A Tale of Two "Torah"

Let me be absolutely 100% crystal clear as day to those about to read this post. It is written out of love for my brothers and sisters in Yeshua regardless of genetic composition. This is not an attack on what is referred to as the identity of Judah, but out of love for my brothers and sisters, a cautious rebuke of something that I have seen wash people out of faith entirely. This is not a racial bias, but a scriptural warning to those who filter the Word of God through the traditions that is speaks against.
I was reading  Jeremiah 23 not long ago and this passage stuck out to me :

 Jeremiah 23:30-32 :"See, therefore, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words from one another . who use their own tongues and say 'Says the Lord" . against those who prophesy lying dreams . who lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or appoint them."

One of the reasons that it stuck out to me is that recently I was watching a video by Avi Ben Mordechai regarding the book of Galatians, and Avi makes the distinction between Judaism and Judah-isms in regards to Paul. He makes the point to show that their is a deviation between scriptural precept and rabbinic teaching. When I see this passage in Jeremiah, I began to wonder if this longstanding practice of infusing man made customs and traditions in Israels history, are what became the base for the Talmud. When I go through the scriptures I see several warnings against the traditions of the Pharisees, the scribes, and the traditions of men. When I poke through the Talmud, I see areas where the Talmud is anti-scriptural.

This is the claim. That the Oral is passed directly from Moses.
This contradicts scripture where it says

Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them. -Joshua 8:34-35
“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left." Joshua 23:6

Not everything that was written PLUS whatever the oral tradition states. It doesn't say that the oral tradition is the same as the Torah or the Commands of God. To make that equation is an example of adding to Scripture. Take a look at Ezekiel and compare it to the Talmud:

“I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the Lord your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and observe them. - Ezekiel 20

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Rava expounded another verse in similar fashion: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And more than these, my son, be careful: of making many books [sefarim] there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh” (Ecclesiastes 12:12)? My son, be careful to fulfill the words of the Sages [soferim] even more than the words of the Torah. For the words of the Torah include positive and negative commandments, and even with regard to the negative commandments, the violation of many of them is punishable only by lashes. Whereas with respect to the words of the Sages, anyone who transgresses the words of the Sages is liable to receive the death penalty, as it is stated: “And whoever breaches through a hedge, a snake shall bite him”- Talmud Erubin 21b


In my discussions with someone that holds the Talmud as equal to the Word of God, They had this to say

"Moses received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over to Joshua. Joshua gave it over to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets gave it over to the Men of the Great Assembly. They [the Men of the Great Assembly] would always say these three things: Be cautious in judgement. Establish many pupils. And make a safety fence around the Torah."

If  this were the case that the Oral law was equal to that of God's Holy written word, Then why would God state to not walk in the statues of your fathers or keep their ordenances? If it is true that the Oral traditions were as equal as the written, Why were they not written initially?

For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. -- Titus 1

The earliest evidence of a Jewish community in Crete is to be found in a circular letter in support of the Jews, sent by the Roman Senate (142 B.C.E.) to various countries at the request of Simeon the Hasmonean. As this was also forwarded to the Cretan city of Gortyna (I Macc. 15:23), it can be assumed that there was a Jewish community in existence there. There is no doubt about the existence of Jewish settlements in Crete after its conquest by the Romans in 68–67 B.C.E. The false Alexander, who after Herod's death claimed to be his son, found ardent supporters and financial help among the Cretan Jews. Philo of Alexandria mentions Crete among the countries with a large Jewish population (Legatione ad Gaium, 282). According to the New Testament (Acts 2:11) there were Cretan Jews living in Jerusalem.- Cited   Jewish Virtual Library 

From the Titus passage we see that Paul is familiar with Jews in Crete as well as Jerusalem in the time of his penning his letters.  The Talmud is a book compiled of many myths and commandments of men... men who reject the Truth of Yeshua. When looking at a tree with poison apples instead of saying "some of them aren't poison" It is more wise to not eat from that tree. The more I read the more I see in the text the dangers of the Talmud when held up to the light of Scripture.

Matt 15: Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” 6 he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. 9 ‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men

Is this not the Talmud? Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men, things that contradict the scriptural commands?  When I read Matthew 23 I see a long list of Rebukes from the Savior against men that would seek to make the identity of the believer submission to the Rabbis rather than God, and injecting their rulings as mediator and interpreter of God's rule.




Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ 17 You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ 19 You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20 Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? 34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation - Matt 23

Side by side we can see the parallels.

Scripture:
You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
Deuteronomy 4:2

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MISHNA: One who writes two letters on Shabbat during one lapse of awareness is liable. The following substances used as ink are explained in the Gemara. One is liable if he wrote with deyo, with sam, with sikra, with gum [komos], or with copper sulfate [kankantom] or with any substance that makes a mark. If one wrote on two walls of a house that form a corner, or on two parts of a writing tablet, and the two items are read together, he is liable. One who writes on his flesh on Shabbat is liable. If one unwittingly scratches letters on his flesh on Shabbat,Rabbi Eliezer deems him liable to bring a sin-offering and the Sages deem him exempt.
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The man made rabbinic prohibition of not writing anything is ADDING to the commands. It doesn't say that you can't write anything down on the Sabbath. In fact, that is when a lot of people get some really good time with God and they need to journal or jot down what they're learning. Nothing in the Word of God prohibits this.



"If his father and his teacher were each carrying a burden and he wants to assist them in putting down their burdens, he first places his teacher’s burden down and thereafter places his father’s burden down. If his father and his teacher were in captivity, he first redeems his teacher and thereafter redeems his father. And if his father is a Torah scholar, he first redeems his father and thereafter redeems his teacher."
- Bava Metzia 33a:9

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Exodus 20:12
"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you

and Mark 7
 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
7 ‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’
8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
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“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.- Matt 7

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Abaye said to him: It is prohibited to raise a gentile from a pit even in exchange for payment, because one can say an excuse to him, such as: My son is standing on the roof and I must go use this ladder to help him down from the roof. Alternatively, he can say to him: A time has been appointed for me to appear in the courthouse [bei davar] and I must attend to this matter. Since the Jew can provide a legitimate excuse for refusing to aid the gentile, there is no need to extract him from the pit.- Avodah Zarah 26a 16
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Consider Peter and the issue with his vision of Acts 10 about not calling any man Unclean and refusing to eat with gentiles

But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am just a man.” 27 As he talked with him, he entered and *found many people assembled. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. - Acts 10:26-27

And

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.- Galatians 2

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As it is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says that the graves of gentiles do not render one impure, as it is stated: “And you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are man” (Ezekiel 34:31), which teaches that you, i.e., the Jewish people, are called “man,” but gentiles are not called “man.” Since the Torah states with regard to ritual impurity imparted in a tent: “If a man dies in a tent” (Numbers 19:14), evidently impurity imparted by a tent does not apply to gentiles. - Bava Metzia 114b:2
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“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns. 15 You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the Lord and it become sin in you.- Deut 24:14-15

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"It is necessary only to teach the halakha of one who withholds the wages of a hired laborer; for a gentile to do so to another gentile and for a gentile to do so to a Jew is prohibited, but for a Jew to do so to a gentile is permitted.
-Sanhedrin 57a.
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“If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished. 29 If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him. 31 Whether it gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule. 32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. -Exodus 21:28-32
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With regard to an ox of a Jew that gored the ox of a gentile, the owner of the belligerent ox is exempt from liability. But with regard to an ox of a gentile that gored the ox of a Jew, regardless of whether the goring ox was innocuous or forewarned, the owner of the ox pays the full cost of the damage.- Bava Kamma 37b

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“You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 22 You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. 23 If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; 24 and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. - Exodus 22

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The Gemara challenges: But wherever there is liability for capital punishment, this tanna teaches it; as it is taught in the first clause: With regard to bloodshed, if a gentile murders another gentile, or a gentile murders a Jew, he is liable. If a Jew murders a gentile, he is exempt. Evidently, the term liable is used in the baraita. - Sanhedrin 57a
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 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your basket.25 “When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.- Deut 23:24-25

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The Gemara asks: When does this laborer in a vineyard eat from the fruit? If he does so at the time of the completion of the work, i.e., while he is harvesting the fruit, it is permitted for him to do so, just as a Jew working for another Jew is allowed to do so. If it is not at the time of the completion of its work, eating the fruit is full-fledged robbery, and there is no novel element to this case. - Sanhedrin 57a
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But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

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The baraita continues: And from the time of danger and onward, the people adopted the custom to marry on Tuesday as well, and the Sages did not reprimand them. And on Monday one may not marry even in time of danger. However, if it is due to the coercion, it is permitted. The baraita concludes: One isolates the groom from the virgin bride, so that he will not engage in intercourse with her for the first time on Shabbat evening, because by rupturing the hymen he inflicts a wound, which is a labor prohibited on Shabbat. - Ketubot 3b:2-
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‘When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.- Leviticus 19:34

And

“When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord, and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion, 3 or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do; 4 then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him or the lost thing which he found, 5 or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more.

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In a case when one found a lost item in a city where both Jews and gentiles reside, if the city has a majority of Jews he is obligated to proclaim his find. If there is a majority of gentiles he is not obligated to proclaim his find. - Bava Metzia 24a
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“You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge. 18 But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.- Deut 24:17

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In the case of a Jew and a gentile who approach the court for judgment in a legal dispute, if you can vindicate the Jew under Jewish law, vindicate him, and say to the gentile: This is our law. If he can be vindicated under gentile law, vindicate him, and say to the gentile: This is your law. And if it is not possible to vindicate him under either system of law, one approaches the case circuitously, seeking a justification to vindicate the Jew. This is the statement of Rabbi Yishmael. Rabbi Akiva disagrees and says: One does not approach the case circuitously in order to vindicate the Jew due to the sanctification of God’s name, as God’s name will be desecrated if the Jewish judge employs dishonest means. The Gemara infers from this baraita: And even according to Rabbi Akiva, the reason that the court does not employ trickery in order to vindicate the Jew is only because there is the consideration of the sanctification of God’s name. Consequently, if there is no consideration of the sanctification of God’s name, the court does approach the case circuitously. Apparently, it is permitted to deceive a gentile.- Bava Kamma 113a
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These are just some examples of Commands that are violated, I haven't even gone into the adding to the text via myths yet. Look at this strange addition to the story of Balaam's donkey.

Immediately: “And the donkey said to Balaam: Am not I your donkey?” (Numbers 22:30), i.e., the donkey you always use. Balaam said to it: For carrying burdens only, not for riding. The donkey further said to Balaam: “Upon which you have ridden.” Balaam said to it: Merely at irregular occurrences. The donkey said to him: “All your life long unto this day” (Numbers 22:30). The donkey added: And moreover, I perform for you riding during the day, and marriage, i.e., intercourse, during the night. - Avodah Zarah 4b

I've read Numbers 22, You can read Numbers 22, There is NOTHING in that story about Balaam having sex with a donkey. Speaking of weird sexual things:


They decreed upon a male gentile child that he imparts ritual impurity as though he were a Jew who experienced a gonorrhea-like discharge [ziva], so that a Jewish child will not become familiar with him, leading to homosexual intercourse. The Sages employed a euphemism when referring to this decree. ...
And when I came to Rabbi Ḥiyya, he said to me: From when he is nine years and one day old. And when I came back and relayed Rabbi Ḥiyya’s statement before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, he said to me: Discard my statement, and grasp the statement of Rabbi Ḥiyya, who says: From when does a gentile child impart ritual impurity as one who experiences ziva? From when he is nine years and one day old.
37a
The Gemara explains the reason for this opinion: Since a nine-year-old boy is fit to engage in intercourse, he also imparts ritual impurity as one who experienced ziva. Ravina said: Therefore, with regard to a female gentile child who is three years and one day old, since she is fit to engage in intercourse at that age, she also imparts impurity as one who experienced ziva. -Avoda Zahara 36b-37a


I'm going to be honest with you , I don't even know what to do with that, or why these men are discussing one and nine year olds with gonorrhea having homosexual intercourse. The words of Paul ring true when he states that these men are " seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron"


The Gemara continues: Who are these three men? They are the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael: Michael, who came to announce to Sarah that she was to give birth to a son; Raphael, who came to heal Abraham after his circumcision; and Gabriel, who went to overturn Sodom. The Gemara asks: But it is written: “And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening” (Genesis 19:1). The Gemara answers that Michael went along with Gabriel to Sodom to save Lot.- Bava Metzia 86:b

This is a pure fabrication. Nowhere do these names appear in the text, but interestingly enough, A very specific Name does show up in the passage.

The many laws and bickerings of these rabbis, and their lengthy commands and traditions separating the Jews and the Gentiles are a worthless anti-scriptural mess. They go counter to the teaching of both the Torah and of the Apostolic writings. I'll close it with this:

As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the Lord. 16 There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.’”- Numbers 15

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person- Ecclesiastes 12:13

Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. -1 Corinthians 7:19

But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you- Leviticus 18:26

There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God.’” Leviticus 24:22

If an alien sojourns among you and observes the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so he shall do; you shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land.’”- Numbers 9:14

to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel- Ephesians 3:6

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him- Romans 10:12

When we read Jeremiah 16:19, We must realize that this applies to the rabbis of the Talmud just as much as the anomian church fathers, and the two sticks joining in the hand of Yeshua can only happen when we find our identity in Him alone.

O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, And my refuge in the day of distress, To You the nations will come From the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, Futility and things of no profit."

Tri-unity

For sake of this post, The focus is not on the Spirit being God, but instead of Yeshua being YHVH.
I've gone through several scriptures and I keep seeing YHVH used in reference to Yeshua, and I see verses clearly about Yeshua that according to the Greek use the same word for both. I've tried to cite a few examples and color code some themes, but the subject matter is thick.

God is one 

Beginning and the End 

King of Israel

Yeshua was Before the NT 

One Glory 

1 cor 8
Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

John 20
 Then He *said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

Col 2:9
 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority

Rev 1:8
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Rev 1:17-18
 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Is 44:6
 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
‘I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me.

Is 42:8
“I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images.


John 8:58
Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 

 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’

Is 48:11
For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;
For how can My name be profaned?
And My glory I will not give to another.


John 1
 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”

Hebrews 1
But of the Son He says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”
But of the Son He says,
10 And,
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands;


Gen 2
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.  = YHVH

Isaiah 9:6
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God H410,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace

Matthew 1:23
BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD (G2316)  WITH US.”



H410 in Isaiah 9:6  is El, is the same as used in Numbers 23:19

Numbers 23:19 
God H410 is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?


The verse in Numbers is used to discredit the notion that Yeshua is YHVH, but,  Isaiah 9:6 the same word for them both. Matthew 1:23, which is the fulfillment of Isaiah 9:6 says GOD is with us using the word G2316 which is referenced to YHVH in the Septuagint in Deut 3:24.  as quoted in Luke 4:12

And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”


[ A side note on Numbers 23:19, it says that God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent, but we see in Genesis 6:6-7 that same word for repent is used in direct relation to God. I'm not suggesting that God repents, as repent in that passage means to be grieved... what I am suggesting is that Numbers 23:19 is problematic for interpretation for more than one way linguistically]


The Son, is not The Spirit, nor The Father respectively... however,
The Son is YHVH, The Spirit is YHVH, and The Father is YHVH. This is Trinitarian and in the Scriptures.

Look at John 10, in whose hand are the believers in?
28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
30 I and the Father are one.”

Two hands in like a baton relay??? Maybe, or He and the Father are one, as in one hand. It continues:


31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”


Verse 33 is the debate that we have going right now. People are saying that Yeshua is not YHVH and espousing that same line that its blasphemy that Yeshua being a man can be God (the Father...even though He just said that in verse 30)

Low

Every month, within the month, I look at a common thread that I see in the community. Some issue that I see going through the greater body. Some months ago it was the false and sensational heretical books of enoch and jasher, another month it was issues with holding teachings of rabbis over scripture as scripture warns against. I watched the flat earth discussions revolve and worked through logical and scriptural objections to that faulty reasoning.  I was praying about what to write on this month and keeping my eyes on what is in the greater body of believers, and I think that the message is about me.

Its not just me but everyone that brings forth truth, or correction to the body. There isn't much for me to say on it, so I will let the Word of God do better than I can.

The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, But humility goes before honor.
The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches, honor and life.
Seek the Lord, All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the Lord’s anger.
 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience
You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.


Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
“Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.”
because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord.
and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord.
My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice.
When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.

It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.
“For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.
Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

-
All of the above is scripture, and I felt it better to post than to cite every source , but you're clever. You'll find it.

I leave you with a proverb that I found while reading once about Ninjas

"When fruit is ripe, it drops low"

Prophecy

Elijah has been on my mind this week. Maybe it was in part due to my Pastor friend posting pictures from a trip where he visited the memorial that was the start of my thinking about Elijah this week

 Ah yes, The monument to the time that Sean Connery hit a dude with a hot cross bun. We shall always remember

... but truth be told I think about him a lot. I think about his homelessness and the solitude and his boldness and how he was sorta a weatherman of God. One thing that I was thinking about tonight was the part where he went up against the Prophets of Baal.

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 He said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals. 19 Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Did you notice that?  Right out the gate, Elijah, the Prophet is meeting Ahab who thinks he's the blameless one and he starts in with "is this you, you troubler of Israel?" This is generally a sign of hard hearted and self righteous men. When Moses sought to get the Israelites Pharaoh did a whole big speech about how Moses was the one who was going to endanger everyone. Elijahs response is essentially "NO U" or the equivalent of flipping the reverse card out of the Uno deck. He throws down the gauntlet and points part of the blame at Jezebel, the Self righteous Ahabs horrible advice giving wife.

So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “That is a good idea.”

I don't want to brush past that two choices bit either. We all, each of us, daily are set with two choices. We will serve God, or we will serve our flesh. The hardest part is when people start speaking out of flesh saying that they're serving God like in Ezekiel 13:6 ""They see falsehood and lying divination who are saying, 'The LORD declares,' when the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope for the fulfillment of their word."  There is what God says, and then there is speaking on your own hoping that God will do your bidding. Don't do that.  Elijah said it best, if the Lord is God, follow Him. If not, then not.

Let me make another important side note here, If you're one that is going to tell the truth... like the WHOLE truth, Like the FULL gospel that includes the "You have forsaken the commandment of the Lord" part, you can probably expect to have numbers like 850 to 1. Granted its 850 to 1 plus God, so they're outnumbered, but expect to have it look like the worlds against you... because it is. I just tonight had another BELIEVER tell me that they don't like that I talk about the Commands and the Law and stuff and that I should spend more time talking about things that matter like the Gospel. I took a moment and asked what the Gospel is, then asked what Repentance is, then asked what Sin is, and showed how everything that I have have been saying IS the Gospel. That Like Elijah here, I have been saying that God is a certain way and we are to live according to His ways, but I digress. So you've got everyone that is agreeing to a rigged game because they're so sure they're right.  They're professing numbers and got the whole team together to witness how this fool dared bring an accusation against their god.  I can picture them salivating all smuglike over proving Elijah isn't as righteous as they are and how they're the real anointed ones in a place of esteem and they're going to gleefully eat up watching this guy be humiliated as they assert dominance.

So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. 27 It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 29 When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

We still to this day have those who's confidence is in the flesh who stand behind pulpits and they leap about and they wail, but they cannot force God to do what they demand of Him. Their confidence in the flesh is mocked. The Prophet of God is mocking their false deity. I'm embarrassed to say it but I have been a part of more than one Messianic community that when you tell someone on "staff" that they've sinned against you... they're more likely to flip the script than they are to repent. They're more likely to double down like the prophets of Baal in greater histrionics because in their mind they feel the need to always maintain the front of Holiness and control, even though when rooted in the flesh it its apparent. They crave the word from God, but the god they made is not God.

 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 So with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed. 33 Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. 34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.

There is a message of the redemption here. Repair God's place in the heart that has been broken down. I'm certain that there is some deep significance between the 4 +4+4= 12 pitchers of water and the 12 tribes of Israel, but I'm not picking that up this go round.

At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” 40 Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

1 Man takes down the whole boasting, self righteous,  form of godliness but denying the power, false prophets.  This is a powerful thing, the 1 person actually walking with God  wins and is validated over the ones that proclaim holiness rooted in self and self debasement.  Surely after such an astounding rebuke this would inspire others to humble themselves lest they carry on in vain boasting right?

Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
 

 If you're someone that is prone to hardness of heart, and your pride entices you to speak on behalf of God when God has not spoken like a false prophet, and God shows you that you need to stop relying on yourself and your ways and your strength, and God is continually bring people to you that are showing you something that is unacceptable and you need to repent from... DO NOT listen to your wife when she doubles down on the bad advice and continues to blame everyone else based on her own strength and power.

The Talmud

Its important to recognize something that often gets overlooked in both respective Christian and Messianic circles, and that is that the Talmud or Oral traditions are NOT the same as the Law or Commands of God. I see this pop up from time to time and more so recently that "the Jews have been keeping torah for a long time therefore they must be doing it right". A history of the reasons for Jewish migration from the Land should tell people that they haven't always been doing it right. That isn't anti-semitic to say, that is just Historical fact. Solomon had an issue with mixing pagan customs with belief. It it wasn't a concern, then why was it warned against.

For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. -- Titus 1

Since rebellious talkers and deceivers of the circumcision who teach Jewish myths and commandments of men are to be avoided, Why do so many hold to the Talmud which is the commandments of men that contain Jewish myths?

When we look at passages like this:

Matt 15: Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” 6 he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. 9 ‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men

...we can clearly see the distinction between God's Law and the Commands/ Traditions of Men.

A major issue in the development of Jewish law concerning vows is the
possible conflict between keeping a vow and keeping the commandments of the
written Torah. Evidence from the Hebrew Bible, Qumran, Philo, and
archaeological information indicates that prior to the first century AD negative
vows that affected others were already being made. Mark 7:9-13 shows that, in
the first century CE, a son could make a vow using the term qorban and prohibit
his parents from receiving support from him. Even though such a vow violated
the fifth commandment, some Jewish teachers upheld such a vow, perhaps
because of the biblical teaching on the inviolability of vows. 

When ever I bring up the point from scripture that these written opinions are not to be equated with the Word of God, someone gets offended that I would dare say that... but you know what, The word says it too in the same chapter of Matthew 15 as we were reading before :

Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Messiah's rebuke of the teaching and ways of these men did not stop at calling them blind, it went further in Matthew 23



4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ 17 You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ 19 You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20 Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. 23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? 34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

That is not polite dinner conversation there. That is the sharpest rebuke. The Savior of humanity is saying of these men that are revered and esteemed as wise and righteous teachers that they are blind fools.  These men who have houses of disciples are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Luke 6
The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him.
Luke 11
Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” 53 When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, 54 plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.

Does this descriptor not fit those that write in the Talmud as follows:

 On (Sabbath eve and) the eve of Passover, Jesus the Nazarene was hanged and a herald went forth before him forty days heralding, "Jesus the Nazarene is going forth to be stoned because he practiced sorcery and instigated and seduced Israel to idolatry. Whoever knows anything in defense may come and state it." But since they did not find anything in his defense they hanged him on (Sabbath eve and) the eve of Passover.
Ulla said: "Do you suppose that Jesus the Nazarene was one for whom a defense could be made? He was a mesit (someone who instigated Israel to idolatry), concerning whom the Merciful [God] says: Show him no compassion and do not shield him (Deut. 13:9). With Jesus the Nazarene it was different. For he was close to the government.

This is big stuff. Even in the smaller stuff there is just, well made up things. I recently encountered a discussion about Abraham where he has an encounter with "3 Angels" in Genesis. I personally believe that this is an example of Yeshua appearing in the O.T. but that is a separate topic. This is what the "Rabbi" had to say about this passage

The Torah recounts that three angels appeared to Abraham (Genesis 18:2). Later, only two angels go down to Sodom. What happened to the third angel? And what is the significance of three versus two?
The Aish Rabbi Replies:
Although the Torah does not mention the names of the angels that went to visit Abraham, the Talmud tells us they were Raphael, Michael and Gabriel. (Bava Metzia 86b)
Throughout most of their interaction, the Torah does not refer to them on an individual basis, but rather as a group, as it is written, "[Abraham] stood over THEM beneath the tree and THEY ate. [Afterwards,] THEY said to him..." (Genesis 18:8-9)
There are, however, instances in which the angels act as individuals. For example, only the angel Michael told Sarah that she was going to have a baby (Genesis 18:10). In Sodom, only the angel Raphael told Lot to flee from the city (Genesis 19:17). Similarly, it was only the angel Gabriel that informed Lot that the city was going to be destroyed.
From these verses, we can derive that an angel can only perform one mission: Gabriel's mission was to destroy Sodom; Michael's mission was to inform Sarah that she would give birth in a year's time; Raphael's mission was to heal Abraham and save Lot. (Although Raphael's mission included two tasks, they were considered a single mission since they were both acts that saved people). (Talmud - Bava Metzia 86b, Rashi - Genesis 18:2 and 19:16)
This now helps us understand your question: Why did three angels come to Abraham, but only two go to Lot?
The answer is that since Michael's sole mission was to tell Sarah she would become pregnant, he had no business in Sodom. Therefore, upon leaving Abraham's tent he went back to his post at God's Holy Throne. But Gabriel, who was left with his task of destroying Sodom, and Raphael, who was commanded to save Lot, had not yet finished their tasks, and continued to Sodom. (Rashi - Genesis 19:1 and 9:16)

That would be fascinating if it were not entirely made up.  There is absolutely nothing in the text that states that this was Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. It does however say that one of the three is YeHoVaH...

Nothing in the text says anything about Michael or Gabe or Raph. That is a myth. That is a completely made up Jewish Myth being presented as Truth. What does this myth do? It omits the presence of God in this chapter of Abraham's story!!! That is either negligent or nefarious but either way it shouldn't be presented as Truth.  Its from this same passage of scripture we can see  in Genesis 18:8

He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.

Take note, This is Abraham serving the first cheeseburger and a tall glass of Milk to God. Here's the made up Talmud rules

The Talmudic rabbis believed that the biblical text only forbade eating a mixture of milk and meat, but because the biblical regulation is triplicated they imposed three distinct regulations to represent it:

• not cooking meat and milk together (regardless of whether the result was eaten)
• not eating milk and meat together (regardless of whether it was cooked together)
• not benefiting from the mixture in any other way

So by adding to scripture they are saying that they have the authority to determine what is or isn't' food. They are asserting that they have the authority to determine what is or isn't clean. They are saying that they have the authority to deem what is Holy and what is not based on their traditions and this is expressly something that the scriptures speak against.  What does Paul say about the practice of changing the Word ?

 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

There may be nice fables that sound neat... but they're not scripture. In fact there are lots of FALSE BOOKS out there that should be DISREGARDED . If you have questions on how to keep a command of God, ask around. If you have a pretty good idea that doesn't violate Scripture, go with it until you learn a better way or are convicted. just because sages wrote the book of opinions to create disciples after themselves does not mean that has to be the way it is done.

Divine.

Messianics have an chip on their shoulders when it comes to heresy.  So many have been in the church and have come to find that something that a very important and defining part of scripture has been misinterpreted or misapplied. One of the most frustrating parts in finding that out, is the painstaking over correction. It isn't that we just set aside the false interpretation in regard to the Torah, no, it seems we are painstakingly going back and re-evaluating every rightly debunked heresy as well.  It is because of this that we have seen a rise in strange doctrines and conspiracy and the resurgence of gnosticism. However, every now and again something right gets tossed out of the mix. They throw the baby out with the bathwater. One of the doctrines people abandon is the triune nature of God. I've pulled some samples from various places as example texts because sometimes you have to look at the big picture instead of a very narrowed scope.  I'll walk you through some points...


Called God

The Father : Phil 1:2 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
The Son: John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Col 2:9 "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form"
The Holy Spirit : Acts 5:3-4 "But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

CreatorThe Father: Isaiah 64: 8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all of us are the work of Your hand
The Son: John 1:3  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Col 1:15-17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
The Holy Spirit: Job 33:4 “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Resurrects

The Father: 1 Thes 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come
The Son: John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
10:17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again
The Holy Spirit: Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you

Indwells

The Father: 2 Cor 6:16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
The Son: Col 1:27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The Holy Spirit: John 14:17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

Everywhere

The Father:  1 Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!
The Son:  Matt 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The Holy Spirit: Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?⁸ If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,¹⁰ Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

All Knowing

The Father: 1 John 3:20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
The Son: John 16:30 Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.”
21:17  He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep.
The Holy Spirit:1 Cor 2:10-11 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ¹¹ For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

Sanctifies

The Father: 1 Thes 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Son: Hebrews 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren
The Holy Spirit:1 Peter 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

Life Giving

The Father: Gen 2:7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
John 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
The Son: John 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
The Holy Spirit:2 Cor 3:6-8 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.⁷ But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, ⁸ how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?

Fellowship

The Father: 1 John 1:3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
The Son: 1 Cor 1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Holy Spirit: 2 Cor 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

Phil 2:1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

Eternal

The Father: Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
The Son: Micah 5 :1-2 Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; They have laid siege against us; With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek. ² “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.
The Holy Spirit:Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
 Hebrews 9:14  how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

A Will

The Father: Luke 22:42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done
The Son: John 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
The Holy Spirit: 1 Cor 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

Speaks
The Father: Matt 3:17   and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
The Son: Luke 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels
Luke 5:20  Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”
 7:48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
The Holy Spirit: Acts 8:29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot
 11:12 The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house.
 13:2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Love

The Father: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life
The Son: Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
The Holy Spirit: Romans 15:30  Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me

Searches the Heart

The Father: Jer 17:10 “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.
The Son:Rev 2:23  And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds
The Holy Spirit:1 Cor 2:10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God



Now some people get stuck on one issue; Christ not putting the focus on Himself but instead giving it all to the Father saying to pray to Him. Though they say they aren't trying to make Yeshua out to be a lesser God or a demigod, their words often do that. The reason that Christ puts the focus on Glory to the Father is simple  1. As an example of a perfect Son.  2. How do you exemplify humility and still demand people worship you? People did worship Him and there isn't any record of Him telling them to stop. When we look at verses like this:

“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
11 “I, even I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me. - Isaiah 43

Sunday Shoos

You know what I was thinking about? I was thinking about Paul in Athens right. He's in a pagan city with all of its paganess,and they're paganing as pagans do. The script says

"Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols "

We've got people here, My self included that get super provoked in Spirit by all the dongle trees and Nimrodian shinnanigans... that's relatable. But sometimes we're not like Paul, because Paul it says

"So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. "

A lot of us won't go meet those who are in christian churches even though they're God-fearing, just as many of us were before we were entrusted with the revelation of Torah that we might be a little less stiff necked. We've got this stigma of US and THEM when not too long ago who we are now was the THEM.

Look at Paul again

"And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.”

A lot of us don't get that far. We wont set foot in a sunday church to find these people that might say "May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” Why?
because often time we're angry or insulted by the "What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities" part. What if we met them where they're at and proclaimed the part that their missing?

"“Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you

.

I think we often overlook the FACT that many sunday meet ups contain those who are very religious in all respects who worship in ignorance, that need someone to proclaim to them what it true. More of a Yeshua t the well waiting for the conversation to arise and less like Joshua stepping and slicing off Kings heads. (time and place for both of those)

What would happen if we read the book of Jonah, and where it said Jonah we put our names... and where it said Nineveh, we put the church?


 “Arise, go to [The sunday church] and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” So [ I ] arose and went to [The sunday church] according to the word of the Lord. Now [Sunday church] was an exceedingly [Large mega church], a three [hour service].

Then the people of [The sunday church] believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. (repented)"

Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight.  Should I not have compassion on [the sunday church], the [Large mega chuch] in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

What if we were to step past ourselves and engage others like this?   What if we didn't hold brothers and sisters in contempt the way that Jonah did Ninivah. What if we went to other believers who hold pagan customs in ignorance and we set aside our offense in order to reach them with the truth?
What if Christ held that same mentality, that He would not step into our world because we ARE  too stiff necked and HE too set apart? Where would we be then?

Knowledge Worship

The most important thing in a relationship with God is that you have a relationship with God.
Seems simple enough right? After all, what does God ask of us?

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God- Micah 6

Do Justice, Love kindness, Walk humbly. God asks that we obey Him and follow His commands, walking with Him. In all the details and complexities of this thing, It is actually very simple. Yeshua even said that His yolk was easy and His burden light. I know that the Bible is easy for the most part. Read it. Study it. Have a relationship with God. Pray to God. Walk humbly with God as you enact justice and love kindness. That seems pretty simple stuff. That's the best I can do for a lead in to my main topic. There seems in my estimation a cycle of topics that are flaring up in circles. It's like every few weeks there is a new uprising in some formerly put to rest heresy. There are these intellectualized argumentations and justifications of things that the scriptures themselves say to avoid. Recently it was giants. Before that it is the addition of heretical texts to the Word of God, being Jasher or Enoch or whatever the case. The focus becomes less on scripture and more about having a conversation on hidden secret knowledge. I'd even go so far as throwing the Talmud in the same basket. The esteem and elevation of these books as being equal to the word of God or being the necessary illumination of context of the secret understanding of the Word of God is at best dangerous. I recently read something that has stuck in my mind in a way that I haven't been able to shake. The original temptation of Lucifer.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.-  Gen 3

You've got the direct word of God, and then the addition of Lucifer's context of the word of God. The temptation of this secret knowledge, and the ability to make one wise. This is something that is running amuck in the church today, both Messianic and Christian. We have so many people trying to be part of the "select inner group with special insight". Some of these people will start up a youtube channel specifically to put their special additions on the Word of God. Let me show you something, This is what Luciferianism is defined by:

Luciferianism is about the seeking of knowledge from both within and without.
For Luciferians, wealth is not something to be ashamed of. You are encouraged to strive for success and enjoy the fruits of your labors. You are allowed and even encouraged to take pride in your accomplishments and to highlight them. All knowledge is good. Ignorance, however, leads to all sorts of problems: hatred, lack of success, the inability to advance, etc. Unlike other belief systems in which faith plays a primary role, Luciferians celebrate knowledge of all types as the key to enlightenment and happiness in this life. 

Seeking special knowledge, amassing wealth, God wants you to be rich, bragging about all the things you've done (studied, rabbis sat with) The worship of knowledge itself. 2 Tim 3 makes mention of these attributes and it states:

holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Am I saying that anyone that looks into some of the tricky parts of the Word are part of a devils scheme? No, absolutely not. However I have noted that there are some men and women that tout themselves as lovers of God, but it really looks more like they are worshippers of "wisdom"

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. -2 cor 11

Simple and Pure devotion to Christ. Yoke is easy, burden is light. Yet volumes have been written about the traditions of men in what it means by their interpretations of the commands and what they think that means and the heavy burdens that they tie upon men, equating their traditions to the Word of God.

They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.- Matt 23

 I often see a lot of Messianics jocky for a position near other teachers and to share their input and researchers for a sense of belonging and validation. Many of these people flip through topics of great controversy because they want to be heard as authoritative and respected. A lot of these people (certainly NOT all because there's a number of people that study because the think things are interesting) derive their identity from what they learn and study instead of it being rooted in Yeshua.
Seems you cant sneeze in any direction without it spraying someone that wants to be the next big teacher with the edge on the super secret special truth.