Category Archives: Sin, Wickedness, Evil, Judgment

“Come Out of Her My People!”—Leaving Behind Baalism, Babylonianism and Spiritual Syncretism

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The Call Is Going Forth

A spiritual call is going forth across the planet to the people of Elohim—to those who look to the God of the Bible (YHVH Elohim) as their source of spiritual enlightenment and guidance. Our loving Father in heaven is urging his people to come out of spiritual Babylon. This plea and warning message is found in Revelation 18.

1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.

 2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!

 3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”

 4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

 5 “For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

 6 “Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.

 7 “In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’

 8 “Therefore her plagues will come in one day–death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. (Rev 18:1–8)

Babylon the Great is a worldwide economic, political and religious system whose tentacles literal reach into every aspect of every human endeavor going back for thousands of years. It’s a demonic system at whose heart is the spirit of rebellion against the laws of Elohim as revealed in the Bible. It seeks to draw humans into its sticky net through appealing to man’s base nature involving his lust for power, fame, possessions, wealth, antichrist spirituality and head knowledge. All this is in opposition to the truth of the Bible and to Yeshua the Messiah, who is the central figure of the Bible. It is a cosmic struggle between Elohim the Creator, the source of all good, versus Satan, a created being who is in total opposition to Elohim and who is the  epitome of all evil. Man who is in the middle between the two has to choose who he will serve and follow. To not choose is by default to follow Satan. Babylon the Great is a poetic name for that end times worldwide system that stands in opposition to Elohim.

At this time, Elohim is calling his people out of the religious system of Babylon the Great in which they have unwittingly become entangled. We must first identify the problem and learn how it has ensnared us so that we will know what to come out of. It all starts when well-intentioned religious men start down a slippery slope called spiritual syncretism. This is what we want to discuss below.

Syncretism Defined

Syncretism is defined as “the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.”  In a biblical context, it has to do with YHVH’s people mixing or combining the religious truths as given them by YHVH, the God of the Bible, with those of the surrounding pagan cultures to form a religious admixture. Scripture reveals this act as mixing the holy (set-apart) with profane (that which is polluted or defiled)—something which YHVH detests. When YHVH’s people do this, the Scriptures liken this to spiritual adultery or fornication. Unless YHVH’s people repent of adopting pagan customs and belief systems, YHVH promises judgement upon them.

Down through the ages from the birth of the nation of Israel in Egypt until the present time, YHVH’s people have had to fight hard to not be swept along by the currents of the cultures in which they find themselves. The history of the people of Elohim is a sad and repetitive story of YHVH revealing his truth to them, and their eventually abandoning it to one degree or another to curry the favor of the world. This process started long ago with ancient Israel.

Ancient Israel and Syncretism

The biblical record chronicles many examples of ancient Israel turning away (or apostatizing) from the truth of YHVH and adopting or syncretizing YHVH’s truth with the heathen practices of the nations around them. Here are a few of them.

  • The golden calf incident in Exodus 32. While worshiping the golden calf, the Israelites proclaimed a feast to YHVH (verses 3–4).
  • The incident where the Israelite men fornicated with the Moabite and Midianite women in Numbers 25:1–18 and 31:16 brought a curse upon Israel.
  • Jeroboam when he led the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to turn from YHVH and to worship false gods (2 Kgs 17:7–23). The Babylonian church system continues to walk in the religious spirit of Jeroboam.
  • Isa 1:13–14—Elohim says, your feasts, sabbaths and new moons he hates because their yours, not his.
  • Mal 2:11—Not only Ephraim (the church) has mixed itself with the paganism of the world, but so has Judah. Judah has profaned YHVH’s holy institution, which YHVH loves, and Judah (rabbinic Judaism) has married the daughter of a foreign  god.

Resisting Baal worship—the religion of the pagans of Canaan where the Israelites lived—was one perhaps the greatest challenge the Israelites faced.

Baal Worship in the Bible

Baal was a Caananite god whose worship was characterized by nature worship and forbidden sorcery, divination, lewd sexual practices and other abominable practices that YHVH detested. Baal, whose consort (his sister-wife) was Ashteroth, had divine similar counterparts in Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman pagan religious systems. 

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Is the Torah “the Law of Sin and Death”?

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Life or death? The choice is YOURS.

Roman 8: 2, The law of sin and death. 

Some Christians who take a dim view YHVH’s Torah-law, often referred to in Scripture as “the law of Moses” or simply “the law,” refer to the Torah as “the law of sin and death”—a term Paul uses in Romans 8:2. Is YHVH’s Torah “the law of sin and death” or is there another law to which Paul is referring in this verse?

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. 

Yielding to our innate yetzer rah or carnal (or fleshly), rebellious, sinful nature brings a person under the death penalty that automatically comes on each human for violating Elohim’s Torah. The law of sin and death is simply a matter of the “law” of cause and effect, that is, one reaps what one sows, or for every action there is a reaction. To wit, Paul states that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Ezekiel states that the soul that sins will die (Ezek 18:4). John goes on to say that “sin is the violation of Torah-law” (1 John 3:4). Therefore, the law of sin and death is yielding to our carnal nature that is prone to sin the results of which brings the consequences of sinful actions as prescribed by the Torah the end result of which 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. Righteous laws exist for our 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) are for our 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)

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)

 

Leviticus 26:1–46 on Blessings and Curses and YOU

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Divine Blessings and Curses Are Based on Obedience to YHVH’s Torah-Word 

As divine blessings come upon people for Torah obedience, so do curses come upon a people who have forgotten their Elohim because they have been blessed materially and in their self-sufficiency have forgotten who is the source of their blessings as this chapter shows. These are immutable laws that are written in the universe and no human-devised philosophical or religious ideologies regardless of their cleverness can circumvent them. To go against these laws is like attempting to push a giant boulder up a steep mountainside. Eventually the boulder will role backwards crushing the pusher. What wisdom can be learned from this passage on blessings and curses?

 YHVH’s Torah instructions continually stresses that blessings are contingent upon obedience to YHVH. Similarly, Yeshua reveals that rewards in his everlasting kingdom are also contingent on obedience to his Torah-laws. The greater the obedience, the greater the reward (Matt 5:17).These principles are universal, yet how prone humans are to forget the cycles of history that repeat themselves over and over again like the unstoppable turning of giant millstone grinding into powder those who refuse to learn the lessons from the past. Each generation proudly asserts its exceptionalism and that, somehow, it is immune to YHVH’s inexorable and immutable principles of divine judgment. Only in the perfect hindsight of history can we see the fallacy of this assumption. Ancient Israel failed to learn these lessons as have subsequent people who are both ignorant of Scripture as well as many who claim to follow the Bible.

In the case of America, and Great Britain before her (and other formerly European Christian nations as well), there was in times past a national consciousness of core biblical values and, to one degree or another, a general public acknowledgement, acceptance of and respect for the Elohim of the Bible. However, as the historical record reveals, as a nation becomes blessed, it reaches an apogee of prominence, power and wealth where it becomes rich and increased with goods and no longer needs Elohim—or so it thinks. It then becomes materially fat and forgets the source of its wealth and falls into a state of self-sufficiency leading to spiritual blindness in that it fails to recognize its true spiritual state (recall YHVH’s warning to a lukewarm church in Rev 3:14–22). This can happen to individuals, churches and to whole societies.

Because YHVH loves his people and wants to walk among them, to be their Elohim and to bless them (Lev 26:12), when they disobey him and walk in ways that are harmful to their well-being, like any loving parent, he is forced to discipline them. Again and again he sends them his prophets and watchmen to warn them that they are on a path of self-destruction. But because of pride, most people refuse to humble themselves and repent (Lev 26:40–41). It is the same old story over and over again. Human pride insists that “judgments cannot happen to us because we are so special, ”  and “All things will continue as they have from the beginning and no evil shall befall us.” Such a self-assured individual and society retorts in mocking and scoffing tones in response to all those who would hold them accountable for their errant ways (2 Pet 3:3–7). If only the great people, nations and empires that have already trodden this well-worn path and are now in the dust bin of history could speak from their graves and this generation had heart ears to hear!

As a loving Father, YHVH does not lower the gavel of his full disciplinary judgments immediately upon his wayward children. He increases the dosage of his spiritual medicine incrementally in hopes that each successive ratcheting down of his judgments will bring healing to his spiritually apostate children such that they will humble themselves, confess their iniquity (or Torahlessness, Lev 26:40) and repent of their sin and submit to his laws, so that he can bless them. 

In this chapter, YHVH reveals four sets of judgments with each one becoming seven times more severe than the previous one (Lev 26:18, 21, 24, 28). This reminds us of YHVH’s end-times judgments upon a rebellious world that has given itself over to devil worship just prior to the return of Yeshua as prophesied in the book of Revelation. In that book, there are seven seals, seven trumpets, seven thunders and, finally, seven bowl judgments. 

What can you do? You may not be able to change society, but a societal change begins one step and one life at a time; it starts with your life! That is the only thing for certain that you can change. No one person can turn the whole earth into a beautiful garden, but you can start by eradicating the weeds from your own garden. You know what needs to be done. Just listen to your conscience—to YHVH’s Spirit knocking at the door of your heart (Rev 3:20), and then repent and obey YHVH and his commandments. It is that simple.

The corollary to this passage on blessings and curses with regard to Torah obedience is Deuteronomy chapter 28.

Some More Thoughts on Divine Judgment

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Elohim’s Fiery Judgment Upon Nadab and Abihu—A Lesson for the End Time Saints

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Leviticus 10:1–7, Nadab and Abihu…profane fire. 

Nadab and Abihu were executed by the fire of YHVH for not following his commandments. This disobedience was induced by the consumption of alcohol, which impaired their ability to follow YHVH’s protocols for the tabernacle service (Lev 10:9). What can we learn from this tragic story of the disobedience of YHVH’s servants who should have known better, and how will this story repeat itself at the end of this present age upon some of YHVH’s unfaithful servants? We will now discuss the prophetic implications of this story and how history will repeat itself shortly. 

Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron the high priest, were unfaithful to Elohim in that they neglected to take his commandments seriously. Perhaps they thought that his instructions in righteousness did not apply to them but to someone else, or that his laws were done away with, or that YHVH Elohim simply did not really mean what he said. Whatever the case, while executing the ministerial role as Levitical priests in the tabernacle, they became lukewarm and careless in their duties and profaned the holy things of Elohim through their excessive use of alcohol and careless indifference to the Word of Elohim. Because they were in leadership positions as priests, their example of unrighteousness like a spiritual contagion could have infected the children of Israel and destroyed that new nation at its inception. Therefore, YHVH Elohim had to deal quickly and forcefully with these erring and rebellious sons of Aaron. In answer to their sin of not obeying YHVH’s laws, the holy fire of Elohim, like a bolt of lightning out of heaven, came out (presumably from the tabernacle—a picture of Elohim’s heavenly tabernacle and throne room) and fatally struck Nadab and Abihu then and there. 

What are the lessons that we can learn from this horrific story, and what are the end time prophetic implications of it? 

We learn from the book of Revelation that at end of the Messianic Age (or Millennium) that YHVH Elohim will execute unrepentant sinners fire by casting them into the lake of fire (Rev 20:15). This is because they have been made drunk by the false religious teachings of the whore system of religious spiritual Babylon and Satan (Rev 18:3–4). Even many of YHVH’s own people will fall prey to the Antichirst worldwide political-religious-economic system and fail to heed his warning to “come out of her my people” (Rev 18:4). Many will even take the mark of the beast thus forfeiting their possible salvation (Rev 14:9; 15:2; 20:4).

We are now living in an age where, thankfully, most of our sinful actions are not met with instant divine judgment (the case of Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts is a notable exception). Does knowing that YHVH will not instantly “zap” us with his proverbial lightning bolt from heaven when we sin cause us to become lax and even calloused toward sin in our lives? Do we truly walk in the fear of YHVH? Do we fear the consequences of sin even though the results may not be immediate? For many, the answer is yes. Therefore, the rest of us need to ask ourselves some serious questions lest we too slip into a state of careless indifference toward YHVH and his commandments as did Nadab and Abihu and, later, Annais and Sapphira. How loose is your spiritual walk? How many hidden sins that no one knows about do you have that you are failing to deal with that could lead down the proverbial slippery slope and away from Elohim? 

One thing is certain. As one progresses in their faith walk, the path of righteousness becomes narrower and ­narrower, and fewer people are on that straight and rigourous path. Moreover, there are levels of rewards in Yeshua’s kingdom. Not everyone will be “the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Some will be the least, and many will not even be there at all (Matt 5:19 cp. 1 Pet 4:18). Remember that the tares (i.e. those masquerading as saints of Yeshua) that were mixed in with the wheat (i.e. the true saints or converts of Yeshua) were culled out and burned (Matt 13:24–30). This is a picture of the true versus false converts coexisting in the spiritual body of Yeshua or the church to the very end! Let us not forget that the saints in Laodicean church were secure in their state of spiritual lassitude, yet YHVH had some harsh words for them. If they failed to repent and amend their ways, he promised to reject them.

It is time for the people of Elohim to wake up from their spiritual lethargic and drunken stupor, repent of their sin of taking a careless and even indifferent view of YHVH’s commandments.

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of Elohim: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. (Rev 3:14–20)

And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” (Rev 18:4)

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Cor 10:12)

 

What Is Truth? (Explaining the difference between Truth and truth)

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This is an important question that has dangerous implications. Why? Because truth is like a sharp sword that cuts. It separates good from evil, light from darkness, sin from righteousness; it differentiates between those who are of Elohim and those who are of the world, the flesh and devil; that is, those who are of the kingdom of the god of this world—Satan the devil. Oooh, that hurts! But the fact remains: we are either in Elohim’s kingdom or the devil’s kingdom. To ignore or renounce the former is to acquiesce knowingly or unknowingly, it makes no difference, to the latter. For these reasons, most people flee from answering the question “What is truth.” This is because their deeds are evil and they do not want the glorious light of YHVH’s Truth to shine into their lives and to expose their evil deeds as John declared about Yeshua in John 3:18–21.

He who believes in [Yeshua] is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of Elohim. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in Elohim.”

Not only that, let us not forget an important fact: there are two kinds of truth. Truth with a capital T and truth with a small t. The former is divinely revealed Truth, while the latter is truth at a physical level (e.g. 2 + 2 = 4 or the law of gravity). To acknowledge the former means that one has to accept not only the idea of divine revelation, but a Divine Revealer. If so, then there is a Divine Judge who determines right and wrong. If this is true, then that Judge will bless those who live up to that divine Truth, and curse those who do not.

To acknowledge the existence of divinely revealed Truth carries with it serious implications regarding one’s lifestyle. That is why most humans choose the downward path (call Baalism or feeding from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) of sin and succumb to the notion that God is dead or irrelevant. Not only that, they attack those who believe in Elohim (the Jews and the Christians), they attack the Bible—the Word of Elohim, they attack the Holy Land where Elohim placed his name, and they attack anything that remotely represents any of these things (e.g. morality, marriage, the family, church, male and female genders and so on). This is the spirit of Antichrist, which we see rising up like a tidal wave of evil in these last days all over the world. But the reality is that these are only the death throes of Satan and his kingdom of darkness, for he knows that his time as the ruler and god of this world is short, and that King Yeshua is coming soon to dethrone him. That is why the devil is pulling out the all the proverbial organ stops in a vain attempt to prevent the inevitable and inexorable march of Truth!

For these reasons, it is important that you understand the answer to the question, “What is Truth?”

John 18:38, What is truth? 

In this age of moral relativism or situational ethics, it is unpopular to believe in, much less purport, that there is one single truth. Most humans live under the notion that every person can determine their own truth for themselves. The problem with this delusion is that when your truth conflicts with my truth there will inevitably be conflict. Ultimately, there will be a breakdown in law and order leading to anarchy resulting in unending theft, murder and wars. This was the case in primeval and medieval societies like Europe before strong central governments evolved to enforce law and order. The history of British Isles alone before there was a strong king in London was one series of blood baths after another by various raping and pillaging parties.

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Leviticus Chapters 1 to 7—What Was the Purpose of the Sacrificial System?

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The concept of animal sacrifices may be a hard for modern people to comprehend—especially for those who are squeamish when it comes to death and blood. This ancient ritual, rooted in the nomadic lifestyles of the inhabitants of the Middle East, carried more symbolic significance for a people whose daily existence was tied to the earth and who were dependent on domestic animals for their survival. It is out of this cultural background that the biblical narrative springs and with it the ritual symbols with which the ancient people described therein could relate. With these things in mind, the following is a list showing the main reasons for YHVH’s establishment of an animal sacrificial system as a means to help man to understand spiritual lessons far beyond the actual sacrifice itself.

  • The laws pertaining to the sacrificial system were added to the rest of the Torah because of sin, and were in force until the time of Yeshua the promised Seed (Gal 3:19). When and why did YHVH add them making this system incumbent upon the Israelites? This occurred after and because of the sin of the golden calf. It was then that YHVH established the Levitical priesthood and subsequently gave Israel the sacrificial system to not only show them the seriousness and grave consequences of sins, but to guide them forward on the path toward redemption and salvation.
  • The Levitical system foreshadowed and pointed to the Messiah’s ultimate sacrifice (Heb 9:11–12).
  • The tabernacle offerings were specifically designed to spiritually draw the offerer near to Elohim through the sacrifice of a prescribed animal (Ps 51:16–17; 50:12–15 cp. 1 Pet 2:21).
  • Elohim commanded offerings to assist the offerer to better understand himself; his attitude, and his personal relationship with Elohim (e.g. Gen 3:21; 4:3–5; 8:20; 22:1–2 cp. 1 Cor 11:28).
  • Altars were erected by the patriarchs in order to honor Elohim through sacrifice after having had direct contact with him (Gen 12:6–8; 13:18; 26:24–25; 35:1; 35:2–4; Exod 17:13–16; cp. Exod 20:12).
  • Proper and regular sacrificial offerings kept the children of Israel in direct contact with the Elohim of the patriarchs (Exod 5:3; 10:25; cp. 1 Tim 2:5).
  • To make the offerer holy (set-apart) so that he would be allowed to approach and commune with the Set-Apart Elohim of Israel (Isa 43:15; 57:15; Lev 19:2 cp. 2 Cor 6:16–18).
  • Under certain circumstances, blood, as used in the Levitical system, could serve as a purification agent for both people and objects (Heb 9:18–23 cp. Luke 2:22–24).
  • The blood of the animal sacrifices served to cover the offerer’s sins, thereby allowing him to draw near to the Set-Apart Elohim of Israel. However, the offerer could only be forgiven for specific sins through full repentance and by returning to Elohim’s way of life as outlined in the Torah (Lev 1:4; 4:35; 23:27–28; Heb 10:3–4; cp. Rom 4:7–8).
  • The purpose of the animals offered by the Levitical priesthood served as a shadow of the blood of Messiah, which does not merely cover our sins, but removes all of the sins of the person who accepts Yeshua’s offering of himself for that sinner (Heb 9:11–12, 24–28; 1 Pet 1:18–19; Eph 5:25–27; Lev 25:47–49; Rom 5:11; John 1:29 cp. Heb 13:10–13).

Words and Definitions

(These words are the Hebrew words behind the English words offering and sacrifice as translated in the KJV):

  • Asham: (Strong’s H817/TWOT 180b) meaning “guilt, offense, sin, guiltiness, trespass, fault, compensation (for offense), trespass or sin offering.” 
  • Chag: (Strong’s H2282/TWOT 602a) meaning “festival, feast, pilgrim-feast, festival-gathering, festival sacrifice.”
  • Chatah: (Strong’s H2403/TWOT 638e) meaning “sin, sinful, sin offering, condition of sin, guilt of sin, punishment for sin, purification from sins of ceremonial uncleanness, sinner.”
  • Ishshah: (Strong’s H801/TWOT 172a) meaning “burnt offering, offering made by fire, fire offering.”
  • Korbawn: (Strong’s H7133/TWOT 2065e) meaning “offering, oblation, sacrifice.” 
  • Minchah: (Strong’s H4503/TWOT 1214a) meaning “to apportion, to bestow, gift, tribute, offering, present, oblation, sacrifice, meat or grain offering (Gen 4:3–5).”
  • Necek: (Strong’s H5262/TWOT 1375a) meaning “drink offering, libation, molten image, something poured out (Gen 35:14).”
  • Nedabah: (Strong’s H5071/TWOT 1299a) meaning “voluntary, free-will offering.”
  • Olah: (Strong’s H5930/TWOT 1624c,d) meaning “whole burnt offering/sacrifice, ascent, stairway, steps, to go up (Gen 8:20; 22:2,3,6,7,8,13).”
  • Qatar: (Strong’s H6999/TWOT 2011,2011e,g) meaning “to sacrifice, burn incense, burn sacrifices, make sacrifices smoke, incense, incense altar.”
  • Shelem: (Strong’s H8002/TWOT 2401b) meaning “peace offering, requital, sacrifice of alliance or friendship, voluntary sacrifice of thanks.”
  • Tenuwphah🙁Strong’s H8573/TWOT 1330b) meaning “swinging, waving, wave offering, shaking.”
  • Terumah,: (Strong’s H8641/TWOT 2131i) meaning “a heave offering, any offering; an offering of grain or money, etc.; contribution, oblation.”
  • Zebach: (Strong’s H2077/TWOT 525a) meaning “sacrifices of righteousness, sacrifices of strife, sacrifices of dead things, the covenant sacrifice, the Passover, annual sacrifice, thank offering.”
  • Zabach: (Strong’s H2076/TWOT 525) meaning “to slaughter, kill sacrifice, slaughter for sacrifice”(Gen. 31:54; 46:1).

YHVH instituted the basic sacrificial system after the fall of man, and it served to point the way to the coming of Yeshua the Messiah, the eventual Redeemer and Savior of mankind. Later on, YHVH established a more elaborate sacrificial system and appointed the Levites to administer it. This occurred after the golden calf incident in Exodus 32 and in conjunction with the establishment of the Tabernacle of Moses. Paul makes reference to this “added law” in Galatians 3:19.

Depending on how one understands the scripture passages recording the vision of Ezekiel’s Temple (Ezek 40–48), there may or may not be a reinstitution of part of or the whole sacrificial system during the millennium. Some believe that Ezekiel’s Temple is only an allegorical picture of Yeshua’s atoning death on the cross and speaks to YHVH’s plan of salvation and therefore will never be built. Others feel that it is yet to be built.

After the fall of man, YHVH made Adam and Eve coats or garments of skins or leather (Gen 3:21). Though the Scriptures don’t tell us, we can guess these were made of leather from a kosher animal such as a cow, sheep or goat. In other words, YHVH probably sacrificed a kosher animal like a lamb to cover their physical and spiritual nakedness. This would have marked the beginning of the sacrificial system and thus pointed to Yeshua’s atoning death on the cross through his shed blood — the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The next occurrence of a sacrifice was that of righteous Abel in Genesis chapter four. After that, animal sacrifices become a common occurrence with the male head of each family acting as the officiant or priest for his family. It was not until the golden calf incident (Exod 32) that the responsibility of the male head of the family to perform sacrifices passed to the Levites, thus, initiating the Levitical priesthood with its sacrificial system.

Sacrifices are no longer necessary, since Yeshua our Messiah offered his body as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, once and for all, forever (Heb 10:10–21).

 

Salvation—What Is It and Do You Have It? (explained simply as YOU have never heard it before)

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YOU need to read this article to understand what the Bible really says about salvation in it full Hebraic context. This will insure that YOU are truly saved and not just an unsaved false convert or a spiritual tare that will end up being cast into the lake of fire on Judgment Day.

The following information will also insure that you do not make false converts as you share the gospel messages with others.

This information is important to know because many Christian churches DO NOT preach the full Truth about salvation, but teach the unbiblical traditions of men, thus making millions if not billions of false converts who think they are saved but who are not saved according to biblical standards.

What is Salvation?

The dictionary defines the word salvation as “the deliverance from the power and effects of sin.” In a generic sense, salvation is “the preservation from harm, ruin or loss.” Relating the first definition, which is biblical in nature, to the second definition, which is generic in nature, we see that salvation is the deliverance or preservation from the power of sin, which causes harm, ruin or loss. Salvation and redemption are synonymous terms in biblical Hebraic thought. We will discuss the idea of redemption below. In the mean time, let us explore the ramifications and implications of salvation as it relates to the deliverance from the power of sin in a person’s life and how this relates to you.

So what is sin that it causes harm, ruin or loss, and what is being harmed or being lost such that each person needs deliverance? Very simply, Scripture (the Bible) defines sin as the violation of YHVH Elohim’s (the LORD God’s) commandments or his Torah-laws (1 John 3:4). What is YHVH Elohim’s Torah-law? Specifically it is the instructions, precepts or teaching of YHVH as found in the first five books of the Bible, which can then be expanded to include the entire Bible or Word of YHVH from Genesis to Revelation. The Word of Elohim commands all humans to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Creator as found in Scripture (Deut 8:3; Matt 4:4). Man is to hear and do the Words of YHVH (Deut 6:4), place YHVH’s words in his heart (Deut 6:6), teach them to his children (Deut 6:7), and to make them the basis for all that he does and thinks (Deut 6:8). The words or laws of YHVH Elohim can be summed up as loving YHVH and loving one’s neighbor (Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18; Mark 12:30; John 14:15). Love is the fulfilling of YHVH’s commandments or laws (Rom 12:8–10). The cornerstone of all of YHVH’s laws is the famous ten commandments as found in Exodus 20. They are:

  • I am YHVH your Elohim.
  • You shall have no other gods before me and you shall not worship idols.
  • You shall not take my name in vain.
  • Remember the Sabbath day to keep it set-apart or holy. 
  • Honor you father and mother.
  • You shall not murder.
  • You shall not commit adultery
  • You shall not steal.
  • You shall not lie.
  • You shall not covet your that which belongs to your neighbor.

The first five statements constitute loving YHVH Elohim, while the last five constitute loving one’s fellow man. These ten statements are but the beginning of YHVH’s laws as outlined in Scripture, which if man break, man is guilty of sin (1 John 3:4). There are 613 such laws in the Tanakh (Old Testament) and more than 1050 in the Testimony of Yeshua (New Testament). This may seem like a lot of laws for man to have to follow, but in reality, it is a small number of laws compared to the hundreds of law books that constitute the laws of most nations on earth. Whole law libraries are established to contain the laws of men!

Law and order or the rule of law form the basis of all areas of authority in the cosmos. There are five such realms of authority as outlined in Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. They are: divine, family or parental, church, civil or governmental and that of employers. As civil governments have established laws to maintain order among the inhabitants of a society, and as all societies impose penalties upon its citizens for breaking those laws, the same is true of YHVH’s divine laws. The violation of all laws brings a consequence or penalty of one sort or another. Some penalties are serious than others. The punishment should fit the crime. If one violates the law of gravity, for example, and jumps off a cliff, the result is death. If one drinks poison or has an unhealthy lifestyle, the result will be sickness or a premature death. If one violates a speeding law, the penalty may be a fine. If an employee violates a company policy, he may get fired from his job. If child disobeys a parent, the child will be disciplined. If one mistreats one’s fellow man, there are negative relational consequences. If one murders someone, imprisonment or the death penalty will occur. Similarly, Scripture teaches that if one violates divine law (i.e. sin) the penalty is death (Ezek 18:4; Rom 6:23). 

The Bible also teaches that all humans have sinned (Rom 3:23). YHVH has imposed a death sentence upon everyone because sin results in harm, ruin or loss in one way or another. As a result, all humans need deliverance, redemption or salvation from the consequences of their sin. The Bible teaches that salvation is deliverance from that death, and that those who are saved will be granted eternal life or immortality because the death penalty has been lifted from them. Therefore, those who are saved from death, the result of sin, will be given immortality (Rom 6:23).

How can each person receive salvation from the wages or penalty of their own sin, which is death? Let’s now explore this concept.

Steps to Salvation

The Bible states that man has a sin problem (read Romans chapters 1 through 3), and that each person must take certain spiritual steps to rectify this problem. We  will now explore these steps.

One can have their past sins forgiven by placing their faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), the son of Elohim who took man’s sins upon himself and died in each person’s place to satisfy the divine and legal judgment against each person because of sin (i.e. the violation of the Creator’s laws), so that man could pass from death to life (John 3:16). What is sin? We sin when we break YHVH’s commandments as revealed in the Bible, the Word of Elohim (1 John 3:4; Rom 3:20). When a person turns away from committing sin and places their faith in Yeshua, Scripture promises that the person will experience forgiveness resulting in a glorious spiritual relationship with our Father in heaven leading to eternal or everlasting life (Rom 3:21–5; 6:23). 

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