What's for Supper?

Aren't all foods good to eat?

If you are Believer and love The Lord, you probably have a yearning to please God. That is important! So, when our family began to study all of the Scriptures we noticed something that simply never dawned on us before. God gives us His instruction for "living" because He loves us and He wants to protect us. And so He never changes His mind. He teaches us some very simple guidelines about what we are to eat as food and God does not change His mind.

It's the original message of the Deceiver to fall for the idea that God does not mean what He says or that He changes His mind. Some things are good for our health and some are not. In fact, God never calls those things that are bad for us food. That is where the confusion starts.... we call them food but He does not. God gives us His instruction on eating because He wants us to be healthy. Imagine that!!

Before we understood God's word does not change we simply did not understand this. We thought that what ever "tasted" good was OK. But we were wrong. Amazingly, eating healthy is the simple key to ALL of God's instruction on food! Today, modern science proves God's teaching on good health, but don't take my word for it, do your own research on what you will find here.

To start, think about this, Adam and Eve fell into sin and were kicked out of the Garden of Eden because they did not heed God's one instruction and command concerning the food they were not to eat.

The result was very serious. It changed the world.

From my Scripture studies I know that God has given us the freedom of choice between following His teaching and instruction or not. Doing the things He says are "Holy" makes us a 'set apart' people. The Hebrew word meaning "set apart" is "holy", and set apart is what God said we should be. I believe our Creator wants us to follow His Word, His Instruction for a reason! The instructions that God has given us is for our benefit and blessing, it is for our health and life. Since God is not a man, we know that he has given us unchanging instruction throughout His Word. In reading The Lord's teaching on food which Moses recorded twice in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, we can see how simple His instruction is.

Our Creator's basic training on food is really very easy, just don't eat scavengers or predators! That's the simple message. That is the basic instruction from the maker of our bodies.

Please keep reading ...

We are not to eat any sea or lake creatures without fins and scales. Why? It's simple, our Creator made any water borne fish or creature without fins and scales as a scavenger or predator.

God's 4,000 year old recorded dietary instructions are clear, do not eat fish without both scales and fins. That eliminates a number of seemingly delicious and tasty foods including shellfish, shrimp, catfish, lobster, mussels, eel, shark, sturgeon, and swordfish, just to name a few. But our Creator gives us His teaching and instruction to protect us.

As their maker, God knows everything about His design and purpose of every fish. This is something that has taken modern day marine biologists and scientists thousands of years to discover. Fish with scales AND fins are equipped with a digestive system that prevents the absorption of poisons and toxins into their flesh from the very waters they live and swim in. Carnivorous fish have very short digestive tracts when compared to herbivorous fish. For example, scavengers like catfish have fins, but do not have scales. Shark do not have scales and they are predators. Scavengers are primarily "bottom feeders" like vultures and they and have digestive systems designed to clean the environment by absorbing toxins into their bodies from the water. Clams, lobster, shrimp, crabs, mussels and squid do not have scales or fins and are known by all to be highly toxic. They too naturally absorb toxins from water. Interestingly, lobster and crabs are crustaceans and they are actually a part of the arthropod family of creatures, on land the arthropod family includes caterpillars, cockroaches, and spiders.

Likewise, unless you just want to put your health at significant risk of disease, we are also instructed to not to eat certain birds like eagles (predators) and vultures (scavengers) nor animals with toes (claws), these include rabbits, bears, cats, dogs, rats armadillos, raccoons, squirrels etc...

We are not to eat animals that have split hooves but that do not chew their cud. These of course include pigs (they are both scavengers and predators). Pigs will eat anything including dead insects, worms, rotting carcasses, garbage, and while in captivity pigs will eat their own young when stressed. Pigs do not have sweat glands so they are not able to dispose of toxins through the skin. Pigs harbor parasites and diseases. Pigs also host large concentrations of parasitic worms within their digestive tract. Like all scavengers they have a simple stomach and digestive system, rather than the more complex, ruminant stomach found in split hoofed, cud chewing animals.

God defined the four legged animals by the two characteristics of how they walked and ate. Just as our Creator spoke these animals into existence He also spoke to Moses and He distinguished the “clean” four footed animals that walk His earth with two distinct physical characteristics of locomotion and digestion. Hoofs and cuds – it’s as simple as hooves and cuds. I think this is humor of our Creator... after all part of our walk with Him is how we eat.

We are not to eat undercooked meat (blood), ask any doctor - undercooked red meat causes cancer, period! Our Creator also instructs us as a protecting Father when He tells us to not eat certain insects like spiders, flies, worms, scorpions, and other similar "creeping" insects that serve as the scavengers and predators of the bug world. These creepy crawlers are not at all like the grasshopper, cricket or locust which are actually the herbivores. Just consider them the cattle and sheep of the insect world.

It is easy for most everyone to agree that "road-kill" is not a delicacy, and that the idea of eating a rat, bat or cat is really repulsive.

Today, modern medicine has been able to uncover God's wisdom within His instruction: that consuming scavengers and predators, or under-cooked meat can infect people with exotic contaminants and highly infectious pathogens, carcinogens, bacteria, viruses, toxins and parasites that cause food-borne illness, organ cancers and heart disease. From our middle school biology classes we all know that illness and disease weakens our nervous and immune systems and over time will most certainly shorten our lifespan. While some of us may love eating catfish, lobster, shrimp, sushi or rarely cooked meats we are not to do it because these foods present health risks.

Our family used to indulge in shrimp, catfish, baby back ribs and snack on ham sandwiches before we simply realized God does not change His mind, His word stands forever.

"God's Word is absolute, He keeps His Word through eternity. For I [am] the LORD, I change not..." Malachi 3:6

We now understand plainly that God gives us His His diet instructions because He loves us. He wants to give us life that is precious, long and fulfilling, not the opportunity to become sick and diseased. His concern over the food we eat is really simple, He made the "clean" creatures for us to eat and the "unclean" to serve as nature's own disposal and garbage service.

Fatty foods are bad for you, just ask any dietitian and they will tell you to stay away lobster, shrimp and crab.

Check this out and you will see the common denominator in the prominent bacteria that are responsible for food-borne illnesses and His dietary instruction?

These include:

Campylobacter jejuni - found in intestines of animals, shellfish and birds.
Clostridium botulinum - found in intestinal tracts of animals and fish.
Clostridium perfringens - found in intestinal tracts of animals.
Escherichia coli O157:H7 - found in the intestinal tracts of some mammals, one of several strains of E. coli found in rare meat.
Listeria monocytogenes - found in the intestinal tracts of animals.
Salmonella - found in the intestines of animals and seafood.
Streptococcus A - found in lobster.

There are over 1,600 stains of Salmonella, people must burn their bacon for a very good reason!

While many may like the taste of lobster, crab or clams; medical science has found toxins and often elements like mercury in these shellfish that over time build-up in the human body. These possible exposures to these unknown dangers were advised against by The Creator and they are now proven now in our lifetime by medical science. Many say that pork, the swine that is raised for the sole purpose of going to a slaughterhouse, is 'OK' for food. But God, who created that animal to scavenge, says in His wisdom that pork, the other white meat, is not good for food.

Animals that are designed by God to be scavengers or predators are not designed to be food for us. One fact given by medical science today is that pork is closer to human flesh than any other animal. Why?

The pig's digestive time frame is very short at only four hours. This allows all impurities that the pig consumes to pass directly into the fatty tissues and meat of the animal. So, with that said, why in the world would we want to eat them? We have all heard the old saying, "you are that which you eat". Then why should we eat anything that God instructs against? This is really simple, don't eat pig!

Please keep reading on about Peter's vision...
Many have been taught to interpret the apostle Peter's vision as described in Acts 10 to actually justify eating about anything, even the scavengers, the Dead Removal Services "DRS." For hundreds of years many Christians have not read all of the message in the book of Acts. Once the Bible was divided into verses and numbered verses around the year 1,200AD many people began to read and study His word in small bytes and excerpts. This is dangerous, when this is done, mistakes are made.

For example, by doing this, many have misunderstood Peter's vision as doing away with God's dietary instruction, which if you read on you will see it is not. The book of Acts is just that, a book. It is not to read in slices and dices. Peter's dream was a vision from God to let Peter know that he was not permitted to continue in prejudice against others, specifically those that were not Jews. Peter's assignment was to enter the homes of Gentiles to bring them the Good News of the Kingdom. They were not to think of Gentiles as "unclean". The vision's message was simple, all men are created in the image of God. We are not to consider others made in His image as unclean.

When any man or creature on earth, whether on land or at sea dies, they will soon have a visit by God's clean up crew. Everyone knows that when any creature dies on land, it is consumed first by vultures, buzzards, wild dogs, and then maggots and worms. Right?

So look it up for yourself, pigs are "omnivores", which means that they consume both plants and animals... yes that's right animals, dead animals in fact. Why? They are scavengers!

Other omnivores include: rodents, mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, opossums, raccoons and the wily, sly fox. Oh yeah... barbecue rodent, sounds yummy?

When a creature dies at sea, it is consumed by shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, barnacles and other consumers of rotting, dead flesh. These "sea maggots" eat the dead that once lived in the sea. In lakes and streams we have other wonderful scavengers such as catfish and crayfish. Cajun shrimp and crayfish anyone?

Most people know that these creatures are known as crustaceans. But many people do not know that the scientific study of crustaceans is known as carcinology. Just the sound of the word "carcinology" is too close to the word "carcinogen" for me and for You!

According to Dr. Tessler, a well known doctor who wrote in the book The Genesis Diet: "Pigs are known to carry up to two hundred diseases and eighteen different parasites and worms, including the deadly worm called trichinella spiralis. This worm is commonly called trichinosis and there is no known cure for these spiral worms. The trichinae worms are so small and transparent that only trained inspectors using high-powered microscopes can detect their existence. Trichinosis can cripple or even kill anyone that eats as little as a forkful of contaminated food! Trichinosis can mimic other diseases such as arthritis, rheumatism, or typhoid fever.

Pigs have more incidences of arthritis than any other known animals in the world. Arthritis can make its way into your body from a virus or a parasite that is transmitted by pigs to humans as a direct result of eating the flesh and blood of the hog. Perhaps many other diseases are misdiagnosed and their root cause is roundworm, gullet worms, hookworms, thorn-headed worms, trichina worms, stomach worms, nodular worms, tapeworms, as well as many other parasites found in the flesh of the unclean swine. A person may be committing slow suicide when they eat bacon, ham, sausage, or pork chops."

The American Cancer Society considers the pig and pork products like bacon, salami and hot dogs to be the number one cancer-producing agent in the world today other than smoking. The body tries to fight the trichinosis worm by forming tumors around them. Incredibly and sadly a whole industry has been built around eating Biblically unauthorized, "unclean" food.

Eating properly from a healthy, Biblically based diet (physical and spiritual) can eliminate unhealthy things from our body, bringing life and vitality back, clearing the mind, memory, muscles, bones and organs and ridding us of life-threatening diseases (Deuteronomy 28). To do this we need to keep our hearts and minds healthy and stay away from unclean foods. We become what we eat. Right?

Would God want you to eat the worms and maggots from a dead animal? I don't think so, in fact I know so, that is why He said - NO! Would God want you to eat shrimp and other rotten flesh eaters from nasty, dead sea creatures? Again, shrimp, crab, lobster and other sea scavengers that eat rotting flesh are the maggots of the sea. That's no delicacy, its no wonder you need butter!

Why would you ever eat a creature that was solely designed to remove dead flesh from this world? Now you understand why some creatures are an abomination! They are not bad they just have a bad job to do, and thankfully so.

Now you know what I know, but let's get back to see just how Peter described his vision?

Acts 10:34-44 Then Peter opened [his] mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which [God] sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, [I say], ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, [even] to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God [to be] the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

So, it wasn't about food after all, was it?

Leviticus 11:1-23 And The Lord [YHVH] spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, These are the animals which you shall eat among all the animals that are on the earth. Whatever has a divided hoof, which is clovenfooted, and also chews the cud, among the animals, that you shall eat. Nevertheless these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud, or of those that have a divided hoof, such as the camel, because it chews the cud, but does not have a divided hoof So, it is unclean unto you. And the rabbit, because it chews the cud, but does not have a divided hoof, it is unclean to you. And the hare (kangaroo), because it chews the cud, but does not have a divided hoof, it is unclean to you. And the swine (hog, pig, pork), though it has a divided hoof, and be cloven footed, yet it does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcass you shall not touch; they are unclean to you. These you shall eat of all that are in the waters, whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, those you shall eat. And all that do not have fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination to you. They shall be even an abomination to you. You shall not eat of their flesh, but you shall have their carcasses in abomination. Whatever has no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination to you. And these are those which you shall have in abomination among the fowls (birds), they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey, and the vulture, and the kite after his kind; every raven after his kind, and the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind, and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, and the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. All insects that creep, going upon all fours, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that goes upon all fours, which have legs above their feet, to leap with on the earth, these of them ye may eat: the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying insects, which have four feet, shall be an abomination to you.

It's time to give up the lie... no more fish bait, no more ham or other road kill.

Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit.

Leviticus 20:25-26 You shall therefore make a difference between clean animals and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and you shall not make your souls abominable by animal, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that moves on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And you shall be holy unto me. for I, The Lord [YHVH], am holy, and have separated you from other people, that you should be mine.

Even the popular TV show Animal Planet gets it. An unclean menu as defined by God = deadly parasites... period. Check our this special from Robert Lamb's How Stuff Works. Then watch these Animal Planet Monster Inside Me videos on the subject.(Blog update September 7, 2009.)

So in Acts 10, we read that Peter saw a vision on the rooftop where he was told to arise and eat unclean animals. Peter knew the Maker's dietary instruction from Scripture hadn't been abolished, so at first he was quite confused about the vision and its meaning which he came to realize he was simply to not judge another man.

As you study the Scriptures you will understand that it uses unclean animals as ensigns which are symbolic of idol worshiping "nations", the "Gentiles", while the Word uses clean animals as the ensign or symbol of God worshiping "believers", the whole "House of Israel".

Although Peter was initially confused, after he witnessed the salvation of Cornelius (a gentile) he realized how God wanted him to interpret the vision. The vision had nothing to do with whether or not he could eat unclean food. God the Father was showing him that the people of the nations, the Gentiles, who Peter considered to be like unclean animals, were no longer to be viewed as unclean. Look for yourself, this interpretation of Peter's vision is described in Acts 10:28-29; 11:1-18; and 15:6-9.

Have you ever noticed that the ensigns and symbols of most nations of people around the globe are the same "unclean" animals noted in Scripture? An emblem is typically something unique, a symbol that identifies a common group of people. Emblems are important to people because they represent us. Peter never says that it's okay to eat pork from now on ... in fact, he was dealing with the nature of man. Yeah that's the message, the unclean things Peter saw represented the nations of man, not food!!

Just look at the emblems of the nations:

* Australia -kangaroo
* Austria - black eagle
* Belgium - lion
* Canada - beaver
* Chile - condor
* China - giant panda
* Czech Republic - lion
* Denmark - lion
* Egypt - Saladin's eagle
* England - lion
* Finland - lion
* Germany - black eagle
* Iceland - falcon
* India - peacock & bengal
* Indonesia - Komodo dragon
* Laos - elephant
* Malaysia - tiger
* Mexico - golden eagle
* Netherlands - lion
* New Zealand - kiwi
* Poland - white eagle
* Romania - eagle
* Russia - bear & golden eagle
* Scotland - red lion
* Serbia - white eagle
* Singapore - lion
* Soviet Union - bear
* Sweden - lion
* Thailand - elephant
* United Kingdom - lion
* United States - bald eagle

Are you surprised at the irony of this relationship of "unclean" animals as the symbols and ensigns of the nations of mankind? These ensigns are seen on the coins and flags of all nations except maybe one. Yeah you probable guessed it by now, there is no "unclean" animal used as an ensign of Israel! Just the star of David.

Praise God Peter figured out his dream and I give thanks to the interpretation of his dream vision and you should too!

So I must ask... why do so many "believers" so many "followers" ignore these everlasting instructions from our Creator? If we ignore His instruction, whose path are we "following" anyway?

Why would anyone ever want to eat scavengers and predators when God himself instructs us to not eat these "unclean" foods? If this is news to you, please "believe His word and let go of your "Greco-Roman" mindset, cross over and embrace your "Hebrew" Messiah. Jesus is the Passover Lamb NOT an Easter ham!

Consider this...

The Greek word “kai” καί is translated as: “and” in Revelation 14:2... But did they (the translators) perhaps just miss something in the meaning of this word? It also means “indeed”...

“Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, {indeed} the faith of Yeshua.”

Indeed we are to walk like Yeshua walked. There are foods He did not eat after all. They are the same ones noted in the Scriptures He read and taught from!

To learn more about God's food plan I can recommend these resources:

* The Genesis Diet
* Holy Cow! Does God Care About What We Eat?
* What the Bible Says About Healthy Living
* The Maker's Diet

God does care about your health, He is all about life and living it abundantly and in health. Because of that, He cares about what we eat and He NEVER changes his mind... He is life.

What does this all mean?

It means that it is now time for you to repent and return to God's covenant, return to hear and do His word, even His diet plan for healthy living so that we can walk in the faith of His Kingdom path. It's time to ready your lamp for your coming assignment. God is a sovereign God. He is a loving and He has provided a way to offer you His salvation. You do don't earn it by eating under His guidance but you can accept His gift of life and show Him you love and respect Him as you heavenly father by following His principles for living His way. Consider carefully what your life consists of, look at it and repent of your sin against Him, ask His forgiveness and accept His gift of love through Messiah Yeshua then show just Him you love Him by what you do. And do it now!

When Did "For Ever" Change?

"So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His." Hebrews 4:9-10

Wait a minute, why are we reading about the "Sabbath" in the new testament - wasn't the Sabbath changed to Sunday?

To consider this, let's keep things simple, to start just ask yourself three questions:

1) Do you believe that the Bible is God's word, that all of it is the inspired word of the Creator?
2) Do you believe that God's words, the 10 commandments apply to you, or are you exempt?
3) Do you believe that God the creator and King of the universe is perfect, or do you think that he has made mistakes and changes His mind from time to time?

From my Scripture studies I offer these answers:

1) The original Scriptures are the authoritative, inspired Word of God. They are eternal, living and applicable to my life and yours.
2) The 10 commandments, and the rest of God's instruction and teaching, applies to me and that I can't ignore His Word.
3) God is perfect, unchanging and eternal. When He says for ever, He means it. Unlike man, God does not change.

These core truths are manifest in the knowledge that we should uphold God's Word - not man's doctrine. But despite that, many teach that the Sabbath was mysteriously changed after the resurrection of Messiah but that is never found in the Bible. I encourage you to do what I have done, search His Scripture for His light and truth, not man's tradition and test everything.

You will never find any evidence that God's Sabbath has changed and you will find this truth if you just open your Bible, but you need to look for yourself. Don't take my word for it or anyone else's. Find the truth for yourself. Study His Word, dig in and you will find that the only support of a so-called 6th day or Sunday Sabbath is simply a deception, just like the one from the imposter in Eden that said God did not mean what He said.

The key to understanding the Sabbath is to understand God gives us His teaching and instruction for living because He loves us. God only named the Sabbath day שַׁבָּת because He set it apart for a holy purpose to remind people every seven days that He will give them rest from the curse of sin (see Exodus 20:8). The Sabbath day is not like other days that were only given a number by God, it is named and set apart. It's the original message of the "deceiver" to fall for the idea that God does not mean what He says or that He changes His mind. You don't have to listen to that message any longer.

Why should you be concerned about this deception?

Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

As for me, I know that I am alive and that heaven and earth are still here. How about you? If your are reading this then you are alive and God's instruction still applies to you too!

Have you read the Ten Commandments? You may want to do that. Just check out this study.

God established the Sabbath a perpetual "sign" so that you will know that is God YHVH that sets you apart from the rest of the world. God is so serious about this that He repeats His instruction. Look again at Exodus 20:8:

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."

Notice God says... "remember". Can you just imagine for a moment - that our Heavenly Father knew some of us would "forget" the seventh day and need to remember it once again? Now read the sign post of Exodus 31:13:

"Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: `Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it [is] a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that [you] may know that I [am] The Lord who sanctifies you."

It is a sign that our Savior God sanctifies YOU if you are searching to understand the Biblical background of your faith instead of theological tradition... Just look at Exodus 31:16-18:

"Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, [for] A PERPETUAL COVENANT. It [is] a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God."

When Did "For Ever" Change? Never. It is a perpetual covenant. You see, when we honor His Sabbath we are to not just rest from our jobs, chores and labor that serve our needs, we are to acknowledge God's coming day of provision as King. It represents a day that many call the millennium. The day that Messiah returns as King to restore Heaven on Earth as it was in Eden. It's the very message of The Lord's Prayer.

It about restoration, the same prophecy described here:

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. Isaiah 66:22-23

But don't freak out, God knew many would innocently forget and inherit lies from the deceiver about His instruction, but now that you know the truth it is time to correct our hearts and our calendar to align with God's. Read Jeremiah 16:19:

"O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit. Where is the evidence?"

It is plainly written that Messiah Jesus (in Hebrew, Yeshua) kept the Sabbath, after all, as the Creator (John 1), He is the One that established it:

Mark 1:21-22 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. 

Mark 2:27-28 And he said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. 

Mark 6:1-2 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing [him] were astonished, saying, From whence hath this [man] these things? and what wisdom [is] this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 

Luke 4:16-19 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 

Luke 4:31-32 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. Luke 6:5-6 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. And it came to pass also on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. 

Luke 13:10-13 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up [herself]. And when Jesus saw her, he called [her to him], and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid [his] hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. 

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ (Yeshua The Anointed One) the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

He shows us his deep concern for The Sabbath as He describes the events of the coming end of the age:

Matthew 24:20-22 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Many say that the Apostle Paul ignored the Sabbath but indeed Paul kept the Sabbath. Just read the book of Acts.

Acts 13:13-49 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath, and sat down. 

And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Men, brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, speak. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with [his] hand, said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm he brought them out of it. And about the time of forty years he suffered their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that he gave [to them] judges, about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward they desired a king: and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up to them David to be their king: to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the [son] of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who shall fulfill all my will. Of this man's offspring hath God, according to [his] promise, raised up to Israel a Savior, Jesus (Yeshua): John having first preached, before his coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not [he]. But behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of [his] feet I am not worthy to loose. 

Men, brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the words of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, they have fulfilled [them] in condemning [him]. And though they found no cause of death [in him], yet they desired Pilate that he should be put to death. And when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning him, they took [him] down from the tree, and laid [him] in a sepulcher. But God raised him from the dead: And he was seen many days by them who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people. 

And we declare to you the glad tidings, that the promise which was made to the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same to us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus (Yeshua) again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him from the dead, [now] no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another [psalm], Thou wilt not suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, and was laid to his fathers, and saw corruption: But he whom God raised again, saw no corruption. 

Be it known to you therefore, men, brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye will in no wise believe, though a man declare it to you. And when the Jews had gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next Sabbath came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

Acts 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day. Acts 17:2-4 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Messiah must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus (Yeshua), whom I preach unto you, is The Messiah. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. Acts 18:1-4 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tent makers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

How about you, are you willing to look at the truth from God's view?

The question is, once you discover the truth, what will you do with the traditions of men? If we keep the Sabbath, we obey God and it is a sign of that obedience and it is a reciprocal sign of love, for God. If we don't keep the Sabbath, perhaps are just obeying the edicts of Constantine, the words of a man. Why do I mention Emperor Constantine of the Roman Empire? You can easily do your own research but basically here is what happened:

The following is an excerpt from The Ausburg Confession of Faith, Article 28, written by Philip Melanchthon, approved by Martin Luther, which was submitted to His Imperial Majesty Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg in the Year 1530:

"They refer to the Sabbath-day as having been changed into the Lord's Day, contrary to the Decalog, as it seems. Neither is there any example whereof they make more than concerning the changing of the Sabbath-day. Great, say they, is the power of the Church, since it has dispensed with one of the Ten Commandments!"

Why should you have a problem with man's "traditions"?

Simple, they perhaps unwittingly counter God's "instruction" although the 10 commandments are written in stone by the finger of God Himself.

Here are some words straight from The Catholic Encyclopedia:

"The Ten Commandments are precepts bearing on the fundamental obligations of religion and morality and embodying the revealed expression of the Creator's will in relation to man's whole duty to God and to his fellow-creatures. They are found twice recorded in the Pentateuch, in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, but are given in an abridged form in the catechisms. Written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, this Divine code was received from the Almighty by Moses amid the thunders of Mount Sinai, and by him made the ground-work of the Mosaic Law. Christ resumed these Commandments in the double precept of charity--love of God and of the neighbour; He proclaimed them as binding under the New Law in Matthew 19 and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). He also simplified or interpreted them, e.g. by declaring unnecessary oaths equally unlawful with false, by condemning hatred and calumny as well as murder, by enjoining even love of enemies, and by condemning indulgence of evil desires as fraught with the same malice as adultery (Matthew 5). The Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord's Day. The Council of Trent (Sess. VI, can. xix) condemns those who deny that the Ten Commandments are binding on Christians."

"Sunday (Day of the Sun), as the name of the first day of the week, is derived from Egyptian astrology. The visible seven planets which can be seen by the naked eye, known to us as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon, each had an hour of the day assigned to them, and the planet which was regent during the first hour of any day of the week gave its name to that day (see CALENDAR). During the first and second century the week of seven days was introduced into Rome from Egypt, and the Roman names of the planets were given to each successive day." "These and similar indications show that during the first three centuries practice and tradition had consecrated the Sunday to the public worship of God.

The Council of Elvira (300) also decreed: "If anyone in the city neglects to come to church for three Sundays, let him be excommunicated for a short time so that he may be corrected" (xxi)."

"...we find St. Cæsarius of Arles in the sixth century teaching that the holy Doctors of the Church had decreed that the whole glory of the Jewish Sabbath had been transferred to the Sunday, and that Christians must keep the Sunday holy in the same way as the Jews had been commanded to keep holy the Sabbath Day. He especially insisted on the people hearing the whole of the Mass and not leaving the church after the Epistle and the Gospel had been read. He taught them that they should come to Vespers and spend the rest of the day in pious reading and prayer."

"The obligation of rest from work on Sunday remained somewhat indefinite for several centuries. A Council of Laodicea, held toward the end of the fourth century, was content to prescribe that on the Lord's Day the faithful were to abstain from work as far as possible. At the beginning of the sixth century St. Caesarius, as we have seen, and others showed an inclination to apply the law of the Jewish Sabbath to the observance of the Christian Sunday. The Council held at Orleans in 538 reprobated this tendency as Jewish and non-Christian. From the eight century the law began to be formulated as it exists at the present day, and the local councils forbade servile work, public buying and selling, pleading in the law courts, and the public and solemn taking of oaths. There is a large body of civil legislation on the Sunday rest side by side with the ecclesiastical. It begins with an Edict of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, who forbade judges to sit and townspeople to work on Sunday. He made an exception in favour of agriculture."

Now let's look at the Council of Laodicea - CANON XXIX (29) from the Council of Laodicea in the year 364: "CHRISTIANS must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ."

Other "Canons" from that Council:

"CANON XLIV. Women may not go to the altar. CANON LIX. No psalms composed by private individuals nor any uncanonical books may be read in the church, but only the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testaments. CANON LX. THESE are all the books of Old Testament appointed to be read: 1, Genesis of the world; 2, The Exodus from Egypt; 3, Leviticus; 4, Numbers; 5, Deuteronomy; 6, Joshua, the son of Nun; 7, Judges, Ruth; 8, Esther; 9, Of the Kings, First and Second; 10, Of the Kings, Third and Fourth; 11, Chronicles, First and Second; 12, Esdras, First and Second; 13, The Book of Psalms; 14, The Proverbs of Solomon; 15, Ecclesiastes; 16, The Song of Songs;17, Job; 18, The Twelve Prophets; 19, Isaiah; 20, Jeremiah, and Baruch, the Lamentations, and the Epistle; 21, Ezekiel; 22, Daniel. And these are the books of the New Testament: Four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; The Acts of the Apostles; Seven Catholic Epistles, to wit, one of James, two of Peter, three of John, one of Jude; Fourteen Epistles of Paul, one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, one to the Ephesians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, one to the Hebrews, two to Timothy, one to Titus, and one to Philemon."

Just think about this for a minute...

Women may NOT go to the altar? Key books of the Bible were banned by the Council of Laodicea: Source: The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden. Published by World Bible Publishers, Inc 1926.

Do you see it? The edicts, precepts and doctrines of man change. With man nothing is constant but change, but God and His Word DOES NOT change.

The Scriptures declare the 1st day of the week (Sunday) is NOT the Sabbath.

Matthew 28:1 “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.”

The plain and simple fact is that the Bible states the seventh day is the Sabbath. That is the day we call Saturday on our weekly calendar. Consider carefully and closely the words and the actions of The Messiah:

Mark 1:21-22 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. Mark 2:28 Therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. Luke 4:30-31 But he passing through the midst of them went his way, And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days. Luke 6:5-10 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. And it came to pass also on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the Sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy [it]? And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

The Bible never says that after the resurrection we are to now ignore the rest of Scripture, the word of God and change the Sabbath Day to Sunday to commemorate the empty tomb of our Messiah. You will never find it. I know, you may have heard that, but you will never ever find it. Look for yourself, that is another tradition of man which makes void the eternal Word of God!

One of the key proponents of this tradition was St. Thomas Aquinas.

Aquinas is held in the Catholic Church to be the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood. The theology work for which he is best-known are the Summa Theologica and the Summa Contra Gentiles. He is considered by most Catholics to be the "Church's" greatest theologian and philosopher.

In the Summa Theologica he states "It would seem that blessing and sanctifying are not due to the seventh day. For it is usual to call a time blessed or holy for that some good thing has happened in it, or some evil been avoided. But whether God works or ceases from work nothing accrues to Him or is lost to Him. Therefore no special blessing or sanctifying are due to the seventh day."

From what I read, this opposes God's word, but you must judge and decide for yourself.

You may also heard that God changed His mind and did away with His Sabbath because Jesus arose from the tomb on Sunday morning. So let's look at the record. The book of Matthew is quite clear. Mary Magdalene and "the other" Mary went to the sepulcher at the end of the Sabbath day and as two witnesses saw the angel arrive with an earthquake that caused the guards to pass out, then he rolled back the stone to prove that it was already empty as it began to dawn toward Sunday. The angel even told them that he had left and gone on before them into Galilee. Let's look at the words of Matthew:

Matthew 28:1-7 In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead [men]. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

What does the Master have to say about people like Aquinas? Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.

And the writer of the book of Hebrews give us some great advice:

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Now you should do the research on your own. Until you do your own study you may not be convinced.

If you have read to this point, your call is to pursue the Sabbath of The Lord. It has nothing to do with Salvation but everything to do with obedience to The Word of your Creator because you want to serve Him. Don't walk in your own strength or rely on man's traditions but be set apart, walk in His ways, His ancient paths.

So while you are at it, in addition to doing your homework on the ancient Roman pagan day of sun worship,the day called Sunday. You will want to research the facts of the ancient Mithraist orgy of Saturnalia and the pagan fertility festival of Eostre adopted by the Romans and later by the "church" at the Council of Nicaea as led by Constantine.

Shockingly, if you search just a little, you will find the truth with your own research, that all three "traditional" days, days you may have very well revered, have their origins in re-arrangements of pagan sun-worship, the traditions of man, not Scripture and The Lord's instruction.

Believe me, I know it is shocking to discover these traditions are the traditions of man, not God.

Matthew 15:3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

Colossians 2:16-17 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath [days]: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.

So is Sunday the Sabbath? Does it really matter?

Absolutely. Nothing at all against my Jewish friends, but we must come to the realization that neither the weekly Sabbath Day nor the annual appointed Holy Days are "Jewish" in their origin. The Bible is not a book of Judaism nor Christianity. Indeed, God has no "religion" yet the very commands to keep were spoken from the mouth of God Himself. Just look in Exodus 20:1 and Leviticus 23:1 to see this for yourself. And despite what you may have heard from others, Scripture never gives any indication of changing them.

When we look at the New Testament and see that the Jews of Christ's time observed the Sabbath, but that makes The Sabbath and The Lord's Feast Days no more "Jewish" than saying that observing the commandment against adultery makes marital fidelity a "Jewish tradition"!!

There is nothing here meant against "Jewish" things, just that credit needs to go where credit is due... to God. The Sabbath is His chosen day, but praise God the Jewish people have preserved His Sabbath.

Open you mind to the truth and understand when examining the life of The Messiah - our Savior, that it is quite evident that Jesus (Yeshua) kept the seventh-day Sabbath. He is the Lord and Master, He is the supreme authority of the Sabbath day and He NEVER gives any instruction to change it. After His death and resurrection, the apostles also kept it holy as a set apart day. Through His example and theirs, we know that all people must still keep God's ordained seventh-day Sabbath!

The Messiah Jesus, teaching as part of His gospel how to observe the Sabbath, says:

"The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath" Mark 2:27-28

Has this verse ever seemed confusing to you? Well let's clear it up with a question: What does He mean when He asserts that the Sabbath was made? Answer: It was part of God's original creation. Therefore, The Sabbath had to have a Maker, a Creator.

OK next question: Who, then, made the Sabbath? Answer: The Creator. But wait a minute, Paul proclaims in Ephesians 3:9 that "God . . . created all things through Jesus Christ." What was he talking about?

Let's look at the words of the gospel writer called John. He begins:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men... And "the Word" became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. See John 1:1, 3-4 & 3:14.

The "Word" is Yeshua, He is our "Salvation" who became a human being and lived among men. Yet, He existed with God the Father from eternity. All things were made through Him! The Sabbath is one of those things that He made. God declared it through Jesus at creation! Notice Colossians 1:16, 18: "For by Him [Christ] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible... And He is the head of the body..."

If you have overlooked this in the past, don't feel bad, just repent because now you know the truth: Yeshua made the Sabbath! It is no wonder, then when He says plainly that, as its Creator, He is The Lord and Master of His Sabbath Day!

Pay close attention to the words of Scripture and you will notice that He did not complete His creating on the sixth day, but it continued through the seventh day: "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done." God ended His work, but the creation week was not yet over! Creation Week was a full seven days of creation.

What did God create on the seventh day? He made and honored the Sabbath!

However, He made the Sabbath, not by work, but by ceasing from it. On the seventh day He ended the work of creation—what was created by work. He rested on the seventh day, and by doing so, created the Sabbath. God has no need to re-order the days of creation. When He finished His work He then blessed and set apart the seventh day as a day of rest and worship for Himself and mankind. So we must consider that Adam and Eve spent their first day "resting" in the fellowship with the Creator.

God requires His children to treat that day with a respect not required of other time. Let's read what He told the prophet Isaiah:

"If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 58:13-14

We honor God by keeping holy those things that He has made as set apart, as "holy" and only God can declare and make things holy.

Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha Mashiach is the same today as He was yesterday, and shall be forever (Hebrews 13:8). He has not changed in the least. He is still putting His presence in His Sabbath, making us set apart from the crowd and blessed as He is the Lord of the Sabbath.

"Blessed [is] the man [that] doeth this, and the son of man [that] layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger [nekar=alien], that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people." Isaiah 56:2-3

I can recommend this excellent book: The Sabbath - Scriptural Truth Concerning the Sabbath and Christian Sunday Observance.

If you'd like to learn more on the Sabbath right now and how it ties into you life you may want to consider setting an hour or two aside right now and opening your Bible to read and pray about keeping and honoring this perpetual sign of God's people.

The Greek word “kai” καί is translated as: “and” in Revelation 14:2...
But did they (the translators) perhaps just miss something in the meaning of this word? It also means “indeed”...

“Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, [indeed] the faith of Yeshua.”

Indeed, we are to walk like Yeshua walked, keep the commandments of God, the faith of Messiah.

So as it turns out Sunday is not the Sabbath. God does not change His mind.

God's teaching is simple. We are to rest from our occupational vocations and rest on the Sabbath just as Jesus (Yeshua) did. God want us to stop tilling the soil and tending to business so that we can immerse ourselves in the worship of the Holy One. In this way, we can spend that time studying and teaching the word of God just as Messiah did. We just need to listen to God and ignore the words of men and their traditions, just as Paul taught in the misunderstood admonition of Colossians 2:16-17.

The Sabbath rest is an instruction from our Creator and an intregal part of the laws of physics.

After all, physicist Frank J. Tipler PhD writes:

"in general relativity, time is not relative: a unique rest frame exists".

What does this all mean?

It means that it is now time for you to repent and return to God's covenant, return to hear and do His word and walk in the faith of His Kingdom path so that you can ready your lamp for your coming assignment. God is a sovereign God. He is a loving God and He has provided a way to offer you His salvation. You can accept His gift of life. Consider carefully what your life consists of, look at it and repent of your sin, ask His forgiveness and accept His gift of love through Messiah Yeshua. Do it now!

Truth Does Not Change

"The entirety of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever." Psalm 119:160

The entirety of God's word is truth. The funny thing about truth - it does not change. If we reject that, even by accident or misunderstanding we cannot understand what the Psalmist is saying when he writes "Your righteous judgments endures forever." The key to understanding truth is to understand God gives us His teaching and instruction for living because He loves us and He never changes His mind. He teaches us some very simple guidelines about how we are to live. It's the original message of the Deceiver to fall for the idea that God does not mean what He says or that He changes His mind. Don't listen to that message any longer.

In my last post "Messiah's Bible" we clarified what Bible Messiah read and taught from. If you have not read that, I'd like to encourage you to consider it.

"For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

Truth does not change! God does not change. Sounds simple right, but when we believe this truth it allows us to understand God's word for what it is - unchanging. We then understand that all of it applies to us.

Many Scripture verses teach this truth:

“He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.” 1 Samuel 15:29

“I the Lord do not change.” Malachi 3:6

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

“In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” Psalm 102:25-27

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

In my Scripture studies I have learned that God gave us His "eternal" unchanging instruction manual on how we are to walk out a life of faith, separated to demonstrate our love to our Creator and God.

Yet many of us simply refuse to 1) read, 2) study and 3) follow the teaching and instruction of God in His BOOK OF LIFE.

His holy Word was given to be a simple guide to lead us. After all it is Jesus (Yeshua) that taught from Deuteronomy 30:11-14 when He said:

For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30

After all how hard is it to rest once every 7th day and honor the Sabbath? And how hard can it be to honor The Lord's 7 appointed Feast Days each year?

Many, perhaps in innocence follow the teaching of others and ignore God's word as if it were an old law book to be kept on a bookshelf or coffee table as a decoration of faith.

Others open it but only to follow along listening to the precepts, doctrines and religions of men with sermons that say God changed His mind and moved His Sabbath Day of rest from the last day of the week to the first. The same men teach that God changed His Passover Days to Good Friday and Easter Sunday and that he "did away" with the rest of His appointed Holy Days. They even say God changed His mind about what meats He made as food for us to eat and which ones were not designed by the Creator for food. But did He?

When we listen to the howl of the wolf in sheep's clothing we are bound to stumble through our lives without knowing what God has to say directly to us and we often end up just relying on mere men to guide us and teach us a tradition, doctrine or theology that God changes His mind and that God also provides dispensation and replacement not just restoration and redemption.

Perhaps we think we are too busy or that we have better things to do with our time than studying the Words of our Creator God, so we listen to the traditions of others once a week or so for 30 minutes, but that might just be a certain recipe for disaster! Perhaps it is why we receive no answer to our prayers:

He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination. Proverbs 28:9

In order to follow God's ancient path, walk His walk and talk His talk, we must remove all the "leavened" teaching from our lives. We must remove "religious" tradition and theology which are not based on God's plain voice in Scripture. We must "wipe the hard drive" sort of, erase the memory stick and let go of the traditions of men, and their doctrines. We must "turn back" - indeed "repent" and return to God's truth and be "doers" of His word. Yeshua (Jesus) said:

"You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God." Mark 12:24

We must search and study the Scripture to know them and the restorative power of our Creator God. After all, that is what being a child of God is all about.

It is "Messiah" that can bring us "out of" the bondage of sin and it penalty "death" by His ultimate "grace" that is shown by His death and His resurrection as the Lamb of God. It is likewise "Messiah-in-us" who by His comforting Spirit provides the required day-by-day 'grace' to allow Him to live in us in love demonstrated by obedience to His word.

I have something VERY important for you to consider... we are "under the law" if we are not "under grace". But that doesn’t mean God's instruction for living has gone away. Unless we live for Him by faith - we will always be "under the law" and that law folks is the first rule of God, the death sentence given to Adam & Eve for disobedience to the Creator's instruction and teaching.

The law of death is "the law" hung on the cross. It is the law of the death sentence that our Saviour redeems us from. Messiah brings eternal life through His resurrection. The law hung on the cross is not the Torah (the teaching) of God. The Torah has always been with us, "in the beginning was the word" just as grace HAS always been with us. Grace and law (Torah) fit together just as a body and spirit fit together. They are both from the One living, unchanging and loving eternal God. His instruction is supposed to be lived our in our heart not on a stone! That is the message and promise of the new (re-newed) covenant. See for yourself:

"But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith (YHVH) the LORD, I will put my law [Torah] in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." Jeremiah 31:33

Faith allows Messiah to walk with us in obedience to His life teaching. So we must examine ourselves daily, examine our traditions and our understanding to see whether we are walking "in His Faith," or practicing the doctrines of men.

Bottom line, we must choose because God always give us the choice. For example, do we persist in keeping non-Biblical holidays instead of Messiah's appointed holy days, His set-apart Feasts or do we choose to continue to believe the precepts and the traditions of men.

Are we believers of man's vain words or God's voice?

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:8-9

For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, [as] the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. Mark 7:8-9

If you watch a lot of TV, take the time to figure out how much time a year you spend doing that versus studying His in His word or praying. Who's in first place? God or American Idol?

I love studying the Word of God. I pray that you will too and that is why you are here at this website today.

We have arrived at the promised and appointed time when God's people are turning away from the traditions of man and returning to the intimacy of God's holy instruction. The teaching and instruction that is found in His Word.

Jesus, the one whose Hebrew name is Yeshua is calling as with promised spirit of Elijah, there is a restoration that is happening everywhere. People dispersed around the globe are hearing the call of His voice and turning back to observing His instructions, the ones many, including me have ignored in the past as my only focus was on the gospel message of salvation. I was missing the mark on many things. Funny but that is the Hebrew meaning of sin, "missing the mark".

Salvation is a mighty gift, but there is more. God wants us to live His Kingdom way, His righteous way. His "Spirit Filled" walk includes the teaching and instruction found in His Torah. His path includes His instruction which was recorded by Moses and it includes some basics that set us apart. These include honoring the observance of His Sabbath, His diet plan and His appointed, set-apart Feast days. This repentance and return to His covenant teaching is described in chapters 9 through 14 of Zechariah and in the brief words found in Malachi 4 that speak to the end days before the coming of The Lord. So let's look at Malachi's admonishment:

"Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, [with] the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Malachi 4:4-6

A short time ago I felt the call of repentance and came to the urgent realization that I needed to "do" the word of God, not just read it.

Soon God's words began to make sense and I realized its truth NEVER changes. I had grown up looking at the Bible from a point of view that led me to seek the interpretations, theologies, philosophies, and traditions of others rather than from His word. I felt that there was something missing in my life. Perhaps you have felt this too in your own "life" as well. If you compartmentalize areas your life into a "spiritual" life you too may have the same feeling I had experienced for many years. A a sense that there had to be something more, much more to how I should live, more to worship. My walk reminded me of those "get rich" TV ads that tell you if you buy their book or tape you will obtain some new insight into something new, but the reality is, it never happens, it never lasts. I knew that I was missing something in my relationship with God. I also knew that I was not DOING my part.

Then something very obvious dawned on me. I realized that virtually all of the Bible was recorded by Hebrew men in the Hebrew language. It didn't take long before I realized I needed to study the Scriptures from a Hebraic lens. I even began to look at Paul's letters from his Hebraic world view and it was not long before I discovered his teaching's, like Yeshua's were based 100% in the Torah and in the writings of the ancient Hebrew prophets of Israel. My confusion and perhaps yours to comes from the fact that most English Bibles have been translated from Hebrew into Greek, then from Greek into Latin and in some cases into English. With each translation, the original meaning of the Hebrew words are somehow lost, so we have been innocently ignorant in many ways regarding the truth in God's word.

With God's "Hebrew" mindset, I found that I needed to look deeper into some of the sermons and teachings I'd heard for years. With this post, I simply want to encourage you to open up the Word of God, commit yourself to study and obeying the God of Israel in spirit and in truth and to make a personal spirit-provoked decision to actually read and study the entire Bible for yourself. Just ask God to show you the way and He will lead.

Messiah came to give us pure living water, that is the refreshing Spirit of His word. His message is that we should to refresh our minds and learn from the original themes and word meanings that God gives us in His unchanging word. I have discovered that His voice comes alive and I have also learned to engage in critical thinking, discussion and sharing with others that have a better understanding of His Word. I also found that a typical "western" mindset sometimes skews the meaning and translation of the many Hebrew themes and phrases of Scripture. I know many others have found this to be true as well in these exciting times.

Once I began to learn to search out the root meanings of the Hebrew words of Scripture, my conceptual framework changed dramatically. I believe yours will too! I also discovered that the Bible was never designed as an old and new testament. If you have a page separating the so called "old" and "new" testaments in your Bible, consider tearing it out at least conceptually. The Bible is not a book of the old and new but rather it is the fully integrated, unchanging whole word and message of God for all mankind. I have also learned that the Hebrew verses of Scripture are written in a wonderfully poetic and thematic pattern so that the stories, parables and prophecies can be understood with several levels of understanding and fulfillment. In this way, the words and stories ebb and flow from a historical perspective into the prophetic and they all teach of Messiah in some amazing way.

I have realized too that the old saying "what goes around comes around" is a great explanation of the dimensions of the unchanging Hebraic patterns found throughout Scripture.

"I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; and God has done it, that men should fear before him." Ecclesiastes 3:14

Once,I realized that the depth and dimension of the word of God must be gained by studying it from its root of Hebraic perspective I came to understand what Zephaniah meant when he recorded God's own promise:

"For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent." Zephaniah 3:9

The truth is, we certainly cannot understand the New Testament without its foundation. So if your are stuck in the last quarter of His word like I was, read the Scriptures our Master studied, after all the "New" Testament wasn't even written when He walked and taught from the Scriptures. Think about that! You might want to read my blog about this titled Messiah's Bible.

"God's Word is absolute. He keeps His Word through eternity.

For I [am] the LORD, I change not..." Malachi 3:6

"Jesus", the man that was actually called Yeshua (whose name means "salvation) read and taught from the Scriptures that are written in the Hebrew tongue. I confess that I like many, grew up mistakenly thinking that Jesus somehow started a new "religion" which was no longer "under" the law. I also confess that I believed that God changed His mind and that the "church" authorized a new Sabbath day for rest and worship called Sunday.

I also believed that the disciple Peter was given an inspired vision that changed God's instruction to not eat certain foods. The problem was, I did not continue on to study what Peter really said about his dream vision. It wasn't about food at all but about people. Acts 10 tells us that Peter saw "all manner of four footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air". You know things like rats, pigs and snakes. Funny thing is we still call people by these names... "he's a rat, a snake in the grass, a real pig". What God was teaching Peter is that all men are created in His image, God is the sole judge of mankind, not us.

I also grew up ignorant of God's appointed days, His Jewish "feast" days as I used to like to mistakenly call them.

These feast days are first outlined in Leviticus and they are not at all intended for the Jewish people alone. They are called "The Lord's feasts" throughout the Bible. This means they are for all people. They are meant to be observed by everyone because they are prophetic and serve as signs of great events in Messiah's life and purpose. Today they serve as reminders of the events of the past and they foreshadow the future.

Many people are asleep at the wheel like I was when it comes to the great significance of God's appointed days. Each of His Sabbaths must be rediscovered by every believer including the weekly Sabbath established by the time line of creation itself and the seven appointed feasts which outline God's eternal plan of salvation, redemption and restoration.

The spring feasts were the appointed days for Messiah's first coming, the fall feasts are the appointed days of His Second Coming.

During the summer of 2000, when I learned that my view of God's Sabbaths were skewed by my own "western" "Greek" mindset I came to understand why Jeremiah prophesied about this "Gentile" dilemma:

"O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit." Jeremiah 16:19

Think about this, the Messiah, the anointed one was born into the tribe of Judah and from the lineage of David, the one many know as Jesus, the one whose Hebrew name is Yeshua:

· Was circumcised on His 8th day
· Ate only "clean" foods as defined within the Torah
· Healed others and wore the blue fringed "tallit" prayer shawl
· Lived His entire life fully observant to every jot and tittle of Torah
· Attended and taught in the synagogues of the land Israel
· Read His Word: the Torah of Moses, the Prophets and the Writings
· Honored Sabbath and all the appointed "Feast Days of The Lord"

In fact, an amazing evidence of Messiah Yeshua's unchanging stature and His observance of every aspect of Scripture and Torah is shown by a look at the instruction of the tassel as a remembrance.

Let's look at Numbers 15:37-41:

"The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. "And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord , to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. "So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.""

Just look in Matthew and you too will see that Yeshua was observant of this command:

"And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe [tassel] of his garment, for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well." Matthew 9:20-22

Mark 5:25-34 tells the same story. In fact, Mark goes on the tell us that many others were healed in the same manner:

"And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole." Mark 6:56

This was a prophecy fulfilled by Messiah that was given to Malachi:

"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings," Malachi 4:2

According to Jewish sages and tradition, this Sun of Righteousness referred to in Malachi's prophecy was understood to be The Messiah, the light of the world who would have the power to heal whom ever touched the tzit-tzit (wings) of his garment.

Did you know that the fringes of the "Tassel", the tzit-tzit are tied with 10, 5, 6 and 5 windings representing the Hebrew letters YHVH - Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey, the Hebrew spelling of the name of the God of Israel? In the Hebrew alphabet, each letter represent a number. Yod=10, Hey=5, Vav=6. Revelation shows us the fulfillment of this tradition of tying the tassel to represent His name: "On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." Revelation 19:16

Many have misunderstood this to mean a banner or perhaps even a tattoo, but now with "Hebrew eyes", perhaps you can now see that truth does not change. The tzitzit described in the Torah of Numbers is even found in Revelation.

The Bible remains a beautifully woven tapestry and much like the tassels and garments of the High Priest Yeshua, it combines all aspects of the Messiah's life and ministry. Like the gold stands interwoven within the priestly garments, the words of Scripture weave an ongoing theme about Him.

In totality, the Scriptures address all the prophesied aspects of the events of Messiah's life and His purpose. Truly understanding the identity of the Messiah can only come from an understanding and acceptance of all of the Scriptures He read and taught from. These Hebraic Scriptures that begin with the words of Moses all concern Him. It is in these "jots and tittles" that wisdom must be sought out by you on your personal "road to Emmaus".

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:18-19

"If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. John 5:39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me." John 5:46

"And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Luke 24:44-46

"Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me." Psalms 40:7

When you consider the deep meaning of this you will realize that Yeshua:

· Is also the one known as the Angel, the messenger (word) of The LORD.
· He appeared as the one who is like God - Michael.
· He appeared in the fire of Abraham's sacrifice, the bush before Moses, atop the mountain before Israel and among them as the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day.
· He spoke the unchanging words to Moses and to each and every prophets.

If you really want to understand what God has to say to you, what He says about His eternal plan and His plan for you, there is only one thing to do, you must study His Word, all of it through the language lens and Hebraic thought in which The Scriptures are written. Do your own homework. Study the Scriptures of the Bible and separate yourself from the the traditions of men. Consider these words Yeshua spoke to three great witnesses, the prophets we call Isaiah, Hosea and Zechariah:

"Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because [they have] no knowledge: and their honorable men [are] famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst." Isaiah 5:13 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." Hosea 4:6 “… In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all [the] languages of the nations, [the ten men] even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.” Zechariah 8:23

Yeshua (Jesus), the Anointed One, the Messiah [Yeshua HaMashiach] is the human expression of the invisible Creator, He is "The" one God and King of the universe. He is indeed God, yet lived as a man so that sin could be covered. He called Himself the Son of man and He came to earth born of a virgin and lived a fully Torah observant, sinless life. Yet He suffered as the humble Messiah ben Joseph and He died to redeem mankind from sin and its penalty, death with His blood which is life. He lives because He arose bodily in resurrection from the dead three days later and ascended 40 days later into the dimension and realm we call heaven. As the writer of Proverbs and John recorded for us:

"No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man." John 3:13 "Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His son's name, surely you know!" Proverbs 30:4

Yes, it is Yeshua, the Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Holy One of Israel!!

At the critical moment when His earthly life was at stake, the high priest put the question to Him directly: "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"

"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

The high priest Caiaphas that served from 18AD-37AD, the son in law of Ananias whom he succeeded in his appointed role, then tore his clothes.

"Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. "You have heard the blasphemy." Mark 14:61-64

So amazing was His teaching about God that He equated a person's attitude to Himself with the person's attitude toward God. Thus, to know Him was to know God (John 8:19; 14:7). To see Him was to see God (12:45; 14:9). To believe in Him was to believe in God (12:44; 14:1). To receive Him was to receive God (Mark 9:37). To hate Him was to hate God (John 15:23). And to honor Him is to honor God.

At a future time, the good news, the gospel is... that He will return to the earth as its reigning King, Messiah ben David and He will restore His people to the Kingdom relationship that He established in Eden at creation, for He declares the end form the beginning (Isaiah 46:10).

Indeed, God's salvation is by grace, the free gift of God apart from good deeds and works; His salvation is through personal faith in [Yeshua-Jesus] Yeshua HaMashiach. All who follow His path of living are sanctified by the Holy Spirit through His word in us, His Torah. When we realize He alone is God and that He saves us through His mercy and grace we become a part of His spiritual family and people Israel, the children of God. Your mind and heart, your life will be changed if you will just follow Him and God will write His teaching and instruction (His Torah) for living upon your heart as you study and do His word.

A renewed understanding is needed to grasp that God's teachings and instruction are truly established for ever for all believers. He does not change. Once you walk in his ways, it will dawn on you as to why the ten commandments were literally "written in stone", not once but twice. Because you love Him, open your Bible, research the Hebrew meanings and themes of His words and do them. They are summed up in His instruction to first love God and to also love your fellow man. Believe what you read, observe it, do and you will be "set apart" demonstrating your love and worship of God in the manner He prescribes. Take hold of His healing prayer shawl and demonstrate your love with your deeds of observing His commandments. Open your heart to daily prayer and offer praise to God and look for something that you can do for others. Look for someone with any need and help them and you will fulfill the Torah of His word. This is what Jeremiah as talking about when he wrote these words:

"Here is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask about the ancient paths, ‘Which one is the good way?’ Take it, and you will find rest for your souls.”" Jeremiah 6:16

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Matthew 11:29 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24

Be an over comer!

Believe God, repent and return to His ancient paths and hear His word so that you can believe and DO according to all His word - the eternal fountain of living water and bread of life. Believe it or not, according to Messiah, this IS HOW you pass from death into life:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24

"And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it." 2John 1:6

Take another look at Leviticus and Deuteronomy. God's Torah, His instruction is divided into three parts. Which apply to you? The instructions given to all His people, the instructions given to the Levites or the instructions given to the High Priest.

In the same way, the Tabernacle had three parts, the "court", the "holy" and the "holy of holies". It also had three metals being bronze, silver and gold whose value and precious nature increases. The altar and the basin were made of bronze, the stakes and hooks that held the tabernacle together where made of silver and the the ark in the holy of holies held the two stone tablets of the ten commandments and was made of gold.

How set apart and close to God do you want to be? Go for the gold! Like Paul said: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:1-2

Do your part. Get involved in His restoration, return to God's instruction and teaching - His "Torah" then disciple another to do the same.

The Greek word “kai” καί is translated as: “and” in Revelation 14:12 ...
But did they (the translators) perhaps just miss something in the meaning of this word? It also means “indeed”...

“Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, [indeed] the faith of Yeshua.”

I would like to recommend a book for your consideration in your restoration: Should Christians Be Torah Observant?.

If you want to learn about the historical, scriptural faith of believing Israel and the manner that our Messiah and His disciples worshiped before the integration of leaning to not keep God's covenant and refusal to live by and honor his Torah through the mixture of idol worship including its continued impact in religion today, I can suggest a couple of books to you, but keep in mind that with God, knowledge becomes responsibility: Come Out of Her My People, and Too Long in the Sun.

Indeed we are to walk like Yeshua walked. It is the narrow path. Jump on now!