Galatians Chapter 1 explained

Now here is a project that I felt needed to be done. The project is to write a detailed explanation on the book of Galatians. The reason this needs to be done is simply because the book of Galatians is probably the most misquoted and misunderstood book in the entire Bible by the Christians. The Church uses it to attack anyone who desires to turn to do the desire of the Almighty. They also use it to justify their own personal desire not to do what is written in the Word of the Almighty. It is easy to twist the words of Shaul to seem as though it is okay to disregard the Hebrew Tanakh (Old Testament).

I have also seen a poster explaining Galatians 1 as “the gospel of Christian freedom” Many Christians believe this as being set free from obedience to the Word of the Almighty. But is it really? We will be investigating this subject further.

Before we get started with Galatians, let us look at something that Kepha (Peter) said about the writings of Sha’ul (Paul):

”So then, beloved ones, looking forward to this, do your utmost to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and reckon the patience of our Master as deliverance, as also our beloved brother Sha’ul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these matters, in which some are hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the other Scriptures. You, then, beloved ones, being forewarned, watch, lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the delusion of the lawless” (2 Peter 3:14-17)

Here Kepha is teaching us that we need to do our very best to be found by the Almighty in peace, being spotless and blameless. In order to do so, one needs to study the Scriptures to know and understand what is good to do and what is bad. We also need to understand what the authors meant by what they wrote. If anyone does not seek the true context of the passages, then that person is only fooling himself and not seeking truth.

Kepha also makes it very clear that some of Sha’ul’s letters are hard to understand for those who do not know the Hebrew Scriptures intimately. The people who do not know the Hebrew Scriptures are those who cannot understand the writings of Sha’ul at all, as Sha’ul quotes the Scriptures often and uses many Hebrew idioms and Hebraisms. It is them who create false doctrines based upon what Sha’ul wrote, but taken way out of context, because they do not know any better.

Kepha also makes it very clear that those who do not keep the Torah, are those who create the delusion that we are to stay away from Torah, so that we do not fall from our steadfastness. As you can see, Kepha is teaching that we still need to abide by what is written in the Law (Torah) as this is what holds all the answers.

Let us also have a look at a few references as to what Sha’ul used and taught us to follow, that which he himself calls Scripture.

”And indeed, all those wishing to live reverently in Messiah יהושע (Y’hoshua), shall be persecuted.

But evil men and impostors shall go on to the worse, leading astray and being led astray.

But you, stay in what you have learned and trusted, having known from whom you have learned, and that from a babe you have known the Set-apart Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for deliverance through belief in Messiah יהושע (Y’hoshua).

All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:12-17)

Here Sha’ul is teaching that those who desire to live reverently in the Messiah, will be persecuted, but Sha’ul makes it very clear that it is because those who follow the Messiah will not be led astray by those who do not keep to the Scriptures.

Sha’ul clearly teaches us to follow the Set-Apart Scriptures which is breathed by the Almighty and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight and for instruction in righteousness.

Now is Sha’ul referring to any of his letters or writings as being Scripture? Or is he referring to the Hebrew Scriptures? To answer this simple question, Sha’ul makes it clear that the people knew the Scriptures from when they were a babe. Sha’ul’s letters did not exist at that time, so they are not considered to be Scripture according to Sha’ul. What did exist, and what Sha’ul was speaking of, was the Hebrew Scriptures and Sha’ul is making it clear that we are to live by these Scriptures. The Messiah confirms this in Mat 4:4 where He says, “It has been written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of יהוה (YHWH)’” This too is proof that the Hebrew Tanakh is the Word of the Almighty which never changes.

Let us look at a few more verses:

”For whatever was written before was written for our instruction, that through endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have the expectation” (Rom 15:4).

Here Sha’ul makes it clear again that the Scriptures are everything written in the Hebrew Tanakh and that we are to live by these Scriptures.

”And according to his practice, Sha’ul went in unto them, and for three Sabbaths was reasoning with them from the Scriptures” (Act 17:2).

We can see that Sha’ul made a practice of teaching from the Hebrew Scriptures on the Sabbath. Was he reasoning from his letters, or from the Hebrew Tanakh which he called the Scriptures?

Now Sha’ul cannot contradict himself by saying one thing to one group of people, and another thing to a different group of people. This would make him a hypocrite and all his letters invalid for teaching. But this is not the case, if his writings are understood in the correct context. Sha’ul clearly kept to everything written in the Hebrew Scriptures and taught us to do the same. It is therefore impossible for him to teach otherwise, because if he did do so, then he would be a heretic and a hypocrite and all his writings would be null and void. We must also understand that Sha’ul does not have the power or authority to change anything in the Scriptures at all.

So now we can start to dismiss many, and hopefully all, false doctrines that are rooted in the book of Galatians. Let us now get into the book of Galatians and the true contextual explanation thereof.

Galatians 1:1 - 2

”Sha’ul, an emissary – not from men, nor by a man, but by יהושע (Y’hoshua) Messiah and Elohim the Father who raised Him from the dead – and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia:” (Gal 1:1-2)

Sha’ul has been sent to Galatia to spread the truth about the Scriptures by the Messiah and His Father the Almighty. This is one more place that proves that the Messiah is NOT the Almighty, and disproves the Trinity doctrine.

Galatians 1:3 - 5

“Favour to you and peace from Elohim the Father and our Master יהושע (Y’hoshua) Messiah, who gave Himself for our sins, to deliver us out of this present wicked age, according to the desire of our Elohim and Father, to whom be the praise forever and ever. Amĕn” (Gal 1:3-5)

The Messiah gave Himself for our sins. He is known as the perfect lamb whose blood was shed. “And, according to the Torah, almost all is cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb 9:22). Now if you do not know the Hebrew Scriptures, you are not going to understand this concept, as it is explained in great detail in the Torah. Only through the shedding of blood can one be forgiven of sin. In the Torah, a goat or a lamb was brought to the Kohanim (Priests) and it is they who slaughtered it. Never ever did the general population of Yisra’el ever slaughter a sin offering themselves, they always brought it to the Kohanim (priests). One thing you will see if you ever read the Hebrew Scriptures, is that the priests are called Mashiyach (Messiah) too.

The Kohen Gadol (High Priest) presented the blood of one's sacrifice in the most Set Apart place, once a year, for the covering of the sins of the nation to the Almighty. The Kohen Gadol was the only person who was allowed to do so which happened on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). The High Priest was the mediator between the people and the Almighty. Anyone else who went into the most Set Apart place, would immediately die.

Y’hoshua the Messiah is also a Kohen (Priest). He is our Kohen Gadol (High Priest) (Heb 4:14) who still presents His blood to the Almighty as the mediator between us and the Almighty. He does this every year on Yom Kippur. And when we come with a sacrifice for a sin or guilt or peace, etc. he sprinkles it on the heavenly altar.

Now because The Messiah shed His blood for our sins, it is speaking of our past sins and does not give us free reign to carry on sinning. We are called to repentance, which is a turning away from sin. But what is sin? “Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Any transgression of the Torah is a sin.

Galatians 1:6 - 7

“I marvel that you are so readily turning away from Him who called you in the favour of Messiah, to a different ‘Good News, which is not another, only there are some who are troubling you and wishing to pervert the Good News of Messiah” (Gal 1:6-7)

Okay, so let us see who are those that are the ones who teach a different good news to the true Good News:

”Let no one deceive you in any way, because the falling away is to come first, and the man of lawlessness is to be revealed, the son of destruction
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power and signs and wonders of falsehood” (2 Thes 2:3, 9)

Here Sha’ul is making it very clear that those who are lawless (do not live by and teach Torah) are from Satan. He also makes it very clear that anyone who teaches anything contrary to the Torah is teaching a different “good news.” But these lawless men come in disguise and fool many into believing that they are messengers of light and the emissaries of the Messiah, as the following verse explains:

”For such are false emissaries, deceptive workers, masquerading as emissaries of Messiah. And no wonder! For Satan himself masquerades as a messenger of light!

It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works!” (2 Cor 11:13-15)

So we have to be really careful as to who we listen to, even though they seem to be genuine and loving. It is very possible that they could be false emissaries and deceptive workers masquerading as emissaries of the Messiah, but are rather teachers of lies and deceit. What then are we to do?

”You, then, beloved ones, being forewarned, watch, lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the delusion of the lawless” (2 Peter 3:17)

As the verse above says, we need to be steadfast in the Scriptures and not fall for the Torah-less teachers and doctrines. Sha’ul makes it clear that the Scriptures (Hebrew Tanakh) is what we need to refer to for instruction (2 Tim 3:12-17 – see above). The Torah is the instruction in righteousness. Without the Torah there is unrighteousness or lawlessness.

Galatians 1:8 - 9

“However, even if we, or a messenger out of heaven, bring a ‘Good News’ to you beside what we announced to you, let him be accursed.

As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone brings a ‘Good News’ to you beside what you have received, let him be accursed” (Gal 1:8-9).

Here is a response to those who claim to hear things from the “Holy Spirit” that no one else does. Sha’ul warns against these people. If anyone or any spirit speaks anything against what is written in the Torah, then it is proof that that person or spirit is speaking falsehood and the spirit is not the Ruach haKodesh (Set Apart Spirit), but rather a spirit of the devil.

There is a lot of “Holy Spirit” teachings going on in the Christian faith, where the teachings cannot be found anywhere in the Scriptures, and yet, so many people fall for these ridiculous teachings without testing it at all.

The reason that Sha’ul repeated the statement twice, is because there is no capitalization or underlining in the Hebrew language to point out an important statement. Rather, Hebrew has, what is called, parallelism, which is simply repeating a word or statement. So it is very clear that Sha’ul is giving a very stern warning against such people and spirits that cannot support their teachings by using the Hebrew Scriptures.

Galatians 1:10 - 12

“For do I now persuade men, or Elohim? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I should not be a servant of Messiah. And I make known to you, brothers, that the Good News announced by me is not according to man. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but through a revelation of יהושע (Y’hoshua) Messiah” (Gal 1:10-12)

Sha’ul makes it clear that he is not out to please men, but rather to please the Almighty by teaching His desire and using His Words and not the words of men. Where can these words of the Almighty be found? In the Hebrew Tanakh.

Now Sha’ul makes the claim that the Messiah taught him the Good News. Does this mean that the Messiah taught him anything that is not written in the Hebrew Scriptures? Definitely not. We can know this because of what is written in the book of Acts.

”And the brothers immediately sent Sha’ul and Sila away by night to Beroia, who, having come, went into the congregation of the Yehud’im. Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonike, who received the word with great eagerness, and searched the Scriptures daily, if these words were so. Then many of them truly believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, decent women as well as men” (Act 17:10-11)

Here we see that Sha’ul used the Hebrew Scriptures to teach the truth of the Messiah. If he did not, then the Y’hudim of Beroia would not have believed him at all. Shaul taught only from the Hebrew Scriptures.

”And according to his practice, Sha’ul went in unto them, and for three Sabbaths was reasoning with them from the Scriptures, explaining and pointing out that the Messiah had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This is the Messiah, יהושע (Y’hoshua), whom I proclaim to you” (Act 17:2-3)

It is very clear that Sha’ul used the Scriptures to teach about the Messiah. So the Messiah Himself did not teach Sha’ul anything new that is not found in the Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh).

Let us also jump ahead a little to the book of Revelation to see what it says who the people of the Almighty are:

”And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to fight with the remnant of her seed, those guarding the commands of Elohim and possessing the witness of יהושע (Y’hoshua) Messiah” (Rev 12:17)

”Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones, here are those guarding the commands of Elohim and the belief of יהושע (Y’hoshua)” (Rev 14:12)

So it is very clearly written that the set apart people are those who guard the Commandments AND have the belief of the Messiah Y’hoshua. It is impossible to do only one and not the other. It is impossible to believe in the Messiah and not do the Commandments.

Galatians 1:13 - 14

“For you have heard of my former way of life in Yehudaism, how intensely I persecuted the assembly of Elohim, and ravaged it. And I progressed in Yehudaism beyond many of my age in my race, being more exceedingly ardent for the traditions of my fathers” (Gal 1:13-14)

Now Sha’ul is revealing who he was before the Messiah appeared to him. He tells us that he was a very learned man in the teachings of the Talmud (Oral Law). Although he did also study the Torah and knew it very well, many of the teachings and traditions of the Y’hudim were based on the Oral Law (traditions of the elders). Many of these teachings and traditions contradicted the written Torah. The reason why Sha’ul teaches why he persecuted the “assembly of Elohim” is because the Pharisaical law, which was based on the Oral Law, was the law of the state of Israel. Anyone rejecting the Oral Law and following only what is written in the Hebrew Scriptures, was persecuted by the Pharisaical rulers.

So Sha’ul makes a clear distinction between Pharisaical Judaism and Torah observance.

Galatians 1:15 - 17  

“But when it pleased Elohim, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me by His favour, to reveal His Son in me, that I might bring Him, the Good News, to the gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, neither did I go up to Yerushalayim, to those who were emissaries before me. But I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus” (Gal 1:15-17)

Sha’ul is explaining that the timing of the Almighty is perfect and that Sha’ul needed his education in Pharisaical Judaism, and literature first, before he take on his role of spreading the Good News. It was by the favour of the Almighty that He called Sha’ul to be His emissary. Just like with Sha’ul, many of us are called, it is just up to us to choose to accept that calling and to do what the Almighty requires from us. This requires obedience to His Word.

Sha’ul was called to take the Message of the Messiah to the Gentile nations, but as we will later see, most of his letters that appear in the B’rit Chaddashah (Renewed Covenant) are addressed to Jewish groups living among the gentile nations.

After the encounter with the Messiah, he did not immediately consult with other people, but rather, spent his time in prayer and Scriptural studying to learn about the Messiah in the Scriptures. If we also desire to learn who the Messiah is and what He does for us etc, then we need to go and study the Hebrew Tanakh continually. Why do I say this? According to Scripture and majority understanding, the Messiah Y’hoshua is the Word of the Almighty in the flesh. So if we want to know who the Messiah is, then we need to go study the Word of the Almighty in great detail. This is what Sha’ul did.

Galatians 1:18 - 19

“Then after three years I went up to Yerushalayim to learn from Kĕpha, and remained with him for fifteen days. And I saw no other of the emissaries except Ya’aqov, the brother of the Master” (Gal 1:18-19)

After Sha’ul had spent his time in the Scriptures, he then went to learn from Kepha (Peter) for fifteen days. He went to Kepha because Kepha knew the Messiah personally and walked with the Messiah and learned directly from the Messiah Y’hoshua Himself.

Galatians 1:20

“And what I write to you, see, before Elohim, I do not lie” (Gal 1:20)

This verse does not need much explaining. Sha’ul is trying to gain the peoples trust and making an oath before Elohim that he is speaking truth.

“Then I went into the districts of Syria and of Kilikia. And I was still not known by sight to the assemblies of Yehudah which were in Messiah, but they were hearing only that, “The one who once persecuted us now brings as Good News the belief which he once ravaged.” So they were esteeming Elohim in me” (Gal 1:21-24)   

Sha’ul has just finished the setting or introduction of his letter to the Galatians. He states that he has not yet been to Yerushalayim since his encounter with the Messiah. He also reported that the believers in Yerushalayim were esteeming the Almighty because of what they heard about him.

So now that we have covered the first chapter of Galatians, which is the introduction and foundation to the rest of his letter, we can see that Sha’ul is teaching that it is still necessary to study and do all that is written in the Hebrew Scriptures. The truth is, that the obedience to the Torah is what sets us free from the law of sin.

I will be posting the explanations of the rest of Galatians soon.

What is true repentance

What is repentance? What does it mean to repent? Many believe that it is asking for forgiveness for a particular sin, but does it really mean that? Many people believe that it is and that they can carry on doing this sin, as long as they ask for forgiveness every time, that they are okay.

The word for repentance in the Hebrew Scriptures is the word, “teishuva.” The root word is the Hebrew word, “shuv” (pronounced shoov), which simply means, turn. The concept of teishuva (repentance) is not only associated with the turning away from sin in the Hebrew understanding. It can be used in many other ways too. Let us look at one such example.

In the time of the temple, the Levites who had certain duties in the temple, used to work in kind of “shift work” schedule. To indicate a shift change, a certain shofar blast would indicate the change. When this shofar blast was heard by a Levite who was to come on duty, he would immediately drop what ever he was busy with and “teishuva” (turn) and go to the temple to do his duty. It was not about turning away from something wrong, but rather to go do what he was required to do at that time.

Repentance from sin is the same thing. When we repent (teishuv), we are required to drop the sin we are busy with and turn 180 degrees and continue in the instruction of the Almighty and never look back. It is a permanent turning away from that sin, never to be repeated again.

New believers, people who come to follow the way of the Torah, have to “teishuva” (turn) away from their previous sinful lifestyle and go follow what the Torah teaches us to do. Once that believer, who has made a commitment to follow the Torah and learns what is required of him, then goes and commits a sin that is liable for death, according to the Torah, will then have his blood on his own hands. This person should not be allowed to fellowship with the congregation any longer. The reason for this is that it becomes understood by others that these kind of actions, that are an abomination, are acceptable to do. That person will be judged by the Almighty.

Repentance does not mean that we can ask for forgiveness and then continue to do the same sin again and just ask forgiveness every time. Repentance is turning away from that sin and put it behind you and never do it again. We will all eventually be living a perfectly righteous life if we all continue to do “teishuva” for all our sins. The more we do it, the easier it becomes and the more we are going to develop a pure love for the Almighty and His Word and also for our neighbors too.

If we all do teishuva and truly turn to do what is written in the Torah, then we will all stand side by side in perfect agreement with the Torah as our foundation. May we all study His Torah in order to know what is right in the eyes of the Almighty and turn from our evil ways to do what is good.

Do we really live by the Scriptural culture?

Believing in and serving the Almighty is not an add-on to ones life. I have heard very many people say that one should put the Almighty first in ones life, then I reply, “WHAT… as if He could be second!!!” The fact is that The Almighty and His instructions for us have to guide us in every single aspect of our lives. It has to become our culture to live by every single Word that comes from the mouth of the Almighty.

The Scriptures have to become our way of life and way of thinking in everything that we do, it should become our culture. The majority of people in this world belong to some religious organization of some kind. The largest religion in the world today is undoubtedly Christianity by far. When I hear or read about this fact, the words of the Messiah that comes to mind is found in the book of Matthew, “Enter in through the narrow gate! Because the gate is wide – and the way is broad – that leads to destruction, and there are MANY WHO ENTER IN THROUGH IT. Because the gate is narrow and the way is hard pressed which leads to life, and THERE ARE FEW WHO FIND IT” (Mat 7:13-14)

With the words of the Messiah in our thoughts, would one want to be part of the majority (the many)? The Messiah made it very clear that this is a matter of life and death. Should we not pay more attention and study to test everything in order to prove it true so that we follow the truth that leads to life? If we do not do so, then we are simply putting our own lives and the lives of our families into the hands of other people.

Let me use a practical example quick. I have two uncles, the one is a middle class worker and the other is a rich financial expert who makes a lot of money from the stock market. One day my middle class uncle asked my rich uncle to invest some of his hard earned money on the stock market for him so that he too could have some extra cash. My rich uncle agreed to do so and took his money to invest.

Now my uncle, that gave his hard earned money, trusted my other rich uncle because he was his own brother and believed he had his best interests at heart. What happened is that because my rich uncle was not investing his own money, he was not too worried about it and sort of forgot to look after his brother’s investment. In the end, he made a loss with his brother’s money. Now it was not because he did not care about his brother, but simply because he was more interested in making more money for himself or simply because any loss of that investment would have no effect on him directly.

This example has exactly the same principle as mentioned above. Are you putting your life in the care of other people, who in the end are more worried about their own lives and “forget” to look after your “investment,” namely your life? That is why it is written that we are to test everything in order to prove that it is right. We are responsible for our own salvation and therefore need to study the Scriptures for ourselves in order to know what is righteous and what is not. We then have to change our lives to the extent that it is perfectly in line with the Word/Instruction of the Almighty. “It has been written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of יהוה (YHWH)” (Mat 4:4). He is the only one who knows what is best for us.

Now, whenever someone, who is walking in the ways of the Scriptures and teaching the ways of the Almighty, encounters a Christian, they are usually accused of the following, “you are trying to Judaise me and the other people.” But is this statement true? Absolutely not!!!

Judaising someone is teaching them to follow Jewish traditions and teachings. There is a difference between Judaising and Scripturalising the belief/faith. Although the Scriptural way of life very much resembles that of what the Jews do in many ways, it is not exactly the same in the sense that the Jews (at least the Rabbinics) have many extra laws and “interpretations” of certain passages. But does it make everything they (Orthodox Jews) do incorrect? Certainly NOT.

Let us look at a few things that are different between the Orthodox Jewish faith and the Scriptural faith. Then we will look at the Scriptural faith and compare it to the Christian faith to see if that meets the Scriptural requirements.

A few Jewish traditions that are not Scriptural:

1)   Men have to wear a “kippa” (yarmulke) on their heads.
2)   Not allowed to eat meat and dairy in the same meal.
3)   Not allowed to have a blue thread in the tzitzit (Scripture requires us to wear tzitzit with a cord of blue in it)
4)   Have a set worked out calendar instead of watching for new moon (but only differ by a day or so when there is a difference)

Now let us look at a few things that are required by Scripture, that the Christians do NOT observe:

1)   Wear tzitzit (tassels) on the four corners of our garments (Num 15:38-40, Deut 22:12, Mat 9:20, 14:35-36, Mark6:56, Luke 8:43-44)
2)   Keep the Sabbath (Christianity does not keep the Sabbath) (Hebrews 4:9, Mat 24:20, Ex 31: 13-16, Isa 56:1-2, 58:13-14, 66:22-24, Deut 5:12, Ex 20:8-11, Jer 17:22 etc)
3)   Circumcision, which is an eternal sign of the Covenant given to Avraham (Christianity does not believe in circumcision) (Eze 44:9, Jer 4:4, Gen 17:10-14, Ex 12:43-44, Luke 2:21)

4)   Observe the Mo’edim (appointed times and feasts) as written in Lev 23 (Christians keep pagan holidays instead.) See – Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, New Year, Valentines day etc.
5)   The Name of the Almighty is (יהוה) and is His Name forever (Ex 3:15). (Christianity substitutes it with the names of pagan idols) See – God, Lord.
6)   Eating kosher foods only. (Click here to learn more)

The Jews do all of the above as it is required by the Scriptures, but Christians do NOT.

Now let us look at a few things that Christianity holds to as true doctrine, but is not at all Scriptural:

1)   The Trinity. (Click here to understand why this is not Scriptural.)
2)   The Law being done away with, lawless. (see – Mat 7:21-23, 24:12, 2 Cor 6:14, 1 John 3:4, 2 Thess 2:3 and 9, 2 Peter 3:17, Romans 2:12-13, 3:31, 7:12, John 14:21, Rev 12:17, 14:12, 22:14, 1 John 3:10, Mat 13:41-43, James 1:22)
3)   Faith without works, which is the keeping of the Torah (see – James 2:14-26, Romans 3:31)
4)   Only have to believe in “Jesus” to be saved. (Mat 10:22, 24:23, Mark 13:13, Click here too)
5)   The cross is a Christian symbol. (but is it Scriptural? Click here to learn more).

6)   Forgiveness of adultery… “he who is without sin, cast the first stone”

There are so many more that I could mention here, but I am sure that you get the point now.

The fact of the matter is that the Faith of the Scriptures is a Hebrew faith. The father of the eternal covenant is Avraham, to whom the Almighty made the covenant with. Christianity claims to be “sons of Abraham” and yet, they do not resemble Abraham in any way. Avraham was called an “Ivri” (Hebrew), where Christians follow a Roman religion.

Are we really trying to Judaise people? No… in fact, we are trying to Scripturalise people. The fact that someone who starts living according to the Scriptures might seem to look like a Jew or act like a Jew in many ways (in the eyes of the world), is because the lifestyle of the Jews are based mostly on the Scriptures. In fact, the Jewish nation is identified by the Torah, but most of them also follow extra laws that comes from the Talmud which was written by the Sages.

Christianity claims to be followers of the Messiah, but one thing that they simply cannot grasp is that the Messiah was and is a Jew (Y’hudi) and held to everything that is written in the Hebrew Tanakh. He lived according to the Scriptures and taught that we need to follow in His footsteps. I still remember a time when the church made arm bands that had the letters, “WWJD” written on them for the youth to wear. Those letters stood for, “What Would Jesus Do.” The wearer of the arm band would wear it as a reminder to do as “Jesus” would do in any situation. This was ironic as none of them ever did as the Messiah did or would do, for the simple fact because they had no idea what the Messiah would do in the situation because Christianity does not teach the true Messiah.

The fact of the matter is that Christianity has taken what is Scriptural and replaced it with other Westernized, Roman traditions of pagan cultures and religions.

Do you want to belong to the Hebrew faith of the Messiah and all His followers… or do you want to be a part of the Western Roman religion that has rejected the Scriptures in favor of their own personal teachings (doctrines) that are not at all Scriptural?

I am a Jew who follows a Jewish Rabbi who is my Messiah who teaches us to follow the Torah in every way.

In the beginning was the Word

Can it be that the Messiah is the Almighty Himself? This is what the churches teach us, that the Almighty came to earth and died for us, and they use the passage in John 1:1-3 to justify their teaching. But does John 1 really teach us that? Let us read the passage in the KJV Bible first (which is a translation) and then in a different translation that is more correct according to the original writings second. Then we can look at the wording and see if the statement can be true by comparing it to other passages in the Scriptures too.

”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3 KJV)

Now let us look at a more correct translation.

”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. He was in the beginning with Elohim. All came to be through Him, and without Him not even one came to be that came to be” (John 1:1-3 The Scriptures).

One should notice that the difference between the two is that the KJV Bible, and also most other English translations, uses the term “God” and the more correct translation uses the term “Elohim” which is the actual Hebrew word. For those who do not know what Elohim means, it is a Hebrew word which is the plural form of the root word “Eloah” meaning either “mighty ones” or Mighty One” and can be used to refer to other things too, as we will see below.

Now to really understand what the true meaning of the text found in John 1:1-3, we need to first do a more in-depth study on the Hebrew word “Elohim.”

We have seen above from where the word comes from, but for what exactly is it used for in the Hebrew Scriptures?

The Hebrew word Elohim appears 2605 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. The great majority of the time when this word appears, it is translated as “God” in the English translations, in fact, 2366 times out of the 2606 (the word ‘God’ is not a correct translation of the word “Elohim” and should never be used). But that is not the only English word that is used to translate the Hebrew word “Elohim.” Let us have a look at a few other uses, or meanings, of the word “Elohim.”

”then his master shall bring him before Elohim (Judges), and shall bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl. And he shall serve him forever” (Exodus 21:6). Here the word is used to speak of Judges, who bring the righteous judgments concerning any cases that are brought before them. They represent the judgments of the Almighty

“If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought before Elohim (Judges) to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbour’s goods” (Exodus 22:8). Here, once again, the word “Elohim” is used to speak of Judges.

“Yet You have made him a little less than Elohim (Messengers (Angels)), And have crowned him with esteem and splendour” (Psalm 8:5). Here the term Elohim is referring to Messengers of the Almighty.

”So יהוה (YHWH) said to Mosheh, ‘See, I have made you an elohim to Pharaoh, and Aharon your brother is your prophet’” (Exodus 7:1). Here Mosheh (Moses) is being referred to as an elohim to Pharaoh, which means that Mosheh is a mighty one to Pharaoh.

”And the sovereign said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?” And the woman said to Sha’ul, “I saw a spirit (Elohim) coming up out of the earth.” (1 Sam 28:13). Here is where King Sha’ul went to a medium to call up the prophet Samuel. When the Medium saw the spirit of Samuel coming up from the grave, she referred to his spirit as Elohim.

So the Hebrew word Elohim can mean “Mighty One”, “mighty ones”, “judges”, “Messengers”, “spirit”, “great” and even called Mosheh, Elohim.

So now that we know that the Hebrew word “Elohim” does not always refer to the Almighty, we can start to understand what John 1:1-3 really means.

Let us then try and translate it correctly so that it stays perfectly in line with the rest of Scripture.

”In the beginning was the Word (Torah), and the Word (Torah) was with Elohim (the Almighty), and the Word (Torah) was Elohim (Mighty, Superior, Perfect). The Word (Torah) was in the beginning with Elohim (the Almighty). All came to be through the Word (Torah), and without the Word (Torah) not even one came to be that came to be” (John 1:1-3).

This Word that is being spoken of is the Word of the Almighty which is called the Torah. 4,000 years later, the Torah became flesh and walk upon this earth, and His name was Y’hoshua haMashiyach (The Messiah).

This Word is NOT the Almighty, but rather the Word of the Almighty that comes out of His Mouth. The Church falsely teaches that there is a Trinity where the Messiah is the Almighty. But that doctrine does not meet the requirements of the rest of Scripture. In fact, in order to teach this false doctrine, they need to falsely translate the Scriptures to say things that it does not really say. The Church has even added entire verses that never existed in the original writings to push the false Trinity doctrine.

John 1:1-3 makes it very clear that the Messiah is the Torah in the flesh and that He is NOT the Almighty, but rather the Son of the Almighty who is a being on His own.

Now, with this understanding of the word Elohim, we can understand Matthew 1:23

“See, a maiden shall conceive, and she shall give birth to a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanu’ĕl,” which translated, means, “Ěl with us” (Mat 1:23). This verse is also use a lot to try and justify the false Trinity doctrine. In the KJV Bible and the great majority of the other English translations of the Bible, it is translated as “God with us.”

We can now know that it is not a correct translation at all. If one wanted to translate it correctly, then it should either say, “Elohim with us” or “a Mighty One with us”

In order to really understand the Scriptures, you have to go back to the Hebrew text and read it with a Hebrew mindset as it was written in Hebrew by Hebrew’s. As soon as we “Westernize” the Scriptures, it looses most of its true meaning and actually changes the meaning of what should be taught.

If we truly want to know the truth of the Scriptures, then we really do need to start learning Hebrew. The English can NEVER convey what is written in the Hebrew text.

In what do you delight yourself?

There is an Afrikaans saying, “Wat die hart van vol is, sal die mond van praat.” Which in English means, “whatever your heart is filled with, will come out of your mouth.” In other words, if you delight yourself in sports, for instance, you will speak about sport with your friends. If you delight yourself in art, then that is what you are going to speak about, etc. Another thing is that you are going to surround yourself with people who also have the same delights and interests. As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together.”

Now the reason you are reading this article on this website, is because you are interested in, or seeking the truth about Scripture. Now this article is sort of a continuation of the previous article I posted on this website, namely, “Seek and you shall find.”

What is it that you delight yourself in? There are only two real options that you can choose from, either you delight yourself in the Almighty, or you delight yourself in the things of this world. These two things are always in opposition with each other. “Do not love the world nor that which is in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Because all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16)

It should now start becoming apparent to you that one cannot delight in both things, or in one thing in the morning and the other during the day etc. You have to choose which one you are going to delight in and live your entire life according to that choice.

Now the Scriptures also classify the people who delight in the Almighty and also those who delight in the world. “Blessed is the man who shall not walk in the counsel of the wrong, And shall not stand in the path of sinners, And shall not sit in the seat of scoffers, But his delight is in the Torah of יהוה (YHWH), And he meditates in His Torah day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2)

This passage found in Psalm 1 gives a lot of information. Firstly, it makes a differentiation between the wrong, who are the sinners and scoffers (of the world), and those who delight in the Torah (instruction) of the Almighty

Secondly, the people who are righteous are those who meditate in the Torah (first 5 books of the Scriptures, Genesis – Deuteronomy) day and night. That means that every thing they do, and every choice they make is in accordance to what is written in the Torah of the Almighty.

Thirdly, it makes it very clear that the Torah is a delight to the righteous. Only the sinful world finds the Torah of YHWH the Almighty to be tedious or even a curse. This is because the Torah is of the Spirit and the flesh rebels against it. “It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh does not profit at all. The words that I speak to you are Spirit and are life” (John 6:63 ) and also, “For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom 8:6).  Just by knowing this simple point can help you to realize in what it is that you desire.

Now there are many people who claim that they are lead by the Spirit and are shown things by the Spirit and yet do not have any desire to do what is written in the Torah, which is the Word of the Almighty. This is proof that they are being lead by a false spirit as the true Ruach (Spirit) of the Almighty, will never speak against the Torah and will always point us back to the written Torah. If they say the Spirit taught them anything that is contrary to the Torah, then they are a liar or are filled with a different spirit (demon). “The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4)

It is made very clear in the Scriptures as to what the pleasure of the Almighty is. He takes pleasure in us loving Him and following all that is written in His Torah. “I have delighted to do Your pleasure, O my Elohim, And Your Torah is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). We can learn a lot from the man who is spoken of as being ‘the man after the Almighty’s own heart’. If such a man, who understood the desire of the Almighty, took so much delight and pleasure in learning and doing all that is written in the Torah of the Almighty, then how can anyone call it a curse? “Make me walk in the path of Your commands, For I have delighted in it” (Psalm 119:35), “That I might delight myself in Your commands, Which I have loved” (Psalm 119:47), “Their heart has become like fat, Without feeling; I have delighted in Your Torah” (Psalm 119:70), “Let Your compassions come to me, That I might live, For Your Torah is my delight” (Psalm 119:77).

I could go on and post MANY more verses that proclaim the love of the Torah of the Almighty by the beloved servant of the Almighty, King David. But is he the only one who ever delighted in the Torah? “For I delight in the Torah of Elohim according to the inward man” (Rom 7:22). Here we can see that Sha’ul (Paul) too had the same desire for the Torah of the Almighty as David did.

We can also learn a lot from science and from scientists too. Let us have a look at a statement (or rather a scientific law) that was named after the scientist called Isaac Newton. The third law of Newton is, “for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction”. This law is true in the spiritual realm as well. Just as much as the Almighty loves those doing righteousness, He too hates those who work wickedness, “For You are not an Ěl taking delight in wrong, Nor does evil dwell with You. The boasters do not stand before Your eyes; You hate all workers of wickedness” (Psalm 5:4-5).

The Almighty even sent a working of delusion for those who do not have a love for the truth, but rather delighted in unrighteousness (worldly desires), “and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth, in order for them to be saved. And for this reason Elohim sends them a working of delusion, for them to believe the falsehood, in order that all should be judged who did not believe the truth, but have delighted in the unrighteousness” (2 Thess 2:10 - 12).

What is an example of this delusion spoken of above? Christianity is a good example of a delusion that causes people to believe in falsehood.  Now before anyone gets upset by this statement, you have to consider a few points first, namely, why are there so many different translations of the Bible in Christianity, which all differ from each other? Which version is the correct one? Why has the Bible been mistranslated, and then, taught to be correct? Why is it that the Church throws away all the Words of the Almighty and calls them old and irrelevant (contrary to what the Messiah said)? Why does the Church teach doctrines from pagan followers rather than what is written in the Scriptures? Why is it that Christianity teaches that things that were once abominable and hated by the Almighty, are now okay to do?

I could go on and on asking many questions, but the fact is that Christianity creates an environment where the people, who want to carry on with their worldly desires, can come together and get a “guiltless pass” where it is okay to carry on living in sin.

Only those who delight in the Torah are those who are the delight of the Almighty, “Praise Yah! Blessed is the man, who fears יהוה (YHWH), Who has greatly delighted in His commands” (Psalm 112:1).

And what is the fear of the Almighty? “The fear of יהוה (YHWH) is to hate evil. I have hated pride and arrogance, And the evil way, And the perverse mouth” (Proverbs 8:13). Do you hate evil, or do you tolerate it and even delight in it? Do you love the Way of the Almighty (Torah), or do you love the way of the world?

The Scriptures make it very clear that the ways of the world are unrighteous and evil, but the Way of the Almighty, which is written in the Torah, is righteous and perfect.

In which one do you delight yourself?

Seek and you shall find

The center of any belief system is a higher power and the desire to discover and know Him. There are many different religions with different “mighty ones.” Each religion teaches their own way of discovering their personal mighty one. But in essence, there is only one living Mighty One who created the heavens and the earth. He does not withhold Himself from us and does reveal Himself to us. The problem is that we as people do not always seek Him to know Him and, therefore, do not find Him.

So how then do we find the Almighty Creator and Ruler of the heavens and the earth? Well, He has given us an instruction book that teaches us who He is and how we can find Him. Let us read what this instruction manual says about finding the Almighty:

“But from there you shall seek יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim, and shall find, when you search for Him with all your heart and with all your being” (Deut 4:29)

This verse above clearly says that we can only find Him if we seek Him, and only if we seek Him with our whole heart and our whole being. That means that with everything that we have, and with all the strength and understanding we have, we need to seek Him. We cannot just sit back and then do the minimal effort to try know Him… in that case, you will never find Him.

Let us look at another verse:

“I love those who love me, And those who earnestly seek me do find me” (Prov 8:17)

Only those who Love the Almighty and earnestly seek Him will find Him. It is also written that if you love Him, you WILL guard to do all that He commands. It is impossible to earnestly seek Him if we do not do what is written in His instruction book called the Torah. This book teaches us how to love Him and also how to love our neighbor as our self. If we are unable to follow His instructions, then it is impossible to know Him and follow Him.

“’And you shall love יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first command” (Mar 12:30)

Contrary to popular understanding, if one desires to know the Almighty and follow Him, then it has to become who you are. Belief is not an add-on to your already existing life. It is a total denial of your previous life and a 100% dedication to the Instruction of the Almighty. If we desire to follow the Almighty, then we need to do repentance (Teshuvah) of our previous sins, which means putting those sins away and NEVER doing them again.

It takes our entire heart, being, mind and strength to follow the Almighty. One cannot follow Him with all your heart and only part of your mind (thoughts). If you are keeping your mind busy with things that are not according to the Torah of the Almighty, then you are NOT earnestly seeking Him.

This is because your thoughts are going to affect your actions, which in turn are going to affect your heart and being. If they are affected negatively, then there is no space for the Almighty at all. One must dedicate his entire life, ideas, thoughts actions and desire to seeking the Almighty. Only then can you find Him.

Are you really seeking Him with all your being, thoughts, actions and heart?

Are there things in your life or house that keep you from seeking the Almighty?

Are the things on TV that you watch really allowing you to focus on the Words of YHWH?

Are you following mans opinions over what is really written in the instruction manual of the Almighty?
Are you putting as much effort as you can into the study of His language and Scriptures?

The Messiah said, “It has been written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of יהוה (YHWH)’” (Mat 4:4)

Now we know that the Tanakh (OldTestament) was spoken by the mouth of YHWH. The Messiah was directly quoting the Torah and referring to the keeping of the Torah, which are the first five books of the ‘Bible’ Gen – Deut.

So are you seeking the Almighty by keeping all that is written in the Torah? Are you doing so with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Or are you still trying to do things your way, by which you can never know YHWH?

Let us all seek Him with our entire beings. If we all do so, we will all be of one mind and there will not be conflict between us as we are all following one instruction manual and following the One true Elohim.

Every Word from the Mouth of YHWH

“But He answering, said, “It has been written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of יהוה (YHWH)” (Mat 4:4)

Now this is a very encouraging and explanatory statement that the Messiah made when He was faced with temptation. He stared temptation in the face and gave us all the solution to all temptation that we might ever face in our entire lives. But I must say, it is only encouraging for those who do all that is written in the Scriptures. Let us have a closer look at the statement that Y’hoshua made.

Firstly, the Messiah Y’hoshua said, “It is written.” Here the Messiah is out rightly stating that there is a written instruction book by which He and the rest of mankind has to adhere to. Y’hoshua goes on to quote this instruction manual, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of יהוה (YHWH)” Here the Messiah clearly states that all of mankind must live by every single word that comes from the mouth of YHWH, the Almighty. Can it be that those who do not abide by every Word that comes from the mouth of YHWH, will not inherit life? This life is not of this world, but rather eternal life, the life in the ‘after life’.

Another thing that you might come to realize, is the fact that Y’hoshua was quoting a verse from the instruction manual, which was spoken from the mouth of the Almighty. Let us read it together, “And He humbled you, and let you suffer hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, to make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of יהוה (YHWH)” (Deut 8:3).

Now is it true that what the Messiah said here is no more in effect today? Is His word not eternal? Do we not have to live by every Word that comes from the mouth of YHWH, the Almighty? If not, what do we live by? If we live by anything else other than every Word out of the mouth of YHWH, then we are living by the words of men (worldly instruction).

“Do not love the world nor that which is in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). This verse makes two very clear statements. The first statement here is that if you live according to the standards of the world (the instruction of man), then you do not have the love of the Almighty in you.

The second statement is that the Words of the Almighty are still just as much in effect today as it was in the time of Mosheh. We can know this for sure as it is also written that the Messiah Y’hoshua, who is the living Word who was there since the beginning of time, is the same yesterday, today and forever, “יהושע (Y’hoshua) Messiah is the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb 13:8).

So those who do not live by every Word from the mouth of YHWH are friends of the world and in effect, enemies of the Almighty. ”Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with Elohim? Whoever therefore intends to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of Elohim” (James 4:4).

Now let us take a look at where the Words of the Almighty are written. If you do a search in the Scriptures, you will quickly find a phrase that says, “And יהוה (YHWH) spoke to Mosheh, saying,” This phrase is found many many times in the Torah, which are the first five books of the Scriptures. The word Torah means “Instruction” and is what was given to us by the mouth of the Almighty.

In the Prophets, we find a statement that says, “And the word of יהוה came to (the Prophets name), saying,” Once again we see that all prophecy is also from the mouth of YHWH the Almighty.

Even Sha’ul (Paul) makes the statement that the Torah and the Prophets are Scripture and are spoken by the mouth of YHWH. He goes on to say that it is still to be used for teaching, reproof, setting straight and for instruction in righteousness. “and that from a babe you have known the Set-apart Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for deliverance through belief in Messiah יהושע (Y’hoshua). All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:15)

Something to keep in mind here is that Sha’ul was NOT speaking of the “B’rit Chadashah” (Renewed Covenant, or which the Catholic Church calls the New Testament) here. In fact, the B’rit Chadashah never existed at the time when Sha’ul wrote his letters and was never considered Scripture.

So when Sha’ul (Paul) said that all Scripture is to be followed, he was definitely speaking of the Hebrew Tanakh (Old Testament, as the Catholic Church calls it).

Sha’ul confirms this statement he made when he wrote the same thing in different letter to a different group of people, “For whatever was written before was written for our instruction, that through endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have the expectation” (Romans 15:4).

What was written before that Sha’ul is speaking of is the Hebrew Tanakh. It cannot be anything else and every Scriptural scholar will agree on this point.

The Messiah later goes on to say, “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done” (Mat 5:18). Now if every single letter in the Torah is so important, why then is it rejected by the Christian faith? Why has the Church perverted it during translations by adding to it and taking away from it? “Do not add to the Word which I command you, and do not take away from it, so as to guard the commands of יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim which I am commanding you” (Deut 4:2).

Why is every single letter so important to keep? It is because all life on this planet and all matter in the universe rely on them. If you remove even one letter from the Torah of YHWH, it stops being His Word but rather becomes the word of man, all life then ceases to exist.

Through the Torah of the Almighty, the existence of the world came to be. All life was spoken and is sustained by His Torah. All the laws of nature are governed by His Torah. Even love is determined by His Torah.

Why then does the Christian faith reject His Torah? This is because the Christian faith is not about serving the Almighty, but rather it is a feel good religion that is based upon how man can feel better about their sinful lives, without having to stop sinning. It is an anti-Torah religion (which they openly admit, and actually brag about).

Let us skip ahead to the very end where it speaks of the end days. ”And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to fight with the remnant of her seed, those guarding the commands of Elohim and possessing the witness of יהושע (Y’hoshua) Messiah” (Rev 12:17). It is very clear that the remnant, the ones who are righteous, are those who do all the Commands of the Almighty AND have the witness of the Messiah. It is confirmed again in another verse, “Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones, here are those guarding the commands of Elohim and the belief of יהושע (Y’hoshua)” (Rev 14:12).

Let us have a look at who will be given access to the Tree of Life and have access into the city of the Almighty, “Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city” (Rev 22:14). Only those who keep the Torah of the Almighty will be given access to the Tree of Life.

Let me leave you with a statement that the Messiah Himself said about the end times, “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name? And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness (Torahlessness)! ” (Mat 7:22-23).

Are you living by every Word that comes from the mouth of YHWH?

The Greatest Commandments

“Teacher, which is the great command in the Torah?” And יהושע (Y’hoshua) said to him, “You shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and great command. And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commands hang all the Torah and the Prophets.”” (Matthew 22:36-40)

When Y’hoshua the Messiah was approached by a Pharisee who was learned in the Torah, the Pharisee tried to test Y’hoshua by asking Him which is the great command of the Torah.

Now Y’hoshua who understood that the Torah is the Perfect Word of His Father and knew exactly what the Word really teaches.

Y’hoshua then summed up the entire Torah and prophets by saying that the two greatest commands is to love the Almighty with everything that we have and also to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Now the question is, does that mean that all the other commands are not important or even not necessary any more? Well, in order to know this, we need to understand what the Torah teaches. The best place to start looking is at the Ten Commandments.

Now the Ten Commandments were written down on two separate tablets of stone by the hand of the Almighty Himself. On the first tablet of stone were written the first five Commandments and that stone referred to loving the Almighty. The second stone which had the remaining five commandments on it, referred to loving your neighbor.

So, how then do we love the Almighty?

First Commandment (how to love the Almighty)

I am יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slavery.

Second Commandment (how to love the Almighty)

You have no other mighty ones against My face. You do not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of that which is in the heavens above, or which is in the earth beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth, you do not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim am a jealous Ěl, visiting the crookedness of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and guard My commands.

Third Commandment (how to love the Almighty)

You do not bring the Name of יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim to naught, for יהוה (YHWH) does not leave the one unpunished who brings His Name to naught

Fourth Commandment (how to love the Almighty)

Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart. Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days יהוה (YHWH) made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore יהוה (YHWH) blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.

Fifth Commandment (how to love the Almighty)

Respect your father and your mother, so that your days are prolonged upon the soil which יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim is giving you.

We have now seen what the Almighty requires from us in order to love Him. But what about our neighbors? Well, let us have a look at the Second Tablet of the Commandments.

Sixth Commandment (how to love your neighbor)

You do not murder

Seventh Commandment (how to love your neighbor)

You do not commit adultery

Eighth Commandment (how to love your neighbor)

You do not steal

Ninth Commandment (how to love your neighbor)

You do not bear false witness against your neighbour

Tenth Commandment (how to love your neighbor)

You do not covet your neighbour’s house, you do not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbour

Now we know how to love the Almighty and our neighbor too. But do these Ten Commandments teach us in detail how to keep them? Some of them seem to be basic in understanding, like, “do not commit adultery,” but what is adultery?

In order to understand all these Ten Commandments, we need to learn the rest of the Torah which teaches us how to keep these Commandments.

So when Y’hoshua the Messiah taught that the Greatest of the Commandments is to love the Almighty with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself, He was teaching that the ENTIRE Torah is important and is summed up by these two commands. If you violate any of the Commands of the Torah, then you directly violate these two commands.

But what about the Prophets? Well, the role of a prophet was to bring the people to repentance, which is turning back to the Instruction of the Almighty, which is the Torah. So the prophets also hang on the entire Torah.

So as you can see, the Messiah taught that the entire Torah is necessary to keep. If one does not keep all the Torah, then that person does not love the Almighty. Only by following His Instruction (Torah) can we receive favor.