Many Christians will casually read this Bible statement by Paul and assume that the Torah-law was done away with. Is this really what Paul is saying here and does such an interpretation line up with the rest of Paul’s writings as well as the truth of the entire Bible? Let’s look at this statement logically and in the larger context of Scripture to see what the truth really is.
When Paul said that all things are lawful to him, what do you think he meant? Is it now permissible to violate the laws of Elohim and to murder, commit adultery, lie, steal, have sex with animals, practice witchcraft, and we can also add break the Sabbath, eat pork, etc., etc.? Obviously, violating the commands of Elohim wasn’t what he meant here, for doing such is, by biblical definition, sin (1 John 3:4), and those who love Yeshua will not be sinning, but will keeping his commandments (John 14:15, 21). Moreover, it was our sin that put Yeshua on the cross, so why should we mock Yeshua’s death by continuing to practice sin? In fact, prior to 1 Corinthians 6:12, Paul listed a number of sins that will prevent one from entering the kingdom of heaven including drunkenness, sexual immorality, theft and so on. So obviously, breaking the laws of Elohim was not what he meant in verse 12. If Paul is here permitting the eating of unclean meat that the Bible forbids and calls an abomination (Lev 11), then he is also permitting sexual immorality—a sin which he juxtaposes in verse 13 with the eating of certain foods.
REALLY??????? IS THIS WHAT PAUL IS SAYING?
So if Paul wasn’t opposing the biblical dietary laws in verses 12 and 15, what was he really saying? According to David Stern in his Jewish New Testament Commentary, Paul was coming against the sexually libertine attitudes of the saints in Corinth whereby they had permitted the man who was having sexual relations with this stepmother. Moreover, the church was even allowing the sinner to remain in fellowship with the saints there and to even participate in the Passover or Lord’s Supper communion table and to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread (which the removal of sin). Stern goes on to say that the phrase, “All things are lawful to me…Food for the stomach…” is really analogous to the modern phrase, “If it feels good, do it”—a concept which Paul strongly opposes. Beale and Carson concur with Stern on this in their commentary on this verse (Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, p. 713). In verse 15, Paul goes on to make the point that our bodies are the temples of the Set-Apart Spirit of Elohim and that we need to treat them as holy vessels by not engaging in sinful practices (whether sexual immorality or eating unclean meats).
Keener agrees with Stern that Paul was confronting the ungodly and licentious Greek philosophers who would excuse their libertine carnal appetites by saying “I can get away with anything.” Paul, on the other hand, counters this by saying, “Maybe so, but ‘anything’ is not good for you” (The IVP Bible Background Commentary of the NT, pp. 464–465). Keener goes on to say that “‘Food for the stomach and the stomach for food’ was a typical Greek way of arguing by analogy that the body was for sex and sex for the body….That God would do away with both reflected the typical Greek disdain for the doctrine of the resurrection (chap 15), because Greeks believed that one was done with one’s body at death [which is why they reasoned that it was permissible to do whatever you pleased with your body now]. Paul responds to this Greek position with the Old Testament/Jewish perspective that the body is for God and he will resurrect it” (i.e. in v. 14, ibid.).
Paul then goes on to explain why a philosophy that excuses sinful behavior is not acceptable to Elohim or beneficial to the saint.
1 Corinthians 7
1 Corinthians 7:19, Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing.
The Significance of Circumcision Explained—A Whole Bible Perspective
What is Paul saying here? Is he confused, or does he have a larger principal and perspective in view? Paul’s bottom line in all of his writings is that circumcision is not a salvational requirement. If it were, then, obviously, women could not saved! As we shall see, however, the Scriptures teach that in the future, for those in certain ministry situations, circumcision will be a requirement (Ezek 44:7, 9). To understand the issue, let’s briefly discuss what the Scriptures say about circumcision.
Some will say that circumcision of the heart (Rom 2:29) is a solely “New Testament” concept that happily has replaced physical circumcision. This is not quite true, for YHVH has desired his people to have circumcised hearts from the time of Moses (Deut 10:16; 30:6) and Jeremiah (Jer 4:4). What’s more, YHVH will require the priests who will serve in his millennial temple (an archetypal model of YHVH’s plan of salvation through Yeshua’s death on the cross) to not only be circumcised in the heart, but in the flesh as well (Ezek 44:7). Not only that, but all those who will enter that sanctuary, both Israelite and non-Israelite, must be circumcised physically and spiritually (Ezek 44:9).
When the world all around you is like a toilet swirling and flushing out of control on its way down to hell (literally), and you feel powerless to do anything about it, all you can do is to tend your own garden. Try to make the world a better place where YOU are living.
Tending the garden is a fundamental principle of the Bible. In fact, it is the third command of the Torah that the Creator gave to man at the beginning(Gen 2:15). This command is one of five original key commands that Elohim gave to the first humans and are basic keys to human happiness and to fulfilling man’s godly mission on earth. Fulfilling these commands were the basic keys to maintaining the idyllic state of man’s happiness and to communing with Elohim in the pre-fall world. These five fundamental commands were:
Be fruitful and multiply: Sex and procreation (Gen 1:28)
Govern or exercise stewardship over the animals (Gen 1:28)
Tend and keep the garden (Gen 2:15).
Do not eat from the tree of knowledge (Gen 2:17).
Marriage and family (Gen 2:24).
At the exact center of these five commands—between command three and four—was the example Elohim gave us of resting on the Sabbath (Gen 2:2–3). Though not a direct command, it was an implicit command in that man is to follow the Creator’s example by resting on the seventh day. It later became a direct command (Exod 16:23–30 and 20:8–11). What this seems to teach us is that the Sabbath (or Shabbat in Hebrew) is at the center of learning about how to fulfill the other five commands and learning about their higher spiritual implications. In the post-fall world after man had sinned by eating from the tree of knowledge, man corrupted the five basic commands and the Sabbath. Illicit sex, exploitation and abuse of animals, the exploitation and abuse of the earth for greedy and covetous purposes and human attempts to destroy marriage and the family was the result. Satan was then and still is on a mission to kill, steal and destroy these five areas and to get humans away from them by perverting or counterfeiting them.
When humans dedicate themselves to fulfilling these five commands as well as resting on the seventh day Sabbath, there is a basic and deep joy and fulfillment that will occur in one’s life that can be achieved in no other way.
Being in nature and tending the garden of this world is a fundamental key for man to finding Elohim, the Creator, and to discover the deep mysteries about him (Rom 1:20).
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead…
Beside tending the physical garden, the Creator gave man four other Torah-instructions or laws as revealed in Genesis chapters one and two. These five laws, along with the Sabbath, are fundamental keys to happiness, joy and blessing in this physical life. They will also bring a person to an understanding of YHVH as well. Orientating our lives around marriage, procreation, family, caring for animals, resting on the seventh day, and abstaining from the tree of knowledge [i.e. secular humanism]) are the keys to a fulfilled life on this earth.
Fulfilling these five laws in one’s life is a key to staying connected to Elohim, staying grounded spiritually and not getting sucked into the technocratic, mind-controlling and enslaving matrix that Satan and his human minions are endeavoring to impose on humanity like an invisible net as the Bible prophesied will come upon the earth in the last days (Rev 13, 17, 18).
As the world becomes more evil spinning out of control around me, all I want to do is to tend my own garden, which is YHVH’s garden—to pull out the weeds and make it a more beautiful place for him to inhabit. It starts with my own life. My life is the garden of YHVH. We are reminded of this in the Song of Solomon,
A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits. (Song 4:12–14)
Is my life a garden that YHVH Elohim wants to inhabit? Or am I just an inflated ball of head knowledge filled with facts about him, but the garden of my life is a mess and my heart is who knows where?
Consider this. Elohim planted the first humans in a garden long ago and told them (and us) to take care of it. Our forefather and foremother walked with him in the cool of the day in perfect harmony and unity until they disobeyed him and ate from the tree of knowledge—the first sin. In their minds, they were deceived to believe that his was permissible. O how our own mental reasoning or head knowledge can leads us astray and away from him if we are not careful!
We started in a garden, and we are going to end up there. The garden from heaven to which we look forward is called the New Jerusalem. In the mean time, Elohim told us to tend our garden—the third command in the Torah (Gen 2:15-16). Ask yourself this: How well am I tending the garden of my life both physically and spiritually? Do we really have a clue what this means or are we so busy filling our heads with facts and satiating the lusts of the flesh and eyes, the pride of life that we forgot about holiness, righteousness, pulling up the weeds out of the soil of our lives, pruning the trees and plants, fertilizing and caring for them so that they will bear fruit for him, and so that Yeshua our Bridegroom wants to visit our garden?
Personally, I want my life to be a resting place for my Creator or a merkabah, which is the Hebrew word for a chariot-throne of Elohim’s presence. The psalmist said that Elohim is enthroned on the praises of Israel, not the head knowledge of Israel (Ps 22:3). Let us worship the King, while tending our garden! When we do this, maybe Isaiah 4:4–5:1 will be fulfilled in our lives:
When Adonai shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And YHVH will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain. Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. (Isa 4:4–5:1)
When this prophecy begins to be fulfilled in the garden of our lives, it will be a glorious day for us, for those around us and for the world!
Our annual Scripture Reading Schedule for 2020-2021 with daily readings that began on 10/11/20 is available to download and print. The link to the previous 2019-2020’s Scripture Reading Schedule will still be available on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links” into next year. If you are using a mobile device or tablet, the link may be below, meaning you’ll need to scroll down instead.
Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages. If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link or the “share your thoughts” box below.
The full “Read Through The Scriptures In A Year” schedule, broken down by each day, can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links.” There are 4 sections of scripture to read each day: one each from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and from the Testimony of Yeshua. Each week, the Torah and haftarah readings will follow the traditional one-year reading cycle.
Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 6/13 through 6/19/2021.
The Spirit of Antichrist Is Rising Up and Taking Over
Can’t you see it? Can you hear it? The dust clouds and the sound of marching feet from Satan’s foot soldiers who are driven by the spirit of Antichrist intent of conquering the earth. These determined warriors are on a murderous warpath and in the crosshairs of their weapons of mass destruction are the saints of the Most High Elohim. What are the saints supposed to do about this?
The pounding of jackboots of Satan’s fascistic thugs can be heard everywhere as they advance relentless across the face of the earth. They have a thousand faces and numerous front organizations carrying their banner and supporting their nefarious cause. In their wake is death, darkness and the destruction of everything that is good, honorable, decent and righteous: the family, marriage, godliness, law and order, civility, honor and respect for others, love of truth, and the fear of Elohim and his ways. Usurping its place is atheism, secularism, leftism, deprivation of civil liberties, extreme hedonism, lawlessness, licentiousness, anarchy, chaos and death. The driving force behind it all is a rabid hatred of Elohim, Yeshua the Messiah, the Bible and anyone who is remotely associated with these. And no surprise. Yeshua and his apostles prophesied that this would occur in the last days just prior to his return. We can read these prophecies in Matthew chapter 24, the book of Revelation, in John’s first epistle and elsewhere. Moreover, these satanic armies are empowered and financed by the most powerful and seemingly unstoppable forces that control this planet. So is there anything that the true followers of Yeshua can do about this? If so, what should our response be?
In the Face of Evil and Death, What Did the Biblical Saints Do?
The Bible is full of stories of YHVH’s people facing overwhelming odds in the face of their enemies. For example, think of the Israelites against the Pharaoh and his armies, or confronting the Canaanites guarding the Promised Land, or Gideon against the Midianites, Samson against the Philistines, David against Goliath and the list goes on. But let’s be honest. To most of us, the biblical record of the valiant heroism and victories of YHVH’s saints over their enemies are nothing more than wonderful stories from dim antiquity and have little or no relevance to us today in our present situation. However, if we scroll forward in history closer to our time, we might find some biblical scenarios that are more analogous to the times in which we are now living. For example, in the book of Acts, when the Jewish murderers of Yeshua were on a rampage against the disciples of Yeshua, what was the saints’ response? Run and hide cowering in a corner? No. We read,
Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Yeshua.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of Elohim with boldness. (Acts 4:29—31)
Their prayerful plea to heaven wasn’t, “O Lord protect us from our enemies.” Rather, it was, “O Lord, grant us boldness to preach the gospel with signs and wonders following as Yeshua commanded us to do in Mark 16:15–18 and Matthew 28:19–20.”
The “Foolishness” of Preaching the Gospel
Preaching the gospel seems like a bizarre and foolish if not an insane response to those who are intent on depriving us of our God-given or “inalienable rights… [of] life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” to quote the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. This is because:
[T]he natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of Elohim, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Cor 2:14)
It is also because the ways of Elohim are not the ways of men.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says YHVH. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa 55:8–9)
And as Paul stated,
Because the foolishness of Elohim is wiser than men, and the weakness of Elohim is stronger than men. (1 Cor 1:25)
For YHVH has chosen the “foolish” method (in the eyes of the world) of gospel preaching to advance his kingdom and to confuse the world.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of Elohim. For it is written: “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND BRING TO NOTHING THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRUDENT.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not Elohim made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of Elohim, the world through wisdom did not know Elohim, it pleased Elohim through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Cor 1:18–21)
Moreover, not only has YHVH chosen the seemingly “foolish” method of preaching the gospel to expose the genuine foolishness of this world’s “wisdom,” but he has chosen the “foolish” people (in the world’s eyes) to do the preaching.
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But Elohim has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and Elohim has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised Elohim has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Cor 1:26–29)
Are You Willing to Be a “Fool” for Yeshua Like Paul?
So are you willing to be a “fool” for Yeshua? Paul, the great apostle who help to turn the world upside down for Yeshua the Messiah (Acts 17:6), considered this label to be a compliment.
We are fools for the Messiah’s sake, but you are wise in the Messiah! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! (1 Cor 4:10)
One verse earlier, Paul declared that in preaching the gospel “we have been made a spectacle [literally, a public spectacle as in a theatrical performance] to the world, both to angels and to men” (1 Cor 4:9).
This is a pretty heavy duty thing for most people to consider doing. You may be thinking,“What will people think if I become a fool for Yeshua like Paul?” Or, “I’m not cut out for this. This isn’t my calling.” Or, “I don’t have the personality for preaching the gospel to others.” Well, frankly, there’s no end to the excuses that people can invent NOT to do what Yeshua has called and commissioned his disciples to do! Go ahead and rip that page out of your Bible and ignore Yeshua’s command to “Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel.” If you do, you do NOT have a Holy Bible, but a Holey Bible, the Swiss Cheese Version—one with holes in it with pages that you have ripped out of it. Moreover, what did Yeshua say? “If you [really] love me, keep my commandments…He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:15, 21). One of his commandments was to preach the gospel to the whole world. The whole world starts just outside your doorstep…
How to Overcome the Evil One
Some of you will stop reading right here, and that’s your choice to dismiss truth that challenges you out of our disobedient and lukewarm complacency. You might be saying, “He has gone too far this time.” Well, your argument is not with me but with the Word of YHVH Elohim and Yeshua the Messiah. He may be your Savior, but his he your Lord and Master? Are you doing what he told you to do, or only those things that suit YOUR fancy? For those of you who are serious about your spiritual walk and about serving Yeshua your Master who bought and paid for you with his blood, read on. Remember, we are discussing how to confront the spirit of this age—the demonic spirit of Antichrist that is sweeping relentlessly across the globe a tsunami. What are you going to do about it? Cower in the corner or run and hide, or occupy until Yeshua until he comes not living your life unto death? Or are you going to confront this evil spirit with the most powerful and life-changing weapon that has the full force and power of the Most High Elohim, the sovereign and all powerful Creator and Ruler of the universe behind it? This is what John wrote of those end time saints who deigned to stand up against Satan and his henchmen:
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our Elohim, and the power of His Messiah have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our Elohim day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Rev 12:9–11, emphasis added)
A major aspect of overcoming the evil one and his minions in the last days involves “the word of our testimony.” A word is something that is spoken to others and involves sharing the gospel message with others including your personal testimony of what Yeshua has done for you. This may mean that you have to put yourself out there past your comfort zone and even do what doesn’t come naturally to you. In this regard, what has YHVH promised to do for those who step out in faith and obedience trusting him as they share the gospel with others?
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. (Ps 81:10)
Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of Elohim. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of Elohim.…Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. (Luke 12:8–9, 11–12)
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of the Messiah may rest upon me. (1 Cor 12:9)
“This is the word of YHVH to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says YHVH of hosts.…For who has despised the day of small things? (Zech 4:6, 10)
As we watch the rise of violent rebellion and civil disobedience in western—formerly Christian—nations (and elsewhere), it would behoove us to determine what is at the root and core of this movement, so that we can determine its source and what our response should be.
Human nature has never changed from the beginning of human history to the present. What is happening today has happened before. Only the actors, costumes and theater venues have changed, but the story’s plot is the same from the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden until now.
This ever-repeating and sad never-ending story goes like this: Elohim the Creator laid down certain rules and guidelines for humans to follow for their own blessing and well-being. Along came a snake in a tree to dissuade humans to rebel against Elohim’s rule of law, and rebellious and malcontented humans egged on by the same God-hating snake (that is, Satan the arch-rebel) have been marching to the same drum beat ever since.
We see the modern manifestations of this same satanic rebellion in the various current leftist movements that like the many-headed Hydra of ancient Greek mythology have many faces: leftism, atheism, secular humanism, moral relativism, socialism, the rise of the nanny-state, the rise in democratic mob rule, race wars, the attack on Judea-Christians values, the rise of false and Antichrist religious systems, evolution, rebellion against western culture and history and so on.
This is not to say that western culture is perfect and that there aren’t systemic problems that need fixing and that some of the issues of the leftist malcontents aren’t legitimate. There are problems that need fixing, but left’s solution of destroying the biblical foundations of the west is not the answer to the problem. The problem is that the left generally wants to kill, steal and destroy in its effort to supposedly correct the problems in western societies that despite their weaknesses have generally done more good than harm in improving the human condition when held up against the backdrop of human history. And the left has no solutions to the problems of western civilization. Their only solutions is societal upheaval—to kill, steal and destroy. They can’t point to one example past or present where their ideologies have worked. In the wake of leftist ideals there as always been mass bloodshed, anarchy, mayhem, repression, loss of freedom, enslavement and loss of social liberties. Always!
To understand the evil spirit that is behind modern leftism, let’s go back to the Bible to one of the earliest leftists—Korah the malcontent. When we study his character, life and methods of operation, we will see many parallels between him and and the modern rabble rousers who are trying to turn society on its head and usurp authority for themselves.
The Spirit of Korah
The spirit of Korah is currently alive and well on planet earth. The righteous must discern, identify and then oppose this evil spirit. Everywhere in every way, this demonic spirit of rebellion is attempting to destroy the work of YHVH Elohim on earth.
The spirit of Korah is the spirit of rebellion against YHVH and his divine authority and biblical truth. In our society, it is manifested in the philosophies of secular humanism, atheism, the New Age Movement, radical environmentalism, earth worship, progressivism, socialism, Marxism, evolution, which are all aspects of the Babylon the Great, New World Order political-religious system that will oppose the saints of Yeshua and Yeshua himself at this second coming. We also see this spirit at work, supported and encouraged in international politics, in our own government, in our educational systems, in the media, in the false religions of the world, and in the apostate church where foundational Judeo-Christian biblical values are being rejected and even demonized.
The spirit Korah, the rebel, has even worked its way into the modern church system where it is attempting to subvert and pervert the truth of Elohim as revealed in the Bible, and to undermine legitimate, YHVH-ordained authority. Every man becomes his own spiritual leader, refuses the accountability afforded by authentic godly spiritual leadership, and basically chooses to do what is right in his own eyes. Many modern churches are going so far as to water down or reject core biblical truths and values and instead emphasize ecumenism, New Age thought, one-world spirituality and a social activist paradigm. Ultimately, this is a rejection of the divine truth of YHVH Elohim as revealed in the Scriptures.
The rebellion of Korah and his comrades against Moses and Aaron and Elohim’s resulting judgment against them is a prophetic picture of what will happen in the end times against all modern Korah-like rebels. In fact, it is a picture of the judgment of Elohim that will happen to ALL sinners who choose to rebel against YHVH, his will, his Word and truth, his plans and purposes and those on this earth who are carrying out his will.
The spirit of Korah continues to manifest itself in uprisings against godly authority both within the church, and globally as the New World Order, which the Book of Revelation calls Babylon the Great, takes a more strident and virulent stand against Elohim, the Bible and the saints.
The fate of Korah and his band of rebellious malcontents is a prophetic picture of YHVH’s end time judgments against all those who dare to stand against him. The second chapter of Psalm speaks about this:
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against YHVH, and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: Adonai shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.… Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
The Spirit of Korah Under a Microscope
The spirit of Korah IS NOT a pretty picture when looked at closely.
Although Korah was a Levite, the grandson of Levi, and therefore a cousin to Moses and Aaron, he was not a priest, but he coveted the priesthood given to Aaron and his sons.
Dathan, Abiram and On were sons Reuben who was the disinherited firstborn son of Jacob and coveted the leadership role over Israel that YHVH had given to Moses and Aaron.
In their minds, this group of men had legitimate and legally based grounds for being discontent. Korah was a Levite and Dathan and his friends were leaders of the firstborn tribe of Israel.
In their minds, they had legitimate gripes against Moses and Aaron. On that basis, they
What are the fundamentals of the Hebraic Christian faith for which the Bible instructs the saints to earnestly contend? The modern Messianic or Hebrew roots movement, as opposed to mainstream Christianity, while purporting to be returning to the Hebraic, Torah-based foundations of Christianity, in many placers, is getting sidetracked or even, dare we say, derailed from the first century, book of Acts faith once delivered as revealed in the writings of the apostles of Yeshua. So just what are the bedrock tenets of the apostolic faith that the end time saints are called to defend?
Even in the first century, Jude, the brother of our Savior, writes that he is concerned that the saints then were abandoning the bedrock principles of the faith that had once and for all been delivered to the saints of that era. If Jude was lamenting that the saints of that era were already apostatizing from apostolic faith only several decades after the death and resurrection of Yeshua, then how much more should the people of Elohim be concerned about doing the same 2,000 later? Jude writes,
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 1:3)
For the record, when we add the term “Hebraic” to “Christian faith,” we are distinguishing between the beliefs and practices of the first century, book of Acts disciples of Yeshua the Messiah as opposed to what subsequently evolved into Roman Catholic Christianity and its various off-shoots including Protestantism and its Eastern Orthodox spiritual daughters.
Sadly, in the modern Hebraic roots movement, it seems that every spiritual cornerstone of our faith seems to be under attack and open to question. It is open (hunting) season and countless so-called Bible teachers have taken aim at areas of our faith that, previously, seemed indisputable such as the deity of Yeshua, the seventh day Sabbath, the traditional family, and even the canon of Scripture.
And this is just the beginning.
There is no end to the questions being raised resulting in doubts and confusion among many saints who were once stable in their faith. For example, some men advocating plural marriage and are taking on extra wives, others say the weekly Sabbath should begin in the morning, while others declare that the earth is flat. The list of questions seems endless. Which calendar do we follow? The Hillel II, the abib barley, the Noah, the Enoch, one of several followed by the Qumran community or something else? What is the moon new, so that we know when to celebrate the biblical feasts? At the first sign of the visible crescent, at the astronomical conjunction (the “dark moon”) or when it is full? How do we pronounce the name of YHVH? Which Bible translation is inspired of Elohim to the exclusion of all others? Do meet in church buildings or homes? Do we have congregational leaders, or no leaders at all? Do we follow the dictates of rabbinical Judaism or not? What about paleo-Hebrew and hidden codes in the biblical text? How about Jewish mysticism? Should all non-Jewish Christians be called Gentiles or are they really lost and found Israelites who are returning to their spiritual heritage? Who about aliens and the nephilim? Or the so-called Illuminati et al? What about the extra-biblical books that did not make it into the canon of Scripture? Should they be part of the canon of Scripture? Should women wear head-coverings? Should we celebrate the biblical feasts outside of the land of Israel? And the list grows daily. All of these issues and many more have caused countless and never-ending disputes and divisions among leaders and teachers as well as congregational. Surely this cannot be a work of the Spirit of Elohim or is it?
So what is the faith once and for all delivered to which Jude makes reference?
When confronted with some facts based information, how many times do you hear people say, “…but I feel” this or that, as if their feelings were the basis for everything they do, say or think? Should we make major life decisions based on our feelings? Is it wise to come a conclusion about a matter based on our feelings about it? Should we make moral choices that determine what is right and wrong based on our feelings? To what degree can we trust our feelings? How reliable are they? If we cannot trust our feelings, then what can we trust? These are the questions we will answer below.
In our modern culture, it is becoming more common for people to act or speak based largely, if not totally, on their feelings. Facts and truth are becoming more and more irrelevant. After all, what is truth and who can know it?
For many people, whether they know it or not, feelings have become their “moral compass” determining what is right and wrong and thus their actions. Is this a reliable standard to follow? If everyone is following their feelings, does this promote and insure peace and stability in a society over the long haul? Whose feelings are right and whose are wrong? What happens when what you feel is right conflicts with what I feel is wrong? Who resolves the conflict? Other people making decisions based on their feelings? If feelings are the yardstick by which we measure things, then whose yardstick to we use? These all may seem like difficult questions to answer, but truth is that there is a bottom line to this issue, and it is really quite simple. Let us now discover what that bottom line is and how we can know what is right or wrong, and when and when not to trust our feelings or those of others.
First, what are feelings? The dictionary defines feelings as “an emotional state or reaction; the emotional side of someone’s character; emotional responses or tendencies to respond; a belief, especially a vague or irrational one.” In short, feelings are our emotions as opposed to our rational mind or intellect.
Here are some important questions we need to ask ourselves about feelings:
Aren’t feelings nothing more than subjective emotions? Emotions may be influenced by a person’s biases and prejudices, their base passions, their environment, the culture around them, the environment in which they were raised (family, friends, school, church) or genetics. Are all these things trustworthy and reliable factors for determining the validity of one’s feelings or emotions? If feelings are to be the determiner of what is right or wrong, then who determines whose and which feelings are valid or not?
Can you trust your feelings? Will they always lead you to do the right thing? What is “the right thing” and who determines what is right or wrong and on what basis is such a determination made?
