MY SCRIPTURE STUDIES

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

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.

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