Word Survey: Grace

We are commanded to not use the names of other deities or the names of pagan “gods”, we are not even aloud to let it be heard out of our mouths: “And in all that I have said to you take heed. And make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, let it not be heard from your mouth” (Exodus 23:13). Most of us have grown up in a western Christianized culture that has unfortunately been polluted with pagan culture too. The result of this is that most of the words that are used in the churches for worship come directly from pagan worship. I will be revealing most of these words one by one.

The word that I am going to cover today is the word “Grace”. Are we to use this word to describe the true faith of the almighty? Are we even to let it heard out of our mouths? Let us see where it originates from:

It comes from the Latin word gratia. This alone should raise some flags already. Nothing from Latin origin can be good and is a clear indication that the word used is not from the original writings.

The fairy tale Sleeping Beauty directly refers to the gifts and benefits bestowed by the Muses, since the Muses were known as Fairies in the Germanic and Gaelic cultures. The “Three Fates” were a triad of female deities also known as the Three Graces, or Three Charities. In the Greek and Roman mythologies, they ruled the lives of men, and determined the length of a person’s life.

The Three Graces

The “Three Graces” or Three Charities, were a Pagan trinity known as the Three Fates. Their names were Clotho (our word “cloth”, was the producer of the “thread of life”), Lachesis (carrying rods which she shook to determine the fate of mankind), and Atropos (who cuts the thread, determining the length of a person’s life).

Here is another version of what is called the “three Graces”

In Greek mythology, the three goddesses of joy, charm, and beauty. The daughters of the god Zeus and the nymph Eurynome, they were named Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Good Cheer). The Graces presided over banquets, dances, and all other pleasurable social events, and brought joy and goodwill to both gods and mortals. They were the special attendants of the divinities of love, Aphrodite and Eros, and together with companions, the Muses, they sang to the gods on Mount Olympus, and danced to beautiful music that the god Apollo made upon his lyre. In some legends Aglaia was wed to Hephaestus, the craftsman among the gods. Their marriage explains the traditional association of the Graces with the arts; like the Muses, they were believed to endow artists and poets with the ability to create beautiful works of art. The Graces were rarely treated as individuals, but always together as a kind of triple embodiment of grace and beauty. In art they are usually represented as lithe young maidens, dancing in a circle. (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)

So as you can see, the word “grace” is not to be used and is a mistranslation of the original writings. This word is also linked to sun worship as shown above. If we do continue to use this pagan word, then we are willfully sinning against the Word of YHWH. What then is the word that is correctly translated from the original? We are to use the word favor instead of "grace" as that is the correct word with the correct meaning in Scripture

(This is an excerpt from the book "Come out of her my people" by Dr. Chris Koster)

When does the count to Shavuot begin?

The correct date of Shavuot is probably the most controversial and most argued about of all the appointed times of YHWH, besides Pesach. This is due to a lot of confusion created by Rabbis and other men’s ideas on when it should be. The Scripture however is very clear on this point and easy to understand. All we are to do is read the Scripture for ourselves.

The Scripture teaches us: “And from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you shall count for yourselves: seven completed Sabbaths. Until the morrow after the seventh Sabbath you count fifty days, then you shall bring a new grain offering to יהוה (YHWH)” (Lev 23:15-16). So what the Scripture is saying here is that we are to start the counting of the omer from the Sabbath that falls in the feast of unleavened bread (Matzot).

Let us first have a look at what Rabbinical Judaism teaches us when the count of the omer (that is the count till Shavuot) begins. Judaism teaches us that the first day of Matzot is a Sabbath and we are to start the count of the omer from the day after the first day of Matzot. There is one very critical error with this as we will see soon.

To understand why this is not correct, we need to fully understand the attributes of the Appointed times of YHWH. Not all His appointed times have Shabbat status.

The Hebrew word Shabbaton, which describes a specific day to have Sabbath status, is found 11 (eleven) times in the Tanach, all of which occur in the Torah of Mosheh. 6 of those times, the word is used in the phrase Shabbat Shabbaton, and the other 5 occurrences the word Shabbaton is used independent of the phrase above. The term Shabbaton is used to describe the weekly Sabbath and each of the 7th month moadim (appointments).  It also describes the 7th year rest for the land. The word Shabbaton occurs 11 times in 10 verses:  Used for: Sabbath (Shemot/Exodus 16:23; 31:15; 35:2; Vayiqra/Leviticus 23:3), Yom Teru’ah (Vayiqra/Leviticus 23:24), Yom Kippur (Vayiqra/Leviticus 16:31; 23:32), Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles) (Vayiqra/Leviticus 23:39 twice), every seventh year (Vayiqra/Leviticus 25:4, 5).

The word Shabbat and Sheva (Seven) are synonymous with each other and go hand in hand with each other.  The Shabbat is on the Seventh day, the land must rest (Shabbat) every Seventh year, all the appointed times of YHWH that are in the Seventh moon (month) all have Shabbat status etc. On the other side of the coin, none of the appointed times of YHWH that fall in the first and third moons have Shabbat status.

So it is very clear to see that Rabbinical Judaism have it wrong when it comes to the start of the count of the omer as the first and last days of Matzot do not have Shabbat status. So there is only one other option then to when the count must begin. This is of course from the weekly Sabbath that falls in the time period during the feast of unleavened bread (Matzot). Because of this, Shavuot will always fall on a first day of the week. 

The Way, the Truth and the Life

Here is a great example that if you do not study and know the Torah, then you are not going to understand what the Mashiyach Y’hoshua is saying when he said: “יהושע (Y’hoshua) said to him, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). How many times have you read over this verse or even quoted it? Did you really know what the Mashiyach was saying? The fact of the matter is that the majority of the time that this verse is quoted, it is way out of context and is being quoted to say something that is not true to this statement. To truly understand this statement, one has to go to the Torah and understand what is written there first.

Let us break the sentence up and have a look at some of these statements individually to get the full understanding of what our Savior was saying.

The Life

What was the Mashiyach saying when he said that he is the life? Let us look at a few Scriptures that reveal to us what the life is. “But do not eat flesh with its life, its blood” (Gen 9:4). “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make a covering for your lives, for it is the blood that makes a covering for the life” (Lev 17:11). “for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood is for its life. And I said to the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘Do not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Anyone eating it is cut off” (Lev 17:14). “Only, be firm not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, do not eat the life with the meat” (Deut 12:23). So as you can clearly see, the life that Y’shua was talking about is his blood. “He redeems their life from oppression and from violence; And their blood is precious in His eyes” (Psalm 72:14). Is it the blood that is precious in the eyes of the Almighty, or is it their life? The life of a person is in his blood. “יהושע (Y’hoshua) therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Aḏam and drink His blood, you possess no life in yourselves.

“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood possesses everlasting life, and I shall raise him up in the last day” (John 6:53-54). What Y’hoshua was saying to his disciples was not to physically eat his flesh and drink his blood as that is against what the Torah teaches. What he was saying was that they should “eat his flesh” do as he did, and “drink his blood” that his blood was for the covering of their sins.

Clearly you should now see that the blood of Y’hoshua that was spilled on the torture stake was for the covering of our sins.

This is what Y’hoshua meant by “I am the life”

The Truth

When the Scriptures speak of truth, it is referring to the Torah of YHWH. Here are some Scriptures again that show you this to be true. “He who walks blamelessly, And does righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:2). “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the Elohim of my deliverance; On You I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:5). Is Dawid wanting to be taught in Truth or in the Instruction of YHWH (Torah)? Or is it not maybe the same thing? Let us see what he has to say about this. “You are near, O יהוה (YHWH), And all Your commands are truth” (Psalmlm 119:151). “The sum of Your word is truth, And all Your righteous right-rulings are forever” (Psalm 119:160). Here you can see that Dawid is referring directly to the Torah as the Truth. So if someone speaks truth, they are speaking the Torah of YHWH, on the other side of the coin, if they do not have or speak the Torah of YHWH, then there is no truth in them. This is what John was saying when he wrote: “And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands. The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him” (1 John 2:3). John had a very good understanding of the Torah and of Y’hoshua. With this knowledge, he showed us that we are still to obey the Instruction of YHWH.

“But you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that did not obey the voice of יהוה (YHWH) their Elohim, nor did they accept instruction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth” (Jeremiah 7:28). Here Jeremiah was prophesying and revealing that Israel did not accepted the Torah (Truth) of YHWH. That is why Israel looks like it does today.

Daniel was also a great prophet and was righteous as he lived in truth. He understood that the Torah of YHWH was truth. “Now I, Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar, am praising and exalting and esteeming the Sovereign of the heavens, for all His works are truth, and His ways right. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble” (Dan 4:37), “As it is written in the Torah of Mosheh, all this evil has come upon us, and we have not entreated the face of יהוה (YHWH) our Elohim, to turn back from our crookednesses, and to study Your truth” (Dan 9:13), “But let me declare to you what is written in the Scripture of Truth, and there is no one supporting me against these, except Miḵa’ĕl your head” (Dan 10:21). Is Daniel saying that we must turn from crookedness and study the Almighty’s truth? What is his truth? The truth is the Words of YHWH which is His Torah!

Here is another example: “These are the words you should do: speak the truth (Torah) to one another, judge with truth (Torah) and right-ruling for peace in your gates” (Zech 8:16)

“I rejoiced greatly because I found some of your children walking in truth (Torah), as we received a command from the Father” (2 John 1:4). Here John is telling us that the Almighty rejoiced greatly when he found some of the children walking in Torah as was commanded by Him. Is this not after the death and resurrection of the Mashiyach? “I have no greater joy than to hear of my children walking in truth (Torah)” (3 John 1:4). YHWH is clearly happy when we turn to His Truth and follow His Torah, He rejoices when we do. He becomes sad when we turn from doing the Torah and even becomes angry too.

So when Y’hoshua said “I am the truth” he was saying that he was the Torah of YHWH and we are to follow in his footsteps.

The Way

Now if you go read the Torah, especially Leviticus, you will notice very quickly that the people of Israel did not go directly to the Almighty for the forgiveness of their sins. They went to the priests with their offerings and the priests performed the sacrifices and presented it to YHWH. The High Priest also made a covering of the sins of the nation once a year on Yom Kippur. The High Priest had to set himself apart from the nation and from sin in order that he does not die when he enters into the Most Set Apart of the Set Apart place. This is because the presence of YHWH was there and if the High Priest did not cleans himself from ALL sin, he would have fallen dead immediately. Aharon the High Priest was also referred to as Mashiyach (Anointed One). So basically, the priests where the way to the father for the forgiveness of sins.

Let us look at a few Scriptures: “And you, speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the garments of Aharon, to set him apart, for him to serve as priest to Me” (Exodus 28:3), “And you shall put them on Aharon your brother and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them, and shall ordain them, and shall set them apart, and they shall serve as priests to Me” (Exodus 28:41)

“and shall gird them with girdles – Aharon and his sons – and put the turbans on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs for an everlasting law. So you shall ordain Aharon and his sons” (Exodus 29:9). Here you can see that the priesthood is an everlasting law. If it is everlasting, does that mean that it is still a law today? Is today part of everlasting?

“And Aharon shall make a covering upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of a covering – once a year he makes a covering upon it throughout your generations. It is most set-apart to יהוה (YHWH)” (Exodus 30:10). Here is where it describes some of the duties of the High Priest (Aharon at that time) that was done on Yom Kippur every year.

“And he shall do with the bull as he did with the bull as a sin offering – so shall he do it. And the priest shall make a covering for them, and it shall be forgiven them” (Lev 4:20), “and shall bring his guilt offering to יהוה (YHWH) for his sin which he has sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a female goat as a sin offering. And the priest shall make a covering for him, for his sin” (Lev 5:6), “And he shall prepare the second as a burnt offering according to the right-ruling, and the priest shall make a covering for him, for his sin which he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven him” (Lev 5:10), “The guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is one Torah for them both: the priest who makes a covering with it, it is his” (Lev 7:7). In these verses, who is it that actually forgives sin? It is not the priests that forgive the sins of the people; it is YHWH who forgives the sin. It is however the duty of the priests to present the sin of the people with the covering of blood to YHWH so that their sins may be forgiven. Without the priests, no sin could be forgiven as there is no one to present the sin and it’s covering to YHWH in order to be forgiven.

With the death and resurrection of the Mashiyach changed this law? Certainly not, it is an everlasting law. Does Y’hoshua haMashiyach have the ability to change any of the Commands and Laws of his Father? DEFINITELY NOT! So what happened after the death on the torture stake and the resurrection of our Mashiyach? Y’hoshua became the High Priest who presents our sins with the covering to his Father so that our sins may be forgiven. So as you can see, nothing has changed.

So when Y’hoshua haMashiyach said: “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”, he was saying that he was:

• The Way – the High Priest who presents our sin with his own blood as the covering to YHWH his Father so that our sins may be forgiven.
• The Truth – He is the Torah of his Father and requires us to walk in the Torah just as he did.
• The Life – It is his blood that is the covering for our sins that took the place of the blood of the slaughtering of lambs.

Without these three, no one can come unto the Father. Y’hoshua has become all three so that we can come unto the Father through him.

Nothing has changed from the Instruction of YHWH given to us through Mosheh. We just have a perfect lamb that laid down his own life so that we do not have to bring our own livestock to the priests to be slaughtered. We are to walk as he walked by guarding to DO the Torah of YHWH. However, if we fall short of doing any of the instruction of YHWH, we can go to our High Priest and have him present the sin with the covering of his blood to the Almighty so that our sin may be forgiven so that we too may have eternal life.

Joke

An Israeli, with a sense of humor, was at United Nations recently and
set the historical record to the Land of Israel straight. An ingenious
example of speech, humor and politics occurred in the United Nations
General Assembly and made the world community smile.

The representative from Israel began: "Before starting my talk I want
to tell you something about Moses: When he struck the rock and it
brought forth water, he thought, 'What a good opportunity to have a
bath!'

"So Moses removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered
the water. But when he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had
vanished. A Palestinian had stolen them!"

At this point, the Palestinian representative at the UN jumped up
furiously and shouted, "What are you talking about? The Palestinians
weren't there then!"

The Israeli representative looked at him, smiled and said, "Thank you.
And now that we have made that fact clear (that there were no
"Palestinians" in the Land back then), I will begin my speech..."

The Attributes of the Sabbath

Now there are so many misconceptions about the Sabbath, especially in the Christian faith. This is due to a lack of knowledge and listening to mans interpretation of Scripture instead of going to the Scripture itself. Though The Christian faith is not the only faith that has misconceptions about the Sabbath.

The Christians believe that the “Jewish Sabbath” is not relevant to them anymore, or that it does not matter which day you keep as the Sabbath, as long as you keep it once a week. Also they do not keep to the rules of the Sabbath as Scripture commands us to, as I have seen the majority of the church members and even the pastors and ministers in the Shopping centers on their so called “Sabbath day” (the first day also known as Sun-Day), then having a barbeque with friends etc. This is clearly not allowed according to the Word of the Almighty.

One of the biggest reasons why the Christians do not keep the Sabbath, or at least do not keep it on the Seventh Day, is because the Seventh Day is a day of sport and leisure in the world. If they were to obey the Scriptures, they would have to give up watching or even doing their favorite sports and activities, as that is usually the only time that the sports are played! And likewise, that is usually the only day they get to visit with certain friends, and it is too much of a burden to loose such friends.

There is a church that does have their sermons on the Sabbath day instead of the first day (Sun-day), The Seventh Day Adventists. The problem with this is that just changing the day you go to church to the Scriptural Sabbath Day is NOT keeping the Sabbath.

On the other extreme, let us look at the Jewish Sabbath. When I talk about the Jewish Sabbath, I am referring to the Rabbinical rules concerning the Sabbath. Now if you go to Israel today, the most shocking thing that you will realize is how many Jews do not observe the Sabbath anymore. This is because of all the EXTRA laws that were added to the Sabbath by the Rabbi’s that makes it literally impossible to keep all these laws of the Sabbath.

These Rabbinical laws were present even in the days of Y’shua Mashiyach. When the Pharisees tried to accuse Y’shua for breaking their traditions of the elders, Y’shua rebuked them for nullifying the Word of YHWH by their traditions (see Mark 7:1-8).

So it is very clear that we are still to keep the Sabbath of YHWH according to what the Scriptures teach us, as we will see below, nothing more and nothing less! So let us have a look at what the Scriptures (the Word of YHWH) teach us about the Sabbath:

Sabbath on the Seventh Day

“Six days work is done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a set-apart gathering. You do no work, it is a Sabbath to יהוה (YHWH) in all your dwellings” (Lev 23:3)

“but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה  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 ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, so that your male servant and your female servant rest as you do” (Deut 5:14)

The Sabbath is a Commandment

“Guard the Sabbath day, to set it apart, as יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim commanded you” (Deut 5:12)

“nor take a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work. And you shall set apart the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers” (Jeremiah 17:22)

The Sabbath is set apart

“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” (Exodus 20:11)

“Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart” (Exodus 20:8)

“And they are to stand as judges in a dispute, and judge it according to My right-rulings. And they are to guard My Torot (plural of Torah) and My laws in all My appointed festivals, and set apart My Sabbaths” (Eze 44:24)

You do no work on the Sabbath

“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” (Exodus 20:10)

“Work is done for six days, but on the seventh day it shall be set-apart to you, a Sabbath of rest to יהוה (YHWH) Anyone doing work on it is put to death” (Exodus 35:2)

“Six days work is done, and on the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, set-apart to יהוה (YHWH). Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death” (Exo 31:15)

No food is to be prepared on the Sabbath

“And יהוה  said to Mosheh, “See, I am raining bread from the heavens for you. And the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, in order to try them, whether they walk in My Torah or not.

And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily” (Exodus 16:4)

“And when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath” (Mark 15:42)

Do not kindle a fire on the Sabbath

“Do not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” (Exodus 35:3)

Do not do your own pleasures on the Sabbath

“If you do turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My set-apart day, and shall call the Sabbath ‘a delight,’ the set-apart day of יהוה  (YHWH) ‘esteemed,’ and shall esteem it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words” (Isaiah 58:13)

The Sabbath is a set apart gathering

“Six days work is done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a set-apart gathering. You do no work, it is a Sabbath to יהוה (YHWH) in all your dwellings” (Lev 23:3)

The Sabbath is a sign

“And you, speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, יהוה (YHWH), am setting you apart” (Exodus 31:13)

“And I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, to know that I am יהוה (YHWH) who sets them apart” (Eze 20:12)

“And set apart My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, to know that I am יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim” (Eze 20:20)

Do good on the Sabbath

“Then יהושע (Y’shua) said to them, “I ask you, is it right to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” (Luke 6:9)

“And He said to them, “Is it right to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent” (Mark 3:4)

“And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, shall not take hold of it and lift it out?

Mat 12:12 “How much more worth is a man than a sheep! So it is right to do good on the Sabbath” (Mat 12:11-12)

What happens if you profane the Sabbath

“And you shall guard the Sabbath, for it is set-apart to you. Everyone who profanes it shall certainly be put to death, for anyone who does work on it, that being shall be cut off from among his people” (Exodus 31:14)

“And while the children of Yisra’ĕl were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day

And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Mosheh and to Aharon, and to all the congregation.

And they put him in under guard, because it had not been declared what should be done to him.

And יהוה (YHWH) said to Mosheh, “The man shall certainly be put to death, all the congregation stoning him with stones outside the camp.”

And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, as יהוה (YHWH) commanded Mosheh, and he died” (Num 15:32-36)

“In those days I saw in Yehuḏah those treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, and figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Yerushalayim on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day they sold food

And men of Tsor dwelt there, bringing in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Yehuḏah, and in Yerushalayim.

Then I contended with the nobles of Yehuḏah, and said to them, “What evil matter is this that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?

Did not your fathers do the same so that our Elohim brought all this evil on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Yisra’ĕl by profaning the Sabbath” (Neh 13:15-18)

Who is the Sabbath for?

“And when the Yehuḏim went out of the congregation, the gentiles begged to have these words spoken to them the next Sabbath” (Acts 13:42)

“So there remains a Sabbath-keeping for the people of Elohim” (Hebrews 4:9)

 “And pray that your flight does not take place in winter or on the Sabbath” (Mat 24:20)

The Sabbath is a rest day

“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” (Exodus 20:11)

“Work is done for six days, but on the seventh day it shall be set-apart to you, a Sabbath of rest to יהוה (YHWH) Anyone doing work on it is put to death” (Exodus 35:2)

“Six days work is done, and on the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, set-apart to יהוה (YHWH). Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death” (Exo 31:15)

“Six days work is done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a set-apart gathering. You do no work, it is a Sabbath to יהוה (YHWH) in all your dwellings” (Lev 23:3)

Now, as you can see, the Sabbath is a delight for the children of YHWH. It is a day of rest and replenishment in Scripture. It is also a sign that we are the Children of YHWH. Do you really want to profane it?

My El! My El! Why have You spared me?

Matthew 27:46

Perhaps no Scripture evokes more emotion than the cry from the stake in Matthew 27:46. How is it possible that these powerful words have been misunderstood for nearly two millennia? For many, Y’hoshua’s last utterance was either understood as a cry of desperation or a declaration of his Messiahship from Psalm 22:1 “My El, My El, why have you forsaken me.” Greek versions attempt to translate the Psalm as Eli, Eli lama sabacthani. However the Aramaic Peshitta NT reads: “Eli, Eli lemana shbakthani,” while Hebrew Psalm reads: “Eli, Eli lama azbatani.” Greek transliteration reflects the Aramaic word as does the Peshitta. However, there is a key difference between azbatani, which only means “to forsake” and its Aramaic counterpart Shbakthani which has multiple meanings but also includes the same concept.

Even so, does this mean Y’hoshua is quoting Psalm 22? To answer that question, consider these verses: “And from that time onwards, Y’hoshua began to make known to his disciples that he must go to Yerushalayim and suffer much from the elders and from the chief priests, and scribes. And he would be killed, and on the third day would rise up” (Matthew 16:21). “Behold, we are going up to Yerushalayim, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and to the scribes. And they will condemn him to death. And they will deliver him to the Gentiles, and they will mock him, and they will beat him, and they will execute him on a stake. And he will rise on the third day” (Matthew 20:18-19). When Peter prepared to fight Y’hoshua replied, “…don’t you think that I am able to ask my Father to raise up twelve legions of Messengers? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled. Thus say that it must be” (Matthew 26:53-54).

Y’hoshua informed his disciples that his death was inevitable, and that it would be fulfilled according to Scripture. Anyone who tried to prevent his death, even a loyal disciple like Peter, was referred to as being of haSatan! Y’hoshua knows that he is laying down his life as a voluntary offering according to John 10:11-18, but he can also take it back. He is referred to as the “lamb of Elohim” because the lamb submits his life unto death; a key requirement of Mashiyach according to Isaiah 53:7. Therefore, when Y’hoshua is suffering on the stake, he is fulfilling the very reason he came into the world – the suffering he could end in the blink of an eye, according to John 10. In this context then, with full power in him, the blessings of the Father, and YHWH’s Messengers with him, he could not have, even for an instant, been forsaken.

When Y’hoshua was praying in the garden just before being betrayed, his prayer was immediately answered by YHWH sending a Messenger, in Luke 22:43, “…a Messenger appeared to him from Heaven to strengthen him.” This being the case, we must look at the final words that come out of Y’hoshua’s mouth; let’s examine the Aramaic word shbakthani. As mentioned above, it shares the “forsake” meaning with the Hebrew word used in Psalm 22. However, the root of the word shbak has several other meanings including: 1) reserve 2) keep 3) spare 4) forgive. In Luke 23:34, Y’hoshua uses the exact same word to say, “Father shbak (forgive) them for they know not what they do.” This multiplicity of meaning in Aramaic, naturally groups related concepts under the umbrella of the same word. In this case, reserve, keep and spare all are variations from the same concept of setting aside. The same can be said idiomatically of forgive, where offenses are metaphorically also “set aside.” Conversely, the rabbis throughout the centuries have always translated the Hebrew azbatani in Psalm 22 exclusively as “forsaken.” That is not to say the other meanings of shbak do not exist also in its Hebrew equivalent, because they do in other verses of Scripture. In the end only one solution reveals itself, which is that another meaning of shbakthani is intended. The context safely eliminates forgive as a possibility as it makes no sense; therefore, the highly similar concept of reserve, keep or spare are left to investigate.

Some scholars have suggested that lemana could be interpreted as a statement and that would allow the first two definitions as possibilities with readings like, “My El, My El, for this you have reserved/kept me.” However, traditional understanding of this verse has always affirmed lemana only as a question. Therefore, what remains as the most viable reading is: “My El, My El, why have you reserved/kept/spared me.” While all these possibilities will clearly work, the choice of Paul Younan (a foremost Aramaic scholar) is the wording, “why have you spared me” because reserve or kept has a continuation of a wider question that Y’hoshua is clearly not asking. Furthermore and in concordance with the other Scriptures mentioned, Y’hoshua is clearly aware of the reasons for his death, and therefore to use the other options would allow for inadequate options like, “why have you kept me around” or “why have you reserved me for this purpose”. Since he fully knows the reasons for his suffering, the preferred choice is “why have you spared me” or, “I’ve been here for six hours and will die for this cause, but how much more time will this take?” in response to this question Scripture tells us that Y’hoshua dies shortly thereafter, thus validating the context.

Finally, there is very good reason why tradition has been so strong on linking this utterance to Psalm 22. While Y’hoshua himself may or may not be quoting the Psalm, the rest of the narrative is clearly referencing it. This section of Matthew is a Midrash, or dramatic story rendering of Psalm 22. the very rebukes found in the Psalm are on the lips of the Pharisees as they taunt Mashiyach (Psalm 22:6-8; Matthew 27:39-40). The Psalm references his “hands and feet pierced” and having “enemies gamble for his clothing” (Psalm 22:16, 18; Matthew 27:34). Even the probable condition of Y’hoshua hanging on a stake is described with phrases like, “I am poured out like water and all my joints are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax and has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death.” With all this Psalmic imagery, it’s no wonder many have concluded with apparent logic that Y’hoshua is quoting Psalm 22:1! But we must also consider other factors; for instance: Y’hoshua was also experiencing brutal physical trauma, which is know to cause impairment of speech. Secondly, we do not have concise evidence to know whether Y’hoshua was speaking Hebrew or Aramaic at that moment, so even in the best of circumstances those who stood by listening may not have clearly heard what he was saying. In this matter, Hebrew speaking witnesses at the site of the execution thought he was calling on “Eliyah” as opposed to “My El.” Perhaps it was only an exhalation of pain (Eli-ah). Altogether these criteria presents a compelling case for determining how two similar phrases were transposed. In the end what we have here is another section of Matthew which “represents” rather than “quotes” from Scripture.

Christmas

This might seem like an odd time to post this article here. The reason I am doing so is to point out the lies that we have been taught and that certain things that seems good to us are in actual fact of the occult world. We are to learn from the Scriptures ourselves and stop listening to men to make decisions for us as to what is right and wrong. We must learn the Way of YHWH, not the way of man.

The vast majority of Christians insist on celebrating the “Christmas holiday” as though it has something to do with the birth of “Jesus” – even though most realize that “Jesus” wasn’t born on December 25^th and even that the roots of “Christmas” go deep into paganism and nowhere to be found in the Bible. YHWH never suggested we celebrate birthdays, let alone the birth of the Savior.

The Word of YHWH foretold that the “seed” of woman would come the Savior of all mankind, and by this seed “the Serpent” would be destroyed: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

After the flood when the human race was centralized on the plains of Babylon, haSatan began to turn mankind away from YHWH’s plan of redemption by producing a counterfeit Messiah. HaSatan found an ambitious woman named Semiramis, the widow of Nimrod, he was of course “the mighty hunter before YHWH” (Genesis 10:9) who met with a violent death. Nimrod had been defied as the deliverer from the menace of wild animals. His widow sought to perpetuate his worship while also retaining the power of his kingdom, and she deceived people into believing that she gave birth, through a miraculous conception, to a son she named Tammuz (branch) whom she purported to be the reincarnation of Nimrod. 2,000 BCE saw haSatan’s counterfeit to the promised “Seed.” Semiramis was thenceforth worshipped as “the mother of god” (Madonna) or “the queen of heaven,” and her illegitimate son also became a deity. This is where the ancient Babylonian mystery religion originated, the fountainhead of all idolatry. Every idol, whether mentioned in the Set Apart Scriptures or in Mythology, can be traced to these beginnings.

Alexander Hislop, in his monumental work “The Two Babylons” has shown that papal worship is based on none other than the worship of Nimrod and his wife, disguised in a garb of Christianity. Concerning the Christmas festival Hislop writes: “That Christmas was originally a pagan festival is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, the ceremonies with which it is celebrated, prove its origin. In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, about the time of the winter solstice. The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves – Yule day – proves at once its pagan and Babylonian origin. “Yule” is the Chaldee name for “infant” or “little child”; and as the 25^th of December was referred to by Anglo-Saxon ancestors as the “Yule-day” or “the child’s day”, and the night that preceded it, “Mother night”, long before they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character. Far and wide in the realms of paganism was the birthday observed.” (The Two Babylons; Alexander Hislop, pg 93)

As mentioned above, it can be clearly demonstrated from Scripture that Y’hoshua Mashiyach was not born in the winter. Since YHWH in no way authorized the celebration of Christmas, not to mention birthdays, what would posses Christians to fabricate a birth date for our Savior? As early as the First Century Rav Shaul rebuked Gentile followers of Mashiyach for attempting to incorporate paganism into the True Faith: “Then, for when you did not know Elohim, you served those things who, by their very nature, are not Elohim. Now that you have knowledge of Elohim, and especially have knowledge from Elohim, that you have returned to those weak and poor principles, wishing to come under their bondage. You have observed days and months and times and years, I am afraid that perhaps my being among you has been in vain” (Galatians 4:8-11). Rav Shaul’s letters, of course, were not heeded by the Church.

In the year 230 CE the Christian Church founder Tertullian wrote: “By us [Gentile Christians] who are strangers to (Jewish) Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to G-d, the Saturnalia, the feast of January, the Brumalia, , and Matronalia are now frequented, with gifts being carried to and fro.”

Moving on, Tammuz was worshiped as “god” incarnate which implied that he was an incarnation of the “Lord of the heavens.” Since the sun grows stronger after the 25^th of December, this date came to be known as the rebirth of Nimrod and of the Sun. in ancient Rome this day was known as “Natalis Invicti Solis,” the birthday of the unconquered sun. lights were kindled then to burn until the 6^th of January (Epiphany). The week-long feast of Saturnalia was held at the time of the winter solstice, accompanied with much evil revelry and debauchery. HaSatan managed to find masses of gullible and willing men to seduce into believing the lie that these pagan festivals were acceptable to the Almighty, and various “religious men” were instrumental in incorporating them into the Catholic religion. As a matter of fact, it became policy for the papacy to amalgamate heathen festivals with Christendom. Pope Gregory wrote to Augustine the first missionary to the British Isles (CE 597): “Do not destroy the temple of the English gods; change them to Christian churches. Do not forbid the ‘harmless customs’ which have been associated with the old religions; consecrate them to Christian use.” The Vatican views paganism as “harmless customs” which is why the church is rife with paganism that was syncretized into Greco-Roman Christianity.

Sir James Fraser in “The Golden Bough” writes: “Thus it appears that the Christian Church chose to celebrate the birthday of its founder on the 25^th of December in order to transfer the devotion of the heathen from the sun to him who was called the sun of Righteousness. If that was so, there can be no intrinsic improbability in the conjecture that motives of the same sort may have led the ecclesiastical authorities to assimilate the Easter festival of the death and resurrection of their Lord to the festival of the death and resurrection of another Asiatic god which fell in the same season.” To be appealing to the masses, the early post-apostolic church founders asserted their political and immoral relativism against the Word of YHWH, thus making void the Commandments of YHWH by their pagan traditions.

The term “Christmas” first appeared around 450 CE when Pope Julius decreed that all Catholics must celebrate the birthday of Christ at the same time that the heathen were celebrating the pagan Saturnalia feast. It was designated as “Christe-masse” or Christ’s mass. Sadly, there are precious few Christians who recognize that the origin of the “Christmas tree” is from Babylon mystery religion as many believe the tree originated among Christians in Europe. But there are even fewer Christians who know this and will actually dare to speak out to warn others against the pagan origins of Christmas.

The decorated tree represents Tammuz (which means a branch); it is haSatan’s counterfeit of the true “Branch” – Hebrew: NETZER; a shoot; or sprout. Mashiyach was prophetically called “The Root out of dry ground” (Isaiah 11:1, 53:2, Jeremiah 23:5). “Behold the man whose name is The Branch” (Zechariah 6:12). Ancient Babylonian coins pictured a tree stump which represented dead Nimrod and a small tree growing nearby which represented Tammuz. The Egyptians used the palm; the Romans a pine tree. The “X-mas tree” as once worshipped by idolatrous Israelites is described in Jeremiah 10. Mistletoe and holly figured prominently in the early Anglo-Saxon and Druidic tree worship.

“Hear ye the word which YHWH speaks to you, O house of Israel: Thus says YHWH, learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workmen, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be born, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good” (Jeremiah 10:1-5).

Clearly Jeremiah records a vivid depiction of a tree that is cut down from a forest, erected and decorated for a religious celebration. Ezekiel also shows how YHWH’s people sorely grieved Him by adopting the “imagery” of Tammuz which now has become the decorated Christmas tree. “Then said He unto me, Son of man, have you seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, ‘YHWH does not see us; YHWH has forsaken the earth.’ He said also unto me, turn yet again, and you shall see greater abominations that they do. Then He brought me to the door of the gate of YHWH’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz” (Ezekiel 8:11-14).

Part of Tammuz worship was to place golden balls on the tree which were representative of his testicles, as he was also considered a god of sex. The women weeping for Tammuz was a pagan ritual that continued long after he died because his sexual services were no longer available. As one can plainly see, the whole hearted Believer would not contribute to the perpetuation of Christmas in any manner; he or she will withdraw from all pagan-born celebrations revered by the same evil spirit that tried to slay the infant Messiah by Herod’s sword. The blood of the slaughtered babies of Bethlehem cries out against the diabolical hatred toward the infant Savior whom the world hated. Sadly, the world is now racing towards the fulfillment of YHWH’s Word his witness shall be slain and “they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them and make merry and shall send gifts to one another” (Revelation 11:10).

Christians and all who would follow the Elohim of Awraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov, would do well to act upon Rav Shaul’s teachings, a man of truth! “And have no commerce with the works of darkness which are unfruitful, but reject them” (Ephesians 5:11). Torah reminds us: “You shall not follow a multitude to do evil” (Exodus 23:2). Many think that Christmas isn’t a big deal, even though they know it has pagan origins; but Mashiyach states, “That which is highly esteemed among men is abominable in the sight of Elohim” (Luke 16:15). Rav Shaul writes, “And be not conformed to this world; but be you transformed by the renovation of your minds: and discern you what is the good and acceptable and perfect pleasure of Elohim” (Romans 12:3). All children of Elohim have an obligation to love each other and warn each other against delving into pagan rituals, because this is NOT a light matter, it’s impossible to serve two masters.