Tag Archives: Word of God

Do You Have a Swiss Cheese Bible—a Holey Bible, not a Holy Bible?

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The Bible equates the “Law of Moses” with the Hebrew word Torah, which is usually translated as “law” in our English Bibles, and is a word that means “instructions, precepts, teachings [of Elohim].” As such, they are a reflection of Elohim’s very character and nature. Yeshua summarized YHVH’s Torah-laws when he stated that they show man how to love Elohim with his all and his neighbor as himself.

Are there any parts of Elohim’s precepts or instructions in righteousness that man has the right to nullify, do away with, or subdivided such that any parts of it are no longer applicable to man? If so, then who is man that he can instruct the Almighty Creator on which parts of his laws are for us today and which parts or not? Is this not extreme hubris and pride—a huge sin in itself—in fact the worst and most abominable sin of all (Prov 6:16-17)?

On the contrary, the Bible from Genesis to Revelation unquestionably presents the Torah as an indivisible whole, which stands and falls together. This includes the dietary laws, which are an aspect of being holy or set apart (from this world), even as Elohim is set apart or holy (Lev 11). James says that if you break one law, you’re guilty of breaking them all. John in his first epistle says that sin is the violation of the law. Yeshua in his Sermon on the Mount states that he didn’t come to destroys the law—not even one yud or tag of it. Paul in his epistle to the Romans says that the law is holy, just and good and grace in no way nullifies the law. None of these men of Elohim made distinctions between carnal or moral, physical or spiritual or ceremonial subdivisions of said Torah-law. This is an invention of the early church fathers because of their anti-semitic theological bias. Go read them. I can provide you with actual quotes and references—and not a few!

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Are you feeding on fresh or stale manna?

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Deuteronomy 11:13, If you will hearken.In the Hebrew, this phrase literally reads, “If hearken, you will hearken….” Rashi (the Medieval Jewish Torah scholar) interprets the double usage of this verb to mean, “If [you] listen to the old, you will listen to the new” meaning that if one listens to what one has already learned by taking care to review and understand it, one will gain new insights or fresh insights into the Torah (The ArtScroll Sapirstein Edition Rashi—Devarim, p. 110; The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash, p. 995). 

What does this teach us about studying YHVH’s Word consistently and regularly? YHVH gave the Israelites fresh (not stale) manna every day, even as he watered the land of Israel with the early (fall) and latter (spring) rains (a symbol for spiritual refreshment), so that the land would be fruitful without the need of man-made irrigation systems. Manna and rain both came from heaven and are used as figures of speech Hebraically to represent Torah-truth. 

Is your life being renewed regularly with fresh revelation and insights into the Word of YHVH, into his very heart and character? Does this not refresh, nourish and sustain the ground of your life, so that it yields an abundant spiritual crop of joy, shalom, intimacy with the Father and anointing? Is your life a place of fresh manna and constant rain, or a place of stale bread and drought? If so, what changes do you need to make in your life to change this situation?

 

Who spoke to the Israelites at Sinai?

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This is a question that many Christians have. They have largely been taught that it was the Father who spoke to and led the Israelites in the wilderness, not the pre-incarnate Word of Elohim who became Yeshua.

It is convenient for those who take a dim view of Torah to believe this, since it’s an inconvenient truth in light of traditional anti-Torah Christian theology to think that Yeshua was actually the one who gave the Torah and commanded the Israelites to obey it. After all, hasn’t the church taught us that he’s the one who came to fulfill it so that we no longer have to do it?

I address this issue in the following dialog with a reader.

Erica emailed me with the following questions:

I am a fellow (fairly new) Torah observant believer in Yeshua. I was listening to a video by Natan Lawrence on “Yeshua gave the Torah-Law to the Children of Israel.”  I am confused about a particular thing he said and was hoping your could clarify it for me.

Around midway through this video Natan stated that John 5:37 shows that it couldn’t have been our Father who gave the commandments at Mt Sinai.  This verse, which states: “…You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form”

Now what I don’t understand, is that I thought Yeshua was addressing the Jews (v.18 who were trying to kill him) and their grossly misguided hearts – as He states in the next verse that “you don’t have His Word staying in you, because you do not believe Him who He sent.” I understand that no one has seen the Father (Jn 1:18) I didn’t think this verse applied to everyone – insinuating that no one can hear from the Father.  Or am I misunderstanding Natan’s point?

In ch 6 v 45 Yeshua states “Everyone then who has heard from the Father, and learned, comes to Me”

Now I agree that Yeshua could have clearly been present at Mt Sinai  as He and the Father are one – but looking at John 1:17 which states “for the Torah was given through Mosheh – the favour and the truth came through Yeshua Messiah.”   Wouldn’t it read differently if Yeshua gave the commandments? Just wondering

Again, I might be misunderstanding the point of what Natan was saying – so I appreciate your assistance with this confusion!

Here is my response:

Hello Erica,
No, you didn’t misunderstand me. I teach that Yeshua (before he was Yeshua) in his pre-incarnate state, was the Word of Elohim who the Father not only used to create the world and humans (John 1:3; Col 1:15; Heb 11:3), but to communicate with the children of Israel including the Jews (of which the Jews largely from the tribe of Judah were a part). Stephen affirms this in Acts 7:38 where the word “Angel” should, in this case, be  “Divine Messenger” referring to the pre-incarnate Yeshua who was the Divine Messenger of his Father YHVH. He was the same Messenger (incorrectly translated “Angel”) that spoke to Moses at the burning bush (Exod 3:2), as well as the Man (a prophetic allusion or shadow to the incarnation of Yeshua the Messiah as the God-Man) with whom Jacob wrestled (Gen 32:24), but who was actually Elohim (vv. 28, 30 and Hos 12:3–4), was in the pillar of fire and led the Israelites in the wilderness. Paul also refers to Yeshua as “the Rock” from which the Israelites drank (1 Cor 10:4), and says that the Israelites tempted Messiah (1Cor 10:9). Paul doesn’t say “Father” here, nor does Stephen refer to the Father as having directly interacted with the Israelites either. Moreover, Yeshua confirms that he was the I AM at the burning bush in John 8:58, which is why the Jews wanted to stone him. They thought he was committing blasphemy by calling himself Elohim. Note what he didn’t say: My Father was the I AM! He said that he was.

Furthermore, if we understand that Yeshua in his preincarnate state married Israel at the foot of Sinai (Ezek 16), then divorced her because of her adulteries, then died for her sin at the cross to pay the death penalty for the adulterous woman, then will remarry the rebirthed or born again redeemed Israel, the one new person (Eph 2:11–19) or church (Rev 19:7–9) comprised of redeemed believers who are the Israel of Elohim (Gal 6:16), then everything falls neatly into place that Yeshua was the one who directly interacted with the ancient Israelites. If you want to go deeper on these subjects, I have published many written articles and made numerous videos as well about these truths that the mainstream church has missed. What I have given here is the briefest overview.


I know this goes against what the mainstream church teaches, and thus such truths may jar a person’s comfortable understandings a bit, but as you’re finding out in coming to Torah, there are many things that the mainstream church as either missed or gotten wrong either because their apathy or outright antipathy for the Torah has blinded them from the full light of the truth of Scripture, and caused them to misunderstand the Bible because of their wearing tinted and even shaded glasses thus hindering them from seeing the full light of truth.


You can disagree with me, and that’s fine. It won’t affect one’s salvation, but understanding who Yeshua really is and was helps one to a) have a higher view of Yeshua, b) have a higher view of the Torah, c) have a better understanding the truths of the Bible which, like a beam of light, are a perfectly straight line with everything adding up, which brings us back to John 5:37 and 1:18. Instead of cramming these verses into our handed down theologies according to the traditions of men and then painting them to match, which is what the church has made an art and science of and taught us do do, as well, let’s just read and believe the Bible for what it actually say.


One more thing. In John 14:15, Yeshua says that if you love me, keep my commandments. This is nearly an exact quote of someone else telling the Israelites the same thing in Exod 20:16. It seems clear to me that Yeshua is connecting himself to that Person who previously spoke to the Israelites. 


All of this goes to the point that when we start connecting the dots and letting the Scriptures speak for themselves instead of imposing on them our suppositions based on the traditions of men who are looking at the Scriptures often through lenses of men’s thinking and philosophies, suddenly things begin to come alive more, line up more, make more sense and the Bible becomes a much more amazing and unified, unearthly, supernaturally inspired book.

 

14 Reasons to Believe the Bible and to Obey Elohim

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  1. One is a sinner (he has broken the laws of the laws of the Creator) and needs to get right with the Creator of the universe.
  2. One needs to worship, obey and serve YHVH Elohim simply because he is the GOD/Elohim of the universe and the Creator of all things and because he demands and deserves it.
  3. The Bible is the only book that lays out the path of reconciliation with the Creator of the universe through which man must come to terms with his sinful nature that is opposed to good and Elohim.
  4. Each person needs a moral compass to point him in the right direction.
  5. One needs a guardrail on the road of life to keep one from falling into the a spiritual ditch, or off of the spiritual cliff.
  6. One needs a spiritual, moral, emotional foundation upon which to build one’s life.
  7. Each person needs to understand why he was born, who made him, his purpose in life, where he has come from and what the future of holds for his life.
  8. One needs to understand the meaning of life.
  9. One needs be able to answer the deep questions of life without running from them, ignoring them or masking over them.
  10. One needs the support of a spiritual community in times of need that other like-minding believers bring.
  11. One has to decide whether one will put one’s faith in the philosophies of men, and in the reasonings of secular humanists who philosophize about Elohim, or in the divine revelation of the Creator himself as revealed in his Word, and as demonstrated by the fruits of the lives of his servants and miraculous power and anointing in which they walk. 
  12. Each person needs to get a personal revelation of who made them, why they were made them and what their purpose and destiny is.
  13. Faith helps you to understand who your are, why you’re here and where you’re going. 
  14. Man needs something outside of himself to direct his heart, focus, thoughts towards—something that can lift him upward when he is down, something beyond himself that will give him a transcendent hope, something that will give him a higher purpose and reason for living. Man has a need for this in the depths of his soul. Nothing temporal or physical will fill this need. Those who refuse to recognize this will often turn to physical, mental or emotional crutches,  to addictions or false spirituality to mask over this need. But like an air bubble that cannot be forcibly held under the water, but must rise to the surface, likewise this human spiritual need unfulfilled will rise to the surface to reveal the leanness or vacuous nature of all other things that have been used to keep man’s deep inner spiritual need suppressed.

Can you think of some other reasons to believe? If so, share them with us in the comments section. 

 

The Christians are almost right about who Yeshua is!

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Please note: When I first posted this article, I titled it, “The Christians are right about who Yeshua is!” Then I had a second thought, and changed the title to “The Christians are ALMOST right about who Yeshua is!” Here’s why I added the word “almost”:

The Christians are right about the deity, incarnation, virgin birth and his atonement death on the cross. They aren’t right, however, in recognizing him to the the “God” of the Old Testament who gave the Torah-law to the Israelites. Most believe that this was the Father.

When I wrote the first title, I was thinking about the first part of what I say above. When I changed the title adding the word “almost” I was thinking about the second part of what I say above.   Natan

John 1:1, The Word was Elohim. Is Yeshua or the Father the God (Elohim) of the Old Testament (Tanakh)? For many believers in Yeshua, there is confusion as to who it was in the Godhead who interacted with the Israelites in the Tankah. Was it the Father or the Son? In the minds of the apostolic writers, there was no confusion about this. Yeshua, in his preincarnate state, was the One that YHVH Elohim the Father used to both create (John 1:3; Col 1:16; Heb 11:3), and then to interact with mankind. He was the Word of YHVH Elohim, the Father, who become flesh and dwelt among men (verse 14). This truth is easily confirmed in several passages in the Testimony of Yeshua (New Testament).

Powerful Healing Vortex

First, Yeshua himself claims to be YHVH or the I Am of the burning bush (see John 8:58 cp. Exod 3:14). The Jews viewed Yeshua’s claim to be deity as blasphemous, which is why they picked up stones to kill him (John 8:59). Next, Yeshua in declaring to the Jewish religious leaders that “I send you prophets, wise men and scribes: some you will kill…” (Matt 23:34), he is claiming the rights and prerogatives of YHVH — a right and role that Continue reading →

 

Understanding the Mysteries of Life

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The more you study the Word of Elohim (the Scriptures), the more the mysteries of life will be revealed to you, and you will be able to make sense of the craziness in the cosmos around you. The Word of Elohim is a light in the darkness. Light brings wisdom, understanding and hope. Hope brings joy and peace. This results in love for one’s fellow man and for Elohim, for perfect love casts out fear. This is abiding in the Father’s river of life that flows from his throne in heaven.
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You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. (Ps 119:99–101)

 

Yeshua Is the Living Torah

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Yeshua was the Torah-Word of Elohim that was Elohim, and who came to earth to live in flesh form (John 1:1–14).

He was the I am that was before Abraham (John 8:58)

Rom 10, Yeshua is the ultimate expression, end goal of fullest fulfillment of Torah (Rom 10:4). Paul equates Yeshua, the Living Torah, with the written Torah of Moses (verses 5–10). In Rom 10:11 through 21, Paul goes on to relate this very truth to being the central message of the gospel that Isaiah prophesied (Isa 52:7) would be preached to redeem both houses of Israel to Yeshua their Messiah.

Yeshua, was the Torah-Light-Word led who instructed, fed and watered Israel through the wilderness.

1 Cor 10:4, Yeshua was spiritual Rock that fed the Israelites.

Acts 7:38, Yeshua was the one who spoke from Mt. Sinai and who was with the angel that led the Israelites in the wilderness.

Yeshua is the Living Manna (John 6:48–51).

Yeshua equates himself with Torah (John 6—manna).

Yeshua referring to himself as the Light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5; 12:46) urged his disciples to believe in that Light and to become children of Light (John 12:35–36).

Believers are not only called to emulate their Master and become light as he is light, but they are called to put on the “armor of light” which is likened to walking in righteousness (Rom 12:12–13) after the similitude of their Father in heaven who is called the Father of lights (Jas 1:17) and who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim 6:16). This is the same light that caused Moses’ face to radiate with light upon descending Mt. Sinai after having been in the presence of YHVH (Exod 34:33, 35).

In the Gospel of Matthew, Yeshua urged his followers to be lights in this dark world and to be a candlestick on a hill (Matt 5:14–16).