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.

Do miracles determine a belief system to be true?

There are many many people who follow the Christian faith, and will not consider any other belief, because they have witnessed a “miracle” performed by a Christian minister or missionary or evangelist etc. at one time or another. Some have even witnessed many “miracles.” But do miracles prove a certain belief system to be the true faith of the Almighty?

The Christian Church of today, especially the “super” churches, are all about performing miracles in order to con their followers to throw their hard earned money at the church. There are even super rich Christian television networks, like TBN, that preach to the public in every single show or sermon, that they should give their money to them, even if it is their last cent. Then they claim that if they do, then a “wonderful” miracle will happen and that the people who give money to them, will be financially blessed or healed of a physical ailment. This all is a load of rubbish as these people take the last little bit of money from old ladies and drive around in the most expensive cars and live in the most expensive houses, and even own multiple houses, and some even have their own private jets too, like Kennith and Gloria Copeland and still continue to fool the poor people into supporting their wealthy lifestyle. What do these faithful followers of theirs get in return? Absolutely nothing, not even a miracle.

There are however some genuine miracles that have been performed by Christian leaders. Does this, however, prove that Christianity is the true faith of the Almighty? In order to answer this, we need to see if the Christian faith is based upon the Word of the Almighty. The litmus test to see if anyone is in the true faith of the Messiah, is to see if that person walks as the Messiah walked. “For this is favour, if because of conscience toward Elohim anyone bears up under grief, suffering unrighteously. For what credit is there in enduring a beating when you sin? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure, this finds favour with Elohim. For to this you were called, because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:19-21). Also read here, “The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

Are the Christians following in the footsteps of the Messiah? Let us have a look at a few examples of what the Messiah did, and then compare them to the Christians and see if they are the same.

1) The Messiah - wore tzitzit (tassels)

“and begged Him to let them only touch the tzitzit of His garment. And as many as touched it were completely healed” (Mat 14:36)

“came from behind and touched the tzitzit of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped” (Luke 8:44)

1) The Christian – Does not wear tzitzit

In fact, whenever I see one of my old Christian friends, and they see my tzitzit, they always ask me, “what is that for?” This is because they have never been taught the true Messiah. If the Messiah came and walked into a church, they would not recognize him, and would actually say that He is one of those Jews, who’s Torah does not apply to them at all.

2) The Messiah – Kept the 7^th day Sabbath

“At that time יהושע (Yehoshua) went through the grain fields on THE Sabbath. And His taught ones were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain, to eat” (Mat 12:1).

“And pray that your flight does not take place in winter or on the Sabbath” (Mat 24:20). Here the Messiah is speaking of the end times, which has not happened yet, that he is saying that THE Sabbath is still in effect. That when the time comes that the believers in the Messiah have to flee, that we should pray that it not be on THE Sabbath.

“And they went into Kephar Naḥum, and immediately on the Sabbath He went into the congregation and taught” (Mark 1:21)

“And Sabbath having come, He began to teach in the congregation. And many who heard Him were astonished, saying, “Where did He get all this? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such miracles are done through His hands?” (Mark 6:2). It is very clear that the Messiah kept the Sabbath day.

2) The Christian – Does not keep the Sabbath

In fact, the Christian teaches that the Sabbath does not apply to them any more and that they have been set free from it. WHAT??? They have been set free from rest? Is not the Sabbath a delight? I would hate to be set free from a delightful rest.

The Church admits that they have changed the day of rest from the 7^th day to the 1^st day of the week in commemoration of the worship of the Sun (Sun-Day) and also to show the Churches authority above the Scriptures. They do not even hide this fact and have arrogantly published this and even brag about this.

Would you rather follow the sun-worship 1^st day, or the day that the Almighty has established and that the Messiah Himself kept and taught us to keep?

3) The Messiah – ate only clean (kosher) food.

We all know that the Messiah never committed any sin. This means that he kept His Fathers Torah (Instruction) perfectly. We read in Lev 11 about what foods are clean and which ones are not clean. The Messiah never ate anything animal that is unclean.

We can know this as we have a record of one of His followers (disciples) that walked with Him daily, that tells us that he has never eaten anything unclean. “But Kĕpha said, “Not at all, Master! Because I have never eaten whatever is common or unclean.”” (Act 10:14). Here Peter is saying that he never ate anything unkosher (unclean). This is even the time that he walk with the Messiah. All the followers of the Messiah will never eat anything that is unclean according to the Word of the Almighty, Leviticus 11.

3) The Christian – Eats unclean (unkosher) food.

The Christian learns by his church that we do not have to follow the Instruction of the Almighty anymore. They do however have to follow the instruction of the church. Shouldn’t this alone raise suspicion?

The church teaches that only “God” can change His Laws and that He gave Peter the permission to eat unclean foods, that are detrimental to our health and cause many deceases like cancer. They quote Acts 10, but then fail to read further where it gives the description of the vision given to Peter. It was never intended for him to eat unclean meat. Read more about that here.

4) The Messiah – Prayed using the Name of His Father YHWH

The Messiah came to make known the Name of His Father. The Jewish practice of those days, and still today, is to keep the true Name of the Almighty secret out of fear of using it in vain. The Messiah never subscribed to Jewish traditions, but rather kept His Fathers Word where it is written, “And Elohim said further to Mosheh, “Thus you are to say to the children of Yisraĕl, ‘יהוה (YHWH) Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Aḇraham, the Elohim of Yitsḥaq, and the Elohim of Ya’aqoḇ, has sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance to all generations.” (Exodus 3:15).

4) The Christian – Does not know the Name of the Almighty, prays to pagan idols.

The Christians place their trust and faith in the name of pagan idols every time they pray in the name of “God” or in the name of “Jesus”. Both these names are of the names of pagan idols (click on the names highlighted to see where they come from).

The Name of the Messiah is “Yehoshua.” The name “Jesus” is not a translation of Yehoshua, but comes from the Greek Iesous, which originates from the Egyptian Sun-deity called “Isis”

The name “God” is of just as bad a origin as the name “Jesus”

The reason for the Christian not knowing the Name of the Almighty and His Son the Messiah is because all the English Bibles have substituted the Name of the Almighty and His Son the Messiah and many other names and words with those of pagan idols.

English is a very young language and only came to be after the joining of the true faith and paganism from the time of Constantine in the year 321 AD. He started to create Christianity as we know it to be today and hid the truth from the people. (Also read about thefounders of the all gentile church here).

“And there is no deliverance in anyone else, for there is no other Name under the heaven given among men by which we need to be saved.” (Act 4:12). Here we can see that we cannot be saved by the name of “Jesus”, but only by the true Name of the Almighty.

5) The Messiah – Kept all the moedim (appointed times and feasts)

“And the festival of the Yehuḏim was near, the Festival of Booths” (John 7:2). Here we can see that the Messiah did attend the feast of Sukkot.

Like we have seen from above, the Messiah never sinned once. This means he kept all the moedim that the Almighty teaches us that we must do (Leviticus 23). We cannot know or understand salvation if we do not keep all the appointed times of the Almighty.

Also notice that sin is described by breaking the Torah of the Almighty. Is it not taught by the Messiah that we must go and “sin no more?”

5) The Christian – Keeps all the pagan feasts and none of the moedim of the Almighty

The Christian does not keep any of the moedim of the Almighty. In fact, the Christian rather keeps all the pagan feasts and celebrations. Many do not even know this, but blindly follow the Church into their own destruction.

Christmas, Easter, Valentines Day, New years day, Birthday celebrations. All these are pagan celebrations and are an abomination to the Almighty. All of them originate from Sun-worship, which is forbidden by the Word of the Almighty.

Now I can go on and on about the many teachings and practices and traditions that the Christians follow to prove that Christianity is not the faith of the Messiah as they do not do as the Messiah did. The Messiah never came and died for us so that we may continue in sin. What was an abomination to the Almighty before, is still an abomination to Him now.

So now we can see that the Christian faith does not follow the teachings of the Messiah. But what about the miracles that happen within the church? Let us read what the Word of YHWH says about this, “When there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he shall give you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder shall come true, of which he has spoken to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other mighty ones – which you have not known – and serve them” (Deut 13:1-2). Here we see that even false prophets and dreamers of dreams (those who receive “divine” visions) can perform miracles too. Does that make them righteous? Let us carry on and see what the Almighty says, do not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim is trying you to know whether you love יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being” (Deut 13:3). Okay, now we can see that that person who is performing those miracles that does not follow the Messiah should not be listened to. It is also a test for those who do follow the Word of the Almighty, that they know His Word and can see when someone is not teaching them truth, even though he performs miracles. It is to see whether they love the Almighty to do and follow His Word, or will they fall for and follow other doctrines that are not taught by the Almighty or His Messiah.

So what then are those, who desire to do the Will of the Almighty, to do? Walk after יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim and fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His voice, and serve Him and cling to Him” (Deut 13:4). Here we clearly see that we need to fear the Almighty and guard to obey all His Commandments and obey His voice.

What then should be done of that false prophet that teaches us to follow the ways of Sun-worship? And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams is put to death, because he has spoken apostasy against יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim – who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim and redeemed you from the house of bondage – to make you stray from the way in which יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim commanded you to walk. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst” (Deut 13:5). The Almighty hates the people who teaches others to turn away from His Instructions. He says that they are evil and need to be put to death. Now we cannot go around and put every Christian preacher to death, as that would land us in jail. However, they will stand in front of the Almighty one day and will have to try and explain why they turned so many people away from Him, and to their destruction.

We should not fellowship with such evil people nor should we stand for or follow anything that they teach, as it will be turning us away from obeying the Word of the Almighty.

Now many will say that this only applied to the “Old Testament” times and does not apply to them any more. Is it not written that the Almighty is the same yesterday, today and forever? But let us also read what is written in the “New Testament” for those who ignorantly throw the Word of the Almighty (Old Testament) out the window, “For false messiahs and false prophets shall arise, and they shall show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones” (Mat 24:24). This does apply to today.

Let me leave you with a piece out of the “New Testament” that perfectly describes the Christian Church of today and of the English Bible too. “But there also came to be false prophets among the people, as also among you there shall be false teachers, who shall secretly bring in destructive heresies, and deny the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. And many shall follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (2 Peter 2:1-2). The Christians speak evil of those who are keeping and obeying the Word of the Almighty. They even say that the Torah, which is the Word of the Almighty, is a curse. Is this not speaking evil of the Almighty Himself?

Also realize that the person who wrote the above verse also kept the Torah of the Almighty, as did Shaul (Paul), who wrote the majority of the “New Testament,” as did all the disciples and followers of the Messiah. Those who do not keep the Torah of the Almighty are those who are teaching a different doctrine to the Messiah and are the evil prophets spoken of above.

Another thing, if we are to have a relationship with the Almighty and His Son, that also means that we need to love Him. What are we taught about loving the Almighty? “He who possesses My commands and guards them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21). So only those who guard to keep the Commands love the Almighty and are loved by Him.

What is Kosher Eating (Part 2)

One thing that has really astonished me is that people who claim to eat kosher are not really eating kosher. There are a few reasons for why someone would not be eating kosher. One is that the person is not dedicated to a kosher life, but wants to look as though they are. Another is purely because of a lack of knowledge. Let us look at the following as an example.

Just abstaining from pork is not necessarily eating kosher.  One must go read and learn all the requirements of what makes food kosher to eat.

Saying a prayer over unclean meats doesn’t sanctify the meat any more than praying that you don’t get caught stealing “sanctifies” or protects you from the consequences of that transgression. Many fail to remember that, just because punishment is not always immediate, doesn’t mean that it’s been forgotten by heaven.

One thing that I should also point out is that ‘kosher’ of Rabbinical Judaism is not the same as ‘kosher’ of the Scriptures. Let me explain:

According to the Rabbinical Jews, you are not allowed to eat any meat and a dairy product in the same meal. If one eats meat for instance, then that person is not allowed to eat or drink any dairy product for six hours after that and visa versa. The Jewish people have in fact two separate fridges in their kitchens, one for meat products and the other for dairy products. Now think for yourself, is that Scriptural? (If you are not sure, then you must go study the Scriptures for yourself). It is definitely not Scriptural; I will show you why it is not.

Firstly, it is not written anywhere in the Scriptures that we are not allowed to eat meat with dairy. What has happened is that the Pharisees created what is known as the Talmud or “Oral Law”. Now the Oral Law is similar to the Torah except that it is the Instructions of the Rabbi’s and Sages and not the Instruction of YHWH (Torah). The Rabbinical Jews consider this to be the Law too and often takes precedence over the Torah.

The Scriptures that the Jews use to justify this is, (Exodus 23:19) “Bring the first of the first-fruits of your land into the House of יהוה your Elohim. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”  This command is given in three places in the Torah, the other two instances are in Exodus 34:26 and Deuteronomy 14:21.

The ritualistic washing of hands before handling food, as mentioned in the previous article, is also not found in the Torah, but rather appears in the Talmud. However, according to the Orthodox Jews, any food that has been handled without this ritualistic washing of hands is also deemed unkosher. The same applies to food that has been prepared by a “Goy” which is a non-Jew.

"Unclean" animals/birds/fish are those that are carnivorous, those that are scavengers, those that eat road-kill and whatever they can scrounge, and those that eat dead things off the bottom of the ocean floor. That means that these animals carry viruses and parasites that are detrimental to our health. Please refer to this article about the make up of a pig and itsill effects on our health if eaten.

“Do you not know that you are a Dwelling Place of Elohim and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you? If anyone destroys the Dwelling Place of Elohim, Elohim shall destroy him. For the Dwelling Place of Elohim is set-apart, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) The Scriptures teach us to look after our bodies as they are the Dwelling Place of Elohim. If we are going to fill our bodies with the filth of uncleanness, then our bodies are deemed unfit for Elohim to dwell in.

Now when you have found a clean animal, to eat it, all the blood has to be drained out of the animal and the blood has to return to the land and be covered by the dust, “Only, the blood you do not eat, pour it on the earth like water” (Deut 12:16)(see also Deut 15:23). We are not to eat any blood of the animal. If the blood has not immediately been drained from the animal after its slaughter, then the blood stalls in the meat and renders it unkosher even though it is a clean animal. “And any man from the children of Yisra’ĕl, or from the strangers who sojourn among you, who hunts and catches any beast or bird, which is eaten, shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust” (Lev 17:13)

I have read on someone else’s blog article that says, all you need to do to meat, if bought in a supermarket, is to drench it in salt and boil the meat to get the blood out and then it is kosher. There is one very big problem with this theory. If the animal was not slaughtered properly, then the blood stalls in the meat and there is no way of getting it out afterwards. Another problem is that the meat bought in the supermarkets do not come from kosher butchers and gets slaughtered and cut up with the same instruments that cut up the unclean meats too. This contaminates the meat and renders it unkosher. Also, you also do not know where the blood has gone when it should have been returned to the earth.

Another thing to consider is that the pots and cutlery that we use can be contaminated by unclean animals. Some can be washed and others need to be broken. “And whatever any of them in its dead state falls upon, becomes unclean, whether it is any wooden object or garment or skin or sack, any object in which work is done, it is put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening, then it shall be clean. Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you break it” (Lev 11:32). Anything that is wooden or stainless steel etc can be properly washed and will be clean again. However, pores pots, like clay pots and pooitjie pots (any South African person will know what this is), have to be destroyed if any unclean meat was ever cooked in it.

Let us now look at what Leviticus teaches us about what is clean and unclean:

“And יהוה (YHWH) spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying to them,
Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘These are the living creatures which you do eat among all the beasts that are on the earth:
Whatever has a split hoof completely divided, chewing the cud, among the beasts, that you do eat.
Only, these you do not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have a split hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
and the rabbit, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
and the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
and the pig, though it has a split hoof, completely divided, yet does not chew the cud, it is unclean to you.
Their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you do not touch. They are unclean to you.

These you do eat of all that are in the waters: any one that has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas or in the rivers, that you do eat.
But all that have not fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, all that move in the waters or any living creature which is in the waters, they are an abomination to you.
They are an abomination to you – of their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you abominate.
All that have not fins or scales in the waters is an abomination to you.

And these you do abominate among the birds, they are not eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the vulture, and the black vulture,
and the hawk, and the falcon after its kind,
every raven after its kind,
and the ostrich, and the nighthawk, and the seagull, and the hawk after its kind,
and the little owl, and the fisher owl, and the great owl,
and the white owl, and the pelican, and the carrion vulture,
and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

All flying insects that creep on all fours is an abomination to you.
Only, these you do eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth.
These of them you do eat: the locust after its kind, and the destroying locust after its kind, and the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.
But all other flying insects which have four feet is an abomination to you.
And by these you are made unclean, anyone touching the carcass of any of them is unclean until evening,
and anyone picking up part of the carcass of any of them has to wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening.
Every beast that has a split hoof not completely divided, or does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass is unclean.
And whatever goes on its paws, among all the creatures that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass is unclean until evening,
and he who picks up their carcass has to wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening. They are unclean to you.

And these are unclean to you among the creeping creatures that creep on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the tortoise after its kind,
and the gecko, and the land crocodile, and the sand reptile, and the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that creep. Anyone who touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening.
And whatever any of them in its dead state falls upon, becomes unclean, whether it is any wooden object or garment or skin or sack, any object in which work is done, it is put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening, then it shall be clean.
Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you break it.
Any of the food which might be eaten, on which water comes, becomes unclean, and any drink which might be drunk from it becomes unclean.
And on whatever any of their carcass falls becomes unclean – an oven or cooking range – it is broken down. They are unclean, and are unclean to you.
But a fountain or a well, a collection of water, is clean, but whatever touches their carcass is unclean.
And when any of their carcass falls on any planting seed which is to be sown, it is clean.
But when any water is put on the seed and any part of any such carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
And when any of the beasts which are yours for food dies, he who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening.
And he who eats of its carcass has to wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening. And he who picks up its carcass has to wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening.
And every creeping creature that creeps on the earth is an abomination, it is not eaten. Whatever crawls on its stomach, and whatever goes on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all creeping creatures that creep on the earth, these you do not eat, for they are an abomination.

Do not make yourselves abominable with any creeping creature that creeps, and do not make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them.
For I am יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim, and you shall set yourselves apart. And you shall be set-apart, for I am set-apart. And do not defile yourselves with any creeping creature that creeps on the earth.
For I am יהוה (YHWH) who is bringing you up out of the land of Mitsrayim, to be your Elohim. And you shall be set-apart, for I am set-apart.
This is the Torah of the beasts and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creature that is eaten and the living creature that is not eaten.’” (Lev 11:1-47)(see also Deut 14)

We are living in a time where food is mass produced and customized to taste a way that is not how the food substance originally tasted. This is because people do not like the taste of natural raw foods and has to be adapted. Another reason, and possibly the greatest reason, is because of costs to the manufacturer. It is much easier and cheaper to use flavorants, stabilizers, preservatives etc. to make the food taste better and last longer. The problem with this is that they get these flavorants and preservatives from unclean animals.

You can Google "kosher foods" to find lists of "unkosher" foods, such as Jell-O (gelatin contains horse hooves to make the "gel"), and things that contain certain dyes which are made from certain "unclean" bugs, etc. The list is endless and, after awhile, you'll just begin to "know" what to look for at the grocery store....

So it is slightly harder for us, especially if we live in Western world gentile countries, to find kosher foods, especially meat. This is however not really a problem as there are many products that have kosher markings on them saying that there are no unclean ingredients in that product. There are also many kosher substitutes for products that are not kosher. As stated above, within no time at all, you will know exactly what is kosher and not kosher and shopping will be no different to before.

One last thing that I would like to bring to your attention is that we have to check everything before consuming it, this is not only food products but also medicines and sweets etc. I am not going to go in to that now, but is something for you to consider too.

May we all start to eat kosher as the Scriptures command us to do and we will see many restaurants and food markets either close down or become kosher too themselves!!!

Does Scripture teach us to eat kosher? (Part 1)

Eating Kosher is one of the most contested issues amongst the Christians and the TRUE Believers in the Mashiyach! The Christian teachers teach that, only “God” can change his own “Laws” and that He changed the dietary law so that we are now able to eat any the things that were previously abominable to Him and us.

But do the Scriptures really teach us this? Or should we still be eating kosher (kosher means acceptable) food only? Let us look at some of the arguments that the Church uses to justify their false teaching of eating abominable unclean animals.

Firstly, the Church uses Acts 10 to justify the eating of unclean animals. If one reads this passage of Scripture, then you will see that it is clearly not speaking of food. I am not going to go into this part of Scripture now as I have already covered it in a previous posting. You can read about it here in the articlecalled: Joel Osteen is a false teacher. 

Secondly,

“You eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions because of conscience, for “The earth belongs to יהוה (YHWH), and all that fills it.”
And if any of the unbelievers invite you, and you wish to go, you eat whatever is set before you, asking no question on account of the conscience.
And if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it because of the one pointing it out to you, and on account of the conscience, for “The earth belongs to יהוה (YHWH), and all that fills it.” (1 Corinthians 10:25-27). This piece of Scripture above is not talking about clean and unclean animals. It is speaking of ‘that which is offered to idols’. The Jewish people, like the author of this verse, do not consider any unclean animal to be food. Shaul never condoned the eating of unclean meats in these verses.

If the food (clean) was put in front of you that was offered to an idol by an unbeliever, you were to eat it only if they did not tell you that it was offered to an idol. If they did tell you, then you were not to eat it on account of the conscience of that unbeliever.

Rav Shaul is explaining how the food that was prepared has no hold on you (one thing to remember is that the meat in the markets that Shaul is talking about here is only clean meat, it is not mixed up with unclean meats like the majority of our modern meat markets and butcheries) - that since you are living a life of obedience to the Word of YHWH, then the food that YHWH permits, provides the same sustenance for you as it would if you knew its "chain of custody" (to use a legal phrase - meaning, if you could trace the path of the animal from its owner to the meat market, and you therefore knew it was handled entirely kosher (not sacrificed to idols), the meat has the same value to you and your body as it would if you were not able to trace its chain of custody. However, if you find out that it was sacrificed to an idol, even though you could still eat it because you know that that sacrifice possesses no power over you, you should not eat it so as to show the "unbeliever" (vs 10:27) serving it to you, in a teaching opportunity, that his sacrifice was not valid and that you will not participate in what the unbeliever intended it to mean. See Rav Shaul's own clarification of this in the verses just prior to 1 Corinthians 10:25. In 1 Corinthians 10:19-21, Rav Shaul says you do not want to partake at the table of our Master Y'shua and at the table of demons - instead take courage and show the unbeliever the error of their ways.

So it is very clear that this passage of Scripture does not in any way tell us that we can eat unclean meat! In fact, if you read the beginning of this chapter, Shaul teaches that we should not lust after evil (disobedience) like the Israelites in the wilderness.

Another verse that is often used to justify the eating of unclean meats is, “Not that which goes into the mouth defiles the man, but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” (Mat 15:11). This verse is one of those verses that is misquoted the most. You see, Christianity of today is a humanistic religion appealing to those who do not want to change their sinful lifestyle, but still ‘feel’ spiritually justified.  To understand what is being said in Mat 15:11, we need to read the whole chapter and also have an understanding of Rabbinical Judaism (which is the Pharisee’s of today). In the beginning of this chapter, we see the Pharisees asking Y’hoshua why His disciples transgress the tradition of the elders, for they do not wash their hands before they eat (see also Mark 7:1-2).

Now if you know what this tradition of the elders is, then you will know that there was and still is a very specific ritual of washing hands before eating.  This ritual is enforced as a law by the Jews, but does not come from the Torah, it is part of the ‘Oral Law’ (traditions of the elders). The Rabbinical Jews of today still classify any food that has been handled without this ritualistic hand washing to be unkosher.

Another thing is that the Messiah could not and did not eat anything unclean as he would have broken the Torah if He did and deemed His death useless. He also would not have allowed any of His disciples to eat anything unclean. We can see that none of the disciples ate anything unclean before or after the death and resurrection of the Messiah by reading further in Scripture.

So as you can see, this passage of Scripture does in no way refer to the eating of unclean meats and should not be used to try and justify the eating of pork etc.

Here is another verse that is used to justify the disobedience of eating unclean meats. Although it is not used as much as the others and is not as convincing either, it is still used and needs to be addressed here. “Because every creature of Elohim is good, and none is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is set apart by the Word of Elohim and prayer” (1 Tim 4:4-5)

Now go read this whole chapter and ask yourself, is this verse talking about food? It clearly is not and should also not be used in that sense as that would be twisting the Scripture.

One thing that we must keep in mind is that Shaul (Paul) or any of the other Disciples or even Y’hoshua Mashiyach Himself can’t preach one thing and then do something else. They can’t live one way and teach another way. They all lived a Torah observant life and ate only kosher food according to what is written in the Torah. How then can any one of them teach others that it is okay to eat unkosher?

We are not under the Law if we eat kosher. We are also not bound by it either. Anything that is unclean is not considered to be food at all, why then would we eat ‘non-food’? If one does not eat kosher, then that person is the one that is bound. He is bound by the bondage of sin (disobedience) as he is going against the Instruction of YHWH. Doing the Torah of YHWH sets us free from the bondage of sin. It does in no way mean that we are under the Law as the majority of Christians will tell you. In fact, under the Law is a term that means “under a religious system” which actually deems the Christians and any other man-made religious group as those that are under the Law.

The Christian usually says that he does not have to keep the instruction of YHWH because he is not under the Law as “Jesus” did away with the Law. But this poor ignorant Christian has no idea what he is saying and is in fact still under the Law! What law did the Mashiyach then do away with? The Law of sin of course. By reconnecting us to the Covenant of YHWH!

Another thing to remember too is that Shaul and the other Disciples or Y’hoshua too, does not have the right or authority to change the Word or Instruction of YHWH. If any of them teaches anything that is against the Instruction of YHWH, then he is at fault and one should ignore the teachings of that person. But if we go have a look at what they really taught, then we can see that it is not against the Torah of YHWH.

When a Believer voices Torah conscience, the rest of the body is obligated to support them, even if some think otherwise. Paul refers to the Believers in Corinth as carnal babes who can't digest solid food and who are struggling to receive truth; they are contentious and walking in the flesh (1 Corinthians 3), much the same as the modern Christian church who uses these verses to endorse violation of Torah, which is simply a poor attempt to "justify" the weak carnal flesh.

"Unclean" animals/birds/fish are those that are carnivorous, those that are scavengers, those that eat road-kill and whatever they can scrounge, and those that eat dead things off the bottom of the ocean floor.

 “Do you not know that you are a Dwelling Place of Elohim and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you? If anyone destroys the Dwelling Place of Elohim, Elohim shall destroy him. For the Dwelling Place of Elohim is set-apart, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) Click here to see what the negative effects of eating pork are to you 

The dietary laws that were given to the children of Israel as recorded in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 are, what in modern terms is called, good nutrition or preventive medicine.  In other words what YHWH is saying is this, “If you keep My dietary laws on clean and unclean meat you will not get the kinds of sicknesses and diseases like what the Egyptians (or the other nations) were getting.

The knowledge of why the unclean animals are unclean has been known since the beginning of time. YHWH gave these commands for our own good so that we may live healthy lives. People get sick because of disobedience to the Word of YHWH (Torah) “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.  Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from being a priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your Elohim, I will also forget your children.” (Hos. 4:6) Y’hoshua Mashiyach had never been sick His entire life on earth because He had never defiled His own body and had never tasted even one bit of unclean meat.  Should we not also follow His example? (1 Peter 2:21-24)

The dietary laws were given by YHWH not to harm or place obstacles in our pathway of salvation but to help and ensure our having healthy lives.  Failure to keep the dietary laws endangers our health and our careless eating habit is, in a way, tempting Elohim.

Just to leave you with one more thought:

If the dietary law has been done away with, and that we are able to eat the unclean animals alongside the clean animals… then there should be no such thing as hunger in this world!  Let me explain.

The meat that pig’s meat most closely resembles is that of human meat. In fact, human meat is so much healthier to eat than pork. If we are to accept pork as food, then we should also accept human meat as food and hence, will put an end to food shortage and hunger in the world, and also burial space as when a person dies, his body’s meat can be used to feed the poor, or even used in fine dinning restaurants if prepared well.

Why, all of a sudden, are we allowed to eat unclean pork, but not unclean human meat or horse meat for that matter, which is a million times healthier than pork? That is only because men make up the rules that they want without the instruction of the Scriptures. 

Joel Osteen is a False Teacher.

I was in my dad’s house for a quick visit and his TV was on TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network) where Joel Osteen was preaching in a church filled with thousands of people. Joel was teaching from Acts 10 where Keefa (Peter) had a vision of a sheet filled with unclean creatures (food) “And on the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Kĕpha went up on the house-top to pray, about the sixth hour. And he became hungry and wished to eat. But while they were preparing, he fell into a trance, and he saw the heaven opened and a certain vessel like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth, in which were all kinds of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping creatures, and the birds of the heaven. And a voice came to him, “Rise up, Kĕpha, slay and eat.” But Kĕpha said, “Not at all, Master! Because I have never eaten whatever is common or unclean.” And a voice came to him again the second time, “What Elohim has cleansed you do not consider common.” And this took place three times, and the vessel was taken back to the heaven.”  (Act 10:9-16)

Joel Goes on to say that Peter was confused and did not believe “God.” Joel said that only “God” can change His laws and that “God” did away with the “dietary law.” Joel was teaching this to millions of people who just believe him without testing what he said. Joel is a very likable guy and has that innocent look that makes it easy to deceive so many people.

There are a couple of problems with Joel’s doctrine. The first and biggest crime that Joel committed was that he says that YHWH changed His Law. Did Y’hoshua haMashiyach, The Son of YHWH who came in the Name of YHWH 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). “The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words shall by no means pass away.” (Mat 24:35) (See also Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33). So can YHWH go back on His Word or change it? Did Y'hoshua haMashiyach lie to us? That would be the most heinous thing to say.

The second problem with what Joel teaches is that he takes Scripture out of context and teaches a doctrine that is not Scriptural. One should read the whole passage and often the whole book before you take just one piece and build a false doctrine around it like Joel does. Let us then read further into what is really being said in Scripture.

“And while Kĕpha was doubting within himself about what the vision might mean, look, the men who had been sent from Cornelius, having asked for the house of Shimʽon, stood at the gate, and calling out, they enquired whether Shimʽon, also known as Kĕpha, was staying there. And as Kĕpha was thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “See, three men seek you. “But rise up, go down and go with them, not doubting at all, for I have sent them.” So Kĕpha went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Look, I am the one you seek. Why have you come?”

And they said, “Cornelius the captain, a righteous man and one who fears Elohim and well spoken of by the entire nation of the Yehuḏim, was instructed by a set-apart messenger to send for you to his house, and to hear words from you.”

So inviting them in, he housed them. And on the next day Kĕpha went away with them, and some brothers from Yapho went with him.” (Act 10:17-23)

Just as Peter had the vision, there was a Gentile believer’s that came and sought him. Peter accepted them in and went back to Cornelius to teach them. Now why was it so important for Peter to have seen the vision? Let us read on:

“And he said to them, “You know that a Yehuḏite man is not allowed to associate with, or go to one of another race. But Elohim has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.  “That is why I came without hesitation when I was sent for. So I ask, why have you sent for me?”” (Act 10:28-29)

As we can clearly see, the vision of the unclean foods was not about food at all, it was for Peter to accept the Gentile people (Goy) (unclean) into his dwelling. Without the vision, Peter would not have been prepared to do so.

So did YHWH change His Torah concerning the unclean foods? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Neither Peter, Paul, John or any other disciple or apostle ate anything unclean before or after that vision Peter had.

So why then would Joel Osteen teach such nonsense? There can only be one answer to that. Joel makes millions of dollars by teaching what his audience wants to hear. You see, The Gentile Christians of today have been taught their whole lives that the Law of YHWH does not apply to them anymore. They have been taught that “Jesus nailed the Law to the cross” and that “Jesus died for our sins” The problem is that they are taught that all our sins are covered. What they are not taught is that only the past sins have been forgiven, not our future sins. We are taught to “go and sin no more.” Romans 3:20 teaches us that the Torah is the knowledge of sin. So if we are not to sin anymore, we are to guard and keep the Torah just as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Jude and even Y’hoshua the Mashiyach did.

If the people learn that what they have been taught their whole lives is a lie and are taught what the Scriptures really teach, the great majority of the people would reject it as the change in their own lives would be too great for them. Christianity is a humanistic religion based around “how I feel.” Only the people who are willing to deny themselves and truly seek the Will of YHWH will accept the truth.

Joel Osteen teaches the justification of sin so that He can keep the people happy and coming back for more, and He will be making many more Millions of dollars off these poor people while leading them straight to darkness.

Update:

I have seen many video clips where Joel Osteen believes in universalism, which is that there are many ways to heaven and that each religion has their own way to gain access to heaven.

He also promotes the idea that homosexuality is fine and that homosexuals can also go to heaven. This is purely an evil humanistic teaching and is 100% opposite to what the Scriptures teach.

Watch this video to see for yourself.

(Please note that this video was created by Christians and portray Christian ideology... I posted this video simply to expose the false doctrines that Joel Osteen teaches that not even the Christians accept... Please note that I do not accept the Christian teachings either, but only Scriptural evidence)

Do you really want to follow anyone who promotes these ideologies?