Sunday, July 22, 2012

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?



Thursday, July 5, 2012

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.