On Gold and Silver, the Glory Cloud and a Mark on the Forehead…

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Ezekiel 7

Ezekiel 7:19, Throw their silver…gold like refuse.When the judgments of Elohim become so severe with war, pestilence and famine (v. 15) that money as well as gold and silver will be of no value to anyone. After all, if there is no food to buy due to famine, what good is money of any kind? Until that time, though, money is of great value.

Ezekiel 9

Ezekiel 9:3, The glory of Elohim.(See also Ezek 10:4, 18.)Ezekiel watched in vision as the glory of Elohim departed the temple in Jerusalem prior to its destruction. The glory of Elohim never returned to Jerusalem, even in the second temple, until Yeshua the Messiah came to the temple. Haggai the prophet predicted the coming of this greater glory (Hag 2:9).

Ezekiel 9:4, Mark [Heb. tav] on the forehead.The letter tav, the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, pictographically, apparently, signifies “the sign of the covenant.” This would indicate that YHVH protects from his divine judgments those with whom he has a special covenantal relationship , which are those who have been “bought by the blood of Yeshua” and are “under the blood of Yeshua” as the Israelites were on the first Passover in Egypt when the messenger of death passed over those who had the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their houses (Exod 12:7, 12–13 cp. Rev 12:11). This also recalls Rev 7:3 and 14:11 where Elohim will write his name on the foreheads of his end times saints thus marking them to be spared from his severe judgments upon the wicked.

Ezekiel 9:6, Begin at my sanctuary. Elohim’s judgment begins first with his spiritual leaders who are supposed to teach his people his ways, and from there moves out to the people who are to be a spiritual light to the nations. As Peter says, “for the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of Elohim” (1 Pet 4:17).

Ezekiel 10

Ezekiel 10:18–19, The glory of YHVH departed. As the glory of YHVH came down upon the tabernacle of Moses and filled it when it was initiated, and has happened similarly when the Temple of Solomon was dedicated, even so when the sanctuary became corrupt because of men’s abominable practices and was about to fall under YHVH’s judgments, the glory of Elohim had to depart. This speaks of the grace of Elohim that he had inhabited his temple for so long despite the sins of Israel. Similarly, Spirit of Elohim dwells within the saints who are now the temple of the Spirit of Elohim, and if and when the saint walks away from Elohim, because of the grace of Elohim, his Spirit remains in the person to convict him of his sin and to bring him back to Elohim, even as the prodigal son in Yeshua’s parable when in the distress of his spiritual waywardness was convicted of his sin and brought back to his father. However, if the sinner refuses to repent and to return to Elohim, then heaven’s judgments begin to be poured out until either repentance occurs, or until, due to the hardness of heart, the unrepentant sinner resisting the grace and Spirit of Elohim commits the unpardonable sin and is lost forever (Heb 6:6; 10:26).

Ezekiel 11

Ezekiel 11:16, A little sanctuary [Heb. miqdash]. Miqdash is another name for the Tabernacle of Moses and derives from the word kadash meaing “to be clean, to make clean, to pronounce clean” and figuratively means “to be holy or set-apart. The primary root verb kadash is a cognate of the noun kodesh meaning “a sacred or holy place” and is another name for the sanctuary or holy place of the Tabernacle of Moses. This verse appears to be a prophecy regarding the infilling of the saints with the Spirit of Elohim and the Spirit’s indwelling presence in the redeemed believer’s life such that they are, as Paul describes it, the temple of the Set-Apart Spirit of Elohim (1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21–22; 1 Pet 2:5 cp. Acts 7:48). The spiritually clean, holy or set-apart saint has replaced the physical temple that has not existed since its destruction in A.D. 70.

Ezekiel 12

Ezekiel 12:15, Will spare a few. YHVH always spares a remnant of faithful saints, a righteous seed, who will carry on his work as a light to the nations and be a witness of him wherever they go.

 

The High Price to Pay for Worshipping in “High Places”

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Ezekiel 6:3–5, High places…idols…corpses.As a judgment against the backslid and idolatrous “mountains [nations or governmental seats] of Israel” (Ezek 6:1), YHVH promises to bring a sword against his people as they are worshipping their idols instead of him. The “mountains of Israel” in this instance is a poetic and prophetic Hebraism for the nations of Israel that YHVH has scattered around the world because of his judgments against their sin. 

In this modern age, few people bow down to literal idols, but idolatry is as rampant now as it was in ancient times. Any person, thing or idea that gets in the way of or hinders a person from worshipping and obeying Elohim is an idol to that person. It may be money, sex, drugs, education, power, sports, philosophies, entertainment, pleasure, material possessions or false religions. 

The “mountains of Israel” today are largely the so-called and formerly Christian nations of the world, which are backslid spiritually. 

Typically and biblically, YHVH raised up Israel’s enemies to punish his backslid people in hopes that they will repent of their sinful ways and return to him. The biblical Edom (or the modern jihadist Moslems) and along with other terrorists is one YHVH’s end times paddle by which he is spanking his wayward people. 

So what are the high places of the Christian nations where their idols are located that Edom is attacking resulting in slain corpses being strewn about? Think of the places where Edom and its satanic terrorist fellow travellers who are bent on killing, stealing and destroying have been detonating bombs and spraying bullets in their attempts to massacre the “people of the book” (as the Koran calls them), who are the Jews and the Christians. The West’s high places of idol worship include sports arenas and sporting events, Christmas parties, schools, night clubs, “gay” night clubs, financial centers, churches, educational centers, places of business and other places of religious activity, places of governmental authority and military installations to name a few. All these high places where idolatry occurs represent the gods and idolatrous concepts of post-Christian Israelites who have rejected Elohim for their idols. These are YHVH’s judgments upon his people to bring them to repentance and back to him.

 

The Resurrection of the Dead—The Believer’s Preeminent Hope

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1 Corinthians 15:14, If Messiah is not risen.Yeshua the Messiah is at the center of the redeemed believer’s life and belief system. Prior to his incarnation, the entire Tanakh pointed to him; the Gospels are about his life; the rest of the New Testament (appropriately called the Testimony of Yeshua by John the apostle in the Book of Revelation) reveal him in his fullness. Since then, we all look back to him as the focal point of all history before and after him. Next to the humanly incomprehensible miracle of his incarnation, what rises in preeminence about him is his resurrection. This fact is perhaps the most unique aspect of Yeshua’s life that sets him apart from all the other religious figures that have come and gone over the course of human history. As Paul states in this verse, if Messiah didn’t rise, then the preaching of the gospel is a pointless dead end philosophy­—the redeemed believers faith is meaningless.

Why is the resurrection so vital to our faith? Besides the fact that the resurrection of Yeshua is unique in the religions of men, it proves that Yeshua knew what he was talking about when he spoke about life, death, eternal life. His life, death and resurrection makes him an expert on life, death and the afterlife. He has lived on both sides of reality. He went into the realm of death, defeated it, and then came back from the dead to show man how to procure immortality by defeating death. Unlike reincarnation, Yeshua came back as himself and testified to what he had experienced. No other religious leader offers this to his disciples.

What’s more, Yeshua’s resurrection defeated death, which is man’s ultimate enemy. The followers of Yeshua no longer need to fear death, which is the mother of all human fears. This reality is the believer’s ultimate source of hope and joy as Paul so superlatively writes later in verses 54 through 57 of this chapter. 

1 Corinthians 15:29, Baptized for the dead. For certain, Paul is not talking about proxy baptism for dead people in hopes of saving them spiritually as one modern church incorrectly teaches. If so, this would fly in the face of everything else he taught about the purpose and significance of the baptism ritual. If the dead know nothing, as the Scriptures teach (Eccl 9:5), then how can a dead person consciously identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua, which is the purpose of baptism?

Verse 29 is an awkward verse, to be sure. When we have such an enigmatic verse, it’s illogical to pull it out of context and make a doctrine out of it as the Mormon church does in baptizing living people for dead people. Instead, we must interpret this verse in the light of and against the contextual backdrop of other clear passages that relate to the same subject. In the context of 1 Cor 15, Paul is talking about a believer’s hope through Messiah, and how those who don’t have faith in Yeshua have no hope of eternal life. If we die with a faith in Yeshua, we have the hope of being resurrected from the dead as he was. If we die without that hope, then all we have is this physical life and then we die and that’s it. In verse 19 (in the context of the previous verses), Paul mentions the hope that we have in Messiah because of his bodily resurrection. So now when we come to verse 29 and we read the phrase “baptized for the dead,” it should be a logical conceptual progression to understand what Paul is talking about. He is saying that because baptism is a picture of death and resurrection, and if we go through that ritual and there is no hope of resurrection for the dead, then what’s the point of it all? Why get baptized if there is no hope and “if the dead do not rise at all” as he says in the latter part of the same verse? To clarify this verse, we could succinctly rewrite it as follows: “Otherwise, what will thy do who are baptized for [the hope of] the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the [hope of the] dead?” This verse has nothing whatsoever to do with getting baptized for your dead relatives. Such an interpretation of verse 29 is a sad twisting of this passage and has caused millions of people to waste a lot of time digging into their family genealogy and then getting “baptized” for all their dead relatives.

Let us recall what Peter said of the writings of Paul, “as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (1 Pet 3:16). First Corinthians 15: 29 is another example of the difficult writings of Paul.

1 Corinthians 15:32, I have fought with beasts.Paul is comparing his experiences in Ephesus to a gladiatorial match against wild beasts. Likely, though, he means this metaphorically, since as a Roman citizen, it’s unlikely that he would have been subjected to such punishment (Manners and Customs, p. 297).

1 Corinthians 15:52, The last trumpet.In Jewish thought, the last trumpet refers to the final shofar blast of the series of blasts sounded on the Day of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) called the tekia gedolah. This is a clear indication that Yeshua will return from heaven to gather his elected — both the living and the dead — on the first day of the seventh month, which is Yom Teruah.

We shall be changed.This scripture passage along with others by Paul, James and John clearly indicates that the apostolic writers when writing these passages (i.e. prior to AD 70, the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple) viewed the second coming of Yeshua as imminent, and was not far off in the future. (See also 1 Cor 7:26, 29, 31; 1 Thess 4:14–15; Rom 13:11; 16:20; Phil 4:5; cp. Jas 5:7–9; 1 John 2:18.) The imminence of Yeshua’s second coming may have been based on a misunderstanding of Yeshua’s own words in his Olivet Discourse where he talks about the events announcing his second coming falling on “this generation” (Matt 24:34, 36). From this passage, it’s not readily understood to which generation he is referring—that one, or another off in the future, or both. It appears that the apostles applied his words to their generation. 

1 Corinthians 15:56, The sting of death.For the righteous, whose sins have been forgiven, death is not to be feared but welcomed, since it’s the doorway to eternal life. For those whose sins haven’t been forgiven, death is to be feared, since sin (the violation of YHVH’s Torah commandments) still has a legal hold on them and will result in eternal death.

 

What do I do on the Sabbath?

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I get asked the question frequently, “What am I supposed to do on the Sabbath day?” The following Torah Scripture and gives us much a unique insight into the answer to this question.

Numbers 28:9, On the Sabbath day. Every Sabbath YHVH required double sacrifices to be offered. What can we learn from this seemingly minor, easily overlooked detail pertaining to the Levitical sacrificial system to enrich our Sabbath (Heb. Shabbat) experience? Much!

The Levites offering a double sacrifice on Shabbat was a foundational principle of the sacrificial system. This teaches us that we need to spend more time seeking YHVH on his set-apart or holy Shabbat. This means being a living sacrifice to YHVH. What are the ramifications of being a living sacrifice?

In this age of self-indulgence and self-centeredness, the subject of self-denial and being a living sacrifice is not a popular one, yet laying one’s life down or becoming a living sacrifice, is a fundamental principle of the Christian life—something about which Scripture speaks volumes! (Read the following: Rom 12:1; Pss 4:5; 27:6; 50:8–15; 51:17; 107:22; 119:108; Prov 15:8; 21:3; Jer 17:26; 33:11; Hos 6:6; 14:2; Jon 2:9; Mal 1:11; Matt 9:13; 12:7; Eph 5:2; Phil 2:17; 4:18; Heb 9:26; 13:15; 1 Pet 2:4.) 

Self-denial is rooted in our covenantal relationship with our Yeshua, who is not only our Savior, but also our Master. When we become a disciple of Yeshua the Messiah and laid down our lives in the watery grave of baptism and accepted his payment for our sins, we covenanted to follow and obey him—to lay down our lives as well for him just as he did for us (Phil 2:5–8), that is, to become a living sacrifice to love, serve and to obey him regardless of what our carnal nature wants to do. As the apostle declared, we are not our own, but we were purchased with a price—the precious blood of Yeshua (1 Pet 1:18–19; Eph 1:4). This all translates into how we observe the Sabbath. On this set-apart day (i.e. it is set-apart from our normal, worldly activities), do we do what pleases our fleshly appetites or what pleases our Heavenly Master (Isa 58:13)?

So what types of activities should fill our Sabbath time that exemplify the Levites’ making a double offering on the Sabbath? Once again, please review the scripture verses listed above about being a living sacrifice. From these we learn that being a living sacrifice involves any activity that is a of worshipful and devotional nature toward our Heavenly Creator. Therefore, shouldn’t all of our Sabbath-day activities in some way point to YHVH, and in some way strengthen our walk with and relational ties to our Creator, and our relationship with others who are of the household of faith? 

Let’s not forget an important truth: Keeping Torah is not about bondage (to a legalistic set of dos and don’ts); rather, it’s a vehicle to promote bonding and relationship (i.e. building loving relationship between man and his Creator, between man and his fellow man). Therefore, our Sabbath activities are about building spiritual relationships Elohim and our fellow man.

 

A Chronological Analysis of Scriptures on the Resurrection of the Dead

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1 Corinthians 15

The resurrection of the dead is a biblical truth that stretches like a line from the beginning to the end the Bible. It is this glorious hope to which the Bible believing saint in faith clings as he or she traverses the wilderness of this life. It is this promise from on high, the saint’s cherished inheritance, our spiritual reward and Promised Land to which each child of Elohim looks that draws us forward in our spiritual journey day-by-day. The following is a list of Scriptures from the Word of Elohim that proves the hope of the resurrection of the dead is not a vain or empty one, but a reality for those who believe in and trust the promises of the Bible.

Genesis 3:2–3, The question of what happens in the afterlife goes back to the very beginning of man’s tenure on this earth as we can see from Eve’s discussion with the serpent. Out of fear of death, Adam and Eve chose not to eat of the tree of knowledge until the serpent tricked them to disobey YHVH and eat of it. The serpent lied to them by telling them that they could have immortal life and still violate Elohim’s commandments. Most men have believed this lie to this day.

Job 14:12–15, Job is likely the oldest book in the Bible, and we see that from early times until now, man has had a perennial interest in the afterlife. Job wonders what his fate will be when he dies. Will he die and that’s all there is, or is there an afterlife?

Job 19:25–27, Job came to a place in his life where he obtained a faith about his fate in the afterlife. He knew that it hinged on his faith in his Redeemer. Biblically speaking, what was the mission of the Redeemer (i.e. Yeshua the Messiah)? It was to redeem man from the sting of death brought on by sin.

Psalm 16:9–10, Though this is usually viewed as a messianic prophecy, it isn’t confined to this interpretation. Who are YHVH’s holy, kadosh or set apart ones? The Messiah fits this category, of course, but so also do YHVH’s saints. As the apostolic writers teach us, as Yeshua died and rose again, so the saints who are in Yeshua will die and rise again.

Psalm 17:15, The term “awake” as in “awake from the sleep of death” is a Hebraism referring to the resurrection. David knew that YHVH created man in his own image for a purpose. If so, then why? It’s deductive reasoning. The creation of man wasn’t a pointless, dead-end endeavor on the Creator’s part. David knew the heart and character of YHVH well enough to know that Elohim had a higher purpose for man than just to live and then to die off. David also knew that man could have his perennial yearning for immortal life satisfied by the fact that man was created in YHVH’s image for a reason and that the reality of this fact would satisfy man’s deepest yearning for immortality.

Continue reading →
 

Beware of False Prophets and Biblical Gurus—Accountability of “Prophets”

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1 Corinthians 14:29, Let…prophets speak…let the others Judge.

How many YouTube, internet and podcast “prophets” are out there claiming to hear form Elohim, and are making all sorts of prophetic proclamations as they build their empires of fame and fortune supposedly in the name of Elohim? Caveat emptor! Let the buyer beware!

Many people who claim to be prophets have a hard time being accountable to anyone. After all, they’re sure that they have heard from Elohim, so who is anyone to question them? In their mind, to question them is to question Elohim. Lack of accountability of prophets to other prophets or spiritual elders is contrary to what the Bible teaches (1 Cor 14:29). Yet such accountability is a rare occurrence in most churches where the gifts of prophecy operate.

Such a demeanor of self-delusion among “prophets” who refuse to be unaccountable to anyone can become a major stronghold of pride on the part of these individuals

If they claim to be speaking for Elohim when they are not, they are running the risk of blaspheming Elohim by speaking lies in his name. In this case, in reality, they’re speaking from the dictates of their own evil hearts, and not by the Spirit of Elohim, which is something that Elohim hates and condemns (Jer 23:16–22; Ezek 13:2–7).

Such “prophets” are under the influencing control of their carnal nature instead of the Spirit of Elohim lack, and they lack self-control, humility and meekness. Moreover, those who are driven by their own passions of impetuosity, pride, anger and accusativeness are especially vulnerable to false prophetic proclamations. They are operating not from a sound (or moderate and self-controlled) mind that is under the control of the Spirit of Elohim, but from an unsound mind (2 Tim 1:7). Such people are even open to demonic spirits because they are controlled by a spirit of pride and hypocrisy. They hate accountability from other people because the light of truth shining through others onto them might expose them for who they really are and not who they suppose themselves to be—prophets speaking the oracles of Elohim.

Furthermore, when these “prophets” have psychological disorders (e.g. they are “bi-polar,” manic-depressive, or have an obsessive-compulsive disorder) or they are under the influence of either medically prescribed psychotropic drugs or non-prescribed “legal” pyscho active drugs (like cannabis) and this is combined with some knowledge of the Scriptures and a passion for the Bible great delusion can come forth all ostensibly in the name of YHVH Elohim. In reality, these “prophets” proclaiming a toxic mix of truth error. Beware!

Add to this the alluring opportunities modern technology presents these “prophets” for stardom due to easy access to social and digital media platforms and outlets like Facebook and YouTube, the possibilities for spreading their false prophetic delusion far and wide to others is great. Anyone—literally anyone—can look good on a digital platform, and can gain sycophantic and fawning followers (just look at the sins that have been uncovered on many of the current and past crop of televangelists), but do we really know their true character or who they really? That’s why the Bible admonishes us to know those who labor among us (1 Thess 5:12), and why YHVH has given us the gift of the discernment of spirits (1 Cor 12:10).

 

Is the Torah just the books of Moses or the whole Bible?

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1 Corinthians 14:21, In the law. Usually the word law (in Gr. nomos and in Heb. torah meaning “teachings, instructions or precepts) in the Scriptures refers to the first five books of Moses, but here Paul uses the term to apply to the writings of Isaiah the prophet. Obviously, Paul had a more expansive view of the law than just to the five books of Moses, for here he applies it to the prophets sections of the Tanakh or Old Testament. 

Similarly, in the Gospel of John, Yeshua refers to the Psalms (which were contained in the Writings part of the Tanakh) as the law (John 10:34), and Jewish people, like Paul, regarded Isaiah as part of the law as well (John 12:34). 

What all this means is that Yeshua, Paul and the Jewish people in a general sense viewed the entire Tanakh as the law, or more correctly, the instructions or teaching of YHVH, since the Hebrew word for law (i.e. torah) means exactly this. What this means to us is that Elohim’s entire word should be viewed as his legal code or instructions to men on how to act. As such, no parts of it can be eliminated, relegated to the past or “done away with.” It is thus important to view the entire Word of Elohim as equally binding and relevant to all people at all times.