Anchors Away!

Truth has a way of being drowned in a sea of logic, philosophy and tradition. Only God can establish truth through His word. Tradition is only as good as its source. That's why we can and should lean exclusively on the written word. Tradition can be as devastating as rumors unless they have been established by two or more witnesses. The Word of God was inspired by the Holy Spirit, spoken into existence by the Holy One and approved by the Father. There's three witnesses whose testimony cannot be impeached.

Identifying anchors in the pursuit of truth become impossible when we are blinded by our own viewpoints apart from the truth of God. Predispositions have no spiritual substance. We learn them through life when we accept tradition and ideas without searching through Scripture for the unbiased truth. If we hear something often enough it becomes fixed inside our brain until we are convinced it's truth. When we get to a place where it is more important to be right, even if right is wrong, then the path we walk on is no longer straight.

Truth has a way of crushing us, causes us to look inward, challenges us to lowliness and meekness. It demands inward repentance and therefore outward change. Truth doesn't put us on a soap box, demanding our rights and respect. Yeshua was the epitome of truth and it took Him to the cross like a sheep, yet ever since His voice has sounded like that of a Lion.

Nimrod represented the opposite of truth. "The taproot of violence is the hatred of truth." (Your Heart belongs to Me, by Dean Koontz) He didn't build a tower to get closer to God. The tower represented His ego and resentment against truth. We may not consider ourselves as on the same level as a Nimrod, yet we too can build high towers with brick and motor made up of logic, reasoning and tradition. Eber, a descendant of Adam refused to be hunted down with the lies and deception of Nimrod. It is most likely that from Eber the name of Hebrew was given to his Jewish descendants in his honor. From the line of Eber, Abraham, our father emerged.

There is nothing wrong with building family traditions. But Abraham never let tradition get in the way of obeying God. It is because of his obedience that the covenant continues through his line of descendants with the blessing on all peoples who put their trust in the God of Abraham.

Living by faith is as old as Adam. Every generation faced perplexing problems and opportunities in following God. Our forefathers made a future possible for us by obeying God. Eventually, God chose for His commandments, statutes, judgments and laws to be written down so everybody throughout the whole world would have a standard set of righteous instructions that our forefathers possessed through oral tradition.

When God's word was engraved in stone, tradition was put in a place of subjection to His word. Those who desire to obey tradition more than God's written word become like Nimrod, building their high towers to heaven in order to usurp their position over God.

Nimrod fell off his high tower--more like pushed-- and all his men couldn't put him back together again. All those who place tradition, logic and reasoning above the written word of God will also fall. Anchors can be like millstones around our neck, which take us to the bottom of a sea of eternal anguish. Our fathers made it a little easier--yet not less painful a process--for us, but still there are some who want to return to the religion of Nimrod.

Seek truth above all else and change if necessary. Instead of reading Scripture, try letting Scripture (God) read you. It takes courage and strength to follow God. Anybody can follow themselves. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

Shalom.

BUY GOLD!

The works that God approves of have little to do with the amount of energy that man exerts producing them. From the book of Revelation Yeshua addressed the seven congregations in Asia. "I know your works." With the exception of two of the congregations, Yeshua demanded repentance. Faith is what pleases God. The result of faith produces godliness and that leads to persecution. Why? It is because faith produces works that get under the skin of unrighteous people. However, works doesn't produce faith. This is where the five congregations had gone astray.
The problem is that man is work oriented and less likely to lean on God for assistance until he digs a deep hole without out a clear exit plan. The difficulty is trying to focus on God when everything is going well. I'm pretty much focusing on God most of the time. Without too much help I can handle the little things like getting dressed, eating and bathing. I have long given up on the concept that I can produce a good work that merits satisfaction from my Lord. Been there and done that.
Doing good works can be a means of worthyizing ourselves. I know, that's not a word. But it rhymes with idolizing, so I'm going to use it! We convince ourselves we must do something to impress God. We are only attempting to please ourselves and/or impress others. Come on get honest. We know God can do anything He wants. What does He need us for? We just want to feel god--sorry I mean good- about ourselves through our good works. We can metaphorically pat ourselves on our back--or literally if you are double-jointed.
We simply are not worthy of God's grace. But He gives it to us anyway. For our works? No, for our faith! "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) So how can we make ourselves clean through works? Can we go to work in the morning and come home more clean than when we left? "Wash, wash." Says Isaiah.
The word purify in the Hebrew is Khata. It means to make clean because of sin or missing the mark. We must purify ourselves through the living water (Yeshua) by which we shall never thirst again. Otherwise if you are going to work your way to heaven you will have to spend the rest of your life in the shower or bathtub. That's going to be a HUGE water bill, and then it will never get you clean enough. Besides, do you want to look like a prune? "'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson they shall be as wool.'" (Isaiah 1:18) The internal elements of the female Coccus Ilicis (unclean insect) produces the color from which scarlet dye is derived. To the kosher Jewish person this idiom made complete sense. Though they were unclean like a pagan Gentile, God would make them clean. "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.'" (Isaiah 1:19) Willingness denotes faith and faith causes obedience and obedience produces righteous works. "But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword'" (Isaiah 1:20)
"Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw." (1 Cor. 3:12) Hay, wood and straw are the works we produce by our own hand. We can plant and harvest and fell timber all day long, but on judgment day the test of fire (purification) will burn all of these works up. The only works that won't burn will be the ones God creates: Gold, silver and precious stone. God is willing and quite able to produce these works through us. But we must be willing and obedient to the process through faith. Buy Gold! "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich..." (Rev. 3:18)
Faith without works is dead. James is comparing the works that come down from the Father of Lights with the fruit of the spirit from the book of Galatians. Read the book of James carefully and see if I am not right. You will find every spiritual gift from James that Paul alludes to in Galatians.
Yeshua says that He stands at the door knocking. Anyone who opens the door He will come in and have fellowship. Don't try impressing God with your furnishings, (works) nothing in your house (body) will be comparable to His Glorious presence. Shalom.

Why Do the Nations Rage? Part 2

The anti-messiah is identified as the "Lawless one," (2Thessalonians 2:8,9) which literally means "Without Torah." Sadly for two thousand years, because of the misguided efforts of a few Gentiles in the first three centuries the Torah has been defined as "Legalism," the way the Pharisees interpreted the Torah. Torah, as defined by Yeshua and the Apostles is the WAY of walking with God in the Spirit of His righteousness by faith apart from the works of the Torah. Moreover, the Torah is, in Paul's words, holy, good and just. Despite the efforts of Satan to abolish the Torah and make Christians believe it is a curse instead of a blessing to obey God's Law, (Torah) a remnant emerges in every generation that love God's holy , good and just Law. "Do we then make void the law (Torah) through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." (Romans 3:31) The law is not a curse, but those who seek to be justified by the law are under the curse of the law, having fallen from grace. Because the anti messiah opposes God he will appose His holy, good and just book of instructions, which leads sinners to God and in the Way of righteousness. Instead the anti messiah will desire to lead sinners to himself, so he must destroy the book that opposes the worship of himself as God.
"He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times (Feast Days) and law (Torah). (Daniel 7:25) The anti messiah will abolish the two most important means of knowing God and His redemptive plan.The Hebrew Calendar is based on lunar days of the month and is used to signify when the seven feast days fall. The last three of the seven feast days are yet to be fulfilled. The first four were fulfilled on the exact day of the feasts. It is not unreasonable to believe the last three will be fulfilled on the precise days. If the calendar and the feast days are abolished--and they will be-- by the anti messiah then it would be impossible to know when the feast of Trumpets that signals the last ten days before the Lord returns on the Day of Atonement. The Feast of Tabernacles will be fulfilled in the millennial reign of Yeshua in Jerusalem. Because the saints will have been worn out by the anti messiah, without a lunar calendar to calculate feast days, the "Day of the Lord" will come on a day that is least expected. The Law (Torah) will also be abolished because it speaks of the righteousness and holiness of God. The anti messiah will not want the competition to be around. The book of Amos speaks of this awful day upon which the anti messiah rises to power and claims to be God. "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.'" (Amos 8:11) "And he will say, 'Hold you're tongue! For we dare not mention the name of the Lord.'" (Amos 6:10b)
The Torah and everything pertaining to biblical Judaism was abolished by the "Church Fathers" in 325 A.D. This fatal error alienated the "Church" from the commonwealth of Israel, rebuilt the wall that Yeshua had torn down, and paved a wide road that will lead to destruction for many. For over two thousand years God has had the displeasure of profaning His Heritage, that is His people of Israel for not accepting His redemptive work of salvation, for denying His Son, Yeshua, for continuing with stiff necks and uncircumcised hearts. Nevertheless God has also spoken ill of those who would show no mercy to His people. They will also receive condemnation because of their arrogance and slander against God's heritage. A future great apostasy that will have no concept of the prophetic significance of the fall feasts and the importance of the Torah will rise in the last days and will fall in line with the goal of the anti messiah. A philosophical ideology by the Church Fathers of "Replacement Theology" (That the Gentile Church replaced Israel) only managed to replace sound doctrinal principles with Gentile philosophy that was inspired by hatred for the Jewish people and ultimately the God of Israel.
God has described the players and positions in this final act before His return. We certainly cannot know every detail that will enfold in the last days, but we should be able to identify the season, the players, and the ideology of the anti-messiah, who is at work in this very hour. In the words of Daniel, the anti-messiah will wear out the saints and make war against them. These saints are those who love and obey God's commandments. They, having accepted the Torah (Godly Instruction) and the teachings of the "Apostolic Fathers," having dismissed the teachings of Church Fathers, will be able to identify the man of lawlessness and refrain from following him, suffer persecution and possibly death. Shalom.

A "Message" by Debbie Dillon

As I was reading Romans chapter ten out of “The Message” by Eugene Peterson, I was taken back by the striking similarities between Israel and the Gentile Church today. Even though Paul was actually addressing Israel, it occurred to me that this same passage would accurately describe the condition of the modern Christian church culture at this very moment.
I rearranged the words from the “Message” to correspond to the “Church,” as if to a certain extent the tables had been turned, and as if Paul were addressing the current mindset of today’s church culture. As a result, this gave me a snapshot of thoughts that had been ruminating in my own mind over this commonality. What began as a therapeutic exercise on my part became allegorical by its own state of affairs. D.D.



Romans Chapter 10: Believe me, all I want for the Christian Church is what is best for them. By this, I mean a vital living relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I want nothing more than for them to position their relationship with Yeshua (Jesus) in first place ahead, and in the front line over their church agendas. I pray for this often. I readily admit that the Christian church today is impressively energetic regarding God, but they are doing everything backwards.
They don’t seem to realize that this business of setting things right on the subject of salvation is God’s work, and He alone is capable of flourishing the seeds that are sown, if we are faithful in presenting it along the lines of His Character. But instead, we have salvation shops right across the street, noisily hawking their wares. After all these years of refusing to deal with God on His terms, discounting the Torah as a mere curse, they insist on making their own deals by assimilating into a pagan culture, all the while neglecting their own relationship with the God they are busily serving, and they have little to show for it. Most of it will be wood, hay, and stubble because they have become so caught up in the building of their church empires and protecting their specific church cultures. Trusting God to shape the right living in them is too simple for them to grasp, and in the process, they forgot what Moses was saying. By their very actions, the Church creates a stumbling block by misrepresenting who God really is. He is not a god made in to our own liking- our buddy, or genie in a bottle if we follow a certain formula. Neither is He someone we can manipulate with our prayers. He is very near, especially to the broken and contrite in spirit. But how can people around this type of church culture call for help, if they don’t know whom to trust? And how can they know Who to trust, if they haven’t heard the One who truly can be trusted by meditating on His beautiful Character? And how can they hear about nurturing such a relationship as their true focus, if they are too busy with church culture type agendas? This is why Scripture exclaims what we are meant to be: A sight to take your breath away, telling all the good things of God.
So the big question is, why doesn’t the Church culture understand that she has no corner on this salvation, or even this Message? Moses had it right when he predicted:
When you see God reach out to those whom you consider to be your inferiors-outsiders because they love the whole law, you throw religious temper tantrums, or give cold shoulders and icy stares. Isaiah said it well. People found and welcomed me, who never before really saw who I was with all your misrepresentations; and I found and welcomed them, once they discovered the Real Deal.
Day after day, God is beckoning the Church, just as He did Israel with open arms, and what is He getting in return for all His trouble lately? Nothing but cold shoulders, and icy stares.

We do not support the erroneous concept that the Church has replaced Israel. P.D.
Shalom.

Why Do the Nations Rage?

Though oral tradition and commentary has its place it certainly cannot supercede God's written word. Because the focus of our attention should be solely on God, rabbinical Judaism, Christianity and Islam would have a better concept of God if they would stop reacting negatively to one another's doctrines and instead react to God. When man turns the focus from God on to himself a state of spiritual indifference can develop, religions can be formed, and un-holy wars implemented. Nevertheless, oral tradition and commentary may help us better understand the mind set of certain people during and prior to the advent of who I believe to be the Messiah of God, who by His blood made atonement for the worlds sins, that through faith mankind can receive redemption.

Last week I touched upon the coming of the anti messiah in the last days. It may surprise some of you to learn that orthodox Jewish eschatology expects the appearance of an anti messiah to run adjacent to the appearance of their messiah. Though much emphasis is placed on the advent of their messiah, the appearance of anti messiah is played down. In some Jewish quarters it is denied all together. In Jewish eschatology the anti-messiah is called Armilus. Christian prophecy identifies the antichrist as the beast with the number of 666, while Islam anticipates the appearance of an anti-messiah, who they call "D'jal."

The Talmudic sages (Jewish interpreters of oral tradition) believed in the suffering messiah as well as the reigning messiah. They linked the suffering messiah to Isaiah 53, and even knew this suffering messiah by the name of Moshiach (Messiah) ben (son of) Yosef (Joseph). They also made a reference to this suffering messiah with Moses being a type of the messiah in that Moses was revealed in Egypt, was hidden, and then revealed again to the Israelites in Egypt upon which he took them out of bondage and toward the promised land. It should also be noted here that Moses died on a mountain, and Joshua, whose name is Yeshua in Hebrew, guided the believing Israelites across the Jordan river three days later into the promised land. This fulfilled the typology of the Messiah, who like Moses died on a mountain in Jerusalem, and Joshua, (Yeshua ben Yosef) who after three days in the grave would rise and eventually will reign in Israel on the throne of David after a period of being hidden from the Jewish people.

The Essenes who lived in a cloistered community in Qumran, from about 220 B.C. to 70 A.D. understood that the suffering messiah would be God manifest in the flesh and would make atonement for sins by his suffering. They understood this important aspect of God's redemption by sacrificial blood in the Temple sacrifices and because of the corruption involved during their day refused to participate. It is from the messianic teaching from the Essenes that the Jewish people anticipated the appearance of the suffering Messiah in first century A.D., which also fulfilled part of the 70 week prophecy from Daniel 9:24 of 483 years from the the decree to restore the walls to the year that Messiah would be cut off or die, which corresponds to the very year of Yeshua's death in Jerusalem. We know this suffering messiah to be Yeshua (God is salvation) ben (son of) Yosef (Joseph), who was married to Miriam (Mary). In the Christian world He is known as Jesus Christ, which is a translation from the Hebrew, Yeshua the Messiah.

I should note here that in the first century A.D. after the death and resurrection of Yeshua there were approximately one million believing Jews in Israel. After about seven centuries of persecution by both Orthodox Jews and Gentile Christians they were forced to return to Orthodox Judaism, assimilate into Gentile Christianity, or go underground. The consequences of not choosing one of these resulted in persecution and even death. Part two next week. Shalom.

Happy Hanukkah

Hanukkah, which is the Hebrew word for "Dedication" should embolden us to the miracle of a small band of righteous Jews who refused to assimilate into paganism. Without fear of death they fought against and defeated a much larger, better trained and equipped army of Antiochus Epiphanes.

The real meaning of Hanukkah is not lighting candles and or giving out presents to one another. Instead it should be a day that we dedicate (Hanukkah) ourselves by resisting mediocrity and compromise in the face of social and religious pressure, while expecting the miracle of victory against the odds of defeat.

Today, we as believers in the God of Israel, face as much danger of having our light taken away with what might seem small and insignificant compromises. The spirit of Antiochus Epiphanes is as much alive today as it was in the days of the Maccabees. Though subtlety infused throughout the past two thousand years, bits and pieces of paganism have sullied our white garments of righteousness by which we must repent and return to God.

Passover, Unleavened bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost, Day of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles are God's seven "Feast Days" that are holy and prophetic and have as much relevance in our walk with Yeshua (Jesus) as praying and fasting. The doctrines that came out of the council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. attempted to abolish the God of Israel's holiness as much as the efforts by Antiochus, who abolished the Torah. This same mind set will emerge when the antichrist, who is identified as "The man of lawlessness" (without Torah) rises to power. If the antichrist doesn't love the Torah how can we who say we belong to Yeshua (Jesus) not love the Torah. Let me illustrate my point with this question. If you were an employee at Walmart and came to work wearing a Safeway vest, would Walmart believe you were a faithful employee?

God is not calling us to fight in the physical sense, for our warfare is spiritual. We must put on the whole armor of God in order to fight against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. We can do this by living by faith apart from the works of the Torah, but learning and studying ALL the Bible and obeying God's commandments because we love Him. God loves us with His whole heart, mind and strength. All He asks from us is to return the favor and love our neighbor with the same passion--if that is possible--that He loves us. If we do this we will have fulfilled the whole Torah, for all of the commandments of God hinge on loving God and our neighbor.

If we adhere to God's way and not man's way, we will not stumble. Otherwise He may take the Menorah light from our temple (body) if we don't Hanukkah (dedicate) ourselves to Him and overcome the passions of this world. Though, like the Maccabees, our number may be small, our God is big. Even to Elijah's surprise, God had reserved 7,000 people who would not bow to Baal. God plus one equals a majority. Shalom.

End of Days

So how close are we to the end of days? I am not able at this time to disclose exact times and dates of the end. However, I feel with enough coffee in my system I should be able to reach the apex of prophetic timetable equations to intelligently disclose these dates with pin point accuracy sometime at or just after 21 December 2012 The fact that this date is the end of the Mayan calendar is coincidental. Eh hem. That's me clearing my throat in Hebrew. Actually, 2012 is the year I am eligible for Social Security. The government will go to no lengths to make sure I don't get any of my money back!

Seriously, I feel we are so close that I should be marking off days on my calendar. So far, I believe that the first three seals in Revelation have already been opened, and we shall most likely see the fourth open at or shortly after the 21st of December of 2012. The first seal, a white horse, was opened on 9/11/2001. The second seal, a red horse, opened 26 days later when America officially entered Afghanistan, and Iraq in March of 2003. The third seal, a black horse, was opened in September of 2008 when Wall street collapsed effecting the entire world.

Before the anti-messiah can rise to power he must make a covenant that will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. If my calculations are correct--I may be one coffee cup short of being right--we may see that very thing done on the 16th of March 2010. This is an 18th century prophecy by a rabbi, which the Israelites are taking very seriously. They intend to rededicate a very old synagogue next march in anticipation of this prophecy coming to fruition. The construction of the altar, a very important detail of the Temple, was begun last July 2009 on Tisha B' Av. All they need is a Red Heifer to cleanse the priests. Another Rabbi last year predicted that there would be no more mourning by the following Tisha B'Av, which is a day of fasting and mourning for the destruction of the first and second Temple, among other disasters that happened to the Jews on this date in history. The next Tisha B'Av will be in July of 2010.

I feel reasonably sure that the end, and by that I mean the beginning, should take place in 2017. I can't be more specific than that. I'm not going to put a day or an hour on this puppy. When it's time then the last Shofar (trumpet) is going to sound and the Lord is going to descend with a shout, the dead in Messiah will raise and then the living will go up to meet the Lord in the air. The question I have is, "Am I going to be going up first or second? I don't really worry about myself--too much. I worry a lot about my family. I hope my family loves God more than the world. That's the only thing that is going to save them through one of the most horrific times this world has ever witnessed. So, family, I love you. I hope you can count on God's grace and His love to get you through, because I truly believe that my generation will not pass away until all of what is recorded in the book of Revelation comes to pass.

This is a very exciting time of life. We are seeing, if you are looking, prophecy unfolding right before our eyes. We are told to WATCH by the Lord because you can only see these things with eyes open to spiritual truth. So WATCH for the construction of the Temple, and count off seven years to the end. We are going to be asked by God during this time a very important question. How much do you love Me? Shalom.