The children of Israel fell into golden calf worship or the sin of idolatry while waiting for Moses to come down from Mount Sinai. The New Testament warns Christians against falling into the same sin while waiting for the return of Jesus/Yeshua the Messiah. What is golden calf worship, what are its manifestations within Sunday Christianity as well as in pro-Torah/Hebraic/Messianic believers? This video reveals some of the areas of golden calf idolatry that followers of Yeshua will need to recognize and flee from in order to be the virgin bride for which their the soon coming Heavenly Bridegroom is returning.
On Shavuot (that is, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost), at Mount Sinai, YHVH entered into a marriage covenant with the children of Israel, but they were not ready to live up to the terms of that covenant. Those terms, simply stated, involved the Israelites being faithful and obedient only to YHVH, Israel’s Elohim (or God) and spiritual husband, and to follow his instruction in righteousness, the Torah. This Israel quickly demonstrated they were not willing to do, and the subsequent golden calf incident is proof of this.
The proverbial ink was barely dry on the marriage certificate between YHVH and the children of Israel, or otherwise state, the children of Israel had hardly said “I do” to their marriage vows (Exod 24:3, 7) when they turned their hearts away from YHVH and began worshipping the golden calf—a pagan deity from Egypt. After the golden calf incident and up until Yom Teruah (or the Day of Trumpets or Shofar Blasts) when Moses received the second tablets of stone from YHVH containing the Ten Commandments, the children of Israel, the bride of YHVH, prepared herself not only to receive YHVH’s instructions again, but this time to be faithful to her marriage vows. This Israel did. She remained faithful to YHVH for approximately 38 years while trekking through the wilderness of Sinai, after which she entered the Promised Land and “stayed the course” until after the death of Joshua. What can we as Bible believers learn from ancient Israel that applies to us today?
Sadly, the cycles of history often repeat themselves. This time, it involved the descendants of the spiritual children of Israel who were at Mount Sinai. In the early first century a.d., the redeemed Israelite followers of Yeshua received the Torah written on the fleshly tablets of their hearts by the finger of the Spirit of Elohim on the Day of Pentecost (Shavuot) as recorded in Acts chapter two. But starting in about a.d. 70 with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and continuing up through the Second Jewish Revolt of a.d. 135 until the time of Emperor Constantine (in the fourth century), the first-century spiritual bride of Messiah had, to a large extent, abandoned YHVH’s Torah-commandments and turned, to one degree or another, to a mixed form of worship (of which ancient Israel’s worship at the golden calif was a prophetic foreshadow) where some pagan practices were assimilated into the early churches’ belief system (most notably, Sunday replaced the Sabbath, and Christmas, Easter and other paganesque holidays replaced the biblical feasts).
Moses’ descent of Mount Sinai on Yom Teruah with the second set of tablets containing the Torah prophetically foreshadows Yeshua’s second coming. As Moses renewed YHVH’s covenant with the repentant Israelites after the golden calf incident and the Israelites remained faithful for a long time afterwards, even so, Yeshua, at his second coming, will establish a renewed covenant with his faithful end time saints who have come out of golden calf-type religious systems.
In our day, YHVH is calling out a remnant of people from the church who are leaving behind the pagan traditions of golden calf worship and who are returning to the ancient blessed paths of YHVH’s Torah-instructions in righteousness. The Book of Revelation speaks of a group of end-time saints who will say “I do” to YHVH (Rev 14:4), and whose identifying mark is their faith in Yeshua the Messiah (i.e., the gospel message) and yet who faithfully keep YHVH’s Torah-commandments (Rev 12:17 and 14:12).
When Yeshua returns on or near Yom Teruah at the end of this age, he will be ready to marry a bride that is without spot and wrinkle and who has come out of the end-times Babylonian religious whore system (Rev 18:4). This bride who will be wearing the robes of righteousness of Torah-obedience (Rev 12:17; 14:12; 19:7–9) will be ready to enter into a new covenantal agreement—a wedding contract or ketubah—with Yeshua (Heb 8:7–13), the Bridegroom, ever to remain faithful to him and never again to return to Baal or golden calf worship. He will lead his wife into the Messianic Age or Millennium, even as Joshua, a prophetic foreshadow of Yeshua, led the younger generation of wilderness Israelites into the Promised Land.
Golden Calf Worship Among YHVH’s People Today
The Bible warns YHVH’s people against failing to learn the lessons of the children of Israel and their falling into golden calf worship.
Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Messiah. But with most of them Elohim was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND ROSE UP TO PLAY.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Messiah, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Cor 11:1–12, emphasis added)
Let’s look at the series of events that occurred as the children of Israel were leaving Egypt, which have major relevance to what is occurring in mainstream Christianity in our day. If we fail to learn the lessons of history, we will likely repeat the mistakes of history.
The following is a brief historical review of how Israel fell into golden calf worship.
Is the phrase “the law of sin and death” as used by Paul and as found in Romans 8:2 a reference to “the law of Moses” which is a biblical synonym for YHVH’s Torah-law as revealed in the Pentateuch or the first five book of the Bible? This is what some Christians believe and teach. Here is the phrase in its larger context:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in the Messiah Yeshua, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in the Messiah Yeshua has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, Elohim did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against Elohim; for it is not subject to the law of Elohim, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please Elohim. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Messiah, he is not His. 10 And if the Messiah is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Rom 8:1–10, emphasis added)
What is Paul really saying here? If one were to cherry pick the phrase “the law of sin and death” out of its larger context, one could assume that “the law” reference is referring to YHVH’s Torah law. Many Bible believers have made this assumption thus supposedly proving the long held belief that Paul writings undergird the mainstream Christian theological belief that the law was “done away with” and is largely non-applicable to Gentile Christians. But is this Paul is really saying here? As in all things in life, understanding the contextual background of something is essential to arriving at the correct meaning and truth of a matter as we are about to discover here.
In Romans 7:23, Paul talks about “another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” This other law is what the Jewish sages refer to as the evil inclination or ha-yetzer rah with which every human is born. This is because due to the fall of man each person is born spiritually cut off from Elohim and is thus subject to the powerful influences of the world, flesh and the devil.
When we yield to our innate yetzer rah or carnal (or fleshly), rebellious, sinful nature, this brings a person under the death penalty that automatically comes on each human for violating Elohim’s Torah, for sin is the violation of YHVH’s Torah-law (1 John 3:3). The law of sin and death is simply a matter of the “law” of cause and effect, which states that one reaps what one sows, or for every action there is a reaction. Paul states this elsewhere Paul: “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Ezekiel states that the soul that sins (or violates YHVH’s Torah-law will die (Ezek 18:4). Again, John states that “sin is the violation of [YHVH’s] Torah-law” (1 John 3:4). Therefore, the law of sin and death is yielding to our sinful nature that is prone to rebellion against the word, laws or commandments of YHVH Elohim the results of which brings the consequences of sinful actions as prescribed by the Torah. The end result of sin is death or extinguishment of life and eternal separation from Elohim.
Just because YHVH’s Torah-law prescribes the death penalty for sin does not make the Torah evil any more than violating the law of gravity by jumping off a cliff makes that law evil, or violating a traffic law makes that law evil. YHVH’s righteous laws exist for man’s good—to protect us from harm, and are thus not evil. Both the Torah-law, the law of gravity and other laws (e.g., traffic laws and other civil laws) are (for the most part) for society’s protection. But if we violate them, we not only jeopardize our well-being and safety and that of other people, but there may be a penalty to pay for breaking them as well.
In Genesis 2:17 Elohim laid down a law: do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He pronounced upon man the curse of death if he violated this law. Man broke the law and ate from the forbidden tree. To go against the law of Elohim is sin (1 John 3:4). As previously noted, the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23), and the soul that sins shall die (Ezek 18:4). This then is the law of sin and death that Paul talks about in Romans 8:2. When a person obeys the Torah-laws Elohim, he will neither be sinning nor will he bring upon himself the wages of that sin which is death.
YHVH Elohim, man’s Creator, declares that every person has a choice to make: choose life of death.
See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil…I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love YHVH your Elohim, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which YHVH swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” (Deut 30:15, 19–20)
Before he died, Moses admonished the people of Elohim to choose to serve and obey YHVH. He referred to the YHVH’s Torah-law as “your life,” and he declared that bodying it was not a futile thing, but would bring blessings and long life.
“Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this Torah-law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.” (Deut 32:46–47, emphasis added)
Moreover, Paul in numerous places, including in the chapter preceding Romans chapter eight totally obliterates an notion that he is somehow against YHVH’s Torah law. Again, context is the key to understanding the meaning a person’s statement. In Romans chapter seven, Paul speaks favorably of YHVH’s Torah-law.
Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. (Rom 7:12)
How can this be taken to mean that Paul is against YHVH’s Torah? Then Paul goes on to say,
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. (Rom 7:14)
Here Paul is stating that YHVH’s law is eternal and thus immutable, but he is juxtaposing the law against his is own enslavement to that law of sin and death that wars in his own nature. He then goes on to describe this inner struggle in most honest and self-effacing terms:
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. (Rom 7:18–21)
Then in the next several verses, Paul again goes on to contrast the evil law of sin and death that is against him with YHVH’s Torah-law, which is immutable, holy, just and good:
For I delight in the law of Elohim according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank Elohim—through Yeshua the Messiah our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of Elohim, but with the flesh the law of sin. (Rom 7:22–25, emphasis added)
Then in the next two verses, Paul triumphantly proclaims that:
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah Yeshua, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yeshua has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Rom 8:1–2)
Therefore, YHVH Torah, that is, his instructions in righteousness, is not the law of sin and death. However, if we choose to follow our carnal, sinful human natures, and to choose to disregard our Creator’s words, then this will bring us under the law of sin and death, which is the negative consequences of our actions.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Elohim is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord. (Rom 6:23)
A spiritual battle is waging all around us and is attempting to separate you from your eternal, heavenly inheritance and your destiny to be the bride of Yeshua the Messiah. Playing church, being a passive Christian, while standing on the street corner waiting for the rapture bus to carry you off, is what weak and lukewarm Christians will be doing in these end times. If God has led you to this channel and to this video, then he is calling you to be Yeshua’s warrior bride and a militant and overcoming Christian, not an effete and feckless one. Watch this video and be challenged to take your commitment to Yeshua your Messiah, who gave his life for you, to the next level as his spiritual warrior bride who will put fear into the heart of our Antichrist enemies!
The Seventh Day Adventist Church adheres to the seventh day Sabbath and the biblical dietary laws, to their credit, but beyond that, there is little difference between them and Sunday churches, plus they adhere to some unbiblical heresies.
This and other videos by Nathan are available as podcasts on Spotify and Apple podcast under “Hoshana Rabbah.”
If this message has been a blessing to you, please consider showing your appreciation by making a donation to Hoshana Rabbah at http://hoshanarabbah.org/blog/. Thank you!
This is a question that I get asked from time to time by people who are returning to a more Torah-centric, Hebraic understanding of the Bible and lifestyle. While the mainstream Christianity claims that the Torah-law has been done away with or nailed to the cross, does this mean that Christians are really Torahless? If so, how does this affect their salvation?
This and other videos by Nathan are available as podcasts on Spotify and Apple podcast under “Hoshana Rabbah.”
If this message has been a blessing to you, please consider showing your appreciation by making a donation to Hoshana Rabbah at http://hoshanarabbah.org/blog/. Thank you!
In Genesis chapter one when Elohim created the sun and moon, he called the former “the greater light” and the latter “the lesser light” (Gen 1:14–18). The former rules the day and the lesser rules the night.
Then Elohim said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons [Heb. moedim], and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then Elohim made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. Elohim set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And Elohim saw that it was good.
When these verses are viewed from the drash or third level of biblical interpretation, we soon discover a surprising prophetic and allegorical revelation about the divinely intended role of Yeshua and the saints in the world.
Let us first understand the spiritual significances of the key figures in our Genesis chapter one passage. The sun in Genesis 1:16 symbolically and prophetically represents Yeshua the Messiah, who the Bible later reveals is the Light of the world (John 1:6–9; 8:12; 9:5) or the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2). That is to say, spiritually speaking, he is Greater Light of Genesis 1:16 to show man the path of spiritual light in the darkness of this world. As the sun was created in the fourth day, so Yeshua the Messiah came into this world in the fourth millennia of man’s existence on earth.
The moon or lesser light (Gen 1:16), on the other hand, represents the saints, who are like the moon or the lesser light, and whose divine mission it is to reflect the light of the sun or the Greater Light of Yeshua the Messiah into the darkness of this world. In other words, Yeshua shines his spiritual light onto his disciples who then take that light and evangelize those people who are lost in spiritual darkness of this world with the message of the gospel. This is the great commission (Matt 28:18–20; Mark 16:15–18)!
Now let us go to the next level in this discussion. In Genesis 1:14 we find an oblique reference to the YHVH’s Leviticus 23 biblical feasts in the word “season,” which is the Hebrew word moedim meaning “appointed times.” This same word is used in Leviticus 23:2 where it is translated as “feasts.” According to the Bible, together the sun and moon interact to determine the biblical calendar. The sun determines the length of the year, while the moon determines months. This is the case with our modern calendar. The solar year is 365.25 days while months are approximately 30 days. Both of these calculations are based on the solar and lunar cycles. In the Bible, the biblical feasts are calculated based on the lunations of the moon. The greater light and lesser lights of Genesis 1:16 as astral timepieces determine the length of the year and month respectively, and this in turn determines the timing of YHVH’s biblical feasts.
Moreover, YHVH’s seven Leviticus 23 biblical holidays chronologically lay out YHVH’s seven step plan of salvation to show man the way to Yeshua who is the Greater Spiritual Light as represented by the sun. The feasts are like a gospel tract or sermon which outline the step-by-step gospel message of salvation. The saints have been tasked as the lesser light to reflect the message of salvation through Yeshua the Greater Light into the darkness of this world through their adherence to the biblical feasts. This is one reason why the moon—the lesser light—is so pivotal to YHVH’s calendar and feasts.
Currently, many false Torah and Hebrew roots teachers have recently risen up who are promoting so-called alternative, non-biblical calendars (e.g., the vernal equinox calendar, the rabbinic or Hillel II calendar, the Zadok/Enoch calendar and the like) that relegate the moon to irrelevance when determining the timing of YHVH’s biblical feasts. These false teachers have jumped the rails by ignoring biblical spiritual and prophetic patterns as they lead YHVH’s people, to their shame and ultimate judgment, down aberrant spiritual path. YHVH will hold them accountable for perverting his truth and leading his people astray!
For example, the traditional calendar currently used by the non-believing, rabbinic Jews, while claiming to be lunar based, is off; it is not in accordance with the moon though the Jews erroneously purport it to be. At the same time, these same rabbinic Jews are not bringing the gospel message of Yeshua to the world; rather, they are promoting the doctrines of men and men’s traditions. Error always begets more error. Their whole message is askew and fails to reflect the Greater Light of Yeshua the Messiah.
Similarly, while the mainstream church attempts to preach the gospel, without an understanding of the moon, YHVH’s feasts and his biblical calendar, the gospel message they preach is only a partial one and is also off spiritually. Therefore, they are not transmitting the full light of Yeshua into the darkness of this world.
It is time for both Jewish and Christian leaders along with their more Hebraic or Messianic and pro-Torah minded counterparts to return to the rails of biblical truth by observing why, how and when YHVH intended his feasts to be observed as outlined in Genesis chapter one, Leviticus chapter 23 and elsewhere from one end of the Bible to the other. May YHVH bless the Bible teachers who have not jumped the rails of biblical truth but are leading the saints down the right track. On the other hand, YHVH Elohim will judge those who are teaching doctrines of men by which his Word has been made of none effect!
