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1. Why Do You Refer to Jesus as Yeshua? 2. What Must I Do to be Saved? 3. What's the Mark of a True Believer Who Has the Holy Spirit?
4. What is "Torah": Some Background 5. Hasn't the Torah Been Done Away With? 6. Is the Sabbath on Saturday or Sunday?
7. Should Gentiles Keep Jewish Holidays? 8. Has the Church Replaced Israel As God's People?
9. Navigating Jewish Culture as a Gentile Follower of the Jewish Messiah 10. Does God Care If We Ignore His Dietary Laws
11. If God is One, How is Yeshua the Son of God and Still God? 12. Old Testament Prophecies That Prove Yeshua is the Divine Messiah.
13. Why Did Yeshua Have to Die? 14. Understanding Spiritual Warfare
Why Do You Refer to "Jesus" as "Yeshua?"
-Matthew 1:21 - "Yeshua" is the original Hebrew name that the angel Gabriel told Yosef (Joseph) to name the Child. The angel said "You are to call Him 'Yeshua' for He will save His people from their sins". This instruction only makes sense when using the Hebrew name, because the meaning is built into the name. The name "Yeshua" refers to the phrase "YHWH Yesha" meaning "The LORD is Salvation, and also refers to the word "yeshua'AH", which means "salvation" in common spoken Hebrew. Thankfully, it's been my experience that the Lord answers those who sincerely believe and call on Him, even if "Jesus" is the only name they know.
What's the Mark of a True Follower Who Has Been Saved by Yeshua and Filled with His Spirit?
-Matthew 7: 21-23: Who enters the Kingdom of Heaven? Those who, through the Spirit of God, obey God's laws and develop Godly character? Or those who do great supernatural signs and wonders?
-Galatians 5:22-23: The "fruits of the Spirit" are the things that we work to produce in our character, in partnership with the Holy Spirit. They are different from the gifts of the Spirit, which include the ability to teach, exhort, prophesy, speak in tongues or perform miracles. These gifts are wonderful and we should seek them, because they equip us to bear witness of God among unbelievers.But because they are free gifts, they don't reflect our status of being justified or made righteous. Someone could be practicing sin and still be operating in the gifts of the Spirit. It's the Fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians and God's righteousness being developed in us as a byproduct of His Spirit living in us that are the sign and seal of being saved and born again.
What is "Torah": Some Background for Clarification
1. "The Torah" refers to the laws and instructions God gave to Israel through Moses, who recorded them in the first 5 books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
2. The Torah (Instruction) is more than just the 10 commandments. It's a written collection of 613 commandments recorded throughout the first 5 books of the Bible, God's eternal word.
3. Not all 613 commandments in the Torah applied to everyone or to every situation...there are some that only applied to women, while there are those that only applied to men. Some laws could only be fulfilled by soldiers during wartime. There are some that applied only to priests. Some laws didn't apply outside of the land of Israel, and some could only be carried out in God's physical Temple in Jerusalem.
4. Modern Mainstream Judaism follows what is called "the Oral Torah", which Judaism describes as traditions passed down verbally from generation to generation on how to carry out the commandments.
5. Modern Mainstream Judaism places emphasis on the teachings of the rabbis & sages written in the Talmud, which is a collection of their parables, legal rulings and interpretations of the Torah. This is why the mainstream Judaism of today is called Rabbinical Judaism; it's based on the teachings and traditions of the rabbis, and doesn't focus directly on the plain scriptures.
6. The Talmud is not held as an authority among messianic followers of Yeshua. Many Messianic Jews & Hebraic Christians do not regard the Talmud at all. However, some value the Talmud as a historical record of what Jewish ideas and expectations about the Messiah have been after the time of Yeshua. But it's not viewed as God's word. Only the Old Testament and New Testament, are regarded as God's true and eternal word among Messianic Jews and Hebraic Christians. Both the Jerusalem Talmud (written in 3rd century A.D.) and the Babylonian Talmud (in 5th century A.D.) were written after the New Testament was written (1st century A.D.). It is believed that many of the Talmud's teachings and doctrines are based on the teachings of the Pharisees that Yeshua opposed and argued against in the 4 Gospel accounts.
Has the Torah Been Abolished? Should We Aim to Keep the Torah?
-Matthew 5:17-20 - "All things" will not be accomplished until Yeshua returns to destroy satan and create a new heaven and earth. Therefore, the Torah remains throughout the age of mankind.
-Acts 15:19-21 - This decision by Jacob (James), leader of the Jerusalem assembly, is in response to a faction of Jewish believers demanding that Gentiles coming to the faith must be circumcised & learn the ways of Torah in order to receive salvation (which can't be earned) and before being allowed to join their assembly in synagogues. James ruled that these demands are unrealistic, burdensome, and unnecessary. Instead, he lists only basic standards of conduct for people coming from a non-Jewish background, and then states in verse 21 that from earliest times (or from ancient generations, in other translations), Moses has been preached in every city, in the synagogues on the Sabbath. What's the point of that last phrase? He was stating that the study of the Law of Moses had been available to the Gentile world for generations, without actually transforming them or producing righteousness. So the problem to be fixed for the new Gentile believers was not "ignorance of the law of Moses", rather it was the corrupt nature that has been inherited by all humans, which the law of Moses by itself, has no power to change from the outside.
-If the Torah (Law given through Moses) remains till the end of the age, but the line-by-line study and careful application of each command of the Torah has no power to produce God's righteousness in us, then what is the purpose of the Torah? The answer can be found in the scriptures listed below. From these verses, we see that the Law, or Torah, serves as a mirror, an external tool that highlights to us our flaws & blind spots, and is also described in Galatians 3 as a "schoolmaster", "guardian", "tutor & disciplinarian", or "custodian" (depending on your translation), that guards God's children & enforces God's rules and boundaries on us until we are brought to maturity through faith. This process of being "brought to maturity" is when we receive the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit produces God's character in us. This process was prophesied & promised in the reading from Jeremiah 31, in which God promises to write His law on the hearts of man, so that it becomes a part of our nature.
Is The Sabbath (Shabbat) on Saturday or Sunday? Should Followers of Yeshua (Jesus) Keep the 7th Day Sabbath? How is it Kept?
-Genesis 2:1-3: Can mankind randomly choose any day of the week as a Sabbath, a holy day of rest and focus on God, or did God specify a day? Is this day associated with all of creation or was it just given to Israel after escaping from Egypt?
-Exodus 20:8-11: This instruction also applies to the outsider or foreigner within the gates of a community of Israel. As people saved and reborn in Yeshua (Jesus), we are grafted into Israel according to Romans 11.
-Mark 2:23-27: In verse 27, Yeshua, God in the flesh, first corrects the view of the relationship between mankind and the Sabbath day, reminding the religious leader that (1) the Sabbath was made to meet the needs of man and to be a day for man to be released from bondage & burden, and (2) that it is not for man to be a slave to the rules & regulations about the Sabbath. Yeshua then proclaims that He is the authority, the final word regarding the Sabbath and the laws of the Sabbath, as He is the Word of God, God's law, in the flesh.
-Luke 4:16: Did Yeshua (Jesus) observe the Sabbath (Shabbat)? Was it on a day different from what the rest of the Jewish community He lived in observed?
- Acts 17:1-4, Acts 13:13-15, Acts 13:42-44: These are a few verses that take place long after Yeshua (Jesus) was raised from the dead & ascended into heaven. They show the apostle Paul attending the synagogue on Shabbat. Some would like to argue that he didn't attend the synagogue for the purpose of observing Shabbat, but instead, just to preach to the Jews where he knew they would be. However, in Acts 13:42-44, when Gentiles visiting the synagogue wanted him to speak more in depth with them, he didn't say "let's meet tomorrow on the 1st day of the week, which is the new sabbath day". Instead, he waited to continue speaking with them the next Shabbat in the synagogue.
Should Christians Keep the Sabbath or Sunday?
Should Gentiles Keep Jewish Holidays Like Passover, Rosh HaShanah, or Yom Kippur?
Many Gentile believers mistakenly think that these Holy Days are simply Jewish holidays that don't apply to them. However, God says that they are HIS appointed times and makes provision for the foreigners who've joined themselves to Him and to Israel to celebrate them as well. Not only that, but Yeshua the Messiah kept these Appointed Times, and it would fit that those of us who follow Him would keep them as well. Also consider that these Appointed Times point to Yeshua and are how God marks times and seasons. They serve as prophetic dress rehearsals for key events in the final redemption, and provide signs to show us where we are on God's countdown.
-Isaiah 56:6-7 - Special blessing for Gentiles (non-Jews) who keep God's 7th Day Sabbath
-Leviticus 23:1-37 - Are the Holy days called Israel's Appointed/Designated times or The Lord's Appointed/Designated Times?
-Numbers 9:14 - Provision for the foreigner who is joined to Israel to observe Passover
-Exodus 12:18-20 - Unleavened Bread (Matzah) for native born Israelite AND the foreigner joined to them.
-Leviticus 16:29- The Yom Kippur fast applies to the native born Israelite AND the foreigner joined to them.
-Zechariah 14:16-17- When Yeshua reigns as King from Jerusalem, He will require surviving families from all the nations to come to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).
Has the "Church" Replaced Israel as God's People?
God's promises to physical Israel are irrevocable, and still stand. Through God's grace in joining us to His people through Messiah Yeshua of Nazareth, those of us from Gentile nations who come from pagan backgrounds, can be adopted into God's flock, Israel. Therefore, we can share in the blessings & inheritance He has promised to His people. But the "Church" was never intended to replace Israel.
Navigating Jewish Identity as a Gentile Follower of Israel's Promised Messiah: If I Have My Own Ethnicity and Culture, Do I Have to Fit Into Jewish Culture?
Due to the exile and scattering of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah from their Middle Eastern homeland to all parts of the world, the Jewish people and the broader nation of Israel have many cultural influences. Yet, they are united by common ancestry, central beliefs and customs. Some of these customs are rooted in the Bible, while some are purely cultural. We can live a Biblically Hebraic lifestyle while maintaining our own ethnic identities because Hebraic lifestyle is much more diverse than whatever stereotype we've been taught or exposed to. Ultimately, Biblical culture and standard of righteousness transcends all culture and ethnicity. We must not confuse a Biblical way of life with a "culturally Jewish" way of life; the 2 are not always the same thing. However, if you insist on adopting cultural Jewish paraphernalia, like a tallit (prayer shawl), or kippah (skull cap), etc., it's important to maintain cultural sensitivity, because like most cultural symbols or clothing, they have meaning and tell a story unique to a particular group that most outsiders fail to understand and internalize. These are distinct cultural symbols in the Jewish community, and should not be treated carelessly. A tallit, for example, is often gifted to Jewish males at "rites of passage" events (Bar Mitzvah or on Wedding Day) and symbolizes a mantle of accountability for continuing Jewish faith, family life and culture. It has significant meaning. There is a correct way to wear a tallit and a specific prayer for putting one on. It could be considered offensive or phony to the broader Jewish community and may further discredit faith in Yeshua in their eyes, if they see a well-meaning Gentile wearing a tallit who has no real connection to Jewish culture & way of life. Treating the traditions of Jewish culture carelessly and ignorantly creates an unnecessary stumbling block if we want to share our faith in Yeshua with the Jewish community. We would do better to remain true to the identity God gave us and not get entangled with outward Jewish cultural symbols.
Types of Jews: Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, and More
Does God Care If We Ignore His Dietary Laws and Eat "Unclean" Food? Does Kosher Matter?
-Genesis 7:2 - Before the formation of Israel and the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, God already revealed the distinction between clean and unclean animals to the fathers of ALL mankind who entered the Ark. God intended for this distinction to be made by all mankind.
-Isaiah 65: 2-7, -Isaiah 66:15-17 - These verses describe a fiery day of judgement on ALL mankind, which would place the fulfillment of this prophecy at Yeshua's Return in the Last Days. Eating swine's flesh and drinking the broth of unclean creatures is listed in these verses among a series of activities that will bring God's wrath and judgement. However, it's not the eating of unclean creatures alone that brings the wrath of God. These verses are not describing eating one of the ham sandwiches that a co-worker brought in from the deli to your work meeting. What's being described in these verses of Isaiah 65 & 66 is the consuming of unclean animals as part of pagan, occult witchcraft rituals (ie: witch's brew with "eye of newt"), like the practice of necromancy (communing with the dead), conjuring spirits, and the worship of false gods (demons) & idols. That's what brings the wrath of God. We must remember that heathen, pagan cultures sacrificed Biblically unclean animals to their false gods. For instance, the Greeks sacrificed pigs to Zeus, and the worshipers of Zeus ate from the sacrificed pig. Ancient Canaanite worshipers of the false god Baal sacrificed a variety of animals, including pigs and dogs.
-Matthew 15:1-20: In this passage, Yeshua (Jesus), God appearing in flesh, not only confronts the religious leadership's misplaced priority of man-made traditions over the direct commands from God, but He states that what we put into our mouths doesn't have the power to pollute our eternal souls, and that it's what comes out of our mouths that pollute us because it is uncleanness that comes from our inner man. That being said, Yeshua didn't say that there was no benefit to washing hands or abstaining from certain foods. He is just saying that it's not a salvation issue. Choosing to regularly eat meat from animals that God already told us are unclean is not a salvation issue, it is an "ignoring God's wisdom for this life" issue, and may have natural, earthly consequences in this life.
An in-depth teaching on how Kepha's (Peter's) Sheet Vision has nothing to do with food! A great teaching by G. Steven Simmons of Triumph in Truth Ministries.
If We Know that God is ONE, Then How Can We Believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Son of God and that He Is God? Can God Take on Human Form or Are We Worshiping More than One God?
Consider the following:
-The Biblical declaration that God is One in Deuteronomy 6:4, uses the Hebrew word "Echad" (eh-HAD) for "one".
-"Echad" is often used to indicate a "unified one" as in "one (echad) cluster of grapes" in Numbers 13:23 or "the two shall become one (echad) flesh" in Genesis 2:24.
-The Hebrew word to indicate a "single, solitary one" is "Yechid" (yeh-HEED), which is not used in the declaration that God is One.
-Though God is Spirit, He can still physically show or manifest Himself in any way He chooses, such as a burning bush or a pillar of cloud in the wilderness. The point is that God is not limited to or defined by a physical form. Though He appeared to Moses as a burning bush at one time, God is not a burning bush.
-The concept of God taking human form did not come from Gentiles or pagans, but is supported in the Tanakh (Old Testament). There are several accounts of God appearing to different people in the form of a mysterious and supernatural man, a Visitor. In almost all of these cases, the Visitor accepts worship, whether in the form of an offering or the person taking off their shoes and bowing their face to the ground in the Visitor's presence. These are clues that the Visitor is of a higher authority and is a higher Being Who is worthy of worship. In other visitations when it is clearly just an angelic being, the angel tells the person not to worship or bow because they are only an angel who serves God. Look at the following encounters:
-Genesis 18: 1-20
-Genesis 32: 25-31 - The Man had authority to directly pronounce over (not just announce to) Jacob a blessing, and then tells Jacob that he wrestled with God.
-Exodus 24: 9-12
-Joshua 5:13-15
-Judges 6:11-16
-Judges 13: 2-23
Old Testament Prophecies that Prove Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth is the Messiah (God's Anointed King) 100s of Years Before His Birth
-Daniel 9:24-27 - Messiah Would Come at a Specific Time, before the Temple's Destruction in 70 AD
-Genesis 3:14-15 - Messiah Would be the Seed of a Woman
-Isaiah 7:14 - Messiah Would be Born of a Virgin
-Isaiah 9:6-7 (v 5-6 in Hebrew Scriptures) - Messiah Would be Called the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, & Prince of Peace
-Psalm 2:1-12 - Messiah Would be Called the Son of God
-Daniel 7:13-14 - Messiah Would be Called the Son of Man
-Genesis 22:18 - Messiah Would be the Descendant of Abraham to Bless All Nations
-2nd Samuel 7:12-16 - Messiah Would be a Descendant of King David son of Jesse (Yishai)
-Psalm 110: 1-4 - Messiah Would be Superior to King David Despite being His Descendant
-Micah 5:2-3 (v 1-2 in Hebrew Scriptures) - Messiah Would be Born in Bethlehem
-Hosea 11:1 - Messiah Would be Called out of Egypt
-Isaiah 61:1-2 & Isaiah 35:5-6 - Messiah Would Come to Rescue, Heal, & Raise the Dead
-Isaiah 11:1 - Messiah Would be Called a Nazarene (Branch/Shoot = Netzer)
-Zechariah 9:9 - Messiah Would Enter Jerusalem Riding the Foal/Colt of a Donkey
-Isaiah 53:3 - Messiah Would be Rejected
-Zechariah 11:12-13 - Messiah Would be Betrayed for 30 Pieces of Silver
-Psalm 22:16 (17 in Hebrew Scriptures) -Messiah Would be Crucified by Gentiles (often called 'dogs')
Understanding Spiritual Warfare
I. Origin of satan:
-Ezekiel 28:12-17, Isaiah 14: 4-12 -(In scripture, earthly kings are sometimes referred to as a proxy for
satan, just as the anti-Christ will be the final embodiment of satan on the earth before Yeshua returns.
-Luke 10: 18-19, Revelation 12: 7-9: He was cast out of heaven with a third of the angels (fallen angels
became demons) who joined in his rebellion against God in an attempt to take God's place on the
throne.
II. The Goal of satan: The goal of satan is to steal God's worship, to distort man's knowledge of God, to
pervert and corrupt God's perfect creation, to disrupt and bring confusion and chaos, to "steal, kill and
destroy",to lure and distract people away from God's plan, and to harvest souls for the kingdom of death.
III. How satan Operates: He prowls the earth identifying targets/victims. The physical realm and the
kingdoms of this world and the atmosphere around earth are his domain, influencing world leaders and
trends of society, but his influence is limited to that which has rejected God's authority, protection and
love.
IV. Weapons, Tools, & Strategies of satan: Outright Lies for the ignorant, but most commonly Distortion
of the Truth/Half Truth/Truth Mixed with Falsehood, Temptation to Satisfy the Flesh (Pleasure, Wealth,
Success, Fame, Revenge, Short-term Relief of Needs like Hunger, Thirst, Loneliness), Illusions, Lying
Signs and Wonders (Counterfeit Miracles) Mind-control through Music and Images, Fear & Intimidation,
Exploiting a Person's Weaknesses, The Mouths, Hands and Feet that are not Submitted to God,
"Divide & Conquer" Strategy, and Entrapment Strategy (Lure You into Sin, then Accuse You before
God).
-Job 2: 7-10 (Who did satan use to discourage Job?)
-Matthew 16: 21-23 (could satan use a well-meaning person as a temptation?)
Cosmic Conflict: The Origin of Evil
Satan's Location & Origin Exposed
Former Satanist Reveals How He Attacked God's People
V. Our Defense Against Demons: (1) Confessing, Repenting of, and Applying the Blood of Yeshua over our sins (the Helmet of Salvation), (2) Knowledge of the Truth (Scripture), (3) Prayer with Fasting to bring the flesh into submission to the Holy Spirit (the will of the flesh is susceptible to satan's influence), (4) Praise and Thanksgiving, (5) Meditating on God's Promises and how He has Provided and Protected in the Past, (6) Guarding your Gates = removing anything or anyone from your life and property that is giving satan and his demons legal rights to you...this includes idols, statues, talismans and crystals, astrology, ritual candles & incense, New Age practices like Yoga and Reiki massage that channel fallen spirits into the body, tools for communicating with demons, such as Ouija boards, psychics, and Tarot cards, demonically influenced music and films which have been embedded with witchcraft, curses, subliminal messages, and demonic chords, and sexual contact with anyone who is not your spouse or with someone who has opened themselves up to demonic influence through willful sin, drug use or practice of the occult.
-Leviticus 19:31 - This warns against being defiled by mediums, spiritists, psychics and sorcerers. With what can these people defile us? With the demons they serve from which they get their counterfeit power!
-Acts 16: 16-19 - what gave the girl her psychic ability?
-Genesis 38:20-22, 1 Kings 14:24,1 Corinthians 6:15-20 -These verses refer to the common practice of cult or "sacred" prostitution in the ancient world, in which sex and orgies were part of the worship of pagan gods, which are demonic spirits. Sexual perversion has a history of being used to commune with or channel demons and is still occurring in the worship of demonic false gods and used by modern-day satanists.
-Mark 9:25-29 - (some manuscripts say "prayer and fasting")
-Daniel 10:2-14 - Daniel fasted from rich food and focused on seeking the Lord, and an angelic messenger was sent to him because he "humbled himself" and won favor. The angel (and the answer he carried) was delayed by a being called the "Prince of Persia"...not the literal prince of physical Persia, but a demonic principality over Persia in the heavenly realm. From this verse we learn that fasting = humbling and placing oneself under God's authority, and that the kingdom of satan will try to block God's answers to prayer as they are being delivered from God's heavenly realm into this fallen earthly realm. This requires the angelic messengers to wage war against demonic beings in order to break through. It seems that the favor Daniel obtained through humbling himself and fasting also mobilized the warring angel to overcome any barriers and blockages that would withhold God's fulfillment of Daniel's petition.
Former New Age Guru Warns Against Objects that Give Demons Legal Access to You & Your Home
Be Careful About the Musical Influences You Let In