONE (ECHAD) UNITED WITH!

All these scriptures are a perfect match with the Tanakh (Old Testament) scripture found in Isaiah where we see YESHUA speaking pre-incarnate before coming in the flesh and walking the earth.

Isaiah 48:16 (Parenthesis mine)

“Come close to Me (YESHUA), and listen to this: since the beginning I have not spoken in secret, since the time things began to be, I have been there; and now YAHWEH ELOHIM has sent ME (YESHUA) and His SPIRIT (RUACH HA’KODESH).”

Now it makes more sense when you read the Shema found in Deuteronomy and see that this concept is an ancient one:

Deuteronomy 6:4 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“Shema (Hear and obey), Yisra’el! YAHWEH ELOHEINU (YAHWEH OUR ELOHIM), YAHWEH ECHAD! YAHWEH our ELOHIM, YAHWEH IS ONE.”

So, in the Torah we find YAHWEH ECHAD seeing that YAHWEH is ONE UNITED ELOHIM which is: YAHWEH The Father, The WORD OF YAHWEH (YESHUA), and the SPIRIT OF YAHWEH (The RUACH HA’KODESH/Set-Apart Spirit). And yes, the righteous Zadok Priest believed in 3 Persons operating as ONE UNITED ELOHIM!

Zadok Priest

On page 20 of the Damascus Covenant, Ken Johnson the translator writes in the section titled “Zadok Beliefs” writes:

“The Zadok priests interpreted the Old Testament by the writings of the Patriarchs, the lineage from Adam through Aaron, Moses’s brother. There was a collection of some forty testaments from these people. Currently, less than half of these still exist, and most are fragmented. But if we couple these together with the commentaries from the scrolls, they give us a good picture of what the Essenes believed. Here are a few of their teachings.

1.      One ELOHIM exists as EL (God) THE FATHER, THE MESSIAH, AND THE SET-APART SPIRIT (THE RUACH HA’KODESH).

Ascension of Isaiah

Scholars say the Ascension of Isaiah was written between 70 AD to 175 AD, which means this is WELL before the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. Here are the words of a scholar concerning chapter 9 in the Ascension of Isaiah:

Proto-Trinitarianism

“Some scholars have noted that the Ascension reflects a proto-Trinitarian perspective,[13] such as when the inhabitants of the sixth heaven sing praises to "the primal FATHER AND HIS BELOVED CHRIST, AND THE SET-APART SPIRIT". Larry Hurtado writes;

The most extended narrative of heavenly worship is in 9.27–42, however, where a similar TRIADIC view is presented. Having reached the seventh heaven, which is bathed in incomparable light, Isaiah sees innumerable angels and "all the righteous from the time of Adam onwards" (9.6–9). Then, after his angel guide explains how the descent of the Beloved One will make it possible for the righteous to receive their robes, crowns, and thrones (9.10–26), Isaiah sees a figure "whose glory surpassed that of all being worshiped by Adam, Abel, and all the other righteous and angels (9.27–28). Crucially, at this point the angel guide directs Isaiah to "Worship this one," whom the angel identifies as "the Master of all the praise which you have seen" (9.31–32), the Beloved One; Isaiah joins in the worship and sung praise directed to this figure.”

 This is YESHUA! Back to the article:

 “Then ANOTHER glorious figure approaches, subsequently identified as "the angel of the SET-APART SPIRIT who HAS SPOKEN IN YOU and also in the other righteous" (9.36), and Isaiah is likewise told to join the angels in worshiping this one (9.35–36).”

This is The RUACH-HAKODESH! Back to the article:

 “Finally, in a carefully prepared climax to this scene, Isaiah sees "the Great Glory" (but with his spirit, for it appears that his eyes are blinded by the light of this glory, 9.37), and he relates how "my Master" and "the angel of the Spirit" both offered worship to this THIRD FIGURE, along with "all the righteous" and the angels (9.40–42).[3].”

 This would be YAHWEH the Father! The footnotes in the Ascension of Isaiah leave no doubts if that was not clear enough:

The footnote on page 65 says “27-32 Vision and worship of the SECOND PERSON OF THE ELOHIM-HEAD.” This is a reference to YESHUA the Son!

The footnote on page 66 says “33-35 Vision and worship of the THIRD PERSON OF THE ELOHIM-HEAD.” This is a reference to the RUACH HA’KODESH (The Set-Apart Spirit).

The footnote on page 68 says “37-42 Vision and worship of the FIRST PERSON OF THE ELOHIM-HEAD.” This is a reference to YAHWEH the Father!

Polycarp

Polycarp was a bishop of Smyrna, he was born in 69 AD and died in 155 AD, he was a direct disciple of John the disciple who walked with YESHUA! So here we have someone who learned from John, and John taught Polycarp what YESHUA taught him, and this again is well before the Council of Nicaea.

Martyrdom of Polycarp, 14 states

“O YAHWEH ELOHIM Almighty, the Father of thy beloved and blessed Son YESHUA HA’MASHIACH, by whom we have received the knowledge of Thee, The ELOHIM of angels and powers, and of every creature, and of the whole race of the righteous who live before thee, I give Thee thanks that Thou hast counted me worthy of this day and this hour, that I should have a part in the number of Thy martyrs, in the cup of thy Messiah, to the resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and body, through the incorruption imparted by the RUACH HA’KODESH (THE SET-APART SPIRIT). I bless Thee, I glorify Thee, along with the everlasting and heavenly YESHUA HA’MASHIACH, Thy beloved Son, with whom, to Thee, and the RUACH HA’KODESH (THE SET-APART SPIRIT), be glory both now and to all coming ages. Ahmein.”

Irenaeus

We also have another witness in Irenaeus who was a disciple of Polycarp, and as mentioned above Polycarp was a disciple of John who walked with YESHUA! We clearly saw from John’s writings in Hebrew that YESHUA is EL (God) and that John himself believed YESHUA to be EL, and that YESHUA spoke of the Triune-ELOHIM! So, being that Irenaeus was not to far removed from YESHUA’s day and was a disciple of Polycarp who learned from John himself, it would be good to see what Irenaeus would have to say as an early church father. And this was in 180 AD, which again shows this belief was accepted as doctrine well before 325 AD.

Suprisinggodblog.gci.org writes:

Irenaeus on the Trinity

 
“In about A.D. 180, Irenaeus wrote the statement below concerning the TRIUNE NATURE of ELOHIM. Here we find the basic elements of the doctrine of the Trinity. Note, in particular, the distinct role of each member of the ELOHIM-HEAD and its relationship to all of humanity.

This is the rule of our faith, the foundation of the building, and what gives support to our behavior.

EL the Father uncreated, who is uncontained, invisible, one ELOHIM, creator of the universe; this is the FIRST article of our faith.

And the SECOND is: The Word of ELOHIM, the Son of EL, our Master YESHUA HA’MASHIACH, who appeared to the prophets according to their way of prophesying and according to the dispensation of the Father. Through him all things were created. Furthermore, in the fullness of time, in order to gather all things to himself, he became a human being amongst human beings, capable of being seen and touched, to destroy death, bring life, and restore fellowship between ELOHIM and humanity.

And the THIRD article is: The Holy Spirit, through whom the prophets prophesied, and our forebears learned of ELOHIM and the righteous were led in the paths of justice, and who, in the fullness of time, was poured out in a new way on our human nature in order to renew humanity throughout the entire world in the sight of ELOHIM.”

And for the record, Irenaeus believed that YESHUA always existed and that He was NOT A CREATED BEING as many people falsely teach! This false teaching called “Arianism” which is the belief that YESHUA is not EL and is a created being is false and heresy.

“According to Crosswalk1, traditional Arianism holds that YESHUA was created by ELOHIM as the first act of creation. However, Irenaeus believed that YESHUA was NOT A CREATED BEING but rather HE WAS UNCREATED EL (GOD)2. “

 Buddha knew this!

What is truly amazing is that Buddha prophesied the coming of YESHUA and that He would die for the world, and he also knew that ELOHIM is a Triune ELOHIM which matches all the evidence above.

According to Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia in an article titled “Siddhartha Guatama Buddha prophesies Jesus” states the following:

“Near his death (483 B.C.) Buddha (The Enlightened One) told his followers, "Regardless of how many laws you have kept, or even if you pray 5 times a day, you cannot be free from your sin. Even though you burn yourself, even though I become a hermit, or am reborn another 10 times, I also shall not be saved." (Manuscript, Praising Temple, Chiengmai Thailand).

Buddha taught that he was not a "god", but only a man, a truth seeker. But on his death bed Buddha taught that there would be a FUTURE MESSIAH, Master of Mercies", who would be able to free men of their sins. Buddha said, "...He is the Master of Mercies, His name shall be called the King of Kings, the Master of masters. He is all knowing, all wise. He knows all that is in the human heart. He is Master of all the angels and of all humans. No one is greater than He." (Sutrapridot 3:107).

Buddha continued to teach of the Master of Mercies, that "...His side has a wound where he was pierced, and his forehead has many scars. He will carry you to heaven where you will find the TRIUNE ELOHIM (GOD). Thus give up following the old way. A spirit from heaven will come and dwell in your heart." (Manuscript, Praising Temple, Chiengmai, Thailand).”

Either way, from all the witnesses from scripture, the Zadok Priests, Polycarp, Irenaeus, the Ascension of Isaiah, and even Buddha we can clearly see that the Triune-ELOHIM is not a new, pagan concept, but rather an ancient, accurate, true, and scriptural one!

All praises be to our Father YAHWEH, His Son YESHUA, and the RUACH HA’KODESH! As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you all in YESHUA’s Name!

Zadok Priests: A Day is from evening-to-evening Part 3!

Over the past two years I have written messages about the topic of when does a day begin and end; however, the topic has been heating up again and I would like to present more evidence to prove that day is from evening to evening. This time I will use a book called the “The New Covenant of Damascus”. So before quoting from this book, I would like to explain who wrote it.

In the book titled “The meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls”, page 215 under the section titled “The Damascus Document” says “In 1896 Solomon Schechter of Cambridge University, working with texts from a genizah in Cairo, identified a full copy (16 columns) and a smaller one (two columns paralleling to some extent columns 7-8 in the longer one) of a work that he called Fragments of a ZADOKITE WORK.  Then in the 1950’s, fragmentary remains of the SAME WORK were found at Qumran: eight copies in Cave 4, one in Cave 5, and one in Cave 6. Some of the these copies preserve the beginning and end of the text, which are missing from the genizah versions.”

A little further down of the same paragraph states “The Damascus Document falls into two principal parts. First is a scripturally based admonition in which a teacher urges the SONS OF LIGHT to separate from the wicked, speaks of the origins of the group 390 years after Jerusalem’s destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, draws lessons from biblical history, warns about the three nets of Belial (fornication, wealth, defilement of the sanctuary), and threatens punishments for those who prove unfaithful to the new covenant. The second part is a legal section in which one finds a list of transgressors; RULES ABOUT ZADOKITE PRIESTS, skin diseases, and feminine kinds of impurity; and laws connected with crops, purity and impurity, oaths, marriages, business transactions, purification, THE SHABBAT, the Temple and Temple City, blasphemers, gentiles, and foods.”

Why is it important to know that this is a Zadokite writing?

Ezekiel 44:15

“However, the PRIESTS, who are LEVITES and DESCENDANTS OF ZADOK, who took care of My sanctuary when the PEOPLE OF YISRA’EL WENT ASTRAY FROM ME----they are the ones WHO WILL APPROACH ME AND SERVE ME; IT IS THEY who will attend Me and offer Me the fat and the blood,’ says YAHWEH ELOHIM. THEY will enter My sanctuary, approach My table TO MINISTER TO ME AND PERFORM MY SERVICE.”

As discussed in the Passover message, the Zadokite Priests are the righteous covenant keepers and the ones who served YAHWEH without turning to the left or the right, and it is the Zadokite priests who lived at Qumran; therefore, being that the priests ministered before YAHWEH and kept track of the calendar and time, so it would be important to see  how to reckoned time and when does a day end and begin.

The Damascus Covenant translated by Ken Johnson on pg. 45 under the section titled “The Weekly Shabbat” states the following:

“Guard the Shabbat according to its law. NO MAN is to do work on the SIXTH DAY from SUNSET when the DIAMETER OF THE SUN CAN STILL JUST BE SEEN ABOVE THE HORIZON. For that is what He said, Guard the Shabbat day to keep it set-apart (Exodus 20:8 Deuteronomy 5:12)

Firstly, we can clearly see that the Zadok Priests recognized sunset as the indicator to stop work as the passage says “No man is to do work on the sixth day from SUNSET” because once the sunsets it is the start of next day and notice there is no mention of sunrise at all being the indicator.  And here the emphasis is on the sixth day because when the sunsets, it would be the start of the 7th Day which is the Shabbat. But they did not stop there in case anyone would be in doubt, because we are given more detail to make sure that we understand that the Zadok priests are emphasizing sunset as the end of the day and the start of another, as we read “When the DIAMETER of the sun can still just be seen above the horizon.”

What is the definition of diameter? According to cuemath.com “In a circle, DIAMETER IS A LINE THAT PASSES THROUGH THE CENTER and meets the circumference at opposite ends. It is twice as long as that of the radius of the circle. In other words, the diameter of a circle is the line that passes THROUGH THE CENTER AND DIVIDES THE CIRCLE INTO EQUAL PARTS.”

So, the sun is a circle and when you draw a line (diameter) through the middle of the circular sun dividing it into equal parts, what do you get? You get a visual of the SUN SETTING ON THE HORIZON. The Damascus Covenant also gives us an illustration next to the passage which literally shows the sun setting on the horizon! This perfectly matches the Otiot, which is the ancient pictograph Hebrew language that existed before paleo and modern Hebrew.

The letter Quph is a picture of the SUN ON THE HORIZION and it means: TIME, condense, circle, CYCLE AS MOEDIM (Appointed Times) and light. The light means growing or diminishing and we see that the Zadok Priests made it clear that the light in this instance was “diminishing” to end the day and not “growing” for sunrise.  Our Father YAHWEH does not do anything by coincidence and has given the truth right in plain sight. And this is another reason why the Otiot is so important because the pictures cannot be changed or distorted, thus allowing it to retain the original meaning that YAHWEH was giving to His people. As we see one of the meanings of Quph is “time” which is a reference that the setting of the sun shows us what TIME the day is ending and another begins.

Let’s now view a quote from Josephus and two other translations of the Damascus Covenant to see if it is consistent with what we read above. In an article written by Bill and Karen Bishop titled “Evening or morning” from returningtothegarden.com states:

“The Works of Josephus, Complete and Unabridged by William Whiston – The Wars of the Jews, Book 4, Chapter 9, Verse 12, (582) – pp 691-692 … one of the priests stood of course, and gave a signal beforehand, with a trumpet, AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY SEVENTH DAY, IN THE EVENING TWILIGHT, as also at the EVENING WHEN THE DAY WAS FINISHED, as giving notice to the people when they were to leave off work, and when they were to go to work again. So this was what was being observed in the days of Josephus. Maybe THIS is one thing that should NOT have changed! But – was that simply Rabbinical? “

“What do the Dead Sea Scrolls say? We have quoted directly from two different translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Each translation uses a subtitle before the actual quote, so these subtitles are shown before the text of each quote:

The Dead Sea Scrolls by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg, Jr., & Edward Cook - Under the second part of the Damascus Document called the STATUTES – in fragment 10 of 4Q270 – p 68: About the Sabbath, how to keep it properly A man may not work on the sixth day from the time that the solar orb is above the horizon by its diameter, because this is what is meant by the passage, "Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy (Deut. 5:12).

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Penguin Classics – Under the second part of the Damascus Document called the STATUTES – in fragment 10 of 4Q270 – p 141: Concerning the Sabbath to observe it according to its law No man shall work on the sixth day from the moment when the sun's orb is distant by its own fulness from the gate (WHEREIN IT SINKS); for this is what He said, Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy (Deut. v, 12). The text we quoted is drawn from the ZADOKITE FRAGMENTS (or the Damascus Document). This particular segment relates to the “Sabbath code” and how they observed it. This segment of the scroll showed their orientation to Deuteronomy 5:12. Being the Zadokite Fragments, it should be obvious that those who used the ZADOKITE CALENDAR would have used this interpretation regarding Sabbath observance. The Zadokite priesthood was fastidious (very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail) about specifications and precise restrictions relative to Statutes. This specific wording was in a section of the Scrolls sometimes called the Statutes, so these fragments would have been engineered to provide an exact snapshot of the precise timing for Sabbath to begin for their community.”

Again, the Penguin Classics translation said “No man shall work on the sixth day from the moment when the sun's orb is distant by its own fulness from the gate (WHEREIN IT SINKS).” Notice that this translation says the sun is sinking meaning going down and not rising as in coming up? And then Ken Johnson’s translation said “Sunset” and not “Sunrise” and by this there would be no confusion on the issue. It’s clear the Zadokite Priest paid so much attention to detail that they literally gave us a painting of the sun setting on the horizon with their words to make sure that the Shabbat would not be profaned. As a brother in YESHUA said, “when the sunsets, the sun gets the final say in our day as it ends one day and starts another.”

Samaritans

The last witness I would like to add is the Samaritans regardless about how some people feel about them. The Samaritans reject the Oral Torah and they also reject the Talmud, yet they still recognize that a day is from evening to evening. So if Judaism was completely wrong wouldn’t they have rejected evening to evening for the morning to morning doctrine? We cannot reject truth simply because Judaism is doing it as some well-meaning Torah observant communities do. As the saying goes, they will “Throw the baby out with the bath water” and that is not how we examine evidence.

The Samaritans follow a strict observance of the Shabbat, which means that they want to make sure they do everything properly: A Rabbi named Simeon ben Gamaliel commented on the Samaritans saying “They were as Israelites in all things, and KEPT THE LAW AND THE PRECEPTS OF IT, AND EVEN MORE EXACTLY THAN THE ISRAELITES THEMSELVES DID…”

Benjamin Tsedaka the translator of the Samaritan Torah writes the following in the footnote of Exodus 31:14 saying:

“31:14 “And you are to keep the Shabbat, for it is set-apart to you.”---Till present times the Israelite Samaritans have kept the Shabbat as it is written, IN A STRICT WAY. On FRIDAY AFTERNOON preparations for the SHABBAT begins---including washing, and purifying the body, and changing the weekday clothes to Shabbat clothes. The clothing for the men includes a long-sleeved floor-length robe in different colors, thick for the winter-time and light for the spring and summer-time. When entering the synagogue heads are covered. The priests wear red turbans on weekdays and white turbans on the Shabbat. The women of the family, along with the children prepare the FRIDAY EVENING MEAL. WHEN THE SHABBAT DRAWS NEAR, the cooked food is taken off the stove and covered by a thick blanket. At the synagogue they pray passages from the Torah related to the Shabbat and sing FRIDAY EVENING prayers of various hymns…”

As we see the Samaritan women and children prepare the Shabbat meal on Friday afternoon and they take the food off the stove when the Shabbat is drawing near meaning before the sunsets, because Friday evening is the start of the 7th Day Shabbat. Also, Benjamin states that they go to the synagogue to read scriptures from the Torah on the Shabbat starting Friday evening, which clearly shows that the Samaritans also recognized that a day shifts to the next day when the sunsets.

I bring this up to show that the observance of a scriptural day being evening to evening is not some Oral Torah Rabbinical Judaism invention, but rather the Zadok priests who faithfully followed YAHWEH spelled out in detail, Josephus said it, and also the Samaritans also agree and still observe it this way today. In conclusion, we can see that this is one that Judaism as gotten right and would add a fourth witness to all the information presented.

As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you all in YESHUA’s Name!

Feast of Unleavened Bread Instructions!

The 1st day and the 7th day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are “High Shabbats”, which means they are NO WORK DAYS, so no work is to be done on April 5th and April 11th  which is equivalent to the 15th day and the 21st day of the 1st month on the Zadok Priestly Calendar.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread ties in with Passover as explained last week, which is why we start eating unleavened bread the night of April 4th (Passover) which is technically the start of April 5th (Feast of Unleavened Bread) when the sunsets. These two are only separated by the phase “In between the evenings” meaning when the light and darkness have started mixing, the period where the sun is going down but not officially dark.

Exodus 12:17

“Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. “

Exodus 34:18

“Guard the Festival of Matzah (Feast of Unleavened Bread). For seven days you eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the Appointed Time of the month of Abib, because in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.”

Just to clarify, ELOHIM says start eating unleavened bread on the evening of the 14th (April 4th, Passover) because He is stressing that the day will shift to the 15th (Feast of Unleavened Bread) when the sunsets on the 14th.

So, April 4th when the sunsets is the start of the next day (April 5th) so this is what it looks like: 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st= 7 Days! So, the Feast of Unleavened Bread will end when the sunsets on April 11th which is the 21st Day of the 1st month.

I will include a link to a resource from Eliyah.com that lists all types of leavening agents including chemical, biological, and mechanical agents we need to be aware of here: Leavening Agents - EliYah Ministries

We all have our levels of strictness of what is acceptable and what is not when it comes to the Torah, and I happen to be on the strict end of the scale. Another believer may not be as strict and it’s not my place to speak on that, I can only provide the information so everyone can make an informed decision, and most importantly taking it into prayer. However; we cannot get into the habit of trying to circumvent what His word says by trying to find gray areas in the Torah. An example of this would be taking leavening agents or baked goods and putting them in the trunk of your car, in your shed, or giving them to your neighbor to keep until the Feast of Unleavened Bread is over so that you can reclaim your food afterwards. This is NOT what YAHWEH wants to see from us at all.

 I encourage everyone to take it into prayer and see how YAHWEH leads you on the matter. Our sole desire should simply be to do what YAHWEH commands with a joyful heart. So again, the list can be strict as he lists a lot of potential leavening agents that need to be disposed of on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread (April 5th).

Instructions

Leviticus 23:6-8

“And on the FIFTEENTH day of the same month (1st month) is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to YAHWEH; for SEVEN days you must eat unleavened bread. On the FIRST DAY you shall have a SET-APART CONVOCATION; you shall DO NO MANNER OF WORK THEREON. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to YAHWEH seven days; on the SEVENTH DAY is a SET-APART CONVOCATION; you shall DO NO MANNER OF WORK THEREON.”

Leviticus 23: 6-8 (Samaritan)

“And on the fifteenth day of this month there is the Festival of Unleavened Bread to YAHWEH, for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the FIRST DAY you shall have a SET-APART READING. You shall not do any laborious work. And for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to YAHWEH. And on the SEVENTH DAY shall be a SET-APART READING. You shall not do any laborious work.”

Temple Scroll Column 17:10-16

“And on the fifteenth day of this month there shall be a SET-APART CONVOCATION. YOU SHALL NOT DO ANY LABORIOUS WORK ON IT; it is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, SEVEN DAYS FOR YAHWEH. And you shall present every single day for the seven days a burnt-offering to YAHWEH: two bulls, a ram, and seven yearling lambs, unblemished, and one billy-goat for a purification offering, and their meal offering and their liquid-offering according to the precept for the bulls and for the rams and for the lambs and for the goats. AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY there shall be a council for YAHWEH; YOU SHALL NOT DO ANY LABORIOUS WORK ON IT.”

Exodus 12:14-20

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to YAHWEH---a LASTING LAW. For seven days you are to eat bread made without leaven. On the first day remove the leaven from your houses (April 5th), for whoever eats anything with leaven in it from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel. On the FIRST day (APRIL 5TH) hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the SEVENTH DAY (APRIL 11TH.) DO NOT WORK AT ALL ON THESE DAYS, except to prepare food for everyone to eat---that is all you may do.”

ELOHIM commands us not to do any work on the 1st and 7th days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the only work we are allowed to do is cook food! We are also supposed to meet with the assembly (set-apart convocation) and have a set-apart reading. This means that we are to gather with brothers and sisters and then read scriptures that pertain to the Feast of Unleavened.

The offering made by fire was already accomplished in what YESHUA did for us all on the execution stake:

Ephesians 5:2 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“And live a life of love, just as also the Messiah loved us, indeed, on our behalf gave Himself up as an offering, AS A SLAUGHTERED SACRFICE TO ELOHIM WITH A PLEASING FRAGRANCE.”

Hebrews 9:12-14 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“He entered the most set-apart place ONCE AND FOR ALL. And He entered not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of HIS OWN BLOOD, THUS SETTING PEOPLE FREE FOREVER.” For if sprinkling ceremonially unclean persons with the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer restores their outward purity; then how much more the blood of the Messiah, Who, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself to ELOHIM AS A SACRFICE WITHOUT BLEMISH, will purify our conscience from works that lead to death, so that we can serve the living ELOHIM!”

 Remove leaven from your homes!

YAHWEH also commands us to remove ALL leaven from our homes on the 1st Day of the Feast (April 5th).

Exodus 12:17-20

“Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. Seven days there shall be NO LEAVEN FOUND IN YOUR HOUSES; for whoever eats that which is LEAVENED, that person shall perish from the congregation of Yisra’el, whether he is a PROSYLETE or NATIVE OF THE LAND.” You shall eat nothing leavened in all your habitations you SHALL EAT UNLEAVENED BREAD.”

What is leaven?

Leaven or (Se’or in Hebrew) are leavening agents that cause dough to rise, Strongs #H7603 says Se’or pronounced “Seh-ore” is “barm or yeast cake (as SWELLING BY FERMENTATION):-leaven.”

Barm defined by Oxford Languages: Archaic*Dialect yeast or leaven.

Se’or in Hebrew is spelled Shin, Aleph, Resh

Shin is a picture of two front teeth and means DESTROY, EAT, devour, sharp, press

Aleph is a picture of an Ox head and means FATHER, headship, Strong, Power, Leader

Resh is a picture of a man’s head and means CHIEF, HIGHEST, leader, first, top, beginning

Combining Shin, Aleph, and Resh to spell Se’or we get two messages:

Peshat (literal meaning): Remove and do NOT EAT leaven as commanded by our FATHER THE HIGHEST CHIEF!

And leaven represents iniquity that we are supposed to rid our lives of, so another message contained in the Otiot is:

Remez (Hint to a deeper spiritual meaning): DESTROY leaven (iniquity) from your lives as commanded by our FATHER THE HIGHEST CHIEF!

1 Corinthians 5:6-8:

“Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old leaven that you may be a new batch without leaven—

Once you allow a little iniquity to enter your life it will grow, spread, and rise like yeast or leavening agents, because the iniquity/yeast will spread through the entire batch of dough/body, the same way the leaven of the Pharisees which is their false doctrines will do. I have heard it said and know it to be true, is that iniquity is contagious.

Types of leaven:

The natural form of leaven in bread is Sourdough bread. This is what the scriptures were originally referring to, when it says that they did not have time for the dough to rise.

Exodus 12:34

“And the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their garments on their shoulders.”

Sourdough bread is defined as: “Sourdough is an OLD FORM of bread LEAVENING. It relies on a mix of wild yeast (from the air) and lactic acid bacteria that are naturally present in flour, RATHER than baker's yeast, to leaven the dough. It is fermented bread that begins to leaven the longer it sits.”  This matches what the Strong’s concordance said which was listed above:

Strongs H7603 says Se’or pronounced “Seh-ore” is “barm or yeast cake (as SWELLING BY FERMENTATION):-leaven.”

An article titled “What is Sourdough? The bread that rises without yeast” written by Alice Zou says “Sourdough is the OLDEST FORM of leavened bread, dating back to Ancient Egypt. BEFORE the use of commercial yeast, ALL BREAD was either unleavened or sourdough. It is thought that sourdough bread was first made on accident when unleavened bread dough was left sitting out, and wild yeast began to grow in the dough. In modern times, sourdough is still popular, and many artisan bakeries still make sourdough bread.”

Then there are the chemical/commercial leavening agents the world is accustomed to today such as: (Yeast, baking powder, baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, horn salt etc.) Again, you can refer to the extensive list that is attached above concerning other modern leavening agents.

When leavening agents (Se’or) are combined with flour it becomes Chametz (Ha-mets) which is baked bread that has risen due to the leavening agents. We are to dispose of any Chametz that you have made yourself including sourdough or any store-bought baked breads, cakes, cake mixes containing leavening agents, also beware of matzah ball soup mixes because they contain sodium bicarbonate which is a leavening agent that we should not be eating during this feast. So, do not trust every kosher label you see, make sure to read the ingredients. To make unleavened bread all you will need is flour, water, and oil, roll it out and bake it.

Also, all of the leavening agents must be thrown away on the FIRST DAY (April 5th) and to be found NOWHERE in your homes:

Exodus 13:7-9:

“Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; and WHATEVER IS LEAVENED IS NOT TO BE SEEN WITH YOU, AND LEAVEN IS NOT TO BE SEEN WITH YOU WITHIN ALL YOUR BORDER. On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what YAHWEH did for me when I came out of Egypt.” And it shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, that the Torah of YAHWEH is to be in your mouth, for with a strong hand YAHWEH has brought you out of Egypt.”

An illustration of what this looks like: We are supposed to stay up all night on Passover as I explained in the Passover message and no one is supposed to leave their house until morning, so when the sun comes up I will put everything in the trashcan and take it to the street which is not on my property/borders. Also, when I used to live in an apartment they had a large dumpster for the entire community to use and everything could be disposed of in there.

Wine is popular to drink on Passover, though I personally opt for grape juice as the fruit of the vine, because most wine contains ADDED yeast or a leavening agents during the fermentation process, which would break the command of no leavening agent. Most companies do say that the yeast is removed during the filtration process, so it is up to the individual to decide how to proceed. I’m just providing information from my strict observance of the command. As always please seek our ELOHIM and see how He leads you on it.

 Jubilees 1:26

“And you shall write down for yourself all these Words which I declare unto you on this mountain, the first and the last, which shall come to be in all the divisions of the days in the Law and in the Witness and in the Shabbats and the Jubilees FOREVER, UNTIL I DESCEND AND DWELL WITH THEM FOREVER.”

As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!

Passover PROPHECY and Instructions 2023! For CHRISTIANS TOO!

Pesach (Passover) is on April 4th and the Feast of Unleavened Bread is April 5th using the Zadok Priestly calendar, so the days are going to be different than most of the standard calendars that you will see. I have been asked why I use this calendar and that is a good question. I have done a message titled “Solar or Lunar calendar”, if you have not seen it, I recommend watching it for more information because it is an eye-opener, as it goes against everything we have been taught by Rabbinical Judaism. https://youtu.be/LmXIl-vz4HE

 I truly believe that this calendar which was preserved by the Zadok Priests who lived at Qumran, the keepers of the covenant, is the calendar that ELOHIM has revealed to us in these last days as He is waking up His children to return to the ancient path, and I personally don’t believe that the huge discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 was coincidental, because it shows us how they walked with YAHWEH and what they considered to be scripture over 2,000 years ago. When it comes to the calendar it is critical to understand that the “Priests” the Levites were the ones who ministered before YAHWEH in the Temple and NOT the Jews. So before getting deeper into this message, I would like to provide scripture and information as to why I believe that we should be using a calendar preserved by the righteous priests.

Testament of Judah 21:1-5

“And now, my children, I (Judah) command you, love LEVI, that you may stay, and do not exalt yourselves against him, lest you be utterly destroyed. For YAHWEH gave the kingdom to me, AND THE PRIESTHOOD TO HIM, and HE SET THE KINGDOM BENEATH THE PRIESTHOOD. He gave the things upon the earth to me; and THE THINGS IN THE HEAVENS TO HIM. AS THE HEAVEN IS HIGHER THAN THE EARTH, SO IS THE PRIESTHOOD OF ELOHIM HIGHER THAN THE EARLTHLY KINGDOM…”

 Being that the Priests were serving in the temple means that they were the ones who kept track of the calendar and time, which again points back to the Zadok Priests. Let’s view some more scriptures:

1 Samuel 2:34-36

“Your sign that this will occur will be what happens to your sons Hophni and Phineas they will both die on the same day. I will raise up for Myself A FAITHFUL PRIEST WHO WILL DO WHAT I WANT AND WHAT I INTEND. I will make his family FAITHFUL, and HE WILL SERVE IN THE PRESENCE of My Anointed one forever.”

This was the prophecy spoken over the priest Eli by a man of ELOHIM, because he failed to rebuke his sons for all the wickedness they were doing while serving as priests. And YAHWEH says that He would raise up a faithful priest that would do everything He commands. I believe that this was a prophecy concerning Zadok by connecting it with Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 44:15

“However, the PRIESTS, who are LEVITES and DESCENDANTS OF ZADOK, who took care of My sanctuary when the PEOPLE OF YISRA’EL WENT ASTRAY FROM ME----they are the ones WHO WILL APPROAH ME AND SERVE ME; IT IS THEY who will attend Me and offer Me the fat and the blood,’ says YAHWEH ELOHIM. THEY will enter My sanctuary, approach My table TO MINISTER TO ME AND PERFORM MY SERVICE.”

Whenever there was a new initiate in Qumran after a three-year initiation process, they would be required to take an oath, which is stated in “The meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls” page 249 which says:

“Every initiate into the society of the Yahad is to enter the Covenant in full view of all the volunteers. He shall take upon himself a binding oath to return to the LAW OF MOSES (according to all that He commanded) with all his heart and with all his mind, to all that has been revealed FROM IT TO THE SONS OF ZADOK----PRIESTS AND PRESERVERS OF THE COVENANT, SEEKERS OF HIS WILL…”

Numbers 3:5-12

“YAHWEH said to Moses, “Summon the TRIBE OF LEVI, and assign them to Aaron the PRIEST, so that they can help him. They are to carry out his duties and the duties of the whole community before the tent of meeting in performing the service of the tabernacle. They are to be in charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and to carry out all the duties of the people of Yisra’el connected with the service of the tabernacle. Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; their one responsibility in regard to the people of Yisrael is to serve him. You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the DUTIES OF PRIESTS; anyone else who involves HIMSELF IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.” YAHWEH said to Moses, “I have taken the LEVITES from among the people of Yisra’el IN lieu (instead of) every firstborn male that is first from the womb among the people of Yisra’el; the LEVITES ARE MINE.”

With that important information covered we can move on to the message concerning Passover. For anyone who is new to the website or YouTube page, I’ll discuss, The prophecy concerning Passover, should Christians observe it, and show that Paul observed Passover. Also, we will discuss, instructions for Passover, and should we eat lamb? Should we stay up all night? And parallels with YESHUA and Passover. It will be a lengthy message due to the amount of important information to cover, but most of the questions that arise will be contained within this message and prayerfully be answered, I pray that you listen or read this entire message. I will cover the details for Passover and next week YAHWEH willing, I will cover the instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Prophetic importance

Should Christians celebrate Passover? Yes!  Let’s look at the prophecy of Passover and the Marriage Supper of The Lamb to see the beautiful picture that all believers should want to be a part of. I spoke about my view on this in the message titled “The Marriage Supper of the Lamb”, prayerfully after seeing this connection you will be inspired to partake in it this year:

Wedding feasts in ancient Yisra’el usually lasted for seven days:

Tobit 11:19 (Apocrypha)

“And the WEDDING of Toviyah was kept SEVEN DAYS WITH GREAT JOY.”

Judges 14:1-17 (Septuagint)

Verse 1-2 “And Samson went down to Timnath and saw a woman in Timnath from the daughters of the Philistines. And he went up and told his father and his mother and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath from the daughters of the Philistines; and now take her for me AS A WIFE. Verse 10 “And his father went down to the woman and Samson made a banquet for SEVEN DAYS THERE, FOR SO THE YOUNG MEN ARE USED TO DO.” Verse 17 “And she (Samson’s wife) wept before him the SEVEN DAYS DURING WHICH THEIR BANQUET LASTED…”

Jubilees 28:8-9

“And Laban said to Jacob, “Let the SEVEN DAYS OF THE BANQUET of this one pass, and I will give you Rachel, that you may serve me another seven years, that you may pasture my sheep as you did in the former week.” And on the day when the SEVEN DAYS OF THE BANQUET of Leah had passed, Laban gave Rachel to Jacob, that he might serve him another seven years, and he gave Bilhah, the sister of Zilpah, to Rachel as a handmaid.”

I believe the seven-day theme is a representation of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and its connection with Passover.

Revelation 19:9 (Hebrew)

“Then he said to me, “Blessed are those whom He calls to EAT THE FEAST WITH THE LAMB.”

The footnote for “The Feast” in the Hebrew says literally the “EVENING MEAL”.  And as we know according to scripture, we eat Passover on the EVENING of the 14th Day of the 1st month which is the start of the 15th Day of the 1st month, connecting it with The Feast of Unleavened Bread for a total of SEVEN DAYS . This would match the words of YESHUA when He said:

Matthew 26:27-29 (Hebrew)

“And afterwards He TOOK THE CUP and did a prayer of thanksgiving, and gave it to them, and said, “DRINK THIS-all of you, for this is the blood of the new, which will be shed to atone for your iniquities. And I say to you faithfully that from now and onward, I WILL NOT DRINK OF THIS SMOOTHNESS OF THE VINE UNTIL THAT DAY THAT I WILL DRINK IT WITH YOU ANEW IN THE KINGDOM OF MY FATHER.”

Here YESHUA is using Wedding language that His disciples would have understood according to the ancient Galilean weddings: During the betrothal ceremony in Galilee the bridegroom would pour a cup of wine called the “CUP OF JOY” and give it to the bride to drink. At this point she can either accept the covenant/proposal by drinking the wine or reject the covenant by not drinking the wine. After she drinks the cup of joy (the wine) then the bridegroom publicly says, “You are consecrated to me according to the Law of Moses and I WILL NOT DRINK THIS CUP UNTIL I DRINK IT NEW WITH YOU IN MY FATHERS HOUSE.”

See the connection? Everyone during that time knew that this was a reference to the wedding feast and the consummation of the marriage, and that is why YESHUA says the exact same thing, and this was during Pesach (Passover) when He said these words connecting it to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and matches the end time prophecy in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 38:8 (Septuagint)

“See, I bring them from the north and will gather them from the end of the earth to THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER: and the people shall beget a great multitude and they shall return here.”

So, YESHUA will not drink the fruit of the vine until He sees us in His Father’s Kingdom, and I believe that feast is Passover, THE EVENING MEAL, The Marriage Supper of the Lamb as we saw in The Hebrew Revelation 19:9, Jeremiah 38:8 and all the scriptures mentioned above. Ancient Hebrew wedding feasts lasted for 7 Days just like Passover which is connected to The Feast of Unleavened Bread also lasts for 7 Days. Don’t you want to take part in the marriage supper of the Lamb? And enjoy the Passover meal with YESHUA? I know that I do! And if you are reading this, I know that you do too, and what better way than to start putting that into practice by celebrating it this year. In other words, the feast that Christians say is done away with, will be the very feast that YESHUA will eat with His bride (Israel). This is important and one you don’t want to take lightly.

Choose Passover/Pesach (Pronounced PAY-SOCK)!

Mathew 26:2 says:

“As you know, the PASSOVER is two days away and the Son of Man (YESHUA) will be handed over to be crucified.”

John 6:55-58

“For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My blood stays in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me shall live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of the heavens, not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread shall live forever.”

So we know YESHUA is not talking about us becoming a cannibal and eating his literal flesh and drinking His blood which is forbidden in the Torah., the bread is the unleavened bread which represents His blameless body that was broken for us, and the blood is the wine or grape juice, and I will show later in this message that YESHUA ate the flesh of the lamb.

What is Passover? Passover is when YAHWEH brought the final plague upon the Egyptians because Pharaoh would not let His people go. YAHWEH commanded the Israelites to take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the basin with the perfect blood of lamb and strike the lentil and the two doorposts of the house so that YAHWEH would “Pass Over” and protect their homes and execute judgment on the Egyptians.

Exodus 12:5

“Let the LAMB be a perfect one, a year-old male.” Verse 12 “And I shall pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and shall smite the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And on all the mighty ones of Egypt I shall execute judgment. I am YAHWEH. And the BLOOD shall be a SIGN for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the BLOOD, I shall PASS OVER you, and let the plague not come on you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt.”

Hebrews 11:28

“By belief, they kept the PASSOVER and the sprinkling of blood that he who destroyed the first-born might not approach them.”

This event was a foreshadowing of the true perfect sacrificial lamb in YESHUA, whose perfect blood was poured out for us. The same way the perfect blood of the lamb saved Yisra’el when YAHWEH PASSED OVER and protected them, is the same way when we have the perfect blood of Lamb YESHUA in our lives that iniquity and death PASS OVER us!

John 1:29

“On the next day John saw YESHUA coming toward him, and said, “See, the LAMB of YAHWEH who takes away the iniquity of the world!”

John 1:29 (Hebrew)

“Behold this is EL (God), who takes away the iniquities from the world.”

YESHUA is EL and the Lamb Who became flesh to die for His creation, there is no greater act of love than this!

Revelation 12:11

“And they overcame him because of the Blood of the LAMB because of the Word of their witness, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

Revelation 13:8

“And all those dwelling on the earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the slain LAMB, from the foundation of the world shall worship Him.”

Also, our freedom from slavery:

Exodus 13:14-16

“And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, what is this? You shall say to him, by a strong hand YAHWEH brought us out from Egypt from the house of bondage; and it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn, and would not let us go, YAHWEH slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of man to the first-born of animals; that is why I sacrifice to YAHWEH all that open the womb, being males; but all the first-born of my sons I redeem. And it shall be as a token on your hand and as a memory between your eyes; for by a strong hand YAHWEH brought you out of Egypt.”

Exodus 10:1-2

“And YAHWEH said to Moses, “Go into Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may perform these signs among them, that you relate in the hearing of your son and your son’s son what I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them. And you shall know that I am YAHWEH.”

YAHWEH wants us to remember this day that He brought us up out of Egypt, and to tell the children so that they tell their children’s children the power of YAHWEH, and in doing so they will never forget the mighty acts and the love of our ELOHIM.

Does this apply to all believers? Yes!

Colossians 2:16-17 (Aramaic)

“Let no PAGAN therefore judge you in eating and or in drinking, or in respect of a Festival or a NEW MONTH OR SHABBAT-which are a shadow of what is to come...” 

In NO WAY is Paul saying to not observe the Shabbat or the Set-Apart Feast Days, what he is saying is let no pagan (non-believer) judge you for knowing the truth of YAHWEH’s commands of scripture, and that YAHWEH expects us to observe these days because they are a prophetic shadow of FUTURE EVENTS, which I showed in the introduction about the connection with Passover and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. We are to be observing these days NOW because they are APPOINTMENTS and a rehearsal on earth for what will be done in the Kingdom when YESHUA returns; therefore, if you never observed any of His Set-Apart Days, then how will you be ready to observe them in the kingdom to come? Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you for knowing the TRUTH! The prophecy in Zechariah 14 is a great example of this because during the 1,000-year reign of YESHUA ALL nations must come to celebrate The Feast of Tabernacles which is one of the 7 Set-Apart Days found in (Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16) or have no rain, even the Egyptian who is not a native-born Israelite has to celebrate the Feast. This is a perfect example to prove that the Set-Apart Days are a SHADOW of what is to come, which means that same concept applies to Passover! More proof that Passover and all set-apart feasts day are for ALL followers of YESHUA:

Exodus 12:43-49 (Samaritan)

“And YAHWEH said to Moses and to Aaron, this is the ordinance of the PASSOVER, no son of a stranger is to eat of it. And every man’s slave purchased with his money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it. A sojourner or a hired slave shall not eat of it. It is to be eaten in a single house. You all are not to bring forth any of the flesh to the outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it. All the congregation of Yisra’el are to keep it. And if a PROSELYTE sojourns with you all, and KEEPS THE PASSOVER to YAHWEH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to keep it. AND HE SHALL BE LIKE A CITIZEN OF THE LAND. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. The SAME LAW SHALL APPLY TO THE CITIZEN AS TO THE PROSELYTE who sojourns among you.”

What is the definition of a proselyte? According to Oxford Languages “A person who has CONVERTED from one opinion, RELIGION, or party to another.” In other words, they converted from their gentile ways to walking in truth being in covenant with YAHWEH the ONE TRUE ELOHIM, and you no longer called gentiles, but rather fellow CITIZENS OF YISRA’EL, which shows that gentiles have been grafted in from the beginning.

Numbers 9:14 (Samaritan and Aramaic Peshitta)

“And when a PROSEYLTE (a gentile convert) sojourns among you, then he SHALL PERFORM THE PASSOVER of YAHWEH. He shall do so according to the Law of the Passover and according to its statues. You have ONE TORAH, both for the proselyte (gentile convert) and the native/citizen of the land.”

So, we see that YAHWEH says twice that the native-born and the gentile must perform Passover because it is one Torah Law for native-born and the gentile grafted in.

Numbers 15:15-16 (Samaritan)

“ASSEMBLE, there shall be ONE STATUTE for you and for the PROSELYTE who sojourns with you, a PERPETUAL STATUTE throughout your generations. As YOU ARE (NATIVE-BORN), so shall the PROSELYTE BE before YAHWEH. There is to be ONE LAW AND ONE ORDIANCE for you and for the PROSELYTE who sojourns with you.”

What about Paul?

As I demonstrated from Paul’s own words concerning Colossians 2:16-17 to not let any pagan judge you for knowing and celebrating the truth of the feasts because they are prophetic shadows of what is to come. This would mean that Paul would be celebrating them as well or else he would be a hypocrite.

1 Corinthians 11:1

“Imitate me, JUST AS I IMITATE MESSIAH.”

1 John 2:6

“A person who claims to be continuing in union with Him (YESHUA) OUGHT TO CONDUCT HIS LIFE THE WAY HE DID.”

So, to all Christians who say that Paul did away with the law, are you imitating Paul as he imitated YESHUA? YESHUA kept the Torah and so did Paul!

Luke 22:14-15

“When the time came, YESHUA and the disciples reclined at the table, and He said to them, “I have really wanted so much to CELEBRATE THIS PASSOVER with you before I die.”

1 Corinthians 5:7-8

“Therefore cleanse out the old leaven, so that you are a new lump, as you are unleavened. For also MESSIAH our PASSOVER was offered for US. So then LET US OBSERVE THE FESTIVAL (PASSOVER) not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of evil and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Acts 20:5-7

“These men went on and waited for us in Troas, while we sailed from Philippi AFTER THE DAYS OF MATZAH (The Feast of Unleavened Bread)…”

Mark 14:1 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“It was now two days before PASSOVER (that is, THE FESTIVAL OF MATZAH/THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD…”

Where do we find the Feast of Unleavened Bread written in the Bible?

Leviticus 23:6

“On the fifteenth day of the same month is the FESTIVAL OF MATZAH (THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD); for seven days you are to eat matzah.”

Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are directly connected and are only separated by the bordering of the evening. In other words Passover is on the 14th Day of the 1st month at “twilight” or “in between the evenings” which is when the sun is going down but not completely dark, and when the sunsets it’s the start of the 15th Day of the 1st month which is the Feast of Unleavened when the Passover meal is eaten. And we see that Paul and those who were with him did not sail until after the feast was over.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

“For I received from the Master that which I also delivered to you: that the Master YESHUA in the night in which He was delivered up took bread, and having given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat, this is My body which is broken for you; DO THIS IN REMEMBERANCE OF ME.” In the same way also the cup, after supper; saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in My blood. As often as you drink it, DO THIS IN REMEMBERANCE OF ME.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup (Passover), you PROCLAIM THE DEATH OF THE MASTER UNTIL HE COMES.”

So, we see the importance of the blood of YESHUA saving us from iniquity and death and the bread representing His body that was broken for us and blood of the New Covenant! Then Paul adds that we are proclaiming the death of YESHUA until He returns! So, if you are not doing this in REMEMBERANCE of YESHUA then He will be looking from heaven to see if you are REMEMBERING TO KEEP PASSOVER! I know Christianity has their own “tradition of men” called communion to remember what YESHUA did, but we must understand that YAHWEH commands us to do it on a certain day once a year, which is why He gave us Set-Apart Days in Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 called “Appointed Times” and “Shabbats”. They are Appointments that YAHWEH and YESHUA want to meet with Their people.

Think of it this way: If a holistic natural medicine doctor says “come back and see me in two weeks and make the appointment with the receptionist” that means you have an appointment to meet him on a certain day. If you decide to show up a month later, then that means you have missed the appointment and cannot receive treatment. The same thing applies in the spiritual realm and the Covenant we are supposed to be walking in with ELOHIM to receive spiritual blessings and walk in complete obedience!

When is Passover this year?

Passover this year is on April 4th when the sun is about to completely go down (twilight/between the evenings), but before it completely sets, but the meal is not eaten until the sun completely sets. This is why YAHWEH said slaughter the lamb “in between the evenings” which is still technically the 14th day of 1st month, so when the sun sets it is the start of the 15th.

 The meal is eaten at night in haste because the Israelites fled Egypt in haste. So, while the sun is setting you can begin to read from scripture to remember what happened with the Exodus out of Egypt. Another good way to do this is by using a ‘Avodah’ meaning service in Hebrew, which is an interactive reading of the Exodus where the entire family can get involved as reader #1, reader #2 etc., just make sure that it is scripturally based and not the seder one of Judaism.

Exodus 12:8

“And they shall eat the flesh on that NIGHT, roasted in fire-WITH unleavened bread and with bitter herbs and they shall eat it.”

Jubilees 49:1

“Remember the command which YAHWEH commanded you concerning Passover, that you should celebrate it at its appointed time, on the fourteenth day of the first month; that you should slaughter it BEFORE it is evening, so that they may EAT IT BY NIGHT ON THE EVENING OF THE FIFTEENTH from the time of the SETTING OF THE SUN.”

Deuteronomy 16:6

“There you slaughter the Pesach in the evening, at the going down of the sun (twilight in between the evenings), at the Appointed Time you came out of Egypt.”

Should we eat lamb?

This is the part of the year where a lot of disagreements arise about whether we should eat the lamb or not, so I want to take the time to express my current view and what I have been led to do, and that is to eat the lamb, if you do not agree, I ask that you please take it into prayer.

The biggest evidence that jumped out to me from research, is that it appears the custom to NOT eat lamb was forbidden by men! According to Jewish Law which sounds like more Judaism rules to me:

The eating of a whole roasted lamb on Passover is forbidden by the code of Jewish law Or Jewish legal code called the Shulchan Aruch, which was first printed in Venice in 1565, which is well after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, so if we do the math, this means that they continued to eat lamb for 1,495 years until men put an end to it. This information can be found by a basic search going to chicagojewishnews.com or templedehirschsinai.org and states this:

“With our Passover narrative so focused on the sacrifice of a lamb, it seems strange that the only kosher meat we are forbidden to eat on Passover is… lamb! The SHULCHAN ARUCH, a JEWISH LEGAL CODE dating to the 1500s, FORBIDS the consumption of lamb on Passover. As a more popular Jewish resource, the New York Times, reported in 1988: “The ancient custom of sacrificing lambs on the eve of Passover and eating the meat to begin the festival ended with the destruction of the Second Temple in A.D. 70. As a mark of respect for the memory of the temple sacrifices, the eating of a whole roasted lamb on Passover is forbidden by the code of Jewish law called Shulchan Aruch.”

This is huge in my opinion because we are supposed to be steering away from the traditions of men not towards it. YESHUA rebuked the Pharisees constantly for their Oral Torah aka the Traditions of the elders when He walked the earth.  During the Exodus out of Egypt, the Passover lamb was slaughtered by each household and being that they were leaving in exile now and  there was no Temple as it is written in Exodus 12:21-24.

Joshua and the Israelites ate the Passover before the Temple was built just after they crossed the Jordan river.

Joshua 5:10-11

“And the children of Yisra’el camped in Gilgal, and performed the Pesach/Passover on the 14th day of the month at evening on the desert plains of Jericho. And they ate the stored grain of the land on the morrow after the Pesach/Passover, unleavened bread and roasted grain on this same day.”

So, the biggest argument is that there is no Temple; however:

John 4:19-21 (Hebrew)

“Then the woman said to Him, “Master, I realize that you are a Prophet. Our fathers prayed to YAHWEH in this mountain (Mount Gerizim), but You say that the place where everyone has to pray to EL (God) is in Jerusalem. So YESHUA said to the woman, “Believe Me that a time will yet come, that you will not worship the Father on this mountain, NOR IN JERUSALEM. You pray to whom you do not know; but we pray to whom we know-for shalom (peace) is about to come for the Jews. But a time WILL COME, and is now, that the true worshippers will worship The Father in Spirit and truth, for the Father asks them that they WORSHIP ACCORDING TO THESE. EL is Spirit, and those who pray to him---it is required that they pray to Him in SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.”

What is The Spirit? That would be the RUACH HA’KODESH The Set-Apart Spirit.

John 16:13 (Hebrew)

“But when the SPIRIT OF TRUTH will come, He will teach you ALL TRUTH. For He will not speak of His own heart, only the words which He hears He will speak, and make known to you those words. He will esteem Me—From My Father He will take, and will make known to you all the things which are My Father’s—which are mine—and He will make them known to you.”

The RUACH HA’KODESH (The Set-Apart Spirit) will lead us into ALL TRUTH and what is the truth?

Psalms 119:142

“Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness and Your TORAH IS TRUTH.”

So, YESHUA says we must worship YAHWEH in Spirit and Truth, which means we are to be filled and led by The Set-Apart Spirit as He will lead us into obeying the Torah/Law. YESHUA knew that the Temple would be destroyed in 70 A.D. as He prophesied in Matthew 24:1-2 and that when He ascended into heaven that He would give us the RUACH HA’KODESH (The Set-Apart Spirit); therefore, the presence of ELOHIM dwells in us and we worship Him the best we can wherever we are as we are scattered to the four corners. Which is why Paul says we are the TEMPLE OF ELOHIM!

1 Corinthians 3:16

“Do you not know that YOU are the TEMPLE OF ELOHIM and that the SPIRIT of ELOHIM dwells in you?”

John 2:19-21

“YESHUA answered them, “Destroy THIS TEMPLE, and in three days I will raise it up again.” The Judeans said, “It took 46 years to build this Temple, and you’re going to raise it in three days?” But the “TEMPLE” He had spoken of was HIS BODY.”

YESHUA was filled with the RUACH HA’KODESH just as we are! The same way ELOHIM’s presence dwelt in the PHYSICAL TEMPLE is the same way His presence now dwells IN US with the filling of the RUACH HA’KODESH making us the Temple. Without His presence we become an empty vessel that will be destroyed, just as when ELOHIM’s presence left the Temple it became a building that would be destroyed, IT IS HIS PRESENCE THAT DWELT WITHIN IT THAT MAKES IT SET-APART.

2 Baruch 7:1-8:4

“And after these things, I heard that malach (angel), who said to these angels who were holding the torches: “Now destroy and demolish its walls to the foundations, lest the enemies should boast and say: ‘We, we have demolished the wall of Zion and we have burned the place of ELOHIM, the Mighty One.” And they took me back to the place where I was standing before. Then the angels did as He had commanded them. And when they had broken down the CORNERS of the wall, a voice was heard from WITHIN THE TEMPLE, after the wall had fallen, and it said: “Enter, enemies, and come, those who hate, for HE WHO PRESERVES THE HOUSE HAS LEFT IT BEHIND.” And I Baruch, went away. And after these things, the Chaldean army entered and seized the house and everything around it.

Once YAHWEH’s presence left the Temple, THEN it was able to be destroyed by the Chaldeans.

2 Baruch 64:6

“The wickedness of Manasseh increased so much that the ESTEEM OF THE MOST HIGH DEPARTED FROM THE SANCTUARY.”

Now we can really see why Paul said this:

Ephesian 4:30 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“Don’t cause grief to ELOHIM’s RUACH HA’KODESH, for He has stamped you as HIS PROPERTY UNTIL THE DAY OF FINAL REDEMPTION.”

This is powerful because we are the temple of ELOHIM because the RUACH HA’KODESH dwells within us and leading us, plus YESHUA is the High Priest, so with all this evidence including the banning of lamb made by men, I don’t see why we cannot.

YESHUA ate Lamb

 I want to point out is that YESHUA ate the lamb Himself according to the command found in Exodus 12:8-11 and that YESHUA would not break the Torah as He said that NONE of the Torah would be abolished (Mathew 5:17-19). So, the Lamb of YAHWEH Who took away the iniquities of world, The written Word that became Living Flesh, The Living Torah ate the Lamb, and He is our example to follow (1 John 2:6).  

Mark 14:12 (Aramaic)

“And in the first day of the unleavened bread in which the Jews SLAY THE PASSOVER (Lamb), His disciples were saying to Him, “Where do you desire us to go for you to prepare the Passover TO EAT?”

Luke 22:7-8 (Aramaic)

“And the day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread arrived during which there was the custom that the PASSOVER BE SLAUGHTERED. And YESHUA sent Peter and John and said to them, “Go, prepare the Passover for US THAT WE MAY EAT.”

Matthew 26:17-20

“On the first day for The Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to YESHUA and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare Your PASSOVER?” Go into the city, to so-and-so,” he replied, “and tell him that the Rabbi says, ‘My time is near, My disciples and I are CELEBRATING PASSOVER at your house.” The disciples did as YESHUA directed and prepared the PASSOVER. When EVENING came, YESHUA reclined with the twelve disciples, and as THEY WERE EATING, He said…”

I know there are many doctrines out there that say that YESHUA was a vegan, and we can see that is clearly false as He ate the lamb for Passover. Plus, He ate fish to further prove He was not a vegan and we can also look to Genesis 18 when He appeared before Abraham with two angels and He ate calf meat, butter and milk.

Luke 24:41-43

“And even then they were not believing for their joy and they were astonished. He said to them, “Do you have something here to eat? And they gave Him a portion of FISH that was broiled and of a honeycomb and He took it and HE ATE IT before their eyes.”

The Samaritans still eat Lamb for Passover

Also, The Samaritans who are from the Northern Kingdom of Yisra’el whose ancestry is that of Manasseh and Ephraim, still eat lamb for Passover without a Temple. The Samaritans follow a version of the Torah which is said to be the original true version of the Torah. The Samaritans split with the Jews during the Second Temple period because they said the Jews in the Temple were corrupt.

Their interpretation of the Torah is not like that of the Judaism interpretations, for example, in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, where YAHWEH says “bind them for a sign upon your hand and let them be frontlets between your eyes” most Jews in Judaism take tefillin which are black boxes and put inside of the box a portion of the Torah and literally bind them on their hands and foreheads. The Samaritans view it as I do where its symbolic of your thoughts which is the Otiot “Resh” the picture of a man’s head meaning your thoughts on serving YAHWEH and staying in His word. The Samaritans render this passage as “Let them be as a MEMORY between your eyes”, and for bind them for a sign upon on your hands is “yad” the arm and the hand in the Otiot meaning your actions to serve YAHWEH.. Plus, the Samaritans still observe Pesach on the 14th in between the evenings coinciding with Feast of Unleavened Bread when the sunsets on the 15th just as written in scripture.

The point I’m making is that we have descendants from the 12 Tribes who follow Torah as they claim to have the original version of the Torah, they separated themselves from JUDAISM and say they are following the truth, they reject the Oral Torah which is correct and they reject the Talmud which is also correct, their focus is on the written Torah alone, and they still eat lamb today without a Temple, as I’m led to do. I’m definitely not saying I agree with all their beliefs; however, their interpretation of Torah from what I have gathered so far is closer than that of Judaism. Even a Rabbi named Simeon ben Gamaliel commented on the Samaritans saying “They were as Israelites in all things, and KEPT THE LAW AND THE PRECEPTS OF IT, AND EVEN MORE EXACTLY THAN THE ISRAELITES THEMSELVES DID…”

The Samaritans reject any and everything that is based on Judaism and their laws which we will see in this article.

I believe that we eat the Passover in our homes just as they did in the Exodus out of Egypt, just as I believe we are in a foreign land awaiting the 2nd Exodus.

Samaritan article:

If you are interested, you can email me and I will send you the article with the pictures included.

BYKRISTIN ROMEY

PUBLISHED APRIL 19, 2019

• 5 MIN READ

Samaritans are one of the world’s smallest religious groups, claiming descent from the of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel. They consider themselves the true observants of Israelite religion, and view Judaism as a religious practice corrupted during the Babylonian exile. This separation is clearly delineated in the geography of the Holy Land: While Mount Moriah in Jerusalem is where the Jewish Temple was decreed by God, the Samaritans followed the command of that same God and built their temple on the peak of Mount Gerizim, some 30 miles to the north.

Today, Mount Gerizim, at an elevation of almost 3,000 feet, is one of the highest points in the Palestinian territories, and commands a sweeping view of the bustling city of Nablus and the West Bank villages that surround it. On its ridge is the village of Kiryat Luza, where, on the eve of each Passover, the roughly 800 members of the Samaritan community gather to pray and observe their liberation from slavery in Egypt.

In remembrance of that event, the Samaritans follow the Torah mandate that a sheep or lamb be sacrificed on Passover eve and consumed before dawn of the next day. In Kiryat Luza, this is a communal event, in which prayers are recited and dozens of animals are dispatched simultaneously by men dressed in all white and then roasted in enormous earthen pits. In the hours after midnight, the meat is heaped on trays alongside bundles of bitter herbs and dished out in a celebratory community gathering under the stars.

Seven days later, the Samaritan community marks the end of Passover with a more solemn event. Once again under the stars just a few hours before dawn, the white-robed men of the community gather in front of their small synagogue, young sons beside them, rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

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Led by their head priest cradling a silver Torah case, the men ascend Mount Gerizim in the darkness, climbing stone steps past the remains of their temple, destroyed by the Hasmoneans in the early second century B.C., and the rubble of a church built on their sacred peak by the Byzantine emperor Zeno some 600 years later. At points along the ascent, they stop to pray and then continue on as the dawn sky turns periwinkle and the paper-thin blossoms of scarlet poppies begin to unfurl.

The procession ends near a stone slab believed by Samaritans to be the site where Abraham intended to sacrifice his son Isaac. The sun breaks above the horizon and the high priest raises the shining Torah case above his head as he concludes the group prayer. It’s a spring day on Mount Gerizim, and once again this tiny community has gathered together to fulfill its sacred duties before ELOHIM.

How should we eat the lamb? And what do we eat with it?

Exodus 12:8-11

“And they shall eat the flesh (Lamb) on that night, ROASTED IN FIRE-with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but ROASTED IN FIRE, its legs and its inward parts. And do not leave of it until morning you are to burn with fire. And this is how you eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Pesach (Passover) of YAHWEH.

Exodus 34:25

“Do not offer the blood of My slaughtering with leaven, and do not let the slaughtering of the Festival of Pesach/Passover remain until morning.”

YAHWEH tell us to eat lamb roasted in fire (like a grill with actual charcoal and flames) unleavened bread (bread with no yeast, no baking soda or sourdough bread) and bitter herbs which are herbs such as mustard greens, dandelion greens, horseradish, or chicory.

Of course, we are in diaspora right now, scattered to the four corners of the earth because of our ancestor’s disobedience, so we can do ALL that we can to follow the commandments and requirements to the best of your ability. If you can get a staff to eat with the meal, then why not? If you can get a whole lamb, then that’s great! If, not get some lamb chops or a lamb shoulder, just make sure you are eating lamb roasted in fire as required. But remember that NONE of the meat can be kept and must be burned with fire by the morning as we read in Exodus 12:10 and Exodus 34:25, so make sure not to get more than you can eat.

Many ask the question; doesn’t the lamb have to be a perfect one? That is a good question.  We can only do the absolute best that we can to comply with the commandment and many of us are not farmers and don’t have livestock. With that said, I look for a kosher place to get the lamb from. The place where I order my lamb is “Grow and Behold” or “KOL foods” and their meat is “Glatt kosher” meaning they check the lungs of the animals to make sure they do not have any imperfections/adhesions, the blood is drained out, grass-fed/grass-finished with no hormones or antibiotics. This statement is listed on their website: Kosher for Pesach/Passover All KOL Foods meat cuts (beef, lamb and poultry) and ground beef and lamb are Kosher for Passover year-round under the Star K and do not require special Pesach certification.

Leave none of it until morning

Exodus 12:4

“And if the household is too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; every man according to the portion of his eating shall make your count for the lamb.” Verse 10 “And you shall leave none of it remaining until morning; and that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire.”

Jubilees 49:10

“Let the children of Yisra’el come and observe the Passover on the day of its appointed time on the fourteenth day of the first month, between the evenings, from the THIRD PART of the day to the THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT, for two portions of the day are given to the light, and a third part to the evening. This is that which YAHWEH commanded you that you should observe it between the evenings. And it is not permissible to slay it during any period of the light, but during the period BORDERING THE EVENING, and let them eat it at the time of the evening UNTIL THE THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT, and whatever is left over of all its flesh from the THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT ONWARDS, let them burn it with fire.”

We need 12 hours of both day and night to constitute a 24-hour period. 12 hours in a day divided by three parts equals 4 hours. Spoken of in Jubilees 49 for Passover:

Night:

Part 1 of night is: 6pm-10pm

Part 2 of night is: 10pm-2am (Eat of Passover from evening up to 2 am, then whatever is left is burned with fire. Because whatever is left from the third part of night onwards is to be burned.)

Part 3 of night is: 2am-6am

Day:

Part 1 of day is: 6 am-10am

Part 2 of day is 10am-2pm

Part 3 of day is 2pm-6pm and the cycle repeats

 Do not leave the house

Exodus 12:22

“And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin, and you, NONE OF YOU SHALL GO OUT OF THE DOOR OF HIS HOUSE UNTIL MORNING.”

As I always say we should follow the Scriptures as closely as we can, so if you are at home stay in the house and don’t go out until morning and likewise if you are staying with family or friends, stay in the house until morning to comply with the command.

Stay up all night to keep watch?

Mathew 26:38-41

“And He (YESHUA) said to them, “There is sadness to my soul to the point of death. Remain here and WATCH WITH ME.” And He went a little further and fell upon His face and was praying and said, “My Father if it is possible, let this cup PASS OVER Me. Nevertheless, not as I will but as You will.” And He came to His disciples and found them while they were sleeping and said to Peter, “So you are not able to WATCH WITH ME one hour!” Take heed and pray or else you enter into temptation, the spirit is ready but the body is weak.”

We know that YESHUA spoke no idle words and quoted from the Torah, prophets, and the psalms because He is the written Word that became Living Flesh. So, there is only one place in scripture that ties into Passover about keeping WATCH and I believe this is what YESHUA is referring to. He is telling us to remember what our ancient ancestors did and that is to be alert and watch with our Father YAHWEH, and we can also pray so that we do not fall into temptation.

Exodus 12:40-42 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“The time the people of Yisra’el lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years to the day, all the divisions of YAHWEH left land of Egypt. This was a night when YAHWEH KEPT VIGIL to bring them out of the land of Egypt, and this same night CONTINUES TO BE A NIGHT WHEN YAHWEH KEEPS VIGIL (WATCH) for all the people of Yisra’el through all their generations.”

Exodus 12:42 (Samaritan)

“It is a SLEEPLESS NIGHT by YAHWEH for having brought them out from the land of Egypt. This night is for YAHWEH, to be SLEEPLESS BY ALL THE SONS OF YISRA’EL THROUGHOUT THEIR GENERATIONS.”

So, it appears that YESHUA was saying to keep watch with Him, just as our Father YAHWEH continues to watch during this night throughout all our generations as we are to do. The same way the children of Yisra’el watched with anticipation for the salvation of YAHWEH from the deliverance from Egypt is the same way we are watching with anticipation our deliverance from a foreign land. It’s interesting because a vigil is a watch at night when sleep usually occurs, so this definitely applies to us. The word vigil in Hebrew is “simmurin” which means to watch or observe, although we know that YAHWEH does not sleep, but we are to stay alert and watch with Him.

Psalms 121:4

“Behold, He who keeps Yisra’el will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Parallels with YESHUA and Passover

Exodus 12:3-6

“Speak to all the congregation of Yisra’el, saying, on the tenth day of this month they shall take to themselves every man a lamb for his own household, and a lamb for his dad’s household.” Verse 6 “And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Yisra’el shall kill it at sunset.”

So, the lamb was selected on a Friday the 10th day of the 1st month and was to be kept on the 14th day of the 1st month, which is a Tuesday when they would slaughter the lamb in the late afternoon “in between the evenings”. They would have the lamb in their house for 4 days before slaughtering it, so the lamb becomes like a pet to them, and they become attached to the lamb. In the same way, YESHUA walked with the disciples and then was crucified, and even though we didn’t physically walk with YESHUA on the earth, we walk with Him now and still have that attachment to the Him the Lamb.

1 Peter 1:8

“Though you HAVE NOT SEEN HIM, YOU LOVE HIM; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

Mathew 17:22-23

“And while they were traveling in Galilee, YESHUA said to them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of the sons of men. And they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise.” And they were very saddened.”

NOT BREAK ANY BONE

Exodus 12:46

“It is eaten in one house, you are not to take any of the flesh (lamb) outside the house, NOR are you to BREAK ANY BONE OF IT.”

John 19:31

“The Jews asked Pilate to have THEIR LEGS BROKEN, and to be taken away. Therefore the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was impaled with Him, but when they came to YESHUA and saw that He was already dead, they DID NOT BREAK HIS LEGS.”  But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and instantly BLOOD and WATER came out. And he who has seen has witnessed, and his witness is true. And he knows that he is speaking the truth, in order that you might believe. For this took place in order for the Scripture to be filled: “NOT ONE OF HIS BONES SHALL BE BROKEN.” See the connection and how it fulfills what YAHWEH spoke In Exodus 12:46 and Psalms 22?

Also, in John 19:34 when YESHUA was pierced blood and water came out of Him. This reminds me of:

1 John 5:5-6

“Who is the one who overcomes the world but he who believes that YESHUA is the Son of YAHWEH? This is the One that came by WATER AND BLOOD: YESHUA HA’MASHIACH, not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Ruach (Spirit) who bears witness, because the Ruach is the Truth.” (The immersion/baptism and blood from His atonement on the stake.)

It is also said that YESHUA died of a heart attack and that water was surrounding His heart which is why water came out of Him as well. YESHUA was crushed for us all and it’s definitely not a light matter.

Conclusion:

1 Corinthians 11:27-29

“So that whoever should eat this bread or drink this cup of the Master unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Master. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For the one who is eating and drinking unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Master.”

Let us examine ourselves and make sure that we are ready to partake in this Appointed Time of remembering the Exodus out of Egypt and YESHUA shedding His blood for us and delivering us from sin and death. As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!

Chains! The ornaments of the SAINTS!

Things are beginning to ramp up all over the world, and the huge earthquake that hit Turkey is a reminder of what YESHUA already told us would happen when He said:

Matthew 24:7-8

“For peoples will fight each other, nations will fight each other, and there will be famines and EARTHQUAKES in various parts of the world; all this is but the beginning of the ‘birth-pains.’

Another sign is that the Abrahamic Family house is now open in Abu Dhabi, which consists of a Church (Christianity), Synagogue (Judaism), and a Mosque (Islam), so the writing is clearly on the wall for a one world religion. Atlatniccouncil.org says “What is the Abrahamic family of religions? This inspiring development, which was named after Abraham-the forefather of the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam- is dedicated to the pursuit of PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.”

What is the definition of COEXIST? It calls for all people of all different RELIGIONS, along with the NON-RELIGIOUS, should recognize that NO ONE RELIGION IS MORE RIGHT OR TRUE THAN ANY OF THE OTHERS; ALL RELIGIONS ARE EQUALLY TRUE.”

This is in complete OPPOSITION to the words of YESHUA!

John 14:6

“YESHUA said, “I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life; NO ONE comes to the Father except through Me.”

 They want to promote a false peace by uniting the religions of the world together, and again YESHUA said the opposite:

Matthew 10:34-37 (Hebrew)

“Moreover YESHUA MASHIACH said to His disciples, “Do not think that I Myself came to set SHALOM (PEACE) on the earth, but certainly I Myself came to SEPARATE the father from the son, and the daughter from the mother, and daughter-in law from her mother-in-law, and people acquainted ones from their acquaintances. Whosoever loves his father or his mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

YESHUA came to separate those who truly follow Him by accepting Him as Savior and the blood atonement He did for our transgressions, and keeping the commandments of the Torah, away from those who walking in the many false religions of the world. YESHUA did not come unite the false religions together, so how can all religions be equally true? That is a lie from Satan! Following the NARROW path of having faith in YESHUA and keeping the commandments of the Torah causes division amongst those who are not truly following Him, and the gap is widening. YESHUA says plainly that no one can come to our Father YAHWEH except through believing in Him, which clearly shows that there are NOT 1,000 different ways to have eternal life and that goes for Muslims, Buddhists, Hinduism, New-Age, any form of Judaism that denies Him etc. In other words, we are all NOT praying to the same ELOHIM! YAHWEH, YESHUA, and the RUACH HA’KODESH is the only true ELOHIM! People already hate YESHUA, but how much more will they hate Him and us, when we are telling them that their one world religion is false and there is only ONE WAY!

Matthew 24:9

At that time you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and put to death, and all peoples will HATE YOU BECAUSE OF ME.” The Hebrew says, “ON ACCOUNT OF MY NAME.”

John 15:19-20

“If you belonged to the world, the world would have loved its own. But because you do not belong to the world on the contrary, I have picked you out of the world---therefore the world HATES YOU. Remember what I told you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will PERSECUTE you too; if they kept My word, they will keep yours too.” But they will do all this to you on My account, because they don’t KNOW the One who sent Me.”

2 Timothy 3:12

“And indeed, ALL who want to live a righteous life united with the Messiah YESHUA WILL BE PERSECUTED…”

John 16:1-2 (CJB)

“These things I have spoken to you so that you won’t be CAUGHT BY SURPRISE. They will ban you from the synagogue; in fact, the time will come when ANYONE who kills you will THINK HE IS SERVING ELOHIM! They will do these things because they have understood neither the Father nor Me.”

John 16:1-2 (Hebrew)

“These things I have spoken to you so that you should not be hurt. They, they will put you outside the houses of their assemblies. And a time will come, that EVERY MAN who comes will try to kill you, and it will seem to him that he is DOING SERVICE TO YAHWEH. And these things they will do to you, because they do NOT KNOW THE FATHER, NOR ME.”

You see, they will persecute us because they don’t truly KNOW YAHWEH nor His Son YESHUA and they will persecute us “THINKING” they are doing the right thing in the name of the “COEXIST” movement. They will say things like “You are preaching YESHUA is the ONLY way and that the Torah must be kept, that is YOUR TRUTH and you are going against the peace we have established amongst the world!”

YESHUA said they will do this because they don’t KNOW Him or YAHWEH?

1 John 2:3-4

“The way we can be sure we KNOW HIM is we are OBEYING HIS COMMANDS. Anyone who says, “I KNOW HIM,” but ISN’T OBEYING HIS COMMANDS IS A LIAR—the truth is NOT IN HIM.”

They will think that they are doing a good work in the Name of our Father. Which reminds me of how Paul USED to think! Paul USED to reject YESHUA as the Messiah and he persecuted those who followed YESHUA. This will be their mentality against us:

Acts 26:9-11

“I USED to think IT WAS MY DUTY to do all I could to combat the Name of YESHUA from Nazareth; and in Jerusalem I did so. After receiving authority from the head priest, I myself threw many of ELOHIM’s people in prison; when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Often I went from one synagogue to another, punishing them and trying to make them blaspheme; and in my wild fury against them. I even went so far as to persecute them in cities outside the country.”

When it becomes a law to not speak against any religion, they will feel like it is there duty to combat us. Are you ready to be hated? Are you ready to stand against the world and keep preaching YESHUA? I have seen this hate first-hand while street preaching and it is increasing!

Almost two weeks ago, my brother joined me as we went downtown to a crowded area preaching the Good News and we got persecuted as expected, but one incident drives home the point I was making about how those who don’t truly know YAHWEH and YESHUA will persecute us. We came to a location on the public sidewalk that was in front of a Church, and we were talking to our new brother in YESHUA we met 5 minutes earlier, who is a Jew from Poland, when suddenly the pastor approached and asked us to move away from his church. You would think a pastor who believes in YESHUA would be all for what we were doing right? Not at all! It was obvious that he did not like the signs, which reads on the front: YESHUA is EL (God) Who became flesh and died for you, and on the back of the sign it says “YESHUA said if you love Me you will keep My commandments, Satan is lawlessness!” Though he believes in YESHUA, he hated the truth of obeying the Torah! So again, just professing faith in YESHUA does not mean you know Him and that was evidenced in that moment just as YESHUA said. This mindset will be completely in line with the COEXIST agenda. But remember this:

2 Esdras 7:88-89

“But this is the order of those who have kept the ways of the Most High, when they shall be separated from their mortal vessel. During the time that they lived in it, they laboriously served the Most High, and withstood DANGER EVERY HOUR, THAT THEY MIGHT KEEP THE LAW OF THE LAWGIVER PERFECTLY.”

Through the RUACH HA’KODESH (The Set-Apart Spirit) we will have the strength and boldness to continue to keep the commandments even under such persecution. My brothers and sister this is all a cause to rejoice because YESHUA already told us this would happen and lets see how our ancestors handled these situations.

Rejoice! Our ancestors knew this was a good thing!

Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians (Written 108 AD)

Chapter 1

“I have greatly REJOICED with you in our Master YESHUA HA’MASHIACH, because you have followed the example of true love as displayed by ELOHIM, and have accompanied, as became you, those who were BOUND IN CHAINS, THE FITTING ORNAMENTS OF SAINTS, AND WHICH ARE INDEED THE DIADEMS OF THE TRUE ELECT OF ELOHIM and our Master…”

Let that sink in my brothers and sisters, Polycarp who was a disciple of John understood that persecution and imprisonment are the true jewels for the saints of YAHWEH! Wow! This makes perfect sense why YESHUA said to rejoice when persecution happens, because we are being adorned with jewels that are fitting for the saints.

Matthew 5:10 (Hebrew)

“Blessed are those who BEAR THE PERSECUTIONS because of RIGHTEOUSNESS, for theirs will be the heavenly kingdom.”

What is righteousness?

Deuteronomy 6:25 (CJB)

“It will be RIGHTEOUSNESS for us IF we are careful to OBEY ALL THESE COMMANDMENTS before YAHWEH our ELOHIM, just as He ORDERED US TO DO.”

Matthew 5:11-12 (Hebrew)

“Blessed ones you will be when the men curse you, and PERSECUTE YOU, and say all kinds of evil things against you, and lie--- because of Me. SHOUT WITH JOY-your wages are GREAT IN THE HEAVENS, for so they PERSECUTED THE PROPHETS who were before you.”

Paul and Silas understood this rejoicing while in prison knowing that the chains are the jewels of the saints:

Acts 16:19-25

“But when her owners saw that what had come out was any further prospect of profit for them, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the market square to face the authorities. Bringing them to the judges, they said, “These men are causing a lot of trouble in our city, since they are Jews. What they are doing is advocating customs that ARE AGAINST THE LAW FOR US TO ACCEPT OR PRACTICE, since we are Romans.” The mob joined in the attack against them, and the judges tore their clothes off them and ordered that they be flogged. After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in PRISON, charging the jailer to guard them securely. Upon receiving such an order, he thew them into the inner cell and clamped their feet securely between heavy blocks of wood. Around midnight, Paul and Silas WERE PRAYING AND SINGING HYMNS TO ELOHIM, while the other prisoners listened attentively.”

Notice they weren’t depressed and questioning YAHWEH’s will for their lives? They knew that this is what we are called to endure as followers of YESHUA! It’s just up to us to heed this words and put them into practice.

Peter and John rejoiced as well:

Acts 5:40-42

“After summoning the emissaries and flogging them, they commanded them NOT TO SPEAK IN THE NAME OF YESHUA, and let them go. The emissaries left the Sanhedrin OVERJOYED at having been considered WORTHY OF SUFFERING DISGRACE ON ACCOUNT OF HIM.” And not for a single day, either in the Temple court or in private homes, did they stop teaching and proclaiming the Good News that YESHUA is the Messiah.”

1 Thessalonians 1:6

“You, indeed, became imitators of us and of the Master; so that even though you were going through SEVERE TROUBLES, you received the Word with JOY from the RUACH HA’KODESH (The Set-Apart Spirit).

YESHUA told us that we will be hated for His Name in Matthew 24:9 and we see the Sanhedrin attempted to ban them from saying YESHUA’s Name and preaching about His resurrection, but notice that they continued preaching YESHUA anyway, despite the threats because this is what we are called to do.

Imprisonment and persecution

Acts 4:1-3

“Peter and John were still speaking to the people when the priests, the captain in charge of the Temple police, and the Sadducees came upon them, very annoyed that they were teaching the people the DOCTRINE OF RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD and offering YESHUA as proof. The Temple police ARRESTED THEM; and since it was evening, they put them in custody overnight.”

Acts 6:8-13

“Now Stephen, full of grace and power, performed great miracles and signs among the people. But opposition arose from members of the Synagogue of the Freed Slaves (as it was called), composed of Cyrenians, Alexandrians and people from Cilicia and the province of Asia. They argued with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom of the Spirit by which he spoke. So they secretly persuaded some men to allege, “We heard him speak blasphemously against Moses (Torah) and against ELOHIM.” They stirred up the people, as well as the elders and the Torah-teachers; so they came and ARRESTED him and led him before the Sanhedrin.” There they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this set-apart place and against the Torah; for we have heard him say that YESHUA from Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs of Moses handed down to us.”

Acts 12:1-4

“It was around this time that King Herod began ARRESTING and PERSECUTING certain members of the Messianic community; and he had James, John’s brother, put to death by the sword. When Herod saw how much this pleased the Judeans, he went on to ARREST Peter as well.”

Acts 21:28-33

“Men of Yisra’el, help! They shouted, “This is the man (Paul) who goes everywhere teaching everyone things against the people, against the Torah and against this place! And now he has even brought some gentiles into the Temple and defiled this set-apart place! They had previously seen Trophimus from Ephesus in the city with him and ASSUMED that Paul had brought him into the Temple. The whole city was aroused, and people came running from all over. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the Temple, and at once the gates were shut. But while they were ATTEMPTING TO KILL HIM, word reached the commander of the Roman battalion that all Jerusalem was in turmoil. Immediately he took officers and soldiers and charged down upon them. As soon as they saw the commander, they quit beating Paul. Then the commander came up, ARRESTED him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done.”

Philemon 1:10

“My request to you (Philemon) concerns my son, of whom I became the father while here in PRISON, Onesimus.”

1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

“Another reason we regularly thank ELOHIM is that when you heard the Word of ELOHIM from us, you received it not merely as a human word, but as it truly is, ELOHIM’s Word, which is at work in you believers. For, brothers, you came to be imitators of ELOHIM’s congregations in Judah that are united with the Messiah YESHUA---you SUFFERED the same things from your countrymen as they did from the Judeans who both killed the Master YESHUA and the prophets, and chased us out too. They are displeasing ELOHIM and opposing all mankind, by trying to keep us from SPEAKING TO THE GENTILES, so that they may be delivered. Their object seems to be always to make their iniquities as bad as possible! But ELOHIM’s fury will catch up with them in the end.”

1 Thessalonians 3:1-3

“So when we could no longer stand it, we agreed to be left in Athens alone and sent Timothy, our brother and ELOHIM’s fellow worker for the Good News of the Messiah, to make you solid and encourage in your trust; so that none of you would let these PERSECUTIONS unsettle him. For you yourselves know that these are bound to come to us; even when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were ABOUT TO BE PERSECUTED; and indeed IT HAPPENED, as you know.”

Whether imprisonment or death its pleasing to YAHWEH:

The greatest example of all was YAHWEH giving up His own Son YESHUA for humanity!

Isaiah 53:10 (Dead Sea Scrolls)

“Yet YAHWEH was WILLING TO CRUSH HIM, and He made HIM SUFFER. Although you make His soul an offering for iniquity…”

Psalms 116:15 (Aramaic)

“Precious in the sight of YAHWEH is the death of His saints.”

We see a good example of this with Peter:

John 21:15-19 (Hebrew)

“Then, as he ate, YESHUA said to Simon Peter, “Simon of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” Then he answered, Master, yes—you know that I love you.” So YESHUA said to them, “Keep my lambs.” Then YESHUA asked him again, “Simon Peter, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” So Simon said, “Yes Master, you know that I love you.” Then YESHUA said unto him, “Shepherd and feed My lambs.” He asked Him a third time, Simon of Jonah, do you love Me? (Now Peter was anxious because he had asked him three times if he loved him.) He said to him, “Master knowing all things, you know that I love you!” So YESHUA said to him, “Feed My flock. Truth I say to you---when you were a young man you were staying and going to the place of your pleasure, but when you become and elder you will stretch out your hand and another will go after you and drive you into a place that you do not find pleasure in.” And YESHUA said this, alluding with what DEATH HE (PETER) WOULD ESTEEM EL.”

1ST Epistle of Clement 5:24-31

“But not to dwell upon ancient examples, let us come to the most recent spiritual heroes. Let us take the noble examples furnished in our own generation. Through envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars of the Assembly have been PERSECUTED AND PUT TO DEATH. Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles. Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labors and when he had at length suffered MARTYDOM, DEPARTED TO THE PLACE OF ESTEEM DUE TO HIM. Owing to envy, Paul was obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation DUE TO HIS FAITH, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the EXTREME LIMIT OF THE WEST, and SUFFERED MARTYDOM under the prefects. Thus was he removed from the world, and WENT INTO THE SET-APART PLACE, having proved himself a striking example of patience.”

Philippians 1:21-25

“For to me, life is the Messiah, and DEATH IS GAIN. But if by living on in the body I can do fruitful work, then I don’t know which to choose. I am caught in a dilemma: my desire is to go off and be with the Messiah --- THAT IS BETTER BY FAR --- but because of you, the greater need is to stay on in the body. Yes, I am convinced of this; so I know I will stay on with you in order to help you progress in the faith and have JOY IN IT.”

The sole purpose of this message is to strengthen the Body of Messiah to understand what is coming and not to panic, but rather REJOICE and stand strong for YESHUA as our ancestors did! This should be exciting times for those who know that this world is not our permanent home and that we are just passing through. Embrace the jewels of the saints and be prepared to lose your life in this world to gain it in the world to come, and receive the crown that won’t fade away.

As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!

WAIT!!!

Often in this life, we as human beings get impatient when things are not going the way “we think they should” and we end up taking matters into our own hands and making decisions instead of waiting for YAHWEH! I know it is easier said than done, but it something that we all must work on and that is the reason for this message. I will give a personal example as it is fitting the for this message, is that I too, am in a waiting period, as I have waiting for a wife for almost 8 years, but I will not stop waiting until His appointed time, and that is if time permits and only He knows this. ELOHIM willing, I will do a message on this topic for all the single men for encouragement to not give up on waiting for her to come. The point is that waiting applies to us all.

 Sometimes we will pray for something and if it does not happen within a day or two, we think ELOHIM did not hear us and we go and do our own thing without His guidance or approval, or we will act without even taking it to Him in prayer at all. We must remember this:

2 Peter 3:8

“Moreover, dear friends, do not ignore this: with YAHWEH, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day…”

Psalms 90:4

“For from Your viewpoint a thousand years are merely like yesterday or a night watch.”

YAHWEH operates outside of time and space and He doesn’t see things the way that we do, nor think how we think, and whenever He answers us it is ALWAYS the right time, but when we get ahead of Him is when things begin to go awry.

Wait in Hebrew is the word Qavah pronounced (kaw-vaw) and is spelled Quph, Waw, Hey!

Quph: is a picture of the sun on the horizon and means condense, circle, TIME

Waw: is a picture of a tent peg and means add, SECURE, hook

Hey: is a picture of a man with his arms raised and means look, REVEAL, breath

When we combine this letters Quph, Waw, Hey for the word Qavah (wait) we get this message: “Time secures revelation!” In other words, when we wait on YAHWEH which requires time, then we will receive revelation as He wills it. Let’s now take a look at a few examples from scripture.

Jubilees 14:21-24 (Concerning Abraham having a son)

“And Abram rejoiced, and told all these things to Sarai his wife. And he BELIEVED that he would have seed, BUT SHE DID NOT BEAR. And Sarai advised her husband Abram, and said to him, “Go in to Hagar, my Egyptian handmaid. It may be that I will build up seed to you by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai his wife, and said to her, “Do so.” And Sarai took Hagar, her handmaid, the Egyptian, and gave her to Abram, her husband, as wife. And he went in to her, and she conceived and bore him a son, and he called his name Ishmael, in the fifth year of this week; and this was the eighty-sixth year in the life of Abram.”

The beautiful thing is that Abraham believed that he would have a son and rejoiced; however, Sarai did not bear a son when they thought she would, so Sarai figured the plan was to bring about the child through Hagar and Abram went with the plan, although YAHWEH said the child would be born by Sarah and not Hagar. The result is that Ishmael was not the covenant son of the promise, but rather Isaac who was born to them 14 years later when he was 100 years old (Genesis 21:5). 14 years is a long time to us, but less than a day to YAHWEH and this just goes to show that YAHWEH’s promise did not fail, we must wait for Him. In no way am I casting blame on anyone as I know that times can be difficult, this message is to hopefully strengthen us all to know that His promises never fall to the ground. Abraham was a man of great trust in YAHWEH as he left his home country to go to a place that YAHWEH would show him, how many of us would do that today? It just shows us that waiting can be difficult for us, but ELOHIM will answer.

2 Peter 3:8

“Moreover, dear friends, do not ignore this: with YAHWEH, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day…”

Judith 7:19-32

“The children of Yisra’el cried to YAHWEH their ELOHIM, because their heart failed, for all their enemies had circled round about them and there was no way to escape out from among them. Thus all the company of Assyria remained about them, both their footmen, chariots and horsemen, THIRTY-FOUR DAYS, so that all their vessels of water failed all the inhabitants of Bethulia. And the cisterns were emptied and they did not have water to drink their fill for one day; for they gave them drink by measure. Therefore their young children were discouraged and their women and young men fainted for thirst and fell down in the streets of the city and by the passages of the gates and there was no longer any strength in them. Then all the people assembled to Uzziyahu and to the chief of the city, both young men and women and children and cried with a loud voice and said before all the elders, ELOHIM be judge between us and you: for you have done us great injury, in that you have not required peace from the children of Assyria. For now we have no helper: but ELOHIM has sold us into their hands, that we should be thrown down before them with thirst and great destruction. Now therefore call them to you and deliver the whole city as a spoil to the people of Holofernes and to all his army. For it is better for us to be made as spoil to them, than to die of thirst: for we will be his servants, that our souls may live and not see the death of our infants before our eyes nor our wives nor our children. We take to witness against you heaven and the earth and our ELOHIM and Master of our fathers, who punishes us according to our iniquities as we have said this day. Then there was a great weeping with one consent in the midst of the assembly; and they cried to YAHWEH ELOHIM with a loud voice. Then Uzziyahu said to them, brothers, be of good courage, let us endure yet  FIVE DAYS, in the which space YAHWEH our ELOHIM may turn His mercy toward us; for He will not forsake us utterly. AND IF THESE DAYS PASS AND NO HELP COME TO US, I WILL DO ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD. And he dispersed the people, everyone to their own charge; and they went to the walls and towers of their city and sent the women and children into their houses: and they despaired greatly in the city.”

As I mentioned in the introduction, people will pray and when it doesn’t happen in the time “they think it should happen”, then they feel as though their prayers were not heard. If you give Him five days, how do you not know He was going to respond in 10 days? After a day or two people will act without waiting to hear back from YAHWEH, and we see how many days it took for Him to respond to Jeremiah and it was NOT immediately.

Jeremiah 42:1-7

“Then all the officers of the forces and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah and all the people from the young to the old came near. And said to Jeremiah, we beseech you, PRAY FOR US before YAHWEH your ELOHIM, for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes see us; that YAHWEH our ELOHIM may show us the way by which we may go and the thing that we may do. Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard you; behold, I WILL PRAY before YAHWEH your ELOHIM according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatever YAHWEH shall answer you, I will declare it to you; I will hide nothing from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, may YAHWEH be a true and faithful witness between us if we do not do according to the word with which YAHWEH your ELOHM shall send you to us. Whether it be good or whether it be bad, we will obey the voice of YAHWEH our ELOHIM. And it came to pass AFTER TEN DAYS that the word of YAHWEH came to Jeremiah the prophet.”

Judith understood this very well:

Judith 8:9-22

“Now when she (Judith) heard the EVIL WORDS of the people against the governor, that they fainted for lack of water; for Judith had heard all the words that Uzziyahu had spoken to them and that he had SWORN TO DELIVER THE CITY TO THE ASSYRIANS AFTER FIVE DAYS; then she sent her maid servants, that had the administration of all things that she had, to call Uzziyahu and Hever and Carchemish, the ancients of the city. And they came to her and she said to them, hear me now, O you governors of the inhabitants of Bethulia; for your words that you have spoken before the people this day is NOT RIGHT, regarding this oath which you made and pronounced between ELOHIM and you and have promised to deliver the city to our enemies, UNLESS YAHWEH TURNS TO HELP YOU WITHIN THESE DAYS. And now who are you that have TEMPTED ELOHIM THIS DAY AND STAND INSTEAD OF ELOHIM AMONG THE CHILDREN OF MEN, and not TRY YAHWEH of Hosts? But you shall never know anything. For you cannot find the depth of the heart of man, neither can you perceive the things that He thinks: how then can you search out ELOHIM; that has made all these things and know His mind, or comprehend His purpose? No, my brothers, do not provoke YAHWEH our ELOHIM to anger. For if He will not help us within these five days, He has power to defend us WHEN HE WILLS, even every day or to destroy us before our enemies. DO NOT BIND THE COUNSELS OF YAHWEH OUR ELOHIM: for ELOHIM IS NOT AS MAN, THAT HE MAY BE THREATENED; neither is He as the son of man that He should be wavering. Therefore LET US WAIT for His salvation and call on Him to help us and He will hear our voice, IF IT PLEASES HIM.”

Everything has a time and a season according to YAHWEH’s plan:

2 Esdras 13:57-58

“Then I arose and walked in the field, giving great esteem and praise to the Most High because of His wonders, which He did from time to time, and because HE GOVERNS THE TIMES AND WHATEVER THINGS COME TO PASS, as these dreams show.”

We simply have to wait and be patient because we cannot force the hand of YAHWEH!

Jasher 75:1-17

“It happened in the hundred and eightieth year of the Israelites going down into Egypt, there went forth from Egypt valiant men, thirty thousand on foot, from the children of Yisra’el, who were all of the tribe of Joseph, of the children of Ephraim the son of Joseph. FOR THEY SAID the period was completed which YAHWEH had appointed to the children of Yisra’el in the times of old, which He had spoken to Abraham.”

Again, instead of WAITING for the appointed time for deliverance according to YAHWEH’s prophecy given to Abraham, they tried to FORCE it. Notice, this happened in the 180th year while in slavery, and yet YAHWEH said they would be captives for 400 years. This means they were impatient and tried to jump the gun by a whole 220 years.

Genesis 15:12-14

“As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell on Abram; horror and great darkness came over him. YAHWEH said to Abram, “Know this for certain: your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves and held in oppression there FOUR HUNDRED YEARS. But I will also judge that nation, the one that makes them slaves. Afterwards, they will leave with many possessions.”

Jasher 75 continued: “And these men girded themselves, and they put each man his sword at his side, and every man his armor upon him, and they TRUSTED IN THEIR STRENGTH, and they went out together from Egypt with a mighty hand. But they brought no provision for the road, only silver and gold; not even bread for that day did they bring in their hands, for they thought of getting their provision for pay from the Philistines, and if not they would take it by force. And these men were very mighty and valiant men; one man could pursue a thousand and two could route ten thousand. So they trusted to their strength and went together as they were. And they directed their course toward the land of Gath, and they went down and found the shepherds of Gath feeding the cattle of the children of Gath. And they said to the shepherds, “Give us some of the sheep for pay, that we may eat, for we are hungry, for we have eaten no bread this day.” And the shepherds said, “Are they our sheep or cattle that we should give them to you even for pay? So the children of Ephraim approached to take them by force. And the shepherds of Gath shouted over them that their cry was heard at a distance, so all the children of Gath went out to them. And when the children of Gath saw the evil doings of the children of Ephraim, they returned and assembled the men of Gath, and they put on each man his armor, and came forth to the children of Ephraim in battle. And they engaged with them in the valley of Gath, and the battle was severe, and they struck from each other a great many on that day. And on the second day the children of Gath sent to all the cities of the Philistines that they should come help them, saying “Come up to us and help us, that we may strike the children of Ephraim who have come forth from Egypt to take our cattle, and to fight against us without cause.”

“Now the beings of the children of Ephraim were exhausted with hunger and thirst, for they had eaten no bread for three days. And forty thousand men went forth from the cities of the Philistines to the assistance of the men of Gath. And these men were engaged in battle with the children of Ephraim, and YAHWEH DELIVERED THE CHILDREN OF EPHRAIM INTO THE HANDS OF THE PHILISTINES. And they struck all the children of Ephraim, all who HAD GONE FORTH FROM EGYPT, NONE WERE REMAINING BUT TEN MEN WHO HAD RUN AWAY FROM THE ENGAGMENT. For THIS EVIL WAS FROM YAHWEH AGAINST the children of Ephraim, FOR THEY TRANGRESSED THE WORD OF YAHWEH IN GOING FORTH FROM EGYPT, BEFORE THE PERIOD HAD ARRIVED WHICH YAHWEH, in the days of old, had APPOINTED TO YISRA’EL.”

Notice that this passage says that this was FROM YAHWEH? Ten men from Ephraim survived, and ten in the Otiot is “Yod”, which is the picture of an arm and hand, and means “work, hand, throw, worship”, so this shows that YAHWEH’s hand overthrew them and gave them over into the hands of the Philistines! No matter how we feel about a situation, we have to wait for YAHWEH’s timing, because if you get ahead of what He has ordained for your life then this could be the result. Wait for Him in prayer and wait for all His appointed times in your life to manifest.

1 Samuel 25:1-35

“Then David set out and went down to the Pa’ran Desert. 2 Now there was a man in Ma‘on who had property in Carmel. He was very rich, having three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The man’s name was Naval, and his wife was named Abigail. The woman was intelligent and attractive, but the man was surly and mean in his actions; he belonged to the clan of Caleb. 4 David, there in the desert, heard that Naval was shearing his sheep. 5 David sent off ten young men with these orders: “Go up to Naval in Carmel, and bring him greetings from me. 6 Say, ‘Long life and shalom to you, shalom to your household, and shalom to everything that is yours! 7 I’ve heard that you now have shearers. Your shepherds were with us [for a while], we did them no harm, and they found nothing missing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your own men; they’ll tell you. Therefore, receive my men favorably, since we have come on a festive day. Please give what you can to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 On arrival, David’s men said all these things to Naval in David’s name. When they had finished, 10 Naval answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jessie? There are many servants nowadays running away from their masters. 11 Am I supposed to take my bread, my water and my meat that I slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men coming from who knows where?” 12 So David’s men turned around, went back and came and told him everything Naval had said. 13 David said to his men, “Buckle your swords on, all of you!” Each one buckled on his sword, David too; and there went up after David about four hundred men, while two hundred stayed with the equipment.

14 But one of Naval’s men told Abigail his wife, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, and he flew on them in a rage, 15 even though the men had been very good to us — they didn’t harm us, and we found nothing missing during the entire time we went with them, while we were out in the countryside. 16 They served as a wall protecting us day and night all the time we were with them caring for the sheep. 17 So now decide what you are going to do, for clearly harm is on its way to our master and all his household, but he’s so mean that no one can tell him anything.”

18 Abigail wasted no time in taking 200 loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already prepared, six quarts of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins and 200 fig cakes, and having them loaded on donkeys. 19 Then she said to her young men, “Go on ahead of me, and I’ll come along after you.” But she didn’t tell her husband Naval.

20 She was riding her donkey down past the hiding-place in the mountain, when David and his men descended toward her, and she met them. 21 David had said, “What a waste it has been guarding everything this fellow has in the desert, so that nothing of his was missing! He has repaid me bad for good!” 22 Then he swore, “May ELOHIM do the same and more to David’s enemies if I leave alive even one male of everything he owns.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried to dismount from her donkey, fell on her face in front of David and bowed down to the ground. 24 Having fallen at his feet, she said, “It’s all my fault, my master, all my fault! Please let your servant speak in your ears, and listen to what your servant says. 25 Please! My master shouldn’t pay any attention to this worthless fellow Naval, because he’s just like his name — ‘Naval’ means ‘boor,’ and his boorishness stays with him. But I, your servant, did not see my master’s men, whom you sent. 26 Therefore, my master, as yahweh lives, and as you live, inasmuch as YAHWEH has kept you from the guilt of shedding blood and from taking vengeance into your own hands — therefore, may your enemies and anyone seeking your harm be [as worthless] as Naval. 27 Meanwhile, let this present which your servant has brought to my master be given to the men in my master’s service. 28 And please forgive the offense your servant has caused; because YAHWEH will certainly establish my master’s dynasty, for my master fights YAHWEH’s battles, and nothing bad has been found in you all your life long. 29 Even if someone comes along searching for you and seeking your life, your life will be bound in the bundle of life with YAHWEH your ELOHIM. But the lives of your enemies he will fling away as if from the pouch of a slingshot. 30 Then, when YAHWEH has done all the good to my master that he has said about you and made you ruler over Yisra’el, 31 what happens here will not have become an obstacle to you or a cause for remorse to my master, neither that you shed blood without cause nor that my master took vengeance into his own hands. Finally, when YAHWEH has dealt well with my master, then remember your servant.”

32 David said to Abigail, “Blessed be YAHWEH the ELOHIM of Yisra’el, who sent you today to meet me; 33 and blessed be your tactfulness, and blessed be yourself for having kept me today from the guilt of shedding blood and taking vengeance into my own hands. 34 For as YAHWEH the ELOHIM of Yisra’el, lives, WHO HAS KEPT ME FROM HARMING YOU, if you hadn’t rushed to meet me, not even one male would have been left to Naval by morning!” 35 So David received from her what she had brought him, then said to her, “Go up in peace to your home. I have listened to what you said and granted your request.”

David recognized that he was about to take matters into His own hands instead of waiting for YAHWEH Who took care of Naval Himself!

Deuteronomy 32:35

“Vengeance is MINE and recompense, against the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that are to come upon them shall make haste.”

I wanted to give many different scenarios to show that regardless of which one you are in, it’s best to wait for YAHWEH, not to get ahead of Him, and not to take matters into your own hands.

Wait

Psalm 37:7

“Be STILL before YAHWEH; WAIT PATIENTLY TILL HE COMES…”

Isaiah 30:18

“Yet YAHWEH is just waiting to show you favor, He will have pity on you from on high; for YAHWEH is an ELOHIM of justice; happy are all who WAIT FOR HIM!

Lamentations 3:24-26

“YAHWEH is my Portion,” says my being, “Therefore I WAIT FOR HIM! YAHWEH is good to those WAITING FOR HIM, to the being who seeks Him. It is good both to WAIT and to be silent, for the deliverance of YAHWEH.”

Exodus 14:10-14

“As Pharaoh approached, the people of Yisra’el looked up and saw the Egyptians right there, coming after them. In great fear the people of Yisra’el cried out to YAHWEH and said to Moses, “Was it because there weren’t enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out to die in the desert? Why have you done this to us, brining us out of Egypt? Didn’t we tell you in Egypt to let us alone, we’ll just go on being slaves for the Egyptians? It would be better for us to be the Egyptians’ slaves than to die in the desert! Moses answered the people, “Stop being fearful! Remain steady, and YOU WILL SEE HOW YAHWEH IS GOING TO SAVE YOU. He will do it today---today you have seen the Egyptians, but you will never see them again! YAHWEH will do battle for you. JUST CALM YOURSELVES DOWN!”

We all need to just “calm ourselves down” and wait on YAHWEH because He will act even when you don’t think He is, because He is always working behind the scenes, and He can make something happen at the last minute when you least expect it. He parted the Red Sea for His people, how much more can He do in our lives? Let us WAIT because Qavah “time secures revelation!”

As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!

YAHWEH did not make His Name known?

There is another scripture that has become a head scratcher and I have heard many different interpretations for it, so today I will offer mine, and prayerfully clear up some confusion surrounding this topic.

Exodus 6:1-3 (Most translations)

“And YAHWEH said unto Moses, “Now you will see what I am going to do to Pharaoh. With a mighty hand He will send them off; with force He will drive them from the land!” ELOHIM spoke to Moses; He said to him, “I am YAHWEH. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as EL SHADDAI, although I did not make MYSELF KNOWN TO THEM BY MY NAME YAHWEH.”

This would seem to be a contradiction because we see them calling on the Name of YAHWEH before it was given to Moses and we know that the scriptures do not contradict itself. If there seems to be a contradiction it just means that there is something that we missed and did not connect the dots or haven’t checked various translations.

Genesis 4:26

“To Seth too was born a son, whom he called Enosh. That is when people began to call on the NAME OF YAHWEH.”

Genesis 12:8

“He (Abraham) left that place, went to the hill east of Beth-El and pitched his tent. With Beth-EL to the west and ‘Ai to the east, he built an altar there and CALLED ON THE NAME  OF YAHWEH.”

Genesis13:1-4

“Abraham went up from Egypt—he, his wife and everything he had, and Lot with him---into the Negev. Avram became wealthy, with much cattle, silver and gold. As he went on his travels from the Negev, he came to Beth-El, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning of, between Beth-El and ‘Ai, where he had first built the altar; an there Avram CALLED ON THE NAME OF YAHWEH.”

Genesis 21:33

“Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he CALLED ON THE NAME OF YAHWEH, the everlasting ELOHIM.”

Genesis 26:25

“There he (Isaac) built an altar and CALLED ON THE NAME OF YAHWEH, He pitched his tent there, and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Genesis 28:16

“Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Truly, YAHWEH is in this place---and I didn’t know it!”

So, we can clearly see that YAHWEH revealed His Name to our ancestors because they were calling upon His Name.  So, how can this scripture be explained?

Exodus 6:2-3 (Concordant Version of The Old Testament)

“ELOHIM spoke to Moses and said to him: I am YAHWEH, and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as the EL who suffices; as to My Name YAHWEH, I was not REALIZED BY THEM.”

Realized is defined by Oxford dictionaries as “to become fully aware of something as a fact; UNDERSTAND CLEARLY.” So Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob understood what EL SHADDAI meant, as ELOHIM being the “All Mighty” or as Concordant Version of the Old Testament says the EL who Suffices, meaning the EL who MEETS  OR SATISFIES THE NEEDS OF as He is the protector and provider. But as for the Name of YAHWEH they did not REALIZE the full meaning of His Name, they did not understand clearly the, power, and essence of His Name as they did with His title EL SHADDAI! We get the full explanation of His Name when YAHWEH spoke to Moses. In Exodus 3:14 we get the explanation of the Name of YAHWEH.

Exodus 3:14 (Samaritan)

“And ELOHIM said to Moshe (Moses), EHYYEE ESHAAR EHYYEE. And He said, This you shall say to the Sons of Yisra’el, I WILL BE has sent me to you.”

The footnote in the Samaritan Torah for verse 14 says “I will be as I will be”. His Name also means according to Wikipedia as “I am that I am”, “I am who I am”, “I will become what I choose to become”, “I am what I am”, “I will be what I will be”, “I will create whatever I create”, or “I am the Existing One”. The Aramaic Peshitta says “THE LIVING ELOHIM.” YAHWEH is the Self-Existent One, the Self-Sufficient One, He exists! So after explaining what His Name means in verse 14, He just reinforces His Name that our ancestors knew except moving forward all would know what His Name fully means.

Exodus 3:15 (Samaritan)

“And ELOHIM said furthermore said to Moses, this you shall say to the Sons of Yisra’el, YAHWEH, ELOHIM of your fathers, ELOHIM of Abraham, and ELOHIM of Isaac, and ELOHIM Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance to generation to generation.”

Moses knew exactly what YAHWEH was saying as we see what he says in the book of Yashar (Jasher).

Jasher 79:43-47

“And when the king saw this thing, he ordered the book of records that related to the kings of Egypt, to be brought, and they brought the book of records, the chronicles of the kings of Egypt, in which all the idols of Egypt were inscribed, for they thought of finding in it the Name of YAHWEH, but they did not find it. And Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Behold I have not found the Name of your ELOHIM  written in this book, and I do not know His Name.” And the counsellors and wise men answered the king, ‘We have heard that the ELOHIM of the Hebrews is a son of the wise, the son of ancient kings.” And Pharoah turned to Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I do not know YAHWEH whom you have declared, neither will I send His people.” And they answered and said to the king, YAHWEH ELOAH of ELOHIM is His Name, AND HE PROCLAIMED HIS NAME OVER US FROM THE DAYS OF OUR ANCESTORS, and sent us, saying, ‘Go to Pharoah and say to him, “Send My people that they may serve Me.”

This scripture from Jasher further proves that our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew the Name YAHWEH before His Name was explained in full detail to Moses. Furthermore, Pharoah was looking for YAHWEH’s Name in the book of idols and of course he wouldn’t find it there. Why?

Isaiah 42:8

“I am YAHWEH; that is My Name. I yield my esteem to NO ONE ELSE, nor My praise to ANY IDOL.”

YAHWEH is greater than any idol and His Name is great and kodesh (set-apart), so looking for His great Name amongst a book of idols was futile.

As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name

What is the WILL of YAHWEH?

Matthew 12:46-50 (Hebrew)

“And while He spoke unto the people, His mother and His relatives stood outside and wanted to speak with Him. Then a certain man said to Him, “Your mother and Your relatives are standing outside and asking for you.” So YESHUA answered and said to him, “Who is My mother? And who is My brother or My relative? Everyone who DOES THE WILL of My Father who is in the heavens—He is My brother and My sister and My mother.”

Matthew 7:21-23 (Aramaic)

“It is not everyone who merely says to Me, My Master, My Master, who will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but He who DOES THE WILL of My Father in heaven. A great many will say to Me in that day, My Master, My Master, did we not prophesy in Your Name and in Your Name cast out devils and in Your Name do many wonders? Then I will declare to them, I have never known you; keep away from Me, O you that work INIQUITY.”

YESHUA has clearly told us that we must DO THE WILL of His Father to enter into eternal life and to be considered His brother, sister, mother, and relatives. So, the question becomes, what is THE WILL OF YAHWEH?

Psalms 40:7-8 (Complete Jewish Bible)

“So then I said, “Here I am! I’m coming! In the scroll of a book it is written about Me. Doing YOUR WILL, my ELOHIM, is my joy, YOUR TORAH is in my INMOST BEING.”

This is YESHUA speaking and we know that YESHUA is the Living Torah, and we are to walk in the Torah just as He walked in the Torah (1 John 2:6).

Sirach 2:15-16

“Those who fear YAHWEH will not disobey His word, and those who love Him will keep His ways. Those who fear YAHWEH will seek that which is good and pleasing to Him; and those who love Him shall be FILLED WITH THE TORAH.”

First Epistle of Clement, Chapter 2:7-8

“Content with the provision which ELOHIM had made for you, and carefully attending to His (YAHWEH’s) words, ye were INWARDLY FILLED WITH HIS DOCTRINE.”

Doctrine is defined by Oxford languages as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a CHURCH, political party, or other group.”

Vocabulary.com says “A doctrine is a set of beliefs. The word comes from the Latin doctor for “teacher,” so think of a doctrine is the teachings of a school, RELIGION, or pollical group.”

Proverbs 4:2 (Aramaic)

“Hear, O my children, the instruction of a father, and give ear to knowledge and understanding. Because I give you GOOD DOCTRINE, DO NOT FORSAKE MY LAW.”

The First Epistle of Clement which is said to have been written in 70 A.D. or 96 A.D. at the latest and Sirach agree with Psalms 40:8 that the Torah should be in our innermost being to walk in the truth, in other words we are inwardly filled with the desire to obey the Torah being led by the RUACH HA’KODESH (The Set-Apart Spirit) and walk as YESHUA showed us how to walk. So, the will of YAHWEH is to obey the commandments of the Torah. But is that all? No!

John 6:25-40 (Hebrew)

“And when they had found Him (YESHUA) across the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” So YESHUA answered them and said, “Truth I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you have seen signs, only because you ate the bread and were satisfied by it. You must not work for food that perishes (whosoever perished), but for food that abides into everlasting life-that which the Son of Man will give to you; for EL (God)  the Father signifies this.” So they said to Him “What should we do that we may be able to do good works to EL?” YESHUA answered and said to them, “This is the work of EL, that you believe in He whom He sent- ME.” Then they said to Him, “What sign do you do that we may see it and believe You? What work do you do? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, ‘He gave them bread of heaven to eat.” So YESHUA said to them, “Truth I say to you, Moses did not give you bread of heaven, but My Father gives you true bread from the heavens; and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Master, may this bread be given to us all the time.” Then YESHUA said to them, “I am the bread of life, whosever comes unto Me will not be hungry, and whosoever believes in Me will not have thirst in ETERNITY! But this I say to you because you saw Me and yet you did not believe in Me. Everyone the Father gave Me comes to Me, and He who comes to Me I will not cast out. For I, I descend from the heavens, not in order to do My will, only the WILL of Him who sent Me. And THIS IS HIS WILL, that all these which He gave Me, I should not let any of them be destroyed, but that I should raise them up in the last day. FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF THE FATHER WHO SENT ME—that every man who CHOOSES THE SON AND BELIEVES, will have everlasting life; and I will raise Him up alive in the last day.”

When we combine all of these scriptures together we can clearly see the WILL of YAHWEH is to keep the commandments of the Torah AND to believe in His Son YESHUA!

Revelation 12:17 (Hebrew)

“Then the dragon was filled with anger because of the woman, and he went to make war with the remaining ones of her seed, who PERFORM THE COMMANDMENTS OF YAHWEH, AND BELIEVE IN THE TESTIMONY OF HIS MESSIAH.”

Revelation 14:12 (Hebrew)

“Here is the hope of the set-apart ones, and here are those who DO THE COMMANDMENTS OF YAHWEH, AND BELIEVE IN YESHUA.”

1 John 2:17

“And the world is passing away, along with its desires. But whoever does ELOHIM’S WILL REMAINS FOREVER.”

The scriptures are consistent and nothing has changed, rather it is mans reasoning and justification that wants to change what YAHWEH’s will really is! Repent! We must keep the commandments and believe in YESHUA for this is the WILL OF YAHWEH! Obey the written Torah and have faith in YESHUA the Living Torah! So, the question is, do you want to enter into eternal life? Do you want to be considered His brother, sister, mother, and relative? We all do, and He already told us how we achieve that.

As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!