For those of you that have been following Torah Awakenings for a while, you guys all know how I like to take in-depth looks into what the Scriptures have to say about various topics. I am a firm believer that it is my responsibility to study the word for myself to gain understanding and insight for myself, rather than just leaving it to my Pastor’s to do it for me. There is always the “what if he has it wrong thing”? I really don’t believe that is a valid excuse to use in the end times when we are being judged. I also believe that when we study for ourselves, that’s where revelation comes in at, and where revelation comes in, change follows.
That said, the last two podcast episodes really caused me to think about some things. When I first began this walk as a Torah observant believer, I entered into it with a skeptical eye. Rather than trying to just accept it and walk in it, I attempted to disprove it’s relevance in today’s time. Not so much that I doubt the word of YHVH, but seeing as I was brought up to believe certain things, I was not willing to accept the idea of anything contrary to them. Like many of you now, I was not really big on change, especially those things that challenge or come into conflict with my core beliefs.
So, needless to say, I began to do deep studies where I didn’t just read the Scriptures, but I studied them. I looked at the context, culture, language and even the history of those things being written. It was in doing this, where I was forced to look at things differently. Since then, every topic that I have led to address, I tackled it from a perspective of a person that has come to grips with the truth, a truth that was contrary to what I once considered as truth. As I said earlier, when revelation comes into play, change must follow.
It seems that my theology is ever evolving in my quest for truth and understanding. What I believed last year, I have an even deeper understanding about it this year. So having laid the groundwork for what I am about to get into, lets talk about “The Law” again. Many of you, like myself, grew up in church hearing about how The Law ended at the cross. However, we were never taught to understand what this Law was about. Why did YHVH give it to Israel? What was it supposed to do? We literally had no idea, and because of this, it became easy to disregard it.
In Churchianity today, we believe that “grace” came to save us from this “Law”, and that because of this so-called grace, we can just ignore the Law altogether. This has been the teaching of the church dating back almost two thousand years ago. The annals of history teach us that this shift didn’t start with the Apostles, contrary to popular belief, but with the emperor Constantine during the early 4thcentury. This is also verified by the outcome of the Jerusalem Council with Paul and the other Apostles, where it was unanimously agreed upon by all what their intention was for the Gentile church.
I know I have laid a lot of this all down before in previous podcast and blogs, but as I was doing my last podcast, there was a Scripture that I was led to that totally blew me away. So, for the sake of the conversation, lets just say that we all mutually agree that the Law did indeed end at the cross. Let’s also ignore the fact that the Apostle Paul is the only source used when trying to prove this theology, and that none of the other writers have anything to say that would confirm this belief. Let’s go back to the Gospels and look at the words of Yeshua.
In Matt 5:17-19, we find Him teaching His disciples something that we need to understand better.
Mat 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets.e I did not come to destroy but to complete. Footnote: eThe Law and the Prophets is a term used for the pre-Messianic Scriptures.
Mat 5:18 “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.f Footnote: f Luk 16:17.
Mat 5:19 “Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.
In reading this text, Yeshua say’s something that I believe we all overlook every time we read it. He first confirms that He did NOT come to abolish the Torah, but rather to fulfil it. Now, in our way of understanding, the act of abolishing is to basically end something. That said, contrary to what we currently believe about this verse, in the Hebrew mindset, to abolish something is to basically distort it. He goes on to say that He came to fulfill it. Again, in our culture, we understand that to mean that He completed it, thereby ending it. Most preachers seem to stop at this point, but we are going to continue reading and staying with in the context of this verse.
In the Hebrew culture, to fulfill something is to basically interpret something the way it was intended to be understood. During the time of Yeshua, this was not the case. The Rabbis, Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees all had a habit of focusing more on the Oral law rather than the Written Law. Scripture expressly forbids us to add to or to take away from the Text, however, they found justification in building a fence around the Torah, with the hope that these extra additions would prevent the people from violating it. Needless to say, by adding to it, they grossly distorted something that was already perfect.
Lets continue. Yeshua, in fulfilling Torah, came to clarify what they had messed up. In other words, He showed them how to walk it out in the manner the Father expected us to. Here is the nail in the coffin. Yeshua declares that until heaven AND earth pass away, not even the smallest letter or symbol will fall from the Torah. Did you guys catch that? In other words, what was said and understood on Mt Sinai to Moses and all of Israel, still stood in the days of Yeshua, continued to stand in the apostolic church and stands to this day. As the Apostle John wrote the Revelation, which touched on things from the past, present and future, it was from the perspective that Torah still stood.
My subject text for this is from Revelation 21:1-2. This really blew me away when I read it.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a renewed heaven and a renewed earth,a Isa 65:17 for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. Footnote: aAlso see Isa 66:22.
Rev 21:2 And I, Yoḥanan, saw the set-apart city, renewed Yerushalayim, coming down out of the heaven from Elohim, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
As I read this verse, something clicked. Yeshua stated that until heaven and earth pass, not even the smallest letter, or symbol of the Torah would pass from it, until ALL things be fulfilled. In Revelation 21, we read that there will be a point in which this does happen, a time when Yeshua is ruling and reigning in righteousness on the throne of David. With the passing of heaven and earth as a reference point, we can all agree that to date, this has yet to happen, and since it has not happened, we must conclude that the Torah must still stand.
If indeed this be the case, seeing as the heavens and the earth have yet to pass away, what does this mean for us today? I mean literally for generations, we have been taught to believe that Torah, or The Law ended a the cross. If this is true, it sounds like we have some things to reconsider. I said earlier that when revelation sets in, change always follows it. With this in mind, we are now forced to not only re-evaluate what we previously believed, but what we must be changed now that revelation has set in. We must flip back to the front of the book and find the book of Exodus, where YHVH speaks to Moses concerning this “Law”.
We must ask ourselves, why did YHVH feel the need to give this so-called Law in the first place. I believe that this is the one question that has never been asked but should have been. We understand from the Exodus story, that prior to Moses being called to lead the people out of Egypt, that they had been there for over 400 years. During this time, there was nothing about them that separated them as a people from the Egyptians or any other people for that matter. True enough, they had their own God, but they had no idea who He was, let alone what He wanted or even expected from them as a people.
It is highly likely that since they did not know their God that they most likely served the Egyptian gods. In fact, living in the Egyptian culture, they assimilated into their culture and internalized it. From reading the story, we find that although Israel did not know their god, they still knew of Him, and this is evident in the conversation that Moses had with YHVH when He had called him. For this reason, when Moses went to the people, he let them know that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had sent him. Upon hearing this, the people gave him their undivided attention.
Fast forward to the other events of the Exodus story, we find ourselves on Mt Sinai, where YHVH again introduces Himself to Moses, and tells him to speak to Israel, and formerly introduce Him to them. In addition to this, he was to relay a message from YHVH to the people that if they wanted to be His people, they needed to obey His teachings and guard His commands. Haven seen the power of this God, the people agreed with on voice, proclaiming “all that YHVH says, we will do”. In this was the establishing of the covenantal relationship with God and man. If they as a people guarded His sayings and kept His right rulings, they in turn would be His people, thereby officially making Him their God.
Prior to this, and even after this, there is nowhere else in the Bible where we find it where YHVH establishes another covenantal relationship with mankind. That said, we must conclude that the acceptance of His teachings in addition to observing them faithfully is the only way we can know for sure that not only is He our God, but we are His people. The problem is that countless people claim that He is their God, but their actions don’t agree with their confession. They may indeed claim Him as their God, but if they are not guarding His sayings and walking in them, can they really be sure that He sees them as His people? That’s the problem.
What comes to mind is how Yeshua said, “if you love me, keep my commandments”. From this statement, Yeshua makes it blatantly clear that He recognizes love based on us keeping His commandments. Anything else done by us under the guise of love goes unrecognized by Him. So, we now understand that the relationship with the Father is a covenantal one. If we do our part, He will accept us as His people, thereby being our God. On the flipside, if we reject it, He is not our God. Sounds pretty cut and dry. We understand that it is the Torah or rather the observation of the Torah that sets us apart from the world. Furthermore, we also understand that being set apart is what being “holy” is all about. In fact, this is what the Hebrew word “kodesh”, translated as “holy”, literally means.
Contrary to popular belief, Torah is more than just the Ten Commandments, in fact, there are 613 commands. While this may seem to be a lot, I love how Yeshua breaks it down. When asked about the greatest of commands, He replies with two, the first being “love God with all your heart, soul and strength, and the second to love your neighbor as yourself”. He goes on to say that on these two commands hang all the Torah and the Prophets. The Torah is all about love.
There is only one thing in Torah that can be declared as done away with, and that would be the sin sacrifices, seeing as Yeshua was our perfect sacrifice. There are indeed several other sacrifices that are still relevant although not done today seeing as we no longer have a Temple and a functioning Levitical Priesthood. However, upon the construction of the third Temple, these other sacrifices will indeed re-commence. In fact, they are in the process of retraining the Levitical Priesthood now, so that when the Temple is completed, they know what to do.
I said earlier that when revelation sets in, change always follows, and with this in mind, lets look at some of these changes. One of the biggest in my opinion would be the Sabbath which is the fourth command. YHVH instructs us to “remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy”. We must remember it, in order to keep it holy, but it seems that we have forgotten it, even though its mention within the Ten Commandments. The word Sabbath is found in 115 verses and mentioned 140 times between the Old and New Testament. Clearly YHVH wants to make sure we remember it.
The Sabbath was observed from the moment that YHVH had given it to Moses, until the last book of the Bible was written. With this in mind, if the Bible ended with people still observing the Sabbath, how can we conclude that it is no longer valid. Leviticus 23 makes it clear that the seventh day is the Sabbath. There are a few other verses that confirm this as well. Since this was uttered from the mouth of God, and even observed by the Son of God, are we to believe that man can take it upon himself to change any ordinance spoken from God? Furthermore, there is no verse found in the entire Bible where we find YHVH changing His Sabbath from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week.
There is a Messianic Prophecy from the Prophet Isaiah, found in the 66th chapter and the 21st verse, where YHVH states that “it shall come to pass”, meaning that a time will come, “where from Sabbath to Sabbath, and new moon to new moon that ALL flesh will come before me to worship”. This time has yet to come. There are a few other areas I could touch on that are addressed in Torah but ignored by the church, but I just wanted to hit this one. I mean, if indeed Torah is valid, as it seems to be, according to Scripture, we need to re-evaluate this topic.
One of the hardest things about change is just that change. Change is uncomfortable. It demands that we step out of our comfort zone and familiarity. Change makes us stand out; it sets us apart from others. I find it interesting that setting us apart is what being holy is all about. As I stated earlier, the true definition of “kodesh”, the Hebrew word for “holy” is “set-apart”. Being set apart, we don’t do what everyone else does. The question is, after revelation sets in, will we do what it takes to set ourselves apart, or will we remain in our comfort zone?
This can be a real challenge for those of you in pastoral positions. You have an entire congregation full of people that are faithful members. Many of these people that attend your church attend it because your theology, as their pastor, lines up with theirs. Knowing this, you realize that a drastic change like this could completely offset your ministry. So, what do you do? If you allow change to take place after revelation, you could lose a big bulk of your church members. Herein lies the dilemma. Do you make the change, lining up with the word, and accepting the loss that may occur, or do you continue your current course, thereby maintaining what you have? This indeed is a tough choice, but in the end, we must trust that whatever the outcome, that YHVH is still in control.
This same idea applies to all things Torah based that we have been taught to ignore. And while it isn’t a “heaven or hell” issue, Yeshua made it clear that those who observe Torah and teach others to do the same, will be great in the kingdom of Heaven, whereas those who ignore Torah, and teach others to do the same, will be least. It’s a “positional” thing. Where do you desire to be in the Kingdom? Personally, I would like to be great in the Kingdom.
I really cannot speak for you, but like Joshua said, “me and my house, we will observe His Torah”. I have come to understand that for me as a person, with this revelation comes change, but not only that, but responsibility. I am my brother’s keeper. I am obligated to share this truth with my brothers and sisters. And although I cannot make them choose what I chose, I realize this isn’t my job. My job is to simply share the information. I plant the seed or maybe even water it, but It’s on YHVH to give the increase.
I have also come to understand that the goal of the Torah was Yeshua, according to the Apostle Paul. In other words, Torah ultimately makes us look like the image of Yeshua. Torah is the essence of who Yeshua is. And if we say that we are followers of Him, well, if Torah was His path, how can it NOT be our path? If Torah is not our path, then how are we followers of Him? In Matthew 28, just as He was about to ascend, He told the Apostles to teach all nations EVERYTHING that He taught them. He taught them Torah, so if that’s what He taught them, then it must be understood that this is also what they taught everyone.
I love this topic! I’m sure you guys have picked up that. I could literally talk about this all day. My overall hope is that I have given you some things to consider as it relates to your personal lives. If revelation has finally set in, know for sure that change is inevitable, the question is, will you make the change? Sometimes making these changes can cause you to lose friends, or to be ridiculed, but when you really think about it, isn’t that what being different is all about. People often ridicule what they don’t like or understand. Things that don’t line up with how they believe it should line up gets ostracized and teased. That’s just the way it is.
I believe the moment we can put aside what others will say or what they think about us, we will be on the right path. During my last podcast episode, I made a statement that I would rather walk in Torah for the rest of my days, die, and then find out that it wasn’t necessary, than to not walk in it, die, and find out it was. I believe that Torah is the fine line that we will be judged by. I mean if the Father’s goal is for us to look like His Son, and this can be found in His Torah, I am fine with that. I mean it seems much more practical than the alternative. What’s the alternative you might ask?
Well, apart from Torah, which is literally what the “kingdom mentality” is all about, when you ask most Christians about what it takes to get to heaven, they talk about loving one another. And although to a degree it is right, I mean we were commanded to love one another as we love ourselves. We find in the Torah hundreds of practical examples of what love looks like. We find how we are to handle situations in a manner that the Father would commend us for. Apart from this, we are forced to guess what right looks like in the eyes of God. Which makes more sense, what He has outlined, or figuring it out for ourselves?
His Torah is perfect. David said that it converts the soul and makes the simple wise. I would encourage you to study His Torah and seek to better understand it. It isn’t what you think. Prayerfully, after studying it, revelation will set in for you, and you will find the strength needed to make changes as needed, in proportion to the revelation received. Seek to look at it with skeptical eyes, while allowing the truth of the word to speak for itself. I believe it is then that making change becomes easy, seeing that the truth of the word has been illuminated for you. Only then can you stand on this change, unphased by how others think of you or what they have to say, because the most important thing to you is not pleasing them, but pleasing YHVH
