MY SCRIPTURE STUDIES

My Scripture Studies
Seek God. Engage with His voice in the Bible and start in the beginning.

October 30, 2008

Cutting a Covenant


In my Scripture studies I've found that in very ancient time, people expressed their covenant relationship and commitments in a dramatic way that many are not familiar with today. It's seen in the picture of the altar.

I also discovered God's covenants don't change, they do not replace each other, they are not separate but in unity because God's covenants are dependent on each other. 

Today, many believe that there is a "new" covenant that replaces God's prior covenants and does away with the Old Testament and births a new religion with a New Testament.
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That is not the case. The New Covenant is not a replacement it's an enhancement in relationship with emphasis on prior covenants. 

Those covenants are like a blueprint in relationship.

Replacement is a deception that destroys the promise of Jeremiah 31:31-34 because the new covenant promise declared to the prophet it that the law [Torah] is put within you,r mind and written on your heart by The LORD. 

Almighty God's Torah, His Word in YOU is the first step promise from Jeremiah. 

There's no eraser. The LORD's teaching and instruction is NOT done away with, rather it can be infused within your heart and soul by Almighty God, then forgiveness, That is what our Creator promised Jeremiah about the New Covenant in the so-called Old Testament. Check it out:
"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.""
The covenant at Sinai was made by people with a promise to hear and do things God's way was broken:
"So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 
All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD." Exodus 19:7-8 
The New Covenant expands on those words "we will do" because it is the unbreakable work of God's Spirit and unlike the promise that was broken by the golden calf crime, the new covenant cannot be broken no more than the universe spoken into place by Almighty God's voice can be measured (see Jeremiah 31:35-40). 

The new covenant purpose fulfills the "I do not change" eternal covenants established by the faithful God of Israel. Each of them build upon each other, they don'y replace any covenant spoken by God. 

They all work together like foundation stones, they build upon each other and the bedrock of the new covenant is the Torah of The Lord:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law [Torah] within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Jeremiah 31:33 
God never changes His mind.

He makes no mistakes, His words, all of them are eternal, like the little understood laws of physics that our Creator used to establish the universe with His voice. 

The key to understanding God's covenants is to believe The LORD gives us His teaching and instruction for living in The Kingdom because He loves us and He will accomplish His Kingdom purpose established in Eden.

Almighty God told Isaiah about that end goal if you will is from the beginning:
“I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose“
We can see this unfold in the story of Abraham as it prophetically points to the the regathering from the nations to the Promised Land that started in 1948.
“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Matthew 1:1 boldly declares the connection of that blessing with Abraham:
“The book of the generation of Yeshua the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” 
In Exodus 6:8 Moses receives the promise given Abraham:
“I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. ‘I am the LORD.’”
Genesis 17:7-8 speaks of the never ending covenant purpose for the Promised Land where Yeshua will rule as King:
“And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
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.

The false assumption called "replacement theology" is a non-biblical "religious" doctrine, a wolf in sheep's clothing teaching that assumes God turns His back, disregards commitments made and replaces His promises.

Replacement theology effectively calls God a liar.

It is a disguised form of treachery against Elohim God. It is a deadly mindset that destroys the heart like a flesh eating bacteria. Once it starts it's nearly impossible to stop except for the miracle work of the Holy Spirit.

It started with misguided tradition, doctrine and a new church father religion with membership rules from a committee. But the Bible is not about a church doctrine, it is not about man's religion. It is the voice of Almighty God, Sovereign of the Universe and it's the storyline about God's unending covenants.

Malachi spoke of the treachery of replacement theology when he wrote:
Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? Malachi 2:10 
"For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." Malachi 3:6 

Did you ever notice that there is no covenant in Scripture with any other "people group" or nation besides the people that God calls "Israel" and "Judah" and the sojourners with them? 


The truth is God's covenants build upon 
and weave with each other to eternity. 


Do you remember God's covenant with the earth? 

He established night and day and nothing has changed. 

Israel's covenant with God as a beacon of light to the nations allows others to be grafted in like the sojourners that left Egypt with them. That is critically important to understand because God's covenant for Israel is God's covenant for all people, all nations and the Jewish people are to be the light to the nations about this. the Bible is written by Jewish people, Paul tells us they were given the assignment to uphold the oracles of God:
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means... Romans 3:1-4
Do you remember God's everlasting covenant spoken to Noah?

Perhaps it is the one most familiar to many. God promised to never completely destroy life, be it man or creature on the entire earth again by global flood waters. God's word stands on this and all of His covenant promise given at the altar that Noah built remains 100% unchanged.

Do you remember God's everlasting covenant promise spoken to Abram established with the instruction of five sacrifices? It is about the covenant of land from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the Euphrates.

Later, after God changed Abram's name to Abraham, God promised that Abraham and his wife Sarah would be given a son and that a covenant would be established with Isaac by God to his descendants.
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. Genesis 17:6-7
This covenant with the "new" man Abraham included a promise for a land, "all the land of Canaan" and it was ratified with Issac and his son Jacob as second and third witnesses.

The book of Judges among many other Scriptures confirms God's eternal promise for His land covenant:
And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. Judges 2:1
Building upon that, God demonstrated the eternal nature of His words when He wrote his covenant words to Israel and those with them into stone tablets at Mount Sinai (Horeb). We call these the Ten Commandments. This was God's marriage covenant, a ketubah.

God expanded on these with forty days of instruction given to Moses and restored them with the children of those given the covenant at Moab by providing mankind's blessing for observance and curses for disobedience with the words given to all Israel and those people that sojourned with them. The Moab covenant restored the covenant given at Sinai to apply to all future generations of people as well as the people standing right there in the wilderness. But 3,500 years ago the people did not have "a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear," but God has given His spirit to those willing to follow Him in His word and deed today. So it is your choice.

The Psalmist wrote of this:
If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. Psalm 132:12
That is why you are seeking the truth of His eternal word and His covenants. Your future is a place at His eternal throne. It is time to come out of defilement and back into His covenant.

Do you know about the covenant with king David?

It is amazing - God promised David that He would provide King Messiah through his lineage. Keeping that promise is another step toward the full restoration of mankind to God as it was in Eden.

Only people can break the covenants given by God. He will not break any of them. His words and promises are eternal, but when we break them we degrade, destroy and pollute the very earth that we live on. That is why the earth groans in travail (Romans 8:22) for the return of Messiah. That is why all have not returned to the land that God promised to the descendants of Abraham. Would you like to go, if so return to Him and walk in His covenant, in His ways.

Then, He will also give us His promised future covenant of peace:
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. Ezekiel 37:26
By breaking God's covenant to Israel, we bring harm to the earth. Have you ever thought about what happened in Eden? Thorns and weeds only began to grow only after sin. They were not a part of the creation. Did you ever wonder why Jesus (Yeshua) said the earth will be filled with earthquakes in the latter days? Think about it, sin his cracking the earth's crust.
To Adam He said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. Genesis 3:17-18
The earth is also defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Isaiah 24:5
But God told Jeremiah that restoration would happen under God's covenant of mercy. Daniel spoke of it too:
And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments. Daniel 9:4
Jeremiah's prophecies have begun to engage in our day, you may have not noticed before but he even references holiday trees that some homes are now turning away from:
Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; [and] I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I [am] merciful, saith the LORD, [and] I will not keep [anger] for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit [it]; neither shall [that] be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. Jeremiah 3:12-18
When this promise we will should longer debate man's misguided doctrines, we should not debate or argue about God's word to try to know His word. We are to have it written by God in our hearts. In the final greater exodus blessed nations will return to His Promised Land as a united people we now call both Jew and Christian, yet God calls them Judah AND Israel and Israel includes the sojourners with them:
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jeremiah 31:31-33
Wake up!! The covenants of God, all of them apply to you and me including the one Jeremiah proclaimed. They have all been ratified in Messiah. Do not turn from any of them, instead return to them:
You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Acts 3:25

And this I say, [that] the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Messiah, the Torah, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot dis-annul, that it should make the promise of none effect....[Is] the Torah then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a Torah given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the Torah. Galatians 3:17...21
Did you know that to establish a covenant, in ancient days, people would exchange the coat on their back, which represented a means of committing their lives to one another. Then, they would exchange the belts around their waists. Because the belt held their weapons in place, it symbolized their power. By exchanging these they were pledging their support to fight and defend for each another.

Next, the two parties would actually "cut" in "covenant" by killing an animal and splitting it down the middle.

The bloody halves of the animal carcass "represented" the two people making the covenant. You see, covenant actually means "to cut." They would then make the covenant walk between the two "cut" pieces. By this act of walking between the animal's pieces, they were showing their willingness to give up the right to their own lives and begin a new walk with their covenant partner. Breaking the covenant commitment among themselves meant their own death sentence... by none other than their covenant partner.

The rules of a covenant are simple but 
dramatic and deadly serious. 

If one party to the covenant, broke the commitment to the other party, the "wrong doer" had to be destroyed by the other - just as the animal had been cut in two in confirmation of the covenant. If the choice was made to not keep any part of the commitment, then the obligation of the covenant was on themselves. The result, one's own death in place of another.

That is profound and the mystery to the reason Messiah had to die. The only way to give eternal resurrected life was the annul the death sentence given Adam was life exchange.

The Ancient Proceeding

After cutting a covenant, each person would raise their right arm, cut their palm, and bring them together to intermingle their blood. As their blood intermingled, they believed their lives were intermingling and becoming one, taking on the nature of their blood covenant partner. You have seen this in the old "Western" cowboy movies as the Indians would each cut their hands and shake the cut hand of their covenant partner. The covenant lasted until the death of each. Following this, the ancients would exchange names as a means of identifying with one another. As they were now known by each others name, the would be expected to think, talk, and act like their blood covenant partner.

The scar at the cut in the hand would become a permanent testimony to the covenant. It would always be there as a guarantee, reminding the two parties of their covenant rights and responsibilities toward each other. They would then give the terms of the covenant, pledging to commit their lives and their lives to one another while taking responsibility for the other's liabilities.

Messiah Yeshua does the same.

Next, they would have a memorial meal to symbolize their covenant union agreement. They would take a loaf of bread and break it in two and hare it. Then they would serve each other wine. The bread and wine represented their bodies and lives. By exchanging these, the two parties were expressing their desire to become one with each other.

Finally, they would leave a memorial to the covenant by planting a tree which they sprinkled with the blood of the cut animal. The blood-sprinkled tree, along with the scar, was a lasting testimony to their lifelong covenant relationship.

God's Everlasting Covenants

The term “covenant” translates from a Hebrew word whose meaning is “a binding pact.” While it is used to describe alliances between people, it most often establishes an agreement between God and mankind. All such covenants are predicated on stipulated terms at the time of ratification. In the cases between God and man, covenants are not conditional because the stipulations are made by God.

Israel was given the choice of accepting or rejecting them, they accepted with one voice and now we do not have the right to offer alternative conditions. If people accept the covenant of God they will be blessed according to the terms of the agreement as long as they keep it, or be cursed if they violate it.

Consider the great covenant of the Promised Land God gave to Abraham and his descendants. From my Scripture studies I have learned that it was the covenant for the Kingdom Land and the people of the 12 nations, or tribes of Israel along with those people that sojourned with them out of Egypt.
"Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. God also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.” In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites." Genesis 15: 7-21
God promised the land to Abraham, but did not give it to him at that time "for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure..." I believe the sin of the Amorites was idol worship because they worshiped the moon-god whose name believe it or not was, believe it or not: "Sin".

Today, we see this as idol worship of a false god whose moon symbol is still there in the land. I also believe this "sin", the sin of the Amorites will soon reach its full measure again. Does not God, the owner of the land have a right to decide who shall live in it and when? Does not the Judge of the Whole Earth (Genesis 18:25) have a right to punish a people for their sin by displacing them from his land and putting His people there in fulfillment of His covenant promise? After all, God certainly punished the Israelites by displacing them from His land when they sinned.
"O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets." Isaiah 10:5-6
Why the Covenant to Circumcise?

Abraham took matter into his own hands when he slept with Hagar. He did not yet understand that his wife Sarai would bear a son by the grace of God, a miracle. It is amazing to me how literally our Creator dealt with Abram's misunderstanding of His promise. Abram talked face to face with God, He received the promises with his own ears, yet he did not understand the miracle and blessing of grace.

As we read, Abram and Sarai tried to deal with their own understanding of YHVH's promise. Abram's "work" was to use his own flesh with Hagar to fulfill God's promise. And for 13 years, Abram thought he was in control, that did the right thing, then boom - one day he was told NO in an amazing way. In fact, He was told to take a knife to his own offending flesh and cut off the very foreskin that Abram had used to try to fulfill God's promise with his own "works".

Many today don't see this simple, clear message: Torah teaches grace and mercy as its foundational teaching. Everyone seems to miss this in the story of how Abram's name was changed...

God told Abram to cut off his foreskin because God wanted to graphically and physically show him that the promise He gave was by "grace". God's gift and promises were never to come about by Abram's own action, but by God's grace alone. At the end of the day, God dealt with Abram's works by the command of circumcision. Abram followed God's words dutifully and quite painfully and his name was changed when he finally understood and believed what he was told. God's promises would come by grace. So God gave him the name Abraham.

Abram was a changed man, literally and spiritually. God is serious about the message of Torah and grace.

So serious, He instructed circumcision for Abraham, his family and all his descendants - "forever". Abraham had made a big mistake when he and Sarah took it upon themselves to create the offspring of a son through Hagar. God had promised that Sarah would bear a promised son. So God made Abram literally cut off the very flesh that he had used of his own accord.

The result of Abraham's circumcision is that his descendant's were to also be forever "marked" with the message of God's grace, that His promises are by His grace alone and not by the works of any man. The covenant of circumcision itself then teaches that we are saved by grace through faith.

As Paul taught, circumcision has nothing to do with salvation or grace, yet Jewish tradition has taught that conversion to Judaism necessitated the work of man, the act of circumcision. But God was teaching Abraham the opposite!

Circumcision and the taking of Passover has been misunderstood for thousands of years as well. Why? Genesis 34:14-16 actually teaches that unless one accepts God's promises through the gift of grace then one cannot receive salvation from death. In other words, without the understanding of grace, one can not not partake in salvation, the Passover offering (Exodus 12:48). So, Torah teaches you must be circumcised to partake.

Deuteronomy 10:16 says: "Circumcise the foreskin of your heart," proving the true teaching that acts are not the way to receive God's promises. They are only by grace. God expects people to trust Him through faith and that His promises and salvation do not come from our own acts.

In the end, notice too that Ishmael was circumcised. So salvation by grace through a circumcised heart is available to everyone!!

The instruction in the Torah is to circumcise a child on the 8th day. What a great picture of God's promise to Abraham of the Great 8th Day of Tabernacles when Messiah will fully restore His creation, when all Israel will live under His provision and grace, just as it was in Eden.

Ishmael's descendants were hostile toward their brothers
"And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. " Genesis 16:11-12
"Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers." Genesis 25:17-28
Just as Ishmael's descendants were hostile toward their brothers, we can literally see a similar hostility, the hostility of radical extremists surrounding the land of Israel Mideast today.

God confirmed His covenant directly to Isaac
"That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Genesis 26:24
Although he thought it was Esau, Isaac blessed Jacob
"So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness—an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.” Genesis 27:27-29
But Esau was hostile toward his brother
"Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” Genesis 27:41
So when we come to the question of Israel displacing the idol worshiping Amorites from the Promised Land of the Covenant, we need to consider that it is God's ownership of the land, God's righteous judgment, and God's strength. He keeps His promises.

The confirmation of the covenant

Isaac confirmed the covenant blessing to Jacob:
"May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham.”" Genesis 28:3-4
The promise was simple, Abraham would be the father of many nations and God would be their God.
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” Abram fell face down, and God said to him, 4“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:1-8
Abraham asked God to extend His covenant to the descendants of Ishmael, but that wasn't the plan. Almighty God had another one, yet He promised to make a nation from Ishmael but He gave His covenant promises to Isaac's descendants.

Today we still have a the Middle East conflict which has spread globally as the conflict of extreme radical Islam which asks the original deception, did God really say??

The choice of Ishmael vs Isaac is against the people of The Book.
"God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” 
Abraham fell face down; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 
And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” 
Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 
And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 
But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him." Genesis 17:15-22
There were two groups separated for protection by Jacob to inherit the covenant promise:
"Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups. 
Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 
But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’ ” Genesis 32:9-2
Jacob was blessed and given the name "Israel" which means "God Prevails."
"Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” "Jacob,” he answered. 
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” 
Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”” Genesis 32: 26-30
The covenant promise of the land never ends, it continues.

Before God ever created the universe, He planned to make a covenant for you so that you might be one with Him. When the time came, the eternal, infinite Creator entered into earthly time and space through the man, the person of Jesus Christ (the Messiah Yeshua).

Yeshua, was His Hebrew name, He is the anointed one, "the Messiah". He declared that He is the Son of man, yet He as the invisible YHVH exchanged names, He transformed Himself from the realm of invisible spirit and became flesh as Yeshua, the Son of man. He is the God-man who came to identify with us in our human condition and literally fulfilled the "cut the covenant" for us as we turned away from God. Yet we are the descendants of the faith of Abraham. He died in honor of the covenant with Abraham so that we might be saved and under His covenant. Because He took the body of man, He was able to fulfill the obligation of the covenant Abraham cut with God and die on our behalf as the sacrificial lamb of God as foretold by Abraham.

The prophecy was literally fulfilled just as Abraham declared a future promise to his son Isaac at Mt. Moriah:
"Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together." Genesis 22:8
One thousand years after the covenant was made, God literally provided Himself as the Son of man, as the lamb for His own offering of life.

When it was time, Yeshua (Jesus) gathered His disciples together to participate in the covenant meal. Yeshua (Jesus) took the bread and wine and explained that they represented His own life which was to be offered in our place as the covenant sacrifice for our sins. He further explained that through His sacrifice, we could have our sins forgiven and receive eternal life through union with Him.

Afterward, He hung on the tree and stained it with His own blood. That blood- stained tree held the cross bar. There Yeshua (Jesus) paid the the ransom, the final judgment of sin for-us by "fulfilling the covenant" with God on our behalf. His scarred hands are testimony to the covenant. This is where the exchange of natures took place. Yeshua (Jesus) took the coat or robe of our liabilities on Himself He took our sins into His spirit, our sorrows into His soul and our sicknesses into His flesh. In return, He gives us the asset of His garment of salvation and robe of righteousness. Through Him, we can have right standing with God and become partakers of His divine nature.

Because of His victory over death, it couldn't hold Him within the grave. Three days later, He was resurrected in victory and ascended back to heaven where He now sits on the throne of God with all authority and power over sin, Satan, and death. And He promises to come back to earth to rule over a kingdom of righteousness and peace with His followers.
And I said unto them, If ye think good, give [me] my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty [pieces] of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Zechariah 11:12-13
And said [unto them], What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. Matthew 26:15

Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What [is that] to us? see thou [to that]. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. Matthew 27:4-6
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: Amos 8:9

[To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.] My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [why art thou so] far from helping me, [and from] the words of my roaring? Psalms 22:1
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Matthew 27:45-46

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither [was any] deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him [a portion] with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53
The covenant is extended by obedience and all nations are to be blessed
"The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Genesis 15-18
The covenant was extended to Isaac's wife by her brother and mother
"So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.” Genesis 24:59-60
The Covenant and You

If you will enter into covenant with Him by accepting His sacrificial death atonement on your behalf, Jesus (Yeshua) will give you His Spirit and apply the blood covenant exchange and benefit to your life. Through His word His Spirit will circumcise your heart and provide God's personal seal on your life as you are "born again" as a new person. Study and do His word and He will fill you with His glorious power for eternal life. Indeed, the gift of eternal life is Salvation.

The Covenant Terms

Here now are the terms of the covenant. If you will just turn from your sins and fully commit your life to Him through a personal relationship He will give you His life. Through doing His word God will fill you with His own wonderful love, joy, and peace and He will renew your mind, stabilize your emotions and empower your life. He will give real meaning and purpose to your walk. You just need to read His Word to know how to follow His instruction and gain His purpose for your life.

Pray the sinner's prayer for grace and pardon that Moses gave to us, you will find it no where else in the Bible but here: "And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it [is] a stubborn people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance." Exodus 34:9

Micah praised God's mercy:
"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old." Micah 7:18-20
The Covenant Invitation

God has provided for every human need through the covenant of His life blood. And now you can experience His provision for your own life and not suffer the penalty of the sin. If you have not yet entered into this wonderful covenant with God, you may do so right now. As an act of faith, pray from your heart, and then find a group of fellow believers who can help you live in the fullness of God's covenant instruction. He promises to resurrect you so that you may live with Him forever in His Kingdom.

A Covenant Prayer

God, I thank you for the covenant You have made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and for me through your blood as Messiah Yeshua. I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of Your forgiveness and your salvation. I willingly turn from my sins and commit my life and actions fully to You through your teaching instruction. I ask You to forgive me of my sins and send your Spirit to anoint me and fill me so that I can begin to walk with You and demonstrate my love for You by obeying your Word, Your blueprint for life and receive the promise and fullness of Your covenants. Amen!

The two witnesses to the Covenant remain...
Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak; Let the earth hear the words of my mouth. My teaching shall drop as the rain; My speech shall condense as the dew, As the small rain on the tender grass, As the showers on the herb. For I will proclaim the name of the LORD: Ascribe greatness to our God. The Rock, his work is perfect; For all his ways are justice: A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and right is he. Deuteronomy 32:1-4

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, until 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 5:17-19
So the new covenant does not replace any of God's covenants, it expands on them. they are the foundation!

What does this all mean? 

It's time for you to repent and return to God's voice, 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. 

It means we need to know "Who is the One Called Jesus.

Consider a prayer: Please, God guide me by your Spirit as to what I should hear and do.

It's time to repent and return to God's voice, return to hear and do His words and walk in the faith of His Kingdom path so that you can ready your lamp for your assignment. 

Stretch out your hand, and take from the tree of life, and live forever.

Open a Bible, read it, listen to God's voice and do Yeshua's teaching about the forever jots and tittles. 

You can learn how the things which are written in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Psalms are concerning Messiah and you can teach others to live life like Jesus, it's love in God's way:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:16-17
Today is the time, open your eyes if you're dead in your own valley of dry bones.

Look up and you'll recognize Messiah from Abraham's promise passed on to Isaac and Jacob as written by Moses in the Torah. You can see Him too in the Prophets and the Writings.

Repent and walk your Emmaus Road with Messiah. Study the Scriptures He taught every Sabbath that are filled with doing life God's way in the Kingdom, and tell others about Him. Be a gatekeeper until the house is complete.

Shalom.

October 21, 2008

Old vs New?

In my Scripture studies, I had to ask a question... 

What's up with the blank page in my Bible.

The Bible Jesus taught didn't have one, so why do Bible publishers add a blank page dividing the word of God and label it as "Old" and "New"? 

If you think about it, would the Almighty who is unchanging ever divide His word as Old vs. New? 

Now think about this as the gospel writer we call Mark quotes Yeshua of Nazareth...
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” Mark 3:24-25
Could Yeshua's words actually describe a problem about modern bookstore Bibles?

If you have visited this website before, you hopefully found the message that God does not change is the foundation of my studies, and it will continue to be. 

The reason is this verse from Malachi struck my soul at ground zero eight years ago: 
"I am The LORD, I change not." Malachi 3:6
Despite what we have heard or may have been taught to believe, our Creator Elohim God does not change. That means my church belief of Old vs New is a big problem.

In the big picture, there's no dividing line, no blank page between the so-called Older and Newer Testaments. A publisher's blank page is not a valid concept in the Word of God and one day God willing, I will post a message or two because there is nothing new in the red-letter words of Yeshua either. 

The traditional blank page insertion is a problem. 

In fact, Christianity was never seen as a so-called separate religion until replacement theology showed up hundreds of years after the followers of Yeshua, the disciples that wrote what they had seen as described in the eye witness manuscripts we now call the New Testament had met their end in martyrdom.

It's time to repent, to go back to understand the picture of a scroll. 

Think about it, a scroll has no blank pages, in fact a scroll is one gigantic rolled page. When you read a scroll, you start in the beginning, unroll it one portion at a time and when you finish reading the scroll, you rewind it back to the beginning.

The key to understanding the artificial divide in modern "Christian" Bibles is to know that Almighty God gives everyone, yes all of us His eternal voice of teaching and instruction for living in His image because He loves us. 

The transformation back to the image of God is what Paul wrote about when he penned this referencing the veil Moses wore only after he stood in the presence of The LORD. In the tent of meeting, in freedom from sin he never wore the veil:
But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 
Nothing is old, nothing done away with because the Torah is the constitution, the handbook of God's Kingdom. 

Psalms 119:89 tells us that the "whole" word of God stands forever. Yeshua of Nazareth said the same thing over and over again:
My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me. If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is of God, or I am speaking from Myself. John 7:16-17

For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.  John 12:49-50

The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while remaining with you. John 14:24
In the last recorded prayer before the Passover seder meal that many have relabeled as the Last Supper with the disciples gathered around the table, Yeshua prayed before breaking the bread. 

That prayer includes these words:
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:17
Wrap your head around that for a minute. 

Did you know there was no New Testament at the time? 

Wrap your head around this... Jesus-Yeshua never read the New Testament, He read and taught from the Tanach, that's the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings, the Hebrew Bible. It's a BIG part of the message in His first sermon. 

It's called the Sermon on the Mount and you must know what to NOT think about it.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law [Torah] or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17
In other words, there is no blank page, no Old vs New. 

A Jew from Tarsus named Paul wrote a letter coaching his understudy Timothy. Paul called the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings the sacred writings and he gave Tim a VERY strong warning about the future:
But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 
You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Messiah Yeshua. 
All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:13-17
Paul understood what Yeshua said at the Sermon on the Mount: not one jot or tittle, not a dot or iota has passed from the word of God, nothing is old or abolished. 

It's critical to repent and repeat the mountain message:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 
Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-19
If you have a blank dividing page your understanding of God or His Word, it's time to tear it out!

The blank page demands repentance. 

Almighty God gave the world His guidelines about how we are to live and He never changed them.

That's what Jesus taught. The Bible starts out with the story line of creation when light overcomes darkness, it describes life from nothing including birds, fish, seeds, water, a garden and the Sabbath, but disaster unfolded in the garden with a deception... did God really say?

Fast forward to the prophet Isaiah who explains the requirement for the mission of the suffering Messiah noted in Isaiah 53. The reason is its Messiah's goal to take back the planet from the adversary: 
And I will make enemies
Of you and the woman,
And of your offspring and her Descendant;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise Him on the heel. 
Genesis 3:15 
Now turn back to Genesis 2 and you'll find the summary of chapter one: "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that YHWH Elohim made the earth and the heavens."

1. “Let there be light,” and there was light.

2. “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”

3. “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.”

4. “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.”

5. “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 

6. “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

7. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day Elohim finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So Elohim blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it Elohim rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The big picture teaching of Scripture applies to a proper righteous relationship with God and each other. 

It's the original message of the deceiver, the adversary in Genesis 3 to get us 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. It's the oldest lie there is.

Have you ever wondered why so many are taught in one way or another that the Almighty God of the so-called "Old Testament" is radically different from the same God of the "New Testament"? 

Seems confusing and deceptive doesn't it? That's because it is a serpent's lie.

Some say Paul taught the old is done away with replaced by the new, but you've already seen what he really said. Some use God's grace and compassion to forgive as a new religion excuse, so get ready for something: the Hebrew Bible was never designed as an old vs. new testament. Grace and compassion is the cornerstone woven in the fabric of God's words to Moses at Mount Sinai. 

It's the mountaintop message of Exodus 33:19:
I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.
God's words are not based on divided testaments. The Word of God is based on everlasting "covenants" and "promises" including grace and compassion which is revealed through His word.

Old vs New is a publisher's errant tradition, a remnant from replacement theology. It's disconnected in many ways to our one God Elohim. A blank page in the middle of your Bible points to the first deception.... did God really say? 

Some Bible scholars attribute the blank page division of Old vs. New started with a man that lived in the second century, His name was Marcion. Today, he's the guy that both historians and theologians label as a "heretic." 

The fact is, the Bible is not a book of the "Old" and "New"
It's a non stop record of the covenants of God 
that build on each other. 

The Scriptures are the fully integrated, unchanging, woven word of God defining God's way of life for all mankind, but Marcion rejected that. If you say you don't agree with that - I am here to challenge your thinking and your heart. 

The reason, we all need to hold firm to all truth because when you do, the Bible will open you eyes and your heart if you seek truth. It is not as mysterious as you may think, if you accept the fact that the written words  inspired by Almighty God are truth and light not old vs. new..

It is important to consider what that means. 

We can choose what we want to believe from the word of God, but the holy fact is like Paul said, sacred truth is there in the Bible for you to see whether you believe it or not.

To find the bright light and pure living water of truth, you have to dig in for yourself. Don't just rely on a sermon. Don't count on the commentators, dig into the original language of the Bible to understand the voice of God and pray for The Spirit of God to open your eyes and your heart.

Whether you accept or reject Him, you will never change God's promises. 

Our misguided opinions do not count in The Kingdom of God.

Granted the Scriptures can seem confusing, much like a foreign language but that's because of the miss-guided mindset of Old vs New. 

If you want to understand the Bible you have to put on your 3-D glasses if you will. You need to learn the Hebraic mindset of the Bible and its big picture context.

If you step back, you'll find the message of the Bible is structured a bit like a fractal repeating pattern for God's redemption plan for the planet declared from the begnning. It has a linguistic, architectural design in many of the Hebrew words that you need to learn. 

Starting in the beginning of the Bible, there’s a recurring design inherent in the way God shows and tells the world who He is, how He works and what He does. Bottomline, He seeks relationship. The essence of the Scripture's design in its poetry, imagery, allegory and parable is that the big picture is reflected in the sum of its parts. 

The end reflects the beginning. 

These facts seems pretty strange at first, God's story is never like our books that say "The End." Almighty God is eternal and unchanging and that is the pattern that pervades the Bible. We even see that pattern in nature and creation. 

The end from the beginning fractals are there, hidden in plain sight. 
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. ... So there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9
In the beginning when God created life:
God said:
Let the earth sprout forth sprouting-growth,
plants that seed forth seeds, fruit trees that yield fruit, after their kind,
(and) in which is their seed, upon the earth!
It was so.
The earth brought forth sprouting-growth,
plants that seed forth seeds, after their kind,
trees that yield fruit, in which is their seed, after their kind.
God saw that it was good.
The fractal essence is that each life-form of creation contains the seed to reproduce the next generation in the pattern of the former. It is no an accident that when "God created humankind in his image" on the sixth day, Almighty God then commanded man and woman to do the same using the imagery of fruit:
God blessed them, God said to them:
Bear fruit and be many and fill the earth and subdue it!
... Here, I give you all plants that bear seeds that are upon the face of all the earth,
and all the trees in which there is tree fruit that bears seeds,
for you shall they be, for eating.
Genesis 1:28-29
The message of Messiah is the big Bible picture. Look for Messiah and the so-called Old Testament will become new to you!

The seemingly unending names of people, the obscure repetition and apparently random things that don't seem make sense within the Bible's narratives all tie together and make perfect sense because God is doing the same thing, in the same way, with different people in a different places and times, all with a focus on redemption of the planet and mankind through Messiah King.

When the children of God, both native born and sojourner whether adopted or grafted in finally enter the Promised Land, the family God calls Israel will live in the Kingdom of God in the end. The exile from Eden will end, our wandering in the wilderness outside the garden will be over, God will restore eternal life as He intended from the beginning. 

That is the ultimate promise of the Shemittah year:
"‘Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land.
Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety."
Leviticus 25:18-19
This is the message from the Sabbath rest too. That is why God said remember it from the Sinai mountain top:
Remember
the Sabbath day, to hallow it.
For six days, you are to serve, and are to make all your work,
but the seventh day
is Sabbath for YHWH your God
The reward is seen in the land grant of Israel, it's a promise made repeatedly throughout the Bible. When God's land covenant was given to Abraham, Issac and Jacob, it pointed centuries ahead into the future toward a reward of resurrection new life after suffering.

The key to understanding this is why Yeshua said the Lord's Sabbath was made for mankind!

In Hebrew, His name Yeshua is written as יֵשׁוּעַ and in Greek it was written as Iēsous, but that is a transliteration. His name means "Salvation" or “the Lord Saves.” The name Yeshua is from the Hebrew name Yehoshua (Numbers 13:16; 1 Chronicles 7:27). The real name is not Joshua. The real name was given to announce the purpose of Messiah's first mission on Earth, to save. 

Two thousand years ago, an angel told Joseph, “You are to name him Yeshua, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). 

In His second trip, He will return as the son of God King promised to David and like David, Yeshua will rule the Kingdom of God from Jerusalem.

Almighty God does not change and because we learn by repetition, The LORD provides His Gospel of God message to mankind in many ways. 

Thankfully, The LORD has never changed His plan or how He wants us to respond to it. Father God reveals himself through one living out His word which is Messiah.  Though Yeshua we get to know The LORD. When you see that this message of Messiah throughout the narrative of the Bible, the key to understanding the good news will open doors will and turn on the light. 

You can respond to God's gospel promise with delight and praise in everything you do, and a new joy will pervade every facet of your life.

Rely on this: Yeshua came first as the humble Messiah ben Joseph and He will return as Messiah ben David the King. This message seems hidden within the Scriptures that are divinely designed sequences to show the revealing of King Messiah Yeshua! Throughout the Scriptures, if we look, we see the repeating themes of Messiah. There are many and they include sin, then covering, dispersion then restoration, hidden then revealed, death then revival, descending and ascending. 

The Promised Land today points to the restoration of Eden and the Jewish people are there with a divine mission to prepare the land for Messiah's return.

The proper function of the universe requires the implementation of God given laws of physics which include physical, chemical, biological, and related laws including gravitation, electromagnetism and quantum mechanics. 

In the same way, the proper functioning of a Kingdom of God requires the engagement of legal, moral and ethical ways to worship God in His image and treat our fellow man as we want to be. 

Father God kept His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and by the faithful scribe Moses, The LORD led His people though trials in the wilderness to refine and prepare them for return as a just and righteous people. Throughout their journey, they hit roadblocks, but the emphasis was on the caring that each person must show for each other which is always grounded in God's character. 

Take a look at the following from Leviticus 25:
Now when your brother sinks down
then shall you strengthen him . . .
and he is to live beside you,
Do not take from him interest or profit,
but hold your God in awe,
so that your brother may live beside you!

So you are not to maltreat any-man his fellow,
rather, you are to hold your God in awe,
for I Y-H-W-H am your God!

I am Y-H-W-H your God
who brought you out of the land of Egypt
to give you the land of Canaan,
to be for you a God!
The purpose of the Bible is to re-mold us in God's image because we messed up and feel short of God's glory:
God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God did he create it,
male and female did he create them.
Genesis 1:26
As you study the word of God, a key question you might ask is this: Is my understanding in what the text of the Bible God's voice or is it a translator's opinion of a sermon?

Yeshua tells us something critical, it about who we have to believe:
John 5:46 For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
Despite the fact that the Bible is the one written message from God to mankind, people are not in unity and they insist on traditions and opinions from men that take sidetracks from the straight and narrow road. 

For example: According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, there are two billion Christians worldwide, yet one billion are Roman Catholic, 225 million are Eastern Orthodox and 500 million are Protestants comprising something like 38,000 denominations worldwide, all with different religious opinions.

Thin about it. Why so many denominations and for that matter, where in Heaven do "denominations" fit into God's unchanging word? After all, if Jesus were here today - what would be His church denomination?

The fact is He did not go to church on Sunday, He attended synagogue every Sabbath (see Luke 4:16).

The cross and the life of Jesus fulfills, "fills" up the covenant of God's word with meaning including the words at Mt. Sinai recorded by Moses. The cross fills each covenant with reason and understanding; it does do not do away with them or annul or make any of God's words on how to live null and void.

Nonetheless, some believe the original lie, did God really say? Because of that they think the law (Torah) was done away with - hung on the cross. That's like the leaven of a Pharisee or a Sadducee and Jesus said watch and beware (see Matthew 16:6).

Do you know anyone like that, do you follow them or King Messiah?

As I've said before, if God's Torah was done away with then there's no longer the need for any rule of God's law much less the "Golden Rule" in Matthew 7:12:

"Therefore, however you want people to treat you, 
so treat them, for this is the Torah and the Prophets."

The thing we must all know is that walking with Messiah, we can receive the gift of eternal life because The King hung Eden's penalty of death on the cross. The death choice in Eden was the law annulled on the cross!!

Jesus finished what began in the garden: loss of life by disobedience to God's instruction.

The penalty given in the beginning about tree of good and evil by deliberately and willfully opposing God’s teaching and instruction met its end in the First Fruits resurrection of Yeshua. That is the law only He could annul as the perfect Torah keeper. Sin's penalty was "finished" by mercy and grace. That's why The Father declared His character to Moses atop Mount Sinai after the adulterous sin of the golden calf idol. 

Our redemption from sin by Messiah points to the reason God gave us His instruction in the Torah about the adulterous wife. It is the parable teaching that says the woman found guilty of adultery may not marry another man while her first husband he is still alive. The dilemma is raised in Jeremiah 5:7. 

Yeshua gives us the solution, the appointed "visit":
"Shall I not visit for these [things]? saith Y-H-V-H: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" Jeremiah 5:9
The prophecy of Messiah as the son of Man in the image of God is powerful and beyond belief for many. Yet the fact is, He came so that harlot bride, the lost sheep can be re-married as "the bride of Messiah"! 

Jesus had to die by God's own unchanging word given to Adam and Moses. The LORD promised to finish that penalty in the beginning by crushing the head, the authority of the deceiver. That authority over mankind in the present world was granted to by Adam's choice to ignore what God had to say and the authority granted was death, so Messiah overcame it. 

The real Passover miracle was not only what happened at the cross, but what happened in the tomb three nights and days later. 

God is life. His word and His Torah is the "book of life" The LORD lives by and He expects us to do the same in His image so that we can walk with Him in a set apart holy relationship. 

You can be saved and redeemed by the grace and the mercy at the cross, but Torah is about how to live after that in fellowship and relationship with God's Spirit in and among us. 

Keeping God's Word is how we get to live out our love for our Creator and give thanks for what He has done and will do for redemption on Earth as it is in Heaven. This unchanging principle is why we can believe these words:
For I am Y-H-V-H do not change, therefore you, O sons of Jacob are not consumed. Malachi 3:6
I pray you see, the law, the Torah teaching of God is not the old law hung on the cross... the death penalty for breaching God's instruction was hung there on the wood if you accept the gift of grace from the One that paid the price. The divorce decree from God was annulled on the cross of Yeshua and the promise of restoration is resurrection though Yeshua. 

That's the message from Paul in Romans 3. Many miss that truth because they only listen to someone that only quotes excerpts of that letter. I encourage you to read it all for yourself. 

In summary:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus... Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
The fact is, the whole Bible is the Torah of God, it is His teaching and instruction.

If that were not true, then God has changed even though He has declared He does not.

Regarding the so-called "Old" just think about this, it's not really old at all. 

The "Law of Moses" is not his law after all, the Mosaic covenant is bigger than Moses. The words are the "writings" of Moses because he was the scribe, not the author. The Torah are the writings wherein Moses dutifully recorded God's words of corporate and personal instruction and life teaching of on how God says we are to live "set apart" so that we can approach and be near to His Glory.

Moses was the humble man given the assignment to write down and teach God's Word to God's people both native born and sojourner with them. Not to diminish Moses, but he is not the Kingdom law giver, God is and He does not change. His ways remain for us.

And we need to consider the "New" it's not really new at all, it's a commentary on Torah and Messiah. Just read it, and let me show you just one example. If you are familiar with the story of the events of the cross, your may have heard that these words were spoken:
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
They were spoken, but the purpose is not the statement aline. The purpose is to point to Psalms 22. A direct quote of the passage in the Psalms prophetically describe the Passover scene at the cross:
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look [and] stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O YHVH: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Psalms 22:14-20
Once we understand this truth, we can recognize Jesus (Yeshua) as the promised Messiah, The Lord of this Psalm and the entire Bible. Once we know that, we can see that we are to follow His commandments, all of them because they were all given by Almighty God. 

We are not supposed to remain captives living in confusion (Egypt), but we are to be over-comers (living Kingdom ways).

My Old vs New mission is to help clear up confusion. We need to move from the chains and distractions of fear, insecurity and confusion about God's Word, because His will for our lives is to be certain of our position and of His vision, plan and direction for our lives. We must have this understanding to be "set apart" in willful loving obedience to all of His word.

The pursuit of understanding and following in His "Torah" principals leads one to the Tree of Life which is Messiah, the living word of God. This purposeful walk through the fountains of life in God's word enables and empowers the Holy Spirit to teach us to follow His precepts as we walk near to Him in grace. 

Walking in God's word produces blessing, the fruit of increase and abundant "Kingdom" life.

Walking in the living water of His light is our life assignment. This means we choose to acknowledge and follow God's authority over us. He is the Creator King of the Universe.

When we realize just who God is, we can submit and align ourselves with His direction, His will and "instruction and teaching" "Torah" of unchanging truth. When we do that, The Spirit of God releases the power of His Glory into us.

Because of a lack of diligent Scripture study, many people do not realize it, but Jesus (Yeshua) always taught and quoted from the Torah and the Prophets all the time and virtually every word He spoke has a Biblical reference to what we gravely and mistakenly call an "Old" Testament.

The book we call Leviticus is actually not Leviticus at all, but "Vayikra", and that means: "And He Called." 

He called because we have been called out from slavery to sin, a state of confusion (Egypt = "Mitsrayim") to the mountain of truth. We are called out to draw near to His presence, to approach in relationship to our most “Holy” God through the truth of His word.

Please prayerfully consider just a couple of the many instances in which Jesus the Jew constantly teaches from Deuteronomy and Leviticus. Carefully weigh the meaning of His words as He teaches us to study and apply the Torah in our lives:
But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4:4

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:3
When Jesus spoke of living by every word that comes from the mouth of God, He was referring to the words of Scripture recorded by Moses, the Prophets and those that recorded the other writings of Scripture:
If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. John 14:15-18

Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I [am] the LORD (YHVH). Leviticus 22:31

If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? John 5:46-47
This Greek word "believed" here is "pisteuō" which means a "conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul". When we dig down we come to understand that application of all of His teaching, His instruction is not 'religious legalism,' nor is it salvation dependent. We also see there is no "Old vs. New".

There is an excellent new book out that clears up much confusion of the "Old vs. New" argument by Joe Kovacs and I would recommend everyone buy the book titled "Shocked By the Bible". Read it all, but be sure to read my favorite, chapter four!

Think about it, God saved Israel from the curse of the death of the firstborn and from the onslaught of the Pharaoh before He gave His word at Mr. Sinai. Salvation, eternal life is only through the grace of Yeshua (Jesus) - The Messiah, The One who gave His life for yours and mine. Following His instruction a lifestyle issue; it concerns our being called out, to "walk" in His paths because we love Him. Following His commandments allows us to demonstrate our love through our obedience.

Take heed from the warning recorded by Isaiah that was written some 700 years after the exodus from Egypt, don't be like stubble and sink in flames, don't reject the word of The Holy One.
Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 5:24
The first five books of the Bible which some call the Pentateuch is the "Torah".

The word "law" is a poor translation really. Torah means "teaching" and "instruction". These words recorded by Moses contain the instructions given to the "called out" ones of Israel and the sojourners from Egypt who made the exodus from slavery through the wilderness to the Promised Land.

Today, the Torah continues to instruct those who are set free today in Messiah. The greatest sign of a covenant relationship with Him is that you will no longer see yourself thinking, doing or acting as you once did. God calls out to His redeemed people through His Word, to be Holy as He is Holy, to be a kingdom of Priests who are ritually pure and enter into His walk.

Messiah Yeshua is the manifest "power" and "presence" of the Creator YHVH.

He is "The Word" who spoke during the days of creation and on the fiery mountain atop Sinai. I know it seems radical but a great mystery that we need to grasp is that He is the Torah-Giver, the one that spoke to Moses and led Israel from the cloud of glory over the Tabernacle. He used his finger to write the 10 commands into stone. He walked in the Garden of Eden and he is the one who comforted Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness. He talked with Abraham, Sarah and Jacob. He appeared in the furnace in Babylon and He was seen by Daniel and the prophets.
I and My Father are One. John 10:30

Yeshua said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" John 14:9

And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. John 5:37
Yeshua is saying here in the Gospel of John that He is the One who has spoken to man throughout the ages and that when the Holy One YHVH appeared to man it was He Yeshua who appeared.

Are Yeshua and the Father one? They have to be for Yeshua to be able to say the things He did. His words echo down through the ages from the opening words of Genesis all the way up to Revelation. It is fitting, at least to me, that John is the one who reveals to us the mystery of the Almighty God in his Gospel story and closes the Bible with his book of Revelation once more revealing to us the Almighty through Yeshua.

He fed the five thousand that day when they had gathered to hear Him speak. He fed the Israelites in the Wilderness or forty years.

Incredibly, He walked the earth as a sinless man, Yeshua of Nazareth. That is why John said He is "The Word", that is why it is so important to understand what he said when He spoke the words, "I and the Father are one." John 10:30.

The apostle Peter confirms the gospel comes from God's word:
"For all flesh [is] as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." 1Peter 1:24-25
Through God's Word - His Torah, He gives us the story of Israel and our instruction for living as God's children. 

The English Standard Translation records these words of Jude:
"Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day" Jude 1:5-6
Jude goes on to state:
"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Jude 1:24-25
For more "evidence" please carefully review and study the list of the Scriptures at the end of this blog.

In the beginning, God separated the light from the darkness. Likewise, He desires that we separate the light from the darkness in our own lives and in the world today. If you are you ready to receive His Spirit of Truth and do what is pleasing in His sight, follow His commandments.

This is the point blank challenge.

Are we to ever "take away" or "add to" His word?

Please do not be offended here, but consider something... many in "Christianity" do not see themselves as God does. We do not give ourselves the same identity that God provides His followers throughout the Bible.

Almighty God calls His children the assembly of "Israel" whether one is from the family of Jacob or adopted into His family - they are all Israel because the family name is about faith.

So why do so many think the family is called "the church"? 

Almighty God says He grafts us into the tree of life whose root is Messiah, whose trunk is Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose two branches are Judah and Ephraim. Yet many say we are the saved "church" and the other people of the book are the unsaved Jews destined for destruction in hell.

James has something to say about that...
There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? James 4:12
Father God alone is the judge of mankind. Yet many of us have "taken" His judgment seat and declare "we" are saved and "they" are lost.

The fact is whether Jew or not, we both worship the same God of Israel.

Exodus 12:49 tells us plainly there is one law. God's teaching is for all that choose to join themselves to The Lord:
"One law [Torah] shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you." 
This message is repeated again in Numbers 15:16 and Numbers 15:29. Not only that, Isaiah is the prophet that provides a second witness to Moses and an amazing prophecy:
Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“Y-H-W-H will surely separate me from his people” 
“And the foreigners who join themselves to Y-H-W-H,
to minister to him, to love the name of Y-H-W-H,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.” 
The Lord Y-H-W-H,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.” Isaiah 56:3
On one hand, some innocently say, and some not so innocently, that God's instruction is a "yoke" and a heavy "burden" and God's teaching, His Torah for living is "Old" and done away with on the cross. 

That says God's voice does not apply to Christians despite all Yeshua's teaching to the contrary. 

One reason many think this is because they do not see the Bible as one book. They see it as divided between old and new and they do not understand the identity of Israel, which is the family name for God's children whether native born on ingrafted sojourner. 

They think that Israel only applies to the Jewish people in an Old done away with Testament.

On the other hand, many Jews believe The Messiah did not come as a humble man to conquer the law of death invoked by Adam so He could give eternal life as a gift of God's lovingkindness and grace. 

There are many reasons, but the sum is that many Jews likely say this because the church turned Yeshua into a Greek Jesus who whose Sabbath was converted to Sunday.

So, we must ask ourselves hard questions about Old vs New, and the point blank challenge is this: does "the church" take away from the Torah of God by keeping its own traditions, holidays vs Holy Days and make up it's own Sabbath disregarding what The LORD said? 

Why do we choose to eat a baked ham after an Easter egg hunt while looking to a Pastor or Priest for spiritual food instead of searching out God's Word? 

Yeshua offers the advice before the so-called New Testament was complied:
"Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39
Are we Christians to "keep" our own tradition and take away from Yeshua' words, or are we to seek the truth that testifies of Messiah?

We need to realize many Jews reject Christianity and Jesus because most in "the church" say the teaching and instruction of God, His Torah, was done away with by Jesus Christ on the cross. 

That sort of religion means Christians can pick and choose their religious ways with membership rules in a denomination of choice that takes away from God's ancient path of instruction to our way. 

At the same time, Judaism sometimes adds to the Torah by adding in religious precepts of the sages, while building fences of rabbinic opinion from the Talmud. Judaism honors the Sabbaths yet adds in some religious oral laws and precepts of the rabbis adding to God's word by a tradition not written by Moses. 

Both are what Yeshua warned of.

Many Christians seek a word from a pastor, many Jews look to a rabbi.

Yeshua said seek God's word first. 

So, are we to "keep" traditions that add to or take away God's word or are we to seek truth from The Father?

Almighty God teaches and instructs us so we may all receive His blessings; it's called His Torah. It is the bread of life in the book of life, yet many Christians reject God's Torah. Perhaps like Adam, we believe the lie that we are not subject to God's unchanging word unless we agree with it.

For now, many of us are a people with dry bones, but God promises to heal us, to bring us together again as one stick, one people into the tree of life. He also promises to personally write His Torah in our hearts and establish His Kingdom on Earth.

If only we would all repent... Christians can repent and return to Yeshua's ways, the Father's Torah. Jews can repent too and turn to Messiah Yeshua and see Him for Who He is, The Jewish Messiah. 

Together, Christians and Jews can be one new man.

In the first century, all Jewish believers that knew Yeshua kept Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot in Jerusalem. 

They all honored the Sabbaths of The LORD. The ate according to healthy Biblical instruction. 

If the Elders, Apostles and assembly of Believers of the first century were to see the "religious" separation of Judaism and Christianity today, they would cry out bitterly to God and tear their clothes pleading for God to tell them where it all went wrong.

Almost 2,000 years have gone by and the restoration promised by the Prophets has still not occurred. But it is beginning, God promised that that it would.

If we'll just pray about this, we might realize that not even Messiah Yeshua, performed all of 613 commandments while He lived and taught in Jerusalem (Judah) and the Galilee (Ephraim). Just ask yourself, did He go to the Temple in Jerusalem and sacrifice 70 bulls at the altar on Tabernacles (Sukkot)? 

No, He was not a Levite. Yet, He never broke one of God's commandments!

So what does that tell us? 

That we all need to understand that God teaches us His instructions depending on our assigned role in the Kingdom and there is a difference between not keeping a commandment and deliberately breaking one. God is gracious.

Can a man can keep a commandment that applies to a woman such as the instruction of health after child birth or can a woman keep a commandment that applies to a man such as circumcision? No. Can a Levite keep a commandment that applies to the High Priest? No.

Can "the law" save us and provide a way for us to earn eternal life by what we do? 

No. So, we need to all re-examine God's written word.

Today, many in a church pew want to focus on spirituality without action. We tend to live by Greek philosophy, not Biblical ways. We must repent and turn from following our own way and return to the teaching and instruction of God, the way of Yeshua. 

If we do we can show The LORD God we are His friend and do on Earth as it is in Heaven.

In the beginning of the Bible, God Y-H-V-H clearly laid out how, when and why we are to worship Him within His principles, His Torah for living within His Kingdom. 

The son of man who was called Yeshua (in Hebrew "salvation") by His disciples, concludes the whole matter of instruction by declaring the very instruction given from the fire at the top of the mountain thousands of years before the Passover cross.

Biblical faith requires action. The disciple John exhorts us to this understanding that has been spoken from the beginning of God's word:
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. 2 John 1:6

Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12
As His Kingdom people, it is our privilege, our honor to choose to follow God's path and to show our King we love him by doing God's word by acting in faith and not relegating it to an Old time past we mistakenly label as an Old Testament. 

We are still in the wilderness among the nations outside the garden and we need God's guidance for living a life set-apart (holy) to Him.

Our Creator has laid out how and when we are to worship Him in truth and light by doing what is pleasing to Him at all times and believe it or not, He gives us instruction for that worship while we are in His Promised Land and when we are not. 

The LORD gives us instruction for women and for men. He gives instruction for Priests and for the assembly of God's people, His congregation, the people following Him that He calls Israel.

God's big plan is to bring us together as one family, one people, in His Kingdom. There we will see the Old and the New are one eternal word.

God's word is clear, we must understand doing His commandments will not save us. Keeping them will not redeem us because we have not kept them all. 

Only Yeshua is the Mighty One, Our Savour and redeemer by grace qualifies to save because He kept God's Word.

So what can many Christians learn that have been dividing the Old vs New?

We need to know, Christianity started out in Jerusalem as an assembly of Jews worshiping the son of God whose Hebrew name is "Yeshua" יהושע (Salvation).

A mistake was made when it moved on into Greece and became a philosophy worshiping "Ieosus"; then moved to Italy and became an institution worshiping the Latin Dominus Iesus and a culture in Europe worshiping "Iefus." When it came to America it became an diverse organization of thousands of differing denominations worshiping "Jesus." 

Christianity has changed but God has not.

The light of the truth is that there is no "Old" vs "New" and we need to know that Jesus was a Jew. 

His name is Yeshua.  He actually never heard the name Jesus nor attended Sunday "church." He was never called "Christ" or "Christian." These words did not exist and the truth is - the "assembly" of God's people began at Mount Sinai with the Covenant of the God of Israel given there.

So this is where we are, we are to worship God - He does not change. Like Yeshua said, we must repent. We must return to the mountain. If we are His "assembly" we should be be pleasing to Him and living according to His words, His Torah and His worship instruction.

Did you know that Biblical scholars and rabbis say that if we count the instructions from Mount Sinai beginning with the first ten spoken in the Torah, that there are 613 "mitzvot" (commandments). Yet many of those are related to Tabernacle or Temple instructions to be carried out by the priesthood and Levites while in the Promised Land.

Further, there are some 271 principles for living that apply as instruction for living without the Tabernacle, outside the land, beyond the garden. Those principles are the teaching and instruction for God's people - Israel while in the wilderness among the nations as we are today.

God's "instructions" comprise the commandments Yeshua speaks about in Revelation. 

They are: "teachings" for worship, the Sabbath, His appointed Feast Days, a healthy diet and lifestyle, for purity, cleanliness and holiness. Teachings for the civics of peaceful community living, for relationship with family, friends and neighbors, that's the "Torah" that we are to follow.

Most people follow them but some choose, perhaps innocently and out of ignorance to ignore those they do not understand. So, it is time to turn on the lights and return to the light of God's word.
"To the Torah and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them." Isaiah 8:20
We must remember this - Yeshua is coming again. The altar and the Temple will be re-established and we will worship as one people, one new man, so that all may fulfilled. Then, we will understand the words of Jeremiah 31:33-34:
"But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
And we will understand the message from Hebrews 8:10-12:
For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
King Yeshua's words will be understood not only in our heart, mind and souls but in our life:
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:38-40

"For I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the Torah, until all be fulfilled." Matthew 5:8

Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30
Accept the challenge today to move from inactive ignorance of God's Word. Quit dividing it, stop taking away or adding to it. Don't allow yourself to lean to the teaching and doctrines of men that divide God's word. Instead, be submissive to our unchanging God. Let the declaration of our mouths and our action confirm the covenant of our God and ALL of His Word.

In the next year, cleanse your body and mind by the power of the Holy Spirit. Read His Word, follow His instruction book, all of it. Do it now, start at the beginning and do all that it says. You can experience the Year of Release - "The Jubilee". You can be delivered. 

Discover and hear the true voice of Yeshua (Jesus) proclaiming your freedom and you will show God you love Him by what you do in your walk, and it will go well with you and your children!

These are the days of Elijah, don't let your commitment to God be limited to Sunday morning. Don't allow the depth of your relationship to be defined by whether you attended Sunday service this week. Don't misunderstand, there is absolutely nothing wrong with worship but it is a mistake if you continue to think the most important thing is to attend the right church with the right pastor, the one that has the true insight and the one that makes you feel good.

Use your hands, lift up His Word and let your light shine before men, show God you love Him and know Him by following His word. Then teach others to have perseverance and do the same.

Please read and study these verses from God's word, they are important.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur [are] with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the LORD [was] like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. Exodus 24:12-18

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Deuteronomy 4:2

Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong [thy] days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever. Deuteronomy 4:40

O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! Deuteronomy 5:29

My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. Psalms 119:48

TAV. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word. My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments [are] righteousness. Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts. I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law [is] my delight. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments. Psalms 119:169-176

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!" Isaiah 5:20-21

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 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 5:16-19

But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:9

Then one of them, [which was] a lawyer, asked [him a question], tempting him, and saying, Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:35-40

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments [is], Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment. Mark 12:29-30

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:27

This is worth re-reading! If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. John 14:15-17

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. John 14:21

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. John 15:10

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 1John 2:3

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1John 2:4

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 1John 3:22

And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. 1John 3:24

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 1John 5:2-3

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

Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Yeshua (Jesus). Revelation 14:12

And they shall see his face; and his name [shall be] in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:4-5

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:12-14

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Revelation 22:12

His Promises to The Overcomer: To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God. Revelation 2:7

He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. Revelation 2:11

To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. Revelation 2:17

He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, ‘To him I will give authority over the nations...’ Revelation 2:26

He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. Revelation 3:5

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. Revelation 3:12

He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:21

He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. Revelation 21:7
I believe that God has placed all of the potential needed to fulfill our life within His Word... ALL of Scripture.

This 'seed', His Word, can only be seen by vision, and actualized by doing.

We are to plant ourselves in the soil of submission to the whole Word and Spirit of God, adapting to the instruction and authority it teaches us. This was the exhortation of James, that we not be deceived, but be blessed by doing The Perfect Word. Keep in mind when James wrote these words the "New Testament" had not even yet been assembled! 

James understood that this was the prayer of blessing:
James 1:17-18 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

James 1:22-25 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
King David wrote many of the Psalms. Perhaps his greatest testimony is found Psalms 119 (read it now) and listen to his words. Psalms 119:160 Thy word [is] true [from] the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments [endureth] for ever.

Jeremiah gave us a critical prophecy about those that would not follow in "the walk" of the Scriptures:
Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
I am afraid that today many have chosen not to walk "in all of His Word."

Many like me have been mistaken and greatly remiss in teaching that once salvation by grace has come there is little else to do but praise, sing, worship and oh yes, do a tithe too.

Strange thing, tithing was not 'done away with' as an "Old Testament" commandment? 

As Believers, we are to walk and follow in God's instruction because through His mercy we are saved. We get to follow His walk because we love Him.

Some say the only commandments for a Gentile are described in Acts 15. But, Paul calls believers "former Gentiles." So, think about it. If Gentile believers only have four basic requirements for living according to modern preachers that say that, then what are we to do with lies, adultery, murder, theft etc?

We must reconsider what we have learned.
Psalms 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, [so] great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalms 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered [them] from their destructions.
The Evidence of Scripture:

The great "I am"
Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am ." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I am has sent me to you.'"

John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."

Deuteronomy 32:39 "'See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

John 8:24 "I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."
The Savior
Isaiah 45:21 "Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord ? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.

Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Deuteronomy 4:39 "know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

John 3:12-13 "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of man.
The Shepherd
Genesis 48:15 And he blessed Joseph and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,

Gen 49:24 "yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms* were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd,* the Stone of Israel),

Psalms 23:1 A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalms 80:1 To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.

Ecclesiastes 12:11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.

Isaiah 40:11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Jeremiah 31:10 "Hear the word of the Lord , O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.'

Ezekiel 34:15 "I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.

Micah 5:4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord , in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

Matthew 2:6 '"And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Matthew 25:32 "Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Matthew 26:31 Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10:14 "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

John 10:16 "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Hebrews 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,

1Peter 2:25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Revelation 7:17 "For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
King & Redeemer
Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the Lord , the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

Revelation 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
The Almighty
Exodus 6:2-3 God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the Lord. "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.

Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Lord of Hosts
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

John 1:23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Matthew 1:21-23 "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

John 14:8-9 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Isaiah 45:12 "I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.

Acts 4:10-12 "let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by him this man is standing before you well. "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
The Holy One of Israel, The Lord, Redeemer and Savior
Psalms 16:10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

Acts 2:27-29 "'For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. "'You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Psalms 89:18 For our shield [belongs] to the LORD, And our king to the Holy One of Israel. Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, And said: "I have given help to [one who is] mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.

Revelation 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Isaiah 41:14 Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord ; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 43:10-11 "You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. "I, I am the Lord , and besides me there is no savior.

Isaiah 47:4 Our Redeemer--the Lord of hosts is his name-- is the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 5:24 Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Deuteronomy 33:2-4 He said, "The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand. "Yes, he loved his people, all his holy ones were in his hand; so they followed in your steps, receiving direction from you, "when Moses commanded us a law, as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.

Jude 1:14-15 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, "to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

Deuteronomy 33:3 "Yes, he loved his people, all his holy ones were in his hand; so they followed in your steps, receiving direction from you,

Luke 10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.

Deuteronomy 33:21 "He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander's portion was reserved; and he came with the heads of the people, with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments for Israel."
The One Who Spoke from the Burning Bush and The Fiery Mountain Top - The Lawgiver and Judge
Exodus 3:6 Moreover He said, "I [am] the God of your father--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

John 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am [He], you will die in your sins."

Exodus 20:6 "but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

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.

Luke 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Giver of the New Covenant
Jeremiah 31:31-33 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord , when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, "not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord : I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Hebrews 8:8-10 For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, "not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
The thing that is "new" about the covenant is that the Torah of God will be written on our hearts and in our minds by the rock of our salvation (Yeshua), not done away with. The Hebrew word for "new" is "chadash".

Bible lexicons provide definitions and meaning of Biblical words found in the original languages of Scripture. They are invaluable to a deeper, accurate understanding of God's word. The Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon shows us that chadash means to "renew, to make anew, to repair, restore". Chadash חדש refers to "new grain". This is what happens when a grain is renewed in a new crop each year.

Chadash is based on the Biblical teaching to not to eat any grain of the new year prior to the annual Omer offering on the 16th day of Nisan. That is the day Messiah Yeshua (the rock of our salvation arose from the grave to renewed life in resurrection. It's the resurrected Yeshua that inscribes God's instruction on our hearts.

The Rock of Salvation Will Restore Us From Sin
Deuteronomy 32:15 "But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the rock of his salvation.

Deuteronomy 32:18 "You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

2Samuel 22:2 He said, "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

2Samuel 22:3 "my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.

2Samuel 22:32 "For who is God, but the Lord ? And who is a rock, except our God?

2Samuel 22:47 "The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,

2Samuel 23:3 "The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God,

Psalms 18:2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalms 18:31 For who is God, but the Lord ? And who is a rock, except our God?

Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord , my rock and my redeemer.

Psalms 27:5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

Psalms 89:26 "He shall cry to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.'

Isaiah 26:4 "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Isaiah 30:29 You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord , to the Rock of Israel.
These messages shed new light on the misguided new thought plucked out of a single statement that Jesus established Peter as the rock that he would build His assembly of Believers. The rock is the Messiahship of Yeshua that Simon Peter recognized by a revealing from Almighty God. With the old foundation of the Torah and the Prophets, it's easy to see Messiah is the rock of the assembly when you read the message in full context:

"He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 17:15-18

It is Yeshua the Messiah, the word made flesh that is the rock of faith and he way to the Father. In fact, the name Jesus called Peter’s was “Pétros” and it means a small stone, like a pebble, yet the word Jesus used for the rock of the church is “petra” a large stone, like a cornerstone.

Let's look at the foundation, the faith of Yeshua. 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.”
God declares the End from the Beginning.
"And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." Genesis 2:9

"Whatever I command {commission, appoint, ordain for} you, be careful to observe {do, attend to, accomplish, celebrate} it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it." Deuteronomy 12:32

"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. Revelation 22:18-19
Indeed, we are to walk like Yeshua walked and follow His one Word.
His is One Word - Not two "Old" and "New".

*In Hebrew thought and understanding numbers in God's word are very important. Consider the numbers 613 and 271:

Ten (10) represents the instruction of God which was spoken to all Israel. Seven (7) represent perfection and plan of God, Six (6) represents mankind. Three (3) represents our body, soul and spirit and also the unity of Father, Son and Spirit. Two (2) represents the witness of His instruction and His people. One (1) represents the unity of God and His restored people.

Our prayer should be something like this:
Thank you Father for your living word.

Please Father, sweeten the words and open the seals of the Torah scrolls so that we may see Messiah Yeshua in them. Empower us with your Spirit to prophesy of Him there before many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings fulfilling Your commission to spread this Gospel to the world.
What does this all mean? 

It's time for you to repent and return to God's voice, 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. 

It means we need to know "Who is the One Called Jesus.

Consider a prayer: Please, God guide me by your Spirit as to what I should hear and do.

It's time to repent and return to God's voice, return to hear and do His words and walk in the faith of His Kingdom path so that you can ready your lamp for your assignment. 

Stretch out your hand, and take from the tree of life, and live forever.

Open a Bible, read it, listen to God's voice and do Yeshua's teaching about the forever jots and tittles. 

You can learn how the things which are written in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Psalms are concerning Messiah and you can teach others to live life like Jesus, it's love in God's way:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:16-17
Today is the time, open your eyes if you're dead in your own valley of dry bones.

Look up and you'll recognize Messiah from Abraham's promise passed on to Isaac and Jacob as written by Moses in the Torah. You can see Him too in the Prophets and the Writings.

Repent and walk your Emmaus Road with Messiah. Study the Scriptures He taught every Sabbath that are filled with doing life God's way in the Kingdom, and tell others about Him. Be a gatekeeper until the house is complete.

Shalom.